IROMISING WITHOUT DOING.
« A certain ma had two sons; and he came fo the first, and said, Bon, 90 vork to-da] irt raff vine.yard. e answered and said, I will hot; but afterward he 'elaented, and went. And he came fo the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, 8ir; and went hOt.'"
Ul% religious professions are af a far greafer distance ri-oto our acting" upon them, than we ourselves are aware. We know generally that it is our duty fo serve God, and we resolve we will do so faithfully. We are sincere in thus generally desirin and purposing" fo be obedient, and we think we are in earnest; yet we go away, and presently, without any strug'gle of mind or apparent change of purpose, almost without knowing" ourselves what we do,—we go away and do the very contrary fo the resolution we bave expresscd. This inconsistency is exposed by our ]31essed Lord in the second part of the parable which I have taken Ibr my text. You will observe, that in the case of the first son, who said he would not go work, and yet did go, it is said, "afterward he repented; " he underwent x 66 Pro»ffsbg witout Do£ug. a positive chane of pm'pos. u in h case of th sond, i is merely said, « he answred, I o, Sir; and wn no;"for hre there was w revolutio of sentiment, nothin deliberae; he merely acted accordin to h habitual ri'ame o£ mind; he did hot fro work, beeause i was courrai T fo his ffeneral dmracter fo work; only he did no knov flis. He said, " I , Sir," siueercly, fl-om the feeling of the moment; but when the words were out of his mouh, then they n-ere forgotn. I was like the wind blong against strem, which scems for moment to cha.nge ifs couroe in consequence, but in çact flows down as before. To this subject I shall now call your attention, as drawn from the latter part dr this parable, passing over the case of the repentant son, which u-ofld forma distinct subject in itsel£ "He answered and said, I go, Sir; and went hot." e promise to serve God: we do hot perform; and that not from deliberate faithlessness in the particular case, but because if is our nature, our waff hot to obey, and we do not know this; we do hOt know ourselvcs, or what we are promising. I lI give several instances of this kin of weakness. 1. For instance; that of mistaking good feelings for real relious principle. Consider how often this takes place. If is the case with the young necessarily, who bave hot been exposed to temptation. They have (we ill say) been brought up religiously, they wish to be rdigious, and so are objects of out love and interest; but they think themselves far more religious than they really are. They suppose thcy ha sin, and understand the Truth, and eau resis the world, when they ha.rdly know fhe meaning of file words they use. Again, how oi'ten is man incited by circumsfances o utter a virtuous wish, or propose a gencrous or valian dced, and perhaps ap1)lauds himself for his own good fceling, and has no suspicion tha.t ho is not able fo act upon it In frufh, he does no uudcrsfand wllcre fhc real difficulty of his duty lies. He thinks flla the char- tcristic of a rcligious man is his having corrcc notiom. I escapcs him tha. there is grca intcrval bctwoen fecling and acfing, tic fakcs i for grantcd he eau do wha he wishes. He knows he is a free agent, and can on the xvhole do wha he will; bu he is no conscions of the load of corrup nature and sinfhl habits which han upon his xvill, and clog i in each particular exercise of i. Ho has borne thcse so long, that he is insensible o their existence. He knows tha in little things, wllere passion and inclination are excluded, he can perform as soon as he rcsolves. Should he mee in his walk two paths, to the right and lef, he is sure he can take which he vill at once, withou any diculty and he fhncies tha obediece fo God is no much more dcult han o tura to the right instead of the left. £. One especial case of Ihis selLdeccption is seen in delayin rcpentance. A man says to himself; "Of course, if the worst cornes to the worst, if illness cornes, or ai leas old ae, I can repent." I do no speak of the dreadful presumption conscience (thouh many hOt Sleak the words out, of such a mode of quietlng" persons really use if who do or are aware that they act upon it), but, merely, of file ignorance it evidences concerning our moral condition, and our power of willing" and doing. If men can repent, why do they hot do so af once? they answer, that "they intend to do so hereafter;" i.e. they do hot repent because they can. Such is their argument; whereas, the very fact that they do not now, should makc them suspect that there is a greater diffcrence between intending" and doing than they know of. So very difficult is obedience, so hardly won is every stcp in our Christian course, so sluggish and inert out corrupt nature, that I would bave man disbelieve he can do onc jot or tittle beyond what he bas already done; refrain from borrowing aught on the hope of the future, however good a security for it he seems to be able to show; and never take his good feeling's and wishes in pledge for one single untried deed. Nothing but fiast acts are the vouchers forFugure. Past sacrifices, past labours, past victories over yourselves,—these, my brethren, are the tokens of the like in store, and doubtless of greater in store; for the path of the just is as the shining, growing light'. But trust nothing" short of these. "' Deeds, nos words and wishes," this must be the watchword of your warfare and the ground of your assurance. But if you have done nothing firm and manly hitherto, if you are as yet the coward slave of Satan, and the poor creature of your lusts and passions, never suppose you will one day rouse yoursclves from your indolence. Alas! there are men who lromising wiL/wut Doisg. 16 9 walk fhe road fo hell, always the while lookin baek af heaven, and fremblin as fhey laee forw,rd towards their place of doom. They hasten ou as under a spell, shrinkin" ffom the consequences of their own deliberafe doing's. Sneh was Balaam. Vhat would he bave g'iven if words and feelings miht bave passed for deeds! Sec how relig'ious he was so far as profession g'oes! How did he revere God in speeeh! tIow piously express a desire fo die the deafh of the righteous! Ye he died in battle among" God's enemie«; nof suddenly overcome by empafion, on|y on he other hand, nof suddenly turned fo Goal by his ffood fhouhts and fait purposes. But in fhis respeef tire power of sin differs flore any literal spell or fascination, tha we are, after all, willinff slaves of if, and shall answer for followlng" if. If "out iniquifies, like the wind, take us,wa.y ," yet we can help this.:Nor is if only among" beg'ilmers in religious obedience that there is this great interval befween promising and performing'. Vc tan never answer how we shall act under new circumstances. A very littlc knowledge of liçe and of our owa hearts will teach us this. Men vhom we meet la the world turn out, in the course of their trial, so differently from what their former conduct promised, they view things so diffcrently tefore they were tempted and aller, that we, who see and wonder af if, bave abundant cause fo lool o ourselves, uot fo bc "high-minded," but to "fcar." Even the most matured saints, those who imbibed in largest measure i7o Pro»d«Dg," w#kou Doig. the power and fulness of Christ's Spirit, and worke righteousness most diligently in their day, could they bave been thoroughly scanncd cven by man, would (I ana persuaded) have exhibited ineonsistencies such as to surprise and shock their most ardent disciples. After all, one good deed is scarcely the pledge of another, though I just now said if was. The best men are uncertain they are great, and they arc littlc again they stand firm, and thcn fall. Such is hunmn virtue; reminding us to call no one Master on earth, but fo look up to our slnless and perfect Lord; reminding us fo humble om-selves, each within himself, and fo refleet what we must appear fo God, if even o ourselves and each other we seem so base and worflless; and showing clearly that all who are saved, even the least inconsistent of us, can bc saved only by faith, hot by works. 3. Here I ara reminded of another pla.usible form of the saine error. It is mistake eoneernin what is meant by faith. We knov Seripture tells us tha Goal accepts thosc who have faith in IIim. Now the question is, What i« fith, and how ean a man tell tha he as faith? Some l»ersons answer a once and withou hesitafion, tha "to bave faith is fo fcel oneself to be nothing, and God every thing if is fo bc eonvineed of sin, o be eonseious one eanno save oneself, and fo wish to be saved by Chris out Lord; and tha i is, moreover, o have the love of Him warm in onc's heart, and fo rejoiec in Him, fo desire tIis glory, and resolve o lire to tIim and not fo the world." Bu I will answer, with all due seriousness, as speakin on a serious subjeet., tlmL this is hot faith. NoL that iL is hot neeessary (if is very neeessmT) fo be eonvineed that we are laden with inflrmity raid sin, `and wiLhout healt.h in us, and look for salvation solely to Christ's blessed sacrifice t.he cross; nnd we may well be tlmnkful if we `a'e thus minded; but that, man ma.y feel all this that I lmve deseribed, vividly, and still hot yet possess one partiele of true relig'ious faith. Why? Beeause there is an immeasm'able distance beLween feeling" righL and doin rig'ht. A re`an m`ay ha.ve all these good thong'hts and emot.lons, ye/ (if he has noL yeL hazarded them to the experiment of praetiee) he emmot promise himself that he has any sound,and permanen prineiple L Ml. I he bas noL yet aeted upon them, we h,ave no voueher, bm-ely on aeeo«nt of them, fo believe that they `are thing but words. Thouôh:r man spoke like an angel, I vould noL believe him, on the mere ground of his spea.king,. Ya.y, till he aets upon them, he bas not even evidenee fo himself tlla he bas true living" faith. Dead faith (as SL 3ames says) profits no man. Of eourse; thë Devils have if. What, on the other hand is living faith? Do fervent thoug'hts make faith livi,g? Si. James tells us otherwise. He tells us vorks, deeds obedienee, are the lire of" faith. "As the body withou Lhe spirit is dead, so f'aith withouf works is dead also ." So tha.t those who think they really believe, beeause they bave in word and thoug'ht surrendered themselves fo God, are mueh too hasty in their judgment. They bave doue something', indeed, buL noL af all the most diftieulg part of their duty, vhich is to surrender themselves fo God in deed and act. They have as yet donc nothing" to show they will hot, after saying" " I go," the next moment '" go hot;" nothing" to show they will hot act the part of the sclLdecciving disciple, who said, "Though I die with Thee, I will hot deny Thec," yet straightway wcnt and denicd Christ thrice. As far as we know any thing" of the mattcb justifying faith has no existence independcnt of its particular definite acts. It may be described to bc thc tempcr undcr which men obey; thc humble and carnest desirc to pleasc Christ which causes and attends on actual services. Ho who does one little dccd of obcdicnce, whether he denies himself some comfort to relieve the sick and needy, or curbs his retaper, or forgives an enemy, or asks forgiveness for an offence committed by him, or resists the clamour or ridicule of the world—such an one (as far as we are given tojudge) evinces more truc fiùth than could be shown by the most flucnt religious conversation, the most intimatc knowledge of Scripture doctrine, or the most rcmarkable agiration and change of rcligious sentiments. Yct how many are there who sit still with folded hands, dreaming, doing" nothing at al], thinking they bave donc every thing, or nccd do nothing, whcn they mcrely bave had these good l]totAts, which will save no ont! My object bas bcen, as far as a few words can do if, to lead you to some truc notion of the depths and dcceitfulness of the heart, which we do not really know. It is eisy to sçeak of human nature as corrupt in the general, to adroit it in the general, and then get quit of the subject; as if the doctrine being" once admitted, there was notlin more fo he donc with if. ]3ut in truth we ean h,ve no real,pprehension or" the doetrine or" out corruption, till we view the structure of' our minds, part by part; and dwell upon and draw out the sig'ns of our weakness, inconsistcncy, and ungodliness, which are such as can arise from nothing" else than some strang, e original defect in out moral nature. 1. Now it will be well if' such self'-examination as I bave suggested leads us to the habit of' constant depcndence upon the Unseen God, in whom "we live and move and bave our being'." Ye are in the dark about ourselves. Vhen we act, we are groping in the dark, and may meet with a fall any moment. Hcre and there, perhaps, we sec a little; or, in our attempts to influence and more out minds, we are making" experiments (as if were) with some delicate and dangcrous instrument, which works we do hot know how, and may produce uncxpected and disastrous effects. The management of' our hcarts is quite above us. Under thcsc circumstances if becomes our comfort to look up to God. "Thou, God, seest me!" Such was the consolation of' the forlorn Hagar in the wilderness. He knoweth whereof we are ruade, and He alone can uphold us. He secs with most appalling" distinctness all our sins, all the windings and recesses of evil within us; yet if is out only comfort fo know this, and to trust Him for help ag-ainst ourselves. To those who bave a right notion of their weakness, the thought of' their Almighty Sanctifier and Guide is continually present. They believe in the necessity of a spiritual influence to change and streng'then them, not as a mere abstract doctrine, but as a practical and most
74 Promishz £ withoztt Dohg. eonsolatory truth, daily fo be fulfilleà in their wnrfnre with sin and Safari. . And this conviction of our excessive weakness mus further lcad us to ta T ourselves continually in little thing's, in order to prove our own earnestness ever fo be suspicious of ourselves, and no on]y to refrain fi'om promising much, but actually to put ourselves to the test in ordcr fo keep ourselvcs wakefifl. A sober mlnd never enjoys God's blessings to tire full; it draws back and refuses a portion to show ifs command over itsel£ It dcnics itself in trivial circnmstances, cven if nothin is gained by denyin, but an evidence of its own sincerity. It makes trial of its own professions; and if it has been tempted fo say any thing noble and reat, or to blame anoflmr for sloth or cowardice, it takes itself at ifs word, and resolves to make some sacrifice (if possible) in little things, as a price for/he indulgence of fine speaklng, or as a penalty on ifs censoriousness, h[uch would be gained if we adopted this rule even in our profeions of ffiendship and service one towards another; and never said a thing whieh wc were hOt willing do. There is only ont place where the Christian allows himoelf fo profess openly, and that is in Chureh. Here, nnder the guidanee of Apostles and Prophets he says many things boldly» as speaking a.fter them» and as beforc Him who seareheth the reins. There ean be no harm in professlng mueh direefly to God» beeause» whi& we speak, we know He ss through our professions» and ta.kes them for what flmy really are» 2;rayers. How mueh, for instance» do we profess when we say the Creed and in the Colleets we put on the full eharaeter of a Christian. We desire and seek the best gift.s, and declare our strong purpose fo serve God with our whole hearts. By doin O this, we remind ourselves of our duy; nd withal, we humble ourselves by the taunt (so to call if) of putting upon out dwindlcd and unhealthy forms Lhose ample and glorious garments which befit the upright and full-ôrown belicver. Lastly, we see from the parable, what is the course and characr of human obcdlcnce on the wholc. There are two sidcs of it. I have tacn the darker side; the case of profession without practicc, Sir," and of hot goiug. But what is the brightcr side? othing better than fo say, "I go not," and to repent and go. Thc more conw condition of meu is, hot fo know thcir inability to serve G, and readily fo answer for themsclves; and so they qulctly pass flirough lire, as if they bau nothing fo fear. Thcir best esta, what is it, but fo rise more or lcss iu rcbellion against God, to resist His commandments and ordinances, and fhen oorly fo make up for the mischicf they bave done, by repentin and obeying? Alas! fo be alive as a Cllrlsian, is nothing better than to struggle agains sin, to disobey and repent. There has been but One among's fhe sons of men who has said and done cosistentl; who said, « I corne to do Thy will, O Go(l,'" and without dclay or hindrance dkl it. He came fo show us Wlla human nature migll bccome, if carried on to its perfection. Thus IIe teaches us to think higllly of our nahre as viewed in Him; hot (as some do) to speak evil of out nature and exal ourselves personally, but while we ackowlcdgc oetr om distance from heavcn, to vicxv out
zature as renewed in Itim, as glorious and wonderful beyond out thoughts. Thus He teaches us to be hopeful; and encourages us while conscience abases us. Ang'els seem little in honour and dig-nity, compared witl that nature which the Eternal Vord bas purified by His own union n'ith if. tIcnceforth, we date aspire to enter into the heaven of heavens, and to live for evcr in God's presence, because the first-fruits of our race is alrcady there in the Person of His Only-beg-otten Son.
T is hot my intention to make St. Peter's fall the direct subject of our consideration to-day, though I bave taken this text; but to suggest fo you an important truth, which that fall, together with other events at the saine season, especially enforces; riz. that violent impulse is hot the saine as a firm determination,—that men may bave their religious feelings roused, without being on that accourir af all the more likely to obey God in practice, rather the less likely. This important truth is in various ways brought belote our minds af the season sacred to the mcmory of Christ's betrayal and death. The contrast displayed in the Gospels between His behaviour on thc one hand, as the rime of His crucifixion drew near, and that both of tIis disciples and of the Jewish populace on the other, is full of instruction, if we will receive it; lIe steadily tlxing His face fo endure flmse sufferings which were thc atonement for our sins, yet without aught of mental exctement or [] aitaion; IIis disciples and the Jewish multitude flrst protesin their devoIion fo Him in v&emen lanuae, then, the one desering Him, the oher even elamourin for IIis crucifixion. IIe enIered Jerusalem in triumph the multitude eutin down branehes of palm-trees, and strewin them in fle way, us in honour of a ldn and eonqueror'. He had lately raised aarus from tlle dcad; and so reat a miracle had given Him great icmporary favour with the populace. Mulitudes flocked fo Bethany fo ste IIim and Lazarus ; and when tIe set out for Jcrusalcm xvhcrc Ho was fo surfer, thcy, litIle thinking that thcy would soon c T "Crucify Him," went out to meet IIim witb the 1)ahn-branches, and hailinx IIim as their hIessiah, 1M IIim on into the holy city. Hm was an instance of a 2o2d«r excitement. The ucxt instance of excited feclin is round in that mclancholy selLconfidcnce of St. Pctcr, containcd in the text. When our Saviour foretold Peter's trial nnd fa!I, Peter af lenth "spake thc more vchemcntly, If I should die with Thee, I will hot deny Thee in any wise." Yet in a litle while both the people and the Apostle abandoned their Iessiah; the ardour of their devotion had run ifs course. Now if may, peflmps, appear, as if the eireumstance I ara pointing out., remarkable as if is, still is one on whleh it is of little use fo dwell, in addressing a mixed eongregation, on the ground that most men feel too little a.bou religion. And it may be thence argued, that tlc aire of Christian teaching rather should be fo
clgçous E»zolioz 179 rouse hem from insensibility, than fo v¢arn hom gainst excess of roligious foeling. I ansv¢er, that fo mistake mere transient emotion, or more good thoughts, for obedience, is a far commoner deceit than af first sight appears. How many, man is thcre, who, when his conscience upbraids him for neglect of duty, comforts himself with the reflection that ho bas never treated the subject of religion with open scorn,—that he bas from rime fo rime had serious thoughts,mthat on eertain solemn occasions he bas been affected and awcd,m that he bas af rimes been moved fo earnest prayer to God,mthat he has had accidentally some serious conversation with a friend! This, I sa.y, is a case of frequent occurrence among mon callcd Christian. Again, there is a furflcr reason for insisting" upon this subject. No one (if is plain) eau be religious without having his heart in his religion: his affections must be actively engaged in if; and if is the aire of all Christian instruction to promote this. But if so, doubtless there is great danger lest a perverse use should be ruade Of the affections. In proportion as religious duty is difficult, so is if open to abuse. For the very reason, thon, that I desire fo make you earnest in religion, must I also warn you against a counterfeit earnestness, which often misleads men from the plain path of obedience, and which most mon are apt to fall into just ou their first awakening to a serious consideration of their duty. It is hOt enough to bid you to serve Christ in faith, fear, love, and gratitude; care must be takeu that if is the iaith, fear, love, and gratitude of a sound mind. That vehement tumult of zeal which St. Peter felt before his trial failed him under if. OEhat open-mouthed.dlnirafion of opulaee out 8aviour's miracle vas suddenly ehanged to blasphemy. This may hapl»en now as f.hen; and i offen happens in way distressing fo the Chstian tcaehcr. He finds if is far casier to interest men in the subjeet of religion (hard though this bc), than fo rulc the spirit which he has excited. ]Ils hearers, when their attention is gained, soon begin fo think he does hot go far enough; ff, en they seck means which he will hot supply, of cneouraging and indulging their mere feclings fo the neglcet of humble praetical efforts fo serve God. Affer rime, lil<e the multitude, they suddenly turn round fo the world, abjuring Christ altogether, or denying Him with Peter, or gradually sinking into mere form of obedience, while they still think themselves truc Christians, and seeure of the çavour of Almighty God. For these reasons I fhink i is as important o warn men gainsg impetuous feelings in religion, as fo urge fhem to give their hearg fo i. I proeeed therefore fo explain more fully whag is the connexion between strong emofions and sound Christian prineiple, and how far they are consistent with if.. Now tha perfeeg sfate of mind whieh we musg aire, and whieh the Holy Spiri imparts, is deliberafe Freferenee of God's service to every thing else, a determined resolugion t.o give up 11 for Him; and a love for Him, nog tumult.uous and passionate, bu sueh love as a ehild bears towards his parents, ealm, full, reverent., contemplative, obedient.. Here, however, ig may be ol»jeeted, thag flfis is nog always possible: t.hat we cannot he]p feeling emotion af rimes; that evcn fo take the case of parents and children, a man is af certain rimes thrown out of that quiet affection whlch he bears towards his father and mother, and is agitated by various feelings; again, that zeal, for instance, though Christian virtue, is almost inseparable ri-oto ardour and passion. To this I reply, that I ara hOt describi'g the statc of mind fo which any one of us bas altabted, when I say itis altogether cahn and meditative, but that which is the 1oef«ct statc, that which we should aire af. I know if is offert impossible, for varlous reasons, fo avoid belng" agitated and excited; but the question before us is, whether we should thitk of violent emotion, whether we should encourage if. Doubtless if is no sin to fccl af rimes passionatcly on the subject of religion; itis natural in some mon, and under certain circumstances if is praiseworthy in others.:But these are accidents. As, general rule, the more religious raen become, the calmer they become; and af all rimes the religious principle, viewed by itself, is ca]m, sober, and deliberate. Let us review some of the accidental circumstances I speak of. 1. The natural tempers of men vary ve W much. Some men have ardent imnginations and strong feelings; and adopt, as, marrer of course, a vehement mode of expressing themselves. No doubt if is impossible fo make all men thiuk and feel alike. Such men of course may lOossess deep-l-ooted principle. All I would maintain is, that their ardour does hot of itself make their faith deel0er and more genuine; that they must hot think themselves better than others on accourir of if; that fhey must be tarare of considering if u proof of fheir real earnestness, instead of narrowly searching into their conduct for tire satisfaeto T fruits of taiIll. '2. Next, there are, besldes, partlcular occasions on which excited fecling is natural, and even commendable; but hot for ifs own sake but ot accotnt of thc peculiar circumstances undcr which if occurs. For insfancc iV is natural for a man fo feel espccial renmrsc af his sins wllcn lit first bcg]ns fo think of religion; he ouy]t fo feel biffer sorrow and kccn repcntancc. But all such cmotion evidcntly is hot the highest sfatc of a Chrisfian's mind; if is but the first stirring of grace in him. A sinnebindeed, can do no bettcr; but in propmoEion os he ]earns more of the power of truc re]igion such agitation wil] wear away. Wllat is this but saying, ¢hat change of mind is only the inclloate sfate of a Christian? 1o doubts fhaf sinners arc bound to repent and turn to God? yef the Ange]s have no rel»cnfance; and who denies fheir peacefulness of soul fo be a higller excellence fhan ours? Thc woman who had bcen a slnner, when shc came behind our Lord wcpt mach, and washed His feet with Iears . It was wcll donc in her; she did what shc could; and was honoured with out Saviour's praise. Yet if is clear this was hot a permanent state of mind. If was but the first step in religion, and would doubfless wear away. If was but ¢he accident of a season. Had hcr faith no deeper roo
«h'«ious Emotio«. 8 3 than this emotion, i would soon have eome fo an end, as leter's zeal. In like manner, whenever we fall into siu, (and how often is this the case!) the truer out faith is, he more we shall ïor the t.ime be distressed, perhal2 s agitated. No doubt; yet it wouid be a strange procedure fo luake much of this disquietudc. Thoug'h if is a bad sig'n if we do hot feel if (aecordiug fo out mental temperament), yet if we do, what thon? It ar_,ucs no hig'h Christian excellence; I repeat it, it is but the virtuc of a very imperleeet state. ]3ad is the best otlrilg we tan ollbr fo Goal after sinning. On the other haud, the more consistent our habitual obedience, the less we shal110e subject to sueh feelings. 3. And further, the accidents of lire will occasionally agitate us: affliction and pain; bad news; though here, too, the lPsalmist deseribes the hig'her excellence of the nind, riz. the cahn confidence of the believer, who "will not be afraid or any cvil tidings, for his heart standcth fast, anal believeth in the Lord ." Times of persecution will agitate the mind; circumstances of especial in.terest in the fortunes or the Church will cause anxiety and fear. We sec the influence of some of these causes in various parts of St.. lPaul's Epistles. Such emotion, however, is not the essence of truc faith, though it accidentally accompanies it. In rimes of distress religious men will speak more openly on the subject of religion, and lay bare their feelings; at other times they will conceal them. They are neither better nor worse for so doing. x Ps. exil. 7.
XTow ni] this mn. 3, be i]]ustrnted çrom Seriphlre. find the saine pl'ayers oered, md he same reso]utions expressed by good men, sometimes in a cahn way, somerimes with morc ardour. How quietly and simply does Agur offer his praycr to GodI "Two things have required of Thee dcny me them hot bcfore I die. move far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for roc.'" St. Paul, on thc othcr hand, with greater fervcncy, because hc was in more distrcssing circumstances, but with hot more acccptablcness on that accourir in God's sight, says, "I bave learned in whatsoevcr state I am, therewith fo be content. I know both how fo be abased, and I know how fo abound;" and so he proceeds. Again, Joshua says, simply but rmly, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." St. Paul says as firmly, but with more emotion, when his frîends besought him fo kecp away ff-oto Jerusalem:" What mcan ye fo weel» and to brcal mine hcart? for I ara ready hot fo bc bound only, but also fo die at Jerusalem for the naine of the Lord csus." Observe how calm Job is in his resignation: "Thc Lord gavc, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the naine of the Lord." And on the other hand, how cahnly that saine Apostle expresses his assurance of salvation aL the close of his life,, who, during the struggle, was accldentally agitated: " I ara now ready fo be offered..... I bave kept the faith. Henceforth therc is laid ui) for me a crown of righteousness ." Prov. xxx. 7, 8. Phil. iv. 11, 12. Josh. iv. lfi. Acts xxl. 13. Job i. 21. 2 Tire. iv. 6—8.
These remarks may suffice fo show the relation which excited feelings bear fo true rellg'ious principlc. They are sometimes natural, sometimes suitablc; but thcy are not rclig'ion itse]f. They corne and go. They are hot fo be counted on, or encourag'ed; for, as in St. Petcr's case, they may supplant true faith, and lcad fo selt'- dcception. They wil] g'radually lose thcir placc within us as our obcdience bccomes confirmed;—partly bccausc those men are kept in perfcct peace, and shcltercd from all agitating" feelings, whosc minds arc staycd on God ; —pmly because these feeling's thcmse]ves arc fixed into habits by the power of faith, and instead of coming, and going', and agitatin the mind from their suddenness, they are permanenfly retained so far as there is any thing good in them, and g'ive a dceper co]our and a more energctic expression fo the Christian character.:Now, if will be obscrved, tl»qt in these rcmarks I havc talen for granted, as hot needin proof, that the hig-hest Christian temper is frce from all vehcmcnt and tumultuous feeling,. But, if we wish some evidence of this, let us turn to our Great Pattcrn, ffcsus Christ, and examine what was the charactcr of that perfect holiness which He alone of all men ever displaye]. And can we final any where such cahnness and simplicity as marked His devotion and His obedience? Vhen does He evcr speak with fervour or vehemence? Or, if there be one or two words of His in His mysterious agony and death, charactcrlzed by an energy which we do hot coml»rehcnd, and which sinners must silcntly adore, still how conspicuous and undeniable is His composure in the general tenour of His words and conduct! Consider the prayer IIe gave us; and this is the more fo the purpose, for the very reason tllat He has given it as, modcl for our worship, tIow plain and unadorned is it! How few are the words of it! IIow grave and solemn the petitions! What an entire absence of tumul and fevcrish emotion! Surely our own feelings tell us, it could hot be othcrwise. To supposc it otherwise were an irrcvcrcnce towards Hiln.—At another time when He is said to h,nve "rejoiced in spirit," His thanksgiving is marked with the saine undisturbcd tranquillity. "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of hcaven and earth, that Thon hast hid these things ri'oto the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.:Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight."Again, think of ttis prayer in the garden. He then was in distress of mind beyond our understanding. Solnething there was, we know hot what, which weighed heavy upon Him. He pra.yed He might be spared the extreme bitterness of His trial. Yet howsubdued and how concise is His petition! "Abba, Father, all things are possible untc Thee: take awa.y this cup ri'oto Me; neverthcless, hot what I will, but what Thou wilt'." And this is but one instance, though a chier one, of that deep tranquillity of mind, which is conspicuous throughout the solemn history of the Atonement. Rend the thirteenth chapter of St. John, in which He is described as washing His disciples' feet, Peter's in particular, leflect upon His
2cliious ]?motion. 8 7 serious words addressed at several times fo Judas who betrayed Him; and Ilis eonduet when seized by Ilis enemies, when brought belote lilate, and lastly, when suffering" on the cross. Vhen does IIe set us an example of passionate devotion, of enthusiastie wlshes, or of intemperate words? Sueh is the lesson out Saviour's eonduet teaehes us. Tow let me remind you hoxv dilient]y we are taug'ht the saine by out own Clmreh. Christ gave us praer fo uide us in praylng" fo the 'ather; and upon this model out own Liturg T is strietly formed. You will look in vain in the lrayer Book for lon or vehement lrayers; for if is only upon occasions that agitation of mind is right, but there is ever a call upon us for seriousness, gravity, simplicity, deliberate trust, deepseated humility. Iany persons, doubtless, think the Church prayers, for this vcry reason, cold and formal. They do hot discern their high perfection, and they think they could easily write better irayers. When such opinions are advanced, if is quite sufficient fo furn our thoughts to our Saviour's precept and example. If cannot be denled that those who thus speak, ought to consider our Lord's 1)rayer defective; and sometimes they are proiane enough fo think so, and to confess they think so. But I pass this by. Granting" for argument's sake His 29recelais were intentionally defective, as delivered before the Holy Ghost descended, yet what will they say to His azl[e? Can even the fullest light of the Gosl)cl revealed after His resurrection, bring us His followers into the remotest resemblance to our Blessed Lord's
18 8 Ieligious Emoliou. holiness? yet how eahn was He, who was perfeet man, in His own obedienee! To eonelude:—Let us take warning" ri-oto St. Peter's fall. Let us hOt promise mueh; let us hOt talk mueh of ourselves; let us hot be hig'h-minded, nor encourage ourselves in impetuous bold lang-uage in religion. Let us take warning, too, ri'oto that fiekle multitude who eried, first Itosanna, then Cruelfy. A miracle startled them into a sudden adoration of their Saviour;mits effeet upon theln soon died away. And thus the espeeial mereies of God sometimes excite us for a season. We feel Christ speaking" to us throug-h our consciences and healoEs; and we faney He is assuring, us we are His true servants, when He is but ealling" on us fo reeeive Him. Let us hot be content with saying, "" Lord, Lord," without "doing" the thing- whieh He says." The husbandman's son who said, "'I go, sir," yet went hOt to the vineyard, gained nothin by his fait words. One secret net of self-denial, one sacrifice of inclination to duty, is worth ail the mere good thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in which idle people indu]ge themselves. If will give us more comfort on out deathbed to reflect on one deed of scIf-denying, mercy, purity, vr humility, than to recollcct thc shcdding, of many tears, and the recurrence of frecluent transports, and much spiritual exultation. OEhese latter ieelings corne and thcy ma.y or may hot accompany hearty obedience; they are never tests of if; but g-ood actions are the fruits of faith, and assure us that we are Christ's they eomfort us as an evidence of the Spirit working in us. y them we shall be judged af the last day; and though they bave no worth in themselves, by reason of that infection of sin which gives.its charactcr to every thingwe do, yet thcy will be accepted for His sake, who bore the ag'ony in the gardcn, and suffcred as a sinner on the closs.