But the father of the faithful consulted not with flesh and blood, not doubting but God knew what he was about, if he himself did not. (0 that we may prove ourselves the children of faithful Abraham!) Against hope, in appearance, he believed in hope of divine all-sufficiency; fully persuaded, that what God had promised he was able to perform, he stretched forth his obedient arm; nor had he recalled it, had not heaven interposed strong in faith, GIVING GLORY TO GOD. he was 2. It is productive of great good to us. The glory of God, and the good of those that love him, (thanks be to his name!) always go together. It is equally to their benefit as to his honour, for instance, to lie low before him, and to feel their entire dependence upon him. It is essential to the real happiness of an intelligent creature, to be in its proper place, and to take a complacency in being so. But nothing tends more to cultivate these dispositions than God's determining, that, at present, we should walk by faith, and not by sight. Faith, in the whole of it, tends more than a little to abase the fallen creature; and to walk by faith, (which is as much as to acknowledge that we are blind, and must see with the eyes of another,) is very humbling. The objects of our desire being, frequently, for a time, withheld, and we, being at such times, reduced to situations wherein we can see no help, and thus obliged to repose our trust in God, contributes more than a little to make us feel our dependence upon him. Agur saw that a constant fullness of this world was unfriendly to a spirit of entire dependence upon God; therefore he prayed, Give me not riches; lest I be full and deny thee. Whatever tends to humble and try us, tends to do us good in the latter end. Great and wonderful is the consolation that such a life affords. In all the vicissitudes of life and horrors of death, nothing can cheer and fortify the mind like this. By faith in an unseen world, we can endure injuries without revenge, afflictions without fainting, and losses without despair. Let the nations of the earth dash, like potsherds, one against another; yea, let nature herself approach towards her final dissolution; let her groan, as being ready to expire, and sink into her primitive nothing; still the believer lives? His all is not on board that vessel! His chief inheritance lies in another soil! 'His hand the good man fastens on the skies, It affords a great pleasure, 3. It will make vision the sweeter. when we make a venture of any kind, to find ourselves at last not disappointed. If a considerate man embark his all on board a vessel, and himself with it, he may have a thousand fears, before he reaches the end of his voyage; yet should he, after numberless dangers, safely arrive, and find it not only answer, but far exceed his expectations, his joy will then be greater than if he had run no hazard at all. What he has gained will seem much sweeter than if it had fallen to him in a way that had cost him nothing. Thus believers venture their all in the hands of Christ, persuaded that he is able to keep that which they have committed to him against that day. To find at last, that they have not confided in him in vain; yea, that their expectations are not only answered, but infinitely out-done, will surely enhance the bliss of heaven. The remembrance of our dangers, fears and sorrows, will enable us to enjoy the heavenly state with a degree of happiness impossible to have been felt, if those dangers, fears, and sorrows had never existed. My hearers! We all of us live either by faith or by sight; either upon things heavenly or things earthly. If on the former let us go on, upon the word of God; everlasting glory is before us! But, if on the latter, alas, our store will be soon exhausted! All these dear delights are but the brood of time, a brood that will soon take to themselves wings and, with her that cherished them, fly away. Oh, my hearers ! is it not common for many of you to suppose that those who live by faith in the enjoyments of a world to come, live upon mere imaginations? But are ye not mistaken? It is your enjoyments, and not theirs, that are imaginary. Pleasures, profits, honours, what are they? The whole form only a kind of ideal world, a sort of splendid show, like that in a dream, which, when you wake, all is gone! At most, it is but a fashion, and a fashion that passeth away. To grasp it, is to grasp a shadow; and to feed upon it, is to feed upon the wind. O that you may turn away your eyes from beholding these vanities, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the substantial realities beyond the grave, for your never-failing portion! But if not, if you still prefer this world, with its enjoyments, to those which are heavenly, how just will it be for the Lord Jesus to say to you, at the last great day, ' Depart! Depart, you have had your reward! you have had your choice; what would you have? You never chose me for your portion: you, in effect, said of me and my interest, We will have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse; see to thyself, David.' Ah, now, see to thyself, sinner! Christians, ministers, brethren, all of us, let us realize the subject. Let us pray, and preach, and hear, and do every thing we do, with eternity in view! Let us deal much with Christ and invissible realities. Let us, whenever called, freely deny ourselves for his sake, and trust him to make up the loss. Let us not faint under present difficulties, but consider them as opportunities afforded us to glorify God. Let us be ashamed that we derive our happiness so much from things below, and so little from things above. In one word, let us fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life! THE QUALIFICATIONS AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER, ILLUSTRATED BY THE SERMON II. [To the Rev. Robert Fawkner, at his settlement in the Pastoral Office, over the Church at Thorn, in Bedfordshire, Oct. 31, 1787 ACTS XI. 24. He was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and much people was added to the Lord. My dear Brother, It is a very important work to which you are this day set apart. I feel the difficulty of your situation. You need both counsel and encouragement; I wish I were better able to administer both. In what I may offer, I am persuaded you will allow me to be free; and understand me, not as assuming any authority or superiority over you, but only as saying that to you which I wish to consider as equally addressed to myself. Out of a variety of topics that might afford a lesson for a Christian minister, my thoughts have turned, on this occasion, upon that of example. Example has a great influence upon the human mind: examples from scripture especially, wherein characters the most illustrious in their day, for gifts, grace, and usefulness, are drawn with the pencil of inspiration, have an assimilating tendency. Viewing these, under a divine blessing, we form some just conceptions of the nature and importance of our work, are led to reflect upon our own defects, and feel the fire of holy emulation kindling in our bosoms. The particular example, my brother, which I wish to recommend to your attention is that of Barnabas, that excellent servant of Christ, and companion of the apostle Paul. You will find his character particularly given in the words I have just read. Were we to examine the life of this great and good man, as related in other parts of scripture, we should find the character here given him abundantly confirmed. He seems to have been one of that great company, who, through the preaching of Peter and the other apostles, submitted to Christ soon after his ascension: and he gave early proof of his love to him, by selling his possessions, and laying the price at the feet of the apostles, for the support of his infant cause. As he loved Christ, so he loved his people. He appears to have possessed much of the tender and affectionate, on account of which he was called Barnabas—a son of consolation. Assiduous in discovering and encouraging the first dawnings of God's work, he was the first person that introduced Saul into the company of the disciples. The next news that we hear of him is in the passage which I have selected. Tidings came to the ears of the church at Jerusalem, of the word of the Lord being prosperous at Antioch, in Syria. The church at Jerusalem was the mother church, and felt a concern for others, like that of a tender mother towards her infant offspring. The young converts at Antioch wanted a nursing father; and who so proper to be sent as Barnabas? He goes; and, far from envying the success of others, who had laboured before him, he was glad to see the grace of God so evidently apappear; and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. As a preacher, he does not seem to have been equal to the apostle Paul; yet so far was he from caring about being eclipsed by Paul's superior abilities, that he went |