drinking; there are even companies in which men pass for brave fellows when they have achieved a robbery, or practised an artful fraud, or carried on a course of flagrant immorality. Oh, how confused our notions of right or wrong become through mere pride! In our own part of christendom a man is honoured and respected if he be honest among his neighbours, though he may be, at the same time, a proud, impenitent siuner; while, on the contrary, it generally brings contempt upon a man to become a true convert to Christ, and to be seeking salvation earnestly at the foot of the cross. Indeed, we may almost say that there is nothing in the world, no action, no employment-nay, there is no sin, which has not been made a point of honour somewhere; and though a man may perform the meanest office in society, yet he will take a pride in being accounted clever in that office. Every thing is estimated according to the show it makes, and the opinion entertained of it in the world. And thus it is that people mould and fashion their conduct entirely according to the society in which they happen to be. When you come to your minister, you do not wish to pass for an ungodly person; and then you put on, if I may so express myself, your sunday-dress, and you speak as religiously, and behave yourselves as meekly and decently as you possibly can; but is it not true, that when you are among people of the world, you do not wish to assume that decided tone, because it would be far from raising you in their estimation? Then you are willing to show that, after all, you are not so intensely earnest about your salvation. But, then, is there no such thing as real honour? Yes! the honour which cometh from God only. How few are there who strive after this! See, then, how men are distracted and transformed by pride! how it enchains and debases us, and entangles us in a lying delusion! Thus it is that one offspring of the old serpent produces another. Let us now inquire how we may be cured of pride? This question I will answer in a few words. As pride comes from falsehood, and falsehood, in its turn, is produced by pride, so we can be healed only by truth. We have two sources of truth, which however are most intimately united together: these are, the word of God, and the Spirit of God. The word of God is nothing but truth ; as the Saviour spake to the Father, "Thy word is truth,” John xyii. 17. In every expression of holy Scripture, there is something which, if it fall into the ground of the heart, and take effect there, becomes a Divine seed, which can overpower the lying delusion we have been speaking of and at last rise up into a plant of righteousness in the heart. But the word of God itself cannot take effect without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must make the heart susceptible, and the word quick and powerful, otherwise it will make no impression. Now, when any one yields to the Spirit and word of God in his heart, then there takes place within him what he had never before experienced; he becomes enlightened, and in the light of the truth he gains an insight into the desperate condition of his heart, and so, by degrees, discerns its lying imaginations. Thus he becomes humbled through the truth, and more and more disposed to let the sayings of the word of God become effectual within him, and humbly to submit to all the judgments and demands of the law. When the word of God, under the conviction and discipline of the Holy Spirit, exposes the sins of his heart, or says unto him, "Thou art a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, an unbelieving, selfish, hateful character;" he no longer resists these rebukes by excuses or denials, but admits every charge to be true. When the word of God says, Liars and unbelievers shall not inherit the kingdom of God, Rev. xxi. 8, he no longer desires or hopes for any exception to this sentence, but humbles himself under it. And when the word of God tells him, that Jesus has obtained an everlasting redemption for sinners, he lays hold of, and is enabled, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to apply to his conscience these good tidings; and he "believes on him who justifieth the ungodly," Rom. iv. 5. Thus is he led into all the truth, and, by the very same means, into true humility. But it is a great work of God to make a proud worm, puffed up with his own emptiness, thus become, in his own esteem, a poor miserable sinner, and a simple child of grace. Many resist these convictions of the word and Spirit as long as they can, and thus abide in delusion, and in the wretchedness of their own hearts. But what serves to humble us most of all, is the mani festation of the truth in the heart concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. If he, who knew that the Father had given all things into his hand, rose from table, and proceeded, to wash his disciples' feet; if he died on the cross in ignominy before the eyes of the world, as a transgressor reviled and put to shame; if he, who alone is worthy of honour, was so despised and set at nought, that men hid, as it were, their faces from him; how hateful and abominable in the sight of God must those imaginations be, which sinners of the dust can secretly entertain of themselves! He, to whom the truth concerning Jesus is manifested in the heart by the Holy Ghost, cannot but abhor all his own false imaginations, all his swollen ideas of self love, all his proud thoughts of himself. And whatever trials and afflictions may overtake him, which God may send to humble him, (and he never fails to send such of some kind,) his heart is the more humbled by these means, and is made truly lowly, quite softened and tender, and the more fitted on this very account to receive and enjoy that eternal glory, which Christ will give to his redeemed people. The whole work of conversion, as far as we have thus considered it, may properly be called the introduction of ¡a man into the truth. We are by nature so puffed up, that we regard our own poor farthings as so many guineas. By innumerable experiences and humiliations, a man learns at ast that the imaginary gold is nothing but base metal. And when he sees and feels this, he becomes, at length, established in the truth, and well rooted in humility. This, however, is a wisdom to which many are not brought till after years of trial and humiliation; because we are full of self-love, and this self-love disposes us to disregard all the instructions of the Spirit of truth, until we learn to give up our good thoughts of ourselves. Hence many would persuade themselves that the Spirit of God gives to them such striking views of their own worthlessness and depravity merely to humble them, but that they are not really so bad! And thus you may hear such a one say, "I feel myself so unthankful to God, so sinful, so backward to pray, so lukewarm or cold in love to Christ," &c. But, my friend, there is no necessity for this reserve; you need not be afraid to say that you are so; nor that you feel yourself so. You are so; for the Spirit of God, who rebukes and chastens you, is a Spirit of truth. O then let us on.y give diligent heed to the voice of the word and Spirit of God, and we shall certainly at length become little in our own eyes, we shall become true chris tians, Israelites indeed, having truth in the inward parts, and thus the work of Satan within us will be destroyed. For a true christian ever grows more and more lowly in his own eyes; as he bears fruit upward in grace, he takes root downward in humility. He daily perceives more clearly his own weakness and sinfulness, and becomes, day by day, more poor in spirit. All this is undoubtedly far from pleasant doctrine to the proud heart; but though it is a bitter medicine to the flesh, it is sweet to the spirit; for there is no happiness but in the truth. God filleth the hungry with good things, but the rich he sendeth empty away. Amen. Quiet, Lord, my froward heart, Calmly to thy wisdom leave: On a care beyond his own; Thus preserv'd from Satan's wiles, Till the promis'd hour appears London: Printed by W. CLOWES and SONS, Duke Street, Lambeth, for THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY; and sold at the Depository, 56, Paternoster-row; by J. NISBET and Co., 21, Berners-street, Oxfordstreet; and by other Booksellers. [Price 4s. 8d. per 100.] Considerable Allowance to Subscribers and Booksellers. SCRIPTURE ENCOURAGEMENTS ΤΟ PRAYER. THE acknowledgment and prayer of the psalmist was, 'My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken thou me according to thy word:" and few men can seriously examine their own hearts without perceiving that they have many and powerful temptations to cleave unto the world. May the following scriptural encouragements to prayer animate christians to seek more earnestly for the quickening power of the Holy Spirit according to the word of the Lord. These pages do not contain all that the Bible reveals upon the subject; they are rather designed to promote the searching of the Scriptures on the subject of prayer, that men may understand the loving-kindness of the Lord in answering the petitions of his people, and in accepting their offerings of thanksgiving and praise as incense set forth before him. Were professing christians generally duly convinced of the benefit of making their requests known unto God by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, the peace of God which passeth all understanding would keep their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. They would increase and abound in love, they would become much more confessedly a praise in the earth, and the prophecy would be fulfilled in their happy experience: "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off," Isa. lv. 13. From the Pentateuch. When Abraham pleaded the promises of God, he obtained a renewed assurance of the Divine favour. Abraham believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness, Gen. xv. 2-6; his faith and patience were long tried, for he had to wait seventeen years before the fulfilment of the promise in the birth of Isaac, Gen. xxi. 2. THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, INSTITUTED 1799; |