Gospel sonnets, or Spiritual songs. : In six parts ... Concerning creation and redemption, law and gospel, justification and sanctification, faith and sense, heaven and hell

Front matter

Qass.

Book.

OR

Preface To The Reader

READER,

WHATEVER apologies this book has formerly been prefaced with, (as to the manner in which many lines in it are written,) shall be here altogether dropt and forborne. I now dismiss it as it is, under the conduct of divine Providence, to take its hazard in the world; since it has already served its apprenticeship under several impressions, and gone both through kind and hard usage, through good and bid report. It never promised much to thera that seek nothing but pleasure and satisfaction to their fancy ; but I have heard, that it has done some service (and I hope, through the blessing of Heaven, it may yet do more) to them that seek profit and edification to their souls.

The late edition of this book at London being more full and complete than any that was formerly emitted, it is fit here to acquaint the reader, that this is printed exactly off jhe London copy, without any material addition or alteration, except in the third part of the booh, that comes under the name of Riddles, or Mysteries; and part sixths Chap, ii Sect, l.intitled, The believer's principles, concerning the mysteries of the law and gospel : both of which (because there were several demands in this country for a new edition) I thought fit to confirm by scripture-texts, cited at the bottom of the page, for the benefit of those that are weak in knowledge, and unacquainted with the scripture.* I have directed them by a letter of the alphabet, at every branch of the sentence that is

* The scriptures in this edition are extended at full ltngth.

11 PREFACE.

either seemingly or really opposite to the other, unto some scripture texts, one or more, for evincing the truth thereof: by which means, the weakest, that is willing, may come to understand the mostdifiicult paradox, or mystery, mentioned in this work; at least so far as to see, that every part of it is founded on the word of God, either directly or by plain and necessary consequence. Only this general rule is to he observed, namely, That the reader always consider what is the subject treated in every section or stanza ; and this, for the sake of the most illiterate, I shall illustrate by two examples ; the one concerning the /awy the other concerning the believer. The former you see Part III. Sect. vi. ver. 25. p. 181.

I'm not obliged to keep it more \ Yet more oblig'd than e'er before.

Here you are to remark, that as the subject spoken of is the law, so the law in scripture is considered two ways, viz. both as a covenant ofivorks, and as a rule of duty. Now, that the believer is under no obligation to the law, as it is a covenant erf works, or to perform obedience to it as a ground of justification, (which is also the subject treated in that Section,) is confirmed in thefoot-notesby the following scriptures, to which you are directed by the letter (s) y Rom. vi. 14. Gal. v. 1, 2, 3, 4. Where you may see believers are said to be 4c not under the law, but under grace ;" and exhorted to " stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free ;" and assured, " that Christ is become of no effect to them, whosoever of them are justified by the law ; they are fallen from grace." — Again, that the believer is under more obligation than ever, before he was justified, to yield obedience to the law as it is a rule of life, (which is the other branch of that paradox,) is confirmed by these following texts of scripture, to which you "are directed by the letter (t), Rom, vi. 1 ? 2, 15 where

PREFACE. Ill

it is said, u Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? God forbid : how shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ? What, then ? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace ? God forbid." — From which texts, together with their contexts, it is evident, that the believer's freedom from the law as a covenant, does not at all free him from obligation to it as a rule, but superadds to the natural obligation, that of grace, which both argumentatively and affectively teaches what the law does authoritatively and preceptively, namely, " to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, ,J Tit. ii. 11, 12.

The other example I adduce, you may read, Part III. beet* ii. verse 47. where the words are,

To good and evil equal bent, I'm both a devil and a saint.

Here the reader may notice, that the subject spoken of is the believer, or the saint's old and new man described, (which is part of the title of that Section,) or considered as to his unregenerate and regenerate part; in which view he is frequently spoke of in scripture ; ex. gr. 1 John iii. 6, 9. it is said of the believer, or the person born of God, that he sinneth tiot y and thathe cannot sin, because he is born of God: there he is spoken of as to his new nature, or regenerate part. But, 1 John i. 8. the words are, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and t he-truth is not in us:'' where the apostle speaks of believers' unregenerate and cor* rupt part. Now, this being the scriptural representation of the believer, the foresaid paradox is easily proven from scripture.

The first branch is, That he is equally bent to good and to evil. For the proof of this, you are directed in the foot-note to Rom. vii. 21. where the apostle Paul, speaking both of his corrupt and renewed part,.

IV PREFACE.

says, " I find a law, that when I would do good, evil k present with me." And, if you read the preceding and following context, you will find him complaining how corruption bends him as far one way as grace another.

The other part of trie same paradox is 3 that the believer is, on these accounts, both a devil and a saint. Now, that the believer is by nature and corruption a devil, is one branch of this postition here to be confirmed. That he is so by nature, is proven by the following scriptures in the forecited page at the bottom, John vi, 70. and viii. 4 4-. compared ; where Christ, speaking of some that were in a natural state, viz. of Judas and the Jews, discovers what is the state of all men by nature, *< that they are of their father the devil, since the iusts of their father they will do f* and therefore may be called devils, as our Lord calls Judas, saying, w I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil." And such are believers also naturally, as dependents of the first Adam, being " children of disobedience, and children of wrath by nature, even as others/' Eph. ii. 2, 3. And that the believer is so, not only by nature, but also by reason of remaining corruption, is proven at the foot of the same page, from James iii. 15. where that apostle, speaking of strife and envy, that may be even among the children of God, (which indeed has too much taken place in all ages), savs," This wisdom descendeth not from a~ bove, but is earthly, sensual, devilish/ 1 Again, that though the believer be by nature and corruption a devil, yet he is, by grace and regeneration, a saint, is documented also, in the same page, from 1 Cor. vi, 1 1. " Such were some of you, but ye are sanctified/ 7

In this manner, you may easily go over all the rest of the paradoxes, riddles, or mysteries, contained in this book, and find them evidently confirmed by the scriptures of truth, the word of God. This might be

PREFACE". r

ao unprofitable exercise, but tend to lead you into the true knowledge of the gospel, -to which mysteries are so essential* that it is designed by them, and called the wisdom of God in a mystery ', 1 Cor. ii. 7 ; and the knowledge of which is so essential to Christianity, and so absolutely necessary to salvation, that the same apostle declares, that «« if our gospel be hid, it is /hid " to them that are lost ; in whom the god of this world " hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, " lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who 4 < is the image of God, should shine unto them,*' 2 Cor. vi. 3.

Again, if you search the scriptures, you will see many more proofs for every point than 1 have adduced, and perhaps many much more apposite ; for these only are set down at the bottom of the page that first occurred to me : yet, I suppose, though sometimes but one, and sometimes more scriptures are pointed but, they are such as sufficiently confirm the positions they relate to. But that other scriptures might have been adduced in plenty, I shall give one instance, in the paradox now mentioned, viz. That every believer, while in this world, is both a devil and a saint. The latter clause is what none will deny, namely, That every true believer is a saint ; for further proof of which you might see Acts xv. 9. and xxvi. IS. &c. But because the first clause may seem more harsh, it may by scripture be also further evinced two ways : 1st, In respect of the daily commission of sin he has to challenge himself with ^ for the scripture says*; Eccl. \ii. 20. " There is not a just man upon earth, that doth good and sinneth not.'' And with this compare 1 John iii. 8. " He that committeth sin is of the devil," Hence it is plain, there is not a just man upon earth; but may, in respect of the commission of sin, be called a devil.

2d/y, In respect of prevalent temptations, by which he may be hurried into those things M that savour B3

▼1 PREFACE.

not of God, but of men ;" on which account Christ says to Peter, Matth. xvi. 23. " Get thee behind me, Satan." And if Christ calls Peter a devil, whom he had described as a saint of the first magnitude, verse 17. one divinely blessed and enlightened-, what occasion may every believer have to call himself a devil ! Yea, it is a part of his faith and sanctity, to see and acknowledge, with shame before the Lord, his own devilish and desperately wicked heart and nature ; which a blind, self-conceited world, are ignorant of, being neither acquainted with themselves, nor with God and his word. However, so it is, that the more any shall search the scripture, the more* 1 hope, will they discern, not only by the texts I have quoted, but from many others also, the truth and evidence of every part of this book, however mysterious some passages of it may seem to many.

Though some of these lines may want the politeness that can please the curious age, yet, while they stand firm upon a scriptural foundation, none of them want authority, and that of the highest nature, except in the account of mockers, and those (of whom there are too many in our day) that are either Deists, who undervalue the scripture, or Atheists, who deride it : and it is sadly to be regretted, that those people are hardened in their wicked principles and practices, by some that perhaps have a higher profession. For I have seen two prints, one called the Groan, and another the Laugh, wherein some lines, picked out among others, have been exposed to ridicule : but however such gentlemen may laugh at their own sport, and wickedly divert themselves with serious matters for a time, I fear their laughing will issue in weeping for ever ; if God, by giving them repentance, do not make them groan to purpose, for the evidence they thus give of either their grievous ignorance of the scripture, or their grosss profanity, and of their readiness to yield themselves instruments of the devil, to promote the

PREFACE. Vli

Atheistical spirit of the age, which is bent enough, without any such provocations, to laugh at every thing serious, sacred, and scriptural. This is so palpable, without my observation upon it, and so self-evident to all that fear God, and have had the patience to read such prints, that I would not have thought them worth my noticing so far, as to make this bare mention of them, had not Providence put the pen in my hand to preface this edition, wherein scriptural proofs are added to that part of the book.

Reader, It gives me satisfaction enough to understand, that this book has already been useful and edifying to some, however it is entertained by others. The gospel itself is to some the savour of life, to others the savour of death ; to some wisdom, to others foolishness ; to some matter of faith, love, and comfort, to others matter of mockery and scorn. I shall be far from thinking it any discredit or disparagement to this book, if it meet with the like entertainment. -—May the Lord of heaven and earth, who over-rules all things, accompany it, in its journies abroad or at home, with his blessing to many souls, and to his care I commend it, in the words of a famous Scots poet^upon Psalm xxxv. 1.

Which may be adapted to the matter in hand thus \

The truth which hell may criticise, Great God, be near to patronize.

A

POEM,

DEDICATED TO THE REV. MR RALPH ERSKINE^

BY

A LADY IN NEW-ENGLANDy

UPON

READING HIS GOSPEL SONNETS.

TpRSKINE, thou blessed herald, sound, J" Till sin's black empire totter to the ground : Well hast thou Sinai's awful flames display'd, And rebels' doom before their conscience laid : From sin, from self, from trust in duty fly, Commit thy naked soul to Christ, or die.

Go on and prosper in the name of God, Seraphic preacher, through the thorny road ; The gracious Christ thy labours will reward ; His angel-bands be thy perpetual guard ; Though hell's dark regions at the present hiss, The God of glory thy strong refuge is. .

Mere moral preachers have no pow'r to charm, Thy lines are such may nobler passions warm y These glorious truths have set my heart on fire,. And while I read, I'm love and pure desire. May the black train of errors hatch'd in hell No longer on this globe in quiet dwell ; May more like you be rais'd to shew their shame, And call them by their diabolic name.

Exalt the Lamb in lovely white and red, Angels and saints his lasting honours spread ; My trembling soul shall bear her feeble part, 'Tis he hath charm'd my soul, and won my heart. Bless'd be the Father for electing love, Bless'd be the Son who do~s my guilt remove, Bless'd be the Dove who does his grace apply, Oh ! may I praising live> and praising die I

SOME ACCOUNT

CF THE

KEY. MR RALPH .EBSKINE.

npHE Rev. Mr Ralph Erskine was honourably -*■ descended of very respectable ancestors •, his father, the Rev. Mr Henry Erskine, being one of the thirty-three children of Ralph Erskine of Sheffield, a family of considerable repute and standing in the county of Merse, and originally descended from theVancient house of Mar. Our Author, and his brother, the Rev. Mr Ebenezer Erskine, late Minister of the gospel at Stirling, were two of the children of the said Rev. IVir Henry Erskine, who was some time Minister of the gospel at Cornwall, afterwards at Chirnside ;* a man eminent in his day, and justly distinguished for his piety and firm attachment to Presbyterian principles : For his stedfast adherence to which, he was subjected to many considerable hardships in the latter part of the last century, during the persecuting period of Charles II. and James VII. f

The Author of the following Poems was born at Monilaws, in the county of Northumberland, on Sabbath the 15th of March, 1685, at three o'clock in

* Cor nival/ i* \n the .shire of Northumberland ; Chirnside lies about five miles from Berwick upon Tweed, in the Scots side.

\ See the continuation of CaLmy's Life of Baxter, p. 6S1, x Some Account of

the afternoon ; and baptized at Chirnside on the 5th of April said year, by the Rev. Mr William Violand. -He gave pretty early proofs of a great genius and fine fancy % and several instances of a pious disposition and a solid way of reflecting on matters. On this account he was, by his parents, early destined for the holy ministry, who resolved to give him a regular and liberal education, in order to qualify him for that important office.

When he had acquired a competent measure of Grammar, and other introductory parts of education, he went to the university of Edinburgh, to complete his studies ; where he went through the ordinary courses of Philosophy and Divinity with success; and made a considerable progress in the branches of literature : for he soon became a fine Grecian, an ex* cellent Logician, and an accomplished Philosopher. But after having acquired such a competent measure of knowledge, in these various branches of erudition, he gave himself up to the study of Theology, his darling and beloved topic ; in which he made great progress, as his productions therein do abundantly evince.

The ordinary course of philosophical and theological studies being gone through, at the college of Edinburgh, with success, he was, ipj the providence of God, called forth to appear in a public character \ and being well reported of, by all who knew him, for a conversation becoming the gospel, he was accordingly taken upon trials by the Presbytery of Dunfermline : and having finished the usual pier of trial assigned him, to the entire satisfaction • c • Presbytery, he was by them licensed to preaclv probationer, the everlasting gospel, on the 8th June 1709 ; in which capacity, he exercised the .nlents which the Lord had graciously conferred him, within the bounds of the said Presbytery, both

The Rev. Mr R. Erskine. xi

in vacancies and settled congregations, to the great satisfaction of his hearers, both ministers and people, as his certificate from that Presbytery, dated April 4th, 1711, expressly bears. — In this station of life he did not long remain : Providence soon opened a door for him : and he got an unanimous call, from the parishioners of Dunfermline, on the 1 st of May 1711, to exercise his ministerial talents and abilities amongst them ; which call was approven of by the Presbytery, on the day following, as regularly proceeded in. He •went through the usual pieces of trial, for ordination, prescribed by the Presbytery, with approbation : and thereupon they set him apart to the office of the holy ministry, in the collegiate charge of Dunfermline, on August 7, 1711.

Under the character of a minister of the gospel, having now a pastoral relation to a particular flock, in the church universal, he " determined not to know any thing, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." He was M instant in season and out of season," in all parts of hi« ministerial labours, and gave himself wholly thereunto ; exhorting the people under his trust, from house to house, in the way of family visitation; examining them more publicljj upon the principles of our holy religion \ visiting the sick when called > and preaching the everlasting gospel, in which he had a very pleasing and edifying gift. Ke preached, by turns, with his colleague, every Sabbath and Thursday, through the year : and afterwards, when he had none, for several years before his death, he officiated alone, very punctually, both on Sabbath and week-day.

TT e delivered few extemporary productions* His :9*s were generally the fruit of diligent study, .fssiduous application. For the most part he

bte all ; and kept very close by his notes in the

'very, except when the Lord was pleased to carry xii Some Account gj

in upon his mind, in time of preaching, some pat and apposite enlargements, whereof he had no previous study, and to which he nevertheless chearfully gave way, as coming from him, who has the tongue of the learned , who knows how to speak a word in season to him that is weary ; and who says, " It shall be given " you the same hour what ye shall speak ; for it is <4 not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father " that speaketh in you.*'— He was blessed with a rich and fertile invention, as appears in the agreeable and entertaining diversity, wherewith his heads of doctrine are every where adorned. The poetical genius, with which he was happily endowed, contributed not a little to the embellishment of his discourses, with a variety of pertinent epithets and striking metaphors.

His gift of preaching was both instructing and searching. Few outshone him in the nervous and convincing manner whereby he confirmed the truth of the doctrines he insisted on; and fewer still in the warm and pathetic address in which he enforced the practice of them.

He peculiarljtexcelled in the ample and free offers of Christ he made to his fearers; and the captivating and alluring methods he used, for gaining their compliance, or their receiving and resting on Christ alone for their salvation, as thus freely and fully exhibited unto them in the gospel. On all which accounts he was justly esteemed, and much followed, as one of the most popular and edifying preachers of his day. — During his time, sacramental solemnities at Dunfermline were very much crowded; numbers of people, from several parts of the kingdom, resorting unto them : and the Lord was pleased to countenance some of these communions, with signal evidences of his gracious presence and influence, to the sweet and comfortable experience of many.

The Rev. Mr Ralph Erskine. xii*

It will easily appear to the judicious and experienced reader, in perusing his writings, that he had as dexterous a faculty in ransacking the plagues of the heart, and describing the diversified circumstances of serious and exercised souls, as if they had fully communicated their several doubts and cases unto him; while, in the mean time, he was only unfolding the inward experience of his own soul, what he himself felt of the workings of unbelief, and of the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, in opposition thereunto 5 which could not but quadrate, or. agree, with the operations of the self-same Spirit of God in others ; for, « as in water face answereth to face* so doth the heart of man to man."

This eminent servant of Jesus Christ, being exercised to godliness from his youth, became, by the grace of God, a "scribe instructed into the kingdom of heaven," whom our Lord compares to M an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasury things new and old" Old invariable truths, but new illustrations of them ; old experiences, the same with other saints before, but new observations and improvements upon them : so that, with abundance of propriety, it may be said, that there are few perplexing doubts, or intricate cases, which the saints have, at any time, been exercised with, that are not in some one or other of his sermons, very judiciously solved, and distinctly elucidated or cleared up.

During our Author's life-time, and at the importunity of many of his acquaintances, both ministers and people, he published a great number of his sermons, on the most interesting subjects, which were well relished by the truly godly, and had their praises in the churches of Christ, both at home and abroad. These, with several others, transcribed from his notes, were first collected together after his death, and published along with his poems, in two large volumes in B xiv Some Account of

folio, in the years 1764 and 1765, printed in an elegant manner; and, since that time, re-printed in ten large volumes octavo, for the more conveniency of readers and purchasers, with considerable additions and amendments — We cannot dismiss this account of our Author, without taking notice of another particular concerning him, which constitutes a very material branch of his character. He was not only deservedly esteemed as a judicious Divine, but also much respected as a poet : and he hath favoured the world with several excellent productions of that nature, which have all met with a very favourable reception. His poetical talent was employed chiefly on divine subjects; he had no relish and taste for any other. In his younger years, at his leisure hours, he composed the following piece, which is now intituled gospel sonnets; or, spiritual songs, in Six Parts. The usefulness of this poetical compend of the revealed principles of our holy religion, for promoting the life of faith, comfort, and holiness, will be experienced, it is hoped, by many of the stints of God, to the latest posterity. — This piece was so well relished, that it hath undergone a multitude of impressions ; and the demand for it is as great as ever.

About the year 1758, he emitted into the world his poetical paraphrase upon the whole book of the Song of Solomon ; which indeed is an evangelical comment, done in a strain adapted to the New Testament dispensation, upon that allegorical or figurative part of holy writ. — This performance has likewise been very acceptable, and has undergone a variety of editions.

By emitting the above poetical essays into the world, and some smaller performances, our Author's abilities as a poet came to be known ; and induced the Reverend Synod of which he was a member, repeatedly to importune him, to employ some of his vacant hours,in

The Rev. Mr Ralph Ershne. xv

fuming all the poetical passages of sacred writ into common metre, of the same kind with the Psalms of David. These recommendations he at last complied with *, and his productions made their appearance, under the title of Scripture Songs, selected from several passages in the Old Testament, which were well relished, and have now undergone several editions.

Our Author, besides his sermons and poems, published several tracts, on some points of controversy, in which he displayed his abilities as a writer : particularly an elaborate treatise, intituled, Faith no Fancy ; or j A Treatise of Mental linages : a book singular iy valuable, for the clear and perspicuous manner in which he hath handled and established this important point, every way worthy of our Author, and which reflected the highest honour upon him •, in regard it hath given the greatest display of his abilities, both as a divine and philosopher, and how capable he was to exhaust any point, .when he set himself to it, even in an abstract way of reasoning: a book that effectually silenced all his opponents, and stands to this day unanswered.

This faithful and laborious servant of Jesus Christ, lajpoured successfully in the work of the ministry, and continued publicly useful in his Master's work, till within a few days of his departure ; for he preached in his own pulpit on Sabbath the 29th of October, 1752, and he was thereafter seized, in the end of the same month, viz. October 1752, with a nervous fever, ( wherein, nevertheless he enjoyed the exercise of his judgment and senses,) which lasted only for a few days, and at last was the happy messenger of freeing him from the incumbrances of an embodied state, and leading him to the world of spirits, and the regions of eternal bliss and felicity ; for, on the eighth day of the fever, he fell asleep in the Lord K xvi .Some Account of

being Monday Nov. 6th, 1752, in the 63th year of his age, after labouring un we ariedly and successfully in the work of the ministry, among his flock in Dunfermline, for the space of forty-two years. Mr Erskine, our worthy Author, affords room for large commendations, were we disposed to give them \ — his complete character is truly great, and his disposition exceedingly amiable. — If he is considered as te his natural endowments, he possessed many fine qualities ; he had a sweet temper, a clear head, a rich invention, a lively imagination, and a great memory. — if he is viewed as to his acquired abilities ; he was well acquainted with all the useful branches of literature, necessary to adorn the scholar and the minister. —If he is considered as to his office -, he was a great and judicious divine, a pious evangelical preacher, and an able casuist. In short, he was not only a learned man, and an able divine, but an affectionate and familiar friend, a social companion, 3 devout Christian, and a burning and shining light.

By his death, the church of Christ lost a great light, a heroic champion for the truth, and a bold contender for the faith once delivered unto the saints. — -The body he was last connected with, have been deprived of an useful member, and a shining ornament to their cause. — -The congregation he laboured among lost an able, faithful minister, a laborious and successful wrestler, and a painful and diligent instructor. — His family and relatives lost a true friend, an affectionate husband, a tender-hearted parent, and a striking pattern of virtue — His acquaintance and intimates, an endearing brother, a social companion, and an engaging friend.