therefore looked one at another, and were silent The Lord soon perceived their embarrassment; He, however, did not humble and punish their spirits by telling them plainly what had been the subject of their conversation; but, with an affability and dignity peculiar to Himself, He represented it to them in a most effectual and impressive manner: He called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said,"Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven;" Mark, ix, 30-38. There we are shown in a most striking manner, I. The necessity of conversion. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The word conversion signifies a change from one state or purpose to another; and the impression that the Lord evidently intended to make on the minds of the disciples was, that except they were changed from their present state of ambition and covetousness to that of child-like humility and simplicity, they could not enter into the kingdom of heaven, although they were His disciples. Now, of all things that concern us, the attainment of the kingdom is certainly the most important and desirable. If we lose a place in this kingdom we lose everything, and are undone for ever; if we gain it, we shall be eternally blest. But without conversion we cannot gain it, for man naturally is in such a state of spiritual darkness, alienation, disease, and death, that he is not fit for heaven; nor has he any taste for its enjoyments, employments, or company. Conversion, therefore, is absolutely necessary to present and eternal salvation; we cannot do without it, and be saved; nothing will do as a substitute for it— baptism, discipleship, morality-none of these, nor all of them put together will stand in the stead of conversion: ye must be born again, or ye cannot even see the kingdom of God, John, iii, 7; Acts, iii, 19; Gal. vi, 15. II. But what is conversion? True scriptural conversion is a change of heart and life so great as to be called a new birth; a change from darkness to light; from death to life, John, iii, 3; Acts, xxvi, 18; 1 Peter, ii, 9; Eph. ii, 1. It is preceded by conviction, or Divine light, making manifest the evil of sin; the state of the heart, or carnal mind, which is enmity against God; the holiness of God, and the purity of His law, and gospel, and kingdom. Except a man be fully convinced of these truths, he will not feel need of change or conversion; but when he is made wide awake to his own sinfulness and danger, he will then seek after the renewal of his heart, the regeneration of his inner man, the sanctification of his moral nature, the justification of his person, the pardon of his sin, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and his adoption into the family of God; and when thus convinced, he comes to the cross of Christ, and by a lively faith in his merits and intercession, casts himself fully upon Him with all his heart and soul, with-"Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." He is accepted; his faith makes him whole; it is done unto him according to his faith; he is freely and graciously forgiven; regenerated and justified at one and the same time; born of the Spirit; made a new creature-converted, adopted; and he stands before God in the character of a sinner saved by grace; brought nigh by the blood of the Lamb; an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. And he walks in newness of life, for conversion is the motion of the creature towards God, by virtue of that new principle received from the Holy Spirit, producing in the convert every good word and work; humbling, renewing, and enriching the soul, and making it as confiding, docile, and loving, as that of a little child. III. What are the agents and causes in conversion ? God the Holy Ghost is the grand agent in the kingdom of grace; it is His work both to convince and convert; John, xvi, 8; Acts, ii, 38; ix, 17; x, 44, 45; xix, 6. Means and causes are the Word of God read or heard. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God; and what saith it ?" The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. IV. What are the principal evidences of true conversion? Knowledge of the remission of sins by the direct witness of the Holy Spirit. When those who were pricked in their hearts by the arrow of conviction on the day of Pentecost said,-Men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter replied,-Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off. And on another occasion,-Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Rom. viii, 5. Other evidences are,-Peace with God, Rom. v, 1; love to God, Rom. v, 5; holy joy, 1 Peter, i, 8; a good hope, 1 Peter, i, 3; love to God's people, John, xiii, 35; and submission to His authority, Matt. vii, 20. Conversion, then, is not merely a change of creed, a change of opinion, a change of church, but a change of heart, and life, and prospect a grand and joyous reality! PROGRESS AND STRENGTH. JOB, XIII, 9. "The righteous also shall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." When Asaph saw the prosperity of the wicked, he was perplexed, and could not solve the mystery until he received light upon it in the sanctuary of the Lord; then he saw all about it, and was satisfied and humbled. The three friends of Job were in a similar dilemma when they beheld the adversity, sorrow and suffering which had come upon him; they could not reconcile this with their ideas of the righteous dealings of God, and therefore concluded that Job must have been a deceiver and a hypocrite. Job, however, endeavours to convince them of his integrity, and to give them to understand that his sufferings would be a wonder to future generations; and that those who would be decided opposers to hypocrisy would nevertheless look upon his case with astonishment. "Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger," by the perusal of my history. From the words of the text I design to consider, I. The righteous; and II. His way, his progress, and strength. 1. The Scriptures inform us that the state of man by nature is that of unrighteousness. Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God; for out of their hearts proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; there is none among them that doeth good,-no, not one; there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way; they are altogether become unprofitable; there is none righteous, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes; they are filled with all unrighteousness-full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, back-biters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. Such are the thoughts, and words, and deeds of the natural man-all very far from righteous ness. 2 Inasmuch, then, as by nature none are righteous,— and yet "the righteous are often mentioned in Scripture, and therefore must exist,-where are we to look B for them, and how do they become such? Let us go to the law and to the testimony for direction. They are to be found in the world, but not of the world; they are going in and out among the unrighteous and the wicked, and thus it must be till the end of the world; and “then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked-between him that serveth God, and him that serveth Him not." When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand,-Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me; MATT. XXV, 31-36. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying,Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee? or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? 37-39. And the King shall answer and say unto them,-Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me, ver. 40. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand,-Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Ver. 41. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. ver. 46. Here it appears that the righteous are those who will be admitted into life eternal by the worthy Judge of all the earth, on account of certain works of mercy, and acts of charity which they show to the followers, brethren, or visible representatives of Christ here below. But do all those who feed the hungry and clothe the naked sustain the character of righteous because they do such things? No; only those who thus |