Page images
PDF
EPUB

plicated; and nothing could damp their ardor, or quench the fire of love that burnt in their souls. And would to God, my brethren, that we were animated by the same spirit, and felt the same strong and ardent attachment to Christ and to his name.

X. Finally, this is the name by which the disciples of Christ are to be known in all the succeeding ages of the gospel. Hence, this name was given to the disciples by divine appointment. This fact itself is a sufficient reason to prefer the name of Christian to that of disciple. To reject the name Christian for that of disciple, as some have done, is to travel backward. To call such persons reformers, is a great misnomer, for their course is marked with manifest absurdity. Soon after this name was given to the disciples, it began to prevail to the exclusion of every other name. Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. When Peter wrote his first epistle, it seemed to have been in familiar use: If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this behalf. And finally, the Scriptures declare that this is the name by which the whole family of Christ is to be designated Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth are named. As Christ is the head of the body, and disseminates life and light through all the members, so they all should be known and designated by his name.

But should it be asked, What harm is there in calling ourselves by unscriptural names? Mere names are innocent things; and as we are divided in sentiment, why not know each other apart by different names?

It should be remembered, that anti-Christian names are generally associated with anti-Christian doctrine and practice. No doctrine, which cannot be clearly and fully expressed in the language of Scripture, ought to be received as a Christian doctrine. No principles ought to be sanctioned, that necessarily depend upon unscriptural names. If we acknowledge the necessity of retaining these names, it would be well to inquire into the grounds upon which we justify our conduct. In the present divided state of Christians, it will, I suppose, be acknowledged by all, that there is error somewhere, both in doctrine and practice. They who can express their sentiments and practice in the language of Scripture, are the most likely to be the nearest to the truth. When persons change their names, they have some design in doing it. When the Church of Rome added the names holy and catholic to the word church, making the name holy catholic church, as she termed her communion, she evidently intended to make an obvious distinction between those churches that submitted to her usurpations, and all other churches of Christ; and her practice was strictly associated with this fulsome adulation. So, when the Protestants added names to the word church, such as Presbyterian, Episcopalians, Calvinistical, they evidently intended to set up a standard not authorized by the New Testament. These churches are established upon such principles,

that a Christian is not eligible to become a member; that is, he must not be a Christian only, he must be a sectarian. It is not enough for him to subscribe to the text of God, but he must give his assent to the exposition of fallible men, and thereby acknowledge a spiritual tribunal-a tribunal, perhaps, more liable to give a false interpretation than himself. It is to justify these principles, that hightoned sectarians plead for unscriptural names; and we reject the names because we have renounced the principles; and, having renounced the principles, we find it unnecessary to retain the names. Neither would they find it necessary to retain unscriptural names, if they acknowledged and acted upon the great principles of the Protestant reformation, the sufficiency of the Scriptures, and the right of private judgment.

Jesus Christ has broken down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, and united his followers in one body; there is but one fold, and one shepherd. One name is sufficient to describe one body. These churches, which are built upon such principles that the greater part of Christians are not eligible to become members, cannot be built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. All Christian churches ought to be established upon the broad basis of gospel principles, open for the reception of all who have been received by Christ, their head. And when these principles shall be universally embraced by the disciples of Christ, and they learn of him as their only Master, the name Christian will supplant all sectarian names.

1. We shall conclude our remarks on this subject by urging you to become Christians in reality and in truth. To become a Christian merely by name, without the reality, instead of being a benefit to you, will augment your guilt and aggravate your doom; but the possession of genuine Christianity will add unspeakably to your happiness here and hereafter-it has the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come. To be a partaker of Christ, is to be at peace with God-to have peace of mind and joy in the Holy Spirit-to possess a beneficial interest in all things, and an assured hope of life everlasting. Jesus Christ came into the world that you might have life, and more than life-He came to give you rest for your souls, to afford you strong consolations under the afflictions and sorrows of this world, support in the solemn and trying hour of death, and an entrance, when your mortal career is ended, into the glory to be revealed. He is ready to vanquish all your spiritual foes, to cleanse you from all your impurities, purge you from all your guilt, and make you meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. While the bare profession of Christianity will bestow neither pleasure nor profit, the possession of it will be replete with both. It will deliver you from a multitude of snares, against which there is no other relief; emancipate you from all your slavish passions and degrading appetites, and invest you with the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Be assured, however lightly you may

esteem religion now, that the time is not far distant when, to be a true Christian, to belong to Christ, and to be in union with him, will be felt to be a greater happiness than to be master of the world. Every other honor will fade-every other enjoyment will be exhausted-every other distinction will pass away-every other glory will vanish-while the crown of righteousness, which Christ will give to his sincere followers, will Shine with undecayed brightness in the ceaseless ages of eternity.

My young friends, be persuaded to embrace Christianity in the morning of life. It will add unspeakable charms to the graces of youth-temper its vivacity with wisdom-tincture its passions with innocence and form your character for a happy, useful, and honorable life. It will be an ornament to youth, a safe directory in the active pursuits of life, a staff and consolation amidst the decays and infirmities of age. To see you set out in the ways of piety, to behold you renouncing the vanities of life, will afford the highest satisfaction to the church of God, the most exalted pleasure to your religious parents, who watch every movement of your mind with anxious solicitude, ready to rejoice over you with transport whenever they behold in you true signs of piety.

2. We cannot but look back with regret to that period when the followers of Christ were known by no other name than that of Christian. Happy period; when, instead of being rent into a thousand parts, and split up into innumerable divisions, the church of Christ was one fold and one shepherd. The seamless coat of the Redeemer was one entire piece from top to bottom. The world was divided into two grand parties-Christians and Pagans. This happy state, we have no doubt, will occur again. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. In consequence of a more copious communication of the spirit, some of our difference of opinion will be removed, and the shepherds will see eye to eye; and others of them will be lost in the indulgence of Christian charity, in the noble oblivion of love.

22*

[ocr errors]

DISCOURSE III.

Sermon to Young Men.

"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." -Eccl. xi., 9.

We live in a world where we are surrounded by temptations and snares, to which all are exposed, especially the young and inexperienced. These temptations and snares throw enchantments around themselves, and fill the young mind with delusive hopes and vain expectations. When the passions are once excited, they plead eloquently for gratification, and hurry on the inexperienced in the path of ruin. And in the same proportion as they are indulged, our evil propensities are strengthened; and as our propensities to evil are strengthened, they become the more clamorous when we resist their inclinations. No man ever perceived these truths more clearly, or felt them more forcibly, than did Solomon. He well understood the delicate situation of young people, with all its lights and shades, and manifested in his writings a constant regard for their welfare; and this is one evidence of his wisdom, for youth is the proper age of instruction and discipline. He, therefore, gives them line upon line, and precept upon precept. Sometimes he soothes, and sometimes he rebukes; sometimes he beseeches them with paternal tenderness, and sometimes he persuades them as knowing the terrors of the Lord; and saves them with fear, pulling them out of the fire; and this he does in the words of our text: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou for all these things God will bring thee to judgment. In speaking from these words, we propose to explain them-to enforce the caution they suggest-and to conclude with some reflections.

And may Almighty God make this discourse as a solemn trumpet, to arouse the young men who hear me this evening, from the slumbers of spiritual death, that they may become alive to God, and serve him with their bodies and spirits, which are his.

I. We are, in the first place, to explain the words. We are not to understand these words in a literal or rigid sense, as though we are forbidden the enjoyment of the bounties of providence and the blessings of life. The religion of Christ is far from forbidding a cheerful use of the blessings of life, for, without such a use of them, they are given to the possessor in vnin. Every thing that God has made, is good in itself, and when sanctified by the word of God and prayer, may be used with thanksgiving. All things are given us richly to enjoy; and this fully agrees with the senti

I

ments of Solomon, as expressed in the different parts of his writings: There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also saw, that it was from the hand of the Lord. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. Behold that which I have seen, it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy all the good of his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor: this is the gift of God. Such are the sentiments that were entertained by Solomon; and such are the pleasures that he regarded not only as innocent, but even as expedient. And far be it from us to recommend a gloomy and melancholy religion. Instead of dissuading, you from a life of true pleasure, we are desirous of directing you in the way of it.

These words are intended as an awful and lively caution to young persons, to be upon their guard against the indulgence in those gratifications, whereby the conscience may be wounded and God dishonored. They are spoken ironically: that is, the words are to be understood in an opposite sense from their literal import. This method of expression is adopted for the purpose of giving words a sharper point and a keener edge. This style of writing is not uncommon in the Sacred Oracles. It was used by Elijah, the prophet, in his address to the priests of Baal: And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And so these words forbid what they seem to allow upon a literal construction, and are as if he had said: "Thou poor thoughtless creature, who, in this giddy intoxication of thy youth, art so madly bent upon sensual pleasure, take thy fill of it, and withhold not thy heart from any joy. Follow all the most impetuous appetites of thy nature, and wantonly bound over every restraint of reason and piety, trample on all the admonitions of thy teachers, shake off the fetters of a strict education, and burst the bonds of religion, like the threads of flax when they are touched by the flame. But think not, O sinner! that thou shalt always carry it off with such haughty triumph; know, as thou hast thy day, God will also have his: a day of strict account, and of ample recompense. Know thou, for all these things, God will bring thee into judgment. Dearly shalt thou then pay for every present indulgence, and every sweet morsel shall then be turned bitter, and be as the gall of asps within. thee."

This, I say, appears to be the evident meaning of the words; for I am sure they are generally used in a bad sense, and signify an indulgence to the irregularities of appetite and passion, in the neglect of reason and Scripture. Thus, the Israelites are charged

« PreviousContinue »