Part 9

To suffer, therefore, is to triumph; to be distressed, is our glorious privilege; to "be weary and heavy-laden," is the only way to rest and happiness! Sure I am, that there are many here, who can bear witness to this great and awful truth; who can say with the Psalmist, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." My God hath manifested his love in all my sufferings. I should never have come to the knowledge of his Truth; I should never have experienced the Light of his Grace; I should never have overcome the world, abandoned its delusive prospects, and gained a sure and everlasting inheritance; had not my GOD made this very world to frown upon me, had he not beset me with its troubles behind and before, and by making me deeply sensible of its evil, taught me to despise even its good. Thus, and thus alone, "the world is the Christian's," because he knows, that every thing in it, under the administration of his BLESSED REDEEMER, is made subservient to his real happiness, which he is convinced is more effectually promoted by its storms than by its calms, by its frowns than by its smiles.

And if "the world" is thus his, by particular privilege, consequently "the Life" which he lives in it must be so too. The vicissitudes of life arise from the natural instability of worldly enjoyments: but even this instability the believer knows to be under the immediate Guidance of ALMIGHTY LOVE. The real enjoyment of life depends upon the temper and disposition of mind, with which its vicissitudes are received. The Christian, therefore, who knows, that "not an hair of his head can fall to the ground without his Heavenly Father," and whose will is secretly resigned to his Father's, meekly and patiently, daily and hourly giving himself up to his sovereign disposal, he alone can be said to have a true enjoyment of life.--In sickness and in health, in prosperity and in adversity, he alike beholds the hand of his REDEEMER opening to him, by these various dispensations, the way to never-ending rest; unfolding his misery by nature, and his happiness by Grace, and rendering every change of outward life instrumental to some blessed change in the life of his inward and spiritual man.

But he has not only the highest enjoyment of this "world," and of "life" in this world, but what is a still more surprising and more glorious privilege, "death too is his." Not, indeed, in the sense in which it belongs to the wicked and unregenerate, to whom it is solely the consequence of guilt, and the dreadful introduction to misery extreme. No--to the real Christian, it is the consequence of a new life, the completion of happiness, the deliverer from woe, the gate that opens into Paradise, the messenger of REDEEMING LOVE. Death, therefore, is the believer's, because, by the strength of his REDEEMER, he hath been enabled to make him, who was once his enemy, become his reconciled friend.--The King of Terrors hath dropped his envenomed sting; and his dart flies now for no other use, but a kind and friendly one, even to dislodge the heavenly inhabitant from its frail tabernacle of clay, and open the world of light upon its spiritual senses.

But still higher privileges, still higher prospects, open to the Apostle's view. "Things present, and things to come, are yours."--Whatever the present moment brings to light, as well as what is concealed in the womb of futurity, is equally in the Christian's power. He is prepared to receive the former with thankfulness and gratitude, because he knows, that it must operate for his good, be it painful or pleasant: and from the same conviction of the kind and loving Administration of his REDEEMER, he, can wait with patience and resignation for the future dispensations of his Providence.

I cannot, however, but think, that these words have a much deeper and more comfortable sense than this. "Things present, and things to come," generally denote, in Scripture, the visible and the invisible world; and though they are equally present, yet, with respect to our common apprehensions, the latter must be called future, because it cannot be unveiled to our senses, till we have laid aside these garments of sin. The believer, however, by virtue of his Heavenly Nature, united by Faith to his REDEEMER, stands in the heavenly world at the same time that he is in this. Its light, and life, and air, its powers, and virtues, and glories, are opening themselves, though invisibly, in his heart. Hence it is, that the Apostle speaks of "tasting the powers of the world to come," even in this present state and that not metaphorically, but as really and physically as our outward bodies may be said to taste the powers of this present world. O, what an high and glorious privilege does this appear, when considered in this point of light! An Heavenly Man within us, standing upon heavenly ground, breathing the heavenly air, and rising, by its animating influences, far above that sink of evil and corruption, in which the earthly nature still remains a prisoner; and with heavenly fortitude and resignation, supporting the painful union, till his true parent and deliverer rescues him from his captivity, and admits him into the liberty of kindred spirits in glory.

Well, therefore, might the Apostle, at the close of this enumeration, again repeat his general assertion, "All things are yours."--But he repeats it, not only with a view of impressing the truth more powerfully upon the hearts of Christians, but also to let them know, that their privileges are in the most effectual manner secured to them; that their title is indisputable, their inheritance unfading and eternal--"And ye are CHRIST'S," says he.

Think not, that your title to this inheritance is founded upon any thing in yourselves, considered separately and distinctly in your own natures; no, "Ye are by nature dead in trespasses and sins--The wages of sin is death." No other inheritance, but destruction and misery, can you derive from your fallen nature. This inheritance, therefore, which is "Eternal Life," is solely the gift of GOD, through JESUS CHRIST. "Ye are CHRIST'S," therefore, not only as being originally created by him in his own image, which image ye lost by sin; but ye are now his by REDEMPTION, which is in truth a second creation; for he hath planted his own seed in your fallen nature. By this, he is become your Father, your Spiritual Regenerator, your Creator anew in Righteousness and true Holiness.--Thus, by turning your will to this SAVIOUR, the heavenly seed springs forth, under his mild and genial influence, into a beautiful plant, partaking of all the virtues, powers, odours, and colours of its Eternal Parent, uniting, rejoicing, and living for ever in the same Heavenly Glory.

Nay, that your faith, and hope, and love, may rest upon an eternal ground, and that your title may appear to you still more firm, and your inheritance still more certain and glorious; I must tell you, that as "Ye are CHRIST'S, so CHRIST is GOD'S."--Here rests the glorious climax, rising by a fair and beautiful gradation, till its last step is fixed to the throne of the Highest!

The essential powers virtues and excellencies of the Invisible and Supernatural GOD, manifest themselves in his eternal and only-begotten Son JESUS CHRIST, GOD of GOD, GOD-MAN, uniting himself to human nature, redeeming, glorifying, and exalting it, with himself, to the throne of the Eternal Father; from thence they are communicated, in copious streams of light and love, to the whole race whom he has condescended to redeem; awakening, illuminating, sanctifying, restoring, and investing them with the same kind of powers and excellencies, which he possesses himself in an infinite degree, and thus accomplishing what he before had prayed to his Heavenly Father might be accomplished--"That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us--that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE--I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in ONE."

Thus you have seen, my brethren, the nature, extent, and excellency of the great Christian privileges here enumerated, together with the eternal and immoveable foundation on which they are built. Need I, therefore, now call upon you to put in your claim to this vast inheritance? Alas! I fear there is too much occasion for the most solemn calls.--So various are the pursuits of the sons of men, and so foreign to their real happiness; so mistaken are they in their conceptions of good, so blind to real evil, so easily deluded by specious appearances, and led astray by so many false lights; so prone to obey the dictates of a corrupt nature, and so averse to every thing that is spiritual and heavenly; that the weightiest Truths of the Gospel, the most animating promises, the most glorious privileges there recounted, seem to have but very little influence upon their hearts. O why, my brethren, why will ye "spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not?" why, with deluded Esau, "will you sell your birth-right for a mess of pottage," an heavenly for an earthly inheritance? When "all things are yours," why will you take up with the scanty provisions which a poor perishing nature can give? An immortal soul, redeemed by the blood of the Son of GOD, spending its strength, exerting its faculties in the pursuit of such fleeting momentary enjoyments as this world can afford, is a spectacle at which Angels might weep.--O that every thoughtless sinner might be induced to weep for himself, to mourn his wretched, forlorn condition; and, from a deep conviction of the insufficiency of all earthly possessions to make him happy, that he might be led to seek that "peace of GOD which passeth all understanding! that inheritance immortal, incorruptible, and undefiled, which fadeth not away!"

DISCOURSE XIV. Christ, known or unknown, the Universal Saviour.

St. JOHN, CHAP. xiv. Part of VER. 9.

"HAVE I BEEN SO LONG TIME WITH YOU, AND YET HAST THOU NOT KNOWN ME, PHILIP?"

"Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe," said our BLESSED LORD to those earthly-minded Israelites, who were ever looking for some external display of supernatural power, as the only means of conviction in matters of religion. This fatal mistake hath prevailed too much in the world; and still maintains its ground, even among those, whose views are more spiritual, and who have been taught to look upon religion as an internal operation, the work of GOD'S SPIRIT upon their souls. They do not, indeed, seek for an outward sign, as the Jews of old did; they see the impropriety of this under a spiritual dispensation: their delusion, however, though perhaps more refined, is equally dangerous. They cannot conceive that the Divine Power and Presence can be manifested to the human soul, in any other way; than by extraordinary impressions, visions, or extasies. Thus, whilst they are looking out for the appearance of their GOD in a whirl-wind, a fire, or an earthquake, their attention is wholly withdrawn from that "Still Small Voice," in which he usually addresses himself to the hearts of his creatures.

Such was the sad delusion under which poor Philip seems to have laboured. "Lord, shew us the Father, said he, and it sufficeth us." Give us some visible sign, some sensible demonstration of the Father's power and presence with thee. Let him rend the heavens and come down; and if thou art indeed his Son, let him own and honour thee as such, by placing himself near to thy sacred person, and breaking forth in a flood of glory upon our outward senses. Poor mistaken disciple! Little didst thou think of the dreadful consequences which might have attended the granting of thy request. It might have over-whelmed thy weak nature, but could never have wrought any salutary conviction in thy soul: thy outward senses could not have sustained the shock, and thy mind would have continued as dark as ever, notwithstanding the heavenly effulgence that surrounded thee.

Ignorant, weak, and deluded, as Philip seems to have been, his BLESSED MASTER bore with his infirmities, and answered him with all that sweetness and gentleness, that usually accompanied even his censures and reproofs--"Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then, shew us the Father?"

Not one of all those excellencies and perfections, which constitute the Divine Nature, but thou mightest have beheld manifested in me. The healing of the sick, the raising of the dead, making the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the dumb to speak, instructing the ignorant, and preaching the gospel to the poor, all these are the surest marks and evidences that can possibly be given of the immediate presence of the Divinity within me. He, therefore, who hath seen me thus manifesting the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of my Heavenly Father, in these works of wonder, tenderness, and love to his children, "hath seen the Father;" inasmuch, as in the present state of things, there is no other way in which GOD can manifest himself to you his fallen creatures, but by awakening your attention to every act and sensibility of goodness, which you may discover either in yourselves or others. And as all these divine communications are imparted from the Father through me; so in my miracles life and conversation, had you yielded a proper attention, you might have seen "the Brightness of the Father's Glory, and the Express Image of his Person." "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?"

From this particular conversation of our LORD with his disciple, as well as from the whole tenor of the Gospel, arises this grand and fundamental truth: that our real knowledge of CHRIST depends upon an attention of the mind to those Tempers, Qualities, Dispositions and Actions, which he manifested in his life here upon earth, and which are recorded in Scripture for our instruction, accompanied with a surrender of our will and affections to those inward calls, motions, and sensibilities of Goodness, by which he reveals himself with all his heavenly tempers in our hearts. CHRIST, therefore, makes himself known to us in these two principal ways, in his Word, and in our Hearts.

His Word, or what is known by the name of the Holy Scripture, is only the outward testimony--the rule or standard providentially transmitted to us, by which we are to judge of the reality of his Presence in our Hearts. It tells us of a CHRIST, who lived, and suffered, and died in our human nature, in order to teach us how to live, and suffer, and die. It assures us, that our everlasting salvation depends upon our knowledge of this CHRIST; that this knowledge can only be attained by seeking him earnestly; that the place where he chuses to be found, where he loves to reside, is in the human heart;" that "his kingdom is within us;" that he is "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;" that he is the "hope of glory," in every son and daughter of fallen Adam.

The Scriptures likewise testify of the manner of his appearance and residence within us--that he manifests himself as a destroyer of that evil work, which the Devil has wrought in our nature; first convincing us of sin, of the darkness and misery of our fallen life, and then pointing out to us the paths of righteousness; opening and unfolding all those sweet and lovely qualities, of which himself is the great Fountain Spirit, and which he distributes to every man according to his capacity and desire of receiving them.

To know CHRIST, therefore, is carefully to cultivate those holy and heavenly tempers and dispositions, which he manifested in his outward life here upon earth, and which he now continues to manifest in the breasts of all those who diligently seek after him. To know CHRIST, is to know and feel the power of "love, joy; peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Wherever these Graces take up their residence, there is the Temple of JESUS. These are the ministring servants that wait at his altar: and the sacrifices which they there present and offer, are all the earthly and diabolical passions with which human nature is polluted and oppressed,--pride, envy, covetousness, jealousy, lust, wrath, bitterness of spirit, and all the rest of the infernal legion. Love, Love Divine, is the vestal fire which there burns pure and perpetual; which cleanses, refines, sublimates, and glorifies every thing that comes within its reach.

In this sense, CHRIST has been a long time, indeed, among the sons of men, though they may not have known him: He has been long "come to his own," though his own have not universally received him. Where is the man, who hath not, in innumerable instances, felt the powerful suggestions of vice; and, in innumerable instances, been inwardly warned against them, and pressed to the exercise of virtue?

Speak, thou unthinking, careless mortal! Hast thou never felt thyself swoln with pride, or burning with envy? Hast thou never coveted, been jealous, angry, revengeful, bitter, and implacable? Hast thou never found thyself bound to this world, by such strong and numerous ties, that the parting from it would be like tearing away thy very heart-strings? Amidst all that storm and confusion, into which this restless croud of evil passions has frequently thrown thee, hast thou never once felt a monitor within, that would have let thee know, if thou hadst attended to his voice, that all this uproar was from an evil principle, and that thou wert injuring thy soul by submitting to its power?

Hast thou never been led to admire and revere the amiable graces of Meekness, Humility, Love, and Peace, in the life of thy neighbour; and secretly to wish, that these plants of Heaven would spring up in thy own barren soil? Hast thou not frequently envied the happy frame and circumstances of some, whom thou hast seen devout and pious in their conduct towards GOD, and affectionate, mild, and gentle, in their behaviour towards their brethren? And hast thou not, in such a situation, been constrained to sigh out some such wish as this: O that I could feel, and live, and act, as these men seem to do! Would to GOD that this evil nature of mine, with all its horrid lusts and passions, was wholly subdued, eradicated, or changed!

Let me tell thee, then, poor mortal! that all these senses, sensibilities, and secret desires, are from CHRIST, and that this is the way he takes to invite thee to his friendship and communion. He is in thine heart, waiting there with all the condescension, tenderness, and compassion of a most indulgent father, to deliver thee from thy sins, and shew himself to thy soul in reconciliation and peace. He hath been waiting there ever since thou wert born, seeking to make himself known to thee, sometimes by the frowns of conscience, sometimes by its approving smiles, sometimes by the endearing intercourse of Christian friendship and love, and sometimes by the sweet emotions of his own Charity, kindled within thee, at the sight of an object in distress; sometimes by providential deliverances from imminent dangers, sometimes by providential visits of health and prosperity. Whence is it then, O sinner, that, though thy SAVIOUR hath been so long time "with thee, yet hast thou not known him?" Whence is it, though he has made thee such frequent offers of his Love, thou hast still slighted or rejected them?

Various are the obstacles and impediments which prevent us from coming to a true and saving knowledge of CHRIST. In some persons, the unrestrained sovereignty and dominion of fallen nature, leads them captive at its will, makes them deaf to the voice of conscience, and blind to every ray of light that seeks to illuminate the dark region of their heart. They know not CHRIST, because they have not the least desire to be acquainted with him.

In others, the grand and principal impediment to the knowledge of CHRIST, is their absolute dependence upon an external decency of conduct, to which they have given the name of morality. If they cultivate those seeming virtues, which are the faint images or shadows of the True Graces of the Gospel, it is solely from a selfish principle, a desire of being noticed and respected by the world: they have no view, in any thing they undertake, to that real inward change of heart and temper, in which alone the Knowledge of CHRIST consists. Such persons, being unacquainted with the intrinsic evil and corruption of their own nature, cannot have the least desire to be delivered from it; and, till they are providentially awakened to a sense of this, they cannot find themselves disposed to enquire after a Saviour, in and through whom alone these evils and corruptions are to be healed or removed.

Others again there are, who are kept from this saving knowledge of CHRIST, by an attachment to external forms, modes, and opinions of religion; who, provided they are found faithful in the observance and belief of these, excuse themselves from the cultivation of those inward and heavenly graces and virtues, which alone constitute the life and power of religion. Such persons frequently fall into the grossest inconsistencies. They can be angry, in the defence of meekness; proud, whilst they are discoursing on humility; and can speak of all the sublime truths of religion, and sometimes of its vital influences on the heart, with the utmost elegance and pathos of sentiment and expression, and yet remain totally insensible of their efficacy respecting themselves. Such persons know not CHRIST, because they do not seek him in the only way in which he can be found, viz. in a conformity to his Heavenly Character.

The last impediment which I shall mention, that excludes many serious minds from the knowledge of CHRIST'S personal power and presence with them, is that under which poor Philip laboured; even an expectation of some unusual display of supernatural agency, to produce their conviction and conversion.--He, indeed, looked for an external sign; they are anxious for something internal and spiritual; but the nature of the desire is the same in both, and is equally delusive and dangerous. Such persons, solicitous for nothing but an assurance of the forgiveness of GOD, expect to have it communicated by some vision, ecstasy, or sudden illumination.

Far be it from me to call in question the reality of such manifestations, which good men in all ages have experienced. But at the same time I must confess, that I cannot look upon them as essential to Salvation. CHRIST JESUS reveals himself to sinners in various methods, and by various means: but the end of all these means and methods is the same, even to produce his own Image of Righteousness and true Holiness in their hearts. Let us hear his own blessed words: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest"--Ye that labour under the evils of fallen life, seduced by its temptations, enslaved by its passions, and heavy-laden with its accumulated guilt and woe, come to me, deeply sensible of your deplorable condition, and earnestly desiring deliverance, and I will give you rest! From the same Oracle of Truth, we learn too, wherein this rest, deliverance, or forgiveness must consist--"Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls." Meekness and lowliness of heart, therefore, is the true rest which CHRIST gives; for, wherever these are, there is Faith, there is Hope, there is Heaven-born Charity.