Thus, indeed, every additional admonition, which a gracious God may be pleased to vouchsafe unto us, will be turned to good account; our faith will be confirmed, our affections purified, our knowledge increased, our resolutions strengthened and settled; “unto him that hath, shall more be given;” the sincere and pious believer will advance, at every call, a step nearer to his Saviour and his God; the still small voice of heavenly warning will be heard, even amidst the ordinary occurrences of life; the wonderful dealings of providence and the manifold means of grace will be turned to godly account; the instructions and examples of the living, and the contemplation of the saints at rest, will alike afford materials for spiritual edification. But if the great call to liberty and life be habitually neglected, to liberty from sin and shame, and life to holiness and glory, then the mind and heart are not in a condition to take advantage of occasional excitement; it strikes, but it does not overcome; it rouses, but the stupor returns.
2. Proceed we now to the second observation which may be drawn from the text, that when men reject the abundant evidence of truth, and the gracious invitations of heaven already given, when they have resisted the strivings of the Spirit of God, they are not to expect Him to deviate from the ordinary rules of His providence and grace, for the sake of removing their wilful blindness, and overcoming their perverseness and obstinacy.
It is a part of the divine economy, in the salvation of man, that he should of his own free will, by the grace of God preventing and assisting, “refuse the evil and choose the good:” and therefore man is not to expect from the Almighty any such interference in his favour, as might absolutely overrule his will, and compel him to hearken and obey. God’s infinite mercy is sufficiently manifested in His offer and promise to save those rebellious sinners, who listen to the teaching of His Spirit, who are willing to be saved in His own appointed way. To save those who quench the light afforded them, who discover no such willingness, who unthankfully turn away and refuse the inestimable gift presented to them, would be in direct opposition to the whole tenour of the word of God. And experience concurs with Scripture to inform us, that no such extraordinary interposition is generally vouchsafed. The Jews, in our Saviour’s time, had read of the miracles of Moses and the prophets, professed to credit their inspiration, and their mission from on High; they had seen the astonishing miracles of Christ Himself; and might, if they would, have perceived the fulfilment of their prophecies in Him; many of them were eyewitnesses to the signs and wonders attendant upon His crucifixion; to the earthquake, and the supernatural darkness, and the rending of the veil of their temple; nor could they deny His resurrection from the dead. Against all this body of evidence, against all the means of conviction, they persevered in their rejection of Him. And the time came, when no further testimonial was to be granted; they were left “to fill up the measure of their fathers;” they died in their sins.
In addition to all these opportunities and advantages afforded to the Jew, we enjoy, at this day, the fulness of the manifestation of the gospel; the real nature of the Messiah’s kingdom is clearly and completely revealed unto us; the blessings of the gospel are set before us, in the most conspicuous and glorious light; we have all the certainty, which mortals can have, of a world to come; all the knowledge which our imperfect faculties could receive, of the nature of that world; and all the means of grace and hopes of glory. And if by all these mercies we are not convinced and persuaded, we can have no right or reason to look for any preternatural or overpowering interposition, even from the goodness and long-suffering of God. Rather may we fear that judicial infatuation, so frequently alluded to in Scripture, of the closed eye, the dull ear, and the gross obdurate heart. O let the sinner, instead of flattering himself with the delusion, that some extraordinary thing will one day be happening to him, which shall disengage him from earth, and fix his thoughts on heaven and eternity, O let him rather apprehend that the time is approaching, when the measure of his iniquity shall be filled up, and God will be no longer found.
I am not asserting, that such signal interferences have never been vouchsafed; that such loud awakenings have never been successful: I mean, that they are not in the ordinary course of divine providence, and are not to be expected. I mean to say, that where the grace of the gospel is continually resisted in the heart and life, the careless recusant is seldom reclaimed through the medium of any extraordinary visitation; whether of sickness, of accident, or any terrible calamity. The man, who entrusts his soul to the hope and operation of such occurrences, is placing it in imminent jeopardy. Whoever will save his soul alive, let him, without delay, “seek the Lord, while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near;” [130a] peradventure God may “laugh at his calamity, and mock when his fear cometh.” [130b]
And in other ways also does the same evil principle work, the same evil habit of “resisting the grace of God:” many persons, who express themselves thoroughly convinced of the truth of the christian revelation, and the absolute necessity of a spiritual obedience and a holy walking with God, put off their work of righteousness, from year to year, in the hope, not of any great or appalling event, but that some new circumstances may arise, which shall make it more convenient for them to renounce the world, and attend, without let or hindrance, to the salvation of their souls; they will have gained a sufficiency of earthly comforts, or they will be tired of the world; they will be growing old and feeble, and naturally more inclined to think of heavenly things. But this is only the same temptation as the former, presented in another shape; the “convenient season” is hoped for in vain; Satan never suffers us to be without a hindrance, real or imaginary; our attachment to the world does not wear off; we grow older without growing more religious, without drawing nearer to God; and we never are, it is impossible we should be, naturally disposed to “turn and seek after Him:” thus the delusion goes on; and we “will not be persuaded;” and thus, too frequently, the “expectation cometh utterly to an end for evermore.” There is no trusting to anything, but the present conviction and determination, but the instant and unreserved “obedience of the heart unto righteousness;” “to-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” [132]
In conclusion, I call upon you to think on the condition of the rich man in torment. His anxiety for a special interference in behalf of his brethren is represented as useless to them, but it may be salutary to us: It may assure us of the wretchedness of that place, to which he was condemned; may incline us, by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, to value and improve His gracious gifts, while they are mercifully bestowed; may determine us, while we have the all-sufficient light of the gospel, to be guided thereby into the way of peace; we may learn from this awful lesson, that if (God forbid that it should be so) but if any of us should be similarly doomed, we shall mourn for ourselves, and be anxious, that the companions we have left may be our companions no more; let us take heed for ourselves, and be anxious for one another in time, while the heed and anxiety may be crowned with success; may lead us to seek and find God’s favour and mercy, and so “escape from the wrath to come.”
SERMON VIII.
PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR.
1 John iv. 18.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment; he that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Of all the sources of happiness, which the merciful God has opened to us, the most pure and abundant are the feelings of affection and love. I appeal, for the truth of this, not to the understandings, but to the hearts of those that hear me; and they will at once testify, unless corrupted and perverted by selfish or vicious habits, that such, even with regard to earthly happiness, is undoubtedly the fact. Persons indeed of inferior principle, of irregular and irreligious lives, frequently draw from this source the most considerable portion of their pleasure, whatever abatements it may receive from their sin and folly: and when the passions are attempered, and the affections purified and exalted, by the influence of our holy religion, by the refining energy of the spirit of God, the delight naturally and necessarily becomes proportionably greater. “To love one another” is not only our first earthly duty, as injoined by the Saviour, but also our highest interest and advantage, as contributing to the happiness of all.