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16 - The Means of Grace - Sermons on Several Occasions · Philosophy and Faith

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Speaker 1: The means of grace. He are gone away from mine
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Speaker 1: ordinances and have not kept them Melachi three, verse seven.
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Speaker 1: But are there any ordinances now? Since life and immortality
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Speaker 1: were brought to light by the Gospel, are there, under
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Speaker 1: the Christian dispensation, any means ordained of God as the
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Speaker 1: usual channels of his grace. This question could never have
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Speaker 1: been proposed in the apostolical church, unless by one who
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Speaker 1: openly avowed himself to be a heathen. The whole body
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Speaker 1: of Christians being agreed that Christ had ordained certain outward
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Speaker 1: means for conveying his grace into the souls of men,
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Speaker 1: their constant practice set this beyond all dispute. For so
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Speaker 1: long as all that believed were together and had all
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Speaker 1: things common Acts two, verse forty four. They continued steadfastly
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Speaker 1: in the teaching of the apostles, and in the breaking
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Speaker 1: of bread, and in prayers Acts two verse forty two.
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Speaker 1: But in process of time, when the love of many
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Speaker 1: waxed cold, some began to mistake the means for the end,
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Speaker 1: and to place religion rather in doing those outward works
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Speaker 1: than in a heart renewed after the image of God.
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Speaker 1: They forgot that the end of every commandment is love
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Speaker 1: out of a pure heart, with faith unfeigned, the loving
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Speaker 1: the Lord, their God with all their heart and their
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Speaker 1: neighbor as themselves, and the being purified from pride, anger,
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Speaker 1: and evil desire by a faith of the operation of God.
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Speaker 1: Others seemed to imagine that though religion did not principally
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Speaker 1: consist in these outward means, yet there was something in
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Speaker 1: them wherewith God was well pleased, something that would still
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Speaker 1: make them acceptable in his sight. Though they were not
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Speaker 1: exact in the weightier matters of the law, in justice, mercy,
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Speaker 1: and the love of God, it is evident in those
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Speaker 1: who abuse them. Thus they did not conduce to the
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Speaker 1: end for which they were ordained. Rather, the things which
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Speaker 1: should have been for their health were to them an
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Speaker 1: occasion of falling. They were so far from receiving any
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Speaker 1: blessing therein that they only drew down a curse upon
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Speaker 1: their head, so far from growing more heavenly in heart
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Speaker 1: and life, that they were twofold more the children of heaven.
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Speaker 1: Before others, clearly perceiving that these means did not convey
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Speaker 1: the grace of God to those children of the devil,
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Speaker 1: began from this particular case to draw a general conclusion
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Speaker 1: that they were not means of conveying the grace of God.
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Speaker 1: Yet the number of those who abused the ordinances of
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Speaker 1: God was far greater than those who despised them. Till
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Speaker 1: certain men arose not only of great understanding, sometimes joined
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Speaker 1: with considerable learning, but who likewise appeared to be men
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Speaker 1: of love, experimentally acquainted with true inward religion. Some of
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Speaker 1: these were burning and shining lights, persons famous in their generations,
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Speaker 1: and such as had well deserved of the Church of
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Speaker 1: Christ for standing in the gap against the overflowings of ungodliness.
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Speaker 1: It cannot be supposed that these holy and venerable men
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Speaker 1: intended anymore at first than to show that outward religion
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Speaker 1: is nothing worth without the religion of the heart. That
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Speaker 1: God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must
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Speaker 1: worship him in spirit and in truth. That therefore external
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Speaker 1: worship is lost labor without a heart devoted to God.
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Speaker 1: That the outward ordinances of God then profit much when
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Speaker 1: they advance inward holiness. But when they advance it not
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Speaker 1: are unprofitable and void, are lighter than vanity. Yea that
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Speaker 1: when they are used, as it were, in the place
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Speaker 1: of this, they are an utter abomination to the Lord.
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Speaker 1: Yet is it not strange if some of these, being
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Speaker 1: strongly convinced of that horrid profanation of the ordinances of
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Speaker 1: God which had spread itself over the whole Church and
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Speaker 1: well nigh driven true religion out of the world, in
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Speaker 1: their fervent zeal for the glory of God and the
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Speaker 1: recovery of souls from that fatal delusion, spake as if
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Speaker 1: outward religion were absolutely nothing, as if it had no
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Speaker 1: place in the religion of Christ. It is not surprising
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Speaker 1: at all if they should not always have expressed themselves
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Speaker 1: with sufficient caution, so that unweary hearers might believe they
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Speaker 1: condemned all outward means as altogether unprofitable, and as not
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Speaker 1: designed of God to be the ordinary channels of conveying
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Speaker 1: His grace into the souls of men. Nay, it is
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Speaker 1: not impossible some of these holy men did at length
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Speaker 1: themselves fall into this opinion. In particular those who, not
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Speaker 1: by choice, but by providence of God, were cut off
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Speaker 1: from all these ordinances, perhaps wandering up and down, having
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Speaker 1: no certain abiding place, or dwelling in dens and caves
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Speaker 1: of the earth. These experiencing the grace of God in themselves,
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Speaker 1: though they were deprived of all outward means, might infer
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Speaker 1: that the same grace would be given to them who
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Speaker 1: of set purpose abstained from them. And experience shows how
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Speaker 1: easily this notion spreads and insinuates itself into the minds
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Speaker 1: of men, especially of those who are thoroughly awakened out
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Speaker 1: of the sleep of death and begin to feel the
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Speaker 1: weight of their sins, a burden too heavy to be borne.
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Speaker 1: These are usually impatient of their present state, and trying
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Speaker 1: every way to escape from it. They are always ready
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Speaker 1: to catch at any new thing, any new proposal of
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Speaker 1: ease or happiness. They have probably tried most outward means
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Speaker 1: and found no ease in them. It may be more
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Speaker 1: and more of remorse and fear, and sorrow and condemnation.
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Speaker 1: It is easy, therefore, to persuade these that it is
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Speaker 1: better for them to abstain from all those beings. They
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Speaker 1: are already weary of striving, as it seems, in vain
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Speaker 1: of laboring in the fire, and are therefore glad of
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Speaker 1: any pretense to cast aside that within their soul has
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Speaker 1: no pleasure to give over the painful strife and sink
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Speaker 1: down into an indolent in activity. In the following discourse,
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Speaker 1: I propose to examine at large whether there are any
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Speaker 1: means of grace. By means of grace, I understand outward signs, words,
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Speaker 1: or actions ordained of God and appointed for this end,
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Speaker 1: to be the ordinary channels whereby He might convey to
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Speaker 1: men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace. I use this expression
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Speaker 1: means of grace because I know none better, and because
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Speaker 1: it has been generally used in the Christian Church for
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Speaker 1: many ages, in particular by our own Church, which directs
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Speaker 1: us to bless God both for the means of grace
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Speaker 1: and hope of glory, and teaches us that a sacrament
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Speaker 1: is an outward sign of inward grace and a means
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Speaker 1: whereby we receive the same. The chief of these means
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Speaker 1: are prayer, whether in secret or with the Great congregation,
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Speaker 1: searching the scriptures, which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon,
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Speaker 1: and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread, and drinking wine
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Speaker 1: in remembrance of Him. And these we believe to be
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Speaker 1: ordained of God as the ordinary channels of conveying His
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Speaker 1: grace to the souls of men. But we allow that
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Speaker 1: the whole value of the means depends on their actual
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Speaker 1: subservience to the end of religion. That consequently, all these means,
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Speaker 1: when separate from the end, are less than nothing and vanity.
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Speaker 1: That if they do not actually conduce to the knowledge
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Speaker 1: and love of God, they are not acceptable in his sight. Yea. Rather,
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Speaker 1: they are an abomination before him, a stink in his nostrils.
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Speaker 1: He is weary to bear them. Above all, if they
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Speaker 1: are used as a kind of commutation for the religion
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Speaker 1: they were designed to subserve. It is not easy to
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Speaker 1: find words for the enormous folly and wickedness of thus
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Speaker 1: turning God's arms against himself, of keeping Christianity out of
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Speaker 1: the heart of those very means which were ordain for
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Speaker 1: the bringing it in. We allow likewise that all outward means, whatever,
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Speaker 1: if separate from the Spirit of God, cannot profit at all,
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Speaker 1: cannot conduce in any degree either to the knowledge or
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Speaker 1: love of God without controversy. The help that is done
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Speaker 1: upon earth, he doeth it himself. It is he alone, who,
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Speaker 1: by his own almighty power worketh in us what is
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Speaker 1: pleasing in his sight. And all outward things, unless he
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Speaker 1: work in them and by them are mere, weak and
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Speaker 1: beggarly elements. Whosoever therefore imagines there is any intrinsic power
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Speaker 1: in any means, whatsoever does greatly err not knowing the
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Speaker 1: scriptures neither the power of God. We know that there
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Speaker 1: is no inherent power in the words that are spoken
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Speaker 1: in prayer, in the letter of the Scripture, read, the
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Speaker 1: sound thereof heard, or the read and wine received in
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Speaker 1: the Lord's supper. But that it is God alone, who
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Speaker 1: is the giver of every good gift, the author of
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Speaker 1: all grace, that the whole power is of Him. Whereby
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Speaker 1: through any of these there is any blessing conveyed to
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Speaker 1: our soul. We know likewise that He is able to
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Speaker 1: give the same grace, though there were no means of
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Speaker 1: the face of the earth. In this sense we may
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Speaker 1: affirm that with regard to God, there is no such
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Speaker 1: thing as means, seeing he is equally able to work
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Speaker 1: whatsoever pleaseth Him by any or by none at all.
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Speaker 1: We allow farther that the use of all means whatever
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Speaker 1: will never atone for one sin. That it is the
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Speaker 1: blood of Christ alone, whereby any sinner can be reconciled
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Speaker 1: to God, there being no other propitiation for our sins,
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Speaker 1: no other fountain for sin and uncleanness. Every believer in
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Speaker 1: Christ is deeply convinced that there is no merit but
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Speaker 1: in Him. That there is no merit in any of
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Speaker 1: his own works, not in uttering the prayer, or searching
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Speaker 1: the scripture, or hearing the word of God, or eating
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Speaker 1: that bread and drinking of that cup. So that if
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Speaker 1: no more be intended by the expressions some have used,
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Speaker 1: Christ is the only means of grace than this, that
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Speaker 1: He is the only meritus. Cause of it, it cannot
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Speaker 1: be gainsaved by any who know the grace of God.
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Speaker 1: Yet once more we allow, though it is a melancholy
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Speaker 1: truth that a large proportion of those who are cold
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Speaker 1: Christians due to this day, abuse the means of grace
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Speaker 1: to the destruction of their souls. This is doubtless the
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Speaker 1: case with all those who rest content in the form
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Speaker 1: of Godliness without the power. Either they fondly presume they
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Speaker 1: are Christians already because they do thus, and thus, although
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Speaker 1: Christ was never yet revealed in their hearts, nor the
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Speaker 1: love of God shed abroad therein, or else, they suppose
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Speaker 1: they shall infallibly be so merely because they use these
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Speaker 1: means ily dreaming, though perhaps hardly conscious thereof, either that
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Speaker 1: there is some kind of power there is in whereby sooner
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Speaker 1: or later they know not when they shall certainly be
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Speaker 1: made holy, or that there is a sort of merit
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Speaker 1: in using them which will surely move God to give
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Speaker 1: them holiness or accept them without it. So little do
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Speaker 1: they understand that great foundation of the whole Christian building.
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Speaker 1: By grace are ye saved? Ye are saved from your sins,
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Speaker 1: from the guilt and power thereof Ye are restored to
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Speaker 1: the favor and image of God, not for any works, merits,
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Speaker 1: or deservings of yours, but by the free grace, the
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Speaker 1: mere mercy of God, through the merits of His well
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Speaker 1: beloved son. He are thus saved, not by any power, wisdom,
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Speaker 1: or strength which is in you or in any other creature,
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Speaker 1: but merely through the grace or power of the Holy Ghost,
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Speaker 1: which worketh all in all. But the main question remains,
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Speaker 1: we know this salvation is the gift and the work
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Speaker 1: of God. But how may one say, who has convinced
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Speaker 1: he hath it? Not? May I attain their ties? If
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Speaker 1: you say believe and thou shalt be saved, he answers, true,
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Speaker 1: But how shall I believe? You reply? Wait upon God? Well?
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Speaker 1: But how am I to wait in the means of grace?
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Speaker 1: Or out of them? Am I to wait for the
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Speaker 1: grace of God which bringeth salvation by using these means
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Speaker 1: or by laying them aside? It cannot possibly be conceived
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Speaker 1: that the word of God should give no direction in
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Speaker 1: so important a point, or that the Son of God,
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Speaker 1: who came down from Heaven for us men and for
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Speaker 1: our salvation, should have left us undetermined with regard to
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Speaker 1: a question wherein our salvation is so nearly concerned. And
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Speaker 1: in fact he hath not left us undetermined. He has
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Speaker 1: shown us the way wherein we should go. We have
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Speaker 1: only to consult the oracles of God to inquire what
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Speaker 1: is written there. And if we simply abide by their decision,
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Speaker 1: there can no possible doubt remain. According to this, According
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Speaker 1: to the decision of Holy Red, all who desire the
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Speaker 1: grace of God God or to wait for it in
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Speaker 1: the means which He hath ordained in using, not in
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Speaker 1: laying them aside. And first, all who desire the grace
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Speaker 1: of God are to wait for it in the way
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Speaker 1: of prayer. This is the express direction of our Lord
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Speaker 1: himself in his Sermon upon the Mound. After explaining at
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Speaker 1: large wherein religion consists, and describing the main branches of it,
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Speaker 1: he adds, ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek,
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Speaker 1: and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be open
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Speaker 1: unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that
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Speaker 1: seeketh findeth, And to him that knocketh it shall be
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Speaker 1: opened Matthew seven, Verses seven and eight. Here we are,
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Speaker 1: in the plainest manner, directed to ask in order to
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Speaker 1: or as a means of receiving, to seek in order
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Speaker 1: to find the grace of God, the pearl of great price,
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Speaker 1: and to knock, to continue asking and seeking, if we
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Speaker 1: would enter into His kingdom, that no doubt might remain.
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Speaker 1: Our Lord labors this point in a more peculiar manner.
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Speaker 1: He appeals to every man's own heart. What man is
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Speaker 1: there of you, who, if his son asks bread, will
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Speaker 1: give him a stone, Or if he ask a fish,
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Speaker 1: will he give him a serpent? If he, then, being evil,
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Speaker 1: know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
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Speaker 1: much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, the
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Speaker 1: father of angels and men, the father of the spirits
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Speaker 1: of all flesh, give good things to them that ask
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Speaker 1: him Matthew seven, Verses nine through eleven, Or as he
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Speaker 1: expresses himself on another occasion, including all good things in
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Speaker 1: one How much more shall your heavenly Father give the
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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Luke eleven, verse thirteen.
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Speaker 1: It should be particularly observed here that the persons directed
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Speaker 1: to ask had not then received the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless,
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Speaker 1: our Lord directs them to use this means, and promises
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Speaker 1: that it should be effectual, that upon asking, they should
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Speaker 1: receive the Holy Spirit from him whose mercy is over
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Speaker 1: all his works. The absolute necessity of using this means
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Speaker 1: if we would receive any gift from God. Yet farther
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Speaker 1: appears from that remarkable passage which immediately precedes these words.
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Speaker 1: And he said unto him whom he had just been
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Speaker 1: teaching how to pray, which of you shall have a friend,
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Speaker 1: and shall go unto him at midnight, and shall say
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Speaker 1: unto him friend, lend me three lows, and he from
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Speaker 1: within shall answer, trouble me, not I cannot rise and
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Speaker 1: give thee I say unto you, Though he will not
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Speaker 1: rise and give him because he is his friend. Yet
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Speaker 1: because of his importunity, he will rise and give him
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Speaker 1: as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, ask,
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Speaker 1: and it shall be given to you. Luke eleven, verses five,
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Speaker 1: seven through nine. Though he will not give him because
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Speaker 1: he is his friend, Yet because of his importunity, he
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Speaker 1: will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
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Speaker 1: How could our blessed Lord more plainly declare that we
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Speaker 1: may receive of God by this means, by importunately asking
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Speaker 1: what otherwise we should not receive at all? He spake
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Speaker 1: also another parable to this end, that men ought always
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Speaker 1: to pray and not to faint, till through these means
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Speaker 1: they should receive of God, whatsoever petition they asked of him.
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Speaker 1: There was in a city a judge which feared not
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Speaker 1: God neither regarded man. And there was a widow in
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Speaker 1: that city. And she came unto him, saying, avenge me
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Speaker 1: of my adversary. And he would not for a while.
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Speaker 1: But afterward he said, within himself, though I fear not
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Speaker 1: God nor regard man. Yet, because this widow troubleth me,
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Speaker 1: I will avenge here, lest by her continual coming she
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Speaker 1: weary me Luke eighteen, verses one through five. The application
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Speaker 1: of this our Lord himself hath made hear what the
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Speaker 1: un just judge sith, because she continues to ask, because
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Speaker 1: she will take no denial. Therefore I will avenge her,
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Speaker 1: and shall not God avenge his own elect which cry
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Speaker 1: day and night unto him. I tell you he will
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Speaker 1: avenge them speedily if they pray and faint not a
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Speaker 1: direction equally full and express to wait for the blessings
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Speaker 1: of God in private prayer, together with a positive promise
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Speaker 1: that by this means we shall obtain the request of
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Speaker 1: our lips. He hath given us in those well known words.
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Speaker 1: Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
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Speaker 1: pray to thy Father, which is in secret, And thy Father,
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Speaker 1: which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Matthew six,
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Speaker 1: verse six. If it be possible for any direction to
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Speaker 1: be more clear, it is that which God hath given
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Speaker 1: us by the apostle, with regard to prayer of every kind,
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Speaker 1: public or private, and the blessing annext there too, if
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Speaker 1: any of you lack wisdom, let me let him ask
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Speaker 1: of God that giveth to all men liberally, if they ask.
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Speaker 1: Otherwise ye have not because ye ask not. James four,
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Speaker 1: verse two, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given
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Speaker 1: to him James one, verse five. If it be objected,
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Speaker 1: But this is no direction to unbelievers, to them who
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Speaker 1: know not the pardoning grace of God. For the apostle adds,
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Speaker 1: but let him ask in faith. Otherwise, let him not
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Speaker 1: think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. I answer.
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Speaker 1: The meaning of the word faith in this place is
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Speaker 1: fixed by the Apostle himself, as if it were on purpose.
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Speaker 1: To obviate this objection. In the following, let him ask
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Speaker 1: in faith, nothing wavering, nothing doubting. Maiden decree no, mannas
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Speaker 1: not doubting. But God heareth his prayer and will fulfill
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Speaker 1: the desire of his heart. The gross blasphemous absurdity of
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Speaker 1: supposing faith in them in this place to be taken
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Speaker 1: in the full Christian meaning appears. Hence, it is supposing
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Speaker 1: the Holy Ghost to direct a man who knows he
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Speaker 1: has not faith, which is here termed wisdom, to ask
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Speaker 1: it of God with a positive promise that it shall
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Speaker 1: be given him, and then immediately to subjoin that it
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Speaker 1: shall not be given him unless he have it before
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Speaker 1: he asks for it. But who can bear such a
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Speaker 1: supposition from this scripture. Therefore, as well as those sighted above,
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Speaker 1: we must infer that all who desire the grace of
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Speaker 1: God are to wait for it in the way of prayer. Secondly,
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Speaker 1: all who desire the grace of God or to wait
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Speaker 1: for it in searching the scriptures. Our Lord's direction with
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Speaker 1: regard to the use of this means is likewise plain
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Speaker 1: and clear. Search the scriptures, saith he to the unbelieving Jews,
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Speaker 1: for they testify of me John five, verse thirty nine.
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Speaker 1: And for this very end did he direct them to
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Speaker 1: search the scriptures that they might believe in him. The
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Speaker 1: objection that this is not a command, but only an
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Speaker 1: assertion that they did search the scriptures is shamelessly false.
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Speaker 1: I desire those who urge it to let us know
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Speaker 1: how a command can be more clearly expressed than in
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Speaker 1: those terms riunate tas gropphus. It is as peremptory as
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Speaker 1: so many words can make it, and what a blessing
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Speaker 1: from God attends. The use of this means appears from
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Speaker 1: what is recorded concerning the Barians, who, after hearing Saint Paul,
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Speaker 1: search the scriptures daily whether those things were so. Therefore,
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Speaker 1: many of them believed found the grace of God in
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Speaker 1: the way which he had ordained Acts seventeen, Verses eleven
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Speaker 1: and twelve. It is probable, indeed, that in some of
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Speaker 1: those who had received the Word with all readiness of
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Speaker 1: mind faith game as the same apostle speaks by hearing
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Speaker 1: and was only confirmed by reading the scriptures. But it
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Speaker 1: was observed above that un the general term of searching
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Speaker 1: the scriptures, both hearing, reading, and meditating are contained, and
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Speaker 1: that this is a means whereby God not only gives,
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Speaker 1: but also confirms and increases true wisdom. We learn from
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Speaker 1: the words of Saint Paul to Timothy from a child,
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Speaker 1: thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to
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Speaker 1: make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in
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Speaker 1: Christ Jesus. Second Timothy three, verse fifteen, the same truth, namely,
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Speaker 1: that this is the great means God has ordained for
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Speaker 1: conveying his manifold grace to man is delivered in the
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Speaker 1: fullest manner that can be conceived, and the words which
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Speaker 1: immediately follow. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Consequently,
21:44
Speaker 1: all scripture is infallibly true and is profitable for doctrine,
21:48
Speaker 1: for a proof for correction, for instruction in righteousness to
21:52
Speaker 1: the end, that the Man of God may be perfect
21:55
Speaker 1: thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Second Timothy three, Verses
22:01
Speaker 1: sixteen and seventeen. It should be observed that this is
22:05
Speaker 1: spoken primarily and directly of the scriptures which Timothy had
22:09
Speaker 1: known from a child, which must have been those of
22:12
Speaker 1: the Old Testament, for the New was not then wrote.
22:15
Speaker 1: How far then was Saint Paul, though he was not
22:18
Speaker 1: a whit behind the very chief of the Apostles, Nor
22:21
Speaker 1: therefore I presume behind any man now upon Earth, from
22:25
Speaker 1: making light of the Old Testament. Behold this, lest ye
22:28
Speaker 1: one day wonder and perish, eh, make so small account
22:33
Speaker 1: of one half of the oracles of God, yea, and
22:36
Speaker 1: that half of which the Holy Ghost expressly declares that
22:40
Speaker 1: it is profitable as a means ordained of God, for
22:44
Speaker 1: this very thing, for doctrine, for a proof, for correction,
22:47
Speaker 1: for instruction in righteousness, to the end the Man of
22:51
Speaker 1: God may be perfect thoroughly furnished onto all good works.
22:56
Speaker 1: Nor is this profitable only for the men of God,
22:58
Speaker 1: for those who walk all ready in the light of
23:00
Speaker 1: His countenance, but also for those who are yet in
23:03
Speaker 1: darkness seeking him whom they know not the Saint Peter.
23:07
Speaker 1: We have also a more sure word of prophecy, literally,
23:11
Speaker 1: and we have the prophetic word bor shore k holmann
23:16
Speaker 1: beveotaran Ton prophitikan logan, confirmed by our being eye witnesses
23:23
Speaker 1: of his majesty and hearing the voice which came from
23:26
Speaker 1: the excellent Glory, onto which prophetic word so he styles
23:30
Speaker 1: the holy scriptures. Ye do well that ye take heed
23:33
Speaker 1: as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
23:35
Speaker 1: until the day dawn and the day's star arise in
23:39
Speaker 1: your hearts. Second Peter one, verse nineteen. Let all therefore,
23:45
Speaker 1: who desire that day to dawn upon their hearts wait
23:48
Speaker 1: for it in searching the scriptures. Thirdly, all who desire
23:52
Speaker 1: and increase of the grace of God are to wait
23:55
Speaker 1: for it in partaking of the Lord's supper. For this
23:58
Speaker 1: also is a direction himself had given. The same night
24:01
Speaker 1: in which he was betrayed, he took bread and break it,
24:04
Speaker 1: and said, take eat. This is my body. That is
24:07
Speaker 1: the sacred sign of my body, this dew in remembrance
24:11
Speaker 1: of me. Likewise, he took the cup, saying this cup
24:14
Speaker 1: is the new Testament or Covenant in my blood, the
24:18
Speaker 1: sacred sign of that covenant. This do ye in remembrance
24:22
Speaker 1: of me. For as often as he eat this bread
24:24
Speaker 1: and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's
24:27
Speaker 1: death till he come first. Corinthians eleven, verse twenty three.
24:33
Speaker 1: Ye openly exhibit the same by these visible signs before
24:36
Speaker 1: God and angels and men, Ye manifest your psalmn remembrance
24:40
Speaker 1: of his death till he cometh in the clouds of heaven. Only.
24:45
Speaker 1: Let a man first examine himself whether he understand the
24:49
Speaker 1: nature and design of this holy institution, and whether he
24:53
Speaker 1: really desired to be himself made conformable to the death
24:56
Speaker 1: of Christ, and so nothing doubting. Let him eat of
25:01
Speaker 1: that bread and drink of that cup first. Corinthians eleven,
25:06
Speaker 1: verse twenty eight. Here, then, the direction first given by
25:10
Speaker 1: our Lord is expressly repeated by the apostle. Let him eat,
25:14
Speaker 1: let him drink is the ato pi nieto, both in
25:19
Speaker 1: the imperative mood, words not implying a bear permission only,
25:23
Speaker 1: but a clear explicit command, a command to all those
25:26
Speaker 1: either who already are filled with peace, enjoy in believing,
25:30
Speaker 1: or who can truly say the remembrance of our sins
25:33
Speaker 1: is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable.
25:37
Speaker 1: And that this is also an ordinary stated means of
25:40
Speaker 1: receiving grace of God is evident from those words of
25:43
Speaker 1: the Apostle which occur in the preceding chapter. The cup
25:47
Speaker 1: of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion
25:50
Speaker 1: or communication of the blood of Christ. The bread which
25:54
Speaker 1: we break, is it not the communion of the body
25:57
Speaker 1: of Christ. First Corinthians ten, verse sixteen. Is not the
26:02
Speaker 1: eating of that bread and the drinking of that cup
26:05
Speaker 1: the outward visible means whereby God conveys into our souls
26:09
Speaker 1: all that spiritual grace, that righteousness, and peace and joy
26:12
Speaker 1: in the holy ghosts, which were purchased by the body
26:15
Speaker 1: of Christ once broken, and the blood of Christ once
26:18
Speaker 1: shed for us. That all therefore who truly desire the
26:22
Speaker 1: grace of God eat of that bread and drink of
26:24
Speaker 1: that cup. But as plainly as God hath pointed out
26:28
Speaker 1: the way wherein he will be inquired after, innumerable are
26:31
Speaker 1: the objections which men, wise in their own eyes, have
26:35
Speaker 1: from time to time raised against it. It may be
26:37
Speaker 1: needful to consider a few of these, not because they
26:40
Speaker 1: are of weight in themselves, but because they have so
26:43
Speaker 1: often been used, especially of late years, to turn the
26:46
Speaker 1: lame out of the way Yea, to trouble and subvert
26:50
Speaker 1: those who did not run well till Satan appeared as
26:52
Speaker 1: an angel of light. The first and chief of these
26:56
Speaker 1: is you cannot use these means as you call them
26:59
Speaker 1: with out trusting in them. I pray, where is this written?
27:03
Speaker 1: I expect you should show me plain scripture for your assertion,
27:07
Speaker 1: otherwise I dare not receive it, because I am not
27:10
Speaker 1: convinced that you are wiser than God. If it really
27:14
Speaker 1: had been as you assert, it is certain Christ must
27:17
Speaker 1: have known it, and if he had known it, he
27:19
Speaker 1: would surely have warned us. He would have revealed it
27:22
Speaker 1: long ago. Therefore, because he has not, because there is
27:26
Speaker 1: no tittle of this in the whole revelation of Jesus Christ,
27:30
Speaker 1: I am as fully assured your assertion is false, as
27:33
Speaker 1: that this revelation is of God. However, leave them, offer
27:38
Speaker 1: a short time to see whether you trust it in
27:40
Speaker 1: them or no. So I am to disobey God in
27:43
Speaker 1: order to know whether I trust in obeying him. And
27:47
Speaker 1: do you avow this advice? Do you deliberately teach to
27:51
Speaker 1: do evil that good may come. Oh, tremble at the
27:55
Speaker 1: sentence of God against such teachers. Their damnation is just nay.
28:01
Speaker 1: If you are troubled when you leave them all, it
28:03
Speaker 1: is plain you trusted in them by no means. If
28:07
Speaker 1: I am troubled when I willfully disobey God, it is
28:10
Speaker 1: plain his spirit is still striving with me. But if
28:14
Speaker 1: I am not troubled at wilful sin, it is plain
28:17
Speaker 1: I am given up to a reprobate mind. But what
28:21
Speaker 1: do you mean by trusting in them looking for the
28:24
Speaker 1: blessing of God? Therein believing that if I wait in
28:27
Speaker 1: this way, I shall attain what otherwise I should not.
28:31
Speaker 1: So I do, and so I will, God, being my helper,
28:34
Speaker 1: even to my life's end, by the grace of God.
28:37
Speaker 1: I will thus trust in them till the day of
28:40
Speaker 1: my death. That is, I will believe that whatever God
28:43
Speaker 1: hath promised, he is faithful also to perform. And seeing
28:46
Speaker 1: he hath promised to bless me in this way, I
28:49
Speaker 1: trust it shall be according to His word. It has
28:52
Speaker 1: been secondly objected. This is seeking salvation by works. Do
28:57
Speaker 1: you know the meaning of the expression you use? What
29:00
Speaker 1: is seeking salvation by works. In the writing of Saint Paul,
29:04
Speaker 1: it means either seeking to be saved by observing the
29:07
Speaker 1: ritual works of the Mosaic Law, or expecting salvation for
29:11
Speaker 1: the sake of our own works, by the merit of
29:13
Speaker 1: our own righteousness. But how is either of these implied?
29:17
Speaker 1: In my waiting in the way God has ordained, and
29:19
Speaker 1: expecting that He will meet me there because He has
29:22
Speaker 1: promised so to do. I do expect that He will
29:25
Speaker 1: fulfill his word, that He will meet and bless me
29:27
Speaker 1: in this way. Yet not for the sake of any
29:30
Speaker 1: works which I have done, nor for the merit of
29:33
Speaker 1: my righteousness, but merely through the merits and sufferings and
29:37
Speaker 1: love of His Son, in whom He is always well pleased.
29:41
Speaker 1: It has been vehemently objected, Thirdly, that Christ is the
29:45
Speaker 1: only means of grace. I answer, this is mere playing
29:49
Speaker 1: upon words. Explain your term, and the objection vanishes away.
29:54
Speaker 1: When we say prayer is a means of grace, we
29:58
Speaker 1: understand a channel through WHI which the grace of God
30:01
Speaker 1: has conveyed. When you say Christ is the means of grace,
30:05
Speaker 1: you understand the sole price and purchaser of it. Or
30:09
Speaker 1: that no man cometh unto the Father but through Him,
30:13
Speaker 1: and who denies it. But this is utterly wide of
30:16
Speaker 1: the question. But does not the scripture it has been objected. Fourthly,
30:21
Speaker 1: direct us to wait for salvation? Does not David say,
30:25
Speaker 1: my soul waiteth upon God, for of him cometh my salvation.
30:29
Speaker 1: And does not Isaiah teach us the same thing, saying,
30:33
Speaker 1: O Lord, we have waited for thee. All this cannot
30:36
Speaker 1: be denied, seeing it is the gift of God. We
30:39
Speaker 1: are undoubtedly to wait on him for salvation. But how
30:43
Speaker 1: shall we wait if God himself has appointed away? Can
30:46
Speaker 1: you find a better way of waiting for him? But
30:49
Speaker 1: that he hath appointed away hath been shown at large?
30:53
Speaker 1: And also what that way is? The very words of
30:56
Speaker 1: the prophet which you cite. Put this out of the question,
31:00
Speaker 1: for the whole sentence runs thus in the way of
31:03
Speaker 1: Thy judgments or ordinances, O Lord, have we waited for
31:07
Speaker 1: thee Isaiah twenty six, first eight, And in the very
31:11
Speaker 1: same way did David wait, as his own words abundantly testify,
31:16
Speaker 1: I have waited for thy saving health, O Lord, and
31:20
Speaker 1: have kept thy law. Teach me, O Lord, the way
31:22
Speaker 1: of thy statutes and I shall to keep it unto
31:26
Speaker 1: the end, yea, say some. But God has appointed another way.
31:32
Speaker 1: Stand still and see the salvation of God. Let us
31:36
Speaker 1: examine the scriptures to which you refer. The first of them,
31:39
Speaker 1: with the context, runs thus, And when Pharaoh drew nigh,
31:43
Speaker 1: the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and they
31:46
Speaker 1: were sore afraid. And they said, unto Moses, because there
31:49
Speaker 1: were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away
31:53
Speaker 1: to die in the wilderness. And Moses said, unto the people,
31:56
Speaker 1: fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of Lord.
32:00
Speaker 1: And the Lord said, aunt to Moses, speak under the
32:03
Speaker 1: children of Israel, that they go forward, but lift thou
32:07
Speaker 1: up thy rod and stretch out thine hand over the
32:09
Speaker 1: sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall
32:13
Speaker 1: go on dry land through the midst of the sea.
32:16
Speaker 1: Exodus fourteen, verse ten. This was the salvation of God,
32:21
Speaker 1: which they stood still to see by marching forward with
32:25
Speaker 1: all their might. The other passage wherein this expression occurs, stands.
32:29
Speaker 1: Thus there came sound that told jehoshah Fat saying, there
32:35
Speaker 1: cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea,
32:39
Speaker 1: and jehoshah Fat feared and set himself to seek the
32:43
Speaker 1: Lord and proclaim to fast. Throughout all Judah and Judah
32:47
Speaker 1: gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even
32:51
Speaker 1: out of all the cities they came to seek the Lord.
32:54
Speaker 1: And jehoshah Fat stood in the congregation in the house
32:57
Speaker 1: of the Lord. Then upon Jahazel came the spirit of
33:01
Speaker 1: the Lord, and he said, be not dismayed by reason
33:04
Speaker 1: of this great multitude. Tomorrow, go ye down against them.
33:08
Speaker 1: Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set
33:10
Speaker 1: yourselves stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord.
33:15
Speaker 1: And they rose early in the morning and went forth.
33:17
Speaker 1: And when they began to sing and to praise, the
33:20
Speaker 1: Lord set ambushments against the children of moab Amon and
33:25
Speaker 1: Mount Zir, and everyone helped to destroy another second Chronicles
33:31
Speaker 1: twenty verse two. Such was the salvation which the children
33:36
Speaker 1: of Judah soul. But how does all this prove that
33:39
Speaker 1: we ought not to wait for the grace of God
33:41
Speaker 1: in the means which He hath ordained. I shall mention
33:44
Speaker 1: but one objection more, which indeed does not properly belong
33:48
Speaker 1: to this head. Nevertheless, because it has been so frequently urged,
33:53
Speaker 1: I may not wholly pass it by. Does not Saint
33:56
Speaker 1: Paul say, if ye be dead with Christ, why are
33:59
Speaker 1: ye so subject to ordinances Colossians two, verse twenty. Therefore,
34:05
Speaker 1: a Christian one that is dead with Christ need not
34:08
Speaker 1: use the ordinances anymore. So you say, if I am
34:12
Speaker 1: a Christian, I am not subject to the ordinances of Christ. Surely,
34:16
Speaker 1: by the absurdity of this you must see at the
34:19
Speaker 1: first glance that the ordinances here mentioned cannot be the
34:23
Speaker 1: ordinances of Christ. That they must needs be the Jewish ordinances,
34:27
Speaker 1: to which it is certain a Christian is no longer subject.
34:30
Speaker 1: And the same undeniably appears from the words immediately following, touch,
34:36
Speaker 1: not taste, not handle, not all, evidently referring to the
34:40
Speaker 1: ancient ordinances of the Jewish law. So that this objection
34:44
Speaker 1: is the weakest of all, and in spite of all,
34:47
Speaker 1: that great truth must stand unshaken, that all who desire
34:51
Speaker 1: the grace of God are to wait for it in
34:53
Speaker 1: the means which He hath ordained. But this being allowed,
34:57
Speaker 1: that all who desire the grace of God are to
34:59
Speaker 1: waigh for it in the means he hath ordained, it
35:02
Speaker 1: may still be inquired how those means should be used,
35:06
Speaker 1: both as to the order and the manner of using them.
35:09
Speaker 1: With regard to the former, we may observe there is
35:12
Speaker 1: a kind of order wherein God himself is generally pleased
35:16
Speaker 1: to use these means in bringing a sinner to salvation.
35:20
Speaker 1: A stupid, senseless wretch is going on in his own way,
35:24
Speaker 1: not having God in all his thoughts, when God comes
35:27
Speaker 1: upon him unawares, perhaps by an awakening sermon or conversation,
35:33
Speaker 1: perhaps by some awful providence, or it may be an
35:37
Speaker 1: immediate stroke of his convincing spirit, without any outward means
35:41
Speaker 1: at all. Having now a desire to flee from the
35:44
Speaker 1: wrath to come, he purposely goes to hear how it
35:47
Speaker 1: may be done. If he finds a preacher who speaks
35:51
Speaker 1: to his heart, he is amazed and begins searching the
35:53
Speaker 1: scriptures whether these things are so. The more he hears
35:58
Speaker 1: and reads, the more convinced he is, and the more
36:00
Speaker 1: he meditates thereon day and night. Perhaps he finds some
36:03
Speaker 1: other book which explains and enforces what he has heard
36:06
Speaker 1: and read in scripture, And by all these means the
36:10
Speaker 1: arrows of conviction sink deeper into his soul. He begins
36:15
Speaker 1: also to talk of the things of God, which are
36:17
Speaker 1: ever uppermost in his thoughts Yea, and to talk with God,
36:21
Speaker 1: to pray to him, although through fear and shame he
36:24
Speaker 1: scarce knows what to say. But whether he can speak
36:28
Speaker 1: or no, he cannot, but pray, were it only in
36:33
Speaker 1: groans which cannot be uttered. Yet being in doubt whether
36:37
Speaker 1: the high and lofty one, the inhabiteth eternity will regard
36:41
Speaker 1: such a sinner as him, he wants to pray with
36:44
Speaker 1: those who know God, with the faithful and the great congregation.
36:48
Speaker 1: But here he observes others go up to the table
36:51
Speaker 1: of the Lord. He considers Christ has said, do this,
36:57
Speaker 1: How is it that I do not? I am too
36:59
Speaker 1: great sinner, I am not fit, I am not worthy.
37:03
Speaker 1: After struggling with these scruples a while, he breaks through,
37:06
Speaker 1: and thus he continues in God's way, in hearing, reading, meditating, praying,
37:14
Speaker 1: and partaking of the Lord's supper, till God, in the
37:18
Speaker 1: manner that pleases him, speaks to his heart. Thy faith
37:22
Speaker 1: has saved thee go in peace. By observing this order
37:27
Speaker 1: of God, we may learn what means to recommend to
37:31
Speaker 1: any particular soul If any of these will reach a stupid,
37:35
Speaker 1: careless sinner, It is probably hearing or conversation to search. Therefore,
37:39
Speaker 1: we might recommend these if he has ever any thought
37:43
Speaker 1: about salvation. To one who begins to feel the weight
37:47
Speaker 1: of his sins, not only hearing the word of God,
37:50
Speaker 1: but reading it too, and perhaps other serious books may
37:53
Speaker 1: be a means of deeper conviction. May you not advise
37:57
Speaker 1: him also to meditate on what he reads, that it
38:00
Speaker 1: may have its full force upon his heart, yea, And
38:03
Speaker 1: to speak thereof and not be ashamed, particularly among those
38:07
Speaker 1: who walk on the same path, when trouble and heaviness
38:10
Speaker 1: take hold upon him, Should you not then earnestly exhort
38:13
Speaker 1: him to pour out his soul before God, always to pray,
38:16
Speaker 1: and not to faint. And when he feels the worthlessness
38:20
Speaker 1: of his own prayers, are you not to work together
38:23
Speaker 1: with God and remind him of going up into the
38:26
Speaker 1: house of the Lord and praying with all that fear him.
38:30
Speaker 1: But if he does this, the dying word of the
38:33
Speaker 1: Lord will soon be brought to his remembrance. A plain
38:36
Speaker 1: intimation that this is the time when we should second
38:40
Speaker 1: the motions of the blessed spirit. And thus may we
38:44
Speaker 1: leave him step by step through all the means which
38:47
Speaker 1: God has ordained, not according to our own will, but
38:51
Speaker 1: just as the Providence and the Spirit of God go
38:54
Speaker 1: before and open the way. Yet as we find no
38:58
Speaker 1: command in Holy Writ for any particular order to be
39:00
Speaker 1: observed herein, so neither do the Providence and the Spirit
39:05
Speaker 1: of God adhere to any without variation. But the means
39:09
Speaker 1: into which different men are led and in which they
39:12
Speaker 1: find the blessing of God are very transposed and combined
39:16
Speaker 1: together a thousand different ways. Yet still our wisdom is
39:20
Speaker 1: to follow the leadings of His providence and His Spirit,
39:24
Speaker 1: to be guided herein more especially as to the means
39:27
Speaker 1: wherein we ourselves seek the grace of God, partly by
39:30
Speaker 1: His outward providence, giving us the opportunity of using sometimes
39:35
Speaker 1: one means, sometimes another, partly by our experience, which it
39:39
Speaker 1: is whereby His free Spirit is pleased most to work
39:43
Speaker 1: in our heart. And in the meantime, the sure and
39:47
Speaker 1: general rule for all who grown for the salvation of
39:50
Speaker 1: God is this, whenever opportunity serves, use all the means
39:56
Speaker 1: which God has ordained. For who knows in which God
39:59
Speaker 1: will mean thee with the grace that bringeth salvation as
40:03
Speaker 1: to the manner of using them, whereupon, indeed, it wholly
40:06
Speaker 1: depends whether they should convey any grace at all to
40:09
Speaker 1: the user. It behooves us first always to retain a
40:14
Speaker 1: lively sense that God is above all means. Have a
40:17
Speaker 1: care therefore of limiting the Almighty. He doeth whatsoever, and
40:22
Speaker 1: whensoever it pleaseth him. He can convey his grace either
40:27
Speaker 1: in or out of any of the means which He
40:30
Speaker 1: hath appointed. Perhaps he will. Who hath known the mind
40:35
Speaker 1: of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor look
40:39
Speaker 1: then every moment for his appearing, be it at the
40:42
Speaker 1: hour you are employed in His ordinances, or before or
40:47
Speaker 1: after that hour, or when you are hindered therefrom He
40:52
Speaker 1: is not hindered. He is always ready, always able, always
40:57
Speaker 1: willing to say. It is the Lord. Let him do
41:01
Speaker 1: what seemeth him good. Secondly, before you use any means,
41:06
Speaker 1: let it be deeply impressed on your soul. There is
41:09
Speaker 1: no power in this. It is in itself a poor, dead,
41:13
Speaker 1: empty thing, separate from God. It is a dry leaf,
41:17
Speaker 1: a shadow. Neither is there any merit in my using this,
41:21
Speaker 1: Nothing intrinsically pleasing to God. Nothing whereby I deserve any
41:25
Speaker 1: favor at his hands, No, not a drop of water
41:29
Speaker 1: to cool my tongue. But because God bids, therefore I do,
41:34
Speaker 1: because He directs me to wait in this way. Therefore
41:37
Speaker 1: here I wait for His free mercy, whereof cometh my salvation.
41:43
Speaker 1: Settle this in your heart, that the opus operatum, the
41:48
Speaker 1: mere work done, profiteth nothing. That there is no power
41:53
Speaker 1: to say, but in the Spirit of God, no merit,
41:56
Speaker 1: but in the Blood of Christ. That consequently, even what
41:59
Speaker 1: God or Danes conveys no grace to the soul if
42:02
Speaker 1: you trust not in Him alone. On the other hand,
42:06
Speaker 1: he that does truly trust in Him cannot fall short
42:10
Speaker 1: of the grace of God, even though he were cut
42:12
Speaker 1: all from every outward ordinance, though he were shut up
42:16
Speaker 1: in the center of the earth. Thirdly, in using all means,
42:21
Speaker 1: seek God alone in and through every outward thing, look
42:25
Speaker 1: singly to the power of His Spirit and the merits
42:28
Speaker 1: of His Son. Beware you do not stick in the
42:31
Speaker 1: work itself. If you do, it is all lost labor.
42:36
Speaker 1: Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore, eye
42:40
Speaker 1: Him in all, through all, and above all, remember also
42:44
Speaker 1: to use all means as means as ordained, not for
42:48
Speaker 1: their own sake, but in order to the renewal of
42:51
Speaker 1: your soul and righteousness and true holiness. If therefore they
42:56
Speaker 1: actually tend to this, well, but if not, they are dung.
42:59
Speaker 1: And lastly, after you have used any of these, take
43:04
Speaker 1: care how you value yourself thereon, how you congratulate yourself
43:09
Speaker 1: as having done some great thing. This is turning all
43:12
Speaker 1: into poison. Think if God was not there, what does
43:17
Speaker 1: this avail? Have I not been adding sin to sin?
43:23
Speaker 1: How long O Lord save or I perish? Oh, lay
43:27
Speaker 1: not this sin to my charge? If God was there,
43:31
Speaker 1: if His love flowed into your heart, you have forgot,
43:34
Speaker 1: as it were the outward work. You see, you know
43:39
Speaker 1: you feel God is all and all be abase sink
43:44
Speaker 1: down before him, give him all the praise. Let God
43:47
Speaker 1: in all things be glorified through Christ Jesus. Let all
43:52
Speaker 1: your bones cry out. My song shall be always of
43:56
Speaker 1: the loving kindness of the Lord. With my mouth will
43:59
Speaker 1: I ever be telling of Thy truth from one generation
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Speaker 1: to another. End of Section sixteen.