Imagens da página
PDF
ePub

of Israel." The proudest Pharisees would "bind the law of God upon their hands, and wear it as frontlets between their eyes:" but the godly alone fulfilled the true intent of that ordinance, by "laying up God's words in their heart and in their soul." So now" He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart; in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of man, but of God'." In other words, he only is truly righteous, who can say with Paul, "I delight in the law of God after my inward man ;" and amidst all the temptations of the flesh, "with my mind I serve the law of Gods."]

In connexion with their character, we are led to contemplate,

II. Their security

"None of their steps shall slide." Of this they may be assured: for a stability is, and shall be, given them, that shall preserve them amidst all temptations; a stability arising,

1. Partly, from the very character which they possess

["The law of God being in their hearts," they will not unnecessarily venture themselves in slippery places. How many fall a prey to the tempter by presuming upon their strength, when, like Joseph, they should rather have fled from the scene of temptation! It is by going fearlessly to the utmost verge of what is lawful, that thousands perish. The inquiry of a truly pious soul will be, not, "Is this thing lawful?" but, "Is it expedient also?" and, if the place, or scene, or gratification be calculated, either in itself or in its circumstances, to ensnare his soul, he will keep at a distance from it: for, whilst he is praying daily to God, "Lead us not into temptation," he accounts it folly and impiety to rush unnecessarily into temptation of his own accord. This cautious deportment tends greatly to the preservation of the godly, and to "keep them from defiling their garments" in this polluted world".

Moreover, they are looking to this law to direct their steps. They "have hid it within their hearts, on purpose that they may not sin against God:" but to what purpose have they deposited it there, if they do not consult it? or "wherewith shall they cleanse their way, but by taking heed thereto

p Rom. ix. 6.

r Rom. ii. 28, 29.

q Deut. xi. 18.

8 Rom. vii. 22, 25.

t' Licitis perimus omnes' has long been a proverb in the Church. u Rev. iii. 4.

x Ps. cxix. 11.

according to God's wordy?" Whatever then they are solicited to do, they bring it to this touchstone, and try it " by the law and the testimony." If they find not the precept clear, they hesitate: and, if they find not the footsteps of Christ and his Apostles, they pause. They know, that whatsoever is not of faith is sin":" and, till they can see their way clear, and be thoroughly persuaded in their own mind," they will not proceed; lest they lay a stumbling-block in the way of others, and bring guilt upon their own souls".

66

I may add further, that they will pray unto God to guide them. They know their privilege: they know that God has said, that, if they call upon him for direction, "they shall hear a word behind them," saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it;" when without such a direction" they would have turned to the right hand or to the left." They therefore in every difficulty betake themselves to prayer; and experience the truth of that promise, "The meek he will guide in judgment; the meek he will teach his waya."]

2. Principally, from the care and fidelity of God—

[God has promised that "he will keep the feet of his saints," and that "none of their steps shall slide:" and this promise he does, and will, fulfil. He fulfils it to them in a variety of ways. He "takes them, as a mother does her little child, by their hand, and guides them in their way:" and, when they are weak, "he strengthens them with might in their inward mang" and, when they would otherwise fall, he upholds them with his own almighty arms; agreeably to that express promise which he has given them; "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness"." Thus is fulfilled that promise which is contained within a few verses of our text, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand." We may wonder whence it is that the people of God in all ages have been enabled to maintain their steadfastness in such trying circumstances: but the true reason is to be found in that inviolable engagement which God has entered into, that "they shall hold on their way, and that their hands shall wax stronger and stronger:" and this promise he has fulfilled to them, giving them "strength

[blocks in formation]

according to their day'," and enabling them "to do all things through his strength communicated to themm."]

Hence then we may SEE,

1. Whence it is that so many professors of religion dishonour their high and holy calling

[It is a melancholy fact, that many who profess godliness are a disgrace to their profession And by their falls they bring the very truth of God into disrepute. But whence is it that their walk is so inconsistent? Is it from any want of power or fidelity in God to keep them? No: it arises from this; that they have taken up a profession upon false and insufficient grounds: they have got the law in their heads, and in their mouths, but have never truly received it into their hearts. None will shew more zeal for the tenets they have embraced than they, or talk more fluently respecting them: but they have never been "cast into the mould of the Gospel." Their sentiments have been altered; but their hearts are unchanged; or, if changed at all, it is only in that they have adopted the spiritual lusts of pride and conceit, and false confidence, in the place of the carnal lusts of worldliness and uncleanness; or, it may be, they have added the former to the latter, affecting only the concealment of former evils, and not the utter extirpation of them. What then is to be expected from such persons, but that they will dishonour their profession? From such roots nothing can be hoped for, but bitter fruits. But let not the blame be cast upon religion. "They have a name to live, but they are dead." If ever they had received the law of God into their hearts, it would have produced its due effect upon their lives; and not upon the outward deportment only, but on every temper and disposition of their minds. Religion is, and must be, the same in all ages: if it transformed the saints of other days into the image of their God in righteousness and true holiness, it will do so still: and, if the conduct of any who profess it be unworthy of their high calling, let the blame attach where it ought, not on religion, but on those who make a hypocritical profession of it. Only let the law be in the heart, and we have no fear of the fruits that will appear in the life.] 2. How inseparable is the union between duty and privilege

[The self-depending formalist who dreads the mention of privilege, and the Antinomian professor who hates the mention of duty, are equally remote from the truth of God. Depend on God we must; for it is He who must work all our works in us. And obeys law we must: for "without holiness no man

1 Deut. xxxiii. 25.

m Phil. iv. 13.

you;

shall see the Lord." Neither can supersede the other. To the Antinomian then I say, "Let the word of God abide in and let it dwell in you richly in all wisdom." And to the formalist I say, Look unto God to begin, and carry on, the whole work of grace in your hearts; for without Him you can do nothing. Let both of you know, that both confidence in God, and obedience to Him, are necessary: it is only by a reliance on Him that you can obtain strength for obedience; and it is only by obedience that you can prove the sincerity of your faith and love. But whilst to those who would lean to either extreme I would say, ،، What God has joined, let no man put asunder," I would most affectionately encourage the true Christian to expect all that God has promised. Your difficulties may be great, and your conflicts severe; but "your Redeemer is mighty;" and He who bought you with his blood, regards you as his purchased possession, and will suffer "none to pluck you out of his hands." He has promised to carry on and perfect his work in your hearts; and what he has promised, he is able also to perform. Only be careful to know and do his will; and He will bear you up in his everlasting arms, and preserve you blameless to his heavenly kingdom."]

66

DLXVII.

DAVID'S DISTRESS AND CONSOLATION.

Ps. xxxviii. 1-9. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure: for thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble, and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

I

IT will be of great use to us through life to treasure up in our minds the dealings of God with us on some particular occasions. As his care over us in our difficulties may well call for "a stone of remembrance, which shall be called our Eben-ezer," so his merciful attention to us at the first commencement of our humiliation before him may well be written in

indelible characters upon our hearts. The Prophet Jeremiah, looking back to some season of peculiar distress, records his experience in terms of lively gratitude and, in like manner, David opens to us all his views and feelings when he sought the Lord after a season of darkness and distress; and he tells us that this psalm was written by him "to bring to remembrance" the troubles he then endured, and the tender mercies of God towards him.

From the part we have just read, we shall be led to consider,

I. His distress

This was exceeding great.-Let us notice,

1. The source and cause of it

[He traces it to sin as its proper cause: and sin is the true and only source of all trouble Sin is an object of God's abhorrence; and wherever it exists unlamented and dominant, he will visit it according to its desert. In whomsoever it be found, whether he be a king on his throne, or a beggar on a dunghill, he will make no difference, except indeed to punish it in proportion to the light that has been resisted, and the aggravations with which it has been committed. Doubtless the sins of David were of most transcendent enormity, and therefore might well be visited with peculiar severity: but we must not imagine that his are the only crimes that deserve punishment: disobedience to God, whether against the first or second table of the Law, is hateful in his sight, and will surely subject us to his "hot displeasure" -]

2. The extent and depth of it

[His soul was overwhelmed with a sense of God's wrath. "God's arrows" pierced his inmost soul: and his hand was heavy upon him, and "pressed him sore." His iniquities, which, when they were yet only committed in desire and purpose, appeared light, now were an insupportable burthen to his soul; insomuch that "he roared by reason of the disquietness of his heart." Here then we see what sinners may expect in this life. Verily such experience as this is little else than a foretaste of hell itself

But his body also was afflicted with a grievous disease, which had been sent of God as an additional mark of his righteous indignation. And no doubt, if we could certainly discover the reasons of the Divine procedure, we should often see

a Lam. iii. 1-4, 12, 13, 17–21. b

ver. 3, 4, 5. c ver. 3, 5, 7.

« AnteriorContinuar »