Many of Greg Bahnsen's audio lectures and debates are now freely downloadable at two places. At SermonAudio and at CMFnow. CMFnow also offers the free audio by other authors like Cornelius Van Til, Kenneth Gentry, Randy Booth, Steve Wilkins, Joe Morecraft et al.
On Facebook, someone asked what people thought of the weakness of the 3 millennial positions. Since the weakness of Premillennialism are well known among Calvinists, I decided to focus on two weaknesses of Amillennialism. I posted the following with slight modification in the Facebook group.
I'm
a former Premillennialist, and now a tentative/provisional Postmillennialist. One of the weakness I see in Amillennialism is that
it doesn't have a time and place for an earthly Age of prosperity of
the Gospel and of human society before the final eschaton as apparently
(rightly or wrongly) predicted in the OT and in Rev. 20.
Another
weakness of both Amil and Premil that I see is summed up well in a quote
(rightly or wrongly) attributed to Kenneth Gentry:
"Postmillennialists
do not believe in the inherent goodness of man. But NON-Postmillennialists seem to believe in the inherent weakness of the
Gospel." - Ken Gentry
Given
the power of the Gospel, and the Great Commission [not the great
suggestion or great ideal that will definitely not be accomplished] of
Matt. 28:18-20; one would expect Gospel victory, and a "Mission
Accomplished" at the end of history.
F.F.
Bruce wrote in chapter 4 of his classic book, "The New Testament
Documents: Are they Reliable?" regarding the Gospel of Matthew:
QUOTE:
The sayings of Jesus are arranged so as to form five great discourses,
dealing respectively with (a) the law of the kingdom of God (chapters v
to vii), (b) the preaching of the kingdom (x. 5-42), (c) the growth of
the kingdom (xiii. 3-52), (d) the fellowship of the kingdom (chapter
xviii), and (e) the consummation of the kingdom (chapter xxivxxv). The
narrative of the ministry of Jesus is so arranged that each section
leads on naturally to the discourse which follows it. The whole is
prefaced by a prologue describing the nativity of the King (chapters
iii) and concluded by an epilogue relating the passion and triumph of
the King (chapters xxvi-xxviii).
The
fivefold structure of this Gospel is probably modelled on the fivefold
structure of the Old Testament law; it is presented as the Christian
Torah (which means 'direction or 'instruction' rather than 'law' in the
more restricted sense). The Evangelist is also at pains to show how the
story of Jesus represents the fulfilment of the Old Testament
Scriptures, and in places he even implies that the experiences of Jesus
recapitulate the experiences of the people of Israel in Old Testament
times.
END QUOTE
It's
interesting that the last chapter of the last book of the Torah [i.e.
Deuteronomy 34] ends with Moses on mount Nebo surveying the Promised
Land and then dying. With Joshua ready to succeed and conquer the
Promised Land. Matthew ends with Jesus (the anti-type of both Moses the
Lawgiver [cf. the Sermon on the Mount] and Joshua who shares the same
name) who died (like Moses) but rose again standing on a mountain in
Galilee to give His last instructions. On the mountain Jesus, like
Joshua, goes out EXITING to conquer the world via His
church/congregation promising to be with them always in their victories
in discipling the Gentile nations/goyim. Whereas Joshua, on the
mountain, ENTERS Palestine to phyisically kill the goyim who oppose him.
Jesus commissions his spiritual army to exit outward from Jerusalem to
share life to the outside goyim. This seems to fit better with Postmillennialism.
BTW,
while Matt. 28:18-20 are Christ's last instructions in the Gospel of
Matthew, I don't think those were actually the last words of Christ to
His disciples. I think those were the ones recorded in Acts 1 before
Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives (not on a mountain in Galilee).
I've argued for Why I'm Provisionally a Postmillennialist in one of my blogposts here:
I
think postmillennialism is the most God honoring position to take on
Redemptive History once one is convinced that the Bible is intentionally
vague on the millennial position, the time of Christ's return, and the
state of the world when he does [cf. Jesus' statement as to whether the
Son of Man will find faith on the earth/land when He comes in Luke
18:8]. It's not surprising that a theologian of the glory of God like
Jonathan Edwards was, was a postmillennialist [cf. his "A History of the Work of Redemption"].
These lectures by R.C. Sproul are probably the basis for his book by the same title, "Loved By God". If I'm not mistaken, I believe the book has been republished under the new title "God's Love".
The following link is to the playlist of lectures:
"I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord and
the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed
on us, and the great goodness towards the house of Israel which
he hath bestowed on them, according to his mercies, and according
to the multitude of his loving kindnesses." Isaiah 63:7.
The prophet, when he uttered these words, appeared to labor under
an ineffable sense of the tender mercies and loving kindnesses
of his God. He had been contemplating the wrath with which God
would one day visit Edom when he should come to deliver his people
from her oppressions. Immediately he raises an interesting contrast
and sets before his eyes God's "great goodness towards the
house of Israel" in loosing their Egyptian bonds and conducting
them through the wilderness. In this type as through a glass,
he discovered the wondrous love which redeems the Church from
more oppressive chains, and supports her in her journey to the
heavenly rest. Under this view he seemed transported, and in his
rapture exclaimed, "I will mention the loving kindnesses
of the Lord and the praises of the Lord, according to all that
the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness towards the
house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them, according to his
mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses."
Though we should not raise our eyes to the exalted love which
shines in the Gospel, still we should have abundant reason to
mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord. Without any adviser
or helper he introduced us to rational existence, and raised us
to intellectual enjoyment. By his unceasing care, that existence
is hourly supported. Our table is furnished and our raiment supplied
by his benign hand. We are blest with pleasant habitations and
possessions; we enjoy the delights of refined society, the blessings
of friendship, and the life and happiness of our friends. Our
health is sustained by a thousand minute and constantly repeated
touches of his hand to the various parts of our complicated machine.
All the pleasures of imagination, of memory, of hope, of sympathy,
and of sense; all the magic charms which play on nature's face,
are the gifts of his bounteous hand. By his watchful care we are
protected from countless visible and unseen dangers. By innumerable
impressions made on our animal spirits by his careful touch, we
are put in tone to enjoy the objects around us. More numerous
are his mercies than the stars which look out of heaven. On no
section of our life,—on no point of nature's works,—scarcely
on a circumstance in our relations to society, can we fix our
eyes, without seeing "the loving kindnesses of the Lord."
But when we lift our thoughts to his "great goodness towards
the house of Israel," our souls faint under the labor of
expressing the praise we owe. Redeeming grace most fully displays
the richness and extent of his loving kindnesses; redeeming grace
was the theme which transported the author of our text; and redeeming
grace shall be the subject of this discourse.
To discover the heights or to fathom the depths of this grace,
exceeds the power of men or angels; yet the view perhaps may be
enlightened by some of the following reflections.
In purposing and planning the great work of redemption, the Eternal
Mind was self-moved, uncounselled, unsolicited. No angel
interceded or advised; no man by his prayers or tears excited
pity. Before men or angels had existence, the purpose was fixed
and the plan was formed by boundless love, unmoved, unasked, untempted
by any thing without but the foreseen miseries of a perishing
world.
This love was wholly disinterested, having no reward in
view but the pleasure of doing good. What other recompense could
God expect from creatures who have nothing to give but what they
receive? What other reward could eternal self-sufficience need?
This love is still more sublime considered as acting towards
inferiors. When love is not the most pure, we daily see, it
will overlook those who have no eminence to engage respect. On
this account the condescending regard which some benevolent prince
may pay to the poor and forsaken, is peculiarly affecting. What
then shall we say when we behold Infinite Majesty descending to
such tender concern for dust and ashes?
Redeeming love is still more wonderful as exercised towards enemies;
towards those who could reject the offered salvation,—who
were not to be moved by all the entreaties of heaven,—and who
had malice enough to murder the Author of life in the very act
of bringing it to them.
This love appears altogether astonishing when we consider the
greatness of the sacrifice it made. That God himself, (infinite,
eternal, and self-sufficient as he was,) should bring himself
down to a mortal form; that he who made the heavens should descend
from among the adorations of angels to assume the form of a servant
and to receive the spittings of Roman soldiers; that he should
exchange the quiet of eternal repose for a laborious life, the
abodes of inaccessible light for the degrading manger,—the society
of the Father and Spirit for that of illiterate fishermen,—the
heights of infinite bliss for the agonies of Gethsemane and Golgotha;—and
all to atone for abuses which he himself had received from men;
fixes angels in astonishment and rivets their eyes to him who
still bears the prints of the nails and the spear. That this divine
Sufferer did not recede, but remained immovable in his purpose
in a near view of his agonies; that he did not strike and rivet
his insulting murderers to the centre, but spent his expiring
breath in prayer for their life; evinces, not love only, but love
unconquerable.
The extent of redeeming love further appears in the magnitude
of the blessings which it intended for a ruined race. It stooped
to catch a falling world; to snatch them from eternal flames to
the transports of immortal life,—from everlasting contempt to
be "kings and priests" forever "unto God"
—to raise them from the depravity of sin to the purity of the
divine image,—from a dungeon to the radiance of heaven,—from
the society of devils to communion with angels,—from the blasphemies
of hell to the songs of paradise,—from universal destitution
to inherit all riches,—to be sons and heirs of God, members of
the Redeemer's body,—to live in his family and heart, and forever
to expand in the regions of light and life.
This mercy is heightened by the fact that the Saviour is so necessary,
reasonable, and all-sufficient. Intrusted with all
the offices needful for man's redemption, he possesses powers
fully adequate to the infinite work, and exerts them when and
where they are most needed. It is his stated business to strike
off the chains from wretched prisoners,—to administer balm to
those who are wounded to death, food to those who are perishing
with hunger,—eyes and light to the blind and benighted. He is
the "shadow of a great rock in a weary land," — "a
hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest."
In his prophetic office he brings out to view the secrets of the
Eternal Mind: as a Priest he pacifies divine wrath by atonement
and intercession: as a King he subdues the stubborn will, marks
out the road to life by salutary precepts, defends from spiritual
enemies, and renders all events subservient to the good of his
people. As Captain of the Lord's host he will carry them through
their warfare and bring them off victorious. As Physician of souls
he will heal all their spiritual maladies and confirm them in
immortal health. He is a most pleasant resting place from the
perturbations of guilt, the vexations of care, and the anguish
of affliction. Possessing inexhaustible life in himself, he is
the source of unfailing life to his members, who before were "dead
in trespasses and sins." As "Heir of all things"
and Distributer of the whole estate, he has every necessary good
to impart in this world and infinite riches in the world to come.
This mercy is still further heightened by the patience and
condescending tenderness which he exercises towards his people.
He calls them his friends, his brethren, his children, his spouse,
the members of his body, the apple of his eye. In the character
of a near and tender relation, he has become a mild medium through
which they may look up into the insufferable splendors of the
Godhead without dazzling or paining their sight. Although the
awful God of majesty, he is not ashamed to own and befriend a
poor race of unsightly outcasts and to take them into union with
himself. With unconquerable patience he bears with all their provocations,
and with unfailing faithfulness remains their friend during all
their perverseness and ingratitude. Though their returns are such
as would weary any other love, he is still engaged in pardoning
their sins, subduing their corruptions, and conducting them to
glory. As a tender shepherd he gathers the lambs in his arms and
carries them in his bosom. And O with what overpowering kindness
does he speak to them when he holds communion with them, when
he meets them in a happy hour as they are walking out like Isaac
to meditate at the evening tide, and drawing aside the veil, shows
the sweetest countenance dressed in celestial smiles; or when
finding them bowed to the earth and drenched in tears, he gently
raises them in his arms, and with more than a mother's tenderness
wipes the sorrows from their cheeks and breathes ineffable consolation
into their spirits. Ye who have known his love, can witness the
ineffable sweetness with which he manifests himself at such seasons.
In his providence he takes care to suffer no real evil to befall
his people, to withhold from them no real good, and to make them
the happier for every event. And when this trying life is past,
he will receive them to his own presence, to a near and ever increasing
union to himself, where love perfect and reciprocal shall hold
immortal reign.
This wondrous mercy is further expressed in the gift of sabbaths
and sacraments, and especially the written word.
When we perceive the breathings of divine love in those precious
Scriptures which were inspired by the Holy Ghost; when the soul
lies at some divine promise, drinking in immortal refreshment,
and filling itself as from some celestial spring, O how rich and
vast does the love of God appear.
Fresh evidences of this love spring up at every review of his
past providence towards the Church. "In all their
affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved
them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bore
them and carried them all the days of old." The preservation
of Noah in the ark, the call and protection of Abraham, the deliverance
of the Church from Egypt, its support in the wilderness and establishment
in Canaan, the numerous deliverances wrought for Israel, their
restoration from Babylon, the establishment and astonishing growth
of the Christian Church, its protection during the successive
persecutions, and the continued efforts of the Spirit to preserve
and enlarge it, are all monuments of amazing love and faithfulness.
And when we cast our eyes down the slope of ages and behold the
glory of Zion filling all the earth, how do we dance as in fancied
visions and think the bliss too great to be real. And then, when
we open the Scriptures and behold a "Thus saith the Lord"
expressly to confirm our hopes, with what rapturous gratitude
do we make our boast of him; "Lo this is our God, we have
waited for him and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have
waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
All these are the more affecting as being marks of distinguishing
love. Redeeming grace passed by the fallen angels to bring
salvation to men. The privileges of Gospel light and ordinances
were taken from the heathen to be given to us. The blessings of
personal holiness and divine communion are conferred on the people
of God while withheld from the rest of the world. Our lives are
continued in a world of hope while millions are called to their
last account. While God was preserving the Hebrew Church and nourishing
it with a Father's care, Edom, Moab, and Ammon were given to the
sword. And while angels sing only of the goodness of the
Lord, the redeemed will shout "grace, grace," and
with higher notes and ecstacies chant the praises of redeeming
love.
The grace of God appears still greater as being abundant and
free for all. The language of divine compassion is, "Ho
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath
no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price."
Having drawn this outline of the mercies of God, I shall now present
them as motives to holy feelings and practical godliness.
What admiration should possess our minds as we contemplate
this wonderful love of God. Nothing in the universe is so amazing.
Not an angel in heaven but lives in astonishment continually.
And yet it is infinitely greater than ever Gabriel imagined.
As the sublime intellects of the upper world expand, it will appear
more and more amazing to eternity.
And while we wonder let gratitude fill our hearts. Of what
avail is our admiration without our thanks? It would only bring
us to the condition of those who gaze "and wonder and perish."
What are our hearts made of if they can lie under the weight of
all these obligations and be unthankful still? Let us retain a
sense of divine mercies always upon our heart, and not suffer
them, after a transient impression, to pass off into oblivion.
Let not the blessings of former years be forgotten, but let them
frequently be brought in review before us, that we may never cease
to remember how much we owe to our Lord.
To lasting gratitude let lasting love be added. What infinite
beauty and worth belong to Israel's God. And shall we be thankful
for personal favors and not love the benevolence which embraces
the universe? This would be only the contracted gratitude of a
heart that can be engaged by nothing but the loaves and fishes.
Let it be our daily joy that the universe contains such a God,—a
God whose happiness consists in doing good, and who is executing
so vast a plan for the promotion of creature happiness, that he
already realizes infinite blessedness in gratified benevolence.
Let universal joy catch from heart to heart and circulate through
heaven and earth that such a God lives, reigns, and is happy.
Let this be our morning and our evening song. Let it break in
like the dawn of day upon our gloomy hours; and like the sinking
but recovered David, let us be transported with the thought, "But
thou, O Lord, shalt endure forever, and thy remembrance unto all
generations."
To such a God our highest praise belongs. He is the object
of the incessant and rapturous praise of all the choirs of paradise,
and shall men neglect their harps? In the warm transports of David's
heavenly muse, let us invoke the sun and all the orbs of light,
the earth and all the things thereon, the heavens and all their
happy spirits, to praise the Lord,—to praise him in the heights
and in the depths,—to praise him with the voice of song, and
with all the varieties of instrumental harmony.
Let such a God be the supreme object of our faith, our
hope, our confidence. On him let us place our dependance
for every thing we need for time and eternity. Renouncing
this delusive world and every idol which would rival him in our
hearts, let us make him our only point of rest, our only
portion. Let him be the object of our daily and cheerful worship.
Let hypocrisy be banished from our religion, and let sincerity
mark our worship of him whose friendship for man has been
so sincere. Disclaiming all self-seeking, after his disinterested
love to us, let us live only for him; and in duty to one who so
greatly denied himself for us, let us largely practise self-denial.
Henceforth let us consecrate ourselves to the service of
him who served us in death; and by our obedience to all
his commands attest the sincerity of our love and gratitude.
God forbid that we should be ashamed to confess him before
men who was not ashamed to own and befriend us before his Father
and the holy angels; or that we should fail to speak to a listening
world of his excellent greatness and his excellent loving kindness.
It becomes us to imitate his devotedness to the glory of God and
the happiness of men; to put on sincere mercy and kindness, forbearing
one another in love, doing good to all as we have opportunity,
especially to the household of faith; condescending to men of
low degree, meek and gentle to all, affable, courteous, and obliging,
ready to forgive injuries, given to hospitality, and generous
in distributing to the poor the gifts of a generous God.
To the dominion of enthroned love it becomes us to submit;
resigning all our interests to the divine disposal, and enduring
with patience and not with petulance whatever such a God is pleased
to impose.
Against such a God it is that we have been found in arms. O "tell
it not in Gath." Under the weight of all these obligations
we have risen up to oppose unbounded love. Alas we knew not what
we did. In vain might our tears and blood be applied to efface
stains so ignominious and deep. Well may we go softly all our
years in the bitterness of our soul. Let pride never again appear
in natures capable of this. Let humility and brokenness of
heart mark our future lives; and in sympathy with the publican
let us smite on our guilty breasts and cry, "God be merciful
to me a sinner."
And since our crimes are of so deep a die that nothing but atoning
blood can wash them out, and since such infinite pains have been
taken to provide a Saviour for us,—a Saviour every way suited
to our wants; let us gratefully seize the offered salvation
and cast ourselves on him as the only ground of hope. And then,
"though" our "sins be as scarlet they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson they shall be
as wool."
Ah sinners, how long will you slight such endearing love and reject
such heaven-astonishing mercy? How long shall infinite tenderness
be grieved at your ingratitude? Why will you treat with abuse
that excellence which angels adore? Why will you tread under foot
that love which dissolves all heaven? When will you at length
be wise, and for once, after so long a time, act like ingenuous
creatures? Let the goodness of God lead us all to repentance,
and let us spend our days in making mention of the loving kindnesses
of the Lord, and in preparing to unite with the redeemed in singing,
"Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing."
"Now ,unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God
and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen."
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require
of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways
and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul." Deut. 10:12.
Complaints are often made against the ministers of Christ that
their preaching is too rigorous and pungent. I sincerely wish
that the world might once see what discourses the eternal God
would himself deliver should he undertake to preach to men. —What
do I say? He has published a volume of discourses, and they have
been more harshly treated than any of the sermons of his ministers.
The words which I have read were taken from a sermon which God
delivered in tones of awful grandeur from Mount Sinai, or else
through the medium of Moses. If it seems hard to you to be required
"to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and to
love him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul," be it remembered that the source of
this command is not ministers, but God himself. If any murmur
at this, I have no controversy with them; I leave it to be settled
between them and their Maker. Having often preached with little
effect myself, I would now retire and leave the God of Israel
to preach to you. I would stand concealed in humble awe behind
him, while he delivers his heavenly instructions to the people.
Sermons are often heard as the words of men. It is difficult,
to a distressing degree, to produce a realizing sense that the
truths we preach proceeded from the lips of God. In the present
case I hope this difficulty will not be felt. Had you stood at
the foot of Sinai and heard the trumpet and the thunders, and
heard the words of our text issuing from the thick darkness, you
would not have doubted that they came from God. But they were
heard in substance by a million people, who trembled and fled
as these sentiments were poured upon their ears from the burning
mount. And now, after the lapse of more than three thousand years,
it is still as true as ever that they proceeded from the lips
of God. Receive them therefore with as much veneration as though
a throne were set in this house, and the God of glory were seated
on it, and these words were sounded from his divine lips. And
now, my people, what does the Lord your God require of you, but
to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love
him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul?
Who obeys this command? A part of my hearers obey it in some degree.
They esteem God above every other object. They consider his glory
as their highest interest, and communion with him as their supreme
happiness. They would sooner forget father and mother than forget
him. It is their greatest grief that their treacherous hearts
are so prone to wander from him. Their most fervent desires pant
after him. And when in a favored hour they find him whom their
"soul loves," they hold him fast and will not let him
go. I have no reproaches for these. It is our Master's will that
we should speak kindly to them and encourage them in his name.
But are all such? Would to God all were. But charity herself would
blush should we so far profane her sacred office as to lend her
sanction to such an opinion. Charity herself must fear that in
such a congregation as this there are many who have never yielded
any service to God. Yet in most cases it is difficult to fix the
charge where it ought to lie. So superficial are men's ideas of
God's service, that they often think themselves his servants merely
because they have been baptised, and attend public worship, and
are charitable to the poor, and free from scandalous vices. But
there is no service without love. "Love is the fulfilling
of the law." "Good," you say, "and I love
the Lord. I should be very sorry not to love so bountiful and
good a God." Do you indeed? Do you indeed? Let us see. "If
any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise
the other: you cannot serve God and mammon." There is no
love to God which is not habitually supreme. For though love enough
to give a cup of cold water constitutes a disciple, none are disciples
but those who love Christ supremely. "If anyone comes to
me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be
my disciple."
Supreme love to God will certainly produce self denial for his
sake. It will habitually avoid every thing which he has forbidden,
and obey, not a part, but all his commands. He that offends "in
one point," knowingly and habitually, "is guilty of
all." Supreme love will seek communion with its object more
than any worldly pleasure. It will pant after him and after greater
conformity to him; it will seek his glory as the highest interest;
it will count him the most desirable portion; it will delight
in thinking of him more than in any worldly thoughts; it will
delight in prayer, —will renounce the world and idols and cultivate
a heavenly mind. Unless we have that which will produce all these
effects, we have no supreme love to God; and if we have no supreme
love, we have no love at all; and if we have no love, as there
is no neutral state, we are his enemies. "He who is not with
me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters
abroad." As humiliating as the thought is, we know that no
man is otherwise than God's enemy until he is born again. "The
carnal mind is enmity against God." Hence it is that so many
people who attend public worship and lead regular lives, are unmindful
of God from day to day, neglect prayer, put eternal things out
of view, and lose themselves in the eager pursuit of the world.
They must be conscious, if they will but reflect, that the world
engages more of their care than God or their souls, and is of
course their supreme deity. They must be conscious that the Sabbath
is a burden unless devoted to sloth or amusement,—that prayer
is a burden,—that religious society is a burden,—that the thoughts
of God which sometimes intrude are unwelcome,—that the divine
service is not agreeable to their taste,—that they would rather
be employed in business or pleasure than in religion, in reading
an amusing story than in searching the Scriptures. Surely such
people do not love God. Such minds could not be happy in heaven
if admitted to the place. They must undergo a radical change or
certainly they can find no happiness beyond the grave. Ah Lord
God, how many such are to be found among us,—among the dearest
friends of our hearts. It is distressing to look through our congregations
and see how men neglect God; how they live without him in the
world, —live as though there were no God. Is there no remedy
for our lost brethren? Will nothing awaken them to their duty
and danger? The necessity of making some attempt to rouse them
is so pressing, that I trust Christians will excuse me if I turn
my attention altogether to these. Let them stand by and assist
me with their prayers, while I attempt to recall from death this
interesting multitude.
Come, my unhappy friends, and let us reason together. Lend your
whole attention while one who hopes he is a friend to both parties,
makes an humble attempt to reconcile you to your Maker. It is
not an enemy you hear; not one who would needlessly disturb your
peace. God knows I wish you nothing but happiness in time or eternity;
and if the present address might be the instrument of making you
all blest, I should account this the happiest day of my life.
But in what language shall I address you? What new arguments shall
I set before you? The enemy of God in your breast has resisted
so many sermons, that those who love you are afraid that nothing
will ever avail. O when shall it once be? Would God that this
might be the sermon. But so many better discourses have been lost
upon you, that I tremble for the fate of this. The longer you
hear without improvement the longer you may. Every resisted sermon
renders future resistance more easy and certain. And this very
address, unless it softens will harden you; unless it proves a
"savour of life," will become a "savour of death."—Shall
I stop or shall I proceed? —I must proceed; but first let me
entreat you to lift one earnest prayer to God that he would carry
the truth home to your hearts. You may have sometimes complained
that your fears, rather than your reason, were addressed. You
shall have no cause for this complaint now. I mean to appeal to
your understandings and to treat you like rational beings. For
such indeed you are,—rational beings, endowed with Godlike faculties,
capable of enjoying and adorning the heavenly city; infinitely
too precious to be lost and devoted to eternal blasphemy and pain.
The great reason of your insensibility is, that under the stupifying
influence of unbelief, you have secretly doubted whether there
is a God, or if there is, whether you have any thing to do with
him or he with you. The thought has lurked in your heart, that
if there is a God, he is so far from you, and so unconnected with
you, that you have nothing more to do with him than with an inhabitant
of another planet. You have never conceived that you owed him
your whole heart and life. But now for God's sake attend.
"What dost thou here, Elijah?" Child of dust, what dost
thou here in this world? Who sent you hither? and for what end?
You are conscious that you did not create yourself, and your parents
know that they did not create you. It was God that made you what
you are, and put you into a world which he had richly furnished
for your use. Have you nothing to do with him or he with you?
You are absolutely his property, and he is your Lord and Master,
and has a right to you and to the use of all your talents. What
was the precise end for which he sent you into the world? I wish
to draw your attention to this single point: for I am persuaded
that if this one consideration could be fastened on your mind,
you would be convinced that you have neglected the great end of
your being. Do you imagine that he created you and raised you
so much above the brutes, and put you into a world on which he
had expended so much labor, that you might wander from him into
the regions of darkness? That you might seek your happiness out
of him, and live in rebellion against him? that you might spend
your life only in preparing to live in this transitory state?
Or that you might live only to eat and drink? The latter the brutes
are fitted to do; but can you imagine that you have no higher
end than they? Indulge no such fatal mistake. As God is true,
he sent you into his world for the same end that a master sends
a servant into his vineyard,—to labor for him. The sole reason
that you are in this world rather than not here, is that you may
have an opportunity to serve and enjoy God. He has sent you into
the field abundantly furnished with powers and means to serve
him, and has strictly commanded you to use these talents in his
service. Say not that he is too far above you to be apprehended.
He has brought himself down and spread himself out before you
in his works and word, and it is only to unbelief that he is invisible.
As your Proprietor and Master, he has a right to expect that all
your time and talents, all your wealth and influence, should be
consecrated to his service; that your affections should all be
engaged for him; that every motive and aim should be "holiness
to the Lord;" that "whether you eat or drink" or
whatsoever you do, you should do all to his glory; that this should
be the general scope of every action and the leading care of every
hour.
Having sent you into his vineyard, he looks after you to see whether
you are faithful or not. Has he nothing to do with you? His eyes
are upon you every moment,—upon the very bottom of your heart.
They follow you wherever you go, and mark you out and contemplate
all you do, as though you were the only object of his attention
in the universe. The fixed design for which they follow you is,
to observe whether you perform or neglect the great business for
which he sent you into the world. Dream not that he is too distant
to concern himself with you; he is "not far from everyone
of us." He is by your side and on the very seat with you
this moment. Has he nothing to do with you? In him you "live
and move and have [your] being." For so many years he has
sustained you out of hell, and suffered you to live on his earth
and breathe his air. And why is all this? I beseech you to consider
the end for which he has done all this for you. Why do you feed
and clothe your bond servant? It is that he may not die but live
and labor for you. And what would you think, if, while living
at your expense and sharing your kindness, he should altogether
neglect your service? Should you assign him his task for a certain
day in the field, and lie behind the hedge and watch him, and
see him all day long doing nothing but wasting your property,
what would be your feelings towards that servant? God has sent
you into his field,—has solemnly charged you to be faithful to
him,—has supported your life,—has fed and clothed you,—and
from his invisible seat has kept his eye upon you through all
the day of life; and now the day is drawing to a close, and you
have not yet begun your work, but have been only marring his estate.
And now you are about to return from the field with nothing done,
to give in your account to your Master. And what, in the name
of eternal justice, will your account be? How will your Master
receive you? Ah think of it; it will be a serious hour.
Your Lord and Master, having sent you into his world to serve
him,—having sustained you from year to year, with great expense
and care, and kept you from the eternal pit, for the express purpose
that you might live and labor for him; has added one mercy more
which has astonished heaven and earth. At the expense of the life
of his own Son he has redeemed you from death. And why was all
this? For no other purpose than that you might yet live and labor
for him. He has given you opportunities for the means of grace,—has
followed you with calls,—has offered to pardon the past if you
will only be faithful in future,—has waited upon you and labored
with you, with so much pains, for so many years, under so many
discouragements, to see if you would not at length feel some sincere
regrets and return to his service; and yet, to the shame of all
creation, you refuse to serve him still. These amazing kindnesses
have well entitled him to the name of Father. He is your Father,
and as such you owe him honor. He is your Redeemer, and as such
you owe him the tenderest thanks that a grateful heart can render.
And have you nothing to do with him? Is he so distant and unconnected
with you, that you have no cause to move a thought towards him?
Better to say that the inmost fibre of your heart is a stranger
and foreigner. Better to sever the bonds of nature and turn off
your dearest friends as outcasts from your love.
Did your Creator turn you loose into the world, to run wild in
pursuit of your own imaginations, without law or restraint, intending
to look no further after you, but to throw you out from his care?
Woe to you if he had done this; though this, I fear, you have
often wished. But he did no such thing. His intention was still
to follow you with his cares, as beloved creatures whom his own
bands had formed,—to exercise government over you,—to establish
eternal communion with you,—to lead your desires up to him,—to
fill you with his own sublime happiness, and to make you a part
of an harmonious, blessed, and glorious kingdom. To accomplish
these ends he put you under law,—a law admirably calculated to
unite you to him and to consummate your happiness. As he is infinitely
the greatest and best of beings, whom no man can hate and be happy;
who, in order to further an harmonious kingdom, must be acknowledged
as the Head, and must be the centre of affection and the great
bond of attraction; therefore he has commanded all his rational
creatures to love him supremely. In this he has required no more
than was his due, and the very least that it was for his honor
to accept. Indeed he has conferred an infinite favor on creatures
by making a law so essential to public order, and pointing out
the only way to individual happiness. The unreasonable will complain
of anything, and murmurs have filled the world because this law
requires the heart. But were it otherwise,—were God to relinquish
his claims on the heart and compound for outward service only,
would it be better then? Could they be happy here, could they
be happy in heaven, without a holy heart? They had better never
been born than be excused from loving God. Should God give up
his law, still they are wretches to eternity without love to him.
The law enjoins nothing but what in the nature of things is essential
to happiness. Have you nothing to do with God or he with you?
You have forgotten that you are subjects under law, bound by all
the authority of Jehovah. "You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart." This comes to you under the great seal
of heaven. It is the express command of the eternal God. Whatever
you may think of it, neither the praise nor the blame of making
or publishing it belongs to men. From this moment you must either
renounce your Bible, or understand that God accounts you rebels
for not loving and serving him with all the heart and soul. He
admits no excuse. Your plea that you cannot, is only pleading
guilty. A heart that refuses to love the Creator and Redeemer
of the world, is the very thing for which God condemns you,—is
the vilest rebel in the universe.
And now have you nothing to do with God or he with you? Know well,
my unhappy hearers, that God will have to do with you through
the interminable ages of eternity, and on his sovereign pleasure
it depends whether you shall spend your eternity in heaven or
hell. You cannot be disconnected from him if you would. You are
in his hands, and you must remain in his hands to eternity.
O my dear hearers, my flesh and blood, you have not sufficiently
considered these things. There is no realizing sense of one of
these truths in minds that can remain at ease in a state of enmity
against God. You have not considered who sent you into the world,
and for what end,—who supports your lives, and for what end they
are supported,—who redeemed you from death, and why you were
redeemed. You have not considered what God has earnestly commanded
you to do, and what connexion you must have with him to eternity.
These things you have not considered; but God considers them all.
He indeed keeps silence, because this is not the state of retribution,
but of trial. He keeps silence, but is angry. He is angry, and
he will one day speak. He will speak in a manner which does not
admit of present description, but it will be such as fully to
assert his rights and wipe off the stigma which his long silence
has occasioned, that he is "altogether such a one as"
yourselves. He will take account of his servants to whom he committed
the talents. "Every work [shall be brought] into judgment,
with every secret thing whether it be good or evil." At the
close of all he will command them to cast "the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth."
And now what will you say to these things? Has not every word
been calmly addressed to your reason, and been supported by positive
declarations from the Word of God? If then the Bible is not a
fable,—if it is the book by which you will be judged at the last
day, your case is such as calls for immediate attention. God has
a very heavy account against you. There is wrath gone out against
you. It behooves you to get the sentence repealed without delay
by deep contrition and application to the blood of atonement.
Do you think it will answer for you to live any longer idle under
the very eye of your Master? At this late hour ought any more
time to be lost? I wish I knew what resolutions you are forming.
My dear hearers, what do you intend to do? What use will you make
of this exhortation when you depart? Some, I fear, will think
no more of it until it meets them in judgment. Others may be impressed
for a season and afterwards return to stupidity. But will not
some one be wise enough this once to believe God? O God, if any
are hesitating, interpose and fix their resolves! Nay, let not
that thought arise again, When I have got a little more of the
world I will attend. So thought Felix, but the thought was fatal.
A resolution to postpone, is half a resolution to die as you are.
If it were not so pressing a case, I would not be so pressing.
But you have souls capable of amazing happiness or amazing woe,
and they are now under sentence of eternal death. "He who
does not believe is condemned already." Can a rational being
rest in such a state? You see also what pressing claims your Creator
and Redeemer has upon you. Most of you would be agonized at the
thought of defrauding one of your fellow men. But will you be
scrupulous to "render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's,"
and feel no concern to "render unto God the things that are
God's?" O that this sentiment might vibrate in your ears
and be deposited at the bottom of your hearts, "Render unto
God the things that are God's." Let every thing sincere in
you be stirred up at the names of Father and Redeemer, and arouse
you to "render unto God the things that are God's."
Then will he no longer frown, but smile upon you as dear children,
and our joy on your account will be full. Amen.
"Whom have I in heaven but
thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee."
Psalm 73:25.
This Psalm was composed by Asaph, one of the three chief singers
whom David had appointed in the house of God. The good man had
experienced a severe trial from the infirmities of his own heart;
which trial, together with the manner in which he was relieved,
is described in this beautiful Psalm. He had been "envious
at the foolish when" he "saw the prosperity of the wicked,"
and had indulged in unworthy complaints against divine providence.
"They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued
like other men. Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more
than heart could wish.-Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain
and washed my hands in innocency; for all the day long have I
been plagued and chastened every morning." This temper of
uneasiness and distrust arose so high, that in a retrospect upon
it he acknowledges, "My feet were almost gone, my steps had
well nigh slipped.-So foolish was I and ignorant; I was as a beast
before thee." The manner in which he obtained relief from
this agitation, was by repairing to the sanctuary of God, where
the light of divine revelation shone. Here he discovered, as through
a window which opened into eternity, the awful end to which the
wicked with all their prosperity were hastening. Here also he
learned the final rewards of the righteous, and saw the mysterious
inequalities of divine providence cleared up. The glory of God's
faithfulness and truth so opened on his soul, and the comparative
emptiness of all earthly things, that with more than recovered
spirits he exclaimed, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel
and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee."
My object will be, in the first place, to explain more fully
how we are taught to feel by this example of Asaph,-how such a
temper will operate and what effects it will produce; and in the
second place, to suggest some reasons which urge to such a temper.
I. I am to explain more fully how we are taught to feel by
this example of Asaph,-how such a temper will operate and what
effects it will produce.
The Psalmist in these words expressed supreme delight in God
as his all sufficient and only portion. "Whom have I in heaven
but thee?" The only heaven I wish above is but to see thy
face. Let others form confused ideas of the upper world, and desire
it as a place where something is to be enjoyed, they know not
what: but I know what a heaven I desire. Could I ascend to the
highest heavens and find the presence of my God withdrawn, it
would be no heaven for me. The only reason I pant to ascend above
the sun and all these ruinable worlds, is that I may bask in the
sunshine of his smiles, and forever behold the source of light
without one envious cloud between. Let me but sit at his feet
and gaze upon his lovely face, and cry, with unutterable wonder
and gratitude, "My Lord and my God," and I ask no more.
Let me but take some humble station in his glorious kingdom, where
I may sit and read his name, where I may view his infinite happiness
and glory and see his beloved kingdom blest, and my soul will
be filled.
" And there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee." How is this? Was it then a matter of indifference
to Asaph whether his friends lived or died,-whether he enjoyed
the comforts of life or perished with hunger? This was not literally
and precisely his meaning. But what he intended may, I conclude,
be summed up in the following ideas. First, that there was nothing
among all the charms of earth which could prevent him from wishing
to depart and be with the Lord. Secondly, while continuing on
earth, he desired nothing besides God in a comparative sense.
His soul was at that moment so filled with the supreme excellence
and glory of Jehovah, that all earthly things were put out of
view. Thirdly, he desired nothing besides God in that he coveted
nothing which he considered distinct from the emanations of God.
Did he desire food and raiment and friends? He desired them chiefly
as divine goodness expressed, as God existing in his outward bounty.
Such a temper of supreme delight in God will operate in unreserved
and universal submission to divine providence. While God is more
beloved than all other objects, the withholding or removal of
every thing besides him will not awaken a spirit of unsubmission
and rebellion.
While the Christian has such supreme delight in God, he will
not be inordinately leaning on friends or wealth or any worldly
object for enjoyment. No high expectations will be formed except
those which centre in the supreme good. Lightly valuing the things
of time and sense, he will scorn the restless pursuits and unsatisfied
desires of the covetous; and holding the commands of God in supreme
veneration, he will practice deeds of liberal charity.
Sensible that prosperity gives and adversity takes away only
those things which are least desirable, neither by prosperity
nor adversity will he be greatly moved. Ever assured that God,
the supreme good, is safe, he will dismiss all anxieties respecting
future changes, and come what will, he will "rejoice evermore."
Calmly resigning the management of all affairs into hands dearer
than his own, he passes his days in unruffled serenity, and knows
not the distrusts of jealousy nor the uneasiness of unbelief.
Having a greater regard for the divine will than for any earthly
comfort which that will can bestow, he has learned "both
how to abound and to suffer need," and "in whatsoever
state" he is, "therewith to be content."
The result of this supreme love to God will be faith, trust,
self-denial, obedience, and an unreserved consecration of all
that we are and have to him, to be disposed of according to his
pleasure, and to be employed in his service, how and when and
where he is pleased to appoint.
II. I am to suggest some reasons which urge to such a temper.
The infinitely wise and benevolent God is worthy to be the
object of our supreme delight. There is more in him to be desired
and to be rejoiced in than in all created beings and things. The
whole creation has drawn all its glories from him. And can it
be supposed that he has imparted more beauty and excellence than
he possesses? When our eyes rove abroad over the charming scenes
of nature, and traverse the wonders which shine in the heavenly
orbs, we may well exclaim with the half-inspired Milton, "How
wondrous fair! Thyself how wondrous then!" In God there is
every thing which can satisfy and transport the immortal mind.
What is the world to him; its pomp, its splendors, "and its
nonsense all?" What are the treasures of India and all the
glories of Greece and Rome, compared with the fruition of that
God whose smiles fill heaven and earth with gladness? Possessed
of him, the imprisoned beggar, with all his griefs, is rich and
happy; devoid of him, kings and emperors are poor and wretched.
Let every earthly comfort depart, yet while we can enjoy the immortal
source of blessedness, we are blessed still, we are blest indeed.
While walking out with Isaac to meditate at the evening tide,-while
beholding that glory which Moses saw on Horeb and on Pisgah,-
while worshipping him whose faithfulness and truth were seen by
Abraham on Moriah, and whose glories appeared to John in Patmos,-while
overcome with the magnificent majesty which rushed on the view
of Habakkuk,-while melting away in the sweet ecstasies of David
in sight of the mercy and faithfulness of his heavenly Father,-while
triumphing in him who was announced by the songs of Bethlehem
and by the joys of Simeon's bursting heart,-while from our streaming
eyes we pour forth gratitude to the Sufferer of Gethsemane and
Golgotha, and ascend to heaven with him who ascended from Olivet,-O
how poor and worthless do all mortal things appear.
The claims of God to our supreme affection are further supported
by his exceeding great and unnumbered mercies. He is the God of
all our revivals, of all our deliverances, and of all our comforts;
the God of our fathers and the God of our children. Innumerable
mercies, distinguishing us from most of our fellow men, mercies
affecting to angels,-have filled our lives. He supported us in
our infancy, he led us through all the windings of our youth;
his watchful eye has continually been upon us in riper years.
Through all our days he has nourished and brought us up as children.
He has been with us in six yea and in seven troubles, and brought
relief to our distresses when every other helper failed. From
countless dangers has he delivered us. He sent his Son from his
bosom to bear our sins in his own body on the tree. From what
an abyss of pollution and wretchedness have some of us been raised
by his pardoning love. He has bestowed upon us the invaluable
gifts of his word and ordinances. By his unspeakable grace we
have enjoyed the sight of his word revived,-sinners plucked as
brands from the burning, and brought to unite their young hosannas
with the praises and joys of their fathers. Where shall we end
the enumeration? More numerous are his mercies than the stars
which look out of heaven. Has the world, have any of our friends,
has all creation done for us what our God has done? Surely if
kindness and mercy can engage our hearts, we lie under the most
pressing obligations to say from our very souls! "Whom have
I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire
besides thee."
From the truth and faithfulness of our divine Benefactor,
we have full assurance that if we get divorced from all our idols
and wed ourselves to him alone in holy trust and service, he will
make ample provision for our support and comfort,-he will abundantly
recompense our fidelity and renunciation of the world. We have
no occasion to apply to any other comforter, to any other protector,
to any other guide, to any other portion. He will be to us such
a portion as will fill and satisfy our souls.
He will be all that we need and all we desire. We shall be
blest beyond all previous conception. We shall be full; can need
no more and can hold no more.
It is one of the lamentable marks of human weakness that men
are so habituated to recede from the eternal centre of rest and
to wander abroad in quest of enjoyment. Dependence is withdrawn
from God and placed on other objects, which may not be obtained,
or if obtained are ever liable to be lost again. The mind, thus
torn from its centre and following deceitful meteors, rambles,
it knows not whither,-is ever pained with uncertainty and trembling
with dubious fears lest the objects in which centre all its desires
should be lost. In proportion as men thus place their hopes in
the creature, they find themselves the prey of restlessness and
misery. To forsake the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns,
is a sure prelude to disappointment and vexation. Ah when will
we be wise? When will we dismiss all our vain dependencies and
make God our only rest and portion? When will we thus obtain that
happiness which we have long sought in vain? Could we look with
indifference on all the shifting scenes beneath the sun, on prosperity
and adversity, on loss and gain, and make the sincere appeal,
"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth
that I desire besides thee," how happy might we be even in
this vale of tears.
Knowing the claims which he had to our supreme affection,
God has asserted those claims in his holy word, and strictly commanded
us to love him with all the heart, and in comparison with him
to hate father and mother, wife and children, and even life itself.
And as he is infinitely the greatest and best of beings, this
supreme regard to him is his due. It is perfectly right and fit,
and what we owe to him, to make him the object of our supreme
delight to rejoice that he holds the throne, to resign ourselves
with all our interests to his disposal, to feel that we have enough
and abound while possessing him, even though every thing else
be taken away, and under all our trials and disappointments, to
be quiet as a child that is weaned of its mother. It is infinitely
unreasonable to set up any private interest in opposition to the
interest of the universe,-the interest and wishes of God and his
kingdom. Of what consequence is it for infinite wisdom and love
to sit upon the throne if they may not govern the world? What
does it signify for us to proclaim our joy that the world is under
divine direction, if we will not submit and consent to be governed?
Such supreme delight in God and his government had Enoch and
Noah, and Abraham and Moses, and David and Daniel and Paul. Not
one of them could receive the divine approbation and enter into
rest on easier terms. And on no easier terms can we enjoy the
friendship and protection of Asaph's God in the present life;
on no easier terms can we enter the portals of the heavenly city.
But the sure reward of thus choosing him for our portion, will
be the unfailing friendship and enjoyment of him in the present
life, and when all these perishable worlds shall be blended in
one common grave. Then shall they who have chosen him in preference
to all others be everlastingly united to their glorious centre,
and shall plunge into that ocean of glory which they have chosen
for their all, and lose themselves in him. Then shall they know
how wise their choice who prefer the immortal God to the husks
that were made for the flames. Then with what hearty sincerity
and bursting joy will these eternal notes go round, "Whom
have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I
desire besides thee."
Let this assembly pause for a moment, while each one solemnly
inquires with himself whether he has chosen the God of Asaph for
his only portion and supreme delight, or whether his affections
and hopes still linger among the vanities of this lower world.
Do our souls stand ready, at the word of God, to break away from
every scene of this enchanted ground, and leaving the world behind,
to soar to regions from which all worldly things are forever excluded?
Do we, like Simeon and Paul, pant to ascend to the full possession
of the supreme good? Why do we wish for heaven? Is it that we
may live forever at home with our God, and after a long and tedious
separation, be forever united to the centre of our souls? Is it
this, or is it some other heaven which is the object of our imagination
and desire? And can we sincerely appeal to the Searcher of hearts,
"There is none upon earth that I desire besides thee?"
Have we a solemn conviction that we have chosen him for our supreme
good and portion? Or do we still remain miserably encumbered with
the lumber of earthly objects,-wretchedly ignorant of the Source
of our being, -encompassed with darkness which has known no morning,-wickedly
and fatally straying from the only source of happiness,-vagrants
in the region of confusion, night, and misery? Ah wretched souls,
whither do ye wander? Why prefer the night of chaos to the glories
of the uncreated sun? Why flee from the fountain of happiness
and love in pursuit of wretchedness and eternal war? Where can
such bliss be found as you have left behind? Wherefore do you
speed your course from the Author of your being as though all
misery lived with him? Whither would you hurry in the wildness
of your distraction? O return, return. Seek no longer for happiness
in shunning its only source. O return, return. Let planets break
loose from the attractions of the sun, and wander wildly and without
order into the regions of night; but let not immortal souls break
away from the attractions of the eternal Sun, to wander in wild
and dark vagaries, in wretched confusion and ruinous disorder
to all eternity. O return, while return is possible, to the substance
and fountain of light and blessedness. Let the attractions of
divine love draw you nearer and nearer, until you shall fall into
the glorious Sun, and lose yourselves to all eternity in this
beatific union. Renounce your alliance with worms and dust, sustain
a glorious resurrection from the dead, and learn to say, "Whom
have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I
desire besides thee."
The subject will apply itself to backsliding Christians. Ah
why should they who have seen his glory and known his love, and
seen the world eclipsed by his charms, so often forsake the fountain
of living waters for broken cisterns? Why should that which they
have known to be the supreme good, be left for things which they
know cannot profit? In better hours you have avouched the Lord
Jehovah to be your God and portion: you have vowed eternal fealty
and subjection to him. Your oath is recorded in the rolls of heaven.
Why then violate your promises thus attested, and forsake the
source of happiness for comfort which you know is no where else
to be found? Awake from these enchanted slumbers. Pursue no longer
the unnatural course which carries you from your life and from
the centre of yourselves. And what can you find abroad to allure
you from home? Precisely what the dove found on leaving the ark,-no
place on which to rest the sole of her foot. May you, like her,
soon grow weary of the damp and cheerless regions with out, and
return on lagging pinions, and with mourning notes plead for an
extended arm to take you in. Consider also from what mercies you
have fled, and through what obligations you have broken away:
and then, with the melting griefs of the Psalmist, give it in
charge to yourselves, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for
the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."
In the last place, the subject addresses itself to those who
have deliberately and heartily made choice of the supreme good,
and who have never, by the mists of earth or hell, lost sight
of the good they have chosen. Hail, happy souls! All hail, ye
unrivaled few! From my heart I give you joy. Ye have found the
pearl of great price. Ye have found that treasure which worlds
might be sold in vain to purchase. Accept our congratulations.-
Accept the congratulations of angels. Let your souls arise and
shout for joy; for all the treasures of the universe are yours.
The infinite God, with all that he possesses, is made over to
you by a covenant well "ordered in all things and sure."
Let your pious hearts be comforted under the loss of all terrestrial
vanities. Let them shout for joy under all trials and crosses.
For under the loss of all things, you possess all things still.
The immortal God is yours; and in him you have all and need no
more. Be not disheartened at the trials and conflicts in which
you may be involved. Soon will you emerge from them all, and like
the sun breaking from a cloud, forever shine forth in the kingdom
of your Father. It is in our heart to bid you God speed, and encourage
you to go on and renew your wise and virtuous choice of the God
of all benignity and blessedness. Be emboldened to take a larger
and still larger portion of the supreme good. God has said "Open
thy mouth wide and I will fill it." Be satisfied with this
portion, and murmur not though sinners take the rest. Never indulge
vain regrets for the objects you have left behind. "Delight"
yourselves more and more "in the Lord," and "He
will (more and more) give you the desires of your heart."
And whatever allurements try to draw you away, whatever terrors
arise in your course, whatever crosses you may have to encounter,
never suffer yourselves to be unsettled from the habit of hourly
saying, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides thee." Amen.
