Chapter III: Part 3

Through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us, we shall prove more than conquerors over the great enemies of our salvation. By the transforming power of divine grace the will becomes renewed, the passions subjugated, the appetites mortified, the habits changed; and the devil vanquished by the great Captain of our salvation, loses his dominion over the sanctified soul. Such is the mighty change wrought in fallen and sinful man, when grace has done her perfect work; and “renewed in the spirit of his mind,” he both “proves what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of God,” and “presents his body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.” {77b}

“REPENT YE, THEREFORE, AND BE CONVERTED, THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE BLOTTED OUT, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” {77c} Repent ye, who have heretofore put conviction far from you, and have refused to receive the Gospel as your standard of faith, your sole rule of life. It may be, that to you, “behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation;” it may be, that if ye will not hear His voice, but still harden your hearts, upon you may be passed the terrible and irrevocable sentence—“it is a people that do err in their hearts; for they have not known my ways; unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest.” {78}

“GO THY WAY FOR THIS TIME, WHEN I HAVE A CONVENIENT SEASON I WILL CALL FOR THEE;” was the language of Felix, when he “_trembled_,” as Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.” And such is the course adopted by thousands; they do not violently repress the convictions of conscience; but endeavour to lull them by that “deceitful opiate—good resolves.” NOT NOW, is still the cry, when conscience warns them; not now, to-morrow, next year,—and thus repentance determined upon, but still deferred, flits before them like the treacherous light which often misleads unwary travellers, and lures them on with false hopes, until they plunge into the black gulf of horrible anguish and despair.

This insane procrastination, which is so common and so fatal, that it has been said, “hell’s road is paved with good resolutions,” arises principally from man’s natural wickedness, indolence, sinfulness, and love of sin; but it is much promoted by mistaken ideas as to the nature of repentance, which, by some, is considered at all times in their own power. This fatal error—the grand cause of which is ignorance of Scripture—is much favoured by the various senses in which the term repentance is employed: it is used to express simply sorrow, sorrow and amendment, change of heart and life. Now this latter sense exactly corresponds with conversion, and the evil might, in some degree, be remedied, if there were adopted, in the case of habitual sinners, the definition of repentance given by Hammond: “A change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God; not some one bare act of change, but a lasting, durable state of new life.” For men would have a difficulty in resting satisfied with indefinitely postponing repentance, if they knew that repentance to consist not merely in sorrow for sin, not merely in external amendment, but in a change of the heart, in a renewal of the mind, wrought by the Holy Ghost, and which man possesses no inherent power to effect, but which is the gift of God through Christ.

REPENT YE, THEREFORE, AND BE CONVERTED, THAT YOUR SINS MAY BE BLOTTED OUT: all who have heretofore drawn your motives and rules of actions from the world, and not from the Book of Life—and as you value your immortal souls, consider no proofs of conversion to be depended upon, except faith in the Saviour, and reliance on His merits alone for salvation; love of God as a reconciled father in Christ Jesus our Lord, shed abroad in the heart by the power of the Holy Ghost; constant study of the Scriptures as the rule of life; indulgence of no known sin; and dependence on divine grace for spiritual guidance, strength, and consolation. Such an entire conversion of the whole man to God is generally not only a progressive, but a slow operation: during which partial relapses into old habits, which conscience soon compels them to abandon;—unscriptural views of reconciliation with God, in which the soul cannot rest satisfied;—and artful stratagems of the great enemy of man to win them back to wear publicly their badge of servitude, or retain them in the camp of the faithful, as in reality, though unknowingly, his deluded and secret followers;—all impede, perplex, and endanger their course.

As the heart only knows its own bitterness, so each believer only knows the mode of God’s dealing with him in bringing him to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. {80} But the following sketch may be received as presenting the outlines of a sincere conversion; and may the future experience of those who are now earnestly and affectionately entreated to “turn unto God with all their hearts,” fill up the details. The conscience is first troubled through the grace of God accompanying some strong appeal; fear is excited; an examination is made into the state of life, and the awful truth flashes upon the mind, that he is in “the broad way which leadeth to destruction,” and “what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.” {81a} He now, perhaps, attempts to appease his conscience by a compromise, by reforming, in part, his life, but retaining his darling sins; this unholy alliance between Christ and Belial may not be, and he is ill at ease. He examines, therefore, more carefully the word of life, and feels satisfied he merits only eternal condemnation at the hand of a righteous God. His alarm becomes terror, and he sets to work in good earnest to effect an entire reformation of life, but too much in dependence on his own strength. He fails, and again and again is betrayed into his old sins, through the weakness of his nature, the power of temptation, and the want of spiritual strength. The repeated failures at length convince him of his own weakness and utter helplessness, and he begins to distrust himself, and trust more and more in his Saviour. The dark prospect now begins to brighten by the dawning of a better day, and slowly the sun of righteousness rising upon his soul, dispels the mists of error, prejudice, and passion, and reveals the Saviour as “THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.” {81b} He sees his road more clearly, he better understands how God “made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” {81c} and joyfully accepts the free, unmerited, and most gracious offers of salvation made in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” {82a} He increases in faith, he rejoices in his privileges, he grows in grace, but he is still watchful and sober-minded: whilst he throws himself entirely on the mercy of God in Christ in whom we are “complete;” and relies on Him for His “grace, which is sufficient for us, for it is made perfect in weakness;” {82b} he remits not his vigilance, he relaxes not his endeavours, but “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before, he presses toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” {82c} He earnestly prays and labours to be enabled to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; to perfect holiness in his faith and fear, and to have his conversation in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: “who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” {82d}

The combat which awaits the young convert is severe, but not alarming, if he take the whole armour of God; “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.”

Clad in the full panoply of the Gospel, the Christian warrior has nothing to dread: for his armour is of heavenly temper; the arm of Omnipotence sustains him; and the glorious shield of the Saviour “will cover his head in the day of battle.” But if the danger appear slight, let him not presume; if appalling, let him not despair; excessive confidence often risks, and despondence often loses, the battle won by undaunted, but cool and cautious courage: and of such a nature is Christian faith, by which the soldier of the cross is enabled to fulfil his baptismal vow, “not to be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under His banner, against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant unto his life’s end.” {83}

Let not, therefore, the penitent suppose the dangers and difficulties which await him to be so great as almost to be insuperable; nor yet that they are so small as to be easily overcome: it is sufficient for him to know, that that Master whom he serves, and who appoints his lot, will, if he commit himself to Him as a faithful Creator, supply him with strength equal to his trials, and make those trials help him forward on his heaven-ward journey. Upon setting out, however, let him be admonished, that there are three things which he ought to bear in mind.

First: let him not mistake transient feelings for settled principles, nor partial amendment for complete reformation: the sanguine sometimes, through natural temperament, are unduly elated; the desponding, through the same cause, unduly depressed; and thus both form false estimates as to the degree of their advancement in spiritual life. Whilst it also sometimes unfortunately happens, that after the first terrors of awakened conscience pass away, the fervours of devotional feeling subside, and there ensue listlessness, negligence, and a return to former evil courses: “he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while.” {84} Let him, in the second place, be especially on his guard against partial or perverted views of the doctrines and duties of our holy faith: some, because we are saved through faith in the merits of the Saviour, have abused the grace of God, by an unholy profession, or have under-rated the value of Christian graces and virtues; and others, because of the obligations to personal holiness, and of the rewards held out to faithful servants, in the Gospel, have depreciated the value of faith, and have reduced the great scheme of salvation to little more than a moral obedience. And lastly, let him take care, that when, through divine grace, he has surmounted the difficulties which attend his first entrance upon the “narrow way which leadeth unto life;” and his ardent and confident spirit is full of eager anticipation of the eternal rest and peace which await him on his arrival at the “city of the Living God,” {85} whose fair bulwarks the eye of faith may already have descried at an immense distance; let him “be not high-minded, but fear:” enemies, though invisible, still surround him; dangers, though hidden, still lurk in his path. Should, on the other hand, the journey prove toilsome, and his spirit be often perplexed with doubts, and alarmed with fears; should no distant prospect of the mansions of eternal rest break upon his enraptured view, solace his weary soul, and brighten his cheerless path: let him not be dismayed, but hope: a “friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” {86a} though unseen, is near; the city of refuge, though undiscoverable by his anxious eye, is nigh at hand. If, in the first case, he “persevere unto the end;” if, in the second, “he faint not;” he will reap an “eternal and exceeding weight of glory;” {86b} for, on his approach, the bright portals of the new Jerusalem shall be thrown open, and he will be welcomed by the Celestial King, with the transporting words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” {86c}

II. The Christian’s duty of labouring to advance, as far as in him lies, a national reformation, under Divine visitations.

The duty _of personal reformation_ under Divine visitations, has been dwelt upon at considerable length; at once from its private and public importance: for it is thus only a national reformation can be effected. The good Christian will ever discharge equally faithfully all the duties and obligations which attach to him as an individual and as a member of society. Little is he acquainted with the Catholic spirit and scope of Christianity, who supposes the believer to be occupied solely in securing his own salvation. Such conduct would defeat its own purpose, as being incompatible with the very nature of Christian duty; which is not limited to the individual, his family, his friends, his neighbourhood, nor yet to his country, but extends to the whole household of faith; to the great family of Christ; to the whole world for which the Saviour died, and in which all should labour to promote the advancement of true religion. Whilst, therefore, the Christian is striving in secret, by means known only to God and to himself, to “enter in at the strait gate,” “to make his calling and election sure;” he considers it an imperative obligation, the neglect of which would involve certain condemnation, to “labour to advance the glory of God, and the present and future welfare of mankind.” If, then, the command, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” {87a} is to be obeyed under ordinary circumstances; when “GOD’S JUDGMENTS ARE IN THE EARTH,” extraordinary exertions must be made in the hope that, through the Divine blessing, “THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS.” {87b} Oh! what extensive and blessed effects would arise if this holy principle of our faith were more generally acted upon amongst Christians; and all, at the same time, “walked worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” {88a} God grant that in times which require such perfect union and co-operation amongst Christians, they may receive grace to lay aside their rivalries, their divisions, their jealousies; and as there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all;” {88b} so they may seek but one object, the extension of the Messiah’s kingdom; they may employ but one means; the diffusion of the light of the Gospel; and they may know but one spirit, the spirit of charity and brotherly love.

Let then all Christians be now very zealous for the honour of the Lord of Hosts, and direct their combined efforts against the prevailing sins of the day. True believers “are the salt of the earth;” and the more abundantly they are sprinkled over the land, the more effectually the corrupting effects of sin will be counteracted: they are the “leaven” of the Gospel; and the more thoroughly they are diffused through the whole mass of society, the more certainly a national reformation will be produced.

How great is the improvement which an active and pious individual sometimes effects in a neighbourhood!—an improvement which, commencing in one place, often spreads far around. How extensive then might be the blessed effects of the true servants of God acting in full and unanimous co-operation!—General alarm has caused much good to be done, in cleansing the towns and villages of the kingdom from physical pollutions; let there be shown the same zeal and energy in the removal of moral pollutions, so much more pernicious and fatal, as being destructive of both body and soul. And then this visitation “shall turn” out—as does every visitation, when duly improved—“to the profit, and help forward in the right way that leadeth unto everlasting life,” {89a} thousands who might long have continued in a thoughtless and guilty neglect of God. For how beneficial has the furnace of affliction been often found! it is a certain assayer of religious principles; it detects the base coinage of the world, which bears indeed the Divine superscription, but is neither formed of the pure ore of the Gospel, nor stamped with the seal of the Spirit; and proves the intrinsic value of the unadulterated metal of the heavenly treasury which “cometh forth as gold.” {89b}

The leading heads of the duty of believers, as members of society, under circumstances like the present, have already been thus generally stated: let them publicly bear testimony at once to the justice and mercy of God’s dispensations; and strive earnestly to rouse the nation to a sense of its guiltiness, which has exposed it to the divine displeasure: let them, in dependence on the blessing of Heaven, labour to eradicate all infidel and heretical opinions; to advance a reformation of public morals, and to promote a general diffusion of true religion, sound learning, and useful knowledge. Upon these several heads it is proposed now to offer some brief observations: And may HE, who blesses the feeblest efforts made in dependence on His gracious aid, and for the honour of His great name, bless this humble endeavour to rouse some to a more active and faithful discharge of the duties of their stations; and to excite in others a spirit of enquiry, and draw forth from them a declaration of opinion, as to the course which this Christian people should adopt under the present Divine visitation. England has been long highly favoured and greatly blessed; she has been placed as an ensign amongst the nations, and as a city set on a hill; she has been a depositary of genuine Christianity, and has been instrumental, in the hands of Providence, in conveying the light of the Gospel to nations “lying in darkness and the shadow of death.” To her may our blessed Lord’s pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem never apply: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying; if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes:” {91a} rather, in this our day, may “the Father of Lights,” {91b} from whom “every good gift, and every perfect gift cometh,” impart to all that are in authority, “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” {91c} Rather, may He enable all persons to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil;—to be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is;—giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting themselves one to another in the fear of God.” {91d} Then may the storm now gathering, prove at once a punishment and a blessing from the hand of God. Seasons of danger and suffering to churches and nations have often resembled the storms of the natural world, which, however alarming and destructive at the time, are productive of subsequent good, by freeing the atmosphere from the impurities accumulated during a long season of calm and sunshine.

“What will ye do in the day of visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far, to whom will ye flee for help?” Such is the enquiry which has been already addressed to the nation at large; to real, and to nominal Christians; let the faithful servants of the Lord throughout the land cause it to be sounded in the ears of a sinful nation; and let each use the utmost extent of his individual influence, in co-operation with others, to endeavour to rouse, through the Divine blessing and guidance, a people sunk into religious indifference and apathy. They are “visited,” and that not “after the visitation of all men;” for a pestilence as new in character, as fatal in its effects, has overtaken them; and their visitation has indeed come from far, for it has travelled from the remote bounds of their colonial empire. Still we have too much cause to apprehend that there are thousands who have never considered the awful character of the visitation, nor asked themselves the question, to whom shall we flee for help?

An irreligious age is little inclined to recognise the hand of God in the course of events, which are generally ascribed to natural causes and human means. But philosophy as well as Revelation will satisfy the mind of every impartial and deep enquirer, that nature must work under the control and direction of the great Author of nature. It would be to practically deny that God was the great governor of the universe, to suppose that nature or chance was allowed, unchecked and unguided, to produce the mighty results often referred to its sole agency. Sherlock has stated this with great force and clearness. “The same wisdom and power which made the world must govern it too: it is only a creating power that can preserve: that which owes its very being to power must depend upon the power that made it, for it can have no principle of self-subsistence independent of its cause: it is only creating wisdom that perfectly understands the nature of all things, that sees all the springs of motion, that can correct the errors of nature, that can suspend or direct the influence of natural causes, that can govern hearts, change men’s purposes, inspire wisdom and counsel, restrain or let loose their passions. It is only an Infinite Mind that can take care of all the world; that can allot every creature its portion; that can adjust the interests of states and kingdoms; that can bring good out of evil, and order out of confusion.” {93} It would, therefore, be not less unphilosophical than unchristian to ascribe to any spontaneous operations of nature, a new and terrible pestilence, which has swept away more than twenty millions of human beings from the face of the earth. Nor may it be accounted for by an extraordinary combination of accidental circumstances; for “the most unexpected events, how casual soever they appear to us, are foreseen and ordered by God.” “For can we think otherwise, when we see as many visible marks of wisdom, and goodness, and justice, in what we call chance, as in any other acts of Providence? Nay, when the wisdom of Providence is principally seen in the government of fortuitous events? When we see a world wisely made, though we did not see it made, yet we conclude, that it was not made by chance, but by a Wise Being; and by the same reason, when we see accidental events, nay, a long incoherent series of accidents concur to the producing the most admirable effects, we ought to conclude, that there is a wise invisible hand which governs chance, which of itself can do nothing wisely. When the lives and fortunes of men, the fate of kingdoms and empires, the successes of war, the changes of government are so often determined and brought about by the most visible accidents; when chance defeats the wisest counsels and greatest power; when good men are rewarded, and the Church of God preserved by appearing chances; when bad men are punished by chance, and the very chance whereby they are punished, carries the marks of their sins upon it, for which they are punished; I say, can any man in such cases think that all this is mere chance? When, how accidental soever the means are or appear to be, whereby such things are done, there is no appearance of chance at all in the event; but the changes and revolutions, the rewards and punishments, are all as wisely done, as if there had been nothing of chance and accident in it. This is the great security of our lives amidst all the uncertainties of fortune, that chance itself cannot hurt us without a Divine commission. This is a sure foundation of faith, and hope, and trust in God; how calamitous and desperate soever our external condition seems to be, that God never wants means to help; that He has a thousand unseen ways, a whole army of accidents and unexpected events at command to disappoint such designs, which no visible art or power can disappoint, and to save those whom no visible power can save.” {95} Nor may we suppose that this fearful pestilence is merely permitted, and not appointed and directed by God. “God’s government of events consists in ordering and appointing whatever good or evil shall befall men; for according to the Scripture we must attribute such a government to God, as makes all these events _His will and doing_; and nothing can be His will and doing, but what He wills and orders. Some men think it enough to say, that God permits every thing that is done, but will by no means allow that God wills, and orders, and appoints it, which, they are afraid, will charge the divine Providence with all the evil that is done in the world; and truly so it would, did God order and appoint the evil to be done; but though God orders and appoints what evils every man shall suffer, He orders and appoints no man to do the evil; He only permits some men to do mischief, and appoints who shall suffer by it, which is the short resolution of the case. To attribute the evils which some men suffer, merely to God’s permission, is to destroy the government of Providence; for bare permission is not government.” {96} We arrive, therefore, at the conclusion, that this malady, which has traversed nearly the whole of two continents, is by the will and appointment of God. And none need inquire wherefore it has been sent. The dispensations of the Almighty are to reward or punish, warn and amend nations and individuals. The fearful character of the pestilence proves that it is to punish and warn the offending nations, and may it also amend and lead them, through the grace of God, to humble themselves under His mighty hand, and bow with submission to His just judgments on a guilty world!

It is, therefore, the bounden duty of the servants of the Lord, every where, privately and publicly, to bear testimony to God’s government of nations and individuals. It is not sufficient that they believe, act upon, and inculcate in their families, a trust in Divine Providence. The great truth, that “THE MOST HIGH RULETH IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN,” {97a} should be bound “for a sign on their heads, and as frontlets between their eyes.” {97b} They should proclaim every where, that upon this great fundamental principle, rest the prayer and worship addressed to God.—“This much is certain,” observes Sherlock, “that without this belief, that God takes a particular care of all his creatures, in the government of all events that can happen to them, there is no reason nor pretence for most of the particular duties of public worship. For most of the acts of worship consider God not merely as an Universal Cause, (could we form any notion of a general providence, without any care of particular creatures, or particular events), but as our particular Patron, Protector, and Preserver.

“To fear God, and to stand in awe of His justice; to trust and depend on Him in all conditions; to submit patiently to His will, under all afflictions; to pray to Him for the supply of all our wants, for the relief of our sufferings, for protection and defence; to love and praise Him for the blessings we enjoy, for peace, and plenty, and health, for friends and benefactors, and all prosperous successes: I say, these are not the acts of reasonable men, unless they believe that God has the supreme disposal of all events, and takes a particular care of us. For if any good or evil can befall us without God’s particular order and appointment, we have no reason to trust in God, who does not always take care of us; we have no reason to bear our sufferings patiently at God’s hand, and in submission to His will; for we know not whether our sufferings be God’s will or not; we have no reason to love and praise God for every blessing and deliverance we receive, because we know not whether it come from God; and it is to no purpose to pray to God for particular blessings, if He does not concern Himself in particular events; but if we believe that God takes a particular care of us all, and that no good or evil happens to us but as He pleases; all these acts of religious worship are both reasonable, necessary, and just.” {98}

The great duty of believers every where to declare and maintain, that “GOD GOVERNETH ALL THINGS BOTH IN HEAVEN AND EARTH,” is dwelt upon more at large, because a neglect,—if not a disbelief,—of a particular Providence, which constitutes practical, and often tends to avowed infidelity, has been already stated to be one of the most crying sins,—I may almost say the most crying sin—of the day. Some openly disclaim all belief in God’s government of the world; others admit it, but are not influenced by it; and others acknowledge a general, but deny a particular Providence. These latter appear not to be aware of the manifest contradiction which their belief involves. “To talk of a general Providence without God’s care and government of every particular creature is manifestly unreasonable and absurd; for, whatever reasons oblige us to own a Providence, oblige us to own a particular Providence. If creation be a reason, why God should preserve and take care of what He has made; this is a reason why He should take care of every creature, because there is no creature, but what He made; and if the whole world consist of particulars, it must be taken care of in the care of particulars; for if all particulars perish, as they may do, if no care be taken to preserve them, the whole must perish. And there is the same reason for the government of mankind; for the whole is governed in the government of parts; and mankind cannot be well governed without the wise government of every particular man.” {99}

We may hope that secret disbelief, or open denial, of a Divine Providence, does not exist to a great extent; but of this every observer must be satisfied, that a practical disregard of God’s providential care and government is gaining ground in this country. Nor are its effects to be seen only in the conduct of individuals, they may be observed in the proceedings of public bodies. Nothing can bespeak this more strongly, than the altered language of the day as regards society, business, and public transactions.

The time was when it was carefully framed in accordance with the apostolic injunction, “for that ye ought to say IF THE LORD WILL, we shall live and do this or that.” {100} Now it is evidently dictated by that bold spirit of self-confidence, which “having not God in all its thoughts,” says “to-day or to-morrow _we will go_ into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain.” Nor do the actions of men in their public and private capacities contradict their language. The time was, when this nation, sensible how highly it had been blessed by Providence, and deeply grateful to the Giver of all good, made it a rule to recognise the hand of God in all things. When His chastisements were upon the land, there was a fast; when deliverance was vouchsafed, there was a thanksgiving; every visitation was received as a just infliction; every escape as an unmerited blessing. Such was the conduct of the people and government, during their late struggle of unexampled difficulty, through which the Providence of the Almighty carried them in safety, and during which the soil of England alone was untrodden by the foot of the invader, unstained by the blood of her sons.

Let, then, all the faithful servants of God, who believe in the government and confide in the protection of His Providence, “be instant in season and out of season,” to counteract this evil principle which corrupts, paralyzes, and nullifies faith; which produces pride, self-confidence, and self-complacency; and exposes to the severe displeasure and heavy judgments of Him whom it “robbeth of the honour due unto His name.” History, viewed by the aid of that light which revelation has shed upon it, proves this incontestably, by supplying both individual and national examples, with the latter of which we are, at present, alone concerned.

All nations are under the government of the King of kings and Lord of lords. “His kingdom ruleth over all;” all are instruments in His hand to accomplish the secret purpose of His will. They may be rebellious and disobedient, but they cannot harden themselves against God and prosper. He exhorts and warns, He threatens and visits; but if they go on still in their wickedness, they soon fill up the measure of their iniquity; the messenger of justice speeds forth, the sentence is delivered, and they cease to be a nation. It is thus great empires in succession have passed away; human reason discovers in their rise, their progress, their decay, and their destruction, nothing more than the ordinary operation of natural causes; revelation raises the veil which envelopes the records of remote antiquity, and discovers the workings of a Divine agency, by which Providence overrules the selfish and short-sighted policy of man, to the development of the mighty and mysterious plans which embrace the government of the world. And that blind and presumptuous man may have no ground to suppose, that the fate of empires is dependent solely upon human causes, the overthrow of the guilty nations of antiquity, by the Divine command, was foretold, and exactly fulfilled. Hence we may learn the sudden and swift destruction, which neglect of Providence, disregard of the authority, and disobedience to the commands of Him, who has said, “I am the Lord, I change not,” {102} will, at last, bring upon any Christian nation, which long continues to refuse the overtures of pardon and reconciliation, made by a gracious, a merciful, and long-suffering God. Predicted destruction overtook the Assyrian and Babylonian empires; and the final desolation of their capitals was foretold. The book of the prophet Nahum opens with “the burden of Nineveh,” which abounds with the most powerful descriptions of the terrible overthrow of the Assyrian empire, and the utter desolation of its vast and splendid capital. Zephaniah looks still further into futurity, and presents a sad but faithful picture of its final doom. “THE LORD WILL BE TERRIBLE UNTO THEM:”—“_And he will stretch out his hand __against the north_, _and destroy Assyria_; _and will make Nineveh a desolation_, _and dry like the wilderness_. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations; both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it: their voice shall sing in the windows, desolation shall be in the thresholds; for He shall uncover the cedar-work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, _I am_, _and there is none beside me_: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in; every one that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his head.” {103a} So literally have these striking images of entire and lonely desolation been fulfilled, that in the second century, the very site of the once proud and famous capital of the Assyrian empire was matter of dispute. And as the ruin of Babylon was equally complete, so the language of prophecy is equally clear and descriptive of its entire destruction, “O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thy end is come and the measure of thy covetousness. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, _yet from_ ME _shall spoilers come unto her_, _saith the Lord_. Oh Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.” {103b}

Nor was the fate of these empires and cities alone foretold: the long degradation of Egypt, which has been so exactly fulfilled, was predicted: “it shall be the basest of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: FOR I WILL DIMINISH THEM, THAT THEY SHALL NO MORE RULE OVER THE NATIONS.” {104a} The evils impending over rich and proud Tyre, whilst still in the plenitude of her power and greatness were announced by Isaiah in terms very applicable to that great emporium of commerce: “Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? THE LORD OF HOSTS HATH PURPOSED IT, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. HE _stretched out His hand over the sea_; HE _shook the kingdoms_: _the_ LORD _hath given a commandment against the merchant city_, _to destroy the strong holds thereof_.” {104b} But it was reserved for Ezekiel to foretell the full extent of the fearful ruin which was to overtake this renowned city: and he has done so, in terms so brief, and yet so minutely descriptive of its present state, as to have excited the observation of all modern travellers: “_it shall __be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea_, FOR I HAVE SPOKEN IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.” {105a} “I WILL MAKE _thee like the top of a rock_: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon, thou shalt be built no more; for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.” {105b} Thus, when Maundrell visited the ruins of Tyre, he found “its present inhabitants to be a few wretches, subsisting chiefly by fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by Divine Providence, as a visible argument how God has fulfilled His word concerning Tyre.”

Nor were the predictive denunciations of Divine vengeance upon sinful nations, confined to times of a very remote antiquity:—the prophet’s eye glancing through the long vista of coming years, foresaw, and his voice foretold, the empire which the Ruler of the destiny of nations had decreed to Greece and Rome. But there is a people which remain unto this day, at once a living testimony to the truth of Divine revelation, and a living monument of the certainty of Divine punishment. From the Jews this country may draw a very instructive lesson; for there are some striking points of agreement in their earlier history, and would that there the parallel might stop! The Jews were the peculiar people of God.—“Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: _the Lord thy God hath chosen thee_ to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are on the face of the earth:” this kingdom has also long enjoyed an extraordinary degree of favour, protection, and blessing, at the hand of God. “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, _because ye were more in number than any people_, _for_ ye were the fewest of all people: in like manner the population of this country was small in comparison with that of many of the surrounding nations. The Jews were selected that unto them might be “committed the oracles of God:” so also this country appears to have been appointed, by Providence, to preserve the holy Scriptures from misinterpretation or perversion. The Jews were employed to convey to the Gentiles some knowledge of the one true God: in like manner this country appears to have been raised up to diffuse amongst distant nations the light of the Gospel. When grateful for Divine blessings, mindful of the Divine government, and obedient to the Divine laws, the Jews were abundantly blessed, and their wealth and greatness were far more than commensurate with the extent of their territory; and the resources of the kingdom: in like manner God has elevated this country to a rank amongst the nations to which her native dominions did not justify her aspiring. He has enriched her with the treasures of the world, and has invested her with an empire upon which the sun never sets. So far the points of agreement are striking on the bright side of the picture of Jewish history; but there is also a dark side; let that also be examined, to see if there can be discovered any shades of resemblance. The Jews were thus exhorted and warned:—“When thou hast eaten and art full, _then thou shalt bless_ THE LORD THY GOD, for the good land which HE HAS GIVEN THEE. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein: and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply; and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied: _then thine heart be lifted up_, _and thou forget the_ LORD THY GOD,—_and thou say in thine heart_, _my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth_. _But thou shalt remember the_ LORD THY GOD, _for it is_ HE THAT GIVETH THEE POWER _to get wealth_. And it shall be if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that _ye shall surely perish_.” {107} Nor were they left in ignorance as to what would be the ministers of Divine vengeance; unfruitful seasons; and deadly pestilence; and foreign invasion, with its fearful attendants, the slaughter of the inhabitants, and the devastation of their land, were all declared to be instruments, in God’s hand, to punish His ungrateful and rebellious people. Nor did the fearful enumeration of judicial inflictions stop there; they were forewarned of lengthened sieges, of the most frightful extremity of famine, of long and weary captivity in distant lands. Still there was reserved for them,—if they would not know their day of visitation,—a heavier, a more lasting and more terrible punishment. “THE LORD _shall scatter thee among all people_, from the one end of the earth even unto the other.” “_And thou shalt become an astonishment_, _a proverb_, _and a by-word among all nations_, _whither the Lord shall lead thee_.” {108}

The literal fulfilment of this prediction is matter of history;—nay, more, the accomplishment of the last and most terrible threat is matter of present experience; we have, unto this day, the Jews scattered amongst all people, distinct in religion, polity, and customs; unmingled with the population, unincorporated in the institutions of the nations amongst whom they sojourn: we see them a byword, a proverb, and an astonishment, in every land: and can it be that we do not discover in them a living memorial of the Divine government of the world, and of the Divine justice, which sooner or later overtakes every nation, which does not recognise God’s authority in all things, and study to obey His laws. The condition of the Jew speaks to the Christian the language of warning and admonition: “you possess privileges I once enjoyed: I forfeited them by trusting to my own right arm, by forsaking God, by not knowing the day of my visitation: take heed lest ye come into the same state of condemnation; for it is God who ruleth in Jacob, and unto the end of the world.”

Let not the warning be addressed in vain: there are fearful points of resemblance between this country and the Jews in the darker side of their national character, when the chosen people of the Lord. We are too much disposed “to say in our hearts, my power, and the might of my hand, hath gotten me this wealth:” and there is a love of the world, which falls little short of idolatry;—there is a trusting to fortune, and an ascribing events to chance and natural causes, which almost amount to deifying fortune and nature. Let, then, all the true servants of God, by their prayers, and their labours, seek, in dependence on God’s blessing, a remedy of these great and growing evils. Let them appeal to the experience of the past; let them prove from sacred history that nations, which exalted themselves, have always been abased, which humbled themselves, have always been exalted: let them shew from our own history how we have been blessed and preserved, and how we have prospered and flourished, when our trust has been in God, who alone “IS HE THAT GIVETH STRENGTH AND POWER UNTO HIS PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!” {110a} Let them bear public testimony at once to the justice and mercy of His visitations; for whilst the pestilence speaks the language of wrath: “WOE TO THE REBELLIOUS CHILDREN, SAITH THE LORD, THAT TAKE COUNSEL, BUT NOT OF ME, and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin:” {110b} it speaks also the language of merciful warning and gracious exhortation: “As MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN: BE ZEALOUS, THEREFORE, AND REPENT.” {110c}

It has been stated, also, to be the duty of believers, to employ every means in their power to eradicate all heretical and infidel opinions; to advance a reformation of public morals; and to promote the diffusion of true religion, sound learning, and useful knowledge: which are all so dependent one upon another, that they may be viewed in connexion, when considering the course the faithful servants of the Lord are called upon to adopt, under circumstances of almost unexampled difficulty, in this country. Once more, let them be admonished, that their lot is cast upon times which require the highest degree of energy, activity, zeal, and fidelity, in their Master’s service. Let no one imagine his station in life so low, that he possesses no influence, nor consider his talents so small that he can be of no use: much would be gained if the friends of religion would all openly range themselves on the side of the Lord; for such a demonstration of strength would overawe the enemies of the faith. But how great would be the triumph if all, whose hope is in the Lord’s Christ, raised throughout the land, their voice and hands in his most holy cause! The fact cannot be mistaken—and to disguise it would be culpable—that up to this time that decided movement has not been made by the servants of the Lord, which the awful crisis at which we have arrived so imperatively demands. Some appear to look on, whilst a furious assault is made upon the Sion of our God, with the heartless selfishness which says, “it will last my time;” others gaze with a strange apathy; others, bewildered with fear, know not how to act; and others seek only to defend and preserve their own party and property, forgetful that, if the common cause fail, they will be involved in the common destruction. But the Church of Christ is built upon a rock, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” {111} If the alarm were only sounded generally through the kingdom, the cause of the Lord would not want defenders, both numerous and powerful, and the discomfited emissaries of Satan would be driven from the field.

Mankind are always disposed to close their eyes against unpleasant objects,—to shut their ears against unwelcome truths. Thus we are willing to be deceived: if we see evils increasing, we still hope they are only partial and temporary; if alarming reports reach us, we persuade ourselves that they must be false or exaggerated. And if the danger become so near as to menace our personal safety, such is the indolence, weakness, and timidity of many, we often try to escape rather than to combat, to avert rather than to overcome, even when we know our only reasonable prospect of success is not in flight but in resistance, not in making terms with, but in vanquishing the enemy. The announcements, therefore, which have from time to time been made of the increasing activity of the emissaries of infidelity, and of the extensive circulation of sceptical, profane, and blasphemous publications, appear to have been met by the public at large either with indifference or incredulity; but the prospect is now so alarming, the peril so imminent, that all must rouse themselves, and acquit themselves like men, or they may too late have to mourn the folly of incredulity, and the sinfulness of indifference, when warned and appealed to in behalf of religion.

Let not these observations be considered otherwise than as offered in the spirit of a faithful discharge of duty: there is far from any wish to create unnecessary alarm; there is a strong feeling that to give uncalled-for admonition, would be presumptuous, and to pass unmerited censure, would be criminal; but he who undertakes to state the duty of a Christian people under a Divine visitation, whilst he entreats and exhorts with all meekness, and love, and reverence, must fearlessly pursue an impartial and unprejudiced course; for terrible would be his condemnation if he intentionally extenuated the evil or compromised the truth: he would resemble the false teachers of old, who “healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, PEACE, PEACE, WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE.” {113}

To prove, however, that these are neither the unauthorized representations of mistaken views, nor the groundless creations of false alarm, let the opinions of writers, as to the dangers which threaten the cause of religion in this country, be heard,—of writers, whose station and reputation entitle them to respect. “The signs of the times,” observes the Bishop of London, in his Charge of last year, addressed to the clergy of his diocese,—“the signs of the times are surely such as to indicate to him who attentively observes the movements of God’s providence, the approach, if not the arrival of a period pregnant with important consequences to the cause of religion. The spirit of infidelity, which at the close of the last century unhinged the frame of society, and overturned the altars of God in a neighbouring country, but was repressed, and shamed, and put to silence, by the Christian energies of this country, is again rearing its head; and the truths of the Gospel are denied, and its doctrines derided, and its blessed Author is reviled and blasphemed by men whom the force of human laws has been found unable to restrain. And if it be said that these are few in number, and insignificant in point of talent and learning, there is a more numerous class amongst us, who look upon religion merely as a necessary part of every system of government; who would introduce the principles of a miserable political economy into its institutions and ministry; and who take no personal interest in its consolations or its ordinances. And there is also a powerful and active body of men who are attempting to lay other foundations of the social virtues and duties than those which are everlastingly laid in the Gospel, and to propose other sanctions, and other rules of conduct, and other rewards, than those which are proposed in the Word of Revelation.” {114}