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that will do; all the pearls he can meet with have flaws in them; he cannot produce even one, that is perfect. Then the Gospel comes in and offers him what he is seeking for, namely, a perfect righteousness which will satisfy God, the one pearl of great price, a pearl in which the strict law of God can find no flaw. Thus "the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." It creates the want, which the gospel supplies. It sets us on seeking pearls, and it shews us the worthlessness of all we have been able to find, that we may be ready to accept with joy, and properly to value, the one pearl, when it is presented to us in the gospel, The law is righteousness required, the gospel is righteousness revealed. The law is the seeking of pearls, the gospel is the one pearl found.

Matt. xxii. 12. "And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless." Did it never strike you as being rather remarkable, that any of the guests should have had wedding garments, or that the single exception should have been speechless, when asked why he appeared without one? Surely he might have given a very good reason. The king's servants had gone out, and brought in any one they could find on the highway "both bad and good," to sit down to the marriage feast at a moment's notice. How could they be expected to have wedding dresses on? Or what time was there to go and get them; even supposing they could all have afforded it? This difficulty is at once removed, by reference to the eastern custom of providing wedding dresses for the guests at the house where the entertainment was given. Each guest, on his arrival, put off his own upper garment, which was a long loose robe, and put ou one provided for the purpose. No matter how gay or splendid a person's own dress may be, he must leave it behind him; for he can only be admitted in the wedding garment. This person then, though brought in straight from the highway, must have refused the garment offered him at the king's palace, and chosen rather to appear in his own dress. Whatever his motive might be,-whether it was from sheer carelessness, or from pride because he thought his own dress good enough when confronted with the king, and asked the cause of his thus appearing, "he was speechless." What is this parable meant to teach us? Evidently two things. 1. None, who hear the gospel invitation to "the marriage supper of the Lamb," need be afraid of accepting it because of their own unworthiness; for the wedding robe of Christ's righteousness is ready for them all, "without money and without price." They have only to put it on by faith, and then they may appear with acceptance before the King of Kings. It is a perfect and complete covering for the most "poor and blind and

naked and miserable," like that literal robe, for which the soldiers cast lots, "without seam, woven from the top through. out." 2. None, who wish to be admitted at the marriage supper, must dare to appear in their own dress, however excellent they may fancy it. Only one dress is allowed in the King's presence, and before that can be put on, their own dress must be put off. The sinner must renounce all trust in his own righteousness, before he can be clothed in Christ's righteousness and unless he does so, however careless or self-confident he may be now, he will assuredly be speechless at the day of judgment.

Dear brethren, "to you is the word of salvation sent." "Here is a righteousness for you all, so pure, so perfect, that a martyr's best blood would defile it, and a saint's purest tear would blemish and bedim it—a righteousness which can receive no addition from man, and no deterioration from devils; nothing that earth can do can add to its splendour; and nothing that Satan can effect can depreciate its worth. The eye that detects spots in the azure heavens, and infirmities in the burning cherubim, sees no flaw in this garment. Arrayed in it, you stand before the Holy One, "without spot, or blemish, or any such thing." It was woven by the fingers, washed in the blood, sprinkled with the tears, and perfumed by the merits of God's incarnate Son. It is free. It is given to every guilty sinner that seeks it from Christ, without money and without price."

Some year ago, a disastrous shipwreck having occurred off the southern coast of England, a clergyman in the neighbourhood, took occasion in his sermon on the following Sunday, to make some particular reflections on the circumstance. He supposed a man just about to sink under the waves catching sight of a plank within reach of him. With what eager anxiety does he lay hold of it, to try whether it will bear him! With what delight he finds, that it does bear him! How firmly he clings to it, till it has landed him safely on the shore! The preacher then applied this to the case of a perishing sinner, whose eyes the Spirit had opened to see the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour. He exhorted all present to seek that Saviour. He set before them the atoning blood, and justifying righteousness, of Jesus Christ, and entreated them to cast themselves at the foot of the cross as helpless guilty sinners, that they might be cleansed from all their sins in his precious blood. He invited them to rest their whole weight upon Him, who was able and willing to bear them safely to land.-Time passed on: nothing particular was ever said to him about this sermon, until one day he received a message

Dr. Cumming.

from a neighbouring parish, that a dying man was most anxious to see him. He never remembered seeing the man, or having heard his name before; but the message was so pressing, that he immediately went. On entering the room, he perceived by his manner, that the man at once recognised him, and attempted to speak; but his strength was so far gone, that he was unable to make himself heard. His wife then told the clergyman, that a remarkable effect had been produced upon her husband by a sermon, which he had heard him preach some time ago: that he bad often since been desirous to see him, but had never had an opportunity. The clergyman, seeing him to be at the point of death, leant over his bed, to catch if possible any thing which he might be able to utter even in a whisper. After a short pause, the sick man appeared to gather up his remaining strength for a last effort, just gasped into his ear, The plank bears-and died.

May this blessed experience be yours and mine, whether we have to 66 pass through the valley of the shadow of death," or whether we 66 are alive and remain" until the coming of our Lord. May each one of us be enabled to say with the confidence of St. Paul, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 2 Tim. i. 12.

LECTURE XV.

GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS.

"For the Sadducees say, that there is Acts xxiii. 8.

neither angel nor spirit."

OUR Lectures have hitherto formed a continuous chain of argument, all tending to furnish the full scriptural answer to that important question, "What must I do to be saved?" With the preceding Lecture, therefore, our subject, strictly speaking, concluded; and it was, in fact, the last of the course, which was delivered from the pulpit. But in sending them to the press, I cannot pass over two doctrines, against which infidelity is very busy just now in aiming her shafts ;-The Existence of the Devil; and The Obligation of the Sabbath. The former will be the subject of the present Lecture.

I scarcely know what is the general opinion of Unitarians in the present day with regard to spiritual agency; but the fathers of modern Unitarianism in the last century, most certainly denied, either the existence of Angels and Devils at all, or at least their having anything to do with our concerns. If we may judge from his speaking of "the most orthodox devil ever believed in," Mr. Barker would seem to disbelieve Satan's existence at all events, whatever he may think of Angels. Both good and evil spirits however, especially the latter, are very favourite subjects of ridicule in the theological discussions, which are so customary in many of the workshops of this neighbourhood. It may be well, therefore, to notice them together; the argument in both cases being the same.

But let it be observed, that we are not arguing with the avowed Deist, who merely scoffs at the doctrine, without pretending to reconcile his opinions and scripture together; but with one, who does admit an appeal to scripture, and contends that the existence of such beings, as we are speaking of, is not taught there. We have therefore nothing to do with such questions as, How can spirits do this? or how can they do that? but simply with the question, What saith the scripture? If God's word says that there are such beings, and that they do interfere in the affairs of this world, we know that it must be true, however unaccountable it may appear to us. As for myself, I must confess, that I can neitle: see any difficulty,

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nor even improbability, in the fact: but surely those who do, ought not to require reminding, that "what is impossible with man is possible with God; for with God all things are possible."

The way in which Unitarians explain away the constant mention of spirits in the Old and New Testaments, is by saying, that all such expressions are merely instances of the highflown figurative language so common in the east. They only regard them therefore as allusions to fictitious personages, or personifications of certain principles, virtues, and vices. When a man is assisted by an angel, it only means that good thoughts are rising within him; when he is tempted by the devil, that evil thoughts are rising within him. The following extract from Rowland Hill's Village Dialogues may be thought rather an extreme instance of Solomon's maxim "Answer a fool according to his folly"; but I don't see how it can well be condemned, without also condemning Elijah's mockery of the not one whit more rational or scriptural doctrines of the Priests of Baal.

"Considerate. Allow me then, Sir, to ask you this plain question, If we are to be guided alone by our reason, while we are at liberty to doubt every word of revelation, are we to call this Infidelity or Christianity? or is not Deism far more rational and consistent than such sort of Christianity?

"Wisehead. O, sir, we are still believers in the Christian religion.

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Considerate. Why then, Christian believers are at liberty to doubt the certainty of every truth of Revelation itself; even Jews and Mohammedans believe a part of the Bible, but deny the rest. I beg leave, therefore, further to ask, if this be Christianity, what is Infidelity?

"Wisehead, Sir, the question is easily answered; some few infidels doubt, whether there ever was such a person as Jesus Christ, and others of them think there is no future state; but we all believe there will be a future state, and that there is such a person as Jesus, the son of Mary; but then we do not conceive ourselves bound to believe the story of his miraculous conception, or his pre-existence, as it is called, or the strange inconsistent mysterious doctrine of the Trinity; and, among other "corruptions of Christianity," contrary to what we esteem the rational and "the true Gospel of Christ," we reject what is commonly called the doctrine of the atonement: "in every shape, and under every modification of it, it is unfounded in the Christian revelation." Nor can we believe, that there is any such a being as the Holy Spirit. Consequently we have nothing to do with the abstruse notion of regeneration, or, as it is called, the work of the Spirit; we believe, that such sort of expressions are to be taken as oriental figures, or as "tropical language;" and, that it only means a

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