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 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
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 6 
 
s 
 
SIMPLE SERMONS 
 
 ON 
 
 SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 KEY. JAMES S. STONE, 
 
 uoiOR or St. PHndP*! CBfymm, toromto. 
 
 ' $RH(^ t^t »U(tb." 
 
 TORONTO: 
 WILLING AND WILLIAMSOK. 
 
 MDOCOUUUX. 
 
SI 
 
 Entered according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the 
 year one thouaand eight hundred and seventy-nine, by WmjHo 
 ^^ Williamson, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
 ,.t^. 
 
 PBUrm AND BOOHD 
 BT 
 
 HUNTER, ROSE & CO , 
 
 TOMMTO. 
 
anada, in the 
 
 , by WnxiNO 
 
 Agriculture. 
 
 l^Pn^ 
 
 ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO 
 
 THE MBJIBBBS OF THB TWO CHTTECHBS IN WHICH 
 I HAVE MIKISTEBBD, 
 
 3U mn% |?0«t itfjre, 
 
 ASD 
 
 M mmp% mx0Vii0. 
 
 ^ 
 # 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I HE nature of the book is such as to need 
 very little preface. I may briefly state 
 that the sermons contained herein are but simple 
 utterances on simple, old-fashioned subjects. They 
 were delivered during the past winter in St Philip's 
 Church, T'oronto, and are now placed in this more 
 permanent form at the request of many of the mem- 
 bers and friends of that congregation. I commit 
 them to the press with much diffidence. I am well 
 aware that a style which is at all effective in the 
 pulpit will rarely retain its power when transferred 
 to the pages of a book. And when I remember 
 that volumes of sermons are seldom read, even in 
 these days of readii^, I can hardly hope that mine 
 will meet with any better success. But should 
 there be among my readers one who may find in 
 this book some truth, or some presentation of the 
 
■ 
 
 ^ PREFACE. 
 
 truth, that shall in any ^.y ^end to his or her 
 epmtual advancement, I shall b, amply repaid for 
 •J' I hav, done. I send the book out with the 
 "■"Ple desire that it uay be useful somewhere I 
 ««t .t as bread upon the waters ; it may be lost out 
 «8H It may take root in some spot where I le««t 
 «pect it-I leave all that to God; I have done my 
 bes^ the rest I have nought to do with, and whether 
 't be H« good pleasure that I should find it after 
 °»ny days or not. I am content. Only that it may 
 by .ts quiet and unobtrurive ministry help forward 
 0.6 coming of the perfect Kingdom of God. by the 
 gathering in of some soul to Christ, or by the 
 strengthening of some weak believer, is all I ask 
 May the Master use it as it may seem best unto 
 Him! 
 
 ToiiONTo, April 19th, 1879. 
 
 L 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Tm EteBOTTY OF THE WollD '^"g 
 
 II. The Unvbiliko of Seobbts 34 
 
 III. Unbeuef... 
 
 _-_ „ 36 
 
 IV. The Marvbiious Change. 
 
 01 
 
 V. AppEABuro WITH Ohbibt 
 
 * yO 
 
 VI. The Love of Qod... 
 
 ••••• yg 
 
 VII. ThbLoveofthe Lobd Jesds ' gg 
 
 VIII. Saivation the Effect of Mbbcy ^q^ 
 
 IX. The Vessbm OF Meboy 
 
 X. The Life of Christ 
 
 ' 132 
 
 XI. The Power of Christ's Name [[ j^g 
 
 XII. The Good Girrs of God 
 
 XIII. The B1ES8INQ8 OF Faith 
 
 XIV. The Guidance of Qod 
 
 XV. The Last Rest 
 
 XVT. Assurance . . 
 
 220 
 
I 
 
 Note.— For the argroment on page 14 I am in- 
 debted to a little work entitled " Bible Bulwarks," 
 by the Rev. R. Newton, D J)., of Philadelphia ; and 
 for some expressions on page 100 to that wonderful 
 book, " All About Jesus," by Alexander Dickson. 
 
 • J. S. S. 
 
%imfli 
 
 \tmom on 
 
 !>¥■$ 
 
 nhjecb. 
 
 fe 14 I am . in- 
 t)le Bulwarks," 
 ladelphia; and 
 bhat wonderful 
 er Dickson. 
 
 J. S. S. 
 
 SEBMON I. 
 THE ETERNITY OF THE WORD. 
 I.AUR XL, 8.-..Tbe gnm wIthTrth. the flower fcdeth • but t^ ^ 
 
 J^>h '\T^*^^"^ ^^'•^ «*d in the rapidity 
 
 ^ with which Nature works her changes The 
 
 eye no sooner rests upon some fairj^ scene 
 
 behold to-day the landscape decked in Wh^t 
 beauty^our gardens robed in floweiy gW--t 
 
 farm iTII ! .u ^"^"^^' ^« go-to the rich 
 farm^aiid^^^oy U> the violet-purpled moss-beds of 
 
 h rr^^ ^''"' ^' ^ ^'^^ ^^^P ^-«* ^^treats of 
 I the wild greenwood 
 
 " Change and dec»y in aU around we see." 
 
 Winter's hiuid. like the cold hand of death effaces 
 I all those firlorions h«*»f ;.« rp^ .. . ' ^^^^^ 
 
 \ wither and to die. ""^""^ ^"'' "'''-''™ **"* ^ 
 
10 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Amid all this change and desolation, however, 
 the prophet declares that one thing remains un- 
 changeable — " the word of our God shall stand for 
 ever." That can neither wither nor fade nor die. It 
 is eternal — refreshing and sweet to the soul, as is 
 ihe green grass and the vernal flower to the eye, 
 yet not like them short-lived, weak and changing, 
 but forever and forever the same. This is what we 
 should expect. Let us see how well it is supported 
 — on what a firm foundation it rests. 
 
 i That " the word of our God shall stand for ever " 
 we are sure from what we know of the nature of 
 God. 
 
 The conception we form in our own mind of God 
 is that of a Being who is the very absolute ideal 
 of Perfection. This perfection is not limited, not 
 finite, but boundless and infinite. We could not de- 
 fine it for the simple reason that we cannot grasf) 
 it. It is beyond us. The eye peers into the clear 
 waters of the mid-ocean, but no sight can pierce 
 those dark unfathomable depths ; nor can the soul, 
 though it rests its vision upon God ever so intently, 
 penetrate the abyss of His absolute and infinite per- 
 fection. 
 
 This idea of perfection placed far beyond the ken 
 of man is confirmed by the declarations of Scripture. 
 " Your Father which is in heaven," says Christ, " is 
 
 e^-x » 
 
 peiiuui/. 
 
 TT- •_ -c-.j. 1- tt:_ t 1.1 _- 
 
 with Him there is no variableness, neither shadow 
 
SUBJECTS. 
 
 ation, however, 
 ig remains un- 
 l shall stand for 
 fade nor die. It 
 3 the soul, as is 
 )wer to the eye, 
 : and changing, 
 rhis is what we 
 I it is supported 
 
 stand for ever " 
 
 the NATURE OF 
 
 vm mind of God 
 absolute ideal 
 lot limited, not 
 Ve could not de- 
 «re cannot grasp 
 s into the clear 
 ight can pierce 
 lor can the soul, 
 iver so intently, 
 md infinite per- 
 
 heyond the ken 
 
 jns of Scripture. 
 
 says Christ, " is 
 -i 1.1 . 
 
 neither shadow 
 
 THE ETERNITY OF THE WORD. H 
 
 of turning ;" He is perfect in His omnipresence : " do 
 not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord;" He 
 is perfect in His omnipotence : " with God all things 
 are possible " And so with His moral attributes. 
 He is perfect in His wisdom : "in Him are hid all 
 the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ;" in His 
 t^^th: "His truth endureth to all generations" 
 " He abideth faithful ;" in His love : " God is love '" 
 and in His justice: "He will render to every m/ 
 according to his deeds." 
 
 God being thus absolute perfection we cannot 
 conceive that He will not be perfect in all He says 
 "The word which I have spoken shaU be done, saith 
 the Lord God." "Heaven and earth shall pass away 
 but my words shall not pass away." If that which 
 God has said should fail He would not be perfect 
 There would be either a lack of wisdom or power 
 Yet we know that the future is to Him as the pre- 
 sent and that his power knows no Ijounds. Were it 
 jnot so He would not be God-He would be finite, 
 land limited in His operations. 
 
 Let me illustrate this point. God has declared 
 
 hat the punishment of the wicked shaU be terrible 
 
 &n Its misery and eternal in its duration. If there is 
 
 anything in the Scriptures plain and certain this is. 
 
 jYet men deny it and try to reason it away. They 
 
 weal to God's great love and mercy. He cannot, 
 
 -y say, aUow Mis children, whom He loves so' 
 
 uch, to go on to endless suffering. But He has said 
 
•asBP 
 
 12 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 that the " wicked shall go away into everlasting 
 punishment:" shall He contradict Himself? Shall 
 He say that at one time which He may deny at an- 
 other ? Shall He declare that at one moment which 
 some say is cruel and unreasonable and at another 
 ignore His justice and forget His former statements? 
 This would be to deny His perfection and to make 
 Him appear as changeable, whereas we know that 
 " the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent : for 
 He is not a man that He should repent." If He did 
 it in this instance what assurance have we that He 
 may not do it in others ? Our very security rests 
 upon His perfect unchangeableness : "I am the 
 Lord, I change not ; therefore ye sons of Jacob are 
 not consumed." So that whether His word be one 
 of threatening or one of promise " it shall stand for 
 ever." If He said that which He did not intend to 
 carry out. He would be deceiving us and His holi- 
 ness would not be perfect ; or if He said that which 
 He could not carry out, a limit would be placed to 
 His power ; or if He said that of which He had not 
 perfect knowledge His wisdom would be at fault. 
 We cannot conceive this of Cod, for our conception 
 of Him is of one absolutely perfect. It would be 
 contrary to all that is told us of Him in the Bible. 
 It would be the death-blow to all our hopes for we 
 could not depend upon Him. We could not trust 
 
 Him Oiir -fi-if-i-ii^ t»TT>«1.r1 Vx^ » J ] J J i_i_ r 
 
 .,,.^,,.,. TTviciii jjc a ucoU) uccui uiank. 
 
 Our joy would wither as the grass, our peace fade 
 
THK ETKHNirr OF THK WORD. 13 
 
 as the flower. We cannot imagine this of God. We 
 cannot imagine Him as changing in His purpose. 
 We cannot imagine Him as anything but the one 
 unchanging, unchangeable and perfect Being. He 
 cannot deny or contradict Himself. From what we 
 know of His nature we are sure that though " the 
 grass withereth and the flower fadeth, yet the word 
 of our God shall stand for ever." 
 
 But, in the second place, we have a further con- 
 firmation of this grand truth in the Historical 
 Fulfilment of His Word. 
 
 There are some remarkable fulfilments of pro- 
 phecy that convince us that the word of our God 
 shall stand for ever. I will mention two of them. 
 
 The City of Babylon was one of the oldest in the 
 world. It was also a city of superb magnificence, 
 immense wealth, and vast size, andwas, moreover, 
 at one time the capital of a great and powerful em- 
 pire. In the time of Isaiah, it was flourishing un- 
 rivalled in its beauty and strength, it was « the glory 
 of kingdoms," and more than a hundred years after- 
 wards, in Jeremiah's day, it was still in its unparal- 
 leled splendour ; yet the Lord declared by the mouth 
 of those two prophets that it should be overthrown 
 as were Sodom and Gomorrah, and that it should 
 become a desolation among the nations. Two thou- 
 sand and six hundred years have come and ffone 
 since then, and that « great city." " the beauty of the 
 Ohaldee's excellency," has emphaticaUy " become 
 
 il -l 
 
14 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 heaps " of ruins. Her walls have altogether disap- 
 peared — they have " fallen," been " thrown down," 
 been " utterly broken." She is " a desolation," her 
 " land a wilderness :" " wild beasts of the desert lie 
 there:" and "owls dwell there;" and the natives 
 regard the whc^e .site as haunted, and neither will 
 the " Arab pitch tent, nor the shepherd fold sheep 
 there." Thus is the word of the Lord literally ful- 
 filled. 
 
 You may say that this was but following out the 
 course of time : that any one could foretell that 
 Babylon wduld come to an end. Perhaps so, but 
 take an opposite case. 
 
 Jerusalem is a city of even greater renown than 
 Babylon. If any city may be called Eternal, none 
 more so. David declared that God would establish 
 it forever ; and rtiarvellously indeed has it been pre- 
 served. In the fifteen hundred years preceding the 
 time of Christ, it was besieged no fewer than seven- 
 teen times ; twice it was razed to the ground ; and 
 on two other occasions its walls were levelled. Since 
 then its people have been scattered, and it has pasbed 
 from Roman to Turk, and neither Jew nor Christian 
 have ruled in the Holy City for twelve hundred 
 years. But Jerusalem stands to-day as God said it 
 should, and thus His word is fulfilled. Surely there 
 is something more than mere chance in this. Here 
 we have two cities, concerning which, three thousand 
 years ago, God declared that one should be destroyed 
 
THli ETERNITY OF THK WORD. 
 
 15 
 
 add the other should be preserved, and we find it so 
 to the very letter. Who but God could look over 
 the history of thirty centuries yet to come ? And 
 if His word was thus accomplished ia these cases, 
 may we not reasonably suppose it will be in other 
 instances ? 
 
 But there is a most wonderful iastance that fur- 
 nishes us with an argument of great force. It re- 
 lates to the marvellous preservation and universal 
 dispersion of the Jewish people. In the book of 
 Amos there is this striking prophecy : " I will sift 
 the house of Israel among all nations, saith the Lord, 
 like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the 
 least grain fall upon the earth." For eighteen hun- 
 dred years the Jews have been scattered every- 
 where ; despised, oppressed and persecuted in all 
 lands, and yet preserved through all the ages, a dis- 
 tinct and peculiar people. There is nothing like 
 this in the history of the world. No other nation 
 has been driven from its fatherland and yet pre- 
 served its identity. No other nation has shown 
 such remarkable vitality. "Empires, the most 
 illustrious, have fallen and buried the men that 
 constructed them, but the Jew has lived among 
 the ruins, a living monument of indestructibility^ 
 Pei-secution has unsheathed the sword and kindled 
 the faggot; Papal superstition and Moslem barbar- 
 
 ism have smitten them with nnsnflrJn^ f^r 
 
 
 nal rescripts and deep prejudice have visited on 
 
gggg 
 
 mam 
 
 Ifi 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS UN SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 I'i 
 
 t' It I' I 
 
 them the most unrighteous chastisement ;" and yet 
 notwithstanding all, they live. There is not a land 
 where they are not, " The snows of Lapland have 
 chilled and the suns of Africa have scorched them." 
 '' They are broken into fragments, scattered and 
 peeled over the earth." And all this God declared 
 should be twenty-five hundred yet.rs ago ! If we 
 want a fulfilment of God's word surely we have it 
 here. No so-called scientific criticism can reason 
 away facts as plain as these. As well say that 
 there is no such thing as history, no such thing as 
 life, that neither you, dfiSfZDsad^, nor I exist, as to 
 deny that God's word concerning the Jews has not 
 been actually and Hterally fulfilled. " The grass 
 withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our 
 God shall stand for ever." The preservation of God's 
 ancient people, according to prophecy, is a proof we 
 cannot dispute. It is a living witness to the eter- 
 nity of the Word. And taken m connection with 
 the multitude of other historical fulfilments, we need 
 no stronger confiimation of the truth of our text. 
 But this is an argument often used, and I therefore 
 pass on. 
 \ In the third place I will appeal to our individual 
 
 EXPERIENCE AND OBSERVATION aS a proof of OUF 
 
 text. 
 
 I feel that our personal knowledge furnishes us 
 with an argument equal in strength to any I have 
 brought forward. Perhaps every one may not think 
 
THE ETERNITY OF THE WORD. 
 
 17 
 
 SO. It is true one person's experience is of small ac- 
 count. A man may say, " To those who believe 
 God has promised peace. I do believe and I have 
 peace. I know that ray sins are forgiven, and that 
 I am saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. I fear no evil, my soul is full of joy." A 
 sceptic might say, " the man may be mistaken, his 
 convictions be mere fancy, and his mind disordered," 
 and in such a case the man's evidence would be 
 simply worthless. But suppose the peace and joy 
 and hope which I find in this man I find also in tens 
 of thousands, nay hundreds of thousands of others 
 of all grades of Society— rich and poor, the most 
 learned and the most ignorant— in every nation 
 under heaven have I not an accumulated mass of 
 evidence of immense value ? You may say that a 
 drop of water is a small thing, not capable even of 
 putting out a gaa-light, but the accumulation of 
 those little drops makes mighty oceans, and forms a 
 force second to none in strength— a force that can 
 rend great continents asunder, and bear upon its 
 bosom vast navies, and set in motion the factory- 
 wheels, the trains and the steamboats of wealthy 
 empires— a force that can spread desolation over the * 
 land and sweep its thousands into the ^it of death. 
 You may ignore the single drop, but you cannot 
 ignore the vaat accumulation of untold millions. So 
 
 you mav daiibf fVio A<nrla»^» ^* v . 
 
 ^ -J ^..^ -^TiTx-oULc ui. u-ic iiiiiiu, Duc you 
 
 cannot doubt the evidence given by thousands and 
 
•!'■ ■ -iM 
 
 18 
 
 SIMPIE SEKMOfTS OK SIMPLE SUWEC-TS. 
 
 certain results among men. and we see those results 
 produce everywhe. and under all oircum3;C 
 A man ,s convinced of sin and led to the Saviour 
 and there finds life and salvation. He i, a „e^ 
 man ever afterwards H;. «■ i, 
 !,„ . .L ""orwaras. His face beams with rov h!« 
 
 tenthouiidhe: i'::;""^r''"r''^'" 
 
 n,,^ « 4 . *" *Ses, from the time 
 
 God first revealed Himself to man tMs is true A^d 
 I say when we have before us a fact such^thfa!! 
 
 ana ehatlrw^Th Z^^^TZZl^^Z 
 bums m ^n thou.sand times ten thousand of „the 
 
 di^dfal !t "' *="""'"" "• So that our in- 
 
 dividual experience and observation do come in to 
 
 Now, take any one of the promUes of God • take 
 
 or instance, this one, -. Come unto me aU yethrt 
 
 ^ our ^d are heavy laden, and I will >*:' 
 
 rest. There is rest promised to the wearv IZ 
 
 «je™ a..dthesinnin«-simplyup:74;' 
 
 ^™ to ^a x:;n:r "•"'^"^ '--''"' ''•* 
 
 Have we ever ZZ^fiyZ "^rr ^.«'«' ' 
 
 -- ji ._^ vnr WHO nas failed to 
 
tip 
 
 THK KTKRNITr OF THE WOBD. J9 
 
 obtain peace at the foot of the Cro88 ? Sinners have 
 gone there bowed down with the burden of iniquity 
 and found reat; mourners have loolced from the 
 ^ve of death to the Lord of life and found rest in 
 H.m; weak and trembling ones have found rest 
 from the,r doubts and fears by looking from self to 
 Uod^ Let me give an instance of how God has ful- 
 flUed His promise of rest to the weary 
 
 In the April of 1877, a flood of water bu«t into 
 a coal p.t m South Wales. It came from an old pit 
 ong disused that was close by, and rushed along 
 the gallenes with great force. Many of the colliers 
 were saved, but when the muster-roll was called 
 fourteen were missing. They had been working in 
 distant parts of the mine when the flo^ surrounded 
 them and cut off their escape. A number of men 
 volunteered to attempt their rescue, and flnaUy nine 
 were saved, some of them after ten days of imprison- 
 ment m that dark, flooded coal-galleiy. But an i„. 
 adent ,s related of five who were separated from 
 the.r companions. When shut up in total darkness, 
 expecbng soon to die by starvation or drowning, the 
 water slowly but surely rising around them the 
 memory of dear ones to be left behind filling their 
 hearts with deepest sorrow, they took, as they 
 thought, a last fareweU of each other, and in their 
 living sepulchre sang together in the Welsh tongue 
 ^ 'xnxcn ittis la a wanaiation : 
 
20 SIMPLE SEIIMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECm 
 
 " 'Mid the deep and mighty w»ten« \ 
 
 There is none c«n hold my head, 
 S»ve my dearly loved Redeemer-^ 
 
 He who suffered in my stead : 
 He's a friend in Jordan river, 
 
 He my herd will hold on high ; 
 And by looking to my Saviour 
 
 I can sing, e'en when I die." 
 
 They were God-fearing men, and was not God with 
 them in their hour of need ? " Gome unto me," 
 saith He, " and I will give you rest,"— had they not 
 gone to Him and had He not given them rest— nay 
 more, joy. and peace and hope ? Surely the word 
 of our God shall stand for ever ! 
 
 In the royal palace of England, the great and 
 good Prince Albert is stretched upon his dying bed. 
 His wife, the loving and sorrowing Queen, sits by 
 overwhelmed with grief. To see her there was not 
 one of the least of his sorrows. Death cast its cold 
 pall upon his love, his glory, and his life, but God 
 was with him. Falteringly, he said, " I have had 
 wealth, and rank and power, and I thank God for 
 them ; but if these were all, 1 should now be poor 
 indeed." And then, as his spirit was passing peace- 
 fully away to its everlasting rest, he whispered 
 these sweet words : 
 
 " Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee. " 
 
 There again we have God fulfilUnghis word. In- 
 stances of a like nature are unnumbered f 
 
 
THE ETERNITY OF THE WOJID. 21 
 
 tude. To the simple colUera in the coal-pit, to the 
 educated, refined and powerful prince— to the 
 weary and heavy laden— to all alike, without re- 
 spect of person, according to His woi-d, He gives 
 the fulness of rest, the fulness of the peace which 
 passeth all understanding. We who are serving the 
 Lord know all this to be true. We know in our 
 own experience that not one jot or tittle of His word 
 has fallen to the gi-ound. We know that hereafter 
 we shall hear " as it were the voice of a great multi- 
 tude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the 
 voice of mighty thunderings," the whole ransomed 
 Church of God assent to the same grand truth. We 
 do not question this. Our personal knowledge 
 places it beyond our doubt. We may be very sure 
 from our individual experience and observation, 
 that, though " the gra^ withereth and the flower 
 fadeth, yet the word of our God shall stand for 
 ever." Can we, with this argument before us, and 
 the argument derived from the historical fulfilment 
 01 God's word, and the one we have from our know- 
 edge of His nature, qpme to any ether conclusion 
 than that the proposition contained in the text is 
 abundantly and marvellously proved and confirmed ? 
 If this be granted, an application of the truth is 
 soon made. I need not dweU upon it. Surely it 
 behoves us seriously and solemnly to lay to heart 
 
 that Gods word will h^. iu««»ii j ._ , 
 
 — — , »»v^iaixiT CJ4U iruiy per- 
 
 formed. To those who die in their 
 
 sins, who know 
 
f 
 
 ¥f 
 
 if 
 
 IP^ 
 
 Jl mttlE SERMONH ON 'MPLE SUBJECTS, 
 
 nothing o^ ft f,«r^mal, living Saviour, th. - comes a 
 day of terrible wnoth ; " the wicked shall be turned 
 into hell, and all the nations that forget God." 
 Listen, my dear reader, to those solemn words— the 
 words of a God which shall stand for ever. We dare 
 not ignore that awful declaration. We dare not 
 dream that it will not be fulfilled. 
 
 But to those who are one with Christ— who be- 
 lieve in Him and arc serving Him— what sure com- 
 fort and blessed assurance there is in this glorious 
 truth! All that He has said will come to pass His 
 pr-'^nce will be with us, guiding and guarding us ; 
 fli.^ spirit will be in us, perfecting and sanctifying 
 us, His love will be around us pardoning our 
 offences and drawing us closer and closer to Him- 
 self. AH through life 
 
 " His purposes will ripen fast, 
 Unfolding every hour ; 
 The bud may have a bitter Uste, 
 But sweet will be the flower." 
 
 And at last, when the gloom shall fall upon our 
 pathway and the eventide shaU overtake us the 
 dark clouds shaU be gilded with the glory of the 
 setting sun-every tinted ray of golden light shaU 
 be to lis a promise fulfilled, eveiy rippling wave 
 brealdng at our fe<, the assurance that God is ever 
 the same— and mi mded by the signs of His pre- 
 sence, we shall sink^ c .rv^h.. jaed by the waters of 
 ^, ..,.., „a© oc-ai ( iiis love, t - rise again on 
 
THE ETJSIWITV OF THE WORD. $$ 
 
 the *ther shore, in the land where there shall be no 
 more night, no more sorrow, no more death—where 
 we shall be forever and forever with the Lord. " The 
 gnuss withereth, fhe Aowii fadeth, but the word of 
 our God shall Mtaud for ever." What a grand assur- 
 ance ! In lilt; and in death we may rest our all, 
 our iramorta.1 soul upon that firm foundation ! 
 
.sasi 
 
 assaasmasmt,: 
 
 SERMON II. 
 THE UiVVEILING OF SECRETS. 
 
 Si.. LuKixH. 2.-"For there Is nothing coTered, that shll not be revealed • 
 neither hid, that shall not be known. " 
 
 J HERE is a solemn and a startling truth con- 
 , tained in these words. It is a truth that affects 
 our private life, and touches the deepest depth 
 of our heart. It tells us of a judgment to come. 
 
 In these days people try to ignore the fact that 
 God has declared He will judge the earth. We find 
 among men a tacit understanding not to say any- 
 thing about it. Even Christians when they do ven- 
 ture to express an opinion,will oftentimes declare that 
 the judgment is for the wicked and not for them. 
 Yet the Scriptures emphatically state that "We shall 
 all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." And 
 whether men talk about it or not, the fact remains. 
 If the Word of God be true, there comes a day in 
 which every son and daughter of earth will stand 
 before the great white throne of the Almighty. 
 
 In that day the secrets of all hearts shall be made 
 known. Men and angels shall then see us, not as we 
 seem to be, but as we actually are. Mysteries, to 
 the solution of which we have now no clue, will then 
 be as plain as the broad daylight. The soul will be. 
 unveiled and its hidden thoughts be openly manT- 
 
? truth con- 
 
 THE UNVEILING OF SECHETS. 25 
 
 fested. "For there is nothing covered, that shall not 
 be revealed ; neither hid, that shall not be known " 
 There are many things hid from us now. Many a 
 dark page of history is absolutely impenetrable to 
 the keenest vision of the ablest criticism. Events 
 that have startled the world are so covered up that 
 we cannot tell anything concerning the causes that 
 brought them about. Long periods of time are 
 shrouded in a gloom that ia rendered still deeper by 
 the few solitary facts which have come down 
 to us. And if this be true of events, the import- 
 ance of which no words can estimate, is it not 
 much more so of the great mass of individuals who 
 have lived and died in the ages pa^t ? Not only are 
 their deeds-whether good or bad~forgotten,but the 
 men themselves are remembered no more ; nay we 
 are not conscious that they ever existed. We kj^ow 
 somebody must have lived in the centuries long ago 
 but that is all we know or can know at this time' 
 HA'en our own ancestors have perished in this general 
 obhvion. And as the individuals themselves have 
 passed away from us, what of their sins—their words 
 -their thoughts ? If there can be degrees of im- 
 possibiHty, is it not in the very highest degree im- 
 possible for us to discover these ? How can we ever 
 gra^p the secret thought of one who is to us ab- 
 solutely unknown ? But have those thoughts, those 
 
 sms, those indivirliia]a *i^^o.. i.:jj ^ , , 
 
 '•^> v"Oac iiiuucii iiges Deen lost 
 
 for ever? . Have they perished beneath the thick 
 B 
 
■ a i. 'Jn 
 
 il I 
 
 26 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 darkness that now envelopes them ? Will the veil 
 never be lifted ? -Shall we never see them : never 
 know anything about them ? 
 
 Our text answera the question. The day is coming 
 when all shall be revealed. The day is coming when 
 time shall be declared to be no more, and the long- 
 forgotten past shall be one actual living present. We 
 shall know the secrets of history, the secrets of in- 
 dividuals, the secrets of thoughts. The past of 
 Assyria, of Egypt, of the world, will be plain. The 
 lives of our ancestors will be opened unto all. The 
 thoughts that the thinkers have forgotten will 
 be remeiabered and made known to all men. This, 
 I again repeat, is a solemn and startling fact. It is 
 enough to fill us with fear and astonishment. 
 
 But we come down a little nearer home and we 
 see that we ourselves will thus be revealed to others. 
 The sins which we committed when we thought no 
 one was nigh, the thoughts which we entertained 
 that no one ever knew, are to be exhibited in Uving 
 colours before the world. " Whatsoever," says Christ, 
 " ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the 
 light ; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in 
 closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." 
 
 Wedo not always think of this. Men say the dark- 
 ness wrill hidethem,the silence of night willnot reveal 
 their sin. There is always a tendency to forget or 
 ignore the solemn truth that all will be manifested in 
 the last ' ' — ' 
 
 great day. We know that in our day 
 
 or 
 
THE UNVEILING OF SECRETS. 
 
 27 
 
 land few men would commit gross sins on the open 
 street in the broad daylight. We do not see a great 
 deal of wicicedness on the surface of society. The 
 stream rolls along with only here and there a little 
 fleck of scum floating past, which is however indica- 
 tive of some disturbance in the depths beneath. We 
 may not see the sin, but we know there is sin some- 
 where. It is not fashionable to sin publicly, and we 
 may thank God that it is not, but for all that there 
 are the secret j hs. I do not say they take the same 
 form or exist to the same extent in all. But they 
 are there. A man in business sees the opportunity of 
 obtaining an advantage over a customer; he thinks 
 neither the customer nor any one else will ever know 
 of it, and if he be not a conscientious man the step 
 is taken. A servant may see no harm in wasting 
 time or material when the employer is out of sight. 
 A school-boy may think it is all right to peep into 
 his book at an examination when the master is not 
 looking. I do not believe every school-boy, servant 
 or tradesman would do these things ; far from it, but 
 if they did them, it would be secretly with the idea 
 that no one would ever know. 
 
 But these are small matters compared with others. 
 Take the great sins of men. The forgerer puts the 
 extra figures to the note or adds the signature to it 
 with the belief that it will never be discovered. The 
 
 burcflflr Anfofci 4-\\a l%r^„^^ ^.\ I. - ii_ •_ 1 .,, 
 
 -5— .,,,,. „j^._. „vuac wiicu UU bUillKS nO ODe Will 
 
 see him. The drunkard tries to conceal his crime 
 
28 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 like every other criminal. And need I point to the 
 adulterer and the licentious sinner committing the 
 sin of which it is not fitting to speak, and which 
 they fondly hope may remain forever a secret ? 
 
 Moreover do we not all know when sin has the 
 greatest advantage over us ? Is it not when we are 
 alone—when no human eye is on us and we forget 
 that God is there ? There are temptations that have 
 great power when we are in the company of evil 
 men; but temptations that lead to the greatest sins 
 have greatest power when we are away from all. 
 The sin and wickedness that the corrupt and evil 
 heart ot man can evolve is amazing if not incon- 
 ceivable. And when Satan meets us alone and sug- 
 gests the fact that we are alone and that the sin we 
 would commit may remain for evor unknown, it 
 needs the greatest exercise of Divine grace to save 
 us from falling. 
 
 I am speaking of fact. We have all sinned and 
 we know what sin is. There is surely no one who 
 may read these pages that has never felt the power 
 of temptation. I will not say tempted to the same 
 am, for we have our individual temptations : but 
 tempted so as to commit sin. We have committed 
 sin— perhaps not what the world calls sin— yet 
 sm both against God and against ourselves. We 
 have entertained evil thoughts of others-we have 
 murmured against God-we have had envy and 
 bitterness in our heart. Even our acts of religion 
 
THE UNVEILING Or SECRETS. 29 
 
 have been stained with sin. We have neglected 
 duties that we ought to have done, and we have 
 said that,perhap8 from malice, perhaps from thought- 
 lessness, which was derogatory to our neighbour 
 There are a thousand ways in which we have sinned 
 But we have covered it all up. We have spread a 
 thick veil over it. We have shrouded it with the 
 shroud of forgetfulness. And we think it may re- 
 mam thus forever. But the day comes when we 
 shall learn the grand mistake. The secret sin will 
 be known to aU. The hidden thought will be told 
 m every ear. We shall stand before an assembled 
 world as we really are. In that day nothing will 
 remain longer hid. Memoiy will have no short- 
 comings, it will be perfect, not able to forget The 
 past will be remembered, revealed, made known to 
 all---the past of our lives, of mine, dear reader, 
 and of yours ! 
 
 How shall we stand then ? How shall we feel 
 when the night shall no longer cover us ; when we 
 shah be seen in all our sinfulness by friend, parent, 
 brother, sister, wife, God ? Think of it, for it is 
 something that needs thinking of. We know it 
 often happens in this life that the sin is discovered 
 and made known. We see the blush of shame 
 the tremour of disgrace, possessing one thus discov- 
 ered We know of criminals when before the iudge 
 
 Sinners against society-who walk our streets an4 
 
30 
 
 f ;i 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 wish that the great rocks might fall upon them 
 and hide them from the gaze of men. But when 
 we ourselves stand before God— when no witnesses 
 of our guilt are needed— when we are our own 
 accusers — when conscience has assumed its ful- 
 lest power and brands us with the dark marks of 
 guilt— how then ? How shall we feel when the 
 moments of sin are brought to mind and made known 
 —when the sin that we thought was safely locked 
 up in the bosom of the past is declared before the 
 world, when the wrong we have done to another lit- 
 tle dreamt of by him is told him in words of stem 
 reality-ioh, how shall we feel then ? Will not the 
 eye be downcast and the cheek flushed with confu- 
 sion ? Will not the body tremble and the tongue 
 refuse to utter an excuse ? Will not the burning 
 sense of guilt rush through the brain leaving in its 
 fiery track a caustic trail of deepest remorse, that 
 shall bite and bite again till hell shall burn our 
 very soul ? Oh it is enough to make us tremble 
 now ! It is enough to send the throb of fear through 
 every fibre of our being ! It is enough to make us 
 wish we had never been bom— when we are told by 
 the mouth of God Himself that "there is nothing 
 covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid that 
 shall not be known." 
 
 I tremble as I ask again— how shall wo stand in 
 that great and terrible dav ?— vou and T nv/«^Ko. 
 md i^eader, before the judgment seat ,of Christ ? 
 
THB UNVBIUNO OF SECRETO, 31 
 
 Who knows how near the time may be when we 
 may be called to give an account of our stewardship 
 an account of every idle word we may have spoken' 
 an account of every sinful thought ve may have en- 
 tertamed? And what account can we give ? Is it 
 not of sin, sin that overshadows every good deed we 
 may have done? There we stand sinners against 
 ourselves, our neighbours and our God, our soul 
 robed in guilt, our inner life tainted with iniquity. 
 What shall we do in that awful moment ? 
 
 One thing is very certain, that criminals convicted 
 of cnme are not allowed to go scot-free. Our sins 
 must be punished. This justice demands. How 
 nght this is reason tells us. We feel that re- 
 tribution must come sometime, and a^ it does not 
 come altogether in this life, it will in the life to come. 
 How great then must be the punishment when sin 
 after sin is brought to light ! Can we ever expiate 
 those sms ? Can we ever redeem that life of evil ? 
 Will eternity itself be long enough to purge the soul 
 of Its imquity and sin ? It would seem impossible ; 
 nay, the Scriptures declare it to be so. 
 
 So that the fear of punishment will be added to 
 the shame at the discovery of our sin. But no fear 
 m its dire anticipations will exceed the bitterness of 
 that shame. I can imagine the mute astonishment 
 that wiU at first seize the guilty soul changing into 
 a ery of mingled diead and reproach that will pierce 
 t)ie very welkin of heaven with its note of sharpened 
 
I ;■" 
 
 H: 
 
 iljM 
 
 
 32 SIMPLE SERMONS OK SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 pain I can imagine the ciy rushing from mouth to 
 mouth from soul to soul, " Where can I hide me ? " 
 We shall want to hide somewhere then. We shall 
 want some pla^e where no one may see our shame- 
 stncken fa^e^ We shaU want to get out of the sight 
 
 it ^n ^' "^ ^^^' ^* ^"g«l« ^^ of God 
 I should be forgetful of the ministry of love were 
 I not to depart from the direct point of my text and 
 remmd you, dear reader, of the refuge God has pro- 
 
 and f TT !,' ' '''' °'^ ^""^ °' ^«^'« ^^-^ ^ ^an 
 and of His desire U> save him from sin and its sad 
 
 consequences. The punishment of those sins has 
 already b^n suffered, not by us but by another^ 
 even the Lord Jesus-^in our stead. He has expiat- 
 ed every one of them, and if we will accept His 
 atonement all is well. God has indeed a heavy bill 
 agaiast us but Jesus Christ has paid the biUand we 
 are free. The object of the Gospel is to tell us these 
 gad tidings. God asks us to accept our paid bill 
 How strange of us to try to pay it over twice ! Yet 
 this is just what we are endeavouring to do when 
 we set a^ide Christ's work and attempt to work out 
 our own redemption ourselves. God has laid upon 
 Him the iniquity of us all. 
 
 You go into a merchant's office and looking 
 over his old ledgers-ledgers that have long since 
 been laid aside and are dusty with age-you may 
 find accounts that your father, perhaps vou yo,ir««lf, 
 contracted long ago. But they are all 'paid. Very' 
 
THE UNVEILING OP SECBETS. 
 
 33 
 
 likely a mark of red ink stretches from the top to 
 the bottom of the page, crossing them out. Suppose 
 you disputed the evidence of that red line. Suppose, 
 when the merchant said to you, " the accounts are 
 all settled — see this line is evidence enough for me," 
 you were to reply, " I see it, but for all that I do not 
 believe the debt is paid and I prefer paying it again," 
 what could he do but accept your word ? You will 
 not acknowledge the fact, but are determined to pay 
 the money. Yet this act of rare folly is what is done 
 commonly and regularly in regard to spiritual mat- 
 ters. There are heavy accounts against us in God's 
 book, but they are crossed out with the red line of 
 the Saviour's blood. God tells us so. Shall we not 
 believe ffim ? Shall we set a^ide that red mark 
 and pay the bill ourselves again? Then surely as 
 the Lord liveth we shall have no escape when we 
 stand before the throne for judgment. We shall 
 have to stand alone in our sins and pay by our eter- 
 nal punishment the penalty we have ourselves in- 
 curred ! 
 
 Surely the subject of which I am writing is a per- 
 sonal one. It concerns every one. It speaks to 
 every heart. Two things are very sure: one is, that 
 every secret will be made known ; the other is, that 
 for very shame we shall need some place where we 
 may hide us from the gazing throng. We have 
 
I 
 
 u 
 
 il i 
 ■I I 
 
 ml 
 
 il" 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTO. 
 
 such a biding place in the Rock Chri«t Je.su8. This 
 IS what the hymn means, 
 
 " Rock of Asres, cleft for me, 
 L«t me hide myself in Thee. " 
 
 We may hide in that Rock in the great day and no 
 eye shall see our shame. As each revelation of our 
 past IS made we may plead the name of Jesus and 
 ail will be forgiven. There is a glorious hope that 
 
 T tT, "' ''''*" "'^ *'"'' "f '^h** «-«' here- 
 after be told of us. Isitourhope? Isityourhope, 
 my brother, my sister, with which you expect to 
 meet the trial of that day , D„ you believe that 
 the debt « pa,d, and that Jesus will be your refuge « 
 Then though you may think of what is coming with 
 shame because you have gone so far astray, yet you 
 m»y thank God for having saved you. All will be 
 
 But do not think this gives us license to sin, or 
 makes It a matter of indifference whether we sin or 
 not. If we believe in Christ we are trying to serve 
 Him-to serve Him by abstaining from all sin. It 
 M the earnest desire of everjr true Christian to lead 
 anewhfe He remembers that in his secret mo- 
 mente God is with him. He remembers that when 
 no other eye sees him God sees him. The Lord looks 
 into h.s heart, and weighs his motives, and leams 
 his thoughts. Nothing is hid from Him. And de- 
 pend upon it. mv i9o»r "■")—-:- ' •• , 
 
 _ . ^ -._! ..„.,,^.,, ryui leaves ^tt, mairks. 
 
THE UNVEILING OF SECRETS. 35 
 
 The fact that we have sinned must ever remain The 
 sin may be forgiven, but the fact cannot be destroyed 
 Its stain may be washed out so that no spot of guilt 
 may be left, but the place where the stain has been 
 will forever remind us of our past-will forever re- 
 mind us of what we owe to Christ. We must bear 
 ail this in mind. We must not think we shall for- 
 ev3. remain hid. The night that makes our soul a 
 secret, a mysteiy to others, will not last forever 
 Our virtues and our vices, our good deeds and our 
 bad, will be laid open in the bright light of the 
 etemaJ day. Shall it be said of us at that time that 
 we have obeyed God's commands and have beUeved 
 in His Son, or shall only our sins appear with no- 
 thing to balance, nothing to offset them ? It is for 
 us to say now: « for thei^ is nothing covered, that 
 shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be 
 known." 
 
p 
 
 SEBMONm. 
 UNBELIEF. 
 
 ^^tl ^fj""" """•«'« at the unbelief which 
 
 . ''^""" ■""""I at the unbelief which greet It 
 n o..r day. That there is i„ the world at ^tpre 
 
 can deny We can only wonder at it. Wecanonlv 
 -onder that, at this time when we have sT ^'h 
 ^™.ng, so much ecclesiastical machine.^! when 
 Ch„st.a„.ty has been vindicated so repeal^l! ^ 
 n..ghty champions, that it seems no lonVer pZiuI 
 to doubt there still should be such an a^ 
 mm of medelity in our midst. And what "Tv!n 
 
 spmt of scepticism has taken hold of the voun^r 
 T "f "" '-" l*e --e fast spiking e^d'emif 
 The plague spot is everywhere. The flower ofTr 
 youth ,s tainted with the foul leprosy. 
 And yet it is not always an active infidelity. On 
 
 ZZZ!; " 'T™"^ " "'**"' -Pticism^„a^ 
 ftsting iteelf mainly i„ a profound indifference to 
 « .g«.us truth. I do not think it is what mTh te 
 
 ^!!ir .7."-'- -P"--. for that ifji» 
 t..""«..s .nd i a„ not think it can be safely 'said 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 17 
 
 that the majority of our youth who are carried away 
 by the specious arguments of infidels, give much 
 thought to the subject. Nor do I think we can 
 call It a grossly blasphemous scepticism. There may 
 be some who would talk of religion in the spirit of a 
 Tom Fame or a Voltaire, but the society of the day 
 would rule them out at once. Our young men do not 
 perhaps enter into the lists-they simply do not be-' 
 heve. rhey would ignore religion. They entertain 
 ideas of It which would startle them were they ex- 
 pressed m bold, plain words. 
 
 This, however, is not true of all. While we find 
 this latent scepticism in the mass, we see it devel- 
 opmg through its various stages to active infidelity 
 m others. A young man. proud like a newly fledged 
 bird of his power of flight, delights to soar away 
 upon the untried wings of his reason into heights 
 that more experienced thinkers know are unsafe and 
 dangerous. He sets a^ide all authority. First the 
 Church goes, then the Bible goes, then natural re- 
 ligion goes, and up in the blue ether there he imagines 
 there are no more rocks to bar his progress, nothing 
 in his way. nothing above him, nothing beneath 
 him. And when he finds the air growing thinner and 
 thmner so that at last it is not able to bear him up 
 and his wings getting weaker and weaker so that he 
 18 continually fluttering and falling with broken 
 ^ght, he begins to lose confidence in everything. 
 He has been dabbling about where he was never in- • 
 
P', I 
 
 il'f 
 
 ■ i! 
 
 SIMPLE SEBMOSS ON SIMPLE SUBJEOTO. • 
 
 tended to dabble, and he has loat faith in all. And 
 when he comes down to earth again, it is only to 
 carjy on a bitter warfare against that very authority 
 which he rejected and which he now thinks is re- 
 
 wreck. We have a great many of them about ! 
 Ihey are the most pitiable cases of all. They are 
 the sickly young men that have the finger of death 
 upon them. They surround us on eveiy hand 
 
 Now when a man seta aside all authority in the 
 matter of re]igion,he has not far to go before he denies 
 the existence of a God altogether. The probability 
 1^ that the very confusion of thought involved at 
 this stage dnves him hastily to a conclusion that at 
 the first he had no idea of adopting. A want of cool 
 considerate thought makes him, like the fool, say in 
 his heart, ■• There is no God." We have those who 
 deny the truth of Christianity only, and those who 
 deny aU religion absolutely. One class arises from 
 a too exalted idea of human reason ; the other arises 
 iron, not exercising reason enough, from a lack of 
 thmkmg-the fool. David was right when he called 
 lum the fool. None but a fool could go so far as to 
 say there is no God. And thus we have among our 
 young men infidelity represented in the indifferent- 
 stage in the lofty thinking stage, in the rejection of 
 Chnstiamty stage, till finally it reaches the stage of 
 simple foolishness. 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 39 
 
 But at the bottom of it all is the one thing. It is 
 but a germ at first, but it grows-arid as we see it 
 growing, as we see it making wrecks of the minds 
 and bodies of our young men, as we see it leading 
 them into sin (for infidelity and immorality are 
 twm-brothers after all), pain fills our hearts. We are 
 touched at the misery involved in the sad sight be- 
 fore us. A mingled feeling of pain and wonder 
 seizes us. We would fain do something to arrest 
 the further growth of this giant evil. 
 
 And in order to do this, I would touch briefly 
 upon some of the causes that lead to this scepticism 
 and suggest what remedies might be applied to re- 
 move them. 
 
 And first of all, we have the old cry against 
 Dogma. Christianity, our opponents say, is too 
 dogmatical. But I do not believe this has anything 
 to do with the question. The Church is not one 
 whit more dogmatical than is the so-called Science 
 of the day. Rationalists are quite as positive about 
 their convictions as Theologians. For instance, Mr. 
 Huxley says that « of the causes that led to the 
 origination of living matter, we know absolutely 
 nothing;" the Bible declares that God made every- 
 thing. Both utterances are dogmatical. So I do 
 not think it is mere dogma that does the mischief. 
 But 1 do think it is done when domna i« «^vo«»od 
 that cannot fairly be supported. There are rash 
 statements of doctrine made. People, for want of 
 

 ii .'.ill 
 
 i 
 
 40 SIMPLE SEHMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 culture and proper theological training, gi\ :> false 
 views of the truth and say things that they are not 
 able to prove or that ought to be expressed in a very 
 different manner. There is a surprising amount of 
 bad theology rife. Let me give an iUustration. We 
 have the dogma advanced by some called Baptismal 
 Regeneration. This doctrine claims that a little child, 
 that can neither understand good nor evil, is changed 
 by Baptism into a child of God. It is bom again. 
 Men of the world know such a dogma is false. It 
 is not supr-orted by facts. We have not a tittle of 
 evidence to prove that such a change has taken 
 place ; most frequently we have every evidence to 
 show it has not. Now dogmas advanced such as 
 this— dogmas which are purely fictitious and have 
 not an atom of proof to sustain them— lead directly 
 to scepticism. You strenuously uphold an error of 
 this kind and allow a man to doubt it, and ere long 
 he wiU doubt everything else you say. And so, in 
 my humble judgment, I hold that system of false 
 dogmas known as Ritualism, responsible for a great 
 deal of the infidelity of the day. That system pre- 
 sents to men that which their reason, if they think 
 at all, tells them to be untrue. It combines fiction 
 with fact, it mingles error with truth, and as the 
 fiction and the error are discarded, the mind is pre- 
 pared to question and doubt the fact and the truth. 
 As a proof of this, I need only refer to what we see 
 in lands where its sister creed has full sway. In 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 41 
 
 France, for instance, Infidelity and Romanism go 
 hand in hand. 
 
 Moreover, when a dogma is attacked it must be 
 weU defended. It is no use to lay down a doctrine 
 that we are not prepared to maintain, and that with 
 such arguments as will commend themselves to rea- 
 sonable people. We must either be able to base it 
 upon sufficient authority, or discuss it with clearness 
 and ability. If our arguments are weak and flimsy 
 we induce scepticism. If a man perceives that we 
 are weak on one point, he will get an idea that we are 
 weak on some other point, and if he sees that some 
 of our dogmas are without foundation, he will be 
 very likely to question whether all our dogmas are 
 not as equally without foundation. We, therefore 
 require care in stating the principles of Christian 
 truth and power to defend them when assailed. 
 
 And so if we would remove this cause of infideUty, 
 we must, as Christians, become better acquainted 
 with the fundamentals of our faith. We must be 
 well up in our Bibles. We must know something 
 about articles and creeds. We must be able to give a 
 reason for the faith that is in us. And those amongst 
 us who have the time and ability, should verse them- 
 selves in the mighty arguments of such giants of 
 Christianity as Butler, Paley, Pearson and others, 
 whose writings have never been answered and would 
 
 _,. ..... v.ii«,noTTcia,wic. xiiuso oia weapons nave 
 
 been tried and are worthy of being tried again. We 
 
 
im; 
 
 ¥ 
 
 \>i''^l 
 
 III: 
 
 42 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 have nothing like them now. The old is better than 
 the new. And we can use them not merely upon 
 the authority of those men of might, but upon their 
 own intrinsic merit. And such as have neither time 
 nor ability to study questions of this sort must be 
 content to yield themselves to the inevitable and be 
 submissive to the authority of men of superior power. 
 We cannot all be Sir Isaac Newtons, or Lord Ba- 
 cons, or Bishop Butlers. We must necessarily ac- 
 quiesce in the conclusions arrived at by the leaders 
 of thought. We must listen to authority. And to 
 us, as Protestant Episcopalians, what better authority 
 can we n.e J than the simple, broad doctrinal declar- 
 ations of our Scriptural Church, as embodied in the 
 Thirty-nine Articles ? Her decisions are the ac- 
 cumulated opinions of the wise men of all a^es. 
 And though I do not suppose for one moment that 
 hor decrees will have any weight with unbeliever 
 yet we can entrench ourselves behind her authority 
 and present to our opponents so bold a front that 
 they cannot but feel shaken in their determination. 
 Standing upon the simple utterances of our Church 
 we can da,re them to remove them before we yield 
 lor an instant our own cherished principles. 
 
 But we have a cause leading to scepticism still 
 raore powerful than our groundless assertions or 
 weak arguments. These only touch cej^Uin classes 
 of people. The one I am about to mention has an 
 immense miiuence over all. It is the false pro- 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 43 
 
 FESSiONS OF Christians. There are large num- 
 bers of men and v^'omen claiming the name of 
 Chnstian, who are Christians only in name. They are 
 not Christians in fact They do not live out what 
 they say they believe. They are very like a man 
 who m times of war declares himself to be a loyal 
 citizen of one country and yet goes and fights against 
 It with Its enemies. These people do our cause an im- 
 mense amount of damage. It is harmful to see aChris- 
 tian do acts which his profession condemns as evil 
 Nothmg^is more common than for young men of the 
 world, when called upon to lead a holy life, to refer 
 to the numberless instances of individuals who have 
 disgraced their calling. A bishop is deposed for im- 
 morality, a clergyman is degraded for fraudulent 
 transactions, a leading member of the Church, a 
 Sunday School teacher, is convicted of crime— and 
 they are pointed at as specimens of Christian pro- 
 fession. It is no use to say these are the exceptions 
 not the rule. People of the world will not look at 
 anything but the exceptions. When some strange 
 meteor flashes across the sky men look at it and 
 talk about it, and forget for the time, the stars shin- 
 ing so regularly and quietly around it. And it is 
 not only these great irregularities that are pointed 
 to, but the general inconsistencies of Christians. 
 There is, we must all admit, a great spirit of world- 
 iiness in the Church at this time. The people of God 
 live so close in their habits to the people of the 
 
M 
 
 44 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS 
 
 world that it is hard to distinguish them. One is 
 mdined to ask what is the difference between them ? 
 When we profess to believe in a God rendering justice 
 to every man, in a judgment to come, in a state of 
 rewards and punishments, and live as though we re- 
 garded these things a.s of no consequence, we cannot 
 but lead a man to suppose that we do not actuaUy 
 beheve in them. And so he will justify himself in 
 disbelieving them. He will cast them on one side 
 And this we find is really the caae. Hundreds of 
 young men are ruined through the evil esample of 
 insincerity set them by others. 
 
 And depend upon it, if we would strike an effective 
 blow at the evil which surrounds us, it must be by 
 a better and manUer Christianity. There must be a 
 reaUty about what we profess. It is no use to say 
 one thing and do another. It is no use to tell a man 
 we are walking in the path of Ufe when we are sitting 
 in the seat of sin. Let us be up and doing. Let us 
 show the world that the profession we make with 
 our lips is indeed the profession of our heart. Let . 
 us show every one that we ore coolly and calmly 
 but none the less truly dead in earnest. In all our 
 Mo let Christianity be first. And then when our 
 unbelieving friends see that by our actions we ex- 
 press our faith, they may be inclined to think that 
 there is something in that faith. We shall certainly 
 not drive them awRv anA w<i »«o,, „*4. — i. zi. _- , 
 
TTNBEilEF. 
 
 45 
 
 But besides this insincerity we have another cause 
 closely analogous to it, and that is a lack op zeal 
 ON THE part of CHRISTIANS. We have zeal en- 
 ough of a certain sort. We have zeal enough on the 
 part of many to set aside every institution be it 
 ever so divine. We have zeal enough on the part 
 of some truly good people to ignore the Church and 
 substitute some human organization in its place. 
 But of the zeal that shall manifest itself in an honest 
 simple desire to save men's souls, of the zeal that 
 shall forget self and go out in the name of the Mas- 
 ter to the lost and ruined and bring them into God's 
 fold, the Church, we have not enough. I know not 
 how it is. It cannot surely be from a fear of inter- 
 fering with the work and duty of the ministry. No 
 simple evangelization can interfere with the office of 
 that sacred order. No evangelist takes upon him- 
 self the authority which is given exclusively to 
 those appointed overseers in the House of God. 
 They do not usurp the right of government, or ad- 
 ministration of sacraments, or authoritatively pro- 
 nounce decrees of doctrine. When they feel called 
 upon to do this much thoy enter the ministry itself 
 But there is immense work open for laymen to en- 
 gage in outside of all this. They have the right and 
 it is their duty to try to save men's souls whenever 
 they are able. The work of simply declaring the 
 glad tidings of the Gospel is not confined to the 
 ministry. I remember when I was in Port Hope a 
 
 i ' 
 
46 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 tnun on the MidUnd Railway became utterly un-' 
 manageable. It tore along the road at a fea.-fal 
 rate. Trees, bridges and stations were passed with 
 a speed growing greater all the time. At last it 
 dashed mto the town and in all its fury with its 
 hvmg freight on board rushed on towards the lake 
 
 r.T"*^' *°^ **"* «''°'« ^'^^ ''ould have 
 reached the wharf, and in an inatant a catastrophe 
 awful to think of would have taken place. There 
 IS, however, at a little distance from the wharf a 
 branch line with an up grade connecting the Mid- 
 land Road with the Grand Trunk. If the switch 
 were turned the train might be saved. It so hap- 
 pened a young man pacing by at the time seeing 
 the train towering along thought of this, and in an 
 instant rushed to the switch, and in another instant 
 the tram was diveri^d from its cou«e of death, and 
 ^vmg an upgrade to contend with soon became 
 manageable. It was not the office of that young 
 man to attend to that switch. He was not set apart 
 tor It. There was no one else near that was set apart 
 tor It but right or wrong he did it, and many lives 
 were thereby saved. Depend upon it there are souls 
 around us that are rushing on to death, as was that 
 tiain, only to a death more fearful. Shall they be 
 allowed to go on because the proper official is not on 
 hand to turn the switch ? Shall we do nothing be- 
 cause we have no. been speciaJly allotted to that 
 tas^ , ^way with such a mischievous, murderous 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 A** 
 
 policy ! Let us recognize it t d be the duty of every 
 man to save another man's soul as he would his life 
 could he get the chance. Jf we were to do this it 
 would help us marvellously in our strife with infi- 
 delity. When men see us standing by the switch 
 and doing nothing to save the train rushing on to 
 destruction, they will never believe in our profes- 
 sions of love for humanity. And when they see a 
 whole host of professing Christians doing nothing 
 whatever to save their friends and their neighbours 
 from the death of deaths, they will say we care 
 nothing for them ; that our reHgion is an empty 
 show; that it is verily untrue. Thus by a lack of 
 zeal we induce scepticism. We become (urselves 
 responsible for a great deal of the infidelity of the 
 day. 
 
 I mention these three causes because I think they 
 can be practically dealt with. I have said enough in 
 a simple way to show what we can all of us do in our 
 sphere to stem the tide. Others have gone into the 
 subject more elaborately. But let these few sugges- 
 tions be carried out-and they are but common-place 
 truths-and something will actually have been done 
 to save our brethren from their sad condition Be 
 yourself, dear reader, simple ar i plain in what you 
 say about religion ; let it be on authority. Be sin- 
 cere ; live your religion out. Be zealous-zealous to 
 save souls. And thus you may help most efficiently 
 m this great work. And do not think there is 
 
48 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 nothing that can be done. All can do something 
 Do you not believe it ? The Lord Jesus would mar- 
 vel at such unbelief. Depend upon it a faith with- 
 out works is dead-it is practically unbelief. Can 
 we expect others to believe if we do not beUeve our- 
 selves ? The point of our text is turned from what 
 we see abroad to our own hearts. We may rather 
 marvel at the unbelief we see there. After all our 
 privileges we should yet remain in practical infidel- 
 ity ! Oh let us change this sort of thing ! Let us 
 rouse ourselves in our might ! Christian reader, 
 think of what you can do for others by your example 
 and remember thi^t God expects us all to do our 
 duty. 
 
 We live in an age peculiar in its mode of thought. 
 It IS an age of indifference and faithlessness. There 
 18 no gi-eat originality of thought but an intense 
 criticism. I do not fear this. I believe Christian- 
 ity after the conflict of nineteen centuries can hold 
 Its own through the battle of the coming genera- 
 tions. But I fear the effects of all this on the men 
 of our own day. A writer the other day told us in 
 painfully vivid words: " It is said that in tropical 
 forests one can almost hear the vegetation growing. 
 One may almost say that with us one can hear faith 
 decaying." Fancy that ! Standing in the forest 
 of human life we may even hear the sad decay of 
 
 faith, thp TirifllQW'rx^ 1^« XI- - T • -1 I ., 
 
 , — .!..^iit^ icttvuK, tiit! cicicKing Dark, tne 
 
 falling timbers -the terrible approach of death. 
 
UNBELIEF. 
 
 49 
 
 Men are dying all around us because they have no 
 faith— they cannot believe in the reality of religion. 
 They are all the time seeking for a sign. They cry 
 out for a proof. They want some evidence. Oh, let 
 us by our lives, our words, our actions, give them 
 the sign, the proof, the evidence. Let us show them 
 that there is a reality in our religion. That it has 
 a power in it to keep us from sin, to comfort us in 
 soiTow, to make us strive to save our brethren. Let 
 us step into the midst of the decaying forest and 
 proclaim a living lif:^. If they will not believe in 
 that life let them at least see that we live. We 
 shall then be free from their blood. We may then 
 justly marvel at their unbelief. We may leave them 
 in the hands of a God who, while just in all He does, 
 is yet full of compassion and mercy. 
 
 And should there be any one who may read this 
 whose mind has been disturbed by infidel arguments 
 I can only ask him in all fairness to hear the other 
 side. What Christianity is can be fully known only 
 by trial. It says to all : " Come and see ; try me." 
 Was such a trial ever made in vain ? No man 
 has a right to reject Christianity until he has 
 tried it, or at least until he can point to others who 
 have tried it and failed to be convinced, I ask you 
 honestly and seriously to give it a trial, and I am 
 sure the result will be satisfaction to your own soul, 
 a sweet calm of peace after the great storm of doubt. 
 
 May God give us all of the abundance of His 
 
so 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTR 
 
 grace, that w« may live as become, the Gospel ■ that 
 we may exalt our Saviour Christ whereat; at 
 ■n our „„rds and i„ our life; and thlt a7th7t w"' 
 do may be m accordance with His will and r... 
 upon the authority of His word, so t: Zt^, 
 
 wara that God has Dromisprl f« ♦;, i 
 
 ful unto death I ""*"' *'''" ■"•« ''•'"'- 
 
SERMON IV. 
 THE MARVELLOUS CHANGE. 
 
 '"TiTr"!' L'"""^" '"• "'*•' °P«" "^ ''•holding « in a g,.., ,he 
 glory of the Lord, are changed into the «me image from glory to gJoTy - 
 
 JHE Apostle is speaking only of Believei-s. 
 None, but those whose eyes have been opened 
 may behold the glory of the Lord. Christ has 
 no attraction for the worldly and the ungodly. By 
 them " He is despised and rejected." But His own 
 people love to look upon Him-to them He is the 
 chiefest among ten thousand and the altogether 
 lovely. They have but the one wish to get nearer 
 and still nearer to Him, to be folded in His arms, to 
 lean like the beloved disciple upon the bosor . Hk 
 love. The world without Him is all da.kness, for 
 He IS their Sun and their Light ; theii- path without 
 Him IS the path of death, for He alone is their Life ; 
 their future without Him is a blank, for He is their 
 only Hope. He is therefore their AU-and-in-all. 
 their Alpha and Omega, their farst and their last! 
 They all with open face behold as in a glass the 
 glory of their Lord. 
 
 The glass here spoken of is the blessed Gospel. 
 There as in a mirror our Master is reflected all 
 
 radiap^- in wjr. _i itt _ , « 
 
 "" ~^ 6i"!y- we leou of iiim in the 
 
 beauty of His character, His work and His love; 
 
 ^<(" m 
 
 IJ 
 
I 
 
 «2 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 and the more we read of Him the more we delight 
 to hnger upon those holy pages. Day after day we 
 see something new there, some glory never before 
 noticed, and things that once were dark are now 
 light, for we behold them with open face. The veil 
 of unbeHef is removed and with a clear faith we 
 see the reflection of our Lord in that book of books 
 And what is the result of this peering into the 
 Crospel glass ? what the eflfect ? Our text tells us : 
 " We are changed into the same image from glory to 
 glory." We are made like Him. We partake of 
 His spirit. His life, His purity, His obedience are 
 implanted in our hearts. The gloiy which is dis- 
 played in that mirror is reflected back on us till we 
 are bathed as it were in the refulgent light. 
 
 In this sermon I shall endeavour with God's 
 blessing to draw the attention of my readera espe- 
 cially to this great change which is wrought in us 
 by the steadfast gazing upon the Lord— a change, 
 the Apostle tells us, which comes over all who look 
 upon His glory. 
 
 And the first thing we may notice of it is, that 
 
 it is a GRADUAL CHANGE. 
 
 It is " from glory to glory." The gloiy which we 
 receive to-day develops into a greater glory to-mor- 
 row. It is not a sudden transformation. It is Uttle 
 by little, step by step, day by day. This is a very 
 important point to remember. We have its parallel 
 in every day life. Neither our minds nor our bodies 
 
 
THE MARVELLOUS CHANGE. 53 
 
 leap at one bound from infancy to maturity. They 
 grow gradually, slowly develop. A boy takes up 
 the work of some great master of thought. He 
 does not at once grasp the fuhiess of the ideas con- 
 tained therein. It is only after long continued and 
 persistent reading and thought the work becomes 
 • his own; and then he will find that his mind has 
 been affected and moulded by the mind of his 
 author, and this so gradually as at the time 
 to be unnoticed. So it is in the young Christian 
 studying the Gospel. He does not at first take it 
 in in all its fulness. He does not behold all its 
 beauties and glories at one glance. The undercur- 
 rent of living water wiU long lie hid beneath the sur- 
 face-soil of difficulties ; the nuggets of fine gold will 
 long be out of sight amid the rocks of prejudice ; 
 but the more he reads the more he will behold 
 Christ in those living waters, the more he will 
 learn of heavenly things, the more his mind will be 
 moulded into the image of the Master'.? mind. It is 
 a gradual growth in grace. It is a gradual increase 
 in glory. 
 
 Early in the morning we stand on a spur of a 
 high mountain. At our feet is a broad, deep vaUey. 
 Around us are other mountains raising aloft their 
 pinnacled heights. All is silent darkness. Presently 
 the gray clouds of the east are lighted up with the 
 rays of the coming sun. Slowly they stretch across 
 the sky till at last the highest points of the moun- 
 
 w 
 
 ia 
 
54 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 tarns are touched with the golden light. Little by 
 little the gloom in the valley is reached, gradually 
 the miste roll away, each minute brings the line of 
 glory lower and lower down the mountain side till 
 at la^t every tree, brook, village and glen is flooded 
 with the rich, bright sunshine. That which an hour 
 or two before wa^ hid in darkness is gradually 
 changed till now we see it all in a glow of beauty 
 Very much so is it with us. When within us the 
 Sun of Righteousness first arises the prominent 
 points of our character are touched, but little by 
 little the bright rays penetrate into the deep depths 
 of our heart and drive away from them the cold, 
 dark night. So when the germ of eternal life is 
 imparted to our soul by the power of the Holy 
 Ghost we commence to grow. At first we are verily 
 babes, but day by day we become stronger and 
 stronger-sin, which at first held us bound as it 
 were, is resisted and conquered, powers which at one 
 time were used in Satan's service, are consecrated 
 to the worship and service of God, and we are gra- 
 dua% transformed into the image of the glory of 
 he Lord. This foUows as an inevitable rtsult of 
 true conversion. The glory which at first crowns 
 the mountain tops ere long floods every thought 
 word and deed of the sincere believer. ' 
 
 And it is indeed a delightful thing to see this 
 gmdual change in Christian neonlp T,i,»«„ :^ .i-_ 
 Lord they await the sanctification of His Spirit. 
 
THE MARVELLOUS CHANGE. 55 
 
 With open face-with earnest and growing faith- 
 they peer into the deep things of the Gospel. We 
 almost see the glory reflected back on them We see 
 devotion in the worship of God. obedience to His 
 commands, resignation to His will, fai^h, love, and 
 peace-growing greater and stronger all the time 
 We see the glory of the Lord in their life, their 
 character, their work. It rests upon them like 
 some crown of light, eaeh gem growing brighter 
 and brighter as it is touched with the Divine splen- 
 dour. Then we know 
 
 " Old friends, old scenes will Ic 
 As more of heaven in each 
 
 be, 
 
 We shall behold them changing from gloiy to glory. 
 Beautiful in the bud, more beautiful in the flower 
 and still more beautiful in the fruit. Looking upon 
 Chnst, they become more Christ-like ; His spirit 
 shines in them ; His glory is reflected upon them. 
 
 Such a change steals over all that come within 
 Its influence. It melts the cold icy heart, it devel- 
 opes the tender germ of life, it leads us on step 
 by step to God. Oh that this change might be 
 wrought in every reader of these sermons. Are we 
 conscious that we have grown since we have be- 
 hoved ? Is our faith stronger, our obedience more 
 ready, our daily walk more holy ? Are the rays 
 
 of glory which are tin^inff thfi lnff,r i.o;„k*„ 
 
 mg down into the valley of our heart, so that 
 
 if 
 
 i 
 
 iiiij 
 
66 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 not only the great things but the little things of 
 our character are being touched with the Spirit of 
 the Master ? We may not noi , the daily change, 
 but we can discern the change from year to year! 
 Is this gradual change taking place in us ? 
 
 But m the second place the change spoken of in 
 our text is a partial change. 
 
 It is indeed very great— from glory to glory, but 
 the fulness of glory cannot be ours in this life. 
 Absolute perfection is reserved for the other world. 
 " Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth 
 not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know 
 that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him ; 
 for we shall see Him as He is." Now we see but 
 the reflection of Him in a glass. It is but an 
 image ; not the reality. " Now we see through a 
 glass darkly ; but then— in the hereafter— face to 
 face : now I know in part ; but then shall I know 
 even as I am known." Every Christian must be 
 indeed paint ully conscious of this partial transfor- 
 mation. Our lives are so far from what we know 
 they ought to be. After all our endeavours to 
 follov/ in the footsteps of the Master we are yet so 
 unlike Him. We have not that implicit obedience 
 to the will of the Father, that earnest, child-like 
 faith, that simple steady purpose, which formed the 
 glory of His life while here on earth. We behold 
 in the Gospel His self-denying love and His un- 
 wearying devotion ; we are touched with His 
 
THE MARVELLOUS CHANGE. 67 
 
 unchanging meekness, and His quiet, impressive 
 dignity; we know that the perfection of holiness 
 mied His very soul, and went out into all His words 
 and works-and though the contemplation of all 
 this cannot fail to have its effect upon us, yet we 
 must feel after all how very far frcm Him we are- 
 even the very best of us. We have an illustration 
 of this in the great and good St. Paul. He was one 
 that hved in the very odour of sanctity, and yet he 
 was not perfect. When about to set mit on one of 
 his missionary tours, he disputed with Barnabas 
 concerning "John, whose surname was Mark." 
 "And the contention was so shkrp between them 
 that they departed asunder one from the other." 
 We never have an instance of such anger in the 
 Lord Jesus. It is interesting to notice how in after 
 years St. Paul changed his mind over that very 
 Mark. Writing to the Colossians he bids them « if 
 he come unto you, receive him ;" and writing to 
 Timothy he says : "Take Mark and bring him with 
 thee; for he is profitable to me for the 'ministry " 
 T cannot but think that Paul must have sorrowed 
 many times over his quarrel concerning a young 
 man that proved after all to be a very useful minis- 
 ter. But Chiist never does an action, or drops a 
 word that implies any, the slightest trace, of a per- 
 sonal remorse. He is absolute n*,rf.«f{«« jx:^ 
 severe and stainless beauty casts the shadow of 
 failure upon aU that is not Himself." The light 
 
 *;!i 
 
 III 
 
 I 
 
58 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 we receive from the reflection of His image serves 
 to show us how full of sin we are, and how par- 
 tially changed into the image of the Master. 
 
 But, in that other world, the perfection which 
 we see in Jesus will be in us. We shall be like 
 Him. There will be no blemishes, no dark spots ; 
 all will be purity and ^lory. This quick temper, 
 burning up so many resolutions, will be quenched 
 for ever then. This murmuring spirit, making life 
 so unhappy, ^hese doubts and fears, retarding us 
 in our heavenward progress, these besetting sins 
 holding us in bondage, will all be gone then — ^gone 
 for ever. What it -v^l be, when we are absolutely 
 changed, we cannot conceive. " Eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart 
 of man the things which God hath prepared for 
 them that love Him ;" for "the light of the moon 
 shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the 
 sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, 
 in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of 
 his people and healeth the stroke of their wound." 
 We shall stand before " the great white throne " 
 and the countenance of Him who sits thereon shall 
 be "as the sun shining in his strength," and we 
 shall be changed into the like image and glory. 
 Moses talked with God in the mount ; but it was 
 in the thick cloud and terrible darkness ; yet, when 
 
 him ; for his face shone with imparted glory. What 
 
THB MAEVSLLotJS CHANGE, 
 ^en must be the glory of thoee who shaU 
 
 59 
 
 stand 
 
 TTiQ ««« * *^ ^"" **"*" stand in 
 
 ? Sn,r, T --» - Him face to face ? 
 Yet aU th« glory shaU be ou« when we behold our 
 men lord sitting at the right hand of the Majesty 
 on %h^ Here below we pass on fW>m glo^ to 
 g^ry. We are continuaUy approaching perfection. 
 
 ^hen 't first appea™, is a plain white ; but exposur^ 
 to the sun gradually tints it with pink, anVday 
 after day. a,e pink darkens tai it ico^es aril 
 cnmsonand then itdies. So we in reading tho Gospel 
 are gradually tn>g,«iwithglo:y ; but it is an imper- 
 fect, a partiaJ glory. When we have reached the 
 fullest glory, we canbear in this lifo, we die and are 
 tnmspl»nted to another world. It is a great thing 
 to be under the influence of this change. Partiid 
 though >t IS, it is very much to be desired. It is a 
 preparation for the fuller change beyond the grave. 
 We should, therefore, turn our eyes upon the Lord 
 »d fa our ga« there ; for ■' we all, with open face 
 beholdmg. as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are 
 chMiged into the same image from glory to gtory » 
 But, in the third place, the change the aposUe is 
 speaking of is a divtne C!Hanoe. 
 
 It is a change wrought entirely by God • the 
 very glory we receive Is flis. On a briirht. frn,t„ 
 day, when the sun shines from a clear "canadiaii 
 sky upon a pkin of white frozen snow, each rays- 
 
 
i 
 
 Ik 
 
 60 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 tal, exposed to the rays, will sparkle with glory. 
 Yet we know, that were it not for the sun, all that 
 dazzHng splendour would be gloom and darkness 
 So man, sanctified by the Spirit, is glorious indeed 
 to behold ; but it is not his glory only the reflection 
 of God's. Take the glory of the Lord away and 
 our hearts and lives are cold and dead. We have 
 no glory of our own. We may light a bonfire, nay, 
 set a whole forest on fire ; but what is that com- 
 pared to the sun ? So we may lead a moral life ; 
 but what is the glory of such a life when placed 
 side by side with the glory of Christ's life, or with 
 the reflected glory, which belongs to His people ? 
 When we see a man shewing; by his life and con- 
 versation, that he is, indeed, a child of God, we 
 know that the change wrought in that man is a 
 Divine change ; we know that he is reflecting the 
 Master in his ways and work ; we know that the 
 glory we see in him belongs to the Lord. And the 
 effect of this is, we know that it will never die. 
 What a wonderful thought ! 
 
 " We are changed from glory to glory," by the 
 Spirit of the Lord. All that God does for the souls 
 of His people is eternal. God's ^iory cannot end. 
 It will shine for ever and for ever. We shall be kept 
 within its influence. Therefore the glory we shall 
 have will never fade. It cannot because it is Di- 
 vine. The clouds of despondency, that at one time 
 may seem to shroud us in darkness, will pass away ; 
 
t 
 
 THE MABTELIOUS CHANGE. Ql 
 
 the Storms of temptation, that threaten to destroy 
 us for ever, wUl come to an end ; the night of des- 
 
 "^vte"*" "' "■"" "' - •-- - 
 There a^some men whom the world delights t» 
 honour. They are men whom it i« an honour to 
 know and a still greater honour to serve. The honour 
 which ,s given to them, goes out to all around them! 
 The gloiy, which a Nelson gained at Trafalgar, or a 
 WeUington at Waterloo, is reflected upon L ioble 
 men who fought under them in thc«e^t balS 
 Th« glory centred in the genemi ; but it shines upon 
 
 ^^ *.U, they all win renown by his bravery, they 
 
 *h;= ij . ^ " greater honour than 
 
 t^ world can give, to be pe™itted to fight under 
 H. standard The glory which shall be L when 
 all as enemies shall be put under His feet, when 
 death Itself shaU be destroyed, shall go o^t a^d 
 hmenpon an those who bear His name, who have 
 fought with Him against sin, aad who own Him as 
 their Lord and Master. But it will be His glory 
 then .„ the day of victory ; it will be His might Hie 
 wisdom. His life that will be triumphant on the 
 field of battle. And, so now in this life, when we 
 peer into the gospel-glass, it is f.h« »I->™ „t .1,. . 
 Lord we see there. Every page is brilliant with His 
 m^e. Every letter is r^ant with Hi^ beauty 
 
62 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 And it is His gloiy, His image, His beauty which is 
 rettected back to us, and into which we are chang- 
 ed. Take Christ out of the Bible and you have no- 
 thing left, that can make any impression on us. 
 Take His image out of the glass, and we have a 
 sky without a sun, a world without a day, a uni- 
 verse without its light. 
 
 And as the glory is Divine, it foUows as a con- 
 sequence, that the change we undeigo is also Di- 
 vine. If we place a plant in a dark room it will 
 lose colour and vigour and form ; but bring it out into 
 the sunshine and ere long a marvellous change wiU 
 take place. So plac^ a man where he cannot see the 
 glory of the Lord— that is to say, take him away 
 from his Bible and the opportunity of hearing 
 the Word, and he will grow weakly, sickly and 
 death-like. But bring him out where he can look 
 with open face into the glass, and the glory which 
 he sees there will work a change in him— a change 
 that will make him strong and healthy and full of 
 life. It is a divine change — ^a change wrought even 
 by the Spirit of the Lord ! 
 
 As our thoughts dwell upon this wonderful 
 change, surely some solemn and important ques- 
 tions must present themselves to us. And first 
 of all we may ask ourselves ; are we looking into 
 the glass, are we beholding the glory of the Lord 
 aseontaiiied in the pages of His gospel? We 
 cannot 
 
 tpect to be mad§ like Him if w$ 
 
 ftr^ not 
 
THE MARVELLOUS CHANGE. 
 
 68 
 
 We cannot expect to learn of Christ if we never read 
 the story of His life and revelation. If we would 
 grow in gi-ace, if we would lead holy lives, if we 
 would become Christ-like — we must read and study 
 our Bible, we must make its sublime truths our own, 
 we must live in the sunshine of our Master's glory. 
 We see people who are sincerely desirous of living 
 the new life ; they are trusting to God's mercy, they 
 are convinced of sin, they long to get nearer to God, 
 but they do not ; they are still far away,^and the' 
 secret of it is in the fact that they do not prayer- 
 fully and faithfully look upon Christ in the gospel- 
 glass. There is not enough Bible reading in our day, 
 and until there is we cannot expect to find an abun- 
 dance of noble, manly, God-Iike Christians. Let us 
 see to it that we do not neglect this solemn and all- 
 important duty. 
 
 Perhaps, however, we do regularly read our Bibles 
 and yet are conscious of no change taking place in us 
 and then we ask ourselves are we reading it aright ? 
 There is a way of reading the Bible that does not 
 advance our spiritual Hfe. We may read it for sim- 
 pie curiosity or idle amusement. We may read it 
 with the veil still upon our hearts. The only remedy 
 in such a case is prayer— prayer that God may re- 
 move the veil— prayer that with open fm-e we may 
 
 behold the o-lorv of tbn T.nvA At,.i ♦u:„ : t. _ x 
 
 always want with the reading of the Word. If God 
 ppens our e;jres there will be no mistake about our 
 
 I Ril 
 
64 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 seeing the truth, and if we see it. it will have its 
 effect upon U8. I do not say we shall be conscious 
 of the change at the time—for it is a ^rac^^ ^i change 
 —a slow development of lif»>. Mor do I say it will 
 be a full, complete change— it is but partial, absolute 
 perfection is in the other world. But I do say it 
 will be Diviiu~we shall receive of the glory of 
 Christ— we shall be made like unto Him. There 
 can be no mistake about this. Prayer for sight and 
 using that sight will have a good result. Reading of 
 Christ, hearing of Christ, and thinking of Christ will 
 work in us a glorious cUnge—gradually, partially 
 now, perfecUy hereafter, Divi.iely for all time and 
 for all eternity. For " we aU with open face behold- 
 y as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed 
 into the same image from glory to glory." 
 
8EBM0H v. 
 
 APPEARING WITH CHRIST. 
 
 CoLOMUNi ,„. 4.-Wheu Chrtat. who ■• our lUe. .hall »pp^, th«, .hiOl ,. 
 »l8o ippear with Him Id grlory. 
 
 J^HE lessons contained in our text are mar v and 
 kJ- of deep importance. They are addree ^ec to 
 us for our comfort and edification. They si rw 
 us privileges and give us hopes that may cheer us 
 m our sorrows and encourage us in our difficulties. 
 The verse is, as it were, one of those brilliant gems in 
 the book of light that shine out more prominently 
 than the rest, and sparkle with a beauty and lustre 
 that the dulness of earth cannot tarnish. Could 
 anything be grander than this golden text: " When 
 Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye 
 also appear with Him in glory." Let us look at 
 some of the truths it suggests. 
 
 And one of these is the blessed fact, stated to us 
 again and agaiu, of the inseparable connection 
 BETWEEN Christ and His people. 
 
 When He shall appear we shall appear with Him. 
 He cannot enter into His kingdom but we. His 
 chosen ones, will enter in with Him. We are one'with 
 Him. The Scriptures continually set this truth be- 
 fore us. Our relationship to Christ is compared to 
 tliat of a bod^ of which He is the head and w^ th^ 
 
 I 
 
66 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 members. Belonging to the same individual organ- 
 ization, we must have the same ultimate destiny. 
 If the head, which is Christ, enters into glory, then 
 we, who are the members, will also enter into the 
 same glory. In another place Christ compares 
 Himself to a vine, of which we are the branches-nso 
 linked with Him that the one spirit pervades and 
 runs through the whole. Hence the apostle says, 
 " He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Again 
 we are spoken of as a family -the family of God- 
 in which Christ is our elder brother, only He is the 
 one that sticketh closer than a brother. These 
 strong figures are confirmed by many positive state- 
 ments. Our blessed Lord declared to His sorrowing 
 disciples : " If I go and prepare a place for you, I 
 will come again and receive you unto myself, that 
 where I am, there ye may be also." So He prays to 
 His Father concerning His people that " they all 
 may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in 
 Thee, that they also may be one in Us ;" and again 
 He prays : " Father, I will that they also, whom Thou 
 hast given Me, be with Me where I am." The 
 apostles never lose sight of this important doctrine. 
 ' There is now no condemnation to them which are 
 in Christ Jesus," because He is free from all con- 
 demnation, and we are in Him. We are buried 
 with Christ in baptism. We are raised with Christ 
 in His resurrection. We shall sit down with Christ 
 
APPEARING WITH CHRIST. 
 
 67 
 
 
 at the glorious marriage supper spoken of in the Re- 
 velation. 
 
 But all these figures and declarations are summed 
 up in the brief sentence of our text. There the 
 apostle states that Christ is our life. As in the 
 body and the vine, the one life flows through it all, 
 sustaining and invigorating it, so the one life — eter- 
 nal life — which is in Christ, is the life of our souls 
 — the first principle of all our actions. He ^.s the 
 bread of life — our heavenly food. Spiritually and 
 by faith we feed upon His flesh and blood. Thus 
 we are incorporated with Him. Thus we live and 
 move in Him and have our being. There can be no 
 separation of us from Him without injury to the 
 whole. 
 
 The comfort this blessed truth can give is ines- 
 timable. Many a poor trembling, tempest-tossed 
 soul is sustained in its weakness and distress by the 
 thought that it is Christ's. There are no terrors 
 that Satan may threaten us with, no sorrows that 
 an envious world may cause us, that can possibly 
 overwhelm us in utter despair so long as we have 
 such a foundation truth as this to rest upon. We 
 may be secure on this rock. We may bid defiance 
 to the wildest storm. We may stand undaunted at 
 the roar and fury of the mighty breaking billows. 
 Temptations may assault us ; tribulation may almost 
 rend our heart ; sin may cast us level with the dust, 
 but th^Y cannot prevail. W^ are Christ's, Whether 
 
 
 ! i': 
 
68 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 we live or whether we die we are the Lord's. In 
 the day of prosperity or in the day of adversity still 
 there is no change— the God of Israel changeth not, 
 and those who are His shall never perish. What a 
 glorious hope for the Christian ! Well might good 
 old Rowland Hill sing on his dying bed : 
 
 " And when I'm to die, ' Eeceive me ' ni cry, 
 For Jesus hath loved me, I cannot tell why ; 
 But this I do find— we two are so joined, 
 He'll not be in heaven and leave me behind." 
 
 No! "Even when we were dead in aim, God 
 quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised 
 U8 up together and niade us sit together in heavenly 
 places in Christ Jesus." This is the lesson taught 
 us in our text. We are inseparably connected with 
 Christ. And as we are thus intimately joined with 
 Him, so is He necessarily as intimately joined with 
 us. Our trials are His trials. Our sorrows are His 
 sorrows. Our shame is His shame. We cannot suf- 
 fer but He suflfers with us. He makes the tribula- 
 tions of His people His own. When He met Saul, 
 the persecutor, on the way to Damascus, it was not 
 " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou My people ?" but 
 " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me ? To touch 
 one of the least of His followers was to touch Him. 
 The pain inflicted on one member of the body thrills 
 through the whole and is felt by the life. And so 
 Wiien -,ve arc in distress we may rejoice, yea even 
 though we aye passing through the valley of tli§ 
 
APPEARING WITH CHRIST. 
 
 69 
 
 shadow of death, at the remembrance that He, our 
 Master, feels our sufferings, and bears with us our 
 cross. Death has no sting in such a case. Our life 
 is hid with Christ in God. He is our Kfe. 
 
 A second lesson we find taught in our text is the 
 important doctrine of Chkist's Second Advent. 
 
 " When Christ, who is our life, shall appear "—He 
 is tK) appear to the world again. " This same Jesus, 
 which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
 come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into 
 Heaven." All the tribes of the earth « shall see the 
 Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with 
 power and great glory," It is not to be a coming 
 that no one knows anything about, but a real, literal 
 manifestation — a coming in which " every eye shall 
 see Jim, and they also which pierced Him ; and all 
 kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." 
 This is a truth that we are oftentimes very slow of 
 heart to believe. We are too apt to look upon the 
 prophecies of Scriptures which are yet unfulfilled as 
 me cly figurative, and yet there is not a single pro- 
 phecy which has been fulfilled that was not fulfilled 
 Hterally and to the letter. When Isaiah foretold the 
 coming of the Messiah, he pointed to no figurative 
 coming and to no figurative Christ, but to an actual, 
 visible advent, to an actual, visible Saviour. And 
 depend upon it there are not two rules for interpret- 
 ing prophecies of this kind. The second advent is to 
 be just as real and just as visible as the first. The 
 
 
7P SIMPLE SEEMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Lord Jesus will appear to men in that great day as 
 actually and verily as he appeared to the men in 
 Jerusalem eighteen hundred years ago. If the Word 
 of God relating to this doctrine is not to be taken 
 literally and as it stands, then everything else af- 
 firmed in that blessed book loses its reality and be- 
 comes a myth. Salvation is a myth. Eternal life is 
 a myth. Heaven is a myth. Nay, even God Him- 
 self and the r^erson and work of Christ are nothing 
 else but myths. There is no reality— no substance 
 in any of the gracious promises of our Father. 
 Everything may be reasoned away and made to ap- 
 pear as an idle dream. I cai-iiot believe such a 
 theory of interpretation as that. I see the Scriptures 
 fulfilled literally in everything else and I believe they 
 will be in this. I believe that Christ will appear 
 again as our text declares, and that we shall see Him 
 — ^the just and the unjust, the saint and the sinner, 
 and shall stand before His throne for judgment, and 
 receive the just reward or the just punishment for 
 the deeds done in the flesh. And I believe, too, 
 that though there will be signs in the sun and in the 
 moon, though there will be wonderful manifestations 
 both in Heaven and on earth, yet men will refuse to 
 read them, will refuse to notice them, and while 
 they are marrying and giving in maniage, living as 
 though there were to be no end, the day of the Lord 
 will come upon them auddenlv and nnexrjectedl" as 
 a thief in the night. In the midst of their careless 
 
APPEARING WITH CHRIST, 
 
 71 
 
 slumber, nature will be convulsed, the clouds will hn 
 rent in sunder, and, as the Scripture says, "the Lord 
 Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, 
 with the voice of the archangel and with the trump 
 of God." And the voice, and the shout, and the 
 trump of His coming shall resound across earth's lands 
 and seas, waking the dead and arousing the Hving, 
 and calling them both to judgment. Then w«, who' 
 ai^e Christ's and are aUve at His coming, snail wait 
 until the dead in Christ are raised, and then together 
 with them will be caught up in the clouds to meet 
 the Lord in the air, while those who are left behind 
 on the ground-the wicked and reprobate— will hide 
 themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the moun- 
 tams, and will say to the mountains and the rocks, 
 " FaU on us, and hide us from the face of Him that 
 sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
 Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come, and 
 who shall be able to stand ? " 
 
 This glorious and yet tenible appearing our text 
 brings to our notice. We are looking forward to it 
 HS our fathers did. Year by year our attention is 
 specially directed to this final consummation of aU 
 things, to the commencement of the eternal dispen- 
 sation, of the new heavens and the new earth 
 "wherein dwelleth righteousness." With longing 
 he&rtB we would see Jesus. We would see Him in 
 Eis glory. We would see Him fa«e to face as the 
 disciples of olden time saw Him. We would see 
 
72 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SiMpr.E SUBJECTS, 
 
 Him surrounded with His ransomed Israel rei!»nin<y 
 as the King of kings in the city of the New Jeru- 
 salem. And though "since the fathers fell £>ileep, 
 all things continue as they wore from the begiiming 
 of the creation," yet we know " the Lord is not sit' k 
 concerning His promiso," "for we shall see Him as He 
 is." We shall behoid with opened eye the Bright 
 and Morning Star ; tbv:; Salvation of the daughter 
 of Zion ; the Author and Finish, of ovr Faith; the 
 Redeemer of the World. More than this we shall 
 ^9e Him as the One who is our !if o ; & ^ .he One with 
 whom our sojuls, our past, oui future, our all, are 
 ini?eparably connected. As Christians we may then, 
 when we think of what He is to us, look forward to 
 His coming with joy. It is our great hope, our 
 eternal glory. There is nothing to fill us with fear 
 or to make us doubt the truth I am now proclaim- 
 ing. We are His , bought with the price of His 
 most precious blood, saved by the offering up of the 
 sacrifice of Himself : that is sufficient. And the 
 text before tis declares as plainly as words can 
 declare a thing, that He shall appear, He shall come 
 again. 
 
 But the third lesson we are taught is that "when 
 Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we 
 ALSO APPEAR WITH HiM IN GLORY." A statement' 
 concerning our own destiny is given us. Our ulti- 
 mate reward hi set before U3. 
 

 
 APPEARING WITH (mHIST. 73 
 
 We all k.,0.. that in this life shame is our portion 
 iv:od.ydis|).ed as the professing Church and the 
 world seerr. to be towards each other there is still 
 much shame attached to the true child of God The 
 religion of the Lord Jesus and the religion of unre- 
 generate man are as much opposed to one another to- 
 day as they were in the days of old. Nor can we be 
 real Christians without being despised of men The 
 world will indeed speak kindly of us so long as we 
 say nothing of its sins and are not too outspoken in 
 our convictions. But the moment we stand up for 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, the moment we separate 
 ourselves from the company of the ungodly and 
 refuse to associate with them, then the world's tone 
 towards us changes. It expresses its hatred for us 
 in calhng us hard names, in sharp, cutting sneers 
 m deep, bitter, relentless persecution. Just as it 
 hated Christ when He was on earth, so it hates His 
 people now. We must expect this ; the servant is 
 not above his Lord. The conflict and the hatred will 
 last as long as the world stands. True religion will 
 ever be a thorn in the side of unbelief. Irreligious 
 men and women will ever despise those who are 
 trying to keep themselves unspotted from the world 
 Our path will be a path of shame as was our Mas- 
 ter's path. We must bear the cross, yea though we 
 amt beneath its weight. And all this shame will 
 .- 3t - tiii He come." But " when Christ who is our. 
 life shall appear, then shall we also appear with 
 
74 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Him in glory." At His advent all will be changed. 
 We shall no longer be despised and rejected of 
 men, but princes in the Kingdom of God, lords over 
 worlds and angels. We shall no longer labour under 
 the cross, but wear the crown — the crown of right- 
 eousness which the Lord the righteous Judge will 
 give unto all that love His appearing. There will 
 be exaltation and honour and glory such as no 
 tongue can express. " Eye hath not seen nor ear 
 heard, neither have enterQd into the heart of man, 
 the things which God hath prepared for them that 
 love Him." " Noware we the sons of God ; and it 
 doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know 
 that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for 
 we shall see Him as He is." Moses was in the 
 mountain alone with God, but he saw not the fulness 
 of His glory, for the thick cloud hid Him,yet the few 
 rays of divine majesty that touched him made his 
 face so to shine that men could not look upon him. 
 How glorious then shall they be who through the 
 rent veil with sanctified hearts shall behold in all 
 His fulness the King of Glory, the God-crowned 
 Saviour of men ! Verily they shall be transfigured 
 into a like glory. We shall be like Him. And just 
 as Peter and James and John fell down and hid their 
 faces when they saw their Lord with Moses and 
 Elias in their heavenly glory, so shall the ungodly 
 in the srreat dav tremble and fp.a.r whAn f^Air et^a. /v,,,. 
 glory— the glory of our life, the glory of Him who 
 
APPEAEING WITH CHBIST. 
 
 75 
 
 w the light of the eternal city, before whose majesty 
 the radiance of ten thousand suns pales and fades 
 away. There will be no more shame for us then. 
 There will be no more sneers, no more taunts, no 
 more persecutions. All will be over then. We shall 
 enter in with Him into the home of the blessed 
 where we shall see His face, and where His name 
 shall be in our foreheads. Our glorified bodies made 
 like unto His glorious body shall forever be freed 
 from sickness, sorrow and death. Our ransomed 
 souls, free from sin, and pure as He is pure, shall 
 forever sing the new song which none but the 
 redeemed of earth can sing. This will be glory. 
 Whatever the Lord Jesus is, we shall be. When 
 He shall reign we shall also reign. When He shall 
 be exalted we shall also be exalted. We are one 
 with Him. He is our very life. And when He shall 
 appear, whether it be to men, to angels, or to God, 
 •^e shall also appear with Him in glory. This is' 
 our reward. This is the destiny that shall be 
 attamed by all the children of God. 
 
 Beloved reader, we do well to look forward to the 
 day of His coming. We are to watch for it and to 
 wait for it as those who love His appearing Our 
 text teaches us that we are His. It tells ns that He 
 will certainly come again. It declares that when he 
 does come we shall indeed be like Him. Wh«f. 
 onous news is all this ! How ir nakes the heart 
 h joy 1 Vet we feel ho^.^ unworthy we are 
 
 thrill 
 
76 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 of it all. Why should we receive 8uo^ r, n-ai ^If/ry ? 
 What have we done, what can we do, lo merit such 
 a blessed relationship, to be saved with such a 
 wonderful salvation ! Wo have done nothing : nay 
 can do nothing ! 
 
 " Nothing, sinner, grreat or gmall, 
 Nothing, tinner, po : 
 Jemu died and j i it all 
 Long, long agt. 
 
 It is simply and soleb because Christ died that 
 we live. It is simply and solely because Christ was 
 raised from the dead, we shall be raised. It is 
 simply and solely because Christ is gloritied we shall 
 be glorified. All comes from Him. There is not 
 and never will be a sinner saved or exalted or glori- 
 fied by or in any other i,han the Crucified Messiah 
 of Israel. My dear friend, do you know Him of 
 whom I speak ? Have you any connection whal- 
 ever with this Jesus of Nazareth ? I ask it because 
 I would have you to find in Him that which will 
 make you happy both in this life and ii. .he lite to 
 come. I ask you because He died for you and is 
 ready and willing to save you. I a.k you m order 
 that you too may look forward not with fear but 
 with joy to the glorious day of His coming. Think 
 then of these things. Turn to Jesus. If yc. 
 have been casting your net i » on the s de of thf 
 world and have caughf. nothing, take it up and cast 
 it in on the other side. Oh, on this " other side" 
 
APPEABINO WITH CHRIST. 77 
 
 you Will find everything-all you can need ! With 
 Jesus there! mercy and hope and joy. The world, 
 nor death, nor hell can have iriore terrors. They aU 
 pa^s away in Christ. Moreover " when Christ who 
 IS our life, shaU appear, then shall ye also appear 
 with Him in glory." 
 
 May God grant this may be the end of all who 
 may read these pages : for the Lord Jesus" Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
•^, 
 
 ^t '^ I'^'f^i^^^^ f^^^^^' Y 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 ^ >% 7U^ 
 
 8EKM0N VI. 
 THE LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 I 8t Johm IV. 19.-" We lore Hlro, Xmnym H« flnt loved u..- 
 
 'E love Him— not all perhaps who may read 
 this, for some I fear do not think enough 
 of Him to love Him— but we, who are 
 faithful to our calling. , There is not. indeed, a 
 true Christian living whose heart does not overflow 
 with love for his God. The Lord's people are full 
 of love. We see this love irradiating their lives and 
 spurring them on to noble actions and great deeds. 
 They are willing to follow Him whom they love 
 wherever He may lead, whether it be into the paths 
 of stormy trial or into the ways of pleasantness and 
 peace. Whatever He sends to^hem, no matter if it 
 be the cup of sorrow or the wme of joy, thay accept 
 it gladly because they love Him. The heavy cross, 
 the dark night, the rough road, are as nothing when 
 that deep love supports the burden. We can give 
 our all, our own selves, our very lives, to the God for 
 whom we have so much love. 
 
 And when we think of all this we are oftentimes 
 led to ask ourselves the question : why should we 
 thus love God ? Why should men and women have 
 such love that they are able to do anything, risk 
 
tfl 
 
 THE LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 79 
 
 i^ 
 
 anything, lose everything for the sake of their Mas- 
 ter ? 
 
 And then our thoughts immediately run upon 
 what He has done for us. Wo think of this beauti- 
 ful world of ours with all its teeming wonders and 
 glorious attractions. W^^^eijiember how God has 
 made everything »»fese^Sieat^ our comforts and 
 wants. The seasons come and go, day and night 
 follow upon each other's steps, the ground gives of 
 her increase, and we are fed and clothed and kept 
 by a Father who cares for us, and not only for us 
 but for the little homeless sparrow that flits from 
 branch to branch, and housetop to housetop around 
 us. This wonderful providence exercised over us is 
 enough to make us love I^m. But did it ? The 
 people of the world see and know these things as 
 well as we, but do they actually make them love 
 God ? I*©, there must be something far beyond this 
 that shall melt our hard hearts and fill them with 
 divine love. 
 
 Then if the reason for our love bi not in what 
 God has done for our bodies, is it not to be found in 
 what He has done for our souls? He gave His 
 own Son for our salvation. That Son came down 
 to earth and was tried, and suflTered, and diod, that 
 we might live. The cruel taunt and the tLmy 
 crown, and ttie horrible cross were all endured for 
 om sakes. The Lord Jesus had no need to die for 
 Himself, but He loved us, and gave Himself for us. 
 
80 
 
 SIMfLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Every drop of blood was shed, every pam.undergone 
 every angu.sh suffered that we mightenter intoHis 
 glory. It was all done for us-for you, dear friend 
 and f„. that He n,ight redeem us from de^^ ' 
 
 -.d present us as His own before the Throne of 
 
 mJ, Zl ^" °"' *■" ^•"'"Sh to make men love 
 Him ? When we look upon the work of Christ can 
 we help wondering that there should beasinglesoul 
 
 Yet we find U so. And though the thought of 
 Chnsts salvation indeed fills us with gratitude vet 
 
 we must go even deeper than that before we L'ol 
 the mainspring of l9ve. 
 
 « Z\ ''"/' r" '' '' ^" ^'^'^ ^« i« «- text. 
 We ove Him because He first loved us." What a 
 
 starthng truth I « Because He first loved us - ''^ Be! 
 fore we ever loved Him He loved us ' 
 
 When we were little children utterly ignorant of 
 Him when we were sitting in the great darkness 
 and kne. ,oth,ng of the God that made us or the 
 God that sav^d us-He loved us. His bowels of 
 comp^.sion yearned for us that He might bring us 
 unto Himself! ^ 
 
 ^ And so when we were unworthy of His love it was 
 Tust the same. We were sinners against Him des- 
 Pisers of His laws, rebels in His sight ; there was nx>e 
 a single trait in us to recommend us to Him-our 
 V3ry righteousness was as filthy rags-our very obe- 
 dience was sin— and v^f, Ra i^...^ „„ , .^ 
 
 i 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 g 
 
THE LOVE OF GOD. gj 
 
 He could say unto us, « I have loved thee with an 
 
 veraat^g lover Was there ever such lovT ^ 
 
 this ? When we love it is because we think we see 
 
 but God saw nothing i„ us-„o beauty, no comeB 
 
 »e. naught but sin, and need, and u'lwor^;:': 
 Could we have loved like Him? And yet in all 
 that Ignorance and sin He loved us < 
 
 And here a thought comes upon us that at once 
 leads u., to a grand fundamental gospel truth Z 
 
 iZ '"IT ™ '''' ^' '""^* ''^ -<> -«''* *^» 
 
 ove. And we see people eveiywhere acting upon 
 that recommendation. They are indeed doing th^r 
 
 « told them to do, they do. They work, and work 
 
 rteZ'-J"^^ '".'' ^o- pilgrim^es.or W 
 rate their bodies, or immure themselves in dark con- 
 ven s, m ,,, ^ ,,^.„ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ jn 
 
 would J ' r*° "' '"''^ '■ ^» l»v« they 
 would obtain is alieady thei« ! If they have in 
 
 their hearts the leaat spark of love towards God it 
 
 « there not because they have earned it, or became 
 
 hey have merited i, but because God fi™t Ted 
 
 TbTfi .^^ •=*°"'"S«* '*fo'-« God in this matter 
 The fe love can never be on our side. It must be 
 
 given, freely and wi"f,hr.nf r^,.,^.. t^ ^ , „ . -^ 
 Vs-loved us when we were in ignorance and sU^ 
 
82 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 He needs none of our miserable works to move Him 
 We cannot buy that love ! Nothing we can offer 
 could ever be an equivalent for such a priceless trea- 
 sure. We are not worthy of it and we never can be. 
 Then let us ca^t to the winds the false doctrine 
 held before us of meriting it. No amount of teai^ 
 and prayers and fi^^j^ and good works can give 
 i^what is already ours. We have now God's love. 
 God loves every man, woman and child kneeling at 
 His footstool. He is first and ever will be fir^t in 
 this question. Let us then accept His love as a 
 free and royal sovereign gift. Let us yield to Him 
 the nght ; yea crown Him Lord of all ! 
 
 It is in this very fact-that when we were 
 stmngers ^^ .Oi^is, lost and ruined, sininl 
 and unworthy-loving the things of this world 
 rather than the things of the world to come- 
 God loved us, that we Jove Him. That wonderful 
 unfathomable love of His is the secret of it ail. That 
 IS the power that touches our cold, dead hearts and 
 makes them live. That is the influence that com- 
 pels us to weep the bitter tears of repentance over 
 our sms, and to fall prostrate before the throne of 
 Grace for forgiveness. We cannot remain forever 
 ad*e»*ted from the God who loves us so much, as to 
 bear with us in our wickedness, and to spare us 
 from the just punishment we have indeed de- 
 
 iTl^u ^^ T*" ^"^^ ^°^ "^^^ ^^"^"^ "' '« "^"«^ 
 that Hg g«ve His only begoiteu iSon that through 
 
THE LOVE OF GOD, 
 
 '/:-. 
 
 83 
 
 His death we might receive eternal life. It is We 
 oegettmg love. 
 
 We oftentimes meet with instances in ordinary 
 life that in a measure illustrate this love of God 
 fc>ome years ago a young man was on trial before a 
 judge in England. He was the son of pious, simple- 
 hearted parents. They had watched over him and 
 prayed for him and advised him; but it seemed to 
 do no good. He rejected their counsel, and went on 
 from bad to worse. And now he was sentenced to 
 transportation for seven years. And away he went 
 across the sea. and then in a strange land he had 
 time to think. And as the day of his release drew 
 near he made up his mind like another prodigal son 
 and said, « I will arise and go to my father, and say 
 unto him. Father, I have sinned against heaven and 
 before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy 
 son." And home he went— broken-spirited and 
 ashamed— but when he was folded in the arms first 
 of his mother and then of his father, the love burned 
 through and through, and melted the last remnants 
 of the stony heart. It was a touching moment. 
 And when he asked them if they could ever love him 
 again, they told him amid flowing tears and joyful 
 smiles that they had loved him through all-gloved 
 him when a criminal, loved him when a convict. 
 That was lov3 touching upon the love oi' God, 
 
 ~~" "' ■" ""^'^"i tu H as a iitwe pool of water is 
 
 mfei-ior to the vast and boundless ocean. When w© 
 
84 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 -me to God we find ourselves no sogers tker^ 
 
 ^e thl f T ^" "' ^"""^^^ *° °" ^"^^^ and 
 
 r. *™'»«°<'°™ guilt of our sin-when we see 
 
 hat we are among the chief of sinne«-a„7 the 
 
 z:^zi """".""" °" '>'"^' -^ - f- *^' 
 
 we must go to our heavenly Father, we go on our 
 way, ,t may be sad and doubtful, but whL we ge 
 aere and see how He loves us and learn how kI 
 has ever loved us, even the ixaa&mUe rift Zf ^ 
 
 orgiveness of sin pales and faS^^^eXlolt! 
 Itr/f /'""^ "' 'hat deep, everlastin^Tove - 
 The^t shadow of doubt pa^s away, the 1 Jt t ^e 
 
 without b u r' "" ^'"'^ ""^^'^^ "P -«4 
 without holding back-and we are His,. O iov 
 
 transcenduig joy_we love Him because tb™ 
 find that He first loved us ! " "^ 
 
 Is not this comfort for the sinner? Is not this 
 good news for the returning penitent? Th sin 
 
 themff 1 "° ""'"^-"•'° "- ton the sum 
 them ? for they are a. numberless a. the sands upon 
 
 thes^shore-and had they been punished as they 
 tTtTt ^' *""" "■" """^ "^ - « ^'ate tf 
 But God loves US-loves the darkest and the deep- 
 romlhe -ul in our midst-and would save L 
 from the eurse we are bringing upon oumelves. 
 Th re ,s no a sin added by us to our already vaat 
 "■' "'^^ ""^ wvunn tiit! tender-hearted. 
 
THE LOVE OP GOD. gg 
 
 loving Ura. We are grieving Him every day • we 
 
 »uoh a ternble cost : we are even putting Him to an 
 
 me and I will g,ve you rest : " " though your sins be 
 - s»rletthey shall be as white as snow though 
 they be red like crimson theyshall Ua, wo 1 "rn 
 we refuse that call . Oh. my dear f^^'^.V h b^ 
 hat you are among those who are far from God in 
 the darkness of this world's sin, can you turn a 
 deaf ear to this OKhibition of divine L, Such 
 
 oWnat "^ T ? "^ ^''°"^'' '° "-'I--- *"« most 
 obstinate soul. Just a. we are-worthless, wretched 
 under sentence of death, without a spark oTte ! 
 wards am-He loves enough not o^ to give us 1 1 
 He has, but to die for us. And oh if H„ I 
 much will H^ * ^*' '''™'' "*' so 
 
 much will He turn away from us when we go to 
 
 H.m and acknowledge our great wickedness ? To 
 
 noverl He cr.es, "Come unto Me, oh come un^ 
 ^e . Simply come-without preparation, without 
 money, without righteousness-only come and Hi 
 
 idlm r """f'"^'°^^*"»^«">atmen 
 
 ^d women would rather stay as strange., in this 
 w.ldemess_hungry and thirsty, without a home- 
 when they might live in a very heaven bn earth 
 would they but accept this freely cfc-I love of 
 God ! The comfort and the joy of lovinj, 6od they 
 " —"''• ^^ "ai wiii be tiiur remorse 
 when they find hereafter that the day of grace is 
 
\ 
 
 86 SIMPIE SEEMOM ON SMPIE 8CBJECW. 
 
 W aad the arm of justice has forever stayed the 
 overflowings of mercy. Then let us take "T u 
 W,« the deep truth of our text, and in the love of 
 Ood turn to Him and live. 
 
 But our text has comfort for more than the sinner 
 ^^eaks to the widow, and the orphan, and the out 
 cast. These are they who stand in need of ^reat 
 
 «. Sometimes itseems to them as Ih^S 
 they were alone in the world-^ though.no one 
 
 Ton^'TT- ^'^^^^--OnewhocfresTtht™ 
 
 them. He shall make the widow's heart to sing for 
 Z ,^^^''f ^-'•r^ P-vide for the fath^et 
 He shall gather in tie outcast. No one can be aCe 
 -ho has God with him. And God is with us Z 
 eye IS ever upon us. Even the very hai.« of our 
 head a., all numbered. There is not a spaz^ow falls 
 
 rsr^sthr^^i'ir — « 
 
 rowshallHenotmuchmrrrrusTwrer. 
 the blood of the Lord Jesus was outpoured ? Z 
 
 that God does not love us. We are told that Jesus 
 loved Martha, and her sister, aad Lazarus. andTe 
 He pennztted death to enter that hou.e and tTe 
 tl« support and loved one of the famUy out of^e 
 s^ht of „«„. ^, ^ ^^ ,^ ^^ / of he 
 
 affljetzons, we may ever rely upon His love. It i^ 
 stiU ours ; and it can cheer our hearts wh™ w„ «.. 
 
THE loVE OP GOD. 
 
 «7 
 
 ouiBelves left alone and all our loved ones token 
 from us. Nothing can take away God's love. Nei- 
 tter the fires of martyrdom, nor the pemcution of 
 the enemies of the faith, nor even death itself am 
 
 ZlTc 7 1 ""'*• '^^'^ "" ^'»« ^ g"- 'here is 
 atUl a God whom we can call " our Father," and wt 
 
 tnow that His We is unchangeable and undying 
 There is an in..Th . uDtibl e mine of comfort for us in 
 that mighty truth. 
 
 totTv'' T!''^ ''" *^'^ °* "^ ^'"""^ called upon 
 mth 1 T.l''*^'"^ ^ lif-^. but also for all whose 
 path leads through any trial. It may be we are 
 among the oppressed ones of the earth. Eve^ man's 
 
 ll 7Tt '^T "• ^' •"' absolutely friend- 
 e^. Or It may be we are numbered with the afflic- 
 ted. Sickness and disease fill our days with sorrow 
 and make us almost wish the last step in life's sad 
 plgnmage were taken. In either of these cases the 
 —usness of the love of God is indeed precio^ 
 Every pam we feel, every sigh that rends our heart 
 
 and has made the sufferings of His people His own 
 Th^e sorrows make us fellow-sufferers with Him: 
 Md ^ that be t™e in reference to the things of 
 thas We, how much more is it true in referenc? t« 
 the thin^ pertaining to the spirit ! We all know 
 how hard it is to keep in the narrow way of til 
 Christian's walk. Temn*„n™. -. -" 
 «pon us and try to lead us astray. Si„ i::Z 
 
88 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 watching for an oppoitunifcy to overthrow us. But 
 the terrible trial of the soul is when it is brought 
 into the valley of the great shadow. There is^no 
 sun to cheer us in that cloud-benighted place. There 
 seems to be no evidence that God is with us. We 
 feel that He has forsaken us. He does not seem so 
 near as in the old days when we were lying at the 
 foot of the cross. And yet the love— the everlasting 
 love— is indeed the same. The clouds of doubt may 
 hide from our gaze the face of the blessed Saviour 
 —the lying Adversary may tell us He is no longer 
 ours— but no clouds, no Adversary, can touch the 
 first love of our God. God isever the same— the same 
 yesterday, to-day and forever; we may change but 
 He never! If He loved us in the bright days, He 
 will love us in the dark as well. If He loved us 
 when we were in the sunshine. He will never leave 
 us nor forsake us, now we are under the cloud. We 
 may well then rejoice and be glad ! God's love en- 
 circles us on every side. Turn where we will there 
 it meets us. In life and in death, in sorrow and in 
 joy, in sin and affliction and tribulation— still ever 
 and ever and ever the same. Oh, what a wonderful 
 love ! Oh, what a loving God 1 Wandering in the 
 wilderness, pleading for mercy, outcast and forsaken, 
 sick and d3'ing, this love transcending all knowledge 
 is caring for us, watching over us, saving us. It is 
 ever flowing from God to man ; it is surrounding us 
 in our homes and in our lives like some mighty 
 
THE LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 89 
 
 ocean, every ripple of which is the bearer of some 
 unlooked-for mercy, every depth of which contains 
 Bome rich and priceless treasure ! 
 
 Such is the love of God-such is the love He has 
 for every one. " He first loved us ! " And what is 
 our love for Him ? What is our affection for Him 
 who loved us and gave Himself for us ? Do we 
 love Him at all ? That is the question of all ques- 
 ^'^'^fee^^^k ourselves. There may be some 
 who t^ this that have need w find an answer 
 to It There may be some whose hearts are very 
 sad because they know nothing of this love It is 
 not God's fault ; He loves them, and He would have 
 them love Him. Oh, that every soul were touched 
 yea burning with this love ! God a^ks us to yield 
 Him our love. How can we refuse ? How can 
 we say Him nay, after all He has done for us ? 
 bhall these mercies vouchsafed us every day-shall 
 these gracious invitations to come home-shall the 
 sufferings and the death of the Son of God, all go 
 for nought ? Shame be to us if we have no grati- 
 tude m our souls for aJl those blessings ! Shame be 
 to us If we hold back from God that which is His 
 due^ U He has bought our souls from death let us 
 ^eld thein up to Him. If He loves us let us love 
 ^m. Let us give to Him our aUt 
 And yet what is that all? Even when we love 
 
 ilim what ia tho+ i^^o ' ^^ i 
 
 ^j. J , , ---r.r -v^-ii, ii^vv weak! Trem- 
 
 Wing and doubting and chaining ! fiuraing one day 
 
90 
 
 SIMPLE SERM0M8 ON SIMPLE SUBJECT^ 
 
 and cold the next ! Utterly without dependence ! 
 Compared with God's love it is aft the feeble rush- 
 light beside the overwhelming glory of the sun. 
 Compared with God's love it is as the fading blade 
 of grass beneath the mighty branches of the giant 
 oak. It is nothing — and yet it is our all ! And God 
 wants that all. He asks for it now cf you,m3- dear, 
 thflMgiPwriwwww^BBaiBr. " My son, give me thine 
 heart." It may be worthless, it may be full of sin, it 
 may be dead ; but whatever it be, " My son, give me 
 thine heart." And so the love may be very feeble and 
 very flickering, yet that is the love God wants us to 
 give Him, that is the love for which He is longing. 
 
 Beloved friendj^ould you be freed from sin, 
 would you have this life lit up with .« luavenly ra- 
 diance, would you enter that gloria .. l\ome which 
 the Saviour has gone to prepare 'i Ood offers all 
 this, and more than this, to every one. It may all 
 be yours. There is not a single gift in our Father's 
 hand that He would not have us share. He has 
 done everything for us He could do because He 
 loved us. He will do whatever we ask Him to do 
 because He still loves us. And when we accept all 
 these proffen-ed blessings, when we make Him our 
 Lord and our Master, when we learn to love Him, 
 we shall love Him not because of the blessings or 
 the gift or even tie salvation, po, but we shall love 
 Him because He first loved us. This is the grand 
 lesson God would have us to learn. T lis is the 
 
THE LOVE OF QOD. 
 
 . 
 
 81 
 
 wonderful truth that will fill us with adoring admi- 
 ration all through the endless eternity. Why God 
 should love such w« »rthles8, undeserving wretches as 
 we are, we know not, and probably never shall know. 
 But the fact remaiuH the same, and that fact will 
 enkindle our souls and make them still more fer- 
 vent When we ask one another in that better 
 land why we love God, we shall answer as we an- 
 swer now to-day-" We love Him because He first 
 loved us." 
 
 May God give us of His grace that we may rea- 
 lize His love, and in return give to Him that whicix 
 He asks of us, not as payment, not as the work of 
 merit, but as the evidence of heartfelt gratitude ; 
 for the Lord Jesus Christ's' sake. Amen. 
 
 M 
 
 
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 .ss: 1653 East Main street 
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SERMON Vn. 
 THE LOVE OF THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 ^':w°l''u" *— "^<"' »«''"•« the feast of the paasover. when Jeaui knew 
 that Hi. hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the 
 Father having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto 
 toe end. 
 
 ^UR text takes us back to the night before the 
 Crucifixion. Events the most solemn and 
 heart-touching immediately recur to us. We 
 cannot think of those events without perceiving in 
 them an importance at once great and personal. The 
 laat words of Jesus given to His disciples in the 
 upper chamber where they had celebrated the last 
 Passover ; the agony in the garden of Gethsemane; 
 the institution of the Holy Communion ; the betrayal 
 and the trial of the Son of God before the Roman 
 Governor and the Jewish High Priest, have an inter- 
 est for us second only to the events of the following 
 day and the glory of the Easter mom. We see in 
 them the Hght of infinite love. We know that 
 nought but love could have induced the Saviour of 
 the world to give Himself up to a humiliation so 
 great, to a death so severe. The grand secret of that 
 noble life of sorrow and suffering was love, simply 
 love for the souls of men. And never was that love 
 displayed in more trying circumstances or in greater 
 o""j vHobu u« Liixa solemn nignt. we may"weil think 
 
THE LOVE OF THE LORD JESUS. 98 
 
 of such love as this. There is comfort for us in so 
 doing, and strength for us in our weakness. 
 
 The text we have before us speaks particularly of 
 the love of Jesus. It is a text full of suggestive 
 thoughts. We shall get at them best if we look at 
 some of the characteristics of this love. There are 
 three features of it brought prominently before us 
 
 In the first place it is an Enduring Love The 
 text says that " When Jesus knew that His hour was 
 come that He should depart out of this world unto 
 the Father, having loved His own which were in the 
 world, He loved them unto the end." Consider 
 what IS implied in the words "Jesus knew that 
 His hour was come." There is an appointed time 
 unto all men when to die, but God in His mercy has 
 withheld the knowledge of it from us. We have no 
 Idea when the day of our death will come. How 
 unhappy we should be if we did know ! We should 
 look forward to the day with dread ! Our lives would 
 be embittered with the thought that at a given mo- 
 ment all would end. Yet this knowledge was added 
 to Christ's sorrow. He knew the day of His death 
 He knew the hour when " He should depart out of 
 this world unto the Father." The agony of death 
 stared Him in the face. The purple robe, the crown 
 of thorns, the cross, the grave, were all beiore liim 
 Ea:h moment wa^ bearing Him on the stream of 
 time nearer and nearer to that a^/ful hour. His 
 soul was bowed down with anguish and grief. His 
 
94 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 hand was already on the cup of gall and His lips 
 had tasted its bitterness. He saw that terrible future 
 close at hand. And yet knowing and feeling all 
 this His love was as true as. ever for His disciples. 
 Where our affection would have grown less, His 
 became stronger. " Having loved His own which 
 were in the world," in the time past, He loves them 
 now,— "He loves them unto the end." What a 
 blessed thought this is! Nought can destroy the 
 love of Christ for His peo[)le. Neither time, nor sor- 
 row, nor death can change Him. He is " the same 
 yesterday, to-day, and forever." He loves unto the 
 end! 
 
 Among the many good things which God has 
 given us in this life, the assurance of such lasting, 
 enduring love is the greatest of all. Before we had 
 any love for Him, nay, before we were capable of 
 loving Him, pur Lord Jesus loved us and gave Him- 
 self for us. Back in the ages of eternity our names 
 were written upon His heart. Ere the foundations 
 of the earth were laid we were precious in His 
 sight. " We love Him because He first loved us." 
 And all down the ages His love has still remained. 
 He loved us when seated on the Throne of His power. 
 He loved us when a wanderer and a sufferer here 
 among men. He loved us when His soul was in the 
 bitterness of despair. He loved us when hanging 
 on the cross. He loves us now that He has ascended 
 to the right hand of the Majesty on high. And He 
 
THE LOVE OP THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 95 
 
 will love us still when He comes in clouds to judge 
 the world. Ho loves unto the end. No change 
 in His circumstances has ever or will ever change 
 His nature. Whether He be as the Eternal God or 
 the lowly man, the dying Saviour or the exalted 
 Redeemer, the saceessful Iniercesaor or the all- 
 powerful Judge, His love is ever the same. Having 
 once loved. He loves for ever. 
 
 This can be se!d of no one else. We are constantly 
 changing. Circumstances affect us. Absence effaces 
 many a fond love. An idle story will weaken a 
 strong affection. A misunderstanding will quench 
 a burning fondness. But nothing touches the love of 
 Christ. That is more constant than the sun in his 
 strength, or the great rock in its stability, or the 
 revolving worlds in their obedience to the laws of 
 the universe. " I have loved thee," says God to 
 Israel, " with an everlasting love." " I am the Lord, 
 1 change not." And so St. Paul exclaims in an 
 outburst of glad rapture, "I am per-, jaded that 
 neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall 
 be able to separate us from the love of God which is 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord." We may change, but He 
 never. Our love may gi-ow cold, but His love will 
 ever bum. The chill of approaching death may 
 weaken our memory of earthly friends, but no death 
 will endanger His memory or weaken His love. H© 
 
06 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 haa ever and wiU ever love the same. Blessed truth 1 
 " Having loved His own which were in the world, 
 He loved them unto the end." What a privilege is' 
 ours to be the objects of such eternal love ! How 
 we should rejoice and be glad at the thought of it ! 
 What an effect it ought to have on our lives ! May 
 we realizp this now ! May we know that we are 
 indeed among God's own people ! May we hear Him 
 say, amid the disappointments of this world :— 
 
 "Mine is an unchanging love. 
 Higher than the heights above. 
 Deeper than the depths beneath. 
 Free and faithful, strong as death." 
 
 It is an enduring love. This is one feature of it . 
 suggested by our text. 
 
 But in the second place it is a Patient Love. 
 When Jesus was with His disciples in that upper 
 room. He knew that that very night one of their 
 number would betray Him into the hands of His 
 enemies; another, now the loudest in his professions, 
 would deny that he ever knew Him, and all of them' 
 together would forsake Him and flee. And yet He 
 loved them unto the end. There was poor Peter and 
 unbeUeving Thomas and the spiritually-minded John 
 —all afraid to go with Him, still He loved them. 
 What a glorious feature is this of Christ's love! 
 Even we with our many shortcomings, cannot touch 
 that love ! It is a very Eddystone light that all the 
 fury of a ragmg ocean cannot out out Tt is «« fh- 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 THE LOVE OP THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 97 
 
 bright sun ; no cloud, no storm can rob it of its glory. 
 Sooner shall the mighty ocean be dried up and this 
 world scattered into atoms, and the vaat universe 
 itself fall to dust and pass away, than that the pati- 
 ent love of Christ shall be withdniwn from His 
 people. They may faU, they may sin, they may even 
 deny the faith-yet His love is stiU with them, 
 overshaxlowing them, protecting them, leading them.' 
 Sm may cast them down, yet the arm of His power 
 shaU raise them up. Sorrow may encloud their lives, 
 yet the rays of His glory shall light up the gloom.' 
 The sharp-pointed arrows of persecution and fear 
 and tribulation may sink deep into their hearts, 
 but the rankling wounds shall be healed with the 
 balm of His patient, constant, consoling love. There 
 is great joy in aU this. If the love of Christ were 
 only ours when we deserved it we should never 
 possess it or experience it. Our poor, weak nature 
 could never earn, and never retain love so rich, so 
 precious, so patient as that of the Saviour's. God 
 knows this, and therefore He gives His love and aU 
 His gifts freely without money and without price. 
 He bears with our infirmities. He has compassion 
 upon our weakness. Yea, though He knows that 
 we shaU speedily fall into sin, yet He loves us. His 
 love is most constant. He loves us in all our sin. . 
 This has been the experience of God's people in 
 aU ages of the world. Though Adam an^ F.,,^ Aia. 
 Obeyed God in Eden, yet His love provided a 
 
98 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Mediator .ho should reconcile erring humanity and 
 
 ^^T ^' ""^ "" """«"' ""■'>■' Sodom, 
 but Gods love brought him out. David sinned 
 
 most grievously, yet he was surrounded with sure 
 mereies. Elijah hid himself in the wilderness, Id 
 though God punished him by appointing his suc- 
 cessor, yet the old prophet was carried to heaven 
 by horses and chariot of fire. And so with the 
 apostles. Thomas and Peter, and all that foreook 
 
 oM had Gods love not been patient and constant ? 
 What would become of us were our sins taken into 
 account by a just God? Not one would attain the 
 promises. Not one would enter into glory. It is 
 because God's love is constant that we L saved. 
 It IS because He is patient with us that we have a 
 good hope of the future. WhUe we were yet si„! 
 nen. Ch^t diedfor us. There was nothing torecom- 
 me„dm»to0^d,andyet « God so loved%he worTd 
 that He gave H.S only begotten Son that whosoever 
 behevett ,n Him should not perish but have ever 
 
 that He accepted eveiy indignity for man's sake. 
 
 p-eeted H.m here below did not deter Him from 
 H,s purpose. His love was immutable, constant 
 eternal, pafent. Though He knew the weakneTof 
 the disciples He loved them „nf« ,!,„ ».., ... . 
 
 f 
 
 (l 
 
 4 
 
 
t 
 
 i 
 
 THE LOVE OP THE LORD JESU8. 99 
 
 with US His love changeth not "For a small mom- 
 ent have I forsaken thee ; but with great mercies 
 will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my 
 tace from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting 
 kmdness wiU I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord 
 thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah 
 unto me : for as I have sworn that the waters of 
 Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I 
 sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor 
 rebuke thee. For the mountoins shaU depart, and 
 the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not 
 depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my 
 peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy 
 on thee." ^ 
 
 There is gieat comfort in these words. Christ 
 does not get weary of His people. He loves them 
 to the last. It is a love that passeth knowledge It 
 IS one of those things that even the angels of God 
 "desire to look into." That Christ should never be 
 tired of the endless backslidings of His people, but 
 always ready to forgive and forget their shortcomings 
 tells of a love that the heart of man can never grasp- 
 It is a grand truth. Those whom Jesus receives He 
 always keeps. Those whom He loves at first He 
 loves at last His promise shall never be broken ■ 
 " Him that Cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast 
 out" « Having loved His own which were in the 
 world," in spito of their failings. "He lov^d th-"i 
 unto the end." His love is a patient love. 
 In the third place it is a personal love. 
 
100 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Its greatest comfort consists in this. The religion 
 of the Lord Jesus is entirely a personal religion. He 
 was personal in His life here on earth. " He calleth 
 His own sheep by name. To every one of His flock He 
 says, " I have caUed thee by thy name, thou art mine." 
 To one of those who had sat with Him around that 
 passover table He had said. " Simon. Simon, behold 
 Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you 
 as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith 
 fail not." And when we are going astray, like lost 
 sheep, the Chief Shepherd does not forget us '• He 
 restoreth my soul." He looks after the wandering 
 one, and when he has found it, He lifts it to His 
 ^oulder rejoicing ; or if it be a lamb He carries it in 
 Hw bosom back to the fold, not as a member of the 
 general flock, but as His own dear Maiy or Martha 
 or James or John, whose Christian name was so re- 
 corded in the book of life before the world began. 
 Ihis special, personal love is characteristic of Christ 
 Though in a sense He loved the worid. yet it was' 
 His own which were in the world that He loved 
 unto the end. This would imply that He has a 
 special people-that there are those among men that 
 He ^ specially call His own. And such, Scripture 
 teaches us. is the case. Again and again God de- 
 clares that there are those whom He wiU call His 
 people and who shall caU Him their God. Those 
 whom He has called to a knowledge of the Ti-uth 
 justified by the blood of the Cross and sanntifl-^ k,,' 
 
 t 
 
THE LOVE OP THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 101 
 
 ), 
 
 His Holy Spirit— these are the people of God. And 
 those, whether near or afar off, who are trying to 
 follow in the footsteps of the Master, who are seeking 
 to do His will and to partake of His love— these are 
 precious in His sight. For them He died. For them 
 He has entered the Holy of Holies. For them He 
 stands ever interceding in the presence of the Father. 
 He loves each one of them. He loves them individu- 
 ally. Not a trouble or a sorrow that they have is 
 unnoticed by Him. The very hairs of their head are 
 all numbered. He prays for them, leads them, 
 blesses them. They owe everything to his love. " I 
 live," says St. Paul, " by the faith of the Son of God, 
 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 
 
 The test of His love is in the fact of His death. 
 Had He not great love He never could have died for 
 us. He looked upon the small company assembled 
 around Him and though He knew the agony that 
 was already seizing His soul and the d j a that 
 awaited Him on the morrow, yet it was all for those 
 loved ones and for the other sheep far adown the 
 ages, and it was enough. They were poor, weak, 
 wandering ones— all their right to heaven had been 
 forfeited — they were rebels against God, but He 
 loved them, and that love sustained Him in the 
 gloom of death. And so He says to each one of us, 
 " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." " Hav- 
 ing ^ OVed His own whinll WATO in iha. xtrnrAA TI« 1^^« J 
 
102 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 them unto the end." And, oh, what love ! Who 
 knows Its boundless depths, its borderless expanse ? 
 
 " Oh, thia no tongue can ntter ; thii 
 No mortal page can show ; 
 Tlie love of Jesui, what it is, 
 None but His loved oneu know." 
 
 Yet this love is for you and me, my reader, not as a 
 nation, or a society, or a congregation, hut as indi- 
 viduals. He loves each one of His people as though 
 there were none but that one in the world. He suffered 
 and died and rose again for us as individuals. We 
 are regenerated and justified and sanctified as indi 
 viduals. And so we shall be saved and spend eter- 
 mty in heaven. We were in the Saviour's mind in 
 ^1 His sorrowing and suffering. We are thus in 
 His mmd now He is exalted a Prinze in His Father's 
 house. And thus we shall ever be. He will always 
 have a special love for each one of His followers. 
 His love is a personal love. 
 
 We may weU rejoice that the love of our Saviour 
 
 Chnst's, is such as this. There is comfort in the 
 
 fact that It is enduring-nothing in Him can ever 
 
 change it ; that it is pcUunt-nothuyg in us can ever 
 
 change the love in him; that it is personal-for 
 
 ea^jh one individuaJIy. Such love as this can sus- 
 
 tain us in all trials_in life and in death. It can 
 
 heal the sorrows of the afflicted and satisfy the long- 
 
 mgs of the awakened heart. Such love can be found 
 
 nowhere else than in Christ. N 
 
 I 
 
 'v viic luvcsj US and 
 
 A 
 
THE LOVE or THE LORD JESUS. 
 
 lUS 
 
 cares for us as He does. We have no ^eater friend. 
 He loved us enough to die for us. " Greater love 
 hath no man than this that a man lay down his 
 life for his friends." Well then may we exclaim 
 with the Apostle : " Unto Him that loved us, and 
 washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath 
 made us kingv and priests unto God and His Father 
 to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." 
 
 Christian reader, Christ would have you remember 
 that love of His. He would have you keep it ever 
 in mind. Let your heart then be filled with love 
 like His. Consecrate yourself anew to Him. Strive 
 to serve Him better in the time to come than you 
 have ever done in the time past. We have strong 
 assurances of His love. We know that He loves us 
 though He were in the hand of death, yea, though 
 we were about to desert Him and to deny that we 
 ever knew Him. Have we no love to return ? Have 
 we no empty hearts to give Him to be filled with 
 His love ? Have we no spare moments to devote to 
 His service ? No talents— nothing to use for Him ? 
 Think of what He did for iis and then can we not 
 say— 
 
 " Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were an offering far too small ; 
 Love so amazing — so divine — ** 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all." 
 
 Let us give Him then our soul, our life, our all. 
 
104 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 And may this very hour be the beginning of a re- 
 newed life in which we shaU shew forth our grati- 
 tude for all He has done for us ; in which we shall 
 grow more and more Uke unto Him, more and more 
 meet for the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 (I 
 
I 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 SALVATION THE EFFECT OF MERCY. 
 
 Romans tx. le.- •• So then it h not of him that willeth. nor of him that rumieth. 
 but of God that sheweth mercy. " ^. 
 
 S soon as we behold the reality and awfux,,ess 
 of sin, and become vividly aware of the 
 dangers to which it exposes us, and the ter- 
 rible end to which it is hastening us, the question 
 that comes to us again and again till it be answered 
 is " What must I do to be saved ? How shall I escape 
 the certain wrath that awaits the workers of 
 iniquity^? " And though this question is a perfectly 
 proper one, and one that I wish to God every soul on 
 the face of the earth would put to itself, yet when 
 we first ask it we almost invariably throw all our 
 stress upon the personality of it : what must I do ? 
 And we do this in such a manner as by our emphasis 
 abnostto change the question into "What work 
 must I do in order to save myself?" 
 
 The question in this form is perfectly natural. It 
 18 thoroughly in harmony with the views and opinions 
 of the natural man. Were we to reason about it we 
 should conclude that not only was something aV 
 solutely necessary to be done but that it must be 
 dono by m. And as a matter of fact we find multi- 
 tudes of honest-minded and sin-conscious people 
 o 
 
IOC SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 labouring hard to make for themselves some way of 
 deliverance from the power and consequences of sin. 
 Some are working one way and some another. W© 
 see many launch out into a rigid observance of the 
 law of ceremonies : othere into as strict an obedience 
 to the principles of morality. They place themselves 
 m bondage to one or other of those departments of 
 the system of works. They hope by this outward 
 discipline to attain the desired end. They thus think 
 they are working out their own salvation. 
 
 And if salvation depended upon merit and could 
 be earned by our good works, taking into considera- 
 tion the infirmities of the flesh, they certainly deserve 
 the reward for which they are striving. There is a 
 man who fasts often and spends hours in prayer. 
 Nothing keeps him from the house of God and he is 
 f Jways in his place at the Holy Communion. To do 
 this costs him much sacrifice, but that he makes 
 willingly as indeed he should, and though there is 
 no hai-m but much good to be derived from his ob- 
 servances, yet a^k him what his hope of salvation is, 
 and if he be true to the thought of his heart he wiU 
 tell us he is resting it upon this ritual rule. « I have 
 been," he will say, "a regular attendant atChurch and 
 at the means of grace all my days, and thus having 
 done my best to serve God, I know He will not for- 
 get me." 
 
 Or take the moral man. He never wronged any- 
 one in his life ; rather than injure another he has 
 
 « 
 
 «, 
 
 1 
 
K: 
 
 SALVATION THE EFFECT OF MERCY. 107 
 
 sacrificed himself. A lie or an oath never crosses his 
 lips nor is he in any sense intemperate in any of his 
 habits. His rule has been to do to others as he 
 would have them do to him, arnl all this is very 
 proper and very necessary, but he builds up his hope 
 upon this strict and honest life. And whether a man 
 follows out either of these rules of conduct, or both 
 depend upon it, if he looks upon what he is doing as' 
 conducive to salvation, he will throw aU his powers 
 into the task. And as he learns more of the law of 
 God he will strive to keep the whole law, and thus 
 do his best to run after eternal life and freedom 
 from sin. 
 
 I have no fault to find just here with either the 
 law of ceremonies, or the law of morality : both are 
 right enough in their way ; but it is with the false 
 hope attached to them I have to deal. That hope is 
 at once the most popular, and the most delusive of 
 all hopes. There is hardly an individual that does 
 not endanger himself with it at the very first step 
 he takes after the conviction of sin. "I will do this 
 and I wiU do that, and all will be well." And it 
 makes no difference how many whitened bones lie 
 on that shore of wrecks, the victims of the law of 
 works, there are plenty more ready to die there. 
 
 Surely a very little thought would convince us of 
 the impossibility of earning salvation ourselves. 
 Suppose we undertake to keep the whole law : wh 
 can teU how oft he offendeth ? That law must not 
 
108 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 11 
 
 be violated one iota in thought, word, or deed. And 
 yet who is there that is not all the time sinning in 
 thought ? We think si^ though we do not express it, 
 and that very thinking, our Saviour teaches us is sin* 
 Experience must have proved to us again and again* 
 that we cannot keep straight in the narrow path of 
 God's righteous law. We are going astray all the 
 days of our life. Do what we will we cannot al- 
 ways resist the voide of temptation. Were we to suc- 
 ceed in avoiding certain given sins wf should plunge 
 ourselves into some other sin. We should be proud 
 tuat we were righteous, and thus be guilty of the 
 foundation sin of all. As long as we are men and 
 women here in the flesh we shall never be perfect, 
 never be able to keep from iniquity. 
 
 If this is the fact, and who can deny it ? how 
 foolish is it for the awakened sinner to think of 
 doing that which is impossible! Why emphasize 
 " What must I do?" when he can do nothing? Why 
 put his trust in ceremonies and morality when he 
 can really .keep the law of neither ? The truth is 
 that whatever he does before justification is sin. He 
 is working for justification, but until he is justified 
 all his good works go for nothing. This is a startling 
 fact. It may be hard to believe. But it is the 
 doctrine of the Church of England. The thirt-eenth 
 Article says of works done before justification " we 
 
 j^ -.v„ ,^t^„ „ii^j, iittvc wic uuiiium oi Bin. it 18 
 
 the doctrine of the Word of God. There we are told 
 
SALVATION THE EFFRCT OF MERCY. 
 
 109 
 
 that " the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination 
 to the Lord." It may be outwardly the same as the 
 justified man's, but still it is an abomination, it is 
 sin. The case of the man then who would make 
 himself just with God—and to be justified is equiva* 
 lent to being saved— is indeed a desperate one. In- 
 stead of escaping from sin he still remains in sin. 
 and binds himself more and more in its iron fetters. 
 He is in a hopeless bondage. 
 
 Our text brings before us this great truth. When 
 we ask " What must I do to be saved ?" we must re- 
 member that " It is not of him that willeth, nor of 
 him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." 
 We may want salvation,and we may run after salva- 
 tion, but salvation is obtained neither by wishing, 
 nor running, but of the free, sovereign grace of God. 
 It is given by Him without money and without 
 price. No observances, no laws, no works can ever 
 gain for us that inestimable gift. We niay do and 
 do all the days of our life, but we will never save 
 ourselves. Salvation comes not from doing, but from 
 God. That is an important fact. 
 
 And it is as reasonable as it is important. The 
 Scriptures teach us that God sent His Son into the 
 world to save man. He lived here below and died 
 on the Cross that He might save us from eternal 
 death. Now if salvation comes from us, from what 
 we do, then it does not come from the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and if so, all His work was useless. If He 
 
110 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE Sl/BJECTS. 
 
 IS not the One who saves, but we are our own 
 saviours, then His sufferings and cruel death were 
 altogether unnecessary, and actually thrown away. 
 It was because God saw that we were helpless, it 
 was because He saw we were so entangled in sm, 
 and so could not deliver ourselves from the doom to 
 which that sin was hurrying us, that He sent to us 
 a Redeemer, One mighty to save. He knew our 
 utter inability better than we could ever know it, 
 and pity for us in our desperate condition made Him 
 extend to us a salvation. And the simple question 
 then is : Was the work of Christ complete and per- 
 fect, or was it defective and partial ? Did Christ 
 really succeed in saving man, or is man in the same 
 condition he was in immediately after th-^ fall ? 
 
 There can be but one answer to the question when 
 put in this way. It is an impossibility for God 
 to fail in anything. When He created the heavens 
 and the earth, and reviewed His marvellous work. 
 He pronounced that it was very good ; and when He 
 hung upon the Cross, and looked upon the salvation 
 of the human race. He declared to all the world "It 
 is finished." And when those words dropped from 
 the lips of the Divine Incarnation they were very 
 truth. The work of salvation actually was finished, 
 and finished as God finishes every thing, perfect and 
 entire. It could not be otherwise. To say that God 
 sent His Son into the world to save the world, and 
 that His purpose was not accomplished, is to say 
 
SALVATION THE EFFECT OF MERCY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 that He is not Almighty, and that Hia wisdom was 
 at fault. We cannot conceive such a thing as that. 
 We cannot for an instant conceive that Christ came 
 short in any sense of fulfilling His work, of verily 
 and completely saving man from sin and the wrath 
 to come. 
 
 Thus we see that salvation is not of man, but of 
 God. " So that it is not of him that willeth, nor of 
 him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." 
 And when the awakened sinner learns this truth he 
 will learn to cease to look upon what he must do, 
 and will forget himself in gazing upon what Christ 
 has done. He will no longer rest his hopes upon a 
 ceremonial or a moral life, or even upon a godly one, 
 but upon the Crucified Messiah of Israel. It will 
 no longer be "See what I am doing," but " Behold 
 the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the 
 world." There is no more running after salvation^ 
 for he now knows that salvation is already his, that 
 it is God's gracious gift to man. 
 
 Need I speak of the joy and str'^ngth and security 
 this doctrine ensures to us ? Is it not plain upon the 
 very face of our text, that we have every hope ? 
 What hope dees the law give us ? We cannot keep 
 it. If we break but one point the Scripture says 
 we are guilty of all. And ve are guilty, we are under 
 its sentence, and that sentence is death. But if God 
 saves us, nay, if He has saved us, we have then 
 nothing to fear. We may rejoice and be glad when 
 
112 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 we know that the Lord Jesus Christ, by His death 
 upon the Cross, made there a full, perfect and suffi- 
 cient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins 
 of the whole world, and that in that finished work 
 we are indeed saved. 
 
 There is, however, one duty that remains to us 
 in reference to this question. Salvation is indeed of 
 God, absolutely of God. It is a gift from Him to 
 man : but it must be received. If we would avail 
 ourselves of that salvation, it must be appropriated 
 to us and by us. Otherwise we remain under sin 
 and death by our own choice and act. And the 
 means of appropriation, thejway in which it is re- 
 ceived, is Faith. It is not works, but simply believ- 
 mg. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou 
 Shalt be saved." This is the doctrine that the Word 
 of God enforces upon our attention again and again 
 Christ has died for us ; Christ has saved us ; and all 
 God asks of us in order to salvation is that we ac- 
 cept it by faith. No gift is of use to the person for 
 whom it is intended unless it be accepted. If a man 
 be drowning in the mid ocean and a vessel comes 
 near to the rescue and oflfers to save the man, and 
 the man refuses the offer he must drown. If a cap- 
 tive in a strange land refuses to accept the ransom 
 procured for him by his friends he must remain in 
 his bondage. And so if we allow the work of God to 
 go unaccepted what can God do more ? He has done 
 ever^iihing that could pogsibly be done, and there is 
 
 \\ 
 
SALVATION THE EFFECT OF MERCY. 113 
 
 not a man, woman or child, however full of sin they 
 may have been, that may not be saved from that 
 sm, and from eternal woe, if they will but receive 
 the salvation. 
 
 And just here let us remember that when we say 
 this salvation is ours, we also know that it is the 
 only salvation which God has provided for us. There 
 IS no other that will avail us anything. There wa^ 
 no possibility of our entering into life eternal with- 
 out the death of Christ. God gave Him, when every 
 other way was closed up, and now there is no salva- 
 tion in any other, "For there is none other name 
 under heaven given among men whereby we must 
 be saved." If then we refuse this salvation we can 
 have no hope that God will save in a-iy other way. 
 It IS through Christ and only through Christ we may 
 enter heaven, and if we have not Christ then we can 
 never have heaven. We may have a great deal but 
 without this " one thing needful " we shall be lost. 
 Nor has God any mercy for man save that which 
 flows through His Son. All the love of the Infinite 
 centres in him, and to those out of Christ there can 
 be no love and no mercy. How foolish then for 
 people to forget Christ, and yet trust all will be well ! 
 God wiU not save, God cannot save, except through 
 the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and to those who re- 
 ject Him there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,, 
 " but a certain fearful looking for of judg'x^ ^t 
 
l! 
 
 Hi 
 
 114 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 and fiery indignation, which shall devour the ad- 
 versaries." 
 
 Such being the ca^e we see that salvation is not 
 of him that willeth— we may will a thousand ways 
 to glory and devise as many more, but that will help 
 us nothing : nor is salvation of him that runneth— 
 he may work all the days of his life but it is labour 
 in vam ; salvation comes only of God that sheweth 
 mercy. So then the answer for the one who asks 
 What must I do to be saved? " is, Look to God for 
 salvation-away from self,away from all, to the Lord 
 Jesus-believe in Hiai and thou shalt be saved, 
 ihat 18 all, no willing, no running, but altogether of 
 
 And for whom is this salvation wrought ? To 
 whom is it offered ? Our text says it is of God that 
 sheweth mercy. It is then a question of mercy : and 
 where mercy is shown it is implied that it is shown 
 to thpse who need it. All therefore who need mercy 
 are the ones to whom the mercy is offered. It is 
 then my dear reader, offered to you and to me, for 
 surely we need mercy: it is offered to all who feel 
 that they are helpless and undone. Perhaps some 
 one IS reading this who is in just that condition. It 
 y^ry often happens that many who begin to think 
 about these things hesitate to come to God because 
 they feel themselves so utterly unworthy. They 
 stay away trusting to make themselves better before 
 they come. The fact is they want to justify and 
 
SALVATION THE EFFECT OF MKUCY. 115 
 
 save themselves first and come to God afterwards. 
 Thoy are very much like a sick man who says to 
 himself that when he gets better he will go to the 
 physician. If it is absurd in the one case, it is er^ually 
 a^ absurd in the other. And as a matter of fact the 
 man who waits to fit himself for God is just as unfit 
 after a long endeavour as he was at the beginning. 
 And if God's grace be working in him he soon finds 
 himself in a desperate c,»«e. He can do nothing, and 
 he realizes the awful blackness of his soul. That 
 man is just the one in need of mercy and until he 
 has received mercy-until he has received the 
 heavenly medicine— he will be no better. Why not 
 then acknowledge that he is in the terrible plight? 
 It is mercy he needs and that is just what God 
 offers him. It is not when he is well he needs a 
 physician— it is not when he is saved he needs a 
 Saviour— but it is when he is dying, dying in sin, 
 that he requires strength and assistance. And it is' 
 then God offers him salvation. " I came not to call 
 the righteous but sinners to repentance." And so 
 he calls unto Him, not the hale, the hearty, and the 
 strong, but the weary and the heavy-laden, that He 
 may give them rest. It is just these poor, helpless, 
 worn-out sinners, who need salvation for whom sal- 
 vation was wrought. It is just those who can do 
 nothing for whom God has done everything. It is 
 to those who are floundering in the miry pit, and 
 find it impossible to get out, God is extending a help- 
 
lin HIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 iiig hand, and ofterin^ to set their feet upon the rock 
 yea, even upon the Rock of Ages ! 
 
 Dear reader, are you among those to whom these 
 words of the old, old story have a welcome applica- 
 tion ? I do not ask you if you are conscious of sin • 
 I trust that is a point alrendy admitted: but I ask 
 the question which is of stiJI more importance Are 
 you freed from the consequences of sin ? Are you 
 sa ^ frr.^ the curse of the law ? I am sure there 
 are man3 who fain would be. I am sure there 
 are man. who are longing for reconciliation wi^li 
 Uod. But they feel they are still in the great bon- 
 dage. It IS to such I address myself. To whom are 
 they lookmg for salvation ? Is it to their own self, 
 or to God ? Is it to their own condition or works 
 a.- 18 ,t to the crucified Lord and Saviour ? Suppose 
 the leper that was in the great multitude which fol- 
 lowed Jesus when H came down from the Mount on 
 which He had just preached one of His wonderful 
 sermons, had looked to himself, or hmi even mourn J 
 over his sad condition, would it have helped him 
 any ? Not in the lea^t. But he looked to Jesus and ' 
 he said "Lord, if thou ^vilt, thou canst make me 
 Clean. There wa^ his . oe. there was his life, and 
 the cure which he nev.r . .L- ha^.: wrought him- 
 se^f was immediately wrc.j4n fo. him by th, God of 
 aU power So it is exa<.tly ua.. .b who a.o afflicted 
 with the leprosy of sin. We may look at our sin- 
 spots as long us we like. We may weep over them. 
 Ac may uy to cover them up. The will may be 
 
NAlVATtOK TRK EFFECT Of MEB(,T. U7 
 
 very g«>d, a„.l Uu: at^,„pt „,y bo ve.^ g^, B„t 
 ^. t w,l. not !.e,.. *„„,. The di,oa,„ wiU rcnain a 
 Ud ^ ever a.W all „„r work. Health and ur 
 «.d -alvation n>u»t be of Uod. We „,„,t c,.,ne to 
 otfll o-^Pl^guo-^mitten souls, and in the word s 
 of fa.th say unto Hhn "Lord, if thou wilt, thou 
 canst make me oofln " a-, xi . ^^^^u 
 
 looking to the W ; ll7'"' '"""'"'^ '"""' """'"^. 
 Tin. „f1.- T "* y"" oonvinced that "It is 
 
 oL ofh r .1 ""'"" ""'^"y ' " '^'"^'' lot "« ' a™ 
 one other truth-the one to which the connection of 
 .uy text more e-pecially points-that not only is 
 the salvation which we would have of God. but the 
 very desire we have to obtain that salvation is of 
 Ood. It IS God who.has taught us what sin is, it is 
 Goa who has given us the fear of the evil to come 
 t .s God who has given us the will to escape both 
 the s,„ and the evil. We have that consciousness, 
 that fear that will, not of ou^elves. it is not in- 
 _erent ., ...but of God. Then let us give Him all 
 the ghuy I Let us acknowledge that we a., nothing 
 
 W^ " '77/ '"^ ' ^' "^ «° ^^""^ Him an! 
 forgetting self, forgetting our own pritry righteous- 
 ness plead for mercy, for nothing but m'lrcy , That 
 18 What we want, that is what we must have 
 
 find^r.^r ^' "' ** *'"' ^'"" °' *« "^"^ -e shall 
 find that there IS no " do" in the matter, but that it 
 
 i,l\l°n ^' '"""'' -' '-"^ '—-^ to a future 
 «-. ...XV.U, oac 10 one already accomplished. And we 
 
118 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 shall rise rejoicing in the Lord, and then we shall 
 work. Then we shall teU others what a dear Saviour 
 we have found, we shall seek to add glory to His name 
 and to His cause, and above all we shall endeavour 
 by His grace to avoid the sin that so long enslaved 
 us, the sin that so nearly wrought our ruin ! 
 
 May God bless this message to the heart of every 
 one who reads it, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 it 
 
SERMON IZ. 
 
 THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 
 
 R0MAN8 IX. 23.-" That He might make known the riches of His jfl^o^ on the 
 vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory. " 
 
 ITCH is the gracious purpose of God towards 
 His people. They shall receive of the riches 
 of His glory. They are specially prepared for 
 this. It is part of the eternal plan on which God 
 has worked from the very beginning. He Himself 
 leads the sinner to the Cross. He finds him in the 
 wilderness and He carries him to the fold, nor does 
 He give him up until he is safe within the shelter. 
 There is a comfort in this that no words can express. 
 If we look into our text we shall find this is the 
 lesson taught us there. God is with us from the 
 first to the last. He is the Lord over all the way 
 from sin unto glory, from death unto life. Such a 
 view of salvation must compel us to sink man out of 
 sight and to exalt and magnify the mercy and power 
 and glory of God. 
 
 The very expression by which the apostle denom- 
 inates God's people strengthens this doctrine— they 
 are " vessels of mercy." A vessel is an utensil pur- 
 posely made for holding. The one who makes it 
 shapes and forms it as he pleases. The vessel has 
 no voice in the xiiatter at all. The potter has abso- 
 lute power over the clay. So God says to the House 
 
.n 1 
 
 •' i 
 
 fii 
 
 i! ' 
 ( 
 
 Mi ; 
 
 120 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 of Israel " Cannot I do with you as this potter ? 
 Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye 
 in mine hand." The potter then has " power over 
 the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto 
 honour and another unto dishonour." And the Lord 
 has a like power over us who are but as clay to mould 
 us and to prepare us for whatever may be His pur- 
 pose. , , 
 
 This fact teaches us our utter helplessness and ab- 
 solute dependence on God. It destroys the idea that 
 we control our own eternal destiny or save our own 
 souls. We are simply in the hands of God. If we 
 have a will to be saved it is because He has planted 
 that will in our hearts. If we behold the glories of 
 Redeeming Love it is because He has revealed them 
 to us. If we overcome sin and temptation it is in 
 His strength. If we reach heaven at last it is by 
 His grace. We owe everything to Him. The first 
 spark of spiritual life, the sense of forgiveness, the 
 joys of the pilgrimage, the glory of the eternal day 
 —all to Him. He has made us vessels— vessels for 
 what ? Why, to hold His mercy ! That was His 
 design. We were rebels against Him, sinners in His 
 sight, but He would show us His mercy. We were 
 but empty vessels but now are we full. Yes, and 
 we are now full because we were once empty ! Self 
 was emptied out, and sin and guilt and the terrors of 
 the law and the last dregs of self -righteousness — all 
 and everything belonging to man, all emptied out 
 
 
3TS. 
 
 18 potter ? 
 80 are ye 
 >wer over 
 essel unto 
 . the Lord 
 T to mould 
 5 His pur- 
 
 88 and ab- 
 3 idea that 
 e our own 
 )d. If we 
 a8 planted 
 glories of 
 saled them 
 in it is in 
 it it is by 
 The first 
 reness, the 
 temal day 
 vessels for 
 t was His 
 ners in His 
 We were 
 Yes, and 
 pty ! Self 
 e terrors of 
 Lisness — all 
 nptied out 
 
 THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 121 
 
 and mercy poured in. And now we stand before 
 God vessels of mercy-our title to come into His 
 presence resting simply upon His mercy. Our only 
 plea-His mercy ; our only hope, our life, our joy-l 
 His mercy. Let this solemn fact never be forgitien. 
 It IS not .^i.at we are or what we have done but 
 what God ., and what He has done for us. It is not 
 whether we are good or bad, but whether we are 
 vessels of mercy. Have we been under the potter's 
 hand ? Have we been filled with the outflowings of 
 Divme Love ? If so. we are the ones of whom our 
 text speaks. We are vessels of mercy prepared to 
 receive of the riches of God's glory. Let us give 
 the praise to God ! Let our doubting hearts ascribe 
 a the gloiy to His blessed name ! He has done it 
 ail! 
 
 Consider another point. The text speaks of pre- 
 paration : "which He had afore prepared unto glory " 
 It needed preparation. We needed preparation in 
 order to be filled with mercy and we needed stiU 
 more preparation for glory. The materials all needed 
 to be made ready for Solomon's magnificent Temple 
 and so we must be made ready for that still more 
 glorious Temple not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens. Sin must be conquered, evil passions must 
 be subdued, a soul of iniquity must be regenerated 
 and sanctified. Our afiections, our love, our will, our 
 .i.e must all be changed. We must be moulded and 
 cut and trimmed for Paradise. And how can aU 
 
f; -f 
 
 i i 
 
 122 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 this be brought about ? How can man be made 
 meet for the Master's kingdom ? Does not experi- 
 ence tell us, that we are powerless to accomplish 
 this gi-eat result ? " Who can bring a clean thing 
 out of an unclean ? " asks Job, and he answers, " not 
 one ! " No man can prepare himself for heaven. 
 No man can free himself from sin. The trees of the 
 forest cannot change their nature, neither can man 
 change his. No man can turn at his own will from 
 the paths of vice into the way of holiness. " Can 
 the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his 
 spots ? " If so, " then," adds Jeremiah, ' may ye 
 also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." And 
 yet man must be changed. He must be born again. 
 He must be prepared for the future. And there 
 again our text throws the whole work upon God : 
 "which He had afore prepared unto glory." He 
 Himself, the Lord God Almighty, prepares His peo- 
 ple for glory. He is the workman, we are the clay. 
 He and He only who is Nature's Lord can change us 
 from sinners into saints. He who conquered death 
 can conquer sin. What a blessed thought this is ! 
 We are in His hands. He can touch our blinded 
 sight and reveal to us the day of salvation. He can 
 speak to the chaos of desolation that reigns in our 
 hearts and " the desert shall rejoice and blossom as 
 the rose." He can lead us from the City of Destruc- 
 tion to the City of Peace where dwell His ransomed 
 ones in the mansions of eternal bliss. 
 
 t ! 
 i I 
 
THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 123 
 
 See how mercy i, connected with this preparation 
 
 gW ITX :';"''' «^ "^ "^^ P^aLd unto 
 gory. And what m mercy but an act of love » 
 
 Have we not suggested here the mode of God's pre- 
 
 Cross by the love and mercy we there see displayed > 
 The hammer of affliction may scatter the fragment* 
 of stone but the fire of love alone can melt them. 
 The thunders of Sinai may strike terror to the soul 
 but the st.ll small voice of mercy alone can quiet 
 the rapng tempest and still our doubts and fears. 
 It .s the "love oiChristthatconstrainethus" No- 
 thing can hold and bind the sinner to the Saviour 
 so strongly as the silken cords of Divine love cast 
 around the trembling soul. Nothing can eneoui^ge 
 us m the way or compel us to persevere unto the 
 end more than the thought of the love God has 
 lor us. We cannot buret those bands of love we 
 cannot refuse to listen to that voice of mercy ' We 
 camiot help loving God for " God is love " and " we 
 love Him because He first loved us." 
 
 But if we are won by love, are we not kept by love » 
 Vessels of mercy-vessels filled with love ! Remem- 
 ber how often we stumble and fall ; how often tempta- 
 tion overcomes us and leads us into sin; how often 
 we wander away. Yet God's love and mercy follows 
 »B, preserves us and lifts us up. Affliction is sent us 
 ba. « m t^m God. The dark, lowering clouds of 
 adversity are tinged with the gloiy of the eternal 
 
124 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 :¥ 
 
 I i 
 
 love. The deep sea of tribulation is quiet and beau- 
 tiful beneath the sunlight of mercy that rests upon 
 its wavelets of sorrow. We drink of the bitter cup, 
 but the hand that holds it to our lips trembles with 
 love. It is all love ; all the way through. Our sins 
 are forgiven in love. Our heart's proudest idol is 
 taken from us in love. Our stubborn wills are bent 
 and broken in love. The whole preparation is a 
 preparation of love. We know that God has done 
 it all. He has prepared us Himself. He made us as 
 vessels unto honour, and he has filled us with 
 mercy. Our text tells us all this. We are nothing 
 —nothing but "vessels of mercy which he had 
 afore prepared unto glory '*— nothing but the objects 
 of redeeming love. Love found us, love ransomed 
 us, love saved us. All round us nothing but love. 
 Love within and love without. Love in this life, 
 and everlasting love beyond the gi-ave. Oh, what 
 glory we should ascribe unto God for all this ! How 
 gladly we should laud and magnify His holy name I 
 What was there in us that led Him to give His Son 
 to die for our salvation ? Nothing, nothing. It was 
 His love that did it all. " God so loved the world 
 that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoso- 
 ever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life." Had it not been for God's love 
 there had been no heaven for us ! Had it not been 
 tor ms mercy wu siiuuiu iiavc iciiioixxcvi. xii vux ,:,iiia 
 justly condemned, the worthy objects of His right- 
 
THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 
 
 125 
 
 in our smf? 
 
 eous indignation. Oh, that we might realize this 
 more and more ! Oh, that we might feel ourselves 
 to be nothing and hold Him to be All and in all the 
 Author and Finisher of our faith, the Lord God Al- 
 mighty, just and true, the King of all His saints f 
 bimply to lie at His feet-empty vessels to be filled 
 with His mercy, to be prepared by Him for glory 
 That IS our position. That is where our text suggests 
 we ought to be. 
 
 But this is not all our text assures us of. It tells 
 us of God's purpose concerning these vessels of 
 mercy. He has not merely filled them with mercv 
 or prepared them for glory, but it is his avowed in- 
 tention to make known to them the riches of His 
 glory. Elsewhere the Apostle speaks of the '< riches 
 of His goodness," and the " riches of His grace " 
 both expressions referring to the same thing as the 
 one before us. For -^hen we see His goodness there 
 we behold His grace, and when we behold His grace 
 we are surrounded with the manifestation of His 
 glory God's goodness, grace and glory are all to be 
 revealed and made known to the vessels of His 
 mercy And that, to a certain extent, in this life 
 I had fainted," says David, " unless I had believed 
 to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the 
 iving. We shall see much of God's glory here 
 We shall behold His grace in His dealings wfth H^' 
 
 people. Thp l,n».^ tbHf H 1 ~ ^i-^^is 
 
 * j' 1,. ,7T ""' ' "" iuscued us from danger 
 
 and shielded us from the a^saulte of our enemies, 
 
? • 
 
 i I 
 
 1 i 
 
 ■ 
 
 ri 
 
 
 
 ^1 
 
 126 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 and led us in the way, we shall recognize to be the 
 hand of God. The blood stains that hide the sin- 
 marks on our soul, the robe of righteousness that is 
 cast over our guilt and shame, the voice that bids us 
 stand before the throne of God, we shall assuredly 
 fiiid proceed from His love. Revelations will be 
 made to us. The night of our pilgrimage will be 
 cheered with the dawning of the eternal morn. We 
 shall see God's glory resting upon the gloomy 
 mountains of doubt that hem our narrow way. We 
 shall behold His goodness wherever we are and in 
 whatever we are doing. We shall feel the influences 
 of His grace in our hearts. But what will all this 
 be to the hereafter ? Truly what we see and know 
 now is as nothing to that which shall be revealed in 
 the other world. After all we can know but little 
 of God in this life. The veil hides the Holy of 
 Holies from our view. A river rolls between us and 
 Paradise. But the veil will be torn in sunder, the 
 river will be passed, and we shall see Him as He is. 
 
 " While here, alas, I know but half His love, 
 <# But half discern Him, and but half adore ; 
 
 But when I meet Him in the realms above 
 
 I hope to love Him better, praise Him more, 
 And feel and tell amid the choir divine, 
 How fully I am His, and He is mine." 
 
 What a positive assurance our text gives us that 
 this will be our end ! It is God's purpose to take us 
 to Himself. It is His purpose to reveal to us the 
 riches of His glory. Here again we see it is all cast 
 
 M 
 
THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 
 
 127 
 
 upon God. It is God that will make known to us 
 all things. We have nothing to do with it. It is a 
 part of God's eternal plan. He makes, He prepares, 
 He receives. He commences and He finishes the 
 work. He fills us with mercy and He crowns us 
 with glory. When the dark rain-clouds hang across 
 the brightness of the sun we cannot remove them, 
 nor can we touch the darker clouds that roll be- 
 tween us and God. We cannot remove the ocean- 
 floods of sin and guilt that separate us from the 
 land of peace. No, but God can. God can take 
 away the floods and the clouds, and make the light 
 of His countenance to shine upon us. And this He 
 intends to do. He has prepared us for this, and He 
 will assuredly bring us to it. We shall see the ful- 
 ness of His glory. 
 
 How many are the thoughts suggested to us just 
 here ! What room is there for doubt ? The promise 
 rests upon God. He cannot lie. His word is sure. 
 And not only this, but the work is His. He will 
 bring it to pass. It cannot fail. We must receive 
 the glory. No one can hinder us. No man can 
 prevent the sun from shining upon the earth, neither 
 can man prevent God's glory from shining upon His 
 saints. Death shall remove the last obstacle. We 
 know that the moon's light is but the reflection of 
 the light of the sun, and our glory is but the reflec- 
 tion of God's glory. Yet the world sometimes comes 
 between the sun and the moon, and her light is 
 
ini! I 
 
 ;Li 
 
 I I 
 
 f r 
 i 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 i \ 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 1 
 i i 
 
 U 
 
 h ' 
 
 128 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 turned into darkness. So, I fear, the world often 
 conies between us and God, and our glorj- is turned 
 into shame. But beyond death's gloom no world 
 can ever obstruct the eternal glory. It will forever 
 and forever shine upon these cold, barren souls of 
 ours — these vessels of mercy — and the clay will be 
 forgotten in the light, the desolation hidden in the 
 glory. 
 
 And another thought rushes upon us here. Who 
 ever thinks of the utter darkness, the silent, lifeless, 
 barren wastes, the cold, dry, dreary deserts of the 
 moon when, ablaze with the light of the hidden sun, 
 she sails across our wintry sky, or sinks to rest be- 
 hind our summer western clouds ? Still she is cold, 
 barren, dead. And so are we. Very beautiful we 
 shall be in our Father's home, but it will be in His 
 beauty, in His glory. We shall be nothing— only 
 vessels of mercy. Remember this then. What we 
 are in relation to God here we shall be hereafter. 
 Our life will be His life. Our joy will be His joy. 
 Our wealth will be His wealth. And in this very 
 fact the eternity of our happiness will rest. As 
 God's word cannot fail, neither can His power. We 
 can depend upon that. 
 
 And when He shall make known to us the riches 
 
 of His glory how speechless we shall stand in His 
 
 ' presence ! We shall need the new song then to be 
 
 put into our mouths. No song of earth will express 
 
 our joy. What will all the past be — or what the 
 
THE VESSELS OF MERCY. 
 
 129 
 
 future in that glorious present ? What the sin, the 
 shame, the grief of this world beneath those rays of 
 g V.den light ! All will be forgotten then. One 
 grand.eternal.ever present glory will be to us the con- 
 summation of all things. We shall see God, and to 
 see Him is all that heart can wish for. We shall know 
 then that we never could have earned, never could 
 have attained to such joy. We shall know then 
 that God has done it all. We shall know that it 
 was Ho that led us and controlled our steps. To 
 Him be all the glory ! 
 
 One word more. I have spoken of doubts. Oh, 
 what doubting hearts ours are ! We are always 
 questioning God's promises. We never seem to be 
 able to take Him at His word. Perhaps many will 
 say that the assurance given in our text depends 
 upon conditions. True, but only upon one— not our 
 attainments— but upon the fact of our being vessels 
 of mercy. Upon those who have found mercy God 
 will show His glory. But am I a vessel of mercy ? 
 some one will ask. Oh, that we might all put this 
 solemn question to ourselves ! Let me ask, do you 
 think you need mercy ? Have you done anything 
 that you feel ha,s placed you under God's condemna- 
 tion ? Would you ask for mercy ? If so, then 
 mercy is yours. " Him that cometh unto Me I will 
 in no wise cast out." There is an assurance for 
 you ^rom God. Feel your need of inerey, go to Him 
 for it— cry out, as the poor publican did, " God be 
 
 1- . 
 
 '■Hi 
 
I 
 
 
 130 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 merciful to me a sinner "—and mercy is yours. Go 
 to God as an empty vessel and He will fill you with 
 mercy. You will go from that blessed presence a 
 vessel of mercy. Did I say "go"? No, you wiU 
 remain there. You will go out no more. The gra- 
 cious influence that brought you there will keep 
 you there. You cannot possibly doubt that. Only 
 be as nothing. Look at your sin, and not at the 
 good deeds you have done. They are nothing, but 
 oh ' the sin, how deep, how black ! Do you doubt 
 it? Think of God's righteousness and love, and 
 you can doubt that point no longer. We have seen 
 the winter's snow upon the ground. How white 
 and beautiful ! Spotless and pure we say. And so 
 it looks, but as it fell it gathered in the air minute 
 particles of dust and smoke— so minute that we can- 
 not see them, and they lie hid in that ma^ of seem- 
 ing purity. Melt the snow and we find dirty water. 
 And so many a life seems pure, many a heart seems 
 free from sin, but oh ! melt that life, that heart, in 
 the fire of God's love, and the dark corruption will 
 be manifest, the foul taint be seen. There is the sin. 
 If we know it, then is it not because God has re- 
 vealed it to us ? And there is the mercy hiding, 
 forgiving, forgetting the sin. Oh, that we may all 
 realize this blessed truth ! Oh, that every unfor- 
 given one reading this sei-mon may fall down at His 
 feet and leave it all with Him ! Oh, that we may 
 ie^ve everything with Him ! He will save. He 
 
THE VESSELS OF MEKCT. 
 
 131 
 
 will guide. He will keep. He will never leave nor 
 forsake them that trust Him. All is and ever will be 
 in His hand. Let us rest, then, our soul, our all. upon 
 Him. His purpose concerning us is eternal, sure 
 and gracious. It is " That He might make known 
 the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, 
 which He had afore prepared unto glory." 
 
 , 
 
H! /<i: 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 ft 
 
 Galatians ii. 20. -" 1 live ; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me." 
 
 J HE perpetual presence of Christ with His peo- 
 -^ pie is assured them by the Master's last words 
 to the Apostles, " Lo I am with you alway." 
 Wherever they might be, or in whatever circum- 
 stances placed, their Lord was with them. Whether 
 it were in prayer or worship — " where two or three 
 are gathered together in my name there am I in 
 the midst of them ; " or in distress and tribulation 
 — " when thou passest through the waters I will be 
 with thee ;" or in doubt and anxiety — " I will guide 
 thee with Mine eye: " — in all the changes and wants 
 of life the promise ever was, " I will never leave 
 thee nor forsake thee." So that God's people in 
 view of this assured presence might say with David 
 " I will fear no evil : for Thou art with me," and be 
 bold in the fact tha,t "the Lord is nigh unto all them 
 that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in 
 truth." 
 
 But the Apostle in my text leads us on to a 
 higher and more glorious truth than even this. He 
 declares that Christ is our very life. " I live : yet 
 not I, but Christ liveth in me." There is something 
 piore than mere presence. There is indwelling life. 
 
THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 133 
 
 So that Christ is not only with His people, guarding, 
 guiding and hearing them, but He is in them— He' 
 is the living principle, the actual source of spiritual 
 life. Let us, dear reader, look a little at the na- 
 ture of this Indwelling Presence and Life of 
 Christ. 
 
 And the first thing we may observe of it is, that 
 it is a Personal Life. 
 
 Life could not be otherwise than personal. Yet 
 many people speak of spiritual life as general. They 
 partake of it in general with the whole Church. 
 They would rather say "we live" than "I live"— 
 rather look upon the whole as living than a part. 
 The consequence of this is, Christ is no more to us 
 individually than a king is to the great mass of his 
 subjects. They indeed feel the benefit of his just 
 laws and efficient administration, but they know 
 nothing of him personally. Christ must be far 
 more to us than this. He must not be merely a 
 general influence but a personal life, so that each 
 one of us may say, « Christ liveth in me." This is 
 the doctrine which is taught us in the Sacrament 
 of the Lord's Supper; there is an individual parti- 
 cipation of the elements which symbolize our 
 spiritual sustenance— an individual commemoration 
 of the sacrifice of Christ's death. 
 
 The personal Hfe of Christ in His people must be 
 taken in a literal sense. We may not rob our text 
 of its plain and natural force. All mankind derives 
 
I i 
 
 I ' 
 
 134 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 its animal life from Adam. The vital germ planted 
 in him by the Creator is diffused throughout the 
 whole human family. The life which is now in us 
 was once in Adam, so that we may say in a sense 
 that Adam lives in us. Now if Adam's life in us be 
 actual and real, Christ's far more so : for Adam is 
 dead but Christ is living— Adam's life is transmitted 
 to us through many generations, but Christ's by 
 immediate, personal contact with the soul. To 
 animate a mass of matter so that it shall live as 
 man, the life of Adam must be imparted to it : to 
 animate the soul so that it may live unto God the 
 life of Christ must be imparted to it ; so that in the 
 body we have an animal life and in the soul a 
 spiritual life. This is the meaning of our Lord's 
 words to Nicodemus,"Ye mustbebom again." The 
 first birth, that of the body, from Adam, must be 
 supplemented by the second birth, that of the soul, 
 from above. The natural man may then say : "I 
 live in the life transmitted to me from Adam," and 
 the spiritual man may say with St. Paul, "I Jive ; 
 yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
 
 The question may be asked how is this spiritual 
 life imparted to the soul ? An answer is very simple. 
 It is by the mind. The soul is reached by the mind. 
 An intelligent appreciation of the truth as it is in 
 . Jesus-a mental grasping of the fact of His work 
 and our condition-is the channel by which hie is 
 given to the soul. The reason must be exercised. 
 
THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 135 
 
 Hence the scripture says " We are born again by 
 the word of God " because that word is addressed 
 to our mind, and through it, by the help of the Holy 
 Spirit, reaches our soul. In this sense it is called 
 '* quick i.e. living and powerful." And this being 
 the mode of imparting life it is evident that it must 
 be personally apprehended. The individual him- 
 self must "lay hold on eternal life." "The effectual 
 fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much " 
 for the benefit of his brother, but his faith availeth 
 nothing for the justification of another. So that in 
 prayer we may say " Our Father " but in faith it is 
 " I believe." A personal faith leading each one of 
 us individually to the Saviour is the secret of this 
 personal life. There must be a personal death unto 
 sin, so that there may be a personal resurrection 
 unto righteousness. With this personal life the 
 Christian may speak of himself and the Redeemer 
 to the exclusion of everyone else. St. Paul could 
 say « I aYn the chief of sinners," " but I obtained 
 mercy." There is no one between us and the 
 Master. It is a close relationship. We are one 
 with Him, because His life is our life. Our dead 
 souls live because He has given them life. It is 
 well for us to see that we have this indwelling per- 
 sonal life. Am I " a new creature in Christ Jesus ? " 
 Can I say with St. Paul, " Christ liveth in me." If 
 we cannot speak of this life as om-s, then we know 
 
fiff'- 
 
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 136 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 it not. If we have no personal interest in Christ, 
 He will have no personal interest in us. 
 
 But the life of Christ in us besides being personal, 
 is in the f^cond place Developing. 
 
 It grows in the soul. At first it is but a germ, 
 X but it p'-ogresses on and on to perfection. It is 
 strong or weak according as it is nourished and 
 strengthened by the means of grace which God has 
 provided tor our spiritual food. The young convert 
 will not be as able to resist sin and temptation as 
 the older and maturer Christian. But however 
 weak or strong our life may be it is a life that may 
 be felt. We must know that we are living. We 
 are conscious of it in its results. The result of the 
 life of Christ in us is holiness and sanctification. 
 " If Christ be in you," says St. Paul, " the body is 
 dead because of sin." The grace of God which is 
 in us teacheth us " that denying ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously 
 and godly, in this present world," and St. John 
 declares that " whosoever is born of God doth not 
 commit sin : for His seed remaineth in him : and 
 he cannot sui because he is born of God." " The 
 wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peace- 
 able, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy 
 and good fruits, without partiality and without 
 hypocrisy." There will be a general disinclination 
 to sm on tne part oi ouu vvuu is nviug i." ^-•lll.lov. 
 This is the best test we can have that we are truly 
 
THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 137 
 
 I in Christ. 
 
 the children of God. We may not know the form 
 and essence of spiritual life any more than weknc^w 
 the form and essence of natural life, but we discern it 
 by Its effects. We know whether we delight in the 
 things pertaining unto life or in the things of this 
 world. Jhe life itself is indeed "hid with Christ 
 
 M . T\ '" ^'^^^ °^"" '^ because we are 
 
 unable to behold its glory-but the light of that life 
 should "so shine before men that they may see our 
 good works and glorify our Father which is in 
 heaven." 
 
 ^ I am not saying impossible things. A holy life 
 IS demanded of us. That life we shall certainly live 
 If we are bom again. I do not say we shall never 
 fall or that we shall be proof against temptation. 
 But I do say that hoUness will reign over sin, that 
 the spiritual life will be supreme above the natural 
 As thatHfe gets stronger so will it be more victori- 
 ous. We are to grow in grace. The life of Christ 
 m us will develope and make itself felt more and 
 more day by day. Sin will hide it and taint its 
 glory, but gradually it will become bright and clear 
 as the noonday. 
 
 You have seen the full moon rise on a warm 
 summer evening. How blood-red it looks a^ it 
 looms on the misty horizon ! But a^ it rises it gradu- 
 ally becomes brighter and more silver-like, till in 
 the xiiid-heavens it sails across the starry space 
 uatamted by aught of earth, majestic in its quiet 
 
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 138 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 and silent beauty. So the Christian at the begin- 
 ning of his career is coloured Avith earth's darkening 
 mists, but as he rises higher and higher towards 
 heaven he shines with a clearer light, he is touched 
 with a greater glory ! 
 
 Now we have all of us some talent which the 
 Lord has committed to our charge. It is our duty 
 to use that talent. We must not hide it because it 
 is a single one and we see our neighbour with ten 
 such. This is what many do. But the life of Christ 
 in us urges us on to activity. We cannot with that 
 life be idle. It must show itself. As well say that 
 the bright sun cannot be seen in a clear, unclouded 
 sky, as that the spiritual life in a man will not be 
 manifest. In whatever sphere our lot may be 
 cast, our talent, be it little or be it great, will be 
 developed and brought out. Wherever there is life 
 there will be movement and progression. There 
 are babes in Christ and there are grown men. Some 
 will be capable of great achievements and others 
 only of small ones. The little rill up in the moun- 
 tains cannot do much more than wend its way to 
 the plain. But the farther it runs the greater and 
 stronger it grows, till by and by it can turn the 
 great mill wheel, and farther on it can bear mighty 
 ships upon its bosom. So with us in our Christian 
 life. Small indeed at first, but as we flow on we 
 grow greater and stronger till unally tliat which 
 
ITS. 
 
 le begin- 
 
 iarkening 
 
 towards 
 
 3 touched 
 
 rhich the 
 our duty 
 because it 
 ' with ten 
 of Christ 
 with that 
 [1 say that 
 unclouded 
 ^ill not be 
 i may be 
 at, will be 
 bere is life 
 >n. There 
 \en. Some 
 and others 
 the moun- 
 its way to 
 reater and 
 ,n turn the 
 3ar mighty 
 r Christian 
 flow on we 
 
 THE LIFE OP CHRIST. 139 
 
 would kill „, in o„ y„„,h ^ 
 
 nought to m in our manhood ^ 
 
 An acorn is sown in the earth. It springs up a 
 ^^sprout that a careless step f™. a pafser by 
 
 tTf " /' ^""^ "" " "««>«'- a sapling • 
 
 then a young tree, and the birds make their home 
 m Its brunches. By and by it becomes a giant 
 
 ^ broad ^een boughs. The life that was in the 
 a^rn has developed it into the great tree. So he 
 ^rm of eternal life i„ the soul. It deveC t 
 It enlarges ,t. It strengthens it That which at 
 
 ZtedT "^ t r*"^ *"' " ""Sht have been 
 blasted forever had it not been cared for, is now 
 stong enough to withstand the wild tempest, and 
 able .teelf to overshadow and protect weaL o"es 
 from the bummg heat of temptation and sin. 
 
 It ,s forus to see that the life we have is developing 
 wrthzn us. If we are not gr„wi„g_if we are not get 
 tjng stronger day by day-there is something wrong. 
 •Erther we have not the real life in us, or we are not 
 nounshmg .t, a. is our duty. It is not loud pro- 
 fe»s.ons that testify of our life; nor is it a mech Jcal 
 perfonnance of the outward duties of religion; but 
 .t -s the surrender of the wiU to God-the intense 
 des.re to serve Him-to d™w nearer and nearer to 
 H.m. We may be very weak; we may not have 
 ^h. Ii0.ver to attain to that ideal which the ardent 
 'ong.ng of the soul sets before us,-^o we evert 
 
'f 
 
 140 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 the natural life realize the ambition .of an aspiring 
 mind? — but the very. fact that there are longings, 
 that there is an ambition, is an evidence of lifb. 
 We are dissatisfied with self — another proof of life, 
 for death knows no dissatisfaction ; and we fei^r we 
 have no life. But the test of all is in the inclination 
 toward God, in the desire to avoid sin. I do not 
 say we shall always go straight and right. I have 
 stood on a high hill overlooking a great plain. A 
 broad river wound its way amid the com fields and 
 meadows, and through the green woods. It did not 
 run straight. It twisted and turned, now to the 
 right, ere long to the left ; and at one place it leaped 
 over a high dam. But, in spite of all this, there 
 was a general inclination in those waters to flow to 
 the sea; and so their progress wfts onward. So 
 with us. We may .perhaps sometimes fall from the 
 straight line; but notwithstanding that, our lives 
 will have the general inclination to flow heaven- 
 ward — our progress will be on and on to God. Do 
 we find such to be the case in our experience ? Are 
 we going onward, developing and growing all the 
 time ? It is well we should think of this ere it be 
 too late; for the indwelling life of Christ is one 
 which is developing and growing more and more 
 into the measure of the perfect man. 
 
 But, in the third place, besides being personal 
 and dp.vfilonincr. it ia a TRIUMPHANT LiFE. 
 
 It is a matter of great comfort to us to know that 
 

 THE IJFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 141 
 
 this life never dies. He who can say, " Christ liveth 
 m me/' will never taste of spiritual death. I be- 
 lieve that we may indeed lapse into sin, but we will 
 nse again ; sin cannot kill our life. This is proved 
 by the very term applied to this life. It is called 
 everlasting. Christ saith, " Whosoever eateth My 
 flesh and drinketh My blood," that is to siy who- 
 soever receives life and nourishment from Me 
 " hath eternal life." Mark the word " hath "-it is' 
 present, not future-he has it now. But if he could 
 forfeit that life-if sin could kill it-it would not 
 be eternal. Besieges, as our text says, « I live ; yet 
 not I, but Christ liveth in me." The life we have 
 m us is the life of Christ; and we know that 
 Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more • 
 death hath no more dominion over Him " So He 
 says to His people, "Because I live, ye shall live 
 also. To say that we who are born again can die a 
 second time unto the Lord, is s much as to say that 
 the life we have is not eternal, and that it is not 
 the life of Christ. It is to give the lie to those 
 solemn words of our Blessed Lord-" My sheep hear 
 My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me • 
 and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall 
 never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out 
 of My hand." The "never "in that passage is as 
 emphatic as the Greek can make it. It is a declara- 
 tion that no amount of interpretation can destroy 
 We poor helpless sheep shall live for ever. The life 
 
142 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 ■ve have in us is a life that can triumph over sin and 
 death — a life that is divine and eternal in its very- 
 nature. " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
 The strength and assurance that this can give to 
 the child of God is very great. It gives us a cer- 
 tainty of safety. It may not perhaps be oar privi- 
 lege to feel this. That is another thing. Many 
 people are safe in Christ though they do not feel or 
 realize it. It is His life which is in us, not our own 
 life. It is His hand holding us, and not our hand 
 holding Him. What then have we to fear ? Shall 
 sin tear us from Him 1 Shall sin destroy His life 
 which is in us ? "I am persuaded," says St. Paul, 
 " that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
 palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
 to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other crea- 
 ture shall be able to separate us from the love of 
 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The life 
 of Christ in man can triumph over sin. 
 
 How often, when we have been overcome with 
 temptation, we have feared lest the sin had severed 
 us for ever from God ! We have gone astray like 
 lost sheep — at the best we are but miserable sinners 
 — and when we think of this, we wonder, nay, we 
 doubt whether we are indeed God's people — ^whether 
 the life that is in us can survive all attacks. But 
 we have enough to show us that, in spite of our 
 shortcomings, we can never die the seeoad death. 
 Sin may be strong but we shall natui-ally fight 
 
THE UFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 143 
 
 against it and withstand it. We may be wounded 
 in the fight ; we may fall on the field ; but we shall 
 not be killed. Sin cannot a second time kill the 
 Lord of life. And if sin cannot do this, neither can 
 death. We may be sure that the life in us can 
 triumph over the .ifreat enemy of our race. And 
 this is the gi-eat test of its strength. In that ten-ible 
 moment nought but this life caa be of service to us. 
 Whatever we may have now, we shall want nothing 
 but Christ then. He will be all to us then. Death 
 may lay its hand upon the worn-out tabernacle of 
 clay— this body may seem as though it were ready 
 to break up into dust— but the life which has 
 hitherto been our own— our personal life, the life 
 which has developed within us, shall then be 
 triumphant— and we shall be free ! In the very 
 darkness of the valley of the shadow of death, we 
 may exclaim, " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth 
 in me." 
 
 My dear reader, the subject before us is a very 
 important one. The thought must come home to 
 you as well as to me—" Have I this life ? Am I 
 living in Christ Jesus ? " Let us meet that solemn 
 question with all honesty and sincerity. Am I or 
 am I not a child of God ? I ask not whether you 
 are a professing Christian; nor do I ask whether 
 you have been baptized. The life I have been 
 SDeakino- of is nof in rkrnfoaairtTi «--.». ;« ;* :„ i a-., 
 
 i o ^'- £-- •--•^••••fJ-ix, livi la 111 lu. KJiipi/iJsJil. 
 
 But I ask you, as I ask my own soul, can you say, 
 
kh 
 
 { t 
 
 I Vi 
 
 \ i 
 
 144 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 not we live, but " I live " ? Are you conscious of 
 a power within you that is developing your soul 
 and leading you on to God ? Has that power in 
 . you been triumphant over sin and temptation ? It 
 may be you are one who is walking in the noontide 
 of God's presence ; or perhaps you are in the mid- 
 night darkness of sin ; and, in either case, can give 
 a clear " yes," or " no." But there are others who 
 are in the twilight — standing afar off, yet looking 
 eagerly for the dawning of the clear day. These 
 can give no answer. It trembles on their lips, and 
 dies there amid the deep heart doubts. What can 
 I say to such ? They are the waiting ones. For 
 what are they waiting ? Is it for the fuller mani- 
 festation of Ohrist ? Is it to be drawn closer and 
 closer to him ? Ah, there is life ! The dead soul 
 wants no Christ — the dead soul wants no com- 
 munion with Him. The sign of life is in that very 
 twilight position. Oh that they might look to God 
 — waiting on Him, trusting in His promises ! In 
 God's own time, all will be clear. The life in them 
 will be triumphant over doubt, it will lead them to 
 the bright day, it will enable each one to say, " I 
 live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
 
 May this be our experience ; may we indeed find 
 Jhrist precious to our souls. If we want life. He 
 aays, " I am the life." If we have life, still He says, 
 " J am that life." We are nc thing He is every- 
 thing. We are dead, it is Christ that liveth in us. 
 
THE LIFE OF CHRIST. 
 
 145 
 
 Oh. gloriouH truth ! " We dwell in Christ, and Christ 
 m us ; we are one with Christ, and Christ with us • " 
 80 that Christ and His people being thus united io 
 Ood, God is all, and in all. Not merely is His pre- 
 sence with us. but His life is in us. May it be ours 
 to realize that life, and to say with the Apostle " I 
 live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ! " 
 
11 
 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 THE POWER OF CHRIST'S NAME. 
 
 5t. John xvi. 28,—" Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the 
 Father in My name, He will give it you.". 
 
 fHAT there is a Supreme Being, who made and 
 governs the world, is a fact which the great ma- 
 jority of men in all ages have admitted. They 
 may, indeed, huve differed in their conception of that 
 Being, but few denied the existence of such a Being. 
 There is another fact also generally held, and that is 
 that man is dependent upon this God — that he owes 
 Him submission, and derives from Him not only life, 
 but everything that concerns that life or supports it- 
 Man's helplessness and God's power were and are 
 thus recognized by the great mass of mankind. 
 
 From these two facts followed a third — the neces- 
 sity of some communication between this Supreme 
 Being and the creatures dependent upon Him. And 
 it is a singular thing that the world at large con- 
 ceived God and man, though linked together, to be 
 at enmity with each other. And so in approaching 
 Him, as of necessity they felt they must, 
 the ancients took with them some propitiatory 
 sacrifice or ofiering whereby they might ap- 
 
 r\aaaa Vtia T»Ti«ofVi atnA rkVkfoin TTlQ V»l A.<a.«l n IT Tf 
 
 we look back to antiquity, we find this idea 
 
THE POWER OF CHRIST'S NAME. I47 
 
 earned out literally and constantly. Blood was shed 
 and some attempt made to expiate sin and remove 
 the existing alienation in order to institute that 
 communication which was involved in the fact of 
 God's supremacy and man's dependency. 
 
 Now these three points thus held by the heathen 
 world had in them a great deal of truth. To be 
 sure, they were not understood as the enlightened 
 Jews understood them. To them this great God had 
 revealed Himself. The relation they maintained to- 
 wards Him was amply set forth by inspired prophets 
 and divinely instructed priests. A way of access 
 was pointed out by which they might reacii Him. 
 The men to whom Jesus was speaking when He ut- 
 tered the words of my text knew of these im- 
 portant truths. They knew that prayer was the 
 road to the throne of grace. But they did not know 
 that the old propitiatory sacrifice was no longer 
 necessary ; that they needed something far more ef- 
 ficacious to bring an answer to their prayers. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ, in the passage before us 
 for consideration, taught the disciples this lesson: 
 " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, 
 He will give it you." " In My name," that is to say ' 
 the mention of His name in our prayers will procure 
 for us that which we seek. He is the sacrifice we 
 must ofier in our communication with the God to 
 whom we desire to be reconciled, or of whom we 
 desire a blessing. This is a truth which the heathen 
 
148 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 world did not know, and which it was the mission 
 of Christianity to reveal. It brings to our atten- 
 tion the great power of the name of Jesus. 
 
 We have some idea given us of this power when 
 the Apostle tells us " that at the name of Jesus 
 every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and 
 things in earth, and things under the earth." Such is 
 the honour the Father hath given Him that He hath 
 put all things under His feet. The fame of His glory 
 and might and dominion has gone out to the remotest 
 corners of the vast universe, and all things acknow- 
 ledge Him to be their Lord. His very name receives 
 its homage. We have an illustration analogous to 
 this in everyday life. The name of an earthly sov- 
 ereign — pre-eminently that of an oriental monarch 
 — carries with it authority and respect wherever 
 it goes. Travellers in the east tell us that the wild 
 Arab is stayed in his purpose of plunder when the 
 firman is produced with the Sultan's name attached. 
 The bare name calls for the reverence of every faith- 
 ful Mahometan, just as the name of our own gracious 
 Queen calls for the honour and obedience of all her 
 subjects. But more powerful among men than the 
 name of an earthly king is the name of our great 
 King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. Millions 
 here below, and untold millions above, bow the knee 
 before Him. God hath given Him a name which is 
 above every name. To the farthest bounds of the 
 great creation — through heaven and earth and hell 
 
THE POWER OP CHRIS1''S NAME. 149 
 
 —hy angels, men and devils— that name is uttered 
 with adoring love, or breathed with helpless depen- 
 dence, or whispered with despairing fear. It is the 
 one name that has supreme authority. With that 
 name upon his lips, Peter could look upon th^ lame 
 man lying at the gate of the temple and say, " Silver 
 and gold have I none; but suc^ as I have give I 
 thee; in the name of Jesus st of Nazareth, rise 
 
 up and walk ; " and befor. i,.e rulers of the people 
 and the elders of Israel he could declare, " that by 
 the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye cru- 
 cified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him 
 doth this man stand before you whole." And, 
 indeed, the sum and substance of the Apostles' teaoh- 
 ing was that " there is none other name under heaven 
 given among men whereby we must be saved." 
 
 Such is the power of the name of Christ above all 
 the names of the men of earth. I might mention 
 the name of a Nelson, and it would thrill the heart of 
 many with the remembrance of his braveiy ; the 
 name of a Shakespeare would delight as many more ; 
 and the mention of Jonathan would recall his in-' 
 tense friendship for his rival, the future king of Is- 
 rael. But these names have only a limited power. 
 They are eminent names, but they have no power in 
 distress or disease or death. They are then forgotten 
 and fade away before the glory of the name of 
 ..esus. That name is far more to the' bereaved and 
 afflicted, to the sorrowful and heavy laden, to 
 
160 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 the tempest- tossed and dying, than all other names 
 that man has ever breathed. And if to us it is so 
 much, what is it to His Father, the Lord God Al- 
 mighty ? What is it to Him, of whom He is the 
 very brightness of His glory^ the express image of 
 His person ? 
 
 I cannot fathom the mystery of the connection be- 
 tween the Father and the Son. I cannot grasp that 
 which is so far beyond the bare conception of man. 
 But I remember how God spoke of Him by the 
 mouth of Isaiah as His elect in whom His soul de- 
 lighted. I remember how, at the baptism at Jor- 
 dan, a voice proclaimed from heaven, " This is My 
 beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." I remember 
 the declaration of the Apostles before the Jewish 
 Council : " Him hath God exalted with His right 
 hand to be a Prince and a Saviour." And I know 
 tiiat these are not words without meaning. They 
 touch upon that wonderful relationship which we 
 can never understand. But they are enough to 
 show me that the Lord Jesus is indeed very precious 
 in the sight of the Father. He is the Son of His 
 love, the Beginning of the creation of God, the Pre- 
 eminent One to whom all power is given both in 
 heaven and in earth. And such being the case, the 
 power of His name in approaching the great and 
 eternal God is unrivalled, and untouched with the 
 spirit of failtire. With that name, then, I need no 
 other ottering to appease God's wrath or gain access 
 
THE POWER OF CHRIST'S NAME. 161 
 
 to the throne of grace; I want no sacrifice, no more 
 shedding of blood, for the promise of the King of 
 righteousness standeth sure: "Whatsoever ye 
 shaH ask the Father in My name. He will give it 
 you." A name which the Supreme Being loves and 
 honours, and a name which we, His creatures, obey 
 and reverence, is just the name for us to have upon 
 our lips when we seek for reconciliation or implore 
 His blessing. 
 
 If we want an illustration of the power of a name 
 in procuring favours from others, we have an 
 abundance in our common experience. I am 
 going a journey, and a friend comes to me and says : 
 " If you choose to call on so-and-so, in such a place, 
 and mention my name, I am sure he will be glad to 
 see you and to help you." A letter of introduction 
 IS brought to me by a stranger; its entire strength 
 and value lie in the name subscribed to it. I read 
 a story somewhere of an officer who, when dying in 
 a foreign land, called to his bedside one whose 
 interest he had very much at heart, and bid him, 
 when he returned home, to go to his father's* 
 house, and tell him that he was with his son on his 
 death -bed, and for his sake desired his help. The 
 officer died, and his friend went borne, and to the 
 father's house, and with difficulty obtained access to 
 him. He was a proud, haughty man, and he treated 
 .i-_ .M!„,.^,_, -vxcDgci iiv iirst coiaiy ana sternly. 
 But when the soldier dropped the name of his son 
 
162 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 the father's heart was touched, his tone was changed, 
 and he seized him warmly by the hand. The name 
 of the lost one had a power over him that nothing 
 else could possibly have had. 
 
 And similar to this, though infinitely more certain 
 of success, is he power of the name of Jesus over the 
 heart of God. There is the returning penitent plead- 
 ing for mer:y and forgiveness. That sin-stained 
 soul is not worthy of coming into God's presence. 
 Its iniquities are deserving of anytliing but pardon. 
 And the sinner knows this. He does not ask God 
 to save him because he is worth saving. He does 
 not ask God to save him because he has done or ever 
 can do anything to entitle him to such a favour. 
 Were he to do so, God would not answer. But he 
 asks that he may be saved for Jesus' sake, and im- 
 mediately the arm of justice is etayed, and the im- 
 pending wrath is averted. By the mention of that 
 name he draws attention from himself — his own 
 dark self — to Him who is the chiefest among ten 
 thousand and the altogether lovely ; he draws around 
 himself the spotless robe of Christ's righteous- 
 ness : he hides his sins in the crimson blood of the 
 Atonement. And so will all who come to God. 
 Whatever mercy we want, whatever blessing we im- 
 plore — whether we are in sickness, adversity or sor- 
 row, or in prosperity and joy, that is the name 
 we plead, that is the name upon which we rest all 
 our hopes. 
 
THE POWER OF CHBIST's NAME. I63 
 
 When the Jewish high-priest entered the Holy of 
 Hohes, into the presence of God. he was obliged to 
 hide himself within the clouds of incense, L to 
 Bpnnkle the blood of the sa.crifice about the mercy 
 seat. But when we exercise ourpriestly office and go 
 before God, we surround ourselves with the incense 
 ot Chnst s glorious name and bring to God's remem- 
 brance His blood-the blood of the New Covenant^ 
 shed for us. And our pmyer thus offered is never 
 offered la vain. It may be Usped by the little child 
 or muttered by the aged and dying saint , it may be 
 Bpokei by the blinded sinner or by the vaUant 
 Ohnstian ; but if it be in the name of Jesus, it will be 
 sure to draw down a blessing, it will be sure to bring 
 together the. Creator and the creature. The Lord 
 Jesus Christ stands between us and God. He is the 
 centre of our adoration, the centre of God's love 
 God sees us only acceptably through Him,aiid through 
 Him only can we fearlessly see God. And, therefore 
 we have assurance that whatsoever we shaU ask the' 
 Father m His name. He wiU give it us. We have 
 through Him that access to God which the whole 
 heathen world struggloi^ the darkness to attain. 
 
 But the Lord Jesus, besides giving us permission 
 to use His name, and assuring us of the certainty of 
 Its success, has given us a most unbounded and un- 
 limited authority. « Whatsoever ye shaU &,k." It 
 
 makes no diffftrAnne wi,o* 1.- ^» •> 
 
 "'x«f iixay Du ine wants and 
 
 desires of His people, He will be responsible for them. 
 J 
 
 m 
 
li 
 
 154 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 He loves to bear our petitions to the throne of grace. 
 He loves to have His name used freely and without 
 reserve. There is a great advantage in this. Were 
 a man to give me an unqualified right to use his 
 name at his banker's, or among his friends, whenever 
 I needed anything, be it little or be it much, be it 
 often or be it seldom, I should be far better off than 
 were he to limit me to times and occasions and cir- 
 cumstances. The Lord Jesus has given us that ab- 
 solute privilege-" whatsoever,"-anything, everything, 
 without limit or restraint, if asked in His name, we 
 shall have. I may go to Him every day, every hour, 
 every moment, yea, I may never cease my importun- 
 ity, but He is not tired. I may draw down bless- 
 ings all the time, both great and small, but His 
 treasuiy is not emptied, nor His patience exhausted. 
 I may utter His name with my lips of sin, but His 
 love for the sinner is not impaired, nor the permis- 
 sion He has given withdrawn "he "whatso- 
 ever " in the text covers all, anu shields every one 
 who chooses to come to God thi ugh Christ. 
 
 There are times when we are in great distress of 
 conscience through temptation and sin. Our souls 
 are then overwhelmed within us. Darkness encom- 
 passes us round about, and the sense of our un- 
 worthiness grows greater and greater. We may 
 have been in this state before. We remember 
 how repeatedly God has delivered us, but ow 
 we ifeel that He will deliver us no more. We 
 
TBE POWER OF CHWSt's NAME. I55 
 
 feel that the end haa come, and we shall be rejected 
 from His presence forever. What child of God is 
 there that haa not again and again been plunged in 
 h.8 temble dzstress ? But the " whateoever ■' comes 
 to our rescue ! " Whatsoever ye shall aak the Father 
 in my name, He will give it you." Ask Him for 
 deUvera.ce. "Out of the depths have I cried unto 
 
 ^2r ^"^'^''^ ''^'^ '^y ™i«<> ; let thine ears be 
 attentive to the voice of my supplications." And the 
 
 m God, beheve also in Me." In such an experience 
 «» that et us believe in the power of the name of 
 Jesus,-let us believe in His full and glorious pro- 
 mises, and we shall be saved ! 
 
 Aspiin, there are times of persecution for His 
 name s sake and the profession of the Gospel. If we 
 - -»"'d follow Christ, depend upon it we must go 
 through great tribulations. No mantan walk in the 
 narrow way without bearing the c««s and carrying 
 the shame. And aa long as there is a godly pLn 
 eft m the worid, that world will destro/i Jf Lth" 
 tha. let him rest in pea«e. This is indeed very hard. 
 It :s difficult for flesh and blood to bear. And 
 oftentimes we faint beneath the heavy burden. It 
 IS not the wilderness, the prison, the dungeon, nor 
 even the martyr's fire that expresses all this tribula- 
 tion The kugh, the sneer, and the taunt, the evil 
 word an rl ihn «,>i,:_j __i- 
 
 word and the unkind a«ti-"— f 
 
 try the soul. They cast us down and make 
 
 "Ose are tilings that 
 
 us 
 
156 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 feel our weakness. We need our Father's strength 
 then. We need to look up to one who is mighty to 
 help. And we have our Master's "whatsoever ye 
 shall ask " rising around us like some mighty bul- 
 wark of hope protecting us from the darts of the 
 evil one. We want comfort and strength and wis- 
 dom. " Ask and ye shall receive." The name of 
 Jesus will procure for us whatsoever we have need 
 of! 
 
 Again, there are times of deep sorrow when we 
 a,re sorely afflicted. Death may have entered our 
 little circle of relations or friends, and hurried some 
 loved one away out of our sight. Or the miscon- 
 duct of a near and trusted friend — perhaps a 
 father, a brother, a husband, a wife, a child — has 
 made our heart bleed with giief. Or business may 
 have gone wrong with us, and we find ourselves irre- 
 trievably involved to the jeopardy of our honour and 
 hope, and to the almost certain fact of our ruin. 
 These are trials of no ordinary magnitude. They 
 are verily sore afflictions. They may well make us 
 water our couch with tears. And the special temp- 
 tation accompanying them — for every trial has its 
 own temptation — is that they are not things worthy 
 of being brought before God. Were we going to 
 martyrdom, then we might call upon God, but these 
 every-day affairs we think are beneath His notice. 
 And yet it is just in theae common events that we 
 need help as much as in the greater and more 
 
THE POWER OF CHBIST'S NAME 167 
 
 nnportant. We want something to heal the 
 wounded and broken heart. We want «,mething 
 to djy up the streams of sorrow. And it is a lying 
 ^ev,l that would tell us we cannot have that some! 
 th.ng. "God is our refuge and strength, a ve,^ 
 present hep in trouble." "Whatsoever 'y. .Z 
 ask. 8ays Jesus-and surely that " whatsoever " is 
 enough If I want comfort beside the grave it I 
 want the conversion of an erring friend, if I want 
 encoumgement in adversity-whateoever it may be, 
 If I ask for It m the name of Jesus, the Father will 
 pve . me. The promise is surer than the everlast- 
 
 I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." When 
 
 He could save the Israelites by making a way for 
 
 them through the sea, when he could send'them lown 
 
 bread from heaven and water out of the stony rock 
 
 when he could rescue Daniel in the lion's den, tTe' 
 
 hree Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. Pet 
 
 from Herod s prison, I have no doubt He will 
 
 do for me all that I have need of. " Whatsoever ve " 
 
 sW ask the Father in my name. He wlllgi::^: 
 
 Have we availed ourBelves of this glorious promise ? 
 Have we sought to come to God by Him who is the 
 l>v.ng way . Do we know how depende„r we 
 are upon Him ? Surely we need Him in all the 
 «'ene3 of ,&. Do we now embrace the invitation 
 
 
 
I ^1 
 
 ii i jj^i! 
 
 168 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 to go unto Him ? Is th.; name of Jesus ever on our 
 lips when we draw nigh to Ood ? 
 
 There comes a day to all when we shall stand 
 in need of God's ^race and mercy more than at 
 any other time. When we are passing through the 
 dark valley of the uhadow of death, on our way to 
 the home of His presence, we shall need the light to 
 guide and the strength to sustain. Faith will then 
 be tested to the uttermost. Satan will then bend all 
 his powers to prevent the meeting of the Saviour and 
 the sinner. Earthly stays and earthly supports will 
 pass away and be forever lost, and we shall go down 
 to the river's brink and into the cold waters alone. 
 Then will the name of Jesus be full of power. No 
 cloud, no fear, no sin shall touch us with that name 
 welling up from the depths of our redeemed and 
 ransomed soul. That name, though fainter than a 
 whisper, shall pierce the gloom, and reach the Father's 
 ear. That name, though tremblingly uttered, shall 
 still the raging cry of demons, and draw the legions 
 of the mighty angels to the rescue. Away b«yond 
 the night, away beyond the swelling flood, that name 
 shall be but breathed, and heaven's eternal gates shall 
 open wide, and, through the shining streets, amid the 
 music of celestial hosts, we shall draw near the palace 
 of the King — to His very presence—to go out no 
 more for ever. And in that glorious welcome and 
 that fond embrace the only word will be " Jesus- 
 Jesus — none but Jesus ! " 
 
 m 
 
THE POWER OP CHRIST'S NAMB. 169 
 
 Beloved reader, would you be there where He 
 reigns a Piince fo, ever? Would you see Him as 
 He 18? Tt may be yours. We may be one •-:^>, 
 God. We may approach that throne, though h. athen 
 Jew, and all mankind, knew not the way. ] t i by 
 Jesus. He is the way, there is none other, ffn 
 calls us to Him— you and me, whosoever will To 
 each of us He says, " Behold, I stand at the door, and 
 knock If any man hear my voice and open the door. 
 I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and 
 he with me." Oh let us open unto Him ! Let us 
 learn the name of Jesus now, so that when the day 
 of necessity comes it may have no strange sound i 
 Let us make this key to God's presence-this sceptre 
 of might and favour-this everlasting sacrifice, our 
 very own ! In this life of sin and sorrow and death 
 we want a Saviour, we want a Father, and all their 
 love and care and strength. We need them every 
 hour. If we would be happy, we must have them 
 God tells us how all may be ours. Ask—pray-pray 
 without ceasing, pray for every thing, but on y in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus. There is no other name, 
 no other plea, no other ofiering. " Whatsoever ye 
 shall^ ask the Father in my name, He wiU give it 
 you." That is all, that is everything. Take the 
 name of Jesus with you, and whatsoever ye shall ask, 
 it shall be yours. 
 
 Mav God TTiflL-A fViio «„,r,v„_ ., :- , ., . 
 
 ^ „..,., ,„_^„„^ pruciuus to us, mat 
 
 in Him we may have boldness and access with 
 

 160 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 confidence to the throne of the great Jehovah, 
 to the presence of the Supreme Ruler, the mighty 
 God of all the earth : and this we ask in the name 
 and for the sake of our ever-glorious Mediator, 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 li 
 
SEBMON Xn. 
 
 THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 «»™i ".tow to th.; a,"S ffl»r ' ^'""'- """* " ■» "»"«. *iv. 
 
 ;HAT man is full of sin is evident not only from 
 the declarations of the Word of God, butfrom 
 our own experience and observation In 
 eve^ senae of the term, we are evil. And this evil 
 
 abd^y to th.nk and to love, and has limited the 
 
 notw.thst»ndmg all this, there is wisdom and affec- 
 tion remammg sufficient to enable us to give good 
 ^fts^Wchildren Corrupt as our nfturefi; 
 
 for our offspnng, and full of a desire to feed and care 
 tor them Experience teaches us what is good for 
 them and what evil, and we instinctively do our ut- 
 tomost to keep them f^m the evil and provide them 
 wit^ the good. And with our weak and limited 
 wudom we so act towards them as to bring them 
 from helplessness to strength, from the bud of in- 
 tancy to the blossom of ynnth. 
 But if this be true of'us-if we know something 
 
wf 
 
 ! i 
 
 ii 
 
 162 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 of the flow to give and the when to give — what of 
 God, of Him who is infinite in all things,— in His 
 wisdom. His love, and His might 1 Shall He not 
 know better than any earthly parent how to give 
 good gifts to His children ? Such is the teaching of 
 our text : " If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
 good gifts unto your children, how much more shall 
 your Father, which is in heaven, give good things 
 to them that ask Him ? " 
 
 And there is something very comforting, to which 
 the heart instinctively clings, at the very first read- 
 ing of the text. It is to the Fatherhood of God. 
 The Lord Jesus calls Him our Father ; on another 
 occasion He taught us to pray to Him as such ; and 
 the view given to us of God throughout the Scriptures 
 confirms the incidental statement made in this place. 
 By creation and by redemption, by generation and 
 by adoption, He has made us His sons and His 
 daughters. And in the glorious fact that we are all 
 God's children by creation, and may all become His 
 children by adoption, we see much toej^ourage and 
 strengthen us. We know that if He is our Father, 
 He must love us; and more than that. His love must 
 be perfect and infinite, for there can be no flaw in the 
 character or attributes of God. And, as a matter of 
 fact, we find that love encircling us like some 
 boundless ocean encircling the rocky island- 
 every way we look there is love ; if we launch 
 ' " •^'^cp. We cannot nna its limit, we 
 
 > 
 
 VUV ^*1.W UllC 
 
THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 168 
 
 cannot reach the point where the ,ky and the 
 sea seem to meet. Day by day God cares for us 
 provides and protects us. Every moment that 
 comes to us, and leaves as soon as it comes, brings 
 with It some rich and undeserved mercy. Awake 
 or asleep, day and night, in joy or in sorn)w, still 
 God remams our Father, and His love-the ever- 
 lasting the unchanging love-like the flowing rays 
 of the kmdly smi. shines upon us and bears to us 
 blessings beyond number, yea, as David said "If I 
 should count them they are more in number than 
 the 8«.d. Oh, how the heart loves to rest, as it 
 were, upon this blessed truth ! It is a precious re- 
 lationship to think of. It makes every fibre of the 
 soul to thrill with joy when we remember that every 
 creature under the broad heavens-eveiy child of 
 Adam- is also a child of God. He is their Father. 
 He w .tches over us as a father watches over the 
 child of his love. The Lord Jesus struck a most 
 wonderful chord when He spoke of the Fatherhood 
 of God, when He told us that this great God wa^ 
 even our Father. 
 
 And, springing out of this Fatherhood, arises the 
 truth brought more prominently before us in our 
 text. Christ speaks of the good things our Father 
 gives to us. His children. It is a father's duty and a 
 fathers pleasure to give good gifts to his own. but 
 
 »: ;''°"' '" ^1^"« oi our boasted experience, we 
 
 often make mistakes in giving. Some of us are apt 
 
164 
 
 !l ..i 
 
 I 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SUIPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 to give to our little onea that which is not go«i for 
 them It may be we feel it hard to thwart their in- 
 dmatmna, aod n.ther than have them want, wegive 
 them then- desire at all risks. It is wrong to do 
 ^-yery «™.g, u is a great mistake, and we know 
 t God maKes no such mistakes. His wisdom is 
 unerring in this as in everything else. 
 This is an important fact to bear in mind. We 
 
 much. There is not a man or woman in the world 
 that IS entirely without'longings for something they 
 do not possess. They may have worked for that 
 something-struggled for it through long yean- 
 and yet have never received it. And if they have 
 longed for it very ardently, they are apt to murmur 
 somewhat when they see others receive the prize for 
 which they have not striven perhaps half as much 
 Why should God give it to them and not to us» 
 they are very likely to ask. But God had his own 
 reason. 
 
 There are people who would have riches, who work 
 for them, but they never get them. There are others 
 who aim at high places of position and trust, but 
 they are withheld from them all the days of their 
 Me And yet these very individuals may have been 
 truly God's children, may have asked Him continu- 
 ally to bless them according to His will, and still 
 their heart's desire remains unsatisfied. And it was 
 ,u __„ _,^ r^^ ^,,j,^ j,^^^^, reaieu Uod, and would 
 
 / 
 
• '^'^ «00» Q'TO OF OOD. 165 
 
 submit themselves to Him, that they never re 
 
 loving wisdom, He withheld them ' ^' '" «'« 
 
 ^ Let me give an illustration. There wers t„ 
 
 i height of tl t *° P""" "«^ «°^P^> -- 'he 
 
 2nl!! ?. """""""• '^'•'^y l'"^- that God 
 
 h^t^ . \? '" "° "S*"'^ P»''«- » this world 
 than to make them ambassadors to their fallen and 
 
 Sn tr d- ^r ""^^ "'^' «>« '>™*^ -- 
 
 vant ,n that divmely-instituted ministry stood in 
 the kmgdom of God higher than kil or th! 
 
 ol heaven. And they aspired to that offiee. They 
 
 only one of them was taken. The good thing whieh 
 
 the other longed for, and worked f„r%as nevergTven 
 
 o h,m and he wa. obliged to serve God in a lower 
 
 though none the less honourable, sphere. ItZ' 
 
 •ed to the frustration of all his hopes. He saw it 
 atterwards. By a«d bye he could thank his heT 
 -nly Father for withholding from him what, n Ms 
 case, would have been no good gift. 
 
 rirlTrr "'•''«*"*^ ofinstan^uch as that, 
 ^eaj, In every condition of life there are plenty to 
 
 7-' 
 
 
 :i 
 
166 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 ■t: ^ ^i 
 
 be found who have an idea that their prayers have 
 all been answered backwards. They have prayed 
 for health, and yet God has led them to the bed of 
 sickness and affliction. They have prayed for pro^:- 
 perity, and yet notbb g came but; failure :ind disap- 
 pointment. Instead of a smooi'i mm through the 
 bright sunshine, it has been fe i ^i)?(b, ahnost 
 untrodden track through the d^A: night and 
 storm and danger. They saT,? held out before 
 tiiem a cup which they thouglit contained the 
 very wibi of joy; but, lo, it was filled with the 
 bitter gall of grief and sorrow. Around them were 
 homes full of happiness, but tlwir hearths were deso- 
 late by the ravages of death. There are men sur- 
 rounded by warm Iriends, but they are friendless 
 and forsaken. Oh, it is very hard to bear 
 all this! Everything they get "seems to be an 
 evil thing — a cross rather than a crown. Could 
 God have forsaken them ? Could He have forgotten 
 His promise to give them the good things ? Why is 
 the bread withheld — ^the pleasures in which others 
 seem to revel ? God knows. Depend upon it. He is 
 not withholding anything from us without a reason^ 
 We may not know it. " What thou knowest not 
 now thou shalt know hereafter." God sees that the 
 thing which we would desire is not g« \ for us. It 
 might harm us if we had it. It may b luch better 
 for us to be wearied before we are given rest. It 
 may be much better for U8 to feel the hardships and 
 
TlJfS GOOD GIFTS OF GOD, 
 
 167 
 
 disappointments of this life, in order that we may 
 the better enjoy the peace and bliss of the better 
 world. AM theibe things are in God's hands. And 
 we need to realize that fact. If He be our Father, 
 &fi we know He is, then we must believe that He 
 does all things well. When an earthly father with- 
 holds from his child that which the child so ardent- 
 ly craves for, it is for some good purpose, and we 
 know it is. Why, then, have we not the same faith 
 in reference to our heavenly Father ? Is He not far 
 better able to tell what is good for us than any 
 father of earth ? Infinite love and infinite wisdom 
 can make no mistakes. Mary and Martha did not 
 think it was a good thing when God sent death, and 
 took their brother away to the grave. It was grief 
 and trial to them, and their hearts were ready to 
 burst when they thought of that cold tomb and the 
 silent, shrouded Lazarus sleeping the long sleep 
 within it. But, after all, it was a good thing. Had 
 their brother not died, they would not have seen the 
 power of their Lord and Master so wonderfully dis- 
 played. Had not the sharp arrow of anguish en- 
 tered their very soul, they would not have bsen 
 drawn so near to Jesus, and have felt so precious the 
 . 3'7ing compassion of His great heart of love. Verily, 
 the evil was a blessing in disguise. 
 
 And so it is with us all along our pilgrimage. 
 
 The VerV thinfi*^ we think will Ho na harm a-ra maani- 
 
 tx) do us good. In that night of toil and fear, when 
 
I 
 
 PI 
 
 i 
 
 168 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 the disciples were out on the stormy sea struggling 
 for veiy life, they saw a form treading upon the 
 white-crested wave, and approaching them amid 
 the dark gloom and raging wind, and 
 they cried out with fear. They thought 
 it was a spirit come to bid them to a 
 wateiy grave ; but, behold, it was the Lord Jesus 
 Himself come to save and to rescue ! Has this 
 never been our experience ? Have we not often 
 thought we saw a spirit of woe when it was nought 
 but the form of infinite love ? Have we not 
 often dreamed the end was near, when the next turn 
 brought us face to face with salvation ? Oh, be not 
 faithless but believing ! God will make all things 
 work together for good to them tha.t love Him! 
 Sorrow and disappointment, and a rough road and a 
 heavy cross, are hard to bear ; but they bring us 
 closer and closer to Him who has promised to give 
 us rest. We might never have known the love of 
 Christ if our hearts had been filled with the love 
 of the world. We might never have known what 
 a friend we had in God, had we not been for- 
 saken by those of earth on whom we had set our 
 affection. And God knows all this. And, with a lov- 
 ing Father's interest in us. He would give us just 
 that which would tend to our good and withhold 
 from us that which would be likely to give us evil. 
 Happy are we if we submit ourselves to His blessed 
 will! 
 
 
'S. 
 
 ^ggling 
 pon the 
 tn amid 
 1, and 
 thought 
 to a 
 •d Jesus 
 las this 
 ot often 
 J nought 
 we not 
 ext turn 
 1, be not 
 11 things 
 re Him! 
 ad and a 
 bring us 
 i to give 
 e love of 
 the love 
 m what 
 3en for- 
 i set our 
 ith a lov- 
 ( us just 
 (vithhoid 
 0- us evil. 
 a blessed 
 
 THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 1^9 
 
 But let US further apply this lesson of our text to 
 our spiritual life. It is peculiarly in reference to mat- 
 ters of religion that we oftentimes feel something of 
 unbehef m the Fatherhood of God. What is more 
 common than meeting some one who is longing for an 
 experience in spiritual things, that he never appear 
 able to attain ? There are some to whom God gives 
 a deeper insight into ffis kingdom. They enjoy pri- 
 vileges which the ordinary Christian never seems 
 to have. There was only one man in aU the con- 
 gregation of Israel with whom Jehovah spoke face 
 to face, and that man was Moses. Among the dis- 
 ciples it was only the beloved John that was per- 
 mitted to lay his head upon the Saviour's bosTm. 
 These were men highly honoured among their feUows 
 ano here and there, even now, we find some who,' 
 ike M^es, are talking in the deep mysteries with 
 ^e Lord, or like John, are peacefully resting upon 
 His love^ or like Maiy, are sitting at His feet, lis^. 
 ing to His words of joy and promise. But there 
 axe many in the fold who have not these rich bless- 
 ings. There are many who are longing for them 
 and praying for them, and yet they never come 
 And we, who are among these longing, preying ones 
 ai^ very apt to wonder why God shou!.; jive so much 
 
 to one, and withhold a similar blessing; from us. Why 
 should God take one up into the Mount, and let an- 
 
 other ronliiiA nn tt;o i a -- i .•. . , 
 
 •" ^^° wrcusj,, ana a tnua rwst at 
 
 His feet ? And why should He withhold such 
 
 ■r 
 ( 
 
 I ■ 
 
 ^f*% 
 
170 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SirBJECTS. 
 
 blessed privileges from so many others ? It seems 
 hard, very hard. We cannot tell why it is, but God 
 knows. It may be were He to give us such good 
 things, they would l)e too 'uuch for us. Our very 
 blessings might make us pre , .d. Even St. Paul, with 
 all his grace, stood in danger of this very thing. He 
 says, "Lest I should oe exalted above measure 
 through the abundance of the revelations, there was 
 given to meathom in the flesh.the messengerof Satan 
 to buflfet me, lest I should be e^talted above mea- 
 sure." And we may be very like the great Apostle. 
 We may need some thorn in the flesh, lest we should 
 be unduly lifted up. Nay, we may be such that it 
 is better for God rather to hide than to reveal Him- 
 gelf—better to keep us in the darkness, than lead hh 
 at once out into the great and marvellous light. 
 And though we may perhaps doubi 'his, fot- it is 
 human nature to doubt, yet the doubt must surely 
 vanish, when we remember the '^loriou'^. .''"surance 
 of our text. Can we not trust our heaver ly Father 
 to know how to give good gifts to His children < 
 When it is a good thing for us to be as Moses, or 
 John, or Mary, depend upon it God will give 
 that good thing. And as long as it is not a go. d 
 thing for us, then i' o us beseech God not to give it 
 us. Better for us not to see Him now, than, by see- 
 ing Him, to be lauded up with our privileges, and so 
 
 Him no more for ever. Bet- 
 
 run 
 
 th^ 
 
 fif^AH 
 
THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 171 
 
 ter to be without the rich and envied experience, 
 than have that experience prove our ruin 
 
 But perhaps tl . good thing that man v of us would 
 Ike to have, and which we have prayed for time and 
 time agam, is the consciousness of the personal fo.. 
 giveness of sin, the consciousness that we are indeed 
 reconciled to our heavenly Father. Yes, that con- 
 sciousness is a good thing. It can make the soul 
 very happy. It can fiU the heart with a peace that 
 passeth all understanding. But. for all that, God 
 doe. i.ot give it to .very one. Many of us He re- 
 quires to walk by tu..h, and not by sight. It is 
 well It IS so. We learn, '.en, not to put our trust in 
 our feelings, but to tluow ov .elves entirely upon 
 Gods mercy. We feel that ire in such a help- 
 
 less ca^e, that we can only trust to God's love and 
 power. An^^Ut is just the vex^ place and 
 condition i wish we were all in. '4^sh we were 
 aU brought to our wit's end, so that we would 
 have no other way to turn than to God It 
 wouM make no difierence then, about conscious- 
 ness, or feeling, or experience-God may give it 
 18 or not, jast as He sees fit-that is of small mo- 
 ment-but it. is the promise "him that cometh unto 
 Me I wiU in no wise ca^t out." Believe that, .nd 
 though the coLsciousness is a good thing to h /e 
 yet if God withhold, .t, do not murmur, but .ubmit 
 
 to Hia firracious v.W. t^ 
 
 ay oe a good thing for 
 
 some to feel God, t,nd in such cases our heavenly 
 
 m 
 
 ..it' 
 
 n 
 
 II 
 
 m 
 
172 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS OK SIMPLE SUBJuJTS. 
 
 It 
 
 Father knows how to give it, and Ho will give it. 
 But there are many who will journey all the way to 
 the better land, with nothing n ore than a trembling 
 faith. They will have nothing but the promise to 
 rest upon ; nothing but the gracious invitation, 
 " come," to urge them on. And, depend upon it, that 
 is enough. We ma}' he able to exclaim at the last, 
 . " Underneath are the everlasting arms," and we may 
 feel them; or we maycryout,likegood Christian.as he 
 plunged into the dark river, " I sink in deep waters 
 the billows go over my head, all his waves go over 
 me." God may give us light, or He may give us 
 darkness, and, in either case, they will be good. It 
 was good for Christian to sink and to despond ; 
 it was good for Hopeful to be buoyed up and tilled 
 with joy. 
 
 '♦MaWlr there are soiue weary hearts 4ha.fc 
 feel, because they have not the experiences some 
 have, because they have not the deep-set conscious- 
 ness of others, actually doubt whether they are really 
 God's children. They fancy because God doeft not 
 give them everything they think they ought to have, 
 that He does not love them. It is hard for them to 
 realize that God does not give them such things, 
 because He knows they are better without them. 
 They forget His Fatherhood. They forget His love 
 and wisdom. They forget that, after all, they are 
 but ignorant a: wayward children. They cannot 
 t^ll what is good or what evil. They make up their 
 
 J 
 
THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 173 
 
 minds that they ought to have a certain thin^, and 
 because they thus want it. they call it good. But 
 to them it may be anything but good, and so God 
 keeps ,t from them. And because he does, this is 
 no proof whatever that He has cast them off, or re- 
 fused to care for them. On the contraiy. it is one 
 of the best of proofs that they are dear in His sight 
 and that He is watching for their safety. And whe-' 
 ther He gives them e rich experience or not, it mat- 
 ters nothing. 
 
 There is a steamship entering the port. Its decks 
 are crowded with eager-looking passengers. They 
 see the lighthouse on the outer point, and the forts 
 at the entrance, and the people on the pier. Oh 
 how beautiful everything looks, and how pleasant 
 the smooth wateiB of the harbour after the rolling 
 wavesof the ocean.and how delightful the green trees 
 a«d fields in the dist^ce.after the long voyage across 
 the trackless wilderness-! They see it all, and re- 
 joice. Their souls literally drink in the glorious 
 prospect. But down in the cabin lies a sick man 
 He hears the exclamations of joy, and he longs to 
 get up on deck. But he cannot. He is too ill t. 
 move It would be almost certain death to him 
 were he to gratify the longing desire. He must lie 
 still, and see none of those beautiful sights. And 
 there he lies, but the good ship goes on, and she gets 
 
 to her annninfjwl nia^» j-u i_ i • , «. . . 
 
 ^^ i.x„- V, uHuugii li. ia leii aioneinhis 
 
 berth; and he,too,aiTives in the quiet harbour, though 
 
 ■A 
 
174 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 he saw nothing of what his more favoured compan- 
 ions saw from the upper deck. And so there are 
 many sailing heavenward in the Gospel ship, and 
 some are on the upper deck and some are down be- 
 low, but it makes no difference what they see, or 
 where they are — they will all enter the port together. 
 There will be the loving Johns and the doubting 
 Thomases, there will be the bold, headstrong Peters, 
 and the shrinking Nicodemuses, there will be the 
 giants of great faith, and the last little babe that only 
 peeped into the world and then left for the brighter 
 home. They are all on board, and they will, every 
 one of them, reach their Father's place at last ! 
 
 It is not for us to question what God chooses 
 to give us. If He sends us wealth and health, 
 and joy and peace, we may be very thankful. 
 But if he sees fit to send us poverty and sickness, 
 and sorrow and adversity, oh, let us learn to trust 
 Him ! He knows just which of these two modes of 
 treatment is best for us ; oh, let us believe in His 
 love ! We do not know which of them is good for 
 us. There is but one thing that we know beyond a 
 doubt is of the highest value — that w^e know is with- 
 out the shadow of eviJ , And that one thing is the 
 one thing needful, the salvation of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ ! Have we that priceless treasure ? Is it 
 now the joy of our hearts, the strength of our soul ? 
 Do we want it ? Oh, what a solemn question ! Do 
 we. want Jesus as our own — our own dear Saviour, 
 
 •f 1 
 
THE GOOD GIFTS OF GOD. 
 
 176 
 
 our own loving Master, our own elder Brother ? Then 
 a^k for Him. He is worth more than all the other 
 good things put together-either those of this world 
 or the next— yea, more than all, were they ten thou- 
 sand times as many ! The vast universe of God ha« 
 no gift that may with Him compare ! 
 
 But perhaps we think He is only for the children 
 and It may be we feel that we are not children of 
 God. We may be among those who cannot realize 
 the Fatherhood of God. And, therefore, we feel that 
 Jesus may not be ours-that none of the good things 
 of God may be ours. But thanks be to God, the 
 text settles that point once and for aU ! It does not 
 say that God will give good things to His children 
 but that He will give good things to them ^ihat ask 
 Him \-to tlwm that ask Him! Oh, what a broad 
 promise ! Whether we know that we are His chil- 
 dren or not-no matter how fuU we maybe of doubts 
 on that point-it is shnply to them that a^k Him ! 
 The wandering prodigal, the sin-stained sinner, the 
 forlorn outcast, may receive every good thing of 
 God, if they will but ask Him. Mercy 'and grace 
 and salvation may be ours~the Lord Jesus Christ 
 may be ours— if we will but ask. " Ask and ye 
 shaU receive." Oh, what loving words ! Oh, what 
 a message to the soul hungering and thirsting after 
 nghteousness ! God is indeed our Father ; but lest 
 we should doubt. Hp. nava TTo ^;ii „: , ,, . 
 
 em that ask Him ! Are we among the askers ? 
 
 to 
 
176 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 Are we among those who are asking for the Pearl of 
 great price— for God's greatest and best gift to man ? 
 Never mind anything else ! Let us not be disap- 
 pointed if we get nothing else ! With Jesus we have 
 all we need ! He is all, and if God gives us nothing 
 but Him, we are rich indeed ! Oh, «ak for Him, and 
 leave the rest with God ! " For if ye, being evil, 
 know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
 how much more shall your Father which is in heaven 
 give good things to them that ask Him ? " 
 
 May God bless these words, so that they may rest 
 in the heart of every one who reads them ; for the 
 Redeemer's sake. Amen, 
 
SERMON Xm. 
 
 THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 
 
 Romans xv. 13 .--"Now the God of hope flu you with all inv a«H 
 behevin,. that ye .ayahound in hope trrough^e ^oLZ IZhZ C;^ 
 
 |OME would tell us that there is nothing in 
 Christian faith-that it is only a superstition 
 —a legacy of the ignorance of unenlightened 
 times. They would destroy that faith, and show us 
 how unreasonable it is, and how degrading to man 
 to hold it. But the fact meets such here that men 
 are smners, and he who has a keen consciousness of 
 sm, and is convinced that sin has its own reward 
 will naturally seek some way of escape. The same' 
 law that will induce the sick man to go to the 
 physician will compel the sinner to seek some remedy 
 tor the disease that is destroying his very soul. And 
 what remedy shall he take ? Experience tells us that 
 the world has no remedy. Experience tells us that 
 science and advanced thought cannot heal a sin-sick 
 soul. And experience further tells us that we can- 
 not cure ourselves. No ; but Christianity says 
 " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be' 
 saved." This is the remedy that the Word of God 
 proposes. It hns been tried, and never known to fail. 
 It is the only thirii? in hftavpn nv ,'r, ^fl.„*u xi-_x _. 
 meet the want of the awakened sinner, or that can 
 
 m 
 
 I '' 
 
 li s ■ 
 
til 
 
 178 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 satisfy the longings of the contrite heart. I shall 
 endeavour to show how true this is. I shall show 
 that there is something in Christian faith — that it 
 is not an idle superstition— or anything less than a 
 gift from above to poor fallen man. 
 
 As a proof of this, our text states that there is joy, 
 and peace, and hope, in believing. At the same time, 
 we are reminded that these blessings come from 
 God, and that they abound in us through the power 
 of the Holy Ghost. We must, therefore, never for- 
 get to give God the glory. He gives us faith, and 
 with the faith He gives us joy, and peace, and hope. 
 
 Let us, then, in the first place, look at the Joy 
 THERE IS IN Believing. 
 
 The religion of the Lord Jesus is peculiarly a 
 religion of joy. We are commanded to "rejoice ever- 
 more." " Rejoice in the Lord alway," says St. Paul, 
 " and again I say, Rejoice." " Let thy saints," ex- 
 claims David, " shout for joy." There is no room 
 for sadness in faith. We may be, as the apostle said, 
 "sorrowful," and yet should we always rejoice. 
 
 There are, it is true, times] when the spirit is 
 bowed down with anguish, yet even then there is a 
 bright side to the dark cloud. We have One to 
 whom we can unburden'our sorrows. We have One 
 in whom we can confide, on whom we can rest. We 
 have one who will sympathize with us, and'go with 
 
 Us llil/U i<iIC «ai Ja-iico- vi uiivt.i!-'v.--i-, ,,.„ „ . ^, _i 
 
 |ihe shadow of death. The very consciousness that we 
 
THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 
 
 179 
 
 have such a Friend as this is enough to make our 
 hearts rejoice ! There are times, too, when tempta- 
 tion is almost irresistible. Sin stands before us in 
 most alluring form, appealing to our strongest pas- 
 sion. We are, as the poor bird under the fascinating 
 power of tho serpent, unable to escape. We know 
 the danger — we know that death lurks beneath those 
 poisonous fangs. Oh, that we might ever hear in 
 that awful moment the words of the Apostle," Believe 
 — believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt 
 be saved!" BTe has power to save us from tempta- 
 tion. He can pluck us out of the mouth of the ser- 
 pent of sin. He can impart almighty strength to 
 us in the moment of weakness. The faith that can 
 lay hold of this glorious truth must fill us with joy 
 and gladness. In temptation and in sorrow He can 
 save. " When thou passest through the waters I 
 will be with thee ; and through the rivers they shall 
 not overflow thee : when thou walkest through 
 the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the 
 flame kindle upon thee." There is unspeakable joy 
 in believing that blessed promise. 
 
 And who can deny the joy that thrills the soul of 
 the repentant sinner when by faith he beiioiurT; Christ 
 as his Saviour ? He sees the sin. It (irag j iim to 
 the dust. It paralyzes his very spirit ws tb anguish 
 and woe. There is death before him The billows 
 of the sea of wrath are roarinsr for their nrev. An 
 eternity of misery dawns upon him. The sure 
 
I 
 
 180 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 vengeance of an offended God prepares to break 
 upon him. Then comes the cry — louder than the 
 storm's wild thunder — " What must I do to be 
 saved ? " It pierces the clouds of condemnation — 
 it reaches heaven's high throne — it brings its own 
 reply : " I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver 
 thee, saith the Lord." And what says the poor sin- 
 ner ? " Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief." 
 Is there not joy in that faith ? A brand plucked 
 from the burning — a sinner saved from the jaws of 
 eternal death — a whole life of iniquity blotted out 
 by an act of grace — no joy, no gladness in believing 
 this ? Ask those who have this faith. Ask those 
 who have been alone with Jesus at the foot of the 
 Cross. Ask those who on the verge of death's cold 
 flood, are yet full of joy, ready to burst into songs 
 of praise at the glorious prospect before them. 
 Whence their joy ? Whence the joy that makes glad 
 the Christian, wherever he may be, in life or in death ? 
 Most certainly in nothing else than in the faith he 
 has in his Lord and Master. What is sic to him — 
 what cares he whether there be a hell — what is 
 death ? He believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 whosoever believes in Him shall be saved. That is 
 enough. The sinner may well be glad. 
 
 There is in Europe an order of Monks, the rules 
 of which denounce mirth and joy. The members of 
 of that commimity nre immured for life in dark-, 
 gloomy cloisters They observe perpetual silence. 
 
THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 
 
 181 
 
 No smile is allowed to play upon their sad, sad 
 features. They think it a sin to laugh or to be 
 happy. They think it the height of Christian per- 
 fection to be gloomy and silent. But they cannot 
 know what true faith is. Believing on the Lord 
 does not produce this effect on men. When the 
 poor jailer was converted, we are told that he brought 
 Paul and Silas into his house and " set meat before 
 themand rejoiced, believing in God withall his house." 
 He had heard that which was indeed good news. 
 And what it did for him it does for all. It makes 
 them happy. They want no gloomy cell, with its 
 sad, perpetual silence. It is not night with them, 
 but cheerful, happy day. It is life now and bright 
 sunshine. " They break forth into singing." They 
 have but one thought : " I will be glad and rejoice 
 in Thy mercy." 
 
 Such is Christian faith. What is there to give 
 a poor, weary, heavy-laden sinner better than that ? 
 What can be given him that will make him as happy ? 
 Here is a something that can end does answer the 
 longings of his heart. It removes the load of sin. 
 It takes away the fear of retribution. It links him 
 with God. In sin, in temptation, in sorrow, there 
 is a Saviour, One mighty to save. He believes in 
 Him, he rests on Him, he is saved by Him. There 
 is no uiaeertain present, no dark future. It is full, 
 loviafiTi sure salvation. Eelie\'^( 
 
 fKof 
 
 
 lif 
 
 be glad. A trial of it will settle every doubt. Ub- 
 
m 
 
 I 
 
 182 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 told multitudes have tried it, and are now rejoicing 
 in the Lord. They praise Him now; hereafter they 
 shall praise Him with a new and glorious song. De- 
 pend upon it there is joy in believing. 
 
 But, in the second place, our text tells us that there 
 is Pe4.ce in Believing. 
 
 There can be no peace in the heart of the sinner 
 until he is sure of forgiveness from God. Estranged 
 from God, no man can be happy. He must be 
 distracted with fears. " Thou hidest Thy face," says 
 the Psalmist, " they are troubled." When a traveller 
 is in a dangerous and unknown wild, enveloped in 
 the darkness of midnight, he will very naturally be 
 troubled. He can see no way, he knows no way, by 
 which to reach the haven of safety. He gets bewildered, 
 distracting thoughts possess him, he is in despair. 
 Such is the sinner who is conscious of having lost 
 his way in the dark night of this world's sin. He is 
 troubled. He cannot be otherwise. He is alone, 
 exposed to great dangers, nay, in peril of eternal 
 death. He knows of no way of escape. True, there 
 may be others with him, but they are in a like con- 
 dition. They are all lost together. And though each 
 one has a plan to propose, it does no good. But when 
 the good Shepherd comes, and takes up in his arms 
 that which was lost, then the trouble vanishes. The 
 child has no fear when with its father, be the night 
 never so dark, the way never so rough. The father 
 knows the way. That is enough. So God knows 
 
 I' 
 
k|i.: 
 
 THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 
 
 183 
 
 the dangers of the wilderness, and when we can 
 trust Him, believing that He has power to save, 
 then are we at peace. All the doubts, the anguish, 
 the despair are at an end. We have peace in 
 believing. 
 
 We can judge of the truth of this by our own ex- 
 perience, and by observation. St. Paul tells us that 
 " God hath called us to peace." Wc may not be able 
 in words to express that peace — it is a peace which 
 passeth all understanding — but surely when we 
 know that God has put awaj our sin, that He has 
 blotted out our iniquity, tha'o He has reconciled us 
 unto Himself— surely, then, I say, a feeling of peace- 
 ful security must be ours. Any one who has grace 
 enough to realize the perjious condition of the sin- 
 ner, must feel troubled and distressed at the thought 
 of his sad end ; but remove everything, and give him 
 a free title to heaven, and he has no further cause 
 for fear. Have we believed and not realized this 
 peace ? Have we not seen it in others whom we 
 know are followers of the Lord ? There are people 
 who are distressed by the want of this world's goods, 
 and there are people who are distressed with the abun- 
 dance of them; but if they have faithin Christ, they are 
 at peace in their poverty, and at peace in their 
 wealth. The soldier, if he believe in God, has peace 
 though on the field of battle. In the most trying 
 — ^-^-^riicvaii-o^B ux iiiu, ii „o orxc ouc Willi vJoU, tuero 
 is peace. We are given rich foretastes of that future 
 
 m 
 
 f I 
 
 ■ft 
 
184 SIMPLE SERM()NS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 :i 
 
 I 
 
 Ji 
 
 peace which shall be ours through all eternity. Oh, 
 that we might realize this now in fuller measure ! 
 
 "O for the peace which floweth as a river, 
 
 Making life'n desert places bloom and smile! 
 O for the faith to grasp heaven's bright forever, 
 Amir\ the shadows of earth's little while ! " 
 
 Depend upcn it, if we have not more peace with 
 our faith, it is not faith's fault. Our faith is not 
 altogether right. The prisoner who holds in his 
 hand his Sovereign's free pardon is not distressed at 
 the Judge's sentence. Neither, though the law con- 
 demn us, need we fear when we hav;i Clod's forgive- 
 ness, written in the letters of our ^]a vlour's blood. 
 Having that forgiveness, we ahouM he at peace. We 
 know we have it by faith. We take liold of it by 
 faith. The prisoner did not hear the king pronounce 
 his pardon, but he believes it none the less. It is 
 written in black and white. So is our pardon on 
 the' pages of God's blessed book. A free and ab- 
 solute release ! Is there not peace in believing that ? 
 What else in all the wide, wide world will bring true 
 peace to the contrite sinner's soul ? Is there any- 
 thing ? Where is it ? Thousands and tens of 
 thousands have searched for it, and are still search- 
 ing for it, but they have never found it, and will 
 never find it anywhere else than in n living faith 
 in, Christ Jesus. Faith in Him will brmg peace — 
 nfiftce now^ eternal T»eace hereafter^ Oh^ if we are 
 in trouble, then let ua believe Him — let us trust 
 
THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 185 
 
 Hira-let us take Him at Hifl word : He will save 
 —save unto the uttermost—only believe ! Then 
 shall we find rest in the Lord, then shall wo in our 
 own experience prove that there is indeed peace 
 in believing. 
 
 But, in the third place, there is Hope in Believ- 
 ing— and that the best and surest of hope. 
 
 It is not all present gain— there is a future full of 
 promise and glory, and it is man's future that is of 
 far more importance than his present. The question 
 of what that future shall be is full of consequence 
 to every one. Shall it be an eternity of happiness, 
 or an eternity of misery ? Shall we be forever 
 with the Lord, or forever banished from His pre- 
 sence ? No one can lightly regard such questions 
 as these. Nor can any one wilfully go on to misery. 
 But how escape it ? How win happinese and 
 heaven ? The world proposes many ways, but what 
 IS there in them ? Men try them, but in the end 
 they find there is no hope. They build upon 
 them, but find they are sinking sand. How different 
 with true religion ! « Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ and thou shalt be saved." Have faith in Him, 
 and there is hope. What can givo such hope as' 
 that ? The God whom we have offended declares 
 forgiveness. The God who holds our destiny in His 
 hands ha« pledged Himself to give us eiemal happi- 
 
 ness. The fut"rp lo Qofft hat tt i -s •■ 
 
 _„c iui...it5 i,j saie, DecauMu ae nas made it so. 
 
 His word is sure. It gives us hope. We have 
 
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186 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 I 
 
 nothing to fear. Sins forgiven, an atonement 
 wrought, a rest provided, we have everything we 
 need. Nor ought we to doubt. " I know," says 
 St. Paul, " whom I have believed, and am persuaded 
 that He is able to keep tliat which I have com- 
 mitted to Him against that day." We have com- 
 mitted to Him our souls. We throw ourselves 
 absolutely upon His mercy. We look to Him for 
 salvation. We believe He will save. We therefore 
 hope in Him. He is the Hope of Israel— the Hope 
 of all His believing people. There can be no real, 
 substantial hope save in Him. 
 
 " Our hope is built on nothing lera, 
 Than Jesua' blood and righteousness." 
 
 But what a glorious hope that is ? No change in 
 it ! No disappointment ! God cannot lie. He can 
 neither deceive our faith nor wither our hope. Earthly 
 hopes may be false. But this hope never. Tt rests 
 upon the word of the Almighty God— it is built 
 upon the everlasting Rock of the eternal ages ! Men 
 may scoff and sceptics may sneer— but this hope 
 has withstood the assaults of many generations, the 
 fires of martyrdom, the war of a ragin*g heU. It has 
 cheered and will still cheer man in his weakness , 
 and man in his distress. Ho whose life is full of it 
 knows no night. He whose life is full of it has the 
 early golden rays of the heavenly day cast across 
 the path of his pilgrimage, and already hears in the 
 
THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. 137 
 
 Btm eventide the far-off .ong of the Redeemed the 
 
 death of God s people ? What is it that kills sor- 
 row and banishes distress ? What is it that brings 
 
 S.^^ faith-faith in God-faith in His promises, 
 m His love, mas power. Nothing but faith. An^ 
 other hope is not to be depended upon. But faith 
 
 etS"C':;th"t?^''r*''^'^"'"''''^ 
 
 one r.ope. J^aith is the .substance of thinffs 
 hoped for." If we believe , then, we Icnow that 'o T 
 Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father 
 hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting cons^' 
 ktion and good hope through grace." We have 
 hope m believing. We may look forward to a 
 
 glorious future. We may rest sure that all win b: 
 well. We may leave everything with Him 
 
 We have then in Faith, Joy, Peace and Hope 
 
 Ha. not faith, then, its ble,s.,ings ? Is it an emotv 
 
 supe^tition, The general chaLteristil^suTe^ 
 stition 18 fear — not inv tu • . 
 
 not joy. Ihere is neither mv 
 
 Ci;:re?^T.r^^^"«°'''^'''Christia:fS 
 has all three quahtie., in fullest measure. Nor is this 
 .aith he result of ignomnee, for the mo,. Mete 
 are intelligently to ascertain the ground of " tL 
 
 rr:,:arr;r'b^"""'^™«-''»^ 
 
 -nntelleetuaS:;^!---.^^^^^^^^ 
 
 I ij 
 
188 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 I, 
 
 i 
 
 ledge they will behold the things of God in a broader, 
 grander light,and their joy will be deeper, their peace 
 more sincere, their hope more confident. Of one 
 thing WG may be very certain, that faith can do 
 that for man which nothing else can do. We see 
 people trying to solve difficult questions —one man 
 comes out with a pretty theory apparently very 
 reasonable, and another man sends forth a theory 
 just as pretty and apparently just as reasonable, but 
 absolutely contradictory, pad if a third individual is 
 not found to contradict the both, it will be very 
 strange. Now, suppose one's soul is at stake on a 
 question of thia kind — and many of our souls are at 
 stake, — what shall we do ? One says do this and all 
 will be well, and another says do something else. 
 We feel that we must believe something — those very 
 individuals that . down Christian faith, after all, 
 do believe something — man must believe something 
 — what shall it be ? Shall it rest upon what men 
 say, or upon what, God says ? Perhaps some may say 
 they do not believe there is a God. But which is 
 easier, to believe there is no God, or to believe there 
 is a God ' There is faith in either case. But what 
 is there in the faith of the man who believes in no 
 God ? Nothing. And what is there in the faith of 
 that which rests upon man's sayings, and man's 
 reasonings ? Nothing but uncertainty and gloom. 
 Believe in God and there is joy, and peace, and 
 hope. Deny it those who can. L^ us try it for our- 
 
broader, 
 eir peace 
 
 Of one 
 i can do 
 
 We see 
 )ne man 
 tly very 
 1, theory 
 able, but 
 (ridual is 
 
 be very 
 ,ke on a 
 1I3 are at 
 s and all 
 ing else, 
 lose very 
 after all, 
 )mething 
 hat men 
 
 may say 
 which is 
 )ve there 
 But what 
 ves in no 
 3 faith of 
 id man's 
 d glooai. 
 eace, and 
 b for our- 
 
 THE BLESSINGS OF FAITH. I39 
 
 selves and we shall find how true is the Apostle's 
 assertion. ^ 
 
 One thing is certain, we have all a «oul to save. 
 If the devi can laugh us out of saving it. he will. 
 If he world can keep us in sin and misery, it 
 will Let us open our eyes to our danger ! See 
 death standing in our pathway. Know that destruc- 
 tion awaits us at our journey's end. dear reader, 
 hsten not to the syren's song. Hearken not to the 
 rippling music of the waters of the sea of woe, that 
 now, perhaps, is lulling you to sleep, but would, had 
 It the power, sing the loud, sad requiem over your 
 eternal misery. Up, up, turn te God. Believe 
 be leve on the Lord Jesus Christ while you have' 
 yet time-and you shaU be saved. Settle this ques- 
 tion now once and for all. Do not pass it by. Think 
 over It. Pi^y ovfer it. Talk over it. Only have 
 faith, and your soul will rejoice and be glad in the 
 Lord,-you will find peaceand rest now, and you will 
 have a sure and perfect hope for the future. May 
 God he^ you to do this-may He give you of His 
 gr^e that you may take these truths home to your- 
 self^a^d may "the God of hope fill you with all 
 joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound 
 m hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." 
 
SERMON XIV. 
 
 THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. 
 
 Psalm xxxvii. 28.—" The Btepa of a ^ood man are ordered by the Lord," 
 
 ^ LL people have not the same faith. In one 
 person faith is strong, in another it is weak. 
 Nay, in the same individual it changes : 
 to-day it is firm and unwavering, to-morrow it is 
 doubtful and questioning. Perhaps in nothing 
 more do we perceive these degrees of faith than in 
 ourselves or in others when the Providence of God 
 is concerned. One man sees the hand of God in 
 everything he does, no matter how small it may be. 
 Another only sees God in the great affairs of life. 
 The Psalmist was one who firmly believed that God 
 overruled everything that concerned His people. 
 Even "the steps" — the daily life — the little things 
 — " of a good man are ordered by the Lord." He 
 has laid out the way in which we are to go — He 
 leads us in that way — He guides us unto the end. 
 If our faith were only strong enough to take in this 
 blessed truth, it would remove much of the burden 
 of care and anxiety that oftentimes rests upon us. 
 Surely we have all need to pray, " Lord, increase 
 our faith." Let us then see how true is the state- 
 ment of our text — how easily it may be shown that 
 God does indeed direct the way of His people. 
 
he Lord." 
 
 In one 
 is weak, 
 ihanges : 
 'ow it is 
 nothing 
 
 than in 
 I of God 
 
 God in 
 may be. 
 1 of life, 
 that God 
 
 people. 
 ie things 
 •d." He 
 
 go — He 
 the end. 
 :e in this 
 3 burden 
 upon us. 
 
 increase 
 he state- 
 own that 
 pie. 
 
 THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. 191 
 
 Lord. This IS proved, in the Jlrst pla.e, by the fac 
 
 ..,*(. •. L '*o«'>ng 18 exempt from His 
 
 authonty. The bright worlds that wend the" wav 
 
 iTwI T^ '»'J*"g. •»<! in accordance with His 
 
 tude.^d touchesplanet, moon, and star with gold n 
 ^htattts command. The biasing comet beate 
 «^th fie.^ speed along a path laid out by the G^^ 
 Orator through the trackless heavens. We W 
 that some power must rule those bodies, vast and 
 mighty though they be. We know ,^ li, 7 
 Dower rnl«. f),; li. ™® ''"'"^- too. that some 
 power rules this earth on which we Hve. Day and 
 
 night, summer and winter, seed time and halv^°f 
 
 Z" ?" *? r * "«"'''"*^ 'o admit of 'etr 
 The watei. 0, the boundless 6cean, we ai. told.!" 
 
 sto^th : "' '" '""''• «« "-"^ ^orth "hi 
 
 tonn that crowns the wild billowswith snow-white 
 
 foam A H.S command the winds cea.e, the raging 
 
 ness. So IS He Governor among the nations. He 
 mses up a people to great gloiy and honour: <^n 
 He sea te^ the inhabitants of the earth. He mT^ 
 a land to flow with milk and honey: a«.in H« 1.™ 
 re, and brands it with desolation." In all tt,e 
 
 
 it 
 
192 SIMPLE SERMONS ON- SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 great things of the world and of the universe we 
 see the finger of God. They come into existence, 
 they move and fulfil their office at His bidding. 
 Surely it is hard to doubt that which is plain to 
 everyone who cares to see it. 
 
 And if God thus controls the great things, have 
 we not a reason for maintaining that He also con- 
 trols the little things ? There is a little rill trickling 
 down the mountain side. It is but a thin silver 
 thread amid the green mossy rocks. But, as it dashes 
 along, other little rills join their little streams with 
 it, and it grows bigger and bigger till it reaches the 
 valley and becomes a brook. And brooks flowing 
 into eac^ ther make rivers. And the river broad- 
 ens and grows deeper as it pours along towards the 
 sea, and joins its waters with the waters of many 
 other rivers that fill the great ocean bed. God's 
 law reaches those little mountain rills so that they 
 all struggle to reach the sea. And behold another 
 evidence of His power, though they are forever 
 adding to the sea, yet the sea never overflows its 
 appointed bounds. And why ? Because yon bright 
 sun is drawing up those ocean waters in small 
 minute drops, and these drops are gathered into 
 clouds, and the winds waft them back over the land, 
 and they are discharged in refreshing showers and 
 fertilizing rains. Mountain rills are small things, 
 and drops of vapour are smaller still, and yet they 
 are under laws as truly made by God as are the 
 
 f.f 
 
THE GUIDANCE OP QOD, 
 
 193 
 
 K 
 
 Id 
 
 laws that control the boundles.s space. Nor , 
 God rule the greater things of His kingdom wx.n- 
 out ruling the lesser things. The great ones are 
 made up of little ones. The ocean is but a vast 
 mass of little globules. Even the earth itself is but 
 a conglomeration of atoms, and great as it .seems to 
 be to us. It IS, when compared with the mighty uni- 
 verse, both small and insignificant. If the little 
 things were not controlled so as to be combined into 
 great thmgs there could be no great things, and 
 consequently, where we now see perfect order and 
 marvellous grandeur, aU would be anarchy and 
 confusion. 
 
 ne same guiding power is evident in the animal 
 world. Its teeming wonders abundantly proclaim 
 the one great truth. All are in God's mind The 
 giant elephant roaming amid Indian forests is not 
 more the object of His ca. han the fmgile hum- 
 ming ^ard that darts about our gardens, or the 
 short-lived gnat that plays in the evening sh..de 
 beneath the river willows, ortJirrniHiltTOrmalcule 
 whose tiny world lies hid within a little drop of 
 w«er. These are all accomplishing the work laid 
 out for them by God. They move - iiii,,u.l, 
 Ajithm their sphere as the hosts of heaven move in 
 A." .7''*™'" <>'•'''*« """de for them by the 
 Almighty a-eator. And when we think of this 
 surely we cannot doubt that God rules all things 
 both great and small. 
 
 y- 
 
194 SIMPLE SERMONH ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 1:1 t 
 
 If, then, we find this tr 
 
 lyth 
 
 rue in over 
 around ua, have we not good reason lor supposing 
 that man comes under the same rule ? Shall all the 
 universe be controlled by God and man bo exempt ? 
 True, we have rebelled against God— the only one 
 of all His works that has denied His authority— 
 but there are those who have returned to their alle- 
 giance, and would serve Him, aod it i s uf lllUiJt; I 
 -•peftfcK They are obedient, shall they, then, not be 
 led by God ? Shall He not guide them in all the 
 affairs of life— even the smallest ? He guides the 
 little rill to the ocean, shall He not guide them to 
 the ocean of His love ? He takes up the little mist- 
 drop from the watery-wilderness and bears it on 
 the wings of the wind to the thirsty land, shall He 
 not also take them up in His arms and bear them 
 to the home of His presence— to a home where they 
 are needed— to a presence thirsting with very love 
 for their souls ? I feel that in this fact that God 
 overrules everything, we have a good reason for 
 believing that " the^steps of a good man are ordered 
 by the Lord." If cannot see why we should be ex- 
 cepted from the rule. 
 
 But, in the second place, we find a reason in God's 
 
 PURPOSES CONCERNING MAN. 
 
 God did not create man for nought. He had a 
 purpose in his creation. Nor did He create him 
 fo'r this life only. There is an existence beyond 
 the present. We believe that this is a prol 
 
THK OUIDANCE OP OOD. ,r,r, 
 
 "tTlLh ■"" "' ''™'"™"''"- ^« «"> to be fit J 
 tor a Inghor, « „,„re glorious, an eternal life oj 
 
 has na,le u, to inherit Hia kingdo„,_to ret, ^it 
 "Z7 """"" '" " ^"''^ "f Joy -"peace Tfl^^t 
 
 Ci:::.?;::;''^" '' ■"""' -^ ~'^ •>» ">«' 
 
 one oW c"u If T** " '"'• """ "-""^ No 
 future w 11 s ' "" °"« «'»" ^now., .hat the 
 
 painanTuLnrj^rT"'""'"""''''^^'" 
 tribulation, w"'' I b^ h ^ *''"'"*""" '"'' 
 of tl,o truth,a„d beled^ t;°"«'" '° " '"'""'^''S^ 
 all the work of God r V """^ °' '""■ '^'''^ '*■ 
 
 lor a certain pos.t.on ,n Ood-8 great temple. Some 
 ^.in^vidualorthnrrit-^^^^^^^ 
 
 'U wealth. He neither knows nor fears God But 
 one day he finds his riches are all gone. He fs a 
 poor man. And then he thinks of reltion He 
 turns to God He finds that which passesTundfr 
 Standing— all earthly wealth CnA' 
 to.»kethatina„„„^H:r,f, tTj^^T^Z 
 heart dung to the things of this world it Ci^^ 
 
 possible, and so the blow was struck, ri" 
 -ncKen soul found refuge in the Rock of Ages. " 
 
 It; 
 
 I 
 
1 9(1 SIMI'LK SEUMONS ON SIMPLE SDOJECTH. 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 In one of the convents of rr(»rinany, Honie three 
 hundred and .seventy years ago, wjih an old, pious, 
 God-fearing monk. He had spent his days un- 
 knowfi^ and unnoticed in the gloomy life of the 
 ^'^IwSier. No doubt he often thought how useless 
 ho had been. He had done no great work to leave 
 as a memorial in the world's history. Indeed, he 
 lived only for the Master's glory. In the same con- 
 vent was a yoong man of wonderful mental powers, 
 humility, and devotion. He was earnestly striving 
 to live the new life. His soul yearned after God. 
 But he saw no light,' He was in deep despair. One 
 day the old man met him and asked him why he 
 looked 80 sad ? " Because," answered the young 
 monk, " I do not know what will become of me. It 
 is no use for me to make promises to God— sin is 
 ever the strongest." With great simplicity, and 
 from the fulness of his heart, the aged monk 
 reminded him of the article of the Creed, "I believe 
 in the forgiveness of sin," and he expounded it in 
 such a way as to show that God freely forgave His 
 poor erring children, and only asked them to trust 
 Him. " Oh, my friend," he said, "instead of tortur- 
 ing yourself on account of your sins cast yourself 
 by faith into the Redeemer's arms-^look at the 
 wounds of Jesus Christ— to the blood that he has 
 shed for you." His words sank deep into the young 
 man's heart. The cloud passed away from his face. 
 His soul was filled with inv TKa e\\A *nQ«'= ,rr.-.,,L- 
 
 bh joy. The old man' 
 
 a wuiji. 
 
 
THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. 
 
 197 
 
 on earth was dono. But the doctrine that ho had 
 given that young man was the doctrine tliat ere long 
 Hashed in livin/r power and glory throughout 
 l^urope, and showed to sinning man the way of sal- 
 vation through the Redeeming Lord. God had a 
 purpose for that aged monk. He gave him to drink 
 ol the waters of life. He led him to the cro.ss. And 
 then he gave the truth to Martin Luther-and with 
 that truth Martin Luther shook tht ./orld. Surely 
 the steps of a gr»od man are ordered by the Lord. 
 
 It is very true that we cannot understand God's 
 dealings with us. They seem so different from 
 what we would expect. " What I do thou knowest 
 not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." When 
 we reach the other shore we shall see the purpose 
 God had for u.s in this life, and the purpose He ha^ 
 for us in that better life. If we cannot see it now 
 we shall see it then that H. was our guide in all 
 things. It seems plain even now. God leads His 
 people to the Saviour. They do not go themselves. 
 He leads them through life. By what numberless 
 httle things we can trace His hand in all we do 
 There is a purpose in them all. The sick-bed has 
 IS purpose. The heavy Cross has its purpose. The 
 cloud of sorrow has its purpose. We must be made 
 meet for the Master's kingdom-whether it be in 
 this world or in the world to come. We cannot fit 
 ourselves. The old monk in the convent of .^^f 
 could not have worked a reformation in Europe 
 
198 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 He knew nothing of what was coming. But God 
 did, and God alone could prepare the way for it. 
 He guided the whole thing. And so with us indi- 
 vidually—whatever God's determination concerning 
 us may be, He will bring it to pass. He will, by 
 little and little lead us along, and His purpose in 
 the end will be accomplished. He directs the way 
 of His people. 
 
 We see the truth of this, in the third place, in 
 God's Love for His people. 
 
 God's love for His people is compared tp that of 
 a father's for his cliildren. It is said to be even 
 greater and stronger. We may, then, gather some- 
 thing of how God works from the way earthly 
 parents work with their offspring. They are given 
 to them to train up in the fear and a^momtwn of 
 the Lord. From infancy the body and the mind 
 are watched and tended. Step by step the child is 
 led along through the years of its youth tiU it can 
 care for itself. It is warned of this error, and taught 
 the sin of that, and drawn to that which is good 
 Were it left to itself, it would die, or come to an evil 
 end. But the father's love cares for it and guides 
 it. So our heavenly Father's love cares for us and 
 guides us all the days of our life. 
 
 It would be contrary to God's nature to do other- 
 wise. We cannot conceive of an earthly father 
 having a great love for his child and neglecting it. 
 The world would justly say his love ^ was fllse. 
 
 
THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. 199 
 
 Would it not be so with God ? Love prompts us to 
 action It prompted Him so that He gave His only, 
 begotten Son for our saJvation, Does it not lead 
 am further to care for us individually? A little 
 helpless ehdd does not need its mother's care and 
 guidance more than we need God's, We do not 
 know what our next step may be. The action we 
 
 toor Yet God says to His people "there shall 
 no evi, befiOl thee." God's loveluld not « 
 to happen to us. Then He must guide us into that 
 wh.ch IS for our good. He must lead us in the wav 
 Hb ove has marked out for us. If no evil shafl 
 befall us then .t can only be because God will keep 
 US from it. ^ 
 
 Then, again, God's love has prepared for us a 
 heaven of rest. But unless God teaches us the way 
 there we shall never enter in. We need to be led 
 step by step, and this is what God does. The 
 love He has for His people would never stop at 
 providing a home for them when they could not of 
 tten^lves reach it,'b„t it would go out to them, and 
 find the lost and guide the blind. The many ex- 
 ampleswehaveofthe way God exercises His love 
 prove how true this is. There was Paul, He was 
 trained m the arts and sciences at Taraus. Then he 
 was led to Jerusalem, and, under the care of one of 
 Ae greatest masters of the day, he became well 
 versed m the law and traditions of his fathers He 
 
 ftji 
 
200 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 1 
 
 1- 
 
 was devoted to the old religion. But God turned 
 his wonderful talents in an opposite direction. He 
 became the great champion of Christianity. He 
 advocated its cause in Athens, Rome and Corinth, 
 and throughout the great empire. Thousands were 
 converted under his ministry in his own day — 
 untold thousands have been converted and strength- 
 ened by his writings since. His will be an honoured 
 name on the lips of every child of God throughout 
 eternity. Why was he so manifestly guided in 
 everything he did? Because the Lord loved His 
 people, and He raised them up a great apostle to 
 show them the living way. His love led him to 
 care for them. His love led Him to prepare a faith- 
 ful minister to guide them. There are many instances 
 such as this — in fact, they abound unnumbered 
 and meet us everywhere. They confirm the words 
 of Jehovah : " I have loved thee with an everlast- 
 ing love." And in the fact of that love we know 
 that " the steps of a good man are ordered by the 
 Lord." He directs the way of His people. 
 
 These are three reasons proving the truth of our 
 text. We know that God rules all things, both 
 great and small. We know that He has gracious 
 purposes concerning His people. We know that He 
 has great love. And, therefore, we cannot but con- 
 clude that He is our guide in everything we do. 
 Shall we not, then, trust Him ? Shall not our 
 faith become stronger ? Shall we not depend 
 
 fi > 
 
THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. JqI 
 
 ones ? That was a beautiful lesson Luther learned 
 
 .^- ^' "^^ o" » fe« a little bird making its 
 arrangements for a night's rest " Tn^t » ^ ^ 
 " how t,b«t litti. J- 11 *'^'' '^®^*- l^ook, saidhe, 
 
 *,r\ 1. f """^ P'''*«''«^ ^ith to us aU He 
 takes hold of his twig, tueks his head under fu 
 wmg and goes to sleep. ,^^ ^oi to .*« Z- 
 nvm. Ye are of more value," said Jesus " th.n 
 n«J>y spar^ws." Oh. that we 'could inTwe " 
 and do leave God to think for us! A^ Tho2 
 
 trtG:'i:l"^''*r "'««""'*■'»• ^-houM^ 
 
 that Godknows what is best, and does indeed work 
 
 .11 things together for good to them that love ffim 
 
 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord " 
 
 This ,s a lesson which we need to leam- 
 
 atrathwe need to take home to ourse^ve^^Z 
 
 pend upon It, life would be far happier could we 
 
 only beheve that the L^d was leading „,. <^^;; 
 
 how hard it is to do so. Some ofj a^eZuS 
 
 and hesitating all our life long. We shaU S^ 
 
 ,«^o«rd„ub..with„stofheg«.ve. B^^ 
 Chnst,an was full of despair when he was ies! 
 
 "f *^ ^"-'^ "™«- tl^'t separated him from the 
 elestial city He could not see that the L<^d 1 
 
 leading him through the deep waters. "He Z 
 
 W of mind aad heart-fea. that he should dit^ 
 that river, and never obtain entrant, i„ ., »k» _..„ . 
 
 With "Hopeful" it was veiy different: H?c:;h 
 
^2 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 cry out to his brother pilgrim, " I feel the bottom 
 and it is good." No doubt many and many a true 
 child of Qod will go through life and through death 
 with but a weak and wavering faith in Qod'a pro- 
 vidence, while others will trust Him 'through all, 
 and exclaim at the very last, as a dear brother did 
 not long ago, " I am sweeping through the gates, 
 washed in the blood of the Lamb." There will be 
 doubting Thomases and loving, trusting Johns as 
 long as there is a saint left on earth. But, oh, if we 
 could only cast aside these clinging doubts — ^if we 
 could only be as 'little children — ^if we coidd but 
 believe that He who guides the stars in empty space 
 and rules over all the works of His hand guides 
 us also— would not life be brighter and we happier ? 
 Let us, then, remember the puiposes and the love of 
 God, and cast all our cares upon Him. Let us by 
 faith take hold of His hand apd go with Him, step 
 by step, in the way He is leading us. It may be all 
 dark around/ with no^ light ahead—has it not, my 
 Christian XQ^CMivseemed so with fm in many a 
 tr3ring circumstance? Has not ^jicMr future been 
 buried beneath da^^eavy clouds ? — But if it is in 
 God*s way, can^giM^^ji^eave it with Him and trust 
 Him with your all ? J^believe that these doubts 
 arise from too much looking at self and not enough 
 to God. We sometimes forget that He is every- 
 thing, we are nothing. If we kept this ever before 
 us — ^ifj we would ever look to Him as the little ten- 
 
THE GUIDANCE OP GOD. 
 
 208 
 
 our faith would grow stronger «s we grow older- 
 
 Me, both great and small. 
 
 There is, however, this comfort to the Christie, 
 B^^ng to serve his Master-that weak thougTZ 
 f^th may b^^^bHng as may he.the trustloo^ 
 
 out bs way for im^So that we shall be led to 
 our home, we shaU be guided to our rest, t2 
 
 ^"^1 «h«Mted Md^ with us not so much 
 "JTJ^erve, but in «»ordance with His W 
 
 ^r^ry-*'-^ "tte steps of a g„od man IL' 
 ordered by the lord ! " B " man are 
 
 <»- For Thy name's «ke lead i^^and guide ^•■ 
 and may we realize the glorious truth that i 
 does lead us m the paths of rightoousness, and wiU 
 80 lead us unto oar life's endl • • " wm 
 
8ERM0N XV. 
 
 THE LAST REST. 
 
 HlBRBWS IT. 9 :— " There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of Ood." 
 
 T. PAUL is writing to the Hebrews — to God's 
 ancient people — of things which were then 
 present. Among other matters, he is showing 
 them that the Sabbath rest, which had been re- 
 peatedly promised to their forefathers, had never 
 been realized undeir the old dispensation. The rest 
 of Canaan was not all. There was more fpr Israel 
 than that. And, therefore, he argues, if Ood has 
 promised a rest, and that rest has not been attained, 
 " There remaineth a rest to the people of God," — a 
 rest yet to come. This rest, he says, is to be found 
 in the Gospel dispensation — in the new order of 
 things brought about by the coming of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. It does not need much to show the 
 truth of this doctiine. The old law knew nothing 
 of a Saviour, or of the peace which that Saviour 
 could give. It was a religion of works. There was 
 an unrest, an uncertainty, a gloom about it, in part 
 occasioned by its being only a dim foreshadowing 
 of thin^ that were yet to come. In the Gospel, all 
 this had passed away. In the new dispensation, all 
 was light. The sinner saw plainly the way of sal- 
 vation. He might have peace and joy. He need 
 
 iiil!. i 
 
THE LAST REST. 
 
 205 
 
 le of Qod." 
 
 ■to God's 
 ere then 
 showing 
 been re- 
 id never 
 The rest 
 pr Israel 
 Qod has 
 attained, 
 Ood,"— a 
 be found 
 order of 
 ^he Lord 
 jhow the 
 ' nothing 
 I Saviour 
 here was 
 I, in part 
 ladowing 
 rospel, all 
 lation, all 
 i-y of sal- 
 He need 
 
 I 
 
 no longer be troubled with the f ulfihnent of duties 
 which he was unable to perform. He might rest in 
 a Saviour's love and mercy. 
 
 Yet, doubtless, even this more perfect rest, is but 
 a better and richer foretaste of the rest which re- 
 maineth for the people of God, in the blessed home 
 beyond the grave. It is to this rest that we are yet 
 looking ; " For here we have no continuing city, but 
 we seek one to come." Though we have a more 
 perfect rest than had the Jew of old, yet our long- 
 ings for the fuller rest are not satisfied. We are 
 still in the wilderness, travelling homeward. This 
 life is often compared to a pilgrimage. We are ever 
 journeying on through sickness, temptation, and sor- 
 row. Trials of all sorts beset us on the way. 
 Enemies stand in our path. And it is oftentimes a 
 hard battle we are called upon to fight, a heavy 
 cross we are caUed upon to bear, a dark night we 
 are caUed upon to travel in. And, such being the 
 case, we long for rest. We long for the time to 
 come, when these temptations and trials shaU have 
 an end, when the eternal day shall opei upon us 
 with all its glories, when we shall sit down and rest 
 beside the still waters of Paradise. It is the hope 
 of that rest that cheers us now in many a painful 
 trying hour. It is the promise of that rest that 
 irradiates the gloom pf many a sad, sad life. It is 
 the certainty of that rest that spurs us on to re- 
 iiewed exertion, to more earnest toil. Truly, besides 
 
 f 
 
SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 ikie rest promised us under the Gospel, we may ap- 
 ply our text also to the rest in yon world of peace. 
 Hath not God said, " There remaineth yet a rest for 
 His people ? " 
 
 What are some of the prominent features of that 
 rest? 
 
 In the firgt place, it is A Future Rest. We have 
 not yet reached it. To be sure, we have m«««-pi:ex- 
 ■moniticius 0£4t, a richer and better conception of it, 
 than had the Jew of old. Like the beloved disciple, 
 we may lean upon our Saviour's bosom, and find rest 
 there. We may lay our burden of sin at the foot 
 df the Cross. We may throw off the bondage of 
 Satan, and take upon us the light and easy yoke of 
 Christ. We may leave the doubts and fears of the 
 law, and rejoice in the full liberty of the Gospel. 
 In all this we may enjoy much rest. But we have 
 still much work to do. We have still a great ad- 
 versary to contend with, strong temptations to 
 resist, besetting sins to avoid. We have still, in our 
 weakness, a God to glorify, a God to obey, a God 
 to love. There are sorrows to be borne, and virtues 
 to be practised, and fellow sinners to be saved. So 
 that we have not yet entered into perfect rest. 
 This is a fact we must ever bear in mind. We have 
 not yet reached home. This world is not our home. 
 Prosperity in this life is not the crown of glory 
 which God has promised to His faithful ones. He 
 
 doAR not ll.1iva,va 0^«ta ifo wt^^^^ ^^J : i_ jl-l • i j. 
 
 ^ — a-j -^ g» T ^^ Uo ^raouc cuiM juy lu WHS woriq. 
 
THE LABT REST. 
 
 207 
 
 Oftentimes He fills up for us a cup of bitterest gall. 
 A heavy cross is prepared for us to bear. A dark 
 cloud is cast over all our hopes. Instead of giving 
 us those things in which our souls delight, He sends 
 us bereavement, and aflfliction, and persecution. In- 
 stead of surrounding us with the sweet quiet of the 
 heavenly calm, the rushing tempest and the wild 
 storm await us. We are tossed to and fro upon 
 life's unknown ocean, in distress and in danger, in 
 perplexities and in fears. 
 
 But, oh ! how sweet to think that, after all this is 
 over, there is yet a rest to the people of God ! The 
 broken wreck of a vessel, almost ruined by the 
 furious waves, shall yet reach the haven of peace 
 and safety. The weary pilgrim who, with tired step 
 and trembling heart, has persevered in the heaven- 
 ward journey, will enter the gate of the celestial 
 city by and bye. The returning prodigal wijl sit 
 down in his father's house at last. There will be 
 an end — a happy end — to all these suflferings. The 
 cross shall be transformed into the crown ; sorrow 
 "^*o joy ; the storm into calm ; the dark night into 
 the bright and ever-glorious day. We shiJl enter 
 into rest. 
 
 There is in this much that should cheer us in our 
 work and in our sorrow. We shall not always be 
 toiling— not always under the rod. There will be 
 peace and joy at the last. There will be a lifting 
 up of the cloud. We should not murmur, then, at 
 
208 SIMPLE SEUM0N8 ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 God's mysterious dispensations. We should not 
 seek to get rid of the cross— whatever that cross 
 may be which we are called upon to bear. We 
 should not try to avoid the work which we are 
 given to do. We must expect that in this world 
 we shall have tribulation. The Master was a ma^j 
 of sorrows and acquainted with grief, He had no 
 place to lay His head, He was despised and scorned 
 of men. And shall we be greater than our Lord ? 
 Shall we go through life without the thorny crown, 
 the toil, the grief? No; we cannot expect that. 
 The way to heaven is a narrow way — a way in 
 which there is gr^at danger, many enemies, many 
 temptations. We have to persevere in that way 
 unto the end. Nor can we enter into glory unless 
 we have persevered. We cannot rest unless we 
 have worked. We cannot wear the laurels unless 
 we have fought the battle. 
 
 And seeing that the rest is future, we ought not to 
 expect rest in the time present. Now is the time for 
 work. We are put into this world for labour. 
 Talents are given us and grace is bestowed npm us 
 that we should do God good service. We have to 
 use those talents and show ourselves worthy of that 
 grace. We are not to sit down and rest and say 
 this world is heaven. Nor are we to rest in our 
 present spiritual attainments, but to grow in grace 
 — to go on and on to perfection. Every day that 
 
THE LAST RBST. 
 
 209 
 
 we follow Christ we grow stronger, and are capable 
 of more work, and we have to do that work. 
 
 And let no one say he has no work to do As 
 long as he has a friend or a neighbour unconverted, 
 as long as he has himself an evil temper to conquer 
 or an indolent state of soul to amend, or things t^ 
 learn of God and religion, he has work to do It 
 may be very hard sometimes to do this work. But 
 It must be work now, rest by and bye. Grief and 
 temptation and persecution must be borne now the 
 glory will be hereafter. Let us remember this, 'nhe 
 rest that remaineth for the people of God is a 
 future rest It is in our Father's home-in the 
 many mansions which the Saviour hm gone to pre- 
 pare for those who love Him. Nor should we con- 
 aider the trials we have to go through in this life 
 too severe or too bitter. They have their end. 
 
 For our hght affliction, which is but fora moment 
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory." " We must, through much trib- 
 ulation, enter into the kingdom of God " And 
 aiter aU, "the sufferings of this present time are 
 not wori^hy to be compared with the gloiy which 
 shall be revealed in us." Wc shaU know by and 
 bye the secret of much that is now so mysterious 
 to us. The heavier we have toiled, the sweeter shall 
 beourrBst. The darker the night, the brighter the 
 day. The more lowly the crosa, the more exalted 
 tiie crown, The nearer to the Master in suffering 
 
810 (TWPLE SERMONS ON SVMPLE SUBJECTS.* 
 
 the nearer to the Master in glory. All this will be 
 f^^'lent in the great hereafter. Then let us comfort 
 ourselves with this blessed hope. Let us rejoice in 
 tribulation. Let us look away from the things of 
 earth to the things of heaven. Let us -s atch for 
 our Lord's coming, " bearing all things, beli )vin?rall 
 things, hoping all things, enduring all ii. I .gs." And, 
 moreover, " beloved, seeing that ye look for such 
 things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in 
 peace, without spot, and blameless." "Set your 
 affections on things above, not on things on the 
 earth." For we have not yet entei-ed into rest; 
 "there remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of 
 God." May God bring us to that rest I May He 
 comfort us with sweet and strengthening foretastes 
 of it ! May He guide us ^through the wilderness to 
 the home of His presence ! 
 
 " Oh, spread thy covering wings abroad 
 Itll all our wanderinga cease. 
 And at onr Father's loved abode 
 Our souls arrive in peace." 
 
 The rest is a future rest. 
 
 Bfl t, in the aecon. T* -t;, !5> is a Pertect T^bst. 
 It la complete in ' v- )'. this >,.ild, no rest, 
 
 however sweet, is perfect. When the Israelites 
 entered the promised land, they found it was not 
 all rest there. And we, who are under the Gospel, 
 find it pretty much the same. There are cares that 
 WotTV US. and thoncrb-tn tha*"- T»Ant%lo-*- «« «««^ ^.,«v 
 
raa LAST REST. 
 
 211 
 
 
 to d«t, rb U8, in our most tranqml ™„„ento. But 
 m the heaveny Canaan, in the land above, tha 
 flows „th m, k and honey, t'.ere i, complete reet 
 hohneea «.d joy and pleasure are there for ever i„ 
 perfection. 
 
 The rest there is perfect, because it is free fro 
 «^. Sin which ha« such a terrible hold - fK>n u 
 here, shall have no power there. What a blessing 
 this will be ! Then we sh.U be freed from temptJ 
 tion! Now, the assaulte of Saten try us very 
 severely. We are often ca. t down. Many a time 
 hke Peter of old. we are tern; fced to deny our Lord. 
 • Like Paul, we have our «th. m in the flesh." A 
 sinful nature, a lying devil, an ensnaring world are 
 pronounced enemies of our soulB. "When we would 
 do good, evil is present with us." There is " another 
 law m our members, warring a«a nst the law of our 
 minds a^d bringing us into capt:vity to the law of 
 sm^which is in our members." !ut, in God's per- 
 fect rest, all this shaU have an end We shaU ha^e 
 no more to lead us astray ; no mor, sin to ensnare 
 US. We shall be free from sin. ^^ ^ shall be able 
 to enjoy perfect rest. 
 
 Sorrows, too, ahxM hive an end. There shaU be 
 no gnef or pain or death there. « God shall wipe 
 away all tears from our eyes ; " " we shall not 
 sorrow any more at all." We shaU sit down beside 
 the still waters of JParadise. free from al tHK„lo>;.. 
 
 • jyai i g - 
 
212 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 for the former things shall have passed away for 
 ever, all things shall have become new. 
 
 And, thus, the rest of heaven shall be a rest v/n- 
 mingled with evil. Nought shall ever enter that 
 blessed land to disturb the peace of God's people. 
 There shall be no alloy of sin or suffering to mar 
 our joy or happiness. There is freedom, life, glad- 
 ness, light and glory. No evil shall distress the 
 saints of the Lord ; but, with hearts that know no 
 grief, with souls that know no sin, they shall for 
 ever rejoice in the perfect rest of that eternal 
 home. They shall sing that new song — ^the song, 
 the blessed words aJid music of which can only be . 
 learned in heaven. 
 
 And not only will the rest be perfect, because 
 freed from all sin, all sorrow, and all evil, but, also, 
 hecoAise we shall be prepared to enjoy it. The dis- 
 cipline that the soul undergoes in this world is to 
 prepare it for the world to come. Not a command 
 is given, or a trial sent, that has not this end in 
 view. The materials are all prepared for the 
 Temple before they are sent there. The com is 
 threshed nm| TJirinntnTiitfl before it is stored away in 
 the granary. And we are made ready before we 
 are called away. We could not enjoy that rest if we 
 were not thus prepared for it. In this life, we have 
 no great joy, unless some sorrow goes before it. We 
 should not enjoy the fresh and glorious beauties of 
 the spring had we not passed through the rough 
 
THE LAST REST. 
 
 218 
 
 and hard winter. We do not know the value of 
 peace until we have contrasted it with the horrors 
 of war. Nor do we properly appreciate health till 
 we know what sickness is. And, when we reach 
 yon happy land, we could not value its blessed rest 
 unless we could look back upon a life spent here in 
 the wilderness, in gloom, and war, and pain. It is 
 the pruning that helps the vine. It is blow upon 
 blow that forms the rough marble into shape. It is 
 the bitter medicine that makes the sick man well. 
 And all this preparation we shall have gone through 
 before we enter the rest that remaineth to the 
 people of God. 
 
 And as the soul is prepared, so will the body be. 
 These weak, corruptible, mortal bodies shall be 
 changed, and endued with power, and glory, and 
 honour, aima^mmmmiy. Now, they are bodies 
 adapted to this world— this animal life ; then, they 
 will be bodies adapted to the other world— the 
 spiritual life. Whatever may be the joys or the 
 duties of heaven, we shall have souls and bodies 
 specially prepared for those joys and duties. What 
 those bodies will be like we know not : " It doth 
 not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that 
 when He shall appear we .shall be like Him; for 
 we shall see Him as He is." And thus the rest will 
 be more perfect because we shall be prepared for it. 
 
 — — j-™-.,,. „^i uiiixij^o ciac, i;iic punection OI Titi&h 
 
 rest willWsist in Jia^^wimra-facrthat there we 
 
214 SIMPLE SEBMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 \li 
 
 lallever be with the Lord. Within the celestial 
 ci^ dwells the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind, 
 Bre we shall dweU with Him. There shaU 
 be safeV gathered in all those who here below have 
 loved ttte Lord Jeaus in sincerity and in truth. 
 There thW shall be in the immediate presence of 
 God ; yieliing adoration to Him that sitteth on the 
 throne, toVthe Lamb that here was led to the 
 slaughter, btat that now reigneth; with whom we 
 shall reign, mer we have run this comfortless race 
 through this\ miserable earthly vale. We cannot 
 yet look backW the journey finished, the warfare 
 accomplished, the ra^e run to the end, the prize 
 won. We kno^^not what it is to behold our Master 
 and Redeemer f a^ to face. Yet, have we not in the 
 Gospel rest some fcrfttastes of what it will be when 
 we shaU rest in ffis presence, in the home of His 
 glory? Do we not\wit^ the eye of faith behold 
 Him who is the ^together lovely, the chiefest 
 among ten thousand^ But what is this compared 
 with the future, when\we i^all see Him as He is ? 
 N ow. wo know that "W e halh libt s66B, ftor eax 
 heard, n^itkr b flth flntrf^Vpd into the hwit uf m an 
 the,^ingsjL ^i>!) (ifnfl hnt\i pKipaiud fpi jhem that"" 
 JoxaJSim-Uereafter, the We of sight shall behold 
 His face in righteousness, sh^ behold His kingdom 
 and His glory. Nothing shall interrupt our com- 
 munion with Him. '* There shaH^be no night there " 
 
 """f" wiTin nis wflinta 
 
THE LAST REST. 
 
 215 
 
 ^all dKsi^f the rivers of His pleasure that are at 
 His nght h^M^e shall refresh ourselves in the 
 fill! springs of U^Mi^ht and joy, and rest in the 
 perfect rest of the neV.I^salem-the glorious 
 city of our God. 
 
 What more can he needed to complete that rest ? 
 No sin, no sorrow, no evil in it; souls and bodies 
 prepared especially to enjoy it; the full presence of 
 Chnst in the midst of His people-is Dot this aU 
 that we can wish for ? Could we desire more ? Is 
 not the rest which remaineth for the people of God 
 a perfect rest ? 
 
 Tn th e fftirr/ plaap , that rest is an Eternal Rest. 
 It is forever and forever. It shall never have an 
 end. Rest in this worid is not for long. Though 
 the night succeed the day of toil, the night in its 
 turn is followed by the day. There is no lasting 
 rest. But. beyond the grave, we shall enter into an 
 eternal rest. We shall never leave that blessed 
 home. We shaU never tread the wilderness path 
 again. Storm and tempest shall aU be over. Tribu- 
 lation and sorrow, temptation and sin, oppression 
 and persecution, shaU cease. There shall be no 
 more doubts and fears, no more doop quoaU u nmg s 
 B^ heart burnings, no more weary toil and unsatis- 
 fied desires. All thia shall have passed away— lost 
 in the river of death— and we shall nAv«r «>«*.* 
 them again. We shall enter into rest. 
 
216 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 The Word of God secures this blessed hope to us 
 again and again. God will give, says St. Paul, « to 
 them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, 
 seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal' 
 life.'' "He that overcometh shall go no more 
 out." « There shall be no more death, neither sor- 
 row, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
 pain: for the former things have passed away." 
 "We^l ever be with the Lord." Heavenjawtild 
 *os® mu8h-e^4taJia^4uiifig^we^J^^ an end. 
 
 But it is everiagiing^iffer'^irthrTulnesfr-of joy 
 for evermore. 
 
 "For ever !with the Lord : 
 Amen, so let it be. 
 Life from the dead is in that word, 
 'Tis inmiortallty." 
 
 This must be a feature of that rest, full of com- 
 fort and hope, to the earnest, true Christian. Even 
 should it lack that perfectness, of which I have 
 been speaking, it wiU have enough of joy in it to 
 render its perpetual endurance desirable. Every 
 day, nay, every hour, will bring with it some new 
 delight, some fuller development of heavenly 
 pleasure. As the years roU by— years in which we 
 shall never grow old— we shaU become more and 
 more capable of enjoying that rest; we shall see 
 more glory, more power, more wisdom in the God 
 
 and Lord of our souls; we shall go on and on, 
 
 farther on A cf^n i?-_j.T- ^-j. n 
 
 taLUiici „aa oiiiii iaij>uui-, mto ine ocean of Mis 
 
THE LAST REST. 
 
 217 
 
 eternal and boundless love. All will be rest. Not 
 mere idle rest, but an eternal cessation from the 
 woes of this world, an eternal participation in the 
 joys of heaven. There will be no change of state 
 no end, no termination to our blessedness. It will 
 be an eternal rest. 
 
 Future, perfect, etemal-r-sui^h aiu IhB (ihttmcteris- 
 tm of tha , t venf whinh yat rmmneth, into w hich" 
 God ffl-ant. we ma.y all enter ! What a precious' 
 promise ! What a glorious hope ! But notice, this 
 rest remaineth for th^ people of God. It is not for 
 everybody. It is not for those who know not God 
 They have no part or lot in the matter. They have* 
 not earned the Cross, and they cannot expect to 
 wear the Crown. Only those who have beHevec^ 
 on the Lord Jesus shaU enter into His rest We 
 may lose it through unbelief. The Israelites that 
 perished in the wilderness could not enter into the 
 promised rest of Canaan, because of unbelief It 
 may be the same with us in regard to the rest that 
 still remains. for God's people. "Let us labour 
 therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall 
 after the same example of unbelief." We must be- 
 Ueve, we must obey, we must be steadfast, or we 
 cannot enter heaven. Wei have no right to think 
 we shall. We have no rig^t to look forward to a 
 place m that home of gi,ry. jfE^eptam^n be 
 
 bom again, he cannof. spA- fi.« Li^h ' L^ ^ , ., 
 
 Notevbry one that saith unlfco ^e, Lird,^Lord 
 
218 SIMPLE SBRMbNS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 shall lente'r into the kingdom of 
 ^Kjit aoeth the will of my Fi 
 heaVMi" And, " this is the 
 believeii^lJ Bim wfapanr 
 
 ,ven; but he 
 iwhich 
 
 ■ye 
 
 IS no 
 
 other wa^^nte^ory but this. There is "no other 
 title to heaven than this. 
 
 But, to those who are truly and indeed God's 
 people, how sure is this promised rest. The God 
 that cannot lie hath spoken it. We have the earnest 
 of it now. In our deep sorrow, in the wearing sick- 
 ness, in the moments of repentauco and of commun- 
 ion with our Lord, we seem to be very near that 
 rest. We almost see its glories, and hear the song 
 of them that are already there. The cloud seems 
 to break, and its dark, jutting points are touched 
 with the roseate tints of the light of the better land. 
 Many and many a bright ray struggles through the 
 mist and cheers our sad, sorrowing, toiling lives. 
 Yes, we get rich foretastes of heaven and of its rest 
 even in this world. But, ere long, we shall behold 
 and enjoy the reality. Our pilgrimage will soon be 
 ended. We shall soon go into the dark night that 
 shall hide this world from our sight. We shall soon 
 stand on the brink of death's cold, gloomy river. 
 Its heavy clouds shall chill our very soul. Ah un- 
 seen hand shall touch this weak, trembling flesh. 
 It shall fall broken and destroyed. But, from its 
 ruins, the spirit shall rise in all the fulness of its 
 liheriy. Away fix)m those cold, cold waters shall it 
 
 tf 
 
•s. 
 
 d God's 
 rhe God 
 ) earnest 
 ing sick- 
 ommun- 
 ear that 
 ;he song 
 id seems 
 touched 
 ter Jand. 
 >ugh the 
 ig lives. 
 F its rest 
 1 behold 
 
 soon be 
 ^ht that 
 tiall soon 
 ly river. 
 
 Am uh- 
 ig flesh, 
 from its 
 !ss of iis 
 3 shall it 
 
 »'i 
 
 i' 
 
 THE LAST REST. 
 
 219 
 
 nse. The mists shall be passed. The cloud bar 
 
 Oh thatwiU be a glorious day to „, ^hen we 
 shall «aU^ all this ! It will JLe amend, f^ 2 
 we suffer here. We „ay now be often cast do™ 
 often pe^Ie«d, often in dismay. Wemayner; 
 have rest n. this life. Do not seek it here^ O^r 
 
 world. Our rest is perfect ; it has everything heart 
 oould wad. for. Our .^t is eternal ; it'^.haS^.^r 
 never end. But it is in heaven. We have iT^^' 
 and .^ot have it in this life. » ^Z^::^^ 
 
 learn this m aU its futaess! May we, by Go^s 
 «»ce. enter into the rest! May it be om^ hereafter 
 to have heaven for our home I 
 
 J«<u., u mercy bring M ,„ tut de„ I„d ™ "r* ' 
 Who «, rtth God tt. F.th„ ™d SpiriV^« S^U" 
 
-aji-.i.j^^jLjifcjl 
 
 8EBM0N XVI. 
 
 ASSURANCE; 
 
 Romans v. 8, ft—" But God commendeth HiB love towards us, In that, while 
 we were yet sinners, C'.irist died for us. Much more then, being now Justified 
 by His bloud, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." 
 
 IL 
 
 fHE certainty of salvation is a source of great 
 comfort to God's people. The assurpnce that 
 not one jot or tittle of the many declarations 
 contained in Scripture as to their redemption can pos- 
 sibly fail is a solid foundation on which the soul may 
 rest — a living hope that may enkindle faith and 
 engender devotion. If God has given the Chris- 
 tian a sense of this assurance — a firm persuasion that 
 nought can ever separate him from his Father's 
 love, — no matter how great the temptation may be, 
 how severe the afiliction, how rough and long 
 the road of life, the darkest cloud will be tinged 
 with glory, the gloomiest night will be radiant with 
 hope. But we are so given to doubt, so prone to 
 question, that oftentimes we have no certainty at 
 all that we will ever attain to the bliss, which, at 
 other times, we have hoped and striven for. We 
 look into our hearts and we see so many hidden 
 sins yet lurking in deep places; we examine our 
 lives and we are so struck with the sad want of en- 
 tire self-consecration, and before us arises such a 
 
ASSURANCE, 
 
 221 
 
 cons lousness of the lack of that simple faith, that 
 Childlike obedience so essential for the Christian to 
 have that we instinctively feel, that, with so many 
 imperfections, so many sins, we are yet very very far 
 from the kingdom of God, and without a hope or 
 prospect of ever entering into the presence of the 
 Lord of Hoste^ This is the experience of very many 
 Christians. They think so much of their shortcom- 
 ^ that they lose hope, and live uncertain as to 
 what the future may be. Such a state of doubt is 
 very detrimental to Christian growth and develop- 
 ment. One of the great causes of it is from looking 
 too much at self, and from the mistaken notion that 
 our attainments enter into the question of our sal- 
 vation. We are thinking of self and not of God He 
 and His promises are forgotten. We dream of what we 
 can do, and forget what He has done. This is wrong 
 No one can have an assurance of redemption so W 
 as he looks only to himself. His good works form no 
 sure ground of hope. They are simply as the sink- 
 ing sand The only hope, the only assurance, the 
 only certainty of eternal life which he can have 
 must rest on God, and on God alone. He is the' 
 Rock of Ages on which we may safely buUd, and 
 nothing-not even the conclaves of hell-shaU ever 
 prevail against that blessed company of faithful 
 people whose present and future are in His hands 
 who are supported and upheld by His gi^ious and 
 eternal purposes. 
 
222 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 The Apostle, in my text, directs us to this ground 
 of assurance. He rests everything on God — nothing 
 on man. The atonement wrought by Christ is, he 
 maintaina, a strong bond of union between God 
 and His people that nought can sever. He shows, 
 that, by His sacrifice, our salvation is sure. He 
 proves His proposition by reminding us, that when 
 we were yet in sin, God gave H.\a Son for us. " God 
 commendeth His love towarJn us, in that while we 
 were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more 
 then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be 
 saved from wrath, through Him." The aigument is 
 reiterated and expanded in the next verse : " For if, 
 when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 
 by the death of Elb Son, much more being reconciled, 
 we shall be saved by His life." The ground of our 
 assurance is then based on the sacrifice of Christ. 
 And we can see how sure this gi-ound is by calling 
 to mind the nature of the sacrifice. Let us, there- 
 fore, in the Jirat place look at the costliness of 
 Christ's Sacrifice. 
 
 It was a sacrifice more than equivalent to the 
 worth of the whole human family. The vast uni- 
 verse of God had nothing greater to give. There 
 was no being but One in heaven or earth who was 
 qualified to fulfil the requirements of the law and to 
 die for man. Nothing but the sacrifice of Christ 
 was able to redeem our fallen race from the «eiia!t" 
 we had incurred. And such a sacrifice <mt tmteh 
 
ASfiU RANGE. 
 
 223 
 
 iTlolflT 
 
 / 
 
 love. Nothing but lovo could have induced God to 
 gve up His only begotten Son— the brightness of 
 His glory, and the express image of His person— as 
 a ransom for the sins of His people. They had re- 
 belled against Him. They had forfeiti^d every claim 
 to His consideration. They deserved nought less 
 than repudiation and banishment from His presence 
 and favour for ever. But the sin which had called 
 mto action the justice did not impair the love. He 
 loved His poor, weak fallen children in spite of 
 what they had done. He showed His love by giving 
 over unto death the sinless and innocent Jesus. " In 
 this was manifested the love of God toward us, be- 
 cause that God sent His only begotten Son into the 
 world that we might live through Him." It cost 
 Him much love to do this-to give up one so near and 
 dear to Him, partaking of His very nature, for the 
 redemption of rebels deserving only of eternal death. 
 Not a spark of love in our cold, dead souls towards 
 Him, and yet He provides for us a full and free sal- 
 vation. " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but 
 that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propiti- 
 ation for our sins." Surely, if in our sins we still 
 retained the love of God ; if in our faUen state God 
 sacrificed His Son for us— a sacrifice costing so 
 much love can never go for nought. 
 
 But besides love the sacrifice co8t much mfferiTw. 
 TT uu i;ciii jsii tne suuenngs of Christ i Truly He 
 was " a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief ;" 
 
224 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 wounded an<l bruised in the mill of affliction. The 
 humiliation consequent upon Hi.s laying aside His 
 majesty, and taking upon Himself our nature, with 
 its infirmities and destinies, of itself cost much 
 suffering. Look at the life here on earth. When, 
 after thirty yeara of obscurity, in Joseph's house, 
 the glory of God was manifested in Him at the time 
 of His baptism, it was but, as it were, the light 
 that should lead Him into a ministry of sad disap- 
 pointment and of trjring deprivation. Three years 
 homeless, without a place to lay His head, He wan- 
 dered from city to city throughout the length and 
 breadth of the lanci, preaching the Gospel of peace 
 and salvation amid the sneers and persecution of 
 the Jews, the suspicions of His friends, and the 
 iloubts of His disciples. And when at the last His 
 hour was come, when the great work of His life 
 should be accomplished, how great the grief then ! 
 Who dare lift up the veil of night that covers the 
 sufferings in Gethsemane ? Who could disperse the 
 gloom that shrouded the land in darkness as the 
 blood of the sacrifice was being offered up from the 
 cross ? Great, indeed, and costly must have been a 
 sacrifice that entailed so much suffering. Those 
 nail-pierced hands, that thorn-circled brow, that 
 spear-rivened side, were not endured by the weak 
 and sensitive God-man without much pain. The 
 . agony and bloody sweat endured in the ^mrden, 
 the deith-cry at the last, were but the outward signs 
 
 
>^tB^, 
 
 ion 
 
 ' 
 
 
 ASSURANCE. 
 
 225 
 
 of a deep inward Htruggle. Laden with the sins of 
 the whole world, dying the cruelest of all deaths, 
 no tongue can describe — no heart can conceive — the 
 intense suffering of the Lamb of God. We shall 
 never understand it. Eternity cannot tell the story. 
 If the sacrifice of Christ cost so much suffering, can 
 we suppose for a moment that its object will not be 
 gained? 
 
 But besides the cost of love and the cost of suffer- 
 ing, the sacrifice of Christ cost rrmch preparation. The 
 faU of man was such that an immediate recovery was 
 impossible. It was necessary that man should be made 
 to realize what a terrible thing sin is and more espe- 
 cially unatoned sin. The penalty of the broken law, 
 consisting of utter estrangement from God, must be 
 seen by man before God can remove that penalty by 
 substitution. Therefore from the fall to the advent a 
 long time elapsed. The worid was gradually pre- 
 pared for the era of its redemption. Nations were 
 bom and died, empires appeared and vanished, the 
 affairs of the wide world were under the direct guid- 
 ance of God, and everything was made to tend 
 Christward. A nation was chosen to preserve on 
 the earth the knowledge of the true God. To them 
 were committed the types and promises of the atone- 
 ment. By stupendous miracles they were cared for 
 and preserved amid the changes of long centuries. 
 
 ,^. ...^„^„^^ y,.^^^ raiaeu up to impress upon 
 
 the people the truth of the coming Messiah. The 
 
226 
 
 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 sacnfices preserved the gmnd fact that without the 
 
 sheddi^ of blood there could be no remission of sin- 
 
 And while no doubt the world waa being prepared 
 
 so was the Lamb under preparation for the sacrifice. 
 
 lUe whole plan of redemption, its conditions and 
 
 terms, were prepared in the Divine mind. The 
 
 earthly life of the Messiah, ordered from aU eternity, 
 
 was but a further preparation for the salvation of the 
 
 world. Shall all this preparation fail? ShaU the 
 
 work of God as shown in preparing the way for the 
 
 Ohnst be of none eflfect ? Shall His power be after 
 
 all but impotent weakness ? Surely this cost of 
 
 preparation must tend to enhance the value of the 
 
 sacrifice. 
 
 And when we remember the costliness of the 
 sacrifice as shown in the love, the suflfering and the 
 preparation it called for, have we not a very firm 
 foundation on which to rest the assurance of our 
 salvation ? Can the price paid for our redemption 
 fail to satisfy the demands of the law ? Is all the 
 costliness of the atonement thrown away ? Oh no ! 
 In the very costliness of the sacrifice we can be as- 
 sured of the future. We can rest in it. We can 
 hope in it. We can rejoice in it God's greatest 
 gift to man cannot be thrown away. The love will 
 not be lost, the suffering will not be in vain, the 
 preparation will not be useless. The sacrifice will 
 not be brought to nought ! 
 
 \ 
 
\ 
 
 ASSURANCE. 
 
 227 
 
 , 
 
 But in the second place, in considering the nature 
 ot Christ s sacrifice, let us look at the extent of 
 
 THE SACRIFICE. 
 
 For whom did Christ die ? St. Paul tells us that 
 Ohnst died for the ungodly. Christ Himself says 
 " I came not to caU the righteous but sinners to re- 
 pentance." We gather from the character of those 
 who are invited for whom Christ died. " Ho, every 
 one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he 
 that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat ; yea come 
 buy wine and milk without money and without 
 price." Here it is the poor and needy who are called 
 upon to partake of the blessings of the Gospel. Of 
 such Christ said, " Blessed are they which do hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be 
 filled." Again He calls unto Him the weary and 
 the heavy laden, promising to them rest unto their 
 souls. So He proclaims " If any man thirst, let him 
 come unto me and drink." And among the last 
 messages of the Holy Ghost to the Church, the gra- 
 cious invitation is given, « Let him that is athirst 
 come ; and whosoever will, let him take the water 
 of life freely." We see then that it is the ungodly, 
 those who are sinners, the poor and needy, the' 
 hungry and thirsty, the weary and the heavy laden 
 —yea whosoever will—that are invited to avail 
 themselves of the redemption wrought by Christ. It 
 w_„ „... ...,.„^ x^uiini> uiua, iz was to these the beneflta 
 
 of the sacrifice were extended. It was only these 
 
~.:—r*,~rt,mr-.^^ 
 
 228 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 who needed salvation ; it was only for those who 
 needed it that a ransom was offered. 
 
 Now if we would have an assurance of salvation, 
 we need but. ask, are we among the sort of 
 people invited ? Do we feel that we are sinners ; 
 are we weary with the heavy burden of sin ; do we 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness ? Then are 
 the benefits of the sacrifice ours. If we have not 
 this sense of sin and want, then have we no part or 
 lot in the matter. No one can be saved who does 
 not realize the want of salvation. But those who 
 have this want are called of God ; for them Christ 
 died. \ 
 
 And yet what of those who feel their need of a 
 Saviour— who have reached that state in which 
 they are simply helpless, and without hope of ever 
 reaching heaven ? Everything seems tc bar up the 
 way to God ; there is no light, no bright future. 
 An offended God and well-merited punishment is 
 all that stands before them. They long with an ir- 
 repressible longing for reconciliation with their 
 Father. As returning prodigals they would be glad 
 of but one small glance of love that might cheer their 
 deep sad hearts. But it is " guilty, guilty, guilty," 
 that rings in their ears. It is a broken law that gives 
 strength to the sharp sting of conscience with 
 which the soul is wounded. It is a sense of estrange- 
 ment from God that makes the soul aware of the 
 awful gloom of the dark night of sin. How dare 
 
C'JE2pjj';3Enfr 
 
 I 
 
 ASSURANCE. 
 
 229 
 
 they look up to God ? How dare they think of 
 heaven? But oh, it is just such as thesethat Jesus caUs 
 to Him. It is these that He invites to drink of the 
 waters of salvation. It was for these that He poured 
 out His life-blood as an atoning sacrifice before the 
 mercy-seat of God. He died for sinners and for none 
 but sinners. He redeemed them from eternal wrath ; 
 He made up for them a spotless robe of righteous- 
 ness in which they might stand without sm inthe 
 great and terrible day of the Lord. Oh, what an 
 assurance of salvation there is in all this for poor, 
 way-worn, needy sinners ! The sacrifice for us— for 
 all who feel that they are sinners ! Just the very 
 thing we want^salvation full and free for every- 
 body through the blood of the Lamb! What a 
 grand foundation on which to rest the future ! 
 
 And behold just here another ground of assurance. 
 The gospel invitation is a very broad one. Salva- 
 tion is offered to all mankind freely and right royally. 
 It is " whosoever will " that may cotoe. Do we want 
 to be saved? Then most certainly we wiU be 
 saved. The veiy want of our souls, the will to come 
 to Christ, is an assurance of salvation. For we do 
 not will these things of ourselves. " It is God which 
 worketh in you both to will and to do of His good 
 pleasure." So then the will is planted by God. He 
 has begun the good work. And in this we may be 
 a,.,«xc.x vx wic iuoure; " oemg contident, ' as the 
 Apostle says, "of this very thing, that He which 
 
280 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 hath begun a good work in you wiU perform, or 
 finish, It until the day of Jesus Christ." And de- 
 pend upon it God would never give the will if the 
 want could not be satisfied. He would never caU 
 upon us to partake of a salvation which did not ac- 
 tually belong to us. It is because it is ours that we 
 are called to it. It is because the blood of Christ 
 was poured out for us, that we have the will to wash 
 in the cleansing fountain. And if for us, then may 
 we rest confidently in the assurance of Christ "Those 
 that Thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them 
 18 lost ; " no one is able to pluck them out of My 
 hands." We are safe in Christ, and if so " there is 
 no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus." 
 In aU this there is abundant cause for a sense of 
 security. The sacrifice extends to us. If God be 
 true, then is our salvation absolutely sure. We are 
 included in the terms of the atonement, and if we 
 accept those terms there is no possibility of our be- 
 ing lost. Heaven and earth may pass away, but 
 God's word cannot paas away. The blood of the 
 sacrifice was offered up for every one of God's people 
 and if then we are justified by His blood we shall 
 be saved from wrath through Him. Trembling 
 doubting one, here is hope, nay positive assurance ! 
 Your Father bids you come and be at rest. Your 
 Saviour has removed from you the condemnation of 
 the law, by dying for you. Oh, rest upon this grand 
 t~-,v„ ; ..^^^ ^^c may oe giaauened l^y it; your 
 
 
ASSURANCE. 
 
 281 
 
 itk'jtw^'t'^''^''' Turn from self and 
 look to Ohnst. Bmld your future upon Hb saeri- 
 
 «.«. It cannot fail you for it was for you He^^. 
 
 th.8 pamfu] Me ended you will rise to the Ufe im- 
 mortal through Him who loved you and gave Him- 
 self for you. If we feel our need of a Saviour, then 
 may we be sure beyond a doubt that He is ours. 
 At tt,s glomus assurance we can bid the clouds of 
 doubt daperse, and can command the sea of Satanic 
 opposition to divide that we may pass through on 
 our journey to the Promised Land of Eternal Rest 
 Without let or hindrance. 
 
 In the third and last place let us look at the Ef- 
 
 FICACY OF THE SACRIFICE. S< 
 
 What did the Sacrifice accomplish? How far did 
 It go to save man ? This is a most important ques- 
 tion Nor can there be a full assurance unless this 
 point be satisfaxjtorily settled. If we caimot be sure 
 that the sacrifice of Christ wrought a full a^d com- 
 plete salvation, so that there remains nothing for us 
 to do more than to accept it, we shall forever be in 
 doubt a^ to what we have to do and how far we 
 have done it. Ther^ aresome people who hold that 
 the salvation is but partial^-that much remains for 
 man to do. Christ the j say did not altogether save 
 man from the wrath to come. They will not aUow 
 
 that His sacrifinA riAo/lo ««ii,: , ^ - 
 
 •'- "^vuiiig more lo perfect it 
 
 And yet there is nothing plainer than this fact that* 
 
232 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 if the sacrifice of Chriat is not perfect in itself we 
 have no power whatever of adding to it. When 
 God charged our first parents not to eat of the tree 
 of knowledge He declared that in the day they did 
 eat thereof they should surely die. And the sen- 
 tence did not fail of fulfilment. The poison of sin 
 killed the soul. It was henceforth dead, and if dead 
 it was incapable of action. Now the death of Christ 
 was for the very purpose of giving life to man. " For 
 as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
 made alive." It would not have been the least pos- 
 sible use for Christ to have died unless He had al- 
 together brought bac]^ these dead souls of ours to 
 life. It would be no use to tie a rope around a 
 drowning man and then leave him to get out of the 
 water himself. A dead stump though planted in a 
 rich fertile soil, exposed to the genial rays of the 
 sun and tended by the most skilful of gardeners, 
 would never bud and tiower and produce fruit. It 
 needs these things but it also needs life. And so 
 does man, and unless the death of Christ brought 
 him life, it stands to reason that he can never get it 
 of himself. And what do the bf^st of our good works 
 amount to ? Have we ever done anything to atone 
 for the sins of the past ? Are we fit to enter into 
 the presence of God ? No, no, man cannot save him- 
 self. It was God's purpose in sending Christ into 
 the world to save man. And when He saves He 
 saves altogether. It is not for sinful man to stand 
 
ASSURANCE. gjg 
 
 be^de the Almighty in thi. work. There is no need 
 of It. It was a faU, perfect and sufficient sacrifice 
 
 was absolute and able to wash away all sin There 
 ^.^ns nothing for ro^ to do. The decla»t,W 
 
 Th^^ ^T" ^'■•^'■"^ *" " "'■"om^d 'world 
 that the whole work of salvation was finished." The 
 sting of sin lost ita power in the wound it inflicted 
 m our Biased Redeemer. All our sins weLw^e 
 
 Z ^,^^ »" *•'« -^"^d tae. And if He hL 
 borne them, why should we bear them ? If He ^ 
 paid the penalty are not we then free ? Ho" M 
 t^Scnptu^sspeakonthispoint! -nebtt 
 Jesus Christ cleanseth from aU sin." " Though your 
 
 r ^ r.'T*' '""^^ ^"^"^ *>« ■« white a" snow 
 aough hey be ..d like crimson, they shaU be as' 
 
 C^t theTr """"P'^"" '^'''"e'' ">« Mood of 
 
 ofHisg^ce. And when we remember these grand 
 
 TttT ^t'T'' "" '^'^ - *e qu^tion 
 rf he efficacy of the sacrifice we cannot but assent 
 to the deduction of St. Paul : "Therefore, we con- 
 
 u 1, „ ' '""^ oy *be works of the law 
 
 shall no flesh be justified. V »' Me law 
 
 Now this is a gmnd ground if assurance. TUr, 
 
 offt andw • ^^ '""^'^y*- emb^cethe 
 
 offer, and we a« oure of salvation. It does not rest 
 
Il(, 
 
 %M SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SITBJECTS. 
 
 upon us but upon Christ. Everything is in an^ 
 with Christ. As the Apostle says, "I am crucified 
 with Christ ; nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ 
 liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the 
 flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who 
 loved me and gave Himself for me." What a firn^ 
 foundation on which to rest ! 
 
 " Mine is the sin, but thine the idghteouBnesB ; 
 
 Mine ifl the guilt, but thine the cleansing blppd : 
 Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace— 
 Thy blood, Thy righteousnesB, O Lord, mjTGod." 
 
 That blood will wash every one to whom it 
 is applied, so that nought of sin will remai,n. 
 That robe of righteousness will cover all, and in 
 Christ Jesus we shall stand spotless before the 
 throne of Gk)d. Depend upon it, the efficacy of the 
 sacrifice goes to the very root of the matter. The 
 work was done once and for all thorpughly anji 
 absolutely. Nor will any part of it be lost. God 
 would not attempt that which He could not accom- 
 plish ; nor is there anything beyond His power. Afi 
 things are possible with Him, and there can be njo 
 doubt whatever of the thorough efficacy of the 
 sacrifice by which He reconciled His people unto 
 Himself, and fulfilled the minutest a^d tjhe gfeat^t 
 requirements of the law. 
 
 We may, then, confidently assert, in view of the 
 n^|ture of the sacrifice, tha,t we have a posi^jive 
 OTound of assurance. This sacrifice was offered up 
 
rs. 
 
 in an^ 
 crucified 
 it Christ 
 e in the 
 rod, who 
 t a firn^ 
 
 pd: 
 Jod." 
 
 whom it 
 remain. 
 [1, and in 
 jfore the 
 cy of the 
 ter. The 
 ghly an,d 
 )st. God 
 ot accom- 
 )wer. Afll 
 can be up 
 y of th^ 
 sople unto 
 e grea^te^t 
 
 ew of the 
 ei posi;^vi^ 
 >ffefred up 
 
 ASSURANCE. £35 
 
 what iwl . . f'^'^' " «""«" f"" *ort of 
 Td Iff ^^ "'" *° accomplish. All that love 
 
 ^T "^' ""^ P^^P^ration, will not be lost We 
 Z '^^'^^^J^- "»t- Nor need we have a"y Zl 
 ^ to our mdividual salvation. If we feel our ntl 
 
 we trtSsrt^^™" "^ "^ '""'-^^O ^"' " I^ 
 il nZu o V " ^*"'' ^^ ^''°*' "«• And this 
 
 buUha ttiT ."f PT™*""' """-'"K -l-'-t-g 
 but that the whole work is done-done once an! 
 
 for a^ll done most efficiently, most thoroughly Ori- 
 
 gjnal sm. actual sin, sins past and sins tf come a^ 
 
 aton^ for by the sacrifice of Christ. He who L^ 
 
 this. y ^ assured of aU 
 
 w: wiii!s:::r tV'*^" *■'''* --"''- 
 
 P-ed.notinoures,rtL^:.:~ouTC 
 must rest on Christ. He must be AU and in^ X 
 
 ^pha and Omega, the First and the Last ! U^aZl 
 
 ^ he free and boundless mercy, the unfat! laM 
 
 Zl RoTk "^■\°' "'"'^ ^""■^^ •' That is the 
 only Rook on which we can build the futun,: the 
 only ground in which the anchor .t 1,0^ ™ «' ? 
 . «nn hold I And who can doubt thattveTmo 
 
236 SIMPLE SERMONS ON SIMPLE SUBJECTS. 
 
 can question it ? For " God commendeth His love 
 toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ 
 died for us. Much more then, being now justified 
 by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through 
 Him." There is the love binding us to God, a bond 
 infinitely increased by the sacrifice of Christ. With 
 that love, that sacrifice no child of God can ever be 
 lost. We may say with the sainted Wesley : 
 
 " O, love, thou bottomleas abyss t 
 My ains are swallowed up in thee ; 
 Covered ia my unrighteousness, 
 
 Nor spot of guilt remains on me ; 
 While Jesus' blood through earth and skies, 
 Mercy, free boundless mercy, cries." 
 
rs. 
 
 His love 
 s, Christ 
 justified 
 through 
 , a bond 
 It. With 
 i ever be 
 
 Christian Reader, 
 
 word. Jf Z *" T !"" "^* ^^"^ P°°' '^<' ^o^We 
 
 i you are! It is a blessed thinff to do 
 It .s a b essed thing ^ lead a »inx.er totL W 
 The wor d .. f„U of those who know not the tZ 
 of «tlvation. In a few short yea«_who knows™ t 
 e^many days?-b„th you and I will^ I,kd 
 away to our rest, ^d we shaU have to leavf w» 
 ta work, and never, never agrin s^i Tw^^' 
 
 Kn in a^ " "P**"^ ""'' " ">', book 
 
 " 6e«n in any sense a blessing to you do v„„r 
 
 port to make it a blessing to othX ^ ' '^°"