yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had com- passion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be glad for SERMON I. REVERENCE DUE TO HOLY SEASONS. ASH WEDNESDAY, S. LUKE ix. 34, They feared as they entered into the cloud." THE solemn times of humiliation, such as Lent and Advent, are very trying times to tender consciences, and on that very account, among others, they come with a peculiar trial and difficulty to the ministers and messengers of Jesus Christ. It is of course our duty, in respect of the great doctrine of Repentance, which especially belongs to such seasons, to set it forth, like every other part of the Gospel, according to the proportion of faith: that is the rule of the Holy Ghost by S. Paul. Now you know what "proportion" means, when we talk of a picture, or a building, or any other work of man. It means that no one part is too large or too small for the rest, but that each of them is kept of the proper measure, according to the size of the whole work. In like manner, the proportion of faith is kept, when the whole of God's message is set forth as He intended, when neither His judgements nor His mercies are forgotten; according to His own B solemn declaration by Moses; that "He forgiveth iniquity, transgression, and sin, yet will by no means clear the guilty." Now in teaching repentance, there is of course a danger of erring on either side of this declaration. One man may speak, or seem to speak, of God's wrath against sinners only; another only of His love and mercy to His redeemed; and even if both be fully set forth, according to their due proportions, both will not always be alike attended to. The hearers will carry away with them, too commonly, only that part of what is said which suits their own temper and frame of mind. The hardened will lay hold of whatever is said in praise of God's great and overflowing mercy; while the bruised and wounded in heart, the tender consciences, will be over-much struck by the severe and aweful part of the doctrine. And thus it will too often follow, that each learner will dwell on just that portion of the instruction, which his own case did not so much require. So it is in reading or hearing the Bible: no wonder, therefore, that so it should be in men's way of receiving the instruction and advice of Christ's servants; no wonder if they often seem to be unduly severe, or overindulgent, when, perhaps, if all they said was attended to, they would be found simply to have repeated God's message. And all this is over and above the errors and imperfections they may fall into, in what they say, or in their manner of saying it. This, then, is one great danger, whenever we preach, as in Lent we must preach, upon repentance; namely, that the hardened and the tender consciences will often each take to themselves what was properly meant for the other. Another difficulty we are under, lies in a difference which God's Providence seems to have made between one penitent and another. Even sincere persons, and such as are in earnest anxious to please God, and obtain His pardon, through His Son, at the last day, do not all of them take alike the very plainest and most direct sayings of the Bible. Some appear, even naturally, to require more hope, more joy, more encouragement, than others. As they feel their sins more deeply, so they seem to need more direct offers of pardon. Some cannot bear doubt, it almost seems like death to them; others try to content themselves with it, as part of their ordained penance for a time; and they seem to feel, that it would be a very dangerous thing for such as they are to depend too much on feelings of assurance. Some are like the Prodigal Son, for whom it was best to set out on his long journey, and perform more or less of it, in wonder and suspense, whether his father could ever receive him as a son again; others are like the woman who loved much, to whom our Lord said at once, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." Now for both of these He has graciously provided, "Who is the merciful receiver of all true penitent sinners." His severe sayings, especially in the Epistles, are enough to keep down too much assurance in the one: His most compassionate dealings with penitents, both in the Old and New Testaments, 'are the very medicine to keep the other from despair. Then, lest persons should make a mistake, and apply to themselves that part of His sayings which was not intended for them, or which however, taken alone, does not suit their present condition, He graciously invites them to open their grief to His priests, and receive from them the benefit of absolution, which they are to give sooner or later, as the case may require, and which is the regular ordained mean of assured comfort to broken-hearted penitents. Indeed, it is most deeply to be wished, that such as feel themselves in care and perplexity, from any thing they hear in the Church's public teaching, would make up their minds to speak about it, either to their own pastor, or to some other whom they can trust, in private. It seems the regular and natural way for correcting misapprehensions about their own condition. For "the priest's lips" are to "preserve knowledge," and the people are to "seek the law at his lips, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." He has also power given him, by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to forgive sins in His Name, when truly repented of and forsaken. That blessed ordinance of absolution has indeed a Divine virtue, which many a wounded heart can testify, where it is received in true faith and humility, and followed by persevering obedience; a virtue to calm the troubled spirit, and enable it with hope and comfort to draw near to God's altar. Absolution is like the hand of the compassionate Saviour laid upon a penitent's head, confirming, and applying to him in · particular, the good word, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." In a word, absolution, as I said before, is the regular way to that sober assurance of pardon, which even the worst sinners may hope for, truly repenting, and confessing, and amending their ways. |