IT is very hard to go on in a straight course and for any length of time. The hinderances are many. To understand the nature and obligations of duty; to enter upon it with right motives; to perform it in a proper temper; to go through it without backwardness or weariness, not by constraint, but willingly, and to find the true end of doing it answered, these are great difficulties: but they will be removed in some measure out of the believer's walk, if he attend to what was said before of obedience in general, and if he be enabled to bring it into practice.
It cannot be too often repeated, that the true believer is not under the law as a covenant of works–bound to keep the precept for life, or liable to the penalty of death. He is not under the law in this respect, but under grace. He is one with Christ, who kept the precept, and suffered the penalty for him, as his surety, and in his stead. He has put in his plea, and taken the benefit of Christ's suretyship. His plea has been admitted; and therefore he is in a state of perfect acceptance, He stands in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free. Grace reigns m him, and over him, and renders his obedience perfect freedom. He obeys, but it is all in faith. He works, but it is from a sense of the Father's love to him in his Son. Gratitude taught by the Holy Spirit influences his heart and life. His heart has the love of God written upon it, and his life manifests it. He serves God with a thankful mind and without fear, and cheerfully does all the good he can to man for God's sake.
The believer will never get on in the way of duty, unless he learns to obey upon these gospel principles. He will stand in need of their assistance at every step; for he will meet with constant opposition to them. The flesh will not come under grace. The carnal mind is always legal. The old man of sin knows nothing but working for life, and will not submit to any other way. Our sinful nature is altogether for the covenant of works. Jews, Turks, Heathens, and nominal Christians, are all upon one plan; they expect God will be merciful to them for their doings. And the children of God are exercised with this self-righteous spirit more or less all their days. Is it not, O my soul, thy grief and burden? Art thou not daily plagued with it in thy duties? And though thy principles be very evangelical, yet they too often fail thee in practice. O beg of God then, earnestly and often, that thou mayest be east into the mould of the gospel, quite evangelized in thy mind, and mayest perform all duties upon such motives as he himself requires and approves.
Duty is a debt owing to God–due from the creature to the Creator. The obligation to it arises from the absolute dependence of the one upon the other; and it consists in acknowledging this in the appointed way, by a perfect and continual service of every faculty–the creature being entirely subject to the will of the Creator, and living in never-failing conformity to it: for the will of God doth bind all men on earth, and angels and glorified spirits in heaven. It is an unchangeable law, obliging for ever all creatures to obedience, not only on account of the matter contained in it, but also with respect to the sovereign authority of the almighty law-giver. And this obligation Christ in the gospel has not in the least dissolved, but on all occasions has confirmed and strengthened. How decisive are these words! "Think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil," to fulfil the law in mine own person, as the surety for my people, and to put the love of it into their hearts, and to engage them, and to enable them to practise it in their lives; though not for the same end for which I fulfilled it.
Duty is always one and the same–a debt always due to God. But the debt of obedience being withheld, and the death of suffering being incurred, the believer is taught to plead his discharge from suffering under Christ, and his fulfilling of obedience in the righteousness of Christ. With this faith he has a delightful prospect of duty. God is now at peace with him. God loves him in his Son. It is his high privilege to enjoy the sense of those distinguishing favours. For this end ho is admitted to walk with his God. What an honour is this! Having received the adoption of sons, he is blessed with his Father's love, and is taken into near fellowship with him. What a happiness is this! "Son, all flint I have is thine, it is freely given to thee in Jesus, mad thou art now called upon to enjoy me and mine in .thy holy walk." Here duty becomes his privilege. It is exalted and spiritualized into a gospel grace. He is bound to it, but it is by the cords of love. The pleasing bonds of gratitude He his heart to obedience; to a free, holy, evangelical obedience, He obeys, not as a slave but as a son–not for fear, but because Christ has not him at liberty–not that God may accept, pardon, and justify him, but because God has done all for him, and will do all in him–not that he may have heaven for his obedience, but because heaven is reserved for him, and he for it. He therefore looks at duty, as greatly refined by the gospel. Every act of it, done in faith, is an act of fellowship with the Father and with the Son; and by the grace of the Spirit every act brings the Father's love through the Son's salvation into experience. He has communion with his God in all he does. This ennobles duty. It is hereby raised to a divine honour: for it is hereby made, to them who are in Christ, the highest privilege they can have on this side of heaven.
When the Holy Spirit writes the law upon the heart, he then teaches this obedience of faith. He docs not abolish duty, but he enforces it upon right motives, and directs it to a right end. The same duties remain in the gospel, but not upon the same obligation. Law duties as conditions of life cannot be fulfilled. The Judge himself has decreed, that by the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Therefore the law as a covenant of works, does not enter into the believer's obedience. He obeys because he is freed from this covenant–not freed from doing the same duties which this covenant required, but freed from doing them upon law motives, neither expecting the promised life on account of keeping the precepts, nor fearing the threatened penalty on account of not keeping them. It is his privilege to obey, because he is saved, he works from a free spirit, and with a thankful heart. He does all his duties in faith. He is spiritual in them, acting upon the endearing motive of God's love to him in Christ, as it has been revealed to his heart by the Holy Spirit. He hopes for the acceptance of them only through the intercession of Christ: and after he has done them ever so well, he desires grace from Christ to return him all his glory. Thus in every duty he aims at fellowship with God in Christ through the Spirit, and seeks to present an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing to God.
Whatever thou art required to do, remember, O my soul, that thou art under grace, and it is thy privilege to do it in faith. View the two tables in the hand of thy Saviour, and receive the ten commandments from his mouth. Happy for thee, Jesus is thy lawgiver. His spirit will gospelize thine obedience. He will bring thine heart into it. He will set thee in the chariot of love, and thou shalt ride on prosperously. He will oil the wheels of duty, and they shall run easy and pleasant. Thou shalt be carried sweetly through duty, thy beloved being present and conversing with thee in it; yea, thy faith working by love to him will render fellowship with God, in all thou doest, the joy of thy heart and the glory of thy life.
O beg of thy divine teacher thus to spiritualize thine obedience. From him only canst thou learn the two great commandments, which are the sum and substance of the will of thy God. In the first his nature is revealed, and then his worship, he is the Lord thy God, Jehovah thy Alehim: Jehovah means the self-existent Godhead; and Alehim, the persons in covenant, Father, Son, and Spirit, partakers of the same self existence and divine glory, without any difference or inequality. There can be no true religion without the true object of worship, and he cannot be worshipped unless he be known; therefore it is an indispensable duty to know the Lord God. But how shall fallen man attain to this knowledge? He lost it by sin, and he cannot by any reasoning faculty or power of his own recover it. It is a matter of fact, that no man did ever, by searching, find out God; and attested by infallible authority, that the world by its wisdom knew not God.
There is no true description of the Godhead, but what is revealed in Scripture; and it is altogether from the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that any one savingly understands what is revealed, He the Spirit of wisdom and revelation opens the eyes of the mind, sets the object before them, and gives a clear idea of it. He takes of the things of God, and shows them to his disciples, he does not lead them into abstracted reasonings about the divine nature, or what the absolute Godhead is, but his lessons are useful and practical, He teaches the knowledge of the persons in Jehovah, as they are related to sinners in the covenant of grace. Through him the Father is made known: "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father." (Rom. viii. 15.) Through him the Son is believed in: for no man can say, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. He discovers the Father's love in the Son, with its rich graces and abundant blessings, as it is written, We have "received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." He makes known the giver and the gifts, and he is received for that very purpose. He shines into the heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. And this is saving acquaintance with the Father and with the Son; for hereby the understanding is restored to the image of God; and the new man is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. O what a mercy is this! What can call for greater praise! And this mercy, O my soul, is thine. Unspeakably gracious has the Lord been to thee. He has given thee the knowledge of himself. His image is upon thine understanding, His light is shining upon it. Certainly, it is as great an act, as when he first commanded the light to shine out of darkness; for hereby I believe in him, I know him to be my FATHER. O precious name! The love of his heart, and it is infinite the blessings of his love, and they are numberless, he has called me to enjoy, freely, of mere grace, of his own sovereign good-will–called me to the adoption of sons, to the noblest dignity, yea, to, everlasting honour, to be a son of the most high God–God is my Father–my new birth is from him–that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, and has fellowship with the Father of spirits. Behold! what manner of love this is! No parent ever loved, or can love, a child as my Father which is in heaven loves me. And I desire in the sense of this to love him, to cleave to him with full purpose of heart, and gratefully to devote all I have and am to his service, and to his glory. O thou divine revealer of this love, enlighten mine understanding and influence my affections, that I may grow in the knowledge of my Father in Jesus: For
In him the Father only is to be known. He is his Father, as our covenant head; and therefore ours in him. God is not a Father to any, but in Christ. The name Father respects Christ, as the first-begotten, and then all his seed. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, and depends for its adoption on the Father of their Lord Jesus Christ. He undertook to be made man, to live and to die for the many sons, whom he was to bring to glory: and in consequence of his undertakings, it pleased the Father to lay up all fulness of grace for them in the God-man, their covenant head. And it pleases the Spirit to witness of this fulness, and to enable believers to receive out of it grace for grace. Thus he reveals Immanuel to them. They know him, and are one with him. He is their Lord and their God, and by faith they live in him and upon him. Trusting to his atonement and righteousness, they have peace with their reconciled Father, and they enjoy his love shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Waiting in the appointed ways, they grow in the knowledge of the wonderful person God-Jesus. They sec more of the divine glory of his salvation-work, and by depending on it daily, they enjoy more of the things which accompany salvation. Thrice happy are they, whose acquaintance with Jesus is thus increasing. Their happiness has a boundless subject. They may study on, and they will find in him new worlds of delight to eternity. O ye highly favoured, read and adore the wonders already wrought for you; among which, these are not the least: "'We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding to know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ, who is the true God and eternal life." Blessed knowledge! they have an understanding given them, and they are savingly acquainted with the Father and with the Son, by the teaching of the Holy Ghost. Jehovah is their Alehim. Thus they learn the first part of their duty, which leads them to the
Second; namely, to love the persons in the Godhead, because they stand in this most endearing relation to them. They love the Father, who is their Father in Jesus. They have not only heard of, and believed in, but have also enjoyed his precious love. It has been shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, who has overcome all resistance to his love; yea, has made enmity itself yield to it. Having purified the conscience by faith, he then purifies the heart: he pours into it a sense of that love which gave his co-equal Son for them, and all the blessings in earth and in heaven with him. Thereby ho draws out the affections in holy desires to be more united to the Father of mercies. It is the property of love to desire to be united to the beloved object. The Holy Spirit has discovered the object, and has given the desire; and he fulfils all the desires of his own creating, He teaches all the children of God to know their Father, and to experience his love to them in his Son; and then they cannot but love him. He creates the new heart for this very purpose, and makes it sensible that the Father's love is all received through the Son; and therefore the Father and the Son are beloved with an undivided affection.
The Son is his office name. It should never be heard without putting us in mind of the wonderful love of our God in his undertakings. He covenanted to be made flesh. What a miracle of love is that! He engaged with his Father to be the surety for his people, to do their work, to suffer their punishment, and then God and man, one Christ for ever, was to have all fulness of covenant blessings to give his people. The Father lids no love, the Spirit bestows no grace, but what comes through Christ. A believer is therefore taught in everything he does to have fellowship with Christ. His safety, his happiness, his hopes of happiness to-day and for ever, are blessings to be received out of Immanuel's? fulness; for he is the head over all things to the church which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. And while the member is receiving life, and sense, and happiness, from the fulness of the head, he will have fresh motives to love his divine Saviour. What can fix his affections, if gratitude to Jesus cannot? He has everything in him that can win the heart, he has beauty to engage love, blessings to increase love, glories to increase love to him for evermore. He is beauty without a rival. Whatever is charming in any earthly object is but a ray from him, and should lead to him; it is but a beam to point out the matchless graces of Immanuel. And so is the loveliness of heavenly objects; saints and angels have nothing beautiful, but what the love of Jesus has put upon them. He is the Lord and giver of all their glory.
How glorious then must he be? He is mine, says the believer, and my property in him makes him indeed glorious in mine eyes. Once I saw no beauty in him, that I should desire him; but now he is my beloved and my friend. I can see everything truly lovely in my Lord and my God. Whatever else courts my heart, appears to be but a shadow: the substance is my Jesus. He endears himself daily to me by his numberless favours. I am always receiving out of his fulness some blessing, which makes him the centre of my happiness. Every look of faith discovers in him some new excellency, and brings from him some fresh kindness, and thereby engages my heart still more to its precious Saviour. And when I look forward to the glory to be revealed, when I shall see my dearest Jesus face to face, and shall be like him, and shall enjoy him, and in him all the blessings of the eternal Three for ever, O this is too big for present thought: yet it constrains me to give up my whole soul to this heavenly lover. Glorify him daily in me, thou faithful witness for Jesus, and give me continual reason to love thee with the same undivided affection wherewith thou hast enabled me to love the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is Jehovah, a person in the self-existent Godhead, equal with the Father in every attribute. His office name is Spirit; the idea is taken from air, such as we breathe, to denote his being the breather or inspirer of spiritual life. Everything done by him in this character tends to holiness, and therefore he is called the Holy Spirit. His office in the covenant, as well as his co-equality with the Father and the Son, entitle him to equal worship and to equal love. For he undertook to carry into execution the purposes of the Father's love in Jesus. Their fulfilment depends entirely upon his grace. The Son has been incarnate; he has brought in everlasting righteousness, and made the atonement for, sin: the Father is satisfied with his finished work, and has demonstrated his acceptance of it. The God-man is now upon the throne of glory with all power in heaven and earth.
To this the Holy Spirit bears witness. It is his divine office to apply the salvation of Jesus, and to make it; effectual, He does all in the heirs of promise. The Father gave them to the Son, the Son redeemed them, but they are in the common mass of corruption, dead in trespasses mid sins, till the Spirit of life enter into them. They feel not their guilt nor their danger, till he convince them. They are quite ignorant of God and of the things of God, till he make them wise unto salvation. They cannot believe in Jesus, till the Spirit of faith enable them. They cannot rejoice in the Father's love, till the Comforter makes them sensible of it. They are without strength, until they be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man. They cannot go in their Christian course, but by a constant supply of the Spirit. They cannot hold out to the end, but from his abiding with them for ever. So that he is the Lord and giver of life. He begins the good work, and he confirms it, until the day of Jesus Christ. Every motion of spiritual life is from him; and all those whom he makes alive, he makes sensible of the debt which they owe him. He manifests his love to them, and thereby he engages their love to him. They experience how great the love of the Spirit is. They are sensible of their obligations to him, and desire to be thankful for them. Thus their affections return to the proper object of love and worship. They receive daily the blessings or the Father's love through faith in the Son's salvation, by the applying power of the Holy Spirit: and hereby they are reconciled to the first and great commandment; it is become the delight of their souls to love the Lord God.
Here consider, O my soul, whether thou art acting upon the principle of gratitude to thy God. If thou art, then his yoke will be easy and his burden light. Thou wilt not go to duty in bondage, hoping to gain his love by the desert of what thou doest; or fearing to be beaten with many stripes for not doing it well. Thy God whom thou servest, is thy most loving friend and tenderest father. He loved thee in Jesus freely by grace; not by works done by thee, or to be done. Immanuel is thy Saviour: his love to thee is made up of miracles. No understanding of angels, or of glorified spirits, can conceive how great it is: for it passeth knowledge. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit has revealed it unto thee. He loves thee, as the Father and the Son do, with the same divine affection. Thy debt is equal, thy gratitude should be the same to the blessed Trinity. In the sense of thine infinite obligations thou art called upon to walk in the way of duty. Love to the person whom thou art to serve, wilt make service pleasant. And thou dost love thy God. He has given himself with every covenant blessing to be thine, and these blessings are to be enjoyed in thy walk with him.
With this faith look at duty. It is the expression of gratitude to thy dearest friend, and it is the way to enjoy his divine friendship, He requires it out of love to thee; and would have thee to do it out of love to him. O! how exalted is duty, when communion with God is carried on by it! He would have thee to keep close to him, in order to maintain a sense of his gracious presence in thy heart, and so to walk with him as to have his love to thee confirmed at every step; and, therefore, thou shouldst seek to preserve a constant nearness and holy fellowship with him in everything thou doest. This is the will of thy God. May it be thine, O my soul! Study this glorious way of gospel duty. Pray to be taught it better, and to go on in it more spiritually every day. Bring it into all thy affairs. In thy calling, as well as in the means of grace, in temporal as well as in heavenly matters, set the Lord always before thee, and so live and act in everything as to keep up communion with thy God and Father in Jesus by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
When God is thus become the dear object of thy happy heart, then every way wherein his love is to be enjoyed will become delightful. The time, the place, the means of meeting with him, will be greatly desired and much longed for. Thy heart cannot but be where thy treasure is. Thou wilt want no spur to duty, no whip to drive thee to ordinances: it will be enough that the Lord is there. As when he said to David, "Seek ye my face," his heart replied, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek." His heart said it. His affections were set upon God, and he was ready to seek wherever God was to be found. No hunted hart ever punted more after the water-brooks, than his soul did after God. His hope in doing anything was to have God's gracious presence with him. And his happiness in it was to have communion with God.
This is gospel duty. And what a glorious privilege is it! O that it may be my happy experience thus to meet God in all his ways, and to enjoy him in my daily walk. That thou mayest grow in this divine fellowship, consider, O my soul, some of the duties of the first table, and learn to practise them upon gospel principles. The first and chief is PRAYER, which consists in keeping up daily converse with thy God upon all occasions. This is the breathing of the new-born soul. It wants to draw the air of heaven, and to live in its own proper element. There is a way opened for it unto the throne of glory, and the children of God may approach it with boldness: for it is a throne of grace, and he that sitteth upon it loves to hear and to answer their petitions, He is their Father: "I go," says Jesus, "to my Father, and to your Father; my Father himself loveth you; ask what ye will of him in my name, he will do it." This is the beloved object of prayer, a reconciled Father in Jesus, whose heart is full of tenderness to the complaints and miseries of his family; his promises are the declarations of his pure love–a dependence upon his fulfilling them does honour to his truth and faithfulness, and always brings down the blessing.
The Holy Spirit abides with the children of God, to teach them thus to pray in faith. He helps their infirmities in prayer, strengthens their graces, and bestows on them their comforts. He enables them to come with boldness, and have access with confidence. Whatever their Father has freely promised to give them in Jesus, they can ask in faith, nothing wavering: for they know his promises cannot fail. They find them daily fulfilled, whereby their holy familiarity with their Father increases. He draws nearer to them, and they draw nearer to him. This their mutual intercourse may be interrupted, but it cannot be entirely broken off. God is always disposed be hear, although the believer be not always able to pray rejoicing. It is still his privilege, although he may not find any great delight in it; but if he continue to make constant use of his privilege, his delight will return, and God will fulfil to him the gracious promise,–I will make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Thus the child of God learns to love prayer, yea, to pray without ceasing. He lives under his Father's eye, and in a dependence on his Father's care for him night and day. And he has hereby as true and lasting fellow-ship with the things of God in his soul, as he has with the things of this world in his body.
O what an exalted privilege is this! How highly is prayer hereby ennobled! It is not a law duty to an absolute God, but a gracious intercourse with a covenant God; not practised that he may love us, but because he loves us; not to make us his children, but because we are his children. It should be performed always in this faith. If there be infirmities in it, such as wandering, coldness, or the like, we are to remember that we are not heard for the goodness of our prayers, nor answered for the fervency of them. That which makes our persons accepted, obtains acceptance for our services also. We and all we do are only accepted in the beloved: "For through Jesus Christ we have an access by one Spirit unto the Father." (Eph. ii. 18.) Our access is through Jesus Christ. Trusting to his finished salvation, we enter into the presence of the Father, and, guided by the Holy Spirit, we pray in faith. Whatever we ask in the Son's name, we know that we have the petitions which we desired of him. This spiritualizes prayer, and puts glory upon it: because there is heavenly fellowship with God in it, with the Father through the Son, by the one Spirit.
These are some of the privileges of Christian prayer. Thou goest, O my soul, to meet thy God in it–to converse with thy Father–to call on him for the fulfilling of his promises made in Jesus–to wait on him for his answers–and to give him his glory. O what blessed seasons hast thou enjoyed in this communion with thy God! How has he manifested his nearness to thee, and bounty towards thee! Hast thou not found his heart open, his cars open, and his hands open to grant thee the request of thy lips? And when thou hast; not found such sweet fellowship with thy God in prayer, yet thy dependence on his faithful word has been exercised and improved. Thou hast left; thy petitions with thy friend and advocate, trusting to that most glorious description of him in Rev. viii. 3, 4: "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." O thou great angel of the covenant! thus present my prayers: they are nothing worth but as perfumed with thy divine odours. Let; them ever ascend before God out of thy hand, with the smoke of the incense of thy sacrifice and intercession. Blessed Spirit of Prayer, increase my faith, that I may trust more to a prayer-hearing God and Father, who is always ready to grant every good thing promised to his children in Christ Jesus. Amen.
PRAISE and prayer go together. The prayer of faith will afford continual matter for praise. The one is a dependence on God for every promised blessing, the other is the acknowledgment of his having bestowed it. Innocent man had his heart in tiffs sweet work. It was his happiness. Every breath in Paradise was praise. The redeemed man has more reason. His obligations are far greater than Adam was under to his God: raised from his fall–saved from the guilt and misery of it–chosen and called to this salvation by mere grace–through faith a partaker of it–an heir of God, and a joint; heir with Christ. O what; motives are these to continual thankfulness! And these motives are effectual when the Holy Spirit discovers the things that are freely given to us of God. He makes us sensible of them and thankful for them, for he preserves in the soul a blessed poverty of spirit, at humble abiding sense of wants and unworthiness, and thus he lays a sure foundation for thankfulness.
Every blessing is then received with a–Why me? What am I, and what is my father's house, that God should deal thus bountifully with me? I must refer it all to the praise of the glory of his own grace: blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ. All these blessings flow from the Father's love in his Son, and the Holy Spirit has discovered to me that boundless ocean of love, and has often refreshed me with its life-giving streams, He has made known to me the good pleasure of the Father's will, which he had purposed in himself to choose me by his distinguishing grace to be one of his children, and through faith in Jesus Christ I read my adoption, and take possession of the inheritance of children. Mine experience of these blessings cannot be questioned while I am receiving out of the fulness of Jesus grace for grace. O how great is my debt! It is equal to the eternal Three; so should my gratitude be. It is very meet, right, and my bounden duty, that I should at all times, mad in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God!–therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, I laud and magnify thy glorious name evermore, praising thee and saying–Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts: heaven and earth are full of thy glory! Glory be to thee, O Lord most high. Amen.
May such as this, O my soul, be thy daily tribute of thanks. Consider what thou owest, to thy God–how great are his favours, how many, how endless, and bestowed on the most unworthy, Review his goodness in giving thee being, and in preserving it. Remember from how many dangers and pains He has delivered thee; what health and creature comforts he has vouchsafed of his mere bounty; and what a monument of his long-suffering thou art. O what a miracle, that one like thee shall be out of hell. Then put to the account spiritual favours, what blessings thou hast received from the Father's love in Jesus; what blessings thou art entitled to in him, not only in time, but also in eternity. Cast up the mighty sum, and say, How much it is! Canst thou tell the numbers thereof? No. It is beyond the power of the greatest arithmetician. If thou couldst write a figure upon every atom in the creation, thou wouldst want a new world whereon to sum up the vast account; for thy mercies reach to the heaven of heavens, and they are also everlasting.
Then consider to whom thou art thus indebted. Is it not to a justly offended God, who might have glorified all his perfections in punishing thee for thy sins? Whereas in wonderful grace he has chosen and called thee to the adoption of sons. He is thy Father. This is the spring of all thy mercies. In love he gave his Son to finish thy salvation. And his Spirit has brought thee to believe in it, and to enjoy it. This is the source of all thy praise. The object of thanksgiving is thy covenant God, who is related to thee in such a bond of love as will bring thee under eternal obligations. Thou art therefore in all thy praise to remember thy relation to Father, Son, and Spirit; thy debt to them for that most blessed relation, thy growing, ever-growing debt. Praise will pay none of it. The saints in glory do but acknowledge it. While they are praising more, the sum is increasing. O my soul, beg of thy God to give thee grace, that thine acknowledgments may be in some measure like theirs. They are crying Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God; giving glory for the Father's love in Jesus, and for their experience of it by the eternal Spirit. May this subject be thine, more spiritual, more holy every day, till it be what theirs is, perfect and without intermission. Since it is thy privilege, O my soul, to pray to thy covenant God, and to praise him for covenant mercies, then thou wilt highly prize the holy Scriptures, because without them thou canst not know what to pray for, nor what is indeed a mercy. Thy faith has nothing to stand upon but the word of God, and nothing to praise him for but mercies therein promised, and by believing received. O how dear then should his word be to thee; how greatly studied, how diligently heard, that by it thou mayest grow in every grace which is needful for thy holy walk with God. It is the appointed means by which the Holy Spirit acts. It is his great instrument in beginning and carrying on spiritual life. He opens the understanding to know the Scriptures; he inclines the will and the affections to receive them in the love of the truth, and he influences the whole man to submit to live under the obedience of faith. Whatever strength, victory, comfort, or blessing of any kind he bestows, it comes by obeying the truth through the Spirit. So that thou canst not go on in thy walk with God but by constant and believing use of the Scriptures. They should be thy study night and day, heard and read carefully, mixed with faith, treasured up in thy memory, received into thy heart, and brought into thy life, and all by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, in order to thine enjoyment of the promised blessings of the Father's love through the Son's salvation. Thus the word will be the means of thy maintaining fellowship with the blessed Trinity. By mixing faith with it, thou wilt be constantly receiving from them covenant mercies; and so thou wilt go forward. Thy steps will be ordered aright according to the word, and thy way will be prosperous.
Consider then, O my soul, whether thou art making this use of the Scriptures. Dost thou find the means of thy growth in divine knowledge, in faith and love? Do they really promote thy communion with God, and, on that account, are they daily more thy study and thy delight? Never think of hearing or reading them without praying for the teaching of the Holy Spirit, that they may be the means of keeping up fellowship with thy Father in Jesus. For this end they were revealed, and if this end be not answered, they profit thee nothing. Make it then thy constant practice–before hearing, to pray for a spiritual appetite, that, as new-born babes desire milk, so thou mayest hunger and thirst for the good word of life–in hearing, beg of God, that thou mayest feed upon the word and digest it, and thine inward man may be nourished up in the words of faith, and of good doctrine–after hearing, pray for a sanctified memory to treasure up for use, what thou hast learnt, that, as occasion shall serve, it may be realized, and brought into practice, thy life and conversation being cast into the mould of the word. With the same dependence on thy divine teacher, read as well as hear the Scriptures. Meditate on them. Converse about them, expecting to find them able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus, and as thy. faith in him increases, able to bring in richer experience of thy Father's love in him.
How sweet is prayer, how delightful is praise, how blessed is hearing anti reading the word, when these are the means of meeting and conversing with God! His presence puts the highest honour upon them, and exalts duty into a royal privilege; for he is present as a Father with his children. O what a dignity is it to have God for our Father! What a happiness to have free fellowship with him in this dearest relation! In thy daily hearing and reading his word, observe, O my soul, what is spoken of this holy fellowship, and seek to maintain it, and to improve it in every appointed way, particularly in keeping the command of thy dying friend:
Do this in remembrance of me. When his disciples meet together for this purpose, then place the whole dependence of thy heart upon thy crucified Saviour. Considering the infinite and everlasting efficacy of the sacrifice of his body and soul to take away sin, draw near in faith to feast upon it, for his flesh is meat indeed, and is blood is drink indeed. Look well to the end of the institution. It was not only to remind thee of, but also to convey to thee, all the blessings of that one offering, which perfects for ever. It was to teach thee, that thy spiritual life, and every grace and comfort of it, are as dependent upon Christ crucified, as the life of thy body is upon the meat and drink of this world. Thy life comes from his death. Thy life is nourished by feeding upon Christ thy passover, who was sacrificed for thee. He intended by the bread to point out unto thee his body, and by the wine his blood–by eating and drinking them, thy taking and living upon him–by thy bodily support received from them, the nourishment of thy soul, by eating his flesh, and drinking his blood. He would have thee to look through the signs to the things signified. Thou art not to rest in the outward act, but to rest in the promise in the word of God. Thy faith is not to be exercised about the Lord's supper as a duty; but it is to be exercised upon his word; and what he has therein promised to make it, that thou art to expect in taking it. He appointed it to be the means of communicating with him, and of thy enjoying fellowship with him in his sufferings.
It is a spiritual believing act, in which thou art invited to partake of the paschal lamb. It is the Lord's passover, and will certainty answer every purpose for which he instituted it. He appointed it to be the means of safety from the destroyer, of deliverance from bondage, of free and full forgiveness of all sins, of a happy passage through the Red Sea, and of the everlasting possession of the promised inheritance. For these gracious purposes the Father's love gave his Son to be a lamb slain, and then a lamb feasted on; and the Holy Spirit makes it a feast indeed. It is to the believing receiver spiritually, whatever the passover was to the Jews on their coming out of Egypt. It is a communion with the blessed Trinity–with the Father, for providing such a banquet of love–with the Son, for giving himself to be a lamb slain, and to be a spiritual repast to his people in earth and in heaven–with the Holy Spirit, for rendering the bread which is broken the communion of the body of Christ, and the cup of blessing the communion of the blood of Christ. Communion signifies union with–the believer united to Christ–one with Christ–a member in his body, lives in him, and on him, has communications of life, nourishment, strength, comfort; &c., as the members have from their union with the head. He has a real inward fellowship with Jesus, in his cross and passion, in his resurrection and ascension, in his intercession, and sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He communicates now with Jesus in all the blessings of his Father's love, and will communicate with him in all his Father's glory.
O what a privilege is the Lord's Supper, when it is thus the means of communion with the Son, and with his Father through the Spirit! What an honour is it to be admitted to a feast instituted by the Lamb of God, and for the enjoyment of the love of God! What a blessing is it to sit down now to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and to partake by faith of its spiritual realities and delights! There is nothing beyond this upon earth, and it has sometimes been to the believing receiver a foretaste of heaven. Yes, Messed be God, it has been, even to thee, O my soul, unworthy as thou art of 9ne crumb from the master's table, a feast of fat things, of wines kept, even of fat things, full of marrow, of wines kept and well refined. And when thou hast not been so highly feasted, yet thou hast enjoyed solid communion, Partaking of the bread and wine according to the Lord's institution, and depending on the Lord's promise, thou hast been fed and nourished at his table. The virtue of the Spirit has been put forth in thy heart, and thou hast as truly by faith eat the flesh and drunk the blood of the Son of man as thou didst eat the bread and drink the wine. It was, strictly speaking, a communion: being united to Christ, thou wast a partaker of Christ, and hadst fellowship with him in his life and death. O pray for more of this; beg of the Holy Spirit to increase thy communion with Jesus, that thou mayest live more in him and on him, and thereby enjoy more of the love of thy heavenly Father. Plead his promise, and expect the fulfilling of it: "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, mid I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even ho shall live by me." (John vi. 56, 57.)
Viewing the duties of the first table in this light, how exalted are they, and spiritual! What a glory does it put upon them, that the believer has fellowship with the eternal Three, and in prayer and praise, in hearing and reading the word, and at the Lord's Supper he enjoys their covenant mercies, partaking of them now as really by faith, as ever he will by sense in heaven! The law written and engraven in stones was glorious, but the law thus written upon his heart excelleth in glory. The two first tables of stone were broken, the other two are lost: but no time shall deface the writing of the Holy Spirit. The new heart turned in love to God, shall keep his impression for ever. Faith should rest securely upon this, because he has undertaken to abide for ever with his own people, that the purposes of the Father's love and the blessings of the Son's salvation may be always enjoyed by them. In remembrance of this great truth, they keep the LORD'S-DAY. They rest on it from labour, declaring thereby their belief of the rest which the eternal Three have provided in Jesus–a rest in their souls–given without their labour and pains–secured to them by coven, ant–kept for them by almighty power–a Sabbath remaining for the people of God, into which they shall as certainly enter as Jesus their forerunner has entered. Sabbath signifies a day of rest. It was set apart in memory of God's finishing the works of the first creation; and is observed now in memory of his finishing the works of the new creation. The end for which the world was made will be answered soon, and then it, and all the works therein, shall be burnt up, and the place of them found no more; but the glorious work of the God-man shall endure for ever. In honour of this greatest work of God we keep the Lord's-day. It is his Sabbath–a day eternally famous for his finishing the work of salvation, and entering into his rest. "And we who have believed," says the apostle, "do enter into rest." We do enter into it now by faith, and we share with him in his Sabbath. The atonement which he made, the righteousness which he wrought out, the victory which he obtained, the works which he perfected for ever, and the glory which he now inherits, we enjoy at present by believing, and enter upon the possession of them. According to our faith, such is our rest. He that believes without doubt or wavering in the finished salvation of Jesus, he will have the peace of God ruling in his conscience, he will experience the perfect love of God to him, which will make him rest in his love to God, and then he will delight himself in the ways of God. This is the Christian Sabbath. It consists in resting upon Jesus, and in depending upon his having finished the works of redemption, and then in living upon them for our souls, as much as we do upon the works of creation foe our bodies.
Sweet is the day of rest, spent in this holy employment. Happy time! set apart for spiritual intercourse with God, and consecrated for keeping up fellowship with him in his fatherly love in Jesus, and for receiving from him communications of his graces and blessings. Thrice happy day! in which this fellowship is kept up; and these graces and blessings are enjoyed. By this heavenly converse the inward man is renewed with growing strength: his faculties are enlarged, and their happiness is increased. By which means he comes nearer to the spiritual rest of the heavenly Sabbath. He calls it his delight, holy of the Lord, honourable; because the end of its institution is answered to him, and he has on it happy communion with his God. When he draws near to God in his appointed ways, he finds God in them, and experiences his loving-kindness, which is better than life itself.
Blessed is the man who is thus highly favoured, He enters within the veil into the holiest by the blood Of Jesus, and ands a most loving Father upon a throne of grace. In every service on the Lord's-day, he seeks a more intimate acquaintance and more spiritual fellowship with him. His very heart is engaged in this work. His soul thirsteth, and his very flesh longeth to meet God, as he has met him in the sanctuary. Therein he has found communications of grace, which have rendered the ordinances delightful indeed, He rejoices in hopes of meeting God, and of drawing near to him in prayer, of praising him still more and more for his abundant mercies; of hearing the reviving sound of gospel grace, and of everlasting love; and of receiving it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of God; and of sitting down to the banquet of heaven in communion with Christ crucified, through him partaking of the Father's love by the Spirit's influence. Blessed is he of the Lord, who is thus spiritual in sabbath duties. By keeping up constant communion with God in them his blessedness is increasing. He is already in possession of the same things which his elder brethren are enjoying in heaven: and he will become more heavenly-minded, while he maintains daily fellowship with the eternal Three in their covenant offices and blessings.
Consider, O my soul, that these privileges are thine. Look well to thy improvement of them. Remember, thou art already, by believing, entered into rest. Thy sabbath is begun–a day, whose sun shall never set–whose glory shall shine brighter for evermore. May thine enjoyment of this rest, which is so glorious, be growing, until thou attain to the eternal Sabbath. O pray thy Lord to lift up the light of his countenance upon thee, to vouchsafe thee more of the love of his heart, and more of the bounty of his hand, more communion with him, and more communications from him, that thou mayest be growing up into Jesus in all things and be ready whenever he calls thee, to enter in with him into his perfect rest.
Thus the first table duties are kept. By the teaching of the Holy Spirit, they became gospel privileges. When he makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus, then we take the Three in Jehovah to be our God. We know our Father in Christ, believe in him and love him. We will have no other gods but him. We give his honour to none, his name to none, our time and heart-service to none, but him. His love made known to us, engages our affections, and puts us upon seeking fellowship with him in all appointed ways. Yea, the more we know of his perfect love to us, the more we are disposed to love him, and to witness it in everything we do. It becomes our study to walk before him in all well-pleasing: for we find it our happiness. Whether we eat or drink, rise up or He down to rest, follow our worldly calling or have any dealings with men, we endeavour to do all in faith. This makes the common things of life spiritual actions: because in them we maintain intercourse with God. This is, indeed, the heavenly temper of the children of the Most High. They seek the presence, and the blessings of their Father in Jesus, m all they do. They are taught to live in a simple dependence upon him. They acknowledge this dependence by looking up to him for everything needful, and having received it by giving him all his glory. Then they are returned in heart and life to that God, from whom they had departed by unbelief. Most blessed return! For now the old sinful nature with its affections and lusts is pardoned, and thereby they have lost their dominion. They have no right to exercise their tyranny any longer. The base, selfish tempers, which rendered a man a plague to others, and often a burden to himself, are dethroned. The pardoning them is subduing them. These always go together. They kept the understanding in darkness, but now it is light in the Lord. They blinded the conscience and made it insensible, but new it has seen its guilt, and has found peace with God. The heart was engaged in their service, but now God has set up his throne in it, and sweetly rules over the affections. Thus a free pardon brings a man into liberty. He ceases to be a slave to his selfish tempers. A full pardon bring victory over them: for then he has the blood of Jesus to cleanse him from all sin, and the Spirit of Jesus to subdue all sin. He is taken into the protection of Christ, and is his free man. None shall make him a slave. The Spirit of Christ rules in him, and makes him willing to live under the reign of grace: He dwells and abides with him, to preserve in his heart the love of God, and to produce in it the proper fruits of that love towards men. Thus he brings the sinner to love the
DUTIES OF THE SECOND TABLE, which our Lord has summed up in one sentence–" Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." This love was lost at the fail. Nothing is in mankind, by nature, but selfishness. He is a slave to divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Every age has felt this malady, and complained of it; but no human means have been able to remedy it. Fine systems of ethics and beautiful plans of natural religion have been tried: the aid of strong reasoning, assisted with the forces, of logic and mataphysics, has been called in, but all in vain. Selfish tempers broke through their cobweb arguments, and sported with their imaginary bonds. Sometimes they polished the outside a little, and made man a courtier: he looked, and smiled, and seemed to love; but they did not reach his heart. This is the prerogative of the Lord God. He only, who made us creatures, can make us new creatures. And until we are new born of God, we have everything in us opposite to brotherly love. But when we are born of the Spirit, then we are taught of him to love one another. He teaches it, and he enforces it. His lessons are entirely practical. He not only informs the understanding, but also influences the affections.
Having disposed and enabled the heart to love God, he evidences the power of this divine love by its genuine fruits towards men. These are inseparable from their cause. Divine love is never without brotherly love: for so far as the love of God is felt, it produces loving tempers; it opens and enlarges the heart, as the warm beams of the sun open and expand the flowers. The agency, which performs this, is almighty. The Holy Spirit having begotten the new nature, writes upon it the law of love. He keeps it willing to resist, and makes it able to overcome, the selfish tempers of the old man. The apostle Peter has given ns a delightful description of the manner of the divine proceeding herein (1 Pet. i. 21-23):–"Christ was manifest in those last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might, be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls m obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
The Christians to whom he writes were partakers of the new birth, they were born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. The Holy Spirit was the author of their regeneration. The word of truth was the means which he made use of, they obeyed the truth through the Spirit. By believing it, they were begotten again to a lively faith and hope in God. They evidenced their love to him by their unfeigned love of the brethren: they loved him that begat, and loved those also that were begotten of him From whence it appears, that the love of the brethren is not in the heart by nature, but is from the grace of the Holy Spirit. He gives a new heart and he sheds abroad in it the love of God, which by his influence works mightily in opposing and overcoming our selfish tempers, and in establishing the practice of second-table duties. These spring from divine love. The Holy Spirit joins them together as the cause and the effect. He teaches no man to love God without teaching him also to love the brethren. He rains and shines upon the tree of love: under his cultivation it thrives. He brings forth the sweet and loving tempers of the new man, and they bear fruit abundantly.
And blessed fruit it is, for God has great glory from it, and men much good. Love thinketh, speaketh, and doeth no evil. Yea, it cannot be in the heart, without a desire to do good to all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith–to do good to their bodies and souls–to give honour to whom honour is due–to preserve their lives–their property–their chastity–their good name–to bear no false witness, bug always to speak the truth of them–and to covet none of their blessings, either spiritual or temporal. This is morality–Christian morality–for it is learnt nowhere but in the school of Christ. What his Spirit teaches, he enables also to perform, which moral persuasion cannot, He gives a will and a power to put off the selfish tempers of the old man, and to put on the loving graces of the new man. These graces he preserves by his almighty agency, and calls them into daily practice, through faith working by love–love to God from a sense of his infinite good-ness–and love to man for God's sake. Thus the second table duties, when done out of gratitude to God for his infinite mercies, help the believer on in his walk heavenwards, and are the means of maintaining constant fellowship with his God.
Is this, O my soul, thy happy experience? Examine carefully. What are thy tempers? 'What is thy practice, with respect to loving thy neighbour as thyself? There is great complaint in the world of the want of brotherly love. And no wonder. It cannot be in them who are wholly lovers of themselves. But may not the same complaint be taken up of the household and family of faith? Are not the children of the same Father deficient in brotherly love? Yes, they are. Too, too often they live below their privilege, and thereby bring great dishonour upon God, and give great offence to men. Be humbled, O my soul, for thine own failing. Remember what reason thou hast to mourn for the infirmities of thy love–how barren it is in its proper fruits–how cold, when it should be fervent–how polluted, when it should be pure–how covetous, when it should be liberal. Hast thou duly attended to the cause of this, and does it grieve thee to thy heart? Wouldst thou be saved from self-love, and increase in brotherly love yet more anti more? Since this is thy case, meditate carefully upon what is promised, and pray earnestly for what is provided for the subduing of those tempers which are enemies to brotherly love, and which, if not subdued, will hinder thee from enjoying the love of God in thy walk with him.
First,–Consider thy state. Thou art a pardoned sinner, not under the law, but under grace–freely, fully saved from the guilt of all thy sins. There is none to condemn, God having justified thee. He sees thee in his Son, washed in his blood, clothed in his righteousness, and he embraces him and thee, the head and the members, with the same affection.
Secondly,–Consider what is promised to them who are in Christ. Sin shall not have dominion over them. Pardoned sin shall not reign. It cannot; for it is dethroned. Thou art therefore free from its bondage. Stand fast in this liberty. Now the condemning power of sin is taken out of thy conscience, make use of the grace provided in Jesus to deliver thine heart from the love of it, and thy conversation from the slavish service of it. And remember this grace is almighty. Trust in it, and thou shalt be saved from the tyranny of every sin. Therefore, Thirdly,–Read the great charter of grace, and mark to what glorious privileges thou art entitled. Being saved from the guilt of all sin, and having a promise of being saved from the dominion of all sin, as the Lord's free man thou art by faith to claim thy birthright and to enjoy it. Since Christ has given thee liberty, to whom shouldst thou be a slave? Put off, therefore, the old man with his lusts and deeds; serve him no longer, it is a blessed part of redemption to be saved from his service. God be thanked, that he may be put off, as a garment, which you have done with, and will put on no more. Away with it, it is filthy and abominable, altogether. Yea, worse still: the plague is in it. Death and hell are in it, for the old man, sinful nature, thus to be put off, is a body of sin, and selfish tempers are his members; such as anger, wrath, malice, lies, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which, is idolatry. These must be put off, or they will be always plotting and acting against brotherly love. Therefore the new man, renewed in the spirit of his mind, opposes them, and is mighty through God to mortify them. By the same power he puts on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forgiveness of injuries, even as Christ forgave him, so he forgives: and unto all these graces he puts on love, which is the complete binding et' them together.
What an amiable character is here of the new man! He is created anew in Christ Jesus, that he may exercise every kind and benevolent temper to the brethren. He is renewed in his heart to the unfeigned love of them; and is enabled to manifest it by every work and labour of love,. And lest the vile tempers of the old man, still in being, although dethroned, should get dominion again, he is strengthened mightily by the Spirit in the inner man to crucify them day by day. Since this is hard work, consisting in continual and severe self-denial, no less than in cutting off right hand, and in plucking out right eye, lusts; for thine encouragement to persevere, consider,–
Fourthly,–That thou art in Christ–a member in his body–and in him thou hast perfect and eternal redemption from the old man of sin with his affections and lusts. The more tiffs is believed, the more will the fruits of it appear. Faith in the absolute and everlasting victory of thy glorified head will animate thee as one of his members to resist thy vanquished foes, knowing thou art a partaker of his victory, and in his strength, and to his glory, thou art fighting against them. In him thou hast already conquered. In him thou shalt be more than a conqueror. Reckon thyself, therefore, to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ thy Lord. And depend on him for the power of his death, that he may put it forth in thee, and mortify sin, and for the power of his resurrection to quicken thee to newness of life. Thy communion with him in his death and resurrection will be in proportion to thy faith.
If thou believest steadfastly, that thou art one with him, thou wilt find the effect of it in steadfast communion. Cleave then to him, as a branch in the vine. Planted together in the likeness of his death, thou wilt find virtue coming from him to crucify thy selfish tempers. Planted together in the likeness of his resurrection, thou wilt find virtue coming from him to keep time alive to God. To this fellowship with Jesus thou art called. Thou hast a right to communicate with him in his life and death. And whilst thou art enjoying it by the faith of the Son of God, sin shall have no more dominion over thee, than it has over him. This being thy glorious birthright, O my soul, put honour upon it. Enjoy it in the peace of thy conscience, and in the love of thy heart. Read thy perfect redemption in Jesus from everything opposite to brotherly love, and improve this thy experience As there is sufficient grace promised and provided for thee, see thou make use of it, and manifest it openly in thy tempers, and in thy walk! For consider,–
Fifthly,–Thy God and Father calls upon thee to give glory to him for his love to thee by exercising love towards the brethren: and thou art bound to this by ten thousand ties. Has he loved thee freely, dost thou know it, and is the grateful sense of it upon thy heart? How then can it be hid? It cannot; it will manifest itself, as light does. The Father has chosen thee in his Son, that he might communicate to thee of his goodness, and he has made thee a child of light, that thou mightest reflect the rays of his goodness upon others. Thou art to show forth the praises of him that hath called thee out of darkness into his marvellous light, He hath called thee out of the deadness and blindness of thy natural state, and hath enlightened thee with the light of life. How marvellous, that it should ever shine upon thee! Marvellous indeed, that thou shouldst shine, as a light, in the world! Admire this grace. Let others admire it with thee, by seeing the reality, and by feeling the comfort of it.
As the sun not only enlightens, but also enlivens with his fruitful rays the face of the earth, and cheers every creature upon it: so let thy light; shine before melt. Give them clear proof of thy love to God by thy love to them: let them feel the blessed fruits of it, that they may see thy good works, and glorify thy Father who is in heaven. Love in thy heart will show itself. It will communicate its gracious rays, and the Father of lights will have the praise. This should be thine end, as it is his. He aims at his own glory in all his mercies: this aim should be thine also. Thy Father calls upon thee to do good to others, that he may be glorified thereby. O what a high calling is thine! What an honour does God put upon thee. Thou art to bring him glory from men–from his own children: for their bowels are to be refreshed by thee–and from others, that whereas they would speak against thee as an evil-doer, they may by thy good works which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Aim at this. Look at no motive to do good to men below the glory of God. And remember, thy doing it may be the means of his visiting them, as he visited thee, with his great salvation. O blessed fruit of brotherly love; may it be the happy effect of thy light shining before men. May God be daily honoured by it, and the comfort, and, in it please him, the salvation of his people, be thereby promoted. Yea, Lord, this is my prayer. My heart says, Amen.
If thou findest it very difficult to live in the constant practice of brotherly love, meditate, O my soul, upon the gospel motives for an increase of faith, and seek for the promised assistance to enable thee to love others as God hath loved thee. Above all, expect the effectual teaching of the Holy Ghost. He only can write this delightful law upon the heart–the fair impression of it is kept by his power, and the exercise of it in thy tempers and walk, is the work of his grace. O pray then for a constant supply of the Spirit, that in all thy dealings with mankind it may appear thou hast been with Jesus. Set his most amiable life before their eyes. Give them reason to honour his beneficence, from thy copying it legibly after him. Let his love to thee be glorified from thy labour of love to them. Study to show forth his praises, and go about doing good as he did. And hereby convince the world, that Jesus Christ was the greatest moralist, and that his disciples come the nearest to the perfect pattern of their master; as a poet of our own observes–
The love of Jesus teaches and enforces the love of the brethren. The Spirit of Jesus writes it upon the heart, and makes it practical in the life. And thus the two tables are joined together: and love to him that begat produces love to them that are begotten of him. When the happy believer is walking in this love to his Father, and to his family, then He will live in the observance of the duties which relate to himself: for he was taught them, when He returned in his heart to God. And every step he walks with God is in the practice of them. The first temptation was an offer of independence–"Ye shall be as gods"–man was drawn away by it, and fell from his high estate. Still this mother sin is fruitful in fallen man. In great mercy there is a pardon provided, and in the way of receiving the pardon, there is a remedy for it. The infinite wisdom of God so contrived the way of our recovery, that without Christ we can do nothing. His salvation undertaken and finished for us, his salvation applied to us, the blessings of his salvation enjoyed by us in time, and in eternity, are the free gifts of his free grace. He is the author, He is the finisher. He carries it on from first to last. All our sufficiency is of him. We cannot, without him, so much as think a good thought. Therefore his redeemed people are brought off from all trust in any other object, and are taught to place their whole dependence for salvation, and for everything that accompanies it, upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
To this end the Holy Spirit, the great convincer of sin, had made them acquainted with themselves. He had awakened them to a right knowledge of their state, of which they had not been sensible before; and they found that they were fallen and apostate creatures. He showed them sin in its exceeding sinfulness, and they tasted some of the bitter fruits of it; they felt in what a dreadful condition their departure from God bad left them–so ignorant that they could not by any human means attain to the least saving knowledge of God–so guilty, that let them do all they could, still the condemning sentence of the law stood out against them–so unholy, that soul and body were sold under sin, and ready to every unholy word and work–so utterly helpless, that it was impossible they should of themselves attain true happiness, or escape deserved misery. The Holy Spirit taught them these lessons practically, His conviction carried demonstration with it. He not only made them feel their guilt and their danger; but he also opened a way for pardon and safety. He led them to Jesus, and in him they found everything needful for their salvation–treasured up for them by the free covenant love of the Father–secured to them by the fulfilling of all covenant conditions in the life and death of the God-man–and received by the faith of the operation of the Holy Ghost: by whom they were made new creatures in Christ Jesus–members under him, their head–united as intimately as the branches are to the vine–and living by, and in, and on him, every moment and for everything. Thus the glorifier of Jesus teaches all his members to depend upon the fulness of their head, and he abides with them in order to keep them in this dependence. He testifies to them of Jesus–"He is your whole salvation, your all in all; you have not, you never will have, any-thing to glory in, but in the Lord–whatever good you receive, comes from his grace–whatever evil you escape, is from his blessing–and if ever you have eternal life, it will be the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. Your bodies also are dependent on him, as well as your souls; personal, family, national mercies are his royal favours, and bestowed out of his sovereign bounty." Thus he teaches believers. He humbles them, that they may exalt the Saviour. He makes them poor in spirit, that they may live upon his riches. He keeps them sensible of their own emptiness, that they may be making constant use of the Saviour's fulness, and living in an absolute dependence upon him for everything. While they live thus by the faith of the Son of God, every high thought is brought into subjection, to him. Pride is daily mortified: self complacency is abhorred: self-admiration is abominable: humility is become their clothing, and they cannot put it off; because every moment they are making use of it. Sins, wants, miseries, temptations, &c., are continually reminding them of their vileness, and of God's goodness. And this truth enforced by the Holy Spirit, makes them willing to learn of Jesus to be meek and lowly. They become teachable scholars, and sit very low at his feet, where they attain to true humility of heart. And this influences their whole behavior. In a deep and abiding sense of their entire sinfulness and helplessness, they loathe themselves before God, and walk humbly before men. They feel they are of themselves nothing but sin, and if left to themselves can be nothing but misery; therefore they put their whole trust and confidence in a covenant God, and his free grace has from them all its glory. What is thy knowledge, O my soul, and what is thine experience of this Christian poverty of spirit? Art thou acquainted with it in the ground of thine heart, and is it in thy daily practice? Examine thyself, and with diligence: for it is a most blessed grace, advanced to high honour in the court of Jesus. To it he has made many exceeding great and precious promises. O pray to him for this royal gift. Wait on thy divine prophet, and hear his lessons, He teaches as man cannot. He recommends, he gives, the grace of humility. He makes his scholars truly humble in heart. Observe his abasing doctrine, and may all within thee bow to the power of it.
Observe, how he humbles the sinner, He convinces him of his sinful state, of the corruption of his whole nature, and of the depravity of every faculty of soul and body. The sinner is made to feel it, and to live under the sense of it. And in order to fasten the conviction, clearer discoveries are daily made of this corruption: for it is a mystery of iniquity. There is no tracing to the bottom its deep-laid devices and never-ceasing workings. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? There is not a man upon earth who knows all that may be known of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of his own sinfulness. When the Lord, who searcheth the heart, has laid open some of its infinite evil, he continues to discover more. Every day brings to light strange workings of corruption. The convinced sinner has deeper views of his helplessness, and of his unworthiness. And after many vain legal trials, he at last finds it impossible for him to do anything for which God should pardon him and save him. Thus he is laid low with his mouth in the dust. Behold, I am vile, filthy, and abominable altogether; I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
These are the humbling lessons which the Holy Spirit teaches. He convinces the sinner, that there is neither help nor hope in himself, and so leaves him nothing to trust in, but the salvation provided in Jesus by covenant love, and given freely by grace. And the manner of receiving this salvation is such as cuts off all occasion of boasting: for faith is the only means appointed of God–and faith is his gift–not bestowed upon the worthy, but upon the ungodly–not for any merit in them, or for any terms or conditions which they have performed, or ever will perform, but by au act of absolute sovereignty, to the praise of the glory of his own grace, He will have mercy because he will have mercy. O humbling consideration! How low does it bring the sinner! How must his proud heart be abased, while he feels himself a debtor for everything good to the mere will and pleasure of God! And so long as he enjoys those good things, he is kept poor in spirit, because he has none of them in himself. They are laid up in the fulness of Jesus, are to be had from thence only by faith, and are received as the sense of his wants leads the believer to make use of them. Living by faith is the death of self-importance. Then the loftiness of man is bowed down, the haughtiness of man is made low, and the Lord alone is exalted.
Observe, O my soul, what an honour God has put upon this grace. "Before honour is humility." Whom God honours he humbles first. He giveth grace to the humble; because the humble give him all his glory. The highest throne which he has upon earth is in the humblest heart. To it he vouchsafes his constant presence, and makes the greatest communications of his love: "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." O what an honour is here promised to the humble! The greatest they can have on this side of heaven. God will dwell with them; and what a blessing! and his temple shall be in the humble heart. The high and holy One passes by what is in highest esteem among men. He disdains the pride of human greatness and goodness. He does not vouchsafe to set up his throne with the princes, nor to give his honour to the learned of the world. But he puts honour upon the contrite and humble. He condescends to visit them; yea, he delights to dwell with them, and in them–the highest above all heavens in the lowest hearts. There he communicates his choicest love and richest favours. O my God! bestow upon me this grace, which in thy sight is so precious. Humble me, that I may be revived with thy presence, and refreshed daily with thy love. Give me more humility, and fit me for nearer fellowship with thee. Bring down every high thought, and let me find it true, that God resisteth the proud but giveth more grace unto the humble.
Thus the true poverty of spirit is needful, not only to bring the sinner to Christ, but also to preserve the believer in communion with him: for so long as he walks by faith, everything will tend to promote this communion. In the daily sense of his wants, he will go to his bountiful Saviour for a supply. In the feeling of his misery, he will depend on his loving Saviour for relief: whereby he will be led to more intercourse with him. What he finds wrong in himself, will bring him to live more by faith, and as faith increases, so will his delight in God. He will grow more sensible of his weakness, and that will make him stronger in the Lord. He will know more of his own heart, which will humble him and keep him dependent on the grace of Jesus. He will see reason not to lean to his own understanding, but ever to pray–Lord guide me by thy good Spirit. Viewing spots and blemishes in his best doings, his triumph will be, "I will make mention of thy righteousness, Lord Jesus, even of thine ONLY."
Thus everything will humble him, and lead him to live more by faith; by which means he will get faster hold of Jesus, live in nearer fellowship, and be receiving out; of his fulness grace for grace–two graces at once–the blessing needed–and thankfulness for it. Hereby a sweet intercourse will be kept open. To the humble God delights to give grace, and they delight to return him his glory. The more he gives, the more glory would they gladly return. And he does give more, and he receives it back again in thanks and praise. Blessed grace! by which this holy fellowship is maintained. Happy humility! by which the heart, being emptied of self, is made capable of receiving the fulness which is of God. Then is the promise fulfilled–"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"–it is theirs now–not only in title, but also in possession, for the kingdom of God is within them; and they are partakers at present of its blessings and glories, as truly, though not so perfectly, as they will be in heaven.
Meditate, O my soul! upon this divine grace. Thou seest the necessity of it. O pray earnestly for it, and for more of it. The great idol SELF must be dethroned, where God reigns. Thou canst not walk with him, unless thou art; humble in heart. And if thou hast been walking with him, thou wilt be taught to stop, whenever thou beginnest; to look at thyself with admiration. O beg of the Lord then to give thee the true gospel poverty of spirit. It is to be in constant practice, and used for everything: for thou seest how it keeps up fellowship with God, who makes the greatest communications of himself to the humblest.
And the reason is plain: because they return him all his glory. If, therefore, thou wouldst have much grace in exercise, pray for much humility. O my God, whatever thou givest, give humility with it, that I may not seek self in it, but thine honour, nor lay it out upon myself, but to thy glory. Meek and lowly Jesus, make mo like thyself: keep me learning of thee, till I am perfectly like thee. I would come always poor to thee, to receive of thy riches, and to receive with them an humble heart to praise thee for them. O let thy glory be mine end and aim. Let me and mine be thine–I humbled–thou exalted. Let thy graces and gifts bring thee in a constant revenue of praise. And may thine increasing goodness be joined with a constant increase of humility, that my heart and all within me may bless and praise thy holy name, to-day and for ever. Amen. And
Let this appear in my whole behaviour to others. This is another blessed fruit or humility. It has an influence over the believer's intercourse with mankind, and renders his tempers and manners loving and amiable. Pride was not made for man; and yet it is in all men, and is the chief parent of human woe. It sets people above their place, and makes them think that they could support the greatest; fortunes, and are able to manage the most difficult affairs. Others, as proud as they, deny them their fancied superiority. Hence come wars and rightings, public and private. The sweet grace of humility is sent from Heaven to relieve those distresses: for into whatever bosom it enters, it renders men kind to one another, tender-hearted, ready to every good word and work. Thus runs the divine exhortation: "Be ye kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another."
This is heart-humility, which the Holy Spirit requires, and which he bestows. He brings his disciples into humble subjection to God, and then to one another: which has the most happy effects upon public, social, and private happiness, How would these flourish if all men were of a meek and quiet spirit! But there is none of this among the unconverted; and, alas! how little is there among believers! How often are they found in the proud spirit of the world, acting contrary to the lowly spirit of Jesus! And yet it is not for want of precept, nor for want of promised help; but it is because they are not walking by faith, as becometh the gospel, nor out of love to God's glory studying to recommend humility by their practice.
Observe, O my soul, the remedy provided of God for the subduing of all selfish tempers, and pray that it may be effectual in thy life and conversation. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But God giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." This Scripture cannot speak in vain, for fallen man is certainly such as he is here described. The spirit that dwelleth in him, in his own nature, lusteth to envy–a passion made up of pride and discontent–offended with God, and displeased with the blessings which he bestows upon men. It is an enemy to the love both of God and man, and transgresses the law of both tables. Pride brought it into heaven, and the fallen angels brought it into this world. Ever since it entered by sin, natural corruption breaks out very much in envy. But God giveth more grace to conquer thru passion than sinful nature has to put it forth, he not only gives grace to pardon it, but also more grace to subdue it: so that envy loses its dominion in the reign of grace. We cannot subdue, any more than we can pardon, envy, pride, and such passions; but grace is almighty. Want ever so much, use ever so much, God has still more for you. And he gives more when the creature is humbled enough to take it out of the hands of his mercy.
Thus he overcomes envy, "for he resisteth the proud;" he is at open war with them, and they with him. Pride lifts up the creature against the Creator, and puts it upon seeking happiness out of God: this is resisting his sovereignty, attacking his providence, and opposing his law. He is concerned to pull such rebels down, and he says their pride goeth before destruction: "but he giveth grace unto the humble; "he gives them grace to humble them, and, being emptied, He delights to fill them for then they are disposed to receive his grace, and to value it. Whatever God gives, the humble give it back again to him. They have the blessing, he has the praise: which is the just tribute due to him for his gifts. And he gives more grace where he can get more glory. Thus He subdues self-conceit with its various proud workings. And as grace reigns over them, humility prevails, which has a friendly aspect towards mankind. It keeps brotherly love in the heart, and tends mightily to the practice of every social virtue, Humility suffereth long and is kind; humility envieth not; humility vaunteth not itself–is not puffed up–doth not behave itself unseemly–seeketh not her own–is not easily provoked–thinketh no evil.
Consider, O my soul, those motives to a holy walk. Put them all together. Weigh them carefully again and again. Do it faithfully, as in the presence of God. And then try whether thou art walking in the way of duty with a free spirit! Dost thou proceed upon evangelical or upon legal principles? Dost thou serve God for wages or for love? Examine thy heart. God looks chiefly at it. How is it in duty? Is thine obedience to justify thee in the least, or does it spring from a sense of thy being justified freely and fully? Art thou going about to establish thine own righteousness, or dost thou submit to the righteousness of God? Art thou working from life, or for life? I require thee to examine diligently, by the light of the word, and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, what thy motives are; for there is no acceptable obedience but what is done in faith: what-soever is not of faith is sin. If thou art acting aright, the love of Christ is constraining thee to obedience. Thou art living under the influence of free grace. Thy con-science is at peace; with God. Thou hast sweet liberty to serve him without that. Thy heart delights in his service, and love makes his ways the joy of thy soul. Thou knowest what Jacob felt when he served seven years for Rachael, and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. A gospel spirit does the same to God–love makes long service short, and hard service easy. Nothing is pain which love does. And this is gospel obedience. It is faith working by love, which relines duty into a grace; the commandments are exalted into privileges; the ordinances become happy means of fellowship with God. The believer meets God in them, and by free converse he exercises and improves his love. He draws near to God, and God draws near to him in prayer, in praise, in hearing the word, at the Lord's supper, and in all Sabbath duties!
In these ways God manifests his gracious presence, and the believer rejoices in it. God communicates his graces, and the believer receives them with thankfulness. O my soul, pray before duty for much of this communion with God in it. Seek it as the one great end of all duty. And if thou findest it, bless and praise the goodness of thy God. But still seek to be more spiritual and evangelical, that the fruits of thy fellowship with God may appear in thy practice of the duties of the second table. Love to God will manifest itself by love to men: for the Holy Spirit teaches all his disciples to love one another, and he teaches effectually, He not only makes them understand what brotherly love is, but he also gives it. They become partakers of the grace, and are enabled to practise it. Thus he recommends and enforces his lessons, He renders his scholars kind to one another, and tenderhearted, He puts forth his mighty power, and subdues the vile selfish tempers of the old man, and brings into use the benevolent tempers of the new man. While he carries on the gracious work, his disciples grow more acquainted with themselves, and learn heart-humility. He makes them feel their fallen state, their sinfulness, and their danger; in the sense of their guilt, and of their distance from God, they are willing to receive Christ for their whole salvation, and then to enjoy in him all the blessings of the Father's love in earth and heaven.
If thou findest it difficult, O my soul, to walk according to this rule: if to obey from love to God, to love men for God's sake, and in the sense of thine own vileness to be humbled to the dust–if these be hard lessons, consider what makes them so. Where is the difficulty? Is it not in thyself? And is it not chiefly in thy not using and not bringing into practice the principles advanced in the former chapters? Duty must be hard if the spring of obedience be not in motion: but if this act freely, then all will go on well.
Thy whole conduct through life depends upon the nature of the salvation of which thou art a partaker by grace. Consider it attentively. The growing knowledge of it will engage thine affections to a willing obedience. Is it not a complete salvation, an absolutely perfect work–yea, the greatest work of God?–because all the rest come from it, and lead to it. Is it not the infinitely wise contrivance of the eternal Three, for which everlasting glory is to be given to every divine attribute? When every other work of God shall cease, for this all heaven will to eternity be ascribing honour, and blessing, and praise, to Father, Son, and Spirit. Attend, O my soul, to the Scripture account of this salvation. Review the glory of it. Read again and again the revealed descriptions of it, till thy heart be satisfied that this salvation is as perfect mid complete as the Lord God Almighty could make it. This is its character. Hast thou studied it well, and art thou well grounded and established in the belief of it? Mind, this is the foundation. If this totter, so will all the superstructure. O pray, then, and be earnest in prayer, that God would enlarge thy views of the infinitely glorious and everlastingly perfect salvation which is in Christ Jesus.
As thou growest more acquainted with it, thou wilt see less reason to be discouraged at the experience of what thou art in thyself. It is a salvation for sinners, such as thou art, and no way differing from thee. Only when they are called to the knowledge of the truth, they are acquainted with their fallen state, are made sensible of their helplessness and of their misery, but are made willing to cast their souls, at God's command, upon the Lord Jesus, trusting to the peace which he made by the blood of the cross. And art not thou in the happy number of these redeemed sinners? Dost not thou believe the record which God hath given of his Son, and look upon it as thy lawful warrant?–to make use of what is laid up in the fulness of Jesus–thine to take freely–thine to use fully, the more the better–thine for receiving, without any condition or any qualification? He loves to give, and without money or money's worth. He thinks himself honoured by the pensioners of his grace, who bring nothing to recommend themselves but their sins and miseries, and yet trust in his promised relief. Herein he glories. When they come to him believing, he bestows his royal gifts upon every one of them: and so far as they believe, He withholds nothing that is needful for their holy walk in the way of duty.
These are the principles which thou art to bring into practice. Carry them, O my soul, into every act of obedience. Go to prayer and every duty with this faith, that thou art in Christ, and in him a partaker of his finished salvation: then the Father's love to thee will be manifest, and thou wilt have sweet fellowship with him in all thine approaches to the throne. Whatever thou undertakest, forget not this leading truth. If thou lose sight of it, thou wilt get into darkness; if thou art not influenced by it, thou wilt be brought into bondage. Upon this absolutely perfect salvation thou art to live by faith upon earth, and thou wilt have nothing else to live upon by sense in heaven. Trusting to the complete work of Jesus, thou art to walk with thy God in time as thou wilt follow the Lamb in eternity, receiving all out of his fulness. O view him in this light, and it will have the happiest effects upon thy daily walk. While thou art receiving from him grace for grace, thou wilt live with him in sweet friendship; duty will be the way and means of enjoying the love of thy divine friend, and the more thou art in his company the more delightful will be the way of his commandments. These are thy privileges. Read the promises concerning them. Call to mind what thy Father in Jesus has engaged to give his children. Has he not provided grace sufficient for them? And is it not for his honour, as well as thy profit, that he should give both the will and the power to walk humbly with him? O plead his promises. Bind him with his faithfulness. Be importunate with him, and pray without ceasing. Let this be thy daily plea.
O my God! order my walk according to thy holy word. It is thy mind and will that I should love thee with all my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and my neighbour as myself; but I am not sufficient for these things. There is no pure love in my soul by nature. Every affection in me is turned from the Creator to the creature. I am in bondage, a slave to lust, sold under sin. I 'cannot love thee, infinitely lovely as theft art, until thou break my bonds asunder, and set my soul at liberty. But being now redeemed from guilt and fear, I am become thy freeman; and for the unspeakable redemption that is in Jesus, thou wouldst have me to serve thee. Blessed be thy holy name for requiring mine obedience upon this sweet motive–"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage." On this account obey me, because I am the Lord your God, and I stand related to you, as your Redeemer from slavery.
O my gracious God and Father, I desire upon this motive to keep thy commandments. I believe thou art my God in Jesus, and through him I have redemption from bondage to my sins and enemies. With this free spirit would I always go to duty; but I cannot walk in this liberty, any more than I could at first attain it, without thy grace. O my God, let the spirit of adoption abide with me, that he may draw me nearer to thee in thy ways and ordinances, and I may in them enjoy more of thy presence and of the light of thy countenance. Thee I seek in them. Thou art the end of all ways and means; and it they leas me not to thee, I go empty away. Gracious God, make thy commandments the joy of my heart, and let them be the means of keeping up holy intercourse and happy fellowship with thee. This my heart pants after. Duty without this is nothing worth. I wait in thine appointed ways for the visits of thy grace, hoping to grow in knowledge and faith, in hope and love. The communion which I have enjoyed has increased my longing. My soul is athirst for God, praying to be more with thee, and more tike thee. And is not this what thou requirest, and what thou hast pro-raised to do for me? Grant me then, my gracious God, the prayer of my heart. In all my duties let me enjoy thy presence and communications of thy love. Let me do them in faith, and with a single eye to thy glory. Let me be thus spiritual and heavenly-minded in them, that I may grow up into Christ Jesus in all things.
And I desire, holy Father, to grow in love to thee, that I may manifest the fruits of it by my love to mankind. Pardon every selfish temper, which is opposite to the love of the brethren, and teach me to love them as thou hast loved me. Whatever thou hast promised, fulfil in me. Make me, O thou Spirit of love, like the loving Jesus. Give me his benevolent tempers, and help me to imitate his beneficent actions. Let his love to me be the pattern of my love to them. Since thou hast in much mercy made me a child of light, O let me shine before men, that they may see and feel my good works, and may glorify thee for them. And the more thou doest in me, and by me, humble me still more, O my God. Keep me meek and lowly, always ready to give the glory of all my mercies to the Three in Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, to whom be equal honour and praise for ever and ever. Amen.