Ps. 51:14.

Ps. 51:14.

  2.      A sense of his weakness—

[David had other enemies than those who opposed his regal authority. He complains in another psalm, “Iniquities prevail against me:” and he found it exceeding difficult to subdue them. On this account also he used the expressions in the text. He felt himself poor and needy in reference to every thing that he accounted good. He lamented especially his want of wisdom, and strength, and righteousness. Hence he cried, “Open thou mine eyes;” “O give me understanding in the way of godliness!” “Hold thou me up!” “hold up my goings in thy ways, that my footsteps slip not!” “Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord! for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” Similar to this is the experience of all the saints. All are insufficient of themselves for any thing that is good: and the man who was stripped, and wounded, and left half dead, was but a faint emblem of the man who, feeling in himself innumerable corruptions, is unable to mortify so much as one of them, except as he is aided from above, and strengthened by communications of the Spirit of grace. St. Paul himself lamented his state in reference to this; yea, he even surpassed the Psalmist in his humiliating confessions and mournful complaints.]

But in the midst of all this, we view with pleasure,

  II.      His consolation—

He considered that God’s thoughts were exercised upon him—

[God is not an inattentive observer of any of his creatures: but “his eyes are more especially upon the righteous.” As “his eyes were upon the promised land from one end of the year even to the otherh,” so are they upon his own people in every place and in every age. He says, “I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” He thinks of his people with tender compassion—with anxious care—with joyful complacency. How tenderly did he listen to the effusions of Ephraim’s sorrow! With what anxiety does he sit, as a refiner, to watch the vessel which he is purifying in the furnace, lest it should by any means suffer injury by the process that was intended only for its goodl! With what exultation too does he say, “To this man will I look, even unto him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit;” as though not all the angels in heaven could engage his attention in companion of such a sight! David was sensible, that in the midst of all his spiritual distress he was not forgotten of his God; but that he was, notwithstanding all his unworthiness, an object of his paternal care.]

What comfort must such a consideration afford him!

[Surely greater consolation could scarcely be conceived than that which would arise from this source. What must it be to have unsearchable wisdom contriving for his good! — — — almighty power ready to execute whatever Divine wisdom should judge expedient! — — — unbounded mercy pleading, that his sins and frailties may not provoke God to withdraw his loving-kindness from him! — — — and, lastly, unchanging faithfulness demanding on his behalf the accomplishment of all the promises! — — — The consideration of these things must of necessity check every desponding fear. and constrain him to exclaim, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” And every one who can realize this one consideration, has within himself an antidote for every fear, and a balm for every wound.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Those who know little of David’s experience—

[The generality of those who are called Christians would be ready to despise any one who should express himself like the inspired Psalmist. They would suppose that he was under the influence of a weak deluded mind. But let them not congratulate themselves on their fancied superiority; for they only betray their own ignorance. Let them rather seek to know themselves, that, being made sensible of their destitute condition, they may be made rich in Christ Jesusp.]

  2.      Those whose feelings are like his—

[While you are complaining of your poverty, God is saying, “But thou art rich.” The truth is, that the more we are sensible of our guilt and helplessness, the more ready God is to help and deliver us: “The hungry he filleth with good things; but the rich he sends empty away.” Indeed he paints the most destitute condition that can be imagined, on purpose that he may administer consolation to us under it. If any then be cast down as though there were no hope, let them plead with him as David did: and they shall soon find, by happy experience, that “God’s thoughts and ways as far exceed ours, as the heavens are above the earth.”]u

DLXXII

DAVID’S DESIRE AFFER GOD

  Ps. 42:1, 2.

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?

GREAT are the vicissitudes of the Christian life: sometimes the soul basks, if we may so speak, in the full splendour of the Sun of Righteousness; and at other times it feels not in any degree the cheering influence of his rays. And these variations are sometimes of shorter duration, like successive days; and at other times of longer continuance, like the seasons of the year. In David these changes were carried almost to the utmost extremes of elevation and depression, of confidence and despondency, of exultation and grief. At the time of writing this psalm he was driven from his throne by Absalom, and con strained to flee for his life beyond Jordan. There exiled from the city and temple of his God, he stated, for the edification of the Church in all future ages, how ardently he longed for the renewed enjoyment of those ordinances, which were the delight and solace of his life. In these things he may be considered as a pattern for us: we shall therefore endeavour distinctly to mark,

  I.      The frame of his mind towards God—

This is described in terms peculiarly energetic “he thirsted after God; yea, he panted after him, as the hart panteth after the water-brooks.” We cannot conceive any image that could mark more strongly the intenseness of his desire, than that which is here used. A hart or deer, when fleeing from its pursuers, has naturally its mouth parched through fear and terror: but when, by its own exertions in the flight, its very blood almost boils within it, the thirst is altogether insupportable, and the creature pants, or brays, (as the expression is,) for some brook, where it may refresh its sinking frame, and acquire strength for further exertions. Such was David’s thirst after God, the living God.

His circumstances, it is true, were peculiar—

[Jerusalem was the place where God had appointed the ordinances of his worship: and David, being driven from thence, was precluded from a possibility of presenting to the Lord his accustomed offerings. This was a great distress to his soul: for though God was accessible to him in prayer, he could not hope for that measure of acceptance which he had reason to expect in an exact observance of the Mosaic ritual; nor could he hope that such manifestations would be vouchsafed to his soul, as he might have enjoyed, if he had approached God in the way prescribed by the law. Hence all his ardour might well be accounted for, since by the dispensation under which he lived, his way to the Deity was obstructed, and the communications of the Deity to him were intercepted.

We acknowledge that these peculiar circumstances account for the frame of David’s mind at that time.]

Nevertheless, his frame is as proper for us as it was for him—

[Though the observance of certain rites and ceremonies is no longer necessary, and God may be approached with equal ease from any spot upon the globe, yet it is no easy matter to come into his presence, and to behold the light of his countenance lifted up upon us. To bow the knees before him, and to address him in a form of words, is a service which we may render without any difficulty; but to draw nigh to the very throne of God, to open our mouths wide, and to have our hearts enlarged in prayer, to plead with God, to wrestle with him, to obtain answers of prayer from him, and to maintain sweet fellowship with him from day to day, this, I say, is of very difficult attainment: to do it indeed is our duty, and to enjoy it is our privilege; but there are few who can reach these heights, or, having reached them, prolong to any great extent the heavenly vision. Hence we all have occasion to lament seasons of comparative darkness and declension; and to pant with insatiable avidity after the renewed enjoyment of an absent God.]

Let us then contemplate,

  II.      The evidences of this frame, wherever it exists—

Such a frame of mind must of necessity be attended with correspondent efforts to attain its object. There will be in us,

  1.      A diligent attendance on all the means of grace—

[Where shall we look for God, but in his holy word, where he reveals to us all his majesty and his glory? That word then we shall read with care, and meditate upon it day and night, and listen to the voice of God speaking to us in it — — — We shall also pray over it, converting every command into a petition, and every promise into an urgent plea — — — The public ordinances of religion we shall highly prize, because in them more especially we honour God, and have reason to expect more abundant manifestations of his love to our souls — — — At the table of the Lord too we shall be found frequent guests, not only because we are required by gratitude to remember the love of Christ in dying for us, but because the Lord Jesus still, as formerly, delights to “make himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread.” If we do really pant after God, I say again, we cannot but seek after him in the way of his ordinances.]

  2.      An acquiescence in every thing that may bring him nearer to us—

[God is pleased oftentimes to afflict his people, in order to wean them from the love of this present world, and to quicken their souls to more diligent inquiries after him. Now “affliction is not in itself joyous, but grievous:” nevertheless, when viewed in connexion with the end for which it is sent, it is welcomed even with joy and gratitude by all who are intent on the enjoyment of their God. In this view St. Paul “took pleasure in infirmities and distresses” of every kind, because they brought him to God, and God to him;—him, in a way of fervent prayer; and God, in a way of rich and abundant communication. In this view, every saint that has ever experienced tribulation in the ways of God is ready to say, that “it is good for him that he has been afflicted,” and that, if only God’s presence may be more abidingly manifested to his soul, he is ready to suffer the loss of all things, and to count them but dross and dung.]

  3.      A dread of every thing that may cause him to hide his face from us—

[We know that there is, in every generous heart, a dread of any thing that may wound the feelings of those we love: how much more then will this exist in those who love God, and are panting after the enjoyment of him! Shall we, under such a frame of mind, go and do “the abominable thing which his soul hates?” shall we by any wilful misconduct “grieve the Holy Spirit of promise, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption?” No: when tempted to evil, we shall reject it with abhorrence, and say, “How shall I do this wickedness, and sin against God?” We shall “put away every accursed thing that may trouble our camp:” we shall not only turn from open and flagrant iniquity, but shall “abstain from the very appearance of evil.” We shall search for sin in the heart, as the Jews searched for leaven in their houses, in order that we may be “a new lump, altogether unleavened.” We shall strive to have our every action, every word, and “every thought, brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”]

  4.      A dissatisfaction of mind whenever we have not an actual sense of his presence—

[We cannot rest in a mere routine of duties: it is God that we seek, even the living God; and therefore we can never be satisfied with a dead form, nor with any number of forms, however multiplied. We shall look back to seasons of peculiar access to God, as the happiest periods of our life; and in the absence of God shall say, “O that it were with me as in months past, when the candle of the Lord shone upon my head!” We shall deprecate the hidings of his face as the severest affliction that we can endure; and shall never feel comfort in our minds, till we have regained the light of his countenance and the joy of his salvation. The conduct of the Church, in the Song of Solomon, is that which every one who truly loves the heavenly Bridegroom will observe: he will inquire after him with all diligence, and, having found him, will labour with augmented care to retain and perpetuate the expressions of his love.]

  Let US LEARN then, from this example of David,

  1.      The proper object of our ambition—

[Crowns and kingdoms should not satisfy the Christian’s ambition. He should seek to enjoy “God himself, even the living God,” who has life in himself, and is the one source of life to the whole creation. David, when driven from his house and family, did not pant after his lost possessions, his ruined honours, his deserted relatives: it was God alone whose presence he so ardently desired. O that every desire of our souls may thus be swallowed up in God, whose loveliness and loving-kindness exceed all the powers of language to describe, or of any created imagination to conceive!]

  2.      The proper measure of our zeal—

[In reference to earthly attainments, men in general contend, that it is scarcely possible to have our desires too ardent: but in reference to the knowledge and the enjoyment of God, they think even the smallest ardour is misplaced. But “it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing:” and, if the measure of David’s desire was right, then should not ours stop short of his. When we can explore the heights and depths of the Redeemer’s love, or count the unsearchable riches of his grace, then may we limit our exertions according to the scale which we may derive from them: but, if they surpass all the powers of language or of thought, then may we take the hunted deer for our pattern, and never pause till we have attained the full fruition of our God.]

DLXXIII

ACCESS TO GOD IN ORDINANCES

  Ps. 43:3, 4.

O send out thy light and thy truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God.

IT is supposed that David wrote both this and the preceding psalm when he was driven from Jerusalem by his rebellious son, Absalom. After briefly calling on God to judge between him and his blood-thirsty enemies, he here shews, that the being separated from divine ordinances was to him the heaviest part of his affliction. True, indeed, his faithful servants, Zadok and Abiathar, had brought him the ark; but that he sent back again to its wonted residence; for to have the symbol of the Deity without his actual presence and favour, would afford him little consolation or benefit. To enjoy God in his ordinances, was his supreme delight. And hence he implores of God to “send forth his light and his truth,” to conduct him back to them; for who but God could devise a way for his return? or what had he to depend upon in this hour of his extremity, but the promise and protection of God himself? In the event of his being restored to God’s tabernacles, he determined that he would go with more delight than ever “to the altar of his God, even to God himself, who was his exceeding joy,” and there pay to God the vows which he had made: yes, and the harp which now hanged upon the willows should again be tuned, to sing with more devotion than ever the praises of his God. What he here promises, we find in another psalm he actually performed, as soon as the desired deliverance had been vouchsafed: “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads: we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out, into a wealthy place. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt-offerings of failings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats.”

The words of my text consist of two parts; a devout petition to God to restore him to his wonted enjoyment of divine ordinances; and a joyful anticipation of augmented zeal in the service of his God. And, in correspondence with these, we see what, under all circumstances, it becomes us chiefly to affect; namely,

  I.      An intelligent and believing access to God—

It is not sufficient that we attend divine ordinances. Many frequent them without any benefit at all. We must be “led to them by God’s light and truth,” that so we may attend upon them with intelligence and faith.

[Who but God can teach us how to approach him acceptably? Or what hope can we have in approaching him, except from the promises which he has given us in the Son of his love? In order to derive benefit to our souls, we must entreat God to “send forth his light and his truth, that they may lead us.” It is only as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, that we can venture to draw nigh to God: for in himself, though a God of love to the penitent, he is to the impenitent “a consuming fire.” Nor could we presume to come to him in Christ Jesus, if he had not expressly declared that he would forgive our sins, and receive us to mercy for Jesus’ sake — — — “This is the new and living way which God has opened to sinful man;” (all access to the tree of life in any other way is barred for everd;) and we should implore of God to reveal it to us, that so we may find acceptance with him, and be restored to that communion with him from which “we have been separated by our sins.”]

But we should look still farther to,

  II.      A life of entire devotedness to his service—

David would offer on God’s altar the sacrifices appointed by the Law. But we have a richer offering than all the cattle upon a thousand hills: yes, we ourselves are the sacrifices which God calls for; and, “as living sacrifices we must present ourselves to him,” that every faculty and power we possess may be consecrated altogether to his service.

[Truly, if God was to David “his exceeding joy,” much more must he be so to us. To David, the wonders of Redeeming Love were, comparatively, but little known. Even John the Baptist himself had but a faint insight into them, in comparison of us. “The height and depth and length and breadth of the love of Christ,” which not even an Archangel can fully comprehend, are revealed to us; and in the contemplation of them we should “rejoice in Him with joy unspeakable and glorified.” Never should our harp lie still. We should be singing his praises every day, and all the day long Nor need our access to God be in the least restrained by the want of public ordinances. Doubtless they are of infinite value; for “God loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob:” but in every house, and in every heart, is an altar to the Lord, from whence the sacrifices of prayer and praise may ascend up before God continually, and be regarded by him as “offerings of a sweet-smelling savour.” In a word, to be devoted to God in heart and life is the great end of ordinances; which are no farther serviceable to us, or acceptable to God, than as they are productive of these effects. And, as it was for this end that David so earnestly implored of God a restoration to his ordinances, so it is this which, in attending upon ordinances, we, my Brethren, must continually bear in mind, and make the great object of our pursuit.]

  APLLICATION—

[As for those who are strangers to spiritual religion, I forbear to address this subject to them; for to them it can appear, as the Apostle tells us, no better than “foolishness:” and their very ignorance of the subject is itself a sufficient condemnation to them. But to those who have been endued with somewhat of a spiritual discernment, I may say, this subject affords abundant matter for the deepest humiliation. For, who amongst us values God’s ordinances as David did, and accounts the loss of them the most bitter ingredient even in the bitterest cup which he has to drink? And, in attending upon them, what coldness and formality do we too often feel! As for “our joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” how faint is it, when compared with that which he expressed in the psalm before us, even in the midst of his heavy and accumulated afflictions! Dear Brethren, I blush for you, and for myself also: and I would propose to you to adopt, for our future imitation, that resolved purpose of the Psalmist, “O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up my glory, awake psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people; I will sing unto thee among the nations: for thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.” Happy shall we be if we attain to such a frame; for it is an anticipation and foretaste of heaven itself.]

DLXXIV

SOURCES AND REMEDY OF DEJECTION

  Ps. 43:5.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

IT has pleased God to suffer many of his most eminent servants to be in trouble, and to record their experience for our benefit, that we, when in similar circumstances, may know, that we are not walking in an untrodden path, and that we may see how to demean ourselves aright. The Psalmist was con versant with afflictions of every kind. In the preceding psalm, which seems to have been penned during his flight from Absalom, he gives us a very melancholy picture of his state: tears were his meat day and night, while his enemies gloried over him, and said continually, Where is now thy God?” “His soul was cast down within him:” for while “the waves and billows threatened to overwhelm him, the water-spouts threatened to burst upon him: so that deep called unto deep,” to effect his ruin; and it seemed as if all the powers of heaven and earth were combined against him. In complaining of these things, he sometimes expostulates with God, “Why hast thou forgotten mec?” but at other times he checks himself, and, as it were, reproves his soul for its disquietude and despondency. The psalm before us was evidently written on the same occasion: it contains the same complaintse; and ends, like the former, with a third time condemning his own impatience, and encouraging his soul to trust in God.

His words lead us to consider,

  I.      The sources of dejection—

It cannot be doubted but that temporal afflictions will produce a very great dejection of mind: for though sometimes grace will enable a person to triumph over them as of small consequence, yet more frequently our frail nature is left to feel its weakness: and the effect of grace is, to reconcile us to the dispensations of Providence, and to make them work for our good: still however, though we are saints, we cease not to be men: and it often happens, that heavy and accumulated troubles will so weaken the animal frame, as ultimately to enfeeble the mind also, and to render it susceptible of fears, to which, in its unbroken state, it was an utter stranger. The disquietude of the Psalmist himself arose in a measure from this source: and therefore we must not wonder if heavy losses, and cruel treatment from our near friends, or troubles of any other kind, should weigh down the spirits of those who have made less attainments in the divine life. But we shall confine our attention principally to spiritual troubles: and among these we shall find many fruitful sources of dejection:

  1.      Relapses into sin—

[By far the greatest part of our sorrows originates here. A close and uniform walk with God is productive of peace: but declensions from him bring guilt upon the conscience, together with many other attendant evils. And if those professors of religion who complain so much of their doubts and fears, would examine faithfully the causes of their disquietude, they might trace it up to secret neglects of duty, or to some lust harboured and indulged — — —]

  2.      The temptations of Satan—

[Doubtless this wicked fiend is an occasion of much trouble to the people of God; else his temptations had not been characterized as “fiery darts,” which suddenly pierce and inflame the soul. We may judge in a measure how terrible his assaults are, when we see the Apostle, who was unmoved by all that man could do against him, crying out with such agony and distress under the buffetings of Satanh. We shall have a yet more formidable idea of them, if we consider that the Lord of glory himself, when conflicting with the powers of darkness, sweat great drops of blood from every pore of his body, through the agony of his soul. Can we wonder then if the saints are sometimes dejected through the agency of that subtle enemy?]

  3.      The hidings of God’s face—

[We do not think that God often hides his face from men without some immediate provocation: but we dare not to say that he never does; because he is sovereign in the disposal of his gifts; and because he withdrew the light of his countenance from Job without any flagrant transgression on the part of his servant to deserve it. It is scarcely needful to observe, how painful that must be to those who love God: our blessed Lord, who bore the cruelties of men without a complaint, was constrained to cry out bitterly under his dereliction from his heavenly Father, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And certainly this is the most distressing of all events: “the spirit of a man, when strengthened from above, may sustain any infirmity; but a wounded spirit, wounded too by such a hand, who can bear?”]

Having traced out the sources of dejection, let us inquire after,

  II.      The remedy—

The great remedy for every temporal or spiritual affliction is faith. This, and this alone, is adequate to our necessities. The efficacy of this principle for the space of three thousand six hundred years is declared in the 11th chapter to the Hebrews; toward the close of which, we are told what it enabled them to do, and what to sufferl. It was that which the Psalmist prescribed to himself as the cure of his disquietude:

  1.      “Hope in God”—

[We are too apt in our troubles to flee unto the creature for help. But it is God who sends our troubles; (“they spring not out of the dustn,”) and he only can remove them. We should therefore look unto him, and put our trust in him. This is the direction which God himself gives us: he reminds us of his wisdom and power to over-rule our trials for good; and exhorts us, when weary and fainting, to wait on him as our all-sufficient Helper.]

  2.      Expect deliverance from him—

[To what end has God given us such “exceeding great and precious promises,” if we do not rest upon them, and expect their accomplishment? The refiner does not put his vessels into the furnace, to leave them there; but to take them out again when they are fitted for his use. And it is to purify us as “vessels of honour,” that God subjects us to the fiery trial. We should say therefore with Job, “When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” It was this expectation that supported David: “I had fainted,” says he, “unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the livingq.” We are told that “light is sown for the righteous.” That is sufficient for us. Between seed-time and harvest there may be a long and dreary winter; but still every day brings forward the appointed time of harvest; and the husbandman waiteth in an assured expectation of its arrivals. Thus must we wait, however long the promise may seem to tarry: and as those who are now in heaven were once in great tribulation like ourselvesu, so shall we in due season be with them, freed from all remains of sin and sorrow. In our darkest hours we should hold fast this confidence, “I shall yet praise him.”]

  3.      View him in his covenant relation to you—

[It is observable, that our Lord, in the midst of his dereliction, addressed his Father, “MyGod! my God!” Now thus should we do. God is the God of all his people; yea, he dwells in them, and is, as it were, the very life of their soulsz. However distressed then we be, we should regard him as “the health of our countenance, and our God.” What a foundation of hope did the remembrance of God’s paternal relation to them afford to the Church of old! And what a sweet assurance does God himself teach us also to derive from the same source! If we unfeignedly desire to be his, we have good reason to believe that we are his: and if we be his, he will never suffer any to pluck us out of his handc. Hold fast this therefore, as an anchor of the soul; and it shall keep you steadfast amidst all the storms and tempests that can possibly assail you.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Those who are in a drooping desponding frame—

[We cannot give you better counsel than that suggested by the example of David.

Inquire, first, into the reasons of your disquietude. If it proceed from temporal afflictions, recollect, that they are rather tokens of God’s love, than of his hatred; for “whom he loveth he chasteneth.” If it arise from the temptations of Satan, take not all the blame to yourselves; but cast a good measure of it at least on him from whom they proceed. If you are troubled about the hidings of God’s face, entreat him to return, and to lift up upon you once more the light of his countenance. And if, as is most probable, “your own sins have hid his face from you,” humble yourself for them, and implore his grace that you may be enabled henceforth to mortify and subdue them. At all events, having once searched out the cause, you will know the better how to apply a remedy.

But, in the nest place, it will be proper to check these desponding fears. The text is not a mere inquiry, but an expostulation; and such an expostulation as you should address to your own souls. For, what benefit can accrue from such a frame? It only weakens your hands, and discourages your heart, and dishonours your God. We do not say that there are not just occasions for disquietude: but this we say, that instead of continuing in a dejected state, you should return instantly to God, who would “give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

But, above all, “encourage yourself in God.” This is what David did in the text, and on another most memorable occasion. And while there is an all-sufficient God on whom to rely, you need not fear though earth and hell should be combined against you.]

  2.      Those who are entire strangers to disquietude and dejection—

[We are far from congratulating you on your exemption from such feelings as these. On the contrary, we would propose to you, in reference to that exemption, the very same things as we recommended to others in reference to their distresses.

First, inquire into the reason of your never having experienced such feelings. “Why art thou NOT cast down, O my soul? and why art thou NOT disquieted within me?” Does it not proceed from an ignorance of your own state, and from an unconcern about that account which you must soon give of yourself at the judgment-seat of Christ? — — —

Next, expostulate with yourself; “O my soul, why art thou thus callous and insensible? Will not thy contempt of God’s judgments issue in thy ruin? — — — It must not, it shall not be: thou hast neglected thine eternal interests long enough: thou shalt, God helping thee, bend thine attention to them from this time: for if thou be summoned before thy God in thy present state, it had been better for me that I had never been born.”

But you also, no less than the disconsolate, must found your hopes on God. All your expectation must be from Him, “with whom there is mercy and plenteous redemption.” If you will but turn to him in earnest, you have nothing to fear: for his word to you is, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”]

DLXXV

THE REIGN OF CHRIST DESIRED

  Ps 45:3–5.

Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

THIS psalm is called “a song of loves:” and it is supposed to have been written on occasion of Solomon’s marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. But, beyond all doubt, a greater than Solomon is here. Solomon was altogether a man of peace: but the King here spoken of was “a man of war;” and all the address which is here made to him has reference to him under that character. It may seem strange that this view of him should be introduced on the occasion of a nuptial solemnity; but it must be remembered, that as the Jews were wont, by God’s special permission, to connect themselves in marriage with females whom they had taken captive in war, allowing them a month to forget their former relatives, so the Messiah first takes captive those with whom he afterwards unites himself in the nuptial bonds. This is particularly marked in the address to the spouse herself: “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty.” Hence, even whilst contemplating the Lord Jesus under the idea of an husband, we see why we should be anxious to behold his conquests extended over the face of the whole earth. That we may attain the spirit which David breathed, let us consider,

  I.      The frame of his mind—

In reading the Holy Scriptures, we should not be content with noticing the mere sense of any particular passage, (though that is doubtless in the first place, and with the greatest diligence, to be examined;) but we should mark the peculiar spirit of it, the spirit which the passage itself breathes, the spirit of the person who wrote it, or which it has a tendency to produce in those who read it. Now, when David penned this psalm,

His mind was full of zeal for Christ—

[He had been contemplating the glory and excellency of Christ: “My heart,” says he, “is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the King.” And so full was his heart of this glorious subject, that “his tongue was as the pen of a ready writer,” which yet was scarcely capable of keeping pace with the ardour of his mind, or of giving utterance to the vast conceptions with which his soul laboured. He beheld the Lord Jesus Christ as possessing in himself an excellency far beyond that of any created being: “Thou art fairer than the children of men.” He saw that, both in the subject and manner of his ministrations, there was a grace which nothing could equal, and which God would honour with the most wonderful success: “Grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” And anxious to behold the full accomplishment of all that the Messiah had undertaken, he further calls upon him to take to him his great power, and to subdue the whole world unto himself: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, and let the people of every nation under heaven fall under thee.” In all this you will perceive, that, instead of speaking of Christ, as he had intended to do, he is constrained, by the ardour of his own mind, to address himself directly to Christ; and, instead of making his thoughts a subject of communication with man, he is led by them into the exercise of immediate communion with his God. Now,]

Such should be the frame of our minds also—

[We should be in the constant habit of meditating upon Christ; and of so musing upon his glorious excellencies, that a fire should be kindled in our bosoms, and we should speak of him with our tongues. And what other subject is there under heaven to be compared with this? Reflect a moment, who the Saviour is! He is “the mighty God.” Consider what he has done! He has assumed our nature, and become a man, in order that, by substituting himself in our place and stead, he might deliver us out of the hands of our great enemy, and bring us into an everlasting union with himself, as “our Friend and our Beloved.” Consider how rich and free and full are all his invitations and promises: and what blessings will attend the progress of his arms, wheresoever men shall be subdued unto him. Should we not long to see his glory advance, and his kingdom established in the world? Should it not be grievous to us to behold so great a part of the world both ignorant of him, and in rebellion against him? Should we not be urgent with him in prayer, to make bare his arm, and to subdue the world unto himself? Surely these are the meditations that become us; and our hearts should be so full of them, that, wherever we go, and whatever we do, He should be present to our minds; and his praise should be, as it were, the constant effusion of our souls.]

But in my text we are more particularly led to notice,

  II.      The object of his desire—

He desires that Christ’s kingdom may be established in the world. But, that I may open this to you the more fully, I wish you to mark,

  1.      Wherein that kingdom consists—

[It is “in the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness” that the Saviour advances to the combat. The whole world is lying in darkness; and he comes to dispel error from their minds. The whole world is full of all manner of abominations: pride stalks through the earth, defying even God himself: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” and every species of wickedness is indulged, without either remorse or fear. But the Lord Jesus Christ comes to humble man in the dust before God; and to transform the children of the wicked one into the very image of their God, in righteousness and true holiness. Who must not wish for such a kingdom to be established throughout the whole world? Who must not make it his very first petition from day to day, “Thy kingdom come?” — — — Truly, wherever that kingdom is, which consists “in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost,” there is heaven itself begun in the souls of men.]

  2.      By what means it is to be erected—

[The sword of the Messiah is the word of God, which, proceeding from his mouth, subdues the universe before him. “That sword is quick and powerful, and pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heartc.” Nothing can eventually stand before it: weak as it may appear, it is “mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Look at the primitive ages of the Church: what was it that brought down all the power and policy both of men and devils? It was not human wisdom, or worldly power: it was the simple exhibition of the cross of Christ, and the preaching of Christ crucified. “This word came to the hearts of men in demonstration of the Spirit and of power;” and, to every soul that received it, it was made “the power of God to his everlasting salvation.”]

  3.      The certainty of its establishment—

[Very sharp were the arrows which were thus sent forth from the Messiah’s bow. Truly “he was a polished shaft in the quiver of Jehovah,” and nothing could stand before itf. True, indeed, God has not yet seen fit to accomplish all the purposes of his grace: but the time is quickly coming, when Satan, that great adversary of God and man, shall be bound, and “all the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” “Terrible things will God work,” either in a way of mercy or of judgment. He has sworn, that “unto his Messiah every knee shall bow.” And every soul that bows not to the sceptre of his grace shall be broken in pieces, as a potter’s vesselh.”]

  Methinks you will now be disposed to ASK—

  1.      How shall I know whether this kingdom be yet begun within me?

[Consider only wherein this kingdom consists; and you will be at no loss to ascertain the state of your souls before God. Has the truth of the Gospel been so revealed in your hearts, as to “bring you out of darkness into marvellous light”? — — — Have you been so humbled by it, as to put your hand on your mouth, and your mouth in the dust, with a deep consciousness of your vileness, and of your desert of God a wrath and indignation? — — — And, lastly, are you so under “the constraining influence of the love of Christ, that you die daily unto sin, and live altogether, not unto yourselves, but unto Him who died for you, and rose again?” These are questions which, if put to your consciences with fidelity, and answered with truth, will shew you at once whose you are, and whom you serve. Truly, by such marks we may infallibly “distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil:” and I entreat you to examine yourselves by them with all imaginable care; because, if you still continue to cast off the Saviour’s yoke, the time will quickly come when he will say, “Bring hither those that were mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, and slay them before me.”]

  2.      How shall I get it established in my soul?

[You have seen the frame of David’s mind. You have seen how he contemplated the Saviour’s love, till his soul was ravished with it, and he burst forth into the devout raptures which we have been contemplating. And this is the way in which the Saviour will acquire an ascendant over our souls. The Apostle tells us: “We, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” I am far from saying that we ought not to search out our own evil ways, and to mourn over them before God; for it is by such repentance that the preparatory work is usually wrought within us: but I say, that nothing but the love of Christ will ever perfect that work, or bring us into the full liberty of the children of God. It is from a view of God’s “truth” that our “meekness” will be matured, and our “righteousness” be perfected: and when we are enabled to live altogether by faith in Christ, and in dependence on his promises, then shall we be enabled to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.”]

DLXXVI

BENEFITS ATTENDANT ON HOLINESS

  Ps. 45:7.

Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

THIS psalm is a nuptial song; wherein Christ, as the heavenly Bridegroom, is celebrated by his Bride, the Church; and she also is commended by him as worthy of the union proposed between them. In the former part, the glory and excellency of Jesus are set forth in a variety of views. In the verse before the text, he is addressed as the supreme “God, whose throne is for ever and ever;” while, as man, he is acknowledged to have received his glory and felicity from the Father, as the reward of his unparalleled virtues. This is undoubtedly the primary sense of the words before us. But they may also be considered as containing a general truth, expressive of God’s regard for holiness, and of those testimonies of his approbation which all godly people shall enjoy.

Let us then turn our attention to them,

  I.      As applicable to Christ—

That they refer to him there can be no doubt; because in the Epistle to the Hebrews it is expressly affirmed that they were addressed to him.

To him the character transcendently belongs—

[In his doctrine, he removed the false glosses with which the Jewish doctors had obscured the law, and established its authority over the motions of the heart as well as the actions of the life. He laid the axe at the very root of sin; and gave a system of morality more pure and perfect than the united wisdom of the whole world had been ever able to devise.

In his life, “he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” Neither his friends who were most intimate with him, nor his enemies who were most inveterate against him, could ever find the smallest flaw or blemish in his conduct. God himself repeatedly attests that “in him was no sin.

But most of all in his death did our blessed Lord approve himself a lover of righteousness and a hater of iniquity: for he died in order to expiate the guilt of sin: yea, he came down from heaven on purpose to atone for it by his blood; and to mark in indelible characters its malignity, by the very means which he used to deliver us from its curse.

In the whole scope of the economy which he introduced, he manifested the same righteous disposition: for at the same time that he commissioned his Apostles to go forth and evangelize all nations, he bade them “teach their proselytes to observe and do whatsoever he had commanded.” His Gospel, while it “brings salvation to men, teaches them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live righteously, soberly, and godly in this present world:” and the ministers who are sent forth to proclaim it, are “sent to bless men, in turning away every one of them from his iniquities.”]

On this account God in a super-eminent degree “anointed him with the oil of gladness”—

[The Father “gave not the Spirit by measure unto him,” even during the time of his ministration upon earth. But though he was anointed in this world in an infinitely more abundant measure than all who were partakers of the same divine unction, yet it was rather after his death that the Spirit was given to him as “the oil of gladness.” At his ascension the words before us received their full accomplishment. Then was “the joy given him, in the expectation of which he had endured the cross and despised the shame.” Then was he “made full of joy by the light of his Father’s countenance,” and was invested with a glory as much transcending that of the highest archangel, as the brightness of the sun exceeds the lustre of a glimmering star. This was given him as the reward of his righteousness: “he loved righteousness;” “therefore the Lord anointed him with this oil of gladness.”]

Though this is the primary sense of the words, we may without impropriety consider them,

  II.      As applicable to us— The character of the true Christian is here most fitly drawn—

[There are many unbelievers whose moral characters are unexceptionable: they abstain from open iniquity, and they perform many acts of righteousness. But the distinctive mark of the believer is, that “he loves righteousness and hates, iniquity.” He looks upon sin as the worst enemy of his soul. Not contented with suppressing the outward acts of it, he strives to mortify its inward motions. The existence of sin within him is his pain, his burthen, his grief. He abhors it; he lothes himself on account of it: he often cries with anguish of heart, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?” As for righteousness, he considers it as the health and felicity of his soul. It is the very element in which he desires to live. Were he possessed of it in ever so high a degree, he would not be satisfied, as long as there were any measure of it which he had not attained. He would be “holy as God is holy,” and “perfect as God is perfect.” We repeat it, that this is the distinctive character of a true believer. Others, whatever their conduct be, have no real hatred of secret sin, no unfeigned delight in the secret exercises of religion: but in the believer these dispositions radically and abidingly exist.]

On this account God vouchsafes him the richest communications—

[Who amongst the sons of pleasure can be compared with the Christian in respect to real happiness? The happiness of the carnal man is only as “the crackling of thorns under a pot;” it blazes for a little time, and then expires in smoke. L~et a true Christian be bereft of all that the world holds most dear, and be reduced to a condition the most calamitous in the eyes of carnal men, yet would he not exchange states with the happiest worldling upon earth: he would spurn at the proposal with contemptuous indignation.

But it is not merely over the ungodly world that a lively Christian has this advantage: “he is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows,” above those who in an inferior degree participate the same heavenly calling. Occasional circumstances of temptation or of darkness may indeed for a time reduce the most eminent Christian below the standard of his weaker brother: but in the general it will be found, that the more we have of the divine image, the more we shall abound in heavenly consolation: they will have most of heaven in their souls, who have the greatest meetness for it in their hearts and lives.

And though these holy joys are not bestowed on account of the believer’s merits, yet are they strictly and properly a reward for his piety: they are a reward of grace, though not a payment of a debt. God has in numberless places assured his people, that “he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” and that “it shall be well with the righteous, who shall eat the fruit of their doings.”]

  INFER,

  1.      What a mercy is it to have such an example as Christ!

[If we entertain any doubt how we ought to walk, or what shall be the issue of a godly life, we need only look to the Lord Jesus Christ: in him we see precisely “how we ought to walk and to please God,” and what shall be the termination of a life spent in the service of our God. In him we shall find an answer to the cavils of the world on the one hand, and to the suggestions of Satan on the other. In those things which Christ did as a prophet, or as the Mediator, he is not an example to us; but in all other things he is: and as surely as we tread in his steps in this world, we shall be seated with him on his throne in the world to come.]

  2.      How vain are the expectations of those who are not conformed to it!

[Holiness and happiness are inseparable. It is in vain to hope for the “oil of gladness,” if we be not lovers of righteousness, and haters of iniquity. We may applaud and canonize those who conform to the world’s standard of perfection; but God will not ratify our sentence. The precepts of the Gospel are the infallible, the only rule of duty. They were exhibited in all their perfection by our blessed Lord, who gave us in his own life a comment on them. If we labour to imitate Him, and to walk in all things as he walked, our short-comings and defects will be forgiven us for His sake: but if we make any reserves in our obedience, we shall be regarded as despisers of his law, and take our portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. “Herein the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil; he that doeth not righteousness is not of God.”]

DLXXVII

THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH AS MARRIED TO CHRIST

  Ps. 45:10, 11.

Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house. So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

THE psalm before us is a kind of nuptial hymn; the former part of which recites the excellencies and glories of the heavenly Bridegroom; and the latter celebrates the praises of the Church, which is his bride. Into this relation to Christ every Believer is brought.

Now, as every change of situation brings with it correspondent duties, so that of marriage in particular requires a sacrifice of all other attachments. It binds each party to renounce whatever habits or practices may be found inconsistent with their mutual happiness. Such sacrifices are more eminently necessary for those united to Christ. To this effect, God addresses the Church in the words of our text.

We may consider,

  I.      The direction given to the Church—

The Church is, by adoption, by regeneration, and especially by her union with the Lord Jesus Christ, become the “daughter of Almighty God.” She is here addressed by him under that affectionate appellation. Nor is it possible for a father to give more salutary advice, or to deliver it in more persuasive terms; “Hearken, consider, incline,” &c.

The direction itself is of a very peculiar nature—

[The Jews were permitted to marry the heathen virgins whom they had taken in war; but they were to allow them the space of a month to forget their own relations. Thus the captives, weaned from former habits, might become loving companions, and obedient wives. In reference to this law, the Church is exhorted to forget her former friends. She has been taken captive by Christ, who makes her the first overtures of marriage; but his union with her is incompatible with carnal attachments. She can never love and obey him as she ought, till her heart is weaned from all other lovers.]

It is given to every individual in the church of God—

[Every wife is to forsake her parents, and cleave to her husband: much more is it needful for the soul to forsake all for Christ. To him we are espoused by our own voluntary surrender; nor will he be satisfied with a divided heartf. Ungodliness and worldly lusts must be entirely renounced: the companions of our unregenerate state must be forsaken Our very parents, yea, even life itself, must be hated, when they stand in competition with himi. The change in our actions and affections must be entire; and we must subscribe from our hearts the terms proposed to usl.]

This injunction will not appear harsh, if we attend to,

  II.      The arguments with which it is enforced—

God deals with us in all things as intelligent beings, and labours to persuade us by rational considerations.

  1.      It is our highest interest—

[Though the Church is vile in herself, she is complete in Christ: he has given orders for her thorough purificationn. When she is presented to him, she is cleansed from all the filthiness of her former state. Hence she is exceeding beautiful in his eyesp; and he feels a longing desire after communion with her. No bridegroom ever so much rejoiced over his bride, as he over herr. More especially is he delighted with her when he sees that her heart is whole and entire with him. How powerful an argument is this with an ingenuous soul! What can influence a wife more than to know that her conduct will conciliate the esteem of her husband? And what can delight a regenerate soul so much, as to please the Lord Jesus Christ? Let this hope then animate us to renounce all for him, and to address him in the words of holy David.]

  2.      It is our indispensable duty—

[The husband is to be considered as lord over his wife: to him she owes an humble obediential reverencex. Christ also is the supreme Head and “LORD” of his Church. No limits whatever are to be set to his authority. We must “worship” and serve “HIM” equally with God the Father. Let us then at least shew him that regard, which we ourselves expect from a fellow-creature. A husband will not endure a rival in his wife’s affections; shall we then “provoke the Lord himself to jealousy” by carnal attachments? Let us not dare in such a way to violate our nuptial engagements. When any thing solicits a place in our hearts, let us utterly reject it; and let us exercise that fidelity towards him, which we have ever experienced at his hands.]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Those who are endeavouring to unite the love of the world with the love of Christ—

[The interests of the world, and of Christ, are altogether opposite. Our Lord declares them to be absolutely irreconcileable. St. James also represents even a wish to reconcile them, as an incontestable proof of enmity against God. As Jesus deserves, so he demands, our whole heartsb. Let us not then “mock him, and deceive ourselves.” If the Lord be God, let us not serve Baal, but him; and let us unite in imitating the repentant Jewsd.]

  2.      Those who are desirous of uniting themselves to Christ—

[It is a great honour indeed which ye aspire after; yet is it offered to the vilest of the human race. But you must get a change of raiment, that you may not dishonour your new stationf. Labour then to “purge out all remains of the old leaven.” Be on your guard, lest, after having escaped the pollutions of the world, you be again entangled with them and overcome. “Remember Lot’s wife,” that you may shun her example; so shall you enjoy the sweetest fellowship with Jesus, and live in the fruition of him to all eternityh.]

DLXXVIII

THE CHURCH’S BEAUTY AND HAPPINESS

  Ps. 45:13–16.

The King’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work: the virgins, her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee: with gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought; they shall enter into the King’s palace.

AMONGST the schoolmen of former days, there were many disputes about works of condignity, and works of congruity as contributing to effect the salvation of men. That in no point of view whatever, did works render men deserving of God’s favours is the avowed sentiment of our Church; yet to the full attainment of salvation, it is quite necessary that every man be holy, and possess what the Scriptures call “a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light.”

The Church is here represented under the character of a Bride that is to be joined, as in the marriage union, to her Lord. For this she must be prepared: and a preparation shall be given her suited to the occasion. In the former part of this psalm, which is penned on the occasion of her marriage, the excellencies of her Lord are set forth: in this latter part, her excellencies also. Let us consider,

  I.      Her transcendent qualities—

In the words which we have read, we see,

  1.      The internal qualities of her mind—

[“The King’s daughter is all glorious within.” She once, in her unconverted state, was corrupt even as others: but she has been “born again,” and “renewed in the spirit of her mind,” and made altogether “a new creature.” Once, being born only after the flesh, she had nothing but what was carnal: but now, having been born of the Spirit, she possesses a truly spiritual nature, or, as St. Peter expresses it, “she is a partaker of the Divine nature;” and is progressively “changed into the image of her Lord himself, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lordb.” Hence “the mind that was in Christ Jesus is found in her.” She has the same views, the same principles, the same desires, the same delights. There is indeed still a corrupt nature within her, “the flesh lusting against the Spirit, as well as the Spirit against the flesh:” but she longs to be holy, as her Lord is holy; and strives to be “perfect, as her Father which is in heaven is perfect.” When compared with what she was, she differs as light from darkness: but in comparison of what she will be, she is only as the dawn to the meridian sun; for “her path is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”]

  2.      The external habits of her life—

[“Her clothing is of wrought gold.” This refers to the outward conversation, which is often in Scripture represented as a putting off of the old man, and putting on the new: “Put off, as concerning the former conversation,” says the Apostle, “the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and put on the new man, which after God is created in right-eousness and true holiness.” To the same effect is that other expression of his, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christe:” that is, let your whole deportment be such as his was; so that any one who beholds you may be constrained to confess, that you “walk as he walked,” and that, “as he was, so are you in this worldg.” Such is every true Believer; nor will the heavenly Bridegroom acknowledge as his, any one, whose spirit, and temper, and conduct do not accord with his. “The raiment of needle-work” may fitly represent the assemblage of all the diversified graces which adorn her. All her dispositions being duly chastised, harmoniously tempered, and opportunely exercised, she shines in every department, and in every act; and at once approves herself faithful to her obligations, and meet for the ulterior honours that shall be conferred upon her.]

Suited to these qualities is,

  II.      The felicity prepared for her—

In due time “she shall be brought to the King’s palace,” there to be united to him in indissoluble and everlasting bonds.

Whilst she is here, she is to be employed in making herself ready—

[In royal nuptials, much time was spent in preparing the bride for her husband. In the purification of the virgins from amongst whom King Ahasuerus was to select a wife, a whole year was occupied: “six months in purifying them with oil of myrrh, and other six months with sweet odours of different kinds:” after which they were presented to him. In like manner we are told, that the Church also is dealt with, in order to prepare her for her heavenly Bridegroom: for it is said, that “Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

This process is going forward through the whole of this life. Every work of Providence, every communication of grace, every afflictive dispensation, and every joyous occurrence, is intended to advance it; that so at last the soul of the Believer may be altogether “worthy to stand before” the King of kings, and to be admitted to the closest fellowship with him for ever and ever.]

This work completed, she is introduced “into the palace of her Lord”—

[It was customary for a number of bridemaids to attend upon the bride, in order to welcome her to her destined home. Accordingly it is said, “The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought with her to the King’s palace.” Even here, whenever any are united unto the Lord, many, both of saints and angels, are ready to congratulate them on the blissful occasion. And how much more will this be the case, when those who are espoused to him in this world shall be brought to consummate their nuptials in the realms of bliss! We read of angels waiting upon Lazarus to bear his spirit to Abraham’s bosom. So at the departure of every saint we may well conceive of multitudes of angels and of their former friends coming forth to welcome their arrival. And O! what Joy will fill every soul! It is said, “With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought:” and we may see in the book of Revelations the whole ceremony pass, as it were, before our eyes. “I heard the voice of a great multitude, saying, Allelujah! Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the white linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb.” Yes, blessed are they indeed, whether in the character of the spouse or her attendants: for though on earth they are different, in heaven they are the same; the one being the collective body of the Church, of which the others are the individual members. This representation, it must be confessed, is figurative: but under the figure there is a reality: for, as the Scripture says, “These are the true sayings of God!”]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Those who have never yet been espoused to Christ—

[Let it not be forgotten, that this is a very common figure in Scripture to represent the surrender of the soul to God. To his Church of old, God said by the prophet Hosea, “Thou shalt abide for me many days; (referring, like our text, to the purifications preparatory to nuptials;) thou shalt not play the harlot; and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.” And again; “I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies: I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord.” In the New Testament also every believer is spoken of in this view: “I have espoused you to one Husband,” says St. Paul, “that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” Know ye then, that if you have never solemnly engaged yourselves to Christ, as a virgin does to the object of her affections, and so pledged yourselves, as not for a moment to admit a rival to your heart, you are not yet Christians indeed: you may bear the name; but you have no just title to the character. I call upon you therefore to do this without delay. And, if you desire to postpone this necessary act, I ask, Whom have you found so worthy of your affections as the Lord Jesus Christ? Who has done so much for you to deserve them? — — — and who will ever make you so rich a return? — — — Say not, “What is thy Beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us:” for there is none to be compared with Him, either in heaven or on earth. “He is fairer than the children of menr:” “He is the chiefest among ten thousand:” “He is altogether lovely.” O, rest not, till with holy confidence you can say, “This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalemt.” And so set yourselves from this moment to prepare yourselves for him, that he may shortly “bring you to his banqueting-house, and his banner over you be love.”]

  2.      Those who profess to stand in the relation of his Spouse—

[Look forward for the period when he will come and take you to himself. The precise hour of his arrival is not known: but it will not be very long, at all events. In the mean time, let your preparation for him be diligent and unintermitted. Seek to be daily more and more “glorious within,” and to have your clothing of wrought gold ever ready; so that if his arrival be ever so sudden, he may not find you unprepared for his call. Be jealous over yourselves; and forgive me if I also be jealous over you, in relation to this matter. You know how “the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety” even in Paradise: and you may be sure that he will use his utmost efforts to “corrupt you from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Be on your guard therefore, lest either in principle or in practice you turn aside from him. He has numberless instruments whom he employs as his agents to deceive the world; “deceitful workers, who can transform themselves into the Apostles of Christ; as he himself also is not unfrequently transformed into an angel of light.” But entreat of God to keep you: beg of him to “hedge up your way with thorns, and even to build up a wall around you, that, if you should for a moment incline to follow after your former lovers — — —, you may not be able to find your paths.” If unhappily you have gone in pursuit of them — — —, implore of God, that “you may never find them; or, having found, may never overtake them:” or, if you have overtaken them — — —, separate yourselves instantly from them, and say, “I will go and return to my first husband; for then it was better with me than now” — — —]

DLXXIX

THE RIVER OF GOD

             Ps. 46:4.

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.

FREQUENTLY, in the Holy Scriptures, is God compared to a fountain: in conformity with which idea, the blessings of salvation which flow from him may well be called “a river.” To the Israelites in the wilderness, there was given a stream which followed them in all their journeys: and to the Church. at this day also, is “a river opened for the refreshment of all who travel Zion-ward.” Innumerable are the necessities of God’s people in this dreary wilderness; and the “troubles” with which they have to contend are often so great as to make it appear as if “the earth itself were removed, and the mountains were carried into the midst of the sea.” But God is with his people; and the river which attends their steps supplies their every want. “The whole city of God is gladdened by it, and especially the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High:” for the nearer any one’s access to God is, the more abundant are the communications made to him of grace and peace.

The exalted character given of this river will justify a minute inquiry respecting it. Let us notice then,

  I.      The source from whence it issues—

[Whence can this be, but from God himself? But on this subject we are not left to form conjectures: for David says, “With God is the fountain of life.” And St. John says, that “there was shewn to him a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb.” From God, as the primary cause of all good, and from the Lamb, who has “purchased the Church with his blood,” and who is constituted “Head over all things to his Church,” and has all fulness treasured up in him for his people’s use; from our adorable Emmanuel, I say, all the blessings of salvation flow. The Father, of his own sovereign will, opened a way for the bestowment of them: the Son, by his atoning blood, procured them for us: and the Holy Spirit imparts them to the souls of men: so that from our Tri-une God does this river altogether proceed. In truth, it was typified by the waters that flowed from the rock in Horeb, and supplied the camp of Israel forty years: “They all drank the same spiritual drink,” says the Apostle; “for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that rock was Christ.”]

We may next notice,

  II.      The channel in which it flows—

[It is in the ordinances of the Gospel that all spiritual blessings are dispensed. For thus saith the prophet: “It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.” To the house of God, those who are athirst come, that they may drink of its refreshing streams. “O God, thou art my God,” saith holy David; “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 hare seen thee in the sanctuary.” Yes; these are “the golden pipes, by which the golden oil is communicated from the olive-trees” to every lamp in the sanctuaryf. See, in the days of old, what blessings attended the ministration of the word, accompanied as it was by an effusion of the Spirit from on high: nothing could withstand its power! So it still “sweeps away from men every refuge of lies, and overflows their hiding places;” at the same time that it bears them up, as in the ark, and saves them from the deluge that will destroy the world.]

We may not unprofitably direct your attention yet further to,

  III.      The depths of “its streams”—

[The Prophet Ezekiel refers so particularly to this, that we must on no account omit the mention of it. He speaks of this river as proceeding “from under the threshold of the sanctuary, and from the side of the altar,” where the sacrifices were offered. Being brought to it by the heavenly messenger who had been sent to instruct him, he was made to pass through its waters, which, in the first instance, rose only “to his ankles.” On being brought to another place, he found the “waters up to his knees;” and, at another place, “up to his loins;” and then, a little further on, it was “out of the depth of any man.” Now this gives a most just and beautiful representation of the Gospel; which, in our first approach to it, is so shallow, that the veriest child may walk in it with perfect ease: but, as we advance in it, we find yet deeper truths; till, at last, its mysteries are unfathomable by any created intelligence; “so unsearchable are God’s judgments, and his ways past finding out.” Nothing can be more simple than the great leading truth of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: a child that can but just “run, may read,” and “a wayfaring-man, though a fool, may understand, it.” But when we attempt to explore the love of Christ displayed in it, we find “a length and breadth and depth and height that infinitely surpass any finite comprehension.”

But of its chief excellencies we must especially mark,]

  IV.      The salubrity of its waters—

[The Prophet Zechariah, especially referring to the Gospel, says, “It shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.” And in the passage before quoted from the Prophet Ezekiel, their efficacy is fully declared: “It shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.” Here then we see, that they give health to the diseased, and life to the dead. Verily, there is no disease which shall not be removed by the use of them. Naaman thought that “Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, might be as serviceable as the waters of Israeln:” and, in like manner, many vainly hope to heal themselves by the application of carnal remedies to their souls. But it is this river only that can purify us from our sins; and the man that washes in it, how leprous soever he may have been, shall instantly experience its healing efficacy. Nor shall its virtue be confined to a single patient: none shall have cause to complain, like the man at Bethesda’s pool, that one less indigent or more highly-favoured than himself has been beforehand with him, and exhausted all its virtue. Not a human being shall fail of obtaining all he needs, if only he apply the remedy in faith: “The fountain is opened for sin, and for uncleannessp: and its powers are yet as effectual as on the day that David washed in it, or the murderers of the Lord of glory sprinkled its waters upon their soulsr. It will even give life to the dead. When a dead man was cast into the sepulchre of Elisha, the very instant his body touched the bones of the prophet, he revived, and stood upon his feet. And shall not these waters, sprinkled on the soul, produce a like effect? Has not our blessed Lord himself affirmed, “I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die?” Let it not be thought that the Gospel has lost one atom of its power: for though men be in a state so desperate, that, as in Ezekiel’s vision, their bones are reduced to dust, and scattered over the face of the earth, yet shall they “rise a great army,” as soon as ever the Word and Spirit of God shall be applied with power to their souls.

That, however, of which our text more particularly speaks, is,]

  V.      Its efficacy to “gladden the whole city of God”—

[In two respects does it contribute to the happiness of every citizen of Zion; namely, by the defence it affords, and by the refreshment it administers. Common rivers, if they afford protection against those who have no means of crossing them, give, in many instances, a greater facility of assault, either by means of large fleets, which transport an enemy with ease to any point he may choose to attack; or by smaller vessels, whereby he may come suddenly and unperceived, and disembark upon its very banks. But this river admits not of access by any such means. Hear the account given of it by the Prophet Isaiah: “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; (the city spoken of in our text:) thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken: for there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.” We may conceive of a river which, by its shoals and cataracts, bids defiance to vessels of any kind; and such is that which encompasses our Zion, and keeps it from every assault. At the same time it supplies the wants of the besieged in rich abundance. From the moment that any one tastes its refreshing streams, “he thirsts no more:” he has within himself, as it were, “a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.” Such perfect satisfaction both to soul and body will these waters give, that all who drink of them will have a foretaste of heaven itself: “they draw water out of this fountain with inexpressible joyz:” “and they are abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God’s house; and he makes them drink of the river of his pleasures.” It is doubtless a strong-expression to say that this is a foretaste of heaven: but look into heaven, and you will find the very same river running there, and the blest inhabitants partaking of it: for “the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne is feeding them, and leads them to living fountains of water; and God wipes away all tears from their eyes.”]

  Let me on this sublime subject found an ADDRESS,

  1.      To those who are in circumstances of difficulty or danger—

[It was after a deliverance from some impending calamity that this psalm was written: and from that deliverance the Psalmist inferred, that they who trust in God have nothing to fear. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea: though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” To every inhabitant of Zion this sweet assurance belongs: “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” Know then your privilege, Brethren: and amidst all the storms and dangers to which you are exposed, see your God as an impassable river around you; or, varying the metaphor, as “a wall of fire round about you, and the glory in the midst of youd.” With such a protector, “can any weapon that is formed against you prosper?” You may bid defiance to every enemy; and say, with confidence, “If God be for me, who can be against me?”]

  2.      To those who are seeking their happiness in the things of time and sense—

[Infatuated people, who are “forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out cisterns for yourselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water!” when will you see your folly? when will you suffer your continued disappointments to instruct you? If you will not believe the word of God, methinks you might learn from your own experience. Did you, from such services, ever receive one single draught that satisfied you? Have you not, even in the moments of your highest enjoyment, found that you were “labouring for that which could not profit,” and that “in the midst of laughter your heart was in heaviness?” Listen, then, to the invitation of the prophet: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price! Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good; and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Verily, if ye will come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and “receive out of his fulness” the blessings he has purchased for you, you shall “see the good of his chosen, and rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and shall glory with his inheritance.”]

DLXXX

THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST AN OCCASION FOR JOY

  Ps. 47:5–7.

God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

IF we read the Psalms of David without any reference to Christ, we shall have a very imperfect view of their import: but if we consider them as containing many prophetical declarations, we shall find in them a rich mine of evangelical knowledge. The psalm before us is supposed to have been written by David, when he earned up the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Mount Zion; and to represent, by that typical event, the ascension of Christ to heaven: and, as that event was celebrated with all possible demonstrations of joy, so we are here exhorted to burst forth in joyful acclamations on account of the exaltation of Christ to his throne in glory.

We shall consider,

  I.      The event predicted—

Observe,

  1.      In what exalted terms our blessed Lord is here spoken of—

[Thrice is he called “God:” the incommunicable name “Jehovah” is also assigned to him: and he is declared to be the “King” of Zion, and “the King of the whole earth.” Now these are the titles given to him throughout the inspired writings. “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” The name whereby he is to be called by all his believing people is, “Jehovah, our Righteousnessc.” The prophet Isaiah also says, “Thy Maker is thine Husband; the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.” In the New Testament he is also designated by the same august titles, as “God manifest in the fleshe,” even “God over all blessed for eyer.” And it is no little satisfaction to us to see, that the doctrine so essential to our happiness, the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, pervades the whole Scriptures, and bears that prominence in them which might reasonably be expected.]

  2.      How exactly the representation here given of him in a figure, corresponds with the reality—

[David had triumphed over all his enemies: and now, in order to honour God who had given him the victory, and that he might have the readier access to God on all occasions, he brought the ark, the symbol of the Divine presence, up to Mount Zion, that there in future it might have a fixed abode. But in this he shadowed forth the true ark, the Lord Jesus Christ, “in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Deity,” as ceasing from his labours, and ascending to his throne in glory, there to complete the victories which he had begun on earth. “On his very cross he spoiled all the principalities and powers of darkness, triumphing over them openly in it;” and in his ascension he “led them all captiveh,” and left his people to contend only with a vanquished enemy. He being now upon his throne, we can have access to him at all times, and may obtain from him all the succour that we stand in need of.]

But this leads me to notice, in reference to this event,

  II.      The interest we have in it—

If we considered it in no other view than as a recompence to Christ, we should contemplate it with joy. But it is a source of the richest possible blessings to us. Consider,

This ascended Saviour is our King—

[This ascension is a proof and evidence to us that he has triumphed over all his enemies. He unites these two together, the one as the effect and consequence of the other; “I overcame, and am set down with my Father upon his throne.” But farther, it is a pledge that he will give us the victory also over all our enemies; He is constituted Head over all things to the Church for this very end and purpose, even “that he might fill all things,” and perfect for his believing people all which their infinitely diversified circumstances can requirem. His being “King over all the earth” abundantly shews us, that he is able to protect us from every adversary, and to supply our every want, and to make us “more than conquerors” over all the enemies of our salvation.]

Hence it is that the Psalmist so urgently renews his exhortation to us to “sing praise” unto him—

[In another psalm he says, “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” The enemies of Christ have rather reason to tremble: for he will surely “break them all in pieces like a potter’s vesselo.” But his people have reason to rejoice, as Solomon plainly intimates; “Arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in thy goodness.” In a word, “God has raised up his Son and given him glory, on purpose that our faith and hope may be in him;” and therefore we shall be inexcusable if we make not this improvement of the subject that is now brought before us.]

Mark then with all due attention,

  III.      Our duty in the contemplation of it—

Five times does David in this short passage repeat his exhortation to us to sing praises to our ascended Lord. This therefore we should do,

  1.      With all possible ardour—

[This is not a duty to be performed in a cold and formal manner; but with all the powers and faculties of our souls. David’s frame of mind should be ours: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.” And again, “I will extol thee, O God, my King; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and evers.” And again, “Praise the Lord, O my soul: while I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God, while I have my being.” To this effect St. Paul exhorts us also; “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoiceu.” “Rejoice evermore; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” To comply fully with the exhortation of the text, praise should be our one employment from day to day, and the very element in which we live. So far as our imperfect state will admit of it, the dispositions and habits of the heavenly hosts should be in such constant exercise with us, that earth should be the very foretaste of heaven itself.]

  2.      With all due intelligence—

[Every duty should be performed in a wise and intelligent manner. “Whether we pray or sing, it should be with the spirit and with the understanding also.” Without fervour, our sacrifice would be lame; and without understanding, blind: and God could never be pleased with such offerings as thesez. The heart and mind must go together, to make our offering a reasonable service. In singing praises therefore to our ascended Saviour, we should distinctly view him, not as a private person, but in his public capacity as our Head and Representative. We should have respect to him also as our Advocate and Intercessor, who is “living on purpose to make intercession for us.” We should moreover consider him as “our forerunner,” who is “gone before, to prepare a place for us, and will shortly come again to take us to himself, that where he is we may be also.” These are the truths which the occasion suggests, and these the thoughts which should infuse the utmost possible fervour into our devotions. Whilst therefore a fire burns in our bosoms, let us be sure that it be taken from the altar of our God, and that the sacrifice we present to him be that of an intelligent, as well as of a devout, worshipper.]

  In the review of this subject we cannot but SEE,

  1.      The blessedness of real piety—

[I put the question to any living man; Can a person be otherwise than happy, that lives in the state inculcated in my text? — — —]

  2.      How little there is of true piety upon earth—

[Take this frame of mind as the true test of piety, and you will find as much of piety amongst the very beasts, as amongst the world at large, yea, and more too: for “the ox does know his owner, and the very ass his master’s crib; whilst God’s professing people neither know nor consider their heavenly Benefactor.”

And how lamentably do even good men live below their privileges! Let the very best amongst us compare his experience with the frame that is here inculcated, and he must confess he has abundant reason to blush and be ashamed. Dear Brethren, let us awake to our duty, and never rest till we have attained such a measure of habitual and intelligent devotion, as shall be an earnest and foretaste of the felicity of heaven.]

DLXXXI

THE CHURCH’S SECURITY IN GOD

  Ps. 48:12–14.

Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof: mark ye well her bulwarks; consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.

MEN read the Bible in order that they may know what they are to do; and this is well: but they should read the Bible also in order that they may know what they are to expect: for that blessed book is no less a record of their privileges, than of their duties. It is of privileges that our text speaks. The psalm evidently celebrates some triumph over confederate kings: and it was probably written on the occasion of Jehoshaphat’s deliverance from the confederate armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir; who, through the special providence of God, turned their arms against each other, and left Jehoshaphat nothing to do but to collect the spoil. That, as might be expected, was a season of very exalted joy to all Judah: and the circumstances altogether correspond very exactly with the intimations given in this psalm. The security of Zion under Divine protection is that which is particularly specified in the text: and we are called to notice it for the benefit of future generations.

Let us consider,

  I.      The survey proposed—

Whatever strength might be in the fortifications of Jerusalem, the writer of this psalm evidently looked beyond them to God, who alone is the security of his people. Moreover, Zion was a type of the Church of God, which is indeed “the mountain of his holiness, beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth; and in whose palaces he is well known for a refuge.” Let us then “walk about her, and tell her towers, and mark well her bulwarks.” Let us mark the bulwarks,

  1.      Of the Jewish Church—

[This was founded on the purposes, the perfections, and the promises of God; and from them were derived her strength and her security.

In a season of great alarm and terror, the prophet being asked, “What shall we answer the messengers of the nation,” who come to apprise us of the approach of the Philistine armies? His answer was, “Tell them that the Lord hath founded Zion, and that the poor of his people shall trust in it.” To this St. Paul adds, “The foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.” God had determined from all eternity that he would have a Church and people in the world: and hence it was that neither Pharaoh in Egypt could prevent, nor all the nations of Canaan could obstruct, the establishment of Mount Zion: for “God’s counsel must stand; and he will do all his will.”

For the preservation of his Church, every perfection of the Deity was pledged. Whilst his wisdom was engaged to disconcert, and his power to defeat, all her enemies, his truth and faithfulness formed a barrier that could not be broken through: so that, till by the iniquities of his people he was constrained to depart from them, he was “a wall of fire round about them, and the glory in the midst of them:” and every attribute of his was “a chamber in which they might lie down in perfect peaceh.”

Often it appeared as if his promise in relation to them would fail: but not a jot or tittle of his word ever did fail: for “he was not a man that he could lie, or the son of man that he could repent.” And, after the people had been forty years established in the land of Canaan, Joshua appealed to them, that “not one good thing had failed of all that God had spoken concerning them, but that every thing had come to pass according to his promise.”]

  2.      Of the Christian Church—

[Our Zion also has “her towers and her bulwarks,” even the finished work of Christ, and the office of the Holy Spirit, and the economy of Redemption from first to last.

The Lord Jesus undertook to purchase unto himself a peculiar people, even with the inestimable price of his own blood: and never did he cease from his work, till he could say, “It is finished.” Every thing that was necessary to expiate our guilt, every thing that was necessary to work out a righteousness for his redeemed people, every thing that was necessary to satisfy the demanda of law and justice, all he completed perfectly: and having fulfilled his covenant-engagements with the Father, it cannot be but that “he should see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied,” even in the promised seed, who should prolong their days, whilst “the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hands.”

True it is, that in vain would Christ have died for his Church and people, if the Holy Spirit had not undertaken to apply to their souls the redemption which he has wrought out for them. But from the day of Pentecost to this very hour, he has not failed “to glorify Christ, by taking of the things that are his, and shewing them unto men.” He finds men dead indeed; but he quickens them to a new and heavenly life: he gives them eyes, to see; and ears, to hear; and hearts to feel the truths which he has revealed to them: and “where he has begun a work of grace, he fails not to carry it on, and to perfect it until the day of Christ.” And hence it is that all the powers of hell have never been able to prevail against them.

Were the Church to be destroyed, the whole plan of Redemption, as devised by the Father, executed by the Son, and applied by the Spirit, would fail; and the Lord Jesus Christ himself would be robbed of all his recompence and all his glory. But, whoever surveys “these towers,” will know assuredly, that “Mount Zion cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.” Yes, “God’s righteousness shall be for ever, and his salvation from generation to generationp.”]

  3.      Of the Church of which we are members—

[As against the world, the Church of England has no other security than what is common to every true Church of Christ: but as against her professed members, who would despoil her of her glory and her excellency, and would sap her very foundations by the introduction of false doctrines into her community. we have towers, and bulwarks, in which we glory, and which we desire you all attentively to survey. “Come, and let us walk round our Zion, and mark well her defences!” See there her Articles; how plain, how strong, how scriptural! there is no truth that is not there established: and though she has many false sons who would surrender them up to the enemy, there is not one which they have ever been able to impair, nor one in which her faithful people do not feel complete security.

Next, behold her Homilies, formed by men of God who knew what assaults would be made against her. There are not wanting men who complain, that these are antiquated, and need repair. But they are as firm and immovable as at the first hour they were constructed: and they defy all the assaults, whether of traitorous friends, or open foes.

Then view her Liturgy.—Next to the Bible, it stands the wonder of the world. Never was there such a composition for the use of those who would worship God in spirit and in truth: and, whilst piety shall continue to characterize the Children of Zion, this will be their joy, their glory, their defence. They may be derided, as too holy, and too precise: but, whilst they can point to her expressions both of prayer and praise, they will feel that they are vindicated against the whole world, and are in a bulwark that is absolutely impregnable.]

The end of this survey is, “that we may tell it to the generation following:” which shews, that, both for their sakes and our own, we should contemplate,

  II.      The consolation arising from it—

What was written so many centuries ago, belongs no less to us than it did to those for whose instruction it was originally composed. It calls our attention to the God of Zion, and reminds us of,

  1.      Our interest in him—

[“This God is our God for ever and ever.” He is the same in himself; and bears the same relation to us; and feels the same concern for us as he did for his Church of old.

“He changeth not:” “he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” “With him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” And is he not our Father, our Friend, our Redeemer, our God? When did he cease to sustain these relations to his Church and people? Or when did he cease to be mindful of the offices which these relations imply? If it be said, He has ceased to work miracles; we grant it: but has he therefore withdrawn himself from the Church and from the world, so as to shut up his loving-kindness from us, and to be gracious to us no more? Were we indeed to believe the infidel and ungodly world, we should say with them, that “God has forsaken the earth:” but we know the contrary: we know, that if God’s presence and agency be less visible than formerly, they are not a whit less real; and that he feels for his people at this hour, as much as ever he did at any period of the world. “He knows their sorrows,” and “in all their afflictions is afflictedr:” nor can an enemy touch so much as one of them, without touching “the apple of his eye.”

Take this then into your consideration, in connexion with the foregoing survey. The same God as watched so tenderly over his people of old, is your God; and watches over you, with the same care as he did over them. His purposes have as much respect to you as to them: his perfections are all engaged as much for you, as for them: his promises are made no less to you, than to them. For you the work of Christ, the office of the Spirit, and the whole economy of Redemption, have secured blessings, as well as for them. And the same Spirit who was poured forth in such abundant measure upon our Reformers, and endued them with such consummate wisdom and grace, is ready to “work upon your hearts,” and to “fulfil in you also all the good pleasure of God’s goodness, and the work of faith with power; so that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I say then, Know from the records of the Church of old what a God you have to go to, and that “this God is your God for ever and ever.”]

  2.      Our expectations from him—

[“He will be our guide even unto death.” See how remarkably he guided Jehoshaphat on the occasion which we suppose to be more particularly referred to: he told Jehoshaphat where his enemies were, at what precise spot he should find them, and when he should go against them: twice was it repeated, “To-morrow go out against them.” So he knows exactly where our enemies are, and what they design against us, and how they are to be met: and though he will not vanquish them without our fighting, yet, if we go forth against them in dependence on him, “he will be with us,” and will subdue them before us. Suppose our most formidable enemies now in array against us; and see in what way he will interpose in our behalf: “Like as a lion,” says he, “and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of Hosts come down to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. As birds flying, so will the Lord of Hosts defend Jerusalem: defending also, he will deliver it: and passing over, he will preserve it.” Here are no less than three figures, rising in a climax one above the other, to illustrate the zeal and efficacy with which he will interpose for us. The first is that of a lion, who, when devouring his prey, will not be intimidated by the noise of shepherds, how numerous soever they may be: (This marks the determination with which Jehovah will prosecute our caused.) The next is that of a parent bird, who, when she sees a bird of prey hovering over her young, and ready to dart upon them, will fly with the utmost rapidity to intercept the devourer’s assault, even at the peril of her own life: (This shews the tender interest which Jehovah will take in our welfare, and the efforts he will make in our behalf.) The last is that of the attendant Angel (the Angel of the Covenant), who accompanied the destroying angel through the whole land of Egypt, and stepped forward, wherever he saw a blood-besprinkled door, to prevent him from executing his commission there: and so effectually constrained him to “pass over” the houses of the Israelites, that, whilst in every house in Egypt the first-born of man and beast was slain, not one of either was slain in any house belonging to the Children of Israel: (This shews the efficacy with which Jehovah will espouse our cause.) Now then what have we to fear with such a Protector? Let men or devils combine against us, we need not give ourselves one moment’s concern. Under all such circumstances, the Psalmist’s language should be ours: “God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble: therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God; the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High: God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” In a word, we may “cast all our care on Him who careth for usz;” assured, that, “if we only make God our refuge and habitation, no evil shall befall us.”]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Search then into your privileges, that you may have the true enjoyment of them—

[Think of people in a besieged city: with what delight would they view the towers and bulwarks which they had reason to believe no enemy could destroy! And will not you, who have the Lord himself for your defence? Consider the representation which he gives of himself, as a broad river, so broad that it cannot be passed but in boats; yet so tempestuous, that no small vessel can live upon it; and so full of rocks and shoals, that no large vessel can navigate it; which consequently, being impassable, secures to you, under all circumstances, the most perfect tranquillity, consider this, I say, and tell me, whether you ought not to be ever rejoicing in your God? I would that all of you should be fully acquainted with your privileges; and that you should be frequently “walking about Zion, and telling her towers, and marking well her bulwarks, and considering attentively her palaces” in which you are lodged and feasted from day to day; that so you may be happy in your own souls, and “God may dwell in you, whilst you thus dwell in him!” For, if you thus “know in Whom you have believed, and that He is able to keep that which you have committed to him,” you cannot but be happy: since he has expressly said, “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on me, because he trusteth in me.”]

  2.      Search into them, that you may make them known to the rising generation—

[We should not be contented to be happy alone, but should desire as far as possible to diffuse happiness all around us. To the rising generation in particular we are bound to transmit the benefits which we have received. The knowledge of salvation is a sacred deposit committed to us for that very end — — — It is scarcely to be conceived how much more profitable to young people the preached Gospel would be, if they were well instructed at home. We teach our children what shall conduce to the advancement of their worldly interests; and shall we neglect the welfare of their souls? — — — In particular, let us endeavour to impress their minds with the knowledge of God, and his perfections; of Christ, and his offices; of the Holy Spirit, and his operations; that so they also may have God for their God, and their guide, and their portion, for ever and ever.]

DLXXXII

THE FOLLY OF WORLDLY MEN

             Ps. 49:13.

This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings.

IT is generally supposed that wisdom pertains chiefly, if not exclusively, to those who are proficients in arts and science: but learning and wisdom are by no means necessarily connected with each other: they may exist separately, each in a high degree: and, in fact, there is nothing more common than to behold persons of the most extensive erudition acting the part of fools in God’s sight, whilst persons destitute of all human acquirements are “walking wisely before him in a perfect way.” Wisdom, properly viewed, is a conformity of the mind and will to the mind and will of God; and it exists precisely in proportion as this conformity exists: the resemblance is wisdom, the deviation folly. Hence we see why David, at the commencement of this psalm, calls, in so solemn a manner, persons of every age and quality to attend to his instructions; and professes to teach them lessons of the profoundest wisdom, when there is not any thing recondite, or any thing uncommon, in the whole psalm. The truths contained in this divine ode are level with every capacity, and therefore might seem to be improperly ushered in with so pompous an introduction: but they are at the root of all practical religion; and they draw a broad line of distinction between those who are wise, and those who are unwise, in the estimation of their God.

The whole subject of the psalm will come properly before us, whilst we consider,

  I.      The way of worldly men—

It may naturally be expected, that “they who are of the world, should speak of the world,” and seek it as their most desired portion: and they are described as doing so in the psalm before us.

They are altogether engrossed with earthly things—

[Worldly distinction is the one object of their ambition. For this end chiefly both wealth and honour are pursued. Having attained these things in a considerable degree, they bless themselves, as possessing somewhat wherein they may trustb, somewhat that will make them happy for a long time to come, and somewhat that shall transmit their names to posterity as worthy of admiration — — —]

But “this their way is their folly”—

[Wealth and honour are far from affording the satisfaction that is expected from them: they will not ward off sickness and death, either from ourselves or others: nor can they follow us into the eternal worlde. The moment we die, as very speedily we all must, nothing of them remains to us but the fearful responsibility attached to the possession of them. Instead of “profiting us in the day of wrath,” they will rather augment our final condemnation, if they have not been improved for God as talents committed to us. In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus we behold the bitter consequences of living only to the flesh: the man who has his good things in this life, will want in the eternal world a drop of water to cool his tongue: “he will never see light,” but be consigned over to the everlasting regions of darkness and despair. We wonder not therefore, that the man, who, because he had gotten much, thought of nothing but his temporal enjoyments, “Soul, take thine ease,” is by God himself derided as a fool: “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.”]

Yet, such is the influence of example, that, notwithstanding the folly of such conduct is visible to all, the same is pursued by every succeeding generation—

[No one who considers for a moment the issue of such conduct to those who have gone before them, can doubt the folly of it: for, whatever rank or station men held in this life, or whatever may be said of them now they are gone, what remains to them of their wealth or honour, or what enjoyment have they of their posthumous fame? If we extol them ever so high, they feel no satisfaction; and if we condemn them ever so harsly, they are unconscious of either shame or pain: they are interested in nothing but in the quality of their actions as approved or condemned by their Judge. This we all know; yet no sooner have we a prospect of wealth and honour ourselves, than our desires are as ardent, our expectations as sanguine, and our dependence as unqualified, as that of any who have gone before us. The conviction of their folly only floats in our imagination, but never descends as a, principle into our hearts. We see and blame their folly; yet approve in practice what in theory we condemn.]

As contrasted with this, let us consider,

  II.      The way which true wisdom prescribes—

In verse 15, the Psalmist gives us that precise view of the subject which he had before characterized as replete with wisdom: “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me;” that is, Whilst worldly men have no prospects beyond the grave, I look forward to a happy eternity, which shall be the portion of all who truly serve God. Hence then we see what way true wisdom prescribes: it teaches us,

  1.      To regard this world in its connexion with eternity—

[View this world as the whole state of man’s existence; and they speak well, who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” But this world is a mere passage to a better; it is an inn, at which we sojourn for a night, in our way to a better country. A person tarrying only for a few hours is not greatly elated, if his accommodations be good; nor greatly depressed, if they be bad. He considers, in either case, that it is not his home; that his comfort or discomfort is very transient; and that it will be time enough to look for unmixed enjoyments, when he shall have reached his Father’s house. Moreover, this world must be considered as a state of preparation for a better; every thing that is done here being an occasion of increased happiness or augmented misery to all eternity. In this view of the world, every pain and every pleasure acquires a new aspect. The things that are so highly prized by ungodly men lose their value; and every thing is esteemed good or bad, according as it quickens or retards us in our Christian course. Hence true wisdom says, “Love not the world,” “neither be of iti;” but “be crucified to it, and let it be as one crucified to you.”]

  2.      To follow the footsteps of the saints of old—

[There are those who have gone before us, whose ways were not folly, though they might be esteemed foolish by those who were themselves blinded by Satan. “Abraham went out from his kindred and his country, not knowing whither he went:” Moses refused all the wealth and honour that Egypt could afford, that he might participate in the lot of God’s persecuted and despised peoplem: many saints “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance:” Matthew left his lucrative employment to follow Christo: Paul suffered the loss of all things for Christ; and after having engaged in the Christian course, attended to nothing but his progress in it, straining every nerve to win and secure the prizeq. All of these would be thought by the world to carry religion to a very culpable excess: but they acted with consummate wisdom, each in the part he took: they all “chose the good part, which could not be taken away from them.” Let any one who reflects on the present state of these eminent saints, say, whether “their way was folly?” If it was not; if, on the contrary, it accorded with the dictates of true wisdom, then let all not only “approve their sayings,” but imitate their doings also, and “be followers of them, as they were of Christ.”]

  ADVICE—

  1.      Guard against the influence of bad example—

[There is nothing urged with greater confidence to deter young persons from a religious course, or to draw them back again to the world, than example. They are told from time to time what such and such persons do; and can this be wrong? But whoever they are who are proposed to us for examples, we have only one question to ask; Did they regulate their conduct according to the revealed will of God? and was it the one labour of their lives to walk as Christ walked? If this was not the case, it signifies not who they were, or what they did: “their way was their folly;” and instead of taking them as examples to follow, we should rather regard them as monuments to warn us against impending ruin. If the number and respectability of the persons be urged, let us remember that to “walk according to the course of this world, is to walk according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” “Christ died to deliver us from this present evil world:” we must therefore leave the broad road that leadeth to destruction, and walk in “the narrow way that leadeth unto life.” True it is, that “if we do well unto ourselves (in advancing our own temporal interests), men will speak good of us:” but it is of little consequence what men speak or think: nothing will be of any lasting benefit to us, but the approbation of our Gods.]

  2.      Cleave to Him who alone is able to redeem our souls—

[If man cannot redeem his brother from temporal death, much less can he the soul from spiritual and eternal death: the price required for that is more than all the creatures in earth or heaven are able to pay. But Christ has paid the mighty ransom: with his own “precious blood,” he has redeemed us from sin and Satan, from death and hell. Seek him then, and you are richer than ten thousand worlds could make you. In him you have “durable riches, and righteousness.” Go to him, and he will give you “gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich.” After him your desires cannot be too ardent; your expectations from him cannot be too enlarged; your dependence on him cannot be too entire and confident. On that side you need not fear excess. And if the world deride your way as folly, regard it not: they will soon alter their sentiments: the moment they enter into the eternal world, they will know infallibly who were wise and who were fools: and when they meet you at the judgment-seat of Christ, they will say, “We fools counted their life madness:” their reproaches then will be turned upon themselves, and their one subject of lamentation will be, that they “approved the sayings” of a blind ungodly world, instead of the infallible sayings of their God. This is the way to “walk not as fools, but as wise:” and, so walking, you shall surely ere long have the plaudit of your Judge, “Well done, good and faithful servants! enter ye into the joy of your Lord.”]

DLXXXIII

THE DEGRADED STATE OF MAN

             Ps. 49:20.

Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

MAN, when first he came out of the hands of his Creator, was perfect; and fit to be God’s vicegerent, if I may so speak, in this lower world. God put all the rest of the creation under him, and gave him dominion over all the work of his hands. But, from the time that man fell, he became degraded in all his faculties, and in many respects like unto the beasts that perish. True, possessing reason, he still held a superiority over them in those things which belong exclusively to the province of reason: but, in every thing which depends on grace, he was reduced to a level with them. To man converted by the grace of God this superiority is restored: but to man in his natural and unregenerate state, even though he be exalted to the highest pinnacle of honour amongst his fellows, this humiliating declaration is fully applicable: “Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.”

He is like them,

  I.      In his understanding—

In things pertaining to the body, man is far inferior to the brute creation, being excelled by one or other of them in every faculty and power. In agility and strength he is not to be compared with myriads of beasts, both tame and savage: and in all the senses he falls exceedingly below them. His sight, his smell, his taste, his hearing, his feeling, are in no respect equal to that which exists among the different orders of beasts and birds and insects; so that, in all that is corporeal, they are superior to him. In what is intellectual, doubtless he retains his superiority; though, after all, in ten thousand instances, instinct in them leaves him far behind, and enables them to discern and execute things without number which man with all his attainments can never reach. But it is in things relating to the soul that I am to speak of him: and in these he will be really found as stupid and brutish as the very beasts.

[The beasts do discern, for the most part, what is conducive to their welfare, and distinguish it from that which would prove injurious. But, waving this, I will admit that the beasts discern not the comparative value and excellency of the things around them. And what, I would ask, are the views which men have of sin and holiness, of heaven and earth, of time and eternity? I ask not what their speculative notions may be, but what their practical views? Who, in his unregenerate state, regards all earthly things as vain, empty, worthless? Who looks upon sin as hateful and abominable? Who affects holiness as the perfection of his nature, and as a source of the sublimest bliss? Who accounts every thing as dung and dross in comparison of the favour of God, and the enjoyment of the divine presence? Theoretically, it is true, men know better than the beasts; but practically not a whit more than they; yea, they sink below the beasts in proportion as they act directly contrary to the plainest dictates of their judgment. Unconverted men, notwithstanding they acknowledge a supreme Being, act as much without a reference to his approbation as the very beasts: and hence David describes and addresses them in these humiliating, but most appropriate, terms: “They say, The Lord shall not see; neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?” Nay, more, the pious Agur, cast down on account of the remains of these infirmities within him, exclaimed, “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.” I think, then, that the assertion in my text is thus far made good; and that not only are the lowest of the people in the state described by him, but the highest and most exalted upon earth. In this respect there is no difference between men; for all, without exception, are practically, and by nature, as the beasts that perish.]

But man resembles the beasts also,

  II.      In his habits—

[See what are the habits of the brute creation! All are intent on that only which will gratify their sensual appetites; and all look to present gratifications, without any regard to the future. And what is the state of man, of every man, by nature, whether he be old or young, rich or poor, learned or unlearned? Is not every one living for himself, and seeking the things of time and sense, rather than those which are apprehended only by faith, and relate altogether to eternity? I grant that some are prosecuting chiefly intellectual pursuits: but still it is for themselves, and not for God, that they do it: and if I admit that they soar with the eagle, instead of wallowing in the mire as swine, I still recur to my text, and say, that, whilst living for themselves, and not for God, they are only as the beasts that perish. A man that is taught of God affects higher things than these. He soars far beyond the sun and all created systems, how many or remote soever they may be: he rises to God himself. Contemplating all His glorious perfections, searching into all His eternal purposes, admiring all the wonders of redeeming love, and anticipating the fruition of God himself; this is the constant habit of his mind, and the most eager pursuit of his life, from day to day. “Eye has never seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived, the things which fill his soul.” None can appreciate the engagements of his soul, till they themselves are born from above, and taught by the Holy Ghost: for “he searcheth the deep things of God,” which none but those who are taught, of God can know, or conceive, or estimate But to such habits, I say again, the unenlightened man is as great a stranger as the beasts. “He is of the earth earthy,” even as the beasts themselves are. And this I say of the wise and learned. What, then, are the generality of men? St. Jude says of them, that, instead of seeking heavenly things, “they speak evil of the things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” And he knows but little of the world, who does not know, that “this witness is true.”]

The same resemblance holds good,

  III.      In his end—

[This perhaps is the point more immediately referred to in my text. “Men’s inward thought,” he observes, “is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish ….. For, when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away with him: this glory shall not descend after him.” To the same effect Solomon also speaks: “I said in my heart, concerning the estate of the sons of men, that they, if God manifested it to them, might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they all have one breath: so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of dust, and all turn to dust again.”

But we must not confine our attention to the mere circumstance of the mortality of each. The Psalmist had in his mind the thoughtlessness of men respecting any thing beyond this life; agreeably to what he says, in another psalm; “A brutish man knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand this; that when the wicked do spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.” Here is their folly, their stupidity, their brutishness: an eternal world is revealed to them; and they will not consider it: heaven and hell are opened to their view; and they will do nothing to avoid the one or obtain the other. Could they indeed die like the beasts, without any future state of retribution, it were happy for them: and such is the state of mankind at large, that there are very few, comparatively, who would not welcome annihilation as a rich and acceptable boon. But to the bar of judgment every soul will be summoned ere long: and “all must receive, at the hands of their Judge, according to what they have done in the body, whether it be good or evil.” If in other things, then, they are reduced to a level with the beasts, in this they fall far below them; inasmuch as, with an intellect capable of appreciating eternity, they act as if they had no more interest in it than the beasts themselves.]

  SEE, then,

  1.      What a difference there is between an intelligent Christian and all others!

[I will take the one from the lowest, and the other from the highest, walks in life; and say that the intelligent Christian, however mean, resembles God; whilst the worldling, however elevated, is Like the beasts that perish. In his understanding, the regenerate man sees things as they really are, and knows that the things which are visible and temporal are not worthy of a thought in comparison of those which are unseen and eternal. In his habits, too, he seeks not the things which are on earth, but those which are in heaven, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. And in his end, he goes to a world of blessedness and glory, where he shall abide for ever in the bosom of his God. His unenlightened neighbour accounts all this as folly: but the time is coming, and very shortly too, when it will be made to appear which of the two was really wise — — —]

  2.      Of what immense importance is the Gospel!

[It is the Gospel only that changes the hearts of men. Doubtless God may use any means, or accomplish the conversion of a soul without means: but his appointed means are the Gospel, with which, in all ages, he has “turned men from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” My dear Brethren, I do hope that some at least of you can bear testimony to the truth of what I say. Once you were as blind as others: but now you see. Once you had no more concern about your souls than others; and lived, like others, for this world only: but now, through the grace of God, you are brought to tread in the steps of Christ and his holy Apostles, and to value nothing in comparison of the favour of your God. And what is it that has made this difference between your present and your former selves? It is the Spirit of Christ that has quickened you, and the love of Christ that yet daily constrains you: and by this change you are assimilated to the glorified saints and angels, yea, and to the image of God himself. Bear testimony, then, to the truth and efficacy of the Gospel; and commend that to others which you have found so effectual for your own souls.]

DLXXXIV

SPIRITUAL OBEDIENCE PREFERRED BEFORE SACRIFICE

  Ps. 50:7–15.

Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee; I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds; for every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High: and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

IN the psalm before us we have one of those sublime addresses which Jehovah occasionally makes to the whole creation, to hear and judge between him and his offending people. The images are taken from his appearance on Mount Sinai, which was with terrible majesty, insomuch that “Moses himself said, I exceedingly fear and quake.” The scene is “Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,” even that Zion from whence the Gospel has proceeded, and from whence Jehovah speaks to us as our Covenant-God: and this circumstance adds ten-fold weight to his accusations against us. The persons whom he arraigns before his tribunal are of two descriptions: those who rested in mere ceremonial observances for the obtaining of God’s favour; and those who, pretending to higher principles, dishonoured by their conduct their high and holy profession; or in other words, formalists and hypocrites. It is the former of these two characters whom he reproves in our text: and the testimony which he bears against them sets forth in very striking terms,

  I.      The worthlessness of merely formal religion—

Men are apt to imagine, that by their observance of external duties they lay God under obligation to them—

[God had appointed many rites and ceremonies; and he required the observance of them on the pain of death: but he enjoined them for the people’s good, and not for any benefit that could accrue to himself. What pleasure could he take in the blood of bulls and goats? or, if he did, what need had he to be indebted to his people for such offerings, when the whole world was his, and all the cattle on a thousand hills were at his command? It was absurd therefore, and impious, in his people to think that they conferred any obligation upon him by their offerings and oblations.

But the very same error obtains amongst us at this day. If we comply with the external commands of God in an observance of the sabbath, an attendance on ordinances, and a performance of certain duties in the family and the closet, we think that we have a just claim on God, and that he must of necessity feel as much complacency in us, as we do in ourselves. We adduce these services as a clear evidence of the goodness of our hearts, and as an indisputable title to the divine favour — — —]

But external services are of no value in the sight of God, any farther than they are accompanied by vital piety—

[On many occasions God declared his contempt for outward observances, in comparison of spiritual obedience: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice:” “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken, than the fat of rams.” By the Prophet Isaiah, God replies to those who boasted of “the multitude of their sacrifices;” and tells them, that the whole course of their services, unaccompanied as they were by real piety, were an utter abomination in his sight — — — Even whilst bringing his people through the wilderness, he had explicitly declared to them, by Balaam, that it was “not by offering thousands of rams, or rivers of oil, or by giving their first-born for their transgression, the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul, that they were to please him, but by doing justly, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God.” In like manner we are told by our blessed Lord, that it is “to no purpose that we pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, if we neglect the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and truth;” and that to draw nigh to God with our lips, whilst our heart is far from him, is nothing but vile hypocrisy. Indeed a moment’s consideration may convince us, that outward services, of whatever kind, cannot be of any value in the sight of God, except as expressions or vehicles of inward piety: for they may be performed without any good principle in the soul; yea, they may proceed from extremely vile and corrupt principles, such as pride, and ostentation, and self-righteousness; and they may most abound, not only where all manner of iniquity is harboured, but as a cloak and cover to that iniquity. In a word, “a form of godliness, where the power of it is denied,” is the consummation of all ungodlinessi.]

This is an offensive truth indeed, but it is indispensably necessary to be received—

[How offensive a truth this is, may be seen, by the way in which the hearers of the first martyr, Stephen, resented it, even before it was actually declared, and when they discovered it only as the ultimate scope of his argument. Stephen had given a summary view of God’s dealings with his people from the very beginning: and the scope of his argument was, that as God had a people before the Mosaic dispensation commenced, so he would after its termination; as had been intimated by the Prophet Isaiah, who represents God, as pouring contempt even upon the temple itself, in comparison of a broken and contrite heart. This passage having been cited by Stephen, the whole audience were filled with indignation, which was visibly manifested in all their countenances, and which gave occasion to that exceedingly abrupt change in Stephen’s address to them; “Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” Similar offence is given at this day, when we declare the worthlessness of all external duties as detached from the feelings of the heart But the very circumstance of God calling heaven and earth to hear his testimony against his people, sufficiently shews, that his accusations, against whomsoever brought, involve in them the deepest criminality, and subject the accused to the heaviest condemnation.]

Contrasted with mere ritual observances, we behold in our text,

  II.      The religion which alone is pleasing and acceptable to God—

Religion consists not so much in actions, as in the habit of the mind towards God. Holy actions of every kind spring from it; but they are only as the fruit, which originates in, and bears testimony to, the vital energy of the root. Wherever religion exists in the soul, it will have respect to God in all things, and will induce in us a habit towards him,

  1.      Of lively gratitude—

[He is our Creator, our Benefactor, our Redeemer: and the very first motions of religion will lead us to view him under these relations, and with feelings suited to the obligations he has conferred upon us. Can we reflect on the faculties with which he has endowed us, so far superior to all the brute creation, and not adore and magnify his name? Can we contemplate the innumerable benefits with which we are loaded by him from day to day, and not feel how greatly we are indebted to him? Above all, can we survey the wonders of redeeming love, and not have our whole souls penetrated with an overwhelming sense of gratitude? — — — So infinitely does this love surpass all human comprehension or conception, that if our minds were filled with it as they ought to be, we should scarcely be able to think or speak of any thing else — — — Such, we are sure, is the religion of heaven; for there “they rest not day nor night” in ascribing all possible praises to their redeeming God: and such, according to the measure of grace given to us, will be the dispositions and habits of all who are truly alive to God — — — “We shall offer him the sacrifice of praise continually,” and “render to him the calves of our lipsn.”]

  2.      Of willing service—

[The Jews were, by the very covenant they had entered into at their circumcision, bound to consider themselves as “a holy people, a kingdom of priests:” and we also, by virtue of our baptismal vows, are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” The vows then made, it will be our labour, and our delight, to perform. As the holy angels are “doing God’s will, hearkening to the voice of his word,” so we shall be studying to know his will, and be standing ready to execute it to the utmost of our power. It is astonishing what an alteration a principle of religion makes in the soul in this particular! The natural man lives only to himself: the spiritual man lives, or at least endeavours to live, wholly to the Lord; to have no will, no way, no desire, no thought, but what will be pleasing and acceptable in his sight. That which was the first expression of piety in Paul, is the first of every converted soul; “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” A view of him as our Master and our Father will ensure this: and in proportion as religion increases in the soul, will be our endeavour to “glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which are hisq.”]

  3.      Of humble dependence—

[Religion leads us to realize in our minds the thought of God’s superintending care and effectual agency in our behalf. It does not bring us only to a sense of our obligations to him, but, if we may so speak, to a sense of his obligations to us: for, if “we be his people, he also is our God:” and he, by virtue of his covenant and oath, is as much bound to employ all his glorious perfections for us, as we are to improve all our faculties and powers for him. What a blessed thought is this! In what an exalted view does it place religion, which, if it calls us to duties, invests us also with the most glorious privileges! It teaches us to “call upon him in every time of trouble,” persuaded that “he will hear us,” and give us ever increasing occasion to “glorify his name.” This realizing sense of his presence, this assurance of his effectual interposition in every time of need, is the crown and summit of religion: it most of all glorifies God, and ensures beyond a doubt the richest testimonies of his approbation.]

  Let us LEARN then from hence,

  1.      How to estimate aright our own character—

[It is not by negative virtues, no, nor by positive virtues of an external kind, that we are to judge of ourselves, but by the disposition of our minds towards God. We may be able to say with the Pharisee, “I am no extortioner, not unjust, no adulterer;” and may be able to add with him, “I fast twice in the week, and give tithes of all that I possess;” and yet be odious characters in the sight of God. If we would not deceive ourselves, we must inquire into the sense we have of our obligations to him, the determination we feel to approve ourselves faithful to him in the whole extent of our duty, and the confidence with which we are enabled to cast our care on him for body and for soul, for time and for eternity. Without this, whatever else we may possess, we are only “as sounding brass, and as tinkling cymbals:” and “if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. We must therefore prove our own selves, that so we may have rejoicing in ourselves and not another.”]

  2.      How to secure a favourable testimony from your God—

[Man may easily be deceived: but God will assuredly judge according to truth. He “weigheth,” not the actions only, but “the spirits” of men. And when he shall come at the last day, as he certainly will, in majesty and glory infinitely more terrible than that displayed at Sinai, he will testify of us before the assembled universe: and it will be a small matter that he has not to lay to our charge a neglect of outward services, if he have to accuse us of a want of those holy dispositions which we should have entertained and exercised towards him.

We entreat you then, Brethren, to look well to the state and habit of your minds: see to it, that you “delight yourselves in God;” that your whole life be a life of faith in him, of love towards him, and of zeal for the glory of his name: and, whilst you are presenting to him your own bodies and souls as a living sacrifice, present to him that great Sacrifice which was once offered on Mount Calvary for the sins of the whole world, and which alone can avail for your final acceptance with him. Much as he despises the blood of bulls and goats, he will not despise the blood of his only dear Son; but will, for the sake of it, pardon all your sins, and accept, yea and reward too with everlasting happiness and glory, all your imperfect services.]

DLXXXV

TRUE PENITENCE DESCRIBED

  Ps. 51:1–3.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions! Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me.

SIN is, for the most part, thought a light and venial evil, especially amongst the higher ranks of society: as though the restraints of religion were designed only for the poor; and the rich had a dispensation granted them to live according to their own will. But sin, by whomsoever committed, will, sooner or later, be as the gall of asps within us; nor can all the charms of royalty silence the convictions of a guilty conscience. View the Psalmist. He had been elevated, from the low condition of a shepherd’s boy, to a throne: yet, when he had offended God in the matter of Uriah, there was not found in his whole dominions a more miserable wretch than he. Before his repentance became deep and genuine, “his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long: for day and night God’s hand was heavy upon him; and his moisture was turned into the drought of summer.” Even in his penitence we may see how heavy a load was laid upon his mind. This psalm was written on that occasion: and the words before us, whilst they declare the workings of his mind, will serve to shew us, in a general view, the true penitent:

  I.      In his occasional approaches to the throne of grace—

“Mercy” is the one object of his desire and pursuit. Observe,

  1.      His petitions—

[“Have mercy upon me, O God; blot out my transgressions! wash me throughly from mine iniquities; and so cleanse me from my sin,” that no stain of it may remain upon my soul! Here he views his sins both individually and collectively; and, spreading them before the Lord with conscious guilt, he implores the forgiveness of them: dreading lest so much as one should be retained in the book of God’s remembrance, as a ground of procedure against him in the last day — — — Thus will every true penitent come to God: and plunge, as it were, into the fountain of the Redeemer’s blood, “the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness” — — —]

  2.      His pleas—

[Though David had, till the time of his grievous fall, served God with a more than ordinary degree of zeal and piety, he makes no mention of any past merits, nor does he found his hope on any future purposes. He relies only on the free and sovereign grace of God, as displayed towards sinners in the gift of his only dear Son: and to that he looks, as the ground and measure of the blessings he implores. This is the view which every true penitent must have. He should see that God is of his own nature inclined to mercy; and that all which Christ has done for us is the fruit of the Father’s lovec. Such are the pleas which God approves; and such will surely prevail in the court of Heaven.]

But, view the penitent farther,

  II.      In the daily habit of his mind—

Repentance is not a mere occasional expression of the mind, but a state or habit that is fixed and abiding in the soul. The true penitent, wherever he goes, carries with him,

  1.      A sense of guilt—

[“His sin is ever before him:” indeed, he wishes it to be so: he desires to be humbled under a sense of it: and though he longs to have his transgressions blotted out of God’s book, he would never have them effaced from his memory; or cease, if he could help it, to have as deep an impression of their odiousness and malignity, as if they had been but recently committed — — — To his latest hour he would “walk softly” before God, in the remembrance of them.]

  2.      A sense of shame—

[He is ashamed when he reflects on his conduct throughout the whole of his life; yea, “he blushes and is confounded before God,” and even lothes and abhors himself in dust and ashese.” Nor does a sense of God’s pardoning love produce any difference; except, indeed, as enhancing the lothesomeness of his character in his own eyes.” The name which, in sincerity of heart, he acknowledges as most appropriate to him, is that which the Apostle Paul assumed, “The chief of sinners.”]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      Those who are not conscious of having committed any flagrant transgression—

[Many, doubtless, are of this character. But have they, on that account, any reason to boast? Who is it that has kept them? “Who is it that has made them to differ?” Will they themselves deny that the seeds of all evil are in them? or that, if they had been subjected to the same temptations as others, they might have proved as frail as they? Are they better than David previous to his fall? Let them, then, confess their obligations to God; and remember, that if in outward act they have less reason for humiliation than others, they have the same depravity in their hearts, and are in reality as destitute of vital piety as others; and, consequently, have the same need of humiliation and contrition as they.]

  2.      Those who are deeply sensible of their guilt before God—

[What a consolation must it be to you, to see that there was mercy even for such a transgressor as David. Greater enormity than his can scarcely be conceived: yet not even his prayers were poured forth in vain. Two things, then, I would say to you. The first is, Do not attempt to extenuate your own guilt, as though you would thereby bring yourselves more within the reach of mercy. The other is, Do not presume to limit God’s mercy, as though it could not extend to such a sinner as you. You never need be afraid of beholding your wickedness in all its extent, if only you will bear in mind that God’s mercy in Christ Jesus is fully commensurate with your utmost necessities or desires. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin:” and the more you feel your need of it, the more shall you experience its unbounded efficacy. Only humble yourselves as David did; and, like him, you shall experience all the riches of redeeming grace.]

  3.      Those who have obtained mercy of the Lord—

[Happy, beyond expression, are ye! as David says; “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sin is covered.” Be joyful, then, in God your Saviour. But still remember, that you have need at all times to watch and pray. If David, after all his high attainments, fell, who is secure? “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” And learn from him to guard against the very first approaches of evil. It was by a look that his corruptions were inflamed: and from the progress of evil in his heart, you may learn to make a covenant with your eyes, yea, and with your hearts too. You see in him “how great a matter a little fire kindleth.” Walk humbly, then, before God; and cry to him day and night, “Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not!”]

DLXXXVI

SIN AN OFFENCE AGAINST GOD

  Ps. 51:4.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

THE occasion of this psalm is well known: it refers to one of the most melancholy transactions that ever took place in the world. In point of enormity, the deed is almost without a parallel; because it was performed by a man who till that time had made the highest professions of religion, and had been characterized even by God himself as “the man after God’s own heart.” But it is not the crime which David committed, but only the repentance which followed it, that is the subject of our present consideration. For a long time his heart was hardened: but after that Nathan had come from God to accuse and condemn him, he yielded to the conviction, and humbled himself before God in dust and ashes. In this psalm is recorded the prayer which David offered unto God on that occasion: and it was given by David to the Church, that it might be a pattern, and an encouragement, to penitents in all future ages. The particular declaration in our text is introduced as an aggravation of his guilt. We are not however to interpret it so strictly, as if the crime which David had committed were really no offence against man; for in that view it was as heinous as can possibly be conceived: it was a sin against Bathsheba, whom he had defiled: against Uriah, whom he had murdered; against Joab, whom he had made an instrument to effect the murder; against all the soldiers, who were murdered at the same time; against the friends and relatives of all who were slain; against his own army, who were hereby weakened and discouraged; against the whole nation, whose interests were hereby endangered; against the Church of God, who were hereby scandalized; and the ungodly world, who were hereby hardened in their iniquities. It was “a sin also against his whole body.” We must therefore understand the expression rather as comparative; as if it had been said, “Against thee, thee chiefly, have I sinned.” Nevertheless, as an offence against God, the enormity of the crime is so great, as almost to swallow up and annihilate every other consideration of it, as the meridian sun reduces to non-existence, as it were, the twinkling of a star. It is from this consideration of it that every sin derives its chief enormity. Dropping therefore any further reference to David’s crime, we shall endeavour to shew in general,

  I.      The malignity of sin as an offence against God—

Men in general think little of sin, except as it affects the welfare of society: as an offence against God, it is scarcely ever deemed worthy of notice. But every sin, of whatever kind, necessarily strikes at God himself: it implies,

  1.      A forgetfulness of his presence—

[He is omnipresent; nor is any thing hid from his all-seeing eye — — — But, when we commit sin, we lose all recollection that God’s eye is upon us: we say in our hearts, “The Lord shall not see; neither shall the God of Jacob regard it:” “How shall God know? Is there knowledge with the Most Highd?” “Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he cannot see.” This is no deduction of ours, but the declaration of God himself: and the truth of it is evident: for, if even the presence of a fellow-creature is sufficient to overawe men, so that they cannot perpetrate crimes to which they are most strongly tempted; so much more would the presence of Almighty God restrain us, if we were conscious that he was inspecting and witnessing all the secrets of our hearts.]

  2.      A contempt Of his authority—

[God, as the great Lawgiver, requires obedience to his laws, every one of which bears the impress of divine authority upon it But in violating his commands, we trample on his authority, and say in effect, “I am at my own disposal: who is Lord over me?” “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? I know not the Lord: neither will I obey his voiceg:” “I will not have this man to reign over me.” We have a striking exemplification of this in the conduct of the Jews, who, contrary to God’s command, would go down into Egypt: “As for the word that thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, (said they to Jeremiah,) we will not hearken unto thee; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth.” Thus, as God himself says, “We not only forget him, but cast him behind our backk.”

  3.      A disbelief of his truth—

[God has spoken frequently respecting his determination to punish sin: he has said, that “he will by no means clear the guilty;” and that, “though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not pass unpunished.” Now, if we truly believed his word, we could not rush into sin: the apprehension of such tremendous consequences would deter us from it. But we are hardened by unbelief. Unbelief was the source of all the Israelites’ rebellions in the wilderness; and it is the fruitful spring of all our disobedience: “Ye shall not surely die,” is at the root of every evil we commitm. But “God is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Let us bear this in mind, that in the commission of sin, and the expectation of impunity, we “make God himself a liaro.”]

  4.      A denial of his justice—

[God has represented himself as “a God of judgment, by whom actions are weighed;” and has declared his purpose to “call every work into judgment,” and to “judge every man according to his works.” But, in violating his laws, “we say, in fact, God will not require itq:” “The Lord is altogether such an one as ourselves;” “he will not do good, neither will he do evils.” What an indignity is this to offer to the Governor of the Universe, the Judge of quick and dead! He has spoken of the last day as “the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God:” but, if the issue of it were such as we expect, and heaven were awarded to wilful and impenitent transgressors, it would rather be a day wherein God’swant of justice and of holiness shall be displayed before the whole assembled universe.]

  5.      A defiance of his power—

[Men who commit iniquity are represented as “stretching out their hands against God, and strengthening themselves against the Almighty; yea, as running upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buckler:” and to what a fearful extent this is done, we may see by the testimony of God himself: “They, the workers of iniquity, say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it.” Does this appear an exaggerated account of men’s impiety? See then how they are described by the Psalmist: “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above, out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.” What an astonishing height of impiety is this; to puff at God’s threatenings, as if we defied him to his face! Yet do we see that this is the very conduct of men, whenever we warn them to flee from the wrath to come: we seem to menace them with judgments which they have no cause to fear, and to set in array against them an enemy whom they are at liberty to despise.]

When once we view sin as an offence against God, we shall be prepared to acknowledge,

  II.       The equity of his judgments which he has denounced against it—

That God has denounced the heaviest judgments against it, is certain—

[Against sin in general he has denounced eternal misery: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God” — — — Against every individual that commits it, he has also denounced his judgments: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” — — — Against every particular sin, whatever be men’s excuses for retaining it, the same awful sentence is proclaimed — — — Death, everlasting death, is the wages due to sinb, and the wages that shall be paid to every sinner at the last day — — —]

In executing these he will be completely justified—

[We are ready to account such denunciations of wrath severe, and to question the equity of them — — — But thepenal evil of damnation will not appear in the least to exceed the moral evil of sin, if we duly consider against whom sin is committed.

Consider his greatness. “Great is the Lord,” says the Psalmist, “yea, his greatness is unsearchable.” If we could conceive the meanest reptile, or the smallest insect, endued with such a measure of intelligence as to be able in some degree to appreciate the dignity of a mighty monarch; and then to exalt itself against him, and to pour all manner of contempt upon him; the atrocity of such presumption would justly excite our keenest indignation. But the whole universe together is not as the smallest insect in comparison of God; and yet we, we atom insects of an atom world, dare to set ourselves against his divine majesty, yea, to defy him to his face. Will God then be unjust if he execute his judgments on such impious worms? Are we at liberty to insult him; and is he not at liberty to avenge himself on us? — — —]

But consider also his goodness. O how unbounded has this been! How has he borne with us in all our rebellion! How has he sent his only-begotten Son, to expiate our sin, and to open a way for our reconciliation with him! How has he sought to glorify in our salvation those very perfections, which we have so impiously despised, and which he might well glorify in our everlasting condemnation! How has he sent his Holy Spirit, to instruct, renew, and comfort us! How has he sent his word and ministers, to invite, entreat, expostulate, yea, and, as it were, to “compel us” to accept of mercy! This he has done from our youth up: this he is doing yet daily and hourly: and, as if all his own happiness were bound up in ours, he says, “How shall I give thee up?” “Wilt thou not be made clean? Oh! when shall it once be?” This is the God against whom we are sinning. This is the God whom we wish extinct; and respecting whom we say, “Make the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” This is he, “whose blessed Son we trample under foot, and to whose eternal Spirit we do despite:” yea, that very “goodness and long-suffering and forbearance which should lead us to repentance,” are made by us an occasion of multiplying our offences against him. Say now whether he will “be unrighteous in taking vengeance?” Were a fellow-creature to make such returns to us, and to render nothing but evil to us for all the good we did him, should we think that he had any claim on us? Should we account ourselves unjust, if we did not acknowledge him as one of our dearest friends, and place him on a footing with our own beloved children, and make him an heir of all that we possessed? Should we not feel ourselves amply justified in rejecting such an absurd and groundless claim as this? Know then, that we have no claim on God; and, when he shall exclude us from the inheritance or his saints, “he will be justified” in the judgment that he shall denounce against us. Indeed, in assigning us this portion, he will only give effect to our own wishes, and answer us in the desire of our own hearts: we said to him, “Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thee;” and he will say to us, “Depart from me; depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”]

The whole creation will unite in vindicating these judgments as just and good—

[Doubtless, if it were possible, sinners would urge at the bar of judgment the objections which here they presume to bring against the justice of their God. But sin will then appear in all its deformity: it will then be seen what a God we sinned against, and what mercies we despised. Even in this world, when once persons are brought to view themselves aright, they justify God in all that he sees fit to inflict upon them. Aaroni, Eli, Hezekiahl, David, all confessed, that God had a right to deal with them in the way that he had done. Much more in the day of judgment, when every thing will be seen in its true light, will the whole universe approve the sentence which God shall pass on the world of the ungodly: they will make the very punishment of the wicked a subject of their songs; “saying, Allelujah! salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments.” Indeed the miserable objects themselves, though they cannot join in the song, will be unable to condemn the sentence. The man who was excluded from the marriage-feast for not having on a wedding garment, might have urged, that he was brought in before he had time to procure one: but his plea would have been false and unavailing; and therefore “he was speechless;” a striking monument of conscious guilt, and an awful specimen of a condemned soulp.]

In this acknowledgment then of David we may SEE,

  1.      The grand constituents of repentance—

[Many may be sorry that they, have subjected themselves to punishment, just as a criminal may that he has forfeited his life to the laws of his country: but no man can truly repent, till he sees, that his whole life has been one continued state of rebellion against God; and that “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” is his just desert. Till a man has that view of himself, he will never be thoroughly broken and contrite; he will never lothe and abhor himself for his iniquities; he will never have that “repentance which is unto life, that repentance which is not to be repented of.” We entreat you all then to judge of your repentance by these marks. Do not be satisfied with being humbled on account of sin; but inquire particularly, whether you are more humbled from a view of it as against man, or a view of it as against God. These ought to bear no proportion in your estimate of your own character. Your own nothingness and vileness can only be estimated aright when viewed in contrast with the majesty you have offended, and the mercy you have despised: and till you see that everlasting misery in hell is your deserved portion, you can never lie so low as you ought to lie.]

  2.      The true preparative for pardon—

[Something we must bring with us to the Saviour: but what is that which we ought to bring? Must we get a certain portion of good works wherewith to purchase his salvation? No: this is a price which he will utterly despise. That which we are to bring is precisely what a patient brings to a physician, a sense of his extreme need of the physician’s aid. Christ came to save sinners: we then must feel ourselves sinners. He came to seek and save that which was lost: we then must feel ourselves lost. A just sense of our guilt and misery is all that he requires: if we come wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, he will give us that gold that has been tried in the fire, the raiment that shall cover our nakedness, and the eye-salve that shall restore our eyes to sight. If we come to him full, we shall be sent empty away: but if we come hungry and empty, we shall “be filled out of his inexhaustible fulness,” we shall “be filled with all the fulness of our God.”]

  3.      The best preservative from sin—

[When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, he answered her, “How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Thus we would recommend all, when tempted to commit iniquity, to consider, first, what God will think of it; and next, what they themselves will think of it in the last day? Now it may appear light and venial, especially if it be not such a heinous sin as adultery or murder: but when it comes to be seen in its true light, as against an infinitely good and gracious God; and when the judgments which he has denounced against it come to be felt; what shall we think of it then? Oh! ask yourselves, ‘What will be my view of this matter in the last day?’ Then even the sins that now seem of no account, will appear most heinous, and the price paid for a momentary indulgence, most prodigal. The selling of a birthright for a mess of pottage is but a very faint emblem of the folly of those, who for the whole world are induced to barter the salvation of their souls. View things in any measure now, as you will view them at the last day; and you will rather die a thousand deaths than sin against your God.]

DLXXXVII

ORIGINAL SIN

             Ps. 51:5.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

ONE of the most essential marks of real penitence is, a disposition to see our sins as God sees them: not extenuating their guilt by vain and frivolous excuses, but marking every circumstance that tends to aggravate their enormity. During their impenitence, our first parents cast the blame of their transgression upon others; the man on his wife; and the woman on the serpent that had beguiled her: but, when true repentance was given them, they no doubt beheld their conduct in a very different view, and took to themselves all the shame which it so justly merited. The sin of David in the matter of Uriah was great, beyond all the powers of language to express. Yet there were points of view in which none but a real penitent would notice it, and in which its enormity was aggravated a hundred-fold. This is the light in which the Royal Penitent speaks of it, in the psalm before us. Having spoken of it as an offence, not merely against man, but primarily, and almost solely, against Jehovah himself, he proceeds to notice it, not as an insulated act or course of action, but as the proper fruit of his inherent, his natural, corruption. We are not to suppose, that he intended by this to cast any reflection on his mother, of whom he elsewhere speaks in most respectful terms; nor are we to imagine, that he adduces the nature which he had derived from her, as an excuse for the wickedness he had committed: his intention is, to humble himself before God and man as a creature altogether corrupt, and to represent his wickedness as no other than a sample of that iniquity or which his heart was full, a stream issuing from an overflowing fountain. This, we doubt not, is the genuine import of the words which we have now proposed to consider; “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin hath my mother conceived me.”

In prosecuting this important subject, we shall endeavour to establish,

  I.      The truth asserted—

The doctrine of Original Sin is here distinctly affirmed. It is indeed by many denied, under the idea that it would be inconsistent with the goodness and mercy of God to send into the world immortal beings in any other state than one of perfect purity. But it is in vain for us to teach God what he ought to do: the question for us to consider is, What hath God done? and what account has he himself given us of our state? And here, if the Scriptures be true, there is no room for doubt: we are the corrupt off-spring of degenerate parents; from whom we derive a polluted nature, which alone, since their fall, they could possibly transmit. This we shall proceed to prove,

  1.      From concurring testimonies—

[Moses, in his account of the first man that was born into the world, expressly notices, that Adam begat him not in the likeness of God, in which he himself had been originally created, but “in his own likeness,” as a fallen and corrupt creature: and how different the one from the other, may be conjectured from the conduct of this first-born, who imbrued his hands in his brother’s blood. In his account too, as well of the post-diluvian, as of the ante-diluvian world, he tells us, that “every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually.” Job, not only affirms the same awful truth, but shews us that it is impossible in the nature of things to be otherwise: since from a thing that is radically and essentially unclean, nothing but what is unclean can proceed. The testimony of Isaiah and Jeremiah is altogether to the same effect; as is that also of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastese. And, in the New Testament, our Lord himself teaches us to regard the heart as the proper womb, where every species of iniquity is generated, and from whence it proceeds: and St. Paul declares of himself, as well as all the rest of the human race, that they “are by nature children of wrath.” But how can we be in such a state by nature, if we are not corrupt? Can God regard as objects of his wrath creatures that possess his perfect image? No: it is as fallen in Adam that he views us, and as inheriting a depraved nature that he abhors us.]

  2.      From collateral evidence—

[Whence was it that God appointed the painful and bloody rite of circumcision to be administered to infants of eight days old, but to shew that they brought into the world with them a corrupt nature, which it was the bounden duty of all who were in covenant with him to mortify and subdue? Whilst, on the one hand, it sealed to them the blessings of the covenant, it intimated to them, on the other hand, that they needed to have “their hearts circumcised, to love the Lord their God.”

Again, how comes it that every child, from the first moment that he begins to act at all, manifests corrupt tempers and dispositions? If only some, and those the children of wicked men, evinced such depravity, we might be led to account for it in some other way: but when, with the exception of one or two who were sanctified from the womb, this has been the state of every child that has been born into the world, we are constrained to acknowledge, that our very nature is corrupt, and that, as David tells us, “we are estranged from the womb, and go astray as soon as we are born.”

Further, How can we account for the sufferings and death of infants, but on the supposition, that they are partakers of Adam’s guilt and corruption? Sufferings and death are the penalty of sin: and we cannot conceive that God would inflict that penalty on millions of infants, if they were not in some way or other obnoxious to his wrath. St. Paul notices this, as an irrefragable proof that all Adam’s posterity fell in him, and through him are partakers of guilt and misery.

Once more; Whence is it that all need a Saviour? If children are not, in the eye of God, transgressors of his law, they cannot need to be redeemed from its curse. But Christ is as much the Saviour of infants as of adults. We find no intimation in the Scriptures that any are saved without him: on the contrary, it is said, that, “as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” In the temple shown to Ezekiel, there was one door for the prince: it was the door by which the Lord God had entered: and was to be for ever closed to all except the prince. So Christ alone enters into heaven by his own merits: to all besides him that door is closed: and Christ alone is the door by which we must enter in; he is the only way to the Father: nor, as long as the world shall stand, shall any child of man come unto the Father but by him.

These things then, especially, as taken in connexion with the many express declarations before quoted, are decisive proofs, that David’s account of himself was true, and that it is equally true of all the human race.]

This truth being established, we proceed to mark,

  II.      The importance of adverting to it in estimating our state before God—

Unless we bear in mind the total corruption of our nature, we can never estimate aright,

  1.      Our individual actions—

[Even in common courts of judicature, the great object of inquiry is, not so much the act that has been done, as the mind of the agent: and, according as that appears to have been depraved or blameless, the sentence of condemnation or acquittal is passed upon him. Precisely thus must we judge ourselves in our conduct towards God. To elucidate this part of our subject, we will suppose two persons to have been guilty of the same act of treason towards an earthly sovereign, but to have differed widely from each other in respect of the mind with which they acted: one entered upon it unwittingly, and without any consciousness that he was doing wrong: the other knowingly, and aware that he was rebelling against his lawful sovereign. One did it reluctantly, through the influence of one whom he could not easily withstand; but the other willingly, as a volunteer in the service, and as following the impulse of his own mind. One went without premeditation, being taken hastily and off his guard: the other with a fixed purpose, after much plotting and deliberation. In one it was a solitary act, altogether contrary to the whole of his former life: in the other it was frequent, as often as the temptation arose, or the occasion offered. The one proceeded with moderation, not having his heart at all engaged in it: the other with a fiery zeal, abhorring in his soul the authority he opposed. The one had his mind open to conviction, and might easily be prevailed upon to renounce his error: the other was filled with self-approbation and self-applause, thinking nothing of his risks and dangers, if he might but help forward the utter subversion of the government. Take these two persons, and say, whether, notwithstanding their acts were in appearance the same, there would not be an immense difference between the measure of their criminality in the estimation of an upright judge? There can be no doubt on this subject. Take then any other sin whatever, (for all sin is treason against the King of kings;) and examine how far it has been voluntary, deliberate, habitual; how far it has been against light and knowledge; and how far it has proceeded from a heart radically averse to God and holiness. Let sins of omission be examined in this way, as well as sins of commission: and then the things which now are accounted light and venial, will appear hateful in the extreme, not merely as blighted “grapes of a degenerate vine,” but as “grapes of Sodom, and clusters of Gomorrha:” their enormity will be felt, in proportion to the strength and fixedness of the principle from which they spring.]

  2.      Our general character—

[If our actions have not been openly sinful, we are ready to bless ourselves as having but little ground for shame and remorse. But if we consider “the enmity of the carnal mind against God,” and view our utter want of all holy affections, and exceeding proneness to some besetting sins, we shall see but little reason to glory over the vilest of mankind. We shall see abundant cause indeed for thankfulness to God, who by his preventing grace has restrained us from many evils into which others have run: but we shall take no credit to ourselves as better than others. If we behold bitter fruit produced by others, we shall remember that there is the root of it all in ourselves: if we see in others the streams of wickedness, we shall bear in mind, that the fountain of it all is in ourselves also. Thus, however free we may be from any flagrant enormity, we shall be ready to acknowledge with Paul, that “in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing;” and with Job to say, “Behold, I am vile! I repent, and abhor myself in dust and ashes.” So far from indulging self-preference and self-esteem, we shall find no names more suited to us than those by which St. Paul designated his own character, “Less than the least of all saints,” and “The very chief of sinners.”]

  From this view of our natural corruption, we may LEARN,

  1.      How greatly we need the renewing influence of God’s Spirit—

[Outward amendment might suffice for outward sins: but where the heart itself is so corrupt, we must have “a new heart given to us,” and “be renewed in the spirit of our minds.” With such hearts as ours, it would be impossible for us to enter into the kingdom of heaven, or to enjoy it even if we were there: we could not bear the sight of so holy a God; nor endure to spend our lives in such holy employments. — — — Know then, that “old things must pass away; and all things must become new.” “That which is born of the flesh, is flesh:” the stream can rise no higher than the fountain head. If ye would enjoy the things of the Spirit, ye must be “born of the Spirit,” who alone can impart the faculties necessary for that end. Let your prayer then be like that of David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!”]

  2.      How carefully we should watch against temptation—

[If we carried about with us a load of powder which a single spark would cause to explode, we should be extremely careful to avoid whatever might subject us to danger. Should we not then, with hearts so corrupt, and with temptations so thick around us, look well to our ways, and pray unto our God to keep us from the evils of an ensnaring world? Well did our blessed Lord say, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:” “The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak.” Who that reflects on David’s state previous to his fall, does not fear for himself, and cry mightily unto God, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe!” “Uphold me with thy free Spirit, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me!” To all then we say, “Be not high-minded, but fear:” “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.”]

DLXXXVIII

THE IMPORTANCE OF INWARD INTEGRITY

             Ps. 51:6.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

MANKIND at large are chiefly observant of their outward conduct; but the child of God cannot rest in externals: he is anxious about the internal habits of his soul; and desires to have them conformed to the mind and will of God. The words before us strongly express this idea. By many indeed they are interpreted, as if David intended in them to aggravate yet further the guilt he had contracted, which had been in direct opposition both to the profession he had made, and to the light he had enjoyed. But we conceive that the words, as they stand in our translation, convey the true meaning of the Psalmist; and that they relate, not to his sins, but his repentance for them. The sense of them appears to be to this effect; “Thou requirest me to be truly sincere in my present humiliation; and, if I am, as I desire to be, thoroughly sincere, thou wilt make this whole dispensation a source of the most important instruction to my soul.” In this view of the words, they are an humble address to God, declarative of,

  I.      The disposition He requires—

“Truth,” is a conformity of our feelings and actions to our professions: and this God requires of us in the whole of our spirit and conduct. He requires it,

  1.      In our acknowledgments—

[We confess ourselves sinners before God. But such a confession is of no value in his sight, unless it be accompanied with suitable emotions. Think then, what becomes us, as sinners: what deep sorrow and contrition should we feel for having offended Almighty God! what self-lothing and self-abhorrence for our extreme vileness and baseness! what ardent desires after mercy! what readiness to justify God in all that he may be pleased to inflict upon us in this world, whatever means or instruments he may see fit to use; yea, and in the eternal world also, even if he cast us into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, and make us everlasting monuments of his wrathful indignation! This should be the state and habit of our minds: we should have “our hands on our mouths, and our mouths in the dust,” “crying, Unclean, unclean!” In a word, we should adopt from our inmost souls the language of Job, “Behold, I am vile! therefore I repent and abhor myself in dust and ashes.” In proportion as we feel thus, we are upright, and have “truth in our inward parts:” but so far as we are wanting in these feelings, we are hypocrites in heart,” drawing nigh to God with our lips in a way belied by our hearts.”

  2.      In our purposes—

[We profess, as persons redeemed by the blood of our incarnate God, to give up ourselves to him, and to live unto Him who died for us: and, if we are sincere in this, our determination is fixed, that, with God’s help, nothing shall ever keep us from executing this intention. We have deliberately counted the cost. We are aware, that “if we will live godly in Christ Jesus, we must suffer persecution:” but we are prepared to meet it, from whatever quarter it may come, yea, though “our greatest foes should be those of our own household.” We are ready to sacrifice our reputation, our interests, and our very lives also, rather than in any respect deny our God, or suffer ourselves to be diverted from the path of duty. We are determined, through grace, to put away every thing that may retard our progress heavenward, and to aspire after the highest possible attainments in righteousness and true holiness. Now God requires, that we should be acting up to this profession, “setting our face as a flint against the whole world,” and standing in the posture of Daniel or the Hebrew Youths, willing to have our bodies consigned to a den of lions, or a fiery furnace, rather than violate our duty by any sinful compliance. If we are halting or hesitating, we have not truth in our inward parts.]

  3.      In our endeavours—

[Purposes must be judged of by the exertions that are put forth in order to carry them into effect. A diligent attendance therefore on all the means of grace must of necessity be required of us: in the public ordinances, and in our private chambers, whether we be hearing, or reading, or meditating, or praying, we must be like men in earnest, even like the man-slayer fleeing from the pursuer of blood, that scarcely stopped to look behind him, till he should reach the appointed sanctuary, the city of refuge. Remissness in such a cause argues a want of real integrity: if truth be indeed in our inward parts, we shall run as in a race, which leaves us no time to loiter: and wrestle with all our might, lest we be foiled in the contest; and fight as those who know that there is no alternative but to overcome or perish. In all the interior workings of our minds we shall resemble the Corinthians, who were “clear in this matter.”]

That we may not be discouraged by the strictness of God’s requirements, let us consider,

  II.      The benefit he will confer—

There is a wisdom that is to be gained only by experience: what has its seat in the head, may be learned by the head: what dwells in the heart, must be learned by the heart: and of the heart there is but one teacher, even God; according as it is said, “Who teacheth like God:” and again, “There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understandinge.”

Amongst the treasures of wisdom which God will impart to the truly upright, and the hidden things which he will cause them to know, are,

  1.      The deceits of the heart—

[These are very deep, and absolutely unsearchable; yet in a measure will God discover them to those who have truth in their inward parts. The world at large know nothing of them: “they are calling evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; and bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter:” “they feed also on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned them aside, so that they cannot deliver their souls, or say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” They contrive to satisfy their minds that all is well with them, or at least to lull their consciences asleep with the hope that all will be well with them before they die. They have a thousand pleas and excuses which they urge in their own defence, and which they vainly hope will be accepted by their Judge. If we attempt to open their eyes, they reply, with indignation, “Are we blind also?” Thus are they both blinded and “hardened” through the deceitfulness of sin. But those who are really “Israelites indeed, and without guile,” have their eyes opened to see what delusions they have cherished: and being thus “brought out of darkness into marvellous light,” they find that promise fulfilled to them, “They that erred in spirit shall come to understanding.” “Their eye being made single, their whole body is full of light.”]

  2.      The devices of Satan—

[The men of this world, though “taken in his snares, and led captive by him at his will,” have no idea of his agency. But he is a subtle adversary; and his “wiles” are innumerable. He can even “transform himself into an angel of light;” and, when aiming a deadly blow at our souls, assume the garb of “a minister of righteousness.” His first device is, to persuade men that they are in no danger of the judgments they fear. If he fail in that, he will instil into their minds the notion that they have gone too far, and that there is no hope for them. If that snare do not succeed, he will draw them aside, after some points of less importance, or “matters of doubtful disputation.” Multitudes of false apostles has he at his command, who will gladly aid him in this accursed work, and concur with him m his endeavours to “corrupt their minds from the simplicity that is in Christn.” But, if we are following the Lord fully, he will not leave us “ignorant of Satan’s devices, or suffer him to get his wished-for advantage over us.” He will arm us against that adversary, and enable us to withstand himp. He will give us “the shield of faith, whereby we shall ward off and quench all his fiery darts,” and be able so to “resist him, that he shall flee from usr.”]

  3.      The mysteries of grace—

[“Great is the mystery of godliness,” and great the mystery of grace, whether we consider the work wrought for us by Jesus Christ, or the work wrought in us by his Holy Spirit. These constitute that “wisdom, which is foolishness with man,” and which “the natural man cannot receive, because it is spiritually discerned.” To know this, we must be taught of God: “We must receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, before we can know the things that are freely given to us of God.” And O! how wonderful a work does this appear, when “God shines into our hearts to reveal it to usu!” How worthy of God! how suitable to man! how passing the comprehension, whether of men or angels! Verily, the man whose eyes are thus opened, seems to be brought into a new world: “old things are passed away, and all things are become new.” The ignorant world are amazed at the new line of conduct he pursues, just as Elisha’s servant was at his master’s confidence in the midst of danger. But, if their eyes were opened to see, as the Believer does, the invisible God above him and within him, they would wonder rather, that there were any bounds to his transports, or any limit to his exertions.]

  4.      The beauties of holiness—

[All who are warped by their prejudices, or blinded by their lusts, are incapable of estimating aright the beauty and blessedness of true piety: it appears to them little short of madness. And even those who make a profession of godliness, but possess not truth in their inward parts, have very erroneous conceptions of true holiness. Some place it in a confident espousal of certain principles, or a zealous attachment to a particular party: others, inclining more to practical religion, make all duty to centre in some one point, such as the mortification of the flesh, or almsgiving, or penances of man’s invention. Even those who are more enlightened, are apt to regard only one particular set of graces that are more congenial with their own feelings, and to neglect those which are of an opposite aspect; one despising every thing in comparison of zeal and confidence; another leaning altogether to the side of prudence and timidity. But the man into whose hidden part God has put true wisdom, views holiness, not with prismatic partiality, separating one grace from another, but all embodied, as light in the sun; every grace tempering its opposite, and all combining to the production of perfect beauty. He discards neither the vivid nor the darker ray: but, having all in united exercise, sorrow with joy, and fear with confidence, “the beauty of the Lord his God is upon him,” and he shines in the Divine image in righteousness and true holinessz.]

  From this subject we may LEARN,

  1.      Whence it is that men get so little insight into the Gospel—

[Many hear the Gospel during their whole lives, and never attain any just knowledge of it. How shall we account for this? We suppose the Gospel to be preached with all possible fidelity, and yet it seems never to convey any light to their minds. The reason is, that they never take any pains to apply it to their own souls, or to get any one truth realized in their own experience. They assent to every thing they hear; but they are content with being hearers, without ever once attempting to become doers of the word they hear. They “see perhaps their face, as in a glass, for the moment; but they go away, and forget what manner of men they are.” But our blessed Lord has told us, that we must aim at doing his will, in order to get any just insight into what he has revealedb: and, as this desire is altogether wanting in the persons we are speaking of, they never derive any solid benefit from the Gospel. O Brethren! you must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls.” You must apply the word to your own hearts: when you hear your sins pointed out, you must endeavour to humble yourselves for them in dust and ashes: when you hear of Christ as the one only Saviour of a ruined world, you must endeavour to flee to him for refuge: when the Holy Ghost is set forth as the one great source of all spiritual life and motion, you must cry to God the Father for his dear Son’s sake to send the Holy Spirit into your hearts, that the whole work of grace may be wrought within you. It is your neglect of thus harrowing in the seed by meditation, and of watering it with tears, that has given Satan an opportunity of taking it out of your hearts as soon as ever it has been sown there. Get the “honest and the good heart,” which truly desires to make a just improvement of the word, and God will yet cause the seed to spring up in your hearts, and to bring forth fruit to the salvation of your souls.]

  2.      Whence it is that many who profess the Gospel are so little ornaments to it—

[It is a melancholy fact, that many who profess godliness walk very unworthy of their high calling. Like Ezekiel’s hearers, they are gratified with the preaching of the Gospel, as persons are with “one who plays well upon an instrument; but their heart still goeth after their covetousness,” or some other besetting sin. But this is owing to their not having “truth in their inward parts:” if they had, they would not be satisfied with professing the Gospel, and talking about it, and looking with pity (or perhaps with contempt) on those who do not understand it: no; they would look to their spirit, that it should be meek and humble; they would look to their conduct also, that it should be blameless and without guile: they would “give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” Ah, Brethren! think what God requires of all, and of those who make a profession of religion more especially: and beg of God to endue your souls with truth and wisdom, “that ye may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ.” You may fancy that you “know all the depths of Satan:” but if your professed “hope in Christ does not purify your souls as Christ is pure,” you are yet blinded by him, and utterly deceiving your own soulsg.]

  3.      How to get the whole work of God perfected in our souls—

[Come to the Gospel with hearts tender and contrite, that they may be to it as wax to the seal. Then shall you have in your own souls “the witness” of all its most important truths: and shall be able to answer from your own experience that question which God puts so triumphantly to all the world: “Doth not my word do good to him that walketh uprightly?” You are not straitened in God: be not straitened in your own souls. Desire much: ask much: expect much: and God will supply your every want “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”]

DLXXXIX

THE MEANS OF DELIVERANCE FROM SPIRITUAL LEPROSY

             Ps. 51:7.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

EVERY part of God’s word is profitable for our instruction in righteousness; but, in the Psalms, religion is exemplified, and, as it were, embodied. The workings of genuine repentance are admirably delineated in that before us. David traces his iniquities to their proper source, his original corruption. He acknowledges the necessity of a thorough renovation of soul: and, in legal terms, but of evangelical import, he implores forgiveness.

The expressions in the text intimate to us,

  I.      The nature of sin—

The generality of the world imagine sin to be a light and venial evil. Some indeed have learned to dread it as destructive of their eternal happiness; but very few have any idea of it as defiling and debasing the soul.

It is in this view, however, that we are now called to consider it—

[Sin has defiled every member of our body, and every faculty of our soul: hence St. Paul speaks of it as “filthiness both of the flesh and spirit.” What uncircumcised earsb, what venomous tongues, what adulterous eyesd, have the greater part of mankind! How are all their members used as instruments of unrighteousnessf! What pride, and envy, what wrath, and malice, are harboured in the bosom ! How gladly would we cast off all allegiance to God, and be a god unto ourselves! Thus, in fleshly lusts, we degrade ourselves almost to a level with the beasts; and, in spiritual filthinesss, we too much resemble the fallen angels. How different is this state from that in which we were first createdk! Yet is the change effected solely by the agency of sin.]

In this view, more especially, is sin represented in the text—

[The Psalmist evidently refers to the state of a leper, or a leprous house. No disorder was more lothesome than leprosy. A person infected with it was driven from the society of his dearest relatives, and was necessitated to proclaim his uncleanness to all who approached himn. Nor could his disorder ever be cured by the art of man. If he were ever healed, it was by God alone, without the intervention of human means. Hence David, knowing the filthiness and incurableness of sin, cries to God.]

Similar representations also abound in every part of the sacred writings—

[Our natural depravity is declared in expressions of the like import Our acquired corruptions are said to render us lothesome objects. The very remains of sin in the holiest of men are also described in similar terms: yea, the most eminent saints, in bewailing their sinfulness, have used the very same figure as David in the text. Happy would it be for us, if we had these news of sin: we should soon put away our proud, self-exalting thoughts, and should adopt the confessions of holy Jobs.]

But, vile as sin is, it may be both forgiven and subdued—

  II.      The means of deliverance from it—

It has been already observed, that David alludes to the case of a leper. This is manifest from the terms, wherein he implores deliverance. Under Jewish figures he sets forth the only means of salvation—

[Certain means were prescribed by God for the purification of a leper. When God had healed him, “the priest was to take two clean birds, with cedar-wood, scarlet, and hyssop.” Having killed one of the birds, the priest was to “dip the hyssop and the live bird in the blood of the bird that had been slain:” he was then to “sprinkle the leper seven times, and to let loose the living bird.” This ordinance typified the death of Christ, with his resurrection, and subsequent ascension into hearen with his own blood. A similar ordinance is explained by the Apostle in this very mannerx, and the same effect is plainly ascribed to the things here typified.” It is therefore in reference to Christ that David says, “Purge me with hyssop.”

In the purification of a leprous house, water was used with the blood. This further typified the renewing influences of the Spirit of Christ, and David seems to allude to it, when he adds, “Wash me,” &c. Nor is this by any means a forced or fanciful distinction. An inspired writer lays peculiar stress upon it, and every enlightened person sees as much need of Christ’s Spirit to wash him from the defilement of sin, as of his blood to purge him from its guilt.]

The efficacy ascribed to these means is not at all exaggerated-

[There is no sin whatever which the blood of Christ cannot cleanse. We cannot conceive more enormous transgressions than those of David, yet even he could say with confidence, “Purge me, &c. and I shall be clean.” Purified in this way, his soul would become “whiter than snow.” This blessed truth is attested by the beloved Apostle, and it is urged by God himself as an inducement to repentancec. Our renewal indeed by the Holy Spirit is not perfect in this life, but it shall be continually progressive towards perfection, and, when the leprous tabernacle shall be taken down, it shall be reared anew in consummate purity and beautye.]

  INFER—

  1.      How mistaken are they, who seek salvation by any righteousness of their own!

[We can no more eradicate sin from our souls, than a leprosy from our bodies. No man ever more deeply bewailed his sin, or more thoroughly turned from it than David, yet he did not say, “Purge me with my tears, my repentances, or my duties, but, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:” he would make mention of no righteousness but that of Christ; nor would St. Paul himself trust for a moment in any otherh. Shall we then boast as if we were more penitent than David, more zealous than Paul? Let us rather humble ourselves in the language of Job, and determine to glory in nothing but the cross of Christk.]

  2.      What encouragement is here afforded to mourning penitents!

[If David did not despair of merey, who else can have cause to do so? If the blood of Christ could so purge him, why may it not us also? If it had such efficacy a thousand years before it was shed, surely it will not be less efficacious now it has been poured forth. But it is not the mere shedding of Christ’s blood that will profit us. We must, by faith, apply it to our own souls. Let us then go to the blood of sprinkling which speaketh such good things to us; let us cry with earnest and repeated entreaties, “Purge me, wash me.!” thus shall our polluted souls be whiter than snow itself, and ere long we shall join, in that general chorus.]

DXC

THE OPERATIONS OF SIN AND OF GRACE

             Ps. 51:8.

Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

NEXT to the obtaining of pardon, a penitent will desire the manifestation of that pardon to his soul. A state of suspense on such a subject as the forgiveness of sins, is too painful to be endured without earnest prayer to God for the removal of it. We wonder not, therefore, that the Psalmist, after imploring mercy at the hands of God through the blood of the great Sacrifice, should seek a restoration of peace and joy: for, in truth, a soul that has once tasted peace with God, and known the joy of his salvation, can never be satisfied, till it basks in the beams of divine love, and has the light of God’s countenance lifted up upon it.

The terms in which the Psalmist implores this blessing, will lead me to shew,

  I.      The power of sin to wound the soul—

We may all have some idea of the anguish arising from broken bones. But that is small, in comparison of that which is brought upon the soul by sin. “The spirit of a man will sustain any bodily infirmity: but a wounded spirit, who can bear?” Deep indeed are the wounds inflicted by sin, in the case of,

  1.      An unconverted sinner—

[Hear the desponding complaint of Cain: “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” He felt himself an outcast from God and man: and was haunted by a guilty conscience, which was ever tormenting him with its accusations, and causing him to anticipate, with terrible apprehensions, his final doom. The state of Judas was not less appalling than his. The traitor had promised himself much pleasure from the wages of his iniquity: but no sooner had he betrayed his Lord, than he was filled with remorse, and constrained to confess his guilt, and could no longer retain the money with which he had been bribed, yea, could no longer endure his very existence, but went and hanged himself.

Previous to the commission, sin appears but a light and venial evil: and, even after it has been committed, often leaves the mind in a state of extreme insensibility and obduracy. But let it once be brought home to the conscience by the operation of the Spirit of God, and it will inflict a wound there, which will be a foretaste of hell itself, even “a certain looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation that shall consume ”the soul for ever.]

  2.      A blacksliding saint—

[The example of Peter may teach us the bitter effects of sin on a mind susceptible of its enormity. What pangs did he feel, when his Divine Master looked upon him, and fixed conviction on his soul! No longer able to contain himself, “he went out and wept bitterly.” But let us fix our attention more particularly on David, whose words we are considering. Under a sense of his enormous guilt, “his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long: for God’s hand was heavy upon him, so that his moisture was turned to the drought of summer.” Hear his cries under the agonies he endured: “O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure: for thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger: neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me. I am troubled: I am bowed down greatly: I go mourning all the day long. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart”. In another psalm he still further complains, “My soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves.” Who that hears these bitter wailings must not acknowledge that sin is a tremendous evil, and that, however it may be “rolled tinder the tongue for a season as a sweet morsel,” “it will bite at last like a serpent, and sting like an adder?”]

Let us, not, however, be so intent on the power of sin to wound the soul, as to forget,

  II.      The power of grace to heal it—

What were the sins which had broken David’s bones? Adultery and murder. And was it possible that they should be forgiven, and that the person who had committed them should ever “hear again of joy and gladness?” Yes: there is nothing too hard for God’s power to effect; nothing too great for his mercy to bestow.

The provision made for sinners in the Gospel is adequate to the necessities of all—

[This is a blessed truth, and full of the richest consolation. If there were any bounds to the mercy of God, or to the merits of his dear Son, millions of the human race must sit down in utter despair. But, when we learn that Christ is “a propitiation for the sins of the whole world” and that “his blood cleanseth from all sin; ”when we are informed also, that persons who are accepted in the Beloved, stand before God “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, and are holy and without blemish;” none can say, “There is no hope for me.” On the contrary, even David himself is authorised to say, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”]

The man who lays hold on the Gospel shall have all his sorrows turned into joy—

[Of this, David himself was an eminent example. Even he could say, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” Who can tell the full efficacy of “the balm of Gilead?” “Who can fully declare what peace and joy are imparted to the sinner, when God lifts upon him the light of his reconciled countenance? Verily, the peace that is then imparted to his soul “passeth all understanding;” and “the joy” that flows in upon him “is unspeakable and glorified.” Behold the converts on the day of Pentecost, or the jailer, when, once the Saviour was revealed to him: how speedily were all their sorrows dissipated, and their griefs turned into the sublimest joy! And cannot many amongst ourselves attest that God is still the same, and that his grace is as effectual as ever for the reviving and the comforting of the contrite soul? Be it known to all, that “God will not contend for ever; neither will he be always wroth: lest the spirit should fail before him, and the souls which he has madef.”]

  We may LEARN from hence,

  1.      What folly it is to “make a mock at sin”—

[Yes truly; they are justly called fools” who do so: for whilst sin robs us of our innocence, it can create a very hell upon earth. And who is he, against whom it may not prevail? Look at David, the man after God’s own heart: see from what an eminence he fell, and into what an abyss of guilt and misery! Does not his example speak loudly to us all? Does it not say to every one of us, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall?” Beware, then, of sin: beware of the very first motions of sin in the soul. “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” And let all of us “flee from sin, as from the face of a serpent;” and cry daily unto God to “hold us up in his arms, that our footsteps slip not,”]

  2.      What a mercy it is that the Gospel is sounding in our ears—

[Where can the weary and heavy-laden soul find rest, but in Christ Jesus? What hope could David ever have entertained, if he had not looked to the great sacrifice to purge away his sin? The Law did not so much as prescribe any offering for such sins as his: and if he had not looked forward to the Gospel, he must have died without hope. But his broken bones were healed by a sight of Christ; and so shall ours be, if we “flee for refuge to Him, as to the hope that is set before us.” To all, then, I will say, Improve your privileges: and if your bones be broken with a sense of sin, the prophet’s counsel is given you this day by my mouth: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us: he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”]

DXCI

TRUE RENOVATION OF HEART

             Ps. 51:10.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

PARDON and peace are the first blessings which a penitent will seek. But no true penitent will be satisfied with them: he will desire with no less ardour the renovation of his soul in righteousness and true holiness — — — The psalm before us gives a just epitome of the penitent’s mind. David begins with fervent supplications for pardon: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions!” He comes afterwards to implore a sense of God’s forgiving love: “Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” He then desires a restoration of his soul to the divine image: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

In these words we may see,

  I.      The great constituents of true piety—

A mere reformation of life, however exemplary, will be no better than the painting of a sepulchre, which is “full of rottenness and all uncleanness.” If we would be approved of our God, we must have,

  1.      A clean heart—

[”The heart of fallen man is full of evil:” and from it, as from its proper source, all manner of evil proceedsb. God himself has testified respecting it. that “all its thoughts and imaginations are evil.” Hence there is an in dispensable necessity, that it should be renewed by grace: for, if left in an unrenewed state, it could not enjoy heaven, even if it were admitted there. Being altogether corrupt, it could not delight itself in the presence of a holy God, or find satisfaction in those exercises of praise in which the glorified saints and angels are incessantly engaged. To find happiness in God and holy exercises, it must acquire a totally different taste: or rather, it must be wholly changed: it must be cleansed from all its corrupt propensities: it must be made averse from sin: and all its powers must be sanctified unto the Lord.]

  2.      A right spirit—

[By a “right” spirit is meant a “constant” spirit. A man, even after he is once cleansed, is yet prone to sin. He is beset with temptations both from without and within: and he needs to “be strengthened with might in his inner man,” in order that he may be able to withstand them. It will be in vain that he has been once “cleansed from the pollutions of the world: if he be ever again entangled with them and overcome, “His last end will be worse than the beginning.” He must “be steadfast, immoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lorde,” if ever he would find acceptance at the last. “He must endure unto the end, if ever he would be saved.”]

Seeing that these things are so necessary, let us inquire,

  II.      How they are to be obtained—

They are not the work of man, but of God alone. They are God’s work,

  1.      In their commencement—

[The giving of a clean heart is justly called “a new creation:” “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Hence he that is in Christ is called “a new creature.” When we survey the heavenly bodies, we see and know that they cannot have been the work of any created being: the impress of Divinity is stamped upon them. And not less certain is it that a new heart must be the gift of God. True it is, that God has said, “Make you a new heart, and a right spirit: for why will ye die?” But it is also true, that God has promised to give it to us: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Here all is the gift of God: and it is to be obtained from God in the exercise of prayer and faith. It is our duty to have a clean heart: and therefore God says, “Make you one.” But, since we cannot do it of ourselves, we are to turn the command into a petition: “Create it in me, O God!” And, to shew us that such petitions shall not be in vain, God makes our petition the subject of an express promise: “A new heart will I give you” This points out the true way of obtaining all spiritual blessings: we must be sensible that it is our duty to possess them: but, from a consciousness of our inability to obtain them by any efforts of our own, we must cry to God for them, and plead with him the promises which he has given us in the Son of his love. “Laying hold on these promises,” we shall obtain the strength which we stand in need of; and shall be enabled to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.”]

  2.      In their progress—

[Stability of mind is as much the gift of God as regeneration itself: it is He alone that can “make us perfect; establish, strengthen, settle us.” We need only look to David for an illustration of this truth. What man ever lived, on whom you might depend more fully than on him? He was “a man after God’s own heart: “disciplined in the school of adversity, and honoured with divine communications to as great an extent as the most favoured of the sons of men. Yet behold, how he fell! Look at Solomon too. Who, that had seen him at the dedication of the temple, would have ever supposed that he should betray such weakness and folly as he did, during the greater part of his reign? Alas! “what is man,” if left to himself; if left only for a single instant? If God be not with him to uphold him, he will become the sport of every temptation, “driven to and fro with every wind,” whether of sentiment or of feeling. He must be assisted in every part of his duty, whether of “putting off the old man. or putting on the new.” The same Almighty power which raised Christ from the dead must work mightily in him. to “renew him in the spirit of his mindn,” till the whole work of God be perfected within him: and to the latest hour of his life his prayer must be, “May the very God of peace, who brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, make me perfect in every good work, to do his will; working in me that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Christ Jesus!”]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who feel no need of such a change as is described in our text—

[By the generality, such a change is deemed no better than a wild enthusiastic conceit: and if a man have been baptized into the faith of Christ, and been enabled to maintain an honourable and consistent walk through life, he is conceived to be in a state of perfect safety. But had not Nicodemus been admitted into covenant with God in the way prescribed by God himself, and in the only way in which any were or could be admitted under the Mosaic dispensation? and was he not a person of most exemplary character? Yet to him did our Lord say again and again, “Ye must be born again;” and if a man be not born again, “he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.” To get rid of this awful admonition, many will identify regeneration with the act of baptism, under an idea that the inward grace must of necessity accompany the outward sign. But if this be the case in one sacrament, it must be equally so in the other: whereas we are told, that a man may partake of the Lord’s supper unworthily; and, instead of being saved by it, may only “eat and drink his own damnation.” And so may a man render baptism the means of his more aggravated condemnation; as Simon Magus actually did: for he continued as much “in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity” after his baptism, as he was before, with the additional guilt of his hypocrisy in having applied for baptism in a state altogether unworthy to receive it. Beloved Brethren, whatever men may say, you must be born again of the Spirit, as well as of water: you must become “new creatures in Christ Jesus:” and if God create not in you a clean heart, and renew not in you a right spirit, Satan himself may hope for heaven as well as you: for, if there be any truth in the word of God, “without holiness,” real, inward, universal holiness, no man shall see the Lord.”]

  2.      Those who profess to have experienced it—

[There are two things against which I would particularly take occasion to guard you: the one is presumption; the other is despondency.

You have probably heard persons speak of divine grace being an imperishable seed: which, once bestowed, must of necessity bring a man to glory. But it is the word of God which is the only imperishable seed: nor is there in the universe a man who is authorised to say, ‘I cannot fall.’ To enter into this subject at large, is beyond my present purpose. The man who cannot see his frailty in the character of David, and his inability to restore himself in the long impenitence of David, will probably be left to learn these things by bitter experience. But to every man among you “that has an ear to hear,” I would say, “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” And if I were speaking even to a prophet of the Most High, and he as eminent as David himself, I would whisper in his ear this salutary caution, “Be not high-minded, but fearx.”

Yet, if there be here one who has fallen into sin, I would say, Despair not, as though there were not mercy enough in the bosom of your God to pardon you, or power enough in his arm to keep you. Yea, if, like David, you had committed the aggravated crimes of adultery and murder, I would still point you to the great Sacrifice, even to the Lord Jesus Christ: and would put into your mouth that prayer of David, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” I would, however, remind such an one, that it will not be enough for him to obtain pardon and peace: he must have “a clean heart created in him, and a right and constant spirit renewed within him,” if ever he would “see the face of God in peace.” Yet I would add, that there is nothing impossible with God: and that he who magnified his mercy in the salvation of an adulterous and murderous David, will “cast out none who come to him” in humility and faith, as David did.]

DXCII

THE PENITENT ENCOURAGED

  Ps. 51:14.

Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation! and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

↑ Back to top