Page images
PDF
EPUB

ceitful and bypocrites..... Thus Christ says of Nathaniel, John i. 47. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile ;" that is, a truly gracious person; implying, that those of God's professing people, who are not gracious, are guileful, and deceitful in their profession. So sinners in Zion, or in God's visible church, are called hypocrites. Isa. xxxiii. 14. The sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the bypocrites." Isa. xi. 17. " Every one is an hypocrite and an evil doer." So they are called lying children, Isa. xxx. 9. and chap. lix. 13. and are represented as lying, in pretending to be of the temple or church of God. Jer. vii. 2, 4..... "Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord..... Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these." They are spoken of as falsely calling themselves of the holy city, Isa. xlviii. 1,2. They are called silver dross, and reprobate or refuse silver..... (Ezek. xxxii. 18. Jer. vi. 30.) which glisters and shows like true silver, but has not its inward worth. So they are compared to adulterated wine, Isa. i. 22. and to trees full of leaves bidding fair for fruitfulness, Matth. xxi. 19. Clouds that look as if they were full of rain, yet bring nothing but wind, Jude, Wells without water, that do but cheat the thirsty traveller, 2 Pet. ii. 13. A deceitful bow, that appears good, but fails the archer, Psal, lxxviii. 57. Hos. vii. 16....Mr. Stoddard, in his Appeal to the Learned, from time to time supposes all visible saints, who are not truly pious, to be hypocrites, as in pages 15, 17, 18.

12.

Now what ground or reason can there be thus to represent those as visible saints or members of God's visible church,who are not truly pious, if the profession of such does not imply any pretence to true piety; and when they never made a pretence to any thing more than common grace, or moral sincerity, which many of them truly have, and therefore are not at all hypocritical or deceitful in their pretences, and are as much without guile, in what they make a profession of, as Nathaniel was? The Psalmist speaking of sincere piety, calls it the truth in the inward parts. Psal. li. « Behold,

thou desirest the truth in the inward parts." It is called truth with reference to some declaration or profession made by God's visible people; but on the hypothesis which I oppose, common grace is as properly the truth in the inward parts, in this respect, as saving grace. God says, concerning Israel, Deut. xxxii. 5. "Their spot is not the spot of his children." God here speaks of himself as it were disappointed: The words have reference to some profession they had made: For why should this remark be made after this manner, that there were spots upon them, shrewd marks that they were not his children, if they never pretended to be his children, and never were accepted under any such notion to any of the privileges of his people?

God is pleased to represent himself in his word as though he trusted the profession of his visible people, and as disappointed when they did not approve themselves as his faithful, stedfast, and thorough friends. Isa. Ixiii. 8, 9, 10. "For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Saviour: In all their affliction he was afflicted. But they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he was turned to be their enemy." The same is represented in many other places. I suppose that God speaks after this manner, because he, in his present, external dealings with his visible people, does not act in the capacity of the Searcher of Hearts, but accommodates himself to their nature, and the present state and circumstances of his church, and speaks to them and treats them after the manner of men, and deals with them in their own way. But, supposing the case to be even thus, there would be no ground for such representations, if there were no profession of true godliness. When God is represented as trusting that men will be his faithful friends, we must understand that he trusts to their pretences. But how improperly would the matter be so represented if there were no pretences to trust to, no pretences of any real, thorough friendship? However there may be a profession of some common affection that is morally sincere, yet there is no pretence of loving him more than, yea not so much as his enemies. What reason to trust that they will be faithful

to God as their master, when the religion they profess a mounts to no more than serving two masters? What reason to trust that they will be stable in their ways, when they do not pretend to be of a single heart, and all know that the double minded persons used to be unstable in all their ways? Those who only profess moral sincerity or common grace, do not pretend to love God above the world. And such grace is what God and man know is liable to pass away as the early dew and the morning cloud. If what men profess amounts to nothing beyond lukewarmness, it is not to be expected, that they will be faithful to the death. If men do not pretend to have any oil in their vessels, what cause can there be to trust that their lamps will not go out? If they do not pretend to have any root in them, what cause is there for any disappointment when they wither away.

When God, in the forementioned place, Isa. Ixiii. represents himself as trusting Israel's profession,and saying, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie; it cannot be understood, as if he trusted that they were his people in that sense, in which the ten tribes were called God's people after they had given up themselves to idolatry for two or three hundred years together without once repenting : But, surely they are my sincere saints and children, as they profess to be, Israelites indeed without guile; for surely they would not do so evil a thing as to make a lying profession. This seems to be the plain import of the words: It therefore shews that the profession they made was of real, vital godliness.

V. The eight first verses of the fifty sixth chapter of Isaiah, I think, afford good evidence, that such qualifications are requisite in order to a due coming to the privileges of a visible church state, as I have insisted on. In the four preceding chapters we have a prophecy of gospel times, the blessed state of things which the Messiah should introduce. The prophecy of the same times is continued in the former part of this chapter. Here we have a prophecy of the abolishing of the ceremonial law, which was a wall of separation, that kept two sorts of persons, viz. Eunuchs and Gentiles, out from the ordinances of the church or congregation of the

Lord (for the words congregation and church are the same) the place of whose meeting was in God's house, within God's walls, verse 5, and on God's holy mountain, verse 7. That in the ceremonial law, which especially kept out the Gentiles, was the law of circumcision, and the law that the eunuch shall not enter into the congregation or church of the Lord, we have in Deut. xxiii. 1. Now here it is foretold that in the days when" God's salvation shall be come, and his righteousness revealed, by the coming of the Messiah, this wall of separation should be broken down, this ceremonial law remov. ed out of the way (but still taking care to note, that the law of the Sabbath shall be continued, as not being one of those ceremonial observances which shall be abolished); and then it is declared, what is the great qualification which should be looked at in those blessed days, when these external, ceremonial qualifications of circumcision and soundness of body should no more be insisted on, viz. piety of heart and practice, joining themselves to the Lord, loving the name of the Lord, to be his servants, choosing the things that please him, &c. Ver. 3. &c. "Neither let the son of the stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree; for thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, even unto them will I give in my house, and within my walls, a place, and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give unto them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant: Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others to him besides those that are gathered unto him.”

VI. The representations which CHRIST makes of his visible church, from time to time, in his discourses and parables, make the thing manifest which I have laid down.

As particularly the representation which Christ makes in the latter end of Matthew vii. of the final issue of things with respect to the different sorts of members of his visible church : Those that only say, Lord, Lord, and those who do the will of his Father which is in heaven; those who build their house upon a rock, and those who build upon the sand. They are all (of both kinds) evidently such as have pretended to an high honor and regard to Christ, have claimed an interest in him, and accordingly hoped to be finally acknowledged and received as some of his. Those visible Christians who are not true Christians, for the present, cry, Lord, Lord; that is, are forward to profess respect, and claim relation to him; and will be greatly disappointed hereafter in not being owned by him. They shall then come and cry, Lord, Lord. This compellation Lord, is commonly given to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, as signifying the special relation which Christ stood in to his disciples, rather than his universal dominion. They shall then come, and earnestly claim relation, as it is represented of Israel of old, in the day of their distress, and God's awful judgments upon them, Hos. viii. 2. « Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee."

To know does not here intend speculative knowledge, but knowing as one knows his own, has a peculiar respect to, and owns and has an interest in. These false disciples shall not only claim interest in Christ, but shall plead and bring arguments to confirm their claim; Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works? It is evidently the language of those that are dreadfully disappointed. Then (says Christ) I will profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. q. d. "Though they profess a relation to me, I will profess none to them; though they plead that they know me, and have an interest in me, I will declare to them that I never owned them as any of mine; and will bid them depart from me as those that I will never own, nor

« PreviousContinue »