Some Reflections on the Importance of a Religious Life
SOME REFLECTIONS
ON
THE IMPORTANCE
OF
A RELIGIOUS LIFE,
OFFERED TO THE
YOUNGER MEMBERS
OF THE
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
BY JOSIAH FORSTER.
LONDON:
DARTON AND HARVEY, GRACECHURCH STREET.
MDCCCXXXIV.
REFLECTIONS
ON THE
IMPORTANCE OF A RELIGIOUS LIFE.
My dear Friends,
Having often felt a lively interest in your present and future happiness, and this feeling of Christian solicitude continuing, I venture to offer for your acceptance a written testimonial of brotherly love.
It is my earnest desire, that under a sense of the infinite value of your immortal souls, you may be induced frequently to meditate on the things of eternity; seriously to ask yourselves whether you are, in humility and faith, seeking earnestly for the help of the Holy Spirit, to live in the pure and filial fear of God, and to keep his commandments. The inward convictions of the Spirit of Truth, and that knowledge of the will of the Most High, which he has mercifully granted through the Holy Scriptures, will, I trust, prepare you to admit the important truth, that man is in a fallen State, and that he cannot restore himself into the Divine favour; that without purity and holiness, without a thorough change of heart and of the affections, without a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness, you cannot in this life enjoy that real, substantial peace which comes by our Lord Jesus Christ, nor hereafter partake of the joys which are to be bestowed on the righteous.
The Lord Jesus Christ declared himself to be the way, the truth, and the life; that no man cometh unto the Father but by him. He further said, “No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him.” The drawings of this infinite love are afforded through the operation of the Holy Spirit on the human mind, convincing of sin and attracting the soul unto Christ. How inexpressibly important then is it, that the gentlest influence of this heavenly visitant be followed; that we accept the offered reconciliation, through that blessed and all-sufficient Redeemer, whom God in his perfect wisdom and love hath provided. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Our blessed Saviour bare our sins in his own body upon the tree: “he was wounded for our transgressions: he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed.” He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification: therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I intreat you in Christian love, to accept in simplicity these sacred truths with believing hearts. Bear in mind, at the same time, my dear younger friends, the comprehensive but solemn call of the Saviour of the world: “Repent ye and believe the Gospel.” When he sent forth his disciples, they preached that men should everywhere repent. “Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” Come in faith unto the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world; hearing in mind his gracious promise, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” Take his yoke upon you, learn of him, then shall you find rest unto your souls. The evil propensities of the natural heart, the temptations and allurements of the devil, and the associates to whom some of you are exposed, powerfully attract many to the path of worldly enjoyment and pleasure. But be induced to believe, nay, are not some of you convinced by experience that it is so, that the burthen of sin is grievous? “The wages of sin is death;” “to be carnally minded is death;” death to the enjoyment of that life which is hid with Christ in God, death and misery in the world to come; whilst “the gift of God is eternal life:” “to be spiritually minded is life and peace:” godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
The work of religion is indeed an individual work: it is that which no man can perform for another. We must each give an account of his own deeds at the judgment-seat of Christ, whether they have been good or bad. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Our Lord himself hath taught us the duties which we are each of us to fulfil. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat, because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” This same blessed Teacher, Christ Jesus himself, hath, however, given us this gracious assurance, “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Come, then, in prayer unto God, through Him who is our ever blessed Mediator and Advocate: spread your cause before the Lord; ask counsel of him; pray for the forgiveness of your sins for Christ’s sake, for the help of his Spirit to keep his whole law; thus you will be led to accept in faith, these precious promises of the Lord of life and glory. “He, the Spirit of Truth, dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” “If a man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.” “When he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” The Apostle Paul saith: “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” “Hereby,” saith the apostle John, “we know that Jesus Christ is in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
Look steadfastly unto him as the light of the world and the life of men. Fervently desire that he may be your Shepherd to guide you, your Bishop to watch over you, your High Priest to present you unto God. Earnestly pray that he may be pleased to baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire—that he may, by the power of his grace, cleanse your hearts from all impurity, and by the fire of his judgments burn up all within you that is contrary to his divine nature, thus purifying the soul, and rendering it meet to partake of the blessedness of those who shall see God. In the progress of this work many are the conflicts which are passed through, many are the humiliations which are experienced; but as these are patiently endured, as you humbly yield yourselves to the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, a sense of pardon is granted, the soul is sustained by the Comforter, the fruits of self-denial are produced, love to God and love to man increase, and a hope and trust in the availing intercession of our Holy Redeemer are afforded, which the world can neither bestow nor destroy.
Christ, in his unutterable love, has set us an example that we should walk even as he walked. He is emphatically described as holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. May you seriously contemplate the high character set forth in each of these terms; and ask yourselves whether you are really pressing after it. If not, with what hope can you look forward to the final day of retribution. May I feel the force of these reflections, whilst thus, in love, offering them to your serious attention.
Great is the privilege of knowing that we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities; but who having been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, is able to succour those that are tempted. It is true wisdom often to call to mind the contradiction of sinners which the Lord Jesus endured, and that for the benefit of each one of us. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Meditate upon the narratives recorded by the Evangelists, of the insults and cruel mockery that were offered to him, of his treatment before Pontius Pilate, of the agony which he underwent in the garden of Gethsemane, of the ignominious death which he suffered without the gates of Jerusalem. And for what purpose? To purchase eternal life for us. And who was it that thus humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross? It was none other than the Son of God. He who was in the beginning with God, and who was God; who is described by the prophet as the mighty God! who is declared by the apostles to be “God over all, blessed for ever;” “the true God and eternal life.” What greater proof could our Heavenly Father give of his love than to send his beloved Son to seek and to save that which was lost; to raise man, who is by nature dead in trespasses and sins, out of his fallen state. What clearer evidence is there of the iniquity and the guilt of sin, than that he who ordereth all things in perfect wisdom, saw meet thus to provide for our redemption. May we humbly meditate on these things, with that deep reverence and gratitude with which these mysterious but certain truths of Holy Scripture ought ever to be contemplated.
Conversion, regeneration, justification and sanctification, are spoken of in Holy Scripture as essential to our salvation. Be assured, therefore, that they are needful for each one of you: pray that you may so pass from nature to grace, as really to become the children of God. Be cautious, however, of hastily or superficially pronouncing, concerning yourselves, that this great change is wrought in you, and exercise no less care in attempting to determine this of others. “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity:” remembering, and a blessed assurance it is, that “if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The true believer in him is often reminded, to his own humiliation, that in us, that is in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing; that all our fresh supplies of wisdom and strength come from above; and that we ought from day to day to be pressing after that blessed state, in which we may humbly trust that Christ is known to be unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption. The further you advance in the Christian life, the more will you be brought to see, that such is our high calling of God in Christ Jesus; and at the same time, such is the corruption of the human heart, and its continued proneness to sin, that there is an unceasing need to maintain the warfare by obeying the sacred charge, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” in thankful reliance on the subjoined declaration, “for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
The most experienced Christians have to acknowledge that salvation is the free and unmerited gift of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” What a blessing it is to be permitted to attain to a well-grounded hope, that having sought, earnestly and honestly sought, to live according to the will of God, we shall be accepted of him, in and through our blessed Saviour, not having on our own righteousness, but being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. May this, my dear young friends, be the happy attainment of every one of you.
II.
Having thus briefly glanced at some of the leading doctrines of the Gospel, I would offer a few observations more especially applicable to our own religious body.
I have long believed that it has been in the ordering of Divine Providence, that we were gathered, and have been continued as a distinct Christian community. Our early friends were enlightened by the light of Christ, to see that the apostacy from primitive Christianity had spread further than the reformers who went before them had acknowledged; and I believe that through the shinings of this light upon their understandings, they received and acted upon those views and practices of the Christian religion which distinguished them from other professors of the name of Christ, and which have ever since been maintained amongst us.
In simple dependence upon him as their leader and teacher, and in accordance with their views of the spiritual character of divine worship, given in the New Testament, they separated from others, met in silence, each to worship God in the temple of his own heart, and were, we cannot doubt, enabled in this way to worship him acceptably. Even when no words were uttered, they were made sensible that the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. As they were not taught in the New Testament that human learning is a needful qualification for the ministry of the Gospel, they acknowledged those only in that sacred office, whom they believed to be called of the Lord to the work; and through the immediate operation of the Holy Spirit, men and women among them were qualified to speak to exhortation, edification, and comfort.
Finding, on scriptural authority, that in our Lord’s charge to his apostles, when he sent them forth to preach the Gospel, his command was, Freely [or gratuitously,] ye have received, freely give, they conscientiously refused to receive pay for preaching. They accepted not that system of the Christian religion which was imposed upon them by the civil government, hence they felt it to be their duty to withdraw from its ministers, and not by their conduct in any way to countenance the compulsory maintenance of them, believing that if they did so, they should contribute to a violation of this injunction of our Lord. There were many things in the ecclesiastical establishment of that day from which they wholly dissented, and they felt themselves called of the Lord to bear a public testimony against them, and against all unchristian interference with the rights of conscience. They patiently submitted to the consequences of this course of proceeding, severe and cruel as they were. In acting thus, they did not consider that they were violating the apostolic charge, to obey the civil magistrate, because that exhortation, in their view, applied to his temporal, and not to any religious authority.
As the plain command of our Lord is, Swear not at all, they accepted the words in their obvious and extensive meaning; and because they were uttered by Him who is given to be Head over all things to his church, they relied on his divine aid in enduring all the hardships and grievous sufferings which ensued, upon a steadfast adherence to his injunction. The maintenance of this testimony led them to set a high value upon truth-speaking, and gave them purer views of the morality of the Gospel.
Jesus Christ came to proclaim peace on earth and good-will to men; they therefore sought to live in peace with all men; and love, harmony and brotherly kindness conspicuously prevailed among them. He taught them to love their enemies; they therefore would not take up arms, or fight on any occasion: they abstained from the many political commotions of the times in which they lived: they confided in divine protection, and experienced it in a remarkable manner: they trusted in the Lord and were not confounded.
In the Gospel we are taught to deny ourselves, to take up the cross, to love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. Hence they thought it consistent with this denial, with this taking up of the cross, with avoiding the love of the world, not to follow its spirit and its vain and fluctuating fashions, not to adopt complimentary, flattering modes of expression, inconsistent with truth and Christian simplicity: hence arose their practices in speech, behaviour, and apparel.
Our early friends believed that all typical and figurative observances were for ever abolished, by the coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh; that the dispensation of the Gospel is spiritual; and that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And, after a careful examination of the New Testament, they did not apprehend that either water-baptism, or partaking of the bread and Wine, constitute an essential part of the religion, of Christ, instituted by him as ordinances, to be kept in all ages of his church; they therefore did not adhere to these practices.
These views, by which our Society is distinguished from many of our fellow Christians, have been upheld from the days of our early friends to the present time, in a simple dependence upon the help of the Holy Spirit. May they ever be maintained amongst us, and in the same dependence!
Many of our dear and honoured Friends in former times, and others who are still living, have yielded, in faith, to the guidance of the Spirit of Truth; and have in a remarkable manner through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, partaken of, and been sustained by this heavenly influence. Hence I do earnestly desire, that faith in the convictions of the Holy Spirit, and in his guidance and government, may be sought after and increase amongst us; and that obedience may be yielded to all his manifestations. It is our duty to exercise a right understanding in the fear of the Lord, even in religious matters. We may be exposed to delusion; but humility, a filial fear of God, a correct view of Holy Scripture, and a sense of the subtle, transforming insinuations of the devil, are strong safeguards against it. But what a blessed privilege it is to be weaned from all undue dependence on instrumental help; to be brought, through faith and obedience, to that single trust in the Lord, in which we can humbly and reverently feel, that in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength; in which, however undeserving of such great mercy, we can, from heartfelt experience, believe that these words of the Lord Jesus do, in their spiritual import, apply to us: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Be persuaded to believe and to act upon the belief, that this happy condition may, as you persevere, and faint not, be attained by every one of you.
III.
It is my earnest desire, my dear young friends, that having been taught that the true worship of God cometh only from the heart, you may gladly resort to our religious meetings at the appointed seasons, and under a reverent sense of the purity and holiness of him whom you profess to serve, seek to present yourselves before him in solemn silence, to be of those who fulfil, in a spiritual sense, the words of the psalmist, “The eyes of all wait upon thee,” and to partake from him of the subsequent declaration, “Thou givest them their meat in due season.” As we secretly confess our sins unto him, and ask for the forgiveness of them, for the sake of Jesus Christ, and beg for the renewings of the Holy Ghost, the soul is tendered and contrited before the Lord, and in his own time some sense is granted of the continuance of his mercy, either by the immediate extension of his love, by the ministry of the word, or by the application of some portion of Holy Writ.
May you be earnestly concerned then, in religious meetings, to be abstracted from worldly cares and cogitations, to worship God in spirit and in truth. May you guard against indolence, carelessness, or irreverence as to the things of religion, and strive to know your thoughts brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So great is the goodness of our Heavenly Father, that he at times grants to those who thus present themselves before him, an inward sense of his continued mercy and providence. And when he, the Lord Almighty, confers upon our souls an evidence of his love and of his watchful care,—which whilst we accept it in humility, we feel that it would be ingratitude not to believe to come from him—what more can we desire; is it not worth patiently, perseveringly, labouring after?
I know from painful experience, that the state of which I have written is not always arrived at, so that I can feelingly address myself to others. The wanderings and imaginations of the mind, thoughtlessness, and a want of due reverence to that gracious Being in whose presence we are more especially assembled, may divert the attention from the true object of worship; but as the soul is again turned unto him in humiliation and prostration, he graciously regards it for good, and answers the prayer of the penitent and the humble.
An individual earnestness of soul before the Lord appears to me most strictly to accord with that dependence upon him which Holy Scripture so abundantly teaches: “My soul wait thou upon God, my expectation is from him.” “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.” “All my fresh springs are in thee.” “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.” “Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger.” “He that drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but it shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life.”
This single eye unto God, through faith in his beloved Son, so much the theme of the sacred volume, should, in my apprehension, if we act consistently with our profession, be the moving cause of our religious proceedings, as members of our Christian Society. As these views are received and acted upon, they lead from looking unto any man as a needful guide in the way of life and salvation; and as we come direct to Christ, we shall grow in grace, and be ingrafted into him, the true and living vine. In every effort for your religious improvement, constantly bear in mind, that unless it brings you more under the government of Christ, the full benefit of such efforts is not derived. It is the power of the Lord which not only converts but purifies the soul; and a gentle, humbling sense of that power may be, and often is lost, through a creaturely activity in the things of religion. In the economy of divine Providence, a growth in the spiritual life does not appear to be ordinarily very rapid; in grace, as in nature, we see that as the advance is steady, it becomes most durable and substantial, and there is the greatest fitness for service and usefulness in the church.
As we are preserved humble and serious, in bowedness of spirit before the Lord, in our assemblies for divine worship, we are most likely to be prepared to join in public prayer, when rightly uttered, or to be edified by the ministry which we may hear. The offerings of those who may be called to exercise such gifts amongst us, are not to be judged of as the mere productions of the human understanding. The ministry which our religious Society acknowledges, is that which comes from the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit; which is not to be prepared or premeditated in the wisdom of man, but to be delivered to the congregation, through the fresh unfoldings of the Spirit of Truth. Those who are rightly called to preach the Gospel, and it is a great blessing to have such as are so called, have a strong claim on the sympathy of their friends. They often begin to speak in weakness and in fear, having but little before them to communicate; but as they are concerned to proceed in the fear of the Lord and in his counsel, they are enabled to minister spiritual food to many who hear them. But if the hearers, instead of being found themselves humbly waiting upon God, are ready to criticise what is said, to judge of it merely by their reasoning powers, it is not to be expected that they will be edified.
I have been instructed in observing in the exercise of the gifts of the ministry, a diversity of administration which I believe to have proceeded from the same Lord. In tenderness and love I would here advert to the care that is needful as to commenting upon what may have been offered: the good which might have been designed to be thus conveyed in our religious meetings, may by this means be very soon lost. At the same time it is my earnest wish that this charge of the apostle may be ever observed amongst us: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth;” and may those who preach amongst us, be concerned to do it in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. But it has often happened in our Society, that under the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the unlearned have been qualified, though their discourses were unadorned by human art or study, to awaken the sinner, and to bring him unto Christ. It is with a broken and a contrite spirit that the Lord condescendeth to dwell; and such is his love, that as this prevails in our meetings for worship, the hearer is not ready to try the ministry by the standard of his own wisdom, he is not discomposed or perplexed if he thinks what is delivered is not adapted to his own individual edification.
I would willingly encourage in every one of my young friends, a deep religious travail of soul for their growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,—in that knowledge which is life eternal. As this spiritual exercise is maintained in the fear of the Lord, as the natural will and the powers of the mind are subjected to the power of God, as spirit, soul, and body are offered to his disposal, a holy reverence of Him is produced; and under a solemn sense of the nature of his service, of the unworthiness of the creature, and of his manifold infirmities and transgressions, the secret cry is raised, Help me and preserve me, O God of my salvation. In this lowly state an inward devotedness to the Lord is experienced, a godly care prevails that the work of religion may be maintained by purity of life and conversation, rather than by a high profession before men. Through his goodness, his own works brought forth in the heart by the power of his Spirit, praise him; and from a deep sense of the treachery and deceitfulness of the natural man, there is a fear of falling by the hand of the enemy, and at the same time a humble trust in him who hath overcome the world and all the powers of the devil.
To such the Holy Scriptures are indeed precious and delightful; they rejoice to meditate on the law of the Lord, to exercise their understandings on that law in his fear, and to dwell upon his promises in a humble trust that they may be fulfilled in their blessed experience. Feeling an increasing sense of their own helplessness and sinfulness, they will flee for refuge and for succour to the Saviour of men, and be brought to feel that with him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; that it is indeed an invaluable blessing to draw nigh unto God through him, and to derive all their strength through him. May we be kept so humble, so little, in our own estimation, as to know the Gospel promise applied to us individually: “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.”
IV.
I would now, in brotherly love, offer a few hints, which more particularly apply to your daily habits, and to your intercourse with others. In doing this, I would however affectionately remind you, that in these things there ought to be a continued reference unto Christ, and to the leadings and restraints of his Spirit, and then whatever you do, you may trust that his blessing will attend it.
I willingly hope that to some of you, it is scarcely needful to recommend the diligent private reading of the Bible, and meditating upon the blessed truths contained in it. May this be the practice of every one; and may you accept it as the book of the revelation of the will of God. May its all-important truths be practically applied, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, to your life and conduct in all your varied circumstances. In bringing forward on the present occasion, many sacred passages, it has been I trust under some sense of their very serious import. As they have come before me with a degree of freshness, they have afforded a renewed testimony to their divine authority, by their energy and force, as descriptive of the things of God, and by their adaptation to the nature and to the constant wants of man in his present state of existence.
Be invited to seek after retirement; and to withdraw frequently, though it be but for a short time, from the busy scenes of life, and the cheerful society of men. “It is good that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord; it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth: he sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.” Be faithful to yourselves, frequently and honestly examine the motives for action. Strive to overcome your easily besetting sins. Many who are further advanced in years than you are, can acknowledge how good it would now be for them to have been more diligent and honest in earlier life in the work of self-examination. We shall all find, if we are willing to see it, that we have our individual temptations. Some are led away by ambition; some by a love of pleasure; others by the love of money: some in one way, some in another; arising from the pride of the human heart, or from inordinate self-love. But it is the office of the Holy Spirit to show unto man his secret sins, and to enable him to subdue them. The sufficiency of divine grace for the cleansing of the soul from its ever-varying forms of pollution, is to me a striking evidence of its divine nature. What a blessing it is to know that we have this almighty helper, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. Follow the leadings of this heavenly guide: accept with grateful and obedient hearts the convictions for sin, which are mercifully granted; then may you rest upon the assurance uttered by our ever present Saviour: “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Prayer is an individual duty: thus to draw nigh unto God is one of the greatest privileges which a Christian enjoys. Avail yourselves of it in filial trust and reverent fear. Pour out your souls in secret humble supplication, in the name of Jesus Christ, unto the Father of mercies. Confess your sins unto him, remembering that if we do so, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
Be encouraged to look towards the first day of the week as a day of rest, as a day more especially set apart for spiritual improvement, for communion with the Father and with the Son. Let your arrangements be such as that the day may be passed to the greatest profit. Let other hours than those occupied in public worship be employed so as to prove seasons of real edification, and be very careful that nothing is done which is a bad example to others. Be diligent in attending all our meetings for worship, both on first and week days. It is a great advantage to have a certain time fixed, when we may meet with our friends, and draw nigh unto God; and also to know that we can worship him acceptably, unaided by any outward ministry; and that he will fulfil his gracious promise; “I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me.”
Avoid light, frivolous reading, it is a dangerous occupation of time; it renders irksome serious and sober reflection on the things of eternity. On the other hand, let me invite you to read that which is calculated to profit and to instruct. Whilst cultivating the talents and employing the time, entrusted to you in earlier life for the acquisition of solid and useful knowledge, may you pursue every study with a constant reference to the gracious Giver of all that we have and all that we are; then will you be protected from the pride of intellectual attainments. Actuated by higher motives than those which the laws of honour amongst men establish, seek the honour which cometh from God only, who himself hath declared, “Them that honour me I will honour; but they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”
It is a delightful occupation of time to make ourselves acquainted with the works of a kind and gracious Providence, as displayed in the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms; and as far as our faculties will enable us to do so, to study those laws by which, in his infinite wisdom, our all-wise Creator has regulated and preserves the universe—the workmanship of his holy hands. Reflections of this sort often fill the mind with gratitude to the Author of our numberless blessings. The Psalmist and the prophets of ancient times were much accustomed to these contemplations, as their frequent and beautiful allusions to natural objects abundantly show. Our Lord himself instructively directed his disciples to the ever watchful providence of God, in his memorable discourse upon the mount: “Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Consider the lilies of the field how they grow, they toil not neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
I would encourage you to examine, in a humble, teachable spirit, into the evidences of the Christian religion. May you prefer that course of serious reading which leads to inward, experimental piety, which promotes vital, unostentatious religion, and strengthens the desire to be approved by Him who seeth and knoweth the heart, rather than of men who often form mistaken judgments of others. But be intreated, in love, to be very careful that neither by reading nor by association with others, the mind is injured by opinions which weaken a firm faith in the doctrines of the Gospel. Be not perplexed or distressed, if in the moral government of the world, if in the state of the church of Christ, even if in Holy Scripture, you meet with some things which are beyond the comprehension of the reason of man. Our gracious Heavenly Father is altogether perfect and infinitely wise; but the faculties and perceptions which He has granted to us are very limited: here we see but in part, and know but in part. We are constantly called to the exercise of faith: it becomes us, as reasonable and dependent beings, to trust in God; and if we do thus trust, he will stay our minds on him, give us to confide in him, and to rejoice both in his goodness and in his power.
And as it is my warm and sincere desire, that from the approbation of your judgments, and through the influence of divine grace, you may become useful members of our Society, let me, before I leave this subject, invite you to make yourselves well acquainted with its views of doctrine and practice, with its early history, and with the narratives of the devotedness to Christ, and of the sufferings for his name-sake of those who have gone before us in religious profession. Many of these have exhibited, both in their lives and in their deaths, the practical efficacy of their faith. Bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit, in their moral virtues and enlarged philanthropy they commended their profession to those amongst whom they dwelt. Allow me to recommend to your careful and attentive perusal, the Rules of Discipline and Advices of our religious society, extracted from the Minutes and Epistles of the Yearly Meeting, and recently published under its sanction. In my apprehension this publication exhibits much that is excellent, and of practical application by us all. Our Christian discipline bears ample evidence of a divine superintending care which has been extended to us. May you increasingly value its salutary provisions and observe all its regulations; and as far as it is in your power, cheerfully attend the meetings established for its maintenance. The intercourse which our meetings for discipline have occasioned, and the brotherly kindness and fellowship which have ensued, have been very helpful to us; they have, in many cases, contributed to the comfort of life, and produced a beneficial interest and sympathy one with another. I see much in the economy and institutions of our little Society, which appear to me to be the genuine fruits of the Christian religion, and to have been a blessing to us. I value them, and desire that you, my dear friends, may value them also. Cherish a feeling of love to your fellow-members in religious profession—to the Society—to its Christian principles. This, I believe, may be safely recommended without asking any one to form his religious views merely upon trust; but in examining the doctrines of Christianity and the grounds of our testimonies, may it be done with a deferential respect to the experience of those who have practically proved their excellence, and with a willingness to adopt them as your own, humbly asking counsel from on high in the engagement.
The following Scripture precepts so forcibly and comprehensively set forth the duties which they inculcate, that in this brief address I would simply insert them, and affectionately recommend them to your constant observance. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise.” “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God.” “We beseech you to know them who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.”
Love and kindness, charity and forbearance, are virtues essential to a Christian. How often are they exhibited and enforced in the Bible! They sweeten the toils and trials of life; they are the very element in which the servant of Christ delights to dwell. May you be qualified to say so from your own experience. In judging of the actions of others, be candid, and put a kind and favourable construction upon them. Dwell upon their good qualities, be not blind to their faults; but do not make them a topic of common conversation. You may have seen failings, and even sins, which may have grieved you, and shaken your faith; but let not such things greatly move you. If others have fallen, you may fall also: let their harms be your warning; let these lessons teach compassion, and lead to greater watchfulness and humility. But let them not be any plea for you to deviate from the straight-forward path of rectitude, which you have seen and known it to be your duty to pursue; if you do, great will be your loss.
In our daily walk in life, we have to act as the followers of Christ, or as the children of this world. Hesitate not, I affectionately beseech you, to pursue the former course. Be decided characters in the most important concerns of life. Strive to walk according to this plain comprehensive charge of the Apostle John: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him: for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Seek, however, that this may be exhibited more by the power of him that worketh in us to will and to do according to his own good pleasure, than by a hasty zeal for his honour, or by a mere orthodoxy of profession before men. Lukewarmness in religion, unsound views of Christian truth, must grieve the true believer in Christ; but if called upon to avow his belief, he should always endeavour, in meekness to instruct those who oppose themselves, and to let his light so shine before men, that they seeing his good works, may glorify our Father who is in heaven.
Let your whole conversation, therefore (by which we may understand our daily intercourse among men), be as becometh the Gospel. The true love of God and of Christ leads from the love of the world, of its false policy and maxims. If the affections be set on things above, what pleasure can be derived from indulging in the vain and fluctuating fashions of men? Intimate association with those who are not seeking the kingdom of heaven cannot be a safe course. Amusements which leave a sting behind them—which lead the mind from the pure fear of God, and disqualify it from serving Him with acceptance, cannot be lawfully followed by the true servant of the Lord Jesus.
Guard against covetousness in any shape; be liberal to the poor according to the means placed within your reach. Be thoroughly honest and open-hearted; keep to truth and sincerity on all occasions; watch and pray, and that continually, that you may be strengthened to shun every avenue to immorality in thought, word, or deed. Be careful, when engaged in any way in the concerns of trade, that whilst diligent in business, you are fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Let your moderation appear unto all men; let all your proceedings be marked by strict Christian integrity. Endeavour to feel and to act as pilgrims seeking for a better country, that is a heavenly one.
Christianity is an active and a social principle. A true sense of the love of God in Christ Jesus, of our great debt of gratitude for the multiplied mercies and blessings conferred upon us through him, leads us to a willingness to benefit others, to help and to comfort them; to promote their happiness in time, to feel and to manifest a strong interest for their happiness in eternity. In the performance of these duties, it is well to have a continued reference to the second commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Many will be the occasions on which you may keep this injunction; may you rightly improve them, and partake of the pleasure which results from doing good to others. It is right, at the same time, to remember, that the servant of Christ, however he may be employed, will act in love and in patience, committing his feeble services to the blessing of his Lord, with a full persuasion, that except this blessing be conferred, all his efforts are to no purpose. He well knows that it is his duty, whilst he may humbly take comfort in the fruit of his labours, to remember that the Lord confers the blessing according to his own good pleasure; and that it is not for us to be impatient for the fruit of our efforts, or to murmur if this evidence be not afforded.
Small as our numbers are, compared with the bulk of the community among whom we live, I believe, that if we are faithful to God, we have an important part to act as a distinct religious Society. It is therefore my fervent desire, that, accepting the whole truth of the Gospel, and walking in accordance therewith, as it is set forth by the Evangelists and Apostles—that, living in love and charity towards all men, we may all, younger and older, unitedly labour for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.
Trials and disappointments are the portion of all. The loss of near relatives and friends, ill health, perplexities in life, have proved to some of you, my younger brethren and sisters, that this is not the place of our rest. Others may have met with fewer adverse circumstances, but whatever be our situation godliness is profitable unto all things; and the surest protection to those who are setting out in life is, to have a humble yet firm trust in God, and a living practical faith in the promises of the Gospel. I would, in conclusion, make the full acknowledgment, that thus describing things which I approve as excellent, has led me to feel my own deficiency: much that I have written cannot but be instructive to myself if rightly applied. I offer these things in great love.
May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
- Tottenham,
12th of 5th mo. 1834.
J. Rickerby, Printer, Sherbourn Lane
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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