tihvary of t:he t:heolo0ical ^tminary 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 From 
 Samoel Miller's Library 
 1905 
 
 

 LECTURES 
 
 ON 
 
 PORTIONS OF THE PSALMS. 
 
 BY 
 
 ANDREW THOMSON, D.D. 
 
 MINISTER OF ST. GEORGE^S, EDINBURGH. 
 
 EDINBURGH:. 
 
 PRINTED FOR WILLIAM WHYTE & CO. 
 IS, George's street; 
 
 AND LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, & GREEN, 
 LONDON. 
 
 M.DCCC.XXVI. 
 
PRINTED BY A. BALFOUU & CO. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 Page 
 Give ear to my words, O Lord j consider my meditation. 
 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God : 
 for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in 
 the morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my 
 prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a 
 God that hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall evil 
 dwell with thee. The foohsh shall not stand in thy sight ; 
 thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy 
 them that speak leasing ; the Lord will abhor the bloody 
 and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy 
 house in the multitude of thy mercy ; and in thy fear will 
 I worship toward thy holy temple." Psalm v. 1 8.... 1 
 
 LECTURE IL 
 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine 
 enemies : make thy way straight before my face. For 
 there is no faithfulness in their mouth ; their inward part 
 is very wickedness ; their throat is an open sepulchre ; they 
 flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God ; let 
 them fall by their own counsels ; cast them out in the 
 multitude of their transgressions ; for they have rebelled 
 against thee. But let all those that put their trust in thee 
 rejoice : let them ever shout for joy, because thou defend- 
 est them : let them also that love thy name be joyful in 
 thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous ; with 
 favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." Psalm 
 v. 8— END 28 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 Page 
 *' Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall dwell 
 
 in thy holy hill ? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh 
 
 righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He 
 
 that backbiteth not with his toiigue, nor doeth evil to his 
 
 neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 
 
 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he honour- 
 
 eth them that fear the Lord : he that sweareth to his own 
 
 hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his 
 
 money to usury, nor taketh re\\'ard against the innocent. 
 
 He that doeth these things shall never be moved." — 
 
 FSALM XV 48 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 " Preserve me, O God ; for in thee do I put my trust. O 
 my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my 
 Lord : my goodness extendeth not to thee ; But to the 
 saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom 
 is all my delight." I'sal^m xvi. 1 — 3 96 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 " Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another 
 god : their drink-offerings of blood will I not oflfer, nor 
 take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the por- 
 tion of mine inheritance and of my cup : thou maintainest 
 my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who 
 hath given me counsel ; my reins also instruct me in the 
 night-seasons." Psatm xvi. 4 — 7 120 
 
 LECTURE VL 
 
 ' I have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my 
 right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is 
 glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; my flesh also shall rest in 
 hope : For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 Page 
 thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wile 
 
 show me the path of life : in thy presence is fulness of joy ; 
 
 at thy right hand there are p'easures for evermore." 
 
 Psalm xvi. 8 — end 140 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
 covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imput- 
 eth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 
 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my 
 roaring all the day long : For day and night thy hand was 
 heavy upon me ; my moisture is turned into the drought 
 of summer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine 
 iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my trans- 
 gressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity 
 of my sin. For this shall every one that is godly pray 
 unto thee in a time when thou mayest he found : surely 
 in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto 
 him. Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt preserve me 
 from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of 
 deliverance." Psalm xxxiii. 1 — 7 16T 
 
 LECTURE VIIL 
 
 " Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly 
 nation : O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 
 For thou art the God of my sti*ength : why dost thou cast 
 me off ? why go I mourning because of the oppression of 
 the enemy ? O send out thy light and thy truth : let them 
 lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy 
 tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto 
 God my exceeding joy : yea, upon the harp will I praise 
 thee, O God, my God. Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul ? and why art thou disquieted within me ? hope in 
 God ; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my 
 countenance, and my God." Psalm xliii 216 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Lord of Hosts, hear my prayer : give ear, O God of 
 Jacob. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face 
 of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than 
 a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house 
 of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For 
 the Lord God is a sun and shield ; the Lord will give 
 grace and glor^' : no good thing will he withhold from 
 them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is 
 
 the man that trusteth in thee." Psalm Ixxxiv. 8 — end. 241 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 1 love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my 
 supplications. Because he hath inchned his ear unto me, 
 therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The 
 sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat 
 hold upon me : I found trouble and sorrow. Then call- 
 ed I upon the name of the liord : O liord, I beseech thee, 
 deliver my soul. Gracious is the Ivord, and righteous ; 
 yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the sim- 
 ple : I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto 
 thy rest, O my soul : for the Lord hath dealt bountifully 
 with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, 
 mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will 
 walk before the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 
 cxvi. 1 — 9 264 
 
 LECTURE XL 
 
 • I believed, therefore have I spoken : I was greatly afflict- 
 ed. 1 said in my haste. All men are liars. "What shall I 
 render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I 
 will take the cup of salvation, and call tipon the name of 
 the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the 
 presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the 
 Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am thy 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 Page 
 servant, and the son of thine handmaid : thou hast loosed 
 my bonds. I will oflfer to thee the sacrifice of thanks- 
 giving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I Avill 
 pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his 
 people, In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of 
 thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord." Psalm cxvi. 
 10— END 287 
 
 LECTURE XIL 
 Lord how are they increased that trouble me ? Many are 
 they that rise up against me. Many there be which say 
 of my soul, There is no help for him in God. But thou, 
 O Lord, art a shield for me ; my glory, and the lifter up 
 of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and 
 he heard me out of his holy hill. I laid me down and 
 slept ; I awaked : for the Lord sustained me. I will not 
 be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set them- 
 selves against me round about. Arise, O Lord ; save me, 
 O my God : for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon 
 the cheek-bone ; thou hast broken the teeth of the un- 
 godly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord : thy blessing 
 is upon thy people." Psalm iii 307 
 
LECTURES 
 
 ON 
 
 PORTIONS OF THE PSALMS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 PSALM V. 1. — 8. 
 
 ^' Give ear to my words, O Lord ; consider my meditation. 
 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: 
 for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the 
 morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my prayer 
 unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that 
 hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall evil dwell with 
 thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight ; thou hatest 
 all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak 
 leasing ; the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. 
 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the midtitude 
 of thy mercy ; and in thy fear ivill I worship toward thy 
 holy temple." 
 
 You have been often addressed on the subject 
 of prayer, — on the obligations you are under to 
 engage in it; on the importance and necessity of 
 attending to it ; and on the encouragement which 
 youhave respecting it, from the example and expe- 
 
 h* 
 
2 LECTURE I. 
 
 rience of the people of God in every age. Now, 
 let me ask you, if you really make it a part of 
 your Christian work ? Do you ever pray ? Are 
 you frequently at a throne of grace ? Is it the 
 habit of your life to " make your requests known 
 unto God ?" Can you affirm with truth that, re- 
 gularly, or as often as occasion requires, you 
 ask in order to receive from him the various 
 blessings which are essential to you, both in 
 this life, " and in that which is to come ? "" Just 
 consider what judgment must be pronounced 
 upon you, on the supposition that conscience com- 
 mands you to answer these questions with a ne- 
 gative, and that you must be counted among 
 those who " restrain prayer before God." 
 
 In^the first place you act in opposition to your 
 sense and your confession of what is right. You 
 know that you ought to pray. You are convinc- 
 ed that this is incumbent upon you. You allow 
 that those are far wrong who neglect such an in- 
 stitution. And how then can you repel the charge 
 of inconsistency, when prayer, notwithstanding, 
 is excluded from your practical system ? We 
 desire you not to pray, merely in compliance with 
 our earnest exhortation, or in conformity to the 
 
LECTURE I. 3 
 
 pious example of your brethren. lu this, as in 
 all other cases of a similar description, we say, 
 *' let every one of you be fully persuaded in his 
 own mind/' Take the matter into consideration. 
 Examine it attentively and thoroughly. Try it 
 by the test of reason ; weigh it in the balance of 
 the sanctuary ; adopt every proper mode of bring- 
 ing it to a just and conclusive issue. And if the 
 inquiry shall terminate in shewing you, that you 
 are not bound to pray — that there is no proprie- 
 ty in praying — that neither your comfort nor your 
 interest is concerned in it — then, do not pray. 
 We ask you not in any case to act contrary to 
 the serious and decided dictates of your own 
 mind. And, above all, we ask you not to act 
 thus in a case like the present, in which a con- 
 scious approval of the exercise is necessary to 
 prevent it from being at once unacceptable and 
 profane. But, on the other hand, if the lesson 
 which you learn from Scripture — if the determi- 
 nation of the question to which you have come — 
 be, that men should, and must pray — and that 
 you can learn any other lesson on this point from 
 Scripture, or that you can come to any other de- 
 
4 LECTURE I. 
 
 termination of the question respecting it, as pro- 
 fessing Christians, may be held impossible — then 
 have we not cause to wonder and to complain 
 that, in spite of what you have learnt and of what 
 you admit to be your duty, you are as negligent 
 of prayer, as if you had learnt, and as if you 
 maintained, that it was 7iot your duty ? You ac- 
 knowledge that you ought to pray — nevertheless 
 you forget, or you refuse to pray. Is not this a 
 palpable and unworthy contradiction in your cha- 
 racter ? And why should you permit it to exist ? 
 What excuse can you bring forward to justify it? 
 Or how can you account for it, except by tracing 
 it to an ungodliness and a depravity in the heart 
 which overpowers the efforts of your understand- 
 ing, and proclaims your bondage to that sin from 
 which it is the very province of prayer to seek de- 
 liverance ? We call upon you to banish this 
 practical solecism. Let your conduct correspond 
 with your real and avowed convictions. And let 
 the first voice of your supplications be for grace 
 to make you love what you know to be dutiful, 
 and to infuse into your soul the spirit, while it 
 guides you to the practice, of true devotion. 
 
LECTURE I. 5 
 
 But we must remind you, in the second place, 
 that by neglecting prayer, you resist the autho- 
 rity of God. Are not you aware, my friends, that 
 God has commanded you to pray ? — that he has 
 not left you to discover this by mere inference, 
 but has announced it in terms not more precise 
 than they are emphatic ? — and that the injunction 
 holds such a conspicuous place, and is so fre- 
 quently repeated in his word, as to show the vast 
 importance which he attaches to the manner in 
 which it is treated ? And, aware of these things, 
 how can you venture to treat it with contempt, 
 and yet hope to prosper ? What title have you 
 to expect that, in this particular, more than in 
 any other, you can disobey God with impunity ? 
 Think you that he does not mean what he de- 
 clares, or that he will not fulfil what he has pro- 
 mised, or that he will not execute what he has 
 threatened ? Or can any apology be wisely or 
 successfully pleaded for withholding from him 
 the homage which he demands, and refusing to 
 put up to him those petitions, which are equally 
 called for as tokens of submission to his will, and 
 of respect for his character ? No, my friends: it 
 is from the throne of unlimited sovereignty that 
 
6 LECTURE I. 
 
 he speaks, when he commands you to pray ; and 
 disobedience to this is just as criminal and just as 
 dangerous as disobedience to any other precept 
 of his law. I say that he speaks to you from the 
 throne of unlimited sovereignty, that you may be 
 deterred from trifling with his behests when he 
 exacts from you the tribute of prayer. But I 
 must add that his throne of sovereignty is a throne 
 of grace ; and that if the commandment comes 
 armed with the sanction of stern authority, it al- 
 so comes recommended by the charms of tender 
 mercy. God is the hearer of prayer, in virtue of 
 his compassion to sinners : and, had he not been 
 a being in whom compassions abound, so far from 
 giving you access to his presence, and laying it 
 upon you as a peremptory obligation and an ex- 
 press duty to make use of that privilege, he would 
 have forbidden you to address him, and shut his 
 ear against your cry, and left you to perish in 
 your apostacy. But, looking upon you with pity, 
 and desirous to extend to you every needful bless- 
 ing, he is ready to listen to your applications ; 
 and, in order to secure, as it were, your coming 
 to him that you may have your every want sup- 
 plied and your every evil remedied, he not only 
 
LECTURE I. 7 
 
 opens up "anew and living way" of approach, but 
 he clothes himself in majesty, and, by issuing his 
 liigh mandate, shuts you up to the necessity of 
 praying to him, under the penalties of disobe- 
 dience to the united voice of righteous authority 
 and unmerited love. And I put it to you, my 
 friends, how you can bring yourselves to be guil- 
 ty of such disobedience, and yet go on to live as 
 if you were submitting to the divine will by being 
 men of piety and prayer. O do not continue 
 any longer in such a delusion as this. Either 
 cease to neglect prayer before God, or cease to 
 think that you are submissive to him. Either be 
 habitually given to this exercise, or acknowledge 
 that you are self-convicted rebels against the go- 
 vernment of him who " ruleth over all." And re- 
 member that rebellion here is as fatal to those who 
 are chargeable with it, as if they had violated the 
 most important enactment of the moral law. 
 
 And now I have to state, in the tJiird place, 
 that without prayer vain will be to you all the 
 provisions that are made in the Gospel for your 
 deliverance and happiness. The Gospel is a 
 dispensation of divine wisdom and goodness. It 
 proposes to bestow upon sinful men the benefits 
 
8 LECTURE I. 
 
 of salvation. But it proposes to bestow them in 
 a certain way, and according to a certain scheme. 
 And nothing is clearer than that they cannot be 
 received and enjoyed without a humble acqui- 
 escence, on the part of those to whom they are 
 communicated, in the method by which it has 
 pleased God to impart them. Now, do you know 
 any ground for thinking that these benefits can 
 ever belong to those who do not pray for them ? 
 It is distinctly taught, that if you ask them in 
 prayer, believing, they shall become yours. But 
 where is it taught within the whole compass of 
 the Bible, that the prayerless sinner shall be 
 saved ? — that you need not supplicate one of the 
 blessings of redemption, and yet be as sure of ob- 
 taining them all as if you had? — that pardon 
 has ever been procured, or that heaven has ever 
 been reached, by a single individual who has not 
 sincerely felt, and cordially put forth the desire 
 for them ? There is no such thing taught in the 
 Bible ; and you must be sensible that the very 
 contrary of this is what the Bible uniformly main- 
 tains and inculcates. You cannot fail to perceive 
 that, agreeably to the constitution of the Gospel, 
 salvation is the end at which you aim, and prayer 
 
LECTURE I. 9 
 
 the means by which you are to attain it ; that 
 the connection which God has established between 
 these is close and inseparable ; and that the 
 husbandman may as well expect to reap a harvest 
 where no seed has been sown, and no culture be- 
 stowed, as that you can inherit the fruits of 
 Christ's labour, though they have never been to 
 you the object of devout and believing supplica- 
 tion. And, impressed with the truth of these 
 things, on what principle, or with what consist- 
 ency, can you neglect to pray ? Is not such 
 neglect tantamount to a deliberate casting away 
 of every spiritual and every eternal hope ? Is it 
 not equivalent to saying that you grudge to pray 
 more than you wish to be redeemed ? And, if 
 persisted in, must it not necessarily have the ef- 
 fect of separating you for ever from God, and 
 Christ, and immortality ? Yes, brethren ; such 
 must be the inevitable and awful consequence of 
 your being strangers to prayer. And what is 
 more, I defy you, by any ingenuity you can em- 
 ploy, to get quit of this alternative, or, continuing 
 to believe in the Bible, to flatter yourselves for a 
 moment, that it is either of trivial importance or 
 of the least vmcertainty. I intimate to you a truth 
 
10 LECTURE I. 
 
 which you cannot gainsay, and which should go 
 home to the heart of every one of you w ith awak- 
 ening power, that while God will confer upon 
 those who pray for it as they ought, not only to 
 the half, but even to the whole of his kingdom — 
 not one good thing, as pertaining to salvation, will 
 lie convey into your lot, if you persevere in dis- 
 re<yarding the instrumentality by which it is his 
 holy and sovereign pleasure that you shall seek 
 for it, and come to the possession of it. Your 
 guilt shall remain uncancelled. Your hearts 
 shall be still under "the bondage of corruption."" 
 The Holy Ghost will remain at a distance from 
 you. Heaven will refuse to unbar its everlasting 
 doors. The terrors of unpropitiated and unde- 
 precated wrath will hang over you, and close in 
 upon you, and at last bury you in utter and irre- 
 trievable ruin. And all this misery will come 
 upon you with the unspeakable aggravation that 
 you might have escaped it, had not you so " hard- 
 ened your heart" against God, that you would 
 not even pray to him — that you would not im- 
 plore from him the deliverance which you need- 
 ed that you would not oH'er up one cordial pe- 
 tition for that which he was willing to grant you, 
 
LECTURE I. n 
 
 and which he is now commanding you to ask for, 
 that you may receive it, and be happy for ever. 
 O then be persuaded to go to the throne of grace. 
 Lift up your soul to him who delights in the sup- 
 plications of the penitent. Join yourselves to 
 them of whom we can say, in the language of 
 mingled admiration and pleasure, " Behold I 
 they pray." And let this exercise be so dear to 
 you, and of so much importance in your regard, 
 that you shall sympathize with the Psalmist, and 
 catch his devout spirit, and enter into his pious 
 resolutions when he thus speaks, " Give ear to 
 my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. 
 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and 
 my God ; for unto thee will I pray. My voice 
 shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ; in the 
 morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and 
 wuU look up." 
 
 L It becomes us, my friends, to form and 
 adopt the purpose of the Psalmist. His purpose 
 was to pray ; and that purpose should be ours. 
 We have many motives and inducements to en- 
 gage in this exercise. And if we consider these 
 aright, and submit to that influence which they 
 are fitted to hold over our feelings, they will 
 
12 LECTURE I. 
 
 speedily and effectually determine us to address 
 ourselves to God in these words, " Unto thee 
 will I pray." We will be satisfied that it is our 
 high honour, our distinguished privilege, our 
 bounden duty, our purest comfort, and our truest 
 advantage : and, viewing it in these lights, we can- 
 not but resolve to attend to it, and to give our- 
 selves to it, as an observance of the utmost conse- 
 quence to our welfare. Even the speculative 
 conviction of its excellence, as thus contemplated, 
 must, if we are actuated by the ordinary principles 
 of a rational nature, constrain us to fix our attach- 
 ment upon it, and to employ it as the means of 
 improvement and of happiness. But how much 
 more powerful w^ill be our regard for it, and how 
 much more deeply and decidedly will it affect our 
 minds and our practice, if we know from personal 
 experience all the advantages which it confers, 
 and all the joys which it imparts ! Having felt 
 what it is to commit ourselves to God in pruyer — 
 having received the mercy to pardon, and the 
 grace to help that we implored — having been 
 rescued from dangers, supported under trials, 
 fortified against temptations, strengthened for 
 duties, and comforted amidst sorrows, in answer 
 
LECTURE I. 13 
 
 to the petitions that we had offered up — this must 
 endear the throne of grace to us, attract our hearts 
 to it, and encourage us to make it our habitual 
 and chosen refuge, amidst all the vicissitudes, and 
 in all the circumstances, of our Christian pilgrim- 
 age. And, aware how apt the world is to break 
 in upon our devotional duties ; and how much we 
 are in hazard, from that and various other causes, 
 of neglecting to perform these as they ought to 
 be performed, or of postponing them to concerns 
 and occupations of a secular nature, we shall just 
 feel the stronger necessity for "building ourselves 
 up" in this pious resolution, and making a cove- 
 nant with our own minds, that we will allow no- 
 thing to come in between God and our souls, 
 but that, in whatever we are employed, wherever 
 we are placed, and whatever befals us, " unto 
 him will we pray." 
 
 2. Then it will be with great earnestness that 
 we pray to God. We will not go about the duty in 
 a cold, formal, or perfunctory manner, as if it were 
 a matter of indifference to us, whether we were 
 successful in our application or not. This would 
 
 be unsuitable to the character of the Beino* to 
 
 o 
 
 whom our application is made, and to the impor- 
 
14 LECTURE I. 
 
 tance of the blessings that we are desirous to 
 obtain. The God whom we address, looks with 
 a jealous eye on the frame of mind in which we 
 approach him, and could not fail to be angry 
 with us, if he saw us careless and unconcerned, 
 either as to the things which we asked from him, 
 or as to the tone of feeling which we cherished, 
 and the mode of supplication which we employed, 
 when bending at his throne. It would be irreve- 
 rence and mockery, which would have the effect 
 of bringing upon us a curse, instead of a blessing. 
 And then, if we had no vehemence of desire, and 
 no fervour of expression, would it not be a proof 
 that we attached but little importance to the 
 benefits themselves, which yet we professed to 
 seek ? And if we attach but little importance to 
 the benefits which Christ has purchased with his 
 blood, which God has commanded us to aspire 
 after with the utmost sincerity and diligence, and 
 which are, in every aspect, indispensible to our 
 present, and our eternal advantage — how can we 
 expect that our prayers will meet with the accept- 
 ance that is essential to their success, or be attended 
 with any one of the advantages of which prayer 
 is so productive to the true worshipper ? When 
 
LECTURE I. 15 
 
 we pray to God, therefore, let us be truly anxious 
 that our prayer may experience his favourable 
 regard. Let our hearts be engaged in the exercise, 
 and engaged in it with an ardour and solicitude 
 becoming the case of those who must have from 
 him, w hat they pray for, or perish. Let us wrestle 
 with the angel of his presence, omitting no impor- 
 tunity of sentiment or of language which the 
 occasion may justify. Let the words which we 
 utter be the vehicle of that earnestness which we 
 feel, and let us beseech him to hear them as 
 coming from the dependants and pensioners of 
 his bounty. Let us meditate with deepest inter- 
 est on the extent and urgency of our need, and en- 
 treat him to " consider our meditation," and think 
 of the necessities of our condition, and exert his 
 wisdom as well as his mercy, in giving a supply to 
 all our various wants. Let us cry to him with 
 all the fervour of men who have no other refuge 
 but himself, to whom there is no hope but what 
 is to be found in the riches of his grace, and 
 whose ruin is inevitable, unless he will have pity, 
 and send deliverance; and let us implore him to 
 " hearken to the voice of our cry," as the cry of 
 guilty, condemned, helpless, and miserable crea- 
 
16 LECTURE I. 
 
 tures. And, alive to the unspeakable moment of 
 receiving from him an answer in peace, let us not 
 cease to cherish all this intensity of desire ; let 
 every dawning day find us in the spirit, and in 
 the attitude, of importunate supplication ; let our 
 powers, when invigorated by the refreshments of 
 sleep and rest, be called forth to the performance 
 of this good work ; and let our minds be continu- 
 ally and earnestly directed to heaven, as the 
 source from which we are to draw whatever is 
 needful for our pilgrimage through life, and for 
 our felicity in a better world. 
 
 3. But we are not to pray, as if God were un- 
 willing to hear us, and to bestow the blessings 
 that we need. He has revealed himself as the 
 hearer of prayer. He has manifested his readi- 
 ness to give us whatever our situation requires. 
 " He that spared not his own Son, but freely 
 delivered him up to the death for us, how shall 
 he not with Am, also freely give us all things ?" 
 And having by this wonderful display of love, 
 and by various affectionate declarations of his 
 word, taught and encouraged us to confide in 
 him for the attainment of every thing for which 
 we are either permitted or instructed to pray, it 
 
LECTURE I. JT 
 
 follows that our prayers should always be accom- 
 panied with lively faith, and with humble hope. 
 Considering the representations he has afforded 
 us of his character, and the assurances he has 
 reiterated to us of his mercy, any thing like 
 distrust or despondency is as unbecoming, as 
 the carelessness and indifference against which 
 we have already warned you. You must honour 
 God, as well as consult your own comfort, by 
 giving place to no doubt or disbelief, when you 
 draw near to him in prayer. Rest implicitly on 
 the faithfulness of his promises, which are all 
 " yea and amen in Christ Jesus ;" and pleading 
 on the merit of your great High priest and Interces- 
 sor, plead with the boldness, and the expectation 
 of those who know that they " have an advocate 
 with the Father," whom he " heareth always," and 
 with whom he is ever " well pleased." But while 
 you " look up" to God with the conviction that he 
 will not turn away your prayer from him, nor his 
 grace from you, let this conviction be mingled 
 with humility, when you recollect your great un- 
 worthiness, and the weakness and imperfection of 
 your faith itself. Let it be mingled with submis- 
 sion, that you may not be cast down and disap- 
 
18 LECTURE J. 
 
 pointed, when he withholds any particular bless- 
 ing which you had asked with peculiar solicitude, 
 and on which you had counted as at once important 
 to your welfare, and certain in its attainment. 
 And let it be mingled with that patience which 
 shall prevent you from repining at delay in the 
 communication of what you have besought your 
 heavenly Father to send, — which shall make you 
 still trust in him for the accomplishment of all 
 that concerns your well-being, notwithstanding 
 the frustrations of hope which you may have ex- 
 perienced, — and which is not only quite consistent 
 with a continued and unwavering expectation of 
 the gifts that you implore, but imparts such a tone 
 of holy resignation to the petitions in which you 
 supplicate them, as to give additional grace and 
 piety to the sacrifice which you thus lay on the 
 altar of your God. 
 
 4. And, finally, you must not forget that the 
 God to whom you pray is a holy God. It is true 
 he allows us to approach Him as sinners ; and, as 
 sinners, to ask from him with the hope of receiv- 
 ing all the blessings of salvation. But then, in 
 this act of condescension, he does not, and he 
 cannot renounce that purity and rectitude of 
 
LECTURE I. 19 
 
 character which belong to him as the infinitely 
 perfect Jehovah. We have access to him by the 
 blood of Christ : But by the shedding of that 
 blood in sacrifice, he has set before us a most em- 
 phatic demonstration of the divine holiness, which 
 the sacrifice of Christ was appointed to maintain 
 and vindicate. And though, in virtue of Christ's 
 meritorious sufferings, God is now " reconciling 
 the world to himself," and free to bestow salva- 
 tion upon our fallen race, yet he has not ceased 
 to be as much distinguished by holiness in his 
 own character, and as peremptory in his exaction 
 of it in the character of his creatures, as he was 
 before the existence of any atonement, or of any 
 satisfaction. Most true is the representation here 
 given of him by the Psalmist ; and most necessary 
 is it that we bear it in mind, and be influenced 
 by it, in all our devotional exercises. " He has 
 no pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil 
 dwell with him ; the foolish shall not stand in his 
 sight ; and he hateth the workers of iniquity. He 
 shall destroy them that speak leasing or falsehood; 
 he will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." 
 
 Now, this statement, — of which we need not at 
 present give any particular illustration, its general 
 
20 LECTURE I. 
 
 meaning being quite obvious, and quite sufficient 
 for our purpose, — is not set before us to deter 
 us from praying to God. It would have that 
 effect, indeed, were we to confine our views to 
 the immaculate holiness of God on the one hand, 
 and to our moral depravity and guilt on the other. 
 But we know that God is merciful as well as just ; 
 that while his mercy is displayed, his justice is 
 satisfied ; and that according to the wonderful 
 plan of redemption, even the chief of sinners may 
 return to him through the appointed mediator, 
 and for the sake of that mediator, be pardoned, 
 and accepted, and saved. Still, however, if we thus 
 believe in Jesus Christ, and thus return by him 
 to God, our very faith, and our very return, ne- 
 cessarily direct our views to him as a God, 
 " glorious in holiness," and requiring holiness 
 in all that draw nigh to him, and are admitted 
 to the enjoyment of his favour. And, accord- 
 ingly, it is one provision of the gospel, that 
 we be sanctified for his service, while it is one 
 prescribed qualification for engaging in that ser- 
 vice, that we have " clean hands and pure 
 hearts." When we pray to him, we must pray 
 in the spirit of penitence. We must be animated 
 
LECTURE I. 21 
 
 by a hatred of sin ; for, " if we regard iniquity 
 in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us." We 
 must have a sincere, and decided, and paramount 
 afFection for holiness ; for without this, we could 
 not fix our minds with comfort, or with hope, on 
 him whom we pretended to worship. If consci- 
 ous that we were " enemies to God in our minds, 
 and by wicked works," and that we were perse- 
 vering in our enmity, notwithstanding all that he 
 had done to subdue it, we could not possibly 
 cherish towards him one devotional sentiment, or 
 utter one sincere supplication. It becomes us, 
 therefore, — it is requisite for us, to be holy, that 
 we may pray to God as we ought. And, for the 
 purpose of impressing us with the importance 
 of having that qualification, and with the neces- 
 sity of having it in active operation when we ad- 
 dress God in prayer, let us always contemplate 
 God as he is here delineated by the Psalmist. 
 And while a sense of our guiltiness before such a 
 holy Being, determines us to seek for acceptance 
 through the sacrifice of Christ, let the purity of 
 him to whom we pray determine us to be earnest 
 in seeking for the renewing and purifying influ- 
 ences of the Divine Spirit, in banishing from our 
 
22 LECTURE I. 
 
 hearts every sinful affection and every unworthy 
 thought, and in cultivating all those graces and 
 virtues which shall qualify us for holding com- 
 munion with the "father of our spirits" upon earth, 
 and for enjoying his beatific presence in the king- 
 dom of heaven. 
 
 But while the holiness of God is a command- 
 ing reason for our praying to him in the spirit of 
 penitence, we may also take encouragement from 
 it to apply to him when men are assailing and 
 persecuting us. This was the particular view of 
 it taken by the Psalmist in the passage we are 
 considering. He knew that the conduct of his 
 enemies could not fail to be most offensive to 
 that Being who ruled the world in righteousness, 
 and who saw in their hostility to his servants, a 
 practical contempt of his law, and a daring op- 
 position to his authority. And, therefore, he 
 concluded, that, however unworthy he was in him- 
 self of the divine favour, and however necessary 
 it was to pray in the name of a mediator, the very 
 perfection of God's moral excellence, would justi- 
 fy him for asking his interposition, and for ask- 
 ing it with the assured hope that it would be grant- 
 ed. In like manner, when we suffer from the 
 
LECTURE I. -^3 
 
 malice and injustice of our foes, and apply to 
 God for deliverance or for help, it is a warrant 
 for us to do so that he is infinitely holy and just. 
 Were he " altogether such a one as ourselves,'* 
 •^vrere his nature tinctured v^^ith sin, or vv^ere 
 he indifferent to its prevalence among his crea- 
 tures, we could not expect that he would " give, 
 an attentive ear" when we besought him to guard 
 us against the machinations and the malignity of 
 those who, by the commission of it in some of 
 its most obnoxious forms, aimed at our destruc- 
 tion. But, convinced that he is " the Holy One 
 of Israel," that every species of iniquity is hateful 
 in his sight, that the workers of it are the objects 
 of his displeasure, and that one great purpose of 
 his administration must be to check and to punish 
 them, we feel ourselves constrained to make use 
 of that as an argument for " calling upon him," 
 when we are treated by our fellow-men with 
 cruelty or injustice. It is appealing to the ho- 
 nour of his character and of his government, 
 and to the pledge which he has given, in all that 
 he has revealed of himself in the law and in the 
 gospel, in the ways of providence, and in the 
 word of truth, to prevent the triumph of ungodli- 
 
^4 LECTURE h 
 
 ness, when we invoke him, as a God of righte* 
 ousness, to come between the oppressor and the 
 oppressed, and to save us from our false, deceit- 
 ful, and blood-thirsty foes. We must never for- 
 get that this attribute of God should make us 
 approach at all times with much self-abasement, 
 and with reliance on his mercy through the blood 
 of atonement ; but neither should we forget that, 
 in particular circumstances, it furnishes the most 
 animating motive that we can have for fervent 
 supplications ; and that, when situated as the 
 Psalmist was, we may freely adopt the language 
 which he employed, when he said, " I will di- 
 rect my prayer unto thee, and will look up ; For 
 thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wicked- 
 ness ; neither shall evil dwell with thee." 
 
 The Psalmist did not satisfy himself with pri- 
 vate prayer ; he also resolved to engage in the 
 exercises of public worship. The same feeling 
 of piety which constrained him to do the one, 
 constrained him also to do the other. And then, 
 he did not think himself at liberty to go to the 
 house of God, without a due consideration of the 
 service with which he was to be there occupied, 
 and of the dispositions and views which it re- 
 
LECTURE r. 25 
 
 quired from him, as both becoming and neces- 
 sary. " As for me," says he, " I will come into 
 thy house in the multitude of thy mercy ; and in 
 thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple/' 
 The resolution of the Psalmist should be ours. 
 We may be tempted by our natural disinclination 
 to spiritual employment, and by the allurements 
 of a degenerate world, and by the example and 
 counsel of ungodly men, to " forsake the assem- 
 bling of ourselves together." But, " as for us," if 
 we are actuated by the principles and the spirit 
 of true religion, we will resist all these tempta- 
 tions, and account it our honour, our privilege, 
 and our duty, to " wait on the Lord" in the ser- 
 vices of his sanctuary. This we will do, regularly 
 and punctually, in the ordinary circumstances of 
 life. But we will especially have recourse to God 
 in his house of prayer, when we are distress- 
 ed by the hostility and persecution of our foes, 
 in order that we may derive consolation from 
 the communion which we there hold with our 
 heavenly father, and be instructed by what is 
 there delivered to us, in all that can reconcile us 
 to our troubles, and guide us in our difficulties, and 
 support us under our trials. And, far from rush- 
 
26 LECTURE I. 
 
 ing into his holy place, as too many do, without 
 any serious thought concerning him to whom we 
 are about to pay our homage, and the manner in 
 which he must be approached, if we would ap- 
 proach him with acceptance, — we will study to 
 have our minds impressed with just conceptions 
 of his character, to bring with us those offerings 
 which the occasion requires, and to present them 
 with suitable affections, and in a suitable manner. 
 Instead of merely going to his tabernacles, we 
 will go to them with the conscious purpose of 
 worshipping him, — of offering to him our prayers 
 and our praises, and of listening to his word. And 
 instead of merely going to worship him, we will 
 go to worship him in that way which is suggest- 
 ed by the nature and circumstances of the duty, 
 or dictated by his own express injunctions. Con- 
 templating the immaculate purity by which he is 
 distinguished, and aware of our own unworthi- 
 ness and guilt, it will be with the deepest humili- 
 ty that we enter his courts; it will be with de- 
 pendence on his unmerited mercy ; and it will be 
 with a believing reference to that scheme of re- 
 conciliation by which his mercy has been mani- 
 fested to sinful men. And though drawing near 
 
LECTURE I. 27 
 
 to him in faith, and beholding and trusting in him 
 as a God of mercy, we will feel ourselves encour- 
 aged to hope for a favourable reception, yet still 
 thinking of his unspotted holiness, and of our own 
 great depravity, it will be with godly fear that we 
 lift up our eyes to " the place where his honour 
 dwelleth," w^hether we give him the tribute of our 
 thanksgiving, or ask from him the blessings that 
 we need. Thus going into the house of God 
 " in the multitude of his mercy,'^ and worshipping 
 towards his holy temple " in his fear,^"* we may 
 cherish the expectation that he will graciously re- 
 ceive us ; that he will " cause his face to shine 
 upon us;" that he will listen to the voice of sup- 
 plication which we lift up to him from amidst 
 " the assembly of the upright;" that he will help us 
 in the performance of our sacred duties ; that he 
 will bless them for our comfort and advantage; 
 and that he will make the services of his temple 
 below, a preparation for the purer and more ex- 
 alted services of his temple above. 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 PSALM V. S.^END. 
 
 " Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine 
 enemies : make thy way straight before my face. For there 
 is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very 
 wickedness ; their throat is an open sepulchre ; they flatter 
 with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God : let them 
 fall by their own counsels ; cast them out in the multi- 
 tude of their transgressions ; for they have rebelled against 
 thee. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice : 
 let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them : 
 let them also that love thy name be joyful iri thee. For 
 thou. Lord, wilt bless the righteous ; with favour wilt thou 
 compass him as with a shield." 
 
 David had addressed himself to God as the 
 hearer of prayer, and he did so, when he was 
 in distress by reason of the opposition and hosti- 
 lity of ungodly men. He took encouragement in 
 praying for help and deliverance, from the consi- 
 deration that God was a holy being, who had " no 
 pleasure in wickedness," and who would take part 
 
LECTURE II. ^29 
 
 with his servants when they were persecuted by 
 the workers of iniquity. And he expressed his 
 determination, amidst all his trials and troubles, 
 to adhere closely to the worship of his Maker, to 
 approach him in a dependence upon his mercy, 
 and to "serve him with reverence and godly fear." 
 He proceeds thus ; " Lead me, O Lord, in thy 
 righteousness, because of mine enemies : make 
 thy way straight before my face." David's ene- 
 mies were numerous, malicious, and inveterate. 
 They watched to spy out his faults ; they waited 
 for his halting ; they were anxious to discover him 
 acting inconsistently with his professions ; they 
 longed for some violation of that law by which he 
 pretended to be guided, for some departure from 
 that character by which he laboured to be distin- 
 guished — that they might accuse him before the 
 world, that they might disgrace him in the eye 
 of the church, that they might overwhelm him 
 in infamy and ruin. Now, in this situation of pe- 
 ril, he applied to God. He was sensible that of 
 himself he was not proof against their enmity ; 
 that if left to his own wisdom and strength and 
 resolution, their assaults would be successful and 
 their object accomplished ; that nothing could pre- 
 
S(» LECTURE II. 
 
 serve him but the interposition of divine aid. 
 And, therefore, he trusted in it, and he prayed 
 for it. He prayed that the Almighty would pre- 
 vent him from committing any sin which would 
 have given his foes an advantage over him, or an 
 occasion against him ; that he might be enabled, 
 at all times, and in all circumstances, to present 
 to them the commanding aspect of a blameless 
 and holy life ; that the way of duty might be 
 made so plain to him, that he could not miss it ; 
 that its ruggedness and its difficulties might be 
 so smoothed down, that he could walk in it easily 
 and surely; that those who looked on him with 
 the most suspicious and malignant eye, might be 
 unable to detect any fault in his conduct ; that 
 their captiousness might be ungratified, their 
 clamours put to silence, and their expectations 
 disappointed. 
 
 Now, my friends, we are in one sense, situated 
 like the Psalmist, and we must act like him. We 
 have all of us enemies to encounter, whose aim is 
 deadly, whose vigilance is ceaseless, whose at- 
 tacks are unremitting, whose numbers, and 
 power, and devices are formidable. And what 
 have we wherewith to resist them? Nothing 
 
LECTURE II. 31 
 
 that is adequate to the arduous task. Unskilful, 
 ignorant, and weak ; apt to slumber at our post ; 
 easily tempted, or easily frightened into danger- 
 ous concessions ; unwilling to undergo the toils, 
 or to submit to the sacrifices which our warfare 
 demands, — we have scarcely begun the contest, 
 when we lose the victory, and fall a prey to 
 those who have nothing else at heart than our 
 everlasting destruction. But though such is 
 our condition, is it quite helpless and irreme- 
 diable? No, brethren : the God whom we 
 serve is for us, and he is mightier by far than 
 all that can be against us. He has promised 
 guidance, and protection, and assistance; he has 
 promised to give courage to our hearts, and 
 wisdom to our counsels, and vigour to our 
 arm; he has promised to be himself our leader 
 and commander, to support us through the perils 
 of the combat, and to conduct us to conquest 
 and to triumph. What then should we do, but 
 confide in these promises, and pray for their ful- 
 filment ? Let it be our fixed purpose to oppose a 
 firm and unyielding front to our adversaries. Let 
 us be resolved, that in spite of all their efforts, we 
 will " hold fast our righteousness, and never let it 
 
32 LECTURE II. 
 
 go ;" that nothing they can say or do shall prevail 
 upon us to surrender one iota of our principles or 
 our purity; that we will wage interminable war with 
 them, rather than suffer them in a single point 
 to acquire the mastery over us. And let all the 
 means which we possess of repelling their assaults, 
 of counteracting their stratagems, and of defeating 
 their attempts, be employed with every degree of 
 care and energy. But still, with all this, let us 
 never forget that there is no hope for us, if we 
 rely on our own independent resources ; that we 
 must be " strong in the Lord, and in the power of 
 his might ;" and that his all-sufficient help must 
 be obtained by prayer and supplication. Let us, 
 therefore, beseech him " to lead us in his righte- 
 ousness, because of our enemies, and to make his 
 way straight before our face." Let us not only 
 ask him to be thus mindful of us, and thus assist- 
 ing to us, in the extreme or more trying exigen- 
 cies of our lot ; but let us habitually apply to him 
 for the wisdom that is necessary to direct, and 
 the strength that is necessary to resist, and let us 
 be specially careful to implore grace to prevent 
 us from doing any thing, which, though appar- 
 ently or comparatively insignificant, may yet pave 
 
LECTURE II. 33 
 
 the way for a succession of evil works, which 
 would gradually undermine the foundations of 
 our Christian character, and finally involve us in 
 the moral desolation which our enemies are seek- 
 ing to accomplish. And let us thus labour, and 
 thus pray, not merely because it is requisite for 
 working out our own personal salvation, by keep- 
 ing us stedfast in the path of God's righteous- 
 ness, but also because it contributes to the honour, 
 and the influence, and the prosperity of that great 
 cause which we have espoused, as believers in the 
 Gospel, by depriving our foes of that handle with 
 which our misconduct would furnish them for 
 " blaspheming the holy name by which we are 
 called," and by exhibiting to them the virtuous and 
 irreproachable deportment which is formed, and 
 nurtured, and matured by the religion of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The Psalmist next gives an account of his ene- 
 mies, and petitions for their destruction. " For 
 there is no faithfulness in their mouth ; their in- 
 ward part is very wickedness : their throat is an 
 open sepulchre, they flatter with their tongue. 
 Destroy thou them, O God ; let them fall by their 
 own counsels : cast them out in the multitude of 
 
 D 
 
34 LECTURE II. 
 
 their transgressions, for they have rebelled a* 
 gainst thee." They had no regard to truth, and 
 scrupled not to invent and propagate deliberate 
 falsehoods, if they could thereby injure the inte- 
 rest, the reputation, or the comfort of the king 
 of Israel. And this they did under the influence 
 and by the impulse of inherent depravity, — of an 
 inborn enmity against God and the people of 
 God, which neither kindness nor virtue could 
 subdue, and which startled at no lie and at no 
 malignity, by which its feelings might be grati- 
 fied and its purposes gained. Nay, they carried 
 this odious and reckless passion so far, that they 
 thirsted for David's blood ; they were ready to 
 devour him ; and insatiable as the grave, which 
 never says " it is enough," they longed to swallow 
 up not him only, but all who were embarked in the 
 same holy cause, and distinguished by the same 
 devotedness to the King of Heaven. And so far 
 did they carry their diabolical practices, that they 
 put on the mask of friendship, and spoke in the 
 accents of applause, that thereby they might more 
 easily lull the suspicions, and effectuate the ruin, 
 of all who were the objects of their hatred. 
 
 Such were the Psalmist's enemies; and he 
 
LECTURE II. 35 
 
 prayed for their destruction. He prayed that they 
 might be subjected to the punishment which they 
 had so justly merited; he prayed that the counsels 
 which they took, and the measures which they de- 
 vised against others, might be so overruled as to 
 turn to their own overthrow; he prayed that in the 
 midst, and on account of, their multiplied offences, 
 they might be cast out from the land of the living, 
 and the place of hope. These were dreadful im- 
 precations, and could only be justified on peculiar 
 grounds, — in explanation of which, we would offer 
 these two short remarks. In the first place, 
 David did not pray for the destruction of his 
 enemies, from any feelings of personal resent- 
 ment. They had, indeed, given him every pro- 
 vocation that insult and persecution could furnish. 
 But he did not yield to it ; he took higher and 
 more important views. His own wrongs were 
 forgotten amidst the affronts that were offered to 
 the majesty of heaven. It was upon this ground 
 that he pleaded for the divine vengeance to fall 
 upon his enemies. In aiming a blow at him, they 
 were opposing the appointments of Jevohah, and 
 they were doing so by means which implied a 
 violation of the most important and sacred enact- 
 
36 LECTURE IL 
 
 ments of the moral law ; and hence, he urges his 
 suit against them with this argument, " for they 
 have rebelled against thee." And in the second 
 place, when interpreting this and similar pass- 
 ages, we must never forget that David sustain- 
 ed a particular character, and was the cham- 
 pion of a particular dispensation. He vras the 
 anointed King of Israel ; he was inspired, and 
 invested with the prophetical office ; and he was 
 ordained to act a most important part in carrying 
 forw ard the arrangements of God, not merely for 
 the immediate safety and prosperity of the Jew ish 
 state, but also and chiefly for the coming of the 
 Messiah, and the ultimate salvation of the world. 
 When praying, therefore, for the destruction of 
 his enemies, he was not an unguided, unautho- 
 rised individual, praying for ruin to the common 
 enemies of his person, or of his country. But he 
 was an individual, specially gifted and called of 
 God, and " moved in what he spoke by the Holy 
 Ghost," praying for the destruction of those w^ho 
 " set themselves" obstinately and malevolently 
 " against the Lord and his anointed," who were 
 levelling the shafts of their malice against the cause 
 both of God and man, and doing what they could 
 
LECTURE II. 37 
 
 to frustrate tlie counsels of heaven concerning the 
 advent of tlie Saviour, and the redemption of the 
 human race. 
 
 But while these extraordinary circumstances 
 fully justified the Psalmist in imprecating de- 
 struction upon his enemies, there is nothing in 
 our situation by which we can be justified in fol- 
 lowing his example. Evil men may calumniate 
 us, and do us all manner of injury; and in afflict- 
 ing tis they may — they must, be offending God ; 
 but we have no more warrant to pray for divine 
 wrath to consume them, than we have warrant to 
 cherish personal revenge against them. We are 
 under the law of Christian charity ; and that law 
 forbids undue resentment, — it requires us to" love 
 our enemies, and to pray for them." We must be 
 regulated by the example of Jesus; and from the 
 cross of his agony, he lifted up the voice of in- 
 treaty in behalf of his murderers, and said, 
 "Father forgive them, for theyknov/ not what they 
 do." We must be " followers of God as dear 
 children;" and we know that he " has no pleasure 
 in the death of the wicked, but is willing that all 
 men should come to repentance," and therefore it 
 becomes us to pray that even those who, in the 
 
38 LECTURE II. 
 
 wantonness or the wickedness of their hearts, 
 have done us most evil, may be " converted from 
 the error of their ways," and made partakers of 
 that grace in which we ourselves rejoice, and 
 which teaches us to remember the very worst of 
 them in our supplications at the throne of mercy. 
 When we come, however, to consider our spi- 
 ritual enemies, the case is altered, and in so far 
 as we exclude from our regard whatever is at once 
 an object of pity and capable of change, it is not 
 only allowable but dutiful in us to pray for their 
 destruction. With that limitation, it is impos- 
 sible for us to be on any terms with them, and not 
 endanger our well-being. And as we should use 
 every method in our power, for breaking down 
 their dominion and annihilating their very exis- 
 tence, seeing that their hostility is equally direct- 
 ed against us, and against God, and against all 
 that is good and holy, we must not omit the in- 
 strument of prayer, which, when employed in 
 sincerity, and in faith, and with perseverance, is 
 not less availing than it is necessary. It is right 
 for us to pray that the kingdom of Satan may be 
 overturned, that he may be seen as " lightning 
 falling from heaven," that he may be banished 
 
LECTURE II. 3d 
 
 from the hearts and the habitations of all men, 
 and driven away, baffled and defeated, " into his 
 own place." It is right for us to pray that the 
 spirit which " worketh in us as the children of dis- 
 obedience," may be crushed and subdued — that 
 " the old man with his corrupt deeds and deceitful 
 lusts" may fall down and die — that every vestige of 
 that authority which sin has established in our fall- 
 en nature, may perish and become as if it had never 
 been. It is right for us to pray, that the world 
 may be divested of its charms to seduce, and of 
 its terrors to frighten us, from the paths of virtue ; 
 that it may fall prostrate and without strength at 
 the feet of a triumphant faith ; that it may be hurl- 
 ed from its proud pre-eminence among men; and 
 that on its ruins may be erected the bright and pu- 
 rifying hope of that " new heaven and that new 
 earth, in which dwelleth righteousness." And 
 if among our fellow-men, there are those who by 
 their counsel, their example, or their ridicule, are 
 trying to wound our conscience, to shake our 
 confidence, and ruin our souls, and thus proving 
 themselves to be the worst enemies with whom 
 we have to struggle, — it is right also to pray with 
 respect to them, that the character in which they 
 
40 LECTURE 11. 
 
 appear as foes to the followers of Jesus Christ 
 may be utterly extinguished; that the very devices 
 which they have contrived and are executing a- 
 gainst us, may be made the instruments of their 
 discomfiture ; that, whether by mercy or by judg- 
 ment, the Lord may be pleased to break their stub- 
 born wills, and bring them into subjection to him- 
 self and into captivity to Christ ; and that the en- 
 mity of their minds being thus conquered, and all 
 the strong holds of unbelief taken from them, 
 and their souls spoiled of every carnal affection 
 and every hostile feeling, they may be so effec- 
 tually converted as to become " lovers of God," 
 the friends of his people, and the supporters of his 
 cause throughout the world. It is right for us 
 to pray in this manner and to this extent for the 
 destruction of our spiritual enemies : and if we 
 thus "pray with all prayer and supplication in the 
 Spirit," He to whom our petitions are addressed 
 will answer us in mercy, taking to him his great 
 power, and thereby accomplishing our deliver- 
 ance, securing us equally against the wiles and the 
 violence of our foes, and giving us that victory 
 over them all, which shall terminate in " glory, 
 honour, and immortality." 
 
LECTURE II. 41 
 
 Having described the enemies of God and pray- 
 ed against them, the Psahiiist next describes the 
 people of God, and prays for them. " But let 
 all those that put their trust in thee rejoice ; let 
 them ever shout for joy ; because thou defendest 
 them : let them also that love thy name be joyful 
 in thee. For thou. Lord, wilt bless the righ- 
 teous, with favour wilt thou compass him as with 
 a shield." 
 
 God's people are described as putting then trust 
 in hhn. Their confidence is withdrawn from the 
 creature, and reposed in the Creator. They 
 contemplate his perfections ; and in them, they 
 behold every thing which can render God worthy 
 of their affiance as a guide, a protector, and a 
 friend. They read his promises ; and these, while 
 they come from him who is faithful and almighty, 
 apply so kindly and minutely to all their circum- 
 stances, as to invite and secure their unsuspecting- 
 reliance upon him for all that they need. And 
 the experience they have had of his gracious and 
 providential treatment of them during what is 
 past, teaches them to look up to him, with an 
 unwavering conviction, that he will not forsake 
 them during all that yet remains of their earthly 
 
42 LECTURE II. 
 
 pilgrimage. They " trust in him at all times:" 
 they trust in him with their whole heart : they 
 trust in him for present safety : they trust in him 
 for support at death : they trust in him for the 
 happiness of eternity. 
 
 God's people are also described as loving his 
 name. He is the object of their devout and grate- 
 ful attachment. Their understandings have been 
 enlightened to see, and their hearts have been 
 purified to relish, the transcendent excellence 
 which resides in his character. And the for- 
 bearance, the mercy, and the kindness which he 
 has shown them, and which run through all their 
 temporal, and all their spiritual lot, have drawn 
 their hearts to him in delighted admiration, and 
 everlasting gratitude. So that they think of him 
 with complacency. They take pleasure in every 
 thing by which he condescends to make himself 
 known. They are gladdened by every token of 
 his bounty which they themselves receive, and 
 by every demonstration of grace and power which 
 he gives in the world around them. And they 
 long for the period, when from that clearer view 
 of his character, and from that more enlarged 
 experience of his mercy, and from that more 
 
LECTURE II. 43 
 
 sainted capacity of appreciating " the beauties of 
 holiness," which they shall attain in heaven, they 
 shall be enabled to love him with boundless, un- 
 interrupted, and never ending affection. 
 
 God's people are also described as righteous. 
 To confidence in his attributes and administra- 
 tion, and sentiments of devoted attachment to him 
 as their heavenly Father, their almighty friend, 
 their eternal portion, they add the substantial 
 and practical attainment of conformity to his will. 
 They do not rest satisfied with honouring him 
 by the mere feelings of dependence and affection: 
 they honour him also by the obedience which he 
 requires, and which it is at once their privilege 
 and their duty to render to his holy law. They 
 are righteous in their principles : they are righte- 
 ous in their tempers : they are righteous in their 
 conduct. Righteousness is their grand distinc- 
 tion. It adorns them wherever they are, and 
 points them out as children of the most High, 
 and as heirs of immortality ; and following after 
 it with unremitting zeal, and willingly subjecting 
 themselves to " the sanctification of the Spirit," 
 their " path is like the shining light which shineth 
 more and more until the perfect day." 
 
44 LECTURE II. 
 
 Such are God's people according to the de- 
 scription given of them by the Psalmist. And, 
 judging of yourselves by this test, are you, my 
 friends, among the number of God's people ? If 
 you are not, I need not tell you how much you 
 are lost to all that is greatest and happiest and 
 best. There is but one other alternative ; and if 
 you have chosen it; if you are indeed the enemies 
 of God ; if, instead of " trusting in ^m," you are 
 trusting in " refuges of lies ;" if, instead of " lov- 
 ing his name," you are hating, and blaspheming, 
 and turning away from it ; if, instead of being 
 " righteous," you are living in sin, eager in its 
 pursuits, and contented with its pleasures ; then, 
 what can you expect, or what can we hold out to 
 you, but the destruction for which David pray- 
 ed, and which the Almighty has threatened, and 
 with w^hich he Aviil assuredly visit all those who 
 will not " repent and be converted'"* that they may 
 be saved ? O be persuaded to forsake your evil 
 ways, and to return to the Lord. Abandon the 
 ranks of his foes. " Come out from among them, 
 and be ye separate." And join yourselves to them 
 who love God and keep his commandments. 
 He will " receive you graciously.'' He will pardon 
 
LECTURE 11. 43 
 
 you freely for the sake of his dear Son. He will 
 treat you with every mark of aflPection that may 
 be hoped for from a tender parent — from a re- 
 conciled God. He will put it into the hearts of 
 his saints to pray for you, as David prayed for 
 the righteous. He will teach them the supplica- 
 tions they are to prefer in your behalf. And, 
 among all the various blessings that, under his 
 guidance, will be the subject of their petitions, 
 this will be none of the least fervent nor least ef- 
 fectual, that you may be " comforted concerning 
 all that has befallen you ;" that you may be ena- 
 bled to rejoice in God, to whose friendship you 
 have been restored, and " under the shadow of 
 whose wings" you have taken refuge from the 
 guilt and the calamities of an unholy life ; that 
 you may even " shout for joy" — the joy of perfect 
 security from all that once harassed your mind 
 and robbed it of its peace — the joy of complete 
 triumph over the foes under whose cruel power 
 you were fast " filling up the measure of your ini- 
 quities," and fast sinking into the " perdition of 
 ungodly men," — the joy of unwavering faith in the 
 merit and intercession of him who redeemed you, 
 and opened up the way of return to your oiFend- 
 
46 LECTURE II. 
 
 ed Maker — the joy of assured hope that the time 
 is not far distant when you shall be rescued from 
 every remaining evil, be admitted into the celes- 
 tial presence of your redeeming God, and there 
 rejoice for ever with " a joy that is unspeakable 
 and full of glory." — And most unquestionably this 
 prayer will be heard and answered. God is al- 
 ready pledged by his character and by his pro- 
 mises to grant what is thus implored. " For he 
 will bless the righteous ; and with favour will he 
 compass him as with a shield." You need his 
 blessing, and you shall have it; and you shall 
 find that it is " a blessing which maketh rich, and 
 addeth no sorrow." You need his favour, and 
 you shall have it; and you shall find that his "fa- 
 vour is life, and his loving kindness better than 
 life." You need his defence, and you shall 
 have it; and you shall find that they whom the 
 Lord defends have a shield which compasses 
 them about on every side, and keeps them in per- 
 fect safety. And, amidst all your difficulties and 
 all your dangers, this will be your song, till you 
 reach the temple out of which you shall no more 
 go out, and the kingdom that shall never be 
 moved ; " The Lord is my light, and my salva- 
 
LECTURE II. 47 
 
 tion, whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the 
 strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ? 
 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my 
 foes came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stum- 
 bled and fell. Though an host should encamp 
 against me, my heart shall not fear : though 
 war should rise against me in this will I be con- 
 fident. One thing have I desired of the Lord, 
 that will I seek after : that I may dwell in the 
 house of the Lord all the days of my life to be- 
 hold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in his 
 temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide 
 me in his pavilion : in the secret of his tabernacle 
 shall he hide me: he shall set me up upon a 
 rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up 
 above mine enemies round about me : therefore 
 will 1 offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I 
 will sing — yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.'* 
 
LECTURE III, 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 '" Lord, tvho shall abide in thy tabernacle ? ivho shall dwell 
 in thy holy hill ? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh 
 righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that 
 backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neigh' 
 hour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In 
 whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he honoureth 
 them that fear the Lord : he that siveareth to his own hurt, 
 and changeth not. He that putteth not out his inoney to 
 usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that 
 doeth these things shall never be moved." 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Nothing can be more important than the in- 
 quiry with which this Psalm commences. It 
 refers not to a subject of idle or useless curiosity; 
 nor to a subject involving some merely temporary 
 interest ; nor to a subject about which we may 
 be indifferent, and at the same time neither com- 
 promise our wisdom, nor endanger our safety. 
 
LECTURE III. '49 
 
 It refers to a subject which comprehends at once 
 our prospects of eternal felicity, and the practical 
 concern that we must necessarily feel, and the 
 practical efforts that we must necessarily make, 
 in order that these prospects may be certainly 
 realised. And, therefore, it is infinitely more 
 deserving of our regard than the most moment- 
 ous of all the various inquiries that were ever 
 engaged in by men of science, or by men of the 
 world, whose views were confined to the circum- 
 stances and the comforts of a present state. 
 
 And yet how little of the patient attention of 
 most men, and how little of their serious medita- 
 tion, does it occupy ! To every thing else, whether 
 grave or trifling, they are more than sufficiently 
 alive. They are eager in asking, and they spare 
 no trouble in ascertaining, by what means their 
 " knowledge, which pufFeth up," may be enlarged, 
 or their worldly advantages secured, or their 
 personal gratifications promoted, or their animal 
 life prolonged, or their passing amusements 
 varied, and multiplied, and heightened. Listen 
 to their conversation, and you will hear how 
 much they are in earnest about these objects of 
 pursuit. Look to their conduct, and you will 
 
50 LECTURE III. 
 
 see what sacrifices they are ready to make, in 
 order to attain what they thus so vehemently de- 
 sire. Examine their whole system of life, and 
 you will find them giving their days and their 
 nights, their w^armest affections and their most 
 vigorous efforts, to the engagements and the plea- 
 sures of a present world ; seeking after these 
 with insatiable curiosity, and unwearied activity ; 
 and as intent upon them as if they comprised all 
 that is alluring to human ambition, and all that 
 is requisite to human happiness. As they do not 
 deny that they have immortal souls, and that 
 there is a coming retribution from which they 
 cannot escape, one might expect that the thought 
 of this would exact from them some considera- 
 tion, even in their busiest hours, and that now 
 and then they would devote to it their solemn 
 and exclusive regard. But no : they speak and 
 act as if they had no real or thorough belief that 
 there is a hereafter, or as if they judged them- 
 selves to have no individual concern in it. " What 
 shall we eat ? What shall we drink ? Where- 
 withal shall we be clothed ?" How shall we get 
 honour ? How shall we acquire wealth ? How 
 shall our time pass most pleasantly away ? How 
 
LECTURE III. 51 
 
 must we be qualified for this scene of business ? 
 And how shall we be arrayed for that scene of 
 gaiety ? — These are the questions, and the only 
 questions which they are at pains either to put or 
 to answer; and their spiritual and everlasting 
 condition is as much unheeded, as if they had no 
 eternity before them, and had no account to 
 render. 
 
 The folly of all this is so obvious, that we could 
 scarcely believe it possible, were not the fact 
 presented every day and every hour to our ob- 
 servation. O if there be any now hearing me to 
 whom the description applies, let me beseech 
 you, were it but for one moment, to reflect on the 
 infatuation which besets you. Suppose that 
 within that range to which you limit your con- 
 cern, you possessed and enjoyed every thing that 
 your hearts desired ; that you had no want un- 
 supplied, and no wish unfulfilled; that every 
 species of evil were a stranger to your lot, and 
 every species of good familiar to your feelings 
 and your experience ; that, in short, the whole 
 " world, and the fulness thereof" were yours at 
 w411 ; — what in truth have you obtained ? Why, 
 it is not too strong language to say, that you have 
 
^2 LECTURE III. 
 
 obtained nothing. You and the world, closely 
 as you are now linked with it, and cordially as 
 you are now attached to it, and little as you now 
 think of leaving it, — you and the world must part. 
 You must die, and go into another world — a 
 world in which a righteous judgment shall pass 
 upon you, and in which you shall have an endless, 
 unchangeable existence either of happiness or 
 woe. Are you prepared for that world ? Have 
 you provided for the dread alternative which there 
 awaits you ? And have you any good ground to 
 hope that you shall " escape the wrath to come," 
 and be admitted into heaven ? The case supposes 
 that you have no such prospect, and no such 
 meetness ; and on that supposition, what are all 
 the honours, and all the treasures, and all the 
 joys of " the life that now is ?" We repeat it, and 
 you cannot in your conscience gainsay it, that 
 they are nothing, — lost and forgotten amidst the 
 realities of that eternal state of being, in which 
 they cannot secure for you one gleam of comfort, 
 or one ray of hope. Nay, they are worse than 
 nothing; for though they pleased, and even en- 
 raptured you during the short and fleeting hours 
 of your mortal career, they were all the while 
 
LECTURE III. 53 
 
 concealing from you the glories of immortality, 
 chainincr down your ambition to the pursuits of 
 sense and sin, and deluding you to your everlast- 
 ing ruin. What infatuation, then, to be taking 
 no heed to your future well-being, and lavishing 
 all your care and all your anxiety on " the things 
 that are seen and temporal !" 
 
 Take the converse of the supposition we have 
 made, and observe how it brings you to the same 
 conclusion. Suppose that you had the most mo- 
 derate portion of worldly prosperity and indul- 
 gence that ever fell to the share of the unfortu- 
 nate; suppose that all the possessions of which 
 you are taking such a fast hold, and all the gra- 
 tifications to which you are so much devoted, 
 were to vanish from your grasp for ever ; suppose 
 that your cup of terrestrial bliss were dashed to 
 the ground, and there were put into your hand, 
 and pressed to your lips, a cup ovei-flowing with 
 the bitter waters of sorrow and adversity, which 
 you were compelled to drink to its very dregs; — 
 what of all this, if you were "rich towards God;" if 
 you were travelling to the " kingdom that cannot 
 be moved;" if you were heirs of the " inheritance 
 which is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth 
 
54 LECTURE III. 
 
 not away ?" Your sorrows in the one case would 
 as quickly pass away, as must your joys in the 
 other case ; and as the departure of your joys in 
 the other case was but the prelude of ceaseless 
 and unmingled misery, so the termination of your 
 sorrows in this case would be succeeded by a 
 felicity, perfect in its nature, boundless in its 
 extent, and endless in its duration. Only lay up 
 for yourselves an interest in the substantial and 
 undecaying blessedness of the celestial paradise ; 
 and all that this transitory scene can visit you 
 with, either of pleasure or of pain, will be " as the 
 small dust of the balance, without weight and 
 without regard." And the very privations and 
 afflictions, by which, as worldlings, you would be 
 bowed down to the dust, and amidst the severest 
 of which you could have no support and no con- 
 solation, would not only be borne by you, as 
 Christians, with patience and resignation, but 
 would serve by elevating your hearts, and purify- 
 ing your characters, to give you a larger capacity, 
 and a diviner relish, for " the glory that is to be 
 hereafter revealed." O how foolish, then, to be 
 eager in every inquiry, and intent upon every 
 employment that has a reference, however remote, 
 
LECTURE III. 55 
 
 to your connection with the things of time ; and 
 never once, or seriously, or fervently, to " lift up 
 your souls" to him " who inhabiteth eternity," and 
 say in the language of the Psalmist, " Lord, 
 who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? Who shall 
 dwell in thy holy hill ?" 
 
 But there are some who often think of heaven, 
 and often speak of heaven, and often direct their 
 face towards heaven, and who notwithstanding 
 do not attend to the meaning of the Psalmist's 
 question, or do not properly apply it, or do not 
 sufficiently act upon it. They seem to be quite 
 convinced that there is such a place as heaven, 
 and that every wise man will be desirous to reach 
 it ; and they seem not only to partake of that de- 
 sire, but to be satisfied that, with respect to them, 
 it will be ultimately and certainly realised. And 
 all this, although they do not spend one serious 
 thought on the qualifications which heaven requires 
 of every one who would inhabit its holy and happy 
 mansions. They have inquired about the reality of 
 these mansions, and have no doubt of being at last 
 admitted into them : but they never put the ques- 
 tion, " Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle, 
 who shall dwell in thy holy hill ?" — Or they put 
 
56 LECTURE HI. 
 
 this question, and they get it answered, and they 
 entertain correct and scriptural notions concern- 
 ing it, and are just as orthodox on the subject as 
 you could desire them to be. But then their 
 knowledge of it is altogether speculative, or if 
 practically used, is made to refer to every human 
 being but themselves. They look around them, 
 and they decide with great readiness on the fu- 
 ture fate of others — determining who shall finally 
 be introduced into heaven, and who shall finally 
 be excluded from it : and if they refrain from pass- 
 ing such specific sentences on their fellow crea- 
 tures, they also refrain most carefully from con- 
 sidering how far they, for their own part, can look 
 forward with hope and confidence, as those in 
 whom there is a personal meetness for the king- 
 dom of God, by their possessing those qualities to 
 which the promise of that kingdom is annexed, 
 and satisfy their minds with having an accurate 
 acquaintance with the doctrine, and an unwaver- 
 ing belief in the doctrine, that they who go to 
 heaven must be distinguished by that character 
 which is delineated and prescribed in the sacred 
 scriptures. — Or if they do make this self-applica- 
 tion of the great and important truth that admis- 
 
LECTURE III. .57 
 
 sion into heaven is a privilege necessarily, autho- 
 ritatively, and exclusively bestowed upon a parti- 
 cular class or description of men ; if they are per- 
 suaded that it is indispensibly requisite for them 
 to belong to this class, if they would enjoy that 
 privilege ; and if, under the influence of this per- 
 suasion, they set themselves to the work of pre- 
 paration, and seek to be adorned with that excel- 
 lence which shall constitute their fitness for eter- 
 nal life, — still they allow their proud reason, their 
 corrupt passions, their w^orldly interests, so to in- 
 terfere with what divine authority requires them to 
 do and to be, that there are some duties which they 
 will not perform, some vices which they will not 
 abandon, some sacrifices which they will not make, 
 though hell be the penalty, and heaven the re- 
 ward. 
 
 Now these are all wrong ; and their errors 
 must prove fatal. Nobody surely can get to hea- 
 ven merely by believing that there is such a state, 
 and desiring to be there, however firm the be- 
 lief, and however intense the desire may be. There 
 must be at least superadded to this, some know- 
 ledge of that character which those must possess 
 who shall be admitted into it; some concern felt 
 
58 LECTURE III. 
 
 upon that subject; some endeavours made to acquire 
 distinct apprehensions of it ; and some measure of 
 success in obtaining the requisite instruction. 
 Nor is this by any means sufficient. To our belief 
 in heaven and our ambition to enter it, we may 
 add tlie most minute inquiries into the character 
 which fits for the enjoyment of it, and the most 
 correct acquaintance with all the qualities of which 
 that character is composed, — still that can do us 
 no good so long as we make use of it for no 
 other purpose than that of judging of the future 
 condition of other men, and think not of its just 
 and individual application to ourselves. And 
 though we should apply it to ourselves, and be 
 satisfied not only that a particular and specified 
 preparation is indispensible, but that we must 
 have that preparation, still, if in making it, we 
 leave out what the word of God declares to be 
 essential to its completeness and its acceptance, 
 and do nothing more than aim at those attain- 
 ments which suit our own depraved or fanciful 
 views, there is no ground on which we can con- 
 sistently lay claim to heaven, or rationally expect 
 to be its inhabitants at last. " Eternal life is al- 
 together the gift of God ;" he has intimated that 
 
LECTURE III. 59 
 
 it is the portion of none but those who are quali- 
 fied for its exercises and its pleasures ; he has 
 fixed what these qualifications are, and has plainly 
 revealed, and authoritatively prescribed them; 
 and it is beyond all controversy that we must in- 
 quire about them, that we must become acquainted 
 with them, that we must labour to be invested 
 with them, that we must actually have them, in 
 order that we may be among the number of those 
 " who shall abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, 
 and dwell in his holy hill," — of those who shall 
 be the real members of his church upon earth, and 
 shall finally ascend to the place of sublime and 
 everlasting recompense. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Having said this much on the question here 
 put by the Psalmist, let us now attend to the 
 answer that he gives. " He that walketh up- 
 rightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh 
 the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not 
 
60 LECTURE III. 
 
 with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, 
 nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 
 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but 
 he honoureth them that fear the Lord ; he that 
 sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; he 
 that putteth not out his money to usury, nor 
 taketh reward against the innocent." 
 
 We are evidently not to regard this as a com- 
 plete enumeration of the virtues which constitute 
 a meetness for heaven. A complete enumeration 
 can only be made by travelling through the whole 
 sacred volume, and collecting all the principles 
 that are laid down in its pages, and all the pre- 
 cepts that there are enjoined for the regulation of 
 human conduct. It is not from detached passages 
 of revelation that we learn particularly and fully 
 what the Christian character is, but from its 
 various truths, and maxims, and commandments 
 gathered together, and combined into one prac- 
 tical system. " All scripture is given by inspira- 
 tion, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
 for correction and instruction in righteousness, 
 that the man of God may be perfect, throughly 
 furnished unto all good works." That we may 
 be " perfect, and throughly furnished unto all 
 
LECTURE III. 61 
 
 good works," we must study the whole of the in- 
 spired record, and make ourselves minutely ac- 
 quainted with its contents. But the Divine Spirit 
 has seen proper, in describing those who shall 
 " enter into life," to mention sometimes one part 
 of their character, and sometimes another, to the 
 apparent exclusion of the rest. Thus, in the 
 twenty-fourth psalm, when it is asked, " who shall 
 ascend into the hill of the Lord ? and who shall 
 stand in his holy place ?" — this answer is sub- 
 joined, " He that hath clean hands, and a pure 
 heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto 
 vanity, nor sworn deceitfully :" — in which words 
 the acquirements of a successful candidate for 
 heaven, are limited to freedom from gross out- 
 ward sins, and from sensual desires — from undue 
 attachment to " the things of the world," and from 
 false and fraudulent oaths. In our Saviour*s 
 account of the general judgment, the sentence of 
 approbation which he will pronounce upon the 
 righteous, who are to go " away into life eternal," 
 recognises no other Christian grace in them as 
 authorising this glorious destination, than the 
 exercise of charity, — of charity too, in its most 
 ordinary form, — as directed not to the welfare of 
 
62 LECTURE III. 
 
 the soul, but to the comfort of the body, and to 
 that comfort as promoted and cared for by the 
 cheapest, and most common-place offices of hu- 
 manity. " I was hungry, and ye gave me meat ; 
 I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
 stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye 
 clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was 
 in prison, and ye came unto me." Christ also, in 
 his sermon on the Mount, ascribes salvation to 
 the possession of one particular excellence, with- 
 out even glancing at its connection with any 
 other, and without speaking of it as forming a 
 portion only of a great and comprehensive whole. 
 Thus he says, " Blessed are the peace makers, 
 for they shall be called the children of God : 
 Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be 
 comforted : Blessed are the poor in spirit, for 
 theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The same 
 great reward is annexed to the principle of faith, 
 without any express notice of those acts of moral 
 obedience which are yet affirmed to be necessary 
 for proving our faith to be a faith of saving opera- 
 tion; " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved ;" — And to the sentiment of 
 love to God, without any detail of those deeds of 
 
LECTURE III. 63 
 
 piety and goodness by which it is at once evinced 
 and perfected — thus the things are unimagined, 
 which God " hath prepared for them that love 
 him;" — And even to the verbal confession of 
 Christ in the world, without any allusion to that 
 practical submission to his will, and humble 
 imitation of his example, by which all his disciples 
 must necessarily be distinguished ; as, " with the 
 mouth confession is made unto salvation ;" and 
 " whoso confesseth me before men, him will I 
 also confess before my Father who is in heaven." 
 And in the passage before us, though in it a 
 greater number of virtues are particularised than 
 in most other passages of scripture, where holy 
 character is stated in connection with its heavenly 
 reward, yet it is obvious that many are altogether 
 omitted, and that of those which are specified, 
 there are some less valuable in comparison than 
 others which might have been introduced into the 
 catalogue. This, however, is quite according to 
 the analogy of scripture ; and we shall endeavour 
 to show, in a few particulars, that it is rational, 
 consistent, and useful. 
 
 1. In the^r^^ place, as we have already hinted, 
 it is not intended that one part of the scripture 
 
64 LECTURE III. 
 
 should be understood and acted upon indepen- 
 dently of the rest. Its great object is to tell us 
 how we are to prepare for heaven ; and surely it 
 is both wise and requisite, that we learn this lesson 
 in its full meaning and extent ; that we direct our 
 attention to all the dispositions we must cherish, 
 and to all the habits we must cultivate, in order 
 to be ripe for glory; that we neglect nothing, 
 however inconsiderable, which the wisdom or the 
 holiness of God has demanded of us for that 
 purpose. Even though all the virtues required 
 of us were brought into one list, and presented to 
 us at one view, with a single solitary exception, and 
 that this single virtue were to be found in the least 
 interesting, and most neglected corner of the Bible, 
 to that corner we must go for it, and bring it into 
 its natural and appointed fellowship with the rest, 
 and give it as firm a hold of our heart, and as 
 fixed a place in our deportment as any of them. 
 And why ? For this simple reason, that it stands 
 within the precincts of revelation ; that it is 
 recommended, sanctioned, and enforced by an 
 authority, which it is not competent for us either 
 to question or disobey ; that it constitutes one of 
 
 the features of that character, which everv obli= 
 
 2 
 
LECTURE III. 65 
 
 gation of gratitude, and every prospect of futurity 
 teach us to maintain ; and that if we continue 
 destitute of it, especially when warned of its 
 necessity, we are worse than unprepared for the 
 regions of immortality. 
 
 It is in vain to say, that as you find the promise 
 of eternal felicity appended to the exercise of a 
 single virtue, your exercise of that one is perfect- 
 ly sufficient, and all others are but works of 
 supererogation. We shall immediately show 
 you, that when you speak thus, you mistake the 
 import of Christian virtue. But, in the mean 
 time, we may observe, that so long as you admit 
 the Bible to be the directory of your faith, and 
 hope, and conduct, it is quite impossible for you 
 to limit your regard to any single virtue what- 
 ever, or to any circumscribed number of virtues 
 that you may choose to bring together. The 
 authority which enjoins, the love which con- 
 strains, the hope which animates to the practice 
 of one, enjoins, and constrains, and animates to 
 the practice of them all. The moment that you 
 make a selection in this respect, — however few, and 
 however unimportant those may be which you 
 exclude, — that moment you cease to pursue hea- 
 
Q0 LECTURE III. 
 
 ven in the way that God has instituted; and surely 
 you cannot be so bold as to presume that you 
 shall be able to attain it in some other way. It 
 is very true, the scripture says, as you have 
 heard, that charity shall prepare you for heaven ; 
 but does not the scripture say also, that justice, 
 temperance, humility, and patience are as much 
 connected with that destination as charity is ? 
 If you dwell on those passages which speak with 
 commendation of visible and active performances 
 of duty, I would remind you of the passage which 
 affirms, that " the pure in heart are blessed, for 
 they shall see God." You may quote to me the 
 declarations which bear, that they who " keep 
 the commandments," and " abound in good 
 works," shall " enter into life ;" but I must also 
 quote the declarations which affirm, that " with- 
 out faith it is impossible to please God," — that 
 <« by grace are ye saved through faith," — and that 
 " whosoever believeth in Christ, shall not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." And to those who 
 take the opposite view, and refer to the state- 
 ments in scripture, which trace our title to the 
 unfading inheritance to a simple belief in the 
 Saviour, I must proclaim the language, and the 
 
LECTURE III. 6f 
 
 doctrine of this Psalm, which most distinctly 
 represent that inheritance as reserved for those 
 who " walk uprightly, and work righteousness, 
 and speak the truth in their heart ; who backbite 
 not with their tongue, nor do evil to their neigh- 
 bour, nor take up a reproach against their 
 neighbour ; in whose eyes a vile person is con- 
 temned, but who honour them that fear the 
 Lord ; w^ho swear to their own hurt, and change 
 not ; who put not out their money to usury, nor 
 take reward against the innocent." Thus, though 
 the happiness of heaven is connected with the 
 possession of a particular grace, yet being con- 
 nected with the possession of every other particu- 
 lar grace, they must all be considered as equally 
 essential, and none of them can possibly be ex- 
 cluded from the character of meetness, or the 
 work of preparation, for that happiness, without 
 opposing the authority of God, and breaking in 
 upon the harmony of the Christian scheme. 
 
 2. But in the second place, independently of 
 the explanation now given, the propriety of an- 
 nexing the promise of heaven, to a certain por- 
 tion of the Christian character, may be illustrated 
 by considering what that portion of it truly and 
 
68 LECTURE III. 
 
 necessarily implies. It is nominally, but not 
 really insulated. It stands by itself in the enun- 
 ciation ; but it does not stand by itself, when 
 traced to its origin, and to its genuine effects. Ithas 
 a natural or an instituted relation to every other 
 religious and moral excellence in the Christian 
 life; and whatever portion it be, if it belongs to 
 pure, personal, practical Christianity, the indivi- 
 dual to whom it adheres, possesses every other 
 portion which can be required to constitute the 
 sum total of Christian deportment. 
 
 Take the principle of faith for example. If your 
 faith be genuine, it is the consequence of " the 
 washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost." But the change which that pro- 
 duces, affects the whole man, and leaves no part 
 of him under the reigning power of sin, but 
 brings along with it a universal conformity to 
 the law of God. So that possessing genuine 
 faith, you of course possess every other good 
 principle by which the heart ought to be perva- 
 ded. And then looking to the effects of this 
 faith, it " purifies the heart,*" and as necessarily 
 gives birth, and nourishment, and permanency to 
 practical holiness in him whom it actuates, as "a 
 
LECTURE III. ^9 
 
 good tree bringeth forth good fruit." So that 
 whea heaven is promised to you who believe^ it is 
 promised to you as having been " born again," 
 and as being " holy in all manner of conversa- 
 tion," as well as relying on the atonement and 
 righteousness of Christ, the former constituting 
 your meetness for heaven, as the latter realises 
 your title to it. 
 
 Again take the example of love to God. This 
 affection is " shed abroad in your hearts by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost given unto you." But 
 surely it cannot be that the Holy Ghost should 
 kindle up this affection in your souls, and not 
 kindle up every other affection which might ren- 
 der them a temple fit for his inhabitation. And 
 then, loving God, it follows by necessary conse- 
 quence, that you " keep his commandments," 
 that you submit to his will, that you seek to pro- 
 mote his glory. So that the hope of seeing him, 
 and enjoying his presence in heaven, though 
 warranted and cherished by conscious love to 
 him, is connected with that love as implanted by 
 the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the 
 Spirit, and as constraining you in whom it dwells, 
 
 to lead a life of universal and cheerful devoted- 
 3 
 
10 LECTURE III. 
 
 ness to the work of moral obedience, and of un- 
 feigned piety. 
 
 Take now an example or two from outward 
 conduct. It is common to speak with confidence 
 of a man*s future fate, if he was a man of strict 
 and sterling honesty. And we have no objections 
 to join in expressing that confidence, provided 
 you give to honesty its real and scriptural import. 
 A man of strict and sterling honesty does not 
 merely signify a man who does not steal, and 
 does not break his bargains, and does not violate 
 his promises. He does not receive, and he does 
 not deserve the title, if he refrains from these 
 things for no other reason than that he is afraid 
 of detection and punishment, of losing his world- 
 ly reputation, and of injuring his secular interest. 
 Were this all that could be affirmed of him, you 
 might call him, in common phraseology, an 
 honest man, but all your charitable indulgence, 
 and all your recklessness of speech would not al- 
 low you to say, that such honesty will carry him to 
 heaven. And why ? Because such honesty is mean 
 and selfish in the considerations which give rise 
 to it, and is quite consistent with a character, in 
 all other respects, base and unworthy. What 
 
LECTURE III. 71 
 
 we desiderate in this case is, that the honesty be 
 practised from right principles and motives. Then 
 we may safely connect it with eternal life, because 
 then it forms a part of the spiritual life, and there 
 can be no doubt of its being associated in the 
 individual, with all the other duties of Christianity; 
 for if a man be honest, because he fears God, and 
 loves the Saviour, he must, from the operation of 
 these powerful and permanent springs of holy 
 living, be distinguished also by personal purity, 
 and relative fidelity, and social benevolence, and 
 divine piety. Hence it is, that in scripture, jus- 
 tice stands for the whole of practical religion and 
 moral obligation. The true Christian is deno- 
 minated the just man. The just are said to "live 
 by faith ;" and when we go to heaven, we go to 
 " the spirits of the just made perfect.'* 
 
 Take another example from the passage before 
 us. There are various excellent qualities here 
 enumerated, of which we shall afterwards give 
 an exposition. But let us select the least sig- 
 nificant of them ; that which says, that he who 
 is to dwell in God's holy hill, " doeth no evil to 
 his neighbour.'* This is a very negative virtue, 
 and one to which you would not readily attach 
 
73 LECTURE III. 
 
 the greatest value ; and yet that he who cloeth no 
 evil to his neighbour, shall inherit the kingdom 
 of heaven, is a scriptural proposition, and in- 
 dubitably true. And why ? Because, doing no 
 ill to our neighbour is not a mere passive 
 goodness, proceeding from constitutional indo- 
 lence, or natural softness, or fear of giving 
 offence, or want of opportunities and temptations 
 to mischief. But it is a branch of Christian 
 love, for " love worketh no evil to his neigh- 
 bour ;" and love, with which this is inseparably 
 united, and from which it directly flows, is a "fruit 
 of the Spirit," whose " fruit is in all goodness, 
 and righteousness, and truth;" and it stands 
 united with love to God, for " he that loveth 
 God, loveth his brother also ;" and loving God, 
 he will not only love his brother, but he will 
 study to do all those things which please God ; 
 and so extensive are the connections and depen- 
 dencies of this sentiment, and such an all govern- 
 ing influence does it exercise, that it is declared 
 to be " the bond of perfectness, and the fulfilling 
 of the law." 
 
 We shall just give one instance more. Our 
 Lord has told us, that if we " confess him before 
 
LECTURE III. 73 
 
 men, he will confess us before his Father in hea- 
 ven." Now nobody can suppose that any sort of 
 confession will answer the purpose ; that we may 
 confess what we do not feel ; and that a mere 
 verbal and public testimony to Christ will come up 
 to the meaning of his requisition, and secure his 
 open testimony to us at the last day. This would 
 be promising reward to that very hypocrisy 
 against which he uttered so many dreadful de- 
 nunciations. No : the confession to which such 
 a glorious and encouraging promise is annexed, 
 necessarily implies sincerity in him who makes it, 
 and is to be recompensed for it. It implies that 
 Christ, whom he confesses, is the object of his 
 faith, and of his gratitude, and of his reverence, 
 and that he confesses Christ, just because these 
 regards for him are animating his heart, and in- 
 fluencing his deportment. And then it is evident, 
 that a true confession of Christ carries along with 
 it, and cannot be separated from, the various 
 other excellencies which make up the aggregate 
 of Christian character, and form the qualification 
 for eternal life ; for not to speak of the renewing 
 of the mind in which the whole originates, and 
 which brings the individual who has experienced 
 
74 LECTURE III. 
 
 it under total and willing subjection to the Savi- 
 our, we may easily see that since confession of 
 Christ is produced by faith in Christ, this faith 
 will not merely produce that declaratory effect, 
 but, being genuine, will produce all the other 
 sanctifying effects on the mind, and temper, and 
 deportment of the believer, which are its native 
 operation, and which constitute a life of faith 
 upon earth, and a meetness for glory in heaven. 
 
 3. We observe in the third place, that this 
 method of stating the doctrine is attended with 
 some important advantages. The scripture is 
 intended for habitual perusal. If we would de- 
 rive from it all the practical benefit which it is 
 designed or calculated to impart, we must read it 
 through, and we must read it again and again. 
 It must be our regular and unceasing study. 
 Now, had it contained only one detailed enume- 
 ration of the Christian virtues, and had it been 
 only with that one that the prospect of future 
 happiness was connected, and had there been 
 nothing in the rest of scripture, but general state- 
 ments of the Christian character, or general allu- 
 sions to it, accompanied with reference to the 
 final recompense, we might indeed have become 
 
LECTURE III. 75 
 
 acquainted, both with the recompense and the 
 character, and with the essential bearing of the 
 one upon the other, but the impression could 
 neither have been so lively, nor so forcible as it 
 is by the mode of teaching and inculcating this 
 branch of the Gospel system, which the Spirit of 
 God has actually adopted. According to this 
 mode, the specific vu'tues of which the Christian 
 character is composed, are continually recurring 
 to our observation. They are presented to us in 
 every variety of form and aspect which can be 
 given to them by precept, and by fact, and by 
 parable ; and in this way, not only do we get a 
 more perfect illustration of their meaning and 
 their application, but they are more closely inter- 
 woven with all our other knowledge and senti- 
 ments respecting sacred subjects, and acquire a 
 firmer hold both of our memories and our affec- 
 tions. And then, by being individually associated 
 with anticipations of future and eternal reward, 
 they assume a character of infinitely greater mo- 
 ment than they could otherwise do. Taken in a state 
 of separation from their appropriate recom}>ense 
 hereafter, or taken collectively in a state of union 
 with that recompense, our feeling of their import- 
 
76 LECTURE III. 
 
 ance and their obligation, would be comparatively 
 vague, and indistinct, and feeble. But coming in? 
 reiterated statement before us ; pressed upon our 
 attention one by one, as well as again and again ; 
 and each of them having the weighty sanction 
 and recommendation of a blessed immortality at- 
 tached to it, — they enforce upon our minds the 
 impression of their unspeakable consequence ta 
 every candidate for heaven, and constrain us to 
 an assiduous and faithful cultivation of every 
 single virtue which can adorn our character, or 
 prepare us for mingling with the inhabitants of 
 heaven. They secure infinitely better than any 
 other arrangement could do, our being " holy in 
 all manner of conversation;" our being " fruitful in 
 every good word and work ;" our " standing per- 
 fect and complete in all the will of God." 
 
 Having made these observations on the pro- 
 priety and usefulness of that mode of connect- 
 ing the promise of eternal life with single virtues, 
 and with partial delineations of character, which 
 is adopted by the sacred writers, — we would 
 shortly apply them for your " correction and 
 instruction." We apply them to you who 
 '' are afar off;'* and we beseech you to con- 
 
LECTURE III. 77 
 
 sider the Christian character, not in that loose, 
 and distant, and indefinite way in which you 
 have been accustomed to regard it, but in that 
 spiritual sense, and connected view, in which 
 it is represented to you in scripture. Do not 
 content yourselves with the semblance of any 
 particular virtue on which you may have chosen 
 to fix your peculiar attachment ; but attend to 
 its true intrinsic meaning, look to its necessary 
 union with all the other duties of religion and 
 morality, and examine yourselves by this broad, 
 and legitimate, and searching standard, that you 
 may see how far short you are of what God re- 
 quires of those who shall be saved, and thatyou may 
 be led to the blood of atonement for pardon and 
 acceptance, and to the Holy Spirit for the trans- 
 formation of your moral nature, and to the word 
 of God for that system of faith and conduct to 
 which every expectant of immortality must con- 
 form, if he would not be disappointed on the 
 great day of the Lord. And we apply them to such 
 of you as have been " brought nigh by the blood 
 of the cross," exhorting and beseeching you, in 
 your life of faith, and godliness, and good works, 
 to guard against all partial contemplations of 
 
18 LECTURK III. 
 
 Christian character. Let your studies be direct- 
 ed to all that is revealed for your guidance and 
 your government as followers of Christ. Meditate 
 deeply and habitually on the spiritual import, 
 and relative bearings, of every precept that is 
 given you, and of every grace that you are re- 
 quired to cultivate. Beware of letting any one 
 virtue stand as a substitute or compensation for 
 another. Look well to the state of your hearts ; 
 to your principles and motives ; to the uniform- 
 ity and unreservedness of your obedience. And 
 while you have continual recourse to the atone- 
 ment of Christ for the "remission of your sins," 
 have continual recourse also by prayer to that 
 Spirit, who will make you meet for " abiding in 
 the tabernacle, and dwelling in the holy hill of 
 God." 
 
 PART IIL 
 
 Let us now turn our attention for a little to 
 the character, as here pourtrayed, of those " who 
 shall abide in the tabernacle, and dwell in the holy 
 hill of God." — You will observe, that it does 
 
LECTURE III. 79 
 
 not consist in mere profession of religion, however 
 orthodox and however flaming that profession of 
 religion may be. It is moral practice that is in- 
 sisted on ; — not that profession is either improper 
 or useless ; it is dutiful and indispensible ; but 
 it is of so little value, comparatively speaking, 
 that it is not once mentioned or hinted at, while 
 all the stress is laid on the maintenance of holy 
 conduct. You will also observe, that the mere 
 outward acts of virtue are not rested in, as if 
 they were sufficient : its internal principles and 
 operations are also brought forward as no less 
 important and necessary. You will observe still 
 farther, that the account is not confined to that 
 mere negative worth or harmlessness on which so 
 many plume themselves, as entitling them to the 
 reputation and the hope of Christians. That in- 
 deed is a requisite attainment, and, considering 
 the many temptations to active and mischievous 
 sinfulness with which we are beset, is an attain- 
 ment of no inconsiderable difficulty, and no in- 
 considerable value. But still it is not so valua- 
 able as to supersede the pursuit of positive ex- 
 cellence, the discharge of substantial duty ; and 
 in the passage before us, we are taught that while 
 
80 LECTURE III. 
 
 we " do the one," we must " not leave the other 
 undone." And you will observe, finally, that the 
 catalogue of graces here given is not limited to 
 those that are of a more showy and striking 
 kind. With these we are extremely apt to be 
 satisfied, or at least to be so much enamoured as 
 to neglect the humbler and less significant virtues. 
 But it is plain from this, as well as many other 
 passages of scripture, that there is no moral qua- 
 lity so humble or so common-place as not to 
 merit and demand our practical regard ; and that 
 while we should make the highest efforts of in- 
 tegrity and generosity which fall within the 
 compass of our power, there is no species of good 
 conduct so obscure, and so little noticed, as to be 
 unworthy of our cordial attachment, and our dili- 
 gent endeavours. 
 
 1. The man who shall abide in God's taber- 
 nacle, and dwell in his holy hill, is said to '* walk 
 uprightly." He is not a man of mere outward or 
 literal obedience ; he obeys with the heart. What- 
 ever he does in conformity to the enactments of 
 the law, he does " out of a good conscience." 
 He acts from principle ; from respect for God's 
 authority ; from faith in tlu^ Iledeemer, and love 
 
LECTURE III. 81 
 
 to him ; from all tho&e pure motives with which 
 religion furnishes its votaries, for giving real ex- 
 cellence and undeviating uniformity to their 
 conduct. He may often and greatly come short 
 of the holiness to which he aspires ; but still he 
 aims at it really, cordially, and steadily. Sincerity 
 pervades the whole of his deportment. And 
 whether he is seen by men or not, he lives as " an 
 Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile ;'^ he 
 "• walks before God with a perfect heart ;" and 
 amidst his manifold failings and transgressions, 
 studies at least to maintain purity in all his inten- 
 tions, and integrity in all his ways. 
 
 2. Again he cultivates righteousness and truth. 
 He- is just and honest in all his dealings with his 
 fellow creatures ; he respects all their rights and 
 privileges ; gives to every one of them his due ; 
 withholds nothing that they can equitably claim 
 from him ; and would feel unhappy if he had 
 been instrumental in inflicting upon them the 
 most inconsiderable wrong. The most tempting 
 opportunities of fraud may occur ; interest may 
 prompt him to commit it ; superior skill and in- 
 genuity may insure success in the gainful at- 
 tempt; detection may be difficult, and punist^r 
 
82 • LECTURE III. 
 
 ment impossible. But he finds his way through 
 all these snares and allurements, and walks firm- 
 ly and perseveringly on the plain onward path of 
 j ustice ; and shows that he would scorn dishon- 
 esty, though bribed to practise it by the wealth 
 of a world. And the same regard to righteous- 
 ness that he manifests in his actions, he also 
 manifests in his words. He " speaketh the truth 
 in his heart ;" he thinks what he says ; he be- 
 lieves what he affirms ; he intends what he pro- 
 mises. He not only shrinks back with horror from 
 the crime of perjury, but disdains to have recourse 
 to falsehood and equivocation, even when not 
 restrained by the awfulness of an oath. A lie 
 may be the means of saving him from many a 
 pang ; or of concealing the certain cause of much 
 worldly shame ; or of procuring for him many 
 desirable advantages. But he abhors the lie ; and 
 rather than be guilty of the meanness and the sin 
 which it implies, he will endure any suffering, 
 he will expose himself to every degree of obloquy, 
 and will forego the richest earthly blessings, 
 without one feeliug of regret. The God whom 
 he serves is " a just God," and the God of truth ; 
 and in preparing for the enjoyment of Communion 
 
LECTURE III. 83 
 
 with him in heaven, he « worketh righteousness, 
 and speaketh the truth in his heart." 
 
 3. Another feature in the character of tho^e 
 who are to dwell in the holy hill of God is the 
 tenderness with which they treat the reputation 
 and well being of their neighbour. They may 
 be powerfully tempted to do him injury in these 
 respects. But these temptations they resist; 
 and in the spirit of love they refrain from every 
 thing that may unnecessarily subject him to loss 
 or suffering. They " backbite him not with 
 their tongue." They take no pleasure like ma- 
 licious men, or like envious men, or like revenge- 
 ful men, in imputing to him faults which he ne- 
 ver committed, or in proclaiming and exaggerat- 
 ing the errors into which he has fallen, or in 
 giving such representations of him as to mar his 
 promotion in the world, to cool the affection of 
 his friends, to embitter the resentment of his ene- 
 mies, or to hurl him from the place which he oc- 
 cupied in the estimation of his brethren and of 
 society. And as they will invent nothing, so they 
 will do nothing to his prejudice ; nothing wilful- 
 ly; or intentionally to work him mischief; nothing 
 to*'lh\^t his laudable ambition: nothing to in- 
 
6i LECTURE Iir. 
 
 jure his person or his property; nothing to of- 
 fend and harass his feelings ; nothing to prevent 
 or mislead him, or in any way to hurt his spi- 
 ritual interests. All these things they are care- 
 ful to avoid, so that neither with design nor 
 through heedlessness they may do harm to the 
 least or the lowest of their kind. And they will 
 not even help to propagate the slander which 
 others have created. They might, according to 
 the spirit and custom of the world, take up and 
 circulate the " reproach against their neighbour," 
 without feeling any remorse, or being accounted 
 calumniators, merely because they had not ori- 
 ginated it. But the people of God act not, in 
 this any more than in other respects, according 
 to the spirit and custom of the world. They are 
 actuated by the charity which has this among its 
 other excellent properties, that it " thinketh no 
 evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, and hopeth all 
 things." And under the influence of this divine 
 principle, they will not retail what is calculated 
 to blast the good name of another, and shelter 
 themselves under the plea that they were only 
 giving currency to the fame which was already 
 ** running lo and fro." They will rather suppress 
 
LECTURE III. 85 
 
 or contradict the reproach which has met their 
 ear, and thus prevent it from accomphshing the 
 wicked errand on which it has been sent abroad. 
 They will recollect that " charity abideth" after 
 faith is turned into vision j and hope into enjoy- 
 ment; that its exercise will be one principal 
 source of their happiness in the holy hill of God; 
 and that they will be but ill prepared for practis- 
 ing and relishing it in heaven, if they meet 
 there with those to whom they had denied it up- 
 on earth. And, therefore, in the hope of dwell- 
 ing in that region of love, and mingling with its 
 ajffectionate inhabitants, they will, in the course 
 of their preparation for it, not only abound in 
 good works, but be especially careful to do evil 
 to no man, and not to " take up a reproach 
 against their neighbour.'* ' 
 
 4. But farther, those who are to enter heaven 
 are here distinguished by this — that " in their 
 eyes a vile person is contemned, while they ho- 
 nour them that fear the Lord." Very different 
 is the manner in which irreligious and worldly 
 men bestow their regards. They look chiefly, if 
 not solely, to external circumstances and adven- 
 titious distinctions, and are determined by these 
 
86 LECTURE III. 
 
 in the judgments which they form, and the sen- 
 timents which they cherish concerning their fel- 
 low-men. If, on the one hand, a man be humble 
 in station ; if he be poor in his outward estate ; 
 if he be meanly fed, and clothed, and lodged ; 
 if he be without learning and without influence,— 
 he is the object of their contempt, whatever be 
 the height of his religious and moral attainments. 
 And, on the other hand, if a man be of high birth ; 
 if he be opulent; if he be invested with temporal 
 grandeur ; if he inhabit a palace, and be " clothed 
 in purple and fine linen, and fare sumptuously 
 every (Jay ;" or if he be remarkable for his science 
 and his scholarship, and his literary fame, — they 
 show him every mark of deference and respect, 
 even though he is infidelin hisprinciples, profligate 
 in his morals, and 1 i ving ^ * without God in the world." 
 But it is the very reverse of this with such 
 as have set their faces Zionward, and in their 
 journey thither are enlightened and guided by 
 the Spirit of truth. A man may have all the 
 personal accomplishments, and all the exter- 
 ior greatness that human wisdom can acquire, or 
 that human ambition can point to, yet they es- 
 teem him not on these accounts. They know 
 
LECTURE III. 87 
 
 that these by themselves are of no value iii the 
 sight of God, and that they cannot accompany 
 their possessor to the eternal state. They, there- 
 fore, look for the more substantial and accept- 
 able and precious attainments of piety and holi- 
 ness ; and not finding these, but discovering in 
 their place a moral vileness, alienation from the 
 love of God, unbelief of the Saviour, attachment 
 to sin, base aifections, worldly dispositions, and 
 licentious habits, they contemn the person to whom 
 such unworthiness cleaves, and by whom it is 
 cherished. They do not refuse him the civil 
 honour and external respect to which his situa- 
 tion in society may entitle him ; but they give him 
 not the homage of the heart ; and, surrounded as 
 he is by all that is fitted to captivate and dazzle 
 the worldly eye, they cannot lose sight of his 
 corruption and wickedness ; and thinking of that 
 as determining his claim to their deference, they 
 pity him, they look down upon him, they despise 
 his character, they testify against his evil deeds, 
 and will not allow their soul to " come into his 
 secrets," or their honour to be " united to his 
 assembly." But let a man be as destitute and 
 abject in his outward circumstances as he may ; 
 
SS LECTURE III, 
 
 let him be the victim at once of poverty, and dis- 
 ease, and neglect ; let the world in their wisdom 
 have settled it that he shall be passed by as un- 
 deserving of notice, and trampled on as one 
 who has no right to complain ; still they are not 
 hifluenced by these seeming disadvantages to har- 
 bour any dislike to him, or to treat him ^vith any 
 contumely. They remember that Lazarus was a 
 beggar, and " laid at the rich man's gate full of 
 sores," and yet that when he died, he " was car- 
 ried by the angels to Abraham's bosom." They 
 remember that the apostles were deemed "the ofF- 
 scouring of all things," and were " despised," and 
 " persecuted," and " defamed;" and yet that they 
 were " full of the Holy Ghost" and of spiritual 
 power, and came at length to "the spirits of the just 
 made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new 
 covenant, and to God the judge of all." They 
 remember that a greater than the apostles was 
 still more lightly esteemed than Lazarus, " des- 
 pised and rejected of men, had not where to lay 
 his head," and at last expired under the igno- 
 miny of a cross ; and yet that all the while he 
 w^as the Son of the most high God ; that his very 
 humiliation perfected his character ; that amidst 
 
LECTURE III. ^9 
 
 the indignities that were heaped upon him, he 
 was triumphing over sin and hell; and that he 
 ^ow reigns on the throne of glory, the dispenser 
 of salvation, and the joy of his redeemed people. 
 And remembering these things they learn to pe- 
 netrate through the guise of outward wretched- 
 ness, sad and revolting as it may be; and behold- 
 ing in him whom it covers, one " who fears the 
 Lord," whose heart is devoted to the Saviour, 
 who is living in faith, and purity, and patience, 
 and heavenly mindedness, and who from his hut 
 of poverty, and his bed of straw, lifts up the voice 
 of praise to the God of his salvation, and darts 
 the eye of hope forward to the unsuffering king- 
 dom that awaits him ; — beholding in him thus a 
 child of God, and an heir of immortality, they 
 honour him with the unfeigned tribute of their 
 approbation and their love ; they fix on him a 
 kindly and delighted eye ; they are not afraid to 
 minister to him as " a fellow citizen with the 
 saints ;" and their souls glow with exalted affec- 
 tion towards him, as they anticipate the day 
 when they shall see him arrayed in the robe, and 
 wearing the crown, of " life eternal." And by thus 
 nourishing in their souls a hatred of sin and a 
 
90 LECTURE III. 
 
 love of holiiiessj whatever be the dress which 
 hides the deformity of the one, and conceals the 
 beauties of the other, they gradually and cer- 
 tainly fit themselves for " abiding in the ta- 
 bernacle of the Lord, and dwelling in his holy 
 hill." 
 
 5. Then comes the inviolable honour and un- 
 bending integrity of this character. '' He swear- 
 eth to his own hurt, and changeth not.**' He pre- 
 fers a good conscience to every thing else. Re- 
 lief from personal injury, and the advancement 
 of his earthly interests are not prized by him 
 when they come into competition with a faithful 
 and scrupulous adherence to his word. If he 
 has taken an oath, or what should be the same 
 thing with a man of real principle, given his so- 
 lemn promise, in any transaction which he may 
 find it convenient or profitable to have annulled 
 and cancelled, — whatever be the inconveniences 
 or losses to which its fulfilment may subject him, 
 and even though by breaking it he should " gain 
 the whole world," and escape any penalty from 
 the hand of mortals, yet he " holds fast his right- 
 eousness and will not let it go." He keeps his 
 oath, he adheres to his promise, in the full extent 
 
LECTURE III. 91 
 
 of its import and design. He suffers for it; but 
 he is contented to suffer, since he has the approv- 
 ing and pleasing testimony of his own mind; 
 and he is willing to endure any consequences that 
 may result from his engagement, provided he 
 keeps his " conscience void of offence towards 
 God and men." He is looking forward to hea- 
 ven as the dwelling place of the saints ; and he 
 cannot look forward with comfort or satisfaction 
 to the company of those to whom he was bound 
 by the most sacred ties, but whose expectations 
 he had frustrated, and whose interests he had 
 impaired, at the instigation of his own selfishness, 
 and at the expense of his own pledged veracity ; 
 and still more, he is looking forward to heaven 
 as the place where he hopes to derive ineffable 
 enjoyment from the immediate and glorious pre- 
 sence of God, and that is altogether inconsist- 
 ent with an act which involves in it the violation 
 of what he had invoked God to witness as the 
 God of omniscience and of truth, and the breach 
 of that commandment which says, " Thou shalt 
 not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, 
 for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh 
 his name in vain." 
 
»2 LECTURE IIL 
 
 6. Finally, " He putteth not out his money to 
 usury, nor taketli reward against the innocent :" 
 That is, he will not increase his wealth by any 
 unjust or oppressive means. He will prosecute 
 his worldly employments with becoming care 
 and diligence. He will not despise the maxim 
 which says, that " the hand of the diligent maketh 
 rich." And he will receive with gratitude, and 
 enjoy with moderation, whatever his heavenly 
 father is pleased to grant as the fruit of his law- 
 ful enterprise, or the reward of his honest in- 
 dustry. But then he has Christian principle, 
 Christian love, and Christian hope, to elevate him 
 above the world, to preserve him amidst the de- 
 basing and selfish influence of its peculiar occu- 
 pations, and to give him the victory over its most 
 powerful allurements. He may lend his money 
 for gain, as he may endeavour to profit by any 
 other species of property ; but he will not em- 
 ploy it as an engine of ungenerous and aggran- 
 dising power. He will not take advantage of the 
 misfortunes and distresses of others to exact 
 from them what they are unable to afford, and 
 to aggravate their hardships, already sufficiently 
 severe, in order to add to his own treasures, al- 
 
LECTURE III. 93 
 
 ready more than adequate to all bis need. Be- 
 lieving and feeling that the substance which Pro- 
 vidence has conferred upon him is committed to 
 his stewardship for the good of others, he will 
 not act so inconsistently with that scriptural doc- 
 trine as to make his substance an instrument of 
 evil to them. He will never regard the liberality 
 of his gifts to some, as any atonement or any 
 compensation for his griping cruelty to others ; 
 but considering all tliat he has as a sacred trust, 
 for which he must finally render an account, he 
 will refrain from ever}' attempt to increase it by 
 usurious dealings, and will rather, according to 
 the proverbial phraseology of the Bible, be ready 
 to " lend to those that would borrow of him, 
 hoping for nothing again." And as he detests 
 and avoids usury, so his soul abhors a bribe, nor 
 will he permit it to stain his hand. Whether he 
 be an administrator of public justice, or whether 
 he be a private individual who has it in his power 
 to do injury to his fellow men, he will never en- 
 croach on their rights, nor deal out iniquity to the 
 innocent. No reward that can be offered will 
 succeed in prevailing upon him to touch a hair 
 of their head. He will rather throw around them 
 
9i LECTURE III. 
 
 the shield of his protection; he will vindicate 
 their character, and maintain their cause, and 
 defend them from every assault; and this he will 
 do, though detraction and malice should be all 
 his recompense, and though an opposite conduct 
 would have secured for him much of the gold 
 that perisheth, the favour of the powerful, and 
 the countenance of the great. He is proof against 
 all such temptations lo unjust and ungener- 
 ous conduct, for he looks to God as his fa- 
 ther, to men as his brethren, and to heaven as 
 his home. 
 
 Such, my friends, is a very short and imper- 
 fect view of the character of those who are to 
 dwell in the holy hill of the Lord, so far as it is 
 here unfolded. Let me exhort you to study it ; 
 to study it minutely and seriously, and wdth ap- 
 plication to yourselves. You must necessarily 
 be distinguished by it, otherwise you cannot see 
 the kingdom of heaven. This you are assured 
 of, and this you profess to believe. Be persuad- 
 ed then to cultivate it with unceasing activity. 
 Pray, and strive that you may be all which is 
 required of those who would enter the celestial 
 abodes ; that you mny have the principles, the 
 
LECTURE III. 95 
 
 temper, and the conduct that is prescribed to 
 them by him who " sits upon the throne ;" and 
 that as every day brings you nearer the eternal 
 world, every day may find you better prepared 
 for entering into the " rest which remaineth for 
 the people of God." " He that doth these things 
 shall never be moved." He shall be like Mount 
 Zion itself which abideth for ever. Only build 
 upon the Rock of Ages ; cling to the mighty Re- 
 deemer; live as the citizens of heaven, — and no- 
 thing shall then be able to remove you from your 
 place, to hurt your interests, or to blast your 
 hope. You are safe amidst the buffetings of ad- 
 versity, and amidst the assaults of temptation, 
 and amidst the malice and persecution of your 
 bitterest and your mightiest foes. " All things 
 are yours, for ye are Christ's, and Christ is 
 God's." He " knoweth them that are his ;" 
 and having engraven on the tablets of your hearts, 
 and on the features of your character, the marks 
 of his true children, he will keep you as " the ap- 
 ple of his eye'' during all the time of your so- 
 journing in the wilderness, and then he will put 
 you in possession of the riches, the honours, and 
 the pleasures of the promised land. 
 
LECTURE IV 
 
 PSALM XVI. 1 3. 
 
 '' Pregerue me, O God : for in thee do I put viij trust. O 
 my soul, t/iou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord : 
 my goodness exfendeth not to thee ; But to the saints that 
 are in the ca'thj and to the excellent, in whom is all my 
 delight:' 
 
 The first thin^j that David does in this beau- 
 tiful and interesting Psalm, is to commend 
 himself to the protection of God, as the God in 
 whom he had placed his confidence. And this is 
 wliat all of us will do, who are living under the 
 influence of vital and experimental religion. If 
 v>-e have been permitted to know God as he really 
 is, and if we have been enabled to cherish towards 
 him those sentiments which it becomes us to feel, 
 an implicit and unwavering affiance in him must 
 necessarily pervade and animate our breasts. 
 He possesses all those perfections in an in- 
 finite degree, by which such afliance is created, 
 
LECTURE IV. Q7 
 
 and encouraged, and confirmed; he is full of 
 kindness to his people ; he is as able as he is 
 willing to do them good ; and every promise that 
 he has made to promote their welfare, he is un- 
 changeably faithful to perform. So that, if we 
 be among the number of his people, we may con- 
 fide in him with our whole heart, for every com- 
 munication of his grace, and for every exercise of 
 his power, which our varied circumstances may 
 require. 
 
 This trust we will constantly repose in God, 
 because he is constantly deserving of it, and be- 
 cause it is constantly demanded for our personal 
 comfort and stability. But it will be especially 
 active and vigorous when we are exposed to those 
 peculiar difficulties and dangers by which every 
 Christian is often beset in the course of his pil- 
 grimage. In such seasons, and in such situations, 
 we will think much of the divine character ; we 
 will contemplate it as it is exhibited to our view in 
 the revelation of the Gospel ; we will meditate 
 on the great and glorious attributes by which it 
 is distinguished ; we will listen to all the assur- 
 ances of mercy, and to all the promises of assist- 
 ance with which it stands connected in the word 
 
 H 
 
98 LECTURE IV. 
 
 of truth ; we will remember how He to whom it 
 belongs, has in the experience of them that he 
 knew to be his, verified every declaration that he 
 had made, and redeemed every pledge that he had 
 given ; and thus from what we have " seen with 
 our eyes," and " heard with our ears," and " be- 
 lieved with our hearts," we will regard him as our 
 only " refuge in the time of trouble," and cling- 
 to him as one who is " mighty to save," and 
 worthy to be " the confidence of all the ends of 
 the earth." 
 
 ' Nor will we rest satisfied with a mere conscious- 
 ness of this unlimited reliance upon God ; we will 
 give it free expression in those cases, which are 
 calculated to call it forth, by applying to him for 
 the help or the deliverance that we need, in the 
 language of devout and fervent supplication. We 
 will beseech him to preserve us : to preserve us 
 from the temporal adversities that would other- 
 wise distress and overwhelm us ; but above all to 
 preserve us from the spiritual calamities by which 
 our souls are put in peril of present discomfort^ 
 and " everlasting destruction." We will beseech 
 him to preserve us from the workings of inward 
 corruption, and from the wiles of the wicked one, 
 
LECTURE IV. 9d 
 
 ami from the snares and temptations of an evil 
 World. We will beseech him to preserve us from 
 the sins thatmost easily beset us, — from avarice, or 
 from sensuality, or from worldly mindedness, or 
 from indifference, or from sloth. We will be- 
 seech him to preserve us from distrusting his 
 providence, and from slighting his grace ; from 
 Judas's heartless treachery, and from Peter's 
 cowardly denial ; from the unbelief of the Sad- 
 ducees, and from the hypocrisy, and self-righte- 
 ousness, and bigotry of the Scribes and Pharisees; 
 from the iniquity that injures men, and from the 
 impiety that dishonours God, and from the in- 
 temperance that degrades ourselves ; from the 
 indulgences that impair our love to the Saviour, 
 and the prejudices and pursuits that weaken ouf 
 faith in his merits ; from " the fear of man, which 
 bringeth a snare," and from the " fear of death,^'^ 
 which makes us " subject to bondage f from the 
 backsliding which fills us with present remorse, 
 and from the apostacy which terminates in irre- 
 trievable ruin. We will beseech him to preserve 
 us from such evils as these ; and we will enforce 
 our intreaty by the argument here employed by 
 the Psalmist; " Preserve me, O God, for in thee 
 
109 LECTURE IV. 
 
 do I put my trust," We feel that in ourselves 
 we have no resource, and that there is no help for 
 us in man. But we have found in God an all- 
 sufficient refuge. In the exhibition of his char- 
 acter which he has afforded us, and in the mani- 
 fold declarations which he has addressed to us in 
 his word, he exhorts, he encourages, he com- 
 mands us to place our sole dependance upon 
 Him, and to flee to him as our " strong hold in the 
 day of trouble.'* And, therefore, when we cry to 
 him for preservation and deliverance, it is right 
 that we should appeal to all that he has said, and 
 to all that he has promised; and plead the con- 
 fidence which he himself has taught us to rest on 
 his mercy which never faileth, on his wisdom 
 whose depth is unfathomable, on his strength 
 which is mighty and everlasting, and on his 
 " truth which he has magnified above all his 
 name." 
 
 " O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, 
 Thou art my Lord." Here the Psalmist intimates 
 that he had taken the Lord to be his Lord ; and 
 surely it is impossible for any of us who are at 
 once acquainted with our duty, and our interest, 
 to make a better or a different choice. He is 
 
LECTURE IV. 101 
 
 entitled to the supremacy over us in every respect 
 in which that supremacy can be either exercised 
 by hhn, or acknowledged by us. And when we 
 refuse him any measure of homage or submission; 
 when we do not acquiesce in his disposal of every 
 thing that concerns us ; when we do not cheer- 
 fully commit ourselves to him to be governed 
 and treated according to his sovereign pleasure, 
 we forget what is due from the creature to the 
 Creator, and are guilty of rebellion against the 
 all-perfect ruler of the universe. But it is not 
 only our duty ; it is also our interest to take the 
 Lord for our Lord. Surrendering ourselves to 
 the dominion of any other being, or asserting our 
 own independence, as if we were divinities, we 
 provoke the holy displeasure of omnipotence, and 
 must sink under its overwhelming weight. But 
 yielding implicitly and unreservedly to God, who 
 is not more the holder of all authority, than he is 
 the fountain of all good, we must be safe, and we 
 must be happy; because in that case there is 
 nothing to interrupt the current of his favour, 
 and his favour must secure for every one who 
 enjoys it, guardianship from all evil, and the pos- 
 session of every blessing. 
 
102 LECTURE IV. 
 
 It is necessary, however, that in this dedication 
 of ourselves to God, the heart be really and 
 chiefly concerned. It is the soul that must say 
 to him, " Thou art my Lord." Mere language 
 of this sort is easily employed; and in the estima- 
 -tion of those before whom it is used, it may have 
 all the tone, not only of sincerity, but of fervour, 
 and it may procure for us the reputation of per- 
 sonal and decided piety. But going " out of feign- 
 ed lips," it can meet with no acceptance from the 
 God of truth, and will be more displeasing to him 
 "than the absence of all acknowledgment of his 
 excellence and supremacy. Whatever we say to 
 him ; whatever declarations we make of depen- 
 dance upon his bounty, or of submission to his 
 power ; whatever pledges we utter of future de- 
 votedness to his service and glory ; — it must all be 
 the faithful expression of our convictions and our 
 feelings. We must be conscious of the vow that 
 we intimate in words having its origin, and its 
 purpose, and its meaning within us. And He to 
 whom it is offered must see it to be the effusion 
 of a sentiment which goes forth with the full ap- 
 probation of our understanding, and with the un- 
 reserved consent of our will, and with the cheer- 
 ful tribute of our affections. 
 
LECTURE IV. 103 
 
 And, aware of our aptness to forget what we 
 have resolved and promised in reference to God, 
 we must frequently remind our souls, as it were, 
 of the ties by which they are voluntarily and 
 solemnly bound to him, and of the consequent 
 obligations which they have to fulfill. It is of 
 infinite importance for us, both as to comfort and 
 improvement, never to lose sight of the fact that 
 we are not our own but his. But there are many 
 weaknesses and corruptions within us, and there 
 are many temptations and delusions without us, 
 which tend either to enfeeble the impression of 
 that fact, or to efface it altogether. And, there- 
 fore, we cannot be too careful to prevent it from 
 being impaired ; we cannot be too vigilant against 
 the approach or influence of any thing that would 
 injure it in the least degree; we cannot be too 
 anxious to add to its native vividness and strengtli; 
 and with a jealousy of its fading away, and with 
 a desire of increasing its practical effect, we 
 should often and seriously put ourselves in re- 
 membrance of what we have done, saying, like 
 the Psalmist, " O my soul, thou hast said unto 
 the Lord, thou art my Lord." 
 
 Here, however, there is another evil to be 
 guarded against. When we have consecrated 
 
101 LECTURE IV. 
 
 ourselves to God, and when recollecting this, we 
 are active in his service, the Pharisaical idea is 
 apt to steal upon us, that we have something to 
 boast of; that our labours may be beneficial to 
 him to whom they are rendered ; and that on ac- 
 count of these, we are entitled to his favour and 
 protection. There cannot be a greater or more 
 pernicious mistake. Nothing that we are capable 
 of doing can be of advantage to God. It can 
 neither increase the sum of his blessedness, nor 
 the perfection of his character, nor the lustre of 
 his glory. He is infinitely above us, and he stands 
 in no need of us. Supreme in the happiness of 
 his being ; unbounded in the attributes of his 
 nature; self-existent, eternal and unchangeable, 
 he can derive no benefit from our services, even 
 thouffh we had been as sinless as the anorels in 
 heaven, and as distinguished by wisdom and by 
 strength as they are. And how much more im- 
 pressively should we feel the force of this state- 
 ment, when w^e recollect the ignorance, and the 
 weakness, and the pollution which adhere to us 
 amidst our highest attainments in piety and vir- 
 tue ! The vilest thing on earth may, of itself, or 
 in its combinations, be useful to the mightiest 
 
LECTURE IV. 105 
 
 monarch that ever swayed a sceptre, because 
 they stand in the relation of one creature to ano- 
 ther creature. But as creatures we are removed 
 at an immeasurable distance from the Creator, 
 and on this account, we cannot be " profitable to 
 our Maker, as he that is wise and kind may be 
 profitable to" his neighbour. Whatever we have, 
 or whatever we do, that is entitled to the name 
 of goodness, is the gift of his own bounty, be- 
 stowed upon us that we may have vv^herewithal to 
 make a practical acknowledgment of our depen- 
 dance upon him, and to render the homage which 
 is due to so great and gracious a God. And 
 whether we offer to him the tribute of our hearts 
 or the praises of our lips, or the labours of 
 our active life, we must still say to him, " All 
 things come of thee, and of thine own have we 
 given thee." 
 
 But while our goodness extendeth not to God, 
 so as that it can be useful to him or meritorious 
 in his sight, " it extendeth," says tlie Psalmist, 
 " to the saints that are in the earth, and to the 
 excellent in whom is all our delight." There are 
 saints in the earth. Alienated as men naturally 
 are from God, and pervaded as their general 
 
106 LECTURE IV. 
 
 character is by moral transgression, there are 
 ♦hoseofthem to whom this appellation may be 
 justly applied. They are saints; they are holy : 
 ^hey love what is holy in their hearts, and they 
 practise what is holy in their lives. Their holi- 
 ness indeed has much imperfection mixed with 
 4t, and comes far short of what the divine law re- 
 quires of them. But still it exists in their prin- 
 -ciples, in their desires, in their endeavours, and 
 in their actual acquirements ; and, therefore, it 
 confers .upon them their leading and distinctive 
 character. They are saints, — transformed and 
 sanctified by divine grace ; separated from a 
 " world that lieth in wickedness ;" made to see 
 and to feel the evil of sin ; redeemed from its 
 reigning power; animated to struggle against its 
 temptations, and to deny themselves to its indul- 
 gences; taught to love the character of God, and 
 to obey his will, and to take delight in his com- 
 n^iandments; and guided by his Spirit into a de- 
 cided, cordial, habitual, and persevering cultiva- 
 tion of those qualities of the mind and conduct 
 which constitute true holiness. 
 
 Being thus saints, they are " excellent." They 
 mav be liolitlv esteemed anion*; men ; thev may 
 
LECTURE IV. 107 
 
 be made the subjects of ridicule and reproach ; 
 they may be accounted and treated as the ba- 
 sest of hypocrites. And indeed a more striking 
 and lamentable proof that such is actually the 
 case, cannot easily be conceived than this, that 
 the very term which the Spirit of God employs to 
 designate them in the Scripture, is the very term 
 by which worldly men direct against them their 
 malignity and their scorn, and by which they 
 hold them up to general detestation and contempt* 
 But " it is a small matter to be thus judged of 
 men's judgment ; there is one that judgeth, even 
 God." And in his revealed word, while he de- 
 nominates them " sai'nts,'"' he at the same time 
 pronounces them to be " excellent." And how 
 can they be otherwise than excellent in the true 
 sense of that word ? God is the standard of ex- 
 cellence, and they are like God. They are re- 
 newed after his image ; they conform to his will ; 
 they imitate his character; they love what he 
 loves and hate what he hates ; and though by rea- 
 son of natural and moral infirmity they are fre- 
 quently " overtaken in a fault," and sometimes 
 fall into grievous sins, they yet sorrow for their 
 unwortliiness in his sight, and according to hijs 
 
108 LECTURE IV. 
 
 appointment, they apply to the blood of atonement 
 for the expiation of their guilt, and put them- 
 selves under the sanctifying and guiding influen- 
 ces of the Spirit of all grace, and labour with all 
 their heart and with all their strength to be every 
 thing which the God of truth and purity requires. 
 Thus " approving the things that are excellent," 
 and thus doing the things that are excellent, they 
 are the objects of God's affection, and are honour- 
 ed with his favourable testimony. 
 
 And while this is the most satisfactory mode 
 of demonstrating their excellence, it may be al- 
 so illustrated by contrasting them with their fel- 
 low men. It is neither their duty nor their ha- 
 bit to assert their own superiority by making such 
 a comparison. But the comparison is stated in 
 Scripture, when it is affirmed that " the righteous 
 is more excellent than his neighbour." Those 
 who have not experienced the renewal which he 
 has experienced, and do not maintain the charac- 
 ter which he maintains, are plainly destitute of 
 those properties which assimilate the creature to 
 his God, and make him worthy of the esteem and 
 admiration of every holy intelligence. Nay they 
 iW'Q polluted and degraded by qualities whose in- 
 
LECTURE IV. 109: 
 
 trinsic turpitude, whose contrariety to the su- 
 preme will, and whose mischievous and ruinous 
 effects expose them to the divine condemnation, 
 and alienate from them the regards of the wise 
 and the good, both in heaven and on earth. That 
 unregenerated world, of which they form a part, 
 and which so often puts " good for evil, and evil 
 for good," may admire and applaud them for the 
 very actions in which their spiritual debasement 
 is embodied ; but this is only an additional proof 
 of their degeneracy, and imparts not one tittle of 
 worth to palliate or to redeem their essential de- 
 merit. And even the most specious and comely 
 appearance w^hich their deportment may be made 
 to assume, — all the decencies, and honesties, and 
 charities, that may find a place in it, and all 
 the beneficial influence which may accidentally 
 emanate from it, — cannot conceal from us its inhe- 
 rent depravity, and its total worthlessness, when 
 we search into its spirit and its principles, and 
 apply to the determination of its merits that 
 test which is furnished by the word and the 
 law of God. But of how much purer and mor^ 
 elevated a cast than this, — how completely dif- 
 ferent from it, indeed, is the deportment of the 
 
110 LECTURE IV. 
 
 saint ! The latter has not only the aspect but the 
 reality of excellence. It is excellent not merely 
 in the estimation of fallible mortals, but in the 
 judgment of a righteous, omniscient, and unerring 
 God. It is excellent in the effects which it pro- 
 duces ; in the deeds of which it consists ; in the 
 motives by which it is regulated ; and in the 
 i^ource from which it springs. And while the 
 deportment of the worldling has worthlessness 
 for its general character, and while any portions 
 of it which seem to be exceptions to that general 
 character, are not so in truth, the deportment of 
 the saint is pervaded by excellence, both in its 
 spirit and in its actings, and the imperfections 
 by which it is partially or occasionally tarnished, 
 are merely indications that he whom it charac- 
 terises, though raised from the death of sin, and 
 made " a new creature," and consecrated to the 
 service of his Maker, is still in a body of corrup- 
 tion, and still in a world of temptation and of 
 trial. 
 
 . The Psalmist not only asserts the excellence 
 of the saints, but declares that in them was " all 
 his delight." And such will be the case with us^ 
 if our minds are actuated and governed by right 
 
LECTURE IV. ur 
 
 Sentiments. In the first place, and in the high-' 
 ^st measure, we will delight in God as the centre 
 of all perfection, and as the fountain of all good. 
 And in the next place, and in a proportionate de- 
 gree, we will delight in such of his creatures as 
 are entitled to our complacency from the resem- 
 blance which they bear to him, or from their be- 
 ing suitable to those affections which he permits 
 us to cherish. Among these the saints will hold 
 a distinguished place. They are adorned with 
 all those features of moral beauty, which are fit- 
 ted to secure our attachment, and to awaken in 
 us emotions of satisfaction and pleasure. These 
 indeed are possessed by the angels in a much 
 higher style ; but though we must be gratified 
 with meditating on the existence, the attributes, 
 the employments, and the bliss of such exalted 
 and sinless beings, we cannot delight in them as 
 we delight in those of our fellow-men, who wear 
 the same holy likeness to God which they wear, 
 and do his w^ill upon earth as they do it in heaven ; 
 who, while they are thus clothed with those graces 
 of piety, and purity, and benevolence, which place 
 these celestial spirits so near the throne of love., 
 ^re still f' bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh;? 
 
119 LECTURE IV. 
 
 who are the subjects of that redeeming mercy and 
 of that sanctifying grace, by which they and we 
 are united to one common head, and in one com- 
 mon hope; and whose very failings and errors not 
 only fill them with that penitential sorrow which 
 only endears a fellow-creature the more to our 
 regard, but serve to excite in us a deeper sympa- 
 thy and a livelier interest in their behalf, and thus 
 to enhance the joy that we feel when we see them 
 keeping themselves pure from " the corruption 
 that is in the world," cultivating the habits of 
 godliness and virtue, and " beautified with the 
 salvation" of the Gospel. 
 
 But if we imitate the Psalmist, we will not sim- 
 ply delight in the saints — in them will be " all our 
 delight.'' We will take no delight in the wicked, 
 — in those who have rebelled against God, who 
 have rejected the Saviour, who are continuing in 
 the pollutions of sin. Even them, indeed, we will 
 not regard with sentiments of hatred or dislike. 
 So far as they are blind to their own welfare and 
 in danger of perdition, we will view them with 
 deep felt compassion, and withhold from them no 
 expression of kindness and humanity which their 
 situation may demand from us. Nay, we will 
 
LECTURE IV. 113 
 
 look with an indulgent eye on every thing that is 
 amiable in their temper, and dispositions, and 
 conduct ; following the example of our Redeem- 
 er, who is said to have loved a young man that 
 showed he had some good thing in him, though 
 he preferred the riches of the world to the service 
 of the Saviour, and thus evinced that he was not 
 of the number of " the saints,'''' But we cannot de- 
 light in them, because they have not those princi- 
 ples, those affections, those substantial marks of 
 God's people, which we have learnt to prize as 
 the only legitimate causes of devoted and compla- 
 cent regard. This kind and this degree of re- 
 gard we will confine to " the saints" or " the ex- 
 cellent ones of the earth :" the outgoings of our 
 hearts will be to them, and to them alone. In the 
 contemplation of their personal worth, we will 
 feel a pleasure with which the most splendid en- 
 dowments, and the most heroic exploits of the 
 ungodly, can never inspire our breasts. And 
 from those who are great, and wise, and happy 
 in this world's vocabulary, but not in the word 
 of God, we will turn away to feast our minds, 
 and nourish our virtue, amidst the faith, and the 
 patience, and the righteousness of the true Chris- 
 
ni LECTURE IV. 
 
 tiarij — though, like his divine Master, whom he 
 adores, and who has made him what he is, he be 
 " despised and rejected of men," and " have not 
 where to lay his head." 
 
 Now, it is to the saints, who are thus excellent, 
 and in whom we take delight, that our goodness 
 extends. If we have just views of the relation 
 in which they stand to God, and of the charac- 
 ter which they maintain ; if we cherish towards 
 them those sentiments of love and admiration to 
 which their excellence entitles them ; if we real- 
 ly rejoice in them as God's children and as our 
 brethren in Christ Jesus, it follows as a matter 
 of course that we will do them good, according 
 to their need and according to our ability. 
 Their circumstances are such as to admit of our 
 services being beneficial to them ; and these ser- 
 vices, so far as they are required, we are under 
 indispensable obligations to render to the full ex- 
 tent of our capacity. Feelings of attachment and 
 words of sympathy are well enough in their own 
 place ; but they are of no avail, unless accompa- 
 nied with the doings of a cordial and practical be- 
 nevolence ; and by such doings our treatment of 
 the saints must be habitually distinguished. It 
 
LECTURE IV. 115 
 
 is incumbent on us, indeed, to " do good to all 
 men as we have opportunity ;" and he is not a 
 true or enlightened Christian that is a stranger to 
 the exercise of this expanded and universal cha- 
 rity, — that does not imitate his heavenly Father 
 who " makes his sun to shine on the evil and the 
 good, and his rain to descend on the just and on 
 the unjust." But it is peculiarly incumbent on 
 us to do good " to them who are of the house- 
 hold of faith." Between them and us there is a 
 spiritual and intimate relationship, which not on- 
 ly warrants, but calls for the exercise of a kindlier 
 affection and the communications of a richer 
 liberality, than what can be considered as due to 
 those who are still " far from righteousness," and 
 ** far from God." And we will be especially care- 
 ful to let our goodness extend to them, when they 
 are suffering persecution on account of their 
 marked separation from the world, and their 
 faithful adherence to the cause of truth and duty. 
 In such a contingency we will do what we can to 
 invigorate their faith, to preserve their steadfast- 
 ness, to animate their hopes, to comfort and en- 
 courage them in their way to Sion. We will re- 
 member them in our prayers ; we will assist them 
 
116 LECTURE IV. 
 
 by our counsels ; we will stimulate them by our 
 example. And while we thus attend to their 
 spiritual necessities, we will not be unmindful of 
 their temporal wants and circumstances. We 
 will study to protect them from the violence, and 
 to vindicate them from the slanders, of unbeliev- 
 ing men. And by countenancing their honest 
 exertions, ministering of our abundance to them 
 in their times of need, and consoling them 
 when they suffer from injury or from neglect, 
 we will endeavour to realise in their experi- 
 ence that maxim of the Bible which says that 
 «* godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
 the promise of the life that now is, as well as of 
 that which is to come." 
 
 All this we will do, in obedience to the claims 
 of that community of faith and hope which we 
 hold with our brethren in Christ Jesus, and in a 
 wise adaptation of our conduct to the exigencies 
 in which their religious profession may occasion- 
 ally place them ; and we will do it from a solemn 
 view to the account which we have to render at 
 the last day, and to the specified character which 
 we must have if we would be welcomed by our 
 Judge in these cheering words : " Come ye bless- 
 
LECTURE IV. lir 
 
 ed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
 for you from the foundation of the world." This 
 sentence will rest upon the fact that those on 
 whom it is to be pronounced had been minutely 
 careful to make their goodness extend to the 
 saints, and to the excellent of the earth, whom 
 Christ thus graciously condescends to identify 
 with himself: " For I was an hungered and ye 
 gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me 
 drink ; I was a stranger and ye took me in ; naked 
 and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; 
 I was in prison and ye came unto me ;" " Inas- 
 much as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
 these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 
 Let all true Christians bear this continually in 
 mind, and be determined by it not only to culti- 
 vate that charity which goes out in deeds of be- 
 neficence among all the suffering children of 
 Adam, but especially to cultivate that brotherly 
 kindness which cares for the poor afflicted mem- 
 bers of Christ's body, and which, as manifested 
 towards them, he will consider and reward as ma- 
 nifested towards himself. 
 
 And let those who are in the habit of ridiculing 
 and traducing the disciples of Christ, who perse- 
 
118 LECTURE IV. 
 
 cute instead of protecting them, and who draw 
 the weapons of their reproach out of the armoury 
 of the divine word, attaching the nickname of 
 saints to such as, if there be truth in the Gospel, 
 God " delighteth to honour;" let those who 
 speak and act thus, if unsusceptible of generous 
 feelings, and uninfluenced by any respect for that 
 consistency which, as professing Christians, it be- 
 comes them to observe, be persuaded " by the 
 terrors of that Lord" whom they insult as often 
 as they traduce his people, to desist from their 
 cruel and unhallowed mockery, and to adopt the 
 more honourable, the more rational, and the 
 safer part, of throwing the shield of their protec- 
 tion over those who though subjected to suffer- 
 ing are now " the sons of God," and will soon 
 enter into their heavenly inheritance. They may 
 " reject this counsel," but if they do, it is " agamst 
 themselves," and "verily they shall have their 
 reward :" for most assuredly a decree of con- 
 demnation will go forth against them from the 
 judgment seat of Christ, since he can annex to 
 the sentence w^hich vv^ill seal their fate for ever, 
 " I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat; I 
 was thirsty and ye gave me no drink ; I was a 
 
LECTURE IV. 119 
 
 stranger and ye took me not in ; naked and ye 
 clothed me not ; sick, and in prison, and ye vi- 
 sited me not : Inasmuch as ye did it not to one 
 of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not 
 to me." — " And these shall go away into ever- 
 lasting punishment, but the righteous into life 
 eternal." 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 PSALM xvi. 4^7- 
 
 " Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another 
 god : their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer^ nor 
 take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the por " 
 lion of mine inheritance and of my cup : thou mainiainest 
 my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who 
 hath given me counsel ; my reins also instruct me in the 
 night-seasons." 
 
 The Psalmist had declared his trust in God, and 
 upon that ground applied for the divine protec- 
 tion and support. He had reminded himself of 
 his having taken the Lord for his portion, and of 
 his having promised to be his faithful and devot- 
 ed servant. But in the midst of those happy arid 
 elevated feelings which this was calculated to awa- 
 ken, he did not forget the humility which it be- 
 came him to cherish and to express. He acknow- 
 ledged that all his doings, however excellent they 
 might be in their own nature, and however bene- 
 ficial in their effects, were utterly unprofitable to 
 
LECTURE V. 121 
 
 his Maker, and could merit no favour for him 
 from that supreme and holy source. At the same 
 time he acknowledged that his goodness extend- 
 ed to his brethren of mankind, and especially to 
 the saints, or the excellent of the earth ; that he 
 was under obligations to promote their comfort 
 and welfare by every means in his power ; and 
 that to a sense of duty there was added the more 
 persuasive motive of the pleasure that he had in 
 contemplating their w^orth, in holding intercourse 
 with them, and in communicating to them what- 
 ever benefits he was able to confer. 
 
 At the beginning of the passage that we have 
 now read, the Psalmist introduces the subject of 
 idolatry, and forms respecting it a worthy and 
 decided resolution. ** Their sorrows shall be 
 multiplied that hasten after another God ; their 
 drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, noi* 
 take up their names into my lips." He here 
 speaks of the misery of such as attach themselves 
 to the worship and service of false gods : " Their 
 sorrows shall be multiplied." Not only shall 
 they be subjected to calamity, but their calami- 
 ties shall be manifold. One evil shall come up- 
 on them after another, till there be such an ac- 
 
122 LECTURE V. 
 
 cumulation of suffering as utterly to overwheliTi 
 and destroy them. And this arises from twa 
 causes. In the^r^^ place, the gods in whom they 
 have placed their confidence are mere imaginary 
 beings, who, of course, can do nothing for them, 
 and by their dependanee upon them, they are 
 led into many dangerous and fatal errors. And, 
 in the second place, by forsaking the true God, 
 they have forfeited all the advantages which trust 
 in him, and obedience to him would have cer- 
 tainly produced ; and by giving to another the 
 glory which is due to him alone, they have pro- 
 voked his holy indignation, and rendered it essen- 
 tial for the honour of his character and his go- 
 vernment, to inflict upon them condign punish- 
 ment. While they lose all the satisfaction and 
 happiness which result from believing the doc- 
 trines, and performing the duties, and cherishing 
 the hopes of true religion, they also incur all the 
 wretchedness that is so plentifully engendered by 
 the absurdities, the immoralities, and abomina- 
 tions of a false and idolatrous system of faith. 
 And even though no visible judgments, and no 
 penal consequences of any magnitude should be- 
 fal them in this world, it is not possible that 
 3 
 
LECTURE V. 123 
 
 having forsaken the true God to hasten after an- 
 other god — having contracted guilt so heinous 
 and aggravated as this implies, they should 
 escape the divine condemnation in the world to 
 come. 
 
 On account of the sinfulness and misery of 
 such conduct, the Psalmist determined that he 
 should not be chargeable with it. He had too 
 just a horror at its enormity, and too strong a 
 sense of its enmity to his peace and safety, to 
 allow himself to indulge in any of the forms or 
 practices of idolatry. He was surrounded with 
 its votaries, and many of his people had joined 
 them ; but the displeasure of heaven had been so 
 severely manifested against them, and the threat- 
 enings of the law bore upon them so expressly 
 and so awfully, that neither vicinity nor example 
 could induce him to partake of its rites, or to 
 give it any portion of his countenance. He would 
 not unite with the heathen in offering their drink 
 offerings of blood. Nor did he merely abstain 
 from this most expressive proof of attachment to 
 their false and degrading worship : he refused to 
 do or say any thing that could be supposed in- 
 dicative even of forbearance or indifference to- 
 
124 LECTURE V. 
 
 wards it. He would not so much as take the 
 names of their gods into his lips. He would not 
 utter their names in such a way as to intimate any 
 thing like belief in their existence, or respect for 
 their character; he would not speak of them in 
 any other way than that which might distinctly 
 declare that he denied their reality as much as he 
 abhorred the services that were paid to them, 
 and that, in his view, those who gave them ho- 
 mage were blinded in understanding, depraved 
 in heart, and lost to all that was best, and purest, 
 and happiest in the universe. 
 
 You may probably think, my friends, that all 
 this is inapplicable to you ; and that as you are 
 not liable to the offence against which the Psalm- 
 ist so scrupulously guarded, it can be of no use 
 to inculcate upon you the sentiments which he 
 entertained, and according to which he acted. 
 But herein you are mistaken. It is very true 
 you are in no great danger of becoming idolaters 
 in the literal and original sense of the word. 
 But the word has a more general sense, which is 
 recognised in Scripture, and in which it is 
 frequently exhibited in human character, and 
 is the besetting sin of most men. To be guilty 
 
LECTURE V. • 1^5 
 
 of idolatry, it is not necessary that you make 
 gods to yourselves, as the heathens did — that you 
 deify the heroes of your country — that you in- 
 vest the objects of nature with the attributes of 
 divinity — and that you build real temples, and 
 give formal worship to these creatures of your 
 vain imaginations. You may have knowledge 
 and philosophy enough to preserve you from 
 such gross absurdity ; and yet you may be charge- 
 able with the offence of which the Psalmist speaks 
 with such just and decided abhorrence. The sub- 
 stance of the crime is contained in your feeling 
 and showing a stronger attachment to some other 
 being than to the Supreme Being; in giving to 
 something else an influence over your mind and 
 conduct, greater than what you allow to Him ; in 
 reco^nisinff in the works of his hands an excel- 
 lence and a claim to your deference and submis- 
 sion, which by your actions, if not by your words, 
 you deny to exist in himself. This is idolatry, 
 according to the nature of the case, and accord- 
 ing to the declarations of Scripture. 
 
 It is of no consequence what it is to which you 
 thus pay the homage and give the glory which 
 are due to God alone. Still it is idolatry. That 
 
126 LECTURE V. 
 
 to which you are devoted, or to which you give 
 the preference over him, may be quite innocent 
 in itself, and a regulated and subordinate affec- 
 tion for it may even constitute a virtue and a du- 
 ty; and yet your merely giving it the preference 
 involves you in the guilt of idolatry. For that 
 is to " serve the creature more than the Creator. ' 
 It is to deprive God of his supremacy, and to put 
 another in his place. It may be worldly hon- 
 ours ; it may be power ; it may be riches ; it may 
 be pleasure ; it may be literature and science ; 
 it may be parents, or children, or friends ; in all 
 these cases, if you set your heart upon them in 
 such a manner, or to such an extent as to exclude 
 God from your regard, or to give him but a se- 
 condary station in it, you are characterized by 
 idolatry, and are as liable to the divine displea- 
 sure as are the blinded heathen, who literally 
 bow down to stocks and stones. It is said of the 
 heathen, that though they originally *' knew God, 
 they did not like to retain God in their know- 
 ledge, but changed the glory of the incorruptible 
 God into an image made like to corruptible man, 
 and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creep- 
 ing things;*' and that therefore he " revealed his 
 
LECTURE V. 127 
 
 wrath from heaven" agahist those who thus 
 " held the truth in unrighteousness." And think 
 you that any better character belongs to you, or 
 that any better fate can await you, if, knowing 
 God, as he has made himself known in the Gos- 
 pel, you do not like to retain him in your affec- 
 tions ; if, instead of " loving him with all your 
 heart, and soul, and strength, and mind," you 
 love him less than many of your fellow-mortals ; 
 if you permit the gains, or the amusements, or 
 the vanities of this passing world, to engross the 
 time that should be occupied, and the efforts that 
 should be made, in his worship and service ; if, 
 in the study and admiration of any of his works, 
 you forget the tribute which you owe him as the 
 all-perfect maker of the universe, and die boun- 
 tiful giver of those very faculties which fit you 
 for contemplating and for relishing its beauties; 
 if, listening to the voice of temptation, you are 
 seen " going after your covetousness," and your 
 sinful indulgences, and your vain fancies, regard- 
 less of the commandment of him whom it is your 
 highest honour to obey, and who by the Gospel 
 of his Son has " called you to glory and to vir- 
 tue ?" Think you, that in acting and living 
 thus, you are not guilty of idolatry ; and that 
 
12S LECTURE V. 
 
 your idolatry is not as heinous and aggravated as 
 that of the heathen on whom God is said to have 
 " poured out his fury ?'* 
 
 You may not be accustomed to view the sub- 
 ject in this light, but if you think justly and seri- 
 ously, if you take Scripture for your guide, and 
 are to be determined in your judgment by its 
 principles and maxims, I do not see how you can 
 view the subject in any other light. Your con- 
 duct is idolatrous and criminal in the eye of 
 reason. When the benighted Gentile falls 
 down and worships the sun in his meridian 
 splendour, or the moon in her midnight bright- 
 ness, this is not more offensive and revolting than 
 the conduct of the professing Christian, who 
 adores his gold in the character of a miser, or 
 of the professing Christian, who kneels at the 
 shrine of fashion in the character of a man of plea- 
 sure, each of them being devoted to a false divi- 
 nity, and neither of them having the true " God 
 in all his thoughts.'' And in the real spirit and 
 import of the divine law, He who rules over all 
 must be considered as speaking in reference to 
 both classes of idolaters, when he says, " Thou 
 bhalt have no other gods before me." " Thou 
 
LECTURE V. V29 
 
 shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve 
 them ; for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous 
 God." 
 
 Beware, then, of the guilt of idolatry, and of 
 the vengeance which impends over those who 
 indulge in it. See that you not only renounce it in 
 general, but that you keep yourselves free from 
 it, in all its particular forms; that you abstain 
 from it, not merely in its grosser and more ag- 
 gravated instances, but even in those instances 
 in which it assumes the aspect of cordial friend- 
 ship, of intellectual ambition, of universal phi- 
 lanthropy. Say with the Psalmist, " Their 
 drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take 
 up their names into my lips." Say with Eph- 
 raim, " What have I to do any more with idols?" 
 Say with the inhabitants of Judah, " O Lord our 
 God, other lords besides thee have had domini- 
 on over us ; but by thee only will we make men- 
 tion of thy name." Say in the spirit and lan- 
 guage of every real Christian, " Lord, I am 
 thine, for thou hast made me ; thou hast preserv- 
 ed me ; thou hast redeemed me. Occupy the 
 throne of my heart, and reign there with unresist- 
 ed and undivided sway. I confess that I have 
 
 K 
 
130 LECTURE V. 
 
 given too much of my regard to objects and pur- 
 suits, in which thou wert but little acknowledged, 
 or not acknowledged at all. Pardon my homage 
 to the creature ; and help me by thy grace to 
 serve it no more. Subdue me to thyself, as a- 
 lone worthy of all my reverence, and all my love. 
 Give me to feel the solemn and endearing obli- 
 gations which I owe to thee, my chosen and re- 
 deeming God. And make me willing, and obe- 
 dient, and devoted, in the day of thy power." 
 
 It is in conformity to the import of the Psalm- 
 ist's resolution, which we have been considering, 
 that he goes on to say, as in the fifth verse, " The 
 Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of 
 my cup : thou maintainest my lot." " The Lord 
 is the portion of our inheritance" in a future 
 life. Having chosen him for our portion ; ac- 
 counting his favour the highest and richest bless- 
 ing w^e can possibly enjoy ; and having an inter- 
 est in it through faith in the blood of atonement, 
 we can look forward to heaven as our best and 
 everlasting abode. He has secured it for us ; 
 he has promised it to us; he has prepared it for 
 our reception. And how comfortable, how en- 
 couraging, how delightful to reflect, that what- 
 ever be our condition in this world : however 
 
LECTURE V. 131 
 
 destitute and despised we may now be ; though 
 we should " suffer the loss of all things" here be^ 
 low, there is reserved for us on high an " inheri- 
 tance which is incorruptible and undefiled, and 
 that fadeth not away :" And that, as " it is the 
 Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom," 
 as the expression of his unmerited bounty, the 
 gracious recompence of our labours, the appoint* 
 ed result of our sufferings in his service, so his 
 immediate presence will constitute at once its 
 happiness, its glory, and its stability, and that 
 from such a bountiful and inexhaustible source 
 of excellence we may confidently expect to derive 
 every thing that can carry our nature to its high- 
 est pitch of perfection and felicity ! O let us of- 
 ten anticipate heaven as the land towards which 
 we are travelling ; let our ambition perpetually 
 point to it as the end " of our high calling ;"" let 
 our hopes fondly dwell on it as the final resting 
 place from our toils and sorrows ; and remember^ 
 ing that God, holy as well as good, is the foun- 
 tain of all its blessedness, let us not only be com- 
 forted with the prospect of dwelling in it for ever, 
 but also be animated to prepare for it, by study- 
 ing to conform in all things to his righteous will, by 
 
132 LECTURE V. 
 
 leading a life of faith on the merits of liis Son, and 
 by " purifying ourselves even as he also is pure." 
 But the Lord is not only the portion of our 
 inheritance in a future life ; he is also the por- 
 tion of our cup in the " life that now is." If we 
 are his true people, we have chosen him as to 
 every thing that concerns our well-being, and he 
 has assured us that he will be " our guide even 
 until death." In all that happens to us we will 
 recognize the operation of his combined mercy, 
 and wisdom, and faithfulness. Whatever be our 
 lot we will trace it to his appointment, and sub- 
 mit it to his management. Amidst all the vicis- 
 situdes of life we will comfort our hearts with be- 
 lieving that he rules over us in the exercise of 
 infinite perfection, that his manifold dealings 
 with us are intended to promote our good, and 
 that if we continue to put our trust in him, he 
 *' will never leave nor forsake us," till he has 
 placed us beyond the reach of whatever can 
 harass or distress us. He may put the cup 
 of prosperity in our hands. And we will 
 drink it with thanksgiving and joy; regarding 
 it as a pledge of his rich beneficence ; lifting up 
 our souls in gratitude for his unmerited 
 
LECTURE V. 133 
 
 kimliiess; living to the praise of him who " fill- 
 eth our mouth with good things, so that our 
 youth is renewed like the eagle's ;" and feeling 
 every past expression of his benevolence as an 
 argument and a motive for our putting more 
 confidence in him, and rendering more obedience 
 to him, and holding more communion with him, 
 in all the time of our sojourning that is yet to 
 come. And when he presses to our lips the cup 
 of adversity, we will drink that also, with patience 
 and resignation; remembering that our afflic- 
 tions are of his ordination or by his permission; 
 satisfied that the heaviest of them will not be al- 
 lowed to overwhelm us, but that all of them are 
 intended or will be overruled for our permanent 
 advantage; consoling ourselves with the belief 
 that they are the discipline of our heavenly fa- 
 ther, and with the hope that they will " work 
 out for us an exceeding weight of glory ;" and 
 praying and striving that they may purify and 
 improve us here, and that they may issue in im- 
 mortal joys hereafter. Our confidence and our 
 rejoicing is this, that the Lord himself will main- 
 tain our lot. Whatever good we possess, what- 
 ever happiness we enjoy, it may be taken from 
 
134 LECTURE V. 
 
 us, if the preservation of it be left to ourselves. 
 But, in the hands of him, to whom, as our cho- 
 sen portion, we have committed our all, it is per- 
 fectly secure. Our enemies, in that case, have 
 no power to deprive us of it, be they ever so nu- 
 merous, and be they ever so strong. " None can 
 pluck us out of the hand of God" who is " great- 
 er than all." Nothing shall " ever be able to se- 
 parate us from his love which is in Christ." He 
 will maintain whatever he has wrought for us ; 
 and will keep us " by his mighty power through 
 faith unto salvation." And if this be the conse- 
 quence of having God for our portion, how bless- 
 ed are we in having made such a choice, and in 
 enjoying such a privilege ! And how miserable 
 must those be who, by making the world their 
 portion, have no security in life, no peace at 
 death, no hope beyond the grave ! While we 
 pity these infatuated mortals, and supplicate the 
 God of all grace in their behalf, let us be care- 
 ful to " hold fast that which we have," to cleave 
 with still greater devotedness to God, to " set 
 him continually before us," and to take him as our 
 guide, our refuge, our consolation, and our " ex- 
 ceeding great reward.^' 
 
LECTURE V. 135 
 
 " The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant 
 places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage." This 
 expresses the satisfaction which God's people 
 have with their condition. They may not be able 
 to say so of their temporal circumstances. They 
 are not indifferent to the good and evil of which, 
 as inhabitants of this world, they are called to 
 partake. And when trouble and destitution as- 
 sail them, they are not insensible to the affliction ; 
 they will not speak of it as if all were going well 
 and prosperously with them, and as if they set no 
 value on the bounties of Providence. They feel 
 the ordinary calamities of life as well as others. 
 They pray to be delivered from them. And when 
 they obtain deliverance, and the " candle of the 
 Lord shines upon their head," they acknowledge 
 the boon with grateful and rejoicing hearts. But 
 then here is the peculiarity of their character, 
 and their situation ; their principal concern is 
 with their spiritual circumstances. And if these 
 be right and prosperous, they care little about 
 their bodily and external comfort. God being 
 their portion, they have nothing left to fear on 
 the one hand, or to desire on the other. Their 
 souls being safe and their eternal interests se- 
 
136 LECTURE V. 
 
 cure, every other care is absorbed in the delight- 
 ful persuasion that no real injury can befal them, 
 in the blessed experience of " the peace which 
 passeth understanding," in the animating hope 
 that is full of immortality. They envy not the 
 man of the world his sensual gratifications and 
 carnal mirth. They are abundantly satisfied with 
 the communications of God's love to them, by 
 which their every want is supplied, and by which 
 they are filled with the " joy that no man taketli 
 from them.'' When a temporal benefit comes to 
 them they receive it, and thank the bountiful 
 giver for this additional token of that grace which 
 has provided so richly for their eternal salvation. 
 And when they are visited with hardships and 
 sufferings, they endure the visitation with pa- 
 tience, well knowing that it comes to them on an 
 errand of mercy ; that it is no less a token of 
 their father's love than the other, and that they 
 have great cause to rejoice even in this their tri- 
 bulation. Reconciled to God, " walking in the 
 light of his countenance," enjoying the consola- 
 tions of his Spirit, and cheered with the hope of 
 his glory, surely they may say without reserve, 
 in the very midst of deep and dark adversity, 
 
LECTURE V. KJ7 
 
 that " the lines are fallen unto them in pleasant 
 places, and that they have a goodly heritage." 
 In this view it may be justly said of believers, 
 that " all things are theirs, whether the world, 
 or life, or death, or things present, or things to 
 come ; all are theirs ; and they are Christ's, and 
 Christ is God's." 
 
 Now, my friends, if such be our spiritual state, 
 great cause have we to " bless the Lord who hath 
 given us counsel." Not only has he brought us 
 into " the valley of vision," but he has enabled 
 us to see with a believing eye the redemption 
 which it unfolds. Not only has he conferred 
 upon us those external privileges which we enjoy 
 by the Gospel dispensation, but he has taught us 
 to improve them, and by his blessing has ren- 
 dered them effectual for our good. Not only 
 has he made the lines fall to us in pleasant places, 
 and given us a goodly heritage, but he has coun- 
 selled us to value them aright, to set up our ever- 
 lasting rest in them, and to seek from them our 
 best comforts, and our highest happiness. Had 
 we been left to ourselves, his kindness would 
 have been lavished on us in vain ; and we should 
 have been like many others who, though born in 
 
138 LECTURE V. 
 
 a land of saving light, prefer walking in the dark- 
 ness of infidelity and sin. But, taught by his 
 Spirit, we have had our understandings enlight- 
 ened to see the realities of the Gospel, and our 
 hearts moved to seek after an interest in the Sa- 
 viour, and " our feet guided into the way of 
 peace" and safety. And this being the case, sure- 
 ly we cannot fail to give thanks to him " by whose 
 grace it is that we are what we are ;" to cherish 
 towards him the warmest gratitude of which our 
 souls are susceptible, and to " praise him even 
 while we have a being." 
 
 And having been influenced and enabled by 
 him to " choose the good part which cannot be 
 taken from us," we must be careful to make a 
 right use of the privilege. " Our reins must in- 
 struct us in the night seasons." We must me- 
 ditate on what we have done ; and in our times 
 of retirement and solitude, " commune with our 
 own hearts" on the subject, that thus we may be 
 more fully instructed in what w^e have received, 
 and in what we owe to our merciful God ; that 
 we may be encouraged to persevere in the choice 
 which we have so wisely and happily made ; that 
 we may be more thoroughly comforted by it 
 
LECTURE V. 139 
 
 amidst the trials and distresses to which we are 
 subjected ; that we may be furnished with more 
 animating motives to thanksgiving and praise ; 
 that we may learn how needful we are of the con- 
 tinuance of that divine interposition which " be- 
 gan the good work in us ;" and that we may be 
 stimulated to greater diligence in the duties of 
 our holy vocation, and to greater earnestness in 
 our applications for the wisdom and the strength 
 which are necessary to our abiding in the love of 
 God, and to our being finally conducted into his 
 heavenly presence. 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 PSALI\J XVI. 8 — END. 
 
 '^ / have set the Lord always before me : because he is at my 
 right hand, I shall not be m,oved. Therefore my heart is 
 glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; myjlesh also shall rest in 
 hope : For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt 
 thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou ivilt 
 shew me the path of life : in thy pi^esence is fulness of Joy ; 
 at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
 
 In the preceding pai't of this Psalm, we have 
 considered David as speaking solely in his own 
 person, in reference to his own feelings, his own 
 comfort, and his own conduct. We are aware, 
 indeed, that by many it is regarded as applicable 
 to the Messiah ; but of this we see no satisfac- 
 tory proof, and we are always unwilling, when 
 interpreting Scripture, to indulge unnecessarily 
 in conjecture, or to give a construction to the 
 language of the sacred writers which is merely 
 suggested by a particular theory, and which is 
 adopted not so much to express and illustrate 
 
LECTURE VI. 141 
 
 the real meaning of the passage, as to render it 
 more evangelical and more interesting than it 
 would otherwise be. Some have treated the 
 whole book of Psalms as in every the minutest 
 part, more or less prophetical or descriptive of 
 the Saviour ; whereas it must be evident to every 
 intelligent reader of them, that they often speak 
 of circumstances, and experience, and character, 
 which cannot be attached to the Saviour without 
 violating the soundest and most important of 
 those principles on which we are accustomed to 
 ascertain the import of revelation, and introduc- 
 ing a mode of determining the mhid of the Spi- 
 rit, which would put every thing at the mercy of 
 an ill regulated piety, or of a lively imagination. 
 The question is not — may this, by a little exercise 
 of fancy, and a little accommodation of fact, and 
 a little straining of phraseology, be made to inti- 
 mate something concerning Christ? The question 
 is — does this truly speak of Christ, and are we 
 justified in taking that view of it, by the context, 
 or by strict analogy, or by express warrant, or 
 by any other legitimate and ^afe mode of judging 
 in such cases ? 
 
142 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Now, my friends, it is in deference to the rules 
 and maxims implied in this statement that, when 
 expounding the previous portion of this Psalm, 
 we considered it as spoken by David in reference 
 to himself; and it is in deference to the same 
 rules and maxims that we are to consider the 
 remainder of the Psalm as spoken by him in re- 
 ference to the Messiah, of whom he was both a 
 prophet and a type. Not only may all the pas- 
 sage that we have just read be applied to Christ 
 without constraint; and not only is there some 
 of it which is applicable to him alone ; but we 
 have New Testament authority for making such 
 an application. The Apostle Peter, in his first 
 discourse after the effusion of the Spirit on the 
 day of Pentecost, expressly quoted these verses 
 as uttered by David, in exclusive reference to the 
 Redeemer ; and, therefore, in explaining and il- 
 lustrating them, we are not only entitled, but 
 bound to keep the Redeemer in our eye as the 
 person from whom they primarily proceed, and 
 towards whom they direct our attention. 
 
 Peter, you know, quoted them when address- 
 ing the Jews on the subject of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion, asserting its reality, and showing them that 
 
LECTURE VI. U3 
 
 it was predicted by the Psalmist. But though 
 that be the main topic which he employed them 
 for pressing on the notice and belief of his au- 
 dience, they offer along with this some other to- 
 pics to our consideration, from all which, as con- 
 nected with him, we may derive many appropriate 
 and salutary instructions. Let us meditate on 
 them for a little ; and may the Lord direct and 
 bless our meditations ! 
 
 I. In the first place, this passage reminds us 
 of the sufferings of Christ. 
 
 It is clear that the types, the promises, and 
 the predictions of Christ which we meet with in 
 the Old Testament describe him as a suffering 
 Saviour. We often read of him, indeed, as one 
 who was to be great and triumphant ; and the 
 language in which his greatness and his triumphs 
 are depicted, is so frequent, so energetic, and so 
 splendid, that the Jews in general thought of 
 him, and expected him in that and in no other 
 character. But it is impossible to peruse the 
 accounts and to look at the representations of 
 him which are set before us in the records and 
 the ceremonies of the ancient dispensation, with- 
 out perceiving that the Saviour whom they point- 
 
Ut LECTURE VI. 
 
 ed out was to appear in a state of abasement; 
 to be " bruised and put to grief," and to have a 
 " sorrow like unto no other sorrow." In the 
 book of Psahiis we have various affecting deli- 
 neations of what he was to endure at the hands 
 both of God and man. Of this the twenty-se- 
 cond Psalm furnishes a remarkable and striking 
 instance. And even in the passage now before 
 us, the same truth is to be found — not indeed in 
 plain and direct statement — but in obvious and 
 necessary inference. When Christ says here 
 by the mouth of David that " he would not be 
 moved," and that " his soul would not be left in 
 hell," his assertions, of course, presuppose that 
 he was to be exposed to such trials and distresses 
 as might endanger his stability, and that he was 
 to die and descend into the grave ; and when he 
 commits himself so emphatically to divine inter- 
 position for support under the former, and for 
 deliverance from the latter of these evils, he dis- 
 tinctly intimates that they were of no ordinary 
 magnitude and extent. And the view of him 
 which is thus given through the medium of pro- 
 phecy, is completely realised in his actual his- 
 tory. According to that history, he was from 
 
LECTURE Vr. 145 
 
 his cradle to his grave, " a man of sorrows and 
 acquainted with grief." He was harassed by the 
 malignity of men ; he was assailed by the malice 
 of devils ; he was bereft of the countenance of 
 his heavenly Father. He was deserted by his 
 friends and persecuted by his foes. He was so 
 poor that he " had not where to lay his head." 
 He was so despised that the mighty and the 
 mean equally " hid their faces from him." He 
 was so forlorn that when " he came to his own, 
 his own would not receive him." His body was 
 tortured ; his soul was wrung with anguish ; ig- 
 nominy darkened his departing hour ; and while 
 he expired amidst the shame and the agony of a 
 cross, he expired under the curse of holy and in- 
 censed omnipotence. 
 
 It is painful, my friends, to contemplate this ; 
 to see true greatness humiliated so low, and 
 warmest charity so ungratefully requited, and 
 immaculate innocence plunged into such a depth 
 of affliction. Yet we are not permitted to with- 
 draw or turn away our minds from the contem- 
 plation, sad and heart-rending as it is. As we 
 travel through the word of truth, the sufferings 
 of Christ are presented to our observation at 
 
 L 
 
146 LECTURE VI. 
 
 every step ; they are set before us in all their va- 
 riety and in all their aggravations ; they are mix- 
 ed up v^^ith the most elevated and cheering views 
 that are afforded of his exaltation and his glory. 
 When, amidst our meditations on his essential 
 dignity and blessedness, we might be apt to for- 
 get how low he stooped and how much he bore, 
 a glimpse of them is let in upon us as exhibited 
 in the stable in Bethlehem, the garden of Geth- 
 semane, or the hill of Calvary. The Evangelists 
 and the Apostles dwell upon them as the most 
 striking features of their narrative, and as the 
 most indispensable theme of their preaching. 
 And it is to them that the attention of his people 
 is specially called, and by them that their devo- 
 tion is to be principally kindled, in that ordinance 
 which is appointed to be a commemoration of 
 him even to the end of the world. In this ordi- 
 nance he does not require you to remember him 
 as one whose birth was announced by a multi- 
 tude of angels ; in whom were " hid all the trea- 
 sures of knowledge and of wisdom ;" whose word 
 was implicitly obeyed by the elements of nature, 
 and the spirits of darkness ; who rescued the 
 victims that death was spoiling in the tomb ; who 
 
•^Mh' 
 
 LECTURE VI. 147 
 
 was acknowledged by " a voice from the excel- 
 lent glory ;" and at last ascended on the clouds 
 to heaven. He does not require you to remem- 
 ber him at his table as distinguished by these 
 attributes of his character, and these glories of 
 his condition. No ; he requires you to remember 
 him as one who suffered and died. " Eat of this 
 bread, which is a memorial of my broken body ; 
 drink of this wine, which is a memorial of my 
 shed blood: do this in remembrance of me: 
 thus show MY DEATH till I come." 
 
 And well may such an emphasis be laid on the 
 sufferings and death of Christ ; for this was the 
 instituted method of redemption. He suffered 
 and died that he might " take away our sins ;"" 
 that he might " make reconciliation for iniqui- 
 ties ;" that he might " bring in an everlasting 
 righteousness." Such was the appointment of 
 God ; and unless that appointment had taken 
 effect, in Christ " humbling himself and becoming 
 subject to the suffering of death," as an atoning 
 sacrifice, vain and unavailing with respect to us 
 would have been all the other achievements of 
 his mediatorial enterprize. All his miracles, all 
 his teaching, all his benevolence, all his example, 
 
us LECTURE VI. 
 
 all his manifestations of divine excellence and 
 divine perfection, would have been utterly lost 
 upon us. The justice of God being still unsatis- 
 fied, and our guilt being still unexpiated, we must 
 have continued under the sentence of condemna- 
 tion, and under the burden of that sentence we 
 must have inevitably and everlastingly perished. 
 But while the suflPerings and death of Christ de- 
 serve that prominence which is given to them 
 in the Gospel record, on account of their ne- 
 cessity to the Gospel scheme, their title to it is 
 rendered complete by the efficacy which attends 
 them for answering their destined purpose. He 
 " has seen of the travail of his soul and he is sa- 
 tisfied.'^ His obedience unto death has fulfilled 
 all the demands of that infinitely holy law which 
 we had transgressed. He has " made peace by 
 the blood of his cross." The perfections of the 
 divine character are vindicated, and the autho- 
 rity of the divine administration is maintain- 
 ed ; and no barrier, therefore, now remains to 
 hinder the divine mercy from pouring itself out 
 on the chief of sinners. In consequence of what 
 Christ endured when he gave himself as a " propi- 
 tiation for our sins," God is at once "just, and the 
 3 
 
LECTURE VI. 149 
 
 justifier of him who believeth in Jesus."' And he 
 now proclaims from his throne of grace, that 
 " whosoever thus believeth, shall never perish, 
 but shall have everlasting life."" 
 
 As then the sufferings and death of Christ are 
 held out to us in Scripture as of such essential 
 importance and such saving virtue, let them be 
 the object of our devout and paramount regard. 
 Let us recognize in them the means which God 
 has instituted for our deliverance from sin and 
 misery. Let us place our confidence in their 
 merit for the attainment of salvation and all its 
 blessings. And when we go to the Lord's Table, 
 where they are brought to our recollection by 
 solemn and significant emblems, let our faith be 
 directed towards them with peculiar liveliness 
 and power, and let them be rested on by us as 
 the foundation of all our hope, and applied to as 
 the source of all our joy. 
 
 IL In the second place, the passage under re- 
 view, affirms the constancy and the cheerfulness 
 with which Christ was to bear his sorrows and to 
 become obedient to the death of the cross. " I 
 shall not be moved ;" and " my heart is glad, 
 and my glory," that is, my tongue, ** rejoiceth,"^ 
 
 ^7]!^?V,-J>5^PE^.: 
 
150 LECTURE VI. 
 
 So said David personating the Messiah; and all 
 this was realised in the Messiah's actual deport- 
 ment. In order to secure our belief and depend- 
 ance on his mediatorial work, it is perhaps enough 
 for us to know that he finished it ; that he did 
 not stop short in the midst of it, but that he 
 brought it to a successful termination; that he 
 was rewarded for its accomplishment ; and that 
 it is meritorious to procure for all who trust in 
 it forgiveness, and acceptance, and eternal life. 
 But that we may cherish those sentiments to- 
 wards Christ which it becomes us to entertain, 
 we must take a nearer view of that temper with 
 which he bore the heavy load of suiFering which 
 was laid on him for the purpose of working out 
 our redemption. He foresaw every pang that it 
 was requisite for him to endure in order to save 
 sinners, and yet he scrupled not to undertake the 
 arduous task, and engaged in it with alacrity and 
 zeal. As he proceeded to execute its duties, he 
 met with numerous difficulties, and dangers, and 
 distresses : but he shrunk from none of them ; he 
 encountered them all with undaunted firmness ; 
 he rose superior to them in every aspect that they 
 assumed, and in every combination in which they 
 
LECTURE VI. 151 
 
 assailed him. He never retreated from one scene 
 of trial on which he was called to enter. He ne- 
 ver was heard to utter a complaint under the 
 multiplied privations which continually harassed 
 him. " He stedfastly set his face to go up to 
 Jerusalem," where he knew that nothing awaited 
 him but injustice, and cruelty, and death. He 
 rebuked his disciples when they thought it foul 
 scorn that he should submit to the wrongs which 
 he calmly foretold. He exposed himself to the 
 traitor's artifices, when he might have defeated 
 them and escaped. He was in such agony that 
 it extorted from him prayers for deliverance, yet 
 with the same breath he declared his entire ac- 
 quiescence in all the sorrows to which he was 
 doomed by the decree of heaven. He allowed 
 his enemies to carry him away to judgment, 
 and to procure his condemnation, and to cover 
 him with reproach, and to suspend him on the 
 accursed tree, though with one frown he could 
 have sunk them all in the gulf of perdition. 
 He might have come down from the cross, as 
 the multitude impiously challenged him to do, 
 and erected on their ruin that cause which they 
 were attempting to destroy, yet he patiently en- 
 
1.52 LECTURE VI. 
 
 diired its anguish, magnanimously despised its 
 shame, and struggled on through all its myste- 
 rious and unspeakable terrors, till he could say 
 in the accents of victory, " It is finished." Nor 
 was it mere constancy that he exercised in those 
 dark and trying circumstances through which he 
 passed. It was moreover with feelings of plea- 
 sure and exultation that he travelled along the 
 path of sorrow, and " trode the wine press" of 
 the Father's wrath. He was not only contented, 
 but he rejoiced to suffer as a surety for guilty 
 men. His humiliation, and all the hardships 
 and miseries which it implied, were the appoint- 
 ments of God's will. He was well aware that 
 every arrow of affliction which pierced him, from 
 the beginning to the conclusion of his mediato- 
 rial labours upon earth, got its direction, and its 
 power, and its bitterness from the hand of his 
 heavenly Father : and yet all along, even when 
 they drunk deepest into his soul, he looked up 
 and said, " To do thy will, I take delight, O my 
 God !" 
 
 Such was the constancy and such was the 
 cheerfulness with which our blessed Saviour 
 bore his sufferings. And surely we cannot but 
 
LECTURE VI. 153 
 
 admire the character in which tliis excellence 
 was so conspicuously displayed. And if our re- 
 gards should be proportioned to the extent and 
 energy of the virtues which excite them, what 
 must be our admiration of the character of Christ, 
 when we think of the number, and poignancy, 
 and duration of his sorrows, and remember that 
 he persevered under their pressure with a con- 
 stancy which never wavered for a moment, and 
 with a cheerfulness which found its happiest ex- 
 ercise in the season of his deepest adversity ! 
 
 But to our admiration of his unequalled mag- 
 nanimity, we must add the more valuable tribute 
 of our gratitude : for it was in love to our souls 
 that his engagement to suffer and to die had its 
 origin ; and it was by that love to our souls that 
 he was animated to fulfil his generous engage- 
 ment, with the unbending fortitude and the unaf- 
 fected gladness which he exhibited throughout the 
 whole course of his endurance. And if we ous-ht 
 to love him because he has so loved us, O how 
 deep seated should our affection be ! How ar- 
 dently should it burn towards him by whose 
 compassion it has been kindled ! And how reso- 
 lutely and steadfastly should it be expressed in 
 
154 LECTURE VI. 
 
 spite of all the sacrifices which it may cost us, 
 and of all the troubles and trials in which it may- 
 involve us ! 
 
 And while we admire the character of Christ, 
 and cherish gratitude and love to him on account 
 of the constancy and cheerfulness with which he 
 " bore our griefs and carried our sorrows," let 
 him be in this respect the object of our close and 
 habitual imitation. As his disciples we have 
 much evil to meet with before we " enter into 
 rest ;" bodily pain, worldly disappointments, 
 mental distress, spiritual trials, a thousand things 
 to harass and afflict us in our journey through 
 this vale of tears. Now let us be like our divine 
 Master, and let " none of these things move us." 
 Let us " bear our cross" with patience. Let us 
 be more than patient : let our " heart be glad 
 and our tongue rejoice" in tribulation. Let us 
 " take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in 
 persecutions, in distresses" with which we may 
 be visited for our attachment to his Gospel, or 
 our activity in the cause of Christian benevolence. 
 And let us look well to " Jesus the author and 
 the finisher of our faith," as he is held out to us 
 in the Holy Scriptures, giving himself to a de- 
 
 [ M'iiii .''.^t 
 
LECTURE VI. 155 
 
 gree of suffering and to a kind of death, infinitely 
 more awful than what we can ever be called to 
 endure, that we may catch some portion of that 
 lofty spirit which his severest woes were unable 
 to subdue, and that w^e may go back into the 
 world, better prepared to sustain the burdens of 
 life, and to triumph over the fears and the ago- 
 nies of death. 
 
 III. Let us now consider in the third and last 
 place, what it was, according to the language of 
 the Psalmist, that supported and cheered our 
 Saviour in the midst of his sufferings. 
 
 And, first, he tells us that he " set the Lord 
 always before him." He set the Lord always 
 before him as the great object of his regard ; to 
 whom his utmost devotedness was due, and in 
 whose dispensations it was at once his honour, 
 his duty, and his happiness to acquiesce. To his 
 will he in every thing submissively bowed. To 
 his character he paid the unlimited homage which 
 perfect and uncreated excellence deserved. To 
 his glory he felt that every affection of the heart, 
 and every action of the life should be uniformly 
 subservient. And thus setting the Lord before 
 him, he was prevented from yielding to those 
 
156 LECTURE VI. 
 
 claims of self love which might otherwise have 
 proved too powerful for him to resist. He could 
 not have declined his sufferings at first, or pre- 
 maturely ceased to bear them, without opposing 
 the divine will, which had with authority as well 
 as in wisdom appointed them ; without affronting 
 the divine character whose brightest attributes 
 they were intended to display ; and without ob- 
 structing the divine glory, which was to be mani- 
 fested equally in their fitness and their effects. 
 And the boundless piety of Christ, being not on- 
 ly hostile to all such regardlessness of what was 
 due to God, but ambitious of every thing by 
 which he could be honoured or in which he could 
 be obeyed, made him at once patient and delight- 
 ed to bear the whole weight of affliction that was 
 laid upon him, for accomplishing God's purposes 
 of mercy to our fallen race. 
 
 Now let us also " set the Lord always before 
 us." When we are visited with affliction of 
 whatever kind, and in whatever degree, let us 
 remember that it " does not spring out of the 
 ground," and that it must not be considered and 
 treated as an evil which has no connection with 
 what is good in its origin or in its issue. We 
 
LECTURE VI. 157 
 
 should recollect that it proceeds, either directly 
 or indirectly, from the hand of that great Being 
 who manages all our lot, that it indicates the 
 wisdom, the mercy, and the faithfulness of his 
 dealings with us, and that if it be allowed to 
 " have its perfect work," it will in its final re- 
 sults reflect honour on his administration, and 
 redound to the advantage and happiness of our 
 souls. And recollecting these things, let us sub- 
 mit, without murmuring, to all the hardships of 
 our condition, and even " count it all joy when 
 we fall into divers trials" and tribulations. 
 
 In the next place, our Saviour tells us that he 
 was supported and cheered in the midst of his 
 sufferings, by the assurance that God was " at 
 his right hand." He was not in a forlorn and 
 helpless state — unprotected against the assaults 
 of his foes — unsustained under the weight of his 
 calamities — abandoned to the feebleness of hu- 
 man wisdom and human strength, and left to 
 resources as uncertain as they were inadequate 
 in " the time of his need." Had this been the 
 case, and had he known it, his heart would have 
 sunk into despondency, the work of redemption 
 would have failed in his hands, and v/e shoukl 
 
158 LECTURE VL 
 
 have had no suffering obedience — no atoning 
 death, on which to rely for acceptance. But far 
 different was his situation. Omnipotence be- 
 friended him. The arm of Jehovah was stretch- 
 ed out for his stay and his deliverance. His 
 enemies might be numerous and strong, but 
 there was one to help him mightier than them 
 all. His perplexities might be great, but they 
 were nothing to the scan of unerring wisdom. 
 His anguish might be bitter and severe, but his 
 bitterest and severest anguish must have given 
 way to the consolations of divinity. His trials 
 might be round about him, and within him, and 
 press close and hard upon his inmost soul ; but 
 there was nearer to him still than these could be, 
 that God who has the universe at his command, 
 and is pledged to preserve his chosen from all 
 that would injure and overwhelm them. All this 
 the Saviour knew. He knew that Deity was 
 thus present with him, and thus engaged in his 
 behalf. He confided in the great truth as one 
 which would be realised in every exigency of his 
 case.. And fully convinced that he had only to 
 trust and pray, in order to experience, in richest 
 abundance, the aid that would uphold him, and 
 
LECTURE VI. 159 
 
 the comfort that would cheer him, and the inter- 
 position that would deliver him in all his times 
 of danger and of need, he " feared no evil" 
 that could possibly befal him, at any stage of his 
 perilous undertaking. His dangers might be 
 imminent, and his prospects dark, and his sor- 
 rows multiplied and great, but he cast himself on 
 the protection of the Almighty, whose servant he 
 was, and whose work he was doing ; and he re- 
 joiced in the sense of present safety, and in the 
 hope of ultimate triumph. 
 
 Such was our Saviour's " strong hold in the day 
 of trouble;"*' let it also be ours. If we be follow- 
 ers of him, God is at our right hand, as he was 
 at his, and we may warrantably exercise the 
 same reliance, and take to ourselves the same en- 
 couragement which sustained and animated him 
 along the path of suffering. God is always be- 
 side us to observe our circumstances, to listen to 
 our petitions, to guide us through our difficulties, 
 to soothe us in our distresses, to rescue us out of 
 the hand of our adversaries, and to keep us from 
 falling away in the hour of temptation " from 
 our own stedfastness." Is not he possessed of 
 every attribute to which we would appeal for 
 
160 LECTURE VI. 
 
 comfort and for preservation ? Has he not pro- 
 mised to put forth these attributes in our behalf 
 as often as our situation requires their exercise? 
 Does not the infinite perfection of his nature in- 
 sure the fulfilment of that gracious promise in all 
 its extent ? And does not the experience of our 
 Redeemer, who showed what we might expect, as 
 well as exemplified what we ought to do, afford 
 us a practical and satisfactory demonstration of 
 the faithfulness with which our heavenly Father 
 will communicate to us all that he has taught us 
 to pray and to hope for in the course of our pil- 
 ffrimao^e ? Let us then confide in him without 
 hesitation or reserve. Let us bear upon our 
 minds continually the lively persuasion that 
 wherever we are, and whatever we suffer, he is 
 present with us in the character of our guide, 
 our comforter, and our protector. Let us ask, 
 according to our necessities, that we may receive 
 what he is both able and willing to bestow for 
 their relief. Let us lean upon him in the exer- 
 cise of a faith which looks perpetually to his 
 word, and doubts as little of its veracity as of its 
 kindness. And when the multitude or the se- 
 verity of our trials would lead us to despond, let 
 
LECTURE VI. 161 
 
 us think of the conduct and the consolations of 
 Christ, and remonstrate with ourselves for not 
 cherisliing the confidence by which he was held 
 up, and say " Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul, and why art thou disquieted within me ? 
 Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him, 
 who is the health of my countenance and my 
 God." 
 
 Lastly^ our Saviour informs us that he was sup- 
 ported and cheered by the hope of a resurrection to 
 life and blessedness. " My flesh also shall rest in 
 hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; 
 neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption. Thou wilt shov/ me the path of life: 
 in thy presence is fulness of joy, at thy right 
 hand are pleasures for evermore. 
 
 This was to be the termination and issue of Cli rist's 
 sufferings. They were, indeed, to " bring him to 
 death," and that death was to be characterised 
 by all that was frightful and distressing. But he 
 *' had hope in his death." He knew that the 
 dominion of the king of terrors was to be destroy- 
 ed, and that he was, by returning from the 
 grave, to " become the first fruits of them that 
 sleep." God would " not leave his soul in hell/^ 
 
162 LECTURE VI. 
 
 that is, would not allow his human spirit to re- 
 main in the state of the dead, and would not per- 
 mit his body, which was as free from moral pol- 
 lution as his soul, and equally sanctified with it 
 for the vvork of redemption, to undergo in any 
 measure that process of dissolution which must 
 pass upon all the sinful posterity of Adam. In- 
 stead of suffering him to continue in the grave, he 
 would " show him the path of life f he would 
 make the darksome valley a way along which he 
 would conduct him to immortality ; and, " raising 
 him from the dead, would give him glory," — would 
 receive him into his heavenly presence as a tri- 
 umphant Redeemer, and exalt him to his right 
 hand, that in the fulness of everlasting bliss he 
 might reap the reward of his meritorious suffer- 
 ings, and his victorious decease. Christ had 
 this prospect continually in his view. He was 
 well aware that he should speedily " rest from 
 his labours" and sorrows, and that " his rest 
 would be glorious." It was " for the joy set be- 
 fore him that he endured the cross and despised 
 the shame." And knowing that when he com- 
 mitted his spirit into the hands of his heavenly 
 Father, who would keep what he had thus conir 
 
LECTURE VI. 163 
 
 mitted to him, and that his body would come; 
 forth from the tomb unhurt by the power of cor- 
 ruption, and that thus raised again and "justi- 
 fied in the spirit" by his resurrection, he would 
 be " straightway glorified with the glory which 
 he had with the Father before the world was ;" 
 anticipating such a splendid and felicitous result 
 as this, he was resigned in suffering, and he was 
 brave in death, beyond all that the generations of 
 men have ever witnessed, or will ever be able to 
 exhibit. 
 
 But though we can never equal the fortitude 
 with which our Saviour suffered and died, we 
 may humbly imitate him in this as in other de- 
 partments of his exalted character. And, in- 
 deed, it is our duty to study this resemblance to 
 him, and to strive after it, under the influence of 
 the same motives by which he was actuated. These 
 motives, it is true, we have not in that high style 
 and commanding power in which they presented 
 themselves to his mind. Still, however, they form 
 a part of our Christian privileges, and it becomes 
 us to fix our regards upon them, and to surren- 
 der ourselves freely to all the effects which they 
 are calculated to produce on our sentiments and 
 
164 LECTURE VI- 
 
 conduct. If we are united to Christ by faith, 
 and if we are studying to " be holy as he who 
 hath called us is holy;" then we shall be par- 
 takers of Christ's resurrection, of Christ's joy, 
 of Christ's glory. Our bodies, indeed, must 
 moulder into their kindred earth, and a long pe- 
 riod may elapse before they are recalled from 
 their dreary abode. But the doctrine is true and 
 stable, that as Christ has risen we shall rise also — 
 that there is " life and immortality" for us be- 
 yond the grave — that there awaits us, in celestial 
 companionship with him who " is the resurrec- 
 tion and the life," a " fulness of joy, and plea- 
 sures for evermore." And with this scene of re- 
 storation and of happiness before us, why should 
 we grudge to suffer, and why should we be afraid 
 to die? Our sufferings may be severe and pro- 
 tracted, but we suffer along with Christ, and suf- 
 fering patiently along with him, we shall also 
 reign with him in heaven ; and as his sufferings 
 merited the recompense which he received in his 
 resurrection from the dead, and his exaltation to 
 ** the right hand of the majesty on high," so our 
 sufferings shall be so sanctified as to qualify us 
 for being " children of the resurrection," and 
 
LECTURE VI. 1G5 
 
 " heirs of the kingdom" which he has secured 
 for all his faithful followers. Death may come 
 upon us unexpectedly, and may come in his most 
 forbidding form; and the terrors of his coming 
 may be more awful and agonising than our fear- 
 ful imaginations had ever conceived ; but Christ 
 also died, and " by his death overcame death," 
 spoiled him of his destroying power, and is pledg- 
 ed to make every believer a sharer in his dear- 
 bought victory, and in his well-earned triumph. 
 And " living to the Lord, and dying in the Lord," 
 the grave, dark and noisome as it is, is conse- 
 crated as a resting place to our mortal bodies 
 " till the times of restitution," when he who 
 " lives for evermore, and has the keys of hell 
 and death," shall aw^aken us from our refreshing 
 slumbers, and clothe us in the robe of undecay- 
 ing beauty, and conduct us into that region of 
 unclouded light, and spotless purity, and un- 
 mingled bliss, where we shall dwell and be hap- 
 py for ever. And, destined to such an award as 
 this, let us not be cast down by any calamities 
 that can happen to us, or be immoderately alarm- 
 ed by any dangers that can threaten us, either 
 during the time of our sojourning in this evil 
 
166 LECTURE VI. 
 
 world, or at the period of our departure from it. 
 Let us cherish habitually the hope of that eternal 
 life which God hath promised to us, and which 
 he will assuredly bestow upon us. Let us be- 
 lieve stedfastly, and act holily, as it becomes 
 those who have such a " high calling'* and such 
 a glorious destination. Let our faith and our 
 hope derive new energy from the contemplation 
 of Christ's death, by which he at once purchased 
 our title to immortality, and ratified the charter 
 in which it is made over to us. And then let us 
 go on our Christian way rejoicing, trusting in the 
 Lord Jehovah, and looking forward to " the glory 
 that is to be revealed." Thus, we shall be " fill- 
 ed with comfort and exceeding joyful in all our 
 tribulation ;" and when the hour of our departure 
 comes, we shall take up the language of triumph 
 and say, " O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, 
 where is thy victory ?" " Thanks be to God which 
 giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
LECTURE VIL 
 
 PSALM xxxiii. 1 — 7- 
 
 <* Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
 covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth 
 not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When 
 I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my roaring all 
 the day long: For day and night thy hand luas heavy up' 
 on me ; my moisture is turned into the drought of sum- 
 mer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity 
 have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions 
 unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my 
 sin. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto 
 thee in a time when thou mayest be found : surely in the 
 floods of great watei'S they shall not come nigh unto him. 
 Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shall preserve me from 
 trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliver^ 
 ance, 
 
 PART I. 
 The passage that we have now read presents to 
 our notice, some important and interesting par- 
 ticulars. There is first, the uncomfortable state 
 of a convinced but still impenitent sinner. Se~ 
 condly, there is the pardon of sin. Thirdli/, there 
 is the connection between the pardon of sin and 
 the grace of repentance. Fourthly, there is the 
 happiness of such as have repented and obtained 
 pardon. Fifthly, there is the disposition of those 
 
163 LECTURE VII. 
 
 who are penitent and pardoned, to engage in the 
 exercise of prayer. And, lastly, there is the se- 
 curity of God's people in the midst of danger and 
 distress. 
 
 I. First, we have here represented to us the 
 uncomfortable state of those who are convinced 
 of sin but still impenitent. " When I kept si- 
 lence, my bones waxed old ; through my roaring 
 all the day long. For day and night thy hand 
 was heavy upon me : my moisture is turned into 
 the drought of summer." 
 
 This was the sad experience of the Psalmist him- 
 self. He had transgressed God's law. This he both 
 knewandfelt; and itbrought along with it the pangs 
 of remorse. His mind v» as conscious of having of- 
 fended the divine majesty — of having incurred the 
 divine displeasure — of having done what rendered 
 him liable to the punishment threatened in the di- 
 vine law. But he did not seek for deliverance from 
 the burden of guilt by the confession of a contrite 
 heart, and by application to the mercy of heaven. 
 In both these respects he " kept silence." And 
 the consequence was, that his convictions of the 
 commission, and of the evil, and of the danger 
 of sin, continued to harass him as before. He 
 
LECTURE VII. 169 
 
 could find no peace. Wherever he was, and 
 with whatever he was occupied, " the hand of 
 God was heavy upon him." And this compunc- 
 tion of soul, haunting him continually, disturbing 
 his midnight repose, accompanying him through 
 the active employments of the day, and inces- 
 santly troubling him with anxiety and alarm, so 
 affected him, that the vigour and freshness of 
 youth were exchanged for the debility and ex- 
 haustion of age, and his " moisture was turned 
 into the drought of summer."" 
 
 Thus was it with the Psalmist ; and thus in 
 some measure will it be with all who attempt to 
 stifle and overpower the convictions of sin. They 
 may not be sensible of their guilt as he was ; 
 they may not feel it so acutely ; they may not be 
 so much alive to its impression ; and they may 
 not suffer from it the same degree of annoyance 
 and misery. But still, if they be really convinced 
 that sin attaches to them, and if they see in it a 
 forfeiture of God's favour, and if they read in it 
 the sentence of God's wrath, how can it be that 
 they should escape from the anguish of a " wound- 
 ed spirit," and not be " filled with the terrors of 
 the Lord ?" 
 
170 LECTURE Vir. 
 
 When I say this, I doubt not that I speak in 
 accordance with what has been actually expe- 
 rienced by some of you now hearing me ; and, 
 perhaps you are still in the situation w^hich the 
 Psalmist has so pathetically described as his own. 
 The iniquity that you have done presses hard 
 upon your conscience. In that iniquity you re- 
 cognise what has exposed you to the indignation 
 of the Almighty ; and the apprehension of his 
 wrath, justly deserved and awfully threatened, is 
 a perpetual source of inquietude and sorrow. 
 You try to forget it in the cares of business, or 
 to charm it away by pleasurable indulgence, or 
 to drive it off by an effort of the will, or to rea- 
 son it down by the sophistries of a carnal mind. 
 But the endeavour is fruitless. The arrow sticks 
 fast within you ; the wound festers in your very 
 vitals ; and your attempts to heal it, only serve to 
 render it deeper, and severer, and more painful 
 than ever. It is a mercy that conscience is still a- 
 wake — that it does not cease to remind you of your 
 wickedness — that it is not yet seared into torpid 
 and fatal insensibility. You have reason to bless 
 God that his voice thus speaks to you — that his 
 spirit thus strives with you — that he does not 
 
LECTURE VII. 171 
 
 permit you to enjoy any inward peace, or to find 
 rest to the sole of your foot, so long as there is 
 within you an impenitent heart, and an unfor- 
 given soul — that he unweariedly pursues you 
 with his admonitions and his warnings, all de- 
 tructive as they are of your present comfort, till 
 you have abandoned the unhappy struggle which 
 you are maintaining with your convictions, and 
 sought for relief to your troubled mind, where 
 alone that relief can ever be found. And the 
 more effectually to persuade you to make no he- 
 sitation, and to lose no time in betaking your- 
 selves to this refuge, consider, we beseech you, 
 that the wretchedness which haunts you as trans- 
 gressors, in society and in solitude, amidst care 
 and amidst amusement, while it intimates God's 
 willingness that you should flee from sin, both as 
 to its power and its punishment, is but the pre- 
 sage of that unmingled and everlasting wretch- 
 edness which awaits you in another world, if 
 vou will not listen to him in this the time of your 
 merciful visitation; and that to persist in keep- 
 ing silence, while conscience is constraining you 
 every hour and every moment to cry for for- 
 giveness, and to pour forth your penitential ac- 
 
172 LECTURE VII. 
 
 knowledgments at the throne of grace, and to 
 apply to the divine compassion for that rest from 
 your sins which the divine compassion is so ready 
 to bestow, is to aggravate a thousand fold all the 
 perils and miseries of your condition, and by 
 lulling into apathy that internal monitor, which 
 now pleads with you so urgently to flee equally 
 from your present anguish, and from the " wrath 
 to come,"" is to secure for yourselves an undisturb- 
 ed continuance in the path, of guilt, and an un- 
 interrupted passage to the habitations of darkness 
 and despair. 
 
 And why should you so perversely remain in 
 the state of suffering to which conscious unwor- 
 thiness has reduced you ? You know that deli- 
 verance from the evils by which you are distress- 
 ed is not to be obtained by the means to which 
 you have hitherto had recourse. You know that 
 nothing can remove them but the assurance of a 
 full and free forgiveness from him whom you 
 liave disobeyed, and whose anger you have in- 
 curred. And you know, not only that he is will- 
 ing to grant this forgiveness, but that he has de- 
 vised and executed a plan, the whole purpose of 
 which is to accomplish the salvation of sinners. 
 
LECTURE VJI. 173 
 
 and to speak " peace to them that are afar off." 
 Look at this blessing as it is represented to you 
 in the Scriptures, that you may be satisfied of its 
 sufficiency to constitute your safety, and to quiet 
 all your alarms. 
 
 II. The Psalmist speaks of it in three ways, 
 " Transgression is forgiven," — '^^ sin is covered," 
 — " the Lord imputeth not iniquity." 
 
 The sinner has his transgression forgiven. Hav- 
 ing broken God's law, he has become liable to the 
 punishment which the law has denounced, and un- 
 less some adequate interposition takes place, this 
 awful punishment mustbe borne by him beyond the 
 possibility of escape. But when he to whom the 
 prerogative of forgiving the sinner belongs is 
 pleased to exercise that prerogative in his favour, 
 and to pronounce the decree of forgiveness, the 
 punishment is wholly remitted, his obligation to 
 suffer it is cancelled, and no power can again 
 bring him into the condemnation out of which 
 he has thus been authoritatively and judicially 
 released. 
 
 More than this, his sin is said to be covered. 
 The substantial meaning of this expression is the 
 same as thdt of the preceding one. It conveys 
 the idea of forgiveness. But along with that it 
 
174 LECTURE VII. 
 
 associates another idea which tends to give it ad- 
 ditional force as to its effect on the feelings and 
 comfort of the sinner. His sin is not, and cannot 
 be concealed from the eye, nor obliterated from 
 the remembrance of Him who is as omniscient as 
 he is holy. But having been forgiven, its conse- 
 quences are as effectually and completely done 
 away with, and his condition as free from obr 
 noxiousness to these, as if it had been literally 
 hidden from the observation of the Almighty, or 
 beyond the reach of his knowledge. Could we 
 suppose him not to have seen it or not to have 
 been acquainted with it, no anger could of course 
 have been kindled in him, and no penalty inflict- 
 ed by him on account of it. And not in one de- 
 gree more thoroughly secure would the sinner 
 have been in that case from " the curse of the 
 law," than he is, now that, though a transgressor 
 in the sight of God, and condemned by him for 
 his transgression, the sentence is recalled, and he 
 who passed it says to him, " Thy sins are forgiven 
 thee." 
 
 And there is still another statement of more 
 liberal import, and more emphatic phrase. It is 
 affirmed, that the Lord imputeth not iniquity. 
 When God justifies the sinner, he does not im- 
 
LECTURE VI r, 17.5 
 
 pute his iniquity to him — does not place it to hi§ 
 account, and punish it in his person, — but re- 
 gards his as if he had not transgressed, — treats 
 him as one of unblameable righteousness, — be- 
 stows upon him those blessings which can only 
 be bestowed in consideration of the divine law 
 being satisfied, both in its penal demands and in 
 its active requirements. And why ? Because God 
 has laid upon Christ all the demerit of the sinner, 
 — because that demerit has been expiated by the 
 sufferings of the surety, — and because, in its 
 place, and by the same surety, there has been 
 substituted an obedience, not only perfect in it- 
 self, but equally authorised and accepted by him 
 whose indignation the sinner had incurred. The 
 guilt of the sinner is imputed to Christ, who ac- 
 cordingly was " made a curse for him," and 
 " suffered the just for the unjust :" and the right- 
 eousness of Christ is imputed to the sinner, who 
 accordingly obtains that deliverance from punish-- 
 ment, and that restoration to favour, which God, 
 in the exercise at once of his holiness and his 
 mercy, confers as the reward of righteousness so 
 perfect and so meritorious. This is the Gospel 
 method of salvation as unfolded throughout the 
 
176 LECTURE VII. 
 
 sacred writings, and as referred to by the Psalm- 
 ist in the passage before us, — of which the Apostle 
 Paul has given an explanation in the fourth chap- 
 ter of his Epistle to the Romans, where he quotes 
 the very language of David, in order to illustrate 
 his doctrine of justification by grace, through 
 faith in the imputed righteousness of Christ. 
 
 III. Now the blessing of pardon as thus se- 
 cured and thus understood, is said to confer hap- 
 piness upon those who receive it. " Blessed is 
 he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
 covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord 
 imputeth not iniquity." 
 
 Those only v-ho have experienced this bless- 
 edness can rightly comprehend its nature, and 
 appreciate its extent. But even for such as have 
 not had that actual experience, it cannot be dif- 
 ficult to conceive that it is indisputably real and 
 incalculably great. Supposing, in the first place, 
 that the sinner, when he is pardoned, were whol- 
 ly ignorant of the change that has been effected in 
 his spiritual condition, still he must, beyond all 
 controversy, and beyond all calculation, be pro- 
 nounced happy : for though not aware of it, he is 
 in fact freed from the condemnation, which, had 
 
LECTURE VII. 177 
 
 he remained under it, would have insured his en- 
 durance of everlasting misery, and he is in fact 
 brought into a state of reconciliation, vi^hich must 
 ultimately insure his enjoyment of everlasting 
 felicity. And vdiatever be the period of his con- 
 tinuance upon earth, and whatever be the anguish 
 which the consciousness of guilt, and the dread 
 of God's vengeance may inflict upon him, the time 
 cannot be far distant when this season of distress- 
 ing ignorance shall come to an end, and when, in 
 the awards of the judgment day, he shall know, 
 and see, and feel, that "the anger of God had been 
 turned away" from him, and that he had been 
 invested with a new title to the kingdom of his 
 father. 
 
 Such, however, is the constitution of divine 
 grace that the blessedness of the pardoned sin- 
 ner is not merely in reversion and in prospect : 
 it is in a certain measure granted to him even 
 now. It not only exists as an attribute of his 
 condition ; but it is present wqth him as a benefit 
 which he is conscious of possessing, and which 
 affords him heartfelt consolation. Whenever 
 the Redeemer's righteousness is imputed to him 
 for his justification, there is simultaneously 
 
178 LECTURE VII. 
 
 wrought in him that faith by which he receives 
 and appropriates the imputed righteousness of 
 the Redeemer, and which imparts to him an im- 
 mediate sense of safety similar to what he would 
 have had if, in the midst of some temporal dan- 
 ger, he had taken a firm and decided grasp of 
 one who was both aWe and willing to accomplish 
 his deliverance. He also believes the testimony 
 of the word of truth, which says, that whoso- 
 ever has such a faith is justified in the sight 
 of God ; and the conclusion which he is ine- 
 vitably led to draw from this, must more or 
 less satisfy him, that to him " there is no con- 
 demnation," and that his escape from it is as 
 certain as the Divine promise is unequivocal and 
 true. And the grace which justifies him. and 
 the faith through which the justification becomes 
 his, operate such a change on his views, and 
 principles, and temper, that there is borne in 
 upon him the humble hope, or the assured con- 
 fidence of his being the object of God's pardon- 
 ing mercy. And, with such an impression as 
 this prevailing or reigning in his mind, can it 
 be doubted or denied that he is blessed ? Is it 
 a blessed thing for the rebellious subject to ob- 
 
LECTURE VII. 179 
 
 tain the forgiveness of his sovereign, and to be 
 restored to all the immunities and privileges 
 which he had forfeited by his criminal revolt ? 
 Is it a blessed thing for the undutiful child to 
 have his ingratitude and disobedience pardoned, 
 to be re -instated in the affection of his offended 
 parent, and re-invested with a title to the inhe- 
 ritance of which paternal displeasure had de- 
 prived him ? Is it a blessed thing for us to be 
 thus treated by those who are creatures like our- 
 selves, and limited in their power of conferring 
 good and of inflicting evil, and whose favour and 
 whose frown shall shortly terminate in the grave, 
 where they and we must lie down together? 
 And can it be any thing but blessedness — must 
 it not be blessedness inexpressibly and beyond 
 comparison great, to be rescued from the ven- 
 geance, and to be recalled to the friendship, of 
 that mighty Sovereign, that everlasting Father, 
 whose vengeance and whose friendship can not 
 only blaster nourish our every earthly comfort, 
 but, what is of infinitely more importance, affect 
 our eternal destinies, and either exalt us to the 
 highest heaven, or sink us down to the lowest 
 hell ? 
 
180 LECTURE VII. 
 
 O how sadly do you who are the votaries of 
 a sinful world mistake your interest and your 
 happiness ! You give yourselves up to sensual 
 indulgence, or you accumulate sordid wealth, or 
 you run from one amusement and one gaiety to 
 another, or you engage in the busy and useful 
 occupations of life, or your pursuits are directed 
 to the objects of a nobler ambition, and all your 
 activities are employed in the field of intellectual 
 research : You do all this, and in the midst of 
 it all, you think yourselves happy ; you say that 
 you are happy ; you cannot see that any thing 
 more is necessary to make you happy ; you won- 
 der that we can ever doubt of your being happy. 
 And yet we must affirm that you labour under a 
 grievous delusion, and that in truth you are not 
 happy. We are aware that happiness is in one 
 sense a matter of feeling; and that we should in 
 vain attempt to persuade you that you are desti- 
 tute of pleasurable emotions while you are con- 
 scious of having them. But still we must say, 
 that you are not happy. 
 
 You are not happy in comparison. Giving to 
 your peculiar enjoyments all the value, and va- 
 riety, xmd sweetness that you can justly claim for 
 
LECTURE VII. 181 
 
 them, still you would not think of putting them 
 upon a level with the enjoyments of those who 
 believe and feel that he who is the great fountain 
 of life and happiness has ceased to be angry with 
 them, and that while he has taken away all their 
 iniquities and all the displeasure that was due on 
 account of them, he loves them at the same time 
 so freely and so fully as to make them heirs of his 
 " heavenly kingdom." Even in speculation you 
 must allow this to be the case; otherwise you 
 must allege that there are no degrees of happi- 
 ness, and that the animal which is merely sen- 
 tient is as happy as the angels that dwell on high 
 and " excel in strength.'" And if from specula- 
 tion you come to experience, the argument is 
 all against you : for though you may still adhere 
 to your position that you are happy because you 
 think so, it must be remembered that you are 
 practically acquainted with nothing more than 
 those gratifications, which are connected with 
 present and visible and created things, that you 
 are ignorant of the delight arising from the exer- 
 cises of a mind that is at peace with God, and 
 that therefore your testimony and your opinion 
 are not to be credited like the testimony and the 
 
IS2 LECTURE VII. 
 
 opinion of those whose experience has embraced 
 both kinds of enjoyment ; and has there been any 
 one instance in which they have not assured us 
 that they never knew what happiness was till they 
 had become partakers of the grace which pardons 
 and saves the guilty soul, and does not their unit- 
 ed voice declare what David declared, when, from 
 his own personal feeling, he uttered and recorded 
 the language before us, '^Blessed is he whose trans- 
 gression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, and to 
 whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity ?" 
 
 But again we say, that if you persist in alleging 
 you are happy, you are happy without reason. 
 Supposing your pleasures were less criminal than 
 we fear they often are ; supposing that they were 
 all of the most exquisite and refined description ; 
 and supposing that they were never interrupted 
 by one pang or one disappointment, to remind you 
 of their insufficiency ; — we should nevertheless as- 
 sert that to be satisfied with them, and to count 
 yourselves happy by means of them, is irrational 
 and absurd. For know ye not that all this while 
 " the wrath of God is abiding upon you" on ac- 
 count of your sins ? Deny this, and then your 
 conduct becomes consistent, though your condi. 
 
LECTURE VII. 183 
 
 tion remains as full of peril as before. But if ycu 
 admit that God governs the world ; that you are 
 responsible to him for your actions ; that you have 
 disobeyed his law ; and that consequently you are 
 involved in the forfeiture of his favour and in ob- 
 noxiousness to punishment; if you admit this, as 
 most of you profess to do — then, in these cir- 
 cumstances, can you or should you be happy ? 
 Though all the sources of indulgence which this 
 world affords were laid open to you, and though 
 you had not an earthly want unsupplied, nor an 
 earthly desire unfulfilled, could all this compen- 
 sate for the evil of being subject to the curse of 
 Almighty God, any more than it could be effec- 
 tual in removing it ? Or would not your perse- 
 verance in devoting your affections to the gratifi- 
 cations of sense and time rather tend, by aggra- 
 vating your guilt in the eye of offended heaven, 
 to render your misery more certain and your fol- 
 ly more conspicuous ? We can conceive nothing 
 more preposterous in the whole range of human 
 error, no deception more gross and melancholy, 
 than for a man to imagine and to insist that he is 
 happy, because the world, and its perishing ol- 
 jects, and its unthinking inhabitants, are smiling 
 
18i LECTURE VII. 
 
 upon him, while yet the terrors of incensed om- 
 nipotence and of a coming judgment are frowning 
 on his fate. Compared with this, the maniac is 
 wise, who, in his dreary cell, and with his crown 
 of straw, fancies himself to be the monarch of the 
 universe ; the slave is right and noble who boasts 
 of liberty, while he dances in his chains; and the 
 sleeping outcast is an object of complacency, when 
 he dreams that he is "rich and increased in goods, 
 and stands in need of nothing," though at that 
 very moment he is in rags, and poverty, and wretch- 
 edness, and stands in need of every thing. Yes, 
 my friends, yours is a sad and delusive dream, 
 when you imagine and call yourselves happy ; 
 while, whatever may be your temporal circum- 
 stances, and whatever may be your temporal en- 
 joyments, the sentence of condemnation, pro- 
 nounced upon you by the righteous Judge, is yet 
 unrecalled ; while no voice from heaven has 
 whispered that your " sins are forgiven ;" while 
 Divine justice still asserts and urges its claim 
 against your guilty souls ; and while, from the 
 very scene in which you are setting up your rest, 
 and boasting that your wine and your oil and 
 your mirth abound, there is " a certain fearful 
 
LECTURE VII. 185 
 
 looking for of wrath and fiery indignation to con- 
 sume you." O that you could be awaked from 
 this wild and fatal dream, and that your eyes 
 were open to see the infatuation which besets 
 you! 
 
 From your own case of fancied bliss, look to 
 the case of those into whose number, for your 
 own sake, we would fondly introduce you. They 
 are blessed indeed. They not only have that in- 
 ward feeling of happiness which you pretend to 
 have ; and it is not only from its very nature 
 profounder and more satisfying than yours, — but 
 it can endure the test of reflection and examina- 
 tion ; it has the approbation of their own minds 
 impartially sought for, and deliberately conftirred ; 
 and it must commend itself to the approval of 
 every understanding that is capable of comparing 
 one thing with another, and of forming a sound 
 and unbiassed judgment on the operations of the 
 human heart. It does not reject any enjoyment 
 which God is pleased to bestow; it is not at 
 variance with one innocent pleasure of life ; and 
 it has no natural alliance with a single evil for 
 the suffering of which it does not contain an 
 ample recompence. But it is principally and 
 
18C LECTURE VII. 
 
 permanently derived from being delivered out of 
 the greatest calamity, and from being put in pos- 
 session of the richest inheritance, that can enter 
 into the lot of an immortal being. The more it 
 is considered, the more is its excellence demon- 
 strated, and the more is its value felt. And it 
 has this unspeakable advantage, that its worth and 
 its continuance have no dependence on the fluctua- 
 tions which belongto all other enjoyments, but re- 
 main untouched and undiminished, and are even 
 enhanced and secured by the crosses, and troubles, 
 and disappointments, which denude the sinner 
 and the worlding of all their blessedness, and 
 overwhelm them in misery and despair. O then, 
 if feeling deceive you, let the deception yield to 
 the dictates of reason, and act upon the convic- 
 tion, that if you are happy, you ought not to be 
 happy, lying as you are, under the curse of God : 
 and let it be the earnest desire of your heart that 
 you may be happy, like those whose situation 
 the Psalmist describes when he says, " Blessed 
 is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin 
 is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the 
 Lord imputeth not iniquity." 
 
LECTURE VII. m 
 
 And should you still be obstinate, and content 
 yourselves with the enjoyments that are consist- 
 ent with an unpardoned state, and go on to live 
 as if you both were, and had reason to be, happy, 
 let me just conclude with hinting to you, that if, 
 on any principle of reason, or propriety, or ex- 
 perience, you can be called happy, you are happy 
 only for a moment I allude not to the uncertain- 
 ty which attaches to every one of your earthly 
 pleasures — though even that consideration should 
 not be without its influence — but I refer to the 
 short period during which on any supposition 
 they can be yours. Multitudes among the ge- 
 nerations that are passed, lived and thought and 
 felt as you are doing; they paid no regard to the 
 blessedness of which the Psalmist speaks with so 
 much emphasis ; they wrapped themselves up in 
 the fond persuasion that all was well with them, 
 and refused to seek for any other, or any higher 
 happiness than what they found in the gratifica- 
 tions of a carnal mind. And where is their hap- 
 piness now ? Did not death " bring it to a per- 
 petual end ?" Could the remembrance of it have 
 any other effect than that of increasing the agony 
 of that punishment to which their unforgiven 
 
188 LECTURE VII. 
 
 spirits were doomed when they appeared before 
 the tribunal of their God? ^And in like manner, 
 will not a few short years put a final period to 
 your boasted felicity ? And will not every indul- 
 gence to which you now so eagerly devote your- 
 selves become as if it had never been ? And will 
 not you then be left to sink into utter perdition, 
 under the burden of that guilt which now lies so 
 heavy on your souls, and notwithstanding which 
 you have the folly and the presumption to rejoice, 
 as if you, and you alone, were happy? O be 
 persuaded but to look forward a little way, that 
 you may see how short your course of worldly 
 enjoyment is, and how darkly and wretchedly it 
 must terminate. And then cast your eyes upon 
 the path along which the justified sinner is pur- 
 suing his way. It looks to you as if it were 
 through a dreary wilderness ; and so it is. But 
 amidst all the sorrows and difficulties of that 
 wilderness, he has the favour of a forgiving and 
 reconciled God to uphold and to cheer him ; to 
 be his " pillar of cloud by day, and his pillar of 
 fire by night ;" to fill him with a peace which the 
 world that you serve can neither give nor take 
 away. And his journey is as short as yours ; but 
 
LECTURE VII. 189 
 
 O how differently does it terminate ! It terminates 
 in a land of rest, and bliss, and glory, where the 
 joy that he now feels from the sense of God's 
 pardoning mercy, shall be freed from all that im- 
 pairs it here, and where it shall be such as to 
 afford the most delightful and the only satisfying 
 illustration of that great truth which he partially 
 experienced upon earth, — that " blessed is he 
 whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is co- 
 vered, and to whom the Lord imputeth not mi- 
 quity." 
 
 Let me beseech you then to seek after this 
 happiness with your whole heart. " Give no 
 sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eye-lids," 
 till you have asked and obtained the forgiveness 
 of your sins. Apply for that blessing through 
 faith in the atonement and righteousness of the 
 great Redeemer. Pray that it may be communi- 
 cated to you in " demonstration of the Spirit," so 
 that you may feel in your experience that you have 
 " obtained mercy," and be glad in the possession 
 and enjoyment of such a privilege. And He who 
 sent his own Son to be a propitiation for your sins, 
 and is now " in him reconciling the world to him- 
 
190 LECTURE VII. 
 
 self," will lend a gracious ear to your petition, and 
 blot out your iniquities, and give you to par- 
 take of all the blessings of the everlasting co- 
 venant. 
 
 PART II. 
 We have considered, in the first place, the un- 
 comfortable state of a convinced, but still impe- 
 nitent and unpardoned sinner; in the 5ecowc? place, 
 the blessing of pardon itself; and, in the third 
 place, the happiness of those who have been so 
 privileged as to obtain that blessing. 
 
 IV. We come now, in the fourth place, to con- 
 sider repentance as connected with the forgive- 
 ness of sin. " I acknowledged my sin unto thee, 
 and mine iniquity have I not hid ; I said, I will 
 confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and 
 thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." 
 
 Confession of sin has no reference to the idea 
 of making God acquainted with our unworthiness. 
 In confessing our fault to a fellow-creature, one 
 principal part of the act frequently consists in re- 
 vealing to him what he did not know before, and 
 what he would never have known but for our 
 communication. With God, however, the ca>e ih 
 
LECTURE VII. 193 
 
 entirely and necessarily different. He is already 
 intimately and perfectly aware of our guilt, of all 
 its extent, of all its particulars, and of all its ag- 
 gravations. Confessing to him, therefore, must 
 mean something else than merely telling him of 
 our unworthiness. It plainly stands opposed to 
 that^tate of mind in which the transgressor is 
 when he is awakened in some measure to see his 
 sinfulness, but not yet sufficiently affected with 
 the sight to act according to its influence and 
 tendency. In that state he is sensible that he has 
 committed many iniquities, and he is so far con- 
 vinced of his demerit and his danger as to feel 
 uneasiness from it. But still he labours to per- 
 suade himself that things are not so bad with him 
 as his fears would suggest; he tries to believe 
 that such and such actions, for which his con- 
 science had been upbraiding him, have, in truth, 
 no moral evil in them ; he is ingenious in devising, 
 and eager in discovering excuses, by which he 
 may palliate conduct, the ungodly or immoral 
 nature of which he cannot wholly deny ; he will 
 not recognise such depravity in his heart and 
 life, as should make him tremble for his safety, 
 and anxious to secure it ; he struggles to keep 
 
192 LECTURE VII. 
 
 down every rising of remorse — to check every 
 feeling of anxiety and alarm ; and he strives to 
 satisfy his mind that he has not been so disobe- 
 dient to the law of God, as to subject him to con- 
 demnation and punishment. When, however, 
 his convictions of sin become powerful, his sense 
 of its evil clear and acute, and his consciousness 
 of its burden too oppressive for him to bear, he 
 ceases to take a partial or a flattering view of Lis 
 spiritual character. He feels that when he main- 
 tains his comparative innocence he is but deceiv- 
 ing himself with a vain and false imagination. 
 Bitter experience teaches him that " there is no 
 peace to the wicked," even when he is most re- 
 solute in speaking peace to his soul. All his so- 
 phistries, and all his stout-heartedness, and all 
 his fond delusions are overborne by the aspect 
 which his guilt now assumes. And instead of 
 having recourse to what might be supposed to 
 extenuate his offences or to justify his conduct, 
 he chooses rather to admit that such an attempt 
 is utterly hopeless ; he does homage to the truth, 
 mortifying and humiliating as it is, that he is no- 
 thing but a great and miserable sinner; and he 
 seeks for relief to his agitated or dejected spirit 
 
LECTURE VII. 193 
 
 by a free, ingenuous, and unreserved acknow- 
 ledgment that he is chargeable with rebellion 
 against God, which exposes him to divine indig- 
 nation, and which it is beyond his power to ex- 
 piate. He not only sees the folly of imposing 
 upon himself, by endeavouring, as it were, to im- 
 pose upon omniscience ; he is not only alive to 
 the double guiltiness of first sinning, and then 
 trying to think that he has not sinned, or has not 
 sinned so as to provoke God; he is not only 
 struck with the danger of thus putting a veil up- 
 on his iniquities, and steeling himself against the 
 impression of that unalterable turpitude which be- 
 longs to them, and of that coming ruin in which 
 they must in this case involve him ; — not only do 
 these things affect him deeply, and determine 
 him, instead of struggling any longer with his 
 convictions, to yield altogether to their impulse, 
 and to allow them their full play on his feelings 
 and his fears; he is also encouraged to cherish 
 them by the views which he begins to take of the 
 grace and mercy of Him against whom he has 
 sinned, and by the assurances which are held out 
 to him, that " the blood of Christ cleanseth from 
 all sin," and that the divine compassion extends 
 o 
 
194 LECTURE VII. 
 
 to the chief of sinners. And, therefore, he pours 
 out his heart in unqualified and undisguised con- 
 fession, pleading guilty to every offence which 
 the holy eye of God has marked in his deport- 
 ment, anxious that in no one instance, and in no 
 one degree, he should indulge in a mitigated opi- 
 nion of his delinquencies, and studying to take 
 the completest survey, and to have the deepest 
 sense, and to make the frankest and the fullest 
 avowal, of that demerit which adheres to him as 
 a hater and a transgressor of the divine law. 
 
 It is quite evident that confession of sin forms 
 but a part of repentance. It is only one of the 
 steps which the penitent takes in the course of 
 that transition which he makes, or of that change 
 which he undergoes, when he turns from sin unto 
 God. And yet it obviously stands here for the 
 whole of repentance, having the blessing of for- 
 giveness and salvation annexed to it, and inti- 
 matino: the Psalmist's return from that state of 
 guilt into which he had plunged, to the holy 
 principles and holy practice which he had crimi- 
 nally abandoned. This is not uncommon in 
 Scripture. * We read in another passage be- 
 
 * See Lecture III. Part II. 
 
LECTURE VII. 1P.5 
 
 sides this, that " if we confess our sins, God is 
 faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Such a 
 substitution of a part for the whole of repentance, 
 seems to proceed on the same general principle, 
 according to which we often find a single Christ- 
 ian virtue put for the Christian character at large; 
 as when our Saviour says, " Blessed are the mer- 
 ciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Here mercy 
 stands for every thing which a good man is re- 
 quired to possess. And, when properly consider- 
 ed, such a representation is perfectly correct: 
 For the mercy here spoken of is genuine mercy, — 
 mercy wrought by the spirit of God, and govern- 
 ed by right and worthy motives ; but this being 
 the case, we may be quite sure that this grace 
 will not stand alone, but will be accompanied and 
 connected with every other grace that character- 
 ises a genuine disciple of Christ. The spirit of 
 God cannot be supposed to implant the sentiment 
 of mercy, and to leave the mind unfurnished with 
 those other excellencies which are equally be- 
 coming, and equally necessary, and without which 
 the persons whom it distinguishes would not be 
 men of God, " furnished unto all good works." 
 
190 LECTURE VII. 
 
 And the motives which lead to the cultivation of 
 this moral quality, must, of course, operate to 
 the cultivation of justice, temperance, faith, hu- 
 mility, and every remanent virtue which goes to 
 constitute that character to the possession of 
 which the promise of salvation is annexed. Now, 
 in like manner, and for a similar reason, confes- 
 sion of sin is taken to signify the whole of re- 
 pentance. This confession is not supposed to be 
 a mere verbal or formal acknowledgment of ini- 
 quity, which is perfectly consistent with perse- 
 verance in the iniquity which is confessed. It is 
 understood to be sincere and worthy ; and that 
 being the case, it proceeds from just and Scrip- 
 tural views of sin ; it implies a sacred homage to 
 the character and the law of God ; it is associated 
 with godly sorrow and self-abasement ; it is quick- 
 ened by a believing regard to the mediation of 
 Jesus ; and it is succeeded by practical reforma- 
 tion and holy obedience. And, viewed in that 
 light, and in these relations, it may, with the 
 greatest propriety, be spoken of as we speak of 
 repentance itself, and set down as bringing along 
 with it the rich recompense which divine benig- 
 nity has been pleased to attach to the exercise of 
 
LECTURE VII. 197 
 
 that comprehensive grace. And we may remark 
 also a peculiar propriety in its being so employed 
 in the passage before us. For the Psalmist had 
 been speaking of the misery that he experienced 
 in consequence of his " keeping silence," or re- 
 fusing utterance and effect to his convictions of 
 sin ; and now that his mind is relieved by adopt- 
 ing an opposite course, and giving vent to his 
 feelings in an acknowledgment dictated by those 
 full and affecting views of his guilt which would 
 terminate in a thorough change, he very natural- 
 ly ascribes to it the substantial character and be- 
 neficial results connected with repentance. " I 
 acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity 
 have I not hid : I said, I will confess my trans- 
 gressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the 
 iniquity of my sin." 
 
 Repentance, as expressed by confession of sin, 
 is here united with the blessing of forgiveness. 
 And this is a union recognised and stated through- 
 out the w^hole of Scripture. The doctrine of 
 God's word is plainly and unequivocally this, — 
 that while the impenitent must perish in their 
 sins, the truly penitent shall obtain the pardoit 
 
198 LECTURE VII 
 
 of their sins, and final admission into the king- 
 dom of heaven. 
 
 We must be very careful, however, to enter- 
 tain accurate notions of the relation which these 
 two things bear to each other. It is not the re- 
 lation of cause and effect. You do not obtain 
 forgiveness on account of your repentance. It 
 might easily be shown, from the nature of repent- 
 ance itself, that it could not procure such a bene- 
 fit by any worth or virtue or efficacy of its own. 
 But I would just remind you of one essential truth 
 in the gospel scheme, and in the gospel record ; 
 namely, that it is " through the blood of Christ 
 that ye have redemption, even the forgiveness of 
 your sins." It is for the sake of what Christ did 
 and suffered, as an atoning sacrifice, that God 
 in his undeserved mercy blots out your iniquities. 
 And any weight given to your own doings in the 
 attainment of this mighty boon, is just to detract 
 so much from the riches of divine grace, and from 
 the merit of the only Saviour, and to evince a spi- 
 rit which is at once opposed to the gospel method 
 of deliverance, and most inconsistent with the 
 primary and essential elements of repentance it- 
 self. Forgiveness is annexed to the exercise of 
 
LECTURE VII. 199 
 
 faith^ but neither is faith the cause of your for- 
 giveness, nor the foundation on which you can 
 rest either your application for that blessing, or 
 your hope of receiving it. It is nothing else 
 than an acceptance of Him who expiates your 
 guilt by the oblation of himself, and procures for 
 you by his exclusive merit the pardon that you 
 need. In its proper exercise, it withdraws your 
 regards entirely from yourselves, and fixes them 
 solely on the atoning death and finished work of 
 the Redeemer. And as this faith is a leading 
 principle in the true penitent, every true peni- 
 tent will lose sight of all that is in himself, and 
 place his confidence entirely in that one sacri- 
 fice by which Jesus Christ has taken away the 
 sins of the world. 
 
 But still it must not be forgotten that repent- 
 ance is necessary — absolutely and indispensibly 
 necessary for you. It is necessary for maintain- 
 ing consistency in God's administration towards 
 you — for nothing could be more contradictory 
 to his moral perfection than to make provision 
 for the pardon of your sin, and to allow you to 
 continue in the love and practice of it. It is ne- 
 cessary to fit you for enjoying his favour and 
 
200 LECTURE VII. 
 
 friendship upon earth, it being impossible for him 
 to hold communion with you, or for you to have 
 any relish for his loving kindness, while you con- 
 tinued " enemies to him in your minds, and by 
 wicked works." It is necessary to qualify you 
 for the employments and the blessedness of the 
 heavenly world, because these are so holy and 
 immaculate, that an unconverted man could nei- 
 ther willingly engage in the one, nor have any 
 satisfaction or complacency in the other. It is 
 necessary in all these important respects ; and we 
 cannot imagine a wilder or more fatal delusion, 
 than for such as have not repented to appropriate 
 to themselves the blessedness of those " whose 
 transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, 
 and to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." 
 We cannot here enter particularly into the na- 
 ture and process of that repentance which you 
 must exercise ; but we would earnestly press up- 
 on you the necessity of having this evidence of 
 your spiritual safety; and would beseech you to 
 try and examine yourselves in order to ascertain 
 whether you indeed possess it ; and never to rest 
 satisfied till in this respect " there is no guile in 
 your heart," and till you can say with the Psalm- 
 
LECTURE VII. 201 
 
 ist, in the full import of his language, " I ac- 
 knowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity 
 have I not hid. I said, I will confess my trans- 
 gressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the 
 iniquity of my sin." 
 
 V. We now come to consider the disposition 
 of those who are penitent and purdoned to en- 
 gage in prayer. " For this shall every one that 
 is godly pray unto thee, in a time when thou 
 mayest be found." 
 
 The true penitent may be denominated godly 
 during every period of his progress ; from the 
 first moment that he gets decided views of the 
 evil of sin, till he comes to abound in every good 
 word and work. And at every period of his 
 progress, he feels an inclination to pray. No- 
 thing is more natural to him — nothing more re- 
 quisite for him — nothing more beneficial to him. 
 Whenever he is thoroughly convinced of sin, his 
 heart instinctively ascends in supplication to 
 the throne of God. He is impressed with an 
 overwhelming sense of the evil of sin, in its con- 
 trariety to the divine law, and in its obnoxious- 
 ness to the divine wrath. His conscience tells 
 him that it cleaves to him, and that it has involv- 
 
202 LECTURE VIL 
 
 ved him in dishonour and perdition. He is aware 
 that there is no deliverance, and no safety for 
 him but what must come from that great Being 
 whose authority he has disobeyed, and whose 
 anger he has incurred. He knows also, that his 
 offended maker is as compassionate as he is holy, 
 and is ready to forgive all that come to him by 
 " the new and living way" that he has appoint- 
 ed. And thus not merely urged by his spiritual 
 necessities, but encouraged by the divine willing- 
 ness to supply them, he looks up and says, " God 
 be merciful to me a sinner." He beseeches God 
 to " save him from going down to the pit" — to 
 pardon his manifold iniquities, and thus to speak 
 peace to his guilty and troubled soul. 
 
 Nor is he contented wdth once offering up this 
 supplication. He is too strongly impressed with 
 the magnitude of his guilt and the imminence of 
 his danger ; he thirsts too vehemently for the 
 blessing that he has implored ; he is too anxious 
 and fearful about falling short of that which he 
 so greatly needs and so devoutly wishes for, to 
 be satisfied with such a rare and short-lived ap- 
 plication to the fountain of mercy. He continues 
 to ask for the divine forgiveness and favour with 
 
LECTURE VII. 203 
 
 a fervour and an importunity, such as might be 
 expected in the case of one who knew that, if he 
 succeeded, eternal felicity would be his, and that 
 if he failed, he must die and that for ever. And 
 while he perseveres in petitioning for mercy to 
 pardon him, he also supplicates " grace to help 
 him in his time of need." He knows that he is 
 polluted as well as guilty; that he must be sanc- 
 tified as w^ell as justified; that of his own strength 
 he can no more do the former than he can do 
 the latter ; that both achievements must be per- 
 formed by " the great power of God ;" and there- 
 fore, he prays, that while he is rescued from the 
 curse of the law, he may be also emancipated 
 from " the bondage of corruption," and " creat- 
 ed again in Christ Jesus unto good works.'' 
 
 He is aware, that though God may have ac- 
 corded to him the forgiveness he has asked, yet 
 that he has continued need of the pardoning mer- 
 cy he has experienced ; that he is every day sin- 
 ning against his Maker and Redeemer, and con- 
 sequently is in daily want of that blessing, which 
 can henceforth come only from him who at first 
 bestowed it ; and therefore he ceases not to in- 
 treat it from his merciful father in heaven ; and 
 
204 LECTURE Vll- 
 
 amidst all the prayers that he offers up, he never 
 forgets to ask the repeated forgiveness of his re- 
 peated transgressions. He is also sensible that 
 the change which has been commenced in his 
 soul, can no more be carried on and completed, 
 than it was originated, by his own independent 
 energies ; that he must have the divine help to 
 keep him from falling back into that state of 
 blindness, and insensibility, and degradation, 
 from which he has been delivered; that without 
 it, he would cease even to feel any desire for the 
 thorough renewal and final purification of his 
 character ; that every view of the evil of sin which 
 he had obtained, would quickly be obscured and 
 lost ; that all his good resolutions would be fee- 
 ble and unavailing ; that sin would regain its 
 mastery over his affections and his conduct ; that 
 he would assuredly fall back into that state of im- 
 penitence, and unbelief, and wickedness, from 
 which he was happily emerging. And therefore 
 he prays, that " He who had begun the good 
 work in him, would perfect it until the day of 
 Christ ;" would save him from the corruption of 
 his own heart; strengthen in him all the holy 
 
 dispositions which he had implanted ; fortify him 
 
 2 
 
LECTURE VII. 205 
 
 against the assaults of temptation, and the in- 
 roads of his spiritual enemies ; carry forward the 
 process of his sanctification, and continue to 
 administer to him that direction and that assist- 
 ance, that sufficient grace and perfect strength, 
 which would keep him from falling away, and 
 '' preserve him blameless unto the coming of his 
 Lord." 
 
 He prays for these things. He prays for them 
 with an ardour and an earnestness, proportioned 
 to the lively conviction that he has of their infi- 
 nite importance and indispensible necessity. He 
 prays for them in the name of that great High 
 Priest to whom every true penitent in every age 
 has looked as the only foundation of hope. He 
 prays under the influence of that encouragement 
 which he draws from the goodness of God al- 
 ready vouchsafed to him in opening his eyes to 
 the danger and misery of his condition, and re- 
 vealing himself to him as ready to forgive, and 
 imparting to him some portion of the relief and 
 blessedness which accompany the communica- 
 tions of his pardoning love. And he prays " in 
 a time when God may be found." He considers 
 that any delay in applying at the throne of grace 
 
206 LECTURE VII. 
 
 would be both idle and dangerous — that no sea- 
 son can be more proper than that in which the 
 hearer of prayer is himself prompting him, as it 
 were, to the holy exercise — that it is when God, 
 by giving him an affecting sense of his guilty and 
 helpless condition, hedges him in to the attitude 
 of devotion, he can with most propriety and with 
 fondest hope beseech him for deliverance from 
 it — that as his need of pardon, and sanctification, 
 and all other spiritual blessings, is both urgent 
 and certain, he would be acting foolishly if he 
 did not supplicate these as often as God's provi- 
 dence calls him, and as often as God's Spirit stirs 
 him up to seek them — that life is short in refer- 
 ence to the great work of preparation for eternity, 
 and that he may be suddenly and unexpectedly 
 withdrawn from the means and opportunities of 
 carrying it on. And, therefore, he prays to God 
 now, which is " the accepted time" — now, which 
 is " the day of salvation ;" and has it as one of 
 his most ardent petitions, that the spirit of pray- 
 er may be kept alive in his soul, and that he may 
 be made as desirous to obtain, as God is willing 
 and able to bestow, " mercy to pardon, and grace 
 to help him in his times of need." 
 
LECTURE Vir. 207 
 
 Are any of you, my friends, living in neglect 
 of prayer ? Then be assured that you are neither 
 penitent nor pardoned. You must be sensible, 
 if you know any thing at all of the subject, that 
 of the real penitent, it cannot be more truly af- 
 firmed that he has repented than it may be said, 
 " Behold he prayeth." The one necessarily leads 
 to, and implies the other. All the discoveries 
 that are made, all the feelings that are brought 
 into operation, and all the grace that is expe- 
 rienced throughout the process of the sinner's 
 repentance, and throughout the life by which 
 that change is succeeded, do plainly and irresist- 
 ibly dictate the necessity of supplication. And, 
 indeed, one of the very sins of which he has to 
 repent, and one consequently which he must be 
 understood to forsake, is the neglect of this great 
 duty. So that it is quite impossible that the re- 
 pentance which is " unto salvation" can have 
 taken place, if it has not been accompanied with 
 prayer. And yet you do not pray ! You never 
 went to the throne of grace ; or if you did you 
 grew weary of the exercise, and have ceased in a 
 great measure, or altogether to engage in it ! And 
 with all this you flatter yourselves that you have 
 
208 LECTURE VIL 
 
 repented, and that you may appropriate to your- 
 selves the blessedness of those whose transgres- 
 sion is forgiven ! What inconsistency ! What 
 presumption ! What self-deception is there here ! 
 No, my friends, repentance and neglect of prayer 
 are quite incompatible. Repentance is not more 
 evidenced to the world around him by the sanc- 
 tified life of the penitent, than it is evidenced to 
 his own mind by that recourse to prayer which 
 it necessarily prompts, and which in its turn is 
 requisite for the full accomplishment of his return 
 to God and to the way of salvation. He only is the 
 true penitent — he only is the pardoned penitent — 
 he only is the godly penitent — whose moral change 
 is attended with, and helped onward by supplica- 
 tion and prayer ; who sees in God alone his re- 
 fuge and his help ; and who, according to God's 
 appointment, and in the way of his appointment, 
 applies to him for every thing that he needs. 
 This is characteristic of the people of God ; and 
 it is on this account that we can speak of them as 
 blessed beyond all that careless and indevout and 
 unconverted sinners can either experience or 
 conceive. 
 
LECTURE VII. 209 
 
 VI. This leads us to say a few things on the 
 last particular which we proposed to consider, 
 namely, the security of God's people in the midst 
 of danger and distress. " Surely, in the floods 
 of great waters, they shall not come nigh him. 
 Thou art my hiding place ; thou shalt preserve 
 me from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about 
 with songs of deliverance." 
 
 This language does not intimate that God's 
 people are to be exempted from trials and suffer- 
 ings. On the contrary, it supposes them to be 
 actually involved in these, as well as at all times 
 liable to them. And, indeed, the history both 
 of the Old and the New Testament church, not 
 to speak of our own observation and experience, 
 may satisfy us that though they have a happiness 
 which others know nothing of, and cannot ap- 
 preciate till they feel it, they are exposed to all 
 the ordinary calamities which afflict the lot of 
 man — that they are often visited with bereave- 
 ments and sorrows from which the men of the 
 world escape — and that they have spiritual 
 troubles which are peculiar to themselves, and 
 which are frequently far severer and more diffi- 
 cult to endure than the worst of outward dis- 
 
 P 
 
210 LECTURE VII. 
 
 tresses. But herein is their grand distinction, 
 that they are supported, and guarded, and saved 
 by Him who has all things under his sovereign 
 control, and who says of his people, " He that 
 touches them, touches the apple of mine eye." 
 
 They must pass through a wilderness, in- 
 deed, where difficulties beset them, where dan- 
 gers threaten them, w^here privations visit them, 
 where malevolence pursues them. And in many 
 respects it is more a wilderness to them than it is 
 to those who are yet " far from God, and far from 
 righteousness/' There is one consideration, how- 
 ever, which takes away from it, in their case, 
 all that can render it gloomy or formidable to 
 such as have to traverse its rugged paths. They 
 are the objects of God's love, and from his love, 
 which must constitute the safety and the happi- 
 ness of every creature that is privileged to enjoy 
 it, nothing that can possibly happen, whether of 
 good or evil, is able for one moment to separate 
 them. They enter the wilderness, blessed with 
 the enjoyment and the assurance of his pardon- 
 ing mercy, and warranted to look to him as their 
 reconciled friend. They travel on under his 
 unerring guidance and almighty protection. And 
 
LECTURE VII. 211 
 
 beyond it lies the land of promise, into which he 
 will ere long introduce them, and for the felicity 
 of which the toils and troubles of their pilgrim- 
 age will be overruled to prepare them. " The 
 floods of great waters" may surround the Christ- 
 ian, and to the eye of unthinking men, and in 
 the apprehensions of his own timid mind, they 
 may be about to overwhelm him. But his God 
 says to them " Hitherto shall ye come, but no 
 farther;" and he reposes on that love which 
 " many waters cannot quench, and which the 
 floods cannot drown." God is his " hiding 
 place" which he may flee to, when perils menace 
 him, into which his most powerful enemies can- 
 not follow him, and where he is as secure from 
 harm as omnipotence can make him. God 
 " preserves him from trouble ;" saves him from 
 every disappointment, and from every pain that 
 would injure his essential interests ; blunts the 
 edge of such afllictions as are allowed to befal 
 him, by imparting help and consolation along 
 with them ; and converts them into blessings, by 
 making them subservient to his present improve- 
 ment, and his everlasting happiness. And even 
 when he seems ready to fall a prey to the adver- 
 
212 LECTURE VII- 
 
 sities which come upon him, when all things wear 
 the aspect of hostility, and conspire to accom- 
 plish his ruin, and when escape appears to be 
 hopeless and impossible, even then God magni- 
 fies his grace and his might by " compassing 
 him about with songs of deliverance,'"* — not on- 
 ly delivering him, but making the deliverance 
 so manifest to him as to impress him with the 
 sense of his divine interposition, and to fill his 
 heart with gratitude, and his mouth with 
 praise. 
 
 But though even here — in this world of sin 
 and sorrow^which looks as if it were no resting 
 place for the Zionward traveller, as if it had no- 
 thing for him but trials and temptations and dis- 
 tresses, and as if it would destroy him before he 
 reached the place of his ultimate destination ; 
 though even here he is so much the object of 
 God's providential care and upholding grace, 
 that he is always safe, and can employ the tri- 
 umphant strains of David on another occasion, 
 " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom 
 shall I fear ? the Lord is the strength of my life, 
 of whom shall I be afraid ?" — yet it is in heaven 
 that he expects, and it is to heaven that he looks 
 
LECTURE VII. 913 
 
 forward, for that complete deliverance from his 
 troubles which is necessary to his perfect bless- 
 edness, and which he has been taught to regard 
 as the sure and final portion of every one that 
 is pardoned and reconciled to God. And what 
 are all the blessings that he can be called on to 
 endure in this scene of trial — what all the vio- 
 lence of all his enemies — what all the hardships, 
 and privations, and anguish that can be attached 
 to his mortal fate — when compared with the great 
 and glorious " redemption that draweth nigh" — 
 by which he shall be rescued at once from all sin, 
 and from all misery — by which he shall be in- 
 troduced into a world where no enemy can reach 
 him, and where no tempter can harass him, and 
 where no evil can befal him, and where, in a 
 sense in which he could never use it, and with 
 a joy which could never animate him here, he will 
 take up the song of deliverance, and say in the 
 company of the redeemed on high, " Unto Him 
 that loved us, and washed us from our sins in 
 his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests 
 unto God and his father, to him be glory and 
 dominion for ever and ever !" 
 
Sll LECTURE VII. 
 
 I trust, my friends, that such is the experience 
 felt, and that such are the anticipations cherish- 
 ed by many of those now hearing me. The pas- 
 sage that we have been considering expresses 
 the sense of safety and the hope of deliverance 
 with which the Psalmist was favoured. Tlien he 
 was in the midst of troubles from which he could 
 not extricate himself, and by which, but for di- 
 vine help, he must have been utterly destroyed. 
 It expresses what was felt by all the ancient wor- 
 thies both of the Old and New Testament church, 
 when in the Providence of God, they were placed 
 in similar circumstances of danger and distress. 
 I trust it is no mean i^ecommendation of it when 
 I tell you that it was a chosen portion of Scrip- 
 ture with our forefathers, who, when persecuted 
 for conscience sake, and hunted like partridges 
 on the mountains, because they would not bend 
 their necks to the yoke of bondage, often made 
 the sequestered glen and the barren rock echo 
 to their voice as they lifted it up to God in this 
 appropriate and pathetic psalm, and in the notes 
 of their favourite and heart-touching melodies, 
 conveyed to his listening ear, the sorrows which 
 oppressed, the consolations which supported, and 
 
LECTURE VII. 215 
 
 the hopes which cheered them. And well will 
 it be for you, if in every season of calamity you 
 can cherish that confidence in the mercy of God, 
 and count upon that saving power of his which 
 have been the distinction, and the comfort, and 
 the rejoicing of his saints in every period of his 
 church — which will continue to distinguish and 
 uphold them in all future generations — and which 
 will have their issue in the purity, and bliss, and 
 glory of his unsuffering kingdom. 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 PSALM xliii. 
 
 Judge me J O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly 
 nation : O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 
 For thou art the God of my strength : why dost thou cast 
 me off ? luhy go I mourning because of the oppression of 
 the enemy f O send out thy light and thy truth : let them 
 lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy 
 tabernacles. Then will I go unto the dltar of God, unto 
 God my exceeding joy : yea, upon the harp will I praise 
 thee, O God, my God. Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul ? and why art thou disquieted within me ? hope in 
 God ; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my 
 countenance, and my God. 
 
 It is evident, from the tenor of this Psahn, that 
 David was in great difficulty and distress when 
 he wrote it. He speaks of " an ungodly nation" 
 against whom he required help — of " the deceit- 
 ful and unjust man," from whom he needed to 
 be delivered — of " the oppression of the enemy" 
 that caused him to go mourning. We should 
 find it difficult, and perhaps might find it impos- 
 sible to ascertain, with any degree of certainty, 
 the precise circumstances to which he alludes ; 
 
LECTURE VIII. 217 
 
 but that is no bar to our understanding the ge- 
 neral import of the passage, and to our deriving 
 from it those salutary lessons which it is doubt- 
 less intended to teach us. We are liable to afflic- 
 tions similar to those with which the Psalmist 
 was visited, and when thus afflicted, we cannot 
 do better than look to the manner in which he 
 expressed and conducted himself on such trying 
 occasions, that we may learn how to suffer, and 
 how to apply for consolation and deliverance. 
 
 You will observe, my friends, that at the very 
 outset, and all along, his views are directed to 
 heaven. He had set his heart upon God : in 
 him he had placed his trust, and from him he 
 expected all necessary aid. This was the habi- 
 tual feeling and exercise of his mind. And when* 
 ever any peculiar exigency occurred, he had im- 
 mediate recourse to that Great Being in whom 
 he had been taught and accustomed to hope. It 
 was not to himself — it was not to his friends — it 
 was not to any mere created refuge that he ap- 
 plied ; it was to God in whom there is all that is 
 good, and mighty, and faithful, and wise ; who has 
 every object and every event under his supreme 
 control ; and who has promised that he will be 
 
 1 
 
213 LECTURE VIH. 
 
 with his people in all their times of trouble and 
 of danocer. 
 
 Thus it was with the Psalmist ; and thus will 
 it be with all of us who are truly devout. We 
 will cherish a constant dependence upon God. 
 It is to his providence and grace that we will 
 look amidst all the vicissitudes of life. And, as 
 in our seasons of prosperity we will ascribe to 
 him the blessings that we enjoy, so in our sea- 
 sons of perplexity and distress it is upon him 
 that we will cast ourselves for guidance and com- 
 fort. The ordinary means of obtaining these we 
 will carefully employ, whether they are to be 
 found in our ow^n personal efforts, or in the as- 
 sistance of our fellow-men, or in the circumstan- 
 ces by which we are surrounded. We will care- 
 fully employ these means, because they are di- 
 vinely appointed, and because we cannot succeed 
 in procuring what we wish for without tliem. 
 But still we will confide in the blessing of God 
 for rendering them effectual. We will seek for 
 our solace, and our encouragement, and our sup- 
 port in his promised grace and almighty power. 
 We will lift up our souls to Him in prayer and 
 faith. And from our knowledge of his charac- 
 
lecture; viii. sid 
 
 ter, our belief in his word, and our experience of 
 his mercy, we will lean upon him as our stay, 
 and rejoice in him as our salvation. 
 
 One reason why we are so much borne down 
 by our adversities is our thinking too little of the 
 divine administration, — giving too much attention 
 to secondary causes, — regarding the arrangements 
 of our lot too much in a state of separation from 
 the unseen hand which regulates them, — and view- 
 ing every thing that befals us rather in the ef- 
 fects which it produces upon our present feelings 
 than in the purposes in which it originates, and 
 in its final and permanent results on our most 
 important interests. O, if we could only bring 
 ourselves to see the finger of God in all that 
 happens to us, — to believe, that whoever persecutes 
 us, and whatever annoys us, He is our never- 
 failing friend, — to remember that he calls upon us 
 to place unlimited confidence in his government 
 of the world, and in his dealings with his people, 
 — and to build our hopes of his unceasing protec- 
 tion and care upon that strong foundation which 
 he has laid for them in the gospel of his Son — 
 if we could but bring ourselves to do this, we 
 should less frequently repine and despond under 
 
2S0 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 the pressure of calamity ; we should assume a 
 loftier tone, and experience a more undisturbed 
 serenity amidst the disappointments and vexa- 
 tions of life ; and all the hardships to which the 
 malice of our bitterest foes could subject us, 
 would only make us cling closer to that arm 
 which is " mighty to save," and drink deeper into 
 those streams of life and consolation which flow 
 from the throne of a reconciled God. 
 
 We may not, my friends, have to sustain the 
 assaults of such enemies as those with whom the 
 Psalmist had to struggle. But still we cannot 
 expect to be exempted altogether from this tri- 
 bulation; and sometimes it may come upon us 
 in its most aggravated form. There are ungodly 
 men who, being destitute of religious principle, 
 will not scruple to injure us, when they can there- 
 by gratify their passions or advance their worldly 
 mterests. There are deceitful men, who will put 
 on the garb of friendship, and acquire our con- 
 fidence and esteem, and then treacherously cheat 
 us out of our property, or our reputation, or our 
 peace. There are unjust men who, by fraud or 
 by violence would rob us of our dearest rights 
 and most valuable possessions, and not only re- 
 
LECTURE VIII. 221 
 
 duce our powers and opportunities of doing good, 
 but even diminish our means of comfortable sub- 
 sistence. And there are oppressors, who taking 
 advantage of our weakness or dependence, and 
 trampling alike on the maxims of equity and hu- 
 manity, may exact from us unreasonable services, 
 impose upon us heavy burdens and cruel res- 
 traints, and ply us with insults, and harassments, 
 and deprivations, from which we can make no es- 
 cape, and for which we can find no redress. 
 
 And what does it become us to do when thus 
 situated? Shall we indulge in those resentful 
 feelings which the infliction of such wrongs is 
 calculated to awaken in our breasts ? No : that 
 were to cherish an unbecoming spirit, and to add 
 the demerit of sin to the evil of suffering. Shall 
 we then, give way to emotions of sorrow, and act 
 as if our case w^ere that of inevitable and hope- 
 less misery ? No : while God reigns, our condi- 
 tion never can be such as to justify despair. Or 
 shall we be contented with using every exertion 
 to vindicate our character and maintain our pri- 
 vileges, and repel the aggressions that are made 
 upon us ? No ; that would both prove insufficient 
 to its purpose, and be unsuitable to what we 
 
«22 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 know and believe concerning the operations of a 
 superintending Providence, and the necessity of 
 divine interposition. We know and believe that 
 there is one who " rules over the inhabitants of 
 the earth, as well as the armies of heaven," — that 
 his sway is universal, perpetual, and in control- 
 lable — that infinite perfection adheres to every 
 part of the dominion which he exercises — that 
 all those who love and serve him are the objects 
 of his favour, and that his eye is ever upon them 
 for good — that, far from beholding with indiffer- 
 ence the severities which are practised upon them 
 by wicked men, he then takes a more special and 
 affectionate interest in their well-being — and that 
 he speaks in these terms to them, when they are 
 in circumstances of destitution and suffering, 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; I will de- 
 liver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." And know- 
 ing and believing these things, we cannot but go 
 to the throne of grace when our foes rise up 
 against us, and while, in the spirit of love and of 
 a sound mind, we employ every weapon of de- 
 fence, and every means of safety with which God 
 has entrusted us, it is at once our duty and our 
 privilege to commit our ways to his guidance, 
 
LECTURE VIII. 223 
 
 and our fortunes to his management, and to say 
 to him with the voice of earnest supplication, 
 "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against 
 an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the de- 
 ceitful and unjust man : for thou art the God of 
 my strength." 
 
 We apply to God as our Judge — not that he 
 may decide upon our personal merits, and give 
 us the award that is justly due to us ; for this 
 were to court and to secure the punishment which 
 our sins deserve. As guilty creatures we cast 
 ourselves upon his mercy, and though we must 
 look to him as " setting his throne for judg- 
 ment," yet we look to him as appointing to that 
 throne the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have 
 believed as our Saviour. But when we apply to 
 him as our Judge in the sense in which the Psalm- 
 ist uses that language, it is that he may judge 
 between us and those who are inflicting upon us 
 unmerited wrongs. And, therefore, in order that 
 we may make such an application with propriety, 
 with confidence, and with success, we must be 
 previously satisfied that we are the iujuredparty— 
 that our adversaries, in vilifying or in maltreating 
 us, are not merely resenting the mischief which 
 
294 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 we have done to them^ — but that their cruelty is un- 
 provoked, and their hatred without a cause. Were 
 not this the case, were we chargeable with the 
 same offence on account of which we complain 
 of others, did their enmity to us proceed from 
 our enmity to them, and had we indulged in the 
 spirit or in the practice of a vindictive retalia- 
 tion, our appeal to God in the character of Judge 
 could only have the effect of involving ourselves 
 as well as our enemies in a sentence of condem- 
 nation, and of increasing our guilt by exhibiting 
 our presumption. But if we suffer from the wan- 
 ton malice or unprincipled selfishness of our fel- 
 lowmen ; if we are innocent of what they allege 
 against us as the ground of their hostility; and 
 still more, if that hostility has been created by 
 our firm adherence to truth and duty, or if it 
 appears in the form of an ungrateful return for 
 kindness that has been felt, and benefits that 
 have been bestowed — then is it both safe and 
 becoming in us to make our reference to God's 
 judicial character ; and in doing so, we may rest 
 assured, that having committed our cause to Him 
 who is the Judge of all the earth, and who "judges 
 righteous judgment," its determination will 
 
LECTURE VIII. 225 
 
 be such as to vindicate our rights and secure our 
 final welfare. 
 
 We apply to God as our Advocate, " Plead 
 my cause," stiys the Psalmist, " against an un- 
 godly nation." Those who have not the fear of 
 God before their eyes, may reproach us, and 
 wound us, and despoil us ; and all our arguments 
 and remonstrances may be unavailing to the re- 
 moval or the abatement of their malevolence; and 
 every effort that we make to ward off the inju- 
 ries with which they menace us, may only add 
 to the bitterness of their malignity and to the 
 activity of their evil speaking and their evil doing. 
 But God condescends to take up our plea, and 
 to urge it home upon them with an energy which 
 we could not employ, and which they cannot re- 
 sist. And we render a just homage to those high 
 and gracious attributes in which he has been 
 pleased to reveal himself to us, as well as consult 
 our own personal advantage, when we beseech 
 him so to manage and defend our suit, as that 
 our enemies shall not be permitted to succeed in 
 their endeavours, or to triumph in their injustice. 
 Thus praying to God, from the firm conviction 
 
226 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 that he can, we may also pray to hhn with the 
 animating persuasion that he will, effectually take 
 our part against them that trouble us — that by 
 the secret influences of his Spirit or the open de- 
 monstrations of his providence, he will convert 
 their hearts, or stop their mouths, or arrest them 
 in their career of mischief — that in his own way, 
 and at his own time, but certainly and complete- 
 ly, he will bring the controversy to such an issue 
 as to show that the foes of his people, though 
 they may harass for a season cannot and shall 
 not ultimately prosper. 
 
 We apply to God as our Deliverer, " O de- 
 liver me from the deceitful and unjust man." 
 Those wicked men into whose hands we have 
 fallen, and who are attempting to make a prey 
 of us, may overmatch us in cunning or in force ; 
 and if abandoned to our own resources, we may 
 become the victims of their malicious designs, or 
 their violent assaults. But God is made known 
 to us as a Being on whom, in such perilous and 
 helpless circumstances, we may place unsuspect- 
 ing and cheerful reliance, for he is our strength; 
 he is strong in wisdom, strong in power, strong 
 in all the perfections which can operate to rescue 
 
LECTURE VIII. 837 
 
 US from the grasp and machinations of our foes ; 
 and these perfections he is pledged by his pro- 
 mises to put forth in our behalf. Whatever be 
 the number, and the artifice, and the might of 
 them that set themselves against us, this is our 
 comfort, and this is our refuge, that " the Lord 
 God omnipotent reigneth ;" that his everlasting 
 arm is underneath and round about us continual- 
 ly ; that we have free access to that throne on 
 which he sits as the hearer of prayer ; and that 
 if, from the midst of those perils into which un- 
 just and deceitful men have plunged us, we im- 
 plore his merciful interposition, our supplications 
 will prevail upon him to " take to him his great 
 power," to scatter all our enemies, and to eman- 
 cipate us from all our fears. 
 
 And truly, my friends, what need we more 
 than that we should thus be privileged to confide 
 in God as our Judge, our Advocate, and our 
 Deliverer ? Yet the Psalmist who seems to have 
 habitually looked up to God and trusted in him 
 as sustaining these important characters, ven- 
 tures, in a moment of forgetfulness and despond- 
 ency, to utter this complaint, " Why dost thou 
 cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the 
 
228 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 oppression of the enemy ?" And alas ! it is to be 
 feared that the same discontent is felt, and the 
 same impatience expressed, by not a few believers, 
 in the season of severe and protracted calamity. 
 All this is quite natural. If God is almighty to 
 destroy or to subdue our enemies, it is difficult 
 to perceive why they should be allowed to dis- 
 turb our peace, or to injure our welfare, as if 
 they were stronger than He who is for us ; and 
 if, in spite of all our importunate intreaties for 
 deliverance, we are still exposed to their fiery 
 assaults, our argument being strengthened by 
 feeling, it is not wonderful that in our haste we 
 should be betrayed into that querulous language 
 which fell from the lips of David, when under 
 the pressure of evils which he had long endured, 
 and to which he saw no symptoms of a speedy 
 termination. But though all this be quite na- 
 tural, it is both erroneous and sinful. It is 
 erroneous, because it implies that the pre- 
 sent is a state of unqualified retribution; that, 
 because God is possessed of infinite justice and 
 power, he must, therefore, exercise them im- 
 mediately, and to their full extent ; that when 
 we are in danger or distress he cannot allow us 
 
LECTURE VIII. 229 
 
 to continue in it, consistently with his own re- 
 vealed character or with our real welfare. And 
 it is sinful, inasmuch as it is setting up our im- 
 perfect wisdom in opposition to the unerring 
 wisdom of God, accusing him of violating his 
 promises and abandoning his people, and dictat- 
 ing to him the time and the manner of bestowing 
 upon us those blessings of which we stand in 
 need, and for which he has instructed us to pray. 
 Being thus erroneous and sinful, let us avoid such 
 conduct ; and if, on any occasion, we are like 
 the Psalmist, betrayed into it, let us also like 
 him, humbly impute it to a want of knowledge 
 in our minds, and a want of grace in our hearts, 
 and still let us apply to God in prayer as he did, 
 that these wants may be supplied, and that we 
 may be taught to see more clearly the rectitude 
 of all his dealings with us, and enabled more 
 submissively to acquiesce in all his dispensations, 
 and more unreservedly to trust in his faithfulness 
 and mercy. 
 
 No sooner had David vented his unreasonable 
 and unjustifiable complaint than he poured out 
 his soul in this appropriate supplication, " O 
 send out thy light and thy truth, let them lead 
 
230 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 me." Let such be the supplication of our souls 
 when similarly situated. Let us ask God to lead 
 us into correct views and correct feelings, res- 
 pecting his moral administration. We are na- 
 turally ignorant of that subject ; and even though 
 we have been made acquainted with it by means 
 of the written word, yet much imperfection still 
 cleaves to all the information we have acquired, 
 and the trials with which we are frequently visit- 
 ed, are apt to darken and perplex our under- 
 standings, when endeavouring to scan the divine 
 procedure, and to reconcile what we experience 
 of disappointment and of suffering with what we 
 believe of the greatness and the goodness of that 
 Being, under whose government these evils befal 
 us. But though our knowledge were as exten- 
 sive and accurate on this point as we could de- 
 sire it to be, still that attainment would not be 
 sufficient ; for amidst it all, there is a natural 
 aversion to every thing which afflicts us with 
 pain, or which frustrates our hopes, or which 
 subjects us to the scorn and the enmity of our 
 fellow-mortals; and this aversion is so strong 
 and so inveterate as to make us mutiny under 
 such calamities, notwithstanding their constitut- 
 
LECTURE VIII. 231 
 
 ing, in our system of belief, a part of God's or- 
 dinances concerning our lot. And, therefore, we 
 need a two-fold communication from heaven to 
 meet our necessities, and to " guide our feet into 
 the way of peace ;" and for these we must be care- 
 ful to pray. We must pray that God would 
 " send forth his light ;" — that he would give us 
 such bright and realizing conceptions of those 
 attributes of his, which make him worthy to be 
 " the confidence of all the ends of the earth," as 
 that we shall see them operating in our seasons of 
 adversity as well as in our seasons of prosperity, 
 and shall recognise wisdom and mercy in those 
 dispensations which to the carnal and unenlight- 
 ened eye, wear the aspect of nothing but capri- 
 cious chance, or cruel and relentless fate. And 
 we must pray that he would " send forth his 
 truth ;" — that he would hold out to us such a 
 strong and impressive manifestation of that fea- 
 ture of his character which tells us that he is un- 
 changeably true to all the promises that he has 
 ever made, that he would so carry home this 
 peculiar display of himself to our conviction and 
 our experience, as that we should deem it at 
 once irrational and undutiful to distrust him in 
 
23^2 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 any thing, and that in the gloomiest and most 
 disheartening of his providences towards us, we 
 may cling to his faithfulness " as the anchor of 
 our soul, both sure and stedfast," and cherish 
 the unwavering, cheering, delightful conviction, 
 that the most formidable of our adversaries shall 
 never prevail against us — that he will *' make 
 their wrath to praise him" by making it subser- 
 vient to the good of his people, while " the re- 
 mainder of that wrath he will restrain;" — that he 
 will finally and wholly rescue us from whatever 
 they have inflicted, and from whatever they may 
 threaten — and that all that we are doomed to suf- 
 fer from their malice will be overruled by him for 
 promoting our spiritual improvement and our fu- 
 ture happiness. 
 
 But while we beseech God so to illuminate our 
 minds with a knowledge of his character, and so 
 to impress them with a sense of his faithfulness, 
 as that we may be led to a right mode of judging, 
 and a right tone of feeling, respecting his care of 
 us when we endure the buffetings and persecu- 
 tions of ungodly men, we should also pray for 
 these divine influences in reference to our engag- 
 ing in the ordinances of religion. " Let them 
 
LECTURE VIII. @33 
 
 bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy taber- 
 nacles." At all times, and in all circumstances, 
 it is both a bounden duty, and a valuable privi- 
 lege to wait upon God in the exercises of his 
 house. But from the nature of these exercises 
 —from their tendency to instruct, and console, 
 and encourage — it is more especially incumbent 
 upon those to engage in them, who are in per- 
 plexity and distress by reason of the harsh and 
 slanderous and injurious usage which they re- 
 ceive from a world lying in wickedness. All who 
 in such trying conditions have betaken them- 
 selves to the house of God, and devoutly mingled 
 in its sacred occupations, can bear testimony to 
 the comfort and the advantage which these are 
 calculated to impart to the afflicted, but humble 
 and sincere worshipper. He finds in them a 
 support infinitely stronger, and a solacement in- 
 finitely sweeter than any that the mere worldling 
 has ever found, when, visited by some sorrowful 
 dispensation, he seeks for an assuagement to his 
 grief, or a stay to his dejected mind, in the secu- 
 larities of a busy life, or in the amusements of a 
 gay one. The prayers that he offers up in faith 
 — the sympathies of his Christian brethren — his 
 
23i LECTURE VIII. 
 
 researches into the oracles of truth — his medita- 
 tions on divine things — and the various topics to 
 which his attention is directed — all are fitted to 
 give him a more thorough apprehension of the 
 divine character and government, to reconcile 
 him more effectually to the painfulness of that 
 discipline to which he is subjected, to awaken in 
 him a spirit of more patient endurance and more 
 heartfelt submission, to procure for him more 
 abundant supplies of that grace which is neces- 
 sary to help him in his times of need, and to send 
 him back to his scene of suffering, better pre- 
 pared to encounter it with fortitude, and to bear 
 it with resignation. 
 
 But, that we may thus profit by the services of 
 the sanctuary, we must preface them with prayer 
 and supplication. We require, and therefore we 
 must ask the light and truth of God to " bring 
 us unto his holy hill and to his tabernacles" — to 
 dispose us to make that solemn approach to him 
 — to fit us for a right discharge of the duties 
 which it implies — and to make it " a good thing 
 for us to draw near" to the object of our rever- 
 ence and our love. And while we pray for such 
 a blessing to accompany us, and to rest upon us, 
 
LECTURE VIII. 935 
 
 and to sanctify all our service, we must take care 
 that our service be a spiritual as well as an ex- 
 ternal service — that we do not merely " go unto 
 the altar of God," but « unto God" himself— that 
 besides passing through all the " forms of god- 
 liness" we study to feel and to cherish its ani- 
 mating power — that while we give a visible de- 
 monstration of our respect for every outward ob- 
 servance in which we are called to participate, it 
 be our main concern to hold communion with the 
 father of our spirits — that we appear before him, 
 and think of him, and address ourselves to him, 
 as the fountain of our happiness — that we recog- 
 nise in him the giver of a an " exceeding joy," 
 a joy that far exceeds in its nature, its degree, 
 and its duration, the joy that we can derive 
 from any created source — that while enjoying 
 the honour and the privilege of engaging in his 
 worship, and experiencing the benefits with 
 which his mercy has thereby provided us, we 
 lift up our souls to him in grateful adoration — 
 that, in conformity to the character of our 
 New Testament economy, we praise him with 
 our voices, as David praised him with his harp — 
 that whatever be the channel through which our 
 thanksgivings are conveyed, or whatever be the 
 
236 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 mode in which they are expressed, they be the 
 outgoings of devout and deep-felt affection — and 
 that they be offered with all the earnestness and 
 ardour which should accompany the sacrifices 
 that we present to God as our God, with whom 
 we have reconciliation by the blood of sprinkling, 
 who will be " our guide even until death," and 
 our " portion for evermore." And surely, if we 
 thus pray, and if we thus go to the sanctuary of 
 the Lord, and if we thus engage in its pious and 
 holy offices, we may well employ the language 
 of self remonstrance and self encouragement with 
 which David concludes the Psalm, " Why art 
 thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou 
 disquieted within me ? Hope in God, for I shall 
 yet praise him, who is the health of my counten- 
 ance and my God." 
 
 The Psalmist had formerly, in the spirit of des- 
 pondency, complained that God had cast him off, 
 and allowed him to " go mourning because of the 
 oppression of the enemy." But his mind now 
 resumes a better tone — his views become enlight- 
 ened — ^his soul " returns to its rest," — and he 
 blames himself for being immoderately agitated 
 and dejected by what he had to suffer, and sum- 
 
LECTURE VIII. 237 
 
 mons up all his energies to place an unlimited 
 and rejoicing confidence in God, whom he had 
 been guilty of " charging foolishly" with having 
 abandoned him to the malice of his foes. To 
 such of you, my believing friends, as have much 
 to harass and distress you, and who in your sad 
 and solitary musings on the hardships of your 
 lot, are ready to murmur or to despair; even 
 though your path hitherto has been only ruffled 
 and thorny, and you have at this moment a cup 
 of bitter sorrow pressed to your lips, and in the 
 picture of your coming life there be nothing but 
 snares, and difficulties, and cruel mockings, and 
 multiplied sufferings in the foreground, and no- 
 thing but darkness and desolation in the distance ; 
 even then I would say to you in the words of ex- 
 postulation, why are your souls '* cast down, and 
 why are they disquieted within you ?" Do not you 
 " believe in God ?" Are not you convinced that all 
 things are at his disposal, and under his control ? 
 Is not his character adorned with all the excel- 
 lencies which can assure you of present safety 
 and eternal felicity ? Has not he promised, and 
 is not he faithful to perform his promise, that 
 he " will never leave you nor forsake you ?" 
 
238 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 Cannot you trust that, armed as he is with irre- 
 sistible power, and clothed as he is with un- 
 searchable wisdom, and full as he is of the rich- 
 est and tenderest mercy, he will bring light to 
 you out of the darkness by which you are sur- 
 rounded, and good to you out of the manifold 
 evils which beset your path ? Is it not the dis- 
 tinct prediction of Christ that " in the world ye 
 shall have tribulation ?" but has he not told you 
 that he has " overcome the world," and that he 
 will give you the victory over all its terrors? Does 
 not the history of the church furnish you with 
 many illustrious examples of the divine interposi- 
 tion in behalf of persecuted and afflicted believ- 
 ers ? And is the arm of your heavenly king now 
 " shortened that it cannot save, or his ear now 
 heavy that it cannot hear ?" Was Daniel safe 
 amidst the fierce lions ? Did the three children 
 walk unhurt through the burning furnace? Did 
 David escape from his troubles, though " all the 
 waves and billows of adversity had gone over 
 him ?" Was not God himself the angel of their 
 deliverance ? And is he not your God ? And will 
 he not also deliver you, " O ye of little faith ?" 
 Did he give up his own dear Son to crucifixion 
 
LECTURE VIII. 23D 
 
 and to death, that he might pluck you out of the 
 spoiler's hand ? And after this costly ransoming 
 of your souls, and this marvellous exhibition of 
 his grace and strength, think you that he either 
 cannot or will not disenthrall you from the power 
 of unjust, deceitful, ungodly, and oppressive 
 men ? Away all such unworthy suspicions — such 
 groundless fears ! " Hope in God."' Rest upon his 
 promises, which are all " yea and amen" in Christ 
 Jesus. Take shelter in the declarations and as- 
 surances of that covenant which he has esta- 
 blished with his church, and which in all things 
 is well ordered, sure, and everlasting. Do this 
 and you " shall yet praise him." His goodness 
 will yet be for a " song in the house of your pil- 
 grimage."" And that " sadness of the counten- 
 ance" which has been generated by your trials 
 and sorrows, will be found to conceal the tokens 
 of his fatherly love, and by " making your heart 
 better," will attune it for magnifying in higher 
 and holier strains, the faithfulness and the salva- 
 tion of him in whom you have put your trust. 
 
 And even though no such gladness should ever 
 fill your bosom or pour from your lips, while you 
 travel through the wilderness — though you should 
 
210 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 go " mourning all your days" because of present 
 and pressing hardships — though, when we ask you 
 to sing us one of the songs of Zion, you should re- 
 ply, with the captive Israelites of old, " How shall 
 we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ;" yet we 
 still bid you "hope in God, for you shall yet praise 
 him." There is a world beyond this, where all 
 your sorrows shall be hushed into oblivious si- 
 lence — where the voice of the oppressor shall no 
 more be heard — where you shall set up that 
 everlasting " rest which remaineth for the people 
 of God" — where uninterrupted peace, and ho- 
 liest love, and unmingled joy, shall pervade and 
 animate the countless multitude that " have come 
 through much tribulation," and have " entered 
 into their glory" — and where one theme of your 
 unceasing gratitude shall be those very afflictions 
 which, in this dark and distant dwelling, had al- 
 most overturned your faith, and almost plunged 
 you into despair. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 8 END. 
 
 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer : give ear, O God of 
 Jacob. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face 
 of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better than 
 a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of 
 my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the 
 Lord God is a sun and shield ; the Lord will give grace 
 and glory : no good thing will he withhold from them that 
 walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in thee. 
 
 It has been the characteristic of good men in 
 every age that they have not " restrained prayer 
 before God" — that they have, on principle and 
 from feeling, been given to this exercise — that in 
 all their varied circumstances they have engaged 
 in it as at once a duty and a privilege, an ex- 
 pression of piety, a means of improvement, and 
 a source of consolation. And if we be among 
 the number of those who have received " the spi- 
 
2i2 LECTURE IX. 
 
 rit of grace and of supplications," we will not 
 only, under the influence of that spirit, " make 
 our requests know^n unto God," but we will be 
 anxious that they should be heard with accept- 
 ance, and answered in peace and mercy. We 
 are guilty of mockery when we ask that which 
 we do not need, or when we are unconcerned 
 about the success of the application that we 
 make. It becomes us to take a lively interest in 
 every thing that is requisite for promoting our 
 real welfare ; to depend for the communication of 
 it upon Him " from whom cometh down every 
 good and perfect gift" — to make it the subject of 
 sincere and devout petition at the foot-stool of 
 his throne — and to address him with all that 
 earnestness, and with all that solicitude, which 
 correspond with the importance of the blessings 
 that we implore, and with the character of the 
 Beins: who is entreated to bestow them. 
 
 And as we pray for the particular benefits which 
 are suited to our particular situations, so we will 
 appeal to those particular attributes, by the ex- 
 ercise of which we may expect to find an appro- 
 priate supply to our wants, and an appropriate 
 refuge from our distresses. If we are involved 
 
LECTURE IX. 243 
 
 in difficulties which we have no skill to unravel 
 or to remove, we will of course apply to God for 
 deliverance; but we will apply to him more pe- 
 culiarly as a God of wisdom, — a God whose wis- 
 dom can extricate us out of all our perplexities, 
 and render our path plain, and our prospects 
 clear. If we are in danger from the assault of 
 enemies, whose hostility we have no strength to 
 resist or subdue, we will of course apply to God 
 for protection and safety; but we will apply to 
 him more peculiarly as a God to whom " belong- 
 eth power," power to rescue us from every peril, 
 and to defend us against every foe, and to place 
 us in perfect security. If we are conscious of 
 guilt, and fearful of condemnation, we will of 
 course apply to God for forgiveness ; but we 
 will apply to him more peculiarly as a God of 
 mercy, as a God whose mercy may be exercised 
 in perfect consistency with his other attributes, — 
 whose mercy will be exercised towards all who 
 apply for it in the appointed way, — whose mercy 
 can pardon the deepest and most aggravated 
 guilt of the sincere penitent. And if we are in 
 distress, whether it be of a temporal or of a 
 spiritual kind, we will of course apply to God for 
 
244 LE€TURE IX. 
 
 support and relief; but we will apply to him 
 more peculiarly as the God of consolation, — as a 
 God in whom compassions flow, — who is " afflict- 
 ed in all our afflictions," — and who is both able 
 and willing to comfort us amidst the various tri- 
 bulations in which we may be involved. 
 
 And while we pray to God for the blessings 
 that we need, and while we offer up our suppli- 
 cations with sincerity and earnestness, and while 
 we address God in special reference to those at- 
 tributes, which correspond with the nature of our 
 necessities, we will never forget, if we have drawn 
 our notions from the Gospel, and if we have been 
 taught by the Spirit to pray, that our petitions 
 must depend for their success, not upon any me- 
 rit of our own, for, alas ! we have nothing of 
 that kind to plead before the holy majesty of 
 heaven, — but upon the merit of him whom God 
 has appointed to be our Mediator, and for whose 
 sake alone, therefore, we can expect to find ac- 
 ceptance when we approach the divine presence, 
 and to get an answer in peace when we implore 
 the divine bounty. 
 
 Of all this we have an example and a practical 
 illustration in the case of the Psalmist. He was 
 
LECTURE IX. 245 
 
 a man of God, and, therefore, he was a man of 
 piety and prayer. And whether he was in joy 
 or in sorrow, he delighted to pour out his heart 
 to that great being to whom he was indebted for 
 the one, and from whom he expected support 
 amidst the other. It was particularly in seasons 
 of difficulty and distress that he had recourse to 
 " the throne of grace." Nor was it merely or 
 chiefly in the time of temporal calamities — it 
 was also and chiefly in the time of spiritual de- 
 privations, that he took refuge in devotional 
 exercises. Of this we have a remarkable in- 
 stance in the passage before us. The Psalmist 
 had, by the rebellion of his son, and the united 
 power and malice of his enemies, been necessita- 
 ted to abandon the holy city. In this way he 
 was prevented from engaging in the public ordi- 
 nances of religion on which he had, from princi- 
 ple and from experience, been accustomed to set 
 the highest value. And considering it as one of 
 the heaviest dispensations with which it was pos- 
 sible for him to be visited, he is naturally most 
 anxious to be delivered from it, and restored to 
 privileges in the enjoyment of which he had for- 
 merly been so happy, and through the loss of 
 
246 LECTURE IX. 
 
 which he had become so miserable and forlorn. 
 In his extremity, he calls upon God. He fer- 
 vently intreats him to hear his prayer. He rei- 
 terates the intreaty that he would lend an atten- 
 tive ear to the aspirations of his soul. And he 
 pleads with all the urgency and importunateness 
 of one who deeply feels his wretchedness, and 
 eagerly desires to have it mitigated or removed. 
 He appeals to those characters by which God 
 commends himself to his people when they are in 
 circumstances of destitution and affliction, and 
 when they are crying to him for help and for 
 comfort. He prays to him as the " Lord God of 
 Hosts,^' who is the supreme ruler of the universe, 
 — who has every thing in it at his uncontrolled 
 command and sovereign disposal, — who " does 
 according to his will in the armies of heaven, and 
 amonff the inhabitants of the earth," — and whose 
 arm, therefore, is mighty to guard from evil or 
 to deliver out of it all who are interested in his 
 favour, and need his aid. He prays to him as 
 " the God of Jacob," who had graciously conde- 
 scended to make a covenant with Jacob and his 
 seed, — who is faithful to fulfil all the promises of 
 that covenant, — and one of whose richest pro- 
 
LECTURE IX. 247 
 
 mises is that which the Psalmist records in ano- 
 ther place, " Call upon me in the day of trouble ; 
 I will deliver thee^ and thou shalt glorify /we.*" 
 And he prays to him as " God his shield ;'' who 
 was not only powerful to accomplish his relief, 
 but whose power was in continual activity for that 
 purpose ; who said to Abraham of old, " Fear not, 
 Abraham, I am thy shield;" who was to be con- 
 sidered as holding the same language to all the 
 spiritual descendants of the Patriarch ; and who, 
 in the time of their trouble, would " hide them 
 in his pavilion, and in the secret of his taber- 
 nacle," and even when they were at a distance from 
 that tabernacle, as the Psalmist now was, would 
 still stand between them and all their foes, and 
 secure them against every deadly assault, and 
 every fatal catastrophe. And then, though he 
 addresses God as the Lord God of Hosts, as the 
 God of Jacob, and as God his shield, and thouoh 
 he addresses him in these characters with the ut- 
 most degree of importunity, — he does not feel that 
 he has done enough to effectuate the object at 
 which he aims. He directs his believing regards 
 to the Messiah, — to him whom God had " anoint- 
 ed" to be the Saviour of sinners, and on account 
 
24H LECTURE IX. 
 
 of whose obedience unto death, typified by the 
 unspotted sacrifices under the law, God became 
 propitious to those who drew near to him ; and 
 he beseeches God to hear him, and answer him, 
 in consideration of the appointed Mediator in 
 whom he believed, and by whom he had confi- 
 dence and boldness to pray. 
 
 Now, my friends, let us imitate the example of 
 the Psalmist. Let us be especially afflicted by 
 the deprivation of spiritual benefits, and especial- 
 ly solicitous to have spiritual benefits restored to 
 us when they happen to be taken away. And 
 for this end, let us address God in prayer ; con- 
 vinced that all our fortunes are in his hands, — that 
 he alone can comfort, and assist, and rescue us 
 when we are so situated as to require interposi- 
 tion, — and that devout and fervent applications to 
 him at his throne of mercy, are the means which he 
 himself has ordained and sanctioned for our obtain- 
 ing from him the blessings that we stand in need of. 
 Let us in all such approaches contemplate him, and 
 recognise him, and appeal to him, as possessing 
 the peculiar excellencies which render him in- 
 finitely worthy of our dependance, and which 
 invite and encourage us to ask, and to seek, and 
 
LECTURE IX. 249 
 
 to knock for the communications of his grace. 
 And while we apply to him as clothed with ma- 
 jesty and power, and as unchangeably true to the 
 promises of his covenant, and as continually 
 holding forth the protection of his providence, 
 let us apply to him as the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone it is that we 
 can hope to find acceptance, and through whom 
 alone it is that we can hope to receive what we 
 supplicate; whose merits are at once absolutely 
 essential, and altogether sufficient to procure for 
 us " mercy to pardon, and grace to help in every 
 time of need." 
 
 The Psalmist explains the reason that he had 
 for being so urgent in praying to be restored 
 to the privilege from which he had been unjustly 
 and cruelly separated : it was the ardent love that 
 he bore to the house, and the public ordinances 
 of God. " For a day in thy courts is better than 
 a thousand ; I had rather be a door-keeper in the 
 house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
 wickedness." In the beginning of the Psalm, he 
 had proclaimed the amiableness of God's taber- 
 nacles considered in themselves. Here he looks 
 at the subject in the way of comparison ; and he 
 
^50 LECTURE IX. 
 
 states his preference in terms the most explicit 
 and emphatic. So much enjoyment had he in 
 the services of the sanctuary, and such important 
 advantages did he derive from them, and so closely 
 was his engaging in them connected w^ith a prin- 
 ciple of obedience to the divine authority, and of 
 regard for the divine honour, that if he could be 
 permitted to devote ever so short a time to them, 
 that short time would be far more precious to 
 him than the longest period spent in places where 
 God was not acknowledged, and in exercises with 
 which the fear and the love of God were not 
 permitted to intermingle. Sin, he saw and knew, 
 had its honours, audits pleasures, and its profits; 
 but though he could be allowed to inhabit its 
 most costly and luxurious palaces, though he 
 could command for himself every desirable thing 
 which it had to bestow, and though he had the 
 power of communicating these to all around him, 
 he would not think for a moment of putting his 
 situation there in competition with the meanest 
 place that ever a saint occupied, and with the 
 scantiest fare that ever a saint received, in the 
 temple of his God. This was David's deliberate 
 and determined choice ; a choice which he often 
 
LECTURE IX. 251 
 
 expressed in the most glowing language; a choice, 
 the decisiveness and sincerity of which he uni- 
 formly demonstrated in his conduct. 
 
 O how unlike to the Psalmist, in this respect, 
 are many professing Christians ! We speak not 
 of those who do not acknowledge the truth and 
 authority of revelation. Living visibly, if not 
 avowedly, " without God in the world," we can- 
 not wonder that the institutions of the Gospel 
 should be viewed by them with dislike, and treat- 
 ed by them with contempt. But we speak of those 
 who profess to have faith in the Bible, and to 
 hope for salvation by Christ, and who pay a cer- 
 tain degree of respect to religious ordinances ; 
 and we say of many of them, that in their mouths 
 the language of the Psalmist would be mere pre- 
 tence, because it is habitually contradicted by 
 their conduct. They have evidently no liking to 
 the house of God, and to its services. Many and 
 trivial are their excuses for absence. When pre- 
 vented from attending, they feel no regret ; and 
 when they do come, it is with an ill-concealed 
 reluctance. And then how cold and unconcerned 
 in their devotions ! How inattentive are they to the 
 preaching of the Gospel ! How much more in- 
 
252 LECTURE IX. 
 
 terested in their outward appearance, and out- 
 ward comfort, than in the state of their affec- 
 tions, and in the improvement of their under- 
 standings and their hearts ! And how fretful and 
 discontented when the service exceeds by ever so 
 little, the very limited period during which they 
 are disposed to engage in it, or to be present at 
 it, without losing their patience. But follow them 
 into the world, and observe the contrast which 
 they exhibit. To the gay pleasures, and to the 
 grave pursuits of that world, they have no aver- 
 sion. For these they so eagerly long, that the 
 sacredness of the Sabbath scarcely escapes viola- 
 tion. Into these they plunge with a devotedness 
 of feeling which all the prayers, and the praises, 
 and the instructions of the sanctuary, could never 
 command. While indulging in them, how quickly 
 does their time pass away ! How do they mur- 
 mur when any thing occurs to interrupt or to 
 shorten them ! How vehemently do they strive 
 to prolong their duration, and to heighten their 
 relish, and to secure their permanency ! And 
 rather than forego them, how ready are they to 
 renounce all that is good in principle, and great 
 in character, if they render such a sacrifice indis- 
 
LECTURE IX. 253 
 
 pensable, and to sit down contented with the 
 paltriest advantages they can afford, and with 
 the meanest gratifications they can give, to the 
 most worthless of their slaves ! In every thing 
 worldly they engage with all their heart ; but for 
 the spiritual services of God's house, they have 
 little or no heart at all. And it would be a just 
 expression of their character, were they to invert 
 the language of the Psalmist, and say, " A day 
 spent in the occupation and indulgences of a 
 worldly life, is better than a thousand in the 
 courts of the Lord : I had rather be the humblest 
 partaker of those joys which are to be found in 
 the tents of wickedness, than fill the most hon- 
 ourable station, and feast upon the richest bless- 
 ings, to which I could be invited in the house of 
 my God." 
 
 O if there be any now hearing me to whom 
 this description justly applies, think how com- 
 pletely it strips you of all your pretensions to 
 genuine Christianity. Neglecting or disliking 
 the ordinances of religion, what becomes of your 
 respect for the authority of God, who has ap- 
 pointed these ordinances, and commanded you 
 to observe them? Taking no serious inter- 
 
g5i LECTURE IX. 
 
 est in the pious and instructive exercises of the 
 sanctuary, how is it possible to help conclud- 
 ing that the truths of the gospel have no va- 
 lue in your estimation, and that they are the 
 objects neither of your faith, nor of your love ? 
 Taking no pleasure in holding communion with 
 your God and Saviour in his house below, where 
 is your preparation for maintaining that more in- 
 timate intercourse with him in his temple above, 
 which is to form one of the highest honours, and 
 most delightful employments of those who are to 
 be introduced into that blessed place ? And pre- 
 ferring the service of the world to the service of 
 him who made you and has redeemed you, upon 
 what ground can you expect that he will bestow 
 upon you any reward at last, or that he will not 
 leave you to be recompensed by that master to 
 whom you have cleaved, and whose " wages is 
 death ?" If you know any thing of what true reli- 
 gion is, and reflect but for a moment on what you 
 are doing, you must be sensible that so long a§ 
 the ordinances of God's house are treated by you 
 either with indiiference or dislike, you have no 
 lot or part in the salvation of the gospel ; you are 
 not only destitute of one thing which has invari- 
 
LECTURE IX. 235 
 
 ably distinguished the people of God, but you 
 are destitute of that which indicates the want of 
 all their essential principles, and all their pecu- 
 liar affections. Let me therefore beseech you to 
 examine yourselves by this test ; and not to think 
 yourselves safe till you have been brought to feel 
 somewhat of that warm affection for the worship 
 and service of God, which animated the breast, 
 and actuated the conduct of the Psalmist. Nor 
 rest satisfied with low attainments in this import- 
 ant grace. The more ardently you love the 
 house of prayer and praise, the stronger will be 
 the proof of your progress in sanctification ; and 
 then that devout attendance on the ordinances 
 of the gospel, which will necessarily accompany 
 your love for them, must have a powerful effect 
 on the improvement of all your Christian virtues, 
 and lead you to verify the statement in Scrip- 
 ture, which declares, that " they who wait upon 
 the Lord shall mount up on wings as eagles : they 
 shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and 
 not faint." 
 
 And you my Cliristian friends, who have che- 
 rished that profound and affectionate attachment 
 to the house and ordinances of God, which was 
 
2^6 LECTURE IX. 
 
 so deeply felt and so rapturously expressed by 
 the Psalmist, will be ready to bear your testimony 
 along with his, to the strong encouragement which 
 his people have to draw near to him in his sanc- 
 tuary. Such is his character, and such are 
 the manifestations he condescends to make of it, 
 that it is impossible to know him, and believe in 
 him, and love him, without ardently desiring to 
 dwell in his courts, and faithfully and piously en- 
 gaging in the institutions which are there ob- 
 serv'ed, " The Lord God is a sun and shield ; 
 the Lord will give grace and glory; no good 
 thing will he withhold from them that walk up- 
 rightly." How comprehensive and how satisfy- 
 ing is this representation of him whom you are 
 called to worship and to serve ! And if you give 
 credit to the statement, how anxious must you be 
 to tread his courts, and with what fervour and de- 
 light will you mingle in those ordinances in which 
 he thus reveals himself, and through which he 
 thus becomes to you all that you need, and all 
 that you can desire ! 
 
 He is a Sun to enlighten your understandings 
 with saving knowledge, and " to guide your feet in 
 the way of peace;" to cheer your hearts amidst 
 
LECTURE IX. 257 
 
 the perplexities and discouragements of your 
 earthly pilgrimage ; and to give warmth and life 
 and activity to all your powers, which, but for 
 his vivifying influences, would become cold and 
 torpid. And he is a Shield to defend you from "the 
 fiery darts of the wicked one ;" to ward off the 
 arrows of malice and of scorn with which ungodly 
 men assail you ; to protect you not only from the 
 evils which would otherwise overwhelm you, but 
 also from the petty injuries by which you might be 
 harassed and depressed; and to interpose be- 
 tween you and your spiritual enemies with such 
 vigilance and constancy, that they cannot over- 
 come you, or prevent you from being finally tri- 
 umphant in that arduous warfare which you are 
 doomed to wage with them. 
 
 The Lord will give Grace ; grace to pardon 
 your offences, and deliver your conscience from 
 the burden of guilt ; grace to purify your souls 
 more and more from that moral defilement which 
 naturally cleaves to them ; grace to help you in 
 all your seasons of trial and of weakness ; grace 
 to comfort you in every disconsolate hour, and to 
 strengthen you for every Christian duty ; grace 
 to keep you stedfast in the faith of Jesus, and in 
 
258 LECTURE IX. 
 
 the obedience of his law, and in the hope of his 
 gospel ; grace to insure your perseverance in the 
 path of spiritual life, and to obtain the victory 
 over the terrors and the power of death. And 
 having thus given you Grace here, he will also 
 give you Glory hereafter. He will receive you 
 into that heavenly kingdom for which he was 
 preparing you upon earth ; a state from which all 
 that is sinful, all that is degrading, and all that is 
 unhappy, shall be for ever excluded, and in which 
 you shall be privileged with whatever is great in 
 intellectual attainment, and perfect in moral ex- 
 cellence, — with whatever is splendid in honour, 
 and exquisite in enjoyment, — with all the fulness 
 of God, and all the blessedness of immortality. 
 
 And is there any thing else of which you feel 
 your need, and which you do not conceive to enter 
 into these views of the divine beneficence? Then 
 here it is in the assurance that he " will withhold 
 no good thing from you."^ There is nothing which 
 is either necessary or conducive to your welfare, 
 which his loving kindness will not bestow upon 
 you in its proper measure, and in its proper sea- 
 son. Even the comforts of a present world will 
 be given, so far as the wisdom of your heavenly 
 
LECTURE IX. 259 
 
 Father sees them for your real benefit, and far- 
 ther than that you could not safely or dutifully 
 wish to receive them. No temporal evil will be 
 permitted to befal you, which is not requisite for 
 " the trial of your faith" and patience, and which 
 he will not overrule for promoting your highest 
 advantage. No temporal blessing will be refus- 
 ed to you, or taken from you, except where its 
 bestowal or its continuance is inconsistent with 
 what you should value infinitely more than all that 
 the world can furnish,— --your advancement in the 
 work of preparation for judgment and eternity. 
 It is the general fact, announced in Scripture, 
 and confirmed by experience, that as the people 
 of God you have not only the promise of " the 
 life that now is," but the actual and liberal ful- 
 filment of that promise. And all the exceptions 
 to it that you may meet with in your journeyings 
 through the wilderness, all that you suffer in 
 these from poverty, from sickness, from the loss 
 of friends, from disappointments in business, from 
 unmerited neglect, from base ingratitude, or from 
 any other of the privations and sorrows to which 
 humanity is liable, — all these things are but varied 
 expressions of the same paternal love which cared 
 
260 LECTURE IX. 
 
 for the salvation of your souls; many of tliem, even 
 while they last and operate in all their bitterness, 
 will be recognised by you as tokens of kindness ; 
 and there is not one of them which, when looked 
 back upon from the land of promised rest, and 
 contemplated in the light of celestial truth, will 
 not furnish a theme of gratitude and praise, as 
 having formed a part of that plan of grace by 
 which you were fitted and matured for glory. 
 
 Such, my friends, is that God whom ye are 
 called to worship in his holy temple — such is the 
 generous treatment which you may expect from 
 him — such is his willingness, his ability, his suf- 
 ficiency, his promise, to be unto everyone of you 
 all that is needful to make you perfectly and for 
 ever happy. And will not you give yourselves 
 in the full tide of admiration and affection, to the 
 service of such a wise, and merciful, and mighty 
 being ? Will not you feel regret when you lose an 
 opportunity of approaching him in the sanctuary ? 
 Will not you lament the imperfection and the 
 sinfulness which mix with all your best endea- 
 vours to honour him in his " house of prayer ?'* 
 Will not you labour more and more that you 
 may be disposed to engngc in his ordinances with 
 
LECTURE IX. 261 
 
 heartfelt devotion, and enabled to engage in them 
 with a keener relish for the comforts which they 
 inspire, and a more resolute ambition for the 
 advantages which they impart? And will not 
 you pray and strive that you may attain that 
 height of pious regard for them which dictated 
 the strong and impassioned language of the Psalm- 
 ist, " How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord 
 of Hosts ! My soul longeth, yea even fainteth 
 for the courts of the Lord ; my heart and my 
 flesh crieth out for the living God ?" 
 
 Remember, however, my friends, that the bless- 
 ings promised to them who love and observe the 
 ordinances of God are connected with a certain 
 prescribed character. They will be given to 
 those only who " walk uprightly ;" who have 
 their conduct both in the sanctuary and out of it 
 agreeable to the divine will ; who " worship God 
 who is a spirit, in spirit and in truth ;" who 
 " have their conversation in the world in simpli- 
 city and godly sincerity ;" who are habitually 
 and strenuously aiming at the possession of a 
 good conscience, and at the cultivation of a holy 
 life. You cannot otherwise be qualified for the 
 services of the sanctuary, or the reception of spi- 
 
»62 LECTURE IX. 
 
 ritual benefits. As, therefore, you value these, 
 be careful to " walk uprightly," and remember 
 for your encouragement that it is one manifest 
 and appointed end of the services of God's house, 
 to improve your principles and dispositions, and 
 to send you back to the world better prepared 
 for discharging its ordinary duties, and " keep- 
 ing yourselves unspotted" from its pollutions. 
 And remember also that your knowledge of the 
 character in which God has represented himself 
 to you as your sun and your shield, and as giv- 
 ing grace and glory, and withholding no good 
 thing from you, is calculated to produce the same 
 effect in your heart and your deportment; and 
 that especially the divine influences are promised 
 to comfort, and purify, and strengthen you, and 
 to make you " fruitful in every good word and 
 work." Study then to live and act as the people 
 of God, that you may be fit worshippers in the 
 temple of God, and worthy receivers of the boun- 
 ty of God : and let God's bounty be often and af- 
 fectionately thought upon, and let God's temple 
 be regularly and devoutly attended, that you may 
 feel their reciprocal advantage in having your 
 faith invigorated, your piety exalted, your hatred 
 
LECTURE IX. 263 
 
 of sin increased, your love of holiness strength- 
 ened, and your whole character brought to a 
 nearer and a nearer resemblance to the character 
 of him to whom you owe all your comforts and 
 all your hopes. 
 
 And finally, " put your trust in the Lord;" for 
 it is in this case only that you can be truly bless- 
 ed. Trust in him that he will perform all that 
 he has promised ; place unlimited confidence in 
 every assurance he has given you ; and act as 
 it becomes those in whose minds this affiance is 
 lively and unwavering. Then shall ye be happy 
 indeed ; happy now as having the communica- 
 tions of his love and the hopes that stretch into 
 eternity; and happy hereafter in the full and 
 everlasting enjoyment of all that can constitute 
 the felicity of a rational and immortal being. 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 PSALM CXVI. 1 — 9- 
 
 I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my sup' 
 plications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto 7ne, there- 
 fore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows 
 of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon 
 ffie : I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the 
 name of the Lord : O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. 
 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous ; yea, our God is ?ner- 
 ciful. The Lord pr^eserveth the simple : I was brought 
 low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul ; 
 for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou 
 hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, 
 and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in 
 the land of the living. 
 
 There are two motives which should constrain 
 us to love God. In the first place, God has, in 
 his nature and character, all those qualities which 
 are naturally fitted to awaken this sentiment in 
 our hearts. And, in the second place, these ami- 
 
LECTURE X. ^65 
 
 able qualities have been exhibited in promoting 
 our welfare ; and from a principle of our moral 
 constitution, " we love hhn, because he first 
 loved us." It is to the latter motive that the 
 Psalmist here refers. " I love the Lord because 
 he hath heard my voice and my supplications." 
 David had asked the interposition of God's mer- 
 cy in his behalf. It had been granted to him ac- 
 cording to the desire and petition of his heart. 
 And in the benefits which he received, he not 
 only saw goodness manifested as an attribute of 
 Deity, but he felt it in his own personal expe- 
 rience, as goodness of which he was the object, 
 and as constituting an urgent and irresistible 
 claim on his reciprocal affection. There arose 
 therefore, in his breast, and there was cherished 
 there, the gratitude and love which he owed 
 to his heavenly father ; and in simple language 
 he acknowledges and records at once the feel- 
 ings of which he was conscious, and the consider- 
 ation by which they had been excited. 
 
 The experience of the Psalmist, on this point, 
 must be more or less the experience of every true 
 Christian. Every true Christian habitually lifts 
 up to God the voice of supplication ; — praying 
 
2G6 LECTURE X. 
 
 for the various blessings, temporal and spiritual, 
 which his circumstances require. Every true 
 Christian, praying " with all prayer and suppli- 
 cation in the Spirit," has the promise of divine 
 faithfulness that he shall receive according to his 
 need. And every true Christian labouring to 
 fulfil the first and great commandment, will me- 
 ditate on the mani fold tokens of kindness which 
 God has shown him in answer to his applica- 
 tions at a throne of grace, and yield to the native 
 influence of that kindness, by cherishing a still 
 more cordial, and still more devoted attachment 
 to the giver of all his mercies. 
 
 My friends, if you are real Christians, it is one of 
 your leading characteristics, that you continually 
 look to God as the fountain of all good, and that 
 while you regularly ask from him in his own ap- 
 pointed way, what is necessary for your well-being, 
 in the ordinary course of life, you ask from him 
 with particular emphasis and importunateness, 
 those benefits which are of the highest general 
 importance, and those which are most suited to 
 your special and unexpected exigencies. And I 
 am sure that, having done so, you can bear your 
 personal testimony to the truth of that declara- 
 
LECTURE X. 267 
 
 tion which God has addressed to every member 
 of his church, " Call upon me, and I will an- 
 swer you." It has been your privilege and your 
 happiness to find, that he provides for the tem- 
 poral wants of his people with wisdom and liber- 
 ality ; that he communicates in still richer abund- 
 ance the blessings after which their souls are 
 hungering and thirsting ; that he gives them 
 grace and glory, and withholds from them no 
 good thing which is essential to their comfort, 
 their improvement, their salvation. You may 
 have had your seasons of mental dejection and 
 distress; and you may have been sometimes 
 ready to cry out, " hath the Lord forgotten to 
 be gracious, and will he be favourable no more ?'* 
 but say, my believing brethren, if, when the Spirit 
 carried you to the mercy seat, and with the faith 
 which rests on the merits of your heavenly inter^ 
 cessor, you there poured forth the petitions of your 
 hearts, these petitions were not answered by God's 
 appearing in mercy as a sun to enlighten you in 
 the midst of your darkness, and as a shield to pro- 
 tect you from all the dangers by which you were 
 afraid of being overwhelmed ? And when you 
 have been weighed down with worldly cares and 
 
268 LECTURE X. 
 
 afflictions, and the whole scene of human life 
 perhaps put on the garb of melancholy and of 
 woe, and you have still had recourse to prayer, 
 have not you felt your sorrowful spirits visited 
 with consolation ; and though it may be that the 
 bitter cup is still pressed to your lips, have not 
 you been taught that it is the hand of your hea- 
 venly father which gives you this cup to drink, 
 and have you not learnt that it is in faithfulness 
 and in compassion that he has mingled it for you, 
 and have not you been enabled even to " rejoice 
 in the midst of your tribulations ?" Has not this 
 been in one degree or another your comfortable 
 experience ? Has not such experience constrain- 
 ed you more and more to love God who thus 
 hears you when you cry to him, and delivers you 
 out of your distresses, and makes it " good for 
 you that you have been afflicted," and causes you 
 to be " glad in the light of his countenance ?" 
 And is not this the language by which you at once 
 express your gratitude, and encourage it, " Bless 
 the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
 fits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; who heal- 
 eth all thy diseases ; who redeemeth thy life from 
 destruction ; who crowneth thee with loving kind- 
 
LECTURE X. 269 
 
 ness and tender mercies ; who satisfieth thy mouth 
 with good things, so that thy youth is renewed 
 like the eagle's." 
 
 But the Psalmist not only declares his love to 
 God on account of God's goodness and mercy 
 to him in answer to his prayers, he adds, " Be- 
 cause he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore 
 will I call upon him as long as I live." And this 
 is precisely what all the people of God will do 
 in similar circumstances. If God has graciously 
 condescended to grant us deliverance and the 
 other blessings that we implored from him, there 
 is, in the first place, laid upon us an obligation 
 to be thankful which we shall never be able to 
 exhaust ; and, in the next place, there is suggest- 
 ed to us a powerful encouragement to persevere 
 in our supplications, to which a regard to our 
 own welfare will determine us to yield. When 
 we think of our personal unworthiness of any of 
 the least token of God''s mercy ; when we think 
 of our just obnoxiousness to his displeasure on 
 account of our manifold and aggravated provo- 
 cations; and when we recollect, that notwith- 
 standing all this we have been invited to the 
 throne of his grace, and have been allowed to 
 
370 LECTURE X. 
 
 make our requests known to him, and have re- 
 ceived what was necessary to support, and com- 
 fort, and bless us, can we ever cease to " sacrifice 
 the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and to declare his 
 works with rejoicing ?" Supposing that we were 
 left to go mourning all the remainder of our 
 earthly pilgrimage, still the remembrance of what 
 we have already experienced of " the goodness 
 of the Lord in the land of the living," and the 
 hope which that experienced goodness has taught 
 us to repose in his continued favour, will not 
 only cheer us as we travel through the v/ilder- 
 ness, but will call forth all our powers and affec- 
 tions to bless and to magnify his holy name. And 
 the last breath that we draw will whisper the be- 
 ginning of that song of praise which we are to 
 sing to our redeeming God, when we enter upon 
 the unmingled and eternal joys of the promised 
 land. 
 
 But we will not only celebrate the praises of 
 God so long as we live, on account of his merci- 
 ful answer to our prayers ; — having received such 
 an answer, we shall feel encouraged to pray to 
 him in every succeeding emergency of our spiri- 
 tual career. There is no period when we can 
 
LECTURE X. 271 
 
 expect to be exempt from those necessities which 
 require the interposition of divine aid and the 
 communication of divine bounty ; and we may 
 lay our account with being sometimes placed in 
 those circumstances of peculiar trial, danger or 
 distress, which demand the peculiar supplies of 
 Almighty grace to uphold and to save us; and 
 our only resource in such cases is to be found in 
 earnest, believing, unwearied prayer. And how 
 much must we be animated to engage in that ex- 
 ercise, not only by the promises held out to us in 
 the wcn'd of God, but by the fulfilment of these 
 promises which have actually taken place in the 
 history of our own lives ! He who heard and 
 answered us from his holy hill when we former- 
 ly petitioned him, will not fail to hear and an- 
 swer us on every future occasion that we cast 
 ourselves upon hi^ compassion and his power. 
 He has emphatically taught us by his past kind- 
 ness, to apply to him and to trust in him, amid 
 all the coming difficulties and hardships of our 
 Christian journey. And we will but ill under- 
 stand and ill improve the lesson, if it does not 
 serve to keep alive in us an active spirit of prayer 
 and supplication, and if it does not make us *^ go 
 
272 LECTURE X. 
 
 boldly to the throne of grace," and ask with con- 
 fidence, that we may receive with freeness, mercy 
 and grace, and every needful blessing. 
 
 Having stated, in general, God's mercy to him, 
 and the general effect which it produced upon 
 his sentiments and conduct, the Psalmist pro- 
 ceeds to take a more particular view of God's 
 gracious dealings with him, and of the impres* 
 sions which these made upon him, both as to his 
 present feelings and his resolutions for the fu- 
 ture. " The sorrows of death compassed me," 
 says he, " the pains of hell got hold upon me ; 
 I found trouble and sorrow." He was menaced 
 with death. It was not some bodily distemper 
 which might be easily and speedily removed. It 
 was not some ordinary calamity which ordinary 
 fortitude would enable him to endure. It was a 
 distemper which seemed to be mortal — it was a 
 calamity which threatened to prove fatal. The 
 prospect of dissolution was before him; and there 
 w^as something more alarming still — something 
 after death which made him shrink back from it 
 as his worst enemy, and which filled him with 
 trouble and sorrow. 
 
LECTURE X. 273 
 
 It is truly a fearful thing to die ; to go from 
 the place of hope to the place of unalterable re- 
 tribution ; to leave this world, in which, amidst 
 all its sinfulness, we are still permitted to hear the 
 voice of divine mercy, and to pass into that un- 
 tried scene where we must encounter all the pe- 
 rils of a righteous judgment, and have our doom 
 irrevocably and everlastingly fixed. It is the 
 prerogative of faith, indeed, to convert the king 
 of terrors into a messenger of peace — to shed a 
 cheering light along the dark valley — and to rea- 
 lise in the most holy judge a most compassionate 
 Saviour. But even in those whose belief has 
 been heretofore strong, and lively, and influen- 
 tial, and who have often said, under the impres- 
 sions of its elevating power — " O death where 
 is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory ? To 
 me to live is Christ, and to die is gain;" — even 
 in them, there may be misgivings at the last hour, 
 and terrible apprehensions of a coming tribunal, 
 and a coming eternity. They may be visited 
 with the compunctions of guilt ; and thinking of 
 all their transgressions and all their aggravations, 
 they may be agitated with the terrors of the Lord, 
 
 T 
 
271 LECTURE X. 
 
 and feel as it were the punishment of hell begin- 
 ning in their souls. Melancholy and distressing 
 is their situation. It is not indeed to be compar- 
 ed with the situation of those who are not only 
 thus afraid to die, but who have reason to be 
 thus afraid; who have sinned, and never repent- 
 ed ; who have been offered a Saviour, but have 
 not believed in him ; who are called to give in 
 their account, but have made no preparation for 
 such a dread reckoning ; and who either are not 
 aware of their danger, — or try to banish it from 
 their thoughts, — or, roused to a sense of it, breathe 
 nothing but the language of despair. The situ- 
 ation of the believer whose heart is fearful of dy- 
 ing, is not indeed for a moment to be compared 
 with that of the careless and hardened, or the 
 awakened and hopeless sinner. Still, however, 
 it is one of severe suffering ; and he is frequently 
 heard to express the mental anguish which af- 
 flicts him. But then there is a refuge for him. 
 To that refuge he flees. He looks to God as a 
 God rich in mercy. He relies upon the media- 
 tor of the new covenant. He calls upon him 
 whose " ear is open to his cry;" and finds relief 
 by committing himself to him in the earnestness 
 
LECTURE X. 275 
 
 and the confidence of prayer ; — " then called I 
 upon the name of the Lord ; O Lord, I beseech 
 thee, deliver my soul." 
 
 This prayer is short and simple, but it is the 
 prayer of the heart and the prayer of faith, and 
 cannot fail to succeed. He who prefers it, asks 
 the deliverance of the soul ; its deliverance from 
 the guilt of sin, which would leave it under the 
 sentence of condemnation ; and its deliverance 
 from the pollution of sin, which would disquali- 
 fy it for the kingdom of heaven. And he does 
 not merely ask it as if it were a matter of indif- 
 fei'ence whether he obtained it or not. He asks 
 it as a blessing of the highest — of infinite import- 
 ance ; as a blessing without which he must be un- 
 done ; as a blessing with which his happiness is 
 secure and complete. " O Lord, I beseech thee, 
 deliver my soul." — Then again he appeals to God 
 as a God of mercy and of grace. '* Gracious is 
 the Lord, yea our God is merciful." He knows 
 and feels, that were God to deal justly with him, 
 instead of obtaining deliverance, he should re- 
 ceive condemnation ; and therefore he relies up- 
 on his mercy. He refers to that as the source of 
 all his expectations ; and laying aside as presump- 
 
276 LECTURE X. 
 
 tuous and vain every claim on the ground of per- 
 sonal deserving, he looks and applies to the free 
 and unmerited grace of him whose memorial it 
 is, that he possesses this endearing attribute, and 
 that he delights in the exercise of it. 
 
 But the believer does not rest satisfied with 
 the conviction of God's mercy, and with resting 
 his hopes upon that as if it were the only perfec- 
 tion in God's character. He entertains more 
 worthy and consistent notions on the subject. He 
 regards God, not as his own corrupt nature 
 would perversely wish him to be ; but as he real- 
 ly is, and as he has been pleased to reveal him- 
 self to sinners. He regards him as no less holy 
 than he is merciful. " Gracious is the Lord, and 
 righteous.^^ And this leads him not merely to 
 glorify and do homage to the character of God, 
 by ascribing to it all its native excellence, but to 
 attend to that provision which the high and holy 
 One has made for- the consistent and effectual 
 manifestation of his love to guilty men. He con- 
 templates the gospel scheme; he sees there the 
 arrangement which supreme wisdom has contrived 
 for reconciling the bestowal of mercy with the 
 demands of justice ; and he seeks for the deliver- 
 
LECTURE X. 277 
 
 ance of his soul in the way which has been di- 
 vinely appointed — through faith in the atonement 
 and mediation of Jesus Christ, which is God's in- 
 stituted method for a sinner's justification. 
 
 Nor does the believer rest even here. He 
 knows that while he must depend entirely upon 
 the merit of Christ as the procuring cause, and 
 upon the mercy of God as the originating cause 
 of his deliverance, still it is not in any spirit that 
 he feels himself entitled to ask for that boon. 
 He does not conceive it to be enough that he 
 makes use of the mere words and phrases of a 
 petition, or that he makes a verbal reference, 
 however decided and orthodox, in that petition, 
 to the work of the Redeemer. He knows that 
 in all this, in order to its being of any weight, 
 there must be " simplicity and godly sincerity ;" 
 for it is only " the simple'' that the Lord '^preserves" 
 And therefore he studies to be " without guile" 
 before God, to have a single eye to what God re- 
 quires of him, as well as to what he is asking 
 from God; and conscious of being without wis- 
 dom and without strength himself, he casts him- 
 self entirely and unreservedly on the divine pro- 
 tection. 
 
278 LECTURE X. 
 
 Now, the consequence of such an application 
 to God, is the attainment of that support and de- 
 liverance which were implored. " I was brought 
 low, and the Lord helped me." I was brought 
 so low — I was so beset with danger and so over- 
 whelmed with fear— I was in such a miserable 
 and hopeless state, that not only was there no 
 help for me in man, but I was almost despairing 
 of help from God. And yet he has disappoint- 
 ed all my fears, he has scattered all mine ene- 
 mies, he has " taken me out of the fearful pit 
 and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a 
 rock and established my goings." As a poor, 
 destitute, and wretched man, " I cried unto the 
 Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me out of 
 all my distresses." I was cast down, but he rais- 
 ed me up : the waves and billows of adversity 
 were threatening to swallow me up ; but he made 
 " the ovei-flow ing of the proud waters to pass by," 
 and brought me to the shore of safety and of 
 peace. His everlasting arm has rescued me from 
 the jaws of destruction, and now " I fear no evil." 
 " Return unto thy rest O my soul, for the Lord 
 hath dealt bountifully with thee." 
 
LECTURE X. S79 
 
 If our souls are properly affected they will be 
 perpetually seeking rest — a rest in which they 
 can delight themselves, and on whose perman- 
 ence they can count with certainty. And this 
 rest is nowhere to be found but in the bounty 
 and favour of the Lord. " The depth saith, it 
 is not in me, and the sea, it is not in me. It can 
 not be gotten for gold." All the wealth of the 
 world cannot purchase it. The soul has wants 
 which no human beneficence can supply. It has 
 diseases which no human skill can heal. It has 
 desires which no human power can satisfy. Lt 
 has sorrows which no human sympathies can 
 charm away. And if left to the resources of 
 created being, it is indeed " weary and heavy 
 laden," and can repose neither in what it has, 
 nor in what it expects to attain. This is the 
 case in some measure with every worldling; 
 who, though not aware, perhaps, of the cause, 
 or not inclined to have it removed, yet feels that 
 in all his most eager pursuits, and in all his 
 choicest pleasures, there is little else than " va- 
 nity and vexation of spirit." But it is more es- 
 pecially the case with the believer, who views 
 things in the light of reason, and in the light of 
 
280 LECTURE X. 
 
 Scripture, and in the light of eternity ; who sees 
 in the very best and highest of earthly enjoy- 
 ments nothing that is worthy of an immortal 
 mind — nothing that accommodates itself to the 
 necessities of a guilty conscience or of a deprav- 
 ed heart — nothing that can make affliction light, 
 death comfortable, and futurity blessed; and 
 who would, therefore, regard a sentence dooming 
 him to seek and to find his happiness in these, 
 as a sentence dooming him to an utter exclusion 
 from the rest which he is so anxious to obtain, 
 and to the continued endurance of that misery 
 out of which he is so anxious to escape. But, 
 blessed be God, while he feels that " this is not 
 his rest," he knows where to find it. He " arises 
 and departs out of the land which is polluted," 
 and he goes into the land in which the dominion 
 of sin is destroyed, and in which he can lie down 
 on " the green pastures," and walk beside " the 
 still waters" of divine grace. He sees the ocean 
 of a worldly and unsanctified life to be without 
 an island on which he may dwell securely, and 
 without a twig even on which for one moment 
 he may plant his foot ; and, therefore, he returns 
 to the ark of safety and of peace. He takes the 
 
LECTURE X. 281 
 
 good and ever-living God for his portion ; and 
 in the riches of his bounty he finds all that can 
 give «' rest to his soul," amidst his most nume- 
 rous troubles and his most aggravated sorrows. 
 There is no evil in his existing condition, and no 
 evil that he can anticipate, from which he is not 
 emancipated, or under which he is not upheld 
 and comforted, by that merciful and mighty being 
 to whom he has surrendered himself in faith and 
 in well-doing. 
 
 The Psalmist here gives an enumeration of the 
 blessings which he experienced from the bounti- 
 ful dealing of the Lord. There is first, the de- 
 liverance of the " soul from death." " The soul 
 that sinneth, it shall die." And having sinned, 
 we are justly and necessarily condemned to die. 
 But as it is impossible to describe, or even to con- 
 ceive, all the horrors of that punishment which we 
 have incurred by our transgression of God's law, 
 so proportionally awful must be the convictions 
 of the awakened sinner who has in any measure 
 realised these in his imagination, and is conscious 
 of deserving them, and is impressed with the ap- 
 prehension of suffering them. But if, in the 
 midst of all these dangers, and all this anguish, 
 
282 LECTURE X. 
 
 we have ^* fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope 
 set before us," and have put our trust in God's 
 mercy as exhibited in the mediation of Jesus, it 
 is the assurance of him " who cannot lie," that 
 our guilt is remitted, that we obtain reconcilia- 
 tion, that we become partakers of an " eternal 
 redemption," And what can be wanting to give 
 us rest from the agitations of guilt, when we hear 
 that great and gracious being whose wrath we 
 had incurred, saying to us, son, " daughter, be 
 of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ?" Sure- 
 ly this declaration, so full of mercy and so full of 
 meaning, must impart to us that " peace of mind 
 which passeth understanding," and fill us with 
 " a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 But, besides delivering our souls from death, 
 the Lord also in his bounty delivers our " eyes 
 from tears." In this sinful world, there is no 
 complete exemption from evil that is either pro- 
 mised to us, or that can be experienced by us. 
 It abounds in causes of mourning, to the opera- 
 tion of which we must be subjected in common 
 with all the children of mortality, and there are 
 some by which we are peculiarly affected as the 
 disciples of a holy and crucified Redeemer. But 
 
LECTURE X. 283 
 
 though we are exposed to these, and must often 
 endure tliem in all their variety, and in all their 
 weight, still being reconciled to God through 
 Christ, and consequently interested in all the 
 promises of the well ordered covenant, we have 
 wherewithal to comfort our hearts in the darkest 
 and most distressful hour. No affliction befals us 
 which is not accompanied with its appropriate 
 consolation. Even our heaviest calamities are 
 represented and brought home to us as expres- 
 sions of God's paternal love. And in the gloomiest 
 vale of sorrow, we are permitted to lift up the 
 eye of hope to that region of unclouded sky and 
 undisturbed repose which is reserved for the 
 faithful ; and to consider what we suffer now as a 
 preparation for that blessed period longed for, 
 though not distant, by all the afflicted followers 
 of Christ, when God shall translate them into his 
 unsuffering kingdom, and shall " wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes." With this prospect be- 
 fore us, secured to us by the word of promise, 
 and brought near by that " faith which is the 
 evidence of things not seen," we may not only 
 " possess our souls in patience," but even '* re- 
 joice in our tribulations." 
 
28 i LECTURE X. 
 
 And while God delivers our souls from death, 
 and our eyes from tears, he also delivers our 
 " feet from falling." If we are true believers, sen- 
 sible of our obligations to God, and desirous of 
 final admission into heaven, we must be perpe- 
 tually concerned to maintain " a conscience void 
 of offence," and to be " holy in all manner of 
 conversation." And, aware of the numberless 
 temptations that surround us, and of our own 
 weakness and inability to resist and overcome 
 them, the fear of falling a prey to them must fre- 
 quently harass and distress us. But here also 
 a bountiful God has provided rest for us. We 
 are assured by him that his " grace will be suf- 
 ficient for us, and that his strength will be per- 
 fected in our weakness ;" that the divine Spirit is 
 to be given us for our guidance and sanctifica- 
 tion; that Christ has vanquished our spiritual 
 foes, and that believing in him, his victory be- 
 comes ours. And having such an assurance, w^hat 
 reason have we not merely to exclude all despond- 
 ency as to our perseverance, but even to go on 
 our Christian way rejoicing, humble indeed un- 
 der a sense of our manifold dangers and defi- 
 ciencies, but yet animated by the encouraging 
 
LECTURE X. 285 
 
 truth, that we are " strong in the Lord, and in 
 the power of his might," that even in the wilder- 
 ness we shall have " rest from our enemies," and 
 that by a course of cheerful and universal obedi- 
 ence, we shall be maturing our meetness for en- 
 joying that sinless, and perfect, and eternal " rest 
 which remains" above " for the people of God !" 
 Now, what is the practical result of this expe- 
 rience ? What was it with the Psalmist ? And 
 what should it be with us ? "I will walk before 
 the Lord," says David, " in the land of the liv- 
 ing." This was his resolution, — this was his en- 
 deavour ; and it must be ours. We must act 
 with a spirit of confidence in his wisdom and 
 goodness; with unfeigned submission to his au- 
 thority, with " a single eye to his glory,'' with 
 the blessed hope of seeing him in heaven. And 
 especially we must act as it becomes those who 
 have experienced so much of his loving kindness, 
 — recognising in this a powerful motive for being 
 more active and zealous in his service, — more 
 anxious in promoting his honour among our fel- 
 low-men — and more careful to embrace every op- 
 portunity that is offered, of showing to the souls 
 
 4 
 
286 LECTURE X. 
 
 and bodies of others that mercy which we have 
 received from him. 
 
 And there must be no delay, no remissness, no 
 indolence in the great duty of walking before the 
 Lord. " I will walk before the Lord in the land 
 of the living.^* O my friends, life is short. We 
 are now in the land of living men : We shall 
 ere long be immured in the darkness and the 
 silence of the tomb. Let us " work the works 
 of God, therefore, while it is day ; the night 
 cometh" soon, and it may come unexpectedly, 
 '' when no man can work." " Whatever our 
 hand findeth to do ;" whether it be an exer- 
 cise of faith in the Redeemer, — or whether it be 
 an act of repentance towards our offended Maker, 
 — or whether it be an application by prayer at 
 the foot-stool of mercy, — or whether it be a deed 
 of justice and reparation to some one that we have 
 wronged, — or whether it be a work of piety and 
 beneficence, in behalf of the victims of disease and 
 poverty, — " whatever our hand findeth to do, let 
 us do it with our might, for there is no work, nor 
 device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, 
 whither we are going." 
 
LECTURE XI. 
 
 PSALM CXVI. 10— END. 
 
 / believed, therefore have I spoken : I was greatly afflicted. 
 I said in my haste, All men are liars. What shall I 
 render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me 9 I will 
 take the cup of salvation, and call t/pon the name of the 
 Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the pre- 
 sence of all his people. Pi-ecious in the sight of the Lord is 
 the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am thy servant, 
 and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. 
 I will offer to thee the sacinjice of thanksgiving, and will 
 call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto 
 the Lord now in the presence of all his people. In the courts 
 of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem^ 
 Praise ye the Lord* 
 
 «' I BELIEVED,'* says David, " therefore have I 
 spoken." The Apostle Paul, in his second epistle 
 to the Corinthians, quotes this language, and ap- 
 plies it to himself and to his fellow labourers, as 
 enduring affliction, and yet preaching, and open- 
 ly declaring their attachment to, the truths on 
 
288 LECTURE XI. 
 
 account of which that affliction was suffered. And 
 hence, we may learn, according to the judgment 
 of the Apostle, that the Psalmist intimates, in this 
 concise phraseology, that he was bold to confess 
 his reliance on the divine promises, even in the 
 midst of all his persecutions and distress, and that 
 he was enabled to manifest this boldness by the 
 strength and the vividness of his religious faith. 
 
 The conduct of David and of Paul was ration- 
 al as well as pious, and it must be our conduct if 
 we would be wise, and consistent, and holy. 
 Trusting in the providence, and " glorying in 
 the cross of Christ," we may, like many that have 
 gone before us, be exposed to ridicule and re- 
 proach. Our understanding may be impeached ; 
 our sincerity may be denied ; our good name may 
 be traduced, and our worldly interest impaired; 
 and we may be beset with evils as many and as 
 severe as those which harassed the King of Israel 
 and the Apostle of the Gentiles. But, amidst them 
 all, we will never, if we are true Christians, be de- 
 terred nor discouraged from confessing the Re- 
 deemer of our souls, and the God of our salvation. 
 We will make this confession, when called upon to 
 do so, even though it should increase the hatred of 
 
LECTURE XI. 289 
 
 our enemies, and the severity of our harJsliips a 
 thousand fold. And we will be the more resolute 
 to do this, not only because it is right in itself, 
 but because by the noble testimony which we thus 
 give, of a good conscience, and to a righteous 
 cause, we may be instrumental in awakening, and 
 finally converting the hearts of those who so un- 
 justly vilify and oppress us. 
 
 Nor my friends can we possibly act otherwise, 
 if we truly and firmly believe. Let us only be 
 convinced that " the Lord reigns," and that his 
 word concerning his people is as true as his pur- 
 pose is merciful, and as his arm is mighty ; let our 
 minds be influenced by realising views of the ne- 
 cessity and the greatness of that deliverance which 
 he has provided for us, by the meritorious righte- 
 ousness and atoning death of his own Son ; let 
 our belief extend to all that he has spoken of the 
 compassion and the kindness, with which he will 
 regard us as we journey along the pilgrimage of 
 life, and travel through " the dark valley of 
 death ;" let our hope " enter into that within the 
 vail," and contemplate whatever is great and good 
 and happy in the sinless and unsuffering king- 
 dom which is prepared for us in heaven ; and what 
 u 
 
290 LECTURE XI. 
 
 is there in the hostility of mortal man — what is 
 there in the privation of earthly comfort — what is 
 there in the last and deepest agonies of bodily 
 suffering, that should prevent us from proclaim- 
 ing in the loudest strains our unshaken trust in 
 the Lord Jehovah, in the grace and power of 
 Jesus, in the virtue and the faithfulness of the 
 everlasting covenant? The afflictions to which we 
 are subjected, cannot alter the objects towards 
 which our faith is turiied : they cannot alter the 
 grounds upon which it is established ; they can- 
 not alter the reasonableness of that connexion 
 which subsists between the principle itself, and 
 the arguments, whether speculative or experimen- 
 tal, which have produced it; they cannot alter 
 these things, and, therefore, why should our faith 
 in such circumstances, be either enfeebled or de- 
 stroyed ? Nay, if that faith be genuine and en- 
 lightened, it will not merely brave the storms of 
 persecution, but will gather strength and vigour 
 from them. For while he in whom w^e believe 
 gives us no reason to expect any exemption from 
 the ills and calamities of life, he has even told us 
 that our lot in consequence of our Christian pro- 
 fession, and Christian practice, may be more 
 
LECTURE XI. 291 
 
 troubled than tliat of other men, and that it may 
 happen that every proof we give, either in word 
 or deed, of our devotedness to the doctrine of a 
 particular providence, or of a crucified Saviour, 
 may be the signal for opposition, and contumely, 
 and scorn. And, consequently, when such things 
 befal us, they give us additional evidence of the 
 truth of the Gospel, and of the veracity of him 
 to whom we have committed our interests. This 
 evidence becomes the more interesting and pow- 
 erful, when we recollect the promise with which 
 the prediction of suffering is accompanied, name- 
 ly, that it will be all overruled for our ultimate 
 happiness ; and, indeed, that it is to operate as a 
 wise and intended means of sanctifying us for the 
 presence of the blessed God. And, in this view 
 of the subject, it surely becomes us to be " strong 
 in the faith ;" to " sing at once of mercy and of 
 judgment;" to lift up a witnessing voice to the un- 
 ceasing and unchangeable love of him under 
 whose permission, or by whose appointment, w^e 
 are put into the furnace of affliction; and to tell 
 the church and the world, in the language of set- 
 tled and animated belief, that we rejoice in him 
 who suffered on Calvary, and that in spite of all 
 
29:2 LECTURE XI. 
 
 the obloquy that can be heajDed upon us by infi- 
 del and ungodly men, we still cling to his cross 
 as " all our salvation and all our desire." " Thus 
 believing, we will thus speak." 
 
 But, my friends, though this be the language 
 of true and genuine faith, we know enough of the 
 frailty of men, and of believing men, not to be 
 aware that believing men do not uniformly hold 
 this language; that they sometimes allow their 
 convictions to be weakened, or to fall into a tem- 
 porary slumber ; that when assailed by bitter pro- 
 vocations, or by unexpected miseries, they occa- 
 sionally become uncharitable, fretful, and discon- 
 solate. In the intensity of their feelings towards 
 those who are bnt the instruments of what they 
 endure, they forget the perfection and the cha- 
 racter of him by whom these instruments are 
 guided or restrained. And, irritated by the pains 
 that they suffer, or perplexed by the difficulties 
 in which they are involved, they lose their hold 
 of that stay on which their souls, in less trying 
 circumstances, had securely rested ; they speak 
 and act as if the divine protection were with- 
 drawn, or, as if their enemies were now stronger, 
 than God; and look with an evil eye, and pro- 
 
LECTURE XI. 293 
 
 nounce an indiscrim 'mating sentence of condem- 
 nation, on all their brethren of mankind. 
 
 Of this we have an example in the Psalmist. 
 " I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, all 
 men are liars." He had been deserted by those 
 on whom he relied as his friends ; he had been 
 •deceived, as well as thwarted and persecuted by 
 such as might have been expected to stand by 
 him, and support him in his time of need. But, 
 not contented with expressing his indignation at 
 the treachery and misconduct of these individuals, 
 he concludes that every other person is actuated 
 by the same spirit of falsehood and deception, and 
 involves the good and the bad, friends and foes, 
 in one sweeping censure. And he does it in such 
 a way as to show that he was thinking with more 
 concern, about the guilt and the malice of his ad- 
 versaries, than about the power and the provi- 
 dence of his God. 
 
 But then he acknowledges that he did this rash- 
 ly and unadvisedly. He did not sufficiently con- 
 sider the nature and grounds of the sentiment 
 which he uttered. He yielded to a sudden ebidli- 
 tion of temper, instead of having recourse to the 
 great truths in which he believed, and which 
 
294 LECTURE XL 
 
 would have served in this, as hi former cases, to 
 fortify his courage, to comfort his heart, and to 
 guide his ste})s. And this sinful conduct origi- 
 nated in the greatness of his affliction. His afflic- 
 tion was so great as to overwhelmn his better 
 principles and feelings, to bring into action the 
 angry passions of his nature, and to make him 
 speak as if he had been faithless, as well as re- 
 sentful. 
 
 This, however, is not to be viewed so much in 
 the light of an excuse for Imn, as of a warning to 
 us. We may suffer greatly and grievously from 
 the malice of men. There may be found among 
 our foes, those whom we had befriended, who had 
 " eaten of our bread," who had shared of our 
 bounty, who had taught us to confide in their 
 affection : And they may employ the very tokens 
 of our confidence as the weapons of their malig- 
 nity. But what is there in all this to justify us 
 in anathematising the whole of our species, and 
 in branding with duplicity such as have never 
 done us wrong ? We know not how many hearts 
 may be sympathising wdth us in our distresses ; 
 how many voices are lifted up in prayer for our 
 deliverance ; how many hands are actively en- 
 
LECTURE XI. 295 
 
 gaged in our defence. And why should a sense 
 of injuries, however unmerited, and however great, 
 crush in our souls that charity which would make 
 us believe to be good in our brethren, what we 
 do not know to be evil ? Or why should the per- 
 secution of a few, or of many, sour us against the 
 rest, and alienate our affections from all ? Grant- 
 ing, however, that there were a countless multi- 
 tude againt us, why should we give way to the 
 feelings, or why should we utter the language of 
 disappointment and of querulousness, when we 
 know who is for us? We " believe in God; we 
 believe also in Christ : Let not, therefore, our 
 hearts be troubled ; neither let them be afraid.*' 
 Instead of the discontented and unbecoming effu- 
 sion which David poured forth in his haste and 
 his forgetfulness, let us adopt the tone of trium- 
 phant confidence which animated him on another 
 occasion, when he said, " The Lord is my light 
 and my salvation, whom shall I fear ? The Lord is 
 the strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid ? 
 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes 
 came upon me, to eat up my flesh, they stumbled 
 and fell. Though an host should encamp against 
 me, my heart shall not fear ; though war should 
 
'^96 LECTURE XI. 
 
 rise up against me, in tliis will I be confident." 
 Butj sensible how weak we are, how apt we are 
 to be thrown off our guard, and overwhelmed by 
 unlooked for calamities ; warned of this, if not by 
 our own experience, at least by the experience of 
 the Psalmist, and by the teaching of the Bible, 
 let us be vigilant against the influence of such 
 circumstances ; let us study to live in the habitual 
 exercise of faith ; let us be especially careful to 
 call forth its energies in such trials as that which 
 made David unmindful of his trust in the Al- 
 mighty ; let us be continually employed in nour- 
 ishing and invigorating it, by meditations on the 
 divine character, and the divine promises; and 
 let us pray earnestly that, in every season of 
 peril and of perplexity, it may be made strong by 
 the might of heaven to overcome every foe, and 
 to banish every fear. 
 
 Notwithstanding the sinful and uncharitable 
 despondency into which the Psalmist had fallen, 
 the Lord had been merciful to him, and deliver- 
 ed him out of all his troubles : " set his feet in a 
 large place, and established his goings/' And, 
 strongly impressed by a sense of his manifold ob- 
 ligations, he cries out, " what shall I render unto 
 
LECTURE XI. 297 
 
 the Lord for all his benefits towards me?" Such 
 is the feeling which it becomes every Christian to 
 cherish, and such is the language which it be- 
 comes every Christian to employ. Numerous are 
 the blessings which God has conferred upon us. 
 From the earliest moment of our existence until 
 now, he has watched over us to do us good. How 
 often has he rescued us^ from pain and danger ! 
 How often has he guided us in our difficulties, 
 and comforted us in our sorrows ! How liberally 
 has he provided for our ever returning wants ! 
 How abundantly has he favoured our lot both 
 with temporal mercies, and with spiritual privi- 
 leges ! And how undeserving have we been even 
 of the very least of those benefits which we were 
 daily and hourly receiving from his bountiful 
 hand ! Surely then, if gratitude be due to a be- 
 nefactor, it becomes us to be grateful to the Lord 
 our God ; and if our gratitude to a benefactor 
 should be enhanced by the generosity of the giver, 
 and the unworthiness of the receiver, what a debt 
 of gratitude do we owe to him whose loving-kind- 
 ness to us has been equally unbounded and un- 
 merited ! Let us often think of the preserving 
 and redeeming goodness of our Maker : let us call 
 
298 LECTURE XI. 
 
 up every tlianktul emotion of which our hearts 
 are susceptible ; let every year, and let every hour, 
 as it increases the weight of our obligations, find 
 us more disposed to acknowledge and to fulfil 
 them ; and let it be our serious and our perpetual 
 enquiry, how we shall give the most unequivocal 
 and most suitable expression to that gratitude, 
 which such a rich experience of the divine bene- 
 ficence should awaken in our breasts. " What 
 shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits 
 towards us?" 
 
 " I will take the cup of salvation," says the 
 Psalmist, " and call upon the name of the Lord." 
 The Psalmist, it is probable, by " the cup of salva- 
 tion," means the drink offerings appointed by the 
 law in token of thankfulness for any deliverance 
 that had been experienced ; or he may refer to a 
 custom that prevailed among the pious Jews, of 
 the master of the house having at his private 
 meal a cup of blessing of which he drank first, 
 and in which his guests and family pledged him, — 
 all uniting in the act of thanksgiving to God with 
 which the ceremony was accompanied. Which- 
 soever of these interpretations be the just one, 
 ^he instruction which it imparts to us is, that we 
 
LECTURE XI. 299 
 
 should adopt every appointed and every proper 
 method of signifying how much we owe to our 
 heavenly father ; that in the exercises of public 
 worship and of domestic piety, as well as of pri- 
 vate devotion, we should not fail to make men- 
 tion of our debt of gratitude; that we should "call 
 upon the name of the Lord," praising him for his 
 works of mercy and of kindness, and praying to 
 him for a mind more willing to make those re- 
 turns to which he is entitled, and for ability more 
 ample to act according to what we feel in our 
 hearts and utter with our lips. 
 
 And especially should we be faithful to the 
 vows that we have made in the season of distress. 
 It too often happens that these vows are broken 
 and forgotten. Under the pressure of affliction, 
 and more particularly in the prospect of its ter- 
 minating fatally, we are apt to form resolutions 
 and to make promises of amendment, and to say, 
 that if it pleases God to spare us and to deliver 
 us, we will henceforth render him a new and a 
 better obedience ; that we will be careful to avoid 
 the sins of our past lives, which we now see to 
 have l)een sinful far beyond wiiat we had ever 
 conceived them in the season of health and safe- 
 
300 LECTURE XI. 
 
 iy ; and that all who shall hereafter witness our 
 conduct, shall behold it adorned with the fruits 
 of sincere penitence, and holy purposes, and 
 sanctified distresses. All this is well : but alas, 
 how often does it all vanish like the goodness of 
 Ephraim, which was as " the morning cloud and 
 the early dew that passeth away !" How often 
 have we risen from the bed of sickness, or escaped 
 from the jaws of death, and thought little more, 
 or thought no more, of the contrition that we had 
 felt, of the confessions that w^e had made, of the de- 
 terminations that we had formed to be more watch- 
 ful against temptation, and more vigorous in du- 
 ty, and more abundant in faith than we had ever 
 been before ! How often have we exhibited the 
 spectacle of employing our renovated health, our 
 restored life, our returning prosperity, far more 
 for the gratification of our own perverse disposi- 
 tions, than for the honour and the praise of him by 
 whom these blessings were bestowed, and to 
 whom we solemnly covenanted them all the rest 
 of our days ! Brethren, these things ought not 
 so to be ; and let them not be so with any of us. 
 But as we have vowed unto the Lord, let us be 
 faithful to pay our vows. Instead of coming short 
 
LECTURE XL 301 
 
 of what might have been expected from all that 
 we had felt and said in the time of trouble, let 
 us labour if possible to go beyond it ; and show 
 in the confirmed steadfastness of our faith and in 
 the growing purity of our deportment, not only 
 that it was " good for us to have been afflicted," 
 but that we were sincere and decided in the sur- 
 render which we then made of our future selves, 
 and of our whole selves, to the glory of that God 
 whose mercy we invoked, and whose mercy we 
 experienced. 
 
 And let us do this " now/' Delay in such a case 
 is sinful. It is a violation of the very vow that 
 was made ; it is persevering in what we know to 
 be wrong, and have promised to forsake. And 
 it is foolish as well as sinful ; for if we do not be- 
 gin to fulfil our engagements when the circum- 
 stances which induced them are still fresh in our 
 recollection and our feelings, how is it to be sup- 
 posed that we shall afterwards be prevailed up- 
 on to begin the work, when the pains of sickness, 
 the ills of adversity, the apprehensions of death, 
 shall have been swallowed up in the cares, and 
 the umusements, and the fascinations of a world 
 which we have so deliberately allowed to regain 
 its ascendancy ? Nor is it less dangerous than 
 
302 LECTURE XL 
 
 it is foolish and sinful, to defer to any future day 
 the fulfilment of our vows. The retrospect of 
 every past year, and all wliich the events of that 
 year have taught us, inculcate the momentous 
 lesson which is recorded in our Bible, that " now 
 is the accepted time — that now is the day of sal- 
 vation." We know not, and we cannot know, 
 whether our period of probation shall be length- 
 ened ; whether our present opportunities shall 
 be repeated ; whether space shall be granted us, 
 not for carrying our purposes into full effect, but 
 even for giving one decisive proof that they were 
 cordial and sincere. And, therefore, our only 
 safety lies in beginning immediately to embody 
 our resolutions and our vows into our actual cha- 
 racter, and to become all that we intend to be, 
 and all that we must be, as the monuments of 
 God's saving mercy, and as the expectants of his 
 heavenly presence. We must " pay our vows 
 iiow in the presence of all God's people ;" tell- 
 ing them what great things he has done for our 
 souls and our bodies ; calling upon them to join 
 us in magnifying his holy name; and giving them 
 to see our renewed anxiety and our improved 
 exertions to conform to all his holy will. We 
 
LECTURE XL S03 
 
 must do it, " ill the courts of the Lord's house," 
 by a more punctual attendance on the pubhc or- 
 dinances of his grace, and by a more devout, 
 more fervent, more consistent engagement in all 
 the exercises and services of the sanctuary. And 
 we must do it, as it v^^ere, " in the midst of Jeru- 
 salem." We must do it before the world as well 
 as before the church ; in the presence of God's 
 enemies as well as in the presence of all his peo- 
 ple. We are not to make an ostentatious display 
 of God's merciful dealings with us ; nor of the 
 gratitude which we feel to him on account of 
 these; nor of the practical proofs by which that 
 gratitude is evinced and perfected. But as lit- 
 tle are we to be ashamed of these things or ta 
 conceal them from the knowledge and observa- 
 tion of " them that are without." This would 
 neither be honourable to God, nor would it be 
 just to our own personal feelings and consistency, 
 nor would it be any thing towards ungodly men, 
 but a withholding from them what, if plainly and 
 prudently exhibited, might have the effect of 
 subduing their opposition, and calling them to 
 serious thought. Under the influence of all 
 these considerations, we must pay our vows to 
 
304 LECTURE XL 
 
 the Lord with unaffected simplicity and undaunt- 
 ed boldness : believing it to be at once right and 
 useful that none should be ignorant of the di- 
 vine goodness to " them that love him" and put 
 their trust in him, and of that tribute of piety 
 and righteousness, which, as he requires it, so 
 they are ready to yield, in token of their grati- 
 tude to him who preserves " their souls from 
 death, their eyes from tears, and their feet from 
 falling." 
 
 It is a comfortable and an animating thought, 
 that, " precious in the sight of the Lord, is the 
 death of his saints." He has often permitted his 
 people to be persecuted unto the death ; and 
 there is a host of blessed martyrs around his 
 throne. But he gave them up to the will of their 
 enemies that they might bear a more impressive 
 witness to the truth than the longest and most 
 prosperous life could have effected ; he stood by 
 them when they were suffering for his sake, and 
 spread a glory over their last scene, brighter and 
 more permanent by far than what has ever ac- 
 companied the departure of the proudest and 
 most splendid of this world's heroes ; and from 
 
 the scaffold or the flames, where they perished, 
 3 
 
LECTURE XI. 305 
 
 he has wafted their spirits to the peculiar blesS" 
 edness of those who " have come through much 
 tribulation." And as in these cases he has loved 
 and honoured his saints even in the midst of ap- 
 parent desertion, so in all circumstances he 
 watches over them for good. He does not need- 
 lessly allow them to be the victims of human en- 
 mity. He does not set so little value on their 
 continuance in the world as to eye their treat- 
 ment in it, or their exit from it, with indifference. 
 While they are here, he " keeps them as the 
 apple of his eye," and when they go hence, his 
 Spirit goes with them to place them in their saint- 
 ed rest, and to give them entrance into " the joy 
 of their Lord." How anxious, then, should we 
 be to consecrate to him the life which he is so 
 careful to preserve, and the death which he is so 
 gracious to embalm ! " Whether we live, let us 
 live to the Lord ; and whether we die, let us die 
 to the Lord ; that living or dying we may be the 
 Lord's." 
 
 If we are real Christians, then are we truly the 
 " servants'' of God — his servants by our being the 
 children " of his handmaid," or born and settled 
 within the pale of his church, and inheriting its 
 
306 LECTURE XI. 
 
 outward privileges: and his servants by his having 
 " loosed our bonds," and rescued us from " the 
 sorrovrs of death and the pains of hell, which 
 had compassed and taken hold upon us." Let 
 us then remember the obligations, and perform 
 the duties of that service into which he has call- 
 ed us by his grace, and to which he has bound 
 us with the cords of love. Let us walk worthy 
 of the spiritual advantages and of the temporal 
 benefits by which he has distinguished us. Re- 
 membering that we " are not our own, but bought 
 with a price," even the precious blood of his in- 
 carnate son, let us " glorify God in our bodies 
 and in our spirits which are his." And let us be 
 animated to fidelity, and diligence, and constan- 
 cy, by the assurance he has given us, that he 
 will support us under our labours, and crown us 
 at last with a great recompense of reward. 
 
LECTURE XII. 
 
 PSALM III. 
 
 ** Lord, how are they increased that trouble me ? many are 
 they that rise up against me. Many there be which say 
 of my soul J There is no help for him in God. But 
 thoUf O Lord J art a shield for me ; my glory, and the lifter 
 up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and 
 he heard me out of his holy hill. I laid me down and 
 slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I wil 
 not be afraid oj ten thousands of people that have set them- 
 selves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, 
 O my God : for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon 
 the cheek-bone ; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 
 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy 
 people.^' 
 
 David's conduct in the case of Uriah had justly 
 provoked the divine displeasure, and God threat- 
 ened to " raise up evil against him out of his own 
 house." This threatening was soon executed. His 
 son Absalom became his foe ; contrived a scheme 
 for depriving him of his crown, and of his life ; 
 prevailed upon his subjects to join him in the 
 unnatural rebellion ; and speedily reduced him to 
 
308 LECTURE XII. 
 
 a state of extreme danger, and of deep distress. 
 There was every thing in his situation to agitate 
 him with alarm, or to sink him into dejection and 
 despair. His enemies were inveterate in their 
 hostility, and formidable by their numbers. They 
 consisted of his own people whom he had ruled 
 with equity, and treated with kindness and indul- 
 gence. They were headed and led on by a child 
 on whom he doated even to weakness, and in 
 whom he trusted as he would have trusted in 
 himself. The object at which they aimed with 
 determined purpose was his dethronement and 
 his death. And so unable did he seem to defend 
 himself from their assaults, and so inevitably 
 devoted to destruction, that they could not re- 
 frain from saying in the language of mockery 
 and exultation, " There is no help for him in 
 God." 
 
 In these circumstances, however, David was 
 not cast down. He could not fail indeed to ex- 
 perience much cutting disappointment, many 
 painful apprehensions, numerous hardships and 
 privations. But still he did not give way to 
 despondency ; he placed his confidence, and 
 found his refuge in the protection of Almighty 
 God. On that great and good Being he had 
 
LECTURE XII. 309 
 
 hitherto relied ; and he had known experimentally 
 too much of his willingness and his ability to 
 save, and partaken too richly of his precious 
 promises, to suspect that he would desert him 
 now, in the season and under the pressure of his 
 utmost need. From all that he had been taught 
 to believe, and from all that he had been privi- 
 leged to feel respecting the ways of his Provi- 
 dence, he was fully persuaded that light would 
 rise out of darkness, and order out of confusion, 
 and safety out of peril. And in the very midst 
 of his trials, severe and complicated as they were, 
 and menacing as was the aspect which they as- 
 sumed, he steadily addressed himself to God as 
 his God, and stayed himself on the assurance 
 that he would be " a shield" to guard him from all 
 the attacks of his adversaries ; — that he would be 
 his " glory," his honour and his boast, amid the 
 reproaches they were heaping upon him, and the 
 degradation in which they were attempting to in- 
 volve him; — and that he would be the " lifter up of 
 his head," his deliverer from those troubles by 
 which, for a time, he was to be harassed, and 
 his restorer to that dignity and authority of which, 
 for a time, he was to be deprived. 
 
310 LECTURE XII. 
 
 Thus was it with David ; and thus must it be, 
 and thus will it be, with all who have that deep 
 and enlightened piety by which he was distin- 
 guished. The time of affliction is the time for 
 trying your faith and your patience, for ascer- 
 taining your possession of these virtues, for giving 
 them a salutary exercise, for manifesting the 
 energy and perfection which belong to them, and 
 for enjoying the consolation which they are so 
 well fitted to impart. And as ye all have need of 
 them, so you have reason to be thankful that they 
 are warranted by every view that Scripture gives 
 you of the character and government of God, and 
 by every one of his dealings with those who have 
 made him their "stronghold in the day of trouble." 
 Such are~ his attributes, such are his promises, 
 such has been the whole course of his adminis- 
 tration, that there is no degree of trust which you 
 may not safely repose in him, and no degree of 
 resignation which you may not cheerfully yield 
 to him. It matters not what your trials and your 
 sorrows be ; your support and your solacement 
 remain unchangeably the same. His assurances 
 of protection and deliverance make no distinction 
 between the greatest and the smallest evils that 
 
LECTURE XII. 311 
 
 can enter into your lot ; the infinitude of his per- 
 fections enables him to perform all that he has 
 said respecting their mitigation, or their removal ; 
 and if there be one case, rather than another, in 
 which he demonstrates the facility wherewith he 
 can accomplish these ends, it is that in which the 
 tribulations of his servants have been multiplied 
 even to utter hopelessness. You may not be 
 called to suffer what the Psalmist suffered ; but 
 though you were ; though like him you had your 
 hearts pierced by the disobedience and undutiful- 
 ness of beloved children ; though those who had 
 been indebted to your guardianship and your 
 beneficence had requited you with base ingrati- 
 tude ; though you had met with enmity where 
 you expected nothing but friendship; though your 
 foes, being of your own household, and of your 
 own kindred, were increasing every day in num- 
 bers, in malignity, and in power; though they 
 had robbed you of your just dominion and your 
 dearest rights ; though they had not only laid 
 your honour in the dust, but were seeking to de- 
 prive you of life itself, and to load your memory 
 and your name with unmerited obloquy as the 
 last effort of their hostility, and the last gratifica- 
 
3l'J LECTURE XII. 
 
 tion of their malice ; and though to these were 
 added, every other calamity with which your 
 mortal existence can be afflicted, — what then ? 
 These are as much within the reach of God's 
 sovereign and absolute controul, as is the most in- 
 considerable evil that can possibly befal you ; and 
 in proportion to the burden which they lay upon 
 you, and the anguish which they occasion you, 
 and the dangers to which they expose you, will 
 be his care that you be not overwhelmed and 
 ruined by them. If he is for you, — this is your 
 comfort, that he is greater than all that can be 
 against you. Is it requisite for you that he have 
 goodness ? His goodness prompts him to com- 
 passionate you in all your distresses, to send you 
 the help and the relief that you need, and to visit 
 you with " a joy that is unspeakable." Is it requi- 
 site for you that he have w isdom ? His wisdom is 
 such as to fathom and to defeat the most artful 
 devices of them that seek to hurt you, — to extri- 
 cate you from the most perplexing difficulties in 
 which you can be involved, and to make the most 
 untoward circumstances and events conducive to 
 your highest advantage. Is it requisite for you 
 that he have power ? His power is irresistible : 
 
LECTURE XII. 313 
 
 he has only to say to the storm of persecution 
 that rages around you, " peace, be still," and all its 
 elements are hushed into silence ; he has only to 
 Avill it, and calumny departs from your reputa- 
 tion, and disease from your body, and grief from 
 your spirit ; he has only to put his everlasting 
 arm around you, and you are beyond the reach of 
 woe. Is it requisite for you that he give the 
 promise of gracious and mighty interposition in 
 your behalf? This promise is given by him ex- 
 plicitly and emphatically ; it is repeated in every 
 various form ; it has respect to all the circum- 
 stances of your pilgrimage, to all the vicissitudes 
 of your warfare ; and it partakes of the truth 
 and unchangeableness of the source from which 
 it has proceeded. Is it requisite that you have a 
 practical proof of its fulfilment ? This proof is to 
 be found in the life of every afflicted saint, from 
 the beginning of the world to the present mo- 
 ment ; they have had recourse to it in every hour 
 of trial, and it has never failed them, nor disap- 
 pointed them ; and the Psalmist speaks the senti- 
 ment of them all, when he says as the result of 
 his own experience, " I will extol thee, O Lord, 
 for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my 
 
314 LECTURE XII. 
 
 foes to rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I 
 cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O 
 Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the 
 grave ; thou hast kept me alive, that I should not 
 go down to the pit." 
 
 But we shall suppose your case to be still more 
 discouraging than it has been just now represent- 
 ed. We shall suppose your distresses to be the 
 result of your transgression — -not merely the ef- 
 fect of sin, as all suffering may be justly consider- 
 ed, but an immediate and visible consequence of 
 some particular demerit — a punishment inflicted 
 upon you for certain specified iniquities, as was 
 the case with David when he composed this 
 Psalm ; — still I would exhort you not to despond 
 or to allow your confidence in God as your God 
 to be impaired. Just cause, indeed, would you 
 have for despair, if having disobeyed God, and 
 enduring a penalty for that disobedience, you yet 
 hardened yourselves against him, and continued 
 in a state of rebellion. In that case every evil 
 to which you were subjected would be a token of 
 divine vengeance, and the beginning of that more 
 insupportable condemnation with which the final- 
 ly impenitent must be overwhelmed in a future 
 
LECTURE XII. 315 
 
 world. But your circumstances are totally dif- 
 ferent, if, like the Psalmist, you have become 
 sensible of your guilt, and have felt contrition 
 and self-abasement on account of it, and have cast 
 yourselves upon God's covenanted mercy, and 
 have returned to him with renewed affection and 
 devotedness. Having done this, you may be sa- 
 tisfied that God will not give you up to destruc- 
 tion ; that he will not permit the calamities with 
 which you are visited to crush you ; that he will 
 not allow a single pain to harass you for one mo- 
 ment longer than what is requisite for the vindi- 
 cation of his own ways, as connected with your 
 moral corruption on the one hand, and with the 
 advancement of your spiritual well-being on the 
 other. He is neither vindictive nor relentless. 
 He has no pleasure in your sufferings or in your 
 death ; but is rather willing that you should 
 come to him, and be forgiven, and live. He ap- 
 pointed his own Son to " make peace by the blood 
 of his cross" between you and your offended God. 
 This end is actually accomplished in behalf of 
 all them that believe. And looking up to him 
 in faith as not only full of compassion, but as re- 
 conciled to you, and reconciling you to himself, 
 
316 LECTURE XII. 
 
 and " not imputing to you your trespasses,"" you 
 have no more to fear from his indignation. That is 
 overpast; and, beholding you in the face of Jesus 
 Christ, he becomes your father, your protector, 
 and your friend. And being the objects of his 
 redeeming love, can you suspect for a moment 
 that he will at any time abandon you to the ma- 
 lice of your enemies, or leave you a prey to the 
 difficulties and the dangers with which you have 
 to struggle ? O no ; you must not, you cannot en- 
 tertain such hard and unjust thoughts of "the Lord 
 God merciful and gracious." Doubtless he hates 
 sin, and can have no complacency in those who 
 commit it. Doubtless you have provoked his 
 displeasure by your manifold and aggravated 
 transgressions. Doubtless the supreme and holy 
 ruler of the universe cannot clear the guilty, with- 
 out an adequate satisfaction to the demands of 
 his righteous and violated law. But this satisfac- 
 tion having been made by the obedience of your 
 divine surety, and your interest in it secured by 
 the instrumentality of a true and cordial faith, 
 there is nothing to prevent the love of God from 
 following the impulse of its own inherent energies, 
 and sending forth upon you all the blessings that 
 
LECTURE XII. 317 
 
 can contribute to your safety and your happiness. 
 From the riches of his grace, and the promises of 
 his word, he is as much pledged to do you good, 
 as if you had never swerved from the way of his 
 commandments. And though you cannot be ex- 
 empted from the ills that are incident to fallen 
 humanity ; and though, in the course of his Pro- 
 vidence, you may have to bear many a heavy 
 burden, and to feel many a bitter pang ; and 
 though you may have to undergo special inflic- 
 tions of adversity in consequence of special aber- 
 rations from the path of duty, — still the Lord is 
 on your side ; he will guard you in your most 
 perilous hour ; he will support you under the 
 pressure of your severest trials ; he will ultimate- 
 ly deliver you from all your sorrows ; and he will 
 overrule the very chastisements which he lays up- 
 on you for your forgetfulness of him, or your 
 disobedience to him, as the means of bringing 
 you nearer to himself, of elevating your Christian 
 character, and of rendering you fitter for that 
 world where you shall never offend him, and 
 never be afflicted by him any more. 
 
 Amidst all his sins and all his sufferings, the 
 Psalmist had recourse to the exercises of devo- 
 
318 LECTURE XII. 
 
 tion, — he retired into his secret chambers, or he 
 went into the public sanctuary, and addressed 
 himself to God in prayer and supplication. This 
 he knew to be his duty, and felt to be his privi- 
 lege; and he not only exemplifies the practice, 
 but gives his testimony to the divine goodness 
 and faithfulness towards those who observe it, 
 when he says, '' I cried unto the Lord with my 
 voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill." If, 
 indeed, we are animated with the spirit of real 
 piety, and if we have acquainted ourselves with 
 God, with our dependence upon him, with his 
 ability and readiness to save us, and with the en- 
 couragement he gives us to draw near to him, — 
 then, in all situations of perplexity, and danger, 
 and distress, we will be irresistibly carried to the 
 throne of his grace. That will be our resort in 
 the ordinary course of our lives, and in the ordi- 
 nary events of our lot ; but surely we will hasten 
 to it, and we will dwell before it, and we will 
 plead at it, when labouring under strong convic- 
 tions of sin, or exposed to peculiar hardships and 
 calamities. What else can we do in such circum- 
 stances, — in what other way can we consult our 
 welfare, — how can we otherwise do homasre to 
 
LECTURE XII. 319 
 
 the hearer of prayer ? The divine character, as 
 unfolded in the Scripture, holds out a broad in- 
 vitation to every humble and suffering worship- 
 per ; and he to whom that character belongs, has 
 expressly said to every one of his people, " Call 
 upon me in the day of trouble ; I will deliver 
 thee, and thou shalt glorify we." And it is nothing 
 more than exercising that reverence which is due 
 to the word of truth, and yielding to that lesson 
 which is taught us by universal experience, when 
 we cry unto God from the depths, and cry unto 
 him, with the settled confidence, that he will list- 
 en to our petitions, and grant us according to our 
 heart's desire. To be successful, however, in our 
 application, we must be careful to make it in the 
 appointed way. The Psalmist speaks of God's 
 hearing him " out of his holy hilV His holy hill 
 was mount Zion. There the ark of the covenant 
 was deposited. That was the ark of God's 
 presence ; from it he was pleased to give his an- 
 swers to those who sought him by prayer. And 
 David had respect to this institution, as originat- 
 ing in the wisdom and authority of the Being to 
 whom he offered up his supplications, and trust- 
 ed to it for obtaining the blessings which he asked. 
 
 4 
 
320 LECTURE XII. 
 
 Now, in like manner, ive must look to God as 
 seated on a throne of grace, made accessible to 
 us by the blood of Christ. He is to be approach- 
 ed only by that " new and living way" which he 
 himself has appointed. Every petition we prefer 
 to him must be preferred in the name of Jesus, 
 in a dependance upon the merits of his death, and 
 the efficacy of his intercession. If we neglect to 
 take refuge in this ark, when the floods of divine 
 wrath, and of temporal adversity, are setting in 
 upon us, most assuredly we shall perish ; and all 
 the methods of deliverance we can have recourse 
 to will be of no avail to our salvation. But if, 
 agreeably to God's revealed plan of mercy, we 
 regard it as the resting place of our hopes, and 
 seek to it with confidence in its sufficiency, as 
 well as its necessity, to rescue us from the sur- 
 rounding deluge, then the overflowing of the 
 waters will pass by, and we shall be safe amidst 
 the perils which sink the unbelieving and the 
 ungodly into perdition. Relying on the atone- 
 ment and righteousness of our mighty Redeemer, 
 we may " come with boldness to the throne of 
 divine grace, and there implore," with the expec- 
 tation of receiving, " mercy to pardon, and grace 
 
LECTURE XII. 321 
 
 to help us ill our times of need." Thus crying 
 unto the Lord, and thus praying to him in faith, 
 he will hear us, as he heard the Psalmist, out of 
 his holy hill. And in answer to our believing 
 entreaties, he will impart to us support, and con- 
 solation, and deliverance ; so that though we be 
 " troubled on every side, we shall not be distressed; 
 though perplexed, we shall not be in despair; 
 though persecuted, we shall not be forsaken; 
 though cast down, we shall not be destroyed." 
 
 But while the Psalmist refers with emphasis to 
 God's extraordinary interpositions in his behalf, 
 when his foes increased, and his situation was full 
 of danger, he does not forget to make mention of 
 the divine care exercised over him in the com- 
 mon habitudes of his life. " He laid him down 
 and slept ; and he awaked, for the Lord sustain- 
 ed him." Habits of piety in the mind, and cor- 
 rect views of providence, will lead us to acknow- 
 ledge our obligations to our Heavenly Father, 
 even in our most tranquil hours, and in our least 
 considerable mercies. It is not only when we 
 come safe out of the ensanguined field, or escape 
 from the dreadful shipwreck, or are raised to un- 
 expected honours and affluence, — it is not only 
 
322 LECTURE XII. 
 
 then that we should confess a present and won- 
 der-working God, and give praise to him for such 
 striking manifestations of his mercy : the wonders 
 of his mercy and his power are just as real and 
 just as worthy of praise, in our preservation from 
 day to day, and from hour to hour, when every 
 thing in our condition looks so peaceful and se- 
 cure, that we are apt to think, we need no pro- 
 tector, and have no injury to fear. " We laid us 
 down, and we slept; and we awoke;" but it was 
 " the Lord that sustained us." It was the great 
 " shepherd of Israel w^ho slumbereth not nor 
 sleepeth" that watched over us; that allowed 
 " no evil to befal us, and no plague to come nigh 
 our dwelling;" that kept our vital functions in 
 play while we w^ere all unconscious and utterly 
 helpless ; and that brought us in health and com- 
 fort to the light, and the duties, and the pri- 
 vileges of another day. How many of our fel- 
 low creatures were there who, from poverty 
 and misfortune, had no place on which to lay 
 their aching head, and stretch their wearied 
 limbs, — while we were blessed with the shelter- 
 ing roof and the bed of repose ! How many have 
 been all night long tossing with agony, or Ian- 
 
X 
 
 LECTURE XII. 323 
 
 guishing in sickness, — while we have enjoyed un- 
 disturbed and refreshing sleep ! How many have 
 shut their eyes never to open them again on this 
 world, — while we have been permitted to continue 
 in the land of living men, to rise in the full pos- 
 session of all our faculties, and still to engage in 
 our work of preparation for eternity. And is not 
 all this to be ascribed to him who careth for us, 
 even when we are incapable of remembering him ? 
 And does it not call for our warm and unceasing 
 gratitude ? And should it not be daily acknow- 
 ledged in the language of devout and cordial 
 thanksgiving ? Yes, my friends ; if we are sensible 
 of the relation in which we stand to God as our 
 constant preserver, and if we feel as we ought to 
 do under the experience of his minute and mighty 
 guardianship, we will say with the Psalmist on 
 another occasion, " My voice shalt thou hear in 
 the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I di- 
 rect my prayer to thee, and will look up." "Every 
 day that I rise I will bless thee, and I will praise 
 thy name for ever and ever." 
 
 And if God is pleased to sustain us in our mid- 
 night slumbers, and give us the comforts of quiet 
 and unbroken repose, even when the storm of 
 
3^4 LECTURE XII. 
 
 adversity is raging around us, (which is probably 
 what David here particularly alludes to,) still 
 warmer then should be our gratitude, and still 
 louder our song of praise. Staying ourselves up- 
 on his grace and power, and maintaining a good 
 conscience towards him, we shall find that his 
 loving kindness extends to all the circumstances 
 of our lot, and neglects nothing which is condu- 
 cive to our personal comfort, or our ultimate 
 safety. And having seen what he has done for his 
 suffering people in this respect, or, it may be, 
 having realised it in our own case, let us give 
 glory to him for his goodness in the time that is 
 past, and continue to trust in him for all the time 
 that is yet to come. " Why should we be afraid 
 of ten thousands of people that may set them- 
 selves against us round about ?" They are as no- 
 thing when they dare to contend with the Al- 
 mighty, by assaulting and persecuting his ser- 
 vants. He will arise and take to him his great 
 power, and save us out of their hands, and scat- 
 ter them as chaff before the wind. He is able to 
 " smite all our enemies upon the cheek-bone," so 
 that they shall no longer be capable of harassing us 
 with those bitter reproaches, and cruel calumnies 
 
LECTURE XII. 325 
 
 by which they have hitherto endeavoured to 
 wound and to destroy us. He is able to ''break 
 the teeth of the ungodly," so that with all their 
 rancorous hostility, and all their demonstrations 
 of malice, they shall not have the power of in- 
 flicting upon us any severe or lasting mischief, or 
 of carrying into effect one of all the schemes which 
 they have laid for our ruin. He is not only able 
 to do these things in bur behalf, but he has often 
 accomplished them in the history of his persecut- 
 ed church. They are recorded '' for our learn- 
 ing, that we, through patience and comfort of the 
 Scriptures, may have hope." 
 
 This hope, then, let us cherish amidst all the 
 vicissitudes of our life, and even in thedarkesthour 
 of tribulation. Whatever be the evils that we suf- 
 fer, and whatever be the evils with which we are 
 threatened, let this great truth be constantly re- 
 membered, and firmly believed in, that " salvation 
 belongeth unto the Lord." He is mighty to save, 
 let our enemies be as formidable, and our circum- 
 stances as desperate as they may. It is his prero- 
 gative to save; for there is salvation in none other. 
 It is his good pleasure to save ; " judgment is his 
 strange work," but he takes delight in the exercise 
 
326 LECTURE XII. 
 
 of that mercy which rescues from the pressure of 
 calamity, and from the jaws of death. And it is 
 his promise to save ; he has assured us that he 
 will deliver them that put their trust in him out 
 of all their troubles, and the fulfilment of this 
 assurance is as certain as his faithfulness is un- 
 changeable, and his strength omnipotent. Let 
 us only be among the number of his people, and 
 all will be well with us ; his blessing will be upon 
 us, and his is a " blessing which maketh rich, 
 and addeth no sorrow." Men may revile us, our 
 spiritual foes may assail us, all external things 
 may seem to be against us, and not one feature of 
 our condition may indicate that there is any hope 
 for us ; but, being the people of God, justified by 
 his grace, sanctified by his Spirit, and devoted to 
 him in the affections of our hearts, and in the 
 obedience of our lives, we shall be the objects of 
 his tender regard, — a regard which w^ill increase 
 in proportion to our necessities ; and being bless- 
 ed of God, we shall be blessed indeed. " All 
 things shall be ours ;" whether prosperity or ad- 
 versity, joy or sorrow, life or death, things pre- 
 sent or things to come. Every coming day 
 will find us enjoying that " peace of God which 
 
LECTURE XII. 327 
 
 passeth understanding," and which depends not 
 on the favour of men, or on the wealth of the 
 world. And at whatever time it shall please our 
 heavenly Father to remove us, the blessedness 
 which he gives upon earth will be exchanged for 
 the blessedness which he gives in heaven ; and as 
 a gracious recompense for all our services, and a 
 happy termination to all our sorrows, we shall 
 enter into the regions of immortality, and into 
 the felicity of " the just made perfect." 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 PRINTED BY A. BALFOUR AND CO. 
 
^ 
 
PROSPECTUS OF A NE^V WORK 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 THE MODERN TRAVELLER; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ^ popular Bcscrfptfon, 
 
 GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, (fc TOPOGRAPHICAL, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF THE GLOBE. 
 
 Compiled from the latest and best Authorities. 
 
 The extensive and indefatigable researches of Euro- 
 pean Travellers dui-ing the last five-and-twenty years, 
 in almost every country of the globe, have given in 
 some instances quite a new aspect to our maps, and 
 have furnished the most important accessions to geo- 
 graphical science. They have at the same time equally 
 extended our acquaintance with the physical habits, 
 political institutions, and domestic manners of the 
 several nations of both hemispheres, some of which 
 were previously known only by name. The Travels, 
 for example, of Clarke, Dodwell, Eustace, and Hughes, 
 in Europe; of Morier, El^jhinstone, Buchanan, Eraser, 
 Pottinger, Gore Ouseley, Kinneir, and Porter, in 
 Asia ; of Belzoni, Lord Valentia, Burckhardt, and 
 Richardson, in Egypt and the adjacent countries ; of 
 Lewis and Clarke, Pike and James, in North Ame- 
 
rROSPECTUS. 3 
 
 rica ; of Luccock, ]Mawe, and Von Spix, in Brazil ; 
 ot Humboldt, in Mexico; and of many others, too 
 numerous to mention : comprise an immense mass of 
 curious and valuable information, diffused through 
 costly works, inaccessible to the generality of readers, 
 and forming collectively a moderate library. The 
 transactions of the various Missionary Societies, also, 
 include a very considerable portion of novel informa- 
 tion of a strictly geographical and scientific kind, 
 frequently presenting to us savage and uncivilised 
 man under a new and interesting aspect. 
 
 With a view to compress this fund of entertaining 
 matter within narrower limits, different collections 
 have been made of the more popular works, on a 
 reduced scale. The series of voyages and travels 
 published in 1 800 by Dr. Mavor, extended to no fewer 
 than twenty-eight volumes ; and were the collection 
 brought down to the present date, more than twice 
 as many on the same plan would be insufficient to 
 include the works of reputation which have since 
 appeared. Pinkerton's collection forms seventeen 
 volumes in quarto. But, besides the objection to such 
 collections, which arises from their bulk and costli- 
 ness, they are necessarily liable to that of incomplete- 
 ness. Some of the best works are the exclusive copy- 
 right of individuals. Others, which may be of too 
 scientific a character to be generally interesting, or 
 which may be excluded as of inferior merit, contain 
 details of the most important kind. And there is this 
 further objection to collections, that, in giving the 
 journals of more travellers than one over the same 
 territory, repetition is inevital)le ; and sometimes con- 
 flicting statements occur, which require to be inves- 
 tigated, in order to determine which is the more 
 correct, or how far they may be reconciled. 
 
4 J'llOSPF.CTUS. 
 
 To obviate these difficulties^ anil, at the same time, 
 realise th.e object of compressing and arranging this 
 various mass of information in a popular form, it is 
 proposed to publish a digested account of each separate 
 country, comprising its geographical features, its 
 manners, customs, polity, &c., as they may be gathered 
 from the collective works of the best English and 
 Foreign travellers. The labour employed in such 
 nnalysis will obviously be immense, and the cost of 
 the materials consideralde; but the Proprietors have 
 resolved to spare neither pains nor expense to render 
 the work as comprehensive and complete as possible, — 
 so that it may form, in fact, a depository for the col- 
 lective stores of our modern explorators and topogra- 
 phers ; and present, if the expression may be allowed, 
 a series of cosmoramic views of the actual state of the 
 various countries. The pviblication is obviously de- 
 signed to be of a popular and useful, rather than of a 
 scientific character ; and with this view, authentic 
 anecdotes, serving to illustrate national character, and 
 other amusing details, will be freely admitted. At 
 the same time, the most studioiis attention will be 
 paid to topographical- accuracy ; and it will be an 
 object carefully kept in view, to rectify the mistakes 
 which are to be found in the most popular geographical 
 works. Blaps will be given on a small scale, but mo- 
 delled on the best authorities, so as to include the 
 latest discoveries. Brief historical notices will also 
 be prefixed to the description of every country, in- 
 cluding its ancient geography, its supposed aborigines, 
 and the principal revolutions of which it has been 
 the theatre. And, with respect to the uncivilised 
 portions of the habitable continent, the sketch will 
 exhibit the progress of discovery. So far as possible, 
 its natural history, botany, geological features, vol- 
 
PROSPECTUS. 5 
 
 canic phenomena, and otl*er natural curiosities, will 
 be fully described; together with the costume, phy- 
 siognomy, and domestic habits of the natives ; their 
 traditions, religion, and literature ; their public 
 buildings, arts, and ancient monuments : in fact, all 
 the multifarious information for which we are in- 
 debted to the indefatigable researches of modern Tra- 
 vellers. 
 
 It might, perhaps, give attraction to the work, to 
 throw the whole into the form of fictitious narrative 
 and imaginary travels ; and the seductive model of the 
 Travels of Anacharsis has led many modern writers 
 to attempt this plan. But it has been jiulged, in the 
 preseat instance, far more expedient, as well as more 
 consistent with the design of the work, to adhere to 
 literal fact and real authorities, and not to aim at 
 imparting a fictitious charm to desci'iptions and ob- 
 servations intrinsically interesting alike to the phy- 
 siologist, the politician, and the general reader. 
 
 CONDITIONS. 
 
 I. The Work will appear in Monthly Parts, price Two Shillings 
 and Sixpence each. It will be printed on the finest Paper, and 
 the Type will be the same as is used in this Prospectus. Two Parts 
 to fomi a Volume. 
 
 II. Each Country will occupy a Part or Parts, according to the 
 interest of the subject, so as to form a distinct Work. 
 
 III. Every Number will be illustrated with a Map of the Coun- 
 try, compiled from the best and latest Authorities, or some other 
 elegant embellishment ; * and occasionally, when the subject re- 
 quires it, additional Plates will be given, witliout charge. 
 
 IV. The Countries will not be published in strict geographical 
 order ; but directions will be gi ren, together with general Titles, 
 at the conclusion of the Work. 
 
 * Hitherto tv/o have been given, and the Publisher b, happy to 
 say, from the encouragement he has met with, he is enabled to pre- 
 )nise that, in general, each Part will continue to have two Pkitcs. 
 
6 PROSJ'ECTU.^. 
 
 Tlie folhnr'ing have been serectedfrom numerovt notices 
 oftheMoDERy Traveller^ all of which have recom- 
 mended the plan and execution of the Work': 
 
 [from the new monthly magazine for 
 february 182g.] 
 
 " Of this valuable little work (still in course of 
 publication) ten volumes have been produced ; the last 
 being an account of Russia * — which at the present 
 moment comes rather opportunely. Judging from the 
 portion of the series which we have read, namely, the 
 volume just mentioned, and the description of Pales- 
 tine, we are induced to recommend the work as a very 
 agreeable compendium of all that has been brought to 
 light by the enterprise of modern travellers for the last 
 five-and-twenty yeai's. This, it must be confessed, is 
 a most desirable thing ; and the sphere of its usefulness 
 is greatly enlarged by the very cheap rate at which the 
 purchaser is enabled to acquire so much knowledge. 
 Of all reading, there is none so interesting as Voyages 
 and Travels. The imagination is stirred, and curiosity 
 is stimulated, as by the marvels of a fanciful tale, while 
 at the same time the mind is enriched by tnith and by 
 solid acquisitions, including a portion, more or less, of 
 many species of knowledge ; as for instance, of geo- 
 graphy, geology, astronomy, history, botany, politics, 
 morals, and of the character of man, as modified by 
 difference of climate and government. Nothing, indeed, 
 can be more fascinating than to become acquainted at 
 one's ease, and by the comforts of one's own fire-side, 
 with the strange scenery, and stranger inhabitants, 
 manners, and customs of distant countries, over which 
 the traveller, whose adventures you are reading, seems 
 to wander M-ith all the dignity, and not a few^ of the 
 sufferings and vicissitudes, of the hero of a romance. 
 
 * On the 1st of March, Spain and Portugal were completed, 
 forming two volumes. 
 
PROSPECTUS. 7 
 
 How many wild and remote lands have been laid open, 
 as it were, to the inspection of the curious, by the 
 researches of such men as Clarke, Dodwell, 3Iorier, 
 Elphiustone, Belzoni, Buckingham, Lord Valentia, 
 Henniker, Burckhardt, Lewis, and Clarke, Luccock, 
 Mawe, Humboldt, and many others ! yet their in- 
 formation being spread over books too costly and too 
 diffuse, is beyond the reach of either the time or the 
 money of the general reader. In the present work, 
 however, the really valuable matter in the intelligence 
 of these travellers has been collected, compared, and 
 condensed by the Editor, and is laid before the Reader 
 in a newly-written narrative, distinguished by great 
 labour of investigation, and by a singularly clear and 
 entertaining manner. It reminds us of the summing 
 up of a skilful judge, when the various evidence in a 
 case is simpHfied and luminously detailed in his own 
 words, except in an occasional instance or two,, where 
 the identical expressions of a witness have been worthy 
 to be preserved on account of their force and character, 
 which might be injured by translation. The printing 
 of the work deserves praise ; and that nothing may 
 be wanting, maps, and plates of ^aews and costume (ou 
 a small scale of course), are given." 
 
 [from the litekary gazette, OCT. 16, 1824.] 
 
 " The Modern Traveller was mentioned in our 
 Gazette of May 1st, as a truly valuable publication, 
 neat in its form, useful in its plan, judicious in its 
 execution, and cheap in its cost. Four monthly parts 
 have since been added to the three upon which we 
 ventured to offer that opinion, and they evince that 
 encouragement is not thrown away upon the editor 
 and publisher, for the merit of the work is increased 
 and not diminished. The maps, on a reduced scale, 
 continue to be worthy of the letter-press, and the 
 
8 rrtOSPECTU3. 
 
 plates appropriate and well engraved. In short, there 
 is no traveller of any authority who has not been 
 laid under contribution to enhance the worth of this 
 excellent work." 
 
 [from the BRITISH REVIEW.] 
 
 " The press at this moment is pouring forth aJX 
 abundance of volumes on South America, and the 
 danger seems to be, that of perplexity as to those 
 which are genuine and really useful. And on this 
 ground we cannot but especially recommend the small 
 but tnily valuable Avork which stands last in our list. 
 The plan of the Modern Traveller is good, but it is 
 particularly useful in this instance. We have, in two 
 small volumes — at the price of half-a-sovereign — the 
 leading facts of the volumes of Southey, Plenderson, 
 Luccock, ]\Iaria Graham, Prince Maximilian, Mawe, 
 Lindley, Koster, Von Si)ix and Von JMartius, Beau- 
 nelle, and Beauchamp ; on Brazil :— and of Wilcocks, 
 Brackenridge, Gillespie, Rodney, and Graham ; on 
 Buenos Ayres. And the whole is digested and con- 
 densed in a style which is admii'ably adapted to the 
 task. The writer evidently takes a deep interest in 
 the subjects on which his pen is employed, and there- 
 fore naturally excites a corresponding feeling in the 
 mind of the reader." 
 
 [from the UNIVERSAL REVIEW.] 
 
 " This is a very ingenious and useful work, appa- 
 rently designed, by its size and simplicity, for the 
 young, but from its extent of information, and accuracy 
 of statement, perfectly fitted to be of value to the 
 intelligent of every time of life. This is the age of 
 travel, and much of the most popular and interesting 
 reading of the country is now furnished l)y travellers. 
 But as no individual, whatever his spirit of adventure 
 
PROSPECTrS. 9 
 
 may he, can pei-vatle every region, nor, wliatever may 
 be his perspicacity, can see correctly all that he sees, 
 it is palpable that error and inadequacy of knowledge 
 must be the frequent result of adhering to the exclu- 
 sive statements of even the most accomplished wan- 
 derers over this parti-coloured world. 
 
 *' The present jmblication undertakes to obviate 
 this formidable inconvenience. With a large com- 
 m.and of materials, for it evidently draAvs from all 
 authentic sources, and with no observable partiality 
 for distingiiished names, it compares and combines 
 the solid knowledge of the whole, corrects the obliqui- 
 ties of one by the directness of another, and, as the 
 residt, tells us all that is actually known of the country 
 jn question." 
 
 [rnOM THE EXAMINER.] 
 
 " To bring within a moderate compass, in regard 
 to size and price, the valuable information spread 
 through the many bulky and swelled-out volumes in 
 which modern travellers have generally deposited their 
 somewhat diffuse details, is a work of such obvious 
 utility for all classes, and of such particular importance 
 to those whose time and money are inadequate to the 
 consulting of the original sources, that a compilation 
 on this plan could not possibly fail of success, however 
 indifferently done. Indeed, when we saw the an- 
 nouncement of the Modern Traveller, we felt some 
 apprehension lest security of a profitable result might 
 tempt the conductors to slur the execution, and that 
 thus the demand might be in a great measure supplied 
 by an incorrect and mischievous publication. We 
 have, however, recently seen the volumes already pul>- 
 lished, and are gratified to find that there is no foun- 
 dation for our feai-s. As far as we are competent 
 judges, the INIodern Traveller is compiled with in- 
 
10 PROSPECTUS 
 
 flustry and judgement, — giving ample details where 
 abridgement would seriously diminish the interest of 
 the narrative (as in the most delightful parts of the 
 conquest of Mexico by Cortes), and taking a rapid 
 view of the least instructive periods of history and the 
 dryer details of description. The work is now in 
 course of publication, a half-crown number appearing 
 every month, and a volume being given to each 
 country'' : and whether we regard the plan, the judi- 
 cious comi)ilation, the extremely neat printing, or the 
 useful maps and illustrative prints of costume, &c., 
 it may be emphatically called a ' nice little book."' 
 
 [from the courier newspaper, APRIL 19,1825.] 
 
 "• There is a work now publishing, in monthly 
 parts, entitled the Modern Traveller, whose merits, 
 we tlu'nk, decidedly entitle it to patronage. It is not 
 a mere reprint of former voyages and travels, but com- 
 bines the character of an original account Avith the 
 value of an authentic one, being drawn up from the 
 latest and best sources of intelligence. To these 
 sources references are constantly made, so that the 
 reader knows upon what authority particular facts are 
 related. Thirteen parts of this work are already pub- 
 lished, the last three of Avhich contain a description of 
 Mexico, particularly interesting at the present moment. 
 Some of the former parts contain similar descriptions 
 of Brazil, and other portions of South America.'' 
 
 [from the oriental herald.] 
 
 " We dovibt not that these elegant little volumes 
 will become exceedingly popular, and meet with that 
 favourable reception which is justly due, not only to 
 the plan and style of the work itself, but also to the 
 peculiar neatness of its typograj)hical executiou." 
 
PROSPECTUS. 11 
 
 [from the ASIATIC JOURXAL.] 
 
 " We feel ourselves j\istified in recommending this 
 work to our readers, as promising to be the most judi- 
 cious and interesting publication of the kind that has 
 ever fallen under our notice." 
 
 [from the gentleman's magazine.] 
 " The information is evidently gleaned from the 
 most recent authorities, and from very expensive 
 works. We hope the pubKsher will receive the en- 
 couragement which so useful a publication merits." 
 
 [from the new evangelical magazine.] 
 " We have seldom met with a publication which 
 combines so many recommendatory qualities. The 
 paper, the print, and the embellishments, are given in 
 a style of corresponding excellence ; and yet these are 
 among the least important of its useful properties. 
 The matei-ials are judiciously selected, and skilfully 
 arranged ; the itinerary commences at one extremity 
 of a country, and is continued to the other, till it 
 exhibits a complete description of the whole territor}\ 
 Thus the reader is pi-esented with the observations 
 and impressions of the travellers at each particular 
 place, generally in their own words, with the most 
 striking incidents by which their route was diversified. 
 But its crowning virtue to many will be its extraor- 
 dinary cheapness ! The two parts now before us com- 
 prise the whole of Palestine, or the Holy Land; a 
 countrj', every acre of which is connected with asso- 
 ciations interesting to the antiquaiy, the biblical 
 critic, and the Christian reader. They form a volume 
 yf nearly 400 pages, with a Map of the countrj'-, a 
 ground-plan of the city of Jerusalem, an engraved 
 view of the city, and another of Bethlehem, at the 
 moderate cost of Five Shillings." 
 
MODERN TRAVELLER. 
 
 Parts I. and II., embellislied with a Map and Three Plates, 
 contain PALESTINE; or, the HOLV LAND; and may 
 be had either in Parts, or in One Volume, price Js. W. 
 boards; or te. very neatly half-bound and lettered. 
 
 Parts HI. to VI. contain SYRIA and ASIA MINOR, 
 
 with Two Maps and Six Plate-s, making Two Voiumco, 
 price as above. 
 
 Pabts VII. to X. contain BRAZIL and BUENOS 
 AVREiT, with a Map and Seven Platen, making Two 
 Volmnes, piice as above. 
 
 Pauts XI. to XIV. contain MEXICO and GUATIMALA, 
 
 making Two Volumes, price as above. 
 
 Pakts XV. and XVI. contain COLOMBIA, price as above. 
 
 Parts XVII. and XVIII. contain ARABIA, price as above. 
 
 Parts XIX. and XX. contain RUSSIA, price as above. 
 
 Parts XXI. to XXIV. contain SPAIN and PORTUGAL, 
 2 Vols, price as above. 
 
 Greece, Birman Empire, British Ixdia, Eoypt, 
 Peru, &c. will follow in succession. 
 
 The 1Vcj-k niai/ be had very neatly bound. Calf Gilt ezira, 
 at 7»'. per Vvlutne, 
 
Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 01143 4034 
 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 iff p. 3 mi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S.A