NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
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THE
WORKS
&F THE
REV. ANDREW FULLER
IN EIGHT VOLUMES,
VOL. VIII. **
NEW-HAVEN:
PRINTED A.ND PUBLISHED BY S. CONVERSE-
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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
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r 1910 L
MISCELLANIES;
CONSISTING OF
MAGAZINE PAPERS SKETCHES OF SERMONS,
ASSOCIATION LETTERS, TRACTS,
CONTENTS
DE COETLOGON'S THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY.
Remarks on the Equity of i Cor. xiv. 22 -----.__ =<>
On Spiritual Declension, and the Means of Revival - - - - - 15
On Final Restitution ------------ ._4g
Apparent Contradictions Reconciled ---------.51
A Paraphrase on Eccles. vii. 15 — 19 -------._ - 56
EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE.
The Nature of Regeneration ----..--_-.-__ 59
The Parable of the Unjust Steward ---------_ 65
Degrees in Glory proportioned to Works of Piety, consistent with Salvation by Grace alone --- --_6£
Answer to Stephanas, respecting the Difference in the Frame of his Mind when engaged in Social and Secret Prayer - - - - 72
Answer to the Query : Was the Fall of Adam foredetermined, or only foreseen by God --------- 74
Answer to the Queries : How may a Man ascertain his Election of God to the Ministry of the Gospel ? And what are sufficient Qual- ifications for that important Office? 70
An Answer to the following Queries : Did not the law of God require of Christ, considered as a man, a perfect obedience on his own ac- count ? If it did, how can that obedience be imputed to sinners for their justification ? How does it appear to be necessary thni
IV CONTENTS-
Christ should both obey the law in his people's stead, and yet suffer punishment on the account of their transgressions ; seeing obedience is all the law requires ---.------78
The Unpardonable Sin 80
The Duty of Christian Forgiveness ----- 88
The Immaculate Life of Christ 90
The Extraordinary Appearance to Elijah at Mount Horeb - - - 101 Answer to the Query : How could Jesus grow in wisdom and knowl- edge, if he were the true God, and consequently infinite in both ? 105 Life and Death set before thee, or the Broad and Narrow Way - 107 On Christ's Washing the Disciples' Feet -------- 111
Evangelical Truth the Grand Object of Angelical Research - - 114
Hope in the Last Extremity 119
The Dangerous Tendency of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation - 126
The Wisdom proper to Man 130
The Abuse of Allegory in Preaching -__- 134
On Covetousness --------------- 137
The Christian Ministry __. 143
Thoughts on the Manner in which Divine Truth is communicated in the Holy Scriptures ►■ ? - 146
MISSIONARY MAGAZINE.
The Mystery of Providence ------------153
Notes on 1 Cor. xii. 24 - - - 156
The Conversion of the Jews --- -___160
The Mystery of Providence 182
The Beatitudes 186
Character of Christians and Christian Ministers ------ 195
The Perpetuity and Spirituality of the Moral Law - - - - - - 198
On Oaths 203
On Resisting Evil -------- --._... 206
On Love to enemies 208
On Almsgiving, and Prayer .... 212
On The Lord's Prayer 216
On Fasting and other Duties „ , 226
On Judging others, and Casting our Pearls before Swine . . . 230 On Prayer and Equity 233
CONTESTS. v
Page The Broad and Narrow Way, and how to judge of Teachers who di- rect to the one and to the other 236
The Last Judgment, and what will be accounted True Religion in
that Day 240
Brief View of Matt. xi. 12, 13 242
Past Trials a Plea for Future Mercies 245
The Trial of Spirits , 249
THEOLOGICAL AND BIBLICAL MAGAZINE.
On Moral Inability 255
Sketch of a Sermon on Jude 3 258
An Inquiry into the Right of Private Judgment in Matters of Reli- gion 265
The Sonship of Christ 268
The Changes of Time : a New Year's Meditation, on 1 Chron, xxix.
29, 30 . 274
The Good Man's Desire for the Success of God's Cause : a Sketch of a
Sermon, on Psa. xc. 16, 17 • .. . . 278
Remarks on the English Translation of the Scriptures .... 284 Answer to a Letter of Objections to Foreign Missions .... 287
Thoughts on the Doctrine of the Trinity 290
Reflections on True Wisdom 294
The Deity of Christ Essential to Atonement 297
On Creeds and Subscriptions 302
On Commendation 306
Seeming Contradictions Reconciled 310
On Reading the Scriptures 336
Thoughts on Singing 338
The Connexions in which the Doctrine of Election is introduced in
the Scriptures 343
The Proper and Improper Use of Terms 348
On Solomon's Song 350
The Necessity of seeing those things first, which are of the firstlm-
portance 352
Queries relative to Ordination ....:....,.. 355
On Ordination . . . .* 357
On Christian Love .,.,,,.., 360
CONTENTS. ft
Page
The Progress of Sin 362
The Progress of Righteousness 369
On Evil Things which pass under Specious Names 373
Scriptural Treatment of Rich and Poor Christians 378
On Party Spirit 382
Brief Statement of the Principles of Dissent 383
BAPTIST MAGAZINE.
Address to the Students of the Stepney Institution, on 2 Tim. iv. 3, 6. 391
Remarks on the Case of the Converted Thief 396
-On Dissent ' • * 404
CIRCULAR LETTERS
OF THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ASSOCIATION
The Excellency and Utility of the Grace of Hope .... .411
The Practical Use of Christian Baptism 428
The Pastor's Address to his Christian Hearers, entreating their As- sistance in promoting the Interest of Christ 439
On Moral and Positive Obedience 450
The Promise of the Spirit the Grand Encouragement in promoting
the Gospel 462
The Situation of the Widows and Orphans of Christian Minfsters 476
TRACTS.
Oration delivered at the Grave of the Rev. Robert Hall, of Arnsby 47'
Lines to the Memory of Mr. Hall 479
Sketch of a Sermon to Young People, on Psa. xc. 14 482
To the Afflicted ...#...... 490
Meditation on Eccl. i. 15 496
Index 501
MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS,
&C.
FROM DE COETLOGON'S THEOLOGICAL MlSCELLANYr
1785—1788.
REMARKS ON THE EQUITY OF
1 Cor. xvi. 22.
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema Maran-atha.
A sense of the excellence of Christ, or of his worthiness of being loved, i9 of great importance in religion. Without this, we can never truly love him, nor prize any thing which pertains to him. Destitute of this, we shall see his name degraded without indignation, and hear it exalted without delight. Without this, we shall esteem his salvation itself no otherwise than a happy expedi- ent to escape eternal misery. In short, without this, we shall be mere statues in Christianity, bring no glory to its Author, and enjoy none of its refined pleasures.
A spirit very different from this possessed the great apostle, when he uttered the above passage. Twenty years ago, if a sol- dier, who had fought under the late Marquis ofGranby, had heard the language of detraction against his noble commander, deeply im- pressed with a sense of the hero's worth, he would have been ready to exclaim, ■ If any man love not the Marquis of Granby, let him be banished the British dominions \? Probably, some suck
Vol.VIII. 2
|Q MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c 1.1785.
feelings might possess the heart of Paul, who had long served under the Lord Jesus Christ, and was deeply impressed with an idea of his innate worth.
Indeed the sentence is awful Let him be accursed when the Lord cometh / It probably alludes to the Jewish excommunications, which they tell us were of three sorts, or degrees. In the first, the offender was put out of the synagogue, or merely excommuni- cated; in the second, he was not only excommunicated, but ana- thematized, or cursed; in the third (which was only for the worst, and most incorrigible,) he was not only anathematized, but con- signed over to the judgment of the great day ! The meaning of the word here seems to be, ' Let him be excommunicated from the presence of God, and all holy beings ; and ns he did not love the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour, let him fall before him as a Judge I' This sentence, however awful, is strictly equitable. The truth of this will appear by the joint consideration of three things.
1. He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, must be an enemy to God, to virtue, and to all moral excellence. — Such a oneness is there between God as a Lawgiver, and Christ as a Saviour, that what is done to the one is done to the other. The Jews, in our Sav- iour's time, wished to be thought friends to God, while they were enemies to Christ ; but, If God zvere your Father, saith he, ye would love me. And again, I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yOU — Jam come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. The same thing is observable now, amonglhe Deists, who would be thought friends to the one Supreme Being, but enemies to Chris- tianity. And indeed this deistical spirit seems greatly to prevail in multitudes that are not professed Deists, especially among some in the higher ranks, who, though they can now and then assume so much fortitude, as to speak respectfully of the Supreme Being, yet would be ashamed that a word should be heard from their lips in de- fence of Christ or Christianity. It were to be wished (oq, that none of those who sustain the character of Christian ministers had ever discovered the same spirit. This is very awful ! But, whatever we may think here, and whatever character we may sustain, it will be found at last, that, whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father !
1715.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. |j
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he can have no regard to the authority of God as a Lawgiver, seeing it was this that he came into the world to maintain. When devils had cast off God's yoke as grievous, and practically declared him a tyrant ; and men had followed their example, judging it too mean a thing, it seems, for ever to be so kept under rule ; then the Son of God came down, and in the presence of these revolters, was subject to the very law which they had discarded. Though he was under no natural obligation to come under the law, yet, that he might show how worthy he thought it of being obeyed, and thus wipe off the foul reproach, he learned obedience. Yea, that it might be seen how easy a yoke it was, and thence the unreasonableness and wickedness of their revolt, he declared, whatever others might think, it was his meat to do the will of his Father! If any man, therefore, love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot love the law of God, but must be of Satan's mind, accounting it a severe law, and that obedienctJ* to it is slavery ; and thus he must be an enemy to God.
Again : If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he can have no regard to the honour of Go^s justice being secured. If we had a proper regard to the justice of God, we could not bear the thought of salvation itself being erected upon its ruins. To desire such a thing would be nothing less than desiring to depose the King of the universe ; for justice and judgment are the basis of his throne. If a fallen creature loved God, and could see no way for his own sal- vation but what must be at the expense of truth and equity, his soul must be rilled with inexpressible distress. If the way of sal- vation by Jesus Christ were then to be preached to him, a way wherein, through his glorious sacrifice, God could be just and the justifier of him that believed in Jesus, how would his spirit revive within him ! With what joy of heart would he acquiesce in a plan wherein mercy and truth could meet together. The more he loved God, the more he would love Him who out of love to equity invited the sword of vengeance to plunge itself in his heart, saying, Father, glorify thv name ! But if Christ and his way of salvation have no charms in our eyes ; if we would barely like to be justified, (that is, freed from condemnation,) but care not how 3
12, MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, Sic. 1^95.
and think, as to God being just therein, he must see to that ; is it not evident that we have no love to God, truth, or righteousness r
Further: If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he gives proof that God's grand enemy being defeated and all his counsels turned into foolishness, affords him no pleasure ; and consequently he can be no friend of God, but an enemy. It* we love our prince, we shall rejoice at his enemies being overthrown, and admire that noble commander, who, by hazarding his life in the high places of the field, should put them to confusion. If any monster had been so unfeeling, in the day when David slew Goliath and saved Israel? as to have bad no love to the young hero, would he not have been deemed an enemy to his king and country, and suspected of being on the side of the Philistines ? Now, as the Lord Jesus Christ entered the field, and with his own arm spoiled principal- ities and powers, brake the serpent's head, routed his forces, and ruined his scheme ; if we love not him, whatever we may pretend, we must be enemies to God, and on the sidt of Satan.
In short : If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he must be an enemy to all moral excellence ; for of this he was a perfect model, both living and dying. God himself hath borne witness of him, that he loved righteousness, and hated iniquity. He lived to get forth the amiableness of the one, and died that God in him might show his abhorrence of the other. He lived and died that God's character in saving sinners might be untainted with moral turpitude. It may well therefore be said of him, The upright love thee I Christ is the sum and centre of all excellence. Perhaps we cannot form a better idea of him, than as an assemblage of all goodness, a being in whom all excellencies meet. To have no love to him, then, is to have no love to moral excellence, and so to be an enemy to all good. Such a character surely deserves to be anathe- matized from God and all holy beings !
II. He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, must be an enemy to mankind. Perhaps it might be asked, Cannot people be possessed of humanity without being the subjects of Christianity ? It is answered, No, not in the full extent of that term. It is not denied but that people may wish well to one another's temporal interests, may wish to promote their health and wealth and reputation, may
1186.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. j3
live in friendship with mankind and be of a compassionate spirit to the poor, and may have no design in what they do to destroy their souls. But all this is no more than an over indulgent parent may feel, who yet interpretive! y> by sparing the rod, is said to hate his son ; and it is common to say in such cases, the parent was the child's enemy. Yea, it is very little, if any thing, more than thieves and robbers may exercise towards their comrades. Here is one of that character, for instance, draws a young man into his practices : he has no intention to bring him to the gallows, nor himself either ; and he may wish his health and prosperity, and pity and relieve him in distress. All this is good ; but could it appear from hence that he was not his enemy \ in setting hira against his own interests, and seducing him away from his best friends ? Is he not his enemy ? But to come nearer to the point —
The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend to mankind that ever existed : if therefore any man bears true love to the souls of men and seeks their real welfare, it is impossible but that he should love the Lord Jesus Christ. We should deem him an enemy to mankind, who, if a skilful and generous physician came into our parts, and healed all gratis who applied to him, should endeavour to prejudice the minds of people against him. An enemy to Joseph, who was the saviour of Egypt and the adjacent countries, would have been deemed an enemy to mankind. But what were these ? Christ has healed the tremendous breach between God and man, has rescued millions and millions from eternal ruin, and is still able and willing to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him. It' any man therefore love not the Lord Jesus Christ, surely he deserves, as an enemy to the public good, to be excommunicated from the society of the blessed.
* But may there not be a neutrality exercised in this affair ? If some do not love Christ, does it follow that such are his enemies ?* Yes, it does. This is a cause wherein the idea of neutrality is inadmissible and impossible. They that are not with him, are declared to be against him.
III. He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, must be an enemy to himself. — To be an enemy to Christ, is to be guilty of the most awful kind of suicide. All they that hate him, are said to love
14 MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. 1785.
death. Christ is the only door of hope for any lost sinner : to hate him therefore, is to hate ourselves. Had Naaman continued to despise the waters of Jordan, people would have thought that he had no love for himself. If a company of wretches who had escaped a shipwreck were in an open boat at sea ; and if on the appearance of a friendly vessel bearing down upon them, they were so infatuated, that, instead of imploring assistance, they should treat it with every mark of indignity and contempt, we should say, they love death — they deserve to perish. If the power of Christ's anger be considered, it will amount to the same thing. For a man to rouse a lion would seem as if he was weary of his life : much more to provoke the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Of him it may well be said, Who shall rouse him up ?
If a person then be an enemy to God, to mankind, and to him- self; surely it is but right and fit he should be excommunicated from the society of God, and all holy beings, as an enemy to being in general. Surely he that loves not God, ought to be accursed from God ; he that loves not mankind, ought to be banished, to take his lot among devils, as we should banish a murderer from the society of men ; and he that loves not himself, but seeks his own ruin, ought to find it.
Upon the whole, if the foregoing thoughts be just, then that distinction has been made without ground, that sinners will not be punished for their not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, but only for the breach of God's law; as if the want of love to Christ was not a breach of the law. So far from this, it is such a breach of jt as perhaps cannot be equalled by any other case whatever. It is at once a breach of the whole law, and that in the highest degree. What doth the law require, but love to God, love to our neighbour, nad love to ourselves? These are the whole of what is included in that summary given of it by our Lord ; and these we have seen are all broken, and that in the highest degree, in the want of love to Christ.
O how is it that we are not all excommunicated, and accursed of God? Are we better than others? No, in nowise. God might justly have banished us from the abodes of the blessed. It is all
[1787. THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. 15
of grace, free, sovereign, and great grace, if we are brought to love him, and so escape the awful curse ; and for this we can never be sufficiently thankful.
ON SPIRITUAL DECLENSION, AND THE MEANS OF REVIVAL.
It is a matter of complaint loo common, as well as too well founded, that the bulk of Christians in the present age are very deficient in spirituality, and come far short of the primitive Christians in a close walk with God. We lament over our un- fruitfulness, our want of growth in grace and increasing conformity to Christ. Complaints of this kind, if they arise from the integ- rity of our hearts, are necessary and proper ; but complaining alone will not effect a cure. We may sigh, and go backward to the last period of our lives. One necessary mean of effecting a cure, is to inquire into the cause or causes of the complaint. An investigation of this nature may, through a divine blessing, answer some good end upon the minds of those whose desire it is to be searched and tried, that every evil way may be detected.
It is not here intended to inquire into all the different causes of unfruitfulness, but only to point out a few of those which are the most obvious. That which I shall insist upon in this paper is, The want of a proper regard to the word of God. It has been the pleasure of God to magnify his word more than all his name ; and if we are under the influence of a right spirit, we shall magnify it too. It is by the knowledge of its sacred truths that we are freed from the slavery of sin, and our spirits sanctified. In
i6 MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. [1787.
it, as in a glass, we behold the glory of the Lord, and arc changed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of God.
In almost all the remarkable declensions in the church of Godr a neglect of the scriptures has been at the root. On (he contrary, in all the seasons of revival and reformation, the scrip- tures have been the grand means of their being brought about. During the long and wicked reign of Manasseh, the book of the law of the Lnrd was lost, was lost even in the temple ; and then it was that idolatry prevailed : when Josiah came to the throne, and \ reformation was brought about, the lost book was found, read, and regarded. During the captivity, the word of God seems to have been neglected. In the times of Ezra and Nehemrab, a glorious reformation was brought about ; but by what means ? The sum of the account is this : Ezra and his companions stood upon a pulpit of wood, read the law, and gave the meaning; and the people understood the law, and wept bitterly, and entered into a covenant with their God. Religion was reduced to a low state at the time of our Lord's coming ; and one cause assigned for it was, that the Pharisees, by their traditions, had made void the lata of God. On the contrary, the glorious revival which then suc- ceeded, by the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, was by means of 'their disseminating the true knowledge of God as revealed in the scriptures. It is true, they themselves were inspired, but yet even the Lord Jesus Christ appealed to the word, calling upon his hearers to search the scriptures. To what can we attribute the great antichristian apostasy, but to a disre- gard of the word of God? The original cause, as prophetically given us by the apostle himself, was this, Because they receiv- ed not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. The foundation of popery was laid in a disregard to the Bible, and an overweening attachment to traditions and unscriptural ceremonies. As the apostasy ripened, the scriptures were neglected ; and at jengtu, when it arrived to its height, they were utterly discarded, being absolutely forbidden to be read by the common people in their own language. On the contrary, by what means was the glorious Reformation effected ? Was it not by translating, ex-
1787.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. ty
posing, and preaching the scriptures ? From the foregoing facts, we ought at least to suspect, that a want of regard to the holy scrip- ture lies at the foundation of our departures from God.
There are several ways in which a want of proper regard to God's word is discovered. I shall mention three in par- ticular.
First : By a neglect of reading, meditating, and praying over it. We have great advantages for knowing the mind of God. He hath told us all his heart. Our advantages are superior, not only to heathens, who walk in the dark, without a revelation, but to those of the church of God itself in any former period. Old Tes- tament saints valued the scriptures more than thousands of gold and silver, more than their necessary food ; and yet they had but a small part of the sacred canon to what we have. That which has crowned all, and brought life and immortality to light, was then wanting. The most glorious of all the displays of God has been added since their death. Christians themselves, in former ages, had not our advantages. Till the art of printing was discovered, it must have been very difficult for many families to obtain a Bible ; and no doubt a great number of Christians, who were generally a poor people, were denied the pleasure of having those sacred books in their families. Since then, circumstances are altered; we have now, through a kind Providence, the most easy access to the scriptures. But whether we have more of a spiritual understanding into the mind of God than our predeces- sors had, may be questioned; yea, whether the word of God upon the whole, is read more now by Christians than it was then, may be a matter of doubt. Does not its being common and easy of access, seem to diminish its value in our eyes ? Are we not apt to think light of it, as Israel did of the manna when rained in plenty around their tents ?
The sacred scripture is a rich mine abounding with substantial treasures ; but it is a mine that must be worked. If we would read it to advantage, it must be with prayer and meditation- My son, said the wise man, if thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding ; if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her at
Vol. VIII. 3
j g MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. [1787.
silver? and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. A blessing is pronounced upon the man who meditates in God's law by day and by night. He shall be like, a tree planted by the rivers of waters, which bringeth forth fruit in its season. If any think to excuse themselves by alleging that they were never taught to read ; I answer, if they were interested in a common will, or testament, they would never think of remaining ignorant of its contents. If they could not read, they would procure some per- son to read it to them ; or if that could not be done, rather than not know its real meaning, they would be at some considerable pains to learn to read it themselves. Now shall all this regard be shown to a common will, and that spontaneously, of our own accord ; and no more respect be paid to the invaluable testament of our dying Redeemer ? Where then is the sincerity of our religious profession 1 Where a mans treasure is, there will his heart be also.
Secondly : By not reading it for the ends and purposes for which it was written. What those ends are, we are expressly informed in the book itself. All scripture is given by inspiration of God; and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for insrtuction in righteousness. To read the scripture for doctrine, is to learn our religious sentiments from it, and form them by it. So far as we are under the influence of prejudice, or receive systems on human authority ; and go to the scripture, not so much with a desire to be instructed in what we know not, as to strengthen ourselves in what we have already imbibed, be it right or wron^ ; so far we exercise a sinful disregard to the scriptures, and may justly be given up of God to our own deceits. If we read the word of God to any good purpose, we must suppose before- hand that we do not know every thing, that we are liable to error in judgment and evil in practice ; how else shall we read it for reproof or for correction?
If we set up our own reason, so as to resolve to admit of nothing as divine truth but what shall be within its conprehen- sion we despise God's word, and cannot be said to read it either for doctrine or correction. It is not enough that we call no man
1787.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. 19
master ; we must have one master, even Christ. Our own reason is also another word for our own creed; and we are as much in danger of being ruined by our own creed, as by that of another man. It matters not by what name we call it, our reason or our creed ; if the infallible dictates of the Holy Spirit are to give way to this, adieu to all religion. Where such presumption begins, it may truly be said, religion ends.
In reading the preceptive part of scripture, it will be of but little use to us unless we read it with an attention and determination, through divine assistance, to form our conduct by it. To reatl for instruction in righteousness, is the same thing as searching to know what is the good, perfect, and acceptable will of God, with a de- sign to do it, let it grate ever so much with our carnal inclina- tions. It answers but a poor end to read a chapter once or twice a day in the family, merely for the sake of decency, without so much as an intention of complying with what shall be found to be the mind of God.
If our judgment or conduct is formed by dreams, visions, or supposed immediate revelations from heaven; and not by the plain meaning of the word of God as it stands in our Bibles, then do we slight the word of God, and God may justly give us up to our own delusions. It is no just plea in behalf of these supposed revela- tions, that they often come in the tcords of scripture. If we infer any thing from certain words of scripture being impressed upon our mind, either in favour of ourselves, or for the guiding of on1' conduct, which cannot be proved to have been the meaning of scripture independent of that impression, it is no other than real enthusiasm ; and will in the great day be found to be a disregard and perversion of the scripture itself.
Thirdly : By forming a low opinion of the importance of the truths contained tn it. It seems to be very much the spirit and opinion of the present age, that it matters not how polluted the fountain is, if the streams are but pure : but the question is, whether the streams can be pure, if the fountain is polluted. Actions materially good, and beneficial to society, may flow from a heart at essential variance with the doctrines of revelation ; but it wants proof that any action can be truly good, and acceptable in
20 MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. [1787.
the sight of God, unless it originate in evangelical principle. On the contrary, the scripture is express, that without faith it is im- possible to please God.
Some good people have contracted a strange prejudice against the doctrines of the gospel, accounting them dry and uninteresting matters. They like experimental religion the best, they tell us. But I do not understand the distinction of religion into doctrinal and experimental after this sort. I would ask such a person, What is experimental religion ? Is it any other than the influence of truth upon the mind, by the agency of the Holy Spirit? You love to feel godly sorrow for sin ; so do I : but what is godly sor- row for sin but the influence of truth upon your heart? Is it not the consideration of the great evil of sin, its contrariety to what ought to be, its being committed against light, love, &c. that dis- solves your heart in grief ? Were you not to realize these truths, it would be impossible for you to weep over your sin. But you love to feel joy and peace in believing ; so do I : but must you not have an object to believe in ? Take away the great doctrine of the atonement, and all your faith, joy, and peace are annihilated. Much the same might be said of other gospel doctrines : instead of being opposed to experimental religion, they are essential to its existence. Th?t some doctrinal sermons have been dry and unin- teresting, is granted ; but that must have been the fault of either the preacher or the hearer. If scripture doctrines were deliv- ered in their native simplicity, and heard with a heart suitable to their importance, they could not be dry : they must be like the doctrine of Moses, which dropped as the rain upon the grass, and as the dew upon the tender herb.
There is another prejudice against the doctrines of the gospel, in the minds of many ' people. They imagine them to be un- friendly to practical religion. That practical religion may be neglected through an excessive attachment to favourite opinions, is allowed : but if we imbibe and inculcate the truths of the gospel according to the lovely proportion in which they stand in the Bible, and adhere to them, not because we have once imbibed them, but because God hath revealed them ; such a reception of the truth, .and adherence to it, instead of enervating practical godliness, will
I7f,7.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. 21
be found to be the life of it. Doctrinal, experimental, and prac- tical religion, are all necessarily connected together : they can have no existence separate from each other. The influence of truth upon the mind is the source of all our spiritual feelings, and those feelings are the springs of every good word and action.
The above are some of the different ways in which we are liable to be wanting in our regard to the word of God ; and in proportion as these prevail, it is natural to suppose we shall be wanting in spirituality and communion with God : instead of grow- ing in grace, we shall dwindle like the unwatered plant in the drought of summer. This may be expected on two accounts. First: As an awful chastisement for our sin, in such disregard. God's word is indited by his Holy Spirit : a want of proper regard to that word must therefore be one of those evil things by which the Spirit of God is grieved ; and where that is the case, it is natural to suppose he will withdraw his reviving, fructifying influ- ences, the consequence of which will ever be, a discernible want of spirituality. I call this an awful chastisement ; and such it is, because of a spiritual kind. As the Holy Spirit is the sum of spiritual good, so his withdrawment is the completion of every spiritual evil. When David was threatened with the loss of all that was dear to him, he deprecated this more than any thing be- side : Take not thy Holy Spirit from me ! Woe unto them, saith the Lord, if I depart from them. Secondly : As a natural consequence of it. God's word is that to those who meditate in it by day and by night, which the rivers of waters are to a tree planted by their side. It is that by means of which they bring forth fruit in their season. From the want of a spiritual and experimental acquaint- ance with God's word, proceeds a want of religious principle ; and this seems to be the case of multitudes of professors in the present age. From want of religious principle, proceeds a more than ordinary liability to errors in judgment : the house that was empty, though swept and garnished, was ready for the reception of unclean spirits. From errors in judgment, proceed errors in spirit and conduct : if once the truths of God sink into disesteem, his precepts, in the spirituality of them, will not continue to be re- garded. Little sins, as they are accounted, will be indulged, anc^
22
MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. [1787.
the most difficult and self-denying duties neglected. And then, if things come to this, that we give way a little, we shall soon go far- ther : want of universal obedience will soon lead to a universal want of obedience ; and thus if infinite mercy prevent not, we shall wax worse and worse. This is no other than the high road to apostasy, towards which it is to be feared great numbers of professors are verging, and in which great numbers are already walking ! Happy should I be, if any one by these hints might be led to reflection, and recover himself out of the snare of the devil, by whom he is led captive at his will !
I have only one thought more to add. If a regard to the word of God is of such great importance to Christians, what must it be to Ministers ? A defection in a private character nearly terminates in himself ; but a defection in a minister may affect many thou- sands. If as ministers we sink into a disregard for divine truth, to say the least, we shall not preach it with that ardour which is necessary, if at all. It becomes us to tremble, and to inquire whether the defections among our people be not owing in part to the wholesome truths of God being withheld from them, or deliv- ered in a languid and careless manner ; and if so, it becomes us farther to consider, how we shall endure that cutting rebuke, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge : because thou hast rejected knowledge, 1 will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me : seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I zvill also forget thy children !
In the last paper, it was supposed that one cause to which de- clensions in religion might be imputed, was, a disregard to the word of God : in this, I shall attempt to prove that another cause is, the manner in which we attend to the duty of prayer. Prayer is the ascending of the heart to God. It is one of the ordinary means of our communion with God. A great part of the religious life consists in the exercise of it, either in public or in private, either vocal or mental. It may be supposed, that our spiritual prosperity will bear some proportion to the degree of fervour and
1787.] THEOLOGICAL MISCELLANY. 23
constancy with which this duty is attended to. All our spiritual life is derived from Christ, as that of the branch is from the vine j and prayer is that by which we receive of his fulness, grace for grace. If this duty is either restrained before God, or performed in a careless, carnal manner, our souls must of course dwindle away, and lose their fruitfulness.
But as the persons, to whose consideration these papers are humbly recommended, are such as profess godliness, I shall take jt for granted that they make a point of prayer, and shall say no- thing of its being omitted, but confine my remarks to the manner in which it is performed.
It is a fact, to which 1 suppose many can subscribe, that it is very common for us to pray to the Lord, and yet for our prayers to remain unanswered. We pray, for instance, that the kingdom of Christ may increase in the world, and yet we see but little of that kind taking place : that our sins may be forgiven, and yet sin remains upon our consciences from time to time ; and we lose it, not so much by its being blotted out by God's pardoning mercy, as worn out by our own forgetfnlness : that our graces may be lively and active, yet we remain wretchedly insensible and formal : in a word, that we may enjoy communion with God, and conformity to him ; and yet the degree that we possess of either is so small, that we have reason to be greatly ashamed, and to tremble lest it should be said of us at last, Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?
But how is it that our prayers should be thus unanswered ? Is the Lord's arm shortened, that it cannot save ; or his ear heavy, that it cannot hear ? Or is he slack concerning his promise of hearing and answering the prayers of his people ? None of all these ; he himself hath told us the reason : Ye ash, and receive not, because ye ask amiss. If I regard iniquity in my heart, said the Psalmist, the Lord will not hear me. Let the following questions be seriously considered.
First : When we pray, do we really and earnestly desire what we pray for ? It is awful to think of approaching the Searcher of hearts without meaning as we speak ; and yet it is to be feared that a spice of this solemn mockery runs through many of our pe-
24 MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, &c. [1787.
titions. It were well for such persons as always pray in a set form of words, to examine whether they mean what they say. It is granted, that a