99 ance, sorrow, contrition, and leading to Christ for mercy. Sanctifying grace: to purify the heart and life; to renew after God's image; to subdue corruptions, and cultivate all christian tempers. Sufficient grace in every trying hour; in temptation, conflict, affliction, in difficulty: then God whispers, "My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is perfected in weakness.' "As thy day, thy strength shall be." Grace for a dying hour! in nature's decay and dissolution, when flesh and heart fail; when we have passed the region of human help and sympathy, then "the Lord will give grace!" He will shew favour, put forth his power, and in death's dark valley no evil shall betide us! All grace, and all of grace, must be our motto! Everything is a gift, and everything shall be given, until mortal puts on immortality! 2. He gives glory!-grace and glory; and the one leading to the other! 66 : True grace, working effectually in the heart here, is the sure harbinger of glory hereafter it is incipient glory; it is the foretaste, earnest, and commencement of heavenly happiness; we taste the powers of the world to come.' The work of grace appears to have been commenced in some, in whom it ceases for ever; but it is only an appearance: the work of God is always completed when it is really begun: "whom he justifies, them he also glorifies," (Rom. viii. 30); and "if we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, we may rejoice in hope of the glory of God"-"a hope which maketh not ashamed." (Rom. v. 2, 5.) With David, we may exclaim, in sweet confidence, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory!" (Psalm lxxiii. 24.) What that glory shall be, none can tell! It is not yet revealed: "it doth not yet appear what we shall be:" some great and good thing; some pure, bright, holy, happy existence, of which we have no conception : an eternal weight of glory." The mind is oppressed with it-overwhelmed: it is too high, we cannot attain to it. 66 3. Yet more than this: "no good thing will he withhold!" As if grace and glory were not sufficient! As if everything were not included in these-all for time, and all for eternity! yet to assure his people, he puts the promise negatively "no good shall be wanting." Many things which we call good may be withheld; as honours, riches, and worldly aggrandizement: and many things may be allotted which we call evil; as sickness, pain, poverty, bereavement, sorrow, &c. but he will not withhold them, because they are really good for us. He may withhold even spiritual III. THE CHARACTER WHICH HIS PEOPLE BEAR: walk uprightly." They for whom God does such great things, ought to be distinguished from the rest of the world; and in nothing more than in uprightness; seeing that there is so much duplicity and fraud among men. 1. They walk uprightly in their intercourse with the world. 66 "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me," said David. (Psalm xxv. 21.) Such conduct all men can appreciate, while they may not comprehend the motives from which it springs. When men say of a godly man, I can trust that man's word as well as another's bond; I know I am safe in his hands:" then God is glorified. As he was in Daniel, when his enemies acknowledged "they could find nothing against him concerning the kingdom," or in his civil transactions. (Dan. vi. 4.) And an Apostle bids us "walk honestly toward them that are without." (1 Thess. iv. 12.) "Walk in wisdom," &c. (Col. iv. 5.) Thus, unconverted men and relatives may be won to Christ. (1 Peter iii. 1, &c.) 2. They walk uprightly towards themselves. This may appear an unnecessary observation; yet is this species of deception the most common and dangerous, viz. self-deception! We see much fraud, dishonesty, and imposition around us, but the greatest impostor is hid in our own heart. It is a rare quality for men to be perfectly honest with themselves! How easily is conscience bribed by selflove, self-admiration, and self-justification! Oh to probe our own hearts! to search them with the candle of the Lord, the truth of God! to spare no subtle motive, nor any morbid passion, lust, or temper, how difficult! God grant us honesty to ourselves! To promote this, God's people will 3. Walk uprightly towards God. This, too, might seem superfluous; for who would think that men would attempt to deceive God? Yet they do so! Even in their prayers and private intercourse with the Searcher of Hearts, they often grossly dissemble! Such prayers are the upper garment of the hypocrite's character! God often upbraids his nominal church with this. (Isaiah xxix. 13; Matt. xv. 8; Ezek. xxxiii. 31.) But his true people pray, "Search me, O God, and know my heart," (Psalm cxxxix. 23); "I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart," &c. (1 Chron. xxix. 17.) There is no remedy for self-deception, but honest, earnest prayer to Him who knows the heart, (Jer. xvii. 10,) that He would give us to know our own heart. To such only as thus walk before the world, before God, and in their own consciences, will "God be a sun and shield," &c. Now, let all examine themselves, and see whether they be in the possession of these excellent gifts? and whether they bear the character of those who are possessed of them? We have seen that true grace infallibly leads to glory; let it be also remembered 1. That there is no glory hereafter, except we have grace here! There is no salvation without repentance, faith, holiness, and all the fruits of the Spirit. It is the highest presumption and self-delusion to appropriate the promises of God respecting this world or the next, unless we bear the character of his people. Let all, therefore, repent and believe the Gospel, or they have neither part nor lot in this matter. 2. Let all believe that God will give grace, and all other gifts, to them that ask him. Such assurances are multiplied in scripture for the consolation of the sincere, and to leave the wicked without excuse. (Matt. vii. 7, 9-11; xviii. 19: John xi. 22: James i. 5, &c.: 1 John iii. 22.) 3. Let all true believers commit themselves to the faithfulness and love of Him who will give them and withhold from them only those things which are for their good. and moderate joy: it strengthen it to bear This assurance will sweeten sorrow, will tranquillize the soul in trouble; up against calamities: it will deprive bitterness and envy of their rancour, and fill the soul with abiding peace. XLV. DIVINE ILLUMINATION. Matthew xiii. 16, 17. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. DISCRIMINATION between the mere enjoyment of outward privileges, and the actual possession of inward grace, appears to be the chief object of our Lord in this discourse. Every one of his parables points to this truth. The oft-recurring and sententious declarations, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear," directs to the same point; indeed, this is the key to the whole passage. Had this been duly regarded, the prevalent perversion of the words of the text could not have obtained. To apply them, as is commonly done, to those privileges which all nominal Christians possess in the Gospel dispensation, is directly to contravene our blessed Lord's doctrine, and to put a gloss on the text which it is incapable of bearing. The first and chief object of every student of Scripture should be to ascertain the simple, obvious, and direct import of any verse or passage: nor should anything be dreaded more than the appropriation of any part of God's word to a purpose, or a subject which was evidently not the word of the Spirit of God. May his gracious influence enlighten and guide our judgment, while we endeavour to decipher the true meaning of these words; and may the truth be written on our hearts and consciences indelibly. Let us then consider I. TO WHOM THESE WORDS WERE ADDRESSED. II. THEIR SPIRITUAL IMPORT. I-TO WHOM WERE THESE WORDS ADDRESSED ? 1. They were not addressed indiscriminately to the people. They were totally inapplicable to the multitude: true, that multitude, the people at large, did see many wonderful things, which the worthies of old had longed to see, and were not permitted. The men of that day saw "the Lord's Christ:" they beheld him-heard him-saw his miraclesthe wonders of his ministry-his sufferings, death, resurrec tion, &c. But were they blessed in this? Were they blessed to whom Jesus said, "Ye have seen and hated both me and my Father." "Ye shall die in your sins." In them was fulfilled the fearful prophecy connected with the text. (ver. 11-15.) They were judicially blinded; and their external privileges only increased their condemnation! (John iii. 19, 20; ix. 39-41.) The words of the text could not be applied to them: "for their eyes did not see, and their ears did not hear," &c. "They saw, and yet perceived not," &c. 2. These words were addressed only to his chosen disciples. This is positively affirmed by St. Luke: "And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are your eyes," &c. (Luke x. 23.) The same is clear from this chapter itself. In ver. 2 we read of " multitudes," &c. In ver. 10 we have the private instruction of the disciples; and this is continued to ver. 24, where he again instructs the people, to ver. 34, 35. Then Jesus sends the multitude away, and the private instruction is resumed, (ver. 36); and St. Luke represents him as rejoicing in spirit on this very occasion, because the truth, hidden from the multitude, was revealed to the faithful few. Our Lord is not pronouncing them blessed who enjoy the means of grace, and have access to the bare knowledge of truth; but he places his benediction on those who derive spiritual benefit from their outward opportunities: not blessed are ye because such things are to be seen in your day, but because you actually see them. 3. The same distinction must therefore be observed when these words are applied to ourselves. They are fully as inapplicable to the bulk of nominal Christians as they were to the ordinary multitude who followed our Lord. Great indeed are the external privileges of all baptized persons. We all are familiar with mysteries unknown to the ancient Church: we all hear and see prophecies fulfilled, truths revealed, doctrines promulgated, of which the saints of old knew little or nothing, and which were concealed even from many prophets who actually foretold them! (1 Peter i. 10-12.) It were superfluous even to name them; they occur to every one. But are we all blessed in the possession of this knowledge? Can we say to all such, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see?" &c. Impossible! Are the vicious, the dissipated, the careless, the sceptical, the covetous, the profane, blessed because they are embraced in the pale of the visible Church, and possessed of outward means of grace? What has baptism done for them? What sort of regeneration has passed on them? The fate of Chorazin and Bethsaida will |