LIBEAEY 
 
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 No.'' 
 
 
PULPIT STUDIES: 
 
 OR, 
 
 AIDS TO 
 
 PREACHING AND MEDITATION. 
 
 BY JOHN STYLES, D.D. 
 
 Jpirst Series 
 
 LONDON: 
 WARD AND CO. 
 
 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The title of this volume sufficiently explains its 
 object; but, to guard against misapprehension, the 
 Author wishes it to be understood that what he 
 means to convey by the term " Studies" is, that 
 the materials for the use of the pulpit which he 
 has here collected and published, have no higher 
 pre tension than the contents of an artist's port- 
 folio, which are usually called his " studies," and 
 which for the most part consist of outlines and 
 unfinished sketches. The truth is, that they are 
 specimens of the ordinary productions of his minis- 
 terial life, selected according to the order in which 
 the subjects occur in the Scriptures. Two or three 
 are, indeed, the contributions of friendship ; these, 
 alas ! are posthumous — not one is elaborated into 
 the completeness of a Sermon, yet it is hoped that 
 all are adapted to promote the end proposed. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 The First Man, Adam 1 
 
 Death of Abel H 
 
 Enoch . . . . • • • • .10 
 
 The Deluge 21 
 
 Abraham ......... 26 
 
 Abraham offering up Isaac ..... 34 
 
 Jacob 42 
 
 Jacob's Dream ........ 50 
 
 Joseph's Dreams . . . . . . • .58 
 
 The Widow of Zarephath 66 
 
 Elijah under the Juniper Tree . . . • .73 
 Elijah and Elisha . . . • • .83 
 
 Moses's Address to Parents .89 
 
 God dwelling with Men 91 
 
 Divine Condescension ....... 97 
 
 The Exaltation of Man 104 
 
 The Ascended Christ . 112 
 
 Sympathy for Sailors . . . . . .124 
 
 The Rule, Principle, and Privileges of Obedience . .128 
 
 The Balances 134 
 
 The Great Mystery . . . . . . .138 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 The only begotten Son alone able to reveal the Father . 149 
 
 The Temple of his Body . . . . . .157 
 
 The Light of the World 169 
 
 His Sun shining on the Evil and the Good . . 173 
 
 Siloam's Tower . . . . . . . . 1 76 
 
 The Centurion who built a Synagogue . . . 183 
 
 Christ Praying 190 
 
 Jesus rejoicing in Spirit . . . . . .198 
 
 The Gospel revealed to Babes 208 
 
 Christ Weeping over Jerusalem . . . . .213 
 
 Who hath made thee to differ ? 219 
 
 Christ's Appeal to his righteous Father . . .221 
 The Crucifixion 229 
 

 
 PULPIT STUDIES. 
 
 ADAM. 
 
 " The first man Adam." — 1 Cor. xv. 45. 
 
 If to mark the origin of nations, the rise and 
 fall of empires, the events which agitate states and 
 overthrow kingdoms, be a pleasant study, must it 
 not yield equal gratification to mark the com- 
 mencement of time, and to trace all the families of 
 the earth back to their first progenitor, since his 
 life is so intimately connected with the state of the 
 world around us, with our intellectual, moral, and 
 social nature, our eternal destiny, and more espe- 
 cially with that plan of redemption on which all 
 our hopes are founded? His life is full of interest, 
 in comparison of which the achievements of the 
 most illustrious persons, and the events of the 
 most remarkable epochs in history, dwindle into 
 insignificance. Let us, then, consider, 
 
 I. His Creation: II. His Glory : III. His Fall. 
 
2 ADAM. 
 
 I. His creation. 
 Here we may reflect, 
 
 1. On the materials with which he was formed, and 
 the grand constituent parts of his nature — His body, 
 of the earth; his soul, the breath of the living 
 God. 
 
 2. On the wisdom displayed in this combination of 
 the physical with the spiritual, in this wonderful pro- 
 duction of creating power. Adam was the last as 
 well as the best of God's earthly works. The con- 
 necting link between heaven and earth. In the 
 creation of the first man Adam there was likewise 
 this peculiarity which distinguishes him from all 
 his posterity, that he did not pass through the 
 period of childhood — that he was not born an 
 infant, but created a man with all his physical and 
 intellectual powers in full maturity. What skill 
 in the structure — what astonishing capacity in his 
 soul for good and for evil, either to glorify or 
 degrade his body so fearfully and wonderfully 
 made ! 
 
 3. On the responsibilities which the union of these 
 circumstances cast around him. They regarded him 
 as a man, as an inhabitant of earth, as the federal 
 head and representative of his posterity. With his 
 creation his career of duty and obligation began. 
 As a test of obedience, his Maker laid on him one 
 and but one command, in its nature positive, but 
 involving every moral principle, every principle of 
 piety and virtue. To obey this law was as easy as 
 it was reasonable. Had no such test been ap- 
 pointed, it would have been only natural in Adam 
 
 11 
 
ADAM. 
 
 to have desired one ; to have said to his Divine 
 Benefactor, Condescend to lay on me some com- 
 mand — to point out some plan by which I may 
 evince my love. Thou hast laid me under infinite 
 obligations, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do to 
 express my sense of gratitude, and show my love ? 
 In appointing him a test of obedience, therefore, 
 God was only gratifying what must have been the 
 spontaneous and ardent wish of man's own grate- 
 ful heart; and in appointing a test so simple, so 
 easy, requiring him only not. to do something, to 
 abstain in a single particular, God was showing 
 how easy was the rule, how paternal and kind the 
 government under which he was living. And here 
 let us, 
 
 II. Contemplate the first man Adam in 
 
 HIS PRIMEVAL GLORY. 
 
 The sacred historian informs us that " he was 
 made after the image of God." But in what did 
 this image consist ? Say some, in that power and 
 authority which was given him over the creatures, 
 in that he was viceroy over this lower world. But 
 that this is only a part of the Divine image is plain, 
 otherwise the possessors of greatest power would 
 have the nearest assimilation to God. Thus Mm- 
 rod would have been more godlike than Noah, 
 Saul than Samuel, the persecutors than the mar- 
 tyrs. But apostles are the best expositors here: 
 they teach us that the image of God consisted in 
 the happy combination of this power with know- 
 ledge, holiness, and happiness. Indeed, the power 
 itself was chiefly moral in its nature. 
 
4 ADAM. 
 
 1. Knowledge. The first man came into the 
 world a philosopher; his understanding was all 
 light : it was, says South, " the leading, controlling 
 faculty ; all the passions wore the colours of reason ; 
 it did not so much persuade as command; it 
 was not consul, but dictator. Discourse was then 
 almost as quick as intuition ; it was simple in pro- 
 posing, firm in concluding; it could sooner deter- 
 mine than now it can dispute. Like the sun, it 
 had both light and agility; it knew no rest but 
 in motion, no quiet but in activity. It did not so 
 properly apprehend as irradiate the object; not 
 so much find as make things intelligible. It did 
 arbitrate upon the several reports of sense, and all 
 the varieties of imagination; not like a drowsy 
 judge, only hearing, but also directing their ver- 
 dict. In sum, it was vegete, quick, and lively; 
 open as the day, untainted as the morning, full 
 of the innocence and sprightliness of youth : it gave 
 the soul a bright and a full view into all things, 
 and was not only a window, but itself the prospect." 
 So great was his knowledge, so clear his under- 
 standing, that he could write the nature in the 
 names of things. Knowledge now is only to be 
 obtained by labour; much exertion and persever- 
 ance are necessary : but to our first parent, study 
 was not a labour. The volume in which he read 
 was always open, and that volume was nature. His 
 mind was never fatigued, his memory never bur- 
 dened : we may form some idea of its excellence, 
 if we consider it now in its decay ; like some 
 stately building in ruins, traces of its former mag- 
 
ADAM. 5 
 
 nificence still remain. Sir Isaac Newton was but 
 the rubbish of our first parent, as the most beauti- 
 ful garden is but the ruins of paradise. 
 
 2. Holiness. Holiness is the brightness, or ra- 
 ther, the moral essence of the Divine glory. The 
 anthems of heaven proclaim this to the universe — 
 the angels cry, " Holy, holy, holy Lord God of 
 hosts ! " This was the beauty of Adam : what his 
 understanding represented as excellent, his will 
 chose as desirable. His affections were rightly 
 placed; God was his chief good : to Him he offered 
 the profoundest homage of his spirit: his service 
 was unconstrained, like the obedience of angels, who 
 are as a flame of fire, all fervent in love and zeal. 
 
 3. Happiness. Because God is perfectly holy, 
 he is infinitely happy. Creatures, according to 
 their capacity, who are endowed with this sinless 
 purity, are likewise happy. How finely is the hap- 
 piness of holy Adam in his state of innocence ima- 
 gined by the writer we have already quoted : " Joy 
 then was not that which now often usurps the name ; 
 that trivial, vanishing, superficial thing, which 
 only gilds the apprehension, and plays upon the 
 surface of the soul. It was not the mere crackling 
 of thorns, a sudden blaze of the spirits, the exulta- 
 tion of a tickled fancy or a pleased appetite : joy 
 was then a masculine and a severe thing ; the re- 
 creation of the judgment, the jubilee of reason. 
 It was the result of a real good suitably applied : 
 it commenced upon the solidities of truth, and the 
 substance of fruition : it did not run out in voice, 
 or indecent eruptions, but filled the soul, as God 
 
 b3 
 
ADAM. 
 
 does the universe, silently and without noise. It 
 was refreshing, but composed ; like the pleasant- 
 ness of youth, tempered with the gravity of age, or 
 the mirth of a festival managed with the silence of 
 contemplation." But God, out of pure benefi- 
 cence, proceeded to enlarge his happiness; he 
 placed him in Eden, the garden of the Lord, the 
 paradise of God. There his happiness awakened 
 into social bliss ; but when his joy was at the full, 
 the beautiful but fragile vessel containing this pure 
 and unalloyed element of blessedness, was dashed 
 to the ground by an impious though unseen hand : 
 and thus we are to notice, 
 
 III. Man's fall from his excellency. 
 Our attention is arrested, 
 
 ] . By the temptation with which he was assailed. 
 It came from a mysterious power : it was adapted 
 to his twofold nature ; it appealed to his senses — to 
 his reason, and by deluding the one, and per- 
 verting the other, the arch-demon injected into 
 his heart the poison of pride and impiety: sense 
 became sensuality; enjoyment, cupidity. These 
 engendered distrust of the Divine goodness and 
 truth : distrust of God led to credulity, credulity 
 that believed the subtle falsehoods of a demon, 
 while it denied the veracity of the Most High, 
 and thus induced an act of open defiance and 
 rebellion against his authority. This was all along 
 the design of the tempter, and with infernal in- 
 genuity he laid his scheme of seduction, and suc- 
 ceeded. But the malignity of the enemy does not 
 lessen, 
 
ADAM. 7 
 
 2. TJie guilt of man's base compliance with his 
 suggestions. This terrible act involved him in 
 guilt of the most alarming extent. Singly re- 
 garded, it was a breach of only one positive pre- 
 cept ; but it was in fact a violation of the great 
 principle of all law, and struck at the obliga- 
 tion of all government and the foundation of all 
 order. It was a single act, but it was the act that 
 would have snapped asunder the golden thread 
 on which are strung the beautiful connexion and 
 succession of pearls which form the circle of order 
 and of law round the diadem of God : could it 
 have succeeded, these would have been scattered 
 and dispersed. One sin, as it is levelled against 
 the Divine authority, so would it dethrone the Di- 
 vine Majesty, and annihilate for ever the moral har- 
 monies of the universe. 
 
 The " one sin," which by this " one man en- 
 tered into the world," combined in itself all the 
 elements of evil. It implied, on the part of Adam, 
 strange and unnatural omissions. There was the 
 omission of prayer in the instant and article of 
 temptation : dependence upon God, which derives 
 from him a sustaining and strengthening influence, 
 was forgotten or withdrawn. Consideration was 
 laid asleep, the understanding forgot its function ; 
 and love, that glowing principle which had been 
 enkindled in his bosom as soon as he awoke to 
 consciousness, which devotion fanned, and which 
 communion with his Maker rendered a source of 
 perpetual and exquisite delight, — at the moment 
 when it should have flamed upward with the ar- 
 
8 ADAM. 
 
 dour of a seraph, grew languid, drooped its wings, 
 and became an easy prey to the tempting fiend. 
 
 Then there were positive breakings forth of evil ; 
 shameful ingratitude and discontent; pride and 
 arrogancy ; an ungovernable spirit, that aspired at 
 independence of God and equality with God; a 
 guilty spirit of unbelief which made God a liar, 
 and believed Satan in preference — the first stqy 
 towards a league between earth and hell against 
 the Divine government; the seed of all the guilt 
 and rebellion which have since covered the earth. 
 The sin of Adam was a horrible thing and a 
 wonder. 
 
 3. The consequence of his transgression : The loss 
 of God's image — of his favour — of paradise — the 
 curse — on the woman of a sorrow which has no 
 parallel in the history of human suffering, periodi- 
 cal and perpetual through all generations ; — on 
 both man and woman, the curse of excessive toil, 
 which has fallen on the latter with tenfold weight; 
 sickness and death, and u all the woes which flesh 
 is heir to ;" — of eternal misery ; — and on their pos- 
 terity, of involvement in the same ruin. 
 
 What amazing events did the first man witness ! 
 How astonishing the change which he experienced 
 in himself! How widely did his end differ from 
 his beginning ! In him the perfection of human 
 nature was displayed; and in him our nature re- 
 ceived that shock which will continue to be felt to 
 the latest posterity. He saw the world in its 
 bloom and glory, and he lived to see it despoiled of 
 that glory, crowded with guilt and woe, cursed by 
 
ADAM. 9 
 
 the God who made it, and yet placed under a 
 process of Divine restoration. 
 
 1 . Let us look at our original, and exonerate God 
 from all participation in the disorders and miseries 
 
 of our race, 
 
 2. Let us contrast the glory of man in his prime- 
 val condition with the ruin and degradation of his 
 
 present state with feelings of deepest abasement and 
 contrition, 
 
 3. What an idea does the curse afford us of the 
 infinite evil which there must be in sin. 
 
 Fools make a mock at sin. They make a mock 
 even at this sin, though it was so fearful as 
 the first act of rebellion in this part of God's do- 
 minions, blasting a world, and entailing on man- 
 kind innumerable and endless evils, But why do 
 this ? Because they estimate sin by a false standard, 
 and because it does not appear to be very heinous 
 by that standard, they make a mock of it. Though 
 they are to be reminded that — the more trifling that 
 first transgression appears, the more kind was God 
 in making the test of obedience so easy — the more 
 easy must it have been for man to obey it — and 
 consequently the more guilt for disobeying it. 
 But the only true light, we say, in which to con- 
 template the first sin is in its own nature in re- 
 lation to God. This is the view in which the 
 first sinner himself regarded it, and hence he 
 trembled at it — he could not treat it lightly. This 
 too is the light in which Satan viewed it : he did 
 not think lightly of it — he hailed it as a pro- 
 digious triumph of sin and hell against God. And 
 
10 ADAM. 
 
 this is the light in which the great God re- 
 garded it. 
 
 Now, if we look at sin in this light, we shall 
 see how true it is that there are no Utile sins, no 
 insignificant transgressions. The least sin we ever 
 committed contained in it the same dreadful ele- 
 ments of guilt as the first sin did ; and had that 
 least sin of ours been the first sin in the world, 
 it would have been condemned and attended with 
 the same direful consequences as Adam's was. 
 For, " he that offendeth but in one point is guilty 
 of the whole law" — the spirit of disobedience in 
 which he has indulged is an insult to the spirit of 
 the whole law. In this point of view, the sin of 
 Adam was a representation of every sin that would 
 be committed by his posterity to the end of time. 
 Every man has had a spiritual fall ; each of us has 
 had his first sin, though probably it was committed 
 so early in life that we do not remember it : yet, 
 in the book of God's remembrance, there stands 
 recorded against us a first sin. The record of that 
 was the record of our personal fall — " another fall 
 of man." 
 
 But behold, " I bring you glad tidings of great 
 joy," which are " to all people ! " A blessing 
 greater than the curse was proclaimed at the very 
 moment it was announced. " As by one man's 
 disobedience many were made sinners, so by the 
 obedience of one shall many be made righteous." 
 
11 
 
 DEATH OF ABEL. 
 
 "And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass 
 when they were in the field tbat Cain rose up against Abel his 
 brother, and slew him." — Gen. iv. 28. 
 
 So true is it that " lust when it hath conceived, 
 bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is perfected 
 briri£eth forth death." How fearful ! And how 
 soon was realized the curse denounced against the 
 apostate spirit — " I will put enmity between thee and 
 the woman, between thy seed and her seed ; it shall 
 bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel ! " 
 Here was the commencement of that conflict which 
 still continues between infidelity and faith, be- 
 tween the world and the church, between the ene- 
 mies and friends of God. At the head of the noble 
 army of martyrs stands the righteous Abe], the se- 
 cond son of fallen Adam. So early was that se- 
 vere but salutary lesson inculcated, that we must 
 " through much tribulation enter into the kingdom 
 of God." Let us consider the death of Abel, 
 
 I. In the immediate causes which produced it ; 
 II. In the various aspects under which it may be 
 contemplated. 
 
 I. In THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES WHICH PRO- 
 DUCED IT. 
 
 Among the immediate causes which produced 
 this tragical event may be noticed, 
 
 1. The predominance of wicked, violent, and un- 
 
12 DEATH OF ABEL. 
 
 governable passions. The depravity in which all this 
 disorder originated, was not an evil that gradually 
 rose to maturity with the progress of society and 
 the lapse of ages. No sooner had man become a 
 transgressor of the Divine law, than his heart be- 
 came " deceitful above all things, and desperately 
 wicked." The first-born of the world was a mur- 
 derer, and the victim was a brother. 
 
 2. These wicked, violent, and ungovernable passions 
 were excited into fearful and malignant energy by 
 the exhibition of their opposites — by goodness, by 
 piety, by humble faith. The evil bate the good, the 
 impious the devout, the unbelievers in revelation 
 those who sincerely embrace its doctrines, obey its 
 precepts, and display its spirit. 
 
 3. These passions, so fearful and malignant in their 
 energy, were hurried into the perpetration of the first 
 crime that stained the earth with a brother's blood — by 
 most guilty and rebellious dissatisfaction with the 
 principles and the procedure of the Divine govern- 
 ment as displayed in, 
 
 The exercise of the Divine sovereignty : 
 
 The nature of the Divine requirement, recog- 
 nising and approving the grand principle of pia- 
 cular sacrifice : 
 
 The peculiar manifestation of the Divine favour. 
 
 These have produced, under various circum- 
 stances, all the persecutions that have raged against 
 the church from the beginning until now. 
 
 II. The various aspects under which the 
 death of Abel may be contemplated. 
 
 1. As an instance of glorious martyrdom. 
 
DEATH OF ABEL. 13 
 
 2. As a dismission from the world of faith to the 
 world of vision. 
 
 3. As displaying the enormity of sin and the misery 
 which it entails even in the present world. Abel was 
 the victim. But God was the object, and impiety 
 the essence of the crime. How affecting the 
 anguish of the surviving parents, and the sorrow 
 of an amazed and afflicted church — who can trace 
 the progress and the consequences of one sin ? 
 
 4. As a mysterious occurrence in the history of 
 Divine Providence, showing the necessity of a future 
 
 judgment and an after state of retribution. 
 
 Cain indeed was punished, and he exclaimed 
 "that his punishment was greater than he could 
 bear." But the whole must .undergo the inspection 
 of the universe. The interests involved in this dire 
 transaction cannot be adjusted without a solemn 
 reference to the tribunal of the Judge of quick and 
 dead, and the judicial compensations of eternity. 
 
 5. As a type of the great sacrifice which was 
 offered by violence in the person of the Incarnate Son 
 of God — the Redeemer of our guilty race. 
 
 6. As monitory and instructive. 
 
 1. Cain slew Abel. A striking specimen of the 
 morality of an infidel. 
 
 2. The blood of Abel cried from the ground for 
 vengeance against Cain. No cry pierceth the hea- 
 vens like that of blood — a brother's blood more 
 especially. How long has the blood of that Just 
 One been crying, and they who shed it will not 
 yet acknowledge, as the brethren of Joseph were 
 made to do in the day of their calamity, that they 
 
14 DEATH OF ABEL. 
 
 " are verily guilty concerning their brother.* 1 As the 
 crime of the Jews bears so near an affinity to that of 
 Cain, the stubborn sullenness and inveterate hard- 
 ness of heart which it has produced in them seem 
 to be in an extraordinary manner pourtrayed in 
 his character. 
 
 3. An apostle tells us, that " Abel being dead yet 
 speaketh" Yes, from the height of heaven he 
 addresses us. From thence he declares to us the 
 efficacy of the blood of Jesus by which he has 
 obtained salvation. He shows us the duty of 
 following the Redeemer through affliction, through 
 persecution, through death itself. He teaches us 
 the necessity of a constant and lively faith to sup- 
 port us in our trials,' and render our duties accept- 
 able. He calls to you, young people, and reminds 
 you that youth and health, that the tendernesses 
 and desires, the prayers and tears of parents, can- 
 not shield you from the stroke of death. He bids us 
 all remember that we may suddenly sink into the 
 tomb, that there is not a moment of our lives in 
 which we may not be summoned to the bar of God. 
 
 4. " The blood of Christ speaketh better things than 
 that of Abel" It attracts not, but repels the thun- 
 der of Divine indignation. It cries not for ven- 
 geance, but its language is — Grace, grace, to the 
 guilty penitent, the believing sinner. Let us seek 
 to be sprinkled with this precious blood; let us, 
 with this plea in our mouths, draw near to God for 
 pardon ; let us continually look for grace and 
 glory, for forgiveness and salvation, to that great 
 Shepherd of the flock, who was offered as a sacrifice 
 
DEATH OF ABEL. 15 
 
 to God, who was hated, persecuted, and murdered 
 by his brethren ; though for shedding this blood 
 they were accursed, scattered, and made a monu- 
 ment of Divine justice : yet, let our souls be 
 washed in it, and they shall be purified, forgiven, 
 and prepared for heaven. 
 
 ENOCH. 
 
 "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; 
 and was not found, because God had translated him : for be- 
 fore his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased 
 God."— Heb. xi. 5. 
 
 In this remarkable passage concerning Enoch, 
 the subject of celebration and encomium is his 
 faith. This, indeed, is the grand distinction of all 
 the holy heroes and martyrs that illustrated religion 
 and glorified God in their day and generation, and 
 who have long since been invested with a twofold 
 immortality — a deathless name in the volume of 
 revelation, and eternal felicity in the world of 
 glory. Enoch was the Elijah of his day ; a reformer 
 of the antediluvian church from a widely-spreading 
 corruption which threatened the extinction of all 
 true religion. It was he who determined to separate 
 the precious from the vile, and to draw a strong 
 and broad line of demarcation between the Church 
 and the world. Till Enoch appeared, soon after 
 the excision of Cain, true piety at first gradually 
 decayed, till, error and evil gaining a complete 
 ascendency, it was found impossible to cast out the 
 
i6 ENOCH. 
 
 offenders from the pale of communion : the Church 
 could not expel the world from her fellowship ; she 
 therefore retired, and led by Enoch, to make a 
 visible demonstration in favour of the true wor- 
 ship of the one God, we are informed by the 
 sacred historian, " Then began men first to call 
 upon the name of the Lord." The faith of Enoch 
 was the energetic principle that raised him to the 
 perilous renown of being the first to restore to its 
 primitive purity the revelation which Adam re- 
 ceived immediately from God, and the simplicity 
 of the worship originally founded upon it. 
 
 The faith of Enoch, then, is to form the subject 
 of our meditation ; and we may consider it in its, 
 
 I. Nature: II. Its Fruits: III. The Testimony 
 with which it was honoured; and, IV. Its glorious 
 Termination. 
 
 I. The nature of Enoch's faith. 
 
 Founded on the testimony of nature and the voice 
 of tradition, it was, 
 
 1 . A firm persuasion of the existence, perfections, 
 and government of God. 
 
 2. Of the accountableness of all reasonable creatures 
 to him, and their entire dependence on his goodness. 
 
 It looked beyond all present administrations of 
 Divine providence, and regarded a life to come. 
 Enoch, we learn from the apostle Jude, (ver. 14, 15,) 
 had a clear foresight of the great day of final judg- 
 ment, and of the important eternal results of it, in 
 the endless happiness of the righteous, and misery 
 of the wicked. But Enoch's faith was, 
 
 3. Evangelical in its object, in the ground of its 
 
ENOCH. 17 
 
 dependence ; and in the worship which it recognised. 
 The object was that revealed in the first promise, 
 and the worship that which presented sacrifice as the 
 appropriate and significant type of vicarious atone- 
 ment to be offered by the seed of the woman. In 
 this promise Christ is " the lamb slain from the 
 beginning of the world ;" futurely slain in respect 
 of the event — presently, or at that time, slain in 
 respect of the effect. 
 
 The covenant of works, abrogated and destroyed 
 by the sin of man, was graciously superseded by 
 the covenant of grace, founded not in man himself, 
 but in his surety ; not in the first Adam, in his 
 federal capacity, but in the Mediator, the second 
 Adam, the Lord from heaven, who is described 
 in the promise as the seed of the woman bruising 
 the serpent's head, in a conflict which would sub- 
 ject him to death, or to the bruising of his heel. 
 The faith of Enoch, therefore, was specially di- 
 rected to this promise, in which he recognised 
 righteousness, and gracious acceptance with God, 
 by virtue of that righteousness which was no more 
 to be sought in ourselves, in our personal obedience, 
 but to be received as free grace from another, who 
 was to ward off the danger of death from us ; that 
 righteousness to be wrought and consummated by 
 one who was to be brought into the world by incarna- 
 tion, to be made of a woman, and in human nature, 
 to become a perfect Redeemer by suffering death in 
 his victorious conflict with the serpent. Both the 
 nature of the thing, and the manner of the revelation, 
 required that it should be apprehended by faith ; 
 
 c3 
 
18 ENOCH. 
 
 for when the salvation of lost sinners is declared to 
 them to be placed in another, and to be expected 
 and sought in him, and in him alone, nothing is 
 absolutely required of them but that they put their 
 trust in him, place all their hope in him, wholly 
 renouncing themselves, that they may be made 
 partakers of his salvation. The manner of the re- 
 velation is by a promise, and this demands faith ; 
 for the thing promised surely cannot be obtained 
 except faith be applied to the promise itself. 
 
 II. The fruits of Enoch's faith. 
 
 He walked so as to please God : he walked with 
 God. This denotes duty and privilege. 
 
 1 . To please God was the great study and business 
 of his life. He kept up a daily intercourse and com- 
 munion with him by all the exercises of piety and 
 devotion, whether private, domestic, or public. 
 
 2. He set God always before him as a zoitness and 
 Judge of his thoughts and actions. 
 
 3. A dutiful care to obey his holy commandments. 
 
 4. Proposing him as his great exemplar and 
 pattern. 
 
 5. He thus walked with God, surrounded ivith all 
 the perils of persecution from infuriated idolaters and 
 infidels, and amidst general and growing defection. 
 Such were the fruits of Enoch's faith. 
 
 III. The testimony with which it was ho- 
 noured, 
 
 1. He enjoyed it in himself He had this testi- 
 mony, that he pleased God, — a consciousness of 
 Divine approbation, — the smile of Heaven, — a per- 
 petual sunshine in his breast. 
 
ENOCH. 19 
 
 2. His name is recorded on the sacred page with 
 high commendation. 
 
 3. He is proposed as an example of faith to all 
 generations. 
 
 IV. Its glorious termination. 
 
 The end of faith in every believer is always 
 glorious. But Enoch's was distinguished with pecu- 
 liar glory — he was translated. He was not found. 
 This does not invalidate the general truth, that "it 
 is appointed unto man once to die," and that " flesh 
 and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven." 
 Enoch was translated — not without change. 
 
 Our own poet, James Montgomery, in his 
 " World before the Flood," has finely described an 
 imaginary, but by no means improbable scene, in 
 which the translation of Enoch is the triumph over 
 infidel and impious rage. He represents the 
 venerable preacher of righteousness admonishing 
 and warning the scoffers, who were tauntingly cry- 
 ing, where is the promise of his coming? Their 
 malice becomes fury under the awful but intoler- 
 able rebuke — they rush forward to execute their 
 long threatened vengeance — but they strike on 
 vacancy, and fall headlong on the spot, where, but 
 a moment before, the majestic patriarch stood. 
 This is the moment seized by the poet for his 
 beautiful description of the unearthly change which 
 was preparing Enoch for his translation. 
 
 *' Sublime, ineffable, angelic grace 
 Beam'd in his meek and venerable face, 
 And sudden glory streaming round bis head 
 O'er all his robes with lambent lustre spread, 
 
90 ENOCH. 
 
 His earthly features grew divinely bright, 
 His essence seem'd transforming into light." 
 
 Thus " Enoch walked with God, and was not 
 found." 
 
 1. This extraordinary dispensation seems designed 
 to give the world an early document and pledge of that 
 entire glorious immortality that shall he the fmal 
 reward of all that walk with God. 
 
 2. That as there is a blessed immortality reserved 
 as a reward of persevering faith and piety— so it is 
 not to he enjoyed on earth hut in heaven. 
 
 3. To convince the world that where the instances of 
 piety have been extraordinary, so shall be the degree of 
 their reward. 
 
 To these reasons we subjoin some observations 
 that cannot be deemed wholly improbable. Abel's 
 death was typical: so Enoch's translation was a 
 type of our Lord's ascension to heaven, and en- 
 trance on a state of glorious immortality there. 
 
 Some have observed, that as the Scriptures 
 seem to give emphasis to the fact that Enoch was 
 the seventh from Adam, and that all who had pre- 
 ceded him were subject to death, while he was a 
 signal exception : that thus Divine Providence has 
 darkly shadowed out to us the time in general 
 when the blessed resurrection might be expected, 
 namely, that death should reign over the race of 
 Adam for six thousand years, and, at the expiration 
 of that time, the general resurrection should restore 
 all the spiritual seed of the second Adam to a 
 glorious state of happiness, by an entire abolition of 
 that sentence of death, that had, upon Adam's 
 transgression, passed upon all. 
 
THE DELUGE. 2J 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 1. We may hence learn the necessity of a firm 
 belief of the great principles of religion, in order to 
 the acceptable practice of it. 
 
 2. To improve our faith in order to our walking 
 with God so as to please him. 
 
 3. That the prevalence of infidelity and irreligion 
 should not abate our faith and piety, but rather 
 increase them. 
 
 From hence the Christian believer may derive 
 strong encouragement, 
 
 1 . To walk with God in a perverse age is not 
 impossible. 
 
 2. How acceptable faith and piety are to God. 
 
 3. How liberally a gracious God will reward our 
 sincere faith and piety. 
 
 THE DELUGE. 
 
 " And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty 
 days." — Gen. vii. 24. 
 
 " Some have believed the deluge never was." 
 The appearances of the earth — innumerable cor- 
 roborating but otherwise inexplicable facts — the or- 
 ganic remains of a former world — the discoveries of 
 philosophical inquirers — these seem to prove not 
 one deluge only, but many, of which the compara- 
 tively tranquil flood of Noah was the last. To this 
 may be added, 
 
 The general testimony of all nations, and the ex- 
 
22 THE DELUGE. 
 
 press declarations of Holy Scripture. But the 
 Scriptures not merely relate the circumstances of 
 this awful and tremendous event : they connect it 
 with the moral government of God : they trace it 
 to his Divine and terrible agency : they tell us of, 
 
 I. Its exciting cause. 
 
 " The wickedness of man was great"— great in 
 degree, great in extent, universal. They de- 
 scribe it, 
 
 II. As A DREADFUL EXPEDIENT OF THE DlVINE 
 VENGEANCE TO DISPLAY THE HEINOUSNESS OF SIN 
 IN THE ESTIMATION OF HEAVEN. 
 
 It was an universal destruction, sparing neither 
 age nor sex, infancy nor decrepitude. It came 
 after many warnings, after long and ominous pre- 
 parations. It came amid universal infatuation ; and 
 the state of the universal mind increased the terror 
 when the judgment poured down its fury in tempests 
 which seemed to break up and exhaust the fountains 
 of the great deep. It is dreadful indeed, when con- 
 viction and punishment arrive at one and the same 
 moment, — when the first apprehension of danger 
 only reveals the impossibility of escape, and when the 
 scoffing infidel becomes a believer at the instant that 
 he is seized by a stern and fatal necessity of which 
 he never dreamed. How terrible, when Almighty 
 wrath rolls in the distance, and every moment brings 
 it nearer,— when, like an ocean that overleaps its 
 bounds, it threatens to sweep away the habitations 
 of men, and scares them to the highest mountains, 
 only that they may look, and despair, and perish ! 
 
THE DELUGE. '23 
 
 " Upon the mountains now were seen 
 Gaunt men and women, bringing with them babes, 
 Eyeing each other, or with marble looks 
 
 Measuring the swiftly lessening space between. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Pale mothers then 
 Wept without hope, and aged heads, struck cold 
 By agues, trembled like i - ed autumn leaves ; 
 And infants moan'd, and young boys shriek'd with fear ; 
 Stout men grew white with famine ; beautiful girls 
 Whom once the day long wish'd to look on, lay 
 On the wet earth, and wrung their drenched hair ; 
 And fathers saw them there dying, and stole 
 Their scanty fare, and, while they perished, thrived. 
 Higher and higher fled the wasted throngs, 
 And still they look'd for life, and still they died. 
 
 The last who liv'd was one 
 
 Who clung to life because a frail child lay 
 
 Upon her heart : weary, and gaunt, and worn, 
 
 From point to point she sped with mangled feet, 
 
 Bearing for aye her little load of love : — 
 
 Both died — last martyrs of another's sins — 
 
 Last children they of earth's sad family. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The intolerable flood prevail'd — 
 
 That watery massacre — 
 One monotonous dreary waste of waves, 
 Tumbling in monstrous eddies, and a light 
 Like an eclipse complete, when day is hid." 
 
 III. Though this calamity was universal, 
 
 IT WAS A JUDGMENT ON THE GUILTY ONLY. 
 
 To the innocent sufferers, who had not sinned 
 according to the similitude of Adam's transgres- 
 sion, it was a terrible emancipation which placed 
 them beyond the power of evil, and transported 
 them to that blessed mount of immortality where 
 their angels constantly behold the face of their 
 Father in heaven. 
 
24 THE DELUGE. 
 
 IV. It was a punishment from the appal- 
 ling EFFECTS OF WHICH THE THEN EXISTING 
 CHURCH WAS PRESERVED. 
 
 How sad and rapid the declension of religion ! 
 The visible church consisted only of eight souls : 
 but as they were the only depositories of the truth 
 and the glory of God upon earth, their lives must 
 be spared, though by a miracle. 
 
 The ark was not only a miracle in itself, but 
 it was preserved by miracle: it was, however, a 
 miracle which, whilst it inspired confidence, did 
 not altogether allay the fears and apprehensions of 
 the saved. The people of God are often afflicted by 
 the instruments employed in the destruction of the 
 wicked. Here was enough to terrify and alarm ! 
 
 V. The withdrawing of the flood was a 
 
 PROOF OF THE DIVINE FAITHFULNESS, AN ILLUS- 
 TRATION OF THE DIVINE MERCY, AND A DISPLAY 
 OF THE DIVINE POWER. 
 
 It was gradual ; it was complete ; it was a signal 
 testimony to the faith of Noah. They are de- 
 livered ; they are delivered by the intervention of 
 means ; but the means neither lessen nor obscure 
 the glory of Divine interposition. 
 
 Noah stepped from the ark followed by all his 
 precious charge. Oh ! what a scene broke gently 
 upon his enraptured view ! 
 
 " A new-born world 
 Opened upon his sense, — a paradise 
 Of flowers and fruits, sweet winds and cloudless skies, 
 And azure waters winding to the main ; 
 And forest walks, and far off sounds which break 
 
THE DELUGE. 25 
 
 The sweet silence ; and the songs of birds 
 Chanting melodious mirth : — vernal delights 
 Haunted the air ; and youth which knew no pang 
 Ran through all living veins, and touch'd all eyes 
 With beauty : the tall branches waved their plumes, 
 The water trembled, and the amorous sun 
 Came darting from his orb ; eagles and doves 
 Pair'd in the ether ; and the branching stag 
 Fled from his shadow on the grass-green plain." 
 
 In conclusion, 
 
 1. We are all looking forward to a still greater 
 and more fearful calamity. God has provided an 
 ark for our reception and our safety. The mighty 
 torrents of Omnipotent wrath shall finally sub- 
 side; the righteous shall escape. The period of 
 the world's destruction is the moment when the 
 happiness of the saints shall be completed. 
 
 2. Learn hence the inconceivable value of 
 knowledge, of faith, of diligence, and of hope. 
 
 3. Let us form a just estimate of the world, of 
 the wicked, and of the righteous. Let us flee from 
 the former, and take refuge with the latter. 
 
 "Adieu, ye scenes of visionary bliss ; 
 
 Your charms fallacious touch my heart no more : 
 Vain are the pleasures of a world like this ; 
 
 I seek another and a happier shore. 
 Its distant glories, how sublimely grand ! 
 
 Its matchless beauties, how surpassing fair ! 
 
 Its music steals e'en now upon mine ear : 
 Oh, how my spirit faints to reach the strand ! 
 
 But this frail bark how can it brave the main ? 
 How can it live when Jordan's rolling tide 
 Shall o'er its shrouds in haughty triumph ride ? 
 
 Thy mighty arm, O Saviour, can sustain, 
 And I shall safe arrive where seas nor storms annoy, 
 And in the haven rest of ever-blooming joy." 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 ABRAHAM. 
 
 " Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, 
 and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a 
 land that I will show thee."— Gen. xii. 1. 
 
 In the records of inspiration the name of 
 Abraham is peculiarly distinguished. The holy 
 Scripture seems to hasten in the representation of 
 every other person, that it may do justice to the 
 character of the father of the faithful. Nimrod is 
 briefly dismissed, and the vain-glorious builders of 
 Babel ; while as many pages are taken up in the 
 life of Abraham as in giving the history of the 
 world down to the period in which he lived. In 
 the firmament of revelation, Abraham is a star of 
 the first magnitude : in his life the Almighty gave 
 a striking confirmation of his own words—" Those 
 that honour me I will honour ; whilst those who de- 
 spise me shall be lightly esteemed." But remem- 
 ber, he found the path to glory steep and rugged : 
 his faith was tried ; the most costly sacrifices were 
 demanded as the proof of his sincerity ; but every 
 trial proved his character to be like gold—" It was 
 found unto praise, and glory, and honour." Let 
 us meditate on those circumstances of his history 
 which were connected with and rose out of his 
 obedience to this command of Heaven. 
 
 I. The Call of God to Abraham: II. The Pro- 
 mise with which it was accompanied: III. The 
 Obedience which promptly followed both. 
 I. The call of God to Abraham. 
 
ABRAHAM. 27 
 
 1. To renounce all connexion with his idolatrous 
 relatives. 
 
 They had lost almost every trace of the true re- 
 ligion, and paid that homage to an idol of wood or 
 of stone which was due only to the great Supreme. 
 Idolatry appears to us the most senseless thing 
 imaginable; but the greatest men in the world, 
 "professing to be wise, have become fools," in 
 changing " the glory of the incorruptible God into 
 an image made like unto corruptible man." God 
 called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees : he 
 now calls the sons and daughters of men, who 
 hear his Gospel, saying, " Come out from among 
 them, and touch not the unclean thing, and 1 
 will receive you, and I will be a father unto you, 
 and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the 
 Lord God Almighty." 
 
 2. To leave his native country. Who is there but 
 feels an attachment to the place where he spent 
 his earliest hours ? — who has not felt, who does not 
 feel, the charm of home ? The venerable pa- 
 triarch whose life we are considering, was called to 
 leave that spot which a thousand circumstances 
 had combined to endear to his heart. 
 
 3. To travel to a land that was unknoivn to him. 
 Had the God who called him to leave his native 
 country pointed out the place whither he should 
 go, its situation, and the advantages which it af- 
 forded, it might have compensated for what he had 
 left behind ; but we are expressly told " he went 
 out, not knowing whither he went." When the 
 pilgrim fathers with their families fled to America 
 
28 ABRAHAM. 
 
 to avoid the cruelty of persecution, they seem 
 to have been placed in circumstances similar to 
 those of the aged patriarch when he heard this 
 call from Heaven : they resolved, in religion, to 
 acknowledge no authority but the authority of 
 Christ. With the word of God as their warrant, 
 and the conduct of the pious in every age for their 
 example, they left the dwelling-place of intoler- 
 ance, and found an asylum in the woods and wilds 
 of America. Perhaps some may be anxious to 
 know how Abraham received the call, and in what 
 manner the Divine will was intimated. The Scrip- 
 tures tell us that " God spake in times past in 
 divers manners unto our fathers :" in dreams, in 
 vsions of the night: perhaps he assumed a hu- 
 man voice and appearance. 
 
 II. The Divine promise to Abraham. 
 
 Reflect here on what the promise contained. 
 
 1. The direction of his providence. He was com- 
 manded to go to a land which the Lord should 
 show him; for " the steps of a good man are or- 
 dered of the Lord, and he delighteth in his way." 
 How often have we reason to pray, " Teach me 
 the way in which I should go; lead me in a plain 
 path, because of mine enemies." Indeed, if left to 
 ourselves, one mistake will lead to another, and 
 the end may prove fatal. Sensible of his danger, 
 it is the privilege of the believer to say, " Thou 
 shalt guide me with thine eye." The country 
 through which Abraham passed was dangerous : he 
 was exposed to a thousand snares and perils ; but 
 he who called him condescended to be his guide, 
 
ABRAHAM. 29 
 
 and " led him by a right way to a city of habita- 
 tion." It is delightful to trace the conduct of Pro- 
 vidence, and to follow where it leads, and in the 
 exercise of faith to sing, " Thou shalt guide me 
 with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to 
 glorv." 
 
 2. The enjoyment of his favour. If asked what 
 constitutes human bliss, we might very probably 
 mistake in our answer : we might include in our 
 catalogue health of body, a cultivated mind, an 
 agreeable circle of friends, the comforts of this 
 life ; but we have forgotten the key-stone of the 
 arch ; we have been building the superstructure, 
 whilst we have neglected the foundation. The 
 streams of worldly felicity are shallow, though they 
 make a noise as they flow. The painted trifles of 
 time cannot satisfy the vast desires of the human 
 soul : they allure, but they repay not the anxiety 
 of the pursuit. After having exhausted the world 
 of all its boasted pleasures, we may sit down and 
 weep for vexation. As we hunt one after another 
 to death, we may inscribe upon its tomb, " And 
 this also is vanity !" But, enlightened from above, 
 we shall unite with David, saying, " Thy favour is 
 life, and thy loving-kindness is better than life. 
 Lord, lift thou up upon me the light of thy coun- 
 tenance." The late Mr. Pearce says in one of his 
 letters, " I enjoy so much of God, that if I were in 
 the deserts of Arabia, or there were no other being 
 but God and my soul, I should be happy." We 
 may sing with the poet, 
 
 d 3 
 
30 ABRAHAM. 
 
 11 With thee conversing, I forget 
 All time, all toil, and care ; 
 Labour is rest, and pain is sweet, 
 If thou, my God, art near." 
 
 3. Temporal prosperity. " Godliness hath the 
 promise of the life that now is, as well as of that 
 which is to come." Temporal prosperity is no 
 mark by which we are to judge of our state : it is 
 an evidence of his goodness, but not of his special 
 favour. The Christian enjoys the fruits of pros- 
 perity increased and sweetened by the delightful 
 consideration that they are the gift of his Fa- 
 ther, and the pledge of eternal felicity. In such 
 happy circumstances did Abraham dwell in the 
 plains of Mamre — blessed in the present, but more 
 blessed in the prospects of the future ; possessing 
 an abundance of this world's goods, but possessing, 
 too, what is infinitely more valuable, His friend- 
 ship " who sticketh closer than a brother." 
 
 4. Of making him a blessing to others. This was 
 a promise ; hence it is our privilege as well as our 
 duty : it is the proof that God has blessed us in- 
 deed. 
 
 5. Of protection. " Who shall harm you if you 
 be followers of that which is good ?" God enters 
 into a covenant with Abraham, and this is the tenure 
 of it : "I will bless him that blesseth thee, and I 
 will curse him that curseth thee." He could not 
 remove far from home, who had made the Most 
 High his habitation. He knows that he shall 
 awake in peace and in safety, because he sleeps 
 reposing in the arms of his Father. Wherever he 
 
ABRAHAM. 31 
 
 is, he is at home; for the world is the Lord's. 
 The desert is a place of safety ; for the wild beasts 
 of the forest hear the voice of God : " Touch not 
 mine anointed, and do my people no harm." The 
 Christian is all composure, even when tossed upon 
 the tempestuous billows of the sea ; his Father con- 
 trols its rage, and cries, " Peace, be still." The 
 malice of the wicked cannot hurt him : " When a 
 man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his 
 enemies to be at peace with him." " Blessed is the 
 man whose God is the Lord, whose help is in him 
 who made heaven and earth." 
 
 6. The coming of the Messiah. This is the bless- 
 ing that crowned all the rest, and shed its glory 
 over all. Without this the patriarch would have 
 been poor in the midst of all his abundance, and 
 wretched with all his means of felicity. Every 
 thing is lovely and delightful with Christ, but dark 
 and gloomy without him. The apostle says, " He 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up 
 for us all, how shall he not ivith him also freely give 
 us all things ?" What avails my food, if I must perish 
 for hunger without Jesus? What are riches, if I 
 must be eternally poor ? What is a spacious habi- 
 tation, if I have no mansion in the skies? What 
 are all my friends, if I have no friend in the hour 
 of dissolving nature to support my spirit, and carry 
 me beyond the grave ? My prosperity is a burden, 
 my being is a curse. Better had it been for me if 
 I had never been born. But how delightful the 
 prospect when the Sun of Righteousness gilds my 
 horizon with his rays ! I bask myself in his beams, 
 
32 ABRAHAM. 
 
 and am in raptures with the objects by which I am 
 surrounded. All nature is beauty to my eye, and 
 music to my ear. Abraham rejoiced to see his 
 day, the dawn of which filled him with gladness. 
 What should we feel who see the meridian ? 
 
 III. Abraham's prompt obedience. 
 
 1. It discovers the strength of his faith. This is 
 the grace for which he was renowned: it is dis- 
 covered in his temper and in his conduct. To 
 leave his native country at the Divine command, 
 required faith which few possess. Abraham left 
 Ur of the Chaldees at a time when the generality 
 of men are leaving this world. There is some- 
 thing peculiarly affecting in the idea of an old 
 man giving up the scenes of his youthful days — - 
 scenes endeared by the fond recollection of past 
 joys — foregoing his kindred and friends, and be- 
 coming an exile and a wanderer at a period when 
 nature seeks repose, and the heart clings to those 
 objects to which it has been long accustomed; 
 but he goes cheerfully, because he is following his 
 God. We are expressly told that it was by 
 faith. " When he was called to go out into a 
 place which he should after receive for an inhe- 
 ritance, he obeyed, and he went out, not know- 
 ing whither he went." He believed in the being 
 and providence of God — was firmly persuaded of 
 the truth of his word, and with the greatest ala- 
 crity he obeyed the Divine call. 
 
 2. The ground of his dependence. There is no- 
 thing so liable to mislead us as the principles by 
 which we act. It is very easy to think we are 
 
ABRAHAM. 33 
 
 depending upon God when our wishes are fulfilled, 
 and every thing appears according to our desires, 
 but at the same time we may be making flesh our 
 arm. It is the season of difficulty that proves 
 whether we are founding our dependence on 
 the sand, or building upon a rock. With every 
 thing adverse the Christian maintains his confi- 
 dence, which hath great recompence of reward. 
 " Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither 
 shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive 
 shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the 
 flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall 
 be no herd in the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the 
 Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." 
 Abraham leaves his native country, leaning upon 
 the promise of his God. He felt no disquietude, 
 no tormenting fears ; he saw the hand that directs 
 all things pointing out his path, and teaching him 
 the way in which he should go. 
 
 3. The purity and energy of his love. Abraham 
 thought not of his worldly relatives whilst he en- 
 joyed the friendship of his Father; he thought not 
 of the horrors of the desert, for heaven was his 
 home. Now, it appears that his professions were 
 sincere : he only waited for an opportunity of 
 proving that he should obey God as well as believe 
 in him. " Faith without works is dead." You are 
 to judge of the tree by its fruits : " If ye love me, 
 keep my commandments." " A certain man had 
 two sons ; he said to the first son, Go work to-day 
 in my vineyard ; and he said, I go, sir, but went 
 not. He said to the other son, Go work to-day in 
 
34 ABRAHAM 
 
 ■ 
 
 my vineyard; he refused, but afterwards repented 
 and went. Which of these two did the will of his 
 father?" 
 
 1. See here an example for your imitation. Do 
 you hear God speaking to you in his word? 
 Do you obey the revealed will of your heavenly 
 Father ? 
 
 2. Have you made the same sacrifices? — the 
 same in kind, though not in degree. 
 
 3. Have you the same prospects ? 
 
 4. How different is the conduct, and how dif- 
 ferent will be the end, of the sinner? 
 
 ABRAHAM OFFERING UP ISAAC. 
 
 " By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac : and 
 he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten 
 son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be 
 called : accounting that God was able to raise him up even 
 from the dead ; from whence also he received him in a 
 figure." — Heb. xi. 17. 
 
 The Bible is as remarkable for the facts which 
 it records, as for the doctrines it inculcates ; and 
 these facts and doctrines mutually elucidate each 
 other. The fact so impressively introduced in my 
 text is one of the most wonderful in the history of 
 religion, and it illustrates one of the most stupend- 
 ous of its doctrines, a doctrine which is the chief cor- 
 ner-stone in the mighty fabric of our salvation, and 
 which is announced in the sacred page in language 
 as simple as it is sublime. " God spared not his own 
 
OFFERING UP ISAAC. 35 
 
 Son, but delivered him up for us all." " Herein 
 is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved 
 us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our 
 sins." A sacrificial atonement is the great charac- 
 teristic feature of the Scriptures, and in this they 
 stand or fall as a Divine record of mercy to man- 
 kind. But sacrifice, human sacrifice, does it not 
 revolt the best feelings of the heart ? Is it not re- 
 pugnant to all the notions we can entertain of 
 God as a being of infinite justice and benevo- 
 lence? On this stumbling-block thousands have 
 wrecked their everlasting hopes, and have passed 
 into eternity " unanointed, unannealed" with the 
 precious blood of sprinkling, and therefore exposed 
 to all the unimaginable horrors of infinite wrath ! 
 They have presumed to arraign, at the bar of their 
 own reason, the acknowledged mysteries of that 
 Book which was only vouchsafed to man as his 
 guide and directory where reason failed, and was 
 insufficient to instruct and uphold him. But, to 
 the law and to the testimony : our reason must 
 bow to Scripture ; our faith must believe a speaking 
 God. Once satisfied that the holy Book bears out 
 its pretensions as a revelation from heaven, we are 
 bound to receive its communications with implicit 
 and adoring acquiescence. It was worthy of God 
 to require from Abraham this test of his obedi- 
 ence : it was equally worthy of him to commend 
 his love towards us, in appointing his own, his only 
 begotten Son, to become incarnate, and to die, the 
 just instead of the unjust, to bring us unto God. 
 Abraham triumphed in the agonizing hour 
 
36 ABRAHAM 
 
 through " the dear might" of him whose death was 
 shadowed forth by the action he had undertaken to 
 perform, and he received in a figure, in the type, 
 and symbol of his restored and beloved Isaac, 
 the confirmation of the promises he had believed, 
 and of the hopes with which those promises had 
 cheered and animated his heart. God had indeed 
 provided for himself a lamb for a burnt-offering, 
 whose blood was of infinite efficacy to atone for his 
 sins, and to sanctify his obedience. 
 
 The nature and design of animal sacrifices were 
 from this time more clearlv understood than be- 
 fore. The forfeiture of life by sin — its restoration by 
 the death of an appointed victim, and that victim a 
 son, an only son, were truths impressively conveyed 
 to the mind of Abraham, and indelibly imprinted on 
 his heart. These truths he taught to his family, 
 and thus the way was prepared for the economy of 
 the law by Moses, which became a shadow, or a 
 symbol, of good things to come. 
 
 With these observations borne in mind, let us 
 now proceed to develope the facts and circum- 
 stances referred to and recorded in the text ; and, 
 in furtherance of the object we have specially in 
 view, permit me to invite your attention, 
 
 I. To the Trial which Abraham was called to 
 endure : II. To the Principle by which he was 
 sustained and actuated : III. To the gracious re- 
 ward which consummated and crowned his deli- 
 verance. 
 
 I. The trial which Abraham was called 
 
 TO ENDURE. 
 
OFFERING ISAAC. 37 
 
 The narrative is peculiarly touching: we will 
 present it to you in the inimitable language of the 
 sacred historian, Gen. xxii., commenting upon its 
 different parts as we proceed. The severity of this 
 trial, which is unparalleled in the history of hu- 
 man suffering, arose from the sacrifice which it im- 
 plied, 
 
 1. Of his interests as a man. Children are the most 
 valuable of our possessions : they furnish a motive 
 and a zest to all the great pursuits of life ; they aug- 
 ment our personal enjoyments, and are the solace 
 and support of our declining age. On the life of 
 this child depended not merely the comfort of his 
 aged parents, but the fair prospect of the increasing 
 wealth, and power, and grandeur, nay, the very 
 existence of their family. What was there that 
 Abraham would not rather have relinquished than 
 Isaac? With him all his interests in the world 
 must perish. 
 
 2, His sensibilities as a parent. How are the sen- 
 sibilities of the father wounded, lacerated, and torn ! 
 — those sensibilities that are at onee the most ten- 
 der and the most powerful in our hearts. Isaac 
 was not merely his son, but his only son; Ishmael 
 was very recently lost to him. Nor was this all : 
 he was a son so tender in years, so amiable in per- 
 son, so gentle in manners, so wise in decision, so 
 virtuous in action, so pious and devout in heart, 
 that he not only justified, but heightened, strength- 
 ened, and refined the fondness of paternal love and 
 tenderness. But this son, this only son, this son 
 endeared to his father more even by character than 
 
 E 
 
38 ABRAHAM 
 
 relation, is not merely to die suddenly. This pleasing 
 gourd is not to wither, it is to be cut down, and the 
 father is to be the executioner; he is commissioned 
 to strike the fatal blow, but not immediately — three 
 long, miserable days, and two agonizing and ter- 
 rible nights, are to intervene. At length they are 
 alone — that father and that innocent child; and 
 here a touching, overpowering incident occurs — 
 that the death of this lovely, virtuous, and most 
 beloved one, is not only to be inflicted under these 
 sufficiently appalling and dreadful circumstances, 
 but the victim is to be offered up in sacrifice — he 
 is to be a whole burnt-offering. See to what this 
 tender father is doomed : after a three days' jour- 
 ney, he is to ascend a lofty mountain — to prepare 
 an altar — on this he was to lay the wood, and pro- 
 bably assisted in both by his only companion — 
 then he is to kindle the fire — to bind the victim — 
 to shed its blood by an incision in one of the prin- 
 cipal arteries — to divide the veins — to disembowel 
 and dismember the body — to place the mangled 
 pieces on the fire — to reduce them to ashes — to 
 give them to the four winds of heaven ; and all 
 this he was to accompany with solemn thought, 
 with pious language, with fervent prayer, and 
 grateful praise. 
 
 3. His hopes as a saint. Under the weight of 
 these accumulated trials, the amazed patriarch 
 could not seek the support of those hopes and con- 
 solations which his knowledge and experience of 
 religion might otherwise have inspired ; for the pro- 
 mises which he had received, and the consolations 
 
OFFERING ISAAC. 39 
 
 and joys they had been accustomed to impart to 
 him, were directly at variance with the performance 
 of the duty now required at his hands. Among these 
 promises, no doubt, was included the promise of 
 atonement by the death of a Redeemer ; but here it 
 seems to be repealed, and Abraham must give the 
 fruit of his body for the sin of his soul. Another 
 promise was, that his seed should become numer- 
 ous as the drops of morning dew, or be as the 
 stars of heaven for multitude; that from them 
 should arise a splendid race of kings, yea, the 
 Prince, the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord 
 of lords. This promise had express reference to 
 Isaac : " In Isaac shall thy seed be called." An- 
 other sacrifice involved in this action was, 
 
 4. The character of the patriarch among men. 
 
 To all this array of interest, &c, he simply op- 
 posed the principle and reasonings of a divine 
 faith ; which leads us to the second division of our 
 subject, namely, to contemplate, 
 
 II. The prin T1T by which the patriarch 
 
 WAS SUSTAINED AND ACTUATED. 
 
 Faith, a divine principle. 
 
 1 . Faith taught him that the claims of God were 
 paramount to every other. 
 
 2. He believed the promises, notwithstanding they 
 were in direct opposition to his present duty. 
 
 3. He intrusted God with the care of his own 
 glory in this transaction. 
 
 4. He confided in the ability as well as in the 
 faithfulness of God. 
 
 5. He realized the Divine favour and approbation. 
 
40 ABRAHAM 
 
 6. Faith carried his views and contemplations far 
 above this world, its possessions, its relative comforts 
 and enjoyments, its approbation, or its censure. 
 
 7. He acted under the influence of faith as an all- 
 absorbing, heavenly principle. 
 
 III. The gracious reward which consum- 
 mated AND CROWNED HIS DELIVERANCE, THE 
 TRIUMPH OF HIS FAITH. 
 
 It was not in vain that the holy and faithful pa- 
 triarch was carried by a three days' tedious and 
 agonizing journey to the summit of Mount Moriah. 
 
 This reward was, 
 
 1. Immediate. It consisted in a reiterated and 
 enlarged confirmation of all the promises he 
 had previously received, Gen. xxii. 15. At this 
 juncture he turned round and beheld a ram caught 
 in a thicket : this was the destined victim : it was 
 preseuted as a whole burnt-offering, and thus he 
 received his beloved son, in a figure, with himself, 
 delivered from the curse and consequences of sin. 
 
 2. It was social. In this sacrifice Isaac was per- 
 mitted to unite. With what holy, what pure and 
 sublime rapture was this commemorative sacrifice 
 offered by the patriarch and his beloved son ! 
 " The lamb slain from before the foundation of the 
 world" was prefigured to their imagination and 
 their hearts ; the infinite love of God in not sparing 
 but freely giving up his only Son for their redemp- 
 tion, and the redemption of the world, must have 
 deeply impressed their devout spirits under circum- 
 stances so peculiar and affecting. How solemn 
 their thoughts ! how exquisite their feelings ! — 
 
OFFERING ISAAC. 41 
 
 what mingling of hearts and joys ! Life restored, 
 life preserved ! How, in future years, would they 
 revolve in memory the unparalleled circumstances 
 of Mount Moriah ! Never before had they been 
 so near to heaven ! Then it was that " Abraham 
 saw the day of Christ and was glad :" and his son, 
 doubtless, participated in the joy. Here a new 
 and striking memorial was afforded of the death in- 
 troduced by sin, and of that death which was to be 
 suffered by the Redeemer. 
 
 3. It was complete. By the intervention of this 
 sacrifice he received his son, as the text declares ; 
 he received him even from the dead. Morally he 
 was dead ; legally he was dead ; and in the mind 
 of Abraham, he was, by all the awful ceremo- 
 nies accompanying sacrifices and burnt-offerings, 
 dead; and his ashes had, in his imagination, be- 
 come the sport of the winds of heaven. But he 
 received him from the dead ; yes, he received him 
 from the dead, as it is said in our text, in a figure. 
 
 4. Thus it teas prophetic. A figure of what ? A 
 figure, that as Abraham spared not his only be- 
 gotten son at the command of God : so God would 
 not spare his only begotten Son, for the sake of 
 Abraham and all his faithful children. A figure * 
 that as Isaac rose from the dead, and from a sacri- 
 ficial death : so the Son of God should rise from 
 the sacrificial death of the cross. A figure ! just 
 as when Isaac rose from the dead, he came back 
 fully fraught with blessings temporal, spiritual, and 
 eternal : so the Son of God should bring from his 
 cross and tomb, salvation, life and immortality. 
 
 e3 
 
42 JACOB. 
 
 A figure ! that as the scattered ashes of Isaac, as it 
 were, had again collected and re-united, and become 
 a living body, and returned to life and to happiness : 
 so should the scattered remains of all the spi- 
 ritual children of Abraham, in truth, be gathered 
 together, and be re-united, and become living 
 bodies at the resurrection of the just, and return to 
 sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of their 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 1. Remember, that religion requires a full sur- 
 render of the soul, and of all we have, to God. 
 
 2. We are instructed in the nature, necessity, and 
 benefit of trial. 
 
 3. How light the trials of men of the present 
 generation are in comparison with those of saints 
 in patriarchal and in former times. 
 
 4. We are taught that faith ought to be the 
 regulating principle of all our reasonings and of 
 all our actions. 
 
 5. We are taught to reflect on the importance of 
 enduring and improving trial. 
 
 JACOB. 
 
 " I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." — Gen. xlix. 18. 
 
 The actions and conduct of a man form the 
 history of his life : his principles and motives, as 
 developed by these, constitute his character. 
 
JACOB. 43 
 
 But the principles by which an individual is 
 actuated, and which are really the elements of his 
 moral being, are not to be determined by insulated 
 facts of rare occurrence, by a solitary incident, 
 or by an occasional diversion from his general 
 course. 
 
 Balaam's exclaiming once in his life, " Let me 
 die the death of the righteous, and let my last end 
 be like his," was no proof of his piety or recti- 
 tude. His habit was to love the wages of un- 
 righteousness. Peter's denying his Master once 
 did not fix upon him the general stigma of cow- 
 ardice and ingratitude; while the base treachery 
 of Judas, being in perfect accordance with his 
 general character, as a covetous hypocrite, brands 
 him with an everlasting infamy. 
 
 Moses was not a passionate man, because he 
 w r as on a solitary occasion angry; nor Elijah pusil- 
 lanimous, though, under the influence of a mo- 
 mentary panic, he fled from Jezebel, and took re- 
 fuge in the wilderness. 
 
 The vibrations of the needle in a storm do not 
 establish its tendency to diverge from the pole. 
 They rather illustrate the immutable and irre- 
 versible order which holds them in a state of per- 
 petual attraction. 
 
 So, if in our investigations into any particular 
 character, we can discern the great master-spring 
 by which it is governed and impelled, the very 
 occasional aberrations, which may seem to militate 
 against its existence, become the most striking 
 confirmations of its power. 
 
44 JACOB. 
 
 In the words of the text, it seems to us that the 
 patriarch Jacob has disclosed the great criterion 
 by which we may form an accurate judgment of 
 his chai'acter; the pervading influence which 
 guided, controlled, and sustained him through the 
 whole of his earthly pilgrimage. On the verge of 
 eternity, and engaged in the last solemn duty, in 
 which he appears in all the majesty of an inspired 
 prophet, and in all the devout anticipations of a 
 dying saint, he reveals a principle which sheds a 
 light equally cheering on the past and on the 
 future ; on his life and on his death : " I have 
 waited for thy salvation, O Lord." 
 
 This exclamation, which is personal to himself, 
 and an abrupt parenthesis in the high discourse on 
 providence and futurity, which he was delivering 
 in the presence of his assembled family, and 
 which mysteriously marked the character and des- 
 tiny of each in his posterity, was probably sug- 
 gested by the metaphor which the Divine Spirit 
 employs as the appropriate description of Dan. 
 
 " Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in 
 the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his 
 rider shall fall backward." 
 
 How natural that the first promise which was 
 the life and joy of patriarchal faith, should, under 
 such circumstances, present itself with peculiar 
 force and vividness to the mind of the holy seer ; 
 and that while the words, " The seed of the 
 woman shall bruise the serpent's head," struck 
 powerfully upon his memory, he should devoutly 
 exclaim, " I have waited for thy salvation, O 
 Lord ! " 
 
JACOB. 45 
 
 " Jacob," we are told, " was a plain man, dwelling 
 in tents." And what can there be so remarkable 
 (it may be asked) in the description of such a 
 character as to deserve a particular attention ? 
 " A plain man, dwelling in tents," seems not very 
 likely to attract the notice of an ambitious world, 
 full of pretension, and fond of outward show and 
 grandeur. But whatever notions may now pre- 
 vail, some of the most eminent persons of anti- 
 quity, at least of those who have been dearest to 
 God, and the most illustrious instruments of his 
 glory, have been, like Jacob, " plain men," such as 
 by their manners and deportment would be now 
 unnoticed and despised. 
 
 We read that " they wandered about in sheep- 
 skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, 
 tormented, (of whom the world was not worthy ; ) 
 they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in 
 dens and caves of the earth." It pleased God to 
 exercise and display the faith of this holy man, as 
 well as that of his progenitors, Abraham and 
 Isaac, by calling them to a pilgrim's life. " By 
 faith they sojourned in the land of promise, as in 
 a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles ; for they 
 looked for a city which hath foundations, whose 
 builder and maker is God." 
 
 The text describes Jacob, 
 
 I. As a man of religion ; and that from the 
 period of his conversion he began to wait for the 
 salvation of God. That change probably occurred 
 at Bethel. From that time he appeared to have 
 been impressed with a knowledge of his own lost 
 
46 JACOB. 
 
 and ruined state by nature ; his utter inability 
 either to devise the plan, or to execute the pur- 
 pose of his own salvation. The true Messiah 
 is revealed to his faith as the hope of Israel, and 
 the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble. And 
 he is favoured with satisfactory and heart-cheering 
 views of his own interest in the blessings of the 
 great mystery of godliness — God manifest in the 
 flesh ; his religion displays its vital power in regu- 
 lating his passions. He becomes the subject of a 
 virtuous attachment, and is devoted to his relative 
 duties ; promotes by his laborious industry the 
 prosperity of Laban, in w r hose dwelling he becomes 
 an inmate. Like his father Abraham, God blesses 
 him, and he becomes a blessing. His diligence 
 and activity are remarkable ; his devotion is warm 
 and elevated ; he is patient under severe provo- 
 cations, and waits with holy resignation the guid- 
 ance of Providence, and moves according to its 
 dictates. 
 
 II. As ANOTHER GREAT PRINCIPLE ILLUSTRATIVE 
 OF HIS CHARACTER, WE OBSERVE THAT HIS RELI- 
 GION, BOTH ITS EFFICACY AND COMFORT, WERE 
 DERIVED FROM THE PROMISES OF DlVINE MERCY. 
 
 These were the great stimulus to active duty : 
 these sustained him amidst the great privations and 
 heavy afflictions which he was doomed to suffer. 
 
 III. That final and complete salvation 
 
 WAS THE PERPETUAL OBJECT OF HIS SOLICITUDE 
 
 and expectation. This is strikingly visible in 
 his truly simple and pathetic reply to Pharaoh, 
 when the King of Egypt proposed the question 
 
JACOB. 47 
 
 suggested by a wonder at his advanced age ; the 
 venerable patriarch reminded him that his fathers 
 had lived to a longer period, and that his own days 
 had been few, and full of trouble. " The days of 
 the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and 
 thirty years; few and evil have the days of the 
 years of my life been; and I have not attained 
 unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers 
 in the days of their pilgrimage." This is not the 
 language of discontent or of unthankfulness, but the 
 serious reflection of one looking back on his past 
 years; who felt the vanity of the world, and saw 
 nothing in life to make him desirous of retaining 
 it beyond the period allotted to him by a gracious 
 and covenant God. 
 
 IV. That this solicitude and expectation 
 were constantly maintained and increased 
 by Divine communications vouchsafed to 
 him. Several were remarkable for fulness, their 
 endearing circumstances, and the manner in which 
 they were granted. There were others that arose 
 out of the devotional frame of his own spirit, and 
 the habitual fervency of his supplications at the 
 throne of grace. Of the former, was the constant 
 recurrence of the scene at Padan-aram ; the 
 Bethel of his life; the birth-day of his religious 
 experience, hopes and joys. The appearance 
 made to him when he was commanded to return 
 to this interesting spot, and abandon for ever his 
 residence with Laban ; the wrestling at Maha- 
 nahn; and the consolation imparted to him at 
 
48 JACOB. 
 
 Beersheba, in his way to Egypt — " Fear not, 
 / will go down with thee into Egypt." Of the 
 latter, instances are not recorded, except that 
 he built altars, and maintained the worship of the 
 true God wherever he sojourned. 
 
 V. This solicitude and expectation is fur- 
 ther MAINTAINED AND KEPT ALIVE BY HISPER 
 SONAL AND DOMESTIC TROUBLES. Those which 
 
 were the immediate consequences of his own sins 
 and infirmities, and those which appear to have 
 been the sovereign appointments of Heaven, to es- 
 trange him from the world, and to ripen his soul 
 for glory. He served fourteen years for Ra- 
 chel ; was harassed during the greater part of the 
 time by the fraud, the churlishness, and avarice 
 of Laban, " who changed his wages ten times ; 
 while in the day the drought consumed him, and 
 the frost by night ; and the sleep departed from 
 his eyes." 
 
 Laban's disappointed rage; the vengeance of 
 Esau, which Jacob deprecates by prayer ; the 
 moral death of Dinah, his daughter. 
 
 The deception and murder of the Shechemites 
 by his sons; his abandonment of his residence; 
 the death of his beloved Rachel, — and in what cir- 
 cumstances ! ! the profligacy of Reuben ; the ab- 
 duction of Joseph; the detention of Simeon and 
 Benjamin; his own long and painful journey into 
 Egypt. 
 
 VI. That this solicitude and expectation 
 
 WAS MOST ENERGETIC AND VIVID IN THE IMME- 
 
JACOB. 49 
 
 diate prospect or death. " I have waited for 
 thy salvation, O Lord." In these devout expres- 
 sions, the good man makes it appear, that 
 
 1. He looks upon death as the period of all his 
 sufferings. 
 
 2. As the door which was to admit him to the 
 enjoyment of a complete salvation. 
 
 3. As that grand ingathering season, when all his 
 graces should he fully ripe, and himself lodged safe 
 with his God for eternity. 
 
 It is in this view that the righteous man is said 
 to " come to his grave like a shock of corn fully 
 ripe." After being exposed to many a storm; 
 beset and entangled with many a weed; subsist- 
 ing under many a dark and lowering sky; and 
 weighed down under many a heavy shower, at 
 length it is ripened, is gathered and housed, safe 
 from every danger. Hence observe, 
 
 1. That religion is essentially the same under 
 every dispensation. 
 
 2. That the sins and imperfections of good men, 
 while they are employed as the instruments of the 
 Divine Providence, are always regarded as the ob- 
 jects of the Divine disapprobation. 
 
 " God," says Bishop Hall, " does frequently 
 accomplish his righteous will by our weaknesses ; 
 yet neither thereby justifying our infirmities, nor 
 blemishing his own actions." 
 
 3. That it is consistent with the purity, wisdom, 
 and mercy of the Divine character, to use an evil 
 instrument, and yet to punish the evil-doer. 
 
 4. That afflictions and sorrows open the heart to 
 
 F 
 
50 Jacob's dream. 
 
 receive the divinest consolation, and, under the 
 blessing of Heaven, reconcile it to death, and pre- 
 pare it for that world where sorrow and sighing for 
 ever flee away. 
 
 " Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
 And scan his work in vain ; 
 God is his own interpreter, 
 And he will make it plain." 
 
 JACOB'S DREAM. 
 
 " And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and 
 the top of it reached to heaven : and behold the angels of 
 God ascending and descending on it." — Gen. xxviii. 12. 
 
 It is not my intention to enter into the philo- 
 sophy of dreams. We know so little of the nature 
 of spirit, especially of its operations as united to 
 matter, that it becomes us to speak of it with diffi- 
 dence suited to the imperfection of our knowledge. 
 Man is a mystery to himself. He can no more 
 account for some of the most obvious effects of his 
 own volition, than an infant or an idiot : and a man 
 whose mind is disciplined, is obliged to suspend 
 his judgment in a multitude of cases, by the too 
 well-grounded fear of taking a shadow for the 
 substance ; a phantom for the reality. We might 
 mention the names of Aristotle, of Locke, of 
 Hartley, of Bishop Newton, and of Stewart, who 
 have explained on different principles the pheno- 
 mena of dreams. Professor Dugald Stewart has, 
 with his usual acuteness, discussed the subject of 
 dreaming in the elements of his " Philosophy of the 
 Human Mind." He says dreams appear to be 
 
Jacob's dream. 51 
 
 produced by the suspension of all our mental ope- 
 rations which are dependent on the will; that 
 during sleep the train of thoughts in the mind 
 does not depend immediately on the will, but is 
 regulated by certain general laws of association. 
 He remarks, that dreams are frequently influenced 
 by bodily sensation, by the peculiar temper of the 
 mind. Various diseases, too, give a character to 
 dreams ; but as it has been hinted already, I shall 
 not forget that I fill the pulpit, and not the chair 
 of philosophy. We know from the testimony 
 of the Scriptures, that the Governor of the 
 world has employed dreams to reveal his will, 
 and to afford instruction to mankind, although 
 the insensibility and perverseness of human nature 
 have disregarded them. " For God speaketh 
 once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth it not : in a 
 dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep 
 falleth upon man in slumberings upon the bed. 
 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth 
 their instruction, that he may withdraw man from 
 his purpose, and hide pride from man." In the 
 history of Jacob we meet with one of these remark- 
 able dreams of Scripture. To escape the fury of 
 his brother Esau, Jacob, at the suggestion of his 
 mother, goes to Padan-aram, to the house of his 
 uncle Laban. 
 
 On the first night of his journey, he dreamed 
 that he saw a ladder reaching from earth to hea- 
 ven — angels ascending and descending on it, and 
 God above it in a posture of attention, standing 
 and viewing a poor pilgrim below. He also 
 
52 Jacob's dream. 
 
 spake, and assured him of the relation in which he 
 stood to his pious ancestors ; promised to give the 
 land of Canaan to his seed ; to render his progeny 
 illustrious, and innumerable; and, eventually, in 
 one of his descendants, to bless all the families of 
 the earth. To accommodate himself still more to 
 the exigencies of his condition, he added, " Behold, 
 I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places 
 whither thou goest." How consolatory these pro- 
 mises to the poor, desolate, lonely wanderer ! But 
 the righteous are never forsaken. 
 
 Let us consider Jacob's dream as 
 
 I. Unfolding the care of Divine Providence : 
 II. As it throws light on this Providence as ad- 
 ministered by angels : III. And as it shadows forth 
 the incarnation of Deity in the person of the Chris- 
 tian Redeemer. 
 
 I. As UNFOLDING THE CARE OF DlVINE PRO- 
 VIDENCE ; as exercised, 
 
 1. Not only over communities, but over indivi- 
 duals. And who shall dare to say that it is incon- 
 sistent with the infinite greatness of the Divine 
 character to superintend those beings whom he 
 originally formed, and with the benignant eyes of 
 a tender parent to watch over all, promoting the 
 universal happiness, while the good of each indivi- 
 dual is not forgotten. Away with the cheerless 
 doctrine that excludes a particular providence 
 from human affairs; that leaves each one in his 
 own particular case in darkness and distress, 
 robbing his mind of its chief consolation, leaving 
 it comfortless in the day of misfortune, and friend- 
 
JACOB'S DREAM. 53 
 
 less in the hour of calamity. If a general provi- 
 dence do not of necessity include that which is 
 particular, as the whole is made up of parts, it 
 may be said that nations are too inconsiderable for 
 his notice, who created and governs worlds ; and a 
 world may be beneath his care, if we think of an 
 entire system of connected systems — of the whole 
 universe. Let us appeal to the infallible inter- 
 preter, one of a thousand, Luke xii. 22 and 28. 
 
 Let us remember Jacob. He had left his 
 father's house, and was beyond his father's care; 
 yet he dreamed : and behold a ladder set up on 
 the earth, and Jehovah standing above it. 
 
 2. It describes Divine Providence as embracing and 
 distinguishing the most minute, as well as the vast, 
 and the most important things. 
 
 It is only to us that things are great or little — 
 insignificant or unimportant. To Him with whom 
 we have to do, 
 
 " There is no high, no low, no great, no small ; 
 He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all." 
 
 There is a sense in which every creature, the 
 crawling reptile, the flitting insect, and the throned 
 archangel, are alike the children and the instru- 
 ments of his providence. The raven and the lion 
 are fed by his hand ; and under his attention and 
 care the lilies grow; a sparrow falls not to the 
 ground, nor a hair from the head, without his 
 knowledge. He has numbered all these things, 
 and he sustains them according to his pleasure. 
 
 3. In the season of adversity as well as pros- 
 perity. 
 
 f3 
 
54 Jacob's dream. 
 
 Indeed, generally speaking, it is the poor that 
 he makes rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom. 
 He himself declares, that not many wise men 
 after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, 
 are called. How frequently has the bitterest 
 enemy been clothed with purple, and a beloved 
 child in rags ! Observe the footsteps of his flock. 
 How did Abraham, and Jacob, and Moses, and 
 Job, and David, and the rest of the cloud of wit- 
 nesses make their way? They advanced only on 
 the ground of the Divine promises : and they were 
 persuaded of them, and embraced them, and con- 
 fessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
 earth. One of them thus described the nature of 
 the Divine regard, and the season of its exercise : 
 " Thou hast known my soul in adversity/' 
 
 But we consider this dream as, 
 
 II. Throwing light on the Divine Provi- 
 dence as administered by angels. 
 
 " Behold a ladder set up on the earth, and 
 the top of it reached to heaven : and behold the 
 angels of God ascending and descending on it." 
 
 That man is under the influence of an invisible 
 agency, I dare no more to deny than I dare deny the 
 being of God ; for God is a spirit. Reasoning 
 from analogy, it appears more probable that he 
 should create beings purely spiritual than that he 
 should create mankind; but all we know of any 
 other race of intelligent beings we learn alone 
 from revelation, and here they are described as 
 wise, powerful, holy, and benevolent. There is 
 no doubt but they have much to perform both in 
 
Jacob's dream. 55 
 
 heaven and in earth, and that they are employed 
 as instruments in those great events which are 
 comprehended in the system of Divine Providence. 
 But we are led to contemplate their engagements 
 as relating more immediately to the saints during 
 their minority, until they come to the full enjoy- 
 ment of that salvation of which they are the heirs 
 according to the promise of eternal life. It is in 
 the church where the angels pursue their studies, 
 and make fresh discoveries of the manifold wisdom 
 of God, and the heirs of glory are the peculiar ob- 
 jects of their care ; and, 
 
 1. They Instruct them. We are all, more or less, 
 under the influence of good and bad men, and there 
 appears nothing incongruous in the idea that we 
 may be under the influence of good or bad angels. 
 
 2. Tliey protect the saints. This is their office and 
 their delight. Hear the promise of their Creator 
 and Lord, and remember, it is made to the meanest 
 of his children : " He shall give his angels charge 
 concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways; 
 they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou 
 dash thy foot against a stone." 
 
 3. They are their conductors to the world of glory. 
 This, to them, is the most delightful part of their 
 ministry ; and oh, the exquisite sympathy and de- 
 light with which they look on dying saints ! It is 
 sometimes the apprehension of their foreboding 
 spirit, and of a gloomy hour, " I shall die alone, far 
 from friends and home ; I shall be 
 
 1 By strangers honour'd, and by strangers mourn'd.' " 
 
 And, were Affection in her gentlest spirit and in 
 
56 Jacob's dream. 
 
 loveliest form beside the bed of death, she could 
 not accompany us through the darkened vale ; but 
 angels are ever near, and always kind ; and well 
 they know the road that leads to our Father's house 
 above. Nor will they relax in attention or in pity 
 until the troubles of life are ended, and the bitter- 
 ness of death is past ; and how often has the spirit 
 sung in the final struggle, when heart and flesh 
 are failing, 
 
 " Lend, lend your wings — I mount — I fly 
 O Grave ! where is thy victory ? 
 O Death ! where is thy sting ?" 
 
 But we must consider the subject of this dream, 
 
 iii. as it shadows forth the incarnation 
 of Deity in the person of the Christian 
 Redeemer. 
 
 Our Lord himself has thrown the true light 
 upon this passage : in his conversation with Na- 
 thaniel, he tells him that he should one day see 
 that realized in him which had been shadowed 
 forth in Jacob's dream : accordingly we find, that, 
 as from the first conception of Christ to that very 
 hour the angels had deeply interested themselves 
 in every thing that related to him, so they conti- 
 nued on all occasions to wait on him, to soothe his 
 sorrows, to fulfil his will, and to bear testimony on 
 his behalf. More than twelve legions of them 
 would have flown to his succour if he had com- 
 manded their aid: and this emblematical repre- 
 sentation may point out, 
 
 1. The union of the Divine with the human nature. 
 The ladder was set up on the earth, but the top 
 
Jacob's dream. 57 
 
 reached to heaven. In Christ's human nature he 
 is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh : " In all 
 things it behoved him to be made like unto his 
 brethren." In his Divine nature, he is " God over 
 all, blessed for evermore ;" and such a High Priest 
 became us. Thus he is qualified to appreciate 
 and to prefer all the claims of Deity, and success- 
 fully to advance and to plead a brother's cause. 
 
 2. That he is the only medium of communion be- 
 tween heaven and earth : " For other foundation 
 can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus 
 Christ." " There is no other name under heaven 
 given among men whereby we must be saved." 
 
 3. That the ministry of angels is the result of his 
 mediation. " Because he humbled himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, God hath highly 
 exalted him, and given him a name which is above 
 every name, &c. ; angels, principalities, and powers 
 being made subject to him." The vast universe is 
 put under his control. 
 
 The mightiest spirits receive their commands from 
 him : they are only the fellow-servants of those who 
 keep the Saviour's testimony : they see on what his 
 heart is fixed, and there they place their own. 
 The saints are precious to them, as the purchase of 
 his blood. They sing in new and lofty measures, 
 and Calvary is the theme : they delight to honour 
 Jesus in ministering to his people. 
 
 4. That through him believers will reach the skies. 
 " Faith climbs the ladder Jacob saw." He came 
 from heaven to conduct his people thither: He 
 told them, " Whither I go ye know, and the way 
 
58 Joseph's dreams. 
 
 ye know. Let not your hearts be troubled : I will 
 come again and receive you to myself." 
 
 IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 1. Adore the grace and compassion of the Di- 
 vine Redeemer. 
 
 2. Seek an interest in his love. 
 
 3. Never forget the wisdom and kindness of Di- 
 vine Providence. 
 
 4. Be thankful for the ministry of angels. 
 
 JOSEPH'S DREAMS. 
 
 11 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren : and 
 they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, 
 I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed : for, behold, 
 we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, 
 and also stood upright ; and, behold, your sheaves stood round 
 about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren 
 said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou 
 indeed have dominion over us ? And they hated him yet the 
 more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet 
 another dream, and told it his brethren, and said. Behold, I 
 have dreamed a dream more ; and, behold, the sun, and the 
 moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.": — Gen. 
 xxxvii. 5 — 9. 
 
 There is something peculiarly instructive in 
 this portion of the sacred history. From the 
 circumstances under which Joseph is introduced 
 to our attention, a powerful interest is excited to- 
 wards him. He had now attained his seventeenth 
 year : his mother was dead, and he was the object 
 of his father's fondest love; but, notwithstanding 
 
Joseph's dreams. 59 
 
 the partiality of a father's affection, he does not 
 bring him up in idleness. Yet is this ill-judged 
 preference on the part of Jacob, surely, reprehen- 
 sible : the garish coat — the silliest of all distinc- 
 tions — dress, and yet very likely to excite envy. 
 What a foundation of mischief was here laid ! 
 
 It is very probable that the dreams of Joseph 
 originated in his fancied superiority to his brethren, 
 cherished by the garb he wore, and by the renewed 
 instances of his father's doating affection. It is 
 admitted they were intimations from heaven of 
 his future greatness ; but the dreams themselves 
 are the natural workings of a young mind inflated 
 by indulgence ; and if we unite the cause with the 
 effect, the prophecy with the event, they form a 
 wonderful contrast between the weakness of man 
 and the power of God — the meanness of the ma- 
 terials and the magnificence of the fabric — of the 
 feebleness of the instrument and the force of the 
 hand which employed it. 
 
 Mr. Henry remarks, " Joseph dreamed of his 
 advancement, but not of his affliction ; of the 
 throne, but not of the dungeon which must first 
 be occupied." Indeed, his was the very period of 
 life when he was not likely to dream of suffering or 
 danger. I am not, however, convinced that the 
 first dream was not designed to point out to him 
 first an abasement, and then advancement. Jo- 
 seph's sheaf rose while the sheaves of his brethren 
 stood. I consider both these dreams as predict- 
 ing the same events under different similitudes. 
 Let us notice them, 
 
 2 
 
60 Joseph's dreams. 
 
 I. As predicting the future advancement of Jo- 
 seph : II. And through him, as a type, shadowing 
 forth the exaltation of Christ, and the glorious 
 extension of his kingdom. 
 
 I. As PREDICTING THE FUTURE ADVANCEMENT 
 
 of Joseph, let us notice, 
 
 1. The event itself. The dreams were rightly 
 interpreted by his brethren and his father. " They 
 said, Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? shalt thou 
 indeed have dominion over us ?" His father said, 
 M Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed 
 come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ?" 
 But this superiority they were destined to feel, and 
 to acknowledge this dominion. This shepherd boy 
 was to become great, and a mighty ruler over a 
 powerful empire. And though Egypt gloried that 
 she was not like other countries, dependent on the 
 clouds of heaven for the fertility of her soil and the 
 abundance of her crops, but that she derived her 
 rich harvests from her own river, she is not so 
 much indebted for seven years to the overflowing 
 of the Nile, as to the prophetic foresight of Jo- 
 seph, and to his provision for the seven years of 
 famine. 
 
 Behold, then, Joseph exalted to the right hand 
 of Pharaoh, and made lord over all the land of 
 Egypt. The lives, the conduct, the liberties, and 
 the property of millions intrusted to his care, and 
 subjected to his authority. See him arrayed in fine 
 linen and purple; the chain of gold around his 
 neck, the royal signet on his hand, riding in the 
 second chariot, whilst an admiring nation bows the 
 
Joseph's dreams. 61 
 
 knee before him. The interests of his father's 
 family, and the welfare of the land of Egypt, are 
 alike intrusted to his care. It will also be proper 
 to remark, 
 
 2. Tlie mysterious method by which it was accom- 
 plished. He whom a grateful country idolized and 
 honoured, was hated by his brethren, and sold as a 
 slave. Tempted to the commission of evil, and 
 resisting, he was condemned for his fidelity. He 
 came from a dungeon to fill a throne ; and from 
 the greatest possible obscurity to stand in the pre- 
 sence of Pharaoh. But all was under the direction 
 and appointment of Him whose counsel shall stand, 
 and he will do all his pleasure. The swelling of the 
 wave, the rolling of the ship, nay, the finger of a 
 child, may for a moment derange the compass; but 
 after trembling for an instant or two from point to 
 point, immediately the needle resumes its steady 
 direction to the pole. 
 
 Who would not wish to lend a helping hand to 
 rescue this helpless boy from the grasp of his un- 
 natural brothers — to deliver him from the pit, and 
 to restore him to his father? Who, that had the 
 means, would not have willingly redeemed him 
 from slavery ? Who, that possessed the knowledge 
 of the fact, but would have vindicated him from 
 the foul calumnies of his infamous mistress ? Who 
 would not have importuned the king for his en- 
 largement from the prison-house ? But all these 
 would have been precipitate, rash, and absurd. 
 Not the father, that loved him as his own soul, 
 could have conducted him to the honours which 
 
 G 
 
62 Joseph's dreams. 
 
 he attained, by a way so certain, so safe, and so 
 honourable. The envy of Jacob's sons ; the licen- 
 tiousness of Potiphar's wife; the disobedience of 
 Pharaoh's servants ; the anger of the king himself ; 
 all, all meet in one point — the elevation of Joseph 
 to the right hand of the throne. Remove but one 
 link, and the chain is broken asunder. Take away 
 but one stone, and the building falls. But the 
 whole is his arrangement, "who is wonderful in 
 counsel, and excellent in working."* 
 
 3. Its influence upon himself. We have seen 
 Joseph severely tried; but the trial of his faith, 
 which is much more precious than gold that pe- 
 risheth, was found to praise, and honour, and glory. 
 Wherever he is, in Potiphar's house, in a dungeon, 
 or at court, we find him invariably honoured, es- 
 teemed, and confided in by all who knew him. Let 
 a man be inflexibly honest and true, and he will 
 never have reason to accuse the world of want of con- 
 fidence. It does not, however, unfrequently happen, 
 that persons who appeared amiable and excellent 
 under adverse circumstances, have changed greatly 
 for the worse under the influence of prosperity. 
 The sunshine has weakened, where the storm had 
 braced; and the heart which suffering could not 
 appal, has been corrupted by wealth and ease. It 
 was not so with Joseph. 
 
 4. The influence of his prosperity upon others. 
 There have been many who have possessed dis- 
 tinction, wealth, and power, but these have only 
 rendered them a more extensive curse to man- 
 
 * Hunter's Lectures. 
 
Joseph's dreams. 63 
 
 kind. It had been far better for the world if thev 
 had never been born. The path which they trod 
 is marked with crimson hues ; and every page of 
 their history is written in blood. They lived 
 without esteem, and died without being desired. 
 Tears, indeed, were shed, but they were shed by 
 the widows and orphans whom their swords had 
 made. Had their epitaph been faithful, it would 
 have described them as the enemies of their spe- 
 cies. But Joseph was blessed and made a blessing. 
 He became the saviour of his house, and the be- 
 nefactor of a mighty nation. And there is no 
 part of his history which reflects so great a lustre 
 on his character, as his conduct towards his guilty 
 brethren. When they were completely in his 
 power, and vengeance was in his hand, every in- 
 jury was forgiven : and he weeps, he cherishes, and 
 saves. He prepares an asylum for his aged and 
 beloved father, and his own enjoyments acquire a 
 tenfold sweetness, because the good old man is 
 alive to share them. He traces the hand of Heaven 
 in all that has befallen him. He is satisfied that 
 he has been led by a right way, and that all would 
 be well. It is delightful when the cup of pros- 
 perity is mingled by the hand of mercy, and when 
 it is shared with those we love. But all the land 
 of Egypt is benefited by his wisdom and benevo- 
 lence. For a good man sheds his light afar, and, 
 like the sun, scatters life and blessings with every 
 beam. 
 
 But it is time to consider him, 
 
64 Joseph's creams. 
 
 II. As a type of Christ, and his dreams as 
 
 PREDICTING THE GLORIOUS EXTENSION OF HIS 
 
 kingdom. The sacred Scriptures have not de- 
 clared that Joseph was a type of Christ ; but there 
 are so many points of resemblance, that we cannot 
 but look on him as prefiguring the glorious Re- 
 deemer of the world. 
 
 1. Joseph zvas the best beloved of his father. Can 
 this fail to remind us of him of whom the voice 
 from the excellent glory testified, saying, "This 
 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased?" 
 This was the testimony borne on several remark- 
 able occasions, on the banks of Jordan, and on the 
 holy mount. 
 
 2. Joseph wore a garment curiously wrought^ and 
 his brethren brought it to their father stained with 
 blood. This may bring to our recollection the 
 Saviour's seamless robe, for which the soldiers cast 
 lots. 
 
 3. Joseph was hated of his brethren. But his 
 heart knew no resentment : he returned their en- 
 mity with more than a brother's love. Think of 
 his antitype. " He came to his own, but his own 
 received him not." " He was despised and re- 
 jected of men." This is his sorrowful complaint, 
 " They hated me without a cause." Yet he prayed 
 for his murderers, and saved his defamer in the 
 last expiring hour. 
 
 4. Joseph was sold into the hands of others. And 
 you remember Judas, who went to the chief priests, 
 and said, " What will ye give me, and I will deliver 
 
Joseph's dreams. 65 
 
 him into your hands ? and they covenanted with 
 him for thirty pieces of silver." This was the price 
 of the Lord of life and glory. 
 
 5. Joseph was tempted, and the temptation was 
 strong, " Jesus was also led by the Spirit into the 
 wilderness, to be tempted of the devil." Tempted 
 to blasphemy, to presumption, and to idolatry. 
 " But he was more than conqueror." 
 
 6. The afflictions of Joseph were in order to his 
 triumph. The scene of peril was preparatory to 
 safety; and the house of bondage was in the way 
 to freedom and a throne. And " Jesus, the cap- 
 tain of our salvation, was made perfect through 
 sufferings," By the steps of sorrow he ascended to 
 the glory of the skies. 
 
 " His cross a sure foundation laid 
 For glory and renown, 
 When through the regions of the dead 
 He passed to reach the crown." 
 
 7. Joseph supplied his brethren with bread in the 
 midst of famine. The disciples of Jesus are fed 
 with the bread of life. " His flesh is meat indeed, 
 and his blood is drink indeed." The constant 
 prayer of his family is, " Evermore give us this 
 bread." And the declaration of the Saviour is, 
 " I am the bread of life, that came down from 
 heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die." 
 " I am the living bread, which came down from 
 heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he shall 
 live for ever: and the bread that I will give is 
 my flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
 world." 
 
 Q 3 
 
66 THE WIDOW 
 
 8. The exaltation and dominion of Joseph were 
 predicted and attained. His brethren acknow- 
 ledged his power and his superiority ; and through- 
 out the land of Egypt he was inferior only to 
 Pharaoh. Humiliation raised him to his great- 
 ness. And behold a greater than Joseph, highly 
 exalted, distinguished by a " name that is above 
 every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee 
 should bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 earth, and things under the earth ; and that 
 every tongue should confess that he is Lord, to the 
 glory of God the Father." " For it became him, for 
 whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in 
 bringing many sons unto glory, to make the cap- 
 tain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." 
 It is true, " as yet we see not all things put under 
 him:" but the promise is made, and the covenant 
 sealed; and the inheritance of the Messiah must 
 be restored. " He must reign until all his enemies 
 are made his footstool." 
 
 THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. 
 
 " And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou 
 art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth 
 is truth." — 1 Kings xvii. 24. 
 
 The doctrines of Divine Providence, and of a 
 divine faith, are most impressively taught through 
 the medium of illustrative facts and events, which 
 God has purposely decreed and arranged for their 
 development and confirmation. In this view we 
 are especially to regard the biographical and his- 
 
OF ZAREPHATH. 67 
 
 torical records of the sacred Scriptures : they are 
 intended to shed the light of heaven upon the dark 
 path of man below, by unfolding to us such a dis- 
 covery of the character of the Most High, and the 
 principles of his moral government, as to afford 
 us support and consolation during our sojourn in a 
 vale of tears. The marvellous and the miraculous 
 in which these narratives abound, so far from 
 placing them above the sphere of our common pas- 
 sions and interests, seem designed, on the con- 
 trary, to adapt themselves to our every-day neces- 
 sities, and to the meanest condition of ordinary 
 life. A prophet fed by ravens in the deep recesses 
 of a wilderness, and refreshed by the waters of a 
 brook in its immediate vicinity, and thus protected 
 from the violence of an enraged tyrant whom 
 his faithfulness had incensed against him — a poor 
 widow, surrounded with heathen darkness, receiv- 
 ing the prophet of the true God at the moment 
 of her utmost extremity, when she was preparing 
 for herself and her only child the last morsel that 
 famine had left them, and yielding to him her all ; 
 and the miraculous preservation both of her, her 
 guest, and her little son — the death and restoration 
 of the child, producing the alternation of anguish 
 and delight, keen distress, and adoring gratitude ; 
 and the result of the whole upon the widow's 
 mind and heart, expressed in the text, are all 
 beautiful and impressive illustrations of the ways 
 of God to his children — of the manner in which he 
 leads them, step by step, through the rugged and 
 often perplexing paths of experience to a growing 
 
68 THE WIDOW 
 
 acquaintance with their own hearts, and a more 
 intimate knowledge of himself as the God of sal- 
 vation — his people's help and refuge in every time 
 of trouble, their rock and their strong habitation 
 in every hour, when foes pursue and dangers 
 threaten — their consolation and support when 
 friends depart and comforts fail. The first thing 
 that strikes us is, 
 
 I. The state to which he suffers the only 
 
 REPRESENTATIVES OF HIMSELF UPON EARTH TO BE 
 REDUCED, AND HIS ESTIMATE OF THE WORLD AS 
 THE REWARD OF THEIR FIDELITY TO HIM AND 
 THEIR DEVOTEDNESS TO THE CAUSE OF TRUE RE- 
 LIGION. 
 
 In a worldly point of view, what is the reward 
 of Elijah, the greatest of his prophets ? Banish- 
 ment from the society of men — a dreary solitude 
 — his daily wants supplied by the ministry of birds 
 of prey, and the visibly-diminishing stream of a 
 rivulet hourly becoming dry by the drought, which 
 rapidly increases the horrors of famine throughout 
 the living world; while the idolatrous and guilty 
 monarch, who defies his authority and tramples on 
 all laws human and divine, riots in the luxuries of 
 his court, is clothed in fine linen, and fares sump- 
 tuously every day : for famine, however it may 
 spread disease, and death, and desolation among 
 the myriads of their subjects, never reaches the 
 palaces of kings. The Lord God of Elijah could 
 have reversed this scene, and, by one act of his 
 sovereign will, have surrounded the prophet with 
 all the splendour and riches of the earth, and have 
 
OF ZAREPHATH. 69 
 
 humbled his royal adversary in the dust; but, 
 while Ahab revels on his throne, Elijah is directed 
 to " hide himself by the brook Cherith that is be- 
 fore Jordan." How less than nothing, then, ought 
 the world to appear in our esteem, when the 
 greatest favourite of Heaven is totally divested of 
 all the comforts it can yield, and its most malignant 
 enemy has more of its possessions than can gratify 
 the cravings of his satiated cupidity ! Behold the 
 recluse in his solitude, and the monarch on his 
 throne : contrast their characters and their pros- 
 pects, and envy no more the falsely great. The 
 Divine favour alone outweighs a world; and a 
 world without it may be possessed, and its pos- 
 sessor be a wretch, equally abhorred of God and 
 man. 
 
 But, in a worldly sense, the next step which the 
 prophet is directed to take is even more humiliat- 
 ing than the first: he is commanded to seek an 
 asylum in the mean dwelling of a poor destitute 
 widow in the land of idolatry, among strangers and 
 foreigners to his God and to his people. " Arise, 
 get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, 
 and dwell there." But here there is one miti- 
 gating circumstance : he is to be no longer the 
 solitary inhabitant of a wilderness, where he has 
 none to bless as an instructor and benefactor: 
 he finds a refuge, but he goes as a messenger of 
 mercy — as the bread of life to the famished and 
 the dying. 
 
 Miracle interposes again, and the barrel of meal 
 and the cruse of oil were neither to waste nor fail 
 
70 
 
 THE WIDOW 
 
 till the day that the Lord should rain upon the 
 earth, and the famine should be succeeded by 
 plenty in the natural course of things. So that, in 
 the eye of the world, poverty and hourly depend- 
 ence for his support are the only portion of Elijah, 
 and the prophet is contented to live from day to 
 day on meal and oil — bare necessaries, without a 
 single ingredient of luxury ; which suggests another 
 observation, 
 
 II. That when God condescends to work 
 
 MIRACLES TO SUPPORT THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO 
 HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE BOUNDLESS RESOURCES 
 OF HIS INFINITE LOVE, HE DOES NOT CHANGE 
 THEIR WORLDLY CONDITION. 
 
 He supplies only what poverty requires and 
 humble dependence receives with gratitude. See, 
 then, what those accustomed to live upon Provi- 
 dence are entitled to expect : " Thy bread shall be 
 given thee, and thy water shall be sure." And is 
 this all ? In mercy it is. If you had more than 
 an answer to your daily prayer, " Give us this day 
 our daily bread," it might impair the great moral 
 lesson the supreme Ruler by this arrangement is 
 teaching to the world ; it might corrupt your prin- 
 ciples and obscure your hopes, if not defeat the 
 very end to which those hopes are directed. *If 
 you possess these principles and these hopes, de- 
 pend upon it, with food and raiment, you have all 
 things, and abound : you are greater and richer than 
 Ahab — you have the Lord for your portion ! Is not 
 this enough ? In directing the prophet to take up 
 his abode with the widow at Zarephath, we perceive, 
 
OF ZAREPHATH. 71 
 
 III. An exercise of the Divine sove- 
 reignty, AND AN INSTANCE OF HIS SPECIAL PRO- 
 VIDENCE EXTENDED BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF 
 HIS VISIBLE CHURCH. 
 
 Two texts of Scripture will illustrate this : 
 Luke iv. 25, 26 — " I tell you of a truth, many 
 widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when 
 the heaven was shut up three years and six months, 
 when great famine was throughout all the land; 
 but unto none of these was Elias sent save unto 
 Zarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a 
 widow." The other scripture is Peter's introduc- 
 tory address to Cornelius, Acts x. 34, 35 : " Of a 
 truth I perceive that God is no respecter of per- 
 sons; but in every nation he that feareth him 
 and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." 
 Thus early did God intimate that Jesus Christ is 
 Lord of all, and that to the gentiles, in due time, 
 he would " grant repentance unto life." That this 
 widow was one of the Lord's hidden ones, mav 
 be fairly conjectured, if we consider her reply to 
 the prophet— " As the Lord thy God liveth!" 
 It was not the language of an idolater; she ac- 
 knowledged Jehovah. 
 
 IV. The twofold design of God in this 
 mysterious dispensation, to preserve his 
 servant Elijah from the malice of his great 
 enemy; and that he might instruct the 
 widow of zarephath in the way of god 
 more perfectly, and bring her into the 
 true fold, as a daughter of abraham. 
 
 Hence he had determined that his providence 
 
72 THE WIDOW 
 
 should concur with the mission of the prophet: 
 and now the drama begins to open. 
 
 1 . Her heart is prepared by former impressions. 
 Her knowledge probably was very indistinct. 
 
 2. Providential mercy interposes, and the prophet 
 of God becomes her guest, that he may gradually ex- 
 pand her views, and lead her to an experimental 
 acquaintance with the truth. 
 
 3. Providential severity is mingled with the mer- 
 ciful visitation, to awaken her faculties, and to wound 
 her heart, in order to bring her to a deep sense of her 
 unworthiness and guilt. 
 
 4. A miraculous power to save succeeds this 
 exercise of apparent severity. The prophet is the 
 instrument who restores her son ; his restoration is 
 in answer to prayer : and thus it is effected by the 
 direct agency of Heaven. All this is peculiarly 
 instructive ; it sheds light upon the principles and 
 methods of the Divine procedure. 
 
 5. Special grace crowns the whole with the Divine 
 blessing ; and she exclaims, in the language of the 
 text, " Now by this I know that thou art a man of 
 God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth 
 is truth.'' 
 
 1. Here we learn what does not, and what does 
 constitute a proof of the Divine regard. 
 
 2. What powers and influences are in reserve 
 and in operation, for the purpose of sanctifying and 
 blessing the favourites of Heaven. 
 
 3. We are also taught in what light to re- 
 gard the privations, bereavements, and sorrows of 
 life. 
 
73 
 
 ELIJAH UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE- 
 
 " But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and 
 came and sat down under a juniper-tree : and he requested 
 for himself that he might die ; and said, It is enough ; now, 
 O Lord, take away my life ; for I am not better than my fa- 
 thers." — 1 Kings xix. 4. 
 
 This is a very singular passage in the life of 
 that prophet who, above all others, is distinguished 
 by his spirit and his power. He that could prevail 
 with Heaven, under the influence of a sudden 
 panic, forgets the throne that in every trial and 
 exigency had been his refuge ; and, threatened by 
 a tyranny he had courageously braved on former 
 occasions, he flies first to Beersheba, where he 
 leaves his servant, and then to the wilderness, where 
 alone, in solitude and in sadness, he vents his unbe- 
 lieving despondency, and betrays a spirit alike un- 
 worthy of his character and derogatory to the cause 
 in which he had so recently and so gloriously 
 triumphed. " The very words of the sacred narra- 
 tive intimate to us the state of his mind at this 
 juncture ; for the words are, * When he saw that 3 
 What did Elijah see? Not God's promises, and 
 power, and faithfulness : these at least only dawned 
 upon him in the background with broken and feeble 
 rays ; but in the foreground very different things 
 did he see, namely, the infuriated Jezebel threat- 
 ening his life, and all the horrors of a cruel death. 
 Instead of soaring above these on eagles' wings, 
 and looking down upon them with sublime com- 
 posure as heretofore, the pressure of human terror 
 seems to have been too strong for his mind, espe- 
 
 H 
 
74 ELIJAH UNDER 
 
 cially as backed by the disappointment of his pub- 
 lic spirit on Israel's account. So "he arose and 
 went for his life ;" or, as others have rendered it, 
 K he arose and went whither he would ;" which 
 serves further to intimate the obscurity of his 
 course and the uncertainty of his steps. He had 
 at this time no express Divine direction as to whi- 
 ther he should go. Hitherto his way had always 
 been marked out for him most distinctly by his 
 Lord; but not so now. There was no particular 
 Divine word to serve him as a staff on this journey 
 — no commission, Remove hither or thither, Do 
 this or that, shining before him like a lamp, giving 
 wings to his feet and firmness to his steps : he went 
 forth into the wide world in uncertainty, distracted 
 by doubts and unaccompanied by the consoling con- 
 sciousness that he was taking this road for God, 
 since he went it only for himself, and for the sake 
 of his own life." Hence the strange incident re- 
 corded in the text, on which, and on the particular 
 history of which it forms a part, we would offer a 
 few pertinent and practical general observations. 
 I. That the most eminent saints are but 
 
 IMPERFECT CREATURES, AND FAIL IN THOSE VERY 
 GRACES FOR WHICH THEY ARE MOST EMINENT. 
 
 Moses was the meekest man that ever lived ; 
 yet he suffered his equanimity to be disturbed, and 
 he spake unadvisedly with his lips ; Job's patience 
 yielded to the pressure of accumulating sorrows, 
 and he cursed the day of his birth ; and Peter, the 
 boldest of the apostles, who one moment wielded 
 the sword in the defence of his Master, on a less 
 perilous occasion denied that he ever knew him. 
 
THE JUNIPER TREE. 75 
 
 The name of Elijah stands in this list of human 
 infirmity and weakness: he that could retort on 
 Ahab and denounce Jezebel, charging one with be- 
 ing the troubler of Israel, and the other with being 
 the corrupter and destroyer of the people's principles 
 and morals, is alarmed at an empty threat, and 
 flies for his life, and does not rest till he finds him- 
 self, after a day's journey through its devious wilds, 
 in the very depth of the wilderness. We gather, 
 however, from the context, that fear for himself was 
 not the only cause of his flight, and of the impa- 
 tient and pusillanimous request, " Now, O Lord, 
 take away my life; for I am no better than my 
 fathers." His gloomy despondency pictured in his 
 imagination the total prostration of the true religion 
 before the triumphant altars of Baal. " Perplexed 
 with regard to his vocation, nay, even with respect to 
 God and his government, his soul lies in the midst of 
 a thousand doubts and distressing thoughts: it seems 
 tossed on a sea of troubles, without bottom or shore, 
 and there appears but one step between him and 
 utter despair. Behold him under the juniper tree : 
 there he sits like an exile, in the midst of the 
 fearful solitude, as cast out by God and the world, 
 with his eyes fixed, full of gloomy and painful 
 reflections. In spirit he is in the land of Israel, 
 and in the midst of idolaters, the children of better 
 forefathers. Oh, the melancholy images which 
 pass before him ! the heart-rending scenes which 
 are pourtrayed upon the tablet of his memory ! He 
 sees the people reeling on Mount Carmel in their 
 idolatrous orgies — in Samaria one idol temple rises 
 up before him after another — the streets of Jezreel 
 
76 ELIJAH UNDER 
 
 resound with blasphemies against the living God 
 and his only remaining servant; and Jezebel is 
 drunk with the blood of the few believers, sole rem- 
 nants of the faithful who had fallen victims to her 
 revenge. Such are the images which vividly and 
 dreadfully present themselves to his mind ; and 
 wherever he turns his eyes amidst the horrible 
 scene, there is no herald of God; no voice of a 
 single prophet is lifted up against it. Perhaps now 
 he thinks, Why did I not remain ? why did I flee, 
 and forsake my charge ? And if the distress of 
 his spirit had not been already excited to the ut- 
 most, surely such thoughts as these must have 
 tended to that effect. The pious servant of God 
 has had enough of this vale of tears ; he is heartily 
 weary of painful conflicts and fruitless labours ; his 
 soul longs for its rest — " It is enough," sighs he to 
 heaven, his eyes glistening with tears ; " it is 
 enough ; now, O Lord, take away my life ; for I am 
 not better than my fathers.' " Ah, who would have 
 thought that Elijah could ever have become so 
 weak and faint-hearted — the man who seemed in- 
 vincible in the armour of his faith, and superior 
 to every storm ! But to us it is consoling, that 
 even such an one as Elijah sat under the juniper 
 tree, and thought, in his despondency, that he was 
 unable any longer to bear the burden of life." 
 II. That the frailties and infirmities 
 
 INTO WHICH EMINENT SAINTS ARE SOMETIMES 
 BETRAYED, ARE STRIKING ATTESTATIONS TO THEIR 
 SUPERIOR EXCELLENCE. 
 
 The spots in the sun rather increase than ob- 
 scure his glory. It may seem strange, but it is not 
 
THE JUNIPER TREE. 77 
 
 less true, that this solitary aberration on the part of 
 Elijah serves only to brighten the piety and holi- 
 ness that shine forth in his general character : it is 
 the shade of humanity moderating the effulgence 
 of what might otherwise have been deemed angelic 
 splendour. That the full glory of religion in the 
 perfection of its undimmed radiance should not too 
 much dazzle us, even Elijah appears as a man sub- 
 ject to like passions with ourselves. Yet may we 
 further remark, that, 
 
 III. While this consideration renders the 
 
 EXCELLENCE OF EMINENT CHARACTERS MORE CON- 
 SPICUOUS, IT MAY LIKEWISE BE DESIGNED TO MO- 
 DERATE OUR ADMIRATION, AND TO RESTRAIN IT 
 WITHIN PROPER BOUNDS. 
 
 The King of saints is alone the object of our 
 worship. Because his perfection is sinless and di- 
 vine, he may be adored as well as imitated ; and 
 the saints are exhibited in their state of imperfec- 
 tion and frailty, to show us that their attainments 
 are not beyond our reach, and that as they some- 
 times stumbled and fell, we are not to be discou- 
 raged as we emulate their virtues, and strive, by the 
 grace of God, to follow them in the way to heaven. 
 
 IV. That the imperfections and infirmities 
 
 OF GOOD MEN SOMETIMES AFFECT THEIR PRAYERS, 
 WHICH ARE NOT ALWAYS GOOD. 
 
 Often are they dictated by ignorance; by im- 
 patience; by disappointment; by gloomy dread; 
 by wounded pride; by a misdirected faith; by 
 erroneous views of the Divine purpose, as beheld 
 through the medium of his providential dispensa- 
 
 h3 
 
78 ELIJAH UNDER 
 
 tions; and by a stange mixture of unbelief and 
 confidence, of hope and despondency. And the 
 observation applies equally to the spirit and the 
 matter of prayer, and sometimes to both. " Ye 
 ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss." As it 
 was revealed to Simeon that " he should not see 
 death till he had seen the Lord's Christ," so it is 
 not improbable that Elijah had, at some former 
 period of his life, received the Divine assurance 
 that a destiny awaited him far more glorious than 
 that of any of his fathers, the holy prophets who 
 had gone before him, and that he should not die 
 as they had died. To this his prayer in the text 
 seems despondingly to allude. The fair vision 
 no longer gladdened his spirit, he began to fear 
 it had been a delusion, which stern and pain- 
 ful circumstances, annihilating all his hopes for 
 the church and his own further usefulness in it, 
 had banished from his mind. As, like his fathers, 
 he now felt himself doomed to the common lot, 
 he passionately cries, " It is enough ; now, O Lord, 
 take away my life." Out of this momentary weak- 
 ness springs the pure energy of a holy and lively 
 faith; for it has been well observed of Elijah's prayer 
 in the text, that it exhibits " the elements of the 
 natural life and of the spiritual life fermenting 
 together in strange intermixture ; the sparks of 
 nature and of grace, mutually opposing each other, 
 blaze up together in one flame." 
 
 V. That when the saints pray, God 
 
 ALWAYS HEARS AND ANSWERS THEM. 
 
 The prayer of the heart, though tainted by its 
 
THE JUNIPER TREE. 79 
 
 corruptions, never fails to reach the throne of the 
 heavenly grace. We indeed, ask, in our way, and 
 God answers in his. We say it is enough ; but he 
 tells us that we have much more to do and to 
 endure. We pray for death, not because we are 
 prepared for it, but because we are tired of life, or 
 think we are so. God spreads our table in the 
 wilderness ; prepares us to ascend to him on the 
 mount of communion ; and instead of allowing us 
 to steal out of life in the solitude of the desert, he 
 sends his angels, his horses of fire, and his cha- 
 riots of fire, to bear us to the regions of immortal 
 life and happiness. 
 
 Men ought always to pray ; it is not only their 
 duty, but their privilege. They ought to pray, 
 whether they are in a right frame or not; and 
 whatever be their spirit and the state of their 
 feelings. God is the safest and the best depository 
 of whatever agitates, burdens, wounds, or op- 
 presses the heart. " Prayers, however, which as- 
 cend towards heaven more in the wild bursts of 
 carnal passion, than in the sacred fire of Divine 
 love, and which are not borne upwards to God 
 upon the wings of faith and hope, but upon the 
 gusts of natural excitement, such prayers the 
 Lord is not wont to hear; yet he does hear, so 
 merciful is he, the breathings of spiritual devotion, 
 ascending through all this clamour of carnal feel- 
 ing, and in spite of it." 
 
 VI. That when we think ourselves most 
 
 DESTITUTE AND. FRIENDLESS, WE ARE SURROUND- 
 ED STILL W T ITH GOD. 
 
 " The man of God lay and slept under the 
 
80 ELIJAH UNDER 
 
 juniper tree," to all outward appearance as one 
 forsaken, and, like the disciples in Gethsemane, 
 " sleeping for sorrow." Yet a Divine watch is 
 kept over him. Grace, mercy, and peace are with 
 him. Here we have a sensible demonstration given 
 of the ministry of the elect angels about them that 
 fear God, sent forth " to minister to the heirs of 
 salvation/' " Behold in this gloomy wilderness 
 the ministry of an angel of God, specially commis- 
 sioned for the purpose^ who finds an addition to his 
 happiness in preparing help and refreshment for a 
 servant of God in his distress and sorrow." " In- 
 deed it may be adopted as a general remark, that 
 where the world closes against any servant of God, 
 there heaven opens to him." If the prospect of 
 threatening evil is before you, let this encourage 
 you. If you are already in the depths of affliction, 
 exposed to the frowns and neglect of the world, 
 and destitute of human sympathy, let this console 
 you — the angels of the Lord encamp around you, 
 and the Lord of angels declares, " I am with 
 you." 
 
 VII. That God never calls us to great 
 
 AND EXTRAORDINARY EXERTIONS WITHOUT AF- 
 FORDING US STRENGTH ACCORDING TO OUR DAY. 
 
 Little did Elijah imagine, as he sat under the 
 juniper tree, what an arduous journey was before 
 him, and how he was yet to be employed in the 
 service of God, and distinguished by his special 
 favour. All this was in the purpose of the Divine 
 mind, and provision is made for the exigencies of 
 the occasion, while all the intimation the prophet 
 receives from the angel is expressed in these words, 
 
THE JUNIPER TREE. 81 
 
 " Arise, and eat, because the journey is too great 
 for thee." Though God allows his servants to be 
 tried beyond their own inherent strength, he never 
 suffers them to be tried beyond what he himself 
 enables them to undergo : " and he went in the 
 strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, 
 unto Horeb, the mount of God." He travels 
 through the sandy desert alone ; yet not alone, 
 for God is with him. Forty days and forty nights 
 he journeys on without rest or intermission, through 
 the silent wilderness, a miraculous task, which 
 was performed in the strength of the food with 
 which God, by his angel, had refreshed him. To 
 help by many means or by few, or with no means 
 at all, is one and the same thing to Him who up- 
 holdetb all by the word of his power. 
 
 This it becomes us to cherish in our hearts as a 
 settled principle ; and always to be assured that if 
 we possess the faith of the prophet, so " the Lord 
 God of Elijah" will still glorify his character by 
 providing for our wants, and sustaining us, not 
 according to the falsely magnificent notions of the 
 world, but with the simple grandeur of his pro- 
 vidence, constituting poverty, with his grace, a 
 richer dower than the mere wealth of the universe. 
 It may be with the cake baken on the coals, 
 and the cruse of water; and these may prove 
 greater dainties, and more nourishing and support- 
 ing than stalled oxen and rivers of wine and oil. 
 Let us never shrink from apparently super-human 
 labours and sufferings, if we find them in the path 
 of duty. He that requires them of our weakness, 
 will supply us from the resources of his own omni- 
 
82 ELIJAH UNDER 
 
 potence. " He can add wings when he commands 
 to fly." " As thy day is, so thy strength shall be." 
 VIII. That it is the character of faith 
 
 TO BE SATISFIED WITH God's PROVISION, AND TO 
 ACQUIESCE IN HIS WILL. 
 
 Faith gives dignity to the character ; a dignity 
 which the Divine Redeemer so beautifully and 
 impressively illustrated, when he passed by all 
 the wealth and glory of the world, and assumed 
 the garb of poverty and the form of a servant. The 
 haughty sons of pride cannot appreciate such 
 greatness : they understand nothing of the moral 
 sublimity displayed in the conduct of Elijah, when 
 without a murmur, or even the feeling of regret, he 
 accepted meat every morning and evening from 
 the ravens by the brook Cherith, became a pen- 
 sioner on the slender hospitalities of a poor widow 
 at Zarephath, and was satisfied with the simplest 
 fare in the wilderness ; and that too when a soli- 
 tary meal was to be his only sustenance during the 
 long period of forty days and forty nights. 
 
 The great cure of pride and worldliness, and 
 of all the moral evils they engender in the indi- 
 vidual bosom, and propagate in society, is the faith 
 which shone so conspicuously in this holy pro- 
 phet; it was because his faith raised him so much 
 above the world, that it became a matter of indif- 
 ference to him how little of it he possessed ; and 
 while he seemed by his state of dependence to sink 
 below poverty, it was this which assured him that 
 his condition was more enviable, because infinitely 
 more elevated, than that of the wealthiest votary 
 of the mammon of unrighteousness. And what a 
 
ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 83 
 
 principle of holy obedience is this faith, which 
 overcometh the world ! and that, too, when its path 
 leads through a dreary and desolate wilderness! 
 Elijah did not shrink from the horrors of the 
 desert, as they gathered around him at every 
 step. The hot wind during the day did not ex- 
 haust him, nor the difficulties of the night fatigue 
 him. Thus he bore about with him, in the renewed 
 courage of his spirit, and in the unexhausted 
 strength of his limbs, an abiding seal and pledge 
 that the Lord was with him, and that the hand of 
 the Almighty sustained him. 
 
 Faith teaches contentment and duty to go hand 
 in hand; it assures adequate support, but de- 
 mands the most simple dependence upon the 
 Divine faithfulness, and an unmurmuring acqui- 
 escence, however scanty the provision, however 
 rugged the path. For it is " the substance of 
 things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 
 
 ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 
 
 " And it came to pass when they were gone over, that Elijah 
 said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be 
 taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a 
 double portion o fthy spirit be upon me."— 2 Kings ii. 9. 
 
 It is interesting to contemplate a human spirit 
 on the eve of its departure into an unseen world. 
 It is in the hour of death that hypocrites throw off 
 their mask, bad men change their vanity for vexa- 
 tion of spirit, and good men exhibit the nature and 
 the efficacy of their principles. Elijah is about to 
 
84 ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 
 
 be removed, and the church and the world to be 
 deprived of his prayers, his instructions, and his 
 example: heaven opens to his enraptured view, 
 and its chariots of fire are in attendance to bear 
 him to his reward. But what is it that still lives 
 in his heart ? what is it that abates his eagerness 
 for immortality ? He is anxious to have a succes- 
 sor, and a successor that will more than fill up the 
 void that would be occasioned by his translation. 
 He would not leave the church unprovided. The 
 religious spirit is generously prospective, is superior 
 to all personal considerations, and is most earnest 
 in its vocation of usefulness as it draws near to the 
 termination of its earthly course : then it is most 
 abundant in its desires of doing good ; all graces 
 are then most pregnant ; the box of ointment, when 
 it is broken, fills the house with fragrance. The 
 text records the circumstances which led to the 
 transfer of the gift and spirit of prophecy from Eli- 
 jah to Elisha, which were conferred upon him, not 
 suddenly and unexpectedly, but by the interposi- 
 tion of some mutual intercourse between Elijah 
 and himself. We shall divide it into two parts. 
 
 I. Elijah's generous proposal; and, II. Elisha's 
 wise and devout request. 
 
 I. Elijah's generous proposal. 
 
 1. It is spontaneous and free. True charity stays 
 not for entreaties, expects not importunity, but 
 freely offers itself. 
 
 2. It is full and comprehensive. What cannot 
 the prayer of an Elijah obtain ? He can open and 
 shut heaven — bring down flame or flood. God 
 gives a kind of omnipotence to the prayers of his 
 
ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 85 
 
 saints. The King cannot deny his favoured, holy 
 servants. The fervent effectual prayer of a right- 
 eous man availeth much. Prayer is a key that 
 opens all God's storehouses ; and he gives this key 
 to his children upon earth. But was it safe, so to 
 speak, thus to lay all the treasures of heaven at the 
 feet of Elisha? Though large and liberal, the 
 offer is necessarily circumscribed. 
 
 It is limited by the Divine wisdom, honour, and 
 goodness. Nothing can be granted that is con- 
 trary to these. Even the promises of God, ex- 
 ceeding great and precious as they are ; and con- 
 taining, as they do, the fulness that is treasured up 
 in Christ, are bounded within this golden zone. 
 We are warranted to ask only what is agreeable to 
 the Divine will — what is conducive to the Divine 
 glory. 
 
 Our prayers must be limited by a considera- 
 tion of what is answerable and fitting to our state 
 and calling. Elisha is a prophet and a man of 
 God. Elijah could only offer what became him 
 in his official character, and as a servant of the 
 Most High; and the views of Elisha must be 
 bounded by this necessity. The Spirit that 
 prompted Elijah to offer, doubtless prompted Elisha 
 to ask. 
 
 3. This proposed donation of Elijah had a special 
 reference to the prophetic office. He spoke minis- 
 terially, and as the appointed agent of heaven ; and 
 devoutly, conscious that he had power, and could 
 prevail. A fervent prayer, offered in faith, and 
 with a sufficient warrant, is an actual donation. 
 
 i 
 
36 ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 
 
 In this offer, Elijah especially regarded Elisha as 
 his successor. 
 
 4. This proposal was distinguished by its wisdom 
 and order. He will have him ask before he be- 
 stows. This is God's method. There is one 
 blessing that God gives unasked, and that is the 
 grace of asking. 
 
 II. Elisha's wise and devout request : — 
 " I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be 
 upon me." 
 
 1. What it implies. 
 
 It supposes an identity of spirit in the church, 
 continuing through all successions of dispensations, 
 offices, and individuals. Elijah is taken away, but 
 his spirit shall remain. When Moses died, his 
 spirit rested upon Joshua; when Aaron slept 
 with his fathers, Eleazar succeeded to the high 
 priesthood, and was endued with all its necessary 
 gifts and qualifications. So when Jesus ascended 
 up on high, the Spirit, by which he had been im- 
 measurably enriched, he poured down upon the 
 apostles and evangelists, and pastors and teach- 
 ers, whom he appointed for the conversion of the 
 world, and the edification of his body, the church. 
 
 It implies, also, that the Spirit is apportioned to 
 different men in different degrees, suited to the 
 economy under which they live, the natural capa- 
 city with which they are endowed, and the pecu- 
 liar stations they are appointed to occupy. 
 
 2. What it implores. 
 
 Elisha desires Elijah's spirit, and in a twofold 
 measure. What influenced him to single out this 
 
ELIJAH AND ELISHA. #7 
 
 one especial boon, when the boundless stores of 
 heaven were open to him? He desires the spirit 
 of Elijah. He was anxious to be eminently qua- 
 lified for the office, whose high and solemn respon- 
 sibilities he already began to feel. He was im- 
 pressed with the parting scene, and affected with 
 the elevation of the prophet's mind ; the sublime 
 tranquillity of his demeanour ; and the grace that 
 not only comforted and sustained him, but 
 which beamed from his countenance in all the 
 radiance of celestial glory : he would possess the 
 same. He asks that he may be endowed with all 
 the gifts and graces that would qualify him to be 
 an able, faithful prophet, and a holy man of 
 God. 
 
 But he prays for a double portion of Elijah's 
 spirit. In itself it was so transcendently excellent, 
 whether he regarded his qualifications as a pro- 
 phet, or his example as a devout believer ; that he 
 not only prays that he may possess it, but possess 
 it in a twofold degree. In this he was not ac- 
 tuated either by ambition or pride. His request 
 breathed the humility of his heart, under a weighty 
 sense of his own unworthiness, and his insufficiency 
 to meet the then exigencies of the church, amidst 
 the gross idolatries of the people, and the bitter 
 malice and persecuting rage of their rulers. The 
 times were unpropitious, requiring even a mightier 
 than Elijah, great as he was in power and in 
 prayer. With this also he felt the loss that the 
 nation was about to sustain in the departure of his 
 « father," himself a host, « the chariot of Israel, 
 
88 ELIJAH AND ELISHA. 
 
 and the horsemen thereof." The idea that he, the 
 inconsiderable husbandman of Abel Meholah, 
 could fill up such a breach, or carry on the work 
 of Elijah to its complete accomplishment, was 
 overwhelming to him. Therefore, if Elijah must 
 depart, his successor would humbly implore suffi- 
 cient help for his conscious inability. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 1. Does Elisha entreat of Elijah? — if he draws 
 from the channel, how should we have recourse to 
 the fountain ? Christ is not only the obtainer, but 
 the sovereign dispenser of all grace. Elijah's in- 
 tercession availed only while he was on earth; 
 Christ intercedes in heaven ; and he says, from his 
 glorious throne to every child of prayer, " Ask 
 what thou wilt :" there he is the only intercessor. 
 
 2. If Elisha prays chiefly for prophetical en- 
 dowments, which are variously bestowed, then may 
 we with greater confidence pray for the necessary 
 and sanctifying graces of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 3. Following the example of the prophet, let it 
 be our prayer and endeavour to obtain the gifts 
 and qualifications which will enable us to serve the 
 church and the world. 
 
 4. Elisha desires to imitate and exceed Elijah. 
 Elisha, a prophet, sets Elijah before him as a pat- 
 tern : so, in all callings and professions, select the 
 best and worthiest examples. Let the magistrate 
 remember Nehemiah ; and the head of a family, 
 Cornelius; the afflicted sufferer, Job; the rich 
 man, Abraham; the pious woman, Dorcas; the 
 
MOSES* ADDRESS TO PARENTS. 89 
 
 child, Isaac; and the servant, Eleazar; and let 
 each seek, in reference to their peculiar station 
 and condition, for a double portion of that spirit 
 so gracefully illustrated in these several distin- 
 guished and honoured individuals, whose names 
 are worthy to be had in everlasting remem- 
 brance. 
 
 THE ADDRESS OF MOSES TO THE 
 PARENTS OF ISRAEL. 
 
 " These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine 
 heart ; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, 
 and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and 
 when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, 
 and when thou risest up." — Deut. vi. 6, 7. 
 
 From this important portion of the impressive 
 valedictory address of Moses to Israel, we remark, 
 
 I. That the system of religious doctrine 
 
 WHICH IT IS INCUMBENT UPON MEN TO EMBRACE 
 AND OBEY, MUST BE RECEIVED THROUGH THE 
 MEDIUM AND UPON THE AUTHORITY OF DlVINE 
 
 revelation ; " These words which I command 
 thee." 
 
 II. That a Divine system of doctrine 
 revealed from heaven, in order to be effi- 
 cacious AND USEFUL, MUST BE PERSONAL: IT 
 MUST BE ADMITTED " INTO THE HEART " 
 
 every man must be religious, and religious 
 for himself. It therefore must take possession of 
 the heart as the seat of feeling and sentiment, as 
 
 i3 
 
90 MOSES'S ADDRESS TO PARENTS. 
 
 the spring of action ; here it must be paramount, 
 abiding, and in constant operation. 
 
 III. That a system of doctrine, when it 
 is efficacious and beneficial to the indivi- 
 dual, LAYS HIM UNDER OBLIGATIONS, AND FUR- 
 NISHES HIM WITH A DISPOSITION TO MAINTAIN 
 ITS CHARACTER AND TO DIFFUSE ITS INFLUENCE 
 THROUGH EVERY RELATION OF LIFE WHICH HE 
 SUSTAINS. 
 
 It gives him correct views of the nature and im- 
 portance of every relation in life — of its claims, and 
 his responsibility in reference to these claims. The 
 moment he becomes the head of a family, family 
 religion becomes a duty in reference to God. To 
 him it has a threefold relation — that of responsibi- 
 lity, of gratitude, of dependence. 
 
 In reference to himself — to his spiritual wel- 
 fare, his tranquillity of mind. 
 
 To his family — it furnishes the principle as 
 well as the rule of duty : it refines and exalts the 
 natural affections, which Providence has wisely 
 associated and almost identified with the various 
 relations of life. It holds out the strongest encou- 
 ragements of success to sincere and persevering 
 effort. The very command implies encourage- 
 ment : our own experience gives it additional 
 force : the promise of Divine aid, and of the Di- 
 vine blessing, renders despondency impious. But 
 parents without religion cannot teach it to their 
 children : many parents who possess it cannot do 
 all they wish ; but all are bound to do what they 
 can. 
 
91 
 
 GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 
 
 "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ?" 
 2 Chron. vi. 11. 
 
 What an imposing scene of awful grandeur 
 rises before the imagination as we endeavour to 
 realize the situation of Solomon when he uttered 
 these words ? And could such a scene be favour- 
 able to the abstraction and spirituality of the most 
 elevated devotion ? 
 
 Large assemblies either damp and depress the 
 ardours of piety, or invigorate and sustain them ; 
 but this depends altogether upon their character 
 and object. The object had been often revolved 
 as one of the utmost importance to their well- 
 being and happiness : the people were prepared 
 for a day of high and solemn enjoyment, such as 
 they had never known, by the long and unreserved 
 concentration of all their resources for the purpose 
 of its attainment. To this was directed a profuse 
 liberality which spared no cost, which shrunk from 
 no sacrifice : labours, personal, arduous, and un- 
 remitting — fervent, united, and persevering sup- 
 plications, anticipating the event as one peculiarly 
 hallowed and fraught with divine and spiritual 
 communications. 
 
 The text is the lowliest and loftiest expression 
 of devotion that is probably to be found in all the 
 records of religion. Let us endeavour, 
 
92 GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 
 
 I. To trace the sentiments and feelings in which 
 it originated : II. To exhibit the delightful ideas 
 which it conveys; and, III. To state the grounds 
 which may induce us to conclude that God in very 
 deed thus dwells with men upon earth. And, 
 
 I. Let us trace the sentiments and feel- 
 ings IN WHICH THE QUESTION IN THE TEXT ORI- 
 GINATED. 
 
 1. Enlarged and comprehensive vieivs, with a deep 
 impression of the majesty and glory of God. At a 
 superficial glance, the question would seem to im- 
 ply notions of the Divine nature and attributes 
 the very opposite of these views and these impres- 
 sions ; as if God, the infinite and the omnipresent, 
 could be essentially in one place more than an- 
 other; and though the heavens, and the heaven of 
 heavens, could not contain him, yet that he might 
 be invited to and dwell in a house upon earth, or a 
 temple made with hands; thus attaching to his 
 presence the idea of limitation and locality. But 
 Solomon had not to learn what was the common 
 faith of the nation and the doctrines of the Scrip- 
 tures concerning the infinite fulness of Him who 
 filleth all in all, and who is in the Hebrew lan- 
 guage described by a name (Hammakom) con- 
 veying the very idea of the universality and infini- 
 tude of his being. 
 
 All things are full of God, and he is every where : 
 " If I climb up into heaven, thou art there : if I 
 go down to hell, thou art there also !" Nay, we 
 may go beyond these positive realities, and main- 
 tain that he dwells in the imaginary regions of 
 
GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 93 
 
 immeasurable space — that he is there where no- 
 thing else is, and nothing else is there where he is 
 not. 
 
 The king of Israel, at this solemn moment, when 
 the cloud of ineffable glory filled the temple, spoke 
 under the powerful influence of the gracious pre- 
 sence of the Divine Majesty, well assured that it 
 was no derogation of the immensity of his being to 
 suppose that he could be differently present in 
 some places or alike in all — that at one and the 
 same moment he was filling heaven, earth, and 
 hell; but conveying to each very different impres- 
 sions of his presence. 
 
 " If God," says an acute and learned dialectician 
 of a former age, " is equally present on earth and 
 in hell, in the church and in the prison of Tophet, 
 wherein consists the difference which in the one 
 makes it desirable and in the other intolerable? 
 Are we to think," he asks, " that we men have his 
 company but as the devils have, to tremble at ? 
 No. The cry in Tophet is, i What have we to do 
 with thee, thou Son of the Most High ?' Not so 
 here on earth ; but, c Why art thou so far from me, 
 O my God !' The finger of God is there (in hell) 
 as in the plagues of Egypt ; but his right hand is 
 here, that right hand with which he doeth glo- 
 riously. With them, that is, with the evil spirits, 
 God is almighty — with us he is God all-sufficient : 
 there he is a consuming fire — here, Immanuel, 
 God with us. Therefore it is, that, though he were 
 here before, yet is he said to bow the heavens and 
 come down.'* 
 
94 GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 
 
 The king of Israel was awe-struck with the 
 amazing condescension which had so visibly chosen 
 a building on earth as the medium through 
 which to display to the guilty sons and daughters 
 of Adam the glories of his infinite perfections ; — ■ 
 that every where he should be God, the Creator and 
 the upholder of all things, the Source of being and 
 of bliss, through innumerable worlds and systems of 
 worlds ; but that for the earth and its human inha- 
 bitants he should reserve such a manifestation of 
 himself as should give both the pre-eminence over 
 an entire and boundless universe — this it was that 
 filled the royal mind with that adoring amazement 
 which breaks forth in the exclamation, " Will God 
 in very deed dwell with men upon the earth !" 
 
 2. This devout interrogatory may be traced, se- 
 condly, to lofty ideas of the extent and grandeur of 
 the universe as contrasted icith the insignificance 
 of man, and the degradation of his state and cha- 
 racter. 
 
 3. But the ivlwle scene was typical; and as the 
 shadows of good things to come, on this sub- 
 lime occasion assumed a distinctness approach- 
 ing to substantial reality — as the incarnation of 
 God was revealed by the glory between the cheru- 
 bim with a vividness which almost turned faith into 
 vision, we doubt not that the sainted monarch 
 caught a glimpse of the mystery, and, realizing the 
 period when God should be manifest in the flesh, 
 he saw the illustrious stranger, He that was greater 
 than the temple, standing in the midst of it ; and, 
 unable to suppress his emotion, broke forth in the 
 
GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 95 
 
 language of grateful astonishment, " Will God in 
 very deed dwell with men on the earth !" But we 
 come now, 
 
 II. To CONTEMPLATE THE DELIGHTFUL IDEAS 
 WHICH THE QUESTION CONVEYS. 
 
 It is not so much a question as an affirmation — 
 God will in very deed dwell with men on earth, 
 and his dwelling-place is the sanctuary: it was 
 once, and for a long succession of ages and genera- 
 tions, the temple, and now it is every edifice 
 where his name is recorded, where his people as- 
 semble. " Where two or three meet together in 
 my name," says he who alone has realized the hy- 
 postatical union, in whom the fulness of the God- 
 head dwelleth bodily, " where two or three are 
 gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
 midst of them." 
 
 To dwell with men on earth. This implies, 
 
 1 . Presence ; or, the manifestation of power and 
 glory. The Essence is invisible, but the attributes 
 are displayed. 
 
 2. It also implies influence. Presence, not only 
 for the purpose of unveiling the moral glories of 
 his nature, but influence as an operating agency, 
 and a spiritual communication. 
 
 3. It also conveys the idea of residence. Here 
 he dwells with man; a resident, not a guest. One 
 always at home ; not as a wayfaring man, or a 
 stranger, that turneth aside for a night : therefore 
 the sanctuary is the dwelling-place of a perfect and 
 infinite spirit of knowledge, of wisdom, of purity, 
 of consolation, of love, of joy, of heaven. 
 
96 GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 
 
 4. But it implies more; it implies association, 
 or communion. He not only dwells with, but 
 in and among men upon earth. Here children 
 come to meet a father; disciples to listen to the 
 Master's voice ; patients to experience the physi- 
 cian's skill. 
 
 5. Infinite condescension and grace : — illustrated 
 in the objects of its regard; the perpetual flow of 
 the blessings by which they are enriched; the 
 patience which bears with them ; and the mercy 
 which admits them to the privilege of intercourse, 
 notwithstanding their guilt and un worthiness. 
 
 III. But what are the grounds which may 
 
 INDUCE US TO CONCLUDE THAT GOD IN VERY 
 DEED THUS DWELLS WITH MEN UPON EARTH? 
 
 1. Facts which cannot be controverted. The 
 mercy-seat ; the temple ; the incarnation ; the 
 descent and communication of the Spirit. 
 
 2. Corresponding effects, the most unequivocal in 
 their character, and unaccountable on every other 
 principle. 
 
 3. Testimonies the most numerous and unques- 
 tionable. 
 
 4. Promises that cannot be violated. 
 
 5. The accomplishment of a scheme of mercy and 
 of glory, which cannot otherwise be realized. 
 
 1. Hence appears the reasonableness and neces- 
 sity of public worship — nothing else can raise the 
 human mind to its proper elevation; nothing, 
 without this, can prepare the world for its greatest 
 social improvement. This is necessary also to 
 form the human character for its immortal des- 
 tiny. 
 
DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 97 
 
 2. The dispositions and sentiments which dis- 
 tinguish the true worshippers of the Most High. 
 
 3. Here is matter of congratulation to Christians 
 in the superiority of their worship to that of the 
 temple, when conducted even by Solomon. A 
 greater than Solomon is here. 
 
 4. Happy the people that are in such a case, for 
 they shall in very deed dwell with God in heaven. 
 
 DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 
 
 " Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high ; 
 who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in hea- 
 ven and in the earth ! "—Psalm cxiii. 5, 6. 
 
 Some of the most magnificent expressions of 
 Scripture are those which relate to the Divine 
 condescension. The doctrine that the infinite 
 God, who inhabits immensity and eternity, enters 
 minutely into all the affairs of his creatures, pre- 
 sented to the mind of the psalmist an image of 
 condescension so overwhelming, that he ex- 
 claimed, " Who is like unto the Lord our God, 
 who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to 
 behold the things that are in heaven, and in the 
 earth !" Observe, he couples together the things 
 that are in heaven and earth, without distinction. 
 Now, to our apprehension, the things of heaven are 
 inconceivably greater, more important, more wor- 
 thy of the Divine attention, than the things of 
 earth. But in the eye of God the difference is 
 
 K 
 
98 DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 
 
 only a difference in minute degrees — a difference 
 in degrees of littleness — and therefore, in itself, a 
 very little difference. 
 
 Were you, from the top of some lofty eminence, 
 some dizzy height, to look down upon two ob- 
 jects — the one a man and the other a child — 
 though they would doubtless consider the difference 
 between themselves to be very great, to you it 
 would appear to be very little, if any. This, indeed, 
 would arise from the necessary imperfection of 
 your organs of sight — but the idea may serve for 
 an illustration. For while to our apprehension 
 the things of heaven are unspeakably greater than 
 the things of earth, we are to bear in mind that 
 the Almighty is infinitely higher than the highest 
 created intelligence in heaven; that while the 
 difference between the highest and the lowest of 
 his creatures can be measured, the difference be- 
 tween him and the highest creature which he has 
 formed cannot be measured; so that he has to 
 look down — (if we may say so) — he has to look 
 down from an infinite height upon the highest as 
 well as upon the lowest, upon the things that are 
 in heaven, as well as upon the things that are in 
 the earth. The wonder is, that he condescends to 
 regard the things that are in heaven ; but having 
 stooped thus far, we are prepared to hear that he 
 stoops a little farther, and regards the things that 
 are on earth. For though there is a difference 
 between them, and though his eye measures that 
 difference in all its proportions, yet is it really so 
 
DIVINE CONDESCENSION". 99 
 
 insignificant to Him whom heaven and the heaven 
 of heavens cannot contain, that it is an act of infi- 
 nite condescension in him to notice either. 
 
 Looking at the history of this condescension 
 toward man, there appear to have been four re- 
 markable stages in it, at each of which we behold 
 him carrying it a degree farther than before, until 
 he has reached the very lowest point to which it 
 could be carried. We say nothing of the benignity 
 which he displayed towards our first parents, while 
 yet they retained their original purity,— benignity 
 which showed itself in symbolically walking with 
 them in paradise, in visible manifestations, in fre- 
 quent and familiar converse. That belonged to a 
 state which soon passed away, and of which we 
 know little more than this— that it once existed. 
 But we have to contemplate the Divine conduct in 
 a subsequent and far different state— a state which 
 was commenced by an act of disobedience and 
 rebellion against God— a state in which man has 
 outraged every attribute of the Divine character, 
 in which he has lost all love and likeness to God, 
 and has joined in league with his enemies; in 
 which the prevailing habit of his mind is that of 
 enmity against God; and a state, therefore, in 
 which his holy and insulted Maker might justly 
 have left him to perish, and have withdrawn and 
 inclosed himself for ever within the depths of his 
 everlasting dwelling-place. 
 
 Now it was towards man in this state that the 
 Almighty took the first step in his career of con- 
 descension, 
 
100 DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 
 
 I. By speaking to him. 
 
 He broke the fearful silence which sin had pro- 
 duced, and which might have lasted for ever, and 
 spoke to us. And every accent he uttered was an 
 accent of love. For the sentence which consigned 
 our bodies to the stroke of death, was only the 
 application of what had been previously threat- 
 ened ; while every additional word was intended to 
 mitigate that doom, by inspiring us with the hope 
 of being finally delivered from it. And having 
 broken the silence, he proceeded to address us at 
 sundry times and in divers manners. He pre- 
 scribed the way by which we might hope to regain 
 his favour ; he added promise after promise, to en- 
 courage our obedience; and though it did not 
 comport with the majesty of his holiness to main- 
 tain, as before, familiar intercourse with our pol- 
 luted race, yet every time he spoke to us he 
 opened a fresh view of his excellence, and fur- 
 nished an additional proof of his condescension. 
 
 Another stage in his Divine condescension to 
 man was, 
 
 II. When he appointed a place for the 
 
 SYMBOL OF HIS PRESENCE TO DWELL IN, AND 
 WHERE MAN MIGHT BE ALWAYS WELCOME TO 
 APPROACH AND COMMUNE WITH HIM. 
 
 That Presence, indeed, was concealed from 
 the public eye, and could be approached only 
 in a prescribed manner. But still it was a vast ad- 
 vance in the Divine condescension : it seemed to 
 say that his benignity knew no limits ; it seemed to 
 place earth in close proximity to heaven. When 
 
DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 101 
 
 Solomon offered up the first prayer at the dedi- 
 cation of that hallowed edifice, he appears to have 
 been almost overwhelmed with the idea : — " Will 
 God," said he, " in very deed dwell with man upon 
 the earth ? Behold, heaven and the heaven of hea- 
 vens cannot contain thee, how much less this 
 house which I have built ! " Will the Divine Omni- 
 presence take up his dwelling here ? Is not the 
 expectation too great to be realized ? Will he do so 
 " in very deed ? " To this appeal of his servant, 
 which showed a mind labouring and staggering 
 under the amazing conception, the Almighty re- 
 plied, " I have chosen and sanctified this house, 
 that my name may be there for ever; and mine 
 eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually." 
 And through a long succession of ages he continued 
 to meet with his people there, and to commune 
 with them from off" the mercy-seat. 
 
 But all this, astonishing as it was, was only 
 preliminary. The next stage in the condescension 
 of God to man threw all his past history into the 
 shade. 
 
 III. The " Word" became flesh, and dwelt 
 
 AMONG US. 
 
 Great, indeed, is the mystery of godliness : God 
 was manifest " in iheflesli" — came and tabernacled 
 among us in our own nature. By a mysterious act 
 he took our nature into union with his own, actnally 
 walked the earth, conversed with us, instructed 
 us, pitied and wept over us, and by all the arts 
 of a Divine compassion commended his love to us. 
 This was a stoop of condescension immeasurably 
 
 k3 
 
102 DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 
 
 deep. Beyond this (we might have said) he cannot 
 go — even he cannot go. He has now reached the 
 lowest point to which he can descend, for he has 
 reached the low basement of earth, he has placed 
 himself on a perfect level with ourselves. We 
 have now seen the utmost limits of his conde- 
 scending grace. 
 
 " But my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
 neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." 
 Look at that cross — at him who hangs upon it. 
 Look at that bleeding form — that is a lower point 
 of condescension. 
 
 IV. He is dying — dying for us — dying for 
 us the accursed death of the cross. 
 
 " He was in the form of God, and thought it not 
 robbery to be equal with God ; but made him- 
 self of no reputation, and took upon him the form 
 of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; 
 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled 
 himself, and became obedient unto death, even the 
 death of the cross." That was, indeed, the lowest 
 point to which he could descend. The sun 
 shrunk back, amazed at that sight; angels hung 
 over it perplexed, unable to comprehend it. All 
 nature sympathized and wondered. And shall we, 
 for whom all this voluntary humiliation was en- 
 dured, be the only beings who are unmoved 
 by it? 
 
 Let us glance at the ground over which we have 
 passed. We have seen that man had reduced 
 himself to the condition of an enemy against God ; 
 and that with this condition h« was in love, when 
 
DIVINE CONDESCENSION. 103 
 
 God, who is rich in mercy, resumed the intercourse 
 which sin had interrupted, by speaking to him. 
 This was the commencing act of his condescension : 
 and it was amazing. When any thing of a similar 
 kind takes place among men— when a party in- 
 jured is known to have spoken first to the party 
 which injured him, especially, too, if he be his 
 superior in rank, the act is spoken of with un- 
 feigned admiration. But that the Creator should 
 have thus acted towards his creature — that the infi- 
 nite God should have first spoken, and have spoken 
 amicably, to the poor, alienated, debased children 
 of men, surpasses unspeakably the utmost con- 
 descension which man can show to his fellow-man. 
 And still more, that he should appoint a place for 
 his presence to dwell in, where we might go and 
 commune with him ; that he should hide from our 
 sight the glories of his throne, lest they should 
 overwhelm our feeble spirits ; that he should con- 
 ceal from us the ministries of his celestial court, 
 and, dismissing that train which filleth the temple 
 above, should stoop to visit the lowly abodes of 
 those that fear him, and dwell as a Father in the 
 homes of earth : this was a lower stage in his con- 
 descension still. That he should have left the 
 high and holy place which he had inhabited from 
 eternity, and have assumed the nature of his crea- 
 ture man, and have become a resident on earth, 
 was another and a far lower stage in his conde- 
 scension still. But that while here he should have 
 submitted to suffer death — " the death of the 
 cross" — by the hand of those he came to redeem — 
 
104 THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 
 
 was a depth of condescension never before ima- 
 gined, never after to be surpassed. If he humbles 
 himself when he only deigns " to behold the things 
 that are in heaven and earth," then what shall we 
 say of his condescension in becoming flesh, and 
 dying for us ? It is the everlasting wonder of the 
 universe. 
 
 THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 
 
 u What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him ? and that thou 
 shouldest set thine heart upon him?" — Job vii. 17. 
 
 The condescension of God,] as already traced 
 in its downward stages, was not ostentation and 
 display. It could not fail to be productive of 
 certain effects ; for as surely as the natural opera- 
 tion of his justice would have tended to destroy, 
 so certainly the operation of his love would have 
 a tendency to save. And it could not be other- 
 wise than that these restorative effects should be 
 commensurate with the degree of condescension 
 which he exercised; they would correspond in 
 measure as well as in kind. Accordingly we 
 find that this exact correspondence obtains : He 
 stooped to earth that we might be raised to hea- 
 ven; he partook of our human nature that we 
 might be made partakers of his divine; he died 
 an ignominious death that we might Jive a glorified 
 and eternal life. 
 
THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 105 
 
 In glancing at the pinnacle of distinction to 
 which man is raised, let us mark two or three of 
 the more elevated stages in the ascending scale. 
 
 I. The lowest to which we shall allude 
 
 IS THAT OF A SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. 
 
 From being the slaves of sin, he advances us 
 into his high and holy service. He has no need of 
 our services, for he is self-sufficient, and could ac- 
 complish every thing by the word of his power ; or 
 if he chose to surround himself with obedient ser- 
 vants, as a thing becoming his majesty and state, 
 he might have taken them all from the inhabitants 
 of the heavenly world. They have never revolted 
 from him, never abused his goodness, nor re- 
 nounced his authority, as we have done ; but 
 have ever counted it their highest honour to 
 adore and serve him. How astonishing is it, 
 then, that he should come to seek for servants 
 in this sinful world ! — that he should call any into 
 his service from among our apostate and guilty 
 race ! And yet he does this ; and he does it in a 
 manner as though he were really dependent on 
 our services— as though he were unable to con- 
 duct the affairs of his government without us; 
 for he not only calls us, he urges, and entreats, 
 and even offers to reward us, though we can never 
 be otherwise than unprofitable servants. If we 
 neglect his first invitations, he repeats them ; if we 
 faint in his service, he supports and encourages 
 us ; if we revolt from his service, he actually fol- 
 lows, and brings us back to it again: he stoops to 
 do that which we should count it a degradation to 
 
106 THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 
 
 do to our fellow-servants. He reminds us that 
 angels are our fellow-creatures; he calls us co- 
 workers together with himself; he even engages to 
 applaud us at last in the face of the universe, by 
 saying, " Well done, good and faithful servants, 
 enter ye into the joy of your Lord." 
 
 But if it be an honour to be advanced into the 
 service of God, 
 
 II. HOW SURPASSING THE DISTINCTION OF BE- 
 ING RAISED INTO HIS FRIENDSHIP ! 
 
 And yet this is his language — " Ye are my 
 friends; henceforth I call you not servants, but 
 friends." Had he only regarded his people in the 
 light of his servants, he would only have laid his 
 commands upon them ; and even this would have 
 been conferring on them an honour which angels 
 are emulous and happy to enjoy. But he not only 
 intrusts them with his commands, he shares with 
 them his secrets, and honours them with his conft* 
 dence. He gives them the utmost freedom of ac- 
 cess to him, permitting them to come even to 
 his seat, and to enter the secret of his pavilion. 
 They share his sympathy, his counsel, and his 
 aid; and, in return, they feel a growing conge- 
 niality with his character, make his cause their 
 own, and rejoice when it is promoted, as though 
 their own interests were advanced. They are con- 
 scious of a holy jealousy for the honour of his name, 
 as if it were committed entirely to their custody, 
 or as if their own life and happiness were bound 
 up with it. Oh, how exalted and how ennobling is 
 this relation to God ! and yet it is their privilege 
 
THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 107 
 
 to sustain it : they are known in heaven, though 
 they may not be on earth, as the friends of God, 
 
 But they sustain a relation still higher, if pos- 
 sible, than this : 
 
 III. They are adopted into the family of 
 
 God. 
 
 " Beloved," says an apostle, " now are we the 
 sons of God." " Ye are all the children of God," 
 says another apostle, " by faith in Christ Jesus." 
 " And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and 
 joint-heirs with Christ." " Oh," said one of the 
 IVJalabarian converts appointed by the Danish mis- 
 sionaries to translate a catechism, in which be- 
 lievers are called " sons" of God,—" oh, it is too 
 much ! let me rather render it, c they shall be per- 
 mitted to kiss his feet.' " But no, it is not too 
 much : " It is just like him," said a converted ne- 
 gro woman, with sublime moral simplicity, when 
 speaking of his unutterable gift of Christ for our re- 
 demption. Inconceivably great as the gift is, " it is 
 just like him;" and unspeakably great as the pri- 
 vilege is of constituting believers his children, " it 
 is just like him." It is no figment of the imagina- 
 tion ; the honour is realized to the fullest extent : 
 they are renewed after his likeness, and by the spe- 
 cial operation of his own Spirit. They are clothed 
 with the robes of his righteousness, are sustained 
 with manna from heaven, and enjoy the training and 
 tuition of a Divine Teacher; while every step 
 they take brings them nearer to an inheritance 
 worthy of those whom he has adopted as his chil- 
 dren and heirs. " Behold, now are we the sons of 
 
108 THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 
 
 God ;" and when we look down to the depth from 
 which he has raised us, we may well be astonished 
 at the height of our present elevation : but when we 
 look up towards the summits which we are yet des- 
 tined to attain, we feel that " it doth not yet ap- 
 pear what we shall be." Great as the honour is 
 which he has already conferred upon us, it is only 
 the beginning, the pledge of what he purposes to 
 bestow on us in heaven. 
 
 The last ascending step in this scale of won- 
 ders is, 
 
 IV. Our exaltation to the right hand of 
 God. 
 
 Looking at the history of this exaltation, we 
 may observe, that, like that Divine condescension 
 to which it is owing, it is marked by distinct 
 
 AND SUCCESSIVE STAGES, BY WHICH THE CHRIS- 
 TIAN IS CARRIED FROM GLORY TO GLORY, TILL HE 
 HAS REACHED THE SUMMIT OF PERFECT BLISS. 
 
 The first important moment in his history is, 
 when the voice of God first calls him, and induces 
 him to consider his ways. 
 
 The period of conversion comes, and he arrives 
 at another stage; he now cordially believes and 
 embraces the Gospel; his sins are forgiven; he 
 draws the first breath of a new life, and aims at 
 heaven. Henceforth his course may be marked 
 by numerous vicissitudes; but they all form so 
 many steps by which he rises towards heaven. 
 
 The period of death comes, and he arrives at 
 another and a most important point — he escapes 
 from the state in which he had been walking by 
 
THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 109 
 
 faith, and finds himself standing in the brightness 
 of the throne of God : he quits his conflicts and 
 temptations, and finds himself in a world where 
 all is security, holiness, and bliss ; he rises, as by 
 one mighty bound, from earth to heaven. Nor is 
 this the summit of his dignity. 
 
 The morning of the resurrection will dawn, and 
 he will reach a higher point of glory still : his 
 body will be raised from the low chambers of the 
 grave, and be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious 
 body. 
 
 The hour of judgment will arrive, and constitute 
 another stage in his advancing career: he will 
 then be acquitted from every charge, welcomed as 
 an heir of heaven, and confirmed in his title to 
 eternal life. And do you think that even then he 
 will have reached the limits of his glory ? That 
 glory is an ocean, and he will only then be just 
 launched forth on its shoreless expanse ! Even 
 then he will be heard saying, as he surveys the in- 
 terminable prospect of blessedness that stretches 
 before him, " It doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be ; but this we know, that we are like him ; for 
 now we see him as he is:" And this we believe, 
 that in proportion to the depth to which he stooped 
 in order to raise us, in that proportion will be the 
 height of our exaltation, for ever advancing in 
 endless progression. 
 
 To this advanced stage of their exaltation, how- 
 ever, Christians have not yet attained. Some of 
 them are only just emerging into spiritual light and 
 life : others are in the midst of their career toward 
 
 L 
 
1J0 THE EXALTATION OF MAN. 
 
 heaven : others have just arrived at the point at 
 which their spirits pass to the throne of God ; and 
 others have long been familiar with the scenes and 
 society of heaven. Were the operations of the 
 grace of God to terminate at this moment, were 
 the affairs of his kingdom to be wound up at once, 
 how astonishing the effects which his condescension 
 has already produced ! How many has it raised 
 to the enjoyment of eternal life ! — what a tide of 
 happiness has it poured through the world, bearing 
 on its bosom to the haven of rest an innumerable 
 multitude, every one of whom would else have pe- 
 rished in the blackness of darkness for ever ! But 
 it shall not cease to operate till it has compassed 
 the salvation of all his people ; and then, and not 
 till then, will it be adequately appreciated and 
 adored. But then, when all the objects of his love, 
 the fruits of his condescension, shall stand upon the 
 mount of God — when they shall look up and gaze 
 upon the glories of him who sits upon the throne, 
 and then look back and down upon the cross, and 
 remember that he once hung upon it, and trace the 
 various stages through which he passed till he 
 reached it, what an amazing impression of his con- 
 descension will they have, and what a theme for 
 praise ! And when they shall contrast their divine 
 exaltation with their former depression — when they 
 shall find that they are without fault before the 
 throne of God — that they are walking in the so- 
 ciety of angels — are raised to the enjoyment of all 
 that heaven contains, and then look down at the 
 state in which his condescension found them, and, 
 
THE EXALTATION OF MAN. Ill 
 
 still lower, at the state of perdition from which his 
 grace has saved them, what a view will they have 
 of their high exaltation, and what a subject for 
 gratitude to him who " raiseth up the needy out of 
 the dunghill, that he may set him with princes," 
 even the princes of heaven. 
 
 But the adoration and praise of heaven must 
 begin on earth. Christians are not strangers to 
 these emotions now. It is by these, and the in- 
 fluence which these have upon their life, that they 
 are distinguished from an ungodly world. The 
 Saviour has spoken to them, and they have list- 
 ened, wondered, and obeyed. He has raised them 
 from the dust, and they have followed him. He 
 has shown them his cross, and they feel that they 
 are not their own. He has pointed them to the 
 open gate of heaven, and they are hastening and 
 ascending to reach it. He has constituted them 
 his friends and his children, and they are advancing 
 to take possession of their inheritance, and to share 
 his glory. But how many here afford no evidence 
 that the Divine condescension has ever awakened 
 their attention ? — how many show that their am- 
 bition is to sink ? They are not the servants, the 
 friends, the sons of the Lord God Almighty, the 
 heirs of glory: they are the servants of Satan 
 and of sin, the friends of God's greatest enemies 
 — the heirs of death : the depths of guilt and woe 
 into which they are ready to plunge are unfa- 
 thomable. 
 
112 
 
 THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 
 
 " Thou hast ascended on high ; thou hast led captivity captive ; 
 thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, 
 that the Lord God might dwell among them." — Psalm lxviii. 
 18. 
 
 I shall not detain you with many remarks on 
 the occasion on which this passage was composed ; 
 on the predictions which it contains; and the cor- 
 respondence between these and the types under 
 which they are presented to our view. Nor is it 
 necessary to present you with the different trans- 
 lations which biblical critics have adopted in pre- 
 ference to our own. Of this passage we have, in 
 the apostle Paul, an infallible interpreter. Its ap- 
 plication to Christ is determined in his epistle 
 to the Ephesians, chap, iv., ver. 8, " Unto every 
 one of us is given grace, according to the measure 
 of the gift of Christ." 
 
 Let us consider the words as descriptive, 
 
 I. Of the Redeemer's exaltation; and it 
 implies, 
 
 1. That his humiliation is terminated ; that he has 
 finished transgression, and made an end of sin. 
 When the Son of God undertook the glorious work 
 of our redemption, it was a necessary stipulation 
 that he should form an immediate and intimate 
 alliance with our sinful nature ; and he said, " Lo, 
 I come, to do thy will, O my God ; in the volume 
 of the book it is written of me. A body hast 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 113 
 
 thou prepared for me." He took not on him the 
 nature of angels, but was made man in all points 
 like as we are. He was made under the law, that it 
 might be magnified and made honourable. He 
 fulfilled its precepts, endured its penalty, and sus- 
 tained its curse. He made such a display of the 
 perfections of the Divine nature, that the first 
 archangel never saw so much of God before. In 
 him "mercy and truth met together, righteous- 
 ness and peace embraced each other." The volun- 
 tary obedience of Jesus, Jehovah's servant, and his 
 people's surety, was infinitely more pleasing to the 
 eternal Father than the sinless, united obedience 
 of a perfect world ; and in his sufferings unto death 
 there is a fulness of merit. His blood is the 
 propitiation ; by it justice is appeased, and the 
 trembling conscience lulled to rest. The proof of 
 this we have in the resurrection of Christ, and in 
 his ascension to glory. Hear his own appeal while 
 he lived, " I have glorified thee on the earth ; I 
 have finished the work which thou gavest me to 
 do." Hear his dying testimony, " It is finished." 
 What more convincing or delightful proof that the 
 debt is paid, than the liberation of the surety? 
 The eternal Father, who had forsaken him when 
 he bore our sins in his own body on the tree, now 
 smiles on him with infinite complacency, because 
 the guilt is borne away. The atoning sacrifice is 
 accepted ; for our High Priest has entered within 
 the veil, there to appear in the presence of God 
 for us. " He hath ascended up on high." It im- 
 plies, 
 
 l 3 
 
114 THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 
 
 2. His love and care for his church, now he Jills 
 the throne. The personal absence of Christ from 
 the earth is no less necessary to his character as 
 Mediator, than that he should dwell amongst us 
 for a season. Hence he said to his disciples, " It 
 is expedient for you that I go away." The Spirit 
 must be poured out from on high to render his 
 mediation effectual. And he said, " If I go not 
 away, the Comforter will not come." The cause of 
 his people required an advocate within the veil; 
 and for them was to be prepared the mansions of 
 glory. They themselves are to be separated from 
 the world, which lieth in wickedness, and to be 
 sanctified as well as redeemed. " He was 
 anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows." 
 As the anointing of Aaron, which descended from 
 his head unto the skirts of his garments; so the 
 Holy Spirit, given to him without measure, de- 
 scends from him, as the head of the body, to the 
 humblest member; and is the source of sanctity, 
 and the living spring of comfort. 
 
 3. It announces his victory. " Thou hast led 
 captivity captive." The expression seems to have 
 been proverbially employed among the Hebrews, 
 to denote the entire discomfiture of their enemies, 
 in which they were not only taken captive, but 
 those were set at liberty who had worn their chains. 
 Thus Deborah sings, " Arise, Barak ; lead thy 
 captivity captive, son of Abinoam." Respecting 
 the foes whom Messiah led captive, some suppose 
 the psalmist meant the powers of darkness, and 
 that the expression is equivalent to that of the 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 115 
 
 apostle — " Having spoiled principalities and pow- 
 ers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing 
 over them in his cross." Others think that rebel- 
 lious men, whom he saves, and who were the slaves 
 of divers lusts and pleasures, and were led captive 
 by Satan at his will, are intended. Perhaps we 
 shall not dishonour the Scriptures by viewing the 
 passage as including both. 
 
 In order to obtain over all these a complete 
 victory, the champion of our race must be humbled 
 and exalted; he must descend from heaven to 
 earth, and ascend from earth to heaven : he must 
 suffer in order to save. He became obedient to death, 
 even the death of the cross. He made a complete 
 atonement for sin, as our surety and our substitute. 
 On him was laid the iniquity of us all. " Once in 
 the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away 
 sin by the sacrifice of himself." By his cross he 
 removes the guilt of sin, and by his grace he m de- 
 stroys its dominion. He reigns in his people, 
 and he does not rule over slaves. He releases 
 every captive whose ransom he has paid. He 
 has spoiled principalities and powers, and made a 
 show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 
 He has overcome the world. He despised its 
 most flattering temptations, and braved its utmost 
 hostility and scorn. He makes his people con- 
 querors too, and they triumph like their Master. 
 " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
 crucified unto me, and I unto the world." " The 
 last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." He 
 
116 THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 
 
 has already reversed the curse, and changed it to a 
 blessing. The dominion of death is altered. It 
 extends only to the bodies of those who believe, and 
 that but for a season. " He is the resurrection 
 and the life." " He shall change this vile body, that 
 it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, 
 according to the working whereby he is able even 
 to subdue all things unto himself." 
 
 This will complete his victory, when mortality 
 shall be swallowed up of life. 
 
 4. It proclaims his triumph. Perhaps this is 
 an allusion to the procession of victorious con- 
 querors, in which they were splendidly arrayed, 
 while the spoils of vanquished nations, and 
 the captives which they had taken in battle, 
 were led in their train to adorn the magnificence 
 of their triumph. It must have been an imposing 
 spectacle to have seen one of the Caesars, when 
 Rome was in her glory, attired in gold, and borne 
 at the head of the legions in a splendid chariot to 
 the capitol. The choirs celebrated his victories, 
 and hundreds of thousands hailed him as the sa- 
 viour of his country. But all worldly pomp and 
 glory fade, and become like the dust on the ba- 
 lance, when compared with the honours which 
 await him " who, for the joy that was set before 
 him, endured the cross, and despised the shame." 
 
 To his disciples he showed himself alive by many 
 infallible proofs, and that death had no more domi- 
 nion over him. The angels who watched his se- 
 pulchre saw him rise, and celebrated his victory 
 over the grave. His conflict with the powers of 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 117 
 
 darkness terminates in their complete overthrow, 
 and he derives from this work his most glorious 
 title. His name is the memorial of his triumph, 
 and he will be known throughout all worlds, and 
 throughout all ages, not as the Creator, but as the 
 Saviour of the lost. In this his name is above 
 every name, and the achievement of Calvary will 
 be sung whilst there is a redeemed spirit, and a 
 golden harp before the throne. " The voice of 
 rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the 
 righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth va- 
 liantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted : 
 the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly." " God 
 is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of 
 a trumpet. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and 
 be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King 
 of glory shall come in." 
 
 The first-born sons of light sing, in lofty strains, 
 " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
 honour, and glory, and blessing," whilst the nations 
 that are saved extol him as their deliverer. " Unto 
 him that loved us, and washed us from our sins 
 in his own blood, and hath made us kings and 
 priests unto God and his Father ; to him be glory 
 and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 We are led to contemplate, 
 
 II. The Messiah's liberality. 
 
 In his ascension he not only displays his own 
 personal glory, but dispenses the rich blessings of 
 his grace. " Thou hast received gifts for men, 
 yea, for the rebellious also." 
 
118 THE ASCENDED CHRIST, 
 
 The quotation of the apostle seems to differ 
 from the original text. In the psalm it is said, 
 " Thou hast received gifts." In Paul's quotation 
 from the Septuagint it is, " He gave gifts." The 
 meaning is the same. Our translators have given 
 the verse literally. The Septuagint, and the apostle 
 from it, have given the sense of the words accord- 
 ing to the idiom of the Hebrew; to give, is 
 expressed by, to take with a view to give. Bring 
 me a sword, is in the Hebrew, take me a sword ; that 
 is, take it with a view to give it me, 1 Kings iii. 24. 
 I will fetch you a morsel of bread, is, literally, I 
 will take a morsel of bread to give to you, Gen. 
 xviii. 5. Thus Christ is said by the apostle to have 
 given, and by the. psalmist to have received, " gifts 
 for men," because he received them, in order to 
 give them. As the Mediator of the everlasting 
 covenant, and as the head of the body, the church, 
 all the blessings of grace, all the institutions of the 
 Gospel, and all the treasures of glory, were in- 
 trusted to him, and are given by him to his re- 
 deemed. " For it hath pleased the Father, that in 
 him shall all fulness dwell, and of his fulness have 
 all we received, and grace for grace." 
 
 1. Reflect on the gifts themselves, and consider 
 their value. Kings at their coronation, conquer- 
 ors in their triumph, have scattered silver and 
 gold. The pretended successor of Peter at Rome, 
 scatters copper money among the people when he 
 obtains the popedom, because the apostle had said, 
 " Silver and gold have I none;" but " blessed be 
 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 119 
 
 hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in hea- 
 venly places in Christ. " We ought to be grateful 
 for temporal things, and to propose to ourselves the 
 question, " What shall I render to the Lord for all 
 his benefits done unto me ?" Ingratitude is mon- 
 strous. Praise is almost the only return that we 
 can make, and this is acceptable to him : " Whoso 
 offereth praise, glorifieth me." 
 
 But it is spiritual blessings that should be most 
 highly prized — they are most needed. They only 
 are suited to our spiritual nature. They enrich, 
 they satisfy, they abide. They who are without 
 them, whatever they may possess besides, are really 
 poor and miserable, and blind and naked. It is 
 only in their own vain imaginations that they are 
 rich, and increased in goods, and have need of 
 nothing. 
 
 Think of their variety and abundance. " He 
 giveth liberally? and upbraideth not." Is pardon 
 desirable to the guilty ? " We have redemption 
 through his blood, even the forgiveness of our sins." 
 Is it good for us to draw nigh to God ? " We have 
 boldness of access through him." Is faith precious ? 
 " It is the gift of God." Are the promises va- 
 luable? " Whereby are given unto us exceeding 
 great and precious promises." Is hope cheering, and 
 the possession of a good hope our greatest treasure ? 
 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively 
 hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
 dead." Is the gift of the Holy Spirit essential to 
 our sanctity and our comfort? This is the fruit of 
 
120 THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 
 
 his death, and the gift from his throne. " He hath 
 redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
 a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might 
 come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ : that 
 we might receive the promise of the Spirit through 
 faith." Are our holy things our pleasant things ? 
 Do we go with delight to the sanctuary ? our holy 
 and beautiful house w T here our fathers worshipped. 
 It is his presence that fills it with glory, and there 
 he has promised to dwell. " Where two or three 
 are met together in my name, there am I in the 
 midst of them." Is a gospel ministry important 
 and valuable ? It is the result of his appointment. 
 " He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and 
 some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 
 for the perfecting of the saints ; for the work of the 
 ministry ; for the edifying of the body of Christ." 
 The angels of the churches are sent by him ; he 
 qualifies them for their work, and renders them 
 successful. Is there any worth in the inheritance 
 of the saints in light? The mansions and the 
 crowns of heaven are purchased and prepared by 
 him, and by him they will be bestowed. " Hence- 
 forth," says the apostle, " there is laid up for me a 
 crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
 eous judge, will give me at that day : and not to 
 me only, but unto all them also that love his ap- 
 pearing." And it should never be forgotten, that 
 there is not a blessing that his hand bestows, but 
 cost his heart a groan. 
 
 2. The persons on whom they are bestowed. " For 
 men, even for the rebellious." The angels were 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 121 
 
 the eldest offsprings of creating love. In the spi- 
 rituality of their nature, and in the dignity of their 
 station, they were highest in the scale of created 
 intelligences. Sin found a place in heaven, and 
 angels fell : they, in one instance, transgressed the 
 law of their being, and were not spared to repeat 
 their crime. In proportion to the magnitude of 
 their powers would have been their capacity for pro- 
 moting their Redeemer's glory, had it pleased him 
 to save them : but he took not on him the nature 
 of angels, but the seed of Abraham. These ruined 
 sons of the morning were left involved in the 
 glooms of the pit, and wearing the chains of ever- 
 lasting darkness ; while we, who had sinned after 
 their example and by their temptation, — we, whose 
 iniquities equalled the stars in number, and sur- 
 passed the mountains in magnitude, were chosen 
 to drink of the rivers of pleasure which they had 
 forsaken, and to fill the thrones from which they 
 are banished for ever. Who does not say, " This 
 is not the manner of man, O Lord ! As the hea- 
 vens are high above the earth, so are thy ways 
 higher than our ways, and thy thoughts than our 
 thoughts." But the treasures of heaven are be- 
 stowed on the rebellious also ; and shall I attempt 
 to prove it? Shall I point you to the weeping 
 Mary, bending over the Redeemer's feet, and 
 bathing them with the tears of gratitude and of 
 penitential sorrow, wiping them with the hairs of 
 her head, and imprinting on them the kiss of love? 
 Shall I point you to the Man of sorrows, with 
 mercy beaming on his brow, pity kindling in his 
 
 M 
 
122 THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 
 
 eye, and his lips about to pronounce forgiveness; 
 for she was a sinner. Go to Calvary, and, amidst 
 its horrid scenes, behold the last glance of the ma- 
 lefactor's dim, languid eye, as it swims in death, 
 resting on the Saviour dying at his side. Listen 
 to that faintly-uttered prayer of a strong and 
 lively faith, " Lord, remember me when thou 
 comest into thy kingdom !" Hear the soft answer 
 of peace flowing from his lips, which death was 
 turning pale, and from a heart convulsed with 
 agony, " Verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou 
 be with me in paradise." It was for the rebellious 
 also. Remember Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, a 
 bigot, a persecutor, and a blasphemer ; yet he ob- 
 tained mercy : and ye, disciples of Jesus, you shall 
 be my next proof. You were guilty, and you felt 
 it ; you cried for mercy, and it was granted ; you 
 looked on the Lamb of God, and your sins are 
 washed away. His Spirit has descended as the dew 
 of heaven upon your heart, and filled you with all 
 joy and peace in believing. You run in the way 
 of his commandments, and delight to do his will. 
 You are called to suffer with him, but you can re- 
 joice in tribulation also. Amidst the sorrows of 
 the present world, you are cheered with the de- 
 lightful visions of the future, and anticipate the 
 " rest that remaineth for the people of God." 
 This is the burden of your song — 
 
 " Oh, to grace how great a debtor 
 Daily I'm constrain'd to be !" 
 
 You must acknowledge it was for the rebellious 
 also. 
 
 11 
 
THE ASCENDED CHRIST. 123 
 
 3. Their design. It is that the Holy Spirit 
 may sanctify the believing soul, and make it the 
 temple of the living God; for he hath said, " I 
 will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and they 
 shall be my people, and I will be their God." It 
 is that, as the shekinah rested over the mercy-seat 
 in the temple of Solomon, and was the symbol and 
 pledge of Jehovah's presence with his ancient 
 people, so his gracious presence may abide in the 
 church called out of the world that lieth in wicked- 
 ness, into the fellowship of his Son. And it will 
 be consummated when the mystery of God is 
 finished, when the Gospel shall have been preached 
 in all the world — when the last fetter of slavery 
 shall be broken — when the last pagan temple and 
 the last idol shall be destroyed — when every ves- 
 tige of superstition and imposture is dispelled by 
 heaven's own light — when the Saviour's dominion 
 shall be universal, and he shall reign over a holy, 
 a grateful, and a happy world, and it shall be pro- 
 claimed by the returning angels, " The kingdoms 
 of this world are become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord and of his Christ. Behold, the tabernacle of 
 God is with men !" When the great multitude 
 which no man can number shall be gathered out 
 of every land, of all nations, and kindreds and 
 people and tongues, and assembled in the heavenly 
 sanctuary — when the family in heaven shall be 
 complete, and every saint be there, then shall the 
 God of glory dwell in the church of the first-born 
 through all the revolving ages of eternity. 
 
124 SYMPATHY FOR SAILORS. 
 
 This subject ought to excite, 
 1. Adoration. 2. Gratitude. 3. Co-operation. 
 4. Desire. 
 
 SYMPATHY FOR SAILORS. 
 
 " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great 
 waters ; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in 
 the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, 
 which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the hea- 
 ven, they go down again to the depths : their soul is melted 
 because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a 
 drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto 
 the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their 
 distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the 
 waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be 
 quiet ; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh 
 that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his 
 wonderful works to the children of men !" — Psalm cvii. 
 23—31. 
 
 Firm belief in the doctrine of a universal provi- 
 dence is a source of devout and constant gratitude. 
 The universe is full of God : we are surrounded 
 with the works and wonders of the Most High. 
 But some men, so to speak, have a nearer view of 
 the Divine Providence than others; the invisible 
 Majesty flashes upon their minds repeated and ap- 
 palling proofs of his immediate presence. Infidelity 
 is always inexcusable, irreligion is uniformly a re- 
 proach; but infidelity among those to whom the 
 Almighty frequently speaks in the wide extremes 
 of terror and of mercy — irreligion, where the hand 
 
SYMPATHY FOR SAILORS. 125 
 
 of God is every moment stretched forth to destroy 
 or to save, must be considered as the very extrava- 
 gance of moral depravation. The government of 
 God, exercised over the great world of waters, is 
 here exhibited and urged as a cause of adoring 
 gratitude and praise. Let us for a few minutes 
 glance at the various topics which the text brings 
 under our consideration. 
 
 I. The first object which attracts our 
 
 NOTICE IS THE SEA, 
 
 One of the most sublime spectacles in nature, 
 denominated " the great waters," and " the deep." 
 We behold it in this description under one of its 
 most magnificent and appalling aspects. 
 
 On the shore, we can form no just, no adequate 
 conception of the vast extent and unfathomable 
 profundity of this mysterious and astonishing world. 
 A map of the globe shows us what a proportion it 
 bears to the land ; yet it never transgresses its 
 bounds : its foundations are as stable and as firm 
 as the more solid earth. Yet it exhibits wonders 
 peculiar to itself. The forms and properties of 
 matter it possesses in common with other material 
 substances ; but it is acted upon by the other ele- 
 ments in a surprising manner. 
 
 One of the most awful things in the universe is 
 a storm at sea : it is not possible to realize, much 
 less to exaggerate, its horrors : the whole scene is 
 terrible. Destruction is the stern monarch of the 
 storm, and Nature herself seems to heave with her 
 last convulsion. To these tremendous vicissitudes 
 
 m 3 
 
126 SYMPATHY FOR SAILORS. 
 
 the sea is incessantly exposed. The fairest morn- 
 ing smiles but to tempt the demon of the storm — 
 the cloudless beauty of the most tranquil day is 
 suddenly overcast with tempest, and the furious 
 hurricane carries desolation in its course. Yet on 
 this sea, on these deep and great waters, we are 
 invited to behold the wonderful exhibition, 
 
 II. Of human ingenuity and power. 
 What is man ? An insect ! — an angel ! The 
 
 construction of ships and the art of navigation re- 
 veal the powers of the human intellect, and fill us 
 with astonishment as we contemplate its resources. 
 This being of insignificance, that is crushed before 
 the moth, yokes the winds to his car; and that 
 very ocean that proclaims his littleness, makes 
 known his greatness too. In a sense, the winds 
 and the seas obey him : he renders them subser- 
 vient to his skill and prowess ; he does his " busi- 
 ness in the great waters." 
 
 But the text presents us at the same time with 
 a view of that hardy, bold, and intrepid 
 
 III. Class of men to whom this description is 
 applicable, whose employment is arduous, whose 
 perils are always imminent, whose occasional suffer- 
 ings are beyond imagination great; who are yet 
 the peculiar care of Providence, and who ought 
 especially to be distinguished by a spirit of piety. 
 
 IV. The text not only recognizes, but 
 
 BRINGS FORWARD, ONE OF THE GREATEST DOC- 
 TRINES OF RELIGION, AND AT THE SAME TIME 
 ENFORCES ONE OF ITS MOST IMPORTANT DUTIES. 
 
SYMPATHY FOR SAILORS. 127 
 
 1. Divine Providence is in all dispensations, oc- 
 currences, events, and ivhat are called, most impro- 
 perly, accidents and casualties. 
 
 2. Divine mercy and goodness are the grand ele- 
 mentary principles on lohich Providence proceeds ; and 
 these are conspicuously displayed, as well in the 
 adverse as in the more favourable occurrences of 
 life. It is he that commandeth and raiseth the 
 stormy wind ; it is he that, in answer to the earnest 
 cries of the suffering mariner, makes the storm a 
 calm, so that the waves thereof are still. One 
 view of the case of seamen amid their perils, and the 
 storms and deaths that threaten them, we would 
 impress upon the friends of their well-being and 
 happiness. Prayer is their safeguard and their sheet- 
 anchor; but the prayer of danger is not always 
 the prayer of faith. To be able to pray, they 
 must be taught the knowledge, the fear, and the 
 love of God — the necessity of a Saviour, and the 
 value of reliance on his infinite merits. But how 
 are they to obtain this ? how can they call on him 
 of. whom they have not heard ? Christians of all 
 communions, seamen are your special charge : it is 
 yours, by your liberality and kindness to them 
 when they sustain loss, 
 
 (1.) To connect labour with hope, by your pious 
 instructions and pecuniary efforts to enlighten and 
 to save them. Also, to connect 
 
 (2.) Danger with devotion. 
 
 (3.) Deliverance with gratitude. 
 
 (4.) Death with eternal felicity. 
 
 I plead the cause of millions of our fellow-men 
 
128 THE RULE, PRINCIPLE, AND 
 
 and fellow-subjects, to whose profession, whether 
 they man the navy of our country, or unfurl the 
 sails of our commerce, we are, under God, mainly 
 indebted for our safety and prosperity. 
 
 Religion is all they want. I plead for a whole 
 class of social existence, whose moral culture has 
 been cruelly neglected ; who are peculiarly exposed 
 to the contagion of depravity; who are reckless of 
 danger, though continually in peril ; and who are 
 more reckless still of their highest interests as 
 accountable and immortal beings, whose souls are 
 in greater jeopardy than their bodies, and who are 
 in greater danger of sinking into hell than of being 
 swallowed by the merciless deep. 
 
 I plead for the sea-boy — that he may go and 
 return on his first voyage uncontaminated. " Poor 
 child of danger ! nursling of the storm !" For the 
 poor wrecked mariner — that his spirit may soar 
 when his body sinks ; and if thousands must perish 
 every year in our service, for our security and 
 enjoyment, that the sepulchres of ocean may be 
 peopled with the dead that die in the Lord. 
 
 THE RULE, PRINCIPLE, AND PRIVI- 
 LEGES OF OBEDIENCE. 
 
 " Great peace have they which love thy law : and nothing shall 
 offend them." — Psalm cxix. 165. 
 
 The great secret of all true felicity is obedience 
 to the will of God. It is therefore of infinite mo- 
 ment that we should be acquainted with the rule 
 and principle of obedience, and that its delightful 
 
PRIVILEGES OF OBEDIENCE. 129 
 
 effect in promoting our happiness should be so 
 exhibited to our view, and impressed upon our 
 hearts, as to induce and secure the performance of 
 it. This is one great end of an evangelical mi- 
 nistry : and the Scriptures furnish us with an almost 
 infinite variety of topics, which rightly understood 
 and enforced, cannot fail, under the Divine bless- 
 ing, to conduct us to it. This object is brought 
 directly before us in the text. It presents us 
 with, 
 
 I. The Rule: II. The Principle: and III. 
 The Privileges of Obedience. 
 
 " Great peace have they which love thy law, and 
 nothing shall offend them." 
 
 I. The rule of obedience is the law of 
 God : or, in other words, his whole revealed will, 
 as it embraces the obligations of universal holiness. 
 
 Of this law we may observe, 
 
 1. That it is Divine in its origin. 
 
 2. Spiritual and extensive in its requirements. It 
 is the law of a sovereign with whom are the trea- 
 sures of knowledge and wisdom, and who prescribes 
 a reasonable and just law for the government of 
 the mind and heart, as well as the outward deport- 
 ment. The laws of men respect actions only; 
 but God demands an inward and spiritual homage. 
 He must likewise be obeyed, through the medium 
 of every duty which we owe to ourselves, our fami- 
 lies, and society at large. 
 
 3. This law, as it is unquestionable in its autho- 
 rity, is perpetual in its obligation. It is sufficient 
 for us to know that it is the law of God, and that 
 
130 THE RULE, PRINCIPLE, AND 
 
 it is suited to man as a rational and accountable 
 creature, to satisfy us of the truth of this observation. 
 It is the will of Him who is the greatest, the wisest, 
 and the best of beings ; who is our Creator, Pre- 
 server, and Redeemer. These considerations must 
 establish its authority; and no possible circum- 
 stances in which we can be placed have power to 
 relax its obligations. It is not abrogated by the 
 fall of man. It is not abrogated by his recovery. 
 It is not peculiar to any dispensation of religion. 
 It was essential to Judaism, but not peculiar to it. 
 Christianity recognises and establishes it. Christ- 
 ians are not their own masters, at liberty to follow 
 their own ungoverned inclinations; they are the 
 servants of Christ, and must yield obedience to his 
 commandments. These commandments are in 
 substance the same with the moral law of God. 
 The servants of Christ, though free from the con- 
 demning power of the law, are not discharged from 
 their obedience to the precepts of the law. Though 
 no longer depending for acceptance with God on 
 their own moral performances, they are not without 
 law to God, " but under the law to Christ." They 
 receive the law from the hands of Christ, as the 
 rule to which all their actions, thoughts, and tem- 
 pers must be conformed ; as the rule, by their con- 
 formity to which their final state will be adjudged, 
 and their future rewards proportioned. 
 
 " Do we then make void the law through faith ? 
 God forbid : yea, we establish the law." The doc- 
 trine of salvation by grace, through faith, far from 
 weakening the obligations to morality, increases 
 
PRIVILEGES OF OBEDIENCE. 131 
 
 them tenfold. Our unceasing endeavour to fulfil 
 the whole law of God, is the most unequivocal 
 proof of love to Christ, and an indispensible evi- 
 dence of an interest in his merits. " If ye love me, 
 keep my commandments. Ye are my friends, if 
 ye do whatsoever I command you. The grace of 
 God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto 
 all men, teaching us that, denying all ungodliness 
 and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, right- 
 eously and godly in this present world." Such, 
 then, is the rule of obedience. Let me now, 
 II. Direct your attention to its principle, 
 
 WHICH IS LOVE. 
 
 " Great peace have they which love thy law." 
 Love is said to be the fulfilling of the law. " Oh 
 how I love thy law !" is the devout aspiration of 
 every pious mind. There can be no acceptable 
 obedience without love. Where it exists it must 
 govern ; and there is nothing which it cannot ac- 
 complish and endure. What makes sin stronger 
 than conscience, and more alluring than the joys 
 of heaven? — love. It is loved; therefore con- 
 science is silenced, and heaven is relinquished. 
 What makes obedience and the most painful self- 
 denial mightier than the passions, and successful in 
 spite of the temptations of the world? — love. Observe 
 its power, my brethren, in the instance of the Son 
 of God. It brought him from heaven : under its in- 
 fluence he humbled himself, became incarnate, and 
 appeared upon earth in a bodily shape, in the form 
 and fashion of a man. Impelled by love, he obeyed 
 the law, magnified it, and made it honourable : love 
 
132 THE RULE, PRINCIPLE, AND 
 
 constrained him to die the death. Behold him, 
 " despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, 
 and acquainted with grief." Behold him, without 
 guilt, condemned for an impostor; without sin, 
 sustaining the punishment due to all the sin that 
 ever was committed. " He was wounded," but it 
 was " for our transgressions :*' he was bruised, but 
 our iniquities bruised him. He carried our sor- 
 rows, because he bore our sins in his own body on 
 the tree. Observe the first promulgators of the 
 Gospel. Oh what will not love enable us to do, and 
 to endure ! They followed in their Master's steps. 
 His love constrained them. The lamp kindled in 
 their hearts by the celestial fire of charity, never 
 went out. The many waters of affliction could not 
 drown it; and when the fury of the oppressor broke 
 the earthen vessel that contained it, then was their 
 victory, like that of Gideon, complete. 
 
 " Great peace have they which love thy law." 
 This unfolds the character of obedience. 
 
 1. As free, distinguishing it from the enforced 
 submission of a slave. 
 
 2. As generous, opposing it to the mercenary 
 servitude of a Pharisee. 
 
 3. As affectionate, distinguishing it from the 
 cold homage of reason and the reluctant service 
 of natural conscience. 
 
 The law is loved for its own sake, and the sake 
 of its Author. This evinces that the heart is re- 
 newed, and that it rightly appreciates, and grate- 
 fully acknowledges the change. But we come 
 now to notice, 
 
PRIVILEGES OF OBEDIENCE. 133 
 
 III. To NOTICE THE PRIVILEGES OF OBE- 
 DIENCE. 
 
 " Great peace have they which love thy law, 
 and nothing shall offend them." These are de- 
 scribed by what obedience supposes, by what it 
 directly procures, and by what Divine Providence 
 has inseparably connected with it. 
 
 1. By what it supposes — That we are at peace 
 with God through the blood of reconciliation. 
 
 2. By what it directly procures — Peace with our- 
 selves^ by the answer of a good conscience and the 
 subjection of those desires which war against the 
 soul Happiness which flows from affectionate obe- 
 dience. That which we love we pursue with de- 
 light ; love makes the law of God congenial with 
 the soul. Hence our highest enjoyments proceed 
 from obeying it — peace with all men by the spirit 
 of charity. 
 
 3. By what the Providence of God inseparably 
 connects with it — " Great peace have they which 
 love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." 
 The whole creation is so at peace with them, that 
 all things work together for their good. 
 
 No external trouble can rob them of this peace ; 
 no offence or stumbling-block which is thrown in 
 their way by persecution or temptation, by the 
 malice of enemies or the apostacy of friends, by 
 any thing they see, hear, or feel, can detain or di- 
 vert them from their course. Heavenly love sur- 
 mounts every obstacle, and they run with delight 
 in the way of God's commandments. 
 
 N 
 
134 THE BALANCES. 
 
 IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 1. This subject furnishes us with a test of cha- 
 racter; and, 
 
 2. Points out the only source of happiness. 
 Obedience is joy. The men of the world say, To 
 enjoy is to obey. They mean by this the gratifica- 
 tion of their depraved desires. How much more 
 refined, exalted, and durable the happiness of a 
 sincere Christian ! He knows that the present is 
 a state of discipline ; he knows that duty and en- 
 joyment are blended together — that to obey is to 
 enjoy. 
 
 THE BALANCES. 
 
 11 Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." 
 Dan. v. 27. 
 
 Among the guilty children of men there are a 
 few who are placed above public opinion, and who, 
 being accountable to none of their fellow-creatures, 
 audaciously usurp the mountain of the Divine 
 Presence, and exalt themselves above the God of 
 heaven. These have generally been monsters in 
 crime, and the world's masters have usually proved 
 its greatest curse. 
 
 We are not in Belshazzar's circumstances, nor 
 can we be : we cannot, as he did, profane the 
 sacred vessels of the sanctuary; but we can dis- 
 honour the sacred name of God; we can despise 
 
THE BALANCES. 135 
 
 his ordinances, violate his laws, neglect his great 
 salvation, and incur a degree of guilt even more . 
 heinous than that of the Babylonian monarch. 
 The handwriting may not be seen on the walls of 
 our houses ; but the condemnation of God is still 
 written in his book against all unrighteousness and 
 ungodliness of men ; and unless we attend to the 
 warnings and instructions of that blessed volume, 
 it will be one day said to each of us, " Thou art 
 weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." 
 
 Give me your attention while I endeavour to 
 show, 
 
 I. That the justice and mercy of God will be 
 without impeachment in the final sentence that 
 will be pronounced upon the children of men ; for 
 they will be weighed in the balances of Divine 
 equity : II. When the examination takes place, on 
 which this sentence will depend, some will be 
 found wanting : III. The consequences resulting 
 from this discovery will be tremendously dreadful. 
 
 I. That the justice and mercy of God 
 
 WILL BE WITHOUT IMPEACHMENT IN THE FINAL 
 SENTENCE THAT WILL BE PRONOUNCED UPON 
 ALL MEN. 
 
 I shall not now dwell upon their case who are 
 in circumstances essentially different from our own. 
 We live under a dispensation, 
 
 1. Of law, which law we have violated, but which 
 is in its nature holy, just, and good— which is of 
 perpetual obligation, and which condemns us to 
 eternal death. 
 
 2. Provision is made fir our salvation in the Gos- 
 
136 THE BALANCES. 
 
 pel, and which provision is offered to all whom the 
 law consigns to everlasting perdition, 
 
 S, On the acceptance or rejection of this salvation 
 our sentence will depend. We shall either be acquit- 
 ted, justified, redeemed, or we shall fall under the 
 curse of the law, and under the infinitely severer 
 curse of the Gospel. Our condemnation is not to 
 be referred to a divine, irresistible decree, nor to 
 any want of efficacy in the provision and in the 
 means, but simply upon our non-acceptance, our 
 own refusal. If you entertain false views of the 
 Divine decrees, the blame is yours : God has nei- 
 ther misled you, nor in any way influenced you to 
 adopt such views. " If I am to be saved, I shall be 
 saved, and nothing can hinder it. If I am to pe- 
 rish, no efforts of my own can avail : it is in vain 
 for me to strive. Besides, how am I to accept or 
 to strive ? Am I not dead ? and can the dead 
 perform the functions of the living?" You may 
 think all this very ingenious and very conclusive ; 
 but if it be the sole cause of your everlasting de- 
 struction, the very thought of it will ere long fill 
 you with horror. Turn, or die ! — turn, and live ! 
 
 Let us inquire what it is to accept or reject this 
 salvation. Not merely a cold assent to the great 
 doctrines of the Gospel ; not a partial acceptance 
 of it, uniting his merits with our own, and thus 
 making heaven partly a gift, partly a purchase : we 
 cannot accept of it till we have utterly renounced 
 ourselves. In humility the soul is brought to ac- 
 knowledge its entire helplessness and ruined con- 
 dition, and to depend only on him. Under this 
 
THE BALANCES. 137 
 
 consideration of our own state, and of the all-suffi- 
 ciency of Christ as a Saviour, a principle of love 
 to him is produced in our hearts. This is to ac- 
 cept of salvation, when we see we are lost and 
 undone without it, and can receive it at the hands 
 of God as the gift of his free grace. 
 
 And what is it to refuse this salvation ? It is not 
 necessary you should deny the divinity of the 
 Gospel, question the truth of its doctrines, or enter 
 upon a course of open rebellion against its pre- 
 cepts. If we have not faith in Christ as a living 
 principle in our hearts, then we reject this salvation. 
 If we do not love the Saviour, we reject him. 
 
 II. When the examination takes place at 
 
 THE GREAT ASSIZE, SOME WILL BE WEIGHED IN 
 THE BALANCE OF DlVINE EQUITY, AND FOUND 
 WANTING. 
 
 That we may know whether we shall exhibit 
 this fatal deficiency, let us ask of ourselves three 
 things :— 
 
 1. Are we conscious that ice have broken the law of 
 Goal? 
 
 2. Have ice applied to God for the salvation he 
 has offered ? 
 
 3. Have we good reason to believe that our suppli- 
 cation has been heard, and our request (/ranted? 
 You feel in your hearts the greatest hatred of sin ; 
 the greatest dread of a self-righteous spirit; you 
 are sensible of the infinite value of your soul ; you 
 have learned to know and love the will of God ; to 
 obey is your delight ; all your hopes are in God's 
 mercy ; all your strength is in God's grace ; all 
 
 N O 
 
138 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 your anticipations centre in the holiness and glory 
 of heaven; and Christ is the object you supremely 
 love ; in his presence you look for fulness of joy. The 
 opposites of these prove a state of condemnation. 
 III. The consequences resulting from 
 
 THIS FEARFUL DISCOVERY. 
 
 fi The wicked shall be turned into hell. For 
 Tophet is ordained of old : yea, for all sinners it is 
 prepared. God hath made it deep and large ; the 
 pile thereof is fire and much wood ; the breath of 
 the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle 
 it." 
 
 1. Eternal banishment from the presence of God. 
 
 2. The reproaches of a guilty conscience. 
 
 3. A constant reflection, that what others enjoy 
 might have been yours, had it not been for your de- 
 termined and obstinate perseverance in the ways of sin. 
 
 And now I leave you to make your own reflec- 
 tions on the consequences of being " weighed in 
 the balances, and found wanting." 
 
 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 " Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the 
 flesh."— 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 If we would be reconciled to all the mysteries 
 of Divine revelation, even to those that are not 
 only humbling to reason, but almost repulsive to 
 faith, we should begin with the greatest, which 
 happily is all attractive, which draws the heart and 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY. 139 
 
 wins the affections. This is the mystery of infinite 
 love ; and though we labour with all saints to com- 
 prehend it, the labour is delightful. It satisfies, yet 
 it fails. But we believe it to be true ; and this belief 
 makes every other difficulty easy. Embracing this, 
 and embracing it to our inmost heart, its very 
 incomprehensibleness shows that it is the mystery 
 of God; and this mystery once believed, justifies 
 and secures our faith in every other. If this be 
 true, and its truth comes home to the heart, no 
 others can be false ; we cannot understand, but we 
 feel their truth. 
 
 The wonderful, the amazing fact, which is the 
 brightest disclosure of the infinite that even Divine 
 love has to offer, and which is to us obscure, be- 
 cause its radiance overpowers our faculties, now 
 claims our attention. This is the great mystery of 
 godliness — il God manifest in the flesh." Of this 
 fact the apostle favours us with a declaration and a 
 description : the one is plain — the other is unsearch- 
 able. Let us briefly examine both. Let us endea- 
 vour to ascertain, 
 
 I. THE NATURE OF THE FACT WHICH IS HERE 
 
 affirmed — " God was manifest in the flesh." 
 
 The universe is a manifestation of Deity as a 
 whole, and so is every one of its distinct and sepa- 
 rate parts; whether an archangel or a w T orm — 
 whether a world or an atom. These are diversified 
 manifestations of Deity, with which we are in some 
 degree familiar. 
 
 1. God is manifest in the visible heavens and the 
 earth, as the architect is manifest in his works. 
 
140 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 2. His nature as an intelligent and spiritual essence, 
 invested with moral glory, appeared in the first parents 
 of the human race in Paradise. 
 
 3. Manifestations of another kind, after the destruc- 
 tion of this bright and beautiful reflection of the Deity, 
 have appeared to instruct, to awe, to reprove, and to 
 bless mankind ; such as have eminently displayed 
 his omniscience, his omnipresence, his holiness, his 
 
 justice, his truth, his majesty, his power, his good- 
 ness and love ; — by immediate revelations to the 
 minds of patriarchs and prophets; — by symbolical 
 exhibitions through an economy reared with his 
 own hand; — by the agency of nature, supernatu- 
 rally directed and called into requisition ; and by 
 the spiritual renovation of man, to be again the 
 image of his Maker below. 
 
 But these are not the manifestations referred to 
 in the text. This wonderful fact stands out from all 
 others in its own character of unparalleled majesty. 
 Here is affirmed the true and proper incarna- 
 tion of Deity. " Flesh" is not in this passage to 
 be considered merely in the light of a revealing me- 
 dium, through which the Divine attributes are made 
 to shine, but as that in which the Divinity inheres : 
 not by a simple indwelling, as some affirm, but by an 
 absolute union of the Divine with the human nature. 
 
 This great fact was early predicted to our first 
 mother. The exclusion of human instrumentality 
 in its production is intimated in the first promise. 
 " The seed of the woman ;' figuratively represented 
 in vision to the patriarch Jacob ; unveiled to Moses 
 in the burning, but unconsumed bush ; displayed 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY. 141 
 
 under a variety of striking symbols in the taber- 
 nacle and temple worship ; affirmed by all the pro- 
 phets, especially by Isaiah, who saw his glory, and 
 spake of him, and who foretold that " a virgin should 
 conceive, and bear a son, and call his name Im- 
 manuel." In the fulness of time it was realized in 
 the person of Jesus of Nazareth. An angel an- 
 nounced his Divine nature to the virgin mother : 
 " The Holy Ghost shall overshadow thee, and 
 therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee 
 shall be called the Son of God." Celestial beings 
 attended on his birth, and sung an anthem to his 
 praise. Simeon and Anna hailed their infant, yet 
 glorious Lord, when he came suddenly to his 
 temple. 
 
 As the incarnation of the Almighty God, he 
 continually manifested himself. Those who 
 knew him best discerned the mysterious glory 
 which he revealed, and exclaimed, " We beheld 
 his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of 
 the Father, full of grace and truth." His doc- 
 trines, his miracles, his life, his death, all attested 
 that he was the Son of God. How wonderful that 
 death should reveal Divinity ! that the greatest 
 extremes in the universe should not only meet in 
 the same person, but unite in the same scene ! 
 
 If God had not been in the midst of that dreadful 
 conflict which decided the fate of man's world, a 
 cry such as never wind brought from the fierce- 
 peopled forest when night had locked up the black 
 wilderness, beyond all din of battle, more than the 
 echo of falling thrones, would have been the cry of 
 
142 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 human nature in that bewildered hour. What 
 preternatural horrors proclaimed the presence and 
 the anguish of Him in whom dwelt all the fulness 
 of the Godhead ! Watchman, what of the night ? 
 O watchman, what of the night ? Terrific is the 
 conflict — strange the eclipse which now falls upon 
 the Sun of righteousness ! Oh, the intolerable 
 burden of a guilty world ! how it crushes the hu- 
 manity, which dies at the very moment when Omni- 
 potence is putting forth its mightiest energy ! 
 The God exclaims with a loud voice, in token 
 of victory, — the man bows his illustrious head, and 
 gives up the ghost. 
 
 But some of you are ready to exclaim, All this 
 is incomprehensible, and is therefore incredible. 
 But observe, my brethren, we do not exhibit an 
 ordinary occurrence, a fact within the usual range 
 of common events : we tell you at the outset that 
 it is a mystery, a great mystery of godliness. If, 
 indeed, you commence by refusing to believe more 
 than you can comprehend — if you proscribe mys- 
 tery as an article of faith, you have to settle the 
 questions of the being of a God, your own being, 
 and the existence of the atoms around you ; and it 
 is evident that you place yourselves in an attitude 
 of defiance and contradiction to the inspired author 
 of the text, who affirms that, " without controversy 
 great is the mystery of godliness, God was mani- 
 fest in the flesh." 
 
 This is the second branch of our subject, 
 namely, 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY. 143 
 
 II. The description of the fact which our 
 
 TEXT AFFIRMS. 
 
 What is a mystery ? Something purposely ob- 
 scured ; a secret, of the existence of which we are 
 convinced, but which is not revealed to us, which 
 requires more light before we can decide upon its 
 character; something that was once a secret, but 
 which is now communicated to us ; something re- 
 vealed, but not fully known, the perfect revelation 
 of which is incompatible with the present state of 
 trial, or the revelation of which, in all its gran- 
 deur, is impossible to a created mind. All these 
 definitions apply to the subject before us. While 
 it was the subject of prophecy, it was purposely ob- 
 scured: when it became fact, it was disclosed in all 
 the amplitude of a clear and perfect revelation. 
 But, notwithstanding the clear and manifold reve- 
 lation, it is still a mystery, and the apostle affirms 
 that it is a great mystery. 
 
 1. It is so ichen compared, when contrasted rather, 
 with the inventions of men. Superstition has had its 
 mysteries from the beginning, and it purposely 
 clothed them in darkness and in terror; but 
 they have been dragged into the light, and have 
 become mere spectres and shadows, delusions and 
 absurdities. 
 
 2. It is a great mystery, when we consider the utter 
 incompetency of the human mind to originate a single 
 idea or conception that could possibly lead to its disco- 
 very, or comprehend it as a doctrine after it was made 
 known. As it relates to subjects each incompre- 
 hensible in itself, more incomprehensible in their 
 
144 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 union, and still more incomprehensible in their 
 perfect distinction and separate identity ; two na- 
 tures in one person, with all the distinct pecu- 
 liarities of their respective attributes. This forms 
 a mystery, which must defy the powers of created 
 intelligence. 
 
 3. It is a great mystery, when we consider the 
 kind of relation it bears to all other Divine mysteries. 
 They are all inferior, all dependent upon this. This 
 is the pillar, this is the ground of the truth. Here 
 the enigmas of former economies are inscribed and 
 deciphered; here prophecies are explained; types 
 are unravelled; and truths revealed in their own light. 
 This, too, is the foundation of the entire system of 
 a heavenly religion. The superstructure rests on 
 this — the knowledge, the purity, the happiness, 
 the salvation of a world. 
 
 4. This is a great mystery, because more than any 
 other it makes its exclusive appeal to faith. It leaves 
 reason at an infinite distance below its own sub- 
 lime and unapproachable regions; yet it is not 
 contrary to reason, but perfectly consistent with all 
 its rules of judging, and with all its modes of in- 
 quiry. Faith is a capacity beyond reason, as vision 
 is a higher attainment than faith. Some have 
 affirmed that the doctrine of the Trinity and this 
 great mystery of godliness are not above reason, 
 but contrary to it, and, therefore, unworthy of cre- 
 dence. Undoubtedly, if it could be proved, against 
 any alleged truth of revelation, that reason could 
 clearly demonstrate its falsehood or its absurdity, 
 we should be bound to reject it ; but it is evident 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY." 145 
 
 that the mysteries of the holy Scriptures are not of 
 this class. Before a doctrine is treated as opposed to 
 the dictates of reason, it must be shown that reason 
 is in possession of all the necessary data on which to 
 form a judgment : it must know the modes of the 
 Divine existence, and be able to show a palpable 
 disagreement between that and union with an in- 
 ferior nature; which nature it must also under- 
 stand in all its capacities and possible relations, ere 
 it can determine that it is contrary to the nature 
 and fitness of things that God, by an incarnation, 
 should be made manifest in the flesh. Now, sepa- 
 rate from the testimony of revelation, I know no- 
 thing with certainty respecting the Divine nature, 
 and very little, almost nothing, of my own ; and if 
 I admit that testimony to be true and authorita- 
 tive, (and it must be authoritative if it be true,) 
 then the only way by which I can prove the posi- 
 tion in question to be contrary to reason is to prove 
 it contrary to that revealed testimony. Another 
 point of immense importance for us to establish 
 concerning this great mystery is, that it is, 
 
 III. A MYSTERY OF GODLINESS. 
 
 To the mysteries of Paganism allusion has been 
 made already ; but they never were, and they never 
 can become, mysteries of godliness : they are ra- 
 ther the allies of atheism and the panders to ini- 
 quity. 
 
 " Away -with such divinities ! — their birth 
 
 Man's brain-sick superstition, and their mirth 
 Lust, rapine, cruelty ; their fell employ 
 God's works and their own votaries to destroy." 
 O 
 
146 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 A great mystery of godliness, 
 
 1. Removing all the penal obstacles to our accept' 
 ance with God. The atonement of Christ for sin 
 derives all its efficacy from his Divinity; but as 
 God simply, without a participation of human na- 
 ture, he could neither have magnified the law 
 which we had broken by his perfect and meritori- 
 ous obedience, nor could he have paid by his suf- 
 fering and death the price of our redemption. 
 Two natures, the Divine and human, are requisite 
 to this marvellous undertaking, and by these two 
 natures in one person it could alone have been 
 accomplished: the combinations of other natures 
 must have been utterly unavailing. 
 
 A mystery of godliness, 
 
 2. Furnishing us with the most powerful incentives 
 to the adoration, love, and worship of the Godhead. 
 These are derived from the manifestation itself — 
 the harmony and united splendour of all the Di- 
 vine attributes, the grand design of this manifesta- 
 tion, and the astonishing glory and majesty with 
 which it has invested our fallen nature, as illus- 
 trating the divinity and omnipotence of infinite 
 Love. 
 
 A mystery of godliness, 
 
 3. Exhibiting, in all its attractive and most power- 
 ful charms, the brightest pattern of Divine excellence, 
 
 softened and yet sublimed by its humanity. Infinite 
 perfection of character shining in the glories of the 
 Divine nature, through the medium of humanity, is 
 revealed not only to excite our admiration, but to 
 induce our imitation. Nor is it raised so far above 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY. 147 
 
 us as to render the attempt either presumptuous or 
 hopeless. The excellence of the Divine law is its 
 perfection. The law is the transcript : in the in- 
 carnation of Christ we are permitted to contem- 
 plate the original. The Divine excellence of 
 our Lord's character is the very circumstance, 
 exemplified as it is in a series of human scenes 
 and transactions, which render it a pattern of 
 universal rectitude, being enforced by its unat- 
 tainable perfection, as well as by the sanction of a 
 nature ineffably superior to our own. When the 
 mind and heart are both intensely fixed in ad- 
 miring and adoring contemplation of incarnate 
 goodness, the following apostrophe, conceived in 
 the very spirit of devout enthusiasm, ceases to be 
 rhapsody : " Thou mysterious inhabitant on our 
 earth ! incalculable Spirit enshrined in the form 
 of our mortality ! Jesus of Nazareth ! who shall 
 declare the simple but sublime glory of thy life ! — 
 the perfect adaptation of thy spirit to the infirmities 
 of our nature, yet above their control to sin ! With 
 the countenance of a little child, what was in thy 
 heart? The wisdom of age was thy praise of 
 youth. Modest in thy earnest devotions, doing 
 good unto men, doing the will of thy heavenly 
 Father. Why did thine eye lighten against the 
 Scribes and Pharisees ? why didst thou not con- 
 demn the poor woman taken in adultery? why did 
 the weeping Magdalene wash thy feet with peni- 
 tential tears, and wipe them with her long di- 
 shevelled hair ? The wandering lunatic, with his 
 new and steady eye and economical motions of 
 
148 THE GREAT MYSTERY. 
 
 reason, was left in thy modesty to the tears of a 
 happy and grateful surprisal. When didst thou 
 disregard the cry, or not anticipate the wish, of 
 exposed and upturned blindness ? That thou didst 
 weep for thy friend Lazarus, and bring him back 
 from dissolution and the investiture of the grave ; 
 that thou didst the same for the stranger youth at 
 the gate of Nain, and heal every manner of inve- 
 terate disease in a thousand instances : are they not 
 written in the unostentatious but impressive records 
 of thy life? Who hath not seen thy countenance 
 in the sore-smitten lazar-house, more benignantly 
 radiant beneath the dark wing of Azrael, the angel 
 of death? Beneath thy glance of benevolence and 
 power, see the crowd of pale and restless human 
 faces, a map of uncertain light and a thousand 
 changing expressions, gathering into the staid and 
 thankful brightness of health and reason. The 
 praise of conquerors is a distempered flush of blood 
 through the sad tears of bereavement ; but thine, 
 holy Jesus of Nazareth, were triumphs on earth 
 celebrated by other tears, the tears of joy. Who 
 sees not the glory of thy character, nor tries to 
 imitate, knows not the best nobility of our nature, 
 seeks not to be truly ennobled, is mean, is worthy 
 of condemnation, is condemned already." 
 A mystery of godliness, 
 
 4. Supplying us from its mysterious source ivith a 
 principle of divine and heavenly life. John xvii. 
 21—23. 
 
 A mystery of godliness, 
 
 5. Drawing us onward by a mighty, irresistible, 
 
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, ETC. 149 
 
 and perpetual attraction to all that is ineffable and 
 sublime, till ice feel ourselves absorbed in Deity, 
 
 " Let Jews on their own law rely, 
 And Greeks of wisdom boast ; 
 I love the incarnate mystery, 
 And there I fix my trust." 
 
 THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON ALONE 
 ABLE TO REVEAL THE FATHER. 
 
 " No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, 
 which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." — 
 Johni. 18. 
 
 The dignity of the Son of God, and his qualifi- 
 cations for his mediatorial work, are the interesting 
 subjects which attract the peculiar regard of the 
 evangelists and apostles. The writings of John, 
 the beloved disciple, abound in descriptions and 
 declarations of the divinity and inherent glory of 
 Immanuel, whom, by way of eminence y he has 
 called, the Word that icas icith God, and that was 
 God, and whom in our text he styles " the only be- 
 gotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father ;" and 
 that the evidence of his being truly and properly 
 a Divine person may not rest merely on these ex- 
 pressions and his own testimony, the evangelist is 
 anxious to convince us that it arises out of the 
 very nature of the work which he had undertaken, 
 which was to declare God ; to make him known 
 by displaying those attributes with which not any 
 creature, not even the highest archangel, was ac- 
 quainted, and by unfolding those counsels which 
 
 o 3 
 
150 THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON ALONE 
 
 none but him who was " in the bosom of the Fa- 
 ther" could possibly reveal. 
 
 As St. John, in the former part of this chapter, 
 labours to exalt the Saviour in the minds of his 
 readers by referring to his pre-existent state, by 
 producing the testimony of the Baptist, and also 
 by drawing a comparison between Christ the Sa- 
 viour and Moses the lawgiver, and showing the in- 
 finite superiority of the one to the other; in our 
 text he fixes on the revelation which the Redeemer 
 had made of God his Father, both as to the effect 
 and the evidence of his divine nature and his di- 
 vine mission. " No man hath seen God at any 
 time ;" and it was in the power of no creature to re- 
 veal the Divine attributes and counsels ; but " the 
 only begotten Son," that eternal Word to which 
 every knee in heaven and in earth should bow, and 
 " who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- 
 clared him." 
 
 Two things, therefore, are asserted in the text, 
 which we shall endeavour to illustrate, namely, 
 
 I. The utter inability of man, independently of 
 Jesus Christ, to attain a true and saving knowledge 
 of God : II. The peculiar fitness of Jesus Christ 
 to communicate this knowledge, and which justifies 
 our implicit confidence in him as a Divine In- 
 structor. 
 
 I. The utter inability of man, independ- 
 ently OF JESUS CHRIST, TO ATTAIN a TRUE AND 
 SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 
 
 " No man hath seen God at any time ;" and 
 this is no reflection either upon the goodness or the 
 
ABLE TO REVEAL THE FATHER. 151 
 
 justice of our Creator. This inability is the sad 
 consequence of the fall, and not of our original 
 constitution; for once we were formed in the image 
 of God: but sin has defaced his likeness, obli- 
 terated all traces of that heavenly knowledge by 
 which we were once distinguished, and no human 
 effort, before God himself interposed, could pos- 
 sibly have restored what we so basely forfeited and 
 lost. 
 
 Of man's incompetency to discover that know- 
 ledge of God which would secure his happiness, 
 we have sufficient proofs, 
 
 1. In the infinite greatness of God, and the in- 
 finite distance there is between God and us. Who 
 among the sons of men have known the mind of 
 the Lord ? It is higher than heaven. God is great ; 
 infinitely great. It is impossible for an insect to 
 understand the nature and extent of the globe on 
 which it crawls : it is equally impossible for the 
 limited, shrivelled faculties of the human mind to 
 find out the Almighty to perfection, or even to attain 
 that knowledge of him, which is necessary to our 
 peace. The distance between the Creator and the 
 fallen creature is so immensely great, that nothing 
 certainly can be known of him by any of the works 
 of his hands, and, accordingly, we find the world 
 lost in ignorance, till it pleased God to give a reve- 
 lation of himself " in the face of Jesus Christ :" 
 for, after " that, in the wisdom of God, the world 
 by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the 
 foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe." 
 
 2. As an additional barrier against the attainment 
 
152 THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON ALONE 
 
 of this knowledge ly the efforts of men, we notice the 
 depravity of the human heart. If we suppose a 
 power inherent in human reason, which it does 
 not, which it never did possess, namely, that, un- 
 prejudiced and undepraved, it could discover God; 
 yet, considering it vitiated and perverted by sin, it 
 instantly becomes weak, and, with the utmost 
 stretch of its powers it falls infinitely below the 
 eternal throne ; an immense weight presses it down, 
 and it cannot stretch a thought half way to God. 
 By the depravity of the heart reason is beclouded ; 
 man, fallen from original rectitude and purity, con- 
 ceived of a God like himself, hence one fatal error 
 became the parent of a thousand more, and reason, 
 bewildered in the beginning, continued erring far- 
 ther and farther from the truth, till unintelligible 
 polytheism possessed the world, and men became 
 adorers of four-footed beasts, reptiles, and creeping 
 things, and even bowed down before stocks and 
 stones, dumb idols of their own making. And 
 amidst this universal ignorance of the true God, 
 there was not one human mind that could extricate 
 itself; the learned and the rude, in this respect, 
 shared the same fate ; and till the coming of Christ 
 and the diffusion of the Gospel, all men " were 
 without hope and without God in the world," igno- 
 rant and impotent, depraved and miserable. " No 
 man had seen God at any time." 
 
 But who is this that comes in his Father's name 
 and power, that claims the attention of the world, 
 who offers to dissipate the darkness in which we are 
 sunk ? Let us examine his pretensions : a person 
 
ABLE TO REVEAL THE FATHER. 153 
 
 capable of making such a discovery — one able to 
 reveal the eternal God in his mind and will — must 
 possess rare qualifications ; must have a character 
 peculiar to himself, and which no other being can 
 claim. This is no other than " the only begotten 
 Son, which is in the bosom of the Father." 
 
 IT. His ability and peculiar fitness to un- 
 fold THE SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, is OUr 
 
 second head of discourse. 
 
 Three things, and they are included in the text, 
 eminently qualify the Lord Jesus Christ for the 
 important office of revealing the Father; — these 
 are — Deity, intimate converse, humanity. He is the 
 Son of God, and is therefore possessed of the 
 Divine nature ; he is in the bosom of the Father, 
 and therefore is intimately acquainted with the 
 secrets of the Divine counsels; he is the only 
 begotten Son, and therefore possessing a human na- 
 ture, he knows how to convey to human beings 
 Divine knowledge, and to reveal to them those 
 counsels with which he was intrusted. 
 
 1. Deity. If we contemplate for a moment the 
 wonderful scheme of man's redemption which is 
 unfolded in the Gospel, and the perfections of God, 
 which therein harmonize and shine to the comfort of 
 miserable sinful creatures, and to the admiration of 
 all the universe besides, we shall readily conclude 
 that the first qualification, namely, a participation 
 of the Divine nature, was essential to the office of 
 making such a discovery, and that the wonderful per- 
 son who could thus declare God, must be God him- 
 self. It is plain that none of the angels could have 
 
154 THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON ALONE 
 
 performed the task, for the whole is an astonishing 
 contrivance, which they desire to look into ; and 
 one of the persons of the adorable Trinity could 
 only be equal to such an undertaking. Had it been 
 merely to declare that God was great, or that he 
 was good, or had it been only to reveal the Divine 
 justice, and to execute punishment on rebels, a 
 prophet or an angel might have easily performed it 
 all; but it was to collect the scattered rays of 
 the various perfections of Jehovah into one focus ; 
 it was to exhibit all his moral attributes in one 
 scene, in a manner in which they had never been 
 displayed before. This required the arm of Omni- 
 potence, and the sagacity of a wisdom that is infi- 
 nite ; and who, amongst all the ranks of spirits, was 
 there fit for such a work? — the eyes of all are 
 instantly directly to the Son of God, who, par- 
 taking of the Divine nature, knows what it is fit 
 for God to do, and who could do it all with a God- 
 like dignity. And in order to satisfy the anxious 
 minds of men, that each person in the Godhead 
 has an equal concern in this important affair of 
 human happiness; in order to prove their union 
 and harmony in the scheme, that as they are one in 
 essence, they are one in their views and pursuits — 
 not only is Jesus Christ revealed in his Divine 
 nature, but, 
 
 2. His intimate converse with the eternal Father 
 
 is mentioned as another circumstance to indicate his 
 
 fitness for the all-important work of revealing the 
 
 Divine counsels. He is not only the Son of God, 
 
 but he is in the bosom of his Father, and there- 
 
ABLE TO REVEAL THE FATHER. 155 
 
 fore he reveals nothing but what was previously 
 settled in the councils of eternity : and his revela- 
 tion, coming with the visible and Divine sanction of 
 the Father, clearly proves that the Father, as well 
 as the Son, is infinitely placable towards sinners ; 
 and that the humiliation, sufferings, and death of 
 Christ, in which he so eminently reveals the coun- 
 sels of Heaven, did not purchase the good will of 
 God to sinners, but opened the only way for the 
 exercise of it. 
 
 Jesus Christ, from eternity, was in the bosom of 
 his Father, and he has so declared him, that we see 
 his heart yearning with concern for the salvation of 
 sinners, and devising the expedient of his Son's 
 sacrifice to gratify his desire for their felicity. 
 " God is love." This applies equally to the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The constitution of 
 Immanuel is the most glorious display of this love ; 
 for he is in the bosom of his Father, and being thus 
 intimately and ineffably conversant with him, must 
 have been the person the best qualified to make 
 this revelation to a guilty world. But how was 
 this to be done? How is he, who is irradiated 
 with all the glory of the Godhead, and before whom 
 angels veil their faces with their wings — how is he 
 to hold converse wtth sinners ? who can behold 
 him, and live ? If an angel was so glorious in his 
 appearance, that an inspired apostle fell down in 
 confusion before him, who is to look upon the Son 
 of God, the brightness of his Father's glory, and 
 the express image of his person ? But the coun- 
 sels of eternity anticipate the difficulty — it vanishes 
 
156 THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, ETC. 
 
 — the God descends clothed in a body like our 
 own. 
 
 3. Humanity. This is the third qualification 
 which he possesses, and one that should infinitely 
 endear him to us. " He knows our frame ; he re- 
 members that we are dust ;" he therefore conde- 
 scends to take our nature. He is the only begotten 
 Son in a human form. 
 
 He appears as the model of Jehovah. Before 
 him terror flees away ; and that which would other- 
 wise confound, now allures ; we can look upon the 
 bright refulgent Sun, but it is through the veil of 
 humanity ; we can learn of him the most sublime 
 and necessary truths, for he has not only all the 
 fulness of the Godhead, but as man he is of a meek 
 and lowly mind. What constitution could be 
 devised better adapted to the design of making a 
 revelation of God to sinners, than that] of Imma- 
 nuel God with us ? What a mercy that he is thus 
 qualified ! Let doubt and anxiety vanish into air ; 
 for, " though no man hath seen God at any time, 
 the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the 
 Father, he hath revealed him." 
 
 What practical influence ought this important 
 truth to produce in us ? 
 
 1. The first principle in our hearts should be 
 the most lively gratitude to him who, pitying our 
 forlorn condition, revealed himself as a God of 
 love, in the person and work of his eternal Son. 
 
 2. We should adore the Godhead as revealed 
 through the humanity of the only begotten Son. 
 
 3. How imperatively do the considerations here 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 157 
 
 presented to our minds, enforce the Divine com- 
 mand of the Eternal Father, lc Hear ye him." 
 
 4. With what zeal and assiduity should we labour 
 to make him known, who alone can reveal to man- 
 kind the character of God, as our reconciled Father, 
 Redeemer, and Sanctifier — as our present and ever- 
 lasting portion ! 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 " Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and 
 in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty 
 and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear 
 it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his 
 body."— John ii. 19—21. 
 
 The passion of our Saviour, and his resurrec- 
 tion, his violent and ignominious death, and his 
 mighty and glorious rising to life, are the most 
 mysterious facts in his history. They are the two 
 fundamental articles of our faith, the main pillars 
 on which the sacred edifice of the church is built. 
 Christ reduces the Scriptures to these two heads — 
 " He opened their understanding, that they might 
 understand the Scriptures," and said unto them, 
 " Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to 
 suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." 
 He makes these the sum of that commission which 
 he received from the Father : " I lay down my life 
 that I may take it again : this commandment have 
 I received of my Father." St. Paul makes the be- 
 lief of these two truths the matter of our righteous- 
 ness and justification : " It shall be imputed to us 
 
 p 
 
158 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 for righteousness, to believe that he was delivered 
 for our offences, and was raised again for our justi- 
 fication." He likewise declares that it should be 
 the aim and argument of the Christian ministry, that 
 Christ died for our sins, and rose again the third 
 day, according to the Scriptures. If we preach 
 not this, our preaching is vain ; if you believe not 
 this, your faith is vain ; you are yet in your sins. 
 These are also the fountains of grace and holiness, 
 the two powerful principles of all sanctification, 
 from whence the new life of a Christian must 
 spring and arise. The life of Christianity is thus 
 described : " a planting into the death of Christ," 
 and a participation " of his resurrection." The 
 text, in relation to these, presents us with three 
 things : — 
 
 I. The dignity of our Saviour's body : " It is a 
 temple." II. The violence and dishonour which 
 it was doomed to suffer at the hands of his enemies : 
 " Destruction." III. The glory to which it was 
 to be raised by his own almighty power : " In three 
 days I will raise it up." 
 
 I. The dignity of our Lord's body. 
 
 " It is a temple." The bodies of believers are 
 called temples, and the church of Christ is thus de- 
 signated. St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, 
 says, " Know ye not that your body is the temple 
 of the Holy Ghost?" and again, " Ye are the 
 temple of the living God, as God hath said, I will 
 dwell in them, and walk in them." The apostle 
 John calls the church the tabernacle of God : Pe- 
 ter describes the materials of this holy fabric— 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 159 
 
 " Ye as lively stones are built up a spiritual house." 
 But the body of Christ is in a more eminent man- 
 ner called a temple. Christians are so designated 
 because God dwells in them by communication of 
 grace: the Holy Ghost takes possession of them 
 by inspiring and working in them those gracious 
 and heavenly qualities and endowments by which 
 they are sanctified ; but the humanity of Christ is 
 God's temple by a substantial inhabitation ; the 
 Godhead of the Saviour dwells in his hunanity im- 
 mediately and personally, not only by the infusion 
 of grace and holy inspiration. Thus St. Paul writes : 
 " In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead 
 bodily ;" that is, really, fully, substantially, by the 
 nearest union, as the soul dwells in the body by 
 an intimate conjunction. This holy body was the 
 true antitype of the temple at Jerusalem, and pre- 
 figured by it. The apostle, in writing to the He- 
 brews, makes Christ to be the mystery that was 
 shadowed forth by that material tabernacle and 
 outward sanctuary : and the similitude will appear, 
 if we consider, 
 
 1. They are alike in the building : both under the 
 immediate and special direction of God, The pattern 
 and model of the tabernacle was given by God to 
 Moses in the mount ; and the outline of that mag- 
 nificent and splendid temple which Solomon built, 
 was given by David under the immediate inspira- 
 tion and superintendence of Jehovah. The builders 
 were human ; but the great Architect, under whose 
 directions they wrought, was the invisible and ever- 
 
160 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 lasting God. The resemblance holds in all points : 
 the sacred body of the Son of God was framed in 
 the womb of a virgin — he was brought into the 
 world as the only begotten of the Father : the time, 
 place, and circumstances of his birth were all regu- 
 lated by the arrangements of infinite wisdom ; and 
 of him it was eminently true, that he was " born, not 
 of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
 of God." 
 
 2. Christ's body was like that goodly temple, in 
 the ornaments by which it was beautified. That 
 temple was overlaid with gold : and the humanity 
 of Christ was adorned with that which is more 
 precious than the gold of Ophir — the glorious en- 
 dowment of all heavenly graces, and these in the 
 fullest manner and the highest perfection. On the 
 hill of Zion Jesus appears in perfect beauty ; the 
 glories of his character admit neither of diminution 
 nor increase; there is an admirable correspond- 
 ence and proportion of those parts which unite to 
 form that person, in which he appears as the 
 " fairest among ten thousand, and the altogether 
 lovely." 
 
 3. In him the import of the sacred vessels and mys- 
 terious utensils, with which the temple was furnished, is 
 
 fulfilled and accomplished. He was the true pro- 
 pitiatory and mercy-seat; the laws of God, in- 
 scribed on tables of stone, received from him a full 
 and entire performance, without the loss of a jot or 
 tittle. In him was that pot of manna — that food 
 of angels — that bread of life — which came down 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 161 
 
 from heaven; in him was Aaron's rod with ripe 
 almonds, the seal of his high priesthood, not fading, 
 but flourishing and continuing for ever. 
 
 4. Christ's holy body was like that sacred temple 
 as it regards those religious services which were per- 
 formed in it. In the temple was a standing oracle, 
 from whence the Israelites received all their di- 
 rections; from between the cherubims of glory 
 which shadowed the mercy- seat, God uttered his 
 voice, and acquainted them with his counsels on all 
 occasions. In Christ's humanity dwelt the true 
 and living oracle of heaven ; he is the great coun- 
 sellor ; all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge 
 are in him ; he makes us " wise unto salvation." 
 
 In the temple was the altar of sacrifice for expia- 
 tion, and the atonement of sin. Both derived 
 their efficacy and value from him, " who his own self 
 bare our sins in his own body on the tree ;" who, 
 i( not with the blood of goats or calves, but by his 
 own blood, entered into the holy place, having ob- 
 tained eternal redemption for us ;" and " we have 
 now an altar whereof they have no right to eat who 
 serve the tabernacle." The temple, too, was the 
 house of prayer : in it, or looking towards it, all 
 prayers were to be presented : for there only was 
 the altar of incense, with whose sacred odours they 
 were to ascend with acceptance to the throne of 
 God. How admirably does this type receive its 
 accomplishment in that temple, which is the body of 
 Christ ! The Jewish temple, with its visible glory, 
 has passed away for ever; but the glory of the 
 Christian temple far exceedeth that of the former : 
 
 r 3 
 
162 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 " Whatsoever we ask the Father in the name of 
 Jesus, he will give, seeing he ever liveth to make 
 intercession for us." 
 
 II. The violence and dishonour which the 
 
 TEMPLE WAS DOOMED TO SUFFER AT THE HANDS 
 OF HIS ENEMIES — " DESTRUCTION." 
 
 Three points demand our notice : The nature of 
 Christ's passion ; its limited extent ; and some ag- 
 gravating circumstances which accompanied the 
 event. 
 
 1. The nature of his passion. It was a dissolu- 
 tion — a full and complete death and destruction. 
 Death is a separation of soul and body ; not an ex- 
 tinction or annihilation of either. The spirit re- 
 turns to God who gave it, and the body is conveyed 
 to its pruper receptacle, the earth, from whence it 
 was taken, there to await the sounding of the last 
 trumpet, and the rising of the dead : but the body 
 of our blessed Lord saw not corruption ; he loosed 
 the chains of death, because it was not possible he 
 should be holden of it. He gave up the ghost. 
 The reality of his dissolution was unquestionable, 
 and has never been doubted ; his soul was in Para- 
 dise, and his sacred remains were deposited in the 
 sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea, till the third, 
 the appointed day. 
 
 2. The limited extent of this destruction must be 
 noticed. Death did indeed separate soul and body, 
 but this was all ; there was a union which no vio- 
 lence of death could dissolve — the union of his 
 Godhead with his manhood : that was indestruct- 
 ible. His incarnation as God forbad it ; and his 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 163 
 
 Deity was mysteriously, indeed, but really, united 
 to his soul and body, when by death they were 
 parted from each other: what he had once as- 
 sumed he never laid down ; his Godhead supported 
 his soul in the agony of death, and embalmed his 
 body when it slumbered in the tomb. Thus, 
 although crucified through weakness, he yet lived 
 by the power of God : and in the very dominions 
 of the king of terrors, wrested from him the victory, 
 and despoiled the sepulchre of its boasted tri- 
 umph. 
 
 3. What are the circumstances by which this event 
 was accomplished, and wherein consists their aggra- 
 vation ? " Destroy this temple." This implies that 
 he was to die by violence : he was to be taken, and 
 by wicked hands crucified and slain ; not to fall 
 gradually by the decays of nature, but to be de- 
 faced and pulled down as a temple in the very 
 zenith of his glory. The death of Christ was to 
 be a sacrifice : the sacrifice must be violently de- 
 stroyed ; so Jesus was delivered into the hands of 
 men, and died as a malefactor. He was slain by 
 the law, wickedly, if we consider the immediate 
 agents; but according to the counsel and fore- 
 knowledge of God, he thus suffered, " the just for 
 the unjust, that he might bring us unto God." De- 
 stroy : it sounds like concession, but it amounts to 
 no more than voluntary permission. When he 
 uttered the words of the text, they implied no 
 more than a voluntary and cheerful resignation of 
 himself to the undeserved fury and cruelty of those 
 who hated him without a cause, a prediction of the 
 approaching crisis, and a Divine determination to 
 
164 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 make the very wrath of man to praise him. Christ 
 had assured his disciples that no man could take 
 away his life against his will. Till his hour was 
 come, he disappointed all their efforts : sometimes, 
 as it would seem, by miracle ; but when his hour 
 arrived, he put himself into their hands, yielded to 
 their fury, and submitted to his death. 
 
 " He gave his soul up to the stroke 
 Without a murmuring word." 
 
 We read, in the story of his passion, of whips 
 and thorns, and nails and spears : instruments of 
 cruelty surrounded him ; " they pierced his hands 
 and his feet ; they might tell all his bones." Wo- 
 ful indeed was the spectacle of this glorious temple 
 in the hour of its destruction. The pillars of it 
 wept like the marble — the beams of it bled like the 
 vine — streams of blood flowed from this sanctuary, 
 and cries of sanguinary ferocity resounded through 
 the air, " Rase it, rase it, even to the ground !" It 
 was indeed their hour and the power of darkness. 
 
 Let us now mark, 
 
 III. The glory to which it was to be 
 
 RAISED BY HIS OWN ALMIGHTY POWER. 
 
 1. The agent, the subject, and the state. " In 
 three days 1 will raise it up." Mysterious and 
 wonderful promise ! he himself will revive his own 
 body, and, by virtue of his inherent power, return 
 again from the silent recesses of yonder sepulchre ! 
 To raise the dead to life is a work unknown 
 through all the regions of nature : in every instance 
 it is an exertion of miraculous power. The Scrip- 
 tures tell us of dead men raised by others ; but 
 none but Christ ever raised himself. This clearly 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 165 
 
 shows that he was more than man. It was in the 
 power of his Godhead to raise himself from the 
 grave ; he had power to lay down his life, and he 
 had power to take it again : this is his prero- 
 gative. 
 
 2. The subject — the self-same temple. He does 
 not say, Destroy this, and I will erect another on 
 its ruins ; but, " I will raise it up." This, indeed, 
 is properly a resurrection, when the same thing is 
 set up again, not another in its stead. Had our 
 Lord assumed another body, it had been a second 
 incarnation, not a resurrection. The propriety of 
 all this is apparent: that body, which was a 
 temple for God's grace, must be the temple and 
 habitation of his glory; that body, which had 
 been the sanctified medium and instrument of so 
 many good works, must be raised into the fellow- 
 ship of reward ; that body, which was pierced and 
 wounded, crucified and slain, must appear before 
 the presence of his Father's glory, be clothed in 
 robes of celestial light, and exalted far above all 
 principalities and powers and might and do- 
 minion, and every name that is named, as an eter- 
 nal memento of the infinite price of human re- 
 demption. 
 
 3. The state. " I will raise it up." This holy 
 and beautiful temple had been laid even with the 
 ground, and every vestige of its former glory had 
 passed away ; those who came to that sight, smote 
 on their breasts and returned to their several homes. 
 The disciples gave up all hope, and sought the 
 shelter of a private dwelling to talk over the things 
 
166 THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 which had happened. The Scribes and Pharisees, 
 and rulers of the Jews, having accomplished their 
 diabolical design, withdrew from the scene of 
 slaughter. The body of the crucified Galilean was 
 taken down from the cross, and deposited in the 
 silent sepulchre ; guards were placed, to prevent 
 imposition by the removal of the body ; and the 
 triumph of Satan and his agents, for aught that 
 appeared, was complete and entire. The shadows 
 of evening fell upon the grave of Christ, and the 
 solemn stillness of death reigned around, unbroken 
 but by the slow pacing of the Roman sentinel at 
 the door of his tomb. It was night, and such a 
 night as the world had never known ; for the light 
 of the world was in total eclipse, and the life 
 thereof slumbering on the lap of death. Our 
 friend slept, but he was only sleeping: the eye 
 which is ever watchful w T as upon him, and the life 
 which never dies was around him. The promise 
 on which the hopes of a world were suspended, 
 failed not a moment of its effect. On the third 
 day, ere the morning dawned, it was accomplished, 
 and Jesus arose from the bed of death like a giant 
 refreshed with wine, no more to return to corrup- 
 tion. Then were the words of our text fulfilled, 
 and this temple, which malignity had made a heap 
 of ruins, is restored to more than primeval beauty. 
 The glory of this latter house far exceedeth that 
 of the former : the resurrection body of the Son of 
 God is a substantial, an entire, and a glorious re- 
 pair of the former edifice. 
 
 Substantial. In proof of this, he appeals to the 
 
THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 167 
 
 senses of his disciples, saying, " Handle me, and 
 see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see 
 me have :" — the very body in which he had suffered ; 
 for to Thomas he said, " Reach hither thy hand, 
 and thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless, 
 but believing." 
 
 Entire* Nothing is here wanting to the perfec- 
 tion of this raised temple. They raised the temple 
 of Solomon after its demolition ; but the cherubim 
 and the ark, and many other precious things, could 
 never be renewed: but here is all in our risen 
 Lord ; no excellency is wanting to him. 
 
 Glorious. The Jews wept to see Zerubbabel's 
 temple come so far short of the former; but the 
 body of Christ far exceeds its former state — it is 
 raised in power, immortality, and glory. 
 
 We close the subject with a general application. 
 Is Christ's body a temple ? So are ours — the 
 dwelling-places of the Most High. " Know ye 
 not," saith St. Paul, " that your bodies are the 
 temples of the Holy Ghost?" He that under- 
 standeth not this, is ignorant of the elementary 
 principles of Christianity. As temples, they are 
 sanctified by Divine influence, cleansed from all 
 filthiness of flesh and spirit, beautified and adorned 
 with heavenly graces and dispositions, and thus be- 
 come habitations of God through the Spirit. If thus 
 consecrated, let them be temples by actual dedica- 
 tion to his service and glory : " As ye have yielded 
 your members servants to uncleanness, and to ini- 
 quity unto iniquity ; even so now yield your mem- 
 bers servants to righteousness unto holiness; for 
 
16S THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. 
 
 whoso defileth the temple of God, him shall God 
 destroy." 
 
 Was this magnificent temple destroyed? All 
 these houses of clay shall ere long be taken down 
 and mingled with the dust. 
 
 Was this sacred temple raised again ? Yes ; 
 and " though worms destroy this body, yet in my 
 flesh shall I see God." " It is sown in corruption ; 
 it is raised in incorruption : it is sown in disho- 
 nour ; it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; 
 it is raised in power : it is sown a natural body ; it 
 is raised a spiritual body." These, brethren, are 
 the consolations which Christianity offers to our 
 hearts while bleeding at the sepulchres of our 
 friends, or anticipating our own descent into the 
 chambers of the grave: these temples shall be 
 raised again. 
 
 Thoughtless, careless, reckless sinner, what is 
 this to you? The destruction in the text is charge- 
 able upon you : your sins struck the fatal blow, and 
 levelled this temple in the dust. The temple is 
 restored, and at every portal stands an ambassador 
 to invite, to entreat your approach. Flee to the 
 altar of sacrifice, ere the avenger of blood overtake 
 you ; for here alone can safety be found : he yet 
 lives whose life you sought, and the blood you 
 shed without remorse, speaketh better things than 
 that of Abel ; it speaks, and proclaims pardon for 
 the chief of sinners. Your body is a temple ; but 
 it is the residence of the god of this world. It is 
 employed in the drudgery of sin ; its sacrifices are 
 numerous and costly, but they are made to devils, 
 
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 169 
 
 and not to God. You are hastening to the house 
 appointed for all living. There may be — there is, 
 but a step between you and death ; from that bed 
 you will, you must arise : it is not annihilation ; it 
 is a prison where sinners must await the righteous 
 indignation of God; and they that have done evil 
 and died in their sins, will arise to shame and ever- 
 lasting contempt. 
 
 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 " Light is come into the world." — John iii. 19. 
 
 This is our blessed Lord's description of him- 
 self. He employs the most glorious and beautiful 
 object in nature as an emblem of his perfections, 
 and its rising upon the world as pointing out the 
 design and effects of his incarnation. 
 
 We are here invited to view the Saviour 
 
 I. As the Sun of Righteousness: II. As the 
 Sun of Righteousness descending from his heavenly 
 sphere : III. As the Sun of Righteousness diffusing 
 the light and glory of his salvation through this be- 
 nighted and miserable world. Let us contem- 
 plate, 
 
 I. The object which is here presented to 
 our view. 
 
 It is " light ;" not a cold, glimmering, distant 
 star, but the light of day — the sun, the brightest 
 glory of the heavens. But this, admirable as it is, 
 approaches not the ineffable splendours of Imma- 
 nuel. 
 
 Q 
 
170 THE LIGHT 
 
 The Redeemer is " light" in his 
 
 1. Nature and essence. In himself, in his Divine 
 nature, he is perfect light : Clear, without the least 
 shadow, or darkness of error: Pure, without any 
 taint of evil, or possibility of corruption: En- 
 robed with beams of light and majesty. Light is 
 the tabernacle of Deity — the place of his habita- 
 tion. He dwells in that light which no man can 
 approach unto ; it is his vesture. He clothes him- 
 self with light as with a garment. Nay, it is his 
 substantial perfection. " God is light : and in him 
 is no darkness at all." 
 
 But the light of the Saviour's Divinity dazzles 
 and overwhelms our understandings. When we 
 look for light, it turnsto d arkness ; our most sub- 
 lime meditations enter into the cloud with Moses. 
 The beams he sheds forth as God incarnate are 
 more easily conceivable. Let us then view him 
 
 2. In his office and employment as Mediator. He 
 is not only a light in himself, but a light to others. 
 All the benefits of light are in Christ. We may 
 comprehend them in the following particulars. 
 
 (1.) As light he dispels moral darkness, that he 
 may shine forth in all the splendours of a super- 
 natural and saving knowledge. The world lay 
 under a twofold darkness; and to remove them 
 both our Saviour brought with him a double light. 
 There was external darkness: no natural means 
 that could shine upon us, to show us our way. 
 There was internal darkness : not only darkness, 
 but blindness, with regard to supernatural truths. 
 We are destitute of both our eyes. 
 II 
 
OF THE WORLD. 171 
 
 (2.) A second property of light is to purify : it 
 sheds pureness and beauty wherever it shines. 
 Darkness and uncleanness go together — loathsome 
 darkness — but light casts lustre upon every thing : 
 it is the varnish of the world, the verdure and 
 beauty of all the creation. " Thy beauty was 
 perfect through my comeliness that I put upon 
 thee." 
 
 (3.) A third property of light is that it cheers, 
 exhilarates, and refreshes; and thus Christ is the 
 true light, which dispels a threefold sad and sor- 
 rowful darkness. The darkness of misery and 
 affliction : The darkness of God's frowning and 
 beclouded countenance : The darkness of death. 
 But we are invited to behold this glorious light, 
 
 II. Descending from its heavenly sphere 
 — " Light is come." 
 
 1. Here we are reminded of this light — that it is 
 foreign, not bred or breaking forth out of this lower 
 
 region. It is not an irradiation of nature, nor the 
 invention of human art or contrivance; it is not 
 the lustre of any creature. 
 
 2. It shows the anticipating freeness of this light. 
 It is not said that we first sought or discovered it ; 
 but it broke forth, and shone upon us graciously 
 and freely : the people that were in darkness have 
 seen a great light, beyond all hope and expecta- 
 tion. 
 
 3. It points out the time. The period of our 
 Lord's incarnation — when he began his life on 
 earth, this light commenced its progress. 
 
 We are therefore, 
 
172 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 III. To BEHOLD THIS LIGHT DIFFUSING THE 
 GLORY OF HIS SALVATION THROUGH THIS BE- 
 NIGHTED AND MISERABLE WORLD. 
 
 He is come to us. This world is its centre and 
 its circumference. Let us receive it ; let us grate- 
 fully acknowledge it ; let us diffuse it. 
 
 The birth of a Saviour inflicted a mortal wound 
 on the genius of Paganism ; and the infernal spi- 
 rits that had long maintained a horrid dominion 
 over their deluded worshippers, were driven to 
 their abode of darkness. Since that happy day, 
 
 " The old dragon under ground, 
 
 In straiter limits bound, 
 
 Not half so fast casts his usurped sway, 
 
 And wrath to' see his kingdom fail, 
 
 Swindges the scaly horror of his folded tail. 
 
 He feels from Judah's land 
 
 The dreaded infant's hand : 
 
 The rays of Bethlehem blind his dusky eyn/'° 
 
 Satan is justly denominated "the prince of dark- 
 ness." This character, while it points out the 
 debasing nature of his authority, at the same time 
 discovers its weakness. He dare not contend with 
 the light. The glorious Gospel of the blessed God 
 must finally triumph over him. Already has it 
 gained innumerable victories : it has banished idol- 
 atry from Europe. Superstition is struggling with 
 dying pangs. This Western world is enlightened ; 
 and the bright and morning star is once more 
 rising in the East. The empire of the apostate 
 seraph moves like the dense cloud of a gloomy 
 atmosphere. Though it seems to cover a great 
 
HIS SUN SHINING, ETC. 173 
 
 space, yet it has neither foundation nor stability : 
 it melts and smooths away before the influence of 
 heavenly truth. Even now the twilight vanishes ; 
 the morning dawns : that which in its manifesta- 
 tion has hitherto appeared only as a bright star, 
 shall, ere long, break in all the splendours of a 
 meridian sun, enlightening the whole globe at one 
 and the same moment. The earth shall be full of 
 his glory; and it shall be a glory of grace and 
 truth, of righteousness and peace. 
 
 HIS SUN SHINING ON THE EVIL AND 
 THE GOOD. 
 
 " He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good." 
 Matt. v. 45. 
 
 Our blessed Lord utters the most sublime 
 truths, and on subjects the most dark and abstruse 
 to the human understanding, not only without 
 effort, but with the ease and familiarity of perfect 
 knowledge. He speaks of God as one who had 
 indeed dwelt in his bosom from eternity ; of hea- 
 ven as his home, with every mansion and inha- 
 bitant of which he is intimately acquainted ; and 
 of the operations of nature and the dispensations of 
 Providence, as if all their springs, motions, and 
 results, originated in his own mind, and were at 
 his absolute disposal. 
 
 There is an unlaboured, spontaneous, and na- 
 tural majesty in the sentence which I have now 
 
 q3 
 
174 HIS SUN SHINING ON 
 
 read to you ; and yet can language be more simple, 
 more unadorned and unpretending ? 
 
 I. Three things which infidelity denies, 
 
 AND PHILOSOPHY COULD NOT DISCOVER, ARE HERE 
 ASSUMED. 
 
 1. That there is a Being superior to nature — in 
 whom she originates, from ichom she derives her exist- 
 ence, and whose creature she is : this Being is God. 
 
 2. That the uniformity, invariableness, and con- 
 stancy of her operations is not the result of any inhe- 
 rent powers she possesses, or of independent laws 
 by which she is governed, but the immediate effect of 
 that intelligent and conscious agency by which she 
 was created.* 
 
 3. That the material universe is subordinate to the 
 intellectual, and gove?med for the express purpose of 
 subserving the interests of virtue and happiness. 
 
 But we are now brought to the direct 
 
 II. Assertion of my text, which infidels 
 
 AND PHILOSOPHERS PROUDLY TELL US IS SUBVER- 
 SIVE OF THE VERY DOCTRINES WHICH IT ASSUMES, 
 NAMELY, THE INDISCRIMINATE POSSESSION OF ALL 
 THE BENEFITS OF NATURE, BY " THE EVIL AND 
 THE GOOD, THE JUST AND THE UNJUST." 
 
 The fact, indeed, is evident; and our blessed 
 Lord introduces it for the purpose of impressing 
 upon his disciples a lesson very repugnant to the 
 proud reason, and the prouder feelings of our cor- 
 rupt nature. His sun does shine equally on the 
 
 * For the illustration of this branch of the subject, see Dr. 
 Chalmers's Sermons preached at St. John's, and Dr. Dick's 
 Celestial Scenery. 
 
THE EVIL AND THE GOOD. 175 
 
 evil and the good — the just and the unjust are 
 equally blessed with his refreshing showers; and 
 all the benefits which sun and rain instrumentally 
 confer upon the world. 
 
 He maketh his sun to rise on other planets — on 
 the good — nor does he withhold his beams from 
 ours, the evil : and among us the blessings are in* 
 discriminate and universal. Does this imply that 
 there is no moral government? On the contrary, 
 it affords us one of the most illustrious proofs of it. 
 In order to establish this assertion, it must be 
 proved that the conduct in question 
 
 1. Advances the best interests of virtue. 
 
 2. That it is introductory to a higher and nobler 
 state of things. 
 
 S. That it illustrates certain perfections of Deity 
 that would be otherwise unknown and inconceivable. 
 
 4. That it does no violence either to the character 
 or claims of eternal justice. 
 
 And we may observe, 
 
 III. That it is capable of the highest 
 
 MORAL IMPROVEMENT. — IT IS INTRODUCED BY 
 OUR LORD WITH THIS VIEW. 
 
 We are to learn a very important lesson from 
 this procedure of our heavenly Father. This is not 
 only forgiveness, but positive kindness, to our 
 enemies and to his. We are to benefit the evil and 
 the good. But the improvement of the subject 
 takes a wide range. 
 
 1 . It will increase and perpetuate devout and kindly 
 sentiments towards God and our fellow -creatures, if 
 we acknowledge him in all his ivorks, and discern his 
 
176 siloam's tower. 
 
 purpose of beneficence in the operations of nature and 
 Providence. 
 
 2. We are especially called upon to imitate him in 
 the principle of our benevolence. We have not the 
 sun in the heavens at our disposal ; but the Sun of 
 Righteousness condescends to shine at our bidding. 
 We can send through our neighbourhood and 
 through the world the light of the glorious Gospel. 
 This is a provision especially made for the evil. 
 Natural light brings with it a thousand other bless- 
 ings : so does spiritual light. 
 
 " Lord, on this clouded soul of mine 
 Oh let the living lustre fall ! 
 Fill me with love as wide as thine, 
 Wide as the wants and woes of all." 
 
 3. Let the good be thankful. 
 
 4. The evil penitent. 
 
 SILOAM'S TOWER. 
 
 " And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these 
 Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they 
 suffered such things ? I tell you, Nay : but, except ye repent, 
 ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the 
 tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were 
 sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell you, 
 Nay : but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." — 
 Luke xiii. 2 — 5. 
 
 The world is a volume of God's works, which all 
 Christians ought studiously to peruse : it is full of 
 instruction. Every event has a voice ; and the 
 most trivial circumstance an important meaning. 
 
siloam's tower. ]77 
 
 Among the numerous occurrences around us, 
 and which we are daily witnessing, there are not 
 any that speak so impressively, and have so great 
 a claim to be heard, as those which in a moment 
 arrest and annihilate human hope, which hurry, as 
 with the terror of a whirlwind, our fellow-crea- 
 tures into the dread abyss of eternity. These are 
 the most powerful coadjutors of our ministry, and 
 give energy and effect to truths which too often fall 
 cold and powerless upon your hearts.* 
 
 Before I enter upon the illustration of the sub- 
 ject, I beg leave to premise, that in nothing that I 
 may advance, shall I presume to offer an opinion 
 favourable or unfavourable respecting the unhappy 
 individuals whose shocking death has recalled to my 
 mind the train of thought I shall now endeavour to 
 open to you. My intention is simply to view the 
 coincidence between their fate and that of the per- 
 sons referred to in my text. 
 
 It is with death, with sin, with calamity and 
 judgment, that I have now to do; and to these I 
 shall strictly confine myself. 
 
 In discoursing from the text, I mean to call your 
 attention 
 
 I. To the awful facts assumed : II. To the po- 
 pular prejudices which are entertained in reference 
 to such facts, which our Lord condemns : III. To 
 the practical improvement which such facts are 
 intended to produce. 
 
 * Delivered the Sunday after the fearful catastrophe, the sud- 
 den destruction of so many lives by the fall of the Brunswick 
 Theatre. 
 
178 siloam's tower. 
 
 i. to the awful facts assumed, 
 
 1. That sinners perish. 
 
 2. That all sinners, without repentance ; must 
 perish. 
 
 3. That sinners sometimes perish by sudden and 
 fearful calamity. 
 
 II. To THE POPULAR PREJUDICES WHICH ARE 
 ENTERTAINED ON THE SUBJECT OF SUCH EVENTS. 
 
 1. That those who escape such calamities, and 
 merely die according to the common course of nature, 
 are in a safe condition. 
 
 2. That individuals thus signally marked out by 
 Providence are therefore more guilty than others; 
 that their calamities are penal. 
 
 S. Self-complacency, arising from a flattering com- 
 parison of their own character with that of the 
 sufferers. 
 
 Now, these prejudices our Lord corrects by 
 calling their attention, 
 
 (1.) To their own individual guilt. 
 
 (2.) By absolutely reprobating the notion that the 
 accidents and evils of life are any test of character. 
 
 " The same thing happeneth alike to all. All 
 things have I seen in the days of my vanity : there 
 is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, 
 and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life 
 in wickedness." 
 
 (3.) By alarming their fears with regard to the 
 inevitable doom which awaits the impenitent. 
 
 III. To THE PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT WHICH 
 SUCH SOLEMN EVENTS AS THESE ARE INTENDED TO 
 PRODUCE. 
 
siloam's tower. 179 
 
 Whatever may be their character, whether vin- 
 dicative or merciful to their victims, they are de- 
 signed for the instruction of survivors. If the 
 sufferers be in a state of preparation for eternity, 
 sudden death is sudden glory: if in a state of 
 guilt and condemnation, the wicked are driven 
 away in their wickedness. But, instead of scruti- 
 nizing the characters of those who perish by acci- 
 dents and casualties, we ought rather to examine 
 our own, and to awaken to the reflections and 
 purposes which their death is calculated and in- 
 tended to excite. Such events are permitted to 
 happen occasionally, 
 
 1. To arrest the thoughtless in their career of im- 
 piety and sin. They are sometimes necessary, as 
 they are the most impressive preachers of mortality, 
 and force conviction when every other method to 
 produce it fails. What is the reason that the voice 
 from the pulpit is so often ineffectual ? — that we 
 are allowed to dwell on death and judgment with- 
 out awakening conscience or rousing one painful 
 salutary emotion in the heart? It is because the 
 subject, though the most awful on which one hu- 
 man being can address another, is universally the 
 most neglected, shunned in silence, or trifled with 
 in talk, or shut up in a secret recess of the soul, 
 like Paul in Felix's prison, to be examined at a 
 more convenient season— a season that never ar- 
 rives. It is too common to excite interest. A 
 sermon on death is like a funeral passing through 
 the streets; we pause to mark the trappings, but 
 we think not of the corpse beneath. The subject 
 
180 siloam's tower. 
 
 is so worn out by perpetual recurrence, or by ex- 
 hausted sensibility or artificial insensibility in those 
 who hear, that we may speak on for ever without 
 the hope that what we say gives one thought to the 
 mind, one sting to the conscience, one feeling to 
 the heart ; and yet that subject is death ! — almost 
 the onlv idea that all men have in common — cer- 
 tainly the only idea that all men seem determined 
 to exclude. God, his inspired word, the course of 
 nature, the events of human existence, all seem 
 (if 1 may dare to say so) sworn together to force 
 it on our minds ; yet we stop our ears and harden 
 our hearts, as if, fools and blind that we are, for* 
 getting we are to die could make us immortal. 
 How alive is the- grave ! — this is the desert, this 
 the solitude ! Millions, countless millions more 
 than are now alive, are gone before, us; and the 
 generations that are yet to be born, will be born 
 to people the tomb. 
 
 Reflection teaches these awful lessons to a few, 
 and well for those who are taught by her. If we 
 refuse her, we shall have a sterner teacher, even 
 Experience, whose trembling pupils we must all 
 become, whether we will hear or whether we will 
 forbear. But it is not the lesson we so much need 
 to know ; we know it, though we are callous to it : 
 it is its application we require : we want something 
 to bring it to our hearts by a terrible, a penetrat- 
 ing, an afflicting dispensation — something that 
 will force open our eyes, which we resolutely close 
 — that will make the ear tingle, which we stop — 
 that will sink into the heart, which we harden in 
 
siloam's tower. 181 
 
 vain against its power. Such has not been want- 
 ed : we have, within the last few awful days, been 
 taught what death is, in the surprise, the terror, 
 and the anguish of his coming. Myriads die every 
 day, myriads are dying every moment ; and of mul- 
 titudes of them it must be allowed that those who 
 wish them best, who, perhaps, love them most, 
 have reason to wish them dead many years before 
 they die ; perhaps the very best wish they can give 
 them. 
 
 The afflicted die, and their death is an end of 
 suffering : the diseased perish, and their dissolution 
 is an end of pain. We may well behold with pa- 
 tience that release which we have often seen the 
 sufferer himself pray for in agony. All this con- 
 stant lesson of daily mortality we receive without 
 instruction : the event is ordinary, often welcome : 
 we see them pass away, and forget we are to follow 
 them. Some tears, but they are rather the tears 
 of recollection than of conviction, are dropped on 
 the graves of the dead, instead of sinking into our 
 own hearts. From whatever source they are 
 drawn, we dry them soon ; we turn away our eyes 
 from the handwriting on the wall, and rush back 
 to the banquet, readily persuaded that the sum- 
 mons was intended for our companions, not for 
 us. But the human heart is not always suffered to 
 slumber in security ; its sleep is sometimes broken 
 by a voice that will be heard ; a hand commis- 
 sioned by Heaven rends open our curtains, and a 
 terrible light flashes on the eyes of the dreamer 
 
 R 
 
182 siloam's tower. 
 
 through the opening. At times the dispensations 
 of the Almighty exceed in strength and terror all 
 that could be imaged out in the dreams of fancy or 
 the visions of delirium. 
 
 Such calamitous events as that which has so re- 
 cently occurred that with the tidings of it our ears 
 still tingle, are designed, 
 
 2. To impress survivors with a just estimate of the 
 present life. How vain, how uncertain, and how 
 
 awfully does it terminate ! 
 
 3. To teach the necessity of instant and earnest 
 preparation for eternity. Repentance is a change of 
 mind, of heart, of character. It means religion, 
 which is not born with us, to which we feel a natu- 
 ral antipathy, but which must be deliberately 
 chosen and heartily obeyed. Unless we thus re- 
 pent, we must all perish : in one way or other our 
 destruction will come upon us to the uttermost. 
 It may surprise us in the moment of fancied safety, 
 without affording us the slightest opportunity for 
 reflection. Amidst the sudden, unexpected, re- 
 lentless terror, we may find ourselves in eter- 
 nity ; the soul violently wrenched out of the body ; 
 the body a ghastly spectacle, and the soul a naked, 
 shivering, despairing culprit, without a friend, a 
 hiding-place, or a God ! 
 
 Let any of us realize to himself the shocking 
 scene of Thursday last. Had this been your destiny 
 — had it been mine — where should we have been 
 at this moment ? What is the testimony of con- 
 science ? Warnings neglected become aggravations 
 
 11 
 
THE CENTURION, ETC. 183 
 
 of guilt. If we now refuse to repent, we shall em- 
 phatically deserve to perish. Be assured that if 
 we wish either to live with the dignity of account- 
 able beings, or die with the peace of immortal 
 ones, we must place all our trust, our confidence, 
 our strength, our hope in God and religion alone : 
 it is this alone can give us exaltation, it is this 
 alone can give us peace. 
 
 THE CENTURION WHO BUILT A 
 SYNAGOGUE.* 
 
 *' For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." 
 Luke vii. 5. 
 
 That is a fine metaphor which describes the 
 Scriptures as a well-head of life. Come to them 
 whenever we may, the salient fountain is always 
 bright and pure, and ever presenting what is fresh : 
 it is water always flowing, always satisfying. In 
 this respect it is of little consequence where we 
 open the sacred page, or how often we have read 
 it ; we are sure to meet in the most familiar pas- 
 sages, if not a new thought, a new aspect of 
 thought, or a new impression, which it had never 
 conveyed to us before. The Scriptures, too, are 
 adapted to all circumstances, and the ever-varying 
 conditions and events of human life are therefore 
 
 * For the opening of a new place of worship. 
 
184 THE CENTURION WHO 
 
 frequently the means of drawing them out under 
 these hitherto unthought-of aspects, and preparing 
 our minds for these new and unanticipated im- 
 pressions. 
 
 How often have we read the narrative of "which 
 my text is a touching incident, and what various 
 emotions has it awakened in our bosoms ! Some- 
 times the character of the centurion has interested 
 us, and we have dwelt upon its singularity, as dis- 
 played in his munificence to the Jewish nation ; his 
 benevolence, as it appeared in his deep and earnest 
 concern for the welfare of his servant ; and in his 
 faith, as it ascribed unlimited authority and power 
 to him who was despised and rejected of men. At 
 other times we have wondered at the conduct of 
 the elders of the Jews, and the homage they paid 
 to one whose pretensions to the Messiahship they 
 on other occasions treated with contempt and 
 scorn. But more frequently the great subject, the 
 prominent Personage, the theme and the glory of 
 the entire record, has passed before us in majesty 
 and love, exhibiting his matchless condescension 
 and grace in speaking the word which healed the 
 servant, and relieved the deep anxiety of a suffer- 
 ing family. But, numerous and instructive as 
 have been the reflections which this narrative has 
 suggested, and diversified as have been the im- 
 pressions it has produced, I think we must this 
 morning feel conscious that it is not exhausted : 
 it wanted the precise circumstances in which we 
 are at this moment placed. This new sanctuary, 
 
BUILT A SYNAGOGUE. I85 
 
 and these grateful hearts — the present scene, with 
 its peculiar associations, enable us to derive from it 
 new feelings and new impressions ; especially as 
 that which has generally been regarded as a sub- 
 ordinate becomes on the present occasion its prin- 
 cipal feature, namely, the building of a synagogue : 
 " He loveth our nation, and he hath built us a syn- 
 agogue." And that we may give order and some- 
 thing like a consecutive relation to our thoughts, 
 let us consider, 
 
 I. What the centurion did for the Jews: II. 
 What the Jews did for the centurion : and, III. 
 What Jesus Christ did for both. 
 
 I. What the centurion did for the Jews. 
 
 In every view which we can take of this munifi- 
 cent act of the centurion, it excites our astonish- 
 ment. We cannot account for it on principles 
 common to our apostate nature ; we must seek its 
 solution in something above and beyond them. 
 This will appear if we consider it in relation to his 
 profession as a soldier, his prejudices as a heathen, 
 and his antipathies as a Roman. 
 
 1 . The military profession is not favourable to re- 
 ligion. The attention of military men is occupied 
 by the world : they have little time for reflection : 
 they are animated by ambition, the love of glory ; 
 their scenes are ever changing; their artificial 
 union is injurious to the delicacy, the expansion, 
 and the benevolence of the social principle of hu- 
 manity, and, therefore, diametrically opposed to 
 the influence of the religious spirit. 
 
 r 3 
 
186 THE CENTURION WHO 
 
 2. Then this man was a heathen. If he worshipped 
 at ail, it was in the Pantheon, among the gods of the 
 nations : he paid those of his own country supreme 
 reverence. Paganism and Judaism were anta- 
 gonist powers. Paganism is tolerant of all things 
 but revealed religion. It is an alliance with super- 
 stition and idolatry : it wars with the light which 
 comes from heaven, and Jehovah is the only deity 
 it will not suffer to occupy a throne, or to which it 
 denies religious homage. Yet to the honour of 
 Jehovah this heathen centurion erects a temple : — 
 for him and his worship he builds a synagogue. 
 
 This may well excite our wonder ; but our sur- 
 prise is greatly increased, when we regard, 
 
 3. His antipathies as a Roman. Yet say the ru- 
 lers of the Jews, " He loveth our nation." To 
 what, then, are we to ascribe this splendid instance 
 of munificence on the part of one from whom, 
 judging according to the common principles of the 
 world, it might have been least of all expected ? 
 
 (I.) To the favourableness of his position. The 
 providence of God had placed him in the con- 
 quered province of Judea. 
 
 (2.) Partial illumination, which promised better 
 things. 
 
 (3.) His thorough and entire surrendering himself 
 to his convictions as far as they could carry him. 
 
 But let us now turn to the act itself. 
 
 (1.) He took upon himself individually a burden 
 which is usually divided among many. This deve- 
 lops the energy and self-denial which marked his 
 piety. His was a piety in alliance with generosity 
 
BUILT A SYNAGOGUE. 187 
 
 and gratitude : it asked not for precedents ; it 
 wanted not examples ; he measured his obligations 
 by the worth of his principles. Just in proportion 
 as we appreciate the value of religion to our own 
 souls, and just in proportion to the place it occupies 
 in our hearts, will be our zeal and liberality in ad- 
 vancing its influence among men. 
 
 (2.) This act icas the best proof he could possibly 
 give of his sincere attachment to the people for whose 
 benefit he performed it. The synagogues of the 
 Jews were the first approximation to the simplicity 
 of Christian worship, under a gorgeous and typical 
 dispensation. They were erected in all the cities 
 and large towns of the Holy Land, and wherever 
 the Jews and Jewish proselytes found a habita- 
 tion. They began with Ezra. In them the law, 
 Moses and the prophets, were periodically read; 
 prayers offered ; and exhortations and sermons ad- 
 dressed to the people. To the prevalence and 
 salutary effects of the synagogue institution, after 
 their return from captivity, have been attributed 
 the rooted aversion of the Jews to idolatry. 
 
 To build a sanctuary in any neighbourhood is to 
 confer upon it the greatest possible good : whether 
 we regard the manners and habits of individuals : 
 the well-being of families ; the improvement of the 
 social condition ; and the eternal happiness of all 
 within the sphere of its influence. 
 
 Yes, my brethren, religion claims a great inte- 
 rest in the world; even as great as its object, God, 
 and the souls of men. 
 
188 THE CENTURION WHO 
 
 Well : this was what the Roman centurion did 
 for the Jews. Let us now consider, 
 
 II. What the Jews did for the centurion. 
 
 Their conduct in going to Jesus in his behalf is 
 even more extraordinary than his building them a 
 synagogue. It displays the great and amazing power 
 of God over the minds of men. These rulers of the 
 synagogue, these influential inhabitants of Caper- 
 naum are, on this memorable occasion, to be the 
 unconscious instruments of establishing the Divine 
 mission, which they were in the habit of rejecting. 
 Their errand is to obtain a miraculous favour from 
 Christ. But this, with the views of the men of that 
 age and country, would not have been alone suffi- 
 cient to establish from their testimony, that he who 
 wrought it was indeed the Son of God, and the 
 Saviour of the world ; for they sometimes ascribed 
 miraculous agency to Beelzebub. But the argu- 
 ment which they urge on this occasion, when coupled 
 with the exertion of power they required, indis- 
 putably established the Divine character of him to 
 whom their application was made. 
 
 The appeal is not only to his power, but 
 
 1. To his patriotism. 
 
 2. To his piety. 
 
 3. His universal benevolence. There was that in 
 the plea itself most acceptable to God, and which 
 at once made its way to the heart of the Redeemer. 
 
 Thus we have seen what the centurion did for 
 the Jews, and what the Jews did for the centurion. 
 We are now 
 
BUILT A SYNAGOGUE. 1S9 
 
 III. To CONSIDER WHAT JESUS CHRIST DID 
 FOR BOTH. And 
 
 1. We notice his readiness to comply with their 
 request. Here is no apparent indifference ; no re- 
 pulsive objection, that he is sent to the lost sheep 
 of the house of Israel. He immediately bends his 
 steps towards the house of the centurion. 
 
 Our Lord's conduct when putting forth his mi- 
 raculous agency, was always to confirm the truth of 
 his mission, and in the most effective manner to 
 benefit the souls as well as the bodies of those on 
 whose account it was exercised. Thus in the case 
 of the Syrophenician woman, assumed severity and 
 reluctance to admit her earnest and repeated soli- 
 citations were necessary, in order to draw out the 
 whole force of her faith, and to impress the by- 
 standers and his disciples with just views of the 
 nature and extent of his mission. 
 
 In the case of the centurion he adopts as most 
 appropriate and as well calculated to produce the 
 same results, a course directly opposite. In this 
 instance promptitude accomplishes the very same 
 ends which delay effected in the other. 
 
 In his readiness to comply with these requests, 
 
 2. He honoured the sacred institutions of the reli- 
 gious economy under which he had placed himself. 
 This he did for the instruction of the Jews. Thus, 
 too, he gave his authoritative sanction to public- 
 worship, and the exercise of the voluntary principle 
 in erecting sanctuaries for its perpetuity and main- 
 tenance : and this was done for the mutual benefit 
 
190 CHRIST PRAYING. 
 
 of Jews and Gentiles. Thus also he drew forth 
 into active power and audible expression the inci- 
 pient and anticipated Christianity of a devout hea- 
 then ; and this he did to prepare his disciples and 
 the world at large to receive him as " a light to 
 lighten the Gentiles," as well as the glory of his 
 people Israel. 
 
 3. He realized and justified their expectation ; 
 and thus furnished his ministers with an all-power- 
 ful argument when recommending him as the hope 
 and confidence of lost and ruined man. 
 
 CHRIST PRAYING. 
 
 " And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, 
 and his raiment was white and glistering." — Luke ix. 29. 
 
 The Saviour, about to be invested for a brief 
 season with his coronation robes of light, in the 
 presence of three of his disciples, in order to in- 
 spire them with hope, and confidence, and joy, 
 and thus prepare them for all the horrors and igno- 
 miny of the death he was so soon to accomplish 
 at Jerusalem, ascends to the height and seclusion 
 of Tabor, that he might pray unto his Father that 
 seeth in secret, who, while he was praying, re- 
 warded him openly, not only by celestial messen- 
 gers and bright tokens of his love, but by a voice 
 from the excellent glory, saying, " This is my be- 
 loved Son, hear ye him." 
 
CHRIST PRAYING. 191 
 
 The subject of our discourse is, 
 
 I. The general fact of the Saviour's praying in 
 high and secret places : II. The particular fact of 
 his praying on Mount Tabor, with the accompany- 
 ing splendour of his transfiguration. 
 
 I. The general fact of the Saviour's pray- 
 ing IN HIGH AND SECRET PLACES. 
 
 This we shall consider as illustrative of his cha- 
 racter, and especially instructive to us. Mountains 
 are not more sacred than other places: in all 
 places prayers are alike acceptable; as naturally, 
 so spiritually, all localities are alike distant from 
 heaven. Olivet, Moriah, Sinai, Pisgah, and Car- 
 mel are hills of the Lord — the mountains of God, 
 where he was most signally glorified ; but they are 
 no more distinguished by the Almighty hearer of 
 prayer than David's depths, Jeremiah's dungeon, 
 and Jonah's whale : all lie equally open to the 
 eyes of him with whom we have to do. 
 
 The mountain was preferred by our Lord as a 
 place of the greatest privacy ; and this was from 
 necessity rather than choice. As the Son of man, 
 he had not where to lay his head — no home, no 
 oratory. It was devotional solitude he sought and 
 loved ; and in seeking it so frequently, and under 
 circumstances so peculiarly disadvantageous, and 
 in seasons of infinite fatigue and exhaustion in the 
 active service of God and mankind, his example 
 teaches us that inconvenience must not prevent 
 secret prayer, nor labour nor lassitude ; — that 
 deeds of charity, and great exertions for the poor 
 and afflicted, must not set aside secret prayer ; — 
 
192 CHRIST PRAYING. 
 
 that no strength of character, or of grace, may 
 render devotional solitude unnecessary, or excuse, 
 much less justify, its neglect. But here an im- 
 portant question presses itself upon the mind : 
 Why did the Saviour pray? Does not this fact 
 derogate from his proper Deity as the Son of God? 
 Certainly not; it only proves the reality of his 
 human nature, as distinguished from his Divine 
 nature — the man Christ Jesus. In his human na- 
 ture our Lord was the first-born of every creature ; 
 and the constitution of his person as Immanuel, 
 God with us, God in our nature, linked to our 
 humanity, is the most wonderful product of infinite 
 wisdom and power that has ever been exhibited 
 to the universe. He could, indeed, have drawn on 
 the resources of his own personal Godhead; but 
 as the Father and the Eternal Spirit were equally 
 engaged in the glorious design which brought him 
 into the world, and clothed him in the garb of frail 
 humanity, it was necessary that their co-operation 
 in it should be made to appear ; and therefore did 
 Jesus seek the immeasurable communications of the 
 Spirit from the good will and ineffable love of the Fa- 
 ther. The noblest idea we can form of prayer, and 
 especially of secret prayer, is that of communion. 
 Now, what is more natural, and consistent, and be- 
 coming than that the Son should retire to commune 
 with the Father; for, having dwelt in his bosom from 
 eternity, it might be expected that he would main- 
 tain the original intimacy, both for its own sake, and 
 that it might be known that neither distance nor 
 incarnation had interrupted their fellowship. In- 
 
CHRIST PRAYING. 193 
 
 stead, therefore, of derogating from his Divinity, 
 such prayer harmonizes with the highest ideas of 
 Godhead, being in fact a specimen of devout com- 
 munion. 
 
 But if we regard prayer in its more usual cha- 
 racter of supplication to God, whose favour we 
 would conciliate, whose attributes we adore, whose 
 providence we recognize, and to whose goodness, 
 wisdom, power, and love we appeal for guidance, 
 support, protection, and consolation, we may well 
 anticipate that the man Christ Jesus would be emi- 
 nently distinguished by frequent and fervent exer- 
 cises of devotion ; and it is gratifying for us to 
 learn, that, as he prayed^ the fashion of his coun- 
 tenance altered, and that his face did shine as the 
 sun. 
 
 By prayer our blessed Lord, 
 
 1. Paid homage and honour to God his Father. 
 Adoration is due from the most glorious creatures 
 to God : prayer is a moral, real, and spiritual sacri- 
 fice, required not only by religion, but by the law 
 of nature. 
 
 2. Prayer offered by the Saviour of men was to 
 his Father a most welcome and acceptable sacrifice — 
 such as no creature had ever, or could ever, pre- 
 sent to him. 
 
 Christ was not sanctified by prayer, but prayer 
 was sanctified by Christ. Ordinances convey holi- 
 ness in other cases ; they are the means of grace to 
 us; they draw sanctity from Christ: in him the altar 
 sanctifies the gift, and all duties are the holier for 
 his performing them. 
 
194 
 
 CHRIST PRAYING. 
 
 Our Lord was conversant with prayer, 
 
 3. That he might thus call forth into exercise all 
 the graces of his lovely character. He prayed not 
 out of absolute necessity, as we do, but to beautify 
 himself with all the graces of holiness. 
 
 But prayer was the employment of the Saviour's 
 life, 
 
 4. That he might thus testify his state of humilia- 
 tion ; thus acknowledging his proper humanity, his 
 continual subjection and dependence as a creature, 
 and as a creature partaking of flesh and blood with 
 all their sinless infirmities ; and to show, also, how 
 he had voluntarily humbled himself to a condition 
 of want and deficiency. 
 
 Prayer also was with our Lord, 
 
 5. A special performance of his mediatorial office. 
 He prayed as our High Priest, and his prayers were 
 infinitely meritorious : the sacrifice and the in- 
 cense are both required. 
 
 6. Prayer was the solace and the consolation of the 
 man of sorrows amidst all his weariness, grief and 
 suffering. He went up to a mountain to pray, as 
 the most ravishing refreshment he had. 
 
 And here let me pause while I make my solemn 
 appeal to your hearts and consciences on this great 
 subject and business of the Christian life. Did 
 Christ, the natural Son of God, carefully and reli- 
 giously tender up this honour to his adorable Fa- 
 ther, — how assiduous, in this homage, ought we 
 to be, who are the lowest, and meanest, and un- 
 worthiest of his creatures? Did Christ, though 
 
CHRIST PRAYING. 195 
 
 full of all graces, and out of the reach of tempta- 
 tion, abound in this blessed exercise of prayer, — 
 how then should we, who are borne down by temp- 
 tations and beset by corruptions, how vigilantly 
 ought we, to seek every opportunity to implore the 
 influence and the aid of Heaven ? Did Christ sue 
 by prayer for every thing that he needed, and for 
 the mercies of every day and of every hour, when 
 they were his by native right, and when he could 
 have procured them from the resources of his own 
 Divinity, — what a reflection is this upon us the 
 children of dependence, who have forfeited every 
 mercy, and who deserve only wrath ? — what a re- 
 flection is it upon us, that we presume to expect 
 supplies without so much as asking for them, and 
 that we should minister to our own desires without 
 the craving of importunate prayer? Did Christ, 
 who was certain of the event of every thing — to 
 whom nothing was contingent, but whose eye 
 glanced in a moment through the whole course of 
 time, — did he pray? This should teach us that 
 earnest prayer may be made for those things, of 
 which we have the fullest assurance. It is asked, 
 If grace and glory be certain, why are they to be 
 sought by prayer ? Certainty, on the part of God, 
 does not weaken, but strengthen the force of 
 prayer : Elijah was sure of rain, yet he prayed for it : 
 David was sure that his throne would be established 
 in Solomon, yet he prayed for it ; Christ was sure of 
 all, yet he abounds in this blessed exercise of de- 
 votion. 
 
196 CHRIST PRAYING. 
 
 And now let us contemplate, 
 
 II. The Saviour's praying on this occasion 
 as connected with his transfiguration. 
 
 While he was praying he was transfigured. What 
 does this teach us ? Why, that devout prayer is 
 able to transport the soul, to ravish the spirit, to 
 lift up the heart into a heavenly rapture, and to fill 
 soul and body with ineffable glory. To some this 
 may be a strange doctrine : but what was the expe- 
 rience of David? and what is the testimony of 
 eminent believers of every age ? 
 
 Prayer hath this power, 
 
 1. Because it bears up the soul to heaven, though 
 mortality, and sin, and darkness, and clouds, and the 
 storms of the world conspire to repress its ascent, and 
 to keep it grovelling on the earth. Prayer rises ma- 
 jestically into tranquil regions, far beyond the agita- 
 tions and tempests of wintry time. Oh that more 
 of us would essay the mighty undertaking ! With 
 the moon beneath our feet, like the woman in the 
 Revelations, we should feel ourselves clothed with 
 the sun. 
 
 2. Prayer has this beautifying and glorifying 
 power, because it brings us into communion with the 
 fountain of joy and glory. (Moses.) Let a man 
 recline on a couch of spices, and his very clothes 
 will breathe perfume and fragrance. 
 
 3. Prayer unveils the countenance of our heavenly 
 Father — that countenance, all smiling with benig- 
 nity and love. In his face — in his smile — is life 
 itself: it gladdened the heart of the Psalmist more 
 than oil and wine. If he be angry, his frown is the 
 
CHRIST PRAYING. 197 
 
 message of death. Prayer brings us into his imme- 
 diate presence. It is thus, that " with open face 
 beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we 
 are changed into the same image from glory to 
 glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
 
 4. Prayer often -produces in us this holy delight, 
 because it brings with it the joyful assurance that our 
 prayers are accepted. Want of this made Cain's 
 countenance fall; this honoured and encouraged 
 Abel. 
 
 5. Prayer inspires these glorious joys, because it 
 disburdens all our griefs and sorrows into the bosom 
 of God. 
 
 6. He that prays has an inioard satisfaction, when 
 he feels, that as a holy service he has presented it to 
 God. As every sin leaves a sting after it, so the 
 duties of piety and devotion calm the soul, and fill 
 it with joy and glory, even as though we heard the 
 approving voice of Heaven. 
 
 Now that this glorious effect may follow our 
 prayers, three conditions are required : — 
 
 They must be frequent. 
 
 They must be cheerful. 
 
 They must be fervent. 
 
 Cold, feeble, heartless prayers, — what are they 
 worth ? 
 
 Here our Saviour prays himself into heaven. In 
 the garden he prays himself into an agony. Paul 
 praying, was carried up to the third heaven. Peter 
 was cast into a trance. John was wrapt in spirit. 
 Fervour is the wing of prayer, the ladder of hea- 
 ven, like Elijah's fiery chariot; whereas our cold, 
 
 s 3 
 
198 JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 
 
 slumbering petitions, like meteors in the air, vanish 
 into nothing. 
 
 JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 
 
 " In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O 
 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
 unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight."— Luke x. 21. 
 
 These words are interesting, as they present our 
 Lord to us under a new and singular aspect. The 
 man of sorrows abandons his grief, and yields him- 
 self to the delights of heartfelt joy. The dark 
 cloud that usually settled on his brow is gilded with 
 the beams of an unwonted rapture, and the coun- 
 tenance, so marred more than any man's, brightens 
 into the celestial beauty of an angel. We gaze 
 with sympathetic emotion on the wondrous change, 
 until we ascertain its nature and trace its cause. 
 Then, in spite of ourselves, we experience a revul- 
 sion of feeling, and we ask, with a mixture of awe 
 and dismay, Can the eternal destruction of the 
 souls of men afford satisfaction to him whose errand 
 into this world was to save them from the wrath to 
 come ? and especially can the tracing this destruc- 
 tion, not to their guilt and obstinacy, but to the sove- 
 reign act of Almighty God, the Father of mercies, 
 be the chief cause of that satisfaction, and afford 
 him the only interval of enjoyment that he expe- 
 rienced during his wretched sojourn upon earth ? 
 
JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 199 
 
 My brethren, the simple perusal of the text 
 naturally suggests this question, together with a 
 mournful train of uneasy thoughts and reflections. 
 But a close attention to its meaning and its spirit, 
 in connexion with the genius and general scope of 
 evangelical doctrine, as revealed in the New Tes- 
 tament, will not fail to relieve us from the dis- 
 tressing apprehensions which in the first instance it 
 excited, and at the same time impress us with the 
 conviction that the Saviour's joy on this occasion 
 was as benevolent as it was holy ; and though mys- 
 terious, merciful; a joy worthy of that spirit that 
 espoused the cause of a perishing world, and for 
 this purpose endured the cross, despising the 
 shame. 
 
 That the first impression cannot be the true one, 
 namely, that our Lord rejoiced in the miseries of 
 souls, and in his Father's hiding from them, in 
 order to their condemnation, the grace of his Son's 
 redemption, is sufficiently evident from 
 
 His general character. 
 
 The very object of his mission. And 
 
 From those regrets which, on several occasions, 
 he felt and expressed when he contemplated the 
 final perdition of the impenitent. The Scriptures 
 exhibit no contradictions. 
 
 What, then, are we to understand our Lord as 
 meaning, when he exclaims, " I thank thee, O 
 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou 
 hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, 
 and hast revealed them unto babes?" You will 
 observe, that in these words he assumes two facts, 
 
200 JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 
 
 of a very opposite nature, to which he assigns 
 the same cause; and viewed in relation to this 
 cause, he considers them both as affording matter 
 for grateful and adoring acknowledgment to his 
 Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. 
 
 The facts on which this exulting thanksgiving 
 is founded, are the hiding from the wise and pru- 
 dent, from men of transcendent abilities, of worldly 
 wisdom, and of high literary attainments, the 
 Divine mysteries of salvation ; and the revealing of 
 these very mysteries to the comparatively weak, 
 the unidead, the unlearned, and the undistin- 
 guished — the unknowing and unknown. These 
 facts, as originating in the will of the great Lord 
 of the universe, are both and equally the source of 
 the Saviour's joy, and the theme of his gratitude. 
 We ought to view them in the same light, and to 
 regard them with similar feelings. As all the per- 
 fections of God are equally glorious, and deserve 
 equal degrees of admiration and praise, so the 
 different manifestations of these perfections are re- 
 garded by all wise and holy beings with equal com- 
 placency and delight. The judgments of the Al- 
 mighty are as worthy of his character as the most 
 distinguished acts of his goodness and clemency. 
 The inhabitants of heaven feel this, and their ado- 
 rations and praises incessantly recognise the prin- 
 ciple : one moment redemption swells their an- 
 thems, and the celestial temple resounds with the 
 chorus, " Blessing and honour, and glory and ma- 
 jesty, and dominion and praise, be unto him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for 
 
JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 201 
 
 ever. Amen." The triumphs of justice and ven- 
 geance are anticipated, and in solemn strains the 
 hymn proceeds, " Now is come salvation, and 
 strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the 
 power of his Christ ; for the accuser of our brethren 
 is cast down, which accused them before our God 
 day and night: therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and 
 ye that dwell in them. And again they said, Hal- 
 lelujah ; and her smoke rose up for ever and ever." 
 
 Our Lord was distinguished upon earth by the 
 spirit and temper of heaven, and therefore all the 
 dispensations of his Father afforded him satisfac- 
 tion. He recognised the principles of the Divine 
 procedure, and regarded the consequences only so 
 far as they illustrated these. Whether, therefore, 
 his Gospel were a judicial instrument, a "savour 
 of death unto death," or whether it were the me- 
 dium of mercy, "a savour of life unto life," in 
 both his Father was glorified : and in both he re- 
 joiced. In the one he acquiesced with adoring 
 reverence, and in the other he delighted — for " he 
 saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied." 
 
 The mysteries of the kingdom of God 
 were hidden from the wise and prudent. 
 
 But how were they hidden ? Let us endeavour to 
 answer this question, and then we shall be prepared 
 to listen to the reasons of that solemn gladness of 
 spirit with which the consideration of it inspired 
 the Redeemer. 
 
 " The wise and prudent," to whom our Lord 
 here refers, were the principal men of his own age 
 and nation, and therefore they were not destitute 
 of an external revelation. They possessed the 
 
202 JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 
 
 sacred oracles — Moses and the prophets, and the 
 Psalms. The doctrines of Christ had been preach- 
 ed to them, and some of his mightiest works had 
 been performed in their presence : and from the 
 beginning until now, so far are Divine things from 
 being hid from " the wise and prudent," that they 
 are more fully understood by them than by the 
 weak and illiterate. Daily experience shows us 
 there are many of the disputers of this world 
 that have a more exact scheme of Divine truths 
 in their heads than thousands who powerfully feel 
 their influence in their hearts. They understand 
 these truths as they apprehend human arts and 
 sciences : can talk accurately and learnedly about 
 them, to the reviving the hearts of some, and 
 stopping the mouths of others. But, alas ! to all 
 spiritual and saving purposes, the Divine realities 
 of which they speak and write and think, are hid- 
 den from them. And though a few of the great, 
 and the honoured, and the learned have sub- 
 mitted to the humility of faith, yet the fact re- 
 mains undisputed, that where the external light of 
 Revelation has shone with the brightest radiance, 
 there it has been disregarded and contemned by a 
 vast majority of the world's oracles and masters. 
 One would have thought, that as the light of the 
 morning strikes first on the tops of the high moun- 
 tains, so the dawning of the day of Christ should have 
 been first perceived by the high priests. That the 
 Sanhedrim should have had the most early notice of 
 the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, as they used 
 to have of the phasis of the new moon ; but on the 
 contrary, the first tidings of an approaching Mes- 
 
JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 203 
 
 siah were given to an ordinary priest of the course 
 of Abias, to Elizabeth his wife, to the babe in her 
 womb, to Joseph the carpenter, and Mary, a de- 
 spised and humble virgin. During his life, the 
 great and mighty ones turned from him with dis- 
 dain ; at his death there was not a greater darkness 
 on the face of the earth than there was upon the 
 understandings of Pilate, the chief priests, and the 
 elders. Thus likewise it was in the apostles' days, 
 and the succeeding ages to the present : " Not 
 many mighty, not many noble are called;" and 
 though they cannot complain that light has not 
 been imparted to them, yet our Lord, in addressing 
 his Father says, that the glories of his kingdom 
 have been hidden from the wise and prudent ; and 
 this he considers to be an act of the Divine will. 
 " Thou hast hid these things." This concealment, 
 therefore, signifies the withholding from those who 
 neglect and despise the Gospel, that internal reve- 
 lation which would enable them, in a spiritual and 
 practical manner, to apprehend those Divine truths 
 that are outwardly proposed to them ; in the deny- 
 ing them that special grace which might open their 
 minds to the glories of Divine mysteries, and their 
 hearts to feel their transforming power, leaving 
 them to their own obstinate, wilful ignorance, to 
 the lusts of their own minds, and the power of Satan 
 to blind and harden them. 
 
 You perceive, therefore, that what the Saviour 
 means by the expression, " hid," is not an actual 
 interposition of the Almighty, nor a procedure of 
 absolute sovereignty ; but that it is 
 
 Negative and judicial. 
 
204 JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 
 
 He bestows a succession of means : the light of 
 nature — conscience — revelation : and because 
 neither are regarded nor improved, he therefore 
 withholds the crowning blessing. But are the 
 " wise and prudent," the philosophers, the states- 
 men, and the master spirits of the world, peculiarly 
 opposed to Christianity ? Why is this ? 
 
 1. Because their intellectual pride sets them in their 
 own consciousness above the necessity of Revelation. 
 
 2. Because theirmental and moral tastes are pecu- 
 liarly at variance with the genius and spirit of 
 Christianity. They despise its mysteries; refuse 
 its grand condition ; and hate the great duties of 
 holiness. 
 
 3. Because they have so much to unlearn and 
 relinquish before they can become genuine disciples of 
 Christ. 
 
 4. Because their minds and hearts are totally pre- 
 occupied vjith principles, prejudices, and pleasures, 
 diametrically opposed to the Gospel. Thus they pro- 
 voke the Almighty to withdraw his influences, to 
 leave the outward dispensation of his mercy to make 
 its own way, unassisted and alone. In this judicial 
 procedure the holy and blessed Jesus acquiesces, 
 
 1. Because of the justice of God, which it illus- 
 trates and confirms; as we have seen in the case of 
 " the wise and prudent," especially referred to by 
 our Lord, there is an inexcusable abuse of pre- 
 eminent advantages. There is also, let it be re- 
 membered, the greatest inconsistency between 
 their general conduct on other subjects, and their 
 treatment of the Gospel. Their opposition, too, is 
 of the most heinous description : it is direct. Other 
 
JESUS REJOICING IN SPIRIT. 205 
 
 offenders break the laws of God to gratify their 
 appetites and passions; these men directly assail 
 the Lawgiver. It is peculiarly the opposition of 
 the intellectual and spiritual nature. It is there- 
 fore in near alliance with that of the powers of 
 darkness. It is deliberate — it is malignant. If 
 examples of vengeance must be selected, these 
 seem to be the most proper. In cases of rebel- 
 lion, the chiefs and leaders are the guiltiest, and 
 are, as they deserve to be, the first victims of retri- 
 butive justice. 
 
 It is a delightful reflection, when the awful pre- 
 rogative of sovereignty is exercised in selecting the 
 objects of Divine mercy, to know that the Judge 
 of all the earth must do right — that no injustice 
 is implied towards those who are condemned to 
 perish. The holy and blessed Jesus joyfully ac- 
 quiesces in this procedure of his Father, the Lord 
 of heaven and earth, 
 
 2. On account of his oivn religion, the progress of 
 which, in spite of the opposition of the learned, the 
 prudent, the powerful, and the wise, is an evidence of 
 its divinity. 
 
 3. He rejoices in it because the sovsreignty of God 
 is thus essentially connected with his gooodness : (i It 
 seemeth good in thy sight.' 1 '' 
 
 The unrenewed heart of man revolts from this 
 doctrine. It is remarkable, that for preaching the 
 sovereignty of God in the free distribution of his 
 special favours, without any regard to human 
 worth or excellency, Christ himself was exposed to 
 the fury of his hearers. 
 
 T 
 
206 THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 
 
 This subject ministers to us solemn instruction. 
 
 1. Let us not be satisfied with any wisdom or 
 knowledge, while we do not savingly understand 
 the great things of God. 
 
 2. Let us guard against the common error of 
 the world, that of confiding our immortal interests 
 to those whom we deem our superiors in wisdom, 
 rank, and station. They may be profound philo- 
 sophers, politic statesmen, fascinating poets, but 
 sorry divines, and any thing but true Christians. 
 We must seek Divine illumination, not from man, 
 but from the Father of lights. Therefore, 
 
 3. It becomes us seriously to watch against the 
 influence of the science and the literature of the 
 day, poisoned as they are by infidelity and error, 
 lest they beguile us of our salvation. 
 
 4. See the grand qualification for understanding 
 and receiving the blessed truths of religion — the 
 docility of children ; the perfect and absolute sur- 
 render of ourselves to Divine teaching. 
 
 THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 
 
 " In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, 
 O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
 unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight."— Luke x. 21. 
 
 Let us now briefly direct our attention to the 
 latter clause of the text, and show that the things 
 hidden from the wise and prudent are revealed 
 unto babes, and that this ought to inspire our 
 
THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 207 
 
 hearts with the liveliest emotions of adoring thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 In prosecuting this, we shall, 
 
 I. Show you what that revelation is which the 
 Redeemer affirms was made to babes : II. Prove 
 the truth of the assertion : III. Account for the 
 joy with which the consideration inspired his de- 
 vout and holy bosom. 
 
 I. To BABES THE LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 
 REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF SALVATION. 
 
 The revelation here intended is not what is usu- 
 ally understood by that term when generally applied 
 to the Scriptures, but what is elsewhere called 
 " the opening of the understanding and the heart." 
 Thus it is revelation by spiritual illumination and 
 influence, through the instrumentality of the doc- 
 trines and truths of Christianity. When our Lord, 
 therefore, says that his Father reveals these things 
 to babes, he means that he communicates, by his 
 Spirit, the saving knowledge of the truth. 
 
 1. Spiritual illumination begins by making a dis- 
 covery to the sinner of his character and state. The 
 consequence of this is alarm, inquiry, deep and 
 painful anxiety. When this preliminary is gained, 
 
 2. The Gospel assumes a new aspect, and appears 
 worthy of all acceptation to the guilty, the polluted, 
 the poor, the afflicted, the dying. 
 
 3. This knowledge of himself and the Saviour 
 gradually conducts the humble inquirer to more 
 extensive views, till, through the blessing of God, 
 he obtains an acquaintance, vivid and experimental, 
 with the whole system of evangelical truth. 
 
208 THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 
 
 II. That they are babes to whom God 
 
 REVEALS THE MYSTERIES OF SALVATION. 
 
 Though after another mariner — a manner suited 
 to their peculiar condition as the subjects of moral 
 government — this is literally true as it regards the 
 myriads of the human race who die in infancy. 
 It also is literally true as it regards children who 
 are advanced beyond the stage of infancy, and out 
 of whose mouths, even in this world, the Saviour has 
 perfected praise. We have all read of children, 
 touched by a light from heaven, meditating, with a 
 power seemingly far beyond their infant years, 
 upon a world to come. Thoughts and feelings, of 
 which we cannot know the full holy virtue, change 
 them into saints, and make them sigh for heaven. 
 How sweetly have their little voices been heard in 
 hymns, when they knew that they were lying on 
 the bed of death ! They have told their parents 
 not to weep for them; and, having kissed their 
 brothers and sisters with such smiles as pass be- 
 tween those who love one another when one of 
 them is about to go away on a visit from which in 
 a few weeks he is to return, they have laid down 
 their heads, never to be lifted again till the judg- 
 ment day. Oh ! scoff not at the wonderful piety 
 you may not understand. Look into the eyes of 
 your own daughter of seven years as she is saying 
 her prayers, and disbelieve not the truth told of 
 creatures young and innocent as she, whom God 
 took unto himself, and, ere he stretched out his 
 hand to waft them from earth, showed them a 
 glimpse of heaven. Others, again, have been thus 
 
THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 209 
 
 spiritualized almost in the cradle, who have been 
 destined to sojourn with us through a long, useful, 
 and blessed pilgrimage. With multitudes of these 
 it is probable the millennium will commence — " All 
 thy children shall be taught of the Lord." Even 
 now I see its dawn : I hear indications of its ap- 
 proach in those infant hosannahs to the Son of 
 David which rise in strains so simple and so holy 
 from the congregated thousands in our Sabbath- 
 schools ! 
 
 But we are to understand the description as me- 
 taphorical. Babes signify persons of weak and un- 
 cultivated minds, or the lower classes of mankind, 
 who have not enjoyed the advantages of education, 
 and are not distinguished by mental acquirements. 
 " These are denominated babes, because, in relation 
 to the wise and prudent, they are such as children 
 are in comparison of men, whose faculties study 
 has polished and matured ; confined in their views, 
 and incapable of vigorous exertion of intellect. 
 Of science they know nothing, and of history they 
 are acquainted with only a few common facts ; they 
 understand no language but their own ; can pursue 
 no train of reasoning, and are unqualified for any 
 higher employment than manual labour. Such is 
 the character of the greater part of those who have 
 given evidence, by their pious and holy lives, that 
 they had received the Spirit of wisdom and reve- 
 lation in the knowledge of Christ." 
 
 " By babes, some understand the humble and 
 docile, in contradistinction to the proud and self- 
 willed, who are wise in their own eyes. It is evi- 
 
 t 3 
 
210 THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 
 
 dent, however, that this is a false view of their cha- 
 racter, because it is inconsistent with the scope of 
 the passage, which is to illustrate the sovereignty 
 of God in the dispensation of grace." 
 
 This declaration is not to be understood as 
 altogether exclusive, nor as perfectly comprehensive. 
 Our Lord does not affirm that the Gospel is hidden 
 from all the wise ; but it appears from the history 
 of religion, that, in general, they are not the 
 learned and the mighty who have been called, 
 but, to use the words of an apostle, "foolish things, 
 and weak things, and things which are despised." 
 Neither are we to understand that all the ignorant 
 and all the common people receive the Gospel. 
 Alas ! there are myriads of unhappy exceptions ; 
 yet that from among these chiefly the followers of 
 the Redeemer are selected is a matter of un- 
 doubted notoriety. So palpable is the fact, that it 
 has been made the foundation of an argument 
 against Christianity, as if its evidences were defec- 
 tive, because it has been rejected by men of culti- 
 vated minds, and embraced chiefly by the vulgar. 
 But those who employ this argument are not 
 aware how completely it defeats their object, and 
 establishes the divinity of that religion which they 
 are so anxious it should impugn : the wise, the 
 prudent, the learned, the great reject this religion : 
 they not only regard it with contempt, but, at 
 its commencement especially, they laboured to 
 overthrow it; yet has it triumphed, triumphed in 
 spite of their arguments, and in contempt of their 
 authority ! It is one great argument that our re- 
 
 8 
 
THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. *211 
 
 ligion is of God, that it was promulgated by such 
 feeble instruments, against such mighty enemies as 
 the philosophers and princes of this world, and that 
 the sweet savour of the knowledge of a crucified 
 Jesus was diffused every where, not like the spices 
 of Arabia, upon the wings of the wind, but against 
 a furious hurricane raised by the mightiest spirits 
 of earth and hell ! 
 
 Bad as the argument is, however, it takes the 
 fact for granted, nor can it be denied, that, while 
 the wise and prudent have been, for the most part, 
 atheists and infidels, cold speculatists and men of 
 the world, thousands of the babes, the weak and the 
 unlearned, have demonstrated the sincerity of their 
 faith by the fervour of their devotion and the 
 purity of their lives, their patience in adversity, 
 and their triumphant hope in the hour of dissolu- 
 tion. Under the humble roof of the peasant and 
 the mechanic, piety has taken up its abode, and 
 diffused its regenerating and consoling influence; 
 while the halls of schools and colleges have re- 
 sounded with empty delamations upon virtue, rarely 
 practised there, and with the noise of disputes 
 about words and things which to a being made for 
 immortality are lighter than vanity. How mor- 
 tifying was the exclamation of a learned man 
 upon witnessing the devout emotions of a rustic : 
 " These illiterate men will rise to heaven, while 
 we with all our knowledge, are cast down into 
 hell." 
 
 Having thus explained the nature of the revela- 
 
212 THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO BABES. 
 
 tion and character of the persons to whom it is 
 made, I proceed, briefly, and lastly, to notice, 
 III. The joy with which a consideration 
 
 OF BOTH INSPIRED THE HOLY BOSOM OF THE Sa- 
 VIOUR. 
 
 1. It was most gratifying to his benevolence. So 
 great a blessing could not fail to awaken the live- 
 liest emotions of gratitude in the affectionate and 
 generous heart of our Redeemer. His unspeakable 
 love to man made him take a deep interest in their 
 happiness : the display of grace was rendered more 
 impressive by a comparison of the objects of it 
 with those from whom it was withheld. 
 
 The Saviour rejoiced in this dispensation, 
 
 2. Because it illustrated the efficacy, and displayed 
 tlie peculiar glory of his religion, 
 
 3. Because it poured contempt upon those principles 
 and pursuits which are the greatest banes to the souls 
 of men. The pride of wisdom, and the prudence 
 which deifies the world, and makes it every thing, 
 are the more destructive because they are the most 
 attractive things that can tempt men. 
 
 4. He rejoiced in the final result, when these babes 
 sJwuld rise to the dignity of immortality, and shine 
 with a glory which will render the wisdom and the 
 grandeur of this world less than nothing and vanity. 
 
 1. The text administers a solemn warning to 
 the wise men of the world. 
 
 2. Those who are not wise and learned may find 
 an argument in the text for contentment with their 
 condition. 
 
CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 213 
 
 3. How thankful should they be whom God has 
 been pleased to illuminate by his Spirit. 
 
 4. Let sinners be excited to a diligent use of 
 the means by which divine illumination is enjoyed. 
 
 5. Let us learn to bow with humble acquies- 
 cence to the awful and mysterious doctrine of the 
 Divine sovereignty as displayed in fixing the des- 
 tinies of sinful men. 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM. 
 
 " And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over 
 it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this 
 thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace ! but now 
 they are hid from thine eyes." — Luke xix. 41, 42. 
 
 Thus the man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
 grief, yields to emotions it was impossible for him to 
 suppress. He was habitually and profoundly affected 
 by " thoughts too deep for tears." But here a 
 scene opened to his view, which, like the rod of 
 Moses, smote upon his heart, and the waters 
 gushed forth. He wept, and gave audible ex- 
 pression to his woe, in an exclamation which, for 
 solemn pathos, has no parallel, except in that which 
 he uttered on a similar occasion, when the ampli- 
 fication shows how entirely Jerusalem occupied his 
 mind, interested his feelings, and awakened his 
 solicitude even to agony. " O Jerusalem, Jeru- 
 salem ! which killest the prophets, and stonest them 
 that are sent unto thee ! how often would I have 
 gathered thy children together, as a hen doth 
 
214 
 
 CHRIST WEEPING 
 
 gather her brood under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! " 
 
 In discoursing from this passage in our Lord's 
 affecting history, we shall 
 
 I. Trace the sources of his tears as indicated 
 by the pathetic lamentation with which they were 
 accompanied: and, II. Deduce from both, those 
 doctrinal and practical lessons, which they seem 
 intended to suggest. We proceed to 
 
 I. Trace the sources of the Saviour's 
 tears. 
 
 Tears spring from various sources : they some- 
 times indicate weakness and want of self-control : 
 they are frequently expressions of a transient, 
 superficial sorrow: they are for the most part 
 selfish, and are excited by the personal sufferings 
 of the individuals by whom they are shed. But the 
 tears of Jesus were those of a superior nature ; they 
 were free from every selfish alloy; and indicated 
 a grief more profound and agonizing than ever 
 preyed upon a human heart before or since. 
 
 Jesus beheld the city, " and wept over it." 
 
 1. His tears were those of a refined and exalted 
 humanity, whose every sensibility was touched by 
 the scene of human desolation with which Divine 
 prescience surrounded him. The noblest natures 
 are always the most susceptible: but their grief 
 corresponds with the occasion, and is justified 
 by it. Here was a whole city of human beings, 
 doomed to temporal destruction — to be the prey 
 of famine, rapine, anarchy, and murder. 
 
 His was not the lament of heartless taste : it was 
 
OVER JERUSALEM. 215 
 
 not the grief which the son of Vespasian betrayed, 
 when he is represented by the poet, on a fine sum- 
 mer's evening, just before his victorious arms le- 
 velled the city in ruins, exclaiming to his com- 
 panions as he beheld it, 
 
 " It moves me, Romans ! it confounds 
 The counsels of my firm philosophy, 
 That Ruin's merciless ploughshare must pass o'er, 
 And barren salt be sown on yon proud city. 
 How boldly doth it front us ! how majestically ! 
 Like a luxurious vineyard, the hill side 
 Is hung with marble fabrics, line o'er line, 
 Terrace o'er terrace, nearer still, and nearer 
 To the blue heavens. Here bright and sumptuous palaces, 
 With cool and verdant gardens interspers'd ; 
 Here towers of war that frown in massy strength ; 
 While over all hangs the rich purple eve, 
 As conscious of its being her last farewell 
 Of light and glory to that fated city. 
 .... Behold the Temple ! 
 In undisturb'd and lone serenity, 
 Finding itself a solemn sanctuary 
 In the profound of heaven ! It stands before us 
 A mount of snow, fretted with golden pinnacles I 
 The very sun, as though he worshipp'd there, 
 Lingers upon the gilded cedar roofs ; 
 And down the long and branching porticoes, 
 On every flowery sculptured capital, 
 Glitters the homage of his parting beams." 
 
 This is finely conceived. But what are tears 
 shed over the violations of taste, and the ruins of 
 art ? More than once, our Redeemer referred with 
 the utmost calmness to the conflagration of the 
 temple, and predicted, with apparent indifference, 
 that one stone should not be left upon another; 
 
216 CHRIST WEEPING 
 
 but when he realized the misery which awaited the 
 guilty population, he wept. 
 
 2. He wept over it. They icere the tears of patriot- 
 ism shed over the expiring glories of the country which 
 gave him birth. 
 
 3. They were generous tears, wept over the mi- 
 series of those that hated and persecuted him, 
 discovering the sublimest magnanimity, and the 
 greatest tenderness. 
 
 4. His tears flowed from a devout sympathy with all 
 the great and good, the long succession of holy mar- 
 tyrs that had preceded him on the errand of compas- 
 sion and mercy. 
 
 5. They were the tears of the Son of God, wept 
 over the dishonour which, by the obstinacy and re- 
 bellion of this unhappy people, had been cast upon the 
 moral character and government of his adorable 
 Father, 
 
 6. They were the tears of the Saviour of men. 
 
 7. These tears of the Redeemer were, lastly, excited 
 by a clear perception of the certainty and extent of the 
 ruin which unexampled guilt would bring upon such 
 an immense multitude of souls. The guilt of the 
 past, which this generation had made all its own ; 
 the guilt of the present, which no generation of 
 men had ever been able to accumulate ; the guilt 
 of rejecting and crucifying the Lord of glory; 
 the guilt of obstinate and determined impenitence, 
 amidst the greatest wonders of redeeming mercy, 
 and the most stupendous terrors of temporal judg- 
 ments. This grief, this tender anguish, accom- 
 panied him to Calvary. 
 
OVER JERUSALEM. 217 
 
 " Ere the cross was rais'd, 
 He look'd around hiin, even in that last anguish, 
 With such a majesty of calm compassion, 
 Such solemn adjuration to their souls ; 
 But yet 'twas not reproachful, only sad, 
 As though their guilt had been the bitterest pang 
 Of suffering ." 
 
 II. The doctrinal and practical lessons 
 
 WHICH THIS INTERESTING SUBJECT SUGGESTS, 
 FORM THE SECOND PART OF OUR DISCOURSE. 
 
 1. The truths of the Gospel, faith and salvation, 
 are the things ivhich belong to our peace. 
 
 2. That the guilt of those who possess the Gospel, 
 but deny its power, is proportioned to the light and 
 mercy which they neglect or despise. 
 
 3. That great privileges, unregarded and misim- 
 proved, are avenged by a termination of our day — a 
 day of grace. 
 
 4. That the fearful evidence of this termination, is 
 growing indifference or hostility to the things which 
 belong to our peace. 
 
 5. Tliat the greatest calamity that can befall uncon- 
 verted sinners, is the end of their day of grace: either 
 removing from them the means of salvation, or 
 visiting them with judicial blindness and hardness 
 of heart. 
 
 6. That the blessed Redeemer is desirous that we 
 should not, by our criminal neglect of the present sea- 
 son of grace, bring upon ourselves this dreadful cala- 
 mity. 
 
 u 
 
218 WHO MAKETH 
 
 WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER? 
 
 " For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast 
 thou, that thou didst not receive ?" — 1 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
 The persons, the characters, and the conditions 
 of men, are infinitely diversified. Variety indi- 
 vidualizes the entire species. There have never 
 been two persons who have been precisely simi- 
 lar, even in those qualities which are essential 
 to the possession of one common nature. Things 
 the most exactly assimilated, yet greatly differ in 
 very important particulars. In the most part this 
 variety is strongly marked, and strikingly appa- 
 rent. 
 
 We may employ the interrogations in the text 
 for the purpose of correcting some of the worst 
 evils that infect the social principle, and are the 
 most destructive of social happiness. 
 
 I. To abase pride : II. To shame ingratitude : 
 III. To remove selfishness : and, IV. To banish 
 discontent. 
 
 I. To SHAME PRIDE. 
 
 Distinctions, whether personal or relative, nou- 
 rish pride. Superiority, whether it be in talent, 
 wealth, station, or influence, awakens our self-im- 
 portance, and we are apt to treat our God with 
 indifference, to regard ourselves with complacency, 
 and to look upon all that are beneath us with con- 
 tempt. We are proud of what we have received, 
 as if it were our own, the creature of our own 
 power: and in proportion as it raises us above our 
 
WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER? 219 
 
 fellow-creatures, in that proportion we consider 
 that we are entitled to their homage and vassal- 
 age. We are, perhaps, not prepared to avow this 
 m so many words, but we declare it by our spirit 
 and our general deportment. How is this pride 
 abased by the consideration suggested in the text ? 
 
 1. We have nothing which we have not received. 
 
 2. God bestowed it upon us irrespective of any 
 claim or merit of our ozvn. 
 
 3. He has withheld these very distinctions from 
 his greatest favourites and most devoted servants. 
 
 4. They accumulate upon us an awful aggregate 
 of responsibility. 
 
 II. To SILENCE INGRATITUDE. 
 
 The most favoured and the most distinguished 
 of the sons of men are the most ungrateful, the 
 least sensible of what they owe to their bountiful 
 Creator and benefactor. The same causes that 
 invigorate pride, foster ingratitude ; but remember, 
 the original bestowment, and the perpetual conti- 
 nuance, are both from God — the arrangement of 
 his providence, his special design, the result of his 
 incessant and peculiar care. The more we are 
 distinguished, the greater is our dependence ; the 
 greater your stake in the Divine government, 
 the greater, of course, is your obligation to the Di- 
 vine mercy. Our gratitude should regard the pe- 
 culiar and specific distinctions which confer su- 
 periority : it should rise with the proportion of that 
 superiority, and take its measure of obligation from 
 the lowest of our inferiors in those respects in which 
 we are placed above them. There is no sufferer 
 
220 WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER? 
 
 in this vale of tears, no creature, however insigni- 
 ficant he may be, among the infinite varieties of 
 our species, that does not owe a debt of gratitude 
 to the Almighty. How great, then, must be yours ! 
 
 III. To REPROVE SELFISHNESS, OR TO STIMU- 
 LATE TO BENEVOLENT EXERTION. 
 
 Why does the great Ruler of the universe con- 
 fer distinctions upon any of his creatures ? 
 
 1. TJiat they may be consecrated to his own glory ■, 
 and that, in pursuance of this great object, they should 
 be completely developed and wholly occupied. 
 
 But how can his glory be advanced by these dis- 
 tinctions ? 
 
 2. By incessantly employing them, according to 
 their degree of superiority, to the good of society ; by 
 diffusing Divine truth, upholding the interests of ho- 
 liness, and advancing the cause of universal happiness. 
 Pride and ingratitude engender selfishness, or are 
 the fruit of it. They are all and each at war with 
 piety and humanity. 
 
 IV. To BANISH DISCONTENT. 
 
 We have been speaking hitherto of those dis- 
 tinctions and possessions which confer superiority, 
 and place men on an elevation above their fellows ; 
 but the doctrine of the text is equally applicable to 
 all the varieties and differences which exist. When 
 we contrast our meanness, poverty, afflictions, and 
 disappointments with the greatness, prosperity, and 
 success of others, we are often apt to murmur and 
 to express our discontent with the allotments of 
 Providence; but reflect for a moment — " Who 
 hath made thee to differ ?" God, the righteous go- 
 
Christ's appeal, etc. 221 
 
 vernor of the universe ; God, the gracious Father 
 of all that trust in him ; the God and Father of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, who sent his Son to be a 
 man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ; a God 
 in covenant, who has arranged that all things shall 
 work together for your good, and that your light 
 afflictions, which are but for a moment, shall work 
 out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
 of glory. But before you can receive the com- 
 fort of all this, you must know your demerit as sin- 
 ners, your glorious privileges as believers, and be 
 living in hope of the glory of God. 
 
 CHRIST'S APPEAL TO HIS RIGHTEOUS 
 FATHER. 
 
 " O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee.' 
 John xvii. 25. 
 
 That God should be unknown by any of his in- 
 telligent creatures, is the most perplexing fact in 
 the history of his moral government ; that men, 
 especially, should be strangers to his character is 
 most inexcusable, and proves how deeply they are 
 fallen : probably this is the only part of the uni- 
 verse where the fact exists. 
 
 That the Divine Majesty can never be fully 
 known, even by the most exalted beings, is indeed 
 admitted; but that ignorance should prevail to 
 the extent of excluding him from the consciousness 
 
 ' u3 
 
222 Christ's appeal to 
 
 of an entire race of creatures naturally capable of 
 knowing, loving, and adoring him, and who are sur- 
 rounded with the most magnificent and infinitely- 
 varied proofs of his existence and providence, is 
 the most affecting and appalling consideration that 
 can possibly be entertained. 
 
 This is a fact which brings the Saviour upon 
 his knees, and draws from him the most touching 
 and pathetic expressions of regret and sorrow. 
 What a different scene is here exhibited from that 
 which inspired the high anthem of praise when 
 " the morning stars sang together, and all the 
 sons of God shouted for joy." " O righteous 
 Father, the world hath not known thee." The 
 temple is desecrated — the glory is departed — 
 " darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the 
 people" — sounds, but not of gladness, are heard in 
 the habitations of cruelty, where Moloch reigns 
 and Superstition immolates on every altar, raised 
 by ignorance of the true God, her myriads of vic- 
 tims. The song of creation is exchanged for the 
 groans of despair, and earth, without the know- 
 ledge of God, is the darkened theatre where crimes 
 of deepest horror are perpetrated without either 
 compassion or remorse. The tears and groans of 
 suffering humanity, the moral degradation, the 
 fearful guilt, and the eternal ruin of the whole 
 species, so far as it applies, are all comprehended 
 in this one short appeal to Heaven — " The world 
 hath not known thee." 
 
 That this subject may awaken in our bosoms all 
 those emotions which will impart tenderness and 
 
 8 
 
HIS RIGHTEOUS FATHER. 223 
 
 energy to our principles as Christians, in reference 
 to that world for whose ignorance we are to a 
 certain extent responsible, and for the removal of 
 which we should daily labour and pray, let us, 
 
 I. Consider this assertion of the Saviour with a 
 view to illustrate and establish its truth : II. Let us 
 inquire into the various springs of principle and sen- 
 timent which induced him thus to give it utterance : 
 and, III. Let us apply both to our character and du- 
 ties as Christians who are living and dying among 
 the multitudes in whose behalf the Saviour makes 
 this affecting appeal — " O righteous Father, the 
 world hath not known thee." 
 
 Let us consider this assertion of the Saviour, 
 
 I. With a view to illustrate and estab- 
 lish ITS TRUTH. 
 
 It will be observed that our Lord draws a strong 
 line of demarcation between the world and his fol- 
 lowers ; and the grand point of distinction is pre- 
 cisely this — the world is destitute of all saving 
 knowledge of God, while his true disciples possess 
 it, and exemplify its value in bringing forth its 
 fruits. " I have known thee, and these have 
 known that thou hast sent me; and I have de- 
 clared unto them thy name, and will declare it ; 
 that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may 
 be in them, and I in them." 
 
 The censure of the text, therefore, falls on all 
 those who, possessing a Divine revelation, remain 
 ignorant of God as the only object of religious 
 worship, and the only source of true felicity. 
 
 Thus it applies to those who remain ignorant of 
 God within the verge of Christian illumination, 
 
224 Christ's appeal to 
 
 and to those who are millions of leagues beyond 
 its reach, but on whom the light of nature shines, 
 without leading them up to its infinite and eternal 
 Source, The world hath not known God. 
 
 1. TJie world is ignorant of God, of his nature, 
 his government, his laws, and his Gospel. 
 
 But may not this ignorance be in a great degree 
 venial? Have not mankind from age to age been 
 compelled to grope their way in the dark ? God is 
 not known, because he hath not clearly revealed him- 
 self to the world. It is very easy for superficial 
 minds to assume this gross reflection upon the 
 Divine character, judging only from the univer- 
 sality and the depth of the ignorance with which 
 they are surrounded : but the blame is not in any 
 way imputable to God. He is clear when he is 
 judged. For what is the fact? This ignorance 
 has prevailed most where men have had the clear- 
 est light, and on that part of the Divine character 
 where this light has shone with the brightest ra- 
 diance. 
 
 This has been true of every nation — of every 
 age. It is as true at this moment, as when the 
 assertion was first made. 
 
 1. The light of nature has not led men to God. It 
 cannot be affirmed that of this light there was ever 
 any deficiency. Does not the apostle Paul affirm, 
 in the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans, 
 what no reasonable mind can for a moment ques- 
 tion ? — and do we not see in his statement a confir- 
 mation of what we have just advanced, — that on 
 those points where the light has been clearest, it 
 has been most abused ? 
 
HIS RIGHTEOUS FATHER. 225 
 
 Verse 20 : " For the invisible things of him 
 from the creation of the world are clearly seen, 
 being understood by the things that are made, even 
 his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are 
 without excuse: because that, when they knew 
 God, they glorified him not as God, neither were 
 thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, 
 and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing 
 themselves to be wise, they became fools, and 
 changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an 
 image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, 
 and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Where- 
 fore God also gave them up to uncleanness, 
 through the lust of their own hearts, to dishonour 
 their own bodies between themselves : who changed 
 the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and 
 served the creature more than the Creator, who is 
 blessed for ever. Amen." 
 
 2. The revelation and system of symbolical truths 
 embodied in the Jewish Scriptures and worship, were 
 abused also precisely on those great subjects on which 
 they shed the purest light. Nor, when the light 
 increased and set forth all the splendours of the 
 Deity in the person, discourses, miracles, and 
 wonders of the Redeemer, was the truth of this 
 statement at all shaken: on the contrary, it was 
 most signally confirmed. 
 
 3. And it has been increasingly established ever 
 since then cloivn to the present moment. The light 
 of salvation, so far from making the great multi- 
 tude of mankind wise or happy, has aggravated 
 the guilt of their ignorance, and thus augmented 
 
226 Christ's appeal to 
 
 the weight of their condemnation. It has pro- 
 voked the most determined enmity, called forth 
 every form of depravity, and been a savour of death 
 unto death. There is nothing so little understood 
 as the way to heaven, though God has poured all 
 his radiance upon it. 
 
 The progress of light has been chiefly to reveal 
 the horrible prevailing darkness ; and how dreadful 
 its extent ! But this fact stands not alone as one 
 of simple ignorance. How ought such a fact to 
 affect the hearts of enlightened and holy beings? — 
 with what feelings and purposes ought Christians 
 to receive its announcement ? This question is 
 answered when we consider the impression which 
 it made upon the Son of God. It led him to 
 prayer, and through this medium he breathes out 
 his spirit to God his righteous Father, " O right- 
 eous Father, the world hath not known thee." 
 
 Let us, then, inquire into, 
 
 II. The various springs of principle and 
 
 SENTIMENT IN WHICH THIS LANGUAGE ORIGINATES. 
 
 The language is that of the Mediator between 
 God and men — the man Christ Jesus, in the high 
 act of solemn intercession — of one who possessed 
 all human sympathies, who felt as we feel, but all 
 whose sensibilities, though human, were perfectly 
 pure. It is the perfection, the unsullied perfection 
 of humanity, that offers this tender appeal to his 
 almighty Father. 
 
 1. It expresses the regret of an intellectual being 9 
 conscious of the supreme worth of divine knowledge as 
 the noblest attainment of the f amities of mind and 
 
HIS RIGHTEOUS FATHER. 227 
 
 reason. Intelligence capable of ascending high as 
 the throne, the being, the attributes of the Eter- 
 nal, the uncreated Mind, is the distinguishing 
 power of man. But the mere capacity sinks while 
 it elevates: unemployed, it becomes imbruted 
 with the body; the very soul is sensualized, and 
 presents the strange phenomenon of an animal 
 without his instincts. When the intellectual faculty 
 is misemployed, perverted, and rendered active 
 only to expend its energies on what is unworthy 
 of its high destination, the man becomes a fiend, 
 or the immortal sinks down into the mere creature 
 of a day, and lives to learn and diffuse that science 
 which begins in vanity and ends in vexation of 
 spirit. 
 
 2. It is the language of a devout being powerfully 
 impressed with the Divine perfections, and most anx- 
 ious for the universal acknowledgment of the Divine 
 glory. 
 
 3. Of a benevolent being most deeply interested for 
 the moral welfare of the children of men. 
 
 4. Of a sorrowful and agonized spirit, whose ten* 
 der and passionate grief is excited by the miseries of 
 others, and which seeks a refuge from evils which are 
 not to be averted, in the rectitude of the Divine cha- 
 racter, and its sweetest consolations in the fervent as- 
 pirations of devotion. 
 
 It is consistent with this character that these 
 evils should exist in an indefinite progression, and 
 through a succession of ages. It is consistent with 
 the rectitude of the Divine character to remove 
 them in mercy, and to triumph over them in the 
 
 y 
 
2*28 Christ's appeal to 
 
 exercise of a Divine compassion. It is an appeal to 
 God, as the righteous Governor of the universe, 
 to restore the reign of purity and love in a world 
 of rebellion, sin, and misery, the effect of malig- 
 nant and destructive power usurped by the prince 
 of darkness. 
 
 5. It is the language of one convinced that the 
 moral evils of the world are to be removed by divine 
 agency, through the intervention of human efforts ; and 
 who therefore uses prayer as a powerful instrument 
 with Heaven, and a mighty and sustaining stimulus 
 to his own heart, to enable him to make the greatest 
 sacrifice for the attainment of this glorious object. 
 
 Having thus considered this assertion of the Sa- 
 viour, with a view to illustrate and establish its 
 truth ; and having inquired into the various springs 
 of principle and sentiment which induced him to 
 give it utterance ; I come now, 
 
 III. To APPLY BOTH TO OUR OWN CHARACTER 
 AND DUTIES AS CHRISTIANS. 
 
 1 . We should trace all the errors, crimes, nnd mi- 
 series of the world to their proper source — ignorance of 
 God. 
 
 2. We should feel our mighty obligations to impart 
 to our perishing fellow-creatures that knowledge of 
 which they are destitute, and which we possess. 
 
 3. In doing this, we should seek to be imbued with 
 the principles and spirit of the Saviour. This is a 
 spirit of prayer : that the world may believe ; of 
 union, that the world may be impressed and awa- 
 kened in order to believe — the moral beauty of 
 union ; the moral strength of union ; of labour, and 
 
THE CRUCIFIXION. 229 
 
 of sacrifice, that the necessary instrumentality may 
 be supplied for the accomplishment of this object. 
 
 It is the highest honour of our nature to be 
 identified with this glorious spirit of enlightened 
 philanthropy ; for what is there of great, illus- 
 trious, and Divine, that it has not achieved ? What 
 mighty embankments has it not raised against the 
 inundations of misery ! I see it every where like 
 a presiding Deity, a guardian God, disarming the 
 powers of evil of their deadly weapons, seizing the 
 vials of wrath, arresting them in their descent, and 
 opening in their stead fountains overflowing with 
 mercy, and diffusing their salient streams through 
 ten thousand channels, refreshing the moral wilder- 
 ness, and converting a desert of vice and wretched- 
 ness into a garden of purity, peace, and joy. 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 " And there they crucified him." — Luke xxiii. 33. 
 
 We are this day to call your attention to the 
 crucifixion of Jesus Christ — the most extraordinary 
 event in the annals of the universe — in which the 
 greatest possible extremes meet, and the circum- 
 stances and consequences of which are of a charac- 
 ter the most awful, instructive, and impressive. If we 
 
 I. Contemplate it simply as a fact — it is 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY INDUBITABLE EVIDENCE. 
 
 The testimony of enemies, the concurrence of 
 friends, and the universal belief grounded on that 
 testimony, from the period of its accomplishment 
 to the present. 
 
 x 
 
230 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 Considered also simply as a capital punishment 
 inflicted upon an imputed malefactor, two things 
 are remarkable. 
 
 1 . The nature of the punishment — Roman, savage, 
 and barbarous. 
 
 2. The means by ichich it teas procured. It fully 
 accords with the truth of history as it regards the 
 exercise of the Roman power over its conquered 
 provinces, while it proves the utter degradation of 
 the Jews as a people. They were despicable in 
 character: and all their national glory had vanished. 
 
 This marks the period of the transaction, and 
 shows its perfect accordance with the ancient pre- 
 diction concerning Shiloh, " The sceptre shall not 
 depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between 
 his feet, till Shiloh come." But crucifixion, bar- 
 barous and savage as was the punishment, was of 
 frequent occurrence. It was the usual mode of 
 putting slaves and criminals to death. But the 
 crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, as it regards 
 
 II. The person on whom it was inflicted, 
 
 RENDERED IT AN EVENT ALTOGETHER UNPARALLEL- 
 ED IN THE HISTORY OF CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE. 
 
 Never had such a being stood before a 
 tribunal, or been awarded to death. Greater 
 than all the Caesars; wiser than all the philoso- 
 phers ; more benevolent than all the good ; more 
 virtuous than all the just; more devout than all 
 the holiest teachers of theology. He was the glory 
 of the human nature; the express image of the 
 Divine. He claimed the prerogatives of the 
 Godhead ; sustained his claims by his deeds and 
 words ; announced a mission from heaven ; and 
 
THE CRUCIFIXION. 231 
 
 proclaimed himself the Saviour of the world. Now 
 if all these had been pretension, the raving of mad- 
 ness, or the cunning of imposture, as he was poor, 
 and destitute, and friendless, it was not necessary 
 to call in the aid of the Roman power to crush him 
 in his weakness ; and if he confirmed his preten- 
 sions by miracles, and the discovery of wonderful 
 power, and avoided all offence against existing 
 authorities, by refusing to exercise their functions, 
 he ought to have been hailed, honoured, and 
 adored. The nearer Christ approached in his re- 
 vealed character — a Divine nature — the greater of 
 course were the obligations of mankind to receive 
 him, and the more atrocious their guilt in rejecting 
 him. 
 
 And thus I observe, 
 
 HI. That the crucifixion of Christ is an 
 
 UNPARALLELED EVENT AS IT COMPREHENDS, 
 
 AND IN THE MOST HEINOUS DEGREE, EVERY SPE- 
 CIES OF HUMAN WICKEDNESS. 
 
 On the part of the Jews it was a base betrayal 
 of their country to a foreign power ; it involved the 
 guilt of perjury, of injustice, ingratitude, hypo- 
 crisy, (our law,) impiety, and treason against the 
 Almighty Ruler of heaven and earth; and this 
 against light and knowledge; in spite of warning; 
 no motive but malice. On the part of the Roman 
 governor a base dereliction of duty ; the love of 
 popularity; pusillanimous weakness: despicable 
 avarice. In all the sin of murder, and " murder 
 most foul, as in the best it is." 
 
 IV. As IT REGARDS THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS 
 CRUCIFIXION, IT WAS AN EVENT UNPRECEDENTED, 
 
232 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 AND NEVER CAN HAVE A PARALLEL, ON ACCOUNT 
 OF THE PECULIAR AGONIES AND HORRORS WHICH 
 IN THIS CASE WERE EXCLUSIVELY ENDURED. 
 
 Innocence bearing the imputation of the most 
 atrocious guilt — kindness visited with barbarous 
 ingratitude — philanthropy suffering in apprehen- 
 sion of the penal consequences which would fall on 
 the guilty perpetrators, (" Father, forgive them !") 
 — a lacerated, wounded body, a body most perfect 
 in all its senses, and every sense wounded — most 
 susceptible in all its nerves, and every nerve racked 
 with throbbing, piercing, unendurable pain — all his 
 sympathies assailed at the same moment — his 
 mother — the agonies of his suffering companions — 
 the sufferings of his soul — withdrawment of the 
 Divine favour — infliction of vengeance — expiation, 
 the victim of human guilt. 
 
 V. The crucifixion of our blessed Lord 
 
 HAS NO PARALLEL, IF WE CONSIDER THE FEARFUL 
 AND PRETERNATURAL CONCOMITANTS WHICH MARK- 
 ED ITS CHARACTER, BOTH AS THE RESULT AND THE 
 EXPIATION OF HUMAN TRANSGRESSION. 
 
 Darkness was over all the land — the graves 
 opened, and their dead arose — the veil of the tem- 
 ple was rent by a mysterious hand — the earth was 
 shook to its foundations, and the rocks were cloven 
 asunder. One malefactor cursed, another prayed 
 — hell was appalled at the work which sin — which 
 human sin, had done — it was nature's crisis, and 
 the sympathy was felt through the utmost extent of 
 universal being. The only one that felt not, cared 
 not, and that was ready to brave the worst, was he 
 that did it all, and to whom it seemed neither a 
 
THE CRUCIFIXION. 233 
 
 matter of sympathy nor of peril. And on whom 
 does this censure fall ? what impious hand achieved 
 this dismal tragedy? 
 
 " I ask'd the heavens, ' What foe to God hath done 
 
 This unexampled deed ?' The heavens exclaim, 
 1 'Twas man ! and we in horror snatch'd the sun 
 
 From such a spectacle of guilt and shame.' u- 
 I ask'd the Sea ;— the sea in fury boil'd, 
 
 And answer'd with his voice of storms, • 'Twas man ! 
 My waves in panic at his crime recoil'd, 
 
 Disclos'd the abyss, and from the centre ran.' 
 I ask'd the Earth; — the earth replied aghast, 
 
 'Twas man ! and such strange pangs my bosom rent, 
 That still I groan and shudder at the past.' 
 
 To Man, gay, thoughtless Man, I went, 
 And ask'd him next: — He turn'd a scornful eye, 
 Shook his proud head, and deign'd me no reply." 
 
 VI. Another wonder that distinguishes 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST IS, THAT IT WAS ON 
 HIS PART PERFECTLY VOLUNTARY, AND AN EX- 
 PRESSION THE STRONGEST HE COULD GIVE OF HIS 
 INFINITE LOVE. 
 
 VII. That it displays the most astonish- 
 ing VIRTUES ; THAT IT IS IN TRUTH INVESTED 
 WITH ALL THE MORAL GLORIES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 This is true whether we regard its design to 
 harmonize all the Divine attributes in the salva- 
 tion of man, or whether we regard what it imme- 
 diately exhibited of the personal character of the 
 Divine Sufferer. 
 
 \IIL It PRODUCES THE MOST WONDERFUL MO- 
 RAL TRANSFORMATIONS. 
 
 IX. It IS THE SOLE MERITORIOUS CAUSE OF 
 HUMAN ENJOYMENT, THROUGH WHATEVER ME- 
 DIUM IT IS CONVEYED UPON EARTH; AND ESPE- 
 
234 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 CIALLY THE CAUSE AND THE SPRING OF ALL THE 
 FELICITY THAT SAINTS ARE TO POSSESS THROUGH 
 ETERNITY IN HEAVEN. 
 
 " It is for the sake of the transactions of this 
 hour that this beauteous world is kept up, and that 
 the sun shines on the just and on the unjust. 
 Every sweet tone in nature comes forth from thy 
 responsibility, O Jesus of Nazareth ! Every little 
 singing bird has in thee more than a double Crea- 
 tor. Thou art Alpha and Omega in the strangely- 
 wrought song of Time and its spheres : every thing 
 of affection which gladdens our earth is held fast to 
 us in the same interference of thine, under which 
 our souls are finally redeemed." 
 
 But through this mysterious event the guilty is 
 not only pardoned, and the depraved transformed, 
 but immortal hopes and joys spring up in the bo- 
 som : on earth an antepast of heaven is enjoyed ; 
 and beyond the regions of time, and the glories 
 and felicities of eternity, the cross is recognised as 
 the foundation of the whole. The awful wonders of 
 Calvary, that shrouded the earth with preternatural 
 darkness, are mingled with all the moral splendours 
 which irradiate the throne of God and the Lamb. 
 Nor, after the consummation of all things, will 
 there be a creature in the universe that will not be 
 indebted for the bliss of its being to this myster. 
 of infinite love, which, in the act of saving guilty 
 and ruined man, in its infinite exuberance of bless- 
 ings, augments the happiness of the universe. 
 
 \V. Tyler, Printer, Bolt-court, Fleet-street.