Parochial and Plain Sermons

N the passage of which these words %rm a part, Si.. Paul insists again and again on the gTeat truth which they declare, that Christians are hot their own, but bought with a price, and, as being so, are become the servants or rather the slaves of God and His righteousness; and this, upon their being rescued from the state of nature. The great Apostle is hot content with speaking half the truth; he does hot merely sa.)" that ve are set free from guilt and misery, but he adds, that we have become the servants of Christ; nay, he uses a word which properly means slaves. Slaves are bought and sold; we were by nature slaves to sin and Satan; we are bought by the blood of Christ: we do hot cease to be slaves. We no longer indeed belong to our old toaster; but a toaster we ]lave, unless slaves on being bought become freemen. We are sti]l slaves, but to a new toaster, and flat nmster is Christ. He bas hot bought us, and then set us loose upon the world; bîHe has done for us what alone cotfld complete  " IV] A

first benefit, bought us fo be His servants or slaves. He has given us that only liberty which is really such, bond-service fo Himself; lest if left to ourselves, we should fal] back ag'ain, as we certaiMy should, to file cruel bondage from which He redeemed us. But any how, whatever be the consequences it involves, whatever the advantage, whatever the trial, we did hot cease to be sltves on being set free from Satan; but we became subject to a new Master, fo tIim who bought us. This needs insisting on; for a number of persons who are hot unwilling to confess that they are slaves by nature, from some cause or other have learned to think that they are not bound to any real service af al], now that Christ has set them free. Now if by the word slavcrj, some cruel and miserable state of suffering is meant, such as human masters often inflict on their slaves, in that sense indeed Cln'istians are hot slaves, and the word is inproper to apply fo them; but if by being slaves, is meant that we cannot tln-ow up our service, change oto" place, and do as 'e will, in that sense if is literal]y truc, that we m'e more than se-ants to Christ, we are, as the text real]y words if, slaves. Men often speak as if the perfection of human happiness lay in our being free fo do or hot fo do, to choose and to reject. Now we are indeed thus free, as far as this,— tlmt if we do hot choose fo be Christ's servants, we can go back to that old bondage from wlfich He rescued us, end be slaves again fo the powers of evil. But though we are free to make out situution worse, we are hot iee to be without service or post of any kind. If is hot in man's nature to be out of al/ service and to be self- dependent. We may choose out mter, but. G od or nmramon we must serve. We cannot possibly be in a neutral or intermediat.e state. Such a state does not exist. If we will not be Christ's servants, we are firthwith Sttan's; and Christ set us fi'ee from Satan only by naking us His servauts. Sat.an's kingdom touches upon Christ's, the world touches on the Church; and we cease fo be Satan's property by becoming Christ's. We cannot be without t toaster, such is the law of out nture; yet a number of persons, as I have said, overlook it, and think their Christian liberty lies in being free from all law, even from the law of God. Such an error seems to have obtained even in St. Paul's rime, and is noticed in the chapter before us. lIen seem fo lmve thoug, ht that, since the law of sin was ammlled, and the terrors of the ]aw of nature removed, that therefore they were under no law af a.ll; that their own will was their law, and that faith stood instead of obedience. In opposition to this great mistake, St. Ptul reminds his brethren in tle text, that when they were "ruade free from sin," they "became the servants of righteo«sness." _And again, "Sin shall hot lmve dominion over you; for ye are hot under the ]aw," that is, the law of nature, "but under grace," or (as he elsewhere expresses it), "the ltw of faith," or, "the law of the Spirit of life." They were hot without a lnaster, but they had a gmcious and bountiful one. He says the same in other Epistles. For instance, "He that is called, being free" (that is, free as regards this world), "is Christ's servanC or slave. "Ye are bought with a price: be hot ye slaves of mcn," but, that is, be slaves of Christ. Again, after saying, "Slaves, obey in all tlings your masters according to the flesh," he adds, "for ye are slaves fo the Lord Christ." Elsewhere he speaks of himself as "Paul a servant," or slave, as the word rçally mems, "of Jesus Christ;" and again, as "hot without ltw to God, but under the law fo Christ. '' clgion then is a necessary service; of course it is a privilcge too, but it lecomes more and more of a privilege, the more we exercise ourselves fi it. The peffect t'hristia.u state is that in which our duty and our 1,1easure are the saine, when what is right and true is natm'al to us, and in which God's "service is perfeet freedmn." And this is the state towards whieh ail true Christians are tending; it is the state in whieh the Angels stand; entire snbjection to God in thought and deed is their happiness; an utter and absolute eaptivity of their will to IIis will, is their flflness of joy and everlasting lire. But it is hot so with tbe best of us, exeept in part.. Upon our regeneration indeed, we have a seed of truth and holiness planted within us, a new law introdueed into out nature; but still we have that old nature to subdue, "the old man, which is eorrupt aeet,rding to the deeeitful lusts. '' That is, we have a work, a eonfliet ail through lire. We have fo toaster and bring under all we are, ail we do, exl-,elling ail disorder and insubordination,, and teaehing and irapressing on every part of us, of soul and body, its due place and duty, till we are wholly Christ's in wiil,  1 Cor. vii. '2.2, 23. Col. iii. '2_2, 2l. tlom. i. 1. 1 Cor. ix. 21. - Eph. iv. oo of the Law of Christ. 5 uffections, and reason, as we are ly professitn; in St. Paul's words, "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalt.eth itself aiust the knowlcdge of God, ad bringing into captivity eve T thought to the obedience of Christ."  Now I may seem to have been saying what cvery one will at once confess. And yet, after all, nothing perhaps is so rare among those wh) profess fo be Christians, as an asscnt in practice fo the doctrine that they are under a law; nothing so rare as strict obedicnce, unrescrved sul)missio to God's wfll, unitbrm conscientiousness in d.ng their duty,—as a fcw instances will at once show. 5[ost Christians then will allow in general terres that they a.re undcr a law, but then thcy adroit if with a reserve; they claire fi)r themselves some dispensing power in their observance of the lw. What ] ara saying is quite indepetdent of the question, what is the st«tnd««rd of obedieuce vhich each a,an proposes to himself? One mau 1)uts the liste of his duty higher than another; some men take a low view of if, confining if fo mere persoia] morality; others confine it to their sociol obligations; others limit it by some conventional law, which is received i l»articular classes or circles; others include rcligious observances. But whether men view the law of conscience as higq or low, as broad or narrow, few indeed there are vho nmke it a rule to themselves; few flmre are who make their own notio of it, whatever that be, biadhag on thcmselves; few who even profess to act up to it unfformly and consistently.

Inquire of the nmltitude of men, as you meet them in the world, and you will find that one and al1 think it allowable at tilnes fo put thelnsclves above the law, even according to their own standard of if; to make exceptions and reserves, as if they were absolute sovereigns of thcir conscience, and had a dispcnsing power upon occasios. What is the so't of man whom the woHd accounts respcctal)le and religions, in a high rank or a lower Af best he is such as this. IIc has a number of good points in his chartctcr; 1)ut some of these he has by ,aturc, and if others have been acquired l)y tro,ble, if is ciflcr bccause outward circumstances compelled lfiln to acquire them, or that he bas froln nature some active princil)lc wiflin him, of one kind or another, which 1,as exerted itsclf, and brought other principles under, and rules him. He h acquired a certain self-command, because no one is respected without if. Hc bas been forced into habits of diligence, punctuality, precision, and honesty. He is comeous and obliging; and bas lcarned hot to say all he thinks and feels, or to do aH he wishes to do, on a occasions. The great mass of men of course are far from having in them so much that is rcally praise-worthy as flfis; but I ara supposing the best. I ara supposing then, that a man's character and station are such, that o,ly now and then he wiH feel his inclinations or his interest to run counter to his duty. Such rimes constitute his trial; there is nothhg to hinder him selwing God in the ordinary course, but the proof of his sincerity lies in his conduct on these extraordinary occasions. Now flis is fle point to 'hich I wish to drav attention; for these very occasions, which alone are his rimes of trial, are just the rimes on which he is apt fo consider that he has a leave fo dispense with the law. tte dispenses with it af those very times when if is simply the 1oEw of God, without being also the of self, and of the world. I[e does what is right, while the road of religion runs along the road of the world; when they part COlnpany awhile, he chooses the world, und calls his choice an exception, l[e does right fir ninety-nine days, but on the hundredth he knowingty and wilfltlly does wrong; and if he does hot justify, af least he absolves himself in doing if. For instance; he gcncrally cornes fo Church, if is his 2»'acticc; but some urgent business af a certain rime presses on him, or some scheme of pleasure tempts him: —he omits his attendance; he knows this is wrong, and says so, but if is only once in a way. Again; he is strictly honest in his dealings; he speaks the truth, that is, if is Iris rule fo do so; but if hard pressed, he allows himself now and then in a falsehood, particularly if if is a slight one. He knows he should hot lie; he corfesses if; but he thinks if cannot be hell)ed; if is unavoidable from circumstances, as being his only way of escaping some eat difficflty. In s,«ch a case if is, as he says, all fait, and so he gets over if; that is, in a case where he must either disobey God, or incur some temporal disadvantage. Again; he has learned to curb his temper and lfis tongue; but on some unusual provocation they get the better of him. He becomes angry, says what he shotfld hot, 1)erhaps curses and swears. _Are no all lnen subject

to be overtaken with anger or iii retaper? that is hOt the point: the point is this,—that he does not feel coin- 1)unction afterward, he does hot feel he bas done any thing which needs forgiveness. On the contrary, he defcnds himself to himself, on the plea that such la.nguage is very «tsal with him; he does hot understand that he is under a law, which he may hot put himself above, which he lll¢q.y llOt dispense with. Once more; he is in general sober and temperate; but he joins a party of fl'iends and makes merry; he is tempted to exceed. Next day he says that it is a long rime since such a thing happeled to him; it is hot at all his way; he hardly touches wine or the like in common. ]Ie does hot understand he has any sin fo re- 1)ent of, because it is but once in a way. And now, I suppose, you quite ulderst.and what I mean, and I need hot say more in explanation. Such nlen, being thus indulgent fo thelnselves, are in&figent fo each other; they make allowance for ai1 around them, as taking what they give freey. This is the secret of 1)eing friends with the world, to bave a sympatl W and a share in its sins. They who are strict with themselves are strict with the world; but. where men grant themselves a certain lieelme of disobedienee, they do hot draw the line very rigidly as regards others. Conscious of what might be said against themselves, they are eautious what they sa.y against others; and they meet them on the nnderstanding of a mutuM sufferanee. They learn fo say, that the private habits of their neighbours are nothing to them; and they hold intereourse with them only as publie men, or members of soeiety, or in the way of the Law of Christ. 9 of business, hot af all as with responsible beings having immorta.1 sottls. They desire fo see ald kn,w nothilg but what is on the surface; and they call a ma's personal history sacred, lecause if is sinfd. In thcir eyes, their sole duty fo their neighbour is, hot to offend hiln; whate'er his morals, whatever his creed, is nothing fo thenl. Such are they in nlature and advaeed liïe; in youth, tley are plialle as well as ind,lgent, they readily fall in with the ways of the world, tl.s they c(me across them. They are, and ha','e the praise ()f hein,g, pleasant, good-telnpercd, a(l companimalle. They are hot badprincipled, or e','illy disposed, or ttag'autly irregular, but they are ltx. They in no sense lire by nfle. They ha','e high spirits, and all the natural xlaibleness whieh youth has to show, and they gelerally go right; but, since they have no root in thelnselves, an accident, froln within or without, the stirring of a passion, or the ilcitement of a friend, nmkes them swerve at once. They swerve, and they have little COlnpunction afterwards; they forger it. They shrink from the notion of being under a law, and think religion gloomy as imposing it. They like their own way, and without ay great extrelne of sin, or af least any habits of sin, follow it. They are orderly and wellconducted, when amolgwell-conducted people,—at home, for instance; but they indulge themselves abroad, when temptation cornes in their way. They ha-e the world at will; they m'e free; alas! what a melancholy freedom  yet in one sense a freedoln it is. A religious man lnust withdraw his eyes from sights which inflame his heart, recollecting our Saviour's caution; but a man of the world thinks it no harm fo gaze where he should hot, because he goes no further. A religious man watches his words; but the other utters whatever his heart promlff.s, and excuses himself for profane language, on the ple tht he means nothing by it. A religious man will scruple about his society; but the other takes parL in jest.s and exeesses, though he condemns while he shares them, but hot himself for sharing, and despises those with whom he shares them. lIe can see lire, as it is called. I[e ean go among all sorts of people, for he bas no t.roublesome ceremoniM, no rule of religion to shackle him. Pel'hals he goes abroad, and then for a time he eonsiders himself fo be in disguise, as an unknown person in unknown eountries, perlnitted to fall in with all things bad and good, as they corne. Or again, he may be so eireunstaneed, whatever his station, as fo final himsêlf engaged in what are called polities; and then he thinks that though truth and religion are eertainly all-commanding and a.ll-important, yet st.il1 the wofld could hot go on, public business would be at a stand, political parties would be unable fo act, al1 that he really loves and reveres would become but of secondary concern, if religion refused at all rimes to give way ever so little. Again; a religions man carries his religion into his conduct throughout the day; but lax persons will do many things in private, which they would not like tobe known. They will overreach, if they ean do it without noise. They will break promises when ruade to an inferior. Or, if they have rime on their hands, they will be curions and meddlesome; they will speak against others and sl)read scandais. They will pry into things-hie_h_ do hot eoneern them, aeeording to their tEX IEV. C W.

Statiou in lire. They will listen where they have no right fo listen: they will read what they have no right fo read. Or they will allow thcmselves lu petty thcfts, where they think they do no injury, excusing themselves on the I, lea that what they take will never be lnissed. Or in matt.ers of trade, Oey t.hink a cerf.aih SOl and degrce of double-dealing a.llowable, and no dishonesty. They argne with thelnselves as if it were hot their business to be true and just, but of others to find theln out; and as if fraud and cheating did hot ilnl,ly sin in the one party, but dulness in the ot.her. If iu huml,le life, they think if no harm to put on an appearance; to profess what is hot strictly trne, if they are to gain by if; to colour a story; or to affect fo be lnore religions than they are; or fo i, retend to a.gree in religion with persons from whonl they hope SOlnething; or fo take up a religion if if is their interest fo do so; or to i, rofess two or three religions af once, when any allns or other benefit is fo be given away. These are a few out of a multitude of traits which mark an easy religiou,—the religion of the world; which would cast in ifs lot with Christiau trut, h, were hot that trnth so very strict, and quarrels with if and its upholders, hot as if it were hot good and right, but because if is so mbending,—because it will not suit itself fo rinces and emergencies, and fo the private and occasional likings and tastes of individuals. This is the kind of religiou which St. Paul virtually warns us agaiust, as often as he speaks of the Gospel as really being a law and a sein'irude. He hdeed glories in its beiug such; for, as the hapl-,iuess of al1 creatures lies in their lerformhg their parts well, where God has placed them, so man's greatest good lies in obedience to God's law and in imitation of God's perfections. But the Apostle knew that the w.rld would hot think so, and theret;re he insists on it. Therefore itis that he insists on the necessity of Christians "fMfilli W the righteousness of the law;" fulfilling it, because till we ailn at complete, unreserved obedience iu all things, we are hot really Cristians at ail. tlenee St,. J,-,es says, "Whusoever shall keep the whole law, and yet oflbnd in one point, ho is guilty of ail." And out Saviour assures us that "Whosoever shall break one of these least eommandments, and shall teaeh men so, he shall be ealled lcast in the kingdom of hêaven;" and that "Except out righteousness shall exeeed the righteousness of the Scribes and l'harisees," which was thus partial and cireumscribed, "we shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." And when the young man came to IIim, saying that he had kept all the eomlnandments, and asking what he laeked, He pointed out the "one thing" wanting in him; and when he would hot eomplete his obedielme by that mm thing, but went away sorrowful, then, as if ail his obedienee iii other points availed him nothing, Christ added, " Children, how hard is it for them that-trust iii riches to enter ild:O the Kingdom of God?" Let us hot thên deeeive ourselves; what God demands of us is to ftflfil His law, or at least to aire at fulfilling it; fo be content with nothing short of perfeet obedience,to attelnpt every thing,to avail ourselves of the aids given us, and throw ouïselves, hot first, but afterwards on God's merey  Rom. viii. 1-4. James ii. 10. hIatt, v. 19, 20. hlark x. 21, 24.

for our shor-colnings. This is, I know, a first hearing a startling doctrine; and so averse are our hearts to if, tha some men even attemp to lnaintain that itis an unchristian doctrine. A farlorn expedient indeed, with the Bible to refer to, and ifs staements about the srai gare and the narrow way. Still nlel would fain avail flemselves of it, if they eould; ]ley argue that all enforeemen of religion as a service or duty is erroneous, or what they eall legal, aud that no ohservanee is rigllt but what proceeds frnn ilnpulse, or wha they call the heark They would fain proye tha the law is no hinding on us, beeause Christ has fitlfilled it; or beeause, as is le case, faith would be aeeepted instead of )hedienee in those who had hot ye had rime fo begin fiflfilling it. Such persons appeal to Seripture, and they nmst be reNted, as is hot diffieult, froln Seripture; but the lmflfiude of men do no take so much trouble ahout the mater. Instead of even professing to diseover what God has said, fley take what they eall a eomlnon-sense view of if. They maintain itis impossil,le that religion should really be so strie aeeording to God's design. They eondemn he notion as over-strained and morose. They profess to admire and take pleasure in religion as a whole, but think tha it should no be needlessly pressed i details, or, as they express it., earried too far. They eomplain only of its partieularity, if I may use the terre, or its wan of indulgence and eonsideration in little things; that is, in other words, they like religion before fley have experienee of it.,in prospeet,—at a distanee,—till fley have to be religious. They like to alk of it, fley like to see men religious; they think it commendable and higlfly important; but directly religion cornes home to them in real particulars of whatever ldnd, they like it hot. It suffices them to have seen and praised it; they feel ita burden whenever they feel it at all, whenever it ealls npon them to do what otherwise t.hey wonld hot do. In a word, the state of the multitude of,rien is this,their hearts are going the n'ong way; and their real quarrel with religion, if they kuow thcmselvcs, is hot that itis st, rict, or engrossing, or impcrative, hot that it goes t)o far, but that it is religion. Itis religion itself which we all by nature dislike, hot the excess,nerely. Nature tends towards the eart, h, and God is in heaven. If I want to travel north, and all the roads are eut to the east, of course I shall complain of t.he roads. I shall final nothing but obstacles; I shall have t.o surmount walls, and cross rivers, and go round about, and after all rail of my end. Such is the eonduct of those who are hot bold enough to give up a profession of religion, yet wish to serve the world. They try to reaeh Babylon by roads which mn to Mount Sion. I)o you hot see that they neeessarily must ineet with thwartings, crossings, disappointments, and failure? They go toile after toile, watehing in vain for the tre'rets of the city of Vanity, because they are on the wrong road; and, unwilling to own what they are really seeking, they find fault with the road as circuitous and weariso,ne. They accuse religion of interfering with what they consider their innocent pleasures and wishes. But religion is a bondage only fo those who have hot the heart to like it, who are hot cast into its mould. Accordingly, in the verse belote the ext;, St. Paul tflmnks God that his l»rethren had "obeyed from the heart that fogm of teaching, iuto which they had been delivered." We Christia.ns are east into a certain mould. So far as we keep within if, we are hot sensible that if is a mould, or has an out.liue. If is when out heaoEs would overflow in some evil direction, then we diseover that; we are eonfined, and consider ourselves in prison. It is the law in our menti»ets warring against; the law of the Spirit; which brings us into a distressing bondage. Let us then sec where we stand, and wha we must do. Heaven eannot change; God is "vit.hout variableness or shadow of tunfing." His "word endureth for ever in heaven." tIis law is from everlasfing fo everlasting. We must change. We must go over o the side of heaven. Never had a soul truc happiness but in eonfornfity fo God, in obedienee fo tIis xvill. We must beeome wht ve re hot; we mus lern fo love what we do hot love, and lmctise ourselves in what is dicult. We must have the law of the Spirit of life writen nd set up in our heaoEs, "' that file rightousness of the law may be ftflfi]led in us," and that we anay learn fo plese and fo love God. Lasfly, as some men defend their want of strietness on what they eonsider the uthorit.y of 8eripure, and oflers, that is, fle majority, try fo persuade flemselves that religion eannot really be strict, whatever st.rong expressions or sat.ements ma.y be found it Seripture, others gain there a, who take  more eandid, but  more daring course. Instead of making excuses, sueh s I have been eonsidering, they frnkly adroit, the faet., and then go on to urge if as a valid aa'gument against religion altogether. Insead of professing to like religion, all b,tl its service, they boldly objee that religion is altoget, her ulmatural, and theretbre CalmOt be incumbent oit us. They say t.hat i is very well for its lninisters and teachers to set up a high doctrine, but that men are lnen, and t.he world is t.he world, and that life was n,t neant o be a burdel), and that (lod sent us hvre for enjoyment, and that I[e will never pUlfish us hereafter for fillowing the law of our nature. I answer, doultless this lire was lneant to be enjoyment; lmt why n, a r@fieing in the Lord? We were meant to follow the law of out nature; but why of our old nat.ure, why lmt of our new? Vere we indeed in the state of our first nature, under the guilt and defilement of our birth-sin, then this argument might be urged speciously, though hot eonclusively of course then; but how does if apply to Christians? Now that God has opened the doors of out prison-house, and brought us into the kingdmn of His Son, if men are still earnal men, and the world a sinflfl world, and the lire of Angels a burden, and the law of our nature hot the of God, whose fault is it? We Christians are indeed under the law as other men, but, as I have already said, it is t.he new law, the law of t.he,qpirit of Christ. We are under graee. That law, whieh to nature is a grievous bondage, is to those who lire under the power of God's presenee, what it was meant to be, a rejoieing. When then we feel reluttant fo serve God, when thoughts fise within us as if tIe were a hard Master, and that His promises are not attractive enough to balance the strietness of His eommandments, let us recollect that we, as being Christians, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, and let us act upon the conviction of it. Let us go fo Him for grace. Let us seek His face. Let us corne where He gives grace. Let us corne to the ordinances of grace, in which Christ gives His Holy Spirit, to enable us to do that which by nature we cannot do, and tobe "the servants of righteousness." They who pray for His saviug help fo change their likings and dislikings, their fastes, their views, t.heir wills, their hearts, do not iudeed all af once gaiu what they seek;t.hey do hot gain it at once asking;—they do not _)crccive they gain it while they gain it,—but if they eome eontinually day by day to Him,—if they eome humbly,—if they eome in faith,—if they corne, hOt as a trial how they shall like God's service, but throwing (as far as lnay be) their whole hearts and souls into their duty as a sacrifice to Him,if they corne, hot seeking a sign, but determined fo go on seeking Him, honouring Him, serving Him, trusting Him, whether they sec light, or feel eolnfort, or diseern their growth, or no,—sneh men vill gah, though they know it hot; they will find, even while they are still seeking; belote they eall, He will answer them, and they will in the end find themselves saved wondrously, to their surprise, how they know hot, and when their crown seemed at a distance. "They that wait on the Lord," says the Prophet, "shall renew their strenh; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and hot be weaw, and they shall walk and not faint."s  Isaiah xl. 31.