Page images
PDF
EPUB

SERMON V.

FREEDOM FROM GUILT A SOURCE OF

THANKSGIVING.

PSALM LI. 13, 14, 15.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

O Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

IN our last Discourse, on the words preceding the present text, we left the Royal Penitent in a more tranquil state of mind, praying for the joy of God's salvation, and desiring to be

upheld by his free and gracious Spirit. We observed how he proved the soundness of his repentance by entreating God to create in him a clean heart, and to renew a right, constant, stedfast spirit within him. On this ground we pointed out an essential difference between him and insincere penitents, who may be very earnest in seeking the forgiveness of their sins, and yet are not anxious to procure a renovation of their souls. In the passage which has been read to you for our meditation at this time, the true Penitent advances a step farther; he declares his intention to teach transgressors the ways of God, that sinners might be converted unto him; and that if God would deliver him from the guilt of shedding blood, his tongue should sing aloud of his righteousness: and that his lips being opened by the Lord, he promises that his mouth should show forth his praise. Here he manifests a sincere desire to vindicate the honour and glory of God; to make all the reparation in his power for the injury he had done to the cause of godliness; that his great fall and recovery might prove an occasion of good, in the conversion and comfort of his subjects, who might have been led into sin by his evil example.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;

and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Our translators connect this verse with the preceding by means of the participle then; “then will I teach;" as a resolution grounded on the petition which he had presented; that if God would restore unto him the joy of his salvation and uphold him with his free Spirit, then he should be qualified and disposed to teach transgressors his ways, that sinners might be converted unto him. But as there is no such word as then in the Hebrew, nor in the ancient versions, we may read it thus: I will teach transgressors thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee. This is the firm purpose and resolution of his soul, as an expression of his humble gratitude for the mercies which he hoped to receive at the hands of God, and as a proof of his lively concern for the welfare of others. Having himself been a great transgressor of God's holy law; having presumptuously sinned against his heavenly Sovereign; having grossly violated the obligations which had been laid upon him; and yet, by the grace of God, having been humbled, and converted, and restored to the path of righteousness and peace; he would be able to teach the ways of JEHOVAH more perfectly; he could point out the evil of sin with a feeling sense of its malignity; he could describe "the way of transgressors" as being

a

"hard" and thorny; he could assure sinners that they were wandering in an evil course, so long as they were going astray from the commandments of God.

Also from his own experience he could teach transgressors the ways of God, with respect to his gracious promises of mercy and forgiveness; he could become their teacher and guide in the way of penitence, and could use the most cogent arguments to persuade sinners to return unto their injured Father, who is merciful and gracious and slow to anger. Thus he would be well qualified to warn the unruly, to rebuke gain-sayers, to rouse the careless, to comfort the desponding, and to describe the comfort and joy of those who diligently walk in the ways of godliness. Transgressors are apt to conceive that their way is safe; but the Royal Penitent could declare to them its slipperiness and danger: they fancy that their path will be always pleasant, but he could testify from his own bitter experience, that this way, "though it may seem right unto a man," leadeth, in the end, to the chambers of death, and that misery and sorrow are often found therein, during the present life,

b

[blocks in formation]

C

He also felt an anxiety that transgressors should be taught the ways of God, and that sinners should be converted unto him. He knew their dangerous condition, and he would gladly admonish them to turn from their evil ways that "iniquity might not be their ruin." He was now well prepared to teach them the ways, of God, the way of repentance, the way to obtain mercy, the way of reconciliation and joyful peace, the way of obedience and lasting comfort. He could point out to them the path through which he himself had been led from wretchedness to tranquillity, from guilt to pardon, and from deep distress, to an humble hope of the favour of God. Thus he would prove the reality of his own conversion by his zealous endeavours to promote the conversion of sinners, and to bring back transgressors from "the error of their way" to that way which God had marked out for them in his holy word.

d

By this determination he also manifested his sincere desire to promote the honor and glory of God, in the conversion of sinners, who had perhaps been hardened and confirmed in their evil course by his late example. The sins of those who are in eminent stations are peculiarly

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »