SERMON III.

ON DIVINE GRACE AND HUMAN AGENCY.

Phil. ii. 12, 13.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,

THE controversy about grace and free agency has been one of the most common and most lasting in the Church. The two doctrines have been supposed incompatible; for if it is God who, of his mere grace, works in us to will and to do, to what purpose, say some persons, is it to exhort man to work out his own salvation? And if, on the other hand, man has power to act freely, why, it is asked, do you assert his general inability, and maintain his whole sufficiency to depend upon the good pleasure of God? A difficulty there certainly is in holding both these doctrines in such a manner as not to contradict each other; and it is a difficulty which perhaps, in the present infirm state of human nature, may never be completely removed.

The Scripture, we may observe, never attempts, either to satisfy mere curiosity, or to answer metaphysi

cal questions. Without aiming to shew that the doctrines do not clash, or to explain the precise way in which they are to be reconciled, the sacred writers assert both. As though man were possessed of the most perfect free will, they exhort, rebuke, command, entreat, and promise; treat him as responsible, or condemn him as guilty. On the other hand, as though he possessed no power at all, they ascribe his whole power, wisdom, goodness, and salvation, to the mere grace of God working in him. Nay, not only do they not attempt to reconcile these doctrines, but, taking for granted their perfect compatibility, they even unite and connect them. They speak of them at the same time, and in the same place: they ground one upon the other. Thus our Saviour says, "Abide in me, and I in you." And, in my text, the Apostle makes the grace of God the very foundation for our exertion"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

In like manner will every truly humble Christian, who acts rather than disputes, unite, in his practice these two doctrines. He will be as diligent and active in his exertions-he will as sincerely condemn his faults, and own his responsibility for them-as though man were endued with the highest and most extensive powers. At the same time, he will be as humble, as fervent in prayer for Divine assistance, as thankful to God for any progress in grace, as though man were, in the fullest sense of the word, incapable of action. It has, on the contrary, been the error of some, who have perplexed themselves with speculation, rather than employed themselves in religious practice, and the crime of others who have sought to indulge either their pride or their sloth, to separate what the Apostles have united. Holding one doctrine in its most rigid and absolute sense, they have either totally denied the other, or so explained it away as to deprive it of all practical influence.

If either doctrine had been revealed in Scripture without the other, it is evident there would have been a set of duties on the part of man in some measure different from what are now required of him. If God, for instance, had merely proclaimed his own grace without issuing any commands to mankind, it would have been our duty to have used no efforts: our case would then have resembled that of the Israelites upon the banks of the Red Sea, when the injunction given to them was;"Fear ye not: stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew you this day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."-If, again, practical exhortations had been issued without any revelation of the grace of God, it would have been our duty to encourage ourselves to exertion with such arguments as the Philistines used when the ark of God was brought into the camp of Israel. "And the Philistines were afraid. And they said, Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Quit yourselves like men, and fight.” But, on the other hand, unite the two doctrines, and the sentiments and feelings of a Christian become like those of Hezekiah, when he gathered the captains of war together, and "spake comfortably to them, saying; -Be strong and courageous: be not afraid or dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him: with him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles."

It is, then, the union of the two doctrines which tends to form the peculiar character of a Christian. Each serves to illustrate and strengthen the other; and if either be removed, not only are those duties and graces injured and destroyed which immediately result from that, but those also which appear to be derived

wholly from the other. But this point I hope more fully to establish in the following discourse.

I. The grace of God, then, so far from being designed to relax or supersede our own efforts, tends to quicken our diligence. "Work out," says the apostle, "your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you."-If we advert to the context, we shall find the argument to be of this nature. The apostle, after having spent some time with the Philippians, and having rejoiced in the contemplation of their excellencies, had lately left them. With the tenderest affection for them, and a jealousy which that affection naturally inspired, he exhorts them to continue to conduct themselves, during his absence, in the same upright manner as when he was present with them. He reminds them, that, though he was absent, yet there was still present with them a superintendant of their conduct, whom they should more fear to offend than the apostle Paul. "Wherefore (he says) my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only, so now, much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Now a stronger or more appropriate argument the apostle could not have used. The love which the Philippians felt for their pastor was a powerful motive with them to watch over their conduct. Unwilling, and even afraid to grieve him, they attended with scrupulous exactness to the kind instructions and admonitions which he gave them. With how much more solicitude then, nay, with what "fear and trembling," he argues, ought they to "work out their salvation," since it was God whom they resisted if they did not! It was God who by his Spirit admonished them; it was God who infused into them desires, which they should be afraid of stifling; it was God who gave them power "to do," which power they should therefore be afraid to waste or abuse. Thus, the very grace of God in "working in us, not only to do, but even to will," is

made the foundation of our "working out our own salvation." Upon this principle, we ought to blame, not our weakness, but our perverseness, if we are not saved. We should fear, nay, we should "tremble" at the thought of displeasing God by neglecting his gracious admonitions, and quenching his Holy Spirit,

II. The grace of God has a tendency not merely to increase the efforts of man, but to direct them in a right channel.-Were man left to his own endeavours, he would combat his spiritual enemies with carnal weapons alone. He would employ, perhaps, the arguments of the ancient philosophers, encourage himself by the imperfect or corrupt motives which they used, and strengthen himself by the means which they employed. Pride would be made the chief instrument of repressing other vices: vanity and self-love would exclude from his breast other passions: the utility of virtue to his health, to his convenience, to his reputation, and to his comfort, would be the exclusive source whence arguments would be drawn, and means furnished for its acquirement. But not such is the Christian armour. From the grace of God the real Christian derives his resources. This directs the mode of his exertions: this teaches him, that, as all the benefit is derived from God, he must seek all from God, and hope to accomplish his end by seeking it in the way which God has appointed. This explains the nature of Christian diligence. I say Christian diligence; for it is not mere diligence which is required of us, but diligence exerted in a Christian manner: To distinguish, for instance, between the two cases: The person who depends upon his own endeavours will not be solicitous to pray to God, but will depend chiefly upon his own resolutions, and the unassisted powers of his mind. But the man relying upon the grace of God will consider prayer as one of the principal instruments of success. He will not indeed neglect other means, but prayer will hold the first place in his esteem. Hence he will be active, constant, and earnest in pouring out his heart before

VOL. I.

36