3 r __ ^ LIBRARY OP THE Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. .j BV 491A .G8 1833 Guthrie, William, 1620-1665 The Christian's great interest il^-v ^ ^ -$- • • ^<^ \">'(^S^!i I.LINS GLASr,',W. • THE CHRISTIANS GREAT INTEREST. ^ IN TWO PARTS. BY THE REV. WILLIAM GUTHRIE, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, FENWICK. WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, BY THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D. PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. FOURTH EDITION. GLASGOW: PRINTED FOR WILLIAM COLLINS; OLIVER & BOYD, WM. WHYTE & CO. AND WM. OLIPHANT, EDINBURGH W. F. WAKEMAN, AND WM. CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN ; WHITTAKEB, TREACHER, & ARNOT ; HAMILTON, ADAMS, Sf CO. AND SIMPKIN & MARSHALL, LONDON. MDCCCXXXIII. THBOLOGIGiLL INTROSUCTORY ESSAY. There are few subjects or exercises more deeply important to professing Christians, than that which forms the principal topic in the following admir- able Treatise — the work of self-examination. But self-examination is a work of great difficulty, and is accordingly shrunk from, or altogether declined by the great body of professing Christians. It is more the habitual style of the mind's contem- plations- to look at that which is without, than at that which is within — and it is far easier to read the epistles of the written Record, than to read the tab- let of one's own heart, and so to ascertain whether it be indeed a Hving epistle of Christ Jesus our Lord. There is something so shadowy and evanescent in the phases of the human spirit — such a want of the distinct and of the tangible, in its various character- istics — such a turmoil, and confusion, and apparent incoherence in the rapid succession of those thoughts, and impulses, and emotions, which find their way through the avenues of the inner man — that men, as if lost in the mazes of a labyrinth, deem the world which is within to be the most hopeless and imprac- ticable of all mysteries — nor in the whole range of their varied speculations, do they meet with that which more baffles their endeavours to seize upon, than the busy principle that is lodged within them, and has taken up its residence in the familiar intimacies of their own bosom. The difficulty of knowing our own heart is much enhanced, if we are in quest of some character or some lineament which is but faintly engraven there- upon. When the tiling that we are seeking for is so very dim, or so very minute, as to be almost in- discernible, this makes it a far more fatiguing exer- cise — and, it may be, an altogether fruitless one. Should then the features of our personal Christi- anity be yet slightly or obscurely formed, it will need a more intense and laborious scrutiny ere we can pos- sibly recognise them. Should there be a languor in our love to God — should there be a frailty in our purposes of obedience — should there be a trembling indecision of principle, and the weakness or the waver- ing of a mind that is scarcely made up on the ques- tion of a preference for time or for eternity, let us not marvel, though all disguised as these seeds and elements of regeneration within us may be, amid the vio-orous strufffjles of the old man, and the re- maining urgencies of a nature which will not re- ceive its death'blow but with the same stroke that brings our bodies to the dust — let us not marvel, if in these circumstances, the hardships of the search should deter many from undertaking it — and though after months, or even years of earnestness in reli- gion, the disciple may still be in ignorance of him- self, as if bhndfolded from the view of his own cha- racter ; or, if arrested at the threshold by a sense of its many difficulties, the work of self-examination has not yet been entered on. vii It is thus that the dark and unsearchable nature of the subject operates insensibly but powerfully as a restraint on self-examination — and certainly there would be encouragement felt to begin this exercise, were it made to appear in the light of a more practi- cable exercise, that could really and successfully be gone through. It is just as if set upon the task of searching for some minute article on the floor of an apartment, of which the windows had been partially closed — a weary and a hopeless undertaking, till the sun has fully arisen, and the shutters have been al- together unfolded, and the greatest possible supply of light has been admitted into the room. Then the search might be entered upon with vigour, and just because now it could be entered upon with the alacrity of a comfortable expectation. The work is less repulsive, because easier — and now might the whole surface of this trial for a discovery be patiently explored, just because now a greater visibility had been poured over it. This leads to a remark, which though a mere prehminary to the subject of self-examination, we nevertheless deem to be one of great practical im- portance. We think that however inscrutable at this moment our mind may be, and however faint- ly the marks and the characteristics of our Christi- anity are delineated thereupon, yet that even now the inward survey ought to be commenced, and re- newed at frequent intervals, and daily persevered in. But, meanwhile, and to facilitate the search, we should do the very thing that is done in the case of a dark apartment. There should be as much light as possible thrown upon the subject from without. Vlll If the lineaments of grace within us be faint, that ought instantly to be done which might have the effect of brightening them into a more lucid distinct- ness, and so making the work of discovery easier than before. If the love, and the joy, and the grateful devotedness to his Saviour's will, where- with the heart of a believer is animated, be hard- ly discernible in his efforts to ascertain them, this is the very reason why all those direct expedients should forthwith be resorted to for stirring up the love, and for exciting the joy, and for fixing in the bosom that grateful devotedness which he is now going so fruitlessly in quest of, and which, if they exist at all, are so shrunken in magnitude, or so en- veloped in^heir own 'dimness, that they have hither- to eluded all his endeavours to seek after them, if haply he may find them. Now it is not by continu- ing to pore inwardly that we will shed a greater lus- tre over the tablet of our own character, any more than we can enlighten the room in which we sit by the straining of our eyes towards the various arti- cles which are therein distributed. In the one case, 'we take help from the window, and through it from the sun of nature — and this not to supersede the proposed investigation on our part, but altogether to aid and encourage us in that investigation. And in the other case, that the eye of the mind may look with advantage upon itself inwardly, should it often look outwardly to those luminaries which are sus- pended from the canopy of that revelation which is from above — we should throw widely open the portal of faith, and this is the way by which light is ad- mitted into the chambers of experience — in defect of IX V a manifest love, and a manifest loyalty, and a mani- fest sacredness of heart, which we have been seeking for in vain amongst the ambiguities of the inner man, we should expose the whole of this mysterious ter- ritory to the influences of the Sun of righteousness, and this is done by gazing upon him with a believer's eye. It is by regarding the love wherewith God in Christ hath loved us, that the before cold and slug- gish heart is roused into the respondency of love back again. That the work of reading be made more easy, the character must be made more legi- ble. That Christianity be clearly reflected from our own bosom, all must be laid open to the Christianity of the Record. If we derive no good from the work of self-examination, because we find that all is con- fusion and mistiness within, then let us go forth upon the truths which are without, and these will pour a flood of light into all the mazes and intri- cacies of the soul, and, at length, render that work easy, which before was impracticable. No doubt, it is by looking inwardly that we discover what is in the mind — but it is by looking outwardiv that we so brighten and bring out its characteristics, as to make these discernible. The gratitude that was before unfelt, because it lay dormant, let us awaken it by the sight of him who was lifted upon the cross for our offences, and then will it meet the observation. The filial affection for our Father in heaven, which before was dead, let us quicken it into a felt and gracious sensibility, by looking un- to him in his revealed attitude of graciousness, and at our next exercise of self-inspection, we will be A3 sure to find it. To revive tlie power of a life that is to conic, which the despair of guilt had utterly ex- tinguished in the soul, let us cast our believing re- gard on the promises of the gospel — and this will set it up again, and then will we more readily as- certain, that our happiness in time is less dear to us than our hopes for eternity. It is thus that by the contemplation of that which is without, we brighten the consciousness of that which is within — and the more manifest the things of revelation are to the eye of faith, the more manifest will the things of expe- rience be to the eye of conscience — and the more distinctly we can view the epistles of Christ in the written Record, the more discernible will its coun- terpart be in that epistle which is written not with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of God, on the fleshly tablets of our own heart. And so the work of faith, instead of being proposed by us as a substitute, we should propose as the readiest help, and far the best preparative for the work of self-examination. It were well, if thus we could compose the jea- lousy of those who deem it legal to go in quest of evidence — but better still, if we could guide the practice of those with whom the business of salvation forms a practical and not a merely theoretical or spe- culative question. And,^V.9^, we would say to them, that so far from setting faith aside by the work of self-examination, we hold that it is the former which supplies the lat- ter with all its materials, and sheds that light over them which makes them visible to the eye of con- sciousness. Were there no faith, there would be no XI fruits to inquire after — and it were utterly in vain to go a~secking where there was absolutely nothing to find. To a sinner in distress, we unfold the pardon of the gospel; and we bid him look unto Jesus, that he may rejoice. We surely could not say less than this to an inquirer in darkness, even though it be a darkness that has gathered and rests over the tablet of his own character, and hides from his own view all that is good and gracious thereupon. Should the eye fail of its discernment when turned inwardly upon the evidences, we should bid it turn outwardly upon the promises, and this is the way to bring down a clear and satisfying light upon the soul. Just as in some minute and difficult search over the floor of an apartment, we throw open all its windows to the sun of nature, so we ought, by faith, to throw open all the chambers of the in- ner man to the Ught of the Sun of Righteousness. They are the truths that be without, which give rise to the traces of a spiritual workmanship within — and the indistinctness of the latter is just the reason why the soul should be ever aiming by attention and belief at a communication with the former. When self-examination is at a loss to read the cha- racters which are written upon the heart, it is faith alone which can make the inscription more legible and never will man get acquainted with the home of his own bosom, but by constant supplies of light and influence from abroad. If we feel, then, an out- set of difficulty, in the work of self-examination, let us go anew to the fountain-head of revelation, and there warm, into a sensibility that may be felt, the cold and the faded lineaments of that image which it is the XII genuine tendency of the truth as it is in Jesus to im- press upon the soul. That we may prosper when we examine ourselves, whether we are in the faith, we should have the faith. We should keep it in daily and habitual exercise, and this will strengthen it. If we be famihar with the truths that are without, less w^ill be our difficulty in recognizing the traces that are within. The more we gaze upon the radi- ance, the brighter will we glow with the reflection — and so far from opposition in the exercises of self-ex- amination and of faith, there is the most necessary concert, the most important and beautiful harmony. But, secondly — whatever difficulties there be in self-examination, we should even now make a be- ginning of the work. We should at least try it — and if we do not succeed, repeat it again and again. We should set ourselves formally down to it, as we would to a prescribed task — and it were well too if we had a prescribed time every day for the doing of it, and let a whole month of honest and sustained per- severance pass over our heads, ere we say of the work that it is impracticable. The more we live a life of faith through the day, the more distinct and legible will be that other page in the record of our personal history, which we shall have to peruse on the even- ing — and however little we may have sped at this trial of self-examination, we will either be encouraged or rebuked by it, into a life of greater effi)rt and watch- fulness on the morrow. In the business of each day, there will be a reference to the account and settlement that we make at the end of it — and the conclusion of each night will serve either to rectify the errors of our preceding history, or to Xlll aijimate us tlie more in that path by which we are moving sensibly onward to the heights of moral and spiritual excellence. Thus indeed will we make a business of our sanctification — and, instead of that vague, and shadowy, and altogether chimerical af- fair which we apprehend to be the religion of many a professor in our day, will it become a matter of so- lid and practical acquisitions, each of which shall have a visible reality in time, and each of which, by ad- ding to the treasure in heaven, will have its distinct bearing on the interests of eternity. Now, when we set about any new exercise what- ever, we first begin with that which is easy, and afterwards proceed therefrom to that which is more arduous. In the work of self-examination, there is a scale of difficulty — and it were well perhaps that we should make our first entrance upon the work at some of its lower gradations, lest we be- gin our attempt at too high a place, and be repelled altogether, by finding that it is utterly inaccessible. To guide us aright, then, in this matter, we might observe, that the overt acts of our visible his- tory, are far more noticeable by the eye of self-ex- amination than those affections of the heart by which they have been prompted — and, therefore, if not yet able to read the devices of the inner man, let our first attempt be to read the doings of the outer man : " Hereby know we that we know him, if we keep his commandments." This is a palpable test, in as far, at least, as the hand, or the mouth, or the foot- steps, or any of the bodily organs, are concerned — and a series of questions regarding these were a good elementary introduction to the work of self-examina- XIV tion. — Have wc, throughout the whole course of this day, uttered the language of profaneness, or contempt, or calumny ? Or have we said any of those foolish things which might he ranked among the idle words of which men shall give account on the day of judgment? Or have we expressed ourselves to any of our fellows in the tone of fretful- ness and irritation ? Or have we on Sabbath re- frained our attendance on the pubHc ministrations, and, instead of the readings and the contemplations, and the devout exercises of sacredness, have we given any time to the business and society of the world ? Or have we been guilty of disrespect and negligence towards parents, and masters, and superiors of any kind? Or have we done any acts of mischief and revenge to the man whom we hate ? Or have we wilfully directed our eye to that which was fitted to kindle the affections, or lead to the purposes of li- centiousness ? Or have we put forth a hand of violence on the property of our neighbour; and, what is an offence of the same species, have we taken an undue advantage of him in the petty contests and negotiations of the exchange, or of the market-place ? Or have we spoken, if not a direct falsehood, at least a cunningly devised utterance, which, by the tone, and manner, and apparent artlessness of it, was calculated to deceive ? Or have we gone to any of the excesses of intemperance, whether of that drunk- enness which inflames the faculties, or of that sur- feiting which damps and overweighs them. And what this day have been our deeds of beneficence — what our attentions of kindness and charity — what our cfibrts or our sacrifices in the walk of Christian XV usefulness — what our almsgivings to the poor— what our labours of piety, either among the habita- tions of ignorance, or with the members of our own family? These are all matters that stand broadly and discernibly out to the eye of consciousness. They form what may be called the large and legible types on the tablet of self-examination. They form, as it were, the primer, or the alphabet of this most important branch of scholarship. It is as easy for us to frame a catalogue of these questions, and sit regularly down every evening to the task of applying them in succession to our recent history, and meet them with as prompt and clear a reply, as it is for us to tell at the end of each day, what were the visits that we performed, or the people whom we have conversed with, or the walks that we have taken, or the bargains that we have concluded. There is nothing of reconditeness or mystery what- ever in this process, at least, of self-examination ; and by entering immediately upon it, may we at length be qualified for those more profound exercises by which the intimacies of the heart are probed; and be able to arrive at a finding, and a familiarity with the now hidden depths of a spiritual experience. There is much to be gathered even from this more rude and elementary process of self-examination. " By their fruits shall ye know them," says our Saviour; and, after all, much may be learned of the real character of our affections, from the acts in which they terminate. In natural husbandry, one may judge of the vegetation from the crop. It is not indispensable that we dive into the secrets of physiology, or that we be skilled in the anatomy and XVI organization of plants, or that, witli the eye of direct observation, we can satisfy ourselves as to the sound- ness of the root, or the healthful circulation of the juices which ascend from it. There is no doubt, that a good internal economy forms the very essence of vegetable health ; and yet how many an agricul- turalist, from whom this essence lies hid in deepest mystery, can pronounce upon that which is spread visibly before him, that there has indeed been a grateful and prosperous return for his labours. He knows that there has been a good and abundant growth, though, in the language of a gospel parable, whose design is to illustrate this very thing, he "knoweth not how." And so, to a great extent, of spiritual husbandry. One may be profoundly ignorant of moral science. He may not be able to grope his way among the arcana of the inner man. There miffht not be a more inscrutable thin