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16 - The Means of Grace - Sermons on Several Occasions · Sacred Texts Archive

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