Ps. 34:2, 3.

Ps. 34:2, 3.

THE SAINT PLEADING WITH GOD

  Ps. 25:6, 7.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.

AT what precise period this psalm was written, is not certainly known; but probably about the time of Absalom’s rebellion. It is evident that David’s sorrows were very great: but those which appear to have pressed with the greatest weight upon his mind arose from a view of his past transgressions, and probably from that flagrant iniquity committed by him in the matter of Uriahb. His mode of pleading with God is that to which I propose, in a more especial manner, to draw your attention, because it affords an excellent pattern for us, in all our approaches to the throne of grace.

Let us notice,

  I.      What he desires—

He desires God to “remember the tender mercies and loving-kindnesses” with which he had favoured him in times past. Now this is almost the last petition which we should have expected from a person mourning under a sense of sin, because the kindness of God to us forms one of the greatest aggravations of our sins. God himself made this the ground of his complaint against his people of old: “What could I have done more for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? and wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” But David had a just view of God’s tender mercies: he regarded them as pledges of yet richer blessings in reserve for him: and in this view his request deserves particular attention.

God’s mercies are the fruits of his electing love—

[God dispenses his blessings to whomsoever he will. He has a right to do so: for there is no creature in the universe that has any claim upon him. As well might the devils complain of him, for not giving to them a Saviour, as any of us complain of him for not bestowing on us the grace which he imparts to others. In what he does, he consults his own glory alone: and, however rebellious man may arraign his counsels, he will be eternally glorified in all that he has done: it will all be found “to his praise and honour and glory” in “the day which he has appointed for the revelation of his righteous judgments.” David was sensible of his obligations to God in this respect. He traced all his mercies to their proper source, the eternal counsels of the Deity; who had vouchsafed them to him, not for any righteousness of his, either seen or foreseen, but “according to his own purpose and grace, which had been given him in Christ Jesus before the world began.” He saw that “God had loved him with an everlasting love,” and therefore with loving-kindness had he drawn him to the actual enjoyment of his favour.]

In this view they may be regarded as pledges of future blessings—

[God is unchangeable, no less in his counsels than in his perfections. In no respect is there with him “any variableness, or shadow of turninge.” “His gifts and calling are without repentance.” Hence, if he remember his former mercies, he will continue them. “He will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it hath pleased him to make them his peopleg.” He has said, “I will never, never leave you; never, never forsake you:” so that, if we have indeed experienced his loving-kindness in our souls, we may “confidently hope that he will carry on and perfect his work within usi:” for “whom he loveth, he loveth to the end.”

Here, then, we see what was in the mind of David when he urged this petition. He had found consolation from this thought in the midst of the deepest distresses. When tempted, on one occasion, to think that “God had cast him off, and would be favourable to him no more, but had in anger shut up his tender mercies, so that his promise would fail for evermore,” he “called to mind God’s wonders of old time,” and thus composed his mind, and assured himself that his fears were groundless, the result only of “his own infirmity.” In any troubles, therefore, which we may experience, we shall do well to look back upon God’s mercies of old, and to take encouragement from them to cast ourselves upon him, for the continuance of them.]

Let us next observe,

  II.      What he deprecates—

Sin, in whomsoever it is found, is most offensive to God—

[God “cannot look upon iniquity without the utmost abhorrence,” both of the act itself, and of the person who has committed it. Hence, when he forgives sin, he “blots it out, even as a morning cloud, which passes away, and is no more seenn.” God has put it altogether out of his own sight; he has “cast it behind his back,” “into the very depths of the seap,” from whence it shall never be brought up again. If it were remembered by him, he must punish it: and therefore, to those who turn unto him, and lay hold on his covenant, he promises, that “their sins and iniquities he will remember no more.”]

On this account David deprecates the remembrance of his sins—

[He specifies, in particular, “the sins of his youth,” which, though committed through levity and thoughtlessness, were displeasing to God, and must entail his judgments on the soul. Little do young people think what their views of their present conduct will be, when God shall open their eyes, whether it be in the present or the future life. They now imagine that they have, as it were, a licence to indulge in sin, and to neglect their God. They conceive, that serious piety at their age would be premature and preposterous; and that, if they only abstain from gross immoralities, they may well be excused for deferring to a later period the habits that are distasteful to a youthful mind. But these are vain and delusive imaginations. God views their conduct with other eyes. He admits not those frivolous excuses with which men satisfy their own minds. He sees no reason why the earlier part of life should be consecrated to Satan, and the dregs of it alone be reserved for him. He demands the first-fruits as his peculiar portion; and if the first-fruits of the field, much more the first-fruits of the immortal soul. O! my young friends, I entreat you to reflect how different God’s estimate of your conduct is from that which you and your thoughtless companions form; and how bitterly you will one day deprecate his remembrance of those sins, which now you pass over as unworthy of any serious consideration.

But David adverts also to the transgressions which, through weakness or inadvertence, he yet daily committed. And who amongst us is not conscious of manifold transgressions in his daily walk and conversation? Who is not constrained to say, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord:” “if thou shouldest be extreme to mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand?” Thus, then, let us also implore God to blot out our sins from the book of his remembrance, that they may never appear against us in the day of judgment, and, “if sought for” with ever so much diligence, may never, “never be found.”]

Let us mark yet farther,

  III.      What he proposes as the rule and measure of

God’s dealings with him—

On the mercy of God he founds all his hope—

[Mercy is the favourite attribute of the Deity: it delights to spare the offending, and to save the penitent. It is ready to fly at the call of guilt and misery; and hastens to execute the dictates of God’s sovereign grace. It demands no merit as the price of its blessings: it accounts itself richly recompensed in bringing glory to God and happiness to man. Hence David prayed, “According to thy mercy, remember thou me!” When speaking of God’s interposition between him and his persecutors, he could say, “The Lord hath rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.” But he would not presume to make his own righteousness the ground of his hope towards God. For acceptance with him, he would rely on nothing but mercy, even the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Herein he has set us an example which we shall do well to follow: in all our addresses to the Most High God, we should adopt his prayer, and say, “Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy.” There is solid ground. Thither the most holy of the saints must come; and there the vilest sinner upon earth may find a rock whereon to stand with confidence before God. With such a ground of hope, David could approach his God, and say, “Be merciful unto my sin; for it is great!”]

From “the goodness of God, too,” he derives his only plea—

[David well knew that God is most glorified in those exercises of mercy which most display his sovereignty and his grace. Hence he desired that God would have respect to his own honour, and shew mercy to him for his goodness’ sake. Thus must we, also, take our arguments from the perfections of our God; and have all our hope, and plea, and confidence in him alone.]

To this I will only ADD,

  1.      Let us follow the example of David—

[We all have need to come to God precisely in the manner that David did. We have no more worthiness in ourselves than he. If judged by any thing of our own, we can have no hope whatever. We must stand precisely on the same ground as he, and urge the very same pleas as he. Our first, and last, and only cry must be,

    “Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask;

      This is the total sum:

    For mercy, Lord, is all my plea:

      O let thy mercy come!”

  2.      Let us take encouragement from the acceptance which he found—

[His sins, great as they were, were all forgiven. And when did God ever reject the prayer of faith? To whom did he ever say, “Seek ye my face in vain?” Read the whole of the fifty-first psalm, and let it be a model for your supplications, day and night. Then shall your prayer come up with acceptance before God, and your seed-time of tears issue in a harvest of eternal joy.]

DXXXI

MEEK DOCILITY INCULCATED

             Ps. 25:9.

The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek he will teach his way.

THE necessity of a revelation is universally acknowledged: for no man could possibly know God’s will, unless God himself should be pleased to communicate information respecting it from above. But the necessity for any divine influence upon the soul, in order to a due improvement of a revelation already given, is not generally admitted. But we are expressly told, that “all God’s children shall be taught of him:” and both the goodness and integrity of God are pledged for the performance of the promise. There are, however, certain qualifications which we must possess, before the proffered benefits can be extended to us: and what they are, it is my intention, in this present Discourse, to set before you.

Let me then state,

  I.      What dispositions are necessary for a reception of divine truth—

The term “meekness” is of very extensive import. But, instead of entering into the variety of senses in which the word is used, we shall find it more profitable to confine ourselves to the precise view in which it is used in the passage before us. Men may be denominated “meek,”

  1.      When they are sensible of their own ignorance—

[Ignorant we are, whether we be sensible of it or not. The fall of man has proved no less injurious to his intellectual powers than to his heart. “His understanding is darkened:” “the god of this world has blinded his eyes:” and “he is alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in him, and because of the blindness of his heart.”

But men are unconscious of this. They feel that their powers are strong for the investigation of human sciences; and they see no reason why they should not be equally so for the comprehension of things relating to the soul. Any intimation to this effect they are ready to resent, as the Pharisees did of old: “Are we blind also?”

Very different is their conduct, when they are become truly “meek.” Then they perceive their want of spiritual discernment. They feel that no efforts of flesh and blood will suffice for the illumination of their mindsd; and that they need “not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that they may know the things that are freely given to them of God.”]

  2.      When they are willing and desirous to be taught of God—

[As man by nature is not sensible of his own blindness, so has he no wish to obtain a spiritual insight into the things of God. He is satisfied with a speculative knowledge: and, if he possess that which may be apprehended by reason, and which may be attained by his own personal exertions, he has all that he desires. All beyond that is, in his estimation, a vain conceit.

But a person who possesses the disposition spoken of in our text, desires to be taught of God, and to be guided into all truth. He is not contented with abiding in the outer court of the temple; but longs to be introduced within the vail, even into the sanctuary of the Most High, in order that he may behold God shining forth in all his glory, and receive from him the richest possible communications of his grace and love. For this end, whenever he opens the inspired volume, he lifts up his heart to God, and prays, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law!” In relation to the whole work of redemption, whether as revealed in the word, or as experienced in the soul, he desires to hear God himself, and be “taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:” and he pleads with God that most encouraging promise, “Call upon me, and I will shew thee great and mighty (hidden) things, which thou knowest not.”]

Such are the dispositions which characterize the people whom God will instruct.

We are next to shew,

  II.      Whence arises the necessity for them—

There is, in the whole scope and tenor of the Gospel,

  1.      A contrariety to our carnal reason—

[The substitution of God’s co-equal, co-eternal Son in the place of sinners, his vicarious sacrifice, his bringing in a righteousness by the imputation of which sinners may be justified before God, and his imparting all the blessings of redemption to them, through the exercise of faith, and without any respect whatever to their works; these are truths to which carnal reason is extremely averse. They are among “those things of the Spirit which the natural man neither does, nor can, receive.” A man may, indeed, adopt these things as his creed, and may account an opposition to them heresy; whilst yet he has no spiritual acquaintance with them in his own soul: but to see the excellency of them, to love them, to delight in them, to “account all things but dung for the knowledge of them,” is an attainment which the natural man has no idea of, and which, instead of desiring, he hates. They form altogether a mystery. Hence, till he is humbled before God, he cannot possibly comprehend these things: they are a stumbling-block to him; they are mere “foolishness” in his eyes.]

  2.      An opposition to our depraved appetites—

[The Gospel calls upon us to “mortify our members upon earth,” yea, and to “crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts:” and to such an extent does it require the subjugation of our corrupt appetites, that, if there be a thing dear to us as a right eye, it calls upon us to pluck it out, or a thing useful as a right hand, to cut it off. Now, how can such doctrines as these be received by a proud, unmortified, and unhumbled spirit? It is not possible but that there should be the utmost repugnance to them in all who feel not the value of their own souls, and desire not above all things to obtain peace with God. In truth, the doctrines of Christianity are not a whit more offensive to the reason of the natural man, than the duties of it are to his corrupt affections; which, therefore, must be mortified, before he can acquiesce in them as good and right.]

  3.      An inconsistency with our worldly interests—

[The instant we embrace the Gospel with our whole hearts, the world will become our enemies. They hated and persecuted the Lord of glory himself: can we suppose that the disciple will be above his Lord, or that, if they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, they will not find some opprobrious names for those also of his household? We are taught by our Lord that we must be hated of all men for his name’s sake; and that, if we will not take up our cross daily, and follow him, we cannot be his disciples. Nay more; if we be not willing to forsake all, and even to lay down our lives for him, we cannot be partakers of his salvation. But what will an earthly mind say to this? Will not a faithful declaration of these things draw forth that reply which was given to our Lord, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” Many, when our Lord proclaimed these things, turned back, and walked no more with him: and this cannot but be the result with every carnal and worldly mind, when such sacrifices are required.

Hence, then, it is evident, that, unless a very great change be wrought in the heart of an unconverted man, he neither will, nor can, be in a state to receive truths to which his whole nature is so averse. If he really desired to do God’s will, the film would be removed from his eyes, and he would be able to appreciate the things which are set before him in the Gospel: but, till he becomes thus “meek” and docile, he will be inaccessible to the light, or rather, the light itself will only augment his blindness.]

That all may be encouraged to seek these necessary dispositions, I proceed to notice,

  III.      The promise made to those who are possessed of them—

It has already appeared, that men, by the Fall, have suffered loss both in their intellectual and moral powers. And, in both respects, shall they be restored to a rich measure of their pristine dignity, if only they cultivate the dispositions which God requires.

  1.      God will “guide them in judgment”—

[They see at present through a dense and delusive medium: and hence every thing relating to God assumes, in their eyes, an odious and distorted shape. But God will rectify their views: he will enable them to discern every thing in its proper colours, and to see its bearings on the welfare of the soul. The excellency of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, the blessedness of having all our corruptions mortified, and the wisdom of sacrificing all our worldly interests to the welfare of the soul; these, and all other truths connected with them, shall be brought home to the mind with an evidence which it cannot doubt, and with a power which it cannot withstand: or, to use the expressive language of the Psalmist, “In the hidden part God shall make them to know wisdom.” In a word, he will bring the soul out of darkness into marvellous light; so that it shall no more call evil good, and good evil, but shall “be guided into all truth,” and shall “have the very mind that was in Christ Jesus.”]

  2.      He will enable them, also, to walk in his ways—

[Truth shall not float in their minds as a mere theory or speculation, but shall influence their every act, their universal habit. God will, by his word and Spirit, reduce them from their wanderings, and guide their feet into the way of peace. And, if at any time they be for a moment turned aside through error of judgment, or instability of mind, he will cause them to “hear a word behind them, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.” He will go before them, as he did before the Israelites in the wilderness, causing his word to be a light to their feet and a lantern to their paths: and thus “he will guide them by his counsel, until he shall finally receive them to glory.”

Here, then, we may SEE,

  1.      Whence it is that the blessings of the Gospel are so pre-eminently enjoyed by the poor—

[It is a fact, that “not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble, are called;” but that “God has revealed to babes and sucklings the things which, to so great an extent, are hid from the wise and prudent.” The wise and great are too generally under the influence of self-sufficiency and self-dependence. They cannot bow to the humiliating doctrines of the Gospel: they will not endure to view themselves in so destitute a condition as the Gospel represents them. Hence they, almost universally, “stumble at the word, being disobedient.” But the poor are easily brought to see that they need instruction from above: their very incompetency to enter into deep researches of any kind gives them a comparative diffidence of their own powers, in relation to the things of God. Hence they see but little to stumble at even in those points which the wise and learned find most difficult to overcome: and, being more easily brought to seek instruction from God, they, in far greater numbers, are taught of God, and almost engross to themselves, as it were, the possession of his kingdom. O, ye poor, never repine at your lot; but rather rejoice that you are of the happy number of those whom God has chosen chiefly, though not exclusively, “to be rich in faith, and heirs of his kingdom.” And, ye rich or learned, seek to “become as little children,” and be willing to “become fools, that ye may be truly wise.”]

  2.      Whence it is that there are so many falls and errors in the religious world—

[People, when they have embraced the truth, are but too apt to lose the simplicity of their earlier days, and to become wise in their own conceits. Hence many of them fall into errors of divers kinds; and not unfrequently dishonour, by their conduct, their holy profession. Alas! alas! what a picture does the religious world present! See what controversies and animosities obtain amongst those who profess themselves children of one common Father! Dear Brethren, dreadful is the advantage which our great adversary gains by these means. Remember, I pray you, that your growth in grace is to be shewn, not by a proud dogmatizing spirit, but by a spirit of meekness, and humility, and love. He is most acceptable to the Lord Jesus, who most resembles a little child: and he shall have the richest communications from God, who, with most lowhness of heart, implores his continual aid. In reading the Holy Scriptures therefore, and under the public ministration of the word, be careful not to lean to your own understanding, but to trust in God for the teaching of his good Spirit; that “receiving the word with meekness, as an engrafted word,” you may find it effectual to sanctify and “save your souls.”]

DXXXII

GOD’S PATHS ARE MERCY AND TRUTH

             Ps. 25:10.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

IT has often been observed, that there is in the world an indiscriminate distribution of good and evil, without any respect to men’s moral characters. And this is confirmed by Solomon, who says, “All things come alike to all, neither knoweth any man love or hatred by all that is before him.” This, however, must be understood with certain limitations and restrictions: for, as in chemical preparations one ingredient will entirely change the qualities of the thing prepared, so in the dispensations of Providence will one single ingredient wholly change their nature, while, in appearance, they remain the same. God often sends temporal blessings to his enemies in anger, as he raised up Pharaoh to a throne, for the purpose of displaying in him the power of his wrath. On the contrary, the bitterest cup that he puts into the hands of his friends is mixed with love. The eye of faith therefore will discern a most essential difference, where sense and reason can see none: it will see, that however God may load the wicked with benefits, “he is angry with them every day;” and that however he may visit the righteous with the rod, “all his paths are mercy and truth unto them.” To elucidate this truth, let us consider,

  I.      The character of the godly—

Among the numberless marks whereby the godly are described in Scripture, there are not any more deserving of our attention than those before us:

  1.      They keep God’s covenant—

[The covenant here spoken of cannot be the covenant of works, because no man is able to keep that, seeing that it requires perfect and unsinning obedience. We understand it therefore as relating to the covenant of grace, wherein God undertakes to give us pardon, holiness, and glory, for the sake of his dear Son, who is the Mediator of it, and in whose blood it is ratified and confirmed.

Now this covenant every godly person “keeps.” He embraces it gladly, being well persuaded, that if the tenor of it were not precisely what it is, he could have no hope. If the covenant required the performance of certain conditions on his part, without providing him with strength to perform those conditions, and pardon for his innumerable failures and defects, he would sit down in despair. But seeing that the covenant is ordered in all things and sure, and that Jesus, the surety of it, has guaranteed to God the accomplishment of its demands, and to us the enjoyment of its blessings, every believer rejoices in it, and cleaves to it steadfastly with his whole heart.]

  2.      They keep God’s testimonies—

[While the believer is thus attached to the Gospel covenant, he does not relax his obedience to the law. On the contrary, whatever God has testified to be his will, that the believer labours to fulfil. He would not wish to live in sin, though he might do it with impunity: nor does he account one of the commandments grievous: but rather he esteems them all concerning all things to be right. His complaints are not against the law as too strict, but against his own heart, as treacherous and vile. With respect to the testimonies of God, he says, with David, “I claim them as mine heritage for ever; yea, they are the rejoicing of my heart; they are sweeter to me than honey and the honey-comb.”

Such, in other parts of God’s word, is the description given of the godly. We should therefore inquire into our faith and practice, in order that we may ascertain our real character. For if we are harbouring self-righteousness on the one hand, or hypocrisy on the other, we have no part in this covenant, nor any interest in its blessings. Whether we reject the covenant or dishonour it, we are equally destitute of grace, and equally obnoxious to God’s displeasure. To have a good evidence of our acceptance with God, we must trust as simply in the covenant as if no works were required; and be as earnest in the performance of good works, as if works only were required.]

Having delineated the character of the godly, let us next consider,

  II.      The dealings of God towards them—

It might be supposed that persons so pleasing to God should never suffer affliction: but the contrary is true, as appears, not only from the declarations of Scripture, but from the, experience of all that have been most favoured of God. But all God’s dealings towards them are,

  1.      Mercy—

[There are no dispensations, however afflictive, which are not sent to them for good. They are all mercy in their source, their measure, their end. Whence do they spring, but from the love of God? for, “whom he loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” And are they not all mercifully tempered as to their number, weight, and duration? Has there not “with every temptation been opened also a way to escape,” or “strength given according to our day?” And have they not all wrought for good, to wean us from the world, to purge away sin, to exercise and increase our grace, to give to us the comfort of grace bestowed, and to God the glory of it? Is there one of us who must not confess, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted?” And shall we not say that our light and momentary afflictions have been rich mercies, when we find what a weight of glory they have wrought out for us?]

  2.      Truth—

[Truth has respect to the performance of promises. Now afflictions are expressly promised as much as salvation itself. When therefore they come, we should regard them as the accomplishment of God’s word, wherein he has said, that he will withhold no good thing from us. It was in this light that David viewed them, when he said, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. And it is in consideration of this, that we are taught to consider, not merely life with all its comforts, but even death also with all its antecedent evils, as a treasure given us by God.]

  INFER,

  1.      How excellent a grace is faith!

[It is faith, and faith only, that can enable us to view God’s dispensations in this light. If we are weak in faith, we shall be easily drawn to fretfulness and murmuring; but if we are enabled to see the hand of God in our trials, they will all administer occasions of joy and gratitude. Faith is the philosopher’s stone, that turns all to gold, and enables us to glory in that, which, to flesh and blood, is a source of sorrow and disquietude. Let us, then, cultivate this grace, and keep it in continual exercise: and, if any thing occurs, the reasons of which we cannot immediately comprehend, let us content ourselves with saying, ‘What I know not now, I shall know hereafter.’]

  2.      How resigned should the believer be under all his troubles!

[Nothing can come to him which is not the fruit of God’s mercy and truth. Not so much as a hair can fall from his head but by divine appointment. Believer, art thou sick and in pain? God knows that health and ease would have been prejudicial to thy soul. Hast thou sustained some heavy loss? God sees, perhaps, that the thing which thou hast lost might have been a weight about thy feet, and have retarded thee in running thy race. Art thou persecuted by the world, or tempted by Satan? It is a discipline whereby God is preparing thee for future victories, and everlasting triumphs. These may be mercies in disguise; but they are mercies notwithstanding; and therefore should be received with resignation, and improved with diligence.]

  3.      How lamentable is the state of unbelievers!

[While we disregard God’s covenant, and his testimonies, we neither enjoy any mercy, nor have an interest in any promise. On the contrary, our very blessings are cursed to us, and every threatening in God’s word is in full force against us. Moreover, our troubles are pledges and earnests of infinitely heavier calamities, that shall come upon us in the eternal world. Let us, then, if we be yet in unbelief, embrace the covenant of grace, and set ourselves diligently to keep the testimonies of our God. So shall the blessings of the covenant flow down upon us, and we shall know by happy experience, that “the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth from generation to generation.”]

DXXXIII

PROPER METHOD OF PRAYING TO GOD

             Ps. 25:11.

For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity! for it is great.

GOD is a mighty Sovereign, “who doth according to his own will,” “neither giveth account to us of any of his matters.” We may indeed mark the traces of wisdom and goodness in every thing which he does; but “his ways and his thoughts are very different from ours, and far above them.” In the dispensations of his providence he pays no regard to the moral characters of men, but “makes the sun to shine equally upon the evil and the good.” In the dispensations of his grace too he is far from preferring those whom we should think he would select. He often inclines the hearts of “publicans and harlots to enter into his kingdom,” while he leaves less abandoned Pharisees and Formalists to perish in their sins. This, if it be a humiliating truth, is also replete with comfort. If it take away all grounds of boasting, it cuts off at the same time all occasion for despondency. If he “have a right to do what he will with his own,” the vilest person in the universe may approach him with a comfortable hope of acceptance and may address him in the language of the text.

In these words of the Psalmist we may notice,

  I.      His Confession—

David was not ashamed to confess that his sins were exceeding great—

[There is no reason to think that David in this psalm adverts to his transgression with Bathsheba. It is probable that the psalm was penned many years before that event. The Royal Penitent speaks rather of his in-dwelling corruptions. He had long been accustomed to observe the workings of his own heart, and had often besought God to search and try him to the uttermost. In this way he had marked both the defects of his duties, and the evil propensities of his nature; and, from a review of all his actions, words, and thoughts, was led to acknowledge that his sin was exceeding great. Nor was this confession peculiar to him. Holy Job, as soon as he beheld his true character, exclaimed, “Behold, I am vile!” And Paul no sooner became acquainted with the purity and extent of God’s law, than he saw himself a condemned sinner, and confessed, that “in him dwelt no good thingc.”]

And does not a similar confession become us also?

[Let us only review our past lives, and we shall find too much occasion for the deepest humiliation. Have not many of us been addicted to open, known iniquities? And do not the consciences of such persons testify against them that their sin is great? Have not many also devoted all their time and attention to secular concerns? And will they account it a light thing thus to despise God, and idolize the world? Have not others satisfied themselves with a formal round of duties, in which their souls were never earnestly engaged? And can they suppose that God is pleased with a mere lip-service, when their hearts are far from him? Have not others professed godliness indeed, but walked utterly unworthy of their profession, being as proud, and passionate, as worldly too, and covetous, as those who have made no such profession? And can they suppose their sin is not great, when sinners are hardened, and God is blasphemed through their means? But why do we speak of the profane and worldly, or the formal and hypocritical? Must not even the saints themselves blush and be confounded, when they consider how miserably they have fallen short in every thing? Must they not exclaim with St. Paul, “O wretched man that I am!” Surely we must know little indeed of ourselves, if we do not all see how much the confession in the text is suited to our state.]

When, like David, we are duly humbled under a sense of our guilt, we shall readily adopt,

  II.      His Petition—

David could not rest without imploring forgiveness at God’s hands—

[He found a sense of guilt to be an intolerable burthen to his soul; and well knew that it would “eat as a canker,” till he had obtained the pardon of his sin. Hence he humbled himself before his God, and cried for mercy.]

Nor shall we restrain prayer before God, if we will but consider the state of an unpardoned soul—

[No words can fully express the misery of one who has all the guilt of his sins upon him. He has no peace with God, seeing that “God is angry with him every day,” and “the wrath of God abideth on him.” He has no peace in his own conscience; for though he may drown reflection for a while in business or pleasure, he is like the troubled sea which cannot rest, but casts up mire and dirt. He is also destitute of any well-founded hope: he may buoy up himself with blind presumption; but he will feel many misgiving fears, and forebodings of evil. He has no comfort in his afflictions; for, not having God for his friend, he cannot go to him with confidence, or obtain those refreshing consolations which strengthen and uphold the godly. In a dying hour he is yet more wretched: if he be not insensible as a beast, how does he regret his mis-spent hours, and wish that God would prolong his state of probation! But in the eternal world his misery is completed: he comes to the tribunal of justice without any mediator to reconcile him to God, or any advocate to plead his cause: yea, the very voice which just before importuned him to accept of mercy, now bids him “depart accursed:” and from that moment his doom is fixed in everlasting burnings. Now can any man reflect on this, and not see the need of crying earnestly for mercy? Can our petitions be too earnest, or too constant, when they are the appointed, and the only means of escaping all this misery?]

But in our application for mercy, we must be careful to use,

  III.      His Plea—

The Psalmist derived all his hope of mercy from God himself—

[He pleaded not the smallness of his offences or the multitude of his services, the depth of his penitence, or the fervour of his petitions. He knew that name, which had long before been proclaimed to Moses, to which, as to “a strong tower, the righteous runneth and is safe;” and to that he fled for refuge; from that he derived his only hope, his only plea.]

Nor can we present any other plea than the name, the sacred name of Jesus—

[Under the Gospel we are taught more clearly to ask in the name of Jesus, and are assured that petitions so offered shall never fail of acceptance. But it is no easy matter to offer that plea in sincerity. Perhaps there is not any thing in the world more difficult. We naturally prefer any other plea that can be devised: and, even when we find that we have not in ourselves any worthiness on which we can rely, we are still averse to rest on the name of Jesus. We either deem it insufficient to procure acceptance for our prayers, or make our unworthiness a reason for declining to urge it as our plea with any confidence before God. But, unless we renounce every other hope, and rest entirely on the mediation and intercession of Christ, our prayer will never enter into the ears of our heavenly Father.]

  OBSERVATIONS—

  1.      The vilest of sinners has no reason to despair—

[The confession, petition, and plea, which David presented at the throne of Grace, are suited to the very chief of sinners: nor, as the subsequent experience of David proves, can there be any state in which they shall not prevail. Let none then despond. Be it so, our iniquities are great; but are they greater than Christ’s merits, or beyond the reach of God’s mercy? If not, let us exalt our adorable Saviour, and determine, if we perish, to perish crying for mercy in the name of Jesus.]

  2.      The most eminent saints have no ground to boast—

[There never was a creature that had any righteousness of his own to plead. And if God has had mercy upon any, it was purely and entirely for his own name’s sake. Could we ascend to heaven, and ask the glorified saints what had been the ground of their acceptance, they would all “cast down their crowns at the feet of Jesus,” and shout, with one consent, “Salvation to God and to the Lambh!” Let the saints on earth then lie low before God, and say continually, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise.”]

  3.      Persons of every description must guard diligently against pride and unbelief—

[Sin, of whatever kind, is both evil in itself and dangerous to us. But the consequences of pride and unbelief are peculiarly fatal. There is not any other sin which may not be forgiven, provided we seek mercy with real penitence and faith. But if we be too proud to confess our sins, and to plead the name and merits of Jesus for the forgiveness of them, we insure and seal our own condemnation. Let us then guard against all sins; but especially against sins which rivet all our other sins upon us. So shall we obtain favour with God, and “be to him for a name and for a praise for evermore.”]

DXXXIV

THE PORTION OF THOSE WHO FEAR GOD

  Ps. 25:12, 13.

What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose: his soul shall dwell at ease.

WHERE, as in the psalm before us, different verses begin with the different letters of the Hebrew alphabet, we must not look for a very strict connexion between the different parts; if there be somewhat of an harmonious sentiment pervading the whole, it is as much as we have reason to expect. The general idea that pervades this psalm seems to be, that if (whether under the pressure of guilt or of affliction of any kind) we betake ourselves to God in prayer, and cast our care on him, he will administer to us such consolation and support as our necessities may require. In conformity with this idea, he, throughout the former part of the psalm, supplicates mercy for himself, and, in the words before us, declares the blessedness of all who truly fear God.

To bring the subject more fully before you, I shall,

  I.      Inquire after the character that is here described—

Where shall we find him? One would suppose that, in a Christian community at least, it should be difficult to find one who did not fear God: but, strange as it may appear, the character here described is by no means common. I am anxious, however, to find one; because it is to him, and to him only, that the glorious promises in my text are addressed. Assist me, then, every one of you, in this important inquiry; and descend into your own bosoms, to explore the records of conscience, and to see whether you can, in your own persons, present before me the character I am endeavouring to find. I want to know “What man amongst you feareth the Lord?”

  1.      Who is there amongst you that reverences God’s authority?

[There can be no question whether God’s authority should be revered: for we all acknowledge him to be the Governor of the Universe, and confess that all his creatures owe submission to his will. Indeed it is the common sentiment of all, that “he is greatly to be feared, and to be had in reverence of all them that are round about him:” and it is obvious, that any man who disregards his authority can have no true fear of him in his heart.]

  2.      Who is there amongst you that dreads his displeasure?

[We all are sinners, and, as sinners, are obnoxious to the displeasure of the Most High. Whether our lives have been more or less moral, we are all transgressors of God’s holy law, and all have merited his wrathful indignation: all, therefore, ought, with deep humility of mind, to deprecate his impending judgments. Had we never sinned, we should never have needed this kind of fear: but to fallen creatures it is absolutely and indispensably necessary. Let me then ask, Who is there amongst you that mourns over his past transgressions, and implores mercy at the hands of his offended God, and seeks reconciliation with him through the Son of his love? I do not ask, Where is the person who, on some particular occasion, has wept for sin? but, Where is the person whose heart is habitually broken and contrite, so as to have no hope, no peace, but in the atoning blood of Christ; and who, notwithstanding God is reconciled towards him, still lothes himself for his iniquities and abominations? The man who had fled to a city of refuge ventured not out of the gates of the city any more (till the death of the High Priest), lest the pursuer of blood should fall upon him and destroy him. And if we, through fear of God’s displeasure, have fled for refuge to Jesus, as to the hope set before us, we shall be careful to “abide in him,” lest the sword of vengeance overtake us, and we perish.]

  3.      Who is there amongst you that unfeignedly and unreservedly endeavours to fulfil his will?

[A desire to please God cannot but be associated with a fear of his Divine Majesty. Say, then, where is the person who from day to clay endeavours to ascertain his will, and labours to perform it? I am not inquiring after one who never errs; for such a character as that I could have no hope to find on earth; since “in many things we all offend;” and “there is no man that liveth and sinneth not.” But one who labours conscientiously to approve himself to God, I may hope to find. Search amongst you, Brethren: see whether such an one be not to be found. I am not willing that the consolations in my text should be spoken in vain: I want to engage the attention of the person to whom they are addressed, and to pour them into the ear for which they are more especially designed. But do not too hastily obtrude yourselves, and say, ‘I am he.’ Consider once more. Are you so studious of God’s will, and so determined to perform it, that no consideration of ease, or interest, or pleasure, can induce you to violate any one of his commands? And, if in any thing a more perfect way can be pointed out to you, are you ready to walk in it, notwithstanding any difficulties you may have to encounter, or any trials to which you may be exposed?]

If there be one whose conscience bears witness to him that his state before God is such as I have described, then I have found the person for whose comfort the Psalmist made the declarations in my text, and for whose benefit I shall,

  II.      Unfold the benefits that are accorded to him—

Stand forth, my Brother; for in the name of the Most High God I declare unto you, that,

  1.      You shall be taught and guided in the way that God approves—

[It may be, that at present your views of divine truth are but obscure; and that you have but little capacity to comprehend the deep things of God, and but little opportunity to investigate them. Yet I say to you, in the name of the Lord, that you shall be guided into all truth, as far as shall be necessary for the welfare of your soul; and that God’s way shall be made so plain before your face, that, notwithstanding you be “a wayfaring man, and, in respect of human sciences, a fool, you shall not err therein.” In particular, you shall have the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to you, as “the Way, the truth, and the life:” and, “having received him” into your hearts, you shall “walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” This is the very first step to which the teaching of Almighty God will lead you; as our Lord has said: “It is written in the prophets, All thy children shall be taught of God. Every one, therefore, that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” In the course of your pilgrimage many difficulties will arise, wherein you will need direction from above: but God engages that in all those emergencies “you shall hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it; when you would otherwise be turning to the right hand or to the left.” As the pillar and the cloud went before the Israelites throughout all their journeyings in the wilderness for forty years, till they arrived safe in the Promised Land, so will “God guide you by his counsel, till he has safely brought you to glory.”]

  2.      “Your soul shall dwell at ease”—

[It may be that your former iniquities have been great and manifold; so that, unless God interposed in a more than ordinary way to support your soul, you would sink into despair. But “where sin has abounded, his grace shall much more abound:” and he will say to you, as to the woman of old, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” “Being justified by faith, you shall have peace with God;” and in your own conscience, even that “peace of God which passeth all understanding.” It is possible, also, that you may be exposed to many trials and temptations, even such as without divine aid would utterly overwhelm you. But you shall “know in whom you have believed; and feel assured that He is able to keep that which you have committed to him,” and that “He will preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom.” Thus, as Peter, the very night before his intended execution, though bound with chains, and doomed to a cruel death, was sleeping as serenely as if no such event had awaited him, so shall “your soul dwell at ease,” yea, “it shall be kept in perfect peace:” for, “if God giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?”h

But, in the margin of our Bibles the sense of the original is more fully and literally expressed thus: “His soul shall lodge in goodness.” What a rich and glorious idea is this! The Scriptures abound in expressions of this kind: Isaiah, commending the truths of the Gospel to us, says, “Eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness:” and David says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, whilst my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lips.” So, in my text he tells us that the Believer’s soul shall “lodge in goodness.” Yes, verily, “God himself is the habitation” of them that fear him: his bosom is the place in which they are safely lodged, far beyond the reach of harm, and fondled with more than maternal tendernessk; insomuch that God himself “rejoices over them to do them good, and rests in his love, and joys over them with singing.”

Thus, my Brother (for I am speaking to that particular individual who feareth God), it shall be with thee in this world: and who shall describe thy lodging in the world above? Oh! the joys that await thee there! how passing all expression or conception! The kingdom, the glory, the felicity of God himself shall be thine, even thy portion, and thine inheritance, for ever and ever.]

  APPLICATION—

Now will I pause; and, from addressing thee who fearest God, turn,

  1.      To the unhappy multitude, who fear him not—

[Painful it is to make this distinction: but this distinction must be made. We are commanded to “separate the precious from the vile:” and if we forbear to do it, God will not: He will put “a difference between them that serve him and those who serve him not.” It cannot but be known to you, that the generality, even of the Christian world, have not, in truth, “the fear of God before their eyes.” Say, beloved, did not your own consciences attest, that, in many of you at least, the marks of holy fear did not exist, or, not in such a degree as to identify you with the character described in my text? Whilst we spoke of those who reverenced the authority of God, and trembled at his displeasure, and made it the one object of their lives to do his will, were not many of you constrained to say, “If this be the character of those who fear God, I am forced to confess that it does not belong to me?” Then, Brethren, by your own confession, you have no part in the promises annexed to that character. And, indeed, your own experience confirms this: for at this moment you cannot comprehend those mysteries of grace which are made clear to the believing soul. You have not that spiritual discernment, whereby alone you can understand and appreciate the things of the Spirit. And, as for “your soul dwelling at ease,” you know nothing of it: the very thought of death and judgment is so appalling to you, that you can find no rest till you dismiss it from your mind. God himself tells us, that “you are like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt; and that there is no peace to the wicked.”

Will you not, then, seek to fear God? Will you not entreat him to “put his fear into your hearts,” ere it be too late? I tremble at the thought of the lodging prepared for you. Oh! “who can dwell with everlasting burnings?” I pray you, Brethren, realize in your minds the different states of the Rich Man and Lazarus; and “labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you.”]

  2.      To any one who, though really fearing God, does not yet experience the full comfort of it in his soul—

It may be that such an one is here present, even one who, because he feels not yet all the consolations of religion, is led to doubt its existence in his soul. We read of some in the primitive Church, who were “in heaviness through manifold temptations:” and, no doubt, there may be persons so circumstanced amongst ourselves at this time. But for such God has provided peculiar encouragement. He has stated the very case, and addressed appropriate counsel to the person under it: “Who is among you that feareth the Lord, and obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” Do not imagine that God has forgotten his word, or that he will not fulfil it to you: for “not one jot or tittle of it shall ever fail.” “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” The corn that is sown in the earth does not rise up immediately: nor must you be discouraged, if you have some time to wait before the harvest that is prepared for you appear. “The vision may tarry; but it is only for the time appointed of your God; and then it shall come, and shall not tarry.” Only wait his leisure; and you shall find, in due season, that, “in every nation under heaven, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness shall be accepted of him.”]

DXXXV

THE SECRETS OF THE LORD

             Ps. 25:14.

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

OF the condescension of God, mankind in general form very inadequate conceptions. His greatness is supposed to be such as not to admit of an attention to the trifling concerns of men: and because we stand at an infinite distance from him, the idea of familiar approximation to him is contemplated only as a fanatical and wild conceit. But God represents himself to us as a Father: and our blessed Lord says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends.” Now the Lord Jesus Christ was from eternity “in the bosom of the Fatherb,” and knoweth the Father as intimately and completely as the Father knoweth him: and all the Father’s secrets he has made known to usd: so that we are treated by him, not with the reserve that is shewn to strangers, but with the confidence that is due to persons who are bound to him in the ties of the most endeared friendship. Under the Mosaic dispensation this holy familiarity indeed was but little known. The whole economy was of a servile nature; none except the high priest having any immediate access to God; nor he, except on one day in the year; and then not without the blood of sacrifices. Yet, even under that dispensation, some were more highly favoured with divine communications; insomuch that Solomon could say, “The secret of the Lord is with the righteous.” Under the government of the Lord Jesus Christ, the legal distinctions are removed; and all true Christians possess the same privileges as the most favoured of God’s servants: so that now it may be said, in reference to them all, without exception, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his covenant.”

In confirmation of this truth, I will endeavour to point out,

  I.      Some of those secrets which God reveals to his faithful people—

The whole of the divine life is a secret, from the beginning to the end; and “the joys” arising from it are such as “the stranger intermeddleth not with.” But, to descend to particulars,

  1.      God gives them an insight into the great mystery of redemption—

[This was “a mystery hid from ages and generations,” yea, “hid in God from the foundation of the world:” but at last it was made known to the Church by Christ and his holy Apostles, that all God’s saints might become acquainted with it. St. Paul, speaking of the great truths of the Gospel, says, “It is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” We must not, however, imagine, that because this mystery is revealed to the Church in the written word, we need no further revelation of it to our souls: for “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Notwithstanding, therefore, the Gospel revelation is so clear in itself, we still must “receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God.” A speculative knowledge of the Gospel may, indeed, be acquired by human instruction: but a spiritual and experimental acquaintance with it, as “the wisdom of God and the power of God,” can be attained only through the teaching of God’s Spirit: “flesh and blood cannot reveal it unto us:” it can be made known only by inspiration from the Father. And that inspiration, blessed be his name! is given to many. Through his tender mercy, it may be said of many, “Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” Whilst to some, who hear the Gospel, “it is spoken, as it were, only in parables;” so that, in relation to the plainest truths of the Gospel, they are ready to exclaim, as Ezekiel’s hearers did in reference to him, “Ah, Lord God! doth he not speak parables?” to others “it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven;” and by the opening of their eyes “they are brought out of darkness into marvellous light.”]

  2.      He makes them to know their own personal interest in it—

[We are struck with the confidence with which the inspired writers speak, in reference to their own state and the state of their brethren in the faith: “Now are we the sons of God:” “we know that we have passed from death unto life:” “we know that God abideth in us, by the Spirit which he has given us:” “we know that we are of God; and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Now this assurance is no other than what our blessed Lord promised to his believing people: “In that day ye shall know that the Father is in me, and I in you, and you in mep.” That the believer may, by fair and rational deduction, ascertain much of his state before God, there can be no doubt: but that internal manifestations are, in many cases, vouchsafed to the soul, is also certain: for our Lord has promised, that “he will manifest himself unto us, as he does not unto the world:” and this promise he has explained, by saying, that “he and his Father will love us, and come unto us, and make their abode with us.” Accordingly we find, that to many is given “the Holy Spirit,” as a witness, to “bear witness with their spirit that they are the children of God,” and, as “a Spirit of adoption, enabling them, with holy confidence, to cry, Abba, Father.” They have prayed to him, like the Psalmist, “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvations:” and God has answered them in the desire of their hearts, and enabled them to say, in reference to him, “O God, thou art my God;” and, in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, “My Beloved is mine, and I am hisu.”]

  3.      He shews them that every occurrence, of whatever kind, is in some way or other working for the ultimate salvation of their souls—

[They may not always see this at first: but, when more fully instructed, they learn to trust in God, assured, that though “clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment are the basis of his throne.” See a remarkable instance of this in the Apostle Paul. He was shut up for two full years in prison, and was thus deprived of exercising his apostolic office in his accustomed way. Such an event as this would be contemplated, by the Church at large, as a subject of unmixed sorrow: but St. Paul himself had far different views of it: he said, “I know that this shall turn to ray salvation:” nor was he less confident that good would accrue from it, also, to the Church of God: yea, he saw, even whilst in bonds, the beneficial results of his imprisonment; and declared, that, instead of obstructing the progress of the Gospel, it had “tended rather to the furtherance of the Gospel,” since many had been emboldened by it to preach the word with greater courage and fidelity. Thus does God compose the minds of all his faithful people. They may indeed, for a season, be ready to complain with Jacob, “All these things are against me;” but he whispers in their ears, that “All things are working together for their good;” and that, eventually, they shall have as much reason to bless him for the darkest dispensations as for those which were more gratifying to flesh and blood.]

Passing by many other secrets, I will proceed to set before you,

  II.      That more particular view of his covenant which is the crown and summit of them all—

From all eternity did God enter into covenant with his Son; as it is said, “The counsel of peace was between them both.” And to this covenant God leads the minds of his people,

  1.      As the source of all their blessings—

[Certain it is, that, whatever grace has been bestowed upon us, it has been conferred, “not on account of any works of righteousness which we have done, but according to God’s purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” But this is a great secret; a secret utterly unknown to the world at large: and one which not all, even of righteous persons, are able to receive. There is, in the minds of many, a prejudice against it, as though such an idea would necessarily puff up the mind with pride and conceit: whereas, there is nothing in the world that so much tends to humble and abase the soul as this: for it takes from man all ground of self-preference, and leads him to give all the honour of his salvation to God alone. Believer, how wonderful is the thought, that God, from all eternity, set his heart on thee; ordained thee to be born in a country where the light of Revelation shone, and where the means and opportunities of conversion should be afforded thee! How wonderful, too, that this grace, which so many receive in vain, should be made effectual for thee; and that, by the operation of God’s mighty power on thy soul, thou shouldst be “turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God!” Art thou not amazed, that thou shouldst be “taken, when so many are left;” and that the Saviour, who to so many millions is only “a stumbling-block and rock of offence, should be to thee a sanctuary,” where thou hast found rest to thy soul? Truly, it is a great matter if God has taught thee, that “thou hast not chosen him, but he thee;” that thou hast not loved him, or apprehended him, but hast been loved and apprehended by himc; that “He hath loved thee with an everlasting love; and therefore with loving-kindness hath he drawn thee!” Does not the thought of this overwhelm thy soul with gratitude? and art thou not altogether lost in wonder, love, and praise?]

  2.      As the security for the everlasting continuance of them—

[This is another part of the same stupendous mystery: and blessed, indeed, are the ears that have heard this secret from the Lord, and the eyes that can discern the truth of it! Believer, when God entered into covenant with his Son, he left it not uncertain whether any benefit should accrue from his mediation, but engaged, that “when he should make his soul an offering for sin, he should see a seed who should prolong their days, and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hand.” Then he gave thee to his Son, that in thee “he might see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.” Thou wast then ordained to be a jewel in his crown: and the Father engaged, when he put thee into the hands of his Son, that “none should ever pluck thee from them.” Times without number does the Lord Jesus speak of his people in this light, as “given him from eternity by the Fatherf:” and “of those who were so given him, he will lose none.” What a consolation is this to thee, under all thy difficulties and all thy conflicts, to know that “God hath made with thee an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure!” God himself tells us, that “he confirmed his covenant with an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before usi.” Rejoice, then, in this thought. Bless God for making it known to thee. See how safe thou art in the hands of an unchanging God. See to what it is owing that thou hast not been consumed already; and what is thy security, against all the wiles of Satan, and all the infirmities of flesh and blood. “Know, then, in whom thou hast believed; and that, as he is able to keep that which thou hast committed to him,” so “he will preserve thee unto his heavenly kingdomm.”]

  To IMPROVE this subject, I would further say,

  1.      Cultivate increasing friendship with God—

[It is not to all, but to his friends only, that God imparts these heart-reviving secrets, even to them who truly “fear him.” Nor is it amidst the noise and bustle of the world that he will communicate them, but in seasons of retirement, and in the stillness of the night. It is by a still small voice that he imparts them to the sold. O let your fellowship with him be sweet and frequent! Go to him on all occasions: consult him in every emergency: listen to his voice, whether he speak by the written word, or by his Holy Spirit. Say to him at all times, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” So “will he draw nigh to you, when you draw nigh to him:” and when you spread before him your inmost wants, “he will guide you by his counsel:” he will “lead you into all truth;” he will make known to you “the deep things of God;” and by communications of every kind will “perfect that which concerneth youo;” enabling you to “comprehend, in a measure, what none can fully comprehend, the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of Christ, and thereby filling you with all the fulness of God.”]

  2.      Make a due improvement of the secrets he has already imparted to you—

[Treasure them up in your minds, for your support and comfort under all the trials of life. They will prove a healing balm to every wound; and, like an anchor of the soul, they will keep you steadfast amidst all the storms that you may encounter in this tempestuous world.

But, keep them not altogether in your own bosoms. God may make use of you for the imparting of them to others, and for the sustaining and strengthening of your weaker brethren. Yet, care is necessary, that you do not, by an indiscreet disclosure of them to those whose minds are not prepared to receive them, lay a stumbling-block before the very persons whom you wish to edify. Our Lord cautions us “not to cast our pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend us.” We must administer “milk to babes, and strong meat to those only who are able to digest it.” But to those who have ears to hear, it is well to speak of these things, as our Lord and his Apostles conversed of them in the way to Emmaus. Then will your hearts often burn within you; and your own souls, as well as those of your Brethren, be edified in faith and love.]

DXXXVI

THE WORSHIP OF GOD DELIGHTFUL

             Ps. 26:8.

Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

BETWEEN the people of God and the men of this world there is a much broader line of distinction than is generally imagined. In the performance of outward duties there may be but little difference: but in their motives and principles they are as far asunder as heaven and earth, yea, I had almost said, as heaven and hell. They have altogether a different taste; the one affecting heavenly things as their most delightful occupation; whilst the other follow them rather by constraint, and feel themselves most in their element when they are engaged in worldly company and in carnal pursuits. The faithful servant of God enjoys the testimony of his own conscience, that he has no real delight in any thing but in doing God’s will, and in enjoying his presence. David, in this respect, may serve as a glass, wherein every real saint may discern his own image. He could appeal to God that he had found no pleasure in worldly company and worldly pursuits; but that his delight had been altogether in communion with his God, and in the ordinances of his grace.

In order to make a suitable improvement of the assertion before us, I will shew,

  I.      The reasons which he had for so loving the house of God—

To give a full account of them would be impossible. It may suffice to specify a few of those which operated with greater force upon his mind.

  1.      It was the immediate residence of the Deity—

[”I have loved,” says he, “the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.” When Moses made the tabernacle, it pleased God to come down and honour it with his more immediate presence, and to manifest there his glory in the sight of all Israel. There God promised, in a more especial manner, to meet his people; saying, “Thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee: and there will I meet with thee; and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, and from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” The same blessed privilege was given to all Israel, through the medium of their High Priest, as long as the tabernacle and the temple stood: and on numberless occasions had David reaped the benefit of this condescending and merciful appointment. Can we wonder, then, that he should love the house of God, where he enjoyed so vast a privilege, and where such transcendent benefits were accorded to him? But we know from himself what his feelings were in relation to it: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”]

  2.      There he was enabled to worship God in the way that God himself had appointed—

[Though God might be worshipped acceptably in every place, yet it was at the tabernacle only that any sacrifice could be offered to him, or that a full access to him could be enjoyed. There alone could a sinner be sprinkled with the blood of his offering, and have the pardon of his sins thus sealed upon his soul. Hence, when David was driven from Jerusalem, and forced to take refuge in a heathen land, this was the great subject of his complaint; not, that he was separated from his friends, but that he was cut off from communion with his God in the established ordinances of his worship. Hear his sad complaint: “As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God! My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night; while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, 1 pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day ….. As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?”]

  3.      There he obtained those supplies of grace and peace which his daily necessities required—

[The whole book of Psalms is little else than a record of answers to his prayers. “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” True, he might enjoy much of this in his own secret chamber; but it was chiefly in the house of God that he obtained these benefits. This he himself acknowledges: and he assigns it as the reason for his ardent attachment to that holy place: “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young; even thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee …. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord is a sun and a shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”]

The example before us might be amply sufficient to commend to our regard the house of God. But I must proceed to state,

  II.      The incomparably stronger reasons which we have for a similar attachment to it—

The dispensation which we are privileged to enjoy is of a more liberal kind than that under which he lived.

  1.      Our access to God is more intimate—

[David, though a prophet and a king, did not dare to enter into the most holy place, where God displayed his glory. Had he presumed to intrude himself there, he would have been struck dead upon the spot. Not even the high-priest could enter there but on one day in the year, and in the manner prescribed by God himself. But we are permitted to come even to his very throne, and to behold him on his mercy seat. Yes, the vail of the temple, at the time of our Saviour’s death, was rent in twain from the top to the bottom: and from that very moment a way of access to him has been open for all the sinners of mankind, without exception. This is the construction put on that event by an inspired Apostle, who says, “Having, therefore, boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, his flesh, and having an High-Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” “The Holy Ghost himself,” I say, has taught us thisi. And is this no ground for love to divine ordinances? Methinks, the liberty thus accorded to us should produce in us a correspondent liberty of mind in approaching God, and an exquisite delight in drawing nigh unto him.]

  2.      Our views of him are more clear—

[Even the high-priest himself, when admitted into the sanctuary, could behold nothing but a bright cloud abiding on the ark between the cherubims. But we have access to the true tabernacle, the Lord Jesus Christ, “in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” “He is the image of the invisible Godl,” “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person:” and “in beholding him, we behold the Father himselfn:” yea, “as with an unveiled face we behold the glory” both of the Father and the Son. We see “God in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfp,” and are enabled to call him our Father and our Friend.

Of the perfections of God, also, we have incomparably clearer views than ever were vouchsafed even to David himself. True indeed, he says, that, in God, “Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” But he had not such an insight into that mystery as we enjoy. The full discovery of God, as “a just God, and yet a justifier of ungodly mens,” was reserved for us, under the Gospel dispensation: we see, not only mercy, but faithfulness and justice, engaged on our side, and pledged for the forgiveness of our sins.

His purposes, too, how marvellously are they unravelled, and with what distinctness are they exhibited to our admiring eyes! Things which no eye ever saw, or ear heard, or heart conceived, under the Jewish economy, are revealed unto us by the Spirit; so that, from eternity to eternity, we can behold the designs of God unfolded, first, as they were originally concerted between the Father and the Son; then as executed by Christ Jesus in his incarnate and glorified state; and, lastly, as they will be consummated at the day of judgment. Say, then, whether we should not delight in drawing nigh to God, and having our souls filled with these heavenly contemplations? If the shadow of these things so endeared to David the house of God, what should the substance of them effect in our hearts?]

  3.      Our communications from him are more abundant—

[Doubtless David was most highly favoured of the Lord; and “God was very abundant towards him, both in faith and love.” But still we cannot yield to him, no, not even to him, in the privileges we enjoy. The Holy Spirit was not then “poured out so abundantly” as he has since been upon the servants of the Lord. To us he is given as “a Spirit of adoption,” and as “a witness” to testify of that adoptionz; and as “a seal,” to mark us for the Lord’s peculiar treasure. The servile spirit of the Law is altogether banished from us, and we are “made free indeed.” With what exalted views are we sometimes favoured, when we can see the Lord Jesus Christ actually bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, and pleading our cause at the right hand of God, and ordering every thing, both in heaven and earth, for our welfare, and preparing for us a mansion in heaven, himself taking possession of it for us as our forerunner, and shortly about to come again in his own person to invest us with all the glory he has purchased for us, even a participation of his own throne, his own kingdom, and his own glory! What is all this, but “an earnest” of heaven itself already begun in the soul? Yet all this is vouchsafed to us frequently under the ministry of the word, and at the table of the Lord; insomuch that we seem caught up, as it were, into the third heavens, and scarcely know whether we are in the body or out the body, by reason of the brightness of our views, and the blessedness of our souls. I mean not to say that this is the experience of all, nor of any at all times: but I do say, that it is the privilege of all; and that it is our own fault if we do not actually possess it: and that the hope of gratifying our taste with these rich dainties cannot fail of endearing to us the house where this feast is provided for us.]

  It will now, in conclusion, be profitable to INQUIRE,

  1.      Whence it is that this experience is so rare—

[It must be confessed that there are but few who thus delight in the ordinances of God. But why is this? Would they not be alike precious to all, if all desired to make a suitable improvement of them? The truth is, that the generality of persons attend them only as a mere form, without any consciousness of the ends for which they have been appointed. What if we viewed them as our mother’s breast, to which we were invited for the support and nourishment of our souls? What if we came to them, “desiring the sincere and unadulterated milk of the word, that we might grow thereby?” Verily we should then find such communications from the Lord Jesus, as would fill us with unutterable joye. But we feel not our need of mercy: we have no real desire after the Saviour: we are content with a “godliness which consists in mere form, without any thing of power.” No wonder, then, that the house of God has no charms for us. True, indeed, persons may affect divine ordinances, just as they would a fine concert, on account of the eloquence of the person by whom they are administered; or they may set a value on them as means of fostering a high conceit of their own goodnessg: but as means of access to God, and as a medium of communion with him, they find no real delight in them. To enter into the experience of David, and obtain a conformity of mind to his, religion must be our one great and paramount concern. If once Christ become our supreme joy, whatever brings us near to him, and him near to us, will be “as marrow and fatness to our souls.”]

  2.      What are the prospects of those in whom this experience is found—

[Truly, they are blessed among men. They need not envy any other people upon earth. They possess what is far superior to all the delights of sense. View a man at the footstool of the Most High: view even the poor publican, who, through a consciousness of his own extreme unworthiness, dared not so much as to lift up his eyes to heaven. Who that knows with what complacency Almighty God beheld him, and with what pleasure he listened to his sighs, and treasured up his tears in his vial, would not congratulate him on the state of his soul, and on the prospects that were before him? The truth is, that every such person has “his sins put away from him, as far as the east is from the west;” and “his name is written in the Lamb’s book of life.” For every such person is prepared “a crown of glory, that fadeth not away.” He now beholds his God by faith: and soon shall he behold him face to face. He now draws nigh to God in a temple made with hands: and he shall soon commune with him in his temple above. He now pours forth his prayers and praises at such intervals as the infirmity of his nature will admit of; and he soon shall engage in praising God, without infirmity or interruption, to all eternity.]

DXXXVII

DAVID’S LOVE TO GOD’S ORDINANCES

  Ps. 27:4.

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

MOST of the saints recorded in the Holy Scriptures were eminent for some particular grace. In Abraham, faith was chiefly conspicuous; in Job, patience: in Moses, meekness; in Elijah, faithfulness and intrepidity. In respect of devotion, David seems to have surpassed all others. Of none have we such ample and minute accounts, in relation to this matter, as we have of him. His public addresses to the Deity, his private communion with him, the inmost recesses of his heart when in his closet or upon his bed, are all laid open to us. On this account the Psalms are pre-eminently useful to all who wish to cultivate a devout spirit, and to maintain a close walk with God. The expression before us may serve as a specimen of the whole.

  In discoursing upon it, I will,

  I.      Set before you the example of David—

The one object of his desire was to enjoy the ordinances of his God—

[David was not of the tribe to which the priesthood exclusively belonged: yet would he gladly have possessed the privilege of the priests, in having his stated residence as near as possible to the tabernacle of his God. But though this could not be, he determined, by the constancy of his attendance there, to make it, as it were, his residence and habitation. This indeed was “the one object of his desire:” and in comparison of it there was nothing in the world that he wished for. To this he made every thing subservient: even the affairs of state were not suffered so to occupy his mind as to divert his attention from the service of the sanctuary. This one object he sought, and “determined to seek it” “to the latest hour of his life.” He “sought it of the Lord” too, entreating him so to order and overrule every thing, that he might not be forced away from Jerusalem, or, whilst there, be kept away from the ordinances of his God. If at any time he was, by the efforts of his enemies, prevented from waiting upon God, he mourned over it, and “panted after the return of those blessed seasons, even as the hunted deer panteth after the water-brooks.” On some occasions, his enemies, knowing how painful to him his absence from the tabernacle was, exulted over him, and said, “Where is now thy God?” And so distressing to him were these impious taunts, that “tears were his meat night and day on account of them,” and they were even “as a sword in his bonesc.” At those seasons he envied the swallows, that were able to build their nests in the courts of God’s house: he envied them, I say, their proximity to the altar of his God. Every day that was spent at a distance from that, seemed, as it were, to be lost to his life; so entirely was his soul wrapped up in the enjoyment of divine ordinances, and in cultivating communion with his God.]

And this desire was founded on the benefit he had derived from them—

[There “he beheld the beauty of the Lord;” and there “he inquired of the Lord,” spreading before him, from day to day, his every want, his every wish. He looked through the various sacrifices that were offered there from day to day, and beheld in them the perfections of his God. In the death of all the victims he saw the desert of sin, and the justice of God, which had denounced death as the punishment of sin. In the acceptance of those sacrifices he saw the goodness and mercy of God, who had appointed such offerings as means of leading the people to that Great Sacrifice, which should in due time be offered for the sins of the whole world. In the sprinklings and ablutions that were practised, he beheld the holiness of God, who would accept no sinner who should not be purged from his iniquities, and be made holy after the divine image. In the whole of the services altogether he saw “mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissing each other.”

Here he felt encouragement to pour out his soul before God, and to ask whatsoever his returning necessities might require. This, to him whose trials were so great and manifold, was an unspeakable privilege. The extreme arduousness of his affairs also rendered it most desirable to him to spread all his difficulties before the Lord, and to ask counsel of him for his direction. True it was that in private he could carry his affairs to the Lord, and implore help from him: but, as the public ordinances were of God’s special appointment, and as the high-priest was the established medium of access to him, and of communications from him, he delighted more particularly to wait upon God there; that so, whilst he received blessings in a more abundant measure from God, he might glorify God in the sight of all Israel.]

Admiring, as I do, this bright example, I beg leave to,

  II.      Commend it to your imitation—

We have far greater reason to love the house of God than ever David had—

[If the beauty of the Lord was visible in the Jewish worship, how much more so must it be in the ordinances of the Gospel! David beheld the perfections of his God only under types and shadows: but we behold them reflected as in a glass or mirror, with transcendent brightness, and all shining with united splendour in the face of Jesus Christ. We see, not bulls and goats, but the very Son of God himself, “Jehovah’s fellow,” offered in sacrifice for the sins of men. What then must the justice be that required SUCH a sacrifice! What the love, that gave HIM from the Father’s bosom to be a sacrifice! What the mercy, that spared not HIM, in order that WE, enemies and rebels, might be spared! So imperfectly was this mystery known under the Jewish dispensation, that all, even the most exalted prophets, were in a state of comparative darkness: but now, “the things which from the beginning of the world eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor had it entered into the heart of man to conceive, are revealed unto us by the Spirit;” so that we can truly and emphatically say, “The darkness is past, and the true light now shinethg.” John the Baptist was greater in this respect than all the prophets; because he personally saw and bare witness to Him, whom all the other prophets spoke of obscurely, and at the distance of many hundred years: but, great as John was, “the least and lowest in the Gospel kingdom is greater than he.” In our ordinances, Jesus Christ is so fully revealed, that he may be said to be “evidently set forth crucified before our eyesi:” and at his holy table we “eat his flesh, and drink his blood,” as truly in a spiritual sense, as we do really and substantially eat the bread and drink the wine by which they are represented. We see that through the virtue of this sacrifice God is so reconciled to us, as to “behold no iniquity in us:” for, viewing us as clothed in the righteousness of his dear Son, he beholds us “without spot or blemish.” Moreover as by faith we see the Lord Jesus carrying his own blood within the veil, so we also hear him making intercession for us at the right hand of God: yea, and “out of the fulness that is treasured up in him we receive” all the blessings that he has purchased for us. How often are we, in the experience of these things, constrained to cry out with the prophet, “How great is his goodness! how great is his beauty!” And how often, in rapturous admiration of him, do we pray with the Psalmist, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us!” In truth, it is by thus “beholding as with unveiled face the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Nor have we less the advantage of David in relation to the things which we would ask of God: for we are able to inquire more explicitly and distinctly of our God than he could. He indeed might say with Moses, “Lord, shew me thy glory:” and God would, as in the case of Moses, “make all his goodness to pass before him.” But audible sounds conveyed nothing to them in comparison of what shall be disclosed to us by the still small voice of God’s Holy Spirit, speaking in us through the written word. To us all the blessings of the Covenant are laid open: and, as God, when he revealed them, said, “I will be inquired of concerning these things to do them,” we are at liberty to take that covenant, and spread it before the Lord, and to ask of him every distinct blessing that is contained in it. We may lay hold on every promise that we can find in the Inspired Volume, and plead it with God, and have it fulfilled to our souls — — — Besides, we can ask in the name of Jesus Christ; which none of the prophets ever could. And with what confidence can we do that, when we reflect on the relation which subsists between the Father and the Son, and the express engagement which the Father has made to answer every petition which is offered in his Son’s name! — — — Moreover, the particular promise of the Lord Jesus to be more immediately with his people in the public ordinances, and to grant whatever any number of his congregated people shall agree to ask, is a still further encouragement to us to frequent the house of God: for experience proves, that still, as formerly, “God loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacobs.”]

We should therefore desire it no less than David did—

[We should make a point of attending on all stated occasions the ordinances of our God. We should not suffer any trifling matter to detain us from them: and, if we are kept from them by any means, it should fill us with grief rather than complacency: and we should determine as soon as possible to remove the obstacle that deprives us of so great a blessing.

More particularly, we should keep in mind what it is that we should go thither to obtain; nor ever consider the true object of the ordinances as attained, unless we be enriched with brighter views of his beauty, and more enlarged discoveries of his excellency — — — We should consider too, what our more immediate necessities require; so that we may be ready to spread them all before him, and to inquire of him respecting them — — — Then the more enlarged our expectations of benefit from the ordinances are, the more abundant will be God’s communications of blessings to us by them. If we “open our mouths ever so wide, he will fill them.”]

  To this I would URGE you, from the consideration, that such love to God’s ordinances is,

  1.      Most conducive to your present happiness—

[Hear the testimony of David himself: “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: he shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.” And with this agrees the experience of every living saint. Hence every true Believer can say, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth:” or rather, the more appropriate language of his heart is, “O God, thou art my God: early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee; my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” I will leave you to judge, whether a person, with such desires, and such enjoyments, be not happy. And if you are persuaded that he must be so, then seek your own happiness in this way, in which you cannot possibly be disappointed: for “he never said to any, Seek ye my face in vain.”]

  2.      The best preparative for heaven—

[Heaven is a place of continued occupation; of exercises, for which we are now to be trained. We must now obtain a taste for heavenly employments; and in that taste real piety consists. We quite mistake if we imagine that religion consists in notions or in forms: it is a taste; a taste not formed by nature or education; but wrought in us by the Spirit of God: and the acquisition of this constitutes our meetness for heaven. What happiness could a soul that feels the exercises of devotion irksome, and in heaven; where the singing praises to God and to the Lamb forms the one employment of all around the throne, and will to all eternity? If this be not the pleasure which you chiefly affect in this world, be assured that you are not prepared to unite with saints and angels in the world to come. If this be not your state, whatever knowledge you may possess, you are yet carnal: for God himself has said, that “they who are after the flesh do mind (savour) the things of the flesh; and they who are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” I pray you then to seek your happiness in God; and never to rest, till you can say, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Theea.”]

DXXXVIII

THE DUTY OF PRAYER

  Ps 27:8.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

PERHAPS there are few things which more strongly characterize a child of God, than a spirit of prayer. The Lord’s faithful servants are particularly designated as “a people near unto him:” whilst of the hypocrite it is pointedly asked, “Will he always call upon God? Will he delight himself in the Almightyb?” The invitations of God are common to all: but the way in which they are received constitutes the difference between the child of this world and the child of God.

The words before us, whilst they describe the experience of David, will lead me to shew,

  I.      In what light the invitations of God are, for the most part, regarded—

God is incessantly calling men to seek his face—

[He does this by his word; in which he bids us to look to him, and call upon him, and turn to him, and lay hold upon him; and sends his ministers to invite and beseech us in me name. He does it, also, by his providence: all that he does for us in a way of mercy, is to stimulate us to love him; and his chastisements are to awaken us to our duty, saying, “Hear the rod, and him that hath appointed it.” He does it, also, by his Spirit; for conscience is his voice within us, “his still small voice,” whereby he whispers to us, and moves us, and “strives with us,” and “draws us to himself.” The whole creation, the heavenly bodies moving in their orbits, “the elements that fulfil his will,” the “birds which know their season,” and the beasts which acknowledge their Benefactor; the occurrences of every day, even the most common and casual, as the going to a well for water, or climbing up into a tree for the gratifying of curiosityd; all subserve the same blessed end, to introduce us to the knowledge of his love, and to the enjoyment of his favour.]

But his invitations are almost universally “made light of”—

[Some treat them with contempt, “mocking his messengers, and despising his words” — — — Others justify their refusal of them by a variety of excuses, like those in the parable, who “had bought a field, and must go and see it; and a yoke of oxen, which they must go to try; or had married a wife, and therefore could not come.” Every one has his plea: one is too old to change his ways; another too young to engage in such serious concerns; and another too much occupied to be at liberty for such pursuits. Others profess a willingness to obey the call, but never realize their intentions. They say, “I go, Sir; but they never execute their Father’s will:” they will, like Ezekiel’s auditors, approve what they hear, but will never give themselves truly and unreservedly to Godg.]

Let us now proceed to shew, on the contrary,

  II.      The light in which they ought to be regarded—

David’s example is precisely that which we should follow. There was in his bosom a chord in perfect unison with that which the finger of God had touched, and that vibrated to the touch. Thus, when God says to all the sinners of mankind, “Seek ye my face,” there should be in every one of us a responding chord, in perfect harmony with the divine command: and we should, every one of us, reply, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” This duty we should execute,

  1.      With a grateful sense of his condescension and grace—

[How amazing is it that such a proposal should originate with God; and that Jehovah should “stand at the door of our hearts, and knock” there for admittance! If a permission only had been granted to us to seek his favour, methinks it should have been embraced with all imaginable earnestness: for sure enough, if such an imitation were sent to those who are now in hell, it would not be treated with indifference there. But it is not a mere permission that we receive; it is a call, an invitation, an entreaty: and should we “make light of that?” No: we should turn unto our God with our whole hearts, and avail ourselves, without delay, of the opportunity that is thus afforded us.]

  2.      With a ready acquiescence in his appointed way—

[God tells us, that it is in Christ alone that he can accept us; and that we must come to him through Christ, pleading the merit of his blood, and relying altogether on his atoning sacrifice. And shall this appear to us a hard saying? Shall this be deemed too humiliating for our proud hearts to submit to? Shall we not bless God, that he has given us a Saviour, who shall mediate between him and us, and, like “a days-man,” lay his hand on both, in order to our reconciliation? Surely we should not hesitate a moment to humble ourselves before him, to acknowledge our desert of his wrathful indignation, and to implore his mercy in the name of his dear Son.]

  3.      With a determination of heart, that nothing shall ever keep us from him—

[Things there are, without number, which would keep us in bondage, and detain us from our God. But we should be on our guard against them all; and determine to break through every obstacle that the world, the flesh, and the devil, can place in our way. For, what can the world do, either by its allurements or its terrors, to counterbalance the loss of the divine favour? As for the flesh, neither its weakness nor its corruptions should discourage us in our way to God. Nor should the devil, with all his wiles and all his devices, be suffered to divert us from our purpose, or to retard us in our way. We should have our hearts bent upon executing the commands of God. Every object under heaven should be subordinated to that. Other duties, doubtless, should be performed in their place: but to obtain God’s favour should be our first concern; and life itself, in comparison of that, should be of no value in our eyes.]

  ADDRESS—

[God calls you now, my Brethren, by my voice; and says to every one of you, “Seek ye my face.” O that ye knew the day of your visitation! O that ye now viewed this mercy as ye will most unquestionably view it ere long! For, whether ye be in heaven or in hell, be assured that the divine favour will appear to you no light concern. I would that now the Psalmist’s determination were adopted by every one of you. Tell me, I pray you, whether the resolution be not wise: tell me whether it be not necessary: tell me whether, if ye continue to decline God’s invitation till the door of heaven is finally closed against you, you will not curse your folly with an anguish that will exceed your utmost conceptions, and bewail to all eternity the conduct you now pursue. I say, then, to every one of you, “Seek ye after God: seek him instantly, without delay: seek him whilst he may be found, and call upon him whilst he is near:” for the time is quickly coming when your day of grace shall be closed, and “God will swear in his wrath that ye shall never enter into his rest.” On the other hand, assure yourselves, that, “if you seek him, he will be found of you,” and “your hearts shall live for ever.” Let every one of you, therefore, now go home, and put the matter to a trial. See whether God will not be gracious unto you: see whether he will not answer your prayers, and fulfil your desires, and “do exceeding abundantly for you above all that ye can ask or think. I speak with confidence; for, from the beginning of the world to this hour. “He never said to any, Seek ye my face in vain!”]

DXXXIX

ADORING GOD FOR HIS MERCIES

  Ps. 28:7.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

THE man of this world delights to speak of the things of this world: the man of God delights to speak of God: each speaketh out of the abundance of his own heart. It is the very character of a true believer, that “he regards the works of the Lord and the operation of his hands,” and that he desires to magnify the Lord for all the benefits conferred upon him. No one can read the Psalms of David, without being penetrated with this thought. What the particular affliction was from which he had recently been delivered when he penned this psalm, we do not certainly know: but after blessing God for his condescension and grace in hearing and answering his supplications, he records, for the benefit of all future saints, his feelings in the review of the mercies vouchsafed unto him.

In this record we see,

  I.      What God is to the believer—

To all that trust in him, he is both a protector from all evil, and a helper to all good—

This is a blessed truth, if considered only in theory—

[What cannot he do, that “has the God of Jacob for his help?” To what duty may he not address himself with a full assurance that he shall be able to fulfil it? Would he overcome the most inveterate lusts? “Through the influence of God’s Spirit he shall mortify the deeds of the body,” and “bring the very thoughts of his heart into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Would he attain and exercise all the graces of the Spirit? he shall do so, yea, “he shall do all things through Christ strengthening him” — — —

And whom needs he to fear? Surely neither men nor devils: for, what can man do, when he himself is crushed before the worm? As for Satan, though he have at his command all the principalities and powers of hell, he is a vanquished enemy, and shall ere long “be bruised for ever under the believer’s feet” — — —]

But this truth is yet more blessed, when it is practically experienced by the believer in his own soul—

[What a zest does the believer’s own experience give to every declaration of the Inspired Volume! When, from the communications he has actually received, he can say, God is my strength and my shield, then it is that he is prepared to enjoy these blessed truths as he ought, and to give unto God the glory due unto his name. And here we cannot but exhort every believer to trust in God with his whole heart. In this case he shall never be disappointed of his hope: yea rather, the more he expects, the more he shall receive; and according to his faith it shall be done unto him. Let him only be able to say with David, “My heart trusteth in him;” and he shall sooner or later have reason to add, “I am helped:” I am protected from evils, which I could not by my own wisdom or power avoid; and I am enabled to do things, for which my own strength would have been utterly insufficient: by my own experience therefore, no less than from the divine testimony, I can say, “The Lord is my strength, and my shield.”]

As from David’s assertions we learn what God is to us, so from his frame of mind we may see,

  II.      What should be the disposition of our hearts towards him—

Certainly these exalted privileges should be received by us,

  1.      With joy—

[Who can have reason to rejoice in comparison of the believer? Look round and see how the world at large are taken in the snare of the devil, and led captive by him at his will. Have you no reason to rejoice when God has interposed with a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm to deliver you? When you see the dangers with which you are surrounded, have you no reason to rejoice in having such a shield as is sufficiently large to encompass you on every side, and so strong as to be impenetrable to all the fiery darts of the devil? When you see what lusts you have to mortify, and what duties to perform, have you not reason to rejoice in having Omnipotence for your strength? O rejoice; rejoice in the Lord always; yea, “rejoice in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory!” However “greatly your heart rejoiceth,” you never need be afraid of excess: let it be but the joy of a dependent being, and it cannot be too great.]

  2.      With thankfulness—

[It is your privilege to “sing in the ways of the Lord.” In heaven the redeemed are singing praises to their God day and night: and so should you do on earth. As for David, he would “praise God day and night;” and that too with “all that was within him;” yea, and “as long as he should live.” Not content with praising God himself, he would have the sun, moon, and stars, together with every thing that had life and breath, to praise him too. This is a state of mind worthy of a redeemed sinner; nor should we ever rest till we have attained it.]

  We shall conclude this subject with two INQUIRIES:

  1.      Whence is it that so few possess this heavenly frame?

[It must be confessed, that amongst the professors of religion, there are but few comparatively in whom Christianity has its perfect work. Some are retarded in their growth by “the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, or the lust of other things, and never bring forth fruit unto perfection.” Others are remiss in the duties of the closet, and thereby deprive themselves of those rich communications of grace and peace, which God would otherwise bestow upon them. And others again are always poring over the evils of their own hearts, instead of contemplating the mercies of their God, and the wonders of redeeming love. It is not at all surprising that these different characters enjoy but little of that divine unction which is imparted to those only who live in close communion with their God. But let no man impute their want of joy to any defect in Christianity itself: they are not straitened in their God any more than David was: it is in themselves that they are straitened; and “they receive not, because they ask not.” Let them only live nigh unto God in the exercise of prayer and faith, and they shall find that God is the same in every age, rich in mercy, and “abundant in goodness and truth.”]

  2.      How may we all attain it?

[We have advantages far beyond any that David ever enjoyed. What he saw under a veil, we behold, as it were, with open face; a God incarnate, taking upon himself the entire care of all his people, standing between them and the curse of the broken law, and engaging to keep them by his own power unto everlasting salvation. For us there is “help laid upon One that is mighty:” for us there is all fulness treasured up in Christ, so that we are privileged to say, “In the Lord have I righteousness and strength” — — — Let us then improve this privilege as we ought to do: let us “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” yea, “strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” Then may we be assured of final victory, and now, even in the midst of all our conflicts, exult as already victors, yea, as “more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”]

DXL

GOD OUR SAVING STRENGTH

  Ps. 28:8, 9.

The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance; feed them also, and lift them up for ever!

IN the Psalms of David we observe many rapid transitions from the depth of sorrow to very exalted joy. In the psalm before us, this is very remarkable; insomuch, that commentators are altogether at a loss to determine whether it was written under a state of deep affliction, out of which he anticipates a joyful issue, or after a deliverance from affliction, combining with his expressions of gratitude a retrospective view of his preceding trouble. Of these two explications, I much prefer the latter; though I think even that far from satisfactory. I conceive that the suddenness of God’s answers to prayer, and of the changes wrought thereby upon the feelings of his people, is here marked with very peculiar force and beauty. God has said, “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear:” and thus it was in this case. The Psalmist began in a state of extreme dejection; but, in a moment, “his light rose in obscurity, and his darkness became as the noon-dayb.” The Psalmist elsewhere says, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:” and thus we see it here realized; “Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.” Then, after returning thanks to his great Deliverer, he proclaims, to the honour of God, what he will be to all his believing people; and he implores from God the same blessings in their behalf. Let us now consider,

  I.      His testimony for God—

He himself was “God’s anointed.” But of himself he had spoken in the preceding verse: “The Lord is my strength.” Now, therefore, he speaks of God’s peculiar people, even to the end of time. These all are partakers of the Spirit of Him who was “anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows.” Even under the Jewish dispensation, his people were “a kingdom of priestse:” but, under the Christian dispensation, all the saints are “a royal priesthood,” and have the privilege of being “made kings and priests unto God and the Father:” and as all kings and priests under the Law were consecrated with oil, so are these “anointed of the Lordh:” and they shall all find God to be “their strength, their saving strength.” Now this is,

  1.      A true testimony—

[Search the records of the Bible in every age, and see whether so much as one of the Lord’s anointed was not strengthened by him to do and suffer his holy will — — — Or say, whether many of you, my Brethren, are not able to attest the same, from your own experience; and to declare, that “out of weakness you have been made strong,” and that God has been ever ready to “perfect his own strength in your weaknessk? — — —]

  2.      An encouraging testimony—

[There is not a man upon earth that has any strength in himself; no, “not so much as even to think a good thought.” Yet, “through the grace of Christ strengthening us, the weakest babe in the universe is able to do all thingsm.” Our duties are arduous, our enemies mighty, our sufferings great: yet are we eventually made “more than conquerors, through Him who loved, us.” There is nothing, then, that we may not readily undertake for God, since “with Him there is everlasting strengtho;” and we are authorized to expect, under all possible circumstances, that “the grace of Christ shall be sufficient for us” — — —]

Persuaded of this blessed truth, let us mark,

  II.      His intercession, founded upon it—

Let us mark,

  1.      The copiousness of it—

[His heart was full: and just views of God invariably produce in us a measure of the same feelings towards man. “The Lord’s anointed” are “his people and his inheritance:” and “if we love God, we cannot but love those who are begotten of him:” and in proportion as we feel our own obligations to God, will our hearts be enlarged in prayer for those who are dear unto him — — —]

  2.      The order of it—

[He begins with imploring their “salvation” from all guilt and danger. He then begs of God to load them with all “blessings” through this dreary wilderness. He entreats that they may be “fed,” and “governed,” and protected, as sheep by a careful shepherd, or as a faithful people by a wise and powerful Prince. And, lastly, he desires that they may be “exalted” to happiness and glory in a better world. Thus does he implore of God to confer on them all that they can ever need, “giving them grace and glory, and withholding from them nothing that can by any means conduce to their welfarer.]

  3.      The extent of it—

[He desires these things for all, without exception. There is not one so good or great, but that he needs all these things at the hands of God; nor one so mean, but that he may expect of God a supply of all these things, in answer to the prayers thus offered for him.]

Behold, then, Brethren,

  1.      Your duty—

[God commands that we “make our intercession for all men.” And, if we have any just knowledge of God, we shall improve our interest with him for the benefit of our fellow-creatures. Say not, “I know not how to pray.” Well I know that this is a common complaint; but I am perfectly assured, that the straitness of which we complain, and perhaps justly complain, arises, in a very great measure, from our ignorance of God, and of the divine life. If we spread more our own wants before God, and obtained answers to our prayers, as David did, we should, like David, become intercessors for others, and find at the throne of grace a liberty of which we have at present but little conception — — —]

  2.      Your privilege—

[Are you to ask all these things for others; and shall you want them yourselves? No, Brethren; you may ask salvation from all the penal effects of sin: you may ask for blessings, even all that a fallen creature can by any means want: you may ask for provision and protection to the utmost extent of your necessities: yea, you may ask for all the glory and felicity of heaven; and God will bestow it all. “Open your mouth ever so wide, he will fill it;” yea, “he will do exceeding abundantly for you above all that you can ask or think.”]

DXLI

GOD THE GIVES OF STRENGTH AND PEACE

  Ps. 29:10, 11.

The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give strength unto fits people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

THIS psalm is supposed to have been written on the occasion of a thunder-storm. It represents the Deity as uttering his voice in those terrific sounds, whereby the very mountains are made to shake, yea and “skip, as it were, like a calf or a young unicorn.” That there is a transition to the Messiah, and his offices, is clear: for he is expressly declared to be King in Zion. And this declaration stands in immediate connexion with the floods and tumults by which, in appearance, he was for a season overwhelmed: “Why do the Heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” He is also called Jehovah: as it is written: “This is the name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our Righteousnessb.” And I rather think, that, in order the more strongly to mark his divine character, the name Jehovah is here so often repeated. It is repeated no less than eighteen times in these eleven verses: and it is the same person who is spoken of throughout the whole. The same person of whom the Psalmist says, in the first three verses, “Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength: give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: the voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth; the LORD is upon many waters.” Of that same person does he say in my text, “The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” That my text refers to him, there can be no doubt: for he is “that Mighty One, upon whom the help of his people is laid;” and he is, “The Prince of Peace, from whom all their peace must flow. We may therefore proceed to consider the Lord Jesus,

  I.      As a God of Providence—

[”He is the Creator of all things,” and “by him all things consist:” nor does any thing occur which is not done by him. We speak of things, indeed, as accidental; but there is nothing really casual, not even “the falling of a sparrow,” or the loss of “a hair of our head.” True it is, that creatures, for the most part, execute their own will, and oftentimes with an express desire to oppose the will of God. But they are all unconscious agents in his hands, accomplishing what “his counsel has determined before to be done.” The envy of the priests, the treachery of Judas, the timidity of Pilate, the cruelty of the Roman soldiers, were all subservient to his designs, and all fulfilled his inscrutable purposes. “They, indeed, meant not so; neither did their heart think so:” they followed only the dictates of their own minds: but, in all their actions, “his counsel stood,” and he accomplished through them his own sovereign and eternal will. Behold our blessed Lord, in every change of situation, from his apprehension to the grave: who would suppose that these were successive steps to the throne of heaven, and the means ordained for the salvation of the world? Yet this was really the case; and by all these events were a multitude of conflicting prophecies fulfilled. He sat at the helm, and directed all the storm. And precisely thus he does at this time also. The occurrences of every successive day seem as if they arose without order, and passed away without effect. But He who sees all things from the beginning has ordained that a sleepless night, an opening of a book, a casting of a lot, shall all as certainly effect his ends, as any event, however great, or however manifestly connected with his designs. The history of Joseph, so far as relates to the concurrence of contingent circumstances to the advancement of our welfare, is renewed at this time in many of us, whose elevation to a throne of glory is promoted by events which, to the eye of sense, would appear most calculated to counteract it. Be the storm ever so tempestuous, “He sitteth upon the flood;” and be our enemies ever so mighty, “he sitteth King for ever,” to control their efforts, and overrule them for our good.]

But let us contemplate him,

  II.      As a God of grace—

The Lord Jesus Christ, on his ascension to heaven, was constituted “head over all things to his Church;” and a fulness was treasured up in him, for the use of his believing people in all ages. From this fulness he is ever ready to impart unto them,

  1.      Strength—

[Great, exceeding great, is the work which they have to perform, as are also the trials which they have to sustain. But, through him, the weakest of his people shall be able “to do all things,” and to suffer all thingse, as circumstances may require. Whatever be their situation, “their strength shall be according to their day;” and, however weak they be in themselves, “his strength shall be perfected in their weaknessg:” so seasonable shall be his supplies of grace to their souls, and so sufficient for all their necessities.]

  2.      Peace—

[In a storm, which menaced their destruction, the disciples were alarmed. But our blessed Lord reproved them for not having a more entire affiance in him. Whatever confederacies of men or devils may be against us, we should dismiss all fear, and “sanctify him in our hearts,” as all-sufficient for our protectioni. It is said of all his people, “He will keep them in perfect peace, because they trust in him.” And well may they be in peace: for, being accepted of God, they may possess an assured peace with himl, and, being upheld in his arms, they may laugh at all the assaults of their enemies: for, “if He be for them, who can be against them?” And this peace is a “blessing” of the highest order: for, as it is the exclusive privilege of the Lord’s peoplen, so is it, both in its nature and operations, more excellent than can be adequately conceived: it truly “passes all understanding.”]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Give him, then, the glory due unto his name—

[We should get into the very spirit of the Psalmist, and

have our minds filled with a sense of our Saviour’s power and grace — — — Yet praise him, not by words only, but by that perfect affiance which he calls for at your hands; and which is necessary, in order that you may realize the blessings he is exalted to bestow.]

  2.      Let his voice control every emotion of your souls—

[If he speak by thunders and lightnings, he speaks also by his word: and if by them he displays his power, by this he reveals his grace. Notice particularly how, in the psalm before us, every thing is ascribed to his voice. And sure I am, that, if you will listen to the still small voice of his word, there is not a blessing which you can possibly need, but it shall be imparted in the richest abundance to your souls.]

DXLII

THE MERCY OF GOD

  Ps. 30:5.

His anger endureth but a moment: in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

IN the title affixed to this psalm, it is called “A psalm, or song, at the dedication of the house of David.” If we understand this as referring to a dedication of his house on his first entrance upon it, there is nothing in the psalm at all suitable to the occasion: but if we refer it to the period of his return to it after the death of Absalom, we shall find a suitableness in it to the circumstances in which he had been placedb. He had been driven from his throne at a time when he appeared to be most firmly fixed upon it; and had been in most imminent danger of his life, from the hands of his own favourite, but rebellious son, Absalom. God, however, had mercifully interposed for his deliverance, and had restored him once more in safety to his own house. To purify his house from the pollution it had sustained from Absalom, he dedicated it afresh; and penned this psalm, it should seem, for the occasion. But, as this is a matter of conjecture only, and not of certainty, I shall wave all further allusion to either of the occasions; and take the words of my text simply as expressing a most weighty truth, which is at all times, and under all circumstances, proper for our consideration.

Two things we shall notice from it.

  I.      The mercy of God—

The mercy of God will be found to be altogether of a boundless extent, whether we consider it,

  1.      As existing in his own bosom—

[He is indeed angry both at sin itself and at those who commit it: and his anger he will surely manifest against every impenitent transgressor. “His wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men;” and it will surely “break forth against all the children of disobedienced.” Nevertheless, the inflicting of his judgments is “a strange act,” to which he is utterly averse. “Mercy” is the attribute in which “he most delightsf;” and, when he proclaimed his name, it was that by which he most desired to be known: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.” The whole Scriptures represent him in this view, and declare, with one voice, that he is “rich in mercy,” and that “his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting unto those who fear himi.”]

  2.      As experienced by his people—

[Against the impenitent his anger must, of necessity, continue: but, towards the penitent and believing, it is of the shortest possible duration: “His anger endureth but for a moment.” When Nathan pressed home upon the conscience of David the guilt he had contracted in the matter of Uriah, and had brought him to this acknowledgment, “I have sinned against the Lord,” the prophet was instantly directed by God to declare, that his iniquity, notwithstanding the enormity of it, was pardoned: “The Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” Had there been any bounds to his mercy, Manasseh could never have found acceptance with him. The wickedness of that monarch exceeded all that one would have supposed a human being was capable of committing: yet was even he pardoned, as soon as he humbled himself before his God. And how rapidly the mercy of God flies to the healing of a contrite soul, may be seen, as in numberless other instances, so in the psalm before us: “Hear, O Lord,” said David, “and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper:” and then he immediately adds, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.”]

The whole preceding context, whilst it declares God’s mercy, sets also before us,

  II.      Our duty in the contemplation of it—

As having experienced mercy, we are called to sing, and praise our God. But, as we are not all in the holy frame of David, and as the text itself suggests views somewhat different from those of joyous exultation, I shall adhere rather to the words before us, and point out our duty, not so much in the contemplation of mercy enjoyed, as of mercy needed and desired.

Though God so delights in the exercise of mercy, yet he requires that we seek it at his hands. We must seek it,

  1.      Supremely—

[“In his favour is life:” and the enjoyment of it must be our one object of pursuit. Not only must all earthly things be as nothing in our estimation, but life itself must be of no value in comparison of it. To have our interest in his favour a matter of doubt, must be as death to our souls: and we must live only to obtain reconciliation with him. What the frame of our minds, in reference to it, should be, we may see in those words of David: “I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord! my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit! Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.”]

  2.      Humbly—

[“Weeping may endure for a night.” We should certainly weep and mourn for our sins, as our blessed Lord has told us in his sermon on the mount. And who amongst us has not just ground to weep? Who is there that has not reason to smite upon his breast with grief and shame for his past life, and, like David, to say, “I am weary with my groaning: all the night make I my bed to swim: I water my couch with my tears?” This should be the experience of us all: “we must sow in tears, if ever we would reap in joyr.” Shall this be thought suited to the Mosaic dispensation only? It is not a whit less necessary under the Gospel dispensation: “Be afflicted, and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness: humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord; and he shall lift you up.”]

  3.      Confidently—

[We should never doubt God’s readiness to accept us, when we return to him. Whether our night of weeping be more or less dark, or of a longer or shorter duration, we should feel assured that “a morning of joy shall come,” when “there shall be given to us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” In the contemplation of God’s mercy as revealed in the Gospel, we should see, that he can be “a just God, and yet a Saviourt;” yea, that because “he is faithful and just, lie will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To the exercise of his mercy He has assigned no limit: and we should assign none. We should be perfectly assured that “the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cleanse from all sin;” that “God will cast out none who come to him in his Son’s name;” on the contrary, that “though our sins have been red like crimson,” we shall, through the Redeemer’s blood, “be made white as snowz.”]

In this view of our subject, I would call your attention to the following obvious and salutary reflections—

  1.      How deeply to be pitied are the blind impenitent world!

[They will not believe that God is angry with them, or that they have any need to dread his displeasure: and, if we attempt to convince them of their danger, they account us no better than gloomy enthusiasts. But, whether they will believe it or not, God’s eye is upon them for evil; and if they turn not to him in penitence and faith, they shall ere long feel the weight of his avenging arm. Who that should see a multitude of persons enclosed, like Baal’s priests, and unconscious of their impending fate, would not pity them? Yet here are millions of immortal souls soon to be summoned into the presence of their Judge, and setting at defiance the doom that speedily awaits them: should not “rivers of tears run down our eyes for them?” Yes, verily: as our Lord wept over Jerusalem in the view of the destruction that awaited it, and as the Apostle Paul had “great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart” on account of his unbelieving brethren, so should we mourn bitterly for those who will not mourn and be m bitterness for themselves.]

  2.      How richly to be congratulated is the weeping penitent!

[His carnal friends perhaps pity him for his weakness, or deride him for his folly. But the angels around the throne are of a very different mind: they, even in the presence of God himself, have an augmentation of their joy from one single spectacle like this: and God himself is not so intent on the heavenly hosts, but that he spies out such a poor object as this, and looks upon him with complacency and delightd. Is there, then, here present one weeping penitent? I congratulate him, from my inmost sold. My Brother! crowns and kingdoms are of no value in comparison of the blessing conferred on thee. Be content to go on weeping, as long as God shall see fit to keep thee in that state of discipline: but know, that “joy is sown for thee;” and that, in due season, it shall spring up to an abundant harvest: for thus saith the Lord: “He that goeth on his way and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”]

  3.      What praises and thanksgivings are due from the pardoned sinner!

[At present you can have but little conception of the blessings conferred upon you: for you cannot see one thousandth part of your guilt, or conceive one thousandth part of the glory that awaits you: and still less can you comprehend the wonders of love and mercy that have been vouchsafed to you in the gift of God’s only dear Son for your redemption. What indeed you do already know, is abundantly sufficient to fill your souls with unutterable joy, and your lips with incessant praise. But what will be your feelings at the instant of the departure of your soul from this earthly tabernacle, and of its admission into the presence of your God? Then you will see somewhat of the depth of misery from which you have been redeemed, and of the height of glory to which you are exalted; and will behold your Redeemer face to face; and join in all the songs of the redeemed: and look forward to eternity as the duration of your bliss. Surely these things should be ever on your minds: they should make you to be “looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of that blessed day.” But, suppose that your night of weeping were to continue to the very hour of your dissolution, how short would it appear, when once that morning burst upon your view! Are you not ashamed that you should ever grudge the seed for such a harvest? Will not one hour of that glory be an ample recompence for all the exertions you ever made for the attainment of it? Go on, then, with heaven in your view: and live in the sweet anticipation of the glory that awaits you. Methinks the very prospect of such a morning constitutes its very dawn, and will be to your souls the commencement of heaven upon earth.]

DXLIII

CAUSE AND CURE OF SPIRITUAL DESERTION

  Ps. 30:6–12.

In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved: Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication: What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me! Lord, be thou my helper! Thau hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent: O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

AMONGST all the friends of vital godliness it is supposed that Christian experience is well understood: but it is a lamentable truth, that those in general who think themselves best acquainted with it, are exceedingly mistaken with respect to some of its most important parts. The distinctive offices of faith and unbelief, of confidence and fear, are by no means clearly defined in the minds either of ministers or people; on the contrary, they are often so confounded as to produce very serious evils; for by the misconceptions respecting them many are instructed to shun what God approves, and to cultivate what he abhors. For instance; A persuasion that we are God’s elect people, and that we are in no danger of perishing, is recommended by many as the root and summit of Christian faith; whilst a fear lest we should have deceived ourselves, or should ultimately perish, is characterized as an evil heart of unbelief: and thus, a godly jealousy over ourselves is discouraged as a sin, and an unfounded confidence respecting our state is encouraged as a virtue. These mistakes arise partly from a blind following of human authorities, and partly from being confined by the trammels of human systems. To have just views on these subjects is of great importance both for ministers and people; for ministers, that they may know how to discriminate between good and evil in their flocks; and to the people, that they may form such an estimate of themselves as God himself forms of them.

The psalm before us will afford us an occasion for marking the distinctions which we conceive to be so eminently useful, and yet so generally wanted. It is said in the title to have been written at the dedication of David’s house; but we apprehend it was rather at the second dedication of it, after it had been shamefully denied by Absalom. To this period of time, rather than to any other, we are directed by many parts of the psalm. It should seem that about that time the prosperity of David had lulled him into a state of undue security; and that God sent him this affliction to rouse him from it. The successive frames of his mind are here clearly marked; and must successively be considered as they are here presented to our view:

  I.      His carnal security—

[There being to all appearance perfect tranquillity in his kingdom, David conceived that no evil could arise to disturb his repose: and it seems that a similar confidence was also indulged by him in reference to his spiritual enemies. This is, indeed, the common effect of long continued prosperity: but it is a state of mind highly displeasing to God. We are dependent creatures: and ought at all times to feel, that whatever we have, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature, is but lent to us from hour to hour, according to the good pleasure of Him “in whom we live, and move, and have our being.” The very continuance of our lives should be regarded in this view so that we should never think of what we will do in the next year, or even on the morrow, without an express reference to God as the sovereign controller of all events. Job himself erred exceedingly in this respect, when he said, “I shall die in my nestb.” The same sense of dependence on God must more especially be maintained in reference to our spiritual life. The very chief of the Apostles, no less than we, needed to preserve upon his mind a consciousness, that, without incessant vigilance and care, he might, “after having preached to others, himself become a cast-away.” However confident any man may be that he stands firm, it becomes him to “take heed lest he fall.” And so far is this frame of mind from being, as religious people are apt to fancy it, an effect of legality and unbelief, it is pronounced by God himself as most pleasing to him, and beneficial to us; for “blessed is the man that feareth always.”

It is worthy of observation, that David ostensibly acknowledged God as the author of his security: “Thou by thy favour hast made my mountain to stand strong:” but it is evident that his confidence was not really in God, so much as in his situation and circumstances, which had to all appearance a stability on which he might rely. And thus it is with those amongst ourselves who have fallen into a state of carnal security: they profess to depend on God; but their want of holy fear demonstrates, that their confidence is in something which they themselves possess, and which they consider as affording a just ground for the dismission of vigilance and jealous apprehension.

David’s relaxation of this salutary fear was followed by]

  II.      His spiritual dereliction—

[To punish this undue security, God withdrew from David in some measure the protection of his providence, and the comforts of his grace: he suffered Absalom to carry into effect his traitorous conspiracy against him; and he left David without those heavenly consolations which under former trials he had been wont to experience: “Thou didst hide thy face from me,” says David, “and I was troubled.” Now such rebukes must be expected by all who forget their dependence upon God. “Verily he is a God that hideth himself;” and by the dispensations of his providence and grace he marks his indignation against the backslidings of his people. We doubt not but that his withdrawment of many temporal blessings from us is a punishment for our idolatrous attachment to them, and dependence upon them. It was for this that he sent a worm to destroy Jonah’s gourd; and for this he required the soul of him who thought “he had much goods laid up for many years.” We doubt not also but that the experience of every child of God will more or less attest the same in reference to the withdrawment of his presence from them. In proportion as any have become less vigilant, they lose those manifestations of the Divine presence which in the seasons of holy fear they were privileged to enjoy. Nor is it a mere privation of joy which they experience on such occasions; there is a perturbation of mind arising from a sense of the Divine displeasure, and a painful apprehension lest they should never be restored to the favour of their God. David’s “trouble,” as arising from this source, was of a very overwhelming nature: and woe be to those who wantonly provoke God to inflict it on themf.

In what way he sought deliverance from this trouble, we see by,]

  III.      His fervent prayers—

[“He cried unto the Lord, and (as it is in the Prayer-book translation) gat him to his Lord right humbly.” How he pleaded with God, may be seen in our text; and in this he affords an excellent pattern for us under similar circumstances. His plea is to this effect; ‘Lord, withdraw not thyself from me for ever: it is through thy help alone that I can ever recover the state from which I am fallen; and without such a recovery I can never bring any glory to thy name. O leave me not in the wretched state into which I am fallen.’

Now here we see the true, the only, remedy for a soul that has provoked God to depart from it. To have recourse to the doctrines of election and final perseverance under such circumstances, is the way to foster that very disease which God is seeking, by this discipline, to cure. We say not that we are to keep out of sight the promises of God; for beyond a doubt we are to make use of them at all times and on all occasions: but then we are to make use of them, not for the fostering of an unhumbled confidence in God, but for the encouraging of our humiliation before God. We are to be constantly on our guard “not to heal our wounds slightly, or to cry, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.” We should bear in mind that the humbling of our souls is the very end which God aims at in withdrawing his presence from us: and the more we answer this end, the better: nay, if by the suspension of his favour towards us we be brought to a more earnest crying after him, and to an utter abhorrence of ourselves in dust and ashes, we shall have as much reason to adore him for such discipline, as for the most exalted joys he ever afforded us.

This also is a point which we conceive to be of exceeding great importance for the due regulation of our own minds, and for the right counselling of those who are under the hidings of God’s face.

The excellency and efficacy of this remedy may be seen in,]

  IV.      His speedy recovery—

[Many there are who go mourning almost all their lives. And wherefore? Is it that God arbitrarily, and without occasion, hides his face from them? No: it is owing to this very thing which we have been speaking of, namely, their restraining prayer before God, and not using the proper means of regaining his favour. Indeed many are brought into absolute despair by the very means which they use to remove their apprehensions: they go to the consideration of God’s secret decrees, when they should be mourning over their miscarriages, and imploring pardon for Christ’s sake. Hence they are led to argue thus: ‘If an elect vessel, how could I be in such darkness and distress? But I am in this darkness, therefore God has not elected me; and there is no hope for me.’ But behold the effect of humiliation and contrition! See how speedily God returned to the soul of his servant, in answer to his fervent supplications! The prayers were scarcely offered, before David was enabled to say, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” And thus would it be with all of us, if we would pursue the method which this holy man adopted. “God delighteth in the prosperity of his servants:” and, as a parent feels relief to his own soul when he can return in love to his offending child, so does God, when he can again lift up the light of his countenance on those, from whom he has been constrained for a season to withhold it. The father’s reception of his prodigal son is a sure and delightful specimen of the favour which all will experience, as soon as ever they are brought to the footstool of Divine grace with cries for mercy in the all-prevailing name of Jesus Christ. The testimony of David in this very psalm shall be confirmed in you: “His anger endureth but a moment: in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

The speedy restoration of God’s favour to him immediately drew forth,]

  V.      His grateful acknowledgments—

[To bring him back to a state of holy peace and joy was the very end for which God so graciously renewed to him the expressions of his love: it was, says David, “to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.” He calls his tongue “his glory,” because that is the member by which above all he could glorify his God: and he determines instantly to employ it in his praise: “O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” Blessed resolution! O that every one of us would instantly adopt it! O that God would inspire us with grace sufficient to carry it into execution . It is in order to bring all to this, that we have been so particular in the foregoing statement. It is vith a view to this that we so earnestly recommend humiliation before God under seasons of darkness, rather than an attention to abstract points which tend only to foster a delusion. Humility, and contrition, and a believing application of the blood of Christ to our souls, can never deceive us; but, on the contrary, must infallibly lead to songs of praise and thanksgiving: “if we sow in tears, we must reap in joy.” Only observe the process, and see how connected are all the links of the chain: in prosperity, we have relapsed into carnal confidence, and provoked God to leave us in a state of spiritual dereliction: alarmed and humbled by his frowns, we betake ourselves to fervent prayer, imploring mercy in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and through the unbounded grace of God we experience a speedy recovery; and from thenceforth have our mouths filled with grateful acknowledgments to the God of our salvation. We only add to this, that the deeper is our humiliation on account of sin committed, the more speedy and exalted will be our joys on account of deliverance vouchsafed.]

ADDRESS—

  1.      To those who are walking with God—

[What shall we say! Even if you were as eminent as ever David was, we should think it right to guard you against the conceit, that you were in no danger of being “moved.” In relation to all that you possess of temporal things, we would inculcate this salutary lesson, “Let those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who weep be as though they wept not, and those who rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and those who buy as though they possessed not, and those that use this world, as not abusing it.” Every thing must be held as from God, and for God, to be disposed of according to his sovereign will and pleasure. And in reference to every thing of a spiritual nature, we would recommend a constant sense of our entire dependence upon God, saying, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” Some will confound this with unbelief: but it differs from unbelief as much as humility from pride: in truth, it is the very root of faith; for it is only in proportion as we feel our liability to fall, that we shall look truly and constantly to Christ for strength. Be weak as new-born infants in yourselves, and God will keep beneath you his everlasting arms, and perfect “his own strength in your weakness.”]

  2.      To those who have declined from him—

[Many in a state of declension are ready to imagine that God has arbitrarily and without any particular cause withdrawn himself from them. But it may well be doubted whether in any case God ever dealt thus with any of his creatures. Our blessed Lord, when he cried, “My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?” was suffering the punishment due to those whose iniquities had been laid on him. And Job, whose expression, “I shall die in my nest,” we have before noticed, had evidently a measure of carnal confidence which wanted to be mortified and subdued. With the exception of his case we are not aware of any thing that bears even the appearance of arbitrary proceeding on the part of God: the constant tenor of his acting is that which was proclaimed to Asa, “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him: if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” Learn then to trace your sin in your punishment: and, if you cannot find the immediate cause of his withdrawment from you. pray to him, with Job, “Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.” The prayer which David offered under such circumstances, will assuredly, if offered up in faith, bring down upon you the blessings of peace and joy. This God himself has promisedl — — — and you may be as fully assured of its accomplishment to your soul, as the promise and oath of God can make you — — —]

DXLIV

OUR TIMES IN GOD’S HAND

  Ps. 31:15.

My times are in thy hand.

TO the ungodly it is a satisfaction to deny the providence of God, and to cut him off, as it were, from any connexion with his creatures. But the saints find a rich consolation in the thought that God reigneth. This it is which reconciles them to the evils they endure, and fortifies them against those which they have reason to apprehend. David, in the psalm before us, complains that there were many who “took counsel together against him, and devised to take away his life.” But he comforted himself in the reflection, that, however man might be his enemy, God was “his God;” and that however bitterly his enemies might be enraged against him, “his times were not in their hands, but in God’s;” and, consequently, that they could do nothing against him but by His permission.

From this view of the text we are led to notice,

  I.      Our dependence on God—

God is the Governor of the universe: he appoints the stars their courses; he makes the raging elements to fulfil his will; he imposes a restraint upon the most savage beasts, causing them to suppressb or forget their instinctive ferocity, or overruling the exercise of it, for the preservationd or destruction of men, as he sees occasion. The affairs of men he more especially controls. In his hands are,

  1.      The occurrences of life—

[There is nothing really casual or contingent in the world. It is God that disposes of us from our earliest infancy to the latest hour of our lives. “He determines the bounds of our habitation.” If we are called to the possession of wealth, or deprived of it by any untoward circumstances, it is “the Lord who gives, and the Lord who taketh it awayg.” If we enjoy health, or pine away in sickness, it is “the Lord who both wounds and heals, who kills and makes alive.” “There is neither good nor evil in the city, but the Lord is the doer of iti.” Even the falling of a hair of our head, trifling as it is, takes not place but by his appointment.]

  2.      The seasons of death—

[To every man “there is an appointed time upon earth:” there are “bounds which he cannot passm.” “God holdeth our souls in life:” and “when he taketh away our breath, we die, and return to the dust.” Youth and health are no security against the stroke of death: the most vigorous constitutions are soon broken, when God is pleased to afflict us: the skill of physicians, however useful when attended with his blessing, is of no availq. So numerous are the occasions of death, that no caution can possibly avoid them: “a man may flee from a lion, and a bear meet him; or he may go into a house for safety, and a serpent bite him.” When God “requires our souls,” we must surrender them at his calls.” Our days are protracted to an advanced age, if he be pleased to uphold us; if not, our course is finished as soon as ever it is commenced. It is “in God, and in God alone, that we live, and move, and have our being.”]

But though these ideas are certainly comprehended in the text, its more immediate scope is to declare,

  II.      Our security in God—

We have already observed, that the words of the text were introduced by David as a consolatory reflection, under the cruel treatment which he had received from friends and enemies. We are therefore taught by them to assure ourselves,

  1.      That none can destroy us before our time—

[We appear to be, yea, we really are, in the midst of many and great dangers. But however we may be encompassed with enemies, they cannot prevail against us till the Lord’s time for our removal is come. David was continually exposed to the rage and jealousy of Saul, who repeatedly cast a javelin at him, and hunted him incessantly with armed hosts “like a partridge upon the mountains.” Yet though he was often in the most imminent danger, and certainly would have been betrayed by the men of Keilahx, yet God watched over him, and kept him in perfect safety. Many sought to apprehend our Lord; but “they could not lay hands on him till his hour was come:” and even then Pilate “could have had no power against him, unless it had been given him from abovez.” Paul was in perils innumerable, “and in deaths oft:” once he was stoned, and even left for deadb; but none could take away his life, till he had finished the course marked out for him. Thus we also are immortal, till our work is done. We are surrounded with “chariots of fire, and horses of fire:” yea, “God himself is a wall of fire round about usd.” And sooner shall successive bands of enemies be struck dead upon the spot by fire from heaven, than one of the Lord’s little ones shall perishf.”]

  2.      That none shall hurt us without his permission—

[As we depend on God for our happiness as well as for our existence, so are both our being and our well-being secured by him. Satan could not touch the person or the property of Job, till he had obtained leave of God to do so. “Nor can any weapon that is formed against us, prosperh,” any further than our God shall see good to permit it. “His angels encamp round about us,” and have an especial charge to “keep us in all our ways, that we dash not our foot against a stonek.” “Neither the arrow that flieth by day, nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, can hurt us. Thousands may fall at our side, and ten thousands at our right hand; but it shall not come nigh us.”

We are not indeed at liberty to rush needlessly into danger, from an expectation that God will deliver us; (this were to “tempt the Lord our God;”) but in the path of duty we have nothing to fear: we may “tread upon the lion, the adder, or the dragonn;” we may drink poison itself, or suffer ourselves to be committed to the flames, without experiencing the smallest injuryp: nothing in the whole universe can “harm us, if we be followers of that which is good:” if God see fit to keep us, we are as safe “in a den of lions” as in a house of friends.]

  From this subject we may LEARN,

  1.      To seek God without delay—

[There is no period of life when we can call one day, or one hour, our own. We are altogether “in God’s hands;” and, if he withdraw his support for one moment, we perish, as certainly as a stone gravitates to the earth. Shall we then, when so entirely dependent on our God, provoke him to cast us out of his hands? Shall we continue to despise his patience and forbearance, till he swear in his wrath that our “time shall be no longer?” Think, how many have lost the time afforded them, and how bitterly they now bewail their folly: and beg of God, that he would “so teach you to number your days, that you may apply your hearts unto wisdom.”]

  2.      To serve him without fear—

[We are too apt to keep back from serving God through fear of the persecutions we may endure from man. But, if our times be in God’s hands, all our concerns must be there too; and nothing can befall us but by his appointment, “Who art thou, then, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and forgettest the Lord thy Maker?” Are we not told, that “the wrath of man shall praise him; and that the remainder of it he shall restrainu?” Be bold then for God; “set your face as a flint against the whole world,” and trust in him for protection. He will not indeed screen you from all trials; because it is on many accounts necessary that you should feel themy: but he will suffer none to come upon you which he will not enable you to bear, none which he will not sanctify to your eternal good.

  3.      To trust him without carefulness—

[It is foolish as well as impious to distrust God, or to murmur at any of his dispensations. In whose hands could the disposal of all events be placed so much to our advantage, as in his, who possesses infinite wisdom to devise what is best, and infinite power to effect it? Would we be made the sport of chance or fortune? Or would we have our present and everlasting concerns left wholly to our own management? If we are not fit to regulate our temporal affairs till we attain the age of manhood, how much less can we ever be competent to take the reins of God’s government into our own hands, and to order the affairs of his kingdom? But our times will be in God’s hands, whether we acquiesce in it or not. Let us therefore contentedly leave ourselves to his all-wise disposal, assured that “he doeth all things well,” and will make “all things to work together for good to them that love him.”]

DXLV

THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO HIS BELIEVING PEOPLE

  Ps.31:19, 20.

Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

THE salvation of the Gospel is a present salvation: the “godliness which it inspires is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life which now is, as well as that which is to come.” It is needless to say that the trials of life are great; and that men in every situation of life need the supports and consolations of religion to carry them through the difficulties which they have to encounter. But of the extent to which these supports and consolations are administered to God’s chosen people, very little idea can be formed by those who have never experienced a communication of them to their souls. David was highly favoured in this respect. He lived in a state of near and habitual fellowship with God; spreading before him all his wants, and receiving from him such supplies of grace and peace as his daily necessities required. Hence with devout rapture he expresses his admiration of Gods goodness to his believing people.

This is the subject which we propose for our present meditation; and which, in correspondence with the words of our text, we shall consider,

  I.      In a general view—

The terms by which the Lord’s people are characterized sufficiently distinguish them from all others, since none but they do truly “fear God,” or unfeignedly “put their trust in him.” They are the true Israel; in reference to whom it is said, “God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.”

In speaking of his goodness to them, we shall notice,

  1.      That which is “laid up for them”—

[In the time of David the great truths of the Gospel were but indistinctly known; the fuller manifestation of them being reserved for the Apostolic age: as St. Paul, quoting a remarkable passage from the Prophet Isaiah, says; “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him;” and then adds, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” To the Jewish Church therefore these things are only “laid up,” as it were, in types and prophecies: and though made known in the Gospel, they are still but imperfectly viewed by the Christian world; and may be considered as “laid up” for the Church at this time, no less than in former ages: for it is only by slow degrees that any one attains to the knowledge of them; and whatever attainments any one may have made, he sees only “as in a glass darkly, and knows only in part;” there being in it a length and breadth and depth and height utterly beyond the power of any finite intelligence to explore. The “riches” that are stored up for us in Christ even in this world are altogether “unsearchabled:” what then must the glories be which are “reserved in heaven for us!” The more we contemplate the blessings which God has treasured up for us in the Son of his love — — —, the more shall we exclaim with David, “Oh how great is his goodness!”]

  2.      That which God has actually “wrought for them”—

[Every believer was once “dead in trespasses and sins,” even as others. But he has been quickened by the mighty energy of God’s Spirit, and been raised up to newness of life. He is “a new creature in Christ Jesus;” all his views, his desires, his purposes, being altogether changed — — — He has the heart of stone taken from him, and a heart of flesh substituted in its place. He has been “made a partaker of the divine nature,” and “been renewed after God’s image; and that, not in knowledge only, but in righteousness also and true holiness.” He is brought altogether into a new state, having been “translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son,” and been made “an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.” In a word, he is “begotten to an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and never-fading, reserved in heaven for him;” and for the full possession of which he also is reserved by the power of God, through the simple exercise of faith — — — All this he has wrought for them “before the sons of men.” They are evidently “a seed which the Lord has blessed:” they are “lights in a dark world,” “epistles of Christ, known and read of all men” — — —]

But in the latter part of our text, we are called to consider the goodness of God towards his people,

  II.      With a particular reference to their intercourse

with the ungodly world—

Exceeding bitter are those pains which men inflict on each other by calumnies and reproaches—

[To speak good one of another affords no particular pleasure; but to hear and circulate some evil report affords to the carnal mind the highest gratification: and in such employment all the corruptions of our fallen nature find ample scope for exercise and indulgence. Who can estimate the evils arising from “pride,” and “the strife of tongues?” Some little idea may be formed from the description given of the tongue by an inspired Apostle: “Behold,” says he, “how great a matter a little fire kindleth! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” How exceedingly strong are these terms! Yet it is by no means an exaggerated statement of the evils proceeding from calumny in the world at large: but as representing the virulence and malignity with which men calumniate the people of God, they come yet nearer to the truth. In the very words preceding my text, David faintly portrays the conduct of the ungodly in relation to this matter: “Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.” In another psalm he speaks in far stronger terms: “My soul,” says he, “is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” The truth is, that men can inflict, and often do inflict, far deeper wounds with their tongue than they could with the most powerful weapon. With a sword they can only wound the body: but with bitter and cruel words they wound the inmost soul. Under the former we may easily support ourselves; but “a wounded spirit who can bear?]

But against these does God provide for his people an effectual antidote—

[Though more exposed than others to the venomous assaults of slander, they have a refuge which the worldling knows not of. They carry their trials to the Lord, and spread them before him; and from him they receive such supports and consolations as more than counterbalance the evils they sustain. “In the secret of God’s presence they are hid.” When nigh to him in prayer, they are hid as in a pavilion, or a royal tent, protected by armed hosts, and furnished with the richest viands. But the full import of these terms cannot adequately be expressed. Who shall say what is implied in those words, “The secret of God’s presence?” who shall declare what a fulness of joy is there possessed by the believing suppliant? How powerless are the fiery darts which are hurled at him by the most envenomed foes, whilst God himself is a wall of fire round about him, and the glory of God irradiates his soul, inspiring it with a foretaste of heaven itself! Some little idea of his enjoyment may be formed from the history of Hezekiah at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion. It was “a day of trouble, and of rebuke and blasphemy;” and the feelings excited in the bosom of Hezekiah were most distressing: but scarcely had he spread before the Lord the letter which the blaspheming Rabshakeh had sent him, than he was encouraged by God to return this triumphant answer; “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.” Thus, like one who saw “the heavens filled with horses of fire and chariots of fire” for his protection, he set at nought the vain boasts of his enemies, and anticipated a certain triumph. Thus, how malignant soever the believer’s enemies may be, he is hid from them as in an impregnable fortress, and looks down on their fruitless efforts with pity and contempt.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Let us seek to attain the character here drawn—

[To fear God is the duty, and to trust in him the privilege, of every child of man — — — Learn then to tremble for fear of his judgments, and to rely on his mercy as revealed to you in his Gospel — — — for then only can you experience the blessings of his goodness, when you surrender up yourselves to him to be saved by his grace — — —]

  2.      Let us enjoy the privileges conferred upon us—

[For a fuller discovery of the believer’s privileges, we may consult the declarations of David in the Psalms — — — Let us not rest in any thing short of them. Let us get such a sense of them as shall overwhelm us with wonder, and gratitude, and praise — — —]

DXLVI

THE GODLY ENCOURAGED TO TRUST IN GOD

  Ps.31:21–24.

Blessed be the Lord; for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

THE use of biography is universally acknowledged. It leads us into the recesses of domestic life; and teaches us, either from the frailties or the excellencies of others, how to conduct ourselves in a great variety of emergencies, which we ourselves must expect to meet with in life. But sacred biography is infinitely more interesting than that which proceeds only from uninspired pens, because the circumstances which are brought to light are more minute—more diversified—more authentic, than any records which people would choose to give of themselves, or than others would be capable of giving respecting them. On this account the Psalms of David claim the highest possible regard. Perhaps there never was a man whose circumstances were more varied than his: and certainly there never was a man who committed to writing all the secret motions of his heart with more fidelity than he; or that laboured more to improve them for the benefit of mankind.

This appears, as in many other psalms, so especially in that before us; as will be clearly seen, whilst we notice,

  I.      His acknowledgment of mercies conferred upon him—

To enter fully into this, we must refer to the occasion on which the psalm was penned. It was written, I apprehend, after his deliverance from Saul, when, from his being surrounded by Saul’s army, he had conceived it impossible for him to escape. Indeed, his deliverance was truly “marvellous;” and it was wrought by the special intervention of Almighty God, in answer to his prayer. At the very moment that his blood-thirsty persecutor had, to all appearance, effected his purpose, tidings came that the Philistines had invaded the land of Judah; and Saul was compelled to return instantly from his pursuit of David, in order to repel the invaders. In reference to these circumstances, David first acknowledges the mercy in general terms: “Blessed be the Lord; for he hath shewed his marvellous kindness in a strong city,” that is, in “the strong holds” to which he had fled: and then he specifies more particularly the relief he had found in answer to prayer, when his own mind was overwhelmed with desponding fears.

In the peaceful state of the Church at this clay, we are not likely to be reduced to David’s state for our religion’s sake: and, therefore, as far as the literal sense of the psalm goes, it is not applicable to us. But, of deliverances equally “marvellous,” we may speak. Let me then ask,

  1.      Whether you have not, at times, been ready to despond?

[We can know but little either of our guilt or corruption, if we have not “had the sentence of death in ourselves,” and felt that we had “no sufficiency in ourselves” to save ourselvesc. Have we never, then, under a sense of our extreme unworthiness and helplessness, been ready to doubt whether we could finally attain salvation, and “said, as it were, in our haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes?” Go back to some particular seasons, when your great adversary has prevailed against you, and seemed as if, like a roaring lion, he would utterly destroy you: has it not, at such seasons, been difficult to lay hold on the divine promises, and to flee for refuge to the hope set before you? — — —]

  2.      Whether God have not at such seasons interposed for you, in answer to your prayer?

[There are few that have not had reason to “bless and adore their God, for shewing them his marvellous kindness in such seasons as these. The experience of the Prophet Jeremiah has been realized by God’s people in every age: “Waters flowed over my head. Then I said, I am cut off. I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice, and not hid thine ear at my breathing and my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.” From you, then, the Psalmist’s acknowledgment is clue: and by you it should be made to the latest hour of your lives.]

Full of gratitude, he pours forth,

  II.      His exhortations, founded on his own experience—

He exhorts the saints,

  1.      To love God—

[God is worthy to be loved for his own divine excellencies: but he should be loved also for the wisdom and equity of his dispensations. “The faithful he does and will preserve:” yes, both from men and devils will he preserve them: he will “hide them under the shadow of his wings,” and “keep them even as the apple of his eye” — — — But “the proud doer, whosoever he may be, he will plentifully reward” with judgments proportioned to his impiety — — — The ungodly may indeed triumph for a time, and the godly be left to groan under the rod of the oppressor: but a day of righteous retribution is at hand, when “God will recompense tribulation to those who trouble his people; and to those who are troubled, rest”— — — Shall not the assurance of this be a comfort to the saints, even under their deepest troubles? Surely it should — — — so that I may well urge upon them the exhortation before us: “O love the Lord, all ye his saints.”]

  2.      To trust in God—

[There are seasons when the saints can scarcely be said to believe and trust, whilst yet they do hope in God; saying, as it were, “If I perish, I will perish at his footstool, crying for mercy.” Now then, to all such persons I say, “God will strengthen your heart,” yea, and strengthen your arm too, so that “the arms of your hands shall be made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.” He will even “perfect his own strength in your weakness,” so that no enemy shall be able to prevail against you. “Be of good courage,” then, my Brethren. Though you cannot fully trust in God, yet, if you can hope in him, be not afraid: for God will vindicate your cause, and “bruise all your enemies, not excepting even Satan himself, under your feet shortly.”]

  EXHORTATION—

  1.      Learn to see and to acknowledge the mercies of God towards you—

[What loss is sustained, both of comfort to the saints, and of honour to the Deity, by the inattention of men to the dispensations of their God! How many deliverances, both temporal and spiritual, have we all experienced; but of which, through our remissness, God has never received any tribute of praise! — — — Know ye, that if ye will be observant of God’s dealings towards you, you will never want a theme for gratitude and praise — — —]

  2.      Be not satisfied with your own happiness, but seek to advance also the happiness of others—

[David never celebrates any mercy vouchsafed to him, without improving it as an occasion for commending God to others, and exhorting them to unite with him in every possible expression of love and gratitude. Thus should it be with us also. We are not, indeed, called to make known to all the secret workings of our own hearts; but we are called to edify one another, and to take every suitable occasion of honouring our God. Let us, then, do this; and do it, too, with holy zeal. Let us “abundantly utter the memory of his great goodness, that all his works may praise him, and all his saints may bless him.”]

DXLVII

TRUE BLESSEDNESS DECLARED

  Ps. 32:1–6.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long: (for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:) my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found.

TO have the experience of David in all the diversified conditions of life faithfully submitted to us, is an advantage for which we can never be sufficiently thankful. There was scarcely any trouble, either of a temporal or spiritual nature, which he was not called to endure, and under which he has not stated to us the workings of his mind. We are accustomed to hear of his sins and his penitence, his sorrows and his joys: but there is one particular frame of mind, in which he continued for many months, which we are apt, for the most part, to overlook, or to pass by with a mere transient observation; I mean, his state of impenitence and hardness of heart after the commission of his sin in the matter of Uriah. But this is an exceedingly profitable point of view in which to behold him, because of the general tendency of sin to harden the heart: and to see how he obtained peace at last is also of great advantage, inasmuch as it will shew us, how we may obtain peace, even after the commission of the greatest transgressions. When he wrote this psalm he had regained that happy state from which he had fallen: and he here records, for the instruction of the Church in all future ages,

  I.      Wherein true blessedness consists—

A man who has no prospects beyond this present world, will seek happiness in the things of time and sense. But “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.” We are immortal beings, and are hastening to a state, where a period will arrive, at which our present existence, even though it should have been continued a thousand years, will have been only as the twinkling of an eye. In that state either happiness or misery awaits us, according as we enter upon it under the guilt of our former sins, or with our sins forgiven. We may justly say, therefore, True happiness consists, as our text informs us, in having our sins forgiven. To elucidate this topic, let us consider the blessing here spoken of,

  1.      As a non-imputation of sin—

[Who that is in the smallest degree conscious of the number and heinousness of his transgressions, and of the awful punishment due to him on account of them, must not regard it as an unspeakable mercy to have them all blotted out from the book of God’s remembrance? What in the whole universe can in his estimation be compared with this? If he could possess the whole world, yea, if he could possess ten thousand worlds, what comfort would the acquisition give him, if he had the melancholy prospect of being speedily plunged into the bottomless abyss of hell? If there were a large company of condemned criminals, some rich and noble, others poor and ignoble, and one of the meanest of them had received the king’s pardon whilst all the rest were left for execution; who among them would be accounted the happiest? How much more then, when the death to which unpardoned sinners are consigned is an everlasting death in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone! No one who reads the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and sees the termination of their respective states, can for a moment hesitate to pronounce Lazarus, with all his miseries and privations, far happier in a sense of reconciliation with his God, than the rich worldling in the enjoyment of all his pomp and luxury.]

  2.      As a positive imputation of righteousness—

[In the words of David we should not have seen the doctrine of imputed righteousness, if St. Paul had not expressly told us that that doctrine was contained in them. He tells us, that in these words “David describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Now this idea goeth much farther than mere forgiveness: forgiveness exempts from punishment; but an imputation of the Redeemer’s righteousness to us insures to us an eternal great reward. O how happy must that man be who is clothed in the unspotted robe of Christ’s righteousness, and can, on the footing of that righteousness, claim all the glory and felicity of heaven! He may look forward to death and judgment, not only without fear but with holy confidence and joy, assured, that in God’s sight he stands “without spot or blemish.” Who, we would ask, can be happy, like the man who has been begotten to a lively hope, that in and through Christ, there is reserved for him an incorruptible, and undefiled, and never-fading inheritance in heaven?]

  3.      As a renovation of soul consequent on reconciliation with God—

[Though sin is pardoned, and righteousness is imputed, purely through the free grace of God to the chief of sinners, without any good works already performed by them, yet no pardoned sinner is left in an unholy state: on the contrary, he is “renewed in the spirit of his mind:” “a new heart is given unto him:” and he is made “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” If this were not the case, pardon itself could not make him happy. A soul under the dominion of sin could not be happy, even if it were in heaven: sin would eat his vitals, as doth a canker. It is the restoration of the soul to the Divine image that constitutes a very principal part of its felicity: for when we are “holy, as God is holy,” then are we happy, as God is happy. We must be careful however not to confound those different sources of happiness. St. Paul was so jealous on this head, that when quoting the words of our text, be omitted these at the close of it, lest any one should imagine that our sanctification were in any respect the ground of our justification before God. Sanctification is the fruit and consequence of our having received a justifying righteousness: and, though it in no respect procures our reconciliation with God in the first instance, (for that is procured solely through faith in Christ,) yet it is as inseparably connected with justifying faith, as good fruit is with a good tree: nor can the soul be happy in a sense of the Divine favour, till it has this evidence of its acceptance with him.]

But David proceeds to inform us,

  II.      How he himself attained unto it—

For a long time he was altogether destitute of it—

[Partly through stoutness of heart, and partly through unbelief, he for a long time refused to humble himself for his heinous iniquities. But was he happy during that period? Hear his own representation of his state and feelings: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the day long; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. The state of an impenitent sinner is fitly compared to the troubled sea, which cannot rest, but incessantly casts up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith God, to the wicked.” We have a striking elucidation of this point in the history of Judas and of Peter. Both of them had sinned grievously: but Peter, through the influence of faith, repented; whilst Judas, under the influence of unbelief, sought refuge in suicide from the accusations of his own mind. Thus it is with many who are haunted with a sense of guilt, but will not abase themselves before God: they “roar all the day long;” and “howl upon their beds, like dogs; but they cry not unto God from their inmost souls.” Hence they can find no rest, or peace; and often precipitate themselves into the torments of hell, to get rid of the torments of a guilty conscience. Ignorant people impute these acts to religion: but it is the want of religion that produces them: it is the want of true contrition that causes their guilt so to prey upon their minds. “God’s hand is heavy upon them,” because they will not humble themselves before him: and the longer they continue to set him at defiance, the more may they expect to feel the pressure of his righteous indignation — — —]

At last through penitence he attained unto it—

[“He at last acknowledged his sin, and confessed his transgressions unto the Lord:” and then God, who delighteth in mercy, spoke peace unto his soul. The transition was indeed surprisingly rapid: “for he only said, I will confess my transgressions, and instantly God forgave the iniquity of his sin.” Doubtless God saw the sincerity of his heart: he saw not only that David mourned over his past offences, but was determined through grace to give himself up in future wholly and unreservedly to the Lord: and therefore he would not delay to restore to him the light of his countenance, and the joy of his salvation. We have a beautiful instance of this rich display of mercy in the parable of the Prodigal Son — — — as also in the converts on the day of Pentecost — — — and in the jailer — — — And similar displays of mercy may we ourselves hope for, if only we humble ourselves before him, and seek to be clothed in the Redeemer’s righteousness: for “he is rich in mercy unto all who call upon him.”]

Having stated thus his own experience, David proceeds to tell us,

  III.      What improvement we should make of it—

Unspeakably encouraging is the record here given us. We should take occasion from it,

  1.      To seek the Lord for ourselves—

[“The godly” will make their prayer unto God; and the ungodly also should do it. If any man ever had reason to despair, David had, after having so grievously departed from his God. But he cried unto the Lord, and obtained mercy at his hands. Shall the ungodly then say, My sins are too great to be pardoned? Or shall “the godly,” after the most horrible backslidings, sit down in despair, and say, “There is no hope?” No: the example of David absolutely forbids this — — — At the same time it shews the folly of delaying repentance: for there is no peace to the soul in an impenitent state: neither here nor hereafter can we be happy in any other way than that which God has marked out for us. If penitential sorrow be painful, it never corrodes like impenitent obduracy: there is in it a melting of soul that participates of the nature of holy joy: and, if “weeping do endure for a night, joy is sure to come in the morning.” If then we would be truly happy, let us flee to Christ as the Refuge set before us: he is “the Lord our Righteousness;” and the vilest sinner upon earth shall find his “blood able to cleanse from all sin,” and his righteousness sufficient to clothe our souls, so that the “shame of our nakedness shall never appear.” But let us take care,]

  2.      To seek him whilst he may be found—

[There is “a time wherein he may be found” of every one of us; and a time wherein he may not be found. This is an awful truth; but it is attested by many passages of Holy Writ: “O that thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace!” said our Lord to Jerusalem; “but now they are hid from thine eyes.” God may, and does, “give over many to a reprobate mind,” and to final impenitence: “So I gave them up.” But if you have the least desire of mercy, we are warranted to say, “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” O then improve the present hour: “Seek ye the Lord whilst he may be found; call ye upon him whilst he is near.” “If you cover your sins, you cannot prosper; but if you confess and forsake them, you shall find mercy.” “If you say that you have no sin, you deceive yourselves; but if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.”]

DXLVIII

JOY IN THE LORD INCULCATED

             Ps. 32:11.

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

THERE is in this world, as there will also be in the eternal state, an inconceivable distance between the righteous and the wicked. The Psalmist tells us, that “many sorrows shall be to the wicked:” and so we find it to be, from universal experience. For, where is there an ungodly man, who does not feel within him an aching void, which the world can never fill? — — — Whose mind is not agitated with tormenting passions, which prove a source of disquiet both to himself and to those around him? — — — Who feels not a consciousness of unpardoned guilt; and a dread of that tribunal, before which he is shortly to appear? — — — On the other hand, the Psalmist assures us, that “the man who trusts in the Lord is encompassed with mercy all around:” he is happy in the favour of his God, in the subjugation of his passions, in the exercise of all holy affections, and in the prospect of everlasting felicity. Hence he adds, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart!”

That we may enter into the spirit of his words, I will endeavour to set before you,

  I.      The character here addressed—

“The righteous” are delineated in the Scriptures, sometimes by one peculiarity, and sometimes by another. The character here assigned them is peculiarly worthy of our consideration, because it is such as the most ungodly man upon earth must, in theory at least, approve. The whole world unites in applauding integrity, as exercised towards man: but here we shall be led to view it as exercised towards God. Now, “the upright” man is one,

  1.      Whose desire after God is supreme—

[Nothing ought to stand in competition with God: we should love him with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength. More especially should we pant after God as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, “counting all things but loss for the knowledge of him,” and saying, with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” — — —]

  2.      Whose affiance in him is entire—

[No man, who has not been taught of God, can conceive how difficult it is to divest ourselves of self-righteousness and self-dependence, These evils cleave more closely to us than the flesh to our bones. When we think that we are freed from them, we shall still find the workings of them in our hearts. But the truly upright person “renounces all confidence in the flesh;” and, like the Apostle, “desires to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, which is of the Law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith in Christ.” He considers “all fulness as treasured up in Him” for the use of his Church and people; and from His fulness he desires to receive all the supplies which he stands in need of, whether of “wisdom, or righteousness, or sanctification, or redemption.”]

  3.      Whose devotion to him is unreserved—

[The upright has given up himself as a living sacrifice to Christ. He would not have any lust unmortified; nor would he retain any thing that should stand in competition with his duty. Even life itself is regarded as of no value, in comparison of Christ, and the glory of his name — — —

Any thing less than this is hypocrisy: but to possess this character is to be “an Israelite indeed, and without guile.”]

To these persons I will now address,

  II.      The exhortation—

To rejoice in the Lord is your high privilege. Let me, then, exhort you to rejoice in him,

  I.      On account of what he has already done for you—

[Here I might speak of “the sorrows” from which you are delivered, and of the mercies with which you are encompassed: but I will rather confine myself to that peculiar blessing vouchsafed to you, the being made “upright before God.”

Who amongst the children of men ever attained this character by any power of his own? No: whosoever possesses it, must say, “He that hath wrought me to the self-same thing, is God.” Consider, then, how great a blessing this is — — — In comparison of it, crowns and kingdoms would be of no value. For this gift, therefore, you should bless and adore your God with your whole hearts, yea, and shout for joy with your whole souls.]

  2.      On account of what he has engaged to do for you—

[Would you have stability in life? He has promised it in his blessed word: “The righteous shall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger. Would you have peace in death? This, also, he has engaged to give: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” Would you have glory in eternity? This, also, shall be your assured portion at the right hand of God — — —

Is not here, then, abundant cause for joy and thanksgiving? Verily, “if you hold your peace, the very stones will cry out against you.”]

  3.      On account of his sufficiency to fulfil all his engagements—

[Whom has Jesus ever suffered “to be plucked out of his hands?” — — — There is in him no want of power: “He is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Nor is he changeable in will: for “he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” “Of those whom the Father hath given him, he never has lost any,” nor ever will — — —]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      To those who possess not this character, I would say, Seek to attain it—

[Be not satisfied with integrity towards man, but seek to have an upright heart towards God. Let there be no hypocrisy harboured within you. See to it, that your desire after God be really supreme — — — that your affiance in Christ be altogether unmixed with any measure of hope or confidence in yourselves — — — and that your devotion to him be without reserve — — — Cease not, till you have in your own hearts and consciences an evidence that you are thus given up to God: and then may you claim, at his hands, the blessings which he has promised to the upright in heart — — — But deceive not your own souls. Rest not in false appearances of any kind: but beg of God to make you altogether what he himself will approve.]

  2.      To those who possess this character, I would say, Live in the enjoyment of your privilege—

[It is your privilege to “rejoice even with joy unspeakable and glorified.” Be not satisfied with a low and drooping state of mind. Live nigh to God: let your fellowship with him be more intimate and more abiding. It is not his will that your graces should languish, or your joys be at a low ebb. He would rather that your soul, through a sense of his presence, should be ever “shouting” for joy. See the state of the Church as drawn by the prophet Isaiah: see it as drawn by David alsok: and let your present life be, as God would have it, an earnest and a foretaste of the heavenly bliss.]

DXLIX

GOD’S CARE OF HIS PEOPLE

  Ps. 33:18–22.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

IN the Psalms of David, we do not look so much for the peculiarities of the Gospel as for general views of God’s providence and grace. But let them not be undervalued on that account: for the very use of evangelical truth is so to bring us into a state of reconciliation with God, that we may have a richer and more intimate enjoyment of him in all his dispensations.

The words before us declare the interest which he takes in his peculiar people: and, in unfolding them to your view, I will endeavour to shew,

  I.      God’s care for his people—

The manner in which our attention is called to this subject clearly shews the vast importance of it: “Behold!” behold the eye of the Lord is on them that fear him.”

Two things in particular we are here called to notice: and,

  1.      The description given of his people—

[Never can we sufficiently admire the goodness of God in giving to us such descriptions of his people as will enable every upright soul to discern his own character, and to number himself among them. Were they designated by such terms as would comprehend only those of higher attainments, the lower classes among them would be driven to despair. But when, as in the text, the lowest terms are used, even such as mark the very babes in Christ, every member of Gods family is encouraged, and emboldened to claim the privileges to which a relationship to God entitles him. There is not in his family “a new-born babe” who does not “fear” him. All regard him as a mighty Sovereign, whom they are bound to obey. All desire to serve him, and greatly dread his displeaure. All account his favour as their supreme felicity: and desire so to approve themselves to him, that they may be accepted of him in the last day. Yet, it is not on their good dispositions that they found their hopes, and much less on their actual attainments. They are sensible of their short-comings and defects, even in their very best duties; and are conscious, that, if God were to enter into judgment with them on the footing of strict justice, they must inevitably and eternally perish. They therefore renounce, utterly, all claims upon the justice of God, and “hope altogether in his mercy,” in his mercy as revealed to them in the Gospel.

“Behold,” now, ye who are of a doubtful or desponding mind: Are ye not ready to leap for joy, when you find that persons of these low attainments may claim relationship to God, and assure themselves that they are interested in his paternal care? Hear, then,]

  2.      The particular interest which he takes in them—

[“His eye is over them at all times.” It is over the whole creation indeed, as we are told in the preceding context: “The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men: from the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.” But on his peculiar people his eye is fixed with a more especial interest; namely, “to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine;” or, in other words, to preserve them from all dangers, and to supply their every want. In relation both to their souls and bodies, they are exposed to continual and most imminent dangers. Disease or accident may at any moment consign them over to the grave. And Satan, that roaring lion, goes about seeking daily and hourly to devour their souls. On every side the world also assaults them with its temptations, whilst their own inbred corruptions are ever watching for an opportunity to betray them into the hands of their great Adversary. But God’s eye is ever over them, to counteract the devices of their enemies, and to uphold them in his everlasting arms. Not one of them will he ever suffer to “be plucked out of his hands.” Their wants too, whether temporal or spiritual, he will supply. He may suffer them to be reduced to great straits, even as Israel were, when they had come out of Egypt. But sooner shall manna be given them from the clouds, and water from the rock, than they be left to perish: for his express promise to them is, that provision shall accompany his protection; and that, whilst “their place of defence is the munition of rocks, bread shall be given them, and their water shall be sure.” “Whilst they seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all needful things, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature, shall surely be added unto themc.”]

But, before you take to yourselves the full comfort of these declarations, it will be proper for me yet further to shew,

  II.      What should be your feelings towards him—

The truly upright, even of the lowest class, can say, with David, “Our soul waiteth for the Lord.” If you are indeed of the number of his people, then are you waiting for him,

  1.      In a way of humble affiance—

[The language of your heart is, “He is our help and our shield.” But is it thus indeed? Are you going to him from day to day, as sinners who stand in need of mercy? and are you crying to him continually for “grace to help you in every time of need?” I do not ask whether you are free from assaults; but, whether they drive you to him for aid? It is supposed that you have enemies to conflict with, and trials to sustain: else you would not need to be looking out for a shield to protect, or for help to succour, you. But do you so realize the watchful care of God, as to renounce all hope in the creature, and to rely on him alone? If you truly “fear him,” and truly “hope in his mercy,” you cannot but make him your refuge, and commit to him your every care.]

  2.      In a way of confident expectation—

[The Psalmist, having such a Protector and such a Helper, anticipates a successful issue to all his trials; and declares, that the very trust which he reposes in God is at once the ground and measure of his expectations from God: “Our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” And shall this be thought too bold an assertion? It is not more bold than true: for God has repeatedly pledged his word, that “none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.” Nay more, on every occasion we may consider him as saying to us, “According to your faith it shall be unto youe.” His conduct towards Abraham clearly shews us how he will act towards all who believe in him. Abraham is tried as never man was: he is bidden to offer up in sacrifice his only son Isaac, in and through whom all the promises of God were to be fulfilled. The holy man proceeds to execute the divine command, assured, that though Isaac were already reduced to ashes on an altar, God both could, and would, raise him up again, and fulfil in him all that he had promised. Accordingly, Isaac was given him, as it were, from the dead; and was made the instrument of raising up to Abraham that “seed, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.” So, in proportion as our expectations are enlarged, shall be God’s exertions in our favour. If only we can say with David, “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation: He only is my rock, and my salvation, and defence;” we may, with assured confidence, add with him, “I shall not be moved.”]

  And now let me ASK,

  1.      What evidence have you that you are the Lord’s?

[Do you answer to the character here given of his people, “fearing him” above all, and “hoping in his mercy” alone? Do you evince that that is indeed your character, by waiting upon him continually, and expecting at his hands his proffered benefits? Examine well the habit of your minds from day to day: for it is of such only that it can be said, His eye is “over them for good.” But far different is the state of those who fear him not: for “the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earthh.” I again say, and rejoice to say, that, though your attainments reach no further than holy fear and humble hope, the Lord will look upon you with tender and paternal love: but, if these graces be not rooted in your hearts, you have yet to learn what it is to receive the grace of God in truth.]

  2.      What would be your state, if God’s mercy to you should be measured by your regards for him?

[St. John prayed for Gaius, that “his bodily health might prosper as his soul prospered.” And are you prepared to pray with David, “Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon me, according as my hope is in thee?” Verily, were this God’s rule of acting towards us all, the greater part of us would never taste of his mercy to all eternity. But, thanks he to God! he is sovereign in the exercise of his mercy, being “found often-times of them that sought him not, and made known to them that inquired not after him.” Yet let us not presume on this: for, if he shew mercy to any, he will assuredly bring them to the state described in our text, and both put his “fear in their hearts,” and “make them to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost.”]

DL

DEVOTION EXEMPLIFIED

  Ps. 34:2, 3.

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

A SENSE of gratitude to God for his mercies will ever abide in some measure on the soul of a true believer. But there are special occasions whereon he is so impressed with the Divine goodness, that he feels as if he never could forget it, and as if he would have the whole creation join with him in his devout acknowledgments. This was the frame of David’s mind, when, by feigning himself mad, he had escaped out of the hands of Achish, who would probably have put him to death, or delivered him into the hands of Saul, his blood-thirsty persecutor.

In discoursing on his words, we shall notice,

  I.      His determination to praise God—

Ungodly men love to boast of themselves—

[There is no man who has not some imaginary excellencies whereof to boast. If we possess any natural endowment either of mind or body, we are forward to bring it into notice, and to arrogate something to ourselves on account of it. One values herself upon her beauty; another boasts of his strength or courage; another prides himself in his wit, his penetration, or his judgment. Rather than pass unnoticed, the ungodly will boast of their iniquities and excesses; yea, (strange to say!) of iniquities they have not committed, and of excesses to which they have never arrived.]

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