And there is yet another consideration; as we value and use the gracious gifts of God, they are increased and multiplied unto us; “whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance;” [267] the lamp shines brighter, that is to guide his feet; and his heart is ever quickened with fresh energy and zeal, by the influence of the Holy Spirit; thus he goeth on from grace to grace, from strength to strength, “from glory to glory.”
The apostle, therefore, in praying that the converts might be increasing in the knowledge of God, is praying that they might have the invariable mark and earnest of a sincere and genuine faith. How little does this point seem to be considered! How many content themselves without any regular advancement, without any advancement at all; they cannot, after all the flattery with which they contrive to deceive themselves, be persuaded in their minds, that they grow decidedly better as they grow older: a year, perhaps many years ago, they were as religious, as fruitful in piety and good works, as they are now: no increase of spiritual knowledge, no new grace, no fresh habit of obedience, no additional exertions to mark the lapse of time; no passion subdued, no unholy pursuit abandoned, no vice mortified and forsaken. Wherever this is the case, the gospel has not been sincerely received into the heart; it has not been felt as the “power of God unto salvation;” it has not been, as it is designed to be, an effectual instrument of righteousness to the soul. To those, who remain in so careless and indifferent and unimproving a condition, we must say, that “our preaching has been vain, and their faith is also vain.”
Possibly there may be some amongst us, who never yet bestowed an adequate attention on this important point; if any such there be, I would urgently exhort them, as they tender the salvation of their souls, to neglect this point no longer; deeply to enquire without delay, whether they “are growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” [269] Let them enter with earnestness upon this necessary consideration; let it be frequently repeated: Is my faith increased and strengthened? Is my character more holy, my conduct more upright? Does my temper improve? Are my passions better regulated; my thoughts more spiritual; my devotions more pure and fervent; my affections more detached from the world, more fixed on God and heaven? My life and conversation, are they more accordant with the precepts and the example of my Saviour?
But the topics of enquiry are too numerous to be mentioned; I will only add, that the sincere believer sets the “prize of his high calling” continually before him; and advances to it, in holiness and righteousness, every day; keeps advancing till his race is run; and thus, when his toil is over, receives the crown of victory, and “enters into the joy of his Lord.”
SERMON XV.
THE WORD OF THE LORD PRECIOUS.
1 Sam. iii. 1.
The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
From Moses to Samuel, a period of several hundred years, there was no prophet regularly appointed; particular revelations were made to individuals, and occasional messages from heaven were publicly delivered to the people; but there was no acknowledged prophet, to whom they might at all times resort, to know the mind and will of God; or, as it is described in the text, “there was no open vision.” The natural consequence was, that such intimations of the divine will, as were then given, made a deeper impression; they were more highly valued and more eagerly sought for, than when the gift of prophecy, in after ages, became more common. When the word of God abounded, it was received with indifference; when rarely vouchsafed, it was intently desired.
Such is perpetually, and on all occasions, the perverseness of man: blessings of every description are estimated, not according to their excellence, but their rarity; not according to the ease, but the difficulty, with which they are to be obtained. And further, when in possession of a blessing, we are often utterly insensible of its value; we abuse it in thoughtless excess, and are ready to squander it away; but the moment it is departed, we discover our blindness and folly; and would give, perhaps, all we have, to bring the treasure back again. Meat and drink and raiment, the air we breathe, the sun and the shower, excite no spirit of gratitude, and by many are scarcely received and remembered as blessings; but in the days of famine and of pestilence, amidst the warfare and desolation of raging elements, these benefits and mercies are painfully acknowledged, and ardently desired. Again: the advantages of civil and religious liberty make little impression upon the hearts of those, by whom they are fully and uninterruptedly enjoyed: it is under the iron arm of intolerance and oppression; it is in the dungeon and the mine, that the excellency of these privileges is learned. And thus it is of domestic happiness and comfort: the value of home is frequently not appreciated, until it is forsaken and lost; the worth of a friend, even of the nearest relative, is sometimes but lightly considered, till he “goes hence and is no more seen.”
These observations are also illustrative of the feelings and conduct of men, in regard to their spiritual privileges and blessings. While the light of divine revelation is shining upon their dwellings, pointing out to them the way of salvation, and opening the prospect of a glorious immortality, they shut their eyes, and turn away into the fatal paths of sin and misery, to the darkness of eternal death; but when their opportunities are lost, when “the evil days are come upon them,” and there is no instructor or counsellor or comforter to be found, they perceive the preciousness of the time and the talents, which have been heedlessly thrown away; and would give the world, if they possessed it, for what they were once unwilling to make the smallest sacrifice.
We are apt to express a wonder at the obstinate indifference of the people of Israel to their religious advantages and instructions; we are astonished, that they could forget their miraculous deliverances by the hand of Moses, and the manifold revelations vouchsafed through him for their knowledge and guidance; and that almost every divine communication to them, in after ages, should have been but the forerunner of guilt and apostacy: yet in truth, the history of Israel is but too faithful a picture of the people of God in other times and other countries; by no means excluding our own. The word of God has not been accounted precious, in proportion to the extent to which it has been diffused; the Bible has not been, in too many instances, the most highly prized, where it has been most widely circulated; nor have the ministers of the gospel been always most attentively and devoutly heard, where they have increased and multiplied. Before the age of printing, when the copies of the sacred word were comparatively few, the Christian, who was so happy as to possess one, commonly regarded it as a treasure; or if he could obtain a part only, by the labours of the pen, even a gospel or an epistle, it was considered as a “pearl of great price.” And afterwards, in the days of ignorance and persecution, when the sacred scriptures were withheld from the people by a blind and bigotted priesthood, the thirst for divine knowledge, for these streams of life and salvation, was inconceivably great; men sought them and treasured them at the peril of their lives. In these dark days, and long after, the public preachers of the word were few; and people flocked from distant quarters to hear the good tidings proclaimed. Having no regular supply of spiritual food, they sought it out with earnestness where they might; “the word of the Lord was precious in those days;” and “beautiful upon the mountains were the feet of Him,” who came to “lighten their darkness,” and to deliver the message of salvation to their souls.