THE VALUE OF PRESENT MERCIES.

II.

WE need not penetrate the wilds of countries hitherto unvisited by civilisation, to ascertain the state of man without revelation. For history has recorded the existence of empires where refinement and luxury attained to a degree not to be surpassed, the seat of arts and science, where are found the relics of elegance and taste, which we in vain emulate. But did these attainments teach men the knowledge of the true God? did they put a constraint upon their actions, or teach them to subdue the motions of the flesh? No. And so to the Christian, the contemplation of the unmatched advancement in all that the world calls beautiful and grand, made by a people at so early a period, and while all things around them were enveloped in barbarianism, affords him an illustration of the insufficiency of earthly wisdom; for whatever progress may be made by man in a state of nature, however his intellect may expand and unfold before him the wonders of creation around and above him, yet his reason only, and not his heart, is affected by the advance he makes. Knowledge of the head can never purify that fountain from whence "proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemies, pride, foolishness" (Mark vii. 21, 22.)

But after contemplating the state of man even at the height of his intellectual attainments, after seeing that "the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty," surely the Christian must feel a lively grati

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tude to Him who alone has made him to differ, who hath graciously "sent out his light and his truth" to guide his footsteps, and "hath called him out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Pet. ii. 9.)

The state of man is now, living as he may even in countries where the light of the Gospel shines, one of darkness, until he be regenerate and born again by the Holy Spirit; and his condition is equally lamentable and miserable with those who lived before the Christian dispensation, or who have never heard of the glad tidings of the Gospel. Even God himself, his ways, and his providence, are dark and mysterious; and in this condition, miserable indeed, he pursues his voyage on this ocean of life; but how still more miserable his state, should a storm surprise him, and add to the gloominess and blackness of midnight? Shipwreck is dreadful at all times, but how extremely awful when it arrives "when neither sun nor stars are to be seen!" What terror must at such a season fill the minds of the most intrepid, when "tossed with a tempest," and "carried" at one time "up to the heaven, and then down again to the deep," and in fear every moment "lest they should fall into the quicksands!" Such is but a faint sketch of man's condition without the light of revelation; to describe the horrors of such a state, the fears and doubts which must occupy the mind, the troubles of life without the support of the Gospel, would be indeed impossible: enough, however, has been said, in order that the contrast we may draw between the condition of others and our own, may lead us to prize more and more our mercies and privileges, and so possess an increasing gratitude for the

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instrumental cause of that alarm which led to his conversion to the faith of Christ, was not the preaching of the word of salvation. The Holy Spirit made use of the jailor's natural feelings of terror in producing conviction of sin. When "there was suddenly a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and when all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed, the jailor awakening out of his sleep, and seeing the prison-doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled." Ignorant heathen as he was, he knew little about that glorious Being who can "destroy both the body and soul" of the suicide" in hell," and thus make him sensible that human disgrace and the loss of his office might well have been borne rather than the weight of eternal vengeance.

"Paul cried aloud, Do thyself no harm; for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and said, What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Thus did "the Lord" manifest himself to the jailor " in the earthquake," "turning him from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God."

In the case of Lydia the Lord came not in the terrors of the earthquake, but in "a still small voice." All in this narrative is calm and peaceful. The Spirit works powerfully but gently on Lydia's heart. "The dew of the divine blessing" is shed abroad in her soul as softly, yet with as fructifying an influence, as the ripple of the river, by the borders of which she was wont to pray, washed the herbs and flowers on its banks.

"On the Sabbath (says the writer of this book, Paul's companion in his apostolical work), we went out of the city by a river-side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." Now there is nothing so heart-stirring, so awakening in the passage of sacred history of which these words form the commencement, as in the narrative of the jailor just referred to; but let us examine it with prayerful attention, and inquire whether there may not be gathered from it many instructive reflections. "And a certain woman, named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." Here we read of no remarkable terror and alarm (as in the case of the jailor) preceding faith and trust in Jesus as the only Saviour. All must indeed be sensible of the number and magnitude of their sins, before they can come, weary and heavy-laden, to Christ for rest; but facts, no less than Scripture, prove, that to some the way to the kingdom of heaven is a way of far less spiritual tribulation than to others. Lydia heard, and welcomed "the still small voice of the Gospel," and, with a humble hope that she rightly believed the tidings of salvation just conveyed to her, and a submissive deference to the opinion of her spiritual instructors, whether she were a believer indeed, she said, "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there." These traits of character, her humility and distrust of herself, ought not to escape cur notice, and will give rise to some further reflections in the sequel.

Let us now consider, in the first place, Lydia's previous character, and then her conversion to the faith of Christ. Though we hear but little of Lydia, yet the few particulars of the narrative may lead us to no fanciful, but probably true conjectures, concerning her previous character. It was on the Sabbath-day that Paul and his companions went beyond the walls of the city of Philippi, and entered a house of prayer on the river's side; for the words 'where prayer was wont to be made" probably intimate

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that there was here erected an oratory, or house of prayer: thus when Jesus is said (Luke vi. 12) to have "continued all night in prayer to God," the words literally mean in the oratory of God.*

It should seem that at Philippi the Jews had no synagogue, as at many other places visited by the apostles, but an oratory only, or perhaps several of these small and secluded houses of prayer. To this retired place of worship some women were wont to resort and to these Paul and his companions preached the Gospel. These persons, amongst whom was Lydia, were neither Jews nor were they heathen idolaters. They were worshippers of the one true God. Like Cornelius and the eunuch, they knew and adored the Jehovah of the Jewish people. Of Lydia it is said, that she "worshipped God." Thus, in the 17th chapter of this book, we read that St. Paul disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons; where this expression "devout persons" means the proselytes who had abandoned heathenism for the Jewish faith. We should consider well the character of Lydia previously to her conversion to the Christian faith. She appears to have been as different in point of character and disposition to the other convert mentioned in this chapter, as any two converts to the profession of the Gospel could possibly be. She worshipped the true God; she delighted in prayer; she kept the Jewish sabbath; she met her religious companions Sabbath after Sabbath, and probably daily too, in the retired house of prayer by the water-side; and living, as there seems every reason to conclude she did, in the general tenour of her life, up to the light she had received, "what lacked she yet ?” “One thing was needful"-faith in a Saviour yet unknown. Why was Cornelius, that "devout man who feared God with all his house, and prayed to God alway," commanded to send for Peter to tell him what he ought to do? Why was the eunuch (also a worshipper of the true God) to be instructed by Philip? and why was it needful that Lydia (who "worshipped God," and worshipped him, as there is every reason to believe," in spirit and in truth") should "attend unto the things that were spoken of Paul?" Because Peter, and Philip, and Paul, were commissioned to proclaim that glorious name of Jesus whereby alone men could be saved. Cornelius, and Lydia, and other pious persons, "believed in God;" but they could not be saved without "believing also in Christ." They were religious and upright persons; but they were to hear and to attend to the weighty truths, that "all. have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" and that they could not be justified by the works of -the law, by their prayers or their almsgivings, but that they must be "justified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance (i of God." It is not improbable that many others of these "worshippers of God," besides Lydia, were at this time converted to Christ. Lydia only, it is true, is mentioned; but when we consider that very soon the little company of Philippian believers grew into a flourishing Church, we may reasonably conclude that there were those amongst Lydia's companions who

• ku rộ rgorwxã To so. “The Jews, wherever they dwelt, usually had such places, which were open courts, commonly with trees planted near them, and often situated near seas or rivers."-PARKHURST on goosux.

I might here touch upon the deep and mysterious question, the salvation of the heathen, and those who know not Christ. But I forbear. Suffice it to say, that, of the thousands who know not the Gospel, it is to be feared that a vast majority are living in sins which absolutely exclude the perpetrators of them from the kingdom of God; see 1 Cor. vi. 9-11. The context indisputably shews that "the unrighteous," i, c, all the unrighteous heathen or professed Christians, "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." How loud and powerful, then, is the call to preach the Gospel to the heathen!

"attended to the things spoken of Paul." If any of them rejected the word of salvation sent unto them, they would do so through a spirit of self-righteousness; and if Lydia had not been influenced by the Holy Spirit, if she had sought to "establish her own righteousness," she would not have welcomed a free and unmerited salvation. She was humble, candid, and teachable; and in her case the promise was fulfilled, "If any one shall do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God."

She worshipped God as far as she knew him; and (not because her previous good disposition merited more grace-far from us be the unscriptural notion; for what good qualities had she that she had not received from "the Giver of every good and perfect gift?" none!) God was pleased to impart more knowledge and more holiness to her, who possessed some measure of these his gifts before; and at the throne of grace she was met by a God of mercy, and thenceforth taught by his apostle to pray in that Saviour's name, which before she knew not. And do we, who from our childhood have been taught to pray in the all-prevailing name of Jesus, through whom alone our prayers can be answered, pray less frequently, less earnestly, than Cornelius or Lydia, ere they knew that "whatsoever they should ask of the Father in the Son's name should be given them?" and like Lydia and her companions, who met together, apart from the noise and distractions of the city, by the peaceful river's side, are any readers of these pages placed by Providence (for He orders "the bounds of our habitation ") in situaations where He appears in an especial manner to be inviting them, and alluring them to hold communion with him, and his glorious and lovely works of creation remind them of him more forcibly than in populous cities, and though the “calm retreats, the silent shades," in which you live, "agree with prayer and praise," do you yet know nothing of the delight of holding communion with God? If you have no enjoy ment in prayer; if you praise not your God and Saviour in the secret devotions of the closet; if the heart-searching God cannot say of you, "Behold, he prayeth," you cannot be fit for the kingdom of heaven -you must be all unmeet for its eternal hallelujahs. It is not "nature" alone, and without the influence of the Holy Spirit, that can "lead us up to nature's God;" to love him and adore him, and devote ourselves to his service as the God of our salvation. No; if it were so, how do we account for the soul-engrossing thoughts of worldly pleasures which follow us into our retirement, and leave us little or no time for the solemn inquiry, Have we, by faith in Christ, and by earnest prayer, secured an interest in the "pleasures that are at God's right hand for evermore," when disease or death shall wrest these much-loved pleasures from us? It is not until thy Spirit, O God, influences our hearts, that quiet and retirement bring with them holy and heavenly thoughts:

"But if thy Spirit touch the soul,
And grace her mean abode,

O, with what joy and peace and love

She communes with her God."-CowPER.

But, having briefly reviewed Lydia's previous character, we must now consider her conversion to the Christian faith, "whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul." And here we are called upon to consider the doctrine of preventing grace, i. e. the grace which first brings the sinner to believe in Christ,-a doctrine expressly asserted in this narrative, and echoed back by our Church's articles, prayers, and homilies. We need not pause to inquire, how the Divine grace brings men to believe and repent. Sometimes it should seem that it is exerted on the understanding; at other times, perhaps more frequently, on the heart and affections, inclining men to receive the truth in the love of it," and thus "with the heart to believe unto righteous

ness." It is said of the disciples whom Jesus met on their way to Emmaus, that he opened their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures;" and of Lydia," that the Lord opened her heart to attend unto the things spoken of Paul." She could not have believed effectually the doctrine of salvation, but for the agency of Divine grace; and her companions, who with her heard the instructions of St. Paul, if they "put away from them the word of life," were inexcusable. Thus far, 1 conceive, and no farther, are we to proceed in setting forth the doctrines of grace. It is not for us to attempt fully to reconcile man's responsibility, and the constraining power of Divine influence. We must state both truths, and leave them as the Bible leaves them. Is Lydia, St. Paul's first convert at Philippi, safely landed on the shores of heaven? Surely she ascribes it then to God's distinguishing providence and grace, that the apostle ever instructed her in her house of prayer, and that she was enabled by Divine grace to attend to the truths uttered by his lips. And if Lydia's heart, touched before her Christian profession by Almighty grace-or she never could have loved prayer and communion with God-needed the further out-pouring of that sacred influence to cause her to "lay hold of eternal life" by faith in Christ, O, what an energy of Almighty power must be put forth, when the love of sin and of the world's pollutions and vanities close the heart against the reception of " the truth as it is in Jesus!"

And now let us briefly note the fruits and effects of the conversion of Lydia. Among other fruits of the Spirit (for in all truly converted persons all the fruits of the Spirit are beginning to abound), we will only note two. First, remark her deep humility: when she was baptised and her household, she said, "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there "-if ye, my appointed teachers, ye, the ambassadors of Christ, have judged me to be faithful to the Lord. Mark well her language: she wishes them to decide whether she may be considered a true believer. Imitate her humility, and inquire whether in our age there is as much of that looking up to the ministers of Christ, as there was in the early ages of the Church? Do the members of their flocks consult their ministers, as they might do, as to their spiritual state? Do they apply to them for counsel, and inquire, with Lydia's humility, whether they "judge them to be faithful to the Lord?" Do they come to their ministers, and "open their grief,"* as the Church bids them do, when they are doubtful and perplexed in mind as to attendance at the Lord's table? We mention one instance among many, in which the members of their flocks might come to their duly authorised minister for advice, and stay themselves upon his counsel. Is there not a medium between the implicit reliance of the Romanist on his teacher's assertions, and the unqualified right of private judgment contended for by many in our day? Is there sufficient attention paid to such texts as this? "The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth." The humility and deference to ministerial authority manifested in Lydia's language have given occasion to these reflections, which might be pursued much further. But remark, secondly, another fruit of the Spirit,-love of the brethren. It appears from her constraining, earnestly entreating the apostle and his companions to abide at her house, that they had not wished to do so, on the ground of putting her to so much trouble and expense. But she was persuaded by "the mercies of God," to present to him herself and all that she had as "a living sacrifice." She administered to the wants of the apostles, loving them as the people of Christ. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one towards another."

• See first exhortation to the holy communion.