صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[ocr errors]

dence that it will continue to be fulfilled, the loudest songs of Israel's triumph ascend to Israel's God; "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. O! Lord God of Hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee, and to thy faithfulness round about thee? We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God: they are brought down and fallen; but we are risen and stand upright. Our soul waiteth for the Lord, he is our help and our shield: for our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. For his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven: he also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other

creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Thus are the people blessed, who know the joyful sound of the gospel of the grace of God. O! Brethren, taste and see that the Lord is gracious.

127

66

SERMON V.

THE SCRIPTURAL USE OF THE MORAL LAW.

1 TIMOTHY i. 8.

But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully."

It is evident, from the context in which these words stand, that the apostle is here writing of the moral law, the enactments and sanctions of which, pronounce condemnation against the "lawless and disobedient, the ungodly and sinners, the unholy and profane, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine."

St. Paul, it would seem, had left his young friend Timothy in charge of the church at Ephesus, to guard against the introduction of false doctrine or light trifling controversies; and in the opening of his Epistle to him, he reminds him of that charge. He then gives a summary of the grand essentials of true spiritual religion: the end of the commandment, the scope and object of all we say and write, is love: not such as springs or can spring from the degenerate soil of man's natural heart, but the produce of a pure heart, a heart purified by divine grace: love, not such as under the plau

sible pretext of keeping peace, will sacrifice principle and conscience and consistency, to the ever-varying whim of a sickly liberality; but such as is inseparably connected with a good conscience, willing indeed, and anxious to make every sacrifice, and yield every compliance, so long as integrity of principle remains. inviolate; but standing mildly stedfast with a faithfulness, yea, even a stubbornness of adherence to the dictates of conscience: love, not such as arrogates to itself any justifying merit, or exalts itself against the faith of the gospel; but such as acknowledges, that for its very existence as well as for all its operations, it is entirely indebted to an unfeigned faith. Some teachers at Ephesus had however swerved from this, and turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they said nor whereof they affirmed. Against the errors of such men the apostle cautions his young friend: not that he would prohibit him from being a teacher of the law; for we know, he says, that the law is good if a man use it lawfully, applying it in its proper place, and to its proper objects, understanding what he says, and whereof he affirms; but knowledge and judgment, and discretion and perspicuity, are in this matter indispensable; for the law is a source of endless perplexity and contention, to those who do not clearly

perceive its legitimate application to the gospel.

My brethren, great and grievous are the errors into which many in our own days have fallen respecting the moral law. Some persons there are, who, while they insist upon what they call the gospel, do in fact inculcate nothing better than a modified law. Their favourite theme is the mercy of God, in so far remitting his strict demands, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, that now the sincere though imperfect actions of men will suffice (or at least assist) to justify their souls. In this way both law and gospel are destroyed: the law demands perfect obedience, the gospel proclaims perfect forgiveness. But such persons say, No. Perfect obedience! that is too much for frail man to yield, therefore we are sure God does not require it; and perfect forgiveness! that is extremely dangerous, especially to ignorant minds, therefore we are sure God does not give it. Do such persons understand what they say, or whereof they affirm, when they make these confident assertions? when they thus declare the imperfection of God's law, the imperfection of God's gospel, and contend for a plausible mixture of both, which it is not too much to say, is an abomination in God's sight? Others there are, who in their zeal for the glory of the free grace of the gospel, and the finished salvation therein

K

« السابقةمتابعة »