Preached in the East Parish Church, Greenock, on the Forenoon of Thursday, 15th March, 1832. Selected from: The Scottish Pulpit: Sermons Eminent Scottish Divines (Vol. 1, Glasgow, London, Edinburgh, 1839), 49–55.
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” —Philippians 4:6
A state of irreligion is a state of extremes. It exhibits at different times and under different circumstances, the most varied conditions of mind. The greatest insensibility gives place to the deepest anguish and solicitude; the excess of carelessness is succeeded by overwhelming dismay—confidence of the most presumptuous passes into extreme alarm and terror which knows no bounds. A striking, though by no means singular, instance of this we have in the case of Belshazzar, the impious king of Babylon1Dan. 5 (Ed.). What a sudden and unexpected change did he exhibit on that eventful night, the last of his reign, when he sat down in the midst of his fellows at the great feast which he had prepared for them! He seemed at first incapable of being moved—he seemed a man who stood on a sure foundation, and who had no reason to be afraid, whatever might befall him. But it soon became manifest that this was not really the case. From the extreme of impenitence, pride, and self-sufficiency, he sunk in a moment into the deepest consternation, and the most overwhelming anguish; for, as they drank wine and praised gods of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stone, in that same hour came forth the fingers of a man’s hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster, over the wall of the king’s palace. And the king saw, and the king’s countenance changed; fear came upon him, so that the joints of his loins were loosened, and his knees smote one against another. Belshazzar knew not God. Had he been a truly religious man, this consternation might not have been upon him. It is religion alone which establishes the mind, and gives genuine tranquility and permanent peace. The reason of this is obvious, for unless we be at peace with God, and feel that whatever he may do or appoint, he bears a concern for our wellbeing, and consults our best interests, we are liable to the utmost anxiety when anything occurs which is contrary to our desires, and that varies with our inclinations. The world is a scene of change and trials, which no strength of ours can avert—which no courage of ours is adequate rightly to sustain. Afflictions, disappointment, and death are the lot of all. “Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” Our fondest expectations are liable to be blasted, and our best laid schemes are liable to be broken. Death devours all, sparing neither age, nor sex, nor distinction. In such a state, it is impossible to retain our composure and preserve a serenity of temper, unless we can trust in God as our friend, and feel that in all things, his infinite wisdom and goodness are exerted in our behalf to regulate the economy of our existence, and prepare us for its various vicissitudes2vicissitudes – a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.. But the magnanimity3magnanimity – generosity and peace of religion are not always enjoyed to the extent which they ought. This appears from the text. It is an exhortation addressed to believers, to individuals who have known and loved God, to persons who have been delivered from the condemnation of sin, who have been freed from the service of Satan, and who have lived a life of faith and holiness.
In the following discourse, we propose then to consider the reasons why the peace and comfort of religion are not more fully enjoyed than is generally the case by the people of God. This would lead us farther to consider the ground here given for humiliation and contrition; and still farther to consider the means which are to be employed, in order to realize that divine peace and serenity, which it is at once our duty and our happiness, under the trials of life, to cultivate and enjoy. At present, however, we confine ourselves to the first of these.
The carefulness against which believers are admonished in our text is that spirit of excessive anxiety—that spirit of disquieting fear and oppressive sorrow, which temporal evils or the prospect of them is so apt to excite in the mind, and which is contrary to that patience, resignation, and hope which we are called to exercise towards God. The word in the original is still more expressive of this than in our common translation. The exhortation is to be understood in a qualified or modified sense. It relates obviously to temporal interests and objects. We cannot be too much concerned about our spiritual estate; we cannot be too solicitous4solicitous – characterized by or showing interest or concern. about our duty to God, about our relation to the world to come, or about the salvation of our souls. On these subjects, we stand in daily need of being exhorted to still greater care and anxiety than at any time we actually give to them. We never are, and never can be too solicitous in this our proper work—never too much devoted to it. We need to be stimulated to intenser application to it, and to more assiduous5assiduous – showing great care and perseverance. diligence and perseverance in it. It is not here we are liable to run into any extreme, provided we are directed by grace and influenced by truth. The carefulness against which we are admonished in the text is chiefly injurious, because it prevents us from being so careful as we ought to be, in regard to our spiritual condition. The text is to be regarded as of similar import with that other passage, “Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). Even as to our temporal concerns, there is a suitable care and attention which we are not only permitted, but commanded to give them. Discretion and diligence in conducting the business and managing the affairs of life are incumbent6incumbent – the duty to do. on every individual, and the want of these is the very means by which irreligion and vice are often engendered7engender – cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition). . Indolence, irregularity, procrastination, and negligence involve those who indulge in them, in far more numerous and perplexing cares than if they conducted their affairs with promptitude, diligence, order, and prudence. When the business of life gets into disorder, when its duties are not attended to in their proper manner, this serves to keep up a most distressing and anxious spirit of carefulness, and prevents the unhappy individual who indulges such a habit from ever being able to attain to things higher and more important. The carefulness condemned in the text is a spirit of excessive anxiety about temporal things, not a becoming and necessary attention to the ordinary business of life. It is not the carefulness of Mary that is here condemned, who chose the better part, in that she washed our Saviour’s feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, but of Martha, who cared after many things about which she had no reason to be troubled. Let us consider then what the causes are that produce this spirit and feeling. There would be little wonder although people who are ignorant of God, and without faith in the wisdom of his providence, and who have no hope beyond the present life, should be over careful about the things of the present state; but this overcarefulness is not confined to them, for it extends to those who have some—and these not unreal—pretensions to godliness. But what are the reasons that these also have need to be exhorted to lay aside an unholy carefulness about many things? Whence proceeds this overcarefulness?
First, it proceeds from an undue love of created objects and blessings. It is the duty of man to bring his will, in every case, into submission to the divine will, and to account that as good and right which God is pleased to appoint to take place. But so long as the feelings and affections of the soul remain in any degree unsanctified, there is a struggle, more or less severe, between our will and the will of God, and we are accordingly afraid lest we be thwarted in our wishes, and disappointed in our desires and expectations. If we not only acknowledge in our understandings, but feel in our hearts that whatever God does is best to be done, we should then give up all our concerns into his hands, to dispose of us and of them according to his good pleasure. But we are naturally far more solicitous about the gratification of our own desires than the advancement of the divine glory, and hence we would have God’s will subordinate to ours, instead of having our wills in subjection to his. The indulgence of such a spirit is not more characteristic of sin than it is necessarily productive of misery; for it is impossible but that God’s counsel shall stand; and it is impossible but that his decrees shall be countenanced, and that his way shall be established, whether we acquiesce in them or not. We cannot alter anything which God has determined. If God has allotted a state of poverty to any, and determined that he shall walk in the humble vale of obscurity, in vain is it for him to murmur at his lot, or to struggle against it. It becomes us all to live under a deep persuasion that our desires cannot be all gratified. God distributes different situations, faculties, and portions among men. One intention of this is to display his sovereignty, and to manifest the wonders of his wisdom and goodness. Such is the extent of human selfishness, that man’s desires are inflamed by this state of things, and he would arrogate to himself all the various bounties of providence which are diffused around him. He covets the riches given to this man, the wisdom belonging to that other man, the long life which is the lot of a third, the situation of honour reached by a fourth; and there is no end of the extravagance—of the sinfulness—of his desires. Hence the source of an anxious carefulness; for otherwise, man would be contented with the situation in which he is placed, and with the share of good which he has, and would desire that God would be glorified by the successful application of the talents committed to his trust. He would keep away from his mind all murmuring and discontent, and would deem it his meat and his drink to act aright in the situation in which he is placed. He would be willing to take what the bounty of Providence has allotted him, and equally willing to share in the afflictions, the troubles, and the bereavements incident to human life. He would stand to his duty, equally ready to be abased as to be exalted. He would lay his account with privations. He would study to be suitably grateful for the blessings he enjoyed, and at the same time willing to resign them to Him who has given them, whenever it might be requisite. He would look on adversity as a necessary part of the discipline of life, and would reject those faint and airy imaginations of unmingled felicity8felicity – intense happiness. in this vale of tears, which are so far remote from man’s present nature. He would say, “Shall it not be with me as with others?” and be prepared to bear all the appointed will of heaven. He would lift up his affections from things seen and temporal, and rest them on things unseen and eternal. He would rejoice that all things that are, are subject to God’s wise and merciful disposal, and exercise himself to that spirit of submission that would enable him ever to say, “Not my will, but thine, O Lord, be done.” Yet how stands the case with men? Do they naturally incline thus to keep with contentment the place assigned them, giving thanks to God and willing that he should be glorified in them, not that they should live to themselves? Oh! how many unholy wishes, how many sinful expectations are entertained, without any reference to the determinations of God, and that are clung to as just and reasonable, and as if it were ungracious on the part of God, to withhold the accomplishment of them. Man thinks he has a right to shape his own destiny. He sees no sin in setting himself up equal to God. He cherishes his own vain imaginations and desires concerning temporal good, without reluctance or scruple. He enters on the prosecution of his own plans without ever acknowledging the divine will. “I will go,” says he, “to a certain city, and stay there a year, and buy and sell and get gain.” He will amass to himself riches and honours more abundant and splendid than fall to the lot of others. He will make himself a name that will be renowned among future generations. But in all this, does he acknowledge God? Does he know that he is a dependant creature? He forgets that not he but God is “the kingdom and the power, and the glory.” He forgets that it is his wisdom, his duty, and his happiness, not only to ask nothing, but to desire nothing: in fine, to expect nothing but what God is willing to bestow.
A second source of that sinful carefulness forbidden in the text proceeds from an ignorance of the salutary9salutary – beneficial; health-giving. nature of the circumstances of life, under which we are placed in the present state. It is difficult for us to bring ourselves to contemplate the unmitigated evils of life, and to lay our account with bearing them; and this is the reason why all thoughts of death are so scrupulously avoided by many, that they seem to pass upon themselves the practical delusion that they shall never die. Our anxiety and carefulness about evils become less, when we are prone to think that we shall have strength to support them, and although, for the present, not joyous but grievous, they shall yield to us ultimate advantage. The patient becomes reconciled to submit to an operation, which, in a state of sound health, he could not have endured. The prospect of having to submit to it would, in the one case, fill him with alarm; in the other case, it is to him ground of consolation.
The application of these principles to the afflictions and ills of providence is obvious. They constitute the occasion of greater fear and alarm in proportion as their true nature is unknown. If it were known that they are all needful and salutary—that they serve a most valuable end—this would remove the dread with which they are apprehended, and the anxiety with which they are regarded. Afflictions, when sanctified, form one of the best and most efficacious means which God employs for promoting the moral and spiritual improvement of his people: for, whereas the effect of prosperity is to corrupt the heart, to foster high-mindedness and ungodliness, to fill us with many sinful and corrupt dispositions; affliction, on the other hand, purifies and refines the soul, corrects our natural depravity, brings out humility, patience, and resignation, and promotes or produces virtue.
The consideration of this may well reconcile us to the prospect of having to bear affliction, more especially when we take into account that God will not allow one unnecessary evil to befall us, and will not afflict us more than we can bear. If the world were left to the direction of chance, or if it were under the superintendence of a malignant being who sported with the sufferings of his creatures, the prospect before us might be allowed to call forth consternation; but when we know that every event is arranged by infinite wisdom and goodness, that the very hairs of our head are all numbered, and that not a sparrow falls to the ground without divine permission; and when we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, that in every point of view, the time and manner and degree of affliction are wisely ordered, what ground have we not for banishing from our minds all despondency and anxious cares? We can never be placed in any circumstances but what God is pleased to place us in. We can never endure any troubles but what God is pleased to send; and we may rest assured that he will ward off from us all unnecessary troubles; and that the troubles he permits to take place will be the most sparing, which are consistent with his wisdom, for he afflicteth not willingly—he hath no pleasure in the sufferings of his people, but dispenses his chastisements in the spirit of a father who delighteth in mercy.
The experiences of a salutary nature, by which they have been already thus exercised, and the benefits already derived from them, should particularly deliver the people of God from a sinful anxiety about the future, so as to cause them to expect that God will deal with them in time to come as he has dealt with them in times that are past. Have you found, in your past experience, that it is good to be afflicted? Was the day of adversity more profitable to you than the day of prosperity? Have the evils you dreaded, like the dark cloud passing over the firmament, left a shower of blessings behind them, and brought in a brighter and serener day? Were you strengthened far beyond your expectations to endure your trials, and did you come forth from them more humble, more purified, and fortified in grace? Surely such experience is well fitted to minister hope and peace, in regard to all the future dispensations of providence that may await you. Your duty is to anticipate that God will continue to deal with you in a like salutary manner, under all the trials that may yet befall you. It is your duty to trust that the evils which you have in prospect will, when they have actually arrived, be not only such as you will be able to bear, but at last find cause to bless God you have experienced. There is ignorance and short-sightedness in men, in that they do not know what, in any case, is best for them. If men were to be dealt with as they wish—if they were to receive what they desire—they would prove most incompetent judges of what is for their true interest and happiness. While apparent evils are often real blessings, so apparent good is, in many cases, the most pernicious curse. This should diminish undue carefulness about anything, for that very thing you are most solicitous to obtain might be that which, if obtained, you would have most cause to lament. It is the sentiment of a heathen writer that God would in no wise more effectually punish men than by giving them to the full desires of their own hearts. We do not know but that far greater evils are prevented from coming upon us by our being denied what we wish. The dying man prays for life and returning health, but death may be better for him after all, removing him from a multitude of dangers, temptations, and sorrows that would only embitter his existence. The fond parent would have his offspring preserved, and see them rising up to maturity, rather than laid in an early grave. But how little knows he whether this is for his own comfort or would be actually in behalf of his offspring! The ignorance in which we are of what is truly good for us is a powerful incentive to resignation under the appointments of God. When we would murmur under evil which is apparent, we should think how little we know of what is really good or evil for us. We see but as through a glass darkly. Let us then trust to his goodness and wisdom. Let us acknowledge that in all things he does well and wisely. Though clouds and darkness surround his throne, and though his footsteps have been in the deep waters where we cannot trace them, yet mercy and truth go continually before him, and he is righteous and holy in all his dispensations.
A third source of sinful carefulness arises from overlooking the actual insignificance and worthless nature of the objects of men. Were a proper estimate formed of the world and its objects, it would serve, in a great degree, to moderate our wishes after things so vain and perishable in their nature. In a little time, we shall follow the generations that have gone before us, and all of us, whether high or low, whether rich or poor, shall leave the world behind us, and have no more to do with anything beneath the sun. This demonstrates the folly of an undue concern about anything that may befall us in this transitory state—what avail the anxieties and emulations, the strifes and contentions, the zeal and carefulness with which worldly objects and pursuits once inflamed the minds of those now lying in the silent grave, where there is no wisdom, nor knowledge, nor device. Whatever that thing be, about which we are anxious, we may learn from the state of men of other days, from the end of their labours, toils, and troubles, that we are wearying ourselves for very vanity, misplacing our affections, and exercising them to no purpose. In a little time, we shall be as our fathers before us. The time is short: it remaineth that they that weep be as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not. The fashion and glory of the world pass away. The avaricious man who made gold his idol, and the fine gold his confidence, leaves his substance, and knows not anymore what becomes of it. The ambitious is cast down from the eminence to which he aspired, and where he wished to fix on himself the notice and admiration of the world, and is consigned to everlasting oblivion. The learned man who carried his researches into the various fields of philosophical inquiry, after learning a little, and leaving much more unknown, is at last obliged to resign his pursuits. The sensual man, after indulging in every kind of pleasure, becomes the prey of the worm, and all his means of gratification, all his sources of enjoyment cease to contribute to his pleasure anymore. And as it has been with the generation that has gone before us, so shall it be with the generation that now exists. Within the lapse of less than a century, and of all that now exist scarcely a single one survives. The troubled scene that man excites in his emulations now shall have passed into everlasting stillness. The eager and the sanguine10sanguine – optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. who hurry on in pursuit of temporal good shall then have reached the end of their course. Those that are now bustling here shall have come to that shore whence there is no returning. They that are anxious and fearful now, in consequence of threatened danger, shall then have passed their appointed course of trial, and have no more anything to dread.
How unsuitable, then, that excessive carefulness, that engrossing anxiety, and overwhelming concern, which are so general in a state of things speedily running to a close, and with which our connexion shall be speedily terminated. The difference is not great, whether we possess all the world has to give, or suffer all it has to inflict; whether we acquire its most lavish blessings, or sustain its severest calamities. In a short voyage, it is common for people to trouble themselves but little, with the manner of the accommodation from which they are in a little time released. Their time is occupied in thinking of the labours they are in the way to transact, and their thoughts are directed to the end of their journey. Success or disappointment, as to that, forms their great subject. And are the visitors of an eternal world to be possessed with carefulness relative to a state they are so soon to leave, without concerning themselves as to the great end of their being—their eternal destination? Are they to be possessed with those things which are temporal, and neglect those things which are eternal? Are they to occupy themselves with interests which are in a few years to come to a close, and to abandon to negligence or contempt the infinitely momentous concerns of an eternal world? Are they to pursue the good and eschew the evil incident to this shadowy existence, with the utmost energy of soul, and to leave unheeded, unsettled, and unprepared their state of preparation for the world of retribution? Are they to give all their consideration to their body—to that feeble frame—which, in spite of every precaution, shall sink under the burden of infirmities into the dust, and deny consideration to those immortal spirits, which, as they are cared for, shall rise to everlasting life, or as they are neglected, shall be consigned to the blackness of darkness forever? While the Scriptures are lavish in figures to express the comparative insignificance and nothingness of the present life, they direct, with the most undivided attention and unwearied assiduity11assiduity – constant or close attention to what one is doing., the attention of man to spiritual things, and to the life that is to come. While they set forth the utter vanity of temporal things, speaking of them as a vain show, as a tale that is told, as a vapour which continueth not, they labour with expressions to show the infinite importance and transcendent magnitude of eternal things. And what the Scriptures state on both of these must come home to the understanding of every individual, as most just, most true, and most wise.
Walk, then, according to the directions of an enlarged wisdom. Let it be your labour and employment to be more conversant about your never-dying souls, than about the cares of this uncertain and transitory state. It has been already said that there is a moderate care after temporal things which is permitted and commendable. This moderate care is, however, very different from that absorbing solicitude about temporal things, which will hinder all proper preparation for things that are spiritual. In the one case, the world is used; in the other, it is abused; for in the one case, it is kept subordinate to God; in the other, it is placed above God. When we give our undivided attention to the world, we virtually declare that we do not believe what God has said. We prefer the pleasures of sin to the rewards of heaven, and the gratifications of this world, unsatisfactory and evanescent12evanescent – soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing. as they are, to the unenjoyed felicities of the paradise of God.
Having thus endeavoured to point out the sources of that unholy carefulness to which even the people of God are subject, having shown that it proceeds from an undue attention to created things, having shown, further, that this carefulness proceeds from ignorance of the salutary nature of afflictions and trials, and finally, that it results from overlooking the actual insignificance of human pursuits, we conclude with a short practical improvement.
In the first place, learn the value of a spirit of resignation and acquiescence to the divine will. To God belong the kingdom, the power, and the glory. It is his part to command, it is our part to obey. It is his part to appoint, it is ours to submit. Shall not God dispose of us and of our concerns as seems best? Shall we dare to say to him, What dost thou? And how unavailing is it to set ourselves in opposition to God? He is infinite in power, and who, by taking thought, can add a cubit to his stature. In vain is it to think of thwarting the divine arrangement, or to alter the divine counsel. It is your happiness, then, to bear with patience the circumstances of your lot, to consider that all things are in the hands of a wise and gracious God, and that he knows better what is good for you than do you yourselves. Rejoice, then, that your time and all your concerns are in his hands. Be glad that he careth for you. Commit your ways to the Lord, and be doing good, and no evil shall befall you.
In the second place, learn to seek spiritual improvement from every event that befalls you, however adverse it may be. The discipline of Providence is a moral discipline. We are placed in this life that we may become meet for a higher and better existence. Be suitably exercised then, by the dispensations through which you pass, and let them bring ever the peaceful fruits of righteousness. When tribulation worketh experience, experience leadeth to hope—to hope that needeth not to be ashamed. Though the race be not here always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, yet can we come to the conclusion, in respect of believers, that goodness and mercy shall ever follow them, and in the temple of the Lord they shall dwell for evermore.
Footnotes
- 1Dan. 5 (Ed.) ↩︎
- 2vicissitudes – a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant. ↩︎
- 3magnanimity – generosity ↩︎
- 4solicitous – characterized by or showing interest or concern. ↩︎
- 5assiduous – showing great care and perseverance. ↩︎
- 6incumbent – the duty to do. ↩︎
- 7engender – cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition). ↩︎
- 8felicity – intense happiness. ↩︎
- 9salutary – beneficial; health-giving. ↩︎
- 10sanguine – optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. ↩︎
- 11assiduity – constant or close attention to what one is doing. ↩︎
- 12evanescent – soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing. ↩︎
