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J. lUlniMi Pitoher. T. Q. WilUanu. Rev. J. J. Rice. I. J. Bnrwash, M.A. T L. K Beaudry. II II II ^nI-< ha m ,'Ttf.A., LL.B. A. B. Chwnbem. LL.B. I^roy Hooker. Win. JaokKm. J. R. JMqaM,D.D.,Ph.D. J. S, CodSn. uJZ^^f:^!^ ^ • ooU^rtkm of ^rmon. by C^ SlL^Jti:^^ - pooreernSLLlt.^ 12mo. Ktog St. Ewf , !P»rwif^ aw.CoAns.llontiwa.iJne. & F. Ho«m8, Hijifil,, KS. ■-1 ^ 'Ml ':^ U^ , l42aAy>'i^i SERMONS BY MINISTERS Or THE GUELPH CONFERENCE. -■' '■• !.■ ■' i •T./f mm '&i V! AutI V MONTR] SERMONS BY MINISTERS OF THE ,V' ^- ' ■ - GUELPH CONFERENCE. - • .. ■"■. ... ' ' WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY y." ' ' . '■ - REV. JAMES GRAY. VOLUME I. EDITED BY REV. D. ROGERS, Author of « Shot and Shell," and " Guide to Young Christians." y\ TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIGGS, 78 & 80 KING ST. EAST. MONTREAL : C. W. COATES. . HALIFAX : S. F. HUESTIS. 1886. fK- I I !.> ' i^ ■• \ ^^578 ,X"' ,x A BOOK that is not read is useless, though it be as learned as an encyclopedia, and as true as the multiplication table. The editor of this volume was convinced that if he could secure a sufficient number of short, racy dis- courses from the ministers of the Quelph Conference, published in a cheap form^ they would have a large sale and be widely read, — at least within the bounds of our own Conference — and at the same time furnish a valuable addition to our home Methodist literature The ready response of so many brethren to con- tribute, gave evidence that they approved of the project. The entire profits accruing, from its sale will be applied to the Superannuated Minister's Fund. May the Holy Spirit accompany and bless the read- ing in as great measure as He has the preaching of these sermons! If this volume secures general approval, a second may be issued in 1887. D.R Aiuu ORAia, Anffiut i8th,}1880. ''1, Intr Thr] M ■ ■'■.',,Vv Frob . ] God'! Unio Heai €mkt{i$. y \ PAOB Introduction ix By Rev. Jas. Gray. I. Three Sisters. (1 Cor. xiii. 13) 13 By Rev. W. S. Griffin, D.D. , Pres, of Gqelph Conference. n. From Faith to Faith. (Rom. i. 17) 23 By Rev. A. Carman, D.D., General Superintendent. III. God's Eternal Purpose. (Eph. iii. 10, 11) 46 By Rev. I. B. Aylesworth, LL.D, Union With Christ. (2 Cor. v. 17) 61 By Rev. Wesley Casson. Heaven and How to Get There. (2 Cor. v. 6). . . By Rev. John W. Gilpin. 78 ... ^^■ ■■'■ - ' ' ' ■"• " ", " •■-;■-• VUl CONTENTS. VI. PASB Wbono Views of Death. (1 Cor. xv. 55) w 99 By Rev. H. T. Croasley. VII. The Principle of a New Life — the Absolute m Bb- LioiON. (John iii, 7) 118 By Rev. Robt. Phillips. VIII. WoBLDLY Wisdom verms The Gospel. (1 Cor. L 21-24) . . 130 By Rev. John Kenner. IX. David's Affection fob the House of God. (Psa. xxvi. 8). 117 By Rev. W. A. Strongman, LL.B., Ph.D. X. LoviNO YouB Neiohbob. (Matt. xxii. 39) 167 By Rev. W. H. Hincks. XI. Conditional Immobtalitt , . . . 177 By Rev. F. E. Nugent. XII. The Sebvant of Chbist the Only Fbebman. (Rom. vi. 22). 193 By Rev. J. W. Holmes. PAaa 99 IN Re- us 24) . . 130 cvi. 8). 147 167 177 i. 22). 193 [trtiH)f4ttdwt|. THE ministry of the Word is a work that angels might covet. The truths which the ambassador of God is expected and required to declare are God- given and soul-saving. He holds an important position among the moral forces of the universe. It is his privilege and honor to uplift and ennoble humanity. Ministers are said to be the "moral police" of the world. The weapons of their warfare are not carnal, but spiritual, and " mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds " of sin and Satan. Truth, the sword of the Spirit, is 'two-edged. It is designed to cut its way to the hearts and consciences of men of all grades and classes. It makes manifest to the man himself the innermost thoughts of his heart. It tears aside every refuge of lies, and shows the sinner what he is in God's sight. It points him to the only method by which " God can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." The ministers of the Methodist Church, during the last century and more, have been like the flying artillery of God's great army. No other class of men more fully represent the apocalyptic angel of St. John flying v'in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel INTRODUCTION. to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." The world has been emphatically their "parish." They have refused to be tramn^^led by any narrower limits. Well and faithfully have they fulfilled their Lord's commission, "Go." Since the organization of Meth- odism they have been going — they are going still, and are destined to go till the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of God. The economy and doctrines of Methodism are fitted for universal dissemination. The tenets she holds in relation to the sinfulness of sin, the universality of the atonement, the knowledge of personal acceptance with God, the direct witness of the Spirit, and the present possibility and necessity of holiness of heart and life, commend themselves to all men as sufficient to meet the felt needs of our common humanity, and stimulate our zeal in acquiring those broad and comprehensive views of duty and privilege, and those richer experi- ences of the Christian life which satisfy the highest aspirations of our hearts. These doctrines as preached by Methodist ministers have already produced won- derful changes in the life, experience, and character of many connected with other sections of the Church of God. And they are destined to produce still more powerful effects on the faith, and hopes, and destinies of the world. They are scriptural in character, uni- versal in application, and perpetual in their beneficial tendency and effects. Methodism has not contributed so largely to the religi chun so m has had large she h positi tincti sermc thatl in me as coi other Iti arisin canno the h( appoi foolis cann Theli of sp infiu( on th justif serm< ticuh of m and : 1':' INTRODUCrnON. I to every .le." The 1." They rer limits, sir Lord's of Meth- still, and 'lied with are fitted » holds in ity of the ince with e present and life, to meet itimulate ehensive r experi- > highest preached ed won- racter of hurch of ill more iestinies ;er, uni- eneficial to the religious literature of the world as some of the older churches of Christendom. This is not to be attributed so much to lack of ability as to lack of leisure. She has been so busy with evangelistic work that she has had comparatively little time for the production of large and comprehensive theological works; and yet she has not altogether neglected such studies and com- positions. Some of her sons have attained high dis- tinction in this field. Comparatively few of the sermons of her divines have been published ; but those that have been put into print have not been lacking in merit and usefulness, in pith, and pathos, and power, as compared with similar productions emanating from other pens. It is freely admitted that there are many advantages arising from the public preaching of God's Word that cannot be attained by bringing the truth to bear on the hearts of men in any other way. It is a divinely appointed institution. "It has pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe." It can never be superseded in the economy of Christianity. The living voice, the speaking eye, the inter-communion of spirit with spirit, must and will produce, under the influence of the Divine Spirit, its own powerful eflfects on the hearts and minds of hearers. But we are not justified in inferring from this fact that the written sermon has no advantages. It, too, has its own par- ticular sphere of usefulness. It gives the opportunity of more careful preparation as to its plan, its style, and its modes of expression. It enables us to examine ::' •♦. Xll INTRODUCTION. the doctrines presented more narrowly and critically, and compare them with the only infallible standard of truth — the sacred volume. It gives an opportunity for a review, and thus enables us to fix more firmly in our minds and hearts the thoughts of the author. It is hoped that this volume of sermons will add something to the theological lore of the Church of Christ ; but especially that it will have a tendency to quicken our piety, stimulate our zeal, and lead us up to the attainment of a higher state of Christian experi- ence ; and thus build up in our own and other churches a grander and nobler type of Christian manhood. The profits of the work are to be devoted for the benefit of the Superannuation Fund of the Methodist Church. ^ James Gray. T Toronto, July SOth, 1886. I critically, itandard of pportunity e firmly in ithor. 3 will add Church of mdency to lead us up an experi- r churches bood. ;ed for the Methodist i Gray. I. THREE SISTERS. BY REV. W. S. GRIFFIN, D.D., Pregident of Quelph Cor{ference. *' And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the greatest of these is charity."— 1 Cob. xiii. 13. 11HERE is no doubt, then, as to the relative quali- - ties of these several graces. Among sisters in a household there is not unfrequently one who is acknowledged to be superior to the others. As in any cluster of stars there is always one that shines brighter than the rest ; as in any bed of flowers there is always one that exceeds all others in beauty and in fragrance ; as in any collection of pearls there is always one superior in attraction and in real value ; — so in every family there is sure to be one that excels the rest in personal accomplishments. An unerring Judge has settled the question in this family : " Faith, hope, and charity, these three ; but the greatest of these is charity." I propose to consider very briefly the character of each. 14 THREE SISTEBS. I. FAITH. Now do not mistake the person. There are more than one of this name, and it is no uncommon thing to confound different individuals who happen to have the same name. Out of such errors serious embarrassments and difficulties have arisen. Do you enquire whether the faith of which I speak is simply an assent of the mind to the truth of God ? I an- swer, No. Or is it the faith that believes in mira- cles ? Again I answer. No. Or is it the faith that credits a fact because of the evidence of our senses ? Still I answer. No. Is it, then, the faith that credits a thing because i^ is consistent with our philosophy, or because of the testimony of others ? No, none of these. These are excellent characters, but are all the poor relations only of the one of whom i wish to speak. This is the faith which appropriates the Word of God, and reposes a saving trust in the merits of Christ, and rejoices in conscious salvation. She is well known and highly distinguished, having lived in intimate Ciampanionship with the grand old patriarchs and prophets, and with all holy men in all ages of the world's history. It is the faith that saves. She is very rich. She possesses " the substance of things hoped for." The circumstances of a person have generally much to do with the character. On this account it is important not to overlook the circum- stances of Faith. Th Alia trols Shec nues are more non thing lappen to rs serious . Do you is simply i? I an- } in mira- faith that [ir senses ? at credits tiilosophy, ), none of t are all 1 wish iates the it in the salvation. 1, having :rand old len in all kith that stance of 'son have On this circum- THREE SISTEBS. 15 There is no possible computation of her wealth. All arithmetics will fail in the calculation. She con- trols immeasurable resources on earth and in heaven. She commands the present and the future : the reve- nues of two worlds. She has as many diamonds as God has stars. She owns valuable property in many kingdoms of this world, and in every other world that angel ever saw or God ever made. She derives her income from all the fields of immensity, and dis- tributes her gifts with boundless benevolence among all her children, to whom she says, " For all things are yours, whether Paul, or ApoUos, or Cephas, or the orld, or life, or death, or things present, or things o come ; all are yours." And, what must never be forgotten, she accumulated er fortune by her own personal effort. When she egan life she had absolutely nothing. She had no riends even, while enemies innumerable combined to ake her enterprise a failure ; but by the legitimate xercise' of inherent and indomitable energy she appro- riated one territory after another, and demonstrated hat " all things are possible " to Faith. She lives in queenly style. Her palace is built in he region of God's presence. God Himself is in the ight of its chambers, in the glory of its gates, in the plendor of its precious stones, in the fragrance of its owers, and in the music of its choirs. Here she oUects her offspring, clothed with the costly robes of ighteousness. Here she spreads for them the table of the Lord, laden with sumptuous fare. From every 16 THREE SISTEBS. region of poverty, from every habitation of sorrow,f roi jj every district of death, in all generations of mankin( ^^ she gathers her guests, and here they abide forever. ^^^ She is as brave as she is opulent. Fear to her is a g^ unknown sensation. The thundering artillery of wa , ^ the horrors of ghastly famine, the ravages of devourin ^(y pestilence, do not make her afraid. She walks throug ^^ all these fields of desolation without concern for he ^er personal safety. When thrones totter, and the founda ^erel tions of the earth are shaken, and the " elements mel qy t with fervent heat ;" when God wraps the world in th( q]^ fires of final conflagration, turns the moon into blood| and puts out the light of the stars, still she is noi afraid. With sublime courage she faces a dissolviiij universe. Having settled the premiums of an ampL insurance, she fears no loss. Having already conquerei in every field of conflict, she fears no danger. Thei triumphs of the world's great warriors were mere toyi in comparison with her achievements. Having subJgion dued every human lust, and mastered every humanLkes passion, and routed whole legions of devils, in the|uitfi wide domain of the universal and the everlasting! ghe there is nothing for her to fear. J the iturl r * I iartsj ^dbt ver ai le s] II. HOPE. Though there are strong points of resemblance be- tween Hope and Faith, sufficient to show that theyj are nearly related (any one, indeed, would know that| they are sisters), yet they differ widely in many par- ticulars. ;. in ill THREE SISTERS. 17 iofsorrow,fro; IS of mankini bide forever. ope is sanguine. The world to the human eye is d with dire and endless confusion. There is the ter of adversity, whop'^ cold winds and biting frosts >ar to ner is a ^g^ ^y^Q buds of promise in every generation. There y ^* ^* ! the dreadful visitations of pestilence, whose putre- )s 01 devounn ^^ breath poisons and fills the world with fear ; and walks throug ^a^, v/hich stains the earth with blood. There are ncem tor he certainties, irregularities and disappointments every- »d the founda|jere, and out of them all flow floods of sorrow, and elements mel er them all broods the darkness of despair. Yet in e world in thi ^h a world as this Hope is ever cheerful. Her jn into blood j,tures are always radiant with the light of a perfect jr. She is the best of company. She captivates all 5S a dissolving ,9^1.43 ^j^jj jj^^ rapturous description of the brighter I °* ^^ ample ^^ better days that are yet to come, when youth shall ay conquered .yer fade and man shall never die. She visits the danger. Ihe (j and inspires them with the freshness of youth. >re mere toyj ^g speaks to the children of want and fills their Having subi gion with the days of plenty. She believes, and very human akes all listeners feel, that the desert shall become a evils, m the uitful field, and the wilderness blossom as the rose. everlasting, gbe sings as well as talks, and her songs are sweet the carols of the sky. She knows more songs than in the song-book. She knows songs for every day the year, and for every hour in the day. Songs mblance be-lt are full, to all, of holiest inspiration. She sings r that theyps song of the "golden harvest" to the fainting hus- dman. She sings the " song of freedom " to the tive in his gloomy, grated cell. She sings the tes of liberty to the wretched slave, who drags the 2 know that! many par-j 18 THHEE SIHTEUS. chains of bondage through all his tiolds of toil. SI )0(^ flings the melody of " Home, sweet homo " upon tl r tl listening ear of the weary, wayworn pilgrim. SI rni inspires, while she sings to the storm-tossed marin ilk battling with the billows of the sea, "We'll anclu hel by and bye." t( She paints as well as sings. The canvas evci ffc day receives the traces of her rich and wondrous fanci (2)1 She paints no ocean storms, nor fields of blood. SI en paints no scenes of anguish, no home of penury, n le t couch of suffering. She paints no w'nter landscap isdo where frost and snow have withered all things fre.s and green. But she paints the sky when it is blu and the earth when it is green. She paints th orchards wh jn they blossom into fruitfulness, and tb harvest fields when they ripen into plenty. Ever )odn phase of life and every field of nature which make jnefj life full of gladness she reproduces with mavellou mtl^ skill. Every apartment of her abode is a drawin room, and on every wall hangs a picture that an angAe gc might covet for his heavenly dwelling place. Anftmir every day she adds to the vast collection. Such Hope — beautiful, gifted and divine. amc ey thoi (3) |! III. CHARITY. Another name for love. Whatever may be saif of the others, yet Charity is the favorite one — ani a full-sized portrait of Charity is given in the chapt^ from which the text is taken. (1) Charity is humble, though a princess of roya e s ricj th \ am odf me sh( Is of toil. S I pilgrim. SI -tossed niarin " We'll and. canvas eve k^ondrous fane of blood. SI THREE 8ISTERH. 19 )od and related to the ari.stocracy of heaven. With mmo " upon tl r there is no pomp, parade or show. Though highly rn and highly gifted, she disdains not the lowly ilks of common life. Her apparel, her gait, the tone her voice, the expression of her countenance, prepare to hear that " she vaunteth not herself and is not ffed up." (2) Charity is generous : however much others may enriched, still she would give them more, — give to of penury, ii le the sceptre of power, to another the treasures of titer landscaii all things fre? ^hen it is bin >he paints th Illness, and tl place. Am pion. Such ii isdom and knowledge, and yet to another the amonds of wealth, — .she envies not, but prays that ey may be increased a thousand-fold, and distributed thousand times more among all the sons of men. (3) Charity is affectionate, she is the very soul of )lenty. Ever )odness ; every one shares in her benedictions and which make mefactions. She speaks tenderly, and gives abun- ^ith mavellou mtly ; she loves the most degraded and wretched of is a drawin ankind. Any one can admire the beautiful and love that an ang( le good ; but in the unlovely she finds something to may be sail ite one — anl the chapt^ 2ess of roya mire, and in the essentially bad something to love. e stretches out her arms of affection to the black rican, as well as the white Caucasian. She knows distinction of race, of '•olor, or of creed. She sits the fireside of the slase, as well as in the palace of king. She visiis the thieves in their dens of 'amy, and the abandoned of every name in their lodes of villainy. She covers the faults and failures men as well as she can — she takes their part as far she dare, and blesses them all infinitely more than 20 THREE SISTERS. *hey deserve. Suoh i^ h ^ !;»t«- it is hard to say whil 'tr "'^^ ''«'"'"l Each has charms pecui^a^ t h ^s'r w ''f'™"'" admire them all and if ,. j '• ^^ 'ove a 'heir respecfve "er , T/r' 1?°^ "">- '» <^-i decides: "Faith, hoT'ZltT'' '"'''^'' "'«' greatest of these is charity ■•^' ' ^^'''' ''"' ^''•ly is Charity judjd th many reasons, a very few j .* P""'*^* ^ There , Faith and BopeZwel'"'\°'''y'"''y^''t-^ Charity. The gifts ofln'rirf^'' ''"'"'"^' ^" of men. all so full of S and1?"""'''*"^P°«' Paniedandunsustained b^aarL^^P^' '' """^""^ brass, or a tinkling cymbal "F^K^r "^ ""'"'"<'' "'"h the gifts of nr^„K "^ """^ Hope, endow unde^tandirofaKf '•'"' *"™''«^ -'"> "i f othed with' po^i 7tZrl '""'^'''^^- « the earth, at the expense oMh "<»""»ins attainments and achLements to 7' °? "'^'' ^' '-piration that CharityT2fe" 't T'''^'^''"- <") np from the obscure wait, of n^' ""^ ''*"«<^ 'ha when they gave their L ^^* '° '^'''''h they livd which ^-JZlt T^r T'' "^"""^^ now by the aid of Cha^L f? ^^e^o^tration. B, changed ; they trust G^L?".?'"'*''"' ""<' '«« » It— lithi sn, ^ |ey ( 'evei sry ) THBEE SISTERS. 21 they feed and clothe the poor, they cure the [ased and dying, and yet in all this wonderful field toil they are powerless without the presence and )ort of their sister Charity — *' 'Tis love that makes their cheerful feet In Bwift obedience move. " draws and guides and moves, because she is divine. ein lies her marvellous charms and her measureless rer. She fills the immensity of space with the sic of the spheres. She fills the region of chaotic Hcness with the liofht of the stars. She fills the sea pearls, and the mountains with gold. She pre- }d the fields in which Faith and Hope may toil. opened the fountains at which they satisfy their fst. She built the house in which they dwell. "The [atest of the three is charity" — the greatest because lortal. By and by t— '* Faith will be lost in sight, And Hope in full fruition die." '' Love is the grace that lives and sings, When Faith and Hope shall cease ; 'Tis this shall strike our jo3rful strings, In the sweet realms of bliss." bth the end of time, Faith and Hope, as known to p, will have filled up the measure of their days. ley die when their work is done. But Love lives on rever. ' And if every man on earth were dead, and jry angel in heaven, still she would live. She lived 22 THREE SISTERS. before them and can live after them if they cease be. If the universe were blotted out, the light of worlds extinguished, while Faith and Hope wo perish in the wreck of all things. Love, that liv before the worlds were made, would live after they aj deairoyed,— ior " Godis love." APPLICATION. 1. Our capacity to love is a proof of our relations!) to God. In the heart of God there is no faith nor hop and if there were only these in the heart of man, 1 could never say " Our Father which art in heaven." 2. The weakness of our faith and hope is explairw by our littleness of love. Our faith and hope w increase with the growth of our love. 3. If we lose our hope, instead of seeking for it v should seek for love : finding love we find our hope u il_ II. FROM FAITH TO FAITH BY REV. A. CARMAN, D.D., Belleville. •' From faith to faith."— Rom. i. 17. ''E shall understand this scripture more readily and fully if we look at it in the light of what think a great deal more about, and know a great [al more of, than we do of the great powers and [and possibilities of the gradations of faith. The )rld lives by sight, by sense ; and not by expanding ^estigation, by faith. For even enlarging know- Ige grows upon faith ; faith in the faculties, the [ocesses, the instruments and the results of pre- jding investigation. When we learn easily, and len our thought dwells, we make in common life many gradations and distinctions as the most [rplexing of the philosophers have in the most iplex of their systems. I have been amused to ir the ladies discussing the colors, hues, and shades a ribbon or a feather. What with their blue Id purple ; their azure and cerulean blue, deep blue '^lll ''JWy' ■' 24 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. and light blue, royal blue and navy blue, inc blue and cobalt ; deep purple and royal purple, he| trope and mauve, Tyrian purple and amethyst, more than a score of tinges and touches besides where are your metaphysicians and scientists in tl labored lists and Greek-cut nomenclatures? Of cou| the ladies are dealing with sublime and import^ matters, while the men of the schools are handli trifles and sporting with trinkets ; still it shows i\ when we live and think we draw as many liij and mark as many diflerences as other people i when they live and think. And we laugh at th( divisions, while they heap contempt upon ours, politicians see no use arguing about expiatory atoi^ ment, commercial atonement, covenant atonemes foreordained atonement, after-thought atonement, what difference does it make anyhow ? These ;? the distinctions of the punctilious theologians, the same politicians go frantic over a revenue tarlj a protective tariff, a prohibitory tariff"; over Dominii rights and Province rights ; Imperial prerogatives aH Home-rule, matters of altogether secondary impel ance in the mind of the theologian. Men that si flour, oysters, or cheese have brands and grac enough to confound six metaphysicians ; and yet t's psychologist or the preacher who would distinguil betwixt affection, intuition, conscience and desire enforcement of moral law and spiritual freedom ail accountability, is making, these practical men saj distinctions without differences, and just talking ar talking to hear himself talk. FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 25 '^e understaDd some other things bette:: than we [the things of faith, because we live and think jther realms than the realm of faith. We know [ething of the greatness and the glory and excel- py of the other realms, while we scarcely give to Ih a realm at all, but a shadowy, dreamy, fitful, jertain coming and going without plan, purpose, rer or product. We have little or no faith in |ih ; and yet to help our faith we often sing : — " The things unknown to feeble sense, Unseen by reason's glimmering ray, With strong commanding evidence Their heavenly origin display. Faith lends its realizing light ; ' The clouds disperse, the shadows fly ; The Invisible appears in sight, And God is seen by mortal eye." [th is a philosophy — a broad domain of truth and )wledge. Faith is a kingdom — a broad domain of Cinder and peace. Faith is an empire — a broad lain of sovereignty, majesty and power. Faith bhe heavenly treasury and glory — a broad domain [wealth, privilege, dignity, happiness and abiding r From faith to faith." Let us see if we can climb [some height where we can catch a glimpse of this iv expanding vision of beauty, power and glory, le eye strengthens with the eagerness of the gaze, [e mists roll off, the landscape unfolds, and the light ightens and increases with the longing of our look 26 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. and the intensity of our desire to see and employ grace and strength at hand, and to behold the f ar-a\ riches and splendors. We very often say, " from wealth to wealth." know what that means, because we live and thinkl that domain. We can see it, hear it, feel it, handlef experience it ; so we know what that means. We smell it, taste it, eat it, drink it, wear it ; so we kn| it. The young man begins empty handed and eaj the axe upon his shoulder. Soon by hard strokes hard fare he earns the wood or the potash that bi the land. "From wealth to wealth." The land^ cleared ; the house is built and the barn ; and the golc grain fills the granary and lies in heaps upon the flol " From wealth to wealth." The mansion appears, t| larger barns, the broader fields. We know what tl means. "From wealth to wealth." Industry, gc management and care, and riches abound. Not char work ; not carelessness or indifference ; not scorn right means or little products; not disregard of til laws or principles of increase ; but ceaseless labor, vi| lance and economy. Over and above his fixed possei sions, our young man, now in the prime of life, \\{ money to let out at interest. His farm and work ad to his store ; his money accumulates in his hands, know what this means : " Wealth to wealth." Mond now, a power in itself, by proper direction, makij money. Soon the capability of personal accumulatic has nearly reached the summit, and he ventures upc the social powers of increase. He invests with othe FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 27 Enterprises too great for the individual combine fructify the capital. Ships float upon the seas ; thunder over the continents ; great factories de- ^p hidden resources, and the energies of nature pile treasures at command. " From wealth to wealth." know what that means. Our young man that Id scarce purchase an axe now sends his fleets upon [ocean and his great railway trains through cities fields, forests and mines. What a little ago was a kggle to live is now mighty to conquer to the ends phe earth. The improvement of the opportunity, use of the means, has exalted the empty-handed Ith — then utterly helpless and powerless in the lies of the rich — to a seat among the merchant ices and the potentates of gold. He who had not )pper now has millions of dollars. He that could get an acre and a cow can now swing vast estates, imship lines and railway and telegraph systems; he can poise and swing them as easily as once he ^Id his axe or scythe. "Wealth to wealth." We )w what that means ; for we think there, and love labor to live there. >o we have a way of saying, " from strength to mgth," and "from power to power." We know what that means, because we live there. There a time, my dear friend, when you could not lift spoon that fed you. Now likely you can lift rh, platters, and porringers. The infant cannot sp and break the straw ; but soon it handles the |ife, the hammer — and hard substances yield and 28 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. weighty bodies move. What could not lift a p« or a splinter, now can heave a stone or carry a What could not walk a step or stand alone, now- tends in the race with the horse, or in flight witl^ deer or the ostrich. " From strength to strenj We understand that because we see it and feel it, meet its conditions and prove it. We eat and bre and grow, and pull and push and run and lifttS strike, and our strength increases ; and we say, " 'M is all very nat\iral and reasonable. Why, it co not be otherwise. What else could you expei And the man, applying his strength by lever, wli and pulley, can lift rocks out of their deep beds, tear up by their roots the giants of the forest. M( mental piles attest his strength. Pyramids, huge i hoary, proclaim his power. Laying under tribute forces of Nature, he can stem the tides and breastnl storms of ocean, rend the rock-ribbed earth and del asunder the granite walls and adamantine towers)! the ancient mountains. " From strength to strengi We understand that ; at least some do. There 4 indeed, those that have as little comprehensionii even that in its grander demonstrations and mighlJ achievements, as they have of "from faith to fail* But as we use strength, live by strength, incre strength — get it by eating, drinking, breathing, sle ing — we come to know a little of it, and of its nati and laws and energies and results. It grinds a| graduates its very ideas and character into us; j learn a little lesson every day, and after a while thi! FAITH. FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 29 ouid not lift a picquirements prodigious. We get confidence in tone or carry a llth, trust in strength, faith in strength, hour by stand alone, now gind effort by effort ; and sometimes, by an extra- e, or in flight wit! iry effort awd extraordinary achievement, we fcrength to stren| I on " from strength to strength " delightfully see it and feel it,, gloriously. And we combine our strength with We eat and bre rength of others, and navies cover the sea, and ma run and liftj jtible armies thunder over the continents and and we say, " ] the earth tremble under their terrible tread. a.Dle. Why, it cJesses of strength and palaces of splendor crown ^Is ; and marts of trade and hives of labor crowd lleys. Rome was small and feeble at the begin- Britain had her days of littleness and weak- but daring energy and skill brought one tribe another into subjection. Seven hills were could you expe igth by lever, w their deep beds, of the forest. M Pyramids, huge mg under tribute^ht to one Capitolini, seven kingdoms to one hept- ■ tides and breast bed earth and cl. lamantine tower;; irength'to streng me do. There 3 comprehensio itions and migh 'rom faith to fai strength, increl g, breathing, slei t, and of its natil >s. It grinds acter into us; From power to power." Better government liled and better laws : wiser men in council and jer men in the field. Mightier armies went forth lobler politics, and monster regions owned their " From power to power." We understand that. [written in living characters in all history. He [runs, reads. He must read — he must see it, if jes anything. It is the law of the growth of )ns. And Rome in the ancient day ruled all and Britain to-day has broad empire, because their heights they climbed step by step, or leaped id upon bound, improving their opportunities, [against all opposition holding steadily on through liter a while thiBcenturies their high career. Comparing earthly 30 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. ,1s gei roi e e (1 ph things with heavenly, spiritual interests and energij with material interests and energies, partial and teiij poral empire with universal and eternal dominio human and carnal weapons and powers with tho that are celestial and divine, — they, in their sphere uc did what the Church of God by faith is expected an appointed to accomplish in its sphere. In politic association, apprehending the principles and process of social and national advancement by rising fro stage to stage or leaping from height to height, th achieved in the individual improvements and Ant public affairs all that is asked of faith, considerir c( that she hath her eternal hold on God, and for hi weapon His omnipotent touch. Is it the wonder thi iW faith hath done so much or so little ? Has she bee ht exercised and demonstrated in any good degree in hi ige strength and glory ? Has she had a fair chance ? J) ere we know from human action and record what si ,su can accomplish ? Nations have shown and prove ik( their greatest strength ; political energies some ( d i their highest developments ; but faith — faith is yi 3Z[ as an infant m the cradle, or as a young bird tha ne hath not risen from its nest. " From power to power ar we know something of. Would that we knew wh this meaneth : " From faith to faith ! " Again, we often say, " from skill to skill." \ understand that. There was a time, my dear frien^ when under the blaze of noon you could not direct spooii io your mouth ; now most of us could find o months in the dark. There was a time when yo he h th m c ilic iss FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 31 its and energiftld not draw a line; now some could shape the artial and teiiBman face divine. There was a time when a dozen ernal dominio als and great struggles would not put the hand to rers with tho j spot intended ; now, perchance, the keys can be in their spher( uck with precision, and the quick and nimble is expected ar gers do the sharpest, closest bidding every time. re. In politic rom skill to skill." We seem to know all about this. s and process b eat by it, we dress by it, we paint and pencil by it ; by rising froi d so we sing, and play our instruments of music. ; to height, the i,phael once could not draw the picture of a gate, or ements and i int fit for a fence post ; but there came a time when ith, considerir could put upon the canvas the hate of hell in a rod, and for Ik man eye, and demon's scorn upon human lip, or he the wonder tbi did make the countenance radiant with a heavenly ? Has she bee ht and serene with a heavenly benignity. Michael od degree in h( igelo once could not knock a chip off a stone ; but air chance ? D sre came a time when, with an intensity of enthu- record what si ,sm and a gleaming rapidity of stroke, he could wn and prove ike the marble all alive with his own great soul, lergies some ( d eloquent of inspiring memories and heroic deeds. bh — faith is y( ozart once could not touch a key ; but there came a y^oung bird tha ne, in the slow process and rigid discipline of the ars, when he could evoke from voiceless chords we knew wha shest melodies, and stir to their depths even stupid Ills by seraphic strains. " From skill to skill." What th not patient exercise wrought in art and in arms, merchandise and mechanics, in lofty enterprise and common life ? What polish of implement, what licacy of touch, what precision of stroke, what soft- ss of filament, what fineness of fabric, what ease of to skill." \V my dear frien uld not direct 3 could find ou time when yo I'i ! I 11: 1 'I ;S'H 32 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. pi Q production, what aid of refinement, what abound! p comforts and high wrought luxuries have not b( jr obtained by cultivation and ease. "From skill to ski r< We understand it. It is all about us, and on us, a ci in us. We see it, and hear it, and smell it, and w( j j it, and eat it — and so we know. In such things, a by such processes, we are wide-awake and acute know. We are eager to know, as the Son of M discerned, " What shall we eat, and what shall drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed." T Apostle caught at it and hit our case when he wrot " These speak evil of the things they know not ; I what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in the things they corrupt themselves." That is our portra we fill that bill. What did Raphael do in painting that Paul did n accomplish, in solid realitjr, in sublime endeavor a: holy living ? What did Michael Angelo do in maki marble speak that John Wesley did not achieve inciting and enabling stolid ignorance and disgusti brutality to shout the praises of the Most High Go What did Mozart do in sending his heart-throbs a soul -thrills along the harp strings that Martin Lut and John Fletcher did not accomplish in waking u dead Germany, and soothing into the sweetness of lo an arousing England ? How did Julius Caesar exi Moses, or Columbus surpass Coke ? Wherein is H nibal better than Joshua, or Cato than Daniel, Cicero than ApoUos, or Plato than Paul ? But, th say, our side is natural and historical : the other si i "H. rom skill to sk IS, and on us, a ri such things, ake and acute the Son of M FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 33 , what abound! pernatural, in the moral and religious realm, and 3s have not b^r-historical. But who draws the line betwixt the ral and supernatural ? What monarch of opinion criticism establishes the bounds, determining what smell it, and w( i and forces he will let into history, and what he id what shall le lout and boor is natural to the scholar and the be clothed." T e when he wrol le. Morality ^and religion have their forces and facts as well as commerce, art and war. Who is ey know not ; 1: led to ignore their fibre in the social fabric or e beasts, in th lat is our portra that Paul did ime endeavor a igelo do in maki lid not achieve nee and disgusti: J Most High Goi s heart-throbs ai bat Martin Lut sh in waking u B sweetness of lo: rulius Caesar ex Wherein is Hi > than Daniel, Paul ? But, th jal : the other si keep out ? What is natural to the roe is super- ral to the bat or the owl ; what is supernatural to )ig is natural to the man, and what is supernatural part in human affairs ? Who can disown or dis- the principles that sustain and enliven them, the oses they cherish, the means they employ, or the ts they secure ? What good thing in humanity lot faith in God touched, ennobled and strength - ? Faith in God has its records, its examples — too few — its heroes, its victors, its fine products ely wrought, its needle-work and fine linen, its ous stones and gold. It, too, has its polished , its completed works, its perfected glories. It ts right of way over the continents, its track upon eas, and the freedom of the globe. We mount faith to faith as we do from wealth to wealth, skill to skill, and from power to power, t so we often say,"f rom knowledge to knowledge." as we are and ignorant as we are, we are sharp h and learned enough to know what that means. |e was a time, my friend, that you did not know .-^;'.-i>-"" .','.<-^i.wi^ J. 34 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. that one and one are two ; that vinegar is sour sugar sweet ; that friends are of use to you, and unsupported you die. Now likely most of us hava elements of the multiplication table ; we have goj enough along on close examination to tell sugar salt ; and homesick or lonesome, we would rather 1 company than be left to ourselves. That is qui sweep of knowledge, even in civilized countries/ some people are immensely proud of it, and quite p| up and satisfied with it. Newton b;egan as far as any of us. There was a time when he couldJ add or subtract, could not draw a triangle, and di(j know a right angle from an acute. But he can know the power of arithmetic and analysis, lea the properties of triangles and curves, and could cj late heights and distances on sea or on land, knowledge to knowledge." Then he swung oul triangles into the heavens and swept his curvesi illimitable space, measured the distances of the ph weighed them trembling as in scales, and with prec calculated their stupendous movements and the vi] cycles of their coming and going. He even caugli( wild comets in his curves and predicted their depa| and return. "From knowledge to knowledge." We what that means. Once Faraday did not know or an acid, and Hugh Miller did not know a lime J from a granite. But day by day Faraday studied earths, alkalis, oxides, the solvents, selectionsjj affinities, till, intimate with elements, forces and pounds, he stood the master of chemical analysii^ AITH. vinegar is sour use to you, and 3le ; we have g« f™"» of fai tories of truth and XhZf, """^ P""?'^' '» «>« vi and maintena.ce of"^"""^ """^ '» '^e foundatiJ begotten of and deirtra in ? "P'""* "«'''»«oJ ''"ove sense or selfilnt ."'^ir^*''- -fi-telL --ations.andthes„„has\riS;Ttr;:^^^^^^^^ AITH. hing incredible w] should be enei e new elements riches, to sense a, ite clear. Yet tlij hey admit or affii Jse gives them t| Can they smell n they see Angell isel and gives tj they get Newtoi onstration by sni 'g their ears lik ' there a man ci s in his soul t\ there a man ci of a holy trust hat is there a mi the fruits of fait people, in the vii inthefoundati. >Iied institution! olence infinite!] nay send dowi -heap of sense ►right, beautifi aith. icrease with thj of the strengtl FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 37 treasures of the father. When, we reply, is this ulative power of succeeding generations better felt seen and experienced than in the growth of piety, products of goodness and peace, and even the ditary force of true religion and faith in God ? It orth something to be predisposed to good or less osed to evil. And what else have we in the nciation of that tremendous law of the propagation our race — a law scientifically demonstrated and sted without dispute in universal experience : — isiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the chil- n unto the third and fourth generation of them t hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of m that love me and keep my commandments ? " .11 it be a law simply to perpetuate and accumulate Shall it not be a law as well to preserve and rish holiness ? What hope have we of the conver- |n of the world to Christ, if not in the hereditary elopments of religion and the cumulative social Iwer of goodness. The first Adam gave us the eading taint of sin : the second Adam touches us th the spreading virtue of healing and cure. Let praise Him forever. It is true, the son gets more m the father than his money — he gets more or less his character and spirit. This generation is better r the virtue of the generation ^^hat preceded it. The oral and spiritual activities of this time are livelier d mightier because of the moral and religious life d power of the last generation. And we to-day are citing or deadening the faith of the men yet to be. 38 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. From generation to generation — yes, and from fa| faith. As learning increases, as the world rolls as we do our duty, does faith in God and Jesus Cl Again, they say the economies, the government! administrations, have to do with the advancemeij learning and the accumulation of wealth. It was j to learn under the Ptolemies. Art flourished uj Pericles, and poetry and eloquence under Mecij Riches increased under Solomon, and literature apace under Queen Elizabeth. " From glory to gU Circuxxistances were favorable, chances good, posses^ secure ; and so treasures grew and multiplied from lamb on the hillside, and the shop by the way, toi golden temple with its vessels of gold. Prini patronage was bestowed, royal munificence confeu till the dim light of the dawning flushed up\t through radiance after radiance to the royal splen of the noon. "That is all natural. We underst| that. A better government, a fivoring princej prime minister encouraged learning, fostered and! warded industry, and opened the sources of wea From learning to learning; from wealth to we? Government administration did that. But what ij that to do with faith ?" And yet is not that the v thing the Apostle is speaking of ? " To the Jew fi and also to the Greek." The Jew was to have first offer, for he had had the offer all along ; the f ofifer under the new economy or dispensation, beca his old economy had not in it half the opportunities possibilities of the new. God was not unjust to I ) FAITH. PROM FAITH TO FAITH. 39 yes, and from faiftf from the old and deny him the new ; for the world rolls o»or the masses under the new, whatever might and Jesus OMe in a few special cases, was impossible to the Bs, the government* under the old. It is said the Holy Ghost was cne aavancemem given, for Jesus was not yet glorified. Economy wealth. It was Bsation has to do with it much every way. Men Art flourished ule this in worldly matters ; why must faith and ce under Mecmn, in our thoughtlessness and misconceptions, be « r?^ "terature m. outside every divine and human law and pro- " From glory to gli ? Why must the devil be given such a vantage ances good, posses Jd ? There has been faith in every dispensation, 1 raultiplied froniJaith has been advancing in sweep, effort and through all the dispensations ; but never before had the scope or chance of this era, or been to the labors it can now accomplish and the nes it can now achieve. " From faith to faith." ith of the prophetic age had higher ground than ith of the oracular and apparitional ages. The of the Christian Church has broader sweep, r cleavage, and higher attainment than the of the Jewish Church. Did not our Saviour so ire ? — " Of all that are born of woman there hath risen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than What else meant the Apostle ? — " The mystery of t, which in other ages was not made known unto ons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy les and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles d be fellow-heirs and of the same body, and par- s of his promise in Christ by the gospel . . and ^P by the way, tc of gold. Prin^ aunificence confeij ling flushed upw ko the royal spleni| ral. We undersi favoring prince! ing, fostered amil e sources of wea » wealth to we? ;hat. But what is not that the vi " To the Jew fil w was to have all along; the ispensation, becaj khe opportunities • not unjust to III!.*^ 40 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. to make all men see what is the fellowship ol| mystery which from the beginning of the world | been hid in God, who created all things by Christ, to the intent that now unto the principal and powers in heavenly places might be made kn by the Church the manifold wisdom of God." I j economy to economy ; from dispensation to dispi) tion ; from faith to faith : " To the Jew first, and^ to the Greek." Does spiritual knowledge assist faith ? " The of your understanding being enlightened, that ye i know what is the hope of His calling, and what riches of the glory of His inheritance in the sa^ and what is the exceeding greatness of His powes us- ward who believe, according to the working of' mighty power, which he wrought in Christ wheni raised Him from the dead, and set Him at Hisi right hand in the heavenly places ; and gave Him be the head over all to the Church, which is His bo This is the dispensation of the Spirit, wherein advance from knowledge to knowledge and changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit ofi Lord. More easily than in former times can a exercise faith in God and Christ and the Holy Sji — Triune God. There is more in the world to help exercise faith, and there is more for his faith w exercised to act upon. More of the power of mul social, combined and corporate faith is felt, and th the economy when royal bounty and princely mui cence of grace lend every encouragement to faith in ( FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 41 the era of a missionary faith — a mighty personal In consecration and full salvation ; and then the il, combined and corporate faith going forth to mquest of the world. "From faith to faith." a faith in the being of a God and the inspira- If Scriptures ? Devils have that. Bad men, yea, Ithe worst men, have that. Merely a faith in the jve acts of God and His moral government of the ? Devils have that and the worst of men. a faith in the providence of God and the |ty of the Christian religion ? Devils have that le wickedest and vilest of men. And yet they |Only believe ; only believe, and you are saved." re what ? There are a thousand beliefs before ^ome to salvation, and a thousand altitudes of after you are saved. "Faith to faith." We onward from faith to faith in our personal lence. Faith in the being of a God — His moral iter, law and government, our moral relation and which faiths may lead us to repentance ; — then |in Christ the Saviour, which brings salvation ; — Paith in the Spirit and His work, which, with the in the Father and the Son, and not separated |it, on the one side, or a life of holy obedience on ther, brings holiness, entire sanctification, — yea, is 3ss, the antepast of heaven. And we are not yet But onward from faith to faith. Now the faith jiecures the baptism of power ; then the faith that the flame descending on me with the flame iding on my brother Christian, that, as rich men 42 FROM FAITH TO FAITH. the conquest of the world ™ .""^y- f <* S" ^ortt faith, and this the era for th " *" ""'^'"^ '^here is it i„ tZTu \ """"""^^ fa''th. J mattered the t L ll'''. """""t^ «- ^w a d^kn.ssinthehrheftrZad^"'' the .J 4:i^:r;rL^lL-:^-^efoetsandsj Word of God. "Thou be wt ''^"'^'^ ■» ' doestwell; the devils a 1^. "''°" '^°<* ^ H -" hide my faee / :: hem Irr' '""'"^•" 1 generation, children in wh! "^ ^'^ " ^'•°»'a'l -a Christ said „X hej " Whl"" '"'"" «" 4 How is it that ye have no faitl^^ oM' '" ^'"M s>de He said : "Wherefore Tr a " ** S'^*? ^4 »*• the field, which to dlyl;l^;° "'"^^ *'' ^'H the oven, how much mor A n it ""'™"' «castind little faith r "Him Zf f * "'»*''« y°°. O ye o -d Paul, .. M^^t t d'oXa ^r '"':" '^-^'^^ H «ame Apostle describing Abtf ^'P"*"*'""^-" The >-«aki„faith.heconsid?re^^'fr '"^'^ "««'"g »<" • • -HestaggereZotltth! "'''.''"''°'^y»°'^''»J ""belief; but wL str^ n fStHr " "',''"' ""■°"»"'> Stephen is described af a ^ /n'"^S'°'^'»«»d" Holy Ghost, and Barllf "" "^^ **'*h a-d the faith. Our'tordSS ^rr-!^ T" ""<* ^"« »' and efficiency of a Jl'n j ™ . f °^ *« '"'rdihood -bukeorunirtakfrcorlcTHll."'''/ '">''"' ^^ o correct H.sdi,sciples when they ^i:S>S^.>i^ ' ^^ K FROM FAITH TO FAITH. 43 '^eir knowledBed, "Lord, increase our faith." A "faith to be nation, Jove and go forth the niissional ry faith. Bi ^ow few a the dii ough -feets and sue gfnized in tl »neGod: the tremble." are a frowarj '^^'" On th ^e so fearfuJl |e grassy hijjj ihe the gias w is east into y^^' O ye oj receive ye,'] tions." Thel ■°eing not) 'y now dead! rod through! ^y to God."| ih and the I nd fujj of I hardihood >r did He i^hen they id " is spoken of ; a " faith that made whole," and lith that saved." Our Lord prayed for Peter that lith fail not; said to the Syrophoenician, "O woman. It is thy faith ;" and of the Roman Centurion, " I not found so great faith, no not in Israel." Paul ,ks of the measure of faith and proportion of faith ; Jesus threw men upon their own act and attain- t by the combined instruction and injunction, cording to your faith be it unto you." We are to in faith, nothing wavering : and we ask and receive because we ask to consume on our lusts, thus troying our own confidence that we are asking ording to His will, and then He heareth us. And all through, the Holy Scriptures put faith as a ulty as much as sight or hearing, for whose exercise are responsible, whose energies we can cultivate d direct, whose powers enlarge and whose benefits ure. Moreover, they set faith before us as, on the rthward side of religion, our mightiest, grandest culty ; and inasmuch as .it has God for its object, d not trees or stones, and fastens upon God, and leeps up the communication with God, it brings divine wer and goodness and riches and love to our help. ill our earthly faculties in their exercise bring us rength or wealth or learning ? This spiritual, heavenly nd divine faculty brings to us what is of infinitely ore value, and with infinitely more certainty. Can ou tell me, then, why we live and think in the realm 44, '•"OM FAITH TO FAITH, of sense? Whv *k Sensual ! Sin hath hy , I "'"^ ' Sordid ! Earl ^ffec«„„3fro. ot dSi: ■"'"?' ''"*'^' hardened our hearts "" "°derstandi„„ oun III. GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE BY REV. I. B. AYLESWORTH, LL.D., Mount Fores*. the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in ily places might be known by the church the manifold of God, according to the eternal purpose which he pur- i in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Eph. iii. 10, 11. [IS passage gives a clear and definite statement of the purpose of God in human redemption. peculiar in this, that in no other book and by [ther author can a similar passage be found. The ling of the passage is very plain, and it is quite lent that Paul intended to convey the thought jch the passage expresses. For various reasons, ras more competent than any other man to impart information. He received his knowledge of the [pel history and doctrine directly from the Lord IS. He was selected by the Lord for his special Istolic work, because of his eminent ability and ilifications of head and heart. He was born into world about five or ten years too late, or he lid have been one of the original apostles (1 Cor. 46 «OD's ETBENAL po„pose. XV. 8). Wjipn 1 f the ministiy. He h J 1 "" «"<* 'he , "'-d heaven; fawZhl^? T^'" «P '"^^ .""^ permitted to return f """"^'aWe thinJ •napiration of God. 4 wVr"- »« -™' «")arged knowledg^ .c JZ ^ r** ''^P«"«««l g-^^- unto him. In th° *"^ ""^ ^"P«"» '-i <»ntral idea of this eITT' ""^'"^ """'a'"^ very thought of GodZT^Jl" """"' '" ^rJ pose which l>a discloses "Hk otr. r Ti, purposed in Chri<.t T ™*' The many controversies f^H ff"' "^ ^<"-d- the atonement arise from „„!", '''°"'' '=<'°«='^" 'u connection with its^II '?'"^"'S "' the sul ^ known. It has geneXt' '"'"^' ^^ ^'"- «« thought with God; S ff^'" "^'"■'^^•' "^ "•> af( taxed the Divine wi dl t'd """ '^" '"'^ ™ '««cue. The true idea stm^tf?"' " ""^-^^ ^or ««. a principle and p„l,T ^ "^ ''''*''«' to regar, "■■ud of God. THe!Z ,^r'\:--tins ^'n ^"u-ty. as well as the ent.C ? *^ ''""t of i 'J Deity, are ete^al sotThe .•"■' """^ »""''» when man fell, the remedv "'""^"""t ; so tl present, suited to his neces™v..Tr •''"'^''^"t a, unto us the myster^of Cw^ J"« """^« ''""I pleasure which He hath n '^'"' ^''"ording to His J being predestinated a.. ^^'^'^'^ '" «><«^i{ -ho worteth al hin" ,tt?, *<> the purpose' of Hi, -" " (Eph. i. 9, 11) ^'^^^'''« counsel of His ^ CI ler POSE. ■ god's eternal purpose. 47 %stJe he had liing of the world hath been hid in God, who ^«nst and the Id all things by Christ Jesus" (Eph. iii. 9). " For- ^«fc up intoBjh as ye know that ye were riot redeemed with lutterabJe thin^sfttible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the iie wrotfKus blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish ^-^P^rienceBrithout spot : who verily was foreordained before 6 superior wi,sB)undation of the world, but was made manifest se last times " (1 Peter i. 18-20). reiore, as the atonement existed before the 1, the Gospel does not produce the atonement, he atonement produces the gospel. The gospel revelation "in these last times" of that which d before. d according to this view, the atonement was ade for man, but man was made for the atone- " For we are His workmanship, created in st Jesus unto good works, which God hath or- ed before that we should walk in them." "In m ye also are builded together for a habitation od through the Spiri^ " (Eph. ii. 10, 22). an, therefore, was created in Christ Jesus, who e image of the invisible God, the first-born of y creature, " to the intent that unto the princi- ties and the powers in heavenly places might nown through the church the manifold wisdom od." (R.V.) That is, to the intent that through Church — through redeemed humanity — God could e such a revelation of Himself as was not made creation. This is the purpose of the creation and emption of man '« which contain,] seems to grasp 5s"His eternal J Jesus our Lord.'l 'heories concerii ''^g at the sulj ^ork, so far as f^arded as an all ^ ^eJI into sij 6 a means fori rather to regarj s existing in *^e fact of ••e and attribui nement; so th antecedent a] '^'ng made knoJ ^^"ng to His ffol SimseJf, purpose of Hi| '««^ of His od ^^ men see whi hich from th 48 ««»•« BTER^.. p,„^,^ ^^ are to recrarW ^u J all ^in' ."t fr^ --ted alne k!?/'^ " H '"'^s, so that thpra , ^^ ♦^esus is hJ ^T "^^- The first r "^ ^'"^^ ^^^« ^" ti "^ake known His !t "^ "^ce.ssary on H, inteJiiVent hi ^^^^^^^ce and nature ^^4 Fn. 1- ^'"S:« to whom h ^' ^^« to c J ^or this purpose fire* ^^ ^««^d reveal w 1 and flJl fk 1. ' "^®* ^« order R '«veai Hiinsl ^"^ powers it> I ^^e term« "». • . «■ - pillar; Sr T "" " '•' '^-^ th a r^ 71 M score flnrj « ^ ^^ the Assvf.-o *^® Loi ^"d It stood fast, wl "^''««' He eon.- ^^^ fie commanded RPOSE. *"^Pose of the at P^^^ of the invi GOD S ETERNAL PURPOSE. 49 ^<^re was a pe, ^o^ Jesus is be ^^ ^^en al] t],i, 'y ^'^ His part, "^^e, was to cr, ' ^e^eal Himsi ''^^ted the ano PnncipaJiti descriptive of id powers. Tj r^^-^'ui and wi thousands, v f^« saw a migi, ^bow was up sun, and his fe, '^^ «f the Ion ^ hundred fo ■ arose earjyi corpses." Th '^er, and un >^ems of th •^'Palities an 'e known Hi to shine out of darkness, He said, Let there be and there was light. When He made man, He Come, let us make man ; and he formed him out e dust of the ground, and breathed in his nostrils breath of life, and man became a living soul, n He brought the principalities and powers in the enly worlds into existence. He said. Let there be Is, and throughout the vast eternal realms myriads hosts of sons of God sprang into existence, ese heavenly intelligences manliest a deep interest 111 the works of God. When the morning stars together, all the sons of God shouted for joy. en the babe was born in Bethlehem, a multitude of heavenly host were heard " praising God, and say- ; Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good-will toward men." They attended Jesus ile on earth continually, and at any time He could mon twelve legions of them to His aid. They re the first to announce His resurrection, and a cloud them accompanied Him when He ascended into the best heavens, saying, " Lift up your heads, ye ever- ting gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, d the King of glory shall come in." They desire to netrate the profoundest depths of the purpose of od in atonement, and there is likewise joy in heaven, the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner at repenteth. Having, then, first produced these mighty intelli- ences, He begins the process of unfolding to them His anifold wisdom. His purpose is not merely to reveal 50 GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE. I i! and glorious truths. He It^ f ''^ ""<* ^""do ''■sciom to the universe T T- """""""•icate ' all be taught of God" w " "'""™' ">«y si revealed from the „td oT oT' ''' '™"'-'H *'3dom of God in « l^f, '^<"'- " ^e speafc ^'ords which man's J^r^"^' ' • • «ot i„ J Holy Ghost teaTeth" tZ '^'*">"'' ^-^ -i^i^ | "exceedingly various" tu^y^ "■"anifold" „e,' "'<*•" ' """'"fo'™, immense, i„l ■ntellectual. The h av^ l:r""t' '""""""'«- 4 and the firmament shTeth H ."' ^'"^"^ ^1 ^orks of the Lord are i^I . ^ handiwork, b] 'hat have pleasure tWet'Th?"""' "^ ■"' A 'he heavenly bodies-star differeth f" ^'"" "''™'^' There ,s endless variety in „^ ? * ^'''"" «'»•• in glorl 'he climax of the ma&i!" :.''"<^.'""-n'als. JfJ 'upenor to all the rest TW "' '" '^'^''"'' 4 difference between the nL,! T '''"" also to be °f n.en. It ;, ,,; j ^^^^^ ^ f "^^'' ""^ 'he nat„ J nature of angels, but He toTo t"°' °" «'» 4 Abram. Man's nature d^ffet L ^j" ""' »eed oJ angels in this, that by the 'owH ""^^ '' ^"P^""' 4 >n 'he exact image of God ,n7h '° '°^* '"' ^ ^4 »n not only know more of^ld^.f "''"»« P°'^ermaJ mancan-and heistl^eLlv^ ? ""^^'^ <»». but very essence of Deity. Wh'^^^ '^^'> "an-know the VVhen Jesus came, He came J I.— r-"-- god's eternal purpose. .51 own, to those of His own nature. Man with lus begins a little lower than the angels, and with arises high above and beyond them, even into the bm of God. " Father, I will that they also whom lou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they \j behold My gloi y." Unto none of the angels W9,s is ever said. [n addition to creation. His manifold wisdom is also inifest in the care He exercises over all. The minutest )ms of creation are kept in being by His power. He -es life and breath to all things. He sends the rain, i(] tempers the wind and the light. He keeps the earth [volving at its proper speed. He upholds the sun, id controls the motions of the mighty orbs and |>untless myriads of constellations in the infinite jpths of space. He tells the number thereof and ills them all by name. In addition to all this. He rules igels, commands devils, and receives the worship and loration of the universe. " Let everything that hath [reath praise Him." He conceived salvation for the [uilty, and with infinite skill and tenderness so applies as to save and not destroy the sinner. " The smok- ig flax He will not quench." He dies on Calvary, and |it the same time upholds and rules the vast universe )f mind and matter. " the depths of the riches, both if the wisdom and knowledge of God." He began the process of manifesting His invisible lature and existence by creating the visible universe. By the material creation only part of His nature jould be revealed. " For the invisible things of Him 52 «0D'S ETERNAL PURPO^^V ^<>ni the creation of fK «'«™ai power and Godhead .tT' ""^*' «"«" «"-«"tion teaches the Iton r. ^*' '^' ">« -"aJ «nd eternity of God. ''"*°"'"'*^' «>« power, wiJ WhenHemadeinanm IT- ! telle r, '^-^"^ " ""i"g Srr: ''"''°"'""'<* '*eJ t^tauaJ, and moral nature th."" " '""'"'"^M f.« farther revelation of the'flA^ was by «« ' Po.a3„uch, then, as we are T. ' ^°'' '» " %' having a, piritual naturl" " „ ir'^'''""^ "^ «1 'h Godhead " is a material o?^'" ""' '» «>'»k '1 but that He is a spir S /" ""P»«onal Beif xv,i. 29.) 'P'"'»«' and personal God (J There was a still t^,^t Now : ''^^'■-^ "ht'iir f "^."^ '"« » J Now, lor the first time th. • ""^ '»'» 'he worll -elation of the ^^"^ ^J .«'- and dej pIural,tya„deventhet„4.of n "" *" *'"^- 'I "v^aled. ItpWdG„dto/°T''''''<^ '' not beel knees unto the Kather of „%"''•'' <=a"8e I bow, ml «;hom the whole famTv,n>. ^"^ '''"'' ChriTtl "">' He would .ranTi:;,:;- *"' «-''> « "-4 you, according to His rich J ciearJy seen, b, '^ «Jade, even ^ '^' <>he matei ^e power, ^vi,A GOD S ETERNAL PURPOSE. 53 '«age and liken ^^ a apiritual J"^' by „,an ^spring of G "o<> to think t "personal B, 'ona] God { lory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit inner man " (Eph.iii. 14-16). There is a revelation e Trinity in Christian experience, and the New ment abounds with such teaching. Jesus Christ also is the revelation of the wonder- act that God is our Father. He is our Father not ly in the sense that He is supremely good ; that is the source of all existence ; that like an earthly nt He is full of compassion and pity for His dren; that He created our first parents; but in literal sense that " we are all His offspring." The t may have sung better than he knew, but he sung truth. " We had fathers in the flesh that corrected and we did them reverence ; how much rather be ubjection to the Father of Spirits, and live." he created part of our nature, including as much of intelligence as is akin to that of the animal ation, which is of the earth earthy, we derived from r human parents. This is called the flesh, to which ul refers when he says, " The creature was made sub- t to vanity not willingly, but by reason of Him who bjected the same in hope." That is, the flesh was ade subject to infirmity, suffering and death. " For this we groan being burdened." The " creature," cording to the original, and as translated by Dr. hedon, means the " created," that is, the created rt of our nature; that is, the part of our nature hich we derive from him who was created out of the ust of the ground. But the same Trinity who breathed spiritual nature in the first man is the direct author ■54 °' Wie moral natn- • • °»t first wh>VI, • "■ *" wen « w . -'' -'fterSt llrl""'- ^-" 'hat wS'^"' ">« "^ P-ity .a,S"r''° ^0 not retataTh ;'"'";"/ iniaire of w Renewed in i. , '^ cond tJ <- -'totfrrr """'"^ "> » ■ "n ^"^ "•"- ' " "'ere ia origd ^ "" ""'^' "-e unless ^X ^"'^ that part of „° , *Pfavity i„ „, '^'' '» "« oriJ '" born off "^^'^h'oh comes b.„" " "'"^' '"here I "*" 01 the flesJi ;., ^ "^^ "7 nature « t^l ^ I conceive „.e." jf'" ^^^h" "I„ ain '^id !'"" ^'"J ^^w centuries aft f'^^"' or guijt J;,'"'"' " H Jast Adam ,^ ^^ ^'^ death ho» . " ««"<"-atioJ ^^^r^'. S'e: ; n "-■-^C&ra"'"'^ - " s^a'i He .«r! "^^^^ *o o-ive I,/ l * quicken J «"'". much II ""f '«J««'ed.- l7 th ' °^ ^'''"'1 'URP08B. "• "Howbeit,thaJ ^«* vvhich is nat J GOD S ETERNAL PURPOSE. 55 Jesus »fir into the fitual." '« direct offsprin.1 ''•^ of God. As «omes into exist, ^*s " that II ^, Worij » Christ shall aJl ^^^^'J this conditi, ^owledge after . ^^^^ is, they '*y in which til, ^"gh Jesus Chi, ^^ «^ any part 'I'ess in its ori.r„ must inherj " That wi]ie| i did ^y motile '"' ^ho is dead >thegreneratioiL ch more can tlij ^^ a quickeniJ >w much ,wo,| '^^^d of Admi, «^e is originaj 'Ousness. ^^atherhood i Jesus Chris I) esus came tj In Christ, also, is the still farther embodi- of the holiness and goodness of God. Jesus lelf came to show us the Father. " The only liten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He declared Him." " He that seeth Me seeth the ler also." Jesus could not reveal God without iling holiness, for God is holy. He that seeth I seeth holiness. This is the reason why the Jews ill others reject Christ. They do not want holi- and deliberately shun or reject it. connection with holiness is also the revelation of Where holiness repels, love draws. " No man come unto Me, except the Father who sent Me him." " We love Him because He first loved he coming of Christ into the world is an expression he Divine love. " Herein is love, not that we loved but that God Ic^ed us and gave His Son to be a pitiation for our sins." he character which Jesus presented to the compre- sion of men was God manifested in the flesh. He perfectly pure and without guile. He loved the rid and suffered to save it. He forgave His enemies d prayed for His murderers. He was intensely xious for the well-being of all men, and " He shall of the travail of His soul and be satisfied." His ath was a manifestation of God's "great love where- ith He loved us, even when we were dead in sin." Therefore, Jesus Christ in His own person revealed men and to angels the very central essence of the 56 ^■"Jne nature. It „;„ . , «;elaM„„of Hi„aeif Ld^^^^''^ »«» that ""t^ alone. We „„«."!'' ""/ ^ "ade by creaj "tonement i„ this 1 "hf ' *''"^«^'»-«. contempkn the nf J . *"'^ *« "^an through T ^^^ "^'^^'^H tfte nature of God. The ^nfl ! ^™'*' » "» revel ^««n "1 this, that fh "■"'" "'■sdom of oil even the chief of! ""''•>' "'"•-t mora7 I '' I f «"ess of S.d "Tr"'"*'''»"*™edtto ttH ^ perdition 1 I/* '""' "^^ ""'"re ae t'l Even ^e ourselvl hl^"^' ""^^ ">^t for h "I P*"";*. and do reil. t'^P«"«"<'ed the ovT • '"I Added t„ ;, ?-'°'<'« "1 hope of th» I ' ^°y ^"i " dZt *'""' ">« w^rrectL * .? ""^ °^ «»d. f «>* the earth, from god's eternal purpose. 57 beginning, have been moulded and fashioned by (hand of God, according to His will and purpose, as [clay in the hands of the potter, "to make all (the ^erse) see what is the fellowship (the compacted bherhood) of the mystery, which was hidden from rnity by God" {Wesley), " who created all things by rist" (Eph. iii. 9). Jut the full and complete unfolding of the Divine ^om by the Church will not be fully realized until the myriads of earth's redeemed shall be glorified- '^hora He justified, them He also glorified." "It doth yet appear what we shall be." "The righteous ill shine forth as the sun in the glory of their ^ther." They shall sit with Jesus on His throne ; they lall appear with Him in glory, and be like Him, and )th Him forever. ^The wisdom of God means more than what we call ^telligence ; it means love. Men show their intelli- snce by writing books, by building temples, by cun- Ing inventions, or by skilful actions. But by none of lese methods can love be made known. Love mnot be known by any definition of it. It can |nly be known by its living realization. The elect of rod are living epistles, read and known of all men. ''e are God's book ; ye are God's building ; ye are the lemple of the living God, each one a lively stone in [he habitation of God through the Spirit. It is through this living temple, the Church, that bhe essence of God is known to the inhabitants of the miverse. The fellowship of the saints represents the hll I 58 «OD's ETKUNAL PUltPoSE. them shouting down tn .f' ""* *'"■« *« 'nj highest, on etrth pel72f' "?'°'^'° «»'' '" ' At .nother time t^ I^ ,>""'^-'^'" '"^^'d '"J Hoiy. holy, holy i3 IJ"'. "^'^I'^S one to anothj deemed. a„d reftin. with P^ ! ^'^'^ " «"* »'». H i' P-mitted to shoXbJ'Z.i:' ""^ '"■''''" "' 4 ■'Alleluia," ••Godislove.^ ""^ ^""^ering a„,,el] The knowledge woap,.n,v« t I to very little. There i a r'^f"^ *'"«« ™0"nJ ^dge and wisdom Wi,^"'t Tk" "«'"-" k""" Knowledge is the infonnatbn " P""<='P»' '^in J wy person, place. orTbH J^'. '^''"'"" '"""'<'™"' >»P"l3e communicated-' ;„to I't" " * *™"' - "" person. Take as «n ;ii ? . """ »" intellicenl « you stud/ir C yet" r 1 '• """" '''"'^'"^' "aterial. and get the vlZ .'**™ «" about ife teet. Christopher W^en S'"""" "' "^ ^'«'" »«">'■ Now listen to one of It otX~7 ' /"^ ""'" thmkers and polished oratorrp. '"^^^''"'lest modern have you ? ThoughtsThaTh T ''''"' '"<' '"'«" burn. The stones ff It, ,^"^''*''« »d words that' OODS ETERNAL PtTRPOSE! 59 ro ' no more than the clattering of jarring rocks. [at are the sighing winds saying ? Nothing ; no re than the drifting sand. "Though I have know- je of all mysteries, and could prophesy, and talk Ih the charming eloquence of an angel, and lack fcdom, I have nothing." " But where shall wisdom (found ? and where is the place of understanding ? in knoweth not the price thereof ; neither is it found (the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not me; and the sea saith. It is not with me " (Job xxviii. |-14.) Will the Book of books answer the question ? js. " If any man lack wisdom^ let him ask of God, [at giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, }d it shall be given him " (James i. 5). What is this wisdom ? It is love. There is a know- jdge by love, and this is the highest, purest, sweetest lowledge of all. "The greatest of these is love." Lr. Beecher uses the phrase, " love-knowledge." It is [nowledge by the highest faculty of the soul. It is Inowledge of the highest Being in the universe. It given unto us by God Himself, by whom we are illed with the fulness of God. " For that God who Commanded light to shine out of darkness hath shined Into our hearts to give unto us the light of the know- ledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." ^hose who do not love God are not known of God, md do not know God. Hence the the terrible revelation fin the last great day, " Depart from me ; ... I never \knew you." Here in this life we see through a glass darkly. 60 "^''-^ mK^X. p„„p„,^ Our Jo t ^"flPosE. as we are If ^* """' «ee a, we a " """" H ff'eatest shall h. iV °''®' 'he wisest ^ '1 »"' which it '^"'^"'""^"ghthTwh',''"''"^' n flood r.f . ""^ "andle of f h r '"''«' and eveJ c uth fri"^ r '^"^»»- Of hi, h"";' "'■" ^^fl^" ">« Church th ''■"'«'' ^hall be ^.'^''^'^ ^'"' 4 «°-^-eetS---.hour.hJ«eS^^ ME. inteJiecfcual idej 'I «een, and knol ''y ^ove, withof '• Then by d '®s*. purest aJ ^^ole, and eveij ^ wiJ^ reflect 7 tempJe of J " be the Ucrht ^Prehend, w"!' J ^ breadth, aJ ^ Christ whicll ''^e^ with alj "^^own througj ^od unto ^^ '^«e«- "And! '^'■'igr abun- '^^^'«^ to thel S^^ory in the ^^elssdura- IV. a UNION WITH CHRIST. BY REV. WESLEY CASSON, Mitchell. " Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old lings are passed away ; behold, all things are become new." — f Cor. v. 17. !HE gospel is the last and most perfect of the dispensations. It is pre-eminently the dispensa- tion of the Spirit; the economy under which He is )oured out in all His Christian fulness on mankind. In the gospel, the ancient types have realized their jfuliilment. It is the meridian brightness of the sun [succeeding the dim gray of the morning. It is the religion of past ages in its completed and developed form. It draws aside the juitain of the hitherto unseen, and arraying itself in the majesty of truth it unfolds to us the mind and will of God. It ex- plains the great problem of our existence here, aiid points out the path by which we may obtain eternal life. It is a finished revelation, making known to us all that which on earth we need to know, and giving W^' 62 UNION WITH CHRIST. nil But while the gcpel t " H '*™''' '^"'W -hi'e it -attersth^Zlr i^'St" "' "'1 has been enveloDPri or>^ ^^^ ^^'^ ages J on hi., underZdt: Xo ' """' °' '""""""^ -"design it is eiTi' STt".."' """J It surpasses and prcsenf, L P' ""*'• I" "us resp« the Jewish system ThatTr? '"^« * """'"^^H in rites and ordinTn J * "^ ^"^ "'e most p. '-itedinthel S'rd'rrJ" '""^'^ <"'-H the comers thereunto perflr * "°"''' "*^«""«J -"Id observances in which the ,» ^'"""'"'ed of dutiJ 'o a great extent enttd T?'"* "* *''^ ^^ A burdensome, were grand vtj'' "'"''"^' 'hougl attention and enlis«:;th';rvr"afh • '"'T'"''^'"^ H people. In contrast with thCth ' °^ ""* "^^'^"1 ^■th simplicity. ChristLif ^"'P'' "' "'o'^ej rites, no imposing ru"I'°!'^ '"T' "» SorgeoJ localised tem'ple. fikl tt' I Tjf ""/P'^"''»' "» sacred. It simply annonncr * '^*'^^»'e». speciallv of gieat joy wWch shalbe" ^> " t ^''"' ''"'4 a nsen and exalted Chri t L he „K' ""'/^""'H of smners. The great purpose o\l°^" "^ " ^"^^ make man holy as God is holy l L .•^'''P'' '^ '» •ieath of sin to the life of righto """ ^""^ "'^ and ennoble his nature bv 3"?"™^«; to purify I ^'notifying influence of tlfe SnT^*""" ""''«' ">' -pect the gospel is sup tor 1"" n .^'"- '" ""' fous, and is invested with a ^ty nd a" '"P^'"^- ^ "J^ *"<* accompanied lib^^^: UNION WITH CHRIST. 68 [h a power to which preceding economies can lay claim. Fow, the great error into which the Jewish people ll, more particularly in the time of our Lord, was rmalism — the service of the lip, a busy round of Iternal duties, without the love and homage of the [art. Convinced as they were that the law was (ven by God, and that the institutions to which they (ere attached were divine, they relied on attention to }rtain ceremonies as though they were sufficient of lemselves to release them from the great duty of >ving God with all their heart and their neighbors as lemselves. And under the, Christian dispensation, [Ithough in its whole scope and design it is adapted lead men from the shadow to the substance, from [he letter to the spirit, from the form to the power |f a living faith, — even under this system, simple as |s its teaching, there are many who ignore or utterly )verlook its spiritual purpose and aim. Believing irmly the gospel as a revelation from God, they cor- iially accept its doctrines, and to some extent submit to its requirements, but they neglect to secure that jgreat spiritual change without which the entire assent [of the understanding is vain. They observe the Lord's day with scrupulous exactness, attend the house [of God, and feel a rejoicing interest in the spread of Christian truth, and yet they strangely overlook the necessity of the new birth and the possession of a personal salvation. In these days of vaunted culture and educational development we must rigidly adhere I !i i ; 64 m UNION WITH CHRIST. Me« trust i„ God'. n>eTl i,Tffl'"T' ''''^A profe.ssion wilj „ot avail rlV?"'' " ^""'4 ««eilent, will „ot be ace ' .! f "''\''""«». howeve, P-f • " Ye .„3t be bo™ S.'":''« P'-« of vitJ foo-i. There is no latent pSe in ,7 T""' ^^"M that can be developed into ,» • ?* ''™« ''^^ change is necessary.*^ .yf^'^'fo^^ ««• A divine '» Christ Jeaua neither Scl ^" ''^'""•" " P°' °or uncircumcision butTn? " "'""«"' ""ythin. the same truth is Llht and w '"''"T" ^» °« 'ex! te^t by which we may ^'cr^;''' "^ ^""'■^''ed with a ;;^f any ^an be in CWst ht 3'':'"nf""'" "-««- th'if are passe,? away • behl „ TJ "''"*''"•« ^ »" "7" We will confine our td.te ''"^^ "^ '^'=<""'' . ify to the phrase "in cLTst-^T "■°'-« ?"«<="- »f the exalted privilege and ' •. '"^ -^^riptive Christian. *^ ^^ """^ P-^'tion of the renewed "entZcriptivTorther-iZ T*^ '" '"' ^'^ ^esta- "-kind. Under th se ttrTttrl""'^'"'"' "^ »" '"ce on earth, i„ heaven ard hen *' ^'"''^ ''""<'» »« "-.^o^ Christ," .'Cchri St >^'' ';"'"'*•'• '^^y To be without Christ is to bl ^ '' '^'^ Christ." ""renewed and unsaved i„ d» * ''"'^ °^ ""t"-^. «ome." To be in Christ Mo L?" "' ""'e w«,th to to have our sins pardon d„ur 1'" " ''"'^ "^ S^-^^- »Joy a blessed hope of eCalt ' '^"«^«d.'»d to -"--hedistin^uishedrji-he^etS UNION WITH CHRIST. 65 vine Word •d reJigioni ^ formal however! ^^ of vital tinot growf »Jan heart I . -A. divine '«•" "For anything ' our text 'd with a position ; "re : oJd ^ become particu- scriptive "•enewed ' Testa- 1 of aJl human They 'hrist." lature, tth to ace — ndto with Jnied l>ut of all nations, who, having washed their robes and lade them white in the blood of the Lamb, now stand jefore His throne in glory everlasting. Nature, grace, [glory, are wrapped up and embodied in the terms, \without, in and with Christ. Our text refers to the [second state, the state of grace. " If any man be in Christ." If we examine the Epistles of St. Paul we find that he frequently uses the term " in Christ," and the expression is generally accompanied with an emphasis so deeply impressive in the statement where it occurs, as to convince us that it contains a depth of meahing which we are liable to overlook. To live in the enjoyment of the privilege it describes is indeed an unspeakable blessing, as it has connected with it present good, and the prospect of future glory. Our Lord exhorts His disciples to abide in Him. " Abide in Me, and I in you." And as the result of such union He promises all spiritual blessings as their heritage. " If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Ye shall ask what ye will, but this royal promise is contingent upon union with Himself. The Apostle Paul also beautifully describes the privilege and happy position of the man who is in Christ. He takes a most exalted estimate of this divine relationship. We infer this from several strik- ing passages scattered through his epistles. For example, in the concluding part of his letter to the Romans he mentions by name several persons who lived in the imperial city, who were of note among the 6 66 •II 4 lit 'kl I I t » UNION WITH CHRIST. Apostles, and sendino- in ih^r^ u- , . I « a Christian and a „et ^ t ^'f ^'"embranJ "Saiute Andronicusand Jul^'t'^ »'"'- 'ho J fellow-prisoners who ,l)J "^ kinsmen, and m, What do we inf r W L7 w" '''™' •>*'« »4 Apostle's estimation tW 1 „' T'^^' "'''' '" * highest honor that couTd be "Zfe .' ^'"■"* ^"^ *"•« while he congratulated them "nl ?. "'"'" "'«'»■ ^ would seem to impiv sonTr- ^ rl ' ^"'^ "'•=<»>»*. i' They were " i„ Christ "Tnth? ''^™' "" '''« o*^"' telling of the sweetness of t "T"""' °^ ^^ ''avor, *h-. when he a. a wlo'd T '° *"" "°""^ repudiating it. •. Who aC were irPb'"! .'~"*""^ f 'f he had said, •• HannvT ™' ''"*»'•« »«,» fellow-prisoners, f^reSb' ^''' ?^ '^'"^'°^°. »y -.the possession of h^ , i.T:"^ '^^^"^'-^^ enjoyed . ',as been the strlntt^ .u "'' ''^"'' «'nee I g'ory of my soul." ThelTj? ^ ^^' "^"s"^*' ""^ ^e eiaie with their name! tas fhaT.h""''" '^ """'-^ '^»- to^be in Christ before hrmself '^ '^^^^ P"^"«»-d we fint:U'eaT;edt:e;otc'''"'' ''^'"^^ ^ ^ «>». ™ffer greater persecutZ thrrTT "'^^''- " '» Chnst. Consider his positL'^"^'' attachment to the Hebrews. He warwli ''^ " Hebrew of '^ -ntry. BredT^ot ^rtl^'': '''-'- of attached to the law of his fath Y ^^ ''^ ^o^dly and dignitaries of his n'ln ' """^ '''^ «'''«f Priestl ''enee in his judgment l?°"f "'^ "tmost confi- "gorous »ind,\ifTogLrstiirad^" "^'^^ --* S eai Skill, and earnestness of UNION WITH CHRIST. 67 niembranceJ liutes th(3 J -^> and jHyj before me."! *hat in thel '* Was thef *heiii, and! account, it I '" his own. f ^is favor, j '« around JcornfuJJy Jfore me," men, my ''•e placed ' since I and the ^^d asso- iviJeged a man, -S or to ent to •ew of 'Ure of ondiy riests 3onfi- and « of )urpose, all conspired to raise him above his compeers For ecclesiastical or literary fame. A lofty career of imbition opened before him. Was he not the defender |of the ancient faith, the champion of the law, the pride land glory of his nation ? and did not the highest and most coveted honors of the Jewish Commonwealth 'await his acceptance as the reward of his zeal in trampling out the pestilent heresy of the hated Naza- rene ? But see him with relentless heart and tearless eye on his way to Damascus. Struck down by a light brighter than the sun, his proud heart is subdued and changed. What is the result? He renounces these glittering advantages. The applause of his countrymen ceases to charm. He braves the scorn of the men who for years had been accustomed to pay him reverence. He tramples their tempting honors under his feet, and counts them but dross and dung. Why ? What is the reason of this marvellous change ? Listen to him, " But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him." That was the grand impelling motive — to be found in Christ. This repaid him for all his sacrifices. This led him to renounce all that was formerly dear to him, dimmed the glory of all worldly honors, and made the most dazzling earthly scenes appear dull, empty, evanescent as the_summer cloud. " That I may 68 UNION WITH CHRIST. iK:i #i win Christ, and be found in Him." It was an act of the truest wisdom on the part of the apostle, for in renouncing the perishing honors of earth he gained for himself an undecaying treasure in the skies. He won the crown of life that will never fade away, and covered himself with a glory that will never wane, and as a prince among the countless hosts of heaven he will be honored and revered for evermore. The key to his conduct, the reason why he renounced and suffered so much, was that he might win Christ and be found in Him. Take another illustration. From one of his Cor- inthian epistles we learn that the Apostle was favored with a celestial vision. He was caught up into the third heaven, the paradise of saints, the home of angels and of God. He there beheld the spirits of just men made perfect, the glorious company of the redeemed encircling in a zone of beauty the eternal throne. He saw them in all their dazzling brightness, listened to their sweet songs of joy, and what he saw and heard was impossible for him to reveal to mortal ears. They were " unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." The remembrance of that bright vision never passed away, and fourteen years afterwards he mentions it to the Church. He speaks of this event in his own history, but in his humility as a Christian he speaks of the vision as though some other man had beheld it. Now what description does he give of the favored individual who had the singular privilege of a glimpse of the glories UNION WITH CHRIST. 69 of heaven ? What does he say about him ? "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, whether in the body, I cannot tell ; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth." It was a man in Christ who wtfs thus favored. None but a spiritual character, " a man in Christ," could have sympathy with spiritual scenes, or any enjoyment amid the pure worship of the saints above. Their hallelujahs, their sublime praises, would call forth no response from breasts incrusted with worldliness and sin. To the sinner even now the contemplation of heaven is not an attractive theme,' but in the presence of its effulgent glory he would be stricken and coniounded. An unspiritual man would find a paradise anywhere rather than in paradise. It was " a man in Christ." Does not this suggest to us most impressively the necessity of being in Christ on earth before we can be " with Christ" in heaven — the necessity of a divine change here before we can be qualified for the inheritance of the saints hereafter. Believe it, my hearers. Without this union with Christ there can be no peace, no salvation, no heaven. All the blessings of grace in this life, and the fruition of glory in the life to come, will only be bestowed on those who are in Christ. How important the question, Are you in Christ ? Are you trusting in His merits for acceptance and salvation ? Can you testify to the renewing energy of His spirit, and the cleansing efficacy of his blood ? I do not ask you whether you believe the Scriptures, or admire and venerate the sublime doctrines they contain. There are many who admire 70 UNION WITH CHRIST. wm >nto tenderness over thZ V . ^""^""""^"^M Their eyes wouldflash w^ /-'"'^ "' ">« -»4 would shrink with insl„f^ '"d'gnation, and they with all tMscorrectnesso Li? V '■''''' ^^' ^"^ neglected it as a means rsalva. J ! '""f ""^^ ^^<^ The question, then is not themselves. n>ents, or doctrinT "Llr '"'"""^ ^""" ^«"«- Church, but what is the sZ T "^"«<=«^ f» the God. Are you in Christ t ^^T ^^'"' *<'^''^* -™df If so, happy a™ VrT'^ ^.""^'^ -d h'gher, and your Wess'dn.! ' P'^i'^ge^ are t-asures of creation "ere ^L T" *•>- '^ the cloud of the Divine anl, isl,,*!, ^""'' ^""- The less and beautiful is the skv th?^ ^ T^' ^^ "'""d- Listen once more to th» f ''«nds over you. the Apostle: " There is therefoir^'"' ''"'°""'^« "^ to them which are in Ohr f T"''~"<^«'»''*tion words! Ifocondemnation-tW • '" '«'»''derful that is cancelled.. iT^l^ ,'"''""'^'^' "og^i't- filial confidence. JXthe: eat'ld 'T' '^''-* '» great God who formed the UNION WITH CHRIST. 71 transform- '<;iescanbe ^smormeJtf ^^e cross. and they I *naii who book, but apprecia- no union Jives. i^ seiiti- for the 'Owards ed and jes are if the The cloud- jarth, and built the skies, and upholds the Universe Iby His power, — this awful God is ours, is mine — my [Father, my Friend, my light, and my salvation ; and conscience, which before accused, is tranquilized in the blood of the Lamb. "No condemnation" — but it is the privilege of those only who are " in Christ Jesus." Oh, how grea£ is the blessedness of the renewed Christian ! All the treasures of the new and better covenant are secured to the believer — blessings tem- poral and spiritual — blessings adapted to all the circumstances of life, and the brightest hopes to cheer us when we pass through the valley of the shadow of death — blessings that will abound amid the changing scenes of time, and the more exalted blessings of the heavenly state that will be our portion and inheritance for ever. What God has prepared for His people in heaven we cannot tell. An impene- trable veil hides from our gaze the happiness of the redeemed. Human eye has never beheld, nor human tongue described the joys which Jesus' ransomed ones know in the paradise of God. Believers have some- times, in a rapture of devotion, caught a glimpse of its glory, and heard snatches of its songs; but the full revelation is reserved for eternity to unfold. We cannot lift the veil. We must die to know what God has prepared for them that love Him. But the life of the Christian on earth, we know something of that. How great his privileges ! How soothing his consolations ! No proper estimate can be made of them. The Christian has the promise 72 UNION WITH CHRIST. ''.■J :lt !! 8 IN of the life that now is, and of that which is to cornel Prayer with its answered blessings, hope with its! bright anticipations, faith with its realizing sweetness, praise with all its rapture, and then, as the consum-l mation, heaven with all its untold and pricelessl glory, will be the inheritance of the^ man who is in] Christ. No marvel is it that St. Paul, speaking of the] fulness of the Christian's privilege, and the complete- ness of that salvation which results from union with Christ, addressing believers, says, " Ye are complete in him." Complete in Christ ! He is the author and will be the finisher of our faith. His merit is the procuring cause of our salvation, His atonement is the basis of our hope ; and clothed in the righteousness of faith we stand accepted in the sight of heaven. We are "complete in Him." We need no other Saviour. In Him there is sufficient, saving, sovereign grace. Christ is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption, our all and in all, and relying on the power of His arm, and reposing in the strength of His love, we trust to be saved for ever. We are in Christ, and Christ dwells in us, and by virtue of this union we are raised to the very pinnacle of human dignity and human blessed- ness, and are but a little lower than the angels. We are complete in Him ! " Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature." On this part of the subject I shall only make a few observations. As a result of this union there will necessarily be a UIJION WITH CHRIST. 78 )rresponding change. The change is a real one. It equivalent to a new creation. It is not the beautifying of the old, but the im- [>lantation of a new nature. Whatever virtues a man lay exhibit, unless he be renewed by grace divine, khey only resemble the fragrant flowers which you nay sometimes see scattered round a corrupting corpse. 'hey may veil the terror and deformity of death, and throw a transient beauty round the scene, but death lis still there. The communication of life is necessary [before that inanimate form could resume the functions I of life. The language of Scripture indicates how great must be this spiritual change. It is represented as being " born again," passing from death to life — a new creation. Had you seen the glazed eyes and stiffened form of the widow's son turned out to burial ; and, mingling with the procession, had you beheld him raised at the majestic bidding of Him who is the "Resurrec- tion and the Life," you would have been struck with astonishment at the stupendous results. Now the change effected by the Divine Spirit in the heart of the penitent believer is quite as great, though not so per- ceptible to the human eye. It is a change effected not on matter but on spirit, and as much superior as spirit is to matter. So the raising of a soul from the death of sin to the life of righteousness is a mightier work than the raising of the dead, for " if any man be in Christ he is a new creature." Further, this wondrous change, this new life, does not affect the individuality of the human mind, or IIJ,« 74 V PNION WITH CHBMT. destroy that men*»? j- . n'en,givi„„L? ''"^"ity which exists .„ 'S"ingto every man „ „i,. x *^"'s amonj O"""- Variety is one ofTh» I *"*'' P««"Ii8rly hi ""ris the kingdomof ; ''""«°'» »* Perfection Christian,, beaftC femTrr "*" "^ °' "ature A ™-d of Christ, the Z^^^Tl ^^^y have th Resemblance will be tbe^lfe n' f,"'^"'' *'''' "»"" '^"1 be a divei^ity of tLu^^ "^''' ''»' 'here "oe to select a« apnronrtf , P"™"' '«»ding each "-t u,ef„, i„ th?r;'rV'o7 "r ""''='' "-"" of God could never change a We "' "'■''• ''''« ?^««^ "or bend the rough and \, 7 '"'^ " ^hi'field g^nUeness of Melancth:: Bufb'- '"""'^^ ■"*" "■« » Chr,st Jesus, these mi^htv „ "^/'" "^'"^^' varied powers to the glorv ff ? T" '^'*'='"«<' 'heir as Church. In theSt/v^'' "^^ ">" ^^^^ice of Purpose combined wi^T^ ! '""'^y '*'*'' "nity of "ore strikingly .een ' '"^'^"^ "' ^^^^ was ne^^er "ne can shoot the «,..„ ^oond. . One adapted toT '• "'"'"'^^ ""^ h< al the »«"• One can ihCde^trr"'' """'*«' '» P«"«ado »S the conscience of the , ^1 ""^ "* ">« '"'v, alarm 77 of presenting the t ' th ' '""*"■ "^^ *"■' ^""'"^ of tte cross glorious ^'m^^ "^ """^« 'he attractioS ;o ^l'™it£''ortt5nf -- direction 'vesm Christ and for Christ ?^'»«-« "•"' 'hat chofe„ W,"""" ^''^^^ "oated their wooden refuge as in T uT'^ '^^'^ as safe i„ Al^h'y God Tfat"rl":t:t"°\°f *"« """^ ^ the refuge of the souiHT'";"' °^ ^hri^t never sweep over our wor d . "^ '^"'^''^ will «vesus that assurance bSX- ^'"'^ '^'^^ "^- -ihe heavens sh«Ti ''"^^ scenes are h^e -7. the Cead'shrjt-sr^' '"« ""» et'stl s^aiJ Stand befom *i, '^^^sed, and a ] Adn.«' [-gotten, nott: ^TV^f ^^^o.flZT: thJr \ "'■* ">«n found fa, Ph "; ?"^y those win W n '"•' '"'"^« 'hem whS"'"!^^'"^ cashed fl-t- thr:i>^^ '^ '^-inettranr?,'^"''""' ^'^^"^^---■niscer^irr;:,^"^ UNION WITH CHRIST. 77 ^® you wM ^Sres in ti)J ^ Christ i„f ^hen thef *^nsof the I earth \vithl '^e ark of| ^6' floated] as safe in I® hand of j of Christ Iters will rainbow t-e before pet shaJI «s race not one shelter )se wiJi cashed of the * now. emain fchout ' yon ig as )u remain without Christ you are guilty not only of [n but of suicidal folly. Would it not be folly in a lan to push off in a frail vessel, and brave the wild Ind stormy ocean without a compass or a rudder or a )ilot ? That recklessness is yours. Would it not be iiadness in a man to stand on the edge of a yawning iTolcano, refusing to depart, though he heard the mut- fcerinfj of the subterraneous convulsions beneath him, [and saw the first flashings of the fire, the harbingers of coming desolation ? This infatuation is yours. Without Christ as you are — impenitent and unsaved -a point of time, a moment, and you may sink into the darkness of perdition. Flee to the refuge ! If you would be with Christ hereafter you must be in Christ now. Some of you are in Christ. You are united with the Saviour. Be thankful — be faithful. Maintain constant fellowship with Him. Never let the union be broken. Draw from Him your strength and life, and so live that when you come to die you may, like the Apostle, be " found in Christ," not having on your own righteousness, but that which comes through faith in Him ; and then, being found in Him, you shall depart to be "with Christ, which is far better." * '' i ,1- If y I ; :i; Y. HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. BY REV. JOHN W. GILPIN, Staffa. " Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thir.g is God." — ? Cor. v. 5. IN the closing verses of the preceding chapter and the introductory verses of this one the Apostle refers to his assured hope of immortality and his expectation of entering heaven. When the perishable tabernacle of earth had fallen, and in which he had groaned and suffered and labored, he rejoiced in the prospect of being " clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven." Epictetus says, " Show me one person formed accord- ing to the principles he professes. Show me one who is sick and happy ; in danger and happy ; dying and happy ; exiled and happy ; disgraced and happy." Such a person was Paul — always and under all circumstances happy. But it was through much and severe discipline that he, by Divine grace, hftd attained this excellency 3 HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 79 [of Christian character. Ever since that eventful day when he "saw in the way a light from heaven," the Divine hand had been at work, in privations, in perils, ' in persecutions, and " thorns in the flesh," moulding him, until he had become the polished stone, the con- secrated saint, fitted and made meet for the Master's use. Has God destined you for heaven ? Then there is the work of preparation. " He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God." It is just as necessary and just as much God's work to prepare you for heaven as to prepare heaven for you. The stone is not fit for its place in the building when it is blasted from the rock. This is only the first stage in the process. It is to go into the hands of the stone-cutter to be hewn and dressed and "wrought" ere the master builder pronounce it ready for its appointed position. " Ye also as lively s;tones " are to be " wrought " for the heavenly temple ; and in all the varied processes and experiences of life whose design and tendency is to develop you heavenward, " it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." And if you ever enter the house not made with hands — whatever time it may require — whether an hour, or a year, or a lifetime, that work must go on, until, " with- out spot or wrinkle or any such thing," the everlasting doors shall swing inward to admit you to all the bliss and glory for which you have been fitted. , 1 w Vr 1 i ^ 4 I' 80 Heaven, or a^ if : ^ l:""-1'-ns of God; '.. j''•^'^/" "'« context, .jl Father's !,„„,,.. '^^' »-^ ' to every „„„ „, '^^^ l'; ^"r-"" Pn'^^o, po.,! "pon every faithful one f„r ' ?'«'" °*' ff'ory He also glori«e,I," A^d we 1 "" ^^^ '"^'^'^'^ "'-" «»ne purpose by the SaWon "l' " '''-"""^''"™ «f tl -.soryp™y,,J.,,J,«*7- umself in «- into,: thou hast f,iven Me be „ tl M ' "'"•>' '''■^<' "'hon, "ay behold My glory.^' '"' """ "''"^^« ^ «". that the ' -'^Holyoilt^t^^.^^ho-.. ..ther.So.. dwelling i„ the ",=W.t wl . ^°''' '"'"P'-esented a, "»'<>." as bein„ .f " .«'''.ch no „«„ ^ annt; -aphin, are ^e^eriftri^'--" ^' "'^o P'^->founc.est humility and f. *' '"anifesting the -j; cried one to anoTh t :« ?" " "^''^ ^'•^^''"ee I'-d of hosts." "God is ,i„u'^'' i"'7- '-'3' is the darkness at all." "^'"' ""d in Him is no •ingels a,re holv H,„ ^«. 'f worship th^Wd af Hl't"'^''''^«''^%''tit h'gh and lifted up "and . '"' "P°" »« "throne - Higher sense and dtCt" t?°^ """ ««-' i" " Po^'Wy apprehend, the mC exc!^, "'^'"'P^ "« «-» ^he sa.nu are holy. Thev ^ 1""^ °* "^''"'^''''■ y ^hey are the spirits of the ."fir HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 81 [just made perfect, "without spot and blameless" [(character there is pure as heaven, " whiter than snow." llmiianity in its glorious completeness, sanctified, jnloriHt'd. And all the exercises and employments of heaven's inliabitants are " holiness unto the Lor^." The very atinosplicre is laden with the fragrance of holiness. It is distilled like dew upon all heaven, and rises like incense ever toward the throne. The street of the city is pure gold, as it were transparent glass. Every gate is a pearl. The city itself is garnished with all manner of precious stones, " and the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Here the will of God is done perfectly. No discord. Not one dis- senting voice or rebellious thought. Every spirit tlieie knows and does God's will. His will harmonizes with intinite right, and that law is loved and prevails th'^re. To His will there is entire submission — unques- tioning and unhesitating obedience to all the behests of the Divine Governor, perfect confidence in His gov- ernment, and loving acquiesence in its administration. And the inhabitants are in perfect and loving accord with each other. No jar, no striving for the mastery, no suspicion i, no envyings ; but beautiful, and sweetest, and complecest fellowship reigns throughout. ' ' Before the great Three One They all exulting stand, And tell the wonders He hath done Through all their land. " 6 ri, r. 82 — y^c.1 THERE. noblest and purest and be t 7 " ■""'' ''^'<'^' "•« -lect society i„ the sch^f ^J^ T '""'* "- "1 the academy and Iveenm li. ™''' *»''g"it. or d-cussed tteifsubri™uTatr' ''t''"'^ ""-^ ««' ' -ciety where were gathe^d B„ ?" ^ ""^ ^^'^-^ Johnson and Carrick Th!f ', ""'" ®'"='-'dan, and "Holy Club " at Oxford,^: rlr^' ^'^'y '" «,e students met for prayer and? Y^ ^^ """^ '""^ f«"ow- «;t in a far highl sense ^-inf^ -'f "^"^-^ »^ «-^- •'elect, where congregate the 1 1,^]^ "* ''^''^«° ''^ can number," who "washed theTf''' ""^'"^ "» "an -h>te in the blood of ^ t*^;": ™^^ ™d made then, Epistle to the Hebrews i„ 2 1, ^''l '"'"'or of the fons a few of them by nil di ^' V'^'^P'^'' "^^n- »the earthly tabernacrfor f ^"'^'^'^ '=^-'^'' ^hilo character. The time would flu??' '"'^'^ """^ ''"'j- glorious list. We can but i!, *" ''^'^Pitulate the desirable the society of Ivw '"!•'"" "--^ and EVh Moses and DavJ Sha . n ''^ ^»°-='> '"'<' beloved, and not the least 2 ^*"''''' J"!"" the great Apastle of the Get t Tf ''^^ '^' ^""^ 'l>e ^" you of the worthies of ouf ^"^^'^ "^"'gh' ,^esJey, the noblest Roman „?[.", ^^''^''""-of Thornton and Punshon an7r !" ""' "^ Clowes, of -"1 of Carroll also for th^rf ""' ^^''' ""d of R a heavenly community, t^dt^ f^"' ^""^'"J"'" 'he serve Him day and nighTin„^7^» , Messed, ""^^ not speculate as to their puLf '! 'rP'^'" We need Porswt. and occupations, for HE WEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 83 "ships and 'Select, the' ^hat Was taught, or and Piato ^as seJect '^<^an, and 'y in the 's feJJow- d of Go>i eaven be ' no man de theni • of the 'r, njen- n whiJe id hoiy ate the ed and "h and in the ul the night 1— of 3s, of Ricfc the and leed for tliey will all be in perfect harmony with the sanctity lof their own character and the holiness of heaven. "And the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed [them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters." What that means we do not know. It is too heavenly, and we are too earthly to understand it. It may mean the redeemed powers of the saints — nioraland intellectual — entirely and eternally satisfied. But no one has ever returned from that holy land to answer all our questionings. Paul with awful solem- nity tells us that when he was caught up into Paradise he "heard unspeakable words which it was not lawful for a man to utter." But when we pass to the other shore ourselves, then we " shall know even as we are known." Such is the place, and such the society and employment of that " selfsame thing," for which we are being "wrought." Let us next conside.: — II. The fitness required for an entrance into heaven. Holiness is required. " And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Emphatically, we are told that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord." This is not the place for entering into any controversy as to whether holiness is a first or second blessing ; but whether it be attained at conversion, or afterwards, one moment before death or twentv yeo»*j, the fact is, that if we would enter heaven we must be cleansed from all unrighteousness in this' life. The Ii I '5 , mi' *i!!l "Pon the u,„a„,tig^j will, to hear thrr k'!"^'"'"'"''''« '» "•"titude. If y„„ wouldXi* t^r '""•^^d hy the Heaven^, King, and find yoC "nlfflu '?^''"»»««''« to H>" Lord of ail, you mn,t ff ' J"^' '" ''"'^ning heart now. „ Gwltl^^ ^^l"''"-" »'» i" you^ done." it can be done-done'" f^ '"^^ ^'" ^ heaven. Z,„„,,_„^j mereL !" T.^ "' " '« <'»°« '•■" «hout, but *.„,. Don? : ~b '»' °r theorized the successes and reveres Z? T^' ''°''« i" all when your will is sancTified ald^I '?"" '<"• ^-^ heart, you will fi„d „„ "',' f"* <^h„st reigns in your pursuits and society ~"' T'\ ^'^ the holy a»<3 take delight in thoselldul "' '"^^ "'^ ^''rthly "arna, appetites, how !„ ff ""^^ 'hat gratify thj ■»ost blissful contentmenra„ret7T' '" *'^P«"«'>«« the worship and service ofth. i ?' ^««fa«'ion, i„ he sharers in the plei^^' h /"'"'';'' ' « -e would -tes. our occupations, ouTr etel "■■ "''"""''■ "" /o^d, who shall abiieiLThvtr ■""'""' he pure. ''";" "• Thy holvhiil/ He\ ^:T''-"ho;haIl «"d a p„e heart, not havin' m?""' ""^''° hands vanity or sworn deeeitf uHy"^ wl^'* "^ his soul unto y- What would the sot, the HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 87 ^® no part i nd honor, I tefch upon It would "babJe to ^ by the ations to Jrowning in your wiil be cJone in e in all J- And in your e hoJy arthjy, fy the rience 5n, in vould > our pure. shaJJ ands into the covetous man, or debauchee do in heaven ? How would those who sought their pleasure in the b£,ll room, or theatre, or at the card table, or horse race, feel at home in the company of Elijah, and Jeremiah and John the Baptist ? But why specify? Absolutely there is no room in the "house not made with hands" for such as these. Men may take delight in these things, call themselves Christians, be members of the Church, and go to the Lord's table, but Christ will say to them at last, "I never knew you, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." If you would engage in the worship of the upper temple, you must feel and say with David, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of ray life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple." If you would mingle with the white-robed throng up yonder, you must love the company of the good here. If you would sing the song of Moses and the Lamb in the courts above, and blend your voices with the voices that fill all heaven with music, you must first have the new song put into your mouth, even praise unto our God. If on the other shore you would be crowned and hear the King say, "Well done, good and faithful servant," you must bear the cross, fight the good fight of faith, deny yourself, and count all things loss that you may win. Christ. 88 I ' !l I \l I fu ^^AVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. TTT JEW *■*•*!<« God declares it to Ha H: »'hom He justifies. mI„ If T'' *" '''""^ »" doobtediy that is ffif I ^ ^^""^ ^im, but un- P"'"^ a Place for t ptX' !f'^'''' '^ "- place for you." Wp k,„ ^ ^ : ^ ^^ to prepare a 'h« Son for the sal,Sn of 1^"^^^" "-e Father and f'jons of that covenan «:' It' T "' "^^ «°°- »°d that in this way ther^rf i' ^"^ ''""''«' ^ie, »ent should be met puMc ° *« -^-^^ govern-' the salvation of the sinner made'' I, "'"^*^<'' «»d *«vern- and Christ ttHe d, no •rist. ■e is oen, Iva- His in- ihe by awakening conviction in the mind of the sinner by His persuasive grace, through the medium of the truth, and renewing the heart of the "contrite" one in riorhteousness and true holiness ; and all that He does in and for the believer in " bearing witness " and " guiding into all truth." Are you to be " wrought " for the " building of God ?" You need the Holy Ghost. Are you weak and ignorant, and " know not what you should pray for as you ought ?" " The Spirit Himself helpeth your infirmities and maketh intercession for you with groanings which cannot be uttered." Are you hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and longing to be filled with all the fulness of God ? " It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." And are you waiting in the "upper room," with the other disciples, seeking a higher qualification and a more complete furnishing for Christian service ? " Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you : but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." " And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." There are also the means of grace — public and private — as a factor in the process of preparing souls for heaven. The 'preaching of the Gospel. " It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." Undoubtedly the preaching of the Gospel is the most important work in which man ever engaged — second only to Christ's own redeeming work. It is nothing less than to be " ambassadors for Christ ; " to ^> ^>>, .0^, \% IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 50 ■■■ IRHB ■"IS 2.0 ■ iO lU m £ us L8. U Hi, ■^> v^/ Photographic Sciences Corporalion 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIft.N.Y. 14SS0 (716)873-4303 4 •i 90 ii ' f'.. 1) r ! HEAVEN. AXD HOW TO GET THERE. b^eec,„e„ in -Christ, stead e„ be reconoHedtol every one that believettl/h ^ ""^^ "''^''"°" ^ the Greek." Is the huml^l. /"'" ""' '""^ «'» to " IB not My word likeTs " ^""1 "'• '"'"' "^ -J'""^'" ? 'ike a hamper thabreaketh?. ''",' "^^ ^■'"^^ »'' it not a fact that 1„ We , T "^^ '" "'^'^^ ?" I' Do not men cloke thei Sn'r ^ "'!" ""^ "«'''^ s-nners justify themselve, in i *""'*'" ">«' ->«shness,andlustsTi;" atth ""'"'""^' ""'' scious of their insecuriH^ Vri , * ^^"^ "■"«. eon- of lies ? How are wt''^''^ *^™^«i-«» to refuge, of their danger' How ='; '•^''^d ^ Hew warned knocked from°u„dertteI ^^7 t'"" ^'"^ *° ""^ Poril ? Listen, my Tuiltv ? T.. ° *''''' *^^"' "ThewordofGodirauiS^. ^^^'■"' °^'« »°« J°»*^ -"d of the heart." ' "* *''" """"gl.*^ and intents ^^itardlrirtSn]:^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ne wayof mercy? "The law of the n^ f • ^''^ P^'doning ">e soul ; the testimony of the L ';^"'' ""^^"'»' w.se the simple; the statutes of tl T J"' """"'"^ rejoicing the heart • t),. ^ ^."^ a'e right Pn-. eihten'g ihf:^"!"-''-"' of the Lor! t HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 91 »r Christ? vation to d also to idamant ? ne, con- refuges warned ^ to be r awful nd alJ: er than viding ts and n tents fied ? It is by the TRUTH. " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature." Let the Gospel then be preached. It is the very ThermopylaB of the situation. Souls — immortal spirits — are to be " wrought " out of sin and into holiness and heaven. And God's method of accomplishing this glorious result is by the preaching of the Gospel " with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." The press ? well, the religious press is doing much toward regenerating society, and lifting men up to the divine; but the secular press needs its lips washed — it needs to be born again. Bands ? Singing ? go away, you don't know the human heart, you don't understand human nature. These things may for a time beget a pleasing emotion, and produce a temporary excitement in men's minds ; but if this country is to be saved from scepticism, and formalism, and secularism, it will be done by preaching Christ crucified. Not the emascu- lated, namby-pamby kind of thing that boarding- school misses call " aesthetic," but the blessed Gospel truth that will search to the core, and storm the strongest fortress of the soul. This was Christ's plan for, and the apostolic idea of, saving men. And to the very end of time the proclamation of the Gospel will be pre-eminently the means divinely countenanced for the world's conversion, and for the universal spread of the Redeemer's kingdom. Doubtless, " the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness ; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." K :•!! .1 I ■ I' 1 ;!i h I '! I !«i 92 HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. Another means to be employed in promoting the salvation of the soul is prayer. " Lord, teach us to pray." " Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Prayer is the spirit com- muning with its God. If thou would'st be " wrought " for the " selfsame thing," be prayerful. Pray, not so much for God to come down to you, as for God to lift you up to Him. Prayer is not the using of phrases, or the mentioning of promises, so much as it is a work going on in yourself, bringing you into sympathy with, and making you Christ-like. Therefore, be in the spirit of prayer. Have the Master's spirit. If you live in the spirit of prayer, you will find yourself in a holy furnace, going through the process of spiritual refinement from all dross and moral recrement, and aspirations and experiences, never known before, will be begotten in you. When you pray you challenge the attention of God, you come within the realm of Divine scrutiny. There- fore, expect to be searched. Remember the eye of the Almighty is on you. A statue was to be erected to the memory of the great Napoleon; and at infinite expense and labor a block of marble was brought to Paris for that purpose. But when the sculptor came to examine it his keen eye detected what had escaped the scrutiny of all others, a thin, almost imperceptible line, running the whole length of the block ; the marble was fractured, and the artist refused to touch it. In \> HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 93 prayer be pure in your motives ; the Lord looketh on the heart. If you are tainted with selfishness, expect nothing from Jehovah. " If I regard iniquity in ray heart the Lord will not hear me." Remember the infinite benevolence and inexhaustible resources of Him to whom you pray. " Thou art coming to a king, Large petitions with thee bring. For His grace and power are such. None can ever ask too much." When you pray be willing for God to do anything with you or for you. Be willing to do anything or be anything for God. Plead his promises ; remember the conditions. Here is one, take it and be a rjan : "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." Do not be daunted by difficulties. " The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force." Take off your gloves, then, and strike. God is trying you ; where is your faith ? How can you expect to reign in the heavenly kingdom if you cannot force an entrance into the gracious one? Now strike again. Quit you like men. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. There, the gate gives way, you pass in, and Onrl is there, and you are more than conqueror. So let your souls be brightened, and purified, and sancti- fied by prayer. It was after the scene at the ford Jabbok that the wrestler graduated from Jacob to Israel ; and God said to him, " As a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." 94 : if Tu "" hath andpolished. "'CSt-sIlti"''' '" *''"' *"™-^ and sorrow, and pain and l'" "'"''' ""■<=h ^al. P°-'ty and persTcuLrbu r."^"'' ""<* l-^h-'P^ %ht affliction, which is but ft ^'»"gh'" "Our for us a far more exceedingly? * !"»■"«"'. worketh "Whom the Lord WetL IT?.*'?"*' ^'''•?ht<>f glory." every son whom CLttf''^''''-^-^^<'o'^^'t, t"ne "had trial of cruel moctt„ T '° "^^ ""en "oreover, „f bonds al im '"!!™<^ ■'«=»"'ging«. yea. soned. they were sawn JuTd" •■ *'''^ "''' 'lam with the sword; therw^dlT/'"'P"'<'' ^^'^ «kms and goatskins beln!:-:.'"^"' '" '^'^P- monted." But, brothers7n7 .''f """«• afflicted, tor- af d by this recitTfor :^ J?-"^ *"' <« "»' di^cour- "We know that all£g?J::,^ Z ' .' '''^'"^ ^»<'. them that love God, to thtn wt T^"" ^"^ S°°<1 1" 'ng to His purpose." *" ^'^ ^^^ «a"ed accord- HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 95 [iV. By whom we are " wrought " — " God" Then there is a sphere where God moves, and divine I energy is acknowledged. Then there are effects that are not produced by the " complex play of molecular forces," and results that are accounted for on other grounds than that of " natural phenomena." Growth heavenward, spiritual advancement, Christian sanctity, are not traceable to any " chemical disturbance." " He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is GoD." Then there is a God who is the cause of, and who superintends and directs all operations and movements that have for their object the highest well-being of our race. " In the beginning God." God the Creator, who formed us at first. We are the workmanship of His excellent hands. I care not to trouble my mind or vex your souls with any of the scientific theories concerning the ages that are said to have elapsed during which man was in process of development. It is sufficient for our purpose to know that we came from the hands of God ; and it is so restful to sit down and read the common-sense view that Moses takes of it, " And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Having made us He knows us, is thoroughly acquainted with the entire human mechanism, and in His hands " are our breath and all our ways." He it is who creates us anew, who reproduces in us the life of love and holiness. " Create in me t- clean heart, God." And we are to be in His hands as clay in the 96 HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. '■' J hands of the potter, as the original clay from wh'ch He formed Adam, that He may mould us and fashion us again after His own likeness. God our Redeemer, who has wrought out for us such a wonderful scheme of salvation ; who bought us with blood. And we are sure that while the work of pre- paration is in progress He will guard with watchful eje those precious jewels which are to adorn His crown, so that " no weapon that is formed against them shall prosper." Oh, Christian brother and sister, ye have been bought with a price. Your Lord's life was given for you. He loves you with an everlasting love. Trust Him in all the discipline of life. He is but fitting you for the glory that shall be revealed in you. God our Father. " Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come." " Be- loved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." We know not the processes we shall have to pass through before the Father is satisfied with us, and considers us worthy of a place in the "building of God." But, in the meantime, comfort your heart with the blessed truth that you are in the Father's hands. " What son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" But it is the Father. " The bruised reed He will not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench." Tender and kind and loving, our Father, we know Thou art. The furnace is hot at times, and Thy chastisements are grievous, but we rest in Thy fatherhood. Let the work go on HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. 97 until Thou shalt see thine own image in us, and until we shall answer thine own blessed ideal of fitness for the Father's house, and we shall hear Thee say, "Come, ye blessed of My Father." "Then when the mij;hty work is wrought, Receive Thy ready Bride ; Give us in heaven a happy lot, With all the sanctified." TO CHRISTIANS. Remember, you are being " wrought " for heaven. Let that encourage you. Keep your eye upon the prize. When the work is complete you are to be advanced to that glory. Then have hope. Do not prove refractory. Do not be despondent. This is the life for being " wrought." Do not be disappointed if you have not a large surplus of ease or pleasure while you are in the earthly tabernacle. This life is for something else than wearing gay and costly attire and counting mortgages ; and you need not be at all surprised if the next development of Providence set you down in a forest cottage to live comfortably on bread and water the remainder of your life here. This life is preliminary and introductory : the future is the life proper. But short as this life is, the endless future depends upon how you live now. There are good things in store for you somewhere. Where will you have them ? Here or yonder ? Never forget that there is one place where there are no good 7 98 HEAVEN, AND HOW TO GET THERE. '■'. ill' 0. .1 :v; Hi' :- fill r .■ I things. At last we shall get home to the " selfsame thing," and God will be there. Will this " selfsame thing " compensate you for the being " wrought " for it ? O yes, one hour of it — one moment ? A single glance at its glory, A single draught of its joy, And it is for ever ! Amen. VI. WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH BY REV. H. T. CROSSLEY. Bvangeliat. " death, where is thy stmg? O grave, where is thy victory?" — 1 Cor. XV. 55. THESE words sound strange to those who have a different idea of death than that entertained by Paul. One of the main secrets of Paul's happy and useful life was the view he entertained of his death. It is very important that all persons have correct ideas about Christian dying. Let us look at some of the wrong views held concerning the death of a Christian. (1) Death is thought of as a "dark valley"; people speak and pray about it as such, and sing when friends die, "They are going down the valley, the dark death valley." This view of death naturally fills the mind with terror. Is it then a scriptural re- presentation of Christian dying ? Those people who have this idea think it is derived from Psalms xxiii. 4, but when we turn to the passage we find nothing 100 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. t-l t i M S ■■:' V 1 m ;*^'^f i .i^ M I il is said about a " dark valley," but that the words are calculated to inspire us with a holy enthusiasm : " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." Now, if we apply these words to death — though I do not think the Psalmist was particularly thinking of death when he used them — is there anything in the verse to inspire or for a moment suggest the dark and dismal thoughts that some have, or the doleful words and songs that we so often hear. Bid farewell to this wrong view of death and sing, " I fear no evil, for Thou art with me." (2) Death is thought of as "passing through the waters of Jordan." Nearly every person has this view, hence you will hear it expressed so often in prayer, in conversation and in sermons. Then we sing about "Jordan's stream and death's cold flood," and " Bear me through the swelling current." Even Bun- yan, in his allegory of death, represents Christian as passing through the deep river, while fears possessed him, and he with the utmost difficulty kept his head above water and reached the other shore. Have you this view of death ? If so, I wonder not that the thought of death fills you with fear, even though you are a devoted Christian. Have we any authority from Scripture for holding this alarming view of death ? I am so thankful to be able to answer this question in the negative. The passage of the Jordan by the Israelites is ixo doubt typical of the Christian's t ■■ . (: I' i ■■(■ WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 101 passage from earth to the heavenly Canaan, i.e. death; but it is surprising how people have ever received the notion of "Jordan's stream and death's cold flood" wliich " fright us from the shore." Read the account of the passage of Jordan in Joshua iii. 14-17, and you find that when the feet of the priests touched the brim of the water, God made a passage across, and the priests marched on dry ground until they reached the midst of Jordan, where they stood firm, while the 600,000 effective men, besides women, children and others, passed through on dry ground, after which a memorial pile consisting of twelve stones was erected in the midst of Jordan. Was a grander sight ever seen by mortal eye ? See in it a true type of death and forever dispel from your mind the thought of the "cold river of death," and instead of singing about "fording the river " and the " cold stream," to a mourn- ful tune, when you are thinking of death, or when your friends pass over Jordan, sing in faith : " When I tread the verge of Jordan, He'll its waters then divide, Bear me through in faith triumphant, Land me safe on Canaan's side. Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to Thee." (3) Death is thought of as a cruel, victorious enemy, rather than the messenger of heaven. Death to the human race is the result of Adam's sin. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and death is therefore no doubt an enemy ; but it shall be M H i i; 102 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. '":i m\ destroyed (1 Cor. xv. 26), and in the meantime it is a conquered enemy by Christ. It is conquered now, for our Saviour " hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel " (2 Tim. i. TO). Look at Paul as he gazes upon death and peers into the grave, while with triumphant tones and defiant words he says : " death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." That is the proper way for us to think of death. One of the purposes of Christ's death was for this end. He died to " deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bond- age." A Christian has no right to be fearing death, and it is but a misconception of death that causes him to dread it. Sin is to be deplored and repented of. Christ should be received as the Saviour from the sting of death, i.e., sin, and then thanks ascribed to " Him who giveth us the victory." Those Christians who have had the greatest dread of death in life have met it calmly and joyously. Why is this ? Often, when a, boy, as I was going through the fields, I saw a dark object in the dista^^ce which frightened me, for it looked like some huge animal, but as I drew closer I found it to be but a harmless log or stump. I was deceived and frightened because I was short-sighted and nervous, but as I drew near my fears subsided, because I saw the ob- ject distinctly. So we are spiritually short-sighted and nervous, hence many have looked at death in the dis- WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 103 tance, and it appeared dark and hideous, but when they have approached it they have seen it to be the messenger of the Saviour to call them home. Why do we " Shake ac death's alarms ? 'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends To call us to His arms." Another reason for the dread of death is, that when our Christian friends die, we look upon death from our standpoint and not from theirs. Not long since I was talking to a man whose wife had died a short time previous, and in the midst of the conversation he said, "Oh, death is awful ! " I replied, " Did your wife when dying say so ? " His face brightened up and he said with fervor, " No ! She was so happy, and told me not to weep, for she was going home to Jesus." I then put the question, " Is death awful ?" and received the answer, " No, not to the 4ying Christian." When our friends have died, we have realized that it was awful to be left in our sadness, but was death awful to those who left us ? If we could separate the death of departed friends from the bereavements, what sight is more beautiful. Come with me and let us stand by the side of Mrs. S , as she meets death. The doctor and her husband are anxiously watching her, not knowing that death was so near. Suddenly her face brightened, and with a voice that seemed heavenly, said, " Husband, I'm dying. I'll soon be at home with Jesus. I want to sing : 104 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. "li'! * Steal away, steal away, Steal away to Jesus, Steal away, steal away home, I've not got lon^ to stay here.' " Her eyes were closed and she stole away home. " So let me pass away, gently and lovingly, Only remembered by what I have done." We should gather our ideas of death from the Word of God and the death of Christians. The Bible in no place presents death in such a light as to cause us to stand in dread of it, and the way Christians die is surely not alarming. "Behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace " (Ps. xxxvii. 37). Are there not ten thousand examples of the peace and glorious triumphs of dying saints ? We have already seen from Scripture that the views of death generally held are wrong. Let us look at a few more representations of death as presented iu the Bible. It is frequently .called "asleep of the body." It was said of Stephen, " He fell asleep in Jesus." Jesus said to His disciples, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," but they did not at first understand Him ; and at another time He said that " the maid sleepeth," but was laughed at. Have we sufficiently thought and understood this beautiful image of death? We work during J;he day, and at night lay our bodies down in peace to sleep, expecting to waken in the morning. Let us " work while it is day," and then^ when the night cometh and it is time to sleep, we shall peacefully rest, with the hope of awakening in ^V WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 105 the morning of a brighter day. " Them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. . . . Comfort one another with these words " (1 Thess. iv. 14-18). People usually think of death as being painful, and hence fear it. God does not make a mistake in call- ing it a "sleep." In ninety -nine cases out of a hundred there are no more pains in dying than in going to sleep. The common remark about departed ones is : " He passed away peacefully." Another and very high conception of death is ex- pressed by Paul, when he says, " I am now ready to be offered." It was an ancient custom to ponr a liquid upon the sacrifice as it lay upon the altar. Paul re- ferred to this custom when he expressed himself "ready to be offered " (2 Tim. iv. 6), or poured out upon God's altar as an acceptable sacrifice. He expected to die a martyr's death, but his mind was not filled with the thoughts of the block and cruel persecutors. In an- ticipating such a death, he said to the Philippians: " If I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Thus he saw his spilt blood, not as the evidence of the triumph of his enemies, but as a sacrifice poured out upon God's altar. Is it any wonder that, having such a view of death, he should rejoice and say, " For the same cause do ye joy and rejoice with me.' Surely if Paul could look upon his violent death with such thoughts, we should have none different when thinking of ours. I am so thankful it is written : " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Ps. cxvi. 15). ;!i >. 106 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 1^ i 11 1 II !'!^1: ji'<» I l\ !^ .I..KI :: Let this thought' foster itself in our minds, and it will produce some such feeling as Paul had ; and instead of looking upon death as the triumph of our foe, we shall see it as "precious in God's sight." Thus we shall be filled, not with terror, but with joy and re- joicing ; while, with reference to our departed Christian friends, we shall be able to joy and rejoice with them, though we sorrow on account of our own personal loss of them. Let us look at one more Scripture view of Christian dying. Paul, speaking of death, calls it " the time of my departure " (2 Tim. iv. 6). He thus thinks of it as the time when he, as a mariner in a foreign port, on his Saviour's business, shall weigh or lift the anchor and sail for home. Such a thought of death is most cheering, and especially so because we are not left to conjecture, or in uncertainty, as to where home is, and the way to it. Jesus says, " The way ye know," for " I am the way," and we know Him as our Saviour ; moreover, we know the place, for it is where Jesus is. Paul had the desire " to depart, and to be with Jesus." He did not think of his spirit sleeping with the body until the resurrection, or occupying some intermediate place until the judgment, but as "being with Jesus." Entertaining such a view of death, we can sing " Going home," — yes, going home, sweet words of comfort and of cheer. A heathen idolater in Hindostan was dying ; his spirit was troubled with regard to the future, and he anxiously exclaimed, " What will become of me ? " WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 107 A Brahmin priest calmly answered, " O, you will in- habit another body." He replied, " And where then ?" " Into another." " And where then ?" "Into another ; and so on through thousands of millions." The dying man looked at him a monent, and then, with his last agonizing breath, uttered the words, " And where shall I go last of all ?" The human soul seeks for a definite hope. How thankful we ought to be that we are not left to exdaim, "Where shall I go?" while echo only answers, " Where ?" We know Christians go to heaven at death, for Jesus said to a dying believer : " To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise " (Luke xxiii. 43), and Paul thought of weighing the anchor and sailing home " to be with Jesus." Therefore, we can look forward to our departure with the Christian hope, " Absent from the body, present with the Lord." We have Christian friends who have gone from earth ; we know where they are. " They sing the Lamb in hymns above, and we in hymns below." We should always think of them as at home with Jesus. I heard one of our ministers, in a fellowship meet- ing, speaking of his children ; he told of the conversion and piety of two and then said : " We had another, a dear boy, but " — here he paused to control his emo- tion, and then with a new impulse said " we have him yet." No wonder that we as a congregation sang in chorus, " I have loved ones in the Promised Land." We should think, yea, we do think, of our friends who I< i :i 108 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. h .j iiiif >t •ft 4\ sleep in Jesus, as " not lost, but gone before." Then, as we know where they are, and that we aie goin<( home, we know that we shall join them and " know each other there." A little boy sat on the front steps as the shades of night were gathering, and hearing the footfall of his father coming up the walk, called out with his sweet voice : " I am waiting for you, pa." A few days after he sickened and died ; the father said : " I know my little boy is in heaven, and I often hear, as it were, his voice calling to me, ' I am waiting for you, pa ! ' and, by the grace of God, I mean to join him." We have loved ones there — some of you have chil- dren ; some parents ; ethers brothers and sisters. Do you suppose they hav ) forgotten you ? Have you forgotten them ? It is a blessed truth we utter when we sing : (( They are waiting at the portal, They are watching at the door, Only waiting for my coming, All the loved ones gone before." Shall we meet ? Will you not this moment resolve and say, " By the grace of God, I'll meet them." We shall, however, in all probability, stay here for some few days or years more. What will you take as your ideal in life ? I think I hear you saying, " To me to live is Christ." Whether your days are many or few on earth, be devoted to Him who bought you with His blood. WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 109 Between this life and the other, however, there is that which we call death. How are you going to think of it ? Are you going to entertain those erron- eous and distressing views that so many have, and that are contradicted by the death of almost every Chris- tian ? or will you take the Bible representation of death, which is confirmed by the dying testimony of Christians of every age and in every nation ? If we, according to the teaching of Scripture, view death as a conquered foe ; a sleeping in Jesus ; an acceptable offering to God ; God's messenger to call us home ; a departing for home ; a glorious passage through Jordan ; a being with Jesus, and hence with those who are with Jesus, we shall have all those dis- tressing fears concerning death dispelled, and with Paul say, " To die is gain." There are two ideas which it would be well for us to dwell upon for a few minutes. The first is this : A mistake that so many make concerning death is to doubt their piety because they have not grace now to die by, and because they feel they would sooner live than die. I suppose there are few who have not been troubled on this very point. They read of Latimer and Kidley or others rejoicing at the stake, or hear of some one dying in Christian triumph, and the temptation comes : ** Could you go to the stake like that, or die as he ? " and then, because they do not feel as if they could, the temptation is that they are lacking in grace. Moody was asked one time, " Have you grace enough to go to the stake now?" He 1 ii ■ii ■:':i: '!■ 110 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. replied : " No ! I don't want grace for that, I am not going to the stake, I am going to the Hippodrome to preach, and I want grace to preach as I ought." Miss M. was on her dying bed, and was afraid that when death came she would not have dying grace. I, with a friend, visited her and found her in this state of mind. We asked her if she had grace enough to live by ? She replied " Yes." We said, " You are not dying, and therefore you do not need dying grace, but when death comes. He who gives you grace now will then give you dying grace." She saw the truth, and her fears and her doubts at once were gone. About four hours after that, she called her friends to her bedside, bade them good-bye, and received their promise to meet her in heaven. She meditated for a moment, when she said : " Can this be death ? " and then, with a radiant face, she said : '' Jesus can make a dying bed Feel soft as downy pillows are ; While on His breast I loan my head, And breathe ray life out sweetly there." Her eyes and lips closed, her face turned to the wall, and her happy spirit was gone to be "forever with the Lord." Christians, let us never expect grace until we need to use it, and God will never fail us. The passage through the Jordan was not made until their feet touched the brim of the river, but it was made as soon as they needed it. Do not fear s^hQnt Jprdan's stream WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. Ill until you reach ifc, and then the waters will divide. Has God ever failed you ? Do not for a moment think that He ever will. Samuel erected an altar and called it Ebenezer, i.e., " I- Itherto the Lord hath helped us," Abraham erected an altar, and called it Jehovah- Jirah, i.e., " The Lord will provide." We may erect our Ebenezer and Jehovah-Jirah, and, as we stand between them, sing : *' I'll praise Him for all that is past, And trust Him for all that's to come." When visiting the sick, I often find good people who are troubled and tempted because they have such a strong desire to live, while at the same time they think it very probable that they will die. Not unfrequently there are many good people doubtful of the piety of the sick, because they are so tenacious of life. Is there any cause for doubt here ? Are we to build our hopes on a willingness to die, or on a personal trust in Christ as our Saviour ? * I visited a lady who was much troubled, and doubted her fitness to die, because she was so anxious to live, though she had little reason to think she would recover, as her disease was consumption. I asked her if she was trusting in Jesus now as her Saviour, and she replied, " 1 am." I then said to her, " I do not want to die now, and yet I am not perplexed about it. I have as much reason as you to wish to die, and you as much as I to wish to live. Love to God is shown by devo- tion to His will. I show my devotion to God by being I: ■ • ■ 112 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. i, 'N I Ji'l 9 i ' ; Ml. 1 1 i^^:l: willing to live and be well. God gives me life and health, because He wills that I should live and be well. God gives you life, though sick, because He wills that you should live and be sick. You show your devotion to God by being willing to live, although you are sick. When God wills that we shall die, then is time enough for us to be willing to die. If you are going to die to-raorrow, it is not for you to will to die to-day. Let each of us leave ourselves trustingly in His hands, leaving life or death open questions, while we each moment trust in Jesus and say, ' Thy will be done.' " From that moment until six months after, when she fell asleep with the words " Precious Jesus " upon her lips, her peace flowed as a river. I ask you is not that correct logic, and should not we act upon it ? Why do those leaves on the tree cling so firmly to life, while the wind whistles through the branches, threat- ening to tear them off? They have functions to per- form, which when done, a frost touches them and a gentle zephyr is sufficient to loose their hold and cause them to fall. So each of us has a work to perform, or a mission to serve, and it is right that we should cling to life, though disease may threaten, but by and by, when our work is done, and the hour of death shall come, we, as the leaves, and av, thousands of dying Christians, shall calmly resign our lives. Wait till death comes before you expect grace to die. But be assured that, as you trust in Jesus, grace and resigna- tion will come as soon as you need them. Take the second thought, which is the opposite of WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 113 the iSrst. Some few have the strange idea, that to have a desire for death indicates a high degree of grace. Let us see if this is true. Suppose a father sends his sons into a field of ripe wheat to cut and shock it up, and about ten o'clock goes out and finds them under a shade tree, saying, " I wish it was night, I long to go to the house." Does that indicate devo- tion to the father, or does it indicate what we some- times call laziness ? God sends us, His children, into this world, saying, " The field is white unto the har- vest. Go, work to-day." Do we show devotion to God by wishing it was night, and desiring to leave the field and dwell in heaven ? We show devotion by saying with our Exemplar, " I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day ; the night cometh when no man can work," and then, when the night of death does come, we can pillow our head upon the promises, and go to sleep, saying, "I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do." Some think that the Bible teaches that a desire to depart and be with Jesus indicates a superior grace. Let us see if such is the case. There are examples in the Bible of persons wanting to die. Elijah expressed the desire to die (1 Kings xix. 4), but it was not the result of piety. He '. lad got discouraged because his efforts to do good were not attended with more success, was completely tired out with overwork, which had so engrossed his mind that he had neglected to eat or sleep ; his life was threatened by wicked Jezebel, he fled for fear, and was now under a juniper tree in the 8 ^ T'4 w I :i ill* 'J (i: S «r > ; ■HI 1«i 114 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. wilderness, in a most disconsolate state, and he said, " It is enough ; now, O Lord, take away my life." The Lord did not either censure or praise Elijah, but, like a loving parent, put His child to sleep, and when he awoke gave him something to eat, cheered up his spirits, and set him to work again. God had some- thing better for him than dying under the juniper tree, namely, work and translation. Jonah is another who wanted to die (Jonah iv. 8), but it was at a time when he was least prepared. He thought he was disgraced, and was in a passion because the six hundred and twenty thousand Ninevites had not been destroyed, and when the Lord spoke mildly to him, he gave the insolent reply, " I do well to be angry, even unto death." In neither of these cases had grace anything to do with the desire ; but in one it was occasioned by utter disconsolateness, while the other was fiendish anger at the result of God's mercy. There is one more apparent example in the case of Paul (Phil. i. 21-26). Many people think he preferred to die rather than live. We could hardly wonder at it if he had, for he had suffered so much. He was now in prison, living in uncertainty as to the hardships and death that were before him. But then, in these circum- stances he did not choose death, but says, "What I shall choose I wot not." He then gave his reason for not being able to choose, that he found himself in " a strait" between two forces of attraction. The gain that would be his drew him to desire to depart and be with Jesus, while the benefit that he might be to those WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. 116 who needed his presence drew him to desire to live, and this necessity forced itself upon his mind so strongly that it inspired a confidence which led him to say, " I know that I shall abide." It is quite natural, if a person merely considers between the life here and the life in heaven, to say, I am " willing to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. V. 8) ; but it is Christian to be not only willing but desirous to stay here for the benefit of others, rather than to depart for personal gain. • It is easy to understand how good persons, when in circumstances to cause despondency, or when merely thinking of themselves as they contrast earth and heaven, may sigh for rest in the " sweet by and bye," but that feel- ing is not produced by the grace of God. It is not unfrequent that ungodly persons grow tired of life, and all that keeps them from suicide is their felt unfitness for another life, while not a few do take the '■ leap in the dark." One object of Christ's death was to influence us to live aright: "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him that died for them, and rose again " (2 Cor. v. 15). We show the true Christian spirit by living unto Him, and not by desiring to leave this world. A man that had read so much about martyrs that he almost coveted to be one, said to his friend, " I have grace that I could die for Christ." The other wisely replied, " Have you grace that you can live for Him." We can show our love for Christ as much by living '1 116 WRONG VIEWS OF DEATH. •jr^P , • I ^ili iij ' ' i.J;'il l^.i« I ■N for Him as by dying for Him. Look at life and death as presented in the text: " To live is Christ, to die is gain." If a Christian desires to live, it is especially for Christ, or for the good of others, which is the same thing ; and if he wishes to die it is particularly for gain, that is, for self. Who shows the greatest amount of grace, he who desires to live for Christ's glory, or he who wishes to die for personal gain ? There is a time for the Christian to desire to live, viz: While God chooses' to let him live and assigns him a mission. There is a time for the Christian to be resigned to die, viz: When his labor is done, and God says "Come up higher." It is not for us, however, positively to choose life or death, though we may at times desire the one or the other, but to leave ourselves trustingly in our infinitely wise and loving Father's hand, saying, " What Thou dost choose is best." Some of our nearest kindred and dearest friends, after living for Christ, have " gone to be with Jesus," and now they know the gain of death, and we, though sorrowing at our own loss, rejoice at their infinite gain, so that we could not be so selfish as to cai.' them back if we had the power. Our lives will soon be over and we shall join them. Let us, as we think of and are so impressed with the shortness of life, instead of desiring to leave earth, be inspired to do what we can for Jesus, and when the Master calleth for us, we shall truly realize that " to die is gain." Tn tiie battle of Prestonpans, the General fell with three mortal wounds. The soldiers, seeing their com- ' ™™*'*T'^'"'*^'^^ ."^pw^ WRONG VIEWS OP DEATH. 117 mander fallen, became dispirited, and the enemy began to gain the advantage, whereupon the General raised himself on his elbow, while the blood jetted forth from every wound, and said with his failing voice, "I am not dead, my men, I am looking at you to see you do your duty." The word was repeated from on« to another, until all caught the inspiration it was calculated to impart, and then with a new enthusiasm went forth and gained the victory. Our Captain, that he might "proclaim liberty to the captive," fell with five mortal wounds on Oalvary. He died — was buried — rose again — ascended on high — is now alive forevermore, and is looking at us, and in our homes, in the church, in the world, in business, and in all the departments of life, let us do our duty, until at the close of life we shall be able to say, " Victory through Christ ! " And He will say, " Well done." 4 I VII. THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE— THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. BY REV. ROBT. PHILLIPS, Acton. ' Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be bom again." — John iii. 7. NO person ever lived who understood the wants of men so thoroughly, or sympathized with them so deeply, as Jesus Christ. His knowledge of men was perfect and His judgment in deciding upon their needs infallible. As a result He saw things as they were and pronounced upon them according to truth. Hence from His deliverances there was no appeal, for it was admitted " Never man spake like this man." The main purpose of His visit is carefully defined by Himself in language that cannot be misunderstood : " For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." In this statement we have not only a definition of the purpose of the visit, but a painful revelation of the state of men — they are ruined and lost. Hence the primary purpose of the visit and the system of which He is both author and founder is to THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. 119 save and restore. From this it is evident that He did not come as a teacher or model merely, but as a Saviour to help the helpless to help themselves. His ministry was accompanied with miracles by which public attention was arrested and investigation provoked. In consequence, many flocked to see and hear the man who had turned the water into wine, raised the dead, and cleansed the leper; who had caused the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Among the many who came was the astute and philo- sophical Nicodemus. Refined in manners and cultured in intellect, with a keen philosophical mind, polished by rare scholarly attainments, he selects the quiet of the night season to have a personal interview with Jesus. Influenced by the reports he heard and an intense desire to increase his stock of knowledge, he appears before Jesus, and in language the nfost courteous addresses Him as the " teacher come from God." In His reply to this very flattering reference to Himself, Jesus dis- covGis His wonderful knowledge of human needs, and with an authority that cannot be set aside He announces the principle of a new life as the absolute both in science and religion. "And said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom cf God." Startled, and no doubt disappointed, Nicodemus attempts to philosophize upon this strange statement, and in bewilderment asks, " How can these things be." In reply, Jesus refers him to a fact in nature around which gathers mystery impossible for the philosopher to ■pw fi n ^m .1 '•:!:! >;! i : i\ H !' I I -•i>. ; ,iij .| 120 THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE penetrate, but the effects of which were visible to the most casual observer, and then, in the language of the text, reaffirms the principle He had announced, and insists upon its possession and experience. "Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye must be born again." This principle of a new life constitutes the central idea in the system of Jesus Christ, by which He pro- poses to save and restore the race, and into the merits of this principle, both as a point of entrance and departure, we now inter. d to look. This principle of a new life is an absolute necessity, as it affords an entrance into the most important mysteries of life designated by Jesus the Kingdom of God. Two reasons support this position, and they are furnished by Jesus Himself, and both are implied in the text : 1. Because this change is life. This is what imparts value to it. It is a new life,'and the mode of entrance into it 13 defined, being born again. This new life is spiritual and effects the inner man, and it works from the centre to the circumference of his being. The absolute necessity of its experience will appear if we consider three aspects of its character as life : (1) It implies "Activity;" (2) It implies "Energy;" (3) It implies " Ability." These phases of its character indicate its value and necessity to its possessor. They point to internal elements of power which noth- ing else can confer. Activity is opposed to stagnation. Viewed in the light of its effects nothing produces such activity as does this life. It wakes up the man and «^W!I!-.'I»-' THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. 121 the community, and creates a commotion peculiar to itself tending to action that " turns the world upside down." Energy is another form of this life, and may be seen in its overcoming resistance. It is the dyna- mial force in the spiritual life, and by it the child of God resists and overcomes. As ability, this life im- plies the possession of a power to use this force in preserving and perfecting this life. Hence, the man who possesses this life steps into the kingdom of mystery, and with a power and enlightenment that is supernatural, he sees and surveys the Kingdom of God. 2. Because this change is the condition of entrance into these mysteries ; therefore, he who does not com- ply can neither enter nor see. No wonder Jesus emphasizes the statement and says, " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be bom again. " What is it that compliance with this condition affords an entrance into. It is the Kingdom of God. This is the dominion over which God presides, and in which He rules. In its wider sense it is comprised in the natural and supernatural. This is a vast domain, and one full of mystery the most interesting and difficult to unfold. This kingdom, made up as it is of the natural and the spiritual, is a perfect whole, and with both aspects of this domain the man that is born again has to do. In explaining its mysteries, defining its terms, expounding its laws, and interpreting its language, both science and theology have to do. In this kingdom God is the fountain of all knowledge. He has originated it, directs its movements, and He t ! '.! ■I i !■ If T .="1 122 THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE alone can safely and correctly explain them. This kingdom is a realm of riches and wonders, and all declare the glory of God. Here God is the dispenser of the riches, and the revealer of the secrets. Hence to have these things imparted to us we must be born again. What is the privilege which the new birth teaches ? This privilege is threefold: (1) It is entrance; (2) It is vision ; (8) It is knowledge. He enters, he sees, and knows. To these facts of privilege the apostle refers when he says, " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. " And here I hold that there is a revelation made, and aid afforded in science as v/ell as in theology to them that love Him, that is not afforded to any one else. " But God hath revealed thewi unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." See how Go^ helped the artificers in the work of the tabernacle (Exodus xxi. 1-11), and in the same way He can help the scientist in his exploration of the facts of Nature, and the babe in Christ in his understanding and grasping the facts of the higher life. But in the case of both they must be born again. This is what constitutes the marvellous disparity between the man that is born again and the sceptic. The one sees and knows because he enters, the other cannot see and therefore does not know be- cause he does not enter. As a result, the allegations of science, falsely so called, are constantly asking, THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. 123 This kd all ppenser ' Hence k born " How can these things be ? " And when it cannot understand, because it will not come to learn of the " Me, " it asserts that the spiritual is a delusion, and thus, with its rushlight in the outer darkness, pro- poses to account for things in its own way, and when its conclusions are disputed it raises a war with religion, and brands it as a bar to a correct knowledge of science. But, notwithstanding, Jesus insists upon it as an experience, and the testimony of such men as Sir William Dawson, Dr. Withrow, Dr. Dallinger, and the ex-President of the British Science Association, and many others whom we could mention, concurs with Christ that a new life is a necessity to a correct understanding of the facts of science as well as the attainment of the higher life. Hence, these men indorse the principle of a new life, and agree with Jesus in saying, " Ye must be born again." What is the cause of the war between the so-called scientist and the Bible as the text-book of theology ? 1. A number of those systems of theology which profess to interpret the Bible are false, and con- sequently not in harmony with the Bible. Therefore these misrepresentations of Divine truth are seized by the sceptic and charged to the Bible. 2. Again, the principle is lacking which is asserted by Jesus to be necessary to a correct understanding of the natural as well as the spiritual. Put these scientific croakers side by side with the men whose names I have mentioned — men who, though Sauls among the scientists, head and shoulders taller than 'I 124 THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE 1' •• ^ I! ' ! ,. j: • ' i '•■■■- ' I % yn I 'I '-i ... I 'ii.i the tallest, yet modestly bat positively assert that to a correct understanding of the facts of Nature it is necessary to be born again. Therefore the principle of a new life is an absolute necessity to correctly understand the natural facts, as well as to participate in the higher experience, of the Kingdom of God. Again, this principle of a new life is an absolute necessity because it imparts a power which notliing else can impart but itself. This constitutes the spiritual science by which the soul that is born again " sinneth not " (1 John iii. 6, 9, 10), and becomes the point of departure in those activities necessary to the nurture of its own life to that point of experience where the blood cleanses from all sin, and the soul realizes the maturity of spiritual life where " the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." Between these two points power is needed, and this new life through an indwelling Spirit supplies that power. This power manifests itself in the following forms, and in these forms the Holy Spirit supplies the power through the life :— 1. It imparts the power of self-restraint. Unsaved men are off the track, out of their orHt, and their lives are a go-as-you-please sort of thing. The man born again is saved and restored, with power put into his hands to restrain and control his movements in accord with the law of God. Therefore he does not go beyond the bounds, but keeps within the limits of the divine enclosure. John Nelson's experience is a -^v T,«*;fi .i^'/rt^..^' THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. 125 beautiful illustration of this fact, who, when the scoundrel spat in his face while preaching; says, " I felt a force come into my arm, and the hand instinctively closed to fell the fellow," but instantly he restrains himself and falls upon his knees to pray that the coward may be convicted and converted. 2. It imparts the power to overcome temptations. In this case we have a forceful illustration in the history of Joseph — when he was assailed by a powerful temptation, he asks, "How can I do this great wicked- ness and sin against God ?" He was tried but endured and conquered. He had the power and resisted. 3. It imparts the power to forgive injuries. Jesus says, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." This is the model of action, and where the new life is enjoyed it is applied and practised, and the martyr Stephen is an example of its possibility. "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge " (Acts vii. 59, 60). 4. It imparts the power to obey and keep the Divine commands. Of which Abraham in his offering up of Isaac is one of the most sublime and pathetic illustra- trations furnished, in which promptness and fidelity blend, making it a perfect act (Gen. xxii. 13). Here is a power which operates within the domain of the spiritual, and discovers an ability that qualifies its possessor to sustain a correct relation to the law and government of God. Hence John is correct when he .'I . ill r , ■'■« I !>l !^. i-'lj. i 126 THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE says, " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for His seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God " (1 John iii. 9). This principle of a new life is an absolute necessity to the true prosperity of the world, and the legitimate development of its resources. This is certainly affirm- ing a great deal, but nothing more than the facts warrant us in expecting. The reasons for this position are as follows : — 1. Because it gives man his right place in the world. Man is out of his orbit, and hence no power in the universe can replace him but the power of a new life. Other powers have tried but failed. 2. Because ii constitutes him the safe custodian of all the instruments of the world's prosperity and pro- gress. 3. Because it affiliates him by a proper relation to all its grandest possibilities. 4. Because it enables him to invest capital that enriches future generations. Nowhere have we a more luminous illustration than in the missionary movement. Civilization has tried its powers and introduced its instruments, but they have miserably failed. But John Hunt went to Fejee, Dr. Moffat and the Shaws to South Africa, Judson and Carey to India, the Moravians to Greenland, Williams to Patagonia, and Case, Evans and George McDougall to the Indians of our own land. Resuits — Look at the monument which these men by a new life have raised and you will see. THE ABSOLUTE IN RELIGION. 127 Again, we affirm that this principle of a new life is an absolute necessity in order to alleviate the misery of the world and to mitigate its evils by the destruc- tion of human selfishness. Selfishness is the bane of happiness and progress, and it lies at the root of the world's ills and misery. But, " If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." Hence this new creation works out the above result, as the subjoined reasons prove : — 1. Because it correctly defines human relations. "No man liveth to himself," therefore the law of mutual dependence and reciprocal influence has its grandest illustration in the new life. 2. Because it develops and directs intelligent sympathies. " Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." " Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another." 3. Because it imparts correct views of the uses of property. It not only acknowledges the owner but admits his claims. It says, " The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." 4. Because it secures returns and realizes results that abide. Here you have the grandest possible illustration of the death of Christ, and in it the greatest benediction possible for the world to receive. As an illustration of the entire argument of this principle working out the great problem of life, I would refer to the following : — On the Ohio and Baltimore Rail- (!! i'f. II J I ! 128 THE PRINCIPLE OF A NEW LIFE "I ■ ■ ' 1 ■'•> ; ! i.-^i- V '-^^ life 1 '1^ road there lived a widowed lady and her daughter. The husband and father had lost his life by an accident on the road some years previously. The mother and daughter lived in a shanty on the bounds of the track near where the road crossed an immense gorge. This gorge A'as spanned by a bridge of trestle work. In the month of December of the year we now speak, a sudden thaw took place, accompanied by an unusually heavy rainfall. On the morning of the 24th of December the thaw set in, and by evening the water in the gorge had swollen into the dimensions of a torrent. About 11 o'clock in the evening, as this lonely couple were retiring to rest, Janet said to her mother, " Mother, would it not be awful if the bridge should give way," and scarcely were the words uttered when a heavy rumbling crash told that the thing was done. The midnight express from Baltimore in the Christian system, the pole star in the, Christian life, the bridge that spans the mighty chasm between a world con- demned and a world where the sunshine of Divine favor streams forth with undimmed splendor to gladden the hearts of the redeemed. Let us be faithful to this theme. It is not by might, not by power, not by miracles, not by wealth, not by argument, not by eloquence, but by the preaching of Christ crucified, and " by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." IV. THAT god's remedy DOES NOT IGNORE MAN'S FREE AGENCY. The excellency of the remedy does not guarantee its reception, hence — 1. To the Jew it was a stnmhling-hlock. They thought Christ would be the descendant of royalty, ( m HI It it**' "iil ' 142 WORLDLY WISDOM vevSUS THE GOSPEL. -1 1 ■ Ill* ^n4 n ■ flH : but He was the reputed carpenter's son. They thought He would have issued from the palace at the metropolis, but He came forth from the stable, from the humble village of Bethelem. They reckoned He would set Himself in opposition to Caesar, and free them from a foreign yoke, but He sent to the mouth of a fish for the tribute money, rather than give offence by non- payment. They thought He would be arrayed in pomp, and splendor, and attended with a grand escort, but He appeared in humble attire, and was followed by taxgathers, tentmakers, ar ^ fishermen. They thought He would commend self to universal approval, and command a general sympathy to help Him in setting up His kingdom, but He denounced the heaviest woes against the hypocrisy and rapacity of the scribes and Pharisees, and by His life of self- sacrifice and illustrious virtue, pronounced sentence of continual condemnation upon their creed and practice. They thought He would subdue both His enemies and theirs ; make all His opponents to lick the dust, and, however unwillingly, to help forward His grand designs ; but He was taken and subjected to the most cruel, as it was the most disgraceful, death. The Pharisees thought good works and scrupulous exact- ness in attending to the ceremonials of religion were going to secure them Divine favor ; He taught salva- tion to be in no other way than faith in the Son of God. The Sadducees entertained doctrines contrary to the existence of angels, the immortality of the soul, or the resurrection of the body. Christ taught the ex- WORLDLY WISDOM VersuS THE GOSPEL. 143 istence of the angels, the resurrection of the body, and the immortality of the soul. Hence, as He frustrated all their calculations and confounded their thcorizings, instead of building on Him as as the sure foundation, they despised and rejected Him, joined His murderers in condemning Him to death, imprecated His blood to rest upon them and their children, and, having thus stumbled and fallen for the past eighteen centuries, they have been weltering in their blood, and exhibit- ing their scars and woands as a gazing-stock to the world. 2. To the Greeks fooliahnesa. To trust for salvation to one who did not save Him- sel|^? How it could be consistent to punish an inno- cent person, and accept His sufferings as a means of pardoning the guilty, and those who deserved to suf- fer ? How sin should be hereditary, and so the offence of one man make all sinners ? How God should be sovereign in His actions, and yet man be a free agent ? How Jehovah could be just and yet the justifier of the ungodly ? How Christ should be equal with God and yet the son of David ? How faith should be the instrumental cause of salvation, and neither reason nor good works, transcended their powers fully to comprehend; hence they designated them "foolish- ness," and rejected them as unworthy of their regard. But, brethren, in whatever light it may be contem- plated by the worldly-minded Jew, or polished Greek, it is 144 WORLDLY WISDOM verSUS THE GOSPEL. I Mt^ ■ ■ i 6: , '■:^; 1 < I ! ! i 3. To them who are called the power of God and the wisdom of God. Those who bave heard God's remedy proclaimed, accepted it, believed, trusted, and obeyed its require- ments, are styled the " called." Those who see that a subject presents certain aspects of mystery, and yet fail to construe that into a reason for its rejection — those who take the remedy as God-originated, and therefore perfect — those who, instead of looking for something better, make a ready trial of this — those who neither look for a sign, nor seek after wisdom, but embrace the gospel in the love of it, — these are the "called," etc. To these it is the power of God and the wisdotn of God, First, — The power of God. The power of God, mak- ing that perfect which the law had left incomplete. Lifting man's soul from the pit of miry clay, and plac- ing him upon the rock Christ Jesus. The power of God, calming the upheaving of man's troubled breast, and giving him peace that passeth all understanding. The power of God, sustaining man amidst earth's rudest tempest, and enabling him to sing the con- queror's song, when he has to battle with the last foe. The power of God, doing battle with man's greatest, fiercest foes, and working out a complete redemption for the race. The power of God, in wound- ing and healing, breaking down and building up, killing and making alive, penetrating the deepest darkness, melting the heart of adamant, raising the morally dead into a new life. The power of God, triumphing WORLDLY WISDOM VeVSUS THE GOSPEL. 145 over the fiercest opposition, the corruption of the human heart, the leajjued power of empires, the pol- ished shafts of perverted intellect, the combined agency of earth and hell. Christ the power of God, and Secondly, — Christ "the wisdom of God." Christ the wisdom of- God, harmonizing, like the varied colors in the rainbow, the attributes of Deity in the grand scheme of saving mercy. The wisdom of God, making mercy and truth to meet together, righteous- ness and peace to kiss each other. The wisdom of God, showing how God can exercise His prerogative to pardon and let the guilty culprit go free. The wisdom of God, showing how He can sustain the laws of His moral government, and yet avert the stroke of His wrath from the head of the daring offender. The wisdom of God, in obviating the difficulties which oppose man's salvation; the wisdom of God, in the adaptation of means for the attainment of human salvation, viz., the sacrifice of Christ, the preaching of His truth, and the special agency oE the Holy Ghost. The wisdom of God, in the appointment of the conditions on which salvation is suspended, and in the selection of instruments, ordained to make known the laws of reconciliation between the Sove- reign of the Universe and a rebel race. Earthly philosophy never smoothed the dying pillow, human wisdom never gave man peace in prospect of meeting a Holy God. All the learning of the Greeks never gave peace to a guilty conscience. If ever this is effected, it must be in God's way, by God's remedy, by 10 Itr- 146 WORLDLY WISDOM VersUS THE GOSPEL. ! the preaching of the. Cross of Christ. Christ is both the wisdom of God, and the power of God. The preaching of His cross hath changed the savage into the humble disciple of Jesus ; converted the persecutor into the preacher ; the servant of the devil into the servant of God ; the child of perdition into an heir of glory. Under the various calamities of life it hath imparted contentment and peace ; beneath the pressure of sorrow it hath administered the richest consolation ; and in the hour of death it hath lifted up the fainting spirit, and shed on its departure a gleam of celestial glory. " Happy, if with my latest breath I may but gasp His name, Preach Him to all, and cry in death, Behold, behold the Lamb," My hearer, what is Christ to you ? Is he precious to your soul ? Do you believe in His Divinity ? Is he to you the power of God ? Is he to you the wis- dom of God ? Are you relying on His Atonement ? Do you glory in His Cross ? IX. DAVID'S AFFECTION FOE THE HOUSE OF GOD. BY REV. W. A. STRONGMAN, M.A., LL.B., Ph.D., Dundalk. "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honor dwelleth." — Psalm xxvi. 8. IT would be at once presumptuous and imprudent in us to expect to pass through life in circumstances very different from those which usually fall to the lot of man, because the result of our so doing could only be disappointment and vexation, proportioned to the strength of the foolish expectations we had formed. Prudence, therefore, would teach us to meet "the thousand various ills that flesh is heir to " in a proper spirit. In order to this, we may derive material assistance from our Christian friends, and learn from their counsel and encouragement how " two are better than one " for the development of religious principles and heavenly tendencies. Like travellers also, journeying over routes not hitherto trodden by our feet, it will serve a useful m H . ' '•111, ■ 'I ' i'li 148 DAVID'S AFFECTION FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. purpose to turn our gaze backward, and observe how good men of former times have conducted themselves while passing through similar scenes. By this means we discover that they sometimes derived support from the anticipation of a happy result of all their troubles (Job xxiii. 10; 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18); and that on other occasions they fortiQed their souls by reflecting on the past, and, in either case, by referring their cause to God — " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our con- science," etc. (2 Cor. i. 12) ; and similar is the ex- perience of the Psalmist, when exposed " to bloody men in whose hands were mischief," " Lord, I have loved the habitation," etc. This is the language of the highest religious ex- perience to which man's heart can bear testimony in all the great rounds of his religious bearings; for man's respect for the house of his worahip will always be commensurate with the state of his spiritual life. If very great, heightened veneration ; if very small, increased affection for the temple as well as the person of his worship. Man's religious life increases as his attendance increases, and it decreases as his absence is conspicuous. It follows from the very nature of things : to get near the heat is to come into contact with propelling, vivifying, and regenerative tendencies; to be receding from the heat is to glide into the region of chilly, enervating, and life-destroying influences. Communication with the good; the elevation of all that is upward in one's being; the helping of the tendencies that "halt between two opinions;" the DAVID'S AFFECTION FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. 149 destruction of those which halt, attracted by the fascinating allurements of Satanic device, are borne on and brought out by attendance upon the means of grace ; for he who forsakes, wantonly and carelessly, the house of God and its sacred ordinances, must necessarily develop in all tendencies that are worldly, sinful, and devilish in their character ; and he will be constant in the perpetuation of their life-destroying practicalities. The especial points to which prominence should be given in connection with this subject are : — I. THE OBJECT OF THE PSALMIST'S AFFECTION, — "THE HABITATION," ETC. II. THE REASON OF THE PSALMIST'S AFFECTION. I. The object of the Psalrrcist's affection — " the habitation" etc. — If this psalm were composed by David, as the prefix to it asserts, there can be no question as to what particular fabric his declaration refers. He means by it the tabernacle of the congre- gation, described in Exodus xxxvi., a portable building, which was carried from place to place during the journeyings of the Israelites in the wilderness, and afterwards erected in different parts of the land of promise, till at length it was fixed at Jerusalem. This tabernacle was divided into two parts or apartments — the holy place and the most holy. In the latter was the ark of the covenant, the lid or covering of which was the mercy-seat, overshadowed by the wings of the " cherubim of glory " (Heb. ix. 5). Upon this, m. If!!- mi |!»« , Iff.. ^fUV i1 'f I- >;(;• 150 DAVID'S AFFECTION FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. betweer the cherubim, the cloud of glory, or the symbol of Divine presence, appeared (Lev. xvi. 2), and from this place God communed with Moses (Exod. XXV. 22). So that the Psalmist seems to have respect principally to this as the place where Jehovah's honor or glory dwelt. But this "habitation" gave place to Solomon's temple ; and that temple was suc- ceeded by another, whose very foundations have been ploughed up in fulfilment of the Redeemer's prophecy. (Matt. xxiv. 2.) Christians, however, are not the less favoreH on this account, "for the Word was made flesh " (John i. 14). In and around the tent wherein the Lord dwelt, in the centre of the camp, there was a manifestation of the presence of God. This was the glory of that house ; but how scanty was the revelation ! A bright light — the shekinah — is said to have shone over the mercy-seat ; but the high priest only could see it once in the year, when he entered with blood within the veil. Outside, above the holy place, there was the manifest glory of the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. This sufficed to bear witness that God was there ; but still, cloud and fire are but physical appearances, and cannot convey a true appearance of God, who is a Spirit. The later revelation has the excellence of the in- dwelling of God in Christ Jesus — the glory of the only begotten of the Father, the moral and spiritual glory of the Godhead. This is to be seen, but not with the eyes ; this is to be perceived, but not by the i)AVID*S AFFECTION FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. 151 welt, in tion of of that . bright ver the it once lin the ras the and of at God (lysical nee of he in- )f the iritual it not )y the senses. This is seen and heard and known by spiritual men —by men of heart sincere, whose mental and spiritual perceptions ^are keener than those of sight and hearing. There is an abiding, steady lustre of holy, gracious, truthful character about our Lord Jesus Christ which is best seen by these who, by reason of sanctification, are made fit to discern it. The Psalmist was, moreover, limited in the fact of concentration of the place of worship ; but this limitation has been graciously set aside, and freedom and universality of worship have been accorded to man, " for neither in Jerusalem nor Gerizim," exclu- sively, shall men worship the Father. He, before all temples, prefers the upright heart and pure ; and is " where two or three " spiritual worshippers " are gathered together." If, therefore, we are so assembled, we may exclaim, " This is none other than the house of God." 1. The Paalmist regarded this object with an ardent affection. "Lord, I have loved," etc. "One thing have I desired of the Lord," etc. " A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand," etc. He thinks fit to make particular mention of it to the heart-searching God when he wished to interest Him in his favor. So we find it to have been the case with God's people in all ages. We detect the ardency of devotion in the beautifully constructed synonyms, whereby the Church and her blessedness are expressed : Assembly of the Saints; Assembly of the Upright; Body of Christ; Branch of God's planting ; Bride of Christ ; Church of m rr pi:. * it"'. if-' - 1 ""till {! I'd 152 David's affection for the house of goD. God ; Church of the Living God j Congregation of Saints ; Congregation of the Lord's Poor ; Dove ; Family in Heaven and Earth ; Flock of God ; Fold of Christ ; General Assembly of the First-born ; Golden Candlestick ; God's Building ; God's Husbandry ; God's Heritage ; Habitation of God ; Heavenly Jerusalem ; Holy City ; Holy Mountain ; Holy Hill ; House of God; House of the God of Jacob; House of Christ; Household of God ; Inheritance ; Israel of God ; King's Daughter; Lamb's Wife; Lot of God's Inheritance; Mount Zion ; Mountain of the Lord of Hosts ; Mountain of the Lord's House ; New Jerusalem ; Pillar and Ground of the Truth; Place of God's Throne ; Pleasant Portion ; Sanctuary of God ; Spouse of Christ; Strength and Glory of God ; Tabernacle ; The Lord's Portion ; Temple of God ; Triumph of the Living God ; Vine- yard. 2. The Psalmist regarded this object with a constant affection. "Lord, I have loved," formerly. But the same affection prevailed, "out of the abundance of his heart his mouth spake." He turned to the subject with pleasure. This constant affection will lead to holy usefulness. Look at Baxter ! He stained his study walls with praying breath ; and after he got anointed with the unction of thi Holy Ghost, sent a river of living water over Kidderminster, and converted hun- dreds of souls. Luther and his co-adjutors were men of such mighty pleading with God that they broke the spell of ages, and laid nations subdued at the foot of the Cross. John Knox grasped in his strong arms David's affection Foil the house of god. 153 of faith all Scotlim. «;i:^ III ill; M II i I m Tni 18b those days there had been none to rebuke — no Christ to preach a Gospel of love. It had not been revealed that all men were brethren — offspring of a common Father. Thank God that at last the days of brute force in Christendom are comparatively over, and almost in every land beneath the sun are being heard the words, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Again, our text has struck a valiant blow at the reign of gold. There was a time when gold was more valued than life and liberty; when we valued men and nations by what we could make out of them in hard cash ; when Christian England could send out midnight marauders to steal wives from their sleeping husbands, and tear children from their mother's besoms, and sell them for foreigner's gold. Yes, not only the Lion, but the Eagle of this continent valued gold more than her boasted liberty. But thank God, the death- knell of such barbarism has been tolled by the clarion tones of our text. Africa, though of a darker com- plexion, is a neighbor. Thou England, and thou America, shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And it was this principle which freed every slave beneath Britain's flag. Again, the principle of this text is fast destroying the reign of cunning. God has made some men sharper than others. Some men have all the cunning of the fox. Christ met them in His day. Woe be to any less cunning ! They will bleed him as surely as any leech. Such men find out your weak spot, and having found it, leave you more helpless than before. You have LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR. 173 found men of this kind in all callings — in the work- shops in the markets, in the stores, and now and then in the portals of the church. But I ask you to observe that such men are becom- ing less numerous. They are to-day the exception. We find them only here and there. How is it that the human foxes, who live on the misfortunes of humanity, are becoming scarce ? I believe, as I live, chat the reason is because of the sentiment of human brotherhood as disseminated by the religion of the Bible. I believe Christianity has created an atmos- phere too transparent for such gentlemen to breathe in. Such men breathe freely only in the vile atmos- phere of hate, envy, malice, slander, and double deal- ing. " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," is a ban against such, dispositions, and has the tendency to banish them from all Christian communities. Notice, agcin, that the love enjoined in oui text is fast cutting down those false distinctions between man and man, called class, or social, distinctions. Whatever separates men into unsympathetic classes and aristocratic cliques, is a:u enemy to our common brotherhood. Of course, I refer to such cliques as shut themselves up in a little artificial world of their own, excluding the real world, with its sorrows and claims and wants. You may be fond of music. Another may be fond of music. Having mutual tastes, you associate. Soon another of musical tastes joins your company ; and then another, and another, and so on, till you have a 0H fix '\ li J ^ftti I «i! lUi ... hi f4 V ■I ■;■ I, m ^^! ■i I'' ii !l 174 LOVING. YOUR NEIGHBOR. little society, all having a love of music. That kind of association is all right. But suppose you treat with disdain all who do not belong to your set ; sup- posJe you refuse to recognize them as fellow- beings, having sacred claims on you, — then you are commit- ting sin. You have no right to live and move and have your being surrounded with congenial friends, and shut out common humanity. By doing so you set up a false barrier between yourself and your brother-man. But, says one, there are churches in this city exist- ing on that very principle — churches that live in their little church world, and leave all outside to get on as best they can. We reply, if there is such a church in this city it is spurious, and at the day of judgment Christ will spew it out of His'mouth. I rejoice, how- ever, that such churches and such false sov'iial distinc- tions are fast disappearing. This is not done by loud opposition, or the thunder of revolution, or the dyna- mite of Nihilism, but purely by the silent working of that love of our neighbor spoken of in the text. Love is bringing us closer to God, and hence closer to one another, in spite of difference of taste, in spite of difference of birth, or of education, or creed, or wealth. Love is indeed irresistible ! Nailed to the cross, baptized in blood, scorched in fire, tortured on the rack, tried by the ages, it stands to-day just burst- ing into lull glory and fruition. For this the blood of Christ was shed. For this the fires of the martyrs were lit. For this rivers of blood have flowed, and earth's mightiest heroes died ! LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR. 175 Notice, lastly, the teaching of love to our neighbor in relation to the poor. And let me tell you that for every eleven hundred throughout the world, only two are rich. So that cl. majority of mankind are poor. By the poor I mean those honestly poor — poverty caused by climate and by soil. In countries where the winter lasts eight months, men cannot get rich ; most of them are poor. Under vicious government, like *-hf*^' of the Soudan, though the land may be as fertile as the Garden of Eden, men cannot be anything but poor. And even the present system of hereditary monopoly in Great Britain must and does leave the great bulk of the people in struggling poverty. What- ever the causes have been, poor men are, and always have been, most numerous. But how has Christianity met the problem ? She has raised up institutions to alleviate this poverty — not in the spirit of pagan charity, not in the spirit which flings a bone at a hungry dog, but purely in the spirit of our text, of human brotherhood— that of love. In addition to meeting the immediate wants of the poor, Christianity is creating an unrest in all civilized society. And this unrest is giving birth to such forces as shall ultimately blot out all poverty that is not the result of the Providence of God Himself. Without adopting the scheme of Henry George, with- out endorsing the scholarly and yet more radical views of Herbert Spencer, without sympathizing with the bitter spirit of Carlyle's " Past and Present," we can all say, that much of the poverty of man is bis m I I m III if J -r %4 Ml Li I' II y 1^1 176 LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR. own fault, and not intended of God. Such poverty- shall some day disappear, but by no less radical a method than that indicated in our text. Before those words were spoken the poor was the slave of the rich. He could be sold (I was going to say, body and soul) for his debts. Now the honestly poor man reaches out his hands to his fellow and says, " Give me of your gold, for I am hungry, and tired, and sick, and have no food, no bed, no nurse." He claims this, not as a charity, but by a divine right. I dislike to hear men of the last-mentioned class called, indiscriminately, beggars or tramps. Men whose only crime is want of work, or sickness of body. The only tramps are they whom the Bible calls sluggards, who are continually waiting for something to turn up; who lie beneath the Tree of Life expecting the branches to stoop and drop ripe fruit into their mouths. There are some people who think tliat men ought never to need help, and that when they get poor it is their own fault. This is plainly an excuse to escape inconvenience. It is inconvenient for them to help the poor, and so they tell you there should be no poor. It is inconvenient for them to visit the sick, and they will tell you that if people took proper care of them- selves there would be no sick. You never find such people comforting the dying. They never encourage the despondent. Their whole religion is self, self, SELF. Their neighbor is no dearer to them than their neigh- bor's dog. Only God's mercy, higher than heaven, and deeper than the pit, can save them. '~1 m XI. CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. such BY REV. F. E. NUGENT, Lucknow. {A paper read before the Guelph Ministerial Association, April 6th, 1885.) IT may be well, at the outset, to understand what is meant by the title given to this paper , and, con- corning this, let me say, I wish to be understood as meaning " iinvmortality of soul in consequence of, and only in consequence of, faith in the atonement of, or made by, Jesus Christ." This view of our nature and its relation to futurity is being advocated, we think, by some, with more zeal than knowledge, and with some danger to the interests of spiritual well-being, and it becomes us as teachers of truth and verity to know whereof we speak. I find upon enquiry that t^he conception that " im- mortality does not inhere in our nature " is not new, but has had a place in the thinking of men for many generations. But I also find that much of the reason- ing resorted to in support of the conception is drawn from those sources that cannot, in the very nature of things, be beyond the region of doubt. Physical 12 If !«l' % 178 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. science is mainly depended upon for information in relation to the matter, and if science is capable of giving reliable information here, then revelation . may no longer speak with authority. But is it not a fact that revelation must have the first place in leading us to a correct conclusion upon this important sub- ject? Our position is that immortality was the state to which our race was first introduced. Physical immortality was Adam's possession upon one condition, " Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden," and had this con- dition been met, death, in any sense, could not have en- dangered him ; for it was said, " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Now, in order to understand what restraining in- fluence this penalty would have upon Adam, it is necessary to know, as nearly as may be, what he would understand by the term death. And here it is not important whether God spoke in the Hebrew language or not. What we want to know is, how would Adam understand his relation to this new creation to be affected by a violation of the interdiction laid upon him ? Mr. Roberts, in his book on " Christendom Astray," says, " God had made him a living soul, and said, ' In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,' or, thou shalt become as though thou hadst not been. . . . Adam is prohibited from touching a certain tree in the midst of the garden, not because CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 179 lation in ,pable of ion may ot a fact leading ant sub- state to on upon it of the ;his con- have en- lat thou aing in- na, it is ^hat he ere it is Hebrew is, how is new diction stray," id, 'In surely :1st not ling a ecause the tree was intrinsically bad, or that there was any sin in the act itself, apart from the interdict, but because such a prohibition, in the circumstances, was the simplest and most convenient mode of educating him in regard to his relations to the Almighty. . . . The command was broken, and the consequence was most disastrous to the Elohim-imaged man. Adam, originally created with a view to a possible immortality, was doomed to return to his original nothingness, and there and then commenced that process of physical decay which terminates all in death. . . . ' Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ?' " The answer is simple. Mr. Roberts says, " He is nowhere. ' The dust has returned to the earth as it was, and the life — spirit — has returned to God who gave it.' ' Will he live again V ' Sinc^e by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.' It was the peculiar mission of Christ to bring this truth to light — ' He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' He came not simply to reinfuse spiritual vigor into the deadened moral natures of men, but to open up a way of deliverance from the physical law of death, which is sweeping them into the grave, and keeping them there. He came, in fact, to raise men's bodies — which are the men themselves — from the pit of corruption, and endow them, if accepted, with in- corruptibility ^nd immortality." Such is the presentation of doctrine which we aim at refuting, and it will be seen at once that very much depends upon what is understood by the terms life II A .' Nil 180 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. I I and death, as used in Scripture and as applied to man. If by life nothing more is intended than that which enables us to employ our physical powers, and death is only a cessation of physical being, then the argu- ment is reduced to very narrow limits ; but if it be found that life means something more than mere ex- istence, and death more than a cessation of organized functional life, then the field for investigation is en- larged beyond the sphere of human observation, and we must be guided by something more far-reaching than human philosophy. There is one very comfort- ing circumstance in connection with this discussion — i.e., the Bible is acknowledged as the source of authority by the parties who differ. Now, as the Bible is one and. its Author one, may we not hope to find a satis- factory answer to all our enquiries^ in connection therewith ? That the Bible speaks of life and death as being sanctioned by the laws of our Creator, and as having the approbation of the laws of His love, will not be denied. We come, then, to ask, " What is that life with which man is endowed, and that death with which he is threatened, as a creature of God and accountable to Him for his conduct ?" Let it be distinctly understood that this is not a question of superiority of human intellect over animal instinct ; is not a question of the happiness of departed saints. It is a question of how that happiness is procured and then secured. Or, would happiness CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 181 I !■?« beyond this life have been the experience of any ? Would life have continued beyond but for a belief in the incarnation and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ? In the creation of man we find that he became a " living soul " after his Maker had breathed into him the " breath of lives." And as I read this in the light of revelation and science, the meaning is : Man the material, and man the spiritual, stood up " in the image and likeness of his Maker," with a material body and a spiritual body. Paul says, " There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body." Now, the word " lives " here seems to be employed for this purpose, to indicate clearly the nature we possess — a living material organism and a living spiritual organ- ism — and the word " life " has its meaning determined by the organism to which it is applied. Applied to the material it has not the same significance that it has when applied to the spiritual ; just as the word " house " does not signify the same thing as applied in the House of Hanover and the House of Parliament ; neither do the same laws apply to those Houses that may apply to an ordinary dwelling house. And, in in our opinion, much of the apparent disagreement that obtains arises from this cause. Words having a variety of signification are used according to the wish of the individual who employs them. Thus the term " spiritual life," as used by Professor Drummond, leads at once to conclusions at variance with his own views, and those of orthodox people in general. The 4; ii % i Hi.., ' m ♦■in. mt; »il iri .ii< ll ^i il I i 182 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. assumption of his book is, that there is a spiritual life as distinct from ordinary animal or vegetable life as either of them is from the mere existence of inert matter; and that, as a stone cannot be supposed capable of growing more and more like a plant or animal, or more and more living, until it finally reaches full vitality, so a man cannot be supposed capable of growing better and better, or more and more " spiritual," until pt last he reaches " spiritual life ; " and the words of Scripture are taken as literal and exact, and " spiritual life " is the " gift " of God. Furthermore, he quotes, " Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." From which two propositions, taken together, as they should be> it follows that if a man does not receive the " gift " of God he cannot inherit eternal life. But if the attainment of spiritual life is not within the power of man — if a human being can no more reach it unaided than a particle of carbon can, unaided, bring itself into connection with a living organism and become itself living — if a man is as helpless in becoming living, in this new sense, as is the unborn babe in the natural sense, then it follows that he is not accountable for the non-attainment of that spiritual life over which he had no control : which conclusion is contrary to the declared belief of Professor Drummond and every one else, all of whom hold that eternal death is the proper punishment of those who do not attain to eternal life. Now, what are some of the facts in connection with CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 183 ■■1 Itual life 3 life as of inert upposed plant or reaches capable d more %\\iie;" iral and )f God. n again I which mid be. "gift" if the 5wer of maided 3lf into itself mg, in latural ble for which to the every is the lin to with man's nature as seen in his life and death ? Man is a complex being. He has a body and he has a soul, neither of which is man without the other, yet the two are different and distinct in nature and in existence. The soul may be left in Hades, whilst the body, whether in the grave or out of it, may see corruption. The soul and body are mutually dep'endent. The body cannot act upon things around it except under the guidance of the soul, and the soul cannot act on things around except by means of the body. But the two are not equally dependent. The body has no conscious- ness of its own. Its peculiar life corresponds to the process of vegetation. The soul is the thinking, con- scious being — the higher, the personal element in the complex man. It is superior to the body, which it controls and uses, and which it can present as a living sacrifice unto God. Regarded alone it is not the whole of human nature, and therefore is not the perfect man. But it is perfectly conscious and responsible. Though dependent upon the body for its communication with the outer world, the soul has a distinct existence and separate action. The body changes, decays, and is replaced ; but the conscious self abides. Surrounding objects, directly or indirectly, affect the nervous mechanism, and the soul perceives the effects, compares, classifies, and interprets them. Sensations belong to the passing moment. A sensation in the past, or in the future, is impossible. Sensation in itself must be one and simple. It may be the combination of a thousand effects produced by means of an eye and ear, ■« .' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ ^/^ ^^% ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 l^|2£ |2.5 150 "^^ III^H ■^ IM 12.2 MX 134 ^ li£ 112.0 U III 1.6 6" V] 0^ ^^/' '> ^>. Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO (716)872-4503 fi % !^ 184 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITl. of touch and taste ; but the result for every moment is one and not many ; the whole physical organism has at every moment its environment inducing a corres- ponding state in the organization. But the soul analyses this state, distributes it into its thousand details, and distinguishes the several elementary sensa- tions. From a full jhoral harmony it selects an indi- vidual voice, and follows it alone through all its wanderings; or in the harsh discord it detects the erring note and silently substitutes the true. These are facts of mental science which materialism can neither deny nor explain. Materialism professes to note the relation between mental states and physical phenomena, but it can know nothing of either, and even less of their correlation, except by appealing to the conscious soul; and the same consciousness which attests the correlation equally attests the distinctive- ness and the separateness of the soul's action. Material- ism cannot account for the experience of the paralytic. "I tried to stand, but I could not," is fatal to every theory which would deny to the conscious self an existence and a power distinct from that of the body with which it is in union. This same conclusion must inevitably follow from the facts of moral consciousness. Accountability implies freedom. In order to be free, the soul must be in its nature absolutely above all law as to force, though not as to responsibility. If its acts were determined for it by any laws from without, or from within, or by the power of God Himself, all moral CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 185 distinctions would cease. Transorression would be an impossibility. Right and wrong, sin and retribution, could have no meaning. With the loss of this con- sciousness of separateness in the presence of all other existence, our personality itself would end. All these considerations, physical, mental and moral, show that man, as a complex being, must not be com- pared to water (as Mr. Roberts does compare him), which, being composed of two elements, is itself neither, but a resultant differing in properties from both. In him the elements retain their characteristics. It is not enough to say that he is a complex being, consisting partly of spirit and partly of matter, one in personality, and without confusion of natures. He is a self-con- scious, accountable agent, existing in union with a material organism which has no consciousness of its own, but which serves as an instrument and medium of communication with the material world. This conscious self, which we call soul, has all its relations to the world determined by the body. It is evident, therefore, that so long as this union between soul and body is maintained, it is equally correct to say that man lives in relation to his fellow-man, or that the soul lives man-ward. He is at -"home in the body," but so soon as this union ceases, and he is " absent from the body," man's fellowship with his fel- low-man is at an end. In respect to this world he dies : he soon returns to dust. It was in virtue of the material body that he was a man among men, sustain- ng relationships and fulfilling obligations ; and now 186 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. I 13 that the body is gone, the man, to all earthly appear- ance, has gone to nothing, and this is bodily death — the cessation of union and fellowship consequent upon the separation of soul and body. But does this sepa- ration end all ? If so, why are we not justified in fol- lowing the inclination of natural appetites — " Let us eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die." Ac- cording to Mr. Roberts, the body being the man, when the body dies all is gone into the grave, and will remain there until the morning of the resurrection, when he will com3 forth and be adjudged worthy of eternal life or death. But is it not a fact that only one of the " lives " of man has been affected by this death ? The man, material, is dead, but is the man, spiritual, dead also ? Our answer is. No ; unless it can be shown that man, as a race, has obtained less by the coming of the second Adam than that he lost by the fall of the first Adam. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive ;" not by any act of faith in them, but by the coming of the second Adam. By Him was life and immortality brought to light ; not by a belief in Him. Hence spirit-life is natural to the race — the race being made to live in Him. Now* this life, natural, of the soul must not be confounded with '• spiritual life " as set forth in the Scriptures, and which is begotten in us by faith in Christ Jesus — which life is referred to in the conversation with Nicodemus. "That which is born of the spirit is spirit/' It is in the nature of the body to die, and it is the nature of the spirit to live, and by grace to pass Si CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 187 from one degree of development to another, even while in connection with the body, until it become " perfect even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect." But I will be met just here by " conditional immor- ality " men — Taylor, Roberts, White, and others — with this objection : " Death was to be the coiisequence of Adam's disobedience when God created him, and the death threatened can be opposed only to that life which was given him." To this it has been replied : " True, but how are you assured that God, when He created him, did not give him spirit-life as well as animal life ?" President Ed- wards says : " It is true death is opposed to life, and must be understood according to the nature of that life to which it is opposed." But does it therefore fol- low that nothing can be meant by it but the loss of animal life? Misery is opposed to happiness, and sorrow is, in Scripture, often opposed to joy ; but can we conclude from thence, that nothing is meant in Scripture by sorrow but the loss of joy, or that there is no more in misery than the loss or absence of hap- piness. And if the death threatened to Adam can with certainty be opposed only to the life given to ^»iam when God created him, I think a state of per- fect, perpetual, and hopeless misery is properly opposed to that state Adam was in when God created him. Nothing is more manifest than that it is agreeable to a very common acceptation of the word "life" in Scripture, that it be understood as signifying a state of excellent and happy existence. Now that which is I'i 188 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. opposed to that life and state in which Adam was created, is a state of totally confirmed wickedness, and perfectly hopeless misery, under the Divine displeasure and curse ; not excluding temporal death, or the de- struction of the body as an introduction to it. Where- fore " it is not all of death to die." The term "life " is used to indicate a state,a condition, as well as being, existing — thus intellectual, moral, and spiritual life; and " death " is used to denote the opposite of life in any and all of these senses; there- fore, as in the case of the word " life, " its meaning must be determined by the nature or state to which it is applied. Death, spiritually, does not mean loss of consciousness ; if so, it must do something more than stand on the opposite of " life spiritual," because the terms here are not used to denote being, existence, but a " state. " " Life," a state of pleasure, happiness ; and " death, " a state of misery, woe. "Dead in tres- passes and in sins," cannot mean anything more than not in Christ — i.e., it describes the sinner's condition, not his nature. His nature is to live — as in the case of the rich man — but his condition is the opposite of that happiness which is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. " Yes, but, " the objector continues, " the death that was to come on Adam, as the punishment of his disobedience, was opposed to that life which he would have had as the reward of his obedience in case he had not sinned." Obedience and disobedience are contraries; the CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 189 threatenings and promises, which are sanctions of law, are set in direct opposition, and the promised rewards and threatened punishments are most properly taken as each other's opposites. But none will deny that the " life " which would have been Adam's reward, if he had persisted in obedience, was " eternal life," and, therefore, we argue justly that the death which stands opposed to that life is manifestly " eternal death" — a death widely different from the death we now die. It is objected, again, that those punitive words, " perish," destruction" and " death," in the Bible, indicate the utter destruction and annihilation of the life principle, and therefore contradict the doctrine that the mind is immortal. The objector claims that when it is said, " Except ye repent, ye shall all like- wise perish," and, " That the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction," and also, " The soul that sinneth it shall die," and other kindred passages, it is therefore understood that they will cease to exist — be extinguished. This would, indeed, upset our doctrine of the soul's immortality by the will of God. But do the passages teach such a doctrine ? Do the words contain any such breadth of meaning ? No one will contend it is necessarily deduced from any philological analysis of them. We have a short method, then, to take with the objection, and which will show how mistaken are his interpretations, and how groundless lis assumptions : — "Lord save us, we perish," said tie disciples, when 11 i: I m 190 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. ' trembling in apprehension, not of annihilation, but of drowning. " It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem," means nothing more, certainly, than being put to death. The prodigal exclaims, " I perish with hunger." Our fastidious objector will hardly make more out of this than that the prodigal was in danger of dying of hunger. Still less reason is there for supposing that the punishment of death implies the annihilation of the condemned ; for, " Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." If the objector chooses to take this in its full force, we do not see how he is to escape the utter annihilation of the race, but if, as he assumes, there is a " second death," not necessarily included in this, then let us see what light the Bible sheds upon the nature of this " second death." We are here told that the " fearful," and " unbeliev- ing," and the " abominable," and whoremongers, and murderers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the " second death." This certainly cannot be annihilation, for into this lake, or state, are to be cast, as partakers of this "second death," the devil, and the beast, and the false prophet, and death and hell, and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation ; and he shall CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. 191 be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb ; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night. Surely this is something different and far more appal- ling than extinction of being. These Scriptures teach us that we must live on and on forever ; that if lost, no annihilation of being will ever come to relieve the soul of its agony, but it shall continue to exist amid the agonies of the "second death " while the unending ages roll on— " Immortality o'ersweep All pains, all tears, all time, all fears, and peals, Like the eternal thunders of the deep, Into my ears this truth : Thou liv'st forever." — Byron. Then may we close w'.th the thrilling apostrophe of another to the soul : " Immortal spirit ! let thy thoughts travel down the vale of coming ages, and view thyself, still enduring, strong in the possession of eternal youth. Thou wilt then look around thee, and from the heights of eternity wilt see all- the thrones, the kingdoms, the glories, the struggles and the pains of earth forever vanished and still. Thou wilt seek in vain to behold from afar the wondrous triumphs of art, the renowned cities, the illustrious empires, and the fields of blood where so much glory was won. The greatness of the mighty dead, and the pomp of the now living, will all have passed awayi MM 192 CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY. m li •if: i ffn. ■• ti \ sunken into one promiscuous grave. The earth itself may revolve dark and gloomy in its accustomed orbit ; widely spread solitude and desolation may pervade its once crowded scenes; but thou wilt still remain exempt from mutability and death, still enduring amid so much change, undying atnid so much decay. No fearful disaster can quench thy torch of being ; no lapse of ages diminish the freshness of thy youth. As lasting as the God who made thee, thou and He alike will outlive the old age and dissolution of the material universe, and soar above its crumbling ruins, rejoicing in the progression of an endless duration." < . L! XII. THE SERVANT OF CHRIST THE ONLY FREEMAN. BY REV. J. W. HOLMES, GwHiph. "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. "- Romans vi. 22. THE Bible account of sin furnishes the only infoima- tion we have as to it character and extent. It tells us " sin reigned unto death-^' by which we understand its reign was universal and absolute — universal as embracing evory soul of man, and absolute as en- slaving every power of the soul. But there are forces stronger than sin, and a power at least equally universal and absolute ; and as sin has " reigned unto death," even so grace shall " reign through righteous- ness unto life by Jesus Christ our Lord ;" therefore, " where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." The announcement of prophecy concerning Jesus was that His mission was " to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound." Any functionary may, on authority, 13 194 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST make a proclamation and declare a royal decree, but in this case it was necessary to meet certain conditions, and the deliverer must take the place of the captive ; therefore He became subject not to sin but to death, and by the sacrifice of His life, or, as it is written, " through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." This deliverance was as perfect as the bond- age was complete, and as the reign and dominion of sin was " unto death," so the reign of grace was " unto life " — " eternal life." The reign of one ended in the pit ; that of the other elevated to the throne. In the treatment of this subject we shall notice — The Captive released. The Service, transferred The Servant pro- moted. The Captive crowned. I. THE CAPTIVE RELEASED. " Being made free from sin." — (1) FroTn its bondage. How universally absurd do we find mankind's estimate of liberty, or the conception formed of what constitutes true freedom. Absolute liberty is a possi- bility only to absolute purity; the farther removed from that the greater the bondage and the more hopeless the captivity, and yet such may be recovered "out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." Nothing is so tyrannical and despotic as sin — which men look upon as liberty — and no condition so truly free as the bondage of Christian captivity. The l^aman heart is a fortress, walled and manned, guarded THE ONLY FREEMAN. 195 and watched. A tyrant reigns therein, and the despotic power of a ruler of a hundred millions of serfs is not more absolute and hopeless than that which Satan sways, as the " strong man armed," in this fortress. The mission of the "Stronger than the strong man armed' was to break ihe power of this oppressor, to take possession of this throne, and accomplish the destruc- tion of all the antagonism of the unrenewed heart against the Prince of Peace. Men have tried to deliver themselves from the terrible yoke of sin and assert their liberty ; others have asserted the fallacy of the charge of their vassalage ; others, again, failing in this* assert they are not responsible for the situation, and on this ground refuse their emancipation. Is it not the worst kind of infatuation for those born in slavery to refuse the liberty offered them ? But such are the character and effects of sin, it blinds and stupefies the victims of its awful power so that we are incapable of realizing our responsibility, and that we are sharers in the guilt of our fathers. God gave men a law ; did they keep it ? He gave them a rule of morality ; did they conform to it? He gave them flattering promises did they regard them ? He gave them the most in- spiring and ennobling motives ; were they not crushed by the sensuality of the soul ? And all the better qualities of the heart have been destroyed by sin. How sin has asserted its dominion, how universal and absolute has been its influence, how complete has been the desolation made ! It hiis spared nought that was lovely in humanity; the noblest intellects it has usurped V 196 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST and employed, the most sacred covenants it has broken. It entered with impious daring into the very presence of parity, and sent it forth from its Eden reeling under the blighting curse of a law violated and a God dis- honored. And see how speedily its terrible inriuences have accumulated, what hosts it has marshalled, what crimes have followed in its tread, what forms of sin, what depths of degradation, how dreadful and rapid has been its progress, until the world is filled with violence ! It is seen in the dogging steps of the assas- sin, it flames in the torch of the incendiary, it burns in the lusts of the sensual, it raves in the asylums of the insane, it feeds on all the elements of true man- hood, it sits on the throne of the hearts of the covetous and avaricious, it grinds the faces of the poor, and violates every article of the golden rule; it does to every man the very opposite to what we would have every man do to us. In this completeness of the desolations of sin who will come to our help ? Who will stand up and challenge its right of domination ? He who came to preach deliverance to the captive, to let the op- pressed go free, and to break every yoke. He shall take "the prey frrm the mighty, and the lawful captive shall be delivered." We shall be also free from — (2) Its dsfilement. Not only is man the captive of sin, but that captivity is degrading. " That which was born of the flesh is flesh ;" who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not only has the captive been set free ; Christ has entered into his prison house, broken his fetters, and THE ONLY FREEMAN. 197 m said to him " Follow Me." But He came also to put away sin — He is the destroyer of its deadly power. We look over a wilderness and we see the fever of a poisoned life raging ; numbers are dying in agony, and they cry to Moses for relief. Had he our modern revival hymns, he would have said or sung, " There is life for a look at the crucified One." The sinner was made free from the bondage of his Egypt, but he must be made free from the desire to return again — ^e must be made not only a new creature, saved from the power of sin, but also saved from the love of sinning. The pen of inspiration alone can describe the defile- ment of sin. It has succeeded, but how can we who are accustomed to think in human thoughts, and measure by human conceptions, understand or fully appreciate these descriptions ? Inspired though they were, they call to their help Israel's national miseries It directs attention to the disease of leprosy, the most repulsive, and hopelessly incurable. It tells of the " sow, washed," returning to her " wallowing in the mire ; " but the darkest shade seems to be given in this description when we are told he " lieth in wicked- ness" in the lowest condition of impurity, and rests in his lair. Ask a modern photographer to picture the heavens, or a limner to paint the sun ; with equal possibility of success may we hope to describe, even with the representations of inspiration, the defiling character of sin. " Though thou wash thee with nitre and take thee much soap," saith the prophet, " yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord ; " I ijiiij I I- I' i 4 198 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST and as no thought of ours can realize, so no act of ours can remove, this condition of the soul. The heart may- be broken, but that does not change it ; tears, ceaseless and penitential, may flow, but its vileness is too deeply stained, — the marks of sin are as indelibly fixed in the soul as the writing on the paper, '' which appears, even after being charred and^burnt by the fire." But, amaz' ng grace ! though your sins be as "scarlet" or " crimson," they shall be as " snow " or as " wool." The prophets saw it, the apostles proclaimed it, the blood of Jesus Christ " cleanseth us from all sin. " Free from sin ! " Who can describe this power of sin? One has said, "it is like fire, running through all the ramifications of humanity." And surely the experience of every conscious mind will exemplify the truth of the word, " hateful and hating one another." Envy, jealousy, self-will, pride, disregard of the divine word, or God s authority, governed by our own wishes and fancies, desires and opinions, and no hatred of such conditions, or desire to avail ourselves of the provision of grace, that where sin abounded grace might " much more abound ; " and with impious daring, in the depths of our degradation we repeat the folly of the oppressor of God's people, and, satisfied with our condition, say, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice ? " Witness the haughty Assyrian captain descend somewhat reluctantly into the hated Jordan, and obey the direction of the prophet ; he descends the loathsome leper — yes, loathsome in his princeliness — he comes out a new creature ; the power of a divine THE ONLY FREEMAN. / 199 in the s, even But, or " The blood chemistry has put him through a process of elimina- tion. What feelings must have seized him as he experienced the thrill of a new life. The ^blood circu- lates coolly through his veins ; his skin — can he believe it ? — no longer parched with a leprous fever, is as the skin of a little child. What term can more appropri- ately describe the situation than that of the text — ' "made free" ? He put away the leprosy by the power of His word. He put away sin by the " sacrifice of Himself." It is said, " When ye were the servants of sir. ye were free from righteouanesa." No description of human depravity was ever stronger than this. Separated in every power, faculty, emotion, desire, and affection from righteousness, as when the body and spirit are separated. So in the sense of the text, he is dead to, or " free from sin," from the yoke and presence, from the guilt and power of sin. through the blood of the everlasting covenant. ''O the boundless blessedness to me, Lovod, saved, forgiven, renewed and cleansed by Thee." It II. THE SERVICE TRANSFERRED. •' Become servants to God." We must learn what constitutes acceptable service, and also keep in mind the full import of the word in the present connection. If they were before the servants of sin, they are now as completely the servants of God. Before, there wa^ a complete and perfect domination of sin — every power, intellectual and moral, under sin. Now, in all fairness, by a parity of reasoning, if the term servant means 200 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST It ; n \, .'!■■:: I;!'''. that completeness of vassalage in the one case, it means the same in the other ; the same in extent and completeness, but necessarily differing in character and results. If in the one case it means the slave of sin — and the best critics so interpret the word — in the other it means the slave of God, and the act as voluntary in the one case as in the othef, and the proprietorship as absolute in the one as in the other ; the difficulty will, therefore, be removed in discovering what is required of us. There will necessarily be — (1) An eagerness to know. There will be a self-surrendering consecration to God in the submissive words, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Such a thing cannot be once thought of as the servant assuming the dictator. Even in this we have the very highest example, " Not my will but thine be done." Our chief concern will be, not to know how little will satisfy our Master, but how much love can accomplish. Christian service means full free- dom of action in a new life, and not — as so many, alas, mistake — any particular restraint on the old life. Not sacrifices made, but greater good obtained. The basis of Christian service is Christian love, and the basis of Christian love is gratitude to Christ; therefore the test of Christian character is that Christ is the chief end, and eagerness to know His will implies constant attention, deep research in the divine oracles. No true servant can, or will, with impunity, neglect his instructions, and God has written them out for our guidance. " He that is of God heareth Y . THE ONLY FREEMAN. 201 God's words.*' We must not, therefore, be deceived here ; if we err, we do so wilfully ; our instructions are recorded, and if we profess to be the servants of Christ we must give ear to His directions and obey His voice : hence the constant attitude of the newly emancipated soul will be expressed in the words the Master has put into our lips, " I am thy servant ; give me understand- ing, that I may know thy testimonies " (Psa. cxix. 125). (2) A willingness to do. We need not repeat here the story of the ransomed slave who offered herself in perpetual service to her benefactor, and whose only reply to expressed surprise as to her conduct was, " He redeemed me." This ser- vice means an honest, constant, and unreserved em- ployment for God of that which is His ; there must be the full realization of the fact that we belong to God. The word that fixes our relation does not say, you ought not to be, but " you are not your own." We are His by the right of redemption, and by our own free voluntarily choice ; then to refuse Him that which be- longs to Him, the accusation of the prophet is true of us, " Ye have robbed God." Someone has said, " Give God your hands full, and He will give you His hands full." All that belongs to God is at your service. " Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours." He has given you as His servant the liberties pf His house, and handed you the keys and said, " Be thou faithful." " Yield yourselves unto God as those who are alive from the dead." We cannot conceive of ir ■I 1 1^ lit <. 202 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST :|: I anythinjj grander, nobler, greater, or more blessed, than to be thus a witness, a servant, a child of God, and to serve Him in all that is true and beautiful and good, making Him our chief joy. The onlooker, or the worldling, may sometimes think the servant of God the veriest slave, cramped up in a corner, and not enjoying full liberty, and the constraint mani- fested by some of the professed servants of Jesus may often justify the supposition; but the reason it so appears is because something is reserved, there is not full surrender or abandon of self, and hence Fuch a servant has not full trust given him. When we re- serve, God reserves. Full consecration and confidence secures perfect freedom, aid consequently the highest happiness. When we are fully at His disposal it will be safe for the Master to trust us; then we shall serve Him in all that is " true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report," and from this we can say to our worldly friend, " What do you say to your liberty when compared with ours?" 0! thou child of such untold wealth and privilege, servant of the living God, do not, I beseech you, belittle your relationship by acknowledging your dissatisfaction and your longing after the world's treasures, while your Sovereign Lord has thrown wide open to you the whole sweep of His possessions. Why go back into bondage again when " His service is perfect freedom ?" This service will be characterized by — (3) PatierU endurance. We do not use the word endurance as intimating THE ONLY FREEMAN. 203 Je-sded, [f God, ul and Iker, or [ant of >r, and mani- is may it so is not uch a ve re- idence ighest t will serve P"and ► our berty such God, ) by »ing - ■■•^R.Windur *»»«,, 206 THE SERVANT 07 CHRIST i If evil spirits of the present day coiild enter into all the parlors and chambers, plain and princely, whose furniture was bought with other men's money, and could set the several articles in motion, each in the direction of its rightful owner, what a movement thfere would be among the mirrors ; what a rattling of silver plate ; what a hustling of chairs and tables, and many a bed would take up itself and walk. If they could enter into the various forms of property gotten by fraud, some things beside swine would rush into the sea. Many a fat, fancy horse — in the carriage or under the saddle — would no doubt make its way down ' the steep,' and rider and '.lorse would be 'choked in the depths.'" The result of the service rendered will be holiness, such as will take all crookedness, and all per- versity, and all falseness out of our relationships and dealings with our fellow-men. (2) Opportunity is conjined to the present. What will be the worth of our service or testimony for Jesus when there is not a solitary soul to be con- vinced or won to Christ ? The Christian's work up yonder will not be bearing witness, but bearing palms and wearing crowns. Who will stop to receive your laudations or listen to your testimony, when the whole host that no man can number shall unite in the hal- lelujahs of the skies ? Your work then will be an entirely different one from that which is laid upon you here. By faithfulness here you may increase His kingdom, but though you spend a whole eternity adoring " the Lamb that was slain," not a sinner will THE ONLY FREEMAN. 207 be saved by it. The work to be done here is " fruit unto holiness." You must be an efficient worker to- gether with God to lessen sin and increase holiness. You decrease the extent and power of sin as you save sinners ; you are instrumental in rescuing men from the same bondage from which you have recently escaped. Every soul you lead to Christ is a temple created to the Holy Ghost. It is said a hundred thousand men were employed in Egypt to construct a pryamida^ tomb for a dead king ; how much more noble and en- during the work in which we are engaged in building temples to the living God ! This fruitful ness is not merely the possession of proper thoughts and right sentiments, or in cherishing certain moods or frames of mind ; fruit unto holiness means activity, not only life but life toiling. Holiness is the heart and powers in action; do you ask me " Where ?" My answer is. Where you have been assigned, where your character is not questioned, and where your influence for God is needed ; where way- wardness is to be restrained and struggling feebleness is contending against tremendous odds ; where emis- saries of sin are vigilant and constant in their en- deavors to destroy ; w! lere principle is in danger of being compromised for self-interest ; where a cold and scarcely audible profession has been made to supersede demonstrative Christian activity ; where the honor of God and the kingdom of Christ is made to occupy a secondary, if any place, in the thoughts and plans of men ; where Christian enterprises are carried on more • i.' \' .4 *.>-■ 208 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST by the constraining forces of pressure from without,] and arguments directed to the intellect, than by the] forces of a deep wellspring of love and the overflowing affections of the heart. Your position is a favorable 1 one, your capabilities are equal to your obligations, your field most inviting, your companions in this ser- vice of love are the Lord's household, and your reward will be a sceptre and a crown. We shall now follow in thought this subject of grace and consider — IV. THE CAPTIVE CROWNED. "The end everlasting life." This is a familiar phrase, yet how little we know of its blessedness of meaning ; we become familiar with the terms of the Divine Word without stopping to consider what they imply- There are elements of life which the good and bad, the righteous and wicked, possess in common, and in which there is not necessarily involved similarity of character, just as there are in the present life. This will be readily conceded from your present experience and observation. That to which I now refer is con- sciousness, and which is common to both. Here, so to speak, they are one, and starting with this common possession they advance. We carry tins thought to a future lite, and we say with reference to these two classes, there is an element of life in the future as in the present, which the righteous and the wicked alike Tl fore, is that (1) Eteri To a beli enter into scious imni system of have ende end at a | pretation, would p« tainty— ^ If we fc Hume 01 them ad well be' principl WeB commu the ver senses- of the is, the munic tainlj comn^ as, to ther of A disti tHE ONLY FBEEMAN. 209 I . nf that we shall notice, there- - The first element tnai wc possess, ine ui^o« fore is that of— !ro a believer m ^^'^^^'J^^ I, doctrine ot con- enter into an '""-"P' treCsomewhoby acertam .cions immortality There a ^.^^ ^^^j j.^^,, „„ system of interpretation wm ^^^^ ^^^ to an Le endeavored to prove *eWO ^.^^.^,^^ ^^ end at a given *;™;- T^^%„etrine ot a future state pretation. if appl«>d to *« ^.^ ^, the same uncer- would perhaps ^t^toll distinct from his bo^. taintv-that man has no soul o^„„ded by K we found ^-O^'^X^IX^^Um^^^^ Hume or Hobbs we -^^^^^^J^,. men we may them advanced ^ If^f^rtion of these essential „ell be surprised at tn principles of Deism. „g„ment to prove that ^ We need not adopt a 1«« "^ 'f j^t of man that in communications are made to the spin ^,^^^^ Cv^nature <>* ^S^tmrnl -t^ the-ho^e senses-senses which he hw m ^ ^ ^^ ^^^ely of the animal crea^ion^ " rft^l influences-the corn- is the subject of divine spmt human-we cer- ^unication of the -l^^" J^, ^Vidence of this same Sv have strong P-^^^""?*';* '" dent of the body: 'Zmunicationorfellows^^^d^^to the matter of ^. tor instance, -^^^f ^^Ung Himself the G^d the resurrection and of UO ^^^ 6), He ot Abraham, of Is^. -J ^^ „ ^od of the dead, but distinctly stated He is no 14 210 I'HE SERVANT Of CHRIST of the living ;" bui their bodies were long since in th^ grave, and yet there was a living, conscious Abraharn| and Isaac, and Jacob. But Abraham's body was ii the grave three hundred and thirty years before this was uttered, Isaac's two hundred and twenty-five, anc Jacob's one hundred and ninety-eight. If the " spirit returns to God, who gave it," while " the dust returns] to the earth as it was ;" if the spirit of the saint de- parts to be "with Christ, which is far better;" if it I "puts off this tabernacle," it must have a conscious' existence. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, " To- day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." There must have been a conscious personality with Jesus, for the body was in possession of others ; but the spirit was in paradise, or pleasure, or delight, as the term implies. Let any candid mind study with ordinary care the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; and the doctrine taught by the Saviour is true, though in a parable, as if by veritable history, is the doctrine of conscious existence in a future state. Any person studying this parable and so interpreting it, or misinterpreting it, to prove the contrary, would pervert any language that could be employed.. *0n the subject of locality or sphere, however, metaphysicians m^ y talk of apace as one of the properties of body, as if nothing but body could be limited to space ; — to fill immensity is one of the incommunicable properties of Deity. We cannot conceive of a created spirit, angelic or human, of which it may not be truly said, " It is here, and not there." Again, as to the matter of consciousness in a future THE ONLY FREEMAN. 211 ■state, our Lord directly tespches that the soul cannot be killed, when the body may. These are not certainly interchangeable terms ; the body is not the soul, and I the soul is not the body. If the soul was the mere (result of animal organism, then whoevei killed the one would most certainly kill the other. Men are able to kill the body, but are not able to "kill the soul." Again, we find the apostle of the Gentiles teaching that whether the righteous live or die, they live with Christ, " who died for us that whether we wake or sleep " (live or die) we should live together with Him. Eternal life also implies — (2) Eternal enjoyment. This, the next step in the condition of the saved, between the saved and unsaved will be one of divergence. While in the body each had their enjoy- ment ; the difference was in the character of it, — one in sin, the other in holiness — one in Satan's service, the other in the service of Christ — the enjoyment of the one sensual, that of the other spiritual. They part forever; the joy of the saint is unchanged in its character, and the only change it experiences is a change in degree ; intensified by the very same thing that destroys the possibility of enjoyment by the other — the severance of soul and body. Relieved from the " earthly house " he rises in ecstasies of delight, and bathes in the glory of the divine presence ; the other sinks to, and in, the miseries of an indescribable despair. If the doctrine of eternal consciousness be true, which the Word of God declares, then the eternity 212 THE SERVANT OF CHRIST of enjoyment is indisputable; and that not the negativ delight he has as he thinks of deliverences wrough of conflicts and victories, as, often footsore and wear} he pressed toward his house on high, but his enjoy ment is a positive and increasing life of bliss unutter able, — the Christian now can prove the truth of wha he never half understood before : " The upright shal dwell in thy presence," " the paradise of God," " the] Holy City," "the inheritance of the saints," "the heaven of heavens," — better still — " They shall sit with Me on My throne." Who is it speaks ? No longer the Man of Sorrows, no longer the outcast of a Jewish rabble, no longer the subject of mock royalty, but the triumphant Jesus. Yes, blessed Jesus, Thou hast " Made slaves the partners of Thy throne, Deck'd with a never-fading crown." " In Thy presence is fulness of joy, and at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (3) It is an eternity of progression. It is everlasting life in the most favorable circum- stances for development. " This is one of the most delightful considerations, the perpetual progress of the soul toward the perfection of its nature, without ever arriving at it." * And if no point of attainment here limits the enjoyment of a saint of God, how can we fully measure the extent or comprehensiveness of the term " evermore." Nothing stationary in the know- ledge or bl legtees " — i "We have loondage, hi voluntary c ] Christian!' to the hig tained an 1 strongest Shall we 1 infinite m compassio Spirit, th ing woe, sin, the service c God? There invites pardon the rtt< despair sin. J from I yoke c . of th< the p thusc to th< * Wesley, THE ONIT FREEMAN. 213 I m,^ " aone is » song ot Lge ot bliss o£ heaven Ihe S t^ees"-it iswo^ -— S^f:^,, ,,e sinner. J We have presented to you J j^^^3_ ^„s Ldage>is deUverance W-^^^ volantaryoaptivityinheserv i^i^ Christian life, and frmttulne^sm ^.^ j^^^^,,, ,„«- L the highest pos.t.on m the g. ^^^^^^.^^ ^^, .^ tained and enforced by mg ^^ ^_^^^ ,^y? I t„„gest «=>-»'«;''"liring mercy of God. the Shall we review the >°°g^"7™f„g Iktebcessok. the ^„fi„ite merit and power o^a^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ,,, Holy ; compassionate and V^^'T^ ^^ ^j^ries of everlast- G"-! ' u .f ffrace and He who sits thereon There is a throne of g^a<^' * jo„„tain, and invites you ^ i'- Jhere is ^ op ^^^.^^ j^^ pardon offered *o the most deeply g y ^^^ ^^^ the most degraded ---''JX,h„ are dead in despairing captive, new life to ^^^ J Jesus -lis .yo»-^° °°* P ,t He shall break the from His ent'«»t'«^ ' ~"'"^„a j,^ ^j hty energy yoke ot sin off yo«f *;^"„t you f*«l«« "^^"^ . 'of the Holy Spm P - " J ^^,,,aing joy. and ts^:;r;iS:JlUeapave,fromthe.»«.eo» to the THRONE. ETsry Tonng Han Slionlil Bead This Book. ELEMENTS NEGESSABY TO VHl FORMATION OF BUSINESS CHARACTER. By JOHN HAODOHALD, Eaq., Toronto. Fisnns SHOULD Ymm it n ihhe sois. ISmo. Oloth, 36 Cents. "The ooamwla of a succesafal merchant as to tiie elements of mercantile success cannot fail to be of great value to all who would attain such success. Mr. Maodonald estimates the number of busi- ness failures at 97iper cent., and the number of successful men at only 2j^ per cent, out he thinks that the proportion might readily be reveiwd, and the failures reduced to 2^ per cent., while the suc- cesses should reach 97^ per cent. To jshow the means by which this may be accomplished is the purpose of this book. It is freighted with wise counsels, expressed in terse and vigorous language." — Methodist Magazinet Jmy. "This book cannot tail to benefit every young man who is wise enough to make its precepts hb." — The Week. "It is printed in handsome style, and contains much good advice." — Daily Witness. " Mr. Macdonald combines rare business capacity with consider- able literary ability. . Is an extremely neat little volume, the circulation of which, in thti mercantile community, especially - among young meu, cannot but be fruitful of good. The elements descnbed are Honesty, Truths Temperance^ Energy, Thoroughness, and Diligence." — Montreal Gazette. " It is evidently the fruit of close thinking, wide observation, and practical experience."— SiotifAern ChriHian Advocate. VZLLXAX 8BZM8, PuUisto, 78 AND 80 Kino Strut East, TORONTO. 0. W. COATES, MoNTKKAL, Que S. F. HUESTI^, Haufax, N.8. ■r' '■-1*'^' A. - ■p. S 'e- m\ ■ |l ••. If' 4^ Shall We, or Shall We Not? A SERIES OF FIVE DISCOURSES BY THE REV. HUGH JOHNSTON, M.A., B.D. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED 'WINE '-'CARDS '-'THE DANCE '-'THE THEATRE' •WHAT SHALL WE DO 7* Paper, 160 pp., 25 Cents. "Full of cogent argument and stirring and pointed appeal." — £)rt% Examiner, Peterboro\ "Thoughtfully .and reasonably written." — The Week. " The use of intoxicating liquors, card playing, dancing and theatre-going are discussed in these discourses in a practical, pointed, persuasive manner. They take strong ground on the safe side, which is the right side, and maintain it by strong arguments." — Southern Christian Advocate. WILLIAM BRIGGS, 78 & 80 KING ST, EAST, TORONTO. C. W. COATES, MoNTRKAL, Que. S. F. HUESTIS, Halifax, N.S.