exhortation, and comfort; sufficient to make all who conform to them wise in the knowledge of God, his Son, and Ispirit, unto salvation.*

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE SOURCES OF CHRISTIAN HAPPINESS.

Ir is too general an opinion, that men cannot be so happy in the present world, by submitting in all things to the rules of the christian faith, as by allowing themselves more liberty than it permits: that if we are to be entirely subject to the law of God, we must give up every present gratification, and, like the superstitious recluses of the convent, pass our time in melancholy, or at least under very irksome restraints. A falsehood this, which is at once full of impiety and mischief. Full of impiety; for it represents the life of faith and the service of God as irksome, and only to be endured in the view of some reward, or through fear of some evil in another world; when, in point of gratification, they have "the promise of this world, as well as of that which is to come." The slander also is big with mischief; because if men imagine christian obedience an uncomfortable service, their violent propensity to present pleasure, joined with their faint belief of eternal things, will certainly lead them to indulge in transitory voluptuousness; risking any loss they may sustain beyond the grave, since that is distant and invisible.

The system therefore of doctrinal and practical christianity, contained in this volume, cannot more properly be concluded than with a representation of several sources of happiness peculiar to the faithful in Christ Jesus; and with some unanswerable proofs of the reasonableness, certainty, and necessity of those evangelical consolations. From whence the conclusion will be evident, that there are no pleasures upon earth worthy to be named with those enjoyed by the obedient children of God; who are * See Prayer the 13th.

often pitied as miserable and melancholy persons on account of the strictness of their religion.

1. The first source then of happiness peculiar to the faithful in Christ Jesus, is the excellent knowledge they have attained. God the Father in all his adorable perfections, in the works he has made, and in the word he has caused to be written, in the redemption he has provided, and in the blessings he has promised :-God the Son in his original glory, and marvellous humiliation, in all the parts and most benevolent purposes of his mediation:-God the Holy Ghost in all his influences, gifts, and graces-with the realities of the invisible, eternal world, constitute the pleasing subjects of meditation to the true believer. Nominal christians, it is true, hear of all these subjects, perhaps profess constantly to believe in them; but they can neither find time to take any exact survey of them, nor to ponder them in their hearts; thereforeseeing they see, and do not perceive, and hearing they hear, and do not understand." The knowledge of the things of God, on the contrary, which real believers possess, is lively, penetrating, and of course delightful.

No one can question the pleasures of the understanding, since thousands toil for no other reward. In the eyes of all the votaries of science, the discovery of truth has the most bewitching charms, even though the truth only relates to something in this perishing world, and is without any power to produce the dispositions essential to peace of mind. Is such knowledge pleasant?-How much more then, the discovery of truths, which, besides their novelty, have a grandeur capable of engaging the whole mind, and filling it with admiration! This grandeur is no sooner apprehended than the truths of God necessarily become a source of delight. Before, they were either despised or suspected, or blindly assented to from the force of education; now they act like themselves -they inspire new resolutions, they kindle ardent desires, they excite abundant hope: in a word, by their spiritual knowledge believers are brought into a new and glorious world, where objects interesting beyond measure, and tending to their honour and exaltation, surround them.

It is indeed most worthy of observation, that the very same language which is used to denote the joyful change

from night to day, is chosen by the Holy Ghost to express the change made in the minds of believers by the knowledge they are taught of God. Of them it is said, in contradistinction to their condition by nature :

"Ye

were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:" Ephes. v. 8. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” 2 Cor. iv. 6.

This pleasure, which true believers enjoy from their first acquaintance with divine truths, increases as they advance. There is a very sensible progress in divine, no less than in human science: first a faint or confused view of the truths of God, then a clear perception of their matchless excellence, and various usefulness; first a dependence upon them, mixed with hesitation and fear, afterwards a full assurance of understanding and hope, a comprehending the breadth and length and height and depth of what before was very superficially known. Such a progress is inseparable from perseverance in the faith. of Christ, and a diligent use of the word of God and of prayer, and it never fails to prove a spring of fresh and increasing delight.

Further This knowledge proves in a peculiar manner pleasant to those who possess it, from the solid benefits which it constantly confers. For whilst all other subjects, which employ the minds of men, leave them after their highest attainments painfully sensible how little there is in them to satisfy their wants, to subdue their passions, to guard against various evils, or to support them, much less to profit them, when they leave the present scene.-Believers experience in their knowledge, contentment in every condition, a preservative from the force of unruly. passions, a shield against the assaults of their worst enemies. By this they are inspired with a supernatural firmness of mind, by this cheered in the hour of distress, still sure to find its immense value most, when they depart out of this mortal life.

Knowledge thus supremely excellent, enriches the souls of all real believers in Christ Jesus. Even the poorest and meanest of the vulgar, who truly receives and faithfully serves the Lord Jesus, stands not one single degree more

distant from the attainment of it than men of parts and education. For as it is God alone who communicates this knowledge, so all who make application for it in prayer, are equally sure to attain it. And the pure delight with which it replenishes the mind, is at once thus positively asserted, and emphatically recommended: "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her." Prov. iii. 13, 14, 17, 18.

Who can give any real credit to this positive assertion of holy writ, or consider the nature and qualities of christian knowledge, and not see that real christians are the happiest people upon earth? Who can impartially weigh these things, and for a moment question who are the persons that now pass their time in the most pleasant and truly joyous manner;-whether they are the libertines who scoff at divine truths, the formalists who know nothing of their power; or sincere believers who experimentally know the sweetness and excellence of the christian doctrine?

2. But this knowledge of the truth is always connected with the possession of the richest spiritual blessings; particularly the peace of God.

No sooner are believers brought to the knowledge of Christ, so as to depend upon his works and mediation, than they are assured by the promise and the oath of God, "that there is no condemnation to them that are in him, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." To this truth, the prophets, the apostles, and the Redeemer, continually bear witness. In the same proportion therefore as they receive it, their conscience is justly quieted, and from a sharp accuser is turned into an encouraging friend. It now no longer upbraids them with their folly, but commends their wisdom in flying to the strong-hold which God hath provided; no longer haunts them with apprehensions of approaching punishment, but registers and attests their cordial acceptance of the Lord, who is mighty to save; they have now the answer of a good

conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In this supernatural fact they can perceive that the indictment, which was against them for their transgressions of the law, is taken out of the way, and they have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

The infinite superiority of delight, which such persons must feel on account of their gracious acceptance with God, no one can question, who considers what different ideas from the rest of mankind true believers entertain both of the essential holiness of God, and of the demerit of their own sin. The only reason why the pardoning mercy of God is not universally coveted more than either wealth or honour, is because men are generally hardened through presumption and infidelity. But suppose that your guilt, which never before grievously afflicted you, were now placed before you in its true light; suppose wherever you went, whatever you were doing, this most awful thought forced itself upon you :-" I have been an enemy to God in practically denying his government, and robbing him of his glory; I have abused his goodness, wearied his patience, and provoked his justice to shut me out of heaven and his favour; what must I do to be saved?" Suppose in this distress your understanding were enlightened, and your heart brought to rely upon God manifest in the flesh, who came to seek and save that which was lost through sin:-can you conceive any joy equal to that experienced in the change from fear to a good hope? can you imagine a more pleasing alteration of circumstances, than to have grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, succeed the black clouds of vengeance which were threatening every moment to break over your head? In this case, though the blessing is purely spiritual, and therefore accounted light as air by the muititude, who were never in fear for themselves, nor in pain for their guilt; yet to you it must certainly prove a source of delight, as much beyond any temporal mercy, as the salvation of the soul is more desired by them who know its worth, than any fading good of this world, however useful or valuable in its place.

3. Another blessing accompanying the knowledge of