Let not, therefore, the penitent suppose the dangers and difficulties which await him to be so great as almost to be insuperable; nor yet that they are so small as to be easily overcome: it is sufficient for him to know, that that Master whom he serves, and who appoints his lot, will, if he commit himself to Him as a faithful Creator, supply him with strength equal to his trials, and make those trials help him forward on his heaven-ward journey. Upon setting out, however, let him be admonished, that there are three things which he ought to bear in mind.
First: let him not mistake transient feelings for settled principles, nor partial amendment for complete reformation: the sanguine sometimes, through natural temperament, are unduly elated; the desponding, through the same cause, unduly depressed; and thus both form false estimates as to the degree of their advancement in spiritual life. Whilst it also sometimes unfortunately happens, that after the first terrors of awakened conscience pass away, the fervours of devotional feeling subside, and there ensue listlessness, negligence, and a return to former evil courses: “he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while.” [84] Let him, in the second place, be especially on his guard against partial or perverted views of the doctrines and duties of our holy faith: some, because we are saved through faith in the merits of the Saviour, have abused the grace of God, by an unholy profession, or have under-rated the value of Christian graces and virtues; and others, because of the obligations to personal holiness, and of the rewards held out to faithful servants, in the Gospel, have depreciated the value of faith, and have reduced the great scheme of salvation to little more than a moral obedience. And lastly, let him take care, that when, through divine grace, he has surmounted the difficulties which attend his first entrance upon the “narrow way which leadeth unto life;” and his ardent and confident spirit is full of eager anticipation of the eternal rest and peace which await him on his arrival at the “city of the Living God,” [85] whose fair bulwarks the eye of faith may already have descried at an immense distance; let him “be not high-minded, but fear:” enemies, though invisible, still surround him; dangers, though hidden, still lurk in his path. Should, on the other hand, the journey prove toilsome, and his spirit be often perplexed with doubts, and alarmed with fears; should no distant prospect of the mansions of eternal rest break upon his enraptured view, solace his weary soul, and brighten his cheerless path: let him not be dismayed, but hope: a “friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” [86a] though unseen, is near; the city of refuge, though undiscoverable by his anxious eye, is nigh at hand. If, in the first case, he “persevere unto the end;” if, in the second, “he faint not;” he will reap an “eternal and exceeding weight of glory;” [86b] for, on his approach, the bright portals of the new Jerusalem shall be thrown open, and he will be welcomed by the Celestial King, with the transporting words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” [86c]
II. The Christian’s duty of labouring to advance, as far as in him lies, a national reformation, under Divine visitations.
The duty of personal reformation under Divine visitations, has been dwelt upon at considerable length; at once from its private and public importance: for it is thus only a national reformation can be effected. The good Christian will ever discharge equally faithfully all the duties and obligations which attach to him as an individual and as a member of society. Little is he acquainted with the Catholic spirit and scope of Christianity, who supposes the believer to be occupied solely in securing his own salvation. Such conduct would defeat its own purpose, as being incompatible with the very nature of Christian duty; which is not limited to the individual, his family, his friends, his neighbourhood, nor yet to his country, but extends to the whole household of faith; to the great family of Christ; to the whole world for which the Saviour died, and in which all should labour to promote the advancement of true religion. Whilst, therefore, the Christian is striving in secret, by means known only to God and to himself, to “enter in at the strait gate,” “to make his calling and election sure;” he considers it an imperative obligation, the neglect of which would involve certain condemnation, to “labour to advance the glory of God, and the present and future welfare of mankind.” If, then, the command, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” [87a] is to be obeyed under ordinary circumstances; when “God’s judgments are in the earth,” extraordinary exertions must be made in the hope that, through the Divine blessing, “the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” [87b] Oh! what extensive and blessed effects would arise if this holy principle of our faith were more generally acted upon amongst Christians; and all, at the same time, “walked worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” [88a] God grant that in times which require such perfect union and co-operation amongst Christians, they may receive grace to lay aside their rivalries, their divisions, their jealousies; and as there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all;” [88b] so they may seek but one object, the extension of the Messiah’s kingdom; they may employ but one means; the diffusion of the light of the Gospel; and they may know but one spirit, the spirit of charity and brotherly love.
Let then all Christians be now very zealous for the honour of the Lord of Hosts, and direct their combined efforts against the prevailing sins of the day. True believers “are the salt of the earth;” and the more abundantly they are sprinkled over the land, the more effectually the corrupting effects of sin will be counteracted: they are the “leaven” of the Gospel; and the more thoroughly they are diffused through the whole mass of society, the more certainly a national reformation will be produced.
How great is the improvement which an active and pious individual sometimes effects in a neighbourhood!—an improvement which, commencing in one place, often spreads far around. How extensive then might be the blessed effects of the true servants of God acting in full and unanimous co-operation!—General alarm has caused much good to be done, in cleansing the towns and villages of the kingdom from physical pollutions; let there be shown the same zeal and energy in the removal of moral pollutions, so much more pernicious and fatal, as being destructive of both body and soul. And then this visitation “shall turn” out—as does every visitation, when duly improved—“to the profit, and help forward in the right way that leadeth unto everlasting life,” [89a] thousands who might long have continued in a thoughtless and guilty neglect of God. For how beneficial has the furnace of affliction been often found! it is a certain assayer of religious principles; it detects the base coinage of the world, which bears indeed the Divine superscription, but is neither formed of the pure ore of the Gospel, nor stamped with the seal of the Spirit; and proves the intrinsic value of the unadulterated metal of the heavenly treasury which “cometh forth as gold.” [89b]
The leading heads of the duty of believers, as members of society, under circumstances like the present, have already been thus generally stated: let them publicly bear testimony at once to the justice and mercy of God’s dispensations; and strive earnestly to rouse the nation to a sense of its guiltiness, which has exposed it to the divine displeasure: let them, in dependence on the blessing of Heaven, labour to eradicate all infidel and heretical opinions; to advance a reformation of public morals, and to promote a general diffusion of true religion, sound learning, and useful knowledge. Upon these several heads it is proposed now to offer some brief observations: And may He, who blesses the feeblest efforts made in dependence on His gracious aid, and for the honour of His great name, bless this humble endeavour to rouse some to a more active and faithful discharge of the duties of their stations; and to excite in others a spirit of enquiry, and draw forth from them a declaration of opinion, as to the course which this Christian people should adopt under the present Divine visitation. England has been long highly favoured and greatly blessed; she has been placed as an ensign amongst the nations, and as a city set on a hill; she has been a depositary of genuine Christianity, and has been instrumental, in the hands of Providence, in conveying the light of the Gospel to nations “lying in darkness and the shadow of death.” To her may our blessed Lord’s pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem never apply: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying; if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes:” [91a] rather, in this our day, may “the Father of Lights,” [91b] from whom “every good gift, and every perfect gift cometh,” impart to all that are in authority, “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” [91c] Rather, may He enable all persons to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil;—to be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is;—giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting themselves one to another in the fear of God.” [91d] Then may the storm now gathering, prove at once a punishment and a blessing from the hand of God. Seasons of danger and suffering to churches and nations have often resembled the storms of the natural world, which, however alarming and destructive at the time, are productive of subsequent good, by freeing the atmosphere from the impurities accumulated during a long season of calm and sunshine.
“What will ye do in the day of visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far, to whom will ye flee for help?” Such is the enquiry which has been already addressed to the nation at large; to real, and to nominal Christians; let the faithful servants of the Lord throughout the land cause it to be sounded in the ears of a sinful nation; and let each use the utmost extent of his individual influence, in co-operation with others, to endeavour to rouse, through the Divine blessing and guidance, a people sunk into religious indifference and apathy. They are “visited,” and that not “after the visitation of all men;” for a pestilence as new in character, as fatal in its effects, has overtaken them; and their visitation has indeed come from far, for it has travelled from the remote bounds of their colonial empire. Still we have too much cause to apprehend that there are thousands who have never considered the awful character of the visitation, nor asked themselves the question, to whom shall we flee for help?
An irreligious age is little inclined to recognise the hand of God in the course of events, which are generally ascribed to natural causes and human means. But philosophy as well as Revelation will satisfy the mind of every impartial and deep enquirer, that nature must work under the control and direction of the great Author of nature. It would be to practically deny that God was the great governor of the universe, to suppose that nature or chance was allowed, unchecked and unguided, to produce the mighty results often referred to its sole agency. Sherlock has stated this with great force and clearness. “The same wisdom and power which made the world must govern it too: it is only a creating power that can preserve: that which owes its very being to power must depend upon the power that made it, for it can have no principle of self-subsistence independent of its cause: it is only creating wisdom that perfectly understands the nature of all things, that sees all the springs of motion, that can correct the errors of nature, that can suspend or direct the influence of natural causes, that can govern hearts, change men’s purposes, inspire wisdom and counsel, restrain or let loose their passions. It is only an Infinite Mind that can take care of all the world; that can allot every creature its portion; that can adjust the interests of states and kingdoms; that can bring good out of evil, and order out of confusion.” [93] It would, therefore, be not less unphilosophical than unchristian to ascribe to any spontaneous operations of nature, a new and terrible pestilence, which has swept away more than twenty millions of human beings from the face of the earth. Nor may it be accounted for by an extraordinary combination of accidental circumstances; for “the most unexpected events, how casual soever they appear to us, are foreseen and ordered by God.” “For can we think otherwise, when we see as many visible marks of wisdom, and goodness, and justice, in what we call chance, as in any other acts of Providence? Nay, when the wisdom of Providence is principally seen in the government of fortuitous events? When we see a world wisely made, though we did not see it made, yet we conclude, that it was not made by chance, but by a Wise Being; and by the same reason, when we see accidental events, nay, a long incoherent series of accidents concur to the producing the most admirable effects, we ought to conclude, that there is a wise invisible hand which governs chance, which of itself can do nothing wisely. When the lives and fortunes of men, the fate of kingdoms and empires, the successes of war, the changes of government are so often determined and brought about by the most visible accidents; when chance defeats the wisest counsels and greatest power; when good men are rewarded, and the Church of God preserved by appearing chances; when bad men are punished by chance, and the very chance whereby they are punished, carries the marks of their sins upon it, for which they are punished; I say, can any man in such cases think that all this is mere chance? When, how accidental soever the means are or appear to be, whereby such things are done, there is no appearance of chance at all in the event; but the changes and revolutions, the rewards and punishments, are all as wisely done, as if there had been nothing of chance and accident in it. This is the great security of our lives amidst all the uncertainties of fortune, that chance itself cannot hurt us without a Divine commission. This is a sure foundation of faith, and hope, and trust in God; how calamitous and desperate soever our external condition seems to be, that God never wants means to help; that He has a thousand unseen ways, a whole army of accidents and unexpected events at command to disappoint such designs, which no visible art or power can disappoint, and to save those whom no visible power can save.” [95] Nor may we suppose that this fearful pestilence is merely permitted, and not appointed and directed by God. “God’s government of events consists in ordering and appointing whatever good or evil shall befall men; for according to the Scripture we must attribute such a government to God, as makes all these events His will and doing; and nothing can be His will and doing, but what He wills and orders. Some men think it enough to say, that God permits every thing that is done, but will by no means allow that God wills, and orders, and appoints it, which, they are afraid, will charge the divine Providence with all the evil that is done in the world; and truly so it would, did God order and appoint the evil to be done; but though God orders and appoints what evils every man shall suffer, He orders and appoints no man to do the evil; He only permits some men to do mischief, and appoints who shall suffer by it, which is the short resolution of the case. To attribute the evils which some men suffer, merely to God’s permission, is to destroy the government of Providence; for bare permission is not government.” [96] We arrive, therefore, at the conclusion, that this malady, which has traversed nearly the whole of two continents, is by the will and appointment of God. And none need inquire wherefore it has been sent. The dispensations of the Almighty are to reward or punish, warn and amend nations and individuals. The fearful character of the pestilence proves that it is to punish and warn the offending nations, and may it also amend and lead them, through the grace of God, to humble themselves under His mighty hand, and bow with submission to His just judgments on a guilty world!
It is, therefore, the bounden duty of the servants of the Lord, every where, privately and publicly, to bear testimony to God’s government of nations and individuals. It is not sufficient that they believe, act upon, and inculcate in their families, a trust in Divine Providence. The great truth, that “the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men,” [97a] should be bound “for a sign on their heads, and as frontlets between their eyes.” [97b] They should proclaim every where, that upon this great fundamental principle, rest the prayer and worship addressed to God.—“This much is certain,” observes Sherlock, “that without this belief, that God takes a particular care of all his creatures, in the government of all events that can happen to them, there is no reason nor pretence for most of the particular duties of public worship. For most of the acts of worship consider God not merely as an Universal Cause, (could we form any notion of a general providence, without any care of particular creatures, or particular events), but as our particular Patron, Protector, and Preserver.