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SERMON XXII.

The Duty of Declining Chriftians.

Rev. ii. 4, 5. Nevertheless I have fomewhat against thee, because thou haft left thy firft love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do thy first works, or elfe I will come unte thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

THESE words are part of a letter written at the exprefs inftance of the Son of God by the Apoftle John, to the minif ter and church of Ephefus. The minifters of these feven churches are stiled angels; becaufe as angels are the mesfengers of heaven, fo ministers are meflengers of God to mankind, to preach and explain to them the divine meffages contained in the gofpel. It happened in this church as in most of human focieties, that tho' there was fome good, yet there was a mixture of evil therein. In fome refpects they deserved praife, yet in others they were worthy of blame. What was good and commendable in them, is taken kind and particular notice of, and they receive high approbation for the fame. Attend to the endearing praifes given them by their Lord. "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy

"patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil i " and thou haft tried them which Yay, they are apostles and "are not, and haft found them liars; and haft borne, and "haft patience, and for my name fake, haft laboured, and “haft not fainted." Could more be said in recommendation of any church or people? How many amiable qualities, vir. tues and graces, are here eminently and diftin&tly praised? Such as works of righteoufnefs, affiduity in duty, patience under afflictions and fufferings, perfeverance in religion, aiming at the glory of God as their chief end, labouring for the honor of Chrift's name and the advancement of his kingdom, peculiar zeal for truth in doctrine, purity in worship and morals, ftrictness in government and discipline, rejecting apostolic im. posters, ignorant and wicked minifters, &c. Yet after all thefe grand encomiums upon their excellencies, our Lord, whofe eyes are as a flame of fire, beholds fomething amifs in them, and in the wonders of his goodness and love, he does not omit to reprove with faithfulness. And this he does in the most beautiful, gentle, and fubduing language in our text, "Nevertheless, I have fomewhat against thee, because thou "haft forfaken thy first love." This is the evil laid to their charge, and the only thing amifs in them; they had forsaken their first love; the warm and tender affections they felt and exercised in the feafon of their firft efpoufals to Chrift, had fuffered abatement and langour. They had not loft their love or religious affections entirely, but thofe which they once had, alas! had become cold and fubfided; they poffeffed not that life and aidor which were formerly experienced, but were like a flame in the focket, approaching to extinction. After this our Lord fubjoins a clofe and pungent exhortation. "Re"member therefore from whence thou haft fallen, and repent, "and do thy first works." To this exhortation is added a moft folemn and alarming threatening, "Or elfe I will come "unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of his "place, except thou repent." Such a friendly and faithful

admonition, and fuch an awful warning, ought to do good like a medicine; faithful are the wounds of a friend, tho' they may be very painful and afflictive.

We fhall confider thefe words at prefent with relation to fpiritual decays in general, and as applicable to particular perfons, as well as churches.-Let us here enquire,

First, what thefe words which contain the reproof may be fuppofed to import.

Secondly, what is the duty of thofe who may find themselves immediately concerned herein.-In regard to the

First, you may obferve, the reproof does not contain any charge of grofs immorality, as in the cafe of the wicked, the profane and profligate part of mankind. With refpect to thefe, our Lord has not only fome things but many things against them. His charge against them is infinitely more heavy and dreadful, fuch as wilful ignorance, fecurity, obftinacy in fin, contempt of religion, rejection of his gofpel, trampling under foot his blood, doing despite to the fpirit of grace, impenitency, unbelief, and a thousand various and aggravated wickedness for all which they will hereafter be called to an impartial and fearful account. But the perfons referred to in the text, are real chriftians, truly pious and good, as appears evidently from the context.

This charge implies more than common frailties and im perfect was, to which the hoft of faints are always fubject in this very imperfect flate of holinefs. There is no man liveth and finneth not. This text is defigned to teach us more, than that no man is free from infirmities. This reproof to the church of Ephelus, introduced with fo much folemnity, muß furely imply more than the common frailties to which the moft

eminent chriftians are incident. There are fome weaker faints, whofe fpirits are tender and perhaps not well inftructed, who are too apt to apply fcriptural and providential rebukes to themselves in all their gloominefs and terror. They become fenfible of many evils by meditation on their own hearts and clearer difcoveries of God and his perfections, from hence they conceive awful apprehenfions of their demerits, and pronounce bitter things against themselves, especially, if they be of a melancholy habit and a penfive turn of mind. Such infirmities and weakneffes we find often attending the moft pious and devout, and tho' these are arguments for constant humility and watchfulness, yet they cannot be confidered in the light of wilful fins, nor ought the tender and feeling chriftian with keen. severity condemn himself as hereby breaking covenant with God. For tho' Chrift is always in the midst of his churches, and his all penetrating eye beholds the inmoft thoughts of eve ry foul, yet he is far from aggravating and refenting the unwilling and lamented failings of his upright fervants. It is not agreeable to the infinite benignity and compaffion of his nature, to make the worst of their imperfections, efpecially where he obferves alfo in his people a due fenfibility of their failings and perceives penitential exercises of heart.

But thefe words are to be confidered a charge against chrif tians as decaying and declining in religion. As if our Lord had faid, "O thou profeffor, and member of the chriftian church, thou renewed and converted foul, I know thy works, faith, patience and zeal; I charge thee not with hypocrify, nor infincerity in religion, that thou haft no love to me nor true grace in thy heart; but I change thee with being a defective and declining chriftian, thy love is not fo fervent, thy faith fo firm, thy walk fo fteady, thy converfation fo favoury as it might and ought to be. Wert thou more attentive to, and better acquainted with thine own heart, thou wouldût dif

tern many deficiencies and fad blots and blemishes there. Once thou couldst allow me thy whole heart, and all thine affections flowed towards me; but, alas! how art thou backfliden, how is thy fine gold become dim, how haft thou forfaken thy first love?"

Whofe heart now has not fome mifgivings, left the reproof may be directed to him? Who among us can lay his hand upon his breast, and plead, not guilty? Who has no reason for jealousy over himself, and can venture to say, the flame of his affections are not abated? Is there that high esteem of the incomparable worth and excellency of Chrift, that humble and devout gratitude for his dying love, that meek fubmiflion to his will, that active zeal in his fervice, that charity to the nee dy, that warm benevolence to mankind, that prayerfulness and holy walking, which were wont to be in us, and which we once poffeffed and difcovered? O that we could all make the appeal to our precious Saviour, which the Apoftle did, when he was asked this question, "Simon, fon of Jonas, leveft thou "me?"-And reply with him, "Lord thou knoweft all "things, thou knowest that we love thee." Happy church, and blessed individuals, who can make this anfwer? Or have not many of us reafon to confess, that a dull and fluggish temper have taken hold of us, by reafon of which we are lefs fervent in fpirit, lefs warm in our affections, lefs devotional in the frames of our mind? Remember, O chriftians, time is fast haftening away, eternity is just ready to open upon us, and what progrefs have we made towards heaven? While the bridegroom tarries, are there not too many of us lumbering and fleeping? May not Chrift with propriety addrefs us as he did his people of old in the prophecy of Jeremiah. "Thus faith "the Lord, I remember thee, the kindnefs of thy youth, the

love of thine efpoufals, when Ifrael was holiness to the Lord, "the first fruits of his encreafe, but now they have forsaken *me the fountain of living waters, they are gone far from

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