A Goodly Heritage

. “It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing;” but zeal in a bad cause is the worse, the keener and more vehement it is. “The Jews had a zeal for God, but it was not according to knowledge;” and it hurried them on to the most dreadful excesses; to crucify the Lord of glory, to blaspheme his religion, to murder his servants, to add crime to crime, till, in the righteous judgment of God, they perished in their rage. How little are we acquainted with the spirit by which we are actuated! How apt are we to mistake error for truth, to be misled by fair appearances in ourselves as well as in others, to fancy that our hearts glow with ardour for the glory of God, when it is pride, or self-love, or party affection, which is stirring within us! We may be certain that our zeal is false, when it is excited by matters of less, but is indifferent to such as are of greater, moment; when it is violent against...

Let us, above all things, study to be sincere in religion. What will hypocrisy avail? Can our artifice impose upon Cod? Are we able to conceal from him, under a mask of piety and goodness, the real features of our character? Do not “his eye see, and his eye-lids try, the children of men?” “There is not any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” In vain did Ananias and Sapphira secretly concert their plan, and assume 84 the confidence of conscious integrity to quash any suspicion of their baseness. A good name, the esteem and friendly offices of Christians, and even worldly advantages, may be the recompense of dissimulation in this world; but what awaits in the next? “What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?” One faint spark of genuine religion is more acce...

Let us be careful to maintain a good conscience in our religious profession. This was the constant study of the Apostles, who considered not what was honourable in the eyes of the world, and advantageous, and safe, but solely what was right. It was God alone whom they had resolved to obey; and they minded not the contrary commands and the threatenings of men. You will not enjoy peace of mind, nor act uprightly and consistently, till you have learned to regulate your conduct by the fixed standard of truth and rectitude, and not by the shifting opinions and fancies of men. There is one thing, in particular, of which you should beware; the vain attempt to serve two Masters, God and the world, conscience and inclination. The result of such an attempt will be, that you shall serve neither of them fully, and shall lose the reward promised by both. Choose your side, and be honest and uniform in adhering to it. “If ...

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.” Jesus had now fulfilled all the designs of his mission. He had declared the counsels of God to mankind; he had offered himself upon the cross as a sacrifice for sin; and having triumphed over death, he had given his disciples sufficient opportunity to assure themselves of the truth of the fact. “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” There was no reason therefore, why he should prolong his stay. It was necessary that the great High Priest of our profession, having made atonement for his people, should go into the most holy place, to present his blood and make intercession for them. It was necessary, that the Lord and King of the Church, having vanquished his enemies, after a hard and bloody conflict, should ascend his throne and receive the sceptre of universal dominion. He had forewarned the disciples of his depart...

 We follow no cunningly devised fable, when we receive the gospel as an authentic record of the character and doctrine of Jesus Christ. It is confirmed by “infallible proofs,” by ample and luminous evidence, which is sufficient to convince every ingenuous mind, every man who examines it with a candid, dispassionate temper. You may be assured, my brethren, that it is not for want of evidence that the gospel is in any instance rejected. Difficulties, indeed, there may be, which are apt to perplex ill-informed and superficial observers; but the chief objection to it, an objection level to the comprehension of every depraved heart, is its holiness. “Men hate the light, because their deeds are evil.” This will appear to be no false charge, if you consider, that there is scarcely any thing that infidels believe, for which they have half the evidence that can be produced in favour of the truth of Christianity. It is not, therefore, to reason that their unbelief should be attributed, but...