William HuntingtonXXVIII. The Erring Heart, and God's Unerring Ways
There are innumerable ways in which men err; and even the best of men err; and that in many things. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults," Psalm xix. 12. Every thing that is contrary to the revealed will of God is error. Some err in vision, seeing vanity and divining lies; some err in judgment; some err in spirit; and others in practice; and, "In many things," says James, "we offend all." But every error is not perpetual, like this in my text; nor is every error seated and rooted in the heart, as this is. This error, in my text, is the damning sin of unbelief, as may be seen in Israel of old; who, living under the sound of God's voice, and beholding God's miraculous power as they did; and seeing the cloudy pillar over their camp by day, and the pillar of fire by night; and to be eye-witnesses of the power of God which they beheld in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years together; and, under all these displays of goodness and severity, to be so rooted in unbelief as to offer their sacrifices to devils, after whom they went a whoring, Levit. xvii. 7; and so to harden their hearts in infidelity, as to turn a deaf ear to the voice of God, both in his mercies and in his judgments. These things are left upon record as the greatest of provocations, and to warn all professing people, in the days of the gospel, against their bad example. To day, while the sun of righteousness shines, "To day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their hearts, and they have not known my ways." That the heart-error, in my text, is unbelief, is plain, both from the Old Testament and the New. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence." Again, "And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide any face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith," Deut. xxxii. 19, 20. Again, "The Lord your God, which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; and in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this tiring ye did not believe the Lord your God." "Without faith it is impossible to please God," because unbelief is a giving God the lie in all that he says, and in all that he does. It gives God the lie in all he says. "He that believeth not God, hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." It gives God the lie in his works also, as he complains. "How long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among then" And it is surprising how many wise and learned heads have laboured and toiled at that display of divine power which God put forth in dividing the Red Sea, in order to lessen and eclipse the glory of God in it. They endeavour to prove that, at certain seasons, a powerful wind blows in one direction, and this performed the operation, Others, that, at low water, one part is fordable; and that Moses was acquainted with these things, and knew the times, and so embraced the opportunity of crossing it at those seasons. So fearful are these sons of infidelity that God should have any glory from his own works. But truth tells us that God divided the Red Sea into parts. This is the truth of God; and that faith which comes from God believes it; for, as Mr. Bruce says, we may just as well deny that God made the sea, as to deny that he has power to divide it. It was this sin of unbelief that kept Israel out of the promised land, according to Paul's epistle to the Hebrews; for he asks, "And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief:" This sin not only kept them out of the promised land, but it procured their eternal destruction. For, "The Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not," Jude 5. That which makes this sin of unbelief so very aggravating is, that the unbeliever doth not give the God of truth that credit that he gives to frail man; though God be true, and every man a liar. The Egyptians, that could not believe the reality of the miracles of Moses, believed the miracles of the magicians; and the Israelites, that could not believe the report that God gave of the promised land, of its flowing with milk and honey, yet they credited and firmly believed all them that brought up an evil report upon the good land: and their faith in these lies was attended with such zeal, that they even threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb for contradicting it. An unbeliever will not give that credit and that hearty assent to truth as he will to lies; nor give that honour to God which he gives to Satan. "I am come," says Christ, "in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." And they that came in their own name, were sent by Satan. Hence it appears to me, that that branch of unbelief which was the destruction of the Jewish nation, was not, strictly speaking, the want of that faith which is peculiar to God's elect; for no man can exercise a grace which he never possessed. But their unbelief was this, that they did not give that credit and honour to Christ which they gave to men, and to men notoriously evil. They did not give that hearty assent to the words of the Son of God, nor confess him, nor receive him, nor honour him, with that affection, regard, fear, and homage, which they paid to men, to deceivers, hypocrites, impostors, and even to devils. The Jews had in their hands the oracles of God, the law, covenants, prophecies, and promises. They had the line and genealogy of Christ from his birth to his session at the right hand of God; the families he was to descend from, even from Adam to Joseph and Mary; the doctrine he was to preach, the miracles he was to perform, the death he should die, and the glorious redemption of his people by it; the glory that should follow, and the salvation of Jews and Gentiles by it. And those very men who were the writers and expounders of these oracles, and the masters and teachers of the people, and who boasted so much of their light, understanding, and wisdom, as to ask Christ himself, "Are we blind also?" and assert, that this people, who knoweth not the law, are cursed; that this people, who alone were intrusted with the oracles of God, and who had these to guide them, and these to try every pretender from a true prophet by, Deut. xviii. 22; and yet these very men, with all their boasted light, acted contrary to all that they read, and pretended to believe and revere; as it is written, "For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead," Acts xiii. 27-30. But it appears that their infidelity was magnified still higher in that our Lord's holy, spotless, and obedient life; his scriptural vindications of himself, his character and conduct, by which he had always put them to silence; the miracles of mercy that he wrought, the gracious change that appeared in his poor followers, his continual labour in doing good; were so evident, powerful, and convincing, that even their own consciences bore witness to him; so that, "When the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance," Matt. xxi. 38. Nicodemus confessed, as the mouth of all the chief rulers, that Jesus was a teacher that came from God, and that no man could do the miracles that Jesus did, except the Lord be with him, John iii. 2. And it is further declared, "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, test they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." The truth of the matter is, that our Lord's doctrine, miracles, holy life, and the irresistible force of his answers and refutations that he gave them and all gainsayers, were so powerful, and attended with such convincing proofs and cutting convictions, that their own hearts and consciences were as fully persuaded of the truth of his messiahship as the devils themselves were, who believe and tremble, and ask if he was come to torment them before the time, saying, "We know thee who thou art, the holy one of God." Thus devils believed and confessed, but the Jews believed and denied. Their thirst for human applause, their self-love, the enmity of their minds at being so exposed, and their rage and jealousy in defence of their own honour, carried them into desperation, which bore down even the testimony of their conscience; hence they ask, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees, believed on him?" And yet it is said that, "Among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him," John xii. 42. What conscience believed the mouth denied, enmity bore down all conviction, and offered violence to the decisions of their own conscience. Nevertheless the convictions which conscience received of the truth of Jesus increased, and grew stronger and stronger upon them; first, by the conviction and confession of Judas, who brought back the money to them, threw it down before them, and who, in black despair, confessed that he had sinned and betrayed innocent blood, and then went and hanged himself. And this was known to all that dwelt at Jerusalem; insomuch as the field which they bought with the money is called the field of blood, Acts i. 19. 2. Conscience received additional strength at the crucifixion of Christ, by the earthquake, the darkness which overspread the land, the rending of the rocks, the report of many dead bodies rising out of their graves and appearing to many; besides the rending the vail of the temple from the top to the bottom. 3. The watch which they set to guard the tomb. These coming to the chief rulers filled with terror and consternation; telling them of the descent of the angels, of their shining appearance, and rolling away the stone, and telling the women that, "He is not here; but is risen. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Conscience could not receive a much fuller conviction than this. And here the Lord fulfilled his promise to them: "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he." But neither doth this stop them. They knew, and they believed; but they acted contrary to both, by bribing the soldiers and forging of lies. Conscience believed, but the heart never embraced. They had the lest convictions of the truth that nature could have from the most undoubted evidences; but they continued still to fight against both God and conscience. "I come in my Father's name," says Christ, "and you receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." Two impostors came before Christ's time. These our Lord calls thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not hear them; but many of the others did. And the two arch-deceivers that came among them after Christ's resurrection were received by a multitude of the Jews. And this seems to be the damning unbelief of that people, that false prophets were received and spoken well of; yea, impostors, deceivers, and false Christ's, were all received, extolled, and honoured, though they came in their own name, and sent by Satan; when Christ, who came with all the characters of the Messiah, was rejected, though God bore witness to him three times by a voice from heaven. Hence we may see that conscience may receive conviction by the force of truth, and be compelled to assent to that which cannot he denied, when the affections never embrace, nor even desire, the things believed. Hence the chief rulers are said to believe on him, but not receive him, nor to confess him. If they had embraced him in their affections, they would have confessed him with their mouth. And here the just judgment of God appears, that when men wilfully shut their eyes against God's ways, and choose their own, he chooses their delusions. These rejected Christ, and God in him; false Christ's come, and are received, and Satan in them; that as they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, God sends them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. "Whatsoever," says Paul, "is not of faith, is sin;" so that the unbeliever can do nothing but sin. Hence my text says that he always errs in his heart. He always errs; and he errs in all he does. Faith is a going out of self into Christ; and the more the believer gets into Christ the more he savours of him, and the more he loves him; and the more he adores him the more he honours him, and seeks the honour of him; and such God honours, and will honour. But unbelief abides in the flesh, and works by self-love, and seeks the approbation, applause, and honour, of men; and how can such believe? "How can ye believe which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" Lovers of God, and lovers of themselves, divide the professing world. If God reigns in the heart, self is dethroned; if God comes into the affections, self goes out; if God rises, self falls; if God be adored, self is abhorred; if God be followed, self is denied; if God be all, the believer is less than nothing. Unbelief is Satan's own seed, his darling, his shield and buckler; it bars the heart against every thing that comes from God, but embraces all that comes from Satan. It rejects God, and Christ, the Holy Spirit, the gospel, the ministers of it, and the followers of it; but false prophets, false Christs, strong delusions, blind guides, false apostles, and deceitful workers, these it receives. "They do alway err in their heart; and they have ,not known my ways? I shall now endeavour to pursue and explain a vein of truth which has often appeared precious to me; and it is a path which is little understood, And I shall begin with Abraham, whose religion, and profession were spiritual and evangelical, even upwards of four hundred years before the ministration of death upon tables of stone was given. "Abraham" says God, "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws," Gen. xxvi. 5. When God called Abraham out of his country, and out from the children of this world, by faith he obeyed and went, not knowing whither he went. This was the obedience of faith to the voice of God. He kept my charge, "I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which be hath spoken of him." And all Abraham's spiritual children do the works of Abraham; and this is manifest, because God brings upon Abraham's children that which he hath spoken of him; namely, the blessing of Abraham comes upon the Gentiles through faith; "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." He kept God's commandments. He was circumcised himself, and all his house, on the day that God commanded it. This Paul calls the sign of circumcision; and love to God in the heart is the substance of that sign; for they are the true circumcision who love God, and worship him in the Spirit. He kept my statutes. "I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect." "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." To walk before God is to walk in his immediate presence, and in the light of his countenance; it is to live in a filial fear of his goodness, in peace and equity; or, in other words, in friendship with him, and with a good conscience toward God. To be upright before God is to trust in him, to exercise faith upon him, and to love him with all the heart. The upright man is the just man, Hab. ii. 4; and he is upright that loves God, Song i. 4. There is no uprightness, but in faith and love, Unbelievers and enemies to Christ are serpents, and a generation of vipers, crooked and perverse in all their ways. Abraham kept my laws, says God. He kept the law of faith, Rom. iii. 27; the law of love, Gal. vi. 2; and the law of liberty, James i. 25. That Abraham kept these laws I shall endeavour to prove. Upon God's call to Abraham, Paul says, "By faith he obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went." This was the beginning of his obedience. And when God promised that his seed should be as the stars for multitude, he believed God, and he counted it to him for righteousness, And that he kept this law to the last is plain, because it is affirmed of him, that he died in faith. Abraham kept the law of love. He was dotingly fond of Hagar, of Ishmael, and especially of Isaac; but he loved his God above these, and all the world besides; for at God's command he turned Hagar and Ishmael both out of doors; and at further orders he offered up Isaac. And you may see the spring-tide of his love, at that very time, by the overflowings of his joy: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." Though Abraham saw not Jesus in the flesh, yet he saw his day; whom, having not seen, he loved; and though he saw him not, yet, believing, he rejoiced, with joy unspeakable and full of glory; yea, he rejoiced, and was glad. All which proves that he kept the law of love, loving God above all. Abraham kept the law of release, or, the law of liberty. Paul tells us that the gospel was preached to Abraham, Gal. iii. 8. And the intent of the gospel is to set at liberty them that are bruised. And that Abraham kept this law is plain by his purging his house. The Holy Ghost tells us, by Paul, that Sarah and Hagar were the two covenants; that Sarah was Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem; but Hagar Mount Sinai; and Jerusalem that now is. That Hagar was in bonds, but that Sarah was free, in every sense, being the lawful wife, and being blessed of God, That Hagar's son was a bondchild, but Isaac was by promise; nay, further, that "He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit; even so it is now." There had been a fourteen years strife between the bondwoman and the free. Hagar, through pride, exalted herself, and despised her mistress; for boasting is never excluded by the law of works. No sooner was the heir of promise born, but both mother and son began upon him; so that these two sons and the two mothers' wrath and love, bondage and liberty, fleshly children and spiritual children, would have kept Abraham's tents in a continual smoke with wrath, strife, and contention. And there-fore God, who is not the author of confusion, but of peace in all churches, orders that the old covenant, and the bondchild, should both be east out; that servile fear, the works of wrath, and legal bondage, should be chased from his tents. "Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." "For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect." "Cast out the scorner," says Wisdom, "and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease." All the time that Abraham cleaved to Hagar he cleaved to the broken covenant; and, while he doted upon Ishmael, he savoured the things that be of men, for he was born after the flesh; but when God and Sarah both ordered these to be cast out, he did it at once. He purged his house of all the sour leaven and bitter waters of strife; and then his divided affections went back to the better covenant, to the freewoman, and to the heir of promise, where they ought to be. And as it was in the beginning, so it is now, and ever shall be; that is, perfect love casteth out fear and torment. It was Abraham's conjunction with Hagar that brought all this wind and confusion into his tents; his union with her brought on a spiritual bondage. "These are the two covenants," says Paul; "the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar." And this bondage was communicated to Sarah, and filled her with wrath, rage, and jealousy; so that Abraham found that the law not only gendereth to bondage, but that bondage gendereth strife. Abraham having a regard both for Hagar and her son, as well as for Sarah and Isaac, he wished to unite them and keep them together. Sarah he knew was blessed of God, and he knew that God's blessing of life came by the covenant and promise that God had made with him; but he intended to have kept Hagar also, as a rule of life; but she tyrannised and ruled with such rigour as to weary him and Sarah both; and therefore Sarah ordered both her and her son out of doors. But this was too grievous to Abraham to be complied with till orders came from a higher court. "And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee hearken unto her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." I will be called the God of Isaac, not of Ishmael; and the God of Jacob, but not of Esau. "This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations," Exodus iii. 15. The day that Abraham purged his house of these, glorious liberty came to him; and when Isaac was born liberty came to. Sarah. Hence it is said of Zion, that when God turned her captivity her mouth was filled with laughter, and her tongue with singing. And when God turned the captivity of Sarah by the birth of Isaac, and the expulsion of Hagar, "Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." Hence the prophet sets these things before us, and couples Sarah and Zion together: "Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him: for the Lord shall comfort Zion." Now as Abraham's love had cast out slavish fear, and the tormentor of his house and the whole of his affections were gone back to the freewoman, which Paul calls the better covenant, and is, in a figure, the heavenly Jerusalem above, which is the mother of us all, he made it manifest that he held fast the law of liberty; and as he knew that he was a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem above, and being justified by God him, self, he knew that he had a right to all the privileges, immunities, and treasures, of that wonderful and mysterious city; and it is spoken by the Spirit, to Abraham's eternal honour, that "He looked, for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," Heb. xi. 10. Hence it appears that the laws which Abraham kept were the law of faith, the law of love, and, the perfect law of liberty. These all come from the better covenant, which Paul calls the heavenly Jerusalem, which is free, and which is the mother of all true believers. And as all grace comes from this city, so all grace leads to it; and those who are strangers to this city, and to these ways, do always err in their heart, not knowing the ways of God; and therefore they labour in vain. "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. If this city be the covenant of grace, as Paul say's it is, the way into it is Christ, for he is the mediator of the covenant; and there is no way of entering into covenant with God but by the faith of him. This is the saint's strong city. "Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks." "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my companions' sake will I now say, Peace be within thee; and he that will enter in, "Let him take hold of my strength, saith the Lord, that he may make peace with me." Christ is the power of God; he is the Son of man made strong for himself. And it is the union that subsists between the godhead and manhood that gives this Son of man all this strength. "Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me." Taking hold is believing. Let him embrace and cleave to the power displayed or put forth by the ministry of the word, by alarming providences, or by awakening judgments; whether it be reproving power, rebuking power, heart-searching power, convicting power, condemning power, or humbling power, let him receive it, and come to the light and force of truth, and let him wait for my law, and he shall make peace with me; for faith stands not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Christ, as mediator of the covenant, is the only way into it. No man can come to God, as a God in covenant, but by Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life. All the promises of the covenant are yea and amen in him; and all the life promised is in him: this life is in the Son. "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them." The foolish labour, But it is not by working but believing; not by works but by faith, that men go to this city. This labour of the foolish are the works of the law; "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." This law blinds the eyes; to this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon the heart. This is the reason that the wise man calls these labourers fools. And as he is working to earn life, instead of receiving it as God's gift, lie calls him a labourer; but the reward is not to him that worketh, but to him that worketh not. And as the law is sure to tire them quite out with its just exactions and unlimited demands, he says, "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them." They are sure to get out of breath, out of, strength, and out of heart too, at a long run; for though this way seems right unto a man, yet the end thereof are the ways of death, Let him labour as hard as he may, and travel as fast as lie can, the sting of death, the snares of death, the sentence of death, the fears of death, and he that has the power of death, will all pursue him, and at length find him out, entangle him, enter into him, and prey upon him; for all his performances are nothing else but dead works, performed by men dead in sin, criminals in chains, driven on by the wrath and curse of a broken law to merit, by eye-service and bodily exercise, the invaluable gift of eternal life. "They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways." "O my people, they Which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." No leader, however wise or learned, can show the way to this city, nor the gates of it, nor the privileges of it, nor the glorious things that are spoken of it, unless God, by his Spirit, discover them, and lead the soul by faith into them. "Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people." I have said before, in this little work, that the choice things of this city are, first, the tree of life; secondly, the fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints; and thirdly, perfect liberty. The heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is the mother of us all. "So then we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free." Life lies in the favour of God. "He that findeth me, findeth life," says Christ, "and shall obtain favour of the Lord." Christ, as mediator, is the gate of life, that leads us into the love, favour, and grace of God. We have access to 'God by the faith of him. Christ as the truth, leads us into liberty. "Receive the truth, and the truth shall make you free; and if the Son make you free, you shall be free indeed." "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in, Isai. xxvi. 2. Hence it is evident what the law of release was, namely, the truth in a figure; for as the moral law promised life, but, for want of human obedience, it could never give it, no not so much as the continuance of life in the promised land; so the ceremonial law, which ordered many sacrifices, and promised many pardons, never effected any one thing as pertaining to the conscience. "The law made nothing perfect," with respect to the removing of sins, "but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God;" for the blood of Christ makes us nigh by pardon, who were after off by wicked works. Christ, as the Lord our righteousness, leads us to the happy enjoyment of the wedding garment, the clean linen: white and clean. It is God that justifies; and to us the obedience of Christ shall be imputed if' we believe on him that raised Christ from the dead. God accepts us in his dear Son as just, but he will accept us in no other way. These are the gates that lead to this city; and Christ as mediator, is the only way into it; and Christ, in his covenant characters, is the gates of it; and he is the sum and substance of all the sweet enjoyments of it. Christ is the tree of life which the saints live on. He is the end of the law for righteousness, in which the saints shall for ever shine. And as their surety, he is the discharger of all their debts; their gaoldelivery is by an act of grace in him; and their eternal enlargement and perfect freedom is by the blood of his covenant, and the embracing of his truth. "Go through, go through the gates, says God; "cast up, cast up the highway." But this joyful sound is not attended to; the voice of these citizens is rejected, and these ways of Zion are too high for them that are under the old veil. "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath." "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest." The blindness of the heart is the chief cause of all this continual erring. Man, poor frail man, thinks that God is just such an one as himself, and that he can balance accounts with him as he does with an earthly creditor; yea more, that a few alms, tears, or a few legal performances, which are no more than bodily exercise, are sufficient to procure him an entrance into the kingdom of God. "God," says the Psalmist, "is the portion of my soul." "Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." And what proportion can there be between God as an exceeding great reward, and the merit of men, whose obedience is nothing but eye-service, dead works, and bodily exercise; all of which a man must be purged from before he can serve the living God, Nor is he fit for this service when he is purged from these dead works; for God requires worship in spirit and in truth; and service in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter; which the man of God must be furnished for by the influence and operation of the Holy Spirit of promise." "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest." The above is the abominable delusion of the self-righteous and self-sufficient Arminian. He dreams of merit, and thinks he can appease the wrath of God, and obtain his favour, by his own legal performances. But, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous' man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest." The wicked man will never forsake his way, and come into the ways of God, till he comes to hope in the only Mediator, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Nor will the unrighteous man forsake his vain thoughts till, in the business of salvation, all his thoughts are brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The unutterable delusion of human merit, and the unaccountable vanity of thinking to balance accounts with God without a surety, and to trust in our own performances without confidence in the obedience of the Mediator, are such vain thoughts, as must be pulled down; and this God does by the power of the gospel, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds: casting down imaginations, and every high thing-that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience, of Christ." "They do alway err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest." God, ever since man fell has pursued one constant and uniform method or way of saving sinners, which is by grace, through faith in Christ, Abel the first by faith offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which also he obtained witness that he was righteous. And all godly souls, from that time to this, that have been enabled to believe, have had the same witness in themselves. All the saints in the antediluvian world obtained a good report through faith; and he that believeth not is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him. And this will be the state and case of all unbelievers as long as the world stands. "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest." "And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes, And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called: The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall before those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there," Isa. xxxv. 7-9. This is, as Paul says, God s husbandry. The dry land shall become a pool. The Gentile world shall have a standing ministry of God's grace and Holy Spirit; and thirsty souls, that come to it, shall drink the waters of life and salvation; and this. shall spring up within them as a well of living waters, springing up into everlasting life; in the habitation of dragons where each lay. The Gentile cities were holds of foul spirits, as Mystery Babylon is, and is a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Companies of young converts, in a lively and thriving state, are compared to grass; more stable souls, who are able to teach others, are compared to reeds; and the fag end of a nation, such as the poor, weak, foolish, and despicable of' the world, which God has chosen, are called the rush, as the uppermost sort are called the branch. "Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do," Isaiah xix. 15. "In the habitations of dragons where each lay," shall be this grass, with reeds and rushes. The pleasant palaces of Babylon are promised to dragons, Isa. xiii. 22; and so is Bozrah, the capital of Edom, Isa. xxxiv. 13. Now, as these desolated cities were left in ruins, and these ruins became dens for wild beasts, so, mystically, the dwelling-places of the Gentiles were dwelling-places of evil spirits; for idolatry was the false religion that prevailed among them; and Paul affirms, that the things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed to devils, and not to God. Yet among these habitations of dragons there lay not a few of God's elect, as in the city of Corinth, where Paul is bid to speak boldly; "For," said the Lord, "I have much people in this city." Here, says God, shall be grass; many shall be quickened, revived, and brought to enjoy the heavenly showers and refreshing springs of Mount Zion; and in this city they shall flourish like grass of the earth, Psalm lxxii. 16; and not only grass, but reeds, which are stronger than grass, though bruised. "The bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth; and the isles shall wait for his law." In these habitations of dragons, where each of God's elect lies, the ways of God shall be made known; for so saith the Lord; "And a highway shall be there, and a way." But these ways of God are such as we cannot find out without the divine teaching of the Holy Spirit; and all convinced sinners are made sensible of this. Hence we hear them confessing their ignorance, and encouraging one another in hope of this teaching. "Come ye," say they, "and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Whatever these ways of God are, they are such as never can be discovered by the light of nature, though the servants of God should cast them up, as Moses did, and make them never so plain; for God declares of Israel, in my text, that they always erred in their heart, and have not known his ways. There never was a man in the world, since Adam fell, that ever did or could find out, by the light of nature, the saints' way to glory. "There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: the lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it." However dark and obscure this path may be, God leads poor blind souls into it when he has convinced them of their ignorance, and of their need of a divine guide. "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." Now come I to these ways. "And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there." 1. Here is the promise of an highway. This highway is Christ Jesus. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." "Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of' Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" There was a vail that hung between the sanctuary of the priests and the most holy place. Through this veil, or by it, once a year, on the day of atonement, the high priest went in; and he entered it by death, by the death of the beast that was offered in sacrifice, the blood of' which he took within the veil, for he dared not enter in without blood. And it was death to any person that should enter there, except the high priest; nor did he enter in but once in a year. When lie entered he turned the vail aside, and when he was entered the vail closed again; for so it is written, "But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he off, red for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing," Heb. ix. 7, 8. That most holy place was that in which God promised his presence; and through the vail lie sometimes shined, in lifting up the light of his countenance upon them that loved and feared him. Hence David prays, "Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth;" and again, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us." Now, the tabernacle and temple being, 1. A type of Christ; 2. A type of heaven; so Christ calls his human nature a temple. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But he spake of the tern pie of his body." And as the holy of holies was called the dwelling-place of the Most High, so in Christ dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily. And as out of the holy place God sent answers to his people's prayers, and the wonderful displays of his power, by sending them help from the sanctuary, and strengthening them out of Zion; so Christ gave answers to all that prayed to him, and manifested forth his glory in the miracles that he wrought in answer to the cries of poor sinners. And as God often shined forth from between the cherubims, so our Lord Jesus Christ shined forth upon his disciples through the vail of his flesh upon the mount, when he was transfigured before them. Moreover, as the tabernacle and its most holy place was a type of heaven, for so says Paul; "Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Again: the vail was a separation between God and men; and even the real worshippers of God were kept at a distance by it; which had never been the case if man had not sinned. It is sin that separates between God and the soul, God being angry at it, it being a breach of his laws; and, to show his anger, he hides his face, and dwells behind the veil. But God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and sin being condemned in his flesh, and removed, God, as well pleased, rents the veil, and shines again in Christ. At the death of Christ the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the most holy place laid open, to show that the way into heaven itself was now clearly revealed. God had long made darkness his secret pavilion; offended justice revealed nothing but wrath in a broken law against the unrighteousness of men; but Christ having trodden the wine-press of his Father's wrath, and appeased his anger by his sacrifice, God being well pleased, and reconciliation being made, we have access to God through the vail of Christ's flesh; for God shines into our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself; in Christ God is well pleased. When Christ was pierced on the cross full atonement was made, the vail of his flesh was rant, the killing spear brought on death, and death is a rendering or separating the soul from the body; and the ransom price being paid by the Redeemer, God in Christ is well pleased, and shines into our hearts, and enlightens us to see his glory in the Saviour's face. This draws us to Christ, and God accepts us in him, and suffers us to draw nigh again; "For through him we both have an access by one Spirit unto the Father." Under the influence of the Holy Spirit is this access granted; faith, hope, and love, pass through this vail to God. And this is the access that is granted to all believers, "Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God." Now Paul calls this a new way, in opposition to every way whereby men think of entering by the covenant of works. The glory of God was upon Adam while he stood, and he had access to him, and communion with him; but lie sinning, and we sinning in him, that glory was lost by disobedience; "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." God's glory is now seen in the face of the Sun of righteousness; and through this sacrifice, called the vail of his flesh, God shines again propitious. Paul calls this a living way. Christ is our life, yea, the resurrection and the life, through whom we enter; and he that finds Christ as the way, finds favour with God, in whose favour is life. "Whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." Moreover, he is the Spirit of life that guides us into this way; and he that believes hath everlasting life already in himself. And it is in the exercises of faith, hope, and love, that lie goes in and out upon this new and living way; and there is life in all those three graces; so that we may well call this a living way, and say, with the wise man, that in this way of righteousness there is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death, Prov. xii. 28. Faith, hope, and love, are admitted, through Christ, to centre in God. Prayers, praises, and thank-offerings, go through this veil; and all grace, and gracious answers to prayer, and every good and perfect gift, and all the spiritual blessings of the covenant, flow to us in this same channel. And, as this is the living way, the sins that attend our most holy things shall not pass to God through a mediator; nor shall any wrath or curse from God pass through Christ to them that believe; for God has sworn that he will not be wroth with us, nor rebuke us. "A highway shall he there, and a way; and it shall be called, The way of holiness." Having showed, as well as I can, the highway, I shall now show this way, which is called The way of holiness. Christ is the highway of life; and this is the way of holiness; there shall be a highway, and a way. This holy way is regeneration, and nothing else. "Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall-sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, This following Christ in the regeneration signifies two things. 1. In the days of Christ the old dispensation passed away, and all things became new. The new covenant took place, new ordinances were brought in, and the Gentiles, a new people, were called to the fellowship of Christ; a new heart and a new spirit were given; and service in the newness of the spirit was required; and all service in the oldness of the letter was rejected. Here is a new birth of things, a regeneration of ordinances and institutions. Now, the apostles followed Christ into these firings; but the scribes and pharisees abode by the old types and shadows, until God put a final stop to their proceedings by the Roman sword. And though their heart is still inclined to the offering of sacrifices, yet they are prevented by two things: l. Their genealogies are all burnt, so that they are at no certainty who is and who is not of the tribe of Levi; and they are threatened with the destruction of Korah and his company if any stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, offer incense, Num. vi. 40. 2. There is an interdiction that lies in the way of sacrificing, which is, "Take heed to thyself, that thou offer not thy burnt, offerings in every place that thou seest: but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee." The genealogies being burnt, the tribe of Levi not known, and Jerusalem, where God put his name, being now in the hand of strangers; and the Jews in a land not theirs; and the above threatenings and prohibitions lying in the way; and Christ's sacrifice being rejected by them; an ancient prophecy is fulfilled in them, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without, a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim," Hosea iii. 4. These elder sons abode without, they came not into a compliance with the will of God; but the apostles did; they followed Christ into this change, into this regeneration of things, when old things passed away, and all things became new. Furthermore, they followed Christ out of the old Adam's family, even out of the flesh; and they passed into the adopted family of God, and into the household of faith, by a regeneration of soul; they followed Christ in the regeneration, by which they were made new creatures in him, and passed as such into a new family. And as Christ is the highway that leads to God, so this is the way of holiness, which leads us to the enjoyment of God, and makes us meet for the heavenly inheritance. We cannot follow Christ spiritually without partaking of his Spirit; nor will Christ own any but such; for "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Regeneration is a change wrought in every part or faculty of the soul by the Holy Spirit of God; in which some things are removed, and things that were corrupted by sin are set right again; hence it is called washing and renewing; that is, cleansing and making new again. "According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." And, as God is said to give testimony to the word of his grace, this lie does by causing his Spirit to attend and apply the word preached, which is God's seal to the message. You received the Spirit, says Paul, not by the works of the law, but by the preaching of faith, Hence the word goes to God's elect, as it doth not to others; to others it goes in word only, but to the elect in power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; which makes manifest who are the elect and who are not. The word preached is the means of conveying the Spirit; hence it is said, that "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish." Now, as this way is to be called the way of holiness, it shows that sin is purged and removed out of the way, and real holiness brought into the soul of those who follow Christ in the regeneration. 1. There is a cleansing of us by the Spirit of God. "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." They must be cleansed that walk in this way; as the prophet says, "It shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it;" but they that are cleansed shall. There is no one thing that the Holy Ghost does in the souls of God's children, but that work is put, as a name, upon the way in which they walk; as, in the above, the prophet says the unclean shall not pass over the way of holiness. But the regenerated soul walks in a clean way, because he is clean. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word." 2. The Holy Spirit, in his work of regeneration, removes the vail of ignorance from the understanding; hence our Lord tells the Laodicean church that he counsels her to buy of him eye-salve to anoint her eyes, that she may see. And, when this anointing takes place, we have some glimmering views of God's ways, and not till then; for we are expressly said to be blind before, and to be going we know not whither. "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them," Isa. xlii. 16. And this light which breaks into us, and breaks out before us, is called the morning-star, the beginning of glory. Now, our path to heaven takes its name from this illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 3. In the work of regeneration spiritual life is infused into the soul. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth." And that part of the soul which first feels the quickening energy of the Spirit is the conscience, or what the scriptures call the heart; and hence it is that we often meet with such encouraging words as these; "The humble shall see this, and be glad; and your heart shall live that seek God;" which appears to me to mean this, that the life-giving convictions of the Spirit shall not die away from the conscience of God's elect. It is that quickening power of the Spirit that makes the conscience so susceptible of every impression and of every impulse made by the reproofs, rebukes, contentions, frownings, or contrary walkings of God, toward it. It is made sore and tender, it is chafed and wounded; it is made sick of sin, and is like a thorn hedge to the sinner: if he adds to the load that it feels, or to the wounds already inflicted, it cries out. The energy of the sinner's prayers springs from this life; he cries day and night, and hungers, thirsts, longs, craves, and faints, till he can believe and apply the atonement. Nor can any one thing under heaven feed conscience but the blood and righteousness of Christ. The Spirit purges the conscience from dead works by the blood of Christ; and such a conscience knows the Lord's meaning well when he says, "My blood is drink indeed." Moreover, righteousness must be brought into the, conscience before conscience can be fed so as to be satisfied. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Thus the good Spirit quickens the dead soul; and the way that such a living soul walks in when quickened, is called the way of life. "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath." 4. The good Spirit is called the Spirit of revelation. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling," Eph. i. 17, 18. It is the work and office of the Holy Spirit to testify of Christ, and to take the. things which are his, and to reveal them to us. We discern nothing but what he exhibits; nor have we any experimental enjoyment of Christ or his fullness but what the Spirit applies; and some, times both our discoveries and enjoyments appear small; but they should by no means be overlooked; "For who hath despised the day of small things?" God does not, nor should we. There is in the soul renewed a keen appetite for knowledge; and God promises to send pastors after his own heart to feed us with it. And there are such depths in Christ, and in the mysteries of his kingdom, that they cannot be fathomed, But every glimpse or distant view of Christ, however transient, is of infinite worth to the inspired soul; and so is every fresh discovery of his person or works that is made to us in the word of God; it is meditated on, eat, digested, and treasured up in mind and memory for ever; And this blessed Spirit of wisdom and understanding goes on to guide and guard the mind throughout our whole pilgrimage, till we come to a perfection of knowledge above. And this divine teaching gives another name to the saint's way; "Forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of' understanding." 5. Furthermore, as the Holy Spirit takes up his abode in the believer, on which account we are denominated holy, because of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, so he is said to sanctify us; "That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost," And this sanctification is, first, by his most gracious presence; and, secondly, by the pure and purifying grace which he implants; and, thirdly, by the image which he stamps; and, fourthly, by his continual renewing operations which he produces, and which the believer is sensible enough of; for, however dejected or dismayed before, upon the fresh operations and influences of the Spirit on the soul, be thanks God, and takes courage. This work of sanctification going on by the Spirit in the believer, or working real holiness in him, gives the saint's way another name; "And a way shall be there; and it shall he called, The way of holiness." 6. As it is by pardon sealed, and by righteousness imputed, that the soul finds peace with God, so all the time that the mind exercises its confidence upon the atonement and righteousness of Christ for acceptance with God, the soul becomes calm, composed, and tranquil, reclining and resting on the Saviour's full satisfaction, and on the divine veracity of God in him. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee," Isa. xxvi. 3. And this gives another name to the saint's paths: "Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." And what is that which makes wisdom's ways pleasant? why, drinking of the river of God's pleasure. And what is that river but the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and the comfort of love when we enjoy it? And the various operations of the Holy Spirit are the streams that make glad the city of God. 7. Now, as the crowning work of regeneration is being made in some measure perfect in love, so as to cast out fear and torment, which always attend upon unbelief, so love is such a full satisfaction to the soul about the safety of its state, as enables the believer to joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And as love is the crowning work, for he that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, so charity, or love, is called the most excellent of all ways. "But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way," follow after charity; for that is the more excellent way; or "walk in love, as Christ hath loved us." This is the way of holiness. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit takes names to himself according to his operations on the saints. God makes us willing in the day of his power; and the Spirit is called the Spirit of power; and as such he bows the will to yield obedience. The Spirit subdues the enmity of the mind, and renews it, and works faith in it, and leads it into the truth; and he is called the Spirit of a sound mind. In short, the Holy Ghost is a spirit of revelation to the understanding; a spirit of judgment to them that sit in judgment upon themselves; a spirit of faith to our mind and heart; a spirit of love to our affections; and a spirit of supplication to all praying souls. He removes stubbornness from our wills, enmity from our minds, darkness from our understandings, impenitency from our hearts, guilt and insensibility from the conscience, and love and delight in sin from the affections. And this is the washing of regeneration. The renewing of the Holy Ghost is, in short, as follows: He gives power to the will to make choice of Christ above all things else; he persuades the mind, and this yields the obedience of faith; and under this power the sinner does the will of his Father. He gives an unction to the understanding, which is an eternal light to it; and, though the believer at times may sit in darkness, yet the Lord the Spirit is still a light unto him, and always brings him forth to the light again, and makes him shine the brighter after every seeming eclipse. He gives information to the judgment, so that, "He that is spiritual judgeth all things, but he himself is judged of no man." He gives life also and peace to the mind; and to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The mind of man is a most busy faculty; it is always at work; and the enmity of it alienates it from the life of God; therefore vanity possesseth it. The natural activity of the mind is called the spirit of it. "Be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind." To renew it is to purge the dross and enmity from it, to influence it with faith, and to stock it, inlay it, and furnish it with the word of God, with the life of grace, and with the enjoyment of peace, and so to set it to work upon high and heavenly things; and the more it works on these things, the more lively and peaceable it is. Again: the Spirit furnishes the conscience with his own witness; and by that conscience is kept under the tuition and influence of the Holy Spirit; so that conscience and the Spirit bear one testimony; hence we read of conscience bearing; witness in the Holy Ghost. And again: "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." And again: "Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience." The Spirit influenceth our affections also with the love of God. "We love him, because he first loved us." And we read of setting our affections on things above, at the right hand of God, where Christ sitteth. By observing these things the believer may perceive something of the renewing work of the Spirit on himself, and come to some certainty and satisfaction about it. And thus have I shewed the highway, which is Christ; and the way, which is regeneration. And as every quickened sinner is seeking and feeling after light, life, faith, peace, joy, love; for his whole soul is set upon these things; so God says the wayfaring men, that is, all such men as are found walking in this way, though fools in themselves, yet they shall not err in this way. "No lion shall be there;" no enemy to God, nor persecutor of the saints: "nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon;" no wolf, nor fox, who try to destroy the sheep and Lambs of Christ by errors and heresies; these shall not be found there, and I doubt not but all believers will consent to this, that they never saw an unclean person; a roaring lion, like Nero; an envious fox, like Herod; or destroying wolves, like the popish tribes, walking in Christ the highway, or following him in the regeneration. "They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest." I come now to treat of the saint's rest. The first account that we have of this is at the conclusion of the work of creation. "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." This seems to intimate that the Lord, upon a survey of the displays of his own wisdom and power, ceased creating, seeing all things complete, and rested, well pleased with the work of his own hands. And from thence he appointed one day in the week, the seventh, to be a day of rest to man and beast. This day of rest seems to be set forth as representing something yet to come. "Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come." 2. The promised land is set forth in the word of God as a rest to the Israelites. They had been in hard bondage in Egypt, and had been afflicted there four hundred years. And after this they had long, wearisome, and painful journies for forty years together in the wilderness, and found no city to dwell in, no resting place; and, even after they came into the promised land, they had long wars, and continual fights, till the country was subdued before them. Then the land rested from war, and Israel from fighting. "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them," Josh xxi. 43, 44. This land may be a figure of the heavenly country which Abraham sought; that land which, as Isaiah says, is very far off. But Israel which came first to the borders of it, entered not/in, because of unbelief; they failed both of this country and of the heavenly one; for Jude says that God, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed not. To these he sware in his wrath, that they should not enter into his rest. But there is one mystery that I shall take notice of before I finish this work, and that is, that Moses himself entered not into the land of promise, but died on the march as well as the rebels; and yet he found rest on the other side Jordan. "Now, therefore," says Moses, "I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight; and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." 3. Moreover the tabernacle which David pitched, and the temple which Solomon built, are called resting-places for the ark of God, which before moved from place to place, and had no settled abode. Moreover, the ark had been in the hand of the Philistines for some time, of which David sadly complains. "For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; and delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand." And when the Philistines, being sorely plagued by the ark, sent it back, yet it was long before it rested. "And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord." Upon this David erected a tabernacle for it, which he called the Lord's rest. "We will go into his tabernacles; we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength." But to proceed a little further: when Noah offered his sacrifice and thank-offerings for the preservation of himself and family in the ark, as it is said; "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a savour of rest; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every thing living." Here we have an account of God's just displeasure in drowning the world of the ungodly. Upon the back of this, Noah in the faith of the Messiah, and in type of his grand sacrifice, offered his offering to God; upon which God smelled a savour of rest; ami upon this promises that he will drown the world no more. Now all these things are no more than introductory to something far greater. The creation of the world is a wonderful display of divine wisdom and power. Upon a survey of this God rested from his works of creation. The drowning the old world exhibited his terrible majesty, and just indignation; but in the sovereign display of his mercy to Noah, and in his grateful acknowledgments of it by sacrifice, a savour of rest is smelled, and a promise of no more deluge. In delivering Israel out of Egypt, and in his sore judgments upon that nation, the goodness and severity of God are wonderfully displayed. After which he takes up his rest in the tabernacle of David, and in the temple of Solomon, where all the typical sacrifices that he appointed were offered; but when the people by their sins provoked him, and foolishly imagined that his offended justice could be satisfied by beasts, and that God would drink the blood of goats, and turned his house of prayer into a den of thieves, he gave it up into the hand of the king of Babylon. "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest." But, after all this, God speaks of another day, and of another rest. For though, in the creation of the world, he had displayed his wisdom and power, and in the deluge his wrath and indignation, and in his judgments on Egypt, and in the deliverance of Israel, his goodness and severity; yet his highest favour and his grace, his wonderful compassion and mercy, and his everlasting love in which his soul delights, are still behind; and offended justice and a broken law stand in the way of these, until the day of Christ's appearing. And of this God speaks, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation. The destruction of sin and Satan by Christ, and the work of redemption, are the things which he set his heart upon from all eternity. And this appears from Christ's being set up from everlasting; his goings forth are said to be from eternity; and his mercy and his love are from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. Upon those things the Almighty set his heart and soul from eternity; and in the display of these things he delights, and therefore says, that mercy shall be built up for ever, and his faithfulness shall be established in the very heavens; and that will be the case when God displays the riches of his grace in glory by Christ Jesus. The Saviour's errand into this world was to open a way for the discovery of these, and for our enjoyment of them in and through him; for there can be no rest to divine justice without satisfaction, as sings our sublime poet: To whom thus Michael: Dream not of their fight, So speaks the poet, and speaks truth. For as soon as ever Christ appeared in the world, what propitious tokens do attend him! The angels sing, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men;" and, at his entrance upon his ministry, a voice from the Lord God himself, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This, with the visible descent of the Holy Ghost, is all expressive of infinite pleasure and delight. The law he magnifies and fulfils, and God is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He dies, and justice is satisfied; man is redeemed, and a gaoldelivery is procured. At death he says, "I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope: for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption." High justice here, as Milton says, rested apaid, and the Lord's flesh rested in hope; in hope of a glorious resurrection, and of a fullness of joy in heaven, and of pleasures for evermore. At the resurrection of Christ, truth springs out of the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Righteousness goes before him, and sets us in the way of his steps, Psalm lxxxv. 11, 13. Herein doth the everlasting love of God appear, in appointing his dear Son to assume our nature, and to be God with us in that nature forever; and in appointing him to be a sacrifice for us, and in giving him for a covenant to us. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In this God hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; and in Christ he has displayed all the good pleasure of his will, his eternal mercy, grace, faithfullness, and truth And here justice rests satisfied, the law honoured, and the lawgiver glorified for evermore. And in this his love and good-will he rests delighted and well pleased; and so it is written, "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing," Zeph. iii. 16, 17. In this God rests for ever, namely, in the displays of his own love; in the salvation of his elect by Christ; and in rejoicing over them to do them good. But again: upon the holy hill of Zion, as king of saints, and covenant head of the church, he sets his anointed king, crowned with glory and honour, invested with all power in heaven and earth, as mediator, and sole heir of all things. And in gathering souls to him, in making his people willing, in fulfilling the good pleasure of his will in them, and the work of faith with power, and in drawing souls to him, and in revealing Christ in them, is his hand engaged to this day. And this mighty hand made bare rests upon them all; none is able to pluck them out of his hand. And so it is written, "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill." Upon this rest the Almighty sets the love of his heart; in this our salvation rests the power of his arm; he rests in his love set upon Zion, and the arm of his power rests on the same. "For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it." The rest, therefore, of God is in his own everlasting love toward us in Christ Jesus, and in the power of his grace in our salvation. And to this it is that he prophet points the rebellious Israelites. "To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." And it is plain that every soul that God the Father takes in hand to discipline and teach out of the law, it is intended to make them feel their need of this rest which he has provided, as it may be seen in the following passage: "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked." This law-teaching discovers our sins, and the wrath and bondage of the law make sin an intolerable burden; and the dread of hell torments fills our souls with anguish; and this sets us to labour with all our might; and the more we struggle, the tighter we are bound. And it is to souls, who are under the teaching of the law as a schoolmaster, that Jesus Christ calls: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," Matt. xi. 28-30. Here rest is promised freely, "I will give you rest? and the invitation is to the burdened sinner, who is labouring under his burden against the rising corruptions of his heart, in order to subdue them, and at keeping the commandments in order to appease the displeasure of God, and to obtain a righteousness which he hopes will recommend him to God's favour, and to work himself, up into a holy frame of heart, which he imagines to obtain by striving, and by which he expects to be made meet for the blessed inheritance. But this is not acting like a pauper upon the throne of grace, nor is it receiving rest as the gift of Christ, which is tendered to us in the above kind invitation. This rest is obtained by believing. Israel of old came short of it through unbelief; while Moses obtained it by faith, though he entered not into the promised land. "Moses," says God, is faithful in all my house; and "My presence," says God to him, "shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." And so it is now; this rest is obtained by believing. "For we which have believed, do enter into rest; as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest," Heb. iv. 3. But it may be asked what we rest from. The soul finds rest from the intolerable burden of sin in the dying love and in the atoning blood of Christ. We find rest from the galling yoke of precepts, from the irritating power of the law, and from its dreadful sentence, in the righteousness of Christ. We find rest from the accusations of Satan and conscience in the witness of faith; and we rest from slavish fear, perplexing doubts, and legal bondage, in the love of God in Christ; and we rest from open war, rebellion, and all hostilities against God, by the enjoyment of peace and friendship with God through Christ. We rest secure in the purpose of God, and in his decree of election, which was made in Christ; and we rest satisfied, contented, and Well pleased, with the eternal salvation of Christ. This is the saint's everlasting rest; nor can they find it any where else. And all letter preachers, who labour against these plain things, do but spoil these resting-places which God has appointed and provided for his poor children. "Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting-place: for a ,just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." And sure I am that all who deny the godhead of our dear Lord, and those who set light by his great atonement, and those who deny the imputation of his everlasting righteousness, and those who enforce final apostacy from the grace of God, do all that in them lies to spoil the resting-place of the just. For they may fall into decays of spiritual life, and from their own steadfastness, and from their first love, and into extreme poverty, and into sins, through weakness, as Peter did, and into deep troubles; as it is written, "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now, when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries," Dan. xi. 33, 34. And this little help promised will support them, and lift them up again too; and they will then get back again into their rest, as others have done who have fallen sadly and foully, but not finally. It is one thing to fall down, and another thing to fall away. "The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." Many who feel their need of this rest seem to come short of it, or rest in legal attainments, outward reformation, or in an empty profession, being set down at ease by the ministry of the letter, in the hands of men unskilful in the word of righteousness, This stifles their convictions, benumbs their souls, and they rest in head notions, and in their moral conduct, and in the judgment and witness of men who pretend to feed them. "Four we dare not," says Paul, "make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." And I may say of such a rest as the prophet of old did, "Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest; because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction," Micah ii. 10. Hope or expectation the Lord often gives to the seeking sinner, to encourage him to diligent attention and watchfullness, and to exercise his patience; yet sure I am that there is no real and solid rest short of the remission of sins, and in a spiritual birth. And there is a glory in this rest. Every attribute of God harmonizes, conspires, and shines together to the honour and glory of God, when the soul comes to rest in the bosom of the chief Shepherd, and to take up its sweet repose in his dying love, which will never end, but be glorious to eternity. "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." Thus have I showed my reader that unbelief, wherever it preveils, is a continual erring in the heart. I have also endeavoured to point out the ways of God, and the rest which the believer finds in those ways. And the very oath of God is against them who harden their hearts in unbelief against these things. "To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years, therefore, I was grieved with that generation, and, said It is a people that do alway err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: so I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest." |