Now a work, of whatever kind it is, implies design, activity, and an exertion of skill and strength. Ideas which are applicable to religion in its rise, progress, and final completion; and more especially as it concerns the heart or inward man; for there this work is said to be wrought. We are his workmanship, says the apostle to the Ephesians a. The soul of man, in an unrenewed state, resembles a building in ruins. It was once a fair and beautiful temple, the residence of the blessed God, and sacred to his service. But alas! it is now defaced and spoiled. The stones of the sanctuary, to use the language of the prophet concerning the temple at Jerusalem, are poured out; the altar is thrown down; the holy fire extinguished; and the glory of the Lord departed. All the faculties of the mind are enervated and broken, overspread with darkness and error, and wretchedly polluted and depraved. The great object therefore of religion is the renovation of the soul, the rebuilding this temple, and the fitting it again for the service and enjoyme..t of God. A work this truly noble and important, but attended with much expence, labour and opposition. The plan is laid in the sacred records, and suitable means are provided for carrying it into execution. The materials are chosen, fashioned and cemented. And thus the building, fitly framed and beautified, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, and becomes an habitation of God through the Spirit. The foundation is laid in deep humiliation for sin, and a lively faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and the superstructure is raised, amidst many conflicts and temptations, in knowledge, purity and joy. He who was ignorant of God, of his own heart, and of the great concerns of a future state, becomes wise unto salvation. He who was dead in trespasses and sins, is quickened to a life of holiness. And he who was immersed in the follies and pleasures of the world, aspires to infinitely nobler enjoyments. He is a new creature. There is a change in his principles, views, affections and manner of life. Old things are passed away, and all things become new b. Now, 2. Of this work God is the author. So the text expressly assures us. For he who had begun it in the Philippians, is the same divine person to whom the apostle had offered his thanks, in the third verse, on their behalf. a Eph. ii. 10. b 2 Cor. v. 17. Every house is built by some man, but he who builds this temple is God. To his skill and influence we are indebted both for framing the plan, and for carrying it into execution. Others indeed are labourers together with God a; nay those in whom the work is wrought, are themselves commanded to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling b: yet they all act under the direction of the great Master-builder, and depend upon the effectual concurrence of his providence and grace for the success of their labours. After what manner the Holy Spirit exerts his influence on the minds of men, to effect their conversion at first, and to maintain and promote religion in their hearts afterwards, it is not for me precisely to determine. But that there is a supernatural power exerted to these great ends, may be clearly proved from the principles of reason, in concurrence with the express testimony of Scripture. This I have shewn at large in a former discourse. It will be necessary, however, to resume the argument here in a few words, because the main thing asserted in the text, That this work shall be performed until the day of Christ, very much depends upon it. It is a truth acknowledged on all hands, that the great Father of spirits can have access to the hearts of men, and by a secret but powerful influence, incline and move them as he sees fit. To deny the possibility of this is to recur to downright atheism. Nor is it unworthy of God, or at all subversive of our original constitution as reasonable creatures, for that great and good Being thus to irradiate our benighted minds, and give a new bent to our depraved will and affections. Our present state evidently requires it in order to our becoming capable of serving and enjoying God: for it is a clear fact, that men are naturally averse to that which is holy, spiritual and good; and that all the means used to recover them to a sense of their duty and interest have been, and still are ineffectual with the far greater part of mankind. And as the influence of the Holy Spirit is necessary for the renovation of our nature, so this doctrine is clearly revealed in the Bible; and religion wherever it prevails is constantly and invariably represented throughout that sacred book, as an effect resulting from that cause. It is God a 2 Cor. vi, 1, b Phil. ii. 12. that opens our eyes a, enlightens our understandings b, and directs our ways to keep his statutes c. It is God that circumcises our hearts to love him d, puts his fear in our inward parts e, and renews a right spirit within usf. It is God that works in us to will and to do of his good pleasure g, and makes us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light h. We are born of the Spirit i, and saved by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost k. In fine, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works l. All which, you see, well agrees with the language of the text, that God begins this work in us, and performs it until the day of Christ. Whoever therefore duly reflects on the ruinous state to which the soul of man is reduced by sin; on the prodigious expence which the Son of God hath been at to procure on honourable terms the return of the Holy Spirit to our earth; on the means appointed for rebuilding, beautifying and consecrating a temple for his service; the sorrow, labour and difficulty which, through various causes, attend the work itself; and what Scripture, as you have seen, affirms concerning the divine influence therein: whoever, I say, duly considers all these things must acknowledge that religion is indeed the work of God.-Which leads me to observe, 3. That it is a good work. So it must needs be, as it is the effect of divine skill, power and goodness: but its nature and intendment will sufficiently shew it. Beauty and convenience are the two chief commendations of a building. If its parts are so framed and adjusted, as to please the beholder; and it is so contrived and laid out as to furnish all needful accommodations for the inhabitant: it is a fair mansion, an agreeable dwelling. In like manner, this spiritual building is both ornamental and useful. He who hath a taste for real dignity and beauty, must acknowledge that they are qualities inseparable from true religion. Figure to yourself a Christian, who possesses all that genuine simplicity, meekness, humility, cheerfulness, love of God, contempt of the world, and a Psal. cxix. 18. d Deut. xxx. 6. g Phil. ii. 13. k Tit. iii. 5. b Eph. i. 18.-2 Cor. iv. 6. h Col. i. 12. Eph. ii. 10. c Psal. cxix. 5. ƒ Psal. li. 10. i John fii. 5. benevolence towards his fellow-creatures, which the faith of the gospel inspires; and say, Whether such a character is not truly amiable? It cannot fail of captivating the eye, and charming the heart, of him whose senses are exercised to discern good and evil. Nay, it will, it must, it does, upon some occasions at least, command the reverence of the wicked themselves. The king's daughter, to use the figurative language of the psalmist, is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold a. 3 And sure I am, religion is as useful, as it is venerable and ornamental. The personal benefits which result from it are great, innumerable and lasting. Not to speak of its effect to secure a man from many temporal evils, it tends directly, and in various ways, to promote the peace, comfort and happiness of the mind. Great peace have they who love thy law, says David b. The ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, says Solomon c. And the apostle assures us that godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come d. Nor do they only in whom this work is wrought reap the fruits of it: others are benefited by it. The grace of God makes a man a good man. It inspires him with princi ples of integrity, meekness, humility and generosity; virtues these of general utility, and which cannot fail of rendering him who possesses them a blessing to all around him. So that the real Christian will be a dutiful and affectionate relation, a sincere and steady friend, and an honourable and useful member of society. These Philippians, in whom religion thus prevailed, were not only blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; but they shone as lights in the world e. And it is true of the dis ciples of Christ in every age, as well as of his immediate followers, that they are the salt of the earth f.-Now surely a work that is thus ornamental and useful must be a good work. Yet, 4. It is at present imperfect, a work begun in us. As to some, little more can be said of them than that the foundation of this new building is just laid, and that there are hopeful appearances of its rising out of its former ruins. It is a Psal. xlv. 13. d 1 Tim. iv. 8. VOL. I. b Psal. exix. 165. A a c Prov. iii. 17. ƒ Matt. v. 13. the day of small things, as the prophet speaks concerning the temple at Jerusalem a. Their knowledge scarce extends farther than the first principles of the oracles of God, and is blended with much ignorance and error. Their ideas are irregular and confused, like his in the gospel who just emerging out of blindness said, I see men as trees, walking b. Their faith, though well grounded, is weak and feeble, and frequently shook with the violent assaults of temptation; so that in their perplexity they cry out, like him, who besought Christ to heal his child, Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief c. Their hope, though it holds them up from despondency, arises not to assurance; so that they dare not pronounce certainly upon their state towards God. They have a fixed abhorrence of all sin; yet not thoroughly knowing their own hearts, and not fully comprehending the devices of Satan, they are often deceived, if not overcome, by its delusive and flattering appearance. They have a relish for the pure and spiritual pleasures of religion, and eagerly aspire after them; yet they feel and lament the powerful attractions and undue influence of sensible objects. In short, the principles of grace and holiness have many sinful habits and foolish passions to contend with; so that their joys are mingled with sorrows, their hopes clouded with fears, and their obedience disgraced with imperfection and sin. Thus is religion in the beginning like Elijah's cloud, which at first was no bigger than a man's hand, but afterwards covered the whole heavens d. Or like a grain of mustard-seed, which is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown, is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree; so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof e. And hence our Saviour, in great compassion to his young afflicted disciples, compares them to a bruised reed, and smoking flax f. Like a bruised reed, they are in their own apprehension, most base and contemptible; and, through the sorrowfulness of their spirits, are as incapable of affording melody in the ears of others, as a musical instrument that is broken and laid aside. And like smoking flax, religion seems to them to have little strength or prevalence in their hearts; so that, though the fire may have a Zech. iv. 10. d1 Kings xviii. 44, 45. b Mark viii. 24. c Mark ix. 24. f Chap. xii. 20. |