A Sermon, DELIVERED BY THE REV. J. H. EVANS, AT JOHN STREET CHAPEL, KING'S ROAD, DECEMBER 16, 1832. John, iii. 1, 2.-" There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Ir is a principle in nature, that every | effect is to be traced up to some adequate cause; and that all the effect is in exact proportion to its cause. Thus, when we look upon some mighty river, we not only trace it up to its spring-head, but in every thing connected with it; whether it be deep or shallow, whether it be swift or slow, whether it be clear or otherwise, we consider the spring from which it flows, the streams that supply it, the character of the soil, and the level of the country through which it passes. Thus is it with regard to the work of Providence; although it be a stormy ocean, affected by the collision of jarring interests-the violence of human passions-the underground current of man's selfishness; though it be difficult, sometimes, to see our course clearly or distinctly before us, yet are we quite certain that there is no result but what is directly influenced by some adequate principle, which regulates and governs it. And so is it with the work of Grace. A Christian man is one who sensibly differs from the world around him; he maintains another behaviour, displays another conduct, and exhibits other principles from the world that lieth in darkness; and though mixed up with the world from necessity, and engaged in many of its pursuits, exercised in many of its employments, yet, although in the world, is he in the main and distinguishing features of his character, all manifested to be not of the world. Now all this springs from some adequate cause; there must he some principle that produces this effect. And even all the inconsistencies that mark the character of the most consistent-and all the turnings to the right hand or to the left, by which they who live the nearest to God lament and bewail before Him all that mixedness of motive which in a measure defiles all that they are, and all that they do, as in the sight of a holy, holy, holy, heart-searching Jehovah ; all these things are to be traced up to some secret principle, some cause adequate to produce this effect. How can it be otherwise? This conclusion has its existence in the nature of things, or rather (to speak more as a Christian man) it has its existence in the will and appointment of GOD himself, which constitute the nature of things. We have, in the character of Nicodemus, a beautiful developement of the nature of true grace. We are told of him, he was a man of the Pharisees, and a ruler of the Jewshe came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." And we have in this chapter a detail of the conversation which occurred between our Lord and himself, in which much of his own ignorance is unfolded, but much of his sincerity also. He was evidently an enquirer after truth; he came to learn, and though he came by night, yet he came. We hear of him again in the seventh chapter of the same Gospel. "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees: and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him! The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers, or of the Pharisees, believed on him? But this people, who knoweth not the law, are cursed." This same "Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them." Observe; while the reality of God's work is mentioned, the faults of God's people are also mentioned. "Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." Again, we read of him in the nineteenth chapter of this same Gospel, after the crucifixion of our Lord." Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly." See the Holy Ghost does not excommunicate him, because he was a secret disciple, yet it mentions his faults. "Joseph of Arimathea being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, and besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him leave: he came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury." Here, then, we have, in this simple story, as I consider, this truth brought before us, That grace may be, in its first commencement, exceedingly feeble, and although it be feeble, yet is it reality. Secondly, That this grace, being real, abideth-it is not destroyed nor destructible. Lastly, we find, That this grace advanceth towards its own perfection. And to these three points, with the Lord's permission, on this, and the two following Lord's Days, in the morning, I shall direct the attention of those that hear me. May the Lord give us the aid, and guidance, and influence, and power of the Spirit, unfolding his own sacred truth as in the love of it, and applying it to our hearts in the power thereof. With regard to my First subject, I would consider these three points. First, THAT GRACE, IN ITS FIRST COMMENCEMENT, MAY BE VERY FEEBLE. Secondly, ALTHough it be feeBLE, YET IS IT A REALITY. Thirdly, ALTHOUGH IT BE FEEBLE, YET, WHEN IT IS REAL, CHRIST NEVER DESPISES IT. FIRST, WITH REGARD ΤΟ THE FEEBLENESS OF GRACE IN ITS FIRST OPERATIONS. We have a notable instance of it in the case before usHe came by night,"'-a timid man "He came by night,"-afraid of consequences-afraid of the exposure to which his coming to Christ would necessarily place him—afraid, it may be, of the scorn, and reproach, and contempt, and obloquy of the world. He came, we see clearly, with much ignorance; he knew but little of what he was enquiring, for when our Lord, in the third verse, placed before him this plain truth, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," Nicodemus said unto him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. | Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness." There was much ignorance, yet there was some light-there was some breaking up of the heart, and yet there was much hardness remaining; and though he came in a reasoning spirit, and wanting to know, How these things could be, instead of receiving the truth simply; yet he still enquired. We have a clear exhibition of the feebleness of grace in the character of Nicodemus. But when we turn to the Sacred word, what do we find there? We discover the same truth developed throughout the whole of God's sacred word. If I lead you to the 40th of Isaiah, how are young believers described there in the 11th verse? They are set forth as lambs-feeble, helpless, lambs whom he gathers with his arm, and whom, because of their feebleness, he carries in his bosomthose who have no might-those who have no strength-those who by reason of their weakness are ready to fall and droop and die. This is how the Eternal Spirit sets forth the beginnings of grace in the soul of man. Young believers are here de 66 scribed as lambs in all their feebleness. Again, in the 42nd of this same prophet, in the 3rd verse, A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench." If they had been described as a reed, it would have set forth their feebleness, but they are set forth as, a bruised reed-it describes them in their nothingness, quite unable to stand up against the rude peltings of the storm for one single moment. Observe once more; even a lamp is easily extinguished, even a lamp is quickly put out. What storm so insignificant but could extinguish it? And yet the beginnings of grace are set forth by smoking flax; that little smoke, and no more, that a single breath of wind could extinguish for ever. If you turn to the 4th chapter of the Proverbs and 18th verse, observe how the path of the just is spoken of! It is, "as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." But how does this day begin? It was but an opening beam-it was but a little streak—it was just that faint dawn that a man could hardly distinguish amidst the darkness of night. Yet thus it is how the path-way of the just man begins-it begins as the opening day. If I turn to the 13th of St. Matthew's Gospel, how do I find it there described? In the 31st verse, "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed." Whether we regard the kingdom of heaven, as the kingdom of GOD on earth, which it is no doubt intended to exemplify; or the kingdom of God in the soul of a man, and there it equally stands exemplified, yet it beginneth as the smallest of all seeds, so that one can hardly discern it by reason of its smallness. “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree." Thus in the 4th chapter of St. Mark's Gospel, when the good seed is spoken of as springing up, first the blade, the little blade, that many a farmer might mistake for a weed, and yet it is the blade that springeth up-the little blade, the little beginning of good things to come. I might, indeed, weary you with quotations of this sort. This truth runneth throughout the Bible. And I might add, just as Christ in his natural body grew up from nothing, as it were, to the stature of a man, so is Christ born in the heart of a man spiritually. I remember that remark of Cecil's, “First a thought, then a desire, then a prayer?" It is the case with thousands. How many a child brought up by parents, who have instructed him in the ways of GOD, could no more discover when the first commencement of real light took place, than he could point out the instant when the world was created; and yet he is certainly brought from darkness into marvellous light. It was a thought, then a desire, and at last a prayer. My dear hearers, I take pleasure in mentioning these things, because the Lord Jesus Christ takes such notice of his weak ones in his word. There are many in this congregation that I am sure will find this part of my sermon adapted to themselves; therefore I feel a delight in touching these strings, looking up to the eternal Spirit to be their encourager and comforter, and cheering them on their way, that they may take heart, and go forward, when they see that the beginnings of grace are frequently so very feeble in its first operations. But Secondly, ALTHOUGH GRACE BE DESCRIBED AS THUS FEEBLE IN ITS COMMENCEMENT, YET IS IT A REALITY. ruler of the Jews, and probably overrated himself as to his knowledge, yet he renounced his knowledge--he came as a learner; and though he was a man of enquiry, and doubtless, wanted to know, "how these things could be;" yet he still enquired, and there was much of the simplicity of a child in that enquiry. Weak grace is real grace · however feeble its commencement, yet is it a reality in the soul of man. If we had rescued some poor struggling creature from the waves, one whom we had watched buffeting with the storm, and had seen sink at last beneath the many waters-if we had brought him to the shore, and yet could mark no evidence of life in him, not a breath stirring, not an eyelid moving, not one single gesture to describe consciousness, but all apparent death. We go on in hope, we use every means, persevere in every remedy, and at last we hear one feeble sigh, we see the eyelash gently move, we see some little change in the features. What conclusion do we draw from it? He lives; he has life; life as real as if he walked and moved; as essentially as if we saw him rise in all the vigour and strength and power of health and animation. Look at the dead sinner-there he stands dead in trespasses and sinsnothing moves him; we preach to him the terrors of the law-we speak to him, though dead, just as Ezekiel spake to the dry bones-and if you think it useless, because there is power in these dead sinners to hear the word of life, then ask Ezekiel what innate power he thought there was in those dry bones to quicken themselves. We tell them of the terrors of the law; that GOD de Though Nicodemus came, as a cow-mandeth all their time, all their enerard, yet he came-though he was ignorant, yet he asked-though he was a gies, all their affections, all their influence, all their bodies, and all their wall and calling upon God. We find him now supplicating God's compassion in Christ. "Lord, save me, or I perish." We find him now pleading the blood of Christ-looking to him for mercy to pardon, and grace to sanctify; and if you could penetrate the recesses of his soul, you should find this in his heart-" Thy favour is better than life;" he would have the very being of sin rooted out, for he hateth it. souls, their minds, and all that they have for himself. We tell them that the penalty of disobedience is death, and still they heed us not. We tell them of the Gospel with all its gracious invitations, its gentle accents of mercy, its whispers of love. We tell them of a crucified Immanuel; how he came to save sinners; how he casts out none that come to him; that he himself declares, “all that the Fa- | ther giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." We tell them he came to save poor, lost, ruined sinners; to save them from their sins, yet they heed us not. We tell | them of a sin-hating GOD; the Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, yet they heed us not. We speak to them of a merciful, gracious, sinforgiving GOD, who delighteth to pardon, who waiteth to be gracious, and seems to wonder they do not love Him; that they can withhold their hearts from such a GOD, that not only forgiveth sin, but delighteth to forgive sin, because of the greatness of his own mercy, and yet they heed us not. We tell them of the terrors of eternal woe, the miseries of hell; of the blessings of eternal hap-communicated to him by the eternal piness, and the glories of heaven, yet they heed us not.-Why is it? It is because they are dead in their sins. But the mandate goes forth from the eternal GOD; go my Spirit and touch his heart, go and enlighten his conscience; go and take away that hard clod that bears upon his affections; go and convey life into his soul. What is the effect? He begins to feel his sin; he begins now to cry out, "GOD be merciful to me a sinner." "Lord, save me, or I perish." | We begin now to see him a praying man. "Behold, he prayeth." We find that that individual who was enmity itself against GOD, by reason of his wicked works, now turning to the My brethren, this sweet and pleasant stream is to be traced up to its fountain-head-the effect to its adequate cause. He has received a new principle, he has received a new spring-the spring of faith in GOD and his Christ; he is made partaker of a divine nature-of that nature that GOD himself did communicate to him, and which leadeth him to GOD; and he desireth, in consequence, conformity to the image of GOD. This is a reality. It is as real as the evil principle is real within him. It is no fancy that he has inherited an evil principle in his heart from the first Adam; so is it no fancy, but a reality, that he hath received a holy principle from the second Adam, Spirit. This mighty change we find in God's word set forth as a new creation, because it is not any thing produced from the principles of our old nature. The Holy Ghost does not take man's corrupt nature, and out of it produce something for God's service, but he implanteth a new nature, and this change is sometimes called a new creation. Sometimes it is called a new birth-sometimes a spiritual resurrection, because the soul is raised from a death in sin, to a new spiritual holy life; and as an act of Divine Power it is much greater than it is to raise a mouldering body from its grave and quicken it to life and energy. |