SERMON I.

[THE manuscript of the following sermon bears the date of January 18, 1798, two months before Dr. Chalmers' eighteenth birthday, and a year and a half before he was licensed by the Presbytery as a preacher of the gospel. It must have been written as a Divinity Hall class exercise during the last session of his regular attendance at the University of St. Andrews. Its concluding paragraphs lay bare to us those fatal misapprehensions of the great doctrine of justification by faith only, which were cherished by him during the first ten years of his ministry-against which he was afterwards all the better fitted to guard others because of his having been so long misled by them himself.]

MICAH VI. 8.

"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

THIS passage, if taken in connexion with the context, would naturally direct our thoughts to the evils of hypocrisy and superstition. It would lead us to infer that the mind alone is the seat of virtue; that in our estimation of religion we are not to have respect to the works of the hand, but only to the moral disposition of the heart. Instead, however, of adverting more particularly to the occasion of the text, I propose to consider it. independently, and of itself; and shall first endeavour to illustrate the particular duties enjoined in the text, and shall then consider it in its connexion with the religion of Jesus.

VOL. VI.

A

The Lord requireth of thee to do justly—to love mercy. The promotion of happiness is the great end of all social duty. Wherefore is it that justice approves itself to our feelings of virtue? Because without its observance the peace, the happiness, the very existence of society would be endangered. Mercy, also, is the object of moral approbation; because by the relief of indigence, by the consolation of misery, it advances and promotes the happiness of men. Both are equally incumbent, because both conduce to the same end. In the eye of civil polity doing justly may be all that is in duty required, but in the eye of eternal reason and virtue loving mercy is no less indispensable. It is the end which these virtues have a tendency to promote that confers upon them their moral obligation. This end is one and invariable; the means which lead to its attainment are diversified with the circumstances of the case. Justice and mercy include in them all the various manners of acting by which we can contribute to the happiness of mankind. Hence they resolve themselves into that great duty which consists in devoting our time and our labour to the welfare of others. Benevolence or universal charity is the source from which the observance of these duties proceeds. It is this principle of love which guides. through the path of duty, and is the fountain of all our social virtues. It equally calls upon us to satisfy the demands of justice and to visit the abodes of wretchedness; to discharge with fidelity the trust reposed in us, and to exercise all our tender affections. Let us cultivate this spirit of benevolence and love, and we fulfil the duties recommended in the text; for all the commandments are briefly comprehended in this saying-Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Let us now proceed to the last duty which the text recommends-Thou shalt walk humbly with thy God. Walking humbly with God more immediately involves in it an entire acquiescence in His authority-an unbounded resignation to His will. It is opposed to that arrogance of mind which would lead us to cavil and repine at the dispensations of His providence. But it also includes in it the whole of piety; to it may be referred all those affections of mind which should result from

the relations we stand in to our Creator. It is with God that we are required to walk humbly; and if so, we must be open to every sentiment which the contemplation of His perfections is calculated to inspire-to the awe of His power, to confidence in His wisdom, and to the love of His goodness. The man of humility strives to offer an acceptable service to the Author of his being. Does God speak? he listens to His words with an awful reverence; he reposes an unlimited trust in His veracity. Does God declare His will? with unbounded faith he receives His sovereign mandates, and submits to their influence. A sacred reverence for the authority of God keeps him in the path of His divine commandments, and leads him to watch over his conduct with trembling anxiety. But humility towards God does not consist entirely in the dread of His power, and it by no means consists in that slavish terror which enfeebles the energy of the mind, and destroys the vitals of our happiness. The Deity hath deigned to reveal Himself to us under the endearing images of our father and friend. He hath softened the sense of His greatness by giving us a view of His beneficence and love. We ought therefore to cherish sentiments of gratitude and affection, and the contemplation of the divine goodness should inspire our hearts with confidence and joy. Think not, then, that piety casts a gloom over the face of nature. Think not that sullen and dejected it retires from the world to dwell on nothing but subjects of melancholy. Think not that the sigh of sadness or the tears of penitential sorrow are its whole employments. True, the ravages of sin, the imperfections of finite nature, may cause it to hide its face for a time in all the bitterness of grief. But soon will the light of the divine countenance be restored, and that voice of heavenly consolation be heard which speaketh peace to the soul. Then piety appears arrayed in all its beauty and lustre. It harmonizes with every generous feeling of our nature, and ennobles the enjoyments of life. It confers new dignity on man; and the sense of this dignity affords a new theme of gratitude and love.

Now may we be convinced of the propriety of applying the epithet "good" to humility or piety towards God. Alas,

it is only in the sense of His wise providence that we can find any rational support to the soul amidst the present scenes of obscurity and confusion! Man mourns over his afflictions; cares and anxieties distract his mind. Following after peace, earnest in the pursuit of happiness, the events of every day convince him of the fallacy of his hopes-every hour brings on new topics of lamentation and complaint. What then shall he do? Shall he sit down under the despondency of continual apprehension, destitute of all hope in futurity, and incapable of the sublime exertions of virtue? In sullen despair shall he drag out his miserable existence without a generous sentiment to elevate his mind, and without a ray of consolation to cheer the gloom of life? No; let the infinite wisdom and unbounded goodness of God be impressed on his mind; let him contemplate those provisions which the Author of nature hath made for the encouragement and comfort of His creatures; and let him fit himself by the exercises of humility and piety for the enjoyment of the blessings which these provisions ensure; then will be dispelled those clouds of sorrow and darkness which overhung his mind; the peace of his soul will be completely restored. Resting with an humble assurance on the favour of his God, he looks forward with joy to that felicity which His goodness gives him reason to expect. Amidst the storms and the tempests of life he extends his prospects to the regions of everlasting peace. Let us therefore recognise the goodness of genuine humility. It is good in the moral sense, because in the eye of reason and of virtue it naturally results from that relation which subsists between man and his Maker; and it is good also in the natural sense, because it alleviates. the evils of this present life, and prepares us for the enjoyment of eternal felicity.

In the same manner we must acknowledge the goodness. of benevolence. The exercises of pure and perfect benevolence would convert this vale of tears into a paradise of bliss. Under its benign influence want and its attendant. evils would be banished from the earth; men would feel little of the evils, and would enjoy in perfection the bless

ings of life. Why has the populous city become an habitation for the beasts of the desert? Wherefore is that a dreary wilderness which was formerly crowned with the blessings of plenty-where innocence and peace took up their abode, and nothing was heard but the voice of joy? We are not to say that Nature was unkind, or that she delights in the misery of her children. We have seldom to ascribe it to the ravage of the elements, or to any of those evils which are essential to our state, but to the wickedness and depravity of the human heart -to the dire effusions of passion-to the mad ambition of wealth and of power. These are the principal sources of human wretchedness; and these it is the direct tendency of benevolence to suppress. Under its happy reign all would enjoy the exquisite pleasures of loving and of being beloved-pleasures which are congenial to the heart and make up the chief part of our happiness. Though the powers of nature should conspire to rob us of our peace, yet the voice of love would invite us to gladness. Though the heavens should withhold their rain, and the earth forbear to yield its increase; or though the fair face of nature should be overcast in the gloom of night, and the blast of the storm should threaten to overwhelm us; yet supported by the kind endearments of friendship, we may continue unruffled and serene, and our minds be open to the most feeling enjoyments. On the other hand, let everything without unite to gratify our desires and increase our enjoyments; let the labour of the year be crowned with success ; let the seasons join in concert for our accommodation and ease; let the sun dispense in due proportion his cheering influences; let the fury of the tempest be allayed, and all around us be clothed in mildness and beauty; unless the heart of man accords with the beneficence of nature; unless his mind is open to the warm impressions of sympathy and love-misery will still be our lot; the tale of wo will still be heard in our streets; and this world will continue the abode of wretchedness. The sufferings of Job were aggravated in the extreme. Yet the loss of his wealth, the ravages of disease, the death of his children, the dissolution of the most endearing connexions in nature, were all unable to