INWARD WITNESS TO THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL.
" I bave more understanding than my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my stud; I ara wlser than the aged, because I kee T Thy Com- nan.dmeMs."
N these words the Psahnist declares, that in consequence of having obeyed God's commandments he had obtained more wisdom and understanding than those who had first enlightened his ignorance, and were once more enlightened than he. As if he said, "Vhen I was a child, I was instructed in religious knowledge by kind and pious friends, vho told me who my Maker was, what great things He had done for me, how much I owed to Him, and how I wts to serve Him. All this I learned from them, and I rejoice t.hat they taught it me: yet they did more; they set me in the way to gain a knowledge of religious truth in another and higher manner. They not only taught me, but trained me; they were careful that I should not only know my duty, but doit. They obliged me to obey thcy obliged me to begin a religions course of lire, whieh (praised be God!) I bave ever pursued; and this obedience to His commandments has brought me to a elearer knowledge of His truth, than any mere instruction eould eonvey. I bave been taug'ht, not from without merely, but from within. I bave been taught by means of a purified heart, by a ehang'ed will, by ehastened teins, by a mortified appetite, by a bridled t.ngue, 1)y eyes eorreeted and subdued. ' I have more undel'staliding" thau my teaehers, for Thy testilnonies,' 0 Lord, ' are my study I ara wiser tha.n the ag'ed, beeause I keep Thy commandments.'" We nmy sometimes hear men say, " tIow do you know that the Bible is truc? You are told so in Church; your pareuts belicved if; but might they hot be mistaken? and if so, you are mistaken also." Now to this objection it may be answered, and very satisfactorily, «' Is it then nothing" toward convincing us of the truth of the Gospel, that those whom we love best and reverence most believe it? Is it against reason to think that they are right, who have considered the matter most deeply? Do we not receive what they tell us in other matters, though.we cannot prove the truth of their information; for instance, in matters of art and science why then is it irrational to believe them in religion also Have not the wisest and holiest of men been Christlans? and bave not unbelievers, on the contrary, been very generally signal instances of pride, discontent, and proflig'aey? Ag'ain, are hOt flae prineiples of unbelief certain o dissolve human society? and is no this plain face, candidly considered, enough fo show tha unbelief canno be a rig'll condition of our nature? for who can believe tlla we were intended fo lire in anarchy? If we bave no good rcasou for believing, af leas we have no good reason for disbelieving. If you ask why we are Christians, we ask in turn, Why should wê not be Chrisfians? i will be enough fo remain where we are, till you do vha you never can do—prove fo us for certain, that the Gospel is not Divine; itis enough for us tobe on the side of g'ood men, to be under the feet of the Saints, to ' go our way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and fo fced our kids beside the shepheMs' tents .'" This would be quite a sufficient answer, had we nothing else fo say; but I will give another, and that in connexion with the text; I w|ll show you that the most unlearned Christian may bave a very real and substantial argument, an intimate tokell, of the truth of the Gospel, quite independent of the authority of his parents and teachers; nay, that vere all the world, even were his teachers, to tell him that religion was a dream, still he would have a good reason for believing it true. This reason, I say, is contined in the texte" I bave more understanding than the aged, eca«se I keep Thy commandments." By obeying the commands of Scrip- Cant. i. 8.
the Trutk of tkc Goscl. 3 Iure, we learn ha these commands really corne ri'oto (Iod; by ryin we make proof; by doing-we corne kno,. Now how cornes this to pass? It happens in everal ways. 1. Cousider t.he Bible tells us fo be meek, humble, sing'le-hearted, aud teachable. Now, it is plain lumility and teaehableness are qualities of miud neccss:ry for arrivin af the truth in auy subjcct,:md religious matte as well as others. By obeying" Scripturc, then, in l>l'actising humility and teachablcness, if is evident we arc af least i lac vaff to arrive at the knowledg'e of God. On the othcr hand, impatient., l>roud, self-confident, obstinate men, are enel'ally wroug in the opinions they form of persons aud thinffs. Prejudice and self-eonceit blind the eyes ad mislead the judment, whatever be the subject inquired into. leor ilstance, how often do Inen mistake the charactcrs nnd misconstrue the actions o[ ot.hers [ how ot'ten are they dtceived in them[ how ofn do the younff form acquaintances injurious fo their comfort and g'ood [ how o[en do men embark in foolish and ruinous schemes how ofn do they squander their money, and dcst.roy their worldly prospects [ And what, i ask, is so freqtent a. cause of these nmny errors as wilfulness and presumption? The saine thing happons also in religious inquiries. When I sec a person hasty and violent, harsh and hiffh-mindcd, carcless of what others feel, and disdainfid of what they think;when I sec such a one proceeding to inquire into religions subjects, I ara sure beforehand he eannot go right—he will hot be led into all the truth—it is eontrary to the nature of things and t.he experienee of the world, that he should find what he is seeking. I should say the saine were he seeking" to find out what to believe or do in any other marrer hot religious,—but especially in any such important and solemn inquiry; for the fear of` the Lord (humbleness, teaehableness, reverence towards IIim) is the very Segbtni» of wisdom,.as Solomon tells us; if leads us fo think over things modcstly and honestly, to examine patiently, to bear doubt and uncertainty, fo wait perseveringly for m increase of light., fo be slow to speak, and to be deliberte in deciding. . Consider, in the next place, that those who are trtined eareflflly aeeordiug fo the preeepts of Seripture, gain an elevation, delicacy, refinemeut, and sanetity of mind, which is most necessary fol" judging fairly of the truth of Scripture. A mn who loves sin does hOt wish the Gospel fo be truc, and therefore is hOt t f`air judge of" if; t mere man of the world, a selfish and eovetous man, or a drunkard, or an êxtorioner, is, ff'oto a sense of interest, against that Bible whiç.h eondemns him, and would aeeount that man indeed a messeng'er of good tidings of peaee who eould prove to him that Christ's doctrine was hot ff-oto God. '" Every one that doeth e-il hateth t.he light, neither eometh to the light, lest his deeds should lhe Trulh of lhe Gos]cl. 5 be reproveçl ." I cio hot mean 4o say tha sueh men neeessarily rejee tbe word of God, as il' we eould dare 4o eonelude that all who do not rejee i are herefiwe sure tobe no eovetons, drunkards,-extrtioners, aud the like; for if is often a man's interes no openly 4o rejee it, thoug'h if be agains him; and be bulk of men are ineonsistent, and have some ood feelinffs lef, even amid tbeir sins and vices, wbicb keep tbem ri'oto goin all lengths. But, while they still prot%ss to bonour, ag leas bey t T to pewert and misinterpre Seripture, and th cornes to the saine thing', q'hey try to persuade themselves that Christ will save hem, houg they continue in sin; or they wish fo believe tba fiture punishmen will no las for ever; or they eoneeive tha heir g, ood deeds or habits, fev and miserable as they are af best, will make up for the sius of whieb they are too eonseions. Whereas sueh men as bave been taug'h betimes fo work with God lheir Saviour—in ruling" their hearts, and eurbing" their sinful passions, and ellanging" t.heir wills—thoug'h hey are sill sinners, have no wihin t.hem ha. treaeherous enemy of t.he truh wbieh misleads the judgments of irreligious men. I[ere, then, are wo very g'ool reasons a first sight, why men who obey the Seripture preeepts are more likely to arrive, religious truh, han those who neg-lee them; first, beeause sueh lnen are teaehable rnen; seeondly, beeause they are pure in hear; sueh ,lohn iii. 20, shall see God, whereas the proud provoke IIis anger, and the earnal are His abhorrcnee. But to proceed. Consider, moreover, that those who try to obey Goal evidcntly gain a knowledge of themselves at lcast; and this ma.y be shown to be the first and principal step towards knowing" God. For let us suppose a ehild, under God's blessin, profiting by his eaeher's guidanee, lnd t3-in to do his duty and 1,1case G,)d. IIe will pereeive that there is nmeh iii him which oug'ht not tobe in him. Ilis own natural scnse of rig'ht aud Wl'Ollg tells him that peevislmess, sullenness, deeeit, and self-will, are tempers and prineil,les of whieh he has cause fo be ashamed, and he feels lhat these bad tempers and prineiples are in his heart. As he g, rows oldcr, he will mlderstand this more and more. Wishing', then, and striving fo act up fo the law of conscience, he will yet find that, with his utmost effort.% and atter his most earnest prayers, he still thlls short of what he knows to be right, and what he aires at. Conscience, however, being respected, will become a more 1,owerfil and enlightened g'uide than betbre; if will become more refined and hard to please; and he will understand and pereeive more elearly the distance that exists between his own conduct and thoughts, and perfection. He will admire and take pleasure in the holy law of God, of whi.h he reads in Scril:ture; but he will be humbled withal, as understanding himself tobe a eontinual transg'ressor ag"ainst it. Thus he will learn
[]lC "]'1"Il[Il of []lC ÇO.ç[. I 1 7 fi'om experience the doctrine of orig'ina! sin, bcfire he knows the aetual naine of it. IIe will, in fact, say himself, what St. Paul describes all beginners in religioJ as sayin, " Wha I would, tlmt do I no; bu wha hate, tha do I. I delig'h in he law of God at'tvr thê inward man, but I see another law in my lnembers, warring" ag'aius[ the law of my mind, and 1,ringig" into capgivit.y. I know thag in my flesh dwelleth g'ood thing' J." q_'he etFeeg ot' this experienee will be make hiln take i[ Ibr g'ranted, as an clementary truth, tha[ he canno[ g'ain heaven for himselt'; to make him teel himself g'uilty before God; and fo fieel, moreover, tha[ even were he admitted into the Divile presenee, ye[, [ill his hear[ be (so fo say) ruade over again, eanno[ perfectly enjoy God. '_Phis, surely, is the statt. of self-knovledge; these are the convictions fo which every one is brough[ on, who attempts honestly to obev the preeepts of God. I do no[ mean tha[ all tha[ 1 have been saying vill neeessarily pass tlarough his mind, and in the saine order, or thag he will be conseious of if, or be able fo speak of if, but tha[ on the whole thus he will feel. When, then, even an unlearned person thus trained— from lais ovn heart, froln the action of his mind upon itself, from strugg'les with self, from an attempt fo tbllow t.hose impulses of his ovn nature which he feels to be highesg and noblesg, from a vivid natural per- Iom. vil. 15. 18. 22, 23.
eeption (natural, fl,ough cherished and strengthened by prayer; ha.rural, thoug'h unçolded and diversied by pracice; natural, thoug'h of that new and second nature which God the IIoly Ghost gives), from an innate, thoug*h supernat«,ral perception of the great vision of Trt, th whieh is external 4o him (a perception of if, hot indeed in its thlncss, but in glimpses, and by fits and seasons, and in ifs persuasive i,flucnces, and hroug*h a co,zrageoas fidlowin * on after if, as a man in the dark mig'ht follow açter some dira and distant lig*ht)I say, when a person thus trained from his own heart, reads the dcclarations and promises of the Gospel, are we to be told that he believes in them merely because he has beeu bid believe i, them? Do we hot see he bas besides this a something in his own breast which bers a eonfirming tesfimony fo their truth? He reads that the heart is "deceifful above all things and desperately wicked ,'" and flat he inherits an evil nature from Adam, and that he is still under its power, except so far as he has been renewed. Here is a mystery; but his own actual and oo bitter experience bears witness to the truth of the declaration; he feels the mystery of iniquity wiflfin him. He reads, that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord ;" and his own love of xvhat is t«'ue and lovely and pure, approves and embraces the doctriue as coming from God. He reads, that God is .ngry at sin, and will punish the sinner, and that if is Jer. xvii. 9. * Heb. xii. 14.
æhe TreLh of Lhe Gos2el. 9 a hard marrer, nay, an impossibility, for us fo ppease Ilis wrath. Here, aain, is a mystery: but here, too, his conscience anticipates the mystery, and conviets him; lais mouth is stopped. And wheu he goes on o read tlm the Sou of God has I[ilnself eome into the world in out flesh, and died upon the Cross for us, does he not, anfid the awfid mysteriousv.ess of the doctrine, find those words fidfilled in him whieh tllat ffracious Sa.viour uttered, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ail men unto Me"? Ile ealmot clmose but believe in Ilim. IIe says, "0 Lord, Thou art strong'er tlmn I, md llast prevailed." Here then, I say, he snrely possesses an evidence perfeet.ly distinct from the authority of superiors and teaehers; like St. Paul, he is in one way not taught of lnen, "but by the revelttion of Jesus Chris ." Others have but bid him look within, and pray for God's graee fo be enabled fo know himsclf; and file more lin understands lais own heart., the more are the Gospel doetriues recommended fo lais reason. IIe is assured that Christ does hot speak of Himself, but tlmg His word is from God. He is ready, with the Sanmritan woman, fo say fo all around him, " Come, see a man, which told me all things tlmt ever I did: is not this the Christ "?" Or, ag, ain, in the words which the Samaritans of the saine. city used to the woman after conversing with Christ; "Now we believe, hot because of thy saying" (hot Gal. i. 12. John iv. 29.
merely on the authority of fi-iends and relatives); "for we have heard IIim ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." The Bible, then, seems to say,—God is hot a hard nmster fo require belief, without affordin g'rounds for believing"; only follov your own sense of l'iht, and you will ain ri'oto that very obedienee fo your Maker, whieh lmtural conscience enjoins, a conviction of the fruth and power of thaf Redeemer whom a supernatural message has revealed; do but examine your thoughts and doings; do but attempt what you know to bc God's will, and you will most assuredly be led on into all the truth: vou will recognize the force, meaning, and awful graciousncss of the Gospel Creed; you will bear witness fo the truth of one doctrine, by your own past experience of yourselves; of another, by seeing that it is suited to your necessity; of a third, by finding if fulfilled upon your obeying if. As the prophet says, "Bring ye" your offering " into Mine house," saith the Lord, "'and prove:Me now herewith, if:I will hot open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall hot be room enough to receive if *." My brethren, if is always reasonable to insist upon these subjects; but it is peculiarly so in rimes when a spirit of presumptuous doubting is in many places abroad. As many of us as lire in the world must Mal. iii. 10.
expeet fo hear our fidth despised, and our eonseientious obedienee ridieuled; we must expe«t fo be t.aunted and s«'orned by those who find if mueh casier t.o at.tael¢ another's ereed than to state their own. A little learning is a dangerous thing. When men think they know more than others, fley of`ten talk for the salie ot" t.alking, or to show their ability (as they think), their shrewdness and depth; and they speak lightly of' fle All-Ilol" (od, fo gratif} t.heir eml,ty sclf`-coneeiL and wmitv. And ofen iL answers no purpose to dispute with such persons; for hot having been Lraincd up fo obey Lheir conscience, t.o restrain their passions, and examine their hearts, they will assenL to nothing- you can say; the- will be quesLioning and ar'uing about every thing; they bave no eomraon ground with you, and when thev talk ot" religion they are like blind persons t.alking oi' colours. It" you urge how greaL a g'it'L iL i.s fo be af peace wifl God, or of' the arduousness and yeL desirableness of" perf'ecLion, or the beauty ot" saintliness, or the dangerousness ot" Lhe world, or the blessedness ot" self'- control, or fle glory of virginity, or the answers which God gives t.o prayer, or the marvellousness and ahnost miraculousness of His providences, or t.he comt'orL of" religion in aftticLion, or the stren.h given you over your passions in the MosL Holy SacramenL, such persons undersLand you noL aL ail. They vill laugh, t.hey will scotT, aL best, Lhey will wonder: any how whaL you say is no evidence Lo CAem. You cannoL convince them,
OEOE Znward lkTlness to because you differ from them in first principles; it is hOt that they sta.rt from the sa.me point as you, and afterwards strike off in some wa.yward direction; but thcir course is altogether distinct, they have no point in common with you. For such persons thon you eau only pray; God alone eau bring down pride, self-conceit, an arrogant spirit, a. presumptuous retaper; God alone eau dissipate prejudice; God alone eau overcome flesh and blood. Useful as argument may be for eonverting" a man, in sueh cases God seldom condescends to employ if. Yet, let hot such vain or ignorant reasoners couvert you to unbelief in great matters or little; let them hot persuade you, that your faith is built on the meïe teaching of fallible men; do hot you be ridiculed out of your confidence and hope in Christ. You may, if you will, have an inward witness arising ri'oto obedience: and though you cannot make them sec if, you eau sec it yourselves, which is the great thing; and it will be quite sufficient, with God's blessing, to keep you stedfast in the way of life. Lastly, let me remark how dangerous their state is who are content to take the truths of the Gospel on trust, without caringwhether or hot those truths are realized in their own heart and conduct. Such men, when assailed by ridicule and sophist3, are likely to fall; they bave no root in themselves; and let them be quite sure, that should they fall away fi'om the faith, it will be a slight thing at the last da" fo plead that subtle arguments were used,,inst them, tbat they were altoether unprepared,nd inorant, and that their seducers prevailed over them by the display of some little clcverness and huma.l knowlcdge. Thc inwnrd witness fo tbe trnth lodged in our henrts is a match for thc most learned infidel or seeptic tht ever lived: though, to tell the truth, sueh men are generMly very shalloxv aad wcak, as well as wieked; g'cnerally know ouly a little, pervert what, thcy know, assmne fitlse prineiples, nd distort or supprcss fitets: but were they as aeeomplished as the ve3 author of evil, the humblest Christian, arlucd with slin and stone, and supl)orted by God's unseen might, is, as titr as his own faith is eoneerned, a match for them. And, on the other hnnd, the most aeute of reasoners and most profound of thinkers, the most instructed in earthly knowledg'e, is nothing', exeept he bas also Mthin him the presenee of the Spirit of truth. Itunmn knowledg'e, though of great power when joiued fo a pure and humble fMth, is of no power when opposed fo if, and, after a.ll, for the comfort of the individual Christian, it is of little value. May we, then, all grow in heavenly knowlede, and, with that end, labonr fo improve what is nlready given us, be iV more or be iV less, knowing that "he that is faithful in little is faitMhl also in much," and that "to him that bath, more shall be given."