SHORT DISCOURSES FOR FAMILIES, &c. No. XLIII. bound up in the Christian's heart. Weak, even to more than childhood's weakness, as he is in his own nature, he has undergone a mighty transformation, and in that new nature which has thus passed upon him, he has obtained a principle of strength, the more vigorous because it is not his own, the more sure because underived from any human source, the more lasting because it is all divine. Christ in you the hope of glory! Herein is firm endurance, invincible strength, certain and eternal victory. Here is the patience of the saints! They have to struggle with their inbred appetites, their native weakness; they are called upon to maintain a continual contest with the world; they must, moreover, wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalitics, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. What sustains them in this unequal conflict of man against himself, against a confederated world, against his adversary the devil? What, but their interest in a covenant God! He who worketh in them both to will and to do, upholds them in the hour of darkness, dispels their fears, gives them strength for weakness, alacrity for heaviness, and bids them go, in the full assurance of faith, realized in every trial, from strength to strength. THE CHRISTIAN'S STRENGTH. "They go from strength to strength." Psalm lxxxiv. 7. WEAKNESS is the pervading element of human nature. The appeal to experience is sufficient to establish this; we know—as Christians, and as men we know-that our natural attachments are to evil, and that our tendency is to that defection from God and from his truth, which is itself the most fatal evidence of weakness, both of the mind and of the heart. If we look out upon the various "kindreds of the nations," we shall find abundant illustration of this fearful state of things. To say nothing of that principle of moral and intellectual debility which leads men to close their eyes against the light of evangelic truth, and attracts over so large a portion of the globe a thick cloud of Pagan and Mohammedan unbelief; and turning away from that extensive and obvious demonstration which is presented by the nominal profession of Christianity, combined with a malignant determination against its reception as a spiritual and celestial agency; let us at once bring the matter home to ourselves, and ask the question of our own hearts, whether in all that we think and act, we are not sensible of an essential and indwelling spirit of weakness? When we prefer-and do we not, of ourselves, always prefer?-light to darkness, sin to holiness, the society of the profane to the communion of saints, and the shouts of the world to the applause of God, is not this weakness?weakness of the lowest and most injurious kind, which leadeth unto In the First place let us endestruction, and taketh hold on deavour to ascertain the essential hell. character of the Christian's strength. Strength, on the other hand, is It is quite clear that we are not I shall endeavour to suggest a few illustrations of this grand principle of the Christian warfare, by showing, 1st. Its essential character. 2d. Its distinctive qualities. 3d. Its adaptation to human exigency. to look for this in any of the com- tion. It consists in the combinamon definitions of this quality, tion of all the Christian graces, since, though they may approach and it re-acts upon them by keepit in some points, they would fail ing them unfettered and active. to comprehend it in all. We need Purity of heart gives strength to not waste our time in proving the Christian by fortifying his that it is not bodily vigour, since we vulnerable point. Spirituality of are dealing with a moral ques- mind gives him strength by clostion; neither shall we employ ing the avenues of temptation. many words in proving that intel- Communion with God invigorates lectual energy will not come up to him by placing him at once in the standard of our text. If, indeed, contact with the very fountain of we saw the wise and accomplished all strength. Faith is his strongof the earth eminent in virtue, hold; Hope gives him energy to consistent in self-denial, and shin- persevere; and Love is the grace, ing forth as lights of mankind, vigorous and pure, which restrains we might admit the connexion him from offending his God, and between wisdom and holiness. from hazarding a word or act But when we find that this world's which may prove a snare or a sagacity spends itself on worldly stumbling-block to his fellowobjects, that it exhausts its powers on trivial and transitory things, or on vain and baffling speculations, and that it invariably stops short at that limit within which all is obscure and perishing, and beyond which all is bright and enduring; we cannot but withhold all confidence from a principle so uncertain and inefficient. It might seem, then, that there remained but one term that might be correctly applied to the definition of the quality referred to in the text, and that it must be termed moral strength. I admit, to a certain extent, the correctness of this epithet, but I have several objections to its theological use. It is a tainted phrase, and conuects itself with notions and feelings subversive of all just dependence. It is an inadequate expression, and does not comprehend the whole of the required description. Let us say then, at once, in language which takes in both cause and consequence, it is a divine strength, divine in its source, divine in its effect. No human ingenuity can secure it, no created power communicate or obtain it. God is the sole possessor of this strength, and he bestows it liberally on the sons of his adop men. Nor does this strength ever lose its divine character; never does it mingle itself with baser elements; it always maintains its essential separation from every thing that is human or secular. We proceed, then, Secondly, to point out the distinctive qualitics of this divine and divinely communicated principle. Without affecting systematic precision in following out this inquiry, it may be more profitable if we direct our attention to a few points of distinction between our common notions of power, and the properties which belong to that which is from above. In our average estimate of strength, mental or corporeal, we always think of it as of something that pertains to the individual, is a part of his constitution, grows with his growth, and decays with his decay. But the energy which is from above is no part of our original structure, either intellectual or bodily; it is altogether derived, and never loses the character of derivation. "Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," is the deep conviction which accompanies its reception, and in the moment when selfreliance prevails, the Christian feels himself shorn of his vigour. It is a beautiful provision in the economy of grace, that the very principle which sets the believer in full activity, and makes him urge forward his victorious career, keeps him dependent on his God, who beholds and sustains him in the strife, who applauds and crowns him at the goal. Again :-when we speak of human strength, it is of that which is liable to abuse, which is too often a snare to its possessor, and an injury to those around him; but that which is set forth in our text is an invariable and inestimable blessing, fraught with life and immortality to those whom it visits, and shedding around them an atmosphere of grace and glory, making them burning and shining lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Happy and honourable is that man who, gifted with this heavenly strength, goes forth in its zeal and energy, a minister of good unto his brethren of mankind. Before his high achievements, all the works of human strength fade and disappear; his work is eternal, their's fail beneath the common causes of decay. A third distinction, and the last that I shall now present to your attention, is that which is most expressly referred to in the text, which I have hitherto kept in sight rather as a motto than as a theme. The strength and wisdom of man often fail of their object, and decay with the decay of nature, but this divine principle is unerring in its aim and end, and sustains the Christian pilgrim until he appears before God in Zion. Yes! they who are journeying through the dark and dreary desert of the present world, with their faces Zionward, go from strength to strength, streams of living water flow to refresh their thirst, and their hunger is satisfied with heavenly manna; their ene mies are scattered, the Star of Bethlehem is their guide, their God is the strength of their heart and their portion for ever. Thirdly. We are to illustrate the adaptation of this divine strength to every circumstance of the Christian's necessity. "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy day so shall thy strength be." Thus ran the Patriarch's blessing, and such is the language of the divine record in its application to all our infirmities. There is no variety of human experience, no vicissitude of human life, in which strength from above is not needed. In suffering, we require the graces of patience and acquiescence. In prosperity, we are to be taught the lessons of moderation. In the hour of trial, we need to be put upon our guard, and to be supplied with resisting and subduing strength. When the season of temptation is overpast, then comes the danger of elation and negligence if we have been successful, of despair or defiance if we have given way. In all these emergencies, strength from heaven is our only resource; God is our only refuge in distress, and to him alone, in the hour of victory, is the honour due. The whole course of recorded experience tends to the illustration of these momentous truths. The lives of the servants of God in every age, have borne testimony to the glory of divine grace triumphing in man's weakness. And how often have we experienced the power and energy of this strength in the day of our infirmity. Our very failures, too, have confirmed the lesson taught by the word of truth, and the voice of conscience. They have not only revealed to us our weakness, but where it lay; and they have shown us the causes of our discomfiture in our self-dependence, and our neglect of spiritual aid. Ah! why is it that, with such rich offers and such plenteous blessings, so liberally held forth to us, we are so negligent and carnal? Why, but because our unbelief prevails, in spite of our better knowledge, and our often experience, to bring down our minds from their proper sphere, to the base level of earthly things. God's blessings are always distinguished by their adaptation to their object and end, and as the gift of heavenly strength is needed for daily and hourly exigencies, so should it be sought by daily and hourly prayer, waited upon in habitual vigilance, culti vated with unceasing care and gratitude, and cherished by an increasing disengagement of our affections from their carnal thrall. : Our 1st inference, by way of improvement of these hints, is, that we should be taught the deepest humility by the conviction of our own utter insufficiency and our entire dependence. "What hast thou that thou hast not received?"—is a question which we cannot too often press upon our overweening and self-trusting hearts. It is impossible for man to lie too low before Him who is his Maker, his Preserver, his Redeemer, and the Giver of all those graces on which alone is his dependence for present maintenance and final salvation. The most eminent saint will be the most forward to describe his justified state, as grace abounding to the chief of sinners. A 2d result of these considerations should be incitement to ac tivity and perseverance in the Christian work. The task may be arduous, but the promised aid is sure and effective. Well might we recoil from the rugged and precipitous way, well might our courage fail before the trials and terrors of the wilderness, but for the gracious assurance, that we shall go from strength to strength. The promise is on record, the plighted faith of Him who will never fail his chosen, that he will "guide us by his counsel, and after, receive us to glory." Let us then be awake and stirring, ever active in our glorious labour; holding no truce with timidity, yielding no place to indolence, but striving with unwearied diligence for the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And lastly, Let a spirit of devotion, a constant looking unto Jesus, an habitual conversance with a throne of grace, be our cherished frame. Here is our strength, that we" draw nigh to God"-here is our joy, that we live in "the light of his countenance." What is it but the neglect of this that gives the world its seducing power, and arms the enemy of our souls with his most effective weapons. We stand afar off, not in humility, but in coldness and aversion; we are heedless of that spirit of languor and sensuality which depresses our devotional frame. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life." We have lost ground in our Christian race, and our force is enfeebled by sloth and indolence! O that by a close and effectual use of the rich means of grace, we may be enabled to renew our vigour, to regain our station, and pressing on from strength to strength, at last to ap pear in the presence of our God with exceeding joy. ORIGINAL ESSAYS, COMMUNICATIONS, &c. HUMAN THOUGHTS. No. I. . LUCIAN. « Το Γνωθι Σαντον πολλακις συνει ρων. WHAT a wonderful property of our nature is thought! So simple as not to need, and yet so mysterious as to baffle, definition. It may be described as the mightiest and most wonderful created agency of the universe, inasmuch, as it is the point at which volition and all voluntary actions commencethe centre of the comprehensive sweep of human knowledge-the power of all our powers, and the ne plus ultra of all our philosophy. What is so swift? What so subtle? What so near to Omnipotence as thought? It has been, defined, though imperfectly, yet accurately enough for my present purpose; the acting of the mind in forming perceptions of the external universe, or of itself and its own creations. I intend to offer some remarks upon it in its moral and spiritual relations. The thoughts are primarily the seat of sin. Here begins and here exists the empire of dark ness. This is the fountain-head -this the prolific seed-this the first matrix of all the woes and sins under which our nature is suffering. The first sin began in thought, and existed in this subtle, fugitive form, before it came forth in an outward act. Here the eye of God beheld it as an embryo before its deadly arm had ever been exalted against the heavens, or its brazen front had braved the reproachful light of day. All who admit the doctrine of the evil and malignant nature of sin, must allow, that its turpitude is to be estimated not by the outward act, but by its cause, For this, there fore, we must look within. The CONG. MAG. No. 70. guilt must be charged not upon the external powers-the secondaries or the accessories-but upon the heart, the thoughts of the heart, which are the instigators, the true fathers of all the evil. To this accord the words of Christ; "from within, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts"(how do thoughts proceed?) "murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies," &c. And to the same purport is the Spirit's testimony of the early race of men:“ God saw, that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."-" God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." And these many inventions surely were the secret, subtle, potent thoughts of sin in the heart. That was the place where they were found, and where they were sought. Is it not in the recesses of human thought that evil is conceived? Actions are but the bitter fruits that hang on this evil tree:-they only follow thoughts, as shadow follows the body. Could all the evils that, at any give time, are being perpetrated, be brought into one amount, what a fearful catalogue would they present!-What a thick, and impenetrable, and threatening cloud would they seem to spread around the two hemispheres of human existence-and yet what would all this be in comparison of what the comprehending eye of Deity beholds passing in the secret chambers of the human imagination continually! There is the true home and source of sin. This is the deadly volcano of moral fire, which covers the heavens with blackness, and curses the whole earth with a burning and polluting element ; 3 U |