صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

To embrace and uphold them, from love to the dear name of Him who has established them in his church, ought to be the constant endeavour of all his followers; but to practice them as the ground of salvation, is both unscriptural and sinful. And if there are any of my hearers who regard their observance as the indispensable condition of obtaining heaven, or in any measure as adding to the merits of the sacrifice of the Son of God, in order to their possession of happiness at last, I would say unto them, in the language of severe reproof with which Peter addressed the Judaizing professors in the primitive church: “ Now, therefore, why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they."* Attain, my brethren, the highest degree of credit "for simplicity and godly sincerity," labour to be an ornament to the church of God wherever you are seen, and seek to have "the testimony of your conscience, that not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God you have had your conversation in the world;" but on this desirable estimation and attainment, rest not the slightest degree of dependance for eternal life. It becomes the lips of the holiest of apostles to say, "We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." I proceed to consider,

III. THE FINAL

REJECTION

OF ALL WHO

PLACE THEIR CONFIDENCE ON THESE INSUFFICIENT

GROUNDS.

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity."

Every word is full of awful meaning in this terrible

* Acts xv.

10, 11.

+ Luke xvii. 10.

sentence. Observe the period, it is at the last day. The concise manner in which the day of judgment is mentioned in the Scriptures is very remarkable. Our Saviour here speaks of that day, without entering into any particular description. So likewise does St. Paul, in several places. Referring to Onisiphorous, he prays, — “The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day;"* and nothing else will be worth finding then! So also when speaking of his own departure, he observes, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."+ Observe the dignity of the Son of God at that time,—" And then will I profess unto them." Who will make this profession?-the Saviour. Who is to pronounce their dreadful doom?-the Saviour. To whom will the disappointed professors look in vain for recognition and relief?-to the Saviour. And whose decision shall fix their everlasting destiny?-the decision of the Saviour. Tell us no more that this is to be done by a mere mortal-a peccable man! The work is too mighty; the undertaking too responsible; the issue too momentous and overwhelming, to be decided by a man that may be misled and deceived! Who would commit his immortal destiny to the award of a creature like himself? Pure and righteous as his intention may be, the eternal doom of one soul is too awful to be affixed by him: it must be the judgment of God.

Further. Observe the nature of the profession itself: "I never knew you." This word according to its general import, when applied to Christ, means much more than may be at first supposed. It is as much as to say, "I never approved of you." And dreadful will such a

2 Tim. i. 18.

† 2 Tim. iv. 8.

denial be! To be disowned by one whose friendship and smile we desire on earth is truly painful; but awful must it be to be rejected by Him for ever, "to whom all judgment is committed." And with respect to the persons here mentioned, our imagination is incapable of forming an idea of the extremity of the anguish which it must yield. "I never knew you," though your zeal was great, and your gifts splendid all was outside show; "the spirit of adoption" was never your's! It, therefore, follows, " Depart from me.” I speculate not on the fearful nature of exclusion from the presence of the Son of God at last; suffice it to observe, that every thing terrible and overwhelming is included in this sentence. If the joy of the redeemed before the throne consists in the beatific vision of the face of God and the Lamb, the punishment of the lost soul will consist much in separation from that view. Oh, my beloved brethren, will this intolerable doom be your's? Yes, perhaps, it will be the everlasting portion of some! Dreadful anticipation! The Lord grant, in infinite mercy it may not be realized!

"I love to meet among them now,
Before thy gracious feet to bow,
Though vilest of them all :

But can I bear the piercing thought--
What if my name should be left out,
When thou for them shall call !"

Finally. Observe the designation given to these unhappy men. He who shall pronounce their doom, calls them "workers of iniquity." What! these workers of miracles, the workers of iniquity! So the Son of God declares. The deeds here recorded have been frequently done by wicked men. Balaam prophesied, while "he loved the wages of unrighteousness." Saul was among the prophets at the very time he was meditating the murder of

David. Judas Iscariot was found casting out evil spirits, while he himself was "a devil." Numbers, both in ancient and modern times, have pretended to the exercise of miraculous gifts, while they have been evidently living "without God in the world." Oh, let us remember, that while " man looketh at the outward appearance, the Lord looketh at the heart." Nothing will pass with Him but the renovation of the soul. Motive and design are of essential importance in the Christian life. If we are found serving other masters, while we profess to be serving Him,—if there be falsehood in our professions, and hypocrisy in our worship,-nothing can save us in the last day from the dreadful rejection we have now contemplated. Trust not, then, to external privilege, to a death-bed repentance, or to deeds of benevolence, admirable as they may be; but "look for the mercy of God unto eternal life." Amen.

LECTURE XLIII.

MATTHEW vii. 24, 25.

"THEREFORE WHOSOEVER HEARETH THESE SAYINGS OF MINE, AND DOETH THEM, I WILL LIKEN HIM UNTO A WISE MAN, WHICH BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON A ROCK: AND THE RAIN DESCENDED, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BLEW, AND BEAT UPON THAT HOUSE; AND IT FELL NOT: FOR IT WAS FOUNDED UPON A ROCK."

THE Saviour now proceeds to make an application immediately to his hearers, as to the practice of these divine truths which He had delivered to them. Doubtless the multitude had listened with much attention "to the gracious words" which He had now uttered, and He therefore embraced the opportunity, probably the most favourable that ever occurred during his personal ministry, to press home to their conscience the cardinal truth, "that not the hearers of the word are justified, but the doers of it." To render this truth permanent in their minds, and influential in their conduct, He illustrates it by a striking parable, which shows, on the one hand, the wisdom and safety of its adoption, and, on the other, the disastrous

« السابقةمتابعة »