صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

law, only that his creatures might have the liberty of transgressing it! It is impossible that such impious thoughts can seriously enter into the mind of that man, who properly understands, and firmly believes the gospel of Christ. The more confidently he relies on the righteousness of God his Saviour, the more deeply must his mind be impressed with a sense of the authority and obligation of the law. It was a conviction of the purity of this law, that first taught him the nccessity of a better righteousness than his own; and still, by the same means, he is kept "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus unto eternal life." He expects no favour from God on account of any merit of his own, not because obedience is less pleasing to him than to others, but because the commandments of his God appear to him exceeding broad. He rejoices in the finished work of the divine Redeemer, not because it weakens the obligations to duty, but because, in this glorious scheme of mercy, he perceives the character of God, and the authority of his law most fully vindicated. He can truly say with the apostle, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man," and with the Psalmist, "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way."

As the belief of a God is the foundation of all religion, there can be no religion without faith; but as true religion includes virtue, religion cannot be perfect without works.

IMPORTANT QUESTION.

Is religion, this pearl of great price, in my possession? Important question! If so, give God the glory due unto his name, for flesh and blood, ordinances and ministers, have not imparted this blessing unto us, but your Father who is in heaven. But if, alas! our conscience testifies that we are utter strangers to religion, which is emphatically described as "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," let us not rest satisfied with our state, for it is most awful! But, with many a humble heart-felt prayer, entreat the Giver of every good gift to bestow upon us this invaluable blessing; and, whilst we peruse the sacred page of the Scripture, entreat him to open our understanding that we may understand it, and thus be made wise to the salvation of our souls.

REPENTANCE.

In what does true penitence consist ?—It is to know our sin, and our God-it is to know the miserable state of our soul, and the compassion of our Saviour-it is to forsake the one and embrace the other without delay-it is to mourn over our sins, and seek the pardon of them with tears. As soon as the "woman who was a sinner" knows that Jesus is in the house of the Pharisee, she runs thither-she does not wait till he is alone, till he is at prayers, or in the temple. Wherever she can find him, she presents herself before him. This is her Jesus; she fears him as her judge, she adores him as her God; but she

considers Him also as her Physician, her Father, her Saviour! She is silent, for how could she justify herself? But she weeps, and her tears are more powerful than words. She reflects on what she has done, and under the influence of sincere regret for past offences, resolves now to employ in the service of her God, what was formerly employed in dishonouring him.

With this design, she hastens to discharge her duty. As soon as she discovers that Jesus is in the feast-chamber, there she appears. How different from you, who consider, who hesitate, who deliberate, who wait till this pleasure be exhausted, till that accident impel you to form more determined resolutions, till the world no longer please, or, to speak more plainly, till you no longer please the world!

Do you forsake the world?-Often do you look back to see if it will regard you, and if fortune will again favour you with its smiles. Often you feign to quit it, that you may afford it a stronger wish to retain you; and though it may have many times deceived you, as Laban did Jacob, yet you consent to give it some years of further service.

Happy penitent-for I call you no longer sinful woman-happy penitent, come and teach us what it is to repent and be converted ;—that it is not simply to promise, to deliberate, and to resolve; that it is to hasten like you, to discharge what we have promised. Come, teach us how to become truly and seriously penitent-it is to "sigh as the dove, to watch as the solitary sparrow on the house-top," to weep, and when open scandal has been caused, to weep like you in public, notwithstanding the alarming fear of the vain judgment of men.

NO QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED BEFORE
COMING TO CHRIST.

MAY God keep us from attempting to work out our own salvation by the law; may we be kept from attempting to deprive the law of its justice, the gospel of its grace, and both of their chief glory.

Men dote upon establishing a righteousness of their own to bring them to Christ; and think it is presumptuous or licentious doctrine, that Christ may be theirs, and they receive him, considered simply as ungodly and enemies. But such are abominably injurious to the faith of Jesus Christ, and to the exceeding bounty of his grace, which saves from sin, without respect of any thing in the creature, that He himself may have the praise of the glory of his own grace.

Let no man look for sanctification before he is justified; that is, let no man be discouraged from coming to Christ, because he finds not in himself that godly sorrow for sin, that ability to repent, that disposition of heart which he desires to have. We must first be in Christ, before we are new creatures. And this is a common fault among us; we would fain have something before we come: We think God's pardons are not free, but we must bring something in our hand. You know the proclamation runs thus-Buy without money; that is, come without any excellency at all; because we are commanded to come and take of the water of life freely. Therefore do not say, I have a sinful disposition and an hard heart, and cannot mourn for sin as I should;

therefore I will stay till that be done. It is all one as if thou shouldst say, I must go to the physician; but I will have my wounds well, and my disease healed first, and when that is done, I will go to the physician. What is the end of thy going to him, but to have thy disease healed? I say it is the same folly. The end of going to Christ is, that this very hardness of thy heart may be taken away-that this very deadness of thy spirit may be removed; that thou mayest be enlivened, quickened, healed; that thou mayest hate sin; for he is thy physician :-look not for it beforehand thou must first be in Christ, before thou canst be a new creature.

:

DANGER OF DELAY,

-But the deceit is short, is fruitless. The amazed spirit is about to dislodge. Who shall speak its terror and dismay, when he cries out in' the bitterness of his soul," What capacity has a diseased man-what time has a dying manwhat disposition has a sinful man to acquire good principles, to unlearn false notions, to renounce had practices, to establish right habits, to begin to love God, to begin to hate sin? How is the stupendous concern of salvation to be worked out by a mind incompetent to the most ordinary concerns?"

The infinite importance of what he has to do -the goading conviction that it must be donethe utter inability of doing good-the dreadful combination in his mind of both the necessity and incapacity-the despair of crowding the concerns of an age into a moment-the impossibility

« السابقةمتابعة »