SERMON XIII.. THE DUTY OF FOLLOWING THE LAMB.. REV. xiv. 4. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. THE Beloved Apostle is describing the characters of those, who are to be numbered with the "saints and just men made perfect," of the inheritors of Mount Sion, of those who shall be inhabitants of the heavenly city. He alludes, no question, to their choice and conduct, while they were in the body, while they were upon earth: they then made it their object and their business to follow the footsteps of that mighty Redeemer, with whom they hoped and looked to reign. for ever, the blessed Jesus, that spotless Lamb of God, who was slain as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world,"* and will save all them that believe on His name. He is no longer in bodily presence upon earth, no longer visible to the natural eye; but He is present in spirit and in truth; and can be followed, with the eye of faith, through all the ways of righteousness and obedience. Possibly the phrase may have been borrowed from the confident language of the scribe, who said to Jesus, "Master, I will follow Thee, whithersoever Thou goest;" or it might have been a kind of proverb in those days, to signify a devoted attachment to any person or cause. Certainly, like most of the scriptural figures, it is extremely well suited to convey to our minds a very full and lively notion of the duty required-the duty of attending wholly upon the Lord; as an ignorant traveller in a dangerous country follows his experienced guide: * 1 John ii. 2. † Matt. viii, 19. as a faithful servant his master; as a soldier his general, to fight and to conquer. This figure is employed in our comprehensive Collect* for this day, in which we pray for grace to follow the only God; to yield to the teaching and evidence of the spirit; to do the will, to obey the word, of that Almighty Being, who alone is entitled to our service, and alone is able to reward. But before I proceed to enlarge upon the duty involved in the text, of “following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth,” it is proper to observe, that a most important circumstance demands our previous consideration. Before we can fullow the Saviour with this devotedness of heart and mind, there are many things to be forsaken and relinquished. We are not in the situation of a traveller, who leaves his home without a temptation or a tie, without any possessions or any friends, or any habits, which have endeared themselves to his affections; not * 18th Sunday after Trinity. like one, who feels himself at perfect liberty to embark in any enterprise without a drawback or interference. No: engagements and endearments, businesses and indulgences without number, are interwoven with our hearts; and have established a dominion there. From these, as rules of action, as lords and masters, we must be set free, before we can decidedly set out on our purpose of following the Lord. His footsteps will lead us to many ways and scenes entirely opposite to our worldly interests and inclinations: Unless, therefore, we are prepared to part with all that may hinder and obstruct our heavenly walking, we shall find our purpose, such as it is, perpetually frustrated; and that we are able to make no advancement at all in that spiritual course, which the Lord points out to us by His word and His example. These observations agree with the instruction further derivable from the Collect; in which we first pray for grace to withstand "the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil." and thus, "with pure hearts and minds to follow the only God." Unless these temptations be shunned and withstood, unless we be resolutely and entirely minded to give up the world as a motive and a guide, to sacrifice our own conceited judgment, and our own corrupt will, and to watch and pray against the wiles of the enemy, it is altogether impossible for us to become followers of the Lamb. Suffer me to press this point upon your attention with the most emphatic earnestness of desire; as a vital point too commonly mistaken and unheed ed; producing all around the most lamentable and fatal consequences. Few persons, who profess to build their hope upon the gospel, will refuse to acknowledge at least the duty of following their Lord; and many, who perform not this duty, cannot help entertaining some serious impressions of the importance, nay the necessity of observing it; probably they may occasionally resolve, that it must and shall be while the want of attention to it is |