tionate invitations of God their Saviour, and turning from their iniquities, would fulfil the purpose of their being, and devote themselves to the Lord their God in righteousness and holiness-if the professors of the Christian name would walk worthy of their holy vocation, adorning the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things-the ministers of the Most High would be absolved from the necessity of fulfilling the injunction, "Cry aloud, spare not-show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." Theirs would then be the more delightful duty to fulfil the commission of peace and reconciliation, to proclaim the glad tidings of mercy and salvation. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God." "For the Lord will redeem Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel."+ "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God." "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."§ "The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."|| Even so, blessed Lord, hasten this glorious consummation of the felicity of thy people-if not in this world of sin, of sorrow, and of tears-in that new heaven and new earth, wherein dwelleth for ever the perfection of righteousness and the fulness of joy. * Isa. xl. I. Isa. xliv. 23. | Isa. li. 11. Isa. xli. 10. SERMON XIII. SELF-EXAMINATION. LAM. iii. 40. Let us search and try our ways. HE who, in the career of worldly business or pleasure, never pauses and reflects on the character of his actions, and the tendency of his course, would be regarded as guilty of great folly, and as seriously endangering his welfare. But considering man in his character as a spiritual, and his destiny as an immortal being, what shall we say of those who never pause and reflect whether they are acting worthy of their spiritual character, and making preparation for their immortal destiny. If to hazard our temporal prosperity, through want of reflection, be folly, what must that heedlessness be denominated, which puts in jeopardy the interests of eternity? My brethren, we are candidates for an immortal existence-we are to live for ever in a state of happiness or misery-our destiny is to be decided at the tribunal of the Lord of the universe; but him, our Maker and our Judge, we have offended by our transgressions; the sentence of his just displeasure is proclaimed against us. "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord." This scrutiny into our spiritual character and condition is at all times necessary, either to rouse us from a state of sin, or to quicken our progress in the religious course on which we have entered. Considering, however, the propensity of mankind to neglect a duty which is hostile to worldly indulgence and sensual pursuits, wisely has the church set apart a period to be consecrated with more than ordinary solemnity to that work of religious examination, which must be the commencement, as it is essential to the progress of the spiritual life, and which ought particularly to mark the season preparatory to the commemoration of that event which brings most forcibly into view our guilt, and which affords the sure pledge of our pardon-the passion and death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Urged then by the general obligation of the duty, and by its peculiar propriety during the holy season on which we have now entered, "let us search and try our ways." 1. The first subject of inquiry should be-What is the supreme object of our desire and pursuit ? The world is the scene of our duty, as it is the source of many of our rational enjoyments. There is no one object which it presents, which, in a certain degree, and to a certain extent, may not be pursued by us without endangering our piety and virtue; and yet there is no one object which, in the excessive love and pursuit of it, will not be destructive of our piety and subversive of our eternal interests. Here then arises an important inquiry-Does the world occupy such a place in our affections and exertions as to exclude an attention to our spiritual concerns, or to lead us to make them inferior objects of desire and pursuit? The inquiry is one on which we should enter without delay, and which we should prosecute with solicitude and fidelity for if we are so devoted to our temporal interests as to neglect the concerns of our salvation, what will be our condition when we are summoned from that world with which we are engrossed, and have entered on that eternity for whose awful scenes we are unprepared? It is an inquiry, then, of infinite moment; but if faithfully prosecuted, it is not difficult of solution. Is it your supreme desire and endeavour so to pass through things temporal, that you lose not the things that are eternal? In order to gain these, and to save your souls, are your principles, your duties, and your hopes, as Christians, faithfully cherished and regarded? And is every worldly object pursued and enjoyed in subordination to the infinitely higher objects of a spiritual and immortal life? Whatever temporal advantages you may possess-of treasure, of talents, or of station-are they all employed and all enjoyed as the means of aiding you in the attainment of those true joys of your heavenly inheritance where your hearts are fixed? Brethren, let us examine ourselves in reference to this all-important subject. What is the object of our supreme desire and pursuit-the favour of God, or the joys of the world-the things of time, or the concerns of eternity? If you should find that the world supremely engrosses you that your thoughts, your time, your talents, your exertions, all are occupied with the means of your temporal advancement, and with the enjoyment of your worldly advantages or if your attention to the pursuits of the world, or your indulgence in any of its enjoyments, weakens your pious feelings, diminishes your relish for the exercises of religion, and retards your progress in the spiritual life-then, rest assured, your salvation is endangered. If death should find you thus devoted and thus engrossedand death, remember, may come when least expected he will summon you to an account which you are wholly unprepared to render he will hurry you to that eternity whose joys you have neglected for the transitory gratifications of the world, and whose terrors therefore you must sustain. Lose no time, therefore; search and try your ways; and from the service of a sinful and perishing world, turn to the service of the living God. 2. Another serious object of scrutiny and inquiry should be-Whether we entertain correct views of our spiritual condition. Numerous are the causes which conspire to conceal from us our real spiritual character. The powers of the human mind capable of attaining such exalted heights of science, and of accomplishing such stupendous plans of civil polity, and of directing and ruling the strength and passions of the multitude to the objects of glory and ambition, tend to cherish the sentiments of arrogance and pride, so natural to the human heart; and while wealth or honour, that appears to be the fruit of our plans and exertions, elevates us in our own estimation, and gives us consequence and influence among those around us, it is not easy to admit any views of our character and state but those which flatter our vanity and self-love. The pride indeed VOL. III. 20 |