,illustration3 ,frontispiece4 ,,discourses ,,on ,,various ,,subjects ,,discourses ,,on ,,various ,,subjects1 ,by ,,jacob ,,duch1 ,m4 ,a4 ,rector of ,christ-,church and ,st4 ,peter's1 in ,philadelphia2 ,,and ,,formerly ,,of ,,clare-,,hall1 ,,cambridge4 ,the ,,second ,,edition4 ,,vol ,i4 ,,london2 ,printed by ,j4 ,phillips1 ,george-,yard1 ,lombard-,street4 ,and ,sold by ,t4 ,cadell1 in the ,strand2 ,h4 ,payne1 ,pall-,mall2 ,c4 ,dilly1 in the ,poultry2 and ,j4 ,phillips4 ,m4,,dcc4,,lxxx4 ,illustration3 ,pelham ,pinx4 ,,to ,,the ,,right ,,honourable ,,lady ,,juliana ,,penn4 ,madam1 ,i have ever deemed it one of the most favourable circumstances of my life1 that your ,ladyship condescended to honour my early youth with your kind countenance and protection4 ,your amiable character1 and exemplary virtues1 have always thrown such a lustre around you1 as could not but enlighten and improve those1 who came within their influence4 ,this testimony from me1 is no more than the just tribute of a grateful heart4 ,i am1 therefore1 happy1 in having your ,ladyship's permission to inscribe to you the following discourses4 ,you are no stranger to the sentiments they contain3 you love and honour the doctrines they inculcate4 ,the author intreats to be indulged with a continuance of that regard1 which your ,ladyship hath hitherto shewn him2 and which he hath always held more desirable1 in proportion as he hath been better qualified to judge of what is truly honourable and estimable in the intercourses of social life4 ,with this sentiment deeply impressed upon his mind1 he cannot but rejoice in the opportunity your ,ladyship hath granted him1 of thus publickly subscribing himself1 ,madam1 ,your ,ladyship's ,most obliged and ,most faithful ,servant1 ,j4 ,,duch4 ,,preface4 ,the following discourses were preached in the united ,churches of ,christ ,church and ,st4 ,peter1 in the ,city of ,philadelphia1 of which the author was appointed assistant minister in the year #agei1 and to the rectorship of which he was elected in the year #agge4 ,the reader will find in them no display of genius or of erudition4 ,to the former1 the author hath no claim3 of the latter1 he contents himself with as much as is competent to the discharge of his pastoral duty4 ,his divinity1 he trusts1 is that of the ,,bible3 to no other ,standard of ,truth can he venture to appeal4 ,sensible1 however1 of his own fallibility1 he wishes not to obtrude his peculiar sentiments2 nor to have them received any further1 than they carry with them that only fair title to reception1 a conviction of their truth and usefulness4 ,from his own ,heart he hath written to the ,hearts of others2 and if any of his readers find not ,,there the ,ground of his doctrines1 they are1 surely1 at liberty to pass them by1 if they do it with ,christian ,candour1 and to leave it to time and their own reflections1 to discover that ,ground or not4 ,,universal ,,benevolence he considers as the ,,sublime of religion2 the true ,,taste for which1 can only be derived from the ,fountain of ,,infinite ,,love1 by inward and spiritual communications4 ,the mind1 that is possessed of this true ,taste1 whatever its peculiarity of opinion may be1 cannot be very far from the ,kingdom of ,god4--,,god is ,,love2 and he that dwelleth in ,,love1 dwelleth in ,,god1 and ,,god in him4 ,one transgression of the great ,law of ,love1 even in the minutest instance1 must appear more heinous in the ,sight of the ,,god ,,of ,,love1 than a thousand errors in matters of doctrine or opinion4 ,if the reader peruses these volumes under the influence of such sentiments1 it is not likely1 that he will be offended with any singularities of diction1 or any inelegant and colloquial expressions he may now and then meet with4 ,much less will his censure be incurred by the constant use of ,,scriptural ,ideas1 and ,,scriptural ,language1 in preference to what are called ,,moral and ,,philosophical4 ,deviations from the ,simplicity of ,,evangelical ,,truth1 have too often been occasioned by deviations from the ,simplicity of ,,evangelical ,,language4 ,a ,christian ought never to be ashamed of the ,,gospel ,,of ,,christ which is the ,power of ,,god unto ,salvation1 but should always speak of ,christian ,truths by ,christian ,names4 ,the revisal and correction of these discourses have relieved the author's mind from much of that anxiety and dejection1 which a long absence from his family and his churches had occasioned4 ,and he is now happy in the thought1 that these volumes will ere long reach his native country1 and revive the memory of his labours of love among a people1 with whom he enjoyed a reciprocation of kindness and affection1 which for eighteen years had known no abatement or interruption4 ,he most gratefully acknowledges the kind and honourable reception he hath met with since his arrival in ,england2 the chearfulness and generosity with which persons of all ranks have honoured his publication2 and the affectionate zeal of his friends1 relations1 and connexions1 in undertaking and completing his subscription1 without giving him the trouble of soliciting a single name4 ,to his most ingenious and worthy ,friend and ,countryman1 ,,benjamin ,,west1 ,esq4 ,history ,painter to his ,majesty1 he is happy to acknowledge himself indebted for the elegant designs1 taken from two of his most capital paintings1 which are placed as frontispieces to these volumes4 ,to his dear and valuable friend1 the ,author of the late accurate and elegant ,translation of ,,thomas ,,kempis1 he is sincerely thankful for his kind and chearful advice and assistance1 in conducting the whole publication1 to which the author's inexperience in printing1 as well as his frequent and necessary absence from the press1 would have rendered him altogether unequal4 ,he hath only to add1 that the revisal and publishing of these discourses was undertaken at the instance of some of the most respectable names in the list of his subscribers to the first edition1 under whose kind patronage1 and in hopes of every indulgence from the candour of the publick1 he hath ventured to send them abroad4 ,hampstead1 #ast ,march1 #aghj4 ,,contents ,,of ,,volume ,,first4 ,,discourse ,i4 ,,the ,,character ,,of ,,wisdom',s ,,children4 ,st4 ,,luke1 ,,chap4 vii4 ,,ver4 #ce4 ,but ,wisdom is justified of all her ,children4 ,,discourse ,,ii4 ,,evangelical ,,righteousness4 ,,jerem4 ,,chap4 xxiii4 ,part of ,,ver4 #f4 ,and this is his ,name1 whereby he shall be called1 ,the ,,lord our ,righteousness4 ,,discourses ,,iii4 and ,,iv4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,jesus1 ,,the ,,only ,,source ,,of ,,happiness4 ,st4 ,,john1 ,,chap4 vi4 ,,ver4 #ff1 #fg1 #fh4 ,from that ,time many of his ,disciples went back1 and walked no more with him4 ,then said ,,jesus unto the ,twelve1 ,will ye also go away8 ,then ,simon ,peter answered1 ,,lord1 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the ,words of ,eternal ,life4 ,,discourse ,v4 ,,true ,,religion1 ,a ,,costly ,,and ,,continual ,,sacrifice4 #b ,,samuel1 ,,chap4 xxiv4 ,,ver4 #bd4 ,and the ,king said unto ,araunah1 ,nay1 but ,i will surely buy it of thee at a ,price3 neither will ,i offer ,burnt-,offerings unto the ,,lord my ,,god1 of that which doth cost me nothing4 ,,discourse ,,vi4 ,,truth1 ,,the ,,only ,,friend ,,of ,,man4 ,,galatians1 ,,chap4 iv4 ,,ver4 #af4 ,am ,i therefore become your ,enemy1 because ,i tell you the ,truth8 ,,discourse ,,vii4 ,,the ,,strength ,,and ,,victory ,,of ,,faith4 #a ,,john1 ,,chap4 v4 ,,ver4 #d4 ,whatsoever is born of ,,god overcometh the ,world3 and this is the ,victory that overcometh the ,world1 even our ,faith4 ,,discourse ,,viii4 ,,faith ,,triumphant ,,over ,,the ,,powers ,,of ,,darkness4 ,st4 ,,mark1 ,,chap4 ix4 ,part of ,,ver4 #bd4 ,,lord1 ,i believe3 ,help thou mine ,unbelief6 ,,discourse ,,ix4 ,,the ,,flourishing ,,state ,,of ,,the ,,righteous4 ,,psalm i4 ,,ver4 #c4 ,he shall be like a ,tree planted by the ,rivers of ,water1 that bringeth forth his ,fruit in his ,season3 ,his ,leaf also shall not wither1 and whatsoever he doth shall prosper4 ,,discourse ,x4 ,,the ,,cause ,,and ,,cure ,,of ,,the ,,disorders ,,of ,,human ,,nature4 ,st4 ,,mark1 ,,chap4 vii4 ,,ver4 #cd4 ,and looking up to ,heaven1 he sighed2 and saith unto him1 ,ephphatha6 that is1 ,be opened4 ,,discourses ,,xi1 ,,xii1 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,riches1 ,,privileges1 ,,and ,,honours ,,of ,,the ,,christian4 #a ,,cor4 ,,chap4 iii4 ,,ver4 #ba1 #bb1 #bc4 ,therefore let no ,man glory in ,men3 for all ,things are yours2 whether ,paul1 or ,apollos1 or ,cephas1 or the ,world1 or ,life1 or ,death1 or ,things present1 or ,things to come2 all are yours3 and ye are ,,christ',s1 and ,,christ is ,,god',s4 ,,discourse ,,xiv4 ,,christ1 ,,known ,,or ,,unknown1 ,,the ,,universal ,,saviour4 ,st4 ,,john1 ,,chap4 xiv4 ,part of ,,ver4 #i4 ,have ,i been so long ,time with you1 and yet hast thou not known me1 ,philip8 ,,discourse ,,xv4 ,,human ,,life1 ,a ,,pilgrimage4 ,,psalm xxxix4 ,part of ,,ver4 #ab4 ,for ,i am a ,stranger with thee1 and a ,sojourner1 as all my ,fathers were4 ,,discourse ,,xvi1 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,true ,,knowledge ,,of ,,god ,,internal ,,and ,,practical4 ,,job1 ,,chap4 xlii4 ,,ver4 #e1 #f4 ,i have heard of thee by the ,hearing of the ,ear2 but now hath mine ,eye seen thee3 therefore ,i abhor myself1 and repent in ,dust and ,ashes4 ,,discourse ,,xviii4 ,,on ,,the ,,nativity ,,of ,,christ4 ,st4 ,,luke1 ,,chap4 ii4 from ,,ver4 #f1 to #bj4 ,and so it was1 that while they were there1 the ,days were accomplished1 that she should be delivered1 c4 ,,subscribers ,,names ,,omitted ,,in ,,the ,,first ,,edition4 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,allanson1 ,rector of ,rippon1 ,yorkshire ,mrs4 ,ambler1 of ,queen-,square ,mr4 ,george ,adams ,lady ,boynton1 ,burton ,agnes1 ,yorkshire ,rev4 ,mr4 ,bull1 ,rector of ,sarensfield1 ,herefordsh4 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,baker ,miss ,f4 ,baker ,robert ,burton1 ,esq4 ,rich4 ,wilbraham ,bootle1 ,esq4 ,francis ,bernard1 ,esq4 ,charles ,barker1 ,esq4 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,cook1 ,rector of ,semer1 ,suffolk ,richard ,combe1 ,esq4 ,harley-street ,mrs4 ,cotin1 ,upper ,grosvenor-street ,mrs4 ,festing1 ,weymouth ,mr4 ,george ,fletcher ,mr4 ,francis ,freshfield1 ,colchester ,james ,gordon1 ,esq4 ,glasgow ,william ,grover1 ,esq4 ,mr4 ,robert ,grimditch ,mrs4 ,garnett ,capt4 ,grindall ,t4 ,grosley1 ,esq4 ,mr4 ,greenwood ,e4 ,gurney ,hon4 and ,rev4 ,mr4 ,hamilton ,mrs4 ,hyde1 ,bedford-row ,mr4 ,james ,hingeston ,mr4 ,handcock1 of ,bath ,rev4 ,mr4 ,harris ,mrs4 ,hall1 of ,tottenham ,mr4 ,healy1 of ,cambridge ,tho4 ,johnson1 ,esq4 ,bradford ,rev4 ,jonathan ,judson1 ,essex ,rev4 ,mr4 ,lantley1 ,prebendary of ,hereford ,dr4 ,lysons1 of ,bath ,mrs4 ,levison ,rev4 ,mr4 ,myddleton1 ,fellow of ,clare-,hall ,w4 ,middleton1 ,esq4 ,bath ,robert ,m',kerrel1 ,esq4 ,rt4 ,hon4 ,countess ,dowager of ,northampton ,mr4 ,nairne ,henry ,o',carroll1 ,esq4 ,j4 ,palmer1 ,esq4 of ,bath ,rev4 ,thomas ,pryse1 ,norwich ,mrs4 ,puget1 ,red ,lionsquare ,tho4 ,rogers1 ,esq4 ,bradford ,robert ,rasleigh1 ,esq4 ,mr4 ,thomas ,smith ,rich4 ,statham1 ,esq4 ,leverpool ,mrs4 ,schaak1 of ,york ,william ,tompkins1 ,esq4 ,abingdon ,mrs4 ,tuson1 ,bath ,william ,taylor1 ,esq4 of ,worcester-,park1 ,surry ,mr4 ,wm4 ,taylor1 ,london ,hon4 ,charles ,vane1 of ,mount ,ida1 ,norfolk ,mr4 ,vickary ,mr4 ,joseph ,wrightman ,rev4 ,dr4 ,watkins1 ,preb4 of ,hereford ,rev4 ,dr4 ,wharton1 of ,barbadoes ,george ,wilson1 ,esq4 of ,bedford ,row ,mr4 ,thomas ,weston1 jun4 ,mr4 ,joseph ,woods ,mrs4 ,wilding1 ,red ,lionsquare ,mrs4 ,wright1 ,thunder-,hall1 ,herts ,miss ,witts1 ,bath ,witham ,book ,society ,,discourse ,i4 ,the ,character of ,wisdom's ,children4 ,st4 ,,luke1 ,,chap4 vii1 ,,ver4 #ce4 ,,but ,,wisdom ,,is ,,justified ,,of ,,all ,,her ,,children4 ,if we take an impartial view of the sentiments and conduct of mankind with respect to religion1 we shall find1 that their errors in speculation1 as well as in practice1 originate1 for the most part1 in the will2 that their understandings are blinded by their passions1 and that their ignorance of truth too often proceeds from their aversion to goodness4 ,to combat this prevailing depravity of human nature1 and to strike at that root of evil which we bring with us into the world1 was the grand and principal design of all those different dispensations1 by which ,heaven hath condescended1 from time to time1 to speak to the sons of men4 ,instead1 however1 of yielding a grateful attention to this benevolent purpose1 they have1 in some instances1 wholly rejected1 and1 in others1 perversly misconstrued1 the dispensations themselves4 ,whether ,,god spake at sundry times1 and in divers manners1 in times past1 unto the fathers by the prophets2 or1 whether he spake1 as in these latter days1 to the children1 by his own ,,incarnate ,,son2 the generality of men have either been deaf to the salutary message1 or have availed themselves of some idle pretexts to elude a compliance with its most serious and solemn contents4 ,hence arose the inattention and opposition of ancient unbelievers1 to the missions of patriarchs and prophets2 and hence it is1 that infidels of later ages have called in question the truth and authority of that most full and complete ,revelation of the ,divine ,will1 with which mankind have been favoured by the ministration of the ,,blessed ,,jesus4 ,far1 however1 from resenting their obstinacy1 or indignantly with-holding from them any further communications of ,divine ,light1 the great ,,god ,,and ,,father ,,of ,,spirits hath still persevered in carrying on the purposes of his ,love2 and1 whether they will hear1 or whether they will forbear1 still seeks1 by a variety of dispensations1 to gain possession of the hearts of his creatures4 ,notwithstanding1 therefore1 the general indifference and obstinacy that have prevailed1 there have not been wanting1 in every age and nation1 some docile virtuous minds1 who have listened to the ,heavenly ,voice1 and received with gratitude the instructions of that ,wisdom which is from above2 and who1 as her true children1 have vindicated her ways to man1 and admired and justified the different methods by which she manifests herself to different souls4 ,the truth of these observations we find remarkably exemplified in that conduct and behaviour of the ,jews1 and particularly of the sect of the ,pharisees1 which is mentioned in the verses preceding my text1 and which indeed gave rise to the pertinent and beautiful maxim there expressed4 ,ignorant of the spirit of that dispensation under which they lived1 and perversely attached to those externals of their religion1 that most gratified their pride and selfishness1 they seem to have been equally offended with the doctrines and manners of ,john the ,baptist1 and those of the ,,blessed ,,jesus4 ,and though the grand object of the ,master and his ,forerunner was one and the same1 even the reformation of the heart and life2 and though the outward means1 however inconsistent they might appear1 were but different parts of the same spiritual and redeeming process2 yet these degenerate ,israelites sought to stifle the power of conviction in their breasts1 by childishly objecting to the abstracted1 severe1 and rigorous life of the ,baptist on the one hand1 and the easy1 open1 and condescending behaviour of ,,jesus on the other2 insinuating1 that the former was only the effect of a gloomy1 dark1 and diabolical spirit2 and that the latter shewed a familiarity and levity1 unworthy the character of a prophet sent from ,,god4 ,our ,,blessed ,,lord exposes the weakness and inconsistency of these objections1 by the following apt and lively similitude3 ,whereunto shall ,i liken the men of this generation1 and to what are they like8 ,they are like unto children sitting in the market-place1 and calling one to another1 and saying1 ,we have piped unto you1 and ye have not danced2 we have mourned unto you1 and ye have not wept4 ,that is to say3 ,we have taken every method we could devise to engage your attention1 and to prevail upon you to bear a part in our recreations2 but you have unkindly and sullenly refused to come4 ,we have endeavoured to adapt our little sports and exercises to what we conceived might be your particular taste and humour2 but still we have failed of success4 ,in application of this allusion1 our ,,lord proceeds--,for ,john the ,baptist came neither eating bread1 nor drinking wine2 and ye say1 ,he hath a devil4 ,the austerity of the ,baptist's life1 which was meant to inculcate a lesson of self-denial1 and abstraction from the follies and vanities of a worldly life1 as well as a solemn preparation for the happiness of an heavenly one1 ye maliciously declare to have proceeded from the melancholy suggestion of some dark and evil spirit1 that hurried him into the desart1 and secluded him from all affectionate intercourse with men4 ,on the other hand1 because the ,son of man is come eating and drinking1 ye say1 ,behold a gluttonous man1 and a wine-bibber1 a friend of publicans and sinners6 ,to answer the great purposes of ,divine ,love1 ,i have1 with condescending freedom1 mingled with all ranks of people2 put myself in the way of the giddy and the profligate1 and even accepted the invitations of publicans and sinners4 ,for this1 without knowing the motives of my conduct1 you have vilified me with the opprobrious names of glutton and drunkard2 and insinuated1 that the friendly attention ,i shewed to men of their character1 proceeded not from a regard to their souls1 but from a fondness for their vices4 ,but notwithstanding your blindness and obduracy1 notwithstanding your weak and wicked misconstructions1 be assured1 there are those1 who can do justice to these dispensations of ,heaven1 whose minds1 illuminated from above1 can discern the beauty1 propriety1 and uniformity of design1 which ,wisdom manifests in these various methods of addressing herself to the sons of men4 ,such children of ,wisdom are abundantly convinced1 that the self-denying life of the ,baptist was necessarily preparative to that meek1 gentle1 condescending ,life of ,love1 which ,i have inculcated in my precepts1 and recommended and enforced by my example2 and that both these are the happy effects of that ,redeeming ,power1 which ,i manifest in the hearts of those1 who1 with simplicity and self-abasement1 receive and gratefully acknowledge my spiritual salutary visits4 ,but ,wisdom is justified of all her children4 ,the truth was this3 the ,pharisees considered the severe exercises of ,john1 his contempt of the world1 and total disregard of the pleasures and honours of life1 as a personal censure of their hypocritical pretensions to religion1 by which1 under the appearance of great zeal for the external and ceremonial parts of the law1 they sought the praises of men1 more than the praises of ,god4 ,in like manner1 the humility and condescension of ,,christ1 his free and affectionate intercourse with all ranks of people1 even with those1 whom 7on account of their ignorance of some minute traditionary precepts of their ,rabbins7 they held accursed1 were a perpetual impeachment of their intolerable pride and arrogance1 and most effectually tended to lessen their credit and reputation with those whom they wished and earnestly sought to engage for their pupils and admirers4 ,no wonder1 then1 that whilst they continued thus attached to favourite passions and prejudices1 they should wilfully misconstrue the purest intentions1 and vilify the fairest actions of those1 who attempted to combat and expose them4 ,their objections to the person and doctrines of ,,christ1 as well as to those of his illustrious ,harbinger1 came rather from their wills than their understandings3 nor would they ever have called in question the ,divine authority of their missions1 had not the design and spirit of them militated against their own evil tempers and dispositions3 ,light was come unto them2 but they chose darkness rather than light1 because their deeds were evil4 ,in every age of the world1 and under every dispensation of religion1 human nature1 in itself1 has always been the same4 ,the serpentine subtilty of human reason1 when engaged in the service1 and acting under the influence of vice and error1 will never be at a loss for arguments to support their cause against the voice of truth and virtue4 ,hence the specious objections1 which modern infidelity hath thrown out against the necessity of ,divine ,revelation2 and hence the weak and idle censures1 which libertinism on the one hand1 and false enthusiasm on the other1 so illiberally denounce against the sincere1 honest1 and cordial votaries of true ,christianity4 ,sincerely to be pitied is the poor unbeliever1 whose short-sighted reason1 incapable of seeing further than the externals of ,christianity1 furnishes him with some plausible objections1 that seem to weaken its outward evidence1 but cannot reach the spirit and power by which it is animated and supported4 ,christianity was instituted for the common salvation of all men3 its essential truths1 therefore1 are plain and obvious1 level to every capacity1 and stand in no need of learned labour to inculcate and explain them2 they are rather matter of feeling1 than of reasoning4 ,whatever is within1 whatever is without us1 calls aloud for a ,,saviour4 ,change1 corruption1 distemperature and death1 have1 by the sin of fallen angels1 and of fallen man1 been unhappily introduced into this system of things which we inhabit4 ,the whole creation groaneth2 and animals and vegetables1 and even the ,immortal ,image of ,,god himself in man1 are all in bondage to their malign influences2 so that every thing cries out1 with the apostle ,paul1 ,who shall deliver me from this body of death8 so that every thing cries out1 with the apostle ,peter1 ,lord1 save me1 or ,i perish6 ,what kind of a ,saviour then is it1 for whom all nature thus cries aloud1 through all her works8 ,not a dry moralist1 a legislator of bare external precepts1 such as some would represent ,,christ to be3 no1 the existence and influence of the ,,redeemer ,,of ,,nature1 must1 at least1 be as extensive as ,nature herself4 ,things are defiled and corrupted throughout2 they are distempered and devoted to death1 from the inmost essence of their being2 and none1 but ,,he alone1 in whom they live1 and move1 and have their being1 can possibly redeem and restore them4 ,these are inevitable truths1 which all men1 at some time or other1 must feel1 and feel deeply too1 whether they attend to them now or not4 ,the redemption and restoration of every sinner can be accomplished in no other way1 than by ,,christ',s spiritual entrance into his heart1 awakening in him an abhorrence of evil1 and a love of goodness4 ,this is the spirit of the ,,gospel ,,of ,,jesus2 this the grand purpose of ,heaven1 under every dispensation of ,revealed ,truth1 from ,adam down to this day4 ,the modes of communication1 the outward forms of worship and of doctrine1 may vary2 but the same spirit runs through the whole1 and the enlightened eye of ,wisdom's children can see and adore her radiant footsteps1 in paths that appear dark and dreary to the eyes of others4 ,however her outward garb may change2 whatever different appearances she may put on1 under the patriarchal1 legal1 and evangelical dispensations2 her real features1 her whole person and employment1 have ever been invariably the same4 ,these different appearances were only adapted to the different circumstances of men1 and calculated to direct their attention to the one great and principal object she has always had in view1 even the ,redemption of immortal spirits from the tyranny of earth and hell1 and the full restoration of them to their primeval innocence and bliss4 ,turn then1 ye advocates of infidelity6 ,o turn back from those delusive dangerous paths1 into which the false light of fallen reason hath led your wayward steps4 ,wisdom herself1 and all her true and ,heaven-born children1 lift up their sweet and instructive voices1 and press you to return2 to recognize your illustrious origin2 to spurn the transitory and polluting joys of earth1 and to aspire after the pure and permanent pleasures of ,heaven6 ,from the ,throne of the ,most-,high1 the center of her enlightened kingdom1 she speaks1 she illuminates1 she warms every intelligent being that turns to her benignant ray3 the darkness of nature kindles1 at her approach1 into the ,light and ,life of ,heaven2 every evil principle1 every evil passion1 shrinks from before her1 and retires to its native hell2 whilst the spirits of her redeemed children issue forth from their long captivity1 and triumphantly re-enter the realms of purity and peace4 ,who would not wish1 then1 to become a votary1 a pupil1 a child of ,wisdom8 ,but how is this privilege to be obtained8 what path must we pursue1 that will lead us to her delightful mansion8 what conduct must we observe1 that will entitle us to be members of her illustrious household8 ,must we put on the raiment of camel's hair1 and the leathern girdle2 follow the mortified ,baptist into the desert1 and feed upon locusts and wild honey8 ,or must we not rather adopt the gentler manners of the ,,holy ,,jesus1 mix with the world as he did1 and chearfully employ ourselves in acts of kindness and brotherly love8 ,it is evident from the whole passage of ,scripture1 of which my text is part1 that our ,lord blames the ,jews no less for their disregard of the ministry of ,john1 than for the contempt with which they treated himself2 and plainly intimates1 that1 by the ,children of ,wisdom1 we are to understand all those who see the ,baptist's ministry in its true point of view1 viz4 as introductory and preparatory to his own2 and in consequence of this are fully convinced1 that the chearfulness of ,faith1 and the sweetness and condescension of ,love1 must naturally be preceded by the severity of ,repentance1 and the salutary bitterness of sorrow and contrition4 ,repent ye1 for the ,kingdom of ,heaven is at hand1 said the ,harbinger of the ,,son of ,,god3 ,the ,kingdom of ,,god is come2 he that believeth shall be saved2 said the ,,son of ,,god himself4 ,repentance1 therefore1 and ,faith working by ,love1 are the sure characteristics of ,wisdom's ,children4 ,it is not1 therefore1 any distinguishing peculiarity of the ,baptist's character1 the outward garb1 or the outward deportment1 that we are to assume1 but an inward temper and frame of mind corresponding to both4 ,a deep sensibility of the evils and infirmities of our fallen nature1 an heart-felt conviction of the guilt and misery of sin1 and a penitential sorrow for our own numberless lapses and deviations from the path of virtue1 are the true ,harbingers of ,,christ in our hearts4 ,when1 under their powerful ministration1 we find ourselves called1 not perhaps to a life of outward solitude and mortification1 but of inward retirement and abstraction from the world2 in the language of ,scripture1 we repent1 we are converted3 we turn our backs upon every gay and glittering scene1 which worldly honour1 wealth1 or pleasure1 can exhibit2 we find nothing in any of them1 that can give a moment's real peace or rest to our weary heavy laden souls2 we are humbled to the dust2 we feel ourselves1 as worms1 and not men1 as less than the least of ,,god',s mercies4 ,in this mortified1 penitent1 and afflicted state1 which is mercifully intended to bring us to a proper sense of our helplessness by nature1 and of the indispensable necessity of ,divine ,supernatural assistance1 we must remain1 till the happy effect is produced1 and till ,,god is graciously pleased to call us out of the wilderness4 ,the ,harbinger then hath fulfilled his office2 ,the ,lamb of ,,god appears to take away the sins of the world2 ,the kingdom of heaven is come into our hearts4 ,to sorrow and disquietude1 succeed sweet peace and heavenly composure of mind3 the understanding is enlightened2 the will receives a new and happy direction2 a new principle animates our whole frame1 a new conduct appears in our whole life and conversation3 the ,spirit of ,love breathes and acts in every duty we are called to perform1 in every little office1 which common civility and politeness requires us to do1 even to those1 who have yet no taste or desire for the sublime comforts of religion4 ,thus it is1 that ,wisdom is justified of all her ,children2 and thus it appears1 that the ,religion of the ,gospel1 which is the only ,true ,wisdom1 is a ,,religion ,,of ,,love4 ,a ,,life ,,of ,,love1 therefore1 is the best1 the only evidence1 which its disciples can give1 of the sincerity of their profession2 and the surest method they can take of recommending it to others4 ,let your light1 then1 so shine before men1 that they may see your good works1 and glorify your ,father which is in ,heaven4 ,,discourse ,,ii4 ,evangelical ,righteousness4 ,,jeremiah1 ,,chap4 xxiii4 ,,verse #f4 ,,and ,,this ,,is ,,his ,,name1 ,,whereby ,,he ,,shall ,,be ,,called1 ,,the ,,lord ,,our ,,righteousness4 ,the great and essential distinction betwixt the legal and evangelical dispensation1 is accurately pointed out by the ,apostle1 where he tells us1 that the law is but the shadow of good things to come1 and not the very image of the things4 ,its types1 ceremonies1 and outward ordinances1 are taken from the objects of temporal nature1 which are1 at best1 but shadowy representations of ,eternal ,truth4 ,the comers thereunto could never be perfected1 by the most minute observation of its external rites4 ,the pious1 spiritual ,jews1 therefore1 must have looked further than these1 and considered every outward purification1 as figuratively expressive of an inward cleansing to be performed in their hearts4 ,moses1 their inspired ,legislator1 and the prophets that succeeded him1 did not fail to acquaint them with the immediate and necessary reference of these temporal symbols to ,spiritual and ,eternal ,truths4 ,nevertheless1 it appears but too evident1 from the whole ,jewish history1 that the generality rested their hopes of salvation1 merely upon their outward law3 ,they went about to establish a righteousness of their own1 founded upon a strict observance of the ,levitical ceremonies1 which were only adapted to their present circumstances1 without paying the least attention to that ,inward ,law of ,righteousness1 to which these ceremonies referred4 ,hence it was1 that their prophets were directed by the ,most ,high1 to express1 in the strongest terms1 his disapprobation of those very ordinances1 which he himself had originally instituted for their good2 and to tell them1 that he had no pleasure in their burnt-offerings and sacrifices1 that their oblations were vain1 and that incense was an abomination in his sight4 ,his displeasure was not with the ordinances themselves2 for1 if considered and observed with proper views and dispositions1 they would have been subservient to the most glorious purposes3 but he was offended with the gross and flagrant abuses of them1 which the people were daily committing4 ,hence also it was1 that the same inspired prophets1 when the hand of the ,,highest drew aside the curtain of futurity1 and exhibited to their astonished view the successive displays of ,gospel ,light and ,truth1 with all that variety of heavenly scenery1 which his ,,incarnate ,,son was to open upon our benighted world2 hence it was1 ,i say1 that the same inspired prophets were particularly careful to distinguish the new dispensation1 by every figure and mode of expression1 that might lead the most dark and ignorant ,jew to consider it as internal and spiritual4 ,the righteousness of the new covenant is widely different from what the carnal ,israelite apprehended to be the righteousness of the old4 ,with respect to their essence1 their foundation1 their motives and ends1 both covenants are the same1 differing only in the external mode of revelation2 the old being the shadow1 the new the image of good things to come2 the old1 pointing to ,,christ2 the new1 revealing him in all his fulness to the faithful4 ,,christ ,,jesus1 therefore1 is and must be1 the end of the law to those that believe2 that is1 he is and must be1 in himself1 that very ,righteousness to which the law pointed1 but which it could not attain4 ,as a school-master1 it served to instruct its ignorant1 dark1 and fallen pupils1 in the outward rudiments of ,divine ,truth2 but could never communicate to them the ,light1 ,life1 and ,spirit of that real ,evangelical ,righteousness1 which is only to be found in the ,,incarnate ,,word ,,of ,,god4 ,it is for this reason1 that the prophet1 speaking of the approaching kingdom of the ,,messiah1 in whom all the law and the prophets were to center1 represents him as a righteous branch springing forth from the root of ,david2 as a king1 reigning1 prospering1 and executing judgment and justice on the earth2 in consequence of whose mild and equitable administration1 ,judah should be saved1 and ,israel should dwell safely3 and1 as the most characteristical designation of his nature and office1 tells us1 that ,this is his ,,name1 whereby he shall be called1 ,,the ,,lord ,,our ,,righteousness4 ,let us then enquire1 in the first place1 why our ,,blessed ,,redeemer has the name of ,,righteousness ascribed to him by the prophet2 and secondly1 what we are to understand by his being called ,,our ,,righteousness4 ,i4 ,a name in ,scripture is generally put to express the intrinsic nature and qualities of the object named4 ,when1 therefore1 the name of the ,,messiah is here said to be ,righteousness1 we must necessarily conclude1 that ,righteousness is his very nature1 his essence1 the substance of all his attributes and perfections4 ,he is not called righteous1 but ,,righteousness itself2 the source and fountain1 from whence all that is really and truly righteous1 throughout the universe1 perpetually proceeds4 ,,jesus ,,christ is the ,brightness of the ,father's ,glory1 and the ,express ,image of his ,person4 ,all the beauties1 excellencies1 powers1 and virtues1 which are essentially hidden in the invisible ,,godhead1 are substantially1 vitally1 inwardly1 as well as outwardly1 opened1 revealed1 and illustriously displayed1 in the person of the ,,incarnate ,,jesus4 ,all things were made by him1 and without him was not any thing made1 that was made3 all the thrones1 dominions1 principalities and powers1 possessed by angels1 archangels1 cherubim and seraphim1 are derived from him2 for1 in1 and through him1 did the ,father create all things4 ,the highest degree of ,righteousness which the highest ,seraph can attain1 is but a beam or efflux from this ,eternal ,sun4 ,with glory undiminished he perpetually imparts spiritual life and vigour to all those countless myriads of intelligences1 which inhabit the whole compass of universal nature4 ,he is himself the living law1 the eternal rule of order and rectitude4 ,,god ,,the ,,father hath set this his ,king of ,righteousness on his holy hill of ,sion4 ,every outward institute1 revealed and written1 which ,,god hath at sundry times and in divers manners1 delivered to the sons of men1 was but a transcript of that original law1 which lives for ever in the heart of ,,christ4 ,i am the way1 the truth1 and the life2 no man cometh unto the ,father1 but by me2 ye will not come unto me1 that ye may have life2 without me1 ye can do nothing-- are his own blessed words4 ,nature1 without this ,,christ ,,of ,,god1 is impurity1 emptiness1 poverty1 want1 and wretchedness extreme3 nature illuminated1 enriched1 refreshed1 glorified by him1 is holy1 righteous1 lovely1 supremely happy4 ,known or unknown to our fallen race1 it is ,,he alone1 who inspires every good thought1 every righteous deed1 every sentiment and action that is amiable and endearing4 ,in the acts of the apostles we read of an altar with this inscription1 ,to the unknown ,,god6 ,st4 ,paul1 taking occasion from this circumstance1 tells the ,athenians1 ,him whom ye ignorantly worship1 preach ,i unto you4 ,in the whole frame of nature1 says a truly sublime writer1 every heart1 every creature1 every affection1 every action1 is an altar with the same kind of inscription1 ,to the unknown ,beauty6--,to the unknown ,righteousness6--,to the unknown ,jesus6 ,this is the eternal standard of truth1 order1 righteousness and perfection1 to which every being in nature ignorantly moveth2 this is that which all understandings1 all hearts1 cannot but admire and adore4 ,but blessed above all beings are those1 whose hearts are spiritual altars1 with the righteous person of ,,christ engraven upon them by the finger of ,,god1 flaming with the fire of ,heavenly ,love1 and bearing this radiant inscription1 ,to the known and experienced ,beauty and ,righteousness of that ,,jesus1 whom we know2 that ,word of ,life1 which our eyes have seen1 our ears have heard1 our hands have handled1 and spiritually embraced6 ,and this leads me1 in the second place1 to inquire what we are to understand by ,,christ',s being called ,,our ,,righteousness4 ,,ii4 ,under my first head1 ,i observed to you from ,scripture1 that ,,god created all things in and by ,,jesus ,,christ2 and that without him1 was not any thing made that was made4 ,man1 in particular1 was created in the ,image of ,,god3 ,,christ is the ,brightness of the ,father's ,glory1 and the ,express ,image of his ,person3 and1 therefore1 man was created in ,,christ4 ,man in himself1 in his outward nature1 was but an empty vessel1 till the ,,christ ,,of ,,god became his fulness and perfection4 ,his outward form was from the dust of the earth2 but his inward spirit was the breath of the ,,most ,,high4 ,the ,image of ,,god1 even ,,christ himself1 was his first1 his sole ,righteousness and perfection2 the infallible instructor and enlightener of his understanding1 the unerring guide and director of his will4 ,the ,name by which the ,,son of ,,god was known to him1 was ,the ,lord his ,righteousness4 ,angels themselves know no other ,righteousness1 than the ,righteousness of ,,god in ,,christ4 ,the fall of man1 or ,original sin1 7as our church article with great truth and propriety expresses it7 is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man1 that naturally is engendered of the offspring of ,adam2 whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness1 and is of his own nature inclined to evil4 ,we have already seen what this original righteousness was1 which man possessed in a state of innocence1 viz4 that it was ,,christ1 the ,lord his ,righteousness1 in him4 ,this is what ,adam lost--,this is what ,,christ alone can restore4 ,man in his present fallen state1 without ,,christ1 must be naturally inclined to evil2 he has no righteousness of his own4 ,and he can no more be saved by any exertion of his own natural powers1 than he can see by the utmost stretch of his organs of sight1 without the light of the sun4 ,here then a serious and inquiring mind may be ready to ask--,how is this ,,blessed ,,redeemer to become my ,righteousness8 ,i feel the force of these ,scripture truths you have mentioned1 and experience in my soul the dreadful consequences of an original apostasy--,but ,i know not1 whether ,,christ is my ,righteousness1 or not4 ,i know not1 whether ,i have the least traces of his ,righteous ,image in my soul4 ,hath ,,christ1 then1 been so long time with thee1 and yet hast thou not known him8 ,every little rebuke of conscience2 every emotion of kindness1 tenderness1 and love2 every sympathetic feeling of the prosperity or distress of thy neighbour2 every sensibility of admiration1 esteem1 and joy1 from contemplating a truly wise and virtuous character2 every fervent desire of imitating what is good and excellent in others2 every weak aspiration after holiness and perfection2 nay1 every little feeling of the restless cravings of thine own nature1 every little longing after happiness unpossessed2 all1 all is ,,christ1 speaking within thee1 and waiting and watching to reveal himself in ,righteousness to thy soul4 ,nothing1 therefore1 is wanting1 on thy part1 but a calm and quiet resignation of thyself1 and all that is within thee1 to his sovereign disposal1 to redeem1 purify1 and restore1 to do every thing that is necessary to be done1 and which he alone can do1 for thy salvation4 ,thus have ,i endeavoured to give the plain and obvious meaning of the text4 ,distinctions upon distinctions have been multiplied2 books upon books have been published1 to tell us that we are to be justified by the ,personal ,righteousness of ,,christ outwardly imputed1 and sanctified by the inherent graces of the ,,holy ,,spirit2 that one must necessarily precede the other2 and that we must be perfect in ,,christ by ,justification1 before we can have the least spark of ,holiness by ,sanctification4 ,this is1 indeed1 travelling in the broad and popular road2 and such kind of preaching might be to the praise of men4 ,let systems be written upon systems1 and comments upon comments2 let preachers oppose preachers1 and hearers wander after this or that form of godliness2 but may ,heaven in mercy preserve us from taking up our rest1 or placing our dependence upon any thing less than an intimate and experimental knowledge of ,the ,,lord ,,our ,,righteousness revealing himself1 with all his holy heavenly tempers1 virtues1 and dispositions1 in our hearts6 ,may we never rest satisfied with a nominal profession of ,christianity1 a nominal acquaintance with ,,christ1 or a nominal remission of sins2 for1 surely1 we are not warranted1 by ,scripture1 to look upon ourselves as redeemed by ,,christ1 and born again of him1 till by a total purification1 a complete deliverance from all the evil tempers and passions of our fallen life1 he hath obtained a full and peaceable possession of our whole nature1 erected his ,throne of ,righteousness in our hearts1 and by the effectual working of his ,,holy ,,spirit brought us to the measure of the stature of that ,,fulness1 which is in ,,himself4 ,,discourse ,,iii4 ,the ,religion of ,jesus1 the only ,source of ,happiness4 ,st4 ,,john1 ,,chap4 vi4 ,,ver4 #ff1 #fg1 #fh4 ,,from ,,that ,,time1 ,,many ,,of ,,his ,,disciples ,,went ,,back1 ,,and ,,walked ,,no ,,more ,,with ,,him4 ,,then ,,said ,,jesus ,,unto ,,the ,,twelve1 ,,will ,,ye ,,also ,,go ,,away8 ,,then ,,simon ,,peter ,,answered ,,him1 ,,lord6 ,,to ,,whom ,,shall ,,we ,,go8 ,,thou ,,hast ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,eternal ,,life4 ,happiness is the great end and aim of all those restless pursuits in which mankind are perpetually engaged4 ,the laborious peasant1 and the contemplative philosopher2 the man that wisheth for wealth1 and the man that possesseth it2 the gay votary of worldly pleasure1 and the gloomy tenant of the solitary cell1 are alike industrious in exploring this hidden treasure4 ,their imaginations are ever upon the stretch after this something yet unknown4 ,their ideas of happiness indeed1 as well as the means which they make use of to attain it1 are as different as their prevailing tempers and inclinations4 ,whatever objects coincide with their present conceptions1 those they esteem1 and those they pursue1 with all the eagerness of newly awakened desire4 ,deluded1 however1 by specious appearances1 mistaken again and again in their choice of objects1 loathing to-day what they pursued yesterday with ardour1 chearful and confident in prospect1 disappointed and melancholy in possession1 they fondly rove from one scene of imaginary bliss to another1 unable to rest on any with permanent satisfaction4 ,they never once consider1 that no finite objects can fill up the immense void of an immortal soul1 no temporal enjoyments satisfy its boundless desires2 and that nothing less than life eternal can afford an happiness commensurate to its eternal nature4 ,this is not mere theory1 or empty speculation4 ,there is not one in this assembly1 but could bear witness from experience to the melancholy fact4 ,was each of us to be asked1 in a serious and solemn manner1 ,are you really happy8 very few1 ,i am afraid1 if they would speak ingenuously1 could answer in the affirmative4 ,and yet1 perhaps1 most of us have attained1 from time to time1 what we once deemed the height of our wishes2 and what we were then sure1 if attained1 would make us completely happy4 ,the child wishes for the employments and pleasures of youth2 the youth longs to arrive at what he calls the freedom and independence of manhood2 the man anxiously schemes and plots1 and contrives1 and labours and toils1 and then wishes to see the success of his schemes1 the accomplishment of his labours4 ,his schemes turn out to his satisfaction2 the end is obtained2 the object is enjoyed3 his bliss is consummate1 to be sure2 he cannot be happier--,no such thing--,new wants succeed2 new schemes are formed2 new pursuits1 new labours1 new anxieties and wishes1 tread close upon each other's heels4 ,but where is his happiness all the while8 ,why he loses sight1 at last1 of the grand and principal object1 in the pursuit of which he had set out3 failing of success in this1 he foolishly adopts the means for the end2 and perpetual care1 toil1 and vexation1 are the wretched effects of his mistaken choice4 ,thus1 for instance1 the covetous man grasps1 and saves1 and fills his coffers--for what8 ,not to make himself1 his family1 or his poor neighbours round him1 happy with the fruits of his penurious efforts4 ,no--he not only turns a deaf ear to the piercing cries of indigence1 but grudges even his family the common necessaries of life1 and never parts with a farthing1 without uttering some ridiculous complaint of the hardness of the times1 and their want of economy4 ,he saves therefore for the sake of saving2 his heart is shut up in his chest with his beloved mammon1 both alike inaccessible to the mild and soft approaches of kindness and liberality4 ,we cannot but shrink back with horror1 from a character so odious and detestable as this4 ,but the observation with which ,i set out1 will hold equally true1 when applied to any of those false paths1 which men pursue in quest of happiness4 ,pleasure and ambition will deceive them1 as surely as avarice4 ,enjoyment in every instance may pall1 but cannot satisfy the restless desire4 ,nor will it ever be satisfied1 till the soul gets sight of the only true beatifying object in the universe1 to which she can rise1 and upon which she can rest1 with the whole strength and energy of her immortal nature4 ,the light of another world1 however1 must open and irradiate her spiritual senses1 before she can have the least glimpse of this supreme source of bliss4 ,the vanity and deception of all creaturely happiness must in some measure be unfolded to her view1 before she can stretch one feeble thought towards ,heaven2 and she must be intimately convinced of the bondage of her fallen life1 and the misery of her condition in this fallen world1 before she can feel the force1 or discern the spiritual depth of these expressions of ,st4 ,peter1 ,lord6 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4 ,there are many people1 indeed1 who though they are walking on in those very paths of error and delusion which ,i have just mentioned1 would fain have their conduct hallowed by some religious appearances4 ,they begin with deceiving themselves1 and then go on to deceive others4 ,but1 do what they will1 they cannot wholly divest themselves of the feelings of truth and virtue4 ,for they have within them a ,spiritual ,nature1 that is continually striving1 under the influences of its native ,heaven1 to get disengaged from the servitude of its corrupt companion4 ,call it by what name we please1 conscience1 the light of nature1 common sense1 common or preventing grace2 or1 as the ,scripture denominates it1 the ,light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world1 ,christ in us the hope of glory1 the ,incorruptible ,seed of the ,,word ,,of ,,god1 7for1 as ,christians1 ,i think we ought to prefer scriptural to philosophical terms27 ,i say1 call it by which ever of these names we like best1 certain it is1 that every man at times feels this ,divine ,power stirring within him1 and endeavouring to awaken1 reprove1 inform1 illuminate1 and govern his life and actions4 ,now it always happens1 that the counsels of this ,heavenly ,monitor clash with and oppose the dictates of corrupt nature4 ,at this contradiction1 the passions are alarmed2 they demand immediate gratification1 and the trembling mortal dares not at once yield to their solicitations4 ,a strong sensibility of the falsehood of their claim1 is felt in his breast4 ,something must first be done1 to stifle or quiet this uneasy sensation4 ,avarice1 he will say to himself1 is criminal1 it is true2 but a well-timed parsimony is virtuous and commendable2 and a good and prudent man will think himself in duty bound to provide for the future support of his children4 ,sensual pleasure1 vain mirth1 and jovial company1 are not quite consistent with the precepts of the ,gospel of ,,christ3 but a few innocent amusements can do no harm2 and it is but in character for a ,christian to be chearful4 ,the pursuits of ambition are diametrically opposite to that meekness and humility1 which should characterize the disciple of the lowly ,,jesus3 but posts of honour1 and exalted stations1 may enable a man to be of considerable service to his neighbours1 and enlarge his sphere of usefulness4 ,thus1 every evil temper and inclination1 wrath1 hatred1 revenge1 envy1 jealousy1 c4 may cloath themselves in the garb of virtue4 ,men may first deceive themselves1 by endeavouring to reconcile their criminal pursuits with the dictates of conscience2 and then employ the same infernal arts1 to deceive and impose upon others4 ,it is with such masks as these1 that hypocrites1 pharisees1 and all pretenders to true religion1 step forth upon the stage of life1 dare to enlist themselves under the standard of virtue1 and even sometimes assume the rank and authority of commanders4 ,but when they are summoned to the field of battle2 when they are called upon1 from within1 or from without1 to exert themselves against their spiritual adversaries1 to assert the rights of ,heaven1 as well in themselves as in the world around them1 to subdue the evil lusts and passions that tyrannize in their own breasts1 or to engage with that bitter and malevolent spirit1 who opposes the advancement of their ,master's kingdom in the life and conduct of others2 then it is1 that the traitors drop their masks2 they meanly desert the banner of the cross1 openly disavow their pretensions to religion1 and deny the ,,lord that bought them4 ,they shrink from the combat1 honourable as it would have been for them to engage1 and happy as they would have found themselves in the issue2 and meanly barter away their salvation for a false peace1 short in its continuance1 and ending in woe and misery extreme4 ,like the cowardly disciples mentioned in my text1 they go back1 and walk no more with their ,master4 ,doubtless these timid ,israelites were alarmed at that heavenly discourse of the ,,blessed ,,jesus1 which we read in the preceding part of this chapter4 ,the mysteries of his kingdom there delivered1 were too refined for their gross conception4 ,the nature1 nourishment1 and growth of the ,inward and ,spiritual ,man1 which is there indispensably required1 militated too powerfully against their favourite passions and prejudices4 ,their high-blown hopes of future preferment in a temporal kingdom1 were1 by this spiritual address1 entirely dissipated2 and they were taught to seek and expect nothing from their ,master1 but what was opposite to the life1 and spirit1 and maxims of this world4 ,alas1 how many apostates from the religion of ,,jesus1 have imitated the conduct of these unworthy disciples6 ,past1 as well as present times1 afford too many melancholy examples of this kind4 ,a temporizing spirit hath prevailed in almost all ages2 and ecclesiastical history abounds with examples of its venomous influence upon the minds of men4 ,the temporal prosperity of the church1 hath1 in many instances1 proved its ruin2 and accessions of wealth and power have only served to increase its corruptions4 ,under the profession of a religion1 which breathes nothing but purity1 meekness1 and benevolence1 men have been actuated by all the diabolical passions that ever inflamed the breasts of the most ignorant and unenlightened ,pagans4 ,wherever the external profession of ,christianity hath been attended with any outward emoluments1 its disciples have increased1 and an outward shew of zeal for its advancement1 hath not been wanting4 ,this outward shew gives them but little trouble2 and the hypocrite's garb1 though cumbersome at first1 is not only made light and convenient by custom1 but even desirable for the profits and advantages it brings4 ,whilst the ,,blessed ,,jesus is distributing his bounty1 and loaves and fishes multiply under his creating hand1 he will never be without crouds of followers to partake of his royal munificence4 ,whilst he is riding in triumph through the streets of ,jerusalem1 nothing is heard from every quarter1 but ,hosannahs to the ,son of ,david2 every one is ambitious of joining his train1 and of being in the number of his adherents4 ,but when the powers of this world confederate against him2 when ,herod and ,pontius ,pilate1 and the whole nation of the ,jews1 rise up in arms1 seize upon the innocent victim1 and drag him to condemnation1 torture and death2 then1 indeed1 his false friends appear in their proper colours2 and1 ,o melancholy truth6 even his disciples go back1 and walk no more with him2 some of them deny him1 and all fly and forsake him4 ,let us not deceive ourselves1 my brethren4 ,it is not an outward profession of ,christianity1 or an outward zeal against its adversaries1 that will stand us in any stead3 all this may well enough consist with inward impurity1 a worldly spirit1 and an heart devoted to the service of sin4 ,the great trial of our faith1 the sure proof of the sincerity of our conversion1 must be sought for in deeper exercises than these4 ,when storms arise1 when dangers threaten1 when inward and outward enemies attack our peace2 when we cannot maintain our discipleship without the sacrifice of some darling passion of almost irresistible power2 when we can walk no longer with our ,master1 without the loss of some considerable temporal advantages2 when we are summoned by him to fly from the soft allurements of pleasure1 to burst the bonds of avarice or ambition1 to disclaim all dependence upon the world1 ourselves1 or any created being2 in a word1 to forsake all1 take up our cross1 and follow him2 then1 indeed1 is our hour of trial6 then the sincerity of our attachment to ,,christ1 will be made manifest to ourselves1 and to the world2 and we shall learn to know assuredly1 whether we are1 or are not1 of the number of those disciples1 who go back1 and walk no more with him4 ,therefore1 ,o ,christian1 thy ,beloved is then only thine1 and thou art then only his1 when thou canst abide with him in the darkness of the vale1 as well as in the splendors of the mount2 when thou canst walk with him in the wilderness1 as well as on the plain2 and when neither tribulation1 nor distress1 nor trial1 nor persecution1 can separate thee from the ,,love ,,of ,,god1 which is in ,,christ ,,jesus our ,lord4 ,,discourse ,,iv4 ,the ,religion of ,jesus1 the only ,source of ,happiness4 ,st4 ,,john1 ,,chap4 vi4 ,,ver4 #ff1 #fg1 #fh4 ,,from ,,that ,,time ,,many ,,of ,,disciples ,,went ,,back1 ,,and ,,walked ,,no ,,more ,,with ,,him4 ,,then ,,said ,,jesus ,,unto ,,the ,,twelve1 ,,will ,,ye ,,also ,,go ,,away8 ,,then ,,simon ,,peter ,,answered ,,him1 ,,lord6 ,,to ,,whom ,,shall ,,we ,,go8 ,,thou ,,hast ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,eternal ,,life4 ,the motives which induced many of our ,lord's first followers to withdraw themselves from his person1 and wholly relinquish the connection they had formed with him and his disciples1 ,i have explained in the preceding discourse4 ,the erroneous conduct of mankind in general1 their mistaken notions of happiness1 the false and dangerous paths in which they pursue it1 their delusive hopes and real disappointments2 the palliative arts they make use of to reconcile their duty with their passions1 and the various methods by which they deceive themselves as well as others2 their hypocritical pretensions to religion1 and the ways in which their deceptions are discovered1 and their pharisaical professions unveiled2 in a word1 the genuine sources of that error and apostasy1 into which the unworthy disciples mentioned in the text1 as well as others who have since imitated their example1 have sadly degenerated2 all these particulars were suggested to my mind1 from the consideration of these words of the ,evangelist1 ,from that time many of his disciples went back1 and walked no more with him4 ,the tender and pathetic expostulation which this ungenerous conduct produced from the blessed lips of the common ,friend and ,saviour of ,man1 breathes such a spirit of love1 kindness1 and compassion1 towards the souls of those whom he came to redeem1 as cannot but claim our most serious and grateful attention4 ,the deep concern he must have felt for such an instance of apostasy1 added to his apprehensions of the fatal influence it might have upon his beloved ,apostles1 awakened in him all those innocent and delicate sensibilities1 which1 even in his human nature1 were the genuine offspring of that ,,eternal ,,love to which he was essentially united4 ,friendship1 true friendship1 is the ,,heaven-,,born ,,offspring of ,divine ,charity4 ,heaven is her native country4 ,in that pure and gentle element she lives and moves without constraint1 free1 chearful1 delighting and delighted4 ,if ever she deigns to associate with the sons of men1 it is among the truly virtuous alone she can be found4 ,she visits none but those1 whose conversation is in heaven1 who have within them a birth congenial with her own1 whose hearts and affections are governed by the ,spirit of ,love1 and can only be wooed and won by correspondent tempers and characters4 ,her sacred name1 indeed1 is often prostituted to venal1 base1 and corrupt purposes4 ,her fair and beauteous garb is often worn by the votaries of avarice1 pleasure1 and ambition4 ,her sweet aspect1 her mild and winning graces1 her obliging and disinterested disposition1 yea1 even her peculiar warmth of affection1 and glowing sensibility of heart1 are all profanely counterfeited by the selfish and sensual1 the vain and the aspiring4 ,take it for granted1 however1 that man1 whether gay1 dissolute1 covetous1 or ambitious1 is incapable of real friendship3 all his designs and prospects center in himself1 and every seeming act of kindness1 every splendid appearance of courtesy and generosity1 is calculated to promote some selfish purpose1 to procure some temporal emolument4 ,far different is the friendship of those who are born of ,god2 who1 from a vital union with the ,source of ,love1 derive such pure and unadulterated streams of ,charity into their breasts1 as manifest themselves in a life of general beneficence towards all men1 and a warm1 affectionate1 spiritual attachment towards those especially1 who are of the houshold of faith4 ,such1 but in the purest highest degree1 were those heavenly feelings of true friendship1 with which the heart of ,,jesus glowed1 when he uttered this sweet and endearing expostulation1 ,will ye also go away8 ,the words are few1 but the sentiments are manifold1 gracious1 and animating2 and they cannot but appear so to those1 who attend1 with nice discernment1 to the common feelings of human nature4 ,it is to these common feelings that our ,lord makes his appeal1 in all his heavenly discourses4 ,though1 from the general corruption1 it is a case that has but seldom occurred in the page of history1 yet let us suppose a good and virtuous man1 associated with a set of good and virtuous companions1 bound to him by the strong and endearing ties of private friendship1 in the defence of some good and virtuous cause4 ,novelty1 the love of fame1 a desire of appearing to the world in some conspicuous point of view1 the prospect of some great temporal advantages1 and a variety of other motives of a selfish nature1 might suddenly prompt a considerable number of persons to join these champions of virtue1 and follow them in the glorious enterprize4 ,enemies appear1 dangers threaten2 yea1 death1 perhaps1 in all its horrors1 presents itself to their view4 ,personal security is to be preferred before the general interest of virtue2 and where virtue cannot be supported without personal losses1 her cause must be abandoned4 ,upon these principles1 the weak and timid multitude forsake their gallant leader4 ,attached to him by no bonds1 but those of interest or ambition1 when these fail1 they think themselves at liberty to abandon his person and his cause4 ,the noble chieftain1 not so much affected with the prospect of danger to himself and his cause1 as with a real concern for the baseness of his followers1 and an apprehension1 that their flight might perhaps intimidate those1 whom he knew to be attached1 from principle1 to virtue and himself2 the noble chieftain1 ,i say1 might with great propriety1 and without the least tincture of fear or despondency1 but rather as a trial of their fidelity1 and a most powerful incentive to new and more vigorous efforts1 address himself in such words to the chosen few1 as those1 which the great ,captain of our ,salvation delivered upon this occasion3 ,will ye1 also go away8 ,in this address1 there is not implied the least unkind suspicion of their integrity4 ,it is no more than an affectionate appeal to the warm and tender sensations of true and genuine friendship4 ,o1 my beloved ,apostles6 ye see the weakness1 timidity1 and worldly-mindedness1 of those pretended friends1 who have hitherto associated with us4 ,so violent hath been their attachment to earthly pursuits1 that they would not suffer truths of the highest importance to interfere with them for a moment4 ,my last spiritual address was too deep and powerful a stroke at their corruptions4 ,could they have continued in fellowship with us upon their own terms1 and made their connexion subservient to their own views of temporal interest1 they would not have so suddenly forsaken us4 ,but shall their conduct have the least influence upon yours8 ,will ye be intimidated by their flight8 ,will ye suffer your fidelity and perseverance to be shaken by their evil example8 ,will ye unkindly abandon a ,master1 into whose service ye entered upon the most disinterested principles1 and who knows and feels you to be attached to him by the heavenly ties of religion and love8 ,after having seen so many indubitable testimonies of that almighty power wherewith he is invested1 will ye doubt his ability to protect and deliver you8 ,after so many kind and instructive conversations1 in the course of which he hath gradually1 and as he found you could bear them1 opened to you the great truths of his spiritual kingdom2 will ye be such enemies to yourselves1 and your real happiness1 as to forsake your best of friends1 your kindest and most powerful protector8 ,will ye also go away8 ,these sentiments1 and more than these1 are expressed in this pathetic expostulation3 and for our comfort1 my brethren1 may we ever recollect1 that1 though ascended into the highest heavens1 and seated at the right hand of his ,father1 he continues the same loving conduct towards all his faithful friends and followers1 that he observed towards his disciples whilst he was upon earth4 ,the same gentle and affectionate modes of speech1 the same tender1 but awakening expostulations1 to which his ,apostles were accustomed1 he still applies to the heart of every believer4 ,if we look back to past experience1 we shall be convinced1 that this very expostulation of our compassionate ,master1 hath frequently sounded in our ears4 ,when the infectious influence of evil example1 the sudden attack of some powerful temptation1 some severe stroke of adversity1 or some smiling prospect of temporal felicity2 when these1 or any of these1 have secretly solicited our frail nature1 to relinquish our religious pursuits1 to surrender ourselves to the dominion of sin1 and renounce the favour and protection of our ,master2 hath he not frequently1 and with ineffable tenderness1 whispered this gentle reprehension to our hearts1 ,will ye also go away8 ,happy1 indeed1 if1 with ,peter's affectionate warmth1 and honest faithful adherence to our ,lord1 amidst the severest trials1 we have been enabled to reply1 from a full conviction of our own weakness1 and of his all-sufficiency1 ,lord6 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of ,eternal ,life4 ,peter generally spoke in the name of all his brethren4 ,his answer here1 therefore1 is to be considered as a solemn declaration on the part of the ,apostles1 of their firm trust and confidence in their ,master1 founded on the full evidence they had received of his ,divinity4 ,as if he had said3 ,think not1 dearest ,master1 that thy faithful disciples are actuated by such unworthy motives as have prompted some of their weak and carnal brethren to forsake thee4 ,no--we are intimately convinced of the folly of depending upon any creaturely strength1 or seeking for happiness in any sublunary prospect4 ,thou hast opened upon our wondering souls such scenes of heavenly bliss1 thou hast manifested to our outward senses such astonishing displays of thy absolute power over all temporal nature1 thou hast revived our hearts with such sweet draughts of those rivers of pleasure that surround thy ,father's throne1 thou hast enlightened our understandings with such piercing beams of truth1 thou hast placed such endearing objects before our will and affections1 and hast so enamoured our souls with the beauty and excellency of thy ,gospel2 that we are perfectly satisfied to remain with thee for ever1 implicitly to follow thy blessed footsteps1 to accompany thee through all the difficulties and dangers of life1 and even to meet death undaunted at thy side4 ,indeed1 to whom shall we go8 ,every creature around us1 bears the stamp of its own imperfection4 ,whatever they possess of beauty or of bliss1 it is all from thee1 thou ,lord of life1 and source of all perfection6 ,they are in themselves1 as poor and indigent as we are4 ,if we make the experiment1 and go to them in quest of happiness1 our fond hopes are suddenly overthrown1 and vexation succeeds to disappointment4 ,the life we are now in1 is fallen1 temporal1 and transient4 ,the words of this life are as vain as the life itself3 for it can only speak what it knows and feels1 and the sum and substance of this is want and woe4 ,but as thou hast in thyself the very source of eternal life1 by virtue of thy eternal union with the ,father2 as the powers1 sensibilities1 virtues1 and perfections of this life1 are completely opened in thee2 as the fulness of the ,,godhead dwells bodily in thee1 so thy words must be the words of eternal life3 for thou speakest that thou dost know1 and testifiest that thou hast seen4 ,thy outward words are1 indeed1 but the outward signs of this life eternal2 the real participation of it can be nothing less than an inward and vital union of our wills with thine1 effectually co-operating1 and gradually transforming us into thine own image1 from glory to glory4 ,such was the import of the ,apostle's reply2 and such must be the real heart-felt language of every sinner1 that expects peace and pardon at the hands of the ,almighty4 ,pardon of sin1 is not1 as some vainly imagine1 like the cancelling of a bond1 the remitting of a debt1 or the forgiveness of an injury betwixt man and man4 ,no--,it is a dying unto sin1 and a rising again unto righteousness4 ,it is life eternal opening itself in the fallen soul1 and extinguishing the life of sin1 or at least keeping it in due subjection1 till the dissolution of the body puts an end to its connection with this fallen world2 it is1 according to the ,apostle's language1 the law of the spirit of life making us free from the law of sin and death4 ,that eternal life1 which we have1 and can have only from ,,jesus ,,christ1 the second ,adam1 can alone pardon1 remit1 atone1 cover1 extinguish1 7for all these are words of the same spiritual import7 that earthly life1 which we have received from the first ,adam4 ,the very first motion of this eternal life within us1 is a conviction of the vanity1 sin1 and folly of our earthly life4 ,they that are whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick4 ,a sensibility of want and weakness must necessarily precede a desire of relief3 and the soul must be weary and heavy laden1 oppressed beneath the burden of her fallen nature1 and convinced of its inability to yield her a moment's real peace1 before she will think of making this solemn inquiry1 what shall ,i do to be saved8 to whom shall ,i go8 ,yea1 even after she is come thus far1 many a weary step must be taken1 many doubts and difficulties must be encountered1 before she will be able1 from her own experience1 to adopt this declaration of the ,apostle1 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4 ,those doubts and difficulties1 with which men are frequently embarrassed in their spiritual researches1 do in a great measure proceed from that general deviation from the primitive simplicity of ,gospel ,truth and ,gospel ,language1 which so sadly prevails among the various denominations of ,christians2 in consequence of which1 a multitude of useless and unscriptural distinctions have been introduced into catechisms1 systems of divinity1 and even books of practical devotion1 which serve only to perplex and confound the mind of anxious and well-disposed inquirers4 ,to whom shall ,i go8 cries the poor penitent sinner1 whom ,,christ1 by the ,power of his ,grace1 hath brought to a sensibility of his fallen life4 ,why1 go to the priest1 says one2 confess1 and get absolution1 and you will come away as innocent as a new-born babe4 ,go1 and study the ,augsburg confession1 says another1 and you will soon have every doubt and difficulty removed4 ,go1 says a third1 and read ,calvin's system with great attention1 and you will soon find your soul at rest4 ,some advise him to join himself to one sect of ,christians1 and some to another2 each maintaining1 in his turn1 that the life and power of religion is only to be found among those of his own particular society4 ,the poor misguided seeker eagerly catches at every thing that looks like spiritual advice2 runs from one book to another1 from one church and conventicle to another1 seeking rest1 but finding none1 or at most1 a temporary peace1 a partial truce from extreme distress2 whereas after all1 a few plain words of ,scripture1 properly applied and attended to1 will go further towards setting him right in his researches1 than all the popes and priests1 and ,luthers1 and ,calvins1 and sects and denominations1 in the world4 ,what then hath a minister of ,,christ1 or indeed any private ,christian1 to say or do1 when a true penitent under such circumstances applies to him for advice1 and asks him with the utmost anxiety1 ,to whom shall ,i go8 ,what can he do1 what can he say1 that will have a more immediate tendency to fix his attention1 and compose his distracted mind1 than to answer him in the words of the text8 ,to whom shouldst thou go1 but to ,,jesus ,,christ8 it is he alone who hath the words of ,eternal ,life4 ,i know no other end of preaching but this2 and ,i am sure1 that we are warranted by ,scripture to declare to every such humbled1 penitent1 and afflicted sinner1 that if he thus seeks ,,christ1 he shall not seek in vain4 ,by faithfully directing his will and affections towards his ,,redeemer1 thus inwardly unfolding his graces and virtues in his heart1 he will become more and more acquainted1 and more and more comforted1 with that ,life ,eternal1 which is the gift of ,,god in ,,christ ,,jesus4 ,,discourse ,v4 ,true ,religion1 a costly and continual ,sacrifice4 #b ,,samuel1 ,,chap4 xxiv1 ,,verse #bd4 ,,and ,,the ,,king ,,said ,,unto ,,araunah1 ,,nay1 ,,but ,i ,,will ,,surely ,,buy ,,it ,,of ,,thee ,,at ,a ,,price2 ,,neither ,,will ,i ,,offer ,,burnt-,,offerings ,,unto ,,the ,,lord ,,my ,,god1 ,,of ,,that ,,which ,,doth ,,cost ,,me ,,nothing4 ,the preceding part of this chapter presents us with an awful and instructive example of the fatal consequences which result from an unbelief or distrust of the providential power and goodness of ,,god4 ,contrary to the express command of the ,almighty1 contrary to the spirit of that dispensation1 which inculcated an absolute and implicit reliance upon ,heaven in all dangers and difficulties1 yea1 contrary to an happy experience of the most signal interpositions of ,omnipotence2 ,david had rashly issued a commission to the general and officers of his host1 to go through all the tribes of ,israel1 and take a particular and exact account of the numbers of his people4 ,such a flagrant instance of unfaithfulness to his ,,god1 after so many merciful deliverances received1 drew upon him a most severe chastisement4 ,to humble the haughtiness of his spirit1 and convince him of the folly of depending upon the arm of flesh1 instead of taking the most ,,high ,,god for his shield and defence1 a messenger of vengeance was immediately sent forth4 ,from ,dan even to ,beersheba1 he marked his progress with carnage and desolation3 seventy thousand men1 within the space of a few hours1 fell a sacrifice to the devouring pestilence4 ,he soon reached the beloved city1 and was preparing to pour his phial of wrath upon the mount of ,,god4 ,the eyes of the unhappy monarch were now opened3 he saw the destroying angel1 humbled himself in the dust1 acknowledged his guilt1 and deprecated the further progress of the contagion4 ,lo1 ,i have sinned1 and ,i have done wickedly3 but these sheep1 what have they done8 ,omnipotence arrested the ,angel in his progress3 ,it is enough--stay now thine hand4 ,and ,david was directed by the prophet ,gad1 to rear an altar unto the ,,lord1 on the very spot where the pestilence had ceased4 ,this spot was the threshing-floor of ,araunah the ,jebusite4 ,deeply sensible of the greatness of his deliverance1 the king immediately proceeded to execute the divine command4 ,araunah discovered him at a distance2 and with all the submission of a conquered and tributary prince1 hastened to meet him1 and bowed himself before the king on his face to the ground4 ,and ,araunah said1 ,wherefore is my lord the king come unto his servant8 ,and ,david said1 ,to buy the threshing-floor of thee1 to build an altar unto the ,,lord1 that the plague may be stayed from the people4 ,araunah1 as a king1 with a princely generosity of spirit1 immediately offered him1 not only the threshing-floor1 but also his oxen for the sacrifice1 and his threshing instruments for wood4 ,and the king said unto ,araunah1 ,nay1 but ,i will surely buy it of thee at a price2 neither will ,i offer burnt-offerings unto the ,,lord my ,,god1 of that which doth cost me nothing4 ,the plain and obvious meaning of which is undoubtedly this3 ,hath ,,god favoured me with such an astonishing deliverance8 ,hath he manifested his goodness and loving-kindness in withdrawing his chastising hand1 pardoning my guilt1 and sparing me and my people from utter destruction8 ,surely1 then1 ,i will not grudge1 the trifling expence of erecting1 upon this spot1 a monument of his love4 ,surely ,i will not accept of the labours of another1 or testify my gratitude by burnt-offerings and sacrifices at another's expence4 ,the least ,i can do is1 to make such an acknowledgment1 and in such a manner1 as will best evidence my sense of the obligation1 and the honour that is due to my ,almighty ,deliverer4 ,those who look beyond the letter and the outward history1 will readily discern the state of ,david's mind4 ,they will readily discern this outward action of his1 though adapted to the outward dispensation under which he lived1 to be highly expressive of that great and fundamental principle1 which every dispensation of ,truth1 from the fall of man down to this very day1 hath strongly inculcated1 viz4 that true religion is an inward life1 that cannot rest in external appearances1 but manifests itself in an absolute unlimited surrender of the whole man to his ,creator4 ,this can never be accomplished without considerable cost and expence on the part of the creature1 inasmuch as his will and affections must first be drawn off from all that variety of imaginations1 desires and enjoyments1 to which his fallen nature strongly allures1 and deeply enslaves him4 ,hence it is1 that our ,,blessed ,,lord makes the very first duty of discipleship to consist in denying ourselves1 taking up our cross1 and following him3 that is to say1 in bearing1 with meekness1 the necessary evils of our fallen life1 resisting and overcoming its sinful suggestions1 and humbly waiting for and co-operating with his ,spirit revealed in our hearts4 ,this is the spiritual warfare1 the struggle betwixt the law in the members1 and the law of the mind2 the fighting not only against flesh and blood1 but against principalities and powers1 in which we are all summoned to engage4 ,the whole burnt-offering and sacrifice1 the whole price which this must cost us1 is nothing less than the turning our wills1 with the whole tide of our affections1 from the evil to the good principle within us4 ,and that ,,god through ,,christ hath given us ability to do this1 will appear from the following considerations3 ,the will of man1 as coming forth from the ,eternal ,will of ,,god1 must be eternally and essentially free4 ,the will of the fallen angels in hell1 was as free as that of the highest archangel now in heaven3 ,freely they stood1 who stood2 and fell1 who fell4 ,the whole difference betwixt them consists in this1 that the will of those who fell1 is freely turned to evil2 the will of those who stood1 is freely turned to ,,god and ,goodness4 ,man stands in an intermediate state1 betwixt light and darkness1 betwixt life and death1 betwixt heaven and hell4 ,the whole tenor of ,scripture1 from beginning to end1 represents him in this critical situation2 represents his ,heavenly ,father1 as calling to him and inviting him to eschew evil1 and to do good2 to love light rather than darkness2 to come to him1 that he may have life4 ,all which certainly implies1 that ,,god1 by his ,grace1 hath given him a power of choosing1 and has made his salvation or destruction to proceed from himself1 and not from any predetermining divine decree4 ,,jesus ,,christ is always spoken of1 as a freely given ,saviour2 but salvation1 as a treasure to be purchased1 as a race to be run1 as a battle to be fought1 as a work to be accomplished1 even with fear and trembling4 ,the power or capacity of being saved1 the whole merit of salvation1 comes from ,,christ2 the using of this power1 the availing ourselves of this merit1 from ourselves4 ,why ,,will ,,ye die1 ,o house of ,israel8 ,,turn ,,yourselves1 and live ye4 ,ye ,,will ,,not come to me1 that ye might have life4 ,how often would ,i have gathered you1 as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings1 and ye ,,would ,,not6 ,upon this principle of forsaking sin1 and turning our will to ,goodness1 are founded all those ,gospel precepts1 which speak of crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts1 destroying the old man1 dying to sin1 suffering with ,,christ1 cutting off a right hand1 plucking out a right eye1 passing through much tribulation2 all which plainly shews1 that ,true ,religion is a perpetual sacrifice2 and that this sacrifice cannot be offered to the ,,lord our ,,god1 of that which doth cost us nothing2 that the price will be far more1 than fifty shekels of silver1 the purchase of ,araunah's threshing-floor and implements2 yea1 that it will be no less than the whole body of sin1 which we carry about us1 with all its affections and lusts2 which we must1 with meekness and humility1 surrender to our ,,blessed ,,redeemer1 to be burnt up and consumed upon the fire of his altar4 ,having thus endeavoured to establish this fundamental principle1 that true religion is a costly and a perpetual sacrifice2 let us now1 to prevent any dangerous deception1 turn our eyes to those false appearances of it1 which we frequently meet with in the world1 which are very easily assumed1 and which cost nothing4 ,the man of moral honesty first steps forth1 and puts in his claim to the character of religious4 ,he looks upon any ,revelation from ,heaven to be quite unnecessary2 and1 with all the forwardness and presumption of his own blind reason1 pronounces those books1 which ,christians believe to be of ,divine ,authority1 to be idle and chimerical4 ,his religion1 he will tell you1 is1 to do as he would be done by4 ,poor man6 it were well1 if he even practised this golden rule2 it might lead him to something further3 for1 by endeavouring to fulfil this1 he might be brought to a view and feeling of his own natural inability2 of the evil tempers and passions of his soul1 which1 in innumerable instances1 hurry him on to do to others1 what he would1 by no means1 have them to do to him4 ,his religion1 therefore1 is properly visionary4 ,every thing to him is just and right1 that comes within those bounds of honesty1 which have been fixed by the laws of the land4 ,a right life is not1 with him1 a right principle in the heart2 but only a set of outward actions1 that in the eyes of the world give him the character of an honest man4 ,the religion of such a person costs him nothing4 ,he has nothing to sacrifice1 but much to gain by the practice of it2 at least1 much of worldly happiness2 for he can have no idea of any other4 ,being wholly destitute of all sensibility with respect to the evil of his fallen life1 he is not in the least desirous of purchasing a better1 at the price it will cost4 ,before he can form any conception of the necessity of religion1 as a real inward change and renewal of heart1 he must first be made sensible of his present error and misery3 for they that are whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick4 ,next comes the nominal ,christian1 who hath been baptized1 and professes to believe the great truths of the ,gospel1 and joins with some publick assembly of ,christians in outward worship4 ,surely his claim to the religious character1 hath a better foundation than the preceding one3 he purchases it at an higher price2 it costs him more to support it4 ,he neglects no outward duty1 either moral or instituted2 you never miss him at church1 or at the sacrament3 he hath been strictly educated from his infancy2 he is sober1 virtuous1 kind1 and charitable4 ,in a word1 he appears to be1 what it were to be wished every man in the world really was4 ,thus far he is undoubtedly right3 a strict observance of all the outward duties of religion1 a minute attention to things in themselves indifferent1 and a prudent abstaining from every appearance of evil1 are doubtless incumbent1 even upon those who have made the greatest progress in the ,divine ,life4 ,let us1 however1 remember1 that this outward strictness will avail little1 without a conformity of our inward man to the temper and disposition of ,,christ2 without being born again1 and commencing a new life1 even a life of ,heaven upon earth4 ,the nominal ,christian is a stranger to this blessed process4 ,talk to him of the necessity of regeneration1 of doing all that he does from a principle of ,divine ,love1 and with a view to ,god's glory1 and not to any self-satisfaction1 and he will not understand you4 ,his round of duties seems to be the ,god whom he worships2 at least1 he makes them the opus operatum4 ,he is never tormented with spiritual doubts and temptations2 he knows nothing of the severe conflicts which real ,christians sustain1 and the dreadful pangs they must suffer1 before their purification is accomplished2 before they can bow their heads1 with the great ,captain of their ,salvation1 and say with him1 ,it is finished4 ,he is willing to go to ,heaven by an easier and less thorny path1 and to purchase glory at a cheaper rate4 ,the last ,i shall mention1 but the most specious appearances of religion1 are those which are exhibited by the pharisaical professors of ,christianity4 ,and here ,i would willingly throw a veil over those follies and extravagancies1 to which false enthusiasm frequently gives the name of spiritual exercises and experiences4 ,but my duty calls upon me to put you on your guard against these delusive appearances2 as ,i cannot but think1 that spiritual pride1 or an over-weening conceit and forward exhibition of our own fancied spiritual attainments1 is the most fatal rock1 upon which the ,christian can make shipwreck of his faith4 ,in an age1 wherein every appearance of religion ought to be encouraged and promoted1 it is melancholy to think1 that we should be under a necessity of speaking even against some appearances4 ,but that you may form a right notion of what ,i mean by a pharisaical profession of religion1 ,i will endeavour to draw the character of a modern ,pharisee4 ,in the first place1 he is one1 who talks much in a religious strain1 but takes care to make himself the chief subject of conversation4 ,his own illuminations and experiences1 his conviction and conversion1 with all the particular circumstances attending them1 he never fails to communicate1 without distinction1 to all those who will give him an hearing2 and to communicate in such a manner1 as to let them know1 that he considers his own experiences as the infallible standard by which he measures the experiences of others4 ,in the next place1 you will generally find him insisting upon points of controversy1 rather than those of practice2 urging your assent to such and such articles of his faith1 calling upon you to apply for instruction to some favourite ,rabbi of his own sect1 or some favourite system which himself has adopted1 instead of sending you immediately to him1 who is the ,fountain of all ,wisdom1 and who giveth it liberally to those that ask it of him4 ,you will find him careful to pay tithes of mint1 and annise1 and cummin2 to go to what he calls a gospel-sermon1 though he should neglect the necessary duties of his occupation2 and to spend hours in talking about religion1 whilst he passes by the weightier matters of the law1 judgment1 and mercy1 and faith4 ,tell him of the necessity of dying daily to sin1 of suffering with ,,christ1 of mortifying the flesh1 denying himself1 cutting off a right hand1 c4 he will answer you1 that his peace is made1 that his sins are pardoned1 that he has a full assurance of everlasting life4 ,tell him of the necessity of being born again1 of having the righteous nature1 temper1 and disposition of the ,,holy ,,jesus in his heart2 he will reply1 that he knows of no righteousness but that of ,,christ imputed1 and that his ,saviour's personal obedience is accepted by ,,god instead of his own2 and though he may not go so far as to deny the great doctrine of sanctification1 but will even allow and insist upon it1 yet it is such sanctification1 as will turn to very little account4 ,for1 who that looks upon his work as already done1 will chuse to labour any longer8 ,who that believes his sins to be already pardoned1 will think it necessary to implore the forgiveness of ,god1 or to obtain the healing influences of the ,spirit of ,grace8 ,in a word1 if we may judge from his conversation1 he thinks himself perfect--if we may judge from his actions1 he is indeed very far from it4 ,he shews the utmost bitterness against every one that happens to dissent from his opinion2 and looks upon all those as carnal and unregenerate1 who do not walk in his footsteps4 ,meekness1 humility1 benevolence and charity1 the most characteristical graces of the true disciples of ,,jesus1 are not to be found in any part of his conduct4 ,his life1 therefore1 is not in ,,christ1 but in a set of doctrines and opinions1 supported by a zeal that is not according to knowledge4 ,till he is taught to see his own pride and presumption2 till he discovers1 and strives to eradicate1 the selfish principle that lurks at the centre of his heart2 he cannot be said to offer any other sacrifices to ,,god1 than such as cost him nothing4 ,to conclude3 ,having seen what those real sacrifices of religion are1 which will be acceptable to ,,god1 and in how many instances men deceive themselves1 and others1 by false appearances2 let us determine to judge of our acquaintance with and progress in ,true ,religion1 not merely by outward observances1 nor yet by any transient fits or lively and pleasant frames of devotion2 but rather by the discovery which ,,god is pleased to make to us of our weakness and misery1 by our sincere desire of being united to ,,christ1 and in heart and spirit assimilated to his nature4 ,thus having followed a ,suffering ,master1 travelling in the greatness of his strength1 through the ensanguined paths of a spiritual warfare1 we shall at length come forth out of great tribulation2 and1 having washed our robes in the ,blood of the ,lamb1 shall be partakers of his triumphs2 and receive the accomplishment of his great and glorious promise3 ,to him that overcometh1 will ,i grant to sit with me in my throne2 even as ,i also overcame1 and am set down with my ,father in his throne4 ,,discourse ,,vi4 ,truth1 the only ,friend of ,man4 ,,galatians1 ,,chap4 iv4 ,,ver4 #af4 ,,am ,i ,,therefore ,,become ,,your ,,enemy1 ,,because ,i ,,tell ,,you ,,the ,,truth8 ,men are generally too apt to consider religion as unfriendly to their happiness1 and incapable of yielding them any satisfactions1 equal to those which they derive from the pursuit of worldly objects4 ,hence1 the aversion to exercises of piety1 and the society and conversation of the good and virtuous4 ,hence1 the listlessness and unconcern about the state of their souls1 whilst the whole attention of their minds1 their thoughts1 their desires and affections1 their hands and their hearts1 are all busily and constantly employed1 in making provision for the support1 ornament1 and gratification1 of a perishing body4 ,surely1 such a strange conduct as this1 must proceed from a secret persuasion1 that religion will interrupt their pursuit of some present favourite objects1 and damp and deaden all the sprightliness of enjoyment4 ,were they1 indeed1 charged with holding such principles as these1 they would doubtless take it exceedingly amiss2 and look upon that man as their enemy1 who should presume thus to arraign their conduct1 and ascribe it to motives1 which they would blush to own4 ,the tender and affectionate expostulation in my text1 is evidently founded upon an intimate knowledge of human nature4 ,the sagacious ,apostle readily discovered the secret workings of pride and disgust1 in the hearts of his ,galatian converts4 ,after having expressed his astonishment1 that they were so soon removed from him1 that called them into the ,grace of ,,christ1 unto another ,gospel2 after having charged them with folly1 for suffering themselves to be bewitched1 as he expresses it1 by the artifices of deceivers2 after having declared his fears and apprehensions lest he should have bestowed upon them labour in vain2 and1 after having enumerated some former testimonies of their reciprocal regard and affection for each other2 he1 at length1 addresses himself to their consciences1 and solemnly calls upon them to declare1 whether they could1 with the least justice or propriety1 change their former sentiments of him1 or deem him unfriendly to their best interests1 because he told them the ,truth2 because1 by his ,christian and apostolical reprehensions1 he sought to rescue them from the dominion of passion and prejudice3 ,am ,i therefore become your enemy1 because ,i tell you the ,truth8 ,one would think1 that such well-meant remonstrances1 from the ministers of ,truth and friends of ,virtue1 would be kindly received1 and have a salutary influence upon the hearts of sinners2 but experience1 alas6 tells us the contrary4 ,there have been many instances1 and some1 perhaps1 within our own personal knowledge1 in which resentment1 rather than gratitude1 hath been awakened by such expostulations2 and where1 instead of humbling the spirit1 they have produced a reply that bore the marks of passion1 checked and disappointed in its favourite pursuits4 ,considered with respect to the real state of his soul1 every man1 who lives under the dominion of any evil passion1 or suffers himself to be drawn aside from the paths of virtue by the delusive arts of vice1 is doubtless in a situation similar to that of these ,galatians4 ,for though his passions and prejudices may not be exactly the same1 yet they proceed from the same source1 and enmity to ,,god and ,goodness is at the bottom4 ,but1 blessed be ,,god6 there are no ,galatians without an ,apostle2 no sinner without an higher messenger of ,,god than ,st4 ,paul2 a greater witness1 and more awful reprover of his evil ways2 a friend that speaks to him at all times and seasons1 in the hurry of the day1 and the silence of the night1 amidst the anxiety of expectation1 and the ardour of possession2 vigorously remonstrating against every sinful suggestion1 and sharply censuring and reproving the mind for every sinful act4 ,the fallen spirit of man1 it is true1 brooks not the frequent appearance of this ,heavenly ,messenger2 but1 as the ,apostle says of the ,galatians1 treats him as an enemy1 and replies to all his friendly remonstrances and affectionate warnings1 with indignation and disdain4 ,go thy way for this time1 was the language of voluptuous greatness to the same blessed ,apostle4 ,go thy way for this time1 is still the language of every unconverted heart1 when it is checked or interrupted in its vicious and lawless pursuits1 by the voice of this ,inward ,monitor--why art thou perpetually intruding upon my hours of business1 pleasure1 or repose1 and teizing and disquieting me with thine ill-timed admonitions or rebukes8 ,who amongst us1 let me ask1 hath not1 in innumerable instances1 given such a rash and impatient answer to the ,servant of ,,god within us8 ,when some darling passion hath importunately solicited for immediate indulgence2 some pretty fantastical object presented itself to our desires2 some impetuous call of pride1 envy1 covetuousness1 or resentment1 demanded an immediate answer2 have we not1 though we were1 at the very instant1 warned against the artifice and delusion1 by this constant and inseparable ,friend1 have we not petulantly rejected his counsel1 bid him away for that time at least1 and treated him with more contempt than we would dare to shew to an earthly enemy8 ,his meekness1 however1 is not discomposed by our rising wrath2 his fortitude is not daunted by our repeated insults2 his persevering love is not in the least abated by the stubbornness and obduracy of our hearts4 ,he still keeps close to our side1 accompanies us whithersoever we go1 and1 whether we will hear1 or whether we will forbear1 ceases not1 at one time1 to whisper to us in the soft language of heavenly instruction2 and1 at another1 to thunder in our ears the most alarming reproofs and menaces4 ,but who is this ,apostle1 this ,messenger of ,,god1 this ,inward ,witness and ,monitor1 whom deluded mortals are so apt to consider as an enemy to their peace8--,hear1 ,o sinner1 and let thy face be covered with confusion6 let thine hard heart break with deep compunction for its past obduracy1 whilst thou art told1 that this enemy1 as thou hast hitherto deemed and treated him1 is no other than the ,,eternal ,,spirit ,,of ,,thy ,,god ,,and ,,thy ,,redeemer1 who1 by continually opposing the language of truth to the suggestions of error1 hath been endeavouring to emancipate thy soul from its grievous bondage1 and to bring it forth into light and liberty4 ,thou hast mistaken death for life1 misery for happiness1 time for eternity6 ,thy will and affections have been fixed upon objects of unreal bliss2 turned from thy ,,god1 the true and only source of ,goodness and ,happiness1 and working evil in the element of sin and darkness6 ,spirits thus employed1 must mingle with congenial spirits3 there is no communion of ,,christ with ,belial2 no fellowship or likeness betwixt thy spirit in such a state as this1 and the ,spirit of thy ,,redeemer4 ,he appears1 and cannot but appear to thee1 as thine enemy1 because the truth he tells thee militates against thy darling lusts1 and shews thee those dark destructive purposes1 which1 because thou canst hide them from others1 thou wishest also to hide from thyself4 ,but this seeming enemy is1 indeed1 thy real friend4 ,he is only pursuing thee with his internal counsels and reproofs1 that he may snatch thee out of the hands of the destroyer2 that he may call thee out of thy present darkness1 into his own marvellous light4 ,when thou hast experienced this blessed change1 reconciliation will soon take place2 an union of spirits will commence betwixt thy ,,saviour and thee2 and thou wilt gradually grow into his ,image and ,likeness1 till thou art made perfect in his ,love4 ,believe me1 my brethren1 till this great change hath passed upon our souls1 till we begin to feel1 and admire1 and love the communications of this ,inward ,friend and ,comforter1 we must be strangers to true peace of mind1 and totally ignorant of the proper enjoyment of ourselves1 and the proper use of the world in which we now sojourn4 ,in our natural state1 all is darkness1 disorder1 and disquietude4 ,we see every thing through a false medium4 ,we are under a spiritual delirium4 ,our heavenly physician is endeavouring1 by the methods ,i have just mentioned1 to restore our health of mind1 to open our spiritual senses1 to give us a clear and distinct view of the things that belong to our peace4 ,we must1 therefore1 co-operate with his labours of love4 ,even the severity of his applications proves him to be our friend2 for he knows that1 without them1 we can never come to a right mind4 ,let us1 then1 recollect1 how often these applications have been made2 how often1 through inattention and neglect1 they have failed of success2 how often we have slighted his counsels1 despised his prescriptions1 and cast his medicines from us4 ,but let us also remember1 that there is a time at hand1 when1 light as we may think of such a blessing now1 we shall most ardently long for his support and consolation4 ,when languishing with sickness1 and oppressed with pain1 it is he alone who can soften our pillow1 and supply us with inward strength2 when tottering with age1 and bowed down with infirmities1 it is he alone who can be our rod and staff2 and when the lamp of life is so near expiring1 that we can scarcely see our passage to the verge of time1 it is he alone that can light up the ,lamp of ,,god in our hearts1 and conduct us through the dark valley of the shadow of death1 to the bright confines of a celestial world4 ,in a word1 if the enmity is not destroyed in our souls in this life1 we must necessarily carry it with us into the next4 ,and to those who die under the dominion of a fallen life and sinful nature1 our ,god must be a consuming fire4 ,let us lay these things seriously to heart4 ,let us earnestly seek ,reconciliation with ,,god ,,through ,,christ1 and endeavour to perfect ourselves in the great work of ,peace and ,love1 whilst it is day2 because the night cometh1 when no man can work4 ,,discourse ,,vii4 ,the ,strength and ,victory of ,faith4 #a ,,john1 ,,chap4 v4 ,,ver4 #d4 ,,whatsoever ,,is ,,born ,,of ,,god1 ,,overcometh ,,the ,,world2 ,,and ,,this ,,is ,,the ,,victory ,,that ,,overcometh ,,the ,,world1 ,,even ,,our ,,faith4 ,all the doctrines of our most ,holy ,religion conspire to inform us1 that the supreme happiness of man is not to be attained without unnumbered labours and conflicts2 and all its precepts are calculated to inforce a perpetual activity1 and unwearied perseverance1 in the pursuit of the things that belong to our peace4 ,the ,devil1 the world1 and the flesh1 are the great adversaries1 who are continually plotting our ruin4 ,the flesh1 by which is meant that corrupt nature which we bring with us into the world1 is ever harrassing us with its impure suggestions3 the ,devil walks about as a roaring lion1 seeking whom he may devour3 and the world1 by which we are to understand that fallen state of things1 in which we at present dwell1 never fails of opposing our progress toward ,heaven1 with its specious1 but delusive scenes of happiness4 ,against the united efforts of such formidable enemies1 where shall we find armour of sufficient proof8 ,in a conflict so long and arduous1 where shall we meet with such supplies of strength1 as will enable us to contend and finally to overcome8 ,the power of contending1 and the means of obtaining the victory1 are clearly pointed out by the ,apostle in my text4 ,whatsoever is born of ,,god1 overcometh the world3 and this is the ,victory that overcometh the world1 even our ,faith4 ,from these words it appears1 that those who engage in this heavenly warfare1 are persons of the highest dignity1 and most illustrious birth3 they are the offspring of him whose kingdom is not of this world2 they are heirs of ,,god1 and joint-heirs with ,,jesus ,,christ2 they are born1 not of the will of the flesh1 nor of the will of man1 but of ,,god4 ,to be born of ,,god1 is to rise out of the ruins of a fallen nature into the glory of a redeemed one4 ,it is to die to ,adam1 and to live to ,,christ2 it is to see1 and feel1 and to forsake our own weakness and vanity and sin1 and adhere to the strength and sufficiency and righteousness of ,,christ4 ,the first great work of the ,,spirit ,,of ,,truth1 as our ,,lord assures us1 is to convince the world of sin4 ,the foundation of that spiritual edifice which ,heaven erects in the souls of men1 must be laid in humility3 ,blessed are the poor in spirit1 for theirs is the kingdom of ,heaven6 ,he that is born of ,,god1 lives and acts in direct opposition to him who is born of the flesh3 meekness and love are the prevailing dispositions of the former2 pride and selfishness the ruling tempers of the latter4 ,a discerning mind1 spiritually enlightened1 and viewing mankind as they really are1 and not through the false medium of worldly philosophy1 will readily discover the manifest contrariety with which their characters are marked by these two principles4 ,look round you1 my brethren2 look into your own hearts2 judge for yourselves3 your own experience of what is continually passing within and about you1 will afford you ample demonstration of these great truths4 ,wherever we discover in ourselves1 or in others1 the corrupt passions of pride1 envy1 ill-nature1 avarice1 anger1 jealousy1 malice1 prevailing1 there we may be as certain of the marks of unregenerate nature1 as we are of a disorder in the elements1 when we see the heavens overcast with clouds1 and thunders and lightnings issuing from every quarter of the sky4 ,on the other hand1 where meekness and gentleness1 self-abasement1 a forgetfulness of our own interest1 and a chearful attention to the happiness of others1 an heart-felt sympathy in their joys and sorrows1 an universal love of ,,god and man1 testified by a life of uninterrupted piety and charity2 wherever we find these amiable graces and virtues1 there are the sure marks of ,regeneration2 there is the true disciple of ,,jesus1 born of ,,god1 and overcoming the world4 ,the state of such a soul1 with respect to its ,,god1 may be expressed in words to this effect3 ,,lord1 what is man1 that thou hast such respect unto him2 or the ,son of man1 that thou visitest him8 ,behold1 ,,lord1 ,i am less than the least of all thy mercies6 ,and yet thou hast had respect even unto me2 and yet thou hast visited even me1 with the greatest of thy mercies6 ,thou hast caused thy light to shine into the darkness of my nature2 thou hast laid open every secret recess of my heart1 and shewn me those roots of evil1 from whence the innumerable sins of my past life have sprung forth1 and diffused their venom throughout my whole frame4 ,yea1 thou hast not only discovered to me the depth and malignity of sin1 but1 with thy ,light1 thou hast also imparted thy ,life to my soul2 thou hast supplied me with strength from above2 thou hast furnished me with armour of heavenly proof to encounter the enemies of my peace4 ,thou hast taught me to despair of my own strength1 and to trust in thine arm alone for salvation2 thou hast taught me to despise my own righteousness1 and to seek thy righteousness in ,,christ ,,jesus4 ,though the world should present to me her most alluring charms2 though she should give1 to her visionary forms1 the fairest features that fancy's pencil can delineate2 though she should court me to accept her proffered pleasures1 in all that false tenderness of language1 which artful vice so frequently assumes2 yet1 armed with thy celestial panoply1 ,i shall be enabled to contend with the enchantress1 and overcome her magic power2 ,i shall nobly triumph over all her devices1 assert the dignity of my heavenly birth1 and preserve my heart unspotted from her impurities4 ,for sure ,i am2 that whilst united in spirit with thee1 my ,,god and ,,saviour1 ,i breathe the air of ,heaven1 ,i feed upon the bread of angels2 the strength of ,omnipotence is exerted amid the weakness of nature1 and ,i shall go on1 under thine auspicious guidance1 conquering and to conquer4 ,such is the state of the virtuous and regenerated ,christian1 with respect to his ,,god4 ,with respect to man1 his conduct flows from the same ,divine and lovely principle4 ,he deems every spiritual blessing1 by which he may be distinguished from the rest of his brethren1 as the gift of ,,god1 to be accepted and enjoyed1 not with an haughty1 but an humble mind4 ,he does not1 therefore1 stand aloof from them1 as if he was holier than they4 ,he cannot1 indeed1 but shrink from their vices1 and1 by a prudent distance of behaviour1 shew himself averse to1 and even offended with their levities4 ,but he pities their blindness1 and compassionates the obduracy of their hearts4 ,he is ever ready to exert himself for the real service of wicked1 as well as of good men2 knowing1 that his heavenly ,father sendeth his rain1 and causeth his sun to shine1 upon the unjust no less than the just4 ,if he is blessed with worldly affluence1 he cheerfully administers to the temporal necessities of his indigent neighbours4 ,if he is poor1 and can give them no earthly aid1 he will do all he can--he will pray for them1 and beg his ,,god to shower down upon them his temporal1 as well as spiritual comforts4 ,he suffers no ill conduct on their part to excite his indignation1 or make him forget that they are his brethren1 to be redeemed by that precious blood1 whose salutary influences he has himself experienced4 ,he envies none their fortunes1 honours1 and accomplishments2 neither does he repine1 because he is not so rich1 or learned1 or polite1 or advanced to such an exalted rank in life1 as others are4 ,he endeavours to be dead alike to the censure and applause of beings1 mortal and fallible as himself2 inasmuch as he is convinced1 that their good or ill opinion cannot make the least alteration in the real state of his soul3 he is1 therefore1 guilty of no mean compliances1 or time-serving practices1 to obtain the one1 or to avoid the other4 ,he gives honour to whom honour is due4 ,he endeavours to owe no man any thing1 but love3 he is1 therefore1 careful1 not only to pay every just debt1 but to avoid embarking in any worldly schemes or prospects of advancing his own interest1 to the injury of others4 ,in a word1 by piety to ,,god1 justice and charity to his neighbour1 and chastity and temperance in his own person1 he seeks to maintain a conscience void of offence towards ,,god1 and towards man2 to fill the station in which he is placed1 and support the character in which he appears1 in such a manner1 as will do honour to the ,religion of his ,master4 ,this is ,evangelical ,morality1 not confined1 as you may observe1 to the external conduct of life2 but reaching inward1 even to the secret thoughts and inclinations of the heart4 ,what is generally called morality1 ,i am afraid1 is little more than an external decency1 and common sobriety2 and it is well1 if1 in every instance1 it is carried even so far4 ,but surely none1 but the truly ,regenerate ,christian1 acting under the immediate influence of the ,,divine ,,spirit1 can properly be called a moral man4 ,for morality1 without an inward principle1 is but a name2 and the ,scriptures tell us of no other true principle1 but the ,,love ,,of ,,god shed abroad in the human heart by his ,,holy ,,spirit4 ,having thus given some of the marks or characteristicks by which the ,regenerate ,christian1 or the ,born of ,,god1 is to be known1 let us now enquire what the ,apostle means1 by overcoming the world1 and ascribing the victory to ,faith3 ,whatsoever is born of ,,god1 overcometh the world2 and this is the ,victory that overcometh the world1 even our ,faith4 ,overcometh the world6 methinks ,i hear some say--that is impossible--human nature has passions1 and the world abounds with objects suited to gratify them4 ,surely the ,,god of nature hath not placed man in his present circumstances1 to make him miserable4 ,he created us for happiness1 and hath furnished us with the means of obtaining it4 ,what a senseless doctrine this1 that would shut us out from all the joys1 which earth holds forth for our acceptance8 ,alas1 vain man6 who told thee1 that ,,god had given thee such corrupt passions1 as now solicit for indulgence8 ,who told thee1 that ,,god created thee for this world2 and that thou art to take up thy rest in that visionary happiness1 which thou findest here8 ,these passions are the proofs of thy fall2 for thou hast them in common with the beasts of the field4 ,this world is thy temporary prison1 though thy disordered imagination may represent it as a palace4 ,thou art dreaming1 though thou thinkest thyself wide awake4 ,thou art in darkness1 and canst not distinguish the true appearance of objects around thee4 ,let but the ,,sun ,,of ,,righteousness dart one beam into thy benighted soul1 and thou wilt soon discover the deception1 and long for the power of his ,grace to enable thee to triumph over those passions1 that have been leading thee blindfold to destruction2 and to overcome that world1 which hath been cheating thee with visionary gratifications4 ,overcome the world6 says some faint-hearted ,christian--,ah me6 how infinitely short do ,i fall of this glorious standard6 ,i have been striving for months1 for years1 to get the mastery of this powerful adversary1 without being yet able to discover that ,i have gained the least advantage2 though ,i have exerted my utmost endeavours to disengage myself from his subtil1 but violent assaults4 ,hast thou so8 ,but didst thou ever attend to the true and only means1 by which the ,scriptures have assured thee this conquest may be obtained8 ,this is the victory that overcometh the world1 even our ,faith4 ,now1 what is ,faith8 ,it is the substance of things hoped for1 the evidence of things not seen3 that is to say1 it is a full and assured trust and confidence in ,,christ1 that the things hoped for will be finally obtained1 and the things not seen will be fully manifested to our senses4 ,it is such a trust and confidence as realises the immediate possession of them to our minds1 so that we regard not any pain or difficulty we meet with in the pursuit1 resting upon an ,,omnipotent ,,god1 by whose strength in us every obstacle will be gradually removed1 and a complete victory at length secured4 ,why then1 ,o ,christian1 shouldst thou despair of success8 ,if thou hast hitherto been striving in thine own strength1 and depended upon the power of thine own weak resolution1 it is no wonder thou hast made such small advances4 ,without me1 ye can do nothing1 says our ,,blessed ,,redeemer4 ,i can do all things through ,,christ strengthening me1 says his experienced ,apostle4 ,when we repose so much confidence in a friend1 as to entrust him with the whole management of our temporal affairs1 looking to him in every instance1 and upon the least appearance of difficulty or embarrassment1 running to him for counsel1 and implicitly following his directions1 from a thorough conviction of our own ignorance1 of his superior skill in business1 and his known regard and attachment to us2 we are then said to have faith in such a friend4 ,and canst thou not1 ,o ,christian1 have as much ,faith in thy ,,saviour1 as one frail mortal has in another8 ,when temptations rise1 when dangers threaten1 when enemies attack us from within and from without1 so that our souls are hard beset1 and we know not how to extricate ourselves from the perilous situation2 can we not fly with confidence to our ,heavenly ,friend1 ask his counsel1 and entreat his powerful interposition in our behalf8 ,he is ever ready and willing to come to our succour4 ,nothing is wanting but ,faith on our part2 and according to our ,faith1 so shall it be done unto us4 ,we are not1 however1 to expect that this ,victory will be easily or speedily obtained4 ,the ,canaanites were suffered to keep possession of the land of promise for a considerable time1 lest the ,children of ,israel1 instead of ascribing the glory of the conquest solely to the ,,lord ,,of ,,hosts1 should vainly arrogate it to themselves1 and1 in consequence of this1 lose all sense of their dependence upon him4 ,many strong and powerful temptations may be permitted to remain unsubdued1 to exercise the ,christian's ,faith1 to keep him humble1 and duly sensible of his own weakness and inability4 ,besides1 there is a wonderful analogy betwixt natural and spiritual things4 ,the ,child of ,grace1 as well as the ,child of ,nature1 must have a gradual growth1 during which many an anxious interval1 many a severe pang1 many an arduous conflict1 must be endured4 ,for let this truth be ever present to our minds1 that the ,inward ,man increases in strength1 in proportion as the outward man weakens and decays2 and the earthly nature must be totally subdued1 before the ,,born ,,of ,,god can attain the measure of the stature of the fulness1 which is in ,,christ4 ,nor let what hath been said discourage those sincere and upright minds1 who have but lately turned their backs upon the world1 and entered into the school of ,,christ4 ,our trials are always suited to our strength3 ,,god will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear4 ,the ,child1 the ,young ,man1 and the ,father in ,,christ1 have exercises proper to their different states2 they are led on to glory by an unerring hand1 which supports them by its invisible1 but powerful influence1 through the most rugged thorny paths of the ,christian course4 ,there is no spiritual adversary too strong for the ,christian1 that engages in the ,strength of his ,,redeemer4 ,david1 though a stripling1 vanquished with ease the giant of ,gath1 because he went out against him1 not in his own strength1 but in the ,name of the ,,lord of ,hosts1 the ,god of the armies of ,israel4 ,the world1 with all its temptations and allurements1 will be as easily overcome by him1 who is truly born of ,,god1 as the uncircumcised ,philistine was by the hand of ,david4 ,to conclude3 ,a worldly spirit is one of the greatest enemies we have to encounter1 because it insinuates itself into our hearts under as many different forms1 as there are different earthly desires predominant4 ,the man of business1 according to the more common acceptation of the phrase1 hath obtained the name of a worldly man4 ,but the truth is1 wherever a worldly temper prevails1 whether it manifests itself in the pursuit of wealth1 or honour1 or pleasure1 or literary applause1 or indeed of any object1 interest1 or end1 that is confined merely to this transient state of things2 there is the ,worldly ,spirit1 the foe to our real happiness1 the man of sin1 the son of perdition2 from which may ,,god of his infinite mercy deliver us1 for the sake of the ,son of his ,love1 ,,christ ,,jesus our ,saviour6 ,,discourse ,,viii4 ,faith triumphant over the ,powers of ,darkness4 ,st4 ,,mark1 ,,chap4 ix4 ,part of ,,ver4 #bd4 ,,lord1 ,i ,,believe3 ,,help ,,thou ,,mine ,,unbelief6 ,the false estimate of happiness1 which is made by the generality of men1 entirely proceeds from their not taking into the account the real1 though invisible1 objects of another world1 with which they are much more intimately concerned than with the present temporary state of things4 ,hence it is1 that they judge of the seeming pleasures of this life1 not from a comparative view of them with the superior enjoyments of a better1 but according to the proportion which they bear to one another4 ,it is upon this principle1 coinciding with the peculiar constitutional desires of different men1 that their different worldly pursuits are formed and regulated4 ,the penurious grasping miser declaims1 with an eloquence which avarice alone inspires1 against the rash and silly conduct of the gay and thoughtless spendthrift4 ,the man of pleasure expresses his astonishment at the strange taste1 and stupid employment of his neighbour1 who can sit poring over his accounts from morning till night1 and values himself upon the accuracy with which they are kept1 and the strict economy with which all his expences are regulated4 ,the votary of ambition considers his taste and pursuits of a far more sublime nature than those of either of the former1 and looks down with contempt upon the plodding dullness of the miser1 and the short-lived pleasures of the sensualist4 ,in the mean while1 the sagacious enquirer after knowledge1 who spends days and nights in the most laborious researches1 perpetually seeking after ,truth in the countless volumes of antiquity1 congratulates himself upon the superiority of his genius1 and wonders that all mankind are not so captivated with the charms of science1 as immediately to forsake the false and fleeting joys of avarice1 ambition1 and voluptuousness4 ,now all these various desires1 employments1 and pursuits1 however superior some of them may1 on comparison1 appear to be to others1 terminate generally in the nourishment and growth of that fallen life1 under which man1 in consequence of an original apostasy1 is born into this world2 and it may truly be said1 with respect to them all1 that he is only making provision for the flesh1 to fulfil the lusts thereof3 for when the seeming good of this world is the sole object of his attention and affections1 he must necessarily be regardless of the real good of another1 and a better world4 ,whatever his desires center in1 that constitutes his life2 and his own will may be said to create or call forth1 from surrounding nature1 every thing that can feed and nourish those desires4 ,he stands in the midst of three worlds1 principles1 or kingdoms1 earth1 hell1 and heaven2 and to which soever of these he surrenders his heart1 he becomes subject to its power and influence2 so that the real state of every man's soul depends upon the exercise of his will3 his will constitutes his faith2 and according to thy faith1 says the unerring ,standard of ,truth1 so shall it be done unto thee4 ,an afflicted parent brings to our ,,blessed ,,lord a favourite child1 who was sorely vexed and tormented by an evil spirit1 and in the most earnest manner entreats his advice and assistance4 ,the compassionate ,,jesus1 after having enquired into the nature and circumstances of the disorder1 and observed the distress and solicitude of the father1 tells him1 ,if thou canst believe1 all things are possible to him that believeth4 ,this answer abundantly evinceth the truth of the observation above-mentioned1 that our state depends entirely upon the inward exercise of our will or desires4 ,a sensibility of distress naturally disposes us to seek for relief4 ,nature1 without ,,god1 is nothing but restless want and anguish3 and though fallen man is possessed of the powers and principles1 by which this want may be supplied1 and this anguish effectually relieved1 yet he too frequently seeks the remedy in a wrong source2 and cannot be convinced of his error1 till the pangs of disappointment succeed to the delusive assurances of worldly faith1 and the vain anticipations of worldly hope4 ,upon this view of human nature it was1 that the ,,blessed ,,jesus founded his reply2 ,if thou canst believe1 all things are possible to him that believeth4 ,as if he had said3 ,thou appearest to be under great concern and anxiety of mind1 for the present afflicting circumstances of thy child4 ,thou hast a clear and full perception of the cruel agency of an evil spirit1 and canst not doubt1 but that all his torments are the effects of diabolical influence4 ,if thou desirest to see him rescued from this violent spirit1 and restored to a sound state of mind and body1 thou must believe in the more powerful agency of a ,superior ,spirit1 to whose unlimited controul1 all the realms of nature1 and its innumerable beings1 are subjected1 and1 consequently1 that none but ,this ,spirit1 or those to whom he imparts his healing powers1 can possibly restore thy son4 ,when this belief rises in thine heart1 by a living sensibility that carries its own evidence along with it1 thou wilt not entertain a doubt of the will and ability of such a ,divine ,spirit to perform this miracle of ,love1 but1 in the full confidence of ,faith1 wilt apply to him1 and to him alone1 for relief4 ,this very turning of thy will and desire to the ,fountain of ,goodness1 makes it unite with those emanations of spiritual health and vigour1 which are perpetually flowing forth from his all-merciful and compassionate heart4 ,all things are possible to a soul thus disposed and attempered2 and thy child's health1 and thine own peace of mind1 will be the sure and blessed consequence4 ,the affectionate parent1 overjoyed at a declaration which was accompanied with such a ,divine ,power as awakened new sensations in his breast1 burst into a flood of tears1 and cried out1 ,,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou mine unbelief6 ,i am sensible1 deeply sensible of the absolute necessity of a supernatural interposition2 and the mild ,majesty of ,love1 which shines so conspicuous in thy person and address1 and whose efficacy hath already passed from thy lips to my poor heart1 more than convinces me1 that this ,supernatural ,power of ,goodness is lodged with thee4 ,to thee1 therefore1 and thee alone1 ,i apply6 ,in thee ,i desire to place my full confidence1 earnestly entreating thee to remove from me all darkness1 doubt1 and uncertainty1 by further and brighter manifestations of thyself1 and thy heavenly virtues1 in my weak and unbelieving heart6 ,we are very apt1 when we read this1 or other such passages of ,scripture1 to consider them merely as historical facts1 in which we are in no wise particularly interested4 ,what have we to do with evil spirits1 or possessions1 at this day8 ,such things might have been permitted1 whilst our ,,saviour was upon earth1 to give him an opportunity of displaying the ,divine ,powers with which he was invested4 ,alas6 my brethren1 human nature is just the same now1 that it was then3 the prince of the power of the air1 and his infernal associates1 are as maliciously bent upon our destruction as ever they were2 and the same miraculous interposition of the same powerful and compassionate ,,jesus1 is still equally necessary for our security and relief4 ,these spirits of darkness are continually walking about1 seeking whom they may devour3 they enter into all our worldly schemes and views2 nay1 they are themselves frequently the first projectors of them3 they enter into our very blood and spirits1 strive to gain possession of the very essence of our souls1 and to bring the whole man in subjection to their infernal sway4 ,they have deceived the wise men of this world1 whom they have taught to call them by some honourable appellation4 ,philosophy itself seems1 in some instances1 to aid them in carrying on their dangerous delusions4 ,pride1 envy1 covetousness1 lust1 malice1 which are real spirits of darkness1 operating by real1 though invisible1 influences in the human frame1 have made their appearance in a fashionable dress1 and have been suffered to keep what is called the best company1 when introduced by the names of honour1 decency1 taste1 dignity of sentiment1 virtuous resentment1 free-thinking1 and free-acting3 they are1 however1 devils in disguise1 and are secretly undermining the real felicity of man4 ,had we such a view of their cruel treatment of us1 as the father just mentioned had of their treatment of his child1 you may think1 perhaps1 that we should take the same steps which he did1 towards obtaining relief4 ,and what is it that hinders us from having such a view of our real misery8 ,what1 but that fascinating charm1 which these very spirits throw before our eyes to deceive us8 ,they surround every worldly object with a false lustre1 and thus dazzle1 in order to ensnare4 ,yea1 though we frequently detect the imposture1 a succeeding one blinds us again4 ,a future world lessens to our view1 in proportion as we become attached to the present4 ,nor is the charm totally dissolved1 till1 by frequent disappointment and vexation1 we have learned to read and understand the true name and character of worldly bliss1 even ,vanity of vanities6 ,as long as we have ,faith in this world1 we can have no ,faith in another2 as long as ever we think ourselves whole1 we shall not apply to a physician1 or have the least confidence in his skill4 ,but1 blessed be ,,god1 there is a time1 when the evil spirit tears and wounds the child1 and casts him into the fire1 and into the water1 insomuch1 that the affrighted parent is constrained to fly to ,,jesus for aid4 ,in pain1 in sorrow1 in distress1 in temptation1 or upon a sick and dying bed1 the sad effects of every diabolical delusion frequently appear in their true colours4 ,though the infernal spirits themselves then work within us with aggravated rage2 though they seem to avail themselves of our bodily indisposition1 to storm the citadel of our hearts2 yet they are1 in these instances1 often egregiously deceived themselves4 ,the trembling sinner1 destitute of every outward comfort1 which sun1 and air1 and animal spirits could give him1 beholds every sublunary object in its genuine colours1 stripped of its false glare1 and emptied of its delusive treasure4 ,he cries aloud for help8--,what shall ,i do to be saved8 ,the ,child of ,,god1 the offspring of ,heaven within me1 will be torn to pieces and destroyed by the spirits of darkness4 ,,lord1 if thou canst do any thing1 have compassion on me and help me6 ,if thou canst believe1 all things are possible to him that believeth1 is the soft answer whispered to his soul4 ,a beam of ,heavenly ,light and ,love accompanies it2 sweet silence and stillness succeed2 till at length the soul1 overpowered by an inexpressible sensibility of meekness and humility1 breaks forth in the language of my text1 ,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou mine unbelief6 ,the storm ceaseth2 the evil spirits are cast out1 and the ,child of ,,god is delivered from their oppressive bondage4 ,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou mine unbelief1 should be the constant language of every ,christian's heart4 ,no words can more emphatically express the weakness of man1 and his absolute resignation to the will of ,,god1 than these3 they take every thing from the creature1 and give all to the ,creator4 ,whenever the human will is thus effectually turned to ,,god1 it soon manifests its origin1 as coming forth from the essentially and eternally ,free ,will of ,,god4 ,it brings down ,heaven into the soul2 it triumphs over all opposition2 and1 through the greatest weakness of human nature1 it evidences the all-conquering power of ,,divine ,,love4 ,why then1 ,o man6 ,o ,christian6 ,why shouldst thou despond in the hour of trial8 ,faith is1 indeed1 the gift of ,,god2 but it is a gift1 which he bestoweth liberally upon all that ask it4 ,light and darkness1 life and death1 heaven and hell1 are set before us3 freely to chuse1 and freely to reject1 belongs to that free particle of the ,divine ,essence1 which stirs within us4 ,it was1 originally1 before the fall of man1 the gift of ,,god ,,in ,,christ ,,jesus4 ,it was the constitution of our nature in its unfallen state3 it was1 if ,i may so speak1 the ,great ,charter of ,heaven1 freely delivered by the ,king of ,heaven1 to all his sons and subjects2 and though blotted1 obliterated1 lost by an original apostasy1 it is now restored1 regained1 and purchased by a ,,redeemer',s blood4 ,shall we then tamely suffer these ,rights of ,heaven to be invaded by the powers of darkness8 ,shall we suffer the ,child of ,,god1 the ,redeemed of the ,,holy ,,one ,,of ,,israel1 to be taken captive by the armies of aliens8 ,shall the splendor of accumulated wealth1 the gay circle of worldly pleasure1 the tinsel trappings of honour1 or the fading breath of popular applause1 make us forget our native home1 forget that we are but strangers and pilgrims upon earth1 and that we are fellow-citizens with the saints1 and of the houshold of ,,god8 ,shall we continue the willing slaves of the spirits of darkness1 of pride1 envy1 covetousness and wrath1 whilst ,heaven is declared to be our inheritance1 and our ,,redeemer hath assured us1 that we have mansions prepared for our reception in his ,father's ,house4 ,regardless1 however1 as many of you1 my brethren1 may be of these illustrious privileges now1 the time may come1 when a proper sensibility of your present bondage1 will make you cry aloud for deliverance2 when the service of earth and hell will appear base1 dishonourable1 and unworthy the free-born sons of ,light4 ,when the good ,providence of ,,god1 in kind commiseration of your secure and thoughtless state1 shall send sorrow and affliction to your houses and to your hearts2 when the shaft of anguish shall wound you1 either in your own persons1 or in the persons of those whom you love2 when duty1 when affection shall call you to some solemn death-bed scene1 where you shall behold expiring life just quivering upon the lips of a dear departing friend or relative2 or when your own frail tabernacles shall be shaken by disease1 and you shall feel death approaching to take possession of the throne of life2 when the counsels of the wise1 and the sorrows of the tender-hearted1 can stand you in no stead2 when the immortal tenant of your earthly mansion is just ready to take his flight1 and stands trembling on the confines of a world unknown2 at these1 or such like awful seasons1 those amongst you1 who have not heretofore experienced the power of ,divine ,faith1 will then1 if ever1 be made sensible of your want of it4 ,the visionary scene of earthly bliss will vanish like a morning cloud1 and deep heart-felt anguish will wring the soul1 and make it feel the full horrors of its bondage4 ,but to those1 who have already tasted the comforts of religion1 and who have long been groaning for deliverance from the captivity of an evil nature1 and an evil world1 ,faith will open the doors of their prison1 let in the ,light of ,heaven as they are able to bear it1 and sweetly sing this song of consolation to their departing spirits3 ,i will ransom them from death2 ,i will redeem them from the power of the grave4 ,o death6 ,i will be thy plague2 ,o grave6 ,i will be thy destruction4 ,,discourse ,,ix4 ,the ,flourishing ,state of the ,regenerate4 ,,psalm i4 ,,ver4 #c4 ,,he ,,shall ,,be ,,like ,a ,,tree ,,planted ,,by ,,the ,,rivers ,,of ,,water1 ,,that ,,bringeth ,,forth ,,his ,,fruit ,,in ,,his ,,season3 ,,his ,,leaf ,,also ,,shall ,,not ,,wither1 ,,and ,,whatsoever ,,he ,,doth ,,shall ,,prosper4 ,whatever seeming inequality there may be in the dispensations of the ,almighty1 or however partial he may appear to the eye of human reason1 in his distribution of spiritual or temporal blessings among the sons of men2 it will1 nevertheless1 be found1 at the consummation of the great scheme of ,providence2 that he has done every thing in number1 weight1 and measure2 and that every part and period of the ,divine ,administration hath been planned by unerring ,wisdom1 and conducted by universal and impartial ,love4 ,minute philosophers1 and men who value themselves upon what they call a liberal and enlarged way of thinking1 may imagine1 that this is no more than a religious dream2 and argue1 from present appearances1 that all things happen alike unto all men1 and that there is but one event to the righteous and to the wicked1 to him that serveth ,,god1 and to him that serveth him not4 ,but the ,heaven-taught philosopher1 whose inward eye is illuminated from above1 can see into the secret springs1 by which the vast machine is perpetually kept in motion1 and by which all the infinite variety of workings in intelligent and inanimate nature1 are rendered subservient to the ,glory of ,,god1 and the final consummation of his eternal plan in the supreme felicity of his creatures4 ,by virtue of that heavenly euphrasy with which his visual ray is purged and cleansed1 he sees1 and is intimately convinced1 that notwithstanding the frequent vicissitudes with which the life of a good man is sadly checquered1 he is nevertheless like a tree planted by the rivers of water1 that bringeth forth his fruit in his season2 that his leaf also doth not wither1 and whatsoever he doth shall prosper4 ,there is a peculiar beauty and propriety in this similitude1 and every part of it bears a wonderful analogy to that spiritual life1 into which fallen man hath been reinstated by the ,,mediation ,,of ,,the ,,son ,,of ,,god4 ,man1 by turning his will from his ,maker1 lost that paradisiacal glory1 in which he was originally created2 and found nothing left1 in its stead1 but a wrathful spirit within1 and a dark disordered world without4 ,by this act of his own will1 he transplanted his nature1 if ,i may so speak1 from the delightful garden of ,eden1 in which the ,,almighty had placed him1 into the midst of a thorny barren desart4 ,he deprived it of all that nourishment it received from those waters of life1 which surrounded the blissful spot2 and1 in consequence1 it must have been parched up and have withered away1 had not ,,divine ,,love affectionately interposed1 and put him once more into a capacity of recovering his lost inheritance1 and regaining the vital streams1 by which alone his heavenly nature could be preserved and cherished4 ,it is true1 man still continues in the desart of fallen nature3 the first ,adam is still condemned to till the ground from whence he was taken4 ,but the second ,adam1 the ,,lord from ,heaven1 hath caused those rivers of water1 which are solely at his disposal1 to flow through the dry and comfortless waste1 that the wilderness and solitary place might thereby be made glad1 and the desart rejoice and blossom like the rose4 ,when man1 therefore1 convinced of his dark and barren state by nature1 and the sovereign efficacy of these waters of life to chear and restore him1 freely opens his heart for their reception1 he is then1 indeed1 like a tree planted by the rivers of water3 his roots shoot deep1 and his branches spread fair and luxuriant in the heavenly element3 the kindly moisture insinuates itself into every part1 and leaves1 and flowers1 and fruits1 manifest the internal operation of the life-giving stream4 ,i am the vine1 ye are the branches--says the ,,lord ,,of ,,life4--,as the branch cannot bear fruit1 except it abide in the vine2 no more can ye1 except ye abide in me4 ,there must be an intimate union betwixt ,,christ and his redeemed offspring2 an union not suddenly formed1 and as suddenly broken1 but piously and constantly maintained2 an abiding union1 without which there can be no communication of his ,heavenly ,virtues1 and1 consequently1 no fruits of holiness4 ,but wheresoever this blessed union effectually takes place1 the regenerated nature soon springs forth2 the bud1 the blossom1 the leaves1 the fruits1 all appear in their proper season3 the man of ,,god stands forth content1 and1 like a tree nourished by a living stream1 imparts his refreshing shade1 and pleasant wholesome fruits1 to all around4 ,would you know what these fruits are8 ,they are fully enumerated by the ,apostle1 who tells us1 that the fruits of the ,,spirit are love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance4 ,these fruits1 says my text1 are brought forth in their season4 ,the sun must shine upon the tree1 the air must breathe1 the dews and rains must descend1 and the rivers of water must rise through the roots into the trunk and branches4 ,all this process must be performed1 before the fruit will appear4 ,it is just so with that plant of celestial seed1 which is sown in the human heart4 ,meekness1 humility1 resignation1 love1 c4 are not the growth of an hour3 days1 and months1 and years1 must pass1 before they will begin to appear4 ,i well know1 that the first faint manifestation of these graces in an awakened soul1 hath frequently been mistaken for the whole of a sinner's conversion4 ,it has been called the ,witness of the ,,spirit1 testifying to the sinner1 that the act of his justification is past1 and that his pardon is sealed in the courts of ,heaven4 ,the ,witness of the ,,spirit it undoubtedly is1 because it results from an union of the human spirit with the ,divine4 ,and as the ,,divine ,,spirit is meekness and love supreme1 so it is no wonder that such an union should produce such a spiritual sensation4 ,but we are not to conclude from hence1 that a sudden1 and seemingly instantaneous sensibility of ,heavenly ,peace and ,love1 can be the whole of our conversion4 ,it is1 doubtless1 a sweet token of ,divine ,grace2 an happy earnest of the residence of the ,,divine ,,spirit1 who1 perhaps1 for years before1 had been seeking to manifest himself in our hearts1 and now gives this present consolation1 as the result of previous and frequent operations4 ,our salvation is so far from depending upon these momentary sensations1 that our ,,lord expressly assures us1 that though we are united to him by as intimate an union as the branches are to the vine2 yet1 except we abide in him1 we shall be cast as withered branches into the fire4 ,let him1 then1 that thinketh he standeth1 take heed lest he fall4 ,let us not value ourselves upon past experiences1 or think that we are ,,god',s children1 and that our names are indelibly written in his book of life1 merely because we were once under spiritual distress1 and were once rescued from it by the consolations of his ,,spirit4 ,nothing can preserve us in a state of union with our ,divine ,,redeemer1 but an inward1 constant thirsting after those waters of life1 which he alone can give us4 ,whilst we stand before him in such a frame of soul1 meekly and humbly waiting for such portions of his ,grace1 as he sees necessary and expedient to impart1 we may then be assured1 that our leaf shall not wither1 and that whatsoever we do shall prosper4 ,for when the will of man coincides with the ,divine ,will1 and is implicitly resigned thereto in every situation1 circumstance1 and event of life1 he must necessarily prosper1 because ,,god wills nothing but ,good1 and ,good ,supreme is the aim and end of all his dispensations4 ,well1 but say some1 ,how can this be8 ,do we not daily see the best of men1 groaning under the most grievous calamities1 pining away with sickness1 worn out with pain1 or afflicted with some sad reverses of fortune8 ,on the other hand1 do we not daily behold men1 who shew not the least regard to religion1 who have no fear of ,,god before their eyes1 who neither in private nor in public testify the least sense of their dependance upon him1 or their connexion with another world1 who violate his sabbaths1 deride his ,revelation1 and scoff at every thing that bears the appearance of seriousness or sobriety2 do we not daily behold such men advanced to the pinnacle of preferment1 abounding in wealth1 favoured with health and strength1 and surrounded with every good thing this world can afford8 ,yes--we certainly do2 and so did ,david many ages since4 ,but attend to ,david's reflections upon this subject1 and you will find them rational and satisfactory4 ,i was grieved at the wicked3 ,i do also see the ungodly in such prosperity4 ,for they are in no peril of health1 but are lusty and strong4 ,they come in no misfortune like other folk1 neither are they plagued like other men4 ,lo1 these are the ungodly2 these prosper in the world1 and these have riches in possession3 and ,i said1 then have ,i cleansed my heart in vain1 and washed my hands in innocency4 ,yea1 ,i had almost said even as they2 but lo1 then ,i should have condemned the generation of thy children4 ,then thought ,i to understand this1 but it was too hard for me1 until ,i went into the sanctuary of ,,god2 then understood ,i the end of these men1 namely1 that thou dost set them in slippery places1 and castest them down and destroyest them4 ,o1 how suddenly do they consume1 perish1 and come to a fearful end6 ,these are ,david's reflections on the condition of wicked men in his day2 and the experience of preceding1 as well as of after-ages1 does abundantly confirm them4 ,vice will1 sooner or later1 meet with its recompence1 even in this world4 ,but supposing this should not be the case1 and that good and righteous men should have a much larger share of temporal misery than the wicked2 yet it may with truth be said1 that by this very misery they prosper2 yea1 that their inward prosperity keeps pace with their outward sufferings4 ,every thing that has a tendency to disengage the heart and affections from this transient scene of things1 ought to be deemed a real blessing4 ,now1 who can deny1 that sickness1 pain1 sorrow and affliction1 have in their very nature this tendency8 and1 when seen by the happy sufferer in a true point of light1 they never fail of producing this effect4 ,hence it is1 that many a pious soul is enabled to rejoice in such visitations1 and to thank ,,god for them as the richer blessings3 for1 though no chastisement for the present is joyous1 but rather grievous2 yet it afterwards yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those that are exercised thereby4 ,true it is1 that the outward man suffers1 and is sadly weakened and distressed2 but the ,inward ,man1 the ,child of ,,god1 thrives and prospers4 ,the riches of eternity appear more and more real1 in proportion as he discovers the vanity of time2 and his disappointment in any worldly concern1 is sure to render him more prosperous and successful in matters of eternal moment4 ,alas6 methinks ,i hear some say1 it would be well if it were always so4 ,but are not many good men afflicted inwardly1 as well as outwardly8 ,are they not often destitute of spiritual as well as of worldly comforts8 ,are not their souls as much bowed down by the weight of their sinful nature1 as their bodies by temporal evils and infirmities8 ,and can these men be said to prosper in whatsoever they do8 ,surely1 they are alike unfortunate with respect to the present and the future world4 ,suspend thy judgment1 poor partial observer6 reason not from appearances4 ,inward darkness1 and distress1 and anguish1 are the proper inlets through which the ,,christ ,,of ,,god is received into the heavy-laden soul4 ,a sensibility of its burden makes it groan for relief3 and the very moment that patience hath done its perfect work1 and the human will is thereby brought to yield itself with implicit resignation to its ,,god1 the burden drops1 and sweet peace and tranquillity of soul succeed4 ,,god never willingly afflicts his children2 he deals with them as a most indulgent parent4 ,sin must be known and felt1 before it can be shunned and conquered4 ,and it is by repeated strokes1 that the wayward child is taught to avoid what may prove injurious and destructive to its happiness4 ,to conclude with the apt similitude of my text3 the real ,christian is like a tree planted by the rivers of water2 they afford it all the nourishment that is necessary4 ,the stormy wind and the beating rain1 while they try its strength1 increase it2 they make it cling closer to the kindly soil1 take deeper root1 and bear fruit in greater abundance4 ,thus1 all things work together for good1 to them that love ,,god2 and whatsoever they do1 notwithstanding the many apparent disappointments and disquietudes they meet with1 shall finally prosper1 and terminate in never-fading bliss4 ,,discourse ,x4 ,the ,cause and ,cure of the ,disorders of ,human ,nature4 ,st4 ,,mark1 ,,chap4 vii4 ,,ver4 #cd4 ,,and ,,looking ,,up ,,to ,,heaven1 ,,he ,,sighed2 ,,and ,,saith ,,unto ,,him1 ,,ephphatha6 ,,that ,,is1 ,,be ,,opened4 ,a serious and philosophical mind1 contemplating the innumerable evils1 physical and moral1 to which men are exposed during their short continuance in this world1 would very naturally conclude1 that the present state could not be that for which the ,,almighty originally intended them4 ,storms and tempests1 sickness and pain1 darkness and disorder1 in the natural world2 and the various and destructive effects of pride1 envy1 covetousness1 and wrath1 in the moral world2 are so contrary to the ,divine ,nature1 which is ,life1 ,light1 and ,love1 eternal and unchangeable1 that it would be almost blasphemy to say1 that such a system was the original finished workmanship of his adorable hand4 ,to such contemplations as these1 philosophy might lead her sober votary--,but ,divine ,revelation alone can carry him back to the origin of things1 and give him the true information with respect to their present appearances4 ,by this we learn1 that the beautiful order and harmony of creation were marred by the creature's transgression2 who turning his will from the source of infinite ,,goodness1 lost that first gate in which his ,maker had placed him1 and wherein all was light and joy2 and found himself in subjection to an evil nature within1 and a world of darkness and distress without4 ,by this ,revelation also we are informed1 that nothing less than a return to his ,original ,source1 could reinstate him in his original bliss2 that this return could be rendered possible in no other way1 than by a ray1 a spark1 a seed1 an earnest1 a taste or touch of his first life1 imparted or inspoken into his fallen nature by the ,,god ,,of ,,love1 to be gradually opened and unfolded by such a ,redeeming ,process1 as1 with the co-operation of his own will1 would effectually restore him to his primeval felicity2 and that this was undertaken1 and only could be undertaken and accomplished1 by that ,,eternal ,,son ,,of ,,the ,,father1 in and by whom man was originally created1 and in and by whom alone he could be redeemed4 ,accordingly we find1 that when this ,express ,image of the ,hidden ,deity appeared on earth1 cloathed in our fallen flesh and blood1 he was invested with an absolute and uncontroulable power and authority over the whole system of temporary nature4 ,his wonder-working ,fiat was sufficient to calm1 in an instant1 the most aggravated fury of the winds and seas2 and1 as proceeding from the same wrathful source1 to assuage the violence of raging fevers2 to heal1 by a mere touch1 by a word1 the most inveterate diseases2 and to restore every organ of sense1 which had been injured or destroyed1 to its true state1 and proper use and function4 ,and as all outward disorders primarily proceed from a wrong state of the human spirit1 his influence pervaded the inmost recesses of the soul1 and awakened and called forth that precious spark of his own ,heavenly ,fire1 which had lain buried under the ashes of sin2 and bade it enlighten1 invigorate1 and restore health and peace to1 the whole man4 ,the gospel for the day presents us with a very remarkable instance of the amazing effects of these redeeming powers--,,jesus1 departing from the coasts of ,tyre and ,sidon1 came unto the sea of ,galilee1 through the midst of the coasts of ,decapolis3 and they bring unto him one that was deaf1 and had an impediment in his speech2 and they beseech him to put his hand upon him4 ,and he took him aside from the multitude1 and put his fingers into his ears1 and he spit and touched his tongue3 and looking up to heaven1 he sighed1 and saith unto him1 ,ephphatha6 that is1 ,be opened6 ,there are three circumstances in this miraculous cure worthy of our serious attention1 viz4 the looking up to heaven1 the sigh1 and the ,ephphatha4 ,i4 ,the looking up to heaven1 was beautifully expressive of the real situation1 in which this great ,restorer of human nature stood before his ,heavenly ,father4 ,it was intended1 no doubt1 to communicate to every attentive observer1 this great lesson of instruction2 that all the powers and virtues of which he was possessed1 came down from above2 that they were communicated to him without measure2 and that he could have no authority over the evils of human life1 so as either to mitigate or remove them1 but by standing continually in the ,heavenly ,world1 inspiring its air1 receiving its beams of light and love1 and sending them forth into every human heart1 that was truly desirous of their salutary influence2 and that it was by such a communication alone1 that he should be enabled to restore hearing and speech to the unhappy patient they had brought before him4 ,,ii4 ,this look was accompanied with a sigh4 ,a sigh seems to indicate distress4 ,an anxious oppressed and afflicted heart is sometimes so full1 as to deprive the tongue of the power of utterance2 it vents itself1 therefore1 in a sigh4 ,but what could oppress or afflict the heart of the ,meek and ,innocent ,,jesus8 ,his body1 though a fallen one1 does not seem to have been sick or in pain2 his soul was sweetly attempered to ,divine ,love1 and could have felt nothing but inward peace and serenity--and yet1 he sighs6--,the poor deaf and dumb sinner1 who stood before him1 had reason enough to sigh3 but he was insensible of his misery1 and therefore sought not for relief4 ,the truth is this3 ,the ,,blessed ,,jesus1 as the ,second ,adam1 the ,father and ,regenerator of our whole lapsed race1 voluntarily assumed our nature1 and became as intimately united to it1 as the head to the members of the body4 ,in consequence of this union1 he knows whereof we are made1 he remembers that we are but dust4 ,his sympathetic heart is sensible of every want and distress of every son and daughter of ,adam4 ,he is persecuted with the church that ,saul persecuteth2 and who--so toucheth his children1 toucheth the apple of his eye4 ,yea1 he feels for those1 who feel not for themselves2 and sighs over the sad state of those1 who are blind to their true happiness2 who call evil good1 and good evil2 who put darkness for light1 and light for darkness4 ,it was from such a tender sensibility of human woe1 that our ,lord sighed2 whilst he was preparing to perform this miracle of love4 ,this look1 this sigh1 seem to have uttered some such language as this3 ,o ,heavenly ,father6 ,i am come into this world to fulfil thy blessed will1 in the restoration of fallen men to their primeval light and glory4 ,my desire of accomplishing this great work1 which is continually called forth by a general view of their complicated misery1 as well as by the particular wants and distresses of individuals1 now solicits1 in favour of the poor mortal that stands before me1 the application of those healing powers1 which ,i have received from thee6 ,this expression of our ,,lord',s desire1 coinciding with the ,eternal ,will to ,all ,goodness1 immediately produced the ,divine ,ephphatha4 ,,iii4 ,and he saith unto him1 ,ephphatha6 that is1 ,be opened4 ,whatever salutary efficacy there may be in medicine1 it must proceed from that ,heavenly virtue1 which rises from the re-union of divided properties4 ,this re-union is the source of health1 and the restoration of aught that may be impaired in any of our outward organs1 or inward faculties4 ,to him1 who had all nature under his controul1 who knew how to bring together and unite1 in an instant1 those properties which have been separated1 a single word1 the mere motion of his will1 was sufficient to produce the desired effect4 ,the same ,majesty that said1 ,let there be light6 when darkness was upon the face of the deep1 now uttered the authoritative cure1 ,be opened6 ,the injured organs were instantly renewed2 his ears were opened1 the string of his tongue was loosed1 and he spake plain4 ,the same ,supernatural ,powers1 which the ,,blessed ,,jesus displayed upon this occasion1 he still continues to exercise in the hearts of his redeemed offspring4 ,this look1 this sigh1 this ,ephphatha1 is spiritually fulfilled in the relief of every one1 who is convinced of his spiritual disorders1 and applies to ,,christ for a cure4 ,deaf and dumb with respect to our inward and spiritual senses1 we all are by nature4 ,we can hear and speak1 in deed1 of worldly things1 with a quickness and facility1 which manifests1 in innumerable instances1 the strong attraction by which they hold our attention and affections4 ,the calls of business and of pleasure1 we are ever ready to answer3 our earthly senses are continually open2 but our heavenly faculties are closed by a thousand obstructions1 which we suffer the world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 to form in our hearts4 ,the great ,shepherd of ,israel1 who is perpetually employed in seeking and saving that which was lost1 makes use of a variety of means and methods to bring the soul to a conviction of its loss4 ,the efficacy of these depends1 indeed1 upon the concurrence of the human will2 because nothing can come into the soul1 but what itself wills or desires4 ,the different dispensations of ,providence are wisely and affectionately adapted to the different circumstances of individuals3 the end and design of them all is one and the same1 viz4 to bring the wandering creature to a sense of his deviations1 and to guide his feet into the ways of peace4 ,by whatever means this conviction is wrought1 the soul soon becomes sensible of its mistaken choice1 and soon determines to withhold its attention from the calls of earthly objects4 ,in vain does the ,syren sing her delusive song2 it ceases now to charm2 for the finger of ,,god stops the outward ear1 that the inward ear may be opened to a sweeter note4 ,the awakened sinner looks up and lifts up his head1 for his redemption draweth nigh--looks up to ,heaven--,for what8 for the healing hand of his ,redeemer to interpose1 and remove every remaining obstruction--looks up1 and sighs--,no desire of deliverance1 without a previous sensibility of distress--a sigh is the true language of desire2 it is more effectual than long prayer2 it is prayer itself1 in its true spirit3 words do frequently render it less spiritual4 ,the sigh of a contrite sinner brings down ,heaven into his heart4 ,,jesus often sighed4 ,he loves a sigh2 it invites him into his own ,temple2 and ,ephphatha1 ,be opened6 is the blessed voice that precedes his salutary entrance4 ,be opened6--,opened1 to what8--,to the ,harmony of ,heaven2 to the symphonies of angels2 to the ,voice of the ,bridegroom4 ,the marriage of the ,lamb is come2 the ,bride is prepared2 the silver chord is tried2 the blessed union is completed6 ,the soul is now all eye1 all ear1 all heart1 all tongue2 and eye1 and ear1 and heart1 and tongue1 are all employed in receiving the gifts and graces1 and celebrating the beauties and perfections of him1 who is fairest among ten thousand1 who is altogether lovely4 ,o ,,blessed ,,jesus6 vouchsafe1 we beseech thee1 so to manifest thy power in opening our ears1 and loosing our tongues1 that we may henceforth hear no voice but thine1 and offer up our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to none but thee1 who1 with the ,,father and the ,,holy ,,spirit1 art ,,one ,,god1 blessed for evermore6 ,,discourse ,,xi4 ,the ,riches and ,glory of the ,christian4 #a ,,cor4 ,,chap4 iii4 ,,ver4 #ba1 #bb1 #bc4 ,,therefore1 ,,let ,,no ,,man ,,glory ,,in ,,men4 ,,for ,,all ,,things ,,are ,,yours2 ,,whether ,,paul1 ,,or ,,apollos1 ,,or ,,cephas1 ,,or ,,the ,,world1 ,,or ,,life1 ,,or ,,death1 ,,or ,,things ,,present1 ,,or ,,things ,,to ,,come2 ,,all ,,are ,,yours1 ,,and ,,ye ,,are ,,christ',s1 ,,and ,,christ ,,is ,,god',s4 ,these words contain a complete and beautiful enumeration of those distinguishing privileges to which human nature is exalted1 by virtue of that glorious plan of ,redemption1 which ,,jesus ,,christ ,,the ,,son ,,of ,,god hath accomplished for our whole fallen race4 ,they were occasioned by some little jealousies and envyings1 which had broken out among the ,corinthians1 in consequence of an undue attachment to particular apostles and preachers of the gospel2 some declaring themselves publickly in favour of one1 and some of another2 some saying they were of ,paul1 others of ,apollos1 and others of ,cephas4 ,upon this occasion the blessed ,apostle1 in the true spirit of ,christian ,love1 and free disinterested impartial ,charity1 reminds them of this grand and important truth1 that no man can lay any other foundation1 than that is laid1 even ,,jesus ,,christ2 that whatever difference there might be in the particular gifts and talents of their different preachers1 yet no preference was to be given on this account1 but their attention was solely to be directed to those fundamental principles1 which all were labouring to inculcate1 though all were not equally agreeable and captivating in their modes of communication and address4 ,these differences were to be considered as accidental and external1 and by no means sufficient to warrant any partial personal distinctions4 ,he makes use of a variety of the most sensible and cogent arguments1 to dissuade them from a conduct so illiberal and unchristian2 and in order most effectually to silence such a spirit of contention1 he reminds them1 in my text1 of the high and exalted privileges to which they themselves were called in ,,christ ,,jesus--,therefore let no man glory in men4 ,as if he had said3 ,let none of you value yourselves upon your personal attachment to this or that favourite ,apostle2 let none of you boast of the superior spiritual excellencies of those particular teachers1 to whom you have fondly surrendered your affections2 or look upon the spiritual knowledge you have acquired1 as proceeding from any powers or virtues in them1 superior to those of their brethren3 for let me assure you1 such vain distinctions are beneath the character of those1 who are themselves united to that very ,source and ,fountain1 from whence the living streams of real knowledge1 holiness1 and happiness1 do alone proceed3 ,for all things are yours1 whether ,paul1 or ,apollos1 or ,cephas1 or the world1 or life1 or death1 or things present1 or things to come2 all are yours1 and ye are ,,christ',s1 and ,,christ is ,,god',s4 ,what a glorious inheritance is here6 the whole universe of things declared to belong to the ,redeemed ,race of ,adam6 ,no prophecy is of private interpretation4 ,from the beginning to the end of the ,bible1 every prediction1 every promise1 every truth therein delivered1 equally belongs to every individual of the human race3 they are addressed to all without exception4 ,what a senseless distinction then is that1 which some narrow minds have adopted1 and are fond of propagating1 that the promises of ,scripture are made to none but believers8 ,whereas1 these promises are the very foundation of every one's faith1 and the ground upon which every one's hope of ,salvation rests4 ,no son of fallen ,adam can apply for pardon upon any other ground1 than that the promises of ,scripture1 which are founded upon the ,universal and ,impartial ,love of ,god1 are made to him1 and every other person in the like circumstances4 ,his faith in these promises makes a glorious change1 with respect to himself2 but1 on the part of ,,god1 who is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and for ever1 they were made to him before he believed1 or thought any thing about them3 ,we love him1 because he first loved us4 ,he hath elected all mankind to salvation1 in his ,son ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,an immortal inheritance is secured to all1 by the ,merits of this ,,blessed ,,mediator2 and if any fall short of this salvation1 or lose their inheritance1 the blame must lie at their own door3 ,they would not come to ,,christ1 that they might have life4 ,should an affectionate parent1 with the utmost care and anxiety1 make such an ample provision for the sober and virtuous education of his children1 as1 if accepted and improved by them1 would secure to them knowledge1 esteem1 and happiness in this world2 would not such a parent be thought to have done all that love and tenderness could do in this respect1 for the future welfare of his offspring8 ,the provision is equally secured to all2 and yet1 if any thoughtless1 perverse1 disobedient child1 should refuse to avail himself of these paternal blessings1 and prefer an idle1 dissolute1 and abandoned life1 to all the advantages which the father had taken care he should be furnished with1 he might justly be told1 as the ,apostle tells the ,corinthians--,all these things are yours4 ,your ,father hath made you equal with the rest of his children--knowledge1 esteem1 and happiness1 is as much in your power as in theirs2 your falling short of them1 therefore1 is owing to nothing but your own perverse disposition--they are yours1 but you will not enjoy them4 ,the same might be said of a temporal inheritance equally divided among a family of children2 each has an equal portion3 and yet if any child should be so weak and silly1 as to chuse to forego the enjoyment of his share1 and prefer penury and contempt to opulence and honour1 he might still be told1 that the portion was his1 though he was so foolish as to neglect and forsake it4 ,even so1 an inheritance incorruptible1 immortal1 and that fadeth not away1 is secured1 in ,,christ ,,jesus1 to every individual of our fallen race3 ,all things are ours1 by virtue of that ,heavenly nature1 which we inherit from ,,jesus ,,christ the second ,adam4 ,upon the birth1 growth1 and maturity of this ,heavenly ,nature1 depends our possession of this ,eternal ,inheritance2 and this birth1 growth1 and maturity again depend upon the co-operation of our wills1 which are eternally and essentially free1 with the ,divine ,will4 ,what ,i have here asserted1 is fully consonant to the very letter of ,scripture3 ,,god is not willing that any should perish1 but that all should come to repentance4 ,but if ,,god is willing to save all1 ,why are not all saved8 ,why do not all men come immediately to repentance8--,the reason is obvious3 it depends not1 as some vainly assert1 upon a ,secret ,will of ,,god1 distinct from his ,revealed ,will4 ,such an idea of the ,,god ,,of ,,truth ,,and ,,love1 is unscriptural1 and even blasphemous--,no1 it depends wholly upon the co-operation of our wills1 with the unchangeable ,will of ,,god4 ,the promise is made to all2 the inheritance is secured to all2 but the possession and enjoyment can never come1 till the will of the creature is united to the will of the ,creator2 till from a deep conviction of his own nothingness by nature1 he freely opens his heart to the influences of ,grace--and then he finds1 by a blessed experience1 that1 having nothing1 he possesseth all things4 ,when a minister of ,,christ1 therefore1 addresses himself to a sinner1 insensible of his fallen condition1 and strongly attached to that earthly life1 which he inherits from fallen ,adam1 he cannot use a more effectual argument1 than that which the ,apostle in my text presses upon the divided and contentious ,corinthians--,for so far as these jealousies and disputes prevailed among them1 they were doubtless under the evil influences of the same corrupt nature1 to which the unregenerate are in bondage4 ,why1 vain mortal1 why1 alas6 art thou so strangely blind to thy best interests1 so amazingly neglectful of thy real happiness8 ,thou fleest from the substance1 and embracest a shadow2 thou pursuest the vanity of time1 and despisest the riches of eternity2 thou preferrest the life of a beast to the life of an angel2 thou art content to feed upon husks among swine1 whilst in thy ,father's house there is bread enough1 and to spare4--,thou art in search of a false and delusive happiness in this world1 whilst1 if thou wouldst but attend to and know the things that belong to thy peace1 thou wouldst soon discover1 that all things are thine4 ,for poor1 wretched1 sinful1 polluted as thou art in thine outward nature1 thou hast1 within thee1 a ,seed of ,eternal ,life1 a ,birth of the ,,triune ,,god1 a ,son of the ,second ,adam1 a ,reconception of the ,light and ,love of ,,god1 an ,angel near its birth4 ,to this seed1 this birth1 this son1 this reconception1 this angel in thy breast1 belongs the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 the pure element of ,life1 and ,light1 and ,love4 ,,jesus ,,christ1 thy ,ever ,blessed ,redeemer1 hath sown in thy heart1 and in the hearts of all thy fellow-sinners1 this ,seed of his own ,heavenly ,nature1 by means of which1 he affectionately purposes to redeem thee from the bondage of corruption1 and exalt thee to a glorious state of life and liberty4 ,as he is invested with all power both in heaven and in earth1 so this offspring of his1 which is within thee1 will become a partaker of his ,power1 in proportion as it becomes a partaker of his ,life and ,spirit1 in proportion as it increases in ,heavenly ,wisdom and ,stature4 ,if thou shouldst ask1 how this growth and increase is to be obtained1 and how all things are thine8--,i could answer thee1 that as the earth-born babe could never grow and increase in bodily strength1 without a perpetual supply of the light1 and air1 and food1 which this outward world affords2 so it is as really and physically true1 that the ,heaven-born offspring of the ,second ,adam1 can never grow or increase in spiritual strength1 without the light1 and air1 and food of the heavenly world1 imparted by its tender and affectionate parent1 ,,jesus ,,christ3 and as nothing disposes the earthly infant to receive that nourishment which is suited to its nature1 but the hunger of that nature1 earnestly crying for a supply2 so nothing can dispose the ,heavenly babe within1 to receive the precious influences of ,divine ,life and ,grace1 which alone can satisfy its nature1 but an hunger and earnest desire of this ,heavenly ,food2 or1 in other words1 the spirit of the will turning to ,,christ1 loathing all other nourishment1 and desiring only to be fed with his ,bread of ,eternal ,life4 ,thus fed1 supported1 and strengthened1 by a ,vital ,union with thine adorable ,,redeemer1 thou standest not in thine own strength1 but in his2 not in thine own righteousness1 but the ,righteousness of ,,christ within thee2 not in thine outward and perishing nature1 but in thy inward1 ,angelical1 and ,divine ,nature4 ,in this nature1 sweetly mingling with its own kindred element1 thou art safe1 firm and collected2 all temporal objects are beneath thy feet2 like ,adam in his paradisiacal state1 the earth1 and all that is therein1 is subject to thy will4 ,health and sickness1 prosperity and adversity1 storms and calms1 spiritual comforts or spiritual distresses1 the vicissitudes of life1 the horrors of death1 the vanity of time1 and the riches of eternity1 are all at thy command1 and thou makest them all subservient to thy spiritual growth and consolation4 ,all these powers1 virtues1 and enjoyments1 are thine2 thine by the ,free ,gift of ,,god in ,,christ ,,jesus1 imparted to thee2 and made thine1 at the very moment the ,seed of the ,woman was inspoken into ,adam's fallen nature4 ,it is true1 they are in an hidden state1 and require the strongest exertion of thy will co-operating with thy ,saviour1 in calling them forth4 ,they can only appear and manifest themselves1 in proportion as thy will is given up to ,,christ1 in proportion as thou diest to thine earthly nature1 and its earthly desires1 and becomest one ,desire1 one ,will1 one ,spirit with thy ,,redeemer4 ,this is not a sudden and instantaneous work3 the process is slow and painful4 ,many a right hand must be cut off2 many a right eye must be plucked out2 many a favourite passion must be sacrificed1 many a weary step taken1 many a temptation baffled1 many a victory obtained against the devil1 the world1 and the flesh1 before all things are thine by actual possession4 ,the combat is tedious1 and the victory sometimes appears doubtful4 ,but be not discouraged at this--darkness as well as light1 doubt as well as assurance1 weakness as well as strength1 will help thee on thy way4 ,thy ,,redeemer is perpetually watching over his own offspring2 he eyes thee with ineffable compassion throughout thy whole progress1 and renders all its vicissitudes subservient to thy real and eternal welfare4 ,think not1 that it is necessary to thy spiritual growth1 that thou shouldst walk in perpetual sun-shine1 beneath a clear unclouded sky4 ,the howling winds1 the beating rain1 are equally necessary at times2 and are as powerful and operative in spiritual1 as in earthly vegetation4 ,through these1 and worse than these1 even the gloomy vale of the shadow of death1 the invisible hand of an ,omnipotent ,,redeemer shall conduct thee safe to a region of uncreated light and glory1 where eternal nature1 in its essential and unchangeable splendors1 manifests the ,beatifying ,presence of ,,father1 ,,son1 ,,and ,,holy ,,ghost1 in their full and undivided ,trinity of ,glory4 ,what though pain of body1 and inward anguish of soul1 should assault thee2 what though disease should blast the bloom of health1 and convulsion rack and rend thine earthly frame2 what though death1 with all his grim attendants1 should knock at thy door1 summon thee to relinquish all thy temporal prospects1 and to enter at once into the world of spirits2 this single reflection1 that ,,christ has made all things thine1 will be sufficient to support thy sinking frame2 nay1 more1 thou wilt rejoice in thy deliverance from the captivity of the body1 look forward with transport into the ,paradise to which thou art hastening1 nor cast one longing lingering look behind4 ,such an address as this1 from a minister of ,,christ1 to a poor thoughtless sinner1 ,i cannot but think1 by the blessing of ,,god1 would have a more sure and certain effect upon his hardened heart1 than all the terrors of eternal damnation1 thundered1 as is too frequently the case1 with more than brutal violence and impetuosity against him4 ,for such a method would open two things to his mind1 which are equally necessary to be revealed to him1 neither of which he can attend to in his present thoughtless condition1 viz4 the sin and vanity of his fallen life1 and the comfort1 happiness1 and glory of his redeemed nature--one should never be opened without the other3 it would only be probing the wound1 without administring the restoring balsam4 ,this method which ,i have mentioned1 was that which our dear ,,redeemer and his blessed ,apostles always used2 and if ,christian ministers would more carefully tread in their footsteps1 they might be sure of greater success3 not perhaps in the way of extraordinary awakenings1 violent convictions1 and instantaneous joys2 but in the still1 calm1 and soothing ways of the ,gospel of ,peace and ,love4 ,we should never tell the sinner1 that he is by nature under the bondage of the devil1 the world1 and the flesh1 without acquainting him1 that he has in him an ,high and ,heavenly ,nature1 to which he would do well to attend1 as to a ,light shining in the midst of his darkness3 ,when we point out the destructive consequences of sin1 we should enlarge at the same time upon the delights of holiness1 and the exalted privileges of those that follow it4 ,thus we should imitate the ,apostle in my text1 who1 upon giving this advice to his ,corinthian brethren1 ,let no man glory in men1 immediately adds this high and encouraging motive to their practice of it1 ,for all things are yours4 ,,discourse ,,xii4 ,the ,riches and ,glory of the ,christian4 #a ,,corinth4 ,,chap4 iii4 ,,ver4 #ba1 #bb1 #bc4 ,,therefore ,,let ,,no ,,man ,,glory ,,in ,,men3 ,,for ,,all ,,things ,,are ,,yours2 ,,whether ,,paul1 ,,or ,,apollos1 ,,or ,,cephas1 ,,or ,,the ,,world1 ,,or ,,life1 ,,or ,,death1 ,,or ,,things ,,present1 ,,or ,,things ,,to ,,come2 ,,all ,,are ,,yours1 ,,and ,,ye ,,are ,,christ',s1 ,,and ,,christ ,,is ,,god',s4 ,my former discourse from these words contained a general view of the ,apostle's reasoning in this chapter4 ,i observed1 that this part of his epistle was occasioned by some envyings and jealousies which had crept into the ,corinthian church1 in consequence of an undue distinction and preference which different persons had shewn to different ,apostles and ,preachers of the ,gospel2 and that1 in order to silence these controversies1 the ,apostle1 after a variety of other excellent arguments1 concludes with enumerating the high and distinguishing ,privileges1 to which the ,corinthians themselves were called1 in common with those very teachers1 whose excellencies they were so injudiciously magnifying4 ,he tells them1 that they ought not to glory in men2 that is1 to boast of the superior excellencies of this or that favourite ,preacher1 because all things were theirs2 that by virtue of that ,heavenly ,nature1 which they1 as well as their teachers1 inherited from ,,jesus ,,christ1 the ,second ,adam1 they were provided with a glorious inheritance1 and invested with high powers and privileges1 whereby this world1 and every thing in it1 was subject to their will1 when in union and co-operation with the ,eternal and ,unchangeable ,will of their ,,redeemer3 so that all personal distinctions among men1 all personal admiration of their peculiar talents and most shining endowments1 were beneath the character of such high-born souls1 and ought not to come into competition with the ,heavenly ,graces of love1 meekness1 humility1 mutual forbearance1 condescension and peace1 by which alone the dignity of their birth could be asserted1 and the actual possession of their spiritual privileges known and ascertained4 ,i endeavoured likewise to explain to you1 the glorious and comfortable meaning and import of this general proposition of the ,apostle1 ,all things are yours3 and shewed1 by several similitudes and observations1 that this was not only applicable to the ,corinthians1 and the most effectual motive that the ,apostle could make use of1 to disengage them from their narrow and carnal notions and jealousies1 but that it is equally applicable to all men1 at all times1 and in all places and circumstances2 and the most effectual method that a ,minister of ,,christ can make use of1 to awaken thoughtless sinners1 and engage them to pursue the things that belong to their peace4 ,let me now1 therefore1 entreat your attention1 whilst ,i enter upon the consideration of those particular ,privileges1 which are enumerated under this general head4 ,as the immediate design of the ,apostle1 upon this occasion1 was to put an end to that strife and division1 which subsisted among them from the attachment of different persons to different preachers1 so the first ,privilege he mentions1 is this1 that in whatever light they might confider the matter1 these ,apostles and ,preachers were nothing in themselves1 but were furnished with peculiar talents and endowments for the service of their brethren3 they were theirs1 because instruments in the hands of ,heaven1 to awaken their attention1 and engage their pursuit of real spiritual knowledge and happiness2 and they were only to be considered in this light1 without any other personal respect and veneration1 than that which their character1 as instruments1 might claim3 for all things are yours2 whether ,paul1 or ,apollos1 or ,cephas4 ,that this is a true and just representation of the ,apostle's design1 we may learn from his reasoning in the preceding part of the chapter4 ,he charges them with acting under the immediate influence of earthly and carnal motives2 and though he had adapted his preaching to their slender capacities1 though he had fed them with milk1 as being yet in the ,rate of infants1 and incapable of receiving or digesting the strong meat of the great and glorious mysteries of the ,gospel1 yet they did not profit even by this2 for they had acquired no new spiritual strength from thence2 nay1 they not only remained in their infant state1 unable to bear a further revelation of ,gospel ,truth1 but gave themselves up again to the principles and dictates of corrupt nature4 ,ye are yet carnal3 for whereas there is among you envyings1 and strife1 and divisions1 are ye not carnal1 and walk as men8--,for while one faith1 ,i am of ,paul1 and another ,i am of ,apollos1 are ye not carnal8 ,who then is ,paul1 and who is ,apollos1 but ministers1 by whom ye believed1 even as the ,,lord gave to every man8 ,i have planted1 ,apollos watered2 but ,,god gave the increase4 ,so then neither he that planteth is any thing1 neither he that watereth1 but ,,god who giveth the increase4 ,now he that planteth1 and he that watereth1 are one4 ,as if he had said3 ,i am truly sorry1 ,o ,corinthians6 to find that such unexpected animosities have risen among you3 they are too flagrant proofs of your deviation from that path of ,gospel ,truth and ,love1 into which you had but just entered4 ,certain1 indeed1 it is1 that ,i have laboured among you with unceasing vigilance and care2 and by the ,grace of ,,god that was given me1 have planted a ,church of ,,christ in the midst of you4 ,the glad tidings of the ,gospel were sent from my lips to your awakened hearts3 you were taught to see1 and feel1 and relinquish the vanity and corruption of your fallen life1 and to look for and experience the birth and growth of an ,heavenly ,nature within you4 ,to this ,heavenly ,nature1 ,i administered much mild and gentle food and nourishment1 as ,i knew was best suited to its tender opening state4 ,in this situation ,i left you to the ,grace of ,,christ1 and the affectionate labours of those other ,apostles and preachers2 who seconded my ministry among you4 ,the labours of ,apollos and ,cephas were as necessary to your growth in ,grace1 as mine3 for as ye are ,,god',s husbandry1 as ye are ,,god',s building1 so ,,god hath bestowed different talents and endowments on those several labourers or workmen1 whom he chooses to employ for the culture of his vineyard1 and for the progress and completion of his great spiritual edifice4 ,we are all1 therefore1 labourers together with ,,god3 ,we have all our different tasks allotted us by the great ,husband-man and ,master-builder1 under whom we labour1 and from whom alone we receive strength and wisdom to execute his will4 ,my business was to plant1 ,apollos's to water2 but what could it avail to plant or to water1 unless ,,god gave the increase8 ,the ,sun of ,righteousness must shed his genial light and warmth1 and the ,divine ,spirit must breathe its refreshing gales upon the tender plants1 or they will wither and die4 ,he that planteth1 and he that watereth1 therefore1 are one1 united in the same blessed work4 ,the culture1 growth1 and perfection of the plant1 are equally the care and concern of both1 though their business or employment in this work be different4 ,paul1 and ,apollos1 and ,cephas1 are only ministers1 by whom ye believed1 even as the ,,lord gave to every man1 and prospered their several labours4 ,paul1 and ,apollos1 and ,cephas1 are yours3 they are equally concerned1 and equally laborious1 for your ,growth in ,grace1 though their particular talents and exercises may be different4 ,away then with your vain and unchristian distinctions6 for the planter1 and the waterer1 are equally necessary1 and equally estimable4 ,consider them always in these characters2 entertain an equal love and respect for them all2 and beg of your ,heavenly ,father to give increase to their respective labours4 ,i need not take up your time1--my brethren1 in endeavouring to ascertain the peculiar and characteristical gifts of these several ,apostles3 this would neither augment1 nor diminish the weight of the argument4 ,whatever these gifts were1 they were not their own1 but only intrusted to them by ,,jesus ,,christ1 for accomplishing his own wise and salutary purposes towards the children of men4 ,some might be eminent for one kind of usefulness1 and some for another4 ,but it is probable1 that those who possessed such talents1 as most captivated the attention and affections of animal nature1 were most followed2 and this merely on account of the talents themselves1 without any respect to those spiritual salutary truths1 which1 through them1 were intended to be conveyed to the hearers4 ,this conduct1 however1 is not peculiar to the ,corinthians4 ,the same evil carnal principle1 that raised so many unchristian animosities in that infant church1 has ever since been working in every part of ,christendom4 ,it is the fatal source of all that variety of sects1 opinions1 and doctrines1 into which the outward church has been1 and is still1 sadly divided4 ,but ,truth is ,one--it has been so from the beginning1 and will continue so for ever4 ,the different sentiments and conceptions of mankind about ,truth1 can no more alter its nature1 or make it cease to be what it is1 than the looking through a variety of glasses of different colours1 forms1 and densities1 can change the real colour1 form1 and proportion of objects4 ,every man admires and esteems his own glass most2 and not content with this1 quarrels with his neighbour1 because he does not make use of it as well as himself4 ,this is but too true a picture of the present state of ,christianity--while its professors are disputing and differing about their own peculiar opinions and notions of ,truth1 which are no better than the glasses through which they contemplate it1 they lose sight of the fair and beauteous object itself4 ,the ministers of ,,jesus ,,christ ought to have but one end in view1 and that is1 the conversion of hearts to his ,redeeming ,love4 ,their talents for this great work may differ as much as their persons2 but by this diversity of gifts1 they are better enabled to do the different kinds of work that are necessary to be done in their master's vineyard4 ,they should be careful1 however1 not to run before they are sent1 not to intrude upon the labours of their brethren1 but be content to be employed in a way suitable to their peculiar talents1 and in the field which ,heaven hath assigned them4 ,he that planteth1 should be sent out only to plant2 he that watereth1 to water2 he that giveth milk1 should continue to give it till he has something stronger to give1 and his hearers are better able to receive it4 ,at the same time1 neither he that planteth1 nor he that watereth1 neither he that giveth milk1 nor he that giveth strong meat1 should interfere with1 depreciate1 or counter-act each other's peculiar work2 but rather should faithfully and lovingly co-operate1 each in the use of his particular gifts and experiences1 to edify and perfect the body of ,,christ4 ,were ministers thus tender1 charitable1 affectionate1 and helpful to each other2 were they truly fellow-labourers in ,,christ2 it is more than probable1 that there would be less divisions and jealousies among the people4 ,much depends1 under ,,god1 upon their prudence and-forbearance with respect to each other3 and though such is the corruption and perverseness of human nature1 that the closest union among themselves may not entirely prevent disputes among their hearers 7as was the case at ,corinth1 though the ,apostles did1 no doubt1 affectionately harmonize in all their labours7 yet such an union would have a great tendency to heal or disperse them4 ,but how dreadful must be the consequences1 when any ambitious aspiring preachers do themselves raise and foment these divisions2 when they limit the ,mercies of ,,jesus1 and call upon men to join and associate themselves to their particular sect or party2 as if the streams of ,spiritual ,life had left every other channel which ,providence had opened1 and1 by their direction1 taken entirely to one of their own construction6 ,if a preacher of this class happens to possess any popular talents1 he is capable of abusing them to great mischief--to impose his own doctrines and opinions upon the ignorant multitude1 by first captivating their passions1 and then leading their judgments and consciences as he pleases4 ,many a soul has been awakened1 indeed1 under such preachers1 but few have attained to any solid or substantial piety4 ,their minds have been kept in bondage to certain peculiarities of doctrine and practice1 but their hearts and wills have never been surrendered to their true and only ,master ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,they have blindly followed the commandments of men1 of their clamorous and enflamed leaders2 but have neglected the weightier matters of ,love1 ,peace1 and ,spiritual ,union with ,,christ and all true ,christians4 ,paul1 ,apollos1 or ,cephas1 they are ready enough to magnify and extol3 but the ,master of ,paul1 ,apollos1 and ,cephas1 they too easily forget--their attention and affections are too much engaged by the instrument1 to observe and adore the ,hand by which it is1 or ought to be1 directed4 ,to conclude this head3 ,as the best of teachers1 even the ,apostles themselves1 found it so difficult to controul the passions and prejudices of men1 and disengage them from partial distinctions and preferences among their ministers2 how careful should all ministers be1 to inculcate the ,apostolical doctrine contained in this chapter1 upon their hearers6 to caution them against depending upon1 or glorying in man2 against trusting to the piety1 zeal1 or elocution1 of the most liberal teachers1 and much more against giving up their consciences to those1 whose views are partial and confined1 and who publickly avow them to be such1 by endeavouring to draw a deluded multitude into the narrow limits of their own misguided sect4 ,how often should they remind their hearers1 that they are no more than their servants1 men of like passions with themselves1 though selected by ,divine ,providence to convey the glad tidings of ,salvation to their hearts3 that they can1 at most1 but plant and water2 nor even this1 without the continuance of ,divine assistance2 but that it is to ,,god alone they must look for the increase6 ,o my brethren6 let these truths sink deep into your hearts4 ,without a thorough conviction of them1 all the preaching in the world will be of no service to you4 ,you may hear a sermon every day1 and every hour in the week1 and be as far from ,,christ as ever1 if you continue to depend upon preaching and preachers alone for your salvation4 ,the utmost they can do1 is to direct you to ,,christ4 ,regard them only when they give you this advice4 ,value them not for their natural or even spiritual endowments2 you may be deceived in both4 ,the surest and most profitable way you can take1 is to consider them as mere planters and waterers2 and to follow them1 so far only as they follow ,,christ4 ,,discourse ,,xiii4 ,the ,riches1 ,privileges1 and ,honours of the ,christian4 #a ,,cor4 ,,chap4 iii4 ,,ver4 #ba1 #bb1 #bc4 ,,therefore ,,let ,,no ,,man ,,glory ,,in ,,men3 ,,for ,,all ,,things ,,are ,,yours2 ,,whether ,,paul1 ,,or ,,apollos1 ,,or ,,cephas1 ,,or ,,the ,,world1 ,,or ,,life1 ,,or ,,death1 ,,or ,,things ,,present1 ,,or ,,things ,,to ,,come2 ,,all ,,are ,,yours1 ,,and ,,ye ,,are ,,christ',s1 ,,and ,,christ ,,is ,,god',s4 ,the scope and design of the ,blessed ,apostle in this passage of his epistle1 together with the true meaning and import of his general proposition1 ,all things are yours1 hath been already explained in my first discourse from these words4 ,in my second discourse1 ,i entered upon the consideration of those particular privileges of the ,christian1 which are enumerated under this general head3 ,and as the first of these privileges had a more immediate and striking reference to the great end he here had in view1 which was to convince the ,corinthians of the sin and folly of attaching themselves to particular and favourite preachers2 ,i enlarged upon this head1 and endeavoured to prove1 that ,paul1 and ,apollos1 and ,cephas1 and all other ministers of the ,gospel1 were no more than the servants of their brethren2 that they were theirs by a particular privilege1 inasmuch as their office1 their labours1 talents1 and several endowments1 were entrusted to them for no other purpose1 but that ,god1 through them1 might communicate the unspeakable riches of his ,grace to the whole body of ,christians4 ,in this character1 and in this alone1 they were all equally entitled to their esteem and love1 but not to any personal preference1 or undue exaltation of one above another4 ,not content with this1 however1 the good ,apostle1 under the full inspiration of ,divine ,truth1 and the glorious enlargement of ,divine ,love1 breaks forth into a further declaration of those still higher privileges1 to which the meanest member of the church of ,,christ is equally and in common entitled1 with the greatest and most advanced believers3 not only ,paul1 and ,apollos1 and ,cephas1 are yours2 but the world1 and life and death1 and things present1 and things to come3 all are yours1 and ye are ,,christ',s1 and ,,christ is ,,god',s4 ,the world is yours6--,is it so1 thou ,blessed ,apostle8 ,alas6 this strange assertion seems not to be confirmed1 either by thine own experience1 or the experience of thy fellow-labourers2 or of any of those1 who have since trod in the footsteps of thy ,suffering ,master4 ,if bonds and imprisonments1 if stripes and persecutions of various kinds1 if cruel mockings and insults1 if outward and inward tribulations might be admitted as proofs of their having the world in their power1 these1 alas1 will not be found wanting4 ,sad privilege1 indeed6 ,wretched consolation6 to be told that misery is our portion1 and that distress and affliction are the ,christian's birth-right6--,let us1 however1 endeavour to solve this seeming paradox1 and reconcile the ,apostle's declaration with the common experience of ,christians4 ,whence was it1 ,o ,christian6 7for ,i now appeal to the real sensibilities of every believing soul that has tasted of the ,good ,word of ,,god7 whence was it1 that thou hast acquired that power and dominion over the world1 by which thou canst sustain its adversity and prosperity1 its evil and its good1 with equal calmness1 fortitude1 and complacency--for this is that power and dominion1 by which alone the world becomes thine6 ,was it not by those very sufferings1 which seem so diametrically opposite to this triumphant state8 ,thy victory rose from thy defeat2 thy consolation1 from the depth of thy distress2 thy conquest of the world1 from its conquest of thee4--,yea1 the world furnished thee with arms against itself4 ,every new affliction gave thee some new acquisition2 every sigh1 every tear1 vanquished some mortal foe4 ,bonds and imprisonments1 scourging and insults1 hunger and thirst1 cold and nakedness1 war1 pestilence1 and shipwreck1 and all the dire vicissitudes which the world can bring upon us1 serve no other purpose than to subdue the pride1 envy1 covetousness1 and wrath of our fallen life2 to open the eyes of our inward man1 and teach us to look upon this world in its proper light1 to fly its visionary pleasures1 and support with patience its substantial miseries4 ,to suffer1 therefore1 is to triumph2 to be distressed1 is our glorious privilege2 to be weary and heavy-laden1 is the only way to rest and happiness6 ,sure ,i am1 that there are many here1 who can bear witness to this great and awful truth2 who can say with the ,psalmist1 ,it is good for me that ,i have been afflicted4 ,my ,god hath manifested his love in all my sufferings4 ,i should never have come to the knowledge of his ,truth2 ,i should never have experienced the ,light of his ,grace2 ,i should never have overcome the world1 abandoned its delusive prospects1 and gained a sure and everlasting inheritance2 had not my ,,god made this very world to frown upon me1 had he not beset me with its troubles behind and before1 and by making me deeply sensible of its evil1 taught me to despise even its good4 ,thus1 and thus alone1 the world is the ,christian's1 because he knows1 that every thing in it1 under the administration of his ,,blessed ,,redeemer1 is made subservient to his real happiness1 which he is convinced is more effectually promoted by its storms than by its calms1 by its frowns than by its smiles4 ,and if the world is thus his1 by particular privilege1 consequently the ,life which he lives in it must be so too4 ,the vicissitudes of life arise from the natural instability of worldly enjoyments3 but even this instability the believer knows to be under the immediate ,guidance of ,,almighty ,,love4 ,the real enjoyment of life depends upon the temper and disposition of mind1 with which its vicissitudes are received4 ,the ,christian1 therefore1 who knows1 that not an hair of his head can fall to the ground without his ,heavenly ,father1 and whose will is secretly resigned to his ,father's1 meekly and patiently1 daily and hourly giving himself up to his sovereign disposal1 he alone can be said to have a true enjoyment of life4--,in sickness and in health1 in prosperity and in adversity1 he alike beholds the hand of his ,,redeemer opening to him1 by these various dispensations1 the way to never-ending rest2 unfolding his misery by nature1 and his happiness by ,grace1 and rendering every change of outward life instrumental to some blessed change in the life of his inward and spiritual man4 ,but he has not only the highest enjoyment of this world1 and of life in this world1 but what is a still more surprising and more glorious privilege1 death too is his4 ,not1 indeed1 in the sense in which it belongs to the wicked and unregenerate1 to whom it is solely the consequence of guilt1 and the dreadful introduction to misery extreme4 ,no--to the real ,christian1 it is the consequence of a new life1 the completion of happiness1 the deliverer from woe1 the gate that opens into ,paradise1 the messenger of ,,redeeming ,,love4 ,death1 therefore1 is the believer's1 because1 by the strength of his ,,redeemer1 he hath been enabled to make him1 who was once his enemy1 become his reconciled friend4--,the ,king of ,terrors hath dropped his envenomed sting2 and his dart flies now for no other use1 but a kind and friendly one1 even to dislodge the heavenly inhabitant from its frail tabernacle of clay1 and open the world of light upon its spiritual senses4 ,but still higher privileges1 still higher prospects1 open to the ,apostle's view4 ,things present1 and things to come1 are yours4--,whatever the present moment brings to light1 as well as what is concealed in the womb of futurity1 is equally in the ,christian's power4 ,he is prepared to receive the former with thankfulness and gratitude1 because he knows1 that it must operate for his good1 be it painful or pleasant3 and from the same conviction of the kind and loving ,administration of his ,,redeemer1 he1 can wait with patience and resignation for the future dispensations of his ,providence4 ,i cannot1 however1 but think1 that these words have a much deeper and more comfortable sense than this4 ,things present1 and things to come1 generally denote1 in ,scripture1 the visible and the invisible world2 and though they are equally present1 yet1 with respect to our common apprehensions1 the latter must be called future1 because it cannot be unveiled to our senses1 till we have laid aside these garments of sin4 ,the believer1 however1 by virtue of his ,heavenly ,nature1 united by ,faith to his ,,redeemer1 stands in the heavenly world at the same time that he is in this4 ,its light1 and life1 and air1 its powers1 and virtues1 and glories1 are opening themselves1 though invisibly1 in his heart4 ,hence it is1 that the ,apostle speaks of tasting the powers of the world to come1 even in this present state and that not metaphorically1 but as really and physically as our outward bodies may be said to taste the powers of this present world4 ,o1 what an high and glorious privilege does this appear1 when considered in this point of light6 ,an ,heavenly ,man within us1 standing upon heavenly ground1 breathing the heavenly air1 and rising1 by its animating influences1 far above that sink of evil and corruption1 in which the earthly nature still remains a prisoner2 and with heavenly fortitude and resignation1 supporting the painful union1 till his true parent and deliverer rescues him from his captivity1 and admits him into the liberty of kindred spirits in glory4 ,well1 therefore1 might the ,apostle1 at the close of this enumeration1 again repeat his general assertion1 ,all things are yours4--,but he repeats it1 not only with a view of impressing the truth more powerfully upon the hearts of ,christians1 but also to let them know1 that their privileges are in the most effectual manner secured to them2 that their title is indisputable1 their inheritance unfading and eternal--,and ye are ,,christ',s1 says he4 ,think not1 that your title to this inheritance is founded upon any thing in yourselves1 considered separately and distinctly in your own natures2 no1 ,ye are by nature dead in trespasses and sins--,the wages of sin is death4 ,no other inheritance1 but destruction and misery1 can you derive from your fallen nature4 ,this inheritance1 therefore1 which is ,eternal ,life1 is solely the gift of ,,god1 through ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,ye are ,,christ',s1 therefore1 not only as being originally created by him in his own image1 which image ye lost by sin2 but ye are now his by ,,redemption1 which is in truth a second creation2 for he hath planted his own seed in your fallen nature4 ,by this1 he is become your ,father1 your ,spiritual ,regenerator1 your ,creator anew in ,righteousness and true ,holiness4--,thus1 by turning your will to this ,,saviour1 the heavenly seed springs forth1 under his mild and genial influence1 into a beautiful plant1 partaking of all the virtues1 powers1 odours1 and colours of its ,eternal ,parent1 uniting1 rejoicing1 and living for ever in the same ,heavenly ,glory4 ,nay1 that your faith1 and hope1 and love1 may rest upon an eternal ground1 and that your title may appear to you still more firm1 and your inheritance still more certain and glorious2 ,i must tell you1 that as ,ye are ,,christ',s1 so ,,christ is ,,god',s4--,here rests the glorious climax1 rising by a fair and beautiful gradation1 till its last step is fixed to the throne of the ,highest6 ,the essential powers virtues and excellencies of the ,invisible and ,supernatural ,,god1 manifest themselves in his eternal and only-begotten ,son ,,jesus ,,christ1 ,,god of ,,god1 ,,god-,,man1 uniting himself to human nature1 redeeming1 glorifying1 and exalting it1 with himself1 to the throne of the ,eternal ,father2 from thence they are communicated1 in copious streams of light and love1 to the whole race whom he has condescended to redeem2 awakening1 illuminating1 sanctifying1 restoring1 and investing them with the same kind of powers and excellencies1 which he possesses himself in an infinite degree1 and thus accomplishing what he before had prayed to his ,heavenly ,father might be accomplished--,that they all may be one1 as thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and ,i in thee2 that they also may be one in us--that they may be ,,one1 even as we are ,,one--,i in them1 and thou in me1 that they may be made perfect in ,,one4 ,thus you have seen1 my brethren1 the nature1 extent1 and excellency of the great ,christian privileges here enumerated1 together with the eternal and immoveable foundation on which they are built4 ,need ,i1 therefore1 now call upon you to put in your claim to this vast inheritance8 ,alas6 ,i fear there is too much occasion for the most solemn calls4--,so various are the pursuits of the sons of men1 and so foreign to their real happiness2 so mistaken are they in their conceptions of good1 so blind to real evil1 so easily deluded by specious appearances1 and led astray by so many false lights2 so prone to obey the dictates of a corrupt nature1 and so averse to every thing that is spiritual and heavenly2 that the weightiest ,truths of the ,gospel1 the most animating promises1 the most glorious privileges there recounted1 seem to have but very little influence upon their hearts4 ,o why1 my brethren1 why will ye spend your money for that which is not bread1 and your labour for that which satisfieth not8 why1 with deluded ,esau1 will you sell your birth-right for a mess of pottage1 an heavenly for an earthly inheritance8 ,when all things are yours1 why will you take up with the scanty provisions which a poor perishing nature can give8 ,an immortal soul1 redeemed by the blood of the ,son of ,,god1 spending its strength1 exerting its faculties in the pursuit of such fleeting momentary enjoyments as this world can afford1 is a spectacle at which ,angels might weep4--,o that every thoughtless sinner might be induced to weep for himself1 to mourn his wretched1 forlorn condition2 and1 from a deep conviction of the insufficiency of all earthly possessions to make him happy1 that he might be led to seek that peace of ,,god which passeth all understanding6 that inheritance immortal1 incorruptible1 and undefiled1 which fadeth not away6 ,,discourse ,,xiv4 ,christ1 known or unknown1 the ,universal ,saviour4 ,st4 ,,john1 ,,chap4 xiv4 ,part of ,,ver4 #i4 ,,have ,i ,,been ,,so ,,long ,,time ,,with ,,you1 ,,and ,,yet ,,hast ,,thou ,,not ,,known ,,me1 ,,philip8 ,except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe1 said our ,,blessed ,,lord to those earthly-minded ,israelites1 who were ever looking for some external display of supernatural power1 as the only means of conviction in matters of religion4 ,this fatal mistake hath prevailed too much in the world2 and still maintains its ground1 even among those1 whose views are more spiritual1 and who have been taught to look upon religion as an internal operation1 the work of ,,god',s ,,spirit upon their souls4 ,they do not1 indeed1 seek for an outward sign1 as the ,jews of old did2 they see the impropriety of this under a spiritual dispensation3 their delusion1 however1 though perhaps more refined1 is equally dangerous4 ,they cannot conceive that the ,divine ,power and ,presence can be manifested to the human soul1 in any other way2 than by extraordinary impressions1 visions1 or extasies4 ,thus1 whilst they are looking out for the appearance of their ,,god in a whirl-wind1 a fire1 or an earthquake1 their attention is wholly withdrawn from that ,still ,small ,voice1 in which he usually addresses himself to the hearts of his creatures4 ,such was the sad delusion under which poor ,philip seems to have laboured4 ,lord1 shew us the ,father1 said he1 and it sufficeth us4 ,give us some visible sign1 some sensible demonstration of the ,father's power and presence with thee4 ,let him rend the heavens and come down2 and if thou art indeed his ,son1 let him own and honour thee as such1 by placing himself near to thy sacred person1 and breaking forth in a flood of glory upon our outward senses4 ,poor mistaken disciple6 ,little didst thou think of the dreadful consequences which might have attended the granting of thy request4 ,it might have over-whelmed thy weak nature1 but could never have wrought any salutary conviction in thy soul3 thy outward senses could not have sustained the shock1 and thy mind would have continued as dark as ever1 notwithstanding the heavenly effulgence that surrounded thee4 ,ignorant1 weak1 and deluded1 as ,philip seems to have been1 his ,,blessed ,,master bore with his infirmities1 and answered him with all that sweetness and gentleness1 that usually accompanied even his censures and reproofs--,have ,i been so long time with you1 and yet hast thou not known me1 ,philip8 ,he that hath seen me1 hath seen the ,father4 ,how sayest thou then1 shew us the ,father8 ,not one of all those excellencies and perfections1 which constitute the ,divine ,nature1 but thou mightest have beheld manifested in me4 ,the healing of the sick1 the raising of the dead1 making the deaf to hear1 the blind to see1 and the dumb to speak1 instructing the ignorant1 and preaching the gospel to the poor1 all these are the surest marks and evidences that can possibly be given of the immediate presence of the ,divinity within me4 ,he1 therefore1 who hath seen me thus manifesting the ,power1 ,wisdom1 and ,goodness of my ,heavenly ,father1 in these works of wonder1 tenderness1 and love to his children1 hath seen the ,father2 inasmuch1 as in the present state of things1 there is no other way in which ,,god can manifest himself to you his fallen creatures1 but by awakening your attention to every act and sensibility of goodness1 which you may discover either in yourselves or others4 ,and as all these divine communications are imparted from the ,father through me2 so in my miracles life and conversation1 had you yielded a proper attention1 you might have seen the ,brightness of the ,father's ,glory1 and the ,express ,image of his ,person4 ,have ,i been so long time with you1 and yet hast thou not known me1 ,philip8 ,from this particular conversation of our ,,lord with his disciple1 as well as from the whole tenor of the ,gospel1 arises this grand and fundamental truth3 that our real knowledge of ,,christ depends upon an attention of the mind to those ,tempers1 ,qualities1 ,dispositions and ,actions1 which he manifested in his life here upon earth1 and which are recorded in ,scripture for our instruction1 accompanied with a surrender of our will and affections to those inward calls1 motions1 and sensibilities of ,goodness1 by which he reveals himself with all his heavenly tempers in our hearts4 ,,christ1 therefore1 makes himself known to us in these two principal ways1 in his ,word1 and in our ,hearts4 ,his ,word1 or what is known by the name of the ,holy ,scripture1 is only the outward testimony--the rule or standard providentially transmitted to us1 by which we are to judge of the reality of his ,presence in our ,hearts4 ,it tells us of a ,,christ1 who lived1 and suffered1 and died in our human nature1 in order to teach us how to live1 and suffer1 and die4 ,it assures us1 that our everlasting salvation depends upon our knowledge of this ,,christ2 that this knowledge can only be attained by seeking him earnestly2 that the place where he chuses to be found1 where he loves to reside1 is in the human heart2 that his kingdom is within us2 that he is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world2 that he is the hope of glory1 in every son and daughter of fallen ,adam4 ,the ,scriptures likewise testify of the manner of his appearance and residence within us--that he manifests himself as a destroyer of that evil work1 which the ,devil has wrought in our nature2 first convincing us of sin1 of the darkness and misery of our fallen life1 and then pointing out to us the paths of righteousness2 opening and unfolding all those sweet and lovely qualities1 of which himself is the great ,fountain ,spirit1 and which he distributes to every man according to his capacity and desire of receiving them4 ,to know ,,christ1 therefore1 is carefully to cultivate those holy and heavenly tempers and dispositions1 which he manifested in his outward life here upon earth1 and which he now continues to manifest in the breasts of all those who diligently seek after him4 ,to know ,,christ1 is to know and feel the power of love1 joy2 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance4 ,wherever these ,graces take up their residence1 there is the ,temple of ,,jesus4 ,these are the ministring servants that wait at his altar3 and the sacrifices which they there present and offer1 are all the earthly and diabolical passions with which human nature is polluted and oppressed1--pride1 envy1 covetousness1 jealousy1 lust1 wrath1 bitterness of spirit1 and all the rest of the infernal legion4 ,love1 ,love ,divine1 is the vestal fire which there burns pure and perpetual2 which cleanses1 refines1 sublimates1 and glorifies every thing that comes within its reach4 ,in this sense1 ,,christ has been a long time1 indeed1 among the sons of men1 though they may not have known him3 ,he has been long come to his own1 though his own have not universally received him4 ,where is the man1 who hath not1 in innumerable instances1 felt the powerful suggestions of vice2 and1 in innumerable instances1 been inwardly warned against them1 and pressed to the exercise of virtue8 ,speak1 thou unthinking1 careless mortal6 ,hast thou never felt thyself swoln with pride1 or burning with envy8 ,hast thou never coveted1 been jealous1 angry1 revengeful1 bitter1 and implacable8 ,hast thou never found thyself bound to this world1 by such strong and numerous ties1 that the parting from it would be like tearing away thy very heart-strings8 ,amidst all that storm and confusion1 into which this restless croud of evil passions has frequently thrown thee1 hast thou never once felt a monitor within1 that would have let thee know1 if thou hadst attended to his voice1 that all this uproar was from an evil principle1 and that thou wert injuring thy soul by submitting to its power8 ,hast thou never been led to admire and revere the amiable graces of ,meekness1 ,humility1 ,love1 and ,peace1 in the life of thy neighbour2 and secretly to wish1 that these plants of ,heaven would spring up in thy own barren soil8 ,hast thou not frequently envied the happy frame and circumstances of some1 whom thou hast seen devout and pious in their conduct towards ,,god1 and affectionate1 mild1 and gentle1 in their behaviour towards their brethren8 ,and hast thou not1 in such a situation1 been constrained to sigh out some such wish as this3 ,o that ,i could feel1 and live1 and act1 as these men seem to do6 ,would to ,,god that this evil nature of mine1 with all its horrid lusts and passions1 was wholly subdued1 eradicated1 or changed6 ,let me tell thee1 then1 poor mortal6 that all these senses1 sensibilities1 and secret desires1 are from ,,christ1 and that this is the way he takes to invite thee to his friendship and communion4 ,he is in thine heart1 waiting there with all the condescension1 tenderness1 and compassion of a most indulgent father1 to deliver thee from thy sins1 and shew himself to thy soul in reconciliation and peace4 ,he hath been waiting there ever since thou wert born1 seeking to make himself known to thee1 sometimes by the frowns of conscience1 sometimes by its approving smiles1 sometimes by the endearing intercourse of ,christian friendship and love1 and sometimes by the sweet emotions of his own ,charity1 kindled within thee1 at the sight of an object in distress2 sometimes by providential deliverances from imminent dangers1 sometimes by providential visits of health and prosperity4 ,whence is it then1 ,o sinner1 that1 though thy ,,saviour hath been so long time with thee1 yet hast thou not known him8 ,whence is it1 though he has made thee such frequent offers of his ,love1 thou hast still slighted or rejected them8 ,various are the obstacles and impediments which prevent us from coming to a true and saving knowledge of ,,christ4 ,in some persons1 the unrestrained sovereignty and dominion of fallen nature1 leads them captive at its will1 makes them deaf to the voice of conscience1 and blind to every ray of light that seeks to illuminate the dark region of their heart4 ,they know not ,,christ1 because they have not the least desire to be acquainted with him4 ,in others1 the grand and principal impediment to the knowledge of ,,christ1 is their absolute dependence upon an external decency of conduct1 to which they have given the name of morality4 ,if they cultivate those seeming virtues1 which are the faint images or shadows of the ,true ,graces of the ,gospel1 it is solely from a selfish principle1 a desire of being noticed and respected by the world3 they have no view1 in any thing they undertake1 to that real inward change of heart and temper1 in which alone the ,knowledge of ,,christ consists4 ,such persons1 being unacquainted with the intrinsic evil and corruption of their own nature1 cannot have the least desire to be delivered from it2 and1 till they are providentially awakened to a sense of this1 they cannot find themselves disposed to enquire after a ,saviour1 in and through whom alone these evils and corruptions are to be healed or removed4 ,others again there are1 who are kept from this saving knowledge of ,,christ1 by an attachment to external forms1 modes1 and opinions of religion2 who1 provided they are found faithful in the observance and belief of these1 excuse themselves from the cultivation of those inward and heavenly graces and virtues1 which alone constitute the life and power of religion4 ,such persons frequently fall into the grossest inconsistencies4 ,they can be angry1 in the defence of meekness2 proud1 whilst they are discoursing on humility2 and can speak of all the sublime truths of religion1 and sometimes of its vital influences on the heart1 with the utmost elegance and pathos of sentiment and expression1 and yet remain totally insensible of their efficacy respecting themselves4 ,such persons know not ,,christ1 because they do not seek him in the only way in which he can be found1 viz4 in a conformity to his ,heavenly ,character4 ,the last impediment which ,i shall mention1 that excludes many serious minds from the knowledge of ,,christ',s personal power and presence with them1 is that under which poor ,philip laboured2 even an expectation of some unusual display of supernatural agency1 to produce their conviction and conversion4--,he1 indeed1 looked for an external sign2 they are anxious for something internal and spiritual2 but the nature of the desire is the same in both1 and is equally delusive and dangerous4 ,such persons1 solicitous for nothing but an assurance of the forgiveness of ,,god1 expect to have it communicated by some vision1 ecstasy1 or sudden illumination4 ,far be it from me to call in question the reality of such manifestations1 which good men in all ages have experienced4 ,but at the same time ,i must confess1 that ,i cannot look upon them as essential to ,salvation4 ,,christ ,,jesus reveals himself to sinners in various methods1 and by various means3 but the end of all these means and methods is the same1 even to produce his own ,image of ,righteousness and true ,holiness in their hearts4 ,let us hear his own blessed words3 ,come unto me1 all ye that labour and are heavy-laden1 and ,i will give you rest--,ye that labour under the evils of fallen life1 seduced by its temptations1 enslaved by its passions1 and heavy-laden with its accumulated guilt and woe1 come to me1 deeply sensible of your deplorable condition1 and earnestly desiring deliverance1 and ,i will give you rest6 ,from the same ,oracle of ,truth1 we learn too1 wherein this rest1 deliverance1 or forgiveness must consist--,learn of me1 for ,i am meek and lowly in heart1 and ye shall find rest to your souls4 ,meekness and lowliness of heart1 therefore1 is the true rest which ,,christ gives2 for1 wherever these are1 there is ,faith1 there is ,hope1 there is ,heaven-born ,charity4 ,tell me1 ye favoured souls6 who have been called out of darkness into the marvellous light of ,,god2 who have experienced his ,peace1 that passeth all understanding2 who have received the sweetest tokens of his ,forgiving ,grace2 tell me1 wherein did this marvellous ,light1 this ,peace1 this token of ,forgiving ,grace consist8 what kind of sensibility was awakened in you at that happy season8--,was it not a sensibility of ,love intense1 and ,meekness unutterable8 a ,love1 that would have clasped universal nature in its charitable embrace2 a ,meekness1 that would have forgiven the grossest injuries and insults1 and condescended to the meanest offices of tenderness and kindness to your brethren8 ,this1 then1 is the ,knowledge of ,,jesus ,,christ3 in this ,gentle ,element he delights to move6 ,let but your souls be attempered to these ,divine ,sensations1 and ,,christ is yours6 ,seek not for any sudden and extraordinary impulses or ecstasies1 but learn to be meek and lowly in heart6 ,ask for ,divine ,grace to subdue your corrupt and boisterous passions6--,be weary of1 and groan under1 the burden of your evil nature6--,fly from pride1 envy1 covetousness1 and wrath2 and cherish the opposite tempers of meekness1 humility1 resignation1 and love6--,wander not after an imaginary forgiveness3 but know assuredly1 that there is no other way1 in which the ,all-atoning ,blood of the ,,holy ,,jesus can be applied for the pardon of sin1 but by inwardly cleansing1 redeeming1 and purifying your corrupt natures1 from every bestial as well as diabolical impurity4 ,it is in this process alone1 that you can know1 and be known by your ,,saviour3 and unless you enter upon this1 and seek in good earnest to be intimately acquainted with him1 thus revealing himself in your hearts2 he will one day have good reason to say to you1 as he did to his disciple in the text1 ,have ,i been so long time with you1 and yet have you not known me8 ,,discourse ,,xv4 ,human ,life a ,pilgrimage4 ,,psalm xxxix4 ,part of ,,ver4 #ab4 ,,for ,i ,,am ,a ,,stranger ,,with ,,thee1 ,,and ,a ,,sojourner1 ,,as ,,all ,,my ,,fathers ,,were4 ,in every age of the world1 and among people of every nation and language under heaven1 7if we may credit the testimony of history and experience7 there have been found many virtuous1 thoughtful1 and enquiring minds2 who1 from an attentive observation of the moral as well as physical disorders incident to the present system of things1 from a personal experience of the unavoidable miseries consequent thereupon1 and from a secret irresistible desire and longing after some superior but unknown state of being1 have been led to form these most philosophical and pious conclusions3 ,that their present mode of existence could not possibly be as that for which they were originally intended by a being of ,infinite ,wisdom1 ,goodness1 and ,love2 that the intelligent and immortal spirit within them1 could not have been created merely to animate a dark terrestrial body1 and to be subject to the clamorous demands of animal nature2 that the fair signatures of beauty1 order1 and love1 which they still saw1 and felt1 and admired1 within and without them1 could not have been originally impressed by the ,divine ,fiat upon that mixture of darkness1 deformity and confusion1 in which they now appear2 that the primeval harmony and lustre of the creation must1 by some means or other1 have been marred and spoiled2 and that1 for these reasons1 they could not but consider themselves as the fallen inhabitants of a fallen world4 ,that these strange disorders must have proceeded solely from the depravity of some created intelligences1 they concluded1 not only from their own conceptions of the spotless purity and goodness of the ,divine ,nature1 but from their own observation and experience of the innumerable evils that were produced in themselves and others1 when ever their wills and affections deviated from the strait paths of virtue1 and wandered in the mazes of vice4 ,and yet they saw--and yet they felt--that so numerous and powerful were the temptations and suggestions on the side of vice1 that nought but the kind interposition of their good and powerful ,,creator1 nought but the super-natural illumination and direction of his ,,blessed ,,spirit1 could rescue them from the dominion of their passions1 open their understanding to the sight of ,,truth1 and incline their will to the pursuit and practice of ,,goodness4 ,this affectionate intercourse with their ,,creator1 they considered as the only source of their virtue and happiness in this life1 as the only earnest of their future and final felicity in the next4 ,hence they regarded themselves as strangers and exiles in a foreign land1 and looked upon death as the season of their deliverance1 of their return to their native country1 and re-union with their ,father and kindred spirits in glory4 ,many traces of this sublime philosophy do we meet with in the lives and writings of the virtuous heathen4 ,for1 however they may differ from us in their modes of conception and expression1 a discerning mind will soon discover1 that their feelings were congenial with our own2 and that they wanted but the aids of external revelation to enable them to speak what they knew1 and testify what they saw1 in the same language which we are instructed to use4 ,the ,sacred ,writings1 however1 afford us the noblest and most indubitable testimonies to the great truths mentioned above4 ,for whatsoever scattered rays of knowledge or of goodness are found here and there gleaming through the shades of paganism2--whatsoever the thrice-great ,hermes delivered as oracles from his sacred tripos2--whatsoever ,pythagoras1 ,socrates1 ,epictetus1 ,zoroaster1 or ,confucius1 have laboured to inculcate upon the hearts of their disciples--all this1 and infinitely more1 without any corrupt or superstitious mixture1 do we find expressly revealed1 with all the marks of ,divine ,authority1 in the ,holy ,scriptures--all this1 and infinitely more1 do we find beautifully exemplified in those lives and sayings of patriarchs1 prophets1 and apostles1 which are recorded for our instruction and imitation in the ,old ,testament as well as in the ,new4 ,these venerable teachers and patterns of ,truth and ,virtue1 do all1 with one voice1 express their deep sensibility of the evils and miseries of their present state of existence1 and their ardent aspirations after another and a better state4 ,they all1 with one voice1 acknowledge the vanity and insufficiency of every sublunary enjoyment1 and the indispensable necessity of setting the affections on things above1 not on things on the earth4 ,they all1 with one voice1 pronounce their state in this world to be that of strangers and exiles2 and consider their temporary pilgrimage here1 as only intended to purify and prepare them for a state of eternal peace and happiness hereafter4 ,in a word1 they all1 with one voice1 declare1 that there is no other method1 by which they can be redeemed from the evils of their present life1 and qualified for the blessings of a future1 but by a perpetual communion with the great ,,father ,,of ,,their ,,spirits1 kept up on his part by kind and liberal effusions of his own essential goodness2 and on theirs1 by an affectionate and ardent inclination of their wills and desires towards him1 and a grateful reception1 and faithful improvement of his loving communications4 ,under the ,old ,testament1 this blessed intercourse was understood and felt by patriarchs and prophets1 through the outward means of sacrifices1 types1 and various ceremonies and ordinances2 all predictive and expressive of a certain ,redeeming ,process1 which1 in the fulness of time1 was to be accomplished for human nature1 in the person of a suffering and triumphant ,,messiah4 ,under the ,new ,testament1 it broke forth1 with meridian lustre1 in the incarnation and nativity1 life and conversation1 sufferings1 death1 resurrection and ascension of the ,,blessed ,,jesus2 in whose sacred person the divine and human natures were most happily united1 to the end1 that as the ,,son ,,of ,,man and the ,,son ,,of ,,god1 he might communicate to every ,son of ,man1 that should receive his testimony1 and believe in his ,name1 the power of becoming a ,,son ,,of ,,god1 ,john i4 #ab4 ,his life and conversation upon earth must1 therefore1 be the true and only standard1 by which ours is to be regulated4 ,as he lived1 so should we live also2 and consider this world in the same point of view1 and treat it in the same manner1 that he did4 ,so far1 indeed1 as the worthies of the ,old ,testament have lived or spoken according to the spirit of his ,gospel1 so far1 without doubt1 we are bound to follow their example3 and a very little acquaintance with ,scripture will be sufficient to inform us1 that they did all eat of the same spiritual meat1 and did all drink of the same spiritual drink1 and had all entered upon the same ,redeeming ,process1 with those1 who have since lived under the ,light of the ,gospel1 and have known and found this meat and drink to be no other than those spiritual emanations of ,truth and ,love1 which we all receive1 or may receive1 from ,,christ ,,our ,,common ,,saviour4 ,when ,david1 therefore1 confessed1 that he was a stranger and a sojourner with ,,god1 as all his fathers were1 what was this1 but an express declaration1 that1 though he was encircled with a diadem1 and clad in the robes of royalty2 though he had his residence in the metropolis of ,judea1 and exercised an absolute sovereignty over the whole realm2 he considered himself1 nevertheless1 as a stranger in a strange land1 far distant from his native country1 surrounded by a multitude of enemies1 who were perpetually upon the watch to take advantage of any little mistake he might commit1 perpetually in arms against him1 and determined1 if they possibly could1 to rob him at once of his kingdom and his peace8 ,what was it1 but an humble acknowledgment of his own spiritually helpless and indigent condition8 and at the same time an affectionate intimation of his secret hope1 that1 as his forefathers had been in the same circumstances he was now in1 and had experienced the kind interposition of ,heaven for their relief and comfort1 ,,god would be graciously pleased to continue to him the same loving-kindness1 accompany support and protect him through his painful sojourn1 and conduct him safe to those blessed abodes1 which he had prepared for the reception of every true spiritual ,israelite8 ,for ,i am a stranger with thee1 and a sojourner1 as all my fathers were4 ,upon this view of things1 and under the influence of these principles1 he composed the pathetic psalm1 from whence my text is taken2 which exhibits to us a lively representation of the vanity and shortness of human life1 the difficulties that attend our pilgrimage through this world1 the prudence and circumspection which the pilgrim must observe1 the enemies he must expect to encounter on the way1 and the confidence he must repose in the strength of a superior and ,almighty arm1 in order to secure to himself ,success and ,victory4 ,the truth of this representation we find abundantly confirmed by the whole tenor of ,scripture4 ,the grand apostate seraph is there called the prince of this world1 the prince of the power of the air2 from which1 and other expressions of the like import1 we may justly conclude1 that he was once in possession of this very system which we inhabit--it was the sphere of glory1 in which he moved1 whilst his lustre yet remained unfaded4 ,envious1 jealous of its new inhabitants1 he is perpetually walking about1 seeking whom he may devour4 ,he avails himself of that earthly nature which we inherit from our fallen ancestor1 insinuates himself through its foul channels into our inmost hearts1 seduces us from the paths of innocence and virtue1 and1 unless timely rescued by a ,superior ,power1 will hurry us headlong into the depths of his own dark and fiery kingdom4 ,on the other hand1 the ,,god of ,,light and ,,love1 who reigns supreme in his own ,,kingdom of ,,light and ,,love1 is most affectionately anxious for our preservation4 ,for this gracious purpose1 he causes his light to shine forth in the midst of our darkness2 discovers to us the secret hostile intentions of our malicious enemy2 calls upon us to fly from his infernal wiles2 and invites us to walk with himself in his own delightful element1 with sweet assurances of peace and consolation here1 and glory1 honour1 and immortality hereafter4 ,ill fares the man1 whose mistaken heart too easily opens to the false friendship of his flattering foe--he walks upon enchanted ground--there is no reality in the surrounding scene--every object is visionary--the flowers have no real fragrance1 the fruits no real flavour or nourishment4--,he plucks and eats1 but still remains unsatisfied--he plucks and eats again--he discovers the delusion1 and yet the delusion pleases him4--,the wily enchanter leads him at one time into the gardens of pleasure--at another1 conducts him to the pompous edifice of ambition--at another1 opens upon his ravished sight the splendid treasures1 which ,mammon offers to his foolish votaries4--,with this pretended friend and guardian he walks the tiresome round1 pleased and transported with every new prospect1 but loathing the objects as soon as possessed4 ,in the mean while1 the calls of a superior nature are totally disregarded1 and the soul is suffered to famish within the pampered body4 ,not so the wise and virtuous candidate for sublimer joys4 ,his breast is no sooner penetrated by a ray of that ,universal ,light1 which lighteth every man that cometh into the world1 than it opens1 with chearfulness and gratitude1 to receive more and more of the salutary effulgence4 ,he finds within himself a source of sensibilities1 which correspond to a world of objects far more real and sublime1 than aught that meets his outward senses in this shadowy scene4 ,he finds1 he feels the presence of a true friend and guardian1 whose unlimited power can controul the open or secret attacks of his false friend and seducer2 whose wisdom can furnish him with every kind of knowledge that is necessary to his real felicity2 and whose ineffable love is perpetually feeding and refreshing the angel that is within him1 with such fruits and flowers as are of celestial growth1 and suited to its celestial frame4 ,with this ,,guardian ,,god1 he walks the wilds of nature1 unappalled1 regardless alike of the smiles and frowns of his spiritual adversaries4 ,he considers himself as a stranger and sojourner in this vale of misery2 and under the conduct of ,unerring ,wisdom1 and ,almighty ,love1 pursues his painful pleasing journey to a better country1 even an heavenly one4 ,but this is not all4 ,care1 prudence1 circumspection1 and confidence in ,,god1 are not only indispensably necessary to secure to us a safe and happy pilgrimage through life2 but they are likewise the best1 the only preparatives for an happy and comfortable death4 ,as strangers and sojourners1 we ought to live under a constant expectation of being called home to our native country4 ,this expectation will be either pleasing or painful1 according as we are more or less prepared for the awful summons4 ,the summons we cannot dispense with3 the time in which it may be pronounced1 is altogether uncertain4 ,some of us1 within a very few years1 and some1 perhaps1 within a very few days1 may behold the curtain drop1 and shut out every scene of temporal nature from our view4 ,with respect to us1 the heavens and the earth will then pass away with a mighty noise2 the sun will be darkened1 and the moon turned into blood2 the stars will fall from heaven1 and the powers of heaven will be shaken4 ,death1 judgment1 heaven1 or hell1 will then be realized to our disembodied spirits4 ,he that is holy will be holy still1 and he that is filthy will be filthy still4 ,the dissolution of this outward body will close the season of ,divine ,grace2 the hopes or the fears1 the happiness or the misery of man will be determined by his expiring breath2 and his ,,god will be manifested to him1 either in the mild majesty of his ,love1 or in the consuming fire of his ,wrath4 ,what adds to the solemnity of this dread moment1 is the frequent suddenness of its approach4 ,the king of terrors often knocks at the door1 when the master of the house is by no means prepared for the awful visit4 ,nay1 he frequently passes by the habitations of age1 infirmity1 and distress1 and thunders forth his tremendous summons in the ears of the young1 the gay1 and the robust4 ,neither superior fortune1 nor superior station1 can protract the fleeting date of life4 ,the monarch tumbles from his throne2 and1 after the momentary honours of a pompous funeral1 makes his bed in the dust1 and lies there as poor and undistinguished as the late tenant of the homely cottage4 ,even piety and virtue cannot screen their votaries from death's unerring shaft2 but he is sometimes permitted to snatch away the most amiable patterns of both1 in order to awaken the attention1 or chastise the carelessness1 of their friends and neighbours4 ,happy would it be for mankind1 if these frequent indiscriminate strokes did but produce a more general and serious attention to the things that belong to their peace3 and happy for you1 my dear brethren1 if the solemn truths that have now been delivered1 are permitted to have a due weight and influence on your lives and practice6 ,examine yourselves1 then1 by these principles4 ,look well into the present state of your souls4 ,be these important reflections continually present to your minds--that you are but strangers and sojourners upon earth2 that every object1 that attracts and engages your desires and affections here1 must very shortly be removed from you for ever2 that it is folly and madness to take up your rest in such poor perishable things1 as the present world affords1 inasmuch as death must soon put an end to their shadowy forms1 and translate you to a world1 where all is real--all is eternal4 ,do not deceive yourselves4 ,a gay and thoughtless life is no suitable preparation for death4 ,the heart must be gradually estranged from the vanities of time1 before it can turn its desires towards the riches of eternity4 ,you have heard of the difficulties you may expect to meet with1 of the enemies you will have to encounter1 on your way to heaven4 ,up then1 and be doing4 ,no time is to be lost4 ,every moment is precious3 it carries ,heaven on its wing4 ,the victory is secure1 if you will but arm yourselves for the conflict4 ,your ,heavenly ,,father is perpetually drawing and inviting you to enter the lists1 and contend for the prize4 ,his ,eternal ,,son hath promised to be with you1 and in you4 ,and the blessed ,,spirit1 proceeding from both1 will inspire you with all that celestial strength and ardour1 which alone can render you more than conquerors4 ,thus are you furnished1 from the armoury of heaven1 with a divine panoply1 which1 upon trial1 you will find impenetrable to all the fiery darts of the wicked4 ,fear not1 then1 thou worm1 ,jacob6 ,be not dismayed1 for thy ,god is with thee6 ,blessed encouragement1 this6 ,what though you are strangers and sojourners upon earth1 yet remember for your consolation1 that you are strangers and sojourners with ,,god--,for ,i am a stranger and sojourner ,,with ,,thee4 ,o ,,my brethren6 what ineffable peace and satisfaction would spring up in your hearts1 could you once realize to yourselves1 could you once feel1 the perpetual presence of an ,,omnipotent ,,god1 travelling with you on the journey of life1 supplying all your wants1 supporting you under all your difficulties and distresses1 and1 with the affectionate fondness of a father1 minutely entering into all your real interests and concerns6 ,to know1 that you are his offspring1 fallen indeed1 but redeemed by his ,,blessed ,,son3 that his love for you is so ardent1 that whoso toucheth you his children1 toucheth the apple of his eye2 that in all your afflictions he is afflicted1 and that the angel of his presence saves and delivers you2 that he will never leave you comfortless1 but will be with you always1 even to the end of the world6 ,these are such sweet and delightful assurances1 as you could never have collected from the vain reasonings of worldly philosophy1 or the vain confidence1 which many pretend to derive from mere unassisted human virtue4 ,upon this ground you may rest secure2 and1 in the strength of an ,almighty arm1 bid defiance to the open assaults1 or secret stratagems of the enemies of your peace4 ,whilst the ,,sun ,,of ,,righteousness continues to impart his chearing beams1 and fountains of living water spring up on every side to refresh the weary pilgrim1 you may pursue your journey through the ,,valley ,,of ,,baca1 with peace and confidence2 you may lift up your heads with joy1 as the ,ransomed of the ,,lord2 and proceed from strength to strength1 till you appear before the ,,god ,,of ,,gods in ,,sion4 ,,discourse ,,xvi4 ,the true ,knowledge of ,god internal and practical4 ,,job1 ,,chap4 xlii4 ,,ver4 #e1 #f4 ,i ,,have ,,heard ,,of ,,thee ,,by ,,the ,,hearing ,,of ,,the ,,ear2 ,,but ,,now ,,hath ,,mine ,,eye ,,seen ,,thee3 ,,therefore ,i ,,abhor ,,myself1 ,,and ,,repent ,,in ,,dust ,,and ,,ashes4 ,we can scarcely open any part of the ,scriptures1 but we meet with the following great and leading truths of ,religion3 viz4 that the ,,love ,,of ,,god is universal2 that his ,,grace1 which bringeth ,salvation1 hath appeared unto all men2 that he hath given a manifestation of his ,spirit to every man1 to profit withal2 that ,,god so loved the world1 that he hath given his ,,only-,,begotten ,,son1 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish1 but have everlasting ,life3 that he is the ,true ,light1 that lighteth every man that cometh into the world2 that ,,god wills not the death of a sinner1 but rather that he would be converted and live2 that his call has been1 and now is to every man1 every where1 to repent2 and that every man may partake of this ,universal ,love1 may be saved by this ,grace which hath appeared1 may profit by the manifestation which ,,god hath given him4 ,to these great and leading truths we are continually called and exhorted to attend2 and that there is a possibility of attending and yielding to them1 is implied in the very nature and spirit of the declarations themselves4 ,for1 certainly1 all is in vain--the call to all in vain1 the appearance of ,grace to all in vain1 the gift and manifestation of the ,spirit to every one in vain1 and the shining of the ,light in vain1 if fallen man is not put into a capacity of obeying it1 and walking therein4 ,man's destruction is of himself--,if his distempered nature is not healed1 if his soul continues unredeemed1 it is not because there is no ,balm in ,gilead2 it is not because the arm of the ,,lord is shortened1 that it cannot save1 or the fountain of ,,love so exhausted1 that its streams have ceased to flow--but because men will not avail themselves of the healing ,balm2 because they refuse to be gathered by that compassionate ,arm1 that is continually stretched forth to save2 because they will not open their souls to receive the ,waters of ,life4 ,their eyes are so blinded by the false glare of earthly beauty1 that they cannot see the surpassing excellency of the ,divine ,glory--their ears are so deaf1 that they have no delight in hearing or obeying the ,divine ,voice--they are content to walk on in the broad way1 and suffer the enemy of their souls to take them captive at his pleasure4 ,thus entered sin at the beginning--thus it continueth1 increaseth1 and prevaileth4 ,no man1 in his present deplorable state1 can open that eye which was blinded by sin2 nor unstop that ear which was sealed by his apostasy from his ,maker2 nor save or deliver himself from the bondage of corruption4 ,herein1 therefore1 is the ,,universal ,,love ,,of ,,god made manifest1 that he hath laid help upon one that is ,mighty1 who is able to save to the uttermost those that come to him2 that he hath appointed and prepared a ,seed that can bruise the serpent's head2 that he hath caused his ,light to shine in the ,hearts of all men2 and hath called all men every where to repent--,now if man still continues to shut his eyes1 and harden his heart1 and refuse to be reconciled1 his destruction is of himself1 and ,,god will be just when he judgeth4 ,but here the grand question may be asked--,how doth ,,god manifest himself to his creatures8 ,there is no ,revelation in these days--no spiritual visions now4--no such ,sight of ,,god1 as ,abraham1 ,moses1 the ,prophets1 and the ,primitive ,christians were favoured with--,,god forbid6--for surely where there is no vision1 no sight or sense of heavenly things1 there is the ,lost ,state indeed6--where there is no ,revelation1 there can be no ,true ,knowledge of ,,god-for what saith the ,scripture--,none knoweth the ,father but the ,son1 and he to whom the ,,son will reveal him8 ,ever since the vail was spread over the human heart1 there never was any other way in any age1 nor can there be in this age1 of coming to the true ,knowledge of ,,god1 but by ,revelation2 that is1 by taking off the vail1 and removing the covering that hides the ,face of ,,god from man4--,men have sought out many inventions1 and devised many ways and means of coming to the knowledge of the ,deity2 moral and even mathematical demonstrations of his existence1 have been attempted2 but all in vain4 ,as such inventions and devices have increased1 sorrow and perplexity have increased also3 and even if they have succeeded so far1 as to satisfy the natural understanding1 what is it1 at best1 but a kind of historical knowledge1 a strong conceit or imagination of something concerning ,,god1 without any thing like a sensibility of his ,presence1 or an intuitive self-evident conviction of his nature and attributes8--,far different this from the knowledge which ,job experienced1 and which every real ,christian may express in his language3 ,i have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear2 but now hath mine eye seen thee3 therefore ,i abhor myself1 and repent in dust and ashes4 ,it is not improbable1 but ,job might have amused himself1 like some of our modern philosophizing ,christians1 with fine-spun theories and speculations upon the nature and attributes of the ,,divinity2 and whilst the tide of temporal prosperity continued to flow in upon him1 whilst he washed his steps in butter1 and the rock poured out for him rivers of oil1 whilst his health continued unimpaired1 and his domestic bliss uninterrupted1 such empty researches might have been sufficient to entertain his imagination2 and such an outward knowledge of the ,,most ,,high1 might satisfy a soul1 that was yet insensible of any spiritual or temporal wants or distresses4 ,but let the hand of ,,god fall heavy upon him2 let his body be visited with pain and sickness1 and his soul wounded with grief and disappointment2 let him be stripped of all his worldly affluence1 and deprived of all his domestic comforts2 and he will soon find1 that the wants of nature1 when deeply felt1 are not to be supplied by reasoning and speculation2 that an outward hearsay knowledge of ,,god is of no avail2 that it cannot administer the least relief either to the body or the mind2 that it cannot sooth or mitigate one bodily pain1 or send one ray of light into the dark and comfortless regions of the soul4 ,go to the chambers of sickness1 visit the melancholy retreats of indigence and woe6 produce there your strong reasonings--strive1 with learned labour1 to open and convince the understandings of your suffering brethren--enumerate to them all the outward evidences1 that you can collect1 of the great truths of religion--give them proof upon proof1 demonstration upon demonstration--talk to them of the ,nature and ,attributes of ,,god1 and the immortality of their souls--tell them what the ,,son ,,of ,,god hath done and suffered for sinners2 what are the means of reconciliation1 and what the sure grounds of an happy death--give them all that they can receive by the hearing of the ear--and what have you done1 and what have they gained8--,why you have done just as much as an unskilful physician would do1 who entertained his patient with a learned dissertation upon the virtues and excellencies of a certain medicine1 which he had somewhere read or heard of1 as admirably adapted to the disorder1 but which he had never seen with his eyes1 and of the nature of which he knew nothing by his own experience4 ,thus it is with this outward knowledge of ,,god3 the poor soul is left to feed upon words or ideas1 and to seek comfort1 in vain1 in empty speculations4 ,fruitless1 indeed1 are such attempts as these6 ,till the soul is shaken to her very center1 till the stone is removed from the door of the sepulchre1 that ,,god who makes darkness his secret place1 can never be seen4 ,the eye must be turned inwardly1 to view what is passing in the inmost soul1 to discover what its wants and necessities are1 as well as what will supply them1 and yield it peace1 and yield it happiness1 from an inexhaustible source4 ,it must feel its own darkness1 before it can seek to have it enlightened--,the same ,light that breaks in upon it like the dawn of day1 gives it the first sensibility of distress1 as well as the first sensibility of consolation now hath mine eye seen thee1 therefore ,i abhor myself1 and repent in dust and ashes--,i now feel the misery of nature without ,,god--,i feel nothing but darkness1 and want1 and hunger1 and thirst6 ,but in this darkness1 under this want1 in this hunger and thirst1 the soul must wait1 without reasoning1 without repining1 in stillness1 in silence1 till the invisible ,,god shines into the darkness1 and till the darkness comprehends and eagerly imbibes the ,light1 and he1 in whom is no darkness at all1 manifesteth his ,presence by a self-evident sensibility4 ,thus it is1 that man1 by virtue of the ,redeeming ,power of the ,second ,adam1 implanted in his heart as a spark of ,heavenly flame1 hidden under the flesh and blood of fallen nature1 is revived1 quickened1 and enlightened4 ,the ,heavenly ,birth soon perceives and owns its parent--the outward knowledge gives way to the inward manifestation--and ,,god1 and ,heaven1 and ,goodness1 and ,grace1 are seen and known1 and felt by their own incontestible workings in the human ,heart4 ,hence1 the fruits of the ,,spirit1 the fruits of ,heaven1 begin to bud and blossom3 love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 are felt and practised2 and the soul lives and breathes in the ,heavenly world1 even whilst she inherits this frail tenement of clay4 ,and now1 my brethren1 is not such a ,knowledge of ,,god worth possessing8 ,a ,knowledge1 that unites you to him2 makes you ,one ,heart and ,spirit with him2 gives the highest relish to all the joys1 and the firmest support under all the evils of life2 which will stand by you1 when every outward comfort fails1 when relations1 friends1 wealth1 power1 and all that earth is able to supply1 can no longer yield you the least support or satisfaction4 ,some of the great obstacles and impediments to the attainment of this ,knowledge1 ,i shall enumerate in my next discourse4 ,,discourse ,,xvii4 ,the true ,knowledge of ,god internal and practical4 ,,job1 ,,chap4 xlii4 ,,ver4 #e1 #f4 ,i ,,have ,,heard ,,of ,,thee ,,by ,,the ,,hearing ,,of ,,the ,,ear2 ,,but ,,now ,,hath ,,mine ,,eye ,,seen ,,thee3 ,,therefore ,i ,,abhor ,,myself1 ,,and ,,repennt ,,in ,,dust ,,and ,,ashes4 ,in a former discourse from these words1 ,i explained to you the difference between that ,knowledge of ,,god which is obtained by the hearing of the ear1 and that which arises in the human heart1 from a spiritual sensibility of his ,presence and ,power within us4 ,i observed1 that the former was1 at best1 but a kind of historical knowledge1 or1 perhaps1 nothing more than a strong conceit or imagination of something concerning ,,god2 far different from that intuitive1 self-evident1 saving ,knowledge of him1 which ,job speaks of in the text1 and which every truly pious foul cannot but feel4 ,i endeavoured1 likewise1 to point out the ,rise and ,progress of this ,knowledge1 as well as the blessed ,fruits or ,effects of which it is certainly productive4 ,i then concluded with asking you1 whether such a ,knowledge of ,,god as ,i had been describing1 was not worth your possessing8 ,a knowledge1 that would unite you to him1 make you ,one ,spirit1 ,one ,will1 ,one ,nature1 with your heavenly ,father--that would give the highest relish to all the joys1 and support you under all the evils of life2 that will stand by you1 when every outward comfort fails1 when friends1 and relations1 and wealth1 and power1 and all that earth is able to supply1 can no longer yield you the least support or satisfaction4 ,convinced1 as ,i think you must needs be1 of the infinite value of such a possession as this1 ,i would now ask you1 what it is that keeps you from desiring and seeking to obtain it4 ,your answer1 if you knew yourselves1 would be1 that you did not at present feel the want of it4--,this state of insensibility1 therefore1 to the things that belong to your peace1 must arise from certain obstacles and impediments1 which1 agreeable to my promise1 ,i now proceed to enumerate4 ,we are told1 that the famous ,selden1 on his death-bed1 sent for archbishop ,usher1 and1 in the course of a most serious and affecting conversation1 assured him1 that he had accurately surveyed almost every part of literature and science1 that was held in the highest esteem by the sons of men2 that he had a study filled with the most valuable books and manuscripts in the world2 and yet1 that1 at that time1 he could not recollect one single passage out of any volume in this large collection1 upon which he could rest his soul1 or from which he could derive one ray of consolation1 except some that he had met with in the ,holy ,scriptures2 and that the most remarkable passage that then made the deepest impression upon his mind1 was this3 ,for the ,,grace ,,of ,,god that bringeth ,salvation1 hath appeared unto all men1 teaching us1 that denying ungodliness1 and worldly lusts1 we should live soberly1 righteously1 and godly1 in this present world2 looking for that blessed hope1 and the glorious appearance of the great ,,god1 and our ,saviour ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,the ,,grace ,,of ,,god1 indeed1 hath appeared unto all men4 ,one of the principal impediments to their sight of this ,grace1 is what poor ,selden complained of1 viz4 a looking for it in the writings of human reason1 and expecting to find it by the same learned labour with which we investigate some mathematical or logical truth4 ,selden1 with all his learning1 therefore1 was obliged to seek for a ,true ,knowledge of ,,god1 in the volume of his own heart2 and1 agreeable to the direction of an outward revelation1 to look for the appearance of that ,grace which it promised1 in a place1 which his genius had not yet explored1 and which could never have been revealed to his outward eye4 ,he had1 no doubt1 heard of ,,god by the hearing of the ear1 and could have accurately demonstrated his existence and attributes--but1 till that blessed moment1 his eye had never seen him4 ,thus1 all those fine literary accomplishments1 which feed the pride of the scholar1 7though1 when properly applied1 they have their uses1 and great uses too7 must1 nevertheless1 be sacrificed1 when they prove1 as they frequently do1 very great impodiments to a spiritual knowledge of ,,god4 ,the most towering genius upon earth1 can never gain admittance into the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 till he condescends to the simplicity of a child1 and with faith and humility opens his heart to his ,heavenly ,father for that true wisdom1 which can only come by immediate revelation from him4 ,but the wisdom of this world1 or science falsely so called1 is not the only impediment to our spiritual sight of ,,god4 ,there are many1 who1 under a specious pretence of making a proper and honourable provision for their families1 involve themselves so deeply in business1 as it is called1 that they will not allow themselves a single moment to attend to the concerns of another world4 ,and were we to enquire the reason of this strange conduct1 they might very properly make us the same answer1 which the ,duke of ,alva made to ,king ,henry ,,iv4 upon another occasion3 ,did you observe1 my ,lord ,duke1 said the ,monarch1 the great eclipse of the sun1 that lately happened8--,no1 may it please your ,majesty1 replied the ,duke--,i have so much business to do on earth1 that ,i have no leisure to look up to heaven4 ,in truth1 my brethren1 your mere men of business1 and a trading city like ours abounds with temptations to this kind of life2 ,i say1 your mere men of business1 either forget1 in the hurry of affairs1 that their souls are immortal1 and ought therefore to be fed and attended to at least as much as their bodies2 or else1 to quiet their consciences1 they reason themselves into a belief that their souls may die with their bodies1 and therefore all thought or concern about religious matters1 is useless1 and will only interrupt their worldly pursuits4 ,success in trade introduces wealth1 and1 with it1 its never-failing attendant1 luxury4 ,from this fatal source proceed a thousand impediments to a religious life1 that are more readily felt than enumerated4 ,hence an amazing increase of expence1 with an increasing taste for high living1 sumptuous apparel1 and splendid entertainments4 ,by an immoderate attention to these1 the minds of men are gradually weaned from those good impressions1 which they have received in their earlier years1 from sober1 frugal1 and industrious parents4--,the peasant treads close upon the heels of the courtier2 and such is the reigning fondness for what is called fashionable life1 that people of the most affluent circumstances1 and who move in the highest sphere1 are scarcely to be distinguished from those of the most scanty fortunes2 and even indigence itself puts in its claim for a share of the outward glitter4--,and it were well1 if the evil proceeded no further than this4 ,but if things should come to such a pass1 that ,religion itself1 nay1 even the very appearances of it1 should be deemed unfashionable2 if people should be afraid to come to the house of ,,god1 lest they should have their taste called in question1 lest they should be suspected by their gay and worldly friends1 of entertaining one serious thought about another world1 about ,,god and their own souls2 if the ,sabbath1 instead of being wholly dedicated to1 and spent in the service of1 that ,,god by whom it was instituted1 should be either lolled away in indolence1 or spent in posting of books1 settling of accounts at home1 or devoted to entertainments and parties of pleasure abroad2 if such should be the consequences of an immoderate pursuit of business1 and an inordinate fondness for a fashionable life1 would you not conclude1 that these were surely the greatest and most dangerous impediments to a true and saving knowledge of ,,god8 ,if these evils have not appeared in such a degree1 as ,i have described them1 ,i think1 at least1 they are not far from it2 and ,i begin to fear1 that the time is approaching1 when many amongst us will be so far from seeing ,,god1 as ,job expresses it1 with their eyes1 that they will not even hear of him by the hearing of the ear4 ,for believe me1 my brethren1 we cannot know ,,god1 we cannot even desire to know him1 whilst our whole hearts and minds are engaged in the things of the world1 whilst we turn1 with all the eagerness of desire1 to the senseless pageantry and pleasures of a vain and trifling age4 ,shall ,i spare myself the pain of telling1 what ought not to be an offence to you to hear8--or will you give me leave to point out to you1 in plainer terms1 what ,i apprehend to be your principal impediments to such a view of the ,divine ,majesty1 as would lead you to abhor yourselves1 and repent in dust and ashes4 ,it cannot be denied1 that luxury1 extravagance1 and dissipation of every kind1 have1 within these few years1 made a most rapid progress amongst us4--,your ministers have long1 perhaps too long1 been silent upon these subjects4--,but though preventive medicines are sometimes given with success1 yet the symptoms of a disorder1 as they appear in its process1 are what must principally direct the application4 ,what they have now to say1 comes to you with this corroborating circumstance in its support1 that we speak not from what we have apprehended might be1 but from what we have seen hath actually come to pass4 ,we have observed1 with real heart-felt concern1 a general proneness to pleasure1 and a general indifference to the very forms of religion4--,our discourses1 though without particular applications1 have been adapted1 as far as we were able to judge1 to the circumstances of the people whom we addressed4--,we have not1 however1 been unconcerned spectators of your conduct4 ,we have observed1 with what eagerness many of you have crouded to scenes of amusement and dissipation1 and what backwardness you have shewn in attending the publick worship of ,,god4 ,even the man of business could devote many hours in the week1 to the calls of worldly pleasure1 whilst he refused to give one to the calls of ,,god upon his own ,sabbath4 ,matters are1 indeed1 too serious to be passed by in silence4 ,we are your ministers1 we are your servants2 we should not be faithful to you1 nor to ourselves1 were we to neglect giving you the alarm1 when we saw1 or even apprehended1 that you were in imminent danger4 ,the enemy hath already entered your houses--he hath entered your hearts6 ,under the specious disguise and appellation of innocent amusements1 he is secretly drawing off your hearts from ,,god1 and carrying you away captive at his will--,use not1 ,i beseech you1 the word innocent1 in vindicating your pleasures--,nothing can be innocent1 let it be ever so seemingly trifling1 that wholly engrosses the mind1 and takes it off from attending to the great concerns of ,salvation4 ,amusements1 though they may be innocent at first1 become more or less criminal1 as they have a greater or less tendency to wean the heart from ,,god4 ,upon this maxim1 ,i leave it to your own experience to determine1 what particular kind of amusements has had the greatest tendency to effect this in you4 ,far be it from me1 to declaim1 with an affected pharisaical severity1 against innocent recreations of any kind4 ,but1 ,gracious ,,god6 can a ,christian complain of want of amusements1 that has a family round him2 that has a dear child1 or children1 to educate2 that has brothers1 or sisters1 or relations1 or friends2 with whom he can live in a most sweet and delightful intercourse of endearing offices8 ,what a strange perversion of nature1 sense1 and reason1 to take delight in going abroad1 to have our affections excited by imaginary objects and romantic representations1 when we have so many real ones at home1 in the course of every day1 and in the way of our duty1 to call forth and promote their best and highest exercise8 ,i do not descend to particulars--let these few hints suffice4--,i have delivered them in love--in love1 ,i hope1 they will be received4 ,permit me1 however1 once more to repeat--that it is this immoderate fondness for pleasure and dissipation1 that keeps you from feeling the real wants of your nature1 and1 consequently1 from applying to the true and only ,source1 from whence they can be fully satisfied4 ,but this deception cannot last long2 false happiness has no sure foundation2 it must1 therefore1 totter and fall at last4 ,you will not always be as gay1 as healthy1 and as prosperous1 as you are now4--,the vigour of the best constitution cannot long preserve you from sickness1 and from death4--,neither the abundance of wealth1 nor the increase of power1 nor the support of popularity1 can long protect you from disappointment and distress4 ,you may think as lightly as you please of religious duties now2 but1 depend upon it1 the hour is at hand1 when every little neglect of them1 every little preference you have given to the solicitations of pleasure1 will wound you to the very heart4 ,you will then be convinced of the danger of trifling with that immortal spirit that is within you2 and deeply regret1 that you have been so far from having seen ,,god1 spiritually manifested in your hearts1 that you have scarcely heard of him by the hearing of the ear4 ,i cannot dismiss you1 without one observation more4 ,hypocrisy1 and a pharisaical righteousness1 are as great1 and perhaps greater impediments to the true ,knowledge of ,,god1 than any of those ,i have already mentioned4 ,the root is deeper1 the evil more difficult to be eradicated4 ,should any of you1 therefore1 have been solacing yourselves with the view of your own fancied virtues1 and thanking ,,god1 that you have not1 like others1 been running after this or the other new and fashionable amusement1 but have kept yourselves strictly within the pale of outward duties2 ,i beseech you not to be too liberal of your censures1 nor too forward in prying into the conduct of your neighbours2 but to look at home with a jealous and watchful eye1 to examine your own hearts1 and see1 that whilst ye are paying tithe of mint1 and annise1 and cummin1 ye do not neglect the weightier matters of the law1 mercy1 justice1 forbearance1 and charity4 ,whilst ye have heard of ,,god by the hearing of the ear1 your eyes1 perhaps1 may not yet have seen him2 whilst you are abhorring and standing aloof from your brethren1 as if ye were holier than they1 ye do not abhor yourselves1 and repent in dust and ashes4 ,remember1 that a censorious spirit1 and a disposition to think and speak evil of others1 is as foreign to the ,spirit of ,christianity1 as any other evil temper or disposition can be4 ,to conclude3 ,a true ,christian will lament the general decline of ,religion1 and wish and pray for better times1 without being angry1 or shewing any marks of unkindness to his brethren4 ,yea1 so far from keeping himself at a distance1 he will mingle1 as occasion or duty calls1 with men of every class4 ,he will be religious without severity1 and chearful without dissipation2 he will instruct without seeming to dictate1 and reprove with such mildness1 that his very censures shall be received as the highest tokens of his love4 ,in this sweet ,spirit of the ,gospel of ,,jesus1 ,heaven grant that we may mutually receive and impart such truths1 as belong to our peace1 both here and hereafter6 ,,discourse ,,xviii4 ,on the ,nativity of ,christ4 ,st4 ,,luke1 ,,chap4 ii4 from ,,ver4 #f to #bj4 ,,and ,,so ,,it ,,was1 ,,that ,,while ,,they ,,were ,,there1 ,,the ,,days ,,were ,,accomplished1 ,,that ,,she ,,should ,,be ,,delivered1 c4 ,in the first chapter of his ,gospel1 the ,evangelist has given a particular account of the conception and birth of ,john the ,baptist1 the ,salutation of the ,,blessed ,,virgin1 and her miraculous conception of the ,,holy ,,jesus4 ,according to a regular series of historical facts1 this second chapter opens with a like circumstantial narrative of the nativity of our ,,blessed ,,redeemer4 ,an edict is issued by ,augustus ,csar1 enjoining all the subjects of the ,roman empire to repair to their several cities1 in order to have their names enrolled for a general taxation4 ,in obedience to this imperial decree1 ,joseph1 the espoused husband of ,mary1 is obliged to leave ,nazareth1 the place of his residence1 and take a journey to ,bethlehem the city of ,david1 to be enrolled there1 because he was of the house and lineage of ,david4 ,mary1 his espoused wife1 though great with child1 accompanies him4 ,a most remarkable interposition of ,divine ,providence appears in the whole transaction4 ,the prophets had foretold1 that the ,,messiah should be born at ,bethlehem1 and that he should descend from the family of ,david4 ,the ,roman emperor's decree was rendered subservient to the accomplishment of these prophecies4 ,mary was thereby brought to ,bethlehem1 and delivered of the ,,messiah1 and her descent from the royal line of ,david was publickly recognized4 ,ver4 #f4 ,and so it was1 that while they were there1 the days were accomplished1 that she should be delivered4 ,ver4 #g4 ,and she brought forth her first-born son1 and wrapped him in swaddling clothes1 and laid him in a manger1 because there was no room for them in the inn4 ,a plain but affecting narrative6 ,the apartments of the inn1 we may suppose1 were occupied by more honourable guests4 ,the ,virgin ,mother was content to retire to a stable1 and to lie down among brutes4 ,hapless ,mary6 we are ready to exclaim--is it thus1 that the promises of the ,angel are to be accomplished8 ,is this to be highly favoured8 ,and are these the blessings1 by which thou art to be distinguished from the rest of thy sex8 ,must thy spotless ,babe1 at the very instant of his birth1 enter upon his ,labour of ,love8 and must the stable at ,bethlehem be the first scene of that awful drama1 which was afterwards closed on the trembling top of ,calvary8 ,but in what manner was the appearance of this illustrious ,babe made known to the world8 ,should not the princes and great ones of the earth have had proper intelligence of his arrival1 that they might have hastened from their several kingdoms and provinces1 thrown themselves at his feet1 paid him the homage due to his exalted character1 and obliged all their subjects to do the same8 ,no--4,,god',s thoughts are not as man's thoughts1 neither are his ways as man's ways4 ,the same reason for which he thought proper to send his ,angel to the humble ,mary1 induced him now to give the first notice of his ,,son',s birth to a few simple shepherds4 ,ver4 #h4 ,and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field1 keeping watch over their flock by night4 ,ver4 #i4 ,and lo1 the ,angel of the ,,lord came upon them1 and the ,glory of the ,,lord shone round about them1 and they were sore afraid4 ,the pastoral life was once thought to be the happiest and most innocent life upon earth4 ,far from the noise of cities1 and the hurry of the busy world1 free from its anxieties1 and ignorant of many of its vices1 they enjoyed the full tranquillity of the rural scene4 ,as their flocks were their only care1 they had abundant leisure for meditation and prayer4 ,as they had no schemes of interest or ambition to accomplish1 they were plain1 unprejudiced1 and undesigning men4 ,a few of these shepherds were in the fields1 bordering upon ,bethlehem1 watching by turns their sheep the whole night1 as was the custom of the country2 when their senses were suddenly struck with a great and unusual glare of light1 in the midst of which appeared an ,angel of ,,god1 bright and glorious4 ,they were confounded with the excessive splendor4 ,they trembled1 and were sore afraid4 ,but the ,angel1 with all the sweetness and chearfulness of ,heaven in his countenance1 thus comfortably addressed them3 ,ver4 #aj4 ,fear not3 for1 behold6 ,i bring you good tidings of great joy1 which shall be to all people4 ,ver4 #aa4 ,for unto you is born this day in the city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is ,,christ the ,,lord4 ,be not afraid6 ,i am come1 not to terrify you1 but to bring you great and joyous tidings1 in which not yourselves only1 but the whole nation of the ,jews1 yea1 all the inhabitants of the world1 are deeply interested6 ,for he1 of whom all the prophets prophesied1 and whom all the people of ,israel have1 according to the promise of ,,god1 long and ardently expected1 even the ,,messiah1 the ,saviour and ,deliverer1 is this night born in ,bethlehem1 the city of ,david4 ,ver4 #ab4 ,and this shall be a sign unto you-- a sign1 by which you shall know him1 the moment you enter into his presence--ye shall find the ,babe wrapped in swaddling clothes1 lying in a manger4 ,scarce had the ,angel delivered his message1 when a whole choir of his celestial brethren burst forth with additional splendors from the midnight sky1 and saluted the shepherds' ears with a birth-day anthem4 ,ver4 #ac4 ,and suddenly there was with the ,angel a multitude of the heavenly host1 praising ,,god1 and saying3 ,ver4 #ad4 ,glory to ,,god in the highest2 and on earth peace1 good-will towards men6 ,no expressions of joy could have been more admirably adapted than these1 to so glorious an occasion3 for the glory of the ,divine ,majesty was most eminently displayed in that gracious message of peace and reconciliation1 of ,love and ,good-,will1 which was here published to the world4 ,if those pure and perfect ,intelligences could thus testify their transport upon an event1 in which an inferior order of beings were more immediately concerned2 surely1 that order are continually bound to render the highest and most grateful returns of praise1 acknowledgment1 and love6 ,for us men1 and for our ,salvation1 a ,,god becomes incarnate4 ,the ,,eternal ,,word clothes himself in clay4 ,he assumes our nature in its most helpless state2 and is born1 like one of us1 a naked1 weak1 and wailing ,babe4 ,thus began the mighty process of ,redeeming ,love6 ,to rescue us from the misery of a fallen life2 to restore the ,divine ,image to our souls2 to regain1 for us1 that state of rectitude1 of union and communion with ,,god1 which we had lost in ,adam2 and completely to repair the ruins of nature were the benevolent purposes1 which the ,,god of ,,love determined to accomplish by sending into the world his only-begotten ,,son4 ,well1 therefore1 might the inhabitants of ,heaven1 at the prospect of such ineffable goodness and condescension1 break forth1 enraptured1 into these sublime and joyous strains3 ,glory to ,,god in the highest2 and on earth ,peace1 ,good-,will towards men6 ,ver4 #ae4 ,and it came to pass1 as the ,angels were gone away from them into ,heaven1 the shepherds said one to another3 ,let us now go1 even unto ,bethlehem1 and see this thing which is come to pass1 which the ,,lord hath made known unto us4 ,they did not stay to confer with flesh and blood2 to reason1 and doubt1 and hesitate1 whether this might not be a delusion2 but1 in the true simplicity of faith1 improved the heavenly warning1 and hastened to ,bethlehem1 in full assurance of meeting with every thing conformable to the notice they had received4 ,ver4 #af4 ,and they came with haste1 and found ,mary and ,joseph1 and the ,babe lying in a manger4 ,glorious confirmation and reward of the shepherds' faith6 ,o that all who call themselves ,christians1 would with the same child-like simplicity surrender themselves to ,,jesus ,,christ6 ,they have frequent and sufficient warnings of his kind intentions towards them4 ,they are assured1 that he is the ,light and ,life of men2 and that if they apply to him1 they will receive the most salutary manifestations of this ,life and ,light in their souls4 ,were they to listen and obey these warnings1 and go as they are directed1 they would as surely find this ,heavenly ,babe in their hearts1 as the shepherds found him in the stable at ,bethlehem4 ,ver4 #ag4 ,and when they had seen it1 they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this ,child4 ,in like manner1 the true ,believer1 who hath experienced the operation of the ,spirit of ,,god bearing witness with his spirit1 that the ,child ,,jesus is born in his heart1 cannot but make known abroad1 what he has felt and experienced of this spiritual birth1 though his testimony rarely produces any better effects upon his hearers1 than that of wonder and astonishment4 ,ver4 #ah4 ,and all they that heard it1 wondered at those things1 which were told them by the shepherds4 ,they were greatly amazed1 and at a loss to know1 what to make of the report4 ,they could not think it likely1 that such a set of plain1 honest1 undesigning men should have formed the story1 and should go about to impose it on the world4 ,they could not but know1 indeed1 that their testimony was strengthened by a general expectation1 at that time1 of the ,,messiah',s appearance1 and by the prevailing opinion that his birth would be at ,bethlehem3 yet they were astonished1 that he should be born of such mean parents1 and in such despicable circumstances2 and that persons of such low figure as these shepherds1 should be the men to whom ,,god had sent an ,angel to reveal it4 ,from the conduct of the shepherds1 the ,evangelist passes to that of the ,blessed ,virgin1 which differs much from theirs1 as might indeed be expected from her different situation and circumstances4 ,for whereas1 they made known abroad the saying that was told them concerning this child1 we are assured1 that ,ver4 #ai4 ,mary kept all these things1 and pondered them in her heart4 ,by these things1 we are doubtless to understand the whole series of astonishing events1 from the first salutation of the ,angel1 to this visit of the shepherds4 ,under the power of these reflections1 methinks ,i see the ,blessed ,mother1 bending disconsolate over her shivering infant6 ,her countenance speaks a thousand tender emotions of her heart6 ,it is a look1 composed of deep anxiety1 maternal fondness1 compassion and love inexpressible6 ,in her varying features one may read too the varying sensibilities of her soul4 ,sweet heavenly babe6 ,how mild1 how serenely soft thy aspect6 ,how seemingly satisfied with thy hard allotment6 ,surely the bleak winds will pierce thy tender frame6 ,surely the rugged winter means not to relent for thee6 ,and yet the ,messenger of ,heaven hath assured me1 that thou shouldst be a ,,jesus1 a ,,saviour2 that thou shouldst be called the ,,son ,,of ,,the ,,highest2 that thou shouldst sit upon the throne of ,,david1 and that of thy kingdom there should be no end4 ,but where are the ensigns of royalty8 where are the tokens of thy illustrious birth8 ,instead of a sumptuous palace1 thou art lodged in a loathsome stable4 ,no bed of down receives thy precious limbs6 ,no warm and comfortable apartments shield thee from the rude inclemencies of the air6 ,a manger is thy cradle6 ,and thy poor indigent mother seems1 under ,providence1 to be thine only support6 ,no courtiers attend to bow the knee1 to pay the customary homage due to royalty1 and bid thee welcome to the throne of ,israel4 ,a few simple shepherds have indeed been here1 and tendered thee their honest obeisance6 ,they told too a wondrous tale1 from the several circumstances of which1 ,i am now more and more persuaded1 that the finger of ,,god is here2 that his ,veracity spoke in the salutation of the ,angel2 that his ,power and ,goodness will be exalted by thy present ,humiliation2 and that ,i must henceforth feel more than a mother's fondness1 and look upon thee1 sweet ,babe6 as my ,,lord1 my ,,life1 and my ,,redeemer4 ,such were the astonishing circumstances that employed the attention of ,mary2 and thus it was1 that she kept all these things1 and pondered them in her heart4 ,she did not publish her sentiments to the world4 ,she did not court the honour and respect of men1 by displaying the dignity of her babe1 or telling abroad what she knew concerning him2 but satisfied with her own conviction1 humbly waited1 till ,providence should make use of some other means to acquaint the world with these tidings of great joy4 ,if now1 like ,mary1 we seriously attend to1 and ponder in our hearts all the amazing circumstances of this great event1 we cannot fail1 ,i think1 of learning from thence a lesson of ,humility4 ,this amiable and peculiarly ,christian grace1 is the foundation and ground-work of every other excellence and perfection4 ,without it1 we can have no pretensions to ,christianity2 we are strangers to the ,truth and ,spirit of the ,gospel3 ,except ye be converted1 and become as little children1 ye cannot be my disciples6 ,as long as pride1 vanity1 arrogance1 and inordinate self-love1 keep possession of thy soul1 be assured1 ,o man1 that the ,babe of ,bethlehem will not take up his residence with thee6 ,in order to invite this ,heavenly ,guest to thine heart1 it must be as empty and free from worldly ornaments1 as was the stable in which he was born4 ,be ye then cloathed with humility4 ,this plain and modest garb best becomes the disciples of so meek a ,master4 ,thou must feel thyself very poor1 before thou canst be rich in ,,christ4 ,thou must part with all that thou hast1 for this ,pearl of great ,price2 and must come to him as naked and helpless as a new-born babe1 in a true child-like simplicity of faith4 ,it is this alone can give thee sweet tranquillity of soul1 even that peace of ,,god1 which passeth all understanding2 that white stone and new name1 which no man knoweth1 save him that receiveth it4 ,thy soul will then magnify the ,,lord1 and thy spirit will rejoice in ,,god thy ,,saviour4 ,this inward spiritual change1 is not the consequence of a bare meditation upon the circumstances of our ,lord's nativity1 a simple assent to1 or belief of1 the historical account given by the ,evangelist4 ,no1 it arises from an experience of the whole process in our own souls4 ,in vain was this ,divine ,infant born into the world1 unless he is likewise born in our hearts1 not figuratively born1 which is no birth at all1 but manifesting himself by a vital and essential union with our spirits4 ,this is regeneration1 our new-birth1 our birth to light1 and life1 and glory4 ,those who have experienced this1 must taste and feel1 in some degree1 the raptures of those exalted spirits1 who dwell continually in the ,beatifying ,presence of their ,master4 ,they are raised above flesh and blood3 ,it is not they that live1 but ,,christ that liveth in them4 ,they are sensible of the daily growth of that ,heavenly ,nature1 which they receive from him1 and which diffuseth a light through their souls1 that shineth more and more unto the perfect day4 ,like the shepherds returning from ,bethlehem1 they are continually glorifying and praising ,,god for all the things that they have heard and seen4 ,the ,end of ,,vol4 ,i4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected4 ,typographical errors were silently corrected4 ,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book4 ,text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74