"fore the time, until the Lord come," if that were his meaning, that a man might not judge of his own spiritual state beforehand, nor speak peace to himself upon the strength of a clear conscience? Those two suppositions are evidently contradictory to each other, and can never stand together. Wherefore we must of necessity look out for some other meaning of what St. Paul says, concerning the impropriety of judging any thing of ourselves before the final day of judgment. He was there speaking of the fulfilling the "work of the ministry" with the utmost exactness; and he would have no man presume to judge beforehand that he had so fulfilled it: for though he should be able to espy nothing in himself wherein he had been to blame, had no sin to charge himself with on that head; yet that would not suffice to clear him perfectly, that is, to justify him in the strictest sense, because God might see faults, either of omission or commission, which the man himself might not be aware of therefore, says the Apostle, "judge nothing" as to your faithful fulfilling your duty in every point, "before the time:" presume not so far: God only can judge whether you have been altogether free from blame in that article. So the meaning of the Apostle, in that plaće, was only to check vain presumption, and to prevent proud boasting and it comes almost to the same with what St. James says, "In many "things we offend all;" and what St. John says, "If "we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves," &c.': or to what the Psalmist intimates by saying, "Who can "understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from my secret "faults m." Now the doctrine of a good conscience, or of an humble assurance of our being in a state of grace, is very consistent with this other doctrine, that the very best of men are sinners in God's sight, and may in sundry instances be found worthy of blame, more than they themselves had been ever aware of. The Gospel remedy for those secret sins, those which have either escaped our * Jam. iii. 2. 11 John i. 8. Psalm xix. 12. notice, or have slipped out of memory, is a general repènt→ ance, together with such kind of prayers as the Psalmist put up to the throne of grace, when he said, "Cleanse "thou me from my secret faults." Such kind of sins of ignorance or of infirmity are no bar to true peace of mind, or to the comforts of a good conscience, or to a modest assurance of our being in a state of grace and favour; provided only, that, upon a serious examination of our own hearts and lives, we do find that we indulge no known habits of sin; but use our careful endeavours, by the help of God's grace, to discharge our bounden duty in that station of life whereunto God has called us. So then, this place of St. Paul, rightly understood, interferes not at all with the doctrine of the text as before explained. And I may further hint, that there were some ministers of the Gospel of that time who were too much puffed up, and affected to be thought more considerable than St. Paul himself; and it was chiefly with a view to those men that St. Paul here spake so exceeding modestly of himself, in order to teach them modesty in such a way, as might give them least offence: wherefore he says, in verse the sixth of the same chapter, "These things, brethren, I have in a figure "transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; "that ye might learn in us not to think of men above "that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up "for one against another." He was sensible that some of the church of Corinth magnified themselves too much, and were too much magnified by others, in the way of emulation: but it was a very tender point to speak plainly of, or even to touch upon, for fear of widening the breach, and heightening the divisions: therefore he chose that softest way of rebuke, not naming the persons who were most to blame, but naming himself in their stead; and describing in his own person, as a minister of Christ, how humbly and how modestly every one ought to think of himself, and behave in his station. But I return to the business of a good conscience, from which I have a little digressed, for the clearer reconciling of the several texts, and for the removing scruples. No doubt but a serious considerate man may know when he behaves as he ought to do, and may reap the comfort of it: and though we are none of us without sin, of one kind or other, but "in many things we offend all," yea more than we know of, (but God knows,) yet a good life is easily distinguished from the life of the ungodly, and a state of grace from a state of sin: and so there is room enough left for the joy of a good conscience, where men live as becometh the Gospel of Christ, "perfecting holiness," to such a degree as man can be perfect," in the "fear of God." 66 II. Having thus stated the nature and cleared the meaning of a good conscience, I now proceed to discourse of the comforts of it. These are pointed out, in very expressive words, by the Apostle in the text; "If our heart con"demn us not, then have we confidence toward God. "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him." What greater comfort can there be than conscious virtue, drawing after it the favour, the countenance, the friendship of God, in whom all happiness centers, and upon whom all things entirely depend? If God be with us, who can be against us? What friends can we want, while in him. we have all that are truly valuable? or what blessings can we desire, but what he is both willing and able to shower down upon us, only leaving it to him to judge what is safest and most convenient for us. Whatsoever a good man asks in faith, if it be for his soul's health, that he is sure to receive; as the Apostle in the text informs us. Will he ask temporal blessings? He may, but with reserve and caution; not forgetting to add these or the like words; " yet not my will, but thine be done." Will he ask rather (as sure he will) spiritual blessings, as pardon and grace, holiness here, happiness hereafter? Those he may ask earnestly, absolutely, freely, and without reserve; and is sure to be heard in doing it, so long as he keeps God's commandments. There is no pleasure in life comparable to that which arises in a good man's breast, from the sense of his keeping up a friendly intercourse, a kind of familiar acquaintance with God. I do not mean an irreverent, a kind of saucy familiarity, such as hath been seen in some fawning hypocrites or wild enthusiasts; and which is as different from the true filial reverence, as the affected cringings or nauseous freedoms of a parasite are from the open, decent, humble deportment of a respectful admirer. The text expresses a good man's comfort, by his having "confidence toward God:" and in the next chapter the same Apostle says, "Herein is our love "made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment," or against the day of judgment: "because "as he is, so are we in this world:" that is to say, we are in the same interests with him, are his retainers, and domestics of his family and household. The Apostle adds; "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out "fear: because fear hath torment "." I have cited these other texts for the clearer apprehending of what the "confidence toward God" means. To make it still plainer, I may add, that, like as a dutiful and obedient child, conscious of a parent's love, and of the reciprocal affection there is between them, approacheth not with fearful looks or downcast dread, but comes with smiles in his countenance and joy in every gesture; so a truly good man appears in God's presence under a joyous sense of the Divine love towards him, and has none of those dreadful apprehensions which guilty men have, or ought to have, as often as they come before him. An awful distance there ought indeed to be between the creature and his Creator: but where an union of wills and affections has made us, as it were, one with Christ, who is essentially one with God, then that awful distance brings no torment with it, but rather fills the mind with inexpressible joy and admiration. Though St. John has said, that "perfect love casteth "out fear;" yet St. Paul has said, "Work out your own "salvation with fear and trembling"." How shall we reconcile the seeming difference? It may be reconciled thus: St. John by fear meant a tormenting fear; for he observed, that fear, such as he spake of, hath torment in it: but St. Paul understood by fear, that kind of filial fear tempered with love, which has no such torment in it. St. Paul, in the same place where he speaks of working out our salvation with fear and trembling, immediately adds; "for it is God who worketh in you both to will "and to do of his good pleasure P." Observe how comfortable a reason he assigns for fear and trembling, sufficient, one would think, to remove all melancholy fears, doubts, or diffidence: and so it is. But who can think of the immediate presence of the tremendous Deity without some trembling awe and concern upon his mind? Whenever God has been pleased to signify his approach by visible symbols and sensible appearances to frail mortals, they have instantly been filled with dread and horror. The prophet Daniel upon such occasions sunk down into a trance 9; and even the Apostle John fell down as dead for a season. So dreadful are the approaches of the Divine Majesty, though coming in love, when made in a sensible way, in some dazzling and glorious form. But when God comes to us to make his abode with us, and to work within us, (which he certainly does, because he has so promised,) we feel no sensible emotions: because neither the senses nor the imagination is struck by any outward appearances, but all is invisibly and spiritually performed; and there is nothing but abstract thought and Christian recollection that can give us any notion of the Divine presence, in such his silent and unseen approaches. However, a lively faith in it, and an undoubted experience of it, may be sufficient to affect a devout mind with a kind of trembling awe of the Divine Majesty conceived to be pre Philip. ii. 12. P Philip. ii. 13. ↑ Dan. viii. 17, 18.-x. 9. |