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S /CUA^TAjyl^, y^^^. y^^iL^^c^^ . /cff^. I SERMOxNS n i\ I s i» r«iMONr)S. A MFMORlAi. VOLUME lllM-ISHKr. ?»!«i»!l,Y. K«KDBRICTON : 189V. SERMONS BY Rev. Richard Simonds. A MEMORIAL VOLUME PUBLISHED BY HIS FAMILY. FREDERICTON : 1899. An An W II CONTENTS. PAGE. MEMOIR. I.— CHRISTMAS. " And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. — S. John i, 14 19 II— THE TRANSFIGURATION. " And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was trans- figured before them."— S. Maek ix, 2 - - - 34 III.— ALL SAINTS. " What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they ? " — Rev. vii, 13 - - - 47 IV.— CONFIRMATION. " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can- not bear them now. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth." — S. John xvi, 12, 13 59 VI CONTENTS. h V. -FOLLOWING CHRIST. PAGE. " ^t^7^Z ^- T '"*"''"^ '"*^ * «h'P' His disciples followed Him."-S. xMatt. viii, 23 - . . 71 VL -SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. " Verily, verily, I say u»to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live "_ S. John v, 25 - . ' * - ■ - - 81 VII.— FAITH. "Behold the fowls of the air;-Consider the lilies of the held.— S. Matt, vi, 26, 28 91 ^r: VIIL— OBEDIENCE. " And his servants came near and spake unto him, and said, my father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it ' How much rather then when he saith to thee, wash and be clean !"-II Kings, V, 13 . IX. -TRUTHFULNESS. 103 " P'itting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor."— Eph. iv, 25 - . - llD X.-REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord- Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to thevoice of my supplications. "-Psalm cxxx . 126 I I CONTENTS. Vll 71 XL -THE GOOD SHEPHERD. ■ The Lord is my Shepherd: therefore can I lack noth- ing. —Psalm xxiii, L - - . . PAGE. 130 81 XIL-FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL: how amiable are Thy dwellu.ga, Thou Lord of hosts! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord. "-Psalm ixxxiv, 1, 2 - 151 XIIL-THE QUEEN'S SEXAGENARY. Thine, Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that ,8 in the heaven, and in the earth is Thine - 1 Chron. xxix, 11, 12 ... . 165 XIV.-" THY WILL BE DONE." '•Lord, behold, he whom Thou West is sick "- S. John xi, 3 . . • • - ■ - 175 XV.-THE NEW JERUSALExM. "I. John, saw the holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. "-Rkv. xxi. 2 188 APPENDIX. Memorial Sermon, by Rev. H. E. Dibblee Article in the Fredericton Gleaner . 201 210 Vlll. CONTENTS. Extract from Bishop Kingdon's Address From Rev. J. Roy Campbell Memorial Resolutions • . . . PAGE. 213 216 217 MEMOIR. On the 23rd of January. 1898-on the first day ot the week, and very early in the niorning-- at Windsor Hall, Fredericton, (near the Parish Church) Richard Simonds, one of the oldest l^riests of the Diocese, passed away peacefully to the rest of Paradise. Labouring all his life long under the disadvant- age of a delicate constitution, he yet persevered, and did what he could, in that vocation to which he was convinced he was called of the Holy Ghost-~"the office and work of a Priest in the Church of God." Through the many years of his ministry, cov- ering a period of more than half a centry he was engaged, as health and strength would per- mit, in the active duties of his sacred calling. * This was his delight : to be doing his duty in the state of life to which God had called him-and his sphere of labour was always a country par- ish or mission. That he was able to do so much and M-as at work almost continuously, was due to the simplicity of his daily life, his abstemious- ness and his quiet manner and methodical habits Ut late years when no longer equal to the re- 10 MEMOIR. gular performance of all the duties of his office, it was always a pleasure and gratification still to do what he could, in assisting his brethren, or taking temporary duty for them ; or in maintain- ing the work in vacant missions. He did not wish to be looked upon as "retired ;" but as one able to do some work, and willing to undertake as much as he felt able to perform. And all his labours for God and His Church were given as a clergynmn yf the Diocese in which he received Holy Orders. Hence, and naturally, the last record of priestly services is bhat shortly before his death he undertook the charge of the Parish of Fredericton, to enable the Rector to take a much-needed rest and change. He officiated for the last time on Friday evening, Jan. 14th. Having taken cold, serious developments in a few days followed; and a little more than a week later, his work for the Church on earth having been brought to a close with that last service on the day commemorative of the death of our Saviour, "for us men and for our salva- tion ;" he was summoned, on the day that speaks of resurrection, to a higher sphere, to the rest and peace, the joy and hope of Paradise. And so he departed this life trusting for salvation only in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ ; be- lieving that through the grave and gate of death we pass onward looking for and assuredly ex- pecting a joyful resurrection at the last day, and MEMOIR. 11 soul .n Gods eternal and everlasting ,iory^ uiy or i\ew brunswick from its earlioMf «as the s,xth sen of Kichard Sin,„„,l, «.,,„ f„^ land County m the House of A«.sen,bly and for " '"Z '"'- «'» Speaker of that body.^' R ,i '" Tr'uTof .V'V'^^' ''« '"'' ''"' °«- 1836 a th , "'''""' ""'" ^'^ death in Sard Si T"^ "^^ "f forty-seven. Hon. ett „ r: ?."] ""^ ''™^''"<=« of Massachu- sett who was ch.efly instrumental in etfectino- and d TeT' "' t" '"°"«' ''' ">« «' -^ohn R ir^ roundmgs of the present City of St John H„ v ■ng been established there some tweh e yea« hj was .n 17H the fi.t resident of the thL'co^nty hills at Hn ""^^ ''" """ '» "'^ '«S-'ative th Counl T' ""' '" "-^ ««■' -presenting into the p"^' " "• "!" ^'"^ '"'«'•• i' ^x- erected into the Province of New Brunswick. After a 'i:r:ti:ir.;^ -----fulness:;: patriarchal age of letyl"" ""'"'' '"^ iam'iry:;'Ni':i::'"'^™°f *'''''°"'"^'"- »'■ "^« 12 MEMOIR. I' ' ary, 1823. Before he was four years old he suf- fered the loss of his mother, and ten years later he was bereft of his father also. Under the tui- tion of Rev. William Elias Scovil. M. A., at King- ston Grammar School, his education proceeded till he was fitted for colle^re. In 1839 he matri- culated at King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia; and in the following year obtained a Foundation Scholarship Graduating B. A. in 1848, he pro- ceeded to prepare for Holy Orders. Arrived at the canonical age, he was admitted to the Diaco'nate, in 1846, in St. Ann's Church, Fredericton, by Bishop Medley; and on May 30th, 1847, in the same sanctuary, his Diocesan ordained him Priest. His first work was as Curate to the late Canon Harrison at St. Luke's Church, Portland ; and in 1847 he began his life- work as a country parson. In 1851, while Rector of the neighboring Par- ish of Westmorland, he was married, in Christ Church, Amherst, N. S. (by the Rector, Canon Townshcnd) to Mary Elizabeth, second daughter of Silas Hibbert Morse, Esq., of that place. The great bereavement and grief of his life came upon him twenty years later in the death of his beloved wife, at Maugerville, on the fourth of August, 1871. Ten children were born of this union, of whom three daughters and four sons survive — one of the latter in Holy Orders. The Parishes and Missions which he served MEMOIR. 18 w.th a 1 ,],l,gence arc allnde.l to in the article from The Glenner, reproduced in this volume. Appre" cmt,ve reference to the character of his work! a Pansh Priest, and to his influence „po„ th" people a,„ong whom he ministered will be found MA., which IS also mcorporated here A Life Member of the Dioee..an Church Soeietv he was always liberal in his contributionsTn afd' of he good work it accomplished in building ud and extending the Church throughout th S d spos,t,on no case of apparent need or want ap- peal ng to h.ra. or coming to his knowledge, ever went unreheved. And every act of chfri^y or benevolence was done in a manner so thorou^ly can kn t ■■ ^^l "^'^ '" ^'""^'•" knows, or can know, how much wa^ thus done in the Name of Christ, and for His sake. On Sunday, the ,SOth of May, 1897 heouietlv ?frr '""/"bilee of his ordina^onr «^ Pnes hood, when his family presented him with a pectora cross of gold which he received wi h evident pleasure, and always wore thereafter Preaching at the little Mission of Maisonneuve Montreal, he said, "Fifty years ago to-day I ventured to assume the position, and to unL ot Ohri.,t, having been ordained, on the 30th of u MEMOIU. May, 1847, at Frederictoii, New Brunswick, to the offico of the Priestliood, by Bishop Medh-y, Hrst Bishop of the J)ioct'8e of FrtMleri^'on, who prcHided over that Diocese with conspicuouH ability for ' "arly Hfty years, and D««n of the Cathedral. • "^ •""'«>■• Sub- Having undertaken no wort „ . • , , Cosen vocation, Mr. Simondr- , erart: " ,"" tions co„.,ist wholly of sermons j^'^"^»<'- P"Uhe best though, and wo^ o tor^Th'^ forty years ; and it is felt bv hi, f„ T , " oniy. Those sermnn. ^ Circulation jT xuLse sermons are cons derprJ h.'c, k i. mainin^ memorial. That thev .1^ . '* '"" his best incitement toh!. i^ ^ ''''^ constitute red from thl^Tl ^/l^^^^^^^^ that have been paid to t T^ """^ *'*^^"<^^^^ (-'-nwitho-unLti^rr^trfitsr appearing in nrini ^ "Tt i t> "^ ^^ '*^ ^ver nephew. fuponTearing T^t ttM 'I '^""^ ' ideal of a perfect man^ In ever^ ^l ^ '"^ -e-on he reminded me of ^ Zst 7hlt ■•"-o-amon'^r^:rr;';rs^ ffT f 16 MEMOIR. But the good he has done, and the sacrifices he has made for Christ, will be recorded in the Book of Life ; and there will be few entitled to rank with him in the life beyond the grave." His thoughts dwelt constantly, certainly through all his later years, on "that new life where sin shall be no more." The words of Holy Scripture that were last heard to pass his lips were these : "In Thy Presence is the fulness of joy : and at Thy Right Hand there is pleasure for evermore." Realizirig the goodness and bounty and love of God, his gratitude was unbounded. In this respect it can be confidently affirmed that he pleased God ; for he offored to Him the best that through grace he was possessed of, and that which the Lord most desires : "A humble thankful heart." He always said with particular earnestness, and marked emphasis, the familiar and oft-re- curring words, "We bless Thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life ; but above all, for Thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory." And so his last words on earth, often on his lips in later years, give a true indication of the meditation of his heart during his closing hours. These words were : " God be Praised." 6ces he in the itled to ave." ertainly lew life orda of pass his " Where Thy Saints in glory reign, Free from sorrow, free from pain' Pure from every guilty stain. Bring us, Holy Jesu. Where the captives find release, VVhere all foes from troubling cease, Where the weary rest in peace, Bring us. Holy Jesu. Where the pleasures never cloy. Where in Angels' holy joy ' • Thy redeem'd their powers employ. Bring us, Holy Jesu. Where in wondrous light are shown All Thy dealings with Thine own Who shall know as they are known. Bring us, Holy Jesu. Where, with loved ones gone before, We may love Thee and adore In Thy Presence evermore. Bring us. Holy Jesu." , m a HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH." *' Only a pile of sermons, Dim with the dust of years. But yet they once were watered With loving thoughts and prayers, Only the earnest pleadings Of a faithful Parish Priest, Yet they led some steps towards Heaven, With faith and hope increased. For truth is unchanging ever. Though the preacher pass aivay, And the voice of the dead yet speaketh In living loords to day. ' CHRISTMAS. Preached at the Church nfth. a "An. .he W„.<,..,„aa, flesh, and dwelt a..„,„,, -St. John i, 14. Strains. "Glorv fn P ^ 1 ^ ^^"^ '" grateful when, in the new-born „lf!f b'^T'^ '"'^'■' iy cradled among the Wsts of ft * T' '°''- blesaedbeGod^h : "r"''"'''*'^''"^''- ^nd. of the Mosf hTIw ^" ''''°'" "^« Son they have nof^utrr,- "?! "'^"^«'-^' ous.a„ch precious truth ;?.? '?"'='> S'""" heartily, feelingly Ifu'll! ..?'.''' "' ''°P«- in the loving angehCn^^l'f "'.™'''""j'. Joined s 'geis song of praise. Yearlv m„ -I:! I! I 'I 20 CHRISTMA«. brethren, the Church raises the inspiriting strain ; " Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the new-born King, Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled." And M'ith the same breath thus calls upon the whole human race, for whose eternal salvation the Mighty God became the lowly, wailing in- fant, and took upon him, in its least dignified and moat helpless condition, the likeness of men, and the fori^i of a servant : "Joyful all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies, With th' angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem." The Festival of Christmas has, from time im- memorial, been kept by the wide-spread Christ- ian Church with special manifestations of holy and reverent rejoicing. And faithful believers in every age seem to have felt that the most earnest efforts they could make for the expres- sion of the joy and gratitude that filled their hearts, were all due, and more than due, to Him whose coming in the flesh was of such moment- ous importance to them, and to the whole family of man. And thus has come down to us the time-honored custom of commemorating the birth-day of the Divine Redeemer with special, appropriate and joyous services in the house of CHRISTMAS. 21 and we all know that a ,Iay i.sobrerved ,h { ' out the whole British fiLle a fjt ""^ which the good and beloved Sover'l' 1 T" we owe willinrr ««,] i • , ^" *° ^hom Shall we t 7pav leJ'"^" :'"""=^' ""' '«'™- of the Ki, ! of' I? ,T'''^ '° *'"^ ''irthday ine jving ot kings and Lord of lords > «!, ii we not feel ourselves imDeli,.^ h "" of gratitude and love t ' ^^^'^ """""o" brethren in the jrad , J"" "f "" ^''"'««'' m me glad services of thi"! ^^- should ever adorn the.r.,."'^ ^"''^ ^hich beautifvhishfe and 0"^. .'''''' ''^''^' ™d which should never be 1^' ""changing love fade, even though all arol^'t '» ^^''^'^ "' and dreary nor to h.-.,'""''' "^ »"ff»ial the barrent :andS:r"f '"'' ^■■''''«- -"> hgious worid. Let ualdl " T'"''' '■•■•«■ rests upon these Chir I""' '"''«" °"'- "ye up in our hirts a t . "='""''"<"'"> *" »«r .^titudcassetble:^"! TTr ""^ A<'ventoftheSavi„urofslr.:i:S:^^ i it. 24 CHRISTMAS. and ours,— for we alas! are one with the worst of sinners in our unworthiness and need. Let us ask of God feelin^r hearts, thankful souls, and tongues too, ready and glad to tell of the rniglity inestimable blessings, as at this time, poured forth, from the fountain of all love and mercy, upon a guiliy, undeserving race. "The Word was ma :e flesh," says the Evange- list. Although this is a ren.arkable title for the blessed Saviour, and one not at all common in the New Testament, (being used only by St. John in his Gospel, and in one place in his first Epistle, where he says,— "there are xnree that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.") yet is it a most striking and very ^rpropriate appellation for Him who "proceeded forth and came from God," and who by word of mouth "declared Him" to man. "In respect of His person," says Cruden, "Christ Jesus may very fitly be styled 'the Word,' He being 'the express image of the Father.' as our words are of our thoughts; secondly in respect of His ofiice, be- cause the Father made known His will to the Church in all ages by Him, as we declare our minds one to another by our words ; and thirdly because the Messiah was called 'the Word^ by the Jews. The Chaldee Paraphrasts, the most ancient Jewish writers extant, generally make use of the word 'Memra,' which signifies the Word, in those places where Moses puts the name Jehovah. CHRISTMAS. 25 «od, the ::ztz"1u::tt '-" °' "-y that it wa. Memr" oVh ^"""^-They created the world r W ^ t'" ""'■''■■ «■'"'«'' «r.st chapter of i'.^S ■ ■ ) 't.! :'-^"'" '" "'« Hppeared to Mosea on Jwit ^ "T '^"^ """ l>i>"theW; which, nirtr" "''''"'' S-u-e which brough l" a 1 oTtof V° T '^ '° *''=«; ed before the Deon^ ■? f^'^P'' '^'"«'' march- "le people which wroucrht all iu •niracJes recorded in the book nf I ^ "'*' was the same Worrl Hw Exodus. It - the plains of C""'thT™"' '" ^'"■"'""" at Bethel, to whon I V "' ''™ "' ^"""'^ whom he'acLLXSlto:* 'f/'-. -^ » very remarkahl» „• "'' '^ »» least h-e employed, in desi^naW "re d" Wn ' ^ °"" the very term which St I^I, '^ ^""'S- apply to the bles ed Re I "•*' '"'P''-''d to concerning the nrlf ,"""'• "'''<*" ''« «™te exercise of DivinTnn '""' °' ^^"''^ ''"^ His things." The IZ"^ "■','" '^^ "''^'^"'^ "l "all Hol/spil as ritrbTe ! t'^ "' "^'^ ''^ "^^ who is one with the p IV ' "^^^'""^ '» Him the Father ;rtJtV''h'""^''^'' *■"'"» was "with God " and wh .. ''^'nning:," who the Evangelist' X:^SZ\?°^'' ^^ H™ flesh." He does nof! ^ , ^ °'"'' «""' "ade "'' ""' '"y^ the Word a,.™med, or L 26 CHRISTMAS. V. took to Himself, a liuinan body, as thou-h the Divinity of Christ ruerely inspired, or for'ii time inhabited a certain human body, as the blessed Spirit visits, sanctifies, and dwells in man's body as in a temple ; but, in terms which surely imply no less than a mysterious and perfect union of the Divine nature with the human,— a com- min^rlin^r, as it were, of both,— St. John declares that "the Word was made flesh." So the Cliurch, adhering as closely as may be to tho letter and the spirit of the Divine revelation, tfc;..ches in her second article,— "The Son. which is the Word of the Father, be^^otten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man's nature, m the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her sub- stance ; so that two who.^e and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godheaa and manhood, were joined together in One Person,never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man."' And it may not be said, brethren, that this is a mere speculative view of a deep and mysteri- ous subject, and not important to be accurately defined, or to be investigated and understood. We cannot, of course, with our present very limited mental powers, understand fully this high mystery ; but we may firmly believe, and I think with edification and great profit, that our adorable Redeemer, being God, became man, "of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting;" CHIII.STMAS. 2r having deep sympathies with n.,.n • l nmn'.s infirmities Hul tvi\^ , ' '^"°^''"^' g-titude toward ;h'L'tL°7;"7 ""•^ «l>all estee;;. evL o^r tervTr^''"" ■ ""' "" hallowed because cLZZ "" P"'""'""'^ ""'^ sau,e. Oh then I '™" '"""^ P"''' ^^ "'« '<=• "Jn, then, how can man det'rndo tK„t i i ■n the counterpart of which ihT . ''^' What guilt, to ma^e thf ""'' '^''^"' ' ".embers o our fl.e tL T' "'"'"' ™^ .;he„ the hoi, sof'^ao^u -n: -rrHireC' :Lrtr£F--^-=-ts with the Divinf thatTrth "Tu """ ^° ""''*'» He never yillded t ' th T"" ^' ''"''' """P""^- luered the'mlr'" ^^^^^'^^ ^e con tempter; He led captivity captive. 28 CHHIHTMAS. And aa Adam was nuide ori^nnally HinleHH and pure, but forfeited these heaverdy attributes by weakly and \vici example, how man may resemble God, though atwardly in form and feature like other men. A few years were sufficient to accomplish this ; for it seems to have been the Divine purpose that but one generation of men should see the in- carnate God visibly present with them ; and that to all succeeding generations the inspired record of what then took place should be a sufficient foun- dation for belief and action. And, as a compen- sation to us, and to all who only read the wonderful history of our Lord's incarnation, and brief sojourn among men ; and who are apt to teel that it would have been an inexpressible privilege had we too been favored with His vis- ible presence, with His oral teaching, and with a sight of His stupendous miracles ; we are assur- ed that a special blessing attends the exercise of i|l!i- HI ii'i CHRISTMAS. 32 faith, or belief i„ „„ that God's word reveals B^^cause thou hast seen Me, thou hast belierd -• a,d the Savor to an incredulous disciple ; add- iy -eivin, as indispuC^r; LT „:;trd'nh"e" record that God gave of His Son "^ secure the blessing th„= ' " '""y Whose word r„noff!i, P™'"'""'^^^ by Hin,, to return vo^L^t: ^""11 1!:^ ''' can t H ,aith realil'e all that r^a.ST„ which fs told r^"' "^"" ™^' "P-that wiucn IS told us concern nff our T^rr^ t scient was His stay, how verv brief wt • n thisworld. He'l^^etoel'rt a'l^IThr writrsfoLl 7°" '"* ""» ''^ t'^'' inspired writer spoken of as a mere tabernacling or so journmg ,n a teut,-an abode sufficient for the" purpose, yet not a fixture like a solid Tf V of wood n, „j ^""" Structure ot wood or stone,-« tent easily and quicklv removable; so we also are, in scripture sad know says the Apostle, "that if our earthly ' * tl 1^ 32 CHRISTMAS. house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building: of God, an house not made with hands- eternal in the heavens." Yet the Savior's hu- man body was not, strictly speaking, a tempor- ary dwelling; for although, like a tent, it was soon taken down, and laid aside ; yet speedily also was it set up again, occupied once more by Its glorious tenant, and removed to a distant country; so neither are our bodies only tempor- ary, though at present mere earthly tenements, ready to be broken up and removed from sight at any mordent, and certainly in all cases after a brief interval ; for the Divine word assures that, at the call of the Creator and Judge of mankind, "all men shall rise again with their bodies ;" and St. Paul plainly says that « this corruptible must put on incorruption," and the body is the only corruptible part of man. And "as Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with H^'m " When the blessed Son of God became the infant of Bethlehem, and united Himself so intimately a^id truly with flesh,— human flesh ; and when He carried that human body with Him into hea- ven, as part of Himself; a way was devised for flesh and blood, which of themselves were utter- ly unfit to inherit the kingdom of God "to enter into the holiesb by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecra- ted for us through the veil, that is to say, His we have h hands* ior's hu- tempor- i, it was speedily more by distant tenipor- lementa, m sight Bs after assures idge of ;h their t " this md the . And 3m also Him." infant mately 1 when to hea- Jed for i utter- d, "to 3US, by isecra- y, His CHRISTMAS. gg "ve Know that when Hf» ahaU we shall be like Him f T " ^PP*^^^ Hp i« ■" • ™' *'''' ^^ «hall see Him as I 11 THE TRANSFIGURATION. St. Paul's Church, Burton, March 9th, 1873. "And after six daya Jesus taketh with Him Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured bfforTthem" — S. Mark ix, 2. The second lesson this morning brings before ■ us that very remarkable occurrence in the earth- ly life of our Divine Redeemer, namely, His transfiguration. In itself it would seem worthy of our best attention, and of ver-* earnest and reverential study. And the fact that three of the Evangelists have given a detailed narrative of the event, that the fourth (S. John) has evi- dently alluded to it in the first chapter of his Gospel, and that S. Peter has, in at least two places in his Epistles, referred to it, is sufficient proof of its importance, and of the interest which It should have for all the followers of Jesus. So marked an event in the life of Him whom we adore as our Lord and our God, might well have been commemorated by a special public service ; but, inasmuch as none such is found in our book of Common Prayer, we may content ourselves IS. I Peter and li mountain 'ore them." AKK ix, 2. fs before le earth- ely, His I worthy lest and three of arrative has evi- r of his aat two ufficient it which lus. So tiom we ell have 3erviee ; iir book irselves THE TRANSFIGURATION. 35 With such reverent meditations upon it as with G^^^help and bles.^ of Hh 'i;r ""Tl ''" """^^"^"^ manifestation of His glory, the Savior had declared to His dis cip es and the assembled people,--' Verily 1 1^ unto you that there be some of them thalstand here, which shall not taste of death, i^H ]"' have seen the Kingdom of God con.e wi h now r^ And as we do not meet, in the inspired^ with any other event that would seem to us to be a satisfactory fulfilment of this prophetic sly 2' 7.' T:1 "^'^""^' "'^^ commentator gener-" w^'seen il'^""^'^ ^^^^" ''"^^^^^^^ ^^'^-« ^' ""oTd was seen m glory upon " the holy mount." And If this be a correct view to take, we may nofc how evidently the Lord's words invest fh^s cur^encew^^^ dom of God come with power ! " S. John writes (p ooably, as we have said, of this event^" we beheld His^Hory, the glory as of the only-be Jt! ten of the Father, full of grace and truth 'No wonder, then, that at the time when this Zl say, foi he was sore afraid," and that all three cloud that began to envelop them ! Many sdf " ^ '"' ^: \'''' ^' ^P- -' ')' -ites of h Z Sealed "'rd'r;?^^ ^'""^y ^^^^ «h^" be Z vealed. And what glory is that but th. .v^..^ I- 'ill 36 THE TRANSFIGURATION. mg brightness of heaven, which, when the &ivior shall appear the second time, will be manifested to all and into which His redeemed people shall then be admitted, to dwell in light forevermore ? 1 he Apostle had been made already " a partaker » ot that glory, if but for a brief space only, when the incarnate Savior was transfigured, and His human body shone with wondrous lustre. So that here was a foresight of, at least, the bnVht- ness ot our heavenly home; of ite perfect hap- piness the Apostle could not yet be a partaker while still in the flesh. So true is that word of inspiration,-" eye hath not seen, nor ear heard neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. A glimpse of the unspeakable glory ot God was granted of old time to Moses ; Elisha saw the chariot of fire in which Elijah was trans- lated from earth to heaven ; and S. Stephen in his dying moments saw heaven opened.and "Jesus standing on the right hand of God." And even to the zealous persecutor, Saul, was sent a blind- ing 'light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun when the voice of Jesus wa^ about to speak to him. So that from such revelations our mmds may form some conception of the glory that surrounds God's throne, and of which through His great mercy and Christ's merits' we may yet be partakers. " An exceeding and eternal weight of glory," an Apostle calls it. And THE TRANSFIGURATION. 37 and to a'/eC II^ H.tS wh!' f ^"°^^' certain ivill be founrf in n^^ '"'='> "■« "re and in all the man ' „ •''"'""^'^''"''P'-esence, ::eir, "" -«'-^ - Et;^^ and^Hi:Dti„xt«:„t p 't ««-"■ tabernacle of flSh a mSht t""' *'""°"«'' ">^ parsed over hI « f,^^ "''rs^ "">«' have «on of His c™nt«n, "'"^^ "^''* "">« tts wnite and gljsterino- •" onr] Q m ^ ;His™n.nt became sLl'J;^ !:■ Cai-eTs':"",-; ^*'^"' "-^''' was seen aglin on earr N "' ^'''^^"'^ ^'^^ of the ul, probably „h!rrr''^^'"°^ Mount Sinai, Jehovah nem^^T *' ™"""" "^ His majesty and nowi tl k '""'' P'"'"°" "* Bight and hearin/orme^ ^ ""'"!"'^'^ ■° *« yet awful scene wltnes^ ZTlll t'''"''' promulgated from heaven v.1. u ^"^ "^^^ ;ou.s and to prove wreChl' ToXo:"'"''' lesfc, was the nrosnpnf ^f *. • • °^ "^P®" perfect obserC fo it 1 "^ ''"'^^" ''^ " which, as the Ap a k trZT"''- *'"' '"" ^ "« writes, was our goh^r.]^ Li,. 38 THE TRANSFIGURATION. master to bring us to Christ." Now, the Great Lawgiver Himself was come down to earth, and upon another mountain, displayed to a chosen few some portion of His inherent glory. To their eyes such a sight was presented as would convmce them that, in the person of Jesus " God was indeed manifest in the flesh ;" even as to their minds had already been presented in His character and whole life such wonderful indica- tions of His Divine origin. On " the holy mount " the Savior's face " did shine as the sun," and his clothing became of a wonderfully pure and dazzling wliiteness. And we learn, from other portions of the inspired word, that in heaven such, or simila.-, will be the external appearance of the same Divine Being, and even of those who having followed His footsteps here, shall be per- mitted to follow on into the heavenly mansions. "In the midst of the seven candlesticks," writes S. John the Divine (Rev. i, 13), I saw "one like unto the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow ; and His eyes were as a flame of fire and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." And, of Christ's redeemed, the prophet Daniel declares, — " they that be wise shall shine as the bright- ness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." THE TRANSFIGURATION. 89 pure l.ves. for they had not defile heif't Andtt heaven itse?::' r^^irttf-irhT;^-^^^ r.rhenr..tz;".-^r"^ presented a heavenly scene „nT i ' "^"^ the favorpH fl, ' ^ "P°" *is Scene tne tavored three were permitted to look And as though to make the resemblance more com ^nfiea toodwithrLr.rnitik^:,' Elijah as you know, was one of the selected two of all Adam's posterity who never saw death and so he came down to the Mount of 7ran2- 'H,! wl 1 h'fii 40 THE TnANSFIGtrnATION. 'Ill ura ,on m the same body whici, hud nine hun- dred year^ before been caught up to heaven in the fte.y chanot Moses had indeed died ; but it is remarkable that no human being was present at h.s death no human eye saw the end of that favored hfe no human hands buried the body of Gods blessed servant. The inspired word aim- ply states,-" So Moses, the servant of the Lord d.ed there ,n the land of Moab. according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley ,n the land of Moab;_but no man k^ow^ eth ot his sepulchre unto this day." From the cjrcumstarice mentioned by S. Jude, of Michael the archangel contending with the devil about tte body of Moses, it has been conjectured that his body was not subject to dissolution and de- cay, a^ the bodies of other men. And it would seem from the probability that the Apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration saw and reco^it ed Moses as well as Elijah, that the fo.-mer must And If they did so recognize these ancient saints ong departed from this world, are we toiLfS that hereafter, God's Almighty power will en- able us to recognise not only those of our departed friends and relatives who shall be among the redeemed, but also His saints and servants whom we have never seen, but whose names and holy lives have been made so well known to us by the record of them in the Divine word? And al! THE TllANSFIGURATtON. 41 though the persons of God's fnifKP 1 the heavenly worJd wiin . "^ People in Moses and Eliiah w, n«''ative, that ties knew we^r; "• '"' ""PP""" ""> Apos- t^^ers Of the £7that' hle^rth^ T person of the Savior thnf 7 °"' "'" be reveale,! " ,» ;~ ' ^'"'■J' " ■"'hicl' xl'all -ne extent tfe nZ T/ tt^'"'"'^''"- *" And will it not (,.1? • ^ heavenly hfe ? real and ll'tCerer:''"'°^^°''' blessed spiritual lt,7.? ° "^ 'P''*''- "'at 'hink inalrv 't ' 7'""'' "« "^-^ "P' ^ their chazLdLt^T?^"' ^'"'"■<"' ? 1° heaven su^:'^ th! T "^ ''"«'^'"-« "^ with Jesus, and entereT'inr' ""' "^'"'^'^ '"^ Him ThJf ^k °^^*^^^ ^^^ conversation with wo^s a^fdiir tii^rtr ''^^- - ^^'^ adoration due fromTh ! ''everence and tied, to the Cri/atT ""' ''^"^' ^^^^^- '•'"agine And 1 / u., ^^''°'''' ^« ^^^^ily 6'u«. And so, doubtless it will h^ • x/ heavenly stat^ Pk«- ^^ ^ °® ^" <^he ted to CndtusSe«er£:t!r ■"'■"''- facerthevshaJ] h/ ^^^' they shall see His permitted to'speriith'H?™ " AfttV'l "^^ Oave spoken to the. indiWduVtt^oHo: I i; vl 42 THE TRANSFIGUllATION. words-" Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." He will scarcely retire apart and surround Him- «elt with unapproachable glory and brightness. Having given His life for His people, having redeemed then, unto God by His blood, He will nmke them " kings and priests unto God and His father, and "they shall reign with Him for- ever and ever." We notice, with wonder, that the Divine word even tells us what the subject was, concerning which Moses and Elias talked with Jesus, upon the holy mpunt. "They spoke of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem "-a subject worthy indeed of the tongues of glorified nien, or angels ! The death of the incarnate God the death of the Lord of life; the suffering of the consequence of sin by Him " who did no A !., '^r^^ ''"'^ ^ '*''^'^^^' «*' which Moses and Ehas knew full well the value. Already had they tasted of the infinite blessedness of re- demption. Long removed from the presence and trom the tempting power of sin, they could ap- preciate, as we can scarcely yet do, the mighty deliverance wrought out for the sons of men by Him who has bound th. "strong man armed " has ha captivity captive, and has rescued for- ever His faithful followers from all evil desires and from all evil influences. We. who are still m the flesh, can rejoice and be thankful that this glorious work has been done; it yet remains for THE TUAVSFIOUIIATION. 43 .nsp,red word all that it ha» plcti: d ); C' J^^ pine, to „, •: lieiir:::;:^':: t'T nntted. And when Mosea and Elia/taltd wUh ;ooKs„ehWeann.ttrr:nrr redeemed and elorified snmto „„ ■/ ''^ •^^ Ho i-„ii J Z'"™ ^'""'^ can manifest : when He talked with them, upon such a sub ect knowing as He did. all that was involved U the work of human redemption,-the fearf ,1 nt -fhr^'r^- "•" ""^"^■•-^ '"^ «-' -- o evil ™', "f ^"""^ contest with the powers K„ . . '—What cundescens on must Ha W ,„.^,tested, what unspeakable lev that calm and unshaken decision' "To T . f do Thy will O God " iTT ' -^ '. ^'''^^' *° rfi^u X \^ ^^^- -in the midst of the e-lorips of the transfiguration scene, Jesus ,iid not hide passion. On earth He was most truly "a man sorrows "; and while He was bearTn ~ the ^ 01 the world, the pressure of its burde"; wt a" "'If 'ill 44 THE TRANSFIGURATION. ways upon Him. From ■" the holy mount "Cal ot ta,„,l,„t,on and agony have been, when the Lord Jesus closed, as it M-ere, His eye upo^ he heavenly splendor of His transfigu'^rafon tha He m,ght contemplate, with His chten ser;an; Sd HetT '""'J^ ^'°"'" ""<> 'hick darkness Did He then, as He talked with them, point out to the leader and lawgiver of Israel h^w .n ffis appn,ach,„, sufferings and death, wouldt f^ ! th right, IT i^''" ""' *"■'""' -'«• "h-h tne rights and ordmancesof the old dispensation abounded; how the blood-shedding inSln the whole sacrificial system of the jf wish Church Shed upon the Cross, and how the virtue of the otfenngs or atonement was all derived f^m the One G|.at Sacrifice of the sinless Lamb of S<^ side o ,f '"""^ '° '^' ^°'y f~Phet hy His «>de of the same great truths, hidden beneath o^rrtd'^rH^rr^t^™'" -theProphetrf^LSot^ritw^: trir^-rxpi-Hr;^^^^^^^ «* X. T *""uni;, that I am come to dp stroy the Law or the Proohets • T «m T lupnets , 1 am not come to . THE TRANSFIGURATION. 45 destroy, but to fulfil » Ah f «ro u wa« said on nhe ho.y »t„ t orrt*;'^' condescended to sneak with n- . ? "'®™' about His approthW deafh'^rf ''r™"*» brethren, at th'i s .o.en,'n sett wh^ y^l^L T J=^.:i^:tr::t:~^^^^ r;:tr''--'on.spar,:^ were enabled to look flZa^^^^'ir; "' "="" can look ba/.Ir „„„ '"™ara to m prospect, we centnnes And we "^^ '^' "staof „any been done needful. .T ''J""^ *«' *" ^i kind. Not"^at'^[ n'rwrfrr'"*"- the agonies of r»fl, °^ ''^« e^t^ure Pilate^ >ll^f t,r'' '^^"■•'-«o''« of C^'var,.^ AT4i:istis:ed''\tH:tr "' on the holy mount manifested forth^ ^° "P" paniments of heavenly ™ . ."""' »" tbe aceom- shall the kinldom of pT''*^''"<*8'°'7- Then shall theysfe the Son ofT "'"■ •^"«'' ">«" kingdom witl' eat r ^" """'"^ '" ^'^ that we cl imS„ ' 'iT'" f "^ «'°''y- ^ith all upon th^rnTof f Z""' ""'' ^'"»'« ^ort'> m ^:i hit; 46 THE TRANSFIGURATION. reality must our feeble conceptions bel\nd yet, thinking of these heavenly things and then tion and suffering through which the blessed Redeemer, at the close of His earthly lif pl^d we acquire a more vivid idea of KU j ' condescension and love and l!t ^ u "' acanire «1<^ . j ^ ®' "' ''°P« 'hat we acquire also a deeper feeling of gratitude «n^ make more earnest resolves to lif , faithfully for Him v.h T " P"'''''^ »°d bled H^eK „^j''°'.*°7"J»kes. thus hum- it beinSbber? ^uCi :™ ^^^ T ^ Himself equal wi^h Go^C madf Hims^ft servant, and was made in the likeness of men And, being found in fashion as a man. He h"m" e'^'tKLrthlr:^^'-'---" stooj thii Th?""' ' ■T/'"'* '' '^"'S''' *<»»' Thou w the buX r'ttt T'."^ "' " •^'■'■^^ rate Thy precfo^us bttirX^^ralX Trhl'il^'r "'.r"' "^' bu'tr^lltmedt Thy humdiation and by Thine atoning Sacrific^ Sill ALL SAINTS. ^- ■'"'«'' Ohurck. Oronu,cu,. Nov. ist, 1174. " wh'ir^LTtheyT J^t ,t fj^y-" to "U.a rob.«, and oio^XnTrr"'? "' "-•*•'- City *?:w Jerusalem- rf^ * ,. ^^ ^'"'te.-the saints ; holv ones ih.i ■ ^, ®' ^^ '^ «aid, and to the angels " r.tT Tu. ^^''' '"l"*' "n- ;■" shininii:: . ::i SaSl°"'r '^ less as the d«^^l,-« ,. '^^^^^Pure and spot- w.;ehtH;\i7fts-!,;U:rd^V" S. John the Divmo « • "^ ^^^^H wntes «^eriul vision^ :nh.^"™'^f ""^ °^ ""^ -- him "and In o !^ ^^*^^^° granted to oou/d n'mb:; of T T""""^' '^'•''l' - »an people, and tongues t^'r,' -d kind^ds. and before the Lamr^Io^d L 1 t ^'^ ^' ''°<' palms in their hands "A T ** ™'^'' ""^ four presbvtr» V, . ""^ ""^ °^ ^''e ''>'enty- presbyters, who stood near the thr„„. L ..-■^ « .•4 f'i ?"i5i fc! ^fiiliiliiilli 48 ALL SAINTS. I ifflfilii ;:■:!'- ill ! i* God, wishing to inform the entranced Apostle concerning things, he, no doubt, greatly desired to understand, but of which, in the exceeding glory and awfulness of the scene he could not find words to ask, said to him.-" What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? And whence came they ?" And then explained to him,- " these are they which came out of great tribula- tion, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Sinners then, these, shining ones had once been; else would they have had no need to wash their robes and to make them pure and white in the atoning blood. Sinners once ; glorified saints now. Sin- ners, who yet had learned to hate sin ; and, for the love of their Lord, had come to love good- ness, righteousness, and truth. Sinners, who had struggled earnestly against the evil within them • and had watched unto prayer against tempta- tion without. Sinners, who, learning of the in- finite love of God in Christ Jesus, had ca.st them- selves upon His mercy ; accepted in profoundest thankfulness His offers of pardon and glorious reward ; had clung lovingly and earnestly to the bavior m life, and in death had slept sweetly in Him Such, my brethren, were, on earth, all the faithful servants of God. They were not too great and holy, too noble by nature and pure, to feel, m common with their race, the sa^ weak- nesses of humanity, the miserable tendency to ALL SAINTS. 49 «nd pray to resist, strive, and overcome : and at laa reached the blessed hon.e, and their glorou, deafny only through such trials as these, and Ix>rd the,r Redeemer. Let ub know of a surety, and for our encouragement, that of just such' earnest-mmded, but yet frail and fallible mortal composed " the glorious company of the W ties the goodly fellowship of 'theVophett'Te noble army of martyrs, and the holy Church hroughout all the world." Each and all had the,r day o difficulty and doubt, of discouraging mfirmity, of conscious and humiliating unworthi ness, of painful struggle, of crowning victor; Th- a- they which came out of grit tribT r^! f rT' ^ ^ "°^"'« pei^ecution for the suZ «"'■ '™"''' tortu-e. extreme bodily suffering; others, and these no doubt a very grea^ number, ha calmly faced ridicule and heTt th?. "r; °' '"t" "°™^'' -'"'™' ^-erving in to God , others again had remained faithful though gnevously tried by the suffering o a e.t,me o disease and pain, and many Ling nt nt^ r '"'"' "'•^"^''y 'he wretched^ noss of abject poverty and destitution. They were saints and holy ones, because none of these things moved them from their steadfast faith L Uod , they were saved, and gloriously rewarded ? ,^ • f't ■'*.< f m 60 ALL SAINTS. ill! ■■»•: i m and to the Cross of th.ir salvation ; because th.y visible and beheving in Him who gave His life a saenfice for sin. " I!*""" «■■« tliey who have contended for their Savior's honor long Wrestling on tilllife wag ended Following not the sinful throng; These who well the fight sustained, Triumph by the Laml, have gained, " Not greater once were these glorified saints, than the humblest of Christ's servants now. AM ■S 1'- ^''■'"''""- ""^^ -d Daniel ar^' indeea great names; and so, in later times are Stephen. Paul, Nathaniel. John; but yliZ anrfr?.""!," °' '■■'" P*"'™'' "'"> -'--Ives, and felt the discomforts of life which we feel cold, hunger, sickness, restless nights, weary' days; the provoking of unfriendly feighboTrf bad servants, of unruly children; petty cares and worru^s, and the thousand namls Ti tl JesTes which seem to be inseparable from the human organization, and from the earthly lot. Of these trials no mention is made in the inspired word and so we are apt to fancy that these holy men were, m some way, exempt from much that de- presses our higher aspirations, and that continu- ally brings us down to the common level of poor frail. erring, fretful humanity; and that it wL / AIL SAINTS. 51 e««y,for them to be jjreat and dignified cal,„ under provocation, serenely .superio^to a 1 ordt ary temptat.on. But this could not have Wn «^e case; the holy word tells „s no such thin. W.thout a doubt they were „,„eh like our«e Ive^s Hal, f"'""" "•-'"'-»-. ten,ptatio„s ud pray.r. ,„ striving against sin, in watchinc, .self. dpn,al and real trust in God. Surely thet;; d ot some sad failings, among many virtues „ these good men, teach us this Noah Ab,!,, Jacob, Aaron, Moses, Elijah wer! .t tif '"'' eomp hxr Mr. ■ , J**"' "'^'^^ ^ifc times over- ned most gr.ovously ; so that, after, his whole life was overclouded, and his earthly h^pp.ness 1 ,! marred, gone " Mv <.;« " i,„ -^ "f P ness sadly fore me " n j " ""''"'• " '« «™'- be- 90 that he obtained mercy. And, if Peter could be so completely overcome by unworthy ear ' Wed and chosen friends could forsake Him „ s!wTb 'T' ""'' ""'' "^ -"1 hide them selves, then ,s ,t most certain that none of those whose praise is in the holy Scriptures, and who names are now written in the Book of LUe we™ » constituted by nature as to be above and bevond the reach and influence of the sins and detTst^d weaknesses which cling to us today. No do„bt much of the "great tribulation." through which the glorified samts seen by S. John had passed Hi' >! f f I M ALL SAINTS. liiii and out of »hich they had come triumnhant had co.ne not without ^rsat struggles aeaTnt^ learned meekness and humility, and of alowlv' and reverent obedience to «ll tl , ^ their f5ml i .":'*"" *°""nan<^s of samte are not the only ones who shall inherit tho S" '''' '"^''^^"' "" fact, to the thoughtless woIm? T "'"^• %nob.e creatures. nJny Vpp'd t d' ^'■' bowed together by painfufbodXlnlr-^L r*"" more struggling with a hopeless S'^'^^ eousness sake," unshaken in tletwK k "^'''■ ful reproach, and bearing calmlv he ^'°°™" -d^ertreS f '"-" -- - of God had^^es :,?; : f i-"^^^^^^^^^^^ 'he eye above.''Trs„:^'rwHht':^r''"*"''°'^ Divine Lord beforu.loj^'d i"^^-^^ "^ o- o«r minds of the false impressions Th. eye is apt to in,part. and to'd~ Lt^t^ t^llf stratr '••;-'"«;:;; tt ana lowjy and consistent membemf r!K-:.x PI ii«. 64 ALL SAINTa ;l,i Boiv th. ?, ""^ '"■^' "''•' ™' 0' 'he One Christ, And tho,e unnoticed faithful ones will w! r"', !*•"•""''■ ^»l«'y. cultivated Christian We shou d not, therefore, connect in our mind, the great body of " all saints "with .hose oily who have, by thci, widely-known piety, eharUy ia.th and good works, been famous Jn Iheir day as noble followers of (Jhrist. These we may mdeed, greatlj. reverence and esteem ; and we' may and should, emulate their zeal Ind thdr and in th^ "' "'•*''*' ""'^ ^""^o"" Chu„,h. ber that these are composed mainly of the un- atd ie ^' "%'"'''^ «°'^' '<»■ f°r this, and adore our dear Lord with a fresh and unselfish thankfulness, because he has, in His boundless compassion and condescension p^ tionfor^r^ "T' --^ -«y-g compen'st t.on for all the evds and privations His people may suffer here on earth. And let not the'meek and humble soul, which feels the poverty 7t goodness, and finds it so hard to rise superior to th da,ly worries and the carking cares,'^.nd the httle jealousies and paltry tempers of our poor humanity, and of depressing and unfaSl ALL SAINTS. 55 povert} with a subin kssive smVif *k^ ■ ;sr-:; -^i{t"1»- :lr:?:^i-rSH-- sainto"; yet with oIl tK "P^-^ "^ "«" w:iLrjtT.tt^:;s^^^ Whether, Vbu^Ztsee^mr-' My tranced «,n»es ,„„k o'erpowered be"o« if- ' 1^ r* 56 ALL SAINTS. The glorioug presence of an Holy One A Watcher from on high, who thus to'me, Behold this goodly army „f •« All Saints." And scan their noble bearing; watch awhile With eye i ,tent, and I will pass before thee ihe sight for which thou oravest. Fixed I sat With earnest gaze upon the glowing sky, Where, (as I deemed), with all its glory wreathed, The pageant I should see of passing hosts Bright with celestial radiance. Nought I saw- Only with tottering steps, before mine eyes, ' A meek old man moved by, who feebly helped 1 he u tter weariness of aged feet With a poor staflf. ' And then on that hillsi. ,- A woman passed, belike a new-made widow. With her deep weed8,-and on her sunken cheek Sat the pale hue of nights unrestful, spent In heart-sick watching b;- some bed of pain; Yet on her brow, which the sun's rays now lighted, Methought there dwelt a glow, brighter than hi.. Of peace and holy calm. And so she passed. Nor saw I more,--8ave that a little child. Of brightest childlike gentleness, passed by Lisping his morning song of infant praise ' With a !.alf inward melody; as though He were too happy for this creeping Earth. Yet I sat watching; till upon my ear ^rthfttr' ^«*-"^y---.-" Whatwouldst thou more» Or why this empty gaze? Already thou, In those that passed thee by, hast seen «' aix saints." The Church has thought good to bring before her members the subject we have been con- sidenng today by appointing, in its place, the festival of All Saints. Her object evidently 18, not so much to magnify the faithful de- ALL SAINTS. 57 parte, , „,uch leas to approach them with any 8or of rehffiouH worship, or to invoke their "d or the,r .nterce.„ion before the throne of God ■' >»g u« to reflect upon their faithfulness and »' « »«t before us- HHI, I i id let us fore us ; isher of God, and CONFIRMATION. THnily Chunk, D«rchea,r, Hay 4th, im. ■ oo^e. He w«, guideT^^Ji Z^^^'^'^l!^^ ^^^^^ From this saying of our blessed Urd it wouW sT to th^ * ,!?'''• " '"''""°° ^'her I should aay to that teaching, there remained other sub- jects connected with the Christian faith upon which they had not been fully instructed Tnd oetore them later on in their Christian exneri *^e little Ld of btl\t ttfnuS 0I Wuled ^ tl rr^ *" ''°'> '""y ■>"- been mcluded m the hst of new truths yet to be re- vealed, or made clear to their miLs. When writings of the Apostles, with a rite there called 11 60 ili l|. CONFIRMATION. not hesitate to believe thaUht^ fSlvTIet ionmi polity. And when, in our dav tl,„ Chnstmn minister receives from the R K ™lin«eideronheCh„reh:orZ:!;fa:: -e, hron,ht promtrrt^e SC^r* ^^;^ha;;nt^rt■■^'-^• ^"^^^^^^^^^^ on all hand« bySessintow r T""""''^ ized Christian bodfeTwhoi^ V "'• ''^ <"^'"- Confirmation, and !;« ano7ed\"rr "' °*' «rely cue Of si,ht and useTtle^Ls^teL:!; the orSin ^f r^'^V'^"'^ ^'•°"" ^ ""S tne ongm of this rite.and as to whether it is reallv not eontrar/r htlfs: -prrZ ^^^^ accordance with it; and w^as used al» Tn^'th: ve:y purest age of the Christian Chu^h . ? ««ed by inspired men, who had seen t^eV :^ JesKs, and received from Rim Tk ^""^ CONFIRMATION. gj •nay be arouLd " h „ f ^ "P"" "^^ ^^ject who differ fll" "T r*' ^'"'^^ Christians aeparate Ch s ian l^ j'° .""''W«y form iDfr from hpr iV +u- ,. ^""^^"» and differ- »o^e or^Xir '"'''^' - ^-^ """-of. The blessed Savior whil« xW^-ui His disciple, cleariya;! t ed ti'''"T' "'*' or sacraments of a rit,f«) ordinances, ter, to be used by H^tol """"n"' "'""•'"=■ ™™«bly for all ^-m^ 'rtjZTt'r' """ the Holy Sapner Of H,l k P'"™' *"<* of the Lord'o :„ orflt;T" '"'^""^ any doubt among 0^3' aTk ""u °''*' - regards these, (1 stral.re th t"^'' T"" ous individualism will tJe\T. , uT "''^'^'■ "eve... in comparTt v J IVe™ tim ^ t '" maintained that the outward !l™i3rT' " not necessary, the Christian reSnt!"" ^'^ farely and exclusively spiritual Po ^'"^ '"■ believe™, it is not unch' Se ^^^TJT'' appear to assume to themX,!^!^^;. J*"'^ that of the GreatAutltrrfrh 7 ■" "^^ self, and to undertat to Tel.t' woT^ ''™- excellent way It mav b» ^ .. T " * '"°'^ gard to this pecu a" ;Lm o"te o"f '" "■ called), there is somethW that , '^"f'^'''''' <-'° deeply devotional mi„H, £ 1'^*."'*™* '^^'^^ deenl^^l T *" °"' .='■""'8 that attracts deeply devotional minds, as well as «>«<,«„ '.' }Jii .' -/J flit! 62 CONFIRMATION. who shrink from an open ceremonial confession of their belief in Christianity. But, on the other hand, there is this crushing, annihilating objec- tion, that it is plainly contrary to our Lord's own teaching, and to the system of worship He ordain- ed for His Church. This is enough forever to condemn the unbelief ; and we need no further objection, we do not for a moment look for any other argument, or think any other necessary. Then with regard to the outward ceremony of Confirmation, it may be asked upon what au- thority It rests. ' I have already intimated that It rests upon the authority of holy Scripture, and upon the ancient, and as far as can be learn- ed, the continuous practice of the Christian « hurch, from the Apostles' days down to our own. The important point, however, to make clear, is, that Confirmation rests upon the autho- rity of holy Scripture. This is the highest of all authority, the only infallible authority, in fact • the great final Court of Appeal for Christians. Now, in looking into the inspired history of the infant Christian Church, as that Church was organized and managed by Apostles, we find that a rite or ceremony was in use differing from Baptism, and coming after it, of which the out- ward sign was laying on of the hands of the Apostles. Bapiism, of course, was not omitted or superseded, in the cas of any of the converts to Christianity. That was evidently the first CONFIRMATION. 53 ordinance, administered to all upon their con- version from Judaism or heathenism t» Chris- tianity and also to the households of these converU In Acts viii we read of Philip's suc- cessful mission to the people of Samaria; and that when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both - men and women." We do not read that Philip administered any other rite to these baptized people But we do read that " when the Apos- tles, which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had receivea the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John ; who, when they were come dovn prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost ; (for as yet He vL fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost Here, then, is the first notice given in holy Scripture of the rite of laying on of hands. Evidently It was an undei^tood thing among the Apostles that such a rite was to be administered in the Church and to be administered to those who had been baptized. It was not administered by Phihp, whose earnest preaching of the Gospel had brought these people to believe in Christ and to receive baptism, probably at Philip's hands' Apostles were expressly delegated from the body of the twelve, to go down from Jerusalem to < i 64 CONFIRMATION. ^Jamaria; what for? Not so much to convert the people and to baptize, for that had been al- ready done, but to lay hands upon the br.ptized. Philip, you will remember, was a Dea-oii ]u the Church, one of the seven chosen by i]-e multi- tude of the disciples, at the wish and £ii;:ge,^tioD of the Apostles, md set apart by n soleiu.i ordi- nation, (which tiio Apost]*.s administered,) to distribute the aim i of th. i.hurch, and, (aj ap- pears from the prfwitice of il I'liilip, j also to . preach and baptize. Why the Dearouti did noi adof)<7 aster die i^ght of laying on of hand, we arc aot -oltl. It appears, however, as if it was not one of thdv functions, having been entrust- ed to Av/. sties only. Now, we would naturally be inclined to think that baptiziru was the higher and more important function o2 the two; for it is a sacrament ordained by Christ Himself' and apparently the door of admission, ceremoni- ally, into the Christian Church. Whereas there IS no record in the Gospel history that the " lay- ing on of hands " was appointed by the Savior Himself. Of course it is not to be supposed that such a right was appointed by the Apostles of their own mere motion, or because of their idea of the fitness of things, or without the express sanction of the Divine Head of the Church. This may have been one of those things to which the Savior alluded in the saying of the text ;— " I have yet many things to say unto you, but ^'^ ^ CONFIRMATION. 55 ye cannot bear them now "; and concerning which He promised the subsequent teaching and inspi- ration of the Holy Ghost ;-" When He. the Spirit of truth IS come, He will guide you into all truth " The Church, you will notice, has, with her usual scrupulous fidelity to the very letter of holy Scripture, made a distinction between baptism and the laying on of hands, (which she calls also' by the name Confirmation,) in that the one is called a sacrament, and the other not. And in defining a sacrament, (as m done in the Cate- chism of the Church.) she uses these very clear and precise terms,-" An outward and visible Bign. of an inward and spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof." Confirmation, or the laying on of hands, is not classed among the sacraments ; because although no doubt authorized and en- joined by the Savior, through the Holy Spirit, atter His Ascension into heaven, if not before ^at event, there is no record in the Gospels of His so enjoining it. It is certainly of a sacra- mental character; for, as administered by the Apostles,thei^e were both the outward visible sign (the laying on of hands,) and the inward spiritual grace, namely the gift of the Holy Ghost. And as there is no intimation whatever, in the writ- ing of the Apostles, that this rite was to be m force only during their lives, and then to be , > t * ^1 66 CONFIRMATION. iiyil diacontmued ; nor that, if administered after- wards, Its character was to be changed in the most important particular, and only the outward sign remain, while the inward grace would cease • we are justified, surely, in believing both that the rito ought to be retained, and that still, when duly administered, and rightly received, a Divine influence and grace will go with it. Why should It be argued that because Bishops are only men like ourselves, and compassed with infirmity, and not inspired, it must not be presumed that the Holy Spirit will fee given by means of any official act of theirs ? Baptism,-a sacred ordinance of our Lord's own appointing, having its outward sign and its inward grace, as is clearly taught by S. Peter (Acts ii)_" Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," must be administered, if at all by fallible men; and is administered, in the Church, by Bishops, Priests and Deacons. The Lord's Supper also,— a very solemn and precious sacrament, in which the very body and blood of Christ are spiritually taken and received by the faithful, is entrusted to the hands of Bishops and Priests,-all infirm, sinful men. Ah ! brethren, if Di vine gra<;e came only through the medium ot inspired and sinless beings, the Church would be unserved, and would die out; unless, indeed angels should come, and minister to us CONPIBMATION. oj Besjdea people of all denominations have no difficulty ,n believing that Divine grace is g ven m anawer to the prayers of ordinary „.en a„d not only to those who pray, but toUe^lW whom they pray. So also, with respect to preach- ing. D,v,ne grace is believed to follow the faith- ful, earnest performance of this function, thousrh ernng and uninspired men perforu, it And fn particu ar, when a revival is organized, and ";«" mued for some time, with frequent, almost on- !n,sh^ r/'V" ""P"*^"^ ^ ■'""'y; ""d yet all ,s b«,ught about by the agency of mere men ; and the process by which this supernatural effeot laid down there than is the rite of Confirmation or lay.ng on of handa Let it b. our part, breth ren. to bel.eve that what Divine wisdom has ordamed and Divine authority sanctioned mu" faith to beheve that, if duly administered and piously received, an outward ordinance, so Co toned may become a spiritual power, and a blessed help to the soul. • ■« a I have as yet cited from the New Testament only one instanee in which the laying on of hands was administered by the Apostles. In :^1 f"'^: f^' ^'"^ '"'°">«'-' «h«« certain discples at Kphesus, having been instructed „. J h'] I 'i 68 CONFIRMATION. fully in the Christian faith by S. Paul, and having been baptized, possibly by some other authorized minister, hr- ... Liyin^ on of hands performed for thon. V f,; ' postle himself. It is true that, m thi.. sufitance. not only wm the Holy Ghost imparted, but special miraculor i gifts also for the twelve, then confirmed, " spake with tonnes and prophesied." Ev^ ' „ry ^ifts of the' Holy Ghost have long since ceased in the Church • and we do not look for them now, either in an-' swer to special prayer, or after the reception of any Christian ordinance or sacrament. And yet we do not feel authorized, without any revela- tion upon the subject, to discontinue the laying on of hands, because, as is evident, conspicu- ous (ind extraordinary orifts do not now follow Grace, surely, is gn nted to God's people rw though there may be. at the moment, no visible manifestation, and indeed no very mark.devi- dence, or assurance to the humble recipient him- self. Grace, (which means the gif^ ^f the HoV Spirit,) comes through Holy Baptism, through Confirmation, through the ' .lessed Supper, through the rever t reading the Mble, through meditation, through prayer, through exhortation and preachin:r. And it often comes silently and wunout observation, vi the retreshincr dew descends upon the thirsty .c^l, and the waif ing herbage. Let us not assume that Divine gr«ce 18 more likely to be p. ,d in any c every % , CONFrnM. TION. 69 other way, than by means of outward ordinances. Such ordmances are, clearly, sanctioned by our blessed Savor, „. they w, e by the Heavel Father ,n all ages, from Abel's cremonial wor"^ ship, I may s,iy, downward, through the natri archal and Jewish Churches. At the sameTime may be needful to say, to the young espe^i^ that outward ordinances cannot, of themselves ensure or .mpart heavenly graces. Even w thout any express scriptural teaching upon the sub^t one would think =t almost se/eviden that „1' ordmances, however Jemn and Divine are not l.ke ly to bene6t the soul of anyone who p:^' of thorn as mere forms, who has no faith and especally who is utterly careless, and leadin "» worldly, wicked, ungodly life. The insinc rify pretence, danng presumption, in such cases muTt bo most offensive to God, who reads the W ro:a"^r'^'-^'°'>'""^^-aeu.:rd I '""I'j. therefore, earnestly urge the young peo, of this Parish, or the unconfirmed of any age, (lor ,he coming visit of the Bishop is an what Confirmation ,. and implies ; to giv ihcir minds earnestly to u., subject; knowing, as must know, that any rite Divinely given or Bi- vinely sanctioned, must bo of the higlest mpotl ance, must be valuable, must indeed t .bsoluTeVy neccsary; that it must be a very sacred thl3 f.t kit I .1 ttw ro CONFIRMATION. and only to be approached in a spirit of the meet sincere revoienco, of faith, of love to Ood of gratitude for Hi, unnpeakable jfift«. And (ion- hnnation seems t„ be a .sort of 8e.,uel to the holy sacrament of Baptisn,, that sacrament of (frave responsibibf It in.plies, and indeed umnis- takeably expresses, in the case of thase candi- dat, who have been baptized in infancy, a personal profession of religion, of faith in Christ an-l a solemn ratification of a covenant with God In th,3 way, before the Church, they assume the position expected, of them, that, namely, of vol- untary, willing, believing servants of God, and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, Is this a great and grave responsibility to assume ? It is; none greater. And yet it is only such as must te assumed by all who would have a good hope of heaven. For " without faith "-religious fa^h, Chris .an faith. " it . impossible to please God On the other hand, it has its promise, its great reward ;_■■ whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God." FOLLOWING CHRIST. ''*"''*'''*'-*•«»"■■»'■*'■«'»*./<.„.,«*.„,,. Mrow^d'^i'nfi.^, £'„:tl?'y-'« a .hip. Hi. di«ip,e. ha^';eS I'rl^"'''^' '"^ *"« o^y Win « to the «i°sr:s St r"> "nd the wonderful evpnt! *^ '*'''• We have marked IsIriwTn ~"'''°'''' ^'* "• "term availing thevesle^t wh!?'"''"""^^ "^ « ed the Son of God Z ^ "^ *^ «"''«"-k- He were but an ord^arv hul ^^ "" "'°''^'' diBciplea became terrified at the ^^'' """ ''^ »t«rm and at the appf^nt pi:?':?" "' '"T '"g death; that then thev T'^^^.'^P^"^- their Master with „! ^ hurriedly aroused teotion;ttt II heardT"'' "''P^"' '"' P-^" defective fa th and t, h'" '"^' "'''"ked their -d power. C.Z' ::XlTlf Tr'y raging of the sea ! ' ""* '''"^ 'he It ITTI -r-^ r^/n ^^'^^' '°'^'*'^^ i^fco a shin es followed TTi«. ' -ur^ , , "P" ciples followed Him. ' What a strikino" His dis- 72 POLLOWINO CHRIST. do these few words present to us of the manner of Jife ot the chosen few.-those men of simple fc^earts, of honest purpose, and of willing faith ! Whither their Master led the way, thither they folowed; H.8 steps they constantly followed, attracted, we may believe, by mingled wonder, admiration, and affection. Upon His wonls they must have hung intent, as He spoke to them of subjects revolved in the Divine Mind,_interest- •ng even to God Himself, and Oh ! how important to them, and to all mankind. We cannot wonder It they were anxious not to lose one word, or to be for a moment separated from the Holy, and mysterious Being, Who had called them to follow Uim. And we read, with deep interest, as en- tering into the very feelings of those so highly favored disciples, that, whether amid the busy haunts of men, or on the lonely mountain tops whether on the land, or on the sea, they ever kept close to film. Doubtless they felt, at all times, a certain protecting, comforting, strengthening mfluence emanating from His mere presence And we know ,t was He, Who encountered in argument Who answered, and put to silence His, and their opponents. He must have con- stantly imparted consolation to those who, at His ca had left all that they might follow Uim. Let not your heart be troubled," were the kindly words of encouragement, Ho, at one time addressed to them. And we may be certain FOLLOWING CHSIST. yg that, every day. during which He was wif h *k almost overv hour IT„. '^f ""»« with them, ojj' iiour, He was emolovtvl ■» i„ii • to them concemiDB thin™ nf •. ■ ""°S ^mortal beings 1 aT K T ^' ""P"""' *" and they to t£r f *,®'^'P''«"^ "« led them; Him. M^t';:';rtd'ir '"'^ '"""''-^ been this Mowing of Christ C^,,"";' l""^" were thus made eye-witnesTes' orH '"''"''" recorded mighty works.orwhTch s jr""^ '"" OS there was such a va,f Z u " *''"''«8 «« they, no doubt werewhr :'"'=°'"P-'«<1 in His wonderful rirw^:'^ '«-'"''« ^.':^";rr;iK~ytu': f ^ -*-'- tion ; we notice that to foL Chri!r' ""'"• visibly present, did not a iTys enru':"," "''^" or exemption from th. . ^!^,^"^"^« pleasure, which J. so eommV i ttt'oV" V'"'^™ occasion to which th^ f. 7 T ^P'^" *h« V following jtVweXthT i 't^ '"r '^"' danger and fear A . ■ i "'^""S"' ""to extreme littlf ve^el in ±7^ """P^' '^^'^ the Master ha^' embTrt^' ''7/"' ">«■"- »'-- notice what .n^^f • ' ^"^ '°' ''^ »■•« 'ed to to foil: ctri:' t'^a'th''""''"'" " ^-'' «"" us from ^mpor^^': ^ 7-,-" -' P^tect n.i«htbei„e,iLto:;t\itm";lTe' ''l such protection Anrl ;« ^"* expect anddLppr;:;.:UiZrrvtrr- that it ought to be ^■x::z7::z':^:^: i 'ii m i --tLj fc fW 74 FOLLOWING CHRIST. US that, in this matte- as in all others, God's ordering is the wisest and the best. For were the profession of faith in C! rist, and devotion to the duties of religion a certain safe-guard against the calamities and misfortunes of life while, indeed ^ most powerful incentive would be presented to all men to be religious, that in- centive would be one of a very inferior order: and would tend, in no way, to educate, and pre- pare mankind for the high and holy state of existence, which God's groat love and mercy and power have prepared for His redeemed people. At best, man's self-loving propensities, (suffi- ciently strong already,) would be but fostered and indulged, and people would be likely to become " lovers of their own selves." " lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God " There would be no lack of disciples of Christ then and we should, probably, all follow Him, in some degree, and in various ways, suited to each one's inclination. But the blessed Savior does not ask such following as this; and the grand design of C^od, in manifesting Himself, and His will to the world, IS, evidently, to elevate and ennoble man's nature ; m order that he may be fitted to stand at last in the Divine Presence, and to derive inexhaustible enjoyment from pleasures of the purest, and most sublime character. God has distinctly taught man, at least in this last dis- pensation,— this dispensation of the Spirit, that lift''' F07.L0WING CHRIST. 75 present comfort, ease, enjoyment are not the bait thinktf Thf r'^i ?' "^"'^ ^"- -- ^ sins and to Tu'f '"'"^'' "^ ^^-^^^ their sins, and to lead holy and sanctified h'ves And let me say here, that even the desire f" futut' happiness in the world to come cannof >! tended to form the oh\.f ; T ^® '°" mnn f : ^^ inducement to briny word has made known to us t^ f ^ wcderfn, Joys in t^.^lZyl^Z ll hand pleasures lorevermore ; and that we nfav look forward to these with earnest desire LZ Apostle d,d to "the pri.e of his high cdlL „? fauThadleeTfX ranllhe'ch^:^ '''' "' finished P„f , .: . "^ Christian course promised w! ^^^ ^u" " '°'«'"^'^'' """ 'hese promised blessings should, at tho outset and gratitude, and most ardent love! And so the Savior taught, moat emphatically " the fii^t and great commandment is,Lu shi^ WeehfC' strength. Such, without doubt, should be the t.on to us of the joys of heaven. Well michf „. p? 76 FOLLOWING CHRIST. be. not only attracted, but constrained, to love Him intently, Who has so loved us, and has pre- pared such a future for us. And with love such as this m the heart, will certainly come obedi- ence m the life; obedience will, indeed, become our highest pleasure; and we shall fulfil this first, and great commandirent, not by irksome effort, or unwilling self-denial, but by indulging shall I not say, to the utmost, the love of God' implanted by His Spirit in our hearts. Such IS the elevated feeling, the grand motive, that will bring to CMrist true followers; nothing lower than this, nothing inferior. They will follow Him. not for present advantage ; not in hope of exemption from trials and sorrows ; nor yet solely, that they may hereafter enjoy the undisturbed rest, and happiness of heaven; but because their souls are most powerfully attract- ed by His boundless love, so wonderfully mani- fested in His lowly incarnation, aud stupendous Sacrifice. And, although the Christian will find as he passes through life, that, to follow his Lord and Master by faith and love, will not bring him safety from perplexity, trouble, sorrow, dan- ger; yet will not his confidence be diminished nor his faith fail, nor will he cease to believe in' and to trust in, the power and goodness of his Lord. Christ's first disciples were accustomed as we have noticed, to follow Him, at all times' everywhere, with undoubting confidence. Like FOLLOWING CHRIST. 77 was called to go out into a place, which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went , „, ,„^^.^^ ^^.^^^^.^^ yed nd h, pr^den J 'r"".""" *° """'' ^'««»«» ^ the' ae led them And ,f, when, in following Him nThe'rst -*o«-at danger and distfej:' ' in the instance we are thinking of today thev for a moment regretted they had not remtLd in security upon the dry land, (though wTdo „lt read that such was the case,) yet LltlTe they brought to see that He, in whom they h^ tested, wa. indeed, worthy of all confidence and ».as both able, and willing to succor Ind protect them. If He had pe^itted them ^ become involved in great fear and danger Then they were following Him, He did n.t then Teave them or dy He foi^ke them in their ext'mr but Himself shared their danger- and «t7^ • ' earnest entreaty, delivered them ' *^"' When the disciples had witnessed the wonder- the wind and the sea, think you they would be nclmed to complain of the danger aTd fear ot their exp«r:.nce be, to increase, afterwards their confide L>"H in T-t,*c ^^wiwaras, unaeu^e in His power, goodness, and mat"'- 78 FOLLOWING CHRIST. love ? Doubtless this incident occurred by God's direct appointment; and was designed, as many others were, at that time, « for the glory of God and that the Son of God might be glorified there- by. And are we not taught thereby, in this age, that the trials, perplexities, fears, and sor- rows, through which the individual believer may be called to pass, are, in the first place permitted and indeed ordered, by Him, " at whose word the stormy wind ariseth "; then, secondly, that they are designed for His glory, to manifest, ultimately, His power, and goodness; and. thirdly, that they are intended for the spiritual good of His servants, that their own powerless- ness, in such circumstances, and their entire dependence upon the Heavenly Father may be brought home, with fresh conviction, to their hearts; that the power of faith and prayer may be anew demonstrated ; and that the confidence they had already acquired, in His love, mercy, and wisdom, may be strengthened and confirmed.' And, may we not say, that, as the disciples must have enjoyed the rest, and the safety of tliat wonderful calm, with a relish all the keener by reason of the wild tumult and terror of the recent storm ; so the adversities, and calamities of the present life, to which the Christian be- hever may be exposed, will enhance greatly the calm of the soul that may follow ; and will at least, fill him with the most grateful anticipa- ■I'?! iij POLLOWINO CHRIST. 79 tions of the eternal rest, and the unruffled calm where no trial, or sorrow shall con,e, '■ whtr iTe' wcked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest." *"* My brethren, if we. sincerely, and with earnest for from H.m. at any time, nor He from us ■ and when we cry to Him, in our trouble Z' it - dehverus orat least uphold us, until' His trme fcr our deliverance has come. His time may not be our t,me, nor our time the best. The Savior we read, slept, even while His discinL H ' particular friends, were in mortal tZ^^T^Z ed to be ,n extreme danger. Yet. all the whi^e He was there. His heart was with them and HU protecting Presence; although He aX^'t h. ent,rely unconscious of their dang^rand oi whTn t ''\ '°' *^ ^'•™«- "^^y- at times when m great spiritual distress, or when sur P^lel^raf r- 'T"""'""'- '^'^^^ LOrred^;^:t51n:^1:r.^'':d' d 1 b^lT b °" °' "'^' '^'^ '^^ble^ffar fd dmbts.all has seemed dark, hopeless; and the evil one must have been, then, very near, and if 80 FOLLOWING CHRIST, very strong Only a mighty faith, an habitual faith could bear up under such circumstances, and ward off from the soul a total eclipse of Chris- tian trust, confidence and hope. " Suffer us not " O mighty refuge and strength, " at our last hour, because of any pains of death, to fall away from m" SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. THnity Church, Dorchester, Nov. 124th, 1878. and they that hear\tnZe!'"-Sx j^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^-' It Will be noticed, by thoughtful readers of this chapter, that, within a few verses nm! s:: wo d fi;?^^^^^ ''-' ^^ ''^ ''^'^ --> „li fk r . """'' '^ co'uing, in which !nA ,r '° "^^ ^'""^^^ ^'>''" heafHis voice and shall come forth, they that have done g S don^ vii7nr:f ™ "' '''" ' '"'' '"'y '"'^^ '-: whereTh u '•^™'-'*<=«on of damnation:" where the allus.on is unmistakeable to the general resurrecfon of the bodies of the dead, before the arf-!'fh r"': "> '"" 25«' verse,' the Zl deak shlll h Vk "°"'"*^' ""'' "°" '«■ ^l^^" the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live." And I think itt not adopfng a mere fanciful view, or a view „n warranted by holy Scripture, if we assume that pirituaT^ ^ "'/'"' '*=^'' °"'- ^--J """Oe^ to the spiritually dead, and uses the word ■'dead"L !J If 1 - 'rl^^l 1 ll^l f 1' "'y'^^H E - ' ' '>'#' ^^^1 HK^I i '^~^^^^B 82 SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. What we v/oi.M call a figurative senRe. Figura- tive indeed, it n.ay be in our understanding^ of such things ; but how literal, how intensely real. in the v.ew of the Savior ! Can wo not picture, in our minds, the Son of God. infinite in know- ledge, and able to read men's heans, looking upon the soul of each individual, as we see the outward form, the body, the face, the expression ot the face ; looking over the whole inhabited globe, and seeing, Oh ! how sad, how strange a spectacle ! moving bodies, passing to and fro many deeply interit upon some absorbing busi ' ness. keeping their eyes always bent downward downward toward the earth ; some pursuing, no less eagerly, a sort of phantom.-earthly plea- sure, always irresistibly attracting them yet always either eluding their gr«Rp, or proving, if seized, m unsatisfying nature; others, also in motio.. bnt going, they know not where, they scare, iv .-are. parsing along earth's thronged highways with "aimless feet," and wearing out wasting the short allotted span of time, without a purpose, an aspiration, or a hope : others again teverish in the unrest that comes of guilt, and of an uneasy conscience, and, not unlikely, of an unattainable disbelief in a God, and an hereafter plunging wildly into all sin ; and, with the reck-' lessness of madness, defying the Good, the Lov- ing, the Beneficent Creator :-aIl these, seemingly ahve, yet only outwardly 8o;~dead, dead,^ SPIRITUAL SLUMJtElt. §3 «8 he aoul, of which they make „o u«e almoTt e:tiT """^ '"'*^'"''' "'^^ »- ^^ . T" ™''™'y nnconscious ! Is it not possible - .^t probable that such a .cone .IZ^:' ■toelf to the gaze of the Blessed Savior, when ~J t '1'^'*'" y^"""''* '^ '-"ke. to arouse, to quicken these dead soui ,how th»m he higher life, the life destined n ZZulZ Me capable of sharing i„ heav, ,.,y huppine^ and rest ? And wa.s it not with such a thoCliT and such a purpose, that He said, ((„ obably vfi h added 3rce and emphasis,) " verily verily^ unto you. the hour is coming, and now is' when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear, shall live V ' At that very moment men's ears were literallv doubt, some were aroused, then, to take an in- terest in the welfare of their souls. And nlv ^me m the imperishable Book, and reaching n'eteerch: .•■""' '"^^' ">'""'«'' all thesf nineteen Christian centuries, and impressed, by a Divme influence, upon languid and dull soulf have savingly stirred the almost expired We of thousands and have led them, eventually to and Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent r Oh > mv brethren, may we not hope that now. even in \J. 1l I I 'I j; i •(4 I MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 l^i^ |2.8 m ■^ Is I?-' ■ 63 £ US 2.0 11 1 == ■iuu 1.4 1.8 1.6 1 k /APPLIED IIVMGE Inc 1653 Eost Main Street Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 - OJOO - Phone (716) 288-5989 -Fax 84 SPIRITUAL SLUMBEK. age of overwhelming business einployments, and schemes; when, in the daily rush of modern thought, and in the bewildering chaos of novel thinking, and of daring speculation, that does not shrink from laying presuming hands even upon sacred things, these words, from the Savior's own lips, may make some impression upon peo- ple's minds and hearts : and that, if there be any here, who have not before felt their force, or understood their meaning, or even cared to do so, the! Divine Spirit may bring home to them, in time, and with a power not to be resisted, an alarming conviction of the danger of ignoring the soul, and of allowing it to lie dead, and insensible to truths, and interests, of the import- ance of which no tongue of mortal man can adequately speak, and which will be fully re- vealed and understood only when heaven has been reached. Mark, my brethren, the earnestness, and sol- emnity, with which the Savior introduces the declaration of the text ;—" Verily, verily:" no truth more true than this, no assurance more sure ; none of which the importance was more clear to His mind, however lightly it may be esteemed by some of us, however carelessly read or heard. " The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God "; and not in the distant future only, but at once, " the hour now is." From the fatal sleep of the soul, some, evidently, were aroused. SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. 85 while yet the voice of the Incarnate God, speak- iD^^ m human tones, was sounding in men's ears ; and Apostles, disciples, a Nicodenius, a Joseph of Arimathe-i, a Zacchaeus, a Mary, a Salome, and other earnest souls responded gladly to the heavenly call, awoke from the slumber of un- concern, worldliness, and sin, and without delay came to Christ, that they might learn of Him' and be saved. So, afterwards, when that voice was no longer heard by the outward ear, and after its last accents of blessing had died away, at the glorious Ascension scene near Bethany' Its power was not lost, its blessed, persuasive' stirring influence was not utterly taken away from this earth ; but, still, the voice of the Son of God went forth with power; and multitudes were startled from their deep spiritual slumber listened readily to the good tidings, accepted Oods offer of salvation, valued the gift of Divine grace, and thought salvation worth hav- ing. The spiritually dead, in heathen lands, thus early heard the voice of Christ, speaking by the voices of men.— of men inspired by His own promised Spirit, and made eloquent, and fea> 'ess by the Divine fire of love, the inspiring flame of the recent Pentecostal ordination. And that fire, that inspiration, let us thaak God, have never entirely died out, or been withdrawn • the guiding, quickening Spirit has never quite deserted the struggling Church herA Kpln«. «^f I 86 SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. Withstanding the dismal deadness of spiritual hfe in some past generations : so that, still is the voice of the Son of God heard among ns — Christian believers of to-day ; still, we may con- hdently believe, are there many that hear, many who hearing, " shall live." " Still," did I say ? Ought we not most fervently to thank God that time does not impair at all the vital power and energy of Christ's word ; that, in our day, so remote from the wonderful days of the Son of Man, from His visible manifestation, from the audible' tones of that voice which spake as never man spake, from that great day of the Holy Spirit's visible outpouring, His word does go forth with power, His Spirit does breathe life into dull dead souls ; and a wide-spread interest m spiritual things, at least in things connected with religion, is apparent. Oh ! brethren, let us strive for ourselves, and pray for all, that the renewed life of the Church may be as real, as it 18 apparent; as deep, as it is broad; ai hat together with the " form of godliness," its v ital power may ever be present. Let us not i.jdi- vidually be content with an admiration of the beautiful, the grand, the touching, in Church services, buildings, decorations, music; but rather value these, chiefly, as aids to the devotion of the heart, as means, by which the awakened soul may be helped onward and upward towards the highest spiritual life. Every one, I think, must SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. gy admit that the religion, that i, more outward than mward, is a sadly partial religion an un «afe oundation, upon which to build^one' "hop:; for etern.ty. Yet even «„ch a religion is a Id ." the nght direction; and, followed ip C h^ thought u. meditation, scripture reading and P-yer tor light and guidance, must res^ult in hanpy progre day by day, towards the highe t typo of spiritual worship. " God is a spirit • r:! T "7' """"'P "■'"■ «■-' wor«hipC >n spirit and m truth." ^ But ah! there are some in every Chnitian community, who are in o „ ji ^-"'"'"an withnnt >:J , "• ^*^'y ""^f* state, without being adversaries of Christ, or known ^as fallen the deep nleep of indifference, or the deadly torpor of permitted sin. And su h seem voiW cT •V'*^""^™""""™ """> "- g- " insnired "^ '"* "'"''"^'" •="" "><«» comes fr«m ml V r 1 "PP^'^'-S "^ *«y »•>»'. only mutely, from the pages of God's sacred Book more pei^ua. ve. more convincing speech tin any human lips can utter. And yetf what ner what voice could arouse them, and such as they How are such hfeless beings to be made to feci that the:. IS a soul within them; that the sou He desir^rri''!"'"^*^ '' ^-o"'<^-d that He desires to bestow upon them the <.ift of eternal hfe ? ■• If they hear not Moses and the ^ y. 88 SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. prophets, seems to be our Lord's view of such a matter. " ne.ther will they be persuaded, thoth one rose from the dead." Evidently th; casl of those .„ our day, who are unmoved, who rema.„ unmoved, by the ordinary means ol conv c "0 and conversion; and who, in the midst of "ht and know edge, and offered grace, close theey s of the .soul, and the spiritual understanding,!" the affect,on of the heart; and will not be ^ on" ed by appeals, and means that suffice for oth I tisdom f g! .'r^' ™''"='^'^' '>y *•>« -finite wisdom pf God ; the case, I say, of such must be oXIL'1"'-. ''■''" ^'^'''-p^'-^N so. tor the Savior's assurance points to tho,« who are spiritually dead ; and He hJs^ hi the hour has come, "when the dead shall hear "r-iTvi-^rrr:^^'-^ fey that ht: door of hnn» . ." """ '='»n°ot say that the llfelasts 'it • '"."'T "'"'=' '^'"' '='-e<^' -hile is f u "^ ^' "'"^ed, but we cannot say >t is; for no human being knows Yet fh„ ■ a possibmty of death overtaking he ll^^ the hardened the impenitent, 'ood's w Imue^' be done with regard to the ending of eTerv nr„?° '\ ^^ '' «'^ "•»« l"^ come and "o proper use ha^ been made of the long yea.^ of waiting, what is to be expected ? Can God be forever trifled with; His word unheeded Hi patience unnoticed; Hi,, offe« of pardon and salvation through Christ disbelieved, perhrp' SWWTtTAL SLUMBER. gg found tlmt there is "" / '''*'"'■ " ""' be which no„eea„; Lb/;::^^^ 'ft" ""^^ to receive help or coJort "TK ^u ''"'''- °' shall live." Ah < brX '^' ''"'' hear that some will „ot hear 17 r"'"^' '"'^^ A further declaration, from 'he T' "'" ' source, follows.-equ;,, ™" """' """™"ff true; but how s'tern'^^t a^i;;' ZT"'^"^'- misin^ ! « The hour io ^ uncompro- that fre in n:'^::Xt^^ ™f"'<='' »" shall coffi^ forth • thpv th . , """"^ **'« voice, and the resurrection 'Jte ani th"" IT" ^""'^ ""'^ evil unto the resurrection of 7 ' ''*^' ^°'-"' this doing good, what 7t ° itr"'"?" ^"^ theChristian life,-the life of fl tVT'^' """« self-renunciation of i,n^ I! „ ! ' °^ P^y^'- of 'ove, and holy ob;dt!r^::l'°-;''^^^^^^^^ short, that most closelv f.n ''■*''^''^<'''° the earthly life TZ -fT' """^ '■^^^"'''les attempt to^.;L:^f-H.m.,. ^ darkest, the mttfw „I irr"!"' '"" "^ '"« evil is, and means We ,h 1 ™ °^ '""" appaningrevelationsonltSl:;^^^^^^^^^ kind, to be found constantly :«, °^ *"""«" of the day: and weTr^fofcd t\T'"'^'' 'here must be some sort Of ;:lbl^;-i' 90 SPIRITUAL SLUMBER. sinners as these, in the life to come. " The resur- rection of damnation." Say it means condem- nation. A sufficiently stern sentence from the lips of the all-wise, all-powerful, all-merciful Judge. " I am horribly afraid for the ungodly that forsake Thy law." But " there is no con- demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." FAITH. Triniiy Ck,„h, DorchuUr. July m, im. " Behold the towh of the nir; Colder the lilie. of the field, "-8. Matt. ,i, 26 28 lif Jt?'!-"' "^r"^':}^ -°^ begun His public Me and ministry. Not in the streets of Jeru- nl"? r. ^^ .'"' ^''^^^ * «-*' concou,; of peop e to hear Him preach ; not in the gorgeous ^mple that stood upon the hill of Zion ThZ places of great resort were indeed to hear His voice, and alas 1 to disregard His heavenly teach- ing. And for this they y,ere to have no excuse ; tor He prepares the way for a very different reception of Himself and His words by pre viously .. teaching in the synagogues of Galflee and preaching the Gospel of ihrKingdom a^d healing all manner of sickness and all man'r of disease among the people." It was upon a mountain of Galilee anarf fw.™ .i • T 1 *h<. .k I,- '**' ^P*" '«>"i the noisy traffic, the absorbing earthly ambitions, the hurtfu rivalries of men, that the Savior <«)dressed hL disciples and the people in the longest set di f;|: »! mi 92 FAITH. course the Evangelist, record. Hia object was to do good to the souls of men, not to n.ake for H n,self a name, or to be talked of, in the great c t OS, a, the wonderful and eloquent preacher. T^ie gaping crowds in largo cities drawn together by .die cunos,ty only, or by unreasoning admir- afon, or by the attraction of a general popular excitement might only n.ar, and misdirect the force ot what He had to say, and divert atten! Z f '^Sr',^'^^'^'' ''"'• -'^"ign to teach. We hrst, to the comparatively unknown villages of the despised province of Galilee, and that now He retired to a mountain, where, beneath the arched roof of the sky, and surrounded only by the qmet, peaceful, not unadorned scenery God's hand had prepared. He might speak to a people glad to hsten to the words of truth and sober- ness. We cannot but be struck with the exceed- ing plainness of our Lord's discourse. The tonics were of the most homely kind, the language most unambitious and unadorned. There w^ indeed, love in His opening words; and here we see how a Divine wisdom spake. To draw sin- ners to Himself, "by the cords of love and by the bands of a man," was the blessed Savior^ plan; winged words of high-soaring rhetoric, might indeed powerfully attract and sway the human mind and intellect, might please and FAITH. soothe and gratify, but mi^rh 98 t not reach the science or the ho^t ^ irV" 'I'r™" diadain the use of - ^"'"'" ''''' "<>' fron, tl,„ K'-'icous words " we learn these words w l 1""":^ ' "' "'"'""•""'■ ^ut heart within ^r? «« i ^"^ gracious upon thetoun'ti'tp^^rthf''"'^' '•''"" with the hearers 1, i [ "•""ntain side, Him, He '«!„ J^T' 'T'""' """ ''"""'^ earnest thoughtful listeners ^Blestd " °' poor; for yours is ♦(,« i,- j '^'^■'•ea are ye happiness and peace But tt P"'' '° "" more than this n * . '''' ""' "^^'l ^r ed audi:;::, tJ^xrro? r'^ •'■■r Me„ fallen „,en. doubtle^ r^quL r; 1^ speaking to ; and hearts even thn! n- '^ ""' cherish a supren.e love for God t 1 ^ ""^ *° >e.. homely „oral te Jh n^:'; "nt^r ''" cep s concerning specific duties The S ^"'" having lovingly pronounced the eiJht or °''' beatitudes sroes nn ot „ x *^ ' ""^ "'"e M PAITlf. teinperH in all thin^rH, the fli^rht of a bird, or itH cheerful chirpin^r on a tree or in the frrmn near by, may have attracted His attention and supplied the illustration to His teachin^r of which the text tells us. " Behold." He said. " the fowls of the air ; for they sow not, neither do they reap nor feather into barns ; yet your Heavenly father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they "1 And then, noticing the beautiful and delicate white flower that grew, (often un- noticed, no doubt.) on the sod beneath their feet He pointed His teaching by another simple illus- tration,-" Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin • and yet I say unto you. that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you O ye of little faith "? How interesting do these words become, when we bear in mind Who it was that uttered them ! The God of nature Himself speaks,— the Creator of all things ; for " by Him " a^ the Apostle states. " were all things created that are m heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or domin- ions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him, and for Him. and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist " Knowing then, with a depth and perfection of FAITfr. 95 the Jifp nf f», ^, vvnoNo hand HU.stairiH exactly wh„t pl«co the o l.ol ^""7''*'' ""• top teachmg. " Behold the fowln of the air " Mature, or the God of nature has „iven 1,1 n„ subtle power of thought, by wh.-ch totrl:: sarv h .-?• °' """"'P'"*^ '*^ "««ds; nor the nece i::uitarthrye:tth:-rrn"^^'^ Yet thev arp f.A% T' ^^'^y subsistence ! "Vour Heavenly rtL'tdtriht:'"^^- are qu.te familiar with these verTcuriol memte,. of the animal kingdom. And wW thoughts do they suggest usuallv M * • . Thourrht« «f n. • ^^ usually, to our minds ? iiiougnts of their Creator and of H--. • j andskilU Often, no douit lit ;r:: by. .u the.r swift flight, without any thoughHt if;?.: 1 1 96 FAITH. all about them. Too often, indeed, the reckless sportsman needlessly and ruthlessly takes away the life God has ^iven, and thinks nothing of that which God h 6 made such provision to pre- serve. " Your Heavenly Father feedeth them "; why ? surely not to make sport for the thought- less and cruel, by their violent, and sometimes hngermg death. All nature, as we may gather from Scripture, is made to glorify the Great Creator, and unintelligent, and even inanimate nature, may praise Him. *' Lord," exclaims the Psalmist, " how manifold are Thy works in wisdom hast Thou made them all ; the earth is full of Thy riches "; and again, " Praise the Lord from the earth, creeping things, and birds of wing." Behold then, the fowls of the air ye who possess intelligent mind and soul of lofty aspirations, and for them, and in their stead who have not articulate speech, praise and glorify the Great Creator of all. But we notice that the Savior impresses another lesson upon His hearers, in connec- tion with the existence of the feathered tribes '; They sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns." Yet they are fed,-God feeds them. How simple and practical a faith is here incul- cated ! We know, of course, that the birds live from year to year; that, with curious instinct they seek, and fir I a supply of food for daily need. Seldom, perhaps, do we look beyond the FAITH. 97 reflect further that even Llcutv oT' 7^\' wouM be useless and insufficitt f t e"t™ Se 1 Je •eoai;:!'''^ "'• ""^' "P- -^ich " V„. "S °"^ "* *"« 'ower annnals is exercised We tl^k If ?' '"™' '° ""« ^^^'^ P'-r.'-t Cause » e talk of instinct, and admire it • the mnr!' religious go so far as to spenk of a Prov- ^e"ce Christ speaks directly, plainly, reve. . ..tly of Ij coSmir Ifd t^e ""S -"''^'^^ ^dirin-r—^^^^^^^ iinaence in God s overruling Providence anH special care for man. The Savior \ I -a religion of faith, and yet of a faith fhT' ir:r:hfn%"e^c^;i--" veo^ reasonably and Iro^^r^t' ZTZ tts teaching the Savior gives no eneourag" ment or sanction to that spirit of presumn^n which would throw all provision forT '^ tenance of life literally u^n Z IZ^^Z, |l I L. 98 FAITH. expect daily miracles ; and certainly not to that disposition of mere idleness and indolence, that would prefer any course to active, energetic work, the evident meaning of His words must not be kept out of sight. He does counsel faith m God, as regards the supply of food necessary tor the sustenance of human life. And this faith, it should be borne in mind, seems to be required of all God's people ; not of those alone who are but ill supplied with the necessaries of life, and who may not know at all how pro- vision is to be made for even a day in advance • but It is required of those also, whose wants, as tar as man's eye can see, are amply provided for tor all time. The prayer that asks for " daily bread " is said by all,-rich and poor,-was, no doubt, intended for all to use ; and shows us how real should be that spirit of dependence upon God, of which the Savior speaks in the Sermon on the Mount. So real should it be, that heart and voice should be lifted every day of life to God with the consciousness that it is His hand that supplies what is needful for the life of the body that has supplied, in the past, what we have used, whether much or little, common or luxu- nous. And such a faith, we can readily see is honoring to God ; Tor it keeps His rational crea- tures,— those higher works of His hand, always m mmd of their true position in His sight it will not suffer them to indulge in a spirit of PAiTH, 99 n^ f •"!'7'="'''^'«'«. "or to fall into that sad Jta e of indifference.-that really very unsafe and dangerous state, which consists of nothino. worse than forgetfulness of God. For it h written, you know, i„ the word that cannot b^ mistaken " the wicked shall be turned into heU and all the people that forget God." While on the contrary, living this life of faith, there is always ascending, as a grateful offering to the Creator and Preserver of all, the silent, loving tZ'^1 u"-" P~P''- ^"'^ "■ ">'» spirit of f«.th dwelt ,n every hun.an breast, what a glomus offering of willing, loyal praise would go forth contmually from all parts of this worid where the human race dwells ! And, while hon- onng to God, this spirit of faith would be an .mmense comfort and advantage to man. An advantage, because, if misfortune should come upoa him >f heavy losses in business threaten h.m, he W.11 not feel driven to unjustifiable or dishonest means to prevent exposure, or to re- tneve his position. Accustomed really to rely upon Gods care, he will submit reverently to reverses and trials ; and will be convinced ihat, a-though his means might be greatly lessened, his comforts fewer, and his luxuries entirely en off the Heavenly Father, in whom he has trusted .8 both able and willing to supply what is abso-' lately necessary for the body; and that posses- sing a clear conscience and an h^.,..* i...^ i . — -----«i-wou iicaii/, lie 100 FAITH. can confidently look for His timely help and care " I have been young," wrote the PsalmiHt. and now am old, and yet saw I never the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their oreaci. The great comfort of feeling this genuine faith and trust m God is obvious ; for how much of anxious and depressing care will be avoided ' Our Savior points to this when he says — " Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment "? God made the body, God gave the life,— that life which in the human race, is a very lofty and mysterious gitt ; tor when man was created, God " breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man be- came a living soul." That body, that life will be God's care, if He be not forgotten, and while they are not used in conscious. rebellion against Him. And He who, by His word, made the body of the dust of the earth, and with a breath animated the moulded form, can, with the ut- most ease, provide for the perpetual preservation ot both ; and although it be not His will, or His plan, in our day, to work miracles for this purpose, yet, undoubtedly, for His faithful peo- ple. He will so order events, and direct the thoughts, and stimulate the energies, that a way will be found, sometimes a very unlooked-for j« ;a FAITH. 101 TaT; Th , threatening perplexity and want. Take therefore no anxious thought for your life; for even the fowls of the air that neither for, and are ye not much better than they "? So are the flowers of the field clad in dres., of tmue but for a day, as it were, tomorrow they a wthere and gone, or east as fuel into Z T'a , ,"^^™*"'-''. 'f "od so clothe the grass of the field, shall He not much more clothe you ye of httle faith '7 Let the bird and theflowe^ read ,n man's ear their plain, though silent and inarticulate lesson,-" Have faith in God " And let us, alter the exan.ple of the Lord not.ce, with intelligent and interested eye In the works of God. Let us thoughtfully'Ttudy them, assured that there are lessons of grea^ value to be learned from all we see around us t?em""f 'h '"*"! ''" "' *'>^ «°scoyery,_^f the great truth that lies at the foundation „f all the glorious works of creation-" The hand that made us is Divine." 1 hose fine intellects were made capable of the deepest knowledge of the Most High; they are botli.-the Infinite Mind, of which theirs is an emanation and a faint reflection, and the endless sibly the study of endless varieties of created things, in the great and boundless universe. An ! brethren, how sad that such minds should by forgetting God here, run the fearful risk B.f 'fT r?' '^"'"''''' ^™"' His presence! But, after all, it is not the me.ely intellectual and the learned that are most in favor with God but the humble, the loving, the contrite, the' obedient, the faithful. "Ye see your calling brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty, not many noble are called ;-that no flesh should glory in His pre- OBEDIENCE. Church 0/ the Ascension, Siudholr,., An,. 7th, 1861, «aid.t^arhe7Ttt;rher^^^^^^ -*« hi™, and thing, wouldest thou LT^aJe dlM ^'k' ^"^ «°'"« ^"^^ t When he saith to thee.tathf rd^te '':^T^, 1,^^ there was a sad drawback to «1J k- . ""*'^^^®' enjoy the titles and dignities heaped upon him whit his'tr" '" ""' ^'^' "."ita^ renew"; l!a hsome J^-'''" '"'"'''' "''"^ ""^ °^ 'he mos loathsome of diseases ? " He wa« a leper " admiraUeT'! "''n^*"'' '•"«™i°g'ed with some ordinary portion of pride. He was senerons magnanimous and just ; and considerLTeM ty position to which his great abilitv h^^ J^ 104 OBEDIENCE. hirn, It IS not surprising that he should have be- come proud and haughty. Was. therefore, the miserable disease, of which he was the victim sent to curb that pride, to check undue self-' complacency, to teach humility ? Or was it de- signed to be the means of leading him to the knowledge and worship of the One True God ? 1 hat both these ends were, in some degree, served through the leprosy of Naaman, we may gather from the subsequent narrative. With some pomp, and distinction of wealth, retinue and equipage, the Syrian general entered the land of Israel, delivered his royal master's etter to King Jehoram, and finally stood before the door of the prophet Elisha. A man of his fame and high position expected, no doubt, much deference and subserviency, even from a pro- phet ; but what was his reception ? Elisha did not even go out of his house to see Naaman ; but sent a messenger unto him, saying. Go, and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean " ^o doubt, Naaman thought that the Jewish prophet would at once take advantage of so rare an opportunity to display his wonderful power in the most conspicuous manner possible : and that he could not fail to be profoundly impress- ed with a sense of the high honor the application Itself conferred upon him. When, instead of this, a mere messenger made his appearance, and OBEDIENCE. 105 delivered so simple a message, ti.e great captain wa. deeply mortified and i„'dig„a„t^ "B^S ™.d he to h,s attendants, "I thought, he wi 1 surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the I.>rd his God. and strike h^s hand over the place, and recover the leper" denth rK-*" '^ 'ff "'"'' f™"' •''^ ««rvants th« depth o h.s mortification on account of the per- aonal slight, he exclaimed, with patriotic ind,V. nation.-" Are not Abana and Pharpar. rivers of Dam«»us, better than all the waters of Israel ? May I not vash in them, and be clean r The expression shews how great a condescension JNaaman must have considered his applying at aH tor relief to the King and th^Proph! of a despised people ; and also that only the extreme wretchedness attending so fearful a malady could have led him thus far to suppress he pr.de of his heart But when he found h^ sell rece.v«l with no marks of distinction at all and treated as though he were but a common man and further, that a special virtue w«« attributed to the waters of Ismel,"he turned and went away in a rage." As. however, the' land ot Israel, its people, and its prophets were C' °; 'TT""^ -'y '"-gh tte^pTc I favor of Jehovah.-the One True God; and as He designed that this should be an occasion in which those whom He had favored should be honored by men. and when His power should be ■■I II ^1 IWi f I 106 OBEDIENCE. magnified, and Hjh Name worshipped among the heathen, the Syrian general was not allowed thus to depart, but was quickly recalled to a true sense of his situation. I lis servants, (in this case more wise, becaude more calm, and more humble than their master,) " came near and said unto him, my father, if. the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouklest thou not have done it ; how much rather, then, when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean "? The remarkable, and as it would seem, instantaneous effect of this appeal, indicates, surely, that some unseen powerful influence was operating upon the mind of the imperious, but afl3icted man ; and he who, but a moment before, was full of wrath, and chafing under a keen sense of indignity and wounded pride, becomes at once meek, humble, and submissive. "Then went he down," says the sacred narrative, "and dipped himself seven times in Jordan according to the saying of the man of God ; and his flesh can.e again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." We must not omit to notice that our blessed Lord, nine hundred years afterwards, referred to this miraculous cure of Naaman, aa illustrat- ing the sovereign grace of God in His dealings with men ; and showing that His mercy is not confined to this or that people, who may be called by His Name ; but that, in all ages, and among all people, they are the special objects of •ji OBEDIENCE. 107 H,, favor who are teachable, humble, and obedi- ent. Many lepers," said He to the self-riifht- eous Jews of Nazareth," were in Israel in'^the time ot Ehseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman, the Syrian." And when, by His own Divine power, he healed the ten lepers who came to Him, He taufiht us the value of undoubtiuK belief, and unhesitating obedience. ■■ He said unto them. Go, shew your selves unto the priests. And it came to pass that, as they went, they were cleansed." These men we will notice, were not sent by the Savior to the Jordan for their cleansing ; therefore the washmg that healed Naaman was not necessary tor them. In Naaman's case it was necessary even indispensable, because the Divine word had made it so; and all the waters of Abana and Pharpar would have availed him nothing, had he persisted in declining to comply with the Divine directions. The ten lepers were ordered simply to go and shew themselves to the priests (the ceremony that was prescribed in the Lviti-' cal law,) and in obeying the Divine word their cure was effected. Thus we learn the necessity, and the value of •mphci belief in God's word, and of instant, nnqnesticning obedience; and we are enabled at once to perceive the folly and the danger of those who are not content to receive the word of God as it IS plainly revealed. Some pei sons we ■ m 108 know, cannot see the ^^reat importance, or the eflti^w of Christian bapti. in. It is only water that i« timi— water such as evf-v one uses every day of J .fe. What spiritual benefit, then, can Its application, in a certain way, and accom- panied with a special form of words, convey ? Naaman was obli^red to wash in Jordan " accord- ing to the saying of the man of God," that is, in strict compliance with the Divine directions.' He not only went down, and dipped himself in Jordan, but he dipped himself seven times. Baptism, therefore, is necessary, is important, is indispensable because Jesus Christ,— the Author and Finisher of our faith, charged distinctly His asciples,— "Go ye, and disciple all nations, bap- tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost "; and again.- "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved "; and again,-" Except any one be born of water, and of the Spirit, ho cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Likewise, with regard to Confirmation, it may be said, what benefit can result fro:r, the laying on of hands; and why should a Bishop only administer the rite, why not one religious man do as well an another ? Simply because the holy Scriptures sanction both the rite and the mode. We, surely, cannot improve upon God's way by alteration, much less by entire omi bn. And concerning the Lord's Supper, similar ^^p:-uiti?>s might be started ■t.', OBEniENCE. lOU Similar ,,ueHti„„s ^ked. What npirittml virtue " ''<":« '"r^^'^kingof a H,n,.ll portion of Cad : ^ir '"t?""''m None, if 'the Savior iLd Telw, of^Me"*''"'^^' "°° '•■'"'" - value or efficacy to any UoctHne, or usajfe con nected w.th reh^ion. That word invests with a -i5n,ty, not naturally or intrinsically their own tunea and seasons, p„.o„s, places, ^and things' the snnplest elements, and the least proS' apphances. It was thus with all the ceremon ll observances of the Jewish Church,-the sZ^ days, the holy buildings, vessels and altars the consecrated priests, the anointed kin.rthe' fro n tht I r "'^'"'•«'^^« differ intrinsically from their kind ; yet, on account of the Divine selection and blessing, they became at once Z Testament; so shall we be savpW f.« • ^;ti.s.„s,f nrreii;iotrb;zrurr fortoble perplexities. •■ What God hath cleanse" that call not thou common." The s^me I].' 110 OBEDIENCE. mighty Being Who originally commanded all created things to exist, can surely do with those things as He pleases, can make one vessel unto honor, while another, in human estimation pre- cisely similar, and just as worthy, remains dig- nified by no special notice, consecrated by no Divine selection. Abana and Pharpar were rivers of God's creation, equally with the Jordan, but the Divine will selected the Jordan as alone efficient for Naam^n's cleansing. And, through the pride of his heart, Naaman was in a fair way of missing the great blessing God had de- signed for him. Happily for him, he listened to wise counsel, and no doubt also submitted to the internal promptings of God's Holy Spirit. His was the pride of personal distinction, of high position, of attached patriotism. " Behold," said he. " I thought, he will surely come out to me. and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel "? In our day the pride of intellect seems to have become the besetting sin. All that does not commend itself at once to human reason is ooked upon with suspicion, is doubted, is reject- ed. Even the sacred revelation of God's will,— the Holy Bible, must be submitted to this test ; and so such portions of it as are not clearly OBEDIENCE. ill understood n,u«t be pronounced unhistorical • thl u^K '^<"='"^''«°'' "f the Divine word _ the world by wisdom knew not God." Clever d""e™Th: r"' "•'r'«'= ■"<'" <^onot2:; discern the things of God. Learainrr ;, not inspiration ; vigour of mind, „„d i^ufeness of mtellectual perception are no indications of a sp ntually discerned." Thus, through pride o^ mtellect, he very simplicity itself of the jos ° many. Fai h m a Savior, implicit trust in an atonement for sin are ideas too simple or too unreasonable for men of brilliant terlo? mind to receive. And were it not that'ThTBib e .teelt teaches us to expect such vain imaginations among men, we might be more seriously aWmed ior the foundations of the faith. " The preach |ng of the cross," writes S. Paul, (1 Cor f) ttt IS, the doctrine of the Atonement 'S» / .f that perish foolishness; but u„:^s^hl't': saved ,t ,s the power of God." For it is written (Is. XXIX, 14,) "I will destroy the wisdom o7tt! wise and will bring to nothig the undLlt ng of the prudent. Where is the wise, T.here For fir' l: :,:' "-^ •^■■'p"'*"- ^^ «•- « the foolishness of preachfn.toPl"^"!^'^' ''^ believe." Beside. ?h! i:i"/'A° '*^« "?«™ that -, — ■ ...„„ ui unusual mental ■i 112 OBEDIENCE. power and endowments might usefully reflect that salvation is not intended for such as he only, or chiefly ; for the vast majority of man- kind are not such as he, but rather are slenderly endowed mentally, uneducated, unrefined. And the wonderful love and condescension of God are strikingly manifested in that profound, that remarkable declaration of the Savior, " to the poor the Gospel is preached." Again, it may; be, that in cases where pride of intellect is not the chief obstacle to an undoubt- ing reception of the Gospel way of salvation, pride of heart may stand seriously in the way, and long hinder its victim from enjoying the comfort experienced by the true believer in Christ. People thus hindered may feel, (as Naa- man's servants imagined he felt,) that they must " do some great thing " towards securing salva- tion. They can hardly understand that what they have to do is simply to come to Christ that they may be saved. They want to take some step worthy of men, worthy of themselves, worthy at least of the ideal character with which they had fondly invested themselves. They would like to gain the kingdom of heaven ; but, unconsciously, undesignedly, they would do it in a way that would rather foster natural pride and love of self. But the gospel of Christ crushes at once all such emotions and desires. There must be no room for man to glory in ffffi ■ OBEDIENCE. 113 God's presence. Men may be ambitious, renown- ed, distinguished among their fellows, (as Naa- man was ) but before God they all sink to one common level, they are simply sinners, condemn- ed sinners. And to His terms of salvation they must submit if they would be saved at all Wpt ye be converted, and become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven ; " Whosoever shall not receive the Kin^- the'^eL"^'''^ ^' ^ ^'^^^' ''^'^^' ^'' '^^^^ "°* ^"*^^ But did I say they must submit ? Talk of a lost sinner submitting to be saved in a particular way ! Will a drowning man reject the prof- fered aid, because he does not like the way in which It is offered ? Will the scorching, suffo- cating being refuse to be taken from a burning house because his dignity is not sufficiently consulted m the mode of his rescue ? Ah t is it not a grievous slight to a merciful God to ques- tion for a moment the suitableness of His way of shewing mercy ? When He saith to us.-l Wash and be clean," shall we tu..i away with incredulity, or scorn ? When He reveals to lost man the opening of a " fountain for sin and un- cleanness ' and proclaims aloud, concerning Christ, there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby ye must be saved "' can men possibly stop to cavil at, or criticise the means ? Can dying sinners afford to run th« I 114 OBEDIENCE. risk of missing heaven, because they cannot logically trace out cause and effect in the mode of proceeding; or because they think some mode more acceptable to themselves might have been devised ? Happy they to whom the Holy Spirit suggests wiser and better thoughts. If thy Creator had placed before thee some brilliant achievement, by which thou mightest have won thy eternal safety, wouldest thou not have done It ? How much rather then, when He saith to thee,— Wash and be clean ? Let thy God, thy Savior have all the glory of thy redemption ; humble thyself, suppress, extinguish thy pride, thy pride of intellect, thy cherished pride of heart; acknowledge thyself utterly unworthy to gain, to deserve heaven; see thy folly, thy weakness, thy sin ; and flee gladly, anxiously to thy Savior; that, clinging to Him, thou mayest escape the damnation of hell ; covering thyself with His righteousness, thy wickedness may not appear; washing thy defiled garments in His atonmg, cleansing blood, they may be found, at the awful day of omniscient scrutiny, a clean weddmg-robe, fit for a guest in the palace of the Great King. " Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty not many noble are called ; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things OBEDIENCE. 116 of the world to confound the things which are ness and sanctification, and redemptrof Z" according as it is written, he that glorieih ,^1' him glory in the Lord." K'onetn, Jet P '. • m^ i TRUTHFULNESS. immsLA St. John's Church, Oromocto, Oct. 7th, 1877. "Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor. "— Ephesians iv, 25. I cannot do better, in addressing you to-day, than to recall your attention to the portion of holy Scripture that has been already read as the Epistle for the day ; abounding as it does in most valuable advice, and in very earnest exhortations to a holy, moral, and religious life. The writer of it was eminently a spiritual man, — a man of fervent love to Christ, a man of continued, almost unceasing prayer. His letters, as you will notice, are full of Christ. He never wearied in holding up to the view of needy sinners Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Savior. " I determined," he writes to the Corinthians, " not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified "; and to the Galatians,— " God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Yet even he, so devoted, so prayerful, so anxious for the souls for whom Christ died, does not forget to press upon his TKUTHrULKESS. Jj; readers the urgent necessity of a strict regard to moral conduct; he does not think it super- fluous to descend to minute particula.^ in enjoin- ing plam, everyday moral duties. Evidently according to S. Paul's view and practice, thefe' .s more to be taught to Christian converts than doctrinal points, and a consistent system of divinity. No doubt it would have seemed to him a very imperfect religion, had anyone taught, or received as sufficient, the great truths of the Christian faith, or the manifest duty of giving up the heart to God; without dwelHng also, with no less frequency, upon the need of r«]ucing to practice all that was learned, and without carrying out carefully, in common life the precepts and the spirit of that faith .ST'fr^'^°" '' "' *''" "*■"»' importance ; and the daily cultivation and manifestation of a hoy Christian temper and disposition cannot, without great danger to the soul, be neglected As S. James argues, in reference to almsgiving what use IS it for a person to say to the needy and eutfering,-" Be ye warmed and filled," and yet to give them neither foo« bright and distmgmshing attributes of the Divine char acter and we can readily understand that a m,nd trained by long practice in untruthWneas and deception, must be utterly unable to know God, and unfit to dwell in God's blessed pre sence And if this be a chosen attribute of God It will appear conspicuously in the character of now th :Tk' '"'■ "^y "'" '*'«'"'''« Him even • When He sh'^:, ""^ "^ '"'^ H"» hereafter. When He shall appear we shall be like Him • filr'^ 7" *"' ^"'^ ""« ""^P^ i° Him puri.' a duty towards God, strict truthfulness is due to oar fellow creatures, both that thev mav Jl™ 122 TRUTHFULNESS. ua, and may have comfort and Hatisfaction in the society around them : for all confidence would be destroyed if deception were a general character- istic. As Christiana associating together we owe, each to every other individual, the most careful observance of truthfulness and honor: and we notice that the Apostle presaes his ex- hortation upon the Ephesians, upon this particu- lar ground, — ' putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are mem- bers one of another." The mutual respect and regard that all Christians should feel one towards another, require that no member of the body should attempt to deceive another, or should do or say anything to weaken the perfect trust and confidence of the general society. If we lose confidence in one another, as Christian believers, all real comfort is gone, and one of the brightest and most attractive traits of a Christian com- munity is taken away. " As ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ": and as we ourselves would not wish to be deceived or misled in any matter, so should we take care that in no particular we mislead others, either by direct or indirect falsehood, by evasion, by insinuation, by dissimulation, by misrepresenta- tion, by assuming excellences that we do not possess or practise ; or by pretending to be, in character, position, wealth or infiuence, what we are not. When tempted to any of these things, i p" TRT'THFULNESS. 123 let U8 bear in miud that even if successful in imposing upon those around us. we cannot pos- sibly deceive our Maker, we cannot hide our real character from Him. and we are incurring His severe displeasure ; for He is eminently " a God I have omitted to speak in the proper order, of other phases of untruthfulness, n.t necessarily confined to dishonest minds, or by all ChristiauB considered culpable. One is the practice, not uncommon, it is said, in fashionable society, of declining to see a visitor upon the plea that the person enquired for is "not at home." when in reality that person is at home. Now. although It IS argued that here is no deception, because the meaning of the phrase is understood by all and because it is not taken to mean what it implies htorally ; yet. if this be so, why use such a phrase at all in such a ca«e, when some other of unquestionable propriety, might as well be used? But further, who can tell how great an injury may be done in this way to uneducated servants, and possibly to those servants brought up at home with strict regard to truth, if they are compelled by their employers to utter words positively untrue? And supposing also such statements are made in the hearing of children how strange must it seem to them, how perplex- ed must their minds become, and how confused their Ideas of truth ! And is it needless to enter i 124 TRUTHFULNESS. into particulars regarding the conduct of parents in presence of their children, and to caution them against doing, or saying anything that may by possibility have a bad effect upon j'oung minds ? Some parents, in order to quiet a troublesome child, will threaten it with some imaginary enemy in another room, some unseen power about to seize and punish it. Now this is not right. It is stating what is false : and it can only tend to educate the child to do a similar thing, when anything is to be gt ed by falsehood. Again, one sometimes hears a parent, who wishes to get a noisy and importunate little one out of the room, deliberately tell it that some one wants it, up stairs or in the kitchen, when in truth nothing of the kind is the case, and when the weak device is a pure invention. Surely this is a dangerous expedient, and that child, (to whose disposition falsehood is but too natural,) is being taught that a convenient misstatement is not so very objectionable. It may seem that these are small failings, and that the danger is chiefly imaginary. But when we consider how very tenacious early impressions are, and at what a very tender age some children are capable of reasoning intelligently, and of drawing infer- ences, more or less correct, from what they hear, parents, and all who have the care of children, cannot be too watchful over their words and actions, lest, in any degree, they injure the moral TRUTHFULNESS. 125 sense of the little ones. No character is higher, no standing more admirable and influential t|mn' that of the Christian who scorns to tell an uh- truth, and is universally regarded as one whose word can be unhesitatingly relied upon, "whose word," as the business phrase goes, " is as good as his bond." The Psalmist, glowing with the contemplation of the just and honorable and truthful man exclaims,—" Lord, who shall dwell in Thy taber- nacle ; or who shall rest upon Thy holy hill"? And immediately answers,— " Even he that leadeth an uncorrupt life: and doeth the thing that is right, and speaketh the truth from his heart. He that hath used no deceit in his tongue nor done evil to his neighbor, and hath not slan- dered his neighbor.— He that sweareth unto his neighbor, and disappointeth him not, though it were to his own hindrance.— Whoso doeth these things shall never fall." S. Peter thus exhorts,- Jnl^'^S ^P^^^' ^^.^ ^'"^ «P^^k »« the oracles ot bod. Several other points of moral duty and moral wrong-doing, are touched upon by S Paul m the Epistle for to-day: but these I must eave for your own private study, my brethren ; trusting that no one, who calls himself a believer and a Christian will neglect to read and to study God 8 holy word.-those Scriptures that are able to make us wise unto salvation. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinner^ "—from eternal death and from the present po -er and influence of sin. ^ REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. Church of the Aac.emion, Studholm, March 22nd, 1869. " Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; Lord hear iny voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of mv supplications. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O if'r^r^'' ^^*" ^**,"'*- ^"*^ *here is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do 1 hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hoM in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."— Psalm cxxx. This Psalm, which is the sixth of those called Penitential, may furnish us with many thoughts, upon which we may with profit to our souls meditate at all times : and as the season of Lent is set apart by the Church to call her members to humble themselves before God on account of their sins, to confess, to repent, and to pray earnestly for pardon, this Psalm would seem to be admirably adapted to the season, (as indeed are all the seven,) and may, by God's grace, be blessed to our spiritual good. But let us come to the consideration of it, not in a mere formal way, and just because the voice REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. 127 Of the Churxih or that of her minister suggests that pe„,tenfal thoughts are specially sufable at th.8 season. Rather should we be at all times and in consequence of our daily reflections upon the sad smtulness of our nature and our practice in such a frame of mind aa will make these and similar expressions of deep penitence seem just suited to our feelings, a. though they were' he spontaneous utterances of our hearts Yet be- cause, in the case of most of us, (let us hope of every one ot us here present today,) there is upon our consciences no great or flagrant sin, hum- bling us in the very dust, and forcing us to feel IZ "'I'r "^ "" "«'''-' our^eavenTy Father, and how richly deserving His wrath and condemnation : and because persons so situated, and leading quiet, reputable, perhaps verv busy -ives are apt, as we well know, to forget how .nftnitely holy and good is the graciou^ Being who created us for Himself. Who preserves us and bestows upon us daily, numberless and great favors ; and how very imperfect at the best, how tinctured with evil, how cold and ungrate ulT the service, (if such it may be called.) which we we V' u" '"'" •■ " '^ "' ^'-* -Portanc tha we shouH now and again, (and the oftener the brought to humble our^lves deeply in His sight W whom every little sin is in reality anl> of rebeUion, and every day passed in foV^ff,.!. ■ '' W- •'l\i 128 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. ness of Him is a day at least of sinful ingrati- tude and self-pleasing. Let me, therefore, entreat you, brethren, not only to give earnest heed to the things which you hear in this sacred house concerning your everlasting welfare, but to carry home with you serious thoughts, and a real desire to make avail- able for your own individual good the teaching of your Church and of your minister at this solemn season. Examine well and faithfully the state of your hearts ; see if you know anything by experience of that deep contrition and sorrow for sin, to which the Bible so often alludes as though it were the expected and invariable ex- perience of all believers, certainly of all sinners. Ask yourselves whether you really feel any reason why Christ should be precious to you; whether you have so thought of God, and of His unspeakable holiness on the one hand, and of your own great unworthiness on the other, as to become alarmingly aware how utterly impossible it must be that you should ever be admitted into His presence in heaven, unless you can in some way obtain His forgiveness. Have you earnestly studied the Divine Word to discover whether you can be forgiven, and how ? Have you deeply meditated upon those statements in it which declare the universal depravity of the human race, — that " there is none that doeth good ; no, not one?" Have you thought, again, of the REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. 129 awfulness of that sentence " the soul that sinneth t shall die ; or that " by the deeds of the law " (I. e m effect, by our own righteousness.) " there shall no flesh be justified ?" And if you have seriously thought of these things, have you not telt that you must cry out with the Psalmist.-^ It Ihou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities. O Lord who shall stand "? or. as it is rendered in th. Prayer Book version.-" if Thou. Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss. O Lord who may aWde it T But be assured that no one 18 likely to have any correct idea of the sinful- ness of even an ordinary careless life, and of the distance at which such a life keeps a man from God, and from the hope of salvation, unless he be really m earnest about his soul, and unless. through the precious influence of God the Holy Spirit, he be made to understand what manner of spint he 18 of. « When He is come." said our b essed Lord, " He shall reprove the world of sin of righteousness, and of judgment." It was' through such influence, and by means of such serious reflection, self-communing, and self-con- demnation, that the Psalmist was led to feel as deeply as his words indicato,-" Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee. O Lord " No mere superficial impression of the heinousness of sm could have suggestod to him that word — out of the depths." It was surely an over- whelming sense of unworthin^ao ;« n^^'^ _.• _i. ^ !!i i ii 130 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. f a real, and almost crushing, feeling of spiritual depression that forced him thus to bemoan his sin, as though he were loaded down with self- accusation, and hidden and buried, almost from the sight of God Himself, beneath the deep waters of guiltiness. Under a similar depres- sion and disquiet of soul, h3 elsewhere exclaims, —"all xhy waves and Thy billows are gone over me." Yet from such depths of despondency and wretchedness, he cried earnestly to God,— "Lord, hear my voice ; let Thine ears be atten- tive to the voice of my supplication.^." He still had faith, though no goodness; trust in God's goodness and love was still left, after all confi- dence in himself was utterly gone. And it is when self -complacency is entirely extinguished in the sinner h breast, that he is prepared to come to God in that meek and contrite spirit which is so acceptable to Him. Then it is that he begins to understand the need and the indescribable preciousness of a Savior,— of One who is right- eous, and can stand before the Father, and plead His righteousness, and intercede for those who have no goodness to offer in propitiation of the Divine anger. When sunk in the depths of despondency and self-accusation, alarmed at the full conviction of God's infinite holiness and jus- tice, and of His plainly denounced indignation against sinners; how grateful, how precious to the convicted sinner to be told,— to believe,— t REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. , 131 that "there is forgiveness with" God i It is ".ore ahuost, than he dare hope for, n.ore fa more he feels than he deserves Ani whe„ he learns how it is that there is forgiveness with God - he, the Divine word itself assures hi™ wi^h.K n "r" ''"■ ^^ '"™ «» "dvocate w.th the Father, Jesas Christ the righteous, and He .s the propitiation for our sins," fhen he feels hea t f"'.r T "°"' ^°°"S'' ■■° 'he human heart for the love of Jesus, that eternity is mdeed needed fV the full and satisfying ex " There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou TuXl'iiifr'.-: '^'^ "-^ of "an ^z surely be failed with awe and with fear when con emplating the wonderful nature of the Divine Bei„g,-infinite in all His attribuLs,t H greatness and glory, in His holiness, in kis fo hi/'' '"'"*^ "'^^ '" S'*' P"y ""d love for those who were only unholy, and altogether not fear to offend One who loves our race with such a wonder%l love ? The very mystery of Dmne pardon, through, as we know, the in^ carnation suffering and death of God's own Son may well impress us with » holy fear of the' incomprehensible nature of Him who could make reconeihation possible. We mi^ht d„=„.„* .! r5 "--.riiu OiW i ■ ff' 132 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. large upon the love in return for all this which should fill the heart of every lost child of Adam, —lost, yet found ;— a slave of Satan, yet forever ransomed ; dead through Adam, dead in sin ; yet new-born to righteousness and everlasting hap- piness, alive for eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord. But the Psalmist speaks here of the " fear" of God,— a fear such as even Christ's redeemed people may feel, and indeed shou'd feel, lest, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we should presume upon the infinite love, conij.a8sion and condescension of our God and bavior, and should grow confident and familiar, as though He were as ourselves; and should so address Him, or speak of Him, in an unbecoming manner. Our love and filial confidence, as ransomed sinners and adopted children of God, should ever be tempered, purified and refined, with a holy and humble fear. See how faithfully and thought- fully our Church keeps her members in mind of this, as of all needful truth and doctrine, when she directs us to pray in the Litany,—" that it may please Thee to give us an heart to love and dread Thee." "There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared." . " I wait for the Lord," says the Psalmist, " my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope." It would appear that notwithstanding his deep penitence, his unreserved acknowledgment of my BEPENTANCE AND PORGIVEy^d. 133 Sinfulness, and hi« faith and confidence in God in the m.d8t of the deepest depre«sion. the Psalmi,, was not at cnce relieved or comforted in his m1 f^°';,";'^;,'° ^^'^ '° «"y ^^^iWe way that h^s offended Maker had heard his cries for pLon, «a.ting, of endurance under difficulties and dis- couragements was thought good and necessary for h.m H,s ta,th must be tried and proved, and made stronger by the trial. He must wail the Lords time. And with what yearning desire with what earnest longing he did endure and wait >s manifested in the repeated and truly humble declarations in this verse ^ "I wait for the Lord." He does not speak as one who had any right to expect an early though God were under any obligation to grant h.m peace and comfort at once. He fully be- ■eves •■ there is forgiveness with God"; but he leels, no doubt, so unworthy of that forgiveness as not to presume in thought to limit the time at which Divine wisdom and love will see fit to act He ,s content to wait, if only in the end, and in God s good time, he shall be forgiven and comfortod in his spirit How ea^est. T wTlt as humble he was, is seen by the reitoi^tion of his declaration, and by the torms he uses "I wait for the Lord; my soul doth wait" This was a matter in which the whole .n..,:.. „, u:! 134 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. I ! VifT 3- being was employed : his greatest,— his eternal interests were at stake. He did not merely he- lieve, as with the mind only, that the Most High would act just when He pleased, that He must know best, and would of course do what was right; and that he must of necessity await God's tmie. He is too much in earnest, too anxious about his soul to feel only thus. All this he well knows ; but his soul is aroused, and he con- tinues to cry with the utmost fervor for pardon, he ceases not to besiege the throne of mercy, his soul waits in hope and longing for God's answer. But why does he thus persevere, what en- courages him to hope or expect that God will, at some time or another, hear him and grant his urgent requests ? It was that which we all have to cheer and sustain us in all difficulties and dis- couragements ; and which will never fail Gentile or Jew. He relied upon God's promises :— " in His word do I hope." Long before the Psalmist's day, and for the express comfort and encourage- ment of those who should be in any distress of mind because of their sinfulness, God had graciously proclaimed Himself, through His servant Moses, as " merciful and gracious, long- suffering, abundant in goodness and truth ; keep- ing mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." And upon this, or upon other similar assurances of the Divine REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. 135 wr»rd, the PsaliT.ist implicitly relied. " I„ His word do I hope." Our faith our trust in God, our reliance upon H.8 word, .should surely not be less, but rati much stronger than the Psalmist's. God has truth, surely not be less, but rather „- -an the Psalmist's. God has, in given unto us exceeding great and pre- Clous promises," (as the Apostle speaks.) He has promised us reconciliation through the blood ot H.S Son Jesus Christ; forgiveness of sin • acceptance in His beloved; victory over sin; a' wonderful and glorious triumph over death and the grave; and finally an eternal life of holiness and perfect enjoyn-ent in His presence. And a^ tiie Apostle declares, ''all the promises of God m Him are yea, and in Him Amen." And " He that spared not His own Son. bu„ delivered Him up tor us all, how shall He not with Him also freely gn;e us all things"? Without a doubt, He IS faithful that promised." But often we must learn to wait. This is deemed by Infinite Wisdom a valuable discipline for our souls. It draws out, and exercises our faith ; proves the reality of our belief in God and His revealed word; is honoring to Him. as It IS evidence of strong love and deep humility in ourselves. So, if we have striven long in prayer to draw nigh to God, and to draw down spiritual blessings upon our souls; if we have perseveringly used* all Divine ordinances, and helps to the 8oul,-public worship. RnUr n. :mm i M 136 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. munion, fastinpr, self-denial of other kinds, active charity, self-sacrifice, and yet have failed to experience ail the internal comfort and joy we thought we should obtain, let us not be discour- aged. In the days of His sojourn in the flesh among men, the blessed Savior allowed a poor woman, who had faith, charity, hun.ility and great love in her heart, to follow Him with her prayers and entreaties, and "made as though He heard her hot"; then, actually spake words of great discouragement, and apparent disdain,— " it is not meet to take the children's brekd, and to cast it to dogs." Yet in the end, and because she persevered, and so, manifested strong faith, Fe granted the utmost that she asked; and with His Divine lips spoke such gracious words of commendation, and of power, as these,— " woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt." Thus all the while the earnest, striving Christian is receiving blessings, though he knows it not,— spiritual strength gradually imparted,— the world's hold of his heart surely, though impereoptibly, diminishing, —and the heart of Jesus yearning more and more (if I may so say with all reverence,) to receive and embrace him, and to gather the wandering sheep into His heavenly fold. " Wait, then, I say, on the Lord "; let your soul hang upon His promises ; trust implicitly in His word. "My soul waiteth for the Lord," says the REPENTANCE AND FOIIGIVENESS. 137 Psahnist, "more than they that watch for the n,or„,„^: I „„,, j,,^„ "-y that wa^h ior the monung." ..The repetitions here." saya B. op Home, "do beautifully expre»« tha ardent demre. wh.ch the contrite soul hath for • sL: 7 r "'■ ""'■ ""'■ ""■"■""'"'•■■ •- "'J''" seems to have fj.ven the true construction of th,s verse,- My soul to the Lord: i. e. riseth co^eth or hastenoth to the Lord, from the n.orn mg watehes. ,. e. tron. the tin,e when they hasten to the,r watches; in other words, the gua d every morn.ng that hasten to their wttcheV to God. Who these watches or guards of the morning are is best expressed thus: They that observe the morning watches, that the/ may wWch "*.""™"^ """"^ ^- "- priests, which ,n the,r turn officiate.. ; or rather some officers ot the.rs, which were peculiarly appoint! ea trom a tower to evn^of ih^ a i. "'ci w expect the first apDearanpA at::: ch 'T ^'"' ^^•'-■"-tnerrdrth ancent Church expect the appearance of that daysprmg from on high, which was, in the ful- ness of time, to visit the world " And shall not the penitent and believing Chris- tian gladly devote the earliest moments of waking consciousness each morning to " thoughts of God and things Divine "> Will not the g^teful a,^ lovmg spirit then dutifully « rise " to the Lorf and "hasten" at once into His ore..»nee tT.' f{ f ! f 138 REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. the acceptable offering of prayer, praise and thanksgiving ? It is a blessed thing to devote our first and earliest thoughts each day to God. Soon it will become a habit; and will have a sanctifying effect upon succeeding hours, chasten- ing and hallowing the thoughts that follow, and spreading a salutary and Christian influence over the whole day. And shall not God's priests, at least, present to their Lord this worthy offering, as the bright- ening dawn heralds the rising of the sun ? But ye, brethren, " are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkneas into His marvellons light." Let us anticipate worldly thoughts by heavenly : let us ever place that first in time, which is so unspeakably more important than all earthly thoughts, plans or engagements. Betimes in the morning, and all through the day, let us wait on the Lord for pardon, for grace, for spiritual light and strength, and for an answer to our prayers. And may " the Lord direct our hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." \ THE GOOD SHEPHERD. St. John's Church, Oromocto, May 7th, 1871. "The Lord is my Shepherd; therefore can I lack nothing." —Psalm xxiii, 1. At the time when this Psalm was written David was probably the Sovereign of a great nation. He was, by the grace of God, by special Divme selection, King over the chosen people of Israel. His fame must have been widely spread abroad as a brave and fearless man, a successful leader of armies, a victorious general, a great and mighty conqueror. How pleasing to find the mind of such a man so deeply imbued with the spirit of earnest piety, as his must have been, who could compose such a treasure of devotional thought as is to be found in the Book of Psalms And to read in the writings of a great, renowned and powerful king, not a record of the exciting scenes through which he had, in his day, passed ; nor of the many important and glorious victories he had achieved in war ; nor of his own individual deeds of surpassing bravery and strength ; but onlv a simnlA Aiaw oa ',4- w,.. 111 'J > Uggiee SE^ 140 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. lit [ i i I fp % ■ "J w if- k 1 iB^^B 1 1 fl^Hn tl ! 'I'i the longings, the fears and hopes of his soul :— confessions, (the most full and out-spoken.) of his weakness and unworthiness in the sieht of Ood; words of deepest penitence and remorse for his sins, and earnest prayers for Divine guidance and guardianship ; cannot but be sug- gestive of many valuable and edifying reflec- tions. King David's mind must have been eminently strong, vigorous and self-reliant,— able to cope successfully with difficulty and danger; his position had accustomed him to command, and no doubt also to the lavish flattery and admira- tion of those about him. Yet he is not, by all this, led to imagine himself more than human, nor is he betrayed into a feeling of indepen- dence of a Higher Power. Without a doubt God's grace, God's all-powerful grace, made him what he was; and the Divine Spirit filled his soul with the love and the fear of God. In the midst of all his glory and greatness he could write,— "The Lord is my Shepherd." It was natural that such an illustration should suggest itself to the mind of the Psalmist; for though a king he had not been always in such an exalted position ; he sprang from no royal stock. As a youth he had himself followed the lowly occu- pation of a shepherd. David kept his father's sheep. And, while in that unpretending walk of life he was selected by God's secret counsel THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 141 for his future high position. '« He chose David also his servant; and took him away from the sheep-folds. As he was following the ewes great with young ones, He took him ; that he might feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inherit- ance. Perhaps the thoughtful mind of the young shepherd had led him, in those days of quiet pastoral life, to reflect much upon God, and His goodness; upon man, and his feebleness, folly and ultimate destiny, .uid, as he led his trust- ing floek hither and thither where the best pas- turage could be found, he may have thought of the Divme care a^ > T -ovidence so strikingly dis- played, when of . ., dme the progenitors of his nation were miraculously guided and provided for as they wandered through the wilderness forty years ; and so of God's care of him individ- ually. And now, in his days of grandeur and power, his thoughts revert to the lowly employ- ment of his youth, and to the peaceful, innocent ife m the fields. " The Lord is my Shepherd therefore can I lack nothing." No doubt the illustration here used may have been suggested directly to the mind of the Psalmist by the Divine Spirit; for it is one very often used in the Bible; and seems to have been deemed by Divine wisdom peculiarly suitable to express the connection which God has con- descended to establish between Himself and His people. In Jeremiah xxxi 10 ih^ t i — xi. [■I it'll 142 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. " Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, and declare it in the ieJes afar off; and say,— He that scattereth Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock." Of the Messiah yet to come,— the Son of God,— Isaiah (xl, 11) declares,—" He shall feed his flock like a shep- herd ; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." In the New Testament also, and with the most direct reference to the office of the Savior, is this same striking metaphor used. "I am the Good Shepherd," said our Lord, " the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." " I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine." And what illustration, taken from the employ- ments in which men are engaged, could have been selected, more expressive of tenderness, care, protection, guidance and watchfulness? How comforting the truth that God desires thus to be thought of by us ; that the Savior Himself chose this very figure to convey to our hearts, the depth of His interest in us, His constant care over His people, and to lead us to trust in His protecting arm ' " The Lord is my Shepherd ; therefore can I lack nothing." A human shepherd, however strong his interest in the well-being of his flock ; however anxious that no harm should happen to them ; may not always have it in his power THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 143 to procure for them abundant sustenance, or to provide sufficient and timely shelter The drought comes, and the great heat of summer parches up and withers the already scanty herb- age; so that, let the shepherd lead his sheep where he will, they grow weak, and languish, through lack of sufficient food. Or. at another season, the mountain storm sweeps down with bitter cold and blinding snow, and on the bleak hill-sides no shelter can be found, nor could the strongest and most active shepherd now erect any structure to shelter the chilled and suffering sheep. Or, the troop of famishing wolves sud- denly rushes upon the fold ; and one man's arm however strong, one heart however brave cannot wholly protect the flock. He may. because he is a good shepherd, risk his life as David did. or even give his life for the sheep ; but some of them also perish. No human foresight, vigilance or care can, at all times, and in all emergencies, effect-' ually succor and defend the helpless flock Not 80 with our Heavenly Father,-the Great and Good Shepherd of His trusting people. Not so with our dear Lord, who indeed gave his life for the sheep, but by that sacrifice saved them all » He is all-powerful, and can defend His people against myriads of foes; ever-watchful, so that the most treaxjherous and subtle enemy cannot steal unawares into the fold ; with stores, bound- less and inexhaustible. He is always premred to 144 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. feed and sustain His flock ; and when the storm arises, and threatens devastation and destruction, the unseen shield is interposed, or the Divine voice of power says to the raging elements,— " Peace, be still." Most truly, and confidently can the Christian say,— "The Lord is my Shep- herd ; therefore can I lack nothing," But is it so ? Do God's people, do the servants and disciples of the Lord Jesus, never lack any- thing ? We cannot affirm that, as regards that which is needful for the body, this is the case. Many very devoted believers have, in all ages of the world, been placed in circumstances of pov- erty and privation. And their belief in God, their efforts to serve Him, and to lead holy lives have not materially altered their condition; although, in many undoubted instances we read that when they really trust in God He does not permit them to perish, but, in time of greatest need, has often sent, in a most unlooked-for manner, timely supplies of both food and rai- ment. Still, no doubt many sincere and humble Christians, in large and overcrowded cities especially, are but scantily provided with the necessaries of life, and really suffer from hunger, cold and nakedness. Can such persons, it nay be asked, use the words of the text,—" The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing "? In the highest sense, our God is the Shepherd of souls ; and that which is needful for the life, THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 145 the health, the comfort of the soul, He will assuredly supply. As regards the body, its grati- hcation. Its comfort even, its protection, are comparatively unimportant ; indeed it may often be that a man's highest and everlasting interests require that his bodily wants should not be all supplied. In such circumstances he is almost torcea to seek comfort of a different kind ; the wor d presents so few attractions that it is not ikely to steal away his heart from God; and this hte has in it so little to compare with the perfect happiness of the life to come, that his thoughts must often dwell with pleasurable anticipation upon the joy« in store for God's people m the world above. The experience of real believers has undoubtedly shewn that even the greatest privations could not make their ives unhappy, or prevent them enjoying con- tinually "peace and joy in believing." That such was the case with some of the earliest fol- owers of the Lord Jesus Christ we learn from the records that have come down to our time of their sufferings and their joys; of their deep poverty m a worldly sense, and of the riches of Divine grace abundantly imparted to them ; so that the one gave them no concern, caused them no grief or unhappiness, while the other were telt to be an abundant compensation In the inspired word we have S. Paul's state- ment of what befell himself, and of wh«f. hJo 11 I' . .., i 'I s 146 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. feelings were when called to endure great priva- tions and sufferings. "In weariness," he says, " and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and naked- ness "; and yet " as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing ; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." And at a time when he was fully assured thai only bonds and afflictipns awaited him, he cheerfully and resolutely writes to his friends,—" none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." So that we see how inde- pendent of external circumstances is the soul that is tilled with the love of God; and how sincerely and honestly a suffering Christian could make use of the Psalmist's words,—" The Lord is my Shepherd ; therefore can I lack nothing." When the soul is at peace with God, the believer is enabled patiently to endure bodily discomfort and distress; yea, (in the sense in which the Apostle us^s the expression,) he can even " glory in tribulauon," knowing that " tribu- lation worketh patien* e, and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." And although he be not prosperous THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 147 in his worldly circumstances, though sickness and suffering be his lot, though bereavements be even multiplied upon his house, his faith will not be shaken ; nor will he lose his trust in the Great and Good Shepherd of souls, who has promised to be his Guardian and Guide "Be- hold, happy is the man whom God correcteth ; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty ; for He maketh sore, and bindeth up • He woundeth. and His hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles ; yea. in seven there shall no evil touch thee." "Who shall separate us," asks the Apostle, "from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or per- secution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us " *K 7 *^^,^^^«* «^ *h« greatest suffering and want that God 8 people are ever called upon to endure He will make His presence felt, and will sustain and feed the soul, though the body languish and decay. And how abundant is the supply of spiritual nourishment which God has provided for the souls of His people ! How many the sources from which it may be derived ! First there is the Divine word, in which are rich and abounding stores of food for the soul of man • and no one who comes, in earnest faith, to that great store-house will go empty away. This is iiKB the tood sent miramilnush' ^-- **>- t i.-x 148 THE GOOD SHEPHERD. ' !lti!i; III iili .i.«' to feed them in the wilderness. It is God's gift ; it is sent from heaven. Then there is the visible Church of Christ, continually offering to lend needy souls to the waiting Savior. There are sacred days, Sundays and holy days, reminding men of the love and bounty of the Good Shep- herd, who is never weary in providing needful spiritual help. There is also the counsel and the company of earne^st Christian friends, who are, by God's grace walking in the same heavenward path ; and who are thus, (though often silently, yet really) a help to each other. Above all the Holy Spirit's constant sanctify- ing influence. And there is the blessed Sacra- ment of the Body and Blood of the Lord, which the Church is authorized to offer continually to her members; and to which Christ's ministers affectionately and earnestly invite us. In that Sacrament we partake spiritually of the flesh and blood of the crucified Redeemer. " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com- munion of the blood of Christ; the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ "? " I am the living Bread," said our Savior, " that came down from heaven ; if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever ; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." Fitly then does the Church in her exhortation speak of this communing as "so Divine and comfortable a THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 149 thing to them that receive it worthily "• and heartily and earnestly may penitent and humble recipients join in the subsequent thunksKivin^- •we most heartily thank Thee, for that Thou dost vouchsafe to feed us, who have duly re- ceived these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of Thv Son our Savior Jesus Christ." When, therefore in addition to all the many ordinary helps and assistances in our heavenward journey that our bounteous Father has provided. He has conde- 8cended to feed our souls with this holy food • and has provided that it shall never fail ; ouirht we not thankfully to exclaim,-" The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing"? And If God 8 bounty has provided everything that our souls can need or require to bring them to the heavenly rest, a, J to sustain the Divine lite in them, how inexcusable are they who in the midst of this abundance, suffer their souls to starve and die. What more could have been done for them? All has been provided by the Good Shepherd, yet men most unthankfully neglect to use that which He offers Having beloved brethren, been early admitted mto the sheep-fold of Christ in Baptism, having m Confirmation, placed ourselves under His care and ^ardianship ; having had, since, ample proof that His arm has shielded us in many dangers, that His ever- watchful eve ha« " -^ « ' 6V<^ hflja r1iaA<^.»^„J £• xur us 160 THE OOOD SHEPHERD. the approach of temptation, and His blessed Spirit has warned, and effectually assisted us; having been made partakers of the richness of His grar and of the heavenly food in the Holy Sacrament; lot us be more and more watchful lest we f.ill away from grace given ; let us follow scrupulously the leading of our Divine Shepherd and Guide; let us, by daily prayer and com- munion with Him, keep close to Him. and under His all-powerful protection. Then, though the prowling wolf seek our destruction, though the vile adversary, "as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom he may devour," we shall " be saved, and go in, and out, and find pasture "; and when we come to pass "through the valley of the shadow of death " we will fear no evil ; for Thou art with us ; Thy rod and Thy staff will comfort us. FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericta., Cn, Sua 1888. of the Lord. "-Psalm iSxiiTSf '°'*'" *"'" '*^^ '^^^"''^ rpJ? *^'l fij^ble version of this Psalm the word read instead of "dwellings" is "tabernacles"; and It the Psalm was composed by one of th« eons of Korah before tl.e tiL of Kfng Solon that word •■ tabernacles " would very accuratel v de^nbe the kind of dwelling in whlh Go^t ^s pleaded to manifest His Presence among the Jews in the earlier part of their history : and in or rather around which, that people assembled' for D,v,ne worship. No sooner had the Jews been delivered from the bondage of Egj-pt Td become an independent people^ than Uod who had long before chosen them, in their forefather Abraham, to be His peculiar people, m^e arrangements for a settled Church Ltabli hment among them, and for the regular, orderly, stated wo«h,p of Himself. Unsettled as yet in any land, and having many years of a wanderine life H 152 PREDERICTON CATHEDRAL, to lead before they could be established in the country God had chosen for them, they could not well build a permanent, immovable struc- ture for Divine worship. By God's directions, therefore, given through Moses,— the political, rather than the ecclesiastical head of the nation! they were instructed to provide a tabernacle, or large movable tent, in which the public services of the Church might be performed, and which could be taken jdown, and carried with them wherever they went. When we read, as we may in the book of Exodus, the very particular and minute direc- tions God was pleased to give, for the proper construction of all parts of the tabernacle and of everything to be used in it for the due celebra- tion of Divine worship; when we notice the richness of material, the brightness and beauty of coloring.-the blue, the purple, the scarlet, the fine-twined linen, we cannot but learn that, in God's estimation, these things were by no means unimportant. "Let them make Me a sanctuary " said God. " that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and t»ie pattern of all t;.e instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." And although the Apostle, (Hebrews viii.) points out the chief reason why Moses was 80 particularly enjoined to proceed in strict accordance with the instructions given him FBEDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 153 as well ^, the pnests of the sanctuary and the things lol tier and spiritual, of things, that is connected w.th the Great High Prfest of oir P otess,on, and with His wonderful work oJ A one^ent ,„d Saerrfiee, yet the devout tind w n, I think acquire from this narrative a deep TZZ ""^ ""P"'^"" ""'' '^^ »-^dness Almighty God, Indeed were there not some a-lverse prepossession or prejudice iu\TZ use of the beautiful and ornamental in the pubhc service of God's house, all earnest wor! shippers who read what is said in the Old Testament respecting the preparation of the or the temple m the days of KJnrr sj^i -UM fee. that nothing LuM u'l'; thTr' tells Tn'' "" "'"T' ""^""o" '° "- ex- ternals of Divine worship improper or hurtful ht ktnt'""'"' "f ""°° ' "-- """ which has kept ,n view, throughout, the great object of honoring and doing homage to God And .dea, formed m the mind and heart by a thorough God's 17' '"flr'^ "■•"' "- '-''-T "f Cbly be attained, m which the desire for orna- ■HI U '^. 14 154 FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 1 1 tii mentation will not run into excess, and in which that which was intended to assist the soul in the true worship of God shall not become a hindrance or a distraction. A devout and earnest heart will desire to have God's house so con- structed and ordered that the idea of worship will be at once presented to the mind the moment we enter it ; and that while man's needs are simply provided for in the arrangements the thought of Gpd's honor and glory may be always prominent. When we -read, in the book of Revelation b. John's glowing description of the beauty and magnificence of God's own dwelling place in which He has provided that redeemed souls iind bodies of men shall also dwell, we must surely feel that beauty and chaste decoration are not unsuitable for those earthly temples in which faithful souls now assemble for holy worship " Her light was like unto a stone most precious even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal,— and the City was pure gold like unto clear glass And the foundations of the wall of the City were garnished with all manner of precious 8tone8.~And the twelve gates were twelve pearls —And the street of the -ity was pure gold as It were transparent glass." Since, therefore' richness and beauty are spoken of, in the Divine' Word, as marked features in those blessed man- sions God has provided for His redeemed people FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 155 and Where is His own immediate Presence ; since by His express directions the best and choicest of materials and the brightest of colors were U, be used in the construction and decoration of the tabernacle; and since, by His permission, and guided by the suggestions of that wonderful wisdom He had imparted. King Solomon built such a magnificent temple to His honor, (of which God certainly approved,) we cannot sup- pose He will be displeased with any efforts we may make to adorn and beautify that house of prayer which we solemnly dedicate to His ser- vice, and to His service only, and in which we expect to ask Him to come down and meet His worshipping people. And as the mind of man 18 undoubtedly much affected at all times by outward things, it is surely most desirable that all that meets the eye. in the house of God should tend to solemnize the feelings, and to subdue, and drive away all common, worldly, or irivolous impressions. To you, my brethren, who have long had the Vivilege of worshipping in this beautiful Cathe- dral the line of argument I have been putting forward may seem somewhat superfluous ; a^ no one. probably, is disposed to question its sound- ness; and you have, (many of you all your lives long.) enjoyed the great advantage of being sur- rounded on every occasion when you came here to worship God, with admirablv - m '■ iVi pa 156 FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. and incentives towards the perfection of Chris- tian devotion. And these privileges you owe under the good Providence of God, to the zeal' the wisdom, the educated taste in Christian art' the hberality of the good Bishop, who has so long, and so faithfully presided over the Church in New Brunswick. I say, here, the liberality of the Bishop, for although he has never let it be known how much he did con- tribute to the building of this Cathedral from his own private purse, there can be no doubt whatever that, from first to last, from the pre- paration of the ground for the foundation to the crowning oi the spire with the sacred symbol of our redemption, the amount the Bishop gave must have been large. The generous hand that has been employed, during the past forty- three years, in helping forward all legitimate Church work, I may say in almost every one of the numerous Parishes in the Diocese, would scarcely be held back, even within the bounds of prudence, when so noble a work as this was m progress.-a work intended, and let us hope' surely destined, to show forth to this generation and to many generations to come, the honor and glory of God. May we not anticipate, (it is a great pleasure to think.) that these massive walls, so solidly built, so strongly, skilfully buttressed, and duly cared for from time to time, may stand, during FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. I57 W centuries to come, unbroken, uninjured, like thoseof th. stately and glorious Cathedrals of eld England ; and that within these walls, and beneath this lofty and massively timbered roof may be heard eight hundred years hence, a thousand years hence, the soul's pleadings, the glad thanksgivings, the melody of praise, in the very words we use now,-words of the grand Eng hsh tongue,_destined, it may be. to be the chief anguage of the civilized world, until the end of the world itself shall come. We would hke to think, too, that the Church people of J^redencton who may worship in this Cathedral a thousand years hence, may have learned, by tradition and history, the name of the largj- hearted Bishop, through whose influence and efforts their beautiful Church was originally erected, '^ But the good Bishop. I notice, with that humble repression of himself so characteristic of him. has not allowed it to appear on record that to him }! redericton owes its Cathedral. In an appendix published with his Charge to the Clergy delivered m the Cathedral the day after its conse- cration, (Sept. 1st, 1853) it is stated.-" The first impulse was given to the erection of this struc- ture by two old and zealous friends of the Bishop, who determined to present him with some memorial of their aff-ection and esteem. Inis leelmcr was oVioT-ori k,, „i.i ■, ., •^ ■■■" '^'j •^•vutJio, ctjaQ liie sum 168 FREI> JilCTON CATHEDRAL. gathered amounted to £1500 sterling, which was presented to his Lordship by his former Diocesan, who bade him faiewell in the presence of a large company, and presented him with a cheque for £1400 towards a Cathedral Church, or any other Church purposes." " The first im- pulse " no doubt was given, in a practical way. by the generous offeringy of the Bishop'p friend'. ; but, doubt ess. they knew what was in the' Bishop's heart, and «vhat he would much desire to accomplish, when he HK^iirl i^^mmx. ^he spiritual oversight of the newiy .--ded aeo of Fredericton It 18 evident, at leaBt. t>.a^ the original impulse towards the building of this Cathedral, and the first large and munificent donations of money vere given because of the very high respect and esteem in which the Bishop, while yet only a Pried', and Vicar of St. Thomas'. Exeter, was held by friends in England. After arriving in Fredericton the Bishop lost no time in bringing before the Churchpeople of this City and of the Diocese the project which he had so much at heart ; and I well remember being present at some of the earlier public meet- mgs in the Court House here, at which his Lordship, in the plain, simple, and yet very forcible language, of which he is so great a master, endeavored to enlist in support of hh plans the sympathy and the practical help of his audience. And none, I think, who were FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 159 present, could fail to admire the quiet dignity the .';alm, temperate language and the unobtru-' Bivi tirmneas of purpose, with which the Bishop mot, and disposed of sundry objections and dif- Acuities that from time to time presented them- selves, (for there were difficulties and objections at times threatening to become serious ones) respecting such questions as the site upon which the proposed Cathedral should be built, asd the removal of the old Parish Church, in ca«e the Cathedral should be built on the ground where It does stand. Objections so serious were made that, but for the great tirmness of purpose pos- sessed by the Bishop, this Cathedral might have been built elsewhere ; for in the midst of the discussions, an offer came from St. John of a commanding site for the Cathedral, and it was urged that as St. John was a far richer City than Fredericton, a much larger sum of money for the work of building could be obtained there The Bishop's argument, if I remember rightly seemed, in the end, to dispose of the matter, viz' that as the Queen, in her letters patent had given the name of the City of Fredericton to the Diocese, he thought that here should be the Bishop's residence, and here the Cathedral Church. In the end, through the good Providence of God, all difficulties were overcome, even the formidable difficulty of raising the large sum of IGO FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 't' 'i i tl I- J j money necessary to build, and properly to furn- ish such a beautiful Church as this. Money was subscribed in Fredericton and St. John, and I think in other parts of the Diocese. A large amount, no doubt, was obtained through the Bishop's friends in England. It is interesting to know, and should not be forgotten, that the magnificent East window was chiefly the gift of members of the Church in the United States. So that the congregation who worship here have always before their eyes a beautiful memento of the cordial relations existing between the two branches of Christ's holy Church, although poli- tical differences may occasionally threaten to disturb the happy harmony so long subsisting between the two peoples. Across the foot of the window are depicted the arms of the seven Dioceses, at that time established in British North America; and by this happy device a permanent record is kept, in this Cathedral, of the number of Sees existing in 1853, in what is now the Dominion of Canada ; and so an idea may at once be had, (suggesting most grateful reflections,) of the marvellous progress made by the Church on this side of the Atlantic, since the Cathedral was built. Then, (that is, thirty-five years ago,) there were seven Sees; now, by the good hand of our God upon us, there are eighteen. It has pleased God to spare to this time, and FREDERIOTON CATHEDRAL. 161 until he ha« attained to quite an advanced age the devoted Bishop, through whose efforts this Cathedral was built, and who laid its corner- stone ; and we shall shortly, with God's per- mission, have the pleasure of welcoming hini back to the Diocese he has served so long and oved so well. Most touching it is to read, in the report of his Lordship's remarks upon the occasion of his visit, a few weeks ago to S Augustine's College. Canterbury, his reference to his distant Diocese, to which he expected soon to return ; " for forty-three vears," said he " I have been at the head of the Church's work in • that Diocese ; I have never grown tired of the work ; and would not exchange my Diocese for any other in the world "; and then, looking far away, over the broad Atlantic, he addressed his beloved Diocese, as though it were within sound ot his voice, using those most touching words of Ruth,—" Where thou lodgest I will lodge • thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God • where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried ; the Lord do so to me, and more also if aught but death part thee and me." Justum'ac tenacem propositi virum. Can we find any where a more striking, more instructive ex- ample.-impersonation of that most valuable virtue of steadfastness of purpose than in the venerable Metropolitan of Canada, and Bishop of Fredericton ? ^ W^ id . til * If 162 FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. of the Bifihop, e. wi th re^aif One of the rnoHt cherish'^'' ; when first he came to ♦" ' , to the building of Ch'Aii^ea, weh that all sittings should be free ; and liiis principle, this arrange- ment, was entirely opposed to the practice and prejudices universally prevalent in tb* '^•y forty years ago, A very strong opposition to the Bishop's plan was felt throughout the Dio- cese generally. There was scarcely one free Church in all >ew Brunswick. But what is the case now ? ♦ Jhurchmen have come to recognize, almost to a man, that the Bishop was right; and few indeed, in this day, are our Churches in which pews are bought and sold. Again wisdom and steadfastness prevjiiled. This CH'heJral was built for God, and so are all our Churches now. Emphatic»lly is thifc sacred building " the house of God." Here the rich and poor meet togoiher, for the time on equal terms. This earthly sanc- tuary is a type, rather I .should sa^ . a reflection, a humble but true reflection of the Y aveniy home of God's elect, whe. Vbra^ am anr^ ^azaru(^ — the rich and powerful patriarch, and the once neglected beggar ; where Zo/*ehaeus, the wealthy collector, ;i,nd the poor widow whos. : whole earthly possessions were but two mites (one farthing,) shall together worship as pardoiied sinners, joyful saints, at the glorio- tl me of the Common Lr id and Father of a)' LooVhig then, at this rich and beautiful house FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. 163 Of prayer, to which hII are welcome who come to worship God. and to hear His word, to which all are invited day by day. not on Sundays only but on every day of the year, may we not. with a deep sense of the peculiar fitness of the words exclaim.-" O how amiable are Thy dwellings,' Thou Lord of Hosts"! How lovely, how be- loved .-the refu^re of all God's children.-a sweet retreat for the believing ^a tit place for the humiJiution and confession of H sinful for the prayer of the needy, for the thanksgiving and praise of the favored disciple, for the public recitation of the inspired Word, for the continual preaching of salvation through the merits and the pK Mous Atonement of the Lord Jesus, for the due ^ministration of the holy Sacrament of haptisra. uad for nnlemn and reverent commun- ings m the i ^at Eucharistic feast ! "My sor hath desire and longing to enter into the courts o. e Lord." " A desire "; and not a desire only, but a longing." Ah ! my brethren, muy we not well question with our- selves whether we honestly feel this great earnestness in so holy an occupation ^ No doubt those who habitually attend the daily services m this Cathedral, and who have learned to value the frequent opportunities of joining in the public worship of tneir Lord, would not willingly deprive themselves of the great privilege they enjoy ; and they enjoy it the mc ^e, the more BF Ik I !|i A m 'i oK ^m 1 '. m ^i 1 ^'' i 1 164 FREDERICTON CATHEDRAL. regularly and frequently they come, and the more devout and prayerful their hearts are. And we may reasonably wonder that in the Cathedral City, only a sni; i number compara- tively of the members of the Church, should avail themselves of the aily prayers and Scripture readings in the Cathedral. My brethren, 8 rely the earthly life ought to be a preparation fov the life to come; and we are tf.ught that ,in the world above the worship is unceasing. Let us, remembering the glorious destiny of Christ's redeemed servants above, seek to make such a faithful, reverent, frequent use of the house of prayer here below that it shall prove to have been to us none other than the house of God, and tru\y the gate of heaven. "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." " Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house j they will be always praising Thee." THE queen's sexagenary. MaiHonneum Mission, Montreal, June SOth, 1897. heaven, and in the earth i«Thi^„^TK^' • . '''** '» '" ^he Lord, and Thou art eJalf.d ^ ' l^T "* ^^'^ kingdom. O and honor 'ome of Si 1^1?"*'' *>'" *"" ^*"^h riches Thy hand is t^wtT and mi^hl M ,"• '^T'^u^ °^«'" '^» ' *nd i" .rit. and to^Tv" X'en'gtVnroVll ^wli^S"^ '"'^'^^ Ood, we thank Thee imrl i^loli •t-i. ^"^', therefore, our CHEi)N. xxix, 11, 12, 13 ^ ''^ «'""°"' Na,ne.-1 Were it not that a variety of thoughts, and many words are usually looked for, in a Su;.day address in Church, one might be almost content to let these three verses stand, as a sufficient sermon today; inasmuch a^ they express, so grandly, and so simply, the principal thoughts that should occupy our minds and hearte on this most interesting and unique occasion. Interest- ing, because we, as a portion of the great British Empire, over which a good, and gracious Queen has reigned for sixty years, feel that this Empire 18 ours; and that this roble woman, who still occupies the throne, is. under G^od, our Head. and dutiful homaere; and. I thint «,. o.. :„„. __ — - - ; -"iw jus;; as 166 THE queen's sexagenary. ready and glad to recognize her Sovereign posi- tion as if we had ourselves chosen her, by our own votes and voices, to so high a place. The occasion is unique also ; because, through all the twenty centuries, or more during which a mon- arch, or monarchs, have reigned in England, not one, before Victoria has held the position of Sovereign, for so long a time. Who can fully estimate the value and the blessing, to a great Empire, of prolonged life and service, granted to a Sovereign whose char- acter and example have been all that a Christian people could wish ; and who has, by God's grace, been taught and guided from her youth, to live righteously, and to rule with justice and mercy ! Well may we in our day, believe there is a meaning, beyond a mere formal one, in the devout recognition of God's supreme Sovereignty, which we notice in the fine official title of the Queen,— " Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and Empress of India." What, but the special favor, or "grace" of God, placed upon rhe throne of England, sixty years ago, the youthful Queen, who has been proved, through all t^hese years, to have been so admirably fitted for her high place ; and fitted, not only by natural gifts of mind and temper, but also by the specially wise and judicious training from her earliest --ears, for which she, and the Empire owe a deep debt of THE queen's sexagenary. 167 gra«tude to her good mother, the late Duchess of^Kent. "God seeth the end from the begin- But what of the people ? H«cl the British nation been summoned to elect a Ruler on the death of Willian, IV ; and had they been 'ablet ant,e,pate that the little kingdom of two seagirt Islands was on the threshhold of the magnilicent expansion and development, to which it has in the last sixty years, attained ; perhaps they would have hesitated to place over them a mere girl of only eighteen years, But, as we may say (and we can say it properly and reverently be- cause h,. phrase occurs in the holy word itself,) rhe foolishness of God is wiser than men, and And so by the grace of God "a woman came to the throne, and the woman's hand has held iirmly the sceptre of a world-wide Empire for sixty years ; and the woman's head and heart have proved equal to the great responsibilities of exalted st,.t.on and to the splendid opportunities of the eminently Christian era, in which she has lived. "The Lord is King; the earth mayt glad thereof; yea, the multitudes of the Isles may be glad thereof." " „,Wt™*""" ""'"''" P"""""' institution of the Empire, perfect, I think, „« perfect at least as any human organisation can be, provides for the reign.ng monarch, as advise™, statesmen ?• il 168 TH^ queen's sexagenary. of mature age. of much experience, and of trained and tried political capacity ; it is true also that, in the earlier years of her reign, the Queen enjoyed the great advantage of having at com- mand, at all times, the wise counsels, the trust- worthy, unbiassed advice of the noble Prince, and, as IS now at least acknowledged, exceptionally wise and sagacious man, to whom she had given her hand and heart. And it might be thought thai, with such help, and such counsel, it were an easy matter to rule wisely, and to avoid serious mistakes in government. And many a sovereign, in such a favorable position, would no doubt, have, only too readily and gladly, thrown off the most troublesome cares of state,' being quite willing to assume that all grave' responsibilities rested constitutionally upon the ministers of the crown. Queen Victoria, how- ever, appears to have always taken a strictly conscientious view of her position, and of her duty towards her people at home, and towards the Empire at large; giving her best pergonal attention to all important matters; and not shrinking from making her wishes known, and her influence felt, when a specially grave occa- sion seemed to call for her intervention. It is said that, when a serious crisis in inter- national politics occurred, at the time of the American civil war, thirty odd years ago. and when there seemed great danger of a rupture ' trained Iso that, '■ Queen at com- e trust- ice, and, tionally d given bhought it were ) avoid many a , would gladly, f state, grave 5on the I, how- strictly of her owards efjonal id not ^n, and e occa- inter- of the o, and upture THE QUEEN'S SEXAGENARY. IQQ Of peaceful relations between England and th. republic to the South of us thp n„ « desire that peace should h! ^T' ^^'°''* and thus thrOnnfr preserved, prevailed; w^ not r!^ ^"°^?^f '^^^^ «^' the Southern States repTndrtTarn a'nd'^f "' '' ' '''''-^^'' tion of the Un ed'^ft P^''"^^"^"^ disrup- prefer/'r; " '° r"^"' -•"- «« would Zl will between the t^ 1'^ P > T""^ ^"^ peoDles Th„t n!- ^ Enelish-speakinff peoples. Ihat th.s peace may never be broken must be our most earnest wish and prayer and .a comtorting to believe that, amongZ higher class of American citizens a Uir>M. '« "'g^er towards England does prev^aii.ld "atl apt? .at,o„ we hope, of her undoubted friend ^sp^" and of the eminently peaceful attitude she Vi for so many years maintained towards a kiL.^ people ; separated indeed fron, heSrl icl ' h««j„ r ' "'"' °"e, in the holier bonds of a common Christian belief We need not, even in our own thoughts, in- I*' if il 170 THE queen's sexagenary. dulge in a comparison of the relative wealth, or greatness, or power of these two nations. That would be a taak unprofitable and vain. We subjects of the Queen of England m«,y well be satisfied with the knowledge that British possessions are found in all parts of the world ; that, in wealth, the Empire is very richly en- dowed ; and that its power is recognized, and l-espected the world over. And, when speaking or thinking of these indisputable facts, our thoughts will be kept upon a high level, and isecure^ fi-bia mere,, vain -glorious, and vulgar boastfulness, if we take care to cultivate the ' humble, devout spirit of the great warrior King ' of Israel, so eloquently, and we may believe, sincerely, manifested in the grand tribute of praise to God, which I have selected as my text today :— "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty ; for all that is in the heaven, and in tlie earth is Thine ; Thine is the kingdom, O Lori, and- Thou art exalted as Head above all. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all ; and in Thine hand is power and might ; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious Name." Greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty, the king specifies, and to these I may briefly refer. /. THE QUEKN'S SEXAGENARY. 171 The Britiah Dominions constitnte, undonbt«clly a grea. empire. OIi that each of the many mlhons of that empire were willing, and gM to jom m King David's devout ascription of pra,se to God, " Thine, U,rd, i« the gre'atnesr' England s power, especially as symbolized in her immense navy, which is shortly to be exhibited, not however m its full strength, before the eyes of the pnnces and kings of the earth ; when [he yueen will review, at Spithead, in Enelish waters, it is oaid, twenty^ve miles of war vessels drawn up milnposing array ; that power, on one' element, wUl be abundantly manifested. And «« tins 18 but one of the great pageants, to be provided for the entertainment of the many thousands of visitors, of high and low degree who are expected to gather together, on English 80.1, and on English waters, during this week to do honor to the venerable and gracious Lady' who rules over many lands, and reigns in many hearts, the display cannot be characterized m ostentatious merely, or boastful. And I am sure heart, with the most devout of her subjects.- "Thine. O Lord, is the power." ^ Thine ^Iso is « the glory "; for surely it may be said, with truth, that th. dorv of the British people consiste chiefly iu ik,k time-honored recognitipn of the paramo-. >,;, ...Saim. upon their *1 i I i' J 172 THE queen's sexagenary. allegiance of the Almighty Ruler of the universe, " the King of kings and Lord of lords." Wit- ness the magnilicent Cathedrals, the numberless beautiful parish Churches in England, and now m so many of England's colonial possessions, all dedicated to the worship of the one true God : witness the coronation service and ceremonies by which English Kings and Queens are installed in office, based professedly, and distinctly upon religions belief, and upon the admitted value and importance of prayer : witness the provision of chaplains for the army and navy, for the parlia- ment, and for all State institutions: witness, in short, the recognition everywhere, by the State, of God's supreme claim to the allegiance and service of all the people in the realm, from the highest to the lowest. Surely, then, we may say that this is a great nation, " a wise, and understanding people"; and may hope, and expect that the blessing of God will long rest upon it. Out of the general recognition of religious duty surely has grown up, in the British Empire, much, if not all of the pure living that seems to be specially characteristic of our nation ; and the high thinking also, which has rendered illustri- ous a fair portion of the literature of the Victorian period. Here in their general religious character, appears the true ghry of the people • and emphatically, " Thine, Lord, is the glory '' m THE QUEEN'S SEXAGENARY. 1 73 Shall I say anything of "the victory military sense of the word " ~- ? The in the ;»na nave certainly been wonderfuiriucfefsM m all parts of the world; and the old Ch^ land, and on the sea; and during the reZot V.ctor.a, those arms have never^met wXnv g^eat disaster. Of some great battles and s^ chje% m the fre4nt res^itX:" doubt so mtended, or foreseen, but, by G;,d.8 good Proy.dence so ottered,) that English ITrs and Enghsh victories have opened the wav In many heathen and infidel lands for fL 1^:^ s^^ ^-Th Tr"".^ the glorious hopes in- spired. Thme, Lord, is the victory." •► "ucc'essofr"'""' u ^"^'""•^'^ »'"»«. «"d »* success of her arms have taught remote and »«!.v,l,zed tribes abroad a wholesome felrof «Hr,ng offence; ,,i ;;_ ^ *«« of tnbes have learned that the Majesty of EngUnd .s ^pr^sented, and so happily i»usfrated inte per«,n of agracous, benevolent, motherly Queen so that they have come even to venerate "fh; gr^t white Mother." and if thus g^eatet and goodness are made to appear in a hapTc^" binafaon m the head of the Empire. then^'T,.?^?. '< 174 THE queen's sexagenary. we may exclaim,—" Thine, O Lord, is the Ma- jesty." " Riches also, and honor come of Thee ; and Thou reignest over all." "And in Thine' hand it is to make great. Now, therefore, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious' Name." ';; m IM"^ the Ma- >f Thee ; n Thine ore, our glorious' THY WILL BE DONE." ^^"^^ Oh^rch, JUaugerviUe, July $Srd, 1871. " Lprd. behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." — S. John, xi, a ki^Zn7^ a'"'''^ t *''* """""-^ S- John gives in his Gospel, showing the oositinn «.« Wd Jesus in the days of his flesh, cCe^nded to sust».n towams the little family at b"v -the brother and the twosisteraf The EvT p ^e;;° T ^T' """ y«' ^-phic, iang„;:: presente his readers with a living picture of quiet, domestic, social life ;-Laza^i"l^;\^ sisters, orphans no doubt at this time ) Tntin ' ing to live together in harmony and iZ ^1" extending the blessings of a pure w!3.\ Pitality to their saintly. homeleSnToftt -lem. Nothing is told ^J howtCd'X Him in other p«ts of the countnT PeA^J'^ not nnfrequently passed the niSt in thT f lil' if If 176 " THY WILL BE DONE.' and protect Him. Litorully must it have been true of Him, as His own words imply, that in general He had not where to lay His head. And the Lord and Maker of all would work no miracle (as He so easily could have done) for His own bodily comfort: nor would He put any constraint or presHure upon men's inclinations or will ; but left them to deal with Him as they would have dealt with any common man. Ah ! how many must have, thoughtlessly or selfishly, missed a great blessing, when they failed to ask the Good Teacher to eat, and to rest with them ! Unawares they would have entertained, not an angel merely, but the Lord of Angels, the Lord of Hosts. In some way Lazarus and his two sisters had been led to form a very viJfferent estimate of the lowly Nazarene, fron ih^. in which the mass of the population of J'.. a~:h. hald Him. Their house was always open to Eim ; they loved, we may be sure, to have Him as their guest. Martha was always solicitous for His comfort; Mary never wearied of listening to His holy teaching. In such a house, tended by such loving friends, and talking undisturbed with such teachable disciples, what a grateful solace must have been imparted to the heart of the Savior, what a blessed refreshment of spirit must He have ex- perienced, after a day of hopeless effort with multitudes of hard hearts, and after enduring ave been , that in is head, work no one) for put any itions or as they n. Ah! jelfishly, 1 to ask h them ! i, not an he Lord «rs had e of the ma^ of ir house ve may Martha ; Mary saching. friends, achable ve been what a ave ex- •t with [during "THV WILL nEDONt 177 the msane and wicked contradieti,.,, of sinners aKa.nst H.^elfl" They who thus minisLrr affeefonately and un»,,lfishly, to the con.fort and happmeas of the incarnate Savior,-who lov d H.m, ,tn,l, m act. manifested their love, were we know, ,,reatly uned in return. ..Jelns Lid Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." Nay Z .t not rather His love that h„.t went fo th i, qu.cken.ng, sanctifying power to them ? As in every case of a sinner arrested in his downwa d zr *"; f 7" '" '•"*-■ p^"'*-- ""d fai; t^ Ood „e hrst advanc.. towards reconciliation and secret, s.lent love of Jesus was but reflected, (and feeb,y too though sincerely) in that rever .J Jm A, ."■" I"^"* ■"""'■f-'-'d towards loved us ' ^^^ " '"■' '^■''"' '"<"'"'« He fi.^t And in this little family at Bethany we see a ype of^all those who are not insens-^ll trthe Sp.r.t Irom them. To such He comes, often it n.ay be, as to His friends at Bethany, in the qmet eve„.ng hour, when the toil and worry of the day are past ; and when the heart, convinced e» fM IT !''P^"«°'=«' of the vanity of all earthly th.ngs, feels the n.ed of something better hoher more enduring to rest upon. Then a holy thought w,ll enter the .nind ; a good impression steals over the soul ; a conviction is fell of the MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 M 1.25 Hi Li. us i» u 12.8 3.2 106 14.0 1.4 12.2 2.0 1.8 A /APPLIED IM^GE inc 1653 East Main Street Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 -0300 - Phone (716) 288- 5989 -Fox 178 " THY WILL BE DONE.' blessedness of those who can hold communion with God, and who can rest and trust in Him Surely, my friends, it is Jesus who thus visits us; it is His gracious, sanctifying Spirit who strives lovingly with our spirits, and asks us to entertain the Savior of our souls, and to com- mune, to our eternal good, with Him ! " 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" The Savior knocks at tHe door of our hearts at such blessed moments ; and, oh ! how critical, how decisive of our eternal doom, such moments'may be ! A slothful insensibility to such impressions an unwillingness to entertain holy and pious thoughts, a careless transition or the mind to some common or worldly subject, and especially a sinful thought or desire, may effectually close the heart against the heavenly visitant • and Jesus will be forced to depart, not finding in that heart a lodgement or a welcome At a later period in the earthly life of our Redeemer —if that may be called His earthly life which followed His resurrection— two disciples, who at the time knew Him not, but who had been listening (with what rapt interest and glowing hearts their subsequent words testified,) to His most convincing interpretation of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, unwilling to part with such a Teacher, gave Him the earnest " THY WILL BE DONE. nimunion ' in Him. us visits 'irit who sks us to to com- " Behold, nan hear ne in to ith Me." learts at cal, how nts may ressions, d pious nind to pecially ly close t ; and :3ing in At a deemer > which who at i been lowing to His kament ling to arnest, 179 pressing invitation :_" Abide with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent." And to their great comfort and joy this unknown Instructor, having accepted their invitation, and sat down at the table with them, revealed Him- selt in the act of blessing and breaking bread ; and they knew that their crucified Lord had indeed risen from the dead. Another type brethren, of the blessedness of those whose great interest is centered in Christ, and who desire to know more and more of Him whom they have learned to love. Blessed, however, as the little household at Bethany was witli the frequent presence and manifest love of the Savior, they were not exempt from trouble and sorrow. The head of the family he who was naturally the stay, support, and protector of his sisters, fell sick. The Divine Word does not dwell upon the sadness and great anxiety they must have felt, as they watched the fatal progress of the disease, and saw their brothers precious life slowly ebbing away. Perhaps they at first thought, "surely the inti- mate, the beloved friend of the Great Prophet will not be suffered to die." At length, however they sent the urgent message-" Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." It is remarkable, as you may have observed, that they make no re- quest. They, who knew Him best, and who, from frequent and intimate ini^ercourse with Him had 180 " THY WILL BE DONE. learned the kindness and ever prompt benevo- lence of His heart, felt, no doubt, that a request m this case was not necessary. It would bo enough for Him to know that a friend,— one loving and beloved,— was sick; and His aid would not be withheld. Or, the respect and reverence with which the family had learned to regard Him, restrained them from sending a message of such a pressing nature as they would have sent to an ordinary man, or to a physician in whose skill they reposed implicit confidence. "Behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." The message, without any request, wa3 surely very suggestive,— the appeal to a sensitive and lovino- heart, not less powerful than the most urgent entreaties. It implied the utmost confidence and trust in the power and love of Him to whom they sent this, as it were, silent appeal. Yet the message failed, apparently, of its pur- pose,— the Lord came not; the sickness continued ; the vital power failed, and at length death closed the scene. So at least it must have appeared to the grieving, bereaved sisters. But, what a dif- ferent view did the eye of Jesus take oi this scene i He could see, from the distance. His friend sick- ening, languishing, suffering; longing, too, we may suppose, with his anxious sisters, that the Divine One would hasten to his relief. Yet, even after the message came, the Lord, "abode two days still in the same place where He was." Was He benevo- i request i^ould bo nd, — one His aid )ect and arned to tiding a y would hysician ifidence. :." The Jly very i lovine urgent nee and 3 whom its pur- tinued ; 1 closed ared to t a dif- 5 scene ! d siek- ve may Divine ti after ^ days ^as He " THY WILL BE DONE." Igj insensible to the sufferings of His friend ? Did He not care for the sorrow, the anxiety, the anguish of those who watched by the bed of the dying man ? He was not indifferent to the one nor regardless of the other. And is not the case' jast so m our day? Many friends of Jesus many whom Jesus loves, are visited with sick-' ness, pam, sorrow, and, shall I not add-death Jesus knows ajl this, as it is occurring- He permits ,t to be; for He could prevent it if He so willed, by His omnipotent word, or by His invisible presence. Surely He does not unkindly permit such tri.Js to befall His friends: He knows JUS. what measure of suffering to permit or to send: He knows the.e is life in the cup o sorrow ; there .'s health in the sharpest and mos repuW remedy. A good end, a wise purpose are at the bottom of all the trials that be%lUhe inends of Jesus. " Wh.n Jesus heard " the message sent by the s-sters of Lazarus, He did not move from His place but only said to those around Him ■--" Thi, sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of thereby. The Ix>rd mentions one of the objects to be gamed (and a very important one,) by the sickness, and temporary death, of Lazan-s An opportunity would be thus afforded for the exercise of the Divine, miraculous power inherent m the Messiah as the Son of God ; and fi" m 182 THY WILL BE DONE." Father, (to whom, as you will remember, the Savior at the moment of performing the great miracle, appealed,) would be magnified in the eyes of the people, and glorified in fhe hearts of those who were not hardened past all belief. Other, and very important benefits, too, may have been designed, in God's wise and holy counsels, to flow from the sickness of Lazarus, and from the grief of his friends. Christian graces, which, without some such trial, would not nave been called into exercise in their hearts, may have now had the first impulse given to them ; and submission, faith, patience may have only now been really tried, or fully developed. Not often are these graces so soon, and so signally, rewarded and blessed, as in the case of Martha and Mary. Let us learn, brethren, that while the dispen- sations of God's providence are often, as we must confess, very mysterious, and in some cases, sadly perplexing; it is because we can see such a very little way beyond the present moment, and cannot at all take in the wide range of the field upon which the Divine Spirit, in these ways, secretly, but successfully, operates. Let us learn to be patient, trusting, faithful ; and in God's good time, either the reason why we are called to suffer, and the reward of Christian suf- fering, will be clearly and most satisfactorily manifested, or we shall receive, even without "THY WILL BE DONE. 183 any marked impression at the time, real acces s.ons of spiritual strength, and invaluable exTen ence to be used for oar advantage in our fuCe Chnst,an course. Let us, abo/e all, take are previous Chnst.an character, or profession lest the enemies of the Lord should, in their hearts jnc^k and say,-" Where is now thy God' "Let When Lazarus lay suffering and dying under the pressure of a sore disease, it is quite S h^ sisters may have wonderea why thislouble and anguish should befall them and him ■ more especally as it is plain, from their enjoying the specal friendship of Jesus, that they i,^ ^ have been „„ „^ ; ^„, devoted' ervltso God, Why should they, who endeavored really sauds of Lsrael, were almost alone in loving attention to the wants of the incarnate slwor^ m^TT, 't°'"""' '^"y «''<'"''^' Christ's people, by keeping always before their eyes the .W^f f '^' "'■"' '='""'K«'^ '"to the same Sirir t"^ '°,-"""^' ^^^^ "' ^y 'he Lord, the bpirit Begun here, that marvellous resem ot love to God, and man. Yet, though so loftv and great, and superhuman, He noficed" w h admiration, surely, the beautiful things of earth ^edehcate little lilies that grew uponVe m^un ' tern side, the marvellous fineness of texture of all flowers, of which His eye could take nnl° 194 THE NEW JERUSALEM. ?>■■ -f though man's, unassisted, cannot, and their rich and varied coloring, concerning which He de- clared that "even Solomon, in all his glory, was no arrayed hke one of these.' And we may call to mmd also, as bearing directly upon the subject to which our thoughts are tending, that the richness of material, and harmony of colors which must have been so conspicuous, and attrac- tiv-e. m the holy,and beautiful house at Jerusalem and in the robes of the anointed high priest,-' the twelve jewels i, the breast-plaf*, the gold, the blue, the purple, the scarlet, the fine-twined Imen were furnished according to express Divine directions; and so. may be interpreted, (rever- en%) as indicating a taste for material beauty in God s own nature. The heavenly world, there- fore, may be so furnished, and adorned as to supply sources of exquisite enjoymu.t for all the faculties, and tastes, with which pure, highly gifted saints above may be endowed We know, certainly, that the taste for music and for sacred song will be there enjoyed and grat fied ; for S. John tells of the har^T^Tr^ the throne of God, "harping with their harps "• and again.-', they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, say! pfiT t* "^"«"°°« ■"•« Thy works. Lorf, God, Almighty; just and true are Thy ways Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Theo' Lord, and glorify Thy Name ? For Thou fcheir rich 1 He de- lory, was we may upon the ing, that of colors d attrac- rusalem, priest, — ihe gold, }-twined s Divine (rever- beauty i, there- d as to ' all the highly • music, ed, and before larps "; 568, the lb, say- I, Lord, ways, r Thee, Thou THE NEW JERUSALEM. 195 only art holy; for all nation-^ shall come and worship before THpp " \r^ a u • ' °^ P wiore inee. No dc ibt m such views and representations of heaven, and its emXv ments, those Christians will take a specll I terest, who have been endowed, in this life w th astes, and faculties, to which such reprln 1 surely, there may be attractions in them for hose also, who have not been so gifted ! And there are many such Christian people -many who are but faintly impressed by the'beS IrfiedV "^" V^- *-^- are not specially gratified by graceful architectural arrangementf "stefuTbTT ^\^^"-^-' by richnL. and tasteful blendmg of colors in storied windows or on consecrated walls. Some, also, there are and'thHrV"" "'*""' *'^ '^'^^ '' ---; and the g.ft of song. And, for these, there are certainly, fewer enjoyments now Yet. if th^' have, m their souls, an idea of " the beauty of hohness"; .f the words of praise and thank. g^vmg a^ they are heard in God's house, apart ful to their hearts, and express the upward enjoyment is great, and their service not less true, and acceptable to the Heavenly Father than And 1 ^T^'Pf ^' ^«^« variously endowed. And when hereafter, such persons, saved by the sacrifice of the Blessed Lamb of ftod ^ry..J.uZ 196 THE NEW JERUSALEM. had learned, on earth, to know, and to love shall stand with the other redeemed, before the throne and m the Great Presence, we may be sure they will not be conscious of any lack of gifts; but will be able to take their full part in the grand harmonious worship; and will, probably, with an added feeling of delight, use joyously, the new gift of sacred song in instant praise of the Bountiful Giver; and will enjoy also, with a rapture, before unknown, the visible, the material beauty of the " holy City," the " New Jerusalem " the glorious, eternal home of God's elect. May it not sometimes happen, that they who smg the praises of God, in His holy house, and are unusually gifted with correctness of musical taste, and with melody of voice, enjoy so in- tensely the mingled, yet perfectly accordant tones of many voices, and of skilfully played instruments, that the words of praise, in chant and hymn, the sentiments, the real worship in 8ong, IS in danger of being seriously, hurtf^illy eclipsed; and so, that God may not be so much honored, as individual feelings and tastes grati- hed? This is a danger to which we, who are not particularly musical, are not so much ex- posed ; and perhaps, in this, we may recognize a species of compensation for fewer gifts. God be praised, for those we have ! And may He give all of u. grace, to use. in His house, all our faculties, consciously, in His service; and to >ve, shall e throne, lire they ifts ; but e grand, ly, with aly, the B of the with a naterial isalem," ey who ise, and musical 80 in- Jordant played chant ihip in rtfully much grati- iio are jh ex- iiize a Jod be e give II our ad to THE NEW JERUSALEM. 197 remember always, as we kneel, in prayer, and as we stand, m praise, that "God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him. must worship Him in spirit, and in truth." ^ - L.T KVKKVTIUNO THAT HATH BUEATH. PRAISK THE LOKD. " ill! s And may God grant that having manfully "fought the good fight," having finished our arduous course here on earth, and having kept and truly taught the faith, we may be permitted to meet in Heaven those to whom our words have been spoken; together rejoicing for our common salvation with joy unspeakable ; and raising our united hearts and voices in one ex- alted endless song of praise " to Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father." Cloaing words of sermon preached in 1849. lanfully led our ig kept rmitted words for our le; and one ex- t loved is own ts unto APPENDIX. xMEMORIAL SERMON. Preached at St. John'. Church, Oromorto, January SOth, 1898 By REV. H. E. DIBBLES, M. A., Rector. Of S. tiTu^Co^rraiSi' .rL^£i^^^- -^ —Acts, xi, 24. The supreme work in this, our earthly, dyinfir life IS to prepare for that never-ending, ever- expanding life, which is to come. He who is willing to accept this interpretation of the larger purpose of our human life, can only comprehend the present in its relation to the future; he can only value his opportunities and place in God's great world today in so far as they supply means for the accumulation of treasure, which change cannot remove, which time cannot destroy. In my desire that we should imbibe more deeply into our lives this predominating thought, so that It may become in each of us an energizing working principle to intensify the reality of our profession as Christians, and to beautify and make sure our hope of entrance into the larger happier life beyond. I have selected words of Holy Writ, which show the possibility of living j: . t ii: >t 202 J 'PEUfDnj, i! I m a good life, Mj»d Mfh. «-h V .tness to thf> power of goodness upon H»e world o/ iiuui and thingH. If in one «m^ the name of 8. Barnabas may he said to derive it. chief lustre frotr. his close com- panionship w.di aPauI.there are yet many things that we know «lf^i„t Mm which suggest a chai o. ter of very strong persou^l influence ; steadfast in taith. devout and exemplary in life. According to S. Chrysostom, he was reputed as having a very amiable, loving disposition, avoiding a'l notoriety, and desirous of being conspicuous chiefly for the good he did. Proof is not wanting ot the genuineness of his devotion to the service ot his Master, for " having land, he sold it and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles' teet. In the Hebrew the word Barnabas means lit »lly " Son of Prophecy." but from the Greek, we deriv his more common designation. " Son ot Cons, 'ation," or "Son of Exhortation" In the few notices we have of him in the "Acts" he ,s always represented as being true to the character which his name implies. After the dispersion which followed the mar- tyrdom of S. Stephen, the disciples carried the Oospel message to those who dwelt at Cyprus and Antioch, where , great number believed and turned to the Lord. When these good tidings became known to the Mother Church at Jeru- salem, the apostles sent Barnabas to Antioch And when he had come, true to his name he APPENDIX. 20J) exhorted them all that with ,,„rpoBe of heart hey shouhl cleave unto the Lorii. Then iol .ws that .,eaut,.ul tribute which S. Luke pay, „ Z per^onnl worth of this apo,tohc .ne Jnger •• for i'nVof 'tv::' 'T" ""t *'"" °' ""^ ""t' Ghost Not only here at Antioch, where under the .nfluence of the .ainUy Barnabas, "the disciple^ were hret called Cluiatians," but alwayr^ld everywhere ■..., it been the peculiar glory of the ollowe^of Jesus Christ, that they have for a before the world, as an ideal of absolute goodness tian Tr'^l'' r' '""' '""^ "f«- "-d -ore tnan eghteen hundred yea™ ago, amidst the t mptafons of our lower world, is still the mode aionitt""' " ^ '"'P^ "' "" "^'"^"^ess amount the generations of man. Union with that .deal, perfect life brings into the soul of man the power to imitate His goodness while th« constant cultivation of that Lven.;: ^ ^'e creates a pergonal influence for good, which wherever found on earth today, becomes 'the v t' salt of our civilization." While the knowledge we acquire of men and !un,s fluctuates fro. time to time, and is always :. ...^certain value, there is something in human goodness which is known and recognized ..7 where, a., man's response to the inward moving I- ft .: !■ 204 APPENDIX. of the blessed. life-savingr Spirit of God. This is what marks a standard of value in our world of human life, which is fixed and unvaryino- irom age to age. By this we measure character, by It the influence of one life upon other lives' receives its due and well-merited recognition. So must we always reckon goodness. It is human, inasmuch as it is so necessarily the pro- duct of continuous and unwearied human effort; but it is divine in a far larger sense, since it owes its origin to the one only source of all good- ness, the Perfect Man, the God Incarnate, who once tabernacled on earth with men. Oh then, what an unspeakably precious truth It IS ! He who was perfect man on earth, He who has exalted that perfect manhood into heaven has opened wide the channels of grace, through which He pours into our human life today, the germ elements of that same altogether good and perfect life, which was only His. Yes, every baptized member of the body of Christ has re- ceived this conscL-ating, life-ennobling grace. To every one who ha8 been new-born in the blessed sacrament of regeneration, our Savior, in mercy, has communicated the living seed of that matured goodness which characterized His life on earth, and which we may develop, until we approach in our lives, the goodness of the life He lived for ua. So Barnabas in his time and generation was a APPENDIX. 205 Witness to hat abiding power for good which a soul-hfe of H,s creature man. And so, in all ages of human life since then, there have been ound ,n God s Church on earth, noble, self moTlde^' T :"'»"l"«ring lives ; character so moulded m the image of our Perfect Man that they have reflected in no uncertain way, the beau y of a holiness which arises from tl,; in- dwelling power of God. Today I ask you to reflect earnestly upon this larger kind of life, as it has been brough so very near to us all. and made so very real to us all, in the clo.se fellowship which we have had with one of the most worthy men that ever lived. When the Angel of Death Zes to our world to claim his own, he comes often! c ou? Th J • '""™PP''<^ "'"h a mysterious cloud, which serves U> conceal from our view the purpose of his coming. But when just one week ago today, in the early morning hour, of His own great day of worship and of rest, God's mes.,enger came and took away to his place in Paradise the soul of that faithful Priest it was as though we understood it all. There should be no note of sorrow associated with such a splendid triumph. Since this mortal period of to our real lite, I am sure God must have known that the exact hour had ful! %.rV.r^^ xr: iix:ii Xiiy 206 APPENDIX. Kl faithful laborer might fittingly be released from earthly toil, and enter his sphere of wider living m the Church at Rest. If our human life is prolonged on earth until we reach, or over-pass, man's allotted span, may it not be m order that we shall have ample opportunity to accomplish our own maturer growth, and work some errand of mercy for others ? If this be so, then you in this parish where so large a. part of his life was spent, are witnesses today how closely those two great purposes were blended into the one glorious watchword of his ministry and life—" Faithful- ness." You have watched and wondered as you beheld the undaunted and tireless eagerness with which, until the very end, he sought to serve his Master m the sacred ministrations of his holy office; you have realized in all its most potent influence upon your lives, the goodness and beauty of the simple home life he lived ; what you have seen and known proclaim to you the large accomplishment of these two ruling pur- poses of his life. He has accomplished his own maturer growth, and he has carried God's errand of influence to other lives. So when we look back over those fifty years in the sacred ministry of the Church, in our retrospect we find every- thing to indicate as I have said, a splendid triumph for the soul of that true man of God Instead of regret, the heart-aching regret, that Tl-i. APPENDIX. 207 bums Itself out in tears of woe, we have rather a prompting which bids us go to God today, with nohl Tf "\'. ?'""'" '^ P^^^^^ Him for that noble life, which was so nobly spent to God's glory and for the saving of his fellow-men Anything in the nature of a mere eulogium would come m no good taste from one who knew the man, as I am grateful to feel he was known by me ; always exhibiting a character more ready o withdraw than to be thrust prominently inti the public view. And yet for the very love and reverence with which I have learned to regard him, and because, as you all heartily agree "he wa« a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of Faith, I CH. .ot withhold from you. who were his pariabioners and his friends, certain features in his Me, which are most worthy of our imita- tion. His was truly a symmetrical life: a life which was at unity in itself. To borrow S. Johns description of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the length and the breadth and the height of It were equal." There was not only length of days but there was also a ministry, which in Itself extended far beyond the average length of human hfe; a ministry which adorned the priest 8 office, and worthily exhibited those many qualities of sound learning and devout, heart- reaxjhmg, earnestness, which always characterized his preaching. I hope a selection from his sermons which will embrace his fifty years of 208 APPENDIX. iu active work, .lay be preserved to us in some permanent form. Then there was a breadth and thoroughness to the work of his ministerial life which should be cause for deep thankfulness to you, who know the value of his work amongst you. Not only was he a faithful Priest as he stood THERE at God's Altar to break for you the Bread of life, and to bless for you the Cup of bless- ing, not only did he address you from this place with words that were all the more precious be- cause they came from a great loving, longing heart, which was seeking for your soul-saving, but in your homes, and especially at the bedside of sickness and of death, he was to you a shepherd indeed, ready at all times to speak the word of peace, to refute an error, or to go to the Throne of Mercy, in earnest prayer for some pardoning grace. And then the height of his life! How noble the purpose ! How beautiful the aim of those many years of unselfish toil ! His home life and his parish life went along side by side in one great overpowering desire to so live and work in this world, as to be found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ponder well these qualities of heart and character, and will you wonder, my beloved, that the influence of God's Priest has been so greatly felt upon us all for good ! But we are not alone in the benefit which has leen derived because he lived. You cannot re- "M, X APPENDIX. 209 Strain the power of a positively good man over other men, no more can you circumscribe his in- fluence. Canon Mosely has well expressed our truth. " It is aRtoniahing," he says, " how much good, goodness makes. Nothing that is good can be alone. Like a stone you throw into the pond which makes circles on the water that are ever widening into others, until they reach the farther shore; so the goodness of a good man will go on expanding in its influence to the remotest circumference of human life." A good man has gone out from amongst us His personal work upon earth is ended, and he now awaits the fruition of his labors in God's Church at Rest. But. oh, my brethren, " lest we forget, lest we forget"! Shall not the memory of one such good life worthily and conscien- tiously lived, (which as a halo, encircles today the place he filled in our hearts) prompt from us a prayer to the God of our fathers that a double portion of that man's spirit may rest upon us ! May we not crave to receive into our own lives, that copy of the Christ-life, which he so constantly reflected upon us » So being dead, he shall still live and speak to us ' the power of his goodness will be extended, the many prayers of God's Priest for you wil be granted, and his faithful work for you rewarded Ihen on that bright morrow of Eternity, when all shal stand before the judgment bar of Christ, the salvation of the flock, shall be the iov and tiuvvn or tne siiepiierd." " " THE REV. RICHARD SIMONDS. Frederktm Daily Oleamr, Monday, January 24th, 1898. The death of the Rev. Richard Simonds comes with somewh-t of a shock to the community inasmuch as Na has been in unusually good health of late, and ministered in St. Ann's Church on Sunday, January 9th last, with his accustomed reverential earnestness. He had made all ar- rangements for the celebration of the Holy Communion on the 16th, but was taken ill with pleurisy on the 15th, and although this was checked, pneumonia subsequently set in, and in spite of all that attention and good nursing could afford he succumbed yesterday morning at live o'clock. The Rev. Richard Simonds was a native of this Province, having been born at Miramichi He entered King's College, Windsor, in 1839 and graduated B. A. from that institution in 1843. Ordained deacon in 1846. and priest in 1847 by the Bishop of Fredericton, his first charge wa« Westmorland. After this he was stationed at Campobello for a short time ; then as missionary at Studholm for 12 years;' from APPENDIX. 211 thence he was elected to Maugerville and Burton where he remained until 1878. He was then elected to Dorchester, where he served a^ rector of the parish and chaplain to the penitentiary until his resignation in 1881, when he retired from active charge of a parish. In all these various positions he was a most painstaking conscientious and efficient clergyman; always' winning the affections and respect of his people and discharging the duties of a priest of the Church of England with modesty and self-abne- gation. Mr. Simonds was a gentleman of singular refinement and unfailing courtesy. Well read and deeply interested in the progress of events ' strongly attached to the Church of which he was' a minister; a greatlover of his native Province • always ready to do a kindness for anyone when it lay in his power; a preacher who spoke the truth in love, winning his hearers by a gentle persuasiveness which was peculiarly his own Mr. Simonds' memory will be long cherished by those who received his ministrations and loved him for his sincerity and devotion to his Master's work. Mr. Simonds had always been a man of delicate health, and yet continued to do an amount of labor which many a stronger man might have envied. After his r«*,irement from the charge of a parish, he was always desirous of helping wher*^ his assistance was needftd WKnfK^,. «. 212 APPENDIX. Siding in St. John or Fredericton, his greatest joy was to aid in the service of the Church. At Bathurst, where his efforts were greatly blessed ; at Sussex, where he supplied their needs at a time of much trouble and perplexity with a wisdom and steadfastness which proved of great value ; and in this city, where he died as he was supplying the place of the Rector during the absence of the latter for his health, he ever did his best to perforin the duty so gladly assumed lor the Master's sake, and by his brethren of the clergy was esteemed and beloved in no ordinary degree. As a citizen. Mr. Simonds was always alive to the best interests of the place of his residence, and did not shrink from the re- sponsibility always resting on those whom God has blessed with means. ■ 11 BISHOP KINGDOn's TRIBUTE. ^a:fmc«/rom ^A« ^i^Aop;. Annual Address, ai the Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, July 5th, 1898 ^'^'''"" The fifteenth Psalm has been said to describe the character of a perfect gentleman,--we may say, a Christian gentleman. It is supposed to have been wntten on the occasion of the removal of the Ark to Zion. It seems to have been in- tended to describe the perfect character -the man who can, without sufl^ering as Uzzah did draw near to God and live in His Presenra I would like to connect it with the memory of one who has been summoned to that Presence since we last met,--the Reverend Richard Simonds, for whom I had great respect. Mr. Simonds wa^ ordained deacon on the same day, in 1846 that Canon Ketchum was advanced to the priest-' hood, and both have remained faithful to the Diocese m which they were ordained. The love and esteem in which he was held by those to whom he ministered were manifested at his funera , when he was laid amongst those who were at one time his parishioners. Kindhearted and generous, devoted to his Macf.«'„ i_ , — — v^wi o nuiii, ne 214 APPENDIX. often taxed his strength to its utmost ; nay. at times even beyond his powers, in his endeavor to minister to others. It may be that his end was hastened by a loving desire to help a brother clergyman, who had sought to recover health by change of climate for a time. " The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." ti THE RECTOR OF DORCHESTER. In announcing to the congrejration of Trinity 1898 the death of his immediate predecessor in the Rectorship of that Parish, the present Rector Kev J. Roy Campbell spoke as follows : ' ' M a Parish Priest he was sound in faith exemplary in manners and of unblamable life' He was reverent and rubrical in his conduct of al public ministrations, constant and thought- tul in his attendance on the sick and dying As his successor, in the year 1882, 1 found all things 80 decently ordered as to leave no room for improvement in the manner of conducting the services of the Church. Mr. Simonds was as sincerely attached to the doctrines and principles of the Church as he was* a liberal hfe-long supporter of all its institutions in the Diocese. In his general manner and bearing Mr Simonds was one of the later survivals of a school of gentlemen, the loss of which has neither enriched the world nor improved the face of society. Whilst he was strong in his nnnv;«*;^ ^ /> 216 APPENDIX. in his action upon them he was, nevertheless, ever as courteous in his speech as he was quiet and retirinn: in his manner. A somewhat re- served disposition made him cautious in his professions of friendship ; but those professions once made were always marked by sincerity. A delicate constitution prevented him from ever assuming a very aggressive attitude in his paro- chial work and implied frequent change of scene in labor ; but it would be very difficult to im- prove his record of fifty years of useful work, quietly done. By his death his family have lost a most kind and indulgent father and the rector of this parish a sincere and trusty friend. MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS. THE DIOCESAN SYNOD OF FREDERICTON. The following resolutions were adopted by a standing vote at the meeting of the Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, July 5th, 1898. Moved by Mr. Hurd Peters, seconded by Rev. Canon Ketchum : That this Synod desires to record an expression of deep regret for the loss the Church in this Diocese has sustained by the death of the late Rev. Richard Simonds, B. A. From the period of his ordination, A. D. 1846, Mr. Simonds was more or less actively engaged in the work of his blessed Master. In the several parishes in which his work was done he ever gained the good-will and love of those to whom he ministered. The want of physical strength obliged him, at times, to give up continued work, but he was always ready, as far as his health permitted, to afford valued assistance in case of need. Naturally reticent, and of a retiring disposi- 218 APPENDIX. fully aware of his intellectual culture and theo- logical attainments. Richard Simonds has left as an heritage to the Church, a bright example of unswerving faith, sincere piety and a blameless life. That the Lord Bishop be respectfully requested to direct a copy of this resolution to be for- warded to G. E. A. Simonds, Esq., to be communi- cated by him to the other members of his family, with the assurance on the part of the Synod of deep sympathy in their bereavement. ST. JOmVS CHURCH, BURTON. At a meeting held at the Rectory, Oromocto, Sunbury Co., N. B., on Monday, January 31st,' 1898, the following resolution was unanimously passed by a standing vote : Resolved. That we, the corporation of St. John's Church, Burton, desire to place on record our recognition of the great benefit which our Church and community have derived from the ministry and life of the Rev. Richard Simonds, lately entered into the rest of Paradise. Mr. Simonds became Rector of this parish in the year 1869, and continued in that position until his resignation, in the year 1878. Again in the year 1887, upon the resignation of the ' Rev. Wm. Greer, Mr. Simonds assumed temporary charge of the parish, which he held until the APPENDIX. n9 appointment of the present incumbent. Once again, in the year 1896, during the enforced ab- sence of the Rector, he cheerfully came and, for several months, ministered to our spiritual needs. In all of his association with us he ever manifested that unwavering faithfulness to the service of his Divine Master, and that generous devotion to the best interests of the Church and of his parishioners, which have always charac- terized his ministry and place in life. As he went in and out amongst us in the conscien- tious and unwearied performance of the duties of his iiacred office, we have regarded him ever as an example of the regenerating power of our Holy Faith upon the lives of men. With " faithfulness " always before him as the watchword of his ministry, and the load-star of his life, we have viewed with grateful apprecia- tion the large accomplishment of such high and noble purpose; and, moreover, we esteem it a privilege to attest, in this way, to the impress for good which he has so deeply stamped upon the life of our Church, and upon the community at large. THE WOMEN^S AID ASSOCIATION OF THE PARISH OF B UR TON. Resolved, That the Members of the Women's Aid Association of Burton desire to express their huartielt sorrow at the death of the Rev. Mr. !• I 220 APPENDIX. Simonds and their sense of the great loss which the Church in the Diocese, and especially in this Parish, has sustained in his removal. Mr Simonds always manifested a warm interest in this, his old Parish, by repeated generous gifts and also in being always ready, when called upon, to perform the duties of his sacred office in ministering to our people ; and it was under his guidance, while taking temporary charge of the Parish in 1887 that the local Branch of the Women's Aid Association was organized. Our members desire to express their deep sympathy with Mr. Simonds' family in their bereavement. s which ially in il. Mr. erest in 18 gifts, . called 1 office, I under arge of of the r deep I their Extract from Rev. Canon Roberts' report to the Board of Home Missions, July, 1898. "In this connection I wish to refer to a dear friend and brother, whose prompt and unselfish oflFer to become respon- sible for the services at the Parish Church during my absence, made it possible for me to leave without anxiety. We all remember with aflfectionate sorrow the sudden death of the venerable Priest, who for more than fifty years had done faithfully and well the work of the ministry within this Diocese. As a refined and cultured Christian gentleman, devout and holy in his life, full of wisdom and good works he retained always the sincere affection and respect of his brethren the clergy, and of all among whom he ministered. I cannot speak as I would of my own personal loss, both in his friendship and in his ever-ready help." Extract from Rev. H. E. Dibblee's report to the Board of Home Missions, Jvly, 1898. " Th. report from this Parish closed last year with an ex- pression of personal gratitude for the generous labor of a devout and zealous Priest, who has since been admitted into the Church at Rest. In our churchyard, near that altar where for many years his faithful ministrations were devoted for his people to his God, the mortal body of that good man awaits the resurrection. In the hearts of the people of Burton, a.s m the substantial position of this Parish today there is ample testimony borne to that fruit-bearing ministry and saintliness of life which characterized the Rev. Richard •Simonds, "