untary object of his choice. Thus Joshua said to the Jews, “choose you this day whom ye will serve." Thus David said, "I have chosen the way of truth." And thus also it is said of Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus in preference to every other employment, that she “had chosen the better part."e In fact, the will is a man's self; it is bis heart; and consequently, till he be willing to come to Christ, he cannot really come to Him, for he does not come with the heart. True conversion is the turning of the will to God; and till this be done, nothing else, however fair and promising its appearance may be, will really avail. The understanding may be enlightened, the conscience may be alarmed, the judgment may be convinced; but if the will be not changed and turned, there is, there can be no true religion in the heart. Balaam, the Prophet, had an enlightened understanding in the things of God. He describes himself as "the man whose eyes were opened; who heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High :" yea, he was enabled even to speak of Christ in these prophetic werds: "I shall see Him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel ;" and so clearly did he discern the happiness of Christ's people, that he passionately uttered this remarkable wish: "let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his !"f But what did his knowledge or his wishes profit him? He lived a wicked life, and died a miserable death, the just e Joshua, xxiv. 15-Psalm, cxix. 30.-Luke, x. 42. reward of his iniquity; for while his understanding was enlightened to see and appreciate the value of religion, his heart was not disposed to embrace and practice it. He" would not come to Christ, that he might have life." -The like was the case with the Roman governor, Felix. The faithful preaching of St. Paul alarmed his conscience; when the Apostle "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come," Felix could not suppress or conceal his fears. So great was his terror that he even " trembled."g Yet what did his emotions profit him? He was terrified; he trembled; but he was not converted. The conscience was roused; but the will was not changed. He had no mind to give way to his impressions, and to embrace the Gospel.The case of King Agrippa is another illustration of the same truth. When the Apostle preached the Gospel to him, his judgment was convinced; he felt the force of the Apostle's arguments. He seems also in some way to have betrayed his inward conviction of the truth; for we find St. Paul addressing him thus: "King Agrippa, believest thou the Prophets? I know that thou believest." To which Agrippa answered, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."h But here he stopped. He was convinced, he was alınost persuaded; but he was not converted. And what was the reason? His will was not consenting. He "would not come to Christ, that he might have life." Let these examples help to explain the present subject, and lead us to look into our own hearts. Our understandings may have been enlightened. We may g Acts, xxiv. 25. h Acts, xxvi. 27, 28. have a clearer view of religious truth than we once had. Like Balaam, our eyes may have been opened. We may hear the words of God, and may know the knowledge of the Most High. We may earnestly wish to die the death of the righteous, and to have our last end like their's. Or possibly our conscience may have been awakened. Under the preaching of God's word, we may have felt some fears for our soul. An apprehension of our guilt and danger may have alarmed us; nay, like Felix, we may have "trembled" at the thoughts of a judgment to come. Or, perhaps, we may have been deeply and thoroughly convinced of the importance and excellence of religion. Our judgment may have decidedly agreed with the repre sentations given of it in the Word of God. With Agrippa, we may have felt the force of divine truth, and may have been almost persuaded to be Christians. But are we quite persuaded? With all this enlightening in our understanding, and alarm in our conscience, and conviction in our judgment, is our will also turned? Do we heartily assent to the terms of the Gospel? Have we cordially embraced them? This is the point for our serious examination. Are we wilking to come to Christ, that we may have life? If we do not come to him, we have seen what it is that prevents us. We will not come. And let us further observe from whence this our unwillingness arises. It arises from the natural enmity of the heart to God. It arises from a cause, perhaps hitherto unknown to, and even unsuspected by ourselves, from our dislike to the holy and humbling commands of the Gospel; and from our secretly loving some earthly, worldly, sen sual object better than that heavenly, eternal life, which Christ offers to bestow on us. Look again at those examples before noticed. Why was Balaam unwilling to do what his enlightened understanding shewed him that he ought to do? Why, when so desirous to die the death of the righteous, was he so averse to live the life of the righteous ? Because he loved the wages of unrighteousness. His heart ran eagerly after its covetousness. Money was his idol. The love of gain had possession of his soul, and kept him back. from God. He could not find in his heart to renounce his worldly prospects for the sake of the Divine favour, and the happiness of heaven. So he would not come.What was the case with Felix? How came it to pass that he resisted the motions of God's Spirit on his heart, and refused to come. He was a sensual, licen tious man. He lived in the gratification of fleshly lusts. He knew that if he came to Christ, he must deny and mortify these. He must live a sober, righteous, and godly life. But this he had no mind to do. Greatly as he was terrified, he could not bring himself to give up his wicked pleasures. And so he would not come. Enquire next of Agrippa the cause of his unwillingness to become a Christian. Why did he refuse to give way to bis convictions? Agrippa was one of the great men of the earth. He was fond of power and applause. These things lay "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" How then could he consent to come to Christ? The consequences of such a step would have been dis 16* VOL. II. nearest to his heart. He grace and infamy. By taking it, he would have reduced himself to the same level with the poor persecuted prisoner who stood before him; for Paul's only crime was being a Christian. Pride therefore forbade Agrippa to give way. While this principle ruled in his heart, it was impossible that he could willingly come to Christ. To adopt our Saviour's remark in connection with the text: "How could he believe who received honour from men, and sought not the honour that cometh from God only ?"-We see then, in all these persons, what made them so unwilling to embrace true religion. They all secretly loved something, the love of which was contrary to true religion. And let us be assured, that if we come not to Christ, the case is the same with us. We have some idol in our heart, however little we may suspect it, which will not let us cordially embrace the Gospel. There is some favourite indulgence, some beloved last, some besetting sin, with which we are not willing to part; and which a sincere consent to the Gospel would compel us to renounce. Hence arises our unwillingness to come to Christ. Let us search the matter to the bottom, and we shall find it so. And may we not only discover what it is, which keeps our heart from Christ, but may we also have power to subdue and overcome it! For let us consider, till we have come to Him, till we have really embraced the Gospel, and are sincerely practising it, how great is our misery, and how great is our sin! Our misery is great, for we have not life. Not hav We ing come to Christ we are still in a state of death. are still under the sentence of eternal death; still |