The answer of a good conscience towards God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ....1 Pet. iii. 21. THE grand business of faith is, to give being and subsistence to divine truths in the mind....Heb. xi. 1. Hence, conscience gets re- 'lief and peace, and the soul is made happy. Consider, 1st. What is conscience? Science is knowledge: pre-science is fore-knowledge. Conscience is something joined WITH knowledge: "Some have their conscience defiled."....Tit. i. 15. With what? The guilt of their sins. Some are said, "to be sprinkled from an evil, or guilty conscience."....Heb. x. 22. With what? The blood of Christ: there. fore, in respect to a good or bad conscience, something must be joined with the science or knowledge of the mind to determine it by. In this sense the word conscience is used in scripture. Hence, 2d. We may easily see what is the answer of a good conscience before God. Join the law of God with your science, or knowledge of yourself. What report will conscience make? The law condemns: conscience pleads guilty: it has got evil in it. Hence you fear and tremble: but faith joins with our science, or knowledge, THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST: then we have a good conscience, not troubled with the guilt of sin: for Christ died for our sins; he atoned for them all on the cross; they are all buried in his sepulchre. He rose again for our justification: hence we are fully discharged from all condemnation for sin. Thus we have a good answer from a good conscience towards God, by the ressurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, 1st. This is what Paul calls "The mystery of faith."....1 Tim. iii. 9. It is a mystery, known only by the experience of the faithful. Carnal reason cannot comprehend it; the judgment of sense rejects it; natural men think a good conscience arises from their being good in themselves, and doing no harm; they have a stupid conscience and a deceitful heart; they believe a lie; and such, from a notion of their own righteousness, think they have a good answer therefrom towards God. Such is the ignorance, blindness, and unbelief of nature. This nature is part of us: this flesh, with all its carnal reasonings and corrupt notions, opposes the mystery of faith in the conscience. Therefore, 2d. This mystery is to be held in a pure conscience: the resurrection of Christ is to be held fast, as that truth by which conscience can maintain peace, the heart be made happy, the life influenced to all holiness, while God justifies us: this is the peculiar glory of faith. Hence, "The God of hope fills us with all joy and peace in believing."....Rom. xv. 13. This is our resurrection blessing. I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night.... Psalm cxix. 55. CONSIDER, 1st. Hebrew names express the nature of the things to which they are applied. Whatever name the LORD makes himself known by to us, is expressive of his nature and of his covenant of love and grace to us. Hence there is no name so sweet to us sinners, as that which he hath asssumed, the name JESUS: the LORD, the self-existing Jehovah, Jesus. All the glorious perfections of wisdom, love and power, shine with the greatest lustre in that name: the great God, even our Saviour Jesus....Tit. ii. 13. All the attributes of Jehovah are magnified and glorified in that precious. name. 2d. To remember the name of the Lord, is to meditate in faith upon what he is to us, hath done for us, and hath promised to bestow upon us, as the Lord our Saviour. O, what a wide field for meditation is here! But, 3d. David remembered the Lord in the night. While others are sleeping, or doing worse, he was meditating; in the night, when all nature is in profound silence: this is a blessed season for meditation upon the Lord of creation, Providence, and grace. But by the night may also be understood, 1st. The night of affliction, pain, and sickness of body. O, how sweet to remember the Lord's name in it; to see the rod of love in the hand of a covenant God and loving Father. Or, 2d. A night of bereaving, the loss of a near relative, or a dear friend. O, blessed to remember, "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away ;" and to remember the Lord, to sanctify the loss, that we may be enabled -to say, "blessed be the name of the Lord." Or, 3d. The night of temptation, when all appears dark and distressing: then how joyful to remember the name of him who was tempted for us, the love of him who sympathizes with us, the power of him who is able to succour us, and the compassion of him who says his grace is sufficient for us! Or, 4th. The night of desertion: O this si a black night indeed! but yet, how animating to remember the name of the Lord, who declares, "In a little wrath, I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer."....Isa. liv. 8. Lastly, how sweet to remember the name of the Lord, against the night of death. Dear Lord, familiarize that solemn night to our souls: let us meditate on it with composure and look for it with joy: when we think of its awful solemnity, let us remember thee, who hast swallowed up death in victory, took away its strength and sin; so that in faith we may joyfully cry out, "O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory! Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."....1 Cor. lv. 57. Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?....John xxi. 17. PETER had grieved his Lord by three denials of him: now his Lord grieves Peter with three questions of his love to him. We may often read our sin in our punishment: Peter's Lord suffered him to fall, to lower his pride and self-confidence. Now he has got him down in the valley of humiliation, he keeps him there. A little while ago he boasts of his superlative love to Christ, above all the rest of his disciples: "though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended....I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death....though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." Brave words! Who can doubt of the sincerity of Peter's heart in all this? Hence learn, 1st. The warm frames of young converts are often attended with great self-confidence: there is much of nature's fire in them. My heart has often rejoiced and has been warmed with love, to hear the ardor and energy with which some in their first love have spoken of precious Jesus: but I have thought, a sifting time will come; the Lord keep your poor hearts humble before him. 2d. See the unchangeable love and sovereign grace of Christ to his dear disciples. He told Peter of his fall and warned him against it; yea, set before him every particular aggravation of it. How blind are those who see not here the divinity of our Lord? Notwithstanding this, Peter abates nothing of his self-confidence. Must his fall cure him? Not that, but Christ's grace, raised and restored him. Falls into sin, naturally harden through the deceitfulness of sin: take heed of looking to saints' falls, to make you think little of your own. Peter's fall was a damnable sin: he deserved hell for it: Christ snatched him as a brand out of the fire. His grace brings good out of the evil of sin. Let us glory of grace, but beware of sin. For, 3d. Souls raised by the grace of Christ are grieved for their base sins and falls; though the subject between Christ and Peter was LOVE, yet it grieves: no threats of hell and damnation wound new born souls like love: "lovest thou me?" saith the Lord. Look back, soul, to thy past conduct; say, was there warm and generous love to thy Lord in it? O, the thought of past unkindness to Christ grieves the soul before him. As Christ repeats the question, grief is enlarged. 4th. Never think you are truly raised from your falls and restored to the love of Christ, if you have not grief of heart for them: Christ's grace melts into love; love sinks into humility, while it kindles the fire of joy and excites a godly jealousy. There's grief in love which none can Humble me, Lord, unto the dust, M, Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed.... Rom. iv. 16. : MEN come to earthly inheritances either by heirship, gift of purchase each one can tell how he came by his estate, and by what right he holds it. Come, christian, examine thy heavenly inheri tance to-night: see how thou camest possessed of it, and by what 1st. It is thine by purchase; not means thou dost hold and enjoy it. that thou didst ever contribute one mite to buy it; but Christ thy elder brother paid the full price for it: therefore it is called "the 2d. It is thine by gift: purchased inheritance."....Eph. i. 14. "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.".... Luke xii. 32. 3d. It is thine by heirship: thou wast born to inherit it; not by thy natural, but by thy spiritual birth. Now thou art "an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ," thy elder brother....Rom. viii. 17. 4th. How dost thou hold it? BY FAITH. Mind this faith is not thy title to it: thou hast that by pur chase, heirship and gift. Faith receives it, takes possession of it, and enjoys the comfort of it. "We receiving a kingdom"....Heb. xii. 28. 5th. The Spirit is the earnest of this inheritance: he first makes thee an heir, then bears witness to it, by possessing thee of the graces and gifts of the kingdom: so he trains thee up for the full enjoyment of it in glory. 6th. It is by faith, "that it might be by grace." Works have not the least hand at all in the matter: they neither procure right for give title to it: it is a gift of the free favor of God: adoption to heirship, and purchase of it, are all of free grace; and faith to enjoy it, is a gift of grace also. Well then, O soul, does not this inspire thee to give all the glory to a gracious God? But mind again, lastly, it is by grace, "to this end, that the promise might be sure to all the seed," even the promise of eternal life. The promise is by grace, therefore it is absolute, sure and certain, else God's truth would fail: if it was suspended but upon the smallest condition of works (whatever some may say) every Soul would forfeit his title to heaven and fall into hell but it is "sure to all the seed;" for God, who cannot lie, promised eternal life before the world began....Tit. i. 2. To whom? To Christ, for and In behalf of all his spiritual seed: therefore in Christ our title is sure: living upon him by faith, we enjoy both present comfort and full assurance that we shall live and reign with him in his kingdom of glory. Thus poor sinners' hearts are made happy in faith, joyful in hope, obedient in love, while Father, Son and Spirit, have all the glory. Grace freely gives and faith receives, The promise of eternal life; Mence all our joy of hope revives, Conscience is freed from strife. The woman's seed, the seed of Christ, Are heirs, by promise sure, Moses endured, as seeing him who is invisible....Heb. xi. 27. WHAT a paradox! "Seeing him who is invisible." Is not this deemed the very height of enthusiasm? I dearly love that word: it signifies, being IN GOD: and I love it in the very sense carnal men use it too; for they mean, one who has got the zeal and fire of godliness in his soul. Give me that man for my companion who is cast off by the world as an enthusiast. Is it any marvel that scriptural, experimental truths are foolishness to the spiritually blind, and that they can neither endure the persons nor the language of the children of faith? Consider, 1st. What did Moses endure? What you, and I, and every enlightened soul is called to endure, "the reproach of Christ, and suffering affliction with the people of God." Now this is opposed, by "enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season." So that if you will but enjoy the pleasures of sin, with the men of this world, you may escape the reproach of Christ and avoid suffer. ing affliction from them. Now, which is your choice? If Christ is in your eye, you cannot hesitate one moment: Moses' choice will be yours. Give me Christ....welcome reproach....afflictions I em brace for him. O let me have Christ within me, and his mark upon me. Faith makes all easy: love makes all pleasant: hope makes all joyful. Well, but how could Moses endure the reproach of Christ, before Christ was born in the flesh? Why, the promised Messiah was the object of his faith, his hope, his love and his joy: so he was of all these heroes of faith, recorded in this chapter. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," is the one only object of every sinner's faith, since the fall of Adam to this day take away Christ and faith has no existence. But, 2d. How did Moses endure? Just as you and I must, SEEING this implies a continued act of the mind, constantly fixed upon an object. We cannot be stedfast in faith, joyful in hope, abounding in love, and enduring reproach for Christ, unless we are continually "looking untó Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."....Heb. xii. 2. Though he is invisible to the eye of sense, yet we see him by the eye of faith see him as our fore-runner entered into the heavens for us....removed all things out of the way that hindered us....ever living to pray for us....ever ready to keep us....and waiting to receive us to himself, that where he is there we may be also. O, this constant looking makes hopeful, holy, joyful living, and com fortable dying. Faith is a sight unto the soul, To see an unseen Christ, Which does our sinful pow'rs controul, VOL. II. D d |