But some are fallen asleep....1 Cor. xv. 6. It is the united testimony of faithful witnesses, that Jesus is risen indeed: but what is this truth of a risen Saviour to a dead sinner? He hears it, but without any affections of heart, joy of soul, desires to rise with Christ, or hopes of enjoying him; but when by the grace of Christ the soul is quickened to know him, it rejoices in his resurrection as the best news that ever saluted his ears or reached his heart; then he delights to read the testimony of the witnesses to this glorious event; yea, he also becomes a living witness of it himself, for he has an inward testimony of it by faith. My heart has.catched joy on seeing charity-children at Easter, with this label upon their breast, HE IS RISEN. It is this blessed truth, which changes the king of terrors into an angel of comfort, turns that frightful monster, death, into the image of sweet sleep; for Christ died for our sin and rose again for our justification. So sure as by faith we now live in Jesus, so at death we shall fall asleep in Jesus and awake in his presence, in his perfect likeness, to behold his eternal glory. O, what a sleep, what a refreshing sleep is this to souls wearied and fatigued with the burden of sin, the temptations of satan, the exercises of the flesh, the trials of the world, cruelty of enemies, &c. But, melancholy truth! the apostle's words are verified of some of Christ's witnesses in another sense; some are fallen asleep" spiritually; they are falling from living actings of faith, lively exercises of grace, lively discharge of duty, living, loving and walking with heaven in their eye and Christ in their hearts, into dull, heavy, sleepy frames of soul. O, this is very dishonorable to Christ, uncomfortable to themselves, and great concern to lively, warm-hearted disciples! This is brought on souls by sitting under a sleepy ministry: this scripture adage is fulfilled, "like priest, like people." Worldly company, carnal pleasures and profits are sleepy opiates to the soul. O, let us be concerned that we sleep not as do others; let us attend lively, warm-hearted, soul-searching ministers; keep company with such sorts of christians; avoid light, trifling, drowsy, speculative professors. Let us cry to our beloved; he has said, "I will cause the lips of those that are asleep to speak."....Song vii. 19. They shall speak, 1st. to God in earnest prayer to be kept from sleeping frames. 2d. To their brethren in Christ to animate and quicken them to run the heavenly race, looking unto Jesus....Heb. xii. 2. Is sleep becoming saints of God, In the meridian day? [abroad, What, sleep! when you should look Arise, and watch and pray? Therefore, behold I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall that she shall not find her paths....Hos. ii. 6. HERE is a contest between the FREE WILL of the sinner and the FREE GRACE of the Saviour. Why THEREFORE? This alludes to what was spoken before. O, how strong it savours of cursed, free-will pride! I WILL go after my lovers, &c. What says the Lord to this? Go, and destroy yourself, I will leave you to your own will? O, ye patrons of the notion of free-will, a greater curse cannot befall you on this side hell, than to be thus left; though you have such pride yet the Lord has more grace; therefore he says, BEHOLD: take special notice of this: your will is to leave me and destroy your poor souls; but I will not suffer this: grace reigns: free-will shall be conquered, my glory shall be exalted. I WILL HEDGE UP THY WAY WITH THORNS. Mind: it is THY way, not mine. I will set the briers of troubles, and the sharp thorns of afflictions to goad and pierce thee, to stop and prevent thee. Say now, is there love in this, or not? O, that in every affliction we may see the Lord's hand of grace and his heart of love. Many a soul had been ruined by prosperity if they had not been undone by adversity; they would have gone into the broad road of destruction had not God hedged up the way by calamities: better to have a sick stomach than a guilty conscience. The Lord send me any plague rather than the plague of a heart departing from him, saith St. Austin. If a hedge restrain not, a wall shall not be wanting. I WILL MAKE A WALL, THAT SHE SHALL NOT FIND HER PATHS. O, What straying hearts have Christ's sheep! O, what love of heart has Christ towards us! What pains doth he take to keep us near himself. "SALVATION will God appoint for walls and bulwarks."....Isa. xxvi. 1. Jesus' shews his lovely face; then says the soul, what, thou my Lord! thou best thou dearest lover and friend, is it thou my first husband. I would forsake for other lovers? O, that there should be such a vile heart in me! Pardon, Lord, my folly; I find no path to turn to: "I will return to thee my first husband, for then it was better with me than now." Soul, ever entertain the most exalted sentiments of the grace of God, and the most self-abasing views of thy own nature. Heaven rings with acclamations of praise from backsliding souls; this is the glory of faith below, I will heal their backsliding and love them freely....Hos. xiv. 4. If God has such love to us, let this quicken our love to him; for, "we love him, because he first loved us.".... 1 John iv. 19. ཚ Our Father's love, our Saviour's grace, Because such love and grace abound, M. What shall we then say to these things?....Rom. viii. 31. THIS is a most disagreeable chapter to free-will pride and selfrighteous spirits; for it cuts the very sinews of boasting; it lays all sinners upon a level, while it proclaims salvation by, sovereign grace. A great Arminian professor was lately honest enough to own that St. Paul does contend for the doctrines of election and the final perseverance of the saints; but was weak enough to add, “I verily believe he does it in his own spirit." Such was his answer to these things. But when it pleases the enlightening Spirit to display the glorious discoveries of the divine mind, in his eternal purposes of grace and salvation to lost and wretched sinners, the sin-convinced soul is struck with wonder and amazement, and cries out, “O, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways are past finding out!" All exceeds my comprehension; I bow to sovereign grace; I rejoice in everlasting love: I glory in the finished salvation of the Son of God. Just so, an officer in the navy whom I visited when near death, when I laid before him the love of God to sinners and the salvation of Christ for them, clapping his hand to his breast, in an ecstacy cried out, "Where have I lived that I never heard these things before? Good God! have I got a soul!" Come, christians, what have you to say to-night to God's loving us from eternity, choosing us in Christ and blessing us with all spiritual blessings in him before the foundation of the world, redeeming us by Christ in the fulness of time, calling us to Christ in the day of his power, pardoning our sins and justifying us by Christ in the time of love, enabling our hearts to choose Christ and walk with him in holiness? What shall we say to these things? Say! with our Lord in sweet submission to his sovereign will, even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight; we give thee the glory of all; we welcome these things as the joy of our souls; glory to thee, O Spirit, for opening our blind eyes to see the glory of them and humbling our proud hearts to submit to them. But what shall we say to those who oppose these things? Satan will. Resist him stedfastly in the faith of them. Your carnal reason will. Beg Chrirt to bring it into captivity to them. Self-righteous men will. Pity them; treat them with love, consistent with zeal for the truth. Ever remember, who made you to differ? Base pride and wicked unbelief, My God, instead of bold replies Hence conscience gets no sweet relief, Teach me, that here true wisdom lies, Nor comfort from thy word. To bow before thy face. M. And be found in him....Phil. iii. 9. WHAT! the heavenly-inspired, holy, self-denied Paul, who had the richest experience of grace, manifold gifts of the Spirit, been caught up to the third heaven, and laboured more abundantly than all the apostles, has he got no farther yet than to have no other hope and desire than such a worthless sinner as I? What! had not he arrived at perfection? Had he no inherent righteousness, no graces of the Spirit, no holiness, no fruits of good works, no sincere obedience, no terms and conditions he had performed to look to, rely upon, and desire to be found in at the bar of God? No; but he had got precious faith in a precious Saviour. Therefore, he looks out of himself, out of all that was wrought in and done by him, he passes it all by; he looks through it all to Jesus; he renounces it all in point of justification before God, and puts the issue of his eternal life and salvation upon being found in Christ and having on his infinitely perfect and everlastingly glorious righteousness. Beza upon this place, brings in the justice of God pursuing Paul as a malefactor, and Christ as a city of refuge which he desires to flee to and be found in. Mr. Burkit, though not the most consistent expositor, yet this is one of the many excellent things which he says, "Christ's perfect obedience entitles us to heaven." From Paul's desire we learn, 1st. What is the sole object of a convinced sinner's faith; not what he is in himself, not any thing wrought in him or done by him, but wholly and exclusively of every other matter or thing, the person and righteousness of the Son of God. If you have the faith of God's elect, you will rest your soul's hope only upon Christ, and desire to be found in him in life, in death, and at judgment. 2d. Let us beware hence that we do not slight, despise and decry the graces and fruits of the Holy Spirit in us though these are not to be looked at for our justification, yet they are comfortable evidences of our being one with Christ and interested in the Father's everlasting love and the salvation of Christ: they are not bestowed on us to rival Christ in our hope; but that we should glory in him and exalt him in our hearts, lips and lives. 3d. Though we desire to be found only in Christ, though our holy walk and good works cannot justify our persons, yet they justify our faith, our profession, yea, and the doctrines of grace, from the unjust charge of licentiousness. O, may we be more and more concerned to obey Christ, to let our light of truth shine before men, that seeing our good works they may glorify our Father who is in heaven....Matt. v. 16. Lastly, Paul here wishes for the experienced comfort and sensible blessing of being found in Christ: this precious enjoyment we also should covet earnestly. Building up yourselves on your most holy faith....Jude, 20. INSTEAD of going on comfortably in this work, many are questioning, I do not know whether I have got a most holy faith or not :* bring this to a point to-night. Has the ruinous fabric of nature's self-confidence, self-righteousness, self-complacency, and self-pleasing ever been pulled down? Has the Spirit convinced you of sin? Do you see yourself a lost, ruined sinner; so lost and so ruined by sin that no one but the Son of God can restore and save you? Do you believe that he came to save sinners? Is it the desire of your heart to be saved from ALL sin by him? If so, you as surely possess a holy faith as you enjoy natural life; and you will get stronger evidence and greater assurance of it, by using every blessed means to prove that you have this most holy faith, while you build up yourself on it. 1st. This will appear to be a holy faith, by leading out your soul after a holy Saviour, to be rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith of his perfect love to you and finished salvation for you, abounding therein with thanksgiving.... Col. ii. 7. You will not live a day but praise will rise in your heart to the Father for his unspeakable gift of Christ; to the Son for giving himself for you; and to the Spirit for the gift of this most holy faith to you. 2d. As you believe sin has made you miserable; that it causes God to hide his face; clouds your views of the sun of righteousness; grieves the Holy Spirit, and damps the joys of faith; you cannot, you dare not seek happiness in the pleasures of sin: you will hate it, strive against it, that you may grow in grace and be built up in your most holy faith. 3d. As you believe that the earth and all things that are therein, are doomed to be burnt up, you cannot love the world so as to set your affections on it and seek your happiness in it. You hear the voice of the Lord, "my son give me thy heart." When tempted by the honors, riches, and pleasures of a bewitching world, you will say of all, you bid too little to purchase me: I have a holy faith; I believe that my holy God can make me infinitely more honorable, rich, and happy, than all your toys and baubles. For, THE LORD IS MY PORTION, saith my soul I can say so in the confidence of my most holy faith. O christian, bless the day and bless the Lord when this holy faith was given you. Be assured a holy heaven is prepared for you, and that you shall enjoy it, so surely as if you were now in possession of it; "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul."....1 Pet. i. 9. 1 The Lord directs what means to use, Christ is the sure foundation laid, Then let us daily seek and choose, Be careful that on him you build, Your work shall prosper and be made, Each joy and comfort for to yield. |