Psalm 106:30

“But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked!”

[An Assize Sermon, at Cambridge, March 12, 1831, just after riotous combinations against agricultural machinery, together with most destructive incendiarism, which had prevailed in many parts of the country, were put down by a special commission at Winchester.]

To enter profitably into this subject, it will be necessary that I state in a few words, the history to which my text refers.

Balaam had been invited by Balak, King of Moab, to come and curse Israel, whose approach he dreaded, and whom he hoped by these means to subdue. Balaam, “coveting the wages of unrighteousness,” thought to enrich himself by executing the wishes of the king of Moab; but was overruled by God to bless the very people whom he was hired to curse. Accordingly he was dismissed without the expected reward.

But with a view of obtaining the promised recompense, he struck out another way in which Balak might ultimately gain his end. He knew, that, if Israel could be ensnared to cast off their allegiance to God, they might lose his protection, and thus fall as an easy prey to their enemies. He advised therefore, that Balak should facilitate a connection between the Moabitish women and Israel; and thus draw the people of Israel into an illicit relationship with them.

And this once established, the Israelites would, in all probability, be led to attend the Moabitish women to their sacred feasts; and thus, by conforming to their habits, they would, in a short time, be seduced to a participation with them in their idolatrous rites.

In this advice, Balaam had but too well succeeded; and almost the whole of Israel were thus drawn into the sins of fornication and idolatry; to punish which, Jehovah had inflicted on them a plague, whereby no less than twenty-three thousand Israelites were slain. To avert the anger of the Most High, Moses issued an order that the judges of Israel should “slay all those who had joined themselves to Baal-Peor, the god of Moab, and hang them up before the Lord in the sun.”

In this way, one thousand more were slain. Yet behold, while vengeance was thus being executed upon the offenders, a prince of one of the tribes brought a Midianite princess, in the very sight of Moses and of the whole congregation, to his tent, defying, as it were, the indignation both of God and man, and setting at nothing all regard even to common decency; and it was on this occasion that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the high-priest, rose up from his place, and followed them to their tent, and with his javelin pierced both of them through their bodies in the very act of sin; and thus, making, as it were, an atonement to the Divine justice, he prevailed with God to stop the plague!

Now this act of his being very highly commended in the Scriptures, and being replete with instruction proper to this occasion, I shall point out,

I. The importance of zeal in a general view.

II. The excellence of zeal as displayed in the history before us.

I. Zeal in itself may be either good or bad according to the object to which it is directed.

Hence the Apostle limits his commendation of it by this particular consideration, “It is good to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.” If zeal is exercised in a bad cause, it only precipitates a person to the commission of greater evil. But, when put forth in the prosecution of a good object, zeal facilitates the attainment of the end proposed. Without zeal, nothing that is at all difficult can be accomplished. From whatever our indifference arises, it can never succeed in any arduous undertaking. If we are indolent in study, we can never make any great proficiency either in art or science. There may be, it is true, a brightness of genius which shall enable a person to shine among his fellows without much labor; but he will be altogether superficial in his knowledge, and will soon betray his lack of diligence by the slenderness of his attainments.

The same will be found true in every department of life. It is “the diligent hand alone, that makes rich.” It is not always found indeed that labor, however great, is crowned with success; but where eminence in any arduous pursuit is attained, we may be sure that great zeal has been exercised in the prosecution of it. Who ever enlightened the world with discoveries in science, without having first devoted much time to study, and labored hard for the furnishing and enriching of his own mind? Even success in attainments of a lower order is not gained without much previous exertion in that particular line in which the effort is made.

In the Grecian games, for instance, a long course of self-denying labor was necessary to enable any man to rise above his competitors, and to secure the distinction at which he aimed. So in everything, if a man would either benefit others, or distinguish himself—he must put forth zeal in the prosecution of the end which he has in view.

Had Phinehas not felt more deeply than others the dishonor done to God, and stirred himself more resolutely to avenge his cause, he would have neither turned away God’s wrath from Israel, nor obtained for himself the commendation given him. It was his zeal for God that put him forth beyond all others, and that has rendered him an example to mankind to the remotest ages of the world.

This zeal of his forms the chief subject of our present discourse, and therefore we shall point out,

II. The excellence of zeal as displayed in the history before us.

To view his conduct aright, we must consider him as performing a magisterial act of piety towards man, and a ministerial act of piety towards God; in both which points of view it is highly commended to us by God himself.

See the zeal of Phinehas as a magisterial act of justice towards man.

Magistrates are appointed by Almighty God as his vice-regents in the government of the world. They are set over their fellow-creatures for the preservation of order, to give protection to the peaceable, and to punish those who, by any evil deeds, would interrupt the welfare of the community. They are to exercise authority for him; being his ministers for good to the people over whom they are placed; nor are they to bear the sword in vain, but to be “revengers in his name to execute wrath upon him who does evil, Romans 13:1-4.”

Now it is obvious that when iniquity abounds, and is sanctioned and upheld, not only by the multitude, but by people of distinction and power—then it is no easy matter for a magistrate to discharge his duty aright. On the one hand, he is afraid of appearing singular, and of having his interposition ascribed to unworthy motives; and, on the other hand, he is apprehensive that he shall fail in his efforts to withstand the evils which he deplores. He sees others, perhaps, as willing as himself to lament the reigning corruption, but not willing to incur the odium of standing forth as reformers, and of exerting their power for the correction of it. He knows how much more ready all will be to blame his zeal, than to commend it; and therefore he is disposed rather to wait until he can find others to cooperate with him, than by extraordinary and unaided efforts to put to shame those who draw back from their duty, and are destitute of that zeal which he feels it incumbent on him to employ. This was the state of Phinehas. He was but a young man, and therefore might be condemned as meddlesome and obtrusive.

The offenders too were people of the highest rank in the nations to which they belonged; and the elder rulers, who, together with him, were witnesses of this horrible impiety, were all either intimidated or stupefied; so that not one of them felt disposed to avenge the cause of Israel and of God on these flagrant transgressors.

But Phinehas would not wait for others. He would discharge his duty at all events; and whatever others might either say or do, Phinehas would approve himself to God as an active magistrate, and a conscientious servant of the Most High.

That he did not go forth as one who was not authorized to execute the laws, is evident from the commendation given to him both by God and man; and therefore he stands as a pattern for all magistrates to discharge their official duties manfully, without favor and without fear.

What a blessing such magistrates are to any land, may be seen in the benefits which, by that one act, Phinehas obtained for the whole nation of Israel! On his executing of judgment, the plague was stayed. Twenty-four thousand, in the whole, had perished in one day; and, had he delayed to discharge his duty in this matter until his brethren in office should join him, no one can tell how many thousands more would have fallen a sacrifice to the wrath of God. But by this act of his he “made atonement for the children of Israel,” and “averted God’s wrath from them.” He arrested also the progress of iniquity; and obtained for himself the highest honors, even “the covenant of an everlasting priesthood;” and “this act of his was counted to him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore, verse 31.”

We are not to suppose that this act formed his justifying righteousness before God; for not all the obedience of the best of men could ever avail for that; but it proved to all future generations that he was a righteous man, and that no consideration under Heaven could deter him from a faithful discharge of his duties, whether to God or man.

Now such a blessing are conscientious magistrates in every age and in every land; and they who boldly maintain the authority of the laws, however they may be traduced and calumniated for a season, are, indeed, the most honorable members of society, and, sooner or later, will receive the approbation of every considerate man.

The obligations we owe to such are, at this moment, seen and felt through the land, in the suppression of outrage, and in the diminution of the terrors diffused through the whole country by reckless and desperate incendiaries. And I cannot but hope that the firmness manifested both by the civil and legal powers in our sister isle, will be attended with a similar blessing from the Most High. It is right, it is necessary, that law should rule; and, if it cannot be upheld, but by the exercise of severity towards those who would trample it under their feet, it is right that those who break the law should be made victims of their own folly and wickedness. I say again, the law must rule; and neither the many nor the great are to set it aside. And if in the suppression of evil somewhat of laxity prevailed among us for a season, that time is past, and shall not readily, I hope, return again. The whole people of the land, though but too easily wrought upon by factious demagogues, are yet in their cooler moments united firmly in this one sentiment, that, if not even the King himself can rule but according to law, neither factious demagogues, nor an excited populace, are to be allowed to rule contrary to law. This is acknowledged now through all the grades of society; and, I trust, will ever be maintained among us by those whose office it is, whether as magistrates or jurors, to administer justice, and to uphold and execute the laws.

I observed that this zeal of Phinehas may also be considered as a ministerial act of piety towards God.

In this light it is placed by God himself, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites! Numbers 25:11-13.” He was the presumptive heir to the high-priesthood; and with his own hand he here offered an atonement to his offended God, for whose honor he was deeply interested, and whose wrath he labored to avert. In this so far as his zeal for God’s honor was concerned—he is a pattern for ministers in all future ages. As to the act itself, that was peculiar to the situation and circumstances in which he stood; nor is any man now authorized to follow his example. Not even the King is at liberty to take the law into his own hand, and to execute its sentence in the summary way that he did. Everything now must be transacted through a legal process, and by officers specially appointed to that end.

But the same zeal as animated the soul of Phinehas, should glow in the bosom of every minister of Christ! The aboundings of iniquity should occasion “great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart” in all who serve in God’s sanctuary; yes, “rivers of tears should run down their eyes night and day” because of the dishonor which is done to God by a wicked and rebellious world.

But to exercise a befitting zeal for God is no easy matter; and any person standing forth, as Phinehas, to stem the torrent of wickedness which flows around him, will be exposed to much obloquy as being a fanatical enthusiast. In every age such ministers have “been for signs and for wonders” in the Church of God.

At the time of the deluge we hear of but one person, Noah, who dared to enter his protest against the impiety of the world around him.

In Elijah’s time, though there were seven thousand who were not addicted to the reigning sin, there was but one who openly declaimed against it.

And so it is now. There are surely many thousands of people in the land, both of ministers and people, who withstand in secret the corruptions of the world; but yet any man, who, like Phinehas, should stand up with becoming zeal to arrest the progress of iniquity, would be accounted “a troubler of our Israel,” and be condemned for his needless, his insufferable, preciseness. But whence is this? It is owing to the lukewarmness of the generality, and not to any undue zeal in those who serve the Lord. Of all people under Heaven, a minister of Christ is most bound to exert himself in the cause of his Divine Master. Ministers are intended to be “lights in a dark world;” yes, they are “the salt of the earth,” which, by its influence, is destined to keep the whole world from corruption. Nor ought any consideration either of hope or of fear to sway them in the least. They should be unmoved by seductions of any kind, and should be ready to lay down their own lives for the honor of God, and the welfare of their fellow-creatures. Yes, this is the sacrifice which they should be ready to make; for so says the holy Apostle, “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me! Philippians 2:17-18.” Here the Apostle considers his converts as an offering to God; and, as libations were poured forth upon the offerings, he accounted his heart’s blood as a proper libation to be poured forth for them; and the shedding of it an occasion for most unqualified joy.

For the averting of God’s wrath, it is true, we can offer no atonement. But we can speak of an atonement which has been offered, even that once offered by our blessed Lord upon the cross; and that is a sufficient “atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.” But how shall I speak of that? If we admire the zeal of Phinehas, who offered to God an atonement by the sacrifice of the offenders, what shall I say of our great High-Priest, who has made an atonement by the sacrifice of himself, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God? Here was zeal indeed, and “a love that surpasses knowledge.” But by this it is that God is pacified towards us. There is, alas! a moral plague prevailing throughout our whole camp, and slaying its tens of thousands in a day. But by means of this atonement, we are empowered both to arrest its progress, and to take away its guilt.

And need I say, that such ministers are a blessing in the land? Truly they are a blessing, and shall be accounted so as long as the world shall stand. What if, like Phinehas, they overstep the bounds observed by their more lukewarm fellows? They shall, like him, be honored both by God and man; while the memory of less faithful ministers shall pass away into oblivion, like a morning cloud. Their zeal shall be counted to them for righteousness to the last ages; not for their justifying righteousness, as I have before observed; for in Christ alone can that righteousness be found, and from him it must be received by faith alone; but, as an evidence of their piety, it shall be counted to them, and be a ground of praise and thanksgiving to God among all who shall be called to imitate their bright example.

What then do I look for on this occasion? I call for zeal, even for the zeal of Phinehas, in all the magistrates, and in all the ministers, of our land! In Phinehas these offices were united; as in some instances they are among ourselves; though I think, for the most part, unhappily and unwisely. A minister, instead of affecting a double occupation, should rather say, with our blessed Lord, “Who made me a ruler and a judge over you?” And I am sure that if a minister will give himself entirely to his own proper work, he will find enough to occupy all his time and all his thoughts.

The offices of the magistracy and the ministry are perfectly distinct. Magistrates have to uphold and enforce the laws of man; ministers have to propagate the glorious gospel of the blessed God. The office of the magistrate has respect to the temporal welfare of mankind; the office of a minister is to promote, in every possible way, their spiritual and eternal interests.

Still, however, there should be in both a cordial and energetic cooperation for the honor of God, and for the good of man. A minister often needs the support of magisterial authority, and should find it promptly exerted for him when occasion requires. On the other hand, the magistrate, whose office is rather for the suppression of evil than the inculcation of good, needs the aid of ministers, for the effecting of an entire change in the opinions and habits of the community.

Let each, therefore, be found in the faithful discharge of their respective duties; so may we hope that God’s wrath shall be averted from our guilty land, and that his covenant blessings shall be poured forth upon us through eternal ages.

I cannot close my subject without briefly observing, that we all have within the camp of our own hearts many corruptions, which have provoked the displeasure of the Most High, and which need to be sought out, and prosecuted, and slain! O that there were in all of us a holy zeal in reference to them, and that we would sacrifice them to God with an unsparing hand!

“Those who are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires! Galatians 5:24.” Can we appeal to God that this is our character? Do our lives bear witness to us, that while the great mass of the community care for nothing beyond the pleasures, the riches, the honors, of the world; and those who should stand forth as champions for God, are lukewarm and timid in his sacred cause, we dare to be singular, and firm and zealous in the discharge of our respective duties, and, above all, in the devotion of our souls to God? Truly we should all, if I may so express myself, begin at home!

God has at this moment a controversy with the whole nation. And, though magistrates and ministers may do much to correct the abuses which prevail in external matters, that will be of little avail to pacify our offended God.

God looks at the heart. That must be humbled for our past iniquities, and purged from the allowed indulgence of any sin. Yes, the heart must be consecrated to God, with all its faculties and all its powers; it must first be cleansed in the blood of Christ, and then be sanctified by his Spirit. Then shall the chastising hand of God be removed from us, in our individual capacity at least, if not collectively as a nation; and, at all events, his eternal judgments shall be averted from us, and all the blessings of his covenant be our everlasting portion.

This is the plague which, after all, we are most interested in removing, even “the plague of our own hearts!” This once removed by faith in the Lord Jesus, and by the influences of his Spirit, we shall have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and stand accepted of our God forever and ever!

Charles Simeon