purpose; but it is the holy change of heart, an experimental renewal of mind, and the fruits of a living faith, united, which can truly deserve the character of vital religion, or exhibit the solid weight of impressive godliAny man may be alarmed at the progress of unrighteousness; but few are those who are affected by, or indeed who understand, the dangers of self-righteousness. And yet the ness. - latter is, at least, as great an enemy to the cross of Christ, and to the whole plan and spirit of the Gospel, as the former. The reason is; the one, being gross or carnal, is obvious to the senses and apprehensions of the most worldly men; the other, being a refined and more spiritual wickedness, is only discernible to the spiritual eye, and to this only when upon its guard and watchful to detect it. As in science, so in religion; a man must know a great deal, before he can thoroughly roughly understand himself, his own infirmities, or his own ignorance. § 64. Here, though it may seem a digression from our general subject, it may not be useless to say a few words concerning the use and the abuse of those means of grace, which God has instituted for the edification of his church in the world. Experience sufficiently proves the truth of the Scripture, that there is no virtue or efficacy in the ordinances of religion, abstracted from the Holy Spirit, whose instruments they are, and without whose agency in them they have no life. They are truly the means of grace; but grace itself is the end. To rest, therefore, in the means, without seeking for the end, must be a gross perversion. The use of the means is a blessed privilege, ordained of God: Their abuse proceeds from want of faith, or from ignorance, in man. It is an abuse abuse to substitute any outward ordinances for inward and vital religion; and it is an error to rest upon them, or to conclude upon the safety of our state by an outward punctuality and attendance only. Our attendance, ́ indeed, in the right view, cannot be too punctual; and there is great reason to complain in many instances of the want of punctuality: but no exactness in this respect will serve by itself; nor can the word of God be expected to yield profit, if not mixed with faith in them that hear it. The use of the means is to bring the souls of men into a deeper sense of their own undone state by nature, and of course into a higher and more experimental view of the worth of the Saviour: The abuse has not unfrequently led men into the danger, which the means were intended to prevent, either of fancying themselves righteous by external external observances, or safe, though rather hardened than softened, by their attentions to them. Those persons also abuse the means, who slight or neglect them. God's ordinances are not to be trifled with on the one hand, nor cast off on the other. Another man's perversion of good will not excuse my rejection of it. I might as justly starve myself, or go naked, because there are people who eat and drink to excess, or employ raiment for the purposes of pride. If people are found, who do not value the means truly, I am not therefore to undervalue them. If others mistake, respecting the word and sacraments, I am not to despise, by a contemptuous negligence, the Lord, who instituted them, and who hath promised to meet and bless his people, when they come before him in his name, and do not forsake the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some some is. Though some people attend upon divine ordinances so late, as though they wished for an excuse not to come at all; such gross irreverence will not excuse the same conduct in me. It would indeed be taken for very ill manners to interrupt a feast in a private house; and I am sure it is not good manners in God's house, either respecting him or the congregation, to molest his service by a tardy arrival: I am not, therefore, to follow so indecent an example. There are also, it is to be feared, some who believe that, by a constant attendance upon ordinances, (a practice right enough in itself,) they make an atonement for a careless or ungodly life; but is not this a matter of sad perversion and abhorrence? In a word; no - abuse can justify disuse; much less ean it militate against the proper use. Strong are the words of the Apostle, speaking of this ministry of means; We |