"Circumcision is
that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter."
Romans 2:29.
1.
It is the melancholy remark of an excellent man, that he who now
preaches the most essential duties of Christianity, runs the
hazard of being esteemed, by a great part of his hearers,
"a setter forth of new doctrines." Most men have so lived
away the substance of that religion, the profession whereof
they still retain, that no sooner are any of those truths
proposed which difference the Spirit of Christ from the spirit
of the world, than they cry out, "Thou bringest strange
things to our ears; we would know what these things mean:"
-- Though he is only preaching to them "Jesus and the
resurrection," with the necessary consequence of it, -- If
Christ be risen, ye ought then to die unto the world, and to
live wholly unto God.
2.
A hard saying this to the natural man, Who is alive unto the
world, and dead unto God; and one that he will not readily be
persuaded to receive as the truth of God, unless it be so
qualified in the interpretation, as to have neither use nor
significance left. He "receiveth not the" word
"of the Spirit of God," taken in their plain and
obvious meaning; "they are foolishness unto him:
Neither" indeed "can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned:" -- They are perceivable only by
that spiritual sense, which in him was never yet awakened for
want of which he must reject, as idle fancies of men, what are
both the wisdom and the power of God.
3.
That "circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and
not in the letter;" -- that the distinguishing mark of a
true follower of Christ, of one who is in a state of acceptance
with God, is not either outward circumcision, or baptism, or any
other outward form, but a right state of soul, a mind and spirit
renewed after the image of Him that created it; -- is one of
those important truths that can only be spiritually discerned.
And this the Apostle himself intimates in the next words, --
"Whose praise is not of men, but of God." As if he had
said, "Expect not, whoever thou art, who thus followest thy
great Master, that the world, the one who follow him not, will
say, `Well done, good and faithful servant!' Know that the
circumcision of the heart, the seal of thy calling, is
foolishness with the world. Be content to wait for thy applause
till the day of thy Lord's appearing. In that day shalt thou
have praise of God, in the great assembly of men and
angels."
I
design First, particularly to inquire, wherein this circumcision
of the heart consists; and, Secondly, to mention some
reflections that naturally arise from such an inquiry.
I.
1. I am, First, to inquire, wherein that circumcision of the
heart consists, which will receive the praise of God. In general
we may observe, it is that habitual disposition of soul which,
in the sacred writings, is termed holiness; and which directly
implies, the being cleansed from sin, "from all filthiness
both of flesh and spirit;" and, by consequence, the being
endued with those virtues which were also in Christ Jesus; the
being so "renewed in the spirit of our mind," as to be
"perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect."
2.
To be more particular: Circumcision of heart implies humility,
faith, hope, and charity. Humility, a right judgment of
ourselves, cleanses our minds from those high conceits of our
own perfection, from that undue opinion of our own abilities and
attainments, which are the genuine fruit of a corrupted nature.
This entirely cuts off that vain thought, "I am rich, and
wise, and have need of nothing;" and convinces us that we
are by nature wretched, and poor, and miserable, and blind, and
naked. "It convinces us, that in our best estate we are, of
ourselves, all sin and vanity; that confusion, and ignorance,
and error reign over our understanding; that unreasonable,
earthly, sensual, devilish passions usurp authority over our
will; in a word, that there is no whole part in our soul, that
all the foundations of our nature are out of course.
3.
At the same time we are convinced, that we are not sufficient of
ourselves to help ourselves; that, without the Spirit of God, we
can do nothing but add sin to sin; that it is He alone who
worketh in us by his almighty power, either to will or do that
which is good; it being as impossible for us even to think a
good thought, without the supernatural assistance of his Spirit,
as to create ourselves, or to renew our whole souls in
righteousness and true holiness.
4.
A sure effect of our having formed this right judgment of the
sinfulness and helplessness of our nature, is a disregard of
that "honor which cometh of man," which is usually
paid to some supposed excellency in us. He who knows himself,
neither desires nor values the applause which he knows he
deserves not. It is therefore "a very small thing with him,
to be judged by man's judgment." He has all reason to
think, by comparing what it has said, either for or against him,
with what he feels in his own breast, that the world, as well as
the god of this world, was "a liar form the
beginning." And even as to those who are not of the world;
thought he would choose, if it were the will of God, that they
should account of him as of one desirous to be found a faithful
steward of his Lord's goods, if haply this might be a means of
enabling him to be of more use to his fellow-servants, yet as
this is the one end of his wishing for their approbation, so he
does not at all rest upon it: For he is assured, that whatever
God wills, he can never want instruments to perform; since he is
able, even of these stones, to raise up servants to do his
pleasure.
5.
this is that lowliness of mind, which they have learned of
Christ, who follow his example and tread in his steps. And this
knowledge of their disease, whereby they are more and more
cleansed from one part of it, pride and vanity, disposes them to
embrace, with a willing mind, the second thing implied in
circumcision of the heart, -- that faith which alone is able to
make them whole, which is the one medicine given under heaven to
heal their sickness.
6.
The best guide of the blind, the surest light of them that are
in darkness, the most perfect instructor of the foolish, is
faith. But it must be such a faith as is "mighty through
God, to the pulling down of strong-holds," -- to the
overturning all the prejudices of corrupt reason, all the false
maxims revered among men, all evil customs and habits, all that
"wisdom of the world which is foolishness with God;"
as "casteth down imaginations," reasoning, "and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ."
7.
"All things are possible to him that" thus
"believeth." "The eyes of his understanding being
enlightened," he sees what is his calling; even to glorify
God, who hath bought him with so high a price, in his body and
in his spirit, which now are God's by redemption, as well as by
creation. He feels what is "the exceeding greatness of this
power," who, as he raise up Christ from the dead, so is
able to-quicken us, dead in sin," by his Spirit which
dwelleth in us." "This is the victory which overcometh
the world, even our faith;" that faith, which is not only
an unshaken assent to all that God hath revealed in Scripture,
-- and in particular to those important truths, "Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners;" "He bare
our sins in his own body on the tree;" "He is the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of the whole world;" [N.B. The following part of
this paragraph is now added to the Sermon formerly preached.] --
but likewise the revelation of Christ in our hearts; a divine
evidence or conviction of his love, his free, unmerited love to
me a sinner; a sure confidence in his pardoning mercy, wrought
in us by the Holy Ghost; a confidence, whereby every true
believer is enabled to bear witness, "I know that my
Redeemer liveth," that I have an "Advocate with the
Father," and that "Jesus Christ the righteous" is
my Lord, and "the propitiation for my sins," -- I know
he hath "loved me, and given himself for me," -- He
hath reconciled me, even me, to God; and I "have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." 8. Such a
faith as this cannot fail to show evidently the power of Him
that inspires it, by delivering his children from the yoke of
sin, and "purging their consciences from dead works;"
by strengthening them so, that they are no longer constrained to
obey sin in the desires there of; but instead of yielding their
members unto it, as instruments of unrighteousness," they
now "yield themselves" entirely "unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead."
9.
Those who are thus by faith born of God, have also strong
consolation through hope. This is the next thing which the
circumcision of the heart implies; even the testimony of their
own spirit with the Spirit which witnesses in their hearts that
*
N. B. The following part of this paragraph is now added to the
Sermon formerly preached.
they
are the children of God. Indeed it is the same Spirit who works
in them that clear and cheerful confidence that their heart is
upright toward God; that good assurance, that they now do,
through his grace, the things which are acceptable in his sight;
that they are now in the path which leadeth to life, and shall,
by the mercy of God, endure therein to the end. It is He who
giveth them a lively expectation of receiving all good things at
God's hand; a joyous prospect of that crown of glory, which is
reserved in heaven for them. By this anchor a Christian is kept
steady in the midst of the waves of this troublesome world, and
preserved from striking upon either of those fatal rocks, --
presumption or despair. He is neither discouraged by the
misconceived severity of his Lord, nor does He despise the
riches of his goodness." He neither apprehends the
difficulties of the race set before him to be greater than he
has strength to conquer, nor expects there to be so little as to
yield in the conquest, till he has put forth all strength. The
experience he already has in the Christian warfare, as it
assures him his "labor is not in vain," if
"whatever his findeth to do, he doeth it with his
might;" so it forbids his entertaining so vain a thought,
as that he can otherwise gain any advantage, as that any virtue
can be shown, any praise attained, by faint hearts and feeble
hands; or, indeed, by any but those who pursue the same course
with the great Apostle of the Gentiles - "I," says he,
"so run, nott as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that
beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection; lest, by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway." 10. By the same discipline
is every good soldier of Christ to inure himself to endure
hardship. Confirmed and strengthened by this, he will be able
not only to renounce the works of darkness, but every appetite
too, and every affection, which is no subject to the law of God.
For "every one," saith St. John, "who hath this
hope, purifieth himself even as He is pure." It is his
daily care, by the grace of God in Christ, and through the blood
of the covenant, to purge the inmost recesses of his soul from
the lusts that before possessed and defiled it; from
uncleanness, and envy, and malice, and wrath; from every passion
and temper that is after the flesh, that either springs from or
cherishes his native corruption: as well knowing, that he whose
very body is the temple of God, ought to admit into it nothing
common or unclean; and that holiness becometh that house for
ever, where the Spirit of holiness vouchsafes to dwell. 11. Yet
lackest thou one thing, whosoever thou art, that to a deep
humility, and a steadfast faith, hast joined a lively hope, and
thereby in a good measure cleansed thy heart from its inbred
pollution. If thou wilt be perfect, add to all these, charity;
add love, and thou hast the circumcision of the heart "Love
is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment."
Very excellent things are spoken of love; it is the essence, the
spirit, the life of all virtue. It is not only the first and
great command, but it is all the commandments in one.
"Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are amiable," or honorable; "if
there be any virtue, if there be any praise," they are all
comprised in this one word, -- love. In this is perfection, and
glory, and happiness. The royal law of heaven and earth is this,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength." 12. Not that this forbids us to love anything
besides God: It implies that we love our brother also. Nor yet
does it forbid us (as some have strangely imagined) to take
pleasure in any thing but God. To suppose this, is to suppose
the Fountain of holiness is directly the author of sin; since he
has inseparably annexed pleasure to the use of those creatures
which are necessary to sustain the life he has given us. This,
therefore, can never be the meaning of his command. What the
real sense of it is, both our blessed Lord and his Apostles tell
us too frequently, and too plainly, to be misunderstood. They
all with one mouth bear witness, that the true meaning of those
several declarations, "The Lord thy God is one Lord;"
"Thou shalt have no other Gods but me;" "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy strength"
"Thou shalt cleave unto him;" "The desire of thy
soul shall be to His name;" -- is no other than this: The
one perfect Good shall be your one ultimate end. One thing shall
ye desire for its own sake, -- the fruition of Him that is All
in All. One happiness shall ye propose to your souls, even an
union with Him that made them; the having "fellowship with
the Father and the Son;" the being joined to the Lord in
one Spirit. One design you are to pursue to the end of time, --
the enjoyment of God in time and in eternity. Desire other
things, so far as they tend to this. Love the creature as it
leads to the Creator. But in every step you take, be this the
glorious point that terminates your view. Let every affection,
and thought, and word, and work, be subordinate to this.
Whatever ye desire or fear, whatever ye seek or shun, whatever
ye think, speak, or do, be it in order to your happiness in God,
the sole End, us well as Source, of your being. 13. Have no end,
to ultimate end, but God. Thus our Lord: "One thing is
needful:" And if thine eye be singly fixed on this one
thing, "thy whole body shall be full of light." Thus
St. Paul: "This one thing I do; I press toward the mark,
for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus." Thus
St. James: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your
hearts, ye double-minded." Thus St. John: "love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world." The seeking happiness in what gratifies either the
desire of the flesh, by agreeably striking upon the outward
senses; the desire of the eye, of the imagination, by its
novelty, greatness, or beauty; or the pride of life, whether by
pomp, grandeur, power, or, the usual consequence of them,
applause and admiration; -- "is not of the Father,"
cometh not from, neither is approved by, the Father of spirits;
"but of the world:" It is the distinguishing mark of
those who will not have Him to reign over them.
II.
1. Thus have I particularly inquired, what that circumcision of
heart is, which will obtain the praise of God. I am, in the
Second place, to mention some reflections that naturally arise
from such an inquiry, as a plain rule whereby every man may
judge of himself, whether he be of the world or of God. And,
First, it is clear from what has been said, that no man has a
title to the praise of God, unless his heart is circumcised by
humility; unless he is little, and base, and vile in his own
eyes; unless he is deeply convinced of that inbred
"corruption of his nature," "whereby be is very
far gone from original righteousness," being prone to all
evil, averse to all good, corrupt and abominable; having a
"carnal mind which is enmity against God, and is not
subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be," unless he
continually feels in his inmost soul, that without the Spirit of
God resting upon him, he can neither think, nor desire, nor
speak, nor act anything good, or well-pleasing in his sight. No
man I say, has A title to the praise of God, till he feels his
want of God; nor indeed, till he seeketh that "honor which
cometh of God only;" and neither desires nor pursues that
which cometh of man, unless so far only as it tends to this.
2.
Another truth, which naturally follows from what has been said,
is, that none shall obtain the honor that cometh of God, unless
his heart be circumcised by faith; even a "faith of the
operation of God:" Unless, refusing to be any longer led by
his senses, appetites, or passions, or even by that blind leader
of the blind, so idolized by the world, natural reason, he lives
and walks by faith; directs every step, as "seeking Him
that is invisible;" "looks not at the things that arc
seen, which are temporal, but at the things that arc not seen,
which are eternal;" and governs all his desires, designs,
and thoughts, all his actions and conversations, as one who is
entered in within the veil, where Jesus sits at the right hand
of God.
3.
It were to be wished, that they were better acquainted with this
faith, who employ much of their time and pains in laying another
foundation; in grounding religion on the eternal fitness
of things on the intrinsic excellence of virtue, and the beauty
of actions flowing from it; on the reasons as they term
them, of good and evil, and the relations of beings to
each other. Either these accounts of the grounds of Christian
duty coincide with the scriptural, or not. If they do, why are
well meaning men perplexed, and drawn from the weightier matters
of the law, by a cloud of terms, whereby the easiest truths are
explained into obscurity ? If they are not, then it behooves
them to consider who is the author of this new doctrine; whether
he is likely to be an angel from heaven, who preacheth another
gospel than that of Christ Jesus; though, if he were, God, not
we, hath pronounced his sentence: "Let him be
accursed."
4.
Our gospel, as it knows no other foundation of good works than
faith, or of faith than Christ, so it clearly informs us, we are
not his disciples while we either deny him to be the Author, or
his Spirit to be the Inspirer an Perfecter, both of our faith
and works. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is
none of his." He alone can quicken those Who are dead unto
God, can breathe into them the breath of Christian life. and so
prevent, accompany, and follow them with his grace, as to bring
their good desires to good effect. And, as many as are thus led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." This is
God's short and plain account of true religion and virtue; and
"other foundation can no man lay."
5.
From what has been said, we may, Thirdly, learn, that it none is
truly "led by the Spirit," unless that "Spirit
bear witness with his spirit, that he is a child of God;"
unless he see the prize and the crown before him, and
"rejoice in hope of the glory of God." So greatly have
they erred who have taught that, in serving God, we ought not to
have a view to own happiness ! Nay, but we are often and
expressly taught of God, to have "respect unto the
recompense of reward;" to balance toil with the "joy
set before us," these "light afflictions" with
that "exceeding weight of glory." Yea, we are
"aliens to the covenant of promise," we are
"without God in the world," until God, "of his
abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a living hope of the
inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
6.
But if these things are so, it is high time for those persons to
deal faithfully with their own souls who are so far from finding
in themselves this joyful assurance that they fulfil the terms,
and shall obtain the promises, of that covenant, as to quarrel
with the covenant itself, and blaspheme the terms of it; to
complain, they are too severe; and that no man ever did or shall
live up to them. What is this but to reproach God, as if He were
a hard Master, requiring of his servants more than he enables
them to perform ? -- as if he had mocked the helpless works of
his hands, by binding them to impossibilities; by commanding
them to overcome, where neither their own strength nor grace was
sufficient for them.?
7.
These blasphemers might almost persuade those to imagine
themselves guiltless, who, in the contrary extreme, hope to
fulfil the commands of God, without taking any pains at all.
Vain hope ! that a child of Adam should ever expect to see the
kingdom of Christ and of God, without striving, without agonizing,
first "to enter in at the strait gate;"-that one who
v. as "conceived and born in sin," and whose
"inward parts are very wickedness," should once
entertain a thought of being "purified as his Lord is
pure," unless he tread in His steps, and "take up his
cross daily;" unless he "cut off His right hand,"
and "pluck out the right eye, and cast it from him ;"
-- that he should ever dream of shaking off his old opinions,
passions, tempers, of being "sanctified throughout in
spirit, soul, and body," without a constant and continued
course of general self-denial!
8.
What lees than this can we possibly infer from the above-cited
words of St. Paul, who, living "ill infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses"
for Christ's sake; -who, being full of "signs, and wonders,
and mighty deeds," -- who, having been "caught up into
the third heaven;" -- yet reckoned, as a late author
strongly expresses it, that all his virtues would be insecure,
and even his salvation in danger, without this constant
self-denial? "So run I," says he, "not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air which
he plainly teaches us, that he who does not thus run, who does
not thus deny himself daily, does run uncertainly, and fighteth
to as little purpose as he that "beateth the air."
9.
To as little purpose does He talk of "fighting the fight of
faith," as vainly hope to attain the crown of incorruption,
(as we may, Lastly, infer from the preceding observations,)
whose heart is not circumcised by love. Love, cutting off both
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life, -- engaging the whole man, body, soul, and spirit, in the
ardent pursuit of that one object,-is so essential to a child of
God, that, without it, whosoever liveth is counted dead before
him. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
and have not love, I am as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so as
to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." Nay,
"though I give all my goods to feed the poor, and my body
to be burned, and have not love, it profit me nothing."
10.
Here, then, is the sum of the perfect law; this is the true
circumcision of the heart. Let the spirit return to God that
gave it, with the whole train of its affections. "Unto the
place from whence all the rivers came thither let them flow
again. Other sacrifices from us he would not; but the living
sacrifice of the heart he hath chosen. Let it be continual
offered up to God through Christ, in flames of holy love. And
let no creature be suffered to share with him: For he is a
jealous God. His throne will he not divide with another: He will
reign without a rival. Be no design, no desire admitted there,
but what has Him for its ultimate object. This is the way where
in those children of God once walked, who, being dead, still
speak to us:" Desire not to live, but to praise his name:
Let all your thoughts, words, and works, tend to his glory. Set
your heart firm on him, and on other things only as they are in
and from him. Let your soul be filled with so entire a love of
him, that you may love nothing but for his sake."
"Have a pure intention of heart, a steadfast regard to his
glory in all your actions." "Fix your eye upon the
blessed hope of your calling, and make all the things of the
world minister unto it." For then, and not till then is
that "mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus;"
when, in every motion of our heart, in every word of our tongue,
in every work of our hands, we "pursue nothing but in
relation to him, and in subordination to his pleasure;"
when we, too, neither think, nor speak, nor act, to fulfil our
"own will, but the will of him that sent us;" when,
whether we;' eat, or drink, or whatever we do, we do all to the
glory of God."
