Now, let it not for a moment be imagined that God's faithful servants are called to any such office now. Christianity provides no such bloody employ- ment for its votaries: it consigns the sword altogether to the civil magistrate, who alone is empowered to use it for the punishment of evil-doers. Still, however, there will arise many profitable lessons from this passage: to elicit which, I shall make some observations upon,
I. The inquiry instituted —
Amongst the people of Israel there were, especially of the tribe of Levi, some who had not joined in the idolatrous rites, but had remained faithful to their God: and Moses, standing in the gate of the camp, called them to his assistance, saying, " Who is on the Lord's side?" Now from hence we observe,
1. That there are two classes, and two classes only, into which the whole world must be divided —
[There are some who are " on the Lord's side ;" and there are others who are on the side of sin, and the world, and Satan. That in these two great parties there may be many subdivisions, I grant: but there is no third party. Amongst the godly there may be persons of different sentiments and different habits : and among the ungodly there may also be many diffe- rent degrees of impiety, and different states of mind : but, still, the great leading features of both parties sufficiently and in- fallibly attest to which they belong. The distinguishing marks of each I shall trace presently : at present I have only to shew, that two parties do actually exist, and must of necessity exist, as long as there continues an ungodly man on earth. They may be very unequal in their numbers, as was the case in the history before us : an immense multitude, with Aaron at their head, were on the side of idolatry ; and a little remnant, with Moses at their head, were " on the Lord's side." It is pro- bable, that, at that time, the friends of idolatry poured contempt on the godly as a parti/, just as the ungodly world do at this day on the advocates of true religion ; forgetting that they themselves also are a party, no less than their opponents. But whose fault is it if the godly are a parti/ ? Are they to blame for adhering to their duty, and siding with their Lord ? No, surely : the blame must attach altogether to those who turn from their God, and are disobedient to his will. And if the godly be but " a little flock " in comparison of their oppo- nents, it may be their misfortune, but it is not their fault, any more than it was the fault of Noah, or of Lot, or of Elijah,
100.] god's people to be decided and firm. 505
that they were so circumstanced in the ages and places wherein they lived. Let it not be thought that I am justifying what is usually called a party spirit ; for I cannot but reprobate that as a very great evil : but I do, and must maintain, that to serve our God with fidelity is our bounden duty, even though the whole world, with Aaron at their head, should depart from him: and, if they choose to designate us as a party, I would have no man ashamed of belonging to a party, of which our Lord and Saviour is himself the Head.]
2. That it is of great importance to ascertain to which class we belong —
[Both are alike in this respect, that they are rational and immortal beings : but in many respects they differ widely from each other : the one are " partakers of a divine nature " through the influence of the Spirit of God upon their souls ; the others are altogether carnal, possessing nothing but what they brought into the world with them. The one live alto- gether for God ; the others, for themselves. The one are in favour with God ; the others are under his just and heavy displeasure. The one will, ere long, stand at the right hand of their Judge ; the others will be turned to his left hand, dif- fering as widely from the former as goats from the sheep. The one will be exalted to heaven, and be seated for ever on the throne of God; the others will be cast down to hell, and take their portion in the lake of fire and brimstone for ever and ever. Can these differences be contemplated for a moment, and any doubt remain whether we ought to examine to which class we belong ? Methinks the matter should not be left in suspense one single moment ; more especially since the means of ascertaining the point are close at hand, and easy to be used. The blessed word of God, if studied with prayer, will enable us to form a very correct judgment. True it is, that we cannot determine the question in relation to each other, because we know not what passes in the hearts of men, and can therefore judge of each other by the outward conduct alone: but we have an internal monitor, that will faithfully discharge its office, if we will listen to it, and will declare to us all that it has seen in the inmost recesses of our hearts : and, if we will but lay, to our own souls, "judgment for a line, and righteousness for a plummet," we shall soon discover " whose we are," and with whom we must expect our everlasting abode.]