We believe and are sure....John vi. 69. HERE is both faith and assurance. I wish to the Lord I had doubting heart, while they have This assurance is of the essence existence. Consider, 1st. The them, is the language of many a both this very faith and assurance. of faith; without it faith has no nature of this faith and assurance : "WE BELIEVE AND ARE SURE." Of what? That their names were written in heaven, that they were sure they were the elect of God? No: but says Peter to our Lord, "We believe, and are sure, that thou art Christ the Son of the liv ing God, and that thou hast the words of eternal life." Their minds were as sure of this truth as of their existence; so must ours at all times and under all circumstances. But is this faith and assurance? Then, blessed be God, I am a partaker of both: I do believe, I am sure that Christ is the Son of God, and that he, and he alone has the words of eternal life; but I want to be sure of my own interest in the Son of God. Bless the Spirit for revealing Christ in the word, and revealing him in thine heart according to the word. Go on with thy present blessed faith and assurance. It will make Christ precious to thy soul: it will cause thy soul to cleave to him: thou wilt say, "None but Christ." In due time the Spirit will fully manifest thy interest in his love and salvation. 2d. Consider the blessedness of this faith and assurance: it was for want of this " many disciples went back and walked no more with Christ."....John vi. 66. It is by believing and being sure that Christ is the Son of God, and that he has the words of eternal life, that causes any poor sinner to fol、 low him, to cleave to him, to call upon him, to hope in him, and to expect all salvation from him. Little as some may think of this faith, low as some may rate this assurance, yet our Lord honors it : he pronounces Peter blessed for it: he does not say, I believe and am sure that I am a child of God, and that my sins are forgiven ; but," THOU ART CHRIST THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD." What says our Lord to this? "BLESSED ART THOU: for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” ....Matt. xvi. 17. Rejoice, O believing soul! thou hast a revelation from God thy heavenly Father, even whilst thou art doubting. thy salvation depends on this truth; all thy comfort results from belief and assurance of it. The more steadily and confidently you believe and hold this truth in your conscience, the more solid peace, holy comfort and heavenly joy. My soul, beware, despise not faith, All It honors God, trusts what he saith, Tho' comfort comes not swift. M. Therefore I will look unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my salvation: My God will hear me....Micah vii. 7. 1 HERE is a soul crying out of the very worst of foes: A man's enemies are the men of his own house." Under such experience, behold and imitate the conduct before us. Here are two acts of the mind, and the cry of faith. 1st. I WILL LOOK. The Lord is the object looked to. Blessed be the Spirit, he opens our eyes to see him, and our hearts to believe his love to us and care for us then we know the voice of Christ and obey it. He says, "Look unto ME, and be ye saved.”......Isa. xlv. 22. Whenever distressed with enemies from within or without, sin, satan or the world, here is our warrant, to look unto the Lord. He assures us of salvation from them. We shall find and feel these enemies to the end of life. Therefore, looking unto the Lord, is to be the constant work of life. O the special mercy to have such a Lord to look to! Shame to us that we look no more to him: happy for us when we do look to him only. We are sure of comfort from him, and safety by him from all the power, malice, and fraud of every enemy. But I see enemies beset me: I am not saved from them: I grow impatient; unbelief prevails: doubts and fears arise. Here is the remedy: 2d. "I wil wait." Time will prove God's truth, satan's lying suggestions, and the groundless suspicions of my own heart. "He who believeth shall not make haste."....Isa. xxviii. 16. It is, "the God of my salvation," I wait upon, and wait for: "My times are in his hands." ....Psalm xxxi. 15. Every promise has its season for accomplishment, every providence its hour, every vision its appointed time: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."....Eccles. iii. 1. O, this waiting faith honors the Lord's word greatly it has the Lord's word for its support. The Lord honors it. Behold his absolute, precious promise to it: "They that wait upon the Lord SHALL renew their strength."....Isa. xl. 31. But this was not silent looking, and dumb waiting. For, 3d. Here is the cry of faith: "My God will hear me." O the preciousness of faith! It claims the Lord, and makes a special appropriation of him: My God, vile and sinful as I am; wretched and miserable as sin has made me; however beset and distressed with foes within and enemies without, yet, O my soul, thou hast a covenant God in Christ to look to, wait for, and call upon: he will hear me, I am sure of it; for he put it into my heart to cry to him. To look, and wait upon the Lord, For God his presence will afford, And will with comforts greet. M. Q q The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost....Rom. xiv. 17. How much did our dear Saviour bear, what pains did he take with his first disciples to teach them the nature of his kingdom? Their notions were carnal and worldly: his kingdom spiritual and heavenly. We are just like them. Blessed be his name, the Lord is the same in patience and love to teach us also. There ever was, now is, and ever will be a cry, Lo, here is Christ with us: lo, there is the kingdom of God: it consists in this external mode, that outward rite, ceremony or institution. Just like those ministers, the dry-vines of this day, every subject they preach upon is to save you.' If they preach what is called a charity sermon, even the gift of money is to entitle you to God's kingdom. But what says our Lord? BEHOLD, take special notice, "The kingdom of God is within you." ....Luke xvii. 21. It consists in nothing carnal, nor external. Its blessings are inward, spiritual, and substantial. 1st. Righteousness. That the devil robbed us of. Glory to Christ, he restores righteousness to us; he gives us a better righteousness than we lost: we lost but a creature's righteousness, but we gain the righteousness of God's only Son; the righteousness of God and man in one Christ. Satan ruined us by sin, Christ saves us by righteousness. The kingdom of God is established in righteousness upon the ruins of sin and satan: the subjects of this kingdom are all righteous....Isa. Ix. 21. As we possess this kingdom in our hearts by faith, so Christ's righteousness is called the righteousness of faith; for we receive it by faith; we do nothing to work it out, it is the gift of righteousness....Rom. v. 17. O how gloriously are our souls arrayed in the righteousness of the King of saints. Let us glory of this righteousness ONLY; for the more we believe of it in our hearts, the more we live in the spirit and temper of righteousness in our lives. 2d. PEACE. We were once at peace with the world, the flesh and the devil, and at war with God; now we are in his righteous kingdom and righteous in his Son; we are at peace with God and at war with them: "The effects of this righteousness is peace and quietness, and assurance for ever."....Isa. xxxii. 17. 3d. Joy IN THE HOLY GHOST. Being righteous in Jesus and at peace with God, the Holy Ghost gives us the joy of this; he teaches us to joy in all Jesus is to us and has done for us; yea, "he fills us with all joy and peace IN BELIEVING.' ...Rom. xv. 13. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, "Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.” ....Heb. xii. 28. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me....Psalm lxiii. 8. DAVID was no Arminian: he ascribes no glory to nature's power and free-will. Free-grace Paul says, "I laboured more abun dantly than they all." But he immediately corrects himself: "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."....1 Cor. xv. 10. So if David's soul followed hard after God, he gives grace the honor of it: "Thy right hand upholds me." This is the way both to improve and enjoy lively frames of soul, to see and acknowledge the Lord's hand to be the cause of them. O, it is delightful when the soul follows hard after God. For, 1st. It implies such a discovery of the love and grace of the Lord, that the mind is fixed upon him : the heart goes out after him, and the affections cleave unto him. the language is, "What is there upon earth that I can desire beside thee?" O, says the soul, "I am in his eyes, as one that found favor."....Song viii. 10. Then, 2d. Every thing appears mean and contemptible in comparison of the Lord: the world, with all its riches, honors and pleasures, has lost its charms: sin is abhorred : satan is defied: the flesh is denied: the smiles and frowns of carnal men set at nought: nothing but the enjoyment of the Lord's love and presence is prized. Therefore, 3d. There is a diligent attendance on the means of grace, a conscientious discharge of duty, a delight in the exercise of every grace, believing in the Lord, looking to him, hoping in him, calling on him, loving, fearing, serving, and adoring him. O, says the soul, I will go under the word, who knows but I may get a word more of the love, peace and salvation of my Lord Christ? I will go to his table that he may meet, and bless, and kiss my soul: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine."....Song i. 2. This is living indeed; living like one's self, as beloved of the Lord, following hard after him, reaching forward to him, "pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.".... Phil. iii. 14. O, let us look more "to the right hand of the Lord.. It hath the pre-eminence. The right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass." O, think on Stephen's vision: "He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God."....Acts vii. 55. We have the very same vision by faith and the very same object to look unto every hour of life and every step of our journey: this brings support to our minds and joy to our hearts: "we endure seeing him who is invisible."....Heb. xi. 27. Then said one unto him, Lord are there few that be saved?....Luke xiii. 23. PETER'S fervent prayer, "Lord save of I perish,” was much better than this curious question: it was an unprofitable one. Suppose our Lord had given a direct answer to it, assured him there are but few that will be saved, and told him the exact number, what good would this querist have got by it? Learn hence, 1st. That unprofitable questions are to be avoided: they proceed from a vain curiosity, and are proposed to gratify the itch of a speculative humour. Indulge no thoughts in thy mind above, beyond, nor contrary to what is written they may amuse and perplex, but cannot edify thy soul. Observe, 2d. The wisdom of thy Lord: he does not give a direct answer to this vain question, but improves it to general usefulness; as though he had said, 'Friend, thy question is impertinent; thou art prying into a matter that concerns thee not; thou hast a notion of salvation in thy head and hast put a curious question from thy tongue, but thy heart is unconcerned about thy own salvation; rather than answer thy inquisitive question, I will improve it to general use, STRIVE TO ENTER IN AT THE STRÁÍT GATE. 3d. Disciple, here is an admirable lesson for thee and me. Let us learn to improve every curious question into godly edification; nice and subtle distinctions into practical and experimental conversation. You can scarce begin to speak of the grace of God and the salvation of Christ to poor blind sinners, but they will ask, do not you hold the doctrine of election? I am persuaded it would be best to follow our Lord's conduct: give no answer to the question; set forth the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the deplorable state sinners are in, the absolute necessity of a Saviour, the matchless glory of his person, the riches of his love to sinners, the fulness of his salvation of them, and the need we have of faith in him, to be clothed in his righteousness, justified before God, and eternally saved by him: this, this is the way to instruct poor sinners' minds, and to warm and enliven our own souls. Dry disquisitions promote jar and discord. Let Jesus, the strait gate, be in our view : "Let us consider the end of our conversation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."....Heb. xiii. 7, 8. Let us look to him every day and every hour to save us from the deceitful pride of our hearts, the abominable wickedness of our nature, and from all our cursed lusts, which war against our souls. This is our comfort, dearest Lord, Tho' chief of sinners Lord I am, M. |