The Spirit of grace and of supplications is in Himself incomprehensible, and the only way in which we can arrive at a knowledge of His character, is by studying the works which He accomplishes. We accordingly set before you in our last discourse, some illustrations of His work as the Spirit of grace: and showed first, that the outward call of the gospel, and, secondly, that the inward and effectual call, are given by Him in this capacity. I endeavoured to show that in this work, as indeed in His whole work, He proceeds upon the redemption of Christ, which constitutes the foundation of all the favourable intercourse which God now holds with sinners of this world. “Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ.” I stated that the Spirit of grace actually visits and enters the dead and polluted soul, for the purpose of bringing about the design for which He is sent of the Son from the Father. “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” We now go on, leaning on the arm of omnipotent grace, to inquire into the work which in this visit to the soul He executes. And certainly, the first thing which claims our notice, because essential to all the rest, is the communication of a new nature. We sometimes speak of it as the implantation of a new principle, and this unquestionably is true. But when it is recollected that this principle extends to all the faculties and affections of the soul, and takes the chief, and in due time the entire control of the whole, it must be plain that the nature of the man is not only improved, but is essentially different from what it was. “Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
We do not dwell on the peculiar character of this new nature; suffice it to say, it is the gift of the love of God. “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.” It is the fruit of the death of Christ. “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” It is the immediate production of the Holy Ghost; “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” It is not the effect of a change of sentiment, but the cause of any change that is radical: it is not the consequence of human efforts, but is the production of divine power: it is not the result of a gradual improvement brought about by the use of means, but the instantaneous work of the Spirit of grace; and instead of other steps in religion being necessary to it, it is indispensably necessary to every other: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” But beware, I entreat you, of saying that therefore you must keep your eye steadily fixed upon your own hearts, till you see the dawns of light, and then look to the Saviour and seek salvation, and serve God and glorify Him. That were as foolish as if the Israelites had said they would look to the wounds of the fiery serpents till they saw them beginning to heal, and then look at the serpent of brass which had been erected by Moses for their cure. The command is given, and observe, it is given to all, and given to all as blind, and guilty, and helpless, to look to Christ that they might be saved; and the first decisive and satisfactory evidence of a change of heart is to get a sight of Christ as the Saviour. We may, even before this, have good hope concerning you, that the Spirit of grace has begun to deal with you: but we dare not, as we value the souls of men, and tender the glory of God, we dare not say, that any man is born of the Spirit, in other words, truly converted, till he sees Christ. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:” or reverse it. If any man be a new creature he is in Christ Jesus. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”
2. The second step in the work of the Spirit of grace on the soul, is the conviction of sin.
And here we see the necessity of a new and spiritual nature; for the old carnal nature is not susceptible of genuine spiritual impressions, any more than a stone is fit to receive the impress of a seal.
A man indeed may have very strong convictions, and dreadful fears, and deep anxieties, and yet perish: but that is because they are all the result of men’s natural feelings. And thus Felix trembled, as Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” but said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season I will call for thee.”
In explaining the nature of spiritual convictions, I observe—
1st. That the Spirit of grace gives to the soul a discovery of the true God, in the person of the Father.
My friends, this lies at the foundation of every solid conviction, and if we are without it, we cannot have any other of its elements. The children of men are by nature practical atheists, and this is far worse than by speculation to be so: for, in the latter case there is the opinion, in the former there is the wish, that there were no God. I know this is a very harsh doctrine to the ears of many; and rather than submit to it, they will rush against the thick bosses of God’s buckler, and will with Heaven-daring insolence, call Him a liar. But the charge stands recorded in this Book against every child of Adam, and all the arguments and rage of sinners cannot expunge it. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” I daresay you will reply that you have always believed that there is a God; and not only so, you have also worshipped Him as well as you could. And I am ready to admit this; but who is the God you have worshipped? Not the Father, the only true God; but an idol of your own imagination. He is called by the same name, but oh, how different! The god you worship is blind; he does not see your hearts, else you would be miserable: he is dumb and does not rebuke you for your iniquities, else you would be confounded and ashamed: he is deaf, and does not hear your vain talk, your worthless prayers, else you would tremble: he is altogether like yourselves, and you like him just as much as you like yourselves. “They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.” And do what you will, heap up notions like the sand on the sea-shore, and labour in your minds till you are wearied, never will you form the idea of anything but an idol till you are converted: for your understandings are full of darkness, there is no light in you; your hearts are full of uncleanness, there is no purity in you; your souls are full of wickedness, there is no righteousness in you. And what can you make out of such materials but an object that is dark, and filthy, and abominable? But when by the Spirit of grace you get a new heart, and have from Him divine light poured into it, then you will discover the true God; and the first feeling you will have is, I never saw Him before: I have been truly without God in the world: I have never known Him, never feared Him, nor served Him: Woe is me, for I am undone!
Now try, you that profess to be awakened, try if your convictions will bear this test. People may have some sense of sin, and fear of wrath, and desire of safety, and yet be “sensual, not having the Spirit.” And it matters not what they have, nor how they feel, if they are not awakened to a discovery of God, as heretofore an unknown, a lost God. Nor is it a simple discovery of His Being that will do. His Glory is inseparable from Himself; indeed it is just Himself: and men may as well talk about seeing the sun without seeing his light, as seeing God without seeing His glory. We must not enter into detail, and therefore merely remark, that the soul, in saving convictions, has an apprehension of God as infinitely holy and just: that is, in His nature, essentially opposed to sin, and necessarily and immutably set upon its punishment. He that dreams of God’s winking at sin, or not visiting it, either in the sinner himself or a surety, with condign punishment, hath not seen God, neither known Him. I do not ask, Is your view of divine glory clear? It may be very dim. I do not ask, Is it abiding? It may come and go; and yet even when it goes, it will leave some trace behind it, if not in the way of giving light, at least in the way of aggravating the sense of darkness. I ask, brethren, Do you know by experience anything of what I have said? If not, you are fast asleep in the deep dungeons of atheism: and in the threatened storm of divine wrath, I would come to you, as the sailors went down to Jonah, and cry, “What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon you, that you perish not.”
The effect of this discovery is to convince the man that it is against God he has sinned, that it is His glory he hath assailed, His justice he has offended. In their natural state, men do admit they have sinned against God: but compare that with the admission that they have stolen, or lied, or murdered: in the latter case they are ashamed and downcast; in the former they are as much at their ease as if they were paying a compliment. Oh the brutal stupidity, the whole-hearted levity of sinners! This comes of their living and walking in the dark, far from His soul-piercing and heart-searching light. But let them be brought into it, and then levity is at an end: they stand before One clothed in awful majesty, and they feel it is no time to trifle now. My friends, we speak of convictions, and fears, and cries: were the God of glory now to show himself to sinners, and cause sinners to see themselves in His light, this place might be called Bochim, a house of weeping; and we should have to say with Jacob at Bethel, “How dreadful is this place!” — “Surely the Lord is in this place, — this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” We have people amongst us that can offend against their brethren, and yet think it is with their brethren only they have to do: who get into trouble and are impatient under it, and imagine it is them or others they have to blame: who hear sermons, and think it is with the preacher, his matter and manner, they have to do. These are some of the forms of practical atheism. But let God appear and maintain His cause, sitting on His throne of righteousness, and you forget creatures, and cry with the psalmist, “Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in they sight.”
2nd. In convincing of sin, the Spirit of grace opens up and applies the law of God to the conscience.
In their natural state, men are ignorant of the law of God, and are indifferent to its requirements, and reckless of its denunciations. And yet, with an effrontery which is only matched by their blindness, they will tell you that they keep it as far as in them lies, at the very time they are unable to say what it commands. What would you that are parents or masters think of the child or servant who should say, I go your messages, while he did not know what your messages were? Now, that is the sort of service which God gets at the hand of all unconverted men, that are not open and avowed profligates, and in their case the only difference is that they betray, the others conceal, what they are and what they do. In proof that natural men are ignorant of the law, they will own they have broken some of the commandments, but have kept others. And they are ignorant of the sin of their hearts, in which they have violated every precept of the law; and they are ignorant of the principle, that he who offends in one point is guilty of all. But the Spirit of grace breaks in upon this darkness, and lets men see the law, and their sin by the law; “For by the law is knowledge of sin.”
(1st.) He shows them the purity of the law.
And how can it be other than pure, since it is an expression of His will, “who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity?” It strictly prohibits every, the least departure from conformity to the image of God, opposition to the will of God, or neglect of the honour of God; and frowns upon every vain imagination, every wandering desire, every foolish word, every unholy action. I know carnal hearts will rise against this doctrine; and you will say it is impossible for any man to be so pure as this. And what of that? Is the purity of the law to be given up because you are corrupt? How would you like it were one of your debtors to say, It is hard to demand payment of your debt because I am so poor? But say as you will against the law, it maintains its hold of you, and its purity you will feel if ever the Spirit of grace visit you; and if not, the fire of judgment will declare it: “The law is holy and just.”
(2nd.) He shows them the spirituality of the law.
Men are very ready to think well of themselves if they maintain outward sobriety and decency: they know not, nor consider, that they may be but whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly. The apostle Paul, while a Pharisee, was most exemplary in his outward conduct: “touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless.” But when the commandment came, sin revived in him, and he died; and he who, like other Pharisees, thanked God he was not like other men, now knew no publican so bad, and therefore he called himself “the chief of sinners.” The Spirit of grace so shows the spirituality of the law, as extending to the constitution of our nature, the inward frame of our souls, the dispositions, desires, and motions of our hearts, that the man discovers there is not one of the commandments but he has broken; he sees he is an atheist, an idolater, a blasphemer, a Sabbath-breaker, unfaithful to relative duties, guilty of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, covetousness; and that he has never rendered to the law one act of true obedience: “I had not known sin but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
(3rd.) The Spirit of grace shows them the perfection of the law.
We may press the law closely upon men; they get off by saying they will do what they can, and what more can be done? But know, O sinners, that the law is perfect, and cannot be altered to suit your humour. If, therefore, you have not a perfectly sinless nature, a perfectly pure heart, a perfectly spotless life; if there has been but one vain thought, one loose desire, one sinful word, one unrighteous deed, you are offenders; and, observe, offenders against the whole law. If you have been angry without a cause, then the guilt of atheism, idolatry, etc., lies upon you: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” And the reason is, that one act of transgression shows a contempt for the law, and in that lies the essence of sin, for “sin is the transgression of the law.”
By this means, a mirror is held up to the conscience, in which a man sees himself. And oh, what a hideous sight! My friends, it is well for us that the Lord mixes mercy with judgment in this, and in every other matter in the present state, else we could not live. People have cried out at the sight of their sin, and why should you wonder? If you saw a viper on your arm, if you felt it in your bosom, if its poison were diffused through your veins, would you not fear and tremble? But what are all the serpents that creep on the face of the earth, to sin? I know many of you are quite at your ease though you live in sin, though it breathes in every breath, speaks in every word, moves in every step, and works in every action. But your eyes are holden that you do not see it. I am accused of over-severity, of needless earnestness, of rank enthusiasm, because I preach in such strains; but oh! dear brethren, I am very blind myself to the evil of sin, else I would show you more of its deformity. I am very little affected with its monstrous nature, else I would warn and beseech you with many tears; I can comprehend but little of its sad consequences, else would I be yet more earnest and importunate. But I trust I know enough to know that if you do not see your sin and flee from it, you will inevitably perish; and perish all the more miserably because of these warnings you have received. And if you once see your sin by the Spirit of grace, in the light of the divine law, you will say, The half was not told me, for sin is exceeding sinful.
But there is more than this which the Spirit of grace shows. The law which He opens up sheds a light upon the path of life, and clearly shows that it has been one unbroken chain of forgetfulness of God, and rebellion against Him; but it also pours its searching light into the deep den of iniquity that lurks in the heart, and leads to the conviction that sinful as is the man’s life, and aggravated as his sin is, by the fact that it has all proceeded from the heart, yet it is as nothing compared with what is in the heart itself. We hear of people that have good hearts, kind affections, and amiable dispositions: let the most amiable person, man, woman, or child, in this assembly, be brought out into the midst of us, and what saith the God of truth of his or her heart? “It is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” And wherein lies its deceitfulness? It will practically deny and disown God, and withhold from Him all which He requires, and yet will puff up the soul with the idea that it fails only in a few insignificant particulars. And wherein lies its wickedness? It is bitterly, and determinedly, and irreconcilably set against God, in His being, and government, and law, and grace; and no power in heaven or earth can reconcile that heart to God: it must be consigned to destruction, and a new heart communicated, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man.”
The Spirit of grace further leads a man to the conviction of his apostasy from God, in the person of his first parent Adam. In some cases, He begins the work of conviction at this point, in others, He leads to it through the corrupt stream that flows from it: but in all, it forms an essential part of His saving work. I am aware that here too I enter ground which proud and rebellious sinners cannot endure. The tongue cannot tell what iniquity has been committed by men, in opposing this part of the divine economy; for it is hardly possible for a man to submit to the first covenant in real earnest, who has not some subduing view of the glory of the sovereignty of God, in doing what pleases Him in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth. For into that it must be resolved, that we were in covenant represented by Adam, and that consequently we sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. Now it is not enough that men obey the law, and keep their hearts clean; they must, before they can be justified, undo what Adam did, or get themselves severed from their connection with him; but, by their efforts, either of these is impossible; and therefore, so long as they are under the first covenant, they must be held as sinners, and dealt with accordingly, “for by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.”
3rd. In convincing of sin, the Spirit of grace applies with power the claims of the gospel of Christ.
The remark I now make, applies especially to those who from their earliest years, have been under a gospel ministry, and, it may be, have professedly united themselves to the visible church of Christ; for the Spirit of grace deals with men according to the situation in which He finds them, and the sin of which they have been guilty. Now when He visits unconverted men with His grace, He finds them unbelievers, that is, persons who have refused to obey the command of God to believe on His Son, and who are therefore held guilty of the heinous iniquity involved in this offence. I know that to natural men it is a very light matter to be an unbeliever, even when we can get them to confess it. But this is very difficult, for they will insist on it that they never belonged to that base class of character. I have just to tell you, my friends, that if you never were unbelievers, you are not believers; if you never rejected Christ, you have never received Him; if you never made God a liar, you make Him that to this hour. Do you ask my proof of all this? It is at hand and very abundant. “Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” “He will reprove the world of sin, because they believe not on me.” “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
But oh, how light you make of this charge! Were an officer of justice to come into this church, and lay his hand upon any of you and say, I arrest you as guilty of high treason, you would turn pale and tremble; but you are charged with treason against the King of kings, and you are not in the least moved. Were he to arrest you for an act of daring robbery, you would blush and be ashamed; but you are charged with robbing God of His glory, and you do not tremble. Were he to arrest you as a murderer, you would not know where to look; but you are charged with the murder of the Son of God, and yet you are not abashed. And why is this? Is it because you are innocent? No: but because you are blind to your sin, and insensible of your state. But let the Spirit of grace visit you, and, like not a few that are around you, you too will be convinced that you are unbelievers; and that the boldest infidel is not so guilty as you are; for, like the Jews, you have been the betrayers and the murderers of the Prince of Peace.
APPLICATION.
1. Let me address you, dear brethren, who know and feel the truth of what has now been said; but who also know by experience the sufficiency of the remedy that is provided in the gospel of Christ.
You do not require to go back to your first turning to the Lord, for evidence that all I have said of your natural character and state is true. For is not your daily experience just a repetition of the lesson you were then taught — and a repetition often attended with greater difficulties, and productive of deeper bitterness, than what you then experienced? The apostle Peter doubtless felt that he was undone when Christ called him; but how much more lively was his sense of this fact when he fell so foully, and when he went out and wept bitterly? Let it not surprise you, then, that you are made to possess the sins of your youth; that the ungodliness of your heart sometimes prevails to a fearful extent; and that what between corruptions from within and temptations from without, you are ready to say, “There is only a step between me and death.” The design of all this trouble is, to bring out to view more clearly and more fully, the glory of Christ as the Saviour; and to try of what nature is the faith which you profess to have in Him. The honour of His name requires, and your safety is bound up in the same bundle, that you doubt not of His sufficiency to bring you through all the troubles that may assail. It was dishonouring to Christ that the disciples cried out, “Master, save us, we perish;” but the cause of it was, that their eye was fixed on the waves, and turned away from Christ. And just so you look to the dark tempest that rages within, and say in despondency, We sink. But oh! look to Christ, look to Him from forth the thickest clouds, and keep your minds at the question, Is He not more in might by far than the noise of great waters? And dwelling on His sufficiency, you may find it as an anchor to your soul, both sure and steadfast.
2. We are anticipating the views which must come before us next Sabbath, if the Lord permit; yet we dare not send you away with the notes of alarm that have been sounded in your ears, without proclaiming the joyful sound of Christ’s gloriously full and free salvation.
And we do this at present, especially for your sakes who have been awakened from your sleep in sin. But I must clear away an objection which some may prefer: Our convictions are not deep enough, and therefore it is not for us to receive Christ. My friends, that is to say your wounds are not deadly enough, and therefore you will not apply to the Physician. Is not sin in its very nature mortal, and why then delay till more of its deadly poison has got into your system? To cut the matter short, however, though your convictions were as deep as the sea, you have precisely the same warrant to come to Christ with those that have no convictions at all. It is not having convictions that warrants, nor the want of them that does not warrant. It is the offer of Christ in the gospel to sinners, that is the warrant. We are glad you are convinced; because we can come to our work at once of proposing, and commending, and pressing Christ; and do not need to stand proving that you need Him, and what is still worse, that you do not have Him. It is your concern that you have Him not; it is your felt sin that you do not believe in Him; it is your fear that you may never get Him. But why this fear? You will tell me of something you have done, or something you are, or something you feel. Now, I do not wonder that you get fears from that quarter. It would be a bad symptom if you got anything else. And I trust that so long as you look in that direction your fears will increase, and your distress get worse and worse: just as Lot if he looked to Sodom saw nothing but cause of anguish and dismay. But look to Christ, and see if you can find in Him any ground for despondency or fear. Be it that you are deeply in debt, and have nothing to pay:—He has unsearchable riches and righteousness. Be it that you are absolutely lawless:—He is the end of the law for righteousness. Be it that you have crucified Him by your sin:—His blood cleanseth from all sin. And then He says to you, “Come unto me.” But you will say, Oh! there is the point, this heart is so hard it will not move. And do you cry to God to move it; yea, to take it away and give you an heart of flesh. Let that be your employment while hearing of Christ; and you may find the truth of His Word, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.”