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may as well attempt to build a world as to do this in his own strength-Yet this must be done-We do not say that a person must be absolutely perfect here; but he must pant after perfection, and loathe himself for every remaining imperfection even of thought-Surely this must be the work of that almighty agent who spake the universe into existence, and brought order and beauty out of the shapeless chaos-And when we know the depth of our depravity, then and then only, shall we be willing to seek help from him on whom it is laid-] 3. The suitableness and excellency of the gospel salvation

[While ignorant of our own depravity we are unaffected with the tidings of the gospel-Others may appear to need a fountain, but we do not, because we have very little pollution -Others may need a new heart, but we have a very good one by nature-Thus the offers of the gospel are of no value in our eyes-But when we know the depth of our corruptions, we are thankful to hear of a fountain opened for sin; and the promise of a new heart is precious to our souls-The gospel then appears exactly suited to our necessities, and " every thing is accounted as dung and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of it"-]

APPLICATION

1. To those who lay a stress on formal services

[We mean not to depreciate an outward conformity to religion-But where there is no more than that, the soul is in a lost and perishing condition-That is only like "the painting of a sepulchre which is full of rottenness and all uncleanness"-Remember then 66 ye must lay the axe to the root of the tree”"Ye must be born again"-This is the solemn and repeated declaration of Christ himself" Ye must be born of the Spirit, or ye can never enter into the kingdom of God”-Hearken then and understand this solemn admonition-Let every one of you apply it to himself Cry with David, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me"-If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear-]

2. To those who have begun to experience vital and spiritual religion

[It is an unspeakable blessing to know any thing of your own hearts-Nor can you ever be sufficiently thankful to him who has discovered to you "the mystery of iniquity" within you-But what earnest heed ought you to take lest you be

Jer. xiii. 23. P Eph. i. 19, 20. and ii. 10. Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27.

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drawn again under the power of your corruptions! You still carry about with you a body of sin and death"-" The flesh lusteth still against the spirit as well as the spirit against the flesh"-Let it then be your daily endeavour to "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts"-Be daily "putting off the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be putting on the new man," &c.-It is a solemn admonition which God has given you, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy"-"Ye are now the temple of the Holy Ghost;" O guard against every thought or desire that may grieve your divine guest-You must resist the first risings of inclination-A desire indulged will blind the eyes, and harden the heart, and bring in with it an host of sins-Above all, commit yourselves to that almighty Saviour, who has promised to preserve you blameless unto his heavenly kingdom-So shall you be washed in his blood from every fresh contracted stain-And be rendered "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light"—]

CCXLIV. THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND.

Luke vi. 39. And he spake a parable unto them; Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

IGNORANCE is, in itself, more excusable than

vice

But in some cases its effects are equally perniciousThis is manifestly true in the concerns of the soul— A person, ignorant of the way of salvation must fall

short of heaven-

And, if he undertake to direct others, will ruin all who follow him

To impress this truth on our minds, our Lord repeatedly uttered this parable"

I. The scope of the parable

The Pharisees, through their professed sanctity, gained extensive influence

a A person may ruin himself no less by imprudence than by debauchery; and a General may bring as great calamities on his army through unskilfulness, as if he had betrayed them into the hands of their enemies. b Matt. xv. 14.

And were implicitly followed by the deluded populace-The consequences were extremely fatal to them bothIn this parable our Lord intended to reprove

1. The presumption of such guides

[No man should undertake an office for which he is not qualified

Much less so important an office as that of guiding men to heaven

Yet many assume it for filthy lucre sake, without any other qualification than that of a little human learning

But what would be thought of a man, who, because he was conversant with the learned languages, and philosophy, should engage to navigate a ship?

Yet he would only subject a few hundreds of persons to temporal death

Whereas a minister that misleads his people, involves thousands in everlasting destruction

How horrible is such presumption! and how surely must it bring down upon the offenders the signal vengeance of heaven!

Let all who would not perish under such an accumulated load of guilt, examine well their motives for undertaking their qualifications for discharging, and their manner of executing, this high office-]

2. The folly of such followers

[The generality never once consider whether their guide be competent to direct them; nor enquire into the truth of the directions given them

They commit their souls to his care, as though there were no possibility of erring, or no danger in error

They even prefer such teachers as "prophesy unto them smooth things"¤—

But would any man act thus in matters of less importance?Would any person who had a disorder to be healed, or a cause to be tried, employ a physician or a lawyer that was

c 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21.

It should be remembered, that it is not human learning which can qualify a man for the ministerial office, but rather an experience of true religion in his own soul. The Pharisees were acquainted with the letter of the scriptures, but they understood not the spirit of them: they saw not the spirituality of the moral law, nor the typical import of the ceremonial law. Thus being ignorant of their fallen state, and of the means appointed for their recovery, they were only blind guides. A man must be converted himself before he undertakes to convert others: he must be able to adopt the language of the apostle. See 1 John i. 1, 3.

e Isai. xxx. 9-11. Jer. v. 30, 31.

ignorant of his profession, if he could have access to one of approved ability?

Would any blind person commit himself to the guidance of one who also was destitute of sight?—

Can any one doubt what would be the consequence of such folly?

What madness then is it for men to rest satisfied with the instructions of those, whose whole dispositions and conduct manifest, that they are ignorant of the way to heaven!

That their guides will be partakers of their doom, will afford but little consolation to them, when they themselves are suffering the bitter consequences of their folly-***]

The truth asserted in the parable is too obvious to need either proof or illustration: we shall therefore proceed to consider

II. The lessons we should learn from it

Though the familiarity of our Lord's expressions appears at first sight calculated to produce a smile, they afford just occasion for the most solemn admonitions.

1. Guard against error in the concerns of your souls [Many suppose that ignorance is an excuse for errorBut God has sufficiently warned us against this mistakef It is certain, that there is a great diversity of doctrines among those who undertake to teach.

And, that error is more prevalent than truth

But the multitudes who throng the broad road, cannot procure safety for those who walk in it

We must dare to leave the beaten track of self-righteousness and formality, for the less frequented path of faith and holiness

Nor must we hope to reach the fold of God, unless we follow the footsteps of his flocks-]

2. Try what you hear by the touchstone of God's word

[The scriptures are the only proper rule of our faith and practiceTo them we must refer every thing as to an unerring standardh

The whole of this subject requires to be treated with peculiar tenderness, lest we appear to be bringing only a railing accusation against our brethren, when we should be seeking rather the edification of our flock. We must not indeed shrink from expounding any portion of God's word; but we must always be careful to "speak the truth in love.”

f Hos. iv. 6. Isai. xxvii. 11. Eph. v. vi. 5 Cant. i. 8. Matt. vii. 13, 14.

VOL. III,

N

Isai. viii. 20.

Nor must any human authority supersede the exercise of our own judgment

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If an angel from heaven were to preach, we ought to try his word by this test

This was approved in the Beræns of old, and it is expressly enjoined on us1-]

3. Seek the instruction and guidance of the Holy Spirit

[However plainly man may preach, God alone can enable you to profit"

Of yourselves you will be far more ready to embrace the self-exalting tenets of deceivers, than the humiliating doctrines of the gospel

But the Holy Ghost shall be given to those who seek his influence"

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And shall guide into all truth those who submit to his teachingo

1

Let all then, whatever be their capacity or attainments, implore his help→→

Then, though babes in human science, they shall be taught the things that are hid from the wise and prudentP-]

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Matt. xviii. 1-4. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

DISPUTES of any kind among the children of God are most unbecoming their holy character, more espe cially when they originate in a competition for pre-eminence-Yet such is the depravity of our nature that we are prone to affect superiority and distinction even after we have seen the vanity of earthly things-The disciples of Christ, as well from their condition in the

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