Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

name the prince of darkness, without turning him into a harmless eastern metaphor. Such men never dare to look titled wickedness in the face. Full of worldly policy and aspen timidity, they always say, yes, to the world, whatever it may declare or propose. They never trouble the rich, the gay, the polite, with any of the unwelcome and old-fashioned topics of religion; or, at any rate, not till they are just leaving the world, and want to be assured that such harmless and good-hearted people as they are, have nothing to fear. Such ministers, if they be considered the followers of Christ, must, like Peter, follow him afar off; they come very far short of discharging the duties of a faithful and devoted minister of the gospel.

But such worldly prudence is far from being confined to the pulpit; it descends into the pew-it disseminates itself through the whole church--it weakens and enervates the very vitals of religion in the soul, and produces a weakly, and sickly, and puny race of Christians. When such dwarfish Christians, if Christians indeed they may be called, are about to connect themselves with a church, almost the first inquiry is, what church shall I join to increase my personal honor, and to advance my temporal interest? Thus they commence a Christian life under the influence of worldly policy, and prosecute it by following Christ afar off; while others, perhaps, run well for a season, and then fall under the dominion of this fatal influence, and begin to hesitate, and shrink, and decline in their Christian course. They do not fear death in the service of God, for this does not menace them; but they fear to lose some temporal good, to forget the esteem of men, or to incur their displeasure. Under the influence of this fear, they shrink at the cross, they neglect duty, they bring darkness upon the mind, and death into the soul; and if they do not wholly renounce Christ, they, at best, follow him afar off.

4. Finally, another cause of Peter's following Christ afar off was unbelief. This was at the root of Peter's base and cowardly conduct. The eye of faith was nearly closed, and flesh and blood prevailed against it. And unbelief still remains one of the most common and fatal evils that afflict the church of God. It pervades the whole atmosphere of the Christian church, but its darkness is more visible in some minds than in others. And O! how fatal and deadly are its effects upon the vitality of the soul. There is no grace so highly honors God as faith; nor any evil so reprobated by him as unbelief. Other evils are acts of rebellion against his authority; but this rises up against every one of his perfections. It doubts his wisdom, his power, his goodness, his love, his mercy; yea, it questions even his veracity, and reduces the infinite Jehovah to a level with his creatures. Other evils, if we come to God in the exercise of faith, may be forgiven; but this evil, while it remains dominant in the soul, precludes the possibility of forgiveness; because it keeps us from God, to whom we ought to come, and puts away from us that mercy which he offers to bestow. Every

degree of unbelief is injurious to the Christian, since it pours darkness upon the understanding, and beclouds and obscures his future prospects. It cuts him off from divine direction, and also from divine aid. It fills the mind with doubts, and fears, and discouragements. Thus the unbelieving Christian is left to take refuge in false expedients; to fall back from God, from holiness, and from a sense of duty, and to follow Christ afar off. And how can it be otherwise, for unbelief weakens the Saviour's attractions-obscures his glory-enervates the soul-depresses the spirits-and stupifies the feelings. And this habit of mind is fatal to the growth of Christianity, and withering to all the graces of the spiritual life.

IV. But we have not delineated the worst feature in the character we have been drawing-there still remains a darker shade to be exhibited-it is the fatal consequences attending this course of conduct. These are awfully displayed in Peter himself. He, at length, stumbled, and finally fell; and a dreadful fall indeed it was. Poor Peter's heart finally became so alienated from his Lord and Master, that he could deny him with oaths and curses. poor sinful nature! What is man when left to himself? Samson, shorn of his locks, becomes as weak as another man; and so an apostle, when his heart becomes alienated from Christ, is unable to resist the most slender temptation, and immediately falls into the grossest sins.

Alas! for

And what melancholy falls succeed a declining state of piety in the present day! What sad reverses, what doleful crimes, have marked the history of some of the most eminent saints in modern times! Some ministers of the gospel, of shining parts, of deep piety, of great moral worth, by laying down their watch, and suffering the spirit of piety to decline within them, have by degrees departed from the Lord, till, finally, they stumbled and fell, and have been left to commit crimes shocking to humanity. The same has also been the case among the private members of the church. Even the most heaven-daring and out-breaking sins have marked their wayward course, adultery and murder not excepted. One falls into drunkenness, and another into licentiousness; one is brought under the dominion of covetousness, and another of censoriousness; one falls a prey to pride, and another to envy. And thus the very land we inhabit is polluted, and the public morals of the community corrupted by the unholy and impure examples of fallen professors of religion.

1. Again, what a gross dishonor to the cause of Christ, was the conduct of Peter! What an insult to the Saviour for his first apostle to be ashamed of him, and to deny all knowledge of him! To declare, openly and publicly, that he did not so much as know the man! What a weapon it put into the hands of his enemies! How did they triumph over the fallen cause of the dear Redeemer, and exult at the approaching signs of its extermination! And deep reproach is still brought upon the sacred cause of religion by those

halting followers of Christ, when they lose their piety and zeal, fall into sin, or manifest a worldly and trifling spirit. Such professors of religion bring upon the cause of Christ a deeper and more lasting stain than do all the reproaches of infidelity. Indeed, nearly all the poisonous darts of infidelity fall harmless to the ground: while those of fallen professors penetrate deep, stick fast, and rankle and poison even to the very core. Whenever Christ is wounded in the house of his friends, then the self-righteous and profane rejoice-then the wicked triumph. And what is still more melancholy, the feeble and the lame are often turned aside.

2. Finally, the conduct of Peter brought upon himself the most keen reflections and the most bitter remorse. This is a certain consequence, especially where, as in the case of Peter, the fall is scandalous. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways. Happy, indeed, if remorse be indulged in due season—if it lead to the cross of the injured Jesus. Too frequently, it is to be feared, repentance is resisted, and endless remorse in the flames of hell become the lot of the unhappy backslider. One thing, then, is certain, wherever sin exists, it must become the occasion of keen remorse here, or of painful emotions hereafter. Every sin that is not repented of, and pardoned in this life, will most assuredly be punished in the life to come.

1st. In the conclusion of our remarks on this subject, permit me to urge upon you, in the first place, the importance of guarding against the beginnings of declension in religion. A declension in religion usually comes on gradually, and by degrees. Christians are seldom plunged from a state of deep and fervent piety, into the depth of sin and depravity. At first, they usually neglect duty, which brings darkness and death upon the soul, and then, little by little, they depart from the path of rectitude, without intending to do any thing materially wrong, or to backslide from the Lord. And thus by degrees the comforts and consolations of religion depart, till, at length, they are wholly lost. Nothing now remains but a form of godliness, which is maintained by many painful and disagreeable expedients. In this state of things, the mind is dissatisfied, restless, and uneasy; and, at length, breaks through the restraints of law, and seeks indulgence and gratification in sinful pleasures. Then God is dishonored, the conscience wounded, and the cause of religion disgraced. To guard effectually against this state of things, we must watch the most secret and hidden emotions of the heart, and constantly preserve a lively and deep sense of inward piety. We must adopt and maintain the principle of total abstinence against all sin-against little sins as well as against great ones; for we are more in danger of yielding to the influence of the temptation of small sins, than of great ones. Many professors of religion would shudder at the temptation of a large crime, who are living in the daily practice of small sins. We should maintain a state of active piety, for this is the most effectual way to guard against evil and

corrupt influences. The Christian who is active in the cause of religion, will preserve and maintain a vigorous state of piety, and this will be an effectual barrier against all the encroachments of sin. We should also be constant and regular in the discharge of every moral and religious duty, neglecting nothing which God requires of us, and doing nothing he has forbidden. Let us, then, follow hard after our Saviour, keeping our eye continually upon him, imitating his example, and walking in his footsteps; and thus shall we be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

2d. Finally, if there be any in this assembly who, like Peter, are following Christ afar off, I would urge upon you to consider the sin and danger of your state, and call upon you immediately to return to the Lord. You may not yet have fallen into any gross and scandalous sins; but remember you are rapidly declining into that state of mind which will provoke God to abandon you, and to give you up to believe a lie that you may be damned. Šolemn thought! but it is no less solemn than true. You cannot remain long in your present condition; you must return to the Lord from whom you have wickedly departed, or you will be swept away into the vortex of sin and ruin, by the current of the world. It is in vain for you to hope to stem the tide of worldly popularity, and corrupt appetite, at a distance from Christ. Peter was unable to do it ; and you will be found as weak as he was, unless you are supported by the all-sustaining arm of divine grace. And how can you hope for this at a distance from Christ, and in the neglect of duty? The path of duty is the only way of safety; and it is only in the way of duty that we can either claim or expect the divine protection. God has nowhere promised to spread his shield of protection over the idle, the indolent, and the loitering. If you would claim and secure the protection of heaven in this world of sin and danger, you must be found in the way of duty-you must watch unto prayer, and put forth in the service of God all the active powers of the soul. While the soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing, the soul of the diligent is made fat. He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. If you, then, would secure the favor of God, and replenish the soul with divine grace, you must shake off sloth and stupidity-you must rouse yourself from that dull, stupid, and lifeless frame into which you have fallen-you must come up to the full measure of duty, and once more engage in the service of God, soul, spirit, and body, as in former days. Then new vigor will spring up in the heart, and fresh grace will be imparted to the soul, and new light will be poured upon the understanding; and you will experience that inward renovation which will cause old things to pass away, and all things to become new. When the heart is thus touched by the living energy of the gospel, then the yoke of Christ becomes easy, and his burden light; then the joy of the Lord, a joy unspeakable and full of glory, springs up spontaneously in the mind;

then the soul is delighted with the fatness and marrow of God's house; then the undying fire of zeal and love is kindled up in the heart, and the watchful, prayerful, and devoted Christian, goes on his way rejoicing; then the Christian is not only prepared to be active, but also to be useful, in the cause of God and in the salvation of the world.

DISCOURSE XIX.

A Sermon to Young Men.

"I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding."-Proverbs vii, 7.

""Tis education forms the common mind;

Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."

SOME moralists have compared the state of infancy to a blank sheet of paper, to be filled up in after life, with either good or evil, as the case may be. This comparison, however just and striking in some respects, yet in others will be found defective. The infant may resemble a blank sheet of paper, with respect to ideas, remaining as yet in a state of entire ignorance. It may also be represented as a blank sheet of paper with regard to moral actions, having done neither good nor evil. But, at the same time, it possesses all the passions and appetites, all the powers and capacities of a man, in miniature. The infant, by the growth of years, or by the acquisition of knowledge, acquires no new powers or capacities; but merely develops its latent principles, and unfolds and illustrates the vigor of its intellect. It is not in the power of the universe to give one new faculty to the infant mind. We can merely improve the powers and faculties that are imparted in the gifts of nature.

I should, therefore, prefer to illustrate the infant mind by the young twig, which will yield, at least in some degree, to the power of art, and the force of habit; while the man of years resembles the sturdy oak, that has struck its roots deep into the bowels of the earth, and lifted its trunk aloft in the air, and becomes stubborn and unyielding. Train up a child, says Solomon, in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. If, in early life, we are brought under a religious influence, and receive proper and suitable instruction, and are led, by good examples and right influences, to form the habits of piety and virtue, we shall be doubly fortified against the seductions of sin, and the wiles of the devilwe shall be fortified in principle, and fortified in habit. Such persons resemble, indeed, the sturdy oak. Having struck their roots

« PoprzedniaDalej »