In the Second Volume, under the head of doctrine and doctrinal exposition, we shall confine ourselves to the mention of a most important sermon, the third, " on Divine Grace and Human Agency," and the ninth, eighteenth, and twentieth, on what may be truly called "the Doctrine of Christ." In this sermon, which is from Phil. ii. 12, 13. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you, &c." Mr. V. does not labour so much to establish any particular views of doctrine founded on that text, as he does to shew the clearness with which the two con way tending doctrines of grace and free agency are revealed in Scripture. "Without aiming to shew, that they do not clash, or to explain the precise in which they are to be reconciled," he justly observes, "the sacred writers assert both.....In like manner will every truly humble Christian, who acts rather than disputes, unite in his practice these two doctrines.” "If either doctrine had been revealed in Scripture without the other, it is evident there would have been a set of duties on the part of man in some measure different from what are now required of him. If God, for instance, had merely proclaimed his own grace without issuing any commands to mankind, it would have been our duty to have used no efforts: our case would then have resembled that of the Israelites upon the banks of the Red Sea, when the injunction given to them was;→ Fear ye not stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew you this day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace... If, again, practical exhortations had been issued without any revelation of the grace of God, it would have been our duty to encourage ourselves to exertion with such arguments, as the Philistines used when the ark of God was brought into the camp of Israel. And the Philistines were afraid. And they said, Wo unto us! who Christ. Observ. No. 157. shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? Be strong, and quit your selves like men, O ye Philistines, that 'ye be not servants to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Quit yourselves like men, and fight.' But, on the other hand--unite the two doctrines, and the sentiments and feelings of a Christian become like those of Hezekiab, when he gathered the captains of war together, and spake comfortably to them, saying; Be strong and courageous: be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh, but with as is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.'" Vol. ii. pp. 33---35. After this he observes, with much depth of thought, that "if either doctrine be removed, not only the duties and graces are injured resuiting from that, but those also which other." The sermon is then devoted appear wholly derived from the to shew how the doctrine of the grace of God tends to quicken, to direct, to humble us, to influence our gratitude and encourage our exertions in the path of life. On this last topic he observes: "When a person begins in sincerity to serve God, he will dwell chiefly upon the duties and powers of man; but when he has had much experience of his own heart, he will fix his attention and rest his hopes upon the grace of God. Novelty, terror, and hope, may combine, for a time, to make him earnest to work out his salvation;' but soon these will cease to affect the mind. Then the only resource (but, blessed be God, it is both a sure and abiding resource) is in the grace of God. Here is the encouragement of a Christian. We labour, not from any high opinion of our own powers, but because we trust in that God who inspires us with desire, and whose grace and goodness are immeasurably great, and who has promised not to for. sake those who call upon him. Thus, with the Psalmist, when the Lord says, 'Seek ye my face,' our hearts reply, Thy face, Lord, will we seek.'" Vol. ii. p. 43. From the three sermons above mentioned, one on the Mediation of Christ, from John xiv. 6; the other F on the Work of Christ, from Luke iv. 18, 19; the third, on his Sufferings, from Isa. liii. 3-6, it would be difficult indeed to extract any one series of remark, or forcible appeal, which should convey even a distant idea of the originality, correctness, or feeling, with which our author has treated the grand foundations of our most holy faith. We do not remember ever to have seen the harmony of Scripture upon these great topics explained with so much clearness, beauty, and strength. The great ness of the work corresponding with the magnificence of the worker, the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the lofty and complicated character of that great Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, are all so pointed out and exhibited in their different bearings upon each other, and their harmonious tendency to one great result, that it would be vain for us to attempt to separate that which is so beautifully blended, or reduce that which is already so well digested, and so closely compacted. We select, almost at hazard, the following extract from Sermon IX. "If, then, man is represented throughout the Scripture as very corrupt; and if the purity and holiness of God are always described to be, like his other attributes, infinitely good and great; these represen tations are closely connected with those passages of Holy Writ which speak of the necessity of a Mediator. They intimate a total separation between God and man; they shew the impossibility of an union between them; they manifest the propriety of some expedient to reconcile them to each other, something which shall render it consistent with the holiness and purity of God to permit the approach of man, something which shall prepare man to approach his God. Thus there is one consistent system throughout religion. All it teaches concerning God manifests his holiness; all it relates concerning man manifests his unfitness to stand in the presence of God. A Mediator, therefore, is prepared; one of infinite dignity---no less than the only be gotten Son of God. He comes into the world, which was created by his power. He appears made, in all points, like unto man, sin only excepted. He thus becomes intimately related to the human race: yet he retains all his dignity and all his holiness, as a Divine Person; and is therefore worthy to intercede with the Father. In this character he stands, as it were, between the dead and the living, between sinful men and a holy God. He offers up his own life as an atonement for the sins of the world: he is invested with the charac Intercessor, the Advocate of the human ter of the Mediator, the High Priest, the race: the keys of hell and death are put into his hands: he openeth, and no man shutteth; he shutteth, and no man open. eth: the Father hath committed all judg ment to him; and pardon and eternal life his will. Thus we may perceive an intiare dispensed through him, according to mate connection in every part of the system. The account given us of the character of God and of that of man, plainly evinces the necessity of a Mediator; while the view which is communicated of Christ Jesus, of his office and character, reflects fresh light on the nature both of God and man. From our knowledge of God and man, we might easily expect some such expedient as that of a Mediator and Redeemer to have been adopted. From the revelation of Jesus Christ, we are confirmed in our view of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, and we perceive the wisdom and goodness of God in giving his Son to be the Saviour of man. kind." Vol. ii. pp. 141---143. The contrast between those who are and those who are not the objects of the work of Christ, is admirably drawn up in Sermon XVIII. "The poor captive confined in prison, cannot well be insensible to the misery of his condition, nor wholly unconcerned for his deliverance. But a sinner, whose state is justly compared to his, may be destitute of all such feelings: and this is, in fact, the case with the generality of sinners. They are unconcerned about their sins. They are not afraid of God's judgments. They see little or nothing to be lamented in their condition. They are not only • wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,' but morally dead withal: quite insensible to the misery of such a state. "This, however, is by no means the case with the persons here represented. Images are used with respect to them, which describe their minds as deeply touched with the sense of their unhappiness. They are not only captives, but they are brokenhearted in their bondage. The good news of redemption is to be preached to them; which would be no glad tidings to those who felt not the weight of their chains: the year of jubilee is to be proclaimed, when all the oppressed were set free; which would be most acceptable to those who were most sensible of their calamity. "And this description of the persons who shall be benefitted by the salvation of Christ is perfectly just, and corresponds strictly with the whole tenor of Scripture on the subject." Vol. ii. p. 307. The depth and importance of the following extract from the last of these sermons, we think, will excuse our production of it, even after we have so long dwelt upon these doc trinal views of our author. "If there appears any difficulty in receiving this testimony concerning the end which the Saviour was to accomplish, let us reflect that it was a transaction entirely of its own kind, nothing similar to it being to be found, according to which we may measure its propriety or explain its nature. Let us also bear in mind, that heavenly subjects are not to be judged of by worldly ideas, or tried at the bar of human reason. And hence arises the difficulty of compre hending those parts of Revelation which relate to heavenly things. From the ignorance of our minds and the imperfection of our faculties the Revelation must necessarily be accommodated to worldly ideas. It must be an approximation to truth, rather than truth itself. It must select some earthly analogy, and give an imperfect explanation of heavenly subjects, by a reference to the earthly subjects with which they best admit of being compared. Thus, in speaking of the proper nature and dig. nity of the Saviour, and his relation to God, the term Son of God' is used; because the idea of a Son conveys the nearest resemblance of that mysterious union, that intimate connection, which subsists be. tween Christ and the Father. But yet the term is inadequate to convey to us perfect conceptions. The union is of an infinitely higher and closer nature, than earthly words can describe, or human imagination conceive. And a great part of the errors of man arises from this source, that he judges of God by earthly ideas, and tries his ways by the scanty conceptions of worldly reason. Vain and foolish proceed. ing! Every thing relating to God, every thing relating to the ways of God, mocks all the efforts of man's understanding. We cannot form a clear judgment of any one of his attributes, or fully comprehend any of his actions. His ways are in the great deep, and his judgments past finding out. Let us, then, when we approach our present subject; one which treats of the very highest and most solemn transaction between God and man; one, confessedly, which has no parallel by which it can be judged, and must therefore rest solely upon its own basis; let us divest our minds rived from the earth on which we tread, of all narrow, partial, grovelling ideas deand the poor fallen creatures by whom we are surrounded, and elevate our thoughts to the majesty of God, the sublimity of his attributes, and the glory of his Son. Then we shall see that such was the awful holiness of God, that he thought it right to display that holiness in the most illustrious manner, by making his own Son suffer death as an expiation for sin. Such was his infinite mercy that he withheld not from us his only Son, but gave him up to be the propitiation of our sins. He treats him as the representative of the human race. The Son takes upon him their nature: he bears in his own body their sins: he voluntarily suffers for their sakes:and God, in accepting what he suffered, accepts them also; pardons, for his sake, their transgressions; receives them into his favour, as the redeemed of his Son; and blesses them with infinite and eternal blessings, on account of their relation to him. With him they are raised from death; through him they are translated to heaven. Sanctified by him, their prayers are heard and their imperfect repentance accepted. Through him all mercy, life, and pardon, in a word, all blessings, are dispensed to sinful man." Vol. ii. pp. 348-351. On the second head of extracts, viz. from the practical and experimental parts of these valuable ser mons, we shall not dwell long; partly because it will need no illustration to the most cursory reader, that the purest and most exalted standard of true scriptural faith and holiness is uniformly set up; but partly also because, if we are to speak freely, we do not think that the peculiar excellence of these sermons consists in that searching closeness of practical application, that anatomy of the heart, that vigorous appeal to the conscience and all the most operative passions in common-place minds, which we see in some writers, whose habits, or whose turn of thought seem to have led them strongly to that department. We find in them more of Howe's "Blessedness of the Righteous," than we do of Baxter's "Christian Directory, or Call to the Unconverted;" more of the reasoning sagacity of Sherlock, than the business-like style of a South, a Barrow, a Secker. Always, however, we rejoice to see the grand and fundamental points of the Christian life most clearly laid down, and most strongly insisted upon. The renovating change, the devotedness of the heart to God, the true sanctification of the soul under the influence of the Holy Spirit, with the broad distinctive line of demarcation "between him who serveth God and him who serveth him not," are all stated and appealed to with perfect correctness and decision. As an example, we select out of a multitude of others the following energetic delineation of godliness. "But it must be remembered, that god liness is not a cold assent to the truths of religion. It is not a natural softness and benevolence of temper; it is not the abstaining from gross sins, or the giving to God a part of our hearts and some vacant portions of our time, while the bulk of both is alienated from him, that will entitle us to the benefits which follow godliness. No: godliness is the entire subjection and devotedness of the soul to God himself. It is the practical acknowledgment of his unfimited sovereignty, and the unreserved dedication of our whole selves to his service. To speak in the emphatical language of the Apostle, it is Christ formed in the heart by the powerful energy of the Holy Spirit; in consequence of which the person becomes a new creature, both with regard to his temper and practice: he partakes of a Divine nature, and those members which were formerly the servants of sin are now employed as instruments of righteousness unto God. This is real godliness: this is what is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. The form of godliness, too often and too fatally mismind; does not implant there the love of taken for it, brings no just peace to the God; does not correct the faulty dispositions of the heart; is of no service in the distressing scenes of life; and is attended with no good to society. From this shadow of godliness the opinions of the world have been too generally taken respecting its substance, and its effects estimated; and hence it has appeared to be so barren of good, and so useless to mankind, neither promoting their peace nor their virtue. substantial. Under the deep impression of Let us, therefore, seek for something more the corruption of our nature, let us breathe after the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God; and pray earnestly to obtain the mind which was in Christ. Let us remember that the kingdom of God con Holy Ghost; and that he that serveth sists in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved of men," Vol. ii. pp. 238, 239. Some admirable and highly prac tical instructions occur also in the same volume, in the discourse on "the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees," and also on the duty of "doing all to the Glory of God;" which last is handled quite in Mr. Venn's manner, being introduced by a most able exposition of the preceding passage in St. Paul, in which the subject is discussed of eating things offered to idols. We must content ourselves also with refer. ring to a very practical and useful sermon on the "Reasons why Men do not come unto Christ," which contains an admirable passage fol lowing the words, "It requires a very deep sense of the holiness of God, of the sinfulness of man, and the awfulness of standing in judgment before the Divine Tribunal, in order justly to value such a Saviour as Jesus Christ." Vol. ii. p. 196.A variety of most useful and discriminating observations also appear in the First Volume, on "The Tares and the Wheat," "the Causes of Unthankfulness," and "the gradual Progress of Evil," and some very forcible appeals to the conscience, in the sermon on "Indecision in Religion." "The Fall and Punishment of David,” in this volume, and the character of "Jacob and Esau," in the second, are also ably and strongly handled. On the character of Jacob, Volume II. Sermon II. we find some profound observations on "prophecy not being our rule of conduct:" and we are particularly pleased with the following remark, in the opening, which puts a trite though important subject in a new light. "In many facts of history recorded by the sacred penman, he merely relates the story, without making any comments upon it. This simplicity of narration is peculiar to the ancient historians. The practice of modern times is different. The historian now commonly conveys his own judgment on that which he records: he intersperses reflections: he displays himself as well as bis subject. This plainness of the ancient writers may be attended either by good or bad consequences. The beneficial conse. quences are these, that we are led to rea son for ourselves, and that we are compelled in so doing to increase the diligence and accuracy of our examination. One of the mischievous consequences (I speak particularly with respect to the sacred writers) is, the danger of approving the actions related of good men, whenever the historian has not marked them with a note of disapprobation." Vol. ii. pp. 17, 18. He then remarks, that the whole life of Jacob became afterwards as instructive a lesson against fraud, as though the inspired penman had in scribed in the front of it, "Behold here the baneful effects of fraud !" Our third line of selection was to embrace the more devotional, spiritual, and sublime subjects of discourse in these volumes, which, as they constitute a large class, so they appear to have been the employment most congenial to our author's mind, the object most suited to his genius and most familiar to his thoughts. Seldom have we found a wider range of pieces, within so short a space, from which to select specimens of the real eloquence of feeling, the energy of a sanctified imagination, the soarings of moral sublimity. God and his attributes; Christ and the resplendent perfections of his person; angels and their employments; heaven and its choicest joys; the communion of saints above and be. low; the whole family in heaven and earth, with all its varied feelings and pursuits, hopes and interests, privileges in possession, and in prospect; these are subjects upon which he ever seems most delighted to dwell, and to have inscribed on them "It is good for us to be here." In this sacred atmosphere, his wing never seems to flag, his zeal to cool, his soul to faint. Heaven itself seents to have taken full possession of his mind; and in his pages, whilst occupied on these topics, if we may borrow an analogy from the purest earthly flame, Divine Love his golden shafts employs, here lights But we must proceed to our ex. tracts. In Sermon III. Volume I. on "the Glory of God," from Exod. xxxiii. 18. we have a fine description of the glory of the Deity, from which we find it difficult to select any passage, which should convey a just conception of the whole portrait. The following sentence on the goodness of God much struck us. |