Part 6

LET us advert to the occasion on which these words were delivered, to the parable of which they form a part. The case there presented to us by the description of the rich man is unhappily of frequent occurrence in every age. Surrounded by all the luxuries that wealth could furnish, he looked for nothing beyond them: how many fellow mortals there were near his dwelling, deprived of the necessities, while he was revelling in the superfluities of life, was no care, no consideration of his; the selfish enjoyment of this world entirely absorbed his affections, and threw a veil over all expectation of a world to come: satisfied, that he had “goods laid by for many years,” he imagined that he had nothing to do, but to “eat, drink, and be merry.”

But such ignorance and insensibility did not prevent him from being called to account; such forgetfulness of his latter end did not retard the evil day. He died—and was buried, we may conclude, with costly preparation answerable to the splendour in which he had lived. This however, was the last service which his riches were able to render him; and melancholy it was, when contrasted with the state, in which his soul was existing, while his treasures were employed in doing honour to the lifeless body. He found in that state, what he might have discovered before, that riches, if selfishly employed in purposes of vanity and pleasure, are a deadly snare; that earthly indulgences, if pursued with excess, to the neglect of duty towards God and man, instead of being a blessing, are paving the way to misery; he found, “what an evil and bitter thing it is,” to squander the favours of heaven without remembering “the author and giver of every good gift.”

Perceiving therefore, by sad experience, his own deplorable condition, he is represented as being moved with a feeling of pity for his brethren: his first anxiety, indeed, was naturally for himself—for some alleviation, at least, of the wretchedness of his fate; but when he was informed that such desire was fruitless, that even the assuagement of his pain was impossible, that there was no means of conveying even a drop of water to cool the thirst upon his tongue, that the great gulf was finally and irremoveably fixed, he then hoped that something might be done for his brethren who were still surviving; they had not yet passed the boundary of life and grace; and therefore he entreats that, while the far-spent day was shining upon them, Lazarus might be despatched from his abode of bliss, to warn them of the untimely end to which they were hastening; and induce them effectually to repent before “the night should come, in which no man can work.” {117a}

Abraham’s answer is, “they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear _them_.” A messenger from the court of heaven could tell them nothing new; they are already acquainted with their duty and the consequences of neglecting it: Jehovah has revealed unto them His blessed will, and clearly made known what is required of them, “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.” {117b} His covenant with their fathers, and the promulgation of His law, have been attested by a series of signal miracles, which they do not pretend to dispute; and in every page of their history are recorded God’s promised blessings to the good, and the execution of His vengeance upon the evil; and, therefore, in as far as knowledge is concerned, they have all the intelligence that can be desired.

But the wretched man, in the agony of his own feelings, and the earnest desire to preserve his family from such woe, still pursues his request. “Nay, father Abraham;” but, though they have neglected the ordinary calls of heaven, assuredly, if so astonishing an admonition were granted to them, as that of one risen from the dead, they would be thereby persuaded to repent. Then follows the answer of the text, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” And thus the conference ended.

From this conclusion of the parables two important observations may be drawn _first_, that if men fail to be convinced and converted, to be led to their God and their duty, by those sufficient means of grace which are already vouchsafed to them, they would not be likely to yield to any extraordinary means; and, _secondly_, that no such additional means are to be expected.

1. In all cases of spiritual and practical unbelief, in all cases where the declarations of the Almighty are disregarded, the fault lies not so much in the understanding as in the heart. The revelations of heaven are at variance with those interests and pursuits, which the heart is inclined and resolved to retain; and on this account, and by this means, the mind is prejudiced and set against such revelations, and they are not fully and implicitly believed. They call men to the love and practice of holiness, to which our degenerate nature is averse; the pleasures of sin are preferred, and the voice of God is unheeded: they teach us, that all earthly objects and possessions, in themselves, are vain, and call us to prepare for an everlasting inheritance above; the sensual and worldly-minded think and feel, that “it is good for them to be here,” and are not disposed to place their affections upon the promise of an hereafter. We none of us professedly disbelieve the revelation of heaven, any more than the brethren of the rich man did; and therefore I need not stay to argue the point on that ground. The doctrine before us is this, that men, professing to believe, to have received abundant evidence of the truth, and yet refusing to act upon that belief, would not be induced so to act, by any violent appeal to their senses or natural powers, even though it were the work of a divine interposition in their behalf.

What do we believe? That, after this life, which experience tells us must soon terminate, and which may, at any moment, be unexpectedly and suddenly brought to a close, we shall immediately enter upon another and an eternal state of being; and that our condition, in the endless life to come, will be happy or miserable, according to the manner in which we have passed our short pilgrimage upon earth, whether in a belief of the gospel or in unbelief; in obedience or disobedience; in holiness or sin. Now, if we really and vitally believe these truths, their importance is so striking, that nothing could possibly suggest to the mind a weightier consideration. And if these truths be only superficially credited, it must be owing to some corrupt and perverted affections, which throw a veil over the understanding, and render it proof against all moral means of conviction. Perhaps some strange and startling occurrence, such as the re-appearance of a friend from the dead, might forcibly affect the imagination for a time; and, filling us with alarm and apprehension, might fill us also with vehement resolutions of amendment: but the imagination is a weak principle to build upon; the impressions it receives are commonly very transient; they gradually wear away on the presentation of fresh images, in our commerce with the world: and if there be not a solid spiritual conviction, in the mind and heart, of the awful realities of an hereafter, if the conviction does not rest upon the divine evidence accorded by the Spirit and the word of God, the effects of sudden surprise or consternation will soon vanish away; the latent dispositions of the soul will break forth again; the old habits, of recklessness and evil, be reassumed; the world again victorious.

For the truth of these things, I appeal, if not to yourselves, (as in many instances, I reasonably may) but if not, to those around you. How many examples have occurred, within the compass of your own experience, of extraordinary visitations having produced but a very short-lived influence upon the heart and character? How often have we seen the careless awakened by an alarming sickness, by an approach of the king of terrors, (which can hardly be supposed less convincing than an angel from heaven, or a spirit from the blest), and yet awakened only to return, on the removal of danger, to the slumbers of insensibility and sin. The solemn promises, which the terrified sinner made to his friends, his minister, and his God, were but the offspring of fear; the creatures of imagination; born only for the moment; soon disappearing, when the crisis was past.

And when the stroke of death has actually fallen upon a relative or friend, we have sometimes seen it overwhelm the soul of a heedless survivor, and bring him to himself, to serious thought and repentance; he began to sit loose to the remaining interests of life; he looked with anxiety to the world unknown, and formed resolutions of devoting his years to a constant provision for futurity; but all to no ultimate purpose; the subject had sued for his attention before, and been rejected. When his affections have had time to cool, he finds that no new importance has really been given to the truth; the evidences of it rest as they did; others have lost friends as well as he; it is the common lot of mortality; and he cannot keep alive the impression for ever; the world must be attended to; and one object after another continues to gain an ascendancy, till his new-born hopes and fears are extinct; till his principles and conduct and views return to their old level, from which they will in future become the more difficult to be raised.

It is unnecessary for me to insist, that this is no ideal picture, drawn for the mere occasion of placing the subject in a strong light; your own acquaintance with the world may furnish you with living resemblances of it; and it is unhappily the lot of Christian Ministers, who have more frequent opportunity of witnessing such impressions, to observe, in the end, their repeated and lamentable failure; to perceive how far they fall short of lasting conviction and salvation.

Well, therefore, in the affectionate and faithful discharge of our duty, may we call upon our hearers to weigh, in the dispassioned hours of health and tranquillity, the nature and the moment of those divine truths, which the gospel clearly reveals unto man; to judge rightly and truly of their everlasting import; and to embrace them, from the undeniable evidence already presented, with all the heart and all the soul. We call, however, upon our hearers, not as if the vital impression depended upon themselves alone, upon the exercise of their own judgment or the workings of their own conscience. We call upon them to pray for, and be guided by, the mighty operation of the Spirit of God: He is ever ready to enlighten and instruct and quicken and determine them; giving us His grace, “that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.” {125} Listen to His teaching; obey His godly motions; follow up the convictions which He brings to the mind and heart. Light enough is perpetually given, to guide you into all truth; live in the light; walk in the light.

Thus, indeed, every additional admonition, which a gracious God may be pleased to vouchsafe unto us, will be turned to good account; our faith will be confirmed, our affections purified, our knowledge increased, our resolutions strengthened and settled; “unto him that hath, shall more be given;” the sincere and pious believer will advance, at every call, a step nearer to his Saviour and his God; the still small voice of heavenly warning will be heard, even amidst the ordinary occurrences of life; the wonderful dealings of providence and the manifold means of grace will be turned to godly account; the instructions and examples of the living, and the contemplation of the saints at rest, will alike afford materials for spiritual edification. But if the great call to liberty and life be habitually neglected, to liberty from sin and shame, and life to holiness and glory, then the mind and heart are not in a condition to take advantage of occasional excitement; it strikes, but it does not overcome; it rouses, but the stupor returns.

2. Proceed we now to the second observation which may be drawn from the text, that when men reject the abundant evidence of truth, and the gracious invitations of heaven already given, when they have resisted the strivings of the Spirit of God, they are not to expect Him to deviate from the ordinary rules of His providence and grace, for the sake of removing their wilful blindness, and overcoming their perverseness and obstinacy.

It is a part of the divine economy, in the salvation of man, that he should of his own free will, by the grace of God preventing and assisting, “refuse the evil and choose the good:” and therefore man is not to expect from the Almighty any such interference in his favour, as might absolutely overrule his will, and compel him to hearken and obey. God’s infinite mercy is sufficiently manifested in His offer and promise to save those rebellious sinners, who listen to the teaching of His Spirit, who are willing to be saved in His own appointed way. To save those who quench the light afforded them, who discover no such willingness, who unthankfully turn away and refuse the inestimable gift presented to them, would be in direct opposition to the whole tenour of the word of God. And experience concurs with Scripture to inform us, that no such extraordinary interposition is generally vouchsafed. The Jews, in our Saviour’s time, had read of the miracles of Moses and the prophets, professed to credit their inspiration, and their mission from on High; they had seen the astonishing miracles of Christ Himself; and might, if they would, have perceived the fulfilment of their prophecies in Him; many of them were eyewitnesses to the signs and wonders attendant upon His crucifixion; to the earthquake, and the supernatural darkness, and the rending of the veil of their temple; nor could they deny His resurrection from the dead. Against all this body of evidence, against all the means of conviction, they persevered in their rejection of Him. And the time came, when no further testimonial was to be granted; they were left “to fill up the measure of their fathers;” they died in their sins.

In addition to all these opportunities and advantages afforded to the Jew, we enjoy, at this day, the fulness of the manifestation of the gospel; the real nature of the Messiah’s kingdom is clearly and completely revealed unto us; the blessings of the gospel are set before us, in the most conspicuous and glorious light; we have all the certainty, which mortals can have, of a world to come; all the knowledge which our imperfect faculties could receive, of the nature of that world; and all the means of grace and hopes of glory. And if by all these mercies we are not convinced and persuaded, we can have no right or reason to look for any preternatural or overpowering interposition, even from the goodness and long-suffering of God. Rather may we fear that judicial infatuation, so frequently alluded to in Scripture, of the closed eye, the dull ear, and the gross obdurate heart. O let the sinner, instead of flattering himself with the delusion, that some extraordinary thing will one day be happening to him, which shall disengage him from earth, and fix his thoughts on heaven and eternity, O let him rather apprehend that the time is approaching, when the measure of his iniquity shall be filled up, and God will be no longer found.

I am not asserting, that such signal interferences have never been vouchsafed; that such loud awakenings have never been successful: I mean, that they are not in the ordinary course of divine providence, and are not to be expected. I mean to say, that where the grace of the gospel is continually resisted in the heart and life, the careless recusant is seldom reclaimed through the medium of any extraordinary visitation; whether of sickness, of accident, or any terrible calamity. The man, who entrusts his soul to the hope and operation of such occurrences, is placing it in imminent jeopardy. Whoever will save his soul alive, let him, without delay, “seek the Lord, while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near;” {130a} peradventure God may “laugh at his calamity, and mock when his fear cometh.” {130b}

And in other ways also does the same evil principle work, the same evil habit of “resisting the grace of God:” many persons, who express themselves thoroughly convinced of the truth of the christian revelation, and the absolute necessity of a spiritual obedience and a holy walking with God, put off their work of righteousness, from year to year, in the hope, not of any great or appalling event, but that some new circumstances may arise, which shall make it more convenient for them to renounce the world, and attend, without let or hindrance, to the salvation of their souls; they will have gained a sufficiency of earthly comforts, or they will be tired of the world; they will be growing old and feeble, and naturally more inclined to think of heavenly things. But this is only the same temptation as the former, presented in another shape; the “convenient season” is hoped for in vain; Satan never suffers us to be without a hindrance, real or imaginary; our attachment to the world does not wear off; we grow older without growing more religious, without drawing nearer to God; and we never are, it is impossible we should be, _naturally_ disposed to “turn and seek after Him:” thus the delusion goes on; and we “will not be persuaded;” and thus, too frequently, the “expectation cometh utterly to an end for evermore.” There is no trusting to anything, but the _present_ conviction and determination, but the instant and unreserved “obedience of the heart unto righteousness;” “to-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” {132}

In conclusion, I call upon you to think on the condition of the rich man in torment. His anxiety for a special interference in behalf of his brethren is represented as useless to _them_, but it may be salutary to _us_: It may assure us of the wretchedness of that place, to which he was condemned; may incline us, by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, to value and improve His gracious gifts, while they are mercifully bestowed; may determine us, while we have the all-sufficient light of the gospel, to be guided thereby into the way of peace; we may learn from this awful lesson, that if (God forbid that it should be so) but _if_ any of us should be similarly doomed, we shall mourn for ourselves, and be anxious, that the companions we have left may be our companions no more; let us take heed for ourselves, and be anxious for one another in time, while the heed and anxiety may be crowned with success; may lead us to seek and find God’s favour and mercy, and so “escape from the wrath to come.”

SERMON VIII. PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR.

1 JOHN iv. 18.

_There is no fear in love_, _but perfect love casteth out fear_: _because fear hath torment_; _he that feareth is not made perfect in love_.

OF all the sources of happiness, which the merciful God has opened to us, the most pure and abundant are the feelings of affection and love. I appeal, for the truth of this, not to the understandings, but to the hearts of those that hear me; and they will at once testify, unless corrupted and perverted by selfish or vicious habits, that such, even with regard to earthly happiness, is undoubtedly the fact. Persons indeed of inferior principle, of irregular and irreligious lives, frequently draw from this source the most considerable portion of their pleasure, whatever abatements it may receive from their sin and folly: and when the passions are attempered, and the affections purified and exalted, by the influence of our holy religion, by the refining energy of the spirit of God, the delight naturally and necessarily becomes proportionably greater. “To love one another” is not only our first earthly duty, as injoined by the Saviour, but also our highest interest and advantage, as contributing to the happiness of all.

If then so much enjoyment is derived by mankind from the exercise of mutual love, how much more from the love of God—the pure, the gracious, the ever blessed God; “who loadeth us with His benefits;” who made us what we are, and gave us what we have; who created us for His glory, who redeemed us from sin and death, who sanctifieth all that trust in Him, that they may be happy for ever: in a word, whose goodness to us knows no bounds, but those which are set by our own perverseness and ingratitude. Almighty and most merciful Father, “whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” {136} “Graft in our hearts the love of Thy name;” we cannot love Thee as Thou hast loved us; but give us the grace to love Thee with holy sincerity; with that devout and reverent affection, which shall render all other objects of desire comparatively indifferent to us, and make us satisfied with Thy favour, whatever else we want; which shall calm our apprehensions, when we think of an hereafter; and allay the uneasiness which arises in our breasts, when we reflect upon Thine infinite holiness, and our own degenerate condition.

Perhaps it may be imagined, that this is a state of blessedness attainable by few, if any, upon earth: some may urge the text against us, and say that this blessedness is promised only to perfect love, which mortals can never hope to attain; and that it is inconsistent with those numerous passages of Scripture, which admonish us of the necessity of fear; that in the admirable collect of our Church for this day, {137} we are instructed to pray for “a perpetual fear and love of God’s holy name.” How then can we possess the love which casteth out fear? I will endeavour to reply to these observations; and pray God that we may all derive, from the consideration of this subject, a more true and lively and abiding sense of the nature and necessity of that love towards Him, which, as His adopted children and the inheritors of His kingdom, we are absolutely bound to entertain.

Unquestionably true it is, that the fear of God is, and ever has been, indispensable to all His faithful servants; as well under the mild dispensation of the gospel, as under the severer discipline of the law. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” {138a} “Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear Him.” {138b} “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in His wings.” {138c} And accordingly the Apostle observes, “In every nation, he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.” {138d} “His mercy is on them that fear Him, from generation to generation.” {138e} But what is the nature of this fear? It is not a slavish principle, not a disturbing and distressful feeling. It consists in an awful sense of God’s glorious perfections; of His divine Majesty, unspotted purity, infinite knowledge and power; of His presence pervading every part of the creation, even the very mind of every intellectual being; such a sense, as to fill us with the deepest humility, perceiving ourselves unworthy even to stand in the sight of Him, “who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity;” such a sense, habitually impressed upon the heart, as inclines and constrains us to “follow the good” which He loves, and “depart from the evil” which He abhors.