Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

fact, so bemired, that neither by coat nor colour can the one be distinguished from the other. How then distinguish them? Nothing more easy! The unclean animal, in circumstances agreeable to its nature, wallows in the mire; but the sheep-type of the godly-fills the air with its bleatings, nor ceases its struggles to get out.

I will

THE NEW LIFE.

(Continued.)

cause you to walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them.-EZEKIEL XXXVI. 27.

THE predestination which I believe in, is that of Paul"Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." To redeem us from the power, as well as punishment of iniquity, Jesus died. For this his most precious blood was poured out upon the earth-for this the Spirit has descended from heaven. We are "called with a holy calling ;"-called to pluck the love of sin from our hearts, to dethrone every idol that usurps the place of God; and, having nailed to the cross the old man, with his affections and lusts, we are called to be like Jesus. His meat and drink was to do his Father's will. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." By this lofty end of a good man's life, by the regard which you cherish to Christ, by the welfare of your soul, by the interest of other men's souls, you are solemnly bound to beware of everything which might blemish your profession, which might obscure the lustre of your graces, which might hinder you from walking in God's statutes, and keeping his judgments, and doing them. So far, therefore, as circumstances permit you. See that you literally "depart

from evil," and in the choice of your company and companions, follow the example of David, and remember the warning of his son, "I am a companion to all them that fear thee;"—" a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Sin is a disease which is communicated by contagion. Shun, therefore, the place of infection. More than if they had plague or fever-avoid the company of the infected. Abjure every scene, pleasure, pursuit, which experience has taught you tends to sin, dulls the fine edge of conscience, unfits for religious duties, indisposes for religious enjoyments, sends you prayerless to bed, or dull and drowsy to prayer. As the seaman does with surf beaten reef or iron bound shore, give these a wide berth; and, passing on, hold straight away, under a press of canvas, in your course for heaven.

Never fear to suffer; but oh! fear to sin. If you must choose between them, choose rather the greatest suffering than the smallest sin.

Stand in awe of God, and in fear of temptation. "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." It is not safe to bring gunpowder within the fall even of a spark; nor safe, however dexterous your driving, to shave with your wheels the edge of a beetling precipice; nor safe in the bestbuilt bark that ever rode the waves, to sail on the rim of a roaring whirlpool. The seed of the woman has indeed bruised the head of the serpent; yet beware! the reptile is not dead; and it is dangerous to handle an adder, or touch its envenomed fangs, if the creature is alive, even although its head be crushed.

Let me also warn you that such a holy life as the

text enjoins, is impossible to any but those who stand on their guard against the beginnings of evil. Take alarm at an evil thought, wish, desire. What are these, but the germs of sin-the winged seeds which, wafted on by the wind, drop into the heart, and finding in our natural corruption a fat and too favourable soil, spring up into actual transgressions? These, like the rattle of the snake, the hiss of the serpent, reveal the presence and near neighbourhood of danger. Besides, does not the experience of all good men prove that sin is most easily crushed in the bud, and that it is safer to flee from temptation than to fight it? Fight like a man when you cannot avoid the battle, but rather flee than fight. Be afraid of temptation, avoid it, abhor it; and if caught by the enchantress, as you tear yourself from her encircling arms, and seek safety in flight, be your answer that of Joseph's chastity -"Shall I do this great evil and sin against God?"

True religion, however, consists not in a passive, but active piety. We are to walk in God's statutes, to keep his judgments, and to do them. Our pattern is not the shaven monk who wears a cowl, and tells his beads, and keeps his midnight vigils, and goes through the dull routine of mumbled prayers and irksome fastings within the walls of a monastery; nor she who, having assumed the black veil and renounced the world, seeks safety from its contamination, or solace from its sorrows, within the cold formalities and cloisters of a convent. The pattern of a Christian is that divine man, who-while he passed a brief period of probation in the lonely desert, and often spent whole nights on the mountain in solitary communion with

his God-walked the corn-fields of Galilee, frequented the fishing villages on the shores of Tiberias, and was occasionally to be met with in Judah's towns, and on Jerusalem's crowded streets. Our exemplar is he, who, wherever he went, "went about doing good," earning for himself this noble opprobrium, "the friend of publicans and sinners."

Observe, also, that activity of Christian life is implied in the very terms of the text. Grant that we may thereby be exposed to hardships and temptations, from which a quiet and retiring piety might exempt us. Still, a life of active service shall prove best for others, and in the end also for ourselves. A candle set beneath a bushel is, no doubt, safe from wind and weather; but of what use is it? On whose work does it shine? Whose path does it illumine? I would rather burn and waste on some lofty headland to guide the bark through night and storm to its desired haven. No light shineth for itself, and "no man liveth for himself." Besides, the very trials to which piety is exposed on the stormy heights of duty, impart to it a robust and healthy character. The strongest trees grow not beneath the glass of a conservatory, or in sheltered and sunny valleys. The stoutest timber stands on Norwegian rocks, where tempests rage, and long, hard winters reign. And is it not also with the Christian as with the animal life? Exercise is the parent of health, and strength is the reward of activity. The muscles are seen most fully developed in the brawny arm that plies the blacksmith's hammer. Health blooms ruddiest on the cheek of him, who-not nailed

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »