And further, we are taught by this example of Christ, that every sincere believer, with whom we are made acquainted, with whom we have intercourse, is to be treated as a brother; whatever be his situation in life, he is an object of affection far more noble and delightful, than any human tie can possibly produce; and is entitled to our best and most benevolent services. We may not be familiarly associated; we may not dwell with him as with an earthly relative; there may be a distance of rank between us; but we love and honour him, for the Lord’s sake and his own sake, as one of God’s redeemed people, with whom we hope to dwell in love for ever; and therefore our soul delighteth “to communicate with him and to do him good.” Pity that there is not, in the christian world, more of this spirit of the blessed Jesus; more friendly sympathy and brotherly interchange; more regard for one another, as members of the same holy family; the rich for the rich, the poor for the poor, the rich and poor for each other. Far different would be our condition in this world, if all were thus regarding, thus feeling for, thus helping one another. Why is it not so? For the want of a true christian faith and principle. If the tree were good, the fruit would be thus beautiful.
My brethren, allow me affectionately to recommend this subject to your private and most serious consideration; to your daily prayers; as a subject, in which your own interest in the Saviour is deeply involved; as a subject, intimately connected with all your best promises and hopes, in this life and the life to come. And may the God of love shed His spirit abroad amongst us, and “pour into our hearts this most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues.” Has Jesus, our common Lord and Master, our heavenly and eternal King, declared, of every faithful disciple, that “the same is to Him, as a brother and sister and mother?” Then remember His example, and remember His words, “as I have loved you, that ye love one another:” remember them, or you will be forgotten by Him: “love the brotherhood,” or you do not belong to Christ; your profession is hypocrisy. “Walk in love, as Christ hath loved you;” let it be your daily walk: the reward is great, in every point of view; great upon earth, in present comfort and peace and honour; greater on the latter day, in the approving declaration of your Lord; “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me:” [384] greatest in heaven, where we shall be made “perfect in love;” in the love of God, and of the holy angels, and all His redeemed people, for ever and ever.
SERMON XXI.
ON SEEKING OUT THE WORKS OF THE LORD AND PRAISING HIM.
Psalm cxi. 1. 2.
I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart; in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
One of the greatest hindrances to the Christian life, in the true believer, is his perpetual intermixture with the world, his constant occupation with the business of his daily calling, with earthly pleasures and pursuits. The world, in its very nature, in the spirit which it breathes, in the cares which it engenders, in the temptations which it spreads, stands in opposition to the gospel, to the Christian’s walk with God; it unfits his mind for spiritual contemplation; it gives him a disrelish for holy delights; it calls aside his thoughts from God, from heaven, and from heavenly things; and makes him forget his obligation to, and dependence upon, the merciful and over-ruling providence of the Most High.
And yet it is undoubtedly our duty to live in the world; to partake, in a certain degree, of its pleasures, as well as of its labours and cares. It is the will and decree of God, that mankind should provide “by the sweat of their brow” for their subsistence and well-being in life: integrity and industry in the exercise of our calling are among the appointed means, by which we must “Work out our salvation.” Since therefore we are obliged to mix with the world, our great object should be, to guard against its engrossing and corrupting influence; to retain all our possessions in a spirit of humble and constant reliance upon the sovereign power and disposal of the Almighty; to be lifting up our hearts, in the course of our daily employment, above all secular concerns, to the author of our being, to the giver of our talents and our time, to the judge of all our actions. And besides, some portion of each day must be distinctly set apart for holy reading, meditation, and prayer. Without such rules and observances, the christian principle cannot possibly be maintained; faith and zeal will grow cold, the communion with God be gradually impaired, the affections estranged, and the obedience destroyed.
These remarks may serve to introduce an exposition of the 2nd verse of the text. “The works of the Lord are great:” yet great as they are, they cannot be understood nor perceived by those, who are absorbed in earthly ideas and pursuits. The attention will thus be entirely drawn off from a contemplation of the works of Jehovah; and the mind will entirely rest upon its own labours and objects. To our own hand and our own arm, to our own skill and enterprise, to our own advantage and honour, we shall refer all the transactions of life, and all the success and enjoyment with which we are blessed. The dealings of our heavenly Father, both with ourselves and with the world around us, will be utterly overlooked; and however we may believe, as a speculative truth, that His “providence orders and governs all things both in heaven and earth,” we shall be in no way improved or affected by that belief; in fact, we shall have no real or practical persuasion of His providential government: we shall be blind to His manifold mercies vouchsafed to ourselves, to our brethren, and to the Church at large.
The works of the Lord must be “sought out;” that is, they must be mindfully and diligently observed, in order to their being adequately understood; nay, if we would know any thing of their vastness or their excellency. We must be continually looking beyond human motives, human exertions, human experience, if we would in any measure, comprehend or perceive the merciful interpositions and dealings of God. We must be in the constant habit of connecting the ordinary operations and occurrences of life with a higher power, with the counsel and government of heaven; a gracious promise is given, that “all things shall work together for good to them that love God;” and we must be always endeavouring to trace this working, and observe the striking manner in which this effect is produced. We shall thus be able to perceive, how continually our merciful Father is watching over us, is crowning our honest designs and labours with success, and is bringing good even out of evil itself. We shall perceive, how wonderfully He directs us to the most suitable means of accomplishing our laudable purposes: how He over-rules those events, over which we had no controul, for our benefit and prosperity; how He raises up to us friends and fellow-workers, when we least expected them; and provides us comforters, where we looked for none; how, in the season of danger, of which we are not even aware, He spreads over us the shield of safety, and we come forth unhurt; how He compels the designs, even of our enemies themselves, to minister in the end to our advantage; how, in the various calamities and sorrows, privations and disappointments, sicknesses and pains, which He does permit to befal us, He brings us consolation under them, and makes us to see and acknowledge, that what we lamented as a grievance, is turned into a signal blessing. And whenever, in any of our concerns or experiences, we fail to trace the mercy of God, it is, for the most part, because we do not sufficiently seek it out; because we are resting in our own short-sighted views; because we are “walking by sight and not by faith,” in “the flesh and not in the spirit;” desiring benefit in our own ways, and not humbly discerning the ways of the Lord; impatient under the means, and not considering the end; looking at the earthly instrument and agent, and forgetting the prime Mover of all.
What I am seeking to recommend to you is this, not a mere principle or matter of belief, but the importance of a constant, daily observance of the events and transactions of life, in reference to the almighty power and goodness of God. It is a point not attended to, even by many sincere Christians, as it ought to be; as to the generality, day after day passes by, without any such reference at all. Every thing proceeds, in their notion and view, from their own will and work, from the good or evil working of others; and they are affected accordingly; rejoicing or complaining, elevated or cast down. They have no consideration of the great Ruler and Preserver; they might almost be said to “live without God in the world;” it amounts, at least, to a practical disowning of His providence.
But I must repeat, that even from many sincere Christians this great influential doctrine does not receive all the attention, which its importance demands. They are convinced, that “the works of the Lord are great;” that His mighty operations are continually manifested, in the moral and spiritual government of mankind; but they do not sufficiently carry this conviction into their own daily walk in life. Far would we be from implying, that such reflections ought, in any way, to interfere with our circumspection or diligence in worldly concerns; or that we are familiarly to mix up religious observations with ordinary business or pleasure; but we should have a mind and heart ever open to perceive the gracious interpositions and visitations of heaven; we should be alive to every providential deliverance from accident or danger, both in ourselves and others: to the vouchsafement of every blessing, both temporal and spiritual. And they, who are thus disposed and ready, will find many opportunities drawing them to God: many circumstances and events, which they once regarded somewhat in the light of chance, they will then clearly ascribe to the sure, though silent working of that invisible power, by which every thing in the universe is governed and sustained.