That God can confidently do other than leave them to perish, is to us unknown. It may be impossible to renew them by repentance—beyond the power of Omnipotence to save them!
The conditions of salvation are fixed: No change can be made in them. "The impenitent heart treasureth up wrath. He that believeth not shall be damned. If we do not believe, yet God abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself." The terms of acceptance with God are laid before us; the event depends on the choice we make. SUCH we conceive to be man's situation here: Such the ground of the applications made to him in the gospel, and the promises and threatening annexed to the proposals therein contained. On another, supposition do they appear rational. On no other can we account for our Savior's declaration that Sodom, had she enjoyed Capernaum's advantages, would have remained till his day. [61]
Divine benevolence is great; but it will not secure salvation to gospel despisers: They "will wonder and perish." As the first covenant had conditions annexed to it, so hath the new covenant. To pretend that there are none—that man hath no concern to secure the divine favor, is to charge folly on God, in all the overtures which are made to man in the gospel.
Life and death are now set before us. We may be saved, or we may perish. Which will be our portion depends on the effect which the proposals of grace have upon us. Today if ye will hear God's voice harden not your hearts. Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Beware lest you [62] destroy a soul for which Christ died; and lest you have occasion at last to take up that lamentation—"The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved."
SERMON XVIII.
"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with, thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?—He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good: And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with, thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?—He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good: And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
As mankind are endowed with reason, and profess to be governed by it, their revolts from God are practical criminations of him: Therefore his expostulations with his people of old, when they forsook him and followed other gods—"What iniquity have your fathers found in me? O my people what have I done unto thee? And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me." [63]
Israel as a people were going away from God, and he condescended to reason with them, and show them their ingratitude and baseness. To this end, he reminded them of his past care of them, and kindness to them, as a nation, from the time of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt—"I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee from the house of servants"—After just glancing at that deliverance, he passes over the wonders wrought for them at the red sea, and in the wilderness, and their numerous rebellions, while he was leading them as a flock, and supplying their wants by a series of miracles, and enlarges on an event which took place on the borders of Canaan, the attempts made by Balak, the king of Moab, to prevail with him to leave his people and go over to him, and help him against them, and his faithfulness to Israel on that occasion—"O my people, remember now what Balak, king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam, the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord." [64]
Balak's consultations, or inquiries, are contained in the two last verses of our text: Balaam's answer in the third. In Balak's inquiries we see the ideas which he entertained of God, and of the service which he supposed would be acceptable to Him, and engage, him to forsake his people, and deliver him from his fears on their account. Balaam's answer corrects Balak's mistakes, and discovers surprizingly just apprehensions of the true God, and true religion, though depravity prevailed, and caused him to counteract his convictions, by advising Balak to measures directly opposed to his sense of duty.