Sermons on various subjects chiefly practical..
o<^fer 2^;Sr .<c«ac..- "Is <ccc <; cm c«*&a <r* ~ct:«rc: <s c mi a T ■ c < ec - < < <:. fc 1 : c <- pc , C<<.J«L.CQ o ■ at; mf. < csl excess c c i i: \> ^® - n <c cv .tr*c 'i ^ ". (f C XI ^^^^^^^^^ <c <r «« ««: <r c cccc <*Mk C C f t ca <m - ; 4C<: <*? tec gr^^ CI: r^' " o§ ^ .(V m le v C ( C ( c 4ST c<? . ceo • < •«<■ ■ e- < 5^ .;. < ^Oc "^^^'4 ^^^^ 1 ccSj-^&EmC • ca; < c Si Bp XT ST* SERMONS S. P. WILLIAM;? SERMONS oy VARIOUS SUBJECTS, CHIEFLY PRACTICAL. BY SAMUEL PORTER WILLIAMS, I.ATE PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NEWBURY PORT, MASS. TOGETHER WITH A SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LITE AND CHARACTER. SALEM : FFJ5TED AT THE ESSEX REGISTER OFFICE. 1S27. is District of Massachusetts, to wit : DISTRICT CLEB BE it remembered, that on the second day of June, A. D. 1827, in the fifty- first year of the Independence of the United States of America, WIL- LIAM WILLIAMS, of said district, has deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit : — " Sermons on Various Subjects, Chiefly Practical. By SAMUEL POR- TER WILLIAMS, late Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New- buryport, Mass. Together with a Sketch of the Author's Life and Char- acter." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned :" and also to an act entitled, "An act supplemen- tary to an act, entitled, An act for the encouragement of learning, by secur- ing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times herein mentioned ; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching historical, and other prints," TNO W DAVIS I Clerk of the District JNa W. DAVIS, J 0f Massachusetts, W. PALFRAY, JR. AND J. CHAPMAN, SALEM. ADVERTISEMENT. -SOO- THE reader of these Discourses should remem- ber that they are posthumous ; and therefore writ- ten without the remotest prospect of publication. Every one acquainted with literary labors, knows that an Author is desirous to give his productions the finishing stroke ; the last polish of the file ; without which they can hardly be considered as specimens of his doctrinal sentiments or his abili- ties. In selecting these Sermons from a very large mass, (a monument of the Author's industry) we have prescribed to ourselves these rules : — we have endeavoured to select those subjects, not exhaust- ed by previous writers 5 to present truths, which, if not absolutely original, need to be more tho- roughly and solemnly recommended to the reader's notice 5 and we have had some reference likewise to the Author's genius and maimer. His style is redundant and flowing, pill of amplification and illustrations 5 and on themes which needed this he was peculiarly excellent. Doctrinal subjects have been avoided 5 not because the writer was not bold in avowing his sentiments, but because the Divines of New England have been abundant in discus- sions of this kind. We have considered the wants of the church, and endeavored, in some measure at least, to meet them. These principles have gov- erned us in the selection ; and they are here stat* IV ADVERTISEMENT. ed, because they account for the miscellaneous character, and immethodical arrangement of the volume. Let the reader remember that this volume is the preaching of the dead. The tomb is now the Preacher's pulpit, and his audience are those who are hastening to the tomb. All praise or censure, for faults or merits merely literary, are now to him empty sounds. But a tear of penitence dropped on these pages, or a desire for christian improve- ment begotten by their perusal, may increase his felicity even in the realms of bliss. LEONARD WITHINGTON> WILLIAM WILLIAMS, Salem, June 1, 1827- % 1 ;> CONTENTS. Biographical Sketch of the Author. i SERMON I. A Compendium of the Gospel. Mark xvi. 15. — Preach the Gospel to every creature. SERMON II. Estimate of the World's Morality. Mark x. 21. — Jesus beholding him, loved him; and said unto him, One thing thou lackest. . . 13 SERMON III. Obedience Essential to Salvation. Revelation xxii. 14. — Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city, 27 SERMON IV. Experimental Religion Vindicated. Psalm lxvi. 16. — Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. * . . "• .* " • - y v * ' * - . 42* SERMON V. Every Man's Business. 1 Thessalonians iv. 11. — But we beseech you, breth- ren, that ye increase more and more, and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you. 57 vi CONTENTS. SERMON VI. A Funeral Sermon on the Living. Psalm xlix. 17. — When he dieth he shall carry noth- ing away ; his glory shall not descend after him. . 69 SERMON VII. Christian Diligence. Hebrews vi. 11, 12. — And we desire — that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. . . . .81 SERMON VIII. Modesty of Apparel. 1 Timothy ii. 8, 9. — J will — that women adorn them- selves in modest apparel, with shame- facedness and sobriety. ... . . . . .96 SERMON IX. The Duty of Confessing Christ. Matthew x. 32, 33. — Whosoever therefore shall con- fess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. . . . , 116 SERMON X. The Christian Race. Hebrews xti. 1. — Wherefore, seeing we also are com- passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. . . . 132 CONTENTS. vii SERMON XI. The Christian Pilgrim. Psalm xxxix. 12. — For I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. . . . 149 SERMON XII. The only proper object of Solicitude. Philippians iv. 5, 6, 7. — Be careful for nothing : but in every thing, hy prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God ; and the peace of God, which passeth all under- standing, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. . . 163 SERMON XIII. Christian Exultation, Galatians vi. 14. — But God forbid that 1 should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by ■whom the world is  xix. 17. — Escape for thy life — look not be- hind thee — neither tarry thou in all the plain. Es- cape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. . 195 SERMON XV. Vindictive Justice Incompatible with Charity. Romans xii. 19. — Dearly beloved, avenge not your- selves, but give place unto wrath : for it is written — Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. . 207 viii CONTENTS. SERMON XVI. The Guilt and Danger of Scandalizing Souls. Luke xvii. 1, 2. — Then said he unto the disciples, it is impossible but that offences will come : but wo unto him by whom they come ! It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 225 SERMON XVII. The Nature of Gracious Compassion. Luke xix. 41. — And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. . . . . 242 SERMON XVIIL The Kingdom of Christ. John xviii. 36. — My kingdom is not of this vjorld. 257 SERMON XIX. Acquiescence in the Will of God. Job xxxiv. 33. — Should it be according to thy mind ? 274 SERMON XX. The Value of Life. Isaiah xxxviii. 18, 19, 20. — The grave cannot praise thee ; death cannot celebrate thee ; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth : the living, the living, he shall praise thee as I do this day ; the father to the children shall make known thy truth. The Lord was ready to save me ; therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. . . 286 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. — eo^- THE Rev. Samuel P. Williams was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Feb. 22, 1779. His family was respectable ; descended from some of the most celebrated divines New England has pro- duced. The venerable Stoddard, who preceded Jonathan Edwards at Northampton, was his great grand-father on the mother's side. William Wil- liams, whose name is found on the controversial pages of Edwards, was his paternal great grand- father. The race may almost claim an hereditary alliance with the sacred desk. He was early destined to a literary life. He en- tered Yale College in the year 1792 ; at the age of 13 ; an age too early to reap the benefits of such an institution. There is a culpable ambition in some parents to crowd a child along faster than his powers will admit. Such a scholar, finding his strength not equal to the competition with which he is surrounded, naturally surrenders himself to idleness, and too often to vice. It does not appear that young Williams was ever vicious ; but he re- flects on his time in College in the language of se- B X BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. vere self-condemnation. " My Collegiate life is past, and with it four years of . I have forever to mourn the neglect of their precious advantages. Time, expectation, money, all squandered. I re- solve to redeem that which is lost." He was graduated in 1796 ; and was for some time engaged in mercantile employments. These years passed without any special regard to reli- gion. He was a man of too much frankness and honesty to be successful in the scramble for riches. He hated dissembling more than he loved his inter- est. By what particular circumstances he was first led to serious reflection, we have no means of knowing. It appears from his papers that in March 1803 he became a communicant ; and that he entered into his covenant engagements with the humility of a penitent sinner 5 and the hopes of a believer in Christ. His attention was now turned toward the study of Theology. He pursued his studies first in New Haven under the direction of Dr. Dwight ; and afterwards at Springfield, with Dr. Howard to whom he was related. He was licensed at West Springfield, April 10th, 1805 ; preached his first Sermon at Amherst the next month ; and soon re- ceived an invitation from Springfield, the place of his studies, to settle as a Colleague with his in- structed In Springfield many of the people differed from him in their religious tenets ; and therefore this in- vitation must be considered as very honorable to 0 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. xi his abilities as a preacher. The settlement however never took place. He was already under two invitations, from other places — Deerfield in Mass. and Mansfield in Conn. At Deerfield there was great unanimity ; Mansfield was in a broken state, and, had he con- sulted his own ease, it seemed as if he would h.ive chosen the former place. He decided however on going to Mansfield ; in which place he was ordain- ed January 1st, 1807. The Sermon was preached by Doctor Parsons of Amherst. The Church and parish in Mansfield had been distracted by controversy. Their former pastor had left the Orthodox faith to embrace Unitarian- ism — and it was in the hope of being a healer of breaches without betraying the truth, that Mr. Williams went among them. A minority in the church were avowed Unitarians 5 but consented to the settlement of Mr. Williams, on receiving a pledge from the whole body, that they should re- tain their sentiments without being excluded from the communion. Such was the ferment in which he found the place, occasioned by these discus- sions, that for two years he omitted preaching on these tender points. In a man of his talents and temperament, consenting to such an omission was remarkable. It shewed that he had prudence as well as zeal 5 and, although on all occasions it was natural for him to utter truth, he could for a time withhold it, when the utterance would produce no beneficial effect. xii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. But as soon as the effervescence had subsided, Mr. Williams began to think it important that no part of the Gospel, which he deemed essential, should be concealed. He therefore laboured to convince his people of the proper Deity of Christ ; of his atonement ; and of the new coloring and in- fluence which all the rays of the Gospel must as- sume by radiating from so central a point. This instead of producing conviction, was tearing open old wounds ; it was the origin of difficulties which finally ended in his separation from his people. It will not be necessary to present in detail all the circumstances which led to his departure from Mansfield. It was not merely a theological differ- ence ; the people were negligent in affording him sufficient support. He had an increasing family ; and money after his ordination had depreciated in value. His nominal salary was therefore really less than at first. He remonstrated with his peo- ple and related his difficulties 5 but without effect. His ministry was closed in Mansfield, September 7th, 1807 5 in which place he had preached nine hundred sermons. There is a scrupulous delicacy expected and re- quired of a Clergyman in all pecuniary transac- tions, by some people, who having little generosity themselves, resolve that their religious teachers shall be generous to excess. But surely it is not unworthy of those who preach, and who are animat- ed by the most disinterested virtue, to remember that usefulness cannot be continued without li% BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. XUl nor life supported without bread. In all concerns, men should in the outset understand each other ; and the preacher who from real, or affected deli- cacy, neglects at his settlement to demand explicit- ness in the contract, will suffer for it in the end. If a preacher is an example to the flock, he must provide for his family. Previous to his removal from Mansfield, Mr. Williams received invitations from some of the most respectable churches in our largest cities, to preach to them with a view to settlement ; — a suf- ficient proof of his reputation as a preacher. After spending two years at Northampton, where his labours were peculiarly blessed ; he was invit- ed to Newbury port, December, 1820, to preach in the pulpit then made vacant by the removal of Dr. Dana to the presidency of Dartmouth College. In this region, the peculiarly favourable impression made by his first discourses will be long remem- bered. He received an unanimous invitation to become pastor of the first Presbyterian church 5 and was installed February 8th, 1821. During the few years that he continued among us, he left, on the minds of all, the impression of possessing the character of an ardent friend to truth, a faithful minister, and an honest and inde- pendent man. His labours in the ministry were abundant; and his success though gradual was great. He paid particular attention to the young ; and endeavoured to warn, reprove and rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine. His melodious XIV BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. voice always won the ear ; his ornamental lan- guage gratified the fancy ; and his pungent doc- trine reached the heart. Under his ministry many were added to the church ; and many more brought to a knowledge of the truth. Though a very active man, and having all the appearance of health and vigour, he had long been troubled with dyspepsical complaints. He had several times been taken from his labours by sick- ness previous to the final attack of his disease. During the last year of his ministry he was very feeble. His last public performance was to preach the thanksgiving sermon of 1826, on the value of life. He expired December 23d of the same year ; leaving a widow and a numerous family of children, the fruit of two marriages, to mourn his depar- ture.— ut bonis comis, it a adversus malos inju- cundus : ceterum ex iracundia nihil supererat. Secretum et silentium ejus nan timeres ; hones - this putabat offendere, qnam odisse. His funeral Sermon was preached by Mr. With- ington, from which the following extract may serve for his moral portrait. The text was II Cor. v, 7. The subject, The influence of faith, in the calam- ities of life. " The subject has been suggested by the departure of one who was himself eminently a man of faith; and whose closing scene exhibited its supporting power. In speaking of the character of the Rev. Mr. Williams, I feel myself in very BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. XV little danger of being subject to the charge of heaping unmerited praise on the dead. The lines of his character were strongly marked ; every fea- ture of his mind was bold and prominent. It needs no discriminating pencil to draw his like- ness ;' and in speaking of his merits, I shall be more confident, because I shall say nothing, which will not be assented to by every friend and every foe. The quality which first struck the observer, was the perfect transparency of his purposes ; every word and gesture seemed to say — Here is a man, who is above all disguise. His heart was not left lurking in the folds of impenetrable con- cealment ; but it was in his face, and on his tongue ; and seemed to challenge the observer to acknowledge his merits, and estimate or oppose his imperfections. More suavity, perhaps, more flex- ibility, a greater disposition to assent to opposi- tion, without the stern permission of truth and con- science, might have been agreeable to those, who look only on the surface of a character. But our departed brother did not purchase any n\an's friendship, at the price of dissimulation. On all occasions he threw out the truth ; and left it to take its effect. He did not come with supplica- tion and cringes, to ask permission to creep through the path of duty ; but he boldly walked up to the entrance and demanded a passage. " Every minister, and every man, has his pe- culiar gift 5 and it is vain to expect to blend incon- sistent qualities in the same mind. The virtues XVI BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. themselves, though in theory consistent enough with one another, are not always consistent with the peculiarities of even a virtuous individual. Mr. Williams was more formed for a reprover than a consoler ; the chamber of affliction was not, per- haps, his most shining scene. He bore his own trials with too much fortitude fully to enter into the weakness and fears of the mind, enfeebled by sickness and trembling on the verge of eternity. He was certainly not the man whom you would wish to see in any affliction which you had brought on yourself by your own infirmity ; for he would not spare you. He insisted on it, that repentance must go before consolation. " As for that sentimental religion, so prevalent in the present day, which consists in the fumes of the imagination rather than in the solid exercises of the heart ; which regulates its hopes and fears by every elevation and depression of the spirits 5 the blind impulse ; the affected sigh 5 the fair pro- fession, and ostentatious humility, he held them all in utter abhorrence. He could not tolerate, for a moment, the religion, which separates the feelings of the heart from the conduct and the life. He demanded of all professed christians a piety, which proved its power by crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts. He seemed to be a man pe- culiarly calculated to brush away, with a bold hand, all the froth and foam, which too often rest on the waters of the Sanctuary 5 and to show to the church of God, pure religion, defecated from BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE* XVil every sediment, in all its transparency and simpli- city and truth. " Yet he did not pass to the other extreme. In burning with the fire of his eloquence, the wood, the hay and the stubble of imperfect doctrine, he spared, with the wisest discrimination, the gold and the silver and the precious stones, with which it must be combined, Deeply impressed with the truth of man's depravity, and conscious that the doctrines of the cross were the only cure, he preached them without partiality and without fear. He felt that the sinner was undone, because he found in the Bible that the Saviour was divine. " Respecting his abilities — a subject of minor importance in this connexion — every discriminat- ing judge must come to the same conclusion. His executive powers in the pulpit were of the first order. You all remember that melodious voice that fastened the ear to his theme ; that beautiful language, those shining illustrations, that energy and earnestness, with which he cap- tivated the attention, and bore down on the heart. He was an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures. Without being a finished schol- ar, his mind was enriched with knowledge ; with- out being a metaphysician, he was a powerful, practical reasoner. Though his style was occa- sionally obscure, (the first objection which was always made to it by the critick) he never, per- haps, preached a sermon which did not make, on an attentive hearer, the intended impression. His ser- Xviii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. mom were so full, that after all the obscure parts were lost, enough remained to satisfy and improve the mind. " The faults of his character were such as are commonly associated with the great qualities of which I have been speaking. He had great cour- age and decision ; and something of that indiscre- tion to which these virtues naturally lead. Sin- gling out his ultimate purpose, and conscious of the rectitude of his intentions, he did not always con- sider the inferior obstacles that stood in his way. An enemy might say he was sometimes rash 5 but his intimate friends knew, that his seeming rash- ness was ardour in the cause of religion and truth. His mind commonly rushed to its purposes ; but those purposes were generally such as a good man would not be ashamed to own. If his superficial faults sometimes procured for him furious enemies 5 his real excellence always sealed to him the at- tachment of the warmest friends. He was not a man to make a neutral impression. "His closing scene illustrated the power of faith, and the consolations of those truths, which it had been his business to preach. It fell to my lot to announce to him the probability of his speedy dis- solution, and the importance of saying to his friends and family whatever he might wish to say, before reason was lost. The tidings were receiv- ed with calmness and submission 5 and soon after he said to a friend — I have not had during my sick- ness the power of regulating my thoughts as I BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. xix eould wish : it has been a confused and broken time but I see in the gospel a broad foundation ,• I trust in my Saviour alone ; the purposes of God are right, and I have no wish to alter them. On another occasion he said : — When a man is brought into my state — into sickness and a near prospect of eternity, he needs faith, decided faith § the mind must not be left wavering, doubtful, uncertain ; it must not only see that the gospel is true, but it must repose with living confidence on the promises of the Redeemer. Under these impressions his spirit took its flight to its Father and God. " Farewell, my Brother, I will not say a long- farewell — Thy last solemn message still vibrates on my ears.* Very pleasant has thy life been to me; we took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in company. Speak to me by thy death ; admonish me from thy tomb, and urge my conscience to work while the day lasts. And nowr, eternal Saviour, receive him to thyself— with all his virtues and all his faults ; those virtues, we trust, were the fruit of thy Spirit ; and those faults, we humbly hope, are now washed away in thine atoning blood ! " To the bereaved widow, and the mourning fa- mily, we have no other consolations to offer than those suggested by our subject. May they have *This alludes to a message which the speaker received from the deceas- ed a few days before his departure. It was this : — Enjoy what you can, do all the good you can, while life lasts ; for the days must come, as 1 have found from experience, when you shall say I have no pleasure in them. His sickness was languishing and painful: XX BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. faith in God 5 and let the children remember their father's counsel now that he can speak to them no more. To the church the loss is great. The faithful pastor — the counsellor — the upright man is gone ! and can warn and lead them no more. But fear not, mourning flock — the Great Shepherd reigns ; and has promised never to leave nor for- sake his people. But I must speak to one class more — the sinner, who has no faith in Christ. Your reprover is dead — he never can speak to you again. But you must meet him at the bar of God. He will rise up to bear his testimony to the faith- ful manner, in which he warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Has he spoken in vain ? Are you yet in your sins ? Dare you be a rebel before that coffin ? O ! remember the warnings of the lips that are now silent ; and prepare to meet him when the last trumpet shall wake the dead !" SERMON I. A COMPENDIUM OF THE GOSPEL. Mark, xvi. 15. Preach the Gospel to every creature. It is now about eighteen hundred and twenty years since there appeared in the Eastern World, a person of sin- gular dignity, and of uncommon wisdom and disinterested- ness, calling himself the Son of God. His avowed object was, to enlighten and redeem the moral world. This person was, from the beginning, attended with such uncommon signs, and endowed with such extraordinary gifts, as could not fail to draw upon him the attention of all the people. Yet such was his modest}', and indifference to personal ag- grandizement, that nothing seemed farther from his heart than a desire "to be seen of men." He exhibited nothing of a spirit of emulation, nor affected the parade and glory of human greatness. All the supernatural works which he performed, and all which were wrought by the Father in his behalf, were merely attestations to his superior excellence, or vouchers to the truth of his pretensions. As he assumed the character of the Messiah, he appealed to the Prophets, who had testified of him, whose writings were in the hands of the people, and whose descriptions might be easily com- 1 2 SERMON L pared with the life he exhibited. The manner of his com- ing, the prodigies which should attend and follow him, the works he should perform, and the death he should die, were all foretold. He, and no other, answered the inspired de- scription of the Messiah. He taught with authority hitherto unknown. He commanded with unheard-of effect. The powers of the natural and moral world alike obeyed him. For this, though unknown by all, and envied and hated by the Prince and the Priest, he was able to engage the affec- tions and procure the company of a chosen few. These he called Disciples, and trained them up in the knowledge and love of his kingdom. They had left all to attend and follow him, and were soon to be invested, by him, with pow- ers similar, but subordinate, to his own, and to be made the vehicles of his communications to all the world. The writings of his Disciples, dictated under an influence precluding the possibility of mistake, give an account of his character and business ; — his whole design concerning our guilty and miserable world : and these constitute what he calls the Gospel, or the good tidings from heaven to men. The system of religion here taught, is eminently the good news, inasmuch as the holiness and hope of every rational inhabitant of the globe, have their only basis in the truths of this revelation, and man's way to Divine knowledge no other sufficient and effectual guide. When about to separate himself from his little family, in order to secure the end of his life, he gave them the charge in the text. Addressing them officially, and therefore their successors in office, he solemnly and authoritatively required them to communicate these tidings to all nations, and pledged himself to continue the Christian Ministry to the end of the world. To shew you, that what is here called the Gospel, or good news, is pre-eminently entitled to this appellation, and therefore worthy of universal acceptance, is the object of SERMON I. this discourse. This will be accomplished by a compendi- ous account of what the Gospel is : — and to render the sub- ject as simple as possible, and easy to be remembered, I shall consider the whole testimony of Christ and his Apostles as being comprised in a Doctrine — a Command— an Invi- tation— -a Promise — and a Threat. I. The Doctrine of the Gospel, — which is, — that "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." This is, em- phatically, the peculiar Doctrine of the books of the New Testament. For though there are many other doctrinal truths contained in them, yet this, thoroughly understood, will be found to include them all. — This is the grand truth announced by the angel at the Nativity. " Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people : for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." — This is the Messiah, "whose goings forth have been from everlasting," and of whose na- ture and office and object, testimony is borne in Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. 1. In this Doctrine then, is implied, first, the ruined state of man. The Wisdom and Goodness of a God could never be employed in providing a Saviour for the innocent ; — nor for the guilty, if able to succor and recover themselves. That is, for men, who have either deserved well, or who, though z7Z-deserving, are in a capacity for restoration to righteousness and peace. To put them in a capacity for salvation — to expiate their guilt — to recover them to holi- ness, and, in this way, to honor and happiness — was the grand object of Christ's embassy to earth. This is his own account of it. " The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." His name denotes his object — "his name shall be called Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins." Thus to be saved, is to be deliv- ered alike from the miseries of a polluted nature, and a guilty and condemned state. — From all the evils indeed, 4 SERMON I. which, since the expulsion of man from Paradise, have pour- ed in one unbroken torrent on the world, and deluged moun- tain and valley, island and continent alike, with iniquity and woe. 2. In the second place, this Doctrine implies an ampli- tude and sufficiency, in Jesus Christ, to save unto the .utter- most all that cordially receive him — a power^ adequate to the subjugation of every enemy of man's peace and virtue — an adaptedness of official virtue, to supply every moral want, and relieve every spiritual infirmity — and wisdom as extensive as his power, to remove all the obstacles to recon- ciliation between God and man. Obstacles, on the part of God, presented by the sanction of his law, requiring the death of its every transgressor — a sanction, which the honor of his government, and the immutability of his perfections, required him to maintain. Obstacles, on the part of man, found in the impotence of his understanding to find a way of escape, and the inveterate opposition of his will to returning to God in any way. To remove the obstacle, on the part of God, it was necessary to vindicate the perfections of God, in his denunciations against the transgressor. To remove the obstacles on the part of man, it was equally necessary to secure an influence upon his heart which should transform it into the love and likeness of the Divine law. To vindicate the Divine perfections, and establish the law, the proper wages of sin must be paid, and the curse inflicted. The Messiah must bear in his own person the iniquities of us all, and thus furnish an expression of God's displeasure against sin, while he pardons the sinner ; and an affecting and pow- erful motive to all who return to their allegiance, never more by transgression to move his displeasure, or to incur the penalty of his broken law. It was necessary that a Mediator should have power to enlighten human ignorance, in respect of the character and counsels of the kingdom ; and grace to stoop to our infirm- SERMON L 6 ities, that he might illustrate and magnify, in all eyes, the principles of the Divine Government, expose the evil of sin, and exemplify, in man's nature, the excellence of the precep- tive will of God. To all these purposes, the Messiah was found equal, and in the office of a Teacher and Sacrifice, a Potentate and Sanctifier, became the author of salvation to all them who obey him. " Great is this mystery of Godli- ness." " God was manifest in the flesh," according to the testimony of the evangelist John, and as such, was "preach- ed unto the Gentiles" by the Apostles, and " believed on, in" every age of " the world." He is the source of life — " the bread of God." In him the hope of the sinner commences its purifying and animating course, and to him all the ends of the earth look for salvation. Had God exacted of man even one stone, in the foundation of his spiritual house, the temple to this day had been a ruin. But salvation is of the Lord. He is the great corner-stone of the edifice, whose whole foundation was laid, whose superstructure has been reared, and whose top-stone is to be brought forth, in accla- mations of rich and infinite grace. JI. But secondly, the Gospel has a Command : and as all its Doctrines are involved in the one truth we have examin- ed, so all its precepts are comprehended in this one com- mandment of God — " that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Faith, working by love, is the evangelical Law, by obedience to which, all flesh may be saved. This is " good tidings" to a world under a Law, requiring the death of its every transgressor. Good news indeed — that God can " be just, and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." — Since, " what the Law could not do in that it was weak, through the flesh," the Gospel has achieved. < For now there is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus ; the law of the spirit of life having freed them from the law of sin and death.' Freed already from guilt, they are destined to perfect freedom from corruption, and shall 6 SERMON I. ultimately inherit every good comprised in the promise of mercy unto salvation. III. The Gospel, in the third place, contains an Invita- tion. "Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely." This invitation is universal. No nation, nor men of any rank or condition, are forbidden the privi- lege. " To every creature" the commission to preach the Gospel, extends. " In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink." " And the Spirit and the Bride say come, and Jet all who are interested say come, and whosoever will, let him come, and take the water of life freely." O wretched heathens ! who have wasted all your intellectual, physical and moral powers, upon " cisterns which can hold no water," what cheering tidings shall these be to you ! What to your nation, miserable Jew ! Tired of your disap- pointments from lying prophets and seers, of a Saviour to come — what joyful tidings will they shortly be to you ? And you, miserable worldling, of christian name ! — when in the light of the spirit of truth, you shall behold your needs and your interest in the invitation — what overwhelm- ing gladness will these tidings be to you! And what, at last, to all who welcome cordially and duly prize this Gospel, will be the delights of that banquet which has been spread by redeeming love ! IV. For the answer, take the fourth part. The Promise of the Gospel. "An entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — I will give you rest." How sweet to the weary traveller, the man of active business, the sick man's aching frame, the galley slave, and the victim of op- pression, is the period of deliverance. Yet how soon is every man's resting season over ! But the christian's rest is an eternal day. 'Tis not cessation from toil and trial merely — but from the galling servitude and disgraceful SERMON I. •7 drudgery of sin. 'Tis the termination of darkness and ap- prehension and doubt, and sorrow and temptation and con- flict. 'Tis the jubilee of nations. — The rest of Jehovah's kingdom, from the war which has kept it in commotion, from the day of the apostacy in heaven. 'Tis the day of final separation, between the friends of God, and the princi- palities and powers and thrones and dominions, which have assailed his people and opposed Messiah's reign. 'Tis a rest, comprehensive of all the enjoyment of a prospective eternity of increasing knowledge, holiness and joy. 'Tis a " being filled with the fulness of God." In contrast with man's vassalage, and an imprisoned state of the spirit, it is liberty. — In opposition to the tendency of our present exist- ence, it is immortality. — Compared with the deformity and imperfection of the Church on earth, it is purity and glory. " All things," says this evangelical promise, " are yours.'" — ' Life, death, the world, the goods of the rich, the gifts of the wise, things present and tilings to come.' To all who re- ceive the Doctrine, obey the Command, accept the Invita- tion, the Promise is made sure. It leads them with ac- ceptance, while here, to a Throne of Grace, and hereafter, to a crown of unfading glory. This — sinful heart ! this, is to be saved. And that the heirs of the promise " who have fled for refuge and laid hold on the hope set before them in the Gospel, might have strong consolation, God has con- firmed that promise by oath :" so that by two immutable securities they have, made over to them, all that God can grant, compatible with the retention of his supremacy, and all that man can desire, while possessing only a limited capacity. If this bethe Gospel, well do we, Christian Brethren, glory only in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ — and though we have not seen him, though it doth not yet appear what we shall be when awaked in his likeness, yet believing in him. we may well rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory ! S SERMON I. V. But in the last place, the Gospel contains a Threat, and this completes the evidence, as well as the description of its evangelical excellence. The Threat is terrible ; and to an eye of flesh does not readily suggest the consistency or connection between the several parts of these good tidings : and perhaps this appendage may excite a doubt whether the Gospel be quite deserving of the appellation by which it commends itself to men. But what is the Threat ? Be not alarmed — contrite spirit I it was never designed to distress the broken heart. Be not high minded — unbeliever ! it will be executed with palpable justice on thee, except thou art willing to be saved. He who denies the Doctrine, diso- beys the Command, refuses the Invitation, disregards the Promise, and is unmoved by the Threat, he, and he surely " shall be damned" — that is, according to inspired explana- tion, " shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." This you will observe is not the language of the Law only, but of the Gospel. Not of unmixed justice merely, but of Justice looking on the world with the eyes of Grace, Of Grace, in the first place to all who hear the Gospel. Of Grace, in the second place, to all who shall be ultimately benefited by the Gospel ; and therefore of Grace, thirdly, to the Universe as a whole. Strange as it may appear, this very menace is, by the Apos- tle, stated to be an act of Grace to all who hear the Gospel. 