Sermon #5
Pullquote
The keen sensations of pain we have from the effects of material sin, causes the idea of being in the midst of it to strike us with a degree of horror; of being conscious of a pain we are immediately alarmed with the fear of punishment; from the scripture representation of future punishment; we fear that it may be fire; the idea strikes us with such terror as disturbs our peace; to avoid this we seek some gentler name which may serve the present [???] our minds, and give us a little peace. We agree to call it guilt of conscience for conscious guilt, though often very severe, is not commonly in this life so intolerable as burning. Rejecting fire or any immaterial substance from being an instrument in the infliction of future punishment, to keep ourselves in countenance we ridicule the idea in others. However this is a vain subterfuge; for whatever be the instrument of future punishment, whether it consist merely in conscious guilt or not, it will be severe beyond any thing of which we can at present have a conception. In that state it will be found an awful truth “that there is no peace to the wicked.”
Comment
We have another early sermon by Jonathan Fisher, in which he faithfully unfolds both the awesome severity and the tender mercy of God toward His hearers. Fisher presses home the reality of conscious guilt—not merely as a troubling burden in this present life, but as he solemnly speculates, the substance of the eternal conscious torment reserved for the unrepentant wicked, which the Scriptures describe in the terrible imagery of unquenchable fire.
Preaching in the fervent manner of one of his greatest influences, Jonathan Edwards, and reading from a manuscript, as did Edwards, Fisher arrives at the comfortable words to all who believe:
Ye, who have worshiped the Lord your God, and served him only, ye who have feared an oath, and have reverenced the name of the Lord; who have sanctified his holy sabbaths, and have not forsaken the assembling of yourselves together for public worship; ye who have honored your parents; have kept your hands from innocent blood, and from the goods of your neighbors; ye who have esteemed the good name of others as dear as your own, and who have learned in whatsoever state you are, therewith to be content; if ye have done these things from gospel motives; peace, peace unto you; in the name of the Lord I pronounce you blessed. Yours is the comfort of a good conscience in this life and a hope, an unbroken hope of eternal happiness in the next.
Yet the final paragraph, followed only by a solemn “Amen,” leaves the unrepentant sinner with a sobering and fearful prospect: the reality of dying in one’s sins and facing the just wrath of a holy God for all eternity:
To this my friends I would the more earnestly solicit you, because a wrong choice in this matter can never be repaired; and because it will be attended with the most awful and fatal consequences. The evils I have been mentioning as the consequences of vice are principally of a temporary nature, but if you make a final mistake in this matter, and choose the evil and refuse the good, a far more awful and terrible condemnation awaits you in a future world: The day is hastening, when God will call you to an account; he will summon you to appear at his tremendous bar; there you must stand a naked sinner in the presence of assembled worlds. How will your guilt then stare you in the face! How will it then corrupt your soul! Your sins, being called to remembrance, will sting you like scorpions, the worm, that never dies,will gnaw upon your peace, and unquenchable fire will be the only covering to hide you from an angry judge. For there is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.
Transcription
N. 5.
Jonathan Fisher Decem. 2nd 1793.
Conscious Guilt.
At Waterton /AM/ Dec. 15th. 1793.
At Malden AM Dec. 22. 1793
At Brookline A.M. Jan. 26 1794
[Rox]bury Up. Par. Mar. 9 1794
Princeton AM. [ strikethrough illegible] 3. 1794
Bluehill A.M. July 20. 1794
Bluehill Nov. 5. 1797
1.
Num. 5.
11. Psalm. W.
2. Hymn 2 6.
The effects of a guilty conscience.
Isaiah 57:21
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
There is one question which has been considerably agitated in the world, which is this, “Whether the happiness and misery of individuals in this life be in direct proportion to their /virtues and/ vices.”
In support of the affirmative it may be urged, that happiness depends upon the state of the mind, independently of outward circumstances; that the more calm and serene the mind is, 2. the more happiness the man may be said to enjoy; and that virtue has a direct tendency to enlighten and settle the mind, whereas vice has a tendency to obscure and confuse it; consequently, that happiness is in direct proportion to virtue and misery to vice.
In further support of this argument it may be urged, that the apparent prosperity of the wicked and adversity of the good is no certain indication of their real state; that on the contrary we often find upon a near acquaintance, that the rich and seemingly prosperous carry a soul with them as dark as night; while the poor and seemingly vexed are blessed with the fair sunshine of the breast
In support of the negative it may be argued, that, though happiness and misery do consist in the state of the mind, and that the more calm and serene the mind, the greater happiness the man enjoys; yet the state of the mind is not wholly independent of outward circumstances; nor is its calmness and serenity always in proportion to the degrees of 3. virtue. The soul is in this life so closely connected with the body, that in many things it suffers with it and enjoys with it. Now every/one/ must allow that the body may be affected with severe pain; none are exempt from it, and it falls with equal severity and without distinction upon good and bad. The mind is also affected with a thousand circumstances of estate; when a person is involved in debt and driven to straits in procuring a living, as the most covetous may be by his misfortune, in such a state, notwithstanding /his virtue,/ his mind will be often perplexed and he will be very unhappy. One source of his unhappiness will be that very /distressing?/ anxiety to his [days???], that arises from a virtuous disposition. The particular bias of the mind, which often seems to be innate, has a great effect in producing happiness or misery. How often do we see so many persons, whose education has been similar, and whose outward circumstances are much alike, one of a glum, morose, peevish disposition, while an 4. other, not a whit more virtuous, is always pleasant and cheerful; and is in great measure easy, let the world go which way it will.
The above are circumstances of happiness and misery, which are common to both virtuous and vicious, and peculiar to neither; so that in that respect on event happens to all.
To bring the matter more to a point, we will now consider a few circumstances /peculiar/ to each class.
1. The peculiar sources of happiness to the virtuous. — There are a calmness in meditation and a boldness in danger, arising from conscious innocence; a contemplation of the joys of heaven with a firm hope of obtaining them; a great degree of patience and fortitude under affliction, arising from this hope; and finally, a sweet communion with God, and dependence, are leaning of the soul upon him.
2. The peculiar sources of unhappiness to the virtuous. — These are, 5. the persecutions they suffer on account of their virtue; and particularly the powerful effect of ridicule; also the momentary pain of resisting temptation. /To suffer/ ridicule is peculiar to the virtuous for this reason; the vicious find it the most powerful weapon to subdue others to their party, and as they can have nothing, but company to keep them in continence, they do /not/ fail to use it; but the virtuous, so long as they are virtuous, are too noble to retaliate.
3. The peculiar sources of happiness to the vicious. — What are they? They are the pitiful, momentary pleasures, that arise from the indulgence of sensual appetite. What further? The malicious pleasure of triumphing over virtue in distress.
4. The peculiar sources of misery to /the/ vicious. These are those pains and diseases, which are the consequence of immoderate indulgence, and the lashes of a guilty conscience.
From a comparison of these peculiar circumstances we may 6. draw the following conclusion; that the truth of the question lies in the negative; that is, that the happiness and misery of individuals in this life is not in direct proportion to their virtues and vices; But that /it/may be taken for a general rule, that a virtuous life, even in this world, has the advantage, and greatly the advantage in producing happiness over the vicious one.
But in however many respects it may be granted, that in this life one event happens both to the virtuous and to the wicked, yet as God is true, this also is true, that taking into view the whole of their existence, there is no peace to the wicked.
The next thing in view is to consider the reason why there should be no peace to the wicked. This has its foundation particularly in the justice of God. The wisdom of God in the formation of the universe had in view universal and per 7. fect order; it had also in view the highest degree of nobleness and grandeur; hence the origin of moral agents; the justice of God in the government of the universe requires that every part of it should discharge all the duties arising from its relations to the creator and to every other part; moral agents by their very nature are endowed with a power of resisting these duties and thus so infringing upon the order of nature; therefore, excepting so much room as is left for the exercise of mercy, the justice of God requires that every being, guilty of infringing upon the order of nature, should suffer eventually in proportion to the degree of infringement; the wicked are such as do infringe upon the order of nature; hence it follows that to the wicked there can be no established peace; and thus it appears from reason and the nature of things that they ought to have none 8. Nor will it avail anything for the wicked in objection to this to plead the mercy of God; for one attribute of the Deity cannot operate but in conjunction and consistently with nature; the justice of God must therefore be vindicated and made answerable, before the wicked can obtain peace in consequence of his mercy. Should the mercy of God establish the wicked in peace, as wicked, and continuing such, it would oppose every idea of his justice; indeed it would degenerate into weakness. The manner in which misery becomes of benefit to the sinner is this: it opens a way, and offers conditions, by which past offences may be pardoned; it gives room for the spirit of God to urge and influence the sinner to holiness; to operate a change in his nature, a change from evil to good; and when this takes place, when 9. the wicked forsakes his way, and the unrighteous man has thoughts, he will then in consequence of the mercy of God obtain peace; but this will not be peace to the wicked; it will be peace to the righteous, agreeable to the Psalmist; Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.[1]
Having considered the reason why there should be no peace to the wicked, the next thing is to take a survey of the manner in which this plan of the Deity is effected: that is, by what method it is brought to pass that moral evil should be punished or that the ill effects of every infringement of the order of the universe, should eventually fall upon the head of him who infringes.
This appears to be /principally/ effected by conscience. Conscience is the judgment which the mind forms of its own actions by comparing them with the idea it has formed of rectitude. The 10. Deity as far as we can discover, appears to have endued? all moral agents with this principle. It may be called a moral sense, which the mind has, of the fitness or unfitness of its actions, approving or condemning them, as they agree or disagree with that standard, which the mind has formed of right and reason. Further, the Deity has so constituted the mind, that the result of this judgment, if unfavorable, should always be attended with a fear of punishment; and this fear of punishment is a degree of absolute misery; it is itself a part of the punishment, which is due for that crime, which naturally produces it. I say a part; for to say that a fear of punishment, or guilt of conscience is all the punishment that the wicked should sustain is saying I think, more than we are 11. authorized to say. For as after the resurrection we shall be possessed of bodies, we shall doubtless have respect to place, and various relations to other bodies, and judging by analogy from the effects, which other bodies have upon us in producing pleasure and pain in this life, I see no reason against supposing according to the literal scripture account of the matter, that the bodies of the wicked will in a future life be affected with pain, and that this will be a part of their punishment. I am sensible that this is an idea which some at this day affect to ridicule; but this ridicule may be traced to a source different from reason. It may be traced to fear. The keen sensations of pain we have from the effects of material sin, causes the idea of being in the midst of it to strike us with a degree of horror; 12. of being conscious of a pain we are immediately alarmed with the fear of punishment; from the scripture representation of future punishment; we fear that it may be fire; the idea strikes /us/ with such terror as disturbs our peace; to avoid this we seek some gentler name which may serve the present [???] our minds, and give us a little peace. We agree to call it guilt of conscience for conscious guilt, though often very severe, is not commonly in this life so intolerable as burning. Rejecting /fire/ or any immaterial substance from being an instrument in the infliction of future punishment, to keep ourselves in countenance we ridicule the idea in others. However this is a vain subterfuge; for whatever be the instrument of future punishment, whether it consist merely in conscious guilt or not, it will be severe beyond any thing of which we can 13. at present have a conception. In that state it will be found an awful truth “that there is no peace to the wicked.”[2]
Having examined the reason why there should be no peace to the wicked, and thus can a general survey of the means which God makes use of to effect this plan of the universe, that moral evil should always be punished; what remains of the discourse will be a comparison between the state of the righteous and that of the wicked, and an exhortation to refuse the evil and to choose the good.
Job says the righteous shall hold [Job 17:9 in right margin] on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger. [3] But of the wicked he declares that he is reserved to the day of [21:30] destruction, and shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. [4]
The psalmist says of the righteous that the (Psalms 5:12 in right margin) Lord will bless him, and compass him with favor as with a shield.[5] That (34:19 right margin) though many are his afflictions, the Lord[6] 14. (Psalms 37:29 left margin) delivereth him out of them all. That the righteous shall inherit the land and (64:10 left margin) dwell therein forevermore. That (92:12 left margin) they shall be glad in the Lord; that they shall flourish like the palm /tree/ and (112:6 left margin) shall be had in everlasting remembrance.
But what says this inspired penman of the wicked? ¿Does he speak good concerning them? No: he de (7:11 left margin) clares that God is angry with them (9:17 left margin) every day; that they shall be turned (11:6 left margin) into hell: that God will rain upon them snares, fire, and brimstone, and (119:155 left margin) an horrible tempest. That salva ( 145:20 left margin)tion is far from them; and that God shall destroy them all, and these are the words of our text, there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Reflect now, ye that have abandoned yourselves to sin, in love and compassion to your souls I entreat you to reflect; ¿What have been your feelings, what your condition, and what are now your prospects? When ye have denied the 15. holy one of Israel, your creator, and have said unto God, depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; ¿What then are your feelings? ¿Do you feel a satisfaction or an emptiness of soul? Answer ingenuously, ¿Do you not still fear that there is a God, and that he will one day call you to an account for what you have done, and severely punish your infidelity?
But happy are ye righteous, whose trust is in the Lord, and whose hope is in the God of your salvation. I know that ye enjoy a pleasure in communing with him; I know that ye feel a delight in leaning your souls upon him, which ye would not exchange for the world and its glory.
Reflect now, ye sinners, that worship the idols of you own hearts; ye idolators, for surely there are among us; For all, who love the creature more than the 16. creator are guilty of spiritual idolatry; reflect, I say, when ye have risen early and set up late, and eat the bread of carefulness to amass a worldly estate, and have neglected the worship of God in your families and in your closets, or have performed it with the utmost indifference, ¿Did ye find satisfaction in the work of your hands? ¿Did ye enjoy with sweet contentment your worldly treasures? No, rather ¿Did not the acquisition of this treasure beget a desire of more, did not wealth bring with it anxious care of securing it? ¿And have you not found that the multiplication of riches is the multiple cause of perplexities?
Reflect ye, that have given yourselves up to profanity— Do not begin to excuse yourselves, and say, we have fallen into it insensibly, we wish to re 17. frain /from/ it, but have acquired such a habit, that we cannot; we utter it without intention, we utter it involuntarily; this is a vain excuse, for ye yourselves give testimony that ye can refrain from it; and in the presence of even of a man, whom you greatly respect ye do refrain from it; and surely the presence of God, who always beholds you, ought to be more respected, than that of any man — reflect ye; ¿What do ye gain by your profanity? ¿Does it afford you a morsel of bread to satisfy your hunger? Does it gain the friendship of those, whose friendship is worth obtaining? Answer for yourselves, ¿Do you not sometimes fear after having uttered a shameful oath, calling upon the almighty to condemn you, do you fear upon a moment’s 18. reflection, lest he should take you at your word, and make you forever miserable? But some of you whisper to yourselves, methinks and say, No. Well, I believe it may be so, the scripture speaks of those whose consciences are seared.[7] /But/ conscience will not always sleep; you know how you feel, when having done mischief, a legal injury is made for the perpetrator of the crime; this is but a small anticipation of what you will feel, when God makes inquiry concerning your profanity; conscience then will be cut to the quick, and you will call on the rocks and mountains to fall on you and cover you from the wrath of an incensed judge![8] 19. In the course of the summer of 1793 a private soldier in the Shropshire Militia, in England, calling upon God to witness to a falsehood, with daring imprecations upon himself, (April [ ] N. 50 V.2. 1793. right margin) was immediately, according to his imprecation, deprived of the use of his limbs and from a very active youth became suddenly a cripple.
From this we see, that God sometimes shows his indignation at this crime by inflicting punishment upon the offender even in this world.
Perhaps there are some of us, but can remember the time when they have in some degree profaned or neglected the sabbath. Such of you as are conscious of this crim I would ask ¿What was the consequence of this profaning or neglect of the sabbath? Do you 20. recollect any advantage you derived from it? ¿Did your affairs go on more prosperously in the ensuing week? The famous Sir Matthew Hale, formerly Lord Chief Justice of England, has left upon record that he found by long experience that his business suffered in the week much in proportion to his improvement of the sabbath. Do not deceive yourselves, my friends, while I call on you to let conscience answer to this; when you have absented yourselves from public worship on the sabbath for some trifling excuse, and perhaps flattered yourselves that you should spend it sincerely in the service of God at home, ¿How did the day pass with you? 21. ¿Did you not lose most of it in idleness, or doing what was to but little purpose? ¿Did you not find an excuse offer itself for neglecting this and that act of
pri[vate] devotion, as readily as for neglecting public worship? And ¿ Did you not feel a deadness, stupidity, and confusion of mind after it? Let conscience answer this, and then judge whether there be peace to the wicked.
Little children, and ye that are young, I have a word for you also; when ye have disobeyed and dishonored your parents ¿how do you feel? Does not the fear of the rod spoil all your pleasure? ¿Don’t you tremble, when you are called to your parents, for fear of punishment? Learn then, while you are young, that there is no peace to the wicked. 22. ¿What do you think, my friends, are the feelings of a murderer? ¿Of one, who is guilty of shedding innocent blood? God grant that none of us may know by experience! But from the declaration of so many, who have made their exit under the gallows for this crime, we may form something of a judgment. When the deed is done, they are filled with horror; guilt stares them so fiercely in the face and their thoughts are so distracted with fear, that they often run themselves in the nearest way to destruction. When alone in the dark, even a shivering leaf is a minister of justice at their heels. They start to tremble, to flee, to [moan curses; maybe ‘none purpose’?]. Every person they meet seems in their imaginations 23. to look into their very souls and read the whole transaction. Well the murderer knows that there is no peace to the wicked. (Job. 24:15 right margin)
¿What says the scripture of the adulterer? “The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, no eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. In the dark (16. right margin) they dig through houses which they had marked for themselves in the day time; they know not the light; for the morning (17. right margin) is to them even as the shadow of death; if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.”[9] ¿Does not this description convince you that there is no peace to the wicked?
¿What enjoyment has the thief in his stolen goods? Many a sleepless hour in the night, and many an execration [ ] his 24. own mouth upon his own head from his folly.
It seems to be the design of God for the good of society, that conscience in this life should most severely punish us for those crimes, which most endanger the present safety of the community. Among all our earthly possessions, that of a good name is perhaps the dearest. Hence, we find that those who are guilty of perjury, or false witness, are often peculiarly tormented by conscience. Til they confess, and repent of their crime, they have no peace, they are haunted continually. — This is a still further proof that there is no peace to the wicked. 25. The covetous have no peace, we are sure, for the very idea of coveting the things of another implies that we are not contented with our own.
Ye, whose consciences declare that ye lie under the guilt of any of the forementioned crimes, think now for a few moments, whose condition is the most eligible, yours or that of the righteous?
Ye, who have worshiped the Lord your God, and served him only, ye who have feared an oath, and have reverenced the name of the Lord; who have sanctified his holy sabbaths, and have not forsaken the assembling of yourselves together for public worship; ye who 26. have honored your parents; have kept your hands from innocent blood, and from the goods of your neighbors; ye who have esteemed the good name of others as dear as your own, and who have learned in whatsoever state you are, therewith to be content; [strikethrough four words] if ye have done these things from gospel motives; peace, peace unto you; in the name of the Lord I pronounce you blessed. Yours is the comfort of a good conscience in this life and a hope, an unbroken hope of eternal happiness in the next. 27.
What remains is a brief exhortation to refuse the evil and to choose the good. To this my friends I would the more earnestly solicit you, because a wrong choice in this matter can never be repaired; and because it will be attended with /the/ most awful and fatal consequences. The evils I have been mentioning as the consequences of vice are principally of a tempo[rary] nature, but if you make a final mistake in this matter, and choose the evil and refuse the good, a far more awful and terrible condemnation awaits you /in a future world/: The day is hastening, when God will call you to an account; he will summon you to appear at his tremendous bar; there you must stand a 28. naked sinner in the presence of assembled worlds. How will your guilt then stare you in the face! How will it then corrupt your soul! Your sins, being called to remembrance, will sting you like scorpions, the worm, that never dies,[10] will gnaw upon your peace, and unquenchable fire[11] will be the only covering to hide you from /an/angry judge. For there is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.
Amen.
[1] Psalm 37:37 King James Version
[2] This appears to be a paraphrase of Isaiah 48:22. Both the Geneva Bible and the King James Version render it “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.” Modern, literal translations have “to the wicked.”
[3] This is another literal paraphrase — it must be Fisher’s own translation and reflects the same translation as the American Standard Version, a revision of the King James Version begun in 1870 and published in 1901. This is interesting in that it appears Fisher would welcome the updating of the King James Version and may have been following discussions about the need for a fresh revision.
[4] Paraphrase of Job 21:30
[5] Paraphrase of Psalm 5:12
[6] Page 14 contains 9 scripture references in the left margin. References correspond to lines in proximity and appear to be parts or paraphrases of various Psalms from the King James Version.
[7] 1 Timothy 4:2
[8] Revelation 6:16
[9] This is a full quote of Job 24:15-17 King James Version
[10] Mark 9:44-48 King James Version
[11] Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17 King James Version
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