* K RY Of WNCerfis Logical st*'^> • 1U>\ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/graceofchristorsOOplum THE GRACE OF CHRIST, SINNERS SAVED BY UNMERITED KINDNESS / BY WM. S. PLUMER, D.D. We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be 3aved even as they." — Acts xv. 11. PHILADELPHIA: PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. NO. 265 CHESTNUT STSEET. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1853, by A. W . MITCHELL, M . D . in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsvlvania. Stereotyped by Slote & Mooney, Philadelphia. Wm. S . Martien, Printer. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGE Introduction 7 CHAPTER II. All Men are Sinners 13 CHAPTER in. Sin is a great Evil 20 CHAPTER IV. How the pious regard Sin in themselves and in others.. 26 CHAPTER V. The Heart of Man is all wrong '. 32 CHAPTER VI. Wicked Men are like wicked Angels 36 CHAPTER VII. Man is utterly helpless 40 CHAPTER VIII. Without divine grace, Men can do nothing but sin 62 CHAPTER IX. The Corruption of Man is hereditary 63 CHAPTER X. Men are guilty — Imputation of Adam's sin — Actual sins 74 CHAPTER XI. Self-righteousness is worthless — Man needs a Saviour 85 (iii) IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. PAGE The true notion of Grace 91 CHAPTER XIII. The Properties of Grace — it ie free, sufficient, unselfish, rich in Blessings 9G CHAPTER XIV. God's Grace is also of great Antiquity, sovereign and distin- guishing 101 CHAPTER XV. God's Purpose of Grace 108 CHAPTER XVI. God's Word teaches the Doctrines of Grace — The Fathers also. 121 CHAPTER XVII. What the Martyrs thought— The Reformers— Other good Men. 128 CHAPTER XVIII. The Grace of Christ not different from that of the Father or of the Spirit 136 CHAPTER XIX. No Salvation but by a Redeemer, and no Redeemer but Christ. 139 CHAPTER XX. The Constitution of Christ's Person — His Grace therein 150 CHAPTER XXL The Work and Sufferings of Christ — his active and passive Obedience 164 CHAPTER XXII. The Death of Christ — the Atonement 175 CHAPTER XXIII. Justification before God 191 CHAPTER XXIV. Justification — the Pardon of Sin by Christ's Blood 199 CONTENTS. V CHAPTER XXV. PAGE Justification — Acceptance in Christ 206 CHAPTER XXVI. Justification — Christ's Righteousness is imputed to Believers. 214 CHAPTER XXVII. Justification — Imputed Righteousness— Additional Testimonies. 228 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Oflice of Eaith in Justification 243 CHAPTER XXIX. Why good Works are necessary 253 CHAPTER XXX. Regeneration 261 CHAPTER XXXI. Sanctification 274 CHAPTER XXXII. Sanctification, continued 282 CHAPTER XXXIII. Relative Duties 288 CHAPTER XXXIV. Temptation — How to treat it 293 CHAPTER XXXV. The Power of divine Grace to console 301 CHAPTER XXXVI. Afflictions of the righteous— Sayings — Promises 308 CHAPTER XXXVII. The righteous shall hold on his Way 317 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Abbreviation of human Life 325 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIX. paob The Believer's Victory over Death— The Martyrs 332 CHAPTER XL. Same Subject — Other Examples, ancient and modern 340 CHAPTER XLI. Same Subject — Females — Missionaries 351 CHAPTER XLII. The Immortality of the Soul 359 CHAPTER XLIII. The happy State of God's People immediately after Death 366 CHAPTER XLIV. The Resurrection of Life 375 CHAPTER XLV. The final Judgment 385 CHAPTER XLVI. Eternal Glory 399 CHAPTER XLVII. All Honour is due to Christ 407 CHAPTER XLVIII. Christians long to see Christ 414 CHAPTER XLIX. The Danger of rejecting Salvation 421 CHAPTER L. The Wonders of Grace 'will never cease 428 CHAPTER LI. The Offers of free Grace are to all indiscriminately 432 CHAPTER LIT. The Doctrine of free Grace is safe and reforms Sinners 440 CHAPTER LIII. The Conclusion— An Offer of Life made to the perishing 449 THE GRACE OF CHRIST CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION. Is salvation by grace, or is it of debt ? Did God owe it to man to provide for him a Saviour ? Do men deserve all the wrath revealed from heaven against ungodliness ? Is the sentence of condemnation just ? Cannot human merits avail something towards eternal happiness ? Is man able to turn himself to God and subdue his own sins ? Is the ruin of the soul by sin partial, or total ? Are men very far gone from right- eousness before divine grace renews them ? When Christ came, what did he do and suffer for us ? How does his mediation avail for the lost ? Is there mercy for all, who come to God through Jesus Christ ? Are the provisions of the gospel suited to the wants of men ? Is salvation necessary ? Is it infinitely im- portant ? Is it possible ? These and many similar questions are continually undergoing discussion. In fact they are themes well (?) 8 INTRODUCTION. worthy of the closest and most solemn inquiry. They are of paramount and universal interest. He, who seeks not the truth in these matters, must be found guilty of criminal recklessness. Whatever else may claim his attention, here are matters of still higher importance. These things pertain to the well-being of man and the honour of God. They lay hold of eternity. No man ever gave up his mind with too much candour, with undue love of truth, or with exces- sive earnestness to the investigation of the Scriptures on themes of so vast moment. It ought not to be denied that there are difficulties in the way of every inquirer. The prejudices of men are strong and their passions violent. These mightily hinder our reception of the truth. The world also is full of error. Men love darkness rather than light. The friends of sound doctrine are often both timid and supine. The propagators of false notions are lively and confident. It is easy to embrace error. To know the right way demands patience, inquiry, humi- lity. The great things of God are not to be learned by those who restrain prayer. How few men are found crying, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law !" Yet it is possible by the aid of God's word and Spirit to learn the truth on all these matters. Thou- sands have made that great attainment. They have lived long lives and died in the possession and profes- sion of the truth as it is in Jesus. When God bids us search the Scriptures, he sends us not on a fool's errand, nor commands an impossible task. Indeed it is a part of God's plan concerning his people that " we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the know- INTRODUCTION. 9 ledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the stature of the fulness of Christ : that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Eph. iv. 13, 14. And so it has happened that from the first founding of the Church of God, those, who gave the best evidence of being taught of God, have remarkably agreed in the great truths of religion. The matters on which they have fully har- monized have been like the continents and larger islands of our globe, while those, on which they have doubted or differed, may be compared to the lesser is- lands' of the sea, many of which are but barren rocks or beds of sand. This has been demonstrably true since the founding of the Christian Church. The abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the first glorious event succeeding the ascension of Christ. The second was the calling of the Gentiles, and the opening of a wide and effectual door to their conver- sion. This was hailed with joy by the truly pious portion of the Jewish nation. "When Peter gave them an account of the commencement of this work, " they glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gen- tiles granted repentance unto life." Acts xi. 18. This is what we should naturally expect. If a man loves God, whom he has not seen, he is sure to love his bro- ther, whom he has seen. He, who in his heart glori- fies Christ, will desire that all men should do the same. A converted man, who had no joy at seeing sinners coming to Christ, would be a monster, such as has never yet appeared. The bringing in of the Gentiles gave rise to questions, the settlement of which required 10 INTRODUCTION. the calling of a Synod, consisting of apostles, elders and brethren. The chief matter before the council respected the relation of the converts from paganism to the ceremonial law of Moses. But in his address Peter gave a summary of the faith of himself and of his brethren. These are his words : " We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they." Concerning the method and Author of salvation there was among them no disagree- ment. He therefore speaks for all, "We believe;" and he says there is but one scheme of mercy for Jew and Gentile. "We" and "they" relate to the Israel- ites and the pagans. Christ broke down the middle wall of partition between them, abolishing their old mutual enmity by his cross, and making them one in him. His church is not provincial or national, but catholic or universal. It is not confined to any one people, but was intended for the whole race, and em- braces all true believers. Thus Simon Peter expressed the faith of the church of Christ nineteen years after our Lord's ascension to glory. Whatever reluctance some have had to pub- lishing their creed, the apostles had none. Their great object was to let men know what and why they believed. There is no solid argument against the use of doctrinal formulas, long or short, if they are sound, scriptural, and well-understood. They should express the truth in clear terms, and be honestly held before they are professed. " Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. v. 21. "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. i. 13. The salvation of the gospel is common to all, who are INTRODUCTION. 11 "sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Jesus Christ, and called." Jude 3. In this first Synod we have the Christian faith in epitome. From that age to the present, the true faith has often been obscured, marred and corrupted by many, yet it has always won the love and confidence of per- sons and communities, just in proportion as they loved our Lord Jesus Christ, and abounded in the knowledge of his salvation. At times it has seemed as if all the world would soon be drunken with the sorcery of fatal error. But when the enemy has come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord has lifted up a standard against him; and the cause of truth and righteousness has revived. As the character of this work is not polemic but practical, the references to books and pages are en- tirely omitted in the margin. The form of the work is popular, not scientific. It is designed not for the few, but for the masses. The chief object aimed at is to lead men to the foot of the cross, to encourage them to make Christ all and in all, to seek no other way of mercy but by the 'Redeemer, to satisfy all, who revere God's word, of the perfect safety of a soul resting on the grace of Christ, and on that alone for all it needs for its complete deliverance from sin and misery, and so to comfort all that mourn for sin, give courage to the timid but real disciple of Christ, and ultimately to give all the glory to him, to whom it belongs. If men are saved by grace, it is because they need mercy ; and if men are sinners they require a Saviour. The first subject therefore in this treatise is the extent of the wants of men. The second is the supply of those wants in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 12 INTRODUCTION. The remainder of the work is taken up in considering some things growing out of the preceding discussions. May He, to whom we owe all that is pleasant in our history, and all that is animating in our prospects, graciously own this book, and bless its pages to the enlightening, comforting, edifying and saving of many souls. CHAPTER II. ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Barbarians, bond and free, are sinners. If they are not, they need not mercy but mere justice. Yet inspired men never preached the doctrine of human innocence. They all knew and taught just the reverse. In the first chapter of his epistle to the Romans, Paul clearly proves that the Gentiles are sinners : " 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 in- corruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creep- ing things. Wherefore God also gave them up to un- cjeanness through the lusts 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. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections. * * * And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient ; being filled with all unrighteous- ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- ness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, 2 (13) 14 ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. •whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to pa- rents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, with- out natural affection, implacable, unmerciful ; who knowing the judgment of God, that they which com- mit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Could reasoning be more sound and conclusive? There is no way of escaping its force. Beyond a question the Gentiles are sinners. In the third chapter of the same epistle Paul shows that all men, not excepting the Jews, are sinners ; " What then ? are we [Jews] better than they [Gen- tiles] ? No, in no wise : for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin ; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way ; they are together become unprofitable ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their lips ; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways ; and the way of peace have they not know r n. There is no fear of God before their eyes." More direct or cogent reasoning is no where found. It covers all cases. As a fair inference from it the apos- tle says, every mouth must be stopped, and all the world stand guilty before God, and that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. No man will deny that our views of human guilt or innocence, human merit or demerit, will materially mo- ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. 15 dify all our views in religion. This doctrine of the sinfulness of man is therefore, if true, very important, and so it may be well to look further at the arguments by which it is maintained. If men are enemies of God, it is high time they should know it. "What then is the testimony of the Holy Ghost in other parts of Scripture ? It is peculiarly clear : " There is no man that sinneth not." 1 Kings viii. 46. "If (God) will contend with (man), he cannot answer one of a thou- sand." Job ix. 3. "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." Psa. cxliii. 2. " There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." Ecc. vii. 20. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- selves and the truth is not in us." " If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John i. 8, 10. In all the range of sober writings on serious matters, where can you find more pointed and explicit declarations ? W r ho dare take up the challenge of the wise man, when he says : " Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ?". Prov. xx. 9. " The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live ; and after that they go to the dead." Ecc. ix. 3. " The whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John v. 19. " In many things we offend all." James iii. 2. The Scriptures speak a language no less distinct re- specting our sins of omission. " All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. iii. 23. In Christ's account of the final judgment in Matt. xxv. 42 — 46, the only sins charged upon the wicked are sins of omission. " I was a hungered and ye gave me no meat ; I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink," &c. 16 ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. In that solemn scene on the last night of Belshazzar's life, when Daniel was called in as it were to pronounce sentence on the royal offender, one of his charges, and one that has a fearful significance was, " Thou hast not humbled thyself." Another still more comprehensive was, " The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." Dan. v. 22, 23. If in reviewing the guilt of such a mon- ster of depravity as Belshazzar, such prominence was due to the neglect of duty, it is easy to see what must be the vast amount of sin of omission among men generally. The law is, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself." This law is infinitely holy, just and good. Where is the living man that ever met these righteous demands even for an hour ? Men must all be sinners, or they could not be so defi- cient in obedience to this fundamental law of God's empire. Never was a complaint more just, or a re- buke more timely than when God says : " If I be a father, where is my honour ? and if I be a master, where is my fear ?" Mai. i. 6. "Man, if his heart were not depraved, might have had a disposition to gratitude to God for his goodness, in proportion to his disposition to anger towards men for their injuries.' 1 Who will say that any such proportion is observed ? Such was the corruption of the entire race of man that the Judge of all the earth destroyed the world, one family alone excepted, with a deluge. The reason assigned by God himself for this terrific judgment was the wickedness of men : " My Spirit shall not always strive with man." " And God saw that the wickedness ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. 17 of man was great in the earth, and that every imagi- nation of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con- tinually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." " And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth." Gen. vi. 3, 5, 6, 12. If man naturally loved holiness and goodness, one would have said that the length of life in the ante-diluvian ages would have been very favourable to the establishment of indivi- duals and communities in all virtues and moral excel- lencies. Instead of this, " the earth was corrupt be- fore God, and the earth was filled with violence." Gen. vi. 11. Longevity wrought misery to man and dishonour to God. The destruction of the old world was either just or unjust. If any say it was unjust, they blasphemously impeach God's character. If they admit that it was just, then they say it was deserved, and so admit that human wickedness is dreadful. There is no candid reader of the Scriptures, who will deny that one of the duties urged in God's word upon all men is that of repentance. But can that duty be incumbent on the pure and holy ? Is it not worse than mere folly to call on those to repent, who have nothing to repent of, to require men to be sorry for having committed no sin, to change their mind and behaviour concerning their unfaltering obedience to God ? To ask a holy being to repent is to call on him to apostatize from God. In like manner the Scrip- tures call on men to confess their sins and to forsake them, promising mercy to such. But have sinless an- gels ever been called to such work ? Is it not absurd to require such things of the innocent ? For a man 2* 18 ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. to confess a fault which he never committed is a gra- tuitous falsehood, an insult to God. So also in prayer we are taught to say, "Forgive us our debts." How idle to plead for mercy, when we need nothing but sheer justice ; to beg for forgiveness, when we are chargeable with no offence ! Jesus Christ and his apostles often speak of men as condemned, as under wrath, as liable to death. How can this be so, unless men deserve these things ? But if they deserve them, they are sinners. In short, no such book of contradictions and extravagancies can be found as the Bible, unless man is a sinner. Bloody sacrifices are wholly unfit to be offered for the sinless. If men are all innocent, Jesus Christ redeemed no one by his blood, for the . reason that no one needed re- demption. If men are not sinners, the Holy Ghost never could convict them of sin, nor convert them from sin ; and so the entire gospel would be glad tidings to no one. If men are not sinners, the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost, of Paul on Mars Hill, and of all others, who have held forth the truths of the Gospel was a cruel aggravation of human miseries, which nothing could justify. If men are innocent, all urgency, yea all concern about salvation is fanaticism. But it should not be forgotten that whenever men's in- terests clash, when controversies arise, when litigations commence, they always regard each other as sinful. Nor is this all. Every good man, whom the world has ever seen, has pronounced on his own case that he was not innocent. David said, " I have sinned against the Lord." Isaiah said, " Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips." Job said, " Behold I am vile." Peter said, U I am a sinful man." Paul said, "I am the ALL MEN ARE SINNERS. 19 chief of sinners." Surely if converted and inspired men so judged of their case, in a word, if the best men the world ever saw were sinners, all men must be alien- ated from God. One reason for admitting this doc- trine is that it is true. This is the grand reason for admitting any doctrine and should end all controversy about it. But we may well remember that whatever humbles us, and causes us to take our place in the dust before God is good for us and is probably true. The right place for sinners is one of deep self-abasement. It is also important to us never to forget that in de- nying our lost and miserable condition we do thereby refuse Christ and all his mercies. "Till our necessi- ties be understood, redemption cannot be well under- stood." " That is the reason we are no better, because our disease is not perfectly known : that is the reason we are no better, because we know not how bad we are." If there is no sin, there can be no salvation. If we are not great sinners, Christ is not a great Saviour. CHAPTER III SIN IS A GREAT EVIL. Tell me what you think of sin, and I will tell you what you think of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, of the divine law, of the blessed Gospel, and of all necessary truth. He, who looks upon sin merely as a fiction, as a misfortune, or as a trifle, sees no necessity either for deep repentance or a great atonement. He, who sees no sin in himself, will feel no need of a Saviour. He, who is conscious of no evil at work in his heart, will desire no change of nature. He, who regards sin as a slight affair, will think a few tears, or an outward reformation ample satisfaction. The truth is, no man ever thought himself a greater sinner before God than lie really was. Nor was any man ever more distressed at his sins than he had just cause to be. He, who never felt it to be " an evil and a bitter thing to depart from God," is to this hour an enemy of his Maker, a rebel against his rightful and righteous Sovereign. When God speaks of the evil of sin it is in such language as this : " Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid ; be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils : (20) SIN IS A GREAT EVIL. 21 they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water." Jer. ii. 12, 13. God is a God of truth, and would never speak thus about anything that was not atrocious and enormous in its very nature. Yet it should be observed that he mentions only such sins as are chargeable to all men, even the most moral and decent. In this estimate of the evil of sin the righteous do well agree with God. The most piteous and bitter cries, that ever ascended from earth to heaven, were uttered under the sting of sin, or were for deliverance from its power. In doctrine there can be no worse tendency than that which dimin- ishes men's abhorrence of iniquity. Nor is there a darker sign in religious experience than the slightness of the impressions some have concerning the heinous nature of all sin. It is worse than poverty, sickness, reproach. It is worse than all sufferings. The reason is because it is "exceeding sinful." The worst thing that can be said of any thought, word, or deed is that it is wicked. It may be foolish, but if it is sinful, that is infinitely worse. It may be vulgar, and as such should be avoided ; but if it is sinful, it should be avoided, were it ever so polite. An act may offend man, and yet be very praiseworthy; but if it dis- pleases God, nothing can excuse its commission. Some have proposed curious and unprofitable ques- tions respecting the infinitude of the evil of sin. An answer to them would probably give rise to a host of others like them, and so there would be no end of folly. Besides, men do not propose or discuss idle questions, when they are anxious to know how they may be saved from sin. Then they cry : " Men and 22 SIN IS A GREAT EVlL. brethren, what must we do ? Is there mercy, is there help, is there hope for such perishing sinners as we are ? if so, where can we find salvation ?" Questions, that are merely curious and not practical in religion, are unworthy of study and consideration. Yet it may be proper to say that anything is to us infinite, the dimensions of which we cannot gauge, the greatness of which we cannot understand. In this sense sin is an infinite evil. We cannot set bounds to it. We cannot say, Thus far it comes and no further. " Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." And who but God can tell all that is included in that fearful word, death ? Moreover, sin is committed against an infinite God. The ill-desert of any evil deed is to be de- termined in part by the dignity of the person, against whom it is directed. To strike a brother is wrong ; to strike a parent is worse. To strike a fellow-soldier is punishable with chains ; to strike a commanding officer is punishable with death. On this principle the Bible reasons : "If any man sin against another, the judge " shall judge him ; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" 1 Sam. ii. 25. God is our Maker, Father, Governor, and Judge. He is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. He is the best of all friends, the greatest of all beings, the most bountiful of all benefactors. By ties stronger than death and more lasting than the sun, we are bound to love, fear, honour and obey him. To sin against him is so impudent, ungrateful and wicked, that no created mind can ever adequately estimate its atrocity ; and so it is an infinite evil. If sin had its own way, it would dethrone the Almighty. All re- bellion tends to the utter subversion of the govern- SIN IS A GREAT EVIL. 23 merit against -which it is committed ; and all sin is rebellion against the government of God. If men saw their sins aright, they would more highly prize divine mercy ; and if they had more worthy conceptions of God's grace, they would have more abasing views of themselves. We may learn much of the evil nature of sin by the names which the Bible gives to it, and to those who practise it. It is called disobedience, transgression, iniquity, foolishness, madness, rebellion, evil, evil fruit, uncleanness, filthiness, pollution, perverseness, frow- ardness, stubbornness, revolt, an abomination, an ac- cursed thing. In like manner deeds of wickedness are called evil works, works of darkness, dead works, works of the flesh, works of the devil. And wicked men are called sinners, unjust, unholy, unrighteous, filthy, evil men, evil doers, seducers, despisers, child- ren of darkness, children of the devil, children of hell, corrupters, idolators, enemies of God, enemies of all righteousness, adversaries of God and man, liars, deceivers. From low, meagre apprehensions of the divine nature and law flow a slight estimate of the evil of sin, spi- ritual pride, self-conceit, and a clisesteem of the most precious righteousness of Jesus Christ. He, who can go to Gethsemane and Calvary, and come away with slight views of the evil nature of sin, must be blind indeed. There God speaks in accents not to be mis- understood but by the wilful. Yet such is the per- verseness of men that they often refuse to learn even at the cross of Christ. Beveridge says : " Man's un- derstanding is so darkened that he can see nothing of God in God, nothing of holiness in holiness, nothing 24 SIN IS A GKEAT EVIL. of good in good, nothing of evil in evil, nor anything of sinfulness in sin. Nay, it is so darkened that he fancies himself to see good in evil, and evil in good, happiness in sin, and misery in holiness." We all naturally belong to the generation of " the blind peo- ple that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears." In coincidence with these general views Brookes says: " No sin can be little, because there is no little God to sin against." Bunyan near death said : ct No sin against God can be little ; because it is against the great God of hea- ven and earth ; but if the sinner can find out a little God, it may be easy to find out little sins." John Owen says : " He that hath slight thoughts of sin, never had great thoughts of God." Luther said : " From the error of not knowing or understanding what sin is, there necessarily arises an- other error, that people cannot know or understand w r hat grace is." The Westminster Assembly says : " Every sin, even the least, being against the sovereignty, goodness, and holiness of God, and against his righteous law, de- serveth his wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come, and cannot be expiated but by the blood of Christ." Paul says: " The wages of sin is death." Chrysostom says : " There is in human affairs no- thing that is truly terrific but sin. In all things else, in poverty, in sickness, in disgrace, and in death, (which is held to be the greatest of all evils) there is nothing that is really dreadful. With the wise man they are all empty names. But to offend God, to do what he disapproves, this is real evil." SIN IS A GREAT EVIL. 25 Truly every wise man will say that he has cause to cry, Show me my sin, my lost condition ; show me thy love, thy mercy. Show me the extent, the holi- ness, the spirituality of thy commandments. Reveal thy Son in me. Let him be the cure of sin, both of its horrible pollution and its horrible guilt. 3 CHAPTER IV. HOW THE PIOUS REGARD SIN IN THEMSELVES AND IN OTHERS. " I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes ;" " wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" "0 my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee ;" " Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." These are but specimens of the deep humiliation, self-loathing, bitterness of soul, and painful apprehension which the righteous of every age feel for their own sins. There is a sense, in which every good man regards himself as the chief of sinners. That is, every one, who really knows his own heart, and has seen the sad work, which sin has made in his moral character, is able as before God to say more evil of himself than of any other being. The souls of such are filled with a godly sorrow, which worketh repen- tance to salvation, not to be repented of. Nor is this sorrow a solitary sentiment. What carefulness it works in all the regenerate, yea, what clearing of themselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what re- venge ! In fine it is certain that no sentiment is more powerful in its effects on men's hearts, than this self- abasement for personal vileness in the sight of God. (20) HOW THE PIOUS REGARD SIN. 27 Sin in the heart of the believer is to him exceedingly odious. Some may say that Christians are chiefly distressed at their own sins, because they fear that they will prove their ruin at last. Those, who bring this charge, should know that the righteous seldom endure greater anguish of mind than that produced by the sins of others. This grief is not confined to any one class of good men. The young convert, the strong man in Christ, and the aged servant of the Lord alike show their sadness when others are known to offend against God. It is therefore illogical and unfair to impute this distress to weakness of mind, to nervous debility, or to personal apprehension of coming wrath. It is a part of genuine Christian feeling. He, who cares not that others offend God, has never wept aright over his own sins. So certainly as the heart is savingly changed, will men hate and be made sad by all sin, even though it be in a stranger. Was not the soul of righteous Lot vexed from day to day by the wickedness of his neighbours ? Did not David cry, " I beheld the transgressors and was grieved, because they kept not thy word?" Again he says: "Horror hath taken hold of me because of the wicked that forsake thy law ;" and " rivers of water run down mine eyes, be- cause they keep not thy law." Jeremiah felt just so : " Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a foun- tain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Ezekiel tells us how God, by an angel of mercy, " set a mark upon the foreheads of the men, that did sigh and cry for all the abominations" done in the land. Jesus himself was often grieved at the wickedness of men. He wept over the 28 HOW THE PIOUS REGARD SIN very city, which was about to shed his blood. There must be something very heinous in the nature of sin thus to awaken grief and abhorrence in every virtuous mind. To be indifferent to the moral character of those around us, if such a state of mind be possible, is proof of a sad benumbing of all virtuous sensibilities. To take pleasure in those, who make a trade of sin, and do abominable wickedness, is full proof of one's loving iniquity for its own sake. But why does the Christian weep for the sins of others ? He may do it as a man. Some sins bring shame, and poverty, and punishment on those, who commit them ; and all, who are connected with them, are to some extent involved in suffering. In this way the pious and the ungodly members of a family often weep together over the intemperance, or other ruinous and disgraceful vice of one of their number. But the good man stops not here. He weeps as a Christian. He is greatly grieved that God is dishonoured. This is the main cause of all his grief. And as he is bene- volent, he is sorry that men will expose themselves to Jehovah's curse. It makes him tremble to see men pulling down wrath on themselves. He is also grieved at the probable ill effects of a bad example, in seducing others from the right way. He is specially afflicted at the blindness and wantonness of sinners, in despising mercy, rejecting Christ and vexing the Holy Spirit. Self-love commonly steps not in to shut the eyes of a Christian to the hatefulness of sin, when he sees it in others. When others sin, good men see what they themselves were before conversion, or what they would have been but for the restraints of providence. An eminent ser- IN THEMSELVES AND IN OTHERS. 29 vant of Christ seeing a culprit led to execution said, " There goes John Bradford by nature." Can any man thus see himself mirrored forth in the life of an- other, and not be humbled and grieved ? Should he, who thus transgresses, be a professor of Christ's reli- gion, and eminent in gifts or station, the anguish felt is the more keen, because God is thus greatly dis- honoured, Christ is wounded in the house of his frinds, the enemy takes occasion to utter new and bitter re- proaches against religion, and the wicked are greatly emboldened in wrong-doing. Such a lapse commonly shakes all those secure thoughts, which men have of their own spiritual state, and awakens jealousies, over one's self, which are like coals of juniper. If David fell, much more may a weak believer. If the tempest tears up cedars by the roots, what shall become of the tender plants ? If a giant may be overcome, how much more a child? So that the open sins of pro- fessors, in proportion to their eminence, lead God's people to great heart-searchings and strong fears lest hidden iniquity should at last be their ruin. Let it be so ; for " if the sins of others be not our fear, they may be our practice. What the best have done, the weakest may imitate. There is scarcely any notorious sin, into which self-confidence may not plunge us. There is hardly any sin, from which a holy and watch- ful fear may not happily preserve us." that men would remember that, " Blessed is he that feareth al- ways." Preservation from sin is better than recovery from its snares. A man may escape death by a malig- nant pestilence, though it attack him, but it will pro- bably leave him weak and liable to other diseases. How surely will a wise man profit by the errors of 3* 30 HOW THE PIOUS REGARD SIN others ! " In vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird." When the land is full of enemies, no wise man says, " There is no danger." Of all unamiable and unchristian tempers none is more dangerous to its possessor than harshness to a fallen brother, founded on confidence in our own strength. " Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one, in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." We cannot pity erring men too much, but in the abhorrence of sin there is no danger of excess, nor can we pray too fervently, nor watch too closely against falling into the evil practices, which we lament or reprehend in others. Sin is the worst of evils. So greatly do good men hate it, that they have long preferred anything else rather than its defile- ment. Joseph said : " How can I do this great wick- edness and sin against God ?" and cheerfully went to prison rather than yield to temptation. Moses also chose " rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt : for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Anselm said: "If sin were on one side, and hell on the other, I would sooner leap into hell than willingly sin against my God." Good old David Rice, the apostle of Kentucky, allud- ing to the irreligion of his day, said : " As I see a propriety in it, so I feel an inclination to go mourning to my grave." How base and cruel it is in unconverted persons by their wickedness to afflict all their pious friends, and then upbraid them for not being happy ! How can. IN THEMSELVES AND IN OTHERS. 3l one be joyful, when he sees those, whom he loves most, rejecting God, and " digging into hell ?" Esther said, " How can I endure to see the destruction of my kin- dred ?" And Paul said : " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness, and contin- ual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that my- self were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." What anguish wrings the heart of a pious wife, or child, who lives for years with the growing conviction that he, for whom they have so long wept and prayed, will yet pretty certainly die without hope ! And who can de- scribe the fearful tumult, or crushing sorrow, when the eyes of such an one are closed in death, and pious survivors have no reason to believe that the separation which then takes place is other than eternal ! CHAPTER V. THE HEART OF MAN IS ALL WRONG. Let us look at our own hearts. There is a mystery in all iniquity. In Scripture it is often called a lie, guile, deceit. The heart of man is full of all treachery ; so that " there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness ; their throat is an open sepulchre ; they flatter with their tongue." " His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and fraud." " They speak vanity every one with his neighbour : with flat- tering lips and with a double heart do they speak." " The counsels of the wicked are deceit." " They hold fast deceit ; they refuse to return." " The heart is deceitful above all things." It deceives every being but one. It would deceive Him, if he were not omni- scient. None but God knows all the depths of iniquity and duplicity within us. Genuine conviction is at- tended with a sense of the divine knowledge and hatred of our sins. What unconverted man can without terror dwell on the words, " Thou God seest me?" To the regenerate it is for a joy that God knows all their hearts, and will search and cleanse them. When the wicked sin greedily, and have no checks in their con- sciences, you may know that it is because God is not in all their thoughts. " Do you think that I believe there is a God, when I do such things ?" said Nero to Seneca, who was reproving him for his vices. (32) THE HEART OF MAN IS ALL WRONG. 33 Though the language of the Bible is strong, it is just. God declares, and every Christian knows by sad experience that his heart is deceitful above all things. Among beasts, the fox and serpent are de- ceitful. But their arts are few and can soon be learned. The currents of the sea are deceitful, yet you may soon acquire a knowledge of the dangers thence arising. There is a law in their variations. Even the magnetic needle is not always true to the pole. Yet its variations can be precisely calculated. But no mortal knows how much his heart varies from the law of God. "Who can understand his errors?" Ps. xix. 12. A broken tooth or foot out of joint can never be safely trusted. Men know this and never wittingly rely upon them. But all men put more or less confidence in their own hearts. Man is the only creature on earth that seems to practise self-deception. The fox deceives his pur- suers, not himself. But man " feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand ?" Isa. xliv. 20. Who has not often seen that " there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death ?" Prov. xvi. 25. How timely is that exhortation of Paul, " Let no man deceive himself!" 1 Cor. iii. 18. How strange and yet how common that he, whose heart has deceived him a thousand times, should yet confide in it as if it had always been honest ! Education is sometimes so conducted as to make us blind to our real characters. One trained at a Jesuit's school complained : " I have been so long in the habit of concealing my real sentiments from others, that I 84 THE HEART OP MAN IS ALL WRONG. hardly know what they are." Few men have been such adepts in the arts of a corrupt court as Talley- rand ; but many still live, who think with him that "language was designed to conceal thought." In such cases "deceiving and being deceived" are com- monly united. That we should sometimes deceive others is proof of our depravity ; but that we should spend our lives in self-deception is truly marvellous. Men of the fewest virtues commonly have the best conceit of themselves. Peter solemnly averred his adhesion to Christ, though all others should forsake him ; yet in the trying hour his conduct was worse than that of any but the traitor. When forewarned of his wickedness Hazael felt insulted, and cried. " But what ! is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing ?" Yet he very soon perpetrated all the horrible crimes, which had been foretold. Above most men Ahab sold himself to do iniquity, and thus brought dire curses on his person and kingdom ; yet, as soon as he saw Elijah, he said, " Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" A perfect knowledge of the treachery of our hearts is possessed by none but God ; a just knowledge of them belongs to no portion of mankind, but those who are enlightened by the Holy Ghost. The heart is also vile. It is " desperately wicked." It loves vanity, and folly, and sin. It hates holiness, and truth, and divine restraints. It is a sink of ini- quity, a pool of pestilential waters, a cage of unclean birds, a sepulchre full of dead men's bones. It is torn by wild, fierce, unhallowed passions. It rejects good and chooses evil. It is wholly corrupt. There is no soundness in it. It is full of evil. " Out of the heart THE HEART OF MAN IS ALL WRONG. 35 proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornica- tions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Matt. xv. 19. Men may rail at the vices, principles, and preju- dices of others, and be worse themselves. " He, that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." Prov. xxviii. 26. If the word, fool, here as in some other cases desig- nates a wicked man, it is well applied. None but bad men lean upon their own hearts, their own wisdom and counsels, their own strength and sufficiency, their own merit and righteousness. If the word, fool, points out one, who is destitute of wisdom, then who lacks that quality so much as he, who believes his heart upright and honest, when all his life it has been leading him away from God, and practising on him the grossest deceptions ? Surely human nature is a poor thing. Man at his best estate is altogether vanity. " Before conversion, his heart is the worst part about him." Every wise man will say with Paul : "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing." Rom. vii. 18. Sometimes the word, heart, is in Scripture used to designate the conscience, as where it is said, " if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." TVe all have by nature "an evil conscience." The state of the world judged by the entire state of men's consciences, presents one of the most appalling subjects of contemplation. " He that hath a blind conscience, which sees nothing ; a dead conscience, which feels nothing; and a dumb conscience, which says nothing, is in as miserable a condition as a man can be in on this side hell." CHAPTER VI. WICKED MEN ARE LIKE WICKED ANGELS. Such is the sad state of man by nature that he bears a fearful resemblance to fallen angels. This truth is very abasing to human pride. To declare it is a high offence in the judgment of many men of un- circumcised ears and hearts. They wait not to ask what is meant by it, nor what are the evidences of its truth. They instantly repel the charge with indigna- tion. This truth, like any other, may be announced in an offensive manner ; but it is a truth, which must never be given up. No one asserts that unrenewed men now on earth are as wicked as they possibly can be. If they live a day longer in sin, they will be worse. And if they go to eternity without a change of heart, they will be far, far worse. Continuance in sin hardens the heart, and makes men more and more reckless and desperate. " Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse." Satan himself is more hardened and more malignant than when he first revolted. No man all of a sudden sinks to the lowest depths of debasement. Of course it is not asserted that men are now posi- tively as bad as the angels who kept not their first estate. Man has not time on earth to work out such completeness of evil as his elder brethren, who fell into sin, have attained. Moreover, most men have (36) WICKED MEN ARE LIKE WICKED ANGELS. 37 some degree of conscience, some natural affection, some regard to the proprieties of life, and some hope of future repentance, which restrain their evil natures. And yet wicked men are like wicked angels in the sense in which a child is like a man, or a whelp like a lion. Let us see : All admit that wicked angels have no holiness. In this wicked men are precisely like them. They do not love God's law, or nature, or government. They are alienated from him, and opposed to all his attri- butes and authority. They do not glorify him, do not delight in him, do not find pleasure in thinking on his name. They choose sin and death, rather than holi- ness and life. " The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Wicked angels do not please God, neither do wicked men. Neither class intends nor desires to please him. Fallen angels are without God in their prison-house ; and wicked men are with- out God in the world. Neither fallen angels nor fallen men feel towards God, as loyal subjects towards a prince, as faithful servants to a master, as dutiful children to a father. The want of truth is a great sin among fallen an- gels and fallen men. Satan is a deceiver, a slanderer, an accuser of the brethren, a liar and the father of lies. Men also are deceivers. They lay snares privily. They use cunning craftiness. They practise intrigue, imposture, and equivocation. They love and make a lie. They are a lie. " They delight in lies." The wicked are estranged from the womb : they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. All the hopes of 38 WICKED MEN ARE LIKE WICKED ANGELS. wicked men are but "refuges of lies,'' and the last day will show it. Satan is cruel, unrelenting, and a murderer from the beginning. He delights in scenes of blood. His trade is to murder souls. Wicked men are murderers. They hate one another. They hate the just. They shed innocent blood. They murder souls. They have no compassion for the perishing : " He that hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no mur- derer hath eternal life abiding in him." More than twice the whole number of inhabitants of the United States in 1852, that is, more than fifty millions of people have been murderously put to death in the last eighteen hundred years, simply because they professed to love the truth of God and the Saviour of sinners. Laws, public opinion, and God's providence now restrain many, but the heart of unrenewed man is as wicked as it ever was. It hates holiness, wherever seen. Those men who go about murdering souls by teaching false doc- trine, are peculiarly like the great destroyer. Satan is a robber. He would rob men of their sal- vation, Christ of his crown, and God of his glory. He plotted and instigated the robbery, which the Sa- beans perpetrated upon Job. He is the great patron of pirates, footpads, burglars and thieves, and wicked men do his bidding. They oppress, defraud, and rob one another. They do more. They defraud the Al- mighty. " Will a man rob God ? yet ye have robbed me * * * } n tithes and offerings." Fallen angels are greedy of sin and delight in wick- edness. Wicked men are just so. " They sleep not except they have done some mischief." " They draw iniquity with a cart-rope." "They are mad upon their WICKED MEN ARE LIKE WICKED ANGELS. 39 idols." They have pleasure in those that do iniquity. They delight themselves in a thing of naught. They are bent on backsliding. Satan is a tempter and so are wicked men. He would have Job curse God and die ; so his wife invites him to the horrid deed. He gives the text, " Thou shalt not surely die," and the Universalist takes it up and goes through the land, promising life to the wicked, salvation to the impenitent, heaven to the unbelieving. In some things wicked men do what fallen angels never did. They reject mercy and grace, kindly offered to them by the Lord. Devils never did that. You say, They never had the opportunity. True, but they never did it. Neither did they ever laugh at eternity, judgment and damnation. They have too fearful a sense of the wrath of God to be able to mock and jest at the most terrible things. If these things be so, then we understand something of the import of our Saviour's words to the wicked of his day : " Ye are of your father the devil, and his works will ye do." How dreadful is sin ! It converts angels into devils and men into fiends. There is no unfitness in the arrange- ment which God has made for having one great prison- house for all his incorrigible foes. The very place prepared for the devil and his angels, will be the abode of finally impenitent men. How dreadful will hell be, filled up with outlaws, robbers,' murderers, liars, hypo- crites, ingrates, enemies of God and of all righteousness, from among angels and men. And how startling is the thought that devils have stronger emotions pertaining to religion than some wicked men. " The devils be- lieve and tremble." How many sinners neither be- lieve nor tremble ! And how many others who seem to believe, laugh at things which lay hold on eternity ! CHAPTER VII. MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. As a sinner, man can neither commend nor convert himself to God. He cannot atone for his sins, he can- not satisfy divine justice, he cannot subdue his own iniquities, he cannot perform any holy action. In our day there are but few Protestants, who maintain that man can make any atonement for his sins against God ; or redeem himself, by paying any ransom for his soul. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law ;" " He is the propitiation for our sins ;" " Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." These and many similar passages of Scripture have brought all but outrageous errorists to acknowledge, that in the work of salvation we are wholly and absolutely indebted to the Lord Jesus Christ for reconciliation with God. He is our peace. But some are not so ready to confess their in- debtedness to the Holy Spirit for all right percep- tions of truth, for all really good desires and proper motives, for all spiritual strength and power to do good. It is with extreme reluctance that men admit their utter helplessness in this respect. And yet the Scriptures speak a language as decisive, as unmistaka- ble about our inability to purify our hearts as to make an atonement for transgression. Therefore when God promises aid it is on this wise : " He giveth power to (40) MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 41 • the faint ; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." Isa. xl. 29. " Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zech. iv. 6. Even converted persons stand by borrowed strength. "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Eph. vi. 10. " As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me" John xv. 4. "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. ii. 1. Indeed the righteous have always delighted to acknow- ledge that all their strength is in God. Of the helplessness of unregenerate man the Bible speaks in the clearest terms and in many ways. First, it teaches that he cannot see and know the truth. " The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit ; for they are foolishness to him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor. ii. 14. Left to themselves men are " always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.'' 2 Tim. iii. 7. Accordingly unregenerate men are often spoken of as blind ; and God very gra- ciously promises to "bring the blind by a way that they knew not." Isa. xlii. 16. Secondly, without God's Holy Spirit men cannot believe, cannot receive Christ : " No man can come unto me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." "No man can come unto me except it were given him of my Father." John vi. 44, 65. " How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour which cometh from God?" John v. 44. Even a disposition to hear God's word belongs to no man without God's Spirit. " Why do ye not understand my speech ? Because ye cannot hear my word." John viii. 43. Lydia never 4* 42 MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. attended to the preached gospel till the Lord opened her heart. Acts xvi. 14. Thirdly, without God's Spirit man cannot obey a single law of God. " The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not sub- ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. viii. 7. The Church of God has always held this doctrine. Augustine, than whom the truth has perhaps never had an abler uninspired defender, says: " Neither doth a man begin to be converted, or changed from evil to good by the beginnings of faith, unless the free and undeserved mercy of God work it in him.'' "So therefore let the grace of God be accounted of, that from the beginning of his good conversion to the end of his perfection, he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Because as none can begin a good work with- out the Lord, so none can perfect it without the Lord." " The Lord, that he might answer Pelagius to come, doth not say, 'Without me ye can hardly do any thing ;' but he saith, ' Without me ye can do nothing.' And that he might also answer these men that were to come, in the very same sentence of the Gospel, he doth not say, ' Without me ye cannot perfect,' but ' Without me ye cannot do anything.' For if he had said, Ye cannot perfect, then these men might say, We have need of the help of God, not to begin to do good, for we have that of ourselves, but to perfect it." He subsequently quotes and remarks on those notable texts, " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves ;" and " Who maketh thee to differ?" He also says that "unless God do help, we can have no piety or righteousness either in word or in will." " It is certain that we do will when we will, 1 *MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 43 but it is he that makes us that we will that, which is good." " It is certain that we act when we act, but it is he that makes us to act, by affording most efficacious strength to our will." Ambrose says : " Although it be in man to will that, which is evil, yet he hath no power to will that, which is good, except it be given him." In like manner Maxentius says : "We believe that natural free-will is able to do no more than to discern and desire carnal, or worldly things ; which may seem glorious with men, but not with God. But those things that belong to eternal life, it can neither think, nor will, nor desire, nor perform, but only by the infusion and inward work- ing of the Holy Ghost, who is also the Spirit of Christ." Fulgentius says: "We have not received the Spirit of God because we do believe, but that we may be- lieve." "In the heart of man, faith can neither be conceived, nor increased unless the Holy Spirit does infuse it, and nourish it." "He delivers us not by finding faith in any man, but by giving it." Bernard says : "If human nature, when it was perfect, could not stand ; how much less is it able of itself to rise up again, being now corrupt." The Council of Orange, which met A. D. 529 holds : " If any man say that mercy is divinely conferred upon us believing, willing, desiring, endeavouring, labouring, watching, studying, asking, seeking, knocking without the grace of God, but doth not confess that it is only by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Ghost into us that we believe, will, and are able to do all these things as we ought to do, and makes the help of grace to follow after either humility or obedience, nor will grant that it is the gift of grace itself that we are obe- 44 MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. dient and humble, he resisteth the apostle, who says, "What hast thou that thou hast not received ?" and "By the grace of God I am what I am." So the African Council affirms the sentence of exclusion against Pelagius and Ccelestius "until they acknowledge, by open confession, that the grace of God by Jesus Christ our Lord doth help us by single acts, not only to know, but also to do righteousness ; so that without it we can neither have, think, speak, nor do anything of the nature of true and holy piety." The Latter Confession of Helvetia says that since the fall, the understanding and will " are so altered in man, that they are not able to do that now, which they could do before his fall." Again: "Man, not as yet regenerate, hath no free-will to good, no strength to perform that, which is good." In proof of this doc- trine it presently quotes several texts of Scripture, of which the following are two : " Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;" and, "It is God, which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good plea- sure." Phil. i. 29 and ii. 13. The Confession of Basle says : " Our nature is defiled, and become so prone unto sin, that, except it be renewed by the Holy Ghost, man of himself can neither do nor will any good." John iii. 3. The Confession of Bohemia says: "That will of man, which before [the fall] was free, is now so corrupted, troubled and weakened, that hence- forth of itself and without the grace of God, it cannot choose, judge or wish fully ; nay it hath no desire, nor inclination, much less any ability to choose that good, wherewith God is pleased. For albeit it fell willingly, and of its own accord, yet, by itself, and by its own MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 45 strength, it could not rise again, nor recover that fall ; neither to this day, without the merciful help of God, is it able to do anything at all." Rom. vii. 19 — 23. Again: "No man by his own strength, or by the power of his own will, or of flesh and blood, can attain unto or have this saving or justifying faith, except God of his grace, by the Holy Ghost, and by the ministry of the Gospel preached, do plant it in the heart of whom he list, and when he list." John i. 13. The Confession of England says, " that the law of God is perfect, and requireth of us perfect and full obedience;" and "that we are able by no means to fulfil that law in this worldly life." In one edition the Augsburg Confession speaks thus : " Man's will hath no power to perform a spiritual righteousness without the Holy Spirit ;' ? and quotes in proof 1 Cor. ii. 14 and John xv. 5. The Confession of Saxony says : " Man by his natural strength is not able to free himself from sin and eternal death." The Con- fession of Wirtemburg says: "As a man corporally dead is not able by his own strength to prepare or con- vert himself to receive corporal life ; so he, who is spiritually dead, is not able by his own power to con- vert himself to receive spiritual life." The churches of England and Ireland both teach that " the condi- tion of man after the fall of Adam is such that he can- not turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works to faith and calling upon God." The Synod of Dort says that all men are "un- toward to all good tending to salvation, forward to evil ; dead in sins, slaves of sin, and neither will nor can (without the grace of the Holy Ghost, regener- ating them) set straight their own crooked nature, no, 46 MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. nor so much as dispose themselves to the amending of it." The Westminster Confession says that by our " original corruption, we are utterly indisposed, dis- abled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly in- clined to all evil." Alas ! in what a sad condition we are by nature ! Ambrose says : " Though bound with the chains of my sins, I am held fast hand and foot, and buried in dead works, on thy call, God, I come forth free." Beveridge says : " I cannot pray, but I sin : I cannot hear or preach a sermon, but I sin : I cannot give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin : nay, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my confessions are still aggravations of them. My re- pentance needs to be repented of, my tears want wash- ing, and the very washing of my tears needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer." Truly all our hope is in free grace alone. If we are not still in the graves of death, it is because we are "risen with Christ." Our helplessness, when left to ourselves, is as mani- fest in small as in great things, on little as on great occasions. It has long been observed that men are as apt to err from the right way upon a slight as upon a great provocation. Jonah said he did well to be an- gry, even unto death, about a gourd. A damsel put Peter to cursing and swearing. Job bore all his losses without one sinful word ; but when falsely accused by his brethren, he entirely lost his temper. A bee has killed a man, who had survived the perils and grievous wounds of battle. Many will weigh every word and speak the whole truth in solemn judicature, and yet forfeit veracity in talking with a child, or in telling an amusing anecdote. I have seen a man bear with com- MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 47 posure the burning of his house, and yet lose proper control of himself, when charged too much for a quire of paper. John Newton says : " The grace of God is as necessary to create a right temper in Christians on the breaking of a china plate as on the death of an only son." We as truly need help from God to enable us in a right spirit to bear the tooth-ache as to suffer martyrdom in the cause of truth. In all things, at all times we need the grace of Christ. By it alone can we be or do anything pleasing to God, or salutary to our own souls. Many persons, who profess to be Arminians are as wide of holding the doctrines of Arminius, as those of Paul. The Ley den Professor says expressly: "It is impossible for free will without grace to begin or per- fect any true or spiritual good. I say, the grace of Christ, which pertains to regeneration, is simply and absolutely necessary for the illumination of the mind, the ordering of the affections, and the inclination of the will to that, which is good. It is that which ope- rates on the mind, the affections, and the will ; which infuses good thoughts into the mind, inspires good de- sires into the affections, and leads the will to execute good thoughts and good desires. It goes before, ac- companies, and follows. It excites, assists, works in us to will, and works with us that we may not will in vain. It averts temptations, stands by and aids us in temptations, supports us against the flesh, the world, and Satan ; and, in the conflict, it grants us to enjoy the victory. It raises up again those, who are con- quered and fallen, it establishes them, and endues them with new strength, and renders them more cau- tious. It begins, promotes, perfects, and consummates 48 MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. salvation. I confess, that the mind of the natural and carnal man is darkened, his affections are depraved, his will is refractory, and that the man is dead in sin" Richard Watson fully admits that "the sin of Adam introduced into his nature such a radical impotence and depravity, that it is impossible for his descendants to make any voluntary effort [of themselves] towards piety and virtue." He also quotes with entire appro- bation this celebrated sentence from Calvin : " Man is so totally overwhelmed, as with a deluge, that no part is free from sin, and therefore whatever proceeds from him is accounted sin." Would that many, who have subscribed the most orthodox formulas on this subject were really as sound as James Arminius and Richard Watson. Do not all these Scriptures and reasonings from Scripture make it clear that the victory over sin will never be gained by an arm of flesh ? Nature is too weak. She is broken, and crippled, and helpless. In this work, all men, if left to themselves, are stark naught. They have no might to do good, though they are mighty to do evil. One of the most instructive portions of personal history is the record of various attempts made by several great men to reform their hearts by a self-invented discipline, without the aid of God's Holy Spirit. They have reflected, have made resolutions, have drawn up schedules of their vices to be corrected, have examined their hearts, have found fault with their own efforts, and have formed new plans ; but with the exception that now and then a decent exterior has been attained, all has been a sad failure. Their history was long ago given by Prosper : " Though there have been some, who by their natural MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 49 understanding have endeavoured to resist vices, yet they have barrenly adorned only the life of this time ; but they could not attain to true virtues and everlast- ing happiness." Bernard addresses such in these words : " What have you philosophers to do with vir- tues,, who are ignorant of Christ, the virtue of God ?" Fuller's soap and much water will not take out the scarlet dye and crimson hue. Leviathan is not thus taken. The core of depravity is not thus extracted. " Old Adam is always too strong for young Melanc- thon." Prodigality may wage war on covetousness, pride on the love of popularity, the love of ease on the love of show, but one evil passion cannot so expel an- other as to purify the heart. " Restrained sensuality often takes a miser's cap, or struts in pharisaic pride." It is easy to pass from one sin to another, but to be- come holy is never possible but by the power of God's efficacious grace. " Nature can no more cast out na- ture, than Satan can cast out Satan." These views are strengthened by the fact that we not only have sinful natures, but have also formed sin- ful habits, whose power is terrific. " Can the Ethio- pian change his skin ? or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jer. xiii. 23. "If Adam, when he had committed but one sin, and that in a moment, did not seek to regain his lost integrity, how can any other man, who by a multitude of sinful acts hath made his habits of a giant-like stature, completed many parts of wicked- ness, and scoffed at the rebukes of conscience ?" The power of habit is such that even in the wanness and agony of death, its influence is often manifest in the whole manner of a dying man. But enough of this. 5 50 MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. In full accordance with all that has been said, these things are noticeable in Scripture. First, God has mercifully promised the needed strength and grace : " My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. xii. 9. "The Lord will give strength unto his people." Psa. xxix. 11. " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." Psa. ex. 3. See also Deut. xxx. 6 — 8 ; Ezek. xi. 19, 20 and many other places. Secondly, pious men do uni- formly ascribe all their ability to God. " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psa. xlvi. 1. "In the day when I cried thou answer- edst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." Psa. exxxviii. 3. " Sing aloud unto God our strength." Psa. lxxxi. 1. " Our sufficiency is of God." 2 Cor. iii. 5. " I laboured more abundantly than they all ; yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me." 1 Cor. xv. 10. Thirdly, wise and good men always have looked to God alone and not at all to themselves or other men for ability to do right. " O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fa- thers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee." 1 Chron. xxix. 18. " that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes." " Incline my heart unto thy testimonies." " Quicken me, so shall I keep the testimonies of thy mouth." Psa. cxix. 5, 36, 88. See also Heb. xiii. 20 and 21 and parallel passages. Let it, however, not be forgotten that our helplessness does not at all proceed from any defect in the original constitution of our minds as they came from the hands of God. He made man upright. It is sin, which has done all the mischief. This very helplessness is part and proof of our wickedness. Our MAN IS UTTERLY HELPLESS. 51 very weakness is our crime. It is very wicked to have no right views of God, to have our minds full of igno- rance and prejudices against him, to have no heart to fear, love, or obey him, or to fail to do these things perfectly. Thus the Scriptures abundantly teach. Paul says neither in the way of boasting, nor of ex- cuse, but in confession and humiliation : " I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing : for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." Rom. vii. 18 and context. " The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Gal. v. 17. He is not expressing approba- tion but reproof in so speaking to the Galatians. So when Peter describes a class of men, " having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin;" 2 Pet. ii. 14, no man will so far pervert his meaning as to say that he is freeing these people from blame. It was in reproof that Christ said, u How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another ?" &c. In fact there is no deeper guilt in man, than that contracted by having no heart to do right. The very essence of filial impiety consists in having no heart to love and honour one's parents. The very ground of impiety to God is to have no heart to know, or love, or obey him. To have eyes and not see, to have ears and not hear, to have a heart and not understand is the very sin Isaiah charged on degenerate Israel, the very sin of apostate angels. If the helplessness induced by sin were any excuse or palliation of sin, fallen angels would be quite innocent, at least excusable ; for no sober man will say that they can by any possibility turn to God and live. CHAPTER VIII WITHOUT DIVINE GBACE MEN DO NOTHING BUT SIN. Those, who live in sin, sin all the time. It is their trade, and they work hard at it. They love it, and are greedy of iniquity. They "love death." They "dig up evil." They "fill up their sin always." They " do always resist the Holy Ghost." Never for an hour do they love God supremely. They sin with- out cessation. Two things are required to make an action right. One is that it be lawful in itself. The other is that it be done with a right motive. If the thing done be itself wrong, no motives can make it right. To steal, or curse, or murder, or despise the poor, or hate the just, can never under any circumstances be right. To do evil that good may come is the doctrine of none but devils, and the worst of men. On the other hand the thing done may be right in itself, but the motive, which governs us, may be wrong, and so the act may be sinful because the motive is sinful. Bad motives in good actions are like dead flies in sweet ointments. They corrupt the whole. The heart is everything. Most men of the world in Christian countries do many things, which are very proper, but not from love to God. No man, who has not been born again, ever does anything with holy motives. His life is better than his heart. Indeed his heart is the worst part of him. It is all wrong. It is hard, and proud, and (52) WITHOUT DIVINE GRACE, &C. 53. selfish, and unbelieving, and without any love to God. So far from pleasing God, all the unregenerate are continually offending him. Their very best works are but "splendid sins." There are reasons found in human nature, which render it certain that unrenewed men will do nothing but sin. They are blind and see no beauty in holi- ness. They have no spiritual discernment. " They have eyes but they see not." " They know not what they do." If they do not see the beauty of holiness, how can they love it ? No being can love that, which does not seem to him good or comely. The man, who is without the grace of God, never fully approves the law of God, as holy, just and good, nor adopts it as the rule of his life. He does some things which it requires, and abstains from some things which it forbids, not because he loves God or his law, but because it promotes his health, or wealth, or honour, or quiet, to do so. God is not in all his thoughts. He would live very much as he does if the law of God were not known to him. Ask him, and he will tell you that he does not aim with a single eye to honour God in everything. He does not frame his doings to that end at all. All the lines of his con- duct meet and end in himself. He is without God in the world. He serves the creature more than the Creator. Nor is his heart without objects of love. He loves the world and the things of the world. When he prospers in the things that perish, he counts himself happy. He is greatly pleased with gold and silver, and objects of sense, and works of art. These are his gods, because he sets his heart on them. He 5* 54 WITHOUT DIVINE GRACE thinks of them ten times as much and a thousand times as eagerly as he thinks of God. What makes his case worse is that he is commonly much at ease. He is well pleased with himself. He is not sighing over his failures, and lamenting his sins. He thinks he is nearly good enough. Rivers of water never run down his eyes for his own sins or the sins of others. He seldom cries, " God, be merciful to me a sinner," and when he does, it is rather a form than a hearty prayer. His real belief is that God could not righteously and for ever condemn him ; at least he says, " If I am lost, I know not what will become of many others." "Would it not be strange that one, who cares not to serve God, should do it ? that he, who tries to please himself and wicked men, should as by accident please God ? that he, who seeks the ho- nour that comes from man, should find the honour that comes from God only ? Surely there is no such con- fusion where God reigns. He does not put darkness for light, bitter for sweet, sin for holiness, and vice for virtue. Nor should men be offended at this doctrine. It is not new. It is not of human invention. It is not the doctrine held by a few only. It is not a mere theory. It is very practical, very important. No truth con- cerns any man more than this. It is the very doc- trine of the Bible in many places. Paul says : " They that are after the flesh [who are unrenewed by God's Spirit] do mind the things of the flesh. * * To be car- nally-minded is death. * * The carnal [or unregene- rate] mind is enmity against God ; for it is not sub- ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." MEN DO NOTHING BUT SIN. 55 Rom. viii. 5 — 8. Could words be plainer or stronger ? Until God shall be pleased with a heart that is enmity against him, and with a mind that " cannot be subject" to his law, until he shall cease to be a holy God, he cannot be pleased with anything done by a man who has not the Spirit of God, and whose heart has not been mightily changed. Ploughing is itself a lawful act. If there be no ploughing, there can be no bread. Yet God says : "The ploughing of the wicked is sin." Yea, he puts it down with other sins, that greatly offend him. The whole verse reads thus : "An high look, and a proud heart, and the ploughing of the wicked is sin." Prov. xxi.