One Thing i Know
Content
O E THI G I K OW BY REV. . P. K APP
"One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." — John ix. 25. In the chapter from which we have taken these words, we have a very clear and interesting account of a miraculous cure of blindness, performed by our Lord Jesus Christ. The subject upon whom he exercised his divine power, was a man of full age, who had been blind from his birth, whom Jesus saw as he passed by on the Sabbath day, and pitying, healed in the following manner. He anointed the eyes of the blind man Avith clay, and then directed him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man went, and washed, and returned seeing. A miracle so remarkable as this, could not fail to attract the attention of the people, especially of those who had been wont to see the subject of it sitting by the wayside, begging alms. These questioned him closely in regard to the person who wrought the miracle, and the mode of effecting it. He told the circumstances exactly as they took place. He answered: "A man that is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash ; and I went and washed, and I received sight." They then brought the man to the Pharisees, the leading members of the great council or Sanhedrim, to be questioned by them. These rulers were not disposed to admit that any miracle had been wrought by one whom they had persecuted and sought to destroy, and they tried various expedients to induce the man to declare Jesus an impostor. When they found that he persisted in the account which he had given of the miracle which had been wrought for his benefit, some of them used the argument, that Jesus could not be "of God," because he had done this on the Sabbath, thereby breaking the law of Moses. "Give God the praise," said they; "we know that this
26
SERMO II.
man is a sinner." But the man thought it very strange that any one could do such a miracle, imless Crod were with him to give him the power; and as he kneiv experimentally that a miracle had been done, he was unmoved iJy all that the Pharisees could allege against it. He therefore answers them boldly and positively, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." Such a change of condition as he underwent physically, the Christian exjjeriences spiritually, through the power of Christ. And the words of the text very fitly convey the. testimony which the converted sinner can give to his own experience of the saving grace of God. And we shall consider them in their application to a subject of much interest and importance, but which is often greatly misunderstood, and treated with disrespect and scorn by the irreligious — we mean Christian experience. By Christian experience, we mean an experience of the power of the Gospel to enlighten the mind, renew the heart, and to reform the life. It is a knowledge of the truth in its practical operation, not only of truth in itself, but of what it is capable of doing for the character of those to whom it is addressed. ow, whatever may be the delusion of some individuals in regard to experimental religion, it will not justify the contemptuous skepticism with which all pretensions to an acquaintance with it are treated by the irreligious. For it is certain that Christ intended and promised, that his word should have the power which we claim for it, and that his disciples proved the truth of his doctrine by their consciousness of that power. And it would be very absurd to deny that Christians, in these days, who have the same Gospel that the first Christians had, have also the same privileges of faith, the same experience of its power. We mean, of course, that power which constitutes conversion, not the mi-
raculous power, which ceased when the church became fully established. ow the experience of this power is manifested in the feelings and in the conduct. And it is quite as unreasonable as the opinion of the most deluded professor can be, to conclude, because some persons claim religious feeling without showing the corresponding conduct, that those who can give this clear evidence of the practical working of faith, are deluded when they profess to have experienced the power of the Gospel over
SERMO II. 27 the heart. Many feelings are regarded as belonging to religiovis experience which do not properly belong to it. Yet to conclude from these excei:^ions, that the rule which we have laid down is a fahe one, would be as great an error as to conclude that there is no certainty in any science, because some who knew not Ijow to apply its principles, had made some signal failures in their attempts to obtain its legitimate results. We make these preliminary remarks, because those who have not felt, and those who do not wish to feel, the power of religion, are disposed to deny that any have experienced it, inferring the delusion of all professors, from the manifest delusion of a few. And this is done by those who admit the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and acknowledge that the Bible contains a rev#lation from God. Against the opinions of such persons, we have urged the fact that these Moly Scriptures declare, that sinners have been converted, and have been assured of their conversion, and authorize us to expect like conversions noAv, and like experience of the power of grace. We therefore proceed to consider such experience. And we repeat the remark, that the words of our text very aptly express the testimony which the Christian convert can give in regard to his experience. The convert to Christ knows that he is a new man, through the grace of God. This knowledge, this spiritual sight, is enough. The time when he first received the influence of divine grace, may not be known. And
it is quite immaterial whether it is or not. or is it at all important whether he can remember and relate any circumstances which marked the progress of his conversion. These are as different as the constitutions of individuals. The power which first brought him into submission to the will of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord, may have been in the earthquake, or in the mighty wind, or in the still, small voice. Like Paul, he may have been subdued in the way of persecuting unbelief, by the sudden blaze of divine truth, poured upon his staggered mind. Or like Lydia, his heart may have been opened to attend to the things which were spoken by an apostle of Jesus. A single text, attracting the attention under peculiar circumstances, may induce a train of reflections on the goodness and long-suffering of God, that will lead to repentance. A word fitly spoken, may reveal
28 SERMO II. to the sinner offences that he has long covered from view, and open the flood-gates of sorrow, that saving faith alone can close. The comforts of faith may be reached 4)y slow and painful steps. Or the convicted sinner may be suddenly plunged into the gulf of drowning remorse, from which he may be rescued after one piteous cry, — "Save, Lord, or I perish!" A bereavement, or some other affliction, may be the immediate forerunner of a sudden conversion. Or the web of sin which shuts out God from the heart, may have been broken and cast off in early life, under circumstances not remembered. Hence it is wrong to judge all conversions by any fixed rule, except that which requires of all alike, (what all who are truly converted must and can give,)«the testimony of grateful obedience to Christ. The true believer in Christ knows that he was horn blind in heart, and that through the grace of God, he now sees. If he knows this, and gives evidence that he sees, it is enough. In vain does the scoffer attempt to weaken his faith by ridicule ; or the Pharisee to overawe him by dogmatism. In vain is he told that he has been deluded by false teachers. He is safe while he has " the witness in himself," confirmed by the Spirit of God, that he is renewed by the grace of God, that whereas he was blind, now he
sees. Let us now consider what the converted sinner sees. He sees his own vileness — the mercy and love of Christ — the value of redemption, and the excellency of 'piety. 1. His own vileness. The Gospel proclaims the universal corruption of mankind. Thx-ough his word therein made known, God "commands all men, every where, to repent." But if all must repent, all have something to repent of — all are guilty of sin, and need reformamation. When the Scriptures, however, insist on man's depravity, they do not mean to charge him with an entire want of goodness with respect to his fellow-man. There may be much sound morality in the conduct of some who have never meekly received the word of God through Christ Jesus. But this outward show of moral purity, if tried by the Scripture rule, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,'' would be found a very imperfect fulfilment of duty, even with reference to man. How much more deficient would all men be found, when tried by his word in relation to their duty to him ! That word giveth light
SERMO II. 29 to the mind, and shows not only great imperfections in a character before supposed to be faultless ; but such a want of true devotion to the will of God, as must make the delinquent obnoxious to condemnation in the sight of infinite holiness. ow, a man may be a good citizen, honest and upright in his dealings — he may be a warm philanthropist, giving his time and his money to the cause of social improvement ; he may be a kind parent, or a dutiful child — exemplary in all the social relations of life — loathing all gross vice, and striving to root it out of the community in which he lives — he may be all this, and more than this ; lie may even be constant and reverential in the duties of 'public worship, and with an habitual contemplation of all the common manifestations of divine power, he may "look through ature up to ature's God," and yet he may be very far from being a subject of Christ's kingdom — an heir of eternal life through the
only Saviour. He may deem himself as good as he need be, or so good that, on the whole, he will be found worthy of reward in the day of final judgment. Or he may be all that we have supposed, and yet never think of God as A holy being, demanding holiness in his creatures, or as a strict judge, rewarding men according to his own estimation of their works. And even if he does believe in Christ's authority to prescribe the rule of life, and to declare the rule of judgment, he may resolve that rule into what he has himself established as the line of duty — that we are required to do as well as we can, and if we do so, God will forgive all our sins in compassion for our infirmity. How far are all J such persons from the kingdom of God! How miserably will they fail of attaining that everlasting peace which is the desire of all who reflect upon the future state of the soul ! The converted sinner, he who has been brought through the saving truth of God's word to a knowledge of himself, — of God, sees himself in a different light. He sees the infinite holiness of God, and the utter impossibility of standing pure in the sight of such holiness, and like the outcast leper, with his hand on his lips, he cries, "Unclean." "Lord, I am vile; I have sinned against thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son !" He sees that he has been following the devices of his own heart, instead of walking constantly in the knowledge and the fear of God — that he has set the love of the world, and its approbation,
30 SERMO II. or the flattery of his own self-esteem, above the love of God, and of his testimonies ; and in deep contrition for his unworthiness, he confesses his sin, and shows sincere repentance by his obedience to the law of Christ. And his repentance for past sins, as well as his zeal for the cause of holiness, is quickened by his contemplation of the mercy and love of his Saviour. For he sees — Secondly : — 2. His mercy and love, the preciousness of that blood-shedding, by which he is reconciled to his heavenly Father, and has become
a son of God by adoption. He who, though living in a land where "the true light shineth," had been spiritually blind, now sees not only himself, but his God, in a new character — himself a sinner, convicted and condemned — unable to atone for his transgressions; and God, a Saviour, full of long-suffering and mercy — seeking by wonderful means, to turn him from the way of sin to the path of holiness and peace. And viewing these two things together, his own vileness and rebellion, and God's forbearance and tender mercy, his repentance is the more lively, the more sensible he is of the free grace and unbounded goodness of his Saviour. And he will realize this the more fully, the more sensible he is of his sinfulness. Before he was cured of his spiritual blindness, being unable to see this sinfulness, and the consequent misery tO which he was destined, he could have no just sense of God's mercy. ot seeing his peril, he could not see the worth of deliverance. They only can know the love of God as displayed in redemption through Christ Jesus, who know how much his holiness has been offended by their sins. one but those who see and fear the raging billows of eternal wrath, can realize the mercy of the Saviour, who is ever walking in the midst of them. He whose eyes are opened to discern his own sinfulness, wonders that God should have mercy on him at all. How much more does he wonder when he sees God's mode of showing it. He can now say, " Whereas, I was wont to regard the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, and the declaration of God's inestimable love in the sacrifice of his Son as a fiction of enthusiasm, or heard as if I heard it not ; now I adore the mystery of redemption, a nd feel my heart swell with gratitude for that mercy which passes my comprehension, and my power of expression." Such will be
SERMO II. 31 the kind of experience of which every convert will be sensible, though its degree may depend much upon individual temperament. Joy may be the predominant feeling in some who have been convicted of sin, and their apprehension of wo may soon
give place to the hope of salvation. In them, the feeling of selfloathing may soon be absorbed in the sense of God's sure mercy. The cloud which lowers with wrathful threatenings upon the world of sin, is seen by all who know the power of the Gospel ; but some may be quicker than others to discern the bow of promise formed by the light of God's reconciled countenance. Seeing clearly the evil and danger of sin, and the certain redemption which Christ has wrought for all who believe, the converted man rejoices (more or less, according to his natural temperament) in the contemplation of that redemption. So long as he dehghts in the law of God, he has a feeling of acceptance by his once offended God. And this joyful feeling has reference not only to the peril which he has escaped, but likewise to the eternal reward set before him. He sees at one view, the terrors of the condemnation which awaits the unforgiven sinner, and the blessedness of that "incorruptible inheritance" which is promised to the redeemed. He can say with St. Peter, "I am partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." And that glory, of which he has a foretaste, and which is in itself so precious, appears the more so from its contrast with that condition of misery which is the only alternative proposed to the sinner. The experience of the value of redemption consists of mixed feelings. The Christian sees the evil of sin and its penalty — from which he has escaped, by the grace of God — and the prospect of eternal blessedness opened to him by the same grace. And with these subjects of contemplation, he associates the thought of the grace itself, and its mode of manifestation. If he has ever been duly sensible of God's mercy in Christ Jesus, he can never entirely lose sight of it. Whatever progress he may make in Christian experience, however "he may follow on to know the Lord," he will always remember with grateful affection, "the grace wherein he stands," — the precious blood-shedding by wbich he was redeemed. We may now perceive the truth of our last general position, that he whose eyes God hath opened by means of the Gospel, sees the excellency' of piety. He sees this, not
32 SERMO II.
only as it is a proof of his sure title to tlie redemption through Christ Jesus, (for true faith worketh by love, and bringeth forth righteousness,) but likewise as an expression of love for his Saviour, and an earnest of the life to come. The true Christian, then, has experience of the love of God shed abroad in his heart, moving him to a cheerful devotion to his Saviour. He feels himself drawn towards God by motives to which he was once a stranger. And he is sensible of a delight in the law of God, which (when he considers the weakness of the flesh) is regarded as a foretaste of heavenly joy, distinct enough to encourage his earnest striving to attain it. Before he was converted, the believer in Christianity may have heard with seriousness and reverence, the word of truth, declaring the blessedness of faith ; but he had no experience, and perhaps no conception of it. The inspired men of the ages before Christ, may have told him, (and he believed what they spake by the voice of inspiration,) that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and that all the ways of wisdom are "ways of pleasantness and peace." But he knew nothing of this by experience. He may have often heard from the ew Testament — which he regarded as the record of a divine revelation — that " as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," and that " the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy and peace ; " or that " the kingdom of God is in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." He may have believed that the Scripture is true, which declares these things, but he had no experience of them. ow, since " Christ has been formed in him," since he has become a new man by the transforming influence of the Spirit, teaching him the corruption of his heart, and the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, he knows by experience the truth of these sayings. Thus, in regard to the enormity of sin and its fatal tendency, the guilt and condemnation of man, and his redemptioii by the sacrifice of Christ the righteous — the value of this redemption, and the excellency of piety — in regard to all this, the truly converted man can say at all times, (however he may be exposed to the cavils of the world,) " One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see."
My hearers, can you adopt the language of the text as a proper expression of your own feelings, and your own experience of
SERMO II. 33 the enlightening power of the Gospel? Do you know this "one thing," that whereas you were bhnd to your sins, and to the condemnation which awaited you — to the wonderful love of a bleeding Saviour, and to the precious fruits of his blood-shedding in this life, and in the life to come — you now see all this? Can you truly say that the eyes of your mind have been opened by the Lord Jesus Christ, to discern the misery of your sinful condition, and the glory which shall be revealed to the heirs of salvation. Have you felt the burden of sin, and in answer to the gracious invitation of Christ to the weary and heavy-laden, have you gone to him for rest? Examine yourselves, my hearers, whether ye be in the faith. See if ye have the witness in yourselves, that ye are redeemed by the blood of Christ. Do you now see the evil of sin — its hatefulness in the sight of God, and the infinite mercy which has provided an infinite sacrifice for its expiation? Can you say, "We love God because he first loved us?" and "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit? " Do you discern the beauty of holiness, and have you the comfort of the Holy Ghost, walking in the fear of God, and striving to keep his commandments ? If you do thus know Christ experimentally, then, though you may know little of theology as a science, and little of the evidences of Christianity, you may meet all adversaries with the confident declaration of the text. But, my hearers, if you cannot do this ; if, like the Pharisees, you say, "We see," and remain in sin, you need a spiritual physician to deliver you from eternal darkness. Apply to the Lord Jesus, who is such a physician, and as the blind man obeyed the command, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," and came back seeing — so at his command, go ye, wash in the pool of Calvary, in the blood of atonement, which flows by the foot of the cross, and come back cleansed through faith, renewed unto eternal life.
May God guide the blind unto him, who alone can give sight. May you all receive the blessed manifestations of his mercy, in a rich experience here on earth, of that peace which will be without measure or end, in his heavenly kingdom.
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"One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." — John ix. 25. In the chapter from which we have taken these words, we have a very clear and interesting account of a miraculous cure of blindness, performed by our Lord Jesus Christ. The subject upon whom he exercised his divine power, was a man of full age, who had been blind from his birth, whom Jesus saw as he passed by on the Sabbath day, and pitying, healed in the following manner. He anointed the eyes of the blind man Avith clay, and then directed him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man went, and washed, and returned seeing. A miracle so remarkable as this, could not fail to attract the attention of the people, especially of those who had been wont to see the subject of it sitting by the wayside, begging alms. These questioned him closely in regard to the person who wrought the miracle, and the mode of effecting it. He told the circumstances exactly as they took place. He answered: "A man that is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash ; and I went and washed, and I received sight." They then brought the man to the Pharisees, the leading members of the great council or Sanhedrim, to be questioned by them. These rulers were not disposed to admit that any miracle had been wrought by one whom they had persecuted and sought to destroy, and they tried various expedients to induce the man to declare Jesus an impostor. When they found that he persisted in the account which he had given of the miracle which had been wrought for his benefit, some of them used the argument, that Jesus could not be "of God," because he had done this on the Sabbath, thereby breaking the law of Moses. "Give God the praise," said they; "we know that this
26
SERMO II.
man is a sinner." But the man thought it very strange that any one could do such a miracle, imless Crod were with him to give him the power; and as he kneiv experimentally that a miracle had been done, he was unmoved iJy all that the Pharisees could allege against it. He therefore answers them boldly and positively, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." Such a change of condition as he underwent physically, the Christian exjjeriences spiritually, through the power of Christ. And the words of the text very fitly convey the. testimony which the converted sinner can give to his own experience of the saving grace of God. And we shall consider them in their application to a subject of much interest and importance, but which is often greatly misunderstood, and treated with disrespect and scorn by the irreligious — we mean Christian experience. By Christian experience, we mean an experience of the power of the Gospel to enlighten the mind, renew the heart, and to reform the life. It is a knowledge of the truth in its practical operation, not only of truth in itself, but of what it is capable of doing for the character of those to whom it is addressed. ow, whatever may be the delusion of some individuals in regard to experimental religion, it will not justify the contemptuous skepticism with which all pretensions to an acquaintance with it are treated by the irreligious. For it is certain that Christ intended and promised, that his word should have the power which we claim for it, and that his disciples proved the truth of his doctrine by their consciousness of that power. And it would be very absurd to deny that Christians, in these days, who have the same Gospel that the first Christians had, have also the same privileges of faith, the same experience of its power. We mean, of course, that power which constitutes conversion, not the mi-
raculous power, which ceased when the church became fully established. ow the experience of this power is manifested in the feelings and in the conduct. And it is quite as unreasonable as the opinion of the most deluded professor can be, to conclude, because some persons claim religious feeling without showing the corresponding conduct, that those who can give this clear evidence of the practical working of faith, are deluded when they profess to have experienced the power of the Gospel over
SERMO II. 27 the heart. Many feelings are regarded as belonging to religiovis experience which do not properly belong to it. Yet to conclude from these excei:^ions, that the rule which we have laid down is a fahe one, would be as great an error as to conclude that there is no certainty in any science, because some who knew not Ijow to apply its principles, had made some signal failures in their attempts to obtain its legitimate results. We make these preliminary remarks, because those who have not felt, and those who do not wish to feel, the power of religion, are disposed to deny that any have experienced it, inferring the delusion of all professors, from the manifest delusion of a few. And this is done by those who admit the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and acknowledge that the Bible contains a rev#lation from God. Against the opinions of such persons, we have urged the fact that these Moly Scriptures declare, that sinners have been converted, and have been assured of their conversion, and authorize us to expect like conversions noAv, and like experience of the power of grace. We therefore proceed to consider such experience. And we repeat the remark, that the words of our text very aptly express the testimony which the Christian convert can give in regard to his experience. The convert to Christ knows that he is a new man, through the grace of God. This knowledge, this spiritual sight, is enough. The time when he first received the influence of divine grace, may not be known. And
it is quite immaterial whether it is or not. or is it at all important whether he can remember and relate any circumstances which marked the progress of his conversion. These are as different as the constitutions of individuals. The power which first brought him into submission to the will of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord, may have been in the earthquake, or in the mighty wind, or in the still, small voice. Like Paul, he may have been subdued in the way of persecuting unbelief, by the sudden blaze of divine truth, poured upon his staggered mind. Or like Lydia, his heart may have been opened to attend to the things which were spoken by an apostle of Jesus. A single text, attracting the attention under peculiar circumstances, may induce a train of reflections on the goodness and long-suffering of God, that will lead to repentance. A word fitly spoken, may reveal
28 SERMO II. to the sinner offences that he has long covered from view, and open the flood-gates of sorrow, that saving faith alone can close. The comforts of faith may be reached 4)y slow and painful steps. Or the convicted sinner may be suddenly plunged into the gulf of drowning remorse, from which he may be rescued after one piteous cry, — "Save, Lord, or I perish!" A bereavement, or some other affliction, may be the immediate forerunner of a sudden conversion. Or the web of sin which shuts out God from the heart, may have been broken and cast off in early life, under circumstances not remembered. Hence it is wrong to judge all conversions by any fixed rule, except that which requires of all alike, (what all who are truly converted must and can give,)«the testimony of grateful obedience to Christ. The true believer in Christ knows that he was horn blind in heart, and that through the grace of God, he now sees. If he knows this, and gives evidence that he sees, it is enough. In vain does the scoffer attempt to weaken his faith by ridicule ; or the Pharisee to overawe him by dogmatism. In vain is he told that he has been deluded by false teachers. He is safe while he has " the witness in himself," confirmed by the Spirit of God, that he is renewed by the grace of God, that whereas he was blind, now he
sees. Let us now consider what the converted sinner sees. He sees his own vileness — the mercy and love of Christ — the value of redemption, and the excellency of 'piety. 1. His own vileness. The Gospel proclaims the universal corruption of mankind. Thx-ough his word therein made known, God "commands all men, every where, to repent." But if all must repent, all have something to repent of — all are guilty of sin, and need reformamation. When the Scriptures, however, insist on man's depravity, they do not mean to charge him with an entire want of goodness with respect to his fellow-man. There may be much sound morality in the conduct of some who have never meekly received the word of God through Christ Jesus. But this outward show of moral purity, if tried by the Scripture rule, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,'' would be found a very imperfect fulfilment of duty, even with reference to man. How much more deficient would all men be found, when tried by his word in relation to their duty to him ! That word giveth light
SERMO II. 29 to the mind, and shows not only great imperfections in a character before supposed to be faultless ; but such a want of true devotion to the will of God, as must make the delinquent obnoxious to condemnation in the sight of infinite holiness. ow, a man may be a good citizen, honest and upright in his dealings — he may be a warm philanthropist, giving his time and his money to the cause of social improvement ; he may be a kind parent, or a dutiful child — exemplary in all the social relations of life — loathing all gross vice, and striving to root it out of the community in which he lives — he may be all this, and more than this ; lie may even be constant and reverential in the duties of 'public worship, and with an habitual contemplation of all the common manifestations of divine power, he may "look through ature up to ature's God," and yet he may be very far from being a subject of Christ's kingdom — an heir of eternal life through the
only Saviour. He may deem himself as good as he need be, or so good that, on the whole, he will be found worthy of reward in the day of final judgment. Or he may be all that we have supposed, and yet never think of God as A holy being, demanding holiness in his creatures, or as a strict judge, rewarding men according to his own estimation of their works. And even if he does believe in Christ's authority to prescribe the rule of life, and to declare the rule of judgment, he may resolve that rule into what he has himself established as the line of duty — that we are required to do as well as we can, and if we do so, God will forgive all our sins in compassion for our infirmity. How far are all J such persons from the kingdom of God! How miserably will they fail of attaining that everlasting peace which is the desire of all who reflect upon the future state of the soul ! The converted sinner, he who has been brought through the saving truth of God's word to a knowledge of himself, — of God, sees himself in a different light. He sees the infinite holiness of God, and the utter impossibility of standing pure in the sight of such holiness, and like the outcast leper, with his hand on his lips, he cries, "Unclean." "Lord, I am vile; I have sinned against thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son !" He sees that he has been following the devices of his own heart, instead of walking constantly in the knowledge and the fear of God — that he has set the love of the world, and its approbation,
30 SERMO II. or the flattery of his own self-esteem, above the love of God, and of his testimonies ; and in deep contrition for his unworthiness, he confesses his sin, and shows sincere repentance by his obedience to the law of Christ. And his repentance for past sins, as well as his zeal for the cause of holiness, is quickened by his contemplation of the mercy and love of his Saviour. For he sees — Secondly : — 2. His mercy and love, the preciousness of that blood-shedding, by which he is reconciled to his heavenly Father, and has become
a son of God by adoption. He who, though living in a land where "the true light shineth," had been spiritually blind, now sees not only himself, but his God, in a new character — himself a sinner, convicted and condemned — unable to atone for his transgressions; and God, a Saviour, full of long-suffering and mercy — seeking by wonderful means, to turn him from the way of sin to the path of holiness and peace. And viewing these two things together, his own vileness and rebellion, and God's forbearance and tender mercy, his repentance is the more lively, the more sensible he is of the free grace and unbounded goodness of his Saviour. And he will realize this the more fully, the more sensible he is of his sinfulness. Before he was cured of his spiritual blindness, being unable to see this sinfulness, and the consequent misery tO which he was destined, he could have no just sense of God's mercy. ot seeing his peril, he could not see the worth of deliverance. They only can know the love of God as displayed in redemption through Christ Jesus, who know how much his holiness has been offended by their sins. one but those who see and fear the raging billows of eternal wrath, can realize the mercy of the Saviour, who is ever walking in the midst of them. He whose eyes are opened to discern his own sinfulness, wonders that God should have mercy on him at all. How much more does he wonder when he sees God's mode of showing it. He can now say, " Whereas, I was wont to regard the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, and the declaration of God's inestimable love in the sacrifice of his Son as a fiction of enthusiasm, or heard as if I heard it not ; now I adore the mystery of redemption, a nd feel my heart swell with gratitude for that mercy which passes my comprehension, and my power of expression." Such will be
SERMO II. 31 the kind of experience of which every convert will be sensible, though its degree may depend much upon individual temperament. Joy may be the predominant feeling in some who have been convicted of sin, and their apprehension of wo may soon
give place to the hope of salvation. In them, the feeling of selfloathing may soon be absorbed in the sense of God's sure mercy. The cloud which lowers with wrathful threatenings upon the world of sin, is seen by all who know the power of the Gospel ; but some may be quicker than others to discern the bow of promise formed by the light of God's reconciled countenance. Seeing clearly the evil and danger of sin, and the certain redemption which Christ has wrought for all who believe, the converted man rejoices (more or less, according to his natural temperament) in the contemplation of that redemption. So long as he dehghts in the law of God, he has a feeling of acceptance by his once offended God. And this joyful feeling has reference not only to the peril which he has escaped, but likewise to the eternal reward set before him. He sees at one view, the terrors of the condemnation which awaits the unforgiven sinner, and the blessedness of that "incorruptible inheritance" which is promised to the redeemed. He can say with St. Peter, "I am partaker of the glory that shall be revealed." And that glory, of which he has a foretaste, and which is in itself so precious, appears the more so from its contrast with that condition of misery which is the only alternative proposed to the sinner. The experience of the value of redemption consists of mixed feelings. The Christian sees the evil of sin and its penalty — from which he has escaped, by the grace of God — and the prospect of eternal blessedness opened to him by the same grace. And with these subjects of contemplation, he associates the thought of the grace itself, and its mode of manifestation. If he has ever been duly sensible of God's mercy in Christ Jesus, he can never entirely lose sight of it. Whatever progress he may make in Christian experience, however "he may follow on to know the Lord," he will always remember with grateful affection, "the grace wherein he stands," — the precious blood-shedding by wbich he was redeemed. We may now perceive the truth of our last general position, that he whose eyes God hath opened by means of the Gospel, sees the excellency' of piety. He sees this, not
32 SERMO II.
only as it is a proof of his sure title to tlie redemption through Christ Jesus, (for true faith worketh by love, and bringeth forth righteousness,) but likewise as an expression of love for his Saviour, and an earnest of the life to come. The true Christian, then, has experience of the love of God shed abroad in his heart, moving him to a cheerful devotion to his Saviour. He feels himself drawn towards God by motives to which he was once a stranger. And he is sensible of a delight in the law of God, which (when he considers the weakness of the flesh) is regarded as a foretaste of heavenly joy, distinct enough to encourage his earnest striving to attain it. Before he was converted, the believer in Christianity may have heard with seriousness and reverence, the word of truth, declaring the blessedness of faith ; but he had no experience, and perhaps no conception of it. The inspired men of the ages before Christ, may have told him, (and he believed what they spake by the voice of inspiration,) that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and that all the ways of wisdom are "ways of pleasantness and peace." But he knew nothing of this by experience. He may have often heard from the ew Testament — which he regarded as the record of a divine revelation — that " as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," and that " the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy and peace ; " or that " the kingdom of God is in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." He may have believed that the Scripture is true, which declares these things, but he had no experience of them. ow, since " Christ has been formed in him," since he has become a new man by the transforming influence of the Spirit, teaching him the corruption of his heart, and the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, he knows by experience the truth of these sayings. Thus, in regard to the enormity of sin and its fatal tendency, the guilt and condemnation of man, and his redemptioii by the sacrifice of Christ the righteous — the value of this redemption, and the excellency of piety — in regard to all this, the truly converted man can say at all times, (however he may be exposed to the cavils of the world,) " One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see."
My hearers, can you adopt the language of the text as a proper expression of your own feelings, and your own experience of
SERMO II. 33 the enlightening power of the Gospel? Do you know this "one thing," that whereas you were bhnd to your sins, and to the condemnation which awaited you — to the wonderful love of a bleeding Saviour, and to the precious fruits of his blood-shedding in this life, and in the life to come — you now see all this? Can you truly say that the eyes of your mind have been opened by the Lord Jesus Christ, to discern the misery of your sinful condition, and the glory which shall be revealed to the heirs of salvation. Have you felt the burden of sin, and in answer to the gracious invitation of Christ to the weary and heavy-laden, have you gone to him for rest? Examine yourselves, my hearers, whether ye be in the faith. See if ye have the witness in yourselves, that ye are redeemed by the blood of Christ. Do you now see the evil of sin — its hatefulness in the sight of God, and the infinite mercy which has provided an infinite sacrifice for its expiation? Can you say, "We love God because he first loved us?" and "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit? " Do you discern the beauty of holiness, and have you the comfort of the Holy Ghost, walking in the fear of God, and striving to keep his commandments ? If you do thus know Christ experimentally, then, though you may know little of theology as a science, and little of the evidences of Christianity, you may meet all adversaries with the confident declaration of the text. But, my hearers, if you cannot do this ; if, like the Pharisees, you say, "We see," and remain in sin, you need a spiritual physician to deliver you from eternal darkness. Apply to the Lord Jesus, who is such a physician, and as the blind man obeyed the command, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," and came back seeing — so at his command, go ye, wash in the pool of Calvary, in the blood of atonement, which flows by the foot of the cross, and come back cleansed through faith, renewed unto eternal life.
May God guide the blind unto him, who alone can give sight. May you all receive the blessed manifestations of his mercy, in a rich experience here on earth, of that peace which will be without measure or end, in his heavenly kingdom.
1. 68 FREE BOOKS http://www.scribd.com/doc/21800308/Free-Christian-Books
2. ALL WRITI GS http://www.scribd.com/glennpease/documents?page=970
