down, and kneeling before him." At Iiis hands must we seek for
mercy, even through tlie all-atouing sacrifice and from
him, as our living Head, must we look for all necessary suppHes
of grace and peace
O come, let us thus approach him ! let us do it not merely in the public services of our Church, but in our secret chambers ; and not occasionally only, but constantly; having all our depen- dence upon him, and all our expectations from him.]
That this exhortation may not be in vain, we in- treat you to consider,
II. The warning with which it is enforced —
[The Jews who, in the wilderness, disobeyed the heavenly call, were never suffered to enter into the land of Canaan. In the judgments inflicted upon them, they are held forth as a warn- ing to US'*. Like them, we have seen all the wonders of God's love, in delivering us from a far sorer than Egyptian bondage. Like them, vi^e have had spiritual food adiin'nistcred to us in rich abundance in the Gospel of Christ. And if, like them, we harden our hearts, and rebel against our God, like them, we must be excluded from the heavenly Canaan. They by theii* obstinacy provoked God to exclude them with an oath : O that we may never provoke him to " swear that we also shall never enter into his rest !" That we are in danger of bringing this awful judgment on ourselves is evident from the intimation given us by the Apo- stle Jude^, and yet more plainly from the warnings which ^t. Paul
founds on this very passage*^- Let us then " hear the voice"
of our good Shepherd, ere it be too late. Let us " grieve him"
no longer but let us turn to him with our wliole hearts
Caleb and Joshua were admitted into Canaan, because
" they followed the Lord fully:" let us follow him fullv, and we shall certainly attain the promised rest.]
After the example of St. Paul, we would with all earnestness caution you against,
1. Unbelief—
[The .lews believed neither the promises nor the threateninga of God, and therefore they perished. Let us beware lest we fall after the same example of unbeliefs, if we will not believe that we stand in need of mercy to the extent that God has declared, or that the service of God is so reasonable and blessed as he has repre- sented it to be, or that the judgments of God shall infallibly come on all who refuse to serve him, there is no hope : we must perish, notwithstanding all the offers of mercv that are sent to us : for
" the
* 1 Cor X. 1— n. ' ver. 5 '' Heb. ii» 7— If) & iv. i.
^ Heb. IV. 12.
3^4 PSALMS, xcvi. 1 — 3. [402.
" the word preached cannot profit us, if it be not mixed with faith in them that hear it ^/']
2. Hardness of heart —
[As Israel hardened themselves against God when his mes- sages were sent them by Moses, so do many now harden them- selves against the word preached by the Ministers of Christ. They '^ puff at" all the judgments denounced against them'. But " who ever hardened himself against God, and prospered?" O " will your hearts be stout in the day that he shall deal with you ? and vvill you thunder with a voice like his ?" Be persuaded : hum- ble yourselves before him, yea, " bow down and kneel before him," and never cease to cry for mercy, till he has turned away his anger, and spoken peace to your souls.]
3. Delay —
[" To-day," says the Psalmist : " To-day, while it is called To-day," says the Apostle Paul : and " To-day," would I say : yes. Brethren, " to-day" " harden not your hearts ;" for you know not what a day may bring forth. Before another day you may be taken into the eternal world ; or, if not, you may pro- voke God to swear in his wrath, that you shall never enter into his rest ; and then your remaining days will answer no other end, than to fill up the measure of your iniquities. But surely you have grieved him long enough already ; some of you twenty, some thirty, some perhaps even " forty years." Let there be an end of this rebellion against your Maker and your Redeemer, and let this, which is with him the day of grace, be to you " the day of salvation."]