From that time, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him....John vi. 66. THUS was fulfilled that word, "how can two walk together, except they be agreed?"....Amos iii. 3. This chapter is like a touch-stone; herein our Lord tries his disciples, to see who are real sterling and who not; many are his professed, but few his real disciples; sifting times will come; they make manifest; the hottest place in hell is prepared for those who turn their backs upon the Son of God on earth: Lord grant that our faces may be set like a flint towards thee; for, blessed be thy name, thou hast said of those who continue with thee in thy temptations: "I appoint unto you a kingdom: ye shall eat and drink at my table."....Luke xxii. 29, 30. But those who are not agreed with Christ, have not the mind of Christ, will not walk long with him. See this exemplified. 1st. "Some of these disciples followed Christ for the loaves and fishes." ....John vi. 26. Those who follow Christ, to get food for their bodies and the good things of this life, instead of food for the soul, -will soon forsake him. Christ's blessings are spiritual, their views are carnal. Such are not agreed with him. 2d. Others murmured at him, because he said, "I came down from heaven."....John vi. 41. They were ignorant of his mission from the Father. Many people hear again and again of Christ, but have no solid, scriptural judgment of the divinity of his person and humanity of his nature, nor the end and design of his coming into the world; for want of knowledge of him, and faith in him, they soon forsake him. 8d. Others could not receive his saying, " except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life in you."....John vi. 53. His words were spiritual, their notions carnal: they could not see how Christ could be the spiritual food of souls by faith; so, many in our day cry, where mystery begins religion ends: these left following Christ. 4th. His doctrine of his Father's sovereign grace was a galling cut to the free-will pride of their self-righteous, self-sufficient hearts: "No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father."....John vi. 65. "From that speech" (time is not in the original) "many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." O, how many professed disciples in our day, are belching out horrid speeches against the elected love and efficacious grace of God the Father, in drawing sinners to his Son for salvation! Poor souls, they have not the mind of Christ; they see not the special mercy of being under the efficacious influence of the Spirit of the Father. O disciple, let the falling way of others warn thee: be strong in the Lord: be diffident in self : look constantly to him, that is able to keep you from falling.... Jude xxiv. I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.... 1 Cor. xv. 10. WHEN One meets with journals, diaries, experiences, &c. which do not exalt the riches of the grace of God, but set off the selfimportance of the writers of them, they are as nauseous to the mind as tainted food to the palate; they remind of the poet's observation, " and I the little hero of each tale." Not so Paul, in speaking of himself; no sooner had he brought this little, great I, upon the stage, but he instantly clapt it under the hatches: hence this doctrine is plain; the grace of God makes a person labour for God and yet keeps him humble before God. Consider, 1st. To have the grace of God with one, is to have a lively sense of God's free favor in Christ upon one's own soul; without this we go on heavily in the ways of God, soon tire in his service, and turn back and walk no more with Christ: this was the life and spring of all Paul's labours. See to it then, that we wrestle with God in prayer, study the precious word of his grace, and be diligent in attending his ordinances, that we may ever have a lively sense of God's pardoning, justifying, sanctifying grace in Christ upon our hearts, ever cautiously avoid all persons, places and things, which tend to grieve the Spirit and damp his lively influence. For, 2d. Every private christian is called to labour for God, as well as apostles and ministers. There is such a thing as receiving the grace of God in vain. How? When we profess to esteem and receive the doctrines of the gospel of grace, and yet they bring not forth in us correspondent fruits. O, how much is this the case among professors! How greatly to be deplored and deprecated! What! do you profess to know God and yet in works deny him? Do you believe the love to, and salva-, tion of Christ for miserable sinners? and yet can you, instead of labouring for his glory, be idle, in not living and walking, studying and striving to please our Saviour and profit his dear children? Have you the grace of God with you? It is to be feared. If you have, you have sadly lost its life and influence. O, be deeply affected for your state. 3d. Is the grace of God warm upon our hearts? Are we lively and active for God's glory in our lives? Do we labor more than others for God? O, let us beware we do not sacrifice to ourselves, exalt our own power and faithfulness; for true grace will keep us low and humble: in the light of it we shall see how little we do for God, how much more we ought to do; and in the little we do, how much evil there is in it, and how far short we come in all of his glory: "Be clothed with humility."... 1 Pet. v. 5. He is most blest, who labours most But after all we dare not boast, For all is done through grace. M. · Jesus said, verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you....John vi. 53. IGNORANT Souls, who sit under unenlightened teachers, are taught to apply these words to the sacrament: hence they think, if they do but receive the sacrament, they surely eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, their sins are pardoned, all is well, and they shall go to heaven at last. O, how horridly is that sacred ordinance prostituted! "The wicked, such as be void of a lively faith, do carnally and visibly press with their teeth the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ: but rather to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing," says St. Austin. What doth our Lord here mean? 1st. That naturally we have no spiritual life in us; we are dead under the sentence of the law; as dead to all knowledge of, love to, and delight in God, as a beast: we have no more likeness to God and the life of God in us, than a devil has. O, this is very cutting and humbling to our proud nature; flesh and blood rise with indignation against it. But, 2d. What joyful news is here for us: Christ came, that we sinners of the human race (not fallen angels) might have life, a spiritual, holy, heavenly life, yea and have it more abundantly too.... John x. 10. O, may the Spirit enlighten us to see this and quicken us to go to Christ that we may enjoy it. For, 3d. This is by eating his flesh and drinking his blood; our Lord puts his strong oath to it, that in this way, and in no other, we can have it; and this fully confirms that in this way we are sure to enjoy it. 4th. What is meant by eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood? Our Lord deals most familiarly with us; he sends us to our tables to form proper ideas of what he is to us. Just what eating and drinking natural food is to the body, that Christ is to the soul: as that cannot live without eating and drinking, no more can our souls without the flesh and blood, the life and death of Christ, received into our hearts by faith: thus we enjoy the life of God in our souls. But, 5th. Here is a precious word: "The Son of man." Faith must fasten upon that: it is feeding upon the humanity of Christ that brings us to enjoy the divine life; we come to God through the flesh of Christ; we feed on the flesh and blood of the SON OF MAN, and so become one flesh with him; 66 we are flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone." Eph. v. 30. We are incorporated into him; and, O joyful, are presented to the Father without spot or wrinkle IN HIM.......Eph. v. 27. By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned....Matt. xii. 37. WHO then can be saved? Is not this legal doctrine? Does it not contradict that fundamental doctrine of the gospel, justification by faith, in the righteousness of Christ ONLY? No; no more than St. James, in maintaining justification by works, contradicts St. Paul, who insists upon justification by faith: they are easy to be reconciled; so are these words to justification by grace. Surely our Lord never meant to contradict his own words, "he that believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." He cannot mean to overthrow our faith, distress our souls, and cause us to rest our final justification at the last day, upon either our words or our works; if so, woe unto the most PERFECT; it had been better for that man he had never been born, for eternal condemnation must be his doom: but justification by faith in Christ is ever to be held fast in the conscience as the everlasting truth of an unchangeable God, the foundation of hope, the source of peace, an inexhaustible fountain of joy, and the spring of holiness. But what means our Lord? O, may he give us to understand. In the preceding verse, he says, "for every IDLE word men shall speak, they shall give account thereof." The most learned translate it, malicious or wicked words. Now our Lord, just before, treats of "speaking a word against the Son of man."....verse 32. Therefore, for these malicious words, resulting from their unbelief and rejection of Christ, men shall be condemned the words of the lips proclaim the disposition of the heart as words condemn Christ, so for such words they shall be condemned by Christ: so by thy words approving of, and confessing Christ's blood to be the one atonement for sin, and his obedience the ONE righteousness to justify sinners, thou shalt be justified; "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."....Rom. x. 10. Thus the fate of every soul at the last day, will be determined by his faith in Christ or his unbelief of him, declared by his words; they will be called in as evidences of faith unto eternal life, or of unbelief unto eternal death; they will justify our faith, or condemn our unbelief. By our words we understand the general tenor of our conversation. Paul speaks of a conversation becoming the gospel.... Phil. i. 27. Peter of a good conversation in Christ....1 Pet. iii. 16.. Without this, O disciple, what evidence have you that you have the faith of God's elect Now, or shall be finally justified at the last day? "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord."....Heb. xii. 14. 1 From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised....Psalm cxiii. 3. : PRAISE is the incessant employ of glorified saints in heaven: there they fully see and eternally sing of the electing, redeeming, sanctifying, glorifying love of the blessed trinity. May our souls catch some of the heavenly flame of love, and imitate them in our praise to-night; this is the work of an humble heart: pride is the parent of murmuring and discontent. A sense of the blessings of the Lord and a sight of the unworthiness of them, excite praises in the heart this is the language of a praising soul, why me, Lord? Why am I singled out from the ruins of a fallen race, to partake of thy special grace, peculiar love, and precious salvation? Am I better than others? Have I done more to deserve thy mercies than others? Have I a greater right to challenge thy favor than others? O Lord, why me? Thus, while the soul sinks in humility it rises in praise. David describes saints, with the "highest praises of God in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand."....Psalm cxlix. 6. What for? To execute vengeance upon their heathen notions, of sacrificing any praise to themselves, or ascribing any thing to their own deserts: these are special marks of a regenerate person. 1st. His heart is formed for, and his soul delights to praise the Lord at all times: for he sees himself infinitely and entirely indebted to the grace of God, for all he is, all he enjoys, and all he hopes for. 2d. It is his grief that he cannot praise the Lord as he would without intermisson, "from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same:" for worthy is the Lord of unceasing praise. His mercies are renewed every morning, continued unto evening, and repeated in the night-season. But here is a precious word in this Psalm that endears the Lord to us, and excites praise from us : "Who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high?" Who HUMBLETH himself....pause, O my soul, at that astonishing word: how did the most high God humble himself? To the most low and abject state; made himself of no reputation, took on him the form of a servant, a mean man: yea more, became obedient to the most ignominious death, even the cursed death of the cross....Phil. ii. 8. O, my soul, though vile in thine own eyes, though of no repute in the world, consider this: thou canst never want an inexhaustible fund of comfort, and a never-failing source for praise. "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless his holy name."....Psalm ciii. 1. Each risen sun that I behold, Calls for my daily praise: Thy mercies, Lord, can ne'er be told: The shades of each revolving night, Proclaim thy grace to me; O joyful hope! O prospect bright! |