633. PSA 119:136. HOLY GRIEF FOR GOD’S VIOLATED LAW
Psa_119:136. Holy Grief for God’s Violated Law
By Rev. Thomas Adkins, Of Southampton.
"Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law."’97Psa_119:136.
There is an eloquence in tears. They speak the language of nature, and they find their way to the heart. They tell us of human suffering; and in terms which, though silent, are most forcible.
There is scarcely, in nature, a more touching spectacle than to see a man weep; especially one of exalted intellect, of tried fortitude, and of enlarged benevolence. We readily believe that this natural expression of sorrow, proceeding from such a source, must be produced by causes at least proportioned to the effect, and we sympathize with both the one and the other. Such a spectacle is now presented to our view. It is a man in tears; and that man a saint, a hero, and a king. A man whose intellect, naturally of the highest order, had been carried to the utmost limits of human capacity, by sedulous culture and by Divine inspiration; whose undaunted courage had been tried, in a single-handed contest, with the monsters of the woods, and with the gigantic defier of the armies of Israel; whose regal authority could levy a contribution on the resources of an empire, to minister to his enjoyments and to enhance his splendor, But he weeps; and the deep-seated spring of his grief pours forth torrents of tears. He weeps, not for himself, but for others; and they are the wicked, that "keep not the law." Observe,
I. The affecting subject by which the sorrow of a holy man is excited. It is the transgression of the Divine law. And hence it will be necessary,
1. To inquire into the nature and extent of the law, the violation of which is deplored.
"Of law, then," to use the language of the judicious Hooker, "there can be no less acknowledged, than that her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world; all things in heaven and earth do her homage, the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest as not exempt from her power; both angels and men, and creatures of what condition soever, though each in a different sort and name, yet all, with one uniform consent, admiring her as the mother of their peace and joy."
The law of the sacred Scriptures is only those principles on which the Deity proceeds in legislating over the moral universe, receiving that peculiar modification by which they are adapted to the nature of incarnate intelligences placed in a state of trial. It is a moral law, as it proceeds from the Moral Governor of the world; as it is suited to the nature of moral agents; and as those sanctions are moral by which the observance of its precepts is enforced.
This law, however, from its very character, is capable of being violated. As a moral law, obedience to it must be the result of motives, and consequently voluntary; and the power to obey, involves the possibility to transgress.
Such is the law which was impressed on the conscience of man in a state of primeval perfection; and by the violation of which he offended his God, and lost his paradise. Such is the law which subsequently was republished, by the audible voice of the Deity, from the bleak and barren Mount Sinai; and which, amplified to a fuller extent, and animated with more evangelical motives, appears in all its excellence in the completed canon of inspiration. The heathen, it is admitted, do not enjoy the noontide clearness of Divine revelation night’97moral night’97spreads her sable canopy over them, under which storms and darkness lower. But the reflected beams of a traditional religion flicker around their path; the operations of nature and of conscience, as the constellations in the starry heavens, shed upon them a dim religious light; and all combine to reveal to man his prescribed path of duty, and to the transgressor his criminality and danger. Such is the law which the heathen possess; the transgression of which we shall now proceed to contemplate and to deplore.
(1.) This violation is deep-seated in its origin. They are haters of God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God," Rom_8:7. "What!" says the pious and learned Howe, "to be haters of God’97the most excellent and all-comprehending Good! Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid!’97be ye very desolate!"
(2.) This transgression is no less flagrant in its modes, than it is deep-seated in its origin. At once, for an illustration and a proof of this fact, transport yourselves in imagination to the fields of Hindoostan. See the thirty millions of her deities personified in one, the Moloch of India, the horrible Juggernaut, whose throne is the bleached bones of his victims; whose worshippers are like demons; whose libations are human blood; and whose music is the fiendish laugh of disgusting obscenity, mingled with the din of confusion, and the groan of despair. Well might the unearthly Henry Martyn exclaim, when he beheld this spectacle, "I shuddered, as standing in the neighborhood of hell."
(3.) This violation is, likewise, universal in its extent. The universality of human transgression is a fact as true as it is appalling. The excellent Mr. Ward, whose sphere of observation was as extensive as his power of discrimination was acute, said, "I never found one that appeared to fear God, and to work righteousness."
II. Consider the particular sources from whence this sorrow takes its rise.
1. This sorrow arises, primarily, from the recognized relationship of one common nature, existing between ourselves and the subjects of this defection.
The poorest savage, that either toils in chains, or roams through his native woods, may say to us in the unsophisticated language of nature, by his hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows, the beaming of his intelligence, and the aspirations of his desire’97Am not I thy brother?
* * * * "Pierce his vein,
Take of the crimson stream meandering there,
And catechise it well; apply the glass,
Search it, and prove now if it be not blood
Congenial with thine own; and, if it be,
What edge of subtlety canst thou suppose
Keen enough, wise and skilful as thou art,
To cut the link of brotherhood, by which
One common Maker bound him to mankind."
2. This sorrow proceeds, still further, from a due estimate of the importance of man, considered as an intellectual and immortal agent.
"The redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceases forever," Psa_49:8. Viewed in this light, the missionary cause loses the character of insignificance, which would seem to attach to a combination of a few feeble mortals and the collection of a few scattered sums, and arises to a majesty which, whilst it catches and reflects the rays of the Divine glory and throws the shadow of its protection over distant lands, buries the remote effects of its operations in the profoundest depths of eternity.
3. This sorrow is still further increased by contemplating the imminent danger to which the subjects of this transgression are exposed.
In considering the future probable condition of the heathen, it may be premised, that, in the equitable administration of the government of the universe, all beings will be dealt with according to their moral and natural capacities, and the circumstances in which they are placed; that punishment, if awarded, will be in proportion to crime’97crime to violated responsibility’97and responsibility to possessed or attainable means of knowledge.
Were we, therefore, to take the lowest ground of concession’97the mere possibility of the final perdition of the heathen’97it would be easy to construct upon it an argument for strenuous exertion on their behalf; but when the evidence of their danger accumulates to a fearful magnitude, should not our zeal keep pace with our fears? As they pass along, they lift to us an imploring eye, to transmit to them the only revealed remedy to mitigate their present misery, and avert their future doom.
4. This sorrow is augmented to the greatest degree by the dishonor which is cast by transgressors upon the perfections of the Most High.
A prevailing desire for the advancement of the Divine glory, in all the possible forms of its manifestation, is the distinguishing characteristic of a holy soul. Hence, the Psalmist breathed out the fervor of his soul in that memorable prayer, a prayer which comprehends all that even he could desire’97"Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen, and Amen," Psa_72:19. Who can forbear to weep, when he beholds this globe, built by the hand of the Deity, and hung round with the mementoes of his goodness, designed to be a vast temple, resounding with awful voices, and filled with holy inspirations, now desecrated to purposes equally pernicious and vile; replete with foul images and filthy rites of idolatry; with daring acts of rebellion, and with sights and sounds of woe? Consider,
III. The exalted character by which this sorrow is distinguished.
1. It is the fruit of Divine influence, and a collateral evidence of real religion in the heart.
When the Spirit of God enters into the heart, he provides the elements of a benevolence the most exalted and refined.
2. It assimilates to the temper displayed by the holiest of men.
Thus, the sweet singer of Israel, amidst the cares of government and the splendors of royalty, found time and inclination to pour rivers of waters from his eyes over the wicked that kept not the law. Thus, the pathetic Jeremiah could exclaim (ix. 1), "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" And thus the apostle to the Gentiles, possessing as he did the most heroic resolution, the most lofty superiority to all the modes of intimidation and danger a spirit that rose with its difficulties, and exulted in the midst of the most dismaying objects, yet combined the deepest sensibility with the sternest purpose, and melted into more than feminine tenderness, when he reflected on the moral condition of his fellowmen: "Of whom," says he, "I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ," Php_3:18.
3. It accords with the spirit evinced by the higher intelligences of the universe.
The man who identifies himself with the best interests of human nature; who, overstepping the limits of country and of clime, embraces in his affections the whole family of man, acquires an angelic character; and is only inferior to an angel, as his capacities are more limited and his nature less pure.
4. It is in harmony with the principles embodied in the glorious work of redemption.
That work, in all parts, from its commencement to its close, proceeds on the principle of the most exalted benevolence. There we see the eternal Father sparing not his own Son, that he might spare us. There we see the benign Spirit, to whom every form of moral contamination is essentially abhorrent, taking up his abode in the desolate dwelling of the human breast, to enlighten what is ignorant, to elevate what is low; and though often grieved and insulted, yet neither deserting his residence, nor transferring his love, till he places the selected object of his compassion, with all his foes vanquished and his stains washed away, in the cloudless lustre of the eternal throne. But "oh for a pencil dipped in living light," to trace the lineaments of the Son of God. In him all the elements of goodness were found, yet so blended as to form one perfect and translucent whole. If, however, there was one attribute of his character which prevailed over the rest, it was compassion to the souls of men. Compassion breathed in his spirit, beat in his heart, beamed in his eyes, and lived in his life. He became the weeping Babe in the manger of Bethlehem, the weary Traveller in the journey of life, the agonizing Sufferer in the garden of Gethsemane; and when the last scene of terror and of death arrived, he bared his bosom to the stroke. Nor did he stop till, by the mysterious oblation on the cross, he had harmonized all the attributes of the Divine nature in one triumphant display of mercy; and had opened a medium by which compassion, without measure and without restraint, might descend to the vilest of the vile.
IV. The appropriate modes in which this sorrow should be expressed.
1. One of the first and most effectual means by which this feeling is to be indicated, is by fervent and persevering prayer on behalf of the heathen.
2. Another mode in which this spirit is to evince itself, is by contributing pecuniary support to the missionary cause.
There are some considerations arising from the nature of this subject that may serve yet further to enforce its claims. Remember that you possess that gospel which is an effectual remedy for the violation of the law. You possess that which alone can mitigate the present misery of the heathen, and avert their future doom; which takes the burden from conscience, the bitterness from sorrow, and the sting from death’97transforming that eternity, which they now contemplate with trembling horror or vain hope, into a boundless prospect of glory and of joy. Remember’97that you can communicate these blessings to them without impoverishing yourselves; for such is the plenitude of the gospel, that there may be universal participation without individual diminution’97each may have all.
I would remind you that the stability of your expectations is equal to the goodness of your cause; and that the same voice that commands your activity guarantees its success. This world, that was the scene of the Saviour’s sufferings, shall be no less the theatre of his triumph and his joy. "His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed!" Psa_72:17.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS