of life, and some bowed down by affliction. Such also may be our portion. Our various troubles, whatever they are, are best known to God and ourselves. But there is none of them which may not be lightened by the grace of Christ. Whilst in the world, we must necessarily feel many of the evils which belong to mortality: but here we have a remedy against their overwhelming power. The rest which Christ gives us here, though imperfect, will console us under the frowns of the world. It will support us under the severest of domestic trials. And while all below is dark and discouraging, it will elevate our view to that perfect rest which remaineth for the people of God. It will deprive age of its weight of infirmity, and make the hoary head a crown of rejoicing. Death itself will have no power to disturb his serenity whose soul reposes on God." Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and staff com fort me." Let us, with all due solemnity, press on our consciences these things-the invitation of our Saviour, and the promise of his rest. Is it not a desirable thing to be freed from that care and perplexity by which we are now so frequently burdened? to have a refuge from the anxieties, a relief from the afflictions, a shelter from the storms of life? Is it not pleasant to find, when all is distraction without, that there is peace within; when the world is our enemy, that God is our friend? Is there, then, any other way to attain this happy state than that which the text points out? We are apt to persuade ourselves that there are many ways. We expect happiness in the indulgence of this passion, and the gratification of that desirebut such hopes never fail to disappoint us. We still feel that something is wanting to set us CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 193. perfectly at ease, and that the imagined good not only fails to console us when we most need consolation, but adds then a fresh pang to our distress. We still are conscious, even in the midst of the gratifications we eagerly seek, of a burden on our spirits which we cannot shake off; and that, however we may endeavour to silence reflection, we never can divest ourselves of uneasy thoughts. Why, then, should we continue to pursue happiness where experience tells us it is not to be found? Let us take upon us the yoke of Christ. His service is perfect freedom: it is a freedom from the tyranny of an evil conscience; a freedom from the slavish habits of a world which is led captive by the devil; a freedom from the fear of death, and from that which is the sting of death-sin. Until we are thus made free, by the Spirit of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, we are, as our church expresses it, tied and bou nd ith the chain of our sins. Let us, then, become acquainted with our true state. "His servants we are to whom we obey." The sinner is in bondage to sin; and until he perceives that bondage, until he feels himself to be weary and heavy laden, and desires to be released, Christ will profit him nothing. Until we discover our want of a Saviour, we shall not come to him for salvation. Let it, then, be our earnest prayer, that God would open our eyes to our true state, and would lead us to Christ; that thus, seeing the things which make for our peace, we may obtain the forgiveness of our sins, and be accepted of God through him. But there may be some here so depressed in their minds by a sense of their unworthiness, that they, cannot bring themselves to believe that such gracious words of invitation could be meant for them. They deem it a thing incredible that such mercy should be extended to them. But here all D doubt or despondency is misplaced. What is it that Christ requires? That we should be weary and heavy laden. Is this our character ? Are we anxious to come to him, to believe in him, to obey him? What, then, does he say? "Come unto me, all ye that are weary; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." No words can be more gracious, no promise more certain. If we come in a right frame of mind, if we possess that lively faith in the Saviour of sinners, and that hu. mility of spirit which are implied in the very expression coming to Christ, there can be no question as to our being received. The word of the Son of God is pledged to our acceptance: he will in no wise reject us. The world may cast us out, but Christ will own and bless us. The world may give trouble, but He will give us rest. Some, perhaps, might be glad to enjoy the rest which Christ promises; but they dislike the yoke which accompanies it. They regard religion as a thing of gloom: it calls us to the exercise of prayer: it requires mortification and selfdenial. We must resist the world, the flesh, and the devil; renounce our own will and our own ways, crucify our evil affections and lusts, live soberly, righteously, and godly. Now all this is so contrary to the natural taste and inclination of fallen man, that they consider Christ's yoke as oppressive, and his burden as grievous. And yet what is the language of the Saviour of sinners?" My yoke is easy: my burden is light. My service is a pleasant and cheerful service: my ways are ways of pleasantness and peace." To be convinced of this, let us appeal to facts. Who were the men, in early times, most distinguished for contentment and cheerfulness of spirit; the disciples The or the enemies of Christ ? men who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer, or their persecutors? Those who took joy fully the spoiling of their goods, or the robbers who plundered them? Those whose good things were in this world alone, or those who were blessed with a hope full of immortality? The truth is, that in every age of the church, if we look for repose of mind and real cheerfulness, we shall find it eminently among the true followers of Jesus Christ. The rest which other persons have, they derive from perishable sources: the rest of the Christian he derives from Him who ever liveth to supply all his needs. And the man who, weary of the world and its vanities, obeys the exhortation of the text, and experiences the power and the enjoyments of religion, will not wish for a better service, or a lighter yoke than that of his gracious Redeemer. Whether we have accepted the invitation of our Lord is known to that God who is the searcher of hearts, and from whom no secrets are hid. But let us remember that on this grand point depends the salvation of our souls. The rest which the Saviour bestows on earth is preparatory to that rest in heaven which remaineth for the people of God; and if we reject his service here, he will reject us in the world to come. Since Christ, then, is willing to have compassion upon us, let us have compassion upon ourselves. Let us turn to him with our whole hearts. And if a motive be wanting, we may find it in these words of condescending grace and mercy: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly; and ye shall find rest unto your souls: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." v. 15–19, as it bears on the character and purposes of Naaman. The following is the view which has been taken of this passage in a sermon which appears in the first of the two volumes of sermons, lately published by that able and pious divine, the Rev. Mr. Fawcett, of Carlisle, and of which I was glad to see a Review in your last Number. After citing Naaman's confession of faith, and his vow to worship, with burnt offering and sacrifice, none but the God of Is rael, Mr. Fawcett thus proceeds"His language is like that of repenting Israel: What have I to do any more with idols?' He renounces them altogether, and im mediately. Henceforth, from this very moment, neither Rimmon, nor any other idol, shall receive the smallest tribute at his hand: he will worship the Lord, and him only. His resolution is, The God that answereth by fire, and that healeth by miracle, let him be my God; him will I follow and serve.' "Yet in this noble and determined purpose, there appear the symptoms of some infirmity. One practice, which he either thinks it his duty to continue, or has not courage to forsake, perplexes his conscience, and causes him to fear, lest he should, thereby, provoke the Lord God of Israel, whom he has avouched to be his God. Never more will be enter the house of Rimmon, to present any worship of his own. But when the king, his master, repairs to the house of his god, Naaman either thinks it his duty to go with him, or dares not decline the service. And, further, when the king stands before the image of Rimmon, before that image he will bow. And shall Naaman stand erect while his sovereign bows? Shall he, or even can he? For the king will not content himself with a slight inclination of his body; but, with lowly obeisance, will bend before his god : and Naaman, on whose arm he closely leans, must be carried along with him in the same motion. Yet for a worshipper of Jehovah to bow in the house of Rimmon! He trembles at his own half-intended deed, and indirectly asks the prophet's opinion, while he deprecates the Divine displeasure. In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon; when I bow myself down in the house of Rimmon; the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.' "What now shall Elisha say to this trembling inquirer? Never was a nicer question of casuistry proposed by a doubting conscience. Naaman is a servant of the king, and must go where his master will take him; and, if it be into the house of Rimmon, he has declared that he is no worshipper of Rimmon, but of Jehovah. He goes there as an attendant on the king, not as a votary of the god; and this he avows. If, then, he performs no real act of conformity; if he openly protests against Rimmon, let him go with his master where he will, he goes no where out of hallowed ground. An idol is nothing, and an idol temple is nothing. The earth is the Lord's, and every place and house in it are his; and no place is unclean to them who know that the Lord he is God, and that there is no God beside him.' Yet we can hardly suppose that Naaman possessed this measure of spiritu.. understanding. His request for two mules' burden of earth shewed that his views were as yet confined, and mixed with superstition. We can not but suspect, that he was in the house of Rimmon with conscience of the idol.' The enlarged sentiments which St. Paul has taught us on this head were not only beyond Naaman's proficiency, but above the standard of those times, even in Israel. 66 ، What, then, will the prophet say ? Will he, on the one hand, advise disobedience to his king; or, on the other, recommend unfaithfulness to his God? Will he push on his new convert to a bold ness in profession which shall out run his judgment? Or will be allow him to make any, even the least, compromise of conscience? So much here depends on the state of the man's heart, that what might be good advice on the supposition of some motives, might be bad on the surmise of others. Too rigid an injunction might break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax; whereas an express permission might remove salutary apprehensions. The sanction of the prophet might make him tread, without fear, on ground which ought to be explored with the most scrupulous diligence; and the path thereof learnt by spiritual discernment in the disciple himself. "Elisha, therefore, gives him no direction: he neither says bow, nor bow not; he neither tells him, the Lord will pardon thee, nor the Lord will not pardon thee in this thing; but he expresses his good will: he says, Go in peace!' and says it no doubt in such a manner, and with such a look, as to preclude further reply. Thus he sends him away with a blessing, commends him to the Divine guidance, and leaves him to discover the nicer shades of duty, as he becomes of full age, and his conscience more thoroughly exercised to discern good and evil." Such is the statement of Mr. Fawcett; and I am far from affirming that it is not that interpreta tion in which the judicious reader may readily acquiesce. But, with out prejudice to an opinion which it is impossible to disprove and easy to allow, I would venture to propose a different view of the subject; which I am disposed, after mature deliberation, to prefer. To me it is far from evident, that Naaman had become a real convert to the truth. He appears to have been a man of quick, yet generous feelings; easily exasperated by an apparent indignity, and not less alive to friendly usage, for which he was anxious to evince his gratitude by large and expensive liberalities. After suffering under a loathsome disease, when he found himself suddenly and completely recovered by the miraculous power which God had commissioned his servant Elisha to exert, he seems to have been transported with thankfulness and joy. He returns hastily to the prophet: he extols the power and glory of the God of Israel above all the fabled attributes of idols: he is fain to requite the prophet with costly gifts; and, when he cannot prevail with him to accept the smallest present, he declares his purpose to offer sacrifices, in future, to none but that Almighty Being, whose benevolence he had so recently and largely experienced. Accordingly, he solicits a quantity of earth from the holy land, with which he proposes to construct an altar, on which fires shall be kindled to Jehovah alone: and he then apologizes for the necessity under which he is placed, of occasionally taking a part in the stated worship of an idol. In all this I can discover nothing that stamps the authenticity of Naaman's conversion. All that he said or did, after his wonderful restoration to health, denotes a heart overflowing with joy, and disposed to make every return to his benefactor; but it does not exhibit the sober conclusions, the deliberate and coherent resolves, of a man in whom any spiritual renovation had taken place. It is likely enough that Naaman was no zealot for the religious persuasion of his country-no fond admirer of those impotent deities whom he had found unable or reluctant to effect his cure; and undoubtedly his respect for them would be further impaired, by the comparison he would institute between their insufficiency and the almighti is natural, in the first movements of gratitude, to account no recompense too large for the benefit received. It is natural to employ the most energetic language, in conveying our sentiments to a bountiful benefactor. It is natural, when we are prevented from discharging the debt in one way, to look about for some other expedient. And this is exactly what appears to me to be observable in the conduct of Naaman. Unable to satisfy his gratitude by heaping kindnesses upon the prophet, who resists his importunity, he falls upon a more specious expedient, and requests assistance in setting up an altar to Jehovah. This worship, however, is to be conducted with a privacy that might secure from molestation a less powerful man than the Syrian captain, among a people ever ready to inscribe new altars to new gods. At the same time, he never disguises his intention of still practising idolatry in public, and of bowing down to Rimmon when deference to his king required it. Such are bis demeanour and language; in which I look in vain for any symptoms of genuine faith. Naaman acts as might be expected under his circumstances, from a feeling and a generous man, a heathen and a courtier- from a man who, not being rivetted to idolatry by superstitious prejudices and scruples, was well prepared to concede the highest honours to a Being who had served him better than all his idol gods. But he is far from shewing an alienation of heart from gentile vanities, and a cordial adherence to the Holy One of Israel. This opinion seems to be corrobo rated by the prophet's reply. To a request of Naaman, that he might be furnished with consecrated earth for the building of an altar, Elisha makes no answer whatever. To have granted it would have been a violation of the Mosaic Law; and it may have been very apparent to the prophet, that the petition was dictated by motives in which was little or no sentiment of religion. Indeed, that it was little more than a court-like address may be concluded from the circumstance, that Naaman did not repeat it, although he clearly considered the possession of holy soil a preparative indispensable to the worship of Jehovah. Had that worship been very near his heart, he would not so soon have forgotten his intentions, nor have been put off with any thing short of an absolute denial. From these pre mises, I should draw much the same conclusion with Mr. Fawcett, as to the meaning of Elisha's answer, "Go in peace ;" that in fact it meant nothing, being the ordinary form of oriental courtesy in dismissing a visitor. It is most certain that he did not mean an assent to the request, that Naaman should be supplied with materials to construct an altar out of Jerusalem: and I can as little believe that he connived at the latter proposal, and sent him away a chartered idolater. The Syrian chieftain would not misapprehend the prophet's meaning, but would receive the usual civilities as they were meant and to those, the prophet, having already fulfilled his commission, saw reason not to add a single word with respect to the unmeaning propositions ceremoniously submitted to his decision. I am, &c. II. B. |