SERMON XXVII.

THE COMPASSION OF JESUS TOWARD THE GUILTY.

MATTHEW XXIII. 37.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

THIS Scripture exhibits a striking continuation of the sublime and pathetic. It opens to us, as it were, the very heart of the Redeemer; so that in discoursing upon it, the orator has an excellent opportunity of employing his eloquence, and the heaven-instructed minister, anxious for the good of souls, of showing the greatest warmth and affection. In it we may observe,

I. The cruelty and wickedness of the Jews. They killed the prophets one after another; and the more faithfully they discharged their duty, the more they were exposed to malice and outrage. They also stoned them that were sent unto them; as Zechariah under the Old Testament, and Stephen under the New. They paid no regard to the character and divine commission of the prophets of God. Now this may be considered,—

1. As an act of great injustice and ingratitude. They returned evil for good, and murdered the bodies of those who sought to save their souls. These prophets were guides to lead them, shepherds to feed them, and watchmen to warn them of danger. They were God's messengers

to them, and their advocates with God, often standing in the breach, to prevent the breaking in of desolating judgments upon them; and yet they fell victims to their fury.

2. As an act of rebellion against God. It is bad to turn a deaf ear to God's ministers; it is worse to deride them, as the Hebrew children did the prophet Elisha; or threaten them, as Amaziah did the prophet that was sent to him; or imprison them, as Zedekiah and his princes repeatedly did Jeremiah; but the worst of all is to kill them: but this was the crime of Jerusalem. Now the daring as well as the impiety of such conduct will appear, if we consider the interest that God had in these holy prophets. He is expressly said to be the Lord God of the holy prophets; and if precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, how much more so must be that of his divinelyendowed and useful servants. Hence, he says, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." You may remember further the interest these holy prophets had in God. He confirmed their words, wrought miracles by their hands, punished the injuries done them, and sometimes preserved and sometimes plagued whole nations on their account. Here we perceive—

II. Christ's tenderness and care, expressed by the beautiful similitude of a hen gathering her chickens under her wings. This figure is also employed in several other places. The hen is an affectionate creature to her young, which she endeavours to screen from danger, by covering them with her wings; and what these are to them, the perfections, promises, and providences of God are to his people. In perilous circumstances the presence of God encourages them, and the power of God protects them. He is both their comfort and defence. The beauty of the similitude will appear in a more striking light, if we consider the reciprocal pleasure and satisfaction felt both by the protector and the protected. They rejoice in him, and that safety which they enjoy in and through him; and he rejoices over them,

words, however, as well as those of my text, do not imply that Christ, as God, doth determine the salvation of those that are finally lost; but that Christ does all that can be done, without subduing the obstinacy of the human will, and takes such methods with impenitent sinners as will leave them finally without excuse. He calls them, not to satisfy the justice of God, or do any thing to procure an interest in that satisfaction which he has made; but that they would seriously consider their lost and miserable condition without him, believe his doctrines, obey his precepts, and receive what he freely bestows; that if not weary and heavy laden, they would seek to be so; and if weary and heavy laden, they would come to him for rest.

IV. We have set before us in these words the stubbornness and perverseness of those to whom Christ had discovered so tender a regard: “And ye would not." All the opposition that Christ meets with arises from a perverse will; and till its corrupt bias is removed, miracles will not convince, nor threatenings affright, nor promises allure. There is something awfully striking in my text: "I would, but ye would not." What they are particularly charged with, is not a want of power, but of a will. Thus the Psalmist says, "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me:" and the words of our Lord are, “ Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." And again, in one of his parables, " And they all with one consent began to make excuse." They preferred shadows to substantial felicity, thereby discovering both their ingratitude and folly. If there were no will, there would be no sin, and consequently no hell. Further, we may observe,—

1. There is a natural weakness in the will, so that it cannot of itself incline to that which is spiritually good. Its bias is towards evil. It prefers the service of Satan and the pleasures of sin, to the favour of God and eternal happiness; and the more pure and precious any discovery of God is, the more it is disrelished by the carnal mind. "How weak is thine heart!" says God to Israel of old; and

the same may be said to all sinners now. The strength of their lusts is owing to the weakness of their hearts.

They are in "Ye are of your

2. Besides this weakness, there is a bitter enmity. "The carnal mind is enmity against God;" his law and his gospel, his holiness and his grace. As men cannot do what they ought, by reason of impotency, so they will not do what they can, through stubbornness and obstinacy. bondage, and they choose to be so. father the devil," says Christ; " and his lusts ye will do." They will run headlong to hell, unless a miracle of grace stop them. Nor is it matter of wonder that there should be such a resistance in the will of a sinner, since it too frequently discovers itself in the will of a saint. "The flesh lusteth," says the apostle, "against the spirit." In short, we are no further willing than God makes us so.

3. There are many things which tend to increase this opposition in carnal men; such as the deceitfulness of riches; prejudices against Divine doctrines, as too humbling and degrading, and Divine precepts, as too rigorous and severe; the force of example, and a presumptuous confidence in their own strength, that they can do at any time what is necessary to be done, together with an ill-grounded expectation of many years to come. He who blinds the mind of a sinner, does also increase his obstinacy. His will is perverse enough of itself, yet Satan inspires it with a greater degree of perverseness; for he is "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience."

In conclusion, observe,

1. None continue the slaves of sin and Satan, but with their own consent; and if they are bound with chains, it is of their own choosing. Hence that saying of St. Augustin, Ligatus eram non alieno ferro, sed mea ferreâ voluntate:" I was bound not with a chain imposed by another, but by my own stubborn will.

2. Every man may be saved if he will; but, though the desire of happiness is natural to us, yet we are averse to

"As an

and elegance is this expressed, Deut. xxxii. 11; eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, and beareth them upon her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." I will acknowledge that the words of my text may have a primary reference to the temporal felicity of the Jewish nation, whereby the ruin threatened in the next verse might have been prevented; but then this ought to remind us of that far greater salvation for which the saints are indebted to the Redeemer. He is their hiding-place from the wind, and shelter from the storm. He exposed himself for their protection, and bore the tempest of Divine wrath, which would otherwise have fallen upon them. When justice pursues, Satan assaults, and hosts of enemies compass us round about; if we can but get under the shadow of his wings we are safe, and, being safe, may be content. Were it not for this place of security, the adversaries of our souls would soon overtake and utterly destroy us. The wings of Christ are so large, that they are sufficient to cover the whole church. They differ from all other wings, in that they are strong and impenetrable; they also are ever stretched out, so that those who are under them are screened from every danger, both present and future. When rocks and mountains are an insufficient defence, in the shadow of his wings we may make our refuge, until the calamities be overpast.

III. Christ's earnestness and importunity are here displayed; which appears,

1. In the repetition of the word Jerusalem: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem." Such repetitions in Scripture frequently denote strong emotion. Thus Jeremiah says, "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord;" Isaiah exclaims, "Awake, awake, O arm of the Lord;" and the Saviour once said, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things;" and, surely, great affection in the speaker should excite close attention in the hearer.

2. In the word "often." "How often would I have