Part 5

This reflection is also calculated to excite our attention to the duties of this holy season, {89a} prescribed by the Church for our christian improvement; the duties of self-examination and repentance. Convinced, that every wilful sin renders us unworthy of acceptance with that God, “who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity,” let us retire into our chamber and take our private hour, and cast a searching eye over our character and life, intent upon discovering every stain and blemish; let us “see if there be any wicked way in us,” and pray fervently to be “led into the way everlasting.” {89b} Let the sinfulness of our condition by nature, the sinfulness of our thoughts and words and works, pass in review before us; nor let the soul ever rest content, till we have made our peace with God;—by an humble abasement under the sense of our undeservings; by unfeigned sorrow for the past; by a holy, steady, entire resolution, to watch more carefully, and walk more circumspectly; by laying aside “every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” {90a}

When we duly think of the long-suffering and forbearance of our offended Father; of His great mercy in “sparing us when we deserved punishment;” sparing us to repent of our faults and follies, to advance in holiness and righteousness, to further the everlasting interest of the soul; surely we shall then be penetrated with a deep sense of the divine compassion; and the goodness of God “will answer its blessed purpose and lead us to repentance.” {90b} ‘How can I persist in abusing the patience which has borne with me so long? How shall I continue to neglect any duty, which so merciful a God has commanded, for the edification and salvation of my soul? How shall I rebelliously cherish any sinful indulgence, which is opposed to His holy law; and thus forfeit my claim to that heavenly inheritance, which my Saviour has died to procure for the true believer, for the penitent and contrite in heart? How can I do less than abhor the sin, which His blood was shed to expiate and cleanse away; less, than delight and advance in the way of righteousness which He has opened to me;’ even till “I come unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Reflections, deliberations, resolutions such as these, sincerely formed and cherished, would very effectually, by divine grace, assist us in attaining that disposition of mind and heart, which might lead us habitually to raise our thoughts to God, under every circumstance, and at every time of temptation. There would thus be cast around us a sacred wall of defence; a perpetual barrier against the inroads of Satan and of sin; and if at times they should, when we are suddenly thrown off our guard, break in upon the heart and lay it waste, they would speedily be expelled, and the breach would be healed without delay. Thus we shall become more jealous over ourselves, more circumspect and watchful; we shall never feel easy, while betraying, into the hands of the enemy, the merciful and glorious work of God. With a love for His goodness, a reverence for His truth, and a fear of His judgments, abiding in the heart, we shall fly from every approach of evil, and dwell in safety beneath the shadow of His wing: “we shall be enabled to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.” {92}

It is our distinguished privilege to be enlightened by the “wisdom which is from above,” to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might:” God forbid that we should return to the “beggarly elements of the world,” and seek to draw our principles and strength from this polluted source. Had we never been blessed with the light of revelation, we must have been content with such means of duty, as our dark state afforded: we must have been governed and guided like the heathen, whom we now pity. But, as we are supremely favoured with the knowledge of the true God, as “our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ;” as the Holy Spirit is given to “help our infirmities;” let us, in every temptation, remember our infinite obligations to the great and merciful Jehovah, and trust in the sufficiency of His almighty power.

After thus “walking with God as friends;” having, for the sake of His friendship, struggled with our evil propensities; having despised the vanity and folly, and renounced the love of the world, we shall experience more and more, the value of His favour, and the fulness of His grace; serving Him in humble gratitude, we shall be acknowledged as His own peculiar people, and He will be our God; in all perplexities we shall find Him our guide, in all trouble our comfort and support; amid the crooked paths of vice He will “make our way plain before His face;” the “snare will be broken and we shall be delivered;” He will honour us among men; “such honour have all His saints;” and this will be an earnest of our everlasting honour in His heavenly abode, in perfect friendship and communion with Him, in that blessed place where sin and temptation will be no more, “where nothing that defileth can enter.”

SERMON VI. ON THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS.

LUKE xxiv. 32. _And they said one to another_, _Did not our heart burn within us_, _while He talked with us by the way_, _and while He opened to us the Scriptures_?

THIS is a portion of one of those affecting and instructive pieces of history, with which the sacred scriptures every where abound.

After the resurrection of Jesus, on the very same day, two of His disciples were journeying together to a village called Emmaus, a few miles distant from Jerusalem. And as they went, “they talked together of those things which had happened.” And certainly never was there furnished to disciples an occasion of more interesting conversation. They were at no loss for a subject; their feelings were deeply moved, their circumstances most peculiar; they had just been bereaved of their Lord; and were left, as they thought, helpless and hopeless upon the wide world: they had been attending the sad scene of His sufferings; and doubtless had been witnessing his awful crucifixion; abundance of matter therefore, was afforded them for reflection and discourse. But besides this, they had heard the report of their Lord’s resurrection; and as they did not at all understand the purport of it, appeared indeed scarcely to believe an event so extraordinary, they were probably consulting what to expect, or what to do. “And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden, that they should not know Him.” {96} Either He assumed a different form, or He supernaturally influenced their sight, that they should not at first recognize Him.

Jesus, let us observe, appeared to the disciples, while they were engaged in holy meditation and converse; and thus, though no longer visible in the world, He may still be expected, at all times, to favour His true disciples in a similar manner. While they are conversing upon the things belonging to His kingdom, upon the wonders of His love, and the riches of His grace, upon their high privileges and expectations, upon the doctrines and precepts of His holy word, upon the duties and experiences of their earthly pilgrimage, upon their walk with God here, and their hope of dwelling together with Him for ever hereafter; while they are musing and discoursing of these things, the blessed Jesus will join company with them, though unknown and unseen; and will shed over their conference a holy and heavenly benediction. A reproach it is to vast numbers of His professing disciples, that they are not more anxious to embrace such opportunities of enjoying the favour and presence of their Lord; that many, even intimate friends and near relations, amid the endless variety of their subjects of conversation, are scarcely ever found to exchange a sentiment or a word, upon the most interesting and important of all topics; the love of their Lord and the edification of their souls. Eagerly do they embrace every opportunity of ministering to the passing amusement, or the temporal welfare, of each other; the only subject, which appears to be forbidden ground, is the subject of an eternal life to come, their spiritual well-being here and hereafter.

But let me not be misunderstood on this point; I am not speaking of the promiscuous intercourse of society; not of religious discussions or allusions amid the ordinary business of life; not of that irreverent and dangerous habit, into which same believers have been incautiously betrayed, of detailing to one another their continual and familiar experiences; I am speaking of the private and sober communing of christian friends, who are dwelling together, or journeying together, as the disciples to Emmaus: and truly, “with the bible in their hands and the Saviour in their hearts,” it is wonderful how they can forbear from spiritual intercourse. If the everlasting truths of the gospel have made a deep impression upon their minds; if, for the promises therein revealed, it is their object to live and to die; if they have one common hope of their calling, “one thing needful” which occupies their affections; if they have the same exalted view of a glorious kingdom in heaven; if they are living together in love, and comforting themselves, that the holy bond shall never be broken, that it shall be renewed in a happier world and last for ever; then it would be strange if their thoughts and their conversation should never turn upon a subject of such overwhelming interest; upon a topic so abundantly fruitful in materials for mutual edification. The idea of the Lord being present with us in our conferences is an animating and ennobling idea: but we cannot expect His holy presence in the scenes of vanity and frivolity; nor can we expect it at any time, if the thought and desire of Him be altogether excluded. From the cold moralist, or the worldly-minded disciple, from those who have no practical concern for the gospel or for their souls, we need not look for a word of spiritual communication; it is abhorrent to their feelings and inconsistent with their notions; but the sincere Christian should “think on these things.” “The world will love its own,” and follow its own; its own friends and maxims and ways: but “we are not of the world,” and better fruit is expected from us.

But to return to the history before us. Having listened for a time to the earnest discourse of the disciples, Jesus at length, as if a stranger, enquired into the subject, which engrossed their minds and rendered them so sorrowful: “And the one of them whose name was Cleopas, (the same, it is thought, as Alpheus, who was the father of two Apostles and nearly related to our Lord Himself,) answering, said unto Him, art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things, which are come to pass there in these days?” “And he said unto them what things?” said it, probably, with a view of giving them an opportunity of declaring their opinions, upon what had taken place, as also upon Himself and the nature of His kingdom: “and they said unto Him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word, before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted, that it had been He who should have redeemed Israel; and beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done.” {101} They concluded, that their bright hopes of redemption were extinguished, were all dead and buried with Jesus: even though they had heard of His rising again, according to His own promise, which they had just alluded to, still they had no expectation of holding any further intercourse with Him, of any further display of His power in their behalf.

“Then he said unto them, O fools (O unwise and blinded people) and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; ought not Christ (ought not your Messiah prophesied of old) to have suffered these things and enter into His glory?” {102} Is it not clearly foretold by your prophets, by Isaiah especially in his 53d chapter, that the redeemer of Israel should be “despised and rejected of men,” should bear “their griefs and carry their sorrows,” “should be led as a lamb to the slaughter, should be numbered with the transgressors,” should make “His grave with the wicked (should die with malefactors) and with the rich in his death,” (should be buried in the sepulchre of the rich,) and after that “prolong His days,” and then that “the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in His hand?” According to your own prophecies then, and in order to their fulfilment, has not Jesus done that, as Messiah, which He was required to do? Instead of being offended, and giving up the cause, ye ought to be fully convinced, that He is “the Christ, the son of the living God.” {103a} Then, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the sacred scriptures the things concerning Himself.” {103b} How enlightening and convincing must this discourse have been! But it is not preserved to us: with so complete a body of information and evidence, it did not please the Almighty to favour the world. We are left to gather the instruction by diligent observation and study; and thankful may we be, that there still remain most abundant sources of satisfactory knowledge on this head; that the prophecies and types of the Saviour in the Old Testament, when compared with their fulfilment, are sufficiently clear for the conviction of every honest and well-disposed mind.

After this, the disciples “drew nigh unto the village whither they went; and Jesus made as though He would have gone further. But they constrained Him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And He went in to tarry with them.” {104a} And thus He still favours His disciples, and will do as long as the world stands; when they heartily desire His abiding presence, it will never be denied; wherever the place or whatever the occasion, their Lord, if wished for and welcome, will be of their company: in the domestic circle, in the converse of friends, in the sacred hour of solitude; “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” {104b} We have only to lift our thoughts to Him; “to set Him always before us; and He will be at our right hand, that we shall not be moved.” {105a} At all times He will be found “a present help;” but especially when we are associated or assembled in remembrance of Him. Such is the promise of His word: “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them:” {105b} gathered together for consultation, for worship, for any holy purpose.

Jesus, when He had entered into the house with the two disciples, acted in a manner which served to bring Him to their knowledge: “As He sat at meat with them, He took bread and blessed it, and brake and gave to them; (though a supposed stranger, He appeared as the head of the family; blessing and distributing, as His custom had been at their ordinary meals:) And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him: And He vanished out of their sight;” {105c} immediately left them to ponder upon the amazing things which they had heard. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?”

Cleopas and his friend were unquestionably favoured beyond the common lot of disciples: to hear the sacred oracles explained by Him, who was at once the subject and fulfilment of them; by Him, through whose spirit the prophets and holy men of old all spake; to hear them perfectly explained and illustrated by the voice of the Son of God, might well make a vivid impression upon their minds, and fill their bosom with fervent and rapturous delight: Yet, though we cannot be so singularly blessed, there may be communicated to us a measure of that knowledge, which these disciples enjoyed; there may be imparted to us no inconsiderable portion of the same holy animation.

Our merciful Lord, on withdrawing His visible presence from this world, sent, according to His promise, another Comforter; a Comforter, who should “guide His people into all truth;” should “give them a right judgment in all things,” and spread a holy influence over their affections and desires. And now, when we are reading His word, when musing upon it with devout meditation, and conversing with one another upon its exalted truths, its heavenly purposes, its abundant promises and blessings; and now, when we hear the word from the lips of those ministers, who, however unworthy in themselves, are commissioned to speak in His great name, our hearts may burn within us, and “our eyes may be opened to behold wondrous things out of His law;” {107} we may still be powerfully impressed, if we have, what we are taught by our church to pray for, “grace to hear meekly the word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.”

May I not appeal, in justification of these remarks, to some of you here present? Have not your minds, when intent upon the doctrines of the gospel, and taking a view of heavenly things, been sometimes visited with a holy illumination, which has seemed to raise you above the world, and to make you feel more sensibly, that “you have your conversation in heaven?” {108} Have not the ties of earth been loosened, while your soul was expatiating on the deep things of God, on His wisdom and power and love, on the dealings of His providence and grace, on the glories of His eternal presence? Have you not, in some such moments, been so impressed, as to return to the world with a degree of reluctance; and, like the disciples at the transfiguration, almost tempted to say, of your spiritual and heavenly visions, “it is good for me to be here?” These are no enthusiastic imaginations; they are the sober and solid effects of the realized presence of our Redeemer; they are the burnings of heart, of which the disciples spake; they are the foretaste of our knowledge and joy and light and life above. Doubtless they are to be encouraged with humility and sobriety; doubtless they may degenerate into enthusiasm; for there is no spiritual good, which may not be abused: but the fear of enthusiasm is not to hinder us in gathering comfort and delight from the study of scriptural truth, from holy and exalted meditation. The world may call it weakness and folly; for it cannot be understood by the world; but the Christian knows for it a better name; and few eminent Christians have there been, who would not readily bear witness to the truth of these things, who have not felt the inspiriting, uplifting power of divine contemplation.

And this, like all other exercises of true faith and piety, is of great practical importance; it is fruitful in righteousness to all who “think soberly;” it serves them, when they return to the busy scenes of earth, as an animation to duty; it purifies their affections and renders the world little in their eyes; it arms them for conflict, and reconciles them to trouble: in the midst of trials, of disappointments and bereavements, of struggles and difficulties, of frowns and oppositions, they remember, with thankfulness and comfort, the spiritual joys they have experienced, and expect to be blessed with them again: yes, in their darker hours, they remember, that the Sun of righteousness, has shone brightly upon them, and the beams are still reflected; though they cannot at present perceive Him so clearly, though He seems, like Jesus with the disciples, to have “vanished out of their sight,” He has left a glory behind, and will again visit them with the fulness of His favour; and they go on their way “not faithless, but believing.”

To those who have been thus in the habit of pious and scriptural meditation; of intently dwelling upon the sublime mysteries, and the gracious promises, and the noble examples, and the striking histories of the word of God; to them it is needless to recommend a continuance of the good work; it is a christian obligation, which they can never think of declining; and besides this, the delight and improvement, which it affords, are its own sufficient recommendation. But upon all, who have unhappily neglected this their great privilege and duty, I would most earnestly press the importance of attending to this point, as a matter of bounden necessity. It is not enough to form an acquaintance with the leading truths of the gospel, as a matter of faith and profession; there is much to be learnt upon a nearer inspection, much indeed that can never be learned without it; much to enlarge and exalt the understanding; to renew the heart and regulate the life. The necessary intercourse, which most of us have with the world, is of a lowering and defiling nature; estranging the heart from a love of holiness and of God: and in order to correct this evil, scriptural study and spiritual consideration, as well as fervent prayer, are indispensable.

Let not any day pass over your heads without some portion of the Bible, some subject of divine revelation, being brought distinctly to your view. The exercise will interfere with none of your earthly duties, but will help you in the performance of them all; will smooth whatever there be of ruggedness in your way; will strengthen you in the hour of temptation, and comfort you in perplexity and trouble. Many an encouraging promise and many an enlivening assurance will recur to your memory; and “a word in season how good is it:” examples of suffering and patience, of striving and perseverance, of warfare and triumph, will kindle in your breast an emulous ardour, and you will say, ‘By the help of the Lord, I will “go and do likewise.”’ Thus will the Bible be a never-failing source of strength and consolation all the day long; as the waters, which flowed from the flinty rock, accompanied and refreshed the Israelites, ever and anon, in their journey through the wilderness, so will your spiritual musings, suggested by the very hardships or troubles of life, be a perpetual stream of refreshment to your souls, even “in a dry land thirsty land, where no water is.” {113a}

And by this means you will be preparing and training your souls for a happier communion with the Saviour in another world; where all the dealings of His providence, and all the wonders of His grace, will be more fully and gloriously manifested. And if the heart of the Christian now burn within him, at the contemplation of heavenly truth and redeeming love; now, in his frail tenement of clay; how unspeakable will be his delight, when these things are revealed to his pure spirit, in the realms of perfection and bliss. Then will he know more of “the love of Christ which passeth knowledge;” then will he see more of “the length and breadth and depth and height” {113b} of the mystery of mercy; he will see God “face to face” and “know even as he is known.”

SERMON VII. IF THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.

LUKE xvi. 31.

_If they hear not Moses and the Prophets_, _neither will they be persuaded_, _though one rose from the dead_.