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"Stren§:th and Peace."

-*- — ^ «•» ^

A SERMON,

PREACHED BEFORE THE DIOCESAN SYNOD ^pF
NOVA SCOTIA, IN ST. LUKE'S CATHEDRAL,

HALIFAX,

C; JUNE 22nd, 1894,

FRANCIS PARTRIDGE, D. D.,

Kkotok of St. GkokgE'S'Chuikjh, Halifax; Canon of ".
St. Lukk's; and Secuktary of the Diocese.

.;>

Xl-

Published by Resolution of the Synod.

HALIFAX, If. a. :

HOLLOWAY BROM., I'RINTKRH, «« GRANVILLK ST.,

1894.

^ X

''Strength and Peace.'

A SERMON,

PREACHED BEFORE THE DIOCESAN ^YNOl) OF
NOVA SCOTIA, IN ST. LUKES CATHEDRAL,

HALIFAX,

JUNE 22nd, 1894,

liV

FRANCIS PARTRIDGE, D. D.,

rtKCTOl! OF 8t. C;K(.IUiK'« CKfRCH, HALIFAX; CaNON OF

St. Likk's; and Skckktahv of tiik Diockse.

Published by l^esolutlon of th« Synod.

lUUFAX, N. S. ;

HOLLOVVAY BROS., PRINTKRS, 0(> GRANVILLK MT.,

18J)4.

"Strength and Pease."

P3ALM xxix. 10, 11.

The L(mo sitteth above the water flood ;

And the Loku remaiueth a King for e\er :

TjiK LoKU sliall give strength unto His people;

The Lokij sliall give His people tlie l)lessing of peace,

The I'saliii is a ina.i<uiticent description of the li'iile of
(JfHl over nature. From tlie rolling tlninder.s of the storm to
the birth])un,os ,,f the lower (-reation ; in the jnimoval forest
and the mighty ocean ; o'er the sandy wastes of wiklerness
and in the recesses of the sanctuary where He is to lie
worshii)]»e(i in the beauty of holiness : tlie voice of the Lord-
<'.laims and exerts the pre-eminence ard controlling power.
Waters may rage and swell ; trees of the forest be l)roken
in pieces; lightnings may Hash; the tender sound be heard of
the gentle Innd moaning over her young ; and the sweet
accents of supplication be offered in the temple courts. Yet.
all is in (Jod's hand. He rnletii His whole creation. He'
knoweth His own. And upon the people of His loving care
Ue in the midst of trial ar.d danger l)estows the Idessing of
Sfrciifjfh and Feace.

From the world of nature to the realm (.f th(; intellectual
and spiritual the transition of thought is easy. And it is no
snuiU comfort to (lod's i)e()j)le now, as it has ever been in the
history of the Church and the worhl, in the midst of all
things which can arouse anxiety and create alarm, to have
the abiding c..nsciousuess that the Lord sitteth upon the flood.
There 's no greater source of assuraiUM! for the i)eri>Iexed
mind, and the soul that is sore troul)](Ml about public events,

tluin tlu' study of history. The hitt'lligeiit and prayerful
student of the centui'ies tlmt are past can phice himself in
iniagii\ati(jn among the scenes and catastrophes of the world,
and can feel with the actors in them tlie full significance of
the problems pressing upon them for solution, and the ghjomy
forecast of the future. He can then survey the dawn arising
<»ut of darkness, the gh>ry that succeeds the gloom; and,
watching the hand and tlie voice of God guicHng, controlling
4ind l)ringing mighty things to ])ass, sinlcs to his knees at
once tor i)ardon of his faithlessness and in adoring acknow-
ledgement of the Sovereigntv of His (}od.

The temjitation to many is to Teel and declare that the
present is a crisis in the history of the Church ; and that
never before were there so many difficulties in her path and
hindrances to her progress as now. The fact is that the
Churc^j of Christ is alivays at a crisis. The closing and
sealing of the stone over the dead body of the world's
lledeemer ; the meeting of S. Paul with the keenness and
subtlety of Greek thought on Mars' Hill ; the blood of virgin
martyrs staining the sand in the Eoman ampthitheatre ; the
oonfliet of revelation with man's uncurbed reasonings M'hen
Athanasius stood against the world ; the awsonie yielding of
a C;hristianity enervated l)y worldliness l)efore the swift sword
of Islam ; the subtle disputations of the schoolmen in the
leabn of metaphysic in which truth swayed back and forth
like a bending reed which never broke ; the gradual arousing
of the conscience by the spirit of God and the rising of the
spiritual over the carnal in the struggles preceding the liefor-
jnation ; the ai)palling division, the burnings and torturings,
the unworthy motives and base passions which accompanied
that greatest revolution since the planting of the Christian
Cliurch ; the deadly somnolence and timeserving of the
<3ighteentli century ending as it did with the human hell of
the French lie volution ; and in this century the startling,
and in many cases probably the abiding, changes of thought

consequent upon the discoveries of science and the progress of
archieological and critical investigation : — at what tune and
under what circumstances can it be said that the Church
has not })een in a crisis ? No more so at one time than at
another. And always by the good hand of lier (rod upon
lier, developing arguments, evolving champions, setting up
barriers, and passing the crisis. Sometimes crippled and
wounded and with her best and purest as rest forever. Not
always in ways exp'ected or foreseen. Seldom with progres-
sive results quite clearly perceived l)y herself. Yet ever
over the waterfiood the Lord sitteth. Yet in the midst of
a])parent confusion ; amid all the conflict, the dust, and the
blood ; unholy schemes shattered, ungodly conbinations rent
in pieces, the world, the flesh and the devil routed and
Truth and Righteousness ti-iumphant, the Loud remaineth a
King ;

And can tliis ever on earth be otherwise ?

The Church of ( rod is set for the defence, maintenance, and
a<lvance of certain divine principles, entrusted to her by her
great Head. These principles must always be from the
nature of the case o])posed to the princi])les of the workL
She must not expect thy world to favor her. The more she
is in favor with the world the more she will fail in her
Divine Mission, Social improvement, ihe regeneration of
society by the reform of social wrongs, is not her chief aim.
She may recognize the fact that certain social conditions are
more or less favourable to tlie rijjht discharo;e of the obliua-
tions of religion. There may hi forms of social or sanitary
improvement witli which her members may associate them-
selves. Temperance reform, the better liousing of the poor,
the ini])rovement of workshojts ; the reclaiming of the drunkard
and the vicious, the encouragement of true education, the
provision for wholesome recreation and such like objects may
secondarily engage her attention and become her suitable'
labours of love. And she is by no means careless of them^

liXit her great cominissioii is to preach the Gospel, and to iiiaiii-
tairi inviohite the laws of its Founder and Lord. Her great
business is witli the soul. To convey God's message of love
and nierey to a world that lieth in wickedness ; to be the
<;hannel of (k)d's grace to souls conscious of sin au<l craving
for a Saviour ; to raise up them that fall ; to comfort those
that nuuirn ; to rouse men dead in trespasses and sins, and
l)id them flee from the wrath to come ; to bear stedfast and
unswerving testimony both by word and deed to the
unchanging and unchangeable deposit of the Faith once for
all delivered to the saints ; to " l)ind the v\hole world in golden
chains around the feet of Crod"; this, this, is her gloritms n)ission :
Her business is, not to choke investigation and thought, but
to sift and examine them by her immutable standards ; not to
denounce true science but to welcome and test it ; not to
abuse gainsayers, but to lovingly convince and win them J
and above all to shew in life and conduct the stcrmu'^t^
of Christ against sin and his yearning loir for the sinner ;
to exhibit in the dread pressure and grim struggle of life the
consistent meekness of the Master ; to turn the other cheek
to the fierce l)low ; and never from angry passion or wounded
.self-love, by recrimination and violence of language or action,
to show that the love of Christ does not constrain her, and tliat
the ])rincii>les she professes d<» not guide her children in
jiractice.

But is the Church uf God doing this to-day ? Is not the
■.state of things such that thinking men ask whether there is
any guidance at all ? ] )o not men enquire whether tlie
Church of God exists? And if so where? Is it God's
direetino; hand or man's weakness that has brought about
the present (>onij)lexity ? One church claims to be the sole
rei)ositary of God's truth; another so-called Church denies
that there is a ])ersonal God at all. One Christian l»ody falls
down and worshii>s the Queen of Heaven, another declares
that neitlier the mother nor her Divine Son is to be so

regarded, for that they were but mere ordiiituy people. One
deiioiniiiation asserts the essential necessity of (Christian
lUiptisni as the entrance into Gods visible kingdom, another
proclaims the Gospel and never mentions baptism at all,
except to pour scorn and contempt upon those who con-
scientiously hold and teach that a soul is made one with
(Jod, an adopted child of God, by means of that Holy
Sacrament. The other great Sacrament of the liody and
Wood of the Lord is by one section of Christendom ignored,
' its frequent attendance deemed a superstition, and its pretended
powers a fraud ; to others it is the central act of worship, and
the oreat means of union with (Jlirist the Lord. One body
declares that membership in the Visible Church is a necessity
to salvation: another cries loudly that there is no visible
Church, but that the true (Jhurch consists of all those
who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity, and that the signs of
membership are invisible. One branch of Christendom
niuintains that there is an actual visible head of Christ's
realm on earth, and calls upon all to obey his infallible judg-
ments. Another answers that there is no visible head, no
sacraments, no ministry, no outward laws, no such thing as
infallible decisions, no creed, no forms, and no binding terms
of union ! To one Clnistian the Word of Crod and his own
interpretation of it are his only guide. To another the Bilile is
nothing more than a fortuitous assemblage of heterogeneous
writings, much of which is false, some immoral, and of
which he will take only what suits him and becomes true
through his patronage and adoption. In the midst of this
chaos of opinion is it not an unspeakable relief to remember
that the Lord sitteth a King forever?

lUit if He is, then is He not a King of order? If He
remaineth a King, must it not be over a Kingdom ?

The Lord desus (Jhrist ere he ascended into Heaven
founded a society which v/as to be world wide. Against the
inertia of an effete l)ut still powerful lieathen philosophy the

new teacliin,iL> • ftlii! liiw of love forced its gentle way. No
sword devoured all its enemies before its face. No crimson
tide of foemen's hlood stained the passaj^e of the lleligion of
the Divine Fatherhood. Slowly, steadily, working upwards
from the lowly fishermen mending iheir nets to the cultured
and accomplished officials of a court; from the slaves of
Ca'sar's household to the occupant of Ciesar's throne ; the story
(»f the Love of Christ won its unensanguined victories. The
officers of Christ's Kingdom and the laws of his spiritual
realm were little by little firmly established in the territories
saved from the dominion of Satan ; and the powers and
methods of a system which, though in earthen vessels was not
of this world, became fixed for all posterity. This Kingdom
must be e(iuipped with all things needed for its full <levelop-
ment. It was no casual or temporary means that were
emjdoyed under th-^ Divine teaching of the great forty days
to draw the nations gradually into the (ros]>el fold.
Never was (iod the author of confusion. As the Bishop of
Kipon says,* the three great ])rinciples of Christianity were-
De])endence, Fellowship and Pi-ogress. J_)ependence on the
unseen (rod and Father, who by the Holy (Ihost vivified and
nuide instinct with Power every minister, every channel of
grace, every public, economy, every act of public and jtrivate
devotion. Fellowshiji with the saints on earth and the
Saviour in heaven. And Progress, a living force working in
the world, in the van (»f human life and civilization, for the
eiuancipation of the race from all that is low and unworthy,
from the boudage of corruj»tion to tlie glorious lib(»rty ol the
I'hildren (<f (!od. These three elements human nature
demands. Neither is sufficient without the others. Peligion
must be based ui>ou a Person, not on a Creed, or a Code ;
and the binding and unifying inHuencc; tliat ectnsolidates the
wliol(! is the j>ers<>nal Jiule of a. living Lor«l.

This regenerating force ; this Society of noble ideals ;

"HBiiiiaoii Int. 1877.

this kingdom of peace and love ; thus inspired, e [nipi>ed and
sent forth, must if united be irresistible. First because the
principles on which it is based are divine. Second because
its conditions are craved by human nature, and third because
in themselves these principles commend themselves to the
human judgment and conscience. In so far as, and while,
the Kingdom was one, its members at unity, its laws unrent,
^ its ranks unbroken, its leaders trusted and obeyed, the ^rorld,
boived and fell hefore the Cross. Some fell ujton the stone
and were broken. Upon (jthers the stone fell, and they were
groun<l to powder. Three thousand were l)aptized in a day.
Whole dominicms were illuminated at once. The light of
(fospel truth l)eamed forth, not from within a lantern which
intercepted half its rays, but with the noonday brilliance of
the eastern sun.

Then came the seed of tares. Doubtless sin yet reigned
in human hearts. Temptations tierce and strong, raged with
demoniac fury within men's souls. Thet/ broke out into
open rehellion. Indulged individualism, that bitter and
lasting curse of Cnristianity through all the ages, brought
into action the hidden tires of disunion and strife. And
then it came that the once bonded and irresistible truth was
shatteretl into a hundred fragments. Then followed divided
aims, enfeebled energies and crii>ple<l work. The }»ovvers
bestowed on the (,'hurch (tf (Jon for goverinnent and <lis('i])line
were wreste«l to engines t)f oppression, (.'orrnjttion reigned
in high jdaces. The rulers of the Church became
lords over (?(»(!'« heritag«\ Liberties, crushed, arose tVagrant
from their bruises. The whole (Jhurch gradually presents
the ai>]>earance of a mirror distorted and defaced. The
gracious song of K(»ve and Peace, <»f Fatherhood and Sonship,
of sweet communion of spiritual intercourse, of glory to
(Sol), jieace on earth, and good \Nill to men, sounds now like
swiftly fading echoes from a *" broken lyre dropped from n dead

•rhlg alnitlc ill I htlleve the Bluluipof Di-iTi'ii, though I f»ini.it <|ulU' rt'inenilier where
i rtmti it.

luiiu'.s lumd." Aii<,nT recrimination takes the place of the
accents of concord. Intolerance that can see no ocod in any
thino that differs from men's own convictions has been
exchan<;ed for the lowliness thit esteems others better than
oneself. Internal warfare, tierce and furious, takes the place
too often of kindly forbearance, brotherly conciliation, and
calm reflection. Work is spoiled, energy is wasted, money
is worse than tlmtwn away, splendid ojijKirtunities of winning,
as at the first, whole realms for ('hrist, are marred, lost, by
the wrangling of (»i>i)osing forces, mutual jealousies, and
disingenuous niisre]»resentation.

() brethren beloved in Christ, is this the religion of the
meek and lowly Jesus? Can the cause of C(>1> lie served
thus ? Christendom, needs its sackcloth and ashes, its garl>
of dee]>est jienitence, and with these the agony of sup]ilication
for u feturn of the first h>\e, for the repetiticai of the first
works !

For the enemy is thunttering at the gates : The sound of
conciuest in the air. The armies of darkness are lining out
their cohorts, and the deadly weapons arc liurnished anew.
Unbelief lifts its unltlushing head. Inteni]»erai»(^e scorches
our best and noldest. lm]»urity jiresses on its servient fangs
till our Christian literature is saturated with it. IMack Atheism,
lieering from eyeless sockets, stretches out its skeleton fingers
eager for their ja-ey, over the rising generation. A soulless
anarchy, destroyijig for destruction's sake, heedless of suffer-
in*' so that only dread sink into men's lives: these and such as
these are the foes whose treu^'hes are already dug, whose
l»arallels are even now drawn, and whose mines are ever
exph fling \ And the (Jhuicli of (bui is (puirreling while the
8ouls of her children ])erish, and the blood of the van(|uished
and dying, over ail the sounds of pious discord cries aloud to
(ion:

Does it not conu' like a blessing from angel's lips, like
a breath iVcm llic infinite cabn.

THK L(ii;i> .SITTKTH AHOVK JllK WATKIJl-'LoOD, AND TIIK lAHlD
HKMAINFTIl A KlNd FOR EVKU !

Tliis is the state of the Oiinch at hirge. lint should the
test })e a] (plied to the condition of our Branch of universal
Christendom, do we see anything very different ? It would
not heconie oneajipointed to speak liere to-day to his brethren>
many of them nu»re learned, more experienced, and more
s])iritual than himself, to refer too pointedly or in a fault-
finding vein, to evils oidy alas 1 too glaringly a j (parent. • ]^>ufc
I appeal to you, brethren in the I.ord and in the sacred minis-
try of the gos])el of ('hrist, do not our finances languish, our
missions stagnate, our lienevolent efforts sink to slumher,
Mhile we war among ourselves? Is it not ])ossil)le, may it
not for Christ's sake be a(;com]>lished, that we each do our
work, and use our best efforts in the Masters holy cause, the
winning of our souls, the rescuing them frou- death
eternal, the commending to them the burning love of the
L)rd who b )Uglit us, the drawing thiMu with cords of undying
affection, withctut forgetting thiil in Him we an- one ?

To our own Master wv stiiml or fall. Our conscience is
His voice, and He would not have us do violence to its
dictates. Ibit jjurty names, and jtarty strife, and the imputa-
tion of bad motives, and the cruel stab in the back given in
the dark by the anonymous writer, can they be C(»m]iatible
with the even hiinded justice and transparency of Truth ?
Our Church is to us as the apple of our eye. Her roots are
struck deep into the soil of Time, wliich is the soil of Truth.
Slu' cauuot be overthrown while Jicr candlestick is there.
r»ut do we not tempt the J.ord, by unbrotherliness and refusal
to nuike any allowances for honest difference of opinion in a
('hureh which is tlie freest and yet the nuisf definite in tho
Mnrld, to take that eaudlestick awav :*

THK l.oiih SMAM, (WVK ST|{KN(iTll IN To ills I'llol'I,!'; • 'IIIK
I.oilh SIIAIJ, CIVK Ills l-KorLK IIIK HLKSSlNti <i|' TKACK.

Yea fi: Ifi^ piuiiih- ; \:: the!!! ihiit ^tudy Hi-' inner laws^

refle.;t His liuliness, and set forth liis benign and gentle calm-
ness, the Lord giveth ever His strength.

How long shall it take His (Jhurch to tind out that
violence is never strength ? that sni.ercili..us pride and the
contenii.t that is horn of self-conceit, only provokes resent-
ment i Huvv long shall religion he weakened, enervated, by
proud assumptions of superiority, oftenest l.y those whose
claims to it are least I There is force in the mighty tempest,
which carries death and destruction fVir and wide. There
is force in the .levastating pestilence, which chills the land
with deadly fear, an.l leaves lum.es ami hearts .lesolate. But
what is all this beside the silent })0wer of the summer sun, by
which all nature is irresistibly drawn into life and vigour y
whose magnetic attraction naught can stay, which gives
vitality every where, and compels every living thing to offer-
its best and i>erfect its destiny ?

The Lord will give drtniyth to His people.
Yes! forever yes!

The strength that is born of a good conscience, that comes
from a sense of right, that stands on the foundation oi safety.
The Church of (Iod ever represents the things that mnnot he
fihiden The world's greatest engines .»f <lisrui.tion have
l.een used to ( ush her offere.l truth; the Hesh and the devil
have exhausted tlieir wiles, and have been prodigal of their
devices to ..verwiielm her struggling children, liut in spite
of wiM criticism whidi is ever diangingits front and altering
its mind ; in the face of defection and weak abandonment of
outw.rks; the central dog.uas of Christianity, to the mainten-
ance of which the Church is ple<lged, stand unshaken still..
Belief in a personal Cod; the existence an.l accountability of
the soul; the sense of sin; the redeeming love of G(U. ui
Je^us Christ; the establishing of the Chuirli as the Uistru-
ment of the salvation of men ; thi^ holy ministry of recon-
ciliation, the sacraments, the hope of heaven and the prospect
of nv.d.'in^' wrvice and unbroken harmony in the life t(i

come : these are the eleiuentn of a stieuyth that is lastiug,
that knows no fear because it is perfect in love. It is a
strength tliat will endure, that is willing to suffer, that can
bear the strain of injustice, that is not moved by desertion,
that triumphs over malice, that is above petty spite, that
never recriminates, that gathers ever strength from the same
eternal source, and that is exercised more and more by
forgiving!

Such a Church as this, and such Christians as these, can
afford to l»e large-hearted '.

Finally. The Lord shall bless His ])eoi»le with Pcnvo.

Not the ]>eace of corru])tion, as of dead bodies which
make no stir. Not the peace of indifference, wliich, (Jallio-
like, cares for none of these things. Not the peace of indo-
lence, which takes its ease and quietly watches the woidd
perish. Not the peace of dependence, which is incapable f)f
decision, and is always anxious that some one else should
take the res])onsibility. Not the peace of ignorance, wliich
rushes for shelter to the spreading tree while the lightning
Hashes are eager for their victim. Not the i)eace of tho
fanatic, wlio in bigoted i^ecurity looks with unconcern on
others who he thinks are going to l>t' damned while he shall
enjoy the green ])astures of God's paradise. Not the peace
of stamiation which settles on its lees, yet carries in it.i
bosom the germs of death. Not the peace of success, which,
to last, must be ever succeeded by fresh attempts and victories
new.

No ; noue oi' these.

l>ut thi' ]»eact' of (lod which passeth all understanding.
Peace, not necessarily in outward guise, but det'ji repose of
soul, that nought of earth can disturb : uot uidtrokeii ease,
but the stillness of acceptance in tlu' Indoved, the perfect
peace of him wh(»se miud is stayed on Cod,

Sueii peiicelJod willgiveti» His Churcli. Slundd it not bj

prayed for ? can it not l»e cultivated ? Knergetic work,,
great charity towai'ds otliers, persistence in Avhat has lieeu
proved to be of (Jod, faithfuhiess to vows, an unqueneh-
aWe passion for souls, and above all abstention from the
rabidness and injustice of ]tarty strife, this will crown the
Church with a halo of ghny whose soft rays betoken (lod's
l)eace. What then are occasional lapses of individuals not
strong enough to l>e men ; what are the jassing phases of
man's im]»atience ; what the little trials of our faith { I'ifty
or a hundred years is l)ut a small })eri()d in tlie Instory of
(Jotl's Cliurch. The liitterv'st cham])ions of op])osition and
malevolence will soon pass away. The mushroom growtlis
which seem so successful but which are founded on unin-
structed zeal sja-ing up and wither in a night.

Uut the peace which Jehovah gives to His people is the
direct result of His strength. The Churcli nuiy have t(»
work on as well as t<j wait. Work is easy ; patience is hanl.
Let us 1)6 at peace, provoking one another only to good works*
Let us seek strength from Jehovjdi, tlie strength only that
can dare to l)e magnanimous. So shall Jehovah that com-
numdetli the waters, tlie (Uorious (J,)d that maketh the
thunder, Whose voice is mighty in operaticui, shall to His
peoith; give His everlasting STi!KN<irii : sd sliall Jtdiovali
give His jieojile the blessing of rHAti;.