at various times, raised up men who, without the aids of human learning, have shone most brightly, and been eminently useful. In our own denomination, a Bunyan and a Fuller have risen up, and attained a gigantic height. But these are exceptions-we have no right to expect such men every day. While education is proceeding throughout society, we must keep pace. Scarcely a congregation is now to be found in which there are not some who consider and examine all that is said. I need not say one word to induce you to acknowledge the necessity and importance of academical institutions. That for which I have the honour to plead is one of the most ancient, and is, at least, equal to any in existence. The students have the advantage of a library, which is, perhaps, not excelled by any in the kingdom. They are aided in their various pursuits by learned and pious men. In consequence of building, a debt has been contracted, which has placed the trustees in great difficulties, and prevented them from receiving the number of young men who might otherwise be accommodated. They make a strong appeal to you, while thus struggling with difficulties, and aiming to raise up a number of young men who shall declare to many people the words of eternal life. Many demands have lately been made upon you, and much has been said to excite you to benevolence; but "be not weary in well-doing." We expect no large proportion of your property; you will do nobly on this occasion if you only devote a small portion of your superfluity. And surely you will do this, anxious to experience the blessedness of those who give, and to lay up for yourselves those rewards which God has graciously promised to bestow. Remember, that though "the excellency of the power is of God, and not of man," he has put this "treasure in earthen vessels." "How shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent ?" and how can they be duly qualified, unless you furnish means? If Christians withhold their aid, the Church of God must cease; places of worship must be shut up; souls must be neglected. But you will not allow this; you will come "to the help of the Lord against the mighty." Remember that it is the cause of God: the instruments may be weak and feeble, but they are such as Christ employs in going "forth conquering and to conquer;" they form part of that army which He is leading forth, who hath " on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ;" and they are called, and chosen, and faithful." He who despises these ministers as mean and contemptible, would also despise and contemn their MASTER, if He were upon the earth. Listen to Him who says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive;" He who has said it will assuredly make it good in an abundant recompense to all who have "studied to adorn the gospel of God our Saviour." LXXXVII. HUMILITY ILLUSTRATED AND ENFORCED.* 1 PETER, v., 5: Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves to the elder: yea, all be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. [Preached at Broadmead, Bristol, Thursday evening, January 6th, 1831, preparatory to the Lord's Supper. This was the last sacramental lecture which Mr. Hall lived to preach: he was seized with his last illness on the very day. February 10th, on which he was to have delivered the next monthly address on a similar occasion; and, reclining on a sofa, he calmly expired on the afternoon of February 21. In his whole spirit, aspect, and manner, he presented, on the present occasion, as a friend remarked to me at the time, the very portrait of the grace which he so beautifully recommended. At the close, he gave out the hymn of Watts, beginning "Come hither, all ye weary souls." I spoke to him in the vestry, little supposing that it was for the last time. The sketch of this sermon was transcribed on the next morning: and it is a remarkable circumstance that, on this last opportunity alone, as though impelled by a prophetic sympathy, I preserved. at the same time, the following fragments of the prayer which preceded this farewell address. Simple, and almost purely Scriptural, as are the sentiments and expressions, they may be deemed interesting here, as they present, I believe, the only recorded relic of those prayers, in which, scarcely less than in his preaching, Mr. Hall excelled; and this so near to his death. I give it verbatim, as noted at the time: in all his prayers the impression was much enhanced by the utterance, which was eminently that of one "praying in the Holy Spirit," and "clothed with humility." "O Thou. who art the Fountain of all good! we would approach Thee with that humility and reverence which become us in all our addresses to Thine infinite Majesty. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were created, from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. As from Thee we have derived our existence, so on Thee we depend for every mo ment of its continuance in Thee we live, and move, and have our being. Thou hast been the refuge of Thy people in all generations; our fathers trusted in Thee, and were holpen; they look. ed unto Thee, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. As for man, his days are as grass; but the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him. We bless Thee that we are permitted once more to appear in Thy presence, the spared monuments of Thy providential goodness. We beseech Thee to assist us in these sacred exercises; in singing Thy praises, and hearing Thy holy word. We serve Thee only with Thine own; and what we have received in mercies and blessings, we would render back to Thee in gratitude and love. Enable us to consider the operations of Thy hand in all things around, and all things within us; in the workings of Thy providence abroad, and of Thy Spirit upon ourselves. Let us make Thee the Omega as well as the Alpha, the end as well as the beginning, of all our undertakings; let all our works be begun, continued, and ended in Thee. May we put on the whole armour of God, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; and, seeing that we are encompassed with so great a cloud of witnesses, may we lay aside every weight, and run with patience the race set be fore us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Since our adversary, the devil, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, him may we resist, steadfast in the faith. May we rejoice as if we rejoiced not; weep as if we went not; and, knowing that the end of all things is at hand, may we let our moderation be known unto all men. O Lord, hear us in these our supplica tions, and pardon and accept us, and wash us and our services in the precious blood of the dear and adorable Redeemer; for whom we bless Thee, as Thine unspeakable gift; and with whom, to Thyself and Holy Spirit, be undivided and everlasting praises. Amen.-GRINFIELD.] THIS epistle, like most of the others, is addressed, not to individuals, but to a society of Christians. If we forget this, we shall lose much of the propriety and pertinency of what is addressed. It is a principal design of these epistles to regulate the conduct of churches to the end of time; and if they were more studied in this view, there would have been much less corruption and misconduct in the Christian Church. No grace is more frequently recommended in these writings, as deserving the attention of Christians in their societies, than humility. In the text, a particular branch of this grace is laid down, the subjec tion of the younger to the elder; from this, the apostle passes to the * From the notes of the Rev. T. Grinfield. general exercise of deference and submission by one towards another; and this he enforces by a consideration of irresistible weight, that "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." I proceed, first, to illustrate the injunction here given, and then the motive by which it is enforced. I. When Austin was asked what was the first grace of a Christian, he answered, humility: what the second, humility: what the third, humility. This grace enters more deeply into the Christian character, it is more fundamental and radical to the nature of all true religion, than any other grace whatever. The foundation of repentance is laid in an abasing sense of our guilt; our meanness before the majesty of God as creatures of his power, aggravated by our vileness and exposure to punishment, as transgressors of his law. The reason why men are not humble is, that they do not see the greatness of God. The angels, though the highest of creatures in excellence and station, are the humblest in spirit; they hide their faces before the glory of the Lord; they have the clearest view of his holiness and glory, and therefore they prostrate themselves in the lowest state before Him. It is the effect of all knowledge to humble us, by producing a sense of our distance from the object which we contemplate: the farther we advance in knowledge, the more this distance widens on our view: hence, where an Infinite Being, where God is the object of contemplation, there must be infinite scope for humility in his worshippers. And this has always been the effect: thus Isaiah, when he had seen the glory of the Lord, cried out that he was himself unclean: Job, when he had seen the Lord, abhorred himself as vile.. The gospel is peculiarly adapted to produce this feeling: this is described as its very end and effect: "No flesh shall glory in his presence; the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." This effect arises from the very constitution of the gospel; as it is a revelation of the free grace of God to sinners, without any respect to moral or natural differences of character. Hence no room is left for self-righteous pride even in the best: because every one must know so much more of himself, and his own sins, than he can of others, that he is compelled to feel himself as "the chief of sinners," and, in "lowliness of mind, to esteem others better than himself." The grace of God is given, at first, without any merit of ours; and, after it has been given, more grace is constantly needed by us to keep us in the right way; so that, from first to last, we are humbled: "Not for works of righteousness which we have done, but of his own mercy, He saves us." All is calculated to lay man low and exalt God in addition to the natural nothingness of the creature, we have to remember the desert of infinite wrath for our sins. He that has the deepest sense of his own unworthiness will feel the greatest value for redeeming grace. To such a person, the least mercy will appear great; if not great in itself, yet great as conferred on him: how great, then, "the riches of eternal glory!" In prosperity, if we are humble, instead of "sacrificing to our own net, and burning incense to our own drag," we shall feel that the favour of God has conferred all; as David said, "What am I, or what is my father's house, that thou hast raised me to the throne of thy people!" or as Jacob said, "With my staff I passed over, and now I am become two bands: I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, O LORD!" In affliction, humility will reconcile us to our lot; with Jeremiah we shall say, "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sin ?" our chastisement will appear less than we deserve. At all times, if humble in heart, we shall walk in a sober and serious spirit, as under a sense of the presence and eye of God, "as seeing Him who is invisible." In prayer, we shall be earnest, wrestle with Him for the fulfilment of his own promises, lay hold on his strength and his covenant: not as those who seem to think that, in their prayers, they are conferring a favour upon God, but as surprised at his condescension in hearing and accepting our offerings. We shall be fervent in proportion as we are humble suppliants; we shall feel our wants, and be prepared to receive out of his fulness. In regard to the future events of life, we shall resign ourselves to his wisdom and power; acknowledging Him in all our ways, and hearing his voice as saying to us, "This is the way, walk ye in it." In regard to others, in all indifferent matters, and where principle is not opposed, we shall aim to please them; even as Christ pleased not himself alone and in our church fellowship, we shall seek to serve and benefit our brethren, and show respect to all, as the younger to their elders. Humility disposes us to meekness in our behaviour, as pride inflames animosity: it inclines us to bear, rather than retort, reproach; as David said of Shimei, "Let him curse :" it teaches us to "walk in love, forbearing and forgiving;" as the blessed Redeemer, "when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to God." His humility appeared most conspicuous in the scene of his last sufferings. Where there is an absence of this grace, there must be endless dissensions in a church: we can " keep the unity of the Spirit" only "in the bond of peace;" and peace can be preserved only by the exercise of mutual humility: where this prevails, there will be a brotherly deference and kindness, an affectionate and sympathizing spirit, and the greatest harmony among the members. When the ministers of the Church are seen struggling for pre-eminence, or the members divided among themselves, it is in opposition to that Christian humility, which blunts the edge of all angry and violent passions; which reconciles us to inferior stations, while it makes us safe in those which are superior; which will teach every one to say, "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God," than fill the highest place apart from Him. Under this influence," the eye will not say to the hand, nor the head to the foot, I have no need of thee;" but every member will perform his part and duty with complacency and delight. II. And the motive by which such a temper is recommended is one of the utmost force: it is this, that "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." 1. "God resisteth the proud."* The expression is very emphatic; He sets himself in battle array against him; marks him as an object of peculiar indignation. It is not so said of any other temper. And the truth of this expression has been often exemplified. In the course of Providence, it is a general rule, that "pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Hence attentive observers of Providence have been led to fear an approaching rebuke, where they have perceived the rising of a proud spirit. Nebuchadnezzar was spared while he went on ravaging kingdoms and shedding blood; but when he forgot God in his pride; when he boasted that he had . built his great capital "by the might of his power and for the honour of his majesty," it was then that he was condemned to grovel in the dust as a brute. When Rabshakeh came defying the God of Israel, it was then that he was blasted in his pride; then God put forth the arm of his vengeance, and said, "Hitherto shalt thou go, and no farther!" then God put a hook into his nose, and turned him back like a beast, while he smote by an angel the immense army of Sennacherib in one night! Herod was suffered to go on in his evil and bloody deeds; it was not until he made an oration, and received the idolatry of his audience, and gave not God the glory; it was not until that hour of impious pride that God smote him with death, and up to be eaten of worms! gave him Even among the children of God, if any of them give way to a haughty spirit, a severe rebuke is sure to follow this we see in the fall of Peter. For, of all things, pride is the most opposite to the greatness and glory of the Divine Being: "what have we, that we have not received ?" to be proud, therefore, of what we owe entirely to God, is to set up ourselves against Him; and this must end in a fall. "Who hath hardened himself against Him, and prospered ?" The Spirit of God retires from such a mind: the proud scul is not susceptible of the influences of that Spirit, whose emblem is the meek and gentle dove. It is with the spirit of the humble that He, who inhabits eternity, delights to dwell. When the heart is filled by pride, nothing but spiritual barrenness and hardness can ensue; and until He, who has been offended, is once more humbly sought, and applies his medicinal grace in answer to prayer, no light of his face can shine there. In a word, the proud are equally disqualified for the duties of Christianity here, and for the blessings of glory hereafter. 2. "But," as it is added, "He giveth grace to the humble." The same words are used by the Apostle James, with the additional expression, "He giveth more grace." The humble feel their poverty, and pray for grace; and their prayers are heard. While the rich are sent empty away, the hungry are filled with good; more and more grace is given to such, the more they ask. When the sinner breathes * ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ὑπερηφανοις αντιτάσσεται, contrasted with παντες αλλήλοις υποτασσόμενοι. The Greek expressions of the whole passage are singularly picturesque and emphatic.-GRINFIELD |