Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

tery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Shall I not visit,' shall I not execute vengeance, for such things as these? 'Yes; I will be a swift witness against the false swearer.' I will convict him, not only of his prevarication, but of all those other crimes which he hath concealed and encouraged by his perjury."

Such is the sin of perjury; such the sin of taking God's holy name in vain; and such his indignation against both. Let us feelingly lay these things to heart. Let us consider, that we ought not to be insolent, merely because God is patient; for vengeance is his, and, in due time, he will surely repay. Art thou a profaner of God's awful name? Detestable fool! What pleasure, what profit, accrues to thee from this abominable practice for the present? And how dost thou set thyself up as a mark for the arrows of the Almighty, when patience, long abused, shall kindle into indignation, and mercy itself call for vengeance on thy head? Or hast thou the boldness to call on God to attest a lie? Know, odious deceiver, that, if there is a God, thy own horrible crime, and every other sin concealed, abetted, encou raged, thereby, shall, with accumulated judgment, be fearfully punished in thee. Know, dark infernal monster, that, if there is a devil, his fate and thine must be the same; for thy soul is black, treacherous, and impious, like his. Know, O thou vilest of men! thou rebel to God! thou pest of human society! that, if there is an hell, there must be thy portion for ever; and think what it is to dwell with everlasting burnings.' Think, think, and repent.

Let us now earnestly beseech Almighty God to fill us with an awful fear of his holy and glorious name, that we may never presume to utter it, but with the deepest rever ence; nor appeal to it, but with the utmost regard to truth. Grant this, blessed Father, for the sake of Christ Jesus our Redeemer; to whom, with thee, and the Holy Ghost, be all might, majesty, dignity, and dominion, now, and for evermore. Amen.

DISCOURSE XL.

CHRISTIANS MUST FOLLOW CHRIST.

PHIL. II. 5.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

It was the intention of the apostle, in the passage from whence this text is borrowed, to press the Philippians to humility, unanimity, and patience, by the glorious example of our Saviour. It was impossible to urge an argument of greater force; for besides that nothing hath a stronger influence upon the actions of men than the example of those they admire, whereas this was the example of a person they adored; they were moreover, as the disciples of Christ, under an indispensible duty, under an absolute necessity, of following their great leader, in order to accomplish the same blessed design, and arrive at the same happy place, to which he had shewn them the way.

[ocr errors]

For this purpose it was necessary they should be acted by the same principles, nnd governed by the same mind and spirit, which was also in Christ Jesus.' Again, as members of his sacred body, the church, they must have been willing to renounce their own foolish minds, their own carnal hearts, and give themselves up entirely to the government of that infallible mind: for no man can be really a member of Christ's body,who is not governed by the mind of Christ. A man may indeed have the name, and claim the outward privileges, of a Christian, by being baptized and continuing in the profession of Christianity; but if he is still the slave of his own passions, if he is governed by his own mind and will, how can he call himself a member of Christ's body? Does he not know that in the great day, when the wheat and the chaff shall be separated, there shall be neither spot nor. wrinkle left in the body of Christ, but that it shall be holy and without blemish?' How then can he imagine, that a dis

orderly, a convulsive, or a dead member shall be suffered to remain in it? on that occasion, the mere professor may say to Christ, have I not been baptized into the Christian church? Have I not eat at thy table? Have I not lived and died in thy religion; nay, he may even say, have I not preached in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils?' But this will avail him nothing; for Christ will say unto him, I know you not; depart from me all ye that work iniquity.'

[ocr errors]

Since then the benefits of Christianity are to be expected upon no other terms, than those of having the mind or spirit of Christ, and, as a necessary consequence of that, living up, as far as human frailty will permit, to the example of Christ, it must, in the highest sense of the words, be both our duty and interest to set that great example before us, and, by considering it well, and labouring to follow it, satisfy ourselves, that, in the mean of our actions, we are governed by no other mind but his.

[ocr errors]

In the first place, there was in Christ a perfect purity and freedom from all sin. 'He was made like unto us in all things, sin only excepted.' Although he had the soul, the body, the senses, the passions, and affections, of a man, yet no temptations could betray him into the smallest inclination to sin. In order to reclaim them, he conversed with the grossest of sinners, and suffered even the devil to tempt him with all the allurements, with all the pomps and pleasures, of the world; for their seducer, not knowing, that in him the fulness of the godhead dwelt bodily,' tried on him all those arts, that had proved but too successful with Adam, David, Solomon; that is, with the wisest and best of men ; but all in vain. The mind that was in Christ Jesus, being infinitely wise, saw easily through all his disguises, and all his snares; and, being perfectly good, rejected his offers, with a superiority and calmness, that shewed, he had not the least struggle with himself in doing it. And what is well worth our observation, is, that his behaviour on that occasion might afford us an example capable of imitation, he did not seem to apply to his divinity to repel the attacks of his adversary, but used such arguments as we in like case may furnish ourselves with, to fortify himself against temptation; that is, passsges of Scripture. Christ then hath left us an

[ocr errors]

example, that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.'

But if we fall into a course of sin, we can have no resemblance of Christ, and therefore cannot be united to him: we do not follow Christ, and consequently cannot expect to enter into glory, to which there is but one path, marked out by his blessed foot-steps.

In the history of our Saviour we have the highest instances, and the brighest example, of piety, which it is possible for the imagination to conceive; and which seems to be placed before our eyes, in a great measure, for our imitation for as his divine nature put the accomplishment of all his purposes within the power of a single act of his will, to desite, and execute, was the same thing with him. And yet, as he was a son, and a man, he, on many occasions, addressed himself to his Father, with all that dignity and simplicity, all that duty and fervency, which ought to conduct and enliven the devotions of a mere man. What must we think of the necessity we are under of duly performing this sacred instance of service, when we see the Son of God, who could command ten thousand of angels to do whatever he desired, falling on the ground, and putting up his petitions to the Father? This considered, how can a Christian despise or neglect this duty; and to excuse himself in so doing, say, that all events are left to the natural course of second causes; or that God, knowing our occasions better than we do, neither wants to be informed or solicited in relation to them? If such persons had the mind that is in Christ Jesus, they would not thus set his doctrine, in respect to prayer, at variance with his practice, but rather make use of the one to explain the other. It is true, 'God knows our wants better than we do ourselves," as our Saviour hath told us, and is infinitely gracious and ready to supply them. But are we, for this reason, to forget our dependence on him, or expect, although we should, to be gratified on a less application, than his only-begotten and well-beloved Son? If the spirit of Christ be in us, it will not fail to carry up our spirits and hearts in the warmest acts of devotion to that throne of grace, to which the prayers and praises of our blessed pattern were directed.

[ocr errors]

There was nothing in our Saviour's life that supplies us with a more useful or a more distinguished example than his astonishing charity. He came into this unhappy world, he took on him our nature, liable to so many and grievous. miseries, to save sinners; that is, to save from eternal misery, and conduct to everlasting glory, a race of wretches in open rebellion against himself. He healed the distempers of our bodies, cured the disorders of our minds, raised to new life those who were dead, either in a temporal or spiritual sense; and, after all the indignities and cruelties we could load him with, when he was nailed to the cross by our hands, he prayed to his Father to forgive us. Can we call ourselves the disciples of such a Master, if we have not love one towards another?' If that aimable and forgiving mind be in us, which was in Christ Jesus, instead of doing any hurt to our neighbour, we shall labour to do his soul and body all the good we can; and, if he chance to injure us, we shall seek a noble revenge only in serving him with all the good offices in our power. His example in this respect he himself recommends to us. 'As I have loved you, love ye also one another.' As to forgiveness of injuries, we have stronger reasons to follow his example in that respect, than he had to set it; for he was without sin, and wanted no forgiveness; but we, being encompassed about with many infirmities, are daily offending both God and man; and therefore lie under greater obligations to forgive, as we stand in so great need of forgiveness. We ought to feel the infirmities of others in our own, and be led from thence to pity and pardon in our fellow-creature, what we have so much reason to lament in ourselves. Were we as free from sin, as Christ himself, it would be our duty to forgive; for otherwise we could not be like him; and how much more then, since we ourselves are offenders?

[ocr errors]

Again, in the life of our Saviour we have a most wonderful example of contentment. Although heaven and earth. belonged to him, as their maker and proprietor, and he could have furnished himself with pleasure and glory from the fulness of both; yet he condescended to take on him the form of a servant,' of a poor and needy person, of an exile, of a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief;' who, though he made all things, and gave the very foxes their

« VorigeDoorgaan »