1 Chronicles 12:32

“The men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do–200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command”

The doctrine of fitness is of difficult investigation; but it is highly deserving of our attention; because the greater part of our conduct in every situation of life depends upon it. It is a great honor to the tribe of Issachar, that they were distinguished above all the other tribes of Israel in practical acquaintance with this important branch of human knowledge. In the account given of the other tribes who came to David to Hebron, we are merely told how many they brought with them to place David on the throne of Israel; but in relation to the tribe of Issachar we are informed, that they acted from a dispassionate consideration of David’s claims, as compared with those of the house of Saul, and from a full conviction, that, in supporting David, they performed an acceptable service to God himself.

From the character here given of them we shall take occasion to show,

I. That our conduct must often be affected by times and circumstances.

We are in the midst of a world changing every moment, ourselves also changing with the things around us. Hence arises a necessity of attending to times and circumstances in our concerns, of whatever nature they are:

1. Civil fitness.

It is the knowing how to judge of the various occurrences that arise, and how to improve them to the good of the state, that constitutes the great science of politics; and it is to this knowledge, that the expression of “understanding the times” primarily refers. See Esther 1:13.

A statesman cannot determine what will be fit to be done a year hence, because circumstances may arise which would render all his plans abortive. He may indeed display much wisdom in the exercise of foresight, and in providing for contingencies; but still he must of necessity follow events which he cannot control, and be himself controlled by existing circumstances. He is the greatest benefactor to the state, who is enabled to judge of contingencies most correctly, and to adapt his measures to them most wisely.

2. Social fitness.

All of us have, as it were, a little world around us, wherein we move; and all experience the same vicissitudes as are found in larger communities.

In our families, innumerable things arise from day to day, which require us to vary our line of conduct. Sometimes ease and gaiety may befit us, and at other times seriousness and reserve; sometimes a yielding spirit will be proper, and sometimes it will be necessary to be firm. It is great wisdom to know how to conduct ourselves towards people of different dispositions and of different habits; but we should labor diligently for the attainment of this wisdom, because the happiness both of ourselves and others most essentially depends upon it.

3. Personal fitness.

It is obvious, that a very different deportment befits us in youth and in old age, in prosperity and adversity. Solomon tells us, that “there is to everything a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven! See Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.” To discern all these occasions, and to improve them aright, is the grand line of distinction between the thoughtless and considerate, the fool and the wise! Ecclesiastes 2:14. Proverbs 22:3.

But if our conduct must be influenced by them in temporal matters, there is still reason to inquire,

II. How far it may properly be affected by them in the concerns of religion.

That we may attend to times and circumstances, is certain.

This appears both from the example of Christ and his Apostles, and from many plain directions given us in the Scripture. Our blessed Lord at one time was silent before his accusers, (“insomuch that the governor marveled greatly,”) and at another time “witnessed a good confession before many witnesses;” at one time he hid himself from his enemies, and at another delivered himself into their hands; at one time delivered his instructions darkly in parables, and at another spoke “plainly and without a parable.” In like manner Paul did not deem “all things expedient that were lawful, 1 Corinthians 6:12; 1 Corinthians 10:23;” but would sometimes conform to the ceremonial law, and at other times neglect and even oppose it; at one time sanctioning circumcision, and at another withstanding it with all his might; and in his ministry he would set before his audience milk or strong meat, according as he saw occasion. So all the Apostles were to fast indeed, but not while the bridegroom was with them.

Such conduct is also prescribed to us. We are to recommend religion to the uttermost; but “not to set our pearls before swine;” we are to enforce the practice of it in its utmost extent; but not to put new wine into old bottles; we are to “answer a fool at one time according to his folly;” and, at another, “not according to his folly.”

But how far we may attend to them, is not easy to determine.

Every distinct case must be determined by the peculiar circumstances that attend it; it will be in vain therefore to descend to particulars. We may however lay down one general rule, which will be of service in determining most of the cases that can occur. The consideration of times and circumstances is never to affect our principles, but only the application of them.

Our principles must be fixed by the unerring standard of God’s Word. The love of God, and the love of our fellow-creatures, a regard for truth, and honor, and integrity, with all other Christian graces, must be as fixed principles in our minds, from which we are never to swerve on any account. We must not regard life itself in comparison with these principles. But then the peculiar mode in which these principles are to operate, must be a matter of discretion, arising from the circumstances of the case. And herein is the difference between a novice in religion, and one who has been long walking in the ways of God; the love of the more advanced Christian has “grown in knowledge and in all discernment;” “he discerns” more clearly than others “the things that differ;” and is enabled to combine, what we should always study to unite, “the wisdom of the serpent, with the harmlessness of the dove.”

It being clear, then, that our conduct may be affected by them, we proceed to show,

III. What there is in the times and circumstances of the present day to affect it.

There is no little resemblance between the times of which our text speaks, and of the times wherein we live. Any circumstances that may have occurred, as sudden deaths, etc. might here be brought toward, as motives to exalt Jesus to the throne of Israel.

The elevation to the throne of Israel was typical of the elevation of Christ to an empire over the souls of men.

Christ is the true David, to whom all the tribes of Israel must bow! Hosea 3:5. Isaiah 45:23-25. A long series of prophecies have foretold his reign; and have given us reason to expect that that reign shall be universal.

Just so, the circumstances of the present day loudly call upon us to install Jesus in our hearts.

Never since the Apostolic age was there such a zeal for the Bible as at the present day. Princes and Nobles, no less than the ministers of religion themselves, are expatiating on its value, and commending to us the Savior, as therein revealed. When all the tribes then are uniting in this blessed object, shall not we concur to the utmost of our power? True indeed the numbers belonging to Issachar bare no proportion to those of other tribes; they were only two hundred, when the others were thirty, forty, and even a hundred thousand men. But we must observe, that these two hundred were the heads and governors of that tribe; and “all the rest were at their command.” So let it be among us; let those who are foremost in rank, in learning, in wealth, lead the way, saying, “Come let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten;” and let all others unite with heart and hand, to seat Jesus on the throne of their hearts, and to glorify him as our Lord and our God.

In applying to yourselves this subject, we would suggest a caution or two:

1. Guard against yielding to any corrupt bias.

In consulting times and circumstances, you will be in danger of being warped by your interests or passions. But you must watch and pray against them, and beg help from God that you may not be drawn aside by them.

2. Bear in mind that God will judge you in the last day according to what he knows to have been your true motives.

We cannot deceive him; and should be careful not to deceive ourselves.

3. Beg of God to give you the “wisdom that is profitable to direct”.

God has promised to give wisdom, even “sound wisdom and discretion, to all who ask it of him, James 1:5. And let none be discouraged, as though a lack of education or abilities incapacitated them for the due discharge of their duty; for the heart, and not the head, is the seat of this wisdom; and God has promised, that “the meek, he will guide in judgment; the meek he will teach his way.”

Charles Simeon

1 Chronicles 4:10

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”

And God granted his request.

Remarkable is the honor which God puts upon prayer, and numberless are the instances which are recorded of its efficacy. Jabez is here mentioned in a long catalogue of names; but while the names only of others are recorded, he is particularly noticed; he is even declared to have been more honorable than all his brethren. This distinction indeed might be given him on account of his the first born, but it was certainly still more due on account of his piety; like the patriarch Jacob, he “wrestled with God, and prevailed”.

I. The prayer which Jabez offered,

1. The subject-matter of Jabez’ prayer.

In its primary sense Jabez’ prayer evidently related to temporal blessings. God had promised his people an inheritance in Canaan, but they were not able of themselves to drive out the inhabitants. Jabez therefore, sensible of his insufficiency, prayed to God for help. He begged for the blessing of God upon his own endeavors; he desired to be preserved from the dangers to which his military exploits would expose him; and to have, through the divine interposition, an enlarged inheritance in the promised land. These requests he urged with a significant and earnest plea.

Almost all Hebrew names had some peculiar signification. Jabez signifies pain or sorrow; the name was given him in remembrance of the unusual sorrows his mother endured in childbirth. And it was in reference to this that he deprecated the evils to which he was exposed, “Keep me,” etc. lest I be Jabez in my experience, as well as in my name.

But there is reason to think it had also a spiritual meaning. The earthly Canaan was typical of the heavenly kingdom. The enemies also that were to be driven out, were typical of the enemies with whom the Christian has to contend. Moreover, the assistance which God rendered to his people, was intended to show us what aid we might expect from him. And what evil will a child of God deprecate so much as sin? Surely nothing is so “grievous” to him as the prevalence of corruption, Romans 7:24. Well therefore may Jabez be considered as looking beyond this world, and as imploring a secure possession of his heavenly inheritance.

2. The manner in which Jabez’ prayer was offered.

It is the sentiment, rather than the expression, that gives excellence to prayer; but in both respects we may admire that before us.

Jabez’ prayer was humble. He felt his entire dependence upon the power and grace of God. This is intimated not merely in the petitions offered, but in the very manner in which they were offered, “Oh that,” etc. Such humility is absolutely necessary to render prayer acceptable. The more we abase ourselves, the more will God exalt us. Let this be remembered in all our addresses at the throne of grace.

Jabez’ prayer was importunate. He enforced his request with a very earnest plea. Nor, in reference to sin, could any plea be more proper for him. But we may also properly deprecate sin as “grievous” to our souls. Yes, a disposition to do this is both an evidence of our sincerity, and a pledge of the divine acceptance.

Jabez’ prayer was believing. The title, by which he addressed God, argued his faith in God. It expressed a confidence in God as the hearer of prayer, Genesis 32:28. It is in this way that we also should approach God. Without such faith our petitions will have but little effect; but with faith, they shall never go forth in vain! Mark 11:24.

Prayer possessing such qualities could not fail of success:

II. The success with which it was attended.

We have no detailed account of God’s kindness towards him, but we are informed that “God granted him all that he requested,” and this speaks loudly to us.

It shows us,

1. That we ought to spread all our needs before God in prayer.

We have seen how comprehensive the prayer of Jabez was. And our prayers also should include our every want, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. There is nothing so great, but we are at liberty to ask it; nor anything so small, but we must acknowledge our entire dependence on God for it. In fact, there is nothing great or small, either before God, or in reference to ourselves; for, as all things are alike easy to him, who formed the universe by his Word, and watches over the very hairs of our heads—so there is nothing, however minute, which may not prove of the utmost possible importance to us, as every part of the inspired volume attests. The direction of God to us is, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, Philippians 4:6.”

2. We should urge our petitions with an importunity that will take no denial.

So did Jacob, “I will not let you go, except you bless me! Genesis 32:26.” And so it should be with us. We have, in fact, a better plea than Jabez was able to offer. We may go in the name of Jesus Christ, and plead all that he has done or suffered for us. We may look to him as our Advocate with the Father, and assure ourselves of the acceptance both of our persons and our prayers through his continued mediation and all-prevailing intercession.

The conduct of King Joash should be a warning to us. The Prophet Elisha told him that he should smite the Syrians who had sorely oppressed the whole Jewish people; and he bade him to smite the ground with the arrows which he had in his hand, and thereby to express the desires and expectations which he felt in reference to this great event. The king smote the ground only thrice, when he should have smitten it five or six times; and thus by his own lack of zeal he restrained the exertions of Almighty God in his favor 2 Kings 13:29.

And thus it is that we act. If we were more earnest in our desires, and more enlarged in our expectations from God, there would be no bounds to the mercy which God would exercise towards us. “We are not straitened in him, but in our own affections.” Were we to “open our mouth ever so wide, he would fill it! Psalm 81:10.” We might ask what we would, and it should be done unto us! John 14:13-14.

3. We should ask in faith without doubting.

A doubting mind will rob us of all blessings, and make our most urgent prayers of no effect, James 1:6-7. We must “believe not only that God is, but that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, Hebrews 11:6.” Yes, we must “believe that we do receive in order that we may receive.” And “according to our faith it shall be done unto us.” In fact, there is a kind of omnipotence in the prayer of faith, and, if I may so speak, God himself cannot, I may surely say, will not, reject it. He speaks as if it had a commanding power, Isaiah 45:22. Of course, this idea must not be pressed too far; but we are sure that, as God never did, so he never will, say to any of the seed of Jacob, “Seek my face in vain.”

APPLICATION.

Is there then any Jabez, any son of sorrow, here? Go to God, the God of Israel, and say, “Oh that you would bless me indeed! Let me be strengthened by you for all my spiritual conflicts. Let my enemies, my indwelling corruptions, be slain before me.” And let me be put into full possession of the heavenly Canaan, where I shall rest from my labors, and be forever happy in the bosom of my God.” Then, brethren, shall your every request come up with acceptance before God, and return in blessings upon you to the full extent of your necessities!

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 23:25

“Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did–with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”

This is the character given of King Josiah. A similar eulogy had been passed on his progenitor, Hezekiah; of whom it is said, “Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him, 2 Kings 18:5.” But there is nothing contrary in the two accounts; each of these people had his peculiar excellencies, in which he surpassed all others; Hezekiah was distinguished (as the words cited intimate,) for his confidence in God; and Josiah, as our text informs us, for his zeal and piety.

No person was ever perfect, since the introduction of sin into the world. There have indeed been bright characters, who have reflected with great luster and fidelity some rays of “the Sun of righteousness;” but of Christ alone can it be said, that “He is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

The character here given of Josiah is as exalted as any that was ever ascribed to fallen man; and for the purpose of illustrating it, we propose to mark some of the chief features of which it was composed.

I. Josiah began to serve God at a very early period of life.

At eight years old he began to reign; and no sooner did he arrive at years of discretion, than he began seriously and devoutly to serve the Lord, 2 Chronicles 34:3.

At sixteen years of age, when it might have been expected that he should be studious only of pleasure, he turned from earthly vanities to seek his happiness in God.

At twenty years of age, when it is probable he began to exercise without control his regal office, he set himself to reform the whole nation. Not fearing the face of man, he stemmed the torrent of iniquity which had overwhelmed the land; and devoted to the service of his God all the powers with which he was invested.

This was surely most pleasing to God, who required by the law that the first-fruits of man and beast should be his, and who has given a peculiar promise to those who seek him in early life, “Those who seek me early shall find me.”

Happy would it be if all of us began at the early age of sixteen to serve the Lord; and if from that period every talent committed to our care were improved for God! How much better this, than to be wasting our youthful days in sin and vanity! True, we have not all the same authority as he; but all in our respective spheres should exert ourselves to the utmost of our ability; remembering, that if youth labors under some disadvantages in point of influence, it has a tendency to put to shame the indolence of more advanced years, and to impress more forcibly the minds of those who are yet young and tender.

While then we say to all, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” we would exhort all, from the first moment that they feel the value of their own souls—to exert themselves with all diligence to benefit the souls of others.

II. Josiah proceeded in his career with extraordinary zeal and diligence.

It seems almost incredible that this young monarch should effect so much as he did in so short a time. He first began to root out idolatry from those tribes which were under his own dominion; and then set himself (by the connivance or permission of the Assyrian monarch) to effect the same changes among the remnant of the ten tribes. Not choosing to devolve these labors on others, he proceeded himself “throughout all the land of Israel,” that he might see his orders carried into execution. The means he used to produce a reformation were of the most extraordinary kind: breaking in pieces all the images that he could find, strewing the dust of them on the graves of those who had sacrificed unto them; and burning on the altars the bones of the priests who had placed their offerings upon them! See 2 Chronicles 34:3-7.

Here we see how justly he deserved the character given to him in our text; he entered into his work “with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his might.”

This is the spirit which we also should manifest in all our services for God. We should never indulge a lukewarm spirit, but “be zealously affected always in a good cause.” “Whatever our hand finds to do, we should do with all our might!”

III. Josiah was as zealous in promoting piety as in suppressing vice.

When he had put down the reigning abominations, he endeavored to establish the worship of the true God; he repaired the temple, which had fallen into decay; he convened all his subjects, “the priests and Levites, and all the people both small and great,” and he himself read to them the Word of God, and made a covenant with the Lord both for himself and them to serve the Lord God with their whole hearts; and “he caused all the people to pledge themselves to the covenant.” After this he kept a Passover, such as had not been kept even from the time of Samuel to that hour; and toward the expenses of it he himself very largely contributed.

Now here was real piety; here was a manifest regard for the honor of God and the good of men. This it is that most exalts a character.

Many there are who will be extremely zealous against open profaneness, who yet have no real concern, for God’s honor and glory. But we must combine “godliness with morality.” We must labor, each in his sphere, to promote the knowledge and the worship of God; and having given up ourselves to him in a perpetual covenant, we must endeavor to engage others also to a like surrender of themselves to him.

In a peculiar manner we should ourselves respect, and to the utmost of our power cause others also to regard, the wonders of redeeming love. Here is scope for the best energies of our souls. In reference to these things it is not possible to be too earnest, provided we are alike attentive to every duty, and careful “that God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus”.

IV. In all Josiah did, he adhered strictly to the Word of God.

From the first moment that the Scriptures were found and read to him, he determined to make them the one rule of his conduct. He “humbled himself deeply before God” for the utter disregard of them which had prevailed throughout the whole kingdom; and he himself read them to the ears of his people, and required a conformity to them in every particular. In celebrating the Passover, he was especially mindful of every direction given by Moses relative to that divine ordinance; and indeed in the whole of his conduct he labored to secure a perfect compliance with God’s revealed will. This is the thing noticed, both in the text and in many other places; and it forms a very essential part of that goodness, for which he is applauded in the sacred records, 2 Chronicles 35:26.

It often happens, that men are zealous for their own party and their own opinions; and men in such a state will sometimes “compass sea and land to make one proselyte;” but unless we build according to “the model given to us in the mount,” we lose all our labor. To please our God, we must have a strict regard to his revealed will; and for this end we must study the Holy Scriptures, and “turn from them neither to the right hand nor the left.”

ADDRESS.

Here we may rejoice, that we all have the Scriptures in our hands. They are not hidden, as in the days of Josiah; but are so freely and universally dispersed, that every man in the kingdom who desires to study them, may obtain them. How signally blessed are we in this respect! Nay, we not only have access to the Scriptures, but have them read and expounded to us from Sunday to Sunday. Let us then learn to tremble at the word. Let us remember that every jot and tittle of it will be fulfilled in its season. Let us bear in mind, that our willful deviations from it will be visited with the divine displeasure; and that, if we study to fulfill it “with all our heart, and soul, and might,” then God, who knows our hearts, will bear testimony to us in the day of judgment, as here he has done to King Josiah; and will say to us before the assembled universe, “Well done, good and faithful servants, enter you into the joy of your Lord!”

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 23:3

“The king (Josiah) stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD–to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.”

Little do men in general consider the benefit they receive from the sacred oracles, and the stated ordinances of divine worship. Without these, the remembrance of God would soon vanish; whereas by these we are constantly reminded of the obligations we are under to love and serve him.

In the days of King Josiah the inspired volume was altogether lost, and the Temple of Jehovah had been allowed to fall into decay. The pious monarch having ordered the temple to be repaired, the book of God was found. Immediately the contents of it were read to him; and, when he saw what judgments it denounced against his nation, he sought to avert them by turning to the Lord his God. He summoned all the priests, and prophets, and people of Jerusalem, and engaged them to make a solemn covenant with God, that they would henceforth serve him with their whole heart.

This instructive record shows us, that,

I. People in authority should use their influence to promote Scriptural religion.

Many of the Jewish kings were patrons of real piety; but among them all there was not one who equaled Josiah in integrity of heart and devotedness of soul, verse 25. The use which he made of his authority is sufficiently declared in the history before us. But we must not imagine that such exertions belong only to rulers and governors; whether our influence extends over a kingdom, or only to a parish, or a single family—it should be improved for God. Ministers should labor by all possible means to bring their people to God; and every parent of a family, should study to advance the eternal interest of those, who, by the providence of God, are committed to his care.

Nor should any be deterred by the degeneracy of the times; for the state of religion cannot well be reduced to a lower ebb than it was in the days of Josiah; and, if it were, that would only be a reason for our more earnest exertions in the cause of God.

Nor can we easily conceive how much good might be done by the labors of an individual. The effects of Josiah’s reformation continued throughout all his reign, 2 Chronicles 34:32-33; and, though people in inferior stations cannot hope to produce the sudden and extensive change that he did—yet their labors may convey incalculable benefit to the latest generations; the good impressions that are made on a few will stimulate them to impart the same benefits to their neighbors, and to seek the welfare of those who are within the sphere of their influence; those again will adopt the same line of conduct towards others; and thus the benefit will be perpetually transmitted from age to age. What might not be hoped for, if magistrates and ministers, parents and masters, would combine in this good work?

To this we may be encouraged by the consideration that,

II. Such exertions will be acceptable to those who feel their need of mercy.

They who are wholly unconcerned about their souls will probably regard such efforts as officious, ostentatious, hypocritical. But if once they become, like the Jews on this occasion, sensible of their guilt and danger—they will no longer consider a reformer as an enemy to the happiness of mankind, but as a blessing to the world. How often is it seen that those who once despised and persecuted a minister for his piety, will send for him in a time of sickness, and be exceedingly thankful for his instructions and his prayers! And many who once joined in condemning him for his zeal, will afterwards go statedly many miles to attend his ministry.

Such is the effect even among strangers and aliens; how much more therefore may we hope to find this acquiescence, when our counsels are enforced with the endearments of affection, or the weight of legitimate authority! Indeed, such interference is expected of us; and we lower ourselves in the estimation even of the ungodly, in proportion as we decline, whether through indolence or fear, these offices of Christian love.

Such exertions, I say, will be acceptable to many.

III. Nor will the strictest commands of God’s covenant be deemed harsh by those who are in earnest about their souls.

Men regardless of their eternal state will scarcely hear of any restraint; they will plead for the utmost latitude of indulgence; and when forced by their convictions to concede somewhat of their imagined rights, they will yield only as Pharaoh did, when necessitated by a sense of present judgments, and the fear of more. Pharaoh at first would not allow the Hebrews to sacrifice to their God at all; then he would permit it in the land of Egypt; then it might be in the borders of the wilderness; then the men might go, but they must leave their little ones as a pledge of their return; then the women and children might go, but not the cattle; at last he was glad to get rid of all! Exodus 8:25; Exodus 8:28; Exodus 10:11; Exodus 10:24; Exodus 12:31-33.

Thus sinners will plead for this and that sin as long as they can entertain any hope of safety along with the indulgence of it; but when they feel themselves utterly undone, they will cast out of the vessel the tackle and the wheat itself, rather than perish in the great abyss! Acts 27:38. Yes, let them be really persuaded that the care of their souls is the one thing needful, and they will consent that God shall prescribe his own terms; they will say, with Saul, “Lord, what will you have me to do! Acts 9:6.”

The covenant which Josiah proposed was exceedingly strict; they were to “keep God’s commandments, and testimonies, and statutes, yes, to keep them with all their heart, and with all their soul;” but they did not object to the terms; on the contrary, we are told “they pledged themselves to the covenant.”

Thus it should be with us also; the most self-denying commandment should not appear grievous, 1 John 5:3, but “holy, and just, and good, Romans 7:12;” and we should cordially submit to it without any limitations or reserves.

We shall not dismiss this subject without adding a word,

1. Of reproof.

How many instead of using all their influence for God, exert it in the service of the devil! We speak not merely of those who tempt others to drunkenness, lewdness, or any other gross iniquity; but of those who by their vain, worldly, or careless conduct lead others to think lightly of sin, and to live in a neglect of their souls. In this way every person, whatever his station is, exerts, however unintentionally, a very extensive influence, which by a different conduct might be turned to good account.

Do not say, like Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” for all of you are accountable to God for the use which you make of your influence; and you will receive from God, not only according to the good or evil which you have done yourselves, but according to that which you have occasioned in others.

2. Of caution.

We are ready in a time of sickness, and under convictions of sin, to make covenants with God; like the Israelites who said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient, Exodus 24:7.” But when we make them in our own strength, we shall violate them exactly as they did. Do not let any then be hasty in making vows, or think that they can execute them by any power of their own. To give up ourselves to God is certainly right; but in order to do it effectually, we must be strong, not in ourselves, but “in the Lord, and in the power of his might! Ephesians 6:10.”

3. Of consolation.

If we were to be saved by our own faithfulness, who among us would be able to stand before God? Alas! “our own goodness has often been as the morning dew, and as the early cloud that passes away.” But, thanks be to God! there is a covenant made by our great Head and Surety, Psalm 89:3; Psalm 89:28; Psalm 89:34-36; “a covenant ordered in all things and sure! 2 Samuel 23:5 with Jeremiah 31:31-34; Jeremiah 32:38-41.”

Let this then be the real ground of our hope; let us lay hold on it, and cleave unto it. Let not, however, our affiance in this tempt us to violate our own engagements; for negligence in performing our vows to God will infallibly prove us to be strangers to the Gospel-covenant. Let us rather “give ourselves wholly to the Lord;” that while we trust in “the blood of the everlasting covenant,” we may approve ourselves to him as “good and faithful servants!”

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 20:19

“The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and truth in my lifetime?”

[Day of Thanksgiving for Peace in 1816.]

By many it is thought that a knowledge of futurity would contribute to their happiness; but we are persuaded that it would prove only a source of misery. The good that would be foreseen would lose more than half its zest, while the evil that was anticipated would embitter the remainder of their days. It was as a punishment, and not as a favor, that an insight into futurity was given to King Hezekiah. He had displeased the Lord by his prideful conduct towards the ambassadors of the king of Babylon; and God sent him word what calamities should befall both his family and nation through the instrumentality of that monarch. This judgment however was tempered with mercy; the execution of it being deferred to a generation yet unborn. Hence the judgment was submitted to with pious resignation, “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good. For he thought: Will there not be peace and truth in my lifetime?”

It is not our intention to enter any further into the Jewish history than just to fix the precise import of our text. The text is applicable to all people in every age, and particularly so to this present season. We shall therefore take occasion from it to show,

I. What blessings God is now conferring upon us.

What we are to understand by “peace and truth” will be best seen by a reference to the preceding context.

God had declared that the king of Babylon would invade Judea, and take all the wealth of Hezekiah for a prey, and carry captive his children, and entirely destroy the whole Jewish polity. But, inasmuch as these judgments should be deferred, Hezekiah, instead of beholding the subjugation and captivity of his children, would have “peace;” and, instead of seeing the abolition of the temple worship, would have “truth” continued to him.

Now these are the very blessings for which we are peculiarly called to render thankfulness to God on this day.

“Peace” is now happily once more restored; and such a peace as places our country in a state of greater security than it has ever enjoyed since it became a nation.

“Truth,” also, with an undisturbed enjoyment of all religious ordinances, is now secured to us. We are no longer in danger of having the churches of our God converted into barracks for a licentious soldiery, or magazines for the implements of war. No longer have we any reason to fear lest a victorious enemy should deprive us of our religious liberty, or a yoke of superstition be imposed upon us as the only worship tolerated in the land. Blessed be God! we enjoy the Gospel in all its purity; and every man throughout the whole land is permitted to serve his God in the way that seems to him to be most agreeable to the Divine commands.

Such blessings being now insured to us, let us consider,

II. In what light our blessings should be viewed.

The continuance of them to Hezekiah was deemed by him a mercy, a great and undeniable mercy, “Will there not be peace and truth in my lifetime?” To us then is the possession of them,

1. A rich mercy.

How rich a mercy “peace” is, we who have never had our country the seat of war, are but ill qualified to judge. It is our happiness indeed that we cannot judge of it; since it can only be known by an experience of those calamities which war brings in its train.

Nor can we adequately conceive how much we are indebted to God for the possession of “truth.” To estimate this aright, we should behold all the degrading superstitions of heathen nations, and see what self-tormenting methods they practice for the obtaining of peace with their senseless deities of wood and stone. We should see also how the far greater part of those who call themselves Christians are blinded by ceremonies of man’s invention, and debarred the use of those sacred oracles which are “able to make them wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Before we can rightly estimate the value of the Savior, through whom the vilest of sinners find access to God, and obtain all the blessings of grace and glory—we must go up to Heaven and behold the felicity of the saints made perfect; and go down to Hell to behold the miseries of the damned! “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins! Colossians 1:13-14.”

2. An undeserved mercy.

Hezekiah felt that he might justly have been deprived of these blessings, and been made to experience in his own person all the calamities which were denounced against him in his posterity. And what was Hezekiah’s fault? It was that when the ambassadors came to congratulate him on his recovery from a dangerous illness, he neglected to commend to them the God of Israel, by whom their souls, and the souls of their countrymen, might be saved; and sought rather to aggrandize himself by an ostentatious display of his own wealth and power!

Now we are far from wishing to extenuate his guilt; it was surely exceeding great; and the pride of his heart merited from God the severest chastisement! 2 Chronicles 32:25-26.

But what was Hezekiah’s guilt when compared with ours? We scarcely hear on any occasion the glory of our successes ascribed to God; nor do we find one in a thousand who relies truly and simply on God for a continuance of them. Self-glorying, and confidence in an arm of flesh, are the leading features of our whole people; so that we might justly have been left to experience defeats answerable to all our victories.

And how is the “truth” improved among us? As, on the one hand, there is not a nation under Heaven where truth shines with purer luster, so neither, on the other hand, is there a nation under Heaven where truth is treated with greater contempt. And as to those who profess to value it, how little are its fair and beauteous lineaments visible in their hearts and lives! Well indeed might our mis-improvement of the light have long since provoked God to “take away his lampstand from us;” and it is a most unmerited mercy that “the glorious Gospel of the blessed God” is yet continued to us!

3. A mercy that may well reconcile us to all events connected with it.

We are not to suppose that Hezekiah was indifferent about the welfare of his posterity; it was nothing but his sense of the greatness of the mercy given to him, that led him to acquiesce so meekly in the sentence as it was denounced against him. The prospect of the calamities that would come on his posterity was surely a source of bitter anguish to his mind; but it was a great matter that he had obtained a respite, and that the judgment was not inflicted instantly upon him. This favor therefore he acknowledged as a mercy, which might well compose and tranquillize his mind.

Now it is certain that the blessings which we enjoy are far from coming without alloy. They will, it is to be feared, prove in the outcome a source of misery to many. The peace, which leads to the disbanding of so many thousand troops, will leave multitudes in a state unfavorable to their best interests. Many will find it difficult to return to the employment of honest industry; yes perhaps may find it difficult even to get employment; and many who in the scenes of war have been accustomed to blood and pillage, may bring home with them a disposition to exercise among their brethren the same evil habits which they deemed allowable among their enemies. Thus our domestic security may be invaded, and the perpetrators of these crimes be subjected to an untimely death by the hands of the public executioner. This is an evil felt at the termination of every war; yet must it by no means indispose us to acknowledge the blessings of peace.

The very truth of God also, even the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, brings on many, through their rejection of it, a heavier condemnation. It would have been good for many, if they had never heard the Gospel! Yes good, if Jesus Christ had never come into the world to save our ruined race. It was declared at the very time that he did come, that “he was set for the fall, as well as for the rising again, of many in Israel, Luke 2:34.” And that, though he should be “a sanctuary to some, he should prove to others a stumbling stone and a rock offence, Isaiah 8:14.Thus does the Gospel itself, that greatest gift of God to mankind, “become to some a savor of life unto life, but to others a savor of death unto death! 2 Corinthians 2:16.”

Still however we must not allow these things to diminish our value for the Gospel. If some abuse their food to intemperance, we must not therefore be unthankful for our food; nor if men abuse the Gospel, must we impute it to any defect in the Gospel, but to the depravity of their own hearts, which turns the blessing into a curse! We say then, that whatever evils may be accidentally connected with the blessings we have received, even though those evils should fall upon our own children—it befits us to adore and magnify our God that those blessings are not withheld from us, but that we are privileged to possess them in our days. “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29.”

4. A mercy which should be gratefully and diligently improved.

A state of peace, and a quiet enjoyment of Gospel ordinances, is extremely favorable for the attainment of vital godliness. So it proved to the Christian Church in its infant state, Acts 9:31; and so it will be to us. Do we ask: In what way we should improve the present occasion? We answer: In the way that David and Solomon improved their circumstances, when God had favored them with the blessings which are now conferred on us. David bethought: What can I do for God? I will build him a house that shall be worthy of his divine Majesty, 2 Samuel 7:1-2. Solomon also adopted precisely the same resolution under the same circumstances, 1 Kings 5:4-5. The same holy zeal should now inflame our hearts. We are not indeed called to build for the Lord a house of wood and stone, but a house of “living stones,” that shall be “a habitation of God through the Spirit” to all eternity!

O see what myriads of stones there are lying in the quarry of corrupt nature, that through your instrumentality may be formed and fashioned to build the temple of the Lord. Look at the blind obdurate sons of Abraham, and see what may be done to bring them to the knowledge of that Savior whom they have crucified. Look at the Gentile world, all lying in darkness and the shadow of death; and see what may be done for the enlightening of their minds, and for the saving of their souls alive. To employ our time, and property, and talents according as God shall give us opportunity—in such works, will be the best return that we can make to God for the light and peace that we enjoy. If we exert ourselves diligently in these labors of love, truly we shall have reason to all eternity to say, “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good. Will there not be peace and truth in my lifetime?”

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 20:19

“The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied.

If of active virtues it may be said, that they are more fascinating and beautiful in the eyes of men; of passive virtues it may be said, that an equal degree of divine grace is displayed in them. It is as much an effect of divine grace to suffer patiently the will of God, as it is to perform it diligently. Accordingly we find, that most of the eminent saints of old were as remarkable for a meek submission to the divine disposals, as for a zealous execution of the divine commands. Aaron, Leviticus 10:3; Eli, 1 Samuel 3:18; Job, Job 1:21; David, Psalm 39:9; and many others, are recorded as bright examples of the passive graces; and the history of Hezekiah, as contained in the words before us, furnishes us with an admirable specimen of pious resignation.

I. We shall consider Hezekiah’s resignation as an act of piety.

The judgments denounced against his family and kingdom were of the most distressing nature.

All the wealth that he possessed, together with the holy city and temple, were to be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans; and his sons, whom he would beget, should be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. To a monarch, what could be more distressing than the overthrow of his whole kingdom? To a pious monarch, what more grievous than the destruction of God’s temple, and the triumph of idolatry over the true religion? And to a monarch that was a parent, what more terrible than such degradation and misery as were denounced against his offspring?

Some may think that these judgments were not very afflictive, because they were not to affect the king himself, but only to attach upon his descendants; but we apprehend that any personal affliction whatever would have been esteemed light, in comparison with the calamities here threatened. See 2 Samuel 24:17.

Yet the tidings of these judgments were received with the most perfect submission.

What could any man say more? Hezekiah justified in the strongest terms the denunciations that had been delivered. Though he was taken entirely off his guard, and had not the smallest expectation of any such message from the Lord—yet, on the delivery of it, he bowed at once, and “accepted it as the punishment of his iniquity, Leviticus 26:41.” As grievous as the chastisement was, he approved of it as coming from the hands of a righteous God, and declared it to be not only just, but “good.”

Instead of murmuring against God for the severity of his judgments, he instantly expressed his gratitude for the mercy blended with them.

He was informed that in his days the nation should enjoy “peace;” and that “truth” should triumph over the idolatry and wickedness which had overrun the land. These considerations, independent of his own personal welfare, were consolatory to his mind; because, if God had been “extreme to mark what had been done amiss,” he might have justly executed his threatened judgments instantly, without any intervention of grace and mercy. On these mitigated circumstances Hezekiah fixed his mind; and, while he acknowledged the equity of the judgments in their fullest extent, he more especially adored the goodness of God in suspending them for so long a period, “Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?” The prospect of the prevalence of true religion, though but for a season, was cheering to him; and he “accounted the patience of God to be salvation.”

If, as an act of piety, we admire his resignation, much more shall we do so,

II. If we consider Hezekiah’s resignation as a lesson of instruction.

Truly in this view the history before us is very important. From it we learn many valuable lessons:

1. We learn that pride, however light and venial it may appear in our eyes, is most offensive in the sight of God!

It was pride which led Hezekiah to display before the Babylonish ambassadors all the monuments of his wealth and power; he felt an undue delight in the things themselves, as though they of themselves could make us happy. And next, he relied on them as inducements to the king of Babylon to court his alliance. According to the common estimation of men, there would be no great evil in this conduct; but God regarded as a very heinous sin, the indulgence of such vain conceits; and marked the extent of his displeasure by the severity of his judgments.

Do not let anyone then imagine that an inordinate attachment to earthly things, or a vain confidence in them, is a light offence before God. Whatever we are or have that distinguishes us from our fellow-creatures, it is given us by the Lord; and, instead of engrossing our affections, it should lead us to him in thankfulness and praise. If we take glory to ourselves for our possession of it, we provoke him to jealousy, and excite his indignation against us.

How highly did God resent the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4:29-33; and of Herod, Acts 12:22-23. And shall we escape, if we “provoke the Lord to jealousy?” Let us be thankful for what we possess; but let our affections center in God alone!

2. We learn that just views of sin will lead us to justify God in all the judgments that are denounced against sinners.

We are ready to think that the punishment inflicted on Hezekiah was more severe than the occasion required; but he did not think so, because he saw his sin in all its malignity! In like manner, when the everlasting displeasure of God is denounced against sinners, the proud heart of man is ready to rise up against God, and to say, that it would not be just to inflict eternal punishment for the sins of time, especially if those sins have not been of the most flagrant kind.

But a just view of our demerit silences at once all those rebellious murmurs. We then say with David, “You are justified in your saying, and will be clear when you judge.” It is remarkable, that the man who was cast out for not having on the wedding garment, is represented as not having one word to utter in arrest of judgment, “he was speechless! Matthew 22:12.” Just so will it be with all at the last day, yes and with all in this life also, who are made sensible of their iniquities. Under the deepest of earthly afflictions they will say, “Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Lamentations 3:39.” No, “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him.” Under the apprehension of his eternal displeasure also, they will cry, “I have sinned against Heaven, and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son.”

“What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved! Ezra 9:13.”

Let us beg of God then to give us an insight into our own wickedness; that under all circumstances we may approve of God as “doing all things well.”

3. We learn that a humble mind will be more thankful for the mitigating circumstances of an affliction, than querulous about the affliction itself.

We greatly admire this in the history before us. And who does not see what sweet composure such conduct is calculated to bring into the mind? The generality of people are ready to fix on every circumstance that can aggravate their affliction; and hence they make themselves far more miserable than they would otherwise be. But if, like Hezekiah, they looked on the brighter side of their troubles, and noticed the mercies with which they were blended, they would be comparatively happy under them. Even self-love might dictate such a line of conduct, if we were actuated by no better motive; for, if once we saw how much more afflictive our circumstances might have been, and how much heavier judgments we have merited—we would feel gratitude rise up in our bosoms, and “bless our God, no less when he takes away, than when he gives!” We should confess it to be “of the Lord’s mercies that we are not utterly consumed.”

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 20:2-3

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

As “clouds return after rain,” so do troubles follow each other frequently in rapid succession. Great was the affliction of Hezekiah at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion; and no sooner was he delivered from that, than he was attacked with a deadly malady, and had a message from the Lord that he must die!

Under this new trouble he betook himself, as he had done also on the former occasion, to fervent prayer; and in this prayer he made a most solemn appeal to God, an appeal which needs to be well considered.

We will notice,

I. The occasion of Hezekiah’s prayer.

A message had been sent him from the Lord to set his house in order, and to prepare for speedy death.

Now this would be a solemn warning to any man: “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die! You will not recover.”

There is in every man an instinctive dread of death; and more especially to those who regard it in its true light. Who can think of going to the tribunal of a just and holy God to give an account of all that he has done in the body, whether good or evil, and to receive from God a sentence of everlasting happiness or misery—and not tremble at such a prospect?

This thought is as crucial to the prince as the peasant; and though many people treat it as fit only to be regarded by the poor, or by the sick and aged—yet, when the hour of death draws near, all feel its momentous importance! Or, if any are hardened enough to disregard it then, their delusion ceases the very instant that death has executed on them its commission!

But it was peculiarly distressing to Hezekiah.

He had begun a great and glorious reformation, and had fondly hoped to see it completed in the land. Besides, he had many plans for the temporal prosperity of his subjects; which now he had no prospect of carrying into execution. To relinquish all these projects was painful in the extreme. It evidently was not the mere fear of death that stimulated him to pray; nor does he appear to have entertained any doubt about the safety of his own soul. It was for God, and for the Jewish nation, that he felt concerned; and doubtless, in proportion to his zeal for God, and the love he bore to man, would be his grief at the tidings of such a premature and unseasonable termination of his life; nor do we wonder that under such circumstances he should “make supplication to his God with strong crying and tears.”

Yet, until it is explained, we shall not easily account for,

II. The appeal of Hezekiah’s prayer.

It does at first sight appear like the Pharisaic boast, “I thank you, O God, that I am not as other men.” But, in truth, it was a plea, with which his prayer was enforced; a plea, like that of David, “Preserve my soul, for I am holy, Psalm 86:2.” In this appeal he humbly declared before God.

1. The use which he had hitherto made of life.

From the first moment of his coming to the throne, he had set himself to suppress idolatry, and to reform the nation. Of this he had the testimony of his own conscience; and this gave him much comfort in his soul, 2 Corinthians 1:12; together with confidence in urging his petitions before God, 1 John 3:21-22.

But there was in this plea a reference to an express promise made to David—a promise, the accomplishment of which Hezekiah was now particularly authorized to ask, and to expect God had assured David that “if his children should walk before him in truth, there should not fail to be one of them to sit upon the throne of Israel, 1 Kings 2:4.” But Hezekiah had walked before God in truth, and yet was about to die without leaving any child to succeed him in his throne. Manasseh was not born until three years afterwards. Compare 2 Kings 20:6 with 21:1. This under any circumstances would have been a great affliction; but it was peculiarly afflictive, now that Hezekiah was in the midst of all his plans for the welfare of the nation, and had no prospect of a successor who would carry them on.

Hence there was a propriety in this appeal, far beyond what has been generally supposed; for if we have complied with any conditions on which a promise is suspended, we may justly urge it with God as a plea for the accomplishment of his promise.

2. The end for which he desired a continuance of life.

His desire was, not that he might have a protracted enjoyment of earthly things, but that he might have further opportunities of serving God. This appears from the thanksgiving which he uttered on his recovery, Isaiah 38:18-19. This was a legitimate ground of desiring life. Paul, though he “desired to depart and to be with Christ, which was far better,” yet was willing to stay a longer time here below, because it was “needful for the Church of Christ.”

What better plea then could be urged than this? ‘O my God, you have put me into a situation wherein I can serve you to great advantage; and you know I have no desire but to advance your glory in the world. O do not take me away, until I have been enabled to render you all the service of which you have made me capable!’ Such was David’s plea, Psalm 30:8-9; and it may well be urged by all who desire to fulfill the true ends of life.

Address:

1. To those who are in health and strength.

Who can tell, how soon the message may be sent to you, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die! You will not recover.” You may be in the prime of life as Hezekiah was, for he was only forty years of age. Or, like him, you may possess great wealth and honor; or may be engaged in pursuits of vast utility to the world. But death will not spare us on any of these accounts, if it has received its commission to cut us down.

What if the message were now delivered unto you: “You are going to die! You will not recover!” Are you ready to face the final judgement? Can you appeal to the heart-searching God that you have walked as in his presence, and endeavored with sincerity of heart to approve yourselves to him? Has the doing of his will in all things been the one object of your life? Above all, inquire whether Christ has been precious to you? And whether you have lived by faith in him? And whether you have truly devoted yourselves to him?

2. Those who have recovered from sickness, or have escaped any particular danger.

Why has God spared or restored you, but that you might live henceforth to his glory? Perhaps under the apprehension of death, you determined with yourselves that you would give yourselves up to God. Now then remember the vows that are upon you. God heard your prayer, and the prayers of others for you, that it might be seen whether you would serve him or not. O beware how you abuse his patience towards you; beware how you make use of life only to “add sin to sin,” and to “treasure up wrath against the day of wrath.”

There is a great work lying before you, and but little time to do it in. To have the text realized in you, to have it realized in all its parts; and to have such an evidence of it in your heart and life, as to be able to appeal to God respecting it—this is no easy matter; nor is it a work that ought to be deferred one single moment.

Consider that you are still as much exposed to death as ever. Though restored, you have no promise of life for fifteen years to come—no, nor for fifteen days or hours. Improve then the present hour, “Walk not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time,” that at whatever hour the heavenly Bridegroom may arrive, you may be found ready, and be counted worthy to sit down with him at his marriage-feast in Heaven!

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 19:30-31

“Once more a remnant of the house of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

Great and mighty conquerors have at all times been ready to ascribe their success to their own wisdom and prowess; but in no case have they been anything more than the sword which God has used for the effecting of his own purposes! Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 10:15. And when God has accomplished by them his own designs, he frequently punishes their pride and cruelty by some signal judgments.

Thus he acted towards the boasting and blasphemous Sennacherib. He raised up that monarch to subdue mighty kingdoms, to lead into captivity the ten tribes of Israel, and to inflict a heavy chastisement on the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin. But, when the victorious monarch arrogated to himself all the glory of his conquests, and poured contempt upon Jehovah, whose instrument he was, God “put a hook in his nose and a bridle in his jaws,” and turned him back with shame and ignominy; assuring at the same time his oppressed people, that, notwithstanding their present weakness, they would speedily be delivered from their insulting foe, and again be raised to stability and honor.

The words which we have now read are a part of the answer given from the Lord to the supplications of Hezekiah; and we shall find it profitable to consider,

I. The promise contained in them.

The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were reduced to the lowest state of desperation. But God had yet mercy in store for them; and promised, that he would once more establish them in peace and prosperity, so that, instead of being shut up, as now they were, they should be at liberty to return to their own possessions; and, instead of being reduced in number, they should multiply and fill the land.

This seems to be the primary meaning of the words; but they undoubtedly contain a promise of spiritual prosperity to that nation in the Apostolic age.

The terms in which the promise is expressed, are taken from the preceding verse; wherein it is declared, for their comfort, that the desolation which Sennacherib’s army had occasioned, should not issue in a famine; but that sufficient grain should spring up, from what had been spilled in the fields, to support them this year, and the year following (which was the sabbatic year); and that in the third year they should be supported by the labors of husbandry, as in former times. From thence God takes occasion to say, that the remnant which should escape the present desolations, should at a future period be a source of comfort and benefit to the whole world.

That this is the true meaning of the words, appears from similar expressions used by the Prophet Isaiah, and quoted by Paul in the very sense here affixed to them. Compare Isaiah 10:21-22 with Romans 9:27. In preserving a remnant, it was God’s intention that they should be witnesses for him to every nation under Heaven; and that by the ministration of his Gospel they should “blossom, and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit, Isaiah 27:6.” The events which took place in the Apostolic age, when the Apostles and others went forth to publish the glad tidings of salvation, precisely corresponded with this prophecy; they went from Jerusalem, and diffused the knowledge of the crucified Savior throughout the earth.

Let us attend to,

II. The instruction to be derived from it.

We may particularly learn from hence,

1. The interest which God takes in his redeemed people.

Not only from the time that these words were spoken, but even before the foundation of the world, God had an eye to his chosen people, to deliver them from their spiritual enemies, that they might “walk in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of their life.” On his Jewish Church he yet looks, in order to “engraft them yet again on their own olive-tree,” when the appointed period for their restoration shall arrive. And on the least and lowest of his people at this day, does he still cast an eye of love and pity; he “has thoughts of love and peace towards them,” and “is not willing that one of his little ones should perish.” If enemies assault them, he considers himself as struck through them, Acts 9:4; he feels as if the apple of his eye were touched, Zechariah 2:8; he regards them as “his first-fruits,” which if any dared to alienate and consume, he did it at the peril of his own soul! Jeremiah 2:3.

2. The efficacy of believing prayer.

Low indeed was the state of the nation at that time; it seemed as if there was no possibility of escape for them from their conquering enemies. But behold, how speedily and effectually prayer prevailed! Isaiah lifted up his voice to God in prayer, verse 4; Hezekiah also spread before the Lord the letter that Rabshakeh had sent him, verse 14-19; and scarcely had the pious monarch finished his prayer, before the prophet was sent to him from the Lord, with assurances of immediate and complete deliverance! verse 20. That very night was an angel sent from Heaven to destroy a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian army. Thus shall all God’s enemies, and ours, perish, if only we cry unto God for help.

We may even now adopt the exulting language which God ordered Hezekiah to use in reference to the Assyrian monarch, “The virgin, the daughter of Israel, has shaken her head at you.” Only spread all your needs and difficulties before the Lord, and there is no lust, no spiritual enemy, that shall stand before you; but “Satan himself shall be bruised under your feet shortly.”

“The zeal of the Lord Almighty is pledged to perform this” for all his believing people. You may therefore go to him and plead, ” Where are your zeal and your might? Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us! Isaiah 63:15.” And his answer to you shall speedily arrive, “I will rejoice over you to do you good, and I will plant you in the heavenly land with my whole heart and with my whole soul! Jeremiah 32:41.” Only believe in him; and “according to your faith it shall be unto you.”

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 18:4

“Hezekiah removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)”

We too often see the children of godly parents turning aside from the principles in which they have been educated, and deserting the paths which parental piety has marked out for them. Here we behold a youth, whose father was branded with a special mark of infamy on account of his numerous and aggravated impieties—shining with a brighter luster than any other of the kings of Judah! verse 5, 6. No sooner did Hezekiah come to the throne of his father, than he set himself to counteract all the evil which his father had done. At the early age of twenty-five Hezekiah commenced a reformation, which, for the time at least, was attended with the happiest effects. “Hezekiah removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made.” It seems that the veneration in which that memorial of God’s mercy had been held, had degenerated into the grossest superstition. Where the bronze serpent had been preserved for so long a period, we are not informed. Had it been placed within the sanctuary, with the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, being concealed from the view both of the people and the priests—it would not have become an object of idolatrous regard. But it is not to be wondered at, that, when idols of every kind were multiplied in the land, this, which as a memorial of God’s mercy was really entitled to most affectionate respect, should have divine honors paid to it.

The use which was made of it by the Jewish people naturally leads me to show: How prone men are to superstition; while the zeal of Hezekiah in destroying it, will properly afford me an occasion yet further to show how earnestly we ought, all of us according to our ability, to counteract the superstition that is around us!

Observe then,

I. How prone men are to superstition.

Superstition, I am aware, may exist, without being carried to the extent in which it prevailed among the Jews at this time. But the same ingredients are found in superstition, whatever is the degree in which it prevails. In the instance before us its component parts are manifest. The Jews carried their veneration of the bronze serpent to a very culpable excess; they assigned to it a sanctity which it did not possess. They ascribed to it a glory which it did not merit. They expected from it a benefit, which it could not confer. Now, whether our superstition has respect to a visible creature, or only to a figment of the brain, its essential qualities are the same; and man in his fallen state is prone to it.

Superstition prevailed, and still prevails, universally among the heathen.

What were, or are, the Deities of the heathen, but men, who on account of some exploits in former days have been canonized, or mere creatures of the imagination invested with divine attributes? The philosophers of Greece and Rome knew of no other gods than these; and in that respect were scarcely more rational than any other of the heathen, whether in ancient or modern times.

Among the Jews also superstition ever did, and still does, prevail to an awful extent.

Scarcely had they been brought out of Egypt before they made a golden calf, and worshiped it as their god, Acts 7:41. Through their whole abode in the wilderness they bowed down to Moloch and Remphan, the gods of the heathen that were around them Acts 7:42-43. After their settlement in Canaan the Jews evinced the same propensity continually. The greatest mercies which God gave to them were abused to this end.

Was the law given the Jews from Mount Sinai? They rested in it for justification, instead of using it as “a ministration of condemnation,” and a rule of life.

Was the temple of God among the Jews? In that they trusted as a security against their enemies, saying, as Micah superstitiously did when he had secured a Levite for his priest, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite for my priest, Judges 17:13; Jeremiah 7:4.”

The Jews had the badge of circumcision, but they thought that would suffice, though they knew nothing of the true circumcision of the heart. To this present hour the dispersed of Israel have no juster views of God and of religion, than those had in former days, of whom it is said, that, trusting in their own righteousness, they would not submit to the righteousness of God. Even the doctrines of man’s invention had, and still have, a greater authority over them than the commands of God!

And what is Popery but a mass of superstition altogether? What is the worship of the Virgin Mary, and of saints, and relics? What are all the masses, the pilgrimages, and the penances that are prescribed among them as means of expiating their sins? What is their confession of sins to a priest, their priestly absolution, their worshiping of the consecrated wafer, and their administration of extreme unction?

Some, I trust, there are, who are enabled to look simply to Christ through all the mists that are cast around him; but those who regard the dogmas of popery as the only ground of their eternal hopes, are as far from God and truth as either Jews or heathens!

Would to God that the Protestant world were blameless in relation to this matter!

The Gospel light which we enjoy ought long since to have dispelled the clouds of popish superstition; but among the generality there still remains a most astonishing blindness respecting the Gospel of Christ.

How many are there who imagine that repentance has in itself a power to wash away their sins!

How many regard the Lord’s Supper, not as a mere commemorative ordinance in and through which divine blessings are dispensed, but as a sacrificial act, that expiates their guilt, and insures their forgiveness!

Baptism, in like manner, is supposed by many to take away our sins—yes, and to renew our natures also! Those who deny this, are represented as denying the sacramental character of the ordinance.

Thus do many among ourselves run into the very same absurdity as the Jews did in relation to the bronze serpent. God once conveyed bodily health by a sight of the bronze serpent. Just so, God now conveys spiritual health in and through the ordinance of baptism [Editor’s note: We find Simeon’s Anglicanism expressed in this section to be unbiblical]. But the serpent did not heal all, but those only who looked to it by faith; nor did it heal them by any power of its own, but only as appointed of God to be a medium of communication from him to them. When the Jews ascribed the honor to the bronze serpent, and looked to it for future benefits, they erred. And precisely in the same manner do they err, who ascribe power to baptism as an act, instead of looking simply to God for his blessing on the use of it as an instituted ordinance, and a medium of communication with God. As reasonably might any person ascribe the refreshing water which he drinks to the pipe which conveys it to him, as imagine that the mere act of baptism can justify and sanctify his soul. There is a fountain to which the stream must be traced; and, if we allow our views to terminate on anything short of that, we are guilty of the grossest superstition!

In a word, there is in every man by nature a tendency to this fatal evil, and a readiness to rob God of his glory, by giving to the creature that honor which is due to him alone! Such is the proneness of man to superstition; and from Hezekiah’s conduct, we learn,

II. How earnestly we should endeavor to counteract superstition.

We should counteract superstition,

1. We should counteract superstition, in ourselves.

There is a great deal of this evil remaining in the heart, even after we are truly converted unto God. To view God in everything; to ascribe everything, evil as well as good, to God, Amos 3:6; to give him the glory of everything; and to depend wholly and entirely upon him for everything, is an attainment to which we are not soon brought; we gain it for the most part by a long and painful discipline.

There is a measure of creature-confidence and creature-dependence cleaving to us to the end. And though we are purged from it—yet is there a tendency to return to it, and a necessity to be constantly on our guard against it. Whence is that confidence which some derive from dreams, or visions, or other conceits of their own? Whence is that stress which they lay on the Word of God coming to their minds in this or that particular way? It all arises from a propensity inherent in fallen man to rest in something besides God.

The Word of God is our only legitimate ground of either hope or fear. The manner of its being applied to the mind does not alter one jot or tittle of it. The promises are not a whit more sure because they are presented with force to our minds, nor the threatenings less sure because we are strongly impressed with the idea that they shall never be fulfilled in us. And the only effect of attending to our own feelings in relation to these things is, to generate a presumptuous confidence in some, and groundless apprehensions in others. They all draw the mind away from God; and must be guarded against as superstitious vanities; and “all who trust in such vanities, shall have vanity for their recompense.”

2. We should counteract superstition, in others.

Were superstition only a harmless delusion, then we might leave men to themselves; but when we consider how great an evil it is, and how strenuously the pious Hezekiah opposed it—then we should all use our utmost efforts to counteract it in the world. Whether we view the dishonor which it does to God, or the evil which it entails on man, we cannot but see, that we should tread in Hezekiah’s steps respecting it. That it robs God of his glory, is obvious; because it ascribes to the creature what is due to Him alone. And it is most injurious to man, because while it disappoints his hopes, it actually robs him of all the blessings which the Gospel itself provides.

What did Paul say to those who relied on circumcision as securing or confirming to them the benefits of the Gospel? Did he say, “If you are circumcised, your circumcision shall profit you nothing?” No, but “If you are circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing, Galatians 5:2.”

Just so must we say in reference to superstition of every kind; it not only fails to procure the benefits it aspires to, but actually deprives us of the benefits we might otherwise obtain. It would be well if those who superstitiously regard divine ordinances, whether baptism, or the Lord’s Supper, or any other ordinance, as possessing any inherent virtue in themselves, and as imparting virtue by any power of their own, would contemplate their guilt and danger while under the influence of such delusions; for to those who against better light adhere to them, as necessarily conveying justification and sanctification and salvation, “Christ himself will become of no effect;” they are fallen from grace; and, as far as respects them, “Christ has died in vain! Galatians 5:4 with Galatians 2:21.”

Well I know that to some these opinions will appear harsh; but fidelity to God and man requires, that, if even an angel from Heaven should countenance such an error, he should be Anathema! Galatians 1:8-9. And if in opposing such errors anyone think that we manifest too much zeal, then what would such a one have said to Hezekiah? ‘What! don’t you know that that serpent was appointed as an ordinance by God himself? Don’t you know how many thousands were healed by it? And do you dare to break it in pieces, and to degrade it with such an appellation as “Nehushtan [a bronze thing]”? I am shocked at your impiety. But what would Hezekiah have said? ‘It is not as an ordinance of God that I degrade it, but as idolatrously substituted in God’s place, as a ground of hope, and as a source of good.’

So I say of baptism and of the Lord’s supper; ‘In their proper and appointed use they cannot be too highly valued; but, if abused to purposes for which they were not given, and looked to as containing in themselves, and conveying of themselves, salvation to man, they are desecrated, and may justly be called Nehushtan.’

So Paul said in relation to circumcision, which corresponds with the Christian ordinance of baptism. When some abused it as a ground of hope, he would not acknowledge them as the people of God. He indignantly denominates them “the circumcision,” declaring that they only were the circumcision who sought their salvation in God alone. And if any are offended with this doctrine, we refer them to Hezekiah; we refer them to Paul. It is too weighty a matter to be trifled with, seeing that it is of vital importance to every soul of man.

Let us learn, then, from hence,

1. How to use God’s ordinances.

We should be thankful for them; we should honor them; we should look to God in them, and expect from God through them the communications of his grace and peace. They are to be reverenced, but not idolized. They are to be used as means, but not rested in as an end. No one is to imagine himself the better, merely because he has attended on any ordinances; for he may eat his own condemnation at the supper of the Lord, and have the word which is ministered unto him “a savor only of death.”

We must look, not to ordinances, but to God in them; and just so much as we obtain from God in them, are we benefitted by them.

This present ordinance for instance—what are you the better for it, if you have not held communion with God himself in your devotions? And what benefit will you receive from the word now delivered, if it does not come to you in demonstration of the Spirit and of power? Bear this in mind, both before you come up to the house of God, and when you depart from it; and then you will find the ordinances to be blessings indeed. But, if you “sacrifice to your own net, and burn incense to your own dragnet, Habakkuk 1:16,” then your coming here will be in vain, and our labor also will be in vain.

2. How to regard the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Methinks these Jews, though so blind and sinful, may well rise up in judgment against the generality of the professing Christian world. The serpent which they worshiped had never done anything for them; the people whom it had healed, had lived eight hundred years before; and it prevailed only to prolong for a season their physical life; and no benefit had accrued from it to any child of man since the day that it was erected in the camp. Yet they honored it, and “offered incense to it.”

But the Lord Jesus Christ has been healing immortal souls; and that from the foundation of the world to this present hour; and so healed them, that they should live forever! This too he has done, by voluntarily leaving his Father’s bosom, and assuming our nature, and dying on the cross under the load of all our sins, and drinking to the very dregs that cup of bitterness which must otherwise have been put into our hands to drink forever!

Yet how many days and months and years have been spent by most of us without ever offering to him the incense of our prayers and praise! Yes, notwithstanding he is erected for the healing of us, and is at this moment empowered to bestow on us all the blessings that we can need for body or for soul, for time or for eternity—how little is he adored and magnified by us! May we not well be ashamed when we reflect on this? May we not be confounded when we compare our treatment of him, with the conduct of the Jews towards the senseless shadowy representation of him? Yes indeed; we have reason to blush and be confounded before him!

Let us then repent of all our ingratitude towards him. Let us remember that there is no fear of honoring him too much, since He is God, as well as man; and not the medium of communication only, but the true and proper source of all blessings to our souls. Then shall our communion with him be sweet; and “the golden oil shall flow through the golden pipes, Zechariah 4:11-14,” of his ordinances, from Him the fountain of it, to the enriching of our souls with all spiritual blessings, and to the everlasting glory of his great and glorious name.

Charles Simeon

2 Kings 17:33

“They feared the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.”

The views which men in general have of religion are extremely indistinct. Hence arises the necessity of unfolding religion to them in every possible way. Sometimes we attempt it by a clear exposition of its principles from the declarations of the Inspired Volume. Sometimes we bring forth the examples of the Apostles, and show what their views of religion were. On the present occasion, I will proceed in a way of contrast, so that the difference between true religion and false religion may the more fully appear.

The people of whom my text speaks were the inhabitants of Samaria. When the king of Assyria had subdued the ten tribes of Israel, he took away the inhabitants, and dispersed them throughout his own dominions, and sent a number of his own subjects to occupy and cultivate the land of Samaria. These people, coming from different parts of the Assyrian Empire, took with them their own gods, whom they had severally been accustomed to worship. But, after a season, the lions of the forests multiplied, and caused such destruction among them, that they could not but regard it as a token of God’s displeasure, for not being worshiped and served in a way conformable to his own appointed ordinances. The people stated this to the king of Assyria; and requested that one of the priests who had been taken from the land, should be sent back to Samaria, in order to instruct them how Jehovah, whom they supposed to be a local Deity, and the God of that particular land, was to be worshiped.

This request was complied with; a priest was sent to them; a number of others were appointed to officiate with him under his direction; and thus the people united the worship of Jehovah with that of their own idols; or, as my text expresses it, “feared the Lord, and served their own gods, verse 24-41.” And in this state they continued even to the time of our blessed Lord; who said to the Samaritan woman, “You worship what you do not know, John 4:22.”

Now, this will afford me an opportunity of showing what true religion is, by contrasting:

I. The Mongrel Samaritan Standard of Religion.

From the history of the Samaritans, as contained in the chapter before us, it will be seen what their religion was. It had:

self-delight for its object,

external religious forms for its essence,

and custom for its origin.

It had self-delight for its object; for every one worshiped his own gods; as it is said, “Every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high-places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt, verse 29-31.” If they added Jehovah to them, it was from fear of his vengeance, “They feared the Lord, and served their own gods;” fearing him by constraint, and serving them by choice. They had a general idea that it was well to acknowledge some God; and with that they were satisfied.

It had external religious forms for its essence, “They made unto themselves, of the lowest of the people, priests of the high-places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high-places verse 32.” While the priests were at their posts, and performing their accustomed round of services, all was well. Respecting religion as a personal concern between them individually and the God whom they served, they knew nothing. It was with them a mere official matter; and if it was performed with regularity by the appointed officers, they felt no need, no cause for self-reproach.

It had custom or tradition for its origin, “They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations who had carried Israel away captive from thence, Unto this day they do after the former manners, verse 33, 34.” “So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children; as did their fathers, so did they unto this day, verse 41.” None of them inquired whether their views were right or wrong; they took for granted that the religion which they had received from their forefathers was right; and, if they only conformed themselves to that, they had nothing to fear.

And what is the religion which prevails among us?

Truly, we might almost conceive ourselves to be in Samaria, rather than in Britain, where the light of the Gospel so clearly shines. For what is the object which the generality of us aim at, even in religion? Is it not merely to have within our own bosoms a foundation for self-applause? As to any real delight in holy exercises, we do not pretend to it. To read the Word of God with a devout application of it to our own particular case; to commune with God in secret, and pour out our souls before him in praise and thanksgiving; these are not really the employments we desire; as for enjoying his presence, and receiving communications from him in answer to our prayers, we scarcely contemplate such a thing as attainable by us; if we do our duty, as we call it, that is all that we are concerned about; that satisfies our conscience; and we neither desire nor think of anything beyond.

In perfect accordance with these views are all our services. We come to the house of God; we follow the minister in the different parts of the service, standing, sitting, kneeling, as occasion requires, and making our responses at the places assigned to us. We then attend to his discourse with interest or indifference, as it may happen; and then congratulate ourselves as having performed a duty, though the soul has not been really engaged in a single word that has been uttered either by the minister or ourselves. Samaritan-like, we devolve almost the whole service on the minister; and, if he have discharged his office with regularity and decorum—we conclude that we have done all that was required of us.

If it were asked of us, Why we professed the Christian faith at all—the greater part of us would have no better reason than that by which the Samaritans were influenced, “We follow the religion of our forefathers.” We are Christians, in fact, for the very same reasons that Muhammadans or Pagans profess the beliefs maintained respectively by them. We have taken our religion upon trust from those who have gone before us, without ever having examined it for ourselves; and it is owing to the circumstance of our having been born in a Christian land, and not to any conviction of the truth and excellency of our religion, that we are Protestants and not Papists; or Christians and not Heathens.

The God of Scripture is professedly the object of our worship. But the gods whom we really worship, and by choice, are the pleasures, and riches, and honors, of this vain world! On them our heart is fixed. To them is our time and money are devoted. If we but attain our real gods to the extent of our desires, we bless ourselves as having gained the objects most worthy of our pursuit!

But now, in opposition to all this, let us notice:

II. The standard proposed to us in the Bible.

This, also, is fully set forth in the chapter before us.

1. The standard of Scripture has God alone for its object.

“You shall not fear other gods, nor how yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them; but to the Lord; him shall you fear, and him shall you worship, and to him shall you sacrifice, verse 35, 36.” In the first and great commandment that is given us, of loving God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, there is no alienation admitted, no participation with any creature upon earth. “God is a jealous God,” and must have our whole hearts. “If our heart is divided, we shall,” as the prophet warns us, assuredly “be found faulty, Hosea 10:2.”

Now then, if there be anyone thing under Heaven that is not truly and entirely subordinated to God, we have not yet taken so much as one step in true religion. We may have some fear of God; but while there is any other God in the universe that we serve, or that stands in competition with him—we are yet mongrel Samaritans in heart, “having the form of godliness, but not any of its power, 2 Timothy 3:5.”

2. The standard of Scripture has the covenant of grace altogether for its foundation.

“The covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, verse 38.” We have no hope whatever before God, but as founded on that everlasting covenant which the Father entered into with his dear Son, as the head and representative of his elect people, Zechariah 6:13; Hebrews 13:20.

In ourselves we were reduced to a footing with the fallen angels, and had in ourselves no more claim on God than they. By the first covenant we were all condemned, Galatians 3:10. But God has made a new covenant with us, “ordered in all things and sure, 2 Samuel 23:5;” and has “confirmed that covenant with an oath, Hebrews 6:17-18;” and according to the tenor of that covenant, shall saving mercy be given unto us, Hebrews 8:8-12. But who knows anything about that covenant?

Who even thinks of it, or has any more respect unto it than if it never had existed? The utmost that people in general know about religion is, that they need to repent; and that, if they repent, they shall obtain mercy. But under what considerations, and by what distinct means, mercy shall be accorded to them—they know nothing. They do not see everything as springing from the sovereign grace of God, and given to Christ for us, and received from Christ through the exercise of faith. Truly, so miserably defective are the most of us in the knowledge of these things, that the mongrel Samaritans themselves had almost as good a discernment of them as we!

3. The standard of Scripture has the work of redemption for its great influential motive.

“You shall fear the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched-out arm, verse 36.” Throughout all the Old Testament, the deliverance from Egypt is urged as the chief incentive to serve and glorify God. Yet what was that, in comparison with the redemption given to us through the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? This is the substance, of which the redemption from Egypt was the mere shadow. And it is from the consideration of this stupendous work that we are exhorted to “yield up ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord, Romans 12:1.” It is “because Christ has bought us with a price, that we are called to glorify him with our bodies and our spirits, which are his, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:17-19.”

See the saints in Heaven; even there are they actuated in all their services by a sense of redeeming love! Revelation 5:9-10. Much more are we on earth induced by this wonderful mystery to “live to Him, who died for us, and rose again, Romans 14:7-9.”

4. The standard of Scripture has holiness—real and universal holiness, for its end.

Not even the salvation of men from perdition is so much the end of all religion, as the saving of them from sin. It was in the latter view, rather than the former, that the very name of Jesus was given to our blessed Lord, Matthew 1:21. He came to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works, Titus 2:14.”

This also, like all the foregoing characters of true religion, is specified in the passage before us, “The statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you—you shall observe to obey for evermore, verse 37.” And to this agrees the testimony of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us; that, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear, in righteousness and holiness before him, all the days of our life, Luke 1:67-69; Luke 1:74-75.”

Now, from hence we may see how far we are possessed of true religion; for, if we desire not holiness as our chief aim, and as that which alone can render Heaven itself desirable, we have yet to learn what are the first principles of true religion. Satan himself would gladly be restored to his original happiness in Heaven; but he has no desire to be “renewed in the spirit of his mind, and to be created anew, after the divine image, in righteousness and true holiness, Ephesians 4:23-24.”

These are exclusively the desires of a Christian mind; and in every regenerate soul under Heaven are they paramount and predominant. There is not a Christian in the universe who does not desire to become “holy, as God himself is holy,” and “perfect, even as his Father in Heaven is perfect.”

And now, by way of improvement,

1. I call you to humiliation.

Methinks the Prophet Isaiah furnishes me with the most appropriate address that can possibly be delivered to you, “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who come forth from the seed of Judah; you who swear allegiance by the name of the Lord and make mention of the God of Israel—but not in truth and sincerity, nor in righteousness, Isaiah 48:1.” (Amplified version)

Here your Christian profession is acknowledged; and here, alas! is your Christian practice described. For who among us has devoted himself to God with that entireness of heart and life which the very name of Christian implies? I must indeed warn you, that “you cannot serve two masters, who are so opposed to each other as God and the world are. To whichever of them you adhere, you must, of necessity, despise the other; you cannot serve God and mammon! Matthew 6:24.”

This is the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who will confirm it by His judgment at the last day. Let a sense of this humble you in the dust; and remember that if ever you would serve God acceptably—then every rival must be put away, and he alone must reign in your heart.

2. I call you to decision.

What is the determination which I desire you all to form? It is that which the Prophet Micah so well inculcates, “All people will walk every one in the name of his God; and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever and ever! Micah 4:5.” Yes, “walk in the name of your incarnate God,” whose name you bear; and let it be seen “whose you are, and whom you serve.” Do this at all events, without compromising the matter, or “halting between two opinions.” “If Baal is God—then follow him! But if the Lord is God—then follow Him 1 Kings 18:21.” Yes, and “follow him fully too, Joshua 14:8-9;” and if you are called to bear a cross for him, do not wait until it is laid upon you by necessity; but “take it up willingly, and follow him, Luke 9:23;” “follow him outside the camp, bearing his reproach, Hebrews 13:13;” and, whatever be the cross laid upon you, rejoice, and “glory in it, for his sake, Acts 5:41.”

This is the Bible standard. Do not attempt to lower it. Aspire after a full conformity to it. Your Lord well deserves this at your hands. It was not by measure that he expressed love to you. There was nothing which he did not forego for you; nothing which he did not sustain for you. Walk then, in his steps; and have no other standard than this, to “love him as he has loved you,” and to serve him as he has served you. Whatever he did for your salvation, that be ready to do for his honor. And whatever attainments you have made, still endeavor to advance, “walking on” with ever-increasing zeal, “forgetting what is behind, and pressing forward to that which is ahead, until the prize of your high calling is awarded to you, Philippians 3:13-14,” and you rest forever in the bosom of your God.

Charles Simeon