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 THE CROSS, 
 
 BEING ▲ 
 
 COURSE OF SERMONS' 
 
 PREACHED IN 
 
 ffoLY Trinity Church, 
 
 ECAT.IF.A.3g:. 
 
 On the Sunday evenings in Lent, 1879. 
 
 BY THE REV. W. J. ANCIENT. 
 
 ''God forbid that I should glonf, »noe in the Cross of unr lAnd Jesus 
 
 Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I 
 
 unto the loorld." 
 
 HALIFAX, N. S. 
 PRINTED BY WM. MACNAB, 12 PRINCE ST. 
 
 1879. 
 
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 THE CROSS, 
 
 BEING A 
 
 COURSE OF SERMONS 
 
 PBEAGUED IN 
 
 floLY T 
 
 OLY RINITY UHURCH 
 
 P 
 
 :e3l.ajjl,x:e- 
 
 On the Sunday evenings in Lent, 1879. 
 
 BY THE REV. W. J. ANCIENT. 
 
 'God forbid that 1 should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord JesuSi 
 
 Christ, by whom the icorld is crucified unto me, and I 
 
 unto the world.** 
 
 
 HALIFAX, N. S. 
 PRINTED BY WM. MACNAB, 12 PRINCE ST. 
 
 1879. 
 

 
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PREFACE, 
 
 These Sermons lay no claim to originality of thought ; or 
 elegance of diction. They are plain, practical discourses deliv- 
 ered by a plain, practical man to a plain, practical congregation, 
 and would probably never have been heard of outside of the 
 Church in which they were preached if it had not been for the 
 fact that one member left and began to attend the services of 
 a church in another parish ; giving as his reason the unsound- 
 ness of the doctrines of these sermons. In other words, that 
 he was driven from his Church by the " High Churchism" of 
 the Minister. And as this is not the first attempt to cause 
 trouble within the Church, and raise suspicion outside, calculat- 
 ed to injure the author of these sermons, he has taken this 
 mode of proving the groundlessness of the charge ; hoping that 
 by showing how little those making it are capable of judging 
 between truth and error to render it unnecessary to take any 
 further notice of them : and to prevent himself being envelop- 
 in a cloud ot suspicion which he already feels to be gathering 
 around him. 
 
 They are also published with the view of enabling those — 
 not lew in number — who have expressed their regret at not be- 
 ing able to hear the whole course, to secure a copy and read 
 it in their homp<?. 
 
 The texts and themes upon which these sermons are written 
 Appeared, among several others, in the Clergyman's Magazine 
 for February, 1877, as suitable to|)ics for Passion Week. 
 
 Should there be any profit arising from the sale of these 
 sermons, it will be given to the fund of the Sunday School. 
 
J 
 I 
 
 
 r^^-:-;. 
 
 P'i"^- 
 
 t^ -i'.i 
 
 \ 
 
 ■ I 
 I 
 
 
 
 
The Power of the Cross. 
 
 *• And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
 me."— i/oAn xii. 32. 
 
 " Tins Ho said," says the Evangelist, " signifying what 
 death He should die." And that those who heard Him under- 
 stood Him to refer to His death is evident from their reply as 
 recorded in the 34th verse of this Chapter ; although we can 
 scarcely suppose that they understood the full import of His 
 words. Had they understood it, they would doubtless have 
 asked for a fuller explanation : for nothing seemed more un- 
 likely to human reason, than that such a death as crucifixion 
 should attract men unto Him. For, in the first place was it 
 not indicative of weakness ? And how could He of whom the 
 prophets had spoken as " a Leader and Commander to the peo- 
 ple"; a Prince and a Ruler; nay, even a King, allow Him- 
 self to be betrayed into the hands of the Komans and by them 
 put to an ignominious death 1 
 
 In the next place was it not, at least, presumptive evidence 
 of His being an evil doer ? However arbitrary the power of 
 the Romans over the Jews, they could not put a man to death 
 publicly without some charge being laid against him. And 
 there must be some show of reason for taking His life. But 
 in this case the charge was brought by the Jews themselves : 
 and when asked what He had done, they declared — hypocritically 
 of course we, know — that if He were not a malefactor they 
 would not have " delivered Him up." And how could He who 
 was to be the " Just" and the " Holy One," allow Himself to 
 bear the reproach of a malefactor ? 
 
 Thus to the eye of sense, His being lifted up from the earth 
 by crucifixion, so far from attracting men, would appear to be 
 the most sure and certain way that could well be devised 
 of repelling them. And had His disciples fully understood His 
 meaning they would — not only on account of their love for 
 Him ; but from the very nature of the case, as they would view 
 it — have been ready to exclaim, in the language of Peter, on a 
 previous occasion : " Be it far from Thee O Lord : this shall 
 not be unto Thee :" whilst His enemies would have repeated 
 their former taunt : " He hath a devil, and is mad." 
 
n 
 
 
 ( 
 
 'I I 
 
 •■.:/' 
 
 But however unreasonable sueli a procedure might appear 
 to mere human reason, and however unlikely to meet with 
 success, the event has justified the prediction; proving "the 
 foolishness of God" to be wiser than men : and " the weakuesH 
 of God" to be stronger than men. 
 
 At the feast of the Passover Jesus was lifted up on the cross 
 amid the scoffs and jeers of the Jews who cried, "away with ilim ; 
 away with Him. Jle Bnved others ; //iwwt'Z/' He cannot save." 
 " Come down from the cross if Thou be tlie Son of God," and 
 other such insults. And about seven weeks later, at the 
 feast of Pentecost, no less than three thousand souls, among 
 whom were many of these same Jews, accepted Him as 
 the Messiah. Owned Him as their Lord and their God, and 
 such was the attractivo power of the crucifiei' Nazarene, that, 
 notwithstanding all the opposing pi)wer of the rulers of the 
 Jews, wo read that " the word of God increased ; and the 
 number of the disciples multiplied in Jurusalem greatly ; and 
 a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith." 
 And not only in Jerusalem ; but also in Samaria, and the 
 surrounding districts was the power of the cross felt. 
 Nay, more ; such was its attraction that many of the subtile 
 minded Greeks found in it a greater fascination than in any of 
 their philosophies. And the haughty Romans by whose power 
 Jesus was crucified, began to bow the knee before ilim ; and 
 three centuries afterwards were actually marching to meet 
 their enemies with the instrument of His torture erected in 
 the air as the emblem of their faith and pledge of their victory. 
 And still further : the influence of the cross was not '^onfined 
 to those nations which had attained to a certain degree ^ .' civi- 
 lization : but such was its power that the more barbarous peo- 
 ples, including Great Britain, were gradually broutjht within 
 the circle of those who, like St. Paul, were prepared to count 
 all things loss that they might win Christ and be found in Him. 
 
 Nor was the power of the cross to draw men from their 
 national idolatries and life-long superstitions : from their lusts 
 and passions to a life of purity and practical holiness, confined 
 to those early times ; and to what is called the old world. But 
 it is still wielding a mighty influence for good wherever the 
 gospel is preached. And to day, hundreds — nay thousands, are 
 being brought into the fold of Christ, not by the power of the 
 sword, not by the philosophy of the sage ; but by the foolish- 
 ness of preaching. 
 
 To-day is the simple story of the cross proving itself adapted 
 to meet the cravings, and supply the soul-wants of men of 
 
 I 
 
 
;ht fti)pear 
 meet with 
 ving "the 
 ) weakness 
 
 1 the cross 
 with Jliin; 
 inot save." 
 God," and 
 Br, at the 
 lis, among 
 d Him as 
 God, and 
 rene, that, 
 ers of the 
 ; and the 
 satlv ; and 
 the faith." 
 I, and the 
 cross felt, 
 the subtile 
 1 in any of 
 hose power 
 Him ; and 
 g to meet 
 
 erected in 
 eir victory. 
 3t "onfined 
 roe V .' civi- 
 laroiis peo- 
 i<];ht within 
 d to count 
 md in Him. 
 
 from their 
 
 their lusts 
 js, confined 
 orld. But 
 lerever the 
 \tisands, are 
 )wer of the 
 ;he foolish- 
 self adapted 
 
 of men of 
 
 " every nation under heaven." Levelling down the caslo of 
 India ; opening up the long closed interior of China ; dethron- 
 ing the idols of Japan ; putting an end— if it has not already 
 done so — to the cannibalism of the South-sea Islands ; dosing 
 up the slave trade of Africa : as well as further huiKanizing ; or 
 in other words more completely christianizing, the more earh' 
 christian nations. So that we shall soon be able to take up 
 the language of the Jewish rulers and say with truth ; and not 
 like them, in the spirit of disappointment ; but in the spirit of 
 triumph, " behold the world is gone after Him." Yes : thank 
 God we can sing in the words of the poet Cowper : — 
 
 " Dear dyinj? I^mb, Thy precious blood 
 Shall never lose its ])ower, 
 T}"' U the ransomed Church of God 
 e siived to sin no more." 
 
 And now my brethren let us piiuse, and endeavour to ascer- 
 tain wherein lies this power of the cross. What is the secret 
 of its attraction ? How is it that such strength is brought 
 out of such apparent weakness ? 
 
 I. Its power is the power of love. Much has been said at 
 (lirtcront times, and by (lillercnt persuns, about the attractive 
 power of love. And it is probably iin|)ossible to over-estin>ato 
 its drawing, softening influence. We have all read, or hoard of 
 — perhaps some of us h;i\(> seen, cases of mental obstinacy, 
 and moral hardness and depravity which defied all the olForts 
 of magistrates and prison-kccpurs, all the restraints and disci- 
 pline of jails and reformatories which laughed at lectures about 
 duty to (Tod, to the State and to Society ; but which as soon 
 as they came in contact with real kindness — which is notiung 
 but love in action — were immediately attracted, softened, won, 
 and eventualh', entirely transformed. 
 
 Nor is the power of love less eflective upon the minds and 
 hearts of people of higher morals and more refined life. 
 Under the influence of love, embodied in sympathetic words 
 and kind deeds, the strongest prejudices have been overcome, 
 indifference converted into attention, neglect into kindness and 
 dislike into attachment. And such is the confidence placed in 
 its winning, conquering power, that when we find anyone un- 
 influenced by it, we almost invariably look upon his case as 
 hopeless. 
 
 J Jut what is the love of man in comparison with the love of 
 God ? Our love is but a reflection of His ; and at best but a. 
 very dim one. And where does the love of God shine with, 
 such splendour as from the cross ? 
 
tn 
 
 
 8 
 
 It is true that His love is discernible everywhere — In o'ea- 
 tion : By the way in which everything is made to minister to 
 the best interests of His creatures, particularly the highest of 
 those creatures — man. And doubtless when at the beginning 
 " the morning stars sang together ; and all the sons of God 
 shouted for joy," it was as much, if not more, on account of 
 the 1 e as of the wisdom and the power displayed in the work. 
 
 In Providence: Xot oniy in that general providence by 
 which He shows His watchful care over us : in the language 
 of St. Paul : — "Giving us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, 
 filhng our hearts with food and gladness :" but more particularly 
 in tliat special providence by which our individual lives have 
 been guarded : and all notwithstanding our selfishness and in- 
 gratitude. 
 
 But if we would sound the full depths of God's love we must 
 turn to Christ. Christ whose coining down into this lower 
 world was the result of God's love, for " God so loved the 
 world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 belicveth in Him should not perish ; but have everlasting life.'' 
 Christ who is "the brightness of His Father's glory, and the 
 express image of His ])erson," — the one in whom dwelt " all 
 the fulness of the Godhead bodily.'' Christ whose every act of 
 kindness and word of tenderness was but a manifestation of 
 God's love to man. 
 
 But glorious as was the life of Christ, much as His love 
 shines through His every word and deed, the glory of the 
 whole pales before the one great act of self surrender. And it 
 is only by fixing our eyes upon the cross that we can get any- 
 thing like an adequate conception of that love wherewith He 
 loves us. Here it is that we see : — " Love divine all love ex- 
 celling.'' 
 
 " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down 
 his life for his friends," said our blessed Lord, and yet He Him- 
 self laid down His life for His enemies. And it is this love 
 when seen, and understood, which gives the cross its attractive 
 power. And, as St. John says, " we love Him because He 
 first loved us." 
 
 That this thought was prominent in the minds of the first 
 disciples, I think is evident, not only from the writings of St. 
 John, the loving disciple, but also from those of St. Paul, who 
 in writing to the Church in Galatia when in the midst of his 
 argument upon justification by faith, says : •' The life which 1 
 now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, ivho 
 ■loved me, and gave Himself for me.** And again ;, iu the Epistle 
 
9 
 
 I — In CTVff- 
 minister to 
 
 highest of 
 ! beginning 
 ns of God 
 account of 
 1 the work, 
 kfidence by 
 3 language 
 'ul seasons, 
 jarticLilarly 
 
 lives have 
 less and in- 
 
 vc we must 
 
 this lower 
 
 loved the 
 
 whosoever 
 
 isting life.'' 
 
 ry, and the 
 
 dwelt "all 
 
 every act of 
 
 festation of 
 
 [IS His love 
 ory of the 
 r. And it 
 n get any- 
 rewith He 
 ill love ex- 
 lay down 
 t lie Him- 
 this love 
 attractive 
 
 ECAUSE He 
 
 the first 
 ings of St. 
 Paul, who 
 dst of his 
 fo which 1 
 f God, ivlio 
 the Epistle 
 
 to the Ephesians, when exhorting them to a life of purity and 
 mutual love. He urges it in these words : " Be ye therefore fol- 
 lowers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love, as Christ 
 also hath loved us ; and hath given Himself foy tis, an offering 
 and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor." 
 
 And as in the early days of the Church so now ; just in pro- 
 portion as we can realize the exceeding love of Christ in giving 
 Himself for us, shall we love Him in return. And the more 
 we love Him, t!ie nearer shall we be drawn to him in faith, in 
 prayer and in practical holiness. 
 
 But besides this power of love, which may be termed the 
 intrinsic power of the cross ; there is what may be called au ex- 
 ternal power, and which I now proceed to notice, 
 
 II. — As the power of the Spirit. 
 
 It apj)ears that Calvin, as well as many others Mho have fol- 
 lowed him, explained our text as meaning that if the doctrine of 
 Christ crucified, is preached in the pulpit, i. e., if Christ be 
 lifted up by the ministers it will have a drawing effect upon the 
 hearers. Canon Eyle is rather severe unon this interpretation, 
 and thinks it an unfair accommodation of words, as the lifting 
 up can only refer to the crucifixion. 
 
 I^o doubt this is correct. But at the same time, before peo- 
 ple can be drawn to Christ they must be made acquainted with 
 Him. Before they can be attracted by the cross, they nmst 
 hear the story of the cross. " And how shall they hear with- 
 out a preacher?" And it is by the pov.er of the Holy Ghost 
 accompanying the preaching of the word that people are con- 
 vinced of sin and led to the Saviour. And no doubt that just 
 in proportion as Christ's ambassadors faithfully preach Christ 
 and Him crucified, will the Holy Spirit apply the word and 
 bless their work. That this power is necessary to the successful 
 preaching of the word is shown, I think, by the fact that our 
 blessed Lord bade His disciples tarry in Jerusalem until they 
 were endowed with power from on high. And it is to this that 
 St. Paul attributes his success in preaching to the Corintliians; 
 when he says : " My preaching was not with enticing words of 
 man's wisdom : but in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
 power." 
 
 I am aware that some people refer this to the miraculous 
 
 fifts possessed by the Apostles. But Alford thinks that St. 
 'aul, in the passage just quoted, is speaking subjectively, and 
 of the preaching itself as a demonstration of the truth " spring- 
 ing from the Spirit and power of God." And we must bear in 
 mind the fact that previous to the descent of the Holy Ghost 
 
I"1 '- 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 the disciples lacked two essential elements of power in preach- 
 ing, viz., knowledge and utterance. '* When He, the Spirit of 
 truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth," said Christ, 
 "He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.'' 
 
 " And when the day of Pentecost was fully come," they, not 
 only understood the things of Christ; but "they spake as the 
 Spirit gave them utterance.'* And then Christ not only prom- 
 ised to be with the Apostles : but with His Church until the 
 end of the world. And hence we believe that this power still 
 accompanies the faithful preaching of the word: and that these 
 two forces — the one, as I have termed it intrinsic ; the other 
 extrinsic : but given by Christ by virtue of His sacrificial death, 
 resurrection and ascension — are still operating to draw men to 
 Christ. 
 
 And this leads me to observe : 
 
 III. — That it is to Himself that Christ draws men. 
 
 However true it be that Christ came to e«itabiish a Church, 
 and not a mere system of ethics. And however necessary for 
 us to have a complete and perfect sy*>tein of theology : neither 
 the Church nor theology takes the first place in the New Testa- 
 ment Scriptures. There it is Christ. Christ who died. 
 Chrish who rose again from the dead. Christ who ascended 
 into heaven. Clirist who, with the Father, sends the Holy 
 Spirit upon His ])eople. Christ who intercedes for us, Clnist 
 who is to come again and take His people to Himself. There 
 Christ is the sun and centro of the system : the source of all 
 light and life : who is llimse. f tlw life and the truth. And just 
 as the sun — the centre of the solar sysfct- —by diffusing its 
 rays, sheds light and heat upon all around it, causing thj life- 
 germ of the seed to develop, the plant to grow and the tree to 
 produce its fruit, and by lis genial warmth draws all vegetable 
 life up towards itself: so is it with Christ. By the circula- 
 tion of the Serij)ture8 : by the preaching of the word and by 
 the Holy Spirit sent by Christ to receive of His and shew it 
 unto us, our understandings are enlightened and the love of 
 Christ is shed abroad in our hearts ; we are drawn up towards 
 Him, and by a right use of all the means of grace, we 
 grow in grace and we bring forth fruit unto righteousness. 
 But just as when the earth in its revolutions upon its 
 axis, turns away from the suji, all vegetation is checked in its 
 growth ; and if the surface of the earth be deprived of the sun's 
 rays for a length of time, as in the arctic regions, for instance, 
 all vegetable life becomes extinct : so is it with the soul. It is 
 only when enlightened and warmed by the rays of the sun of 
 
 ' : J~ • 
 
11 
 
 r in preaeh- 
 bhe Spirit of 
 said Christ, 
 ou." 
 
 !," they, not 
 pake as the 
 only prom- 
 ch until the 
 J power still 
 jd that these 
 3 ; the other 
 rificial death, 
 Iraw men to 
 
 I en. 
 
 ih a Church, 
 
 necessary for 
 
 logv : neither 
 
 e New Testa- 
 
 t who (lied. 
 
 who ascended 
 
 lids the Holy 
 
 )r us, Christ 
 
 mself. There 
 source of all 
 h. And just 
 diifiising its 
 
 ising th'j life- 
 
 nd the tico to 
 s all vegetable 
 
 V the cirenla- 
 word and by 
 
 i and shew it 
 d the love of 
 
 vr\ up towards 
 of grace, we 
 righteousness, 
 ons upon its 
 hocked in its 
 od of the sun's j 
 I, for instance, ; 
 he soul. It is j 
 of the sun of j 
 
 righteousness that spiritual life in the soul can exist and thrive. 
 I feir, my brethren, that we are too apt to forget this great 
 and all important truth. AVe are too ready to rest satisfied 
 with a mere orthodox creed, and respectable church member- 
 ship. If we attend to the services of the Church, partake of the 
 Holy Communion, and conform to the moral code which the 
 teaching and discipline of the Church require, we are prone to 
 comfort ourselves with the idea that nothing more is required 
 of us ; forgetting that these are not the end ; but only the 
 means to the end. 
 
 I yield to no one in reverence for the glorious old historic 
 Church to which we belong ; with its apostolic order and its 
 apostolic doctrine. The Church which has given to us — and to 
 the world an open bible. The Church which is to-day sending 
 the living voice into almost every part of the globe. The 
 Church which by God's blessing is taking root downward and 
 bearing fruit upward to such an extent that it bids fair soon to 
 give all nations shelter beneath its branches. This Church with 
 its open bible, its calm sober devotional liturgy, its sacraments, 
 its constantly recurring seasons of the christian year, its ])ro- 
 vision for the training of the lambs of Christ's flock. This 
 Church, not of my birth and childhood, but of my selection in 
 more mature years, I love with all the ardour of which my 
 soul is capable. And you, my brethren, are my witnesses that, 
 according to the al)ility which God has given me, I have sought 
 to imbue you all with the same loving regard for it. But God 
 forbid that ever I should attempt to put, or you to accept, the 
 Church in the place of Christ. No : He is the chief cornT 
 stoue of the Church without which it could not stand. He is 
 the head of the body without which the members could have no 
 life. He is the reservoir in which is stored, and from which 
 fl ows every grace and blessing that we need. It is therefore 
 as much for our good as for His glory that we shoidd be drawn 
 unto Him. While therefore we value highly the Church as the 
 body of Christ : and our own branch of it as one of the most 
 pure and vigorous members of the Church catholic ; while wo 
 reverence the office of the ministry, and honor the men in it 
 for their work's sake : let us rest satisfied with nothing short 
 of an individual contact with a personal, living Saviour. The 
 one whose words rang through the Temple on that great day of 
 the feast: and the sound of which is still reverberating through 
 the earth : ♦' If any man thirst let him come unto me and 
 drink." Yes brethren come and you shall have all you need : 
 for in Him there is " enough for each, enough for all and 
 enough for evermore." 
 
<r 
 
 ■v^^ 
 
 :W 
 
 
 il< 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 ■ -A* 
 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 And if your hearts feel cold, if your love for Christ is waD'ng, 
 your attach meat to Him feeble, let me urge you to draw near 
 to the cross. O brethren if you would have the smouldering 
 embers of your love fanned into a flame gather around the 
 cross. Behold there the Son of God suffering, bleeding, dying, 
 and in the midst of His agony not only caring for His mother ; 
 but praying for His enemies, and granting pardon and comfort 
 to the dying thief. 
 
 And remember this suffering and death was for you. " He 
 gave His life a ransom for many." " He died, the just for the 
 unjust, that He might bring us to God." Yes : — 
 
 " Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didat me 
 Upon the cross embrace, 
 For me didst bear the nails and spear 
 And manifold disgrace. 
 
 " And griefs and torments numberless, 
 And sweat of agony : 
 Yea death itself ; and all for me 
 Who was Thine enemj'. 
 
 '* Then why, blessed Jesus Christ 
 Should I not love Thee well ? 
 Not for the hope of winning heaven, 
 Nor of escaping hell. 
 
 " Not with the hope of gaining ought. 
 Not seeking a reward ; 
 But as Thyself hast lovdd me, 
 ever loving Lord." 
 
 ■.,.r-t.~r' 
 
 ■ i 
 
13 
 
 rist is waD'Dg, 
 to draw near 
 ) smouldering 
 r around the 
 lecding, dying, 
 ir His mother ; 
 n and comfort 
 
 u 
 
 )r you. " He 
 he just for the 
 
 'ence ^f the Cross, 
 
 ■ »Ot - 
 
 " And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcisioa, why do I yet suffer 
 persecution ? then is the offence of the cross ceased." — Gal. v. 11. 
 
 The Church in Galatia was — as is well known to all students 
 of this epistle — infested with a set of false teachers. Men who, 
 jealous of the influence of St. Paul, sought to undermine his 
 authority by throwing doubt upon the validity of his apostle- 
 ship. And who at the same time endeavoured — and with a 
 considerable amount of success — to introduce ajudaising element 
 into the doctrine of the church. Teaching that circumcision 
 was still necessary. And of course with circumcision the keep- 
 ing of the Jewish law. 
 
 His personal authority, St. Paul defends in the first two 
 chapters of this epistle, while chapters three and four contain 
 his defence of the doctrine of free grace, as opposed to salvation 
 by the works of the law. With t:his chapter — or according to 
 Alford — with the thirteenth verse of it, begins the more horta- 
 tory portion of the epistle. And before proceeding with it the 
 Apostle seems to pause for the purpose of meeting an argument 
 used by his opponents to the effect that he himself had preach- 
 ed circumcision, and was in reality in favor of it. And no 
 doubt they would try to make capital out of the fact that he 
 hp.d circumcised Timothy. But without going into an elaborate 
 argument upon the subject and giving his reasons for so doing : 
 Paul simply turns upon them and asks them why — this being 
 the case — they continue to oppose him. If we are agreed upon 
 this point, and all preach the same doctrine, why do ye not, 
 instead of opposing me, give me the right hand of fellowship ? 
 " If I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution ? 
 then is the offence of the cross ceased." His object being to 
 show that the very feet of their continuing to persecute him 
 was proof that he did not preach circumcision. 
 
 And this brings us to the subject of this sermon : the off'enoe 
 of the cross, 
 
 " We preach Christ crucified ; unto the Jews a stumbling 
 block" ; says St. Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians. 
 Where the word translated stumbling block is the same as here 
 translated offence, and is the ^ord from which comes our word 
 9C(vndal. 
 
! I I I 
 
 •■>^"i: 
 
 
 I i' 
 
 i.ti 
 
 iv' 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 m/- 
 
 U 
 
 Salvation through a crucified Eedeemer was so opposed to 
 the popular theology and general line of thought of the Jew of 
 that period, that while — aa -Ae observed in our previous sermon 
 — many gladly accepted Him as the long premised, and ardently 
 desired Messiah, the great majority of the people were scandal- 
 ized by it. It became to them a stumbling-block and a rock of 
 offence. It ran counter to all their preconceived ideas, disap- 
 pointed all their ambitious hopes of greatness and glory. In a 
 word, the cross was altogether too humbling for them. 
 
 I. It was fatal to all their hopes of national greatness. 
 That the Jews were anxiously looking for the advent of the 
 
 Messiah at the time when He actually appeared, w« know from 
 the readiness with which they lent themselves to the designs of 
 the various impostors who came forward about that time. But 
 the Messiah which they had pictured to their minds was very 
 different to the one foretold by the prophets and which, in ful- 
 filment of their predictions came at the time appointed. He 
 was, it is true, according to their idea, to be a Saviour. But it 
 was to save them from the power of their civil rulers, rather 
 than from the power of the dovil, and their own corrupt hearts. 
 He was to be a king. But it was to take immediate posses- 
 sion of the throne of David in Jerusalem, and i^ign over a 
 temporal Israel, rather than to become enthroned in their 
 hearts and govern a spiritual kingdom. He was to establish 
 peace. But it was to be peace of a national and international 
 kind, rather than a peace with God of which they did not feel 
 the need. And consequently when they saw Jesus of Nazareth 
 ascend the cross instead of the throne ; being "^ut to death by 
 the Eoman power instead of conquering it : instead of reign- 
 ing in triumph, being put to an ignomineous death — the death 
 of a slave : and when instead of the Homan eagles being 
 driven -out of the land, and the kingdom of Israel assuming 
 more than its Solomonic glory ; they still heard the measured 
 tread of the hated sentinel upon the pavement of the Sanctuary 
 enclosure : and were over-looked, even at their devotions by 
 the watchful eye of the centurion — in short, as their country 
 still remained but an insignificant pnivince of the mighty Ro- 
 man Empire, they were offended. 
 
 II. It was in direct antagonism to all their religious pre- 
 judices. 
 
 Had they not a divine 7 appointed priesthood, and a divinely 
 constituted service f Were not they exclusively God's chosen 
 people ? And yet if the doctrine of the cross, as preached by 
 the apostles, prevailed, all this would slip away from them. 
 
 • ■ 
 
 '■:\- 
 
so opposed to 
 of the Jew of 
 'Bvious sermon 
 1, and ardently 
 were scandal- 
 and a rock of 
 d ideas, disap- 
 d glory. In a 
 them, 
 greatness, 
 advent of the 
 w« know from 
 the designs of 
 lat time. But 
 linds was very 
 , which, in ful- 
 ppointed. He 
 iviour. But it 
 
 rulers, rather 
 corrupt hearts, 
 lediate posses- 
 1 i^ign over a 
 roned in their 
 'as to establish 
 d international 
 ley did not feel 
 lus of Nazareth 
 ■lut to death by 
 stead of reign- 
 ath — the death 
 a eagles being 
 Israel assuming 
 
 the measured 
 f the Sanctuary 
 ir devotions by 
 s their country 
 bhe mighty £to- 
 
 r religious pre- 
 
 , and a divinely 
 
 y God's chosen 
 
 as preached by 
 
 ay from them. 
 
 15 
 
 For these new preachers declared that this death was not only 
 sacrificial in its nature ; but that it superseded a!l the other 
 sacrifices which in fact were merely types of this one. 
 
 That this Jesus of Nazareth was Himself the Great High 
 Priest to which the Jewisli ; or Aaronic priesthood must give 
 place. And not only so : but that by the cross was broken 
 down the partition wall between Jew and Gentile : and that 
 henceforth all distinctions of nation, race and family should 
 cease. That henceforth there should be neither Jew nor Gen- 
 tile : bond nor free : male nor female : but that they all should 
 be one in Christ Jesus. And this was more than the Jew 
 could willingly accept. Of course he expected all nations of 
 the earth to be blessed through Abraham's seed : but it was to 
 be by submitting to the Jewish law, and receiving the sign and 
 seal of Abraham's faith — circumcision. But according to this 
 doctrine the rite itself was to be abolished ; and the Jew, with- 
 out any distinguishing mark whatevtr, to be placed on the same 
 level as the hitherto despised Gentile. 
 
 Such, in brief, was the distinctively Jewish phase of the 
 offence of the cross, at the time when the gospel was first 
 preached. 
 
 But although changed, as to its outward form, and mode of 
 expression, the offence of the cross, in all that constitutes its 
 essence still exists, and though the opponents of the cross are 
 perhaps less demonstrative than formerly they are still as un- 
 willing to accept its huoibling doctrines as ever they were. 
 
 How many there are who tell you, almost in so many words, 
 that to carry out the principles of Christianity would be to put 
 insuperable difficulties in their way to worldly advancement. 
 Talk to the ambitious, aspiring worldling about the humility, 
 self-denial and consideration for others taught by the cros:* ; 
 and he will treat it with disdain. Tell the selfish, grasping 
 money hunter of the riches laid aside and the poverty assumed 
 by Christ in order that we might be made rich. And ask him 
 to seek first the Kingdom of God — the true riches which the 
 cross purchased for him. And you will get as your answer, a 
 contemptuous shrug of the shoulder if nothing worse. 
 
 These men, like the Jews of old, want presenty material ad- 
 vantages ; and because the cross ofiiers them spiritual ones they 
 are offended. 
 
 Then again, one of the offensive features of the cioss is its 
 levelling principles. It makes no distinction between the res- 
 pectable worldling who moves in " good society " and the less 
 favoured sinner who has to make himself content with the more 
 
• r-i 
 
 Mil 
 
 
 IllU 
 
 ill!' 
 
 ^^'•?::/ 
 
 i i 
 
 II 
 
 I • 
 
 ■ 
 
 . I 
 
 
 W2 
 
 ^VS' 
 
 111 
 
 16 
 
 humble associations of life. Between the one vvhose educa- 
 tional advantages and social standing enable him to indulge in 
 its more refined forms ; and him who, through lack of this, 
 yields him*:?!! to its more gross and revolting features. 
 
 That the i'»dy in the drawing-room and the cook in the 
 kitchen ; the gennenjan who drives his tandem, and the stable 
 boy who cleans his harness ; the millionaire in his office, and 
 the beggar in the street, should be put on an equal footing is 
 indeed an offence to many. And particularly it is so when even 
 the morally living man is told that he is as much in need of 
 the cross as the one whose sin is notorious. That " the scrip- 
 ture hath concluded all under sin " is a doctrine which is as 
 "bnoxious to them as it was to the Jew. 
 
 And this leads me to observe. 
 
 III. The cross strikes at the root of that which is dear to 
 the heart, not only of the Jew, but of all mankind — the prin- 
 ciple of self-righteousness. 
 
 The language of the law was : do this and thou shalt live. 
 And although no man could ever lay claim to having met all its 
 requirements, yet as provision was made for failure in this re- 
 spect, by the sin, trespass and other offerings, the Jew could 
 acknowledge his shortcomings without — to any great extent 
 — affecting his selt-rigbteousness. In fact that principle was 
 fed and nurtured, so to speak, by those very offerings. The 
 animal to be offered must be furnished by him. The ceremony 
 was to be participated in by him. And therefore while it was a 
 confespiou of sin and the need of forgiveness, yet there was so 
 much of doing in it, so much of personal service, and personal 
 sacrifice, all of which afforded a certain amoant of gratification 
 to the carnal mind that I repeat it fostered this principle of 
 which we are speaking. 
 
 Of course we know it was not the object of the law and its 
 sacrifies to do this ; but the reverse. Doubtless those sacrifices 
 were intended, among other things, to show roan his fallen con- 
 dition and the need of expiation ; and that without shedding of 
 blood there is no remission of sin. They were, no doubt, also 
 intended to point him forward to the One who by the sacrifice 
 of Himself should put away sin. But to the average mind of 
 the carnal Jew they meant nothing more than that the imper- 
 fections of his life were atoned for, and that practically he stood 
 sinless before God. 
 
 This delusion the cross dispelled. By it the powerlessness 
 of the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin was made 
 maaiifest. And farther, that although these sucrifioes had had 
 
\vhose educa- 
 to indulge in 
 lack of this, 
 tures. 
 
 B cook in the 
 and the stable 
 his office, and 
 qual footing is 
 ,8 so when even 
 mch in need of 
 at " the scrip- 
 ne which is as 
 
 their divinely appointed offices to fiJl their purposes were now 
 served, and therefore they were to r ise. That for the future 
 all who would be saved must simply accept the one sacrifice 
 offered for them ; and thut, not as a suppliment to their own 
 efforts, a remedy for their individual defects, hut as the sole 
 ground of their forgiveness and acceptance. In short the Jew 
 was now to be told, as he is in this epistle, that the law under 
 which he had been living, and by the provisions of which he 
 had prided himself of being so perfect before God, was never 
 intended to be more than a guardian — tutor to prepare him for 
 Christ. 
 
 We are now in a position to form some idea — though per- 
 haps a very imperfect one — of the shock which this doctrine 
 would give the mind of pharisaical Jews. And understanding 
 this we may cease to wonder at the determined opposition 
 shown by so many of them to the cross. 
 
 But do not imagine, my brethren, that this principle of self- 
 rightdousness was confined to those Jews ; or to the days of the 
 early church : and that it has no interest for us beyond that of 
 an antiquarian curiosity. Do not suppose that the offence of 
 the cross — in this respect — has ceased. No, this principle is 
 deeply rooted in human nature ; and nothing but the grace of 
 God can eradicate it. Nothing is more distasteful to the natural 
 man than the doctrine of the cross as unfolded in the epistles 
 of St. Paul. That salvation is a free gift ; and must be ac- 
 cepted as such, or not accepted at all : that it is " not of 
 works lest any man should boast," is a doctrine which goes to 
 
 the very bottom of the pharisaioal complacency of the human 
 
 hich is dear to 
 ind— the prin- 
 
 thou sbalt live, 
 wing met all its 
 lure in this re- 
 
 the Jew could 
 ly great extent 
 t principle was 
 
 offerings. The 
 
 The ceremony 
 
 re while it was a 
 
 et there was so 
 
 1 rsnnal i ^'^*' very uotioiii oi me puansaicui couipiuceucy oi me 
 
 ce, an f„ , . i heart, and disturbs the foundation upon which it rests. And. 
 
 ? ^ ?' . I £ i hence its distastefulness. Let a man believe that there is some- 
 
 "® P ^ ' thing meritorious in his prayers, bible-readings, church-going,. 
 
 alms-giving, and his various other christian works ; that they will 
 I be accepted by God as a " set off'' against his numerous sins of 
 omission and commission ; and he will, as a rule, be quite 
 willing to allow Christ to step in — if we may so speak — and, 
 make up any little deficiency which may remain. But tell him 
 that he must come as a vile, helpless, unworthy sinner, and sue^ 
 \ for mercy, laying aside all idea of merit in his own doings, and 
 simply accepting what has been done for him ; and at once the 
 offence of the cross appears. 
 
 It is no doubt largely owing to this that Christianity so soon 
 
 became corrupted, and that corrupt forms of it have so exten- 
 
 I sively prevailed. That we now see so many who will endure- 
 
 I long, painful fastings, perform laborious rounds of so calledi 
 
 he law and its 
 IS those sacrifices 
 in his fallen con- 
 lout shedding of 
 
 no doubt, also 
 
 by the sacrifice 
 average mind of 
 
 that the imper- 
 ictically he stood 
 
 e poweriessness 
 sin was made 
 icrifioes had had 
 
18 
 
 It'. ■ 
 
 religious duties, ar 'u a vlnriety of ways afflict themselves, who 
 at the same time sho^v by the way in which they profane God's 
 holy name and day : by their open neglect — I had almost said 
 defiance — of His laws, that their hearts are unchanged, their 
 wills unsubdued, and that the love of God is not in them. 
 
 But this principle shows itself in various other ways ; some- 
 times assuming the guise of the deepest humility : as for in- 
 stance when we find people professing to be afraid to believe that 
 God will pardon them until they have repented more, wept 
 more, prayed more, felt more and so on. As if their lamenta- 
 tions and tears possessed a commercial value which could be given 
 to God as an atonement for their sins. In fact it seems to suit 
 the bent of the natural will to reverse God's order of things : 
 and instead of accepting salvation through Christ and then by 
 the influence and aid of the Holy Spirit, working otU their sal- 
 vation in the subduing of the flesh, the purifying of the body, 
 soul and spirit : to kfeep aloof from Christ until by their prayers, 
 repentance and good works they imagine themselves worthy of 
 His acceptance. And this principle is far more wide-spread 
 and dominant in its operations than perhaps many of us 
 imagine. 
 
 But whilst what has been said is true of many : thank God 
 there are also many who, taught by the spirit, have learned the 
 sad truth concerning the condition of their hearts in the sight of 
 God. Have been enabled to give up all idea of salvation by 
 their own merits. Have been led to renounce self : And in 
 the language of David to cry " I acknowledge my transgres- 
 sions, and my sin is ever before me." " Have mercy upon 
 mb, O God." " Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and 
 cleanse me from my sin." " Create in me a clean heart, 6 God, 
 and renew a right spirit within me." 
 
 And not only have they been led to see and mourti their sin- 
 fulness and sue for mercy : but also to look away from them- 
 selves to the cross ; and in the person of Him crucified thereon 
 to recognize the one who was delivered for their offences ; who 
 died for them " the just for the unjust that He might bring 
 them to God." The one who as the good shepherd declared 
 that He laid down His life for the sheep. The one who said : 
 " come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I 
 will give you rest." " Him that cometh unto me I will in no 
 wise cast out." And thus believing in Him as one mighty and 
 willing to save they have come to Him with the language of the 
 pciet,'if (Wt on their lipii at least in their hearts : — 
 
 '■n' 
 
%9 
 
 IreS, who 
 me God '8 
 nost said 
 jed, their 
 em. 
 
 8 ; some- 
 19 for in- 
 lieve that 
 ore, wept 
 lamenta- 
 1 be given 
 118 to suit 
 f things : 
 then by 
 their sal- 
 the body, 
 r prayers, 
 worihij of 
 de-spread 
 ay of U3 
 
 lank God 
 earned the 
 le sight of 
 vation by 
 : And in 
 ransgres- 
 Tcy upon 
 uity and 
 t, 6 God, 
 
 heir sin- 
 inn them- 
 thereon 
 68 ; who 
 vht bring 
 declared 
 ho said : 
 n and I 
 irill in no 
 ghty and 
 ge of the 
 
 ** Just as I am, without one plea 
 But that Thy blood was phed for me 
 And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, ' 
 Lamb of God I come. 
 
 .*' Just as I am, and waiting not ... 
 
 To rid my soul of one d^rk blot ; 
 To Thee whose blood can cleanse such spot, 
 Lamb of God I come. 
 
 , " Just as \ am, Thou wilt receive ; 
 
 Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
 Because Thy promise I believe, 
 Lamb of God I come." 
 
 And now, my brethren, let me ask what is your individual 
 position with regard to the cross ? Is Christ crucified a stum- 
 bling-block to you ? Are you so well satisfied with your own 
 goodn:)ss ; the purity of your heart, the unselfishness of your 
 principles, the honesty of your purposes and the blamelessness 
 1 of your life as to feel no need of the atoning blood of the 
 -• Saviour ? Can you look forward to the time when you will be 
 called upon to answer for the deeds done in the bddy with such 
 confidence as to feel no need of one to step in between you 
 and God's justice ? If so let me entreat of you to enter your 
 closet and in the presence of Him whose ayes Are in every 
 place beholding the evil and the good, who trieth the hearts, 
 lay bare all the hidden and secret springs of action. Probe 
 your heart to its very core. Test honestly every motive. 
 Shrink not from bringing to the sur&ce ev6ry particle of selfish- 
 ness, which you find there ; whatever there may be of self- 
 esteem, love of pre-eminence, desire for worldly advantage, to 
 say nothing of still lower motives. And cease not uhtil you 
 have laid bare Everything. And having done so, and the 
 mind's eye having carofully surveyed and taken stock of the 
 whole, test it by the divine standard. Try it by sitch passages 
 of God's w^ord as : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
 all thy heart, with all thy sotil and with all thy mind.'' ** If 
 any man love the woridj tne bve of the father is nofc in him." 
 If anjr tioian love &ther or mbUier more Uun me^ he is not 
 worthy of me." And it you do not leave your closet with your 
 <e6timatd of yourtelf very much lowered I have little hope for 
 
 But perhaps you will tell me that God is merciful. That He 
 knows you to be placed in the midst of temptations and difiS<- 
 culties. And consequently you expect some allowance to be 
 made for all these untoward circumstances. That God is mer>- 
 

 if:. 
 
 6.V. V 
 
 
 20 
 
 ciful needs no proof. If He were not, neither you nor I. worild 
 be occupying our present positions. And that God will judge 
 righteously 1 am fully convinced, not only by the very nature of 
 the case : but from the assurances of His own word. 
 
 But that is not the question now before us. The question is : 
 will you allow God who out of His abundant mercy. His un- 
 fathomable goodness, has provided a Saviour and wrought out 
 a plan of salvation, save you in His own way ; or will you per- 
 sist in refusing and trying to save yourself? If so there can 
 be but one result. 
 
 Let me here use a simple illustration : You have fallen 
 overboard and you cannot swim. You are clothed with heavy 
 garments which are fast becoming saturated with water, and 
 you are a long distance from the shore. Another man who is 
 a swimmer and well able to rescue you from your perilous posi- 
 tion, jumps overboard after you and offers to save you. But 
 instead of thankfully accepting the offer, your pride — or if you 
 wish, your self-respect — leads you to decline it, as you cannot 
 humble yourself to accept such aid ; but will save yourself or 
 die in the attempt. You know what the result would be. Do 
 you reply that no one would be guilty of such folly ? Perhaps 
 not. But those who refuse to accept salvation through Christ 
 are guilty of greater folly. We are immersed, as it were, in 
 sin. And our nature is such that we cannot rise above the 
 element surrounding us : but on the other hand we are being 
 surely carried down by it. Christ comes and offers us salvation. 
 And if we reject Him our case is hopeless. We must have 
 salvation by the cross ; or no salvation at all. 
 
 But, my brethren, I would fain hope better things of you. I 
 would hope that realizing your sinfulness and need of a Saviour, 
 and looking away to the cross and the lamb of God slain there- 
 on ; you have, instead of being offended, most thankfully re- 
 ceived that. His inestimable gift — the gift of Himself : and that 
 you are daily striving, by the grace of Gk>d to make Him the 
 only return in your power which will be acceptable to Him and 
 beneficial to you, by crucifying the flesh with its affections and 
 lusts ; and yielding your members as instruments of righteous- 
 ness unto God. And thus giving yourselves to Him who gave 
 Himself for you, you will find that that which to others is an 
 offence, or stone of stumbling, is to you the power of God unto 
 salvatioii. „.; ,.„ ..^ 
 
 
 .»*.; Kl 
 
 •>' I ' 
 
 'H J-" W 
 
 ..li 
 
 \v. 
 
21 
 
 r I. wovild 
 nil judge 
 nature of 
 
 lestion is : 
 His UQ- 
 
 mght out 
 you per- 
 
 bhere can 
 
 ive fallen 
 th heavy 
 ^ater, and 
 n who is 
 lous posi- 
 ou. But 
 or if you 
 3U cannot 
 ourself or 
 I be. Do 
 
 Perhaps 
 ;h Christ 
 
 were, in 
 ibove the 
 ire being 
 salvation, 
 lust have 
 
 1 you. I 
 Saviour, 
 in there- 
 lully re- 
 and that 
 Him the 
 Him and 
 ions and 
 ghteous- 
 Nho gave 
 ^rs is an 
 ]|^od unto 
 
 
 The Wisdom of the Cross. 
 
 "We preach Christ crucifled, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 unto the Greeks, foolishness : but unto them which are called, both 
 Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." 
 —1 Cor. i. 23, 24. 
 
 In our last sermon we observed that Christ crucified was 
 unto the Jews an offence on ••cy'^uut of its running counter 
 to their preconceived ideas ; of its levelling principles ; and 
 t>e attack which it made upon their principle of salvation by 
 tho works of the law. And hence, their determined opposi- 
 tion to it. 
 
 But to the Greeks this doctrine was objectionable on other 
 grounds. While the Jew professed to be willing to accept the 
 crucified Nazareno as the Messiah, if God would give him some 
 unmistakable token that such was the Divine Will, the Greek 
 treated the doctrine as being too foolish to deserve his serious 
 attention. Thus, at Athens, when Paul had opened up, to 
 some extent, the truth of the Gospel, and preached, through 
 Christ, the resurrection from the dead, some mocked, and 
 others politely " bowed him out" by telling him they would 
 hear him at some future time. A promise which we have every 
 reason to believe they never intended to fulfil. And we may 
 suppose the Athenians to be a fair specimen of the cultured 
 Greeks generally. Proud of their mental powers and lo^'.cal 
 training ; and having unlimited confidence in their philosophical 
 systems. A nd, unlike the Jews, not having been trained under 
 a series of revelations from heaven ; they put everything to the 
 test of reason. And whatever, after that test, did not recom- 
 mend itself to their judgment was of course rejected. Now it 
 is easy to imagine how difficult it would be for such people to 
 accept the doctrine of the cross. They were asked to believe 
 in, and accept one, as the Saviour of the world, who according 
 to their view of the matter had been proved incapable of saving 
 Himself. To believe in one as the Son of God who had actually 
 been put to death by man. To believe not only in the actual 
 restoration to life of the body of Christ after lying in the grave : 
 but also that there was to be, as the result of His death and 
 resurrection, a general resurrection of the dead. All of which 
 was so contrary to their hopes and expectations, and so impos- 
 
; >;•" ■ '.■ .' 
 
 22 
 
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 gible to be accounted for by their philosophy that they pro- 
 nounced it foolishness. So it may be in your estimation, says 
 St. Paul, but we who have become believers in the crucified one 
 have found it to be capable of doing what your boasted wisdom 
 never did. It is saving souls, enabling men to overcome their 
 sinful habits, hold in check their lusts and passions. It is pro- 
 moting good will between man and man, making men live better 
 lives here, and fitting them for a higher and holier life here- 
 after. And therefore, foolish as it may be in your eyes, we 
 consider it to be the highest wisdom possible, even the wisdom 
 of God. It is to this latter thought, viz. : the wisdom of God 
 as displayed in the cross, that I desire now to direct your par- 
 ticular attention. And I shall endeavour to explain and 
 illustrate it under various heads as far as the limited time at 
 my disposal will allow. 
 
 I. The wisdom of the cross is seen by the fact that it opens 
 up a way of access to God. 
 
 I need not occupy your time by proving the need of this, as 
 it is universally felt, and the various systems of religion, where- 
 ever found, are but the expression of the sad truth that man is 
 a sinner against his Maker and needs some means of reconcilia- 
 tion. And all revelation as given to us in Holy Scripture, is 
 based upon this fact as well as its being a truth which is deeply 
 graven in the hearts and consciences of us all. From the day when 
 Adam and Eve " hid themselves from the presence of the Lord 
 God, among the trees of the garden," unto the present time man 
 has felt his unfitness for holding intercourse with his Maker 
 without some daysman to stand between them. 
 
 But who shall be found to do this ? No man can do it for 
 all men are sinners. " There is none righteous : no not one." 
 An angel cannot do it for he can in no way be man^s represen- 
 tative either as making atonement for his sins ; or acting as 
 mediator. Who then shall be found with suflScient wisdom to 
 devise a plan, and establish a means whereby man may receive 
 forgiveness of sins past and have access to God for the future ? 
 Can the philosophy of the Sage supply this want ? So far from 
 having done so at the time when they were objecting to the 
 cross ; the philosophers had failed to understand the full nature 
 of the service God required at their hands and consequently 
 the extent to which they had fallen short. Much less were 
 they able to provide the remedy. Who then shall be found, we 
 again ask, to rescue man from his lost condition ? Brethren 
 the cross is the answei' to th»t question. God's infinite wis- 
 dom devised the plan, and He in His infinite love gave His 
 
23 
 
 fiey pro- 
 ion, says 
 lifted one 
 I wisdom 
 »me their 
 [t is pro- 
 ive better 
 ife here- 
 eyes, we 
 } wisdom 
 
 I of God 
 ^our par- 
 lain and 
 
 time at 
 
 it opens 
 
 ' this, as 
 1, where- 
 kt man is 
 jconcilia- 
 pture, is 
 is deeply 
 liiy when 
 the Lord 
 ime man 
 s Maker 
 
 do it for 
 lot one." 
 •epresen- 
 icting as 
 isdoni to 
 y receive 
 
 future ? 
 
 far from 
 g to the 
 
 II nature 
 equently 
 388 were 
 )und, we 
 Brethren 
 nite wis- 
 ave His 
 
 own Son who tqok our nature upon Him, and so united the God- 
 head and manhood in one person. And having done so He on 
 the cross became a sacrifice, as the second Article of our Church 
 puts it, " not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins 
 of men." " He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in Him." And having 
 thus put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and made recon- 
 ciliation for the sins of the people, He committed unto His 
 Church the word of recouc.!.ation. And now all who through 
 the preaching of that word believe on Him are justified from 
 all things ; and being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God." By this means God is just and the justifier of him that 
 believeth. Therefore let the philosopher, ancient or modern, 
 object to he cross as much as he will, %'<? rejoice to know it is, 
 not only rhe power of God, but also the wisdom of God. 
 
 II. Xhe wisdom of the cross is seen in its adaptability to 
 the needs of all men. 
 
 It is characteristic of great minds to be of wide range, com- 
 prehensive grasp, and broad sympathies. Thus whilst almost 
 anyone can fraternize with those who have the same views and 
 are of the same general temperament as himself, and all but 
 the most callous will sympathize with his own kindred, it is 
 only the man whose greatness of mind and heart places him 
 above these little boundary lines of party, sect and nation that 
 can take within the capacious grasp of his sympathy the whole 
 family of man. 
 
 And whilst almost any " village politician " can legislate f 
 his ow n class and its interests, it requires the comprehensive 
 intellect of the real statesman to understand the wants, and 
 legislate for the interests of the various iudividiuils and indus- 
 tries of a great nation. But where can the man be found, who as 
 a philanthropist, politician, or in any ^ther capacity, shall de- 
 vise a plan far-reaching enough in its provisions to meet the 
 requirements and promote the interests of the whole race. And 
 at the same time so simple in its aj)plication as to be available 
 for e\eryone; and so eftective in operation as to disappoint none 
 who honestly adopt it ? Could such a man be found, he would 
 be applauded and extolled as the greatest genius that the world 
 ever saw. He would be regarded as but one step below a God. 
 
 But what no man, nor body of men, ever did or ever can do 
 for the temporal needs of man, God — by the cross — has doue 
 for his highest, his spiritual needs. 
 
 1. The cross embraces within its desiyn all mankind. 
 
 ^' God so loved the world ; not the Jews merely ; or tho. 
 
•r ■ . r 
 
 ! 
 
 t 't 
 
 224 
 
 Eomaus ; or the English speaking races : but the worid ; that 
 He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him 
 shall not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 
 " Tliere is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, 
 the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all." — 
 (1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.) If any man sin we have an advocate with the 
 Father ; Jesus Christ the righteous : and He is the propitia- 
 tion for our sins : and not for ours only ; but also for the sins 
 of tJie tvhole world." (I Jno. ii. 1, 2.) " Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel unto ever}/ creature.'* No nation, 
 people, or tongue is excluded. And if anyone ask" : is the 
 doctrine of the cross adapted to the wants, capacities, and pre- 
 ju(tices of all the various races of men to be met with on the 
 gloDe? let the records of our missionary societies answer the 
 question. 
 
 But not to pass this question without some consideration, 
 we notice : 
 
 2. That it is particularly adapted to the capacities of those 
 whose educational advantages are limited, or as we m»iy call 
 them, the poor. 
 
 The comparatively poor, and slightly educated class, has always 
 formed in the past: and must — notwithstanding all the modern 
 improved educational appliances — continue to form the large 
 majority of mankind. And any religious system which fails to 
 meet the neede, or suit the capacities of *^his class can certainly 
 lay no claim to wisdom. In this, even if in nothing else, all 
 mere systems of philosophy have miserably failed. But in the 
 (TOSS the moi^t illiterate find that which they can both under- 
 stand and appreciate ; for it brings home to them in a way 
 which no mere verbal teaching could, the fact that notwith- 
 standing their sinfulness, God still loves them. By the cross 
 they are enabled to see and to feel the force of St. Paul's words 
 in his epistle to the Bomans : *' God commevdeth If is hwe 
 towards us, in that, v\hile we were yet sinners, Christ Hied for 
 us." It requires but little mental ability to understand that 
 nothing but love could produce such a sacrifice. And although 
 they may not be able to give a very clear explanation ot the 
 Gospel plan of salvation, they know that the cross was endured 
 for them ; this touches their hearts and they are led to love 
 Him ; because He first loved them. Yes ; thank God, " to 
 the poor the Gospel is preached," and not preached in vain. 
 
 3. It is adapted to the needs of the man of business. 
 
 The world in which we live is a world of toil. There are 
 few in it who can afford to idly float down the stream of time. 
 
25 
 
 rid ; that 
 h in Him 
 
 and men, 
 ,r alir— 
 with the 
 propitia- 
 r the sins 
 ,0 all the 
 
 nation, 
 « : is tlie 
 and pre- 
 
 1 on the 
 svver the 
 
 deration, 
 
 of those 
 may call 
 
 19 alwaj^s 
 Bs modern 
 ;he large 
 h fails to 
 certainly 
 
 else, all 
 t in the 
 I under- 
 n a v\'ay 
 notvvith- 
 le cross 
 
 s words 
 His love 
 died for 
 nd that 
 il though 
 n ot X\\e 
 endured 
 o love 
 )d, "to 
 
 ain. 
 
 ore are 
 jf time. 
 
 "With the great majority life is one continual struggle. And 
 even those who find what they are sometimes pleased to call 
 " fortune,'* more propitious, have their time and energies 
 pretty well occupied in providing for the temporal wants of 
 themselves and their families, and consequently they have little 
 time for indulgence in philosophical speculations or poetical 
 fancies. And therefore whilst a way of salvation such as 
 would have suited those old Greeks, might do very well for 
 those who enjoy that rare commodity, " learned leisure," it 
 would ill suit those who have to eat their bread in the sweat 
 of their face ; and to have framed such a system would, to say 
 the least of it, have displayed little wisdom. For, apart from 
 the fact that the great majority would have been necessarily 
 shut out from any hope of heaven, there must ever have been 
 an unholy divorce between religion and secular industry. I am 
 sorry to say there is too much of this, even now, with some 
 people. You often hear people talk of religion as if it consist- 
 ed of merely saying prayers, reading the Bible and attending 
 church. And they speak of all secular employment as if it 
 were irreligious, as for example when they tell you that they 
 cannot be religious because they have so little time to devote to 
 it : being occupied at their stores, or elsewhere so many hours 
 in the day. As if buying and selling, when done honestly and 
 from proper motives, were not religious acts. Think you my 
 brethren that Jesus of Nazareth was acting less religiously 
 when at the carpenter's bench, than when preaching the sermon 
 on the Mount ? No, in each case He was about His Father's 
 business, was doing His duty to God and to man. And He 
 who thus hallowed honest toil, whether of hand or brain, not 
 only approves of our following His example : but also by the 
 cross provided a means of salvation adapted to the needs of 
 those who have to be so engaged. 
 
 4. But it is also adapted to the capacity of the learned and 
 the studious. 
 
 Do not make the mistake of supposing that because the cross 
 is suited to the needs and capacities of the poor, the unlearn- 
 ed and the toiler ; it is suited only to such. This would be to 
 practically adopt the error of the Greeks mentioned in the text, 
 who would probably have admitted that it might do well enough 
 for the vulgar masses, but was unsuitcd to the cultivated mind. 
 Of course we, in our day, need no argument to prove our posi- 
 tion under this head, as we can point back to the long line of 
 learned men among whom are to be found some of the most 
 gigantic minds and logical acumen, whose works upon the 
 

 m 
 
 26 
 
 •i. i 
 
 '■■'■^ i 
 
 atonement and and kindred subjects have come down to us. 
 And also to some of the deepest thinkers of the present day, 
 who find in the cross sufficient scope for their faculties and food 
 for their reflection. And how can it be otherwise? Is there not 
 in the love w} ^ prompted it, the wisdom which devised it, the 
 power which d it into execution enough to occupy the 
 
 mind and elici* e admiration of the greatest intellect ? Yes, 
 " without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God 
 manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, 
 preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received 
 up into glory.'' And when we have exhausted all the powers 
 of the mind upon it, we shall have to take up the language of 
 St. Paul : " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdor- and 
 knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and 
 His ways past finding out." 
 
 III. The wisdom of the cross is seen in the fact that it ex- 
 alts God and humb.es man. 
 
 Sin may be defined as rebellitm against Go*!. Whether 
 Milton is correct or not in making the sin of the fallen angels 
 to consist in reJjellion in heaven, it is not for me to say : but 
 1 see no reason for doubting the correctness of his theory. 
 But certain it is that the first sin upon earth was of that na- 
 ture ; and that has constituted the very essence of sin ever 
 since. As St. Paul says : ** the natural mind is not subject to 
 the law of God, neither indeed can be." And this rebellion is 
 the result of pride, llebellion in the state has been defended 
 on the ground that the one rebelled against was an usurper or a 
 tyrant. But no such charge can be brought against God who 
 is the creator, and consequently the lawful ruler of the universe, 
 and who, at the same time, rules in the best interests of His 
 creatures. 
 
 Now rebellion against lawful authority wrongs, not only 
 those rebelled against, but also those who rebel. 
 
 For example : let the members of a family rebel against the 
 head of the family and depose him from his lawful position, 
 and something very like anarchy will prevail. For while all 
 may agree in refusing obedience to the lawful head, it is not 
 likely they will agree to render obedience to any one member. 
 It is the same only on a larger scale when it is rebellion in the 
 state. When pride has produced rebellion there will be envy 
 and strife ; and as St. James savs : — " Where envv and strife 
 are, tliere is confusion and every evil work." And this, alas, is 
 only too true a picture of the present state of the world, brought 
 about by rebelliun Against God> A ud a§ i^ i^ de^sirable that 
 
 1 J 
 
 ' 
 
27 
 
 n to us. 
 sent d^y* 
 I and food 
 there not 
 led it, the 
 cupv the 
 •t? ' Yes, 
 98. God 
 at' angels, 
 , received 
 le powers 
 nguage of 
 idor" and 
 lents and 
 
 lat it ex- 
 
 Whether 
 en angels 
 
 say : but 
 is theory. 
 ' that na- 
 
 sin ever 
 subject to 
 bellioii is 
 
 defended 
 
 rper or a 
 God who 
 
 universe, 
 
 8 of His 
 
 not only 
 
 jainst tho 
 
 position, 
 
 while all 
 
 it is not 
 
 member. 
 
 on in tho 
 
 I be envy 
 
 md strife 
 
 is, alas, is 
 
 , brought 
 
 able that 
 
 God and man should be reinstated, if I may so speak, in their 
 proper relative positions ; that God shall receive the homage 
 and honor which are His due ; and that man shall be saved, 
 not only from the consequences of his sins hereafter ; but also 
 from the power of sin here ; — in other words : in order that 
 God's honor and man's good should be promoted by the return 
 ot thvi latter to his allegiance, it was necessary that any plan 
 which had for its object the accomplishing of this should em- 
 body in its provisions, evidences, not only of the power, but 
 also of the goodness of God — should be calculated to show 
 man his ingratitude ; and so humble him in his own eyes, and 
 at the same time exalt his Maker, that he, in very shame, as it 
 were, should cease to rebel and come back loyally to the service 
 of his Master. 
 
 And let me ask you, my brethorn, what could be more calcu- 
 lated to do this than the cross ? Surely, if a sinner can look 
 at the cross unmoved ; can see all that God there gave for 
 him, all that Christ endured for the sole purpose of reclaim- 
 ing him from sin and Satan, and still deliberately go on in his 
 wickedness, there is nothing that can soften and reclaim him. 
 And this leads me to observe — 
 
 IV. The wisdom of the cross is seen by what it has accom- 
 plished. 
 
 " Every tree sht^ll be known by its fruits." And judged by 
 this standard, the wisdom of the cross is apparent to all but 
 the wilfully blind. Look around and see those who were once 
 godless ; living with no object but that of self-gratification ; 
 some of them leading notoriously evil lives ; but who are now 
 walking humbly with their God. Those who were formerly 
 blasphemers, now uniting with God's people in singing His 
 praise. Those who were in time past to be found amongst the 
 deseorators of God's holy day ; now taking their places as 
 teachers in the Sunday school. Those who once devoted all 
 their talents to the service of the devil, now devoting them to the 
 service of God. And again look at that noble band who having 
 caught the spirit of their Master have left home, and friends, 
 and gone forth to the uttermost ends of the earth to preach 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ. What has wrought this 
 wonderful change ? What has infused this spirit of self-de)?ial 
 into the hearts of those people ? And what is it that has made 
 them successful ? And then to take a wider range what is it 
 that has wrought such a change in those nations of the earth 
 which now profess and call themselves christian f Brethren, this 
 mighty influence which is abroad in the earth, making such 
 
J 
 
 
 if 
 
 I 
 
 ; i' I 
 
 28 
 
 wonderful changes for good is none other than the influence of 
 the cross. 
 
 But time would fail me to trace the wisdom of the cross 
 through all its phases and I therefore pause. All I have been 
 able to do is to stand, as it were, by the wayside and point out 
 to you some few of the directions in which you may travel and 
 explore the boundless wisdom of Him who is the all — the only 
 wise God. I say point out to you, for I have not been able 
 to go with you beyond a few steps in any direction. But if 
 from what I have said you shall be ind uced to explore in the 
 different directions indicated ; or, to drop metaphor, if you 
 will work out for yourselves the thoughts here little more than 
 suggested, I promise you a rich reward for your labor. 
 
 But let me in conclusion endeavour to impress upon you 
 what I conceive to be the highest wisdom on your part ; or I 
 would rather say our part, for I have no desire to exclude 
 myself. 
 
 If the cross u the result of infinite wisdom. If when the 
 all-wise Grod, devising a way by which he could redeem fallen 
 man without compromising His own justice, or holiness ; — a 
 plan which should be effectual in reclaiming the lost, of sub- 
 duing the heart and purifying the life — He saw this to be the 
 most complete one which infinite skill could construct; and if 
 this wonderful design was carried into effect entirely for our 
 benefit — all of which we believe to be the case — then surely 
 it were the wildest folly to oppose it as is done by those who 
 seek to save themselves : or to be saved in any other way than 
 this one. The highest wisdom of the creature is — under any 
 circumstances — to submit to the will of the Creator. And in 
 this case it is certainly the highest wisdom on the part of those 
 who are lost and need a Saviour, to submit to Him who is able 
 and willing to save. 
 
 And finally if the soul of man is of sufficient importance to 
 engage the wisdom of the Infinite in devising means by which 
 it may be rescued from death : certainly we can show no 
 greater wisdom than in valuing that which He values, caring 
 for that for which He cares and in seeking the saWnlion of that 
 which the cross was designed to save. See to it L-nen my bre- 
 thren that ye neglect not so great a salvation ; but rather give 
 all diligence to make your calling and election sure, and so an 
 entrance shall be given you into the everlasting kingdom of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And I doubt not that 
 amongst the many thoughts which shall occupy our attention 
 and form the theme of our songs of adoration in heaven, the 
 wisdom of the cross will hold a foremost place. 
 
29 
 
 uence 
 
 of 
 
 :he cross 
 ave been 
 point out 
 ravel and 
 -the only 
 been able 
 . But if 
 )re in the 
 p, if you 
 nore than 
 
 ipon you 
 irt ; or I 
 ) exclude 
 
 >vheu the 
 em fallen 
 ness ; — a 
 b, of sub- 
 to be the 
 ;; and if 
 kr for our 
 in surely 
 ;hose who 
 way than 
 inder any 
 And in 
 ; of those 
 10 is able 
 
 rtance to 
 by which 
 show no 
 53, caring 
 n rf that 
 my bre- 
 ther give 
 nd 80 an 
 gdom of 
 not that 
 attention 
 aven, the 
 
 The Death of the Cross. 
 
 lOI 
 
 " And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross." — Phil, ii., 8. 
 
 There are, perhaps, few passages of Holy Scripture in which 
 the condescension of ovr blessed l<ord is more graphically por- 
 trayed than in this and the three preceding verses. 
 
 The Apostle being desirous of impressing upon the Philippians 
 the practical virtues of meekness, gentleness, and self sacrifice 
 for the good of others : holds up to them — as is his practice — 
 the example of Christ, who although God, equal to the Father, 
 and sharing in all the glory of heaven ; angels and arch-angels 
 paying Him homage and doicg Him service : Yet for our sakes 
 emptied Himself of all this glory, laid it all aside, and came 
 down to this lower world — this world of sin — not in the form 
 of an angel, but in human flesh. And that not in the garb and 
 dignity of a ruler ; but in the humble position of a servant. 
 Though Lord of all, He came not to command ; but to obey. 
 
 And this, of itself, was condescension far greater than we can 
 possibly conceive in as much as while we know the meanness of 
 His condition here, we can form no idea of the glory which He 
 laid aside there. But great as was this condescension, He 
 humbled Himself yet further by consenting to die ; and, as if 
 death in itself was not humilation enough. He, as a climax ot 
 His submission, consented to die the most cruel and degrading 
 of all deaths — the death of the cross. 
 
 And it is this — the death of the cross — which forms the sub- 
 ject for our present consideration. A subject forming as it 
 does, not only the climax of Christ's humiliation, and the 
 strongest proof possible of His love for us ; but at the same 
 time forming the great central picture, as it were, of that won- 
 drous scheme of redemption, designed by the adorable Trinity 
 in Unity, for our salvation from a state of sin and misery ; a 
 state of spiritual death. It is a subject which we cannot ap- 
 proach without feeling its solemnity and sacredness. We seem, 
 like Moses, to hear the voice of God saying : " put off thy 
 shoes from off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou siandest is 
 holy ground." The very contemplation of it inspires us with 
 awe. Think for a moment of the holy Jesus — God incarnate. 
 

 I' 
 
 
 v^m 
 
 
 K^ 
 
 
 4 
 
 ui 
 
 30 
 
 hanging upon the accursed tree ; made sin for us. Having 
 heaped upoa Him the world's guilt. Not only bearing the 
 scorn of men : but alao losing, for the time, the smiling pres- 
 ence of His Father, until in the bitterness of His soul He cried, 
 ♦' my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me." We cannot 
 wonder that all nature seemed to be in sympathy with the 
 holy sufferer : even the sun hiding his face from such a scene of 
 anguish, and the very earth quaking and trembling beneath 
 such a load of guilt and shame. 
 
 May God the Holy Ghost enable us to approach this solemn 
 subject in a spirit of deep humility by impressing upon our 
 minds the sad truth that our sins helped to crucify Christ : and 
 at the same time in a spirit of fervent gratitude, knowing that 
 it was for our sins He consented to die. And that by His 
 death He opened to us the kingdom of heaven, and purchased 
 for us everlasting life. 
 
 Let UH then in approaching this important subject, consider 
 
 I. What the death of the cross involved. 
 
 1. It involved physical suffering of the most excruciating 
 kind. In fact we get our word " excruciate " from death by 
 crucifixion. 
 
 Picture to yourselves, if you can, our blessed Lord as He 
 appeared on that awful day. Weak and faint through not 
 having broken His fast since the previous evening ; and having 
 in the mean ti toe been taken prisoner in the garden and march- 
 ed as we know He was to the house of Annas, and from 
 that to the palace of Caiaphas where He was kept for some 
 hours and underwent His first trial. From that He had been 
 taken to Pilate's Judgment Hall ; thence to Herod and back 
 again to Pilate where He was tried and acquitted, and yet,, 
 notwithstanding His acquittal, was scourged and sent to the 
 cross. 
 
 Now see Him, with His sacred back cut an^ bleeding, groan- 
 ing beneath the weight of the heavy cross to which He was 
 shortly to be nailed. This He carried until, completely ex- 
 haustedi He could carry it no further, and it was put on other 
 shouMers. 
 
 Next see Him transfixed to the cross, by having the rough 
 nails driven through His hands add feet ; suffering the most in- 
 tense agony. At first the body is still further weakened through 
 the less of blood caused by the nful- wounds, until the flesh 
 swelling aroilnd the noils stops the flow. Then oobies the 
 burning fever and thirst caused by the awful torture which He 
 endures : udtil overborne by exhaustion of body ; add ^ony 
 of mind, literally broken-hearted, He yields up His spirit. 
 
di 
 
 Having 
 saring the 
 ling pres- 
 
 He cried, 
 Ve cannot 
 
 with the 
 a acene of 
 ig beneath 
 
 bis solemn 
 upon our 
 brist : and 
 )Wing that 
 lat by His 
 purchased 
 
 t, consider 
 
 [cruciatiug 
 1 death by 
 
 ord as He 
 irough not 
 ind having 
 i,nd march- 
 
 and from 
 
 t for some 
 
 had been 
 
 and back 
 and yet,, 
 lent to the 
 
 ing, groan- 
 h He was 
 pletely ex- 
 it on other 
 
 the rough 
 le most in- 
 tA through 
 the flesh 
 ootaes the 
 which He 
 nid agony 
 pirit. 
 
 My brethren, I can well believe you would prefer being 
 spared such a painful picture : and 1 can fully sympathize with 
 you : but in order to form an adequate conception of the phy- 
 sical sufferings endured by our blessed Lord on account ot our 
 sins, these facts — painful as they are — must be looked in the 
 face. 
 
 2. It involved mental suffering beyond, even, our conception, 
 
 (1.) Let us look at the shame of the cross. The writer of 
 the epistle to the Hebfews says, He endured the cross, despis- 
 ing — or disregarding — the shame. 
 
 Crucifixion was, in itself a shamefi 1 death, as being the mode, 
 in which death was inflicted upon criminals. It held therefore 
 much the same disgraceful position as hanging does with us. But 
 it was a more shameful death than hanging, inasmuch as, the sol- 
 diers being entitled to the clothes of the culprit, they would 
 strip him and leave him almost, if not quite naked, exposed to 
 the public gaze for hours ; or even days. Then in the case of 
 our Saviour there was added to this the shame of ridicule. He 
 had claimed to be the Son of God ; had declared that power was 
 given unto Him over all flesh (Jno. xvli. 2 ) He had not only 
 healed the sick, restored the lame and opened the eyes of the 
 blind : but even raised the dead to life again by virtue — as He 
 claimed — of this power; but as His enemies declared by the 
 power of the evil one. And now came their short hour of 
 triumph, and as they stood around or passed by the cross, 
 they reviled Him crying : come down from the cross if thou 
 be the Son of God, and we will believe on thee. " He trusted 
 in God," said some : " let God deliver Him nov) if He will 
 have Him, for He said I am the Son of God." Even the 
 thieves betweeti whom He was crucified, or at least one 
 of thom, joined with the rest in insulting Him. If ever 
 there was a ieafie of adding insult to injury, surely this was 
 one. But cruel as this Was, and hard to be endured, if. was 
 not the most bitter drop in this cup of shame. This was the 
 work of His open and professed enemies, and extreme as it was, 
 was only consistent with their bitter hatred of Him^ But where 
 were His professed friends and followers ? Those whom He had 
 iiistruoted^ for whom He had prayed^ who had enjoyed so much 
 of His company and confidence ? Surely He might expect some 
 iympathy from them. But irli^tead of this they had fotsakeu 
 Him and fled. Nay, was He hot even hanging on the cruel 
 '6tbsa thfough the bade bifitt'ayal of one of them f And where 
 was Peter ? The one who above all the rest had declared he 
 Would never fotflakt hi^ Master ; even though his fiiithfulness 
 should cost him his life ? Only one of the whole number was 
 
I ( 
 
 
 P'fl 
 
 
 32 
 
 found with courage enough to show himself: And he appears, 
 for some time at least, to have stood afar off. To a sensitive 
 nature like that of Jesus ; so ready to sympathize with others in 
 their sorrow, and as a consequence, so susceptable of synipathy 
 from others, this public neglect, nay, this desertion on the 
 part of his disciples must have been intensely painful and 
 humiliating. 
 
 But He had to drink yet deeper of this cup of shame. On 
 account of the expression in Deut. xxi., 23. " He that is 
 hanged is accursed of God ;" the Jews had the greatest horror 
 of this mode of death ; not so much on account of the terrible 
 suffering which was inflicted by it, bad as that was, as on ac- 
 count of its being an evidence of God's curse having fallen upon 
 them. And hence the fearful degradation which our blessed 
 Lord must have felt Himself to be suffering in the estimation 
 of His countrymen. For in the strong language of St. Paul 
 He was made a " curse." 
 
 (9) Then think of the mental suffering He must have en- 
 dured on account of His Mother who was present and an eye 
 witness of all which her holy Son was undergoing. For re- 
 member that Jesus was, not only perfect God, but also perfect 
 man ; not only the Son of God, but also the Son of Mary. 
 That He always acknowledged this relationship. Even with His 
 dying breath, making provision for her temporal needs. And 
 what think you must have been His feeling as He looked down 
 from the cross upon her in her anguish ; not only sharing with 
 Him, to some extent, the disgrace of the cross ; but also suf- 
 fering all the intensity of sorrow which her relationship to Him 
 — and particularly to such a son — would naturally cause ? In 
 fact the prophecy of Simeon was now receiving its complete 
 fulfilment; a sword was indeed piercing through her very soul. 
 The sufferings of a son so pure, so holy, so loving as he was, 
 on account of her grief, must have been far more keen than we 
 can well conceive. 
 
 It may be objected to this that knowing as He did that her 
 sorrow would be short-lived ; that in fact it would soon be 
 turned into joy by His resurrection from the dead ; His sorrow 
 for her would be very much mitigated. But I think my breth- 
 ren we should do Him a grievous wrong by supposing that He 
 could see her suffering — even for a moment — on His account 
 without feeling it most keenly. 
 
 (3.) But greatest of all must have been the agony of mind 
 which He endured as the sin-bearer. He who never did an 
 evil deed, never said a sinful word, never allowed a resting 
 
83 
 
 J appears, 
 sensitive 
 others in 
 syiupatliy 
 m OQ the 
 inful and 
 
 ame. On 
 le that is 
 est horror 
 le terrible 
 as on ac- 
 allen upon 
 IP blessed 
 estimation 
 : St. Paul 
 
 have en- 
 ,ud an eye 
 For re- 
 Jso perfect 
 I of Mary, 
 n with His 
 leds. And 
 oked down 
 laring with 
 also euf- 
 lip to Him 
 .use ? In 
 complete 
 very soul, 
 he was, 
 in than we 
 
 Id that her 
 [d soon be 
 [is sorrow 
 my breth- 
 L that He 
 lis account 
 
 of mind 
 
 [ver did an 
 
 a resting 
 
 place in Hia mind for a wrong thought : He who shrank from 
 sin, not only as a crime against His Father, grievous to the 
 Holy Spirit and injurious to man : but as being abhorrent to 
 His very nature, was now taking the sinner's place and sufler- 
 ing in the sinner's stead. Was being dealt with by His Father- 
 as if really guilty, in so much that He who is of purer eyes 
 than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity, wiftidrevv, as 
 it were, His presence from Him : which led Him, as already 
 noticed, to cry, " my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken 
 me." 
 
 As though He had paid : the scorn and contempt of mine 
 enemies I might expect ; even the desertion of my disciples I 
 could endure ; but to be deprived of TJnj favour is beyond all 
 endurance. Brethren who shall attempt to estimate the suf- 
 ferings of body and mind endured by the meek and lowlv Jesus 
 while hanging on the cross ? And all, be it remembered, for us. 
 Tes : " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned 
 every one to his own way : and the Lord hath laid, upon Him. 
 the iniquity of us all." 
 
 Let us now pass on to notice. 
 II. What the death of the cross revealed.. 
 1. It revealed the awful nature of sin. 
 
 Did it ever occur to you, how lightly we regard sin — as sin ?* 
 If it assumes the form of a crime against the state, the law of 
 the land deals with it according to its nature and extent. If it 
 be an offence against society, we recent it as becomes our dig- 
 nity. But if it be a sin against God only we, as a rule, dball 
 very leniently with it. In other words we judge of it rather by 
 the way in which it affects us than b^what it i»in itself* And 
 even judging it thus, it is surprising that; men can view it 
 so indifferently as they generally do. For that which ha«t 
 wrought such terrible havoc in the world, which has produced 
 envy, hatred and malice, which has fomented wars and tumults 
 until the earth is full of blood : that which is the source of' 
 sickness, pain and death, could scarcely — by the thoughtful 
 mind — be looked upon as anything else than awful in its nature. 
 In the old testament scriptures God has made known unto. 
 UR how hateful sin is- to Him ; not only by revealing unto us 
 His own holiness, and giving the moral law, but also by the- 
 way in which He inflicted punishment upon those who com- 
 mitted sin. But never, until revealed by the cross could its. 
 true nature be fully understood. Never, until the price otc 
 man's redemption had been paid, could it be fully known what; 
 a tremendous gulf sio had placed between bina and bis Maker.. 
 
., ' 
 
 ■ - r^. 
 
 34 
 
 ^Ot d]\ the blood of bulls and of goats which had flowed 
 'from Judah's altar from the time when it was first erected by 
 Moses in the wilderness until the day of the crucifixion ; all 
 the daily, morning and evening sacrifices ; all the sin and tres- 
 pass offerings ; all the victims slain on each returning day of 
 atonement, could suffice to put away sin and make reconciliation. 
 To accomplish this it was necessary that the Lamb of God 
 slain — in the councils of the triune Godhead — from the foun- 
 dation of the world, should offer Himself without spot to God. 
 Could any thing of less value have sufficed think you that Christ 
 would have had to pay so great a pri?e ? Hear Him in His 
 bitter agony 'in the garden crying with all the energy of His 
 anguish-riven soul : *"0 my Father if it be pofsihle let this 
 cup pass from me." If there be any other means by which the 
 demands of Thy justice may be met, and man's sin atoned for, 
 O let me not drink its bitter draught. And surely if sin had 
 been of such a nature that divine wisdom could have devised 
 any other sacrifice which should have been at all adequate to 
 the requirements of the case, ojr Lord's prayer would have 
 been answered. 
 
 And yet, alas, how little do men, generally, realize of its true 
 nature. Could hose who talk so glibly about the sins in- 
 dulged in by so "lany of our young men as mere bits of youth- 
 ful folly, as onljf the sowitig of their wild-oats ; who speak of 
 the way in which God's holy name is dishonoured as merely a 
 little want of thought ; who tell you that the frightful profana- 
 tion of God's holy day — now so prevalent, is just a little inno- 
 cent recreation of mind and bodv ; and who excuse nianv of 
 the forms of dishonesty in business as being nothing more than 
 bits of sharp practice rendered necessary by the competition in 
 trade. Could tho«e people be prevailed upon to view sin as 
 revealed by the deafh of the cross : surely they would no longer 
 continue to treat it as a matter of minor importance, but 
 would view it, and act towards it, as their greatest enemy ; and 
 seek by all, and every means to subdue it. 
 
 2. It revealed the jitlstice of God. 
 
 I know this theme is distasteful to many in our day. It is 
 quite fashionable now to talk about God's love : but the sterner 
 ■qudlities of His nature are, to a large extent ignored. In fact 
 It is doubtful whether a considerable portion of the rising gene- 
 ration will not grow up with the idea that God's character is 
 • entirely one-sided, that His love so completely overpowers His 
 other attributes that they practically lie dormant. And I fear, 
 my 'brethren, that the Church of to-day fails to realize the 
 •ihe sepioue nature df 'this error. 
 
85 
 
 id flowed 
 Tectod by 
 ixioii ; all 
 I and trea- 
 inp; day of 
 iieiliation. 
 b of God 
 
 the fbiin- 
 t to God. 
 hut Christ 
 jm ill His 
 pgy of His 
 »le let this 
 
 which the 
 itoued for, 
 
 if sin had 
 ve devised 
 leqiiate to 
 ivuuld have 
 
 of its true 
 
 le sins in- 
 
 s of youth- 
 
 o speak of 
 
 IS merely a 
 
 1 profhna- 
 
 ittle inno- 
 
 many of 
 
 more than 
 
 )etition in 
 
 lew sin as 
 
 no longrer 
 
 tance, but 
 
 lemv ; and 
 
 lay. It is 
 he sterner 
 In fact 
 sing genc- 
 haracter is 
 owers His 
 nd I fear. 
 >ealize the 
 
 In the first place it is most dishonoring to God ; foi not-onk^ 
 does it make Him appear imperfect in His character, 'but it 
 necessarily lessens our reverence for Him. For who can even 
 respect one whose love amounts to weakness ? — who is so 
 tender-hearted that sooner than inflict punishment upon the 
 offender He will connive at the transgression of his own laws ? 
 Let any military commander, teacher of youth, or parent, try it 
 and he will soon bo convinced, not only of his utter incapacity 
 to maintain his authority, and command obedience, but also 
 to retain even the semblance of respect. 
 
 In the next place it is injurious to man ; for not only does it 
 loosen the restraints upon the vicious and viciously inclined, 
 but even with the better classes it makes a high code of morals 
 more a matter of present profit and convenience than any- 
 thing else. It cannot be otherwise ; for if we believe God to 
 be so lenient as to shut His eyes to the commission of sin, we 
 can scarcely think it a very serious mutter in its bearing upon 
 ourselves. 
 
 Now the death of tiie cross not onlv revealed the awful na- 
 ture of sin which could be atoned for by nothing less than the 
 sacrifice of the Lamb of God, but it also revealed the fact that 
 God's justice demanded the full price, and could be satisfied 
 with nothing less. Much as the Father loved His Son, He, 
 as man's redeemer, must drain the cup to its very dregs. And 
 the practical lesson for us is this : — If God's justice demands 
 full satisfaction, and we refuse to accept, or to avail ourselves 
 of t'.<e satisfaction made by Christ for us, we must expect jus- 
 tice and not mercy when we appear to render an account for 
 the deeds done in the body. 
 
 3. It revealed the love of God : but as I have dwelt upon 
 that phase of the cross in a previous sermon, I need not repeat 
 myself here, except to say that the more we contemplate the love 
 of Christ as displayed in the death of the cross, the more shall 
 we love Him. And as love is the very root of acceptable ser- 
 vice, we cannot over-estimate the importance of this duty. And 
 I would also urge upon you, my brethren, the important duty 
 and high privilege of commemorating His death in the manner 
 appointed by Himself when He said, " This do in Femembrance 
 of me." 
 
 And now let us, in conclusion^ notice, 
 
 III. What the death of the cross demands. 
 
 Now it follows as a matter of course that if the sufferings of 
 •Ohrist were such as have been here but feebly .described ; If all 
 lUiia pain of body and ^ony of .mind was ^endured on our 
 
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 36 
 
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 account. If by this cruel death Christ opened to us the king- 
 dom of heaven, and purchased, for us, everlasting life. And 
 if these facts have been duly pondered in our minds, and have 
 had their due and proper influence upon our hearts ; vire shall 
 instinctively take up the language of the psalmist and ask : 
 " What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits." li' 
 we have a due sense of God's " inestimable love in the re- 
 demption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ," we shall 
 most certainly strive to show forth our thankfulness not only 
 with our lips, but also in our lives. And yet how few do thi». 
 How many there are who never make an attempt to render any 
 active service to God ; and seen to think they ought to be con- 
 gratulated on the ground that they do no harm. But to pass 
 these by for the present ; let us ask ourselves what the death 
 of the cross demands from us. And we can probably each find 
 his own answer by what he gives in return for that sacrifice. 
 I fear, my brethren, that applying this test will reveal a sad 
 want of gratitude on the part of most of us. You who never 
 enter the bouse of God more than once each returning Lord's 
 day, and never think of coming into it during the week, who 
 never give towards the support of the Church or any other work 
 of the Lord, one cent more than you can help. Do you sup- 
 pose that you are giving to Christ all that His sufferings 
 for you demand? Or you who come more regularly and pay 
 more cheerfully ; but who, instead of obeying your Lord's 
 dying command, Sunday after Sunday coldly turn your 
 backs upon His Holy Table, and thus persistently show 
 your utter disregard for His wishes ; think you that that is 
 a fitting return to make Him for all that He endured for you ? 
 Or those of you who do occasionally meet around the Table of 
 you Lord, and commemorate that love wherewith He loved you 
 when He gave Himself for you, but who are content to come, 
 as it were, alone ; who never seek to make known to others the 
 blessings you enjoy; who never, like Moses say, "come thou 
 with us and we will do thee good ;" who are in fact selfishly sat- 
 isfied with securing your own salvation without troubling about 
 the salvation of others ; think you that this is a sufficient ser- 
 vice to render unto Him who gave His life a ransom for you ? 
 No my dear brethren: nor is the best service rendered by 
 any of us, anything like a fitting return for the death of the 
 cross. What after all is our best service ? Oar cold, heart- 
 less prayers ; our mere routine of duties ; and our half-hearted 
 wraises f They are not worthy to be mentioned as a return for 
 God's, greatest of all gifls^ the gift of His Son. Nor can the 
 
87 
 
 ;he king' 
 fe. And 
 md have 
 
 we shall 
 md ask : 
 fits." li' 
 Q the re- 
 we shall 
 not only 
 7 do this, 
 ander any 
 o be con- 
 it to pass 
 the death 
 each find 
 sacrifice, 
 lal a sad 
 s'bo never 
 3g Lord's 
 reek, who 
 :her work 
 you sup- 
 sufferings 
 
 and pay 
 Lord's 
 irn your 
 tly show 
 Lt that is 
 for you? 
 
 Table of 
 oved you 
 
 to come, 
 ithers the 
 ome thou 
 fishly sat- 
 ing about 
 ciont ser- 
 for you ? 
 dered by 
 tth of the 
 d, heart- 
 
 f-hearted 
 
 eturn for 
 
 can the 
 
 ■demand made upon us by the death of the cross be met by any- 
 thing short of the full surrender of ourselves. No number of 
 prayers however earnest and faithful : no thanksgiving how- 
 ever full of •gratitude : no christian duties however hearty and 
 unselfish, apart from the entire yielding up of the whole man, 
 body, soul and spirit to God, can satisfy the demands of the 
 death of tke cross. 
 
 " Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all." 
 
 O how far short of our dutv ha¥e we all fallen in this matter. 
 What need we have to emphasise our confession : " We have 
 left undone those things which we ought to have done ; and we 
 have done those which we ought not to have done, and there is 
 no health in us." But thank God : " if we confess our sins He 
 is faithful and just to forgive us our sins : aud to cleanse us 
 from all unrighteousness". Let us then go to Him, not only 
 confesssing our short-comings in the past, but also rededicat- 
 ing ourselves to His service. Let us approach Him in the 
 words of our beautiful liturgy : — " Here we offer and present 
 unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a 
 reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto Thee." 
 
 •i 
 
3» 
 
 
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 2%^ P^ace of the Cross. 
 
 "Having made peace through the blood of His cross." — Col.i., 20. 
 
 The assertion of the Apostle, in this verse, that God, by 
 Christ, madft peace to the reconciling of all things — things on 
 earth, and things in heaven — to HiniseJf, has led to consider- 
 able discussion among theologians as to how far the rest of 
 creation is affected by the fi^l of man. And in what sense 
 things in heaven, the angels for example, can be said to be 
 reconciled by the act of redemption. 
 
 It is not my intention, now, to enter into that question : but 
 simply to direct your attention to that act and its results in so 
 far only as they affect the human race. 
 
 Now the expression, " making peace,'* implies a state of 
 enmity, variance ; or disquietude. For where there is no en- 
 mity ; or discord, there is no need of any — there can be, no 
 peace maker. And in order to know the nature of the peace, 
 made or brought about, it is necessary to know the nature of 
 the hostilities, disturbance or disccwd previously prevailing. 
 For instance we may have nation warring against nation, sub- 
 jects rebelling against their sovereign ; or discord among the 
 various members of a eommunitv, or family. And whoever 
 seeks to make peace will have to frame his measures according 
 to the requirements of the case, i. e., the nature of the dis- 
 turbance ; whether it be by the interposition of authority, the 
 proposal of conciliatory measures ; or the offering of satisfac- 
 tion to those who are the wronged. 
 
 Our present subject will lead us therefore to consider : 
 
 I. The nature and extent of the discord prevailing and 
 
 II. How far this evil was remedied, and peace restored by 
 the blood of the cross, 
 
 I. The nature and extent of the enmity and discord pre- 
 vailing. 
 
 1. Let us view it as existing between God and man. And 
 being, as was observed in a previous sermon, of the nature of 
 rebellion. God, as we all know, created man upright. i\.nd 
 so long as he remained sinless, he was happy in the enjoyment of 
 his Maker's favour ; holding pleasing and profitable intercourse 
 with Him. But even in his sinless state man could not ap- 
 proach God on terms of equality. God was the Creator ; naao 
 
' 
 
 89 
 
 « 
 
 the creature. God the Sovereign ; man the subject. And as 
 such it was man's interest, no less than his duty, to obej fully 
 and unreservedly. And had he done so, there would have been 
 no interference with, or suspension of that harmony of which 
 we read when "Gbd saw all that He had made ; and behold it 
 was vei'y <jood" 
 
 But man, listening to the tempter, began to doubt God's 
 word as to the result of disobedience, and half question His 
 disinterestedness in prohibiting his eating of the particular 
 tree shown to him. And apparently believing that the advan- 
 tages to be derived from eating would fully compensate him for 
 whatever loss — if any — which he might sustain, he took upon 
 himself to disobey. And however trivial the mere act of dis- 
 obedience might appear in itself, it contained all theelenents of 
 rebelhon. And God had no choice — if we may so speak — but 
 to accept it as such. His word had been disbelieved. His com- 
 mand disobeyed, and His authority set at defiance. And from 
 that moment ail peace and harmony between them necessarily 
 ceased. Man was no more to hear with delight ♦' the voice of 
 the Lord Gi>d walking in the garden in the cool of the day :" 
 was no longer to hold loving intercourse with Him : was no 
 longer to receive the gracious recognition of an obedient son 
 and servant. He was no longer to be even allowed to remain 
 in his hitherto happy honie : but must go forth as an alien to 
 contend with the thorns and briers of the outer world. From 
 that time the distance between tbein was to be as wide as per- 
 fect holiness on the one hand, and sin and pollution on the 
 other hand are apart from each other. For man had not com- 
 mitted what may be called a mere act of sin ; but had deUbe- 
 rately set God's command at nought ; had, as it were, sinned 
 upon principle ; and had by so doing entirely alienated him- 
 self from God. His very nat'iro became corrupted and fallen. 
 This fallen nature we — his posterity — inherit, and so — as the 
 ninth article of the Church says : — Everyone born into the 
 world is very far gone from original righteousness. And as a 
 natural consequence of inheriting this fallen na'urt, man might 
 be expected to indulge in sinful a^ts. And that this is, and 
 always has been, the case all history, sacred and profane, as 
 well as our own observation fully testify. Moses tells us (Gen. 
 vi. 12) — that *' God looked upon the earth, and behold it was 
 corrupt, for all jlesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." 
 And although God destroyed all the then inhabitauts of the 
 earth, with the exception of one family, yet, " this infection of 
 nature " remaining, sin soon overspread the earth aguiu,. 
 

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 • 
 And David (ps. xiv.) represents God as again looking down 
 upon the earth with much the same result au before: " The 
 Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to 
 see if there were an}"^ that did understand and seek after God. 
 They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy ; 
 there is none that doeth good, no not one." And the picture, 
 drawn by St. Paul, in the 1st chap, of Eora. and elsewhere, of 
 the world in his day is evidence enough of tiow far man had 
 become alienated from God by vvicked works. 
 
 Hero then we see, on the one hand, God claiming the right 
 to rule over man, and commanding him to live a life of holy 
 obedience ; and on the other hand, man claiming the right to 
 please himself and showing his utter disregard for God's laws 
 by living a life of sinful disobedience; and hence, instead of that 
 peace and harmony which ought to exist between God and 
 man, the Creator and the creature, we have enmity and discord. 
 
 2. As existing between man and man. 
 
 Sin is essentially selfish. The first act of sin took the 
 form of selfishness, and that is the form it has borne ever 
 since ; and thus wo have had from the verv first each 
 one seeking his own pleasure or profit, and to a large 
 extent igrioring the wishes, or even the rights of others. 
 Man seeking to over-reach his fellow man, and failing in 
 the attempt, becoming envious of him. This soon showed 
 itself in Adam's own immediate family, Cain being so com- 
 pletely under the influence of envy as to murder his brother. 
 And this state of inter-personal strife has continued ever since. 
 Scripture history abounds with it. Secular history is largely 
 composed of it. It has overturned dynasties, beheaded kings, 
 slain its millions upon the battle-field, committed innumerable 
 mirders, even staining the hand of the child in the life-blood of 
 the parent, and the hand of the parent in the blood of the 
 child. It has also entered the Church and split it up into sects 
 and fsictions almost innumerable, each one excommunicating 
 the other, until it has sometimes appeared that the best te»*t 
 of sound membership was the bitterest hatred of all outside the 
 nnrrow limits of their own " Ebenezer." If the secret history 
 of all the sects which have broken otf from the Church and from 
 each oth«r could be written, it would demonstrate the fact that 
 persoiml pique, envy, or self-seeking was at the bottom of a 
 very large majority of the ruptures ; and if we were permitted 
 to see as God sees, and read motives as ho reads them, we 
 
 the amount of self-interest c 
 
 aghast 
 
 
 pers 
 
 vanity which is at the bottom of many of the so-called religious 
 
w,*"..jf«a( 
 
 41 
 
 down 
 
 movements of the present day. A peep behind the scenes, 
 such as I have had on one or two occasions, would reveal some 
 of the most contemptible devices, adopted by professing chris- 
 tians, and by people who even profess to believe that one sect 
 is just as good as another, for the accomplishment of selfish and 
 sectarian purposes ; would reveal an amount of meaness that 
 would astonish the uninitiated. 
 
 And thus we have in the political world, the commercial 
 world, the social world, and even in the religious world, 
 wherever we turn, man against man, to such an extent that a 
 feeling of distrust has become Ihe chronic stale of society ; and 
 this leads me to observe — 
 
 3. That tlis disquietude and want of peace exists also 
 within the individual man. 
 
 Man was created not only sinless and morally fit to 
 hold intercourse with Gtd, but also endowed with facul- 
 ties which made him capable of so doing — faculties adap- 
 ted to far higher pursuits than the mere acquirement of 
 wealth, fame, or transient pleasure, which in short seem to 
 make him a kind of connecting link between heaven and earth, 
 and which were doubtless intended to control the lower ones. 
 Now, whatever else sin did, it certainly seems to have reversed 
 this order of things and to have brought those higher powers 
 largely under the control of the lower and animal ones. But 
 it did not annihilate them. They still exist, and not cnly so, 
 but they make themselves heard as they plead at the bar of 
 conscience and protest against being put under subordination 
 to those faculties which they were intended to govern ; and 
 although they may be, and doubtless often are kept in check, 
 and their voice almost drowned by the bustle and excitement 
 of worldly business, or pleasure, yet they will not be entirely 
 silenced, — or at least, the cas^s in which they are are few — and 
 there are times when they will make themselves heard in spite 
 at all opposition ; and hence the inner disquietude of which I 
 am speaking. Perhaps few of us are aware of the numerous 
 and severe struggles which are taking place within the breasts 
 of man\ who succeed in wearing a calm countenance. No 
 matter how free from anxiety persons may appear when in the 
 midst of their gay companions, there are few who will not tell 
 you — if they honestly tell the truth about such matters — that 
 when leflb alone with Gid and their own conscience, they have 
 serious misgivings as to the wisdom of the course they are pur- 
 suing, while many will candidly confess that they are very far 
 irom enjoying real happiness. They feel out of harmony with 
 
42 
 
 
 
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 « 
 
 r^^vl 
 
 
 |r ( 
 
 themselves. There is something wroDg, which causes a feeling 
 of disquietude. In short, they have not pence. 
 
 Thus we have seen a threefold need of peace: — 1. Peace 
 between God and man — a restoration of that harmony which 
 was broken by the fall. 2. Peace between man and man — a 
 feeling of brotherhood — a oneness of object and unity ot pur- 
 pose in life. 3. Peace within — a bringing of all the faculties 
 into harmony with each other — a restoring of each to its proper 
 place, and letting it move in its proper sphere. 
 
 We now proceed to notice. 
 
 II. How far this evil was remedied, and the want supplied 
 by the blood of the cross. 
 
 Now the fir!4t thing necessary in order to make peace be- 
 tween God and man was either for man to cease to rebel and 
 sue for mercy on whatever conditions God was pleased to grant 
 it ; or for God to ofler certain conditions upon which He would 
 receive man back again to His favour. And this latter is what 
 God has done. Thongh He is the wmngcd one yet He was 
 the first to move in the matter of rcc«»nciliaiion. And by 
 giving Christ, He not only showed Himself to be desirous of 
 terminating this state of enmity ; but also made known the 
 conditions upon which it should cease. And although His 
 justice could not allow sin to go un it med for. He provided the 
 one who should atone for it. Hence the incarnarion. This is 
 why God the Son left the throne of His glory and became 
 clothed in human flesh. He who was " God, of the substance 
 of His Father before the worlds : became man, of the substance 
 of His mother born in the world " that He as the second 
 Adam might remedy the evil wrought by the first Adam. That 
 He might keep the law which the other had broken. That He 
 might lead a life of holy obedience, and then by the sacrifice of 
 Himself, make reconciliation between God and man. 
 
 This was foretold of Him by the prophet Isaiah : " He was 
 wounded for our transgressions : He was bruised for our ini- 
 quities ; the chastisement of our pmce was upon Him, and 
 with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone 
 astray : we have turned every one to his own way and the 
 Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." 
 
 This He Himself declared to bo His mission upoa earth : 
 ♦* The i^on of man came, rot to be ministered unto : but to 
 minister; and to give His life a ransom for many." " 1 lay 
 down my life for the sheep." 
 
 This is the testimony of the Holy Ghost concerning Him : 
 *' He was delivered for our oficnces." " He died for our sins 
 
 • 
 
 . 
 
43 
 
 according to the scriptures." " Wo have redemption through 
 His blood, the fi>rgivene8s of sins." Christ bath once suffered 
 for us ; the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." 
 
 Thus, by the blood of the cross, is met the demands of God's, 
 jusice; for Christ then offered a full Hud sufficient atonement 
 for the sins of the whole world. And now all who will may 
 cotne and receive, not only remission of sins past ; but adoption 
 into the sonship of God. 3y the gift of His Son God made the- 
 offer of peace. By the blood of the cross He signed — as it 
 were, the covenant of peace on His part. And now all who 
 will accept those conditions ; that is all who repenting of their 
 sins believe in Christ, are brought into this covenant of peace, 
 and thus " being justified by faith we have peace with God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 But this is not all. For being at peace with God : having 
 ceased to rebel against Him. Having submitted our wills to 
 His will : having learned to look to Him as our reconciled 
 Father ; to love Him and trust in Him : and having, by the 
 influence and aid of the Holy Spirit, brought the faculties ot 
 the animal soul, and the lusts of the flesh into subjection to the 
 higher facidties of the spirit so that sin no longer reigns in our 
 mortal body, we have peace within. Not only that peace which 
 proceeds from a knowledge of sins forgiven and of teconciiia- 
 tion to God : but also a peace which is the result of the various- 
 faculties being brought into harmony. And thus the peace of 
 " God which passeth all understanding," keeps our " hearts 
 and minds through Christ Jesus." 
 
 But the blood of the cross is that by which God seeks, not only 
 to reconcile the world unto Himself; but to reconcile to each 
 other and knit together in one all the nations, families and in- 
 dividuals of which the world is composed. And just in pro- 
 portion as men receive Christ, and walk in Him, is this object 
 accomplished. This was first seen in the bringing together in- 
 to one body, Jew and Gentile. Before the coming and death 
 of Christ thev were divided into separate, and to a large ex- 
 tent, hostile bodies. But when Christ, by the blood of His- 
 Cross, had made peace, and opened a new way of access to 
 God ; both Jew and Gentile ; thov'*e who had been hitherto 
 iiigh, and those who had been afar oflf, were brought together in- 
 to closer communion with God and v»ith each other. " For He 
 is our peace," says St. Paul, " who hath made both one, and 
 hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; 
 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of com- 
 mandments coatained in ordinances ; for to make in Him- 
 
44 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 R?'- 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ■":1 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 self of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He 
 might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having 
 elain tlie enmity thereby." And it is by the preaching of the 
 cross, and by our acceptance of Christ as our common Sa- 
 viour, trusting in, and looking unto God as our common Father, 
 and being baptized into the faith of Christ, in the name of the 
 Holy Trinity ; and so becoming members of the one Holj^ 
 Catholic Church : that God would unite together all the various 
 tribes of men. And by bringing us into this one faith give us 
 a leeliug of common brotherhood : all being the children of one 
 Father ; all having one main object in life : all travelling to- 
 wards the one home. 
 
 How beautifully this is s/jnbolized by the recital of the creed 
 in our public services. When standing together in God's 
 House and presence, we declare our belief in God the Father 
 Almighty : that is in one God who is the Father of us all. 
 Who is above all, and in all, and through all. And so we have 
 one God : and one Father. And in Jesus Christ His only Son 
 our Lrjrd, who was born of the Virgin Mary .• that is in the 
 incarnation of the Son of God who took upon Himself our 
 common humanity. And that He suffered for us ; died and 
 was buried : that is, that He paid the penalty due on account 
 of our transgression. And that He rose again from the dead 
 and ascended into heaven where He is our common representa- 
 tive, the first-fruits of the general resurrection : and where 
 He ever livotb to make intercession for us. And in the Holy 
 Ghost who is the sanctifier of all the elect people of God. And 
 in the Holy Catholic Church. The one great communion of 
 the faithful knit together in Christ Jesus : — 
 
 ** Elect from every nation . , 
 
 Yet one o'er all the earth ; ' 
 
 Their chaiter of salvation 
 
 One Lord, one Faith, one Birth ." 
 
 The one Catholic Church which embraces, not only all the 
 faithful now upon earth : but also all those who have passed 
 over and gone before, and are waitini; in rest and peace for the 
 time when our full and final salvation shall be arxjomplished — 
 even the redemption of the body : when that being raised in- 
 corrpptible and reunited with its companion spirit, we shall 
 enter into the full joy of our Lord. *''^ v > , 
 
 The one Catholic Church of which the poet sings thus :— 
 
 
 The saints on earth and those above 
 
 Bat one communion make : 
 Joined to their Lord in bonds of love 
 AH of His grace partake. 
 
 f'<t^vU 
 
45 
 
 ' 
 
 One family we dwell in Him 
 
 One Church, above, beneath, 
 Tho' now divided by the stream. 
 
 The narrow stream of death. 
 
 One army of the living God, 
 
 To His command we bow ; 
 Part of the host have crossed the flood 
 
 And part are crossing now. 
 
 And thus we believe in the communion of saints. All ami 
 each having communion with Christ as the head of the body : 
 and through Him communion with each other. 
 
 And all this, my brethren, is the result of the cross. God 
 having made peace through, or by means of, the blood of Christ's 
 cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, has broken 
 down, first the wall of partition between Himself and us, 
 and secondly, the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile ; 
 between the nations, tribes and castes of the earth thus making, 
 in the fullest and completest sense, peace. 
 
 But you may be ready to ask : Why then have we yet so 
 much strife and envying ? Wliy have we so many vain jang- 
 lings and disputes? Why does man still strive with his fellow 
 man until the hand of almost every one seems to be against his 
 brother 1 Why is it that the din of war is not hushed : that 
 the tears of the widow and the mother still flow, and their 
 wailings, on account of their slaughtered ones, are still heard in 
 the land ? It is because men have refused to accept God's 
 terms of peace. They love the world and the things of the 
 world ; and the love of the Father is not in them. Some there 
 are who openly repudiate those conditions : who, like those 
 mentioned by our Lord, will not come to the light, but love 
 darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Others 
 are ready enough to confess Christ with their lips : but their 
 hearts are far from Him. 
 
 It is because men thus refuse to accept peace on God's terms, 
 refuse to forsake their sins ; refuse to submit themselves 
 " wholly to His holy will and pleasure," that universal peace 
 is not established. But thank God there have been, and are 
 millions who have accepted and enjoyed, and do enjoy this 
 peace with God and \vithin themselves : and as far as they are 
 concerned with their fellow men, and, thank God, there are not 
 wanting " signs of the times" which point to a general improve- 
 ment in this respect. The labors of the missionaries abroad 
 were never crowned with such success as at present. In the 
 home field there is great activity which meets with some meas- 
 ure of success. Though war is still rife and awfully destruc- 
 tive in its nature— the modern weapon killing its tens of 
 
,^f ' 
 
 I 
 
 '9 
 
 ■E"f 
 
 
 r* A 
 
 I*' 
 
 
 ill 
 
 I 
 
 I! 
 
 46 
 
 tlioiisands wlicre the old one scarcely killed its thousand — yet 
 all will admit that it is carried on more humanely than formerly, 
 while there is a greater readiness to submit international dis- 
 putes to arbitration than in time past. And many are found 
 who are not afraid to denounce war altogether. 
 
 For this we should ever pray. But we must remember that 
 it is out ot the corrupt heart of man that all these enryings and 
 disputings which lead to war arise : and that the right and only 
 way of promoting peace upon earth is by being at peace with 
 God. 
 
 And now, my brethren, it only remains for me to ask each 
 of you if you know anything about this peace. Have you 
 ceased to rebel against God ? Have you been to Him and ac- 
 knowledged your sintulness, accepted Christ as your R3Lieeiner, 
 your High Priest and Intercessor, the captain of your salvation ; 
 trusting wholly and entirely to His merits lor the forgiveness 
 of sins ; looking only to Him as the way by which to come to 
 the Father ; and baing fully determined by God'a grace to take 
 up your cross daily and follow Him " through good report and 
 ill f" For depend upon it brethren, God will accept no half 
 service. We can have no peace with Him without giving Him 
 the heart. Neither can we have real peace within so long as 
 we keep back part of the price A full surrender of self to 
 God is not only His due ; but is the only way by which we can 
 enjoy that peace which passeth understanding : by which we can 
 be truly happy here and live worthy of complete happiness here- 
 after. And to those who are in the enjoyment of this peace let 
 me say, that the very fact of enjoying it ought to make you 
 anxious for others to share the blessing with you ; and your 
 duty to God, and to the world, is to strive by every means to 
 be in the fullest sense possible a peace maker ; seeking to make 
 known the conditions upon which people may be at peace with 
 God, and persuading them to accept peace on those conditions ; 
 promoting peace in the church, peace in the lamily, peace in 
 the world, ever remembering the words of our blessed Lord, 
 *' Blessed are the peacemakers ; for they shall be called the 
 children of God." 
 
 And may " the God of peace that brought again from the 
 dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 
 through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you peiv 
 feet in every good work to do His will, working in you that 
 which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ; " and 
 ** the Lord of peace Himself give you peaee always by all 
 means." Amen. 
 
 ■'f'^ 
 
 'fyv 
 
 
 .7..i 
 
47 
 
 i 
 
 The Self-denial of the Cross. 
 
 " Christ i^eased not Himself."— Jffom. xv. 3. 
 
 It may be necessary at the commencement to guard the text 
 against .misapplication. It must not be understood as teach- 
 ing that Christ was opposed to undertaking the work of our 
 redemption, and of bearing the siifterir.g which it entailed. 
 This He voliintarilv undertook, for there can be no dissentiona 
 or differences of opinion or sentiment between the persons of 
 the Holy Trinity ; all three. Father, Son and Holy Ghost, \\ ill 
 the salvation of man, and each performs His part in the mighty 
 plan. What the Apostle here asserts is, that Christ did mt 
 consult his own ease or pleasure, but cheerfully gave up all 
 consideration of self, and gave Himself entirely to the work of 
 benefiting others. Instead of consulting His own glory in 
 Heaven He laid it aside and took up His abode on earth ; and 
 having done that He, instead of seeking His own ease and com- 
 fort, voluntarily endured hardship, suffering reproaches, scorn, 
 scourging, and death itself, for the benefit of others; yea, and 
 those his enemies. And this fact St. Paul alludes to in the 
 words of the text, for the purpose of adding weight to the ar- 
 guments and exhortations of the preceding chapter, his argu- 
 gument being, that if Christ acted thus, we who bear His name 
 and profess to be His followers ought to do the same : more 
 particularly, should we be ready to bear with the weaknesses of 
 each other as menibers of Christ's body the Church. 
 
 This subject of forgetfulness of self and conwderation for 
 otlters 1 purpose discussing briefly as a fit and practical con- 
 clusion to this course of sermons. 
 
 Self-denial is an essential part of Christianity. It was, as 
 we have just observed, founded by self-denial. It has been, and 
 is still to be propagated by self-denial ; and without self-denial 
 it cannot thrive. This truth our Lord taught, not by example 
 only, but also by precept. *' From that time forth," says St. 
 Matthew, " began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that 
 He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the 
 elders and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised 
 again the third day." And when Peter, to whom, with the rest 
 of the disciples, this was unwelcome news, began to expostulate 
 with Him, He not only rebuked him for so doing, but proceeded 
 
 [■■■ 
 
 4-' . 
 
 
1 
 
 i 
 
 ::-jV* 
 
 lK-:m 
 
 :t! 
 
 -:. 
 
 48 
 
 at, once to assure them that not only was tliis the ease, but 
 that all who would be His followers must also be prepared to 
 suffer — '* Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any tnan will 
 come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and 
 follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it : and 
 whosoever will lose his life for My sake, shall find it." 
 
 Now we know that God cannot take delight in the suffering 
 of any of His creatures: that Ho wills our happiness here, as 
 well as hereafter : that He does not wish us to be deprived of 
 anything which is for our real good : and that consequently 
 there must be some wise purpose to be accomplished by this 
 self-denial and cross-bearing. 
 
 Let us then consider a few of the more prominent reasons 
 why the self-denial of the cross should be cheerfully under- 
 taken by christians. 
 
 I. It is absolutely necessary to our own spiritual life and 
 advancement. 
 
 This will be the more readily seen by taking into considera- 
 tion the effect of its opposite — self-indulgence. 
 
 Self-indulgence is always injurious under any circumstances. 
 And a person who is guilty of it is never expected to be of 
 much service either to himself or any body else ; as it produces 
 indolence, peevishness and often disease. It unfits a man for 
 undertaking, with any prospect of success, any important busi- 
 ness. And particularly, does it render him incapable of suc- 
 cessfully competing with others. And if this is the case — as 
 all will admit it is — in matters of the world ; it is equally so in 
 religious matters. The christian life is essentially one of war- 
 fare. Not only has the christian to contend with foes without ; 
 but also those that are within. "The flesh lusteth against the 
 spirit," says St. Paul. And if the lusts of the flesh are in- 
 dulged there can be no spiritual growth : for those appetites 
 and propensities when not checked must of necessity clog in 
 their action, and weaken in their force the higher powers of the 
 soul. And by fleshly lusts is not meant merely the grosser animal 
 appetites ; but all that constituties the desires and tendencies 
 of the lower natnre. Take avarice for example. Let that 
 be indulged, and the result will be such a complete ab- 
 sorption of all the powers of the mind by the over-power- 
 ing love of wealth and the entire devotion of all the 
 time and talents of the individual to the acquisition of 
 this world's goode, that the soul will be entirely neglected, its 
 powers weakened, and it become an easy prey to the enemy. 
 
 
 P 
 
 S( 
 
 h 
 
 a] 
 
49 
 
 ' 
 
 Theu, as another illustration, take pride. The love of dis- 
 play. Indulge that, and you vill poon find your time and mind 
 80 occupied with such frivolous matt/crs as what you are to wear, 
 how and when you are to wear it. Where you ought to go : 
 and with whom associate. How best to attract attention to 
 yourself, and by what means maintain your dignity : until 
 your poor shrivelled up soul will be fitted for no better occupa- 
 tion than that of a butterfly. 
 
 Theu again — take sloth : not un uncommon lust of the flesh. 
 Yield to this and you will never make spiritual progress. It 
 will either keep you in such ignorance of your spiritual condi- 
 tion and such sleepy indifference to all the requirements of the 
 soul, as to deprive you of all concern about it : or else induce 
 you to postpone all action necessary to the improv,. eut of 
 that condition, so that you will never be able to advance. And 
 if such be the effect of these — so to speak — refined lusts of the 
 flesh ; what must be the effect of such as gluttony, drunken- 
 ness and uncleanness ? 
 
 It will therefore be seen at a glance why a man, for his own 
 sake, should deny himself. And why St. Peter should so em- 
 phatically warn us against the indulgence of the flesh. — 
 " Dearly beloved " says St. Peter, " I beseech you as strangers 
 and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the 
 soul." 
 
 But not only have we to resist the flesh : but we have to 
 contend with other and mightier enemies : " We wrestle not 
 against flesh and blood," says St. Paul — that is, not merely 
 against flesh and blood — " but against principalities, against 
 powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against 
 spiritual wickedness in high places." And while self-indul- 
 gence unfits us to contend with those forces, self-denial 
 braces and strengthens us for the fight ; and enables us by 
 God's grace to cope successfully with them. 
 
 Self-denial merely as a mode of discipline, even if there were 
 no other advantage accruing from it, would well repay all who 
 practised it : for it is impossible to use self-restraint, and by 
 so doing gain a victory over self, without feeling all the better 
 for it. And those who never won such a victory have no idea 
 of the luxury they have missed. But when our eternal des- 
 tiny depends largely upon the result of these encounters with 
 our spiritual foes, the importance of self-denial becomes im- 
 mense. St. Paul fully understood this, and hence he says : — 
 " I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so fight I, not as one 
 that beateth the air j but I keep under my body, and bring it 
 
 J; 
 
 ! r^ 
 
 
50 
 
 
 into subjection, lest by any means, when I have preacher! to 
 others, I myself should be a cast-away." 
 
 II. It is only by self-denial that we can mutually benefit 
 each other, and so promote the welfare of the Church. 
 
 There is, I believe, no truth more frequently asserted, and 
 its duties more emphatically enforced by St. Paul, than the 
 close connexion between, and interdependence of, the individual 
 members of the Church, as being but parts of a great whole. 
 This he generally illustrates by the human body, sometimes for 
 the purpose of enforcing the necessity of purity, as in 1 Cor. 
 vi. ; sometimes for the purpose of teaching humility and dili- 
 gence, ad in Rom. xii. ; and sometimes with the view of show- 
 ing the necessity of mutual sympathy with, and consideration 
 of each other, and of preventing division, as in 1 Cor. xii. 
 
 Now this close connexion and mutual dependence demands 
 from each a consideration of the wants and weaknesses of the 
 others, not only as an act of christian charity, but as being es- 
 sential to the development and prosperity of the whole Church. 
 Men are differently constituted, both physically and mentally, 
 and not only so, but they are necessarily occupying different 
 stages of spiritual advancement, and consequently, if each one 
 seeks to please and benefit only himself, we will by the very 
 fact, and in the act of so doiug, interfere with the rights, privi- 
 leges and requirements of others. And there is a great deal too 
 much of this in church matters. One man has certain ideas 
 and tastes with regard to singing, and he would have all that part 
 of the service arranged to suit himself, no matter how many would 
 prefer a different arrangement. Another has a preference tor 
 certain subjects being treated of in the pulpit, and he would 
 have the minister almost continually harping upon his two or 
 three favorite strings, no matter how monotonous it might be 
 to others. Nay, though their souls might be starving for other 
 food, it would matter little to him so long as he was supplied 
 with his favorite dish. 
 
 Now, a moment's reflection is sufficient to convince any one 
 that such conduct, if indulged in by the different members of a 
 church, could only end in disruption. And the Church as a 
 body could no more continue to exist under such a regime than 
 the human body could continue to live if it r^'c.uved nutriment 
 for only one of its constituent parts. And hence, the duty — 
 the necessity of each one seeking to " please his neighbour for 
 his good to edification." For, by building up each other we 
 build up the whole. Well would it be for the Church at large, 
 and for each member in particular if this were more realized 
 
51 
 
 [1 to 
 
 and acted upon. If, instead of each one claiming the right to 
 please himself, even though by so doing h*. may injure another, 
 each one would " follow after the things which make for peace, 
 and things wherewith one may edify another," what a different 
 state of things we should have in the Church at large to-day. 
 If, where we too often have mutual recrimination and distrust, 
 we had mutual concession and confidence. If mutual faultfind- 
 ing and execration could be replaced by mutual consultation 
 and prayer. If each, instead of seeking to excel in that which 
 shall increase his own dignity or pleasure, would strive to 
 excel to the edifying of the church. If, in short, each one would 
 seek to exercise that charity which " suffereth long and is kind," 
 which envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." That 
 charity which •' seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked 
 and thinketh no evil." Then indeed would our Zion be " a 
 praise in the earth." " A crown of glory in the hand of the 
 Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of her God." Then should 
 we have even here, a fore-taste of that peace and liappiness en- 
 joyed by the Church triumphant in glory. 
 
 III. It is only by self-denial that we can materially influ- 
 ence the world and win it to Christ. 
 
 Let us ever remember that the world judges chrititianity, not 
 by its creeds and dogmas, not by the number and beauty of its 
 churches, not by the eloquence of its preachers ; biit by the 
 lives of its professors. And although it may be an easy matter 
 to prove them to be wrong in so doing ; to prove such a test 
 to be unfair to both the religion and its founder ; it neverthe- 
 less remains a fixed fact ; and will doubtless continue so, at 
 least until the end of this dispensati(m. And we have to deal 
 with the world ao it is ; and not as we would have it. And 
 even after all we can scircely blame them for judging it by 
 what it produces. And if they see those who profess to be 
 living exponents of the religion of Christ, living lives so much 
 like the rest of mankind as to be scarcely distinguishable from 
 them, we cannot altogether wonder at their declining to make 
 any profession at all. And He who '• knew what was in 
 man," and how he is influenced for good, or for evil, has clearly 
 laid down, and left on record, our duty in this respect : " Let 
 your light so shine before men, that they may see your good 
 works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Not 
 hear your good arguments : " but see your good works." 
 You may be able to give very good reasons why people ought 
 to deny themselves ; and take up their cross, and follow Christ : 
 but your argument will have little weight if those who hear it 
 
52 
 
 
 
 know you to be liviog a life of selfish indulgence. Tou may be 
 able to make a very eloquent appeal on behalf of missions : 
 but unless your own subscription bears something like a fair 
 proportion to your means, your eloquence is not likely to affect 
 the pockets of your hearers to any great extent. Tou may 
 lament the extravagance of the modern fashions and the 
 showy nature of the dresses of the present day : but in order 
 to impress upon the minds of your neighbours the idea that 
 you look upon it as being contrary to christian simplicity, it 
 will be necessary for you to relinquish it your self and dare to be 
 singular. And you may denounce the luxuriousneas and sel- 
 fishness of the age for a long time, aud with a good deal of 
 vigour too, without producing much effect, unless you set an 
 example of simplicity and self-denial. For example : it would 
 take a good deal of argument on your part to convince a man 
 that a glass of rum would do him harm, if he knew that you 
 took ale with your dinner, and whiskey punch before you 
 went to bed. The fact is, as already stated we are judged 
 not so much by our words — by our professions, as by our works. 
 And I am bold enough to affirm that a great deal of the irreligion 
 of to-day is largely owing to the self-indulgence of professing 
 christians. I know the j)ulpit gets a good deal of the blame, 
 and I, as a minister of tl\e gospel, have no desire to deny that 
 it has its share of the blame to bear. I admit the general 
 weakness of the pulpit of the present day ; but with two, and 
 often three sermons to prepare and preach each week ; with 
 the endless rounds of visiting the sick — and as far as time will 
 will permit — the well also ; not to mention the " thousand and 
 one " other demands inade upon a clergyman's time ; I confess 
 myself unable to see how it can be' otherwise. A clergyman 
 has, as a rule, to prepare his sermons during the intervals be- 
 tween his other engagements, often when the majority of his 
 congregation is in bed ; and in a large number of cases he has 
 but little help in the shape of good commentaries and other 
 books, and it is not to be wondered at that they should be tame 
 and common place. Then again, he has very much to discour- 
 age him, for it not uncommonly happens that when he has 
 takev special pains with the preparation of a subject, spending 
 great care and much time, and even prayer upon it, he sees by 
 the listlessness of hi.^ hearers that it is not appreciated, while 
 perhaps some "oft-hand" address which, for want of real 
 matter he makes a little lively in manner, is spoken about as a 
 good sermon. The fact is, the majority of people come to 
 church expecting to hear a religious discourse ; they hear it, 
 
53 
 
 and provided it does not exceed twenty-five minutes they are 
 satisfied. By the time they go to bed the text, theme and all 
 are forgotten. On Monday morning they enter upon their 
 weekly occupation, while the clergymiin again commences 
 his round of multitudinous duties, and begins to arrange ideas 
 for his next Sunday's sermons, knowing that they will have about 
 the same influence upon his congregation as the last. Of course 
 there are exceptions. Here and there is to be found a man of 
 genuine originality and real talent who rises above all these 
 drawbacks ; but they are few. No doubt they have many 
 would-be imitators who by dint of mere ranting and the bandy- 
 ing about of a few well worn, but hadli/ used texts of Scripture, 
 succeed in collecting around them a few dozens of shallow 
 minded impressible people who become noted, not for their 
 love to G-od and man, not for excelling in good works ; but for 
 red hot sectarianism and hatred of all who difler from them. 
 Now, while admitting that the pulpit might be improved with 
 decided advantage to the Church, I maintain that the real 
 want of the present day is more genuine self-denial on the part of 
 the members both clerical and lay. A greater readiness to spend 
 and be spent in the service of Christ. We have an immense 
 amount of machinery in operation in the present day. We 
 have meetings of all kinds, we have evangelists innumerable, 
 both male and female, we see people running hither and thither, 
 and if we were to judge the age by its general activity, we 
 should have to pronouce it a very religious one. But judging 
 as the world judges — and to a large extent rightly — much of 
 this is little better than religious dissipation. And alas chris- 
 tian self-denial has little existence except in name. 
 
 IV. It is only b" self-denial that we can shew our gratitude 
 to Christ and make Him i^o^iJie small return for all that He has 
 done for us. 
 
 Tliat every believer in Christ feels grateful to Him for all the 
 " benefits or His passion," may I presume, be assumed, for it 
 seems impossible that it can be otherwise. And this being the 
 case it is only natural that we should seek some way by which 
 to show forth that gratitude, and in this spirit we pray twice 
 every Sunday in our public services. In that beautiful form of 
 general thanksgiving, after thanking God for all His " goodness 
 and loving kindness," we proceed thus : *' 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 we beseech Thee give us that due 
 
54 
 
 m:^ ■ 
 
 sense of all Thy mercies, thai our hearts may be unfeignledly 
 thankful, and thcit we shew forth Thy praise not only with our 
 lips, but in our lives J* And how can we do this but by denying 
 ourselves for the good of others? • /;vvjW 
 
 O, that all thos^ who name the name of Christ would do this. 
 If all professing christians would deny themselves a little with 
 respect to wines and other intoxicating drinks, what a host of 
 drunkards would be saved, and an amount of drunkenness pre- 
 vented. If they would only deny themselves in regard to a few 
 of the luxuries in which they indulge, what an amount of money 
 might be devoted to the work of the Lord, both at home and 
 abroad. If they would only deny themselves a little of their 
 ease and a few of their spare hours, how many wretched homes 
 might be improved and sad hearts lightened* O brethren, when 
 we look around and see all the sin and misery that abounds, 
 and think of how little concern it gives us ; and how little we 
 deny ourselves for the sake of preventing or reducing it ; is it 
 not enough to make us ashamed of ourselves ? And to talk 
 about our love of Christ without in some tangible way denying 
 ourselves for His sake, sounds very much like mockery. May 
 God in His infinite mercy arouse the Ch.irch from her slumber 
 to do her duty in this matter. 
 
 And now, my brethren, I have finished the course pf sermons 
 announced at the beginning of Lent. And no one is more 
 sensible than I am how utterly i have failed to do justice to 
 the subjects comprising the course. But if, by God's blesslr.,*;^, 
 I have been enabled in any measure to exalt Christ, to give you 
 a clearer conception of that self-denying love wherewith He 
 loved, and still loves you. Of the completeness and all sui^ 
 ficiency of the great sacrifice which He offered for you. The 
 great and glorious possibilities He by His cross opened up to 
 you. If I have been the humble instrument used by the Holy 
 Spirit, of leading even one of you to love Christ more and seek 
 for grace and strength to serve Him better. If, through these 
 sermons even one shall be drawn by the power of the cross, to 
 a higher and holier life, they will not have been preached in 
 vain. And to God be all the praise • - *, . ^ -,,- 
 
 " Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and 
 to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with 
 exceeding joy ; to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and 
 majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." '"> 
 
 
 
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