WHY GOD EMPLOYS FEEBLE MEANS TO PRODUCE GREAT EFFECTS.
THE employment of means implies no defect either in the power or wisdom of God. Without them he created the world. It was enough for him to say, "Let there be light," and there was light. He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. But, though he is thus omnipotent, yet he sees good reasons to employ instruments in the government both of the natural and moral world; and he often accomplishes great designs by very feeble and unpromising means. Abraham, though unused to war, with about three hundred servants, conquered five monarchs upon the plains of Sodom. The humble shepherd of Jethro and the captive of Aaron, were the agents in effecting the deliverance of Israel from the house of bondage. Moses lifts up his staff to the heavens, and plagues descend upon all the dominions of Egypt. He waves it over the waters, and they divide and form a dry path for the people of God; he sways it again, and the sea closes and overwhelms their enemies. With it he smites the rock in Horeb, and the stream gushes out to give drink to the thirsty camp. When met by the armies of Amalek, Moses raises his rod in prayer, and Israel prevails. The Israelites look upon the brazen serpent, and they are at once healed of the bite of the fiery flying serpent. At the sound of rams' horns, the walls of Jericho were shaken down, and its inhabitants taken captive. God sent an army of hornets to drive out the two kings of the Amorites, who had fled to the fortresses and mountains of Palestine. Gideon, with only three hundred men, holding lamps and earthen pitchers, routed an army of two hundred thousand, who were encamped in the valley like countless grasshoppers. A mere handful of Jews destroyed one hundred thousand of Benhadad's troops. A mere sound proved the destruction of the Assyrian hosts. A cruse of salt purified all the polluted waters, and cured all the barren land of Jericho. The mantle of Elijah made the waters of Jordan part hither and thither. Shamgar, with an ox-goad, slew six hundred men. Samson destroyed a thousand with a jaw-bone. David killed Goliath with a sling and pebble. Our blessed Saviour, with clay, gave sight to the blind, and, with a touch of his finger, gave hearing and speech to the deaf and dumb. With five loaves and two fishes, he fed five thousand men, besides women and children. With a word, he raised the dead, and stilled the raging of the seas. These are a few instances, out of many that might be adduced, in proof that there is no restraint to the Lord to save by few or by many. But WHY HE SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE, forms an interesting inquiry. God may take this method. 1. To stain human glory. Had the children of Israel effected their deliverance from the house of bondage by their superior strength, their own arm would have received the honors of victory, and not the Lord of Sabaoth. But, to prevent their boasting, they were not permitted to strike a single blow. They must stand still, and be humble spectators, while Jehovah uttered his voice before his numerous camp, and led on his troops of frogs, flies, and lice, to lay the proud kingdom of Egypt low in the dust. Had they, after their entrance into the promised land, driven out the natives with the point of their own sword, Israel might have said, "By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; and my hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the people; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped." But lest they should thus vaunt themselves, God would not allow them any share in the conquest. Saith he, "I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out; but not with thy sword, nor thy bow." God would not deliver the Midianites into the hands of Gideon while he commanded an army of thirty-two thousand, but they must be reduced to three hundred men; and these without any weapons of war, must be led against the mighty host, "lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." 2. To check the propensity of men to ascribe their success to external means. They are much inclined to sacrifice unto their net, and to burn incense unto their drag, because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous. The besiegers of Jericho might have honored the God of forces, if they had sprung mines of their own sinking, and had blown into fragments her proud and massy bulwarks. But when they saw the mighty walls of that city laid flat by the blast of the feeble trumpet, they must give glory to the God of heaven. Had God selected the first preachers of the gospel from among the most distinguished orators of Greece and Rome, infidels might object, and say that their success stood in the wisdom and eloquence of men; and the new converts, too, might not have been able to see the glory of the Spirit through the splendor of these mortal instruments. But, to confound the wisdom of the wise, he chose the foolish things of the world. He called the first ministers of grace, not from the schools of the prophets, not from the feet of renowned rabbis, but he called them from the field, the workshop, and the fishing boat; and they had nothing to do but to leave their tools and tackling, and begin to proclaim the words of life, as the Spirit gave them utterance. These men Christ sent forth without arms, without wealth, without commissions from the supreme tribunals of church or state. These unlettered men, wherever they went, preached the gospel: how that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son to die for sinners; that Jesus Christ had come down to this lost world, and had been put to death, according to the Scriptures, and that he had been raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, to plead for all his people at the right hand of God. Before these men, altars, gods, temples, and all the pride of the Roman world, melted away, while they were followed by millions of saints, shouting the high praises of the Redeemer. It would have been the height of folly and impiety for the human agents in this work to claim the praise of the glorious triumph. As well might the sculptor worship the chisel with which he shapes his marble into a human statue, or the painter adore the brush with which he lays on his colors. 3. To encourage Christians to put their trust in God. How often has God blasted the best concerted measures of human policy, while he has crowned with wonderful success those plans which to mortal eyes appeared to be schemes of folly! The Catholics designed to crush the heretics by a mighty fleet, which they proudly styled the Invincible Armada. But the poor Protestants trembled, and fell on their knees to make their prayers to the God of heaven. "The Lord blew with his breath, and the sea covered the enemy; they sank as lead in the mighty waters." To teach saints that Samson's great strength lay in God, and not in his hair, he was enabled, even when blind and shorn of his seven locks, to overturn the temple of Dagon. God enabled David with unarmed hands, to tear in pieces the bear and the154lion, to embolden him, though furnished with only a sling and stones, to accept the challenge of Goliath. 4. To intimidate his enemies. When it was known in Canaan, how that God with the rod of Moses, had inflicted terrible plagues on the Egyptians, and with it had overthrown the hosts of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, sorrow took hold on the inhabitants of Palestine, the dukes of Edom were amazed, the mighty men of Moab trembled, all the inhabitants of the land melted away. This subject Balaam well understood. He knew that all the powers of king Balak, and ten thousand more of equal force and malignity, could not vanquish the people of God. He well knew that that Jehovah, who had sometimes defended them with troops of angels, and sometimes with armies of insects, and who was then guiding them with his cloudy pillar, to their promised rest, and was feeding them on their way with manna from heaven, and with drink from the flinty rock, could protect and supply them in any emergency. Hence he told his master, "Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there divination against Israel. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows." 5. To display his own glory. The hand of God is the most manifested when there is the greatest disparity between the means and the effect produced. When God with the foolish things of the world, confounds the wise; when with the weak things of the world, he confounds the mighty; and when, with things that are not, he brings to naught things that are, no flesh can glory in his presence, but those who glory must glory in the Lord. The rich treasure of the gospel is put into earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of man. God assured Paul that his infirmities must be continued, that his thorn in the flesh must not be removed; for, saith he, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." This purpose of God, to accomplish great things by small means, may teach us SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS. 1. All have encouragement to do something. If no charities were to avail but the liberal donations of the wealthy; if no sermons were to be blessed but those of the greatest men; if no efforts were to succeed but those of the mighty; then the greatest portion of mankind would have no motive for action. But as God is wont to execute great designs by the weakest agents, all, and especially the feeble, have great inducements to constant exertion. The poor widow's two mites have done more good, perhaps, than the bestowed millions of the rich; and the labors of the unlearned will be owned of God, as well as those of Paul or Apollos. Have you nothing to bestow on the disciples of Christ but a cup of cold water? Are you deprived of ability to move? Yet, if you have a heart to weep and sigh for the cause of God, your tears shall be bottled, your sighs shall be recorded, and all turn to some great account in advancing your Redeemer's interests. 2. This subject should chastise our confidence of success, when we employ powerful means. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Ahithophel gave the able counsel of an experienced general, but it was overthrown by the impolitic advice of Hushai. Sisera expected to trample in the dust the feeble band of Deborah; but yet this female warrior, with a handful of men, broke in pieces his nine hundred chariots of iron, and discomfited all his countless host of veteran troops. How fearful the odds between the well armed gigantic champion of the Philistines, and the beardless shepherd of Israel; and who would have predicted that David was to gain the victory? The famous William Tennant once took much pains to prepare a sermon to convince a celebrated infidel. But in attempting to deliver this labored discourse, Mr. Tennant was so confused that he was obliged to stop and close the service by prayer. This unexpected failure in one who had so often astonished the unbeliever with the force of his eloquence, led the infidel to reflect that Mr. Tennant had been, at other times, aided by divine power. This reflection proved the means of his conversion. Thus God accomplished by silence, what his servant meant to effect by persuasive speaking. Hence, Mr. Tennant used afterwards to say, "his dumb sermon was the most profitable sermon that he ever delivered." 3. Do means derive all their efficiency from the immediate power of God; then we may account for the variety of success attending their employment. The same means produce very different effects upon different individuals, though employed by the same person. The same miracles of Christ which convinced some, hardened others; and the same sermons which converted some, exasperated others. Peter preaches upon the crucifixion of Christ, and three thousand of his hearers are converted; but Stephen takes the same subject, and all his hearers are intoxicated with madness. Paul preaches in Corinth and Macedonia, and wins many converts; he preaches the same gospel at Athens, and almost all reject his message. He is gratefully received in one city, and stoned in another. The Jews had nothing but hatred and stripes to give the apostle, but the Galatians loved him so well that they were ready to pluck out and give him their eyes. But Paul was the same, and his preaching the same, in all these different places. Sometimes the arrows of God's word rebound from the heart as if they struck a wall of adamant: at others they quickly enter, and the King's enemies are slain by the power of truth. Let us, then, take courage, and EMPLOY THOSE HUMBLE MEANS WHICH HAVE OFTEN BEEN ABUNDANTLY BLESSED. 1. Let us be active in the distribution of tracts. The infidel writers of the last century acted on the maxim, that, "an army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot. It is neither the Rhine, the Channel, nor the ocean that can arrest its progress. It will march to the horizon of the world, and it will conquer." Hence they issued numerous pamphlets, all deeply charged with the infection of licentiousness and infidelity. Let it then be our aim to countervail the pernicious influence by distributing tracts of an opposite character. The little messenger of mercy which you send forth, may be read by hundreds; and who can tell but this silent visitor may make the drunkard sober, the lewd chaste, the profane pious, the licentious regular, and the stupid sinner a lively saint? Thus it may be the instrument of planting new stars in the Redeemer's crown, and of swelling the notes of eternal praise. 2. Give good counsel. A word, to be sure, is light breath, a feeble means of usefulness. But one word may produce an amount of good beyond the human powers of calculation. Says Solomon, "A word spoken in due season, how good is it! It is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." A good word, and a fit time for speaking it, are like two beautiful objects, like golden apples set in silver pictures. A word of instruction may direct the inquirer into the path of life; a persuasive word may save the sinner from the error of his ways; a word of comfort may console the afflicted; and the poor man, by his seasonable counsel, may deliver the city. 3. Let us labor to do good by devising plans of usefulness. Though we may feel ourselves of little note or use in the world, yet one thought, one hint, one word, or plan of ours, may be the means of infinite good in the salvation of thousands of souls. A pious female, in Boston, at a dinner hour, proposed to the company to lay aside one cent for some charitable purpose, instead of taking their glass of wine, and to repeat it weekly. But she was not apprized that she was then laying the foundation for those cent and mite societies which have contributed one of the largest streams of charity to aid in accomplishing schemes of benevolence. The cent institutions in New Hampshire paid into the missionary treasury, in one year, more than fifteen hundred dollars. Robert Raikes, when he opened the first Sabbath-school in the city of Gloucester, did not imagine that he was then founding an institution which was to be extended through christendom, and even unto pagan lands, and within a few years to furnish gratuitous instruction to more than 600,000 children! On many of these schools God has poured out his Spirit, and in them spreading revivals have been commenced, and many children have been gathered "from the highways of sin and death" into the fold of Christ. That obscure individual by performing that obscure act, did not know that he was then doing what would enroll his name among the most distinguished benefactors of mankind. But yet, when all the splendors of royalty, and all the fame of conquest are buried in oblivion, Robert Raikes will be remembered by saints in glory, "as the father and founder of Sabbath-schools." The Rev. Joseph Hughes, when the thought first darted through his mind of forming a Bible association to supply the destitute, did not anticipate that that thought would give rise to the British and Foreign Bible society—a society which displays most ardent and enlightened zeal, and comprises vast weight of influence and vast resources of wealth; whose spirit is so nobly catholic, that, disregarding all civil and political distinctions, it is pouring forth its streams of charity to numerous nations of the earth—a society which may well be stiled the glory of the British nation, and the wonder of the world. How little did Mr. Hughes imagine that this suggestion would be the origin of such immeasurable good! that it would put in motion an institution whose effects will continue and augment till the latest moment of time, and throughout every age of eternity. How encouraging these examples! One word, one thought, one act of yours, may be the source of some unspeakably great and everlasting good. A remark of the Rev. Mr. Simeon, on the benefit which had resulted from the services of Dr. Carey in India, first arrested the attention of the late Mr. Martyn to the cause of missions; and his thoughts then became occupied with the vast importance of the subject. Soon after which, perusing the life of David Brainerd, his soul was filled with a holy emulation from that extraordinary man; and after deep consideration and fervent prayer, he was at length fixed in his resolution to imitate his example. Thus all the incalculable good produced by this devoted missionary of the cross, is traced to an individual and casual remark. 4. Let parents remember their obligation to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Should you be the instrument of saving one of your family, that one child will, in eternity, enjoy an amount of happiness infinitely greater than the aggregate sum of all the human and angelic happiness that has, as yet been enjoyed. Are you the honored instruments of rearing up a son to be an ambassador for Christ? he may turn many to righteousness, and hereafter shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever. Or you may rear up a daughter who, through your instrumentality, may become a mother in Israel. Moses, you will remember, after he was taken from the waters of the Nile, was again, by the special providence of God, committed to his parents. This mother, unquestionably, early taught him the character of God, his dealings with her people, and his designs of future mercies. These instructions aided by the blessing of God, preserved him, in his juvenile years, amid all the profligacy of the Egyptian court, and prepared him to become the future deliverer, guide, and legislator of the people of God. 155In the city of London lived a poor and obscure woman, who brought forth a son, who at his birth, was laid aside as dead. But, through the assiduities of the nurse the expiring flame of life was rekindled. The child his mother took and brought up for God. Before he could read, she taught him the history of the Old and New Testaments, by the assistance of some Dutch tiles in the chimney of the room where she usually sat. Little did this woman think what an important service she was performing. She was then training up the famous Philip Doddridge, who appeared in the cause of God as a star of prime magnitude. Those of you who have read the life of the celebrated John Newton, will recollect that the instructions which his mother gave him before he was four years old, made such a deep impression on his mind, that they were not wholly defaced during his many years of dissipation. They kept him from entire apostasy from the Christian faith, and were without doubt, the means of preparing him to become a distinguished minister of Christ. This Mr. Newton was the earthly agent in the conversion of Mr. Scott, the famous commentator, and of Claudius Buchanan, the distinguished missionary. Look at this sum of good, and remember, that, so far as human agency deserves to be mentioned in any case, all this is to be ascribed, under God, to parental instructions imparted to little children! 5. Let us give ourselves to prayer. Praying breath is but a feeble means, yet God has often owned it with distinguished encouragement in carrying on his work of redemption. The prayers of Moses often removed the plagues of Egypt, the prayers of Elijah procured rain from heaven, and the prayers of the church liberated Peter from prison. Prayer moves the hand that controls the sceptre and all the treasures of heaven. Many other instances of the efficacy of prayer might be adduced. "Among these the destruction of the French armament under the duke D'Anville, in the year 1746, ought to be remembered with gratitude and admiration by every inhabitant of this country. This fleet consisted of forty ships of war; was destined for the destruction of New England; was of sufficient force to render that destruction, in the ordinary progress of things, certain; sailed from Chebucto, in Nova Scotia, for this purpose, and was entirely destroyed on the night following a general fast throughout New England, by a terrible tempest. Impious men who regard not the work of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, and who, for that reason, are finally destroyed, may refuse to give God the glory of this most merciful interposition. But our ancestors had, and it is to be hoped their descendants ever will have, both piety and good sense sufficient to acknowledge that God who hears and answers prayer."