CHRISTIAN
HOPE
By John Angell James, 1859
HOPE CONSIDERED AS A HELMET
"But since we belong to the day, let us be
self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope
of salvation as a HELMET." 1 Thes. 5:8
The figure of 'the HELMET of salvation' forms a part of
one of the most instructive, impressive, and beautiful passages of Holy
Writ; I mean Ephesians 6:12—"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood—but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In this
wonderful and rousing paragraph, we are led to contemplate the malignity,
the power, and the craft of that mighty and mysterious enemy of God and
man—the devil. There is a terrific grandeur connected with this
dreadful personage—and an obscurity never to be cleared up until the light
of eternity shall reveal the subject. That he has a true personality, and is
no an oriental personification of the principle of evil, must be admitted by
all who will place implicit confidence in the Scripture narrative, If Satan
be a mere figure of speech, why may not even Christ, and the whole historic
facts of the Bible—be a collection of myths and fables? Yes, he is a
personality, and a being of vastly greater power, perhaps, than the most
vigorous imagination every yet conceived.
Our great Bard has done all that poetic genius can
accomplish in the way of setting forth the power; the hatred, the rage, and
craft of the fallen and diabolized archangel. But it is a subject under
which even his noble intellect bends, and the Satan of the "Paradise Lost"
conveys, perhaps, only a poor and feeble idea of this mighty foe of all
holiness and holy beings, compared with the less poetic, yet more awfully
mysterious and super-human, yes, almost super-angelic, personage of the
sacred Scriptures. One of the impressive disclosures of eternity will be the
full manifestation of the terrible power of this leader of rebellion against
God in the universe; this agent by whom moral evil was introduced into our
world; this first apostate from holiness, whose influence fascinated so
large a portion of the heavenly hosts to their ruin, and formed a
confederacy in heaven against its Omnipotent Sovereign. The devil is yet a
deep mystery of wickedness and power. One of the chief glories to be
witnessed in another world will be Christ's triumph over him; and one of the
greatest wonders connected with ourselves will be our own deliverance from
his wiles, his malice, and his power.
What a view of this adversary does the passage just
quoted give us. The apostle calls upon us to arm ourselves with the whole
armor of God against the "wiles" of the devil; intimating that his warfare
is conducted with consummate craft, and consists of continued stratagems.
His battles are the rush of a sudden ambush, when and where they are least
expected. He fights not on an open field—but by sudden assault, secret, and
cunning onslaught, and his aim is to throw his opponents off their guard,
and then to surprise them. Sleepless vigilance, self-possession, and
promptitude are therefore indispensable to cope with him. They are all the
more necessary, as "we wrestle not with flesh and blood." It is not a
contest with mere humanity, with man against man, the potsherd striving with
the potsherd—but man against spirit; humanity engaged in the unequal contest
with a demonized archangel. It is a contest "against principalities and
powers." Beings of high order, and rank, and dominion in the world of
spirits; an army marshaled under one great arch-fiend, a chief among the
lost. It is not merely the common damned, the vulgar herd of fiends we
encounter—but the leader and his staff of the great rebellion, such as are
darkly eminent in rank and dignity; "against the rulers of the darkness of
this world," the spirits which reign and rule amid the darkness of Paganism,
Mohammedanism, Judaism, Popery, and Infidelity; forming the spiritual
darkness which so painfully environs the church, and producing that murky
zone which has covered an unbelieving world with such an ominous and
lowering shadow.
It is from hence, as well as from many other parts of
Scripture, very obvious that, in some mysterious ways unknown to us, these
fallen spirits have dominion over the realms of ignorance, superstition,
heresy, infidelity, and idolatry—and rivet the chains of error upon the
enslaved intellect of man. "Against spiritual wickedness in high places," or
as it might, and should be, rendered, "against the spirits of evil," or
"wicked spirits in heavenly places." Yes, spirits—wicked spirits. Their
nature is evil; their commission is evil; their work is evil. Evil, and evil
only are they, alike in essence and operation. All their powers, which are
vast both for contrivance and execution; all their activities, ceaseless and
unwearied, are employed for evil. And all this operation for evil "in
heavenly places," not only in the earthly places of the world—but in the
heavenly places of the church. They scruple not to invade the kingdom of
Christ. Yes, their great aim is to pollute, to divide, to secularize, to
overthrow, the church. See how they have succeeded in the rise, progress,
and wide extent and dominion of the Papacy. Nothing gives such an idea of
the subtlety and power of Satan, as this dreadful system, which, where it
prevails, is Christianity thrown into almost total eclipse by the power and
craft of the devil.
Here, then, is the description of our great adversary. To
rouse up the Christian soldiery, not to dishearten or discourage them—but to
excite them to valorous deeds and determined opposition, the apostle gives
us an impressive description of our enemy and his power. He marshals the
forces of our adversary before us, and bids us look at our foe. Can we
wonder that, in order to prevent us from being appalled and dismayed, he
should introduce this all but overwhelming representation of our enemy—with
so precious an exhibition of our resources as is contained in that short but
all comprehensive admonition, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might?" Was it not a wise master-stroke of sacred policy, before he led
us out to conflict with our foe, to take us into "the secret places of the
most high," and surround us "with the shadow of the Almighty!" Yes, and even
before he conducts us into the armory, and bids us put on the armor
provided, to lead us up to God, that we may contemplate his omnipotence, and
thus fill our souls with courage for the conflict? It does not matter what
armor is provided, how finely tempered, how highly polished, how closely
fitted it may be—if there be no courage in the heart; if a man has merely
the dress of a soldier, with the heart of a coward.
Soldiers usually have an invincible courage when they
have confidence in the skill and bravery of their leader. And the power of
his might, in which they are strong, has proved its vigor in routing the foe
which they are summoned to encounter. As "the Captain of salvation," Christ
"spoiled principalities and powers," and now calls us to engage in battle
with the same enemies, and, in fact, to arm ourselves with the same power,
even his own. Satan may be, is, powerful, more powerful than we imagine—but
God is all powerful; and therefore whatever potency we go to conflict with,
we go to meet it with Omnipotence. There is an uncommon force in the
expression, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." It was as
if he had said—Clothe yourselves with Omnipotence; aim yourselves with
Omnipotence; fight with Omnipotence; God lends you his almightiness. Go to
the field not only as warriors and heroes—but as God-prompted, God-sustained
men.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the
devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to
stand." Ephesians 6:10-13
Now let us enter the armory of the Lord, and look at the
weapons, offensive and defensive, provided for us. You will see that the
command is to take "the whole armor." We must engage, in our conflict with
Satan, armed from head to foot. No part of the soul must be left
uncovered—and it must be protected by the very armor which God has provided.
We must not go to philosophy, to reason, to any scheme of defense against
our spiritual foes—which is devised by man. It must be God's arsenal, and
not man's that must supply the armor. And all this, that we may "stand in
the evil day," that is, the day of Satan's terrible assault.
It is called the "evil day," because it is an evil thing
even to be tempted. It costs us much perplexity and distress to be thus
assailed; our fears are excited; our alarms are painful; our apprehensions
of defeat sometimes agonizing. And if the temptation proves successful, it
is an evil day indeed, as multitudes have found it to be—in their damaged
reputation, their disturbed peace, their prostrate honors, their impaired
usefulness. Hence the necessity of praying, "Lead us not into temptation,"
and hence also the propriety of the apostle's exhortation, "Be sober, be
vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about,
seeking whom he devour," 1 Peter 5:8.
Now consider the
ARMOR.
"Stand firm then, with the
belt of
TRUTH
buckled around your waist." This is an allusion to the military belt or
sash, which was with the ancients, as it is now with the moderns, an
important part of their uniform; it served for both ornament and use; it was
designed to keep the other parts of their armor in their place. In the
Christian profession and the spiritual life, truthfulness or sincerity acts
the part of the belt.
Next comes " the
breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS." The
breastplate was a coat of metal, or folds of leather, or chain armor, to
protect the chest and body in front. In our warfare, righteousness, or
holiness of life, answers this purpose.
Next comes "having your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace." The ancients defended their legs and
feet, the latter with sandals, and the former with greaves—or a kind of
legging which came from the foot up the front of the leg or shinbone. The
Christian warrior is to be defended from Satanic assaults "by joy and peace
in believing."—The joy of the Lord is unspeakable, and the peace that passes
understanding, will keep him in the midst of danger.
"Above all," or "over" all, says the apostle, take " the
shield of FAITH whereby you shall be able to
quench the fiery darts of the wicked one." This defensive weapon was usually
made of light wood, with a ring of brass, and covered with several folds of
stout hide; it was held on the left arm, and was intended to protect the
body from the sword or arrows of the assailant. Arrows were sometimes
employed, which were tipped with a small cavity containing combustible
materials, and which by the power of the atmosphere, or by the percussion
when they struck on an object, was set on fire, and thus communicated the
flames to ships, tents, or any inflammable substance. To the shield answers
faith, and by which the fiery darts of Satan are quenched. By these some
understand that particular species of temptation which consists of wicked,
horrid, blasphemous, and very distressing suggestions and excitements to
evil, which in the most unaccountable manner sometimes rise up in the mind,
to the great affliction of pious people. None of us are without these. No
association of ideas can account for them; no immediate objects before us
lead to them; they come suddenly into the soul, and occasion much agony and
astonishment.
I have often had to quiet the apprehensions of pious
people alarmed by these things, by assuring them we are not answerable for
what thoughts come into the mind—but only for what thoughts we keep in the
mind. To these we must ever oppose the shield of faith, which will put them
all out, as a wall would put out a candle thrown against it.
But is the head to be left unprotected? No—for we
are to take the " helmet of
HOPE." As this is the subject of the present
chapter, I shall enlarge on it presently; and in the meantime remark that
all the armor hitherto mentioned is defensive. Is the Christian then ever to
stand upon the defensive? Is he to make no aggressions upon his enemies? Is
he to remain always at his post, and never engage in the assault? No! He is
to "take the sword of the Spirit, which is
the Word of God."
That Word of revealed truth which is written by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit—by which the Spirit carries on his renewing, comforting, and
sanctifying work in the souls of believers—and by which the great Captain of
our salvation himself defeated the enemy, when tempted in the wilderness.
Nor must we stop here, for to all must be added, that
without which all the rest, would be ineffectual, the " all
PRAYER and supplication." Without constant,
believing, fervent prayer, however he may seem to be protected and armed,
the believer cannot stand against his foe. The devil will laugh at the
strongest professor, and the best adapted armor which is unattended by
prayer. But—
"But Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees."
I now come to consider the
HELMET.
I scarcely need say that the helmet is a piece of armor for the defense of
the head. Now, is there anything in Christian hope which renders the
helmet a specially appropriate figure to set it forth? Perhaps there is. The
head contains the brain, which is the organ of thought. When we distinguish
between the intellect and the emotions, we speak of the former as the head,
the latter as the heart. So in the Christian life, we use precisely the same
figures—the head in "the new man" is our mind, as our affections are the
heart. The helmet, in this divine armor of the soul, is for the defense
of the understanding from wrong thinking, either in the way of sin,
worldliness, or error. How much of true godliness lies in a right
condition of the Christian intellect. It is but a part of religion, which
consists in action. The greater portion of man's moral history lies in the
soul, out of sight of our fellow creatures—but not out of sight of God. I
much fear this is not sufficiently understood or remembered. Yet it is a
most momentous idea.
Our conduct and words form a very small part of our moral
selves. Let any one imagine how much is ever going on in the secret
recesses of the soul—what multitudes of thoughts are ever crowding the
intellect, and what multitudes of feelings the heart; and the greater
portion of them partaking of a moral character. Let it be considered how
much of evil a wicked man perpetrates in desires, wishes, intentions,
volitions, devices, and imaginations—how much more indeed than he has the
opportunity or the courage to bring out into action. Even the Christian must
be sensible of this fact, that there is more evil in the HEART, than is put
into PRACTICE.
Yes, and so of the opposite. How much of holy desire,
volition, purpose, plan—is ever going on within the bosom of a child of God,
which no eye but that of his Father sees. Hence the truth of the assertion,
that it is but a portion of our moral history which is seen in the outward
character, and the indispensable necessity of our looking well to the state
of the heart. Let us take good care of the heart, and the heart will take
care of the life. We must watch well our thoughts, for holy thinking
gives rise to holy feeling, and ends in holy action. It is
much the same with sin, for the apostle says, "When lust (or evil desire)
has conceived, it brings forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, brings
forth death."—James 1:15. This is the order of exercise in all rational
creatures—the thought—the feeling—the volition—the action. The thought
is the bud, of which the feeling is the blossom, the will the
setting, and the action the fruit.
All wrong doing begins in wrong thinking. All right doing
begins in right thinking. Hence it is of infinite importance for the
Christian to be attentive, seriously, devoutly, anxiously attentive, not
only to the state of the heart—but the state of the head. This was what
Solomon meant where he says—"Keep the heart with all diligence, for out of
it are the issues of life." Keep a strict watch over your thoughts and
inclinations. The mind is always consciously busy in its waking hours. We
can no more suspend the power and action of our thinking principle, than we
can suspend the action of our heart, or lungs. Nor can we prevent the
entrance of evil thoughts into our mind; these, like bad company, will
obtrude themselves upon us—but it is at our option to retain or expel them.
They will alight, like birds of prey, even upon our sacrifices of
devotion—but we can chase them away if we please, or allow them to pollute
and consume the offering.
Our thoughts are in their 'first rise' involuntary—and
the soul is passive in their reception. But the soul is active in its
treatment of our thoughts, once they have come. Hence the control of the
thoughts is one of the most necessary exercises of self-government—one of
the most important parts of personal piety. There must not only be the
government of the senses, or a strict watch over the exercise of these upon
external objects, though this is both necessary and important, for the
senses are the doors of the soul—but a most vigilant attention to what is
passing within the mind.
There are various classes of
evil thoughts, against which we must be upon our guard as
pernicious.
1. There are
IDLE thoughts, or the perpetual exercise
of the intellect about the merest trifles, matters that have not the weight
of a feather, or the value of a grain of sand. It is a pitiable sight to
behold an intellect that can contemplate such sublime subjects as God,
Christ, salvation, heaven, eternity—wasting its energies, and frittering
away its feeble powers—on absolute littlenesses, on almost nonentities; in
short, evaporating the powers of a man in the exercises of a child! Many
carry their intellects as a little child does a watch, ignorant alike of its
construction and its uses. It would be instructive and somewhat humiliating
for them, and indeed for us all, sometimes to ask, at the close of a day,
"What have I been thinking about today? What matters have engaged my
attention and employed my intellect?" This folly of idle thoughts is a
double waste—of intellect and of time.
Now Christian hope will be a defense against this, by
giving us something great to think about, and by prompting us to think about
it. Even Christians need to be admonished on this head; their renewed and
sanctified intellects are too full of little matters—even they, since they
became men, have not put away all childish things. With their immortal
hopes—they are too babyish, and taken up with the toys of the children of
the world—when they should be engaged with the subjects that occupy the
attention of archangels!
2. Then there are
WORLDLY
thoughts, I mean there are minds thinking about nothing else, wholly and
entirely engrossed in things of the world. There are people, of whom it can
be most truly and emphatically said, "They mind earthly things." Their
intellect is a kind of shop, or market, or exchange, or manufactory—where
nothing but crowds of buyers and sellers; nothing but bargain and sale;
nothing but calculations of profit and loss; nothing but the buzz and hum of
trade and commerce—are ever heard. Of course there must be much of this—but
it is a sad thing where there is nothing else; and where that soul, which
was intended to be a temple for God, is nothing better than a house of
merchandise.
Christian hope, if in vigorous exercise, while it would
not unfit a man for business, nor paralyze his industry, nor extinguish his
desire of success—would still raise him above the world, and give him
something else to think about. It is this that is needed in greater power
among professing Christians. The spirit of the world is coming, has come,
into the church. Business, business, business—profit, profit, profit—elegance,
entertainment, and luxurious gratification—are occupying far more than
they ought to do the minds of professing Christians. Why? Because their hope
of heaven is low. Their helmet is laid aside. The world is aiming a blow at
the head, and professors are not sufficiently protected against it. It is
only the desire and expectation of heaven—that can be a sufficient defense
against the influences and encroachments of earth. We do not let "the glory
that excels" come in, as we should do, upon the glory of this lower world.
3. How apt are many to harbor
PROUD
thoughts. Pride seems natural to humanity, and it is strange and even
ridiculous to see what really insignificant and almost contemptible matters
will give occasion for its exercise. On what trifles will some people base
their claims to superiority, when comparing themselves with their
fellow-creatures. Could we search the heart as God can, and does—how much of
this self-exaltation, high-regard, and admiration, would we see always going
on. Pride has its operation, not only in the world—but in the church! It is
not only intellect, and wealth, and rank, and beauty, that give occasion for
it—but piety, experience, liberality, activity, success. The more real
excellence there is, the greater the danger of falling into this sin.
Spiritual pride is, of all kinds, the most hateful and
offensive both to God and man. And what Christian is there, who, if he
is attentive to his own thoughts, does not know that he has often detected
himself standing before the mirror, and admiring the beauty of his character
and conduct? Against this, Christian hope is one of the best preservatives.
Who can look down at the foundation, and recollect that he owes all to
grace, and rests entirely upon the atonement and merit of Christ for his
eternal salvation; and then look up and consider the perfection of heaven,
which brings out so strongly his own imperfection—and not feel all occasion
for pride taken away?
Who does not know, by experience, that he is never so
low, so humble, so unworthy in his own eyes as when he looks up into heaven
and contemplates not only the excellence of the spirits of just men made
perfect; not only the spotless innocence of angels—but the infinite,
immaculate purity of the Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty Humility
grows most rapidly and most healthily by heavenly-mindedness. It was
this that humbled the prophet Isaiah, and made him cry out, "Woe is me, for
I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips." It was this that took all high
thoughts from the patriarch Job—"I have heard of you by the hearing of the
ear—but now my eye sees you! Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust
and ashes." Yes, and the nearer we come, by devout contemplation and lively
hope, to the heavenly world, the more shall we enter into those beautiful
words of Watts—
"The more your glories strike my eyes,
The humbler I shall lie,
Thus while I sink, my joys shall rise
Unmeasurable high!"
4. In addition to these, there are
ANGRY,
VENGEFUL,
MALICIOUS thoughts—alas, alas, how m any of
these are to be found in the minds of us all; how difficult is it under
provocation, and injury, and insult, to exercise the love "that suffers
long, and is kind." How difficult to keep out implacable, revengeful
malicious thoughts; not to brood over the offence with inflamed imaginations
and exaggerating ideas. What pictures of the offender we draw, how hideous a
monster we are apt to make him; how we represent him as entirely destitute
of all claims to love or even forgiveness. We thus tempt our feelings by our
thoughts; our feelings prompt our words; and our words end in actions that
return evil for evil.
Genuine love under injury is the most rare, because the
most difficult of all duties; and yet it is made by the apostle
indispensable to all true religion—it is in fact true religion itself. How
shall we defend our head against the blows of our great enemy in endeavoring
to slay us, by tempting us to malice, wrath, and all uncharitableness? How?
By putting on our helmet, which is the hope of salvation; the ardent desire
and confident expectation of heaven is one of our most secure defenses
against malicious and revengeful thoughts.
What is heaven? A region of holy love, perfect love,
eternal love; no malice shall ever enter there—the unruffled serenity of a
bosom which is a stranger to ill-will, shall reign there; not a thought
contrary to the most entire and universal benevolence shall ever enter the
mind of a single inhabitant of that happy world. Now the very hope of such a
heaven tends to change the mind into the likeness of itself; the
contemplation of that state brings loving, holy thoughts into the mind, and
thus expels others of a contrary nature. Bring me a passionate, wrathful,
implacable, and malevolent professor, thinking of the evil his brother has
done to him, and meditating what evil he will in return do to him, and I
will ask him, "Do you hope for heaven? Do you believe you can have a title
to heaven without a fitness? Is not fitness holy love? Will not holy love
lead you to forgive? Do you desire this fitness? Can you possess it if you
harbor all kinds of unforgiving thoughts? Would you overcome this malevolent
temper?" Then I say, keep up your Christian hope. Be often at the gates of
heaven. Meditate on its ineffable glories. Consider they are all glories of
love. I tell you one of the best cures of an unforgiving mind, is the
intelligent, scriptural hope of heaven.
5. Many have to complain of
IMPURE, LUSTFUL
thoughts; they come unbidden into the mind; no object appealing to the
senses excites them, and to the pure in heart they are an offense and a
grief. Of course all that would excite them should be avoided, such as
books, pictures, natural objects, and conversation. We must watch the
senses, and make a covenant with our eyes not to look on what would suggest
impure thoughts. He who carries gunpowder should not venture near the fire;
and he who would not catch the plague, should not some in contact with a
person infected with it. As I have lately said, we are not answerable for
thoughts that come unbidden into the mind—but we are for such as we invite,
and we do invite them when we hold familiar communion with subjects that
necessarily produce them. In this case, whether the thoughts are brought in,
or come in—hope is our defense. Before the rays of the excellent glory which
fall upon the soul in full contemplation of heaven, these unhallowed fires
will be extinguished. When these obscene ideas come into the mind, turn it
heavenward; drive back the foul current by a stronger and a purer one.
6. I must not omit
HARD THOUGHTS OF GOD
regarding the dispensations of his providence. Sometimes these are produced
by heavy, peculiar, and long-continued afflictions. In those night seasons
of the Christian life, when the outer darkness deepens into an inner gloom
of the mind still more dark, what fearful questionings—what awful
skepticism, what sullen moodiness of spirit, what rebellious ideas, what
atheistic reasonings—haunt the soul. Satan sees it in this sad perplexity,
and rushes in with his fiery assault. It is now the palpable gloom, the
darkness that may be felt, the very valley of the shadow of death. The soul
is in great danger of absolute despair, or overwhelming skepticism. What
shall preserve it, in such a case? Only turning from the mysteries of
providence—to the scheme of saving grace. Only the hope of that world where
what is now dark will be illumined, and what is mystery will become
revelation; only the expectation of the end, where all that now puzzles and
perplexes us, will astonish and delight us; only the contemplation of that
ocean of light, love, and joy, into which these dark and meandering streams
of Providence will discharge themselves, and help to swell that boundless,
stormless sea,
"Where not a wave of trouble rolls
Across the peaceful bosom."
7. And are there not thoughts of
ERROR
against which a defense is necessary? What better defense can we find than
this helmet, which is the hope of salvation? Never was there an age in which
the Christian more needed to be completely armed against the attacks of
heresy, than the present. An undisguised infidelity which is assiduously
laboring to associate even science with itself; an atheistic philosophy
which is seizing our press, and insinuating itself into our general
literature; and what is still more dangerous, because not so openly, nor so
intentionally hostile to Christianity, false systems of doctrine, which,
while professing to do homage to Christianity, and to propound its leading
truths, obscure the objects of our faith, and undermine the foundation of
our hope—these, all these perils thrown in our way and rendered still more
perilous by the genius and the eloquence by which they are set forth and
recommended, are filling the minds of many professors of true religion, and
especially the younger ones, with thoughts that endanger their steadfastness
in the faith.
The winds of false doctrine are blowing from every
quarter; and even within the pale of what we consider and call evangelical
religion, a leaven of error is unquestionably at work, and diffusing itself,
the sad results of which, at no very distant day, will be unquestionably
seen. A gradual—but unintentional preparation for this is to my eye clearly
discernible in those apologies which we are continually hearing or reading
from men generally, and, upon the whole, orthodox, on behalf of those who,
if not off the foundation, are obviously out of the balance of revealed
truth. I confess to a considerable jealousy of much that is said and done in
the circle of what is still called evangelism. Some, we are told, do not
view divine truth from the same standpoint; do not speak of it in precisely
the same language as others, and yet hold the same doctrines in substance;
and we must therefore have a broad and ample love to cover over these
differences. Provided the great fundamental truths of the mediatorial scheme
of the gospel are really retained, truths which are "the family jewels of
God's redeemed family, the heirloom to be handed down from generation to
generation, there can be no heresy in having them reset in language and
style of composition suited to the taste of the age." I most willingly
concede this; yet I am not easy under the excessive demand which is made for
a change of the outward form of truth; this is to me somewhat portentous. It
seems a dangerous opiate that will close the watchful eye with which the
sacred deposit of divine truth ought ever to be watched.
In this age we are in no danger of a narrow-minded
bigotry, a tyranny of authority, an obstinate attachment to old forms, a
childish veneration for hoary antiquity, or a propensity to forge shackles
for liberty and independence of thought. Our danger lies in the opposite
extreme, of a liberty that runs into licentiousness; a worship of novelty; a
contempt for collective wisdom and the accumulations of experience; and a
disposition amid modern illumination, to treat as worthless, all the great
lights of bygone ages. That sound orthodoxy, both in the established church
and among the dissenting bodies, is somewhat in danger, at least for a
season, I have no doubt.
The best defense we can set up against this tendency is,
to keep up the vigor of spiritual life in our churches, of which the
Christian hope is one of the most essential and healthful exercises.
'Fundamental error' is not likely to gain entrance and exercise in a
heavenly mind; and heavenliness implies hope. While the soul is maintaining
a solemn, devout, and practical regard to the celestial state, it keeps its
hold on the truth as it is in Jesus. No one who is looking for eternal life
will, or can, be indifferent to the basis on which such an expectation
rests. He will take heed that he is not raising a Babel on a quicksand. We
have already shown that Christ, in his atoning work, is the only foundation
of a good hope. As long, therefore, as there is an earnest desire and
confident expectation of eternal happiness, there will be no disposition to
give up those great truths on which the soul builds her immortal hopes. It
is only when she has become earthly in her habitual state, only when she has
lost her high and holy aspiration towards the heavenly kingdom, that she can
become reconciled to error, and in such a state she can be very soon
reconciled to it. To a carnal, earthly mind, there is much in errors of
various kinds to recommend them. Error and earthliness are compatible states
of mind. Hence we see that those communities which have given up the
fundamental doctrines of the gospel, are distinguished for their
worldliness. Let our churches become worldly, and the same effect will soon
be visible, in their indifference to doctrinal truth.
If this be true, and it cannot be doubted, much less
denied, it shows us the importance of our ministers being not only earnest
for the preservation of sound doctrine—but, as a means of preserving it,
equally earnest for maintaining spiritual life. Lifeless orthodoxy is no
better than lifeless error—they are both but corpses, only one is less
hideous and less offensive than the other. It is well enough to "contend
earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," but it is no less
well to contend as earnestly for the blessed hope of the redeemed church.
Let us all consider we are safe from error—only so far as we find, feel, and
exhibit a living power in the truth we hold.
Let us, then, look well to our helmet, and never venture
into the field without it; and let us take heed that it be of the right
kind, made of the right material, and able to resist the assaults of the
foe. A good hope through grace; a hope founded exclusively on Christ, which
looks for an eternity of holiness, as that which can yield an eternity of
happiness—this, and this only, constitutes the helmet that will resist the
blows of Satan, aimed at the head of the Christian!
The facts of ecclesiastical history will serve as proof
and illustration of all that has been said in this chapter. When spiritual
life has been lost—creeds, confessions, and articles of faith have been
found an insufficient breakwater against the waves of error, and a feeble
defense of sound orthodoxy. To this we ascribe the prevalence of Rationalism
in Germany, and other parts of the Continent, where the formularies of
Luther and Calvin still continued to be the established standard of truth
long after their spiritual influence was gone. Both the Scottish and English
establishments furnished similar evidence, and so also does the history of
Nonconformity. This might be illustrated also in the case of individual
ministers. I know one who is still living, who, after being educated at one
of our colleges, embraced Unitarianism, and for a time preached its
doctrines; he was, however, at length brought back to his former views. In
an interview I had with him, I asked him if he could trace his doctrinal
lapse to any particular cause? He said, "Yes, I lost the power of vital
godliness, and then theological orthodox opinions became a matter of
indifference to me, and I abandoned them for others more flattering to the
pride of intellect." These, if not his exact words, contain the substance of
what he said—and this one fact shows the vast importance of keeping up the
true spiritual life. Truth in the intellect and life in the heart, act and
re-act upon each other, just as the healthy state of the brain and the right
action of the heart in the human body influence each other. We must have
sound doctrine to originate, sustain, and quicken spiritual life—and we must
have vigorous spiritual life to strengthen our hold upon sound doctrine.
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