Page. "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, 237 SERMON I. MATTHEW V. VI. "BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH DO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED." If we look simply at the constitution of the Gospel, it must be seen to have an interest. for every heart. As a provision for our fallen race, so rich in its resources, so free in its conditions, and so universal in its offers, we might conclude that, wherever made known, it would awaken some interested feeling in the coldest breast, kindle some glow of hope in the darkest soul, impart some flush of joy to the most wretched heart; and rouse, under all circumstances, something of a general excitement. But it is well known that its usual B reception is precisely the reverse. For even when not listened to with total indifference, it commonly is, without any appearance of that immediate concern in it, which leads to those happy results, where a man shows himself fully alive to its importance. There is, indeed, in its very tone a something which will not allow it to be listened to with all the coldness of indifference; and there is in its nature much which plays round the heart, and awakens emotions which we cannot suppress at the moment, and under whose influence we seem to feel something like the charm of a very lovely song. But the strain ceases-the echo dies-and the motions pass away without leaving any practical impressions, any abiding excitement, or any cherished desires for a renewal of the theme. What could be supposed to have a more lively interest for the guilty, and thus gain direct access to every breast, than the offers of mercy which are made by the Gospel? And yet those offers fall upon the ears of many like strains in which they have no per sonal concern, nothing of a heartfelt interest. What hopes can so accord with the true wish for immortality, or so fully claim the unrestrained ardour of our souls, as those which are inspired by the doctrines of our redemption? And, at the same time, those hopes frequently pass from the mind like pleasing, but soon forgotten dreams; or, however vividly flashed into thought, by passing circumstances, they are as soon cast aside, without regret, amid the active scenes of busy life. What, in short, gives such pledges for our peace; what promises so much to our prayers and prescribed efforts; what really opens such resources for our comfort; what so truly enriches the mind and satisfies the heart, as genuine piety? And yet few, very few, give themselves any concern about the attainment of that piety, which proves itself real by its fruit. The mere semblance of it imposes upon many, quite to their satisfaction; while the heart remains unimpressed, the soul unrenewed, and the rich blessings of the Gospel neither enjoyed, nor sought after, nor thought worth seeking. It is, indeed, a painful fact, one which involves a mystery for which the Apostle gives the only clew, when he says: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him." The fact that when the truths of salvation are presented in their beautiful simplicity, enforced with the warmth of sincerity and soulfelt conviction of their weight, held out with the interests of promise ready for fulfilment, and applied in all their practical bearings; an arrested attention may be visible in a congregation, and an apparent liking manifested for the subject; and still the case may only come up to the picture of the prophet, who said: "They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; and, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument for they hear thy words, but they will not do them." The truth of the case is, that the beauties of religion require certain desires to be called |