The mourner in Zion comforted

Preface

" Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. The God of love has lavished on them all the riches of his grace, and furnished them with the noblest blessings and the most inexhaustible sources of consolation. For them he has delivered up his own Son to death, and provided a salvation containing all that a guilty immortal can need for his present safety and happiness, and for his future and everlasting welfare. For them an eternity of honour and delight is spreading its glory before them; and they are invited just now to enter into rest; and till they see him as he is, to walk in the light of his countenance, to go on their way rejoicing, and abound in hope through the power of th<^ Holy Ghost.

u From various causes, however, many of the best of men, whose souls are most thoroughly exercised unto godliness, live far below their privileges ; and are, for long periods, and some for the greater part of their lives, destitute of that peace and comfort which the Gospel so amply discloses; and which, by the blessing of God, more enlarged and enlightened views of its nature would enable them to entertain. Whilst the careless and hardened, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, are living in ease and feasting themselves without fear; many of the dearest of God's children, who shall soon reign with Christ in righteousness, and be satisfied with his likeness, are walking in darkness without light, going mourning without the sun, or suffering his terrors and distracted.

" To the afflicted pity should be shown. But no sufferers have stronger claims upon our sympathy and kindness, than those who are in trouble on account of the state of their souls before God. It is at once the most painful distress which any in this world can sustain ; and at the same time there is none which we have greater encouragement to undertake to remedy. The provisions of the Gospel are so full, various, and comprehensive, that there is no perplexity, despondence, or alarm, under which a spiritually-minded person can labour, which they are not fitted to remove : and if they fail to afiVd immediate and complete relief, the fault must lie either in the unskilful manner in which they are administered, or in the patient's refusal to receive them. In itself the antidote is infallible, and the depression which believers experience generally arises from defective views of the glorious Gospel, or a partial reception of its health-giving and joy-creating discoveries.

" The following volume is intended as a contribution to the removal of some of those causes of spiritual dejection, which frequently occur. And if the principles contained in it, are cordially embraced, the Mourner in Zion shall, before many years, be ushered in the full blaze of celestial light and the unbounded possession of eternal bliss. With such a prospect before us, let us in the meantime strive to do honour to his generosity and truth, by relying on his promises, living near him, applying and using the riches of his grace, and endeavouring more and more to promote his interest and

honour. This will connect earth with heaven, and the 1* toils and trials of time with the peace and triumphs of immortality.

"And if any who are strangers to the renewing of the Holy Ghost shall look into this publication, let them remember that the matters which are here discussed are not vain things. They are inseparably connected with the safety of the soul. The day is not far distant when you also shall discover, that the possession of the whole universe is not to be compared with an interest in the righteousness of Immanuel: and if you despise, or neglect it now, you are preparing for yourselves an amount of wretchedness and horror, before which all the sufferings of time shrink into insignificance,- of wretchedness and horror too great for the powers of human utterance, and which endless ages of lamentation «and mourning will neither repair nor diminish. For what will it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your own soul? or what can you give in exchange for your soul? Consider what I say: and the Lord give you understanding to know, in this the accepted time and day of visitation, the things which belong to your everlasting peace."

7 Go forth, little Volume, in the name of the Great Comforter of souls, comfort all that mourn, give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

Pittsburgh, January, 1834.

CHAPTER I. On the Importance of Religious Joy

Page

Provision made for Joy — it is enjoined — honours God — advances religion — improves personal holiness and happiness. 13

CHAPTER II. On Distress arising from the greatness of Sin

No guilt is too great for the power and grace of Christ. He is Almighty — atonement all-sufficient — calls of the Gospel universal — all are commanded to believe — expostulations with the impenitent — threatenings against them — promises to all who return — former examples of Christ's power and willingness to save. - - 26

CHAPTER HI.

On the fear of having committed the Sin against the Holy Ghost

This sin includes opposition to Christ and his cause — arises from hatred— committed in opposition to knowledge — accompanied with blasphemies, and is exasperated by admonition. But when a desire is cherished for the Divine favour, it is no proof that this sin has been committed because convictions have been resisted — evil thoughts haunt us — blasphemous words have been uttered — religion has been reviled — deliberate sin has been perpetrated — or that the heart seems hardened, ^43

Chapter IV

On the want of Humiliation and sorrow for Sin.

No distress for sin can be too great — consolation generally obtained after alarm and terror — no measure is prescribed for the degree or duration of preparatory distress and trouble — their design is to lead to Christ, and no soul can ever come to him too soon or too confidently. - - - 61

CHAPTER V. On the weakness and want of Faith

Some involve themselves in trouble from confounding faith with great mental powers — with its peaceful and comfortable fruits — and with what constitutes its perfection. Strong faith is relative — sometimes strongest when suspected to be weakest. Salvation secured to all that is sound and living — and the kindest promises made to the weak in faith. 81

CHAPTER VI. - The same subject continued

To establish and maintain faith pore not upon difficulties and dangers, but look at the character of God who invites our trust — study the promises — and implore the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Remonstrance with the timid and doubtful. - 97

CHAPTER VII. On the want of the Assurance of Salvation

Assurance not inseparable from a state of grace, otherwise the essence of faith would consist in a belief of our own salvation — the agency of the Spirit would be unnecessary to maintain our peace — temptation could not destroy our hope — the desponding would be under condemnation — and the confident and presumptuous would be safe. That assurance is attainable is evident from Christ's love to his people — from the change which they undergo at regeneration — some have attained it — it is enjoined — it is promised. Assurance ennobles, purifies, and supports the soul. 118

CHAPTER VIII. On the remains of Corruption

Religion produces a great change upon the character. It does not make the Christian in this life perfect. But still there is an essential difference betwixt him and the irreligious. His sins are generally inward and spiritual. His outward transgressions are committed ignorantly and involuntarily. They are only occasional and temporary — he resists all sin, and shuns every appearance of evil. - 136

CHAPTER IX. On Desertion

Believers often regard themselves as deserted when they receive no return to their prayers — derive no advantage from the ordinances — labour under languor — experience no success in their benevolent services — and are subjected to multiplied trials. Desertion sometimes originates in the appointment of God; but is generally occasioned by apostasy of heart — remissness in duty — and open sin. - 155

CHAPTER X. The same subject continued

Those who have fallen by iniquity must return anew to God through Christ. Those conscious of no cause for this distress, must recall the former instances of God's favour. If they cannot take encouragement from past experience, they are exhorted to look into the present state of their heart. 170

CHAPTER XI. On Temporal Affliction

Affliction is not always the effect of the Divine displeasure, nor reserved for the irreligious. It prevents and cures sin — promotes conformity to the image of Christ — discovers the excellence of the promises — enhances the value of spiritual enjoyments — gives fervour to prayer — occasions greater supplies of Divine strength and consolation — procures more frequent visits of the Spirit — and prepares for greater future glory. 181

CHAPTER XII. On the Fear of Death

There is nothing repulsive in the person, nor formidable in the presence of Him, before whom death places the Christian. Nothing terrible in the passage from earth to heaven. Nothing to rivet the affections of the believer to the things of earth and time. His salvation cannot be complete till he reach heaven. 196

CHAPTER XIII. On the Evidences of a State of Grace

Whatever may occur to alarm or agitate, all may rejoice in their own safety who know that their souls are resting for acceptance in the sight of God upon the righteousness of Christ— that they love him— obey his commandments — and delight in spiritual enjoyments. - 218

Chapter I. On The Importance Of Religious Joy

" Let pure devotion in my heart For ever dwell, thou God of love; And light and heavenly peace impart, Sweet earnests of the joys above."

Man is born to trouble, and Christians are not exempted from the ordinary calamities and sorrows of humanity. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Though their hopes are high, and they know that, when they reach their home, they shall find their inheritance to be invaluable and immense ; while they are in the house of their pilgrimage, they experience much to disturb their peace, and to exercise their faith, fortitude, and patience. Their faculties are limited and feeble; their graces are imperfect; their understandings are only partially enlightened; their hearts are deceitful; their bodies are frail; they are placed in a wicked and ensnaring world ; surrounded with manifold temptations; and exposed to severe and complicated trials. They cannot always do the things that they ought, nor even the things that they would. When they would do good, evil is present with them : they feel a law in their members warring against the law in their minds; and are burdened with a body of sin and death.

Though, therefore, it is the duty of all who are reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, to be strong in the Lord, to glory in his love, to rejoice alway ; there are seasons when this joy becomes unattainable, and when their souls are filled with distress and anguish. Is it possible, or proper, to rejoice when God forsakes them, and 2 the consolations of the Gospel are withdrawn? Can they rejoice in the weakness of their faith, and in the languor of their love? in the wanderings of their affections, and the coldness of their hearts? in their distance from God, and faint and indistinct views of his glory ? Are they to rejoice in the dishonors which the profane are heaping upon his blessed name, and the awful amount of wrath which they are treasuring up for themselves against the day of wrath? Are they to rejoice when they are beset with temptation, or are actually overtaken with iniquity?

These are circumstances which call for weeping, and lamentation, and mourning.

But, at the same time, every believer ought to be on his guard -against the presence and the power of these evils; to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made him free ; and to give all diligence to increase his joy in the Lord, and to rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ; and he is graciously calling us into his eternal glory, through a life of faith upon his Son, and of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Many indeed entertain the most base and dishonourable ideas of the blessed Gospel, and of the adorable God who gave it. They suppose that Christianity is a severe and gloomy system, that crushes the spirits of those who embrace it, and subjects them to a life of perpetual toil and unenlivened sadness. They imagine that God is a harsh and rigorous master ; who wrings from the hard hands of his people the utmost measure of service which they can render, and in return furnishes them with the most scanty and miserable supplies. They seem to apprehend that he would be alarmed and offended were they to discover any symptoms of liveliness and joy; that he has called them to bondage and suffering; and that, though in heaven they shall be permitted to spend their existence in happiness and bliss, they must pass the time of their sojourning in perplexity and pain, and serve him with slavish despondency and overwhelming terror.

But do these ideas correspond at all with the character of that God, who is the Father of mercies and the God of iove? of that God who takes pleasure in his people, and rejoices in the prosperity of his saints? After he has so loved the world that he has given his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life; after he has sent down the Holy Ghost to lead us into all truth, to shed abroad his love in our hearts, to bear witness with our spirits that we are the sons of God, and fill us with all peace and joy in believing; is it credible that he can have any delight in our fears and troubles, or any desire to prolong our sufferings, or multiply our sorrows?

When we hear the advent of Jesus celebrated as a cause of exultation and of gladness; when we hear the prophet crying, "Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein : for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel;" when we find the faithful longing for his appearing as the consolation of Israel ; and the celestial inhabitants clustering around the place of his birth, and singing, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will to men ;" when we hear the Son of God himself declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, — to comfort all that mourn;" when we hear him opening his mouth in blessings, and inviting all the labouring and heavy laden to come to him for rest ; is it credible, is it possible, that he can have any wish to lengthen out the sadness of his children, or to involve them in deeper affliction and distress ?

When he has enjoined his ministers to comfort his people; to strengthen the weak hands; to confirm the feeble knees; to say to them of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, for your God will come and save you ; what other inference can we draw from these precious facts, than that he loves the peace and felicity of his followers, and is delighted with their serenity and cheerfulness? Unless he is set upon our welfare, and solicitous to ad vance our present happiness and improvement; why has he given us all things richly to enjoy! why has he crowded into the promises of his word, and the provisions of his grace, such an inexhaustible fund of hope and rejoicing? why has it pleased him that in Christ should all fulness dwell; and that out of his fulness we should receive even grace for grace ?

When the brief pilgrimage of life is closed, he has prepared a heaven of purity and of bliss; where his servants shall see his face; where they shall serve him day and night, and spend the long range of their eternity in one uninterrupted jubilee. In his presence is fulness of joy; at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. But who are they who are counted worthy to obtain a part in these exalted services, and in these ineffable and never-ending triumphs? Are they the angels of light? the tenants of other worlds? creatures of a superior rank and of nobler powers, whose natures were never stained with sin, nor their souls wrung with anguish? No: they are the sons and daughters of Adam who are in Christ Jesus ; the men and the women who, from a discovery of their guilt and wretchedness, have fled to the Lord Jesus Christ; have embraced him as all their salvation and all their desire; and who, from love to his name and gratitude for the matchless condescension and kindness which he has shewn them, are actively and unreservedly devoted to his interest and honour.

My dear readers, Are you in Christ Jesus ? Are you living on him by faith? Do you count all things but loss for his sake ; and determine to know nothing save Christ, and him crucified ? Then, were death to cut you down this moment, where would you be the next? In heaven; before the throne ; in the presence of God and of the Lamb ; and in full possession of all the dignity and blessedness that encircle the presence of the Eternal. For blessed are the dead who die in the Lord : they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. They are absent from the body, and present with the Lord.

Now : have all the dead, who have died in the Lord, been instantly admitted into heaven; and if you are in

Christ; were death now to strike you down, would you also, in a moment, be translated from earth to heaven, from your present employments, to the full blaze of celestial glory, and all the ecstacy of its elevated and enraptured adorations? Then, where is the decree or mandate that prohibits you just now from tasting your sacred and religious joys, and dooms you to dejection and distress? Had the last saint, who entered the golden gates of the new Jerusalem, any better right or firmer claim to its felicity and honour than his union to the Lord Jesus Christ? And, joined to him in the bonds of an everlasting covenant, loving him with your whole heart, and cleaving to him with all your strength and mind; your plea is just as strong and your title as valid as his. Were death, therefore, this instant, to snap asunder the frail thread of life; without the slightest accession to your right, would you, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, clear all the distance betwixt the throne of grace and the throne of glory, betwixt the society of the saints on earth, and that of the general assembly and church of the first-born in heaven? Then, granting that your pilgrimage were yet to extend to threescore and ten, on what ground can you believe that you are debarred from the immediate, full, uninterrupted enjoyment and use of all the riches of redeeming grace ; and all the unsearchable loving-kindness of an infinite God?

The bare gift of God in creation and in providence, without any additional security, completely warrants us to apply and use the precious benefits which he confers. And is any thing more than his free gift requisite to authorize and encourage you to rest on the Lord Jesus Christ; and, from this day and onward till you shall see him as he is, to appropriate and use all the promises of his word, and all the provisions of his love? Yet to you God gives his Son, his righteousness and strength : to you he gives his grace and Spirit. All things are yours. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? Is the man entitled by the gift of God to the enjoyment of his life and health? the philosopher, of his rea- 2* son and learning? and the industrious, of their skill and success ? And is there any thing more than this free gift necessary to imbolden you forthwith to convert, to all the purposes of your own holiness and comfort, the immense and invaluable provisions of the everlasting Gospel?

Do I say that this is your right? I must go farther; and affirm that this is your duty. For what more than the commandment of the great and eternal God is needful to render any exercise, whether pleasant or painful, your obvious and indispensable duty? Why was Abraham bound to offer up his Son? Why are you obliged to deny yourselves, to take up your cross, to follow Christ? to give yourselves to reading, meditation, and prayer? to practise honesty and charity? to fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life? Because such are the plain and express commandments of God. And is his simple commandment sufficient to enforce the performance of these duties ? And is any thing more necessary to bind you to live on Christ; to walk by faith; to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might ; to rejoice in the Lord alway, and again to rejoice ; to abide in him ; and to cultivate that peace which passeth all understanding, and that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory?

When such are the privileges and duties of Christians; let me entreat all who are reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, and who are laying up your treasure in heaven, to avail yourselves of your advantages. Endeavour to rise superior to disquietude and fear. Labour to realize the things that are freely given you of God. Live on your inheritance. Leave no part of it unoccupied and unemployed. Gather more and more of the first-fruits of the Spirit. And strive more and more to maintain and establish that peace and joy which arise from faith in the Saviour and close communion with God ; and which are a foretaste of future glory.

By conduct such as this,

I. You will greatly promote the honour of God.

Loaded with his blessings, and under such immense obligations to his generosity and grace, can you resist the inquiry, What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits?

There is nothing by which you can more decidedly express your own gratitude and more effectually advance his honor, than by your real satisfaction in his friendship and happiness in his service. It is greatly to the discredit of a teacher or a general, when their scholars or soldiers are peevish and discontented, melancholy and miserable. But it reflects the highest honour upon the wisdom of their measures, and the kindness of their hearts, when those under their charge are attached to their persons, and evidently delighted with their situation and employment. And can any thing cast a greater shade over religion, than to see those who profess it, going in the bitterness of their spirits ; seldom or never serene or cheerful, but frequently trembling and complaining? But he that offereth praise glorifieth God. The man whose spirit and temper demonstrate that the lines have fallen to him in pleasant places, and that he has a goodly heritage ; that the possession of the whole creation would be a poor and empty acquisition, compared with an interest in the favour of the great and the eternal God : that man does justice to the goodness and liberality of his heavenly Father. He does honour to the gospel which he has embraced, and contributes to raise religion in the esteem, and recommend it to the pursuit of those around him.

The men of the world do justice to their friends, and credit to the objects which they pursue. They speak with rapture of their connexion with the wealthy and the great, and give unquestionable proof of their gratification upon every accession to their property or fame. Now, shall they feel or express delight and exultation in their paltry and perishing pleasures ? What satisfaction should you feel, and what gratitude and rejoicing should you dis play, for all the riches of redeeming mercy and all the in exhaustible resources of eternal glory? Shall they exhibit marks of contentment and happiness in the bondage of sin and in the drudgery of Satan? And shall you betray melancholy and sadness in the service of the Father of mercies, and in the glorious liberty of the sons of God? Shall they exult in the hollow and precarious pleasures of a transitory world? And shall you be gloomy and depressed who have all the blessings of the everlasting gospel, and all the fulness of Deity for your portion?

Is it fitting that the children of a king should be sad from day to day ? Should the brethren of Jesus, and the heirs of his eternal glory, allow their brows to be wrinkled with care, or their hearts filled with anguish? From the men of the world who have their portion here, whose treasures are confined within the narrow limits of earth and time, who are without God and without hope, we might justly expect the sigh of disappointment, and the murmurs of vexation and despair. But should not Israel rejoice in him that made him? Should not the children of Zion be joyful in their King? Called by his grace into the fellowship of his dear Son, and made partakers of all the plenitude of his salvation ; should not your temper and deportment correspond to the magnitude of your privileges, and the grandeur of your prospects? And since your enjoyments and hopes so infinitely surpass all that worldlings know ; should not you labour as far to excel them in the calmness and tranquillity of your spirits, and in the stability and elevation of your happiness and joy? " Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous ; for praise is comely for the upright. Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, rejoice."

Religious peace and joy contribute greatly

II. To advance the salvation of your brethren.

The eyes of many are upon you. Every thing bordering upon dejection and melancholy has a tendency to disgust the ignorant and the worldly at the ways of godliness, and to make them cling more tenaciously to their sordid and forbidden pleasures. Finding in sin much to gratify their low and vitiated taste, and strangers to the hopes and consolations of the gospel; they rashly and unjustly conclude, from the dismal appearance of its timid and morbid disciples, that our encomiums upon its importance and excellence are false; and that it is their wisdom to cleave to the joys which they know, rather than renounce them for those which are unknown, and which they regard as doubtful or visionary.

Multitudes, accordingly, of the gay and the thoughtless are deterred from crossing the threshhold of Christianity, from the apprehension that they must leave all liveliness and cheerfulness behind them, and spend the remainder of their pilgrimage in gloom and dejection. Many of the young contemplate a devout life with horror: and the aged votaries of vice and folly tremble at the thoughts of their children or relatives being brought under the power of the truth, from the fear that it would ruin their success in life, and deprive them of all felicity and joy.

Every instance of religious gloom and despondence has a tendency to confirm these prejudices, and to counteract the diffusion of the benign and salutary influence of our holy faith. But when by the calmness of your minds, and the general amenity and cheerfulness of your tempers, you demonstrate that there is an unquestionable reality and an indescribable worth and power in the hopes and comforts of the gospel; this conduces to soften their aversion to Christianity, and to excite a love and a longing after an interest in its invaluable blessings. When they see that godliness has the promise of the life that now is; that even in the present state, they have great peace that love the law of God; that they walk in the light of the Lord, and in His name rejoice all the day ; that even in the things in which they fancy that they ex eel, you are immeasurably above them; this convinces them of the certainty of what the Bible reveals, and affords them a security that all the promises of better and nobler enjoyments will be amply fulfilled in the world beyond the grave.

If therefore you would wish to gain your fellow-immortals to the obedience of the faith, and preserve them from everlasting wretchedness and ruin; if you would wish to do justice to the religion which you profess, and raise the name of Jesus above every name, let the peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your heart and mind: abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost: let the world see that he that believes has eternal life; and that the way to heaven above lies through a heaven below. Show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.