SERMON LXIV. CHRISTIANS TAUGHT BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. St. John the Baptist Day. ISAIAH XL. 3. THE VOICE OF HIM THAT CRIETH IN THE WILDERNESS, "PRE FOLLOWING the course marked out for us by the wise compilers of the Book of Common Prayer, we are led to fix our thoughts on the singular history of St. John the Baptist. Like the bright star of the morning, he appeared to give notice that the Sun of brightness was approaching, and to prepare the way of the LORD. And as his doctrines then tended to dispose men's minds to welcome the KING of GLORY, So may the cheering truths enliven our hearts, and inform us in our duty now that CHRIST is come, and "GOD is manifest in the flesh." I. Consider the prophecies which foretold the coming of the Baptist. It was the peculiar distinction of our SAVIOUR, that He had a messenger of grace to precede HIм, a messenger of no common character. He was to be the Elijah of the New Testament. He was to resemble that great prophet in constancy, boldness, and zeal, in self-denial and separation from the world. It was his office to "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,"-" to pour into the minds of the people the spiritual knowledge of the ancient saints," and to unite the nation once more in the bonds of charity and truth. Like the appointed heralds of the eastern kings, who were sent forward to make travelling easy, by levelling the hills and filling up the valleys, and straightening the crooked roads, John was, in a spiritual sense, to throw down the obstructions of pride and to exalt the hopes of the lowly, and to remove the windings of deceit. He was to be a VOICE, that as soon as it had expressed the thought of which it was the sign, should be hushed and heard no more. And yet farther, he was appointed to turn many of the children of Israel unto the LORD their GOD, awakening them to seek after CHRIST, and rejoice in His salvation. II. Observe the miraculous circumstances attending the birth of John. An aged priest, Zacharias by name, was ministering in that part of the Levitical service, which, by the ascent of fragrant incense at the golden altar, betokened the gracious acceptance of prayer. The vision of an angel is before him; and human infirmity trembles before the brightness of an heavenly messenger. Amid fear and doubt, Zacharias is informed that a son, whose name should be called John, (i.e. Grace,) was to be born unto himself and his aged wife Elizabeth; a son of joy, a cause of thanksgiving unto many, and a forerunner of the coming CHRIST. Unlike faithful Abraham, who against hope, believed in hope, he fails so far in trust as to demand a sign! 1 Bede. And a sign, the loss of speech, was granted, and this punishment continued till the fulfilment of the promise of GOD. Then did faith recover, what want of faith did cause the loss of; he believed at length, and, therefore, did he speak! His first words (for the HOLY SPIRIT gave him utterance) were those of praise; he breathed forth that hymn, ever dear to the Christian Church, in which he blesses the LORD God of Israel for visiting and redeeming His people, declares the redemption provided for penitent sinners, deliverance from all the enemies of the soul, and guidance for our feet in the ways of peace. III. The austerity and devotedness of the Baptist next claim our attention. We know little of his earlier days, save that he was in the desert,—there he grew and waxed strong in spirit under the inspiration of the COMFORTER, by Whom he was sanctified even from his mother's womb. He came not forth from his retirement till the full period, when the Jewish priests entered on their course. And he that would serve GOD devotedly, must exercise himself in private, not with injudicious severity, but with holy recollection, fasting and prayer, mortification and heavenly-mindedness. He that teaches the superiority of heaven to earth, must not live as if he believed earthly goods preferable to eternal and spiritual enjoyments! Ezekiel meditates in solemn stillness on the banks of Chebar; and Daniel in solitary devotion, is taught the restoration of Judah. And St. John, the beloved, an exile in Patmos, is in the Spirit on the LORD's Day, and sees things to come. And he that would subdue the flesh to the Spirit, and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, must at fitting times screen himself from the ordinary indulgences, and common-place pleasures, and unsatisfying discourse of a passing world, that he may enjoy communion with GOD, and gain a taste for those purer joys which are at God's right hand for evermore. IV. But we must now pass on from the devout solitude of John, to his days of active zeal. For although a good man, in the ways of silent piety and contemplation may find the way to heaven's gate, yet he travels alone,-he benefits not others, save in his humble intercession before GOD for all mankind. But the Christian in the world, though not of the world, carries others with him, as a blessed instrument under CHRIST. There may be fewer temptations from without, in the cloister and the closet; but the Christian can exercise more graces, abroad, to the glory of God. Behold the Baptist, disciplined in retirement, now coming forth, the first missionary in connection with the Gospel. Not running before he is sent, he meekly waits till the Word of GOD had come to him, and then he waits no longer. His extraordinary birth had created astonishment, and on the miracle which took place at his admission into the covenant, the cry is, "What manner of child shall this be?" But what are ye going forth in multitudes to see, in the wilderness of Judæa? Do ye expect to see a self-indulgent man in delicate apparel, or a mind inconsistent, as a reed shaken with the wind? Nay rather, one accustomed to the rough dress of the prophet, and to the simple food of the desert, and firm as a rock in his opposition to all sin. God has shown us in dealing with our nature, that the Law must go before the Gospel-that the conscience must be awakened by the requirement of holiness, before that man will appreciate the promises of mercy, or seek to arrive at a ! spiritual character. "Repent ye," are the first words of his commission! Wash you; make you clean! Be changed in heart, put away the evil of your doings! Thus only can ye become subjects of a kingdom of grace, such as CHRIST is about to establish. His language might seem harsh; but the iniquity of the chosen people was at that time great indeed. Outward ceremonial was set above inward holiness by the Pharisees. And the Sadducees (a refined and influential body) denied a future state; and a taste was abroad for rendering Jerusalem, in its buildings and public amusements, like the capital cities of a heathen empire. Baptism was not a service first introduced by John. It was used on the occasion of a heathen embracing the law of Moses. He was represented as then beginning a new life; and to this our SAVIOUR alludes in his conversation with Nicodemus. The use of Baptism by John seems to have created no surprise. On the contrary, concluding at first from the celebration of Baptism by him, that he was the MESSIAH, all ranks hastened to him confessing their unworthiness of GOD's appearing for them, and filled with the hopes of their nation being now exalted to the chief place on earth. But when the proud, covetous, formal Pharisee stood before him,—or the half-believing, profligate Sadducee,—the messenger of the LORD set his face as a flint. He aims at awakening their conscience. He shames their malice and hypocrisy. He warns them against a blind reliance on their descent from Abraham. He points out the way of reconciliation with GOD. He calls on each of them to give proofs of a soul grieved for sin. He stirs them up to a godly jealousy, at the readiness with which the Gentiles' hard heart would yield to such message of mercy. He |