Prov. 3:17.

Prov. 3:17.

  3.      His mercy—

[In what has hitherto been spoken we are concerned as creatures: but in this attribute we are interested as sinners. And O! what reason have we to adore the tender mercy of our God! Who must not say with David, “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy?” Yes indeed, “He is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.” David, it is true, had very abundant cause to sing of mercy: but, Who has not? Who that knows any thing of himself, is not penetrated with the deepest sense of God’s “grace,” in looking upon so vile a sinner; of his “compassion” towards him, when reduced to the most destitute condition; of his “patience,” in bearing with such manifold backslidings; and of his “great mercy,” in pardoning such innumerable transgressions? If we do not extol our God, and bless his name, yea every day, and all the day long, methinks “the very stones will cry out against us.”]

Having thus expatiated on the virtues of his King, David proceeds to bless him for;

  II.      The administration of his government—

Here the reference to Christ is more plain and direct. He is the King of Zion; and it is his kingdom that is established over the face of the whole earth. There is not any thing in the whole creation that is not benefited by his reign; but most of all his believing people. Hence David says, “All thy works, whether intentionally or not, shall praise thee,” (as any thing of curious workmanship praises the maker of it) “but thy saints shall bless thee,” having their whole souls turned to the delightful work.

  1.      It is a glorious kingdom—

[It is extended over heaven, earth, and hell. In heaven there are myriads who are the subjects of it, and who are ascribing all possible honour and glory to their Almighty King. On earth, his power is seen in every nation under heaven. The most potent monarchs bow down to him with the deepest reverence; whilst the most degraded savages are enriched with all the blessings of his kingdom. In hell, the principalities and powers, with Beelzebub at their head, confess his power, and are, however reluctantly, obedient to his commands. His moral commands indeed they do not fulfil; but his positive injunctions they are unable to resist: they are constrained to yield up to him the spoil which they had once seized for themselves, and to flee even from the face of a poor helpless sinner, when once he sets himself, in dependence on Divine aid, to resist their tyrannic sway.

In this kingdom, every subject is himself a king; a king in this world; and entitled to a crown, a throne, a kingdom, in the world to come. Well then might David say of these subjects, “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”]

  2.      It is also an everlasting kingdom—

[Other kingdoms have perished, and shall perish: but this shall endure for ever. Though it is as “a stone cut out without hands,” and neither founded nor supported by human power, it “shall break in pieces all other kingdoms, and shall stand for ever and ever.” “The gates of hell (with all their policy and power) shall never prevail against it;” no, nor against the meanest subject in it. Nay, when “the earth, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up and utterly dissolved,” this kingdom shall continue in its utmost vigour; nor shall its prosperity languish as long as God himself shall endure.

What a theme for praise is here! O reflect upon it, all ye who believe in Jesus; and sing of it, all ye, who have sworn allegiance to his name.]

The Psalmist proceeds yet further to notice,

  III.      The operations of his grace—

Here the influences of the Holy Spirit come more immediately to our view. It is he who carries on the whole work of grace in the hearts of men, and fits them for the enjoyment of that kingdom that is prepared for them. Behold his operations;

  1.      How gracious!

[There is not a saint on earth whom he does not aid, according as his situation and circumstances require. “Are any fallen? he upholds them; and raiseth up all that are bowed down,” whether with sin or sorrow. “The eyes of all are directed to him” as the only source of spiritual nourishment and strength; and “he gives them such a portion as they need in the very season” that they need it. Yes; as in the kingdom of nature, God, as the father of all, “opens his hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing,” so, in the kingdom of his grace, he administers to every saint whatever is necessary for his consolation and support — — — He will indeed “be inquired after for these things;” but He will “suffer none to seek his face in vain.” He “draws nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth:” or, if they be not able to express their wants in words, “he will fulfil their very desires;” yea, if only, as on any sudden emergency, they “cry unto him, he will hear their cry, and will save them.” How astonishingly kind and gracious are these declarations; and how suited to encourage his weak and drooping saints! It frequently happens that they can do little else than sigh and groan: yet even these expressions of their minds he will favourably receive, and richly recompense unto their souls — — —]

  2.      How righteous!

[Though God, as a sovereign, dispenses his gifts according to the good pleasure of his will, yet there is an equity in all his proceedings, whether of providence or grace: “gracious is the Lord, and righteous:” “he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” We, from our pride and ignorance, are ready to accuse him of injustice, if he distinguish any as monuments of his grace. But though “he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and has compassion on whom he will have compassion,” yet is there, in truth, no inequality in his ways: “our ways are unequal; but his are equal:” he invariably “rewards those who diligently seek him,” and “becomes the enemy of those only who rebel, and vex his Holy Spirit:” “he filleth the hungry with good things, and the rich only doth he send empty away.” He puts, as it becomes him, “a difference between those who serve him, and those who serve him not.” “They who love him shall be preserved,” though the whole universe were combined to destroy them: but “all the wicked,” whether old or young, rich or poor, “shall be destroyed:” “though hand join in hand, not one of them shall pass unpunished.”

Say now, Whether, in this view of the Deity, David’s purposes and desires were not highly commendable; “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”]

  From the perusal of this psalm, two REFLECTIONS naturally arise:

  1.      What an elevation of character does true religion produce!

[We would not speak in a degrading manner of any, and much less of those who are renowned for wisdom: yet who does not see how low and grovelling are the thoughts of statesmen and philosophers, in comparison of those which occupy the believer’s mind? He soars, as it were, on angels’ wings: he contemplates the subjects “which angels desire to look into:” “his conversation is in heaven.” Brethren, let us not forget for what high destinies we are formed. The brute creation have their faces towards the earth, and have no conception of any thing but what belongs to earth: but man is made erect, with his face, as it were, toward heaven, whither he should always direct his views, and from whence he should expect all his happiness. Let us then think and speak as those who are partakers of a higher nature: and whilst the wise of this world content themselves with the subjects that relate to time and sense, let us explore the blessings of redemption, the mysteries of grace, and the glories of eternity.]

  2.      What loss do they sustain who live far off from God!

[It is the diligent and watchful Christian alone that feels the devout affections which are exercised in this psalm. Too many of those who profess religion are content with a low state of mind. They look upon the work of praise and adoration as rather to be desired than attained; as that which will engage them in heaven, rather than as that which they can be much occupied with on earth. The most of their devotions consist of formal lamentations on account of the deadness of their souls, and lukewarm petitions for pardon and acceptance. Ah! what enemies are these to their own welfare! They might enjoy a very heaven below; and yet scarcely exceed in happiness the people from whom they have come forth. O, Brethren, let it not be thus with you: aspire after high and heavenly things: be not satisfied without the brightest manifestations of God’s love, and the richest communications of his grace: “Delight yourselves in God; and then he will give you the desire of your heart.”]

DCCXLII

THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO MAN

  Ps. 145:8, 9.

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

THE great mystery of the Gospel is that which ought chiefly to occupy the Christian’s mind. But it is well occasionally to contemplate the Deity in a more enlarged view, as a God of providence and grace. The Psalmist in particular abounded in such “meditations,” and found them exceeding “sweet” unto his soul. In the psalm before us his heart was greatly enlarged; and I pray that our hearts may be enlarged also, whilst we consider,

  I.      The character of God, as here portrayed—

Let us view it,

  1.      Generally—

[Look at the state of the world around us. See how all mankind are involved in guilt and misery! See how incapable they are of restoring their fallen nature in any respect to purity or peace! But God Almighty is “gracious” unto them, for his own great name’s sake: and is “full of compassion” towards them, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live.” Their rebellion against him is most daring and universal: yet does he “endure them with much long-suffering,” being “slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Were not this his character, another deluge would come and sweep away every living thing; or fire from heaven would descend, as on the cities of the plain, to consume us in an instant. But, instead of breaking forth in wrath to destroy us, he is daily loading the whole world with benefits. The most evil and unthankful of the human race are visited by him in mercy, and replenished by him with all things that are needful for them. Above all, he has given up his beloved Son, to die in the place and stead of his rebellious creatures, to expiate their guilt, and to make atonement for their sins. He has commanded his Gospel also to be preached to them, even to the very ends of the earth, and a free salvation to be offered to every child of man. In this respect he makes no difference between Jews or Gentiles: “He is good to all without exception; and his tender mercies are over all his works.”]

  2.      In our own personal experience—

[Where is there one amongst us who is not a living witness for God, in reference to these things? Who has had any claim upon him? Who has not, on the contrary, greatly offended him, and that times without number? Who cannot look back to some particular period of his life, when God might, if I may so speak, have cut him off with advantage, and made him a signal monument of his fiery indignation? And who, in the midst of all his rebellion, has not been loaded with benefits? Not only have we received temporal blessings in abundance, but spiritual blessings also; so far, at least, as we could be prevailed upon to receive them. We all have experienced the strivings of his good Spirit in our hearts and consciences: and if we would have listened to his voice, there is not one amongst us who should not have been guided into all truth, and been made a partaker of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. He has “waited to be gracious unto us;” and at this very moment does he follow us with his overtures of mercy, saying, “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: for why will ye die, O House of Israel!”]

From viewing the character of God, let us proceed to notice,

  II.      The reflections naturally suggested by it—

We cannot but see here,

  1.      Our base ingratitude—

[What might we justly expect to be the state of our minds towards such a God as this? Methinks, we might well be filled with wonder and amazement at his forbearance towards us, and be striving to answer all the purposes of his grace by turning towards him with our whole hearts. But how is it with us? We are, for the most part, altogether insensible of his mercy. We receive his benefits very nearly as they are received by the brute creation, without any distinct acknowledgment of him, or any heartfelt gratitude towards him. Scarcely of any mercy whatever are we sensible, but by the loss of it: when it is gone, we see what we have enjoyed: but, whilst we possess it, it makes very little impression on our minds. Even the great mercy of Salvation, that which fills all heaven with wonder, is scarcely contemplated by us at all. Perhaps in the whole of our lives, we never spent one hour in adoring him for the gift of his only dear Son, and in imploring mercy at his hands in the Saviour’s name! Say, Brethren, whether this have not been your sad experience? and whether it do not mark you as base—beyond expression or conception base?]

  2.      Our awful desert—

[Take only this view of your state, and then say what you deserve at the hands of a holy God. What would you think a fellow-creature would deserve at your hands, if he should deal thus with you? Suppose you had exerted yourselves all your days to make him happy, and that with unbounded beneficence and inconceivable self-denial; and suppose, that, notwithstanding this, he never testified any regard for you, never concerned himself about you, never sought to please you, never obeyed any of your commands, but trampled under foot your authority, and made use of all the favours which you heaped upon him, for no other end than to wound your feelings and cast dishonour upon your name: would you not say, ‘You are unworthy of my “compassion,” and shall be an object of it no longer. I have been “slow to anger” against you, and “of great mercy towards you;” but my patience is now exhausted, and can find no more scope for exercise. The mercies you have so despised shall be now withdrawn, and you shall be left to eat the fruit of your own doings?’ If, then, you would think this an equitable retribution from one creature to another, judge what is due to yourselves from the hands of an offended God. You need not ever have committed one heinous sin to subject you to the wrath of God: this ingratitude alone will justify the infliction of his heaviest judgments on your souls.]

  3.      The extreme folly of not turning unto God—

[Is God so full of compassion towards you, so patient, so long-suffering, so abundant in mercy; and will you withstand him to the uttermost, till his patience is come to an end, and “his mercy is clean gone for ever?” Nay, will you make use of all God’s mercies for no better purpose than to aggravate your guilt, and to enhance your eternal condemnation? Think what reflections will press upon your mind in the eternal world, when your hope is perished, and you are lost without a remedy. How bitter will be the thought, that you thus wasted your day of grace, and constrained your God to “swear in his wrath that you should never enter into his rest.” Methinks the recollection of these things will be the bitterest ingredient in that bitter cup which you will have to drink of to all eternity. Can you conceive, that if such tidings as now sound in your ears were sent to the heirs of perdition that are shut up in hell, they would be so slighted as they are with you? No, verily: there would be in them, at least, a desire to escape from their torment, even though they did not affect the felicity of heaven, But neither the allurements of heaven nor the terrors of hell can move you. I pray you, Brethren, “harden not your hearts any longer;” but “to-day, whilst it is called to-day,” avail yourselves of God’s proffered mercy in Christ Jesus, and “flee for refuge to the hope that he has set before you.”]

DCCXLIII

GOD’S READINESS TO ANSWER PRAYER

  Ps. 145:18, 19.

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

ONE of the most endearing qualities of a monarch is, a readiness to listen to the petitions of his subjects, and to relieve, to the utmost of his power, their necessities. But no earthly potentate can be accessible to all; nor, if he were, could he supply their wants. God alone is competent to this great task. With him there is no weariness, nor any defect either of inclination or of power. To him all may go, at all times, and under all circumstances: and, if they go to him, they shall find, by sweet experience, that “he is able to do for them exceeding abundantly above all that they can ask or think.” Hence the name given to Jehovah by the Psalmist, is this, “O thou that hearest prayer.” In the passage before us we are particularly led to contemplate God in this view. It is here said,

  I.      That he will hear the supplications of his praying people—

“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him”—

[Never will he turn a deaf ear to a humble suppliant. We read not of so much as one whom the Lord Jesus turned away in the days of his flesh, provided only that he came under a deep sense of his own necessities, and a humble expectation of relief from him. So at this time there is no difference with respect to persons; God is ready to hear “all” without exception, whether those who have long approved themselves to him as faithful servants, or those who come to him for the first time in their whole lives — — — “He will be nigh unto them,” the very instant they call upon him. But who can declare all that is contained in this expression? As to his actual presence, God is nigh unto all, whether they call upon him or not. It is of the manifestations of his presence that the Psalmist speaks: and those will God vouchsafe to the souls of his faithful worshippers in a variety of ways. He will “lift up the light of his countenance upon them:” he will shed abroad his love in their hearts by the Holy Ghost: he will give them the spirit of adoption, yea, and the witness of his Spirit, whereby they shall know that their prayers are both heard and answered. We do not now speak of such testimonies as were vouchsafed to Daniel, or Cornelius, but such as are promised in the prophecies of Isaiah to the Church at large: “Then thou shalt call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” To judge of these assurances of our acceptance, we must have experienced them in our own souls. To those who have not known them they must of necessity appear little better than the dreams of a heated imagination. But whatever the ignorant may say, “if we draw nigh to God, he will draw nigh to us,” and “will manifest himself unto us, as he does not unto the worldc.”]

It is here however supposed, that we call upon him “in truth”—

[Prayer must be sincere, in order to find acceptance with God. We cannot hope that it shall prevail, if it proceed “from feigned lips.” Of what value in the sight of God can a mere formal recital of words be? “It is in vain that we draw nigh to him with our lips, if our hearts be far from him.” Or, supposing that we be earnest in our petitions, how can we hope that God will hear them, if we are hypocritically indulging any secret sins? David justly says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” By the prophet Isaiah, God speaks yet more strongly; “When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” “God is a Spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truthe:” and to those who so worship him, is his promise of acceptance confined: “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”]

To this general promise of hearing his people’s prayers, is added an assurance,

  II.      That he will hear them even under circumstances that may be supposed most unfavourable to their acceptance with him—

Where there have been much previous meditation, and subsequent fluency of expression, we are inclined to hope, that our prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts: but where these have been wanting, we are ready to doubt whether God will regard us at all.

But we are assured in our text that he will hear,

  1.      Our cries unpremeditated—

[There are many occasions that arise so suddenly as to preclude a possibility of previous meditation. Such was the danger to which Jehoshaphat was exposed in the very heat of battle, when the Syrians mistook him for King Ahab, whom they were especially commanded to search out and to destroy: they had actually compassed him round about; and Jehoshaphat had only time to cry out to God: yet behold, so instantaneously did God hear and answer, that in a moment “he was helped, and his enemies were moved to depart from him.” Thus by ten thousand accidents may we be brought in danger of our lives, or by the devices of Satan be exposed to temptations that threaten to overwhelm and destroy our souls: but prayer will in an instant bring omnipotence to our aid. Look at Peter sinking in the waves: he cries, “Save, Lord; or I perish!” and, behold, the Saviour instantly stretched out his hand, and saved him: and so will that Almighty Friend do to us also, whatever our difficulties or dangers be, according to that blessed promise; “It shall come to pass, that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”]

  2.      Our desires unexpressed—

[It is but little than any man knows of his own necessities: and even those who know most of them, are often greatly at a loss to express their wants in prayer. There are times when the best of men feel their spirit straitened, and can utter their desires only in sighs and groans. This, I say, is the case with those whose knowledge is most enlarged, and whose abilities are most eminent. How then must it be with those whose intellectual powers are small, and who have never enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education? Will God confine his answer to their immediate requests? No. He knows the meaning of a sigh or groan, as well as if it were expressed in the most fluent language. He knows that at the very time when his people can say little else, than, “Lord, help me; God be merciful to me a sinner,” they would, if they could, expatiate upon all their wants, and pour out their souls before him in the most enlarged petitions. Hence, in his answers, he regards, not so much their words, as their wants; and enlarges the measure of his gifts in proportion to the extent of their desires. Whatever can tend to the peace of their minds or the perfection of their souls, that he imparts in rich abundance, communicating infinitely “more than they can ask or think.”

But, as in the former case it was supposed that the person calling upon him was sincere, so here it is supposed that the person, whose unpremeditated cries he hears, and whose unexpressed desires he fulfils, does really “fear him;” for it is that principle alone that can render their desires proper to be fulfilled, or their cries to be answered. Where the fear of God really is, there God’s will, and God’s glory, will alone be desired; and where they are the objects of our desire, however “wide our mouth be opened, God will fill itl.”]

  SEE from hence,

  1.      How wonderful is the condescension of God to his believing people!

[What would a person, who feels his own incapacity to spread his wants before God, wish for? If God should say to him, Tell me what I shall say for your encouragement, what could the drooping sinner dictate more consoling to himself than what is spoken in our text? — — — Examine well in this view what God has spoken in another place; how strongly he depicts the hopeless state of the suppliant, and what effectual aid he promises to impart — — — and you will be prepared to estimate aright the promise in our text, Let none then give way to unbelieving fears, or be dejected because they find not in themselves all the liberty and fluency they could wish: but let the habitual desire of the soul be after God, and the bent of it be towards him on every emergency: then shall not one jot or tittle of this word fail of its full accomplishment.

Let me very especially direct your attention to the climax which God is pleased to use in this place, for the purpose of encouraging his tempted people, and of magnifying his mercy towards them. In every member of the sentence he enlarges his promise; and, at the same time, lowers, as it were, the qualifications necessary for those to whom the promises are made: To them that “call upon him in truth,” he will “be nigh.” To those who only “fear him,” and cherish, as it were, a feeble desire towards him, he will be so gracious as to “fulfil their desire.” And lastly, if any, through the greatness of their necessities, or an overwhelming sense of their unworthiness, are unable to do more than utter a “cry,” he will listen to them, yea, and save them with an everlasting salvation. The sigh, the groan, the tear shed in secret, shall come up with acceptance before him; even as Jeremiah’s supplication did from the low dungeon, when he said, “Hide not thine ear at my breathing and my cry!”]

  2.      What bitter self-reproach will they feel, who live and die without prayer!

[One of the most bitter ingredients in that cup of God’s wrath which will be put into the hands of those who perish, will be the reflection, that they might have had all the glory of heaven, if only they would have sought it in earnest prayer. When, they once experience the torments of hell, they may cry ever so long for a drop of water to cool their tongue, but they will not be able to obtain it. How will they then curse their folly, that they neglected to cry, when they might have obtained all that they could possibly desire! The recollection of that word, “Ask, and ye shall have,” will be a dagger to their souls. Dear Brethren, do but think of this in time. Think on what easy terms, if we may so speak, heaven may be now obtained. If only you truly “fear God,” and “call upon him in truth,” you may be perfectly assured that you shall never be cast out. If God, unsolicited, gave you his only-begotten Son to die for you, what will he refuse you when you call upon him? He may delay indeed for a time to answer you; but not beyond the fittest time. “Continue instant in prayer,” then, yea, “pray and faint not:” for God cannot resist the importunity of prayer. The unjust judge complied with the widow’s request at last: and “will not God avenge his own elect, who cry day and night unto him? I tell you, that he will avenge them speedily.”]

DCCXLIV

THE BLESSEDNESS OF TRUSTING IN GOD

             Ps. 146:5.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

HOW exalted was the frame of the Psalmist’s mind at the time he penned these words! “Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” Who that reads these words does not envy him, and desire to be like him? But how shall we attain this frame? How did he acquire it? He had been contemplating the character of the Most High, and the interest which he himself enjoyed in the divine favour: and he records this as his decided testimony for the benefit of all future generations: “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”

May the same benefit result to you, my Brethren, whilst I,

  I.      Confirm his testimony—

Doubtless a carnal mind can see no blessedness in such contemplations as these: but one who is taught of God will fully accord with this inspired penman, from a conviction that the person here characterized may assure himself of two most important facts:—

  1.      However numerous or powerful his enemies be, he can never be overcome—

[Were his confidence in himself, he might soon be vanquished. Peter has shewn us how weak the most intrepid man is, when left to himself; for, after all his boasting that he was ready to die with his Lord and Master, he denied him with oaths and curses. Nor is a person at all more secure who trusts in any created power; for, however powerful a man may be, he may not be able to afford the assistance that is needed; or, if able, he may not be willing; or, if willing, he may change his mind; or, if fixed in purpose, he may be removed by death, when, of course, all his thoughts and purposes must perish. But the man who trusts in God has an ever-present, an ever-willing, an immutable, an all-sufficient help — — — No confederacy, whether of men or devils, can prevail against him who sanctifies the Lord God in his heart: “There is a wall of fire round about him,” that will both afford him protection, and destroy his every assailantd. He may confidently challenge the whole universe: “If God be for me, who can be against me?” Whether it be his body or his soul that is assaulted, he is equally secure: “No weapon that is formed against him,” whether wielded by men or devils, can ever prosperf: “his God will be his shield and buckler;” and “he shall be more than conqueror, through Him that loveth himh.”]

  2.      However enlarged his expectations be, he can never be disappointed—

[We cannot expect too little from man, or too much from God. God, in giving himself to us as our God, authorises us to expect from him all that he himself can do, so far at our necessities require it. He himself says to us, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. We cannot open it too wide. Take all the promises in God’s blessed word: take all that he has engaged for in his everlasting covenant; take all that the Lord Jesus Christ has merited in our behalf; take all that by any possibility we may ever need, for body or for soul, for time or for eternity; take all the glory and blessedness of heaven: take the very throne and kingdom of God himself; and put all this into one petition, and it shall all be given: not an atom of it shall ever be wanting to the believing suppliant, so far as his soul shall be capable of enjoying it. The Believer should not be straitened in himself; for he is not straitened in his God. His hopes can never be too large; for God is both “able and willing to do for him all, and above all, and abundantly above all, yea, exceeding abundantly above all, that he can either ask or think.”]

Such being the testimony here given us; namely, that the man whose “help” is in God can never be overcome, and whose “hope” is in God can never be disappointed; let me,

  II.      Commend it to your special attention—

We suppose you all to wish for a participation of the Psalmist’s happiness. To all of you, then, I would say,

  1.      Seek to know the character of Jehovah, as here drawn—

[We have not, in general, worthy conceptions of the Deity, either as a God of Providence or as a God of Grace. We do not at all realize in our minds his universal agency, or the tender care which he takes of his believing people, insomuch that not a hair falls from the head of any of them without his special permission. But see in what light the Psalmist viewed him, when he gave concerning him the testimony which we are now considering: “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God; who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is; who keepeth truth for ever; who executeth judgment for the oppressed; who giveth food to the hungry; who looseth the prisoners, and openeth the eyes of the blind, and raiseth them that are bowed down, and loveth the righteous, and preserveth the strangers, and relieveth the fatherless and the widow:” see all these diversified conditions; see the relief administered agreeably to the necessities of all; and then say, whether he be not happy who has this God for his help? If you had all the men upon earth engaged for your support, yea, and all the angels in heaven too, it were nothing in comparison of the blessings you enjoy. Only realize the thought, that every perfection of the Deity is occupied day and night in your behalf, for the express purpose of securing and consummating your eternal happiness; and you will need nothing more to render you completely happy, amidst all the diversified scenes of this vain and troublesome world.]

  2.      Seek to obtain an interest in him, as your God—

[Doubtless, unless he be your God, you can derive no comfort from the consideration of his perfections; for, whatever he may be to others, to you he will be only “a consuming fire.” But how shall he be made your God? There is but one way, and that is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ: for “to all that believe in Christ, is given the privilege of becoming sons of God;” “and if sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christo.” Look then, and see what an interest Christ himself possesses in the Father’s love: see all that the Father did for him: see him now sitting at the right hand of the Father, in inconceivable blessedness and glory. All this shall you also inherit together with him: for, “all things are yours, if ye be Christ’s.” Will ye not, then, come to Christ, and cleave unto him, and live by faith upon him? Me-thinks I need not urge this upon you: your own minds are already bent upon this; and you are determined, through grace, to renounce every thing in comparison of Christ, and to make him “all your salvation and all your desire.”]

  3.      Make use of him for all the ends for which he has given himself to you—

[When once you can say, with David, “O God, thou art my God!” then carry to this almighty Friend your every want, your every wish. Lean not at any time to your own wisdom; and undertake nothing in your own strength. Look to your God for guidance, even in the most common affairs of life; and, in all the difficulties which you may be called to encounter, “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Remember all that he did for “Jacob, whose God he was” — — — And remember the promise he has made to you; “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” What though in yourself you be only as a worm? he says to you, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob; for thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and make the hills as chaffr.” Only make him “your help, and him your hope,” and you have nothing to fear. Let nothing, on the one hand, be deemed too great to carry to him; nor, on the other hand, account any thing so small that you may engage in it without his aid. Let “Him work all your works in you,” and you are safe, even as if you were already before his throne: for “you are in his hands, nor shall any be ever able to pluck you thencet.” To every one, then, who really and altogether relies on God, I will address that inspired congratulation: “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thine excellency! Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.”]

DCCXLV

THE EXTENT OF CHRIST’S COMPASSION

  Ps. 146:7, 8.

The Lord looseth the prisoners: the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous.

AS David was a very eminent type of Christ, so was he inspired to prophesy of Christ: and, if we look no further than to the passages quoted out of the Psalms in the New Testament, we shall find, that he wrote as fully and as minutely respecting the Messiah, as any other prophet whatever, not excepting even Isaiah himself. He described his person as God and man. He declared the whole of his work, his first covenant engagements with the Father, his incarnationc, together with his active obedience, and his unparalleled sufferings unto deathe. He foretold his resurrection, and ascensiong; his session at the right hand of God, and his final appearance to judge the worldi. He proclaimed also his offices, as a prophet, priestl, and king. We do not indeed find the psalm that is before us expressly cited in the New Testament: but the whole of it so accords with what is elsewhere spoken respecting him, and the very words of the text are so descriptive of what Christ himself declared to be the great end of his mission, that we can feel no hesitation in interpreting it as relating to Christ.

In this beautiful description then of our Lord’s compassion to man, we may observe,

  I.      Its boundless extent—

The calamities with which the human race are afflicted are very numerous; nor is there any trouble which the Lord will not either remove or sanctify, if we call upon him. But as the remedying of our spiritual maladies was the principal end of his coming, we shall direct our attention more immediately to them. In the words before us then we may notice his regards,

  1.      To the blind and willing slaves of sin—

[The world at large are in bondage to their lusts, and to that wicked one who leads them captive at his will; and they are shut up under a sentence of condemnation for their numberless violations of the law of God. Yet, so blind are they to their real state, that they cannot see, and will not believe it. Their cunning adversary has undertaken to be their guide, but has led them into the heart of the enemies’ country, and, if mercy do not interpose, into the very jaws of destruction. But the Lord Jesus is not an unconcerned spectator of their misery: he is ready to weep over them as over the murderous Jerusalem: and even while they reject him, he “would gladly gather them, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” He would give them an eye-salve, whereby they should be enabled to see clearly: he would cause their chains to fall off, and would say to them, go forth, and shew yourselvess: yea, so desirous is he to exercise mercy towards them, that nothing but a determined rejection of his grace can involve them in final ruin.]

  2.      To penitents “bowed down” under a sense of sin—

[Whatever be the afflictions under which we groan, we may carry them all to him, with an assured expectation of sympathy and succour, since he is at all times “a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress.” But if sin be our burthen, if a sense of guilt lie heavy on our conscience, if our indwelling corruption be to us as a putrid carcass from which we cannot get looseu, and which causes us to lothe and abhor ourselves, we need not fear but that our Lord will soon come to our help: “He will never break a bruised reed or quench the smoking flax, but will bring forth judgment unto victory.” The sighs and groans of a contrite soul will surely enter into his ears, and call forth his almighty aid. He may indeed for wise purposes suffer the pressure to be heavy and of long continuance, insomuch that the weeping penitent may be ready to say, “The Lord will not hear, neither will the Almighty regard me:” but at the fittest season he will interpose to revive the drooping spirit, and to “make the bones which he hath broken to rejoice:” “he will take the beggar from the dunghill to set him among the princes.”]

  3.      To “the righteous” who are delivered from the power of sin—

[They are justly deemed “righteous,” who, in the habit of their minds, and the general tenour of their lives, are devoted to God. Allowed sin, of whatever kind it were, would exclude us from this number, and mark us as children of the devil: but if we be really clothed with the Redeemer’s righteousness, and “walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” we need not fear to take to ourselves this honourable appellationa. And if this character be ours, the Lord loves us, not merely as he does sinners in general, with a love of pity, but with a love of complacency: “he joys over us with joy, he rests in his love, he joys over us with singing.” There is not any blessing which our souls can want, but his love will bestow it. We say not, That he will forbear to chasten us (for that would be a mark of hatred rather than of lovec) but, That he will deal with us in all things as a wise and tender parent, administering to us such things, in such a measure, at such a time, and in such a manner, as his unerring wisdom knows to be best for us.]

But we cannot rightly appreciate the Saviour’s love, unless we notice particularly,

  II.      Its unremitted exercise—

Long before David existed in the world, our Lord had shewn forth all his love to his people in the wilderness; nor did he ever leave that ungrateful nation without abundant tokens of his regard. In the days of his sojourning on earth his whole life was spent in doing good to the most indigent and most unworthy. Nor has he yet suspended the exercise of his grace; he still manifests his regard to his people, and effects his purposes towards them,

  1.      By his providence—

[Wonderful are the ways whereby he accomplishes his own eternal counsels. The histories of Joseph and his family, and of Esther and the captive Jews, give us an insight into the things which are yet daily passing in the world. Many events appear to us casual and trifling: but the truth is, that not one is casual, not one is trifling: every the minutest circumstance is ordered by the Lord, and forms a link in the chain of his unerring providence. Not a hair of our head falls but by his appointment; and it remains with us to mark his dispensations with care, and improve them with diligence. Let any whose eyes have been opened, or whose souls have been liberated from spiritual bondage, look back and see the way by which they have been brought to the enjoyment of these mercies; and they shall find such a mysterious concatenation of causes and effects as will furnish them with matter of astonishment to all eternity.]

  2.      By his grace—

[It is not said in the text that the Lord had done or should do those particular things ascribed to him: but he is spoken of as actually doing them; so that there is no day, no hour, wherein he is not engaged in this blessed work. He makes his word effectual at this time, no less than formerly, “to turn men from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” At this time also he heals the wounded spirit, and sheds abroad his love in the hearts of his faithful people. What if his word have not as much energy as in the days of the Apostles? or his Spirit be not poured out in such an abundant measure? “Has he forgotten to be gracious, or, in anger, shut up his tender mercies?” Surely there are many in these days, who can say, I was once in bondage, but now enjoy liberty; I was blind, but now see; I was bowed down under a heavy load of temptation and corruption, but my strength has been renewed like the eagle’s; I once had no idea what was meant by the sealing of the Spirit, or the witness of the Spirit, but I have now received such tokens of my Saviour’s love, as have assured my mind, that my “Beloved is mine, and I am his.” Let it be known then that Christ is still communicating his blessings to his church, and that it is both our duty and our privilege to enjoy them.]

  INFER—

  1.      How great is the folly and wickedness of those who neglect Christ!

[If our maladies were of a bodily nature, and relief were offered us, should we not be deemed insane if we despised it? And, if our benefactor had put himself to great expense and trouble to procure us that relief, would our contempt of him be thought a light offence? The application of this to our state is obvious. But let the energetic language of the text be marked: wherefore does the Psalmist no less than four times repeat the name of Christ? Is it not the more effectually to call our attention to him? and does not this in a very pointed manner reprove the sin of neglecting him? If then we would not greatly multiply our own sorrows, and rush on blindly to everlasting destruction, let us seek to experience his proffered mercies, and to become the objects of his unalterable love.]

  2.      How little reason is there for any one to entertain desponding fears!

[The state of those who are immured in dungeons under a sentence of condemnation, or are deprived of the faculty of vision, may be justly considered as desperate in the extreme, and as representing in very gloomy colours the condition of men’s souls. But there is nothing impossible with God: our adorable Saviour is both able and willing to effect deliverance: and, if, like the woman in the Gospel, we have been bowed down under a spirit of infirmity for eighteen, or eighty, years, one word of his can instantly release us. And, if once we be interested in his righteousness, and renewed in the spirit of our minds, there is not any thing which we may not expect from him: if once he love us, he will love us to the end. Let none then say, There is no hope: but let us entertain worthy thoughts of our almighty Deliverer: for, however much our expectations of mercy may be raised, we can never be disappointed, if we put our trust in him.]

DCCXLVI

THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD

  Ps. 147:5–7.

Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.

AN acquaintance with God is the one object which we should seek after; since by that alone can we ascertain the extent of our guilt and danger; or be brought to accept the salvation offered us in the Gospel. In the passage before us we have a glorious representation of him: and if we view him aright, our souls will be filled with unutterable peace and joy.

Let us consider,

  I.      The character of God as here declared—

He is here set before us,

  1.      In his essential attributes—

[He is a God of inconceivable power, and of infinite wisdom. View him in the works of creation, and see what an union of these two perfections is displayed both in heaven — — — and earth — — — Behold the same in all the works of providence, upholding every thing in its order, and accomplishing for every thing all that is necessary for its well-being — — — Behold it above all in his works of grace. Well is the Gospel called the “wisdom of God and the power of God.” Truly when man had fallen after the example of angels, it seemed impossible but that he must also share their doom. But infinite wisdom devised a way whereby mercy might be extended to sinners in perfect consistency with the rights of justice; and the power of God has carried into effect that plan, “laying help for us upon One that was mighty,” and opening, through the sacrifice of his only-begotten Son, a way of acceptance with him for every child of man — — —

Had either of these perfections existed in him without the other, his power would have been an object of terror only, and his wisdom might have been exercised for us in vain. But their united exercise renders him a fit object for our most ardent love, and unbounded affiance.]

  2.      In his dealings with mankind—

[“The meek” are objects of his peculiar care. But under this name we do not comprehend those who are naturally of a calm and placid disposition: but those who are humbled under a sense of sin, and abased before God as deserving his wrath and indignation — — — Now such as these “he lifteth up,” speaking peace to their souls, and causing their hearts to overflow with joyd — — — If there were but one such person in the universe, God would search him out — — — and “raise him up out of the dust to set him among princes, and to make him inherit a throne of gloryf” — — —

On the other hand, “the wicked,” who hold fast their wickedness and refuse to humble themselves before him, “he will cast down to the ground,” and consign over to everlasting perdition — — — He will assuredly, and in all cases, carry into effect that determination which he has so often announced to us, of “abasing the proud, and exalting those who humble themselves before him — — —]

Let us now proceed to mark,

  II.      The effect which this view of him should produce upon us—

In this view should every living soul rejoice.

  1.      The wicked themselves—

[What a ground of joy should it be to them, that they are not, as they well might have been, shut up in hell, but that they have still an opportunity of embracing the salvation which infinite wisdom has devised: and almighty power is ready to impart! — — — To every such person I say, Compare your state with those whose day of grace has closed, and, amidst all your sorrows for your past sins, bless and adore and magnify your God, that it is yet “the day of salvation” to you, and that you have yet One following you with that blessed assurance, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out” — — —]

  2.      The meek in particular—

[Well does the Psalmist say to you, “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.” Do but think what a Protector you have, even one who is infinitely wise to discover all that your great adversary is plotting for your destruction — — — and infinitely powerful to shield you from his fiercest assaults — — — Surely you may adopt the triumphant language of St. Paul, since, however weak you be, God has engaged to “perfect his own strength in your weakness” — — —

Think too what a Friend you have, who will “supply your every want out of the fulness that is in Christ Jesus,” and employ all his wisdom and all his power for the enriching and comforting of your souls — — —

Lastly, think what a Rewarder you have, who has provided for you on earth whatsoever his infinite wisdom has judged best, and his almighty power can impart to make you happy — — — whilst in heaven is reserved for you an eternity of inconceivable and unutterable bliss — — —

I say then to you especially, “tune your harps to sing the praises” of your redeeming God — — — and live in the habitual and delightful anticipation of the blessedness that awaits you in a better world — — —]

DCCXLVII

GOD’S REGARD FOR THE LEAST OF HIS SAINTS

             Ps. 147:11.

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

IN the Psalms of David we have innumerable exhortations to praise our God. At the same time, we have innumerable grounds of praise set before us. In the psalm before us we are told how abundant he is in mercy both to the Church and to the whole creation; and that, whilst there is nothing of created excellence that merits his regard, “he takes pleasure” in those who manifest the very smallest symptoms of a new creation within them.

The words of my text are, in this view, worthy of peculiar attention. In them we see,

  I.      How low God stoops to the objects of his favour—

Had he spoken of himself as noticing angels, it would have been a wonderful mark of his condescension and grace: for “he humbleth himself when he beholds the things that are in heaven,” and “chargeth even his angels with follyc.” But the persons whom he speaks of here, as objects of his favour, are of the lowest possible order of saints. In point of regard for God, they rise no higher than “fear;” and in point of confidence in God, they go not beyond a “hope in his mercy.”

What can be lower than the mere “fear” of God?

[A person destitute of this has not the smallest evidence whatever of the divine approbation. He cannot have it. A man without the fear of God is a decided enemy to God; and God is, and must be, an enemy to him. A person, the very instant he is born of God, must of necessity fear to offend him, and endeavour, by a holy conformity to his will, to please him. After having made a progress in the divine life, he will attain to higher exercises of grace: but in this the lowest state of conversion, God will regard him as an object of his favour.]

And what lower attainment can we conceive, than a mere “hope in his mercy?”

[This supposes that a man feels himself a sinner, justly obnoxious to God’s wrathful indignation. It supposes, too, that he despairs of ever being able to do any thing that shall conciliate the divine power! he sees and feels that he must entirely cast himself on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. At the same time, he sees that there is a sufficiency for him in Christ; a sufficiency in his death to atone for all sin; and a sufficiency in his righteousness, to justify all who shall be clothed in it before God. With these views, he indulges a hope that even he may obtain mercy at God’s hands; and on God’s mercy he casts himself without reserve; determining, if he perish, to perish at the foot of the cross, imploring mercy of God for Christ’s sake. Lower than this we cannot go: for if a person have not attained to this, he has not entered into the fold of Christ. He may be an outward-court worshipper; but on the threshold of God’s sanctuary he has not so much as once set his foot.]

Yet, low as their condition is, the text informs us,

  II.      How high he soars in his regards towards them—

Had it been said that God would look with pity and compassion upon such feeble worms, it would have displayed in him a most astonishing extent of condescension and grace. But we are told, not that he will shew favour to them, and accept them, but that “he taketh pleasure” in them. Yet how can this be conceived? What can he ever see in them, that shall afford him pleasure? However little we may be able to conceive it, he does “take pleasure” in them: he takes pleasure,

  1.      In looking upon them—

[He himself draws this very character, and says, “To this man will I look, even to him that is of a broken and contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.” If it be asked, What can he find in them to engage his regards? I answer, What can a mother behold in a new-born infant to engage her affections? The child, though so weak and helpless, is hers, a partaker of her nature, and an heir of her inheritance: and therefore she feels an intensity of interest in the child, and finds in the sight of it an exquisite delight.]

  2.      In answering their prayers—

[A mother understands the cry of her child, and needs no further incentive to fulfil its desires. And God, too, understands the sigh, the groan, the very look of his children, and will grant to them whatsoever they can desire, provided it be really conducive to their good. “Even before they call, he will answer; and while they are yet speaking, he will hear” — — — The very image which I have here used to illustrate his grace, is that which he himself has employed; saying, that he Will give them, as it were, to “suck of the breasts of his consolations, and bear them on his side, and dandle them on his knees, and comfort them in their troubles, as a mother comforteth her helpless and afflicted child.”]

  3.      In administering to all their wants—

[All heaven, us it were, shall be at their command. In the aid that he affords, God will exert himself effectually, even “with his whole heart and his whole soulh:” and in the bestowment of his blessings, will rejoice over the beloved object with such a complacency and delight as God alone can feel.]

Are you, then, my Brethren, partakers of this character?

[Consider who it is that “has brought you to this self-same thing;” and endeavour to “render to him according to the benefits he has conferred on you.” Say not, ‘My attainments are so small, that they call for shame and sorrow, rather than for joy:’ for “God does not despise the day of small thingsl;” neither must ye despise it. Methinks the least that I can ask of you is this: If “God takes such pleasure” in you, take ye also pleasure in him. The more you “delight yourselves in him,” the more assuredly shall you grow in every thing that is good, till you have attained “the full measure of the stature of Christ.”]

But is there one amongst you that is not of this character!

[What pleasure can God ever take in you? Can he look with complacency on a rebellious man that does not “fear him,” or on a self-righteous man that does not “hope in his mercy?” Impossible; for you counteract all the designs of his grace, and run, as it were, upon the thick bosses of his buckler, in your opposition to him. In such a state as this, what can you be but objects of his wrathful indignation, left for a season to fill up the measure of your iniquities, and to perish under an accumulated weight of misery? Let me, then, entreat you to seek the graces which are here specified. Beg of God, for Christ’s sake, to “put his fear in your hearts:” and cast yourselves upon his mercy in Christ Jesus, “hoping even against hope.” Then, notwithstanding your desert, you shall not perish, but have in yourselves an experience of that truth which God has revealed for the comfort and support of all his people, “that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin.”]

DCCXLVIII

TEMPORAL MERCIES A GROUND OF PRAISE

  Ps. 147:12–14.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion: for he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

THE common habit of mankind is, to rest in the gift, and forget the Giver. But we should make the gifts of God a ladder, as it were, whereby to ascend to him; and take occasion from every blessing he communicates, to magnify and adore that bounty from which it proceeds. Nor should we be so engrossed with our personal mercies, as to overlook those which are national. The pious Jews thought they could never sufficiently praise their God for his mercies vouchsafed to Israel. The theme that beyond all delighted them was, to recount the wonders of love and mercy which their nation had experienced from their first coming out of Egypt even to the day wherein they lived. Who was the author of this psalm we do not know: but it seems evidently to have been written after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity, and most probably in the times of Nehemiah, who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, and dedicated it to God with sacrifices and songs of praise. Certainly God’s interpositions for that people exceeded all that ever he did for any other nation: but next to Israel, methinks, we of this country may adopt the language at the close of this psalm, “He hath not dealt so with any nation.” Let us consider,

  I.      The grounds here stated for praise to God—

We forbear to enter on the Jewish history for the elucidation of our text: intending rather to confine ourselves to the mercies which we are at this time called to commemorate.

Behold then what the Lord hath done for us! Behold,

  1.      The protection he hath afforded us from without—

[Not a country in Europe, except our own, but has suffered from the ravages of war: yet we, with our vast extent of coast, assailable from every port in Europe, and with every power in Europe at one time leagued against us, have been preserved from invasion; notwithstanding we were, far beyond any other nation, the objects of envy and hatred to our most powerful foe; and notwithstanding the immense preparations that were made by him for our destruction. But God has truly “strengthened the bars of our gates,” so that they could not be forced; or rather “he himself has been a wall of fire round about us,” so that not even any serious attempt has been made to invade our land. Other nations far less accessible than ours have been made scenes of most dreadful devastation; but with respect to us, such a restraint has been imposed on our enemies, that they could never carry into execution their cruel projectse.]

  2.      The blessings with which he has loaded us “within”—

[He hath blessed us with increase, so that, notwithstanding the ravages of war, our population has greatly increased. With union of sentiment he hath blessed us to an extent almost unprecedented in our history. The whole nation have been fully convinced, that the war was both just and necessary, and that it was carried on, not for the gratifying of ambition, but for security and independence. With a patient endurance of all the burthens occasioned by the war, all ranks and orders amongst us have also been greatly blessed. It could never have been conceived that such contributions could have been raised without exciting the most grievous complaints: but they have been paid with liberality and cheerfulness from one end of the land even to the other. With a respect for religion also we have been blessed beyond any former period of our existence as a nation. The societies that have sprung up, in the very midst of war, for the diffusion of the Holy Scriptures throughout the world, for the conversion of both Jews and Gentiles to the faith of Christ, for the instruction of the rising generation, and for the promotion of piety in every possible way, have far exceeded all that had arisen during whole centuries before. Truly these things abundantly shew how greatly God has blessed us; insomuch that we may say, like Israel of old, “He hath not dealt so with any nation.”]

  3.      The restoration of peace in our borders—

[With only two short intervals, the war has continued five and twenty years: and now at last we are favoured with a peace, which, we hope and trust, will be of long continuance. It is not such a peace as has been often made, a peace no better than an armed truce; but one which our enemy will scarcely venture to violate, seeing that all Europe is leagued together for its preservation. To say that it is a favourable peace, is to disparage it altogether: for it infinitely surpasses all that our most sanguine or ambitious statesmen of former days ever ventured to desire. It has left us too in a state of elevation, prosperity, and power, which our country never before attained. And we have the happiness to say, it is universal, in India, no less than in America and Europe. Now is the happy time come, when we may “beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning-hooks,” and “sit every one of us under our own vine and fig-tree, none making us afraid.”]

  4.      The abundant provision he has made for our wants—

[When an extraordinary plenty was predicted by the prophet Elisha in Samaria, the answer given him by the chief courtier was, “Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” or, in other words, “The thing is impossible.” In the same strain would any one have replied, if the existing state of things had been predicted as to be accomplished amongst us. But behold, we are, contrary to all reasonable expectation, so “filled with the finest of the wheat,” that the very cheapness of it creates a general embarrassment: and this singular phenomenon exists, that the only subject of complaint heard in the nation at this time is, that God has been too good to us, and has overwhelmed us, as it were, with his superabundant kindness and bounty. The promise made to Israel has been almost literally fulfilled to us: he has given us such abundance, that “we have scarcely room to receive it.”]

Such being the circumstances of our country at this day, let us consider,

  II.      Our duty arising from them—

Every blessing which God bestows, whether on nations or individuals, calls for a suitable tribute of praise and thanksgiving. Such a tribute are we at this time called to pay: “Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.”

In order that we may discharge this debt for so many mercies,

  1.      Let us view the hand of God in them—

[As “war and pestilence and famine are judgments sent of God,” so peace and all other national blessings are the gifts of his gracious providence. “There is neither good nor evil in a city, but it proceeds from God.” Especially must he be viewed in all those? great mercies which have been vouchsafed to us. Israel of old had not more abundant reason for the acknowledgments made by them, than we ourselves to adopt their strains — — — We are but too apt to be looking to second causes, and to be giving to the creature the honour that is due to God only. But let us be on our guard against this, lest we turn into a curse every blessing that has been bestowed upon us.]

  2.      Let us duly appreciate their value—

[It is not easy for us, who have seen so little the calamities of war, to estimate in any measure aright, either the protection we have experienced, or the peace which has terminated all our dangers. But, if we could go over a field of battle where myriads of the dead and dying are strewed upon the ground; if we could traverse whole provinces which have been desolated by fire and sword, where countless multitudes are reduced to the utmost possible distress and misery by their pitiless enemies; if we could see with what rapid strides pestilence and famine are following in the train of war; methinks we should need no exhortation to gratitude for the blessings we now enjoy.

True it is that spiritual blessings are of incalculably greater importance: and if we could say, that we had been protected from the incursions of sin and Satan—that we had been “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus;”—that we had been brought to a state of peace with God and in our own consciences—and that we enjoyed in rich profusion the bread of life—we should then have more abundant cause for praise. But we must not forget that our temporal blessings, especially when compared with the troubles which we might have been at this time enduring, have a most favourable aspect on our spiritual welfare; and that the more spiritual we are, the more disposed we shall be to acknowledge God’s kindness towards us, whereinsoever it has been displayed.

We must remember, too, that, as members of the great body of the nation, we are called to bless God for our national mercies. Now national mercies are of a temporal nature: no nation, as a nation, participates spiritual bleissings, any further than the mere external enjoyment of them: individuals alone have the grace of God in their hearts: and therefore, as members of the national body, we are bound, in whatever capacity we have received God’s mercies, in that capacity, as far as possible, gratefully to requite them.]

  3.      Let us render unto God the tribute they demand—

[“Praise” is surely the least that we can render for such accumulated blessings: and this, as is observed in the psalm before us, is “both comely and pleasant.” Behold how Moses adored God for the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian hostsm! See how David makes every distinct blessing a subject of distinct acknowledgment, and no less than twenty-six times in as many short verses ascribes every thing to the free and everlasting mercy of his God! And as David elsewhere calls on every rank and order of society to discharge that debt to Godo, so in our text both “Jerusalem and Zion,” both priests and people, are called upon to praise the Lord: yea, the psalm both begins and ends with this just requirement, “Praise ye the Lord; praise ye the Lord.” Let every one amongst us then stir up his soul to this blessed work; and “let all that is within us bless his holy name.”

Let us not however rest in acknowledgments, however devout. There is a more substantial way in which we are bound to praise him, that is, in our lives, “by giving up ourselves to his service, and by walking before him in holiness and righteousness all our days.” This is the union which God himself prescribes; “Whoso offereth me praise, honoureth me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I shew the salvation of God.”]

DCCXLIX

GOD’S PEOPLE NEAR UNTO HIM

             Ps. 148:14.

A people near unto Him.

THE Psalmist, wrapt in ecstasy, is here calling upon the whole creation to praise God. He addresses himself to all creatures in heaven and in earth, rational and irrational, animate and inanimate, to render to their Creator that honour of which they are capable. Last of all he addresses “the saints,” “whose horn God has exalted with peculiar honour,” to abound in this duty; to which, indeed, they are called far more than even the angels themselves. The angels may well magnify his name, for forming them so holy, for making them so happy, and especially for preserving them from falling; when myriads, as high and holy and happy as themselves, fell from their first estate, and plunged themselves into irretrievable and endless woe. But they cannot speak of Redeeming Love. They know nothing of pardon; of pardon bought with blood; and that blood the blood of God’s co-equal, co-eternal Son. They know nothing of a righteousness wrought out for them by God in their own nature: and hence it is observable, that, in heaven, whilst the redeemed “stand round about the throne,” “the angels stand round about the elders,” and consequently at a greater distance from their God. This was intimated by the admission of the Children of Israel into the courts of the Temple; whilst no Gentile, of whatever rank, or under any pretext whatever, was admitted there, except into the court especially assigned to them. This was intended to shadow forth that spiritual nearness to God which his saints alone can either enjoy or conceive. They alone, of all the children of men, answer to the description given in the text; they are near to him,

  I.      By relation—

[God has from eternity “chosen them in Christ Jesus,” and “predestinated them to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.” In due season he called them by his word, and begat them by the incorruptible seed, the word of God; so that they are actually “partakers of the divine natureb;” and are, in the most strict and comprehensive sense, “sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.” He has yet further united them by faith to his only-begotten Son; so that they are become one with him, one in nature, “members of his body, even of his flesh and of his bones:” yea, and one spirit with him too; for “he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”

Of all this, not one syllable can be spoken by the world at large: it is all the peculiar and exclusive privilege of the saints; who, from having been “strangers and foreigners, like others, have been made fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”]

But they are also near to him,

  II.      By choice—

[It is certainly true, that “they have not chosen God; but God, in the first instance, chose them.” It is true, also, that they have been “drawn by the Father” himself to the state in which they standg. They have, however, been drawn, not as stocks and stones, but “with the cords of a man, and with the bands of love;” and they have been made “a willing people in the day of God’s power.” They no more serve God by compulsion, than they served Satan. They were free agents in their former state; and they are so still. They come to God in Christ, and “offer up their whole selves to him as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God as a reasonable service.” They wish to be entirely and altogether his, “sanctified wholly unto him in body, soul, and spiritl.” Were it in their power, they would have “every thought of their hearts captivated to the obedience of Christ.” This they would account perfect freedom: it is the freedom and felicity of heaven; and every approach to it they regard as a heaven upon earth. Could they attain their perfect wish, they would be ever with, and altogether like, him; being “holy, as he is holy; and perfect, as he is perfect.”]

In consequence of this choice, they are also near to him,

  III.      By habit—

[They live as ever in his presence, and as “seeing Him who is invisible.” When they lie down to rest, they commit themselves altogether to his care. “When they wake in the morning, they are still with himo,” and he is present to their minds. With him they hold sweet converse, not only in the stated seasons of prayer, but throughout the day. They “set him always before them;” and “whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, they do it to the glory of his name.” “In him they live and move and have their being.” They “walk with him, even as Enoch did;” consulting him in all their doubts, relying on him in all their difficulties, and receiving both good and evil at his hands. So intimate and continued is their fellowship with him, that “they dwell in God, and God in them; they are one with him, and he with them.” In a word, “Christ liveth in them,” and “is their very life;” so that it is “no longer they that live, but Christ that liveth in them;” so entirely do “they live the life which they now live in the flesh, by faith in the Son of God, who hath loved them, and given himself for themr.” To them, in a measure, is the Paradisiacal state restored; so that “they walk altogether, as it were, in the light of God’s countenance.”]

  IMPROVEMENT—

  1.      What cause, then, have the saints for gratitude!

[Are you brought to this state? Remember in what state you once were: you were once as far from God as any of the human race are at this hour; and you would have been as far from him as hell itself, with an impassable gulph between you, if he had not mercifully interposed by the blood of his Son, and the operations of his Spirit, to prevent it. When, therefore, you look at others of the human race, and see the difference which Divine Grace has made between you, say, ‘Why ME, Lord? why ME?’ You cannot but see that “some are taken, and others left:” and you can trace this to no cause but the sovereign grace of God. Are you then taken? O! admire and adore the grace of God; and let your adoration be such as is observed amongst the heavenly hosts: they “fall upon their faces,” whilst they sing. Do ye likewise so: let there be no self-preference or self-complacency in you; but let God be magnified, and your souls be abased in the dust.]

  2.      What cause have they, too, for shame!

[It is surprising that persons thus highly favoured should ever be found at a distance from God. But the very best of men have hearts “bent to backslide from God,” and to “start aside, even as a deceitful bow.” Who amongst you, Brethren, is not sensible of this? You can know little of your own hearts, if you do not see it; and little of God’s grace, if you do not bitterly lament it. Ah! be ashamed, that ever your desires after God should languish, or your delight in him abate. Stir up yourselves, Brethren, and beg of God to quicken you; that you may correspond fully with the description in my text, and be at all times “a people near to him.” See how he complains of you in relation to this matter: “O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. I would have fed them also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I have satisfied them.” Yes; you cannot but know whence it is that your strength is so small, and that your consolations are so few. It is altogether owing to your not walking more closely with God: for, if you were near to him, as you should be, your souls should overflow with all manner of good; according to that promise which he has given, “The faithful man shall abound with blessings.”]

DCCL

JOY IN CHRIST

             Ps. 149:2.

Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

IT appears somewhat strange that a religion coming from heaven, and purporting to make men happy, should almost universally be considered as a source of melancholy, and as destructive of all personal and social comfort. But it may be easily accounted for: religion calls men from the pleasures of sin, and promises them sublimer pleasures in its stead. But unregenerate men, knowing nothing of spiritual joy, have no idea that any such thing exists; whereas the joys, which they are to sacrifice, have afforded them many a delicious feast. Hence, till, through faith in the divine records, they feel the bitterness of sin, or taste the felicity of God’s chosen, they will and must suppose, that they are called to relinquish what is substantial, and to grasp a shadow. But the saints of old have invariably attested, that religion’s ways are ways of pleasantness and peace: and David, who was no incompetent judge of this matter, exhorts every subject of the Redeemer’s kingdom to rejoice in Zion’s King. We shall,

  I.      Explain his exhortation—

Who are the children of Zion?

[Not every man by nature, seeing we are “children of wrath;” not any man by education, since it is beyond the power of man to convey to others such principles and dispositions, as are necessary to bring them into that near relation to the Church of God: we must be born from above, through the influence of God’s word and Spirit; and till a supernatural change has been wrought on all the faculties of our souls by God himself, whatever we may profess to be, we are, beyond a doubt, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.]

Who is their King?

[It is to Christ alone that this name belongs. He is indeed the King of all the earth, and has the whole creation under his control. But, in this sense many are his subjects who despise his person and hate his government: whereas over Zion he reigns by the most cordial consent of all his people, there not being so much as one who does not know him, love him, serve him, and desire the very thoughts of his heart to be subjected to his law. On the other hand, he affords them his protection, supplies their every want, and makes them victorious over all their enemies.]

What is their duty towards him?

[It is not sufficient that they yield obedience to his will, as slaves to a tyrant whom they fear: they must love his person, delight in his commands, be zealous for his glory, and rely humbly on his care. In a word, they must rejoice in him. This is essential to the Christian character: and, if we attain not to this spirit, we are more inexcusable than the Jews, and obnoxious to a heavier doomg. We say not indeed that the children of Zion are never to mourn: for mourning is both introductory to joy, and consistent with it; yea, it is even a very necessary ingredient of that joy, which we ought to feel in the contemplation of Christ’s character and offices: and the more fervently we love him, the more deeply shall we lament, that our love and joy are so disproportioned to his worth.]

The several parts of the exhortation being explained, we shall,

  II.      Enforce it—

Here, changing only the order, each part that has been explained, suggests a powerful argument for rejoicing in Christ. Consider,

  1.      The duty itself—

[What can be more pleasant? It is not to any painful duty we are called, but to rejoice, and to have all the faculties of our souls engaged in the very employment of heaven. What can be more reasonable? If religion furnished us with no grounds of joy, or were as empty and unsatisfying as the world, it would be unreasonable to expect any happiness to flow from it: but it sets before us innumerable occasions of joy; and not only permits, but enjoins, us to bear our part in the felicity of God’s chosen. Shall we not then obey the call?]

  2.      The object in whom we are to rejoice—

[This is none other than our adorable Emmanuel, who combines in himself all the perfections of the Godhead, and all the excellencies of the most spotless manhood. Moreover, the love he has manifested towards his subjects, is such as infinitely surpasses our highest conceptions: he assumed our nature, and died for us, while we were in actual rebellion against him. And what a delightful sway does he exercise over them! So light and easy is his yoke, that there is not one of his laws, no, not one, which may not be summed up in this, Be happy. What rewards too does he bestow, not on a few favourites only, but on all his subjects! There is not one of them whom he does not make a king like unto himself, and place upon a throne like unto that on which he himself is seated at the right hand of God. Shall we refuse to rejoice in such a King as this?]

  3.      The persons called upon to rejoice—

[If this exhortation were addressed to the children of this world, they might reply, We know him not; we see no beauty in him for which he is to be desired; nor have we cause to expect any thing at his hands but wrath and fiery indignation: how then shall we rejoice in him? But the children of Zion know that “he is fairer than ten thousand, and altogether lovely:” they have experienced the virtue of his blood to purge a guilty conscience, and the efficacy of his grace to sanctify a polluted heart. For them he makes continual intercession in the presence of God; for them he every moment exercises his almighty power; and for them he is coming shortly to judge the world, that he may take them to himself, to behold his glory, and participate his blessedness, for ever and ever. Shall they then be reluctant to comply? Surely, if they be, “the very stones must cry out against them.”]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      To those who have never yet rejoiced in Christ—

[What relation can you have to Zion? How can it be said of you, This man was born in her? And what excuse can you urge before God? Your ignorance of Christ? This is your sin, and not your excuse. He is willing to make you happy under his government, if you will submit yourselves unto him. “Kiss him” then, in token of your reverence and subjection, “lest he be angry, and ye perish for ever.”]

  2.      To those who are going on their way rejoicing—

[Take care that you make Christ, and not your own frames or feelings, the object and ground of your joy. And guard against pride, self-confidence, and sin of whatever kind, knowing that such things will vitiate, and destroy, all the happiness of the soul. David’s advice must ever be attended to, “Rejoice with trembling.”]

DCCLI

THE DUTY OF PRAISING GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS

  Ps. 149:4–6.

The Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.

THE world are ready to account those weak and enthusiastic who abound in the exercise of spiritual duties: but there is nothing in the universe that more accords with the dictates of reason, than such a state. If God have not given us sufficient grounds to love and serve him, then we may doubt whether the supreme affection of our souls be due to him. But we need go no further than the text in order to justify the warmest expressions of our love to him, and the most unreserved dedication of all our powers to his service.

The exhortations in the text are full of energy; but they are founded on God’s love to us. In order therefore to be duly sensible of their force, we must consider,

  I.      God’s kindness to us—

This is expressed both by the internal regard which he bears towards us, and by the outward manifestations of it to our souls.

  1.      He loves his people—

[They who fear God are considered as “his people,” in contradistinction to those who belong to Satan. He esteems them as “his peculiar treasure.” He “has pleasure” in their persons, notwithstanding all their vileness; for he views them as “complete in Christ.” When they are mourning and weeping for their extreme sinfulness, he looks on them with heart-felt complacencyc, and delight. Even when they are doubting his love towards them, he marks them as the objects of his tenderest affection and incessant caree.

He takes pleasure also in their services. Their prayers are his delight: their tributes of praise are esteemed his gloryg; their alms, a sacrifice with which he is well pleased: their every grace is in his sight of great pricei. Their holy purposes, though not suffered by him to be carried into effect, are noticed by him with approbation, nor are even their fainter inclinationsl, or their transient thoughts, suffered to pass without a suitable reward.]

  2.      He makes them lovely—

[The distinguishing characteristic of the Lord’s people is, that they are “meek:” their hearts being humbled, their proud impetuous passions are hushed to silence. These the Lord “beautifies with salvation” now. The lion becomes a lamb: instead of the brier and thorn, the fir and myrtle-tree spring upo: and even blood-thirsty murderers become humble and loving saints. The very countenances of God’s people often bear a visible mark of the change wrought in them; so that we may almost literally say, “They have the mark of the Lamb in their foreheads.” There is a beautiful symmetry discernible in all their conduct. “The beauty of the Lord their God is upon themr:” and as that consists, not in the exercise of any one perfection, but in an union and harmony of all, however opposite to human appearance; so their beauty is seen, not in the exercise merely of meekness or fortitude, of fear or confidence, but in the just temperament, and combination, of every Christian grace. In a word, they are renewed after God’s image; and have the change carried on from one degree of glory to another by the Spirit of the Lordt.

But in an infinitely higher degree will they be beautified when their salvation shall be complete. Then they shall have no remains of sin or corruption: their bodies shall be made like unto Christ’s glorious body: their souls also shall be without spot or blemish as truly as hisx: arrayed in the robes of his perfect righteousness, and adorned with a crown of glory, they shall shine forth above the sun in the firmament for ever and ever. And when Christ himself shall come in his glory, he will be admired in them, and glorified in them.]

After viewing the obligations we owe to God, we cannot but be prepared to hear,

  II.      Our duty to him—

There is a correspondence between the mercies we receive from God, and the service which he requires at our hands: Does he take pleasure in us? we should delight ourselves in him: Does he exert himself to beautify us? we should labour to glorify him.

  1.      We should delight ourselves in God—

[They whom God has set apart for himself as “his people,” and rendered “meek” after the example of Jesus, are properly called “his saints:” and though men scoff at that name, and make it a term of reproach, they whom God has honoured with it, have reason to rejoice and glory in such an honourable appellation. With them, praise should be the subject of their thoughts, the language of their lips, the very element in which they breathe. It is their privilege as well as their duty to rejoice in the Lord, to rejoice in him evermorec, to rejoice in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. When they rise in the morning, their praise should ascend up as incense; yea, when they are lying “upon their beds,” they should have their waking thoughts occupied with God, and “sing aloud” for joy. Nor should they be contented with the solitary expressions of their love to God: they should commend him to others, and stir up all around them to magnify his name. Such was the delightful employment of the Psalmist; and such a devotedness of soul to God is no other than our reasonable servicef.]

  2.      We should fight the Lord’s battles—

[The Jews were to approve their love to God by extirpating his enemies among the heathen. There are enemies also with whom he requires us to contend: but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal:” it is not our fellow-creatures that we are called to destroy, but “the lusts that war in our members.” The world, the flesh, and the devil, are our enemies, and God’s. Against them we vowed eternal enmity in our baptism; nor are we ever to sheathe the sword till they are all put under our feet. God has prepared for us a divine panoply, an armour of heavenly temper. Clad with this, we must “go forth continually conquering, and to conquer.” We must “fight a good fight,” and “war a good warfareh,” and “endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.”

Thus fighting and singing must be joined together; for “the joy of the Lord is our strength:” and then shall we be most victorious, when we go forth to battle singing the praises of our Godl.]

  ADDRESS,

  1.      Those who rest satisfied with a mere formal religion—

[What suitableness is there in such a state to the mercies we receive at God’s hands? If he take pleasure in us, should we be indifferent towards him? If he labour to beautify us, should we take no pains to glorify him? If he call us to holy joy, should we be cold or lukewarm? If he command us to maintain a continual warfare, should we yield ourselves willing captives to our enemies, or make a truce with them for a moment? Be it known, that whatever the world may think of such a state, God utterly abhors it.]

  2.      Those who profess to serve and enjoy God—

[Glorious indeed is “the vocation wherewith ye are called:” and well may you rejoice in it: but oh! be careful also to “walk worthy of it.” If you profess that God has pleasure in you, take care that you are also adorned and beautified with his divine image. If you rejoice and glory in God, take care also that the sword is ever in your hand, to cut off whatever is displeasing in his sight. Beware also lest you decline from the happy state to which you have been brought: beware lest, by cowardice or sloth, you rob your soul of its beauty and happiness, and make him your enemy, who desires nothing so much as to shew himself your friend.]

DCCLII

THE DUTY IS PRAISING GOD

             Ps. 150:6.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.

GREATLY diversified has David’s experience been, as depicted in the Book of Psalms. Sometimes we find him bowed down under a sense of sin, and sometimes sunk almost in the depths of despondency: but here we view him elevated as on Mount Tabor, and breathing, as it were, the very atmosphere of heaven. It should seem as if all the concluding psalms had been penned at the close of life, when his soul was altogether ripened for glory. In all the five last psalms he speaks the language of praise. Every one of them begins and ends with Hallelujah, that is, “Praise ye the Lord.” In the psalm before us, short as it is, he repeats his exhortation no less than thirteen times. O that he might not repeat it in vain! O that we might “drink into his spirit,” and be transported, like him, with love and gratitude, with adoration and thanksgiving!

Be it known, that,

  I.      God deserves all imaginable praise from his creatures—

[What perfection of the Deity is there, which, if duly contemplated, is not a fit subject for praise? His goodness, his mercy, his loving-kindness, his truth, and faithfulness, call for the loudest praises of all his creatures — — — The same we may say of his justice too: for though to ungodly men it is a formidable attribute, yet to the creation at large it has a bright and favourable aspect, inasmuch as it is adverse to nothing but what is hostile to the interests of the whole intelligent creation — — —

But contemplate God in the person of his Son: think of him as assuming our nature, and expiating our sins by his own blood upon the cross, and as becoming the living Head of all his believing people, and, finally, as engaged to “perfect that which concerneth them,” and to preserve them blameless to his heavenly kingdom: think of him, I say, in all that he has done and suffered for a ruined world, and in all that he has engaged to do for those who trust in him, and then say, whether the tongues of men and angels be sufficient to declare his goodness, or whether eternity itself will suffice to utter all his praise? Surely it is well and justly said, that “his name is above all blessing and praiseb.”]

Yes,

  II.      There is not “a thing that breathes” which has not abundant occasion to praise him—

We speak not of irrational beings (though they do praise him according to their ability;) but of “man, into whose nostrils God originally breathed the breath of life.” Of all the children of Adam without exception we say, that they have reason to praise their God. This is true of,

  1.      Those who are yet in heathen darkness—

[Innumerable are the blessings which they enjoy. The constitution of their bodies and the faculties of their souls are fit subjects for adoration and thanksgiving — — — The various blessings provided for the maintenance and support of man, call also for the most grateful acknowledgments — — — There is no man whose comforts do not far exceed his deserts.]

  2.      Those who enjoy the light of Revelation—

[Unspeakable are the blessings with which they are favoured. The revelation given to the Jews was dark and shadowy; yet that is spoken of as an inestimable benefit conferred upon them: what thanks and praise then should we render unto God for the clearer light of his Gospel! O, what wonders of love and mercy are there revealed! How plain is the instruction there given to all who desire to have their feet guided into the way of peace! Whoever perishes for lack of knowledge now, must confess, that his desert of condemnation is beyond measure aggravated, and that his destruction arises solely from his contempt of proffered mercy.]

  3.      Those who are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ—

[What thanks can you ever render to the Lord for the benefits which he has conferred on you? Think of the extent and magnitude of those blessings — — — Think how entirely you owe them to the sovereign grace of God — — — Think what a difference is hereby put between you and others, not in this world only, but also in the world to come; and not for time only, but for eternity — — — Will not the very stones cry out against you, if you hold your peace? — — — Methinks, your every thought should be adoration; your every word be praise.]

We shall need no farther inducement to praise our God, if only we reflect, that,

  III.      The more we abound in this blessed exercise, the more exalted will our happiness be—

[What employment have we for our breath that can be compared with this? Doubtless there is much happiness in social converse: but this is nothing in comparison of that which is enjoyed in converse with our God — — — The language of prayer is delightful to every humble soul; but the language of praise is an anticipation and foretaste of heaven itself. In heaven there is no other employment, nor will there be to all eternity — — — It is not possible for a man to be otherwise than happy whilst he is blessing and praising God. This is not an occupation in which a mind discontented or disconsolate can engage: there must of necessity be peace, and love, and gratitude, and joy; yea, in proportion as the praise is ardent, there must be, as the foundation of it, an admiring, an adoring, an overwhelming sense of the Divine goodness.]

  APPLICATION—

[Let not any of you say, This employment is not for me: for it is the duty of “every thing that hath breath.” There is no creature in the universe so afflicted, but he has encouragement to pray, and scope for praise — — — Some have an idea, that nothing but sighing and mourning are suited to their condition; and that the voice of praise and thanksgiving is for those only who have attained a fuller assurance of their acceptance with God. But they might as well say, that gratitude was not their duty, as, that they were not called upon to express their gratitude in the language of praise. Know, Brethren, that “whosoever offereth God praise, glorifieth him:” and, his desire is, that every mourning soul should “put off his sackcloth, and gird him with gladness.” I would not discourage humiliation: for I well know that it should ever be an associate of our sublimest joys: but this I would say to all; That Christ came to “give unto them the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;” and that, in the experience of this, they shall approve themselves “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in whom he will be glorified.” To every creature then, without exception, whether high or low, rich or poor, old or young, I would say with David in a foregoing psalm, “Praise the name of the Lord;” yea, begin and close your every service with “Hallelujah, Hallelujah.”]

PROVERBS

Prov. 1:20–31.

Prov. 2:1–6.

Prov. 2:10, 11.

Prov. 2:10–22.

Prov. 3:5, 6.

Prov. 3:9. 10.

Prov. 3:17.

Prov. 3:21–24.

Prov. 3:35.

Prov. 4:7.

Prov. 4:18.

Prov. 4:23.

Prov. 5:12, 13.

Prov. 5:22.

Prov. 6:6–10.

Prov. 7:1–4.

Prov. 8:17.

Prov. 8:29–32.

Prov. 8:35, 36.

Prov. 9:1–6.

Prov. 10:3.

Prov. 10:4.

Prov. 10:22.

Prov. 11:18.

Prov. 11:25.

Prov. 11:30.

Prov. 12:26.

Prov. 13:5.

Prov. 13:15.

Prov. 14:9.

Prov. 14:10.

Prov. 14:12.

Prov. 14:13.

Prov. 14:14.

Prov. 14:26.

Prov. 15:3.

Prov. 15:8.

Prov. 15:32.

Prov. 16:2.

Prov. 16:3.

Prov. 16:23.

Prov. 16:25.

Prov. 16:33.

Prov. 18:10.

Prov. 18:14.

Prov. 19:2.

Prov. 19:3.

Prov. 20:4.

Prov. 20:6.

Prov. 20:9.

Prov. 21:25.

Prov. 23:17, 18.

Prov. 23:23.

Prov. 23:26.

Prov. 24:11, 12.

Prov. 24:30–34.

Prov. 25:21, 22.

Prov. 26:12.

Prov. 27:1.

Prov. 27:4.

Prov. 27:19.

Prov. 28:4.

Prov. 28:5.

Prov. 28:11.

Prov. 28:13.

Prov. 28:20.

Prov. 28:26.

Prov. 29:1.

Prov. 29:18.

Prov. 29:25.

Prov. 30:1, 2.

Prov. 30:7–9.

Prov. 30:12.

Prov. 31:10.

DCCLIII

THE NEED OF ATTENDING TO GOD’S GRACIOUS INVITATIONS

  Prov. 1:20–31.

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused: I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

TO expostulate with men respecting their evil ways, to point out the consequences of persisting in them, to urge the necessity of a speedy and thorough conversion to God, and to enforce the address with affectionate entreaties and encouraging assurances, is stigmatized as the effervescence of a heated imagination, the offspring of a weak enthusiastic mind. But, however it be foolishness with men, it is wisdom in the sight of God. No expostulations, entreaties, promises, or threatenings can be delivered with greater energy or affection than those in the text; yet God calls them the voice, not of folly and enthusiasm, but of “wisdom;” and, whatever we may think of them, they will be found to be “the words of truth and soberness.” We are now “in the chief place of concourse,” and it is wisdom itself, or God under the name of Wisdom, that now addresses us. The substance of the address may be comprehended under two general observations:

  I.      To those who receive his invitations, God will be exceeding gracious—

Nothing can be more tender than the expostulation before us—

[The words are addressed not merely to the “simple,” but to those who “love simplicity;” not only to the ignorant, but to them that “hate knowledge;” not only to those who are destitute of religion, but who “delight to scoff” at it. What can we suppose that God should say to such daring transgressors? What, but to denounce the heaviest judgments? But “he is God and not man,” and therefore he speaks to them as God, in terms of inconceivable love and mercy; “How long will ye love your evil and destructive ways?” Will not “the past time suffice to have followed” them? Have they been so pleasant or profitable that ye will forego all the happiness of heaven for them? or, if ye intend to turn away from them, have ye fixed the period of your conversion? “How long” do you intend to persist? Till the time of sickness, and the hour of death? or till some more convenient season? Ah! “turn you at my reproof;” let the words of a Father and a Friend prevail with you: do not attempt to justify your actions; or to extenuate your guilt: you see clearly enough that your conduct is indefensible: turn, turn from it without delay—]

The promises, with which the expostulation is enforced, add greatly to its weight—

[A consciousness both of weakness and of ignorance often contributes to keep men under the power of their sins—A thought arises in their minds, ‘I know not how to turn; I know not how to obtain either the pardon of my sins, or victory over my lusts.’ But God obviates at once all such discouraging reflections. He says in effect, ‘Are your corruptions insuperable by any efforts of your own? “I will pour out my Spirit” to sanctify you throughout. Are you at a loss how to obtain my favour? “I will make known to you the words of life;” I will reveal my Son in your heart; I will shew you the efficacy of his atonement, and make you wise unto salvation through faith in him.’ Thus does he silence their objections, and dissipate their fears: “Behold, what manner of love” is this! surely we should not hear of it but with wonder; we should not receive its overtures, but with grateful adoration—]

But “God will not always strive with man.” On the contrary,

  II.      They, who despise his invitations, shall be given up to final impenitence and ruin—

The contempt too generally poured upon the mercy of God, is awful in the extreme—

[One would suppose that such invitations and promises could not fail of producing the desired effect. But, alas, the reception they meet with is such as God himself represents it: men “refuse to obey his calls; when he stretches out his hands to them with parental tenderness and importunate entreaties, they will not regard him; they set at nought his counsel; they despise his reproof; they hate even to hear of their duty, and determine, whatever be the consequence, that they will not perform it.” The zeal and earnestness of his ministers are made a subject of profane ridicule; and the dictates of wisdom are laughed at as the effusions of folly and fanaticism. We appeal to the consciences of all respecting these things. Who that has made any observations on the world around him, or on what passes in his own heart, must not attest that these things are so? Yes; we are all guilty: “This has been our manner from our youth.” Some have been more open and notorious, and others more secret and reserved, in their oppositions to God’s will; but all have opposed it, and, if divine grace have not slain our enmity, we are opposing it still: the deliberate sentiment of every unregenerate man is like theirs of old, “As for the word which thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee”.]

But such conduct, if persisted in, will one day meet a suitable reward—

[As God cannot be deceived, so neither will he be mocked: if he have a day of grace, so has he also a day of vengeance; and that day is hastening on apace. However secure the sinner may think himself, there is an hour of “desolation, and of consequent distress and anguish coming upon him.” Perhaps it may come in this life; on a dying bed he may be filled with terror and remorse; and though, like Judas, he may confess his sin, or, like Esau, pray for a revocation of his sentence, his prayers may be cast out, and God laugh at his calamity. Often does God threaten this, and often has he executed his threatening; “Go to your gods whom ye have chosen,” said he to his people of old; let them deliver you; for I will deliver you no more.” So now does he often suggest to the mind of an awakened, but unconverted sinner, ‘What will the world do for you now? What will your pleasures, your riches, or your honours profit you in this day of my wrath? What do you think of the seed which you have been sowing, now you begin to reap the fruit thereof?’ But if God deal not with us thus in this world, most assuredly he will in the world to come. That will indeed be an hour of distress and anguish when these despisers of mercy shall stand at the tribunal of their Judge: and oh! how will HE then “laugh at their calamity! how will he mock at all their fear” and terror! ‘You would not believe my word: now see whether it be true or not. You would not be persuaded that I would ever vindicate my insulted Majesty: What do you think of that matter now? You despised me, and said, “Depart from me; I desire not the knowledge of thy ways!” You shall have your request: I will depart from you; and you too shall depart from me: depart, accursed, into everlasting fire: and though you should pray to all eternity for a mitigation of your pain, you shall never have so much as a drop of water to cool your tongue.’

Would to God that men would realize these things, and be persuaded to believe that God is true! But whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, we must declare what God has spoken: and, however an ignorant world may deride it as folly, we will aver it to be the “counsel of true wisdom,” and the declaration of an unerring God.]

  APPLICATION—

  1.      Let all adore the divine goodness—

[Which of us must not plead guilty to the charge of despising God? Which of us has not persevered in a course of disobedience to him in spite of all his messages of mercy; and that too, not for days merely, but for months and years? Yet has God exercised forbearance towards us; and at this very instant renews to us his gracious invitations. Let us consider how many thousands have been cut off in their sins, while we are yet spared to hear the tidings of salvation: and “let the patience and long-suffering of God lead us to repentance.” Let us magnify him for such distinguished favours; and turn to him “to-day, while it is called to-day, lest he swear in his wrath that we shall never enter into his rest.”]

  2.      Let all tremble at the divine justice—

[Though God be so full of compassion, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live,” yet is he a just and sin-avenging God: “he will by no means clear the guilty.” He sometimes “repays the wicked to their face” even in this life; but there is a day which he has appointed for the full display of his own righteousness; a day, wherein he will render to every man according to his deeds; to those, who have sought for immortality, eternal life; but to the despisers of his truth, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. Let us then get our minds impressed with this thought, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Gode: and let us instantly comply with his invitations here, that we may be partakers of his promises in a better world.]

DCCLIV

THE WAY OF ATTAINING DIVINE KNOWLEDGE

  Prov. 2:1–6.

My Son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

WISDOM is justly considered as the first of human attainments. It is that which elevates us in the scale of being, and to it we are indebted for all the most refined comforts of civilized society. But there is a spiritual wisdom totally distinct from that which is merely intellectual, and as much superior to it both in its qualities and effects, as reason is superior to instinct. What this is, and how it is to be attained, we are informed by Solomon in the words before us. Let us then consider,

  I.      Wherein true wisdom consists—

The nature of true wisdom is plainly declared in the text—

[That which in one verse is called, “Wisdom,” and “Understanding,” in a subsequent verse is called, “The fear of the Lord,” and “The knowledge of God.” The wisdom which unregenerate men possess, resides only in the head; but that of which the text speaks is seated in the heart. The former consists merely in a knowledge of men and things, with a faculty of applying that knowledge to present circumstances: but the latter consists in a knowledge of God as reconciled to us in Christ Jesus, together with a correspondent fear and love of his name. The former enlarges the mind, and directs the conduct in things relating to time: the latter informs and regulates the soul in reference to eternity.]

This description is just and accurate—

[We confess that the knowledge and fear of God is not so reputed by the world: on the contrary, it is stigmatized as folly and madness. But that which arrogates to itself an exclusive title to the appellation of wisdom, is by no means so deserving of it as this: because, whatever excellencies it possesses, its operations are weak, uncertain, transient: whereas “the wisdom that is from above” brings into subjection every rebellious passion, and progressively prepares us for the enjoyment of our God. It was with this wisdom that the Messiah himself was endued. And it is of this that Solomon speaks, when he declares that nothing else is worthy the name of wisdomb.]

Respecting wisdom the text further informs us,

  II.      By what means it is to be attained—

The wisdom of this world may be gained by study only: but spiritual wisdom requires,

  1.      Sincerity—

[If a man have not a disposition to obey the word of God, he will find occasion of cavil and dispute in the plainest expressions. The Pharisees of old, though conversant with the sacred writings, and instructed by our Lord himself, remained ignorant of the truth, because “they loved darkness rather than light.” Thus it will be with us. However good the seed that is sown may be, it will never bring forth fruit to perfection, unless it be “received into an honest and good heart.” If we would be truly wise, we must imitate the docility of Cornelius; or, in the language of the text, we must “receive God’s word, and hide his commandments with us,” as an inestimable jewel which we are solicitous to possess and keep.]

  2.      Diligence—

[This idea is strongly inculcated in the words before us: “we should incline our ear, and apply our heart to understanding, and seek it as silver, and search for it as for hid treasures.” We should consider the inspired volume as an inexhaustible mine, which yields nothing to a superficial observer, but will richly repay those who explore its inmost recesses. To this effect was the direction given to Joshua; and if we follow that advice, we shall succeed like the Bereans of olde. It is the diligent hand, and that only, that can ever make us rich.]

  3.      Prayer—

[Nothing will succeed without prayer. A man might commit to memory the whole Bible, and yet not understand one spiritual truth contained it, if he trusted in his own powers, instead of looking up to God for the teaching of his Spirit. Our blessed Lord assures us, that none knoweth the Father, but he to whom the Son shall reveal him. And this also is intimated in the repeated direction given us in the text, to “cry after knowledge, and lift up our voice for understanding.” The Apostles themselves needed to have “their understandings opened, before they could understand the Scripturesg.” Yea, established Christians still need “a spirit of wisdom and revelation to be given” to them, in order to their obtaining a juster view of revealed truths. All of us therefore, if we would be taught of God, must cry with David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”]

For the encouragement of all, Solomon further declares,

  III.      The certain issue of those means—

God is the source and giver of all spiritual knowledge—

[Nothing can be more positive than the assertion before us. That “God giveth wisdom, and that out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” It is in this view that he is called, “The Father of lights;” because as that bright luminary, the sun, was the work of his hands, so all light, intellectual or spiritual, is derived from him. Human learning gives a man no advantage towards the attainment of true wisdom. All, under God, depends on the state of mind with which men seek divine knowledge: if they be willing to “learn of the Father,” he will teach them: if they be too proud to submit to his instructions, he will leave them to wander further and further from the right way. He will “take the wise in their own craftiness,” and “reveal to babes what he hides from the wise and prudentn.”]

Nor will he suffer us to use the appointed means in vain—

[Frequent are the assurances which God has given us respecting this. And he has made distinct promises to each of the foregoing means. Are we sincere? he will open our eyes. Are we diligent? he will reveal himself to usq. Are we importunate in prayer? he will give us liberally, and without upbraiding. No want of learning, no weakness of intellect, shall be any obstacle to him, or deprive us of the benefits which we seek. On the contrary, he will make use of the weakest and most contemptible of men to confound the wise and mightyt.]

  INFER—

  1.      How highly should we value a preached Gospel!

[Men spend much time and money in acquiring human knowledge, and are glad to avail themselves of all lectures, public or private, whereby they may gain instruction. But a frequent ministration of divine ordinances, and a faithful dispensation of God’s word, are deemed worthy of censure rather than of approbation; and the very persons for whose benefit the word is preached, can scarcely be prevailed upon to lend an ear to the instruction that is freely offered. Little do they think what it is that they thus despise. The ordinances are appointed of God for the express purpose of “converting souls, and making wise the simple.” How many are there now in heaven, who would have “perished for lack of knowledge,” if the voice of God in his ministers had not reached their hearts, and “brought them out of darkness into marvellous lightx!” Let all then improve the ordinances with diligence, and pray that by means of them they may be “made wise unto salvation.”]

  2.      How precious should the Scriptures be in our sight!

[It is only at certain seasons that we can attend on public ordinances: but the Scriptures we may read at all times. In them is contained all that we need to know. And the Holy Spirit is promised us, to guide us into all truth. Let the sacred volume then be our delight, and our meditation all the day. Let us not cavil at any part of it, or say. This is a hard sayingb: but let us receive it with meekness, knowing that, if it be engrafted in our hearts, it is able, and shall be effectual, to save our souls.]

DCCCLV

PIETY A PRESERVATIVE FROM EVIL

  Prov. 2:10, 11.

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.

PIETY, more than any other thing whatever, is regarded with jealousy and suspicion: and it is no uncommon thing for parents to guard their children against its advocates and professors, as they would against persons infected with a contagious disease. What the fruit of this folly, both in parents and children, too generally is, may be easily conceived: the children, taught to dread piety, which alone could preserve them from evil, become the victims of temptation, and fall into every species of iniquity: and the parents not unfrequently are bowed down by the misconduct of their children, till their grey hairs are brought with sorrow to the grave. Men vainly hope to effect that by moral suasion, which nothing but the grace of God can produce: they would have fruit without a root, and blamelessness without any fixed principle of piety in the soul. But the only way in which any man can be kept in one uniform path of goodness and of honour, is, by submitting his soul to the influence of true religion, and surrendering himself up unreservedly to God. This at least was the conviction of Solomon’s mind: “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.” By “wisdom and knowledge” we are not to understand worldly wisdom: for a proficiency in that, however great it may be, is no pledge of morality, no preservative from sin. These terms are used in Scripture to express real piety: and it is that alone which will prove a sufficient antidote to temptation, or become a perennial source of holiness in the life.

In confirmation of this sentiment, I will shew,

  I.      What reception divine truth should meet with—

The heart is the proper seat of divine knowledge—

[Other knowledge is seated in the head: it is acquired only by deep study, and by force of intellect: nor, in whatever degree it be attained, does it at all sanctify and renew the soul. But the truth of God “enters into the heart:” there is that “incorruptible seed” deposited; and from thence is it brought forth into life and action. I mean not to say, that the understanding is not to be exercised, or exercised deeply, in relation to divine truth; for, beyond all doubt, every truth must so far approve itself to our judgment, as evidently to appear worthy of God, and suited to our condition: nor should any man give an unrestrained scope to his imagination or affections: for, if he were implicitly to follow them, he would of necessity be led away from the solid maxims of the Gospel: but when once he is convinced of any truth of God, then is he to deliver up his affections to be moulded and directed by it.

To make this clear, let me state what I mean by divine knowledge. The word of God teaches us that sin is an evil of extreme malignity; that, to every soul in which it reigns, it is defiling, debasing, damming. It teaches us that we are altogether incapable of cancelling its guilt, or of subduing its power; and that if we find not a Saviour who is able to effect these things for us, we must inevitably and eternally perish. It teaches us yet further, that the Lord Jesus Christ is precisely such a Saviour as we want, and that he is both “able and willing to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him.” Still further, it teaches us the beauty of holiness, and the blessedness of serving and enjoying God. But of what use are those things, as a mere theory? It is only by their being actually experienced in the soul that they can be productive of any solid benefit. But, when truly received into the heart, they set in motion all the affections of the soul, and call into activity our fears and our hopes, our sorrows and our joys.]

It should be received there with supreme delight—

[Truth of any kind is pleasing to the mind, as all who are accustomed to the investigations of science can attest. But divine truth should generate the sublimest joy; or, as my text expresses it, should be “pleasant to the soul.” It should be to us what light is to the wandering and benighted traveller: he pants for it; and congratulates himself on the very first appearance of its orient dawn. To him it comes as a remedy that is suited to his most urgent necessities. Conceive of the Israelites, when pressed with hunger, or perishing with thirst; with what interest must they have beheld the manna that was showered about their tents! and with what avidity must they have bowed down to drink of the streams that issued from the rock! Or, if it be said that these things are objects of sense, and therefore inapplicable to the point in hand, take the instance of the brazen serpent, which was exhibited to their faith. They felt themselves dying of the wounds which had been inflicted by the fiery serpents: they were perfectly conscious that no physician on earth could help them: and they were informed, that, by God’s appointment, a brazen serpent had been erected, in order that, by looking to that, they might be restored to health. Would they hear of that with sceptical indifference, or behold it with uninterested curiosity? No: it would be to them a matter of life and death: the very first tidings of such an instrument would make them eager for the exposure of it to their view: and when they saw or heard others attesting its efficacy, they would look to it with a desire to experience in themselves its healing power. Now this is the way in which divine truth should be viewed by us. To the ungodly world it is most unwelcome, because it bears testimony against them, and against all their ways: hence “they hate the light, and will not come to it, lest their deeds should be reproved.” But to us it should be an object of ardent desire and supreme delight. We should look to it, not for the purpose of critical discussion, but of grateful application to the soul. Our spirit should be precisely that of the blind man whom Jesus had healed. Our Lord put the question to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” To which he replied, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” Here he finds no disposition to speculate upon the subject, as on a matter of mere critical inquiry: but shews a readiness to admit the truth the moment it should be revealed to him, and to embrace it as the one ground of all his future conduct. Such should be the disposition of our minds also. And when we have attained clearer views of divine truth, we should “rejoice as one that findeth great spoil.”]

That we may be stirred up to seek divine truth in this way, let us consider,

  II.      Its salutary influence when duly received—

“Discretion will preserve us, and understanding will keep us.” This is the testimony of God himself. But it may be asked, ‘If common knowledge be not, effectual to keep us, or even divine knowledge when received only into the head, how can the circumstance of receiving knowledge into the heart be productive of any such effect?’ I answer, ‘It is this very circumstance which makes all the difference: divine knowledge, when it resides merely in the head, is speculative only; whereas, when it enters into the heart, it becomes practical.

  1.      It rectifies the judgment—

[On every subject connected with the soul, the judgment of mankind is in direct opposition to the mind of God. In their eyes, the things of time and sense are of the first importance; but in the sight of God they are all lighter than vanity itself; in his eyes, the concerns of the soul and of eternity are alone worthy of the care of an immortal Being. To the ungodly, even the Gospel itself, that unrivalled production of divine wisdom, is “foolishness;” but to an enlightened mind, it is “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” To the stout-hearted infidel, to follow the commands of God is to “be righteous over-much;” but to one who is taught of God, obedience to God’s commands appears his highest honour and felicity. But the truth is, he once was in darkness, but is now “brought into marvellous light:” he once saw only through the distorting medium of sense; he now beholds with the eye of faith, which brings him within the vail of the sanctuary, and discovers every thing as it is beheld by God himself. Nor should this appear strange to us. The difference made in the aspect of any object by its being viewed through glasses of different construction, may easily convince us how different an appearance every object must assume, according as it is viewed through the medium of sense, or by the penetrating eye of faith. The person who turns to God has the very law of God written in his heart; and needs only to look within, and he will see the correspondence between the divine records and his own actual experience: so that he does not merely believe the divine testimonies to be true and good, but “has within himself a witness” of their transcendent excellence: or, as it is said in the verse before our text, “he understands righteousness, and judgment, and equity, yea, every good path.”]

  2.      It infuses sensibility into the conscience—

[The conscience of an unenlightened man is blind, partial, and in many respects seared; since, in relation to the dispositions of the soul towards God, which is of far greater importance than any thing else, it never reproves at all. But when divine wisdom has entered into his soul, a man will not be satisfied with a freedom from great and flagrant transgressions: he will examine his duties towards God as well as those towards man: he will mark his defects, no less than his excesses: he will observe his thoughts, yea, and “the very imaginations of his thoughts:” and will be more grieved for an evil propensity or desire, than the world at large are for an evil act. He endeavours to have his conscience as much alive to the least evils, as to the greatest: and to keep it tender, as the apple of his eye: and if but a mote assail it, he will take no rest, till he has wept it out with tears of penitence and contrition. See this in the Apostle Paul. Before his conversion, he could find no evil in himself, though he was “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious:” but after his conversion, he did but utter a disrespectful word to a judge who was violating the plainest rules of justice, and he made it a matter of humiliation in the presence of the whole court.]

  3.      It instils a watchfulness against the occasions of evil—

Those who are destitute of vital godliness will venture themselves any where, without fear and without remorse: but a man of real piety will be afraid to expose himself where the objects around him present only what has a tendency to vitiate his mind: he prays to God “not to lead him into temptation:” and therefore he will not voluntarily run into it; he will select his associates from amongst the excellent of the earth, who will forward, rather than retard, the growth of holy affections within him: and, as far as his situation will admit of it, he will “come out from the ungodly world, and be separate, and not even touch an unclean thing,” lest he be defiled, and have “his good manners corrupted by evil communications.” This is very particularly insisted on in the following context, in reference both to evil men and evil women. It is said, “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness: who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked: whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: to deliver thee also from the strange woman, oven from the stranger who flattereth with her words: who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead: none that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life: That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.” Here the conduct of evil men is drawn to the very life, as is the character of the evil woman also, against both of whom the man of piety will be strictly on his guard, proposing to himself the example of the godly, and availing himself of their aid in his walk before God. He knows, that “he cannot take fire in his bosom, and not be burned;” and therefore he will use the utmost possible circumspection in the whole of his deportment. The books, the company, the conversation that would defile his mind, he carefully avoids; and, like the Jews at the time of the Passover, he searches the most secret recesses of his soul, to sweep from it the leaven that would offend his God.]

  4.      It leads us continually to God for direction and support—

[Without divine aid all human efforts are vain. But the word of God clearly, fully, constantly directs us to look to him i and an experience of it in our own souls will convince us of the necessity of crying to him continually, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” It is in this way chiefly that divine wisdom preserves us. The soundness of our principles may prescribe what is right; and our love to those principles may incline us to the performance of it: but divine grace alone can ever prove effectual for us. No “power, but that which raised Jesus Christ himself from the dead,” will be sufficient to carry on within us the work that has been begun. On the other hand, if we really trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall, “through his strength, be able to do all things,” “nor shall any thing ever prevail to separate us from his love.”]

  Having illustrated the great truth in our text, we would further IMPROVE it, by suggesting,

  1.      In what spirit we should hear the word—

[We should not come to the house of God in a mere customary manner, for example sake, or to perform a duty, and still less to be amused with what we hear: but, as Cornelius and his friends, when Peter came to minister unto them, said, “Now are we all here before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God;” so should we come up to the house of God to “hear what the Lord our God shall say concerning us.” We should come to learn our duty, in order that we may practise it. We should bless our God that so sublime a privilege is accorded to us. We should come as a patient to receive the counsels of his physician, with a determination of heart to follow his prescriptions. A mariner, if amongst shoals and quicksands, does not consult his chart and compass for amusement, or with a disposition to dispute their testimony, but with a desire to have every mistake rectified, and to navigate his ship through the dangerous passage, agreeably to their direction. O! when will Christian assemblies meet in this frame? When will God’s ordinances be thus improved for their proper end? Brethren, only reflect on the office of true wisdom, as delineated in the passage before us. and you will never want either a direction or a motive for a profitable attendance on the means of grace.]

  2.      With what care we should improve it—

[The word we hear will judge us in the last day; and if we do not take occasion from it to follow the counsels of the Most High, we shall greatly aggravate our guilt before God. The word we hear, if it prove not “a savour of life unto life, will become to us a savour of death unto death.” The lessons of wisdom had better never have been delivered to us, than be suffered to pass away without a suitable improvement of them. Our blessed Lord told his hearers, that if he had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but that now they had no cloak for their sin. And so must I also say unto you. All that you have heard respecting the evil of sin, the sufficiency of Christ, the beauty of holiness, of what use will it be to you, if it do not humble you as sinners, encourage you as penitents, and animate you as believers? I pray you, neglect not the day of your visitation, nor “hold the truth in unrighteousness:” but receive the truth in the love of it: and deliver your souls into it as a mould, that it may fashion you after the image of your God. And never imagine that you have got above the use of ordinances, or that it is of no profit to attend upon them: they are the golden pipes through which, to your latest hour, you must receive the golden oil into your lamps: and through the supplies of the Spirit which you may receive by them, you may hope that your path shall shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.”]

DCCLVI

BENEFITS OF TRUE WISDOM

  Prov. 2:10–22.

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things: who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life; that thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it: but the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

WHETHER we regard Solomon as a saint walking with his God, or as a backslider restored to God, we must consider him as pre-eminently qualified to give advice for the regulation of our conduct: for, as a saint, he was endued with wisdom above all the children of men; and, as a backslider, he had a wider range for his wickedness, and a deeper experience of its folly, than any other person ever possessed.

Under the character of “wisdom,” he here speaks of true religion; which he recommends to all, but especially to persons in early life; and, in order to impress his advice the more deeply on our minds, he sets before us,

  I.      The benefits derived from true wisdom—

When once religion is deeply rooted in the heart, it will render us the most essential services—

  1.      It will keep us from the society of ungodly men—

[There are many whose delight is in wickedness: they have departed from God themselves, and have “made crooked paths for themselves;” in which they proceed with all imaginable “frowardness” and perverseness. Disdaining to receive any light from God or his word, they “walk in utter darkness, not at all knowing whither they go.” And not content with casting off all restraint themselves, and walking after their own lusts in all manner of uncleanness, they wish to draw all they can along with them: they deride all serious piety, and labour to the uttermost to turn aside from the way of godliness any who may be inclined to it — — — “They rejoice to do evil:” and, if they can but succeed in their efforts to ensnare a person who has been fleeing from sin, and to divert him from following after God, not even Satan himself will exult more than they — — —

Now from such companions true religion will preserve us. We shall see at once how far they are from God, and how impossible it is to be happy in their society: “for what fellowship can righteousness have with unrighteousness; or light with darkness; or Christ with Belial; or he that believeth with an unbeliever?” Instead of seeking their society, therefore, we shall come out from among them, and be separate;” and not have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” — — —]

  2.      It will keep us from the snares also of ungodly women—

[It is lamentable to think how degraded human nature is, and how assimilated to the very beasts multitudes are, who were originally formed in the image of their God. Females, married, as well as unmarried, “forsaking the guide of their youth and the covenant of their God,” will abandon themselves to the most vicious courses, soliciting the embrace of men to whom they are utter “strangers,” and practising every species of artifice, to ensnare and vitiate all who come in their way — — —

And such is their influence over those whom they have once ensnared, that it is a miracle almost if even one is recovered to a sense of his duty, and is brought back again in penitential sorrow to his God. Truly their ways lead down to death and to hellg: for not only do they draw men from all thoughtfulness about their souls, but they bring them into extravagances and crimes, which not unfrequently issue in suicide, or death by the hands of the public executioner.

But from these also will vital piety preserve us. It will lead us to use all the precautions against them, that a prudent government employs against the infection of the plague. We shall have no communication with person, whose very presence will endanger the life of our souls. We shall not go near their houses, or the places of their resort. We shall not parley with temptation when it comes in our way: but shall flee from it, as Joseph did, saying, “How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against Godi?” — — —]

  3.      It will guide us in the paths of righteousness and peace—

[When once true religion enters into the soul, we shall take the Scriptures for our guide, and endeavour to walk in the paths which all the holy men of old have trod before us. We shall not be satisfied with following the customs of those around us, or with conforming to the standard of duty which the world approves; we shall desire to be “holy, as God is holy:” and shall determine through grace to “perfect holiness in the fear of God” — — —]

Such being the effects of true wisdom, I will proceed to point out to you,

  II.      The vast importance of seeking after it—

Both the promises and threatenings of the Mosaic law were chiefly of a temporal nature; the people who served God faithfully being encouraged to expect peace and plenty in the land of Canaan; whilst those who were disobedient to his laws were to be visited with war, famine, pestilence, and ultimately to be driven out of that land, as the Canaanites had been before them. But under these figures truths of far higher moment were veiled: and the present and eternal states of men were shadowed forth as indissolubly connected with their moral and religious character. Hence the contrast drawn between the sentence accorded to “the upright” and “the wicked” in the concluding verses of our text, must be understood as referring to their respective states,

  1.      In this world—

[“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Certainly in this world there is an immense “difference between those who serve God, and those who serve him not.” We readily grant that the ungodly and profane may prosper in respect of outward things, and that the saints may be in a state of degradation and oppressionn: but there is no comparison between the real happiness of the one and of the other: the ungodly are “like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt:” they are agitated by many ungovernable and conflicting passions: their tempers are a source of continual disquietudep: and they have no inward resources to calm the tumult of their minds — — — But the godly have consolations peculiar to themselves, and abundantly sufficient to counterbalance their afflictions. They have a God to go unto; a God, who says, “Cast thy burthen on the Lord, and he will sustain thee.” The very tribulations which they endure for righteousness sake, are to them a ground of glorying: and the light of God’s countenance lifted up upon them their their souls with joy and peace, even with “a joy that is unspeakable,” and “a peace that passeth all understanding.”

If then we look no further than to this present life, we do not hesitate to declare, that “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, that is understanding.”]

  2.      In the world to come—

[“There is a rest which remaineth for the people of God;” a rest, into which the true Joshua shall introduce them, as soon as ever they shall have completed the period fixed for their abode in this dreary wilderness: and there shall they “remain” for ever: there shall they be as “pillars in the temple of their God. and shall go no more out.” But how shall I represent their happiness in that place where there will be no remains of those evils which they experienced in this worldu; and where every blessing which they here sought for, shall be imparted to the utmost extent of their desires, and of their capacities for enjoyment — — —

On the other hand, there is a day of retribution for the ungodly, when they shall not only be “convinced of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed, and of all their hard speeches which they have spoken against the Lord and his ways, but will have judgment executed upon them” by the Judge of quick and dead. And what words can ever suffice to give an adequate idea of their misery, when, driven from the presence of their God, and from the congregation of his saintsz, they shall be consigned to those regions of misery, where they will take their portion in “the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone,” and “dwell for ever with everlasting burnings!” — — —

If men would but reflect one moment on these consequences of their impiety, there would be no longer any occasion to descant on the wisdom of seeking after God, or the folly of provoking his displeasure by a life of sin.]

  Let us LEARN then,

  1.      To form a right estimate of religion—

[Religion is wisdom, even though the whole world should combine to call it folly — — —]

  2.      To seek it in due measure—

[To receive it into the head is to little purpose: the proper seat of it is the heart. Nor is it sufficient that we yield a constrained obedience to it: its service should in our estimation be accounted perfect freedom. It is only “when wisdom enters into our heart, and knowledge it pleasant to our soul,” that we can be said to have received the grace of God in truth. The worldly man is at home in the world: it is his element wherein he moves. And such must religion be to the child of God, his rest, his element, his delight — — —]

  3.      To let it have its full operation on our souls—

[Wherever true wisdom is, there will be “discretion to preserve us, and understanding to keep us.” We conceive this observation to be deserving of peculiar attention; because the indiscretions of religious people are rarely traced to their proper source, a want of right dispositions in the heart. Where meekness, and modesty, and diffidence, and humility reside in the heart, there will be a corresponding propriety of conduct in the life: but where pride, and conceit, and forwardness, and self-will are predominant, there will the deportment savour of these hateful qualities in all our intercourse with mankind. There is this remarkable difference between human wisdom and that which is divine: human wisdom leaves the heart untouched, or even administers fuel to its corruptions: but divine wisdom “pours the very soul into the mould of the Gospel,” and assimilates all its dispositions to the image of God himself. It was not Paul’s eminence in intellectual attainments that made him so eminent in Christian tempers: it was the abundance of God’s grace that rendered him so fruitful in every good word and work: and, if the grace of God abound in us, we also shall proportionality adorn the Gospel in the whole of our life and conversation. Lot that then be remembered which Solomon has told us, “I Wisdom dwell with Prudence:” and let us be careful that we do not by any indiscreet conduct give “occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” Our determination, through grace, must be, to cut off from the world all unnecessary occasion of offence. We must not imagine that our separation from an ungodly world gives us a licence to violate either the duties or the charities of life; but, whilst we “abstain from all appearance of evil,” we must cultivate to the uttermost not only “whatsoever things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, but whatsoever things are lovely and of good report.” We must labour to “behave ourselves wisely in a perfect waye.”]

DCCLVII

CONFIDENCE IN GOD ENCOURAGED

  Prov. 3:5, 6.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him; and he shall direct thy paths.

THE book of Proverbs is not so much designed to open to us the way of salvation, as it is to regulate our conduct after we have attained the knowledge of the truth. It abounds with maxims admirably calculated to assist us in our intercourse with men, and with instructions also relative to our walk before God. Of this latter kind is the advice given us in the words which we have just read: wherein we see,

  I.      The confidence which God requires of us—

As creatures, we are of necessity dependent on Him who first gave us our existence: for in him we live, and move, and have our being. But it is by no means sufficient for us to acknowledge this as a truth which we cannot controvert: we must acquiesce in it as a state that we approve, and glory in it as our highest privilege. Our confidence in God must be co-extensive with our necessities: it must be—

  1.      Entire—

[We must trust in the Lord “with all our heart.” There must be no aversion to such an appointment as unnecessary, no distrust of it as insufficient. We should view ourselves as utterly incapable of ensuring our own happiness: and we should regard God as engaged to order every thing for our good. We should not for a moment doubt his wisdom to discern what shall eventually prove best for us, nor his power to execute it, however great or numerous the difficulties may be which appear to obstruct its accomplishment. Nay, we must be persuaded, that his love delights in caring for us, and that his truth and faithfulness will perform all that in his unbounded mercy he has undertaken in our behalf. From this conviction we must commit all our concerns to him. to be ordered and overruled as he in his infinite wisdom shall see best. There must be an actual transfer of them if we may so speak into his hands, and a full conviction of mind that he is able to keep, and will assuredly keep, what we have so committed to him, so as to bring all our affairs to a blessed and successful issue.]

  2.      Exclusive—

[We must “not lean to our own understanding.” so as to rely on it for any thing. We are to use our understanding indeed, but not to transfer to it any measure of that dependence which should be placed on God only. We know not what would be the ultimate issue of any one thing. We are ready to suppose, that whatever obstructs our wishes for a time, will endanger their final accomplishment: whereas God often makes those very events subservient to his own gracious purposes, and uses them as means whereby his ends shall be fulfilled. This was remarkably the case with Joseph, in all his trials: and there is no true believer who will not acknowledge, that in his own experience many things which have been desired by him would have proved injurious, and many things which have been deprecated by him have been overruled for his welfare. From a full conviction that “a man’s way is not in himself, and that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,” we must renounce all idea of planning for ourselves, any further than in an entire dependence on the divine guidance and direction. We are doubtless to use all proper means for attaining what on the whole appears most desirable: but the relying on our own devices, as calculated of themselves to ensure success, is the thing which God has marked with his strongest disapprobation — — — The doing of this demonstrates our follyd, and exposes us to the heaviest curse. We must therefore altogether “cease from our own wisdomf.”]

  3.      Uniform—

[“In all our ways we must acknowledge him;” not in those only which seem to be of greater importance, but in all without exception. It is not in the rise and fall of empires only that God’s hand is to be viewed, but in the falling of a sparrow, or in any event equally insignificant. We are apt to consider some things as important, and others as unimportant; but the truth is, that in God’s sight nothing is important (except as it may advance his glory); nor is there any thing unimportant as it relates to us. Many things which in their effects and consequences have been of the greatest imaginable importance, may in their origin be traced to the slightest possible occurrence. If we look into the book of Esther, we shall see this observation confirmed in its utmost extent. Nor is God to be acknowledged only in those events which would be deemed small, but in those also which are casual, or, as we call them, accidental: “the lot (than which nothing is more casual) is cast into the lap, but the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord.” In every thing therefore, whether great or small, painful or pleasant, concerted or fortuitous, God must be acknowledged as having sent it, if past, and as having the entire disposal of it, if future.]

To place this entire confidence in God will be found our truest wisdom, if we consider,

  II.      The encouragement he gives us to trust in him—

Wonderful is the promise here given for our encouragement; “He will direct our paths.” But how will he direct us? Will he speak to us in dreams, or visions, or by Urim and Thummim, or by an audible voice? Or will he go before us in the pillar and the cloud, as he did before his people in the wilderness; or answer us, as he did David, in reference to the men of Keilah, and the Amalekites? No: we are not authorized to expect any thing of the kind: yet will he direct us sufficiently to preserve us from any material error,

  1.      By his Spirit—

[To “open the eyes of our understanding” is one of the most important offices of the Spirit: and, in doing this, he will purge away from our eyes that film which obstructs our sight. Pride, passion, interest, and a thousand other things, incapacitate us for a clear and perfect discovery of our duty: and, till these be mortified, we are constantly exposed to the most awful delusions: we are ready at all times to “call good evil, and evil good: to put darkness for light, and light for darkness.” But, when our minds are duly enlightened, we see things in their proper colours. On different occasions, when the apostles would have called fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village, and when they contended with each other who should be the greatest, our blessed Lord instructed them better: and so will he do with us, bringing to our remembrance some portion of God’s word which bears upon the point in hand. Thus he fulfils that blessed promise, “that we shall hear a word behind us, saying. This is the way, walk ye in it: when we should otherwise have turned either to the right hand or to the left.” We say not, that the Holy Spirit does not sometimes effect this without the word: we are inclined to think he does; and that too by a kind of impression on the mind deterring us from evil and guiding us to good: but he never does it contrary to the word. Suffice it to say, that whether with or without the word, he will guide us into all truth, so far as shall be necessary for the rectifying of our views, and the regulating of our conduct.]

  2.      By his Providence—

[God often interposes for men in a most wonderful manner, to preserve them from evil, and to guide them into that which is good. Even a wicked Balaam was obstructed in his way by God’s appointment, in order to awaken him to a just sense of his duty. A remarkable instance of such an interposition occurs in the life of David. He, being incensed against Nabal for the contemptuous manner in which he had treated his messengers, and for his ungrateful refusal to administer to his necessities, had determined to avenge himself upon him and all that belonged to him. But God put it into the heart of Abigail to go to meet him, and by mild representations to pacify his wrathl. Thus were the greatest impieties prevented through the intervention of this prudent female. And in this way God often directs the ways of his people, either sending a friend perhaps, or a minister, to suggest such considerations as shall influence their minds: or by some particular occurrence “raising, as it were, a hedge, or building a wall,” to keep them in the path of duty. It may be, that the occurrence may occasion much grief at the time; but God knows how to accomplish his own purposes, and will constrain us all in due time to acknowledge that “he doeth all things well.”]

  We will ADD a few words,

  1.      To direct your exertions—

[Do not imagine that confidence in God is to supersede your own personal exertions. You are to labour, as much as if every thing depended on yourselves; and then to trust in God, as if nothing had been done by you. You must also expressly commit your concerns to God in fervent and continual prayer. The Psalmist particularly combines this with confidence in God: “Trust in God at all times, ye people; pour out your hearts before him.” The confidence that is unaccompanied with prayer and diligence is mere presumption. We have a beautiful pattern in Jacob, when he was about to meet his brother Esau. He disposed every thing in a way most suited to pacify his brother’s anger, or, in the event of not succeeding in that attempt, to secure that part of his family who were most dear to him: but, whilst he acted thus, he committed himself wholly to the Lord, and looked for success from him alone. Thus let there be no want of prudence or of diligence on your part; and then you may be assured that God will not suffer you to be disappointed of your hope.]

  2.      To regulate your expectations—

[Though God promises to direct your paths, he will not so direct you as to keep you from every degree of error. The apostles themselves, though in what they declared to be the will of God they were inspired to utter nothing but what was true, were not infallible in their own personal conduct. Peter greatly erred on one occasion, in his conduct towards the Gentiles; as Paul also did in reviling God’s high priest. You must not therefore conceive that you are certainly and altogether right, because you have prayed to God for direction: God may have many wise and gracious purposes to answer by leaving you still under some measure of darkness and ignorance: if it be only to humble you still more, and to shew you the blindness of your minds and the deceitfulness of Your hearts, it is a good and gracious end, for which you will in the issue see reason to be thankful. Be modest then, and diffident in your conclusions: and instead of assuming infallibility to yourselves, be always ready to suspect that your way is still far from perfect; and to the latest hour of your lives be proving to God to lead you in a right path, and to fulfil to you that gracious promise. “The meek he will guide in judgment; the meek he will teach his way.”]

DCCLVIII

THE REWARD OF CHARITY

  Prov. 3:9. 10.

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

TO instruct men how to ensure success in their agricultural pursuits or commercial speculations, is no part of a minister’s office. Were we able substantially to benefit mankind in those particulars, there would be no want of hearers, nor any complaint that we laboured too zealously in our vocation: on the contrary, the more successful we were in effecting our wishes, the more gratefully should we be acknowledged as public benefactors. Shall I then, for once, exceed, as it were, the commission given me, and attempt to teach you how to thrive in this world? Yes; suffer me for once to usurp this office: and to assure the most unlearned person amongst you, that by acting on the principles which I will set before him this day, he shall be as sure to prosper in his business, as if he were ever so conversant with the arts of trade. I mean not indeed to say, that a person going out of his own proper line shall be enabled to prosecute that line to advantage: but that, whilst proceeding prudently in his proper vocation, he shall succeed more certainly, and to a greater extent, than on other principles he can expect to do. And I say this the more confidently, because the directions which I shall give are not the results of fallible reasonings or of uncertain conjectures, but the plain unequivocal declarations of Heaven: “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

In these words we see,

  I.      Our duty—

We must “honour the Lord with our substance”—

[All that we have is the Lord’s. “Our very bodies and souls are his;” and much more the property which he has committed to our care. With the whole of that he is to be honoured; and in the disposal of it, respect must be had to his will, his interests, his glory. We are to consider every thing that we possess, not as given to us, but merely as confided to us, to be improved for him; and we must so employ the whole, as to meet his approbation in the day that we shall give up our account, and to be acknowledged by him as good and faithful stewards.]

We must honour him, also, “with the first-fruits of all our increase”—

[The first-fruits under the Law were claimed by God as his, and they were to be presented to him as his peculiar property: “Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring, of the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.” Besides these, was the tithe of all their increase to be offered to him every third year: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand, which thou doest.” Under the Gospel, the letter of this law is abolished; but the spirit of it yet remains in force: for the express command of God to us is, “On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him.” We are not to wait for the gathering in of our harvest; and then give a portion to the Lord after our own interests are secured: but rather to honour the Lord first, as the real proprietor of all; and then, trusting him for a supply of our own wants, to employ for ourselves what he shall graciously bestow upon us.]

This duty will not appear hard, if we consider what God has spoken for,

  II.      Our encouragement—

It should seem as if the giving of our substance were the way to diminish it: and the devoting of our first-fruits to him, the way to endanger our own provision through the year: but God has declared the very reverse, and has pledged himself that he will amply make up to us all that we part with for his sake.

This, under the Law, he did, visibly, according to the letter—

[Under that dispensation, a present and visible retribution marked, for the most part, the approbation or displeasure of God. When the people delayed to build his temple, he chastised them with famine, and referred to that visitation as a judgment inflicted on them for their sin: “Ye looked for much, and, lo! it came to little; and when ye brought it home. I did blow upon it. Why?. saith the Lord of Hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is staved from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.” And when they were stirred up to begin the work, he not only assured them of his blessing on their temporal concerns, but bade them note down the day that the foundation of his temple was laid, and see whether their blessings were not augmented from that very hour: “Consider now, from this day and upward, from the four-and-twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it: from this day will I bless you.” He bids them even to prove him in relation to this matter, and to see whether his bounty would not keep pace with their piety: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house: and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”]

Under the Gospel, also, he will do it, but invisibly, and according to the spirit—

[We are not taught to look so much to temporal rewards, as to those which are spiritual and eternal: though still we are told that “godliness has the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come;” and that, if we “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all needful things shall be added unto us.” A temporal recompence for our liberality we may not obtain: but a spiritual reward is sure. For thus said the Lord: “If thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house; if, when thou seest the naked, thou cover him, and hide not thyself from thine own flesh; then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in thought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” An eternal recompence will also most assuredly await us: for our blessed Lord has expressly told us, that if, instead of lavishing our money in feasting the rich, we delight to expend it on the poor, “we shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” He has commanded us on this account to “make friends to ourselves of the mammon of unrighteousness,” in the full expectation that at out death “we shall be received into everlasting habitations.” And St. Paul speaks to the same effect, when he says, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

But, after all, we must not altogether put out of our consideration even a present reward in the precise sense spoken of in our text: for it is beyond a doubt, that God does engage to supply the necessities of those who honour him with their substance: and we can appeal to many, and ask, whether they have not seen, in relation to their temporal concerns, many gracious interpositions of God in their behalf? But, independent of these, who does not know that liberality is the parent of economy, and economy of wealth? A man desirous of honouring God with his substance, is delivered at once from all those vices and follies which ruin the estates of thousands. Besides, who that delights in doing good has not found incomparably greater delight in self-denial for the benefit of others, than the utmost latitude of self-indulgence could ever have afforded him? Granting, then, that no addition is actually made to our wealth: yet, if our desires are moderated, and our expenditure restrained, the same effect is ultimately produced: for we are not more truly enriched by the increase of our substance, than we are by the diminution of our wants and our consumption.]

  Let me now point out THE BEARINGS of this subject,

  1.      On those who are engaged in visiting the sick—

[Persons engaged in imparting instruction to the ignorant, and consolation to the afflicted. Have yet, in a more eminent degree, the promise in our text fulfilled to them. Their light perhaps, at first, is but very imperfect: but by imparting it to others. their own views become enlarged, and their own experience of divine truth becomes deeper, from the very circumstance of their improving it for the benefit of others. Indeed, I can hardly suggest any better method for enlarging our own knowledge, than the making use of it for the instruction of our less enlightened brethren: for besides the natural effect which may be expected from the communication of knowledge, we may expect a peculiar blessing from God whilst we are so employed. A remarkable instance of this may be found in Apollos: “He, when he knew only the baptism of John, spake and taught diligently the word of the Lord.” “Aquila and Priscilla hearing him in the synagogue, took him, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” And then, going forth with his augmented light, he prospered far more in his labours of love, not only “convincing the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, but helping them much who had believed through grace.” This example is most encouraging to all, to improve for God the light which they possess: for, whatever we do for God, is regarded by him as a loan which he will repayq: and in every instance shall it be found, that “he who watereth others, shall be watered also himself.”]

  2.      On those who contribute for the support of the charity—

[On these, the subject bears to its full extent: and we are warranted to affirm, that men shall “reap either sparingly or bountifully, according as they sow.” But there is one point of view in which they pre-eminently “honour God.” and with peculiar advantage secure their reward. They honour God particularly, not merely by the distribution of their alms, but by employing and calling forth into activity the piety of others, for the benefit of their fellow-creatures. It is obvious that individuals of small property could not, without assistance from others, relieve the necessities of the poor to any great extent: and if they could not administer some temporal relief, they could not find easy access to the chambers of the sick. But being furnished with the means of easy access, they can pour the light of instruction and the balm of consolation into the souls of the afflicted to great advantage; and the persons so instructed and comforted, not only abound in thanksgivings to God for the benefits received, but in prayers to God in behalf of their benefactors. This St. Paul speaks of, as ennobling charity far beyond the mere conveyance of temporal relief — — — Now, then, let me ask, How can you honour God more, than in causing thanksgivings to arise to him from the altars of many hearts? and, What compensation under heaven can equal the prayers and intercessions of saints in your behalf? Put your alms in one scale, and the prayers offered to a prayer-hearing God in the other, and say whether your recompence be not very abundant, or whether it is possible to lay out money in any other way to such advantage? Let all of you, then, according to your power, “abound in this heavenly grace” of charity, after the example of your blessed Lord; “who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Only get a sense of his love upon your souls, and a “sincere love to him” in return, and we shall have no occasion to entreat liberality from you; for “you yourselves will be willing of your own accord, and will be ready to pray us, with much entreaty, that we will take upon ourselves the office of ministering to the saints” as your stewards.]

DCCLIX

THE PLEASANTNESS OF RELIGION

             Prov. 3:17.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

TO be sincerely and eminently religious is considered by the world as a symptom of weakness and folly. But the Scriptures represent such a life as characteristic of true wisdom. Upon such “wisdom” Solomon bestows the highest commendations: he speaks of it as incomparably more precious than gold, or rubies, or any earthly good whatever: he paints her as a queen disposing of riches, honour, and longevity to all her subjects: and, because we are more captivated by the idea of pleasure than of any thing else, he commends her to us in the text as productive of it in the highest possible degree.

We are naturally led to shew from the words before us, that the duties of religion are,

  I.      Pleasant in their exercise—

In confirmation of this truth, let us consider religion,

  1.      In a general and comprehensive view—

[Religion, as our Lord informs us, is comprehended in two things; the love of God, and the love of our neighbour.

Let us then inquire into the love of God. Suppose a person filled with admiration of the divine perfections as exhibited in the works of creation, must not that be a pleasant exercise of mind? Suppose him rising yet higher to the works of redemption, and contemplating the justice and the mercy, the truth and the love, the wisdom and the goodness of the Deity, as united, and harmonizing, and glorified in the cross of Christ; suppose him, I say, contemplating these with rapture, till he burst forth in songs of praise similar to those uttered by the angels at the birth of Christ, or those which are now sung around the throne of God: would there be no pleasure in such an employment? Suppose him yet further meditating upon the mercies of God vouchsafed to himself in particular, and adoring the triune God for all the wonders of electing, redeeming, sanctifying grace: must not such a frame be pleasant?

Inquire, next, into the love of our neighbour: suppose one to be exercising all those dispositions towards him which his relation to us or his situation demand: suppose one to be rejoicing with him in his prosperity, or to be weeping over his adversity in tender sympathy: suppose one to be stretching out the hand of charity for his relief, or administering consolation for his support;—is there no pleasure in all this? Surely he has not the heart of a man, who can question this obvious, indubitable truth.]

  2.      In its most difficult and painful duties—

[Repentance is a principal duty of religion: but can we find, it may be asked, any pleasure in that? We answer, Yes: only view repentance in its proper light, and we will affirm that it is pleasant. Suppose that one of us had by mistake swallowed somewhat that was poisonous: that we felt the deadly venom preying on our vitals; and that our medical attendant informed us, that, unless removed from our stomach, the poison would destroy us in a few hours; should we deem the exertions necessary for the removal of it a painful task? Should we not gladly renew them, till we had accomplished our end? Should we not, instead of regretting the pain occasioned by them, feel thankful that we had an opportunity to use them? And would not the success that accompanied our efforts turn our pain into a pleasure? Such then is repentance; it is a painful exertion to get rid of sin, which, if not expelled from our hearts, will utterly and eternally destroy us: and, though we do not say that pain can ever be pleasure, yet we affirm, that the very pangs of contrition, considered in a complex view, as consonant with our wishes and conducive to our good, are really pleasant: and for the truth of our assertion we will appeal to all who ever experienced those pangs: we will ask whether the seasons of their deepest humiliation have not been the sweetest seasons of their lives? We fear no contradiction upon this point, unless from those who are wholly ignorant of the matter.

Self-denial is another, and a very important, duty. But this, it should seem, precludes, in the very nature of it, the idea of pleasure, because it is a thwarting our own inclinations. We must however include this also among the ways that are ways of pleasantness. That the gratifying of a corrupt inclination is pleasant to flesh and blood, we cannot deny: but that the mortifying of it is abundantly more pleasant, we do not hesitate to affirm. Suppose a person tempted to yield to the solicitations of lust, or to gratify a no less keen appetite for revenge; would not a victory over his evil passions afford him more pleasure than a compliance with them? would not the mortifying of an unchaste desire be attended with a pleasure more pure and refined than could be attained by the indulgence of it? And, granting that the overcoming of evil with evil would be pleasant, (for revenge, they say, is sweet,) would not the “overcoming it with good” afford him incomparably sublimer happiness? Let us illustrate each of these positions by an example. Joseph, we know, resisted the importunity of his mistress: but were his sensations less pleasing when he had got out of the reach of temptation, than they would have been if he had consented to her wishes? David, when enraged at the ingratitude and insolence of Nabal, went to avenge himself by his destruction: but when stopped and pacified by Abigail, did he regret the loss of any satisfaction which he would have felt in executing his cruel designs? No: he blessed her, and blessed God for her; and found infinitely more delight in the exercise of a forgiving spirit than the completest revenge could ever have afforded him. We maintain it then, that the self-denial which religion calls for, is a source of real pleasure to the soul.

The bearing of the cross is another duty inculcated on all the followers of Christ. And can this be pleasant? Yes, we must affirm that this also is a source of pleasure to the true Christian. Doubtless the contempt and hatred which we must expect from an ungodly world are not pleasant in themselves: to be shut up in prison, and scourged, and put to a cruel and lingering death, are not pleasant in themselves: but, as endured for the sake of Christ, they are pleasant. To ascertain this, inquire of those “who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods;” or those who, with their feet in the stocks and their backs torn with scourges. “sang praises to God at midnight:” or those who, after their imprisonment, “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the sake of Christg.” Ask what our Lord meant, when he taught his followers to “rejoice and be exceeding glad.” whenever they should be called to suffer? and inquire of all the primitive saints who had learned. through grace, to “glory in tribulationi.” Inquire of him, who suffered more than any other of the Apostles, and who, speaking of his expected martyrdom, exults in it as a matter of the warmest congratulation. The experience of all true Christians is the same at this day: they “count themselves happy when they are called to endurel:” and look upon it as a special honour conferred upon them, when “it is given them to suffer any thing for their Redeemer’s sake.” In a word, religion raises us so much above earthly pains and pleasures, as to render us altogether independent on them for our happinessn.

Seeing then that even the most painful duties of religion are sources of pleasure, we may confidently affirm the same respecting “all” her ways.]

To this blessed account of wisdom’s ways, we may add, that they are,

  II.      Peaceful in their issue—

Mark the influences of religion on all who walk in her ways: mark them,

  1.      In life—

[None know any thing of “peace,” except the true Christian. As God has said, so experience proves, that “there is no peace to the wicked.” The cisterns to which they go for refreshment, are polluted: or rather, they are “broken cisterns that can hold no water.” All that they possess is more “vanity and vexation of spirit.” “Even in laughter their heart is sorrowful; and the end of their mirth is heavinessq.” But is it thus with the true Christian? Has not he peace in his soul, and “joys, with which the stranger intermeddleth not?” Yes, he “has already entered into rests:” he has a tranquillity arising from the subjugation of his passions: he has a holy composure of mind springing from the testimony of a good conscience: he has many sweet manifestations of God’s love to his soul: he has that within him which mitigates every sorrow, enhances every enjoyment, and supplies his every want. In a word, from committing his soul, and all his concerns, to God, he has “a peace that passeth all understanding.” This peace, we say, flows from the very exercises of religion, and is, more or less, an inseparable attendant on them. To this effect the inspired writers uniformly speak. The Psalmist observes, “Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” To the same purpose Isaiah also says, “The work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance for everx:” and St. Paul confirms their testimony, saying, “To be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace.”]

  2.      In death—

[Even in the time of health the ungodly cannot bear to think of death: conversation upon that awful subject is irksome and disgusting to them: they avoid it, because it makes them melancholy. If they be attacked with any fatal disease, their friends do all that they can to abate their fears, and to hide from them the real state of their disorder. When at last they come to feel their danger, then they are full of alarm and terror; and, however much they despised the duties of religion before, will then begin to pay attention to them. There are some indeed so blinded by their own delusions, that they believe themselves safe; while others are so callous as to be altogether insensible of their awful condition. But if men are not wholly blinded by conceit, or hardened by wickedness, they cannot but tremble at the approach of death: and then the hopes which they once fondly entertained, give way to painful forebodings, even to “a fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation.” On the contrary, he who hath walked in wisdom’s ways, is enabled in the midst of life to look forward to death, (like a bridegroom to his approaching nuptials,) as to the period, when all his desires shall be fulfilled, and his joys consummated. As he beholds death approaching, he rather chides its tardiness, than deprecates its advent. He “knows in whom he has believed;” and, in the hour of his departure, commits his soul with confidence into the hands of his ever-living and adorable Redeemer. Thus Stephen, thus Paula, and innumerable others, have died: and David tells us, that it is the privilege of all true believers to expect and enjoy such a death as this: “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.”]

  3.      In eternity—

[As soon as the ungodly enter into the eternal world, whether they were conceited or callous, whether confident or trembling, they know the truth of all that God’s word has declared. The Rich Man that fared sumptuously no sooner breathed out his soul, than he understood and felt the evil of neglecting his eternal interests; he then found his misery irremediable, and incapable of the smallest alleviation. He knew his five surviving brethren were living in the same thoughtless way, and hastening to the same fatal end: and wished that they might be apprised of their danger, ere it were too late: he knew by bitter experience that to those who lived and died in sin, nothing remained but unintermitted everlasting misery; “they drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night.” How different is the state of true Christians! They enjoy “the rest which here remained for them:” they rest in the bosom of their Saviour, free from all sin and temptation, from pain and weariness. The peace which they enjoyed in this world, was but a taste of that banquet on which they feast continually, a drop of “those rivers of pleasure which are at God’s right hand for evermore.”]

  ADDRESS—

  1.      The votaries of pleasure—

[There are two fatal mistakes under which you labour: the one is, that you think religion according to the Scriptural representation of it, will afford nothing but pain: the other is, that it will consist with an enjoyment of all the pleasures of the world. With respect to the former of these, we hope that nothing need be added to what has been already spoken: we hope that religion, if it have a dark and gloomy side, has also, like the pillar and cloud, a bright and cheering aspect: it is only on God’s enemies that it casts a gloom: to his friends it affords a reviving light, a refreshing shade, a sure and safe directory to heaven. With respect to the latter idea, namely, that of its countenancing worldly pleasures, surely no one can deliberately put such a construction on our text. If Religion’s ways be pleasant, must therefore Pleasure’s ways be religion? If so, what can be meant by St. Paul, when he says, “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth?” What could St. John mean, when he said, “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in hime?” And what could our Lord mean, when he said, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world?” Be not deceived, as though carnal and worldly pleasures were the only sources of enjoyment; but be assured, that the renunciation of them will contribute more to your happiness than the indulgence; and that real pleasure is to be found in God alone.]

  2.      The disciples of Christ—

[The wicked know that you profess to find more pleasure in religion than they can obtain in the world: give them not then any reason to think that you are disappointed in your expectations. If they see you lukewarm in religion, will they not conclude that it has not charms sufficient to allure you, or benefits sufficient to reward your labour? And if they see you joining in their company and vain pursuits, will they not, however they may encourage you in such a conduct, suppose that religion is not able to make you happy, and that you are forced, after all your professions, to come and borrow of their carnal pleasures, in order to eke out the scanty pittance that religion has bestowed? O bring not such disgrace upon your holy profession. Shew that you despise the vanities of this world, and that you have no appetite for husks after living upon “the bread that is in your Father’s house.” Our Lord has said, “My yoke is easy, and my burthen is light;” show therefore that you feel it so; and let it be seen by your zeal in religious duties, that they are not a weariness to you, but a delight. Thus will you recommend to others the paths you tread, and prove to them that “your feet are guided into the way of pence.”]

DCCLX

TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED

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