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SERMON XXI.

THE SUM OF TRUE RELIGION.

ECCLESIASTES xii. 13, 14.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil."

IT may be stated as the general design of the book of Ecclesiastes, to ascertain in what way we shall best secure that which is naturally the desire of every man, our personal happiness. The writer, in the progress of his work, details to us his various occupations and disappointments, with the feelings of a man whose experience had taught him a lesson not to be forgotten. Worldly pleasures had spread before him all their attractions, and worldly wisdom had seen him amongst the most zealous of her votaries but amidst the whole range of pursuits thus successively presented to him, he

found nothing which could afford solid or durable satisfaction. From the rapid review which he takes of these pursuits, he proceeds, in the latter chapters of the book, to many useful and instructive reflections: not forbidding a moderate enjoyment of the good things, which God has placed within our reach; but recommending such a temperate and qualified use of them as becomes moral and accountable creatures enjoining patience under the various appointments of heaven, a peaceable life, a kind and affectionate disposition, and a habit of benevolence in all our conduct. Upon these and similar subjects he dwells at some length, and intersperses his remarks with warnings and exhortations suited to different classes of society. The concluding verses contain the substance of his previous meditations: he concentrates in a few words the great practical result of all his experience and all his reflections. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

I. This passage PRESENTS A SUMMARY OF

SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE;

II. ASSERTS THE COMPLETENESS OF THAT

SUMMARY; and,

III. SUGGESTS A MOTIVE FOR RECEIVING

AND ACTING UPON IT.

May we, my brethren, be so convinced of the truth and value of this representation, as to lose no time in fulfilling the duty which it inculcates.

I. WE HAVE A SUMMARY OF SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE: The conclusion of the whole matter; the substance of all which has been said, or can be said upon the question, Fear God and keep His commandments. What then are we to understand by this fear and this obedience?

(1.) By the fear of God, according to the sense of the sacred writings, is meant not a servile apprehension of the power and wrath of the Almighty; not such a fear as possesses the outcast and apostate spirits, who believe and tremble; not a view of the divine Majesty, which would make us flee from His presence, and profanely wish that there were no Deity: neither, on the other hand, is it a vague and unmeaning principle, if principle it can be called, which contents itself with an acknowledgment of the divine attributes, and certain periodical acts of outward worship, accompanied by no

practical and abiding influence upon the heart. He who truly fears God must bear ingrafted on his mind a deep and reverential awe of the Almighty; and it must, according both to the statements of Scripture and to the character of pious men in all ages of the church, be such a fear as is consistent with love to His name and pleasure in His service. It may be likened to the affectionate veneration of the child for its parent. The moral influence upon the mind of a dutiful child arises not so much from the power of the parent to visit his offences with retribution, as from the instinctive desire to do that which shall please him: such a child does not, when temptation occurs, say to himself, how can I commit this wrong and contrive to escape his observation; but rather, how can I be so wicked as to do that which, if discovered, would offend him? How can I make so ungrateful a return for all the kindness which I experience, and so grievously repay the obligations which I owe? Such too are the reflections suggested by the fear of the Lord; so powerfully constraining is this principle in its operation, so closely associated with all the feelings which belong to the condition and character of a child of God; so intimately

blended not with awe only, but with a milder sentiment,—with the gentle yet mighty reverence of love.

(2.) We might therefore almost be induced to regard as superfluous the remaining part of this summary, which requires us to keep God's commandments; for is not this, we are ready to ask, the natural and necessary effect of the fear of God? To such a question it might be sufficient to reply, that the Holy Spirit has, notwithstanding, laid great stress upon the keeping of the commandments: and it is further obvious to remark, that some important ends are answered by such injunctions. For many persons, if they were not to be tried by the test of obedience, would be ready to persuade both others and themselves, that nevertheless they feared God: many again, if the divine precepts were not constantly and continually urged, would be led to undervalue them, as of no moment to the spiritual man. And are not the preceptive portions of the sacred writings essentially useful in reminding even the best and holiest men of the obligations under which they are laid to let their light shine forth, and, by well doing, to glorify God? Whether we look at the misconceptions so ge

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