Thy people shall, 'tis my decree, Be willing to be taught by thee. First, it pre-supposes that they are by nature unwilling to be taught of God. Second. It implies, that the Lord the Spirit will make them a willing people. Third. I see it meet to enquire what he makes them willing to believe or embrace. Fourthly. I will give you my thoughts upon the term "day," or the "day of God's power" mentioned in the text. First. It presupposes they are by nature an unwilling people, or not willing to be taught of God. His word declares, “That all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" "there is none righteous, no not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one: their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known ; there is no fear of God before their eyes," Rom. iii. 10 to the end. Here we have a true portrait of a sinner living under satanic power; but methinks I hear some boasting pharisee reply thus, What! Am I as vile as the characters you have just described; and am I as base as Pharaoh, who positively declared that he knew not the Lord, neither would he let Israel go! (Exod. v. 2.) And am I as vile as Korah and his company, whom the Lord in strict justice consumed! (Numbers xvi. 20. to the end.) And have I such an heart as those that gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron, and said unto them in their rebellion, "Ye have killed the people of the Lord!" (see verse 47.) Reader, if thou art one of those that can boast of your superior light and knowledge, I must tell you, that If God should blow away thy pride, And give you eyes to look inside; He'll put out all thy light. 'Tis dark, you'll say, "I feel within "My heart's the seat of every sin." You'll shudder at the sight. Which leads me, Secondly, to make a few remarks relative to the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to make God's elect a willing people. In the gospel by John, the promise runs thus, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will reprove the world of sin," &c. &c. This proves that he is competent for that office; this is an evidence of his eternal power and Godhead, and shews his equality with God the Father and the Son; he is not an empty name, as some ignorantly declare, no, He's God, and he will teach and lead I proceed, Thirdly, to shew what he makes them willing to believe or embrace. This is an extensive field to enter into; so that I am compelled to be very concise. 1. As he is called a Spirit of light, he imparts light to the sinner, which was before in gross darkness; he shews him and makes him willing to believe that he is in very deed, 2. He sees the law of God to be a perfect transcript of his eternal mind; he feels he has broken it, in thought, word, and deed; he trembles at its awful denunciations; anguish tears his heart, it consumes all his false hopes of being saved by it, Satan tempts him, his own heart condemns him, the world frowns upon him, his own righteousness he sees to be but filthy rags, He's willing now to bow the knee, Before the great Eternal Three. 3. He feel the needs of a living surety to pay the enormous debt which he has contracted; and the Holy Spirit leads him by faith to Jesus; he is made willing to be saved by him; he exclaims thus, O save me, Lord, I'm willing now, 4. He is made willing to submit to his divine sovereignty in his peculiar choice of his people. He once could, as thousands do, cavil at the all-glorious doctrine of eternal election, but now he calls it divine. 5. The final perseverance of the saints is another branch of this subject, which the blessed Spirit makes the Lord's people willing to believe on, and by faith embrace; they behold this holy article of our faith recorded in the volume of inspiration. Such choice sayings as these, sometimes drop like honey upon their new-born souls, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee;" "he that hath begun a good work in you will perform it," &c. They see that none will e'er be lost, Who're taught by God the Holy Ghost. 6. Unfeigned love to the brethren is what they were once strangers to; indeed, they felt no union to them, or the precious doctrines which the Lord the Spirit makes them willing to embrace, but they willingly accede to what the Psalmist declares relative to the chosen and called family of God, that they are the excellent of the earth, in whom he takes great delight. 7. Union to Christ is another part of this sublime subject, and which send forth as sweet a fragrancy as any doctrine which I have hitherto contended for. First, union before time the Holy Ghost made the apostle speak of this in most eminent language; they were, said he, (that is, the church) chosen in him before the foundation of the world, &c. Then it follows, that they were united to him; secured in time by faith, they embrace him as their best beloved, yea, the one thing needful, and the chiefest among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. 8. Justification, and sanctification annexed to this; there is the all-glorious doctrine of the resurrection of their vile bodies from the dead, which the man of God exulted in, (see Phil. iii. 21.) and which they have a right view of in the day of the Lord's power. Justification by his blood, Doth surely suit the church of God. 9. The precepts of the gospel are not held in derision by them, no; under the reign of grace they bow with holy submission to the ordinances of God's house: their hearts' desire is, "to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world," &c. ; but let it be strictly observed, That those blest fruits I've nam'd above, Fourthly. I promised to give you my thoughts upon what we were to understand by the "day," or "day of God's power;" in which he makes the objects of his choice a willing people. The contrast between day and night is often alluded to in scripture, to shew the difference that exist betwixt the spiritual church of God, and those that are living at a remote distance from him. If we refer to the apostle's address to the saints at Thessalonica, we shall find this truth shines most conspicuously; we read, in the 5th chapter, that after he had been speaking of the second advent of Christ, and the awful condition he would assuredly find vast numbers of Adam's progeny in; for, said he, in the 3rd verse, "when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them," &c. But in the 4th verse he endeavoured to speak comfortable to the living in spiritual Jerusalem, by telling them that they were not in darknsss, that that day should overtake them as a thief. Ye are all said to be the children of light, (that is, of Christ, the true light) and the children of the day; (that is, of Jesus, whom the apostle calls the day-star, 2 Pet. i. 19.) therefore let us not sleep as do others, for they that sleep sleep in the night, and they that be drunken, (that is, with errors) are drunken in the night," &c.; and the Holy Ghost declares, that "darkness hath covered the earth, and gross darkness the people; yea, man walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth," John xii. 35. all which proves that all men come into this word in a state of spiritual death, and know nothing in reality of supernatural light; and as Christ is emphatically called the day and the true light, it is very obvious that all spiritual light emanates from him to the church; and when God the Holy Ghost conveys light from Christ into a sinner's heart, which in process of time discovers, or reveals to him or her the above-named mystery, it may be truly said to be the day of God's power, or power and light from Christ the day-star; and we make no reserve in saying, that, Christ is the light, Christ is the day, Great Wakering, Essex. A SUBSCRIBER. RECOGNITION OF MR. T. E. WYCHERLEY. Mr. Editor, THE insertion of the following in your valuable Periodical will oblige, yours in Jesus, THOMAS. ON Tuesday, October 17, 1837, Mr. T. E. WYсHERLEY, late of Donington Wood, Shropshire, was publicly recognized as Pastor of the Particular Baptist Church, Crosby Row, King Street, Borough, London. Mr. EDGECOMB, of Dock Head, commenced the service. Mr. FOREMAN, of Hill Street, Dorset Square, described the nature of a gospel church, and asked the usual questions. Mr. DENNIS, on behalf of the church, stated the leadings of providence. Mr. WYCHERLEY then gave an account of his call by grace-to the work of the ministry-the leadings of providence and a confession of faith. Mr. F. concluded in prayer. Mr. MILNER, of Pell Street, opened the service in the evening. Mr. STEVENS, of Meard's Court, delivered an appropriate charge, and an address to the church, and concluded in prayer. The place was full to an overflow. The Lord's presence was graciously enjoyed; and thus it was made a spiritually interesting service. May the good will of the dweller in the bush, continually be with both pastor and people, and prosperity be enjoyed in their palaces, and peace be within their walls. Amen. LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. The Second Edition, corrected and enlarged, of the First Volume of the LETTERS by the late THOMAS HARDY, minister of the gospel at Leicester, is just published, and may be had of the different Booksellers. |