Proposition VI: Other Spiritual Exercises, Which Sustain an Inseparable Connection with Faith in Christ, Are Represented as the Duty of Men in General
Though this controversy has been mostly carried on with respect to the duty of faith, yet it, in reality, extends to the whole of spiritual religion. Those who deny that sinners are obliged to believe in Christ for salvation, will not allow that it is their duty to do any thing truly and spiritually good. It is a kind of maxim with such persons, that ‘‘none can be obliged to act spiritually, but spiritual men.” Spiritual exercises appear to me to mean the same as holy exercises; for the new man, which is created after God, is said to be created in righteousness, and TRUE HOLINEss; and as to two kinds of true holiness, the Scriptures, I believe, are silent. But as some writers affix different ideas to the term spiritual; to prevent all disputes about it, T shall proceed on a ground which they will not refuse. Whatever has the promise of spiritual blessings, is considered as a spiritual exercise. With this criterion of spirituality in view, let the following passages of Scripture be ohne considered: How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity, and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my at unto you, I will make known my words unto —
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowl-Oe:
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od edge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. — Wisdom crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, f call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom; and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear, for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. — Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold — Hearken unto me, O ye children; for blessed are they that keep my ways. Fear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me, love death. — And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to rear the Lord thy God, to walk in aww his ways, and to Love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL Tuy souL? — Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. — Rend your uzart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. — Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. — Rerenr ye, therefor and be CONVERTED, that your sins may be blotted out, when the. times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Prov. i. 22, 23.7. viii. 3 — 6. 10. 32 — 36. Deut. x. 12. 16. Joel ii. 13. Matt. iii. 2. Acts iii. 19. e may remark on these passages, First:
The ache addressed were unconverted sinners,
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as appears by their characters; fools — scorners — haters of knowledee — uncireumcised in heart — impenitent. Second: The things to which they were exhorted were things spiritually good. This appears, in part, from the names by which the exercises themselves are denominated; name- ly, such understanding as originates in the fear —
of the Lord — fearing — loving — serving God with all the heart, and with all the soul — circumcision of the heart- — repentance — conversion; and, partly, from the blessings of salvation being promised to them: these are expressed by the terms blessedness — life — favor of the Lord — the blotting out of sin.
More particularly: The love of God is a spiritual exercise; for it has the promise of spiritual blessings. All things work together for good to them that love God. — He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. — Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Rom. viii. 28. 1 John iv. 16. 1 Cor. 1. 9. But the love of God is required of men without distinction. The people of Israel, like all other people, were composed of good and bad men; but they were all required to love Jehovah, and to cleave to him, and that with all their heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. Deut. vi. 5, xxx. 20.. The moral part of those. precepts which God gave to them on tables of stone, were binding on all mankind. Even those who had no other means of knowing God than were afforded by the works of nature, with, perhaps, a portion of tra tion, were rei, Pot “ys
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quired to GLorIry HIM AS God, AND TO BE
THANKFUL. Rom. i. 21.
The love of God, as is here intimated, is either a holy thankfulness for the innumerable instances of his goodness, or a cordial approbation of his
glorious character. It is true, there are favors
for which the regenerate are obliged to love Him, which are not common to the unregenerate: but every one has shared a sufficient portion of his bounty to have incurred a debt of gratitude. It is generally allowed, indeed, that God ought to be loved as our Creator and Benefactor; but this, they suppose, is not a spiritual exercise. There is a kind of gratitude, it is granted, which is not spiritual, but merely the effect of natural selflove, and in which God is no otherwise regarded, than as subservient to our happiness. But this does not always respect the bestowing of temporal mercies: the same feelings which possessed the carnal Israelites, when they felt themselves delivered from Pharaoh’s yoke, and saw their oppressors sinking in the sea, are still the feelings of many professors of religion, under a groundless persuasion of their being elected of God, and having their sins forgiven them. Gratitude of this sort has nothing spiritual in it: but then, neither is it any part of duty. God no where requires it, either of saints or sinners. That which God requires is a spiritual exercise: whether it be on account of temporal or spiritual mercies, is immaterial; the object makes no difference as to the nature of the act: that thanksgiving with which the common mercies of life are received by the god-
3y ly, and by which they are sanctified to them, (1 Tim. iv. 3, 4,) is no less of a spiritual nature, and is no less connected with eternal life, than gratitude for the forgiveness of sm, This thankful spirit, instead of being an operation of self love, or regarding God merely in subserviency to our own happiness, greatly consists in self-abasement, or in a sense of our own unworthiness. Its language is, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? — What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits? This is holy gratitude; and to be destitute of it, is to be unthankful, unholy. With respect to a cordial approbation of the divine character, or glorifying God as Ged, and which enters into the essence of holy love, there can be no reasonable doubt whether it be obligatory on sinners. Such is the glory of God’s name, that nothing but the most inexcusable and deep-rooted depravity could render any intelligent creature insensible to it. ‘Those parts of Scripture which describe the devout feelings of godly men, particularly the Psalms of David, abound in expressions of affection to the Name of the Lord. How excellent is thy Name in all the earth ! — Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy NAME give glory. — O magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt his Name together. — Sing unto God, sing praises to his NamE: let them that love thy NamE say continually, The Lord be magnified. — Blessed be his glorious NAME forever, and let the whole earth’ be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.: This affection to the name of the Lord, as it is revealed in his word and works, and particularly in the work of redemption, lies at the foundation of all true desire after an interest in his mercy. If we seek mercy of any one whose character we disesteem, it is merely for our own sakes; and if he be acquainted with our motives, we cannot hope to succeed. This it is that leads us to mourn for sin as sin, and not merely for the inconvenience to which it exposes us. This it is which renders salvation through the atonement of Christ so acceptable. He that loves only himself, provided he might be saved, would care little or nothing for the honor of the divine character: but he that loves God, will be concerned for his glory. Heaven itself would be no enjoyment to him, if his admission must be at the expense of righteousness.
‘‘God is to be loved,” says Dr. Gill, ‘‘ for himself; because of his own nature, and the perfections of it, which render him amiable and lovely, and worthy of our strongest love and affection; as these are displayed in the works of creation and providence, and especially of grace, redemption, and salvation; to all which the Psalmist has respect, when he says, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy NAME, nature, and perfections, in all the earth! Psalm viii. 1. As God is great in himself, and greatly to be praised; great, and greatly to be feared; so, great, and greatly to be loved, for what he is in himself. And this is the purest and most perfect love of a creature towards God; for, if we love him only for his goodness towards us, it is loving ourselves rather than him, at least, a loving him for ourselves, and so a loving ourselves more than him.” But this “most pure and perfect love” is manifestly the duty of all mankind, however far they are from a compliance with it. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory puE unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness — Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. — Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth; both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: let them praise the name of the Lord; For HIS NAME ALONE IS BXCELLENT: his glory is above the earth, and heavcen. — Let the people praise thee, O God: let all the people praise thee! 1 Chron. xvi. 28, 29. Psa. c. 1. exlvin. 11 — 138. lxvi. 3. That love to Christ is a spiritual exercise, may, I suppose, be taken for granted. The grace, or favor of God, is with all who possess it in sincerity. Eph. vi. 24. But love to Christ is the duty of every one to whom the Gospel is preached. On no other principles could the apostle have written as he did: Lf any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha! It is worthy of notice, that this awful sentence is not denounced against sinners, as positively hating Christ, but as not loving him; plainly implying his worthiness of a place in our best affections, and that, were it possible for us to be indifferent towards him, even that indifference would deserve the heavy curse of the Almighty at the last judgment. Paul appears to have felt as a soldier would feel towards the best of princes, or commanders. If, after David’s return from his engagement with Goliath, when the women of Israel were praising him in their songs, any of the sons of Belial had spoken of iim in the language of detraction, it would have been natural, for one of a patriotic spirit, deeply impressed with an idea of the hero’s worth, and of the service he had rendered to his country, thus to have expressed himself: “If any man love not the son of Jesse, let him be banished from among the tribes of Israel.” Of this kind were the feelings of the apostle. He had served under his Lord and Savior ‘for many years: and now, sensible in a high degree of the glory of his character, he scruples not to pronounce that man who loves him not, accursed!
The fear of God is a spiritual exercise; for it has the promise of spiritual blessings. Psalm xxxiv. 7. 9. cui. 11. 13.17. But it is also a duty required of men, and that without the distinction of regenerate or unregenerate. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would rear me, and keep all my commandments always ! — Fear before him, all the earth. Let all that be round about him, bring presents unto him THAT OUGHT TO BE FEARED. — Who would not FEAR thee, O King of nations ? — Frar thou God. — Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. — Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and ruar the Lord your God : — and that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to
FEAR the Lord your God. — WServe the Lord with FEAR, and rejoice with trembling — And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, — F EAR God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth! — Who shall not rnar thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy, Deut. v. 29. 1 Chron. xvi. 30. Psalm lxxvi. 11. Jer.x. 7. Eccles. v. 7. xn. 13. Deut. xxxi. 12, 13. Psalm 1. 11. Rev. xiv. 6, 7. xv. 4. To say of men, they have no fear of God before their eyes, (Rom. ii. 18,) is to represent them as under the dominion of depravity.
It. may be objected, that the Scriptures distinguish between that holy fear of offending God which is peculiar to his children, and a mere dread of the misery threatened against sin, which is found in the wicked. True; thereis a fear of God which is not spiritual: such was that of the slothful servant; and the same is found in hypocrites and devils, (Luke xix. 21. James i. 19.:) this, however, is no part of duty, but rather of punishment. God does not require this, either of saints or sinners. ‘That which he requires, is of a holy nature, such as is. expressed in the passages before quoted; which is spiritual, and has the promise of spiritual blessings. It resembles that of a dutiful child to his father, and is therefore properly called filial; and though none are possessed of it but the children of God, yet that is because none else are possessed of a right spirit.:
Repentance, or a godly sorrow for sin, is a spiritual exercise; for it abounds with promises of spiritual blessings. But repentance is a duty required of every sinner. Kepent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. — Repent ye, there-Sore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. — Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afficted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Matt. iii. 2. Acts iii. 19. James iv. 8 — 10. The hardness of heart which our Lord found in the Jews, and which is the opposite of repentance, grieved him: which it would not, had it not been their sin, Mark i. 5. Finally: A hard and impenitent heart treasures up wrath against the day of wrath: but impenitence could be no sin, if penitence were not a duty. Rom. ii. 5.
Repentance, it is allowed, like all other spirit. ual exercises, has its counterfeit, and which is not spiritual; but neither is it that which God requires at the hands of either saints or sinners. What is called natural, and sometimes legal repentance, is merely a sorrow on account.of, consequences. Such was the repentance,ef Saul and Judas.
In order to evade the argument arising from the addresses of John the Baptist, of Christ and his apostles, who called upon the Jewish people to repent, and believe the Gospel, it has been alleged, that it was only an outward repentance and acknowledgment of the truth to which they
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Wot were exhorted, and not that which is spiritual, or which has the promise of spiritual blessings. But it will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that such repentance and faith are any where required of sinners, or that it is consistent with the divine perfections to require them. An outward repentance and reformation of manners, as distinguished from that which consists in godly sorrow, is only repentance in appearance. Whatever sorrow there is in it, it is not on account of sin, but its consequences; and to suppose that Christ, or his servants, required this, would be doing them infinite dishonor. It is no other than supposing them to have betrayed the authority of God over the human heart; to have sanctioned hypocrisy; and to have given counsels to sinners,
which, if taken, would leave them still exposed
to everlasting destruction.
The case of the Ninevites has been alleged as furnishing an example of that repentance which is the duty of men in general, and which Christ and his apostles required of the Jews. I do not know that the repentance of the Ninevites was genuine, or connected with spiritual blessings; neither does any one know that it was not. Probably, the repentance of some of them was genuine, while that of the greater part might be only put on in conformity to the orders of government; or, at most, merely as the effect of terror. But, whatever it was, even though none of it were genuine, the object professed was godly sorrow for sin; and if God treated them upon the supposition of their being sincere, and it repented him of the evil which he had threatened, it is no more than he did to Pharaoh, Abijah, Ahab, and others. Exod. viii. 8,9. 2 Chron. xiii. with 1 Kings xv. 1 Kings xxi. 27.29. It is a very unjust conclusion to draw from his conduct, that their repentance was such as he approved, and the whole which he required at their hands. So far from it, there might be nothing in any of them which could approve itself to him as the Searcher of hearts; and though, for wise reasons, he might think-it proper, in those instances, to overlook their hypocrisy, and to treat them on the supposition of their repentance being what they professed it to be, yet he might still reserve to himself the power of judging them at the last day according to their works.
The object of John the Baptist was not to effect a mere outward reformation of manners, but to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke i. 17. Such was the effect actually produced by his ministry, and by that of Christ and the apostles. The repentance which they called upon sinners to exercise, was such as had the promise of the remission of sins. Mark 1. 4. Acts ii. 38.
It is plainly intimated, by the apostle Paul, that all repentance, except that which werketh in a way of godly sorrow, and which he calls repentance to salvation, NEEDS TO BE REPENTED or. It is the mere sorrow of the world, which worketh death. 2 Cor. vii. 10. But that which requires to be repented of, cannot be commanded of God, or constitute any part of a sinner’s duty.
The duty of every transgressor is to be sorry at heart for having sinned.
Humility, or lowliness of mind, is a spiritual disposition, and has the promise of spiritual blessings. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly. — He giveth grace unto the humble. — Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, (Psalm exxxviil. 6. James iv. 6. Matt.v.3:) yet this disposition is required as the duty of all. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James w. 8 — 10. Humility does not consist in thinking less or.more meanly of ourselves than is true. The difference between one that is lowly, and one that is proud, lies in this — the one thinks justly of himself, and the other unjustly. The most humble Christian only thinks of himself soberly, as he ought to think. Rom. xii. 3. All the instances of humility recorded of the godly, in the Scriptures, are but so many examples of a right spirit, a spirit brought down to their situation. Carry back the ark of God into the city, says David: If I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation: but if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I; let him do to me as seemcth good unto him. This was very different from the spirit of his predecessor, when he was given to expect the loss of the kingdom; yet it was no more than was the duty of Saul, as well as of David; and all his proud and rebellious opposition served only to increase his guilt and misery. The spirit of the publican was no more than was becoming a sinner, and would have been becoming the Pharisee himself.
Finally: If whatever has the promise of. spiritual blessings be a spiritual exercise, every thing that is right, or which accords with the divine precept, must be so; for the Scriptures uniformly promise eternal life to every such exercise. They that do good shall come forth to the resurrection of life. He that doeth righteousness is righteous. The giving of a cup of cold water to a disciple of Christ, because he belongs to him, will be followed with a disciple’s reward. Nay, a blessing is pronounced upon those who are not offended in him. But, though these things are spiritual, and are characteristic of the godly, yet, who will say they are not binding on the ungodly? Are they excused from good, from doing right, from bestowing a cup of water on a disciple of Jesus, because he belongs to him? At least, are they allowed to be offended in him?
If God’s law be spiritual, and remain in full force as a standard of obligation; if men, while unconverted, have no real conformity to it; if regeneration be the writing of it upon the heart, or the renewal of the mind to a right spirit; all these things are clear and consistent. This is for the same thing, in different respects, to be “man’s duty, and God’s gift;” a position which Dr. Owen has fully established; * and somewhere
* Display of Arminianism, chap. x.
remarks, that he who is ignorant of it has yet to Jearn one of the first principles of religion. In short, this is rendering the work of the Spirit what the Scriptures denominate it — LEADING Us BY THE WAY THAT WE SHOULD Go. Isa. xlviil. 17. But, if that which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit be something different in its nature from that which is required in the divine precepts, I see not what is to be made of the Scriptures, nor how it is, that righteousness, goodness, or any thing else which is required of men, should be accompanied, as it is, with the promise of eternal life.