III. I say then, that when the Lord is about to open the lips, he proceeds by the following steps: 1. He opens the eyes. We are often in a similar case with Hagar in the wilderness. The water was spent in the bottle, and she sat down in despair. There was a well or fountain close to her, sufficient to have supplied her with water to her life's end; but she saw it not till God opened her eyes*. Just so many a poor soul is distressed, and says, My stock is spent; I had but little grace at the best, and, alas! that little is gone. And now if the Lord should ask some hard thing, would you not do it to obtain a supply? You would willingly take a long journey, or part with all your wealth, to have grace abounding in your hearts; but you know you cannot expect help in this way. It is true, all contrivances of our own will have no effect; but, blessed be God, they are as needless as they would be useless. We need not dig in the earth, nor climb the skies, nor cross the seas; our remedy is near †. We need no costly offerings of silver or gold; our remedy is cheap. Come, pore no longer upon your empty bottle, but look to the fountain, the river, the ocean of all grace. May the Lord open your eyes, (as he did the eyes of Elisha's servant,) and I will undertake to point you to an object that shall answer all your wants. Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ; look unto him as he hung naked, wounded, bleeding, dead, and forsaken upon the cross. Look unto him again as he now reigns in glory, possessed of all power in heaven and in earth, with thousands of thousands of saints and angels worshipping before him, and ten thousand times ten thousand ministering unto him; and then compare your sins Gen. xxi. 15—19. + Rom. v. 6-8. 2 Kings vi. 17. with his blood, your wants with his fulness, your unbe lief with his faithfulness, your weakness with his strength, your inconstancy with his everlasting love. If the Lord opens the eyes of your understanding, you would be astonished at the comparison. Would you compare a small grain of sand upon the shore with the massy mountains which hide their heads in the clouds, and spread their roots from sea to sea? or the spark of a glow-warm with the noon-day sun? yet there is less disproportion between these, than between the utmost capacity of your desires and wants, and the immense resources provided for you, in the righteousness, compassion, and power of our dear Redeemer. "He is "able to save to the uttermost*;" and all our trouble arises chiefly from this, that our eyes are holden, so that we do not know him†. Therefore the first step towards opening the lips is to open our eyes, that we may see him, and look upon him by such a sight as unloosed the tongue of unbelieving Thomas, and constrained him to cry out, "My Lord and my God!" 2. When the eyes are thus opened, the Lord, in the next place, and by that as a means, opens the ear. When Christ is out of sight, we are deaf to all the calls, invitations, and promises of the Scripture. But a believing view of him who died that we might live, rouses the attention, and makes us willing and able to hear what the Lord will speak to his people. And what does he say from the cross? "Look unto me, and be ye saved. If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me. Behold my hands, my feet, my pierced side; "all this I bore for you. Be not afraid, only believe. Heb. vii. 25. VOL. II. † Luke xxiv. 16. John xx. 28. 4 E "O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt? "See, sinner, how I have loved thee. I have trodden "the wine-press alone. I have destroyed death, and "him that had the power of death. There is hence"forth no condemnation to them that believe in me* » And what does he say from his kingdom? "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. -- For a season you have sorrow; but I will see you again, "and your heart shall rejoice. Him that cometh to "me, I will in nowise cast out. I am the first and "the last that was dead and am alive. I keep the keys of death and hell, and save whom I will. Cast thy burden upon me, I will sustain thee. I will take away thy iniquity. Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. Go in peace, and sin no more †." My Saviour, my God, what words are these! 3. By opening the eye to see his excellence and power, and the ear to hear his gracious words, he in the next place, opens the heart. He breaks the prison-doors, forces for himself an entrance, and sets the prisoner at liberty. He touches the rock, and the waters flow. Now a true and filial repentance takes place; now sin appears exceedingly sinful indeed. There was a sorrow before, but it was fruitless and ineffectual; but the sight of him who was pierced for our sins, and the welcome sound of pardon proclaimed in the conscience, produce a sorrow after a godly sort, a repentance never to be repented of. Thus it was with the woman who washed our Lord's feets; she had been * Isa. xlv. 22.; John xii. 22.; John xx. 27.; Mark v. 36.; Matth. xiv. 31.; Isa. Ixiii. 3.; Heb. ii. 14.; Rom. viii. 1. † Luke xxii. 32.; John xvi. 22.; John vi. 37.; Rev. i. 17, 18.; Psal. Iv. 22.; Micah vii. 19.; Matth. ix. 2.; John viii. 11. er.: Σ a great sinner, much was forgiven her, and therefore she loved much. Thus it was with Peter: he had been a grievous backslider; he had been with Jesus upon the mount, and saw the excellent glory; he was stout in his protestation, "Though all men deny thee, yet "will not I:" but he shrunk at the voice of a girl, and said, "I know not the man." When the servants spoke to him, he cursed and swore; but when Jesus looked upon him, he wept*. Do you think our Lord looked upon him with disdain and indignation? rather with a look of love; a look that at once convinced him of his sin, and gave him to understand that the Lord pitied and forgave him. This look broke his heart in pieces. He went out and wept bitterly. And afterwards, though greatly humbled as to confidence in himself, yet, when asked the question, he could boldly appeal to the searcher of hearts, "Lord, thou knowest all things, "thou knowest that I love thee f." And when the eyes, the ears, the heart, are thus opened; when the understanding is enlightened, the will engaged, and the affections inflamed, the cure is wrought. Then the lips will open of course, and the mouth be filled with thanksgiving and praise. O that it would please the Lord to give to me, and to each of you a clearer knowledge of this blessed change from heart-felt experience, than is in the power of words, (of my poor words especially,) to describe! "Come," my friends, "let us return unto the Lord: for he "hath wounded, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, "and he will bind us up." Verily we are all guilty in this matter; we have all provoked him by unbelief, * Luke xxii. 61, 62. † John xxi. 17. Hosca vi. I. and wandering from his good way; and therefore we live so far below our privileges, and are so often heavy and sorrowful, when we have in him grounds of continual joy. Now let us unite in this prayer, "O Lord, open thou our lips, display thy power in the midst of us, heal all our breaches, rend the veil of our unbelief, blot out the thick clouds of our sins, cleanse us "from all our iniquities and idols, and teach our stam"mering tongues, and barren hearts, to show forth the "praise of thy abundant goodness." I proceed to observe, in the last place, IV. That if the Lord is pleased to answer our desire, and to open your lips in this manner, then you will surely praise him. You will praise him with your inouths, and in your lives; you will thankfully acknowledge his mercy, his power, and his wisdom. 1. You will praise his mercy. Is the cooling stream svelcome to the thirsty soul? is a reprieve acceptable to a poor condemned malefactor? still more welcome is a sense of pardoning love to a soul that has felt the evil and effects of sin. What to be taken from the dunghill*, and made a companion with princes! to have all our guilt and complaints removed at once! to be snatched as it were from the brink of hell, and placed in the very suburbs of heaven! to be able to say, "O Lord "thou wast[justly] angry with me, [and I went mourn"ing under a sense of thy displeasure;] but [now] "thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst "met!" Is not this a mercy? especially considering how undeserving we are of the smallest favour! And further, the way in which it was conveyed! that the 1 |