ADVICE 1. Confer not with flesh and blood in the concerns of religion [All unregenerate men endeavour to bring down the word of God to some standard of their own; and consequently will discourage in us every thing that goes beyond the line which they have drawn for themselves. But, if they deceive us, they cannot afford us any remedy in the eternal world. The word of God is the only standard of right and wrong; and by that we shall be judged in the last day. Let us therefore regulate our sentiments and conduct, not according to the opinions of fallible men, but according to the unerring declarations of God himself. And instead of endeavouring to lower the demands of God to our wishes or attainments, let us labour to raise our practice to the strictest requisitions of God's law."] 2. Pray for the teaching of God's Spirit [With deceitful hearts, a subtle adversary, and a tempting world, we are continually in danger: nor can we hope to be guided aright but by the Spirit of the living God. Even the scriptures themselves will be "a dead letter," and "a sealed book" to us, unless the Spirit of God open our understandings to understand them. He has promised to lead us into all truth; and, if we be really disposed to embrace the truth, he will discover it to us. But if, through our hatred of the light, we shut our eyes against it, God will give us over to our delusions, that we may believe a lie." Let us therefore guard against self-deception, and submit ourselves to the guidance of God's Spirit. Then, though our capacities be ever so small, we shall be kept from every fundamental error," and be "made wise unto salvation through faith in Christ."] 3. Seek above all to know the hatefulness of sin [Nothing but a discovery of the evil of sin will effectually preserve us from self-deceit. To produce this, is the first saving work of the Spirit: and the more this is wrought in the heart, the more shall we be on our guard against all selfflattering delusions.] Phil. iii. 13, 14. n, John iii. 19. 2 Thess. ii. 10—12. [and Is. Ixvi. 3, 4. • Isaiah xxxv. 8. and Matt. xi. 25. CCCLXXXIII. AN ENQUIRY INTO OUR VIEWS OF CHRIST. Matt. xxii. 41, 42. While the Pharisees were gathered toge ther, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? THEY who are prejudiced against the gospel, are ever studious to ensnare the preachers of it with captious, or, as they think, unanswerable questions— To such cavillers we should answer warily, and with meekness of wisdom Nor will it be unuseful, on some occasions, to propose to them in return some question, which shall lead their thoughts into a better channel Our blessed Lord adopted this method after he had been successively interrogated by Pharisees, Herodians, and Scribes— He returned to each a satisfactory answer, and silenced them at last by proposing to them a difficulty, which, with all their boasted wisdom, they were una ble to solve In discoursing on his address to the Pharisees, we shall point out I. The scope of his question The Pharisees could not reconcile our Lord's mean appearance with his high pretensions Our Lord therefore shewed them 1. That there were many apparent contrarieties in the prophetical representations of the Messiah [The Messiah is sometimes spoken of as a new-born infant, and sometimes as the mighty God He is represented as an object of contempt and abhorrence, and yet as an object universally admired and adored— Sometimes he is said to live for ever, and sometimes to die an accursed deathd He is called the Lord, and yet the son, the root, and yet the offspring, of Davide "Master, what thinkest thou of paying tribute to Cæsar? ver. 15, 17. of the resurrection of the body? ver. 23-28. of the commandments? ver. 35, 36. b Isaiah ix. 6. Isaiah liii. 3. and xlix. 7. Ps. xxii. 6. with Ps. lxxii. 8, 10, 11. Ps. lxxii. 15, 17. and Ixxxix. 21-29, 33-37. with Isaiah liii. 4, 5, 12. last clause. e Ver. 43-45. Rev. xxii. 16. Nothing can be conceived more opposite than the characters which were thus represented as combined in the person of the Messiah But the Pharisees noticed only those passages which flattered their pride, and raised their expectations of temporal grandeur Our Lord therefore directed their attention to other prophecies, which described the Messiah in a more humiliating view-] 2. That his apparent meanness was no just ground for their rejecting his pretensions to that character [The miracles of our Lord had given abundant evidence of his divine mission On account of them therefore they were bound to believe in him But his humiliation was as clearly foretold as his power and glory And the accomplishment of it in his outward state was an additional reason for their acceptance of him A due attention to the scriptures, which they professed to understand and explain, would lead them to a discovery of this truth Hence our Lord, solicitous not merely to confound, but rather to convert and save them, directed their thoughts to the point before us-] Such being the scope of our Lord's question, let us consider II. The importance of it In this question is involved all the glory of Christ, and all the salvation of man 1. On the union of the divine and human natures the sufficiency of Christ depends [If he was a mere creature, his obedience could not merit any thing for us All that he could do would have been no more than his bounden duty; and after having done all, he would have been only an unprofitable servant Neither could his sufferings have made an atonement for our sins There is no proportion whatever between the sufferings of one creature for a time, and the sufferings of myriads of creatures to all eternity— Nor is there any such distance between the highest and the f Luke xvii. 10, lowest of creatures, but that they must be equally unable to take away the sins of a ruined worlds Moreover, his intercession would be utterly unavailing on our behalf It is the sufficiency of his atonement to satisfy the demands of law and justice, that forms the basis of his intercessionLet that foundation be sapped by a denial of his Godhead, and the whole superstructure must fall at once On the other hand, if he be God as well as man, his obedience, his sufferings, and his intercession are exactly such as God's honour, and man's necessities, required—] 2. On our knowledge of this union the salvation of man depends [Without such a view of Christ, we can form no just notion of his character As we should be wholly ignorant of man's nature, if we - supposed him destitute of a soul, so should we be of Christ's nature, if we were unmindful of his divinity Without such a view of him we cannot feel a suitable disposition of mind towards him However grateful we might be to a creature who should die for us, we must be infinitely more so for such a favour conferred on us by almighty God Without such a view of him we cannot wholly depend upon him Our dependence on a creature must be limited; for, if it be unlimited, instead of saving us, it will subject us to God's heavy displeasureh But, to obtain salvation through him, we must know him clearly, love him supremely, and depend on him wholly Whereas, if we think of him only as a creature, our knowledge of him must be confused, our gratitude feeble, and our dependence vain-] APPLICATION-WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 1. Do ye think of him at all? [Alas! how many are there who think no more of him than if he never had come into the world! If all the heathens who forget God their Creator, must be turned into hell, what must be the portion of professing Christians, who forget God their Redeemer?—] 2. Do you think of him agreeably to his august cha racter? [Many consider him only as a good man, and a prophet 8 Heb. x. 4. Jer. xvii. 5. iPs. ix. 17. with Heb. ii. 3. But these are disparaging thoughts, which he will fearfully resent You never can think of him aright, unless you consider him as "GOD manifested in the flesh," and "purchasing the church with his own blood"-] 3. Do ye think of him with the affections due to that character? [With what holy awe, what fervent love, what devout adorations should we behold our incarnate God! And how contemptuous is our treatment of him, if our thoughts of him be not accompanied with such emotions! It may be that some feel condemned by these observations, while they feel that they desire to love him with their whole heart Let such then know that their desires are accepted and shall be fulfilled And, instead of imagining that Christ has no love to them, let them be assured that his thoughts respecting them are most affectionate, and his designs towards them most benevolentk Yea, if all of us would reflect more diligently on the account which the scriptures give of him, he would soon discover to us his beauty, and make us partakers of his glory-] k Jer. xxix. 11. CCCLXXXIV. THE MANIFESTATION WHICH CHRIST HAS GIVEN OF THE FATHER. John i. 18. No man hath seen God at any time; the onlybegotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. The knowledge of God is the great source of blessings to mankind But the heathen world were altogether ignorant of him Nor were the Jews themselves fully instructed concerning him To make a full revelation of him to the world was a part of that work which was reserved for Christ himself |