Zion Presbyterian Cliurcli, Brautford, Ontario 
 
THE CHURCH 
 
 AND 
 
 The COMMONWEALTH 
 
 DISCUSSIONS AND ORATIONS 
 
 QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 
 
 PRACTICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, 
 
 EDUCATIONAL AND DOCTRINAL. 
 
 WRITTEN DURING A TWENTY YEARS MINISTRY 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. WM. COCHRANE, D.D., 
 
 ' BRANTFORD, ONTARIO, 
 
 Aui/zor of "Future Punishment, or Does Death End Piobation" 
 
 " Christ and Christian Life" " The Heavenlv Vision" 
 
 " Warning and Welcome" &€., &c. 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS & APPROPRIATE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 BRANTFORD, ONTh.<IO, MELBOURNE AND PORT ADELAIDE, 
 
 AUSTRALIA : b b O O 
 
 BRADLEY, GARRETSON & CO^ 
 1887. 
 
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 !N INTRODUCING another book to the pubh'c, by the 
 Rev. Dr. Cochrane, whose work on " Future Punish- 
 ment" has met with such approval, the Publishers 
 would simply remind their thousands of readers, in the 
 Dominion and the United States, of the principles that 
 guide them in the selection of authors. In order to success, 
 even in a business point of view, it is necessary to keep in line with 
 those great intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws, which are recog- 
 nized as essential to the highest well-being of the State and the 
 individual, while at the same time the books chosen must be adap- 
 ted to the necessities of the great masses of the people. These 
 conditions, so far as can be judged by their rapid sale, are met in 
 the writings of the author of this volume. Three volumes of his 
 sermons, published ten years ago, have long been out of print, while 
 his more recent work on " Future Punishment," is already in its 
 thirteenth thousand. Our methods of business are such, that we 
 invite a thorough examination of every new book offered by our 
 Agents before a sale is made. That the present volume will stand 
 such an examination we feel assured. The great variety of the 
 ';opics embraced, the candid and impartial manner in which they 
 are discussed, and the religious spirit which breathes throughout^ 
 must make it acceptable to a very large circle of readers. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 Brantford, Ontario, 1887. 
 
 (3) 
 

CONTENTS. 
 
 Questi::)ns of the Day. 
 
 Christian Citizf-Nsiiip. — Its privilcj^cs and obligations. — In- 
 cludes individual sobriety and rcli;j;ious principle. — Sobriety means 
 temperance in the widest sense. — The intelligence required. — Gov- 
 ernments are the purest where the people canvass the actions of 
 the rulers. — In this land no excuse for political ignorance. — Reli- 
 gious principle also necessary in cd^r to stability of character. — 
 Expediency a dangerous guide in religious as well as political mat- 
 ters. — Such citizens would produce better legislator.":. — " Measures, 
 not Men," a false rallying cry in election campaigns. — The private 
 character of members of Parliament to be canvassed as v/cll as 
 their political views. — The future development of the nation calls 
 for the united efforts of all good men. Page 21. 
 
 Capital and Labor. — Delicacy and difficulty in speaking on 
 the question. — Books on political economy. — Societies which claim 
 to control the labor of our artisan population. — The writer a friend 
 of the workingman. — Taken as a whole, hi= character as high as 
 that of many employers. — Workingmen have a right to better their 
 condition. — Present agitation chiefly prompted by outside influen- 
 ces — Exaggerated statements— The workingman's condition greatly 
 changed since the sixteenth century. — His condition in Canada and 
 the United States. — The phrase " Workingman " meaningless in 
 Canada. — All are workingmen. — Labor should be recompensed as 
 
 (S) 
 
6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 it is profitable. — Capitalistsdeservingof large compensation. — Con- 
 ferences between employers and employed. — Communism. — Boaz 
 and his reapers. — Should eight hours be a day's labor ? — The labor 
 question drifting into politics. — " Workingmen's Candidates " plent- 
 iful at parliamentary elections. — Intelligent mechanics not easily 
 deceived. Page 41. 
 
 Popular Amusements. — The book of Proverbs adapted to 
 every age. — Solomon addressing youth says, " Hast thou found 
 honey ? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled 
 therewith and vomit it." — Honey represents pleasure. — Must be 
 used in moderation. — The Bible nowhere prohibits innocent amuse- 
 ments. — Christianity not a repulsive thing. — Man's complex nature. 
 Relaxation necessary. — Lawful pleasures must be moderately in- 
 dulged in. — What amusements are consistent with a religious pro- 
 fession. — No definite rule can be laid down. — An enlightened 
 conscience the best judge. — Frivolity of Canadian youth. — Chris- 
 tian churches guilty of promoting many of the questionable amuse- 
 ments of the present day. Page 61. 
 
 Sceptical Objections to Prayer. — Infidel sentiment of the 
 age — "What profit should we have if we pray unto Him? — Men 
 everywhere pray according to their special modes. — The more com- 
 mon objections to prayer stated and answered. — Natural laws. 
 That they are perfect, does not supersede the necessity of prayer. 
 How God may answer prayer in harmony with the laws of nature. 
 The doctrine of Foreordination. — Inward subjective effect of prayer. 
 If there is a God, his ability to answer prayer must be admitted. 
 Bryant's poem on " The wild waterfowl." — No man should argue 
 against prayer, until he has proved that it is worthless. Page ^y. 
 
 Marks of a Genuine Revival. — Habakkuk's prophecy and 
 prayer. — Revivals of religion God's own work. — The word 'revival' 
 implies a languid state of spiritual existence. — A revival possible. 
 To be brought about by divine and human agencies. — Results of a 
 general revival. — Revivals to be judged not simply by the number 
 of converts made, but by their permanent results. Page 91. 
 
 Is THE Church of To- Day Apostolic? — The Day of Pen- 
 tecost. — Fulfilment of the promise that the Comforter would come. 
 " The baptism of fire " predicted by the Prophet Joel. — Needed by 
 the Apostolic Church. — Proofs of its reality. — Steadfast continu- 
 ance in the Apostle's doctrine. — Stated observance of the means 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 of grace. — Fellowship with the household of faith. — Pentecostal 
 scenes regarded with suspicion at the present day. — Such occasion? 
 to be expected and prayed for. Page 105. 
 
 Thanksgiving Memories. — Thanksgiving occasions in Pal- 
 estine, Great Britain and the United States. — The Puritans of New 
 England. — Looking back as well a.s forward. — The journey of the 
 Israelites. God's goodness to be remembered in the land which he 
 had given them. — The number and magnitude of our mercies tend 
 to forgetfulness. — Motives to thanksgiving, personal and national. 
 Sins to be confessed. — Neglect of God's Word. — Desecration of the 
 Sabbath. — Non-attendance upon ordinances. — Decline in public 
 integrity. — Extravagance in style of living. — Absence of religious 
 training. — Obligations resting upon the Church to keep pace with 
 commerce and civilization. Page 119. 
 
 Biographical Discourses. 
 
 Martin Luther. — Great and good men God's gifts. Birth, 
 parentage and training of the great German Reformer. — Choice of 
 profession. — Occasion of his conversion. — Ordination. — Professor- 
 ship in the University of Wittemburg. — Commissioner to Rome. — 
 Made Doctor of Divinity. — Pope Leo the Tenth. — Sale of indul- 
 gences. — Luther shocked at Tetzel's profanity. — His famous ninety- 
 -five propositions. — Controversy between Luther and Rome. — 
 Melancthon. — The Papal Bull. — The Diet of Worms. — Escape 
 from Worms as the hero of the German nation. — Offensive and 
 defensive alliance of Charles the Fifth against the Reformer. — The 
 Peasants' War. — Closing years of the great Reformer. — His mem- 
 ory imperishable. — Estimate of his character and work. — Germany 
 and her men of genius. — Romanism and Protestantism. — Theii 
 future history and influence upon the world. Page 141. 
 
 Thomas Carlyle. — Mission of John the Baptist — character 
 of the age in which he lived. — His preaching a call to repentance. 
 Every age has its reformers. — Those made by the times, those 
 made for and in advance of the times. — Characteristics of John's 
 preaching. — Thomas Carlyle to many " a voice crying in the wil- 
 derness." — His early life. — The Annan Gymnasium and Edinburgh 
 
9 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 University. — Edward Irving and the school at Kirkaldy. — Address 
 as Rector of Edinburgh University. — A profound worshipper of the 
 divinity in man. — Marked eccentricities in his character. — Saw no 
 bright spots in the political horizon. — Intensely conservative, and 
 yet intensely revolutionary. — His religious views inexplicable. — 
 Not a philosophic Atheist, nor yet a defender of the Christian 
 faith. — Doubt and denunciation of creeds and dogmas supplanted 
 the simple trust of his fathers, — No merely negative philosophy can 
 cure the world's sorrows. Page 159. 
 
 George Brown. — David's lamentation over the death of Ab- 
 ner. — As statesman and journalist, George Rrown a kingly man. 
 The times in which he lived developed his wonderful powers. — Story 
 of his life. — Birth and training in Edinburgh. — Force of character, 
 tenacity of purpose and intense earnestness. — Characteristics of his 
 life. — Views on public questions, strong convictions, and downright 
 plainness of speech. — Measures promoted by his voice and pen. — 
 Confederation of the Provinces. — His hatred of slavery. — A Chris- 
 tian statesman, — His private life. — Loss of such a man to the com- 
 monwealth. Page 175. 
 
 ABRAHAM Lincoln. — The ablest men seem called away before 
 their work is completed. — No great enterprise permanently suffers 
 by the removal of human agents. — The Almighty not dependent 
 on mortals.— Good men comparatively few, good sort of men plen- 
 tiful. — Characteristics of each. — Value of good men to society and 
 the church. — When removed by death, the prayer should be, 
 "Help Lord." — 'Abraham Lincoln a great and good man. — Next to 
 Washington, the greatest of American Presidents. — His part in the 
 abolition of slavery. — Condition of the Republic in 1861, — His work 
 in some respects greater than that of Washington. — Washington 
 founded a new government. — Lincoln had to destroy, before recon- 
 structing. — Results. — Slavery and States Rights buried without 
 hope of resurrection. — Universal freedom. — Geographical and moral 
 distinctions blotted out as between North and South. — Great Britain 
 and America more closely united. Page 191 
 
 President Garfield.— The silence of grief.— The death of 
 Nadab and Abihu. — The sins of which they were guilty. — Aaron's 
 submission to the Divine will. — " Great sorrows are silent, light sor- 
 rows speak." — Feeling not to be measured by the wailings of the 
 death chamber. — The Shunamitish woman. — The Apostle of the 
 North. — National bereavements often produce silent grief. — Death 
 
CONTENTS. 9 
 
 of Garfield. — Eminently qualified to rule a great nation. — A rcHfji- 
 ous man from his youth. — Mis preparedness for death. — Alike in 
 field and forum, a brave and God-fearing man. — The awful uncer- 
 tainty of life. — The vanity of earthly greatness. — The grandeur 
 of the Christian's 'Icath-bcd. — The best of patriots have no monu- 
 ments to marU their graves.— They need them not, their memory 
 is imperishable. Page 213. 
 
 Ghnkrat. Gkant. — Unity of Christian nations. — Sympathy 
 between Great Britain and the United States. — Queen Victoria's 
 messages to the widows of martyred Presidents. — Universal lamen- 
 tation at the death of Grant. — His rapid promotion to the Presi- 
 dential chair. — Lowly origin of the world's noblest benefactors. 
 The man who is called to rule men must first rule his own spirit. — 
 "The hour and the man." — Momentary depreciation of his military 
 genius. — His wisdom justified. — Traits of character. — Modest esti- 
 mate of his own services. — Hatred of war. — Causes of the Ameri- 
 can Rebellion. — Grant's eagerness to efface its scars. — Humility of 
 the dying soldier. — Incident in the life of Wellington. — His religious 
 belief. — His dying declarations. — A christian profession should not 
 be postponed. — His purity of speech. — Lessons of his life. — Canon 
 Farrar on America and England. Page 229. 
 
 Character and Culture. 
 
 Christian Manliness.— Many of Paul's illustrations taken 
 from the discipline and evolutions of the Roman army. — Christian 
 life in the first century a warfare. — Fortitude necessary in the con- 
 test with spiritual enemies. — Erroneous conceptions of the christian 
 life. — Elemen'^s of strength upon which men refy. — Bodily vigor. 
 Industry. — Knowledge. — Wealth. — God the source of all moral and 
 spiritual strength. — How to use God-given strength. — Strong in the 
 faith. — In defending the faith. — In integrity. — The full possession 
 of such strength the work of years. — Paul's exhortation specially 
 applicable to young men. — Ought to be the defenders of society 
 against moral evils. — Demands of the age. — God's ideal of man- 
 hood. — Manly piety. — Advanced thinkers. — Object of university 
 training. — Graduates should be men of unflinching faith and stain- 
 less honor, purity of heart and fidelity to God arid right. Page 251. 
 
10 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Consecrated Work. —Solomon near the portals of the spiirt 
 world. — Realize? the brevity of a life spent largely in vanity. — Closes 
 the mournful retrospect by exhorting the young to improve every 
 moment. — Sowing in the morning better than in the evening. — He 
 who masters his early hours, wins the battle of life. — This principle 
 true in common affairs. — Capital and riches secured by industry. 
 The foundations of eminence in science laid in early life. — Without 
 earnestness of purpose, gifts whether natural or acquired, of little 
 value. — Continuous as well as consecrated work necessary to suc- 
 cess. — No false pride should prevent accepting the humblest sta- 
 tions. — No work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the 
 grave. — The end of a college course should not be the end of study. 
 Consecrated work for God, the noblest employment for an immortal 
 soul. Page 2,6j. 
 
 The Pattern Worker.— Labor not a curse.— No condition 
 of existence but what affords suitable employment for rational 
 beings. — Christ a life-long worker. — Was sent by his Father into the 
 world. — Service in itself never degrading. — Everything depends 
 upon the master. — Christ's life on earth a busy one, even regarded 
 from a human standpoint. — Sustained by communion with heaven. 
 Every human being sent into the world to work the works of God. 
 Much talk at the present day about overwork. — Men unduly tax 
 the brain. — Seldom overtax their powers for the good of humanity. 
 The luxury of working for God. Page 283. 
 
 Polished Corner Stones. — The true glory of a nation. — 
 Material riches of secondary importance. — Accomplished women to 
 society, what the polished stones were to the temple. — Special 
 culture needed for women's gentler nature. — High attainments 
 without conscious superiority. — Zeuxis the Grecian painter. — Eliza- 
 beth Barrett Browning. — The title of "lady," or "gentlewoman." — 
 True nobility stoops to the humblest vocations. — JLady Augusta 
 Stanley. — Genius alone, however brilliant, cannot make a useful life. 
 
 Page299. 
 
 The True Beauty of Womanhood.— The mother of King 
 Lemuel warns him as to his conduct and companionship. — Portrait 
 of a virtuous woman. — The woman that fears the Lord the noblest 
 of her sex. — A religioi i nature methodical in habit and abundant 
 in labor. — No incongruity between literary accomplishments and 
 sweetness of disposition. — Strong minded women. — Scholarship 
 modest and unassuming. — Mary Somerville, Caroline Herschell and 
 
CONTENTS. II 
 
 Felicia Hemans. — A college training the starting point of intellec- 
 tual life. — No one can be a universal scholar. — He who masters 
 perfectly some one department of knowledge is truly learned. — No 
 incongruity between literary accomplishments and devoted piety. — 
 TKose who believe most the strongest characters. l*age 311. 
 
 Decision of Character. — The kingdom of Moab. — The 
 Moabitish stone. — The story of Ruth true to nature. — Naomi's bit- 
 ter experience. — Return to Bethlehem. — Critical moment for Ruth 
 and Orpah. — Ruth's decision. — Orpah in some respects a lovely 
 character. — Impulsive, but unreliable. — Ruth's conduct indicates 
 decision, affection and personal attachment. — Lost nothing by her 
 decision. — Won the heart of Boaz and became the mother of a 
 race from whom the Saviour sprang. — Success in every profession 
 depends upon decision cf character. — Ruth not gifted above her sex. 
 Rich in faith though wanting in the culture of the schools. — The 
 real woman is she who under the eye of the great Taskmaster, 
 addresses herself to the humblest employments of life. Page 323. 
 
 "With the Whole Heart." — The great painter Opie. — In- 
 telligence and common sense necessary in every profession. Heze- 
 kiah, a revolutionist in church and state. — Whatever he did, he did 
 with all his heart. — No reward offered to indolence. — Gifts and 
 graces, and success in secular callings attained by prosecuting 
 them with our whole heart. — Humility one of the best guarantees 
 for future greatness. — ^Sufferings of the Roman women in the earlier 
 ages of Christianity. — Harriet Martineau. — Life not extinguished 
 when death approaches. — Scholarship unchastened and unsancti- 
 fied, adds to unrest of mind. Pag^e 335. 
 
 The Best Knowledge.— Question of the age — " What know- 
 ledge is of most worth?" — That which enables a man to live com- 
 pletely ? — True in one sense, and untrue in another. — Physical and 
 mental culture not to be despised. — Meaning of the phrase, " to know 
 God." Speculative and experimental knowledge. — How they differ. 
 Natural knowledge insufficient to discover truths necessary to sal- 
 vation. — Egypt, Greece and Rome. — Athenian altar " to the un- 
 known God." — Natural knowledge cannot make man holy. — Solo- 
 mon, Byron, Sir Humphrey Davy. — Natural knowledge evil in its 
 effects. — Tends to pride and self-conceit. — Intellectual studies wear- 
 isome and unsatisfying. — The objects of spiritual knowledge are 
 above nature. — Includes cognition of things revealed. — Is spiritu- 
 
12 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. - 
 
 ally discerned. — Is blessed in its effect . — Brings with it no remorse 
 nor disappointment. Page 349. 
 
 The Highest Wisdom. — Wisdom personified in the book of 
 Proverbs. — Such wisdom beyond the range of academic teachintf. — 
 Wisdom is knowledge applied to the purposes of life. — It is genius 
 coupled with common sense. — Its possession obtained by rea.ling 
 and reflection. — Fiction, its use and abuse. — Reading of little value 
 unless accompanied by thought. — Four classes of readers. — Knowl- 
 edge not only power, but a source of happiness, — In order to gain 
 wisdom there must be observation. — No amount of secular knowl- 
 edge can save the soul. — The heart and not the head controls our 
 destinies. — Acquisitions in grace as varied as attainments in litera- 
 ture. — Many fall short of prizes in earthly pursuits. — In christian 
 service all receive a glorious recompense. Page 361. 
 
 The One Thing Needful, — Mary the type of the contempla- 
 tive christian. — Martha the practical and energetic. — The words 
 addressed to Martha not condemnation of her conduct. — Not a sel- 
 fish, worldly minded woman, — Her error lay in the reproach she 
 cast upon her sister. — Grace does not recreate the natural constitu- 
 tion. — The world needs both types of character, — Tendency of the 
 present day to copy Martha rather than that of Mary. — More 
 ways than one of serving Christ. — The Marys have their functions 
 as much as the Marthas. — Depth of religious feeling as necessary as 
 activity. — " The one thing needful" to live by .and die by. Page 375. 
 
 Religion and the State. 
 
 Saint Andrew's Day.— The Patron Saint of Scotland.— His 
 history, discipleship and death. — Effects of his preaching, — Inci- 
 dents of his martyrdom, — Benevolence a part of the christian reli- 
 gion. — Paganism and Deism have no place for it in their creeds. — 
 The benevolent and patriotic institutions of the land recognize the 
 brotherhood of humanity.-— Communism and the Apostolic church. 
 Twofold objects of national societies. — National pride a virtue. — 
 Foster self-reliance. — Poverty not in itself a crime. — Emigration 
 from the old world. — The rich need the poor. — The poor need the 
 
« CONTENTS. , • 13 
 
 rich. — Pleasure in doing good. — Gifts pnly valuable as the motives 
 are pure. — Christian benevolence, unlike secularism, looks peyond 
 the present life. PagesSQ. 
 
 How BEST TO Provide for the Poor. — Povet-ty common to 
 every age. — Jewish provision for the poor. — Poverty irl many cases 
 the result of indolence, drunkenness or prodigality,; — The modern 
 
 cqdence of the economic.^ — ^7^0 ijnitigat^ present poverty ,nc)t enoi^gh. 
 The cause must be removed.— Evils of legalizeci cHarivy. — Under- 
 mines ma,r)ly independence.— Increases improvidence. — I^owers the 
 rrtatus of the industrious working man. — In a young nation, com- 
 pulsory provision for the poor unnecessary.— Oj^ltgation^ oif 
 churches. — Individual eff9rt.— Illust^tiops of true charity. — John 
 Howard. — I^loirence Nightingale. — iDav^id Livingstone.— Sympathy 
 that exhales in tracts and talk. — t^ractlcai religion the nest proof 
 of orthodoxy. Page 405. 
 
 A Religious People an Heroic People.— The Maccabeee 
 and theif followers.— Courage conip^tible with holiness ^nd meek- 
 ness. — Illustrations from ii)d|vidual liifi?. — Moses. — David. — Elijah. 
 Paul- — Lutner. — -Knox. — Nations moulded by their physical sur- 
 roundings.— l"© some extent true. — The color of a nation's piety 
 affected bv circumstances.; — Th? thing itself divine.— -Scottish hero- 
 ism.; — " Tqe Sble^tpn League and CQYenant.",--r-r)rumclog— -Bolhwell 
 fridge.— -The battle oi Airsijnoss. — jR.iclwid Cameron— -Jo^n ferowUi 
 the christian earner of Priesthill. — The Virgin Martyr of Oailoway 
 Argyle — Presbyterianism — Calvinism — Young meii standard bear 
 ers of the faith. — The age demands the same courage, though the 
 martyr's crown is absent Page 425. 
 
 , k|:LlGlON Tli? SopRCfi bF^NATIpN^t BpSfitNQ^.— What 
 cotistitutes national greatness. — ^The Hebrew affiiy on the borders 
 of Canaan. — Balaam and the King of Moab. — The false prophet 
 bles^ipfi instead of cur§itjg. — ",Hov\f^Boodly?ire thy.tent^ O Jacob! 
 aWd 
 
r y THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 ferusalem and the Holy Land. — Scotchmen enshrine the temples 
 and simple faith of their ancestors in memory. — Every Briton glories 
 in his birthright. — " The bells of Limerick." — The exiled Scot. — 
 Departed worth should be remembered. — Training of the youth of 
 the present day. 5 ' % Page 
 
 The Old Paths and the New. — Modern changes in society 
 not all praiseworthy. — Lessons from the past. — Meaning of the 
 phrase " The Old Paths." — Doctrines and practices of our fore- 
 fathers, — Unmistakable belief in a living God. — The study of God's 
 Word in private and public. — Stern administration of the higher 
 law. — Over strictness of the past and laxity of the present. — The 
 Sabbath almost blotted out from the calendar of holy days. — Men 
 then valued for what they were. — Puritans of England and Coven- 
 anters of Scotland. — Scotland a century ago. — Scotland in the 
 nineteenth century. — Scepticism of the age. — Feverish desire for 
 wealth. — Prodigality and profligacy. — Arrogance of youth. — Sel- 
 fishness. — Remedy for such evils. Page 
 
 Jewish Love for Jerusalem. — The Psalms abound in praise 
 of Mount Zion. — All places not alike dear to the heart. — Associa- 
 tions of the Holy City.— Grandeur of the temple. — Attachment 
 of Scotchmen to their simple forms of worship. — Scottish piety, if 
 less rigid and austere than in the past, more attractive and ag- 
 gressive. — Changes in political and ecclesiastical affairs. — Union 
 among denominations holding the same creed. — Church and State 
 in Canada, a thing of the past. — Peculiar dangers of the Dominion. 
 .A.ntagonistic faiths. — Political incendiaries. — Freedom of conscience 
 the right of every citizen. Page 
 
 Christ's Kingdom— Its Glory and Perpetuity 
 
 Much Land to be Possessed. — Canaan to be divided among 
 the tribes. — Joshua near his end. — Speedy completion of his work' 
 necessary. — True respecting the world at large, that " there is much ' 
 land to be possessed." — Population of the globe. — Christ to reign 
 over the vast masses of heathenism.-^The nations of the earth' 
 prepared to receive the gospel. — True respecting this and other ' 
 christian nations, that " there is much land to be possessed." — ' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Civilization opening up the most distant settlements. — Silent ad- 
 vance of the truth. — The gospel to be published in all nations, 
 preached to all nations, professed by all nations, practised in all 
 nations. — Indelible impressions of divine truth. — The midnight sun 
 in Swedish Lapland. — The fall of Troy.- -Success depends upon 
 the demonstration of the Spirit. Page 489. 
 
 Showers of Blessing. — Horrors of a protracted drouth. — 
 Only partially seen in our clin. ,. — Periods when spiritual feel- 
 ing is abundant. — Causes and consequences of spiritual drouth. — 
 Steals upon us insensibly. — Not the less fatal to true religion. — 
 Promise made to the church of the latter days. — Includes both 
 temporal and spiritual bestowments. — Primary signification. — Final 
 and more comprehensive fulfilment. — Extent and seasonableness 
 of the blessing. — Crusaders embarking for the Holy Land. Page 507. 
 
 God Dwelling With Men. — Jehovah's condescension. — His 
 majesty and glory contrasted with the creature's weakness and sin- 
 fulness. — This thought present to the mind of Solomon. — Dedica- 
 tion of the temple. — The gorgeous spectacle as seen by the con- 
 gregation. — Effect upon priest and congregation. — Prayer of the 
 King. — At the dedication of churches the prayer should be, Will 
 God dwell with men on earth ? — Jehovah not present to the senses. 
 No form of Ritualism can bring the Deity into loving contact with 
 human souls. — In different ways God dwells with men. — His pres- 
 ence everywhere. — Specially near to his children. — The work of the 
 Spirit. — The subject of special promise. — Insures the success of 
 the church in every conflict. — The earnest of permanent commu- 
 nion in the church "not made with hands." Page 525. 
 
 ;.The Indestructible Kingdom.— The book of Daniel the 
 subject of much learned ingenuity. — Diverse interpretations. — In 
 one point all agreed. — Christ's church and kingdom to survive 
 all national convulsions. — Nebuchadnezzars dream. — Daniel's in- 
 terpretation. — Characteristics of this kingdom. — Founded by Christ. 
 Composed of all believers. — Divine in origin. — Indestructible. — 
 Immutable. — Triumphant. — Evidences of its growth. — Erection of 
 churches. — Growth of religious agencies. — Vast changes in the 
 future. . Page53gt 
 
 Through Death to Life. — Deadness to the law precedes 
 life in Christ.—" Crucified with Christ."— Cross-bearing.— Different 
 from what it was in the days of Christ. — Crucifixion a lingering 
 death. — Implies the surrender of everything that hinders the posses- 
 
l6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 sion of the highest attainments. — Obedience to the divine com- 
 manas. — Deadness to the world. — Believers alive with Christ. — 
 " Nevertheless I live." — Source of spiritual life. — " Christ liveth in 
 me. — This life enjoyed on earth. — Is unlike that which the be- 
 lievers inherit by nature. — Is a life of faith. — God the author of this 
 life. — Experimental in its character. Page £51. 
 
UESTIONS OF THE f^AY, 
 
 ^ 
 
Christian Citizenship. 
 
 r.~- 
 
♦* I am a man, which am a citizen of no mean city." 
 
 —Acts 21, V. 39. 
 
 ^,:.! 
 
Christian Citizenship. 
 
 HE apostle Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, thence to 
 Rome, where finally he suffered death. On his way 
 thither, he was violently assailed by excited and infuri- 
 ated Jews, who stirred up the people to lay hands upon 
 him. All sorts of false accusations were made against 
 him, the chief captain among others saying: " Art thou not 
 that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, 
 and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were 
 murderers ?" In reply the apostle says : " I am a man which am 
 a Jew of Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city." 
 
 We propose to speak from these words, on the privileges and 
 obligations of christian citizenship, with special reference to the 
 land in which we live, and of which we boast. 
 
 The public mind is at the present moment, as it rightly should 
 be, much exercised as to the coming elections, * It indicates a 
 healthy condition of the body politic, when the character and actions 
 of public men are closely investigated and narrowly criticised. 
 When a nation becomes so avaricious, or so indifferent to its honor 
 and welfare, that it allows men of no reputation to pass into office, 
 its existence is doomed. Apart, however, from the great political 
 * Delivexed on occasioB of a Parliamentary election. 
 
92 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 questions Involved in the present contest, there are a few thoughts 
 concerning the character and qualifications of those who are called 
 to exercise the franchise, that may not be out of place. While it is 
 almost universally acknowledged that the extension of the franchise 
 in Canada and Great Britain has been an immense boon to all 
 concerned, it is nevertheless to be lamented, that many who are 
 put in possession of this tremendous power for good or for evil, use 
 it thoughtlessly and unwisely. What then, let us enquire, are some 
 of the qualifications of christian citizenship ? 
 
 Christian citizenship should include in the individual, sobriety, 
 intelligence, and religious principle. No man who does not possess 
 in some measure such qualifications, can benefit the nation of which 
 he is a member. By sobriety we ol course mean temperance, 
 chastity, and morality in the widest sense. No man who is unfit 
 to govern his appetites and restrain his passions can creditably take 
 part in the duties and obligations of good citizenship. No man can 
 have a higher aim for his country than he has for himself. He who 
 is ignorant of what :s best for his own happiness, and who acts in 
 direct opposition to the plainest dictates of reason in his manner ot 
 life, cannot choose what is best for the interest of his fellowmen in 
 their collective capacity. People may say of such a man, " that he 
 is his own worst enemy ;" but this is not the fact. In our collective 
 capacity, as members of society, every man's conduct has a bearing 
 upon that of his neighbor. " No man liveth to himself, and no man 
 dieth to himself," is a truth engraven in every department of social 
 life. In the commonwealth, men are not rated by their character 
 at the polling booth or the ballot box, but by their personality, so 
 that the most degraded and wicked man counts just as much 
 as the purest and most upright citizen. Hence the necessity, that 
 in laying the foundations of this new Dominion, we should insist on 
 sobriety as one of the most prominent and valuable traits of citizen- 
 ship. You have a direct interest and I have a direct interest in 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 9$ 
 
 raising the standard of character ; in seeing to it that laws for the 
 prevention of crime are respected, and that such measures are 
 instituted and faithfully carried out, as shall tend to the promotion 
 of good government in the community and nation. You cannot, it 
 is said, make men virtuous by Act of Parliament. If so, the more 
 urgent is the call that christian influence should be brought to bear 
 against all that is dishonorable in the commonwealth, and that men 
 whose character is notorious for unblushing wickedness, should be 
 regarded as traitors to the nation and enemies to its prosperity. 
 
 Christian citizenship should also include a certain measure of 
 intelligence. Especially is this the case, where there is so much 
 equality, that no man need despair of attaining the highest civic 
 honors. We have a noble system of education so far as it goes, but 
 not specially adapted nor intended to afford the higher forms of 
 knowledge which christian citizenship demands. The intelligence 
 of which we speak is only to be gained by experience and study. 
 If, as in many lands, men had little or no interest in the selection of 
 their rulers, and but little opportunity of gaining an acquaintance 
 with social ethics, to demand such intelligence would be unwise as it 
 would be unnecessary. But our case is vastly different. Every citizen 
 of this country may, without the smallest difficulty, gain such an 
 amount of knowledge as will make him an intelligent and inde- 
 pendent agent, in every matter that concerns the commonwealth. 
 We do not believe in this land that ignorance is a virtue. We do 
 not believe that governments are the purest, where the inhabitants 
 are so stupid as not to canvass the actions of their rulers. On the 
 contrary, we believe that knowledge and intelligence are the 
 birthright of every class, and that wherever they are general, there 
 will be the greatest amount of individual happiness, the firmest 
 government, and the most righteous laws. 
 
 Every elector should, then, have general information on all the 
 leading questions of the past and present. We do not mean that 
 
24 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 every man should be a university graduate, or a scholar in the 
 proper sense of the term ; but that knowledge should be possessed 
 by the humblest classes in our land, in such proportion as to qualify 
 them for the more important trusts of public life. Should not 
 every citizen have some knowledge of history — the history of his 
 own and other lands — of the changes that have taken place in the 
 customs, occupations, and habits of the people? Should he not 
 add to this some acquaintance with the political institutions of his 
 own and other lands ? How without such intelligent knowledge is 
 he to help to make the laws and repeal them? — to frame and 
 fashion local or general governments, or discharge all those duties 
 which belong to intelligent and responsible agents ? On moral 
 grounds — on patriotic grounds — we demand all this in every man 
 who lays claim to the privileges of the nation. 
 
 It is admitted that there never was a period when knowledge 
 was more generally diffused than at present. At the same time, 
 those who are most conversant with the literary tastes of the day, 
 declare that there never was a period when there was less demand 
 for the more solid and thoughtful productions of genius than there 
 is now. Nay, were there a demand for serial publications at all 
 proportioned to the citizenship of the nation, there would be little 
 cause for regret. But large masses of our population have no 
 knowledge but what comes to them second-hand ; — taken from the 
 lips of men who are not over faithful in certain circumstances to 
 facts of history. The extreme partizan or the prejudiced political 
 print, or the platform orator, arc the only authorities on all matters 
 affecting the destiny of the nation. 
 
 Now in such a land as ours, where books are so cheap, and where 
 the channels of information are so abundant and free, and where 
 there are so many inducements to rise to superior positions in 
 s )ciety, it is a shame for any man to be contented with the mere 
 tittle-tattle of the market-place. No man need call another master, 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 25 
 
 as regards the more common subjects that demand attention, and 
 he who values intelligence so poorly as to put forth no efforts to 
 obtain it, or goes about the streets gathering up the crumbs of 
 commonplace conversation, instead of refreshing himself at the 
 fountain-head, is unworthy to exercise the privileges of citizenship, 
 or obtain any honor within the gift of his fellow-men. 
 
 Christian citizenship should, finally, include religious principle. 
 If a man is not guided by principle in his business, men cease to 
 put faith in anything he does or says. It is just so in public life ; 
 principle, stern and unbending, must control every act that has for 
 its object the civil and social welfare of our fellow-men. Where 
 there is no principle there is no stability of character. A man 
 actuated by principle is not imposed upon, flattered, or persuaded, 
 or coaxed into doubtful positions by the false representations of 
 designing men. You are always sure where to find such a man, 
 and you honor him for his 'consistency and straightforward conduct, 
 though it should be opposed to your views, and at variance with 
 your creed. 
 
 It is often said in regard to religious matters, that it is danger- 
 ous for any man to make expediency his guide. It is so in regard 
 to political matters. It is no shame for a man to change his 
 opinions, provided there is sufficient cause for such a change, and 
 that on calm reflection his conscience demands it. But to move 
 hither and thither at the call of this or that faction, to renounce all 
 independence of thought and action, because self-interest, or expe- 
 diency, or the gratification of friends demands it, lowers a man in 
 the estimation of all who admire firmness and strength of 
 character. 
 
 Our acts as citizens, next to our public acts as christians, are 
 matters of serious importance. Church membership we regard as 
 a solemn transaction between the soul and its Maker. We invest 
 it with a responsibility which every thinking man acknowledges to 
 
26 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 be just. But we look upon actions affecting the nation in a very 
 different light. And yet the difference is not so great after all. 
 The same sincerity, the same honest convictions, the same purity 
 of motive should be apparent in the one case as in the other. A 
 man is responsible at the bar of God, not simply for his religious 
 profession, but for the whole of his life, and where he suppresses 
 the clear convictions of conscience for the maxims of policy, he 
 renders himself amenable to a higher than human jurisciction. 
 There is no act of an intelligent man so insignificant in its results 
 as to be beneath the notice of the Almighty, and just in proportion 
 as the transact*'^ns he engages in are far-reaching and comprehen- 
 sive in there sweep, embracing the destinies of coming generations 
 and affecting the glory of God in the kingdoms of the world, do they 
 carry with them an importance and momentousness that can 
 scarcely be realized or weighed. When we render an account of 
 our stewardship there will be not only a classification of specific 
 acts, but a scrutiny of motives, a laying bare of the seqret springs 
 of action and a revealing of the hidden thoughts. 
 
 If we had such citizens, what a nation would be developed 
 within the next century ! What a power would this land exercise 
 in controlling the acts of other nations — what silent but omnipotent 
 influence would be felt wherever her name was mentioned ! If we 
 had such citizens, what senators, what legislators, what magistrates 
 would represent us in our highest places of honor ! Nor is there 
 any true panacea for the social and political evils which afflict us, 
 in common with other countries, but a raising of the entire 
 social structure. It is not by this or that government — it is 
 not by mere change of political leaders and measures, however 
 necessary at times, nor by the conflict of party, that true national 
 greatness can be achieved ; but by the prevalence of religious 
 principle among our inhabitants, by the spread of Bible truth, by 
 hallowed Sabbaths and well-filled churches. A standing army is 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 2/ 
 
 good and useful in its place ; armories and arsenals and fleets of 
 war ships may give an external prestige and grandeur to a nation ; 
 but the best defence that any country can possess, is an enlightened, 
 moral and law-abiding citizenship ; an intelligent, laboring popula- 
 tion ; a free and complete system of education, so unsectarian and 
 non-denominational, as to meet the just demands of every fa'th and 
 every rank and condition of life. " Happy is the people that is in 
 such a case. Yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." 
 Still further ; — if we had such a sober, enlightened, and high- 
 minded citizenship, how easily would the machinery of government 
 be worked ! The friction of party strife, the endless bickerings, 
 criminations, and re-criminations which pass between respectable 
 men ; the unseemly if not dishonest and unchristian measures that 
 are so often resorted to for the accomplishing of certain ends* 
 would be unknown. The voice of the community and common- 
 wealth would frown down all attempts to fetter individual inde- 
 pendence, and hold np to righteous scorn any man or number of 
 men, who would venture to trade in the rights of citizenship. 
 Bribery, coercion, and intimidation would be unknown. Instead 
 of the hatred, hostility, and bitterness that prevail, there would be 
 good-will and forbearance, sympathy and assistance, mutual love 
 and kindness, among the different classes of society. We would 
 come nearer and nearer to the golden age of the past, sung Oi by 
 the poet, when he says : — 
 
 " Then none was for a parly. 
 
 Then all were for the state, 
 Then the great man helped the poor, 
 
 And the poor man loved the great. 
 Then lands were foirly portioned, 
 
 Then spoils were fairly sold ; 
 The Romans were like brothers, 
 
 In the brave days of old !" 
 
 Such a state of things Christianity is to produce. Not vapid 
 declamation about the rights of man and the wrongs of the oppres- 
 
23 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 sed, but the healthy, heah'ng balm of religious truth, brought home 
 to the heart and conscience of the highest and lowest in the land. 
 We have entered as a Christian nation but recently on a new 
 phase of political existence* and what our future history shall be 
 among the kingdoms of the world is very much in our own hands. 
 Some of the young men who read these lines are destined to wield 
 a mighty power in our civic institutions. Surely it is worth their 
 while to seek after that knowledge and dignity of character, which 
 is far better than the proudest title conferred by royalty. The 
 world is not long in finding out the men who are born to command. 
 For a time they may be overlooked, and other less worthy charac- 
 ters usurp their place, but ultimately the sceptre falls into their 
 hands. Rich men without intellects or moral character, and cun- 
 ning crafty diplomats, devoid of conscience, are indeed most pitia- 
 ble objects ; but cultured minds, directed and inspired by holy 
 aims for the good of humanity and the glory of God, are the noblest 
 of all possessions. And it is such minds that in coming years are 
 to rule our land. The time is fast approaching when the only 
 rank recognized will be superiority of mental endowments, sterling 
 principle, and high-toned honor. Then civil distinctions shall no 
 longer be so lightly esteemed that they must be offered to each 
 and every man by turn, but when next to tho sacred office of the 
 ministry, the highest possible honor shall be rule and authority in 
 the state. To bring about such a desirable state of things is surely 
 worth the united effort of Christian citizens. It surely is worth 
 one's striving for, to increase the reputation of this nation, and 
 raise her to that position to which her name, her wide-spread ter- 
 ritory, her noble ancestry and traditions entitle her ; not to seek 
 office simply for personal gain or empty titles that perish ere they 
 are enjoyed, but to make her the instrument of untold blessings 
 to the world at large ; to lift up purity and rectitude and justice 
 
 * Referring to Confederation. 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 29 
 
 to their rightful place in the administration of law, and make 
 Canada, what the poet says of England, when it will be 
 
 Praise and boa."*, enough 
 In every clime and travel where we may 
 That we were born her children 
 
 If such a period is possible, there must be less boasting of the 
 individual and more of the nation ; there must be another kind of 
 patriotism than what is prevalent at the present day. Not how 
 can I profit by the nation, but how can I enrich the nation in all 
 the elements of manhood — in all those enterprises and projects 
 which indicate vitality and progress ; in all those stalwart and 
 robust virtues that ensure permanence and immortality ; such should 
 be the question of every citizen. Your promotion and my promo- 
 tion is a small matter compared with the general good. It is a 
 poor thing for a man to feel that he is but so much dead weight to 
 his country ; that but for his selfishness and indolence, she would 
 have been further advanced in the race of civilization and more 
 prolific of blessings to the world ; that by his personal actions he 
 has brought upon her the reproach and scoff of foreigners, and 
 exposed her to a rude and heartless but none the less truthful 
 criticism. Next to the duties we owe to the church of Christ are 
 our obligations to the nation — obligations which increase in number 
 and rise in importance, in proportion as we have enlarged concep- 
 tions of our indebtedness to the land in which we live. Let us then 
 at the present important juncture in our country's history realize 
 the responsibilities of citizenship, and act as christian men who 
 intend to give her such a name and standing as shall exalt our land 
 in the eyes of the world and start her in a new career of usefulness 
 and honor. While we love and pray for the prosperity of other 
 kingdoms, the welfare of this the land of our birth or adoption 
 must be the first wish of every patriot Yes : — 
 
30 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 There is a land of every land the pride, 
 
 Bploved by heaven o'er all the world beside : 
 
 Where brighter suns dispense serener light, 
 
 And milder moons emparadise the night. 
 
 There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
 
 A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. 
 
 Where shall that land->that spot of earth be found 1 
 
 Art thou a roan ? a patriot 1 look around ! 
 
 O, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam, 
 
 That land thy country, and that spot thy home. 
 
 Man, through all ag'^s of revolving time — 
 
 Unchanging man, in every varying clime, 
 
 Deems his own laud, of every land the pride, 
 
 Beloved by heaven o'er all the world beside ; 
 
 His home the spot of earth supremely blest ; 
 
 A dearer sweeter spot than all the rest 
 
 Perhaps they are wrong and take too gloomy a view of society, 
 who assert that our towns and cities in Canada in many instances 
 are retrograding in the average morality of their inhabitants. And 
 yet the men who are often elected to oflfice in our town and county 
 councils and our parliaments, give occasion for such an opinion. 
 But seldom indeed, comparatively, do virtue and sobriety assert 
 their claims and carry their nominees. Men of easy-going morals 
 and suspicious honesty, and who can never seek for their country 
 a higher standard of character than they deem necessary for them- 
 selves, are in the majority of cases elected. The mantle of charity 
 which our electors throw over the imperfection and scandals which 
 attach to many of our leading politicians is verily broad and 
 accommodating. Indeed, were every christian man in our country 
 to exercise his rights, it is doubtful if they could outnumber the 
 masses who seem to have no regard for honesty, integrity and 
 honorable conduct. While in Great Britain, there is a very pre- 
 ceptible and gratifying change in this matter, here in Canada it is 
 in notable instances the reverse. Christian men of all classes admit 
 and mourn the fact — politicians confess it. It is the lament on all 
 hands, that the overwhelming power and controlling influence in 
 
CHRISTIAN- CITIZENSHIP. 31 
 
 national affairs lies in the hands of that portion of our citizens 
 " who fear not God, nor regard men." 
 
 The rallying cry of many an election campaign has been 
 •' Measures, not Men." Like many similar phrases, it has a ring of 
 sincerity about it, that is apt to mislead unthinking minds. It only 
 needs, however, a moment's reflection to show how exceedingly 
 foolish and vicious such language is, when great interests are at 
 stake in the future of our country ; and that Christian electors, in 
 exercising the franchise, are bound to regard both measures and 
 men, when choosing citizens to represent them in Parliament and 
 other places of trust and honour. It is eminently right and proper 
 to know the views of candidates for Parliamentary honours, in 
 regard to important questions, that command the attention of all 
 classes, and involve the prosperity and happiness of the community 
 at large ; it is also wise to canvass the votes and speeches of our 
 legislators, with a view to a removal or withdrawal of our trust and 
 confidence, but it is no less the duty of reflecting minds to weigh 
 the private character of members of Parliament, and ask themselves 
 the question, whether such conduct is an earnest of honesty, purity 
 and unselfishness when the same man is called upon to deal with 
 matters affecting the welfare of his fellow citizens. We lay it down 
 as a principle that cannot be gainsayed, that no man can be more 
 honest in public than in private life, and that no man who has 
 consciously and flagrantly dishonored his private character, is fit to 
 be trusted in legislating for the nation, and guarding its interests 
 against overreaching and designing powers. 
 
 One would imagine that political parties of every shade of 
 opinion would admit the common sense of such a proposition ; but, 
 singular to say, it is frequently called in question, if not directly 
 denied. It is boldly asserted that a man's private character has 
 nothing to do with his public life ; — he may be dishonest, intem- 
 perate, unreliable, and break alniost every command of the deca- 
 
 ".* 
 
39 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 logue, and yet be our representative in the councils of the land. 
 In regard to certain leading statesmen and politicians, how often 
 do we hear their admirers making the remark, that " they are not 
 just what they should be in character, not over scrupulous in their 
 dealings, and not over rigid in their morality, not very decided or 
 pronounced in their political faith, but such good fellows, such cun- 
 ning, expert politicians, and such shrewd, successful manipulators 
 of men and measures, that they must not be too severely handled, 
 in our criticism of their secret faults." 
 
 It is perhaps wise and proper that when opposing candidates 
 meet together face to face on political platforms or on the hustings, 
 that public issues and public actions alone should be subject matter 
 for debate. But it is altogether different when constituencies are 
 called to elect men to represent them for a term of years in Parlia- 
 ment. They have a right and they are blameworthy if they do not 
 exercise the right of canvassing the history and opinions of these 
 candidates, and coming to an intelligent conclusion as regards 
 their fitness for certain important offices of trust and power. 
 Nothing is doing so much to sap the foundations of morality and 
 public integrity, as the theory so extensively promulgated and 
 practiced by so-called christian men that political adroitness and 
 trickery atone for all sorts of private sins, and that electors are to 
 vote blindly for the standard-bearers of their party, however shame- 
 ful is their private record before the world. In a short time, if we 
 go on as we are doing, virtuous living will count for nothing in our 
 country, and the veriest scapegraces occupy seats in our legislative 
 halls. We protest against such teaching and such conduct, as 
 unworthy of intelligent citizens and derogatory to the best interests 
 of society at large. 
 
 Let us see how such a theory works in other callings and rela- 
 tions of life. A merchant, for example)^ is in want of a confidential 
 clerk — one that can be entrusted with his correspondence — ^with 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 33 
 
 his accounts — with his books — with his monies — in a word, with 
 the entire char - of his establishment. He wants a man of char- 
 acter, who in the absence of the principal can take his place, having 
 in view in all his transactions the profit and honorable name of the 
 concern. Among many applicants, the situation is solicited by a 
 plausible, smart, and withal capable-looking person, whose abilities 
 are of first-class character, and who has in former years occupied 
 such positions of trust and responsibility. He is thoroughly versed 
 in book-keeping — knows all the mysteries of finance — has had an 
 extensive acquaintance with the leading wholesale houses in the 
 trade — and so far as knowledge and ability are concerned, is just 
 the man for the position. But his antecedents are of a decidedly 
 suspicious character. In fact, he has been too clever for his former 
 employers. With all his knowledge and energy, Ic has never 
 understood the distinction between " meum and tuum ;" in other 
 words, between what is rightfully his own, and what belongs to his 
 employer. As a consequence, he is shunned and rejected on all 
 hands. Where honesty is a first requisite, no amount of tact or 
 shrewdness can make up for its absence. A man with no other 
 credentials but what a term of service in the penitentiary affords, 
 is not the person to receive employment on any terms whatever. 
 Reformation is possible in every such case, but until there is good 
 evidence of the fact, no merchant would for a moment trust his 
 honor or his means in the custody of such a criminal. 
 
 Or the case may be somewhat different. The applicant may 
 not be guilty of fraud or embezzlement, but of drunkenness. He is 
 a good-hearted, genial, jovial, fellow, as the world says — generous to 
 a fault, and a true friend to those that need the kind of friendship he 
 has to offer. But he has no command whatever over his appetites. 
 He can not be depended upon for a single hour. His sobriety is 
 the exception — his intemperance the rule. Habitual indulgence in 
 
 such a vice has ruined body and soul, until he is now but a wreck 
 *3 . 
 
34 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 of his former manhood. In sane and sensible moments, no man is 
 more penitent and grief-stricken for his folly. His promises of 
 reform and amendment are apparently firm and sincere, but when 
 temptation presents itself again, he is prostrate. The passion for 
 strong drink, like a very demon, asserts itself, and conquers his 
 better nature. Such a man is certainly not beyond the pale of 
 hope. Strong and persistent determine* ion to avoid the very ap- 
 pearance of evil, assisted by the grace of God, can clothe such a 
 man in his right mind again, and make him a useful member of 
 society, but until such a radical change has been effected, no mer- 
 chant in his senses would trust him with the pettiest details of com- 
 mon life, far less clothe him with the responsibilities of official work. 
 If, then, dishonest men, and immoral men, men treacherous, 
 crafty, intemperate and unreliable, are not to be trusted with the 
 common business of the world, shall we elect such men to represent 
 us in Parliament ? We speak in the interest of no party, but in 
 the interests of public integrity and good government, when we 
 unhesitatingly say, assuredly not ! If in the ranks of parties striv- 
 ing after political victory such men are to be found, let them be 
 left in the shades of private life, until good evidence is furnished 
 of a decided change in their habits and propensities. Suspend 
 them for a time, or put them on probation, as certain ecclesiastical 
 bodies do with guilty members. Give us good honest men, actua- 
 ted by principle, zealous for the country's good, possessed of un- 
 blemished records in their private life and dealings, and we can 
 trust such men to represent us, though their political creed may 
 not entirely meet our approbation. If the choice is given us, 
 whether to elect a sober, high-principled, straightforward man of 
 another political faith, or an intemperate, unscrupulous, deceitful 
 and selfish man of our own, we prefer the former. Guided by an 
 enlightened conscience, we have no misgivings as to his course of 
 conduct in matters affecting the national honour. 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 55 
 
 The matter before us may be put in a still stronger light. In 
 the ranks of the clergy, as in the ranks of politicians, there are to 
 be found unworthy characters — men who enter the office for a piece 
 of bread, regardless of the welfare of souls. Such men may for a 
 time, it is admitted, be the means of doing much good. So long 
 as their hypocrisy holds out, they may by force of natural talent 
 and an assumed earnestness and zeal, be instruments of making 
 other men better than they are themselves. But what congregation 
 of christians would choose such a man for its spiritual guide, whose 
 character was open to the least breath of suspicion ? No amount 
 of genius, or eloquence, or commanding pulpit power, can compen- 
 sate for the want of purity and consistency, in speech and behaviour. 
 The private life of the man gives tone to his public appearances, 
 and commends the religion he enforces to the heart and conscience 
 of his hearers. Apart from this, his words can have no value ; — 
 when wrong-doing is once discovered, the idol is dashed from the 
 throne of the affections, and branded with eternal ignominy. 
 
 It is so in every department of social life but in - olitics. What 
 is considered crime in every other case, is regarded in this but a 
 petty misdemeanor, which can be easily condoned or forgiven, on 
 account of past services or extraordinary ability ! And thus public 
 men are not only tolerated, but encouraged in their wickedness. 
 They may sacrifice the honour of their country for the sake of 
 personal aggrandisement ; they may stain the purity of office by 
 habitual and notorious immorality ; they may corrupt the fountain- 
 head of justice by the most scandalous acts of legislation, and still 
 remain secure in possession of their honors ! In proportion as a 
 man is endowed with brilliant and commanding gifts, he may con- 
 tinue to violate laws, both human and divine, and laugh at the 
 censures and criticisms of the few who remonstrate and condemn 
 such conduct ! Well may we say of such a state of affairs — " Woe 
 unto them that call evil good, and good evil — that put darkness 
 
|6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 jfor light, and light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and 
 sweet for bitter ; which justify the wicked for reward." 
 
 Public opinion, or rather prejudice, which sustains such conduct 
 and winks at such monstrous anomalies, will gradually come over 
 to the side of truth, and avenge itself upon unprincipled and reck- 
 less demagogues. Our country is rich enough, as an American 
 writer says, to afford to do without the greatest intellects God lets 
 the devil buy, and any name, however illustrious, which links itself 
 to abuses, is sure to be overwhelmed by the impetuous current of 
 society. The judgment of humanity in the end is just. Men who 
 are now fondled and courted and idolized as the political heroes of 
 the hour, shall yet receive a just and impartial verdict at the hands 
 of their fellow men. Of many a man thus honoured and exalted, 
 it shall yet be said — 
 
 He left a corsair's name to other times, 
 Linked with one virtue, and a thousand crimes. 
 
 Some of us in this countrj' take it for granted that our nation- 
 ality — English, Scotch, or Irish — is sufficient to make our reputa- 
 tion, without individual efforts, — to preserve the memories and 
 traditions of the past. The spirit of the age takes little account of 
 a man's moral character, provided he is a success in public life. 
 The pernicious maxim, that " the end justifies the means," is having 
 a damaging effect upon the stern uncompromising virtues that 
 flourished in a bygone generation, and blinding us to the essential 
 difference between right and wrong. Men who have been educated 
 to believe that — " worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow," — 
 are not slow to act a part, in strange antagonism to their creed, 
 provided place, power and prerogative are secured. Old-fashioned 
 maxims as to honest poverty, straightforward dealings and unselfish 
 patriotism, are laughed down as behind the age, and as uncongenial 
 and unprofitable. It may not appear so to the superficial observer, 
 but I venture to afiirm, that never until the 'hies of Christianity 
 
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP. 37 
 
 are general, can we hope for commercial integrity, confidence in 
 business relations, unselfish statesmanship, and gentlemanly con- 
 duct in the high places of the land. 
 
 The future development of this great nation calls for the earnest 
 and united efforts of all good men, until that happy period arrives 
 when, in the language of the poet, it can be said of this Dominion : 
 
 Then the progeny that springs 
 
 From the forests of our land, 
 Armed with thunder, clad with wings, 
 
 Shall a wider world command. 
 
 Befl[ions Cffisar never knew 
 
 Thy posterity shall sway ; 
 Where his eagles nev«r flew, 
 
 None invincible as they. 
 
Capital and Labor. 
 
 The Reciprocal Rights of Employer and Employed. 
 
" i3ear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." 
 
 — Galatians 6, v. 2. 
 
 " bervants obey in all things your masters, according to the flesh ; not 
 with eye service as men pleasers." — Colossians 3, v. 22. 
 
 " Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal : knowing 
 that ye also have a Master in heaven.'' — Colossians 4, y. 1. 
 
 "The labourer is worthy of his hire." — Luke 10, v. 7. 
 
Capital and Labor. 
 
 FEEL the delicacy and the difficulty of speaking upon 
 the question of Capital and Labour, and the relations 
 of employers and employees. It is not at all likely 
 that every statement made will be approved by all my 
 hearers. I feel, however, that if I make the smallest con- 
 tribution to a better feeling among the different classes in 
 our community, the effort will not be altogether vain. 
 
 I am not here to discuss in the abstract the many abstruse ques- 
 tions that belong to the science of political economy. I take it, 
 that comparatively few of our workingmen have ever read or 
 studied " Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations," or the more recent 
 works on the matter in dispute that are daily issued from the press. 
 Their constant efforts to provide for themselves and families from 
 day to day, preclude the leisure that may be profitably occupied by 
 students, in discussing and solving theories which seldom come 
 within the range of practical experience. Nor shall I refer, save in 
 the most general terms, to the aims of certain societies which claim 
 to direct and control the labour of our artizan population. I p*ss 
 no judgment upon the motives that actuate their leaders, although 
 I cannot help saying that the principles enunciated, when carried 
 
42 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 out to their legitimate conclusions, seem in the opinion of many 
 christian men, to lead to absolute tyranny, and to forbid all free 
 and independent action. 
 
 I speak as the friend of the workingman in the fullest sense cf 
 the word. Naturally, my sympathies are with this class. I am 
 one of themselves. In boyhood I knew what it was to labor from 
 before the dawn of day till long after darkness, at wages which no 
 Canadian apprentice would accept My parents belonged to the 
 humbler classes of society, but were rich toward God, if not toward 
 men. And in all that affects, or can possibly forward the well- 
 being of the working classes, I have taken a deep interest since my 
 entrance upon the ministry. I feel, therefore, that above many, I 
 can bespeak their indulgence, whether the thoughts presented pro- 
 voke criticism or are adjudged as reasonable. 
 
 Once more — I speak in no patronizing way to the toilers of 
 society, who rightly despise all such affected condescension — far 
 less do I avail myself of the present occasion, to counsel them as 
 to their every day deportment. Taken as a whole, I believe that 
 the conduct of our artizans, to say the least, is as high as that of 
 many employers of labour. If there are instances of intemperance 
 and shiftlessness and prodigality among them, there are crimes of 
 not less magnitude to be found among those who rank among the 
 higher classes ; and refuse to mingle with the masses. To rebuke 
 the one, and not the other, is unfair. If the mechanic who neglects 
 his family for the tavern or the club room is deserving of censure, 
 so is the man who secretly indulges in debauchery, or lives extrav- 
 agantly, upon the gains ot oppression and dishonesty. 
 
 The rights of capital and labour, of masters and servants, is one 
 of the vexed questions of political economy, upon which much has 
 been written, but with very little definite results. The views of 
 economists and partizans — the selfishness in some cases of the 
 employer, and the unreasonableness in other cases of the employee 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 43 
 
 have kept apart classes, whose interests ought to be one. It s, 
 however, no time for repeating economic truisms, such as that the 
 laborer has a right to work or refuse working, and the employer to 
 employ or refuse employment. Every one admits this. The legiti- 
 macy of organization, for the purpose of bettering the condition of 
 workingmen, is generally acknowledged. All classes of citizens in 
 a free country, have the right to unite in trade or labor associations, 
 and use all legitimate means for the furtherance of their interests. 
 But while this is true, it is none the less worthy of note, that sym- 
 pathy with the working man ends, as soon as efforts for his im- 
 provement pass beyond moral and lawful means. The capitalist 
 who has been a laborer (and there are many such in Canada), and 
 the laborer who hopes to become a capitalist and master, know 
 equally well, that immoral and illegal means must lead to ruin. 
 
 There is much to i^e said on behalf of the workingman in his 
 effort to better his condition. The system of reckless competition 
 in trades and industries, that is now pursued in almost every civil- 
 ized country, is suicidal to the best interests of society. Merchants 
 and manufacturers, underselling each other, are compelled to reduce 
 wages, until existence for the workingman becomes a weary strug- 
 gle. Such a state of things produces combinations and trades 
 unions among workingmen. They urge their claim to what they 
 believe is only the just reward of honest toil, while capitalists resist 
 what they imagine is destructive of their interests. What is to be 
 the upshot of this unseemly strife ? Shall capital subjugate labor, 
 or labor capital? Or, rather, should not both parties unite on 
 some peaceable solution of their differences, to the mutual benefit 
 of both? 
 
 The present agitation has been chiefly promoted by outside 
 influences — by itinerant vendors of stale and wornout phrases as to 
 capital and labor, who are recent importations from the over-popula- 
 ted continental cities of Europe to the United States, and in a few 
 
44 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 instances by certain parties who seek the position of leaders among 
 their fellow workmen, and assume the right to dictate to the indus- 
 trious mechanics of Canada, on what terms they shall sell their 
 labor to employers. In most cases these self-elected leaders are 
 men of the most limited mental capacity, making up, however, for 
 the lack of brains, by an amount of assurance that would indicate 
 the very highest attainments in the science of political economy 
 and good government. Their influence so far, where they have 
 exercised any influence whatever, has been most pernicious upon 
 the parties mostly interested, and the country at large. Strikes 
 have taken place in towns and cities, resulting in almost every 
 instance in grievous loss to the employee. For as matters now 
 stand, labor cannot coerce capital, save in very rare ?nd exceptional 
 cases. Better terms and more satisfactory relations between master 
 and servant are not to be brought about by such measures. They 
 but widen the chasm which already exists, and foster feelings of 
 mutual anger and resentment, which years cannot abate. Admit- 
 ting for the moment that the working classes are entitled to greater 
 privileges than they now possess, these privileges are not to be 
 secured by violent tirades and inflammatory denunciations and 
 noisy demonstrations against employers, but by the presentation 
 in courteous terms of their reasonable demands, and the exercise 
 of moderation and prudence, which are sure eventually to bring 
 negotiations to a successful issue. 
 
 It is comparatively easy, when facts are not tabulated, and when 
 the present prosperous condition of the working classes, as con- 
 trasted with the past, is studiously concealed, to make some men 
 believe that they are cruelly wronged, and are little better than 
 Russian serfs or West India slaves. Listening to certain speeches 
 recently delivered, one would imagine that the working men of 
 Canada lived under a despotism of the most debasing character, 
 where manhood and independence were systematically crushed by 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 45 
 
 rapacious millionaires for their own aggrandizement. '* Life to the 
 workingman is a ceaseless degradation, a daily martyrdom, a fun- 
 eral procession to the grave !" says one of the champions for the 
 rights of labor in Great Britain. Such talk is both false and foolish. 
 Every one knows the wonderful ameliorations that have taken 
 place in the lot of the workingman since the sixteenth century. 
 Every year, through the pressure of public opinion, grievances are 
 being redressed that hindered his advancement, and the way opened 
 up for his physical and moral improvement. Even in Great Britain, 
 where the privileges and remuneration of the workingman are 
 vastly inferior to Canada, a great improvement has taken place in 
 recent years. Any one in the smallest degree acquainted with the 
 state of society in England in the days of the Henrys' and Charles', 
 will gladly acknowledge the revolution that has taken place in the 
 condition of the working classes. In the beginning of the sixteenth 
 century, the houses of workingmen were built of mud, and in many 
 cases unfit for the shelter of cattle, not to speak of men. Their 
 food consisted wholly of beans and peas and the coarser vegeta- 
 bles. Wages were considered extravagant at a shilling a day, the 
 average being but sixpence. Members of the House of Commons 
 complained that owing to high wages paid mechanics — one shilling 
 a day — England could no longer compete with the looms of India. 
 Farm hands had five shillings a week in England, while in Scotland 
 and Ireland they had less. And while wages were thus low, pro- 
 visions were in many cases higher than at the present day. If 
 again we restrict our enquiry to the present century, we find a gra- 
 dual but steady improvement in the condition of the workingman* 
 In 1800 the wages of an English stone mason were sixteen shillings 
 per week — now they are thirty ; while the remuneration of mechan- 
 ics and skilful workmen js more than double what it was at the 
 beginning of the present century. These facts, which might be 
 indefinitely multiplied, show clearly how little foundation there is 
 
40 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 for the vague and sweeping assertions, that workingmen do not 
 share in the general prosperity, and that capital and capitalists 
 absorb all the profits of the age. 
 
 No one will pretend to state otherwise, than that the average 
 condition of workingmen in Canada and the United States is in 
 advance of the old world. Mechanics in this city, who I am told 
 were paid 62^ cents per day, thirty years ago, now receive $2.50 
 and $3.00 per day ; indeed the vast emigration to the continent of 
 America, at the rate of one^ thousand a day during the summer 
 months, proves as much. These emigrants have good grounds for 
 believing that in the new world their chances for advancement and 
 acquiring a competency of this world's goods, are far more likely 
 than in their native country. Friends and relatives who have pre- 
 ceded them have vastly improved their condition, and are urging 
 those who still remain at home to follow. They have acquired 
 large tracts of land and herds of cattle, cU^ared their farms, erected 
 comfortable dwellings, and surrounded themselves with everything 
 that can conduce to material prosperity. Mechanics have risen to 
 be the employers of hundreds, and servants to be masters. In view 
 of all this, is it not foolish and criminal for any class of men to sow 
 the seeds of dissension between employers and employed, and 
 hinder the social advancement of all classes in the land ? What- 
 ever anomalies still exist, are to be removed or ameliorated by 
 mutual concessions and the interchange of kindly sentiment, not 
 by appeals to brute force. The intelligent mechanic is jtlst as 
 independent as the master, and can easily work his way in spite of 
 all opposition to place and power. 
 
 Indeed the phrase " workingman," as used in the old world, is 
 to a great extent, meaningless in such a land as Canada. We are 
 all workingmen. Different forms of labor exist, but how few can 
 live without hard labor and constant industry! In some countries 
 the term "workingman" may be used as the language of supercil- 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 47 
 
 ious contempt and haughty ignorance, but not in Canada. The 
 theory that any class should be doomed to ignorance, in order to 
 render a more servile obedience, should have no advocates, where 
 education is regarded as the birthright of every child. New and 
 better ideas prevail. " The body is not one member but many," 
 says the apostle Paul. The eye cannot say unto the hand, " I have 
 no need of thee ;" nor again the head to the feet, " I have no need 
 of thee." And thci'nfore, he reasons, there should be no schism in 
 the body, but that the members should have the same care one of 
 another. For whether one member suffer, all the members suffer 
 with it ; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with 
 it. Applied to social economics, these verses teach, that the law of 
 rational creation is mutual dependence and co-operation. Every 
 man's work is honorable, if honest and virtuous, and necessary to 
 the welfare and happiness of the nation. The quarryman, who 
 blasts the rock and loosens the stone from its sleep of centuries, is 
 just as useful and necessary as the hewer, who prepares the carved 
 and chiselled blocks for the building. The man who digs the 
 foundation is as useful as the builder ; the miner as the smelter, or 
 machinist or goldsmith ; the lumberer, who with brawny arm fells 
 the stately oak, as the carpenter and joiner ; the compositor and 
 pressman, as the writer ; and the ship builder as the captain and 
 pilot. The fact, that we are apt to recognize that kind of work 
 which is most palpable and tangible, to the exclusion of what is 
 further removed from common observation, does not disprove our 
 assertion, that all kinds of labor are equally honorable and neces- 
 sary to the welfare of society. Until this idea is universally 
 accepted, we shall not be entirely free from occasional strife and 
 angry crimination. Until the master recognizes the workman as a 
 co-laborer in the great field of human industry, and the workman 
 regards the employer in the same light, there will be feuds, antag- 
 onisms and misunderstandings. More than a mere commercial 
 
48 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 contract should bind employer and employed together. The 
 workmen should not be classed with the machinery — with cylinders 
 and pistons and wheels and cranks. Brains ought not to be 
 weighed with the dross of the furnace. Men ought to be valued 
 and recompensed, according as their labor is profitable, and not 
 used as beasts of burden ! 
 
 At the same time it will be admitted by all reasonable men, 
 that the responsibilities of employers are deserving of large compen- 
 sation. We often fail to recognize the immense risks that capital- 
 ists take in embarking in new and large undertakings. Men who 
 by their energy, ingenuity and superior ability, have raised them- 
 selves to prominent positions in the mercantile world, merit honor 
 and emoluments. The largest possible return is often but a small 
 recompense for the toil and anxiety undergone. Among these 
 there are also many who are not only just, but generous, kind, sym- 
 pathetic and merciful in all their dealings, and whose highest am- 
 bition it is to better the condition of their workmen as well as 
 themselves. Many families in this city, I have reason to know, 
 have thus been cared for in times of sickness and death, when 
 friends were few and their wants were many. 
 
 As indicating the prevalence of this friendly and honorable 
 spirit, mention should be made of the method adopted by the 
 Messrs. Denny, the prominent ship builders on the Clyde, in deal- 
 ing with their workmen. Some time ago it was thought advisable 
 to revise and extend the yard rules. Instead of altering the rules 
 to suit their own desires, the Messrs. Denny asked the assistance 
 and co-operation of all classes of their workmen, in the task of 
 revision. For that purpose a series of conferences were held, which 
 were attended by the members of the firm, the members of the 
 staff, and delegates appointed by the workers. At the final confer- 
 ence, Mr. William Denny, addressing the delegates, said he believed 
 such conferences were the first in the whole history of labor in 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 49 
 
 which employer and employed had together discussed rules, and 
 come to a friendly and reasonable conclusion upon them. The 
 results of the ronfcrences were, that they had a workable, just, and 
 effective code of rules. He believed the code of rules agreed upon 
 would be more efficient from the workmen having had a share in 
 making them, and having given them their approval, and that in 
 the future solution of the labor question, these principles would be 
 widely recognized. I believe that the time is coming when the 
 workingman shall receive remuneration in proportion to the profits 
 of his industry, and when co-operation shall be more generally 
 adopted. But such a condition of affairs is not to be hastened by 
 combinations and strikes, and boycotting and dynamite explosions, 
 planned in almost every case, not by American or Canadian oper- 
 atives, but by infidel communists from the old world. For such 
 lawless and diabolical measures the better classes of our workmen 
 are, however, held responsible by many who cannot distinguish 
 between lawful and unlawful methods, that have recently been em- 
 ployed to adjust the differences between capital and labor. The 
 direct tendency of such strikes is to withdraw capital and prevent 
 new industries, while in almost every case, they far more seriously 
 affect the workingman than the master. 
 
 The teachings of infidel socialists and political agitators, so 
 prevalent in the western cities of the United States, are the great- 
 est curse that any civilized nation can be afflicted with. It has 
 been well said, that " the communism that would level all distinction 
 and sweep out of sight the inequalities that will and that must 
 arise, if men are to be what they ought to be, is irrational and un- 
 just. To say that private property ought not to exist, is to say 
 that individuals ought not to be themselves. It is to put a pre- 
 mium on idleness, and to present no adequate motive for the fullest 
 development of one's powers. All men have a common interest in 
 the world. It is their birth-place, their school, their workshop. It 
 
J 
 
 50 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 is their temporary or preliminary home. They have the same sky, 
 and sea, and earth to look upon, and the same great problems of 
 life to solve. But it does not follow that all men ought, therefore 
 to have an equal share of the enjoyments and possessions of the 
 world. Such an affirmation would be false to universal life, to the 
 true nature of man, and to the end for which the world exists. 
 Justice demands an impartial administration of law, and the ren- 
 dering to every one that which is due. No one ought to be unduly 
 favored on the ground of purely fictitious circumstances, and no 
 one ought to be unfairly debarred from the possibility of showing 
 what is in him, and of improving his condition." 
 
 We have a very beautiful picture presented us in the second 
 chapter of the book of Ruth, of the kindly relations that ought to 
 exist, between masters and servants. It is an eastern harvest field, 
 with a long line of reapers, sickle in hand, cutting down the 
 precious grain. Boaz, the owner enters, and salutes the laborers in 
 God's name, " The Lord be with you ; " and they respond, " The 
 Lord bless thee." Such a mode of salutation appears to have been 
 common in the east, but it is all the more striking in view of the 
 relations between master and servant in patriarchal times. These 
 patriarchs were more than masters — they asserted unquestioned 
 supremacy over their servants, akin to the serfdom of the feudal 
 ages. There was no appeal from their mandates, and no such 
 personal freedom enjoyed as at the present day. And yet in 
 instances such as the one under consideration, there seems to have 
 been far more actual kindliness and good will than in many cases 
 exist between masters and servants at the present day. 
 
 Boaz exhibits a spirit of sympathy and kindness. Courtesy 
 towards inferiors, costs nothing. It is not incompatible with true 
 dignity. U does not lessen authority or respect, to use familiar 
 terms. It does not make servants less anxious to serve their 
 master's interests. That the working classes are so often found 
 
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 zm^\ 
 
 ^r^?^;. 
 
 ¥ii>y 
 
 ■'yyy 
 
 m 
 
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 4 
 
 \ .^V- .i^ 
 
 1,;(?^« 
 
 BOAZ AND RUTH. 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 5 1 
 
 disrespectful, is because of their rude and inconsiderate treatment, 
 Threats and curses more than kindly words are their lot. Thus 
 masters and servants stand apart, jealous of each other. The mas- 
 ter regards the servant as only useful to increase his capital, 
 and the servant works simply because he must, but with no regard 
 to the promotion of his employer's interest. Out of this con- 
 dition of affairs there come combinations, strikes, workingmen's 
 leagues and unions, social revolutions, and anarchy and bloodshed. 
 
 Now what is the remedy for this and all other social griev- 
 ances ? Not mere human adjustments, and acts of parliament, and 
 measures of expediency, that seem for a time to silence complaint, 
 but in the claims of christian brotherhood being more generally 
 recognized. Better terms cannot be dragged reluctantly from 
 unwilling and avaricious masters, nor selfish operatives driven to 
 render cheerful service. Differences in society there must be. 
 Equality in the communistic sense of the term is impossible. But 
 as all ranks are necessary to work out the problem of human exis- 
 tence there need be no jarring or conflict. The rich are as depen- 
 dent upon the poor as the poor are upon the rich. It is bad for a 
 nation when injustice leads to lawlessness, and brute force is 
 demanded to suppress open riot. Religion is the grand salve for 
 the sores of humanity — not the nostrum of politicians, but the 
 gospel of Christ In the body politic it teaches there should be no 
 schism, " but the members should have the same care, the one of 
 the other. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer 
 with it ; or one member honored, all the members rejoice with it." 
 
 The spirit of kindness manifested by Boaz towards the reapers 
 is perfectly compatible with a diligent circumspection. The faith- 
 ful servant has no cause to fear oversight and investigation, and 
 the master dare not neglect it. It is not good for either party to 
 be irresponsible. But watchfulness and supervision need not be 
 
52 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 exercised in an inquisitorial and fault-finding spirit. It should just 
 as often lead to commendation and promotion, as to criticism. 
 
 Boaz also exhibits in his conduct simple, earnest, heartfelt piety. 
 He was not ashamed to acknowledge Israel's God, or to transact 
 his business as accountable at His bar. Because he feared God, he 
 loved his fellowmen. True sympathy for man takes its rise in love 
 to God. The religion he possessed himself, he desired for his lab- 
 orers. If the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, it also gives con- 
 tentment to the poor. There are good masters who make no pro- 
 fession of religion whatever. But the best ought to be found among 
 the professed followers of Christ. Where the standard of righteous- 
 ness and justice, as laid down in God's word, is enforced and 
 accep^-f''^ as the rule of individual action, there will b.^ no cause for 
 differences, and perfect accord will exist between man and man. 
 
 In view of these statements, we remark : (a) That masters 
 should have due regard to the physical welfare of their servants. 
 The demands made upon a human being ought to be different from 
 those made upon a machine. He ought not to be driven till his 
 strength gives way, and until seeds of disease are sown that inevit- 
 ably shorten life. The Christian public, as much as the employers 
 of labor, have much to do in abridging the hours of labor. At their 
 door lies the sin of unnecessary trading, when both master and ser- 
 vant ought to rest from toil, {b) Masters should have due regard 
 to the social welfare of their servants. They deserve fair remun- 
 eration. Advantage ought not to be taken of over supply. Labor 
 should be recompensed in proportion as it increases in value. The 
 workmen in large manufacturing establishments are really business 
 partners, and those above them for the time being, ought to think 
 of them, and manage affairs in their interest as well as their own. 
 Profit-sharing makes labor more efficient, and very materially redu- 
 ces the expense of supervision. The temporal comforts of em- 
 ployees have claims upon the employer. Young men coming from 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. " S3 
 
 christian homes to strange cities, lonely and friendless, should be 
 introduced to good companions, invited to the houses of masters, 
 and made to feel that they are the objects of interest, beyond mere 
 civil contracts. The gain in such cases is the master's more than 
 the servant's. He has the choice of hands, and gains the good will 
 of the community, in preference to unprincipled and grasping world- 
 lings, (c) Masters should also have due regard to the religious 
 welfare of their servants. They have a right to enjoin attendance 
 upon ordinances, and enquire how their Sabbath days are spent. No 
 young man is fit for any position of trust who scoffs at religion and 
 dishonors God's day. Biit in order that such exercise of authority 
 may be of value and command respect, business must be conducted 
 on t^e principles of integrity. The religion of the master must be 
 visible to his servants, and practised on week days as well as the 
 Lord's day. 
 
 There is need, it seems to me, for such truths being oft repeated 
 at the present day. As business is now transacted, kindly relations 
 between masters and servants is essential to harmony and good 
 feeling. Machinery revolving at a rapid rate of speed, by constant 
 friction catches fire, and in a twinkling the entire premises may be 
 reduced to ashes. So of society as a whole. If we cannot return 
 to the old patriarchal habits, and begin the day by saying to our 
 employes, " The Lord be with you," let us at least endeavor to 
 introduce Old Testament civility into our homes and into the 
 haunts of commerce. 
 
 The cognate question, whether eight hours shall be a day's 
 labor is a complex one, and depends upon various considerations. 
 I have never felt that the workingmen of Canada had much sym- 
 pathy with it, or were dissatisfied with present arrangements. The 
 pica that it is intended for the mental and moral improvement of 
 the workingmen will not, I fear, hold good. Certainly our com- 
 munistic friends, who advoc,'\te the movement, are not in every case 
 
54 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 patterns of sobriety and intelligence. That it is demanded on 
 physical grounds, has never so far been demonstrated. Nor can it 
 be argued on the basis of political economy. The earth will not 
 give the same results for eight hours labor as for ten. The manu- 
 facturer cannot produce the same quantity of goods, nor make the 
 same profits, under the eight hours system as the ten, and it follows 
 that if profits are reduced, wages are reduced. Not only so, but 
 the entire commonwealth suffers, as well as the individual operative 
 and his family. Of course, as has been well said : — If anybody 
 thinks he can make as much money as he needs by working eight 
 hours a day, he ought to have full liberty to try the experiment. 
 It is simply a question of personal choice. There is no question 
 that eight hours or even four hours per day of vigorous labor will 
 enable mankind to live. The blanket Indian can live on two hours' 
 work. He wears but little clothing, sleeps in a wigwam on the 
 ground, and eats his meat without fork or spoon. The question is 
 one of contentment. If we are willing to live on a lower plane of 
 living, and philosophically enjoy cheap surroundings, we can do so. 
 But the majority of healthy, ambitious young men, would rather 
 work sixteen hours than eight, provided the extra eight hours will 
 put them one-half ahead of their competitors. The sixteen hour 
 men will get there first, and be able to take a rest upon the moun- 
 tain top of success, and look down at the eight hour men plodding 
 below for a bare subsistence. And even should the eight hour 
 rule become universal — skill, talent, energy, brains, will have the 
 same relative advantage as they have now. But this can never 
 come. For a law declaring that no man should work more than 
 eight hours a day would be unconstitutional, and if the hours were 
 not limited by law, would not the ambitious work over hours, and 
 so practically annul the regulation ? In other words, can any rule 
 of labor be adopted, which will prevent the most industrious from 
 earning as much as he can, or which will keep the most active, 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 55 
 
 alert, aspiring, avaricious, frugal, sober and efficient men from get- 
 ting to the top and keeping there ? No man can get something 
 for nothing, and it is exceedingly doubtful if any new-fangled inven- 
 tion will be able to set aside the indestructible law of supply and 
 demand, or reduce to a dead level cf mediocrity the good and bad, 
 the trained and the ignorant, the intelligent and the stupid, the 
 industrious and the lazy, and all the various sorts and classes of 
 workingmen. 
 
 There are some industries where, by special arrangements be- 
 tween employers and employed, eight hours may be substituted for 
 ten. Where workmen are paid by the hour, there is no practical 
 difficulty ; the only effect is reduced wages. But it should be 
 remembered that at least one-half of all the laborers in the country, 
 such as fishermen, miners, railroad men and farmers, are so em- 
 ployed that an eight hour law cannot possibly apply to them at all. 
 The workmen who clamour so loudly for a reduction in the hours 
 of labor forget, I fear, how many toil ten or twelve hours for five 
 days in each week, and on Saturdays till near midnight. I have 
 great sympathy with the salesmen and saleswomen in our stores, 
 whose hours of labor are often lengthened by the thoughtlessness 
 of the buyers, among whom possibly are many of the men who 
 would have their own hours of labor lessened. And what shall we 
 say of farmers, who at certain seasons of the year toil fourteen and 
 sixteen out of the twenty-four, and professional men who have no 
 cessation night nor day. 
 
 This labor question is drifting away from its proper field of dis- 
 cussion, and becoming involved in politics. Very soon, as years 
 ago, when elections draw near, we shall hear of " the workingman's 
 candidate," and " the friend of the workingman," attached to certain 
 candidates for Parliamentary honors by their supporters, in hope 
 of securing the votes of intelligent mechanics. In many cases, the 
 men who profess such great sympathy with workingmen, have hith- 
 
$6 * THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 erto been their worst enemies. They have spoken of them in the 
 language of contempt — they have trodden them under foot — they 
 have refused them the franchise — they have made laws directly 
 against their interests. But when elections are at hand, and the 
 votes of workingmen count for something, they represent them- 
 selves as the true friends of the workingman. "They desire to see 
 him raised to a higher position in society — they demand for him 
 better wages — less labor — more extended privileges ; in a word, 
 they want workingmen to occupy seats in Parliament, and sit side 
 by side with Knights and Baronets, making and unmaking laws, 
 and basking in the smiles of Royalty !" 
 
 A few may be found in the ranks of our intelligent mechanics 
 susceptible to such flattery and deceived by such absurd and insin- 
 cere pretentions. But we are greatly mistaken if the large majority 
 of the working classes do not heartily despise and loathe such 
 political tricksters. The working classes, as they are called, are 
 not so easily duped as certain demagogues imagine. They have 
 been watching for years the conduct of certain fair-spoken 
 legislators. That conduct they have found diametrically opposed 
 to the opinions they profess to entertain, and subversive of the 
 rights of working men. In these circumstances they are not likely 
 to lend their influence, in placing men in power who fawn and 
 flatter them, when dependent upon their votes, but who despise 
 them when in office, and deprive them of their just and honest 
 dues. 
 
 Meanwhile let those who contribute by manual labor to the 
 resources of the country, assert the independence and incorrupt- 
 ibility of their character and principles, by thinking and acting for 
 themselves, without the flatteries of time serving and insincere 
 politicians. As the poet better expresses it : — 
 
CAPITAL AND LABOR. 57 
 
 I ' ..,'' Ho ! ye who at the anvil toil, 
 
 [ ' And strike the sounding blow, 
 
 ? Where from the burning iron's breast, 
 
 The sparks fly to and fro. 
 Oh ! while ye feel 'tis hard to toil, 
 
 And sweat the long day through; 
 Remember it is harder still 
 To have no work to do. 
 
 Ho ! all who labor, all who strive, 
 
 Ye wield a mighty power. 
 Do with your might, do with your strength, 
 
 Fill every golden hour. 
 ; .C This glorious privilege to do. 
 
 Is man's most noble dower. 
 Oh ! to your birthright and yourselves, 
 
 To your own souls be true ; 
 A weary, wretched life is theirs 
 
 Who have no work to do ! 
 
Popular Amusements. 
 
 Their Use and Abuse. 
 
 ^ 
 
" Hast thou found honey ? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lost 
 
 thou be filled therewith and vomit it." 
 
 — Proverbs 35, v 16. 
 
Popular Amusements. 
 
 HERE is no book so full of practical counsels as the 
 book of Proverbs. It takes cognizance of every age, 
 rank and condition of life. It points out not only the 
 more flagrant sins of society, but also the more secret 
 temptations against which it is our duty to guard, and 
 '^'P gives directions, that faithfully followed, are sure to add to 
 our happiness and welfare in the present and the future. Though 
 written long ago, these Proverbs are adapted to every age, and 
 approve themselves to every intelligent and candid mind. 
 
 The largest proportion of these Proverbs are addressed to 
 youth. The dark experience of Solomon and the bitter remorse 
 that followed, made him a fit teacher of others. Like beacons on 
 mountain tops, or light houses along rock-bound coasts, that warn 
 of coming danger, so Solomon stands out upon the pagfe of history, 
 sad evidence of the fact that genius, learning and wisdom are of 
 little avail, without the safeguard of religious principle. As ships 
 need ballast, to steady them on the ocean, so do men need the 
 grace of God, to keep them beyond the reach of temptation and 
 
 evil 
 
 (6i) 
 
62 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 In one of these Proverbs, the wise king speaks as follows:— 
 " Hast thou found honey ? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, 
 lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it" Honey represents 
 pleasure, — that which gratifies and pleases the mind, as honey does 
 the sense of taste. But honey must be taken in moderation ; a 
 surfeit of it is dangerous to our physical well-being. A little honey 
 may be beneficial, but more than what is sufficient will make a man 
 wretched. And so pleasures and pastimes, even though innocent 
 in themselves, are not to be unduly or too frequently indulged in. 
 They are intended not to oppress the mental powers, but to refresh 
 and invigorate the higher energies of our nature ; to fit and not to 
 disqualify for the real duties of life ; to be enjoyed in leisure mo- 
 ments, and not to fill up the entire measure of existence. Amuse- 
 ment is only lawful and allowable, for the sake of economising 
 strength, or fitting us to discharge the obligations and bear the 
 burdens of life. As a living writer says : " Mirth and music and 
 v/lt belong to the class of stimulant : they are good seasoning, but 
 poor food. Amusement is a piece of insertion put between solid 
 fabrics, and is ornamental in connecting them. No amusement is 
 good that unfits you for your regular duties in life ; it must not be 
 a rival, but a servant ; it must give an appetite for duty. Amuse- 
 ment is a whetstone ; after it, the faculties should be sharper than 
 they were before. The gayeties of society are extravagant, unnat- 
 ural and unwholesome. Innocent dances under the trees in 
 summer, or at home among friends, closing at an early hour, may 
 be commonded as not only harmless, but positively useful. But 
 all-night parties and balls set at naught every rational principle ; 
 they are condemned before they get half way up to moral consid- 
 eration. They dissipate, not recreate ; they destroy the body 
 they do not revive it ; they are a satire on amusement. Amuse- 
 ment should revive those faculties which regular work leaves 
 dormant ; and not tax those powers which are overworked." 
 
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. 6$ 
 
 Solomon, then, does not prohibit pleasure, but excess of pleasure 
 — the abuse of what is in itself innocent, and as a matter of course 
 all pleasures that are untimely— that tend directly or indirectly tr 
 the development of the mere animal nature — that take their rise in 
 sinful passions, or lead to sin. 
 
 This teaching is in full accord with the spirit of Christianity. 
 The Bible nowhere rebukes nor prohibits innocent amusements. 
 It does not say it is wrong to laugh, and, although different inter- 
 pretations may be given of the inspired penman's words, it does 
 not say that it is wrong to dance. I am not now passing any 
 opinion on the more fashionable amusements of the day, but simply 
 stating what every Bible reader knows, that the religion of Jesus 
 Christ, so far from being a melancholy, gloomy, repulsive thing, is 
 a cheerful, happy experience ; that so far from demanding seclusion 
 from society, it recognizes the necessity of active commerce 
 between man and man, and the fullest enjoyment pf all that this 
 fair world affords, and that our heavenly Father has provided to 
 meet the wants of our complex nature.* 
 
 I say "complex nature," for man is the most wonderful, as he 
 is the grandest of all God's creatures. There is within him reason, 
 fancy, imagination, taste, the emotions of mirth and gladness, grief 
 and sorrow. He is not a mass of matter unaffected by the influ- 
 ences of the outside world, but a delicately formed organism, 
 
 ♦Says Talmage, speaking of Christ's presence at the marriage of Cana 
 of Galilee : " Christ was tiot impatient with the festal joy. He was the 
 chief of the banqueters. When the wine gave out He supplied it ; and, 
 so I take it, he will not deny us the joys that are positively festal, and 
 that the children of God have more right to than any other people. 
 Christianity don't clip the wings of the soul. I take Christianity to be 
 simply a proclamation from the throne of God of emancipbtion for all the 
 enslaved. Yet men try to make us believe that God's children are on the 
 limits, and the chief refreshments and enjoyments of life are for outsiders 
 and not for his own children." 
 
 f 
 
64 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 capable of being thrilled by a thousand different impulses. And 
 God who has thus myi>> -iously framed his being, has provided in 
 nature, in society, in art and literature and science, in communings 
 with the seen and unseen world, all that is necessary for his happi- 
 ness, and conducive to his comfort. 
 
 But while all men have these powers and emotions, they are 
 variously developed. Some men are destitute of reason ; others 
 have little or no imagination. The world to them is but a vast 
 workshop, and beneath its barren surface they never penetrate. 
 " There is no beauty nor mystery in the bloom and brightness or 
 decay of nature ; the stars light up no worlds of wonder to their 
 souls ; the seasons in their annual round wake up no sense of 
 * marvel " — as the poet has said of the unconscious, ignorant rustic 
 who goes through the fairest scenes of nature unimpressed :— 
 
 In vain through every changeful year, 
 
 Did nature lead him as before ; 
 A primrose by a river's brim, 
 A yellow primrose was to him, 
 And it was nothing more. 
 
 o 
 
 The soft blue sky did never melt 
 Into his heart ; he never felt 
 
 The witchery of the soft blue sky. 
 
 There was a hardness in his cheek, 
 
 There was a hardness in his eye, 
 As if the mttn had fixed his face 
 In many a solitary place, 
 
 Against the wind and open sky. 
 
 Others again are grave, serious, and solemn, not easily excited ; 
 while many good and useful christian men and women are full of 
 mirth — easily moved to laughter, and overflowing with good nature. 
 Now it is not the part of the man void of fancy and imagination, 
 to rail at or depreciate his neighbor's love of the ideal ; nor is it 
 becoming in the man of grave and serious temperament, to denounce 
 
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. 6$ 
 
 the happy and mirthful tendencies of his brother. Both are but 
 acting out the impulses put within them by an all-wise Creator. 
 The one perchance finds complete relaxation from the labor of life 
 in severe studies, — the other in the private or the more public 
 assemblies of social life ; the one finds perfect enjoyment in fellow- 
 ship with the mighty dead, the other in listening to the sweet 
 sounds of music, or the sparkling utterances of eloquence, all of 
 which help very materially to sweeten the machinery of life, and 
 make men forget or overcome the petty sorrows of existence. 
 
 The hardest students and the most diligent merchants of the 
 present day claim certain periods of perfect abandon, when books 
 and ledgers r.re closed, and when unrestrained by the ordinary avo- 
 cations of life, they can relax their energies. But for such relax- 
 ation, nature would succumb. Undue tension breaks the bow, and 
 overmuch travel founders the fleetest and strongest steed, and so 
 prolonged application of mind or body ends in brain disease and 
 madness, if not in suicide. No man can steadily work lor ten or 
 twelve hours a day, from week to week, without paying the penalty 
 of outraged nature. Mere drudgery, in which neither skill nor 
 thought is demr.nded, may be performed for a much longer period, 
 but solid work, directed by skill and demanding forethought a^d 
 steady application, cannot be profitably continued beyond a certain 
 point. " Profitableness in work depends not so much upon the 
 number of hours, as upon the number of faculties concentrated in 
 each ; upon how much mind you have been able to transform into 
 work. Four hours work by a healthy mind, is better than twelve 
 hours by one that is not invigorated by rest and amusement. It is 
 with thought as with an axe, the sharp edge economizes strength — 
 if sharp it cuts ; if dull it pounds. Haifa man's time well put in, 
 is better than the whole ; it is the concentration, — it is the cutting 
 edge that achieves." 
 
 Thus far, there is very little difference of opinion among chris- 
 tians. The necessity of recreation and innocent amusements is 
 *6 
 
66 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 universally admitted. So far from seeking to reduce their number, 
 we would gladly hail their increase. There are too few opportyni- 
 ties for healthy, rational recreation in our towns and cities. In 
 many cases, business and mechanieal pursuits, — the toils of the 
 factory and workshop, — are so incessantly pursued, as to have a 
 most deleterious effect upon the animal vigor of the young. Em- 
 ployers of all classes would consult their own interests and the 
 welfare of their servants, if in some way the period of manual labor 
 could be reduced, so as to admit of more exercise and recreation 
 during daylight and in the open air, and thus preclude the neces- 
 sity, which is pleaded, for devoting the hours of midnight to amuse- 
 ments of a dangerous character. It is folly to say that the young 
 are never to enjoy themselves ; that they are never to laugh, or 
 romp, or play, or skate, or play ball and cricket, or indulge in the 
 innocent pastimes of the parlor and the drawing-room. It is against 
 nature and the wise ordination of a gracious Providence to find it 
 so in any instance. So far from fitting our youth for the more 
 staid and responsible duties of their subsequent life, such a cramp- 
 ing of their physical and emotional energies would produce a race, 
 anything but fitted to increase the happiness of society, or credit- 
 ably act their part in life. The cares and sorrows of riper years, 
 the responsibilities and burdens of business and home, the disap- 
 pointments and trials that are to be met with in every walk of life, 
 will soon enough wrinkle the brow and sadden the heart, without 
 encroaching upon the happy days of youth. But even innocent 
 and lawful pleasures must be moderately indulged in. Admitting 
 that the physical and mental energies demand relaxation — : iic 
 portion of time when manual labor shall be suspended and study 
 abandoned — it is also to be borne in mind that recreation ceases to 
 be recreation when it is more than an occasional indulgence. We 
 eat in order to continue the physical part of our constitution in 
 health — to sustain the body and enable it to perform its functions ; 
 
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. 6/ 
 
 — not to pamper or satiate the appetite, or unduly oppress the 
 organs of digestion. We drink when thirsty to quench our thirst, 
 and not for drunkenness. So, in like manner, lawful pleasures and 
 innocent recreations must be engaged in ; not to kill time, or infuse 
 a momentary delirium into the spirit, but to refresh our whole sys- 
 tem and prepare it for future exertion. It must not intrude upon 
 the hours of business or work — it must not be of such a character 
 as to interfere with the time and thought necessary to the main 
 pursuits of life. It is intended only to diversify and change our 
 more serious and burdensome employments — to afford timeous 
 relief to the overtasked energies — but in no case to take the place 
 which should be given to solid work. It must not even interfere 
 with bodily repose, nor be allowed to exhaust by long continuance, 
 nor should it be of that character which inflames and excites the 
 passions, and indisposes us from returning to the ordinary avoca- 
 tions of life. 
 
 But there still remains the more difficult question, what pastimes 
 
 and amusements are safe for christian men and women to engage 
 
 in ? What is consistent with a profession of religion ? Are there 
 
 any, that while innocent in themselves, should be avoided on the 
 
 grounds of expediency ? There are amusements so-called, which 
 
 no christian man will for a moment defend, far less indulge in. 
 
 The race-course, the gamin • table, and the average character of 
 
 iheatrical representations, (which in our larger towns and cities 
 
 lander to the lowest passions of humanity, and are often supported 
 
 and patronized by men and women whose views of social obligations 
 
 .nd whose practice of impurity are so radically opposed to the 
 
 anons of morality, as to make them dangerous in any community), 
 
 )elong to that class. But leaving these out of sight, as matters 
 
 egarding which we are all agreed, what shall we say of many 
 
 ithers, that are rigidly condemned by some and as strongly advo- 
 
 atcd by others ? One class of the religious world eschew the lee- 
 
f8 , THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 ture room, the concert room, and all assemblages outside the 
 brotherhood of the saints. Others deem it no sin to attend the 
 concert room, but regard it as a grievous wrong to listen to the 
 same singer in operatic melodies. Some relish manly field sports, 
 but condemn all indoor amusements, while others consider them as 
 equally innocent, and above reproach. Some think it right and 
 proper, in their own homes, to encourage and take part in games 
 and charades and tableaux, and delight to see their children "speak- 
 ing their pieces," and going through their dialogues, dressed in 
 costume ; but esteem it an offence against christian propriety, to 
 countenance such amusements when put upon the stage by persons 
 of mature age ! With such diversity of opinion, who shall presume 
 to act the part of judge, and frame a perfect code of laws for the 
 guidance of the christian community ! 
 
 I do not imagine that any definite rule, can be laid down in 
 such matters. Wiser men than the writer have again and again 
 attempted to specify what amusements are or are not in accordance 
 with christian propriety, and have signally failed in securing any- 
 thing like unanimity of sentiment on the subject. Good men differ 
 in regard to such matters as they do in politics and theology. 
 Churches make rules, and profess to be guided in the admission of 
 membf 3 and the discipline of offenders by such rules, while prac- 
 tically they are a dead letter. And laws that cannot be en.brced 
 had far better not be made. If you cannot carry with you the 
 individual conscience, you cannot hope to change the individual 
 practice. ^ : ',■ 
 
 In regard, then, to this vexed question, I hold that christian 
 men and women must regulate their conduct according to the 
 dictates of an enlightened conscience. Each to his own master 
 stands or falls. If we feel that we are the better physically, men- 
 tally and morally, by moderate indulgence in innocent pleasures, 
 then whatever be the opinion of our fellow-men, or the views of 
 
POPULAR AMI EMENTS. 69 
 
 esteemed brethren who cannot see eye to eye with us in such 
 matters, we have a right to use them — in so far as they invigorate 
 and strengthen us for the severer toils, and the more arduous tasks 
 of life, but no further. As it has been well put : — No amusement 
 is innocent that hurts the participant, no matter whether it is right 
 per se or not. Nothing is wrong in itself or right in itself, — that is 
 right wh'ch does good, and that is wrong which does harm. What 
 may be right for me may be wrong for my neighbor. Every man 
 must discriminate, and select or reject pleasure, not by fashion or 
 other people's experience, but according to its good or bad effect 
 on himself 
 
 There comes in next, the question of christian expediency. 
 What I may or may not do is to be regulated, not simply by my 
 own feelings or preferences, but by a consideration of the influence 
 exerted upon the conduct of others. " No man livcth to himself" 
 \ In a most important sense, we are our brother's keeper, and charge- 
 able with his blood, if through our example he perish. "All things," 
 says Paul, -'are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient ; all 
 things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." 
 
 The young men and women of our land Siiould ponder well the 
 words already quoted. "Hast thou found honey? eat so much as 
 is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it." 
 Habitual or even occasional attendance upon questionable places 
 of amusement, or undue, indulgence in innocent pleasure is produc- 
 tive of moral injury. No man can become physically strong, who 
 lives on sweetmeats, and no man can attain a robust manhood by 
 cultivating a taste for the more frivolous amusements of the present 
 day. It is indeed, with certain amusements, as with the poisonous 
 Manchineel, a tree which grows in the West Indies. Its appear- 
 ance is attractive, and its fruit most beautiful to the eye. The 
 apple, resembling a golden pippin, which hangs on its branches, 
 looks very tempting and smells very fragrant, but to eat of it is 
 
70 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 instant death, and its sap or juice is so poisonous, that if a few 
 drops of it fall upon the skin, it raises blisters and occasions great 
 pain. The Indians dip their artows into the juice, that they may 
 poison the enemies they wound. So sin, partially robed in fascin- 
 ating colors, looks pleasing to the eye ; and men desire it, cat of it, 
 and die. Many a promising young man has thus been ruined for 
 time and eternity. Of such an one the poet says : 
 
 He was a lovely youth ! I guess 
 The panther in the wilderness, . 
 
 Was not so fair as he. 
 
 * ♦ ♦''"'■■-■ 
 
 A youth to whom was given 
 So much of earth, so much of heaven, j 
 
 And such innpetuous blood. 
 
 * * * , , 
 But ill he lived, much evil saw, 
 With men to whom no better law. 
 
 Nor bttter life was known. 
 
 * * * 
 
 His genius and his moral frame 
 Were thus impaired, and he became 
 V The slave of low desires ; 
 
 A man who without self-control, 
 Would seek what the degraded soul 
 Unworthily admires 
 
 The spirit of frivolity that characterizes a large proportion of 
 our Canadian youth is much to be regretted. It would seem as if 
 there was little or no inclination for employment, pursuit or 
 recreation, that calls into existence anything beyond the most 
 superficial qualities of mind. Fashion, custom, public display, a love 
 of the gaudy and glittering pleasures of the moment, are the pre- 
 vailing tastes and passion of youthful society, although the mind be 
 left barren and void of all refinement and cultivation. To dress 
 like the upper classes — to imitate the customs and follow the foot- 
 steps of those who are considered the leaders of fashion — is their 
 study. Bible classes and Sabbath schools and christian associa- 
 
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. 7' 
 
 tions are considered beneath their notice — an unnecessary part of 
 modern education. What is the result? A race of men and 
 women are growing up, very different from the sturdy pioneers of 
 this western Canada of ours — men and women who with strong 
 arms and heroic hearts cleared our forests, and laid the foundations 
 of that fresh and vigorous nation whicn we now possess. Our 
 fashionable follies are raising up men and women effeminate and 
 feeble, both in mind and body — so artificial and unnacural in their 
 habits as to be unfitted for the sober concerns of life. There is 
 also a wilfulness at the present day characteristic of youth, which 
 augurs ill for their future welfare in society ; in many cases sons 
 and daughters, by their love of pleasure more than home, bring 
 bitter sorrow into parents' hearts ? No spot on earth should be so 
 endearing and attractive as home, aud no society preferable to a 
 mother's. The time must cor-ie, when, with wisdom and years to 
 warrant such a step, they shall leave the family circle and take an 
 independent position in life ; but until that time arrives, the more 
 frequently our young men and women are found around the 
 hearthstone the better for themselves and the better for their 
 friends. As society is now constituted, the years spent at home 
 are brief at the longest, to learn those lessons of prudence, sobriety 
 and virtue, which are best taught by christian parents, without 
 being unduly diminished by withdrawal to other scenes and indul- 
 ging in dangerous sports. 
 
 We speak thus with no bitterness of feeling, but in sorrow. We 
 would have the young realize the value of life and the importance 
 of redeeming the present hour. It is to be feared that some of our 
 youth madly fondle pleasure and engage in unhallowed revelry, to 
 drown the very thought of a hereafter. This sad tendency was 
 strikingly illustrated in the case of Burton, a celebrated actor, who 
 died a few years ago in New York. A year or two before his 
 death he became alarmingly ill, and despaired of life. His physi- 
 
72 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 clan told him he was affected with disease of the heart, which 
 would inevitably prove fatal unless he abandoned the stage and 
 gave up all his theatrical engagements. He advised him to retire 
 on his abundant means, and lead for the short time he might be 
 spared a life of ease, and one in harmony with his approaching 
 end. His reply was : — " I cannot abandon the stage. It furnishes 
 me with the excitement which I cannot live without. I should be 
 driven to think of myself, and should go crazy." This was the 
 secret of his continued active, volatile, and consuming life. It kept 
 him from reflecting upon his condition, and he preferred it on that 
 account, although it hastened his end. To forecast the future, 
 while we moderately enjoy the present, is the dictate of reason and 
 conscience. Those who thus act from day to day have the best 
 assurance of a long, useful life, and a happy, peaceful death, 
 unshadowed by dark reminiscences of mis-spent and wasted hours. 
 Finally, let me add, that the christian churches are guiltv to a 
 great extent, in promoting many of the questionable amus> icnts 
 of the present day, by condescending to the use of means for raising 
 funds, in behalf of religious objects, altogether opposed to the spirit 
 and the practice of the gospel. Is it not true that many religious 
 people give their countenance to tableaux, charades, lotteries and 
 other amusements of a questionable character ? Is it not true that 
 churches are desecrated by secular concerts and foolish exhibitions, 
 in order to procure funds for the support of preaching the gospel, 
 or the liquidation of church debts, and that men who make no 
 profession of religion whatever and scoff at Christianity, are impor- 
 tuned to assist in this way, what in other circumstances they 
 despise ? Until reformation begins in the house of God, we cannot 
 expect that manifestoes or protests will be of any value in warning 
 our youth against amusements — injurious and sinful in themselves, 
 or because of their associations. Possibly I hold somewhat rigid 
 notions regarding church buildings. Edifices erected for and con- 
 
POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. 73 
 
 secrated to the worship of God, should, I apprehend, be devoted to 
 such or kindred objects, and not given up to entertainments that 
 had better be held in public halls ; and churches that cannot exist 
 u Mn the free-will offering of the people, have no right in my opin- 
 ion, to extort contributions from an unwilling public, by conde- 
 scending to the use of means at variance with the teachings of the 
 religion they profess. 
 
 --^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
\ 
 
 Sceptical Objections 
 
 TO TI^KYBI^. 
 
 ^ 
 
" What is the Almighty that we should serve him ? And what profit 
 
 should we have if we pray unto hiui 1" 
 
 —Job 21, V. 15. 
 
Sceptical Objections to Prayer. 
 
 ''N THE context, Job tells us that this is the language of 
 the wicked. They see no immediate benefit in serving 
 God, and therefore refuse him rightful homage. And 
 what was true in the earlier age of the world, is even 
 more strikingly exemplified in the present day. 
 There are many, who, if they do not utter the atheistic sen- 
 timent of the text, cherish it secretly in their hearts, and live accord- 
 ing to its belief. They have no regard for anything beyond the 
 present. The thorough selfishness and sordidness of their nature 
 despises tho better blessings of the future. If prayer would increase 
 their riches, add to their possessions, and meet the covetous desires 
 of their hearts, none would be more frequently in the attitude of 
 suppliants. But inasmuch as spiritual blessings first, and temporal 
 blessings afterwards, is the order in which God answers prayer, and 
 that the latter as a rule are only given where there is a proper 
 appreciation of the former, the* sensual worldling exclaims, " What 
 profit should we have if we pray unto him ?" 
 
 In the face of such blasphemous sentiments, it is worthy of 
 remark, that men everywhere, both in pagan and civilized countries, 
 have prayed, after their special modes. The Phoenician supplicates 
 
 (77) 
 
78 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Baal ; the Roman. Jupiter ; the Egyptian, the Nile ; and the Indian, 
 the Great Unknown Spirit. As the poet says : 
 
 His untutored mind, 
 Spps God in clouds, or hears him in the wind. 
 His soul, proud science never teught to stray, 
 Far as the solar walk, or milky way ; 
 Yet siniple nature to his hope has given 
 Behind the cloud topped hill, an humbler heaven. 
 
 Rousseau, a professed atheist, speaks of a certain bewildering 
 ecstacy which his mind experienced, as if in communion with an 
 invisible power, causing him to cry out, " O, great Being ! O, great 
 Being !" What does all this prove, but that in some form or other 
 the act of prayer is inseparable from humanity. A universal feel- 
 ing of dependence and weakness pervades all ranks and conditions 
 of men, felt just as strongly where there is no faith in the true God 
 as where there is, and compelling the creature to look beyond self 
 for support. Men in the abundance of this world's favors, may 
 affect to despise such feelings, 1 l there comes a period in the his- 
 tory of i.he most defiant sinner, when he is driven for refuge and 
 consolation to that God, whose very existence he formerly denied 
 
 Let us briefly state and answer a few of the more common 
 objections to prayer, which are fittingly embodied in the language 
 of the text. 
 
 Granted, says the sceptic, that there is a God, who created and 
 governs the world, it is foolish to expect him to listen to the cries 
 of all the creatures of his hand. Enthroned in the highest heavens 
 — the central attraction of its lofty intelligences — independent of 
 the homage of man or angel, and ruling with absolute and unques- 
 tioned authority, — what madness to expect him to lend a listening 
 ear to the prayers of mortals ? The pure angelic spirits that bow 
 before his throne, " may catch his eye and obtain a transient 
 recognition," but to imagine for a moment, that he is interested in 
 
SCEPTICAL OBJECTIONS TO PRAYER. 79 
 
 the endless round of human hopes and fears, that agitate the minds 
 of men, is to degrade and insult the character of the eternal. 
 
 What is meant by such language ? It is that God cannot, or 
 will not condescend, to hear and answer prayer : — that while he 
 disposes of the greater affairs of the universe, he cannot or will not 
 trouble himself with the petty and insignificant details of human 
 experience? if it is meant that God cannot then there is an end 
 to debate, for the very idea of a God implies an omnipotent power 
 — ability to rule over much or over I'ttle — an utter indifference, 
 whether it be the affairs of one or a thousand worlds that solicit his 
 attention. If he cannot atterd to the separate wants of his crea- 
 tures, then he cannot govern the world as a whole, for it is only by 
 knowing the special demands of the individual that he can provide 
 for the collective wants of the mass. Or does the objector mean 
 that he will not stoop to listen to the mj-riad cries of his dependent 
 creatures ? Then in that case, he cannot be such a b^ing as the 
 Bible represents him to be — a God not only of matchless power, 
 but also of infinite love — a God, who so far from creating man, and 
 abandoning him to his fate, watches over him with an ever increas- 
 ing and deepening interest, despite of guilt and wickedness which 
 deserve the outpourings of vengeance. Or is it meant that this 
 world is so insignificant, compared with other parts of creation, 
 that it cannot share the interest of his infinite mind ? It is true 
 that this earth is small compared with the collected grandeur and 
 ■lory of the divine workmanship. When we survey the heavens, 
 vhich are the work of his fingers, the moon, and the stars which 
 lie has ordained, one may well exclaim, what is man that thou art 
 nindful of him, or the son of man, that thou dost visit him ? But 
 ivhile in this aspect, our world appears insignifi.-ant, in other 
 Respects for aught we know, it may be the noblest work of God. 
 "•mall though it be, it has been peopled by a race immortal in their 
 lature. Man is but a little lower than the angels. That sun 
 
f 
 
 80 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 which in its endless journey shoots forth heat and flames of light to 
 attendant worlds, is not for a moment to be compared with the 
 smallest orb that rolls in space, if but a single being treads its 
 surface. 
 
 Herein lies the moral grandeur and significance of our world. 
 It has been, and is still to be, the arena of events more momentous 
 far than the page of history has recorded. God in human form has 
 tabernacled among men. Redemption has been purchased. Para- 
 dise has been regained. Death has been despoiled of its terrors, 
 and the grave of its victory. Yet a little while, and the son of God 
 shall descend to crown his chosen ones with a deathless immortal- 
 ity, procured by his sufferings. Thus we conclude, that this earth, 
 with all its inferiority, is still the grandest of all God's works, and 
 that He not only can, but does hear the prayers of his children, 
 when offered in a simple confiding faith. 
 
 But, continues the objector, granted that the Almighty is both 
 able and willing to hear and answer prayer, how can He do so, in 
 consistency with the arrangement of natural laws? Everything 
 has been from all eternity ordained by God. Like the several 
 links in a chain, so are the events of the world. No change can be 
 made in a single instance, without leading to confusion in the 
 whole. The world, like to a watch, was, so to speak, wound up by 
 its Maker at creation. Certain laws were then established, and set 
 in motion for the government of men and provision for their wants, 
 and these cannot be set aside to meet every new emergency of the 
 creature. Miraculous interposition, in answer to prayer, is thus an 
 utter impossibility. A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature, 
 and as our experience has established the unvarying uniformity of 
 these laws, to believe in their suspension even for a single moment, 
 in order that prayer may be answered, is alike opposed to comrnon 
 sense, as it is in direct conflict with the teachings of philosophy 
 and science. 
 
SCEPTICAL OBJECTIONS PO PRAYER. 8l 
 
 This is just a reproduction of the doctrine of Fate, as held by 
 the ancients. Destitute of the knowledge of God, they ascribed 
 the government of the world to a blind destiny, or necessity, per- 
 sonified. We, with clearer views of truth, recognize no such thing as 
 Fate. Physical and moral laws are the ordination and creation of 
 God. The question simply resolves itself into this : — Has the 
 Creator no power over the thing created ? Has the machinist no 
 influence over that which is the work of his hand and the offspring 
 of his brain ? Can he not modify, regulate, increase, or retard its 
 motion ? Can he not even insert some new principle of action, 
 without interfering with the general design and working of the 
 machine? There can be but one answer to all such questionings. 
 Most certainly. He who at first framed and fashioned this world, 
 and so beautifully harmonized the laws of nature for the welfare of 
 his creatures, can when occasion demands, change or modify their 
 action. If you give to the mechanic the power to regulate the 
 work of his hands, surely this much must be accorded the Almighty. 
 If not, he has become the slave of nature. Answers to prayer, in 
 whatever form they come, can never honestly be described as vio- 
 lations of the laws of nature. " These laws are nothing but the 
 common operations of divine power in the government of the world, 
 which depend entirely for their existence and continuance on the 
 infinite will of the Creator. Miraculous interposition is nothing but 
 the exertion of divine power, in a way different from that which is 
 common," but in perfect harmony, if we could only see it with the 
 original design whith the Almighty planned for the government of 
 the world, and the continuous supply of his creatures' wants. 
 
 All are but parts of one stupendous whole, , 
 
 Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. 
 
 He sees with equal eye, as God of all, j 
 
 A hero perish, or a sparrow fall ; 
 
 Atoms or systems into ruin hurled, 
 
 And now a bubble burst, and now a world. a-^_,-,",-^ 
 
82 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 But it may be replied, that our illustration or argument is not 
 in all respects legitimate or logical. The chronometer and the 
 machine of the artist or artizan, are not perfect They are not 
 regarded so by their framers. Improvements are to be expected, 
 corresponding to the discoveries of science. But when God made 
 the laws of nature, He made them perfect, and the idea of perfec- 
 tion precludes improvement. If perfection is stamped upon these 
 laws, then prayer, however importunate, cannot induce the Almighty 
 to change the order of the universe. 
 
 Our answer to this objection is, that while fully admitting the 
 perfection of nature's laws at creation, it does not follow that they 
 should serve every end, or supersede the necessity of prayer. And 
 even ;::ranting that at the moment of creation these laws fully met 
 all the wants of the creature, it does not follow that in man's sinful 
 and fallen condition, they are equally efficient. God has not changed, 
 or if the sceptic prefers it, Nature has not changed, but man has 
 changed. Man and Nature are now in conflict. His condition is 
 no longer sinless and happy, but guilty and miserable. To meet 
 his new wants and ameliorate his sufferings, why may not the 
 Almighty influence nature, changing and modifying its operations, 
 in accordance with man's altered condition ? Without presuming 
 to enquire into the secret things of God, or be wise above what is 
 written, one or two methods may reverently be suggested, in virtue 
 of which God can answer prayer, in perfect harmony with the laws 
 of nature. * 
 
 {a) God may influence the laws of nature without either an-cst- 
 I'ng or changing their known arrangements. We can trace back 
 the operations of nature but a very little way. Beyond this limit, 
 how easy it is for God to interpose without our knowledge 
 
 * See The Rationale of Prayer, by Rev. Dr. G. 0. Hutton, of Scot- 
 land, where this train of thought is admirably presented. 
 
SCEPTICAL OBJECTIONS TO PRAYQR. 83 
 
 r {b) Why may not prayer and its answer be joined together as 
 cause and effect ? May not the omniscient God, who foresees every 
 prayer that is offered, so arrange it, that the blessing asked shall 
 come in connection with t' j prayer offered, while at the same time 
 the laws of nature remain as the medium of its transmission ? 
 
 {c) Or may we not believe, that prayer and its answer, form a 
 separate law of nature — the answer to our prayers coming, as the 
 result of laws arranged for this very purpose? If we accept this 
 explanation, then the Almighty need not interpose by miracle or 
 otherwise, but simply by the agency of separate laws, in perfect 
 harmony with the operations of Nature, answer the prayers of his 
 children. If, as has been remarked, there is a way by which God 
 can answer prayer, without disturbing his own laws, it is safest to 
 conclude that this is the actual method employed. 
 
 If the possibility of player being answered is still denied — if it 
 is affirmed, that the doctrine of foreordination is so rigid, that 
 nothing but what is thus predestinated can happen, and that every- 
 ;hing must happen, independent of human exertion or prayer, then 
 ,ve reply, that such a theory would put an end to every form of 
 luman endeavor. Why need a man labor, if he shall receive, inde- 
 lendent of effort ? Why should the husbandman till the ground 
 nd sow his seed? Why should the merchant busy himself in his 
 ounting house or on the exchange? Why, in a word, need any 
 man plan for the future, seeing that all things thus foreordained 
 must come to pass, according to the iron law of necessity ? Surely 
 the statement of such a doctrine is all that is needed to ensure 
 its condemnation ! It is a mere pretext put forth by wicked men, 
 to conceal their hatred of the Almighty, and their unwillingness to 
 admit their dependence upon his supreme omnipotence, unerring 
 ivisdom, and fatherly care. 
 
 But why prolong such a discussion in the hearing of christian 
 en ? The pious heart seeks not to know how prayer is answered, 
 
84 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 being fully convinced of the fact. Every good man knows by 
 experience, the profit that results from communion with his Maker. 
 For prayer is not to be valued simply by the external blessings 
 conferred upon the suppliant. There is, besides, an inward subjec- 
 tive effect — a composure of mind and tranquility of soul beyond 
 expression ; — a peace and joy and rapture, which the world can 
 neither give nor take away. The christian rises from his knees, 
 with his countenance irradiated with heaven's glory, as was the 
 face of Moses, when he descended from the mount. The character 
 of the praying saint assumes a beauty, and emits a fragrance other- 
 wise unknown. Life, despite of its woes and sorrows, is rendered 
 divine, and the soul prepared for the unbroken and sinless fellow- 
 ship of heaven. ■ ,, 
 
 That believers have always such strong confidence in the effi- 
 cacy of prayer, I do not assert. There are times when God seems 
 to cast off his people — when the promise tarries — when they cry 
 and are not heard — when their importunity seems to avail nothing 
 — when they are so beset with trouble, and so persistently baffled 
 in their purposes, that they almost despair and stagger on the very 
 brink of apostacy. Weak faith cries out : 
 
 ^ " If I could only surely know 
 
 ' ' That all these things that tire me so 
 
 Were uoiiced by ray Lord — 
 The pangs that cut me like a knife, 
 The lesser pains of daily life, 
 The noise, the weariness, the strife, — 
 What peace it would afford ! 
 
 I wonder if he fpally shares 
 . . In all my little human cares, 
 
 This mighty King of kings ; 
 If He who guides each blazing star, 
 Through realms of boundless space afar, 
 • • Without confusion, sound or jar, 
 
 - -— -^ Stoops to these petty things. £^„_;„^ _ 
 
► 
 
 SCEPTICAL OBJECTIONS TO PRAYER. 8$ 
 
 ► 
 
 But to all such enquiries, there comes at last perfect trust and 
 unshaken confidence. The darkness is scattered and the language 
 of full assurance is attained : 
 
 Dear Lord, my heart hath nol a doubt 
 That Thou dost compass me about 
 
 With sympathy divine. 
 The love for me once crucified , ,, i 
 
 Is not a love to leave my side, 
 But waiteth ever to divide 
 
 Each snallest care of mine. 
 
 Beneath the skeptical sneers of the age at prayer, there lies the 
 prior question, is there a God at all ? I know that some men who 
 profess to have implicit faith in the existence of a supreme being, 
 deny the efficacy of prayer, save in so far as it has a reflex influ- 
 I ence upon the suppliant. But surely if there is a God, his ability 
 to hear and answer prayer must be admitted. We cannot philoso- 
 phically separate the two things. If there is no God, then most 
 certainly prayer is a mockery. But who that takes the most 
 ursory glance at this wisely appointed and curiously fashioned 
 Material world, can deny the existence of a creating and pre- 
 siding deity? Have you ever stood in a serene summer mid- 
 night, under the blue dome of the heavens ? The sky is without a 
 cloud, the moon is gradually waning at the distant approach of 
 dawn, and the attendant stars add to the scene a brilliancy all their 
 wn. Almost imperceptibly, the faint streaks of returning day 
 shoot across the horizon, the smaller stars like little children sinking 
 rst to rest, followed by the brighter constellations. " Steadily the 
 wondrous transfiguration goes on. Hands of angels hidden from 
 mortal eyes shift the scenery of the heavens until the glories of 
 night dissolve into the glories of the dawn. Faint streaks of purple 
 •lush along the sky : inflowing tides of morning light bathe the 
 ntire celestial concave in one great ocean of radiance, until finally 
 . flash of fire blazes out from above the horizon, turning the dewy 
 
86 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 t :ar drops of flower and leaf into rubies and diamonds. The ever- 
 lasting gates of the morning are now thrown wide open, and the 
 lord of day, arrayed in glories too severe for the gaze of man, 
 begins his course." Such a scene — one of many — that evoke the 
 adnn'ration and adoration of the most stolid and unimpassioned, is 
 surely in itself overwhelming demonstration as to the existence of 
 a God. But I am told that this first great cause has now with- 
 drawn from all further superintendence of his works, and left his 
 creatures to be the sport and pastime of wayward passions, and the 
 victims ot a fierce despair, that hurries them to the grave, without 
 a ray of light, or a gleam of hope upon their rugged pathway ! 
 No, it cannot be. As Bryant beautifully soliliquizes, when looking 
 at a wild water-fowl passing over him in the twilight : — 
 
 Whither, midst falling dew, 
 While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
 Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue 
 
 Thy solitary way ? 
 
 There is a power whose care ,: 
 
 Teaches thy way along the pathless coast, 
 The desert and illiraitable air, 
 
 Lone wandering, but not lost 
 
 He who, from zone to zone. 
 Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, 
 In the long way that I must tread alone, -| 
 
 Will lead my steps aright. 
 
 There are some, doubtless, who have no such sceptical opinions 
 regarding prayer, yet still neglect it. Perhaps they have omitted 
 the duty so long, that they feel ashamed to begin again. That 
 same cowardice, which prevents many from professing Christ, fol- 
 lows them into the secrecy of the family. At times conscience 
 troubles them, and they resolve no longer to live in such wilful 
 neglect of God, but under the whisperings of Satan, that their 
 motive cannot be sincere, they continue to live strangers to a throne 
 
 
CLPTICAL OBJECTIONS TO PRAYER. C7 
 
 of grace. Others neglect prayer, because of alleged inability. 
 Their early educational advantages have not been of such a nature 
 as to qualify them for the exercise, in what they regard as a becom- 
 ing manner. They have not the language in which to convey their 
 thoughts and express their feelings. In certain families, also, dif- 
 ferences of religious opinion between parents, or rather the lack of 
 f religion on the part of one or both, prevents family worship. To 
 [ all such let me say, that neglect of known duty in the past is no 
 I excuse for continued refusal. The longer a man has practised indif- 
 i ference, the sooner should he reverse his conduct. Repentance, 
 however late, if sincere, is acceptable, and prayer offered at the 
 eleventh hour can secure the favor of heaven. The value of prayer 
 consists not in the language, but in the spirit that animates the 
 petitioner. The unuttered breathings of the soul ; the silent sobs 
 of the bruised and broken spirit ; the rude, unlettered speech of the 
 half-civilized barbarian — the broken and feeble accents of childhood 
 and infancy, are as pleasing in the sight of God as the chaste and 
 fervent prayers of the matured christian or the scholarly divine. 
 
 Finally, — No man should argue against the efficacy of prayer, 
 until he has proved by infallible tests, that it is worthless. Arro- 
 gant blasphemers content themselves with scoffs and sneers, which 
 are of no value, as against the experience of one believing soul. If 
 prayer is a mere form, then the scriptures are false throughout, and 
 the testimony of Old and New Testament saints unreliable. But 
 it is not so. A sound philosophy echoes the poet's words : 
 
 \ More things are wrought by prayer 
 
 ; Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
 
 Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 
 \ For what are men better than sheep or goats 
 
 ! That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
 
 If knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, 
 
 Both for themselves and those who call them friend ] ' 
 
 For so the who e round earth is every way, 
 
 Bound by gold chains, about the feet of God. 
 
What are the Marks 
 
 OF A 
 
 qE]sri;i]srE ijEYiv^ii ? 
 
>: ■ 
 
 " O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years : in the midat of 
 the years make known :" in wrath remember mercy." 
 
 — Habakkuk 8, v. 2. 
 
Marks of a Genuine Revival. 
 
 HE prophecy of Habakkuk was uttered some six hun- 
 dred years before the advent of Christ. It refers to 
 the invasion of Judea by the Chaldeans, and foretells 
 the total overthrow of the Babylonish Empire, and the 
 ultimate deliverance of God's own chosen people. The 
 prophet's heart sinks within him, as he rolls back the cur- 
 tain that veiled the future, and reveals the approaching vengeance 
 of an angry God. " Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause 
 me to behold grievance ?" He next proceeds to set forth in vivid 
 colors, the flagrant violations of God's law of which the nation was 
 guilty. For their pride, their covetousness, their sensuality and 
 their cruelty, it was necessary that God should vindicate His holi- 
 ness, and visit them with judgment. Then follow the words of the 
 text. Before, he has been addressing man, or listening in the pres- 
 ence of Jehovah. Now he seeks relief from his agony of soul in 
 importunate prayer. " O Lord, I have heard Thy speech, and was 
 afraid : O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years ; in the 
 midst of the years make known ; in wrath remember mercy." 
 
 The entire prophecy contains passages unequalled for sublimity 
 of conception and grandeur of illustration, but the portion contained 
 
 (91) 
 
92 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 in this third chapter excels in the boldness and rapidity of its 
 flights, and the magnificence of its imagery. The prophet stands 
 as mediator between a guilty nation and an angry God. In the 
 spirit of a true patriot, while he loves his country, he conceals not 
 her faults. It was just possible that God might yet put forth His 
 hand and save. True, the Chaldean army had already begun the 
 work of destruction, but that same power, which in former days 
 had baffled mighty armies, could defeat their plans, and bring to 
 naught their councils. " The Lord is strong and mighty : the Lord 
 is mighty in battle." 
 
 The meaning of the prayer is obvious The work spoken of is 
 twofold, (a) The bestowment of grace upon his chosen but back- 
 sliding people, and (6) their deliverance from the might of the 
 oppressors. " Perfect the work of rescuing Thy people from cap- 
 tivity ; do not let the promises made of old to their fathers lie 
 dead ; sanctify those terrible calamities to the nation's good, and 
 at the same time revive the nation's piety. Now that our afflictions 
 are at their height, put forth Thy power, and glorify Thy name." 
 To the same purport are the words of Psalm 80, v. 14-19, when the 
 Psalmist prayed that God's favor might again be extended to the 
 nation, and the desolate vineyard restored to its former beauty. 
 
 In its general application, the text teaches us these important 
 truths : — 
 
 I. A revival of religion is always God's own work. Apart from 
 His gracious aid, no revival is possible. It is only as churches 
 and individuals are acted upon by the supernatural power of God's 
 Holy Spirit, that saints are comforted, refreshed and stimulated, and 
 sinners awakened, quickened, convicted and converted. " Restore 
 unto me the joys c ,' Thy salvation ; then will I teach transgres- 
 sors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee." 
 
 There is unspeakable comfort in this thought. The work is 
 not man's, but God's. He is pledged to its success. It cannot 
 
MARKS OF A GENUINE REVIVAL. 93 
 
 fail. Its advancement depends not upon the caprice of individuals, 
 but on the sworn decree of God himself. Redemption in its con- 
 ception, progress and results, is all of grace. He at first out of His 
 infinite love, decreed salvation for the human family ; He still 
 makes the free offer to guilty sinners, and by His spirit inclines the 
 heart to seek after pardon. His promise to complete the work and 
 prosper every instrumentality that has for its aim the conversion 
 of the world, is our best plea at the mercy seat, when asking God 
 to bless His people. "Revive Thy work ; wilt Thou not revive 
 us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee." 
 
 H. A revival of religion implies a previous languid, and lifeless 
 state of spiritual existence. Where there is life and activity there 
 is no need for revival. When a person faints away and is restored 
 to consciousness the word is applicable. Or when the almost 
 drowned or suffocated are restored to animation we use the same 
 term. It is the word that can only be legitimately applied to a 
 living being. That which never lived before cannot be revived. 
 Those who have never had the divine life in their soul cannot 
 properly be quickened. In their case, there must first be the 
 implanting of the new principle of grace, before there can be any 
 impulses Godward and heavenward. 
 
 A revival of religion thus implies, that the mass of professing 
 christians are indifferent and unconcerned ; careless regarding the 
 progress of spiritual life in their souls, or in the souls of others. 
 Personal piety is decaying and drooping ; ordinances are lightly 
 valued ; private and social prayer is formal and irregular. " The 
 eye of faith is dim and overcast, and seldom fiashes with holy joy ; 
 the spiritual countenance is hollow and sunken with doubts and 
 fears, the tongue of praise is partially paralyzed, and has little to 
 say for Jesus ; the spiritual frame is lethargic ; a horrible numbness 
 »nd dreadful insensibility prevades the entire being. 
 
94 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Nor is it necessary to be in this perilous condition, that the 
 mass of church members should be guilty of flagrant sins. Many 
 seem to think, that so long as the Sabbath is moderately observed 
 and ordinances statedly administered, nothing can be seriously 
 wrong. There never was a greater mistake. Apathy and unconcern 
 are ominous of danger. It Is when the atmosphere is suUry, and not 
 a breath of wind moves the trees, and life seems a very burden, 
 that the elements of nature break loose, and the lightning flash and 
 thunderbolt work saddest havoc in the world. So drooping and 
 decaying spiritual life, is the procursor of God's vengeance and 
 av'ful wrath. 
 
 That we need a revival of religion who will deny ? As a nation 
 we have for a long period been highly favored. Quiet Sabbaths, 
 abundant ministerial service, social meetings for prayer, and Sab- 
 bath school instruction, are but a few of our many blessings. We 
 have worshipped according to the dictates of conscience, none 
 daring to molest us, and not as in other days, when God's elect 
 ones, hid themselves in dens and caves, from the wrath of man. 
 And yet what is our condition to-day? Have our privileges been 
 improved and valued as they might have been ? In some few 
 cases doubtless, christians have entered upon the higher christian 
 life. Here and there brands are being plucked from the burning 
 and dry bones inspired with the energy of the spirit, but where has 
 been the progress in spiritual things, and those ingatherings to the 
 fold of Christ, that might have been expected ? 
 
 III. A revival is possible. What is beyond man's power in the 
 realm of nature, is easy of accomplishment with God, and there 
 are no impossibilities in the sphere of grace. That same power 
 that raised Jesus Christ from the dead and Lazarus from the tomb, 
 is almighty to revive His church. That church can never perish. 
 It has in times past survived the fiercest opposition. The fires of 
 
MARKS OF A GENUINE REVIVAL. 95 
 
 persecution cannot extinguish it. The maledictions of tyrants and 
 the anathemas of devils cannot quench the Spirit's power. 
 
 But in order to a genuine revival of religion, as has already 
 been implied, the church must look to a higher power than human 
 agency. The vital spark comes from heaven. When the inhabi- 
 tants of Judea sicken on the plains, they climb the hills and breathe 
 the more bracing air of the upper regions. And so languid souls 
 need to get nearer God. We must drink from the fountain head, 
 and not at human cisterns. We must not rest upon the eloquence 
 of man, but look to the great Head of the church, who anoints with 
 the heavenly oil, and transforms human language into the voice of 
 God. Vital godliness is never aided by excitement, by crowded 
 meetings, by startling paradoxes, but by the opening of the win- 
 dows of heaven, and the refreshing breezes of the Spirit. When 
 Elijah was distressed, because of the impiety of the Israelites, and 
 hid himself in the cave, he was commanded to go forth and stand 
 upon the mount of God, and then mark what followed. " Behold 
 the Lord passed by, and a great strong wind rent the mountains and 
 broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in 
 the wind ; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not 
 in the earthquake ; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord 
 was not in the fire ; and after the fire a "still small voice." It was 
 the still small voice, and not the earthquake, nor wind, nor fire, 
 that brought comfort and peace and hope to the prophets soul ! 
 
 But it may be replied, if revivals of religion are so directly and 
 entirely the work of God's spirit, then there is nothing for man to 
 do, but to stand idly by ?.nd fold his arms ! By no means. Spir- 
 itual blessings are given in answer to prayer. Revivals of religion 
 never come to churches or individuals, who are either indifferent or 
 reluctant to receive them. If we are to witness a genuine revival, 
 it will be brought about by earnest importunity at a throne of grace. 
 On our knees we must implore God's long-suffering mercy. We 
 
go THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 must mourn and fast in godly sorrow, and seek in the language of 
 the text, that in the midst of deserved wrath, God may remember 
 mercy. No real revival of religion ever took place without deep 
 confession of sin, and a sincere feeling of our utter unworthiness 
 in the sight of God. 
 
 In the moral government of Jehovah, and the administration 
 of His affairs on the earth, there is a calling of churches and indi- 
 viduals to judgment He that walks among the seven golden 
 candlesticks, marks our conduct If year after year he has lavished 
 upon us more than ordinary care and no fruit appears upon the 
 branches, the great husbandman will assuredly say : " Cut them 
 down, why cumber they the ground ?" God in his infinitr mercy, 
 prevent such a fearful end ! 
 
 What then are some of the legitimate and invariable results of 
 a genuine revival of religion ? 
 
 (a). A deepening and rejoicing conviction of our safety in 
 Christ Assurance is possible and to be sought after. Its absence, 
 however, does not prove God's displeasure. Plants in the sunshine 
 and trees by living waters are green and flourishing. Such should 
 be the condition of all God'3 people after a season of revival. A 
 man who has been in doubt as to his physical soundness wears a 
 smile upon his face when assured by his physician that all is well 
 And so a sense of reconciliation to God, and the enjoyment of his 
 favor should make the step firm and the heart glad. 
 
 (d) More consistent living on the part of professing christians. It 
 has been well said, that a revival that does not exalt and ennoble busi- 
 ness life, political life,social life, and home life, is unworthy of the 
 name. Religion is for the school-girl at her studies, the apprentice 01 
 workman at the bench, the merchant in the store, the banker at his 
 desk, the physician in his visits, the advocate at the bar, the teachei 
 in his class-room, the sailor before the mast, the pilot at the helm,. 
 as well as the sufferer upon a bed of languishing, or nearing the 
 
MARKS OF A GENUINE REVIVAL. - 97 
 
 portals of eternity. Religion is a thing to be lived day by day, on 
 Monday as well as on Sunday. Longfellow beautifully says, that 
 the warm days in spring bring forth passion flowers and forget me- 
 nots ; but it is after midsummer, when the days grow shorter and 
 hotter, that fruit begins to appear. And thus it is with seasons of 
 revival. Their value is not always seen at the time, nor their genu- 
 ineness proved by the numbers of professedly re-animated chris- 
 tians, but by the character of their future lives. After a heavy rain 
 or freshet, the water for a while finds unaccustomed beds in isolated 
 pools ; but when the rain ceases, if not fed by some perennial spring, 
 the water eventually subsides to its standard level into the familiar 
 lakes and streams, and the unsightly gulleys and gorges that have 
 been washed out by the sudden torrent, and where so lately they 
 carried a seemingly irresistible flood are left so many fetid and pes- 
 tilential swamps. And so, unless the soul is continuously replen- 
 ished by a living stream of heavenly impulses and holy aspirations, 
 its high and noble resolutions will come to naught, until at last 
 there is nothing left "but the unsightly gorge of memory that 
 marks where the rills of grace so lately ran." 
 
 Need I say that the preaching of the Sabbath is either inten- 
 sified or nullified by the practice of the week. The minister by one 
 careless act may destroy the labors of a year, and the membership 
 by unholy and frivolous conduct bring religion into contempt and 
 drive souls to hell. 
 
 I (c) Intensified, individual effort. In many churches the zeal ol 
 i the members is at and below zero. They have never gathered a 
 single sheaf into the Lord's garner house, and never serionsly at- 
 tempted it. In churches of a thousand members nine hundred are 
 asleep. This is surely not as it should be. A revived christian is 
 a man who is not satisfied with his own interest in Christ ; but 
 
 realizing that men around him are dying unsaved, he seeks to 
 
 ♦7 
 
98 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 bring them into the ark of safety. He acts as a man in earnest to 
 rescue souls from eternal destruction. 
 
 It is stated on good authority that the statistics of the evan- 
 gelical churches in the United States for the past twenty-five years 
 show an average of two souls converted every year. And in these 
 same congregations there are on an average four or five deaths. 
 What a commentary upon the sincerity of the christian church ! 
 
 Revival work must then be judged, not by the number of con- 
 verts made, but by its permanent fruits. The world has a right to 
 expect, after a season of refreshing, that men and women bearing 
 the name of Christ will be characterized by the loftiest self-sacrifice 
 and most self-denying acts in behalf of the faith they profess : 
 " That in the exercise of such virtue as patience, power and love 
 they will help the helpless, comfort the comfortless, restore the 
 erring, bring back the wanderers, and kindle fresh life in despairing 
 souls." 
 
 {(i). As a result of a genuine revival, there should be a purer 
 atmosphere in the community, a higher standard of honesty, more 
 integrity, more honor, more upright dealing, greater consistency 
 and circumspection in the ordinary details of life. It is a constant 
 subject of remark, and not without reason, that in certain localities, 
 seasons of extraordinary zeal and singular devotion are followed 
 by periods of absolute disregard of the commonest laws of mor- 
 ality ; when prominent leaders, from mini.stering at the altar, sink to 
 the lowest level of the ungodly and bring grievous scandal upon the 
 church of Christ. Making all allowance for the scoff of the infidel, 
 who stigmatizes all religious enthusiasm as hypocrisy and pretense, 
 and exaggerates the short-comings of the weak and erring disciple, 
 the fact is patent, that religion is too often made a passport to 
 position. Sudden declension from the faith, and marked irregu- 
 larities in business life, are not the fruits of religion. The revival 
 
MARKS OF A GENUINE REVIVAL. $9 
 
 has been spasmodic, where such things are found, the product of 
 sinful man, and not the work of God. 
 
 (c) If our church and our land were to experience such a glori- 
 ous season, our ministers, like the apostles, would preach more 
 earnestly and more effectually. " The pulpit would become warmed 
 up,'' and the minister become a flame of fire in God's service. So 
 it was in the case of Peter. He had often preached before to atten- 
 tive congregations, but after the " Baptism of Fire," he preached 
 with supernatural power, and the result was proportionate to the 
 power exerted. Our churches and congregations would not only 
 increase, but be characterized by a spirit of earnest enquiry and 
 alarm. Men and women, now Sabbath breakers and scoffers at 
 religion, would feel themselves unconsciously drawn to the house 
 of God, and would be forced to cry out, *• What must we do to be 
 saved ?" The services of the sanctuary would become more and 
 more impressive, and the words of the preacher pierce more keenly 
 the hardened conscience. The house of prayer would become in- 
 vested with a new solemnity, and the language of Jacob be that of 
 every heart, " How dreadful is this place ! This is none other than 
 the house of God, and this is the very gate of heaven." Our noon- 
 day prayer meetings, and our week evening prayer meetings would 
 be crowded. Excuses, which now keep christians away, would no 
 longer be tenable — our prayers would be characterized by unwonted 
 power and force — the conversation of christians would be all about 
 religion — not about the preacher ; his style ; his eloquence ; his 
 excellencies or defects ; but as to the application of his words to 
 their individual souls. The prophecy of Malachi would then be 
 fulfilled, and they "that fear the Lord speak often one to another." 
 Every season of communion at a mercy seat would be longed for, 
 as the most interesting moment in life, and the most blessed season 
 of christian experience. The ungodly world would soon also reap 
 the benefit of such a revival. Like the sceptical unbelieving Jews, 
 
lOO THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 in the days of Peter, for a while, as in recent times, it might be 
 incredulous, and characterize it as enthusiasm and fanaticism. But, 
 by and \;>y, the swelling tide of grace would reach the most aban- 
 doned sinners. Organic reformation would end in real conversion. 
 Commercial dishonesty, reckless speculation, and political corrup- 
 tion v/ould in a great measure cease. Anarchy, confusion, fraternal 
 recrimination, threatened war and bloodshed would be averted, and 
 the nation as a unit, joined. Province to province, and brother to 
 brother, in the bands of christian love, we would go forward for the 
 enlightenment and emancipation of a groaning world. The church, 
 collectively, would feel its power. Denominationalism would be 
 lost sight of, in so far as it hinders the spread of Bible truth. Dis- 
 putes about words and forms would be hushed to silence, and like 
 a solid phalanx, the church would march on to victory, and storm 
 the citadel of Satan. The clarion note from distant lands would 
 chord with the joyous praises of the church at home, and uniting 
 with the redeemed around the throne, swell the song of redemp- 
 tion's dawn. 
 
 Why do I speak so ? that the members of this church are worse 
 than others? I trust not. But because we all need the quickening 
 influence of God's spirit to make us in our individual and church 
 relations to the world a greater power for good. Are we, brethren, 
 satisfied with the state of religion that exists ? Are not many of 
 God's children convinced that their attitude and example, in pre- 
 sence of the frivilous and foolish and idle portion of the commun- 
 ity, is not what should be expected from those who belong to the 
 communion of saints ? At the present day, when a choice has to 
 be made between the church and the world, the church goes under. 
 A man is accounted a fool who leaves a secular engagement in the 
 interest of religion. The prayer meeting has no chance as against 
 the concert room, the theatre, or the social gathering. A decent, 
 formal, moral life (and not, I fear, always so), is deemed sufficient 
 
MARKS OF A GENUINE REVIVAL. lOI 
 
 to secure entrance to and honor in the church. Those who ought 
 to be distinguished for their sanctity of deportment and consuming 
 anxiety for the prosperity of Zion deem it no discredit to be 
 numbered among the vain and pleasure seeking throng, of whom 
 the apostle says : " Many walk, of whom I have told you often, 
 and now tell you, even weeping, that they arc the enemies of the 
 cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, 
 and whose glory is in their shame, whose mind earthly things." No 
 amount of professed reverence for God's house can atone for such 
 conduct. The Almighty demands purity in the inward parts and 
 consistency of the life. To the hypocrite and backslider He 
 says : " To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto 
 me ? When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this 
 at your hand to tread my courts ? Bring no more vain oblations : 
 incense is an abomination unto me. Your appointed feasts my 
 soul hateth ; they are a trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear 
 thciTi. When ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes 
 from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers I will not hear." If 
 such a condition of things exist, well may we say : " Except the 
 Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should 
 have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto 
 Gomorrah !" 
 
 I have thus far been trying to awaken reflection in God's own 
 
 people for their own safety, and arouse them to earnest endeavor 
 to save the perishing. What shall I say to unconverted souls, ere 
 I close ? Said Robert Murray McCheyne, when mourning over 
 the want of spiritual life in Scotland : " Dear unconverted sinners, 
 ye little know how much you are interested, in that this should be 
 a time of reviving from the presence of the Lord. It is not our 
 part to tell you of coming judgm.:nts — of fire from heaven, or fire 
 from hell ; but this we can plainly sec, that unless the Spirit of God 
 shall come down on our parishes, like rain on the mown grass, 
 
102 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 many souls that are now in the land of peace, shall soon be in the 
 world of anguish. There may be no sudden judgment ; fire and 
 brimstone may not be rained down from heaven, as upon Sodom ; 
 the earth may not yawn to receive her prey, as in the camp of 
 Israel ; but Sabbath breakers, liars, swearers, drunkards, unclean 
 persons, formalists, worldlings and hypocrites, yea all Christless 
 souls, will quickly slip away, one by one, into an undone eternity." 
 You believe in a day of wrath, of awful moment to every immor- 
 tal soul. Are you ready for it? Robert Pollock had a glimpse of 
 that day — for which all other days are made — and thus describes it : 
 
 Begin the woe. ye woods, and tell it to the doleful winds, 
 And doleful winds wail to the howling hill», 
 And howling hills mourn to the dismal valeo, 
 And dismal vales sigh to the sorrowing brooks, 
 And eorrowing brooks weep to the weeping stream, 
 And weeping stream awake the groaning deep ; 
 Ye heavens, great archway of the universe, put sackcloth on ; 
 And ocean, veil thyself in gaib of widowhood, 
 And gather all thy waves into a groan, and utter it, 
 Long, loud, deep, piercing, dolorous, immense, 
 The occasion asks it. Nature dies, and angols come to lay her in 
 her grave. 
 
Is the Christian Church 
 
 OF TO-Bay apOSTOMG ? 
 
" They continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 
 and in breaking of bread, and in prayers : daily with one accord in the 
 t< mple, and breaking bread from house to house, they did eat their meat 
 with gladness and singleness of heart ; and the Lord added to the church 
 daily such as should be saved." 
 
 —Acts 2, V. 4?, 46, 47. 
 
Is THE Church of To-Day Apostolic ? 
 
 HE outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pente- 
 cost, as recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of 
 the Apostles, has ever been a subject of the greatest 
 interest to the Church of Christ and individual believ- 
 , ^^ ers. It not only proves the faithfulness of the Saviour's 
 ^y promise, that "the Comforter" would come, but it gives us 
 (.instantly to hope for similar manifestations in all ages of the 
 church. Before his crucifixion, the Saviour comforted his downcast 
 disciples with the assurance that "the Spirit of truth" would come 
 and guide them into all truth. But before His coming, it was 
 necessary that He should depart. " Nevertheless I tell you the 
 truth ; it is expedient for you that I go away ; for if I go not away, 
 the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send 
 him unto you." Again, after the resurrection, in the evening of the 
 first day of the week, "when the doors were shut," Christ appeared 
 to these same disciples, and reassured them of the coming of the 
 Holy Spirit. "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, 
 even so send I you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Again, upon 
 a mountain top in Galilee, we find Him with the eleven disciples, 
 giving them their commission, and uttering His farewell benedic- 
 
 (105) 
 
I06 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. t- 
 
 tion. " All power is {riven urto me in heaven and in earth. Go 
 ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
 the Father, and of t^he Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them 
 to observe al things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, 
 I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, amen." But 
 before engaging in their great work, they must wait for the Saviour's 
 ascension, and the promised baptism of fire. They must "tarry 
 in the city of Jerusalem, until endued with power from on high," 
 and " wait for the promise of the Father ;" and finally, after rebuk- 
 ing their ignorance, as to the spiritual character of the Messianic 
 kingdom, which they were about to establish in the world, and im- 
 mediately before his ascension, he foretells their future glorious 
 ministry — a ministry, not to be confined to Palestine or the borders 
 of Ihe Holy Land, but embracing the entire world. "Ye shall re- 
 ceive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye 
 shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and 
 in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 
 
 The second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles gives the fulfil- 
 ment of the promise. The Saviour has now ascended. The dis- 
 ciples are now assembled in the upper room at Jerusalem — their 
 master has gone — their hearts are full of sorrow — but still they 
 plead for the promised outpouring. Christ's absence did not weaken 
 their faith, nor lessen the earnestness of their prayers ; nor should 
 the absence of the Saviour weaken the faith of pious hearts, who 
 are looking forward to his second coming. Day after day passes» 
 but the looked for and longed for blessing tarries. The first day 
 of the week has again dawned upon the world, but the promise 
 remains unfulfilled. Still they wait. Anxious as the disciples were 
 to enter upon their work, they must abide " the baptism of fire," to 
 confirm their ministerial vv^cation. 
 
 At last, the day of Pentecost comes around. The little christian 
 church is again assembled with one accord in one place, when sud- 
 
IS THE CHURCH OF TO-DAY APOSTOLIC? lO/ 
 
 denly there comes a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing 
 wind, and it fills all the house where they are sitting. It was not 
 the product of human power, nor felt elsewhere out of that little 
 circle, but sent direct from heaven. A mysterious silence broods 
 over the little company — they were all filled with the Holy Ghost 
 — every eye glistens — every countenance becomes irradiated — every 
 heart inflamed with love, and every tongue loosened to declare 
 God's glory. No marvel that the multitude were confounded at 
 such a scene, and ascribed the revival to other causes than the Holy 
 Spirit. They had not heard the promise of the Saviour, nor did 
 they remember the prophecy given long before by the mouth of 
 the prophet Joel. " It shall come to pass in the last days, saith 
 God, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons 
 and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see 
 visions and your old men shall dream dreams." ^ ■ 
 
 In the days of the Apostles there was a necessity for an out- 
 pouring of the Spirit. Christ came not so much to fully organize 
 and establish the church, as to select and train those who should, 
 after his ascension. For the great work of preaching the gospel, 
 something more was needed than a certain amount of doctrinal 
 knowledge. Intellectual qualifications — a clear discernment of the 
 truths of Scripture — was not enough. The disciples needed a bap- 
 tism of the Holy Spirit. It was necessary that the faith of the 
 disciples should be strengthened and confirmed in the new religion 
 by overwhelming evidences ; — it was necessary that the truths of 
 Christianity, despised and reproached, should be attested by signs 
 and wonders, not less than the conversion of souls ; and it was 
 necessary that the little band of christian converts, who met day 
 after day in the upper room at Jerusalem, should have their hearts 
 encouraged, and their numbers largely increased. 
 
 The reality of the day of Pentecost is not founded alone upon 
 the mysterious transactions of that day. There is given us a full 
 
I08 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and detailed account of the subsequent history of the little apos- 
 tclic church, from which we can easily gather the permanency of 
 the change that took place on the occasion referred to. In addition 
 to the fact stated, that they gladly received the word and were bap- 
 tized, it is recorded that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' 
 doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers ; 
 that a most tender bond of christian love bound all the members 
 together, so that they were rather members of one family than of 
 a church ; that a common interest and sympathy pervaded all ranks 
 and classes, and that thus carrying out into practical life the prin- 
 ciples of our holy religion, the Lord continued to add daily to the 
 church such as should be saved. 
 
 The evidences of the supernatural and astounding presence of 
 God's spirit on the day of Pentecost, then, are these : Steadfast 
 continuance in the truth, regular attendance upon the means of 
 grace and the special ordinances of God's house, and a degree of 
 fellowship and tenderness of dealing the one towards the other, as 
 has never before been seen in that assembly. These are still the 
 only evidences that we can look for of a genuine revival, and they 
 are amply sufficient to confirm our faith in the reality of the work. 
 
 It has been remarked that churches and individuals, graciously 
 revived, have been more tenacious than ever of sound doctrine. 
 They may not have preached in a forbidden aspect, the mysterious 
 truths of an evangelical creed, but none the less have they valued 
 them as of inestimable importance and unspeakable comfort. A 
 church truly revived has no tendency to laxity, it has no sympathy 
 with that false liberalism which regards one creed as good as 
 another, provided a man means well and does well ; it has no place 
 for those who call in question fundamental truths, or tone down the 
 more awful declarations of scripture against the sinner, because 
 they grate harshly upon the delicate ear of modern society. On 
 the contrary, piety quickened, enlightened and strengthened by the 
 
IS THE CHURCH OF TO-DAY APOSTOLIC? 109 
 
 outpouring of God's spirit, holds with a firm grasp eternal truth, 
 against all who attempt to undermine it, or explain away its mean- 
 ing. Such preaching and teaching it values beyond the refine- 
 ments of philosophy and the deductions of reason, as better adapted 
 to the wants of sinners, and most refreshing to the souls of saints. 
 This is the first characteristic of the Pentecostal church. " They 
 continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine." 
 
 But in addition, we read that they continued daily in the tem- 
 ple ; — that is, they observed with becoming regularity the means of 
 grace, and availed themselves of every opportunity of hearing the 
 word. We would expect this, and take it for granted, were it not 
 intimated by the inspired penman. It was under the preaching of 
 Peter they had experienced a change of heart, and had been 
 brought to the enjoyment of peace in believing. And now the 
 more they heard about Christ and the glorious truths of Christian- 
 ity, the more they desired to hear. They never became tired of 
 listening to divine things. As often as the church was assembled, 
 all the members were present to take part. It is also to be borne 
 in mind, that meetings for worship in the apostolic church were 
 more frequent than with us. The pious few went up to the temple 
 every day, and the members of the Pentecostal church, following 
 the good example of the old dispensation, went daily into the tem- 
 ple for devotional exercises. Poor though they were as a general 
 rule, and compelled from day to day to labor for their bread, they 
 gladly devoted the necessary hours that the claims of religion de- 
 manded, to the service of God. 
 
 Looking at the matter calmly, can it be possible for any true 
 believer to act otherwise? Can you imagine a christian satiated 
 with gospel ordinances, — who has attained to such a state of spir- 
 itual strength, that he no longer needs the worship of God's house, 
 and the enjoyment of communion with God's people ? Such a 
 thing would entirely reverse the order of spiritual life. Should we 
 
no 1IIK CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 not rather expect that as years roll on, he will become more devo- 
 ted and exemplary in religious duties ; that his longings after the 
 divine presence will be stronger and stronger, and his attendance 
 upon the house of God more constant ? And if in any one instance 
 we find it otherwise, we may safely conclude that the man never 
 had any religion to begin with, or that spiritual and fatal decline 
 has begun its work upon the soul. 
 
 The third characteristic of this Pentecostal church was their 
 fellowship, or the interest they took in one another. This is evi- 
 dently a matter of no small moment, for the Evangelist makes 
 special mention of. the fact that they continued steadfastly in the 
 fellowship of the saints. It is well to have correct notions ot what 
 this fellowship consists in. If good for the apostolic church, and 
 if it contributed to the spiritual prosperity of the entire body, then 
 surely it is the part of churches at the present day to follow their 
 example. All churches recognize the fellowship of the saints, 
 although in some instances it is exceedingly hard for them to de- 
 fine what they mean by the phrase. According to some, christian 
 fellowship is simply and only the breaking of bread together from 
 time to time in commemoration of Christ's death, and in token of 
 our acceptance of the christian faith. " The communion of the 
 body of Christ " is indeed a binding duty upon all believers, and a 
 most precious means of extending brotherly love in the church of 
 God, but not by any means all that is meant by the fellowship of 
 the saints. If a man's fellowship with God's people is not more 
 frequent than at the sacramental table, it is of little value. Others, 
 again, regard this christian fellowship as nothing more than the 
 act of worshipping together in the same church, and meeting acci- 
 dentally upon the Sabbath day. Because they sit together, and 
 sing together, and engage in the same outward acts of devotion, 
 they conclude that they are enjoying christian fellowship. 
 
IS THE CHURCH OF TO-DAV APOSTOLIC? HI 
 
 Now we hold very different views of this matter. God's void 
 in speaking of this fellowship gives it a far more extended meaning 
 than churches at the present day seem to imagine, and just because 
 we fall short of our duty in this matter, we pauperize our own 
 souls, bring coldness and indifference into our meetings, and repel 
 anxious inquirers from the house of God. The coldness, the 
 unfriendliness, the haughty bearing of members of the church of 
 Christ, are among the greatest stumbling blocks to a general 
 acceptance of Christianity, and do more to neutralize a gospel min- 
 istry, however faithfully exercised, than all the infidelity that has 
 been published from the days of Voltaire down to the present age. 
 
 What then, is it asked, is the scriptural idea of apostolic fellow- 
 ship ? Let the history of the apostolic church supply an answer. 
 I only ask a careful and candid perusal of that age to convince 
 every one that the fellowship spoken of was of the most liberal 
 and comprehensive kind. Bear in mind the condition of the mem- 
 bers of this church. They were for the most part poor, uninfluential, 
 unknown, and destitute. They had just abandoned different forms 
 of faith, and become banded together as believers in Christ and 
 members of his church. They were exposed to persecution, and had 
 doubtless already suffered for their fidelity. They had no friends 
 in the world, outside this little christian comi.iunity — none to whom 
 they dare entrust their affairs, or in whose confidence they could 
 rely. They had no opportunities apart from the meetings of the 
 church, for counsel and conference in regard to momentous and 
 urgent matters, affecting the interests of their religion. In times o. 
 sickness or suffering or bereavement, — in poverty and want, — there 
 were none beyond the membership of the church to whom they 
 could apply for sympathy, for assistance, and all those little acts of 
 love that sweeten the journey of life and alleviate its sorrows ; they 
 were absolutely dependent upon the mutual friendship, good will, 
 affection and brotherly attachments of the church. If these were 
 
1 18 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMCNNVEALTH. 
 
 denied them, their case was indeed pitiable, and heartrending in 
 the extreme. 
 
 But the fellowship of the church anticipated and provided for 
 all such emergencies. Next to the reality of their communion wilh 
 God in Christ, was their friendship for one another. The conver- 
 sion they had experienced produced a holy fellowship. They recog- 
 nized their duties to the household of faith ; they were members 
 one of another, and if one member suffered all the members suffered 
 with it. The evidence of their faith was the exercise of love and 
 sympathy towards the brethren, for as John says, " Every one that 
 loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." 
 That is, if the children love the parent, they cannot but love one 
 another, and desire each other's welfare. The picture presented us 
 is not so much a church as a family, where a common feeling binds 
 every soul together, where peace and good will, charity and self- 
 denial are the crowning graces ; where the bright sunshine of heaven 
 is never clouded by hatred, or variance, suspicion or distrust ; and 
 where all are aiming at a common object, and contributing of their 
 influence to the general good. 
 
 Now, what is the church but a family of saints ? We know no 
 distinctions here. At a common footstool and around the table of the 
 Lord, the rich and the poor meet together, for the Lord is the 
 maker and the Saviour of them all. Class distinctions and social 
 classifications sliould be unknown in the church of Christ. It is no 
 condescension for the rich man to recognize the poor, nor is it any 
 honor for the poor man to be favored by the recognition of the 
 rich, save in so far as he is rich in faith and an heir to the kingdom. 
 All pride, all vanity, all haughty looks, everything that savors of 
 conscious superiority in one church member towards another, is out 
 of place in tshe house of God. In society and the secular affairs of 
 life, there must of necessity be superiors and inferiors, — masters and 
 servants, — those who occupy the highest and those who occupy 
 
IS THE CHURCH OF TO-DAY Al'OSTOLIC ? II3 
 
 the lowest rounds of the ladder, but no such accidental differences 
 of rank should ever be recognized in the sanctuary. The peer and 
 the peasant, the king and the subject, the prince and the pauper, 
 should all meet as brethren in the church on earth, if they arc to 
 gain an humble place in the church in heaven. 
 
 Is there such fellowship in evangelical churches at the present 
 day ? We bring no accusations against any man or any church. 
 But truth compels us to say that there are many who never prac- 
 tice the christian fellowship of the apostolic age. We ask nothing 
 impossible of any member. W^e do not overlook the fact that the 
 urgencies of business and the claims of home often hinder the en- 
 joyment of christian fellowship, where, but for these, there is a 
 willing mind. But making every allowance, are we not all guilty 
 in this matter? Is it not a fact that some people come to the 
 church Sabbath after Sabbath, week after week, and month after 
 month, without a single enquiry being made as to their circumstan- 
 ces, residence or church relations? Is it not true that young men 
 come and go without any of those attentions and friendly regards, 
 which it is the duty of christians in the church to show to such as 
 have not the advantages of home and the oversight of parents ? Is 
 it not a fact that members pass each other on the street without 
 recognition, or just with such recognition as intimates the fact that 
 they move in different orbits, and belong to an entirely different 
 order of society? Is it not true that sickness and death and desti- 
 tution prevail in families, without the knowledge or without the 
 sympathy and assistance that should be given by professed mem- 
 bers of the church? )s it not imagined by some good people, that 
 they have fully discharged their duties and relieved their con- 
 sciences of all burdens, when they come to the church or prayer 
 meeting, and give for the support of ordinances ? Is it not the 
 feeling of many church members that the minister is to do all the 
 regular pastoral visitation, all the frierjdly and social calls, all the 
 ♦8 
 
114 THE CHURCH and the commonwealth. 
 
 ministrations demanded by sick beds and funerals, and give all the 
 counsel and advice that theeidless wants of congregations Impose, 
 without the aid and support, or co-operation of q single member? 
 Are there not in all our churches such mistaken views as to the 
 nature and obligations of christian membership? 
 
 If it were merely to cultivate a friendly spirit, or to increase 
 congregations numerically, we should not so earnestly allude to 
 this matter, although such a consideration is surely of some weight. 
 But we plead for christian fellowship on higher grounds. There 
 can be no growth in grace, where there is indifference to each other's 
 welfare. There can be no moral influence, where there is no unity 
 of feeling and concentration of aim. There can be no real zeal, 
 little true devotion, and little achievement in the work of the Lord, 
 where every man looks upon his own things and not those of his 
 n.Mghbor. " Bear ye one another's burdens," is the law of christian 
 life. The strong are to support the weak, the wise to instruct the 
 ignorant, the rich to aid the poor. The vitality of any church is 
 based upon these inequalities in christian life, diawing forth the 
 sympathies and affections of the soul, and thus making the entire 
 existence a ministry of gentleness and goodness. "By one spirit 
 are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
 whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into 
 one spirit. That there should be no schism in the body ; but that 
 the members should have the same care one for another." 
 
 I very much fear that the scenes of the day of Pentecost, are 
 in many cases regarded with suspicion by christians at the present 
 day. On account of the low state of religion in many of our 
 churches, the exhibition of such terrible earnestnesr In u*" matter 
 of salvation, seems little short of madness or fanaticism. We read 
 with wonder of thousands of men and women crying out simul- 
 taneously, " Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" of additions to 
 the church, such as have never been equalled in modern days, and 
 
IS THE CHURCH OF TO-DAV APOSTOLIC? 11$ 
 
 of a dcvotcclncss and zeal in the cause of God that fairly puts to 
 shame our indolence and apathy. If we admit the facts narrated 
 by the evangelist, then, to save ourselves from the charge of spirit- 
 ual cicadness in the Lord's work, we say, that such a state of things 
 was altogether exceptional, that under no circumstances can they 
 be repeated, that the days of miracles are past, that true conversion 
 is not to be looked for in connection with mighty convulsions ot the 
 church, and that the silent, unperceived, but all effectual work of 
 God's spirit in the soul, is more reliable than any outward demon- 
 strations of anxiety for sin. 
 
 These statements contain some truth. We admit that the age 
 of miracles is past, and that such an occasion as the day of Pente- 
 cost is not the normal condition of the church. It is also true 
 that although \vc have not such mighty and numerous conversions 
 as characterized the apostolic age, we are not to conclude that the 
 church is forsaken or that piety is extinct. But admitting all this, 
 it is not to be concluded, that in the event of God's spirit being plen- 
 tifully poured down upon churches and nations, we may not again 
 witness the supernatural and incontrovertible evidences of conver- 
 sion. They may, we hold, be repeated at any t'me ; the tongues 
 of fire and the gifts of language may be absent, but loud cries of 
 broken hearts and awakened consciences, are the natural effects of 
 a faithful and heaven-blessed ministry. 
 
 We need such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Ministers 
 and missionaries need it to qualify them for their work. Learning, 
 eloquence and orthodoxy are good and necessary, but of themselves 
 impotent for saving souls. Theological training and severe mental 
 discipline are not enough— the Holy Spirit must fire the heart and 
 purify the affections, and teach the arm how to wield the weapon 
 of God's word. The church needs it. Our services are cold and 
 formal— our prayer meetings lifeless — the standard of piety is low 
 —faith is feeble— love Is lukewarm, and christian effort for the 
 
lie THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 salvatiem of souls, all but extinct. The faithful Israels in our 
 congregations are desponding, and almost beginning to doubt the 
 fulfilment of the promise. Our evangelical churches are divided. 
 Sectarianism, denominationalism, and petty strifes are keeping 
 pious hearts asunder, while Satan builds up his kingdom upon the 
 ruins of the church, and error lifts up her head defiantly toward 
 heaven. The world needs it— the power of divine truth requires 
 renewed attestation from time to time— the pulpit must be lifted to 
 its true position, and ungodly men taught that there is a power 
 above and beyond all human combinations. Souls at the present 
 day in thousands are leaping blind-folded into hell, amid the shout 
 of fiends and wail of angels. Surely we need in our land another 
 day of Pentecost! 
 
 How are we to obtain such an outpouring of the Spirit ? God 
 works by means in the world of grace, as well as in the domain of 
 nature. Just in the same way as the disciples obtained the Pente- 
 costal baptism of fire. They expected it ; they waited for it ; they 
 continued, day after day, of one accord, in one place, and the result 
 was that the spirit came. Only thus are real revivals commenced 
 and carried on. No man, whatever be his talents and endowments, 
 can savingly impress or convert a soul. Revivals, so called, begun 
 and continued under the mere pressure of emotional excitement, 
 produce no real reformations, and in the end react to the disgrace 
 of the church at large. It is only by waiting upon God, by 
 expecting the promised blessing, by lifting up the hands and voice 
 and heart to heaven, by wrestling, struggling, and holding on to 
 the promise, in spite of all discouragements and secret fears, that 
 vve can obtain it. If we would but sincerely expect an answer to 
 our prayers, and think it strange if we did not receive it, and if, to 
 our prayers we added constant effort, working, and praying and 
 praying and working, we should soon receive such a blessing as 
 would far exceed our most sanguine expectations. 
 
Thankssfivins: Memories. 
 
"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy uod, O Zion : for i.o 
 
 hath strengthened the bars of thy gates : he hath blessed thy childrfu 
 
 within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, aiid filleth thee with tin; 
 
 finest of the wheat. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and 
 
 his judgments unto Israel." 
 
 —Psalm 147, v. 12, 13, 14, 19. 
 
 " And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God hath 
 led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove 
 thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his 
 commandments or no." 
 
 — Deuteronomy 8, ^. 12 
 
Thanksgiving Memories. 
 
 HANKSGIVING held a prominent place in the Jewish 
 religion. An undevout and unthankful Jew was an 
 anomaly. Every year, at the beginning and close of 
 harvest, the temple was thronged with worshippers to 
 celebrate God's goodness ; while at other seasons offerings 
 were made in token of gratitude for individual and national 
 mercies. With glad and joyful hearts, " they remembered all the 
 way which the Lord their God had led their fathers, forty years in 
 the wilderness," and the fulfilment of his promises, that they should 
 possess a land of hills and valleys, where the early and latter rain 
 should fall in due season ; a land abounding in corn, in wine and 
 in oil, with grass in the fields for cattle, and plenty for all to eat 
 and be full. And just so long as the Jews remained faithful to 
 Jehovah, were these temporal mercies continued. The covenant 
 made with their fathers was kept to the very letter. " The Lord 
 thy God will love thee, and bless thee and multiply thee ; he will 
 also bins the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, 
 and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine and the flocks 
 of thy sheep — thou shalt be blessed above all people." 
 
 ("9) 
 
I20 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Every christian land, more or less, has followed the pious Jew 
 in this comely service. Throughout Great Britain, alike in grand 
 cathedral and humble ivy-covered chapel, there are sung the same 
 exultant hymns of praise, while on this continent of America, from 
 the time when the Pilgrim fathers landed at Plymouth rock in the 
 little " Mayflower," on to the present, the day has been hailed as 
 one for universal joy. These Puritans were not the austere men 
 that some regard them. They had for every day a sort of joy, but 
 one stately day of joy they set aside in every year. Thanksgiving 
 morning rose in New England, stiff as their pines, and solemn as 
 their granite hills. The boys who laughed, were as guilty as if 
 they laughed on Sunday. The church bells rang out, not cheerily 
 perhaps, but solemnly, tolling the people to the house of worship. 
 They went up gravely, and awfully, and worshipped. But the ser- 
 mon over, the old Puritan relaxed, and unclasped his buckle and 
 threw off his belt. Merry laughter rang out from the children of 
 the household, and the old homestead was vocal with joy. The 
 tables smoked and groaned with unaccustomed luxuries, and with 
 gladness and gratitude the day was closed. 
 
 We must look back as well as forward. The future is moulded 
 and directed by the past. Sailing on a river ste?.mboat, you have 
 noticed how the man at the wheel steers the vessel by certain head- 
 lands that indicate his course. He looks behind from time to time 
 as well as forward ; the bends and curves and windings of the 
 channel through which he has passed indicate his position and 
 mark his course. In like manner the lessons of our past lives are 
 to be studied with reference to the future. As nations and indi- 
 viduals we are to remember all the way which the Lord has led us 
 in the wilderness, to prove us and know what was in our hearts, 
 and whether we would keep His commandments or not. 
 
 Moses is now near his journey's end. He is not permitted to 
 enter Canaan. That honor was reserved for Joshua, his successor 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 131 
 
 in command. But before parting from the Israelites he rehearses 
 in their hearing what the Lord had done for them, and what was 
 expected of them. During their pilgrimage in the wilderness the 
 goodness of God had been conspicuously manifest. Bodily com- 
 forts and spiritual provision had never failed them. The dealings 
 of Providence in the way of chastisements, had all been directed 
 towards their future welfare. Their condition in Egypt, leading a 
 rude, barbarian and slavish life, was not such as to qualify them 
 for possessing and governing Canaan. The policy of Pharaoh, like 
 that of tyrants in every age, was to keep them ignorant of higher 
 and nobler things, for when knowledge enters men's souls, they 
 begin to demand their rights and assert their independence Hence 
 their need of discipline, that when they entered the promised land, 
 they might do so creditably — with intelligence and courage suffi- 
 cient to inspire them with the success of their enterprise, and their 
 enemies with fear. Their forty years' probation life was thus 
 mingled judgment and mercy. Their chastisements were all 
 directed by infinite wisdom and love. If they were humbled and 
 suffered to hunger, and fed with manna, it was that they might 
 know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word 
 that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. During all these 
 forty years their raiment had not waxed old, neither had their feet 
 swelled, and now says Moses : " The Lord thy God bringeth thee 
 into a good land, a land of brooks and water, of fountains and 
 depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat and 
 badey, and vines, and fig-trees and pomegranates ; a land of olive 
 oil and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarce- 
 ness ; a land whose stones are iron, and whose hills are brass." 
 
 There was danger, not only that the Israelites would forget 
 God and his dealings with them in the wilderness, but that their 
 hearts would be unduly lifted up, in view of the noble patrimony 
 that had so mysteriously come into their hands, and that so far 
 
122 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 exceeded their most sanguine anticipations. Take any race of 
 slaves — more or less educated, as the case may be — and make 
 them masters of the situation ; put into their hands the reins of 
 government, and bestow upon them the highest honors of the 
 commonwealth, and is there not danger that they will rule with a 
 rod of iron, and exhibit that pride and haughtiness of soul which 
 is the mark of foolish ignorance and degraded origin ? Therefore 
 says Moses : " Beware, lest when thou hast eaten and are full, and 
 hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein ; and when thy herds 
 and thy flocks multiply and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, 
 that thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, 
 which brought thee out of the land of Egypt and from the house 
 of bondage ; and thou say in thine heart. My power and the might 
 of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth." Such conduct would 
 inevitably provoke God's anger and hasten their destruction. Lik? 
 the idolatrous nations which the Lord had driven out from before 
 them, so would they perish and be blotted out from the memory 
 of men. In order then, that they might secure a continuance of 
 national and individual blessings, constant and grateful acknow- 
 ledgment of past mercies was necessary. " When thou hast eaten 
 and art full then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good 
 land which he hath given thee." 
 
 The very number, magnitude and regular occurrence of our 
 mercies produce forgetfulness. It is only when they are withheld 
 that we begin to value them. One eclipse of the sun makes a 
 greater impression than the shining of a year. The sickness of a 
 few days makes us more sensible of the value of health, than years 
 of uninterrupted strength and soundness of frame. The failure of 
 one harvest makes us realize the presence of God in nature more 
 than the overflowing granaries of a score of years. The goodness 
 of God in providing a gourd to screen the prophet Jonah from the 
 scorching heat of the sun, was only appreciated when the gourd 
 
0) 
 
 a. 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 
 H 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 1 23 
 
 withered and died So long as the manna falls and hunger is met, 
 we care not to thin' of the source. So long as the cistern is full, 
 and thirst is quenched, we live in forgetfulness of Him who gathers 
 the clouds and pours down upon the earth the refreshing rain ! 
 
 Such unmindfulness of God's mercies is criminal. It evinces 
 the basest ingratituHe. Nor is it a sin restricted to theoretical 
 atheists and materialists, who ignore the providence of God in the 
 world, and live in utter disregard of heaven's bounties. Professing 
 christians are often chargeable with forgetfulness of God's good- 
 ness. Beyond a formal thanksgiving service, there is no summing 
 up of the abundant causes for gratitude, nor becoming sacrifice of 
 praise. 
 
 To-day we are called as individuals and as christian citizens of 
 this nation, to remember the way by which we have been led dur- 
 ing the closing year. We are to place our mercies in review ; make 
 them stand out one by one in bold relief, so that each mercy may 
 inspire a hymn of praise. This review of God's goodness should 
 be a daily exercise. You cannot fill up faithfully the details of 
 each day's transactions in your diary or ledger, if left for weeks or 
 months untouched, nor can you once a year honestly record God's 
 goodness. As Keble, the Christian poet, says : 
 
 New every morning is the ve 
 Our wakening and uprising prove ; 
 Through sleep and darkness safely brought, 
 Restored to life and power and thought. 
 
 New mercies, each returning day, 
 Hover around us while we pray ; 
 New perils past, new sins forgiven. 
 New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven. 
 
 .Ve never forget our trials ; nay, a large number of christians 
 make complaining and murmuring a religious duty — a matter of 
 conscience. Every case of sickness ; every unsuccessful specula- 
 tion ; every disappointment is carefully noted down. Had it not 
 
ia4 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 been for this or that, how much richer, happier, or more prosperous 
 would they have been ! No attempt is made to relieve the dark 
 picture, by throwing in the warm glowing tints of God's loving 
 kindness and unmerited favors so unremittingly bestowed. What 
 of all the bygonv- years of health? of profitable investments? of 
 the savings laid past for old age ? of the victories achieved in the 
 battle of life ? Put the one against the other, and in magnitude 
 and number, our trials are but a drop of water compared with the 
 boundless unfathomable ocean of God's love. 
 
 In order to prompt you to thanksgiving, think for a moment 
 of the more common benefits bestowed upon you during the year. 
 Continued existence and physical strength, while others have been 
 laid upon beds of sickness, and many have been called away. Signal 
 deliverances from danger, which have overtaken thousands by sea 
 and land. Special favors and singular good fortune, which have 
 added immensely to the happiness of life, while in the case of others 
 the common mercies of Providence have been withheld, and heart- 
 broken, they have sunk under crushing woes. Extend your view. 
 Take into account your social comforts ; the unbroken family 
 circle ; the daily joyous meetings at the table and family altar ; the 
 good night and good morning, and all the greetings of household 
 love that have brightened and sweetened your dwelling, while in 
 other families there have been breaches, separations, desolation and 
 misfortune in rapid succession — the graveyard visited again and 
 again, and parent and child laid side by side ! Surely the mere 
 mention of such things must compel the most indifferent and reck- 
 less to say, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His 
 benefits ; who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; who healeth all thy 
 diseases ; w^ho redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth 
 thee with loving kindness and tender mercies." 
 
 As christians, we have still stronger reasons to remember with 
 gratitude the way we have been led during the closing year. Con- 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 125 
 
 tfnued powers of mind to mark and enjoy God's goodness as 
 manifested in Providence and grace ; the enjoyment of gospel 
 ordinances ; strength given to bear chastisement ; meekness and 
 resignation given us in parting with all we deemed precious on 
 earth, and hopes of glory brightened, when standing by the grave's 
 mouth ; — the aid of the Holy Spirit in advancing us in the divine 
 life ; purifying our desires ; enlarging our vision, and giving us a 
 clearer and firmer grasp of the promised and purchased blessings 
 of the better world ! 
 
 Let us now briefly look at some causes for national thanksgiv- 
 ing. In brief these may be stated as peace, plenty and gospel 
 privileges. Peace — " He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates. 
 he niaketh peace in thy borders." Plenty — " He filleth thee 
 with the finest of wheat." Gospel privileges — " He sheweth his 
 word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel." 
 
 First then, we have cause for thanksgiving that we are at peace 
 within ourselves, and with all the world. 
 
 It has not been so everywhere during the year. Nations have 
 not yet agreed to settle their quarrels by arbitration. The prophecy 
 seems yet far distant from fulfilment — " They shall beat their swords 
 into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks ; nation shall 
 not lift up sword against ..ation, neither shall they learn war any 
 more." The recent Afghan and Zulu and Egyptian wars, which 
 have left behind them woe and desolation in many homes, both 
 civilized and savage, are only the last of a long series of bloody 
 conflicts in which christian nations have been engaged. We pass 
 no judgment upon the ostensible causes or the probable results of 
 such fearful concussions. But all right thinking men must regret 
 that the policy of " peace with honor," to use the words of a British 
 statesman, has not prevailed without recourse to brutal wars. To 
 me, one of the saddest features of our age, is the willingness — nay 
 the alacrity, with whirh christian nations enter upon hostilities 
 
126 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 National honor is indeed a noble sentiment, but it may be main- 
 tained at too great a cost of blood and treasure. As with individ- 
 ual christians, so ought it to be with christian commonwealths. 
 That charity which is not easily provoked — which beareth all things 
 — hopcth all things, and endureth all things — is a far nobler pos- 
 session than magnificent victories on the battle-field — the forced 
 submission of savage tribes, or the acquisition of territory and 
 supremacy in the far-off regions of the globe. 
 
 Peace hath her victories 
 No less renowned than War. 
 
 A few years since, we looked upon a wonderfully vivid panor- 
 ama of the siege of Paris, when the German army for long months 
 surrounded the white-walled city with a belt of fire. So life-like 
 was the picture, and on so vast a scale, we could almost imagine 
 ourselves spectators or actors in the struggle, and see the shells 
 exploding behind the breastworks. What Paris must have been 
 during that awful period of suspense, no human being can describe. 
 The streets silent as death, save the hurried tramp of armed men ; 
 famishing womgn and children crying for bread to eat, while within 
 and without the walls lay the unburied dead, bleaching and morti- 
 fying in the sight of heaven. And when added to this picture of 
 horrors, we saw the piece of bone from the shattered skull of the 
 Archbishop of Paris, who was shot by the infuriated mob, we felt 
 as we never felt before, how terrible is the scourge, and how great 
 the responsibility of those who light the torch and blow the blast 
 of war ! Napoleon, like his great predecessor, imagined he could 
 defy the world. His immense army must have amusement, and 
 the prestige of France be maintained. If there are no real enemies 
 to fight with, they mu=t be made. " Louis has had his first baptism 
 of fire," so ran the E'">^^ror's telegram to Eugenie, at the opening 
 of the war. 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 12/ 
 
 They baptized you in Jordan water, 
 
 Baptized as a Christian I mean ; 
 But you come of the race of CiDsar, 
 
 And thus have their baptisms been. 
 
 Baptized in true Caesar fashion, 
 
 Remember through all your years. 
 That your font was a burning city, 
 
 And your water its widows' tears. 
 
 But alas ! "let not him that girdeth on his harness, boast him- 
 self as he that putteth it off." A dead exiled Emperor, and a dead 
 Trince, lying side by side at Chiselhurst, make but a sad tribute to 
 the praise of war. Well has the poet Covvper said : 
 
 Great princes have great playthings. 
 Some seek diversion in the tented field. 
 And make the sorows of mankind t^eir sport. 
 But war's a game which, were their subjects wise, 
 Kings would not play at. Nations would <^n well 
 To extort their truncheons from the puny ha ds 
 Of heroes, whose infirm and baby minds 
 Are gratified with mischief, and who spoil 
 Because men suffer it, their toy, the world. 
 
 It might have been so with us. Our security lies not in a st. nd- 
 ing army. We cannot — we would not — boast, like an American 
 preacher, " that our soldiers and sailors are better than any other 
 nation, and that we can oppose millions to any hundreds of thous- 
 ands that can be landed on our shores." Our defence is not in 
 man. Our safety is from the Lord. It is He that maketh peace 
 within our borders — who gives us rest from all our enemies, so 
 that the morning brings on its breeze no sound of cannon, or clash- 
 ing bayonets, or groans of the wounded, or cries of widows and 
 orphans, or streets and fields slippery with blood, and filled with 
 the dying and the dead ; and the evening no invasions of foreign 
 soldiery, or the violence and plunder of the assassin. The delights 
 
I2H THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 of the sanctuary are unbroken by anarchy and revolution. We sit 
 every man under his vine and under his fig tree, with none to 
 make us afraid. 
 
 Secondly, — We have cause for thanksgiving, in view of the 
 abundant harvests of the year. In the words of the Psalmist, we 
 may well say : " Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it ; Thou 
 greatly enrichest it with the rivers of God, which is full of water ; 
 Thou preparcst them corn when Thou hast so provided for it ; 
 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly ; Thou settlest the 
 furrows thereof; Thou makest it soft with showers ; Thou blessest 
 the springing thereof ; Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, 
 and thy paths drop fatness ; They drop upon the pastures of the 
 wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side ; the pastures 
 are clothed with flocks , the valleys also are covered with corn ; 
 they shout for joy, they also sing." " They that sowed in tears 
 have reaped in joy ; they that went forth weeping, bearing precious 
 seed, have returned rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them." 
 Our storehouses are filled to repletion with the plenteous produce 
 of the field, and the treasury of the nation replenished by the gold 
 and silver of other nations, who depend on us for food to sustain 
 their teeming millions. On this day of thanksgiving we gladly 
 acknowledge that all things are His that we enjoy. Health of body 
 and vigor of mind — food and raiment — house and friends — the 
 genial sunshine — the gentle rains — the distilling dews — the grateful 
 winds — the blushing fruit — the waving harvests — the bursting gran- 
 aries — the bleating flocks, and the lowing herds — the ocean's com- 
 merce and the country's gain. Men may, in accordance with the 
 teachings of a false philosophy, ascribe plenteous harvests and the 
 revival of trade to other causes, but christian men will humbly 
 acknowledge the bounty of the great benefactor, who maketh the 
 sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
 and the unjust. The seasons as they change are but the varied God. 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 129 
 
 The rolling year 
 Is full of Thee. 
 God is ever present, ever felt 
 In the void waste as in the city full ; 
 And where He vital spreads there must le joy. 
 
 I cannot go 
 Where universal love, not smiles around, 
 Sustaining all your orbs j and all their suns. " 
 
 Brethren, when we contrast our condition to-day as a nation, 
 witli what might have been had God withheld from us his favor, 
 and blighted and blasted our crops, or by deluges of rain, rotted 
 them in the fields and prevented their ingathering — surely there is 
 cause for most devout gratitude. Poverty there is in the land. 
 Destitution still exists and will exist in spite of abundant harvests. 
 But what would have been our condition if commercial stagna- 
 tion had been followed by famine, pestilence and death ? 
 
 Thirdly, we have cause for thanksgiving, in view of the con- 
 tinuance of gospel privileges. 
 
 This is the best of all our blessings, although not tangible. 
 Without an open Bible, and the ordinances of religion, a nation is 
 poor indeed. Kingdoms are great, not in proportion as wealth and 
 power and material, or brute forces predominate, but as they excel 
 in the higher moral and intellectual qualities, which are inseparable 
 from a pure Christianity. When mercy and truth meet together, 
 and righteousness and peace kiss each other ; when truth springs 
 out of the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven, then 
 glory dwells in the land and the land yields her increase. 
 
 The return of the weekly Sabbath, in itself is an event precious 
 beyond computation. This one day, consecrated to communion 
 between man and his Maker, when the looms and spindles and 
 machinery of our great factories are silent, and the store and count- 
 ing house are forgotten, and the maddening noise of brokers and 
 
I30 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 stock exchange is suspended, supplies the life blood of a nation. 
 Blot out this red letter day of the week, and you open the flood- 
 gates of vice, and sap the foundations of morality. 
 
 In the matter of Sabbath observance and attendance upon God's 
 house, we are deserving of censure. The day is fast becoming a 
 holiday — not a holy day. The sacredness which in olden times 
 was associated with the Sabbath, is a thing of the past, and chris- 
 tian fathers and mothers are educating their children to become 
 open Sabbath breakers, by their own indifference to the claims of 
 religion. I know well the usual stereotype excuses that are made 
 by sceptics and secularists for such ungodliness. " The universe is 
 God's temple. I can worship God anywhere. Religion does not 
 consist of outward and audible service, but in the breathings of the 
 heart." Not thus did the Psalmist David speak or act. As king, 
 statesman, warrior and poet, burdened with the cares of empire, he 
 gladly went up to the sanctuary, that the divine life within his soul 
 might be sustained by contact with the altar fire 1 
 
 Now a days, Puritanic and Covenanting Sabbaths are spoken 
 of with derision by men unworthy to unloose the shoelatchets of 
 their ancestors. Would that we had such Sabbaths back again, 
 with all their austerity and severity ; when in every home, and 
 through every street, might be heard morning and evening the voice 
 of praise and prayer, and " when a Sabbath stillness marked the 
 commencement and the close of each day, and a deep religious 
 repose rested on the land I" 
 
 Do men who make light of the Bible and its hallowed associa- 
 tions, and seek to banish it from our homes and schools, understand 
 what this means? It means the destruction of liberty — law and 
 government — of faith between man and man — of the eternal basis 
 of right and wrong. It means the utter annihilation of our 
 hopes for time and eternity, the enthronement of ignorance and 
 superstition and barbarism in the world, and the return of dark 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. I3I 
 
 days when brute force reigned supreme, and the criminal passions 
 were satiated by cruelty and rapine. No nation has prospered 
 whose inhabitants have despised the word of God, profaned the 
 Sabbath, and neglected the sanctuary. Such nations are mutable 
 and evanescent — forever surging on the brink of revolution — fos- 
 tering corruption among the rulers, and debauchery among the 
 ruled. "■ ^:- ■•'""■/ '-■■: ■ ■';:'^. ■'■■,■■■'■•■ ''^''"^ ^'■.■■■ 
 
 0n such a day of thanksgiving, it becomes us humbly to acknow- 
 ledge our wrong-doing as a nation. Crime increases in every form. 
 Gigantic frauds in banking and mercantile institutions — flagrant 
 dishonesties by master and servant — perjury, drunkenness, gamb- 
 ling ; unbridled and open licentiousness, practised under the very 
 eyes and winked at by our officials ; dens of iniquity sending to 
 perdition many of our youth, and party spirit that knows no limit 
 to vituperation and slander. Were it not for strong faith in the 
 indestructible power of truth, and the resistless force of the mani- 
 fold christian agencies that are at work, we should almost despair 
 of our land. Nor is the outlook over the world more hopeful. Yet 
 let us not despond. The day is near at hand, when holiness shall 
 be written upon the very bells of the horses, and when crested war- 
 riors shall no longer dip their plumes in blood. 
 
 True loyalty is not to be measured by loud and vapid outbursts 
 ot patriotic sentiment, and theretore before closing, let me point 
 out one or two dangers to which we are exposed, deserving the 
 serious consideration of every man who wishes well to his country 
 and the world. 
 
 No one can shut his eyes to the fact that there has been, in 
 recent years, a very marked decline in public integrity. We have 
 no longer to go to the United States for examples of corruption 
 and bribery and malfeasance in office. The scandals in political 
 life that are constantly being unmasked — the wholesale bribery 
 engaged in at elections, where men are bought and sold at the 
 
132 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 polling-booths, like so many cattle in the market, make every hon- 
 est man blush for shame and hang his head in sorrow. Here, as 
 in the United States, cunning and trickery, with wealth at com- 
 mand to buy constituencies, are esteemed most fitting attributes 
 for official position. So thoroughly has this evil permeated our 
 country and wi*;hstood all efforts of a reforming character, that in 
 the estimate of many good men, our political condition is hopeless ! 
 They abstain from all active interference in the affairs of the com- 
 monwealth, and are loud in their lamentations over the social and 
 political degeneracy of the age, but do nothing to raise the stand- 
 ard of public integrity in the high places of the land. 
 
 I am not of the opinion that things have become so hopelessly 
 bad. But if a change is to be brought about, it is to be done by 
 christian men, and not by the decisions of Judges nor acts of Par- 
 liament. The sooner we get rid of the notion that christian men 
 are ineligible to high position, and that church members and min- 
 isters are to stand aloof from all parliamentary and municipal con- 
 tests, the better ; unless, indeed, we are prepared for a condition of 
 affairs that shall rival the neighboring republic, where civil honors 
 and emoluments belong to the most ignorant and debased in the 
 community — to men whose very names are a synonym for all that 
 is dishonest and demoralizing. 
 
 The terrible extra /agance in style of living which is prevalent 
 at the present day, is also matter for serious concern to every good 
 man. If Canadian pioneers were to rise from their graves, and 
 look at the dress and conduct of their children and their grand- 
 children, they would be astounded beyond measure. In their days, 
 wealth was acquired slowly but surely — a competency for old age 
 gained by honest industry was the height of a man's ambition. 
 Men paid their debts, or the pillory stared them in the face, without 
 the alternative of an insolvent court. But in our day the maxims 
 of our ancestors are laughed at as childish. The log cabin has not 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 133 
 
 only given place to the substantial brick or stone dwelling, but the 
 fittings and furnishings (bought but unpaid in many cases) rival 
 the palaces of royalty. There is nothing wrong in any man amass- 
 ing wealth and surrounding himself with the comforts of existence, 
 provided the money has been gained by honest industry. But in 
 many cases the reverse is the case. Systematic fraud and swind- 
 ling is now reduced to a science, and the man who makes an 
 assignment and transfers his belongings to another, out of reach of 
 his creditors, is called a wise and prudent man ! The more labori- 
 ous handicrafts are now despised. Servant girls scorn the drudgery^ 
 as they style it, of a christian home, and prefer the sewing machine 
 and the factory and the freedom of town and city life, to the 
 wholesome restraints of a well regulated family. Farmers' sons 
 hurry from the farmstead to be clerks, and salesmen and physicians 
 and lawyers, and their daughters go out into the world clothed in 
 all the tinsel and finery that money can procure, but lamentably 
 unfit to adorn a home, or become the wives of sensible men. And 
 this is called civilization and refinement and enterprise ! And we 
 laugh at the vulgarity and simplicity and homeliness of our sires, 
 whose practical knowledge and sound attainments in every depart- 
 ment of literature and science, puts to shame the mere smatterings 
 of our modern aristocracy, who bulk so4argely in the public view. 
 Once more, the absence of religious training among the young 
 is a matter of serious thought to christian men and women of our 
 land. The history of nations shows that Bible principles instilled into 
 the heart of youth, is the only hope for permanent and solid growth. 
 There is no true civilization apart from christian ethics. But this 
 cannot be done by Sabbath Schools, however efficiently equipped, 
 nor can it be done by common schools. If done at all it must be 
 done by christian parents. But even supposing that all the chris- 
 tian parents in the land faithfully discharged their duty in this 
 respect, what of the tens of thousands of children, who are left 
 
134 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 uncared for, born in ignorance of God — growing up to manhood 
 and womanhood degraded and debauched — ulcers and plague 
 spots in the community? The time has come, it seems to me, 
 when the Bible must be used as a text book in our common 
 schools, and when we must have confidence in the religious char- 
 acter of every man and woman entrusted with the training of our 
 youth. It needs not that debated points in theology and church 
 government be taken up, but that the high standard of christian 
 living, which the Bible recognizes as the safeguard of men and 
 nations, be impressed upon the plastic minds of our youth. Mere 
 secular knowledge never has, and never can, make law-abiding 
 subjects or real patriots. 
 
 As christian men, let us anew gird ourselves to the great work 
 of removing these' evils, and evangelizing this entire nation, in its 
 length and in its breadth. There is much land yet to be possessed. 
 Narrowing our view to the continent of America, comprising Can- 
 ada and the United States, the great Northwest, British Columbia, 
 Australia, and other colonies, what fields for missionary enterprise 
 stretch out before the eye ! Why has our place been appointed for 
 us in this goodly land ? Not sirnply to increase our riches and add 
 to our individual happiness, but that from us the true religion may 
 flow forth to more remote and destitute portions of the earth. The 
 church must keep pace with commerce and civilization. Distant 
 regions opened up by the discoveriefj of travellers must be possessed 
 for Christ, and the true religion planted on every citadel of Satan. 
 Faith in the purpose and promise of God, courage to conquer, and 
 a generous consecration of our means to God's cause, will ensure 
 us victory. 
 
 In grateful praise lies our hope of continued bestowment of 
 God's favor. Thanksgiving is the beginning of heaven. But 
 thanksgiving is a mockery without corresponding sacrifice. Thanks- 
 giving is good, but a continued thankful life is better. Out of our 
 
THANKSGIVING MEMORIES. 135 
 
 abundance we are to give freely for the good of our fellow men. 
 The liberal soul shall be made fat. There is that scattereth and 
 yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet and 
 it tendeth to poverty. " To deal thy bread to the hungry, and to 
 clothi^ the naked, and bring the poor that are cast out into thy 
 house," are the best evidences of a thankful soul. " How much 
 owest thou unto my Lord ?" Such a question rightly pondered 
 will make you respond, " What shall I render unto the Lord for all 
 his benefits towards me?" 
 
 God of the swiftly rolling year ! 
 
 Thy bounties lie on every hand ; 
 How rich thy varied gifts appear, 
 
 While 'neath the arching skies we stand : 
 With countless sheaves of golden grain 
 The joyful reapers strew the plain. 
 
 Pensile from every drooping bough, 
 
 Fair in the sunlight's ruddy glow, 
 The ripening fruits are bending now — 
 
 From lavish hands our blessings flow. 
 
 With thankful hearts our lips repeat 
 
 God's goodness to this latest hour j 
 lift to Him each voice in praise 
 
 Whose bounteous love hath crowned our days. 
 
J^IOGRAPHICAL. 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 
 
Martin Luther. 
 
 On occasion of the Special Services, commeniGratii^e of 
 the Four Hundretti A.nniDersary of the great German 
 Reformer. 
 
"A mighty, valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, 
 and the Lord is with him." 
 
 Ist Samuel, Ifi, v. 18. 
 
 " Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us 
 free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." 
 
 — Galatians 5, v. 1. 
 
Martin Luther. 
 
 (tV^v 
 
 
 ^REAT and good men are God's gifts. As such, without 
 . _ , idolatrous homage, their deeds in behalf of humanity 
 ^^^ ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance, and the 
 [^ ■ lessons of their lives pondered by those who enjoy the 
 heritage they have left behind them. There never has been a period 
 in the history of church or state that God has not special agents 
 prepared for special emergencies — men endowed with more than 
 the average measure of courage, fidelity and daring, to speak in His 
 name and defend His truth. Having found it themselves after 
 great and sore travail, they cannot but make it known to others, 
 that the suffering brotherhood of souls may enjoy the glorious lib- 
 erty of the sons of God. Such a man was Martin Luther. 
 
 He was born at Eisleben in Upper Saxony, on the lOth of 
 November, 1483, and because he was baptized on St. Martin's day, 
 he was named after that saint. His great grandfather and grand- 
 father were Saxon peasants. His father, John Luther, was origin- 
 ally a miner, but latterly a proprietor of mines, and chief magistrate 
 of the city of Mansfield. His mother's name was Margaret Lin- 
 dcrman. Both parents are described as somewhat rough and hot 
 
 . (HI) 
 
142 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 tempered, but pious, true and honest at heart, and trained their son 
 in the fear of God. At the age of fourteen years, he was sent to 
 the grammar school of Madgeburg, where he remained a year. 
 From this he went to his father's birthplace, Eisenach, in Thuringia, 
 where he continued his studies, and made such marked progress as 
 indicated future greatness. 
 
 In 1 501 he entered the University of Erfurt, and at the age ol 
 twenty, in 1503, was admitted Master of Arts. His determination 
 now was to practice law, but events happened that entirely changed 
 his plans and future destiny. 
 
 The change in his choice of profession is variously accounted 
 for. The generally received opinion is, that while walking with a 
 companion, they were overtaken by a thunder storm, both stricken 
 down, and his companion killed by his side. Others say that he 
 fell dangerously ill, and feared he would die ; others th'at a dear 
 friend of his was assassinated, and he felt as if the grave yawned at 
 his feet. Melancthon says that it was brought about by alarming 
 convictions of sin, and apprehensions of divine vengeance, follow- 
 ing the sudden death of a companion. It is sufficient for us to 
 know that he was by some startling Providence or the operations 
 of grace, awakened to realize tie value of eternity over all the vain 
 ambitions of youth. 
 
 The state of religion at that time was low. Our Lord's passion 
 was regarded as a mere human tragedy ; the righteousness which 
 is by faith was ignored ; the intercession of priests and saints and 
 t!\e Virgin Mary, were deemed essential to pacify divine wrath. 
 Such as c")uld not make atonement for sin by offerings which went 
 to the enrichment of the clergy, were doomed, if not to hell, at Last 
 to purgatory, until satisfaction was made. Unmeaning and grossly 
 superstitious ceremonies, and unedifying discourses on rites and 
 processions, formed the staple of worship, while the wickedness and 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. .;^ 143 
 
 scandalous lives of priest and people, were covered over and ab- 
 solved by indulgences. 
 
 Luther, like other awakened converts of that age, sought refuge 
 in the monastic retreat of Erfurt, and was admitted. His parents 
 objected. "Take care," said his father, "that you are not ensnared 
 by a delusion of the devil." Luther insisted that he had a call 
 from God, and persevered in his withdrawal from the world, which 
 took place on the 17th of July, 1505. 
 
 He did not, however, find peace within the convent. His con- 
 science was greatly troubled. Fasts and penance did not meet 
 his spiritual wants, or remove the burden that weighed upon his 
 heart. He passed through great mental struggles, sometimes shut- 
 ting himself up in his cell for days, and once was found lying sense- 
 less upon the floor. At length when his mind was filled with 
 distressing anxieties about his state, he stumbled upon a copy of 
 the Bible in Latin, which he had never seen before. He read it 
 with avidity, but still was far from knowing the way of pardon. 
 Seeking the advice of an aged God-fearing monk, he was pointed 
 to personal faith in the son of God, as the only method for the 
 remission of sins, and after much further study and prayer and 
 great mental conflict, was led to perfect rest by a saving applica- 
 tion of the words : ** The j,ust shall live by faith," (Romans i, v. 17). 
 He now became entirely changed. The righteousness of God, 
 which had been before this a stumbling block, became sweet to his 
 soul, and the entrance on a blessed assurance of a full salvation. 
 
 Leaving the walls of the convent, he was ordained in 1507. His 
 ministrations at once attracted the attention of many notables, 
 among whom was Frederick the Elector of Saxony. Next year he 
 was appointed to a professorship in the University of Wittemberg. 
 Here, besides teaching philosophy, he preached with such power, 
 and presented the gospel in such a new light, that crowds were 
 attracted to hear him. 
 
144 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 In 1510 he was sent as a Commissioner to Rome under a deep 
 sense of the sacredness of that place, and sincere veneration for the 
 reigning Pope. On his way thither he halted at certain convents, 
 and was shocked at the gross sensuality and informalism that pre- 
 vailed. Reaching Rome, he visited every sacred spot, but found 
 his feelings in sad contrast with the levity and worldliness that he 
 everywhere encountered. The mass was repeated with the utmost 
 flippancy ; the priests at the altar indulged in the most blasphem- 
 ous jests, and many of them openly avowed their disbelief of the 
 doctrines they were ordained to preach. With strangely disturbed 
 and conflicting feelings he returned to Germany, and in 15 12 was 
 made Doctor of Divinity. He now gave himself up to the study 
 of the scriptures in the original languages, and began expositions 
 on the Psalms and the epistle to the Romans. In all he wrote or 
 spoke, he pointed to the Lamb of God, who alone taketh away the 
 sin of the world, and hastened to tell others how and where he had 
 found peace to his soul. 
 
 At this juncture an event occurred that hastened the entrance 
 of the great reformer on the work of his life. Leo X succeeded to 
 the Papal throne in 1513. Saint Peter's had been begun, but re- 
 mained unfinished for lack of means. To raise the required amount 
 of money, a general indulgence was proclaimed throughout Europe 
 to all who should give towards the building of Saint Peter's. To 
 overcome the objections of foreign princes, who objected to their 
 subjects giving money to Rome, Leo promised Henry VIII a third 
 of the Papal spoils. Tetzel was one of the salesmen of the indul- 
 gences, and most unblushingly did he go about his businc-s. He 
 assured his purchasers, that this indulgence would cover both guilt 
 and penance, and was all-efficacious to deliver souls out of purga- 
 tory. In his own Irreverent style he said. " that as soon as the 
 money tinkled in the box, the souls of their relations received a 
 full discharge, and bolted upward direct to heaven !" 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 14S 
 
 Such doctrine was very different from the belief and teaching 
 of Luther, who, although still a devout Catholic, was shocked at 
 Tetzel's profanity. It made his blood boil. He looked upon the 
 whole thing as a cheat, and refused to absolve from their sins such 
 as had bought Tetzel's indulgences. He was then attacked for 
 resisting the Pope's authority, and in reply drew up his famous 
 ninety-five propositions setting forth his views. He sent a copy to 
 the Archbishop, and on the day before the festival of " All Saints," 
 when crowds of the country people were flocking into the town, he 
 nailed them upon the gates of the castle of Wittemberg, with his 
 name as defender, and read them on All Saints' Day to the people 
 in the great parish church. In these propositions Luther admits 
 the power of the church to remit by indulgence what she has herself 
 imposed, but nothing more. She could not deliver souls from pur- 
 gatory, nor free them from mortal sins. These propositions were 
 the cry of an oppressed conscience — of revolt and anguish, at the 
 baseness of men, who could thus prostitute God's truth for sordid 
 mammon. 
 
 The great controversy between Luther and Rome now waxed 
 hotter and stronger, until at last be was enabled like the Apostles 
 of old, to place the authority of scripture above the church, with 
 her Popes and cardinals and monks, and publicly to condemn the 
 Papal See. But this radical change of opinion was not reached at 
 once. In a discussion to which he was challenged by a noted Rom- 
 anist, Luther, while opposing the extravagant notions entertained 
 of the Pope's authority, did not altogether deny it. Pressed by his 
 opponent with the passage in Matthew 16, v. 18, 19, which Rome 
 interprets as applying to every Pope as well as Peter, but which 
 Luther regarded as only personal to the Apostle, he was led to 
 further study of the pretensions of his church, and finally declared 
 the whole system of the Papal hierarchy to be a satanic invention, 
 and the Pope the real anti-Christ ! 
 *10 
 
146 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Luther was backed by the Elector of Saxony, and at this 
 period also, Melancthon — a man of gentle and affectionate nature, 
 just the opposite to Luther, and yet the very man he needed, to 
 help him in his arguments against Rome, — came as his colleague 
 in the University of Wittemberg. Students flocked to their 
 classes, and the Reformers of Wittemberg thus spread their views 
 far and wide over all the land. 
 
 The Pope now made up his mind to issue a Papal Bull against 
 the reformer. Luther instead of being alarmed was defiant, and 
 published two pamphlets on the matters in dispute, full of bitter 
 sarcasm and stinging rebukes of the priests and the Papacy. 
 Then the Papal Bull arrived and the Elector of Saxony was 
 ordered by the Pope to deliver up the heretic Martin Luther. The 
 question now was, what would Luther do with the Pope's Bull, and 
 what would th^ elector do with Luther ? The elector remained 
 the friend of Luther, and Luther on the 4th of December 1520, 
 burned the Pope's Bull, and along with it all the Roman law books 
 he could find, thus setting free, as far as he was concerned, the 
 German nation from the jurisdiction of Rome. "Germany must 
 abandon Rome. Liberty for ever. The die is cast" Such was 
 the war cry of the popular German rhymes. 
 
 The next event in the history of the Reformation is the Diet 
 of Worms, opened by Charles V. on the 20th of January, 1521. 
 At this council the accusations of Luther against the court of Rome 
 were lo be considered. Luther having been summoned before the 
 Diet, and an imperial herald sent to bring him, left Wittemberg 
 on the 2nd of April. His friends thought he was going to his 
 death, but Luther replied : " Christ lives, and we will enter Worms 
 in spite of hell and the powers of the air." Afterwards speaking 
 of his fearlessness to the Emperor of Saxony, he said: "The 
 devil saw in my heart that even had I known there would be as 
 many devils at Worms as tiles upon the house roofs still I would 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 147 
 
 joyfully have plunged among them." When Luther appeared 
 before the Diet he was asked to acknowledge as his the books he 
 had written against the Papacy, and next to retract the heretical 
 doctrines therein contained. Luther acknowledged their author- 
 ship, but refused to retract one title. " If I had a thousand heads," 
 he said, " I would allow them all to be cut off, rather than recant a 
 single word. If your imperial majesty requires a plain answer, I 
 will give one with horns and teeth. It is this, that I am bound by 
 the scriptures which I have quoted. My conscience is submissive 
 to the word of God, therefore I may not, and will not recant, 
 because to act against my conscience is unholy and unsafe — so 
 help me God !" 
 
 The Emperor then declared his intention to regard Luther as 
 an heretic, and an attempt was made to violate the promise made 
 him, of safe conduct back to Wittemburg. Indeed it was hinted 
 that the best thing would be to burn him there and then, and cast 
 his ashes like those of John Huss into the Rhine. But 400 knights 
 and 8,000 footmen gave the Emperor to understand that they 
 would defend Luther against Rome to the death ! Accordingly on 
 the 26th of April he was ordered to depart, and left Worms the 
 hero of the German nation. " Single-handed he had fought the 
 battle of Germany against the Pope, and endangered his life for 
 his country." And in this victory over brute force and against 
 mental bondage, Luther vindicated the right of every man to exer- 
 cise liberty of thought and speech, in matters appertaining to his 
 eternal well-being. 
 
 What follows may be briefly told. Charles and the Pope en- 
 tered into an alliance, offensive and defensive, against the Reformer. 
 On the eighth day of May they signed a treaty, binding themselves 
 to crush out this insurrection against Rome. The Emperor then 
 issued an edict against Luther, condemning him to be burnt, as his 
 books had been, but elsewhere, all over Germany, they were read 
 
148 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Still more and more. Meanwhile Luther scattered over the land 
 an account of the doings of the Diet of Worms, and roused popular 
 indignation against his cruel judges. His friends carried him safely 
 to the castle of Wurtburg, where, although silent in speech, he 
 busily engaged in translating the Bible into German. The mob, 
 in his absence, became wild and exasperated against Rome, and 
 meditated revenge. Luther, hearing of this, left the castle of Wurt- 
 burg, and at the risk of his life suddenly appeared in his old pulpit 
 in Wittemberg to calm the excitement. The revolutionary prophets 
 of that age were dismissed, and order restored, and before the end 
 of the year the New Testament was translated into the German 
 tongue, and the Bible acknowledged as the rule of faith. 
 
 The peasants' war which followed, and raged for years, and 
 during which over 100,000 perished, was strongly objected to by 
 Luther, who opposed the use of the sword against the civil power. 
 This war, wrongly ascribed to the Reformativ^n movement of Luther, 
 was in reality a revolt of the poor German peasantry against the 
 yoke of the feudal serfdom. Had timely reforms been granted, 
 revolution and bloodshed would have been averted. 
 
 The collateral results of the Reformation in Germany, were the 
 suppression or purification of the monasteries, and the use of their 
 vast revenues for educational purposes, or for the preaching of the 
 gospel to the poor. Monks and nuns were allowed to marry. The 
 German language was used in wo^^ship, instead of Latin. The 
 youths were taught in the schools their native tongue, and Luther's 
 German Bible and German hymns came into general use ; and 
 when in 1529 the Diet of Spires passed a decree, re-enacting the 
 edict of the Diet of Worms, the Lutheran princes protested, and so 
 earned for themselves and all likeminded men the name of Protest- 
 ant, while Protestant schools, and states adopting Lutheran doc- 
 trines, sprang up in every corner of the land. 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 1 49 
 
 While Luther lived, the Emperor never carried out his threat, 
 to crush the Protestant heresy by the sword. The peace of Augs- 
 bur{^ followed, with its legal recognition of the Protestant states, 
 but it was after all but a mock toleration ; for after the great Re- 
 former's death, the German nation was plunged into the terrible 
 thirty years' war, and to this day bears the marks of the terrible 
 ordeal through which it passed, before her national freedom and 
 unity were gained. 
 
 The closing years of the Reformer were marked by frequent 
 attacks of sickness, and the death of friends and relations ; and his 
 mind was often the prey of despondency, caused by sorrow and 
 dissatisfaction at the impiety and immorality of the age. and the 
 conduct of public affairs. " I am an old man," he says, "and no 
 more of any use. 1 have finished my course ; there rema/^cth only 
 that God gather me to my fathers, and give my body to the worms." 
 As the end drew near, his prayers were answered : " Pray God that 
 He may give me a peaceful and happy death." His thoughts 
 went back to his birthplace, and his conversation, which related to 
 death, eternity, and the recognition of friends in heaven, was unusu- 
 ally rich and impressive. And so, on the loth of February; 1546, 
 with his hands folded upon his breast, he repeated thrice the words, 
 " Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit — thou hast redeemed 
 me, thou faithful God," and gently passed away. 
 
 Luther's name and memory are imperishable. His was the 
 mighty mind which spoke for freedom, million tongued, in tones 
 that still thunder round the world, and down the ages. He had 
 his faults, because he was mortal, but his regal bearing and heroic 
 deeds were sublime. His greatness is not, as has been said, of a 
 polished work of art, but of an Alpine mountain, with towering 
 peaks, rough granite blocks, deep abysses, sweeping torrents, fresh 
 fountains and green meadows. His character was transparent for 
 honesty, as the sunlight For dissimulation and cowardice he had 
 
ISO THE CHURCH and the common wkalth 
 
 the bitterest scorn. He was a son of thunder, and never gained 
 perfect mastery of his passion, but the ajje in which he lived, and 
 the men he had to deal with, demanded such a spirit. The man of 
 such serene temper that nothing can excite, is not the highest type 
 of christian character. In his own language he was rough, boister- 
 - ous, stormy, and altogether warlike, born to fight innumerable 
 devils and monsters, to remove stumps and stones, to cut down 
 thistles and thorns, and to clear the wild woods. Hut underneath 
 the lion, there was the gentleness of the lamb. Taking him all in 
 all, we may say of him, in the language of Thomas Carlyle : '• He 
 was a true man, great in intellect, in courage, affection and integ- 
 rity ; one of the most loveable and precious of men ; a right spir- 
 itual hero ; a true son of nature, for whom these centuries, and 
 many that are yet to come, will be thankful to heaven." To-day, 
 both Roman Catholic countries and Protestant kingdoms unite to 
 honor his memory, and the wide world ranks him among her 
 noblest benefactors. 
 
 On occasion of such an anniversary, we cannot but contrast the 
 condition of the world and the church at the present moment with 
 what it was 400 years ago. The church was then the sworn antag- 
 onist of both political and religious freedom. Church and state 
 were welded together by chains of iron, and the civil magistrate 
 made to yield to the mandates of the Pope. The crown of every 
 monarch was his gift. The hierarchy held the world in fee simple, 
 and crowned and excommunicated kings at will. The stroke of 
 one man's pen absolved the ruled from the ruler, and made coun- 
 tries so interdicted scenes of desolation. The church bell was 
 seldom heard, and the earth " was denied its office to hold the 
 bodies of the dead." Salvation was offered for money, and not on 
 the grounds of free grace, Vv'hile idolatory and superstition mocked 
 men's reason, and rendered impossible all intelligent and rational 
 worship of the Divine Being. A faithful devotee of the church in 
 
MARTIN LUTUl.k. 15I 
 
 that age had his choice of worshipping the following relics : " A 
 splinter of Noah's ark ; a finger of St. Andrew ; a finger of John 
 the Baptist ; the thumb of St. Thomas ; a tooth of our Lord ; a 
 rib of our Lord ; the hem of our Lord's garment which cured the 
 diseased woman ; the seamless coat of our Lord ; a tear which our 
 Lord shed over Lazarus, preserved by an angel, who gave it in a 
 vial to Mary Magdalene ; two sprigs from the rod with which our 
 Saviour was scourged ; the crocks in which the Son of God turned 
 the water into wine at the bridal feast of Cana ; the rod of Moses, 
 with which he performed his miracles ; a feather of the Holy 
 Ghost ; a feather of the angel Gabriel ; the slippers of the ante- 
 diluvian Enoch ; and some of the rays of the star that appeared to 
 the Magi." If the human mind has been emancipated from such 
 thraldom that crushed out all manly and noble aspirations ; if the 
 right of private judgment is now enjoyed without let or hindrance I 
 if we are permitted freedom of speech and action, and can read 
 from an unfettered Bible, without the fear of priestly anathema* 
 let us gratefully remember Martin Luther in our joy. 
 
 Luther lived only to see the dawn of the glorious day of intel- 
 lectual freedom, that the world now enjoys. He passed away when 
 his beloved fatherland was in the pangs of national strife, and 
 hurrying on to bloodshed. With something like prophetic eye, he 
 seemed to anticipate sad days of sorrow, when the faith of his 
 trusted followers would be tested, with the alternatives of death or 
 ignominious servitude to an alien power. And in just such a crisis 
 was Scotland when John Knox laid himself down to die, saying; 
 •'The world is weary of me, so am I of it." But these men planted 
 the strong roots of the liberties we now enjoy. We gather the 
 fruit, and prayer, and efforts of men, who, hundreds of years ago 
 passed away with unsatisfied eyes — the hot eyes stifled after the 
 storms of life, and the seal of death upon the faithful brow 
 
152 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 There are some people at the present day, who think that the 
 world were all the better if such men as Martin Luther had never 
 lived. They hate strife and deplore men of impetuous iron will, 
 who will face death rather than yield their manhood. Not such 
 have been the heroes of history, cither sacred or profane. They 
 were men of piety, but at the same time of large and comprehen- 
 sive views, of executive ability, and untiring energy, who never left 
 undone any task they had begun, and who scorned ease and 
 luxury, if God's truth demanded self-denial and exposure to 
 danger. They have their successors, but few in numoer. The 
 present age is largely effeminate, compared with that of Martin 
 Luther. It abounds in obscure, mediocre men, whose piety may 
 be sincere, but who wield no influence whatever, over their fellow 
 men, who busy themselves with petty pastimes and undertakings, 
 that men of Luther's manhood would have scorned, and content- 
 edly sit at ease, thanking God that their lot has been cast in less 
 troublesome times ! 
 
 There are others greatly alarmed lest the commemoration of 
 Luther's birthday, should do harm instead of good. They depre- 
 cate uncharitable utterances and ill-feeling between the members of 
 that church, whose servile dogmas Luther opposed 400 years ago, 
 and the present generation of Protestants. Not that they — good 
 souls — believe in error, but because converts are not to be made by 
 denunciation, but by loving appeals and the exhibition of gentle 
 lives. And so say we. But the man who thinks and tries with 
 soft words to bridge over the chasm, that exists between such hos- 
 tile systems of religion as Protestantism and Romanism, is a fool. 
 We gladly acknowledge the reformation in that church since the 
 days of Luther. Tetzel, with his wholesale offer of indulgences, 
 would receive less toleration now than in the days of Luther. The 
 injurious traffic which aroused the Reformer's wrath, is considerably 
 abridged, at least in our latitude. Nor would we forget the noble, 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 153 
 
 simple, unimpeachable lives, that men, born and trained in the 
 Catholic church, have lived, and the value of their labors and writ- 
 ings. Sweeter, nobler natures, than the school to which such men 
 as Fenelon and Blaise Paschal belonged, have never breathed. 
 The sacrifices that her priests have made for the dogmas they be- 
 lieve in, arc worthy of commendation. I would, too, that some of 
 the women in our Protestant churches — without immuring thcm- 
 .sclves in nunneries — did but emulate the self-denial and gentleness 
 and patient tenderness of those sisterhoods, who shrink from no 
 office, however menial, by the bedside of the sick and dying — 
 whether in tne hospital or in the trenches — and proffer their ser- 
 vices irrespective of creed or country. But when all this is cheer- 
 fully admitted, let us not forget, that it is not by ignoring funda- 
 mental differences, that keep two great communions apart, that the 
 cause of truth is to be served and good will continued, but by manly 
 declaration of our belief, and unswerving loyalty to conscience. 
 
 Germany has given many men of genius since the days of Luther 
 to the world. Her seats of learning have long been haunts of stu- 
 dents, who leave the college halls of their native land to drink the 
 inspiration at the fountain head, and from scholars whose attain- 
 ments in special subjects have made them famous, and reflected 
 glory upon the nation. Her soldiers, trained from youth for active 
 service, are all but invincible upon the battle field. Her statesmen 
 have achieved diplomatic triumphs that other nations en'.y ; but 
 better than all these are the men and women in the humbler ranks 
 of life, who, with a strength of will and stubborn tenacity of pur- 
 pose, overcome all obstacles and carve out for themselves honorable 
 positions in every walk of life. What makes them so ? Why are 
 they not sluggish, indolent and unambitious, like the natives of 
 more balmy climes ? Why are they sought after by the people of 
 the American continent as in the main, frugal, honest, peaceful, 
 law-abiding subjects, and why are they invariably found, when 
 
154 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 occasion arises, in the vanguard of the fight? Simply becau.e the 
 spirit of the past still lingers in the nation — 
 
 Their altars and their fires, 
 The green graves of their sires, 
 
 are not forgotten. That matchless fortitude that enabled Martin 
 Luther to dare oppression is not extinguished, but ready when 
 called r.pon to maintain the right. 
 
 Since the days of the Reformer, liberty of conscience has been 
 fought for in other lands, sometimes with but partial success. The 
 green sod has again and again been stained by the blood of brave 
 patriotic spirits. But the day is near when the right to worship 
 God, unfettered by state authority, shall everywhere be regarded 
 as the inalienable birthright of every man. Stronger than brute 
 force is the omnipotence of truth. As Lord Brougham said more 
 than half a century ago, " Let the soldier be abroad, if he will, he 
 can do nothing in this age. The schoolmaster is abroad, and I 
 trust to him, armed with his primer, against the soldier in full mili- 
 tary array." 
 
 The outworn rite, the old abuse. 
 
 The pious fraud, transparent grown, 
 
 The wood held captive in the use 
 Of wrong alone. 
 
 *o 
 
 These wait their doom, 
 And fresher life the world shall draw 
 From their decay. 
 
 God works in all things. 
 Wake thou and watch ! — the world is gray 
 With morning light ! ' 
 
 Steadily down the march of ages, above the disputations and 
 ambitions of despots, and in spite of the secret "machinations of 
 crowned oligarchs, who join hands to stay the triumphal car of lib- 
 
MARTIN LUTHER. 
 
 erty, she rushes on, destroying in her progress hoary systems of 
 superstition that have long held the human soul in fetters. It can- 
 not be otherwise, for — ,- 
 
 Freedom's battle once begun, 
 Bequeathed by I leeding sire to son, 
 Though battled oft, is ever won. 
 
 God knows, I have no ill will toward the members of the church 
 of Rome. Many of them are my friends. Within her pale, 
 despite of what Protestants deem unscriptural dogmas and gross 
 idolatry, souls yearning for fellowship wit'i heaven, may find it, 
 and make the crucifix the symbol of their faith. I have no quarrel 
 with her devotees, who up to the light they possess, follow faith- 
 fully her mandates, and relinquish their reason to the superior 
 judgment of the church, under the threat of pains and penalties 
 that embrace both worlds. In all that relates to liberty of consci- 
 ence, Protestants and Romanists have equal rights, but when the 
 Pope or any other man claims infallibility and the right to dictate 
 to others, on the pain of excommunication, what they shall believe, 
 I resist such presumptuous demands. They may be exacted from 
 slaves — never from free men ! I recognize the reigning sovereign 
 of the realm, as supreme in civil matters, within constitutionil 
 rule ; I give to my maker the direct homage of my heart, without 
 the intervention of saint, or angel, or pope ! What shall be the 
 ultimate result of this great conflict of the ages ? Which of these 
 great spiritual forces that have for centuries fought for the con- 
 quest of the world, shall gain the victory, I cannot for a moment 
 doubt. I do not depreciate the vast influence — the magnificent 
 organization — the ten i'lousand agencies and emissaries and wil- 
 ling servants that the Vatican controls. Her tactics are marvcl- 
 ously wise, and adapted to satisfy the passions of the human soul. 
 It may be, as Macaulay says : " That she shall exist in undimin- 
 ished vigor, when some traveller from New England, shall in the 
 
l$6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 midst of a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London 
 bridge, to sketch the ruins of St Paul." But it will be as a 
 reformed church, freed from the shackles that now, but cannot 
 always be worn, by men of intelligence who know their account- 
 ability to God, for their beliefs and actions, and who, without 
 intercession of priests, enter /the holiest by the blood of Jesus ! 
 God hasten that day, when there shall be but one fold, and one 
 shepherd. Amen. 
 

 
 THOMAS CARLYLE. 
 
Thomas Carlyle. 
 
" In these days came John the fiaptiht, preaching in the wilderness 
 of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
 
 —Matthew 3, v. 1, 2. 
 
Thomas Carlyle. 
 
 y(ll|i--|^A^EN John the Baptist appeared, the world was in a state 
 j^mjy^^ of mental agitation. The Old Testament prophet;, had 
 K/^^^K filled and fired the Jewish heart with fond expectations 
 ^^ of a new kingdom, and a coming deliverer. Uneasiness, 
 
 <vs discontent, and yearnings after something better, char- 
 
 acterized the age. His mission was to rebuke the sinful practices 
 of the day, and prepare for the coming of Christ. For five hundred 
 years there had been no reforming prophet. He was the last of 
 the race, and in many respects the greatest of all, and formed the 
 connecting link and transition between Judaism and Christianity. 
 
 The prominent feature in the Jewish religion of that period was 
 its hypocrisy — its unreality — hollowness — ostentation — barren or- 
 thodoxy, and formalism. The Scribes and Pharisees, however* 
 af^ainst whom John the Baptist directed his fiercest scorn and sting- 
 ing rebukes, were in some respects far in advance of many profes- 
 sors of religion at the present day. They attended with a praise- 
 worthy diligence to all their forms of worship, and in the sight of 
 all men performed their devotions. They were loyally attached to 
 the doctrines and discipline of their church. They gave liberally 
 
 (159) . 
 
l60 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and ungrudgingly for the support of ordinances — not resorting to 
 the questionable methods for raising monies, common at the pres- 
 ent moment ; and their zeal and active efforts to make converts 
 and proselytes knew no bounds. Their morality and righteousness 
 was good, so far as it went, but it was regarded as sufficient for 
 salvation, and as a ground of merit and reward in the sight of God. 
 They boasted of their virtues, and sought the good opinion of men 
 by performing certain outward acts of devotion, after a mechanical 
 and routine fashion, rather than yielding spontaneously to God the 
 sincere homage of the heart 
 
 Despising such hypocrisy, and in order to mark his contempt 
 for the reputed leaders of the synagogue John the Baptist with- 
 drew himself to the wilderness — living solitary and apart — brood- 
 ing over the divine communications of heaven, which from time to 
 time he uttered in the ears of his astonished countrymen. 
 
 His education was in the desert : far from refined society, where 
 destitute of luxuries, and living on the plainest fare, he became 
 inured to hardships and fitted to become the mouthpiece of God 
 to men. Thus prepared, like all great reformers of the past and 
 present, he confronted the bitterest enemies of Christianity, and 
 gave form and definitions to dreams of a better day, for the Jewish 
 nation and the world. He became the interpreter of grand and 
 startling truths, which Grecian culture and philosophy never could 
 discover or reveal to men. 
 
 The burden of his theme was repentance. He did not attempt 
 to settle theological disputes, nor form any one school of religious 
 thought. But he endeavored to lead men to the practice of holi- 
 ness, and the abandonment of sin. " Repent." " Bring forth 
 fruits meet for repentance." " Flee from the wrath to come." 
 These were the keynotes of his message. He sought after no 
 refinement of manner, or delicacy of language. He listened to no 
 excuses, he had neither smiles, nor conciliation for the formalists 
 
THOMAS CAULYLE. l6l 
 
 and infidels of the age, but openly denounced their wickedness, 
 and unmasked the secret abominations that were concealed under 
 the garb of sanctimoniousness, and affected holiness. 
 
 His mission was a solemn and serious one. The duty imposed 
 upon him was terrible. To accuse men of the grossest crimes, and 
 the most loathsome wickedness ; to rebuke the proud ; to uncover 
 crooked and dishonest policies ; to pierce the conscience, awaken 
 reflection, and produce conviction, was no easy task. Yet he did 
 all this. Society was shaken to its very depths. Alone, unaided, 
 and unbefriended, he overcame the passions of the Pharisees and 
 the Sadducees, and from their ranks made converts to the truth 
 Crowds attended his ministry, and listened with personal applica- 
 tion of his words. " There went out to him Jerusalem, and all 
 Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized 
 of him in Jordan, confessing their sins." Such is the power pos- 
 sessed by aicere man, who speaks in the name of God, to disarm 
 opposition, and overcome the bitterest prejudices. 
 
 Every age has its reformers, in church and state. They are of 
 two classes, (a) Those made by the times, (d) Those made for, 
 and in advance of the times. Of the latter class was John. His 
 preaching was what the age demanded. He had not the fancy, 
 imagination, or sublime visions of an Isaiah, or the tender lamen- 
 tations of a Jeremiah, or the cloudy mysteriousness of a Daniel or 
 an Ezekiel, but he had the direct and telling home thrusts that pro- 
 duce instant effect. His words, accompanied by heaven's fire, acted 
 instantaneously upon the conscience. 
 
 Such preachers are not usually welcome. In proportion as 
 forms and rules are .set aside, and the corruptions of society dealt 
 with, and immoralities and dishonesties unveiled, the prophet and 
 the preacher are traduced. It is said, "The servants of Christ 
 should be meek and lowly, like their Master — their message is 
 peace and good will to men ; the gospel should be like the falling 
 *11 
 
l62 THE CHURCH AND THL COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 dew, upon the hcarls of sinners," All so far true. The dew is 
 needful, but so also is the thunder peal and the lightning flash. 
 Indeed the preacher's mission is ended when no alarm is needed. 
 The preaching of John the Baptist was practical, searching, pointed 
 and withering. Such was Paul's. Such was Stephen's. Such was 
 Christ'.^. One of the marked characteristics of the Apostle's teach- 
 ing, was the unconditional requisite of moral purity. The very first 
 step towards the new life, was personal purification. They did not 
 call upon men to join the church, or begin a round of ceremonies, 
 or become partizans of this or that creed or school, so much as tc 
 repent of their sins, and accept with undivided heart of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 John the Baptist was not a prudent man, in the ordinary accep- 
 tation of the word. He did not speak in silken tones. He pre- 
 ferred a good conscience to the honor and approval of men. 
 
 Prudential preaching is not the want of this age. There is toe 
 much of it already. Plain, homely, earnest appeals are needed. 
 Human nature is very much what it was in the days of the Baptist. 
 Nominal professors are as prevalent, and the masses are as im- 
 penitent and indifferent. Conviction of sin must be aimed at in 
 every sermon. Invariably it precedes genuine conversion. War 
 first — then peace : the ploughshare, then the harvest : the blasting 
 of the rock, before the buildi ig rises : demolition, before reforma- 
 tion. The hurricane clears away the poisonous miasma, that breeds 
 disease and death. And so the blast of God's threatenings must 
 reach the conscience, before hardened sinners are melted into tears. 
 
 John's preaching was not a complete gospel by any means. 
 But it prepared the way for the coming of Christ. His moral 
 dissection made men feel their need of a physician. 
 
 Like John, we call upon men to repent. What it means every 
 
 nan knows instinctively. Turn round. Change your purpose. 
 
 Mourn over, while ye confess your sins. Hate evil and turn to 
 
THOMAS CARL YLE, 1 63 
 
 holiness. Men have power to repent, and break away from their 
 sins. But the innate haughtiness of the human heart must first 
 be subdued, for pride and repentance cannot dwell in the same soul. 
 The crowds that waited upon John's ministry gave evidence of 
 their sincerity by "confessing their sins." There is a way of con- 
 fessing sin that is of no moral value, and indicates no moral change. 
 Men are perfectly willing as a rule, to confess their sinfulness, and 
 the original and utter depravity of their nature, but they dislike to 
 confess those special acts of wickedness, that make up the deprav- 
 ity. Indeed in many cases the fact of original depravity is pled as 
 a valid excuse for the wilful commission of sin. Men are held to 
 be, by a natural law of the universe, unable to avoid sinning, so 
 that just as mighty tornadoes uproot trees and overturn dwellings 
 so temptation prostrates men and entangles them in vice and 
 wrong doing. It is not difficult to find men saying : " I am a 
 sinner — all men sin — nothing else is to be expected, but that men 
 should sin. Sin is as universal in its grasp as the law of gravita- 
 tion." But how few confess to particular acts of wickedness, to 
 pride and selfishness, dishonorable actions, violations of truth and 
 purity, cnvyings and jealousies, back-biting, false witness bearing, 
 illicit pleasures, and the long dark catalogue of evils that mark the 
 daily life of millions, dishonoring to God, while debasing to our com- 
 mon humanity? God judges men not in the mass, but as individ- 
 uals ; nor is pardon given but to individuals. And thus it follows, 
 that such general confession of sin means nothing and effects 
 nothing. It is a mere pretence to humility — a palliation to a 
 guilty conscience — a mocking of that broken-heartcdncss and con- 
 trition of spirit, which alone is acceptable in the sight of God. 
 Nay further, a man may confess to a special sin, and yet be none 
 the better for it. You meet with such every day in the world. " I 
 know I have a failing. I sometimes do what I ought not to do 
 I am sorry for it." Next day or next hour, straightway and 
 
l64 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 deliberately, " the failing " is repeated, and the man flatters himself 
 that the confession of his special sin deserves commendation, while 
 the sin itself is hardly worthy of condemnation. Men who are in 
 reality sorry for their sins, put forth tremendous efforts to overcome 
 them, and by the assistance of God's grace succeed. 
 
 To all such we say, Repent — repent now. Flee from wrath to 
 come. Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. " The axe is laid 
 unto the root of the tree : every tree, therefore, which bringeth not 
 forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." Salvation's 
 overtures may soon end. The Judge is at the door. Eternity is at 
 hand. God is merciful ; — yes, but he is towards the wilfully im- 
 penitent an angry God. Let no man deceive himself, or calm con- 
 science by imagining otherwise. The inner consciousness asserts 
 it, and experience teaches it. His wrath against defiant sinners is 
 unappeasable, nor can it be escaped. 
 
 On another occasion, this same John the Baptist, seemg jesus 
 coming to him, said, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
 the sins of the world." Calls to repentance were in vain, without 
 the hope of forgiveness. This is the gospel we preach, for if we 
 confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive, and to cleanse us 
 from all unrighteousness. 
 
 During the past week, * there has passed away a man who, to 
 many of the present generation, seemed very much a John the Bap- 
 tist — a voice crying in the wilderness. He occupied no official 
 position, and he sought no honors. His private life was secluded , 
 his dwelling an humble one ; his tastes and manners simple ; and 
 yet no man of the present century has been more widely known or 
 more highly respected. The outlines of his life may be condensed 
 within a few sentences : Born on the 4th December, 1795, in the 
 
 * February 4th, 1881. ; / 
 
THOMAS CARLYLE. l6$ 
 
 * • * . . . 
 
 small village of Ecclcfcchan, in Scotland — his parents in very mod- 
 rrate circumstances, but respected for ihc'i moral worth and supe- 
 rior intelligence — Thomas Carlyle began life with advantages 
 perhaps superior to many Scottish youths who have risen to dis- 
 tinction, but with nothing to indicate the grand achievements of 
 his life. His humble parentage was his boast. " VVouldst thou 
 rather be a peasant's son, who knew, were it never so rudely, there 
 was a God in heaven and in man ; or a duke's son, that only knew 
 there were two and thirty quarters on the family coach ?" This 
 question, which occurs in one of his earliest books, was emphatically 
 answered by his life. 
 
 From the parish school, after two or three years training, Car- 
 lyle was sent to the Annan gymnasium, where he was prepared for 
 the Edinburgh University. Here he distinguished himself by his 
 mastery of the subjects taught, and excelled in mathematics. Then 
 he studied theology, and delivered a sermon before his professors, 
 which gave high promise of future power and excellence as a 
 preacher. Troubled, however, with " paroxysms of doubt," he felt 
 lliat he could not honestly pursue the path intended for him by his 
 parents, and so after studying law, he finally settled down to be a 
 village schoolmaster of the old type — stern, methodical, and thor- 
 ough. We have a glimpse of his life at this stage, when he assisted 
 the great Edward Irving in the seminary at Kirkaldy, in which he 
 pays a touching tribute to his dear friend's memory. He says : 
 
 " I had gone through the University of Edinburgh, and had 
 been invited by an old friend to become associated with him in the 
 conduct of a school at Kirkaldy. It was Edward Irving — my old 
 friend Edward Irving. Together we talked and wrought and 
 thought ; together we strove, by virtue of birch and book, to initiate 
 the urchins into what is called the rudiments of learning, until, at 
 length, the hand of the Lord was laid upon him, and the voice of 
 his God spake to him saying : " Arise, and get thee hence, for this 
 
l66 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 is not thy rest." And he arose and girded up his loins, and putting 
 the trump^i; of the Almighty to his h'ps, he blew such a blast as 
 that men started up with surprise, and said that the like of it had 
 not been seen since the days of the covenant itself. And from 
 Scotland he came to this great Babel ; and he stood up in the pul- 
 pit of the Hatton Garden chapel, the eyes of him blazing, and the 
 herculean form of him erect. And the great and the learned, the 
 high and the titled, the gifted and the beautiful, came around about 
 him, and sat mute and spell-bound listening to his wonderful 
 words. And they thought — for fools will ever think according to 
 their folly, which is the law of their being — they thought that 
 because they were looking at him, he was looking at them. He 
 was not looking at them at all. He was trying to do what no man 
 can do and live — trying to see God face to face. I have heard 
 that the eagle .s eye suffers eclipse ; that the curtain of darkness 
 falls over the pupil of his eye by the steadfast gazing at the bright- 
 ness of the sun. It was thus with my poor friend Irving. The 
 fools said — let the fools have their way, they know no better — the 
 fools said that Irving was daft — that his head was turned with the 
 popular applause. He was not daft, he v. as dazed. The curtains 
 of darkness fell over the eagle's eye by too steadfast gazing at the 
 sun. In blindness and loneliness he sobbed the great heart of him 
 to sleep." 
 
 After this, Carlyle became tutor in a private family, and finally 
 retired from contact with men, to startle the world by his quaint 
 massive sayings, which, for more than fifty years, have made him 
 the best known man in Britain — a name worthy of enrolment with 
 the mighties of his ago, and of a burial place in the consecrated 
 shrine of Westminster, had he not preferred to lie in the graveyard 
 of his native village ; for as Tennyson says : 
 
 'T is little ; but it looks in truth 
 
 Ae if the quiet bones were blest 
 
 Among familiar names to rest, 
 And in the places of his youth. 
 
THOMAS CARLNLK. I67 
 
 Referring to his early years, in an address delivered as Rector 
 of Edinburgh University, ui 1866, he says : 
 
 "There are now fifty-six years gone, last November, since I first 
 entered your city, a boy of not quite fourteen — fifty-six years ago — 
 to attend classes here and gain knowledge of all kinds, I knew not 
 what, with feelings of wonder and aue-struck expectation ; and 
 now, after a long. long course, this is what we have come to. There 
 is something touching and tragic, and yet at the same tiinc beauti- 
 ful, to see the third generation, as it were, of my dear old native 
 land rising up and saying, ' Well, you are not altogc'^her an un- 
 worthy laborer in the vineyard ; you have toiled through a variety 
 of fortunes, and have had many judges.' As the old proverb says, 
 ' lie that builds by the wayside has many masters.' We must ex- 
 pect a variety of judges, but the voice of Young Scotland, through 
 you, is of some value to me, and I return ycu many thanks for it, 
 though I cannot describe my emotions to you, and, perhaps, they 
 will be much more conceivable if expressed in silence." 
 
 No man, indeed, has been judged so variously as Thomas Car- 
 lylc. Hy some he has almost been worshipped ; by others wondered 
 at ; by others ridiculed ; but in every case his powerful intellect and 
 weird-like prophecies have been acknowledged as a powerful factor 
 in the social history of the age ; it' not in the moulding of men's 
 opinion, in causing reflection and turning attention to problems 
 that are as yet unsolved in the hist(jry of nations. When we find 
 him spoken of as the "greatest bibliographic writer of the age," 
 and acknowledged by eminent men now living as having exerted 
 an influence upon their style and mode of thought beyond all other 
 writers, we can easily imagine how regal must have been his mind, 
 and how deep the impression made upon his contemporaries. 
 
 It is not necessary that we should agree with such a man in his 
 opinions in order to unite with the world of letters in laying our 
 humble tribute upon his grave. He sought the good of his race 
 
l68 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMON WEALTIi 
 
 in his own peculiar way, and endeavored, by a bluntness of speech 
 and merciless casti^jation of all that was hollow-hearted and hypo- 
 critical, to prepare the world for the dawn of a better and brighter 
 end. He was a profound worshipper of what he called the divinity 
 in man, and indr'^^ed the hope that this hidden nobleness — this 
 internal light of the human soul — would produce a perfect man- 
 hood, and usher in a golden age. To our mind, such a prospect is 
 baseless, apart from the humanizing and evangelizing influences of 
 God's spirit upon men, and on society at large. His views also 
 regarding the treatment of criminals, were hardly in keeping with 
 that tenderness, which, while it hates sin, loves and pities, and 
 seeks to reclaim the sinner. The new testament certainly does not 
 teach that " Revenge and the natural hatred of scoundrels is a 
 correct and divine feeling in the mind." liut in spite of such marked 
 eccentricities, which he seemed to hold more tenaciously as he 
 grew older, his downright earnestness and honesty ; his shrewd 
 common sense ; his hatred of all shams and pretension ; his denun- 
 ciation of selfishness ; his contempt for aristocratic birth and 
 pedigree, when destitute of moral worth, and his oft-repeated 
 ma.xim that rank, power and possei:sion should be graduated by 
 ability, endear him to all lovers of humanity, wherever civilization 
 and manliness prevail. 
 
 There are two aspects in which the world may be looked at in 
 the present day — as getting worse, or as getting better. Thomas 
 Carlyle thought the former. He saw few redeeming features, and 
 no bright spots in the horizon. His mental vision of late years 
 was too much confined to what was passing under his eye in the 
 great metropolis of liritain — certainly not the best place to gain 
 impressions of human progress. The policies and diplomacies of 
 governments based upon mere expediency, or maintained by 
 threats of arms ; the monster iniquities, daily committed and 
 chronicled in the daily press ; th? astounding rascalities of men in 
 
THOMAS CAKLVLE. 1C9 
 
 hif];h places, and the dark crimes committed under the very shadow 
 of hoary cathedrals and within the sound of a hundred Sabbath 
 bells ; and the frequent tolling of the knell at Newgate, as it hurried 
 off some poor wretch to eternity ; all these things shockv d his 
 moral sense, and led hirn hastily and erroneously, we think, to 
 conclude that civilization was being exchanged for the barbarism 
 of the dark ages. To him, indeed, all things seemed unfixed, and 
 "floating distractedly in an ocean of talk." lie looked upo\i the 
 present with scorn and disgust, as "days of endless calamity, dis- 
 ruption, confusion worse confounded — days of utter despair ; there 
 must be a new world, if there is to be any world at all !" 
 
 Intensely conservative, and yet, strange to say, intensely radical 
 and revolutionizing, he was also in his religious views — not perhaps 
 fickle — but, at least, undecided and inexplicable. He certainly 
 cannot be classed with philosophic atheists of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. On the other hand, he cannot be ranked among the earnest 
 defenders and propagators of the Christian faith. His mind seems 
 to have been in some way, and to some degree, warped, and his 
 earlier predelictions in favor of the simple trust of his fathers 
 changed to doubt and emphatic denunciation of creeds and dogmas- 
 One of his critics sums up his creed as follows : lielicf in the 
 immortality of the soul, the existence of a God, and the responsi- 
 bility of man to God ; denial of the divinity of Christ, the 
 resurrection of the body, and final judgment. But we can hardly 
 come to such a conclusion from his writings. Dogmatic in the 
 highest degree himself, he had but little tolerance for formulated 
 beliefs. But he never assailed the foundations of the christian 
 faith, nor denied the existence and power of conscience, nor spoke 
 irreverently of the divine being. It were strange, nay, almost 
 impossible that he should, trained as he was by a father, who 
 rc;rarded the highest form of manhood attainable, that of the 
 christian, and who was remarkable for his profound religious fer- 
 
170 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 vor.* Carlyle was a passionate admirer of the Covenanters in 
 his boyhood days, and never ceased to cherish their memory with 
 a strength and tenderness that developed with his appreciation of 
 their nobility, and assigned them a lofty niche in the gallery of the 
 world's best heroes. If he turned away with detestation, and some 
 degree of bitterness, from the religious life of the present, it was 
 because of his fond idolatry of such men, and the contrast presented 
 in our day of weakness, insincerity and indifference, both in church 
 and state. 
 
 Rugged in exterior, but tender in heart ; morose and melan- 
 choly, yet quaint in a humor peculiarly his own ; unforgiving, yet 
 pitying; doubting and dreaming, yet held by the moorings of his 
 youth to an eternal, all- wise, just and righteous God, — the hoary 
 sage, the fast friend, the affectionate husband, the marvellous word- 
 painter, the doleful philosopher, has passed away into that far-off 
 infinite immensity, that for years troubled and distracted his soul- 
 He now knows all. 
 
 The veiled dark portal, 
 Goal of all mortal, 
 
 has been passed, and the stillness and fullness of eternity entered 
 upon. Further we may not follow him. 
 
 ♦Speaking of Carlyle's father, a writer says : " Measured by the 
 ordinary standards of the world, how cramped it is ! how short in its 
 ranaje ! how insignifioant ! What does one builder of peasants' cottages 
 more or less matter'? But, IJien, can we look at that life in that way 1 
 Can we look at any life in that way ! It is plain to us all that we cannot, 
 for life everywhere establishes connections and creatfs consequences. 
 . . . Indeed, it is doubtful if the real sum total of any man's life can 
 be stated until the end of all things. This humble mechanic, for instance, 
 was the father of a son whose name is known and honored wherever the 
 English languarge is spoken. To James Carlyle's narrow life in the vil- 
 lage and in the kirk, and in his own cottage, must be added the sum of 
 Thomas Carlyle's life, and the influence of his writings, a>id the influence 
 of the men whose thought has been stimulated or shaped by those writ- 
 inas. And so the son himself says : '* Let me not mourn for my father ; let 
 me do worthily of him ; so shall he still live even here in me, and his 
 worth plant itself h<jiorably forth into new generations." 
 
THOMAS CARLYLE. 17 1 
 
 No further seek his merits to disclose, 
 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread abode : 
 
 There they alike in trembling hope repose, 
 The bosom of his father and his God. 
 
 Carlyle's life and works have not been in vain. His terse 
 thoughts and strange axiomatic utterances will not soon be for- 
 gotten. But the grandest life is incomplete, and the highest aspir- 
 ations of genius remain unfulfilled on earth. So with Thomas Car- 
 lylc. His aims were grand — who can doubt it? But of their fail- 
 ure, who can gainsay it ? The prophet fretted away his great life, 
 battering against shams with little tangible results. Indeed, the 
 nearer he approached the grave, the more unsatisfactory to himself 
 did his work appear. The more than half century spent in fiery 
 invective against social anomalies, seemed to result in nothing. 
 Nor can any merely negative philosophy cure the world's sorrows, 
 or cleanse its plague spots. The graphic and touching resources 
 of Charles Dickens, and the biting sarcasm and scorn of a Thack- 
 eray, are helpful in calling attention to social wrongs, and unmask- 
 ing traditional follies, but there is needed the positive, constructive 
 regenerating power of the gospel, " to arrange the world in beauty, 
 so that there shall be no discord and no lamentation any more." 
 It is Divine love for human souls that alone conciliates and con- 
 quers the world. He that would successfully elevate the masses — 
 equalize inequalities — redress wrongs — remove cruelties, and banish 
 wretchedness from earth, must not only cry aloud and spare not, 
 but must point to " The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin 
 of the world." 
 
GEORGE BROWN. 
 
George Brown. 
 
" And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour." 
 
 —1st Kings, 11, V. 28. 
 
 ** Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters ; as a man 
 falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again 
 over him. And the King said unto his servants, know ye not, that there 
 is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel." 
 
 2nd Samuel, 3, 34, 38. 
 
 J._ 
 
George Brown. 
 
 HESE words were spoken by King David, as he wept 
 over the grave of Abner. Abner had been comman- 
 der-in-chief of the armies of Israel under King Saul. 
 For years after Saul's death, he maintained a fruitless 
 warfare, in alliance with Ishbosheth, against the reign of 
 ►^2^ David, but eventually, on condition that he should have com- 
 mand of the armies of the hitherto rival kingdoms, he made over- 
 tures to David for a re-union and reconciliation. Abner's proposals 
 found favor with the king, and Joab, who was commander-in-chief 
 of David's armies, was set aside for the sake of Abner. Dreading 
 the superior influence which such a man as Abner might have over 
 the king, and eager to take vengeance upon Abner on account of 
 his brother Asahel, who perished in a former feud, Joab stealthily 
 calls Abner aside, in the gate of the palace, and under the guise of 
 friendship thrust his sword into his body. The king, hearing of 
 this foul crime, not only lamented his death, but gave orders for a 
 general mourning, he and his people following the b»er to the grave, 
 and weeping aloud. The unexpected, and peculiarly atrocious 
 manner of his death, is set forth in the words now read : " Thy 
 hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters : as a man fall- 
 
 (175) 
 
176 THE CHURCH AND THE COM ON'VVEALTH. 
 
 eth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wepi 
 again over him. And the king said unto his servants, know ye not 
 that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel." 
 
 There has been laid in the grave, since last we assembled in the 
 house of God, a kingly man, — one who for many years has by 
 unanimous consent been ranked among the princes of the land, 
 Over his grave the people have also wept, and a feeling of un- 
 feigned sadness has possessed all hearts, because of his untimely 
 end. As christian citizens, it surely becomes us, when the righteous 
 perish, that we should lay it to heart, and endeavor to read and 
 profit by the lessons of their lives. 
 
 To say that the lamented statesman and journalist was a man 
 of wonderful force of character and intellect, is what all admit. By 
 singular energy and high aspiration, he acquired an influence in 
 Canada second to none, — if not indeed superior to all his compeers. 
 His advent fell upon times most propitious to foster and develop 
 the versatile talents and prodigious powers he possessed. So that 
 if the man was raised up by Providence to do a special work, the 
 circumstances of the country were favorable to the man. It has 
 been said, and I think with great truth, that a great man is only 
 possible under certain conditions — that every genius can be ac- 
 counted for ; that he is the product of his time — has come forth in 
 answer to a call — in a word, that he is a response, and not a new 
 creation. It was the condition of the church, and the protests 
 which had been made against darkness and bondage, which made 
 a Lutiier possible. Cromwell would have farmed in Huntingdon 
 to the end of his days, probably, had Charles been a wiser and a 
 better king. But though a man cannot create circumstances to 
 suit himself, and afford coportunity for becoming conspicuous, he 
 can take things as they are, and by the force of his character chanp^c 
 
GEORGE B'iOWN. 177 
 
 and reform existing wrongs and abuses, until the theories and prin- 
 ciples he has long believed in, become incarnated with the very 
 life's blood of the nation. This is what George Brown did in Can- 
 ada. Doubtless, had he lived longer, he would have attempted 
 more, but enough has been accomplished to indicate the place to 
 which he is entitled, in the estimation of a people for whom he 
 labored with a zeal and unselfishness that knew no bounds. 
 
 It needs not that I repeat the story of his life as briefly sketched 
 by the daily press. Born in Edinburgh, though with a dash of 
 impetuous Celtic blood in his veins, and educated in its academies, 
 he was surrounded from childhood with influences and favored 
 with privileges, well calculated to develop a naturally strong and 
 vigorous mind. But though intended for professional life, he 
 chose, instead of entering the University, the wider arena of the 
 world, where until the day of his death, he manfully struggled and 
 overcame obstacles that would have crushed arkd conquered feebler 
 souls. In early manhood, as well as in maturer age, we find 
 the same hopeful, buoyant, indom-table spirit, that knew nothing 
 of defeat. Whether battling successfully against family reverses, 
 or vindicating the liberty of the press against the threats of tyrants, 
 and in spite of suits at law ; or denouncing with fierce invective 
 dishonesty and double-dealing in men occupying high places in 
 the land ; or vindicating the honor of his adopted country from 
 the insults and false accusations of foreign nations : — in every 
 condition he was the same courageous and intrepid spirit that 
 counted not the cost, that the desired end might eventually be 
 gained. His motto was : 
 
 Dare to hf right ! Dare to be true ! 
 Af\l the world's scorning can never harm you, 
 Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith, 
 Stand like a hero, and battle till death. 
 
 He was possessed of indomitable perseverance. This wSs 
 
 manifested in every action and enterprise of his life. He may rioi 
 *12 
 
178 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 have had genius, in the technical meaning of the word, but he had 
 what is far better for all practical purposes, untiring and continuous 
 application to the business in hand. Indeed, we may say that he 
 possessed talent and genius combined. Genius, as commonly 
 defined, has no doubts — leaps to conclusions, and acts by inspira- 
 tion and impulse, while talent reasons and plods. Both are neces- 
 sary, we apprehend, and are generally found in the nature and 
 achievements of truly great men. Placed as Mr. Brown was in 
 early life, genius without singular force of character and tenacity 
 of purpose could accomplish nothing. He never waited, as some 
 dreamy, sentimental visionaries do, upon what they blasphemously 
 call the leadings of Providence, or in modern phraseology, "for 
 something to turn up." But he girded himself manfully to the 
 labor of life, and took advantage of everything that seemed likely 
 to secure his advancement in the world, and enable him to reach 
 an honorable independence. He firmly believed that the great 
 Creator intended man to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
 and to exercise the talents entrusted him with diligence and 
 earnestness, whether in the workshop or the senate chamber. 
 Bayard Taylor, in some respects a man of kindred spirit, once 
 said : " I have always reverently accepted, first — Labor. Nothing 
 can be had for nothing. Whatever a man achieves, he must pay 
 for it, and no favor of fortune can absolve him from duty. Second, 
 Patience and forbearance, which are simply dependent on the slow 
 justice of time. Thirdly — and most important, faith. Unless a 
 man believes in s 'mething infinitely purer and grander than he can 
 ever become — unless he has an instinct of an order beyond his 
 dreams, of laws beyond his comprehension, of beauty and good 
 and justice, beside which his own ideals are dark, he will fail in 
 every loftier form of ambition, and ought to fail." This was Mr. 
 Brown's creed, and how nobly he practiced it, his life declares ! 
 
GEORGE BROWN. 1 79 
 
 Having gained a commanding position in society, and become 
 a recognized power in moulding the opinions and directing the 
 judgments and convictions of his fellow-men, his every word and 
 tone were marked by intense earnestness, the sincerity of a man 
 who believed, rightly or wrongly, in what he uttered. He did not 
 assume the role of sentimental humanitarianism, adapting his prin- 
 ciples and ideas to the prevailing temper of the age in which he 
 lived. Had he done so. he might possibly have become a more 
 popular statesman with a certain class, and secured for himself even 
 higher honors than were accorded him in life. We have no reason 
 to doubt, as he stated to Dr. Gregg, who had been his pastor for 
 many years, that in deciding whether he would give or withhold 
 his support from public measures, he asked first. Is it right? Sec- 
 ond, Is it for the good of the country? And third. Will it benefit 
 the party? Or, in other words, principle first ; patriotism, second ; 
 and party last. That he often seemed impractical, unyielding, dog- 
 matic, and imperious in his attitude, even to his best friends, arose 
 from his strong decided convictions of duty. He was tenacious of 
 his opinions, and seldom changed — and indeed the history of Cana- 
 dian politics shows that he was seldom wrong. His views on pub- 
 lic questions — once deemed extreme and violent — are now being 
 slowly adopted by men, who derided them when first enunciated. 
 Having patiently and conscientiously studied the great social and 
 economic questions which effect the welfare and stability of nations, 
 he arrived at conclusions which seemed to him as clear as the dem- 
 onstrations of Euclid. Opponents might scoff, and friends might 
 advise, but in vain. His attitude and response to political antag- 
 onists, as well as allies, was that of Fitzjames in the " Lady of 
 
 the Lake :" 
 
 His back against a rock he bore, 
 And firmly placed his foot before : 
 Come oue, come all, this rock shall fly 
 From its Hrni base, as soon as L 
 
l80 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 As a natural result of strong convictions there was a downright 
 plainness of speech, not always acceptable either to friends or to 
 foes. When he struck it was with the clenched hand, and with 
 terrible effect His denunciation was unsparing, and continued if 
 necessary for months, without one grain of pity for his victim. He 
 possessed that severe cast of mind, that cannot easily take into 
 account the manifold imperfections of public men, and make 
 allowance for their frailty, when placed amid temptations. And 
 yet no one for a moment questioned his thorough sincerity. His 
 attacks were open and straightforward, he never stabbed in the 
 dark, or covertly sought the overthrow of an enemy. As has been 
 remarked by one who knew him well ; he was an honest opponent, 
 who might sometimes use a bludgeon, instead of the orthodox 
 rapier, but who never resorted to the stiletto, and never even in 
 moments of the greatest excitement hit below the belt. 
 
 Such a man of necessity made enemies. His positive opinions 
 and assertions seemed strange and fanatical to men whose princi- 
 ples were held for the sake of office and emolument, and who were 
 ready to barter them at any moment for personal ends. Nor did 
 he chafe under misrepresentation, and satire, and obloquy. He 
 fully expected such treatment, and regarded censure and abuse as 
 the natural consequence of the line of conduct he had adopted 
 For as the poet says : 
 
 He who surpasses or subdues mankind, 
 
 Must look down on the hate of them below ; 
 
 Though high above, the sun of glory glows. 
 
 Bound him are icy rocks, and loudly blow : * 
 
 Contending tempests on the naked head, 
 
 And thus reward the toils which to those summits led. 
 
 With all his alleged imperiotisndss and dogmatism, he was 
 emphatically the tribune of the common people, and rid name 
 throughout the length and breadth of Canada was held in higher 
 esteem than that ot George Brown. 
 
GEORGE BROWN. l8l 
 
 One blast upon his bugle horn 
 Was worth a thousand men. 
 
 His political struggles were all on behalf of the masses, as 
 against aristocratic domination, and that haughty disdain, which 
 is too often found associated with men who have sprung by acci- 
 dent from poverty to place and power. The measures he inaugur- 
 ated or promoted, by voice and pen, were all intended to conserve 
 the rights of citizenship, and to give the humblest son of toil a 
 part in the government of the country. Such questions as the 
 "Clergy Reserves," "Seignorial Tenure," "Representation by Popu- 
 lation," and the " Confederation of the British Provinces," in all of 
 which he occupied a prominent place, were urged from motives of 
 the highest patriotism. He loved his adopted country with singu- 
 lar attachment and upheld its institutions with a fervor which has 
 never been excelled ; while at the same time he was a staunch 
 defender of British rule. Some of you may remember the thril- 
 ling peroration of his great parliamentary speech on Confederation, 
 in which he drew a glowing picture of the vastness of territory 
 that would then be included in the Dominion by the contemplated 
 accessions to Briti-sh territory. Addressing the Speaker of the 
 House of Commons, he said : " Look, sir, at the map of the 
 zontinent of America, and mark that island (Newfoundland) com- 
 manding the mouth of the noble river that almost cuts the conti- 
 nent in twain. Well, sir, that island is equal in extent to the 
 kingdom of Portugal. Cross the straits of the main land, and you 
 touch the hospitable shores of Nova Scotia, a country as large as 
 the kingdom of Greece. Then mark the sister province of New 
 Brunswick, equal in extent to Denmark and Switzerland combined. 
 Pass up the river St. Lawrence to Lower Canada, a country as 
 large as France. Pass on to Upper Canada, a country twenty 
 thousand square miles larger than Great Britain and Ireland put 
 together. Cross over the continent, to the shores of the Pacific 
 
l82 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and you are in British Columbia, the land of golden promise, equal 
 in extent to the Austrian Empire. I speak not now of the vast 
 Indian territories that lie between — greater in extent than the 
 whole soil of Russia, and that will ere long, I trust, be opened up to 
 civilization under the auspices of the British American Confedera- 
 tion. Well, sir, the bold scheme in your hands, is nothing less 
 than to gather all those countries into one, to organize them all 
 under one government, with the protection of the British flag." 
 If to-day we stand in the presence of that great fact of British 
 American Union, which its most enthusiastic promoters scarcely 
 hoped for for many years, the praise is largely due to George 
 Brown, who along with other eminent statesmen, sunk their politi-. 
 cal differences to g lin thi 5 most desirable end. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that he was one of the most pro- 
 nounced and bitter er nri es of slavery, in any and every form, that 
 the age has produced. I f e was a disciple of Wilberforce and Bux- 
 ton, and in thorough sympathy on this question vith such Ameri- 
 can statesmen and philanthropists as Phillips, and Sumner, and 
 Garrison. Indeed, I can hardly conceive of any man born in the 
 metropolis of Scotland, and conversant with the terrible persecu- 
 tions and martyrdoms of the prelatic age, to be anything else. I 
 can imagine the great statesman and journalist in boyhood, stand- 
 ing on the old castle rock of Edinburgh, or on the Calton Hill, and 
 looking down upon spots made memorable in all times coming, by 
 the death of men who gladly shed their life's blood to conserve the 
 rights of conscience and the cause of freedom. Yonder stands old 
 Holyrood, where Queen Mary encountered John Knox, whom the 
 beautiful Queen could never bend to her will by fascinations of 
 person or speech. — of whom Morton said over his grave, that " he 
 never feared the face of man," and who said of himself, when asked 
 if he was not afraid to speak so boldly to his Queen, " Why should 
 the fair face of a gentlewoman frighten me? I have looked in the 
 
GEORGE BROWN. 1 83 
 
 face of many angry men, and have not been afraid above measure.'' 
 And there stands the house where the great Reformer died, and 
 yonder is Parliament square where he lies buried. Yonder is Saint 
 Giles, where Jenny Geddes' stool was sent flying at the Bishop's 
 head — the first blow struck in that battle which ended in the Refor- 
 mation and the banishment of the Stuart dynasty from the realm, — 
 and near to this spot is the Grassmarket, where the martyrs suf- 
 fered, and Greyfriars churchyard, where the solemn league and 
 covenant was sealed and signed in blood, and where the dust of 
 nobles and commoners lie side by side. With such surroundings 
 in boyhood, we can easily understand how the great Canadian 
 statesman could never become the apologist of slavery in any form. 
 Possibly his pen seemed too trenchant in his attacks against slave- 
 holders, even to men who held his views, but with his winning love 
 of liberty, and his detestation of all forms of human vassalage and 
 oppression, it could not be otherwise. The eloquent speech he 
 made in Toronto on the subject of the American war and slavery, 
 immediately after the proclamation of freedom, attracted the atten- 
 tion of both British and American statesmen. England — aristo- 
 cratic England, and not the masses, while holding perfect neutrality 
 between the Notch and South — was suspected of a secret desire to 
 see the Union shattered, and said lit*:le, and did less, to show her 
 sympathy with the North in that awful war. When Lincoln issued 
 his proclamation as a war measure, Engli.shmen replied, that it was 
 not for love to the slave that freedom had been proclaimed, and 
 that the North deserved no credit for the act. Replying to such 
 criticism, Mr. Brown said : " I care not to pry narrowly into the 
 motives of all those who have contributed to bring about this 
 change in the Republic. I care not to discuss the arguments by 
 which it has been promoted and defended. What to us signifies 
 all this? We see before us the great fact, that the chains have 
 already fallen from the hands of tens of thousands of human chat- 
 
i84 THE CHURCH and thf, commonwkalth. 
 
 tcls ; we sec that if the pohcy of the present Government at Wash- 
 inj^ton prevails, the curse of human slavery will be swept from our 
 continent forever, and our hearts go up with earnest petitions to 
 the God of battles, that he will strenji^then the hands of Abraham 
 Lincoln, and give wisdom to his councils. For myself, whatever 
 may be the result of the present strife, I shall always feel the high- 
 est satisfaction in recollecting, that with the sin of sympathizing 
 with slavery my hands arc not defiled ; but that from the com- 
 mencement of the struggle my earnest aspirations have gone with 
 the friends of freedom !" 
 
 But we pay our humble tribute to the memory of the fallen 
 chief, not simply because of his mental endowments, and unwearied 
 industry, and patriotic deeds, and love of liberty, but because 
 coupled with all these, and adorning all, he was a christian man. 
 Judged by those who knew him best, his virtue was spotless, and 
 his integrity incorruptible. He was a firm believer in the funda- 
 mental truths of our holy religion, smd not ashamed to avow his 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only ground of acceptance in 
 the sight of God. He was emphatically a christian statesman, a 
 name which I regret to say is nowadays held up to scorn, as a thing 
 impossible in political life. It is said by men who ought to know 
 better, that whatever be the failings of our politicians, we have no 
 right to refer to their private life, and that it indicates lack of char- 
 ity, and base ingratitude, to enquire too minutely into their con- 
 duct. Such a principle, if acted upon, v/ould sap the very founda- 
 tions of morals, and exalt villainy to the highest heaven. If it is 
 right to expect that the magistrate or the judge shall be men of 
 unimpeachable virtues, is it not equally necessary that those who 
 rule the nation, and occupy commanding positions of trust and 
 responsibility, shall in private life command the respect of those by 
 whose suffrages they have been elected. Public men represent the 
 interest of society, as well as principles and policies, and in accept- 
 
GEOIUiE BROWN. 1 85 
 
 injT such prominent positions, they must expect to bear such close 
 inquisition as the life and health of the nation, and the community 
 demand. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say in the hearin^^ of this coni^regation that 
 Mr. Brown was a regular attender of God's house, and valued 
 highly religious ordinances. During his frequeni visits to Brant- 
 ford, I had many conversations with him on the uncertainty tif 
 life and the vanity of all earthly glory. Only those, indeed, who 
 had such opportunities, knew anything of the tender heart that 
 was concealed under a somewhat abrupt and rugged exterior. 
 Some eight years ago we met at Hamilton, on his way to Bow 
 Park. He had just been speaking to one of our prominent men, 
 who was considerably advanced in years beyond Mr. Brown. " I 
 
 have just been speaking, he said, to Mr. , and remarking that 
 
 both of us ought to think more seriously of the end of life, but he 
 laughed at me, and said that he did not wish to think of death for 
 twenty years. For my part, I feel that I am drawing near my end, 
 nor indeed do I regret it, for if all is well, death is a grateful release 
 to a busy life." On a Sabbath afternoon we were walking ovv r 
 the fields at Bow Park at the close of the service. A prominent 
 politician had died the day before, and our conversation turned 
 upon his life. " I sat down yesterday," he said, " and wrote out a 
 sketch of his life and character, but as I proceeded I felt I knew 
 too much about him to write the truth, without wounding the 
 feelings of his friends, so I destroyed what I had written and 
 committed the task to other hands." If he could not honestly 
 eulogize, he would not unnecessarily pain. From all that I knew 
 of him, I can verify what was said over his cofifin, that " he enter- 
 tained a high reverence for everything good and holy ; that he 
 walked under the power of unseen realities ; that his anchor was 
 cast within the veil, and that in the intense sufTering of his last 
 days, he rested upon Christ as his bright hope of that eternal 
 
l86 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 kingdom, into which, we trust, he has entered." To the friends 
 and fanriily of the departed, and to her who now mourns the death 
 of a beloved husband, the knowledge, that by his countrymen, and 
 far beyond the limits of this land, he is sadly missed, must be a 
 source of consolation, but better far is the assurance that he died 
 as a christian man can die, having, by anticipation, vanquished 
 death and the grave through the merits of his ascended Lord. 
 Such a memory is better than untold wealth. A good name is the 
 best of all bequests, for a man is measured, not by what he has, 
 but by what he is. 
 
 He has passed away, and it is only now the country begins to 
 realize her loss. 
 
 It is not the tear, at this moment shed. 
 
 When the cold turf has now been laid o'er him, 
 
 That can tell how beloved was he that is fled, 
 Or how deep in our hearts we deplore him. 
 
 Death, removing him from the outward eye, enables us to see 
 him inwardly and truly. Thus have we looked at a mountain and 
 only seen the creeping mists and clouds which concealed it. But 
 the wind moves the air, and the vapors suddenly disperse, and 
 the pure snow summits, come out in bold outline against the 
 blue sky. Death does the office of the wind. Passion and party 
 strife at an end, we see the man in his true proportions. Those 
 who were his most violent opponents cast the first garlands upon 
 his tomb. When God places his seal upon a man, although he 
 may be slandered and denounced for years, in the end he shines 
 forth bright and beautiful. He may go under the waves for a 
 time, but at last rises to the surface, stronger and purer, from the 
 very combat he has had with them. 
 
 Who shall fill his place ? upon whom shall the chieftain's mantle 
 descend ? Let those of his own personal friends, who perchance 
 have fretted under his supremacy, answer the question. As lor the 
 
GEORGE BROWN. iT/ 
 
 future of Canada — for the death of such a man, must of neces- 
 sity affect its policy, if not its destinies — let us be assured, that he 
 who raised up the departed statesman to do such noble work, can 
 furnish others to perpetuate his unselfish efforts. The lesson of his 
 life is, that there is no royal road to greatness. To every young 
 man there is given opportunity to make his mark in the world, and 
 die regretted. As I stood last Wednesday gazing on that vast 
 funeral cortege that had gathered from every part of the land to 
 honor the memory of the dead senator, I felt that true moral worth 
 and unselfish labor will not be forgotten. Ungrateful as both 
 monarchies and republics sometimes are, good men do not pass 
 away forgotten. They live in the affection of their fellowmen, and 
 their graves are watered with their tears. George Brown well 
 deserves a statue, but bronze or marble can but faintly symbolize 
 or perpetuate the widespread sorrow that fills the land. His name 
 will be handed down from sire to son as one who is worthy of 
 imperishable honor ; as one : 
 
 — Who never brought 
 His conscience to the pui'lio mart, 
 But lived himself the truth he taught, 
 
 Whit^ souled, clean handed, pure of heart. 
 
 He went about his work — such work as few 
 Ever had laid on head, and heart, and hand — 
 
 As one who knows, where there's task to do, 
 
 Man's honest will must heaven's good grace command. 
 
 And now the martyr's crown has crowned a life, 
 With much to praise — little to be forgiven. 
 The old world and the new, from sea to sea, 
 
 Utter one voice of sympathy and shame ! 
 Strong hea»"t, sc stopped, when its throbs beat high, 
 Brave life cut short, just as its triumph came. 
 
-N.* 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
Abrahclffl Lincoln, 
 
" Help Lord : for the godly man ceaseth : for the faithful fail from 
 among the children of men." 
 
 —Psalm 12, V. 1. 
 
Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 ^HE righteous perish, and no man layeth it to heart ; and 
 merciful men are taken away, none considering that the 
 righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Such was 
 the lamentation of Isaiah, when many pious Jews suffered 
 a violent death, and the great mass of the nation seemed quite un- 
 concerned and indifferent. 
 
 It seems strange in so many cases that God should call to Him- 
 self His most efficient agents in the world before their work seems 
 to be accomplished. "One soweth and another reapeth," is an 
 almost universal law in christian enterprise. Just at the very 
 moment when success seems to reward previous toil, and enjoyment 
 to follow labor, does the active brain cease to plan, the busy hand 
 to execute, and the throbbing heart to beat. God's ways are mys- 
 terious and past finding out. " Help Lord, for the godly man fail- 
 eth," we exclaim, while standard-bearer after standard-bearer falls 
 upon the battle-field ; christian hearts despond, and the hosts of 
 hell press on to what seems certain victory ! 
 --- (191) 
 
192 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 We mistake, however, in saying that God's servants are evei 
 taken before their work is finished. In no case is it so. We, who 
 only see but a small portion of God's providential designs, think so. 
 The removal of useful, earnest, intelligent men from the church and 
 the world seems to be disastrous, unwise, and fatal to the great 
 interests in which they are engaged ; whereas, such an event may 
 be the starting point of new life and vigor to the cause in question. 
 The very name and memory of such men may act as a power upon 
 those who are left behind, inspiring them with new zeal and enthu- 
 siasm in the object to which their lives were devoted. Nor must 
 we forget that man's immortal powers have another field for their 
 exercise, than this disjointed rudimentary state of being. The 
 world is at best but a training school "for higher efforts, and the 
 ablest intellects and ripest scholars are the first removed. 
 
 We cannot point out any religious or moral enterprise that ever 
 permanently suffered by the removal of human agents. Others are 
 invariably raised up sooner or later to occupy the place of those 
 who fall, and carry forward the work beyond the point aimed at by 
 their predecessors. The leaves of autumn that soon will cover the 
 ground and be trodden under foot, but give place to others that 
 shall adorn the trees in coming spring. They filled up their ap- 
 pointed time of life in the vegetable world, and now according to 
 the fixed laws of nature drop off from the naked branches. So it 
 is with man, in the more extensive field of human activity. One 
 generation cometh and another goeth, but the vast and intricate 
 purposes of Almighty Wisdom continue to be advanced and 
 perfected. 
 
 But should no workers rise up to take the place of thos who 
 fall, is the .Almighty dependent uf)on the aid of mortals ? Does 
 infinite power and wisdorn need the co-operation of feeble men ? 
 Is the hand that spanned the firmament, and set the sun in mid- 
 hcavcns, and gave bounds to the ocean which it cannot pass, 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. I93 
 
 become so powerless, that the care of the universe Is a burden and 
 the upholding of created things a weariness? Has that infinite 
 intellect that at first planned the order of the universe and through 
 countless centuries of duration has continued to direct and super- 
 intend the affairs of men become so weak and foolish as no longer 
 to be able to direct and guide, and to be altogether dependent 
 upon the counsel and wisdom of fallible and short -sighted men? 
 No ; far from it. Did no human beings exist, were He left alone, 
 as in a past eternity, without angels to adore or creatures to praise 
 His plans and purposes would be as. certain of fulfilment, as if 
 surrounded by the hosts of heaven, and myriads of the redeemed 
 in heaven and saints on earth to execute His commands. 
 
 Old Lyman Bcecher was a man not usually given to despond- 
 ency ; but at times he almost lost his faith in God. When Dr. 
 Cornelius, Secretary of the American Board of Foreign Missions 
 died, one of his sons tells us he had a very dark day. " I cannot 
 understand," he said, " what the Lord means when His work needs 
 just such a man as Cornelius, and He takes him away in the prime 
 of life, at a time when he is carrying on the work successfully, and 
 there is nobody to take his place." But there was somebody 
 ready. Dr. Wisner took it, but he only carried it on a few years 
 and died also. " I well remember," says his son, " the morning 
 when father was preparing the sermon to preach over Dr. Wisner. 
 The wheels dragged heavily. He was very much cast down. 
 Though I was quite young, he said to me : ' Henry, it is all done I 
 It is all done ! I cannot see what the Lord means. He is makiner 
 breach after breach. There is so much to do, and so few to do it I 
 He is taking the best of them.'" And so perhaps we have al} 
 felt, when year after year God smites the tall cedars of Lebanon, 
 and shatters the pillars of the church and the state. Yet in spite 
 of these removals, the world goes on, and the cause of truth 
 advances to completion. 
 *13 
 
194 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 David, in our text, regards the withdrawal of good men from 
 the world as a public calamity, which should be felt more or less 
 by all who share their friendship. The example of such men ; 
 their lives and prayers and active labors for the good of humanity 
 arc no ordinary blessings. When these end, the commonwealth 
 suffers a heavy loss. It indicates a low state of piety and patriot- 
 ism, when the community or nation fail to mark such bereavements, 
 or, as when is not unfrequently the case, the departure of the 
 righteous is an occasion for joy. All good men feel how becoming 
 are the words of the Psalmist : " Help Lord : for the godly man 
 ceaseth ; for the faithful fail among the children of men." 
 
 Such good and godly men are comparatively few ; while good 
 sort of men are plentiful. The world acknowledges the fact in the 
 kind of encomiums it passes upon its friends. For once that you 
 hear a man spoken of without qualification as a good man, you 
 hear the expression, " a good sort of man," a thousand times. " He 
 had his faults, to be sure," say the companions of such a man after 
 his death, " but on the whole was rather a good sort of man — a gen- 
 erous fellow : he had a warm heart and a sociable disposition. He 
 was not a bad sort of fellow, after all." 
 
 When we come to examine the record which these "good sort 
 of men " leave beMnd, we find it in many cases the reverse of what 
 is honorable and virtuous. The language is used indiscriminately 
 towards the most indifferent and unworthy characters. Men who 
 have no decided principles — who follow the customs of the ma- 
 jority — who are timid and craven-hearted in the presence of evil, 
 if not positive evil-doers themselves ; — who have no determination 
 to resist temptation, and who float with the current of the age ; — 
 these, in most cases, are what the world calls " good sort of men." 
 It has thus become a stereotyped phrase, to conceal defects and 
 positive wrong-doing, which the grave cannot entirely blot out 
 of memory. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 195 
 
 " Good sort of men " have no positive virtues. Their character 
 is a bundle of negatives. Where positive immorality cannot be 
 charged against them, they are useless for all active labor on behalf 
 of God and humanity. They are so much dead weight upon the 
 body politic. Their influence for good is of the lowest grade. 
 What talents they possess lie unexercised. They dream existence 
 away, regardless of individual responsibility, and imagine that "good 
 intentions" and "doing no harm to others" entitle them to saint- 
 ship. It is not of such that the Psalmist speaks. 
 
 A good man, in the highest sense, is a man of the strictest in- 
 tegrity. His word is as good as his oath ; his promise as reliable 
 as his bond. He can be trusted with the gravest responsibilities 
 His dealings are marked by straightforwardness and honesty. He 
 is the very soul of honor. Meanness of every description he des- 
 pises. He cannot stoop to fraud in speech or action. He takes no 
 undue advantage of the ignorance and misfortunes of another. He 
 speaks what he thinks, and is the same to a man's face that he is 
 behind his back. The secrets of others, committed to him, are in- 
 violate. If he finds occasion to rebuke a friend, it is given with 
 candor, openly and frankly. His duties to society he regards as 
 next in importance to those that are due his Maker. He eats hon- 
 est bread. What he owes he pays. The obligations he is under 
 to his native or adopted country he cheerfully discharges. As a 
 citizen, recognizing his responsibilities as well as his rights, he bears 
 his share of civil burdens, and obeys the call of authority at what- 
 ever personal sacrifice. Such a man comes up to the poet's con- 
 ception of true moral heroism : 
 
 Dare to be right ! dare to be true ! 
 All the world's scorning can never harm you ; 
 Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith, 
 Stand like a hero and battle till death. 
 
 A good man is also a man of the severest virtue. He loathes 
 that laxity in speech and behaviour too prevalent among so-called 
 
ig6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 respectable men at the present day. lie is pure in thought and 
 chaste i.i conversation. He takes his stand upon the morality of 
 the New Testament, and endeavors to inculcate it upon the mem- 
 bers of his own family — in the circle of his acquaintances, and 
 among his ^"llow-workmen. Foolish jesting, unseemly insinuations 
 and covert muendoes he loathes and spurns with holy indignation 
 In the society of the profane and irreverent he cannot live ; if he 
 cannot change its tone, he must withdraw. 
 
 Such a good man is still further characterized by the strongest 
 beni^volence. There is something in his very voice and counten- 
 ance that tells the generosity of his nature. He strives to live for 
 the good of others. He is not simply a man who harms no one 
 but he seeks the positive good of his fellow-men. His ear is ever 
 open to the call of the destitute, and his hand ever ready to give 
 for their relief. To see the prosperity of others is his delight. 
 Envy and hatred have no place in his nature. To strengthen the 
 weak, advise the young, reclaim the fallen, restore the backslider, 
 and bless all men, are the motives that govern his life. Such 
 benevolence is a daily practice. It is not abnormal or spasmodic, 
 or called into activity on extraordinary occasions, but sweetly 
 colors and perfumes every action of his life. 
 
 A good man also, is in the highest sense a man of sincerest 
 piety. It is deep, earnest, heartfelt. It consists not only in the 
 acceptance c* doctrines, but in the practice of holiness. An 
 abiding sense of God's presence.; a lOverential regard for His 
 commands ; a confident trust in His promises ; and implicit reliance 
 upon His mercy, characterize such a man. Such piety may be 
 more or less prominent, according to gifts bestowed and opportu- 
 nities given. In many cases it is retiring ; but even then it wields 
 a mighty influence for good. In every case it is pronounced and 
 patent to the world. It makes no secret of the choice that has 
 been made and the master whom it serves. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 197 
 
 It Is supposed that this Psalm was written when Saul was per- 
 secuting David and those who were friendly to his cause and person. 
 It was a time when deceitfulness and cruelty were in the ascen- 
 dancy, and no means honorable or dishonorable regarded as 
 immoral, in order that certain ends might be secured. Flattery, 
 dcuble-dealing and oppression were rampant — the wicked and the 
 vile were exalted to high position, and the godly despised and 
 trampled on. 
 
 The persons spoken of are the "godly" and the " faithful." The 
 one term indicates the inner spiritual life — the other its outward 
 manifestation or effects. Religion in the heart is the source of all 
 real purity and honor, and is the only guarantee for honesty and 
 justice in society. Men who have no fear of God and no love of 
 truth; who think it but a venial sin to violate the sanctions of, 
 heaven, can have no scruples about human law. When once a man 
 ignores the claims of his Maker, and becomes careless in the obser- 
 vance of religious obligations, there is nothing to prevent the com- 
 mission of flagrant crimes. The word of a man who sincerely 
 professes his faith in Christianity, and consistently acts up to the 
 requirements of his creed, is better than the oath of a man who 
 neither recognizes nor reverences the Divine being. The feeling 
 that every action and thought is open to the inspection of the 
 Almighty, is the best of safeguards against the practice of dishon- 
 esty in word or deed. When such godly men are plentiful, the 
 nation prospers commercially, politically and religiously, but when 
 they are few, and the influence of the few is overborne by the vicious 
 and depiaved, the downfall of the state is certain. 
 
 The death of such good men, although most keenly felt by kin- 
 dred spirits, is not always passed over with indifference, even by 
 men of no religious principle. " Let me die the death of the 
 righteous," is frequently found upon the lips of evildoers, when 3ome 
 tall cedar of Lebanon bends before the blast. Although the 
 
jgS THE CHURCH and the commonwealth. 
 
 upn'ffht life of such a man may have been for years a standing rebuke 
 against their immorahty and wickedness, they cannot but testify 
 to the consistent and noble career prematurely closed. And thus 
 it is, that religion extorts from its enemies the highest praise ; — that 
 men are bound to honor qualities in others which they systemati- 
 cally and wilfully ignore, and pas*' sentence of condemnation upon 
 their own wanton and wicked lives. 
 
 Let us briefly indicate the value of such good men to society 
 and the church of God. 
 
 Godly and faithful men are the ornaments and support of the 
 christian church. Their life is spent in her service. Their prayers 
 ascend for her welfare. Their means are generously devoted to 
 her advancement. The great aim of their existence is the pros- 
 perity of Zion and the conversion of the world. The loss of such 
 men cannot but be felt, just in proportion to their zeal and the 
 prominence of their labors. If, as is often the case, they have been 
 watchmen upon the high towers, men whose daily occupation has 
 been the sacred duties of religion, and who have planned and 
 directed measures necessary for successful aggression in the world, 
 the blank seems all the more painful and the cause all the more 
 hopeless. The rank and file of the army look around for the well- 
 known voice of the commander, who has so often led them on to 
 victory, and are for the time panic-struck and crest-fallen. Such 
 men are also the hope of the world. They adorn whatever profes- 
 sion of life they follow. If science, they stand at the top of the 
 ladder, reverently endeavoring to unfold the mysteries of nature to 
 the wondering gaze of thousands less gifted ; to reconcile the 
 teachings of philosophy with the declarations of scripture, and 
 glorify the power and wisdom of the Creator, who has so lavishly 
 spread before man the variegated and suggestive volume of His 
 handiwork. If it is true that "the undevout astronomer is mad," 
 it is no less true that the philosopher who affects to teach any 
 
AltUAIlAM LINCOLN. IQQ 
 
 branch of science apart from the great Creator, mistakes the end of 
 all investigation. Such men there have been, and still are, but 
 benefactors of their race they cannot be regarded as being. To 
 dissever God from the universe, and teach that matter is eternal, 
 and subject to no higher law, is surely a' miserable calling for any 
 man, however gifted in intellect, or shrewd in speculation. While a 
 passing feeling of regret may be expended on such men when they 
 pass away, it is rather for genius misdirected and misapplied, than 
 for the loss the world sustains. Those men who endeavor to unfold 
 to the common gaze the majesty of Jehovah, as seen in the mag- 
 nificence and variety of creation, are the men whose names pos- 
 terity will not willingly let die. 
 
 Godly and fait'.ful men are the hope of the world. They 
 adorn whatever department or profession of life they occupy 
 Their integrity is incorruptible — their honesty above impeachment 
 — their honor untarnished. In times of public distrust and agita- 
 tion and uncertainty, when men's minds are distracted by conflict- 
 ing opinions, and the foundations of rectitude are undermined, such 
 characters afe invaluable. Men whose daily policy is expediency ; 
 who trim and vacillate to meet the demands of popular clamour ; 
 whose idea of office is emolument and place and power, are not to 
 be relied upon. In times of danger, a steady recognition of a higher 
 tribunal than that of men ; moral worth and inflexible principle 
 united to intellectual power, are the elements which constitute 
 good citizens and good statesmen. Blessed is the nation that 
 enjoys such rulers ; blessed is the community that possesses 
 such sterling men of worth, at whose death the words of the text 
 are spoken : " Help Lord, for the godly man ceaseth : for the 
 the faithful fail among the children of men." 
 
 There is still another reason why the death of such good men 
 is lamented. Those of us who remain feel our personal need of 
 such characters. There are persons whose society breathes per- 
 
200 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 pctual fragrance ; whose words drop like balm ; whose gentle 
 demeanor and spiritual conversation, raises us above the grovelling 
 atmosphere of earth, and makes us feel nearer heaven. Their life 
 is a perpetual inspiration. Their piety is of that cheerful healthy 
 kind, that drives away despondency, and confirms weak faith. 
 Such characters are to be found more or less in every church. We 
 do not value such persons when alive as they deserve, or prize their 
 unobtrusive graces and moral worth ; and hence our bitterness 
 when they are removed. We feel that the world has suddenly 
 grown darker — that the path is more desolate and stormy — that our 
 hopes are less bright and assuring, now that they no longer greet 
 us with their smile and enliven us by their stimulating fellowship. 
 What, then, is our comfort, when the godly man ceaseth and 
 the faithful are taken away? David in the text indicates the only 
 source of aid, " Help Lord." " God is our refuge and our strength, 
 a very present help in trouble." 
 
 Now in regard to this prayer, notice first, its brevity. It is a 
 kind of angel's word, to be turned every way, and to be used on all 
 occasions. The cry for help is the earliest cry upon the lips of 
 childhood, when seeking protection from the parent, and it is the 
 most simple and natural cry of the believing soul. It indicates 
 felt weakness ; that so far as man is concerned, there is no remedy 
 and no assistance possible ; and that reason of herself can suggest 
 no way of escape from impending desolation. " Help Lord," says 
 a living writer, " is a very useful ejaculation, which one inay dart 
 up to heaven on occasions of emergency, whether in labor, learning, 
 suffering, fighting, living ot dying. As small ships can sail into 
 harbors where larger vessels cannot enter, so our brief cries and 
 short petitions may trade with heaven, when our soul is wind bound 
 as to longer exercises of devotion, and when the stream of grace 
 . seems at too low an ebb to float a more laborious supplication." 
 In going to our Maker in times of sudden grief, we need not des- 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 20I 
 
 cribc every feeling of the soul, nor enter into the particulars of our 
 sorrow. " Help Lord " is sufficient. It is the cry of the drowning 
 man, exhausted, and hardly able to articulate ; it is the cry of the 
 fugitive who seeks a hiding place ; it is the cry of the man surroun- 
 ded by the flames of fire — his head already singed and his body 
 livid with the scorching heat ; it is the cry of despairing humanity 
 in its varied hours of want and weariness — " I am undone, oppressed, 
 undertake for me." . 
 
 Notice, again, its seasonableness and serviccablencss. When 
 good men are removed, we are to look to God for others to supply 
 their place. Prayer in such cases, to be acceptable, must be imme- 
 diate. We ought at once to betake ourselves to a throne of grace, 
 laying the case before our Maker and confiding in his gracious aid- 
 It is not when all other means have failed, that we are to ask the 
 aid of heaven. Such prayers are not seasonable. To act thus, is 
 like a man buffeting for hours with the angry billows, when the 
 life-boat has all the while been near him, and only taking refuge in 
 its strength and buoyancy, when at the point of death. 
 
 Such a prayer is also serviceable. In many periods of the 
 church's history, such a brief ejaculation has been more cffccLual 
 than the collective wisdom of an assembly. The defeat of the 
 Amalekites was duo 'co the intercession of Moses, more than the 
 military strength of the Israelites or the skill of their commanders. 
 And no better service can be rendered the church than earnest im- 
 portunate cries for divine interposition in times of bereavement. 
 Those who have not the capacity or strength for active labor, can 
 accomplish in the secret retirement of the closet more than many 
 who participate in the contest. To such pleading praying ones we 
 are indebted for gracious seasons of revival in times of spiritual 
 dcadness, and large accessions of laborers to reap the fields that 
 are white unto the harvest. 
 
202 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Finally, this prayer is the prayer of faith. Our cries are only 
 effectual in so far as they are sincere. True faith does not dictate 
 — it waits patiently and submissively on the will of heaven. It 
 looks beyond human wisdom, to Him who knows what agents are 
 most suitable, and when and where their services are most urgently 
 required. It holds the promise fast, that God will provide the in- 
 struments necessary to fulfil his plans, and that failure cannot pos- 
 sibly overtake his designs. It is wrong for us to despond because 
 good and faithful men are translated to a higher sphere. Our duty 
 is to cultivate hope and maintain our confidence in a prayer-hearing 
 God. The cause which is dear to us, is stiil dearer to him. His 
 son gave his life for the salvation of men, and the agents necessary 
 to hasten on the millennial day glory shall not be withheld. If 
 Moses dies before the Israelites cross the Jordan, Joshua is ready 
 to take his place. If Elijah ascends in the chariot of fire, the man- 
 tle falls upon Elisha. So it has been in every age. Our prayers 
 may not be instantly answered. Help may not at once be given ; 
 nay, the vacant place may be left unoccupied, and the work ad- 
 vanced by altogether unexpected methods, but the result will be 
 the same : 
 
 In some way or oth^r, the Lord will provide : 
 It may not be my way, 
 It may not be thy way. 
 And yet in his own way 
 The Lord will provide. 
 
 Despond, then, no longer, the Lord will provide : 
 And this be the token — 
 No word he hath spoken 
 Was ever yet broken ; 
 The Lord will provide. 
 
 The frequent remo^'als of great and good men teach us the 
 comparative insignificance of any one man in the field of chris- 
 tian effort. We may not boast of our wisdom or importance in the 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 203 
 
 scale of being. How little can any one individual accomplish ! 
 When we survey the work that awaits completion — the vast details 
 of human ignorance and suffering that stretches out on every hand 
 — the feeling of utter helplessness, rather than self-sufficiency, 
 should be uppermost in the mind. We can do so little that at 
 times it seems as if it were no use to put forth effort ; and were it 
 not for the assurance that along with us myriads of workers are 
 engaged in the same sublime and noble work, and that God Him- 
 self stands behind and above us, superintending," directing and 
 crowning all with His blessed spirit, we should despair of anything 
 like adequate results. They teach us also, that in the successful 
 advancement of christian enterprises and in the reforming of public 
 wrongs, the efforts oT the many are demanded, and not the extra- 
 ordinary energies of the few. In such circumstances, it becomes 
 us not only to cry : " Help Lord, for the godly man ceascth," but to 
 ask ourselves what we are doing by our example and our efforts, to 
 ameliorate human wretchedness and lessen human woe. " Be not 
 slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience 
 inherit the promises." " Remember them which have the rule over 
 you, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation, 
 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day and for ever." 
 
 God give us men ! 
 Men whom the lust of office cannot kill ; 
 
 Men whom the spoil of office cannot buy ; 
 Mpn who have opinions and a will ; 
 
 Men who have honor — men who will uot lie 1 
 
 A good and in many respects a great man has been suddenly 
 called away. Abraham Lincoln, a name henceforth to be held in 
 highest honor is no more.* It is only in the briefest possible terms 
 that we can speak of the character and actions of the dead Presi- 
 
 *April, 1865. ^' 
 
204 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 dent. The more secret virtues and private graces of his character 
 
 are apt to be overlooked, by reason of the exalted station he 
 
 occupied : 
 
 That best portion of a good man's life, . ;' 't 
 
 His little, name'ess, unremembered acta ■ <; ' 
 Of kindness and of love. 
 
 It is not often, indeed, that v/e are called to mourn the loss of 
 such a man, for only once in a century does Providence ^'we to the 
 world, one in whom so many public and private virtues are so 
 harmoniously blended. As statesman, as citizen, and as christian, 
 where since the days of Washington and the earlier years of the 
 Republic, shall we find such a President? Firm in matters of 
 principle — cautious (to a fault it has been thought) in his public 
 actions, unflinching in his determination at all hazards to advance 
 the cause of truth and liberty and good government — kind and 
 conciliating on all occasions to foreign powers and their represen- 
 tatives — forgiving to those who for the last four years have deluged 
 the land with blood — and pure and virtuous in his private life — his 
 character stands out before us, a noble example for princes and 
 presidents to copy. His public and private record, so pure and 
 untarnished, may well be the boast of his loving countrymen, and 
 his memory dear to liberty-loving christians throughout the world. 
 On such an occasion as the present we are brought to realize 
 the power of a good man's life. " He being dead yet speaketh." 
 His influence then really begins to influence the world, and mould 
 the society in which he moved. Why is the lamentation to-day so 
 universal, from Maine to California, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
 and through this and the neighboring British provinces? Why are 
 there here gathered, not simply members of all the different evan- 
 gelical denominations, but of every shade of politics? Because 
 "a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel." Great- 
 ness and goodness are not always associated in life — too seldom, 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 205 
 
 indeed, in public men. In Mr. Lincoln's case they were. He was 
 great in the moral qualities, with which, by a kind Providence, he 
 had been endowed. He was great for what he did in behalf of his 
 nation. We do not eulogize him as a great politician in the now 
 much degenerated meaning of the word. To be a politician at the 
 present day demands neither moral calibre nor earnest thought. A 
 man destitute of these and all the other requisites of true greatness, 
 can speedily attain political distinction — nay, the absence of prin- 
 ciple will be all the more in his favor, if worldly promotion is his 
 sole object in life, provided he has cunning, deceit, and the more 
 dishonorable and dishonest practices that stain the character of so 
 many public met;. In this sense Mr. Lincoln was not great. But 
 he was one of the greatest statesmen of his age and country, and 
 subsequent critics will confirm our verdict when the mists of pas- 
 sion and prejudice shall have cleared away. America, since the 
 Revolution, has had many great and good men in her Cabinets and 
 in her Presidential chair ; but Abraham Lincoln, next to Washing- 
 ton himself, was in many respects the greatest. His greatness did 
 not consist in any one special faculty or power overtopping and 
 overshadowing all the other elements of his mind and character, 
 but in the blending of many amiable qualities into one, giving to 
 his conduct a solidity and a harmony it would not otherwise have 
 possessed. He was great for what he was in himself. As you have 
 heard already, he was a man of prayer. His piety was of that 
 modest and unobtrusive character that shrinks from public obser- 
 vation, but it could not be concealed. He was no stranger to his 
 closet ; the dawn of morning, ere he entered upon his official duties, 
 found him on his knees before his Maker, and doubtless his last 
 act at the close of day was communion with his God. Not only 
 so, but the most common affairs of state were permeated by the 
 spirit of religion. " Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, ser- 
 ving the Lord," was the rule of his life. To this, what may be 
 
206 [ THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 called the fundamental quality of his life, may be added sterling 
 honesty, great decision of character, strong affection for all good 
 men, genuine patriotism in the interests of his beloved land, and 
 sincere sympathy for the oppressed. All these ele.nents were in 
 his character, long before he was called to the Presidential chair, 
 and because of the existence of such elements did his fellow- 
 countrymen (directed by an all-wise Providence) choose him for 
 the position he has for the past four years so singularly adorned. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was indeed one of the nobles of the earth. 
 Because of his greatness and goodness was he called to the great 
 work of ruling thirty millions of his fellow-countrymen. He was 
 raised up to perform a great work. Providence had determined 
 the overthrow of slavery on the American continent, and Abraham 
 Lincoln was the appointed instrument for its destruction. Great 
 men are raised up and specially trained for great exigencies in 
 society and in the church. Moses, to be the commander and leader 
 of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage to freedom ; Calvin, Knox 
 and Luther, to carry on the work of ecclesiastical reformation ; 
 Washington, to achieve the independence of America, and plant 
 on firm foundations the new Republic ; and Wellington, to drive 
 back the great Napoleon from the conquest of the world. It was 
 not the exalted position of Abraham Lincoln that made him the 
 great man and the good man he was. Circumstances can do noth- 
 ing more than develop true greatness, whether in prince or peasant. 
 The sun and the r lin from heaven cannot develop brambles into 
 oak trees, nor can the honors of the Presidential chair transform 
 fools into statesmen. Abraham Lincoln was by nature and grace 
 an uncommon man, but his noble qualities were rendered all the 
 more conspicuous and illustrious, when roused into action by the 
 agitations amid which he spent the last four years of his earthly life. 
 
 Great in himself, he was great for what he did in behalf of his 
 nation. He prepared the nation for its baptism of blood. His 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 207 
 
 speeches and addresses in various parts of the Union, long before 
 the end of Buchanan's Presidency, did much to foster the anti- 
 slavery sentiment of the North and prepare for days of coming: 
 trial. And what has he accomplished during the brief space of the 
 last four years ? The state of the nation when Abraham Lincoln 
 was called in 1861, to assume the responsible duties of government 
 was desperate. For years, the corruption that festered in and around 
 Washington, had made the very name of American Democracy 
 a standing reproach throughout Europe. Traitors were everywhere 
 — in the cabinet, and out of the cabinet. To dethrone avarice — to 
 cleanse the fountains of the national life — to elevate justice — 
 honor — honesty and christian principle to their true position was 
 a task seldom given to any man. In this respect, the work of 
 Lincoln was greater than that of Washington. Washington laid 
 the foundations of a new government — Lincoln had to destroy — 
 cut up by the roots, that poisonous system that for years had 
 undermined the social fabric, before the first elements of reconstruc- 
 tion could be initiated. 
 
 Chosen at the most critical period in her history since the Revo- 
 lution to guide the national councils, how wisely and prudently did 
 he discharge his solemn responsibilities until, at last, we see the 
 omens of returning peace and prosperity in that sadly desolated 
 land. He revived the purity of the Presidential Chair — abolished 
 slavery — of which he was ever a consistent opponent " I am natur- 
 ally anti-slavery, he wrote a year ago to Mr. Hodges, of Kentucky. 
 If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I cannot remember 
 when I did not so think and feel. " And amid all the anxieties 
 consequent upon the last four years of bloody war, he not only pre- 
 served the integrity of the national life, but restrained the passions 
 of more impetuous and impulsive politicians, who would gladly have 
 added a foreign war to that of civil discord. For this of itself, 
 Abraham Lincoln deserves the lasting gratitude of Britons as well 
 
208 THE CHURL I AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 as American Christians. But now he is gone, and what are the les- 
 sons so impressively taught us by the sad event ? His death should 
 certainly unite Britons and Americans closer than ever in the bonds 
 of fraternal love ; the circumstances of that death, so atrocious and 
 repulsive to the feelings of our common humanity, should teach us 
 more plainly than ever what certain apologists of slavery are capa- 
 ble of. And if there are any who, notwithstanding the wonder- 
 ful progress made by the North, are still dubious as to the issue of 
 the contest, let them now understand that the death of Abraham 
 Lincoln means universal freedom. There can be no Joubt as to 
 the issue. Slavery is at an end — the doctrine of States rights has 
 been buried without any hope of resurrection. A real union will 
 henceforth exist between the North and South, or rather I should 
 say, there will henceforth be no such geographical or moral distinc- 
 tions as North and South. The moral influence of the United 
 States will be greater than ever over the globe, and her conquests 
 in the field of christian civilization greater than they have ever been 
 upon the battlefield. And may wc not hope soon to see the day 
 when Britain and America, forgetting all their criminations and 
 recriminations, shall, as in days gone by, unite together for the 
 spread of justice, liberty and christian missions throughout the 
 world. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln has gone — but great men never die before 
 their time. His is 
 
 One of the few — the Immortal names 
 That were not born to die. 
 
 He is gone — not ir. tl'.e nature*! course of disease, but by the 
 hands of the ass'^issin. Four years of anxious care and ceaseless 
 toil had furrowed his brow and mellowed his heart ; but he was thus 
 all the better fit<^«'d for the important work before him in the recon- 
 struction of his bleeding country. " One soweth and another reap- 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 209 
 
 eth. " He has sowed the seeds of liberty, but others in more 
 peacefi' times shall gather the fruit. " They never (ail, who die in 
 a good cause." Patriot Martyr ! thy blood, so cruelly shed, has 
 not been shed in vain. It will rouse into action the nobler impul- 
 ses of his bereaved nation, and ring the death-knell of slavery 
 throughout the world. 
 
 — .Oi 
 
 p^^^°— 
 
 •14 
 
%:;. 
 
ii^-> 
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
President Garfield. 
 
"And Aaron held his peace." 
 
 — -lieviticus 10, v. 3. 
 
 W. 
 
Prestdent Garfield. 
 
 'N FORMER chapters, an account is given of the public 
 consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood. 
 The ram of consecration having been slaughtered, 
 Moses took the blood, and applying it to the ears, and 
 hands, and feet of Aaron and his sons, set them apart for 
 the service of the tabernacle. Following this solemn act, the 
 congregation of Israel was summoned before the Lord, and the 
 newly consecrated priests made atonement for themselves and for 
 the people. The glory of the Lord then appeared, and the fire 
 came down, consuming the burnt offering and the fat upon the 
 altar, while the congregation shouted and fell upon their faces. 
 Everything was now complete connected wirh the tabernacle ser- 
 vice. The priests had been duly robed and mitred : the sacrifice 
 offered and accepted : the priestly benedictions given to the people, 
 and the visible manifestation of God's glory witnessed by the awe- 
 struck congregation. Truly it was a sublime and memorable spec- 
 tacle : a day long to be remembered in the history of Israel, and 
 an earnest of still better days in store. _ _ 
 
 "v-^^ (213) :" ■' " 
 
214 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 But the joy was not of Ipng continuance. Scarcely had the 
 shout of victory and gladness passed away, before the voice of wail- 
 ing was heard in the camp of Israel. Nadab and Abihu had but 
 entered on the priestly office, when in the act of offering strange 
 fire before the Lord, they were swiftly deposed from their holy 
 vocation. Scarcely had the fire from heaven consumed the offering 
 upon the altar, when that same fire returned to execute summary 
 vengeance upon two of those very men, who but a little while be- 
 fore had ministered in presence of the congregation. "Nadab and 
 Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them a censor, and put 
 incense thereon, and put fire therein, and offered strange fire before 
 the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire 
 from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord !" 
 
 What was the sin of which they were guilty ? 
 
 There was, first, a wilful disregard of God's command. They 
 set up their own reason in opposition to the divine will. There was 
 no room left for the introduction of anything of human origin, how- 
 ever expedient it might appear. Every, part of the tabernacle ser- 
 vice was most minutely detailed by God to Moses, and by Moses 
 to the priests. Nor was there reasonable ground for doubt as to 
 the meaning of the instructions given. What Grd had commanded, 
 they were scrupulously to follow : what he had not commanded, 
 they were to shun. 
 
 Secondly, — Not only did they burn incense without God's com- 
 mand, but they took common or " strange fire," with which to burn 
 it. The fire from off the altar, kindled by the flame from heaven, 
 was alone to be used for consuming sacrifices and burning incense. 
 But instead of conforming to the divine instructions, they took fire 
 used in preparing the flesh of the peace offerings. In their estima- 
 tion, the one kind of fire was as good as the other. Thus to the 
 sin of disobedience, they added insult. 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 21$ 
 
 Thirdly, — There are good grounds for beh'eving that when they 
 committed this act of disobedience, they were intoxicated with 
 wine. In the eighth verse of this chapter God says to Aaron : 
 "Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, 
 when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die." 
 Such a command, given immediately after this sad occurrence, 
 leads us to infer that, forgetting the sanctity of their office and their 
 persons, Nadab and Abihu became for the time the slaves of that 
 vice, which from that hour to this has again and again dishonored 
 the ministry, and blighted the most promising careers ! How 
 needful that God's servants, when appearing in the sanctuary, 
 should in the quaint words of old George Herbert, pray "that 
 nothing may befall them unworthy of that majesty before which 
 they are to present themselves, and that how or whensoever he 
 punish them, it may not be in the act of the ministry." To die at 
 the altar or in the pulpit is not indeed a translation to be dreaded 
 by the faithful minister ; but to be smitten down by fire from 
 heaven in the manifest exercise of judgment is a death beyond all 
 others to be dreaded. 
 
 The fire did not burn them to ashes — nay, did not so much as 
 singe their garments. Wrapped in their robes of office, sprinkled 
 and anointed, there they lay, a fearful monument of God's anger. As 
 the Levites carried their dead bodies through the streets of the 
 camp, what a solemn lesson was taught the people of becoming 
 reverence in the worship of God ? God is greatly to be feared in 
 the assembly of his saints, and to be had in reverence of all them 
 that are about him." When we pass within the veil and take our 
 places as ministering priests in His sanctuary, our inmost thoughts 
 are disclosed to that eye that penetrates the darkness and com- 
 passest the utmost bounds of space. He takes in at a glance the 
 hosts of heaven and the lost in hell. 
 
2l6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 And this brings me to speak more particularly of my theme — 
 " The silence of grief." What were the feelings of the aged High 
 Priest when he saw his two sons struck down by his side, we can 
 but faintly conceive ! What affliction comparable to his? But a 
 little while before they stood at the altar clothed in their garments 
 of glory and beauty ; they saw the beams of the Divine brightness 
 darting from the shekinah, and heard the shout of adoring wor- 
 shippers ; now they lay cold in the grasp of death ! " Aaron felt 
 that the very pillars of his house were shaken " by the thunders of 
 divine judgment, but he kept silence. It was not the silence of 
 stoical indifference, but of submission to the divine will. He 
 acknowledged the justice of their doom, and bowed his head beneath 
 the rod. And so we read : "Moses said unto Aarjn, this is it that 
 the Lord spake saying : ' I will be sanctified in them that come 
 nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' And Aaron 
 held his peace." 
 
 " Great sorrows," says an old philosopher, " are silent — light sor- 
 rows speak." There are times when silence is more becoming and 
 impressive than language : when we cannot speak. It was well 
 for Aaron that he could thus restrain himself Whatever were his 
 feelings as a father, as God's representative he dare not give way 
 to tears. Both he and his remaining sons are prohibited from 
 exhibiting' the usual tokens of grief " Moses said unto Aaron, and 
 unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons : ' Uncover not your heads, 
 neither rend your clothes, lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all 
 the people : but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, let them 
 bewail the burning, which the Lord hath kindled." And so, under 
 the shadow of this awful sorrow, Aaron performs his duties, as the 
 consecrated priest of the Most High. It is his part not to weep nor 
 mourn, but to worship and silently submit. What God hath done 
 must be right, however painful for the human heart to bear. 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 217 
 
 In similar terms Ezekiel the prophet was commanded to abstain 
 from mourning for his wife. " Son of man, behold, I take away 
 from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke ; yet, neither shalt 
 thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear 
 to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head 
 upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy 
 lips, and eat not the bread of man. So I spake unto the people in 
 the morning, and at even my wife died, and I did in the morning 
 as I was commanded." Very beautiful has a living poet described 
 the feelings of Ezekiel, when submissively he yielded up his " only 
 one to the will of heaven." 
 
 The clouds had parted now, 
 The love of God was shed abroad, within 
 My broken heart. I could not say Him nay, 
 Nor question Him. I laid my sacrifice 
 Upon His altar, not denying Him 
 
 Mine only one. 
 
 I bent to kiss her cheek, 
 And blessed her softly in the name of God, 
 And bade h^r go in peace. Yea, with a smile 
 Which God had given me, I loosed mv hold, 
 And suffered her to rise and go with Him. 
 
 This silence of grief, then, when the heart is so full that it almost 
 breaks, is most impressive and significant. It tells that the bereav- 
 ed heart has gained the victory over the human passions of the soul 
 and bears resignedly the loss, and bows submissively to the wise 
 though mysterious decree of heaven. "Rebellion speaks — resigna- 
 tion holds its peace." 
 
 We are not always, then, to measure the depth of inward feeling 
 by the wailings of the chamber of death in the hour of bereavement. 
 Nor are we to conclude that where there are no tears and no out- 
 spoken words, there is but little heartfelt sorrow. Hearts are often 
 so lacerated and bruised that they cannot find words to express the 
 
3l8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 acuteness of the pain endured. The agony of the soul so disar- 
 ranges the entire system of nature that tears cannot flow. " Better, 
 indeed, it is in such moments to retire within one's self, to collect 
 our thoughts and meditate alone upon the heavy loss sustained, 
 letting our tears fall back into the heart." 
 
 But in the case of Aaron, this silence was not only symbolical of 
 unutterable grief, but it also indicated acquiescence in the bereave- 
 ment. This is what few of us attain in the hour of trial. We are 
 so stupified and stunned by the suddenness and apparent severity 
 of the blow, that we can do nothing else than hold our peace, but 
 not in the spirit of the Psalmist -vhen he says : " I was dumb, I 
 opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. " The Shunamitish 
 woman, after the death of her son, when asked by Gehazi, the ser- 
 vant of the prophet : " Is it well with thee? Is it vvell with thy 
 husband ? Is it well with the child ?" answered, "it is well." Madame 
 Guyon, it is said, buried her children without shedding tears, be- 
 cause the God who had made them smile in infancy, made them 
 smile more happily in another land. To her the day, cloudy and 
 dark, or sunshine, was alike precious ; winter's storm was as wel- 
 come as summer's calm. She lived not in the narrowness of self, 
 but in the wider expanse of the Almighty. But it is not given to 
 us all to concur in His will, who orders every event for the highest 
 good. We fret and inveigh against the dealings of supreme wisdom, 
 as if the Almighty were under obligations to disclose to us the 
 reasons of his acts and the ultimate design of his sovereign will ! 
 
 Need I say that such conduct implies distrust of God's good- 
 ness, and lack of faith in his wisdom. To acquiesce in his provi- 
 dential dealings, it is not necessary that we should understand at 
 once the meaning of his chastisements : — why they are so sudden 
 — to human judgment so perplexing, and in circumstances so dis- 
 tressing. That He has done it, should be enough to quell every 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 219 
 
 rising complaint, and hush to silence every murmur. " The Lord 
 gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be his holy name." 
 
 Now there are just such periods when we are called upon to 
 make proof of our submission, under severe calamities. " There 
 are great tidal waves of sorrow, that sweep through the sea of life 
 from time to time, and cover the soul with their dark impenetrable 
 surge, and shut out the sunlight like a grave. They come without 
 warning, and we cannot understand their cause. When they roll 
 back, they leave us with changed lives. Much that we have been 
 for a long time building up, is swept away : treasures that we 
 counted great, are left in ruin, and all our moral nature left a 
 stranded debris." It is in such crises of life, that we are to bridle 
 our tongue, and keep watch over our lips. The world is quick to 
 judge of the inconsistencies in the conduct of those who profess to 
 be the children of God, and when they find irritability, bitterness, 
 and revenge, where there should be quiet resignation and childlike 
 trust in all God's appointments, they conclude that religion has no 
 power to change the life. 
 
 Dr. Macdonald, the great apostle of the North, had a son in the 
 ministry, who at the call of providence surrendered his charge in 
 the great city of London, to go forth as a missionary to India. Just 
 when on the threshold of his work, he was called away. Kow his 
 aged father received the sorrowful tidings is told in his memoirs, 
 and strikingly illustrates the spirit of the text. In 1847, when on 
 one of his preaching tours in Perthshire, and just before entering 
 the pulpit, a letter was put into his hands. Intent upon his work, 
 he put it unopened into his pocket. Next day as he was travelling, 
 he recollected the letter, and on opening it found the tidings of his 
 son's death. A few groans from a father's wounded heart, and a 
 few tears from a fond father's eyes, and the christian triumphed 
 over the man ; and with his heart he said, " It is well." On reach- 
 ing home, he preached from these words in his own pulpit. It is 
 
220 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. * 
 
 well, he said, that he was born : it is well that he was educated : it 
 is better far, that he was born again : it is well that he was licensed 
 to preach the gospel : it is well that he was ordained as a pastor : 
 it is well that he went to India ; and above all, it is well for him 
 that he died : for thus, though away from us, and absent from the 
 body, he has secured the gain of being for ever with the Lord. Such 
 language is the spirit of the text, and such should be our attitude 
 under the bitterest griefs, that leave the urn empty, and darken the 
 lights of the dwelling. 
 
 Give me thy joy in sorrow, gracious Lord, 
 And sorrow's self shall like to joy appear ! 
 Although the woild should waver iu its sphere, 
 I tremble not, if thou thy peace afford. 
 
 Peace then my heart, 
 Beyond the world's sad vibrating, and in thyself 
 Circle me, that I may feel no touches save of thee. 
 
 Thus far we have spoken of the text in its relation to personal 
 afflictions that are beyond our ken — that perplex the profoundest 
 thought and make the strongest faith to falter. But similar be- 
 reavements take place in the church and nation that compel men 
 to pause amid the busy hum of life and stand aghast, petrified as it 
 were, under the blow that makes the ship of state to tremble and 
 the pillars of the commonwealth to shake. High hopes are in a 
 moment crushed. The leaders of thought and valiant champions 
 of truth and righteousness fall in the ranks, and the host wavers in 
 the face of the enemy. It is as when in a moment the brightness 
 of a summer's day is eclipsed by storm and darkness, and the gentle 
 sighings of the wind give place to the thunder peal, and the angry 
 breath of the simoon sweeps over the plain, spreading devastation, 
 and death in its pathway. Reason stands abashed in presence of 
 such unthought of and sudden tragedies, and can only say: " He 
 maketh the clouds his chariots, and walketh upon the wings of the 
 wind. He toucheth the land and it melts, and all that dwell there- 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 221 
 
 in mourn. He makes darkness his secret place, his pavilion round 
 about him are dark waters and thick clouds of the skies ;" while 
 faith replies : " Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of 
 his throne. Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a 
 man be more pure than his Maker ? The Lord reigneth, let the 
 earth rejoice." Before such mysterious deeps of providence that 
 confound human wisdom, we mu.'t be silent. 
 
 Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
 
 And scan his work in vain ; 
 God is his own interpreter, 
 
 And he will make it plain. 
 
 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
 
 But trust Him for his grace ; 
 Behind a frowning providence, 
 
 He hides a smiling face. 
 
 You can easily understand why I have selected these words for my 
 discourse. In common with our stricken brethren in the United 
 States, we are stunned and sorely amazed under the heavy calamity 
 that has occupied the thoughts of our citizens and filled the columns 
 of our newspapers during the last few days. It is indeed hard to 
 realize that one so eminently qualified to be the ruler of a great 
 nation ; so well fitted by nature and grace, by culture of mind and 
 tenderness of soul — should be smitten by the hand of the assassin, 
 and after weary days and nights of intense agony, when the courage 
 and patience of the sufiferer, and the skill and watchfulness of friends 
 and physicians, battled against death, should at last give up the 
 struggle and sink into that slumber that knows no waking till the 
 resurrection morn ! To moralize in the presence of such an over- 
 whelming grief is useless. It becomes us, like Aaron, to hold our 
 peace, believing that what we know not now, we shall know here- 
 
222 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 after, when wc no longer see as through a glass darkly, but face to 
 (ace. '*■ ■ '■■^ ■'■■■■ 
 
 It is unnecessary to recite the details of his life. His recent 
 elevation to the highest gift within the offer of his countrymen, and 
 his sudden, sad, and tragic end, have invested them with a singular 
 and profound interest. His death has but reflected the fortitude 
 and endurance of his youth and manhood, and brought into view 
 the indomitable will that enabled him to rise superior to obstacles 
 that overcome ordinary men. Religion was to him no new thing* 
 We are told that when a college boy, camping among the moun- 
 tains, he used at eventide to take out his Bible and say : — " Boys, 
 at this time of evening I a.ii apt to read a passage of Scripture ; if 
 you would like to hear it, I will read a chapter now." And then 
 one of his companions was called upon to pray, and they all knelt 
 in their summer tent. In the war he acted as chaplain to his men. 
 His last solemn act, before leaving Mentor for Washington, was to 
 take the holy sacrament of the supper, while tears of emotion rolled 
 down his cheek. On the first opportunity offered, after he was 
 shot, he said to Doctor Sunderland that he trusted all in the Lord's 
 hand, for he was equally ready to die or live. And not long since, 
 when the end seemed near, his attendant physicians said : " There 
 is no need telling him he has to die, for he said at the start he had 
 no preparations to make." God saw fit to beat and bruise the poor 
 body upon the anvil and refine the soul in the sevenfold heated 
 furnace, that when at length the hour of release arrived he should 
 at once awake in the image of his Saviour. But at last, sweetly 
 calm, like the passing away of a strain of music, or the dy'ng out 
 of the light of a summer's day, he escaped from pain and weakness 
 to rest and immortal youth. Swift was the transition from the 
 seeming unconsciousness of the death bed surroundings to the full 
 realization of heaven's wonders. The weary voyager stepped 
 on shore, and that shore was paradise ; he took hold of a hand, and 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 223 
 
 found it the hand of his elder brother ; he breathed a new air, and 
 found it celestial air ; he passed from storm and tempest to unbrok- 
 en calm ; he awoke and found it glory. 
 
 President Garfield was the product of his age and country, 
 where, in common with our own land, the highest honors are within 
 the reach of the humblest sons of toil. Every step from the canal 
 boat to the White House was marked by earnest, conscientious 
 effort. Alike in the field and in the forum, he was the same brave, 
 self-reliant. God-fearing man. In the words of Tennyson, wc may 
 describe him as — 
 
 A divinely gifted man, 
 Whose life in low estate began, 
 And on a simple village green, 
 
 ' Who breaks his birth's invidious bar, 
 
 And grasps the skirts of happy chance, 
 And breasts the blows of circumstance, 
 And grapples with his evil star. 
 
 Who makes by force his merit known, 
 
 And lives to clutch the golden keys, 
 
 To mould a mighty state's decrees. 
 And shape the whisper of the throne. 
 
 And moving up from high to higher. 
 
 Becomes on fortune's crowning slope. 
 
 The pillar of a nation's hope, 
 The centre of a world's desire. 
 
 And now, what are some of the lessons taught us by the death 
 of such a i^ood and gifted man ? 
 
 First, — The awful uncertainty of life. Possessed of a noble 
 physique, and a sound constitution, that had been braced and buili 
 up by healthy exercise, and a stranger to those liquors and indul- 
 gences that so often sow the seeds of disease in the human frame — 
 who so likely to live to fourscore years as President Garfield ? He 
 seemed as one who, after serving his day and generation well, would 
 
224 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 enjoy a long evening of repose, free from the cares of public office, 
 and come to his grave like a shock of corn fully ripe. 
 
 The afternoon had just begun, 
 
 When came the calm of even time ; 
 
 Men said his life was at the prime ; 
 God said, His servant's task was done. 
 
 Death plies his sickle among the green grain as well as the ripe, 
 and blights the most promising forms of manhood long before, to 
 human conception, the life is complete and fully rounded out. 
 
 Secondly, — We are taught the vanity of earthly greatness. 
 Higher, socially and politically, he could not go. In an incredibly 
 short space of time he had vaulted from poverty to comparative 
 affluence ; from obscurity to the Republican throne. When he took 
 the oath of office, amid the rejoicings of a loyal people, how bright 
 seemed the prospect before him ! The head of fifty millions of 
 freemen, the equal in point of influence and power and intellect of 
 the crowned heads of Europe ; grasping the reins of office at a 
 time when the dark lines of separation between the North and 
 South were growing dim, and when everything betokened content- 
 ment and harmony within the land — how grand and enviable seemed 
 his lot ! Men regarded him as raised up and selected by Provi- 
 dence to break down faction and blot out the party strifes of for- 
 mer years, and heal the wounds of bleeding hearts, made by an 
 unnatural war that decimated so many homes. Not many weeks 
 before his inauguration as President, he was present and spoke on 
 the occasion of the unveiling of a monument to the memory of 
 soldiers who died in that unhappy rebellion. Among other things 
 he said : " I once entered a house in old Massachussets, where 
 over its doors were two crossed swords. One was the sword car- 
 ried by the grandfather of its owner on the field of Bunker Hill, 
 and the other was the sword carried by the English grand sire of 
 his wife, on the same field, and on the same day of conflict. Under 
 
PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 22$ 
 
 those crossed swords, in the restored harmony of domestic peace, 
 lived a happy and contented and free family, under the hght of our 
 repubh'can hberties. And so I trust the time 's not far distar.t, 
 when under the crossed swords and the locked shields of Ame li- 
 cans, North and South, our people shall sl'.-ep in peace, and rise in 
 liberty, love, and harmony, under the union of one flag of the stais 
 and stripes," Such a prophecy will yet be verified, but the lips that 
 spoke such noble sentiments are now cold, and the heart that cher- 
 ished them has passed away. Well may we say : 
 
 The boast of hpraldry, the pomp of power, 
 And al! th»t beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
 
 Await alike the inevitable hour ; 
 
 The path of glory leads but to the grave. 
 
 Thirdly, — We are taught the grandeur of the Christian's death- 
 bed. Not as a stoic, defiant of disease, and nerving himself against 
 pain by an almost superhuman effort, but as a sinner, saved by 
 atoning blood, did he face the enemy. The sting of death was ex- 
 tracted — its venom removed. Some call it a manly death — it was 
 all this and more. It was an heroic death, because faith in the in- 
 visible made suffering easy of endurance. 
 
 It is ever so. In that dread hour when heart and flesh faint 
 and fail ; when we approach the dark mysteries of the valley ; when 
 the eye loses its lustre, the tongue its speech, the mind its retentive- 
 ness, and the soul its consciousness ; nothing can give assured hope 
 of a blissful immortality but simple trust in the merits of the cruci- 
 fied one. 
 
 The consciousness that we have lived to some purpose, and that 
 we have possibly served the state faithfully in the Senate or on the 
 field, is of value. " To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." 
 But the best of patriots and benefactors have no monuments to 
 mark their graves. Nor do they need them, for their memory is 
 imperishable. 
 ♦15 
 
226 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 On fame's eternal camping ground, 
 
 Their silent tents are spread ; 
 While glory guards, with solemn round, 
 
 The bivouac of the dead. 
 
 Better far is the knowledge in a dying hour that Jesus waits us* 
 to give us a crown of immortelles that never fades. 
 
 
U. S. GRANT. 
 
 -:^^:■ 
 
General Grant. 
 
«« Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." 
 
 — 1st Corinthians 12, v. 26. 
 
General Grant. 
 
 HERE is no schism in the human body. It is so con- 
 stituted that the eye and the ear, the foot and the arm 
 are intimately connected and interested in the well- 
 being of each other. All alike are necessary to the 
 complete physical organization of the individual man. The 
 body is one, though composed of different members. There 
 is a common consciousness. You cannot pain the one without 
 causing pain in the very centre of life. Thus if one member suffers, 
 all the members suffer with it ; or if one member be honored, all 
 the members rejoice with it. 
 
 So it should be with the church of Christ. The visible body of 
 believers is made up of individuals, not isolated nor independent, but 
 related to each other in the closest bonds. From this union there 
 springs sympathy — a bearing of each other's burdens — a sharing of 
 each other s sorrows. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep 
 with them that weep, is the law of christian fellowship. " For 
 whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one 
 member be honored, all the members rejoice with it" 
 
 (229) 
 
^230 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 The same ought to be true of christian nations. As the welfare 
 of the individual state or province depends upon the conduct of 
 the units that compose it, so the best interests of society and the 
 world at large are served by the co-operation of christian states 
 and nations, in all that is productive of virtue and integrity, and by 
 each showing sympathy with the other in whatever appeals to the 
 better instincts of our common humanity. More especially it be- 
 comes nations that have sprung from a common ancestry, who are 
 of one blood and one language, whose laws and customs arc in the 
 main alike, and whose institutions are founded upon a common 
 Christianity, to testify to the world that geographical boundaries 
 and minor differences in forms of government cannot restrain or 
 repress that overflow of genuine 1 cling, when sister common- 
 wealths suffer the loss of eminent statesmen, or stand around the 
 grave of those who have fought their battles, vindicated their honor, 
 and advanced the world-wide cause of humanity and freedom. 
 
 Such sympathy has not been wanting in later years between 
 Great Britain and the United States, and it is in itself one of the 
 strongest evidences of that good feeling which exists and is increas- 
 ing between two nations, which should mutually and conjointly 
 seek, above their own private interests, the good of mankind in 
 every clime and country. The touching messages flashed beneath 
 the ocean from Queen Victoria to the widows of martyred Presi- 
 dents and dead commanders, have done more to cement the old 
 and new worlds in bonds of lasting brotherhood, 'han all the treaties 
 and diplomacies of skilled and crafty statesmen. 
 
 It is, therefore, eminently fitting that in this land and in this 
 city and church, where many present have assembled in former 
 years to pay the tribute of affectionate regard to the memories of 
 Lincoln and Garfield, we should seek to know something of those 
 elements of character that made the life of General Grant so con- 
 spicuous, his death so lamented, and his memory so dear to the 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 23 1 
 
 nation that he loved and served so well. Not to speak words of 
 extravagant eulogy over the dead, nor seek to minimize or excuse 
 any faults and failings which may have marked the life of the dead 
 soldier, are we met to-night, but to unite with the great heart of 
 the world, which is ever just, in paying homage to the memory of 
 a man, who fearlessly, faithfully and unselfishly did his duty accord- 
 ing to the light he had ; and to magnify that grace by which he 
 was ultimately led in childlike faith to acknowledge his dependence 
 upon Him who made him what he was, and gave him strength to 
 do what he did. 
 
 The death of General Grant has called forth in almost every 
 quarter of the civilized world unmistakable declarations that true 
 nobility of nature, independent of accidental birth and fortune, com- 
 mands universal regard, and deserves the highest honors. West- 
 minster Abbey (when the flags on the royal residences of Windsor 
 and Osborne were lowered), crowded with the representatives of 
 royalty and the bravest English hearts, all united in paying respect 
 to the memory of one, not of their ovv n but of another land, pre- 
 sented a sight that only at great intervals occurs in the history of 
 civilized and christian nations. The barriers of rank and party, and 
 national differences, disappear on such occasions. Palace, castle 
 and hovel are alike in tears. By men who inhabit distant lands 
 and speak diverse tongues, the pangs of a personal bereavement 
 are felt as they joi i in solemn service in memory of the dead. As 
 Federal and Confederate soldiers lift the bier, word comes across 
 the ocean that the nations of the earth bow their heads in silent 
 grief. It is no blind and sudden impulse which impels such deep 
 and wide-spread mourning. It is the verdict of mankind upon a 
 great character (who.se deeds have electrified the world), now unex- 
 pectedly closed, after a long and painful sickness. As has been 
 aptly said, " those who fear that religious faith is dying, and that 
 science has shaken the hold of moral law upon the minds of men, 
 
232 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 are staggered and rebuked by the sight." No base or ignoble 
 passions could so move the nations of the earth. But a single life 
 is stricken down, and a dark cloud .seems to settle on the sky and 
 obscure the sun. Men speak with bated breath. The minute gun, 
 the muffled drum, the tolling bell, silence in senate chambers and 
 courts of justice and halls of learning, public buildings draped in 
 black, mourners marching by the tens of thousands with measured 
 step to the saddest music, the land filled with lamentations " from 
 the savannahs of the South to the snow-capped hills of the North, 
 and from where the Atlantic moans along its ancient coast, to where 
 the Pacific sobs on its golden shore," — all tell that a king among 
 men is dead ! 
 
 Who was this man thus followed to the tomb by a hundred 
 thousand of his own countrymen ? I need not give details of his 
 early life. These are to be found in the pages of biography. Like 
 Abraham Lincoln, the rail splitter and Mississippi boatman, who 
 finally became the most honest and God-fearing of modern states- 
 men ; like Garfield, who, from a poor shoeless child, rose to be 
 teacher, preacher and President — so Grant, from the tannery of 
 Galena, became the foremost man of his age, the hero of many 
 battles and the chief citizen of a nation, which, second to none 
 other, moulds the civilization and directs the destinies of the world. 
 How different the circumstances connected with the birth of men ! 
 The birth of a prince is announced by salvos of artillery and the 
 ringing of joy bells in city, town and hamlet ; but the poor man's 
 son enters the world unnoticed. " Weigh them both in the scale 
 of eternity and the difference between them is not perceptible. In 
 both cases a life has begun which shall never end — a heart begins 
 to throb which must be filled with delight or anguish — a soul has 
 sprung into being which shall outlive the earth and see the sun ex- 
 tinguished as a taper in the sky." In both cases the conduct of the 
 individual, independent of the adventitious circumstances of ranker 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 233 
 
 fortune, makes the life commonplace or grand, a source of blessing 
 or a perpetual curse ! 
 
 General Grant was born in a sphere far off from the one for 
 which God ultimately intended him. For some forty years he lived 
 in comparative obscurity, giving but little indication of his wonder- 
 ful genius and strength of will. But these years were not lost. 
 During that period he was being prepared for the great work of 
 his life, when called not simply to save a nation from dismember- 
 ment, but to give a new direction to the civilization of the world, 
 " The workings of his masterful mind were hidden beneath the 
 silence of his lips ; but when the supreme moment came, there 
 came also an intellectual elevation, an up-liftingof the whole being, 
 a transformation of the silent, thoughtful General, which surprised 
 his foes and astonished his friends. He culminated at the crisis, 
 and was at his best when most needed." It is Longfellow, I think, 
 who says that great men stand like solitary towers in the city of God, 
 and secret passages running deep beneath external nature, give 
 their thoughts intercourse with higher intelligences, which strength- 
 ens and consoles them, and of which the laborers on the surface do 
 not even dream. It was so in the case of Grant. He did more 
 than was expected of him. Other men of more brilliant records 
 failed where he was successful. Undemonstrative, taciturn and 
 silent, he passed on from victory to victory, so unheralded and 
 quietly as to win for him the gratitude of his own people and the 
 admiration of the world. In General Grant's case, as in the case of 
 many others who have served their country, it may be said : 
 
 The strength that makes a nation great, 
 
 In secret is supplied ; 
 The energies that build the state, 
 
 In humble virtues bide. 
 
 From christian homes among the hills, 
 
 The streams of influence flow ; 
 The force that fights with earthly ills, 
 
 And overcomes the foe. 
 
234 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 The noblest benefactors of the world, in science, literature, phil- 
 anthropy and religion, have sprung from lowly origin. Sextus the 
 fifth from being a swineherd, was called to wave a sceptre ; Fergu- 
 son spent his early days in tending sheep ; God called him to look 
 after stars, and be a shepherd watching the flocks of light " on the 
 hill sides of heaven." Hogarth, the wonderful artist and painter, 
 began life by engraving pewter pots ; Bloomfield sat for a time on 
 the shoemaker's bench ; God called him to sit in the chair of a 
 philosopher and scholar ; Hawley was called from soap boiling in 
 London, to become one of the greatest astronomers of England ; 
 Martin Luther was the son of a peasant miner ; Virgil, the son of a 
 potter ; Demosthenes, of a smith ; Columbus, of a cloth weaver ; 
 Ben Johnson of a brick layer ; Shakespeare of a wool trader ; Burns, 
 of a cotter ; Whitfield, of an inn-keeper ; Carlyle of an Ecclefechan 
 farmer ; Henry Kirke White, that poetic genius, whose dust lies 
 outside the walls of Rome awaiting a blessed resurrection, was the 
 son of a Nottingham butcher, and David Livingstone, whose re- 
 mains rest in Westminster Abbey — the model missionary of the 
 world — was, when a boy, a cotton piecer and spinner. As the 
 poet says : 
 
 These souls flash out like the stars of God, 
 From the midnight of the mine : 
 ' No castle is theirs, no palace great, 
 
 ' .. No princely pillared hall ; 
 
 But they well can laugh at the roofs of state, 
 'Neath the heaven which is over all. 
 
 - Each bares his arm for the ringing strife, 
 
 That marshals the sons of the soil, 
 And the swea;;-drops shed in the battle of life 
 
 Are gems in the crown of toil ; 
 And prouder their well-worn wreaths, I trow, 
 
 Than laurels with life-blood wet ; 
 And nobler the arch of a bare, bold brow, , 
 
 Than the clasp of a coronet. "^■'^T.^':^'"'-"^". T"^^" 
 
GENERAL GRAJJT. 235 
 
 Hard work and poverty, self-control and misfortune, often make 
 self-reliant, courageous, and victorious spirits. Rich men's sons arc 
 heavily weighted in the race of existence. " A basketful of bonds 
 and debentures is the heaviest burden that a young man can carry. 
 The temptations of wealth and affluence are such as to sink the 
 most promising lives." Had such been the lot of Grant, how dif- 
 ferent in all likelihood would have been the meridian and close of 
 his life I It was the early discipline he underwent and the drud- 
 gery of mental toil that prepared him for the command of the 
 American army, and subsequently for the onerous duties of the 
 Presidential chair. No man can become a ruler of men, who does 
 not rule his own spirit and deny himself ease and indulgence in 
 early years. He who steadily and patiently applies himself to the 
 work of to-day, and discharges his duties to his fellow-men in a 
 spirit of unselfishness and as under the eye of his Maker, is the man 
 who when the crisis comes is found equal to its demands. The 
 hour came when the Republic needed a strong, calm, iron-clad will . 
 to direct its armies and save its very life, and with the hour came 
 the man. At once he was recognized as a dominant magnetic spirit, 
 mighty in grasp of details ; strong in purpose ; facile in execution ; 
 not easily daunted or discouraged ; far-seeing and determined ; a 
 man who reasoned out his campaigns, and fought them with a ten- 
 acity of purpose that inspired confidence in his colleagues and sub- 
 ordinates. The nation at. once felt the touch of a master's hand, 
 and the rebellion was crushed under the potency of his iron will. 
 It was not mere good fortune or luck, as some historians have 
 asserted, that made Grant the saviour of his country, although it 
 need not be disputed that he was called to command at an oppor- 
 tune hour, but " by the upward gravitation of natural forces," by 
 inflexible faithfulness, indomitable resolution, sleepless energy and 
 persistent tenacity, he rose step by step to the highest position a 
 nation can offer a citizen. 
 
236 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 And yet, like many brave men who preceded him in command 
 of the norihern army, there was a time when it looked as if he also 
 might be recalled and added to the many who had failed to satisfy 
 the eager, impetuous, and at times unreasonable cry for a speedy 
 termination of the war — a war that for extent and fierceness has 
 but seldom been equalled in the history of the world. Seward, the 
 able and acute Secretary of State, prophesied that in ninety days 
 peace would be restored, and on this false, though not unnatural 
 assumption, many able generals, who had in succession commanded 
 the army of the Republic, but who could not accomplish impossi- 
 bilities, were consigned to private life, or relegated to inferior posi- 
 tions. Grant's military genius suffered such momentary deprecia- 
 tion. The nation, bleeding at every pore, and almost driven to 
 desperation, became impatient, exacting, and clamorous for immed- 
 iate results. But Grant heard, as if he heard it not. He had the 
 rare grace of silence under provocation. He knew that time was 
 essential to the mighty undertaking entrusted to his hands, and 
 that neither civilians nor carping editors could grasp the deadly 
 struggle in which the nation was engaged. He waited patiently 
 for the storm to pass ; uttered no word of complaint ; attempted no 
 explanation nor vindication of his plans ; and kept on assured of 
 ultimate success. Like all self-possessed men, who have thorough- 
 ly matured and mastered their powers, he heeded not public clamor. 
 To the cry for speedy victories, he only replied : " I propose to 
 fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer. " He did so, and 
 the end justified the wisdom of the great General, and the means 
 employed to crush the rebellion, and restore lasting peace and good 
 will between North and South. 
 
 Among many exceedingly pleasing traits of character illustrated 
 in his life, may be found the following : 
 
 I. The modest estimate he entertained of his own part in the 
 war for the preservation of the Union, and the generous and un- 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 237 
 
 Stinted praise which he lavished on offiicers and men. In the 
 battles of the Wilderness he illustrated the saying of Wellington 
 at Waterloo, " Hard pounding, gentlemen ; we shall see who will 
 pound the longest : " and he won that campaign by simple pertina- 
 cious pounding. But in the campaign against Vicksburg, an ap- 
 parently invulnerable fortress was captured "by a combination of 
 brilliant conception, execution and patient perseverance, against 
 what were at first superior odds, and despite serious difficulties 
 within his own camp, and in the attitude of both government and 
 people behind his back." And yet so far from taking any special 
 credit to himself for what was admitted on all hands to be the 
 greatest military triumph of the war, he simply said : " The cam- 
 paign of Vicksburg was suggested and developed by circumstances ; 
 Providence directed its course, while the army of the Tennesee ex- 
 ecuted the decree 1 " 
 
 II. Like all really great and good commanders, he hated wan 
 and was by inclination a man of peace. It was not that he delight- 
 ed in battle's stern array, that he stood in the breach at the call of 
 his countrymen, and directed movements that resulted in the death 
 of many foemen worthy of a nobler end. He regarded war as a 
 ghastly monster, " whose march is to the widow's sigh and the or- 
 phan's cry." In his London speech of 1877 he said : — " Although a 
 soldier by education and profession, I have never felt any sort of 
 fondness for war and I have never advocated it, except as a means 
 of peace." This is the right view to take of war. Battles are grand 
 to read about, when looked at from afar, and often are grand in 
 their results, but those who take part in them and know most about 
 them are far from lavish in their praise. Louis Napoleon, although 
 seemingly regardless of bloodshed, had his dreams badly haunted 
 by the slaughter of Solferino. The field of Waterloo and such 
 scenes made Wellington devest its ravages and lament its necessity. 
 Indeed, every rightly constituted mind must join in the Psalmist's 
 
238 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 prayer : " Scatter thou the people that deh'ght in , .r." But bad 
 as war is, there are some things worse. When war is the only al- 
 ternative to redress national grievances, or end flagrant wrongs, it 
 is right and proper, despite of its horrors. While we deprecate :ts 
 evils, and pray that it may never again touch our borders, we are 
 not of those who regard it as the greatest calamity that can afflict 
 a nation. While war has slain its thousands, peace has slain its 
 tens of thousands. In the breast of all noble minded men there 
 has been implanted the feeling that war, and even death, in a good 
 and virtuous cause, is preferable to ignominious servitude. To use 
 the language put into the mouth of a Roman Senator : 
 
 A Christian people cannot long debate 
 Which of the two to choose — Slavery or Death t 
 A day, an hour of virtuous liberty 
 Is worth a whole eternity of bondage. 
 
 If such views be correct, then that nation which prepares for 
 war in times of peace shows the highest wisdom. In surrounding 
 herself with the necessary elements of defence, and having ready at 
 her call strong arms and willing hearts to vindicate the country's 
 honor and bear aloft the flag of freedom, she ensures her safety and 
 perpetuity. It was this feeling that prompted Grant to accept the 
 leadership of the northern army, and fight against men with whom 
 he had much in common. Personal friendships he sacrificed on the 
 altar of his country's liberties. He felt that nothing but the sever- 
 est measures could preserve the Union inviolable, and blend all its 
 parts and parties in more indissoluble bonds than ever they had 
 been before. 
 
 It is neither the time nor place to refer at length to the war 
 that brought General Grant into such prominence. Now that it is 
 a thing of the past, and North and South have been welded as one 
 over the grave of the dead hero, it is better to be silent than rake 
 up the smouldering ashes of those fires that for a tirae burned so 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 239 
 
 fiercely. But this much may be ventured, that the two elements 
 that had existed for a century in the United States (indeed piior 
 to the revolution of 1776), could not in the nature of things con- 
 tinue for ever. The so-called irrepressible conflict between abo- 
 litionists and pro-slavery men, could not be put down. It meant 
 either the annihilation of the Union, or the annihilation of slavery. 
 It ended as we all know in the latter, in the emancipation and en- 
 franchisement of the negro, but not as some would have it, in the 
 humiliation of the South. Rapidly recovering from what she lost, 
 by a system entailed upon her by preceding generations, she bids 
 fair to become the rival of the Northern States, in all that apper- 
 tains to the highest cVilization and the purest morality. 
 
 The conduct of General Grant after the war, in his eagerness to 
 efface all scars and put an end to estrangements and bitter ani- 
 mosities, is still lovingly remembered by the Southern States. It 
 is well known that after the lamented death of Lincoln, President 
 Johnson was determined to make an example of such Southern 
 generals as Lee and others, who had been foremost in defying the 
 Northern arms. Grant protested against and resisted such pro- 
 ceedings. He said that the honor of the nation was at stake — that 
 by the conditions of surrender such men could not be sacrificed. 
 The manly courage of a soldier's heart thus saved many Confeder- 
 ates from an ignominious death. For this, is it wonderful, that the 
 South respected him when living, and honor him when dead ! . 
 
 III. The humility of the dying soldier, his consideration for those 
 who waited upon him through his long days and nights of suffer- 
 ing ; his chastened resignation to God's will ; his calm, unostenta- 
 tious, but implicit trust in the mercy of God, are among the sweet- 
 est recollections that can be cherished of his memory. 
 
 The closing days of the Duke of Wellington were marked by 
 the same childlike simplicity and gratitude. After one of his last 
 and greatest victories, he went to receive the sacrament, and as he 
 
240 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 was kneeling in the church a poor man came and knelt beside him. 
 The church warden said : " Go away, this is the Duke of Welling- 
 ton." The great conqueror of Waterloo replied : " Let him alone 
 — we are equal here ! " And when the Duke was dying, the last 
 thing he took was a little tea. On his servant's handing it to him 
 in a saucer, and asking him if he would have it, he replied in the 
 last words he spoke, " Yes, if you please." How much kindness 
 and courtesy is expressed in them ! He who had commanded the 
 greatest armies in Europe and had long been accustomed to the 
 throne of authority, did not despise or overlook the smallest cour- 
 tesies of life. 
 
 It was very much the same with General Grant. He was gently 
 considerate of those who waited upon him, and often urged them 
 to take rest. On the night preceding his death he turned to those 
 who were watching lovingly by his bedside and said : " Do not 
 stop up — do not distress yourselves on my account." To his son 
 he said, indicating his solicitude for her, who had so long shared his 
 humble and his grander life : " I hope mother will bear up," while 
 to herself he said : " Do as I do, take it quietly ; I give myself not 
 the least concern. If I knew the end was to-morrow, I would just 
 try as hard to get rest in the meantime. Go to sleep and feel 
 happy, that is what I want to do, and am going to try, for I am 
 happy when out of pain. Consider how happy you ought to be. 
 Good night." And such was the tenderness of his love for her, he 
 surprised her by a letter found upon his person after death: He 
 had written it at intervals and secretly, and carried the missive for 
 fourteen days, knowing that she would find it after his death. It 
 read as follows : " Look after our dear children, and direct them 
 in che paths of rectitude. It would distress me far more to think 
 that one of them should depart from an honorable, upright, and 
 virtuous life, than it would be to know that they were prostrated 
 on a bed of sickness from which they were never to arise alive. 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 24I 
 
 They have never given us any cause for alarm on their account, and 
 I earnestly pray they never will. With these few injunctions and 
 the knowledge I have of your love and affection, and of the dutiful 
 affection of all our children, I bid you a final farewell, until we 
 meet in another and I trust a better world. You will find this on 
 my person after my demise." 
 
 But it is asked, what of General Grant's religious belief? How 
 did he meet the last enemy ? Was he merely reconciled to the 
 inevitable stroke of death by a soldier's stoicism ? ' Were his fears 
 all removed ? Was his acceptance of Christ and the atonement 
 real ? Was his end perfect peace ? Was the dark valley illumin- 
 ated by the radiance of the New Jerusalem ? I think that no one 
 who places any confidence in the honesty and dying declarations 
 of the dead soldier can doubt his simple faith in the merits of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. His best friends and admirers would doubtless 
 have wished that long before his last illness, he had been more pro- 
 nounced and outspoken regarding that faith in which he died. Like 
 many who preceded him in the Presidential chair, Grant was not a 
 member in full communion of any church. Though he regularly 
 attended puolic worship and took considerable interest in congre- 
 gational affairs, he never sat down at the Lord's table, and was 
 baptized but a short tin e before his dr xth. Referring to this fact, 
 Dr. Byron Sutherland, of Washington, in whose church General 
 Grant for some time worshipped (and where President Cleveland 
 attends), said in his memorial sermon : " On this topic, at a most 
 solemn moment in the experience of the nation, I will not forbear 
 to avow, what I have many times repeated on former occasions, 
 that no more essential or important duty belongs to our public 
 men, than making a public profession of their christian faith through 
 the solemn ordinances of the christian church. The value of such 
 testimony, ['iven in such a manner to the contemporary and com- 
 ing generations, is simply priceless. If men believe in Christ, let 
 *16 ■■" iZ _ 
 
242 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 them have the candor and courage to confess, and that in the most 
 solemn forms which the rites of the church impose. It is not good 
 to postpone this profession against all the chances of a sudden 
 death, for while a man may count on the divine compassion to the 
 last moment, he ought not to hazard the opportunity of leaving 
 behind him the most positive evidence he can ever give of his peace 
 with God through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 With such manly words we heartily agree. In spite of his many 
 noble qualities. General Grant is not held up as a perfect example. 
 But what shall we say of the many in all our churches, who, in cir- 
 cumstances perhaps more favorable to decision for Christ, still delay 
 to act ? Grey hairs are upon their heads, and they know it not 
 And what shall we say of those, who although for many years 
 members of christian churches, can hardly be distinguished from 
 the most ungodly around them? In the character of General 
 Grant, the gold and iron were mingled with the clay. But in the 
 case of many of his detractors, there is the clay without the gold 
 and iron. To-night, therefore, in thankfulness for what God made 
 him by nature, and still more by grace, we bury his faults in the 
 grave and make his virtues bloom above it. We magnify that 
 divine spirit that enabled the hero of so many battles, even at the 
 last to acknowledge his dependence upon the mercy of God, and 
 cling to covenant promises in a dying hour ; while at the same time 
 we warn the careless ones not to rest contented with the hope that 
 they may enjoy the same. " Let me die the death of the righteous, 
 and let my last end be like his," is a very pious sentiment, but un- 
 less accompanied by personal faith and practical godliness, is of 
 no avail. 
 
 In this connection it may not be out of place to refer to the 
 purity of his speech and his utter abhorrence of everything that 
 savored of profanity. In an age like this, when oaths and reckless 
 appeals to the Almighty, and unchaste inuendoes are found upon 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 243 
 
 the lips of men of far greater pretensions to piety than General 
 Grant, such an example should not be without value. Even in the 
 stress of battle an oath never polluted his lips. His speech was 
 pure up to the standard of maidenly chastity. Mr. Pierpdnt, the 
 American Minister to Great Britain in 1877, tells of one occasion 
 when he and General Grant dined at the house of a distinguished 
 politician. The subject of religion in some way was introduced, 
 and one man present treated it with mockery. Grant showed his 
 feelings by abstaining from all further conversation with the man, 
 and on leaving said to the ambassador, " the conversation of that 
 man so shocked me, that I could not talk nor enjoy the dinner." 
 On the General's staff during the war, in one of his campaigns, was 
 a rough and ready fighter, full of strange oaths and stranger vul- 
 garities. One evening, in the presence of Grant and several brother 
 officers, he opened the conversation in some such way as this, " I 
 have got a mighty good thing to tell you. It would hardly do to 
 repeat, of course, in the presence of ladies." " Well-," said the Gen- 
 eral, interrupting him in his firm, but quiet way, "allow me to sug- 
 gest, then, that it might be advisable to omit it in the presence of 
 gentlemen." Need I add to this well timed rebuke, that profanity 
 has no possible justification. No man worthy of the name ought 
 to indulge in it It indicates an unclean and sensual nature where 
 the spirit of God cannot dwell. It debases and degrades manhood. 
 The presence of unclean lips in society — or those who curse their 
 fellows in the holy name of the Divine being — is an immeasurable 
 evil. No condemnation is too great for such a vice, no punishment 
 too swift or severe. 
 
 And now all is over so far as the life on earth of the great Gen- 
 eral is concerned. 
 
 Samson hath quit himself like Samson, 
 And heroically hath ended 
 A life heroic. 
 
244 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 The battles he fought and won ; the acts of his administration ; 
 the honors paid him by the monarchs of the old world, when a few 
 years ago he passed from kingdom to kingdom ; the skill and at- 
 tention of physicians ; the unwearied attendance of relatives around 
 his bedside, and the prayers of his own and other nations, all 
 availed nothing to stay the remorseless king of terrors. The palace 
 of the king and hut of the peasant cannot resist his summons. 
 " Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty 
 man glory in his might ; let not the rich man glory in his riches, 
 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he undcrstandeth and 
 knoweth me, that I am the Lord wh'ch exercise loving kindness, 
 judgment and righteousness in the earth." Here is the true ground 
 for glorying. Wisdom, might, and riches are at the present day 
 sought after as affording the highest happiness. In old Testament 
 times, strength and martial valor were regarded as pre-eminent vir- 
 tues. Muscular prowess and the ability to lead victorious armies 
 to and from the battle field, were accounted of far more value than 
 mental superiority. Samson and Saul, head and shoulders above 
 the people, were looked upon as demi-gods, objects of envy and 
 wonder to the masses. And the possession of power in some form 
 or other, is still regarded as the highest possible attainment. To 
 exercise authority in church or state ; to control gigantic corpora- 
 tions ; to occupy high positions in the commercial or political world, 
 is the life long passion of millions. But neither wisdom nor power 
 nor riches are permanent on earth. God often turnr wisdom into 
 foolishness, might into impotency, and riches into poverty, while at 
 death they are all left behind. When men draw near the invisible 
 world these things are of little service. Then we need a per- 
 sonal God ; the firm hold of a hand that controls the destinies of 
 the universe ; and confider.ce in his faithfulnc!^'? who is never ab- 
 sent from the bedside of ti-^* dying saint. A Saviour slain is the 
 only boast of a dying sinner. How weak is he who has nothing 
 
GENERAL GRANT. 245 
 
 beyond an arm of flesh to lean upon in the hour of dissolution ? 
 How sad are the last pulsations of the" mighty man, who has ruled 
 over kingdoms or republics, and struck terror into the hearts of 
 millions, but at last trembles at the cold touch of death! Better 
 far is he, however poor and unknown, who, as he places in Christ's 
 hand his weal or his woe for eternity, can say : 
 
 In the cross of Christ I glory. 
 
 Towering o'er the wrecks of time, 
 All the lights of sacred story 
 
 Gather round its head sublime. 
 When the woes of life o'ertake me, 
 
 Hopes deceive and fears annoy, 
 Never shall the cross forsake me, 
 
 Lo ! it glows with peace and joy. 
 
 The death of General Grant, preceded by the sad and lamented 
 deaths of such unselfish lives as those of Lincoln and Garfield, 
 ought not to be lost upon the nation they loved and served so well. 
 Long cavalcades of mourners are not out of place, nor will their 
 graves be neglected. In coming years pilgrims from foreign lands 
 will stand in reverent homage with uncovered heads around the 
 mausoleum at Riverside, as they do over Washington's at Mount 
 Vernon ; and tourists passing up and down the beautiful Hudson, 
 will strain their eyes to catch a glimpse of the spot where lies the 
 body of the great soldier. But better far will it be, if the people 
 who lament his death, take to heart the lessons of his life, his cour- 
 age, patience, integrity, steadfastness and love of justice. During 
 the war one of America's most eloquent orators prophesied that the 
 time would come when the North and South, cleansed from the 
 iniquity of slavery, should cordially grasp the hands of freemen for 
 freedom. That day in part has come, its full realization let us hope 
 and pray for. Only second to that of her own people, is the inter- 
 est of Canada and Britain in the prosperity of the United States. 
 As Canon Farrar said, in his admirable sermon on the death of 
 
246 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 General Grant : " Whatever there be between the two nations to 
 forgive and forget, is forgiven and forgotten. If the two peoples 
 which are one, be true to their duty, who can doubt that the des- 
 tinies of the world are in their hands ? Let America and England 
 march in the van of freedom and progress, showing the world not 
 only a magnificent spectacle of human happiness, but a still more 
 magnificent spectacle of two peoples united, loving righteousness 
 and hating iniquity, inflexibly faithful to the principles of eternal 
 justice, which are the unchanging law of God." If at times our 
 brethren across the lines should, in the exercise of a not unnatural 
 pride, speak disparagingly of monarchies and boast of their repub- 
 lican simplicity, at heart they are not insensible to the greatness 
 and glory of the land whence they sprang. As one of their poets 
 says : — 
 
 Thicker than water, in one rill, 
 
 Through centuries of story, 
 Our Saxon blood has flowed, and still 
 We share with you the good and ill. 
 
 The shadow and the glory. 
 
(haracter and (^ture. 
 
Christian Manliness. 
 
" Be strong in the Lord, and in the powor nf his might* 
 
 — Ephes ana 0, v. 10. 
 
Christian Manliness. 
 
 W 
 
 ^ 
 
 .HEN Saint Paul wrote these words, he was breathing a 
 \^ military atmosphere, and brought into contact with all 
 the minutiae of a soldier's life. The epistle was written 
 from the Praetorian camp at Rome, where the Apostle was 
 a constant spectator of the discipline, evolutions and 
 equipment of the Roman army. There were believing men in that 
 army to whom Paul preached, and in his addresses and epistles it 
 was most natural that he should make use of just such metaphors 
 as are contained in this letter. He was thoroughly aware, that in 
 order to success in preaching, he must not only use language under- 
 stood by his hearers, but also select his illustrations from the special 
 walk in life in which they moved. 
 
 Christian life in the first century was literally a warfare. It was 
 not simply a conflict with spiritual enemies, but a constant encoun- 
 ter with the civil power. No measures were regarded too severe in 
 order to extirpate the true religion from the earth and crush its 
 professors. Bonds and imprisonments, scourgings and cruel tor- 
 tures, were the daily experience of all who refused conformity to 
 
 (251) 
 
252 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Paganism. To such a life every christian was called at the very 
 outset of his discipleship. The trials before him were well known. 
 Nothing was concealed. He was enjoined to count the cost, and 
 weigh well the consequences of becoming a "cnvert to Christianity. 
 The loss of life was indeed such a certainty, that Christ was accus- 
 tomed, in speaking of it, to promise as an offset life everlasting in 
 the world to come. 
 
 Before proceeding to enumerate the different parts of the chris- 
 tian's armor, the Apostle insists upon strength as an essential qual- 
 ity in a good soldier. A man to be successful in military life, 
 whether as a private or an officer, must possess courage and bravery 
 — a certain measure of reckless daring, and a disregard of minor 
 consequences and hardships, which are inseparable from active 
 duty. Strength of body and firmness of muscle, without heroism 
 of soul, are unwieldy elements in modern warfare. To clothe a 
 timid, craven-hearted coward in a coat of mail, is folly. Only those 
 who are strong in themselves, are fit to put on armci or use it on 
 the battle-field. 
 
 This principle, so far as regards physical strength and perfect 
 h?alth, is well understood and acted upon in recruiting for the army. 
 Unless in times when conscription is necessary, and governments 
 are all but desperate for new levies, the most searching scrutiny is 
 made of volunteers. None that are unsound or defective in their 
 bodily organs, or laboring under disease, are admitted to the ranks. 
 Now, says the Apostle, what is demanded as a pre-requisite in a 
 common soldier, is absolutely necessary in the fiery contest with 
 spiritual enemies, to which every believer is called. The church 
 has no room for weak, unsteady members ; for such as break the 
 ranks through cowardice, or cause panic and alarm when she is on 
 the eve of victory. It is not the force of numbers, but the discip- 
 line and fortitude of the few, that achieves the mightiest results. 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINESS. 253 
 
 Then five can chase an hundred, and an hundred put ten thousand 
 to flight. 
 
 As the christian life is conceived of by many at the present day, 
 strength seems to be the very last quality demanded. Nothing is 
 considered more incongruous than such an exhortation. Meek- 
 ness, gentleness and forbearance — a certain effeminacy of disposi- 
 tion and backwardness of action, are recognised as the most be- 
 coming traits of christian character, just as if these might not be 
 united to firmness of purpose and determination of will. Nothing 
 is so beautiful in inorganic matter as i polished pillar, but in order 
 to stand polishing, it needs solidity and strength. It is very true 
 that the man of God should be gentle ; not given to strife or con- 
 tention ; a lover of peace, and an example of long-suffering and 
 patience. But these qualities are not incompatible with the injunc- 
 tion of the text. The scriptural idea of christian character is net a 
 mere collection of negatives, which require but little sacrifice to 
 practise. On the contrary, believers are exhorted to seek after the 
 highest qualities of true manhood, chief ot which is moral and 
 spiritual strength ; that supernatural power conferred upon God's 
 children, whereby they are enabled not only to overcome inherent 
 evil, but combat successfully against the temptations and wiles of a 
 seductive world. Never did General seek to inspire his soldiers 
 with enthusiasm and valor on the eve of a mighty conflict as Pauj 
 does, when addressing these Ephesian converts. 
 
 But it may be objected that all natures are not constituted 
 alike ; that in the church as in the world, there are diversities of 
 gifts and graces ; and that it is well nigh impossible to graft upon 
 a naturally timid temperament, the element of strength. If by this 
 it is meant that there will always be found some who are less ardent 
 and fervent in their manifestations of zeal, we are agreed. But if 
 it is maintained that some men never can possess the element of 
 strength referred to in the text, we reply that the Word of God 
 
254 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 teaches far differently. The strength spoken of is not self acquired ; 
 it is not created or fostered by our own unaided efforts ; we are to 
 rely upon the strength of God for our strength and draw from that 
 source all the higher energies of our being. This mysterious power 
 is the result of the union of the human with the Divine, in virtue of 
 which we can, like Jacob of old, successfully contend with the 
 Angel of the Covenant. Says this same Apostle elsewhere, enu- 
 merating the heroes of old Testament days : " Through faith they 
 subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, 
 stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped 
 the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed 
 valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." 
 
 The usual elements of strength upon which the great majority 
 of men rely in the struggle of life, are by no means to be despised. 
 (a) Bodily vigor for example — the healthy action of all the physi- 
 cal powers is not to be undervalued. There is a most intimate 
 connection between mind and body. They act and re-act the one 
 upon the other. And thus the healthy action of the body tends to 
 the healthy action of the mind, and is intimately related to manli- 
 ness and morals, (d) Industry is another source of strength ; and 
 one that is much insisted upon in the Word of God. It produces 
 self-reliance and independence of character, and gives to life a dig- 
 nity and a lustre which profligacy and prodigality never can attain. 
 (c) Knowledge is another element of strength, and one that cannot 
 be unduly exalted. Knowledge of men and things, whether gained 
 by study, or the result of observation and experience, is of incalcu- 
 lable importance. In secular affairs it is head .hat governs the 
 world, and not hands. Knowledge conjoined with industry raises 
 a man to an immeasurable height above his fellows, and gives him 
 a place among the peers and princes of earth. Embracing both 
 means and ends it directs labor to a successful issue, and makes 
 material objects becx^me the handmaids of the soul. And (d) 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINESS. 255 
 
 f 
 
 finally, I need hardly add that wealth is one of the chief elements 
 of strength at the present day, and is likely to continue so. Nor is 
 it wrong that money should be sought after, provided the power 
 and influence and standing thus acquired, is expended for the good 
 of men. It is a poor thing to rely upon wealth alone for moral 
 strength, to gather it year by year, simply to be called a millionaire, 
 and die bankrupt in soul while rich in material things. But if, as 
 stewards of God's bounties, we honestly acquire a larger share of 
 this world's goods, than falls to the lot of our fellowmen, and dis- 
 burse them for the advancement of His glory, we can wield a power 
 second to none other in this world for the good of men. But while 
 all these elements of strength are recognised in Scripture as worthy 
 of possession, the christian, in view of his higher wants, is enjoined 
 to lay hold of that Divine strength, which is derived from com- 
 munion with Heaven, and a continuous sense of God's presence in 
 and around us. What men most need in the turmoil of existence* 
 is not outward material support, but hidden resources of Almighty 
 strength that can stand the pressure of sorrow and the shock of 
 adversity. They want something upon which they can rely, when 
 days of danger and darkness overtake them, and earthly friendships 
 fail ; something that will invigorate the fainting heart in sickness, 
 sorrow, and disappointment, and sustain in the Pnal struggle with 
 the King of Terrors, never once abandoning them, until the yearn- 
 ings and aspirations of the soul are satisfied with the fulness of 
 eternity. 
 
 These remarks prepare us, I think, for a better understanding 
 of the text. " Finally, my brethren," — to end the discussion and 
 sum up all that has been said — " be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of His might." As if Paul said, " I am about to specify the 
 dififerent pieces of armour provided for your conflict with the Prince 
 of Darkness. But unless you possess Divine power, you cannot 
 wield them to purpose." It were like covering the stripling David 
 
256 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 with Saul's heavy coat of mail, to put into the hands of a weak and 
 trembling saint, such mighty and destructive weapons. It needs a 
 strong arm to wield the sword of the spirit, and a practised eye to 
 use the shield of faith. 
 
 In view, then, of what has been already advanced, we remark : 
 First, — That God is the source of all moral and spiritual strength. 
 " In himself," says an old writer, " a christian is wondrous weak, 
 even vanity itself, but take him as he is built upon the promises, 
 and as he is in God, and then he is a kind of almighty person." It 
 is when a man realizes his own personal inability and emptiness, 
 that he is filled with all the fulness of the Godhead, and is enabled 
 to resist every adversary. Thus Paul says elsewhere : " We are 
 troubled on every side, yet not distressed : we are perplexed, but 
 not in despair : persecuted, but not forsaken : cast down, but not 
 destroyed." "Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
 proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ's sake, 
 for when I am weak, then am I strong. I can do all things through 
 Christ, which strengtheneth me." This is not the language of 
 boasting, but the experience of one who had endured more suffer- 
 ing, and performed more labor in the cause of Christ, than perhaps 
 fell to the lot of any human being. And in order that others may 
 be incited to similar self-denial and courage, with the hope of suc- 
 cess against abounding evils, he holr'j^ himself up as an example of 
 what is possible to every man in every condition of life. " I can do 
 all things :" resist temptation, suffer affliction, enjoy prosperity, en- 
 dure adversity, defy the powers of earth and hell — in a word, carry 
 myself heroically in every calling and condition of life. And not 
 to weary you with quotations, when this same Apostle speaks of 
 his incessant labors in the establishment of the early churches, in 
 order that all the glory and honor might redound to the Master 
 he says : " By the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which 
 was bestowed on me was not in vain : but I labored more abun- 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINESS. 257 
 
 dantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was 
 with me." 
 
 Out of Christ, indeed, there i" no real power to advance in per- 
 sonal holiness, or benefit our fellow-men. As the heads of those 
 rivers that ran through Paradise were out of Paradise, so the foun- 
 tain-head of those streams that water the heart of the believer, is 
 outside of himself As the branch severed from the tree is lifeless 
 so man apart from Christ is barren, powerless, dead. As without 
 the beam.s of the natural sun, and the constant moisture of the 
 clouds, the earth becomes a parched and desert wilderness, so with- 
 out the gracious influences of Heaven, and the contact of God's 
 spirit within the soul, there can be no vigor in the higher life. As 
 the chords of the harp must be touched by the fingers of the musi- 
 cian before any sound is heard, so the chords of the human heart 
 must be tuned and sanctified by God's spirit before they can sound 
 His praise. 
 
 Secondly, — Let us enquire how we should use this God-given 
 strength. 
 
 (a) We should be strong in the faith. By " the faith " is meant 
 the gospel, which contains the foundation of all our hope for time 
 and eternity. The Bible may be accented as a creed, and believed 
 in as a system of doctrine, without any real profit to the soul. Its 
 promises may excite no more interest than the highly colored and 
 fascinating visions of dreamland, which gratify the imagination ' 
 of childhood. This cold speculating way of holding the truths of 
 revelation, is too common among professing christians. They re- 
 gard the Bible with a sort of superstitious reverence. They accord 
 it the highest place in literature as the words of inspiration, but 
 they refuse to follow its counsels, or trust in the mercy it offers. 
 There is no appropriation of its vital truths to meet the yearnings 
 of the soul, and no reliance upon the pledges of infinite love, made 
 over to us by the death of Christ. Baxter's words are as true to- 
 *17 
 
2S8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 day as when they were spoken : " I take it to be the greatest cause 
 of coldness in duty, weakness in grace, boldness in sinning, and 
 unwillingness to die, that our faith in the divine authority of the 
 Scriptures is cither unsound or infirm. Christians in many cases 
 receive the truth by tradition. Godly ministers and friends tell 
 them so and so : it is impious to doubt, and therefore they believe 
 it. Faith in the verity of Scripture would be an exceeding help to 
 the joy of the saints." 
 
 Now such a respectful regard for God's Word is of no practical 
 value. Christian life as a consequence remains monotonous, lethar- 
 gic, and stagnant as the slimy pools of water, that have neither 
 current nor outlet. For in order that a man may become strong 
 physically, his food must be incorporated with his system, and as- 
 similated to meet the demands of daily toil. And in order that 
 man may reach the highest stage of spiritual development, there 
 must be a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and an actual 
 participation in the divine life and strength. As the tendrils of the 
 ivy cling around the old ruin, so must the powers of the soul go 
 forth in quest of supernatural sustenance ; for, as has been well 
 said, unbelief is no longer regarded as a qualification for eminent 
 saintship, nor doubt and distrust the evidences of a deep experience. 
 
 {b) We should be strong in maintaining and defending the faith. 
 We live in an age of scepticism, when strenuous efforts are put 
 forth to unsettle men's minds, and cast suspicion upon the most 
 solemn questions that can engage the attention of immortal beings. 
 .The very word 'doctrine' in our day is repulsive. Sound theology 
 is despised. Men who avow themselves as attached to no one creed 
 more than another, are glorified and admired. Confessions of faith 
 are regarded as superfluous, and those who value them, as behind 
 the age. To charge any man with heresy or unsound views regard- 
 ding the Atonement or inspiration of the Scriptures, is declared to 
 be bigotry. Now whilst the enemies of religion are busy in dis- 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINESS. 2'q 
 
 scmlnating error, the friend.'; of truth make but h'ttle effort to coun- 
 teract their evil influence. Many are ashamed to be known as 
 christians. In the presence of the profane and the ungodly, they 
 acquiesce by their silence in the most blasphemous assaults against 
 the truth. This moral cowardice is one of the greatest hindrances to 
 the spread of godliness. The want of the church is aggressiveness. 
 Timidity is the curse of the age We speak in apologetic tones 
 when called upon to defend God's word, and vindicate religion 
 before the world. Not thus is the day to be hastened, when Chris- 
 tianity shall rule the globe, and sit enthroned in the hearts of mil- 
 lions ! The darkness and prejudice of centuries will not pass away 
 without a struggle, nor can our present privileges and liberties be 
 retained but by the exercise of ceaseless vigilance and untiring zeal. 
 (c) Finally, we should be strong in our integrity, thoroughly 
 candid and upright in all the transactions and avocations of life. 
 Religion, to be of any value, should go into a man's business, and 
 inspire his every professional act. More especially in times when 
 fraud and dishonesty and falsehood are accounted but venial sins, 
 and the most sacred moral obligations are violated without com- 
 punction, imperative necessity is laid upon every christian to main- 
 tain his truthfulness and honor stainless before the world. It is 
 good to br orthodox and have a name and standing in the church, 
 and be regular in our devotion, but it is wrong to allow our religion 
 to be in advance of our morality and forget the obligations we owe 
 to our fellow men. " The worst heresies that lay hold of the 
 strength of the church, and tie her hands and paralyze her tongue, 
 and poison her atmosphere, are lying, and stealing, and av^arice, 
 and selfishness." The old-fashioned form of speech, used half a 
 century ago in denouncing villainy, is now wholly unknown. A 
 forger is a speculator ; a thief is a sharp, shrewd fellow ; a man who 
 fails in business, without enriching himself at the expense of his 
 creditors, is called a fool. Fraud is reduced to a science. The end 
 
260 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 — avaricious money-making — ^justifies the means ! Hence we have 
 wheat corners, and gold corners, and bribery in high places. Every 
 man for himself, is the cry of selfish humanity, while God looks 
 down upon all such unhallowed traffic, and speedy vengeance fol- 
 lows. Assuredly if a man is going to lose his soul, he should have 
 large returns in the present. The robber's giins need be great, for 
 perpetual banishment from God's presence iollo'vs ! 
 
 Now in this strength of the Lord, we are more than equal to all 
 our adversaries, and more than able to cope with every form of 
 temptation. With our loins girt about "/Ith the girdle of truth ; 
 having on the breast plate of righteousness ; having our feet shod 
 with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; and in the strength of 
 the most High, wielding the sword of the spirit, we need not go 
 faint-hearted into the battle. Greater are they that are for us, than 
 all that are against us. Thus the ruddy shepherd boy vanquished 
 his great enemy. " Thou comest to me with a sword and with a 
 spear, and with a shield ; but I come to thee in the name of the 
 Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast 
 defied." And thus it ever is, when in God's strength we undertake 
 to crush gigantic evils. "Though hosts encamp against us, we 
 need not fear. The Lord of Hosts is with us ; the Lord of Jacob 
 is our refuge." 
 
 The full possession of this strength Is the work of years. Let 
 none be discouraged, because they have not the boldness to do or 
 to suffer all at once. The best graces are the longest in coming to 
 maturity. The sunflower growing side by side with the sapling 
 oak reaches perfection of growth and stature much sooner. The 
 oak seems slow, compared with the ephemeral plant, that lives for 
 a day. But if slow it is sure, and the results proportionate and 
 permanent. And so by patient perseverance in well-doing the 
 most diffident and unobtrusive may acquire firnmess and fortitude. 
 What unassisted human nature cannot accomplish, grace can, mak- 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINESS. 26l 
 
 ing men more than conquerors. The strong men of the world are 
 not always most conspicuous, they arc often found among the poor 
 and the weak ; having the least exterior power, they possess the 
 most inward strength ; despised here, they wear crowns in heaven. 
 If not great, as the world counts greatness, the humblest soul may 
 be useful, becoming as the poet says : 
 
 A chalice of dew to the weary heart, 
 A sunbeam of joy bidding sorrow depart, 
 A beckoning hand to a far off goal, 
 An angel of love, to each friendless soul. 
 
 I address many to-day* who stand upon the threshold of man- 
 hood, and are soon to go forth from these halls of learning to enter 
 on the serious business of life. It is an intensely solemn moment. 
 What word^ more appropriate than these : " Be strong in the Lord, 
 and in the power of His might." I trust I can add in the language 
 of the beloved apostle John ; " I speak unto you, young men, be- 
 cause ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye 
 have overcome the wicked one." God calls you because you are 
 strong, to greater strength ; because you are wise, to greater wis- 
 dom ; because you are good to greater goodness — to help the weak 
 by making them strong. Those characterized in the new Testa- 
 ment as young men were of military age, who, in times of war, be- 
 came soldiers. To them the nation looked for defence against 
 aggression. But young men ought to be the defenders of society 
 against all forms of moral evil. The times in which your lot is 
 cast ; the culture and mental training you have enjoyed, and the 
 moral agencies that surround you, demand lives of noble aim and 
 holy consecration. 
 
 The crisis presses on us. face to face with us it stands. 
 With solemn lips of question, like the sphinx in Egypt sands ; 
 This day we fashion destiny, the web of fate we spin, 
 This day for all hereafter, choose we holiners or sin ; 
 
 * Queens University, Kingston, 1883, 
 
262 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Even new from starry Oerizim, or Ebal'a cloudy crown, 
 We call the dews of blessing, or the bolts of cuising down. 
 
 Decide not rashly. The decision made 
 Can never be recalled. 
 Choice and occasion, once being passed, 
 Return no more. 
 
 " Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 
 Use your courage. Exercise your bravery. Purpose great things, 
 and attain to them, in the strength of the Lord. God's idea of 
 manhood is purity of heart, conversation and action : an unobtru- 
 sive and unostentatious declaration of our principles in the face of 
 opposition and obliquy. Many of the world's greatest heroes pos- 
 sess this manliness, unknown and unpraised, for suffering in behalf 
 of Christ in any form is truest manliness. I shall not attempt to 
 answer the question, which many great minds are debating, — whe- 
 ther after all our efforts, virtue and truthfulness are keeping pace 
 with the scholarship of the age. One thing I think is evident, that 
 the rugged honesty and transparency of character of former days, 
 when culture and refinement were not within the reach of the 
 masses as they are to-day, are too seldom met with, even in our 
 educated men. Most significant indeed is the statement, that a 
 friend of Marquette College, Milwaukee, has given $25 in gold to 
 the Faculty, to be made into a medal " for the foremost student in 
 manly piety." Does not this seem to indicate a prevalent opinion, 
 that learning when unsanctified is apt to lead away from, rather 
 than to God : that many of our most promising students are 
 ashamed to acknowledge Christ as a personal Saviour, and that our 
 advanced thinkers shrink from boldly and unhesitatingly avowing 
 their faith in a supreme being. It ought not to be so. It has not 
 always been so. Our forefathers not only provided for the train- 
 ing of the intellect, in schools and colleges, but they held that no 
 
CHRISTIAN MANLINKSS. 263 
 
 one could do his iluty to Goil and man, unless he lived a pious, 
 honest, and truthful life. " That simple, noble creed were ill ex- 
 changed for the superficial accomplishments, which in some quar- 
 ters pass for education. It made Scotland what it was, the home 
 of civil and religious freedom ; it triumphed over the disadvantages 
 of a rigorous climate and barren soil ; it sent young men of stront;, 
 robust, manly piety to all parts of the world, to earn honorable 
 rewards in fame and fortune, and to make the blood of a Scotch- 
 man widely recognized, as in some measure a guarantee for integ- 
 rity, for courage, intelligence and perseverance." 
 
 It is such men that this college and university is intended to 
 furnish for important positions in church and state, and the mould- 
 ing of our national life in its varied and complex relations. The 
 aim of its founders, and the efforts of all who are now engaged, 
 directly or indirectly, in its faculty or management, is to make men 
 of broad, strong moral nature", who shall use their scholarship in 
 advancing the highest forms of christian civilization : — men of 
 .symmetrical, well-balanced minds, incapable of being swayed by 
 prejudice or moved by passion : — men complete and thoroughly 
 equipped in a far higher .sense than Horace ever conceived of, when 
 describing such an one as self-reliant and regular, and even in his 
 disposition and desires he says : 
 
 •' In se ipso t')tus, teres, atque rotundus." 
 
 I am sure the Principal of this college is ready to endorse the 
 language of one holding a similar office in the neighboring Repub- 
 lic when he says — describing the true functions and objects of such 
 an institution : "Touching the inner life, the soul and spirit, the 
 heart of a college, it should simply be christian in the grand catho- 
 lic gospel acceptation of the term — no more, no less. The legend 
 upon its banner should be, Religion and Learning ; Christ and Cul- 
 ture. In these two words is enfolded the essence of the earthly 
 
264 . TTIE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 and heavenly life — the elements of man's present duty and happi- 
 ness, and his immortal destiny and glory. . The one comprehends 
 all that pertains to his spiritual nature, the other all that concerns 
 him as a rational intelligent being. The one links him in blessed 
 fellowship with the pure in heart, the other with the brotherhcod 
 of the wise and cultured. The one anchors the soul in rest and 
 peace in the haven of faith, the other gives wings to knowledge of 
 God through his works, and lifts the mind to mountain summits of 
 contemplation. The one leads him forth to the fields of earthly 
 lore, and art, and genius — to the fountains of eloquence, poetry and 
 song ; — the other, into the green pastures and beside the still waters 
 of the River of Life. The one plants his feet upon the immutable 
 principia of the intellectual and physical universe ; the other sets 
 them in everlasting security upon the Rock of Ages. The one 
 brings the noble delights of mental conflicts and victories ; the 
 other the grander triumph of a renewed life, and the ineffable 
 blessedness of a soul at peace with God. The one adds beauty and 
 radiance to lifv,, the other brightens the dark valley of the shadow 
 of death. Without culture a man is blind in a world of beauty, 
 deaf in a world of song, insensible in a world of sublimity and 
 pathos ; without religion he is a " lost pleiad," a wandering star, out 
 of his spiritual orbit, out of harmony with the rhythmic forces 
 of the moral and spiritual universe, drifting alone in a sunless 
 firma.-nent." 
 
 May all the graduates of this College be men of unflinching 
 faith, lovers of truth, stainless in honor, pure in heart, patriotic for 
 God and the right, for as the poet pays — 
 
 To thine own self be true, 
 And it doth follow, as the night the day, 
 Thou can'st not then be false to any man. 
 
Consecrated Work. 
 
i' 
 
 * " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy 
 hand : for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or 
 whether they shall both be alike good." 
 
 — Ecclesiastes 11, v. 6. 
 
 ' "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might : for 
 there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, 
 whither thou goest." 
 
 — Ecclesiastes 9, v. 10. 
 
 • Thi= «ni1 tlie followinp eipht discourses were delivered to Ora.laating Classes of 
 the Braiitford Yi u 'p LaiMes' College. 
 
CoNSECRAl ED WoRK. 
 
 HE man who uttered these words was, in his own esti- 
 mation, very near the portals ci the spirit world. 
 None more than he had enjoyed life, or indulged in 
 its pleasures. Wealth flowed into his treasury ; peace 
 blessed his reign, and wisdom dignified his manhood. The 
 civilized world acknowledged the might and majesty of 
 King Solomon. Nor need we for a moment, in spite of his crimes 
 and follies, deny how much his genius has blessed mankind. But 
 when he stood almost within the shadows of the eternal world and 
 realized the brevity of a life spent too largely in idle dreams and 
 vanity ; when he thought how little good he had accomplished for 
 the sake of humanity, with his vast stores of knowledge and his 
 splendid opportunities — he closes the mournful retrospect by warn- 
 ing those who should succeed him to improve their every moment, 
 and use their every talent. " In the morning sow thy seed, and in 
 the evening withhold not thine hand ; whatsoever thy hand findeth 
 to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor 
 knowledge, nor wisdom in the gravp whither thou goest." 
 
 (267) 
 
268 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 These two passages taken together may be regarded as an argu- 
 ment for earnestness and diligence in the prosecution of the com- 
 monest duties of life, as well as the higher studies of christian 
 scholarship and christian attainments. They exhort to timely, 
 continuous and consecrated work, because life at the longest is brief, 
 and the day when labor ceases uncertain. 
 
 " In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not 
 thine hand ; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper or whether 
 they both shall be alike good." That is, do good when opportunity 
 offers and when you may not see immediate results. Work indus- 
 triously, morning and evening, early and late in life ; work on a 
 generous scale ; work hopefully for both may prosper ; work trust- 
 fully, for thou knowest not the effect produced by any act. Under 
 all conditions, walk by faith and not by sight. If the sowing of 
 the morning fail, that of the evening may yield an abundant 
 harvest. 
 
 Still, sowing in the morning is better than in the evening. Day- 
 light is better than either twilight or darkness. Avail yourself of 
 nature's aid. The mental powers are more vigorous in the morn- 
 ing, and more and better work can then be accomplished. The 
 repose of the night re "reshes and gives clearness to the brain and 
 nerve to the muscle. The cares and gloom of the darkness give 
 place to hope and courage. Unexpected hindrances may come 
 before the evening, preventing the seed from being sown at all. 
 Before the sun is high in the heavens work can be easier done, and 
 the rest of noon is all the more enjoyable after the early labor of 
 the dawn. 
 
 It has been well said that he who can master his early hours 
 has won the battle of life. When the morning is lost the day is 
 spoiled. When the first train is missed, the connections are missed^ 
 It is so with many lives. Having made a false start, or rather hav- 
 ing delayed to start, they never came near the goal. They were 
 
CONSECRATED WORK. 269 
 
 hopelessly distanced by less brilliant, but more plodding and per- 
 severing competitors. 
 
 Men regard this principle as true in common afTairs. He who 
 has a long and arduous journey before him, rises before the sun. 
 The farmer in spring time, just as soon as the ground is free from 
 frost, ploughs and sows. Every day counts ; the crops will be all 
 the sooner ripe, and the ears of corn or wheat all the better filled, 
 if the labor is attended to at the proper time. 
 
 Capital and riches are secured by industry, self-denial and pru- 
 dence in the morning of life. They that bear the yoke in youth, 
 can afford to rest in old age. Frivolity, recklessness, and even inno- 
 cent pleasures, immoderately indulged in, are fatal to success. 
 Moral ruin and social degradation follow such conduct. As every 
 seed bears its own peculiar kind of fruit, so every thought and deed 
 have their corresponding results. The rewards of the future are 
 conditioned upon the conduct of the present. As duties are hon- 
 estly discharged and honor and integrity maintained in early life, 
 so will old age enjoy the respect and regard of men, the approval 
 of conscience, and favor of God. 
 
 Many, however, act as if in manhood or womanhood, or even in 
 old age, they could undo the evils of youth. But this never can be 
 done. Grafting is not a very promising method for securing good 
 fruit. Better to sow the pure seed, than attempt afterwards to weed 
 out the tares and thistles. The tree not only lies where it falls, but 
 it falls as it leans. 
 
 The foundations of eminence in science and letters must be laid 
 in early life. Genius is but another name for industry. It has 
 been well remarked that there is no man born so great that he can 
 afford to be indolent. There is no man, though his head be as 
 massive as Webster's, but needs to study and to ponder. There is 
 no man, though he be endowed like Michael Angelo, but needs to 
 be what he was — the most laborious man of his age. Though, like 
 
270 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Titian, one has all artistic taste, and lives to the age of one hundred 
 years, it is not simply his genius, but the power with which he ap- 
 plies himself, that marks his talent and registers his usefulness. A 
 man in life with one talent will be greatly useful if he knows how 
 to keep that talent wisely employed ; but a man with ever so many 
 talents will be of little use if he does not know how to employ them 
 wisely. And this leads me to remark, that it is not only timely 
 but continuous and consecrated work that is enjoined in the text. 
 " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Alex- 
 ander the Great, on being asked how he had conquered the world, 
 replied, "by not delaying." True greatness in secular callings is 
 never attained without unflagging zeal. Men never accomplish 
 anything sublime for humanity, without intense consecration of 
 head and heart. Astronomers and men of science have been so 
 absorbed in their speculations and calculations, as to neglect the 
 wants of the body. The eye has been so transfixed on far-off ob- 
 jects, and the mind so filled with conceptions of the immensity and 
 grandeur of the universe, that for the time being they are uncon- 
 scious of the earthly and material. During the Crimean war, a 
 newly arrived chaplain called upon a godly sergeant, and asked 
 him as to how best he could conduct his work among the soldiers. 
 " Come with me," said Hector MacPherson, the sergeant in question, 
 "to the hill top. Now look around you. See yonder the pickets 
 of Liprandi's army. See yon batteries on the right and the men at 
 the guns. Mark yon trains of ammunition. Hear the roar of the 
 cannon. Look where you may, it is all earnest here. There is not 
 a man but feels it is a death struggle. If we don't conquer the 
 Russians, the Russians will conquer us. We are all in earnest, sir ; 
 we are not playing soldieis hcjre. And if you would do good, you 
 must be in earnest too !' 
 
 It is this doing with our might whatever our hand findeth to 
 do, that makes us achieve victories in the world of matter and mind 
 
CONSECRATED WORK. 27 1 
 
 " Madam," said a great statesman to a princess, " if the thing is 
 only difficult, it is done ; if it is impossible, it shall be done." This 
 indomitable spirit that rises superior to obstacles and knows no 
 defeat, is not always found, even among educated men and women^ 
 After having passed through a college course, they settle down to 
 the lowest kind of routine life, and give no practical proof of the 
 advantages they have enjoyed. Like the sea anemone, they hardly 
 give tokens of intelligent action. They are but a bridge between 
 maiter and spirit. They contain the germs of immortality, but 
 never rise above the lowest sensations. You shall find (says a liv- 
 ing writer), in almost every neighborhood, men and women that 
 have the admiration of all that know them, on account of their sup- 
 posed capacity. It is said, " Why, here are men and women who 
 know so much, that if they had a mind to, they could turn the world 
 over. Their reasoning power, their genius, their ability is wonder- 
 ful !" They live ten years, and it never drops out, and nobody sees 
 it. They live ten years more, and yet it does not manifest itself 
 It is as if one should walk in a navy-yard, and seeing long rows of 
 cannon, should say, "Oh ! what power there is in these cannon !" 
 There would be great power in them if they were only fired ; but 
 a cannon cannot be fired without powder, and somebody must put 
 the powder in and touch it off. These men and women who are 
 thought to have such capacity, but who never display it, are gen- 
 erally like artillery without powder. They have not enough animal 
 power to propel the organization of the intellectual and moral sen- 
 timents ; and the consequence is that they are always making an 
 impression of capacity, but never of efficiency." 
 
 Those whom I especially address are supposed to possess in 
 some degree the knowledge and the wisdom that makes men and 
 women useful and influential above the average >f humanity. But 
 without earnestness of purpose, gifts, whether natural or acquired, 
 are of little value. Do with thy might whatever thy hand findeth 
 
2/2 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 to do. Throw your whole soul into whatever you undertake, for 
 success in any undertaking largely depends upon the spirit in which 
 you engage in it. If we have little faith in its utility, if we are 
 dragged into it reluctantly, and prosecute it mechanically, the re- 
 sults are sure to be insignificant, if not indeed, entire failure. Such 
 is the meaning of the poet's words when he says : 
 
 The honest, earnest man must stand and work; 
 The woman also, otherwise she drags 
 At once below the dignity of man, 
 Accepting serfdom. Free men freely work, 
 Whoever fears God fears to sit at ease. 
 True, after Adam, work was curse ; 
 The natural creature labors, sweats and frets, 
 But, after Christ, work turns to privilege. 
 And henceforth, one with our humanity. 
 The Six Day Worker, working etill in us, 
 Has called us to work on with bim 
 In high companionship. 
 
 But the text insists on continuous as well as consecrated work. 
 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do." " In the morning sow thy 
 seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand." Says Isaiah 
 " Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." In order to do this, 
 we ought not to be over fastidious or exacting as to this or that 
 department of work, provided it is honest, and gives opportunity 
 for self improvement and doing good to others. Some are never 
 satisfied unless they can select their vocation. They prefer this or 
 that kind of labor, they think their talents are only adapted to spe- 
 cific professions, and as there does not appear a present demand 
 for the exercise of their special gifts, they remain indolent and 
 inactive. 
 
 Now, it is not to be denied that in both secular and religious 
 matters, work is the better and more speedily performed, if the dif- 
 ferent branches are prosecuted by men and women, skilful and 
 facile in their different departments. This the Apostle Paul recog- 
 
CONSECRATED WORK. 273 
 
 niaes in setting up the framework of the early churches. All the 
 members of the one body have not the same office. There are 
 gifts differing according to the grace given us, and whatever be our 
 special gift or excellence, that we ought to exercise to the very ut- 
 most. But should there be no opening in that special department 
 of labor for which we have been trained, and for which we think 
 ourselves especially adapted, let us not reject other callings where 
 we may perhaps not less successfully serve our fellow men and 
 glorify the Master. When a soldier enlists in the army, he swears 
 allegiance to his sovereign and prompt obedience to the orders of 
 his commander. It is not for him to say where he will go ; what 
 enemy he will fight, or what place on the battlefield he will occupy. 
 These details are arranged according to the exigencies of the case. 
 He must go where he is sent, and endure whatever hardships are 
 connected with the campaign, and resist though it should be unto 
 death. And so it should be with every young christian. As re- 
 gards our fields of labor, we should have little preference in their 
 selection. We should lie submissively in the hands of Providence^ 
 going where he directs, and working as he appoints. No false 
 pride nor desire of approbation should prevent us accepting the 
 humblest stations. While ever seeking after higher attainments 
 and c_ualifications, and cherishing an unselfish aspiration for nobler 
 opportunities of usefulness, let us not wait idly until, as some say, 
 " Providence opens the door." These are always open, if we had 
 eyes to see them and willingness to enter. 
 
 Be not too proud to do anything God tells you to do. For the 
 lack of a right disposition in this respect the world is strewn with 
 wandering Hagars and Ishmaels. God has given each one of us a 
 work tO do. You carry a scuttle of coal up that dark alley. You 
 distribute that christian tract. You give $10,000 to the missionary 
 cause. You, for fifteen years, sit with chronic rheumatism, display- 
 ing the beauty of christian submission. Whatever God calls you 
 «18 
 
274 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 to do, whether it win hissing or huzza ; whether to walk under 
 triumphal arch or lift the sot out of the ditch ; whether it be to 
 preach on a Pentecost, or t«ll some wanderer of the street of the 
 mercy of the Christ to Mary Magdalen ; whether it be to weave a 
 garland for a laughing child on a spring morning, and call her a 
 May queen, or to comb out the tangled locks of a waifof the street, 
 and cut up one of your old dresses to fit her out for the sanctuary 
 — do it, and do it right away. Whether it be a crown or a yoke, do 
 not fidget Everlasting honors upon those who do their work* 
 and do their whole work, and are contented in the sphere in which 
 God has put them. 
 
 Notice finally the reason given why we should thus work with 
 all our might. " There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
 wisdom in the grave." 
 
 Our hearts though stout and brave, 
 
 Still like muffled drums are beating, 
 
 Funeral marches to the grave. • ^ 
 
 At death our opportunities for usefulness in this state are at an 
 end. The record is then finished — the account closed — the history 
 written up. Nothing can be added and nothing can be changed. 
 
 The fact of our mortality seldom distresses us. We act as if 
 we had a special immortality. This is specially true of the young. 
 Nor is it strange that it should be so. And yet how often are we 
 summoned to the deathbed of the young ! One graduate and sev- 
 eral students of this college in former years have been called away 
 during the past few months on the very threshold of what seemed 
 happy and useful lives. Such unexpected calls ought to make us 
 work with unwonted zeal. The brevity of life at its longest should 
 intensify our appreciation of opportunities for serving man and 
 honoring God. " No labor should be regarded as irksome — no bur- 
 den too heavy to carry. Every moment should be occupied — every 
 faculty disciplined, and every occasion turned to the best account 
 
CONSECRATED WORK. 2/5 
 
 This is a scene of activity — not of rest ; a battlefield where victory 
 belongs to the most courageous ; a school of training, where the 
 industrious student gains the prize. The deathbed is sweet when 
 filled with memories of patient work and bright anticipations of 
 angelic greetings in the deathless land beyond the grave. 
 
 How sad have been the closing hours of men of genius and in- 
 tellect, who never seem to have realized the end for which they 
 were born into the world, until they were ready to go out of it. 
 Lord Chesterfield at the close of his life said : " I have recently 
 read Solomon with a kind of sympathetic feeling. I have bci is 
 wicked and vain, though not so wise as he, but now I an. old 
 enough to feel the truth of his reflection, ' all is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit.' " La Fontaine, the poet, after his wild excesses and par- 
 tial reform, wrote to a friend : " To die is nothing ; but do you 
 know that I must appear before God ? You are aware how I livec^. 
 Ere you receive this note, the gates of eternity will perhaps have 
 opened for me." Said Napoleon towards the close of his wonder- 
 ful career: "Why did the cannon ball spare me to die in this 
 manner? How fallen I am. I was Napoleon — now I am no 
 longer anything. Said the guilty Borgia : I have provided in the 
 course of my life for everything, except death, and now, alas, I am 
 to die, although wholly unprepared." How different the closing 
 hours of those who have been honored in saving souls ? Said Nor- 
 man McLeod, a little while before his departure : " I am an old 
 man, and have passed through many experiences, but now all is 
 perfect calm and perfect peace. I have glimpses of heaven that no 
 tongue, nor pen, nor words can describe." Said Duncan Mathie- 
 son, the Scottish evangelist who literally wore out his physical 
 frame in the cause of his Master, " Victory I Victory ! Jesus only. 
 This room is filled with the heavenly host." And as night came 
 on — the last brief period of darkness to him for ever — he cried out 
 " Light all the lights, and let not this be a charnel house. How is 
 
276 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 it the King tarries when the chariot wheels are so near ? Lord 
 Jesus, come quickly ! Oh, come quickly." 
 
 The end of a college course is not, I trust, the end of study to 
 many of you, but to all it is the beginning of existence on a larger 
 scale than that which you have experienced in the past. I charge 
 you to give your earliest and best days to God. Let your life motto 
 be — " Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." 
 Be eminent scholars and brilliant artists if you will, but above all 
 else, be great in goodness and sanctified attainments. Piety adorns 
 every walk in life, and gives to its close a grandeur and glory 
 that mere scholarship never can confer. As no one can become a 
 proficient in any calling, without earnest and prolonged effort, so 
 no one can reach high altitudes in God's kingdom without prayers 
 and pains. Those who seek after an incorruptible crown, must 
 possess an enthusiasm and courage that will equal — nay, surpass — 
 that which has characterized their secular endeavors. Lukewarm- 
 ness is out of place in religious matters. Those only who are in 
 earnest can achieve anything of value to humanity. Inspired with 
 a supernatural power, they overcome obstacles. The world may 
 call them eccentric and singular, but it is a glorious singularity to 
 live in the presence of the invisible, disdaining earth, honor, pleas- 
 ures and pastimes, that degrade the moral nature. What to such 
 are the petty concerns and troubles of the present — the downfall 
 of empires and the destruction of thrones? They are working for 
 the advancement of a kingdom that shall never be moved, and a 
 seat of honor higher and more stable than that of earthly kings. 
 
 I address for the last time not a few who, it is to be hoped, have 
 such an ideal character before them, towards which they will aspire 
 with all the energies of their being. The time has come to say 
 farewell. Some who for years have taken part with us in the ser- 
 vice ot this sanc^jary, go hence to return no more. Pleasure and 
 pain commingle in the thought. To leave companions and teach- 
 
CONSECRATED WORK 277 
 
 ers is trying, to enter upon the dignity of womanhood is full of 
 joyful anticipation. While I would not unduly cloud the bright 
 prospect that lies before them in the future, we cannot forget that 
 soon the realities of life, with its sad memories of the past, will suc- 
 ceed the bright dreams of youth, when the touching lines of the 
 poet will fitly describe their feelings : 
 
 Those college days ! I ne'er shall see V, e like 1 
 
 I had not buried then so many hopes ! 
 
 1 had not buried then so many friends ! 
 
 I've turned my back on what was then before me ; 
 
 And the bright feces of my young companions 
 
 Are wrinkled like my own, or are no more. 
 
 There comes a time, no matter how prosperous and honored 
 the life, when the heart yearns for something more enduring than 
 human friendships ; when like old Bazillai, pressed by King David 
 to make his home in the palace at Jerusalem, we feel that our 
 strongest attachments lie beyond the grave. " How long have I to 
 live, that I should go up with the King unto Jerusalem ? I am 
 this day fourscore years old, and can I discern between good and 
 evil ? Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink ? Can I 
 hear any more the voice of singing men and singing won^en? 
 Wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my Lord 
 the King?" Happy are the graduates of this college, who having 
 been spared to such a green old age, shall be able to say : 
 
 God ! who wert my childhood's love, 
 
 My girlhood's pure delight ; 
 A presence felt the live long day, 
 
 A welcome fear at night. 
 
 With age Thou growest more divine, 
 
 More glorious than before ; 
 T feared Thee with a deeper fear, 
 
 Because I loved Thee more. 
 
2/8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Apart from your scholastic attainments, I follow you with ten- 
 der interest in your journey through life. I cannot but feel that to 
 many of you my preaching has been the savor of life unto life, or 
 death unto death. I hope to have all of you as seals of my min- 
 istry in glory. The teacher has for his great aim to make schol?irs 
 of his pupils ; the minister to make christians. The one educates 
 the mind, the other moulds the soul. I have served in both capa- 
 cities in the college, but I need hardly say that I have ever regarded 
 the latter as the most important part of my work. Many of the 
 graduates of the present year have under my ministry made public 
 profession of Christ. Several of them are the daughters of esteemed 
 brethren in the ministry and eldership of the church, whose fellow- 
 ship for many years I have enjoyed. Need I say, that I regard 
 you with very tender feelings, and that I entertain very high hopes 
 of your future career. My greatest joy will be to know that you 
 have honored the college where you have been educated, and the 
 church with which you have been so long identified. In order to 
 this it is needful that your character should bear the inspection not 
 only of companions, but also of the society in which you shall be 
 called to mingle in riper years. The great want of the age is men 
 and women who are not ashamed of their church membership, and 
 whose every act is consistent with their profession ; who live as in 
 the presence of the Eternal, and as accountable to a higher tribunal 
 than human law ; who walk with God, commune with heaven, and 
 make religion real and practical in the sight of men. Not a few of 
 you, I am glad to know, have been accustomed to meet for social 
 prayer within the college walls. Although soon to be separated, 
 you need not forego the privilege of communion with each other. 
 Spirits can meet and blend at a common mercy seat, though far 
 apart, and feel the sympathy of kindred souls. The memory of 
 such precious hours spent together should have a solemnizing and 
 inspiring influence upon you. Of such as have thus secretly given 
 
CONSECRATED WORK. 279 
 
 themselves to God, a high and holy consecration is expected. 
 While cheerful, hopeful and helpful, they ought none the less to be 
 sober, earnest and serious — mindful of their origin and destiny. 
 The prayer of each should be : 
 
 Make me feel 
 Tli( t in the gay and care-forgetting crowd 
 Thou art as near me as in solitude. , 
 
 Keep Thou the portals cf my lips, lest words ' 
 
 Of levity, or censure undeserved 
 Abuse the freedom of my mirthful hours, 
 Tinge my each word and action with the hue 
 Of heart-born courage and holy love ; 
 That in the use of every social gift 
 The happiness of others may be mine. 
 
 Or as another sweet singer has put it ; 
 
 Be food, sweet maid, and let who will be clever ; 
 
 Bo noble things, not dream them, all day long ; 
 And so make life, death, and the vast forever 
 
 One grand sweet song. 
 
 " I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, who is 
 able to build vou up, and to give you an inheritance among all 
 them that are sanctified." 
 
The Pattern Worker. 
 
" I must work the works of Him that sent me, whilp it is day ; the 
 night Cometh when no man can work." 
 
 — John y, V. 4. 
 
The Pattern Worker. 
 
 '•T HAS been, and is still, too much the custom to regard 
 labor as a curse. Because after man's fall the decree 
 went forth, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
 bread till thou return to the ground," it has been falsely 
 concluded that labor, whether of the body or the mind, is 
 a mark of social degradation, and that it is lawful, if not in- 
 deed praiseworthy, to escape its burdens. That such an interpre- 
 tation of the passage is opposed to the teachings of philosophy and 
 the experience of life, it is not difficult to show. It is very true 
 that the conditions of existence have been changed in some respects 
 since the fall, but we can conceive of no situation in life that does 
 not afford suitable and profitable employment for rational beings. 
 Had Adam retained his holiness, doubtless he and his posterity 
 would have had their daily allotted tasks — not perhaps so exhaust- 
 ing and laborious as are the average employments of a sinful race, 
 but not less continuous. To live without the performance of stated 
 duties would be the most miserable of all possible conditions of ex- 
 istence. Body and mind, from what we know of their constitution, 
 demand regular exercise, and only in so far as they conform to this 
 
 (283) 
 
284 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTIL 
 
 great law, do they minister to human happiness, and fill up the 
 grand design of their Creator. 
 
 Jesus Christ himself was a life long worker. His sinless hum.in- 
 ity was not exempted from daily toil. He became bone of our 
 bone and flesh of our flesh, not simply as regards the finer sensi- 
 bilities of our nature, but in respect to the humblest and most ex- 
 hausting toils of mechanical life. In early years he bore the yoke 
 of service, and in riper manhood he cheerfully discharged the obli- 
 gations that appertain to the commonest avocations of life. His 
 example thus stands before us for imitation. Let no man nor wo- 
 man despise work of any kind, if it is pure and honorable and hon- 
 est. The real nobility of man is determined, not by the material 
 with which he is employed, but by the manner in which he exe- 
 cutes his work. Angels work, and the redeemed in heaven work. 
 It is the law of the universe, and inseparable from rational ex- 
 istence : 
 
 He only is the truly great, 
 
 The only truly rich is he. 
 Whose wealth is in his mind's estate, 
 
 And child of Qod his pedigree. 
 
 This great truth is brought before us in the text. The Saviour 
 looks with compassion upon a poor blind man, who is soon, — and 
 for the first time to behold the light of day. In answer to one of 
 those profitless questions, that the disciples so frequently put to the 
 master, Christ declares the great end of his mission to the world. 
 •* I musi work the works of him that sent me, while it is day ; the 
 night Cometh when no man can work." 
 
 Notice first, that Christ was sent by his Father into the world 
 Long before his advent, he was spoken of as the servant of his 
 Father. " Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of 
 me : I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea thy law is within my 
 heart." The position of a servant he regarded as honorable. ** My 
 
THE PATTERN WORKER. 285 
 
 meat," he says, " is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish 
 his work." To inculcate the duty and value of the humblest min- 
 istrations for the good of others, he washed the feet of the disciples, 
 saying : " If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, 
 ye ought also to wash one another's feet." And the apostle, when 
 contrasting his earthly humiliation with his exalted glory, says : 
 " He took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the like- 
 ness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled 
 himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the 
 cross." 
 
 Service in itself is never degrading. To work for the benefit of 
 another may be as noble an occupation as to wield a sceptre or 
 command an army. Everything depends upon the character of 
 the master we serve, the nature of the service demanded, and the 
 value of the reward. So long as the world lasts, and society main- 
 tains its present order, there must be gradations ; those who com- 
 mand and those who obey ; those who plan and those who exe- 
 cute. Any theory that attempts to change this divine arrangement, 
 attempts simply what is impossible. What God has determined 
 for the v/elfare of his creatures, let no man dare to alter. 
 
 Our conception of the grandeur of voluntary service will appear 
 still clearer, if we imagine a case where the master has become the 
 servant It is seldom that a man is found, born to a noble position 
 in life, who willingly resigns an exalted station, and cheerfully be- 
 comes the inferior of another, for any purpose whatever. Such a 
 case is, however, supposable. A man of royal rank and destiny 
 may for the welfare of his country and the highest interests of his 
 fellow-men, renounce the sceptre and the coronet, and condescend 
 to the humblest avocations of the subject. In such a case, there is 
 cause for the highest admiration. There is conferred upon such a 
 servant a far greater glory than could possibly belong to a 
 sovereign. 
 
286 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Now, this is what has been verified in the life of Jesus Christ 
 Creator of worlds, supreme ruler of the universe and all the hosts of 
 heaven, adored and beloved by the highest and purest intelligen- 
 ces. He stooped from his lofty throne, laid aside the insignia of 
 his power and bowed to his Father's will, that he might carry out 
 the purposes of redemption toward guilty man. Not reluctantly, 
 not as forced or constrained to obey the behests of duty, nor as if 
 the change involved what men call social degradation and obscu- 
 rity, but cheerfully, spontaneously and eagerly did Christ become 
 the servant of heaven and its ambassador to a ruined world. And 
 never did greater glory surround the mercy seat than when the 
 incarnate God left for a time the place of honor at his Father's 
 right hand to tabernacle among weak and wicked men. Service 
 has thus been made honorable. By so much the more as it is dif- 
 ficult for human nature to serve than rule, is the servant above the 
 master. As old George Herbert says : 
 
 Teach me, my God and King, 
 
 In all things thee to see ; 
 And what I do in anything 
 
 To do it as for Thee. 
 
 A servant with this clause 
 
 Makes drudgery divine ; 
 Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws, 
 
 Makes that and the actic tine. 
 
 Such considerations were doubtless present to the mind of the 
 Apostle Paul, when writing to the members of the Apostolic 
 churches. He speaks of himself and his brethren, as servants and 
 co-workers in the faith, as if these were the noblest of all designa- 
 tions. " Paul a servant of Jesus Christ," " Phoebe our sister, who 
 is a servant of the church ;" " Let a man so account of us, as the 
 ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God ; " As 
 ambassadors for Christ, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye recon- 
 ciled to God." 
 
THE PATTERN WORKER. 28/ 
 
 Whatever then may be our social differences, we are all servants. 
 One is our master, even Christ, and all we are brethren. As such, 
 by mutual sympathy and by faithful efforts in the departments of 
 labor appointed us, we are to glorify the Master. In the church of 
 Christ the peer and the peasant, the rich and the poor, the king and 
 the subject, stand upon an equality, and shall all alike be judged 
 by the same unerring standard. We need to be reminded of this 
 from time to time. The same spirit of unholy ambition that mani- 
 fested itself occasionally in the disciples, still exists more or less in 
 the hearts of professing christians. Prosperous in business, suc- 
 cessful in study, and more or less conspicuous in the eyes of the 
 world for our benevolence and meritorious acts, we are apt to forget 
 that we are at best only servants. Our time is not our own, the 
 results of our labor are not our own. To each there is given the 
 command, " occupy till I come." " Blessed are those servants, 
 whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching. Verily, I say 
 unto you, that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to 
 meat, and will come forth and serve them." 
 
 Notice, secondly, that Christ was sent to work his Father's 
 work. He came into this world for a specified object, and with a 
 definite purpose in view, and with a perfect knowledge of what his 
 mission was intended to accomplish. That work may be looked at 
 in different aspects, as passive and active, as suffering and aoing. 
 The consummation of his life's work, was his death. Without this, 
 all that preceded would have been vain. Toward this all was 
 directed, and by this his divinity and the infinite value of his work 
 was proved. 
 
 The life of Christ while on earth was a busy one. Even re- 
 garded from a human standpoint, how constant were his efforts in 
 behalf of humanity ! Read the record of labor performed during 
 the three years of his active ministry — the diverse and exhausting 
 toils pressed together hour after hour, from early dawn until far 
 
a88 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 into the shadows and darkness of the night, and where can we find 
 its equal among the busiest of the sons of men ? No call of mercy 
 was ever disregarded. Now preaching the gospel to thousands 
 upon the mountain side, or gathered by the sea of Galilee ; now 
 instructing the disciples in the things of the kingdom ; now work- 
 ing miracles in attestation of his Messiahship and the truths of 
 Christianity ; opening the eyes of the blind, curing the infirm and 
 paralyzed, and raising the dead to life ; and again seated in the 
 home of poverty and sorrow, comforting the bereaved and binding 
 up the broken in heart. Often indeed the physical nature of the 
 Saviour was exhausted. The body, under the pressure of almost 
 superhuman anxieties and burdens, became fatigued, but the soul 
 maintained its wakefulness and vigor. You remember how that on 
 one occasion, wearied with the toils of the day, he must needs cross 
 to the other side of the Lake of Gennesaret in order to cure a man 
 afflicted with an unclean spirit, whose dwelling was among the 
 tombs ; and how that as he lay fast asleep in the hinder part of the 
 vessel, he was awakened by the terror-stricken disciples, who cried 
 out, " Master, carest thou not tha«: we perish ?" Although his presence 
 in the little boat should of itself have assured the disciples of safety, 
 he murmurs not that his slumbers have been disturbed. At once 
 he rebukes the wind, and says to the sea, " Peace be st'll," and then 
 tenderly rebukes their lack of faith that produced such unnecessary 
 fear. \Vhat matchless patience, tenderness and love ! 
 
 Under such a pressure of bodily and mental anxiety, what sup- 
 ported the humanity of Christ ? Just what sustains the most emi- 
 nent servants of God at the present day. Reading the biographies 
 of such men, we wonder at their achievements ; how they plan, 
 project and accomplish innumerable schemes for the well-being of 
 their fellow-men. Weak in physical organization, oftentimes they 
 surpass in endurance the strongest and most robust frames. We 
 account for this by their nervous temperament, their impulsiveness, 
 
THE PATTERN WORKER. 389 
 
 and their iigular adaptation to the many details of christian liL\ 
 But these arc but secondary causes, and in themselves wholly in- 
 adequate to produce such results. They are simply to the man 
 what ^^'c n^.achinery is to the steam engine. Before motion can be 
 reach 2d and the wheels begin to revolve, steam power must be ap- 
 plied. And so without constant communion from heaven no man 
 can be an active christian worker. Christ while on earth spent 
 whole nights in prayer. By this he was refreshed, strengthened 
 and comforted, amid all his discouragements and trials. 
 
 The work set before him was far from inviting. Yet he shrank 
 not from it. To be adjudged as responsible for the sins of others, 
 to be treated as a malefactor when personally innocent, to bear 
 pain and shame of death, and the wrath of an angry God, presents 
 us with an accumulation of woe beyond mortal conception or en- 
 durance. There were indeed periods in his existence — especially 
 towards its close — when his human nature seemed to stagger under 
 desperate encounters with the powers of hell. But these were but 
 for a moment. With a fortitude and heroism altogether unexam- 
 pled in the history of martyrdom. He drank the bitter cup, and 
 finished the work given him to do. No marvel that nature, at the 
 sight of such superhuman sufferings, shook to her very foundations ; 
 that the quaking earth, and rending rocks, and opening graves, and 
 darkening sun, attested the magnitude of the work, and thus sig- 
 nificantly announced the reconciliation of man to God, and earth 
 to heaven. 
 
 Notice, thirdly, that the work given Christ was to be completed 
 in a given time. It is called in the text "a day." The period was 
 brief, as indeed the entire life of Christ on earth was short. The 
 brevity of his mortal existence pressed itself upon the mind of 
 Christ frequently. There was no time for rest or leisure ; for the 
 lighter and more congenial occupations of the day ; for the phil- 
 osophic and speculative discussions of the schools. The burden of 
 #19 
 
290 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 immortal souls weighed him down. He was straightened in spirit, 
 until his work was accomplished. The joy set before him also in- 
 creased his earnestness. He looked forward to the moment of 
 victory, when having trodden the wine press, he should receive the 
 welcome of his Father, and through ranks of shining angels pass 
 on to the mediatorial throne, and when in myriads of redeemed 
 and glorified ones, He should see of the travail of his soul and be 
 satisfied. 
 
 And now, by way of application, let me add that each man and 
 woman has been sent into the world to work the works of God. 
 No one can relinquish his moral obligations. Those especially who 
 have accepted Christ as their Saviour, are under the strongest ob- 
 ligations to render Him efficient service. The time for work is 
 short. We are passing rapidly to the grave. The day will soon 
 end, and the night close in upon our labor. Now is the time to 
 exercise all those God-given faculties with which we have been en- 
 dowed in behalf of the sinful and the sorrowing. Living such useful 
 and unselfish lives, our dying moments shall be peaceful and our 
 future rest glorious. 
 
 There is much talk in the present day of overwork. Men un- 
 duly tax the brain and draw upon the vital resources of life, and 
 strain their energies beyond the limits of safety and moderation, 
 and fall in the prime of life victims to over anxiety and care and 
 inordinate ambition. But how seldom do we read of men and 
 women over taxing their powers for the good of humanity, and 
 wearing out their lives in the service of God ? Is it not true that 
 many professing christians hardly acknowledge Christ's claims upon 
 their time and service ? They are, as has been said, capital soldiers 
 on parade days, but are not worth a rush before the cannon's mouth. 
 They are loud in profession before a battle, and loud in exultation 
 after a victory, but during the fight they are always missing. Such 
 a state of things is wrong. Christians should be the most indus- 
 
THE PATTERN WORKER. 29I 
 
 trious of men and women. Religion, so far from paralyzing effort, 
 should increase it. From the moment of consecration there should 
 be intelligent and continuous service. The christian worker should 
 be a model hero, and should never dream of defeat Through 
 faith, he can appropriate infinite wisdom and almighty strength for 
 every emergency. History tells us, that among the prisoners at 
 Waterloo, there was a Highland piper. Napoleon asked him to play 
 a pibroch, and the Highlander played. " Play a march," said Na- 
 poleon, and he played it. " Play a retreat," again said the French 
 General. " No, no," said the H'^hlander, " I never learned to play 
 a retreat !" And so in working for God, we should never dream of 
 defeat or disaster. Repulses in the christian life will meet us, and 
 obstacles test our courage, but with God upon our side we are sure 
 of victory. 
 
 The night is coming to all of us — how soon we cannot tell. All 
 men admit the certainty of death and the shortness of life, but it is 
 only when we compare the fondly cherished hopes and plans of 
 early years, with the small amount of actual work accomplished, 
 that we realize its exceeding brevity. The longest life seems alto- 
 gether too short to do anything worthy of immortality. In the 
 morning of existence we promise ourselves noble achievements. 
 Splendid visions of the future dawn upon the soul. After a long 
 and busy life, we expect our own sun to set in a halo of glory, every 
 expectation realized and every purpose completed. But how sad 
 in most cases is the retrospect ! Cut down in the very middle of 
 life, when we are just beginning to see the result of our labors, we 
 ask why life is such a failure ? Or, as the poet says : 
 
 A walking shadow ; a poor player 
 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, 
 And then is heard no more. * * A tele 
 Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 
 Signifying nothing. 
 
292 THE CHLRCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Such, indeed, is life to the man or woman who has lived simply 
 for its pleasures and unsubstantial honors. But it is not to those 
 who make work for God a daily and hourly task. Measured by 
 years and public notoriety, it may seem brief, fragmentary and 
 uneventful, but judged by its far-reaching results, it is as enduring 
 as eternity. 
 
 Happy the man, and happy he alone, 
 
 He who can c ill to-day his own ; 
 
 He who secure within, can say, 
 
 To-morrow do thy worst, for I have lived to- day. 
 
 How rcpidly the years seem to glide as we approach the end. 
 Silently but surely, like the continuous ticking of the clock that 
 measures moments, and minutes, and hours, and days, and weeks, 
 and finally comes to the last minute, when the pendulum swings 
 irresolutely and unsteadily, and then ceases to swing at all, so is 
 the life of man 1 Just as we pass milestone after milestone on the 
 railway, one after another in rapid succession, so do we rush on 
 from childhood to youth, from youth to manhood and womanhood, 
 and thence to the grave. It is not till time with reckless hand has 
 torn out half the leaves from the book of human life, to light the 
 fires of passion with, that we begin to see that the leaves that re- 
 main are few in number. But however few remain, let them not 
 increase the accusations of a reproachful memory. Let us live lives 
 that shall be earnest of that prolonged immortality that awaits the 
 faithful toilers upon earth. " Dead he is not, but departed," should 
 be the inscription on our grave stone : 
 
 " Non abit, sed emi^ravit," the tombstone read, 
 
 And 'neath it lay a hero dead, 
 
 Who had fallen, fallen like a star 
 
 In the summer sky, that darts afar 
 
 Its golden ray of mellow light, 
 
 O'er the tresses of the queenly night. 
 
 Oh, if you but knew the luxury of working for God and living 
 to purpose, there would be no need of inviting you to engage in 
 
THE PATTERN WORKER. 293 
 
 christian work. The aimless, irresolute lives, that many young 
 people lead, bring no satisfaction. Capacities and opportunities 
 undeveloped and unimproved, make old age a sad retrospect, and 
 render death unwelcome. If we do not serve here, we can neither 
 serve nor reign hereafter. The joy of the heavenly ministry is 
 theirs, who have labored in lonely and forbidding fields on 
 earth, for 
 
 If sweet below 
 To minister to those whom God doth love, 
 What will it be to minister above 1 
 
 His praise to show, 
 In some new strain amid the ransomed choir, 
 To tunch their joy and love with notes of living fire. 
 
 Such thoughts I deem not altogether inappropriate, when ad- 
 dressing a goodly number of young women, who having completed 
 a college course, are about to leave, in many cases never to return. 
 I exhort such to engage in some department of christian work. 
 
 Rest not ! Life is sweeping by ; 
 Go and dare before you die ; 
 Something mighty and sublime 
 Leave behind to conquer time. 
 Glorious 'tis to live for aye, 
 When the forms have passed away. 
 
 A Ladies' College graduate is often spoken of as one who has 
 " finished her education," A recent writer says — although his re- 
 marks do not, I trust, apply to Canadian college graduates : — " She 
 has passed the usual examinations, has received the diploma of 
 average excellence, and is now permitted to go forth untramelled 
 and free, to do as she chooses in the great social world that seems 
 so inviting. She understands the French phrases in the last society 
 novel, and so she has finished the modern languages. She can play 
 a dozen set pieces on the piano, if she has her notes, and is not out 
 of practice ; so she has finished her musical education. She has 
 
294 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 brought home in her trunk half a dozen crayon copies from pic- 
 tures given her by her master, and after he has gone over them and 
 touched them up, they present a very respectable appearance ; so 
 she is a finished artist. She has read the First Book of Milton's 
 ' Paradise Lost,' and parsed most of it ; so she has finished English 
 literature. She can rattle off the names of the crowned heads of 
 England, and knows that William the Conqueror won the battle of 
 Hastings, that Henry VHI. was not a model husband, and that 
 Charles ^. was beheaded by Cromwell ; so she has finished English 
 history. She has committed to memory the greater part of Butler's 
 ' Analogy,' and recited it ; so she is finished in Moral Philosophy." 
 
 " Finished !" Yes, literally so, for when a young woman imag- 
 ines that he education is completed on leaving college, there is 
 little more to be expected from her, however long her life and mani- 
 fold her advantages. Do I speak uncharitably when I say that 
 many graduates of ladies' colleges spend the best days of their lives, 
 if not in abject idleness, in frivolous amusements, doing nothing 
 worthy of their training and opportunities, and taking no part in 
 the practical duties and cares of life ? Their brothers are roused 
 at an early hour to attend to business, but the sisters having nothing 
 particularly to do, make their appearance some hours later, and 
 seek in the merest trifles to pass the day. Thus they grow up in- 
 dolent, selfish and conceited, fonder of personal adornments and 
 luxuries than industry, frugality, and the simplicities of life, which 
 are the true adornments of cultivated christian womanhood. 
 
 I counsel you to lead entirely different lives. If as in the case 
 of many, abstruse studies are now ended, begin to work for God. 
 Let your lives be devoted to tender and loving ministrations, not 
 only in your own homes, but far beyond. It is not necessary that 
 you should go to heathen lands to find scope for christian activity 
 and self-denial. Opportunities lie all around you, and in propor- 
 tion to the work accomplished here, shall be the joy of heaven. 
 
THE PATTERN WO IKER. 295 
 
 Above, beyond the starry vault of heaven, 
 Will a great God reward you. 
 
 It has been well said that while society praises the adept in 
 small talk, the world will remember only those who by cultivated 
 intellect and purified hearts, have assisted mankind and helped to 
 make the world better. We always think kindly of Florence Night- 
 ingale, who by her unselfish devotion to the sick and wounded in 
 the Crimea, made her name a household word ; of Harriet Hosmer, 
 who, finding that she possessed talent, developed it and became the 
 best modeller in clay and sculptor in marble known in the history 
 of our country ; of Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose book before it 
 was a year old was translated into all languages, and proved an 
 important factor in the emancipation of slavery, and hastened to 
 uplift the whole continent to a broader and more charitable emi- 
 nence ; and the wife of Sir John Franklin, who, lying upon what 
 proved to be her death-bed, bade her husband depart on his voyage 
 to the North Pole. Such women as these are spoken of after the 
 beauties of the world are forgotten. 
 
 I read recently of a dream that a young lady once had that im- 
 pressed me much, and with that I close this sermon, leaving you to 
 make the application. She was a good girl and a member of a 
 christian church. She dreamed that she died and went to heaven, 
 and that she was carried. beyond all the bounds of imagination into 
 the beauties and glories of the world up yonder. She dreamed that 
 she was at home in the city of God, and that she was there to live 
 evermore ; that she had passed to the judgment bar of God, and 
 that she had become crystalized in holiness, to be forever a child 
 of God, in the city of God, and she said : " O, what ecstacies swept 
 over my soul as J dreamed of the bliss of heaven ! All at once, we 
 were standing around God, the Father of us all, and were singing, 
 ' Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches' 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. 
 
296 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Over the brilliant and blazing countenances as they shone forth, I 
 saw ten thousand diadems shining in the crowns of those around 
 me, and I turned to a sister spirit and said, ' What do these diadems 
 represent in these crowns ?' ' Oh,' she said, ' these represent souls 
 that we have been enabled to win to Christ.' I pulled off my crown 
 and looked at it, and it was as black as night, and I began to be 
 miserable in heaven, and in a few minutes I opened my eyes, and I 
 said, ' Glory to God, if I have a few more years I will spend the 
 residue ol" them doing service for Christ, and I will get my recog- 
 nition in heaven in the sweet by and by.' " 
 
Polished Corner Stones. 
 
"That our daughters may be as comer stones, polishf-d after the 
 
 similitude of a palace." ^ . , 
 
 *^ —Psalm 144, v. 12. 
 
Polished Corner Stones. 
 
 ilSllj^ VVID in this psalm is praying for the highest prosperity 
 ^SlfiJjiSy of the nation. Material riches in his estimation are of 
 AJ-^^r secondary importance. Where mental cultivation and 
 ;^jw moral purity are wanting, they are dangerous to the 
 ^ state. The garners may be full and overflowing with the 
 
 products of a bountiful harvest, and the cattle may be numbered 
 by the tens of thousands, and all the elements of commercial great- 
 ness possessed, but unless "our sons grow up in th-^ir youth as 
 plants," vigorous, virtuous, and ripe for the duties of life, and unless 
 our daughters are "as corner stones, polished after the similitude 
 of a palace," decay and ruin will eventually overtake the nation. 
 
 The figure in the text is that of a building not only strong, 
 massive and imposing, and having good foundations, but fair in its 
 proportions and pleasing to the eye. A building upon which the 
 skill of the architect and sculptor has been lavished, and in which 
 polished corner stones, set in conspicuous places, add much to the 
 effect. The word denotes more than polished. It is cut — hewn — 
 carved after the similitude of a palace or a temple. In all likeli- 
 hood there is no allusion to the costly materials then in preparation 
 
 (299) 
 
300 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTIL 
 
 for the building of the temple. No labor or expense was grudged 
 to make the sanctuary surpassingly beautiful and attractive. And 
 what the earved stones and sculptured pillars were to the temp'c, 
 so are accomplished and virtuous women to society. Christian 
 culture has for its object, not simply the imparting of knowledge 
 and the exercise of the judgment, but the refining and polishing of 
 the entire person — the development of head and heart, and all that 
 makes character winsome and conduct praiseworthy. 
 
 The larger proportion of our young women can never go be- 
 yond the common school ; nor can there be any belter training for 
 the ordinary work of life. Those who advance no further are none 
 the less honorable and useful members of society. Often, indeed, 
 by sheer force of natural abilities and strength of will, they secure 
 for themselves positions of honor beyond more favored rivals. But 
 it is equally imperative that there should be a goodly number 
 whose education has been carried on to a further limit, and who, in 
 virtue of their more favored circumstances, will give tone to society 
 and confer honor upon their sex, and become, in certain depart- 
 ments, the ruling spirits of the age. The true queens of society 
 are women of christian culture. They may not sit upon thrones 
 and sway material sceptres, but their power and influence far sur- 
 fass that which is merely inherited by noble birth and pedigree. 
 Not within their own household merely do such women reign, but 
 over all who come within the range of their sphere of action. They 
 may not exercise their gifts in the rough, open world, where oft- 
 times the strongest are worsted and repulsed ; but wherever coun- 
 sel, decision, penetration and kindly sympathy are needed, they are 
 never found wanting. Theirs is the power to heal, to succor, to 
 guide and to guard. A gifted female writer of the present century, 
 describes Christianity as making a circuit of the earth in the guise 
 of a young maiden. She enters the hovels of the poor, and gives 
 cheery words and sunny smiles to the weary burdened sons of toil 
 
POLISHED CORNER STONES. 301 
 
 Through great cities and humble villages alike she makes her way 
 leaving behind a blessing. 
 
 And ever ai she went along 
 
 Sweet flowers sprang 'neath her feet ; 
 
 All flowers that were most beautiful, 
 Of virtues strong and sweet. 
 
 And ever as she went along 
 
 The desert beasts grew tame ; 
 And man, the savage, dyed with blood, 
 
 The merciful became. 
 
 Sometimes within the baron's hall, 
 
 A lodging the would And ; 
 And never went she from the door, 
 
 But blessings stayed behind. 
 
 Such are the women the age and country demand, and the 
 means to secure them is the training of the home and the culture 
 of the Christian college. Blessed is the nation which possesses such 
 daughters, and happy is that people whose God is the Lord. 
 
 For thus speaking of the influence that Christian women exert 
 upon society, women adorned with all the solid accomplishments 
 that schools can give, and souls savingly touched with sovereign 
 grace, v/e by no means advocate that superficial, showy, and fash- 
 ionable education, which has tco long been common in certain 
 quarters, and is still coveted by fond and foolish mothers for their 
 daughters. It requires months and years of labor before the pol- 
 ished stone and fluted column stand out before the admiring gaze. 
 It also requires good material to receive a lasting polish. A good 
 foundation, embracing English literature, the sciences and mathe- 
 matical studies, are necessary to further accomplishments. These 
 branches are common to the individual man or woman. But the 
 peculiar character, relations and work of women, demand in some 
 respect a different training from that of men. Not from any belief 
 that intellectually they are inferior, and therefore unable to contend 
 in the same arena, do we argue the necessity of separate schools or 
 
302 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMCNV/EALTH. 
 
 colleges, but because a special culture seems more in keeping with 
 their gentler nature. The influences which a cultivated woman ex- 
 erts, while as potent as those of man, are more noiseless and unob- 
 trusive. Her power ij not in words, but deeds. She constrains 
 and moulds, not so much by direct force of character, as by a gen- 
 tle persuasion that captivates and subdues the strongest spirit:.. 
 Superadded to the ordinary branches which every youth should 
 possess, there are certain studies and pursuits which seem peculiarly 
 her own, and which give her in every ition of life an enviable 
 sup-emacy and an attractive gracefulness which can hardly be de- 
 scribed. Who has not felt the charms of Christian womanhood 
 thus adorned ? With an ear for the harmony of sound and the 
 touch of a fairy hand ; an eye for the lights and shadows of the 
 ever changing landscape, and a pencil facile in execution ; with a 
 keen penetration that discovers the secrets of nature, and minutely 
 detects in every leaflet and wild flower the marvellous design and 
 infinite skill of the great Creator ! Such accomplishments and 
 mental culture are quite compatible with the retiring virtues and 
 unassuming necessity of the sex and command respect. " Before 
 the myrtle crown and stainless sceptre of true womanhood the 
 world will ever bow." 
 
 To possess the attainments spoken of, and at the same time be 
 guiltless of conscious superiority over less fortunate companions, is 
 not often found. There is an air of affectation which too frequently 
 accompanies cultured woman that greatly detracts from simplicity 
 of charicter. Genius, Jn its highest conditions, shows personal no- 
 toriety, and shrinks from vulgar criticism. You have heard of the 
 Grecian painter Zeuxis, who in painting his Helen, sought to em- 
 body in the face the ideal of perfect beauty He sent to Crotona, 
 famous for its handsome women, for six ma'dens, from the combi- 
 nations of whose charms he hoped to secure perfection of feature 
 and expression ; but one of the six could not be prevailed upon to 
 
POLISIIEED CORNER STONES. JOJ 
 
 unveil her face, so sensitive was she of the gaze of strangers. When 
 the picture was finished it called forth the rapt admiration of the 
 people ; but the painter himself was dissatisfied. He felt lliaL one 
 charm of the picture was wanting, and exclaimed, " Oh, for the 
 blush of the sixth maiden !" And how often do we feel as did the 
 painter, when we see women of great personal attractions, and ex- 
 ceptional culture, patronizing their humbler sisters with an air of 
 condescension that proves the existence of secret pride, and an un- 
 due regard for what are, after all, not the essentials, but the adorn- 
 ments of female character. It is said of Elizabeth Barrett Brown- 
 ing, whose writings are known in every land, but whose books fall 
 far short of the goodness of her heart, that she was shy with stran- 
 gers, and utterly unconscious of her almost matchless genius that 
 gave her a world-wide fame. That woman, of whom it has been 
 said that she never made an insignificant remark, "was a most 
 patient, conscientious listener to others, giving you her mind and 
 heart, as well as her magnetic eyes. Persons were never her theme, 
 unless public characters were under discussion, or friends were to 
 be praised. Yourself — not herself — was always a pleasant subject 
 to her, calling out all her best sympathies in joy, and yet more 
 in sorrow." Of such an one, in her own well-known lines, we 
 may say : 
 
 She was not as pretty as women we know, 
 And yet all your best made of sunshine and snow 
 Drop to shade, melt to naught in the long-trodden warp, 
 While she's still remembered. 
 
 She never found fault with you, never implied 
 
 You wrong by her right, and yet men at her side ', 
 
 Grrow nobler, girls purer, as through the whole to#n, 
 
 The children were gladder, that pulled at her gown. , 
 
 ''^he weak and the gentle, the ribald and rude, 
 
 bi 'ook as she found them, and did them all good ; 
 
 It V ~ always so with her, see what you have 1 
 
 She L s made the grass greener, even here, with her grave. 
 
304 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Such a woman, crowned with the ^reen laurels of her country- 
 men, and illustrious alike for her learning, her sweetness of temper, 
 tenderness of heart and depth of feeling, making up a beautiful and 
 fragrant life the world will not soon forget. 
 
 Her works nn I alms, and all her good endeavours. 
 Staid not behind, nor in the grave were trod. 
 
 To live such lives of usefulness and unobtrusive moral worth is 
 within the reach of all. The title of " lady " or " gentlewoman," 
 that once belonged exclusively to aristocracy, hi s now a much 
 wider meaning. The word " lady " means a " bread giver," or loaf 
 giver — one who distributes to the multitude and helpj suffering hu- 
 manity ; not one who, as in olden times, was followed by a train of 
 vassals, to serve and favor and flatter, but whose benignant smile 
 and gracious deportment compel the homage of the great and the 
 benedictions of the poor. True nobility of nature stoops to the 
 humblest vocations. Royalty is never so exalted as when it deigns 
 to succor the disconsolate and comfort the sorrowing. Not long 
 ago there was laid in Westminster Abbey all that was mortal of 
 one who gave dignity to high born rank, one who was followed to 
 the grave by the tears and lamentations alike of Queen Victoria 
 and the meanest of her subjects — Lady Augusta Stanley. It is re- 
 lated of her that a few years ago, when the Westminister Hospital 
 gathered its nurses whence and as it could, a poor woman, suffering 
 from an acute and dangerous disorder, was admitted as a patient, 
 and on her sick bed was succored and comforted by Lady Stanley, 
 who was a frequent visitor to the hospital. In a sudden crisis after 
 malady, it was decided by the physicians that the only means of 
 saving life was by an immediate and terrible operation. The choice 
 was submitted to her of certain death or this fearful passage to re- 
 covery. The poor woman shrank at first from even life at such a 
 price ; then, trembling, she said : — " I think if Lady Stanley were 
 but with me, I could go through it." In haste a messenger was 
 
 / 
 
POLISHED CORNER STONES. 305 
 
 sent to the deanery, where Lady Augusta was found dressed, in 
 readiness to fulfil an engagement at Buckingham Palace. Without 
 a moment's notice, she wrapped a cloak over her magnificent attire, 
 and went straight to the hospital. When Christ called her, in the 
 person of His suffering poor, then royalty itself must wait. She 
 stayed with the poor, torti^red woman, nerving her to endurance by 
 the strength of her sympathy and presence, until the surgeon's 
 work was ended and rest had come ; and then from the hospital 
 ward went to the palace, to apologize to the Queen for her late 
 appearance. - 
 
 I think 1 can enter into your feelings as you come near the hour 
 of parting from teachers and companions. You have looked for- 
 ward with longing desire to the day, when, having honorably com- 
 pleted your studies, you should go forth with the seal of our ap- 
 proval and the rewards of honest toil. But now, when the time 
 has come to say farewell, you dread the parting. You came to our 
 city and college comparative strangers, but you have made many 
 friends, whom you have learned to love. Better than all, not a few 
 during your stay with us have found what is paramount to all sec- 
 ular learning, the saving knowledge of a crucified Saviour. These 
 walls have witnessed your profession of faith and the membership 
 of the church follow you with loving memories. Seldom indeed 
 can it be said of a graduating class, that all, without a solitary ex- 
 ception are in Christ. My dear young friends, let not your future 
 life disappoint the high hopes we entertain regarding you. On the 
 margin of life's stormy and tempestuous sea, commit your destiny 
 to Him who alone knows the way and can safely guide. 
 
 Standing with reluctant feet. 
 Where tlio brook and river meet, 
 Womanhood and childhood fleet ! 
 
 O, thou child of many prayers ! 
 Life hath quicksands, life hath snares ! 
 Care and age come unawares I 
 •20 
 
306 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Bear in mind that talent, however sedulously cultivated, and 
 genius however brilliant, cannot alone make honorable or useful 
 lives, apart from genuine piety and moral worth. Consecrate to 
 Him who made you the vigor of your youth ; whatever mental 
 accomplishments you have, lay them at His feet, who rightly claims 
 the homage and service of the highest angel ; prove to the world 
 that there is nothing incompatible between devotion to art and 
 science, and unblemished purity of soul and chastity of speech. 
 The best security against the blandishments of pleasure and that 
 mental indolence which enslaves so many at the present day is con- 
 stant employment, the maintenance of habits of study and the ex- 
 ercise of those more tender and benevolent emotions which consti- 
 tute the crown and glory of Christian womanhood. In maintaining 
 a conscience void of offense between God and man, in overcoming 
 the evil propensities of your nature, in defending at all hazards the 
 cause of righteousness against error, in humble submission and 
 cheerful resignation to God's will, whether joy or sorrow should 
 form the major part of your existence : in working single handed, 
 like brave women, who untrammelled by the ties and burdens of 
 home, make humanity at large their debtors ; or, as the centres of 
 happy households, shedding a quiet and benignant light on all the 
 members — in either and every walk of life you will find much to 
 sadden and depress. But when the goal is reached and you look 
 back in the sunset, over the rugged pathway traversed, you will be 
 able to say : — 
 
 I have made a changeful journey, 
 Up the hill of life since morn ; 
 
 I have gathered flowers and blossoms, 
 I've been pierced by many a thorn. 
 
 But from out the core of sorrow, 
 - — -,- - : J,. I have plucked a jewel rare : 
 
 The strength which mortals gather, 
 ^ ..__^ In their ceaseless strife with care. 
 
POLISHED CORNER STONES. 307 
 
 Members of the Graduating Class, let me counsel you in parting 
 to maintain a spotless purity in thought, conversation and action 
 before tV^ world. Much is expected of you. Your advantages 
 have be*, jreat. Your privileges have been many. The good 
 name of the college is to a certain extent in your hands. Your 
 teachers follow you with earnest prayers, that God may guide you 
 and guard you, and that at last we may all meet together in a sin- 
 less world, where tears and parting are no more. 
 
 Finally, my. beloved young friends, farewell. " Whatsoever 
 things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things 
 are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely» 
 whatsoever things are of good report : if there be any virtue, and 
 if there be any praise, think on these things. Be perfect, be of good 
 comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and 
 peace be with you. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord 
 make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The 
 Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." 
 
 *^^<^ 
 
Beauty of Womanhood 
 
"Favour is deceitfal and beauty is vain ; but a woman that feateth 
 the Lord, she shall be praised.'^ 
 
 —Proverbs 81, v. 30. 
 
The True Beauty of Womanhood. 
 
 HE mother of King Lemuel is giving him advice and 
 warning as to his conduct and companionship. Who 
 he was and who his mother was, we are not informed. 
 Enough that she was a God-fearing woman, and that 
 her son valued and profited by her counsel. The memory 
 of such a mother was pleasing, and to eulogise her was his 
 delight. He was not ashamed to acknowledge that whatever good 
 fortune attended him was due to the lessons of infancy and boy- 
 hood. Instead of setting up his own judgment and following the 
 inclinations of his youthful passions, he listened attentively to her 
 admonitions and practised her precepts. 
 
 In this chapter she draws for him the full length portrait of a 
 virtuous woman. The term is not used as the counterpart of vul- 
 garity and unchastity, but as indicating all that goes to constitute 
 a symmetrical character. Such a woman is the most valuable of 
 earthly blessings. Her price is far above rubies. She is not the 
 product of schools and colleges, though these may do much toper- 
 feet her natural gifts and excellencies, but the direct creation of the 
 Almighty. Her many practical virtues are then enumerated. She 
 
 (311) 
 
313 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALVH. 
 
 is worthy of all confidence and her fidelity is unimpeachable. "The 
 heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have 
 no need of spoil," — v ii. She is industrious. "She seeketh wool 
 and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the 
 merchants' ships, she bringeth her food from afar," — v 13-14- She 
 is an early riser. " She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth 
 meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens," — v 15. She 
 is benevolent and generous. " She strctcheth out her hand to the 
 poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy," — v 20. She 
 is thoughtful in providing against the future. " She is not afraid 
 of the snow for her household ; for all her household are clothed 
 with scarlet," — v2i. She dresses elegantly and becomingly. "She 
 makelh herself coverings of tapestry ; her clothing is silk and pur- 
 ple," — V 22. Her influence upon her husband is elevating. " Her 
 husband is known in the gates, where he sitteth among the elders 
 of the land," — v 23. She is discreet and winning in her speech. 
 " She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and in her tongue is the 
 law of kindness," v 26. She superintends the details of her house- 
 hold, and takes cognizance of everything under her control. "She 
 looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread 
 of idleness," — v 27. Finally, when old age weakens her activity 
 and impairs her mental faculties, she receives the grateful vener^i- 
 tion and tender ministrations of her children. " Her children arise 
 up and call her blessed." As the guardian of their infancy, they 
 requite her care, by smoothing her declining years with unwearied 
 attention to her wants, and fond expressions of their love. 
 
 A woman combining so many excellencies is but seldom found. 
 Hence we read : " Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou 
 excellest them all." But however far any one may come short of 
 this picture of a perfect woman, there is one thing within the reach 
 of all. A woman that fears the Lord is the noblest type of her 
 sex. Her religious nature is the source of her methodical habits 
 
THE TRUE BEAUTY OF WOMANHOOD. 313 
 
 and abundant labors, " Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain ; but 
 a woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised." Birth and 
 pedigree, queenly deportment and artistic culture, are not compar- 
 able to the unaffected graces of genuine piety. As the poet laure- 
 ate of England says in one of his best known poems : 
 
 Trust me, Clara Vere de Vere, 
 
 From yon blue hpavens above us bent, 
 The gardener Adam and his wife 
 
 Smile at the claims of long descent. 
 How e'er it be, it seems to me, 
 
 'Tis only noble to be good, 
 Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
 
 And simple faith than Norman blood. 
 
 My first remark then is, that there is no necessary incongruity 
 between literary accomplishments and sweetness of disposition. 
 There is a prevalent opinion that just in so far as a woman attains 
 a high degree of scholarship, she loses that gentleness of deportment 
 which is the crowning glory of her sex. Certain marked instances 
 of what the world calls strong minded women give color to this 
 opinion. But such an idea is wholly unsupported by evidence. 
 Such women are almost invariably found destitute of true culture. 
 Their wearisome advocacy of certain social questions, and their un- 
 becoming prominence on the platform and in the political arena, is 
 the result of narrow and contracted views, as to the place and power 
 that God has assigned them in the world. Such women are not 
 thinkers ; " they p»ide themselves upon the very little that they 
 know ; and incapable of understanding the humility which is in- 
 separable from true knowledge, they force upon others their petty 
 and superficial attainments." To such the words of Pope arc speci- 
 ally applicable : 
 
 A litt'e learning is a dangerous thing. 
 Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring ; 
 There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain ; 
 But drinking largely sobers us again. 
 
314 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Your course of biographical reading thus far, has I am sure, 
 convinced you that the women whose names adorn literature and 
 science, were remarkably modest, unostentatious, and unassuming. 
 Their simplicity of manner and gentle persuasiveness, were as con- 
 spicuous as their untiring industry and their surpassing genius. 
 Mary Sommerville and Caroline Herschell and Elizabeth Barrett 
 Browning, working out in spare moments the profound problems 
 of the material creation, or weaving into verse the far reaching 
 questions of philosophy, were the most fascinating and winning of 
 their sex. A sweet fragrance still encircles their memory. It is 
 not the unequalled genius, but the unequalled lives of such women 
 that make their names immortal. As Mrs. Browning beautifully said 
 of Mrs. Hemans : 
 
 Albeit softly in our ears her silver song was ringing, 
 
 The footfall of her parting soul was softer than her singing. 
 
 The time has gone by when women were denied the delight, 
 and pleasure, and honors that result from the study of science and 
 literature. They are no longer condescendingly complimented 
 upon the smallest indication of thought and competency to spell ! 
 They have taken their place side by side with the foremost minds 
 of the age, as the exponents of all that is noble and elevating. To 
 the work of perpetuating this change in public sentiment, and show- 
 ing that there is nothing in the constitution of your minds opposed 
 to the greatest efforts and triumphs, you are now called. Suffer 
 me, then, ere I bid you farewell, to say a few things that maybe of 
 value in coming years. 
 
 The hope of reaching and wearing the honors of a college grad- 
 uate has doubtless sustained and cheered you for many years. 
 When wearied and exhausted by the ceaseless strain of the mental 
 powers, the prospect of success has quickened your flagging ener- 
 gies — when with well-earned honors you would leave behind the 
 
THE TRUE BEAUTY OF WOMANHOOD. * 315 
 
 drudjjery of academic life. You have now all but gained that po- 
 sition. Your future careers in life will doubtless be very different. 
 Some go forth to impart to others the learning they ha«"» acquired 
 — others for years to be the light and joy of happy homes., and 
 others it may be to exhibit those charms which not only grace the 
 daughter, but " adorn the wife." But whatever be your special 
 vocation, let me remind you, that no one deserves the name of 
 scholar who does not maintain more or less through life the same 
 habits of diligence and perseverance to which she has been discip- 
 lined in early life. The few years spent at college can do nothing 
 more than lay the foundation for subsequent achievements. Your 
 present proficiency, be what it may, is but the starting point of 
 intellectual life. There cannot be a mistake more fatal, than to 
 suppose that a college graduate is a complete and perfect scholar, 
 and that such young men or women have a right to look down with 
 sovereign contempt upon those whom Providence has less highly 
 favored. Humility is the brightest adornment of the christian 
 scholar. In proportion as the mind is enriched and new problems 
 in philosophy and science mastered, and brighter points of vision 
 gained, we should become the more impressed with our ignorance, 
 the crudeness of our ideas, and the imperfection and mcagreness of 
 our attainments. Herein lies the modesty of true scholarship and 
 the only certain guarantee for future greatness. 
 
 Let me say further, that as no one can be a universal scholar, no 
 student should attempt to include within his or her range of study 
 more than they can successfully and somewhat thoroughly investi- 
 gate. The most accomplished and comprehensive scholars are, 
 after all, what Sir Isaac Newton said of himself at the close of his 
 life, like boys playing by the sea shore, amused with finding a 
 smoother pebble and a prettier shell than ordinarily, while the great 
 ocean of unexplored truth lies all undiscovered before him. The 
 great evil of our day is the mass of superficial talkers and thinkers 
 
3l6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 that abound ; inflated egotists and conceited scientists who profess 
 to lead pubh'c opinion and mould the character of society, while 
 destitute themselves of any fixed principles of thought or action. 
 It is not the amount of a man's learning, nor the variety of his 
 studies that makes him really useful to the world. All this he may 
 possess and yet be no more than 
 
 A bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, 
 With loads of learned lumber in his head. 
 
 It is the perfect mastery of some one department of knowledge 
 so as to make it available for broader generalizations in the future, 
 and of practical value to the world that makes one truly learned. 
 Life is far too short for the thorough study of every department of 
 literature and science. All that you can possibly accomplish con- 
 sistent with other duties, is to select some few topics out of the 
 wide field over which you have hastily traversed, bringing to bear 
 upon them all the strength of your intellect and all the resources 
 of your mind. Go to fundamental principles — know accurately 
 that which you are desirous of knowing, and however little that 
 may be, upon that basis you will the more easily build up a future 
 superstructure. 
 
 After all that has been done for you by earnest teachers, and in 
 spite of special advantages that you may hereafter enj^y, your fu- 
 ture position in life is to a great extent of your own choosing. Into 
 your own hands is committed your destiny — whether to spend life 
 frivolously and unprofitably, or to live in the esteem and affection 
 of the truly good, and die amid regrets and tears. No graduate of 
 our college should rest satisfied with merely passing through life 
 with no stain upon her christian character. The aim of each should 
 be to rise superior to the mass around them ; to act in such a man- 
 ner that her name shall be immortal and her memory fi agrant ; for 
 thus " to live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." In the words 
 of John Milton, " I counsel you to be inflamed with the study of 
 
THE TRUE BEAUTY OF WOMANHOOD. 317 
 
 fearning and the admiration of virtue ; to be stirred up with high 
 hopes of living to be brave women, dear to God and famous to all 
 ages." 
 
 I do not forget that even the most praiseworthy efforts and 
 patient self denial, often come short of expectations. Fortune, or 
 I should rather say Providence, seems frequently to bestow favora 
 whore they are least deserved, so that in some cases it is true, 
 
 The world knows nothing of its greatest men. 
 
 Patronage and influence oftfen more than compensate for solid 
 acquirements, and persons who are void alike of character and tal- 
 ent are raised to eminent positions in the world. But in spite of 
 such exceptions, it remains equally true, especially in this country, 
 that there is no royal road to learning, and that solid and substan- 
 tial qualities cannot long pass unrerognized and unrewarded. 
 
 My second and final remark is, that there is no necessary in- 
 congruity between literary accomplishments and the most devoted 
 piety. " Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain ; but a woman that 
 feareth the Lord she shall be praised." That there are notable ex- 
 amples both of men and women, whose researches in nature and 
 philosophy have rather undermined than confirmed their faith in 
 an all-wise Creator and Preserver, is true. But these, whether as 
 regards numbers or influence, occupy a very insignificant place at 
 the present day. The leaders of public opinion in church and state 
 — the profoundest theologians and most earnest workers for the 
 good of humanity are men and women who love and trust in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 That you may meet with difficulties and experience doubts in 
 your further prosecution of the truth is not unlikely. Few minds 
 that are at all speculative pass through life without occasional peri- 
 ods of distress and darkness, and the only sure preservative from 
 error or permanent scepticism is simple faith in the Saviour of men. 
 
3l8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH, 
 
 With the divinity and atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the 
 cardinal doctrine of your creed, you cannot go far astray or be 
 hopelessly lost by the conflicting suggestions of human reason. 
 While giving fullest liberty to those faculties which God has con- 
 ferred upon you, let them ever be held in subjection to the declara- 
 tions of God's Word, however perplexing and mysterious these 
 may be. There can be no true peace of mind where doubts exist, 
 however honest are these doubts. Nor can we put that intensity 
 into our work which the age demands, if constantly pressed by un- 
 belief. It has been well said : " There is no such invigorating 
 principle as faith. Men who believe most are the strongest men. 
 Doubt never accomplished anything. Doubters never discovered a 
 new world, nor invented the printing press, nor steam engine, nor 
 power loom, nor sewing machine. Doubters never constructed a 
 pacific railroad, nor the ocean telegraph. A doubter never won a 
 battle nor founded an empire, nor added a statue to the temple of 
 fame. The world's best and bravest work has been done by be- 
 lievers and not by doubters. It is not necessary that you should 
 be able to harmonize all the apparent discrepancies that exist be- 
 tween science and revelation, nor explain the inscrutable acts of the 
 Divine Being. Sufficient that you understand your personal rela- 
 tions to the Almighty, and the way of safety through the cross. As 
 the pilot of the vessel, who was asked if he knew all the rocks along 
 the coast, replied, " No ; it is only necessary to know where there 
 are no rocks," so in like manner, looking unto Christ, the soul is 
 secure and beyond the reach of peril. 
 
 " Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain." The opinion of the 
 world is in many cases unreliable. Personal graces and accom- 
 plishments, however pleasing and fascinating, are shortlived. The 
 woman who finds pleasure in the empty flatteries of gay admirers 
 is to be pitied. " But the woman that fears the Lord, she shall be 
 praised." I do not ask for you, riches nor high position, but I pray 
 
THE TRUE BEAUTY OF WOMANHOOD. 319 
 
 that you may be found in every changing condition of life true to 
 yourselves and to the Master whom you profess to serve. You go 
 forth from this college with high expectations entertained regard- 
 ing you, and the subject of many prayers. We have endeavored 
 to give you not only a sound education, but to lay the foundations 
 of sound religious principles, which will be found valuable in com- 
 ing years. As the graduates of a christian seminary, the eyes of 
 the world are upon you. You occupy a prominent position. Your 
 intellectual attainments, however varied, cannot atone for lack of 
 lady-like deportment, and those higher graces which are the bestow- 
 ment of God's Holy Spirit. Cultivate humility — purity of heart 
 and conversation. " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
 are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, 
 whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if 
 there be any praise, think on these things." 
 
 While I counsel you to continue, as opportunity may be givcn^ 
 a faithful prosecution of your duties, I exhort you to make full proof 
 of your attainments in consecrated labor for God. Never was there 
 a period in the history of the church when there were louder calls 
 for the highest gifts and the most unselfish sacrifices than at the 
 present day. Whatever talents you possess, use them tor the ad- 
 vancement of His Kingdom, whose subjects you are. Are there 
 any here who have not yet given themselves to Christ ? I beseech 
 you with all the solicitude of one deeply interested in your eternal 
 welfare, delay no longer. Whatever may be your capacities and 
 gifts, without personal religion they are of little value. Our efforts 
 in your behalf will have proved a lamentable failure, if we have not 
 succeeded in bringing you to the cross of Christ, there to leave be- 
 hind the burden of your sins, and in heaven to cast your crowns 
 before His throne. As you now enter upon a new stage of exist- 
 ence, exposed to manifold temptations and varied trials, take Him 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 for your friend, whose love is lasting and whose sympathy is infi- 
 nite. Say in the words of the Christian poet : 
 
 I waste no more in idle dreams, my life, my soul away, 
 I wake to know my better self — I wake to watch and pray ; 
 Thought, feeling, time, and idols vain, I've lavished all too lon^ ; 
 Henceforth to holier purposes, I pledge myself, my song. 
 
 Said Hedley Vicars, after his remarkable conversion, in a letter 
 to his youngest sister : " Be sure you will feel far happier in this 
 world even by making religion your chief business and study, than 
 by all the pleasures and gaieties which your young heart may be 
 longing after." With these words I close. We part, never all to 
 meet again, as we do to-night 
 
 Oh for the time when in our seraph wings, 
 We veil our brows before the eternji! throne— 
 
 The day when drinking knowledge at its springs 
 We know as we are known. 
 
 V > 
 
Decision of Character. 
 
 *2l 
 
" And Buth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from 
 following after thee ; for whither thou goest, I will go : and where thoa 
 lodgest I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God ; 
 where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried : the Lord do so to 
 m-, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." 
 
 —Ruth 1, V. 16, 17 
 
Decision of Character. 
 
 t 
 
 jUCH interest is naturally attached to the kingdom of 
 Moab, and much is said concerning it in the Old Testa- 
 ment scriptures. The Moabites and Israelites were near 
 relatives. Lot, the father of Moab, was nephew to Abra- 
 ham, and both were descended from Terah. The history of both 
 peoples began about the same time, for Moab and Isaac, the son of 
 Abraham, were probably born in the same year, and the histories 
 of their descendants run side by side for nearly 1,500 years. They 
 were also near neighbors, for part of Israel occupied a portion of 
 the Moabitish territory, and a great body of the nation was severed 
 from the land of Moab simply by the river Jordan. Balak, who 
 hired Balaam to curse the people of Israel, was King of Moab. 
 Mount Nebo, from whence the Lord showed Moses the land which 
 he had promised to give to the seed of Abraham, was in the land 
 of Moab, and Ruth, the faithful and affectionate daughter-in-law 
 of Naomi, who abandoned her idols and her native land, was a 
 Moabitess. 
 
 Until very lately, however, nothing but the extensive ruins of 
 Moab, told of her ancient grandeur. No inscription had been found 
 
 (323) 
 
324 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 to corroborate the page of inspiration. But some few years ago a 
 remarkable record was found in an old basaltic stone, covered with 
 the ancient language of the country. Attempts were made by 
 Europeans to purchase the stone, but the Arabs finding it valuable, 
 became exorbitant in their demands, asking as much as five thous- 
 and dollars. Finally the various Arab chiefs, putting in their 
 claims on different grounds, came to angry words and blows, and 
 making a fire round the stone and pouring water upon it when 
 heated, split it into a number of fragments. These fragments, 
 however, have been in part recovered, and the inscription upon the 
 stone so far as legible verifies the Old Testament scriptures. The 
 inscription makes reference to the visitations of Moab under suc- 
 cessive Israelitish monarchs, to certain victories of Moab when she 
 recovered her freedom, and to the names of mountains, cities, local- 
 ities, kings and divinities of Moab. It also mentions Jehovah, un- 
 der whose guidance and protection, the chosen people conquered, 
 and because of whose anger Moab suffered. All these things in- 
 vest the history of Ruth with more than common interest to every 
 Bible student. 
 
 The story itself is touching and true to nature. Bethlehem, 
 " the house of bread," is stricken with famine, and necessity compels 
 a separation for a time, from the sacred associations of home and 
 friends. People do not generally leave their native land without 
 good cause. The emigrant on the vessel's deck with tear dimmed 
 eye, takes the last fond look of his home and country, and with 
 emotion that almost chokes his utterance, bids it a long farewell. 
 But if it is hard to leave one's native soil, it is sad beyond expres- 
 sion when emigrants in a strange land, in their loneliness and friend- 
 lessness, are smitten by death. Such was the bitter experience of 
 Naomi. Elimelech, her husband, and shortly afterwards her two 
 sons, who had married Moabitish women, die in the land of Moab. 
 Those upon whom she fondly leaned were taken from her. The 
 
DECISION OF CHARACTER. 325 
 
 Strong arm was laid low. Her counsellor, stay and solace, was no 
 niore. It was a triple grief. She was a widow, indeed, in a strange 
 land. Bereavements at home are hard enough to bear, when we 
 are surrounded by sympathetic friends, but to bury one's friends in 
 a foreign land, is sad indeed ! And now the poor widow, bereaved 
 of husband and sons, prepares to return to her native land. What 
 more natural than that she should do so ? There was now nothing 
 to detain her in Moab. A foreign country had no attractions, save 
 that its graves contained her dead, and so we read : " She arose 
 with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country 
 of Moab, and they went on the way to return into the land of Judah." 
 It was a critical moment for Ruth and Orpah, her daughters-in- 
 law. They had lived together from infancy, and had been com- 
 panions and neighbors from youth ; had played around the same 
 palm tree ; sat at the same cottage door ; wandered on the same hills 
 of Moab; enjoyed the same religious privileges, and suffered the same 
 bereavement. The time had now come when they must determine 
 to go with Naomi, or remain behind. The boundary line was now 
 reached between the two countries, when Naomi says : " Go return 
 each to her mother's house ; the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye 
 have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that ye 
 may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband ; and they 
 lifted up their voice and wept," It was a sad scene. I think I see 
 the three women standing in the highway, discussing whether to 
 say farewell or not. " Naomi with eyes full of eager entreaty, and 
 lips quivering with pain ; Orpah moved to weeping, yet perplexed 
 — wondering what decision to make, and casting a glance ever and 
 anon back on the road they had come ; Ruth standing, grasping 
 her mother's hand, with unwavering resolve in every line of her 
 face and attitude." Both at first determined to accompany Naomi, 
 saying, " Surely, we will return with thee unto thy people." But 
 Naomi will still further test the strength of their affection and the 
 
326 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 firmness of their resolutions. " Turn again, my daughters," she 
 says, " why will ye go with me ? Are there yet any more sons in 
 my womb, that may be your husbands ? Turn again, my daugh- 
 ters, go your way, for I am too old to have an husband. If I should 
 say I have hope, if I should have an husband to-night, and should 
 also bear sons, would ye tarry for them from having husbands ? 
 Nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes, that 
 the hand of the Lord is against me." And now comes the final 
 decision — Orpah changes her determination to go to the land of 
 Judah, and resolves to stay in Moab. She began to count the 
 cost. She had a mother to shelter her, while Naomi could only 
 bestow her blessing, and so she contents herself with kissing he*" 
 mother-in-law, and going back to her country and her gods. 
 
 Orpah was in some respects a lovely character. Had no such 
 severe test been sprung upon her, she would have won our admira- 
 tion equally with Ruth. She was of a gentle, affectionate disposi- 
 tion. She had been a kind, loving wife for ten years to her now dead 
 husband, and a tender, dutiful daughter-in-law to Naomi. Her 
 human attachments were strong. She had that fervid, sentimental, 
 attractive grace, which often passes for true religion, but which 
 cannot surrender present pleasures and comforts for nobler prospec- 
 tive rewards. She was unreliable; with good impulses, but want- 
 ing strength of character to sustain them. Like the maiden decked 
 for the grave, looking lovely even in death, so are such characters. 
 But there is no life, and the beauty and comeliness soon turn to 
 rottenness and decay. 
 
 Ruth was an entirely different character. She came unto Naomi 
 saying : " Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from follow- 
 ing after thee ; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou 
 lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God 
 my God ; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. 
 The Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but death part thee 
 
DECISION OF CHARACTER. 32/ 
 
 and me." In other words, she is prepared for poverty, for long 
 widowhood, for exile from home and country, for all that shall fol- 
 low faithfulness to her mother-in-law. Here we have complete 
 identification of interests, and thorough surrender of will. She will 
 embrace her religion, dwell, travel, die, and be buried with Naomi. 
 
 In reviewing this touching story, we learn these lessons : 
 
 First, — Ruth's conduct indicates great decision of character. 
 She clave unto Naomi. It is a quality of vast importance in reli- 
 gious matters. Vacillation, hesitancy, inconstancy, are productive 
 of serious evils. Halting between two opinions is alike unmanly 
 and perilous. Unreliable, wavering, and fickle natures never com- 
 mand confidence and respect. Where duty is plain, immediate 
 action is the part of wisdom. 
 
 Second,— -R.uth's conduct indicates strong affection and personal 
 attachment. She and Naomi were kindred spirits. They had 
 grown up into each other, as the tender vine entwines itself around 
 the stronger oak. Their lives were bound together, so that they 
 could not live apart. The character of Naomi commended her 
 religion. She was spiritual mother, as well as mother-in-law, to 
 Ruth. She was her instructor in divine things, and the instrument 
 of winning her heart to the God of Israel. 
 
 Very often, as in the present instance, the influence of a sweet 
 and holy life attracts and decides another for Christ. Naomi made 
 religion lovely. Ruth accepted her creed as translated in her char- 
 acter, and was thus led to cast in her lot with the people of God. 
 As the apostle says in writing to the Corinthian church, " Ye are 
 our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men." 
 
 Third, — Ruth lost nothing by her decision. For a time, doubt- 
 less, she and Naomi endured poverty and hardships. Their return 
 to Bethlehem Judah, was indeed sad. A poor widow returning 
 poorer than when she left home, seeking shelter for her lonely head 
 after her husband's death. Such is the picture of Naomi, as she 
 
328 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 enters the city gates. Her old companions and friends could hardly 
 recognize her. " Is this Naomi ?" they asked, the one of the other. 
 She had gone forth in the pride of womanhood ; now she returns 
 with bent form and careworn countenance. These ten years had 
 brought many wrinkles on her brow, and whitened the hairs of her 
 head. No wonder that she said, " Call me not Naomi, call me 
 Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went 
 out full, and the Lord hath brought me again home empty." 
 
 But ultimately neither Naomi nor Ruth had cause to regret the 
 step they took. Ruth gained a home and position that amply re- 
 compensed her for leaving Moab, and renouncing her kindred and 
 her gods. She won the heart of Boaz, who, overcoming the preju- 
 dice of his nation against the Moabites, married her, and Boaz was 
 revv'arded in his union to one, whose love to her widowed mother- 
 in-law was the best of all pledges that she would be a faithful wife. 
 Thus Ruth became the mother of a great race, including King 
 David, from whom the Saviour sprang. 
 
 The conduct of Ruth should be copied by every young christian. 
 What means profession of faith and sitting at the Lord's table? 
 Nothing less than life-long service. It is union not only for life, 
 but beyond death. It should be the starting point for holy activity 
 and concentrated zeal. As the hymn says : 
 
 My spirit, soul and body, 
 
 Jesus, I give to thee ; 
 A consecrated offering, 
 
 Tliine over more to be. 
 My all is on the altar, 
 
 I'm wai<^ing for the fire ; 
 Waiting, \saiting, waiting, 
 
 I'm waiting for the fire. 
 
 Ruth's conduct should be copied by those who are not as yet 
 God's people. To some here this may be the moment of decision. 
 The call may never be renewed. Which of the two courses of 
 
DECISION OF CHARACTER. 339 
 
 conduct will you adopt? Orpah's or Ruth's? Will you kiss or 
 cleave? After all the entreaties addressed you. ha^o you resolved 
 to go back to your country and your gods, or can you say with 
 Ruth, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God?" 
 While I speak, bands of angels arc hovering over you, eager to pro- 
 claim the glad tidings that another soul has been saved and added 
 to the number of the redeemed. Straightway act. Yield to Christ. 
 The soul expands and grows by active consecration ; doubts dis- 
 perse ; accusations and fears cease to torment, and peace reigns 
 within. No mm or woman ever suffered by deciding for Christ. 
 Present material sacrifices are more than compensated for by sub- 
 sequent spiritual gains. Godliness with contentment is great gain, 
 having the promise of the life that now is, and that which is 
 to come. 
 
 Finally, this decision of character is equally necessary to suc- 
 cess in every secular profession in which you may engage. When 
 once you have found out the proper sphere for the exercise of the 
 talents entrusted you, prosecute your calling with singleness of aim, 
 and seek the highest place among your compeers. Put your best 
 intelligence into whatever you do, and regard life as useful only in 
 so far as you are the means of happiness to others. Forget self, 
 and rise superior to the empty plaudits of petty minds, whose flat- 
 tery is as worthless as it is insincere. Resolve to make each day 
 memorable by performing some good action. As Carlyle says : 
 " Know what thou can'st do, then work at it like a Hercules," 
 When Jenny Lind, the great singer, in the year 1850, was going 
 through the United States, electrifying crowded audiences by her 
 marvellous voice, she went down the Mississippi by steamboat, and 
 as the boat stopped at various places, crowds of blacks gathered 
 around her to hear her sing. It is said by Sir Jules Benedict, who 
 accompanied her, that she sang on these occasions with as much 
 conscientiousness and pains, as if she had been before one of the 
 
330 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 most critical audiences of the metropolis. On being asked why 
 she took such pains before such people, who could not appreciate 
 her, she replied : " I love my art too well to engage in any of its 
 exercises otherwise than with all the skill I possess." This is an 
 unfailing mark of true nobleness of mind. 
 
 It is very true that the strength of woman lies chiefly in her 
 heart ; that it shows itself in their strong love and instinctive per- 
 ception of right and wrong, and that her noblest and most effective 
 endowments lie within the domain of the affections, for which no 
 amount of intellectual force or grasp of logic can be substituted. 
 But it is none the less true, that the world needs women of culture 
 and force of character ; — women who by their educational training, 
 may indirectly at least mould the destiny of nations, and become 
 potent factors in the elevation, not only of their own sex, but of 
 humanity at large. As has been well said : " When there ccmes a 
 generation, with minds large enough to provide impartially, ade- 
 quately and wisely for the young of both sexes, the completer life 
 of the household and of the race will come forward with a rush of 
 angels' wings, like a fulfilment of Tennyson's fine prophecy : 
 
 The man be more of woman, she of man ; 
 He gain in sweetness and in moral height, 
 She mental breadth, nor fail in childward care, 
 Nor lose the childlike in the larger mind ; 
 Till at last she set herself to man, 
 Like perfect music unto noble words. 
 And so these twain, upon the skirts of time, 
 Sit side by side full sunned in all their powers, 
 Dispensing harvest, sowing the to-be. 
 Self-reverent each, and reverencing each, 
 
 Distinct in individualities — 
 
 * ♦ * * ^ , 
 
 Then comes the statelier Eden back to man. ^ 
 
 Student life is not finished when the college halls are abandoned. 
 The text book is necessary and preparatory to a wider arena, where 
 the mental powers and social sympathies may be more fully devel- 
 
DECISION OF CHARACTER. 33 1 
 
 oped. Books are useful and indispensable to the acquisition of 
 knowledge, but they are after all only the tools and materials by 
 which we are enabled to explore new fields and enter upon untrav- 
 ersed regions of thought. They should never be regarded as more 
 than guide books to nature's "jnders and mysteries. If we can 
 discover the hidden path without them, so much the better. Emi- 
 nence in scholarship is not attained by miscellaneous reading, and 
 in picking up random scraps of information, but in the earnest and 
 thoughtful mastery of some one subject. The sceptic is the one 
 who sees only the pieces of things fragmcntarily and detached » 
 the believer is the one who sees things in wholes. As Lord Bacon 
 says: "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but 
 depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." 
 
 Young ladies of the graduating class, the time has come when 
 you must bid farewell to teachers and companions, whose fellow- 
 ship and efforts on your behaif you doubtless value. Bright as the 
 prospect is, the hour o^ separation brings with it sorrow. With 
 many of you I have been on intimate terms for years, nor have I 
 failed to mark your growth in grace, as well as in secular know- 
 ledge ; and now as you leave us to hear other voices on the Sabbath 
 day, and learn from other teachers in the great practical school of 
 life, my prayers go with you, that God may sanctify the learning 
 you have acquired, and help you to use it for the Master's glory. 
 The best recompense you can make your teachers, is to prove by 
 your deportment the lasting value of their labors. Some of you 
 will dignify christian homes by the sweet gentleness of pure and 
 holy lives ; and is not this the most exalted and potent of all con- 
 ditions for doing good ? Others of you, doubtless, enter other insti- 
 tutions of le irning, and carry forward to higher stages of efficiency 
 the work of education in our land ; while some I trust, if called 
 upon, will not be found unwilling to go far hence, and seek to raise 
 their degraded sisters in heathen lands. All these are but different 
 
332 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 departments of God's work. As the Hebrew women of old finished 
 the old tabernacle in blue, and purple, and scarlet, and gold, so may 
 you be honored in adorning the living temple of the human soul. 
 
 Oh, Christian women, for the temples set, 
 Throughout earth's desert lands — do not forget 
 The sanctuary curtains neer^ your 'broidery yet. 
 
 The character I have to-night thus fragmentarily portrayed is 
 not beyond your reach. Ruth was not gifted above her sex. She 
 had none of those advantages which christian women of the pres- 
 ent day possess. She was destitute of the culture of the schools, 
 but rich in faith. In her own proper sphere she acted a part that 
 gained for her the commendation alike of God and man. You 
 cannot all alike become famous, but you may all attain that sweet- 
 ness and symmetry of deportment that renders very ordinary en- 
 dowments of surpassing value to society. The real " womanly 
 woman " is not the one who seeks to overstep the bounds of her 
 sex, daring to do strange things that excite remark and challenge 
 criticism ; but she who from day to day, under the eye of the great 
 taskmaster, conscientiously, and with single aim, addresses herself 
 to the humblest enterprises, who is not ashamed to say : 
 
 Yes, God has made me a woman, 
 
 And I am content to be 
 Just what He meant, not reaching out 
 
 For other things, since He, 
 Who knows me best and loves me most, 
 
 Has ordered this for me. 
 
 A woman to live my life out 
 
 In quiet womanly ways, 
 Hearing the far-ofif battle, 
 
 Seeing as through a haze, 
 The crowding, struggling world of men. 
 
 Fight through their busy days. 
 
With the Whole Heart. 
 
" He did it with all his heart, and prospered." 
 
 —2nd Chronicles 31, v. 21. 
 
with the Whole Heart. 
 
 ^^i^AHE great painter, Opie, was once asked, "What do you 
 ^Slf^i n^ix your colors with ?" To which he replied' " With 
 ■c^^^ brains, sir." A truth of vast practical importance is im- 
 *(^^'' plied, namely, that intelligence, devotion, zeal and com- 
 mon sense are necessary in order to success in any and every 
 profession. 
 
 Hezekiah, we are told in the context, did that which was right 
 before God. He repaired the house of the Lord ; cast out the un- 
 cleanness ; sanctified the sanctuary and the people ; offered sacri- 
 fices and made atonement ; proclaimed and kept the passover ; 
 brake the images in pieces ; cut down the groves and destroyed the 
 altars. He did everything with his heart, and prospered. God not 
 only approved his deeds, but commended his zeal. 
 
 He was a thorough reformer in church and state — a moral revo- 
 lutionist. There was no temporizing nor expediency in his actions. 
 He consulted neither the opinions nor caprices of his subjects or 
 courtiers, but sought to know the will of heaven, and acted ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 (335) 
 
336 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Such men are often very unpopular. Fanatics, enthusiasts and 
 destructionists are the names applied to them. They are regarded 
 as possessed of but one idea ; narrow-minded — illiberal. But such 
 characters the age demands and God approves. 
 
 Let us, then, as somewhat appropriate on the present occasion, 
 enquire into the meaning of the phrase, "He did it with all his 
 heart" 
 
 It implies that in religious matters success is in exact propor- 
 tion as we give to them our whole heart. It is good to be zeal- 
 ously affected always in a good thing. " My meat and my drink," 
 .said Christ, " is to do the will of Him that sent me" " I must work 
 the works of him that sent me, while it is day ; the night cometh 
 when no man can work." " I have a baptism to be baptized with ; 
 and how am I straitened till it be accomplished." " The zeal of 
 mine house hath eaten me up." 
 
 Every man, then, who would gain eternal life, must set about 
 it with his whole heart. No toil, no rest. Rest is sweet, but ser- 
 vice in proportion to love is sweeter still. No cross, no crown. 
 God does not offer future rewards as premiums for indolence. We 
 must agonize, and strive, and wrestle, and labor, in order to enter 
 upon rest. As men running the rapids and straining every nerve 
 to avoid the jagged rocks, so must we summon up all the energies 
 of our nature to secure salvation. 
 
 It follows, also, that in the attainment of specific gifts and graces, 
 success is in proportion as we give to the work our whole heart. 
 There is undue blame put upon God oftentimes by christians, for 
 their spiritual deadness, when their own indolence ought rather to 
 be rebuked. " Covet earnestly the best gifts," " Desire spiritual 
 gifts," says the apostle. " Not as though I had already attained, 
 either were already perfect. Forgetting those things which are 
 behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I 
 press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in 
 
WITH THE WHOLE HEART. 33/ 
 
 Christ Jesus." " So fight I, not as one that beateth the air." The 
 testimony of scripture everywhere is to the effect that christians 
 are not mere passive recipients of heavenly influences, but that in 
 the strengthening and developing of their gifts and graces, they 
 are active agents. Man is not a mere senseless block of marble, 
 unconscious and unmoved under the chisel of the sculptor ; but as 
 flowers open under the warming influences of the sun, so is the 
 heart and its sympathies to respond to the touch of God's spirit. 
 The ivy instinctively clasps and runs up the ruins, and the soul of 
 man, once breathed upon by God's grace, is to seek after higher 
 and nobler attainments until perfection is reached. A man in the 
 common affairs of life cannot without application prosper ; if he is 
 contented with the very lowest style of civilization, he need not 
 exert his powers, physical or mental. The instinct of the animal' 
 is soon developed, but there are no limits to the possibilities of 
 reason, and just as men aspire after something grander and loftier 
 than mere manual drudgery, are self-denial and persistent effort 
 demanded. 
 
 A christian may thus remain at the very lowest possible grade 
 of spiritual life, satisfied with the rudiments of Christianity, and the 
 more elementary attainments of the babe, without aspirations after 
 more fully developed gifts and graces and perfect manhood. The 
 round of stated observances may be observed, and some benefit de- 
 rived. Duties may be formally and perfunctorily discharged, and 
 the laws of spiritual living be literally obeyed, while their spirit is 
 ignored and all yearnings after moral excel'ence and superior worth 
 suppressed and stilled. 
 
 Now I take it that God never intended converted men and 
 women to live after such a fashion. When religion is once accepted 
 and professed, it should be the business of the life. And surely if 
 in the ordinary employments of the age, men are honored accord- 
 ing as they give to them their individual attention, it is becoming 
 
 •22 
 
338 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 that in prosecuting the christian life, they should do it with their 
 whole heart. To be content with the lowest rank, when we might 
 fill the highest place ; to be saved by fire, when we might even now 
 be polished shafts, and in eternity shine as stars in the heavenly 
 firmament, is hardly in keeping with our duty and our destiny. 
 
 Every christian possesses certain gifts. But in very few instan- 
 ces are they cultivated as they nijght be. And thus when called 
 to occupy positions of responsibility, they plead unfitness and in- 
 capacity. They have the spiritual weapons, but they lie unused. 
 They remind one of the armour room in the Tower of London. 
 There you see the armour of kings and dukes and nobles — the 
 mere external forms of iron and steel of those who wore them cen- 
 turies ago. But there is not a single arm that can be lifted up, 
 and so christians go on parade once in a while, and flourish their 
 regimentals, and go through certain mechanical gestures, but no 
 one is ever killed, and no sin is ever slain. They spend a great 
 deal of time in denouncing iniquity, but the blows fall short of the 
 enemy. They have a certain kind of piety, but it belongs more to 
 the cloistered cell than the busy world. They are rigidly orthodox, 
 intelligent, truthful, and blameless, but their religion never becomes 
 aggressive, and never clo.sei in upon surrounding ungodliness. 
 
 Novv in the church, as in the world, and as it is in every well 
 organized army, every member should have his place. Having 
 gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, we are to 
 teach, or rule, or exhort, according to our individual ability, not as 
 child's play, but with our whole heart. Five years of consecrated 
 labor is better than fifty spent in dreamy indolence. A sharp axe 
 in the hands of a skilled woodsman will accomplish more than a 
 dozen amateurs whose muscles have never been exercised. It is 
 the spirit that prompts us to work, and the earnestness with which 
 we engage in it, that conquers difficulties and gains results. The 
 most honored servants of God arc not the most learned, nor the 
 
WITH THE WHOLE HEART. 339 
 
 most talented, but the most whole hearted. What they do they do 
 with all their heart, forgetting themselves in the great business of 
 the Master, and sacrificing all personal considerations for its ad- 
 vancement. Heart power or spiritual force is the great element in 
 effective work. The lips touched with the live coal from the altar, 
 and the heart warmed by the fires of divine love can do and dare 
 what mere cultured intellect cannot undertake. 
 
 The time is short and eternity is near and long. Souls are per- 
 ishing. Be up then and doing. Your utmost diligence and devo- 
 tion will seem all too small, when you look up the record of your 
 lives. Find your work and qualify yourselves for it. Do something. 
 Do it now. Where good can be done love is fertile in expedients 
 for overtaking it. Be not slothful, but followers of them who 
 through fnith and patience inherit the promises. "Whatsoever thy 
 hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor 
 devise, nor knowledg lor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest" 
 Be not readily nor unduly discouraged over failures. The human 
 agents in carrying out God's plans must expect such, but the end 
 is victory, as the poet says ; 
 
 We must take our turn at the mill, 
 
 And grind out the golden grain ; 
 And work at our task with a resolute will, 
 
 Over and over again. 
 
 Once doing may not suffice, 
 
 Though doing be not in vain ; 
 And a blessing failing us once or twice, 
 
 Will come if we try again. 
 
 The text also implies that success in secular callings is in pro- 
 portion as we engage in them with our whole heart. There is no 
 royal road to riches. A few are born so. Others grow rich easily 
 — everything that they touch seems to turn to gold. But the rule 
 is, that industry, perseverance and application win the day. Per- 
 haps it is not theologically true, but practically it is that — 
 
340 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 AH are architects of Fate, 
 
 Working in these walls of Time ; 
 Some with massive deeds and groat, 
 
 Some with ornaments of rhyme. 
 
 This indeed is the teaching of scripture. " The hand of the diligent 
 maketh rich. Seest thou a man diligent in business? He shall 
 stand before kings. Not slothful in businesk ; fervent in spirit ; 
 serving the Lord." In the ordinary business of life there is enough 
 to tax the most capacious mind. To be equally great and success- 
 ful in mercantile, literary and political pursuits, is impossible. The 
 pursuit of such different avocations is not only uncongenial to most 
 minds, but in the long run dissipating and unprofitable. Men who 
 attempt all are failures, for any one of them demands the entire 
 energies of the brain. 
 
 Illustrations of this truth abound. In business, Budgett and 
 Peabody ; in literature, Macaulay and Thackeray, Dickens and 
 Carlyle ; in statesmanship, Pitt and Peel, Cobden and Bright, Bea- 
 consfield and Gladstone. The telescope cannot sweep the heavens 
 all at once. The angle of observation must be changed. Great 
 names are always associated with some one enterprise or move- 
 ment adapted to their pecuHa' cast of mind. Howard and Wilber- 
 force, Mrs. Sommerville and Florence Nightingale are evidences of 
 this fact. In professional life men become famous in specialties. 
 Labor is constantly being sub-divided, as civilization extends and 
 expands. The writer, the orator, and the pleader, are now separ- 
 ate professions. The dentist, the druggist, and the doctor are dif- 
 ferent callings. Natural tastes determine different callings. Kep- 
 ler, Galileo, Michael Angelo, James Watt, Christopher Wren and 
 Gustavus Dore had a passion for their favorite studies, which began 
 youth. Artists are of two kinds. The true artist must paint, or 
 .rve, or play, to satisfy the cravings of the mind, and realize the 
 creations of his br? in. Not so the man who paints, or carves, or 
 
WITH THE WHOLE HEART. 34I 
 
 sings for a mere livelihood. The former is the man of jjcnius, and 
 invariably attains the highest degree of excellence. The latter 
 never gees beyond mechanical rules. But genius is nothing with- 
 out intense heart and brain work. The soul on fire with some 
 noble idea is for the moment inspired, and often surpasses what 
 it proposes. Poets thus sing of the birds — their hearts are in every 
 song. But apart from the steady application of the mental powers, 
 genius can accomplish nothing of lasting value : 
 
 Not in the clamor of the crowded street, 
 
 Nob in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, 
 But in oursolvos are triumph and defeat. 
 
 There are doubtless a few exceptions where men of extraordi- 
 nary genius excel easily in everything they undertake. But these 
 exceptions only prove the rule. 
 
 It may be answered truthfully that ability, earnestness and fru- 
 gality are not always prosperous. Abundant crops do not, every 
 season, bless the faithful husbandman. But it is equally true that 
 no crops whatever come in to the sluggard, save thorns and thistles. 
 The years that are often spent in frivilous pursuits and sordid aims 
 bring no return whatever but remorse and penury. Hence the wis- 
 dom of the poet's utterance : 
 
 Count that day lost whose low descending sun 
 Views from thy hand no worthy action done. 
 
 It follows then, from what has been said, that our range of 
 studies and labor must be restricted if we work with all our heart. 
 Life is far too short, and mind too feeble to gain excellence in ever>» 
 department, Hezekiah did not attempt the work of Solomon, nor 
 David that of Joshua. Our mental powers are incapable of intense 
 concentration on a vast variety of subjects. To attempt too much 
 at first is to make life a failure. True greatness begins in small 
 things, and moves on from one achievement to another with in- 
 
143 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 creased power and confidence. Small duties and meagre oppor- 
 tunities are the training schools of success, and no one gets the 
 prize who does not take his degree in them. Many young men 
 and women are ruined by suddenly acquiring fame. They are un- 
 equal to the position into which they have been thrust, more by a 
 conjunction of circumstances th*n their own individual merits. 
 They do not possess the courage and endurance necessary to sus- 
 tain them in maintaining the honors conferred upon them, and 
 reaching forward to still greater conquests. They lack the incen- 
 tive of a strong motive, and dream life away in common place and 
 idle pursuits, which render no return, and neither benefit man nor 
 glorify God. They become cold, selfish and indifferent to the 
 wants of humanity — repulsive and tmlovely rather than attractive — 
 living and dying, undistinguished by any act of moral heroism or 
 mental effort that might have secured for them a place in the tem- 
 ple of fame. 
 
 Young ladies of the graduating class, you have arrived at a 
 point of momentous interest to yourselves, and great rejoicing to 
 your friends. Your teachers have been trying 
 
 To mould 
 And fashion plastic newness into grace, 
 To make the youthful heart heroic, 
 And light with thought the maiden's face. 
 
 You are now looking forward to years of happiness, freed from the 
 cares and sorrows of student life. But whatever you may become 
 will be due to what you have undergone as undergraduates of this 
 college, of which you are soon to be alumni. As one very beauti- 
 fully says : What weie womanhood without the preparatory stages 
 of infancy, childhood and youth. With their experiences, glad and 
 sad, their struggles and victories, their disappointments and chast- 
 enings, their tears and prayers and hopes and fears, their precious 
 legacy of many memories ! The very conception of a life with such 
 an hiatus of blankness and nothingness yawning between infancy 
 
WITH IHE WHOLE HEART, 343 
 
 and maturity, if not indeed impossible, is cold and weird and cheer- 
 less. In going forth, be not over-confident of continued triumphs. 
 Longfellow, in his poem, '• My Lost Youth," says : 
 
 I remember the gleams and glooms that dart 
 
 Across the school girl's brain, 
 The song and the silence in the heart, 
 That in part are prophecies, and in part 
 
 Are longings wild and vain. 
 
 Humility is one of the best guarantees for the achievement of 
 future greatness. Nor is it unequal to the noblest endurance and 
 self-sacrificing zeal. The Roman women, in the earlier ages of 
 Christianity, were celebrated for their constancy and adherence to 
 the faith. Their sufferings and death, under the most brutal and 
 ignominious martyrdoms on the cross, or in the bloody arena, form 
 the most touching incidents in Christian tradition. In every gen- 
 eration, the strong religious convictions of women have been the 
 mainstay of our holy religion. The tru^ sisters of charity are not 
 the women immured within the bars of a convent, or within the 
 damp walls of a dreary cell, but such as spend their lives in active 
 labors of love for the good of all with whom they come in contact, 
 or can reach by their voice or pen. It were a sad thing for the 
 world if our cultivated women were all like Harriet Martineau, who 
 lost all faith in God and immortality, and hesitated not to say, at 
 the close of her long and not uneventful life : " I feel no solicitude 
 about a parting which will bring no pain. I am frankly satisfied 
 to have done with life. I have had a noble share of it, and I desire 
 no more. I neither wish to live longer here, nor to find life again 
 elsewhere. It seems to me simply absurd to expect it." With all 
 your triumphs here, it were surely a painful thought tiiat this short 
 period of probation was the end ; that life should be extinguished 
 when death approaches ; that there should be no future where the 
 intellect, that has just begun to open to the reception of the truth, 
 shall bla/.e forth under the direct illumination of God himself. 
 
344 THE CHURCH and the commonwealth. 
 
 In such a moment as !his the joy that naturally accompanies 
 the day of graduation, must be somewhat mellowed by the prospect 
 of parting from companions and friends whose smile has lightened 
 days of toil. But what is life but change ? Like 
 
 Sliips that pas3 in the night and speak each other in passing, 
 So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another ; 
 Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. 
 
 Blessed be God, there is a land where the r.nion of friends is 
 permanent, and where no cloud shall shade the sunlight of exist- 
 ence. Is this your hope ? Are you anticipating the day when you 
 shall be crowned with deathless laurels — when you shall enter upon 
 grander studies than can possibly employ human thought, and at- 
 tain a higher standing than fails to the lot of the most diligent stu- 
 dent on earth? There is nothing that can compensate for the lack 
 of a religious hope ; nothing that can make life attractive and death 
 desirable, but the personal knowledge that Christ has pardoned sin, 
 and rendered immortality a certainty, and that come what may, 
 nothing can separate from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 
 
 In leaving this church and the college where you have spent so 
 many days, I ask for you only what a loving father sees fit to send. 
 Riches are unstable and cannot satisfy the soul ; beauty is fading 
 and cannot exert a permanent influence ; scholarship unchastened 
 and unsanctified, only adds to perplexity and unrest of mind. But 
 the consc'ous presence of Christ keeps the heart undismayed 
 and stable, amid the fiercest agitations and fieriest trials. 
 If like Esther of old, you are to obtain favor in the king's 
 sight and wear the royal crown, there must be more or less 
 discipline in the present life. It is related that in Germany there 
 stood two vast towers far apart on the extreme of a castle ; and 
 that the old baron to whom the castle belonged stretched huge 
 wires across from one to the other, thus constructing an i^olian 
 harp. Ordinary winds produced no effect upon it, but when fierce 
 
WITH THE WHOLE HEART. 34$ 
 
 Storms and mighty winds roused themselves up, and came rushing 
 down the sides of the mountains, and through the valleys, the wires 
 rolled out majestic music. And thus when God would make our 
 lives sublime, He tosses us about in violent tempests, and brings 
 out the deeper and sweeter tones of our better nature. School days 
 are not over with you yet All through life, be it long or short, we 
 are under training. Whether it be sorrow, or disappointment, or 
 failure, all is intended to lead us to the infinite source of good, where 
 the thirst of the soul shall be quenched forever. Then amid the 
 glories and felicities of the heavenly state, the more painful memo - 
 ies of the life below shall be forgotten or transformed. We are told 
 of a mystic fountain in Florida, the purity of whose waters is such 
 that, though two hundred feet in depth, every object is visible. Be- 
 neath its limpid waters the most hideous objects shine with all the 
 colors of the rainbow, as the light passes down the mighty prism of 
 the water. Thus may it be with us in that world illuminated by 
 the light of God, passing through the sea of glory, that all the sad 
 r^.eimories we have cherished here shall be submerged in the sea of 
 paternal love, irradiated with the rays of the sun of righteousness. 
 
 We know there may be tempests, 
 
 And we kuowthere will be showers ; 
 Yet we know they only hasten * 
 
 Summer's richer crown of flowers. ' 
 
The Best Knowledge. 
 
" In much wisdom is much grief : and he that increaseth knowledge 
 increaseth sorrow." 
 
 — Eoclesiastes 1, v. 18. 
 
 "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, 
 and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." 
 
 —John 17, V. 3. 
 
The Best Knowledge, 
 
 i^NE of the leading philosophical writers of the age, in dis- 
 ^V cussing the question, What knowledge is of most worth ? 
 replies, that it is the knowledge that enables a man to 
 live completely. And certainly if the phrase, " a com- 
 plete man," is used in its fullest signification, as including 
 the highest development of the moral and spiritual powers of the 
 soul, the definition may be readily accepted. But when we find 
 that all that is meant by a complete life is the mere development 
 of the physical being, and that the culture which more directly aims 
 at ennobling the soul, and moulding the character, is either unpro- 
 vided for or practically ignored, we must reject such a statement as 
 radically defective and untrue. 
 
 We need not despise physical or mental culture, while exalting 
 a higher education than the schools afford. But there is a know- 
 ledge which lies beyond the limits of human discovery — of priceless 
 value and of lasting importance. It leads to and embraces a change 
 of heart, through transformation of the affections, and supreme love 
 to our Maker. Or in the words read : " This is life eternal, that 
 they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 
 thou, hast sent" 
 
 ^.___ (349) 
 
350 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Mind is undoubtedly one of the most v/onderful things, among 
 the many mysteries of our nature. Scarcely less wonderful is the 
 power of speech, by which we communicate the hidden operations 
 of the mind. But language entirely fails to represent the different 
 shades of thought and feeling, of which the mind is susceptible. 
 Therefore, in all languages, the same word is used to represent 
 many forms of thought. The heathen are said "to know God," 
 and in other passages " not to know God." Knowledge is at one 
 time depreciated as worthless as vanity, and as a weariness of the 
 flesh, while again it is declared to be "life eternal." In such state- 
 ments there is, after all, no real contradiction. The scriptures speak 
 of two kinds of knowledge : Intellectual or speculative knowledge 
 on the one hand, and spiritual or experimental on the other. These 
 differ in their objects and in their effects. Speculative knowledge 
 is called in scripture, natural knowledge, because possessed by the 
 natural man, and discoverable by the light of nature. A knowledge 
 of science and art ; of the productions and phenomena of the natu- 
 ral world — a knowledge of mankind, whether drawn from personal 
 observation or the records of history ; a knowledge of the philos- 
 ophy of mind and morals, considered simply as matters of specu- 
 lative enquiry,— these are included in natural knowledge. Spirit- 
 ual or experimental knowledge, on the other hand, is distinguished 
 by the rature of its objects and the state of the recipient's mind. 
 It is due, in great measure, to the influences of a divine power 
 operating upon the mind, enlarging the faculty of perception, and 
 revealing important truths not otherwise understood by unassisted 
 human reason. 
 
 Let us briefly point out the superiority of spiritual to that of 
 natural or speculative knowledge. 
 
 I. Natural knowledge is insufficient to lead men to a discovery 
 of those truths which are necessary to salvation. The world by 
 wisdom, ays the Apostle, knew not God, neither as the independ- 
 
The Queen of Sheba's Visit to Solomon. 
 
THE BEST KNOWLEDGE. 35 I 
 
 cnt, eternal, and unchangeaole Jehovah revealed in scripture, nor 
 as the Redeemer of men. For ages the world was left to solve the 
 problem, as to what man could do untaught of God, and signally 
 failed in the attempt. Egypt, Greece and Rome — nay, the entire 
 world, with the exception of Palestine, was covered with ;he gross- 
 est darkness, and groaned under false religions and f?ise concep- 
 tions of the Deity, " Ye men of Athens," said Paul, when speaking 
 on Mars Hill, " I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 
 For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar 
 with the inscription, ' To the Unknown God.' And what was true 
 of Athens, is true to-day of the heathen world, where the light of 
 nature but reveals the moral and spiritual darkness which prevail. 
 II. Natural knowledge is insufficient to make men holy! No 
 amount of it can make a man good. The mere knowledge of super- 
 natural truths cannot predispose to a holy life. Men talk about look- 
 ing up from nature to nature's God, as if nature in itself were sufficient 
 to solemnize and sanctify the soul. To the christian, it is true, all 
 nature speaks of God, but to the infidel, nature's voices are unin- 
 telligible. It is not by mere intellectual culture that the world is 
 to be converted and society reformed, but by the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ, brought by the Holy Spirit in contact with, the soul of man. 
 Need we quote the testimony of individuals, famous on the page of 
 history, as to the worthlessness of human learning? Take the case 
 of Solomon himself — artist, poet, naturalist, zoologist, moralist, poli- 
 tician, and king, all combined in one — with an eloquence and wis- 
 dom that dazzled the oriental world, and yet what is his language? 
 " In much wisdom there is much grief, and he that increaseth know- 
 ledge increaseth sorrow. Of making many books there is no end, 
 and much study is a weariness to the flesh." Take the case of 
 Byron, possessed of fine sympathies and susceptibilities — majestic 
 in intellect, with a genius almost superhuman ; and yet with a char- 
 acter immoral, cruel, and repulsive in the last degree, trampling 
 
352 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 down the rights of social life — " a lover, yet scorner of his race " — 
 and listen to his own words at the close of his brief career : 
 
 My days am in the yellow leaf, 
 
 The flowers, the fruit of love are gone ; 
 
 The worm, the canker, and the grief 
 Are mina alone ! 
 
 Listen to what Sir Humphrey Davy says, himself — orator, poet, 
 philosopher, and world-wide renowned by his discoveries — a favored 
 son of science, flattered by the world, and honored by the great ; 
 yet what were his words amid these very plaudits ? " Valde mis- 
 eta' i/is ! valde miserabilis r — very miserable I very miserable! 
 Hear his last confession in his fatal illness : " I envy no quality of 
 mind or intellect in others ; nor genius, power nor fancy ; but if I 
 could choose what would be most delightful to me — I believe most 
 useful — I should prefer a firm religious belief to every other bless- 
 ing. This makes up a discipline of goodness — creates new hopes 
 when all earthly hopes vanish, and throws over the decay and des- 
 truction of existence the most gorgeous of all lights, and brings up 
 the most delightful of ''11 visions, when the sensualist and the scep- 
 tic have only gloom and decay and annihilation." 
 
 III. Natural knowledge of itself is evil in its effects. It tends 
 to pride and self-conceit. It puffeth up. It makes a man think 
 more highly of himself than he ought to think, so that, wise in his 
 own eyes, he becomes a fool. Conceited ignorance is an offence in 
 the eyes of men ; how much more in the sight of God. Intellec- 
 tual pride produces self-confidence, and almost invariably tends to 
 scepticism, which results in open infidelity. As Lord Bacon well 
 remarks : " A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but 
 depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." But 
 apart from the fact that human knowledge is utterly worthless to 
 make men wise unto salvation, is it not true — 
 
THE BEST KNOWLEDGE. 353 
 
 IV. That mere intellectual studies are wearisome and unsatis- 
 fying. Much study is a weariness of the flesh, ICxtraordrnary 
 attainments, in any one branch of science or literature, cannot be 
 attained but by untiring diligence — constant and prolonged self- 
 denial. Manual labor is not, as many hastily conclude, the severest 
 form of human toil. The sleep of the laboring man is sweet after 
 the exhausting toils of the day, but the study and research of the 
 man of letters is too often followed by sleepless nights and a wasted 
 constitution. He who would gain eminence among his fellows, 
 must not only deny himself many innocent enjoyments, but lay his 
 account to endure positive suffering, from which the mass of men 
 arc exempted. Many are the disappointments, too, which accom- 
 pany such a life. Success is not always gained, even when the 
 faculties are strained to their utmost tension. Often the plodding, 
 persevering student is mortified to find all his hopes frustrated, his 
 plans thwarted, and the much coveted prize snatched from his 
 grasp by some far less-deserving rival. Long tried experiments 
 often end in failure ; favorite theories are exploded and overthrown, 
 and results secured altogether trifling compared with the vast 
 amount of labor expended. Nay, even when success rewards the 
 diligent student, the knowledge acquired is far from satisfying. The 
 more we know of our own character, and of the world in which wc 
 live, the greater oftentimes is our sorrow. We cannot extend our 
 researches to any great extent, without meeting with sad evidences 
 of the effects of sin, the inhumanity of man, and the fearful ruin of 
 our race. Blood and carnage, cries of distress and despair, tyranny, 
 injustice and oppression, cover many a page in the history of hu- 
 manity. And, finally, after all our efTorts, how little can the long- 
 est life accomplish in the difTerent departments of science and lit- 
 erature? The more we know, but reveals the little we actually do 
 know. The further we penetrate the secrets of nature, but reveals 
 mysteries beyond our ken, paths we cannot tread, questions we 
 *23 
 
354 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 cannot answer, depths we cannot fathom ! We know but in part, 
 and that part is very limited. After all our boasting as to the pow- 
 ers of the human intellect and the achievements of the human mind, 
 we have to confess that like children, we are but entering upon the 
 elemental principles of all true knowledge. Were it not for the 
 thought that a deeper, clearer, and more satisfactory insight into 
 the works of God is before us in another sphere, we would stop 
 short at the very threshold of our investigations. Enjoyment there 
 is certainly in studying the works of nature, but apart from the 
 knowledge of the true God it is unsatisfactory and transitory. 
 
 This leads me to speak of spiritual knowledge. It differs from 
 natural knowledge. 
 
 I. As to its objects. These are above nature, and unattainable 
 by the natural man. Says the Apostle : " We speak wisdom 
 among them that are perfect — not the wisdom of this world, nor of 
 the princes of this world that come to naught, but we speak the 
 wisdom of God in a mystery, for God has revealed them unto us by 
 his Spirit, for the spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things 
 of God." 
 
 II. Spiritual knowledge includes intellectual cognition and ap- 
 preciation of things revealed. The Scriptures do not depreciate 
 speculative studies. They only teach that they are insufficient to 
 sanctify and save. Intellectual knowledge is absolutely necessary. 
 God does not enlighten men's minds in secular truth by means of 
 miracles, nor does he spiritually illuminate a mind, where there is 
 no knowledge. Intellectual knowledge may be said to be necessary 
 for the Holy Spirit to operate upon. Fot anything we know, in- 
 deed, the glory and happiness of the saints in heaven may be in 
 proportion to their knowledge upon earth. Mind and soul should 
 therefore be used together in our search after truth. 
 
 III. Spiritual knowledge is spiritually discerned. The things 
 perceived are the spiritual qualities of the truth. The natural man 
 
THE BEST KNOWLEDGE. 35$ 
 
 takes account only of the intellectual phases of truth. The christ- 
 ian sees from a different standpoint, looks with a different eye, and 
 sees in a different light. A man unskilled in painting may look 
 upon a beautiful picture, and yet not perceive the blending of the 
 different colors and the proportions of light and shade that render 
 it so perfect and pleasing. The very things which, in the estima- 
 tion of the artist, are the glory of the painting, may have no inter- 
 est in his eyes. So it is in regard to divine truth. Spiritual dis- 
 cernment is due to the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is not 
 an objective operation, like the shining of the sun upon the object 
 looked at. It is inward and subjective. The spirit pours celestial 
 light upon the eye balls ; he moves in a mysterious way, in the 
 deep recesses of our nature, rendering the vision clear, and making 
 the most mysterious of Bible truths simple and sure to the believ- 
 ing soul. 
 
 IV. Spiritual knowledge is thus blessed in "its effects. It pro- 
 duces right affections toward God ; we become like God. By be- 
 holding him we are changed from glory to glory ; and this knowl- 
 edge of divine truth here is followed by the beatific vision hereafter. 
 The knowledge of God is life eternal, and what is heaven but the 
 beatific vision of God in Christ. 
 
 Surely such knowledge is better than gold ; more to be desired 
 than rubies ; all the things that may be desired are not to be com- 
 pared to it. It brings with it no remorse, no weariness, no disap- 
 pointment. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are 
 peace ; while at the close of life it introduces to a world of sinless 
 perfection. 
 
 Young ladies of the graduating class. — The Faculty of the col- 
 lege have diligently endeavored, during your term of study, to train 
 you in those branches which are now regarded as essential to edu- 
 cated womanhood. But they have done more. The Institution in 
 which you have spent so many happy days is a christian institution. 
 
356 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 It aims at something more than a secular education. It is not 
 trammelled by statutes that forbid the reading and teaching of God's 
 word. Unsectarian and non-denominational in the fullest sense, so 
 far as peculiar doctrines are concerned, it endeavors none the less 
 to- emphasize the eternal verities of inspiration which lie at the 
 foundation of all the cardinal virtues, and are the source of all true 
 greatness. 
 
 Although no longer under the direction of teachers, I take it for 
 granted that the progress you have already made, will impel you 
 to seek after greater attainments. Let me therefore affectionately 
 counsel you to cultivate in all your researches, a spirit of reverence 
 and devotion. You need divine guidance in order to appreciate 
 the beauties of the present world, as well as to anticipate the glories 
 of the next. While your minds are exercised in the different de- 
 partments of science, and literature, and art, approach such studies 
 in an humble childlike spirit, and with a sincere desire to glorify 
 the Creator as seen in his handiworks. A firm faith in the exist- 
 ence of God and implicit trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, will not 
 detract from the charms of philosophy. It is very true and sadly to 
 be lamented, that some of the greatest minds in ancient, as well as in 
 modern times, have known nothing of God's gracious dealings with 
 their souls. Able to compute the distances of the stars ; to read 
 the his -.ory of our race in the records of geology, and dazzle the 
 world with their learning and their eloquence, they have remained 
 painfully ignorant of the way of salvation, through a living Re- 
 deemer. But on the other hand, there are many instances of sin- 
 cere and devoted piety, united with marvellous intellectual power, 
 — where simple faith in the blood of Jesus has shed a lustre around 
 the sublime achievements of the scholar, and afforded sweetest sat- 
 isfaction in the hour of death. For when called to grapple with the 
 King of Terrors, neither our learning nor our scholarship can avail 
 us aught The applause and hosannahs of the nnultitude may be 
 
THE BEST KNOWLEDGE. 357 
 
 sweet in the day of health, but 'tis but an empty hollow sound in 
 the ear of a dying man. 
 
 But while some of you, doubtless, look forward to a life of con- 
 tinuous study, others, and perhaps the greater number, will be 
 engaged in the more practical duties of life. There are few women 
 in our land who can enjoy perfect leisure and immunity from the 
 ordinary cares of life. Indeed a mere recluse — however vast and 
 varied the subjects mastered — is often of far less value to the world 
 than a less capacious mind. It is better for all purposes that the 
 useful and elegant be combined. It is not the. occupation so much 
 as the spirit that actuates the worker, that makes the life noble. 
 Honest effort, if it does not always reap a rich material reward, 
 strengthens and enriches the soul. The true lady is one who can 
 take her place in any station, and command respect in all ; who 
 makes all around her happy by her chec rful, sunny smile and kindly 
 acts ; who, whatever ^c her circumstances, can say at the close of 
 each day that she has not eaten the bread of idleness. Where there 
 is conscientious performance of duty, the poet's words are true : 
 
 Everyday toil is everyday blessing, 
 
 Though poverty's cottage and crust we may share ; 
 
 Weak is the back on which burdens are pressing, 
 
 But stout is the heart that is strengthened by prayer. 
 
 Somehow or other the pathway grows brighter, 
 Just when we mourn there are none to befriend ; 
 
 Hope in the heart makes the burden grow lighter. 
 And, somehow or other, we get to the end. 
 
 Finally, and ere you leave this place, where I have often spoken 
 to you on the highest themes that can engage the attention of im- 
 mortal beings, let me warn you against unholy alliances in after 
 life. To choose riches without goodness is to choose perdition. I 
 cannot say less, when so many promising young women sacrifice 
 the fairest hopes of life upon the unhallowed shrine of mammon. 
 There came recently under my notice a sweet little poem entitled, 
 
358 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 " Elsie and the Lady," descriptive of the misery of a life destitute 
 of pure affection. The lady is looking forward to the day when a 
 coronet will deck her brow, and her hand will lie in that of Eng- 
 land's proudest peer. Elsie, who brings to her mistress her robes 
 of velvet, and toys with her glittering hair, is to marry an humble 
 son of toil, but yet says the peeress : 
 
 Her'g will be the brightest home 
 
 On all the lady's land. 
 For Elsie knows the stately brow, 
 
 She binds the gems above — 
 Unlike her own, will never wear 
 
 The diadem of love. 
 
 Thus musing upon the mockery of noble blood and livened ser- 
 vants, who come and go at her command, but destitute of sympa- 
 thy, which the heart most needs, the peeress mournfully says : 
 
 Mo coronet gilds Elsie's brow, 
 
 Like that which g.eama on mine ; 
 No ermine drapes her little form. 
 
 Or gold or jewels shine. 
 No lips speak loving words to me, 
 
 Or stoop to kiss my hand ; 
 The love is Elsie's ; mine the place 
 
 Of a lady in the land. 
 
 Some day the pageant will be o'er, 
 
 And at the close of life, 
 When death shall claim, with stern command, 
 
 Both peer's and peasant's wife ; 
 Elsie may wear a crown of gold 
 
 Shaped by an angel hand. 
 And love may warm the lonely heart, 
 
 Of the lady in the land. 
 All love to her, all wealth to me, 
 
 Has on the earth been given, 
 A fairer balance will be struck 
 
 Beyond the stars in heaven. 
 
 May God go with you, through all the changing scenes of life, 
 and bring you home to His presence above, to receive the reward 
 of faithful service ! Amen. 
 
The Highest Wisdom. 
 
"Wisdom is tha prin ;ipal thing: therefore get wisdom." 
 
 — Proverbs 4, v, 7. 
 
 "Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call understandinij thy 
 kinswoman." 
 
 — Proverbs 7, v. 4 
 
The Highest Wisdom. 
 
 'N THIS book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified. She 
 is represented as crying without and uttering her voice 
 in the streets, in the chief places of concourse, in the 
 opening of the gates, saying, " how long, ye simple ones, 
 will ye love simplicity, and fools hate knowledge ? " She 
 is represented in the text as clothed with the most attrac- 
 tive attributes. Her merchandise is better than the merchandise 
 of silver, and the gain thereof better than fine gold. She is more 
 precious than rubies, and to be sought for as men seek for hidden 
 treasures. She gives to the head an ornament of grace and a crown 
 of glory. Her fruit is better than gold and her revenue than choice 
 silver. To sum up all in the language of the wise man : " Blessed 
 is the man that heareth her, watching daily at her gates, waiting at 
 the posts of her doors. For whoso findeth her, findeth life, and 
 shall obtain favor of the Lord." 
 
 The wisdom referred to primarily is beyond the range of aca- 
 demic teaching and training. Elsewhere we read, "the fear of the 
 Lord is the beginning of wisdom ; " not meaning that secular wis- 
 dom and scholarly attainments are of little importance, but that 
 
 (361) 
 
i6i THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 without that higher knowledge which God's spirit alone can impart, 
 the learning of the schools is unsatisfying — incapable of giving 
 comfort in the hour of trial and peace in the hour of death. 
 
 It is concerning such wisdom that Solomon speaks when he 
 says : *' Wisdom is the principal thing — therefore get wisdonj — 
 say unto wisdom, thou art my sister ; and call understanding thy 
 kinswoman." If it cost thee all thy wealth it is worth more than 
 the price paid for it. Get wisdom at any price. Cultivate habits 
 of intimacy with wisdom and understanding. 
 
 Addressing more directly on the present occasion, the students 
 of the Young Ladies' College, and especially the graduates who are 
 soon to go forth from its walls, let us regard the text as enforcing 
 the value of wisdom, human and divine, in all the relations and 
 conditions of life. 
 
 Wisdom may be defined as knowledge practically applied to 
 the purposes of life. It is that power which enables us to judge 
 accurately and discern skilfully. It is genius coupled with common 
 sense ; the power of turning the highest mental attainments into 
 action at the right moment and for the best ends. 
 
 In order to gain wisdom there must be : I. Reading and reflec- 
 tion. The reading must be timely, the books select, and the reflec- 
 tion constant. The amount of unhealthy, pernicious literature in 
 circulation at the present day, is astounding, and well fitted to cause 
 alarm. The greatest social evils of our age have their origin in the 
 immaterial and morbid excitement of the imagination, caused by 
 fictitious representations of human nature. The appetite grows as 
 it is fed by sensational novels until body and mind are weakened, 
 and the reason totters on the brink of a hopeless insanity. Young 
 women especially with leisure for mental improvement are thus 
 brought into contact with frivolity, profanity and immorality, which 
 if met with in the living person, would be loathed and spurned. 
 The feeling of repulsion at first expeiienced is soon overcome, and 
 
THE HIGHEST WISDOM. 363 
 
 the mind (gradually familiarized with sin, becomes saturated with 
 impurity, and finally, lovingly lingers over the polluted page. 
 
 Arc wc never then to read pure fiction? Is there no relief from 
 the severe studies of the college and the cloister, in the pages of 
 poetry and romance ? By all means. The mind needs recreation 
 as well as the body. There is a large amount of fiction whose heal- 
 thy tone and invigorating impetus, no one now calls in question. 
 Poetry and fiction have a most important sphere in the develop- 
 ment of character and the education of society. Though it may 
 not be the direct aim of the philosophic novelist to teach morality, • 
 much that is elevating and instructive is to be found embedded in 
 the ; ntcntious sayings that are put into the lips of humanity, as 
 idealized in the creations of the novelist. P'or, to use thc'words of 
 another, " Every ideal picture of human life should be so construct- 
 ed as to bring out three things : first, the hidden greatness and 
 wonder of life ; secondly, the unity or harmony of life, and thirdly 
 the moral grandeur that pervades life, and the ultimate triumph of 
 good which is involved in the condition of life." But when we have 
 granted all this, let me add that even t>e best works of fiction are 
 to be sparingly used. They should never be considered as the 
 staple of our reading, no more than condiments and spices and 
 sweetmeats are to be regarded as the chief sources of our physical 
 strength. The pages of romance may refresh and stimulate a class 
 of feelings that are apt to become callous and extinct, by the con- 
 stant friction of business and daily anxieties, but beyond this, their 
 use is baneful, and relaxing to a degree that unfits for the honorable 
 discharge of the practical duties of life. It is not in the pages of 
 the novelist that we are to learn the real woes and sorrows oi' hu- 
 manity, and acquire that intrepidity of soul that will help us to 
 conquer the uprisings of evil in the heart, and the seductive temp- 
 tations of the world. Indeed the heart is apt to become insensible 
 to the misfortunes and distresses of our fellowmen, in proportion as 
 
364 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 wc arc amused and fascinated by the highly colored and exagger- 
 ated pictures of human wretchedness and suffering, which are 
 painted on the page of fiction. 
 
 I cannot but in the briefest terms indicate what books are best 
 calculated to create within you noble ambitions, and render life not 
 only useful but sublime. There nre certain books that by univer- 
 sal consent of christian scholarship are recognized as books for all 
 time, and not for the passing hour ; books which contain truths and 
 principles of far-reaching application ; books which illustrate the 
 • power of goodness and the dignity of self-sacrifice ; books which 
 bring us into contact with the dead of by-gone ages, and elevate 
 our conceptions of the importance of the present and the nobler 
 existence yet to come. In the study and thoughtful perusal of such 
 books, you will find treasures of wisdom. They will satisfy, while 
 they purify ; they will strengthen, while they adorn the mind. 
 
 Now, one of the principal objects of a liberal education is to 
 help us in our choice of books, so that we may discard the frivolous 
 and retain the good. To glance at, far less read, one thousandth 
 part of the mass of printed matter that issues daily from the press, 
 is an impossibility, nor would it be profitable, if practicable. Read- 
 ing is of little value, save it is accompanied by thought And un- 
 less you have had your intellectual powers so cultivated as to make 
 study and reflection inseparable from reading, your college training 
 has been of little value. To pass dreamily over the pages without 
 mental effort is dissipating in the highest degree. There must be 
 assimilation, or there is no gain of strength, just as the food must 
 be digested to make the blood. Coleridge tells us of four clasees 
 of readers. The first like the hour glass — their reading like the 
 sand running in and then out, and leaving not a vestige behind. 
 The second like the sponge, which imbibes everything, only to re- 
 turn it in the same state, or perhaps viler. The third, like the jelly- 
 bag, allowing the pure to pass away, and keeping only the refuse 
 
THE HKiHEST »VISDOM. 365 
 
 and dregs. And the fourth, like the slaves in the mines of Gol- 
 conda, casting aside all that which is worthless, and retaining only 
 the diamonds and gems. To this last class every college graduate 
 should belong. The best of human books that come under notice 
 demand discrimination. To select what is of immediate and last- 
 ing value, and reject what is ephemeral and commonplace, is an 
 attainment not reached by every one, but of supreme importance 
 in the cultivation of the mind and formation of character. To edu- 
 cate the thinking powers, as well as to enlarge our stock of ideas, 
 should be the grand aim of all our reading. 
 
 " Knowledge is power," says the great philosopher Ricon. It 
 is more than this. It is a great source of happiness, ^'v>rc it in- 
 capable of nobler results than the mere gratification of the individ- 
 ual mind, its possession would be invaluable. There is in healthy 
 literature inherent elements of delight, worthy of being sought after, 
 apart altogether from their humanizing effect upon society at large. 
 Ignorance is the parent of misery and wretchedness, while ktiow- 
 ledge and mental culture are the springs of all true pleasure and 
 enjoyment. The man whose knowledge is circumscribed by the 
 events of tne passing hour, has gathered no information whereby 
 he rnay act his part in the world with any degree of credit to him- 
 self or profit to his race. The other, assisted by the records of the 
 past, lives and moves in another atmosphere, and acts his part with 
 definite aim and purpose. Brought into contact with the leading 
 spirits of by-gone ages, he imbibes their principles, adop*^s their 
 views, and becomes associated with them in thought and feeling. 
 The creations of intellect bequeathed to us by the mighty dead 
 enable us to penetrate the mysteries of nature — teach us how to 
 use the powers and faculties of the mind, and thus comprehending 
 in some measure the glorious works of the great I Am, we are led 
 to adore that all-wise and all-powerful Being, whose arm sustains 
 the entire universe of existence. The pages of biography bring us 
 
$66 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 into sympathy with the noblest of the earth, with characters whose 
 bravery, philanth/opy and high-toned morality have adorned hu- 
 manity and shed a lustr6 upon our race. If we have a taste for 
 history, with all its exciting themes ; if we love to scan the suc- 
 cessive ameliorations which society has undergone, we have only to 
 express the wish to enjoy the pleasure. We can seat the historian 
 by our side, and hear from his lips strange tales of former days — 
 the birth and death, the glory and desolation of mighty kingdoms 
 — the dark deeds of ages of superstition and barbarism, when op- 
 posing hosts marched forth to gory battlefields, and offered up their 
 lives on altars of mistaken heroism. Or, if we prefer the muses, we 
 can listen to the sanctified imagination of a Milton, as he paints 
 the angelic glory of the heavenly world, or leads us in measures 
 grand and solemn to the gloomy depths of unutterable woe, where 
 hope has for ever fled. Or we may take for our companions in explor- 
 ing the secrets of matter, the Newtons and Keplers of other days, 
 and the Bucklands, Brewsters, Lyells and Millers of our own. 
 Guided by such teachers, we may survey the starry vault of heaven, 
 
 Those immortal lights which live along the sky, 
 tracing 
 
 World beyond world in infinite extent, 
 Profusely scattered through the blue immense, 
 
 until compared with so glorious a creation, our own earth dwindles 
 into very insignificance. Or finally, examining the geological strata 
 of the earth, we may gather from its stony records overwhelming 
 evidence of the truths of revelation. The knowledp-e thus acquired 
 and the happiness experienced in such studies are permanent pos- 
 sessions. Of such an one the poet has beautifully said : 
 
 Enter the sacred temple of his breast, 
 And gaze and wonder there, a ravished guest ; 
 Wander through all the glories of his mind, 
 Gaze upon all the treasures he shall find. 
 
THE HIGHEST WISDOM. j67 
 
 II. In order to gain wisdom there must be observation. The 
 mind must be strengthened and disciplined from without, as well as 
 from within. Everything that can educate the eye and ear should 
 be sought after. Many students of books are but superficial stu- 
 dents of nature and society. The intense occupation of the brain 
 in private seems to unfit them for recognizing or participating in 
 what is going on around them. Scholarly men, so far as books are 
 concerned — learned beyond the great mass, often walk among scenes 
 of surpassing beauty with no eye to perceive it, and no conception 
 of the adaotation and harmonies of creation. The vastness and 
 mysteries of life in its ten thousand forms, suggest no enquiries and 
 occasion no surprise. The records of the earth written in the stony 
 chronicles of the rock are never read, and the wonders of the starry 
 heavens unfolded by the telescope are never admired. No true 
 student will so act. The reverential and devout scholar sees God 
 in all his works, and admires the unerring design that is everywhere 
 manifested. The smallest flower displays His power and wisdom, 
 alike with the most stupendous of creation's acts. Every particle 
 of dust, in its varied adaptations and changes, bears testimony to 
 that masterly skill and foreknowledge which regulates the world of 
 matter and rules the world of mind. 
 
 There is a lesson in oach flower, 
 A story in each stream and bower, 
 On every herb on which we tread, 
 Are written words, which, rightly read, 
 , ' Willlead us from earth's fragrant sod 
 To Hope and Holiness and God. 
 
 There are others, again, who are close and diligent observers of 
 nature, but who are utterly ignorant of humanity, and unfitted for 
 the demands of every day existence. They are theorists and spec- 
 ulatists. They can, according to the laws of mental science, des- 
 cribe the varied faculties and emotions of mind and soul in all their 
 complexity and intricate workings, but they have no knowledge 
 
368 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 whatever of men and the movements of society. The influence of 
 such persons upon the great movements of humanity is of necessity 
 comparatively small. A part of their nature is undeveloped. They 
 never expand beyond the class-room, and never gain that practical 
 knowledge which makes the man of letters a controlling force in 
 society at large. Need I say, that sympathy with nature should 
 not be incompatible with sympathy for men, nor the study of books 
 preclude the study of men. Those who have enjoyed the advan- 
 tages of a liberal education, should take an interest in all that ap- 
 pertains to the well-being of the commonwealth — not only for the 
 good of others, but to acquire that breadth of view and liber- 
 ality of sentiment which is indispensable to all who guide public 
 I opinion. Nor is it necessary to this end, that the delicacy and 
 refinement of christian womanhood should be sacrificed by undue 
 contact with the turbulent factions of the political arena, or the 
 excitement of angry debate. The gentlest characters overpower 
 by their meekness. Soft words and kindly deeds are more per- 
 suasive than fiery declamation or pointed steel. 
 
 But III ; Bear in mind that no amount of secular knowledge or 
 wisdom,can save the soul or qualify for entrance into heaven. Some 
 men speak as if the rapid diffusion of literature and science, is the 
 panacea for all the ills of life, and the true method for the world's 
 regeneration from vice and sin. The power that is to restore her 
 comeliness and make her Master rejoice, is to be found, they argue, 
 in advancing civilization and the culture of the intellect ; in the de- 
 velopment of man's physical and mental constitution and all the 
 accompaniments of well ordered society. 
 
 Now, it may be admitted that the more secular knowledge the 
 world possesses, accompanied with the higher ethics of Christianity, 
 the more likely is the gospel to be embraced by the masses. In 
 general, the more intellectual a man is, the more capable is he of 
 weighing the evidence which the gospel offers to candid minds, of 
 
THE HIGHEST WISDOM. 369 
 
 its divine character and claims, and the better qualified Is he to ap- 
 preciate the wisdom and greatness of God in the scheme of mercy 
 offered for the a^-eptance of the guilty. But while this is granted^ 
 it is also to be borne in mind that every human system of morality 
 has failed — that nature and science cannot explain many of the 
 most wonderful phenomena in the world around us, and that there 
 is nothing within the range of what are technically termed scholas- 
 tic studies to satisfy man's spiritual and immortal nature. 
 
 Briefly then on this subject — for you have frequently heard the 
 same views presented from this pulpit, — secular knowledge can 
 never elevate men nor purify nations — it can never change the heart 
 — it can never reach the springs of conduct — all the knowledge in 
 the world cannot make the drunkard temperate — the licentious, 
 virtuous — the selfish, generous or the dishonest man just. Many 
 of the greatest philosophers and teachers of antiquity, not only pro- 
 mulgated most questionable theories of morality, but were them- 
 selves dissolute and debased. Egypt with her science and astrology 
 — Greece with her statesmen and poets — Rome with her heroes and 
 historians, and China and India with their vast systems of idolatry 
 and superstition, never produced a pure morality. Of itself, secular 
 knowledge helps men to hide their wickedness by simulating piety 
 — to break human laws — and by cunning and strategy evade the 
 penalty. It is the heart and not the head, that controls our des- 
 tinies and moulds our lives. 
 
 The lesson which all this teaches is plain. It is not schools, nor 
 colleges, nor universities, nor literature, nor statesmanship, but the 
 pure Gospel of Christ that is to elevate modern thought and sweeten 
 society. It is not bayonets in heathen lands that raise men from 
 barbarism to the amenities of refined and polished society, but the 
 " wisdom which is from above," the truth accompanied with the 
 spirit's power. While, therefore, we endeavor by the highest mental 
 discipline to prepare the youth of our land for honorable positions 
 
 *24 
 
370 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 in life, it is not to withdraw their interest from that noblest of all 
 books and that grandest specimen of all literature — the Bible. The 
 influence of all other books upon the world have been trifling and 
 unimpoitant in comparison with what the inspired volume has 
 achieved in the past, and is destined to accomplish in the future- 
 Make this the companion of your solitude, the director of your 
 lives, your constant guide and counsellor, and in anticipation of 
 that happy period, when literature and science shall be pervaded 
 by its sentiments, and reason bow Before its shrine, let us join in 
 the prayer of the Christian poet : 
 
 Return, O light, return to this thy world, 
 
 And purify the human intellect. 
 
 How glorious then, when every mental power, 
 
 Baptized to thee, and by thy hand controlled, 
 
 Shall yield its valued tribute at thy feet. 
 
 Art shall adore, and science worship thee, 
 
 The pulpit preach the g'ories of thy name, 
 
 Philosophy majestic in her stops 
 
 Shall bear her priceless treasures to thy throne, 
 
 And feel herself exalted to a height 
 
 Of unexampled grandeur. 
 
 And poetry redeemed from infamy, 
 
 Rise to the height of her celestial powers, 
 
 And grasping heaven and earth in her embrace, 
 
 Sing in melodious thunder, they are one. 
 
 Young ladies of the Graduating Class : — I address you collect- 
 ively for the last time from this place. Before another week you 
 will be scattered far and wide, never more to meet again in the lov- 
 ing relations you have sustained for these many months and years- 
 In the hour of parting I express for myself and all my associates 
 in Church and College work, the most earnest desire for your wel- 
 fare. - Many of you during the past two years have given yourselves 
 publicly to the Lord Jesus Christ, and entered upon the enjoy- 
 ments of christian life. In now passing out from the guardianship 
 and necessary restraints of student life, let your conduct be such 
 
THE HIGIiiSST WISDOM. 3/1 
 
 as will assure the world that your profession has been sincere. 
 When Hedley Vicars returned to ius home in England, after his 
 conversion, it is said " the heart of his widowed mother san j for 
 joy, as she marked the exceeding grace of God in her son." I 
 trust that the loved ones in your different homes may see an 
 amiability in your conduct which mental culture n^ r can produce- 
 An educated woman, whose heart has been divinely possessed, has 
 possibilities of vast influence. Her opportunities are many and her 
 responsibilities great Nor can she ever engage in a nobler work 
 than devoting her highest attainments to the advancement of God's 
 cause and kingdom upon earth. 
 
 Your attainments in literature and science are varied, and so 
 will be your acquisitions in grace. Where one gains the prize in 
 earthly pursuits, many fall short. But in christian service there is 
 not only a place for the humblest agent, but none come short of a 
 glorious recompense. You may not all occupy prominent positions, 
 but you can conscientiously do something in your different spheres 
 to add to the sum of human happiness. The rippling streamlet 
 moves not for itself alone, but adds its quota to the mighty ocean, 
 where fleets of ships carry the merchandize of the world. And a 
 soul fired with holy zeal may put in motion mighty forces, that 
 shall move society and elevate the race. It is indeed pitiful to see 
 how many educated women, at the close of their college curriculum, 
 enter upon lives of fashionable folly, and act as if existence were a 
 masquerade, and toil of mind and body rude and vulgar. Educa- 
 tion has certainly not served its purpose, when it leaves man or 
 woman supercilious, haughty, indolent and sluggish ; far less, when 
 it leads them to devote precious time and talents to trifling employ- 
 ments that are unworthy of an immortal soul. The experience and 
 reward of her who dreams life away in luxury and voluptuousness, 
 and by plunging into scenes of excitement and passion strives to 
 suppress the thought of a coming judgment, must be sad indeed. 
 
373 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 She has chosen the world 
 
 And its paltry crowd, 
 She has chosen the world 
 
 And an endless shroud ; 
 She has chosen the world 
 
 With its misnamed pleasures, 
 She has chosen the world 
 
 Before heaven's best treasures. 
 
 We hope better things of you, though we thus speak. When 
 you go back to your several places of abode, let your sunny smile 
 and happy temperament cheer and beautify your several dwellings ; 
 disappoint not the fond hopes of parents and friends, who now re- 
 joice with you in your joy ; live so that you may be missed and 
 mourned when death calls you home, and then it shall be said to 
 you : " Well done, thou good and faithful servant : thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : 
 enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 
The One Thing Needful. 
 
"Martha, Martha, thoa'Art careful and troubled about many thiiigs ; 
 but one thing is needfnl, and Mary bath chosen that good part, which 
 shall not be taken away from her." 
 
 -Luke 10, V. 41. 
 
The One Thing Needful. 
 
 HE narrative from which the text is taken illustrates a 
 striking characteristic of our Lord's teaching : that of 
 deducing practical truths, and enforcing spiritual les- 
 sons from the most common-place occurrences of every 
 c^ day life. Nothing connected with humanity was beneath 
 the Saviour's notice. 
 Christ was on a visit to the sisters at Bethany. He was their 
 intimate friend, and gladly shared their hospitality, giving them in 
 return words of commendation or gentle rebuke as occasion de- 
 manded. Mary and Martha, although sisters, moved in entirely 
 different spheres, and were cast in different moulds. Their tem- 
 pers and dispositions were exceedingly unlike. Mary was the type 
 of the contemplative christian. The serenity and repose of her 
 countenance indicated the holy calm that reigned within. She 
 seerijed too gentle for this world — one of those angelic beings, whom 
 God sends once in a while to bless the world, before they take their 
 flight to their native heaven. In the world, she was not of it. She 
 was absorbed in higher themes than earth afforded. Her love had 
 
 (375) 
 
37^ THE CIIURCn AND THE COMMONWKALTH. 
 
 hci^^hts and depths, but little outward expression. She sat at the 
 feet of Jesus drinking; in the words that fell from his lips, and in 
 silent worship bending down before the adorable Redeemer. On 
 the other hand, Martha was the type of an active, energetic, self- 
 denying and self-sacrificing christian. When Christ came to Heth- 
 any, nothing was left undone that could possibly minister to his 
 comfort. She made the house ring with her quick flying footsteps, 
 and with her practical turn of mind was admirably suited for the 
 cares of the household. 
 
 Both sisters were sincere followers and friends of Christ, although 
 they manifested their love in very different ways. Mary gave evi- 
 dence of her regard by simply listening and looking into the face 
 of Christ — Martha by busying herself ovcnnuch to show kindness 
 to her Lord. Such was the aspect of the family at Bethany when 
 Christ uttered the words of the text. Martha had been bustling 
 f(jr hours, attending to the wants of the household, when she came 
 upon her sister Mary, who was sitting in calm composure at the 
 feet of Jesus. She seemed annoyed that she should take so little 
 interest in what, to her, were matters of great importance ; and in 
 a spirit of censoriousness said : " Lord, dost thou not care that my 
 sister hath left me to serve alone ? Bid her therefore that she help 
 me." Jesus reminds her in his reply, that while this present life 
 demands attction, there is a nobler existence which must not be 
 neglected. While the poor perishing body must be fed, the yearn- 
 ings of the immortal soul must also be satisfied. For as he else- 
 where says : " Man shall not live by bread aione, but by every word 
 that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." 
 
 I do not understand the words addressed to Martha to be such 
 a direct condemnation of her conduct as some affirm. Indeed, it is 
 open to question whether Jesus rebuked Martha at all. There are 
 two different ways in which the language may be construed. " Mar- 
 tha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, of 
 
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. 377 
 
 comparative minor importance, but Mary htis chosen the pood part 
 — has done right In contrast with thy wrong," or " Martha, Martha, 
 thou art careful and troubled about many things" — which is com- 
 mendable, but Mary's course, though different from thine, is also 
 commendable, for she hath chosen the good part." Martha is 
 nowhere represented as a selfish, worldly woman, but a genuine 
 child of God. It was Martha, standing near the grave of her brother, 
 who said : " I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, 
 God will give it thee. I know that he shall rise again in the resur- 
 rection at the last day. Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the 
 Christ, the son of God, which should come into the world." The 
 common idea that Jesus had a decided preference for Mary over 
 Martha, and that pensive, meditative, passive christians, arc better 
 than active, healthy workers, is not sustained by the text. Christ 
 loved both the sisters. Martha's error lay not so much in her ac- 
 tivity and zeal, as in the seemingly unjust reproach she cast upon 
 her sister Mary. She thought that Mary was idle when she sat at 
 the Saviour's feet, while Jesus assures her that the highest service 
 upon earth is communion with heaven. We are not hastily to con- 
 clude that all christians must have the contemplative character of 
 Mary to ensure the Saviour's commendation. Some can never be 
 like Mary, and others can never be like Martha. Grace, while it 
 ennobles the affections, purifies the desires, and gives to life a 
 grander and higher aim than before conversion, does not recre- 
 ate the natural constitution. It leaves the man of active, sanguine, 
 impulsive temperament as active and as busy as before, but it turns 
 the energies of his nature in another direction. It leaves the man 
 of reserved and meditative mind as reserved and studious as before, 
 but places before him grander subjects than the philosophies or 
 sciences of the earth. The world at the present day needs both 
 types of character. She needs her Moses and Aaron and Hurr, 
 praying upon the mount, and her valiant soldiers fighting in the 
 
378 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 valley ; her Johns as well as her Peters ; her sweet persuaslx'c 
 preachers, as well as her sons of thunder. She needs men and 
 women, who by the omnipotent power of a holy life prove the real- 
 ity of religion, as well as her consecrated ministers upon the watch 
 towers of Zion. There is room for all, and a place where each one 
 may do his part. Only let the active cultivate a spirit of devotion, 
 and the contemplative dedicate their talents to the practical duties 
 of a holy life. As the poet says : 
 
 Be Martha still in deed and good behavior, 
 In faith like Mary at his feet forever. 
 
 The question has often been debated whether society is most 
 indebted to men of thought or men of action. Both are necessary. 
 " The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee." That 
 form of piety that works upon visible materials, and that which 
 works upon the invisible : — the piety which is developed toward 
 this world, and that which is developed toward the other world, — 
 are each in their own place, working out the same grand designs. 
 The one is busy with acts — the other with thoughts ; the one is 
 doing — the other is pondering. The Marys who sit at the feet of 
 Jesus, know not how much they owe to the Marthas, who take the 
 burden of the household cares ; nor do the Marthas realize how 
 much of their success in the busy activities of life, is due to the 
 Marys, who by their secret intercessions, call down upon them the 
 benediction of heaven ! 
 
 Now, the tendency of the present day, it seems to me, is to copy 
 Martha rather than Mary. The intense activity of the age is pro- 
 ducing a class of women, who, if not equal in faith to Martha, have 
 in a large measure her spirit of censoriousness and fault-finding. 
 They are cumbered with much serving, not at home, but in com- 
 mittee rooms and other public places of resort. And, because 
 others have not the same gifts or tastes, they rebuke them for being 
 indifferent to the claims of humanity. These women are doubtless 
 
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. 379 
 
 clever and voluble — they have little sympathy with delicate feel- 
 ings, and are at home in ail the externals of religion. They can 
 pray and preach in public — rebuke and exhort — canvass from door 
 to door like trained politicians, and courageous ly withstand criti- 
 cism and reproach. To use the words of another, " They are never 
 cool, but when in hot water, and never sleep, but as a top on the 
 spin." • . 
 
 We do not question the piety or zeal of such workers. As the 
 sappers and miners of the army, they do the roughest worK of Chris- 
 tianity. But let them not forget that there are more ways than 
 one of serving Christ. In a grand organ no two pipes give forth 
 the same sound. Yet the same breath gives voice to all, and all 
 are made to speak by the same master, each pipe according to its 
 size and voicing. " The little piccolo that makes the melody glitter 
 as if a bird were singing in mid air, is doing quite as well as the 
 deep bass tones that uphold all tunes." A strife, arising among 
 the pipes, because one speaks oftener and louder than another, 
 would not be more foolish than are the uncharitable judgments 
 passed upon the best of women by their stronger and less sensitive 
 sisters. Because a woman cannot speak on a platform — cannot 
 grasp the details of business — cannot besiege the strongholds of 
 sin according to the modern style of assault — let it not be said that 
 her life is in vain. Constant activity of the kind so popular at the 
 present day is far more dangerous than protracted devotions. It is 
 calculated to rob woman of all that is gentle and amiable, and to 
 lessen that indescribable influence which she possesses in society, 
 not by mingling with party combatants, but by standing apart and 
 silently rebuking existing wrongs. The Marys have their functions 
 in the church and the world, as much h3 the Marthas. "The 
 Marthas supply the business-like prose — the Marys the poetry of 
 religion. The Marthas rear the needful things of life in the garden 
 of the Lord — the Marys cultivate its flowers. The Marthas serve 
 
380 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the meals of the household of faith — the Marys bring the costly 
 spikenard. In the divine ceremonial, the Marthas give the sacri- 
 fices, the Marys the sweet incense ; and as "the house was filled 
 with the odor of her ointment," so the spiritual temple of God is 
 fragrant with their perfumes. If the refinement and sensibility of 
 the Marys did nothing else than breathe a softness into, and spread 
 a bloom over service and work, otherwise hard and coarse, they 
 would still be precious. 
 
 Remembering that Christ's words were addressed to a christian 
 woman, it surely cannot be out of pla'-e to ask the questions, are 
 not many of God's people cumbered with much serving, and careful 
 and troubled about many things ? Is there not a danger of allow- 
 ing personal piety to decay by over-much attention to inferior con- 
 cerns ? The evil is not in being busy, but in the method — the ex- 
 tent — the objects which engross the attention. The business of life 
 and the distractions and harassing cares of the household and the 
 world, unfit for spiritual enjoyment, and steal from us precious 
 hours that should be sacred and devoted to fellowship with the un- 
 seen. The demands of daily existence and the abundant mission- 
 ary efforts and enterprises which evangelical churches are engaged 
 in, have the tendency to make us forget personal piety. We lack 
 the depth of religious feeling, and the glowof piety which prevailed 
 in earlier times. While cultivating the vineyards of others, we are 
 in danger of neglecting our own. 
 
 Now, says Christ, one thing is needful. We need the working 
 activity, and we also need the silent tenderness. We are not to 
 spend all our time in meditation, but we are to go about our work 
 without undue noise — moving as the planets, with their calm light 
 and placid majesty, around the orbs of heaven. Addressing as I 
 do, those who stand upon the threshold of active life — who are soon 
 to mingle in society, and leave their impress for weal or woe upon 
 companions and society at large — need I say, that many things are 
 
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. 381 
 
 needful. Culture and education of mind and manners are needful : 
 purity of soul and chastity of lips are needful : grace in deportment 
 and gracefulness are needed : decision of character and woman- 
 liness are necessary, — firmness in resisting evil — tenderness towards 
 the unfortunate and sympathy for the afflicted are needful ; — in a 
 word, whatever will make your lives more illustrious and commen- 
 dable in the sight of God and man. " Whatsoever things are true, 
 whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever 
 things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be 
 any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." 
 " Covet earnestly the best gifts," but yet, as the apostle adds, 1 show 
 unto you a more excellent way. Recognizing eternity in the near 
 distance, only one thing is needful, — a simple faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and child-like reliance upon the promises of the gos- 
 pel. What was needful in the days of Martha and Mary, is needful 
 now. We have no new gospel to offer, and no other remedy for 
 the salvation of the soul. All other schemes have failed. " Believe 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
 
 This is the one thing needful, for if not possessed, there is noth- 
 ing else that can supply its place. Earthly riches are not to be 
 despised, and the good opinion of our fellow-men is desirable, and 
 rectitude of life is praiseworthy, but none or these things can atone 
 for past sins, or secure our acceptance in the great day of God. 
 The young ruler who came to Christ had all these qualities, but in 
 the end was a castaway. " Men who content themselves with mere 
 negative righteousness, will at last find heaven's gates bolted upon 
 them with a double bolt." It is needful to iive by. Supposing 
 there was no other existence beyond the present, faith in Jesus 
 Christ, and a life devoted to the requirements of the christian re- 
 ligion, are a positive advantage. " Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is 
 to come." It is needful to die by. Even Baalam the false prophet 
 
383 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 admitted this, when he said : " Let me die the death of the righteous, 
 and let my last end be like his." To many of you death seems far 
 in the distance, and need not for many years be anticipated, but as 
 Seneca says, " Though death is before the old man's face, yet he 
 may be as near the young man's back." If it find you out of Christ 
 no power can save you. The one thing needful is available now, 
 not then. " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon 
 him while he is near." 
 
 Away then — Oh fly 
 
 From the joys of earth I 
 Her smile is a lie — ^^ ' i • 
 
 There's a ating in her mirth. , 
 
 Come, leave the dreams 
 
 Of this transient night, 
 And bask in the beams 
 
 Of an endless light. 
 For the human heart 
 
 Can ne'er conceive 
 What joys are the part , . 
 
 Of them who believe. 
 
 If you would have an old age calm and beautiful, you must, like 
 Mary, sit much at the feet of Jesus. Never neglect private devo- 
 tion — never neglect daily communion with God through His Word 
 — never let a day pass without aiming to do something for the good 
 of others. Longfellow, the American poet, in a pleasant letter to a 
 friend, recently wrote : " To those who ask how I can write so 
 many things that sound as if I were as happy as a boy, please say 
 that there is in this neighborhood a pear tree planted by Governor 
 Endicott 200 years ago, and that it still bears fruit, not to be dis- 
 tinguished from the young tree in flavor. I suppose the tree makes 
 new wood every year, so that some part of it is always young. 
 Perhaps that is the way with some men when they grow old. I 
 hope it is so with me." The morning of life improved prepares us 
 for a long day of usefulness, and ensures a golden sunset. " Those 
 
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL. 383 
 
 that be planted in the house of the Lod shall flourish in the courts 
 of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age ; they 
 shall be fat and flourishing." 
 
 Young ladies of the graduating class, — This evening, as under- 
 graduates of the college, you listen for the last time to my voice. 
 Although we have no certainty when we leave the house of God at 
 any time that we shall all meet again, there is an almost absolute 
 certainty in present circumstances that we never shall. It is, there- 
 fore, to speaker and hearers a solemn moment. I cannot but feel 
 that your future conduct has been to some extent moulded and 
 directed by the impressions made in this place, nor can I cease to 
 follow you with my fervent prayers and fondest wishes. I look 
 beyond this little span of life to the judgment seat of Christ, and I 
 ask myself, shall our relations to each other be as pleasant as they 
 have been during past years ? Shall we continue to study together 
 those higher problems that belong to the exalted state beyond the 
 grave ? 
 
 My relations to you have been — as friend, teacher and pastor — 
 of the happiest kind. There has been unbroken harmony from the 
 beginning to the end of your college course. And now, ere you 
 leave, allow me to say, that the brightest adornment of woman's 
 character is piety. I have admired your lady-like deportment, your 
 devotion to study, your progress in knowledge, and your purity of 
 conversation. But above and beyond all these, I charge you to 
 seek holiness of heart, without which the brightest attainments and 
 the most fascinating graces are worthless. I have no cause to doubt 
 that you have already chosen the good part, which shall never be 
 taken from you. Some of you have been led under my ministry 
 to give yourself to Christ, and all of you, I feel, are in heart the 
 Lord's. My dear young friends, do not stand upon the threshold 
 of the christian life, debating as to what is the path of duty, but 
 constrained by Him who died for you, give yourselves, body and 
 
3^)4 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 soul and spirit, to the service of Christ, for time and eternity ! Life 
 is brief. Although since the establishment of the college no death 
 has occurred among the students, there have been many breaches 
 in your households. Fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, 
 have been taken. What do such visitations teach ? That our time 
 on earth is uncertain — that our opportunities for work arc fast pass- 
 ing away. "Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy 
 might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom 
 in the grave, whither thou gocst." The present is to you the seed 
 time of life. Upon it depends what your place shall be, and what 
 part you shall act in coming years. Improved, it will render life 
 memorable and useful. Unimproved or misimproved, it will fill 
 the heart with woe, and the memory with sorrow. 
 
 There are gains for all our Ios8o«, 
 There are balms for all our painp, 
 
 But when youth, the dream departs, 
 
 It takes something from our hearts, 
 And it never comes again. 
 
 Something beautiful is vanished, 
 And we sigh for it in vain, 
 But it never comes again. 
 
JJ^LIGION AND THE QjTATE 
 
 •25 
 
Saint Andrew's Day. 
 
 t .■■ - ; , ■■■ ■<' ' 
 
* " One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was 
 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first 6ndeth his own brother Simon, 
 and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is being inter* 
 preted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus." 
 
 —John 1, V. 40, 41, 42. 
 
 *Thi8 difloonne, and the following five, wen addressed to the Saint Andrew's 
 Benevolent Sooiety, of Brantford. 
 
Saint Andrew's Day. 
 
 ME day carries us back in memory to martyr times. On 
 the thirtieth of November, St. Andrew, now known as the 
 patron saint of Scotland, died, after two days' suffering 
 upon the cross. The history of the Apostle is compara- 
 tively brief. From the Gospel record we learn that he 
 was a native of Bethsaida, a town of Galilef:, on the shore of the 
 lake of Gcnesareth : — that he was a fisherman by occupation, and 
 brother of the Apostle Peter. While prosecuting his business, he 
 became a disciple of John the Baptist, and finally was called by 
 Christ to become a fisher of men. From the passage before us we 
 also learn that he was one of the two disciples who accompanied 
 John the Baptist, when looking upon Jesus, the preacher of the 
 desert exclaimed : " Behold the Lamb of God." 
 
 Having been baptized he became a follower and disciple of 
 Jesus. His name is mentioned as present on several important oc- 
 casions when Christ manifested his miraculous power, notably at 
 the mc.vellous draught of fishes, and when the five thousand were 
 fed with the five barley loaves and two fishes. Having at the com- 
 
 (389) 
 
»00 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTIL 
 
 mand of Christ left his fishing boat he gave himself entirely to the 
 work of tnc Apostlcship. From the pages of history we learn that 
 taking Scyihia and thi adjoining countries for his province, he 
 travelled over Cappadocia, Galatia and Uithynia teaching and 
 preaching the gospel and baptizing converts to the faith. Thence 
 wc follow him to the Kuxine sea, to Nice, Nicomcdia and Chalcc- 
 don and other parts, where he met with great discouragements, and 
 suffered fierce persecution, chiefly at the hands of his Jewish coun- 
 trymen. On one occasion an attempt was made to burti the room 
 in which i.e dwelt. He was also treated with savage cruelty, beat 
 with clubs, pelted with stones, lacerated in the flesh, and cast with- 
 out the city as dead. Having recovered, he resumed his work, trav- 
 elling over large tracts of country until he came to Byzantium, the 
 modern Constantinople, where he founded the first christian church 
 and ordained the first Bishop of that place. Banished again out of 
 that city, he went over Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Achaia and 
 Epirus, and finally came to Patrae, acity of Achaia, where he sealed 
 his testimony with his blood. 
 
 The immediate cause o<* his martyrdom was the effects of his 
 preaching upon the populace. Multitudes of the inhabitants hav- 
 ing renounced Paganism and embraced Christianity, the pro-Consul 
 denounced him as an innovator and propagator of that superstition, 
 whose author the Jews had crucified upon the cross, and threatened 
 him with like crucifixion, should he continue to seduce the people 
 from sacrificing to the gods. Refusing to desist he was cast into 
 prison. Rejecting all overtures of clemency, conditioned upon his 
 abjuring the christian religion, sentence of death was passed upon 
 him — a death preceded by the most excruciating tortures which 
 have ever bet. .iflicted upon mortal man. First he was scourged, 
 seven lictors in succession lashing his naked body, and then, in 
 order more surely to add to his agony, and task the invincible 
 patience and fortitude he had exhibited, he was commanded to be 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 39I 
 
 crucified — not fastened, however, with nails to the cross, as was 
 customary, but with curds, so that his death might be more linger* 
 ing and painful. 
 
 Arriving at the cross, he spoke cheerfully of his approaching 
 end — that he had long desired and expected that happy hour — 
 that the cross had been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging 
 upon it, and adorned with his members as with so many inestimable 
 jewels ; that he came joyful and triumphant to it, that it might re- 
 ceive him as a disciple and follower of Him who once hung upon it 
 and be the means to carry him safely to his Master and Redeemer. 
 Having hung for forty-eight hours upon the cross, he prayed earn- 
 estly that he might depart, and seal the truth of his religion with 
 his blood, which he did on the last day of November, towards the 
 close of the first christian century. 
 
 It is of little importance why St. Andrew, rather than any other 
 of the Apostles, has been chosen as the patron saint of Scotland. 
 The mythical and marvellous stories invented, concerning his bones 
 may be passed by as part of the superstitions of a by-gone agCf 
 characterized by the worship of relics, and pilgrimages to the tombs 
 and shrines of martyrs. More important is it that we should study 
 his life, and endeavor to emulate his labors foi the good of men and 
 the glory of God. A society that takes his name ought to have 
 such objects in view as are in keeping with the religion and prac- 
 tice of the apostolic age. 
 
 St. Andrew was possessed of an earnest desire to benefit his 
 race Saved himself, he was eager to bring others to a knowledge 
 of the truth. He did not hide his light under a bushel, but regarded 
 himself as under obligation to make converts wherever his lot was 
 cast. His earliest efforts were put forth in behalf of his own rela- 
 tions. " He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto 
 him, we have found the Christ." Nor did he rest until he had 
 brought him to Jesus. Thus having been instrumental in adding 
 
392 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 another one to the little band of Christ's followers — one who be- 
 came a mighty man of faith and valor — he was prepared to go to 
 the regions beyond, and preach the gospel alike to the heathen and 
 Jewish world. 
 
 This society then, on behalf of which we plead, is a christian 
 society. It is the product of that religion which Christ founded in 
 the world, and which men like St. Andrew were commissioned to 
 preach. 
 
 It is indeed the only system of religion that has made syste- 
 matic benevolence a part of its piety, and enforced upon its mem- 
 bers the duty and privilege of caring for the bodies, as well as the 
 souls of men. Par;anism never taught its devotees the charity and 
 humanity of the New Testament. Deism has no place in its creed 
 for the true exercise of such emotions. Nor have the most polished 
 and cultivated nations of antiquity ever recognized or fostered such 
 impulses. You search literature in vain, prior to the advent of 
 Christ and the promulgation of Christianity, for such language as is 
 used by the Apostle James when enforcing the royal law of love. 
 " Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and 
 heirs of His Kingdom. If a brother or sister be naked and desti- 
 tute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, ' Depart in peace, 
 be ye warmed and filled ; ' notwithstanding ye give them not those 
 things which are needful for the boly ; what doth it profit? Even 
 so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." 
 
 We glory in the benevolent and patriotic institutions of our land 
 — our hospitals — our asylums for the blind, the deaf and dumb, and 
 the insane — our homes for the incurable and for the inebriate — and 
 our educational system, which has no superior in the world. And 
 we have cause for gratitude that we live in an age and in a country 
 where such things exist. But to what are these due ? They are 
 the natural results of those grand fundamental principles, enunci- 
 ated by Christ in his sermon on the mount — principles which are 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 393 
 
 fast becoming the accepted creed of every nation under heaven ; 
 and among which stands pre-eminent, " Blessed are the merciful, 
 for they shall obtain mercy." 
 
 As a Christian Society, it recognizes the brotherhood of human- 
 ity — that God hath made of one blood, all nations of men, for to 
 dwell on all the face of the earth ; — that the body politic is one and 
 hath many meinbers, and that we are each dependent, the one upon 
 the other. " The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of 
 thee ; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. The 
 members should have the same care one for another, and whether 
 one member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; or one member 
 be honored, all the members rejoice with it." 
 
 This principle was literally accepted and acted upon by the 
 early Apostolic Church. After the day of Pentecost, " they had all 
 things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted 
 them to all men, as every man had need." In our day, and in the 
 greatly altered circumstances of society, such an equalization of 
 this world's goods may neither be desirable nor practicable. Com- 
 munism, as now advocated, is antagonistic to Christianity, and sub- 
 versive of law and order. But the poor we shall always have with 
 us, whatever be the commercial condition of the country. " The 
 poor shall never cease out of the land," said Moses to the Israelites, 
 prior to their occupation of Canaan ; " therefore I command thee, 
 saying. Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy 
 poor, and to thy needy." Nor ought we to regard appeals made 
 in their behalf as vexatious. The rich need the poor as much as 
 the poor need the rich. It is hard to say which is most benefited 
 by the commerce of human sympathy that passes from the one to 
 the other. " He that hath pity upon the poor lendcth unto the 
 Lord ; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." Not 
 as a ground of self-righteousness, but as a practical evidence of our 
 holy religion, let us covet the high distinction claimed by the patri- 
 
394 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 arch Job : " When the ear heard me, then it blessed me ; and when 
 the eye saw me, it gave witness of me. Because I delivered the 
 poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help 
 him. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. The 
 blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I 
 caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." 
 
 I appeal to-night m behalf of a society which has for its main 
 object the succor of the poor and the helping of the friendless and 
 unfortunate. As such it has a special claim upon the natives of 
 Scotland and their descendants in Canada. In the dispensing of 
 charity its object is two-fold ; to give at this season of the year 
 timely assistance to the widows and families of Scotchmen, who 
 have been left to fight a hard battle against poverty, and who are 
 exceedingly reticent as to their pressing wants ; and next to aid 
 Scotchmen who have been reduced in worldly circumstances by no 
 act of their own, and who are forced to wander from place to place 
 in search of work. I can testify to the good that this society has 
 accomplished during the past year in both these respects. Every 
 dollar of members' fees and other monies collected, have been 
 sacredly devoted to the relieving of the pocr. Nor has this been 
 done indiscriminately. Every case has been minutely examined, 
 and only the really deserving have been aided. 
 
 I enter into these details, for I am aware that there are some 
 Scotchmen, who, instead of aiding, rather depreciate the work of 
 this society. Fault finding is so easy and so useful, when the 
 claims of such societies are urged, that I do not wonder it is so. 
 There are men who have reasons always at hand for refusing aid 
 to every good object in the church and out of it. They give noth- 
 ing to Home Missions or Foreign Missions — to christian associa- 
 tions, or St. Andrew's Societies. They refuse to give to the one 
 class of objects, because they are denominational, and they refuse to 
 give to the other, because they are not denominational. With such 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. |95 
 
 men it is folly to reason. They are so encased in selfishness as to 
 be deaf to all appeals. But there are other good men, who stand 
 aloof and refuse to associate with such societies, from a feeling that 
 they accomplish but little in the way of relieving the distressed. 
 Need I say that even were it so, such an attitude is unpatriotic and 
 unwise. Imperfections adhere to every society on earth. The 
 Church of Christ itself is far from a perfect organization. But just 
 in so far as such national benevolent societies are capable of im- 
 provement in the details of management, do they appeal to the 
 best men in our community for support and counsel. Every 
 Scotchman who has a particle of love for his native land, should be 
 enrolled as a member, and cheerfully assist his brethren in the noble 
 work of rescuing the perishing and giving food to the famishing, 
 who are bound to us by the tender ties of blood and kindred. 
 
 I will not waste time to discuss the oft-repeated absurdity that 
 English or Irish or Scottish societies foster bigotry, and detract 
 from that pure fervid love of our adopted country that so becomes 
 us. Those who talk so, seldom do anything for their country, and 
 are the first to leave it when danger threatens. Apart from the 
 actual charity disbursed from year to year, such societies by their 
 annual celebrations not only preserve the hallowed memories of 
 other days, but help us to value all the more highly the land which 
 the Lord hath given us. Surely it is becoming to think well of 
 and speak well of our native soil, —while at the same time we bend 
 our energies to build up new nations, that are destined to perpetu- 
 ate, and it may be, excel the glory of the past. National pride, 
 when subject to reason and justice, and void of annoyance towards 
 others, is a virtue. Apart, however, from this consideration, the 
 existence of such societies is a necessity in our land. Where they 
 are rightly administered by skilful officers, they afford relief to the 
 deserving poor and the distressed in times of need, while they pre- 
 vent imposition and dishonesty. And to the man of most slender 
 
39^ THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 means, they present an opportunity of sharing in the honor of pre- 
 serving that noble independence which has so long been associated 
 with Scottish character. 
 
 We are comparatively a young nation. As such we have the 
 making of our character, and the adjusting of our taxation. Any- 
 thing that footers self-reliance, industry and independence, should 
 be regarded with favor. Once a man becomes so destitute of self- 
 respect as to prefer the workhouse to an honest livelihood, his use- 
 fulness as a member of society is at an end. If you ask of British 
 statesmen what is the greatest drain upon the national exchequer, 
 and what is the greatest social problem of the age, they will answer 
 — pauperism. The time was, when in Scotland paupers were almost 
 unknown. Half a centurj' ago, when George the Fourth visited 
 Edinburgh, he was so struck with the well-dressed and comfortable 
 crowds of people that greeted his arrival, that he asked where all 
 the poor people were. But a change rapid and alarming has taken 
 place since that date. Now, we are told, one in nine of the popu- 
 lation is more or less dependent upon state aid. How is this to be 
 accounted for ? Pauperism has beaten philanthropy ! No country 
 in the world has more charities than Scotland, but the more 
 numerous the charities the faster is the increase of misery and 
 destitution ! 
 
 The lesson taught us is plain. It is not by legalizing pauper- 
 ism or building workhouses that we best promote thrift and indus- 
 try ; but by rendering timely aid to those who, if neglected too 
 long, may lose heart in the struggle for existence, and become per- 
 manent burdens upon society. 
 
 Surely then I need say nothing in behalf of such charity. Many 
 whom I now address look back upon the time, when strangers in a 
 strange land, sympathy and aid, however small, was encouraging, 
 and breathed hope into the heart. It is not the amount so much 
 as the spirit that prompts the gift that is valued by the honest, but 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 397 
 
 hard driven sojourner. It is the feeh'ng that poverty is not a crime, 
 and that there is help and respect for those who bravely set them- 
 selves to conquer in the struggle of existence, and win an honorable 
 name among their fellowmen. By some of us, I fear, it is consid- 
 ered wicked to be poor, as has been well said by a writer in a weekly 
 journal: "In church we avouch the blessedness of poverty, and 
 accept with fervor all the fine things that can be said about it. But 
 this is poverty in the abstract. Picturesque poverty — long ago 
 poverty, mellowed and tempered with the halo of ages, and not the 
 actual poverty of the day is the sort of thing we associate with bea- 
 titudes. On Sunday when it does not intrude itself in church, we 
 half admit that real poverty may be cousin-german to scriptural 
 poverty. But that impression does not survive Monday morning* 
 Then our sentimental notions are dissipated, and we act in a man- 
 ner that implies that the rich are the salt of the earth, that to " get 
 on " : J the true kingdom of heaven, and that misfortune is a sin ' 
 
 It is sad, but true, that the only alternatives offered, to a very 
 large proportion of the population of Scotland, is emigration or 
 poverty. And of those who by dire necessity have been compelled 
 to leave their native land, many have risen to distinction. They 
 have proved themselves : 
 
 A manly race 
 Of unsabmitting spirit, wise and brave, 
 Impatient, and by tempting glory borne 
 O'er every land — for every land their life, 
 Has flowed profuse. 
 
 Brethren, we cannot afford to refuse charity. I put it on the 
 low ground of one's own interests. The heart demands some ob- 
 ject to call forth sympathy. We need to be brought into contact 
 with poverty and suffering that the higher and tenderer emotions 
 of our nature may be exercised. The poor and the rich are equally 
 and mutually dependent. The poor need the rich to help them — 
 the rich need the poor to expand their sympathies and develop the 
 
398 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMON>VEALTH. 
 
 ^race of benevolence. Nay, even when we know that our alms 
 have been misapplied, if we have given in the right spirit, we are 
 abundantly rewarded, although the gift has been abused. The 
 man who systematically refuses aid to the poor and perishing, be- 
 cause he has been repeatedly imposed upon, is impoverishing his 
 own soul, and will eventually become a sordid and avaricious de- 
 votee of the world, as dead and dormant in his affections and sym- 
 pathies as the Egyptian mummy of the Pyramids, that has been 
 hidden for many thousand years in the damp and gloomy vault. 
 
 Do I need to stimulate the members of this society and christ- 
 ians in general to the practice of charity ? Have you never felt the 
 joy of doing good, that costs some sacrifice and self-denial ? The 
 act may after all be insignificant, but like spring flowers, it breathes 
 forth the sweetest incense. Ah ! there are men and women here, I 
 fear, who never make sacrifices to help the Lord's poor, and seldom 
 give the smallest mite out of their abundance to mitigate human 
 suffering. I have known professing christian women, who could 
 weep by the hour over the latest novel, with its imaginary case of 
 disappointed love, and yet the next day " turn away with cold in- 
 difference from the homeless orphan, whose bony hand is extended 
 for charity, and whose very rap pleads with an eloquence stronger 
 and more touching than words." I have known not a few, who 
 aimed to be leaders of the fashionable world, and were never absent 
 from " the opening day " at our millinery stores — who were too 
 poor to give a dollar to a bereaved family and sent the starving 
 beggar from the door, without even a crust of bread I And I have 
 known professing christian men, who could spend large amounts in 
 political contests, and in costly entertainments, who begrudged 
 their paltry dollar to aid the members of this society, in helping 
 their poorer brethren and sisters in the cold of winter ! The riches 
 of such men shall yet be corrupted and their garments moth eaten. 
 Their gold and silver shall become cankered, the rust of them shall 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 399 
 
 be a witness against them, and shall eat their flesh as it were fire. 
 Ye who dispise the Lord's poor ones, and close your cars to the 
 pitying cry of want, and steel your hearts against their pressing 
 importunities, hear what the Almighty says : " Hath not God 
 chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the king- 
 dom. He that oppresseth the poor reproachcth his Maker ; but he 
 that honoreth Him hath mercy on the poor. If there be among 
 you a poor man of one of thy brethren, thou shalt not harden thy 
 heart nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother ; but thou shalt 
 open thine hand wide unto him. For the poor shall never cease 
 out of the land ; therefore I command thcc saying : Thou shalt 
 open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor and to thy 
 needy in thy land." 
 
 Far above all national considerations, the grand motive that 
 should impel us to every act of charity is love to the Master we 
 profess. Our gifts arc not so valuable when given from other mo- 
 tives. No man can love his fellow-man with unselfish affection, 
 who does not love his Creator. It is a sense of our indebtedness 
 to sovereign grace that makes the heart overflow with sympathy 
 and tenderness towards the unfortunate. In the person of the poor 
 we tenderly touch the heart of the Saviour, who will not forget our 
 acts of self-denial. " I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat ; I 
 was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took 
 me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ; sick, and ye visited me ; in 
 prison, and ye came unto me. Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as 
 ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me. Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
 dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 
 
 Presuming that you count it a far greater honor to be members 
 of Christ's Church, than of any society on earth, permit me to say, 
 that our work is only begun when we have cared for men's tem- 
 poral wants. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. Our fellow- 
 
400 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 men may not lack this world's goods, but every human being, 
 whatever his outward circumstances arc, needs a Saviour from sin. 
 And when occasion offers, if we do not follow the example of the 
 apostle, we are unworthy of his name. " Silver and gold have I 
 none, but such as I have I give thee,'' said Peter to the lame man, 
 who begged alms at the temple. He received more than he 
 expected ; for immediately, at the bidding of the apostle, he rose 
 up, walking and leaping and praising God. And thus may we also 
 be instrumental in ministering to the more claimant necessities of 
 the soul, while we care for the body. In this, Christianity has 
 greatly the advantage of secularism, which looks no farther than 
 the present life. It regards man as immortal — as possessed of 
 yearnings and aspirations, which time can never satisfy. It teaches 
 that while the bread that perisheth is needful for present susten- 
 ance, the bread which cometh down from heaven can alone appease 
 the hunger of the soul. Of that bread, if a man eats, he shall 
 never die. 
 
 There are two extremes to be avoided in dealing with the poor. 
 One is, unduly pressing upon them religious obligations when hun- 
 ger remams unsatisfied, and when they are driven to desperation 
 in their endeavors to provide the necessaries of life. The other is, 
 abstaining entirely from all reference to religious matters when dis- 
 pensing our charity. Many good people, lacking in tact and com- 
 mon sense, create opposition and destroy their good intentions by 
 untimely conversations on the most solemn topics that can engross 
 the mind ; while others, forgetful of the one thing needful, satisfy 
 themselves by providing for temporal wants alone. Not thus did 
 Christ By a wise and wonderful use of the common blessings of 
 life, to illustrate the deeper wants cf man's spiritual nature, He 
 never failed to call attention to the imperishable treasures at God's 
 rigfht fend. 
 
SAINT ANDREW'S DAY. 
 
 401 
 
 Christian citizenship, my brethren, is a vast responsibility. To 
 live as related to both worlds— to shrink from no burden imposed 
 upon us by the commonwealth, while at the same time loyal to the 
 higher claims of heaven, is a task which few of us discharge. God 
 grant us increasing grace and wisdom to act with due regard 
 to both. 
 
 •26 
 
l^OW BEST QTLJi WE 
 
 Provide for the Poor? 
 
"Blesifld is he that conaidereth the poor ; the Lord will deliver him 
 
 in time of trouble." 
 
 —Psalm 41, V. 1. 
 
 " For the poor shall never cease out of the land ; therefore I com- 
 mand thee, saying. Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to 
 
 thy poor, and to thy needy in the land." 
 
 — Deuteronomy JB, v. 11. 
 
 " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith 
 and have not works 1 Oan faith save him Y If a brother or sister be 
 naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them. Depart 
 in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those 
 things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit 1 Even so faith, 
 if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." 
 
 —James 2, v. 14 17. 
 
How Best Can we Provide for the Poor ? 
 
 E ARE accustomed to think that poverty belongs only to 
 a modern age, and that it is mainly the result of inordi- 
 nate selfishness and greed, which makes one portion of 
 society the prey of the other, and yet we find, in the land 
 that flowed with milk and honey, and where the people 
 were directly God-governed, that the indigent and poor were found, 
 and made a peculiar charge upon their richer brethren. Nor are 
 we to expect that it will ever be otherwise. 
 
 In all conditions of society, and in every age of the world, there 
 will be the poor and destitute, who depend for their precarious sup- 
 port, or for such help as enables them to live, upon the kindness of 
 others. It is of God's appointment that it should be so. " The 
 Lord maketh poor and maketh rich ; He bringeth low and lifteth 
 up." " The poor shall never cease out of the land : therefore I 
 command thee, saying : Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy 
 brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in the land." In the spirit 
 of such statements, we find that under the Jewish law provision 
 was made for the poor of the congregation of Israel. " Six years 
 thou shalt sow the land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof ; but 
 
 (40s) 
 
406 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the seventh year, thou shalt let it rest and h'e still ; that the poor 
 of thy people may eat." "When ye reap the harvest of your land, 
 thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt 
 thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. Thou shalt leave them 
 for the poor and the stranger." "If there be among you a poor 
 man, of one of thy brethren, in thy land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thine hand 
 from thy poor brother ; but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto 
 him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which 
 he wanteth." In the New Testament we also find the members of 
 the Apostolic Church sharing their substance with their poorer 
 brethren. On the day of Pentecost they sold their possessions, and 
 parted them to all men, as every man had need. The churches of 
 Macedonia were specially distinguished for assistance rendered the 
 poor saints at Jerusalem. " Beyond their power they are willing — 
 praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and 
 take upon us the ministering to ♦^he saints." And in this connec- 
 tion the Apostle Paul states the grand motive to the exercise of 
 christian charity. " Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that ye 
 through his poverty might be rich." 
 
 The scriptures abundantly show the care which the Almighty 
 has for the poor. -He forgets not their distresses ; He hears their 
 prayers ; He maintains their rights ; He delivers them from ex- 
 pected ill, and is their refuge in the day of trouble. This care of 
 the poor is also a duty devolving upon all God's people. To neg- 
 lect it is inconsistent with the christian profession, and is accounted 
 neglect of Christ himself " Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye 
 did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." 
 
 Doubtless in many cases poverty is the result of indolence, 
 drunkenness and prodigality. Begging has become a profession. 
 If the statements we read in the newspapers are true, " the tramp " 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 407 
 
 moves about with as much precision and order in his caUing as the 
 most energetic and pushing commercial traveller. The land is 
 mapped out, and assigned to mendicants, according to their experi- 
 ence and proficiency in their calling. That there is much truth in 
 such statements, every householder in town or city will be ready to 
 corroborate. At certain seasons of the year they swarm like the 
 locusts of Egypt, but in every season they arc abundantly plentiful 
 They meet in bands at the corners of our streets, where th'.y con- 
 sult and plan out the campaign ; then separating, take their respect- 
 ive beats, and meet again at an appointed rendezvous, to divide the 
 spoils and count their gains. 
 
 As a class their physical man belies their calling, for life in the 
 open air and plenty of good food, and the absence of hard labor 
 gives them a hearty and ruddy appearance that cannot be ap- 
 proached by our respectable mechanics. And when winter draws 
 near and they find pedestrian exercise uncongenial, then our jails 
 are open to them, where they are comfortably housed and fed until 
 spring again sends the brood broadcast upon a long suffering peo- 
 ple. It is for such vagabonds that we need a workhouse in the city 
 where they should eat their bread by the sweat of their brow, and 
 learn by hard experience that honest industry is better than penal 
 labor. ' 
 
 We may take it for granted that the duty of providing for the 
 poor is admitted by all good men. But how best to bestow our 
 benefactions and relieve the distressed, while at the same time pre- 
 serving the spirit of independence in the recipient, is a question 
 which to-day, as in past years, has taxed the ingenuity and baffled 
 the most thoughtful students of political economy. In the nations 
 of the old world the problem has now been well nigh given up as 
 beyond solution. Pauperism has become a legalized gigantic fact, 
 and tens of thousands have no desire, as they have little prospect, of 
 
408 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 providing for themselves an honest living apart from the aid afforded 
 by the State, 
 
 Now the texts quoted recognize the poor as having a just claim 
 upon the care of society ; but qualify the benediction bestowed 
 upon the alms-giver. " Blessed is he that considereth the poor," 
 who remembers them in their destitution, and prudently disburses 
 his means for their relief. In the original it reads : " Blessed is he 
 who acteth wisely towards the poor." It is not indiscriminate giv- 
 ing, without knowledge of the character and condition of the appli- 
 cants, that is spoken of, but c^^passion towards the deserving poor. 
 To act wisely towards the poor demands an amount of penetration 
 and keen insight of human character that is rarely found. The 
 pitiful cry of the hypocritical vagrant can hardly be distinguished 
 from th'' real tale of woe. Nor is it always possible to investigate 
 thoroughly the numerous cases that appeal to our sympathy. As 
 a rule, we are apt to bestow our benefactions upon the most impor- 
 tunate and persistent, who are often found the most inveterate fal- 
 sifiers and the most consummate knaves ! V 
 
 There are two methods which may be resorted to, for assisting 
 our poor, the compulsory or the voluntary. Both of these have 
 been tried, and although the former is almost universal in the Old 
 World, it is not because it has been proved the best, but because 
 christian men and christian churches rid themselves of a duty which 
 properly belongs to them and not to the state. The history of 
 English pauperism proves that legalized charity but increases the 
 evil it seeks to cure. As Dr. Chalmers said, when pleading for the 
 voluntary system of support, as against the compulsory : " It gener- 
 ates a feeling of security as to future maintenance, altogether inde- 
 pendent of present character or conduct. It destroys that strong- 
 est of all natural incitements to industry and prudence which oper- 
 ates when a man knows that if he do not work, or if he thoughtlessly 
 squander, he and his family must starve. It relaxes the obligations 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 409 
 
 of friendship and relationship, throwing upon the public for support 
 those whom it should be the pride and pleasure of their own child- 
 ren or other relatives co sustain ; and it weakens the force of all 
 those kindly sympathies which want or suffering is sure to awaken 
 in every neighborhood, where nature is left to her own unchecked 
 operations. It checks the private ministrations of the wealthy, who 
 the more they give upon compulsion, have the less to give upon 
 the impulse of compassion. It strips of its true character the char- 
 ity which it enforces, leaving nothing to spontaneous generosity in 
 the giver, and awakens a sentiment very different from that of grati- 
 tude in the receiver." 
 
 The same is now as true of the United States. Fully one-half 
 of the taxes raised are for the support of penal, reformatory, or 
 benevolent institutions, and this amount is becoming larger year 
 by year. There is a feeling of alarm at the increasing pauper- 
 ism, and a well-grounded belief that instead of helping the helpless 
 it is ministering to vice, and indolence, and crime of every kind and 
 degree. Still further, and in perfect harmony with the views ex- 
 pressed in these pages, it is added : " People in general, kind, soft- 
 hearted, and so far conscientious as they are, feel it to be enough 
 to provide for the accommodation and support of those who are 
 thought incapable of self-support. They do not think it necessary 
 to trouble themselves with enquiries as to whether their charitable 
 contributions really effect the good intended. They give, and 
 that is sufficient. If there is maladministration or positive waste 
 and thievery, they are not responsible. The result has been 
 that, according to the authorative statements of those who have 
 given great attention to these subjects, fully one-half of the money 
 expended in the United States for public, charitable and penal 
 establishments has been wasted through the ignorance and roguery 
 of the officials, unchecked by sufficient, competent and honest sup- 
 erintendence, and the softhearted ignorance of indiscriminate givers 
 and the impulsively sympathetic." 
 
4IO THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 In the efforts of Governments to raise the masses from threat- 
 ened poverty and degradation, it has too often been forgotten that 
 in every improvement in the individual and the mass, the moral 
 must take precedence of the economic. If we wish to civilize 
 heathen lands, we must first instil in the minds of the natives the 
 principles of practical godliness, and upon this broad foundation, 
 base all subsequent efforts for their amelioration. Or, if we wish 
 to benefit the unfortunate in lands already civilized, and to some 
 ext tnt christianized, we must seek not simply to mitigate present 
 evils, but to remove the cause or causes of these evils. This has 
 not been done, I venture to say, by that system of legalized charity, 
 better known as the " Poor Laws of England." So far from 
 bettering the condition of those for whom these laws were framed, 
 the system has been pronounced an almost total failure by some of 
 the cleverest intellects of that land. So far from removing the 
 causes of social misery, the " Poor Laws " have swelled the number 
 of the wretched, and prevented the operation of more effective rem- 
 edies which nature has provided for the relief of existing misery. 
 What are some of the radical evils that have followed and are cer- 
 tain to follow every system of legalized charity ? First, — There is 
 a gradual undermining of that manly spirit of independence, which 
 is one of the best guarantees for national prosperity. As in the 
 natural, so in the moral world, — a healthy vigorous plant needs no 
 support. Stays and props and ligaments but prevent its free growth. 
 Nature intended that the root should be strong enough to support 
 the stock, and should supply sufficient sap to the farthest extremity. 
 So it is in society. Once you teach a man that the community in 
 which he dwells, or the national treasury, will provide for all his 
 wants, and the manifold necessities of his family, you lay a dead 
 weight upon his energies and choke that spirit of self-reliance, which 
 rightly exercised, produces bone and sinew in the individual and 
 solid virtue in the nation. I do not assert that invariably this has 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 41I 
 
 been the result of legalized national charity. Exceptional cases 
 there doubtless have been, where, but for these same poor laws, in- 
 conceivable misery and destitution would have followed, but num- 
 erous cases have come to light where the national charity has be- 
 come a premium for indolence and parental indifference, and where 
 worthless parents, refusing to provide for the necessities of their 
 children, have handed them over to the guardianship of the poor 
 Second, — This system of legalized charity has actually increased 
 the wretchedness and improvidence of the poorer classes. So far 
 from ameliorating actual suffering and gradually healing the ulcer 
 the very fact that Government has bound itself to provide for the 
 idle and indolent, has tenfold increased their number. The most 
 shameful expedients and subterfuges are resorted to, in order to 
 share parochial relief. If the poor law overseer refuses to meet the 
 demands of some able bodied scoundrel too lazy to dig but not 
 ashamed to beg — on the ground that provision can only be made 
 for married men and their families, then straightway he goes and 
 marries, and compels the parish not only to support himself, but to 
 provide for his family ! Or if support is denied on the ground that 
 the claimant has personal means of support, he very soon removes 
 this objection by squandering his all in dissipation in order to be- 
 come a permanent burden upon the nation. And finally — for we can- 
 not enter at length upon this wide subject — the system of English 
 pauperism has reduced the wages and lowered the honorable status 
 of the honest, well-doing workingman. By supplementing wages 
 with a certain grant from the national exchequer, the most mis- 
 chievous and deteriorating influence has been exerted upon the 
 bjdy politic. " Let a man be ever so industrious and ever so sober 
 and ever so prudent, it is absolutely impossible for him to better 
 his condition, so long as pauperism sends forth her myriads of la- 
 borers to compete with him at any price, however low, wh'ch the 
 employer may offer. How then are we to save our young and ris- 
 
412 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 ing country from such evils ? By the efforts of this and other kin- 
 dred societies, to call into play the sympathies and affections of our 
 common nature ; by stimulating that spirit ofhoncst and honorable 
 independence which trusts to its own efforts rather than depends 
 upon the aid of others, and not only thinks of the future, but pro- 
 vides against it. 
 
 In this young land of ours, at all events, there should be no ne- 
 cessity for any method of compulsory provision for the poor. We 
 have not such a dense population, that renders individual and vol- 
 untary aid an impossijjility. The land can more than maintain all 
 that will come to our shores for ^he next century, in comparative 
 comfort 
 
 How then, do you ask, are the poor, the indigent, the unfortu- 
 nate, in a word, the really well deserving, to be helped ? I answer, 
 by national societies, such as that of Saint Andrew's, caring for 
 necessitous emigrants from the old world, and as far as possible 
 beyond this, ministering to the wants of their poorer countrymen 
 resident in the city ; and by each church supporting its own poor. 
 Shame upon the churches of this city, Protestant and Roman Cath- 
 olic alike, if they cannot relieve the state of this burden. So far 
 from regarding this as a hardship, it should be considered an honor 
 and a privilege to supply the wants of their poorer brethren. 
 '■\ The experiment of relieving the poor in such a way has been 
 tried, and found eminently successful. For ten years it was carried 
 out in St. John's Parish, Glasgow, by Dr. Chalmers, and the result 
 proved that if all the churches had followed his example, the poor 
 of that city would have been cared for at an annual expense of 
 $60,000, as against $600,000, paid by the city. That was some fifty 
 years ago. In that same city, from 1840 to 1849, the population 
 increased about 20 per cent., and the cost of pauperism increased 
 430 per cent I Since that date the population has increased in a 
 vastly augmented proportion, and pauperism has more than kept 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 413 
 
 pace with it. Of course such a scheme depends altogether upon 
 the watchful vigilance of those who administer the funds, and de- 
 mands considerable labor, but surely in no better cause can the 
 executive ability of christian office-bearers be employed. 
 
 But while I earnestly commend this and kindred societies, as 
 worthy of generous support, let it not be imagined that any society 
 can fulfil our personal obligations to the poor ; when we have done 
 to the very utmost, as societies, there will always be found oppor- 
 tunities for unostentatious acts of kindness. Thank God that it is 
 so. We need for our own good to be brought into contatt with 
 poverty, that our sympathies may be drawn forth, and our better 
 nature enriched. Associated charity is good, but a^ts of benevo- 
 lence done by the individual are better. The benediction of the 
 text is pronounced upon him, who in addition to his support of 
 public charities, allows no case of want to appeal to him in vain. 
 " He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which 
 he hath given, He will pay him again." As the poet says : 
 
 We can all do more than we have done, 
 
 And not be a whit the worse ; 
 It never was loving that emptied the heart, 
 
 Nor giving that emptied the purse. 
 
 Every rich man, after having provided reasonable legacies for 
 his children, ought to appropriate what remains for the good of his 
 fellow men. In so doing he is but fulfilling his part as a steward of 
 God's bounties. In two ways we may do this : while we live or at 
 our death. The former is surely the wisest method. It is better 
 to enjoy the present luxury of making others happy around us than 
 to die, leaving behind a vast fortune, to be applied by others to ob- 
 jects of religion and benevolence. 
 
 But it does not require that a man shoald be a millionaire to 
 enjoy the blessedness pronounced ip the text. The privilege of 
 doing good belongs to no one class exclusively. If we give in pro- 
 
414 THE CHURCH ANb THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 portion as wc possess, however small may be our contributions to 
 charitable purposes, we receive a recompense as much as the most 
 liberal minded philanthropist, who gives his million to the poor 
 Large and princely benefactions strike the imagination and call for 
 public eulogy, but in God's sight the motive and the ability, rather 
 than the gift itself, are recognized. 
 
 What is benevolence ? Need I say that it ranks among the 
 noblest of human virtues. It is not simply charity, but it is an un- 
 selfish love of all mankind, whenever and wherever opportunity 
 offers. Or if we retain the word, let it be accompanied with the 
 description of the poet : i . ' ^ 
 
 True charity, a plant divinoly nursed, 
 
 Fed by the love from which it rose at first, 
 
 Thrives against hope, and, in the rudest scene, 
 
 StoroQs but enliven its unfading greon, 
 
 Exuberant is the shadow it supplies, 
 
 Its fruit on earth, its growth above the skies. 
 
 In the exercise of this God-given excellence, John Howard went 
 forth to the prisons of Europe, " when despotism sat at the gate 
 holding the keys, and v/hen pestilence cowered in the vaults, filling 
 them with death ; " Florence Nightingale hurried forth to the hos- 
 pitals and camps of Balaklava and Sebastopol, to minister relief 
 to dying soldiers and tenderly close the eyes of husbands and bro- 
 thers, over whose pillow no widowed wife could weep, nor tender 
 hearted sister lavish tears ; and David Livingstone spent a long 
 and noble life in the jungles of the African forest, ministering to 
 the bodies and the souls of enslaved humanity. Benevolence is a 
 nobler virtue than mere pity and compassion. The purse may be 
 opened and the hand outstretched with the alms of charity while 
 the soul remains cold and chilly, like a northern iceberg that rears 
 its head heavenward in proud defiance of the glorious sun. And 
 need I say that the field for the exercise of christian charity is ever 
 increasing. Kind words, cheerful countenances, prudent counsels, 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 415 
 
 and friendly assistance ; — the cherishing of love and good will be- 
 tween man and man, and the smothering of petty jealousies, which 
 foster hatred and revenge — all these come within the range of gen- 
 uine benevolence. Between the extremes of society it effects a 
 solid and lasting union. " It carries the rich to the cottage of the 
 poor, and allows the poor admission to the palaces of the rich, and 
 both become the richer, because to both there is an accession of 
 happiness. The wealthy obtain the pleasure of doing good and of 
 knowing that there are hearts to bless them, the indigent obtain 
 the relief of urgent necessities and the pleasure of loving a gracious 
 benefactor." As the poet describes the blessedness of charity : 
 
 Meek and lowly, pure and holy, 
 
 Chief among the blessed three ; 
 Turning sadness into gladness. 
 
 Heaven born art thou, charity ! 
 
 Fity dwelleth in thy bosom, 
 
 Kindness reigneth o'er the heart ; 
 
 Gentle thoughts alone can sway thee, 
 Judgment hath in thee no part. 
 
 Hoping ever, failing never ; 
 
 Though deceived, believing still ; 
 Long abiding, all confiding 
 
 To thy Heavenly Father's will. 
 
 Never weary of well doing, 
 
 Never fearful of the end ; 
 Claiming all mankind as brothers 
 
 Thou dost all alike befriend. 
 
 Amid gigantic schemes of reform, and comprehensive measures 
 for the amelioration of social evils in the nation, we are apt to over- 
 look the not less urgent claims of those to whom we are affiliated 
 by the ties of blood and a common ancestry. I love and honor 
 that cosmopolitan spirit, which, overlooking the narrow boundaries 
 of creed and country, is at all times ready to succor the distressed. 
 But, at the same time, we have no sympathy with that form of 
 
4l6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 charity which only gives to far-off objects, neglecting the not less 
 claimant cries of home and kindred. That " distance lends en- 
 chantment to the view " is a maxim, the truth of which we see too 
 often exemplified in our efforts to reach the sinking and sunken 
 masses of our land, " God help the poor," is an expression fre- 
 quently found upon the lips of a certain class of sentimental relig- 
 ionists at the approach of winter's cold embrace and in seasons of 
 commercial depression. The prayer is orthodox ; but when, as is 
 often the case, nothing more is offered upon the shrine of charity, 
 it is despicable hypocrisy. I know, and rejoice to know, that the 
 age is advancing in generosity, but notwithstanding, there are still 
 found in every community amazing numbers largely endowed with 
 this world's riches, whose niggardliness and hard-heartedness is a 
 disgrace to our common humanity. As a compensation for their 
 uncharitable natures, " they are much given to theoretical piety, 
 great in prayer-meetings, church meetings and Bible meetings, with 
 an absorbing interest in certain formal and doctrinal points, which 
 do not change the nature, nor require a change of nature. They 
 profess to be very anxious for the heathen, and on rare occasions 
 give sixpence at missionary meetings, but their sympathy for the 
 poor at home exhales in tracts and talk. These are, it is true, 
 edifying to the receiver, but they cost nothing to the giver. If ihey 
 were accompanied with a basin of broth, or a cup of jelly, or a com- 
 fortable swathe of flannel, it would be different, but then the earthly 
 would be mingled with the spiritual — and the earthly costing money 
 is abhorent to such skin-'lints, who are always rich in spiritualities, 
 which are inexpensive luxuries." It is so far well, that such m, ,ers 
 leave behind them the means to perpetuate their memories and 
 record their names on monumental urns and tablets ; but certain 
 it is, that the widow's sigh and the orphan's tears will never disturb 
 their slumbers in the grave ! 
 
now BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 417 
 
 It \s only professional men, whose duties call them to homes of 
 penury and want, that can paint the pictures of wretchedness that 
 everywhere exist. We know well that brave and manly spirit of 
 independence, which fires the Scottish breast and chokes the cry 
 for want. Many would prefer the companionship of the dead rather 
 than make known their sorrows to the living. Hut even among 
 these, are there not some who would gladly avail themselves of the 
 modest charity of this society, and gather the crumbs that fall from 
 the well plenished tables of their more prosperous countrymen ? 
 Our land has not yet realized that fearful stage of human misery, 
 which compels five hundred women annually to throw themselves 
 into the river Thames. 
 
 Mad with life's history, 
 Cilad of death's mystery, 
 Swift to he hurled, 
 
 Anywhere, anywhere 
 Out of the world. 
 
 But young as is our country, prosperous as is its commerce, and 
 abundant as are the fruits of the earth, how often do we meet in 
 our wanderings with the old and careworn sons of toil, the weary, 
 desolate pilgrim, far from the land of his birth, the homo of his 
 youth and the graves of his ancestors, while his palsied tongue 
 seems to whisper the sad feelings of his heart : 
 
 I've seen yon weary winter sun 
 
 Twice forty tinies return. 
 And every time has added proofs 
 
 That man was nitlde to mourn. ^ ■ 
 
 , O, death ! the poor man's dearest friend. 
 
 The kindest and the best ! 
 , Welcome the hour my aged limbs 
 
 Are laid with thee at rest. 
 
 Blest be the arm that stays the trembling frame — that smooths 
 the furrowed brow, and dries the tears of aged want ! If his eyes 
 shall never more gaze upon the scenes of youth, if his bones may 
 *27 
 
4l8 TIIK C11UK( II AND TIIK COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 not mingle w'th sacrcti dust, rcposinjj peacefully across the wide 
 waste of waters, oh ! let his lonely journey to the grave be cheered 
 by a brother's voice ; let his ears hear once more the rude, but to 
 him sweet dialect of his beloved Scotland — let his pillow be guarded 
 by the eye of affection, and his body laid in its narrow house by 
 the hands of Scotia's sons Who has not wept v hen reading the 
 sad and plaintive cry of the Scottish maiden, as she breathed her 
 last among strangers in a foreign land : 
 
 My ain dear mither little kent 
 
 Her Mary is iae ill, 
 For 'tween us there's a weary gate 
 
 O' itoriny sea and hill; 
 And will I never see her face, 
 
 Or hear her speak my name, 
 Or clasp my arms about her neck— 
 
 Oh, it's hard to die frae hante I 
 
 I thank ye a' beside me here, 
 
 For the love ye've shown to me, 
 Y<''ve gien me meat — ye've glen me claes. 
 
 And gien a gentle fee : 
 To think o't makes my heart grow grit. 
 
 And makes me feel like shame ; 
 But yet — forgie me if I sav't — 
 
 Oh, its hard to die frae hame ! 
 
 Christian men have a two-fold mission in the world, ist, to 
 evince the sanctifying power of true religion in their hearts and 
 lives ; and 2nd, to prove its reality before the world, by active efforts 
 in behalf of the sorrowing and downcast. 
 
 Genuine faith invariably produces holiness. Perfect purity out- 
 wardly and inwardly is not to be expected in the present state of 
 being. But the line of demarcation between the followers of Christ 
 and the mass of ungodly men, should be patent to every eye. They 
 are commanded to be holy as Christ is holy — to have the same 
 mind in them that was in Him — not to be conformed to the world* 
 but to be transformed through the renewing of their mind — using 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 419 
 
 it but not abusin(; it A christian is a holy man. Amusements, 
 pastimes and indulgences which occupy the time of other men, are 
 to be discarded, and x.nsual pleasures despised. His entire de- 
 portment is to be a reflexion of his Master's life, so tliat whether he 
 mingles in social fellowship, or transacts business in the market 
 place, or takes part in the church of God, no man shall mistake the 
 sincerity of his devotion and the incorruptible character of his in- 
 tegrity. Just as the fragrance of the rosebud in the garden spreads 
 its sweetness all around, so the perfume of a holy life is to be such, 
 that even ungodly men shall be constrained to acknowledge the 
 grace of God, in the person of his saints, and those who scoff at the 
 doctrines of the IJiblc be compelled to admit the purity and sur- 
 passing excellence of christian ethics. 
 
 But this is only part of the christian's duty ; he is next to prove 
 the reality of his faith by his works. The life of the child of 
 God should be a perpetual sacrifice for the temporal and spiritual 
 good of those around him. He is not to rest contented with the 
 enjoyment of personal comforts, but to spend his time in scattering 
 blessings all along his path ; in cheering the downcast, comforting 
 the mourning, consoling the bereaved, pouring joy into stricken 
 hearts, and drying up the tears of the widow and the fatherless ; as 
 David says, " making wells in the valley of Baca." Such is every- 
 where the representation of Scripture as to what constitutes a living 
 faith. Orthodoxy is good — denominational zeal is good — but with- 
 out large hearted charity it is worthless. That form of religion 
 which is only exhibited in the House of God, and in the public re- 
 lations of life, where men's actions are canvassed and their good 
 deeds are recorded, is an abomination in the sight of God. It is 
 good to speak of Christ and preach salvation at deathbeds ; good 
 to distribute tracts in crowded lanes and tenements of our densely 
 populated cities, but it is well to remember that the poor have bod- 
 ies as well as souls, and that access to the latter can oftentimes only 
 
420 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 be secured by kindness bestowed upon the forme. It is easy to 
 express pity and compassion, and make flaming oratiors Jjrimful of 
 tender emotion for the sufferings and woes of our fellowmen, but it 
 is quite a different thing to exercise practical every day religioii — 
 to go about as Christ did from door to door doing good, making 
 the widow's heart to rejoice and causing the orphan's tongue to 
 sing for joy — this, says the Apostle, is the best of all evidences of 
 our growing likeness to the Saviour. 
 
 At all times there is ample room for the exercise of christian 
 benevolence. In the church and outside of the church ; in our own 
 immediate neighborhood, and in the world at large, the calls are 
 many and urgent. Our duty is plain. We are not to stand by 
 and deplore the miseries of starvation, without extending a helping 
 hand. The ties of our common humanity and the sympathies of 
 our nature, apart altogether from our christian profession, should 
 prompt to speedy action. We are the keepers of our brothers' 
 bodies, as well as their souls, in so far as acts of kindness can miti- 
 gate their sorrows, and deeds of generosity cheer their hearts. Nor, 
 indeed, does it matter much who they are, to what church they 
 belong, or whether they have ever professed faith in any church. 
 Whilst the "household of faith" have first claims upon our benevo- 
 lence, our hearts should be large enough and our sympathies tender 
 enough to embrace the whole family of the suffering. Church 
 boundaries, and denominational differences, and sectional lines, 
 should never render us insensible to the cry of want. On the battle 
 field the soldier binds up the wounds of his dying brother, though 
 but recently he may have been his deadly enemy. So likewise 
 should Christ's disciples. When the tear of sorrow appeals to your 
 heart ; when the tattered beggar, or homeless orphan, or sorrow- 
 stricken widow stands at your door, begging a cruit of bread, an 
 old cast-off garment or coverlet, to protect her and her fatherless 
 children from the chilly blasts of winter, be not insensible to the cry 
 
HOW BEST CAN WE PROVIDE FOR THE POOR. 421 
 
 of pity. Do not let sectarian bigotry )r national exclusiveness, or 
 that spirit of distrust and suspicion and over-cautiousness, which is 
 so prevalent, steel your hearts against the claims of the suffering 
 poor. Be it yours to compassionate. It is Christ-like. Thus will 
 you make religion more lovely and attractive in the eyes of the 
 world ; thus will you enrich your own souls, and ensure for your- 
 selves the eulogium of Him who has said : " Forasmuch as ye 
 have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me." 
 
•>■■ 
 
 I \ 
 
 A Religious People, 
 
 -AN- 
 
 Heroic People. 
 
" The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." 
 
 — Dauiel 11, v. 32. 
 
A Religious People an Heroic People. 
 
 '•N THIS chapter the prophet foretells a period of great 
 tribulation, consequent upon the struggles of rival mon- 
 archies for supremacy, when every form of iniquity 
 and oppression should flourish. Of the Macabees and 
 their followers, whose wonderful sufferings under repeated 
 persecutions, the page of history narrates, and their singu- 
 larly grand and noble bearing against fearful odds, it is said : — 
 " The people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." 
 The idea expressed in the text is that experimental, personal, 
 saving knowledge of God, as a friend and helper in times of trouble 
 nerves to unflinching endurance of wrong, and heroic deeds in be- 
 half of right ; that religion gives tone and vigor to conduct ; that 
 strength of mind is pre-eminently a characteristic of religious na- 
 tures, while timidity, cowardice and indecision belong to men of no 
 fixed principles, and no abiding faith in God. 
 
 Before applying this thought to nations in their corporate and 
 collective capacity, we may for a moment look at it, as illustrated 
 in the case of individuals. We shall thus find that courage is not in- 
 compatible with holiness and meekness, and that none are so brave 
 
 (425) 
 
426 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 in times of danger, as thoso whc, consciously weak in themselves, 
 are strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 
 
 Moses is described as one of the meekest men that ever lived, 
 the very last to become a leader, and fight the battles of two mil- 
 lions of bondmen. When called to confront the King of Egypt, 
 and demand the liberation of the Israelites, it was not in the spirit 
 of mock humility that he said : " Whom am I that I should go 
 unto Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel 
 out of Egypt?" but from a conscientious feeling of his utter inade- 
 quacy to the task assigned him. But once assured that God was 
 with him and would give him utterance and boldness, he never fal- 
 tered in his mission until the song of victory was sung by Miriam 
 and the daughters of Israel, and the horsemen of Egypt were silent 
 under the waters of the sea. Gideon, the instrument in the hands 
 of God, of saving Israel from the Midianites, is another example of 
 holy courage. The promise of Jehovah : " Go in this thy might ; 
 have not I sent thee ; surely I will be with thee " — enabled him, 
 though least in His Father's house, to smite the Midianites as one 
 man. " The sword of the Lord and of Gideon " put thousands to 
 flight, as the three thousand blew their trumpets and broke their 
 pitchers. And so of David, when selected as the champion of Is- 
 rael against the great Goliath. He had no confidence in his own 
 personal bravery, skilled though he was in the use of sling and 
 stone. There is a marvelous representation in marble of the young 
 David, by Michael Angelo, in the city of Florence. He stands 
 with firm foothold, yet with his whole frame drawn back as if to 
 gain momentum for the stone that is in a moment to speed on its 
 errand of death. The furrowed brow and eyes set intently upon 
 the giant show him aware of the awful crisis, and that all Israel is 
 breathlessly looking on ; but the firmly set lips also di xlose the 
 fact that the God of Israel is nerving him within. His courage was 
 supernatural. " I am come to thee in the name of the Lord of 
 
A RELIGIOUS TEOrLE AN HEROIC PEOPLE. 427 
 
 Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." 
 And not to multiply illustrations, it was in the same spirit of reli- 
 ance upon God's presence and favor, that Elijah confronted Ahab, 
 challenged the priests of Baal, and proved the might of Israel's God. 
 '• What shall I more say, for the time would fail me to tell of those 
 who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, ob- 
 tained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence 
 of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made 
 strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of aliens." 
 
 In apostolic times, the defiant bearing of such men as Paul, be- 
 fore their judges and accusers, and in more recent days, the Reform- 
 ation movements, carried on under the mighty impulse of Luther, 
 "that solitary monk that shook the world," and John Knox, who 
 liberated his nation and his countrymen from the yoke of supersti- 
 tion, are striking instances of what the text affirms : " The peo- 
 ple that know their God shall be strong and do exploits." 
 
 What is characteristic of the individual, is true of certain na- 
 tions. The religious sentiment — call it so if you will — is found in 
 certain countries more strongly developed than in others, and just 
 in proportion have they left their mark upon the world, and made 
 the present age their debtors. Where it is nothing better than fan- 
 aticism, or superstitious fear of the Divine Being, it leads to nothing 
 worthy or noble — as for example in the crusades of the middle ages 
 for the capture of Jerusalem, — but where it springs from an intelli- 
 gent apprehension of man's relation to his God, and his readiness 
 to help in every time of need, it inspires to marvellous deeds of 
 daring, and to the sacrifice of life itself This religious sentiment, 
 or rather faith, was the mainspring of that long succession of strug- 
 gles which has made Scotland bulk so largely in the history of the 
 world ; that has raised her — poor, and small, and insignificant 
 among the nations, to a rank equal with those of the foremost — not 
 it may be in material wealth and greatness, but in all that consti- 
 
428 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 tutes true moral grandeur. Her sons and daughters endured as 
 seeing Him who is invisible They bore up under repeated reverses 
 that would have crushed feebler souls. Immured in dungeons, or 
 banished into exile, or hemmed in by the wild waves of the ocean 
 in rocky prisons, their voices rang out in notes of praise above the 
 storm. The wintry winds, the rage of arctic storms, famine, soli- 
 tude and chilly cells racked the frames and broke the health of 
 many of Scotland's noblest sons, but never once shaked their reso- 
 lution nor their trust in God. On the scaffold and at the stake they 
 met their doom with calm resignation, " sustained by the bright vis- 
 ions of the martyr's crown." " Firm as the rock they rested their 
 hopes on the foundations of eternal truth, and submitted to insults, 
 wrongs, and privations, with a calmness and constancy of spirit 
 which the malice of their enemies could not move." How were 
 they enabled to endure in those times, 
 
 Whose echo rings through Scotland till this hour ] 
 
 There was with them, as with the Hebrew children in the fur- 
 nace, one whose forip was like unto the Son of God. He heard 
 their prayers, lightened their burdens, sustained their sinking souls, 
 and irradiated the gloom of the lonely prison with his own glorious 
 presence. 
 
 There is a theory that nations are moulded by their physical 
 surroundings, and that faith and courage are results in great mea- 
 sure of certain climatic conditions. The man who breathes the 
 bracing mountain air, and inhabits the frigid regions of the Arctic 
 zone is doubtless very different from the man of the plain or the 
 torrid belt. The material world, upon him who has an eye for 
 beauty, exercises a powerful and constant influence. Hence it is 
 argued that the highest forms of civilization centre in rugged re- 
 gions where men have to battle with difficulties, and not in rich fer- 
 tile valleys, where the human race is stationary, because there is 
 
A RELIGIOUS I'EOI'LK AN HEROIC PEOPLE, 429 
 
 nothing; to draw out the strortfjer elements of manhood. The severe 
 and somewhat uncongenial religious life of Scotland has thus, it is 
 said, sprung out of its physical conditions. " The soil is largely 
 hard and unproductive, its sky is cloudy, its climate severe, its seas 
 stormy. It is a land pierced with deep, shadowy glens — on whose 
 mountain summits thick mists brood, or creep along their sides in 
 weird and mysterious forms ; a land whose far stretching hills and 
 deep ravines, have their silence broken only by the foot fall of the 
 deer, or the rustle of the partridge's wings." Such features, it is 
 said, could not fail to effect the religious life of the people, and im- 
 press upon them qualities of reverence, solemn pathos and strong 
 endurance. To some extent this is true, but whatever the color of 
 the nation's piety the thing itself is divine in its origin. The men 
 of a by-gone age communed with God in solitude and gained in- 
 spiration for holy deeds of daring in the pavilion of the Most High* 
 It was their religion that made them valiant and gave them that 
 superiority of mind that scorned ease and opulence and chose the 
 loss of all that was dear to man on earth rather than betray con- 
 science and yield up the sacred birthright that belongs to every 
 child of God ! 
 
 What has singled out Scotland from other nations is the fact 
 that the religious sentiment, coupled with a considerable degree of 
 intelligence and rational conviction, has been found, not simply nor 
 so much among her nobles and educated classes, as among the 
 masses of the population. Whatever reforms have been accom- 
 plished in church or state, has been the fesult of united action on 
 the part of the entire nation. A few who valued royal patronage 
 and emoluments, more than constitutional liberty, and who cared 
 little fpr any form of faith whatever, stood aloof from such strug- 
 gles for national freedom, as at Bannockburn, and the contendings 
 for purity of worship in martyr times. But with such trifling excep- 
 tions, all classes ranked under the same banner, and fought side by 
 
430 THE CHURCil AND THi: COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 side. No one conversant with the sipninp of the " Solemn Leap^e 
 and Covenant," or the details of those unecjual and bloody cnga^'C- 
 mcnts at Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge, can doubt for a moment 
 the united demand of a long-suffering people for the redress of 
 grievances. The very appearance of the Covenanters, when sud- 
 denly called to face the enemy, destitute of all the usual imple- 
 ments of war, and but ill prepared to resist the avalanche of trained 
 battalions, shows who were the men and what were their occupa- 
 tions, that willingly surrendered life rather than their God-given 
 liberties. The description given of their arms and ammunition in 
 a burlesque poem of that age, however highly colored, contains not 
 a little truth : . i 
 
 Some had halborts, some had dirks, 
 Soino had crooked swords like Turks, 
 Home had slinks, some had flails, 
 Knit with eel and oxen tails ; 
 Homn had spears and some had pikes, 
 Some had spades that delved dykes, 
 Some had fiery peats for matches. 
 Some had guns with rusty ratches ; 
 Some had bows, but wanted arrows, 
 » Some had pistols without marrows, 
 
 Some had the coulter of a plough. 
 Some scythes both men and horse to hough. 
 
 In order to prove that this strong religious sentiment animated 
 all classes of the commonwealth, down to the humblest sons of toil, 
 let me select at random one of the instances of the exploits done 
 by the men " who knew their God," in the days of old. I have 
 often thought, that could artistic genius be found capable of deline- 
 ating in panoramic view the heroic deeds of that bloody age, it 
 would far out-rival the brightest gems of mediaeval art. What a 
 glorious subject for the artist's pencil, the battle of Airsmoss, where 
 Richard Cameron and a small body of brother Covenanters were 
 surprised and murdered in cold blood. Cameron hunted like a 
 
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 3 
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 '35 
 
 o 
 
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 S 
 
 03 
 
 o 
 
A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AN HEROIC PEOPLE. 431 
 
 deer upon the mountains from place to place, has just — with thrill- 
 ing eloq'v'cnce — been exhorting his hearers to accept of Christ — the 
 whole congregation weeping as if their faces had been washed with 
 a shower of rain. It was his last sermon. As he passed across the 
 moor in company with friends, the troopers overtook them. See 
 that noble form, ere the battle has been joined, commending his 
 little company to the God of battles, and adding with peculiar 
 fervor : " Lord spare the green and take the ripe. This is the day 
 I have prayed for — the day I have longed for — the day I shall get 
 the crown ; come let us fight to the last." Nobly but briefly did 
 that little band resist ; they fought uke lions till they could fight 
 no more, and soon the roar of battle was hushed upon the moor. 
 " I die," said he, " as a witness for Christ, and what a privilege it is ! 
 Weep not, but continue steadfast in the faith, and not fear suffer- 
 ing." Two or three hard breaths, and he was at rest. They gath- 
 ered the blooming heather and strewed it in his grave, — gently laid 
 him down on the moor where ho fell — strewed more heather blos- 
 soms over his loved form, and left him alone, and went their way, 
 to do and suffer the like for Christ. 
 
 Upon the wild and lone Airsmoss, down sank the twilight grey , 
 In storm and cloud the evening closed upon that cheerless day. 
 
 Nature seemed a reluctant spectator of such cruelty, and con- 
 cealed the beauty of a summer's eve in premature darkness. But 
 how different the scene in the spirit world ! 
 
 When the righteous had fallen and the combat had ended, 
 A chariot of fire through the dark cloud descended ; 
 The drivers were angels on horsf'S of whiteness. 
 And his burning wheels turned upon axles of brightness. 
 
 A seraph unfolded its doors, bright and shining, 
 All dazzling like gold of the seventh refining. 
 And the souls that come forth out of great tribulation, 
 Have mounted the chariot and steeds of salvation. 
 
432 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 On the arch of the rainbow the chariot is gliding, 
 Through tli© paths of thunder the horsemen are riding ; 
 Glide swiftly, bright spirits, the prize is before ye, 
 A crown never fading, a kingdom of glory. 
 
 Truthfully did his murderers say, when deliverinir up the head 
 and hands of the martyr to the officers of the council in Edinburgh : 
 " These are the head and hands of a man who lived praying and 
 preaching, and died praying and fighting." 
 
 Another scene — John Brown, the christian carrier of Priesthill, 
 after morning worship, has left his humble cottage for his daily 
 toil. He is found by Claverhouse and his ruffian soldiery, and 
 brought back, walking before his murderers, more like a conqueror 
 than a captive. Refusing to turn recreant to his Maker, and swear 
 against his conscience, he is ordered to his knees to prepare to die. 
 He kneels down and prays with such fervor and fluency, despite 
 a stammering tongue, that the stout hearts of the dragoons were 
 melted, and their eyes suffused with tears. Rising from his knees 
 he says to his wife, who, with her babes, are spectators of this 
 bloody tragedy. " This is the day I spoke to you of when first I 
 proposed marriage," and asks if she is willing to part with him. 
 " Heartily willing," said she. " This is all I desire," said the dying 
 martyr, " I have nothing more now to do but die." Kissing her 
 and his children, and praying that all purchased and promised 
 blessing", may be multiplied unto them, Claverhouse interrupts 
 his sp'^ech, places the pistol close to the covenanter's head, and 
 shatters his skull ! Do you wonder that curses rest upon the man 
 that could do so foul a deed, or that Scotland is proud of her sons 
 and daughters who could act their part so well ? 
 
 Once more, and I drop the curtain : The scene is on the Gal- 
 loway sea shore ; Margaret Wilson, the virgin martyr of eighteen 
 years, and an aged and pious widow, are dragged forth to die. The 
 victims are folloAved to the place of doom by crowds who can hardly 
 believe that men in God's image can venture on such a horrid deed. 
 
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 O 
 
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A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AN HEROIC PEOPLE. 433 
 
 The sentence is that they be tied to stakes fixed within the flood 
 mark, where the river meets the sea, and there be drowned with the 
 risinj^ tide. The stakes are driven into the oozy sand — the widow's 
 furthest in — that she may die the first. The tide begins to flow, 
 the hoarse, rough billows come advancing on, swelling and mount- 
 ing inch by inch, over limb and breast and neck and lip of the aged 
 heroine, while the younger victim still in shallower water, gazes on 
 the awful spectacle, knowing that in a few minutes more her agon- 
 ies will be the same. Docs she flinch? When for a moment the 
 cords that bind her to the stake are cut, and she is offered life if 
 she will recant and deny the faith, docs she yield ? No I She 
 spurns the abjurations oath, and so, plunged again into the heav- 
 ing waters, after a brief struggle, the spirit of the virgin martyr 
 enters upon eternal joy. Well may we say, as we read such 
 histories, — 
 
 There are no colors in the fairest sky so fair as these, 
 Methinks their very lines shine still and bri<;ht, 
 Apart— like glow-worms in the woods of spring — 
 Or lonely tapers shooting from a light. 
 
 That guides and cheers, 
 
 Or, seen like stars on high. 
 
 Satellites, turning in a lucid rin<?, 
 
 Around the Covenanter's heavenly memory. 
 
 But the valiant exploits of that age were by no means confined 
 to men of humble rank. Among the titled nobles of the land there 
 was found the same heroic defence of the ancient faith. On the 
 27th day of May, 1661, first in time and first in rank of Charles' 
 victims, the Marquis of Argyle suffered death, as the Proto Martyr 
 of covenanting times. History records no grander event than the 
 bearing of Archibald, Earl of Argyle, when condemned and on the 
 scaffold. Receiving his sentence kneeling, he rose and said, " I had 
 the honor to set the rrown upon the King's head, and now he has- 
 tens me to a better crown than his own." On the day of his exe- 
 •28 
 
434 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 cution, when his attendant clcrj^yman put the question, " what cheer, 
 my lord ? " " Good cheer, sir," was the reply, " the Lord hath again 
 confirmed and said to me from heaven, son, be of [j^ood cheer, thy 
 sins be forgiven thee." Then with steady step, calm pulse, and un- 
 moved countenance, after earnest prayer he kneeled before the axc» 
 gave the signal and the weapon fell. " I could die as a Roman, 
 said Argyle, but choose rather to die as a christian," and as such he 
 died. Twenty-four years afterwards, on June 30th, 1685, another 
 Argyle died under the executioner's axe, saying as he went to join 
 his martyred father : " I die not only a Protestant, but with a 
 heart hatred of Popery, Prelacy, and all superstition whatever." 
 These noblemen — noble not only by birth but by gracious endow- 
 ments, have left behind them characters which their enemies have 
 failed to depreciate or asperse. So long as the heath covered moun- 
 tains of Scotland remain, the name of Argyle will be gratefully re- 
 membered. That name means liberty of conscience, freedom of 
 speech, constitutional government, obedience to just rulers, and dis- 
 interested patriotism towards the land we live in, and the land of 
 our birth. 
 
 I know that it may be said, that the valor and immortal acts of 
 many of Scotland's sons were due more to simple patriotism than 
 the religious element in their nature. In reply, I ask, can there be 
 genuine love of country without reverence for God ? Are not piety 
 and patriotism kindred virtues ? Do they not proceed alike from 
 the same fountain of unselfish and God-like emotions? Have you 
 ever known a man, truly loyal and devoted in the maintenance of 
 the nation's honor, and the vindication of her liberties, who had no 
 religious feelings ? So far as we can understand the inner life of 
 Scottish patriots, we recognize stern fidelity to truth, and jealous 
 watchfulness of the rights of the greater King, as the motives to 
 action. Not for the acquisition of territory did they draw the 
 sword, but that what heaven had given them, in soil and sacred 
 
A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AN HEROIC PEOPLE. 435 
 
 heritage, might never in all time coming be outraged by the fo^<t 
 of the usurper. 
 
 The Presbyterian type of religion has often been, and still is 
 caricatured by ignorance and envy, as something that degrades 
 both God and man. In the pre^s and from the platform, Calvin- 
 ism — that form of doctrinal bcliif which the majority of our coun- 
 trymen accept — is denounced and misrepresented by pigmies, whose 
 souls cannot approach those mysterious truths that the great Re- 
 former taught. It is customary at the present day for backboneless 
 religionists to disparage all religious fervor as mere cant. " Bigotry 
 intolerance, fanaticism and puritanic zeal," are the names applied 
 to earnest endeavors to revive the purity and holy passions of by- 
 gone days. Strange that Calvinistic doctrines, if so unreasonable 
 and pernicious, should have made such heroes, and left their imprint 
 upon a little kingdom that has given constitutional liberty to many 
 parts of Europe ' 
 
 No human system of theology is perfect, but for Calvinism we 
 claim the highest standard of morality, for states as well as indi- 
 viduals — the most defiant and successful opposition to every form 
 of violence and iniquity, and the development of the sweetest and 
 tenderest characters the world has ever seen. Such illustrious na- 
 tures as William the Silent, Luther, Knox, Melville, Cromwell, 
 Milton, John Bunyan, Whitfield and Chalmers wptp not formed by 
 a narrow and cruel creed. And such are the men that Calvinism 
 has produced in every age. Its grand doctrines commanded obedi- 
 ence when conflict meant death or victory, oftentimes death in vic- 
 tory, and when its stern call to duty kindled the fires of martyrdom. 
 Standing firm on the eternal rock of thc'r faith, such men breasted 
 the tumultuous seas of civil and religious persecution, and won for 
 their posterity priceless blessings, which can never more be alien- 
 ated. Their characters were the product of their faith, and their 
 actions the result of direct personal communion with the unseen 
 
436 THE CHURCH AND THK COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 worlfl. The God of the Calvinistic system of religion is the noblest 
 bcinjj of which the human mind can conceive. Mis glorious attri- 
 butes are exalted, while man the creature bends a lowly knee 
 "before Jehovah's awful throne." Holiness, justice and truth blend 
 in beauteous harmony with goodness, mercy and love, for all arc 
 united in the work of redemption for fallen man. The divine sov- 
 ereignty and ceaseless watchfulness and controlling decrees of infi- 
 nite wisdom, and the fact that nothing is left to blind chance or 
 mere contingencies, gives to him who accepts it confidence and 
 solid footing amid the ever-changing current of human events. Life 
 is thus made sublime, for its destiny is fixed, and God is ever pres- 
 ent in all that concerns the creature. Systems of religion are known 
 by their results, and tried by this, Calvinism need not fear com- 
 parison with any existing form of theological belief Eminent men 
 on both sides of the Atlantic, who have no great sympathy with 
 Presbyterian doctrine, are the loudest in its praise. " There is no 
 system," says Mr. Beechcr, " which equals Calvinism in intensifying 
 to the last degree ideals of moral excellence and purity of charac- 
 ter. There never was a system since the world stood which puts 
 upon a man such motives to holiness, or which builds batteries that 
 sweep the whole ground of sin with such horrible artillery." Says 
 Froudc, the historian of England : "When all else has failed ; when 
 patriotism has covered its face and human courage has broken 
 down, that form of belief called Calvinism, in one or other of its 
 many forms, has borne ever an inflexible frontto illusion and men- 
 dacity, and has preferred rather to be ground to powder like flint, 
 than to bend before violence or melt under enervating temptation.'* 
 Not to glorify the sainted dead do we recall the past, but that 
 their descendants may act the same manly part in this the land of 
 their adoption. Young men were pre-eminently the standard bear- 
 ers of the faith, in the days gone by. In every grave crisis they 
 stood firm, and gave life away with a readiness that seemed strange 
 
A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AN HEROIC PEOPLE. 437 
 
 in souls so young. Patrick Hamilton, a mcic youth, led the way 
 to martyrdom ; Hugh McKail, and "the boy Renwick," met death 
 with steady nerve ; and of the three or four hundred ministers who 
 in 1662 abandoned their livings for conscience sake, the great ma- 
 jority were between twenty and forty years of age. Every age has 
 its speci.il dangers, rnd needs the same piety and firmness that 
 characterized the past. Ihc martyr's crown may not be so com- 
 mon in otr day, but to every one who manfully confesses Christ 
 before men, there is in store the same reward. 
 
 Tho l)ftnnor may fall but the spirit lives, 
 
 And livetli for cvcrinnre ; 
 And Scotland claims m hor noblest names, 
 
 The covenant men of yore. 
 
 O for the brave, true hearts of old, 
 That bled when the banner perished ; 
 
 for the f lith that was strong in death — 
 The faith that our fathers cherished. 
 
 The piety of our forefathers was not a mere sentiment, but a 
 rational conviction. They spake because they believed. W^iththe 
 Bible in one hand and the sword in the other, they alternately 
 preached and fought. Often worsted in battles of fearful odds, 
 their principles, instinct with divine life, were never crushed. 
 Let us, following in their footsteps, and wisely wielding the sword 
 of the spirit, which is the word of God, imitate the courage of the 
 aged covenanter, who thus apostrophizes the old sword, that had 
 seen hard service at Airsmoss and Drumclog and Hothwell Bridge : 
 
 Thy blade is dimmed with dying martyrs' breath, 
 'T is tyrant blood that rusts thee, trusty blade. 
 
 Bright hast thou flashed, my faithful sword, 
 When battle raged, blaspheming foemen fell 
 
 Beneath thy sweep — the battles of the Lord, 
 The league, the covenant, thy legend* tell. 
 
438 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 And though thou art hacked and r^d with rust, 
 Yet from thy Bcabbard wouldat thou (lauh again, 
 
 As lightning would thou dash unto tho duat, 
 The tyrant who would show to thee a chain. 
 
 Yea, our posterity will keep thee bright, 
 A 8yinl)ol of the daring heart and hand 
 
 Wnich used thee well for liberty and right, 
 Aid built Fame's altar in our native land." 
 
 •^.^^^t^ 
 
Religion the Source of 
 
" How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob ! and thy tabernacles, O Israel !" 
 
 — Numl)er8 24, v. 5. 
 
 " I remenibor the days of oH, which we have heard and known, and 
 our fathers have told us " 
 
 —Psalm 143, V. 5. 
 
 "We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the genera- 
 tions to come the praises of the Lord, and the wonderful works that he 
 hath done." 
 
 — Psa m 78, v. 8, 4. 
 
Religion the Source of National Blessings. 
 
 ?HERE is nothing at the present day regarding which 
 greater difference of opinion prevails than as to what con- 
 stitutes national greatness. In former periods consider- 
 able unanimity of sentiment prevailed, and the statement 
 accepted : " Righteousness exalteth a nation." But in modern 
 times this principle is practically denied. The actions of many 
 public men would lead us to the conclusion that national greatness 
 consists, not so much in a reputation for integrity and honorable 
 dealing, as in transcendent pomp and splendor, extensive territorieii 
 and vast political power. In opposition to such a theory, history, 
 both sacred and profane, presents manifold instances of kingdoms 
 sunk in moral degradation, while at the same time possessing all 
 that the loftiest ambition could desire, or that riches could procure. 
 On the other hand, comparative poverty and obscurity have often 
 been found associated with genuine worth and moral grandeur. 
 
 In illustrating this truth, there is no instance more to our pur- 
 pose than the eulogy pronounced upon the Israelites when en- 
 camped on the borders of Canaan, No finer subject for the artist's 
 pencil can be found than that of the Hebrew army as it lay out- 
 
 (440 
 
44-2 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Stretched on the plains of Moab. Hitherto sustained by Almighty 
 power, God's chosen people had vanquished all their enemies, and 
 the fame of their victorious battles had spread itself on every hand. 
 Heathen monarchs were alarmed and troubled on their thrones. 
 The King of Moab, whose territory they had now entered,, fearing 
 lest he too should be vanquished, sends a deputation to the false 
 prophet Balaam, with the reward of divination in their hands, beg- 
 ging him to come to his aid and devote the army to destruction. 
 'Come now therefore I pray thee; curse me this people, for they 
 are too mighty for me ; for I wot <^hat he whom thou blessest is 
 blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." 
 
 Had Balaam been a righteous man he would at once have 
 spurned the offer, but the bribe was attractive to his covetous soul. 
 Accordingly he delays the mesijengers, and consults the Lord as to 
 the path of duty. God prohibits him from going on such a wicked 
 errand, saying : — " Thou shalt not go with them ; thou shalt not 
 curse the people, for they are blessed." A second application fol- 
 lows, more urgent and more tempting, but Balaam replies : — " If 
 Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go 
 beyond the word of the Lord my God." Still there is an evident 
 desire on the part of Balaam to accompany the King's messengers, 
 if the permission of Jehovah can be secured. Finally, we read that 
 God allows the false prophet to go, but not to curse. Balaam's 
 desire was to earn the proffered reward, but this was only obtain- 
 able by his obeying the King's mandate. As he proceeds the angel 
 of the Lord blocks up his way. The dumb animal on which he 
 rode rebukes him, and the angel, with drawn sword in hand, con- 
 fronts the wicked prophet on his entrance of the Moabitish terri- 
 tory. The King meets him with becoming dignity. Sacrifices are 
 offered, and the prophet retires to consult the Lord. Returning to 
 the King, he says : " How shall I curse, whom God hath not 
 cursed ? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied ? For 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 443 
 
 from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold 
 him : Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned 
 among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the 
 fourth part of Israel ?" 
 
 Foiled in this effort, Balak takes the prophet to a higher point 
 of vision, where he may see the extended hosts of Israel. Again 
 sacrifices are offered, again the Lord is consulted, and again Balaam 
 refuses to curse the people. As a last resource, Balak leads the 
 prophet to the top of Peor, in the hope that if he will not curse the 
 people, he may at least remain neutral : " Neither cursing them at 
 all, nor blessing them at all." The altars are accordingly once 
 more erected, and the rams and bullocks sacrificed. There, upon 
 the height, overlooking the camp of Israel, stands the false prophet 
 and the King of Moab. The army of Israel, extended on the 
 plains beneath for many miles, meets the prophet's eye : — " their 
 tents spread out as gardens by the riverside — as the trees of lign- 
 aloes — as cedar trees beside the w iters, which the Lord hath plant- 
 ed." In the midst stands the tabernacle, with the pillar of fire and 
 cloud overhead, a covering from the sun and a defence from the 
 enemy. Struck with the beauty and moral grandeur of the scene, 
 Balaam gives utterance to the words of our text ; " How goodly 
 are thy tents, O Jacob ! and thy tabernacles, O Israel I 
 
 Why was it that the prophet rendered such a tribute of praise 
 and spoke in such commendatory terms of Israel ? 
 
 (a). Not because of their military strength and prowess in war. 
 The many signal victories they had achieved were due not to their 
 personal bravery, but to God. Never was there a more undiscip- 
 lined army than that which Moses led forth out of Egypt. Not by 
 strategry nor sheer force of will had they been brought so far upon 
 their march, and even at this period, with all their experience of 
 nearly forty years, they could not have overcome the Moabites un- 
 less aided and directed by a higher power. The King of Moab 
 
444 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 recognized the presence of a mightier foe than the Israelites ; he 
 trembled not for Jacob's seed, but for Jacob's God I 
 
 {b). Not because of their riches and worldly possessions. Wit- 
 ness the condition of the people in Egyptian bondage, and the bor- 
 rowing of their neighbors' jewels on the eve of their departure! 
 They were the poorest of the poor — worse in many respects than 
 the Crusaders when they started on their march to Palestine. Their 
 temporal comforts were few. They were daily dependent upon the 
 bounty of heaven. Tent life upon the battle-field, exposed to dan- 
 ger, and far from enviable was their condition. To the eye of sense 
 there was nothing attractive in this singular, yet invincible host. 
 
 (c). Not because of their national prestige. As yet they could 
 hardly be called a nation, in the ordinary acceptation of the term* 
 They had no reputation as such by heathen kingdoms. Their pro- 
 spective territory was as yet in possession of other people. Their 
 settlement in the land of Canaan was in the future, and only to be 
 attained by aggression, and the continuance of hostilities. They 
 had no King — no Cabinet — no Government to treat with other na- 
 tions, and enter into alliances for the enforcement of laws, and the 
 maintenance of rights. They had no place in history, and to the 
 eye of sense seemed but a wandering superstitious horde, doomed 
 to extinction sooner or later, when confronted by mightier or more 
 skilful foes ! 
 
 Why then did Balaam so much admire the spectacle spread out 
 before him ? 
 
 Because he saw that God was with them. He traced all their 
 blessings, temporal and spiritual, to the existence of true religion 
 in their midst. The tabernacle was the place v/here Jehovah's pres- 
 ence was manifested, and the standing symbol of his protection. 
 Although Baalam had never savingly experienced the saving power 
 of grace upon his own heart, he acknowledged the value of religion 
 in the camp of Israel. The tent and the tabernacle were the repre- 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 445 
 
 sentativcs of family piety and public ordinances, and the results 
 were national religion and national prosperity. They were pre- 
 eminently blcased, not because of their superiority to other kinjj- 
 doms in valor, or fjenius, or political diplomacy, but because they 
 worshipped the true God, and acknowledged His claims to their 
 homage. 
 
 This leads me to speak briefly of the means used to fo-stcr at- 
 tachment for the ordinances of the tabernacle and temple, in the 
 descendants of Abraham. Says the Psalmist : " The days of old 
 which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us, we 
 will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generations 
 to come the praises of the Lord, and the wonderful works that he 
 hath done " 
 
 In days when books and printing presses were unknown, his- 
 tory was handed down from, sire to son. But for such traditionary 
 lore, the stirring events and memorable deeds which have rendered 
 nations imperishable, and their actions immortal, would have been 
 lost to view. 
 
 The Jewish nation perpetuated its history, and inspired that 
 fervent patriotism which still possesses the race, by handing down 
 from generation to generation the story of God's mighty acts. It 
 was a direct command of Jehovah that their children should be 
 early indoctrinated in Bible truth, and made to understand the way 
 by which their fathers had been led : " These words, which I com- 
 mand thee this day, shall be in thine heart ; and thou shalt teach 
 them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou 
 sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when 
 thou liest down, and when thou risest up." " Take heed to thyself, 
 lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, but teach 
 them thy sons, and thy son's sons." The meaning of every new 
 event and institution in the history of Israel, was to be explained 
 and impressed upon the minds of the young. Thus in regard to 
 
446 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the Passover : *• When thy son askcth thee in time to come, saying, 
 What is this? Thou shalt say unto him. By strength of hand the 
 Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage." And 
 after their entrance into Canaan, when they asked the meaning of 
 the stones placed in the Jordan, they were to tell them that these 
 stones were for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever, of 
 the drying up of the Jordan, when the ark of the covenant and the 
 people passed over on dry ground. It is in reference to these 
 teachings of childhood that the Psalmist David says: "We have 
 heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work 
 thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive 
 out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them ; how thou didst 
 afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in 
 possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them ; 
 but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, 
 because thou hadst a favour unto them." 
 
 The result of such careful home instruction was just what might 
 be expected. Their love of country was intense, and their devo- 
 tion to its interests supreme. When near Mount Zion, and within 
 sight of the Holy city, their joy was unbounded ; when separ- 
 ated by exile their sorrovv was too deep for expression, and bor- 
 dered on despair. How fondly they loved their land, and mourned 
 over their own back-slidings and the desolation of the sanctuary, as 
 touchingly expressed in the 137th Psalm. The temple was in 
 ruins, and the once busy streets of Jerusalem now deserted. The 
 land was waste and inhabited by foreigners, while far from home, 
 strangers and exiles, they sat by the rivers of Babylon. In such 
 circumstances, what could they do but weep in silence as they re- 
 membered Zion. " By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, 
 yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps 
 upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried 
 us away captive required of us a song ; and they that wasted us re- 
 
'■'^i^^i 
 
 .__ ^M, 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 447 
 
 quired of us mirth, saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion. I low 
 shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ? If I forget thee, 
 O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning ; if I do not re- 
 member thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ! " 
 
 To keep alive and quicken this undying love of country and 
 transmit it to those who are to follow us, is one of the objects for 
 which this and kindred national societies have been instituted. 
 Next to the Jewish nation, Scotland has just such a charm in the 
 eyes of foreigners, while to her loyal and leal-hearted sons her tem- 
 ples and her simple faith are enshrined in the heart of hearts. For 
 has not the church in Scotland been the primary source of all the 
 nation's greatness, whether we look at her in an ecclesiastical, edu- 
 cational or political point of view ? 
 
 Like the Jew, we are not ashamed to avow our patriotism. We 
 hold it to be quite compatible with a faithful discharge of citizen- 
 ship in our adopted land, that wc reverence our native soil. To- 
 night, our tcndcrest memories cluster around the scenes of boyhood 
 and the simple delights of early years. In bolder outlines than ever 
 artist's skill transferred to canvass, we seem once more to gaze upon 
 her bosky glens, her moorland ridges, her rushing torrents, her 
 miles of purple heather, her snow-capped and mist-veiled moun- 
 tains, her hills and valleys that once echoed to the cry of freedom, 
 and sheltered martyrs from the fiery blast of persecution. We 
 think of past and parted friendships, of the humble cottage nestling 
 among the trees, of the parish school and kirk where first intelli- 
 gence was awakened and reason stimulated, and finally of the " auld 
 kirk yard," where fathers r.nd mothers, brothers and sisters, now 
 quietly sleep under God's watching eye, awaiting the resurrection 
 of the just. 
 
 Dear to our spirit, Scotland, hast thou been, 
 Since infant years, in all thy glens of green, 
 Land of our birth, and of our father's grave, 
 The eagle's home and eyrie of the brave ! 
 
448 THE CHURCH and thk commonwkalth. 
 
 Unrivallod land of lecipnce and of arta ; 
 Land of fair fact'H and of faithful twarts ; 
 Land wIuti) ruii^ion paves h<>r Itoavniiward road, 
 Lnud of thfl toinplcs of tho living (lod ! 
 Yt't d»»ar to fonlin;,', Scotland, nn thou art — 
 iShould'Ht thou \hnt ^lorioua ttwnplo e'er destsrt ; 
 Wo would dificlaim th(><' — avi^W tho dJHtant ahoro 
 Of 8omo fair isle — and then return no moie I " 
 
 But not these things alone, to-night, demand our reverence. We 
 pay hom.'i'Te to the past, because of the privileges it has conferred 
 upon us in the present. If civilization anil learning have now at- 
 tained a point in advance of any former age, let us never forget the 
 men, nor despise their labors, who gave a stimulus to thought and 
 laid the foundation of* moral work: and social happiness in days 
 long gone by. Those civil and political principles and institutions 
 which arc now the glory of christian lands, were wrought out and 
 built up, in days when the few had to fight the many — when men 
 looked to the invisible more than the tangible, and when honest, 
 outspoken sentiments were rewarded by fetters, imprisonment antl 
 death. To the wisdom of her statesmen — the heroism of her Cov- 
 enanters — the valor of her soldier citizens — ^thc industry of her 
 peasantry — in a word, to that unquenchable faith of God's sover- 
 eignty, which possessed the inmost heart of the Scoctish nation, do 
 we owe our noblest gifts in the nineteenth century — our peaceful 
 homes, our law abiding communities — our undisturbed sanctuaries, 
 and our constitutional liberties. As the great Edward Irving, 
 apostrophizing his countrymen, well and truly says : " Ye were a 
 nation of families, and every head of a family was a king and a 
 priest in his house, which was a house of God and a gate of heaven. 
 Yop peasantry were as the sons of kings, in their gravity and wis- 
 dom. They were men who held communion with the King of 
 heaven. Oh, never again till our King comes, shall the world wit- 
 ness such a chosen seed and noble vine, as were planted in the 
 desolat " wilds of the north." 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 449 
 
 Do I need to apolof^izc for such feelings ? The man who has 
 no peculiar love for his native soil is a monstrosity. There is some 
 sad defect in his organization. Every Hriton, be he Knglishman, 
 Irishman or Scotchman, glories in his birthright. A finer illustra- 
 tion of this undying love of country has never been repeated than 
 the following : In the cathedral of Limerick there hangs a chime of 
 bells which were cast in Italy by an enthusiast in his trade, who 
 fixed his home near the monastery where they were first hung, that 
 he might enjoy their sweet, solemn music. In a political revolution 
 the bells were taken away to some distant land, and the maker 
 himself became a refugee and exile. Me lost his all, and after the 
 passing of the storm found himself preserved alone amid the wreck 
 of fortune, friends, family and home. The convent in which the 
 bells were hung was razed to the earth, and the bells carried away 
 to another land. The unfortunate Italian, haunted by his mem- 
 ories and deserted by his hopes, became a wanderer over Europe. 
 His hair grew grey and his heart withered. In this desolation of 
 spirit, he formed the resolution of seeking the place to which the 
 treasures of his memory had been finally borne. His wanderings 
 brought him, after many years, to Ireland. Proceeding up the 
 Shannon, the vessel anchored in the port of Limerick, and he hired 
 a small boat for the purpose of landing. The city was now before 
 him, and he beheld St. Mary's steeple lifting its turreted head above 
 the smoke and mist of the old town. It was an evening so calm 
 and beautiful as to remind him of his own native land in the sweet- 
 est time of the year, the death of spring. The broad stream ap- 
 peared like one smooth mirror, and the little vessel glided through 
 it with almost a noiseless expedition. On a sudden, amid the gen- 
 eral stillness, the evening chimes pealed forth from the cathedral 
 towers. His experienced ear caught the sweet sounds, and he knew 
 that his lost treasures were found. His early home, his friends, his 
 beloved native land, all the best associations of his life were in those 
 
 *29 
 
450 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 sounds. He laid himself back in the boat, crossed his arms upon 
 his breast, and listened to the music. The boat reached the wharf, 
 but still the poor Italian lay there silent and motionless. They 
 spoke to him, but he did not answer. They went to him, but his 
 spirit had fled. The tide of memories that came vibrating through 
 his heart at that well-known chime, had snapped its life-strings. 
 I'^ar from his sunny Italy the Italian died and was buried, but his 
 last thoughts were of his home.' Is not the feeling natural ? As 
 the exiled Scot, dying far from friends and country, says : 
 
 And oh ! to sleep where my kindred sleep. 
 
 In the green auld kirkyard's hallowed ground, 
 Where Sabbath bells and Sabbath psalms 
 
 In holy numbers float around. 
 My rest, methinks, would be mair sweet, 
 
 Gin the footfa' o' a frien' was near — 
 If loving hands would deck my grave, 
 
 An' worth bedew it with a tear. 
 
 But strangers' earth maun be my bed, 
 
 An' strangers' sod maun be my pillow ; 
 An' strangers' hands maun bear the load. 
 
 An' lay me 'neath the pale green willow. 
 Then farewell, friends ; but why repine. 
 
 Because frae thee and hame I'm riven, 
 What boots it where we part on earth, 
 
 When hopes are high to meet in heaven. 
 
 Down sank the sun. His golden rays 
 Lingered a 8pace — then all was night ; 
 
 As his last beamlet passed away. 
 
 The soul of the emigrant winged its flight. 
 
 But it is not only meet that we should j^ ratefully remember de- 
 parted worth, and record their names and deeds in granite and 
 marble columns ; — we owe it to them, when we pass away, that 
 their memory shall be held as sacredly and appreciated as highly 
 by our successors. " Those things that our fathers have told us, we 
 mu;;t not hide from our children, but show to the generation to 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 4$ I 
 
 come the wonderful works that the Lord hath done." If we cannot 
 fjo with them hand in hand, and stand by Bannockburn, Drumclog, 
 Bothwcll Bridge, Airsmoss, the Grassmarket and Greyfriars' church- 
 yard, where mighty battles of the faith were fought — if not always 
 won — we can picture to them such scenes, and as the Grecian pat- 
 riot appealed to the shades of those who fell at Marathon and 
 Salamis, inspire their hearts with the noblest emotions, and rouse 
 their enthusiasm to like deeds of daring. We can tell them what 
 made and kept Scotland free from the tyranny of priestcraft and 
 the perfidiousness of kings — how it was she was seldom vanquished 
 and never conquered — how that in these days of storm and conflict 
 there sprung up freedom of thought and action— the right to judge 
 of rulers and overthrow tyranny — the principle that the many are 
 not made for the few, but the government for the elevation of the 
 many, and the good of society at large. We can tell them of her 
 admirable system of education, her schools and universities for rich 
 and poor alike ; where the shepherd's son sits side by side with the 
 son of the peer, in the halls of science, letters and theology, and 
 better still, of that religious training associated with Scottish homes 
 and Scottish Sabbaths, whereby piety became ingrained in the 
 heart of youth, and God-fearing men were prepared to become the 
 pillars of the state. By such careful instruction, may we not hope 
 to foster in our children a love for the grand old past, and a sincere 
 
 desire to 
 
 Snatch from the ashes of their sires 
 The embers of their former fires. 
 
 There is need for such training of the youth of the present age. 
 Our young men and women are thoroughly drilled in the Greek 
 and Roman classics. They are far ahead of their fathers in the 
 range of their studies. But these are so general and discursive as 
 to ignore to a great extent the history of periods that were momen- 
 tous in the results for good to the human race. The time afforded 
 
452 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH, 
 
 in our schools for the study of the endless subjects that now form 
 the curriculum, does not admit of more than the merest outline of 
 national characteristics. And perhaps it is just as well that the 
 principles which underlie great periods in our national history 
 should be explained by men who have a love for what is manly 
 and honorable in conduct, and not left to ignorant, conceited and 
 prejudiced literateurs, who scofif at what is sacred, and eulogize 
 what is infamous and vile. What is wanted is that fathers and 
 mothers, after the example of Sir Walter Scott, though with greater 
 love for historical facts, should tell their children and grandchildren 
 of a hoary past never to be forgotten, and names that can never be 
 mentioned but with reverence. 
 
 We remark, then, in view of what has been said, that 
 
 I. True religion is the source of national morality. It is not 
 every form of religion that produces morality. France, Spain and 
 Italy, and heathen nations like India and China, prove that all 
 methods of social reform, apart from evangelical truth, are failures. 
 To hope for lasting results from these alone, is like tying apples 
 on the branches of a decaying trunk. They perish without pro- 
 ducing fruit. Moral and social reforms are not to be expected from 
 political combinations and party creeds, but from a living Christi- 
 anity made the basis of all civil enactments. No nation can pros- 
 per that ignores the christian virtues. 
 
 II. True religion is the source of all real freedom. We seem to 
 think that because of our constitutional form of government we are 
 the freest people in the world, and so do our neighbors across the 
 line, under a different rule. It is not so. Free speech and civil 
 liberty are the results of Christianity. It matters little what is the 
 outward form of government. Both monarchial and republican 
 forms of rule have been as despotic and as opposed to real freedom 
 as was the reign of Nero. Popular liberty under both may degen- 
 
RELIGION THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL BLESSINGS. 453 
 
 erate into licentiousness and revolution, and all the horrors of un- 
 mitigated serfdom. But on the other hand, wherever religion is 
 recogn'~'?d as a living power, civil liberty will be enjoyed to the 
 fullest extent ; — intellect will expand — science will be prosecuted 
 with vigor, and conscience be protected against persecution. 
 
 III. Religion is the source of national prosperity. Certain na- 
 tions not professedly christian have prospered for a time. Some 
 of the most wicked governments the world has ever seen — rotten 
 to the very core — have been permitted to flourish, in order that 
 their downfall may at last be the more apparent. In the very mo- 
 ment of the nation's pagan revelry, Babylon was destroyed. And 
 so it has been with every nation that systematically ignores God's 
 word. Taken all in all, the nation that practises virtue and honors 
 christian principles, flourishes and grows strong in all those ele- 
 ments that enter into national greatness. 
 
 With the privileges we enjoy, as great as those of Israel, why 
 may not our land become another theocracy — God-governed, God- 
 protected — a people happy, because holy, surpassing the palmiest 
 days of old. 
 
 Goodly were thy tents, O Israel, 
 - ", Spread along the river side ; ' 
 
 ' ' Bright thy star which rose prophetic, 
 
 Herald of dominion wide. 
 
 Fairer are the homes of freemen. 
 
 Scattered o'er our broad domain ; 
 Brighter is our shining day-star, 
 
 Ushering in a purer reign. 
 
The Old Paths & the New. 
 
i< 'VI 
 
 Thus saith the Loid, stand ye in the way?, and see, and ask for »he 
 good oia paths ; where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall 
 liud rest for your touls." 
 
 ' • --Jeremiah 6, v. 16. 
 
The Old Paths and the New. 
 
 HESE words, addressed by the prophet to the inhabi- 
 tants of Judah, are applicable to ourselves and the age 
 in which we live. It nnay seem foolish that the en- 
 lightened, progressive and highly eulogized present 
 should take lessons from the conservative and ignorant past. 
 And yet we may possibly find that modern changes in 
 society and departures from old ways of thinking and living, are 
 not all praiseworthy, and that whatever real improvement and ad- 
 vancement has been made is due to the labors, institutions and 
 principles undergone, maintained and asserted, by our ancestors in 
 days gone by. The remark of Emerson, " that while society has 
 acquired new arts, it has lost its old instincts," is literally true of the 
 present, as contrasted with the past. 
 
 We do not say that in everything the former days were better 
 than these. We are not pessimists. We recognize with gratitude 
 the onward march of civilization and culture that the nineteenth 
 century boasts of, and the earnests of a still better future for our 
 land and for the world. We do not claim for our forefathers a 
 monopoly of wisdom, or prudence, or virtue, or religion. They 
 
 (457) 
 
458 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 were fallible, as we arc. They had imperfections, and follies, and 
 mistakes in judgment. VVc do not take them for our guides in 
 solving many intricate questions that were not agitated in their 
 day, and are the outcome of a different state of society than that 
 in which their lot was cast. Nor need we slavishly follow them in 
 manners and customs, which are but the accidents of existence. 
 But believing that in the main they endeavored to conform their 
 lives to the requisitions of a sound morality, and were thus pros- 
 pered in their endeavors to found systems of civil and religious 
 polity that continue to be the admiration of the world, it is surely 
 the part of wisdom to study their character, the principles which 
 directed them, and the paths in which they walked. If it is the 
 duty of the individual to scan the lessons of the past, so it is of the 
 nation. Young in years compared with the old world, and that 
 empire from which many of us have sprung, it is well to know how 
 in circumstances far more unpropitious than ours, and in spite of 
 persecution and opposition, they acquired such a goodly heritage 
 as they have bequeathed to their descendants. With us it is but 
 the beginning of an empire, destined we fondly hope to occupy no 
 
 mean place in the fulfilment of God's grand designs with humanity 
 at large. Without being over sanguine, every true patriot can say: 
 
 I hear the tread of pioneers, 
 
 Of nations yet to be ; 
 The first low wash of waves, where soon 
 
 Shall roll a human sea. 
 The rudiments of empire here, 
 
 Are plastic yet and warm ; 
 The chaos of a mighty world. 
 
 Is rounding into form. 
 
 The phrase, " old paths," means methods of living, maxims ap- 
 proved, truths believed, and principles adopted. The language 
 gives us a hint of the primitive modes of travel in Palestine, where 
 there were, and still are but few roads, and where communication 
 
THE OLD I'ATIKS AND THE NEW. 459 
 
 between distant tribes was difficult and tedious. Then by an easy 
 and natural transition, it is used for the habits, manners and dispo- 
 sitions of men, or the fixed methods of legislation and government 
 either in church or state. We know from scripture what Israel was 
 in the days when faithful to her law-giver, and observant of his 
 testimonies, she enjoyed his favor and protection. We know, also, 
 why God visited her with judgment and dimmed her glory. In 
 the text, the prophet exhorts the Jews to cease from backsliding 
 and divisive courses, that have been so pernicious and productive 
 of evil. " Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, and 
 ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and 
 ye shall find rest for your souls." This evening, as appropriate to 
 the occasion, we use the text as an exhortation to study the history 
 of that land whence our fathers came, that wc may copy those vir- 
 tues and excellencies that made her so conspicuous and so honor- 
 able in the eyes cf other nations. 
 
 Enquiring into the doctrines and practice of our fathers in days 
 gone by, we find : 
 
 I. Unmistakable belief in a living God ; in an overruling provi- 
 dence ; in a revelation from the Almighty to the soul of every man, 
 and in a coming day of judgment. Details as to creeds and con- 
 fessions, which they at times perhaps unduly magnified, and held 
 too obstinately, need not be referred to. But in regard to those 
 great fundamental actions that are inseparable from any system of 
 religion worthy of the name, they gave forth no uncertain sound. 
 
 II. Regarding the word of God as inspired and profitable for 
 doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness, they 
 made it a daily study in their homes and in their schools, and en- 
 deavored to regulate, not only their individual conduct, but the 
 nation in its corporate capacity, by its demands. The conduct of 
 rulers, as well as ruled, was judged by its standard of integrity and 
 honor. What was wrong in the humblest was regarded as a greater 
 
460 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 wrong in the hip[hcst citizen. Frauds {)erpctrated in high places 
 were considered more dangerous to morals than breach^ of the 
 law in private life. With unsparing and impartial justice, king and 
 cottager, prince and peasant, were arraigned before the bar of pub- 
 lic opinion and the courts of law, regardless of consequences. 
 
 III. This stern administration of the higher law brought with 
 it into family and social life a rigor and severity that cannot be 
 understood, and is often most ignorantly and unreasonably vilified. 
 The fact that the oldest members of the family were entitled to the 
 respect and obedience of the younger, that their commands were to 
 be peremptorily obeyed, that parents were the sole and supreme 
 arbiters in cases of dispute, were matters universally recognized as 
 right and proper, and never called in question. The prompt and 
 impressive infliction of punishment for wrong-doing may at times 
 have been excessive, and may have hindered the full flow of that 
 mutual love which secures confidence and attracts the young to the 
 old, but it was infinitely superior to that utter disregard of law and 
 order which prevails in the great majority of Canadian homes. The 
 Sabbath in such homes was literally a day of rest. The house of 
 God was the meeting place for all ages. The Bible and the cate- 
 chism, and the works of old Puritan and covenanting fathers, were 
 the books read and pondered. These were the moulding and dis- 
 ciplining agencies of the last century, and the subjects of discourse 
 in schcol and by cottage fireside. '* The proud pre-eminence of 
 every Scotchman was not only that he could read his Bible, but 
 knew its meaning word for word equally with the most learned in 
 the land. Alone of all the peasantry of Europe, the Scottish peas- 
 antry as a body could do this, and often by ingleside and wayside, 
 
 Reasoned high 
 Of Providence, foreknowledge, will and fate, 
 Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute. 
 
 Thus her religion and her schools gave her a people which for in- 
 tellectual fire and sustained strength of purpose has have no equal, 
 
THE OLD PATHS AND THE NEW. 461 
 
 and amonp which there were grand outstandinf; types of human 
 nature, which continue to this day to exercise a most commanding 
 influence upon the civilisation of the world. The mental food was 
 perhaps heavy, and often incomprehensible to tender years. Hut 
 it produced strong men — thoughtful and critical in the highest 
 degree. With all our improvements in models of Sabbath school 
 ttMching and the manifold helps afforded, the youth of the present 
 d»/ know far less of God's word and the saving truths of religion, 
 than the children of a by-gone century, whose theology was gained 
 from the lips of pious mothers by humble cottage firesides. 
 
 We are free to confess that in some cases the sweetness and 
 sunshine which the Sabbath should bring with it were absent, and 
 that trifling infringements and childlike encroachments on the 
 sacredness of the day were magnified into mortal sins, and dealt 
 with accordingly. But if our fathers erred on the side of strict- 
 ness, have we not erred in a laxity of behaviour th.u threatens to 
 blot out the Sabbath from the calendar of holy days? It is here 
 as a nation that we are rapidly deviating from " the old paths," in 
 which the fathers walked. The youth of the present know nothing 
 of the stillness of that day of days, and the blessed i-ffccts it left 
 behind upon all classes of the population. Poetry and prose have 
 striven in vain to picture the impressiveness of the Scottish Sab- 
 bath morning, when the holy murmur of retired prayer mingled 
 with the chant of the cotterman's psalm, and when old men and 
 maidens spent the twilight of the day with the Bible in their hands 
 and solemn thoughts of unseen things within their hearts, and when 
 God's children met in the solitude of the forest to enter anew into 
 covenant with their King, and feast upon the bread of life. 
 
 Lulled the sea this Sabbath morning^ 
 
 Calm th» golden-created glens ; 
 And the white clouds upward passing 
 
 Leave unveiled the Azure Bens-^ 
 Altars pure to lift to heaven, 
 
 Human hearts' unheard amens. 
 
462 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Snyi old Alcxar.clcr Wallah, " Such prayers — such sermons ; none 
 such to be heard now-a-days. It was a scene on which God's eye 
 mi^jht love to look. What are your cathedrals, your choirs, your 
 organs ? God laid the foundations of our temple on the pillars of 
 the earth ; our floor was nature's verdant carpet ; our canopy was 
 the vaulted sky, the heaver in which the Creator dwells. Nature 
 in all the luxuriance of loveliness ; — and lovelier still, and infinitely 
 dearer to God, multitudes of redeemed souls, and hearts purified 
 by faith, sinfjinpf his praise in ^rave sweet melodies." 
 
 IV. In the common relations of life they valued men for what 
 they were, and not for what they h.id. Mind and morals were 
 esteemed of vastly greater importance than wealth associated with 
 wickedness. The standard of true nobility was that of the poet, 
 when he says : 
 
 Worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow. 
 
 A man's immoralities were not shielded or excused by his social 
 standing, accidental or acquired. No bribe could change the ver- 
 dict of the populace or the bar. Forgiveness there might be, but 
 condemnation none the less. Crimes which to-day are palliated 
 and passed over, if not indeed regarded as virtues, were branded 
 with the heated indignation of public opinion. The swindler who 
 by sharp practice robs the widow and orphan, and embezzles the 
 funds of public institutions, but nevertheless walks proudly at lib- 
 erty, while the petty thief is sent to the penitentiary, would have 
 fared differently in these by-gone days. It was not the clothing of 
 the outward man that gave a passport to homes of refinement, but 
 the character that he bore for purity of thought, chastity of conver- 
 sation, and sincerity of deed. The christian sentiment of the age 
 regarded the great brotherhood of humanity as strongest of all ties, 
 and blended antagonistic and diverse dements Into one. And so 
 it should ever be. 
 
THE OLD PATHS AND THE NEW. 463 
 
 The rich«« of tho conunonwoalth 
 
 Arf> fn*«*, aironit iiiiiult, and lii'artn of hoaltli ; 
 
 And nioro to hnr than ){old or iirtkxv, 
 
 The cunning hand and culturud hrain. 
 
 In the parish schools the rich man's son and the poor man's son 
 sat side by side, and iniiepcndcnt of the accident of birth, were 
 treated alike. Position did not excuse stupidity, nor did poverty 
 prevent the attainment of highest honors. Those whom the vorld 
 venerates to-day and holds in hirh esteem, owe the grandeur o' 
 their lives to the tremendous dillficultics which they encountered 
 and overcome. The hard rocks which they quarried arc engraven 
 with their names, which are now immortal. 
 
 Finally, into the broader fields of national affairs they carried 
 those principles that influenced them as individuals. Politics, as 
 now understood and made merchandise of, they despised. They 
 argued that what was good for the unit, was good for the mass ; 
 that an intelligent people were the source of all lawful authority, 
 and had a right to decide what the national faith and life should 
 be. Herein lies the grand dificrencc between the Puritans of l'2ng- 
 land and the Covenanters of Scotland. The Puritan claimed indi- 
 vidual liberty, but the Covenanter was not satisfied until he secured 
 the same privileges for his country. The Puritan exiles crossed the 
 .sea to enjoy liberty of conscience and freedom of worship without 
 the oppressive enactments of human law; but the Covenanters 
 stood firm on their native soil, and fought and gained against over- 
 whelming numbers the battle of the faith. The idea that the word 
 of God should have no recognition in the legislative halls of the 
 nation is a modern and monstrous theory. Our fathers believed 
 that in elevating men to civic honors, regard should be had to 
 morals and christian principle more than to party and politics. In 
 our day we place partyism and political creed above character : in 
 those days both were taken into account, and no man deemed 
 
464 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 worthy of responsible office, whose private h'fe did not stand the 
 honest, candid, but charitable scrutiny of his fellow-men. 
 
 Thus far I have been speaking of what Scotland was a century 
 ago, and subsequent to the Treaty of Union, which did much to 
 raise her commercially, socially and politically in the scale of 
 nations. I am not speaking of what she is now. In commerce, in 
 wealth, in the increased comforts of the middle classes, in the more 
 general diffusion of secular knowledge, and in many details of social 
 life, she has made substantial progress. But in what constitutes 
 the higher and nobler elements of national greatness, I hardly think 
 she has improved, if indeed she has equalled the past. It is greatly 
 to be feared that in later years Scotland has not maintained the 
 faith and virtues of the fathers. In solid learning she has never 
 excelled the scholarship of the past, though in superficial and inge- 
 nious criticisms of long established and accepted beliefs she is at the 
 present day singularly advanced. In piety and devotion she has 
 sadly retrograded since the days of Samuel Rutherford, although 
 in modes of worship she has made radical changes, and possibly 
 some improvements. In morals (speaking of the impression made 
 upon a casual visitor), she has sensibly declined, in spite of all the 
 activity of the churches, and the countless agencies at work for the 
 elevation of the masses. In her crowded cities, especially, there is 
 little to encourage the hope that drunkenness, immorality and 
 wretchedness are lessening, under the combined efforts of national 
 education and awakened religious life. And yet, with all these 
 drawbacks and blemishes, she will even now bear favorable com- 
 parison with the new world, and in some things be found worthy 
 of imitation. 
 
 Our land is indeed a goodly land. No country or' the face of 
 the earth gives greater promise of a magnificent future. Its vast 
 extent of territory ; its fertile soil ; its agricultural and mining re- 
 sources ; its bracing atmosphere ; its constitutional government j 
 
Tin: OLD PATHS AND Till'. NF.V/. 465 
 
 its equal rights and privileges, and its so far peaceful Sabbaths, 
 make it indeed the prospective home for millions of free, independ- 
 ent, prosperous, law-abiding subjects. The changes ami marvellous 
 progress of the past fifty years cannot indeed be unduly magnified. 
 As, from some mount of vision, we look back and see how the Lord 
 hath led us, and hopefully survey the future, have we not good 
 reason to say : 
 
 What change ! Through pathless wilds .10 more 
 
 The tierce and naked savage loanis: 
 Sweet praise along the cu'tured shore. 
 
 Breaks from ten thousand hnppy homes. 
 
 Laws, freedom, truth and faith in God, 
 Came with our fathers o'er the waves ; 
 
 And where their pilgrim feet have trod, 
 The God they trusted guards their graves. 
 
 And here thy name, O God of love, 
 
 Their children's children shaH adore. 
 Till these eternal hills remove, 
 . ' . And spring adorns the earth no more. 
 
 But with our advancement in material and social comforts, there 
 is I fear little attachment to fundamental truths, and less regard to 
 the practice of every day virtues that constitute real and abiding 
 national growth. Among the nr.ore prominent evils which every 
 true patriot laments, let me mention, — 
 
 First, — The scepticism of the age. A large number laugh to 
 scorn those " old paths " in which the fathers walked. They can- 
 not see in them either solid happiness to the individual or stability 
 to the nation. The spirit of the age is in revolt against the past. 
 Discoveries in art and science, speculations in philosophy and the- 
 ology, appliances and adaptations and conveniences to meet the 
 demands of extended commerce and increased facilities for the ex- 
 change of thought and good-fellowship among the dificrent peoples 
 of the earth, generate the idea that we had better ignore the expe- 
 ♦30 
 
466 THE CHURCH and the commonwealth. 
 
 rience and gains of the past, and follow an entirely different line of 
 conduct. Never was there a period when the spirit of unrest, dis- 
 trust, doubt and disbelief was so prevalent, when men cared less for 
 fixed laws of conduct in the business of cvery-day life and the ad- 
 ministration of justice. What are called liberty of conscience, of 
 thought and belief, are tending towards the complete renunciation 
 of settled beliefs, which in olden times were entwined in the moral 
 sense, and are essential to right living. Morality itself is in some 
 quarters regarded as a matter of exp'^diency, and religious restraint 
 cast aside as beneath the notice of full grown men. In this whirl- 
 pool of uncertainty, many promising youths are not simply giving 
 up old for new faiths, but are in danger of giving up all faith in the 
 primary verities of existence here and hereafter. Nations also are 
 renouncing old established beliefs and customs for novel and un- 
 tried theories of government, which must inevitably tend to decay 
 and disintegration. It is said that the Legislature of Connecticut, 
 when they first got together before the Revolution, resolved that 
 the colony should be governed by the laws of God in the Old Tes- 
 tament, until they had time to make better. I do not know that 
 either as a colony of Great Britain, or a state of the Republic, it 
 has ever yet made better ones. Nor can any nation improve upon 
 the theocratic teachings of the Old Testament oi' the christian ethics 
 of the new. The details of government and the customs of the 
 Orient may change, but the ten commandments and the sermon on 
 the Mount are* of universal and continuous application. 
 
 Secondly, — I mention the race for riches. Another character- 
 istic of our age, is the mad and feverish desire to accumulate wealth, 
 regardless of the means employed. Half a century ago there were 
 rich men and millionaires, as there are now, but as a rule, capital 
 was gained by plodding perseverance, and not as at the present 
 day by unrighteous speculation and dangerous ventures, that par- 
 take more of the nature of gambling than honest business transac- 
 
THE OLD PATHS AND THi: NEW. 46) 
 
 tions. Young men are not satisfied th salaries far beyond what 
 their fathers started with in life. They affect a style of living, and 
 assume an air of importance, that is seldom justified by their means, 
 and ultimately ends in bankruptcy or criminal disgrace. Nor is 
 this tendency confined to young men. The young women of to-day 
 are not guiltless in the matter. To gratify the extravagant whims 
 of fashion, and the senseless demand for rank and social position, 
 that has become a mania with certain women, homes once happy 
 are ruined, and their peace and contentment destroyed. 
 
 Riches need not be despised, but they may be, and are, over- 
 valued. Lives are wrecked to possess what after all confers but a 
 nominal advantage. In what is an Astor, or a Gould, or a Van- 
 derbilt, or a Rothschild, better than the honest workingman, who 
 renders ten hours toil from day to day ? Indeed the mechanic or 
 average business man, who has just enough for his day's wants, 
 ought to be far happier than the man who, with his immense estates 
 and increasing wealth, passes sleepless nights in worriment about 
 his investments, and in peril lest sudden revulsion in the money 
 market may rob him of his means. He has no dread of robbers to 
 waylay him by night, or snatch his body from the grave when dead. 
 He has none of the vexatious annoyances of law suits, that drive 
 some rich men mad. Contented with such things as he has and as- 
 sured of the fulfilment of the promise, that the righteous shall not 
 be forsaken, nor his seed begging bread, he seeks no more than his 
 Father sees fit to give : 
 
 Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, 
 
 Onward through life he goes ; 
 Each morning sees some task begin, 
 
 Each evening sees it close ; 
 Something attempted, something done. 
 
 Has earned a night's repose. 
 
 When will men cease worshipping the golden calf, under the 
 delusion that riches increase happiness ? Happiness only increases 
 
468 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 with a man's earnings up to a certain point, the point necessary to 
 secure the comforts of life. All beyond this is superfluous, and 
 productive of no good whatever. The richer the man the greater 
 is the probability that his sons will live on billiards, and horse rac- 
 ing, and die in an inebriate asylum. With a moderate income and 
 contentment of soul, a man may be happier than a prince. With- 
 out contentment he is miserable, even though his wealth equalled 
 the rent roll of a Croesus. 
 
 Thirdly, — I mention prodigality and profligacy. As a result of 
 the increased wealth of our day, these evils are alarmingly preva- 
 lent. I name them together, for they are almost invariably associ- 
 ated. Whether the miser or the spendthrift is the more useless to 
 the commonwealth, is immaterial, but certainly at the present day, 
 the latter class far exceeds the former. Riches seem to be sought 
 after, not for the opportunities they afford of doing good, but simply 
 for the gratification of the senses. Thousands arc squandered in 
 adorning the body and pampering the appetite that would go far 
 to relieve the claimant necessities of the poor. Anyone who is ac- 
 quainted with the paltry sums given by the rich men, and so called 
 " fashionable churches " for the support of the gospel and benevolent 
 purposes, in contrast with the amount expended upon amusements 
 and pleasures (not always moral or elevating) cannot fail to mark 
 the tendencies of the age. " Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of 
 God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof— 
 whose god is their belly, and who mind earthly things," is as fitting 
 a description of our age as of Greece and Rome in days of unbrid- 
 led voluptuousness. Such a style of living is moral ruin to any 
 land. The icebergs of Greenland are safer than the luxuriant foli- 
 age of a South American forest where death lurks ; and the hard 
 fare of a century ago was better than the pampered life of the 
 present. 
 
THE OLD PATHS AND THE NEW. 469 
 
 Fourthly, — I mention the arrogance of youth. The premature 
 development of so-called " men " on the American continent is re- 
 marked by every foreigner. Long before they are out of their teens 
 our youth arc introduced to society, and fond mothers arc anxiously 
 looking round for " suitable settlements " for their children, liefore 
 our young men can construe a sentence grammatically, or can 
 repeat the books of the Bible, or have read the history of their own 
 land, far less that of the old world, they are candidates for political 
 honors, and announce their opinions with an air and authority that 
 is amusing to older men ; and long before their fathers thought of 
 starting in business on their own account, they open up large estab- 
 lishments — succumb to financial depression — defraud their credit- 
 ors — make over " their estates " to official assignees, and begin to 
 live the lives of gentlemen of leisure ! Any one who knows any- 
 thing of Canadian youth at the present day, will not deny that such 
 is the prevailing type of embryo manhood. Far be it from me to 
 make an indiscriminate onslaught on the really clever, pure-minded 
 and aspiring minds of the country. The very extravagances and 
 absurdities which are laughed at, may have in them promise of 
 better things to come, while the sober and sensible and bashful 
 young man, may become nothing more than a very common-place 
 citizen. But as a rule, genius is not always the product of self- 
 conceit. 
 
 The strongest minds 
 Are often those of whom the world 
 Hears least. 
 
 The real men of mark wait recognition and do not force their 
 crude ideas upon the public. The Country Parson, in his essay on 
 " Immaturity," says : " A calf knows it is a calf It may think 
 itself bigger and wiser than an ox, but if it be a reasonable calf, 
 modest and free from prejudice, it is well aware that the joints it 
 will yield after its demise will be very different from those of the 
 
470 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 Stately and well consolidated ox, which ruminates in the pasture 
 near it. But the human boy (we may change it to the Canadian 
 boy) thinks he is a man, and even more than a man. He fancies 
 that his mental stature is as big and solid as it will ever become, 
 and that his mental productions are just what they ought always 
 to be. If he be spared in the world, and if he be one of those whom 
 years make wiser, he will look back with amazement, if not with 
 shame, upon the crude productions of his youth." Were I address- 
 ing to-night a company of young men instead of older ones, I should 
 say to them, in something of the same strain that an editor once 
 preached a sermon to certain college graduates : " Remember that 
 the world is older than you are by several years, and that for thous- 
 ands of years it has been full of smarter young men than you, and 
 that when the old world went whirling on, not one man in ten 
 millions went to their funeral, nor even heard of their death. Be 
 as smart as you can ; know as much as you can ; shed the light of 
 your wisdom abroad in the world, but don't imagine a thing is so 
 simply because you say it is, and don't be too sorry for your father, 
 because he knows so much less than you. The world has great 
 need of young men, but no greater need than young men have of 
 it. Your clothes fit you better than your father's fit him, and cost 
 more money ; and your whole appearance is more stylish ; but his 
 homely scr.- mbling signature on the business end of a cheque will 
 draw more money out of the bank in five minutes than you could 
 get out with a ream of paper and a copper-plate signature in six 
 months. Do not be afraid that your merits will not be discovered 
 If worth finding you will be found. A diamond is not so easily 
 found as a quartz pebble, but people search for it all the more 
 intensely. 
 
 Fifthly and finally, — I mention selfishness. The spirit of sel- 
 fishness, which takes no interest in the welfare of others, if personal 
 9nds are served, and class distinctions or what is familiarly known 
 
THE OLD I'ATIIS AND TIIK SEW. 4/1 
 
 as "caste," arc as prevalent in the new world as in the old. The 
 interests of the rich and the poor man have little in common. Cap- 
 ' ital and labor stand apart and frown at each other. Oppression 
 and heartless dealing on the part of the one, and insubordination 
 and insurrection on the part of the other are inaugurating a state of 
 things that make thoughtful men tremble lest the infidel commun- 
 ism of the old world may become common in the new. In bygone 
 days, Christian feeling and free intercourse between master and ser- 
 vants made them one. As Macaulay says : 
 
 Tho Romans >»ere like brothers 
 In the bravo days of old. 
 
 While we cannot at once remove the cause for such unseemly 
 strife, let us work and pray for the good time coming, when on the 
 part of large employers there shall be greater consideration shown 
 for the feelings, the health, and the social and moral welfare of their 
 servants ; and when workmen shall reasonably judge for themselves 
 as to their rights and obligations, without the inflammatory har- 
 angues of demagogues, and shall co-operate with their masters in 
 what is best for their mutual interests. " Give me," says a christian 
 philanthropist, " workshops filled with christian men, and then con- 
 fidence in the character of such workers will take the place of sus- 
 picion, and consideration of the master's difficulties will have a 
 place in the workman's thoughts. Work purified from eye service 
 will then be rendered for wages received, and quietly and gradually, 
 but surely, sweetness, humanity and justice will come up into the 
 important relationship between masters and men." In our churches 
 we shall also see a better state of things. It is true that the rich 
 and poor meet here together, but that is all. They keep apart. 
 The richer members have no knowledge, and but little sympathy, 
 with the claimant necessities of the poor, and the poor are afraid 
 to touch the garments of the rich, lest they should be rudely re- 
 pulsed. And yet these are " brethren in Christ !" They belong to 
 
472 TIIF CMURCM AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 the communion and household of saints ; they arc members of the 
 same spiritual family, and have the same Father and elder brother I 
 What a mockery of relijjion ! How different from apostolic days, 
 when tlw; members of the early church had all things in common, 
 and parted with their possessions as every man had need. " Blessed 
 is he that considcreth the poor : the Lord will deliver him in trouble, 
 and he shall be blessed upon the earth." 
 
 Brethren of the Saint Andrew's Society, these growing evils in 
 the body politic arc not beyond cure. To you and all patriotic 
 citizens is committed the task of rectifying what is wrong, extir- 
 pating what is bad, and propagating what is pure and virtuous, so 
 that of all Britain's colonial possessions Canada may become the 
 fairest and the best. 
 
 We cross tho prairifi as of old, 
 
 Our fathers crossed the sea. 
 To make tho A\'e -t, as they the East, 
 
 Tho honicstoati of the free ! 
 
 Is it by individual effort that great reforms are effected and 
 nations elevated. Let your lives be spent 
 
 In pulses .stirred to j^onorosity, 
 
 in deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn 
 
 For miserable aims that end with self, 
 
 and then when the battle is over, you shall pass away, if not Kmid 
 the lamentations and wailings of the land you have loved, at least 
 with the feeling that you have befriended your brother man, and 
 made the world your debtor. And then, as was lately done to one 
 of Scotia's sons, they shall put upon your coffin a St. Andrew's 
 cross of lilies to speak of Scotland and charity ; a palm leaf, emble- 
 matic of victory ; a sheaf of wheat, to tell of a life fruitful and 
 ripe, and a pillow of immortelles, to speak of rest and immortality. 
 May a life so beautiful, and an cnO. so happy, be the lot of 
 one and all ! 
 
Jewish Love for Jerusalem. 
 
" Walk aViout Zion and go round about her ; tell the towers thereof. 
 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces : that ye may tell it to 
 the generation following." 
 
 ^Psalm 48, v. 12, 13. 
 
Jewish Love for Jerusalem. 
 
 (i^LARGE portion of the Psalms abound In praise of Mount 
 Zion and the holy city. No subject was better fitted to 
 call forth the sublime and inspired poetry of the writer. 
 As the spot where the temple was built ; where God's 
 presence was signally and gloriously manifested ; where the 
 law was read ; where the Levites and congretjation shouted songs 
 of praise ; where the tribes assembled in their joyous gatherings 
 from year to year ; where sacrifices were offered and peace and par- 
 don proclaimed — Mount Zion, of all the places in the land of Pal- 
 estine, was dear to every pious and patriotic Jew, and afforded a 
 theme of undying interest to the poet laureate of the nation. 
 
 It was not mere sentiment that singled out the temple upon 
 Mount Zion as a holy place, and made its dust precious to God's 
 saints. Nor is this feeling of passionate love for Mount Zion ex- 
 tinct in the children of Abraham. Wherever vou find a genuine 
 Jew, whatever be his obscurity and outward condition, you find -a 
 lover of Jerusalem ; one whose heart thrills at the very mention <5f 
 her name, and who delights^ to anticipate her restoration, when the 
 
 (475) 
 
476 TIIK CHURCH ANI> THE COMMONNVKALTH. 
 
 set time to favor her shall come, and the Lord shall build up her 
 ruined walls and appear in ({lory. 
 
 AM places arc not alike dear to the heart. There are lonely, 
 dreary spots of jarth, possessing no s{)ecial beauty to the painter's 
 eye, that a'-e invested with a charm that is indescribable, but none 
 the less real. There arc homely, humble dwellings, unadorned and 
 rude in structure, that surpass in our estimation the marble palaces 
 of royalty. There perhaps oi" eyes first opened to the light of 
 day, and we learned to lisp the name of mother, there we witnessed 
 sec OS of joy and sorrow that can never be effaced from memory, 
 and there in silence and in sorrow we closed the eyes of the nearest 
 and the dearest friends on earth. And is it not such feelings in a 
 strangely intensified degree that makes Scotchmen and their de- 
 scendants so tenacious of the past, that leads them on such occa- 
 sions as the present to expatiate upon the weird beauties of their 
 native land, to revisit in memory its hallowed spots and dwell with 
 enthusiasm upon the lessons of the historic page. 
 
 Dear is the shed to which his soul conforms. 
 And dear thn hill ivhich lifts hini to the storms. 
 And as the child, when soarinj; winda molest, 
 Clings clo^e and closer to its mother's hreast ; 
 So the loud torrent and the whirlwind's roar. 
 But bind him to his native mountains more. 
 
 We can thus easily understand how sweetly solemn were the 
 associations of the Holy City and the Holy Land, and how the 
 Jewish heart glowed with becoming pride as they repeated the well 
 known lines " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is 
 Mount "^ion, on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King." 
 Pray for .ae peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee, 
 peace be within thy palaces, and prosperity within thy bordeia, •■ 
 in the words of the text, in the version of Strenhold and Hopkins 
 
"3 
 X 
 
 9. 
 
 as 
 
JEWISH LOVE FOR JERUSALEM. 47; 
 
 Oo walke about all Syon hill, yea rounrl about her go, 
 
 And tell the towres that there upon are builded in a roe. 
 
 And marke you well her bulwarks all, behold her towres there, 
 
 That ye may tell thereof to them that after shall t>e here ; 
 
 For this God is our God, forever more is H«?, 
 
 Yea and unto the death also our guider shall He be. 
 
 Mount Zion and the temple and her solemn ordinances wen 
 the glory of the nation, and the admiration of every Jew. Tht 
 peace and prosperity of God's house, above all else, was dear to hi; 
 heart. Their children were taught to esteem and reverence a; 
 sacred everything connected with the sanctuary. The temple oc- 
 cupied a lofty and commanding position. It was seen afar off, anc 
 was an object of terror and envy to surrounding nations. " The 
 kings assembled saw it, and marvelled ; they were troubled and 
 hasted away." From its summit the pious Jew looked around and 
 gazed upon the land that God gave by promise to his fathers, in all 
 its length and in all its breadth. In strength, in stateliness, in 
 beauty of proportion, it was necessarily perfect, for it was heaven- 
 designed. Its internal fittings were in keeping with its outward 
 appearance. Its altar was overlaid with gold ; its doors were oi 
 olive and cedar, covered with cherubims, and its foundations ol 
 costly stones. Hiram, King of Tyre, sent goodly cedars from Leb- 
 anon, and three thousand Israelites hewed out costly stones from 
 the mountain for the foundations of the house. No one was ex- 
 empted from service, and no contribution was deemed insignificant. 
 Towards the enriching and garnishing of the gorgeous edifice every 
 Jew contributed of his means and labor. The whole congregation 
 of Israel consecrated their service to the Lord, and gave willingly 
 with a perfect heart. 
 
 But it was not the building, graceful and elegant though its 
 architectural proportions were, nor the outward adornment of the 
 altar, but the recognized presence of Almighty God in the hearts 
 of the worshippers, that drew forth the affections of the nation. It 
 
478 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 was this that made the sanctuary upon Mount Zion so grandly sol- 
 emn and so awe-inspiring. When the glory of God filled the. house ; 
 when the spiritual fire came down from heaven ; when the high 
 priest came forth from the Holy of Holies with pardon and recon- 
 ciliation for guilty men, the gladness and joy were exceedingly 
 great ! 
 
 Next indeed to the Jew, has been the attachment of Scotchmen 
 for their temples and their simple forms of worship. As Dr. John 
 Kerr well says : *' Before the multitude will be drawn to mere cer- 
 emonies, the nature of the Scottish people must be made over 
 again, their most hallowed associations destroyed, the most heroic 
 pages of their history blotted out, and the last old stone dug up 
 that lifts its head from the grey hillside to tell where martyred dust 
 is sleeping." The old, weatherbeaten, homely structures, with their 
 moss grown ivy, but with no architectural beauty to attract the eye, 
 and offering but little bodily comfort through the long hours of ser- 
 vice, customary in other days, had in them a charm inexplicable, 
 apart from the devotional feeling that possessed the worshippers. 
 They felt the truth of the poet's words : 
 
 Not th« fair palaces, 
 
 To which the great resort ; 
 Are once to be compared with this 
 
 Where Jesus holds His court. 
 
 Nor was this a blind and bigoted attachment to forms and non- 
 essentials. The church of the living God was regarded by them as 
 the source of all national prosperity in the best sense of the term. 
 It was not only a spiritual centre — a never failing source of hope 
 and comfort to struggling humanity, and a teacher of saving truth 
 to the masses, but it upheld good government inculcated ..b'uience 
 to rulers, and insisted upon the practice of all those social virtues 
 that characterise a happy and contented people. And is not this 
 still the opinion of all right thinking men ? It is through the in- 
 
JEWISH LOVE FOR JERUSALEM. 47S 
 
 flucnce of the church that the fetters of the slave have been broken ; 
 that despotism and tyranny have been ended in many parts of the 
 world, that the chariot of war has been stayed in its career of deso- 
 lation and civilization carried to its highest forms of development. 
 Where churches are few or where they are corrupt : — where 
 infidelity, rationalism and superstition prevail, there insurrection- 
 bloodshed and licentiousness abound. The only civilization bene- 
 ficial to the world, comes from the application of Bible truth to 
 the heart of the commonwealth. 
 
 And although during the past century Scotland has undergone 
 many denominational changes there is still the same unmistakable 
 love for the ordinances of religion. It only needs adequate occasion 
 to call forth the latent feelings of the nation on behalf of principles 
 that have been handed down by bleeding sires^ and show how 
 deeply entrenched are the memories of the past. It is not to be 
 expected, nor is it desirable, that there should be the same tenacious 
 adherence to minor details in forms of worship that characterized 
 the years immediately succeeding the Reformation and covenant- 
 ing struggles ; nor that there should be the same uncompromising 
 protest against certain ceremonies, which were then rightly regarded 
 as symbolical of superstition and priestly domination. But in 
 all that constitutes the essentials of religion, there is still, we feel 
 assured, no lack of fervor and intelligent interest. Indeed, in some 
 respects, Scottish piety, if less rigid and austere than in past days, 
 is more attractive and aggressive. Never was there a time when 
 evangelistic movements on behalf of home heathen were prosecuted 
 with such zeal and success as at the present moment, and despite 
 j'the strongly marked and distinctive lines that still exist between 
 the different religious sects, the spirit of brotherly charity pre- 
 vails to an extent altogether unknown in years gone by, leading to 
 harmonious and united effort in behalf of those grand social and 
 moral eforras, which now press for speedy solution at the hands of 
 
480 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 christian statesmen. Presbyterianism in Scotland, while indeed the 
 most important factor in its religious life, does not now stand alone 
 as it once did, the champion of free speech and free thought. Men 
 of marked ability and noble spirit in the Congregational and Bap- 
 tist bodies are allies and co-workers with the Presbyterian Church, 
 in all the great movements that tend to the elevation of humanity, 
 while the religious press (notably the " Christian Leader " of Glas- 
 gow), is adapting itself to meet the demands of an age character- 
 ized by feverish unrest and energy, but at the same time by lofty 
 aim and purpose. Sha41 we, with jealous eye, regard the growing 
 influence of other denominations, called it may be by other names, 
 but one with us in spirit, and part of the great sacramental host of 
 God's elect? Far from it. In this new religious quickening in 
 Scotland we see the dawn of that better day, which martyrs longed 
 for and saw with prophetic eye ; when Scotland shall realize in her 
 own and other lands the fruit of her contendings, and await the 
 coming of her King 1 
 
 Early — early on our mountains, 
 
 Presage of a glorious day ; 
 Pure as from the native fountain, 
 
 Faintly broke the gospel ray. 
 
 Storm and cloud the pathway coven. 
 
 By our rude forefathers trod — 
 Yet that dawning brightness hovers. 
 
 Where St. Columb walked with God. 
 
 Now unto the hilltops get thee — 
 
 Where the sunshine we descry— 
 Nightly on the watch tower sit thee, 
 
 For his coming draweth nigh ! 
 
 Greater changes than those mentioned may be at hand in both 
 the political and ecclesiastical affairs of Scotland. These, however, 
 we cannot regard with the same sad forebod' .gs that seem to pos- 
 sess many mind& Around the past history and contendings of the 
 
JEWISH LOVE FOR JERUSALEM. 48I 
 
 church of Scotland tender memories cluster that can never be 
 effaced. Even those who by successive secessions and disruptions 
 have left her pale, cannot but remember her with a fond and filial 
 affection. It is not for us, removed at such a distance from the 
 srene of somewhat fierce and bitter contendings that at present 
 convulse the mother land, to express opinions or proffer advice. 
 Doubtless in the Canadian church, as in the churches of Scotland, 
 different opinions prevail on the question of disestablishment and 
 the probable issue of the present agitation. Some there are who 
 conscientiously deprecate and strenuously oppose any speedy 
 change in the position of the established Church of Scotland, not 
 from personal or selfish motives, but because they regard her as not 
 only the symbol of national piety, but the source of much of that 
 widespread intelligence and robust manhood which have for ages 
 characterized the Scottish peasantry. Others there are who in the 
 present divided state of religious and theological opinion, compared 
 with what it was a century ago, when the Church of Scotland was 
 numerically and socially the church of the nation, demand dises- 
 tablishment and the parity of all the different Presbyterian churches, 
 and the discontinuance of State aid and recognition ; while a third 
 party, and one which comprises many of the thoughtful leaders of 
 public opinion, would prefer the comprehensive union of all the 
 Presbyterian churches, brought about by mutual concessions and 
 friendly arrangements on the part of all who have at heart the best 
 interests of the nation, rather than by the violent demolition of ex- 
 isting claims. That such a union shall ultimately in some way be 
 brought about we cannot doubt. The difficulties may be great, 
 but they are not insurmountable. What has been accomplished in 
 Canada and Australia can be done in Scotland. A united Presby- 
 terian Church in Canada has done for the Dominion what never 
 could have been attained by three separate Presbyterian bodies, 
 holding in the main the same doctrines and practising the same 
 *31 
 
483 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTIi 
 
 discipline ; each eager to gain a foothold in every hamlet and the 
 vantage ground over its rival. The Union in Canada has ended 
 much unseemly and bitter rivalry ; it has raised the stipend of our 
 more poorly paid ministers to at least a moderate living, and enabled 
 us by uniting and husbanding our resources to do much more for 
 the cause of Christ in distant fields. Let us hope that similarly 
 wise counsels may soon prevail in that land we love so much, that 
 dissension may soon end, brotherly intercourse be resumed, and a 
 basis for united co-operation or incorporation be accepted, Wc 
 cannot, in view of its past glorious history, fear the future of Tres- 
 bytcrianism in bcotland. The bush has often burned, but has never 
 been consumed. " God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be 
 moved ; God shall help her, and that right early." 
 
 The questions which at present agitate the old world have long 
 since been settled in Canada, where now all religions are upon an 
 equality, and none may dare to coerce or oppress the other. But 
 if the vexed problem of church and state is no longer with us a 
 disturbing clement, there are others which need careful handling on 
 the part of all true patriots. It is different with us here from what 
 it was in the land we left. There the great mass of the population 
 are Protestant, here we have a mixed multitude of Bleu and Rouge ; 
 Catholics of French and Irish extraction ; Orangemen, and Protest- 
 ants of milder or fiercer type or creed, all living under the same 
 flag and professing allegiance to the same authority. Our danger 
 is not from monarchial despotism or foreign interference, but from 
 intestine strife, from a war of races and creeds, fiercer and more 
 terrible in its results than hostile invasion from another land. There 
 are times in the history of nations when inconsiderate speech on 
 the part of political incendiaries may excite the basest passions and 
 arouse animosities that take years to quench. May we not be on 
 the verge of just such a crisis ? We have just by the strong arm ot 
 law stamped out one rebellion — woe be to the men or party that 
 
JEWISH LOVE FOR JERUSALEM. 483 
 
 recklessly incite another ! At such a time there is needed the calm 
 counsels of those who, guided by the teachings of the past, can act 
 wisely in the present. To allay sectional differences, and restrain 
 extremists from dangerous measures, and help to redress wrongs 
 where such exist, is the mission of the true patriot. Scotchmen, 
 whose ancestors paid such a price for liberty of conscience and 
 freedom of speech, are peculiarly fitted to mediate between and 
 moderate contending factions. If it be true, as has been said, " that 
 where local affections are the strongc 5t, there the hearts of the peo- 
 ple are soundest, and there the arm of the patriot is ever ready to 
 defend and preserve the unexampled privileges which the people 
 enjoy," it should be ours to maintain inviolate the constitutional 
 rights of the humblest citizen. In a land where no man dare inter- 
 fere with our religious belief, and we no longer have to defend our 
 liberties with broadaxe and claymore, let us carefully conserve to 
 others the freedom we enjoy. While ever ready to repel aggression 
 upon our cherished faith, saying in the language of the great refor- 
 mer, John Knox, " Thus far shalt thou go and no farther," let us 
 none the less cultivate good will and friendship between man and 
 man, and unite with all nationalities in making this Dominion of 
 Canada second to none other under heaven. If Scotland is dear 
 to us because of its martyred dead, so should this our adopted land. 
 With a large sum our government purchased those wide-spreading 
 prairies in the great North- West, but with costlier treasure, the 
 blood of British and Canadian youth, it has been redeemed. This 
 year dates the beginning of many a lifelong sorrow. Tears have 
 fallen " like drops of molten lead," 
 
 For first-born sons, who from their mother's aide, , ; 
 
 • Went forth exultant in their country's pride, ; .. 
 
 And in the fierce assault, unfaltering, died. 
 
 Some one has said that "a land without memories is a land 
 without liberty. The land that wears a laurel crown may be fair to 
 
484 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 look upon, but twine a few sad cypress leaves around its brow, and 
 it becomes lovely in its coronet of sorrow. Crowns of roses fade, 
 crowns of thorns endure. Calvaries and crosses take deepest hold 
 of humanity." All true perhaps, and yet we would rather have had 
 the bloody page of history that marks the year unwritten, and been 
 spared the memories of death upon the plains and death upon the 
 scaffold. As it is, let us hope that the lessons taught us may not 
 be forgotten, and that the battle cry may never be heard again. 
 Better than monumental stones piled high over the fallen brave, 
 whose life-blood stained the soil " they fought to save," will be the 
 spread of those principles of righteousness and justice that alone 
 make nations great. " Peace hath her victories, no less renowned 
 than war," says Milton ; he might have added, greater and grander 
 far. He that fashions a ploughshare is greater than he who whets 
 the sword ; he who tills the soil, better than he who fertilizes it 
 with human gore. " There's a grandeur in graves, there's a glory 
 in gloom," says the poet. Why ? 
 
 For out of the gloom future brightness is bom, 
 And after the night looms the sunrise of morn ; 
 And the graves of the dead, with the grass overgrown, 
 May yet form the footstool of Liberty's throne, 
 Aiid each single wreck in the warpath of night, 
 Shall yet be a rock in the vemple of Right. 
 
 In order that this good feeling should continue to exist in our 
 land, between men of different political creeds and faiths, we ought 
 as citizens, to cultivate good will between all classes and nationali- 
 ties, in our several communities. There are small minded men in 
 Canada as there have been at times in the neighboring Republic — 
 men of no account in themselves, or whose opinions are of any value 
 where they are known — who endeavor by flippant foolish writing 
 in the columns of certain papers, to sow the seeds of dissension be- 
 tween brethren who have lived in peace for many years, and who 
 use insulting langu:;ge towards citizens who are among the most 
 
JEWISH LOVE FOR JERUSALEM. 485 
 
 liberal minded and enterprising of our merchants and manufac- 
 turers. Such irresponsible characters are beneath the notice of all 
 respectable men, and merit, as they indeed receive, silent but pro- 
 found contempt. 
 
 I have left but little time to enforce the claims of the St. An- 
 drew's Society upon the sympathies of Scotchmen and their des- 
 cendants. But is it necessary ? The existence of such benevolent 
 institutions have done much to smooth the rugged road of many a 
 weary pilgrim, and help him to maintain that manly spirit of inde- 
 pendence which once lost is hardly ever regained. Even in the land 
 of plenty, the cry of honest poverty is not unfamiliar. It is not often 
 heard in the public street, and does not appeal obtrusively for help 
 from door to door, but all the more, it deserves the aid of all those 
 who, in the spirit of the religion they profess, deliver the poor and 
 the fatherless, make the widow's heart to sing for joy, deal their 
 bread to the hungry and clothe the outcast poor. As Jennie Deans 
 says in the " Heart of Midlothian " : " It is na when we sleep soft 
 and wake merrily oursels that we think on other people's su fieri ngs. 
 Our hearts are waxed light within us then, and we are for righting 
 our own wrongs and fighting our own battles. But when the hour 
 o' trouble comes to the mind or to the body, and when the hour o' 
 death comes to high and low, then it is na what we hae dune for 
 oursels, but what we hae dune for others, that we think on maist 
 pleasantly." Sir Walter Scott very beautifully says : " The race 
 of mankind would perish did they cease to help each other. Fi om 
 the time that the mother binds the child's head, till the moment 
 that some kind assistant wipes the damp from the brow of the dying, 
 we cannot exist without mutual aid ; all, therefore, that need aid 
 have right to ask it from their fellow-mortals. None who hold the 
 power of granting help can refuse it without guilt." Beyond the 
 narrow limits then of kindred, creed or race, cultivate that, broad 
 sympathy and compassion, which knows no nationality in the pre- 
 
4S6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTIL 
 
 sencc of distress. Love humanity with a broad, deep, unselfish 
 afTection. Seek according to opportunity to advance the welfare 
 of every man with whom you come into contact. They are your 
 brethren, whatever the complexion of their skin, or the dialect of 
 their tongue. They are travelling with you along the great high- 
 w.iy of life, to the same great goal — creatures of the same God and 
 heirs through His grace of the same patrimony. In the great 
 Catholic communion of saints " there is neither Greek nor Jew, cir- 
 cumcision nor unciscumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free ; 
 but Christ is all and in all." Of every true man it may be said : 
 
 Thy nati ve homo is whereso'er 
 
 Christ's spirit breathes a holier air ; 
 
 Where Christ like faith is keen to seek 
 
 What truth or conscience freely speak ; 
 
 What Christ-like love delights to span, 
 
 The rents that sever man from man ; 
 
 Where round God's throne his just ones stand— > 
 
 There, Christian, is thy fatherland. 
 
(milSTS J^GDOM. 
 ITS qiiOijv jij^jw fHtirKa'triTY. 
 
 Much Land to be Possessed 
 
* "There remainoth yet very much land to l.e posWaned." 
 
 — Joshua 13, V. 1. 
 
 •This and the f lowing discourses were delivered before the General Assembly of 
 the Presbyterian Cliurch in Canada, or at the d-dicatioa of new church edifices. 
 
Much Land to be Possessed. 
 
 ,AN A AN was now occupied. So far, Joshua's mission was 
 completed. Hut the territory already acquired, and what 
 yet remained to be conquered, had still to be divided 
 among the tribes. Both belonged to the Israelites, by 
 God's decree, so that what would in ordinary cases have 
 been foolish, was in the present instance the dictate of wisdom. 
 Saving Caleb and Joshua, all the others who left Sinai had per- 
 ished. Joshua also must soon pass away, and prudence therefore 
 dictated a speedy completion of his work. Ere he passes away he 
 must see each tribe provided for. There would thus be no room 
 for future quarrels. As Moses had led them to Jordan, Joshua 
 must appoint them their habitations on the other side, and put them 
 in possession of the land promised to their fathers. He could not 
 hope to live until all their enemies were subdued, and each tribe 
 occupying his portion of the inheritance. But when the time ar- 
 rived for them to settle down they would fight, and take possession 
 of what they now held by the decree of Heaven. There was much 
 land to be possessed. Many of the tribes were as yet unprovided 
 
 (4«9) 
 
490 
 
 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 for. Moses had made certain allotments before the Israelites 
 crossed the Jordan, but Joshua had made subsequent victories, and 
 t le entire unconquercd land must be apportioned. He therefore 
 at once sets himself to divide the inheritance, the details of which 
 are given in this chapter, and it is worthy of remark as show- 
 ing the fulfilment of prophecy, that in the directions given each 
 tribe receives the possession predicted by the patriarch Jacob on 
 his death-bed many years before. The land of Canaan was to be 
 occupied by the Jews for a special purpose. It was not simply to 
 be a place for profitable industry and social enjoyment, but where 
 the true religion might have a centre. This was implied in the 
 promise made to Abraham. In his seed all the nations of the earth 
 ware to be blessed. The Caananites were to be driven out because 
 of their sins. Caanan was to become the Holy Land and the 
 dwelling-place of Jehovah, a spot where piety, peace and plenty 
 W3re to go hand in hand, and where the results of obedience to 
 Heaven's laws were to be witnessed. And that it was so for many 
 years, during the reigns of sucn monarchs as David and Solomon, 
 the page of history testifies. Palestine was the envy and the dread 
 of neighboring nations. " The kings saw it and marvelled ; 
 they were troubled and hasted away." Just so long as Israel re- 
 mained faithful to God did they enjoy His blessing upon all the 
 labor of their hands. 
 
 Applying the words of the text to the world at large, we may 
 say, " There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." Of 
 the entire population of the globe, variously estimated from 1,100,- 
 000,000 up to 1,197,000,000, only 410,000,000 lire Christians, and 
 this number includes the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches. 
 But Christ is yet to reign over this vast mass of heathenism. The 
 world is His inheritance, as Canaan was that of the Israelites. The 
 uttermost parts of the earth are to be His possession. His domin- 
 ion is to extend from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends 
 
MUCH LAND TO BE POSSESSED. , 49I 
 
 of the earth. All kings are to fall down before Him, and all na- 
 tions serve Him. And just as Joshua was commanded to possess 
 the land of Canaan, so the Christian church is commissioned to 
 send forth her ambassadors and fill the world with the glad tidings of 
 salvation. The same spirit that achieved victory then is demanded 
 now : faith in the promises and purpose of God, and courage to 
 conquer in His name. We do not need, like Joshua and the Israel- 
 ites, to fight for possession. " The v.eapons of our warfare are not 
 carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. 
 We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalitie:>, 
 against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 
 against spiritual wickedness in high places." The nations of the 
 earth are for the most part ready and eager to receive the gospel. 
 When missionary labor began, the highest civilizations of the world 
 were heathen. There was no one place on the globe where Chris- 
 tianity was in the ascendant. The whole commerce of the world, 
 the military power of the world, the literature and learning and art 
 of the world, were heathen. As has been strikingly said : " Every 
 statue spoke a lie ; in every picture was painted a lie ; forms and 
 colors were the handmaids and instruments of lies ; there was not 
 a book or a parchment, which was not the vehicle of a lie — the 
 whole world, with the exception of Palestine, was written all over 
 with heathenism." Now, after 1,800 years of missionary enterprise, 
 what do we find ? That there is not a single Government of any 
 considerable power that is not Christian, and that those Govern- 
 ments that are lowest in morality and intelligence are heathen ; that 
 the missionaries of the cross are everywhere invited and welcomed ; 
 that false religions no longer wage war against Christianity, as in 
 past days ; and that even the enemies of the faith seem to admit 
 that eventually superstition and paganism must fall before the su- 
 premacy of the truth as it is in Jesus. It is only a question of time 
 when the waste and desolate places shall be beautified and the 
 
492 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 desert made the garden of the Lord, and the day of universal jubi- 
 lee will be ail the sooner, as the Church is faithful to her trust. 
 
 Applying the language of the text to our own and other chris- 
 tian lands, we may say : " There remaineth yet very much land to 
 be possessed." Narrowing the view to the continent of America, 
 comprising the United States and Canada, with the great North- 
 West — Australia and such colonies — a field is presented sufficient 
 to tax the energies of the christian church for many years. These 
 territories are capable of sustaining vast myriads. They offer 
 abundant room and scope for the overflowing population of Europe 
 and other lands. Commerce -.nd steam and applied science are 
 now opening up the most distant parts for settlement, and the 
 church is called upon to follow with the blessings of that highest 
 of all civilizations, which the Bible alone can give. Taking then 
 the text in its widest application, are we not expressly taught ir^ 
 the Word of God that the supremacy of Christianity is at hand ? 
 '' The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters 
 cover the sea." " They shall teach no more every man his neigh- 
 bor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord ; for they 
 shall know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, 
 saith the Lord." If, as is admitted, one of these passages has a 
 special and primary reference to the Jewish nation, it does not ex- 
 clude a wider application, for the Apostle Paul distinctly intimates 
 that the restoration of the Jews to God's favor, and their acceptance 
 of the truth, shall be the fulness of the Gentiles. Both then may 
 be regarded as prophetic of the preaching and reception of the gos- 
 pel in every land, and its influence upon society at large. 
 
 The mighty power and sweep of christian truth is foreshadowed 
 by the phrase, " As the waters cover the sea." In ages long gone 
 by a mighty flood of waters destroyed all flesh, but in the latter 
 days streams of living water shall penetrate every part of the hab- 
 itable globe, and bless all nations. Most aptly does the rise and 
 
MUCH LAND TO BE POSSESSED. 493 
 
 rush of waters describe the onward advance of the gospel — silent, 
 equable, far spreading and irresistible ; giving little token of its 
 coming, but fraught with tremendous results to all opposing ob- 
 stacles ; sapping the foundations of strongholds, undermining the 
 most solid masonry, and laughing to scorn the petty resistance of 
 human skill. In the vision of Ezekiel the water came first to the 
 ankles, then to the knees, then to the loins, then it was a river to 
 swim in, that could not be passed over ; and thus the gospel does 
 not take sudden and immediate possession of the world, but rather 
 flows over it, as the tide, wave by wave, beats against the shore. 
 "But whithersoever the rivers come there everything shall live." 
 As that great word painter. Dr. Guthrie, says : " It does not follow 
 that there is little doing because very little appears to be done. 
 The roar and the flash of cannon, the shells shrieking through the 
 tormented air, the bugle sounding for the stormers — these fill the 
 eyes and ears of the spectators ; but that may be a less successful 
 mode of attack than the silent, the secret, the undemonstrative 
 labors of the men who are mining beneath the surface of the earth, 
 and preparing for the day when a dull and muffled sound is heard, 
 when the earth trembles and shakes ; — when the black cloud has 
 blown away, battery, battlement, and bastion all lie in the dust." 
 Among other things taught us in the passages quoted arc these : 
 The gospel shall be published in all nations ; the gospel shall be 
 preached to all nations ; the gospel shall be professed by all nations ; 
 the gospel shall be practised in all nations. A few words on each 
 of these points must suffice. 
 
 J. The gospel shall be published in all nations. The angelic 
 song that announced the birth of Christ intimated the universal 
 spread of the christian religion. The good tidings of great joy 
 were to be to all people. If we admit that God has given a revela- 
 tion of His will, it follows that His creatures must possess it. Why 
 that revelation was not given all at once in a completed form, and 
 
494 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 why to this day millions of the human family are ignorant of its 
 existence, are questions apart from our present theme. But what 
 such passages assert is that the christian religion shall yet be uni- 
 versally disseminated, and every man in his own tongue be able to 
 read the wonderful words and works of God. The marvellous 
 spread of the truth at the present day, the translation of the Bible 
 into so many dialects and languages, and its eager perusal by bar- 
 barous tribes, all increase our faith in the speedy fulfilment of the 
 promise, that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. 
 In the first 1,500 years of the history of Christianity it gained 100,- 
 000,000 of adherents ; in the next 30b years 100,000,000 more ; but 
 in the last 100 years it has gained 210,000,000 more — that is, in the 
 last 83 years, Christianity has gained more adherents than in the 
 previous eighteen centuries. At this rate of progress, is it Utopian 
 to believe that before the close of the present era there will be 
 1,200,000,000 nominal christians in the world? 
 
 II. The gospel shall be preached to all nations. "The Lord 
 gave the word ; great was the company of those that published it." 
 " This Gospel of the Kingdom," says Christ, " shall be preached in 
 all the world for a witness unto all nations." And in the book of 
 Revelation John says : — " I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 
 dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and 
 people." That the ministry is of divine ordination need not be 
 proved. That it is one of the chief agencies in evangelizing the 
 world the Scriptures everywhere assert. Without the voice of the 
 living preacher and the accompanying omnipotent power of God's 
 spirit, the truth of itself effects but little. The Ethiopian eunuch, 
 although he had in his hands the marvellous and minute prediction 
 of Isaiah concerning Christ's humiliation and death, understood not 
 its meaning. Not that the Bible is a sealed book to all save priests 
 and learned men, and that none else may presume to unlock its 
 
MUCH LAND TO BE POSSESSED. 495 
 
 treasures, but that in addition to the printed page there is needed 
 the earnest appeal and the pointed application of the preacher. The 
 results of missionary labor in heathen lands, as seen in the aban- 
 donment of idolatry, and the rapid growth of christian congrega- 
 tions, the conviction of sin and repentance towards God, which fol- 
 low the preaching of the word, prove the necessity and value of the 
 living voice. 
 
 III. The gospel shall be professed or avowed by all nations. 
 " Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing 
 mothers." " From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath 
 to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the 
 Lord." "The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord, and of His Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and 
 ever." The condition of the world is still perplexing, even to the 
 eye of faith. There is so much that is hopeful and so much that is 
 discouraging in the affairs of nations, that we are often weary in 
 waiting for the reign of righteousness and peace, and good will to 
 men. But the light is bright within the cloud. Vast changes are 
 taking place in the kingdoms of the earth. In almost every in- 
 stance, a higher kind of civilization is being sought after. Despot- 
 isms are being softened ; autocrats are gradually acknowledging 
 the rights of the oppressed, and there is at least a nominal recog- 
 nition of the great principle, that " Righteousness exalteth a nation, 
 and that sin is a reproach to any people." 
 
 IV. The gospel shall be practised in all nations. The making 
 known to the world that a revelation has been given, is but the 
 initial step in the progress of Christianity. Obedience and holy 
 living must follow. " He will teach us of His ways, and we will 
 walk in His paths." " Men shall beat their swords into plough- 
 shares and their spears into pruning hooks ; nations shall not lift up 
 sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." " The 
 wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
 
49<5 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 with the kid ; and the calf and the young h'on and the fatling 
 together, and a little child shall lead them." " All ends of the world 
 shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the 
 nations shall worship before Thee." " There shall be upon the bells 
 of the horses, holiness unto the Lord." '"Yea, every pot in Jerusa- 
 lem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts." Ac- 
 cording to His promise we look for the new heavens and the new 
 earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. That the practice of New 
 Testament morality is steadily advancing, and that men are valued 
 and respected not so much by their creed as by their conduct, can- 
 not I think be gainsaid. There is still great disparity between the 
 profession and conduct of manv christians. But to be a nominal 
 church member without corresponding purity of life, is now regar- 
 ded as an insult alike to God and man. In the high places of the 
 land it is not now so unusual to find men of pronounced evangel- 
 ical views, whose characters give weight to their opinions, and whose 
 sincerity and honesty are beyond all question. And beyond the 
 geographical limits of christian lands a higher standard of conduct 
 is now demanded. Cunning, deceit, falsehood, intemperance, and 
 laxity of morals are regarded as incompatible with the discharge 
 of the ordinary obligations of life, and prejudicial to the best inter- 
 ests of society. 
 
 But in addition to national integrity the masses shall then pos- 
 sess a saving knowledge of the g6spel. Not that even then there 
 shall be perfection in the individual or the nation. But religious 
 feeling and devout reverence for the name of God shall prevail far 
 more widely, and operate more potently than now. " I will put my 
 law in their inward parts," says the prophet, speaking in the name 
 of the Almighty, " and write it in their hearts. They shall all know 
 me, from the least of them unto the greatest." This implies indel- 
 ible impressions of divine truth. They shall acknowledge, submit 
 to, and delight in Zion's King. Not Israel alone, nor Europe alone, 
 
MUCH LAND TO DE POSSESSED. 497 
 
 but the dusky sons of Ethiopia, the wild savage of the desert, who 
 now roams the forest and dies without the fear of man, from the 
 least to the greatest, all shall know the Lord. Religious life at 
 the present day is formal, a sentiment, a comely garment It is 
 held by a loose grasp. It does not direct the life. It is assumed 
 in too many cases for display, as the Pharisees wore their phylac- 
 teries. It is restricted to stated seasons and solemnities, instead 
 of touching the life at every point. Men are afraid to own their 
 faith and publicly avow their principles. The motto of the chris- 
 tian's conduct, " Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving 
 the Lord," is but partially interpreted and acted out. The single 
 men that keep alive the divine light, but glimmer r\s watchers' tapers 
 by the bedside of the dying. But all this hollow, half-hearted 
 espousal of the truth, shall take end in the days of which we speak. 
 Moral darkness shall vanish before the rising of the sun of right- 
 eousness, as the king of day dispels the shadows of the dawn. In 
 Swedish Lapland, during six weeks of the year, there is seen the 
 singular spectacle of a midnight sun. There is scarcely any night, 
 for the sun never sets. On the 24th of June, when the midnight 
 sun is seen in all its glory, large numbers come from all parts of the 
 globe to gaze upon this singular phenomenon. But faith looks for- . 
 ward to something grander than the midnight sun, when the light 
 of the gospel shall flash from shore to shore, continent to continent, 
 and pole to pole. The land of the midnight sun occupkjs but a 
 small portion of our globe, but the day draws near when it shall be 
 said of every spot of earth, "There is no night there." "Thy sun 
 shall no more go down, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light 
 and thy God thy glory." For ten years the Grecian sentinels kept 
 their watchtowers, waiting and watching anxiously for the beacon 
 fires which should announce the fall of Troy. At last the signal 
 came — a flash of light — and from tower to tower the fiery message 
 leaped, over land and sea, until from Ida to Argos the news of vic- 
 *32 
 
4S)8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 tory had been carried on the wing of flame. And thus shall it be 
 w'licn the watchmen on the walls of Zion proclaim to an expectant 
 world the final victories of the truth. That day is coming. Re- 
 demption is drawing nigh. 
 
 Watchman, toll us of the night, 
 For the morning seems to dawn ; 
 Traveller, darkness takes its Hight, 
 Doubt and terror are withdrawn : 
 Watchman, let thy wanderings cease, 
 Hie thee to thy quiet homo ; 
 Traveller, lo I the Prince of Peace, 
 Lo ! the Son of God is corao. 
 
 And now, finally, that we may be incited to seek nothing less 
 than the ultimate christianization of the globe, let me remind you 
 of Christ's last words to his disciples : " All power is given unto 
 Me in Heaven and in earth ; Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I 
 have commanded you ; and, lo 1 I am with you always, even unto 
 the end of the world." All Christ's sayings are precious. Those 
 after his resurrection are the most precious and fragrant in the 
 Bible. The crucifixion was over. The resurrection was now an 
 acknowledged fact. For the last time on earth he appears to the 
 disciples upon a mountain top in Galilee, and gives them their com- 
 mission and his farewell benediction. Christ's work on earth was 
 not to fully establish and consolidate the church, but to appoint and 
 prepare others to do this. The time had now come when, under 
 the dispensation of the spirit, his servants should begin that cam- 
 paign, which goes on without cessation until he shall see of the tra- 
 vail of his soul and be satisfied. And what language was better fitted 
 to cheer them and give them the assurance of ultimate victory than 
 this : " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth," — here 
 is kingly omnipotence. "Go ye therefore and teach or make dis- 
 ciples," — the weapon being the word of God ? " All nations," — here 
 
MUCH LAND TO HE POSSESSED. 499 
 
 is the extent. " Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," — here is the mark ofsonshipand 
 citizenship in the new kingdom. And then follows the promise, 
 "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." To 
 whom were these words addressed ? Primarily, but not exclusively 
 to the apostles. The great work to which they were called was not 
 to be accomplished in one or many generations. The subjects of 
 this promise were to exist long after the death of the apostles. Nor 
 is the commission limited to their immediate official successors. 
 The apostolic office was not permanent. There is no proof in 
 scripture of what is technically called apostolic succession. It seems 
 strange in view cf the clear statements of God's word and the prac- 
 tice of the early christian church that such a dogma should be held. 
 Presbyters and bishops were on a perfect equality for several cen- 
 turies after the ascension of Christ, and it was only when corruption 
 began to infect the church, and the clergy sought preferment and 
 worldly honors, that the different orders were introduced and the 
 purity of the ministry subverted. 
 
 The true application of these words is to the church universal, 
 collectively and individually, specially to ministers, but not less to 
 all professing christians, whether office-bearers in the church or not. 
 As applied to Christ's ambassadors, it implies that He will qualify 
 them for their work. With the command he gives the ability. He 
 imparts to them a knowledge of the truth, not from human reason, 
 but by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and he gives them 
 faith in the truth, by a personal and experimental acquaintance 
 with its power ; for no man can preach comfortably, and seldom 
 successfully, without a firm beliefin the omnipotence of God's word. 
 It further implies that He will accompany their message by His 
 spirit. All k useless apart from this. The dry bones in the valley 
 apart from the Ireath of the four winds, remained passive. But 
 when the brea h came upon them they lived and stood upon their 
 
$00 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 feet, an exceeding great army. Paul depended for success, not on 
 the enticing words of man's wisdom, but upon the demonstration of 
 the spirit, that the faith of his hearers should not stand in the wis- 
 dom of men, but in the power of God. God is never absent from 
 His church. Whatever of failure or declension there is in the car- 
 rying out of His plans for the salvation of the world is not charge- 
 able to the Almighty. We often in our prayers speak as if Me 
 was indifferent and lukewarm — at a distance from us — only coming 
 on special occasions to rouse His people from torpor and spiritual 
 lethargy, whereas the cause of our deadness is in our own idleness. 
 He has never once been absent from His church since its organiza- 
 tion. Nor has there ever been any cessation in the progress of His 
 kingdom. The work wrought out in the night of the dark ages 
 was about as important as that which has been accomplished in the 
 daylight of the world. There is no standing still of God's work. 
 " It rests as trees rest in winter, when they are preparing for stron- 
 ger growth in spring." All the tokens of good that as churches 
 and office-bearers we experience are due to His presence. The in- 
 crease of our membership, the conversion of sinners, the edifying of 
 believers, the zeal and activity which is manifested in the different 
 departments of christian labor, are due to the power of God's Spirit 
 brooding over His church and inflaming the hearts of his servants. 
 But it is needful to bear in mind that the promise of His presence, 
 so that it might be felt in mighty revivals of religion, depends upon 
 our faithful adherence to the terms of the commission, " Go teach 
 all nations." Preach Christ, initiate by baptism, admit by personal 
 profession of faith, hold up the cross as the Alpha and Omega of 
 the ministry. So doing we have a right to expect, nay to demand, 
 a blessing. A plant does two things— it maintains and it propagates 
 itself. And a living healthy church will maintain and extend itself. 
 The same marvellous success that crowned the efiforts of the Apos- 
 tolic church is ours, if we are steadfast and persistent in our endeav- 
 
MUCH LAND TO BE POSSESSED 50I 
 
 ors to evangelize the world, and spread the savour of Christ's name 
 among all the nations of the earth. If we had constantly this 
 promise before us in our holy engagements, how it would inspire us 
 to noble deeds of daring ! The joy of heaven consists in the divine 
 presence, but that peace and hopefulness and courage, which arc so 
 necessary upon earth, are the possession of God's servants even 
 now. Nothing but the knowledge that when Christ departed from 
 the disciples in bodily form, he was to remain a living and control- 
 ling force in their lives, could have sustained them amid their ardu- 
 ous labors. Nay, they were taught that by His spirit he could and 
 would do more for them than if he had continued in the flesh. 
 Believing this fact they went everywhere as m'^n moving in a region 
 above the noise and tumult of faction and passion, resisting all at- 
 tempts to seduce them from their ministry, and joyfully bearing 
 whatever pain and shame attended them. So rapidly, indeed, did 
 they carry the gospel to the very furthest limits of the then known 
 world, that had its progress in succeeding ages corresponded with 
 the Apostolic era, " They had not been long in heaven ere they had 
 seen the work done which they had so well begun." We feel an 
 inspiration for the ordinary work of life when in the presence of a 
 friend wiser and stronger than ourselves. The fact that we arc 
 watched by eager eyes of love is an impulse to attain the highest 
 possible distinction. And such a feeling, intensified by the sense of 
 God's presence with us, has a marvellous effect on the work of the 
 ministry. Whether, as some believe, the spirits of the departed 
 look down upon us from their starry homes we know not. But of 
 this we are certain, that the Saviour from his exalted seat in the 
 heavens, is an interested onlooker of the great conflict in which we 
 are engaged. The days of His earthly sojourning are en Jed, but 
 not H's communion with His saints. He has risen. The grave is 
 vacant. The glory of the opening heavens has hid Him from our 
 v'ew, but He lives again in the lives of all believers and renders 
 
503 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
 
 them Invincible against the hosts of hell. " He that is with us is 
 more than "!l they that arc against us." Trusting His grace, which 
 is sufficient for us. and in His strength, which is made perfect in 
 weakness, glorying and taking pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 
 in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, and 
 magnifying the grandeur of our vocation, let us possess the land. 
 No kingly throne is ever to be compared with a christian pulpit. 
 For, in the words of Kcblc : 
 
 Noafpst Heaven has >)adn thee atand, 
 
 Tlif) ark to touch and bear, 
 With incense of pure hearts* desire 
 
 To lump tho i:on8«r'8 nacred fire, 
 The snow-whit«) «iphod wear. 
 
 Why should we crave the worldling's breath 
 On whom the Saviour deigned to breathe. 
 
 To whom His kings arc given, 
 Who lead the choir where angels meet, 
 With angel's food our brethren greet, 
 
 And pour the drink of Heaven 1 
 
 Fathers and Brethren, — Although my theme to-night may be 
 considered somewhat commonplace, I do not deem it inappropriate, 
 when addressing the representatives of a church, whose great work 
 in missions, and whose energies at the present moment are being 
 directed towards the fullest equipment of our theological halls, in 
 order that a learned and godly ministry may be trained. We be- 
 lieve in the science of theology ; that men must be taught to 
 teach that science, as much as astronomy, and geology, and cognate 
 themes. We believe in creeds, for no man can act or think intel- 
 ligently without a creed. We believe that a man's moral convic- 
 tions must take permanent form, in order to practical results. We 
 revtience those men of God, of whom many here are descendants, 
 who wisely concluded that without ample preparation for the gos- 
 pel ministry, a man was in great measure powerless to cope with 
 infidelity in the abstract or unbelief in the concrete. We believe 
 
MUCH LAND TO nR POSglJUIX 503 
 
 fn the commission to preach the gospel to every creature, but not 
 that every creature is to preach it, without the call of God or man. 
 The principles which ^juiilcd our forefathers in laying the fountla- 
 tions of th' church were eternally true, and the men they sent into 
 the pulpit '.new thoroughly what they professed to teach, and spoke 
 because t\cy believed. We, following at a great distan'-'' ''ndecd 
 these mig.ity men of God, seek to imbibe their spirit and carry out 
 their designs. Believing in God's absolute sovereignty, while at the 
 same time recognizing man's individual icsponsibility, we send forth 
 our missionaries to preach a full and free salvation in every corner 
 of our land, and far beyond its vast limits. Our aim is — 
 
 To build tho Univemal Church, 
 Lofty AH is tho lovo of fJod, 
 And ample as the wants of man. 
 
Showers of Blessing. 
 
" The showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter 
 
 — Jeremiah 3, v. 3. 
 
 «' I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing ; 
 and I will cause the shower to come down in his season : there shall b^ 
 
 showers of blessing." ,:, , • i o. o« 
 
 — Ezekiel 34, v. 26. 
 
Showers of Blessing. 
 
 N THE fourteenth chapter of this book of Jeremiah, we have 
 a striking picture of the terrible horrors resulting from a 
 protracted drought, when the heavens are as brass and the 
 earth is as iron. "Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof 
 languish ; they are black unto the ground ; and the cry of 
 Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones 
 to the waters ; they came to the pits, and found no water ; they 
 returned with their vessels emptj ; they were ashamed and con- 
 founded, and covered their heads. lea, the hind also calved in the 
 field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. And the wild 
 asses did ^itand in the high places ; they snuffed up the wind like 
 dragons ; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass." The 
 cause of such a judgment we are at no loss to understand. It was 
 for the iniquities and backsliding of his people, that God sealed up 
 the clouds of water, and brought barrenness and famine upon the 
 inhabitants of the land. By such dealings God would have them 
 realize that He was cognizant of their sinful conduct, and would be 
 avenged because of their ingratitude. 
 
 (507) • 
 
508 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 In CHir own climate we know full well the evil effects of drought. 
 Although such a calamity has never prevailed to the extent of 
 famine, in some cases it has materially affected the social comforts 
 of the inhabitants, and paralyzed the energies of commerce. At 
 such a season of the year as the present, we need frequent showers 
 to promote vegetation, and ripen the crops of the field. A few 
 weeks scorching heat, untempered by genial and copious rains, 
 makes a vast difference in the returns of the husbandman. 
 
 It is entirely different in other portions of the globe. In Egypt 
 the Nile periodically overflows its banks and hastens growth. By 
 a wise arrangement of Providence to meet the lack of rain and dew, 
 it seldom fails at the appointed time. In other countries provision 
 is made in the soil and roots, to remain for a much longer period 
 without rain than in our Northern Zone. Although the ground 
 may be dry and burned, the roots carry with them a life superior 
 to the accidents and severity of drought. In our climate, ere the 
 refreshing rain came down, the seeds and roots would die beyond 
 all hope of germination, but there they quicken into life, unaffected 
 by the long periods of scorching heat, that have long retarded their 
 growth and seemingly exhausted their vitality. 
 
 The analogies that exist between the natural and the spiritual 
 world are many and obviv^us. It may not, therefore, be unprofit- 
 able in present circumstances to enquire into the causes and con- 
 sequences of spiritual drought in the church and in individual souls, 
 and also for our eneouragement to glance at the promises of spir- 
 itual refreshing that are promised the church under the New 
 Testament dispensation. The condition described by the prophet 
 Jeremiah is a sad one : " The showers have been withholden, and 
 there have been no latter rain," — that of Ezekiel is full of encour- 
 agement and hope : " I will make them and the places around my 
 hill a blessing ; and I will cause the shower tp come down in his 
 season ; there shall be showers of blessing." 
 
t 
 
 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 509 
 
 I remark, first, that in the church of God, as in the natural 
 world, we need constant refreshing showers to promote the growth 
 of individual christians and advance the cause of righteousness. 
 Occasions indeed intervene when more is needed in the natural 
 world than the refreshing shower ; when the rain descends not 
 gently and noiselessly but in torrents, tearing deep furrows and 
 fissures in the earth, and crushing the tender plants that cannot 
 stand such violent treatment. No one disputes the value of such 
 occasional deluges, whatever temporary hurt may follow ; but the 
 very necessity for such avalanches of rain proves how much better 
 are the nightly dews and timely showers of spring and summer. It 
 is just because these have been withheld for a protracted period 
 that floods of water, accompanied by the thunder storm and light- 
 ning, are demanded to drench the ground, purify the atmosphere, 
 and save from famine. 
 
 Now, in the history of God's kingdom upon earth, there are 
 periods when revivals of religion are so powerful as to indicate an 
 unusual abundance of spiritual feeling. Without such seasons, cer- 
 tain churches would lose all their vitality. As we thank God for 
 unusual deluges of rain, to make the burnt up grass put on new 
 verdure, and fill the heads of corn, so we have good cause to feel 
 grateful when such mighty convulsions and spiritual quickenings 
 occur in christian communities. But better than the occasional 
 thunder storm are the regular descending rains and the nightly dew 
 drops that fringe the leaves of flowers and sparkle like diamonds 
 on the grass ; and better than exceptional and wondrous outpour- 
 ings of God's Spirit are the constant manifestations of His grace, 
 unattended though they may be by moral revolutions, but not less 
 quietly but effectively building up and maturing souls for the para- 
 dise above. But for these long seasons of drought, when the ground 
 is chapt, and the wells are waterless, and the wild asses snuff" up the 
 wind like dragons, and their eyes fail them because there is no 
 
I 
 
 510 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 grass, there would be no occasion for the rain storms that refresh 
 the thirsty ground ; and, but for long periods of spiritual dec?.y in 
 the church, when prayer is fitful and christian activity all but dead, 
 there would be less occasion for special agencies, which the Holy 
 Spirit often blesses to revive declining churches and prevent indi- 
 viduals from complete paralysis of religious feeling. 
 
 Every church should seek constant baptisms of the Holy Spirit. 
 If we suffer from spiritual drought, let us not foolishly talk about 
 a mysterious Providence that waters other portions of the vineyard 
 and leaves our special corner dry and parched. It is the great de- 
 sire of Christ that His church should prosper — that it should be 
 continuously faithful — that, without long periods of weakness and 
 inactivity, it should go forward to greater conquests. If it isothcr- 
 wi.se, let us see to it, as ministers and office-bearers and members, 
 that we are not guilty in the sight of God. Where prayer is res- 
 trained, and family religion is neglected, and attendance upon ordi- 
 nances is fitful, where there is greater relish for the pleasures and 
 amusements of the fashionable world than fellowship with the 
 unseen and eternal, nothing can be expected but the decline of piety. 
 " The showers are withholden, and there is no latter rain." 
 
 This leads me to remark secondly, that seasons of spiritual 
 drought are generally the consequences of despising or misimprov- 
 ing the means of grace. The whole history of Israel is evidence of 
 this fact. For their sins and provocations, God frequently visited 
 His chosen people with a famine of bread as well as c. famine of the 
 Word of life. Temporal mercies, when undervalued or abused, are 
 often withdrawn, and gcspe! ble".si;igs, when slighted, are often 
 diminished. "Jerusalem," says the prophet, "remembered in the 
 days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things 
 which she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the 
 hand of the enemy and none did help her." In the silence and 
 solitude of the Babylonish captivity, how strikingly was this veri- 
 
SHOWERS OF BLESSING. $11 
 
 ficd, as sitting by the streams of Rabcl the Jews thought upon the 
 past ! " We wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our 
 harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. How shall we sing 
 the Lord's song in a strange land ?" 
 
 A famine of bread is a terrible scourge, but far greater is the 
 evil when the candlestick of ordinances is removed, and men perish 
 for divine sustenance. This was the culmination of God's anger 
 against His chosen people as well as the unfaithful chuiches of Asia 
 Minor. " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a 
 famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but 
 of hearing the word of God." Again, speaking by the mouth of 
 Isaiah, and reproving them for despising their privileges, he says: 
 " I will lay the vineyard waste ; it shall not be pruned nor digged. 
 I will also command the clouds that they rain not upon it." And 
 to the church in Ephesus, John is commanded to say : " Remember 
 from whence thou art fallen and repent, and do the first works, or 
 eise I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick 
 out of its place except thou repent." 
 
 Worldly-minded men cannot feel the loss of public or private 
 means of grace ; but God's own children deeply mourn the with- 
 drawal of such privileges. The christians of Antioch, when Chrys- 
 ostom their minister was banished, judged it a greater deprivation 
 than the absence of the sun in the firmament. In the days of Popish 
 persecution, when God's servants were hurried away to martyrdom, 
 their flocks met them on the way to prison with their little ones in 
 their arms, and throwing themselves at their feet, cried out : " Who 
 shall instruct these poor babes ? Who shall ease our afflicted con- 
 science ? Who shall lead us in the way of life ?" Nor can there 
 be anything but intense sorrow, where gospel ordinances long en- 
 joyed and appreciated are removed. The prosperity of the nation, 
 the stability of civil government, and the prevalence of virtue, as 
 well as the salvation of souls, depend upon the continuance of the 
 faithful preaching of the Word. 
 
513 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 I remark, thirdly, that seasons of spiritual drought are not less 
 fatal to the interests of true religion, because they steal upon us 
 insensibly and unobserved. It is so with drought in the natural 
 world. We cannot predict its coming, nor are we probably aware 
 of its length until we see the sad results in the burnt up ground. 
 One, two, or three weeks pass without rain, before we begin to real- 
 ize the actual condition of affairs, or are alarmed for the future. It 
 is just so in periods of spiritual decline. Outwardly we see no 
 symptoms of change. The church is open. The means of grace 
 are waited upon, after a certain formal routine. The prayer- meet- 
 ing is kept alive. There is the usual amount of religious talk and 
 prayer for the extension of Christ's kingdom. But in all this, there 
 is rto real longing after greater holiness and fxirfection of character. 
 At last we begin to see a palpable deterioration in the spiritual 
 power of the membership ; a deadness of feeling and indifference, 
 that threaten disaster and ruin to the risible body of believers. Nay, 
 in some cases things are so hopeless that there is scarce vitality 
 remaining to measure the extent of the evil, or to agonize in prayer 
 for Almighty aid to quicken the dead ! 
 
 Nearly every congregation contains more or less nominal chris- 
 tians, whose zeal and enthusiasm have sadly diminished since their 
 reception into the church. The gleanings of former harvests were 
 more than the entire vintage now. The things which remain are 
 ready to die. A spiritual lethargy and lukewarmnessin the service 
 of the Master, strangely contradictory of the glowing fervor of by- 
 gone years, prevails. The heart is uncultivated. There is a sour- 
 ness in the conversation that ill comports with the disciples of the 
 meek and lowly Jesus. Means are no longer used to keep the 
 graces polished, and the armor sharp and glittering. There is little 
 or none of the pleasure formerly experienced in christian fellowship, 
 in sacramental seasons and the general work of the denomination. 
 The soil is hard — unmoistened by th« refreshing rain — unproductive 
 and unprofitable. 
 
SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 513 
 
 Need I say that such a condition is dangerous ? It is a dishon- 
 orable one for any child of God to occupy. It may not be fatal, for 
 the ploughshare of severe discipline can bring the most callous 
 backslider to consciousness of guilt and penitence for sin : 
 
 S[ .nt barren land you can restore and nourish ; 
 Decayed Christians, God can cause to flourish. 
 
 But it is only after severe pruning that spiritual life is revived 
 and the soul restored to its normal condition. Before the dews of 
 heaven can benefit such souls, and the fallow ground become pro- 
 ductive, a preparatory process is needful to quicken the hard, stolid, 
 passionless affections, and convulse to their very foundations that 
 deep seated avarice and indolence which prevent consecration to the 
 cause of God. 
 
 A worldly minded church, however generous and lavish its con- 
 tributions may be to charitable and missionary objects, is the great- 
 est of all hindrances to the spread and success of the gospel. The 
 more numerous the membership in such a case, the greater is the 
 evil. However sincere young converts are in entering such a com- 
 munion, unless special grace prevents, their piety will soon reach 
 the low level of the mass. Apart from the constant operations of 
 God's spirit, manifested in holy deeds of self-denial, a church may 
 become a hindrance to the progress of the truth, a stumbling block 
 to enquirers, and a byword on the lips of scoffers. 
 
 This brings us briefly to speak of the passage in Ezekiel so full 
 of encouragement and hope to all who seek the prosperity of Zion. 
 The language refers to Messianic times, when God's controversy 
 with His people should cease, the scattered ones be restored to 
 Jerusalem, and blessings in large abundance crown the latter days. 
 Peace is to prevail throughout the land ; the wild beasts of the for- 
 est are no longer to molest or terrify the traveller, so that he may 
 dwell in the wilderness in safety, and sleep in the woods unharmed. 
 The trees of the field are to yield their fruit, and the land give forth 
 *33 
 
514 Tin: ciiUFicii and the commonwealth. 
 
 its increase, ami the yoke f)f slavery be forever broken. I'or in the 
 words already (juotcd, which may be rejjarded as a summation of 
 all these covenanted mercies — " I will make them, saith the Lord, 
 and the places round about m}' hill a blessing ; and I will cause 
 the showers to come down in hi.i season ; there shall be showers of 
 blcssin;;." There can be no doubt, I think, but that the prophecy 
 refers to the gospel dispensation. The final ingathering of the 
 Jews, the restoration of Mount Zioti, and the rebuilding of Jerusa- 
 lem, belong to a period which precedes the winding up of the pres- 
 ent dispensation. The nature of the blessings spoken of, however, 
 admit of different interpretations. Is it temporal blessings only of 
 which the projihct spi-'aks — or spiritual, or both combined ? Are 
 wc to take the language in a literal or figurative sense? Are we 
 to understand the seasonable showers mentioned as nothing be- 
 yond Ihe s[)ring and summer rains, or are the words typical of 
 heavenly blessings and the outpouring of God's Spirit upon His 
 chosen people ? 
 
 In its primary signification, I doubt not, the prophet referred 
 to temporal blessings. If you read over carefully the judgments 
 threatened Israel, you will find that the blessings promised in the 
 context are exactly their counterpart. The judgments included 
 )-ears of trouble and desolation, famine and pestilence, war and 
 bloodshed, calamities of every form and degree of severity, even 
 approaching to the bondage of Egypt and the sufferings of the 
 wilderness. God's anger was to be manifested in these more tan- 
 gible and striking evils. His presence as the avenger of their sins 
 was to be seen in the withdrawal of all those comforts which con- 
 stitute national prosperity, and tne prevalence of all those plagues 
 which accompany overthrow and destruction. But now the scene 
 changes. The temporal blessings long withheld are restored. In- 
 stead of famine, there is plenty ; instead of war, peace ; instead of 
 internal commotion and disorder, complete security and protection. 
 
SHOWKkS UK ULKSSING. 515 
 
 The holy city becomes again the joy of the whole earth and the 
 centre of the world's salvation. Nay, not only does Mount Zion 
 enjoy the special favor of heaven, but all the environs of the hill 
 — the places round about it, and the people inhabitin^j the adjacent 
 territories — share in the manifold blcssinj^s predicted. 
 
 But, while I understand this to be the primary meaning of the 
 text, there can be no doubt that spiritual blessings are also implied. 
 The entire prophecy speaks of a condition of things wherein God 
 and Mis people would stand towards each other in an entirely dif- 
 ferent relationship from that which formerly existed. These tem- 
 poral gifts are in reality the smallest part of the blessings promised. 
 They are indicative of the richest outpourings of grace, and a proof 
 that God will again return and dwell among His chosen people, re- 
 storing to them privileges and honors with which the glory and 
 grandeur of a bygone dispensation, could not for a moment com- 
 pare. The pious Jew, I doubt not, regarded such prophecies of 
 coming good in this higher sense. I\ was by such general state- 
 ments that he was led to recognize imperfectly at least, the charac- 
 ter of gospel ti nes, and look forward to the advent of a greater than 
 King David who should build another temple of fairer proportions 
 than the first, and repair the desolations of Jerusalem. 
 
 Intended originally for the comfort of God's ancient people, the 
 promise has a direct application to the church at i-hc present day. 
 All the blessi'ngs promised Israel are ours. When the words of the 
 text are verified there shall be but one fold and one shepherd. The 
 unbelief of the scattered nation shall give place to unfeigned loyalty 
 and hearty reception of the truths of Christianity, We do not yet 
 see its entire fulfilment, but we live in an age when the beginning 
 of the end can be clearly discerned. It is ours to pray and to la- 
 bor, that the christian church may enjoy these showers of blessing, 
 that the parched soil may be softened and made ready for an abund- 
 ant harvest. 
 
51(5 THE CHUKCU AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 From these words then we are taught, first, that the church of 
 the latter clays is to be the recipient of special favors : " I will 
 cause the shower to come clown in his season ; there shall be show- 
 ers of blessing." I am not careful whether you include the literal 
 as well as the spiritual meaning in its application to the church ot 
 the present day. I believe that the time is coming when God's 
 blessing shall rest to a much larger extent than at present upon the 
 productions of the field, and when the husbandman shall reap far 
 more abundant harvests than are at present secured under the most 
 favorable conditions. Secondly, and taking the passage in its 
 higher meaning, as indicating the outpourii gs of the Spirit, notice 
 (a) the extent of the blessing ; not drops, but showers of ram ; not 
 the slight and all but imperceptible rustling of the leaves, but the 
 mighty wind that brings abundance of rain. In a word, it is a re- 
 currence of Pentecostal times, when the presence of God in His 
 church shall be plainly recognized by mighty awakenings and in- 
 gatherings, not occurring only once in a century or after long peri- 
 ods of spiritual drouth, but accompanying and sealing the simple 
 proclamation of the gospel from year to year. Notice again (d) 
 that these showers are to be seasonable. How much we long for 
 timely rains to water the earth, and how much depends upon their 
 coming I It is not good to have sunshine always. The plants and 
 shrubs and flowers wither under continued scorching heat There 
 must be showers in spring and showers in summer to fill the ears 
 of corn with sap and substance, that harvest home may be a time 
 of grateful joy. And just such seasonable showers oi grace are 
 needed in the church of Christ. We may labor perseveringly with 
 human souls, and the gospel ploughshare may turn up the fallow 
 soil, and good seed may be plentifully sown, but all is in vain until 
 
 God the plenteous shower bestows, 
 And sends salvation down. 
 
SHOWERS OF IJLESSING. 5 17 
 
 flow frequently have wc witnessed such emergencies inourdif- 
 frrcnt fields ! There have been indications of a glorious work of 
 grace ; unwonted seriousness and solemnity have prevailed in the 
 congregation ; the truth has seemed to fall impressively upon both 
 young and old ; the little cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, be- 
 gins, as we fondly imagine, to cover the horizon, and wc look for 
 floods of mercy to fall upon the hearts of sinners, when lo! it passes 
 by, and our hoi)es are disappointed. If the seasonable showers had 
 but fallen, what rich clusters of fruit might have been gathered, ami 
 how many precious souls saved from death ! 
 
 Now, in the period spoken of there shall be no such failures. 
 The showers shall be copious and seasonable. There shall be no 
 drawbacks in spiritual husbandry. The sower shall return bringing 
 his sheaves with him. 
 
 Notice again (f) that the blessings thus conferred upon the 
 church of the latter days shall mightily increase her efTiciency in 
 evangelizing the world. Individual believers shall become centres 
 of blessing to all within the reach of their influence. We speak of 
 the efforts and victories of the church too frequently as if it were an 
 agency quite distinct from the membership. We lose sight of per- 
 sonal obligations. Many who take credit for work accomplished 
 deserve, in reality, nothing of the honor that belongs to it. The 
 n>ore willing and zealous bear the burdens, while the mass rest sat- 
 i.' fied, looking on and applauding results. Not more than one-third 
 of the moral power of the church is practically developed, whilst the 
 unemployed talents of the others act as a heavy drag upon her pro- 
 gress. It is not by such indifference and neutrality that gospel 
 victories are to be hastened. We may not all be equally gifted or 
 occupy the same vantage ground. The stars and planets arc not 
 all of equal magnitude and brilliancy, but there is not a star that 
 twinkles in the midnight sky but has its important mission to fulfil. 
 To everything in nature a distinct part has been assigned, and to 
 
5lS THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 every intelligent being a separate work has been allotted. 
 
 Now, in the period spoken of, every gospel hearer shall become 
 a positive blessing to his fellowmen. God's people shall be willing 
 in the day of His power. The love of Christ will constrain and 
 impel. The name of christian will be a synonym for all that is 
 noble and pure and elevating. The whole neighborhood will feel 
 the influence of holy lives. Men of the world will recognize the 
 spirit and impress of the Master, as the coin bears the image of the 
 sovereign. Not only so, but the church in her collective capacity 
 shall more than ever bless the world. Mount Zion shall not only 
 be the recipient of special favors, but a source of unmingled good 
 to all the places round about it. The visible body of Christ s fol- 
 lowers shall be the most powerful agency in society. It shall be 
 fel in every department of the state ; it shall direct the councils of 
 the nation ; it shall mould public opinion on all important ques- 
 tions affecting man's highest welfare. It shall command universal 
 reverence and respect, for to be associated with the church in any 
 capacity whatever will be regard id as the highest hone 
 
 This whole subject is well fitted to gladden the hearts of God's 
 servants who are seeking after a larger measure of personal holiness 
 and who are longing for the set time to favor Zion. Not in human 
 organizations, although these are necessary, does the vitality of the 
 church consist, but in the spirit of the living God. The pipes and 
 reservoirs and waterworks of a city are valuable, but capacious re- 
 servoirs and the most comprehensive net work of mains and hy- 
 drants will not alone give water. The clouds full and overflowing 
 are essential to the effectiveness of the whole. The old log pumps 
 or the old oaken bucket will bring forth more water out of the farm 
 house well fed by a living spring than the most costly and compli- 
 cated hydraulic apparatus out of a lake whose springs are dried up. 
 And so it is in religious efforts ; unless showers of blessing come in 
 their season, all human devices and appointments are in vain. 
 
SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 519 
 
 " Neither is he that plantcth anything, neither he that watcrcth, but 
 
 God that giveth the increase." 
 
 Out in the harbor of Marseilles, says tradition, four galleons arc 
 
 standing with their prows turned eastward, and their sails idly 
 
 flapping in the wind. Their decks are filled with crusaders eager 
 
 to embark for the Holy Land. A week has elapsed, and still the 
 
 vessels have not rr;Oved their anchorage. At length, impatient of 
 
 delay, raising their helmets they all with one accord join in the 
 
 hymn : " Veni Creator Spiritus" As they lowered their arms 
 
 bearmg the symbol of the cross, the sound of a rushing wind was 
 
 heard, and that same evening, with sails set in the name of God, 
 
 and filled with His breath, they were flying eastward on the open 
 
 sea. And thus, when our spiritual life and energies are becalmed, 
 
 we pray that gales from heaven may quicken the pulsations of 
 
 our being. 
 
 Lord, we gather silently, and hush our breath, 
 
 And look and wait — 
 A longing eager multitude, 
 
 AVithin ana round Thy gate, t 
 Lord, we wait the sound from heaven, 
 . Which shall revive our drooping love, 
 
 And make us strong and make us wise, 
 
 And tit us for the life above. 
 O Spirit, come with power divine, 
 And make these waiting people Thine ! 
 
 Fathers and Brethren, — We meet again in General Assembly 
 to review the work of another year : to sum up results, and to re- 
 cord our sense of God's goodness in the different departments of 
 christian labor in which we are engaged. I have not attempted an 
 elaborate or learned discussion of debated points in theology, which 
 more or less engaj^e the attention of thoughtful men at the present 
 day. These we can safely leave in the hands of our professors, to 
 be dealt with in the class-room. Seldom, indeed, ought they to 
 form the theme of ordinary pulpit discourse, and only in very ex- 
 
520 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 ccptional circumstances is it needful to make them the subject of 
 an Assembly sermon. No one questions the imperative necessity 
 of a learned ministry, in an age when the faith of God's saints is 
 attacked by an insidious rationalism that seeks to deify human 
 reason at the expense of infinite wisdom. But beyond this we need 
 in our pulpits "the tongue of fire," and the fire ever burning upon 
 the altars of our homes. This, and this alone, can make our work 
 permanent and progressive. There is some danger, when the re- 
 sources of a church are equal to the outlay, of resting satisfied with 
 tangible results as satisfactory evidence of vital godliness in the 
 membership at large. But is it always so ? We gladly acknow- 
 ledge the greatly increased liberality of our membership for the 
 spread of the gospel at home and abroad. The silver and the gold 
 for the beautifying and enrichment of the temple are not withheld. 
 Nor dare we for a moment question the sincerity of the motives 
 that makes magnificent gifts to the Church of Christ in these latter 
 days. But is there not, in spite of all, good grounds for asking — 
 are we, as ministers and office-bearers, growing in holiness ? Is the 
 religion of the age characterized by greater personal sanctity than 
 formerly, or is the wide-spread and bustling activity that prevails 
 due to other causes than the direct operations of God's spirit ? In 
 Christ's parable of the vine and branches. He not only insists upon 
 the union of the branches with the vine in order to increase fruit- 
 bearing, but also that the fruit should remain. " I have chosen you 
 and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth truit, and that 
 your fruit should remain." Indwelling abiding piety produces ever- 
 green christians. They flourish like the palm tree, and grow like 
 cedars in Lebanon. They bring forth fruit in old age. And so it 
 is with churches. The secret of their abiding strength and vigor is 
 in constant communication with the Most High. " There is a river, 
 the streams whereof make glad the city of God. God is in the 
 midst of her : she sh? 1 not be moved : God shall help her, and that 
 
SHOWERS OF BLESSING. 521 
 
 right early." As we find it said of the waters that Ezekiel saw in 
 vision by the banks of the Chebar, intended, doubtless, to symbol- 
 ize the onward majestic sweep of the gospel — "Everything shall 
 live, whither the river cometh. On this side and on that shall grow 
 all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit 
 be consumed, because their waters issued out of the sanctuary." 
 
 The past year has been marked by considerable commercial de- 
 pression. Almost every class has felt the stringency. Mercantile 
 institutions have been forced to limit their operations or suspend 
 payment. Large business houses, enjoying the confidence of the 
 community, have gone down ; and men, esteemed millionaires, re- 
 duced to comparative want. Does all this mean nothing? Are 
 there no lessons for christian churches to learn ? Are monetary 
 convulsions and failures in harvests to be referred to accident and 
 unforeseen calamities? Nay, verily, much of it is God's judgment 
 upon unrighteous speculation and undue love of riches, which still 
 withholds God's claims for the evangelizing of the world. By such 
 visitations are we taught that men are but stev. ards of God's boun- 
 ties ; that there is something nobler than to hoard up riches, and 
 that penurious giving sooner or later brings a curse I 
 
 **>^^^ 
 
God Dwelling with Men. 
 
" But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ? Behold 
 heaven nnd the Finavf-n of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less 
 this house which I have built !" 
 
 — l^nd Chronicles 6, v. 18. 
 
God Dwelling With Men. 
 
 HE condecension of God in dwelling with men upon the 
 earth, is one of the most amazing, and at the same time 
 comforting truths of Scripture. When we take into ac- 
 count Jehovah's entire independence of the creature — 
 His majesty and glory — His absolute and infinite great- 
 ness and holiness ; and contrast all this with the weakness, the sin- 
 fulness, the ignorance and degradation of fallen humanity, it seems 
 impossible to entertain such a thought. There is really nothing in 
 man to attract the notice or regard of his Maker. To a holy being 
 there is rather everything to repel, in our guilty and polluted world. 
 The original purity and innocence, which for a brief period brought 
 heaven and earth into friendly contact, no longer exists. And yet, 
 marvellous though it be, it is none the I'^ss true, that God delights 
 to dwell with man upon the earth. The pure society and rapturous 
 adoration of heaven are not more pleasing to Him than the praises 
 and reverential worship of dependent mortals. He not only bends 
 a listening ear to their cries, and accepts their sacrifices, but, in a 
 more than merely figurative sense, dwells among them, giving the 
 
 (525) 
 
536 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 most Satisfactory and conclusive evidences of His presence to the 
 eye of faith. " The Lord lovcth the gates of Zion, more than all 
 the dwellings of Jacob." 
 
 It was this thoufjht that filled the mind of Solomon when he 
 gave utterance to the words of the text. It was no ordinary occa- 
 sion when, as the representative of the assembled Israelites, he of- 
 fered up this prayer, and led the devotions of the people. It was a 
 day long looked forward to with joyful anticipations, and long after- 
 wards remembered by the pious Jew. The tabernacle that had 
 accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings for forty years was 
 now folded past The trials and hardships of the journey were 
 ended. Caanan was possessed, and the enemies of Israel subdued 
 on every hand. Peace was now established throughout the land, 
 happiness beamed in every eye, and thankfulness thrilled every 
 heart. " Over all the Holy Land there rested a blissful serenity* 
 the calm which follows when successful war is crowned with con- 
 quest, — a calm which was only stirred by the proud joy of posses- 
 sion, and then hallowed and intensified again by the sense of Jeho- 
 vah's favor." Only one thing remained to consummate the giory 
 of the commonwealth, — the completion of the temple, and its dedi- 
 cation to the worship of Jehovah. Many years before this, King 
 David had purposed in his heart to build a house for the Lord God 
 of Israel, in Jerusalem. " Surely I will not come into the taberna- 
 cle of my house, nor go up unto my bed ; I will not give sleep to 
 mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for 
 the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." But 
 although the intention was approved, the honor was reserved for 
 Solomon. " Thou shalt not build Me an house to dwell in," said 
 the prophet to the king, " but it shall come to pass, when thy days 
 be expired that thou must go to thy fathers, that I will raise up 
 thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons. He shall build Me 
 an house, and I will establish his throne forever." The time had 
 
COD DWKLLING WITH MKN. 527 
 
 now .nrrivcd for the fulfilment of the promise. After seven years 
 had been spent in building the sacred edifice, it now stood forth, the 
 grandest and costliest of earthly temples ever seen by the eye of 
 man I 
 
 Conceive, if you can, the gorgeous spectacle that presented itself 
 to the congregation of Israel. The elders have brought up the ark 
 of the covenant, accompanied with innumerable sacrifices and burnt 
 offerings, for its permanent location in the temple, under the wings 
 of the cherubim and in the most holy place. The priests and Lc- 
 vites, specially sanctified for the work before them, and the singers 
 of the congregation, arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and 
 psalteries and harps, stand at the east end of the altar, and with 
 them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. 
 And now as the procession passes on, high above the noise of mus- 
 ical instruments, is heard the song of praise, " The Lord is good ; 
 His mercy endureth forever," while in token of God's acceptance of 
 the offered worship we are told the house was filled " with the glory 
 of the Lord." What that glory must have been we can but faintly 
 conceive. The effect upon the assembled congregation was so 
 awful that the priests were unable to continue their ministrations. 
 So overwhelming was the impression, and so universal and real the 
 feeling that the Lord was there, that the services were for a time 
 suspended. The priests could not stand to minister by rcdcjn of 
 the cloud. This cloud was the visible manifestation of Him who 
 dwells in light inaccessible and full of glory. In this way he took 
 possession of the building erected for His worship and declared His 
 willingness to dwell among them, accepting their gifts and impart- 
 ing His blessings. 
 
 And now the king, arrayed in becoming vestments, stands be- 
 fore the altar of the Lord, and having blessed the congregation, 
 spreads forth his hands in prayer. Like a father in the midst of 
 his family — for a time laying aside his kingly authority and rule — 
 
528 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 he dedicates the temple, and the people of Israel, to the service of 
 Jehovah. He speaks of God's goodness to his father David, in 
 having permitted him to gather the materials for the building, now 
 so happily completed, and supplicates the favor of heaven upon 
 the nation, in all its varied circumstances and future emergencies. 
 The prayer ended, the fire comes down, the burnt offerings and 
 sacrifices arc consumed, the glory of the Lord once again fills the 
 house, while the entire congregation bow their faces to the ground 
 and worship, saying, "The Lord is good ; His mercy endureth for 
 ever." Truly, the grandeur and solemnity of such a scene exceeds 
 all descriptive power. 
 
 Each pillar of the temple rang, 
 
 The trumpets sounded loud and keen, 
 
 And while the minstrels sang and play'd 
 The mystic cloud of glory fell, 
 
 That shadowy light, that splendid shade, 
 In which Jehovah pleas'd to dwell. 
 
 The king cast of! his crown of pride, 
 
 And bent him to the ground, 
 And priest and warrior, side by side, 
 
 Knelt humbly all around. 
 
 Deep awe fell down on every soul, 
 
 Since God was present there. 
 And not the slightest breathing stole 
 
 Upon the stilly air. 
 
 They bow'd them on the spacious floor, 
 
 With heaven -averted eye, 
 And blessed His name who deign'd to pour 
 
 His presence from on high. 
 
 Now what was the prevailing thought in the mind of Solomon 
 on this grand and solemn occasion? Was he intoxicated with 
 pride on account of his position ? Did he say, as did the foolish 
 King of Babylon when he walked in his palace, " Is this not great 
 Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the 
 
GOD i)wi;llin(; with mkn. • 529 
 
 mij^'ht of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" There 
 was much fitted to call forth other fcclin^js than those of humility 
 There was much to dazzle the eye and create a feelin^j of personal 
 satisfaction, as he looked at the maj^Miitude of the buildin^j. the 
 grandeur of its fittings, and the vast con^^regation of devoted sub- 
 jects that stood reverently before him. Hut far tlifTerent were his 
 feelin^js. The temple was after all but the outward shrine — a jjoodly 
 house indeed, but nothing more, unless filled by the presence of the 
 Lord. He felt that " Kxccpt the Lord build the house they labor 
 in vain that buiUI it," and under this solemn im[)ression his j^reat 
 anxiety was, that in keeping with the outward grandeur, and in the 
 presence of this vast congregation, God's power and glory should 
 be so signally manifested as to leave no room for doubt that the 
 labor of his hand was accepted. " Hut will God in very deed dwell 
 with men on earth? behold heaven ami the heaven of heavens cannot 
 contain thee, how much less this house which I have built." The 
 words do not imply any doubt that God would meet with His peo- 
 ple and hallow their fellowship, but the moie he thought of such 
 condescension, on the part of the Infinite, the more he was amazed. 
 Like David, when he contemplated the glory of the starry heavens, 
 and the insignificance of the creature, he felt, " Lord, what is man 
 that thou art miiulful of him, and the son of man, that thou visit- 
 est him I" 
 
 The promised presence of the Almighty was not exclusively 
 given to the worship of the temple. Long before, when Moses was 
 instructed to erect the tabernacle, God said : " Let them make Me 
 a sanctuary that I may dwell among them, and there will I meet 
 with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy 
 seat ; " and when the tabernacle was completed, " the cloud covered 
 the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the 
 tabernacle, so that Moses was not able to enter into the tent, be- 
 cause of the cloud that abode thereon," and this cloud by day, and 
 *34 
 
530 THE IHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 fire by night, remained in the sight of all Israel, throughout their 
 journeyings to the promised land. To us also, as to Moses and 
 Solomon, God's presence is pledged in all the ordinances of His 
 house. " Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. 
 Amen." 
 
 Now, when we build and dedicate churches for the worship of 
 Jehovah, our chief anxiety should be that God's presence should be 
 felt in every service. It is praiseworthy and commendable that the 
 highest style of art should be displayed and the greatest comfort 
 obtained. But this may easily be attained without spiritual success. 
 Crowded congregations may assemble, and eloquent sermons be 
 preached, and much outward enthusiasm be manifested, but all is 
 in vain, unless God condescends to dwell with His worshipping 
 people. Our prayer should ever be, " Will God in very deed dwell 
 with men on earth?" 
 
 When we speak of God's presence in His earthly temples, what 
 is meant ? Not, of course, that he is visible to the senses, nor that 
 by any priestly incantation, the elements of the sacramental table 
 can be changed into his real person. Not that any form of ritual- 
 ism or swinging of incense laden censers, or outward display of 
 material excellence, can bring the Deity into loving contact with 
 human souls. Such methods have been, and are still, resorted to 
 in order to produce a sort of mystical, unintelligent, and dreamy 
 consciousness of a present God, but all in vain. It is not thus that 
 Jehovah is to be apprehended. It is not thus that the house of God 
 beromes the gate of heaven, or that we are permitted to wrestle 
 with the Angel of the Covenant. Just in so far as we rise upon the 
 wings of faith, above and beyond the mere outward surroundings 
 of the sanctuary — beyond the symbol to the thing symbolized, be- 
 yond the Word that is read and preached, to Him who is the Word 
 itself; beyond ordinances and sacraments, to Him who is the life 
 
GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. 531 
 
 and vital source of all christian worship — shall we realize God's pre- 
 sence in His temple, and within our souls. 
 
 In different points of view it is true that God dwells with men. 
 He is infinite. His presence is everywhere and illimitable. The 
 heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. Everything in nature calls 
 up His nearness and constant superintendence. His voice is in the 
 thunder and His glance in the lightning. In the cedars as they 
 sway under the fury of the tempest, and the breath which moves 
 the tender leaf, we hear the whispers of His presence. It is no 
 marvel that feelings of reverence possess the soul when standing 
 under the lofty domes of venerable cathedrals, and that sensitive 
 natures should be filled with dread, in view of the solemn associa- 
 tions and mute symbols of such a place. But none the less should 
 reverential awe occupy the mind, when in the grcatouter temple of 
 nature we gaze upon altars and symbols and paintings, " untouched 
 by human fingers, and closely linked in association with the hand 
 and mind of God." 
 
 But in a higher sense than in nature God is near to His child- 
 ren, and most intimately associated with their lives and conduct. 
 " Thus saith the high and lofty one, that inheriteth eternity, whose 
 name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also 
 that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
 humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." The relation 
 of parent to child is very different from that v/hich he bears to the 
 world at large. There may be pity and good will in the one case, 
 but there is undying affection and tender compassion in the other. 
 In this way we may in some faint measure understand how God 
 dwells with His people, just as intimately and as really as when He 
 was upon the earth and held loving intercourse with the sisters at 
 Bethany. No one doubts for a moment the fact of the incarnation : 
 that God in very deed became man, that He was made flesh and 
 dwelt among men, that He took part in all that vitally afifected 
 
532 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 humanity, that He was not only seen upon earth, but His voice 
 heard and His power manifested in the working of stupendous mir- 
 acles that compelled the most sceptical to confess that He was the 
 Son of God. Nor is He less really with His people now. He has 
 long since left this world, but by His spirit He dwells among men. 
 Before His exaltation to His Father's right hand, He promised to 
 give higher manifestations of His presence than were possible to 
 His fleshly nature. ' The Comforter," He says, "shall abide with 
 you forever." " He d'^^elleth with you and shall be in you." "Where 
 two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in their midst 
 to bless them." : . i } 
 
 Nay, God's presence with His Church is made the subject of 
 special promise. As the Temple upon Mount Zion was the meet- 
 ing place of Jehovah and His covenant people, so the Church upon 
 earth is the trysting place of the believing soul, where sweet com- 
 munion and foretastes of better things to come are enjoyed. " The 
 Lord hath chosen Zion," says David, " He hath desired it for His 
 habitation' This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have 
 desired it." " This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in. Yea, 
 the Lord will dwell in it forever." Far Detter things were promised 
 the second temple, after the return from captivity, than character- 
 ized the first, and- far more glorious privileges are now associated 
 with the church of the new dispensation than appertained to the 
 old. When the Jews, broken-hearted and dispirited, returned from 
 Babylon, they wept when they saw their beautiful house in ruins, 
 and the walls of Jerusalem laid in the dust. But the prophet 
 cheered them with the announcement of the Saviour's advent, saying, 
 " I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, 
 and I will fill this house with my glory, saith the Lord of Hosts." 
 This glory, arising from God's presence with His church, is ours 
 to-day as much as theirs. Both these temples have passed away, 
 but the temple of the living God never perishes. In architectural 
 
GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. . 533 
 
 beauty our churches may come far short of Solomon's beautiful 
 house. In decoration and ceremonial display, in the gold and silvv r 
 that adorned the altar, we may not claim for them equality, but in 
 all that constitutes the essentials of true and acceptable worship, 
 have we not the pre-eminence ? The cloud oftentimes obscured 
 the altar from the sight of the congregation of Israel, but no cloud, 
 save that which arises from unbelief, obscures our view of Christ. 
 The Jews might enter the inner temple, but no farther. The priests 
 might enter the holy place from time to time, but no farther. The 
 high priest only, and he but once a year, might enter the holiest of 
 all. The responses of the sacred oracle were only given occasion- 
 ally, and regarding the more important matters of the theocracy, 
 and the answers by Urim and Thummim were only for those of 
 royal rank. But no such hindrances prevent the access of the hum- 
 blest soul into the presence of its Maker. Directly and without the 
 aid of priestly intercession, we can plead our case at the bar of 
 heaven, and through the advocacy of Jesus Christ re'y upon gra- 
 cious pardon. " We have access v/ith boldness into the holiest of 
 all, through the precious blood of Christ." 
 
 The doctrine under discussion — Christ's continued presence with 
 His church — should 
 
 (a) Be a source of joy to believers. When the disciples saw the 
 Lord, after the resurrection, they were glad. They were previously 
 cast down. There was a sadness in their fellowship, and a heavi- 
 ness in their conversation, which nothing could remove save the 
 knowledge that the Lord was risen indeed. But just as soon as 
 they heard his voice again they resumed their natural cheerfulness. 
 Their fears and doubts all fled, and confidence resumed possession 
 of their hearts. It should be so with us in all the devotions of the 
 sanctuary. How cold and unprofitable the ordinances of God's 
 house when the Master of assemblies is absent ! How unavailing 
 the best efforts of the preacher I How barren the results ! To 
 
534 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 labor in holy things, without the consciousness of divine aid, is the 
 most irksome drudgery to which any human being can be called. 
 But the presence of Christ changes all this. The countenance be- 
 comes suffused with joy, smiles take the place of tears, and sorrow 
 gives way to abounding gratitude, the earthly sanctuary becomes 
 the most delightful spot on earth, because the place above all others 
 where Jesus reveals the shinings of His face. 
 
 {b) This doctrine also insures the success of the church in every 
 conflict. It is still, " not by might, nor by power, but by the spirit 
 of the Lord." The marvellous revivals of Pentecost and subsequ:^nt 
 periods, were all due to God's dwelling in His church. No voice 
 but one could raise the dead Lazarus to life, and no voice but that 
 of the Son of God can call dead sinners to repentance. The la- 
 mentations of christians over impenitent souls are due to the spirit 
 of worldliness that possesses the church and precludes His saviug 
 presence. But final victory is assured. " The Lord reigns. God 
 is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved." " No weapon that 
 is formed against her can prosper, and every tongue that shall rise 
 up in judgment against her shall be condemned." " I, saith the 
 Lord, shall be unto her a wall of fire round about, and the glory in 
 the midst of her." In view of such promises we can hopefully an- 
 ticipate the universal spread of the true religion, when the apoc- 
 alyptic vision shall be realized. " Behold the tabernacle of God is 
 with men and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, 
 and God shall be with them and be their God." 
 
 Brethren, need I add that in order to Christ's continued pres- 
 ence with His visible church, he must dwell in the hearts of the 
 members. Isolated from each and every other creature, the indi- 
 vidual soul must seek and cherish the indwelling of the spirit. It 
 is the presence of the Most High in the individual worshippers that 
 consecrates the temple. Thus dwelling with Him now we have as- 
 surance of sitting with Him on His throne, in the upper kingdom 
 
GOD DWELLING WITH MEN. , 535 
 
 of his glory. While in the body, our communion cannot be so sat- 
 isfying as when perfected humanity engages in the sinless service 
 of heaven. " It cannot be with us in the tabernacle as it will be in 
 the house." " Sense is slow to lean on aught else but that which 
 it sees." But God's presence, if not so immediate, may be as real, 
 and of the same nature, as we shall enter upon when the fleshly 
 vestment no longer keeps the soul apart, from face to face vision of 
 the King. Every soul, in living and loving communion with God, 
 now brings heaven and earth so much the nearer to jach other, and 
 of every church whose members are hidden in the secret of the tab- 
 ernacle, it may be said, " Surely the Lord is in this place. This is 
 none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'* 
 Spirits freed and spirits fettered mingle in the common atmosphere 
 of praise. 
 
Indestructible Kingdom. 
 
" And in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven SHt up a 
 kingdom which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall not be 
 left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these 
 kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." 
 
 —Daniel 2, v. 44. 
 
The Indestructible Kingdom. 
 
 6" _ 
 
 j^f^^O'^VAST amount of learned ingenuity and scholarly research 
 
 yj^J^r have been expended on the book of Daniel. Eminent 
 «^Vjl^«^ saints of God, desirous of understanding the signs of the 
 «^>,yr times, and forecasting coming events in the history of 
 the world and the church, have devoted much time to a 
 solution of its spiritual meaning. As large a number, perhaps out 
 of mere curiosity, have endeavored to interpret its prophecies and 
 fix with certainty the time of the end. As in all such cases, where 
 men presume unduly to search out the secret things of God, but 
 little satisfactory results have been reached in regard to mere de- 
 tails. All are, however, agreed on one point, that Christ's church 
 and kingdom shall survive all ecclesiastical and national convul- 
 sions, and that the vast changes which are now transpiring through- 
 out the world are but the precursors of a glorious end, when the 
 kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord and his Christ, and He shall reign for ever. 
 
 It IS this fact that is brought before us in the text. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, the King of Babylon, has dreamed a dream, which greatly 
 disturbs his peace of mind. The wise men of the kingdom, who 
 
 (539) 
 
540 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 professed by the aid of their gods to interpret dreams and foretell 
 coming events, arc called upon to shew its meaning, and allay the 
 king's anxiety. A serious difficulty, however, existed, from the 
 fact that while the king retained a sort of hazy recollection of the 
 dream, he could not recall it in so many words. " The dream had 
 gone from him," so that he required of the wise men, not only the 
 interpretation of the dream, but the dream itself. Such an unlooked- 
 for and unreasonable request staggered the Chaldean soothsayers. 
 " There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's mat- 
 ter, therefore there is no king, lord nor ruler, that asketh such 
 things at any magician or astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a rare 
 thing that the king requireth, and there is none other than can 
 shew it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with 
 flesh." In this dilemma, when a decree had gone forth, consigning 
 all the wise men of Babylon to death, Daniel boldly presumes to 
 show the king the dream and its interpretation. Having spread 
 the matter before his God, and received a favorable answer, Daniel 
 is ushered into the presence of the king and explains the meaning 
 of the dream. "The secret which the king hath demanded, the 
 wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers, can- 
 not shew unto the king, but there is a God in heaven that revealeth 
 secrets'and maketh known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall 
 be in the latter days." 
 
 It is not our present intention to discuss the detailed interpre- 
 tation of the dream. The barest outline must suffice. The king 
 beheld a great image, whose brightness was excellent, and whose 
 form was ';errib!e. Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms 
 of silver, its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet partly iron 
 and partly clay. Suddenly a stone, cut out of the mountain with- 
 out hands, smote the image, until the iron and clay, the brass, the 
 silver, and the gold, became like chaff of the threshing floors. The 
 wind carried them away, and no place was found for them, while 
 
THE INDKSTRUCTIULI': KINGDOM. 54 1 
 
 the Stone that smote the imapjc became a fjrcat mountain, and filled 
 the whole earth. The interpretation is briefly as follows : The King 
 of Habylon is the head of gold. " Thou, O king, art a king of kings, 
 for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and 
 strength and glory ; thou art this head of gold." The kingdom 
 represented by the breast and arms of silver, is that of the Mcdo- 
 Persian, founded by Cyrus at the conquest of liabylon. The king- 
 dom represented by the brass is the Macedonian empire, founded 
 by Alexander the Great, on the ruins of the I'crsian monarchy ; 
 and the fourth kingdom, represented by the legs of iron, and the 
 feet partly clay and partly iron, refers to the Roman power, distin- 
 guished for its strength and insatiable desiic for dominion, which 
 made it for a time the mistress of the world ; until internal dissen- 
 sions broke it into pieces, and hastened its downfall. Now says 
 Daniel : " In the days of these kings, a kingdom shall be estab- 
 lished, that shall never pass away." Before the last of these mon- 
 archs have died a new kingdom, differing in its origin and purpose, 
 shall be s'^t up, that shall never be destroyed ; — a kingdom whose 
 conquests shall not be achieved by the swo''d : that shall enter into 
 no alliances with earthly kingdoms, but shall prevail over and ab- 
 sorb all temporal pcwers, until alone it embraces the world and 
 commands the homage of all intelligent beings. The kingdom 
 indicated by Daniel, in its rise, progress and final glorious issue, is 
 that kingdom which Christ founded — 'which is composed of all true 
 believers, and which we usually term the church of the living God. 
 Not any one sect or denomination, but the Catholic Church, em- 
 bracing all in every visibk. organization who acknowledge Christ's 
 supremacy, as king and head. No one body of believers dare arro- 
 gate to itself all the virtues and holiness of the communion of saints. 
 From all churches, and out of all nations and kindreds and people 
 and tongues, the multitude of the redeemed shall be gathered, until 
 finally there shall be but one fold and one shepherd. 
 
542 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 I. Let US consider the origin of this kingdom. That it is divine 
 and not the product of human wisdom, is distinctly declared. " The 
 God of heaven shall set up a kingdom." Whatever difference of 
 opinion exists regarding the kingdoms referred to in the image, 
 there can be none regarding this one. Elsewhere in this same pro- 
 phecy it is stated " that one like unto the son of man came with the 
 clouds of heaven ; and tliere was given him an everlasting dominion 
 which shall not pass away, and a kingdom which shall not be des- 
 troyed." Now, whether we take the expression " kingdom of 
 heaven " to mean the true church of God, embracing all believers, 
 which shall be merged in the kingdom of glory, or the king- 
 dom of grace in the hearts of individual believers, in both cases it 
 is true that in its inception, progress and results, the work belongs 
 to God alone. It is divine in its origin because due to the purpose 
 of God in a past eternity, who determined to found an empire in this 
 world, whose citizens should be saints and whose fellowship should 
 be heavenly. The terms of entrance to this kingdom are declared 
 to be not earthly honors, nor worldly renown, nor wealth nor intel- 
 lectual greatness, but faith in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ and obedience to His authority. His kingdom was announ- 
 ced contemporary with the creation and fall of man. It was the 
 theme of prophecy and the song of inspired minstrelsy in the long 
 twilight of the Jewish dispensation, ere Christ came into the world 
 and gave it form and reality in the eyes of men. In other words, 
 God purposed from eternity to save by the death of His Son a 
 multitude of the human family, over whom Christ should exercise 
 a special oversight — towards whom he should stand in a special re- 
 lationship, and for whom there should be reserved special hortors. 
 Upon the i uins of the fall this kingdom was to rise ; through the 
 long ages of conflict and blood, subsequent to the entrance of sin 
 into our world, and prior to the universal spread of holiness, this 
 kingdom v/as to increase and spread in power and influence, until 
 
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM. 543 
 
 a new heavens and anew earth should appear, and che new Jerusa- 
 lem come down from God as a bride adorned for her husband. 
 
 Men acquire kingdoms by conquest or purchase, by poh'tical 
 convulsions or diplomatic alliances, but the kingdom of God was 
 founded by the shedding of precious blood. " I appoint unto you 
 a kingdom," said Christ to his disciples at the possover table, and 
 straightway prepared to pass through those terrible agonies that 
 culminated in the cross of Calvary. There amid rending rocks and 
 darkening heavens the Saviour died, and dying passed away to his 
 mediatorial throne on high. But from that cross and grave a reli' 
 gion sprang forth, destined to outlive all forms of worship and flour- 
 ish throughout ages in immortal youth. 
 
 II. Consider the indestructibility of this kingdom. "It shall 
 never be destroyed." We should expect this when we reflect upon 
 its origin, and the purpose for which it is founded. Unless supe- 
 rior to the conspiracies of open foes and the treachery of professed 
 friends, it could not accomplish the will of heaven. That it should 
 have to pass through many fiery ordeals, and at times seem al! but 
 crushed, is implied in the language of the text. And such has been 
 the history of the church of God, from its beginning in Eden, down 
 through patriarchal and apostolic ages to the present. Idolatry 
 has endeavored to suppress and conceal its simple faith ; civil des- 
 potisms have attempted, by force of law, to shake its foundations ; 
 paganism has essayed to defile its purity ; scepticism and infidelity, 
 by repeated and violent assaults from age to age, have vainly 
 sought to give to human reason the royal honors of Jehovah. But 
 all have failed. To-day the church of God stands forth before the 
 nations of the earth, stronger and fairer than ever — with no scars 
 upon her brow, and no traces of the conflict upon her form. Men 
 who make no professions to faith in Christ's divinity, secular phil- 
 osophers and ' ationalists, weary of fruitless endeavors to undermine 
 this kingdonr , now begin to sing the praises of Zion's King. On 
 
544 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 many a well fought battle-field, Christianity has not only vindica- 
 ted her claims, but laid prostrate heaps upon heaps, the powers of 
 darkness. Alone of all systems of religion, that during the past 
 1900 years have presumed to bless humanity, she remains to-day 
 with strength undiminished and veracity unimpeached ; and just 
 in proportion as the nations of the earth have adopted the prin- 
 ciples of this kingdom, have they flourished or decayed. Based 
 upon the dictates of mere expediency, they have gone down in the 
 day of trial, and sunk amid the wild tumults of human passion, like 
 vessels in a storm. Where to-day do you find true manhood, in- 
 flexible integrity, impartial laws and stable government? Not in 
 Turkey and other portions of the East, where Mohammedanism 
 prevails and poisons the fountain head of social purity ; not in Spain 
 or Italy or Austria, or even sunny France ; not in India, with its 
 Buddhism, or China, with its curious medley of diverse creeds, where 
 until recently, the air was foul with the smoke of altars, consuming 
 human sacrifices to unknown divinities ; — no, not in these, but in 
 our own loved land — in Britain and her colonies, and in the neigh- 
 boring republic, nations conservative of what is true, and progress- 
 ive in what is good, 
 
 III. Consider the immutability of this kingdom. "The king- 
 dom shall not be left to other people." The throne shall never 
 surrender to other powers, nor the sceptre pass into other hands. 
 Reference is doubtless made to the fate of other kingdoms, tlien or 
 subsequently existing, whose sovereigns were deposed, and whose 
 liberties were crushed by the usurper. The Babyionian princes 
 yielded to Cyrus the Persian ; the Persian power to Alexander the 
 Macedonian ; and that again to the Romans, and so it has been 
 with many kingdoms during the Christian era. The map of Europe* 
 by the absorption of territory, and the snatching of empire by the 
 avaricious despots, has again and again been changed, and new 
 boundaries affixed. The strong have swallowed up the weak, and 
 
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM. 545 
 
 kingdoms or e famous in history, have all but perished from the 
 memory. But in the kingdom of which we speak, no such trans- 
 ference of power can ever happen. The administration is perpet- 
 ual, and the laws unchangeable. Of no other kingdom indeed, can 
 this be said. The most stable thrones have a succession of kings, 
 for death as it changed the high priest of old, changes the occu- 
 pants of earthly thrones. But the King of Zion rules for ever, of 
 His government there is no end. Calm and unmoved by the over- 
 turnings of the nations, and the revolutions of society, He sits in 
 majesty, controlling their destinies, and making all contribute to 
 the glory of His name. None may presume to dethrone Him, or 
 call in question His supremacy. " The counsel of the Lord stand - 
 eth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. The law 
 of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul ; the testimony of the 
 Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord 
 are right, rejoicing the heart ; the commandment of the Lord is 
 pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, endur- 
 ing for ever ; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous 
 altogether." 
 
 IV. And finally, consider the glorious triumph of this kingdom. 
 *' It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it 
 shall stand for ever." The kingdom shall not only never be des- 
 troyed itself, but it shall silently, but effectively, attack other king- 
 doms, until alone it fills the whole world. The language, though 
 plainly indicating victdry after conflict, does not necessarily imply 
 that violent measures are to be resorted to, in the conquest of 
 heathendom. We know from other portions of scripture, that it is 
 by the gentle, persuasive influences of the Holy Spirit that the 
 church of the living God is to extend her boundaries. The little 
 stone cut out of the mountain — small and insignificant at first, com- 
 pared with the gigantic systems of paganism — gradually increases 
 in magnitude and strength, until it subdues all other powers, and 
 
 *36 
 
546 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 brings despocic thrones to dust ; such has been the method adopted 
 from the advent of the Saviour to the present day. Christ's king- 
 dom has never sought the shelter of royalty, nor the force of arms, 
 in order to spread its principles or conserve its liberties. It seeks 
 no favor, it goes forth in confident reliance upon the inherent force 
 of truth over error, when accompanied by the Divine Spirit. Its 
 weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling 
 down of strongholds, and everything that exalteth itself against the 
 faith. The legend that represents Constantine as seeing a glitter- 
 ing cross in the heavens, and above it the inscription, " By this we 
 conquer," is the motto of Christ's kingdom to the end of time. 
 
 We need to have just such a promise of ultimate victory to sus- 
 tain us in the conflict we are called to wage with the powers of 
 darkness. We walk too much by sight and too little by faith, when 
 studying the progress of Christ's kingdom. We are apt to be dis- 
 couraged by what seem repulses and defeats, but which are really 
 onward movements and mighty impulses. Long periods of time 
 are demanded ere the temple is completed and the corner stone 
 laid amid rejoicings. But eventually the heathen shall be given to 
 the Saviour for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
 for His possession. 
 
 In churches multiplied and scattered all over the world, and the 
 growth of other religious agencies, we see direct evidence of the 
 spread of Christ's kingdom. But in society at large, not less surely 
 are the principles of righteousness at work correcting abuses, mel- 
 lowing animosities, purifying literature, abolishing slavery, extend- 
 ing charity and good will to men, and advancing with civilization 
 in the subjugation of barbarous tribes, until the entire earth is 
 opened up to christian commerce. What vast changes are yet in 
 the future when this kingdom shall be universal, it is not within the 
 power of human language to describe, or imagination to conceive. 
 Then the golden age, so long sung of by poets, shall be refalized. 
 
THE INDESTRUCTIBLE KINGDOM. 547 
 
 and our long sin -trodden and accursed \vorld be restored to the 
 bright sisterhood of sinless orbs, shall become best and brightest of 
 all, because the dwelling place of the world's Redeemer. For in 
 the language of the well known hymn : 
 
 Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
 Doth his successive journeys run , 
 His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, 
 Till moons shall wax and wane no more. 
 
 One question ol a personal character remains. Do we belong 
 to this kingdom? Have we been translated into the kingdom of 
 God's own dear son ? Have we received that kingdom which shall 
 never be moved ? Are we rich in faith, and heirs of that kingdom 
 which God hath promised to them that love Him ? Are we assured 
 that, delivered from every evil work, we shall be presented to this 
 kingdom, and at last when our work on earth is done, that an en- 
 trance shall be ministered unto us abundantly into the everlastinpf 
 kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ? 
 
Through Death to Life. 
 
" I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live : yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live \>y 
 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." 
 
 — Galatians 2, v. 20. 
 
Through Death to Life. 
 
 I HE text is an explanation of the preceding verse, where 
 Paul says, " that through the law he has become dead to 
 the law, that he might live unto God," .Jo be dead to 
 the law is to be free from its dominion. '• The law is rey 
 presented in scripture as an hard and cruel taskmaster. 
 Sinners are in the position of slaves, under the control and subject 
 to the command of this master. This relation continues during the 
 life of the slave, only ending at death, when " he hears not the voice 
 of the oppressor and the servant is free from his master." Paul 
 was once thus in bondage to the law, but was now set free. Its 
 rites and ceremonies were no longer binding upon his conscience, 
 nor had its condemning sentence any longer influence over his 
 heart and life. Furthermore, the law itself had occasioned this 
 dcadness to the law. It so accused and terrified him, when a guilty 
 sinner, by its woes and threatenings as to drive him to Christ, who 
 by his death has fully met all the demands of violated justice, and 
 freed the sinner from its obligations. But this experience or state 
 is not a final one in the history of the awakened sinner It is but 
 
 (550 
 
552 Tin-: church and the commonwealth. 
 
 a means to an end, preparatory to entrance upon a nobler life, 
 "that he mi^jht live unto God." Then follows the language of the 
 text : " I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live ; yet not I, 
 but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh, 
 I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved mc and gave him- 
 self for me." 
 
 " I am crucified with Christ." The language is strange and 
 striking. Is it mere paradox or metaphor ? Is there really such a 
 change in the views, experience and conversation of the converted 
 man, that calls for such language to describe it? Christ, says an 
 old writer, was crucified between two malefactors. Paul was not 
 one of them. He was at the feet of Gamaliel, not at the foot of 
 the cross on Mount Calvary. Had he been there, he would rather 
 have helped to crucify him, than yielded to be crucified with him. 
 How, then, are we to explain such language ? 
 
 Cross-bearing, according to the Saviour's words, is an inevitable 
 mark of disciplcship. " He that taketh not up his cross and follow- 
 eth after mc, is not worthy of me." From the earliest days of 
 Christianity to the present time, cross-bearing implies the possession 
 of all those noble qualities that constitute men heroes in the church 
 and in the world. To bear the cross is not simply to profess Christ, 
 but to do so, i need be, in the face of superhuman obstacles. 
 Everything that militates against undivided allegiance must be 
 cheerfully surrendered, and every form of persecution willingly en- 
 dured. Right hands must be cut off, and right eyes plucked out ; 
 father and mother, wife and children, brethren and sisters, houses 
 and lands, nay, even life itself be freely given up, in order to bear 
 the cross. But even all this is not the worst form of cross-bearing. 
 Cross-bearing before the world is comparatively easy ; but cross- 
 bearing in the secret domain of a man's own heart is much more 
 difficult. Many a man who would cheerfully bear the cross in the 
 sight of his fellow-men, has utterly failed in what seem the insig- 
 
THROUGH DEATH TO LIFE. 553 
 
 ntficant details of life. The curbing of the passions — the restrain- 
 ing of unlawful appetites — the ruling of the temper and the sacri- 
 ficing of self interest for the good of our fellow men : — in a word- 
 the bringing of the whole man, body, soul and spirit, intellectual 
 pursuits, emotional delights and imaginative pleasures, into har- 
 mony and concurrence with a living Christianity — this is what is 
 meant by cross-bearing in the enlarged sense of the word. 
 
 To bear the cross now is a very different thing from what it was 
 in the days of Christ and the apostles. Even in our own day cir- 
 cumstanccs lessen or augment the pain of cross-bearing. Hut to 
 bear the cross in the scriptural sense of the expression is at alj 
 times in opposition to the natural heart. The very selection of 
 such a figure by Christ and the apostles proves this much. Cruci- 
 fixion was a Roman, not a Jewish form of punishment. Before the 
 time of Christ it had no moral significance whatever. Crucifixion 
 was regarded as the most disgraceful form of capital punishment, 
 reserved for criminals of the blackest dye. What it was to symbol- 
 ize in the christian economy, was learned first, and most conspicu- 
 ously in the example of Christ, and afterwards in the illustrious 
 lives and heroic deaths of such men as Paul, and the noble army of 
 martyrs, who went through Gethsemanes of suffering and Golgo-_ 
 thas of blood for the love they bore to the truth. " Christ changed 
 the cross from the lowest of things to one that is higher now than 
 the sword or the pen ; the morning kisses it upon the cathedral 
 spire, and farewell glitters upon it as the sun departs." 
 
 Cross-bearing is thus but an initiatory step in entering Christ's 
 kingdom. Christ not only carried the cross, bnt was crucified upon 
 it. It was not the simple act of bearing the cross, nor the magna- 
 nimity displayed and suffering endured on the way to Calvary, that 
 purchased the redemption of the world. It was not the solitariness 
 of Gethsemane, nor the bloody sweat of the garden, nor the heart 
 
THROUGH DEATH TO LIFE. $$5 
 
 of the saints In light, there is no hardship felt in making the greatest 
 of earthly sacrifices. 
 
 Secondly, — There is a willing obedience to the divine com- 
 mands. In this the disciple must imitate his Master. " Not my 
 will but thine be done," is the watchword of the christian life 
 There should be no reluctance in the pcrfornjance of duty, and no 
 hesitation in going forward to the severest trials. " Speak, LorJ, 
 for thy servant heareth," should be the christian's invariable res- 
 ponse. A man who lives the life of Paul, and possesses in any 
 measure his faith, will not be continually talking about his services 
 and sacrifices. True religion demands not simply obedience, but a 
 cheerful obedience. The strength if our love is measured by our 
 readiness to suffer, and all that we can do for Christ in the most 
 trying emergencies of life, is nothing compared with what He has 
 done for us, in saving us from eternal ruin, and purchasing for us 
 eternal blessings. 
 
 Thirdly, — There is a marked and increasing deadness to the 
 world. " I am crucified," says Paul. Interest in the events of the 
 present life henceforth to a great extent ceases. The lifeless body 
 feels nothing, hears nothing, sees nothing of what is going on 
 around it. And such in point of fact is actually the case with the 
 regenerated soul. Not that henceforth the child of God withdraws 
 from society, and takes no part in the business of the world and 
 the cares of the commonwealth ; but such a revolution takes place 
 in his feelings and desires — in the value he attaches to outward 
 prosperity and earthly advancement, that he is in great measure 
 indifferent to questions that are of absorbing interest in the eyes of 
 his fellow-men. 
 
 It is thus, in one aspect of the case, no easy thing to be a chris- 
 tian after the pattern of the Apostle Paul. But this is the darkest 
 side of the picture. Christ Jesus by his death has purchased fc; lae 
 believer, not only present blessings but future glory. Having 
 
$$6 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 become obedient unto death, He has been highly exalted — a name 
 
 has been given Him above every name, that at the name of Jesus 
 
 every knee should bow. Who is he that sits upon the throne ? 
 
 John tells us, that " in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts 
 
 and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain." 
 
 It is the once crucified but now glorified Saviour, who now receives 
 
 the adorations of the angels and the praises of the redeemed. And 
 
 where are such men as Paul and the cloud of witnesses, who counted 
 
 not their lives dear unto them, that they might finish their course 
 
 with joy ? They are now near the throne, kings and priests unto 
 
 God ; they sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, apparelled in 
 
 garments that rival the brightness and splendor of the sun. " It is 
 
 a faithful saying, if we be dead with him we shall also live with 
 
 him. If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him ?" Beyond 
 
 the cross 
 
 I look and see a throne, 
 Christ's throne and mine in one; 
 
 Hallelujah! 
 Throne and Cross for ever. 
 
 To bear the cross, then, may be bitter — to crucify the old man 
 may be a desperate life-long struggle, but the end is sweet. Though 
 Christ died upon the rugged summit of Mount Calvary, "yet having 
 borne the cross, he was laid in the sepulchre, and the sepulchre 
 was in a garden. Roses wet with the dew of the morning were 
 round about the door of the sepulchre. It was the nodding daisies 
 and lilies that first called Him, knocking mutely at the sepulchre's 
 mouth ; and when He came forth in glory. He came forth in the 
 garden, with fruits and flowers on every side of Him. Christian, 
 go with Christ to the cross, and die with Christ, that like Christ you 
 may stand in the garden amid all fruits and flowers." 
 
 But, says the Apostle, while " I am crucified with Christ, "never- 
 theless I live." My existence is not ended, but materially changed. 
 I am no longer what I was. Before, I lived for the world — now I 
 
THROUGH DEATH TO LIFE. 55; 
 
 live for God. Formerly, I loved sin — now I hate it. Formerly, 
 this body was the tabernacle of Satan — now it is the temple of the 
 Holy Ghost As great a change has taken place in my moral na- 
 ture, as took place in my sentient existence at the moment of birth 
 into the world. " For if any man be in Christ he is a new creature ; 
 old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new." 
 
 A man recovering from some painful disease, says, " I live in a 
 new world," and in like manner the regenerated soul exclaims, " I 
 am crucified with Christ." " nevertheless I live." But, continues the 
 Apostle, " I live, yet not I." The paradoxes of the verse are not 
 ended. He first tells us that he has been crucified with Christ, then 
 again that he lives. Now again he says, " Not I." After all, there 
 is no real contradiction. It is evident that this clause is inserted 
 to show the source of his new-found spiritual life. He desires noth- 
 ing of the glory resulting from this wonderful change. Not by his 
 own inherent powers or efforts after this nobler existence had he 
 attained it He owes all to the free sovereign grace of God. 
 
 This seemingly contradictory language is further explained 
 when he says, " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." In other 
 words, the Lord Jesus Christ imparts to the believer, at the moment 
 of conversion, of his own nature, in virtue of which he may be said 
 to dwell in the believer's heart He is the author — the fountain* 
 head of his spiritual being. This life, so abundantly stored up in 
 the Godhead, is conveyed to all the children of God. In virtue of 
 that union which exists between the Saviour and his people, they 
 are one. This is not mere figurative language. The head and the 
 members are one. The root and the branches are one. The foun- 
 tain and the stream are one. The husband and wife are one. So 
 between Christ and the believer, there is a substantial union, though 
 a union that can only be spiritually discerned and gradually expe- 
 rienced in the growing sanctification of the child of God. Not 
 
5S8 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 more really does the soul quicken the mortal body with life, than 
 does Christ quicken the heart of the believer. 
 
 Paul finally explains how Christ dwells in him, and the mode 
 of its operation. " The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by 
 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." 
 
 Notice, among other things, that 
 
 I. This spiritual life is enjoyed by the boliever upon earth. It 
 is a life lived in the flesh — in this mortal body. A man may live 
 spiritually in a sinful dying body. Paul does not say, "The life 
 which I live to the flesh," but in the flesh. These two things are 
 essentially different. 
 
 I I. This life is altogether unlike that which the believer inherits 
 by nature. A contrast is indicated — the past with the present. 
 The old record was a melancholy one. Before, says Paul, I was 
 dead, I thought I was alive, but now I see how great was my error. 
 He has brought me up out of the horrible pit and out of the miry 
 clay — a new song has been put into my mouth, even praise to God. 
 
 III. This spiritual life is a life of faith. Faith i£ the most won- 
 derful power in the universe. " It has a kind of omnipotence in it 
 — it can remove mountains, command the sun to stand still, and 
 raise the dead." It crucifies, vivifies, purifies, justifies, glorifies. By 
 faith the believer is united to that Saviour, who now sits upon the 
 throne. 
 
 IV. God is the author of this life of faith. " I live by faith of 
 the Son of God. Christ is the author and finisher — the revealer 
 and object of this faith." Paul speaks not of material, nor intellec- 
 tual, nor emotional faith, nor of the faith of devils, but of saving 
 faith. The faith by which a believer can bear up under the trials 
 of life, and by which he can triumphantly die, must have a divine 
 being for its object. 
 
 V. This faith is experimental in its character. It is appropri- 
 ating faith. " It is faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave 
 himself for me." 
 
THROUGH DEATH TO LIFE. 559 
 
 You may start many difficulties connected with the plan of sal- 
 vation, and puzzle the humble christian regarding many doctrines 
 in his creed, and suggest many metaphysical contradictions con- 
 nected with the exercise of faith, but you cannot take from the soul 
 the sure knowledge and experience of the love of Christ. No argu- 
 ment can overturn this sure pledge of heaven's regard, " The Lord 
 knoweth them that are His." " Who shall separate us from the 
 love of Christ ? Shall tribulations, or distress, or persecutions, or 
 famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things 
 we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." 
 
 " He loved me," says the Apostle, — " far back in the counsels of 
 eternity, before the heavenly bodies were placed in their appointed 
 orbits, or goodness had decked the earth in lavish beauty, — before 
 the angels sang the choral of creation or the advent of Christ, this 
 Saviour loved me." Says the prophet, " I have loved thee with an 
 everlasting love." And why such a manifestation of love ? Not 
 because of merit in my character. Apart from the infinite and 
 overflowing tenderness of the divine nature, there was no motive to 
 prompt such an exercise of love towards the Apostle or any sinner. 
 " He loved me," says Paul, no common sinner, but the vilest of the 
 vile — a persecutor, an outcast, an enemy to Jesus Christ and his 
 religion — one who gloried in his wickedness, and boasted of his 
 cruelty. Oh ! the height and the depth, the length and the breadth 
 of this love of Christ, it passeth knowledge ! 
 
 " He gave himself for me," adds the Apostle. This is the in- 
 controvertible proof of love. " In due time Christ died for the 
 ungodly. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die — peradventure 
 for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commend- 
 eth his love toward us, in that while we were sinners Christ died 
 for us." He gave himself. We could not purchase salvation — all 
 must be of grace. He who was the son of God, the brightness of 
 his Father's glory, the express image of his person, the adored of 
 
S60 THE CHURCH AND THE COMMONWEALTH. 
 
 angels, and the central attraction of the heavenly world, suffered 
 death that man might live. 
 
 And now, by way of application, let me add : If Christ lives in 
 us, we can never die. We can, in other words, never fall away from 
 grace. Christ once died, and now forever lives. , They that are in 
 Christ die to sin, and forever after live to God. The benefits of 
 Christ's death are lasting and inexhaustible. The believer can 
 never want. The spiritual life enjoyed on earth merges into eter- 
 nal life beyond the grave, and thus we can go on saying : 
 
 Thou art my life, O Saviour ! by faith I live on Thee ; 
 I was a sufiering captive, but Thou hast made me free ; 
 I passed my life in si^hintr, but Thou hast made me sing ; 
 I was alone and lonely — Thou art my Friend and King, 
 
 I would not fear the dangers that lie along the way, 
 I would not doubt or question, but only trust and pray ; 
 The old life left behind me, the new life I would live. 
 In faith on Thee, Jesus, who caust Thy spirit give. 
 
 ^^^^i:^