66 sees sin in a different light from others, and from what he himself did before. He sees the unreasonableness of it; that it begins in the darkness of the understanding, and will, if unrepented of, and unforgiven, end in the darkness of eternal misery. They are a nation void of council," says God; "neither is there any understanding in them." He also sees the unprofitableness, nay, the exceeding hurtfulness of it; by it he has injured his health and reputation, lessened his substance, and destroyed the peace and satisfaction of his mind; subjected himself to the wrath of God, and exposed himself, not only to temporal judgments, but to everlasting misery. It has led him into a thousand snares, involved him in inextricable difficulties, and made death and judgment appear inexpressibly terrible. But last of all, he has had the most alarming views of that God against whom he has sinned; by a sight of him as a sovereign he has been convinced of the rebellion of sin, that it is a denial of his authority, a daring contempt of his justice and power. By a sight of him as a father, he has been convinced of his ingratitude. "Fool that I am," says he, "I have rushed against the thick bosses of his buckler, who, by a word, or a frown, could reduce me to a state of nonentity, or sink me into hell; I have also abused his goodness, which should have led me to repentance, and requited him ill for all his favours. Is not he my Father, that hath bought me? hath he not made me, and established me? he hath given me unparalleled instances of the sincerest friendship and most cordial affection, but I have returned hatred for love, and to a most indulgent friend been the most bitter and implacable enemy. Unto me, then, me above all the rest of mankind, me, rebellious ungrateful me, belongeth confusion of face. To conclude: 1. Let us seek after the disposition expressed in my text. "The man that blushes is not quite a brute." YOUNG. ur looks, our words, our whole conduct and behaiscover a holy shame for sin! Confusion belongs to I shall we not take what belongs to us? God will be ed of us if we are not ashamed of sin; and if shame ot come to us in this world, we shall certainly come me in the next. Penitential shame, or penal shame, be the lot of every sinner. The language of my text be our language now, or it will be so for ever. O, er, if thou dost not repent in this world, what will .ome of thee in the next! We read of a contention ween Michael the archangel, and the devil, about the ly of Moses; but if thou livest wedded to thy lusts, and est without an interest in Christ, there will be no conntion about thy body or soul. Satan will lay claim to oth, for thou hast yielded both to him; and none will lispute his claim. Thou hast sinned without remorse, and thou shalt perish without remedy. 2. Let us, like the prophet, join these two together: "Unto us belongeth confusion of face," but "Unto the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses." We have something similar to this: "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand!" but then, "there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Holy shame makes way for discoveries of pardoning grace; and discoveries of pardoning grace increase holy shame. "That thou mayest remember and be confounded, says God, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee, for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God." SERMON XLIV. THE NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF THE MATTHEW Iv. 19. I will make you fishers of men. CHRIST first makes men Christians, and then ministers; first calls them to himself, and then to office; and both as a fruit of special grace. Thus, walking by the sea of Galilee, and seeing two brothers, Simon and Andrew (whom he had seen before in the book of his Father's decrees), casting a net into the sea, he said unto them, "Follow me;" that is, not only leave your present employment and accompany me in my travels, but embrace my doctrine, attend to my commands, exercise faith in my person, and imitate my example. And then it follows-" I will make you fishers of men." They should be fishers still, but in a different sense. They should seek not for wealth or honour, applause or preferment, but for men; as the apostle tells the Corinthians, "We seek not yours," not your money and substance," but you," your comfort and edification, instruction, and salvation. It is the success of his office, not the profits and perquisites of it, that the godly minister regards; not the fleece, but the flock. His aim is, not to make his own fortune in the world, but to win souls to Christ, and advance the honour of God.-" I will make you fishers of men." First, I shall endeavour to unfold the beauty and propriety of the metaphor here used; and then to show, that those to whom the character in my text belongs are entirely indebted to Christ for it. I. I am to unfold the beauty and propriety of the metaphor employed in the text, and for this purpose contemplate, 1. The circumstances of men before conversion. They are, as it were, immersed in sin and wickedness; they move in it as their element; and never manifest greater delight or earnestness, than when they are making provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. They walk in the way of their own heart, and in the sight of their own eyes, and affect to be like the fishes of the sea, which have no ruler over them. They are with difficulty brought out of this, their element, and sometimes elude all the measures that are taken for that purpose. When brought under the power of conviction, like fishes when first caught, they struggle and use their utmost efforts to set themselves free; they would break through all restraint, though oftentimes the more they struggle they do but entangle themselves the more. Thus Ephraim compares himself to a bullock uuaccustomed to the yoke. None are willingly subject to Christ till they are made so in the day of God's power. 2. The means by which they are caught; that is, by the preaching of the gospel, which is, therefore, compared to a net, a net of exquisite workmanship, contrived by the wisdom of God, fabricated by his power, and excellently adapted in all its parts to the purposes for which it is designed. Now, at Christ's command, ministers let down this net; they open the doctrines of the divine word, display its terrors, unfold its mysteries, and beseech men, in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God. It is true they are liable to mistakes as well as other men, may sometimes be under a wrong influence, and propagate error instead of truth, ignorantly corrupting the word and ordinances of God; but when they are sensible of this, they will, like those mentioned in the 21st verse of this chapter, mend abandon what they have formerly advanced that was inconsistent with it. 3. The nature of the service; which, being like that of a fisherman, especially requires three things. (1.) Wisdom-great wisdom. Hence that direction of our Saviour," Be wise as serpents;" that wisdom which is from above, and is perfectly consistent with simplicity and godly sincerity. Those that win souls must be wise, acquainted with the states and characters of those who sit under their ministry. They must lay hold of the fittest opportunities to furnish reproof or administer consolation; find out acceptable words, and suit themselves to the capacities, humours, and prepossessions of their people, as far as may be done without sinful compliance. Fishermen have their wiles and stratagems, and so have ministers. "I being crafty," says an apostle, "caught you with guile;" and in another place he says that "he became all things to all men, if by any means he might gain some." Piety without policy, in a minister, may be amiable, but it is not likely to be very useful. (2.) Diligence. Fishing, if it be not used for a diversion, but a livelihood, is a very painful and laborious calling, and so is that of a minister; he has no room for sloth and idleness. There is labour for the head and for the heart, in the study and the pulpit, in the families of his people and with particular souls, to instruct the ignorant, direct inquirers, establish the weak, and restore the wandering, as well as to subdue his own corruptions, and quicken his own graces, that he may be an example to believers in word, in conversation, in spirit, in charity, in faith, in purity; he must be instant in season and out of season, not only spend, but be spent, in the important service in which he is engaged. (3.) Patience. As the husbandman, so the fisherman, has need of patience, and so also hath the minister, for which reason, amongst others, both these characters are given to him in Scripture. However solicitous he is about the |