ral assertion of a famous recluse, " that he always came out of company a worse man than he went into it," savoreth too much of the cloister, yet whoever, as the world goes, should diligently note the times when he came out of company a better man than he went into it, might, perhaps, find his diary contained in a less compass, than at present he is apt to imagine. of such as seek her. She preventeth them that desire her, in making herself first known unto them. Whoso seeketh her early shall have no great travel, for he shall find her sitting at his doors." * Upon the same principle, we may account it one of the no small advantages which St. John enjoyed by his retreat into the wilderness, that he was thereby delivered from the vain janglings of the many religious sects and factions, at that time in Judea. For the authors and abettors of such are naturally confined in their views, and obstructed in their search after truth, by having assumed it for a first principle, that "they are the men, and that wisdom must needs live and die with them." Hence they become more solicitous about the defence of their own particularities against those of other sectaries, than careful to advance and propagate the general principles of true religion. This hath been but too much the case for some time past in Christendom, which, like Jerusalem before its destruction, is crumbled into innumerable parties, biting and devouring one another; insomuch that it is now difficult for one writer to lay down a position in theology, which another shall not immediately set himself to controvert with all his might, as heretical and antichristian. The dispute soon becomes Certain, however, it is, that for the productions of wisdom we are indebted to solitude, as the parent of attention. And therefore many, in all ages, have followed St. John into the wilderness, and chosen retirement, not out of any moroseness of temper, or misanthropy, but that they might give themselves, without let or molestation, to the pursuit of divine knowledge. In this situation they found themselves always at liberty to choose their companions. They could converse at pleasure with patriarchs and prophets, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, with devout and learned b shops, and others, who once adorned the church by their lives, and have continued, since their deaths, through many generations, 'to edify her by their writings. Here they could rally their scattered thoughts, and fix them upon subjects, whence they might extract real profit, and durable pleasure. For m ditations, while employed, in a general and cursory way, upon a variety a trial of skill, and the passions and prejudices of objects, like the rays of light diffused in the air, discover not the force and activity which they possess; it is close attention which collects and unites, and renders them operative. And an ability to bestow that close attention in a crowd, is granted to very few among the sons of men. of the combatants spread a cloud over the question, in which truth and charity often vanish together. Thus dark and tempestuous are these lower regions. But, by study and meditation in solitude, the Christian, in heart and mind, ascendeth to a purer element, from whence he beholdeth the storms produced by A dispassionate and unprejudiced state of contending factions far beneath him, and exmind is another requisite for the attainment patiateth at pleasure in those fields of light and of true wisdom. And as our sentiments take serenity which open themselves on all sides the tincture of our company, persons con- to his view. He consoleth himself by continually engaged in the world are very liable templating the church as she formerly subto be corrupted, as well as dissipated. He sisted in original purity and unity, and as she who passeth his time with men of base and will hereafter exist in her triumphant state anti-scriptural tenets, will find, when it is too above, when her members of every age and late, that "evil communications corrupt "nation shall all lift up their voices togegood principles, as well as "good manners." The understanding will be blinded, and the heart hardened: wisdom will be shut out at every avenue; and the man will sit down in darkness and depravity, for the remainder of his days, determining with himself that there is no such thing as truth, without ever being at the trouble of making the inquiry. Happy, therefore, is he who, like St. John, spendeth his early days in privacy, and there acquainteth himself betimes with the excellencies and perfection of divine wisdom. For" Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away; yea, she is easily seen of them that love her, and found ther, and make their sound to be heard as one, in giving glory to God, and to the Lamb. Disencumbered of passions and prejudices, he followeth after the truth which leadeth to godliness, and the wisdom whose end is salvation. For the attainment of that wisdom a third requisite is divine illumination. Wisdom is one of those "good and perfect gifts," which "come down from the Father of lights," and must be sued for with humility and fervor, in petitions like these "Give me wisdom * Wisdom, vi. 1. This is a work which no man can set about, till he knoweth what those failings are, to which he is subject. And such is the power of self-love, that the person concerned is generally the last who comes to a knowledge of this most important point. If neither the fidelity of his friends nor the malice of his enemies let him into the secret, there is only a third way in which it is possible for him to become master of it, which is self-examination, constantly, sincerely, and thoroughly practised. And this requireth stated seasons of retirement; for want of which, we see those, who are engaged in a circle of business, or pleasures, living entire strangers to themselves and their own infirmities, though intimately acquainted with the follies. and foibles of all around them. "In the night," the psalmist tells us, he communed with his own heart, and "his spirit made diligent search." * Then silence and solitude afforded him an opportunity of scrutinizing the tempers of his soul, of discovering the maladies to which he was inclined, and of applying the proper remedies to each. that sitteth by thy throne, and reject me not from among thy children-For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded-O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee. For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me by her power. -For what man is he that can know the counsel of God; or, who can think what the will of the Lord is, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy Spirit from above?" Such gracious promises are made, and are ready to be fulfilled to the retired Christian. Let but the pollutions and distractions of the world be removed, and the wisdom which "is first pure," and then "peaceable," will enter in. To receive the law, Moses was called away from the congregation to the top of the mount. Ezekiel beheld the visions of God, while a solitary captive upon the banks of Chebar. Daniel was informed concerning the restoration of Jerusalem, and the advent That medicines may be administered with of Messiah, on the evening of a day dedicated success, it is necessary to cut off the provito retirement, for the purposes of fasting and sions, which nourish and increase the disorprayer. St. John was an exile in the deso- der. The world, in the case before us, is late Patmos, when the glorious scenes des- full of such provisions; and therefore the pacribed in the book of Revelation were made tient must withdraw, for a while, from the to pass before him, and he was enabled to ex-influence of its temptations. "Where no tend his view, through all the different revolutions of empires, and periods of the church, to the end of time. And although we no more look for visions and revelations from heaven, yet from thence we expect, according to the most sure promise of our Master, the gift of the Spirit, to bless and prosper us in our studies, to open to us the Scriptures, and our understandings, that we may understand them. The same Spirit that gave the word, giveth likewise the interpretation thereof. And the latter, as well as the former, is best received in solitude, which appears to be thus admirably calculated for the attainment of wisdom, as it requireth study and attention, a dispassionate and unprejudiced mind, and that illumination which is from on high. Sin, in the language of Scripture, is styled folly, to intimate to us, that true wisdom and holiness are inseparable companions. That, therefore, which conduceth to the acquisition of one, can never bear an unfavorable aspect towards the other, and solitude will be found the best nurse of sanctity, more particularly as it consisteth in the exercise of mortification. • Wisdom, ix. 4. wood is, the fire goeth out." Remove the object, and the passion will by degrees die away. In solitude, the pleasures and glories of the world no longer strike upon the senses, and solicit the affections. The soul, therefore, in this situation, like one escaped out of a battle to a place of security, hath leisure to reflect upon her condition, and to provide for her future safety. By looking into herself, she perceiveth how much she standeth in need of mercy and grace; and then she is naturally led to look up to heaven, as the only place from whence they are to be obtained. The former of these prospects filleth her with compunction, and causeth her to mourn for her sins with that godly sorrow which worketh a repentance never to be repented of; the latter encourageth her to pour forth herself in continual prayer to the God of her salvation, until he have mercy upon her. St. Peter, when reminded of his offence by the crowing of the cock, and the affectionate look of an abjured Master, went out from the high priest's hall where he was, and in solitude, with strong crying and tears, made supplication for pardon and peace. In retirement it is, that we find ourselves best able to practice † Prov. xxvi. 20. Psal. lxxvii. 6. all the holy arts of abstinence and self-denial, so needful for the perfecting repentance by mortifying the whole body of sin. When men cannot be induced voluntarily to take this course, they are often forced into it by Providence visiting them with some heavy calamity, which by a stroke, like the amputation of a limb, severe but salutary, separating them at once from the world, shall oblige them to converse first with themselves, and then with God. Thus was Babylon's haughty monarch driven, in an extraordinary manner, from society, to learn humility in the fields and woods, until he acknowledged the power and the righteousness of the King of heaven. And thus the idolatrous and superlatively wicked Manasseh became a sincere and hearty penitent in the solitude of a Chaldean prison. Nor can we but admire, upon this occasion, the wisdom and goodness of God in sending sickness, as a preparative for death. Sickness takes a man, as it were, out of this scene of things, to fit him for another. It draws the curtain between him and the world, shutting out all its cares, and all its pleasures. It puts away his idle and noisy acquaintance far from him; and having thus secured his attention to the one thing needful, gives him ideas of the nature of sin, and the importance of death, the vanities of time, and the glories of eternity, to which he was before an utter stranger. Now appear to him, in their proper colors and natural deformity, the diabolical nature of pride and envy, the brutality of intemperance, the folly and torment of lasciviousness, the wretchedness of avarice, and the stupidity of sloth. Now he hath no longer any unlawful desires, and grieves that he ever had such. Now he is what he always ought to have been, and what retirement, at proper seasons, should and would have made him. In morality, as in husbandry, the preparation of the soil is a great step towards the production of a plentiful harvest. If carnal desires are dead in us, all things belonging to the Spirit, will live and grow in us. If the affections are disengaged from things on earth, the difficulty of the work is over; they will readily and eagerly lay hold on things above, when proposed to them. If the snare of concupiscence be broken, and the soul be delivered out of it, she will presently fly away, on the wings of faith and charity, towards heaven. They who have duly practiced mortification in the school of retirement, will, at their appearance in the world, afford it the brightest examples of every thing that is "honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report." We may, therefore, conclude, that he who desires to undertake the office of guiding others in the ways of wisdom and holiness, will best qualify himself for that purpose by first passing some time in a state of sequestration from the world; where anxious cares and delusive pleasures may not break in upon him, to dissipate his attention; where no sceptical or sectarian spirit may blind his understanding, and nothing may obstruct the illumination from above; where every vicious inclination may be mortified through grace, by a prudent application of the proper means; and every fresh bud of virtue, sheltered from noxious blasts, may be gradually reared up into strength, beauty, and fragrance; where, in a word, "he may grow and wax strong in spirit, until the day of his showing unto Israel." SECTION IV. Considerations on the Prophecies relative to St. John in the Old Testament. their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."* BEFORE we proceed to view the Baptist in children, and the heart of the children to the exercise of his ministry, it will be proper to look back to the predictions in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, concerning his office and character. We shall begin with that remarkable one, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the As there was amongst the Jews a general expectation of Messiah's appearance, at the time when he did appear, so an opinion likewise prevailed, that the world should be first prepared for his reception, in some ex * Mal. iv. 5, 6. come. traordinary manner. But wrong ideas of his appearance and kingdom introduced mistakes with regard to the person who should precede and proclaim him. According to the notions then current, occasioned by applying to his first advent the prophecies which belonged to his second, Messiah was to come in power and majesty, to confer on the sons of Jacob dominion over the Gentiles, and make Jerusalem the metropolis of the world. And by misunderstanding this prediction of Malachi, they had imagined, that Elijah the Tishbite should return from heaven, as his precursor. For this reason it was, that when the sanhedrim sent a message to St. John, desiring to know whether he were Elias? he answered, "I am not :" not the Elias by them intended and expected. But that St. John was the person foretold by Malachi under the name of Elias, we have the declarations of our Lord himself to his own disciples, "Elias is indeed come ;" and to the Jews, "If ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." By these expressions it was evidently Christ's intention to put his hearers upon the search after something more than the words, in the bare letter of them, might seem to contain. He directed them to go deeper into things, to study with attention the mission of the Baptist, his office and character; to compare together persons, times, and events; and so to discover, in what sense John was Elias, and why Malachi had given him that appellation. But if they did this, and were once brought, in the person of John, to acknowledge, Elias, who was to precede the Messiah, they must necessarily, in the person of Jesus, acknowledge the Messiah whom Elias was to precede. And therefore, as they were obstinately resolved not to own the Master, Christ knew they would not recognize the servant, or receive this saying concerning him. Thus when the chief priests and elders interrogated our Lord in the temple, By what authority dost thou these things, or who gave thee this authority? I will also," said he, "ask you one question, The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" They perceived the dilemma, and having considered consequences, made the only safe answer, "We cannot tell ;" an answer which did honor to their prudence and their caution, but certainly at the expense either of their wisdom or their honesty. As sitting in the chair of Moses, they ought to have known whence the baptism of John was; and if they did know, they ought not to have been shy of declaring it. * That St. John was the Elias predicted by Malachi, we have also the testimony of an angel, at the annunciation of his birth, who cites the very words of the prophet; "He shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children," &c. And if this be the case, it follows by necessary inference, that by "the great and dreadful day of the Lord," before the coming of which Elijah is promised, Malachi intends primarily and immediately, the day, not of the world's but of Jerusalem's destruction. For want of adverting to this, an opinion hath prevailed among Christian interpreters, that the whole prophecy relateth principally to the day of judgment, and to the appearance of an Elias, who shall then precede Christ. Whether there will be such an Elias at that time, and so the second advent will symbolize with the first in the circumstance of being previously proclaimed by a harbinger, like St. John, sent for that purpose, is a speculation with which we shall not at present concern ourselves, resting satisfied with the application of the prophecy, upon infallible grounds, to the person of the Baptist, the undoubted forerunner of our Lord, when he came to visit us in great humility. God punisheth not sinners, till he hath first invited them to repentance. He giveth fair warning before he striketh; and a day of grace, in which mercy may be sought, and pardon found, always goeth before a day of vengeance and extermination. Elias was sent "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;" John called his countrymen to turn from their sins, and believe in their Messiah, ere yet the desolations of Jerusalem exhibited to the wondering nations a specimen of that almighty power and inflexible justice, which shall one day lay the world itself in ruins. The third chapter of Malachi, containeth a most evident and clear prediction of Messiah's advent, with that of his precursor St. John, "Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." The prophet goes on to foretell the effects of Christ's advent in the selection of a peculiar people, and the purification of a new priesthood, to offer new and acceptable offerings. " But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's * Luke, i. 7. " And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth," or the land, "with a curse." In the citation of this passage by the angel, one part of it is paraphrased-"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." The meaning of the whole seems to be, either that men of every age and every disposition should be united in truth and charity; or, as some learned expositors understand the passage, that St. John should bring many of the Jews to have the same heart and mind which their fathers and progenitors had, who feared God, and believed his promises; that so their fathers might, as it were, rejoice in them, and own them again for their children: in other words, that he should convert them to the faith of that Christ whom their fathers hoped in, and looked for; as it was said by the angel, "Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God;"† lest, all continuing obstinate in their unbelief, till the day when a rejected Saviour should visit an apostate people, the curse should be universal. soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years;" pleasant as in the days when their fathers offered in faith, and the desire of Messiah's appearance was the ruling passion of their souls. The rest of the chapter is employed in reproving the rebellion, sacrilege, and infidelity of the Jews; and the fourth chapter opens with a description of the day fatal to Jerusalem—" Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." For the consolation of the faithful, God, by his prophet again foretelleth Messiah's advent, with the increase, victory, and triumph of the church-"But unto you that fear my name, shall the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS arise, with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as the firstlings of bullocks: and ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts." In the mean time, "Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgment." And then, when the law hath done its office, and prophesied for the appointed time, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet;" not the personal Elijah, but, as the angel expoundeth it, one to preach and live after the model of his example, in his "spirit and power." Thus, in the phophecy of Ezekiel, where God foretelleth the union of Israel and Judah in the days of Messiah, he saith, " They shall be my people, and I will be their God, and David The future manifestation of Christ's kingmy servant shall be their prince for ever "* dom is represented to the prophet in spirit, Not that Christ was to be David risen from with the concomitant signs and circumthe dead, or when he came, was to bear his stances of it. He hears the voice of God name; but he was to be, in certain respects, directing his servants to comfort his people, like David, conquering the enemies, and sit- by proclaiming certain glad tidings which ting upon the throne of Israel. So the fore- had been communicated to them. These runner of Messiah was not to be Elijah de- glad tidings were the tidings of the Gospel. scended from heaven, nor was he, at his mani- The persons to whom they first came were festation, to be called by that name; but was Zacharias, the blessed Virgin, Simeon, and to be like him in his office and character. Anna, who composed sacred songs upon the Such a messenger, saith God, "I will send, occasion, and spake of Messiah's advent "to before the coming of the great and dreadful all such as looked for redemption in Jerusaday of the Lord," that is, the day that should lem." The same tidings were afterwards "burn like an oven," the day of Jerusalem's published by the Baptist, then by Christ himdestruction, mentioned in the first verse. self and his apostles, and have been ever Ezek. xxxvii. 23. Besides these notices afforded us by Malachi, there is a prophecy on the same subject in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, to which St. John referred the priests and the Levites, when they pressed him, saying, "Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as saith the prophet Esaias." But let us take a view of the whole context, as far as it concerns our present purpose. ISA. XL. 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sa th your God. |