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PHILLIPS, M.A., EDITOR. TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIGGS. 78 & 80 KING STREET EAST MONTREAL: C. W. COATES. 1884. HALIFAX: S. F. HUESTI8. A ! 20oJ ! BNTEKFD, Rccnrdlnir to the Act of the P«rll«ment of Canmla. In the yeor one thoiisnnd eight hiiiidred and eighty-four, by William Brious. In the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. T' I0,J PREFACE. ar one thousand ' the Minister of 4 mHIS is the second volume of the Methodist Pulpit published in Canada. It is doing, in its own sphere, the same work that the pulpits of other Christian Churches are doing throughout the world. It has the same origin ; it is a link in the same chain of history ; it possesses the same spirit and has the same aim and end in view. When more sermons are being published than were ever before; when the preaching of the Gospel of of Christ is doing a greater and a grander work in enlightening the minds of men; in promoting the purest and best principles; in reforming and puri- fying the lives of millions, and exerting a mio-hty influence in the spheres of literature, science, philo- sophy, and the fine arts, we send forth this volume to unite its influence with the multiplied agencies employed for the moral elevation of the race Billing's BniooK. AUTHOR. % ^ CONTENTS. Introduction Paob. ix. By Rev. S. G. Phillips, M.A,, Editor. Sermon I. Soul- Freedom. (John viii. 32) By Rev. Edward H. Dewart, D.D.. Editor of the Chris, ttan Guardian. Sermon II. Divine Providence-A Guarantee to Christians of Per'- ' FECT Safety, and a Cause to them for Grateful and Triumphant Joy. (Matt. x. 30) gj By Rev. George S Milligan, LL.D.. Superintendent of Schools, St. John's, Newfoundland. Sermon III. The Nature and Duty of Giving. (Phil. iv. 17) gg By Rev. G. Webber, late of the Bible Christian Church. Sermon IV. A Missionary Sermon on the Gospel Aspects of the Unity OF THE Race. (Acts xvii. 26) ' «„ 69 By Rev William Hansford, Ex-President of the Moa- treal Conference. 111! VI- CONTENTS. Sermon V. Tw T. Paok. DIVINE Revelation of the Creation. (Gen. i. 1) 85 By Rev. Nathaniel Bur wash, S.T.D., Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology. Sermon VI. The Dignity of Labor. (Mark vi. 3) 103 By Rev. D. V. Lucas, M.A. Sermon VII. God Glorified in a Fruitful Church. (John xv. 8) 108 By Rev. W. C. Brown, Grand Pre, N.S. Sermon VIII. The Scripture Record concerning Eternal Life. (2 John ^'") 122 By Rev. W. R. Parker, M.A., President of the London Conference. Sermon IX. Alone. (John xii. 24) j^ By Rev. Tallman Pitcher. Sermon X. An Old Testament View of the Gospel. (Isaiah Iv. 10, 11). 157 By Rev. T. G. Williams, President of the Montreal Con- ference. Sermon XL The House OF God. (Psalm Ixxxiv. 1) jqq By R«v. J. J. Rice, Cobourg, Assistant Secretary of the General Conference. 10, 11). 167 iai Con- 166 ^ of the CONTENTS. yjj^ Sermon XII. The Limits of Religious Thocght. (Deut. xxix. 29) ""^8 By Rev. J. Burwash, M.A., Charlottetown, P.E.I. Sermon XIII. Holiness Necessary and Possible. (1 Peter i. 16) 190 By Rev. Louis NBeaudry, author of -Life Struggles of a Roman Catholic," and Pastor of the First Irench Methodist Church, Montreal. Sermon XIV. Our Father's Good Things. (Luke xi. 13) 199 By Rev. Cranwick Jest, A.M., Bridgetown, N.S. Sermon XV. Humiliation of Christ. (Luke ix. 58) 213 ^' oTeerT';'''"; ^•^- ''^•^•' ^^°^---f ^^ Greek Testament, and Church History, Montreal Sermon XVI. The Increase of Christ. (John iii. 30) 227 By Rev. A. B. Chambers. LL.B., Quebec. Sermon XVII. The^Christian Doctrine of God and Modern Scepticism. 243 By Rev. Leroy Hooker, Kingston. Sermon XVIII. The Cross of Christ the Fitting Theme of a Minister's Glorying. (Gal. vi 14) a ivunisters ' 264 the Theological Union, Montreal Conference. viu. CONTENTS. Sermon XIX. Piety the Condition of Success in Life. Paok. (Joshua i. 7, 8).. 285 By Rev. J. R. Jacques, D.D., Ph.D., President of Albert University, Belleville. A Baccalaureate Sermon de- livered before the Albert University, June 18, 1882. The Peace of Faith. Sermon XX. (Isaiah xxvi. 3) 313 By Rev. J. S. Coffin, Chaplain to the Army and Navy, Hamilton, Bermuda. T' Paob. ai. 7,8).. 285 t of Albert lermon de- 18, 1882, INTRODUCTION. 313 nd Navy, rjIHE influence of religious teacliing has been felt J^f s>nee men grouped together for the worship of Jehovah. There have been differences observed in the forms of worship, in the ceremonial of the Church a, the ages have advanced ; but strange to say that. as the arts and sciences have flourished, and have pre- sented a proud and grand exterior, the worship of God bas become more simple and less imposing, but not less .mpressive. We think there never was a time when the preaching of the go,pel went home to the human heart as it does in the present age. The change of the dispensations has not been marked by anv great revolutionary movement in religion-the same pnnciples and motives that inspired the former ani- mated the latter; the same doctrinal teachings shine " turough them all. Under their influence believers of all ages have submitted to the government of God We observed and kept His law, have received the Word of God as their great text-book. have exe«ised the same faith which brings salvation to bleeding t X. INTRODUCTION. !!,. hearts ; and have received from the same Saviour the healing balm. The same gospel has been preached, and has been employed by God as a mighty moving agency to overthrow the kingdom of Satan, and spiritually to subdue the world to Jesus Christ, and to incline men to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and to fill the whole earth with the knowledge and the glory of God. Under its influence the clouds of past ages are breaking away, the light is shining, the barriers are crumbling down, and the discord of sectarian strife is being resolved into perfect harmony throughout the Church of God. Take a brief glance at the history of this great agency : Enoch, the son of Jared and father of Methu- selah, was born A.M. 622. It was said of him in the Holy Scriptures that he " walked with God." " Before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God."* And Jude informs us that he prophesied concerning the second coming of Christ. He preached that Christ should "come with ten thousand of His saints to execute judgment upon all."t The Patriarchs held the three offices of prophet, priest, and king. As kings they governed the people, as priests they offered sacrifices and interceded for them, and as Heb. xi. 5. + Jude 14, 16, I ! Saviour the sen preached, ^hty moving Satan, and s Christ, and and in truth, owledge and ihe clouds of 1 shining, the 3 discord of ect harmony •f this great er of Methu- f him in the d" "Before it he pleased prophesied He preached sand of His e Patriarchs ;, and king, priests they em, and as INTRODUCTION. ^ prophets they preached, setting before the people life and death. Moses having received his com- mission from God, became a most powerful and useful preacher. Through him came the Moral Law ♦ which will influence the destinies of men down to the end of time. There are frequent references in his books to his preaching and setting before the people their religious duties and their responsibilities, f During what is termed the Mosaic Economy there seemed to be no settled law for the appointment of agents, times and places of preaching; but men of different classes were sent through the land to preach the Law of God, and to urge upon the attention of t.-o people the importance of the worship of God Previous to the captivity, preaching was not regular" the people were left without its benefits for weeks and ^ months together; hence, they lapsed into idolatry I and polluted themselves with the sins of the peoplj anu)ng whom they lived. Captivity and sorrow I followed the nation's sins; and during the seventy I years the Jews were ca,.tives in Babylon, being de- I prived almost entirely o. this important agency for I good, they not only lost their religion, but the very * John i. 17. t Deut. vi. 9. Txviii. 8, xxi. 19, xvu. 18, iv. 9 ; Num. v. 23. f xii. INTRODUCTION. language in which they were taught it, and they spoke a corrupt language, made up of their own and that of the Chaldeans and the other nations with whom they had mixed, showing that a regular stand- ing ministry is necessary to the moral purity and prosperity of any people. After the captivity had ended, and the Jews were restored to their own land, and the temple services were re-established, Ezra the scribe not only collected the sacred books, but re- appointed the service of preaching ; and Ezra himself called the people together— a great multitude of forty thousand— and stood in a pulpit of wood, and read out of the Book of the Law, and explained its sacred lessons, and the people understood, and they all felt its power and " lifted up their voices and wept." * Throughout the Mosaic Economy the prophets preached, presenting to the people the living truths of God's holy law. The most powerful preacher next to Enoch, Elijah, and Moses was John the Baptist. His discourses were so moving that multitudes flocked around him to hear the word of life from his lips, and became penitent and were baptized of him in Jordan, confess- ing their sins. Christ, the great Teacher, now came Neh. viii. 1-9. INTRODUCTION. xia it, and they leir own and nations with 3gular stand- purity and iptivity had ir own land, led, Ezra the oks, but re- Ezra himself ude of forty and read out i its sacred hey all felt nd wept."* e prophets ving truths loch, Elijah, discourses iround him ind became m, confess- , now came upon the stage. He spake as never ™an spake, and presented in His teachings those grand truths which must forever lie at the foundation of the Christian Ch„,.h, and He ratified the truths He taught to the people by miracles. He sent forth His apostles a«d evangelists to offer salvation to fallen man , th'oushout the world. These followed the example . of their Divine Master, and devoted their time wholly I to religion, and spread the cardinal principles of the j Christian religion unto the very ends of the earth- ; they preached freedom of thought and speech, the' ! Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, the justifica- t.on of sinners, and the sanctiflcation and the perfec- tion of believers. Not that freedom of thought and speech which will not be governed by law, or be mfluenced by fa.ts. Upon the platform of the sceptic we are told that freedom of thought and speech isTto .£ possible, what no one else believes. The historian does not substitute his own speculations for the characters, dates and facts of history. The true scientist is constantly searching after facts, and upon tZT\ '' '''^'"'- ^"O ^""'^ -"-'- of all ys have been successful only as they have presented to the minds of men the demonstrated truths of God's f XIV. INTRODUCTION. m Divine revelation. The Divine Scriptures are so re- hearsed from the sacred desk as to carry conviction of their Divine authority to the minds and consciences of men, so that it is unnecessary that the preacher should, in connection with his pulpit ministrations, discourse upon the evidences of Christianity ; it is only necessary for him to present the Word of God without note or comment and it will carry conviction to any thoughtful mind, and it will be received as " thus saith the Lord." The justification of a sinner before God has been one of the great pulpit themes of all past ages, and will be through all the ages to come^, that in the enjoyment of this blessing the soul has direct access to God, and God has direct access to the soul ; that nothing should come between the soul and God, neither doctrine nor tradition, courts or councils ; there is in every case of justification direct intercourse between God and the soul. The pulpit gives forth a certain sound upon the sanctification and perfection of the heart and the life, that the soul might be thoroughly prepared for the immortal life of the future. In this age thousands of powerful and devoted ministers of Christ are fearlessly preaching the gospel, res are so re- conviction of consciences of the preacher ministrations, ity ; it is only : God without iction to any ved as " thus has been one s, and will be le enjoyment 2cess to God, that nothing ither doctrine in every case Jen God and ad upon the and the life, ared for the and devoted g the gospel, INTRODUCTION. -- and their message is accompanied by the influence of the Spirit of God, and millions are. through their in- strumentality, converted and added to the Christian Church, forming a devoted spiritual brotherhood in every land. To present the names of illustrious preachers, either in the past or present, would be superfluous, as they might be numbered by thousands • and to draw a comparison between the ministers of the cities and of the country would be absurd, as each fills his own sphere of usefulness. Each spreads the same light, moves human hearts in the same manner, and forms the Church of Christendom, and helps to people heaven. The only true and useful ministers of the Church of God are converted, earnest men. who have consecrated their time and their talents to promoting the spiritual welfare and happiness of man and the glory of God. The present volume will be worthy of a place in the best libraries of the land The Sermons are well written and full of useful matter. Some of the Sermons contain the particular views of the Methodist; in this we are not different to other Church writers. While in heart and life we are one with the true Christians of all denominations we differ from them upon certain doctrinal subjects' but at the same time we honor them for fearlessly XVI. INTRODUCTION. Nil presenting their views upon those subjects, though these views may be adverse to our own. and we believe that liberal Christians generally hold these sentiments. These Sermons, coming as they do from many authors, contain a rich variety ; some are profoundly theologi- cal manifesting depths of thought, extensive research and strong reasoning powers; some are eminently practical, coming from the heart, as well as the brain, are so employed as to go home to the hearts of others, not only enlightening the understanding, but exciting human sympathy, and producing in the human mind the most sacred emotion. Some are freighted with imagination, presenting thoughts like flashes of light amidst the surrounding darkness. Some are expository, explaining and illustrating with clearness the thoughts contained in the text. In all the writers keep close to the Bible, while they present their own thoughts in a bold, fearless, and independent manner. Believing that this volume ^ ill do ^ood, we send it forth upon iU mission of lighf rrM : ,vc to add to the pleasures of Sabbath reading, auu to spiritually fortify and beautify the lives of those who read it 1 Bn«>ras' Bridge. S. G. PHILLIPS. "And free."—/, rpHE higher t consider authorit 'uggesti' wisdom, tious phi Sun of I life, disci what wa.' the true ] This u 2 ibjects, though and we believe ese sentiments. many authors, mdly thoologi- nsive research, are eminently 11 as the brain, the hearts of rstanding, but ueing in the 1. Some are thoughts like ng darkness, istrating with text. In all, ! they present 1 independent 1 do jprood, we d jovo to add 10 spiritually 10 read it. •HILLIPS. THE METHODIST PUiriT. I SERMON I. SOUL-FREEDOM. BY THE REV. E. H. DEWART, D.D. "And ye shall know the truth, and the fn.tr. u m free."-JoA7i viii. 32. *"'*^ "''''" ""^^e you mHE Character Of a teacher largely determines the -I- influence of his lessons. The stream cannot rise higher than the fountain from which it flows Th! consideration invests with profound interest and authority the text I have read. These w "htv and • uggestive words are not the conjecture of vain worldly wisdom nor the speculation of a shallow and pre Ln^ bun of Eighteousness on the deep problems of human hfe. disclosing the divine knowledge of Him who knew what was m man,-his deep spiritual destit^n and the true remedy for his wants and woes. This^tterance is peculiarly Higniilcant. because it liM! i .' • i , 1 i 10 THE METHODIST PULPIT. reveals God's method of emancipating fallen humanity from the oppressive and debasing slavery of sin. I. WHAT IS MEANT BY "THE TRUTH ?" The question of Pilate, "What is truth?" is one that has in all ages profoundly agitated the civilized world. In climes and periods most widely separated, it has engaged the earnest attention of the greatest intellects. Not only has this soul-hunger manifested itself in times of light and progress, when the re- searches of enquiring minds in all departments of human thought have been crowned by results so bril- liant, that they stand as waymarks in the history of the world's progress, and monuments of mental achievement ; but even in times when ignorance and superstition threw their obscuring shadows over the whole universe of thought, it has throbbed like a smouldering fire in the heart of humanity ; and amid the ceaseless clangor of opposing opinions and systems has been heard, at intervals, the stifled wail of hungry and bewildered souls, asking for light and truth— "seeking rest, and finding none." The literature of past ages is mainly a record of the earnest endeavors of the leaders and teachers of men to scatter the blinding shadows of ignorance, and solve the perplex- ing problems of human thought. The intense mental activity and earnest research of the present day amply demonstrate that '.here is no abatement in the eagerness with which men still seek for an answer to Pilate's question. Historians are sifting relentl the fal powers questio quariar footprir have ti historic interroo derful j: are a pa fection difiiculti discover « and unsj I wou] those bol praise an have lovi pendentlj sions. TJ us to stif more thar us to pref free instit Yet, it c libility of upon ever various pi •nans are SOUL-FREEDOM. ,, sifting the chronicles of the na^f wifl, i powet"S an t " h:;^: ^^7'^' ,t'^ ™^"-t questions of the world of ^'d gIT .' '"'f"™'' quartans are endoavorin. fronff., ^ ="'' ""<• ""«" footprints of vanished a:;sraclnrf '"""""' bave transpired in the' rU^o e ,t foTr """ h'storic past. Naturalists in all field .f '"'" nterrosating nature to reveal the crets oflh"'^ "' derful phenomena of the livinTwo Id „/ ^- T"" "•^e a part. And yet, whether ft T ..'"'' ^' fection of the humarf! u "" ""^ ™P«>'- cHfficuities in theTy etfof ':::dr thr" """'"" pendently even thoZT ''^ T' ■""«'" '>^'- ■"<»- us to stifle thought \'T"^ ^h<'»W not induce -e than\heZ JlS, r^! t^t"'' ™^ us to prefer a retnrn f ' """ 7<"'y should induce free in'tituliona ''"°"^' ''^^P"'™" -''hout Yet, it cannot be denierl thai- fTi« i "«Hty of the h«n,a„ mindttf s Jm^rtt "'/"'■ upon every subject of hu.an in^'al "T t^ -nous provinces of physical science; theoriel ol 12 THE METHODIST PULPIT. deemed indisputable have given way before more plausible speculations ; and many inscrutable myster- ies still baffle the keenest sagacity. But when we rise to contemplate the results of the researches of those who reject the light of Divine Revelation, in the higher spheres of thought, in their speculations re- specting the existence and character of God the relations of man to his Creator, his duty and his destiny-as the interest of the subject heightens the obscurity grows deeper ; and we see the acutest minds ot the world groping in doubt and darkness, or drift- ing over a wide sea of unrest and uncertainty, without , any fixed guiding star, by which they can steer into a harbor of safety. Amid all the dreams of poetry the theories of speculative philosophy, and the discoveries of modern science, there is found no satisfying answer to the anxious questionings of the human spirit re- specting man's present duty and future destiny This irrepressible longing for truth can never be fully satisfied, till the soul trustfully turns from the misty shadows of earth to the unclouded light of heaven and finds in those stars of hope and promise that beam out from the firmament of Divine truth, licrht tor Its guilty darkness, consolation for its achin- sor- rows, and immortal hope for its desolate despair.'' You have sometimes seen a little child lost in a crowd, and crying bitterly for its mother. Thouo-h strangers may gather round it and speak soothincr words to quiet its sobbing grief, yet all is in vain. It cannot be comforted, and there is no peace found till before more able myster- vvhen we rise bes of those fcion, in the mlations re- i" God, the ity and his i^htens, the lutest minds ss, or drift- ity, without steer into a poetry, the discoveries 'ing answer 1 spirit re- tiny. This r be fully the misty 5f heaven; )mise that ruth, light ching sor- ipair. lost in a Though soothinor vain. It found till SOUL-FREEDOM. hushed ,y r;:„t,frr/;ot r?'"''^'' «''«* ^» voice. So.mybrethr™ fi ^- °""S '"°""^>-'s the human soul wlatDavn', "' '•? '^'«""'' *^P^ »' the heart cryi„„ out ^.tl T"'''' "^ ""^ ««^h and darkness thIt„'.tlT " ''""8 ^•"^~<' gloomy the Sun orBiC'"" "'" 'T'"' '"" «''' he^ms of loneliness, that cL on v K '" '"'"''"''^^ ""^ joy of communon wHh rr^r'"'^*"^ <=™-'-^ oonscience, which can 'L. 7' "'"'''■ '™"hled hy "the peace of God l^ u^ '"^'""^ ""'' «°">forted IknowTttffoouelr n '''''** ""derstanding." Christianity hat Ihr"''-''"'^'^ ''^ »'"* opponents °of the progres^' of e n^ee a7 ':nn""tr, '" """•^'"^^ knowledge. But th?! ^P"'"' ""^ '"'""u^ion of and reli^on, whicl tTr'f """"' •'^'--» -i»-=e either be°en beLet whatT'l'T".. '" """""<'■ "- some religious trttror V? "''"■' '" ^'='™'=-' and and an erroneous h'man d.T" ''""^ "='»««" '^"'h religious truth?:„d Xt,, ; ™ 'V^'>"'°"- «^'-- he no contradiction xt "='''"™' """•<* ■=»" the representatives of relt ^^"T^ "°"'"'=' hetween been the naturZ^,,:: f,°b T" """ °'' ^"'»- has the new-simplv onnrr '""™ *''« °'<' '^eas and disciples of the'cVeSnl ° ">"■ ^"™ *''<' opposed by theadhe"nrof[h P.f ^''™""'"y ««e -- not religion op~ ^^.f "^ '''^'y. this se.ence battling against bero^Tpot^'Tf n ' "" -^o "...possessed by the new ^ih liiiji 14 THE METHODIST PULPIT. science— just as the adherents of old methods resist new inventions. So the controversy between the authorities of Rome and Galileo, was not between science and religion ; but between the old false sdence and the new true science. Galileo was not an oppon- ent of Christianity ; but a devout believer in the Holy Scriptures, who certainly has as much right to be taken as a representative of Christianity as the in- tolerant ecclesiastics who condemned him. It is neither fair nor truthful to take the organized antagonism of the tradition-bound Church of Rome to science, political freedom, and everything that rejects her unfounded pretensions, as a proof that the Christian religion, and the Protestant Churches are the enemies of science and progress. In reading some recent works on the conflict of science and religion you might be led to think that all along the centuries' the representatives of faith stood on one side, battling against the knowledge which science offered, and the representatives of unbelief upon the other side, fight- ing for science. Such a theory is squarely contradicted by the undeniable facts of history. Many of the most distinguished men of science, who have most widely extended the boundaries of knowledge, were devout Christians. Roger Bacon, the fatiher of modern physical science, was a priest. So also was Copernicus, whose name is stamped on our modern system of as- tronomy. It was the sublime declaration of Kepler that in studying nature he was thinkin^^ God's thoughts after Him. Galileo, Sir Isaac New^ton Sir SOUL-FREEDOM. 15 Humphrey Davy, Sir David Brewster, and Michael Faraday were all as much distinguished for their piety as tor their learning and genius. So far from it being true that the Christian religion has opposed science, or prevented the spread of know- ledge, It has quickened and stimulated the intellect as well as warmed and renewed the heart. Who has not seen cases where those who. up to their conversion, had been steeped in stolid ignorance, gave signs of awaken- mg to a new intellectual life, and grew in knowledae as well as in grace, from that hour forward ? The teaching of the truths of the Christian religion has been to many barbarous tribes like the breath of re- turning spring upon the frozen torpor of winter giving them a new intellectual life, as well as salva- tion from sin. The countries where the Bible is most studied and honored are the countries which stand highest m knowledge, liberty, and social progress ; and are to-day the vanguard of civilization and the hope or the coming ages. We divide truths into different classes, such as mathe- matical, physical, moral, or religious, according to the subjects o which they relate. We may feel assured that the truth here spoken of by the Great Teacher is ruth relating to God's character, and to man's charac- ter duty, and destiny-in a word, those revelations of truth given by Himself in the gospel of His grace to make men wise unto salvation. In this holy volume, divine light dispels our dark- ness, and we learn those great spiritual verities, which 16 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ' !■( ' purpose of that X'B'eit "J^"' "'"'™«'"' ""O dc^" who i. the sup.™e:„^ee:ni7e\TdIL''r '-^ The simple fact that there is . '':^ *"VWn«S8. power, infinite in holiness J,/ ^^J "^"''^^^^ '" our Father and SoveS andT„ "h °™' "''° '^ render an aceonnt of ^' ""'' 'o whom we must truth that eanno" be Z.^'^f" "' '«^*' - « color and oharac r to I o'L/w'" ' 7,"'°"' ^'""^ The thoughts of the selfi r I ' "' "^' """^ d"'?- ». God ate fa.serd::^ltdr-l''XnV^^^^"'- onhTmresiTr :::■"' •'"™ 4 iitt^r- 3e«sh oonsideriu: r wrz;:: ,'^"°''^ "^ ""■ -oribing the good deeds of o her t" L " '™' '"'" with whieh they are most famnfar XT t ?°'"^^ the enslaved human snirit IT ? """* ^^ c*" the love of sin rise to n"\ '°"* ""<" depraved by and ever b.esLe G„d r'^c^nrTrT "' ""^ ''"'^ ^«ary and bewildered' sou^'tn T f *'"' '"^ *''« labyrinths of human folltandthr ^'"f '^' ^'^'^ negations whieh vain mTn T f*^^ '"^'^^ »d living and true old 1 R " ™''^«'uted for the el--«eter shines for'tl if '!„7:"™ ^"^'^- ^1-- Hi^ perfect holiness; t'd y ^ the aTf"^ "^^"'^ "' bending over us with father7vt.l ^'Pf'sented as our weakness, wipe awav^ ?"'''' *° ^''•^"g*^ «>uls with His me^Iyr ^ °" '''''• ""-l ^""rfy our Here is truth respecting man. Man is a mystery to himseH wonder gling fc find ou which h sin has perverte his cond Not a p£ sight his dignity wngratefi though h ance witl; without : divine; f( in Jesus' i and destir duty whic cherished i hide their sight. Bu not to the but brands and though persuade y, evil good ; disannulled, stand," " J lies, and the i^er find out. aracter, and we have to i happiness. Imighty in 5ve, who is we must last, is a 17 SOUL-P^REEDOM. .Hng for Jsrn krn Lr H7h '"'""'"^ ''"'- find out the purpose 'f hTu ' "° "'''°'" '« which he n,ay fu fflil A , . "fi '"' *'"' ""^""^ ^ »m ha. darkTned the hVhf f I" '^'^ *° ""^ <''«'=""y. p-eHe<,his::rp:/;t;L^rB:^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ight hfa guilt and 7^nZt LT r- ^''P'"« °"' «' dignity a°„d deg.adat ° ' He ^^^^ "f °' '"^ ungrateful rebel- still fl, P'odigal son, an ".ough he has sl'd t" ntuTht'Le'^Stf Ih''"^ """ "nee with the saints in 11X1,! " '"'"'"'- without n>oney and ."it'fu ' J ieT^r:!;: "/r"' divine; for "salvstl^n 1, • ^ ' ^'" "* 'ove in Jesus' name "Here Jf^Pl"?' \"d heaven are all and destiny In thf m " '™*'' '•^■'P"='i»S - -;eh. af-rr;-^ n^t tht i::::n::r;:s,f :;— . '■'^' ^'^' but brands with divine conSlLt """"P' "**"^'' and thought You mlT r , " "^"^ <="' ^^d pe«uade yoursStW ^ '"^'^ °* "^^ -^o^^. evil goodXt ' yltr '^°'" "?"^ '^ "^'"' ""d yon"- disannulled and yC T'™'"'/"'' '^^^"' «''-" be »tand." 'The hail shalfT"""' "'*'" ''^" ^'"'" "<" 'i-andthe:aels a 'o:;;r™^ ''' ^'"^^ "^ the hiding-pl ace. 18 THE METHODIST PULPIT. iii:! ; Men liave in all ages indulged in dreamy specula- tions respecting a future life; but by the Word of Truth a broad flood of light is shed upon the life be- yond the grave. " Life and immortality are brought to light in the gospel." The lowliest saint who by faith can read his title clear to mansions in the skies, can say with Paul : " We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." These inspiring truths are vindicated by the most convincing evidence. They have withstood the fierce storms and battles of centuries. No city has been so often besieged by hostile armies. No rock has been more frequently beaten by angry breakers. No enemies can be more strong and wily than those that have been vanquished in the past. And still these truths arc the mightiest moral force in the world. Vast multitudes have tested the truth of the gospel in their own experience ; and can say, "I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Its promises are true — they are the words of a cove- nant-keeping God. Its hopes are true— not like the meteoric flashes of earthly hope which end in despair. Its voices of warning are true— and shall be fulfilled against all who neglect the great salvation. The sal- vation of the gospel is a true salvation, yielding light for life's darkness, comfort for its sorrows, and victory over every foe. It is a false philosophy, whatever its pretensions, which ign( the world, and the ex testimony but the po out the d( witnessed i As we sur' pelled to Si Lord's doin II. The Hoi without kf truth streuj vision. We ledge, even sacred. Ev His glory, j His intellisr( his lower n his physical worthy of ment. It ii lectual achi( I the princes ( vincing evid is a great sti low delight! spired by i y specula- Word of le life be- e brought t who by the skies, ir earthly ve have a ds, eternal '' the most the fierce IS been so has been :ers. No those that still these he world, gospel in t the Lord my fears." of a cove- t like the n despair. e fulfilled The sal- ding light id victory etensions, SOUL-PREEDOM. 19 which ignores the great facts in the moral history of the world. The history of the Church in the world and the experience of God's people offer a triumphant testimony for the Divine truth of the Bible. Nothing but the power of the living God could have wrought out the deliverances and victories that have been witnessed in the history of the Church in the world. As we survey the vicf.ories of the past, we are com- pelled to say witn wonder and gratitude, " It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. The Holy Scriptures declare, " for the soul to be without knowledge is not good." All knowledge of truth strengthens the mind and enlarges its range of vision. We must beware of disparaging secular know- ledge, even for the sake of exalting that which is sacred. Every province of God's vast empire displays His glory, and is worthy of the thoughtful study of His intelligent creatures. Considering man merely in his lower nature, it is important to know the laws of his physical being. His intellectual nature is still more worthy of study, and demands culture and develop- ment. It is, indeed, common to speak of the intel- lectual achievements of the high-priests of poetry, and the princes of science and philosophy, as the most' con- vincing evidence of the dignity of man. No doubt it is a great step upward, when a mortal rises above the low delights of the senses, till the imagination is in- spired by pictures of intellectual beauty ; and the 20 THE METHODIST PULPIT. J, ililin! mm reason wrestles with great questions which sharpen and strengthen the faculties of the mind. But this, grand as it is, is not the highest distinction of humanity.' Man has a moral and spiritual side to his nature, and this, as Dr. Bushnell says, is his crowning glory'; be- cause through his moral and spiritual nature he appre- hends God, has communion with Him, and is capable of being conformed to His moral image. In these times of an indiscriminate "idolatry of mere intellectual power, it is well to remember this,— to bear in mind that those whose lives are undying spiritual forces among men, influence us by their . moral manhood, rather than by their endowments or acquirements. As we find what most fully answers to the craving of our human hearts in the inoia: char- acter of God— in His mercy, righteousness, and truth —so we find the highest greatness of which our nature IS capable in those human qualities that reflect the Divme goodness-" the greatness of the purified and regenerated, the enlarged and quickened aflections the steady and secure loyalty to what we ought to do"' —m spite of temptation to recreancy and faithlessness It must be evident, therefore, that the knowledge of truths related to man's higher capacities and spiritual nature is essential to qualify him to fulfil the crreat end of his being.. Side by side with high mental culture there is often a starving of the religious side of the nature, which results in a benumbed conscience and a shrivelled heart. In the great work of preparing the young for the duties and battles of life this SOUL-FREEDOM. 21 thought should never bo forgotten. They are not merely to have their physical nature developed as if they wore only beasts of burden. Neither are th'ey to be regarded as simply intellectual niachines. who are to be trained to solve mathematical problems or some other form of mental work. They are spiritual and immortal beings, capable of knowing, loving, and glorifying God on earth, and enjoying Him forever • and therefore the education of such beings should be' m harmony with the work which God requires of them here, and the immortal destiny to which thev are heirs. ^ Any knowledge, or any system of education which merely sharpens the intellect without improving, the heart, is fatally one-sided and defective. The vastest stores of knowledge, and the highest intellectual cul- ture can give no sure promise of that true greatness ot character, which consists in goodness and usefulness -It an enlightened and renewed conscience does not sway the sceptre of the soul, controlling and directin<. all its mighty and godlike energies to the achievement of what is « holy and just and good." Mere intellec- tual force, or culture, divorced from godliness and integrity, only gives its possessor grea^.er power for evil. If the character be without truthfulness and moral courage.-benevolence to men and faith in God -there may be greatness, but it is greatness in moral ruin. There may be energy of character, but it is the lawless energy of ungoverned passion, directing the whole life to false and fatal issues. There may be 22 THE METHODIST PULPIT. brillinncy of genius, but it is the lurid and fitful gleams of an unholy flame, which consumes while it burns, and which will expire in life's greatest need, leaving the desolate spirit overpowered and bewil- dered with the darkness of a starless and eternal despair But what is meant by the knowledge of these truths which gives soul-freedom ? First, it implies some just apprehension of the great central doctrines of the gospel. I know it has become very fashionable to disparage creeds and doctrinal beliefs. But if we have not right conceptions of the greatness, holiness, and mercy of God, we cannot cherish towards Him those feelings of reverence, trust, and love, without which we cannot worship Him acceptably. If we have no just views of our guilt and danger through sin, we cannot have a proper sense of our need of for- giveness and regeneration. If we are ignorant of the true character and work of Christ, or if we cherish some perverting ir isconception of Christ, which robs Him of the attributes which constitute Him an all- sufficient Saviour, we cannot trust in Him as " able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God bv Him." ^ At the present time, when so many sneer at doc- trinal preaching, and deny the value of belief in truth in order that they may without hindrance substitute their fancies for the doctrines they reject, it becomes us as Christian teachers to hold fast the form of sound words: and to " earnestly contend for the faith that SOirL-FRFEDOM. 28 was once delivered unto the saints." Those who re- peat as If ,t wore an unanswerable argument. Pope's words " He can't be wrong whose life is in the ri^rht » should reniember that if men have false notioas of the,r own character and God's character, of their duty and their destiny, their lives cannot be in the ri.d,t Good principles are the roots from which good M, grow. You might just as well expect blosson.s and fruits withou roots, as a righteous life without true principles and beliefs. Nevertheless, we must ^uard against assuming that our opinions and interp-ota- lons of Scripture are the unquestionable truth of God It IS very common for men to denounce those who cannot accept their particular interpretations of Scrip- ture as rejectors of divine truth. There are many ' thXlf ' fr^'T' '"' ^""^ -positions, which the. Scriptures themselves do not warrant ^ But it should never be forgotten, either by preacher I or people, that intellectual knowledge and belief of truth are but a means to a higher end; and become truly valuable only when instrumental in leading to a saving knowledge of Christ as our Saviour. '^ The knowledge of truth in the head can never safely be su s ituted for the faith and love of Christ in'the heart. To use an illustration from what we see in nature :--We know that the sun has only begun his of night from the hills, and bathes the mountain peaks n h,s golden radiance, till they rise from the darkness hke minarets of fire. His beams must go down into 24 THE METHODIST PULPIT. 1 in! the misty valleys, and warm and animate the dull, frozen soil, before the earth will throb with life, or yield the rich fruits which reward the toil of the husbandman. So, it is not enough that the knowledge of the truth should enlighten the higher peaks of the mind — as the memory, the imagination, the under- standing. It must go down into the dark deeps of the depraved heart, lighting up its spiritual gloom, and warming into a new life its cold and selfish affections, before the fruits of holiness will enrich and beautify the life. " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The lives of thousands prove conclusively that the main facts, doctrines, and pre- cepts of Christianity may receive the assent of the understanding, without transforming the life and char- acter. It is only when these truths are implicitly received by a living' faith, and applied to the heart by a power of the Holy Spirit, that they become the power of God unto salvation to those who receive them. This difference between mere knowledge and savins faith cannot be better illustrated than by the different results they produce. A nominal Christian may be acquainted with the doctrine of human depravity all his life, and admit it as an article of his creed that all men are sinners ; and yet it may never disturb his carnal security, nor change the selfish current of his life, no more than if he had never heard of it. Such a one may be familiar with what the gospel teaches respecting the work, character, and mission of Christ ; SOUL-FREEDOM. 25 and yet it may yield him neither peace nor consola- tion, because he has no true sense o£ his guilt and need of such a Saviour, But, let one who feels the sinfulness of his sin, and trembles at the condisrn penalties of God's broken law, believe with all his heart the blessed truth of justification by faith in Christ ; and as he grasps the glorious fact that Christ is willing and " able to save to the uttermost them who come unto God by Him," it thrills his soul like a new revelation from heaven, filling his whole being " with joy unspeakable and full of glory." An un- saved man may know what the Bible teaches respect- ing God, and yet He may seem afar off, and this knowledge yield neither strength nor consolation. But when God reveals Himself to a believing soul as a shield in danger and a light in darkness — when the trusting child of adoption apprehends by a living faith all that is meant by the Fatherhood of God — it is like the opening of a fountain in the desert to a fainting pilgrim. The weakest believer can say, "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me." No doubt, each one of us can remem'ber when some truth, which in words was long familiar to us, became enriched with a profounder meaning, making a change as great as when a dry channel becomes a river of living, sparkling water. There are precious treasures of truth and love in God's word, that you can never appreciate till your eyes are unsealed, and your heart brought into living sympathy with the Spirit of Christ. 3 '4 'iiiiliii mim 26 THE METHODIST PULPIT. O, my friends, let me entreat you, rest not in the mere intellectual knowledge of the truth, without a personal experience of its power to renew and sanctify the soul. The very fact that you have been sur'- rounded with Christian influences all your life in creases your danger on this point. Of what value is the form without the power of godliness ? What does It avail that you are familiar with the teaching of the gospel, if you have never been made the personal sub- ject ot the salvation which it oflfers ? What does it avail that you know that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, as long as you feel that He has not saved you from your sins ?" What does it avail that you have read of heaven, and sung about heaven with Its triumphant songs and immortal joys if you have no scriptural hope of eternal life, and no meet- ness for Its holy companionship ? If you do not know the truth m its sanctifying power on heart and life your familiar acquaintance with the Scriptures and theology will only deepen your guilt, and sharpen the stings of guilty remorse, when you stand on the deso- ate shore of a hopeless eternity, compelled to wail out the doleful complaint: "The harvest is past, the sum- mer 18 ended, and we are not saved ! " III. THE FREEDOM WHICH THIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH BESTOWS. No word has a more wonderful charm for men than hhevty. Even when its meaning has been but imper- fectly understood, it has thrilled the heart with a SOUL-FREEDOM. 27 mysterious power, which proves that man was made for freedom, and not for any form of slavery. Dr. buthrie, m one of his sermons, tells this touching in- cident :-One who had been a great traveller and had seen all the wonders of Europe, told him that near Niagara Falls he had seen the finest sight he had ever beheld. He was crossing from the American to the Canadian shore. The same boat carried a fugitive slave. The slave had burst his chain and fled. Guided northward by the polar 'star he threaded his way through tangled forests and poisonous swamps out- stripping the bloodhounds that bayed behind 'him Now about to realize his long-cherished and fondest hopes, the swarthy negro stood in the bow of the boat, his large, black eyes intently fixed upon the ■shore. The boat nears the landing; but before she touches ^^e shore, impatient to be free, he gathers up all his strength, bends for the spring, and vaulting into the air. by one glorious leap for liberty, he bounds upon the shore, and stands erect upon Canadian soil— a free man. We honor the men of all times who have laid down their lives fighting for civil and religi- ous liberty. The names of the battle-fields, where patriots battled and bled rather than submit to some tyrant oppressor, are watchwords which retain undy- ing power to stir the hearts of men to deeds of pa- triotic daring. The story of Britain's liberation of the . slaves held in bondage in her colonies, will be told with pride when her Blenheims and Waterloos are for- gotten. But, as the slavery from which the know- 28 THE METHODIST PULPIT. f « III ledge of the truth gives freedom is worse th»n K .-, <»• physical slavery, because it i,\u , ^"^^ divinest part of ou"^: „!„ fs this fL 7"^"' '"^ ■"aving knowledge of the tru h W " "^'°'' * and more precious thinrtl! , ^ , ' '" " «"""^^' it is soulieeTom 1% .''''''^^'•^<'<'°'"' because nature f^n/^tThTat^r.Hhf'tT' ''t' can only tr„.^ understand this 1 b r ; „ fhe^'j^.^! the slavery from which it rloi- '^ht of has been immuredTn th ^ " ' ''^ °nly he who ness of libert; C^MTT" '"°"^ ''"' P'-'"- God, we are delivered bvtln™'^ ",' "»""°"'"«« «* veals the mercv If rod • n, ''"' "^ht which re- -^f guilty fTarthel-t "'■ ^""n 'he slavery Vlaith^tchtrTo?oT'r''™''*'^^-''» desponding apprehensonTof i:fr:r""*" "'^ his soul with holy peace "1,1^ ''°'"''' """^ «"^ m«.i and brethren tLrL tb m """ ""'o y". you the forgiv„es:'„\':L :^, X »m aK^t T'" are justified from all ihLT f . ^^^^ ^^^'^""^ notbe Justified by";;:: irf^Mrs^"""^^^^"-" J!rom the slavery of covetousness th»t K- j n>any in its iron fetters, there is deii- . ™ knowledge of riches aboJe whit ear* " ^^ '^' »tisfying. eternal, reserved^ heav „ T T'' '™'- hke Moses, esteem the reproach „f O^ T "'"•• ™hes than al, the treaslfr f eLh "^^ '"'^ p- Of iust^irhrso-fciis 1*^: z SOUL-FREEDOM. 29 enslaved spirit of the servants of Satan.* Many are abject slaves of worldly opinion. From this we are deln^red by a truer knowledge of our obliga- tions to God, in whose immediate sight all our work IS done. From the slavery of sinful pleasure by the knowledge of higher, purer, and more enduring joys. " As by the light of opening day, The stars are all concealed, So eartlily pleasures fade away. When Jesus is revealed. " And from the slavery of every form of selfishness bods freemen are delivered, by the love of God shed abroad in the heart, giving sympathy for suffering, and breaking the bonds of selfishness by " the expulsive power of a new affection." if there are any present who have not a personal experience of this soul-free- dom. It 13 not because there is any want of power or adaptation in the religion of Christ; but because you have neglected this great salvation. Curran the Irish orator, speaking of the power of British liberty on the slave who came to Britain'^ shores, says: "No matter in what language his doom may have been pronounced ;-no matter what com- plexion incompatible with freedom an Indian or an •African sun may have burned upon him ;-no matter in what disastrous battle his liberty may have been cloven down;-no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the altar of slavery •- the first moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain v.ie altar and the god sink together in the dust ; his *Rom. viii. 2. it' iti i so I i M THE METHODIST PULPIT. soul walks abroad in her own maiestv • hi. h a swells hpvnn,^ +1, inajest} , his body Bweiis Deyond the measure of the ehain<5 fl^af v. *1 thralled by the genius of British liberty » We can utter a nobler boast to the honor of Chri,t mind '::T ? ■'""*^' "^ "''«* falsehoods t X^^hXmldtire^lhTTnsC^ -"' puuitr;i,Lra;7h:a:r^r;sn^ becomes with t™e contrition and truTtrfTitm'' cross of Christ, he receives forgtljs ^ l\ " ^' freedom from its cruel hn„^„ S"™ess ot sm, blessed Father and the Son^d th *"" "°'""'™'°" '""'' *'" o«s immortality ' ^ "' '"^P'"»« ^ope of a glori- -™;trp;res:?yX"L:^^^^^^^^^^^^ =t?t„r:''«s:in?:^r^^ of a Christian lifp „ ^'"^^-'^^bler illustrations of those rh::te7rutrarre:^'^^^^^^ '''-''- more fitly show forth the pr^^^^^^^^^ W * T T' called us out of darknesi into H,' ,7^' ^^^^ The vows of God are upon you oT'IT ''^^'• be strong." Be " valipnf f T 1 ^"'* ^^ ^^^^ "^^n ; .. i^e ^^aliant for the truth upon the earth." " We for Christ our Master stand J^ights in a benighted land ; ' We our dying Lord confess, We arc Jesus' witnesses. " "But the vt SERMON II. DIVINE PROVIDENCE— A GUARANTEE TO CHRIS- TIANS OF PERFECT SAFETY, AND A CAUSE TO THEM FOR GRATEFUL AND TRIUMPHANT JOY. BY REV. GEORGE S. MILLIGAN, LL.D., Superintendent of Schools, St. John's, Newfoundland. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered."— if aea™ that launched an La ?"^ "« detaife that space Jacks nerve tT *" '"^""e number of orb« ■ f 'he ffreat JToiu '"""''o' them_.„. ^ '"'" Parentai Jove, is Himself ctual experi- rci is good," ^^e persona] ' convincing ^hteousness, ■' *hey have •or "if any he doctrine mterialisfcic '^e to be a accom mo- ions of the ' but as a as made, 'ranee; or ivoJution, ssibiJities explained >n higher ■ beings. detract ^y wise by the 'ct say, Js uni- h that bs into ', that eyond imself DIVINE PROVIDENCE. gg devoid of paternal attributes, and has therefore con To state the case in general terms, I remark if studv ta™slr tf bf :,i:al:S"'jr • ^^ '■""' ^-^ '^ *i,:« if n- lacaiists, Jookinor upon everv- thing falhng out by chance, seeino- "thJh^ ^l compiehending things apparently trivial as tr,,lv ., see that God reigns in Providence without destroying for df. r "Shteous, many may be those afflictions He wtll r ■ ""'^ 'o^P^^'ing which He promises * Prov. xvi. 33, If HI Mil ill 34 'THE METHODIST PULPIT. oi^ Jacob for h.s help, whoso hope is in the Lord his My brethren if we can but catch the full inspiration refu of "t^-""" V'' '" "^ *° -"'- «<"> 'o be the llurin" » r^':;."" ^""8 xhall be as jubilant and ^nerii 7 " **" '"'^''""' P'-'-"""- ^i^i-g an expenence ot enraptured joy and unqualified confi aence, exclaimed, "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble, Therriore wU n! we fear, thoush the earth be removed, and though tie Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled^ oughte fountains shake with the sweni„;"t 1' Of. In the further pursuance of our subject we niav S the ,r ™'- "'"'• ''^^■^y of Pplic-tion, some Ill i 7 '"™ P™"dence literally means fore 3.sht ; but practically it is timely care, imply"L the use of necessary measures to effect a result f „ 1 bo h possible and desirable, or the hand antic pIL" what the eye foresees to be requisite. Hence bf Drvme Prov.dence may be understood that grlcious prov.s,o„ which God makes, without interruptTon o, excephon, to secure His own glory and the 2T^ a, as creatures. It is sometimes described as glerj ZlZr'"' "^ ""' ^°'«'''*""y diversifiTd b" regulai ly recurring operations of nature, so called. It I. DIVINE DIVINE PKOVIDENCE. 85 is sometimes described as special, when exercised to meet some apparent exigency occurring in the ex- perience of any of His people. This distinction is of little practical value, as a general Providence must embrace numb^erless details to meet the ordinary needs of the world, while what may be regarded as a special Providence is neither more nor less than a manifesta- tion of the same wisdom, love, and power, evinced in the maintenance of what is regular and apparently constant. Hence, discarding this distinction as unim- portant, I remark : I. DIVINE PROVIDENCE. IS BOTH COMPREHENSIVE AND MINUTE. It is perfect in its operations, being universal in its range, and adapted to every state and condition of His creatures. This I take to be the idea set forth by the text and its connection. Said the Master, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered." Arguing from the less to the greater, and confining His argument mainly to living objects, by universal consent of more consequence than the in- animate, He starts with very insignificant things as types of the most significant, and by a simple and conclusive train of argument He showed that, as God cared for what was but trivial in worth, much more would He care for what was of real importance in the scale of being, and still more would' He have due 36 THE METHODIST PULPIT. mitted, can at most kill the hnrUr .rovidence extends to the entirety of human life, and comprises within its range human possibilities, whether they be small or great, or whatever may be their character or mutual relations. Hear his striking remonstrance and testi- mony in his Epistle, fourth chapter, thirteenth to fifteenth verses: " Go to now, ye that say. To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain : Whereas ye know not what shall be on tl aorrow. For what IS your life ? It is even as a ■. apor, that appeareth tor a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to s&y," recognizing God in Providence as the Spirit within all the heels, "If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." Let the following from many similar passages, confirm the particularity as well as universality of His Providence : " Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build It ; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."* "For of Him. and through Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever.^f Paa. cxxvii. 1. t Rom. xi. 36. m h. !-::., I'll! 38 THE METHODIST PULPIT. I A* II. DIVINE PBOVIDENCE IS CONDUCTED m ^». GOVERNMENT OF THE wm,. „ ' ^'^ *"""^I' czr ~ - --- r DrE forces; but,„evertheleri °!vt " """^ "^'""^ ^-liich to rest an L e llL?^ ^^ '""P'^ S™™-! on Aa in the ma„a~ '?rV r '"''"'^""S faith. in different pos'uon and , ?' ""^ ^"^ ™'^ '"' e-w well acc,„ainTed"^'h t.^d,.:' ''f""''^' ^^ " novice in these matted app'aTto 17;,'"'- ""^ '° " «"^» opposite direction, and 1„ i^^'"^ '" *"■ amid some clamor on boa"d "Zf' "''' "'^ ^'^"^^ around her, raoves stLnt I ' '"*' "^ «'«■"»»« action of her helm wMcf- ? T'"'' '™^ *° 'h^ the eommandingXrori:™ ?!,"'' "^ "'^ -'" "' novel and oompfe. peee of mfh ^' '=°"'™' °' -»" action, in its severad " r'""' '"'°"' ^h"^- yet that little reveal to ll 7^, '"""' ""'y ""'«• and all directions. sZ horirnMv an"d "'" "°"'"« '" and a great variety of rodslld nW 'T "'"^"y- ■^ ""^ "■"■ P'stons, of straps and DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 39 belts, giving somehow, to me unknown, a connection of the whole, which I may further discover is acted upon by a motive power, applied and controlled by the hand of a single engineer, for the accomplishment of what seems at last a simple object,— even so, in Divine Providence, I may discover divine power ex- erted everywhere around me, and yet see ample room for human purpose and effort, or man's moral freedom of action, without which divine power would sink to absolute fate. Knowing hut in part, I may discern certain points of contact at which these separate and independent forces meet and act; and yet, seeing through a glass darkly, there may be numberless con- nections which I cannot trace between the human and divine elements, that reduce them to a harmonious whole, so that without degrading man by taking from him moral freedom or the essentials of true manhood, or robbing God by representing Him as incapable of directing and governing moral creatures, in accordance with principles of moral law, I gladly accept of a mode of divine government far higher and more glo- rious than what involves physical law only,— one which bears sway over intelligent and accountable creatures. Scripture clearly recognizes the existence of both elements, and the human, both in thought and action, as affording the very materials, so to speak, on which divine power lays hold. Thus saith the Preacher, " A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps,"* where human devising fi» Prov. xvi. 9. 'W -I ; il II 40 THE METHODIST PULPIT. "ion and faith and ZT T / ^'"'™'^ "* ^b^is- While, then, .;„"' 17^^/ "''"*' ''^''"^•"=- A'might, that w! TZu:Z\^:y' "^.'° '^ '"^ *o„]d we have if „e pray unto H^r ^!"" P'°fit times poor, weak f,mt / . ? *"<" while at -nay b^eadj ot^wLtT V""i''"S «''-"»« regular order of things wlwl ? *''' "PParently of human life or h'Tourf^fof' '" "'^°""»'»»ce pursuit., of business ^^^ """="'' '" ">« ™ried ?'or, in the ear^U:: ^ Set™:' ""^ ^'^'"^ ">§ may teach in this matteT ; ™ '""^''- divine philosophy not onTt/t'V" «'='="<" with Ws of tempeVncr nT fnd strtb"? "TT "^^ prayer of faith. Hence it if ^'-^ *' '~^2' ">« fornothing; but in evervthl /" '™' "^^ «*'-^f''i cation with thankaS wL^ '"■'^" '"" '"PP"" known unto God.-f A^ f! Jk," .ff^"'^'' ^e made James, "the effectlal tvtt 'V ^^'f ''"^ ''^ «*• man availeth much " itT •f^"' " "«''*«''»» without disturbing i„ the m!lk!. I ™n=eivable, that of natural forces, which be t 'T "'^ ^'''"""'y are completely ;ubs 'ien VTT'"'' ""-^^-^ could as readily suspend 1 la' ./""' ""' **"" create them, the a ice fr.,r"\"'" '^l"'- " He that sitteth in the hetenf . Nevertheless, heathen raee and th„ „ , *"'' '*"Shs while the *he Lord X hold' n'dSr:f ":•" ™7 "■'"«"- setting themselves l"d Th' • °' "'" "''"> togetheragainstth;Lord!^™ ' *'"''"« "counsel undertook^ith?Si™4rtrl!; r °'"'^^ 'o glorify Himself in PvovuZ^ 7'^T'^'"'^' sequel. Certain result, fin !' °"" '"'ow the sighted mortals who cinnn? 1' "''''=''■ *° *ort- like necessary links inT.^''*"-'"^ "'^ ™«- l°ot purpose, such^ij^ph-fbeinr,]" !*" ">" '"""e unjust imprisonmentlw- T ^.'""' ^^^P' »°<" hi« -ithor sympa~ tr;!"; "'"f «°^ -"" have conduct is foreseen and oveLkd sot T'.'"" """^^ ■nto Egypt, Joseph wass Xood ■ t:?^'""«^<'" and hy steppins down ;„*„ • ° P'^eserve life," to be exalted t! a ""itn T'™ ''' ""' '" "'^ "^^ that of Pharaoh in an L ."^ ""'^ '^"o-"! *» eighty factor fo; goo^"on'Yet'f1f"^ '^ "^"^^ * people, and in fulfilment of oTv '"'' ""^^nant at large. °' ^""^ ' "ercy to the world Again, in studying the life of Moses wo shall And a fact of i children 1 great for i proved to of the des beauty of became o"\ to be the the Provi( purposes ^ had strive the huma coil. A n chosen the the divine guard, ma' nurse of h^ dential str communicf and of th( of which SI learning o: DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 48 rare illustration of Divine Providence. Take the lirst episode in his illustrious career. God's people are feeling sorely the hand of oppression, and the day of I their deliverance draweth nigh. Human possibilities are permitted to take their ordinary course : and here we shall see that Sataii sometimes "overleaps the mark," and that " evil is often kept within bounds by exceeding all bounds." You know the occasion and fact of an unnatural edict, respecting all the male children born of ttic Hebrews ; how its cruelty was too great for the niidwives to execute, and, especially, that it proved too hard for the womanly heart of the daughter of the despot, when appealed to by the helplessness and beauty of the "goodly child," whose simple eloquence became overpowering, as "the babe wept," and led her to be the saviour of the infant, but, unconsciously, in the Providence of G od, to help forward those gracious purposes which the stern practice of her royal father had striven to overthrow. It is not difficult to trace the human thread through the whole of the divine coil. A mother's love, rich in human expedients, has chosen the fitting time and means to co-operate with the divine, and at the call of the princess by the sister- guard, makes haste to engage her services to be the nurse of her own boy, and, probably, through like pru- dential strategy, in future years to be the means of communicating to him the knowledge of the true God, and of the promises made to the fathers, the learning of which sanctified his subsequent acquisition of all the learning of the Egyptians, and prepared him in due i, I 44) THE METHODIST PULPIT. time for his manifold office of Leader, Legislator, and Reformer of Israel. Look at the operations of Provi- dence later on in his history, and particularly in con- nection with his great li'e-work. Moses has now come to years, and chooses to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Eager to avenge the oppressor, he smote the Egyptian; but soon he discovers his people are not ripe for emancipation, and, though zealously aflfected, he is himself without that maturity of character which his great mission will require. Hence, compelled to flee from the presence of Pharaoh, God leads him away into the wilderness, that by devout meditation and com- munion with Him, he might become mei , as the chief instrument employed, not only to bring Israel out of Egypt, but also to give to the world a religious system, infinitely superior to anything preceding it, because of the sublimity of its doctrines, the purity of its morals, and the spirituality and grandeur of its v/orship, and only second to Christianity, to which it was to be as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. At length the goodly child, by the tyrant death-doomed, but by the concurrence of the human and divine elements, saved, educated, and fully trained, gets ready for his life- work, breaks the oppressor's rod, and sets Israel free ; bringing about, in the Providence of God, the marvel- lous^facts of the Exodus, which is the best possible illustration that God, while pleased, when there is a needs he, to make use of the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, disdains not to avail Him- DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 45 f ^.i?^^"";^''^'*'""''"*^^^*^^' ^"d «« ^^^<^' His flock by the hands ot Moses and Aaron. III. DIVINE PROVIDENCE IS MORALLY DISCRIMINATIVE IN ITS ISSUES, BUT THROUGHOUT ITS ADMINISTRA- TION GRACIOUS AND PARENTAL. Virtue is usually its own. and often its immediate, reward; and vice is frequently f.lbwed by its direct penalty^ That men may be led to say, " Verily there IS a God that judgeth on the earth," in His Providence He often deals out rewards to them that please Him and retribution to them that sin against Him. Because the Egyptian midwives feared God, He "dealt well wivh them," and "made them houses;" because of the hospitality of the Shunami.e to the prophet, God re- warded her with a son, and subsequently restored him to life. Some, like Abraham, have entertained aiigels unawares, and thereby secured great blessings. On the other hand, Haman erected a gallows for Mor- decai, and he himself and ten sons were hanged on it To Ahab It was said, "Thus saith the Lord. In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth. shall dogs hck thy blood, even thine;" and, a. we know, he threat .vas literally executed. We do not claim t^^at m this life God finally discriminates between the righteous and the wicked, else there would be no need ot a general judgment; but that He interposes suffi- ciently to show that the Judge of all the earth shall do right, and that when the affairs of this world shall be wound up, "it shall be well with the righteous" 46 THE METHODIST PULPIT. whereas, " though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished." Meantime the administration of His Providence is gracious and paternal. Every dispensation of it to individuals, or the world at large, is identified with the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in some way is designed to subserve the interests of His Church. This important and comforting truth undei'- lies all Scripture teaching. Let us try to apprehend the fulness of its meaning. Just as sometimes we have looked into the nursery and various apartments of a well-appointed home, by the invitation of friends, to see the preparations of paternal i ffection for the happiness and welfare of the family circle ; or as we have at other times, with deep interest, examined the departments of a high-class boarding school, and ob- served the ample means of accommodation, and parti- cularly the arrangements and facilities for imparting a sound and liberal education, so let us give heed to what holy men of God, who spoke as moved by the Holy Ghost, reveal to us respecting Divine Providence, and our conclusion must be hat it is both gracious and paternal. I will cite but a few passages: " All things are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are yours : and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's."* No words, methinks, could represent a more dignified or enviable condition than that which is here declared to belongf to the children * 1 Cor. iii. 21-23. DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 47 Of God. Ts importance to be attached to any parti- cular agency, or any privilege associated with any distinct leadership ? Observe, dear Christian ^riends all agents are yours, and all operations which thev conduct are going on for your sake ; not only so, the world IS yours-preserved on your account and directed, through all the varied orders of things in it, to serve His gracious purposes for His people-a vast theatre for the display of Divine wisdom, power, and love in which even in the inorganic, and still more in the organic, there is so much to admire in the countless arrangements, made in evident anticipation of the necessities or comforts of the human race, and a grand exhibition building, in which the great Creator ex- poses to the admiring eye of every student of nature wondrous machinery, running with utmost regularity so simple and yet so perfect in all its adaptations, that the rarest productions of human mechanism, when brought into comparison, are at best poor imitations that have no glory because of the glory that excelleth. Hear it, ye that are Christ's, life with its fullest possi- bilities and influences-in all its aspects and experi- ences-is yours ; death, too-whenever or however it comes with its sting, which is sin, already taken away -Its terror has been abolished, and now it is yours as the avenue through which you will pass to the rest remaining for the people of God, and as the medium or process through which the light of mortal life shall melt away, to be immediately followed by the glory of eternal life, that saying shall come to pis. "Deal is 48 THE METHODIST PULPIT. swallowed up in victory." Moreover. " things present or things to come " are yours — everything existing or transpiring that comes within your cognizance or con- ception, or that transcends your knowledge and imagi- nation ; everything affecting the prosperity or ad- versity of communities, great and small alike, through all the spheres of industry or channels of trade and commert ; everything bearing directly or indirectly upon the political destiny of empires or states, through the ambition of men, the agitations of society, or the plots of revolutionists, with wars and rumours of wars ; everything that is now classed among the facts of history, or shall be among the events of prophecy. How grand the climax ! All are yours, animate and inanimate — whatever the relation they may seem to bear to us— all are identified with the manifestation of God's grace, and subserve the best interests of His children. Take but one text more : " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God."* Grasp, my brethren, this passage, as far as possible, that ye may see its fulness ; and while learning that it not only confirms all things as yours, but declares that all things are working together for your good, let a deep sense of your obligation fire your hearts with eternal gratitude. Men do often many things for their harm, through their ignorance or perverseness ; mark, however, that in this world- wide estate, provided and bequeathed by our Father to His Church, there is not one thing in the entire * Rom. viii. 28. DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 49 cata bgue but. in its proper connection, is working good for then, that love God. All nmr be labelled for good; neverthele«8, as in an extensive laboratory there may not be one thing without its appropriate use or that IS really harmful or dangerous to the skilled scientist, and yet, for the sake of preserving from risk and accident the ignorant or unwary, many bottles need to be labelled poisons, and. when some of the curious machines are in motion, visitors anu the unini- tiated require to be told to stand clear and keep hands off. so Christians must use things as not abusing them; loving God they will be guided by His counsel, an' -.-dtohriutdtotiS,-::--" DIVINE PROVIDENCE him, though mingling in the hot strife of where he shoulrl lioov. Ti, "® ^'^ war, feel the ve'; g^nTo^lr^^ '"^'""'"S ^oar and fro like a drunken m„,n . ! .u^" ''""''^ "^^ *<> »d hi.„ in eve ™direeC,n, f " ^""^'^ ^'■'=' """"^ thousands hLr^'attiTdr'n:'""''^*'^''* battling for God and truth Zrl f^T ^^""™- that calls you to arm«- f 1 ""' t" "bey the voice great and ^LwalZ'/e/; „tu"f je ^'T "' ''' you may be tempted to a,k whTw nT """'""''■• the .trong city, L thy mottZ be '^"71 T "'° quences next" an^ ,•« oii .u- *^ ^^^*' conse- conqueror. \Zt 2 I'^JZZc' "VT^ ""» that probation which IkeT -fr 7 "''"* "* cerned, the working ouTof ""f'^^'". i^ con- f-e, With fe.r aZZ.t/Z .T^l^ '^^"-S^ holine., withoutwhich no SThal ' L tl?/'^' may say, « Through God we shallTl T ., 7 ' y"" :« that shall trealdown oTr etil; ' v^^^ ''^ '* m His hand T,-f^ • ''"^n^ies. if our times are shorter, wm be Yo^r^J^T'-^':''"'^ '""^^ - your work be dnn! .l V " ''''" ^^ immortal till and prov* that ;;at"is Hel 'T?'' ' '"'^ «^'^'- all that can be aSw vo 1 ^ "' "'"'' ^o" ««"> then yours wilTJ w^' "^ ^'" '"' y""''^' »<> J ^^ vvui oe to wear a crown nf Mf^ a How comforting to the sailor if Xn I led . "■■ on a perilous voyage he co„m' T f ^ «" '"'*' damage and loss nTm. l i '"'"''"^ "^"'"^t all he could hV:2Zj7ii2'r:t'^-^''''^'- ■' Wow in wildest Zy nd ith fh ™'' ^'"'"" y ana lash the sea into boiling f Ji im 54 THE METHODIST PULPIT. foam, and m the commotion of tempest many gallant ships go down, his little barque would travel unharmed m all weather and under all skies. Dear fellow-vov- agers to the haven of eternal rest, crossing the tem- pestuous sea of life, on which multitudes have made shipwreck, we shall sail safely in the good old ship of the gospel ; with Jesus our captain and our Father at the helm we shall be wafted onward by the breezes of grace until we make the eternal shore. Fear not only believe-let your faith be such as worketh by i;ve- et love be perfect. Then perfect love will cast out fear, and with heaven begun below, or God your por- tion now and forever, you will rejoice evermore that the very hairs of your head are all numbered. SEEMON III. THE NATURE AND DUTY OF GIVING. BY THE REV. O. WEBBER, L^^ Of the Bible Christian Church, to ^^'^ii^^/Jz:-."^: '"* ' '"'^^ '^"^* *^^* -^y ^^^-^ aeaj xith the most uncongeniaj snbiec's it. i« nf*.„ .1, moat prominently displayed; iJ^i^XllT^J^:, wort and spirit, regarding it as selfish and selM„vin„ and thus rob its appeals of their point and ^^w ^^ d persuasiveness, and so by disbelief ward offThltTv argument they could never .ainsav Sfm , '^ that every true gospel mimstefr; wll l^ T motto of the Apostle, "Not because iTelatit^ Perhaps a sermon on the nature and d„tv T • • • about the last wher. many wiu\:og^ ^ ^^f J ot a disinterested soul and vpf if ;o -i. P, ^®^^® ;n Which the minister wTu^ llSt Itt^^f that feeling. I cannot conceive of a faithful milter 56 THE METHODIST PULPIT. !, i; I of Christ Jesus standing in the sacred desk to talk and plead for self, but rather to declare what he be- lieves to be " the whole counsel of God," and what he judges to be calculated to instruct and profit and bless those who hear him. The subject before us is not the most popular, because the Churches of this day have not an enlarged measure of that feeling which ani- mated the Apostolic Church, when believers sold their possessions and laid them at the apostles' feet. But notwithstanding its unpopularity, let us spend a little time together considering the plan, and duty, and motives of Christian giving. We will not indulge in eulogistic descriptions or pauperizing appeals by set- ting forth instances of magnificent generosity, or por- traying scenes of privation and poverty. Setting aside all individual considerations, let us look at the broad and inclusive principle presented in this singu- larly appropriate text of Scripture. I. LET us LOOK AT THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN GIVING. We are pained to believe that the Church of Christ is very deficient on this point of duty, probably arising either from error or ignorance or both combined, and in consequence the cause of the gospel suffers materi- ally. I know this remark could be met by the enu- meration of a noble host whose contributions are on a large scale, and of the equally noble generosity of many whose smaller gifts are the cheerful fruit of privation and self-denial. But we speak not now of an individual or a Church, but to the whole Church, «^ THE NATURE AND DUTY OF ' GIVING. 57 and therefore look at the evil in principle and in its widest possible application. I need scarcely say that we repudiate State endowments, and fervently hope that the day is not distant when this vestige of the dark ages-this unholy compromise-shall be swept away from every part of the earth before an enlight- ened public opinion, and a free and growing state of spirituality and power in the Churches, so that religion may stand forth as free and unfettered as when her Diyme Master ushered her into uie world under apos- tolic preaching and precept. For there is, or at least should be, always sufficiei.t vitality and grace in the Christian Church for self-independent support. (1) Christian giving should he done systematically. There is perhaps, nothing which man is capable of doing which could not be done better by conforming to some system. There is a sort of p, .son who has a detestation of all method and rule and i.xity, but vou seldom find him to prosper. He who insists so strongly on the spontaneoiisness of devotion that he will not attend public worship because of its weekly occurrence nor establish a family aftar because it prescribes duties to be observed every day, nor sanction grace before meals because it formalizes gratitude, is apt to have very little devotion or reverence of any kind. Method IS good, even in the modes of the mind and the habits ot daily intercourse. No doubt rule and method mav be carried too far. There is a wild, inimitable sweet- ness m changefulness and spontaaeousness. The rill h 1 ;H*^;' Ji.M (8,^1 58 THE METHOD fST PULPIT. 80 tiny in June, would lose its interest If it ^lid no', swell into a torrent in the spring, and the morning bird, if it sang all the year round at tin same hour, would have little more melody th-m the i vy of a sweep.' Spcntaneousness is good, order is good, avd tlo two are most exquisitely combined throughout nature, nod their union, if riie siiould alwa}-8 be spontaneous— an unconstrained de- light in doing good, a generous impulse from an unsel- fish heart ; but the manner of giving may be most advantageously systematized, and there is no province of human activity into which it is more necessary to introduce system than into that of Christifc.n giving. If you consider the vast interests and agencies which depend upon the liberality of the Christian community, you will see the force of our remark. We do not dwell upon the importance, which eternity alone can measure, of maintaining the agents and ordinances of religion in every land, but take the matter on its man- ward, every-day side. How many thousands of min- isters, of missionaries, of true Christian workers are now dependent for subsistence upon the benevolence of the Churches. And there is a terrible regularity in the daily recurrence of the wants of these multituder which cannot be effectually met by occasional and spa- modic liberality. The wants can be adequately, hone THE NATHRE AND DUTY OF aiVING. 59 gi "ig. But the support of evangelistic aLeies i, ""c f^iuiy or our age and huinnnifir a., dependent upon public liberality^n,! it i e" C [l that all these mstitution., should obtain their ZpHeJ of these institutions .a;; t ^ ^=1.1^:^ m add,tion to the i„„ense advantage thaf would accrue to the aggregate Christian agencies from Tyste mat,c contribution, we conceive thalgiving Xr tt: wanner, bemg more calm, rational, and sfriptura is more acceptable to God and honorable to lie t!t anTtoT T;,'*™ '' "'■''■"«'• -'l-deflned'sys' tem, and to ,t strictly and everywhere adhere. (2) Cltristian giving s/wuld be proportionate. That there are great defects in the charitv of th^ Christian Church, notwithstanding the Sil „ .mprovement which appear, is too manif ^t tri: e,ual t the de^andsVthr^spf,', : tlfe "wUH tertv tlf T''-.., ?" e-«' ™™»' °f Christian nT !?h s::^t^- iiTs ' b™™ 'r ■*" ™^"'>' ^''»- -ne scanty nllsoi benevolence which at present iff I" ! (■ !i ) m I 60 THE METHODIST PULPIT. I'l 'i I > water the garden of the Lord, and the ingenuity and effort employed to bring them there, compared with the tide of selfish expenditure which holds on its original course, reminds one of the slender rivulets which the inhabitants of the East raise from a river by mechanical force to irrigate their thirsty gardens, while the mighty current, without any sensible dimi- nution of its waters, goes sweeping on to the ocean. By unwearied diligence the art of acquiring money is well-nigh perfect. Nor can we think of the many ways in which it is squandered or consumed upon artificial wants, without deploring that the art of wasting money should be so complete. But the art of using it so as to make it produce the greatest amount of good still remains to be practised. This, indeed, the gospel alone can teach. In the early ages of the Church the heavenly art of embalming property was both known and practised; but, like the process of another embalming, it has long been practically lost. Not that its principles have been unknown; these have always presented themselves on the pages of truth in lines of living light. Consequently, now, when the applications of its principle are pointed out, and the urgent necessity for their practical expression enforced, we begin to feel how far the Church has drifted from the course of duty, and how difficult it will be to effect a return. And, indeed, return never will be accomplished until we go back to the oracles of God and conform thereto, renouncing the godless idea of many that property is irresponsibly our own, THE NATURE AND DUTY OF GIVING ■ 6] Divine word « nt ' "•''"'^''* "^^ ^O"^"^*^ the you see that there .should be a^^i—t"^''"" '"'^^^ »nd „ift. Upon the Ltda^^lT '*"''» with undeviating ^ularity^ltZ W ^7:^^ and /uL^SneoVr ■"'"'"• ''''*"^^" Hin, tion pay it regularly and JJZyZ^'^lZX' beauty of this rule of proportion is Z.t if ^ , none and puts the same hono upon „„,a be Se'd .rksom - : r r " •"■""'^^ ^"-"^ ^I-™ "» a drjnmg man. o. to reclaim a fallen man or man tt " ""'"^^ ""'■ " "^ "^^ " ™ -" pnv lege, surpassing ar, to aid the cause of truth r" the trophies of the cross, accelerate the spread of he gospel, fed famishing millions, heal tCZrm curse and raise the withered arm of paralvzld hu manity to its healing Saviour » Such beClheob.ec; of Christian benevolence, to give to it slid be gard das a precious privilege; not an opportunity to b allowed to pass by giving the barest trifle n a embrace and always improve. And such should be our conviction of privilege that if no appeal ^^1,' to us we should voluntarily present Z offlrin" to 64 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the Lord, and, if necessary, seek out the most worthy and deservinj,^ objects t, relieve and assist. Giving in this way should be regarded as it was by the Mace- donian believers when they besought Paul, with much entreaty, to accept their gifts. II. THE FRUIT OR REWARD OF CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. (1) The Divine approval and promise. The eye of God marks intently our gifts for Him. He it is who sends the applicant to you. He notices with what feelings you receive the application, and He observes the motives and rules by which you con- tribute. He who had His eye on 'the poor widow casting m her mite into the treasury of the temple, has His eye on your heart, your property, your gifts to- day. And it is no wonder if that eye flashes with displeasure when some of His professed followers cast in their donations, seeing that there is such a dispro- portion between the profession and the gift. And in giving there has been a wilful forgetfulness of the fact that they are accountable for all they possess and how they possessed it ; for all they spend and how they spend It ; for all they give and how they give it • for all they keep and why they keep it. And the Lord wishes all His children to be like Himself, to give to him that needeth. He hates covetousness, He despises the niggardly. He abhors the selfish ; therefore He cannot approve of the illiberal man. But it is stated : • Ihe Lord loveth a cheerful giver," " The liberal soul THE NATURE AND DUTY OF OIVINQ. fifi uiscipie, Shall not lose his reward ' Tf ,• because we sow snnrmfyi,. *u l rewaid. it is ,-o V. sparingly that we reap sDurinalv • ,'+ IS because we give so little that we have so mfir joyment over what we keep back ThJl , T blesses what we give when I I """^ °"^^ blesses what we kefn lo « > ^ .^"^^^' ^"^ "^ what God rnaLs r rh^'^^^^^^^**^-^ ^^ to us just U A 7 •. , ^ "'^' ^°^« curse must be unnn (2) ^ou^ satisfaction. responding misanthropy felt by ihlL ^wTJ :;:°':- :n 'i I 11 VI ^) If ^i 66 THE METHODIST PULPIT. tribute money; and there is not only an individual satisfaction, but also the enjoyment of doing good and the reciprocity of feeling which generosity always evokes^^herever we have given, there will be a return of benefits conferred ; wherever we have blessed others, we shall be blessed also; wherever we have rayed out joy and sunshine, a reflected sunbeam will rest upon us; wherever we have made the desert to rejoice or the barren waste fruitful or the thirsty land pools of water we shall reap a glorious return. If we have fed the hungry or clothed the naked or delivered the poor and needy when he crieth, the blessincr of him that was ready to perish will come upon^s. There IS a subdued and hallowed pleasure in helping and blessing men, and in furthering the cause of God the^ world ' '^ ^^'''^''''' benevolence throughout (3) There will be eternal fruit in the world to come. How vast and varied and full the fruit will be in fal!! Tr""!r^ ^'""^"•' ^^^ abundant the harvest will be m the grand harvest-home, we cannot say but we are assured that not a cup of cold water ^m beTo T.f ^'' "'^^ '^"^^^^ reminiscence,: will be those of the man who nobly and generously used his stewardship for the Divine glory . Rich visions of rescued souls, of reared churches, of minis- terial helpmgs, of timely deliverances! A widow's heart gladdci.ed, an orphan clothed and comforted, a school sustamed, a missionary assisted, Bibles circu- THE NATURE AND DCTV OF GIVINQ. 67 kted tracts scattered broadcast, nations enlightened despotisms detln-oned, iniquities brought to a p!rplal end. penshing ones plucked as a brand froT the burnmg, fainting ones cheered on their way beUr made to s,t at the bridal banquet, polluted ones made whiter than snow.-the street arab made a k n. Id pnest to God forever ;_all, all will mount up "l1 the soul wth rapture and fill eternity with gladnls crown, of wnming the poorest soul on earth will en hance and enlarge the jovr of heaven • fn/ kn ««;n* <,l>„ll 1, J"^ "I i^awn , lor, while every »mt shall have one heaven, some shall have more Those who have helped to fill its mansions shall potest many heavens in one, and in proportion to th! Zd they have done, and the help they have rendered Aall their crowns shine and their cup overflow I be.:. 1, you, think of the fruit that shJJ. aboun: to your Ic r LT .etrt't^h T ^°" "'^^ «''"'-' »- '>^ ' youmrv ''7' r "' ''"" """y =-"^'- ''"d give that and be folder abounding to your account. tof'^ritrtrii^TofetLranr'"^^ eheei the sick-room, or encourage God^ ministerland -cure your own final salvation! attend t^ "hel^u" 68 THE METHODIST PULPIT. I*' 1 ■t( rl^ ii P:r tion, "Freely ye have received, freely give." Rise above the meanness of parsimony or the prodigality of waste. Spare your indulgences, and, if need be, make sacrifices, that the Lord's house may be built, remem- bermg that he that gives not lives not. " The sun gives ever, so the earth : What it can give, so much 'tis worth ; The ocean gives in many ways, Gives paths, gives fishes, rivers, bays ; So, too, the air— it gives us breath— When it stops giving, in comes death. Give, give, be always giving ; Who gives not, is not living ; The more we give. The more we live. God's love hath in us wealth upheaped— Only by giving it is reaped ; The body withers, and the mind, If pent in by selfish rind. Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give pelf, Give love, give tears, and give thyself. Give, give, be always giving ; Who gives not, is not living ; The more we give. The more we live. " itit SERMON IV. THE UNITY OF THE RACE.-Acts vii. 26. BY KfiV. WILLIAM HANSFORD, Ex-President of the Montreal Conference. nPHE Christian Church is a spiritual army en.a.ed CaTtltrour'rvXri^r^^^^ ^^ "*^e of ?his army and th' L^^ ^-P- effect^the spiritual conquest I^Theto^r^^^^^ n J ?i marvellous enterprize ! the very ex Thrvenli'r^ ''T^'-'^y ' W indeTd :; Its heavenly Commander, and therefore most wor hv oi the consecrated ambition and prowess of pv^ "good soldier of Jesus Christ!" ^ "^"'^ th^Ph'^ ^l"'' ^' ^^"^^"^bered that the Holy Bible is "^ ""'^ S"«pel, wiitiii properly 70 THE METHODIST PULPIT. If -!■ wielded, are well known to be mighty through God for assaulting and demolishing the strongholds of Satan— those monstrous and malignant systems of falsehood through which the prince of darkness has deceived and oppressed the nations for ages ! Just observe, in passing, a specimen or two of these peculiar weapons, and the special purpose they are made to serve. Here we have, first, the sublime doc- trine of the Unity of God. " Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." This is the grand eternal truth which constitutes the foundation of all religion. It is also the mighty and suitable weapon employed in smiting to destruction all the old Polytheistic idola- tries of the world, together with the manifold and de- basing forms of Fetichism now reigning among all the barbarous races. In like manner the pernicious errors of priestcraft, of demon-worship and saint-worship, are being successfully assailed in various lands by pro- claiming the all-sufficient high-priesthood of the Divine Redeemer, the Scriptures declaring that " there is one God, and one Mediator between God^and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all."* But this armory of the Church also contains some weapons specially designed for attacking and destroy- ing those systems of social and political despotism whose accursed chains are still fettering and galling so ma.ny tribes and nations. We refer, of course, to those oppressive and barbarizing systems of caste and *lTim., iL.5, 6. GOSPEL ASPECTS OF THE UNITY OF THE RACE 71 of one all nations of men " For ^ . """^' ment signifies tliat cZ' r / «™"'^ announce- ihis precious article in the Charfpr .<^ p 7 MarVHin .^ \? '" ">'" wlebrated sermon on teachmg, tl,erefore. the doctrine JZt^t t rX' , , ..a..«,.Oii vvxucii explains the fall 72 THE METHODIST PULPIT. II: i of man through "the first Adam," and the redemption of man by " the second Adam, the Lord from heaven." In this remarkable passage we have three topics suggested, very closely related to each other, and well adapted to expand our thoughts and excite our holiest sympathies. Here we have — I. THE NATURAL UNITY OF OUR RACE. By this we mean sameness of nature resulting from sameness of origin ; that Patagonians and Esquimaux, Whites and Negroes, Chinese and Indians, are not distinct races, but branches of the same original stock, and equally the descendants of Adam and Eve. Now,' this doctrine has been extensively ridiculed, at least practically repudiated, by all the advocates and up- holders of slavery and caste. In ancient times the popular creed directly encouraged the traffic in human beings; so that not only insolvent debtors and cap- tives taken in war, but even the toiling classes gener- ally in most countries were enthralled as serfs or slaves, and thus treated as if they belonged to a dif- ferent and inferior race. Even in the latter part of this boastful nineteenth century the twin evils of caste and slavery are zealously cherished in many parts of the world, especially among the Hindoos, the Moham- medans, and the barbarous tribes of Africa. As if society could not otherwise be safely and naturally organized ! Nor ought it to be forgotten that there are professedly Christian statesmen yet living who OCPEL ASPEC... or TRE UK.TV Or THE EAOE. 73 but a few years ago announced to the worH tl,.- 'leterminatbn to set un n n„„, „ / . . ■ '"*"■ tian States for the avol T ''™'^"*™t""> °f Chris- "peeuliar inst tution ™th ''"''"" "' '"'"^'"« *»- federaeyl Whit :arv \, rr^™'' 1 ">» C"- builders were more Z !l " """'''™ S"**"'" in their audreiritt'Xt"™"'^" ""'' '=»'-"^^'' an.n:T,:lhtrth"'™*'"" '°™^ °^ °pp-™». , "emolLshing their ancient stron^holfl fK. ^m gospel weapons must be relied on still ¥ i ?^ of man will never h. n ^ . , ^'''* *^^ ^'^^i^^s wm ncvei be complete y securer! imfJl fi, teachers and rulers of ih^ ^- ,"^^'^' ""'^'J ^ne acW.d,e theZ;lf„Vc:Xti CS hath made of one blonrl nil .• i ' ^'^^ ,, Diooa aJi nations of men" p„+ what are the proofs that ou-ht to satirfv^l^ . the soundness of this doctrin°e ' ^ ' """' "' and LtisStoT H *^ / ^ "" ™" " ■"°^* »'«" were d tntnte oftheT T ""' "" »'«>"»via„s of a vision " Besidp« "^ '"^•'^^^''^ ^'^^"c ision. ±5esides, we are assured in the Qih r.f -ofthe:iL^xirLi:h^X::''"f'^= m chapter tenth, verse thirf.^ fvo - To.. ^^'"• 6 - - ''"-'^'^^J -t'^ o, ii i« saia : ■' These are i| i Hill 74 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the families of tlie sons of Noah, and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the Flood." And with these statements agree many other explicit testi- monies, too numerous for quotation, in other books of the Bible ; while not even a single clear hint is given anywhere in these Sacred Oracles at variance with the passages I have cited. So that on this subject the testimony of the inspired writers is emphatically unani- mous. 2. It is a well-known fact that this doctrine is corro- borated by the unanimous voice of tradition. — All nations, e.g., possess traditions of the Deluge. Memories of that terrible event were mystically enshrined in the elaborate systems of " initiation " and religious rites which were practised by all the ancient Pagan nations, including even the Mexicans and the Peruvians ! Our North American'Indians also have traditions respecting a great ancestor of their own, who escaped a watery grave by means of an immense canoe, while all his cotemporaries were drowned. Now, just as the Christian sacraments and traditions, enshrined in the usages and literatures of the Christian Churches, imply and prove the common origin and substantial unity of all the various types of Christian- ity, so also do the Pagan symbolism and traditions referred to imply the common origin of all these various tribes and nations. 3. This doctrine is further elucidated and confirmed by some well-established scientific facts. — Anatomy, physiology, and psychology have all been forced into OOSPEL ASPECTS OP THE „N,TV OF THE RACE. 7., the discussion of this nnp«fm« „ j ^i. • are now widely pub isled B„f . T '!"™°"'^''' «.e funda»e„ti; .L% of caste li^t;' "' ^7"^ sciences reveal snnli «r«ii i i *>iavery, these eHe .,o.ea„erdm^rZr^^^^^^^^^ utteriy .national for even seientir'to 'tbt ir' sameness of nature and orgin. Take el T ^ ' composition of human bid. How as'ilt and™ " vincmgly a modem chemist can exl.n ^, ""■" acourtof justice, when renurdthed.H" r/"' '" human and mere animal Uo::''^^!::^^^''''- has been shown between the vita^ flu d off' T"' Caucasian and that which circulate, in tT *"■ African brother Variation T * ™™ "' ^-'^ have indeed been tl^ ^r^^f IV"':, »™P'-- Indian, and Caucasian ca4of Lve 'de,„end:rfr' convincing, that'th: ^.Z^^Tt:^ -'""l^ .'^^^ by ail our leading naturalists * " '"''"'"*^ Nor ought we to overlook the manifest „ffi ■. original unity of languages Ph W„ * ?""^ "'^ ■'ince been aWe to reduce The' „,u^ T Y"" '""g of earth into a few ordUv cC Tu '""^nages including e.speciallyth:Sl,td7nrC:rn^T of languages, they are now able to trad C to •'' common Aryan tongue; an.I thus they leh t r eus-on that in the distant pa.t " the wl oTeta ^ °°"" of one language and of one speech •" Tb ■ -speecn, the imoln earth 76 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ir VM. then consisting of a single community, and that com- munity speaking as its mother-tongue the antediluvian language preserved in the family of the patriarch Noah. Now, while such scientific e^'idences as we have barely indicated, sufficiently prove the doctrine in question, it must be admitted that this doctrine alone will account for the facts !— the dictates of reason agreeing in this case with the facts of experience. And, moreover, this doctrine offers the true and only solution of two other great problems which liave per- plexed so many serious thinkers: (1) It explains the origin of that universal state of moral depravity in which all nations a-p alike involved, with its attendant universal consciou.-f!' ,- of guilt. (2) It points out the true origin of ;?r„:ri!l;, al worship, which men have always and every wljere practised. So amazingly clear and helpful is the light with which this one grand truth illumes the moral and religious history of man. The text will now suggest — II. THE COMMON INTEREST OF OUR RACE IN THE PROVISIONS OF REDEMPTION. There are two facts strikingly obvious : 1. That unity of race implies our common need of redemiMon, as well as a common capacity for receiving and enjoying its benefits. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." " For by one man's disobedience many were made sinners." Thus " by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men, to con- demn inher conco moral have } that " " dead 2. 2 must \ 'Scripti beings existed same li and en intende provisic the evil But , incarnat hood of divine r< He who and who made oui him the "God sp him up f( us, who righteous mercy an noSPEI. ASl.ECTS OF THE tTN.TV OF THE RACE. 7? inZu^rtrt';,"" ""' ''•"""""""'» "f Adam have inlieiitod tht,. l(,atli.somo taint of sin with .J] i. i oonc„n,ita„t, of ..,„,Hn, an,l ,1.1 B,' ^ tTo moral »tate ami histor.v of n,anki„,l .show u, th .'In have smned an.l con.e .short of tlu- riorv of Vo ' and enioved Tv on! « '"''""'"'g «'™'-'. experienced in.ndei^a::i ipTd rhS'i- ^i^: t" n.ade our Redeemer a ■■ ran „„ for a," ', """'^ hi.» the iniquity of us all » Ol ^7 '?"«"?«'' -, wh'o knew"; si^ tLt'""° ^-V"' ""^^ for Hghteou^ne Jof" G:d in'"; J.f ^'ift™'^ ''' -oy and wisdom salvation ha. tf l-pTX^ .h I ^m&ST v«>>, ^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A ^ 5^^-^ /. f/. r* 1.0 I.I liO IL25 ill 1.4 2.5 2.2 1.6 Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ? ,v ,,o* n saJvation we believe ust as nrinly that all men are related fn fl.^ i * , fchroucrh His amfl^.-Mr. o ^^'^^ "* *^ ^^'^^ second Adam s," nis amazing and condescendinff arace in ha roXtrtr^rnt^rnuTo/""^^^^^^^ mon salvation." But if ZTZ< u, ,"'" * """- .re brothers-that we Lr ha"e''in r "" '"^" constram and oblige us to share our fXuh'Z torth in the special instructions of our risen T 7 "p« .t „ " "^® "anie unto all the nafiono" ^^o ye, therefore, and make disciples of all If- says the Masfpr «Ko..*- • x, '''^'i^^^^ or all nations." ' I ! I 82 THE METHODIST PULPIT. *l fri' I'ltll'laal ' ililllill r ing them to observe all thing-s whatsoever I have com- manded you." Such is the great commission. And to prosecute it succe.ssfully the Church needs to expe rience incessantly repeated baptisms of the Holy Ghost ! For all efforts at soul-saving and christianiz- ing mankind onght to be put forth in the very spirit of the Divine Philanthropist Himself, " who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich." Nor must we close without reminding you — 3. That the successive opening of new fields for Missionary enterprize, and the constantly growing re- sources of Christian nations, are really a succession of Providential and earnest appeals to the sympathy and conscience of the Church, and intended to quicken and intensify its sense of responsibility. Paul in a vision heard " the Macedonian cry," and eagerly re- sponded. Never were such calls so numerous as now, and never more imperative. The enslaved and wretched population of heathendom are looking to- wards us with beseeching eyes ! The Church's oppor- tunities, therefore, for spreading the glad tidings are greater now than ever before. It is gloriously true that already seventy Protestant Missionary Societies are annually expending about seven millions of dollars in sustaining thousands of missionaries to the heathen world. Yet such a supply must seem painfully inade- quate and stinted when compared with the vast de- mand ! If the existence of distress is in itself an appeal for help ; if the great Chicago fire, e.g., could 111 «O.SPE,. ASPECTS OP THE t,N,TV OF THE UACE. 83 instantly arouse tl,e practical sympathy of other Amencan ctie,, and even of eitii beyo/d LT"- an,l the ternble famines in Ireland could caU forO,' ^^!7. :it:-:r;ii::t- '^"-'^ ^"?"»^-^p'S sweliinc ti,le .f . K V ^ generosity and ever- Britan'an A '"'"^ °"«?''* ^^' Christians of l^ntam and An.enea to pour forth their treasure, and ™uU,p y their agencies for the moral aXol teal e nancpation and uplifting of the world ■ t\ H. pnvileged followers ^he M^stor rnZ'sayin^ Freely ye have received: freely f^ive " T„ * ?' dians at our very doors ! And though we call then, by fore.g„ names, yet are we bound' to rlg^^] h ; all a.s our own brothers and sisters, aJl redeemed bv e same .-precious blood," and all apable oHxperf nngte same gospel grace. Is it " masteri;?na i'^'ty that IS demanded of us ? No ! no ' Our «ard into all the world," offering "liberty to the capt,ves and the opening of the prfson to Im thai 11 I : I 84 THE METHODIST PULPIT. , a are bound." O be it our joy as well as our duty to obey thiii comuiand ! Let us prosecute this holy war : Instead of faltering in the presence of discourage- ments, let the heroic words and examples of fallt'n comrades inspire to deeds of faith and self-sacrifice. By the wants and woes of our great human brother- hood, and by the gracious commands of our Divine Redeemer and Captain, let us hold aloft the red-cross banner ! And remembering that the conflict of ages must yet issue in a glorious and eternal triumph, let us all acquit ourselves as "good soldiers of Jesus Christ." H. iJ i' I :!l i'Milg, SEBMON V. DIVINE REVELATION OF THE CREATION. REV. NATHANIEL BURWASH, S. T D Dean of the Fcvltyof Theology, Profe..or of miical and Systematic Theology. "InthebeginningGodoreatedtheheavensandtheearth.»-Gr.„ j i mg of torty.a,x couplet, of Hebrew poetry. divWed mto seven strophes by the refrain: "Ther wL an 'lay. As to the nature of this treatise, it cannot be a h,story, ^.e..^ record of events as the result of human observation, inasmuch as there was no humanTy' wtuess to record the events to which he refers It js . therefore, be either a Divine Revelation unfo-d g to man the past as prophecy unfolds to h"m the future, and therefore subject to laws of internretl „n s.m,lar to those which guide us in the int rT eL o" 2:i o7; r T " '^ '"-^ ''^"" "' '"^ '-' -'- «" it a mvtb ,r '^' ■ "' " '' " ^"'^ "f fiction-call >' a myth, allegory, or poem, as you will We e«n conce,ve of no alternative other thJn the Th Z - excluded by the wonderful hanuony which exil ;i !l 11 •i! 86 THE MFlTHOniST PULPIT. m r'pt : i liiHi between this document and all that we are able to glean of the world's origin elsewhere. To suppose that a man, guided simply by the Might of imagination, would light upon a scheme of the order and progress of the world's origin, so true to all our ascertained facts, is to indulge in the most improbable of all theories. But was there any lost science, a geology of pre- historic ages, which may have guided some early sage to conclusions so nearly akin to those of modern science ? We cannot, of course, say that such a thing was impossible. But, certainly, the probabilities are altogether against it. And only men who are deter- mined to object to the possibility of Divine Revelation, at all hazards, have been bold enough to propose such an account. Presently we shall see reason to believe that this ancient poem of Creation passed from the lips of Adam himself, through the line of patriarchs down to the time of Moses, and that by him it was incorporated in his Book of Genesis, or Origins. If so, then certainly the theoiy of a lost geology belong- ing to pre-historic man is excluded ; for at this early period the world-wide investigations necessary for such a science were not yet possible. We are driven back, then, to the first alternative. This document comes to us as a God-given knowledge of the world's origin. The Bible opens with a chapter which bears on its very face the most certain marks of Divine origin. A Dtvlne Revelation: To whom was it made /—Eiihar to Moses, or to Adam, or to one of the line of patri- archs between. Let us see if there is any light to be had III DIVINK KKVELATION OF THE CREATICS. 87 on this question. The concluding verso., of the poem de.,c„be the mstitntion of the Sabhath, the seventh y of rest. They describe this institution as the sequel of ,he work of creation; and they .sanction the .n»t.t«t.cn by the high example of God Hin,self, whom they desenbe as resting on a seventh day, a ter six frthe'" :.r'- .^""^"">'- ""•"• "-— -el ti^^ lus fo " "/ "^^ ®'''''"'"' "'« -contempora- neous for one manifest object of the form of this revelation ,s to enforce the Sabbath by the highest of 1 sanctions. Is the Sabbath Mosaic or Adamic ? I the latter, there is every probability that this revela- .on was g.ve„ to Adam at the institution of the Sab- ba h. Passing by the facts, that in the Decalogue the Sabbath ,s a "remember,".not a new command ; t I .mmediately on leaving Egypt the Sabbath w« „b rarsTL'" T '7! °^ «'-■■""" ""at the Sabbath agT^ of Noah 'l '" '" """ •''^'^ "' J"''"'', and agam of Noah, we have in this old document itself evidence that the Sabbath was instituted imme iltt thts do "r- " ""= ^''''^"> ^"-^ '"^'' -"position verses should read thus.- "And on the seventh day God ended h,s work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he ad made. And now God hath blessed the seventh day nd sanctified it, because in it he had rested from aU IXte h"? ""'' rr'^" """ -'"''^■" «"* -' ' rtaus the Hebrew. It i„ not "And now",V in our tnuo. "God hath blessed,'^ etc, b„t " And ihln;- 1 al j : ( ' 1 88 THK MKTHODFST t'lTFJMT. H Wi 'M the time of creation, " God blessed the seventh day and snnctiHed it." The t«'nse is not the prosont-per- fect, referring to a thing which has Just taken pince, hut the historical-consecutive tense, implying that the sanctifying of the Sabbath took place in immediate his- torical connection with the work of creation. And, if the Sabbath was sanctified and blessed immediately after the creation of man, then would it appear that this revelation of the world's origin, one prominent object of which is to enforce that sanctity by the highest of all sanctions, was made at this same time ; and, if .so, to Father Adam himself, and by him thiown into this poetic form, and transmitted as a sacred hymn from generation to generation of his descendants. For this reason I have ventured to call it the first-born of all literature. A Divine Revelation to Adam— How ivas it given 1 —The revelations both of the Old Testament and the New, resolve themselves into two forms, the ivord and the vision. They are addre.ssed to the representative faculty as a picture of events, an inward panorama passing before the mind of the prophet, or to the logical faculties in the form of consecutive discourse. In the one case, the things are revealed which the prophet describes in his own language. In the other case, the revelation comes clothed in the very words which give it utterance. Let us look at two examples. " For thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land j And I will shake n.viNK i.I!vk..at;.,n of the creation, S!) "."" °'-'." o* ^•"'"'■•tatio,,. c„„,„,a„<|, etc. Jud,.e,l v !>.» cr,tor,o„, thi., revelation was given in viZlVZ W won,,, ef„,.e u„ a. the fo„„ in fv.Heh thJCl in •loet, perhaps, years afterward, clothed the things once » en m v,s,on, and indelibly .stamped on the .nfrorv The v,,„„„ n,ay have l,een given a.s ahnost the fi"s tcoT »c,„u, experience of the „ew-n,ade man in an^swe To" the questionings of his spirit, What am I » whence came I But the language in which it is dothed ..lamfests a somewhat extended observation of nature an corresponding development of human languaZ .In of" liar"'"''? "°".°' "'^ P°- - ^W^h tl ; vision of creation ,s de,scribcd and ha, been transmit- ted to us may have taken place long sub.,e„uen to the vision itself. ° auusequent to A Divine Revelation to Adum in vUion and bv nnc.st.,Uo poeticform and tran.n.Hua tSt^l 11 f"" ""°''' "^ ^---y ^tertaining to foHow this most ancient seer in this primal vision seen ZZ morning twilight of human hi.,tory but this 11 it not attempt. You will fl„d the v'^^ion sketched n can ead 7 ^:=»"™"«y 0/ «Ae &oi., and there you can^iead^n^jTe^TOM^at^^ l,i,„^ j,^^ ^^ y^ * Haggai ii. 6. ft' ! .'.i 90 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ill ji m i' principally, this evening, to ask the all-important ques- tion concerning this revelation. What is its object ? what does it teach? It has spoken its simple and sublime words in the ears of at least two hundred generations of Adam's posterity. It inspired in the mind of Seth the religion which made his children the sons of God. It taught Enoch to walk with the God who created heaven and earth. It sustained the faith of Noah when the earth seemed to be returning to its primeval chaos. It taught Abraham to see God beyond the stars of the firmament, whence he heard the word of promise, "So shall thy seed be," and David's psalm of creation, and Isaiah's lofty poem of the universe, and Job's sublime investigation of the footsteps of the Almighty, and Dante's and Milton's sublimest strains have all alike been borrowed from the primeval poem of Father Adam. All have gone up to this fountain-well, on the very summit of the hill of truth, to drink, and have perfectly or imper- fectly imbibed its lessons. What are they ? and, not less important. What are they not ? For in our day, if we would give the pure knowledge to be derived from this original revelation of God to man, we must, first of all, divest ourselves of a thousand misconcep- tions which human fancy has added to this vision of God. Then let us look at the negative first. I. WHAT THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT TEACH. It does not teach science. Science seeks three things: facts, their order, and their relations, as cause DIVINE REVELATION OF THE CREATION. 91 and effect. Now thi chapte great » , . — — — '<*|^tcx refers to some facts concerning the world's orimn Tf 1 v " IvTnl T 1 "' '*"'•'*• Now in all these we Zthe ™„7 ''^T""^, °' »™- -»h -vela J„ But the grand mistake of men in every a<.e has been to mistake the object of this revelaLn to be he !™1 r T ' ? ""' """ •"'"'J' '»'<> te«l ' the crudest and most vulgar of magical cosmogonies" and the 1:* Id''"'' ■"!" ^" ''"'^™'"' P-entation o'f the mos modern geological theories. John Milton made this mistake, and ha. led the whole En. Ih ta,9d::trrrrd;twtkrmi: What, then, is the relation of this vision to .«,ience ' Here we have presented the orderlv progress of the re o th w 'Ti' ^°"™' '"■'""*^ *••' "^'^'^^'y ?■•«■ causes Now, according to the teaching of the Bible ese two relations are perfectly consistent wi h ath a bat tl r' '"'"'" '° "^ ^-""O — They but the mode in which His power works. And ill! M ii- I ^ IMS li nil Ut 92 THE METHODIST PULPIT. second causes do not exclude God ; in fact, they derive all their efficiency from Him. The Bible, for instance, says that God "maketh his sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust ;" and yet in other parts of the Bible we find surprisingly clear conceptions of the second causes and laws by which these ordinary phenomena of nature are effected and governed. There is no conflict be- tween science and the Bible arising from the diversity of standpoint from which they view the world's ori- gin. The higher point of view is the relation to God, the lower is the second cause, but the second cause is but the second cause — is but the hand of God. So far from the position of Genesis being in conflict with that of science in this respect, we find ev^en here un- mistakable references to the fact that second causes were employed in the world's formation: "Let the earth cause to be green," " Let the ivaters sivarm," etc. But the Bible only incidentally glances at the second causes. The entire field of second causes it leaves to the investigations of science. They do not interfere with its point of view, but their presentation is not necessary for it. But there is one common ground covered by science and Genesis, and there, if anywhere, we must look for conflict or harmony. They both refer to an order of successive steps in the world's formation. Now, it is evident that whether we view this order as the plan of God, or as the evolution of second causes, the order remains the same — with, however, this single differ- ence, t order i] nearer, viso, wi relation the quci in Gene or is it the thr( is, "Til "The or respond.' record i sophical It is bol authorsh page of does not divine or II. Bu man's des answer, t] foundatic manifesto natural o] Hira, and closely th the elemer tions to th universal DIVINE REVELATION OF THE CREATION. 93 ence, that the higher point of view wiU behold th. order m Its j,m«,/<,««i„,,_ the lower aid in th.t nearer, in its „,„,, ^,„,(, rf^fe But with thr" ^zz ^ofirtr ''' r'^ ^^^"^^ the question perrenris^hr" r'. °""'' '^""'^^ in Genesis the same wi wl^r'™' "*■• "f "eation or is it at var ane" An. T ^''""''"' ''^ ^'='^"««. *e three «.oreLi„enta„tto'-r'"" l™"" "' ''^»^' is. "The order fa h same" %™ ""i' T"""™' "The order of events in theT • .^^'' ^'•°^- ^™*' respondsessentiarwuVttt';;::^:;:!^^,-- It is both tfuttrdivte^^itit^d' ;' r^"*^- authorship, both of ereatirnand th Bibt "t™ "* ^^:rttLn-irtT: -"-^^^^^^^ "an'sllilttCt^LTr- *" -"^^^ answer, the same as T»f % n ' P"''P°"' ' ^e manifested mmMtTh.il 1 ! ^"P"™ ''**'' «<«> natural order Tat 1 \" •"""''*' »<> '^e super- »» uiuer, mat man mig-hfc tnnw tj;v^ , . H.m, and enjoy His favor NowTf' "'"''"? closely the document hT ' "^ examine tl>e elements of such V T", "'• ""' ^'"'" «"> delight, with the ,on, of men." ■. The Word spake and God .saw, and, Iwlmld, it was very good " Bnt man must know hin,.self, and hence the vision a l.bye one tlnng more. "And God .said ■' ("the Word OcltoGod"), "Letns make man in lur iUe after our hkenes.,." What was this image and like ness What idea of his own nature did it convey to Adam J Was ,t some outward form pre,,e„ted to the eye of .sense ? as if God as.sumed material shape. Then, too, someof the lower animals were created in th,s nnage for the type of their anatomical structure approx„nates to that of man. No, not so. The ima<.e of God ,s .spiritual, and what it is the revealing Spirit aught Paul when he tells us that "Christ is th! im^^^"' of the rnvmble G„d, the Hrst begotten before every er ature. And again the Epistle to the Hebrews- 1 he Son by whom also he made the worids is the bnghtuess of the Father's glory, and the expresi .mage of h.s Person/' The eternal Word is the ima^: of God. And th,s Word said to God, "Let us make man m our image, after our likeness." Here then brethren, is the .sum of this revelation. We hav^ often been accustomed to read it as the unfolding of the mystery of creation. But that is a mere accident, so speak. It IS rather the unfolding of the mysteries of religion. The mystery of God, the eternal power the universal ean.,e. The mystery of the Word' wh.eh was God^ The mystery of the operation and indwellmg Spirit. The mystery of the per- sonal God, the God of the threefold Good. The mys- M li' 2^ THE MtTHODIST PULPIT. m t«|f ot man, the image of God "nd His work, and like that Word the Son of God. And when to this re- velation of the mynteries of religion was added the Sabbath of rest, in which, surrounded by the Eden of delights, the holy Adam dwelt in the Spirit upon these mysteries, or in converse unfolded them to his God- given companion, or, together with her, bowed down to worship this triune God, then we have some faint idea of religion in the golden age, ere man fell. But what 1 earing, you say, has all this upon religion in our day, so far removed from the innocence °and light of Eden. Much every way. Behold the harmony of the dispensations. Man fell. The indwelling Spirit left him. The image of God, the Sonship was "obliter- ated. The knowledge of the triune ( lod was obscured, and the knowledge of the threefold Good was con- verted into the knowledge of evil. And then again the Word of God came forth from the bosom of the" Father to create man anew in Christ Jesus, that " to as many as received Him He might give power to become once more the sons of God." Again the eternal Spirit pro- ceeded from the Father, that once more by His inspi- ration the image of God might be implanted in man ; and when that image is fully restored, God will one more take the new-created race and place them cause them to rest, in the Eden above, and give theui the tree of life, and in the joy of an eternal Sabbath " they s^^all be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is." SERMON VI. THE DIGNITY OF LABOR. BY THE REV. D. V. LUCAS, M.A. "I8 not this the cfirpenter ? "— JIfar* vi. 3. T SAW an old man breaking stones in the middle of -L the road on a hot day. with the dust flying all about him. I said to my companion, " They tel? me tha every human being has a soul capable of soaring up to God, and of dwelling and communing with God and ot studying ard revelling in the wonderful works' of God for ever and ever. Yet here is one of these bemgs compelled to sit all day long in the scorching sun breaking stones ; here is another obliged to cobble shoes for a little bread, and another to sweep streets and another to beg his bread from door to door " I began to be indignant for my brethren's sake and my spirit revolted against the decree which laid men under such a yoke. My mind for a little dropped into a kind of sceptical or infidel rut. and. like a cart- wheel. 1 , ran along in this rut till it was lifted out by the texo uefore us, " Is not this the carpenter ?" We may draw some useful lessons from the subject. I. MY INDIGNATION COULD NOT ALTER THE PACT. Men must labor at humble employments, and you cannot make it otherwise by findin- fault Was I in •iignant because a soul with such capabilities is com- 104 THK METHODIST PULPIT. pelled to dwell in a body which is forced by its sur- roundings and its wants to break stones to procure bread to keep soul and body together for a few years ? The fact is, I was arguing backwards, as infidels often do. Let me rather wonder with gratitude that one who now must needs follow some very humble occu- pation, often tired of it, and oftener tired in it, may, by-and-bye, if he will, soar up to God and glory to sing with the angels of God and His redeemed forever. We have in this life instances to illustrate this. I have known some and read of others who have, by suddenly coming by inheritance into possession of a large patrimony, been raised from almost abject poverty, or positions of servitude, to the highest respectability. If men can, by any process here, be raised as in a moment from the very low position of poor servants to the lofty positions of wealthy mas- ters, may we not see in it the faint foreshadowing of what may be hereafter ? " The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." II. WHILE THE NECESSITY IS LAID UPON US, IT IS A COMFORT TO SEE THAT THE DIVINE BEING RECOG- NIZES US IN THESE OCCUPATIONS. WE ASK NO BETTER EVIDENCE OF THIS THAN IS FOUND IN THE HISTORY OF JESUS. One of the most common delusions to which wc are subject lies just here. We think if we had to work THE DIONITT Or LABOR. IflS less, if we had more wealth, if we were higher in the »oc.a scale, we should be able to serve God more faithfully, and more easily. It is all a « delusion and a snare. Satan is using it to prevent you from doing your duty or from enjoying the blessedness of rehg,o„ Dear reader, if there is anything of aa earthly kmd wh.eh can procure for you the sympathy f the Saviour, it is the fact that your occupation is of that humble sort such as He followed Himself while ne dwelt among men. HI. WE HAVE HERE EXEMPLIFIED THAT RULE AMONG THE JEWS WHICH REQUIRED THAT EVERY YOUTH SHOULD BE TAUGHT SOME USEFUL TRADE OR OCCUPATION, THAT HE MIGHT NOT BE A BURDEN UPON OTHERS, OR UPON THE STATE, BUT A USEFUL CITIZEN. Paul was a tent-maker ; Peter, James, and John were fishermen; Luke was a tanner, and Jesus was a carpenter. Jesus, by conforming to the wise rule of His people no only confirmed it, giving it his sanction and appro- bation, but He dignified and sanctified labor Let no one think that it is degrading to work even at the humblest occupation so long as it is necessary work Have you thought it low and vulgar to work ? The' most vulgar thing is to be idle, and there is nothing more true than the old couplet— 8 " The devil finds some mischief still For idle hands to do. ' 106 THE METHODIST PULPIT. I^^rll III p 1 111 1 ll f il t 1 Bring up your sons and your daupihters to work, or at least to some useful calling. I have known parents to toil and sweat, forgetful of their own comfort, and of their eternal welfare, to leave their children a rich patrimony, v/hile every day's observation shows that a patrimony, more frequently proves a curse than a blessing. A good schooling in honest industry is the best patrimony any parent can leave his child. IV. WE ARE REMINDED BY THE TEXT OF THE WONDERFUL CONDESCENSION OF JESUS. Is it something to awaken our astonishment that a poor mechanic may drop his kit of tools and go up to God and glory eternal ? How much more so is it that One who dwelt in glory from all eternity should lay His glory by, and come down to.earth and take up the tools of the humble artizan, and yet this is what Christ did. " Though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor." " He took upon Him the form of a servant." V. WE ARE REMINDED AGAIN BY THE SUBJECT UNDER CONSIDERATION THAT OUR CONDITION IN THIS LIFE IS NO CRITERION BY WHICH WE CAN TELL WHAT OUR CONDITION OR POSITION SHALL BE IN THE WORLD TO COME. Men judge by the outward appearance. They said, "Is not this the carpenter ? " and "they were offended in Him." These men about Him could not see the Majesty which lay concealed beneath that plain exterior. "When we shall see Him," says the prophet, "there is ONDERFUL THE DIGNITY OF LABOR. jq^ no beauty that we should desire Him " q -^ • . , .nan, who when he is found, is a Greek Save A H was w. h the old philosopher, so is it with the nt e prmcp es,-not money, kid-gloves, or perfumerv ' prmcples and moral worth make ihe man VI. ,:or, hIs especially honohed carpenters I- Bt/ mentioning them in His Worrl * Ti, ^.^e^tohuiidBavid. royal ho jrdtTe't:;::, j. Above all, by ordaining that His Son as a man and our elder Brother, should follow while on a "^ this particular occupation. ^^ ye carpenters! claim Him! O ye aitiznn.i W ::c:a,rr;:r rr^ f " -^^ ^^ Mu V. ^ ^"^ ^^ ashamed of voiir andZ;XndeV:i-Th:"'"''*'" *'"^' ^'""'«' ;.eae tempirltch'ifrsZTL etl^d^^^eT He asks you to join Him in this great work yoSelf TthaT' """r"' '°" ^°" "^ '° "^""l fo.' yourselt so that your house may stand. If vou hniu ™t on this foundation, His Word Hi^ , ■ house will surely fall ^'"«''- y™'' ** 1 Chi-ou. xiv. 1. Ezra iii. 7. •1i.| mil SEKMON VII. GOD GLORIFIED IN A FRUITFUL CHURCH. BY THE REV. W. C. BROWN, GRAND PRE, N.S. " Herein is n^y Father glorified that ye bear much fruit : so shall ye be my disciples." — John xv. 8. " TSRAEL i.s an empty vine " was the reproach ut- -1- tered by Hosea concerning the ancient people of God. The rebuke, though severe, was not undeserved. The Jewish nation had yielded to God no adequate return for the great care which He had lavished upon it. Instead of being a noble pattern to the heathen it had been a base imitator of them. Instead of in- dustriously teaching the lofty truths which God had revealed, it had seldom done more than to pride itself in the possession of them. ISo great nation had been won from idolatry by Jewish influence. The centuries which had elapsed since Moses, at the Divine dictation, » wrote the law had not been fruitful of converts. Our Lord's-day was nc exception. The Jewish Church was doing a little to .spread the truth. In this respect it had glorified God so little as to resemble the barren fig-tree met by Christ near Jerusalem, and to merit the rebuke conveyed by Him in the curse which had withered it into perpetual death. it : so shall GOD GLORIFIED IN A FRUITFUL CHURCH. ' 109 Jesus designed for His Cun^nxs . r, . CARVVif TU , .,^^ ^"^^CH A FAR different ihc. r.^^ • ' ^ ^® ^^^ now framino- it for hJothT ''"''°" """' ""^ ""™<'^<' '° -»4i °h gre.iv°e 'The It orcT- r 'r™'^"' ""^ "g" 5 -ine love ot Christ was to constrain Thp great purpose which moved the Son of God to eome TJtmcr''^ "": "^^'"^^"''^ - " p-pe - whLh H„r. "/'"'" H« '•''■"■•'^d to the glory 1 ^ V \^ T"""" ^^ ^"ther before the lorld Zer^X ^ '"' before Him, evidently, as hH C ter ofVh7r'7.'T"=^ '"™<' - *^e fifteenth cnapter of the Gospel by St. John. The discour.se, „f e Savour had hitherto been chiefly with resp 1 he moral duties of life or the doctrine of hTs own person and work. The time had now come to Z i": S L? t?r r-»- r - - ~r i? -e Had come™: t^h SlorstLlt; m?s: not be content with knowing the truth «n7i L^?'H:si,SaX«rwi:ifhrhr' "-''. in referenr.p f^ +r, ,. ^® ^^^ ^^^e used hintTnHMt ! '"'"^^^ "*■ H^« ^^^'^ death,* and hinting a the grand and solemn commission which He intended to dve thpm nff^* w wnicn ue dead • « Tn f ,! ^'' resurrection from the * John xii. 24. i 110 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Iftiii f: M l! Pj gospel to every creature."* The mission of the Church in the world is like the mission of Christ Him- self, to bless. All this is evidently couched in the beautiful ami expressive allegory with which this chapter opens. Un- der the figure of a vine and its branches Jesus points out union between His people and Himself, their ne- cessary dependence upon Him, and the great result which ought to follow such a union. That union is close and vital like that of the branches of a plant to the root and stem. They depend upon Christ for thoir nourishment and strength. Every virtuous princ iplc in them, every holy and noble purpose, every generous disposition is nourished by His teaching, His life, and His death. They derive their very life from Him, and He in turn derives His glory in the world from thtni. As the vine is glorified by the fruit which its branches bear, so is Christ by the fruitful lives of His disciples, and the great increase and prosperity of His Church. "The true vine" is fruitful through His fruitful branches, and in this God is glorified. The language of Jesus in this place, though in some respects precise, is in others indefinite. He has not explained what He means by fruit, whether the fruit of holy living or that of usefulness leading to steady increase of His followers in the world. We are therefore left to inference in regard to this point, and inference would lead us to decide that He included both, and used a general term that His disciples might Mark xvi. 15, oor> GLoRiriED m a rnuiTntL obuhch. m not limit His meaning to either. And yet it would seem tl.at at this particular time, Jesus was thiZn' ch.efly of the growth of His Church throu.rh the iZ bora of H,s people, and that though He „e°ver fo a moment lost sight of the holy living^which, as a divTne requirement .s not peculiar to any age, vet in this d.s' course He has reference chiefly to%heir usefulness. Sv Father '"r-rff" "- He says not, "Herein is My Father glonfied that ye bear good fruits," but that ye bear much fruit." Had He referred chiky to the.r moral conduct He would have spoken in a mal? n whjchwoud indicate the j«„i;(/of their action" but instead of that He lays the stress upon the matter ot producHvene^s. Nor is this inco Jstent with the en tmg off mentioned in the second verse. Spiritual mdolence is a v.ce. and is treated as such in the Dwte adm,ms rafon. Excision follows worthlessness kI who W.U not do something for God has no claTm tf a place amongst those who will. <• aim to a Fbcitfulness, then, is this high sense is the Church * ,V "" ""'"'''^' ""'' "><= """^'"ve Church. There are, as far as we have any knowled<.e no except,ons. There is no line drawn by the D vine hand w.th,n which men are to use the tafents for Z extension of Christ's kingdom, and beyond which thev .re at liberty to feel satisfied with theL own saS Every person on entering the Church of Chrisrac pta, no only the blessing of salvation, but the re- sponsibility of service. « No man liveth unto himseU " liil m mi 112 THE METHODIST PULPIT. It is not possible he should ; and when ho attempts it all his best manhood dies. Yet, even if it were possi- ble, it is not permitted. Christ requires an active interest in His cause from every disciple. Persons do find their way into the Church of Christ who seem never to have seriously considered th?s. Their purpose does not appear to extend farther than their own salvation, and they settle down to this They refuse to take any official position ; they take no part in social meetings ; they never speak to another on the subject of personal religion; refuse even to hold family worship ; contribute little to the support of the Church, and still less to its enterprizes ; and yet, all the while, entertain the hope of bliss beyond the grave. Time does not enlarge their views or deepen their sympathies. On the contrary, their selfishness grows. Their views become more narrow, and at length their mind becomes altogether dark and their heart heavy and dead. They pride themselves, per- haps, upon their integrity, forgetting that their whole debt to Christ is left unpaid, and there is no vestige in their life of that generous response which God has a right to look for from those upon whom He has lavished His love. Such a branch, to revert to Christ's figure, is a worthless thing and in peril of excision ; perhaps, in the mind of God, already cut off. We may not mark where the Divine pruning-knife has gone, but we have great reason to fear that in such cases the connection with the "true vine " is merely external and nominal, and that it will soon cease to be even aOD GIOHIFIED ,N A FRUITFUL CHURCH. 113 s»c?I™.f ' "^'r^'r^'-'iy ""just, to the result of Zt ^ y ""'' "'^'"=' ■»"*■■' the whole difference i-'ivine wisn , between men brono-lif +« ni, • ^ men kpnf fv^«, it- i , orougnt to Christ and men icept trom Him ; between God fflorified and Cnri dishonored. Were fh^ ,•„+ . i, fe^orinea and Ood f,Voi • X, , interest of the Church en- Viol atd Z'^K °T ' P'"™^" "f ™h»""'y vice and uabehef would spread without opposition hi sueinndlr"' °" '" '^'^^ ™-- «»' h:^- in „. JX " ^°^ generous feelings kindled the net'lir"""' "' ,"" ™""'"- ^'"' 'h' dawn S wir/titTfKL'^o'^^^^^ '° T ""' '" ">' privilege is off.!!^ p *^°'' ""* "'"■' """^ the ve V hThe f f K- ~™^"''«''g ""r faculties to the tho^e to who^. the,ran^^„rili:iert: vii;:^: u^eWness were opening, it becomes a sin of no ord nary »agmtude, and meriting no ordinary degree of Z -u.i„, ana easi away as worthless. !■! ii I'll' .S4i Irl 114 THE METHODIST PULPIT. But it seems still further that Christ used THE WORD "YE" AS INDICATING HiS WHOLE ChURCH IN ITS COLLECTIVE CAPACITT. These disciples were, at that time, the representatives of tlie great and wide- spread community that was yet to be. It was in this sense embodied in them. What they were to be after that the Holy Ghost had come upon them, it was to be a witness for Christ, a laborious toiler for Christ, and grandly successful in its toil. We may regard the Saviour as addressing His Church and saying: " Herein is my Father glorified that, among all nations, thou bear the fruit of many converts. I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." Nothing could more aptly illustrate this feat ire of the Church's life than the figure which Christ usea in this place— a healthy, vigorous vine with many branches; Himself is the v;ne, His Churches the branches, and all taken together forming one complete organization. Nothing, perhaps, in all the teaching of Jesus more fully portrays the Church throughout its history. The vine is grand and strong from age to age. The branches are sometimes vigorous and fruit- ful, sometimes luxuriant and showy, but barren; sometimes withered and dead. Every branch can trace its origin right up to Christ, and, though they stand widely apart from each other in their separate life, all are fed from Him and nourished with the same food. But if we look back along the centuries we see here a dead branch and there a dying one ; here OOD OLOBIFIED TN A FKUITFUL CHURCH. U5 we read of 1 mve utterly perisl.ed ; some virtually .n Chure ,es wh eh in the apostolic age wore prolrous and strong have left u., only their name.'^ Epl 1 and Smyrna, Antioch and Thessalonica. Sardrand Laod.cea once gave their names to Hon ishi room mun,ties of saints, whilst a host of Chu :, ro e around them. To each of these the oppo „n ty of usefulness and the prospect of permanence wer ont Ir , 1 ?'""'"«-"»''« of P"-eutio„ wl d only make them bear more fruit. But they lost their oppor unity ,„d became first lukewarm, til :„'f u . ful, then corrupt, until at length the prunin<.-knife became to them an instrument of judgment " We have sometimes wondered that Divine provi- dence allowed the wholesale destruction of the Asial^ Churches by the successors of Mohammed. Lar'er knowledge leads us to bow to the judgment of heaven and acknowledge both its justice and its wi dim They had tnfled with the Divine gift which God had ulfltto'b :i' '■':;'' V° ''^'P™^^' ^^^ "-^'^ become unat to be either ihe depositaries of truth or its dis- semmators. Ignorant and indolent, consumed by dis- sensions and animosities, corrupted by heresies, robbed of manly strength by opinions which droye into mon^ er.es men who ought to have gone forth as mislt anes, they ceased to be the all-conquering host which 116 THE METHODIST PULPIT. 'if had been victorious by its patience in the fiercest per- secutions, and be^an to resemble an army againsk which the tide of battle has already turned. Unfit now to be the moral and religious regenerators of the world, these Churches were given over to destruction- It was no longer possible that good should come to the world through them. They might corrupt; they could not save. And how many Chuiches have passed out of exist- ence since the day that the kingdom of God was first preached ? Churches which God intended should be fruitful and multiply and fill the land with spiritual infiuence. They rose fair and promised to last ; but the promise failed. Indolence succeeded their early activity. Destruction followed indolence; and they have gone so completely out of existence that their circumstances are little more than guessed at. A few lines of dubious history, a suspicious monument, or a vague tradition are all that tell us of their unworthy life. We study the scanty records which suggest their history, rather than reveal it, with a feeling of disappointment. We had thought that Divine pro- vidence would preserve from ruin those who were even the possessors of the truth, and that wherever the Christian faith had gained a foothold it would remain in spite of foes; but God has taught us this solemn lesson, that the same providence which preserves the valuable, destroys the worthless; that if a Church would be perpetuated it must give way to no inglori- OOn OLOBIHED ,N A KKU.TFUL CHURCH. H7 o"s c«,o; a„,l that nothing can certainly ensure it, permanence except that it bear much fruit THE CHURCH HAS A GRAND AND AWFUL MISS.ON »o grand as to dwarf into i„.,i«„iHcance the Rrcatost human enterprise. Made of that noble naturfwM Str';sSo:i:ttn^^-''^^"- ,'„ J • XI . ""ssion 18 to bless huirianitv anrl m doinor this to fflnn'fir n^i Ti. '"'"i-^, ana »p-d The tn.:: £2hr thMTiZTtt *: .nankind, through Chri.,; up to God By „, :' to root out the vices of mankind ; to destrov the gloomy superstitions which had long brooded ovr he t™ pMt'o'f'ch?:* r '^"' ™">""°" - "- •> - the sp,r t of ChrMt, and moved by its Divine force In entrustmg His Church with a mission so grand ■t was no scanty result that God looked for h! An I .ntend that His people should trifle witfthe^ ma esl emfdoymcnt or be content to exhibit in themriv the passive virtues. He designed that they should be ^andly aggressive, reaching out a hand of' o:'' on^ -f ut:rrupte7r --r.^'t*""* ''7 ^"-'o p- irupcea tne gxcai. uoctrmes which had been III 118 THE METHODIST PULPIT. revealed, and guard with sacred care the books which contained it. The doctrine was to be disseminated- sown over all lands. It was not enough that the Christian people should be spiritual and devout ; they must be enterprising also. The firm and lofty spirit which should excite the amazement of the world was to be accompanied by a zeal which knew no bounds. Their love to Christ was to reveal itself by an interest in His cause, and a persistent endeavor to spread everywhere a knowledge of His salvation. Nothing, except actual sin, is farther from the spirit of the Gospel than an indolent, dreamy mysticism. The mind "which was in Christ Jesus" hasnothino^ slothful in it. No Christian life is perfect which does not combine activity with devoutness, and blend zeal with holiness. Though the creed be without a flaw, the morals without a stain, and the piety deep and fervent, yet all this will form but an imperfect Christian, or an imperfect Church, if there be wanting the " labor which proceedeth of love." A religion which takes, but never gives, is ever inferior, tho'ugh it take all the truth, purity, and heavenly-mindedness which Christ has to oflfer, and God is not honored in this way as He designs to be. " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples "—disciples in reality of Him who gave His life that He might produce the richest fruit for a hunger-stricken world. In speaking thus, we would not be understood to teach that the fruits of righteousness are of secondary GOD OLOKIFIED IN A FRUITFUL CHUECH. 119 importance. We had no such intention. On the con- trary, we do not see how it is possible to be a Chris- t.an at all without these. The fruits of the Spirit must be found wherever the Spirit really dwells. An But"w. ^-TT '? ■"" ^"""""y '' not ; monstrosity DivinTw ;f '"^*° *^'"='''»'' '''^ «"^ that the D vme Word bears us out in the teaching, that the Clmstmn hfo .s complete only when usef ulne^ is uni ed w,th pur. y, whilst a Church without missionary n- terpnse ut eriy fails in the great work for whkh it waaappomted I may fail through ignorance of itsduty or through w,lf„l Neglect, through not having under cod the voice of Chriat.or because it would fai'n gratffy some slothful or some mercenary feeling ; but in either case the result is the same. It is an a'rmy organLed and trained but inefficient. It is a body of sLants d7 T r- ^."' '^''™- '"'^'^ "^^'^^^ workTa done; It ,s the branch which drinks up the sap from the great .strong stem, but shows no return of goodly cmsters ; and such God did not design it to be We lay stress, therefore, and feel that we cannot lay too much stress, upon that consecrated activity which with ceaseless eflbrt. seeks to glorify God by advanc mg His cause in this sad world of folly and sin We have sometimes heard it said that the Church m modern times, is attempting too much, and that its' enterprises are becoming a burden. We have no doubt that they seem so to the selfish and woridly but viewed in the light of Christ's requirement, and Christ's »cnfice,and Christ's grand purpose, the^ are pi^fll i !1 I 120 THE METHODIST PULPIT, and mean. Fault is found with the time consumed in this work and the money spent upon it, as if there was no higher use for time than making money, and no higher use for money than squandering it upon our pleasures, and, as if it were not written, " Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's." Sometimes the more subtle objection is made that we have too much public religious work to do. With many, it is said, the whole Sabbath and the leisure hours of the week-days are so fully occupied that there is little time for retirement and meditation- little time for the careful cultivation of our inner life. This is plausible but specious, but false, and too often it is only the voice of sloth attempting to lull the conscience under pretext of greater sanctity. Alas, for the deceitfulness of the human heart! But all these and every other objection of every kind is swept away by the plain and emphatic statement of Jesus : ''Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." Our high attainments in religion are only means to an end, and that the greatest of ends— to glorify God by upholding the Redeemer's kingdom, extending its intiuence, and spreading its triumphs. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SIGNS OF THE TIMES, IN THIS RESTLESS AND INQUIRING AGE, THAT THE CHURCH IS AWAKING TO THIS GREAT DUTY. Perish the tongue that would lull her again into slumber ! The earnestness of Christian leaders, and OOD GLORIFIED IN A FBDITFUL CHITECH. 121 even the emulous competition of rival denomination., show a sense of responsibiUty and a conv~hat ,, . ^ * "^^'"^ ^^""» something more than wi hrT."""'' '™"" "grateful h.art° We ook are su'f tha^f T" 't ""™' "' -™-tness and rishlv dtV^ ^: """■■ '' P""fi^dandthe act vity Chlf v\' *^.? " ^ ''"™' ''^f"« the Church Plendd\"'"\^''f ^^^ '"tothe shade even the splendid triumphs of apostolic days_a future beforo utf af 1 Tnt' "'"^'"y ^'>^" ''^ - "t : r doubts of sM"- ■""" ™"""^ *"" '>"^'' ""e' doubts of scepticism into eternal silence and cS, name shall be glorified from the risin/of tht 1 u„to he going down of the same. The Church is framed Trr::::-; o'f^f '' "'"■='' "-^^ ^°"»<^" '« » .s "GoM ,, .1,^^ ^Sg''es«ion; His plain command very cr a tur! " .r'' "f ^'^"^ '"^ gospel to every creature , and the exalted motive by which He seeks to stimu ate her ze«1 ;. ti,o* • which we have quoted It our tf^Z ""'"''° Father glorified, that ye bear much frnit.^ " "^ 'i 9 SEEMON YIII. THE SCRIPTURE RECORD CONCERNING "ETERNAL LIFE." REV. W. R. PARKER, M.A., President of the London Coiferenee. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal liie, and this life is in His Son."— i John v, 11. WHAT good thing have we that wo have not re- ceived of God ? All our blessings are Divine. "We must gratefully concede His claim: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Oh ! how shall we estimate aright the infinite sense of His benefits? The bestowment of matchless worth, of overwhelming surprise, outweighing all the rest, comprehending them all, is the Divine Father's gift of the Divine Son ! "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift !" Who shall bear adequate testimony concerning the world of wealth, the eternity of blessing bequeathed to our race in this priceless bestowment ? There are witnesses m earth and in heaven. We have the wit- ness of the Word and the Spirit. If the witness of rran be not sufl[lciently credible, we have that of the ETERNAL LIFE. 123 Infof alUh?t?; "' *J' ^'"^^*^^^ authoritative. And ot all the testimony furnished, this is the sensP The great subject announced is eternal Jif. t I. What is eternal life ? II. Whence is it ? III. What does it involve ? X. WHAT IS ETERNAL LIFE ? What do you say it is ? Well you sav Tf ,'« i'^^ • eternity a b„,3fu, here-fe-it isCaZ'/V , t: ndeed, bu more More, you say. than heaven.' et vou !„?%"> "'"'■'- "^^^ »<'»^«"'tes the tree you nstmctively admire which adorns the ImZ :X '^.r^T t"^ '" '*^ ^»^^-- foliaje, ™u -P^y. The truuk branches, tinted leaves. a«d luscious e.-wll'"'"'- *'"^' ■"" ■»«-■ More thTn Whv Z^, """■" r '"^"^ •'^^ y™ challenge. Kft '^l''^'"-'' - the fruit. tBe root befo'e not S the ?arih^or ^f™' " *^ ™°' ^o^ neve? adorn T.\ T^'" """ 8™™''' *''<' f™" ""i" breeles „rheave„. "''^ '™'''" "''" -™ » *-^ Wongs to eternity, but to earth and time a. well tin ? "' ''^'^ ^'"' ■*^'« » the soil of t • human heart m t.me. or it will never flourish in eter! hi Mi i If {'■ 4'i Iff ,n Bl 124 THE METHODIST PULPIT. nity. In other words, we must possess eternal life here, or we cannot inherit it there. If, therefore, we can, if we must have eternal life here, what is it ? Such a question is too vital in its nature, too far-reaching in its inevitable consequences, to be answered in a polemical spirit, with the shibbo- leth of a sect — the dogma of a denomination. Our appeal must be to the "law and the testimony." What saith the Scriptures on a subject in whose issues we are all interested more profoundly than in aught else in the universe ? We understand from the word of God that eternal life is spiritual life— the life of God in the soul. It is the divine union of the soul with Christ. It is to be "the branch in the vine," "the lively stone" in the chief corner-stone. It is the new creation; when "old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." It is that of which Paul affirms, " To be spiritually-minded is life." Matthew Henry, the shrewd and able commentator, says, "The Lord gives the spiritual life, which is eter- nal life in the bud." Clearly, then. His teaching is this: that the only difference between spiritual life and eternal life is the difference in maturity— not in nature— between a well-defined bud down here in the cold atmosphere of earth and that same bud unfolded into a fragrant flower, or developed, blossom-like, into rich fruit in the Eden above. The relation is that subsisting between the grace of heaven in the soul and the heaven of grace in glory. We are not content with mere statement touching ETEENAL LIFE. 12S this Identity of nature. The line of proof must be more than indicated. The Seriptural'^proceZ are the same for p„s.,essi„g .pi^t^ l- ,,^ ^ ^^^^ «' (a) Both are obtained by faith. How oft quoted is he familiar formula of spiritual life : "Believe on th. Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be savel " A^d ; .s ever, in the deliverance from condemnation cons quent upon the exercise of this faith, that the hapnv" believer can say, "The law of the Spirit of iTl anl'dear H ' "'f "" '''" *™"' '"'^ '» of ^ " Christ P .f^^^^o^-opo^ess eternal life? Let Chiist Himself answer, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beHeveth "H r* r ""1 """''• *>"' ''''™ everlasthi" _ He hat beheveth on the Son hath everlasting li L " 1^1 J- 1""^ "°'° >-°"' ^"^ th^t believfth on me hath everlasting life." Thus hy faUh Christ' is seized, and thus life seizes »s; for Chnst is „ur life, spiritual and etema Hen he proof of what we asserted, that eternal life is Identical with spiritual, for they become a tandbk po^es^on upon the similar exercL of the sami £^^ M. A chief characteristic of the wicked is that tey have not the saving knowledge of God HeL I^d gives the ..knowledge'" "^^^ "^ ^ people by the remission of their sins » TTpnn/ • .^pHtual life. a.ia hence, preciselHy th^XSf: •' i Mi* 'M '■ 1 ^ i ' ^r,, j^ 126 THE METHODIST PULPIT. comes eternal life. Hear our Lord Himself: "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." Therefore, to know God in Christ is to possess eternal life. To this purport the apostles bear witness of what the/ had seen, and " show that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." More- over, to know God is to know His love. And, besides, the love precedes the knowledge of God. The things of earth we first know and then love. But we love Christ Ji7'st, and then know Him. This is the teaching of the inspired apostle: "Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." So then, the know- ledge of God is the knowledge of love; for God is love. Consequently, to love God is to have eternal life, inasmuch as Christ teaches that to know the Father and the Son constitutes the substance of this priceless gift. Herein we definitely ascertain the iden- tity of the spiritual and eternal life, the essence of both being the same " love." (c) This law of eternal life is in harmony with the law of our eternal being. Let any man ask himself what is the law — the real controlling force of his life— and see if the spontaneous response be not, "My strongest love!" It is well said that, "We do not live in earnest, till we love in earnest, and the greater and nobler our love, the greater and nobler our life." That young man was but an indifferent youth until I I ETERNAL LIFE. 127 the premature deati: of his father devolved upon him the care of the homo, and the responaibilityT " pro vidmg for his mother and sister^ But he proved equal to the emergency; for his labor of love w iTttr """ " "-''''' »-^^' "' "'-«>^«-- That young widow, with her helpless charge never knew want nor anxiety while her faithful ^husbld wa. the thoughtful provider of their home. But W htter bereavement brought her face tK> face with urgent need; and her own hands ha4 to minister toh! necess,t.es and those of her household, Hers was the t^k of love, and the sequel evidenced the genius o th,s dominant passion, as aa educating force even Z he schoo of adversity The ten^ted eluen e be ame a freehold; and the children, trained i„ Intel lect and heart, and schooled to habits of industry -e to fill, successfully, positions of trust and emolT So Christianlove constitutes and controls Christian or an mdifrerent woman becomes noted, and develops he grandest capabilities. The rainbow is more brU sTheT t rr "'"' '°°-"'» «>^ -h-'e light, it" perrect day. Talent, genius may be more brill'«nf more flashy than love; but the perfect Te If God ftat««teth out fear is the missionary of mightiest mm^tnes or mankind. When Christ came to P^l -. us everlasting life, He came the very embodiment ! i I I I 128 THE METHODIST PULPIT. of everlasting love, and as He came not to be minis- tered unto but to minister, so we, catching His spirit and copying His example, are to—" By love serve one another." And in this life-work— ••Love is the brightest of the train ; And perfects all the rest." Eternal life, therefore, will certainly be the same in essence, in kind, in the world to come as it is in this. Heaven is, beyond question, a place of " many man- sion.s," as well as a state of inefiable bliss. But heaven, the state, must be put within us, before we can bo put within heaven, the place. So then, we conclude, that eternal life in heaven differs from the same grand possession here only in degree— in the environments, the companionships. Paul was the same man, as "the aposCe to the Gentiles," that he was when " Saul of Tarsus." His character was, indeed, changed ; his personal indentity unchanged. So the saved believer, such as I have seen pass away. Sweetly happy and actively conscious till the last breath, she crossed the narrow stream- she entered through the thin vail. With her this higher life had no cessation, knew no change. It was not broken in two ; it was only transfigured. It was but the eternal life of earth continued and developed. It was the same with her as with Paul, who was the same when "absent from the body and present with the Lord," as when he said, " For me to live is Christ." So, at death, and after it, we will remain the same \', I - ' n ETERNAL Llns. 129 men and wom.n that we are now, identically thou,.h our s„rround,„gs and capacity will greath, dififr Jil „„! r I ° ^' '"'™ ""* ■" Christ. Our life wl not be broken in two. but transfigured It fa 's ruly 0. tersely affirmed by a late w'riter ■• WeM .oul ; and we fiUy ^ilg ' "" ""' ^°"' " ''^^^™ '» «"" " The men of grace have found, CJlory begun bel jw ; Celestial fruit on earthly ground. Prom faith and hope do grow." II. WHENCE IS THIS ETEBNAL LIFE ? We may a.sk a question, kindred to this-back of it • r^Tf :Voy '*/ K^^"^""^ "'^'■f'' of ata^eof Stan Whe„; 1:- '"'' "* "" '"-'='- "f <"> "nimal, or man / rtrhence this all-prevalent, but unfeen nrin Vie; th,s most mysterious, most marveUous some" ■ng we call life t Many of the boastful ma„i;u at" ^ &:rsTre o7t.'"te;dt£ -e and^o^er'^f TL^^^.^Zt^"^ '- !f! if. 1 ! ■■ ■' ' 1 ; i ' i ? HI .» 1- ; , 1 mn m s mi 130 THE METHODIST PULPIT. But these blasphemers are now disputing amon^ ^^»^* *^- fi-a! ment. So, the earth throbs with its myriad life, be- ans, the right hand of the Lord rolls it onward i^ its I ostmed pathway through the -nfinity of space. And 1 the eternal power of an all-surrounding Deity thus ^ooms in the flower, glows in the stars.lnd sings in U. majestic march of worlds, how much more fhall Chris :rf:;P'*'''"^ P^-^^^^^^ «^ ^^^ P--nal aJoi 1^'ll.^f^l "V*" '""'^^^^ *^^* fundamental axiom of the text: "This life is in His Son." The ^:;1.1.'t^ ^^ ^^!._^-P«^ confirms this of his Xli m waa iiie ; and the life ii| (i I ■ V was the light m If 132 THE METHODIST PULPIT. of men." On this grand truth the Rev. Richard Wat- son remarks : " Life in Jesus Christ is original and independent. In Him was life as its origin and source — unoriginated and essential life." Our Lord Himself thus propounds this doctrine: " For, as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself." And this is the exercise of this given power: He took life from the barren fig-tree; and He put life into the dead form of the entombed Lazarus; and quickened into spiritual life souls long time spiritually dead. Skirting England is the Principality of Wales, of which Albert Edward is the Prince. There is a Principality of Life. Of this Jesus Christ is the Prince, the Proprietor, the Lord. In Him life inheres ; and " Because He lives, we live also." Life, this spiritual, eternal life, is in Christ as the stream is in the fountain, and as life is in the stream. Jesus said : " The water that I shall give him shall be- come in him a well of water, springing up unto eternal life." Life is in Christ as light is in the sun — " The Lord God is a Sun." " God hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." Life is in Christ, as vitality is in the atmosphere. You have but to exhaust the life — conserving oxygen from this audience-room — and, without the aid of sword, or plague, or pestilence, or famine, we must all ETERNAL LIFE. jgj perish. "So the Lord of heaven and earth giveth to pJS ''Z^C^^^J^: j» '» ''-^. tHe Christ teaches that it is Hk , ™''"" '™"^ give life to the dead ol!":TnaTHfr'^*'™.'° "I am the bread of life. Ther«i"ofl'dt rtt hTaven rZ ^^ *?"''""' '''^"^ """'o down from C:istre;t;«v:rrr^„;'r^'7^^*-emit, ye eat I flesh of ^^Tf if' Z^d^^ t^^^?! Wood, ye have no life in vn,i Wk ^ flesh a.d drinketh I^hCd haT'XIS .^ " ' 7 do not understand this to afford any ^r^nYlr I' Eom«h dogma of Transubstantiationl" «!. mmm est." We ■•«tli„.. i ■""■"»"<>»— a«i; corpMs e i.ords table, and touch not the symbols of b-fet Once again, eternal life is in rhrl.f 7 was for our first parents in the " t^ ""lite".' ":;' oreathmg „f .he breath of lives by his Creator. ^ Itl f } ;■ ! ')■ fl ; ' i 'i^ t ? ' * i 134 THE METHODIST PULPIT. claimed that this life was perpetuated by the agency of the Tree of life. Fairbairn, in his Typology, main- tains, "That the Tree of life possessed the singular virtue of ministering to the human life in the fountain- head, and of upholding that life in its root and prin- ciple. That to it belonged the property of fortifying the vital powers of nature against the injuries of disease and the dissolution of death; and, also, to preserve the soul in incorrupt purity and blessedness." Richard Watson argues: "That, as the fruit of righteousness is declared a tree of life ; and, as in Eze- kiel's visions of the glory of the Church on earth, and in John's of her glory in heaven, the conquerors are to eat of the Tree of life, therefore, this Tree of life is closely connected with spiritual, eternal life, here and hereafter." Indeed, it would appear that, on the part of God, this tree was a pledge of the perpetuation of life ; and, on the part of Adam, the eating of it was the dutiful obedience of a confiding son. Alas ! that that Tree of life was forfeited, and the way to it guarded by an angel and infolding flame. But, thank God, our Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, is not only approachable, but He invites and urges all to come boldly unto Him, with a world of welcome and a wealth of provision. He declares : " Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled ;" and again, " To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." ETERNAL LIFE. 135 in. WHAT ETERNAL LIFE INVOLVES. By this we mean the subjective, personal effect on cti^r '"""'' '-"'^ ^^f-giving Connection ti:h whet ^:X'Z^%^^-~'^\ ^-^ *-^^^ ath eternal life, and cometh not into XTnT ^t hath passed out of death into life " * So vt^iT u 'Reckon ye also yourselves i, be dead unto w alive unto God ii/chri.f r, 4» r!^ ""*^ f"?' ^^^ ared.cUndyouHife..:M;Hh^^^ death ' iZiZ' 'T ^ *'^ '^^^ '' ^-*^' through deatL Is not this the plan, the principle of all liff? fhath! T'f '^ T'^- ^^^^ -* t'e blossom die hat the fruit may live ? So, too, with erain yT. hear our Lord announce this facr In Ml ? / "Except a grain of wheat mlllLV^^^^^ ' It abideth by itself aJone; but if it Z\^ ^J!' much fruit." ^'®' '* beareth 80 man-carnivorous, flesh-eating man— livp« • .oodpa..b, the death of the anJartTebH, 'th: t^ro„gh His death? "silr then T T-,f'' ''"' *arors in flesh and blood \e'r hi™t«r h^l^ * 1 John V. 24. ll ;■ 1 ■ i 136 THE METHODIST PULPIT. MM might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime sub- ject to bondage." "Jesus Christ died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him." Thus our Lord Himself gives assurance on this matter : "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, thai whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life." He was so lifted up, and He gave His blood — the life — to procure life for the world. Thus : "Jesus hath died that we might live, Might live to God alone ; In Him eternal life receive, • And be in spirit one." (b) It may not he amiss to furnish here a legend of mediwval Christendom, by which it was sought to show the identification of the Cross of Christ with the Tree of Life. "When Adam was at the point of death, he sent Seth to the gates of Paradise, that he might gain access to the Tree of Life, and brins of (he Oil of Mercy which flowed from its branches to anoint his body for burial. That oil he was not allowed to have. It might not be used for man till the Redemption was accomplished ; but the cherub, that guarded the gates of Paradise, gave him a slip from the sacred Tree. He returned with this and planted it on his father's grave in Golgotha, the centre of the earth, "the pl^ce of a skull." From it came the wood of the rod with which Moses wrought signs ETERNAL LIFE. 137 of Aaron; „f the X^Xh^: W^"'*°'"^ warned „p; and.'fi„an,, ti.fot'tL'cZi^r' Now, whatever may be judged of thuT T know that the Branch of our See of L f^h T^'. T the Saviour, tvoifled h-r *),„ . 7 ^ budded; daotly flows from its branch* ;\l?,t "".^;''™- a»oint the dying for their b„rL '^ '"' "'=''■ "■"* (c) Let us note the nrocp'^v nf th^^ It is thus fitly iUust" ted ■ Xe . "'""' ^^"^ ^*> of a missing Itar, ^^^...ytotZTZ '" ^t^t .ti..andbyaside..ightit'sterintohteye*|o the Christian believer seekinrr fK ^. 1. ^ ^^ the morning, of his sniriT i ^. '*^' *^^^ ^^^^^s xuiug or nis spiritual and eternal dav fivp= hi vision on the rpmnn «* ^ i '^' °^^^ "^^ »«.Ht Of theTLiee's:^:-:--. - - Ho^spi^r.fxhir-sttts'-n"^"'^ tt^w^'^L'^r'rr""'^''"^'^'"^^^^^^^^^^ ^'"'- -^^e law of the spirit of life in rhr^S Jesus made me free frnmVK^i x? . <^hrist /^N rpi ■ *"® ^^w of sin and death " must die to livp in Hi^ Th. . ? ^' '^ ^^ 10 ■ "• ^^"'*' crucified is the life \\\ I 'M 138 THE METHODIST PULPIT. of the world ; and we must be crucified with Christ to live our full-orbed life. Listen to Paul announce the general doctrine, as he relates his personal experience : "I am crucified with Christ; yet I live, and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me." And again: "Our old man was cruci- fied with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin ; for he that hath died is justified from sin." Now, what if Paul was dead when he was crucified ? Is this statement an epitaph written for the Apostle's death in the flesh ? This cannot be, for the record was not made by another, but by himsplf. It is not Peter afiirming Paul is crucified, but Paul himself declaring it. It is, then, not death in the flesh, but death to "the flesh" and sin. He means, that the old self -life, of which he had himself been the centre— "the carnal mind" — was crucified. This carnal self- hood, that cannot be made subject to the law of God, but must be eliminated, is the root cause of all sinful error — of every act of the unnatural rebellion — of all iniquitous wrong-doing. By the divinity of this doctrine, the Apostle de- mands of us, and of all who claim to have laid hold upon eternal life, the possession of a like experience with him, and the practical adoption of this formula : "And they that are of Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh." How forcible these right words, touching this great transformation — not only dead to sin, but raised into ETERNAL LIFE. jgg "Men rnay rise on stepping-stones Of their dead selves, to higher things." INFERENTIAL LESSONS. First — This view of etpmnJ Uf^ 7 f«- the modern theoru o(^ M T'' "" ^'•""^'^ «» advocates den/Xf Jr^^T^L 77'?^ f ' immortal, but admit that this watw nt """"'"'"'y estination. They claim that Zj ! r ■„":^>™' im.orta.it, not o^Ta .^^^ ^^^ ^^^^f ^ «/ "oi^Tirrtrenrrf^ ^-"^'■ ;ueh-a„d they only-as be, ^in' 0^™^ f "' tion have a perpetuity of being '*'^''" eternal heing. They dHnd f"! '*' ""^^ <'^«'>'' ness, or well beinrfn fK t ', *'''"" """ bfessed- -, is the ^^Z^^'^'^T^-f^'' tiaily differ-et! „!l I """"^ """«* "=»' «>*«««- if i 140 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ,t ' i|lliLJ||f<^li M.llr , life ; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life" — so as to mean, hatU or huth not eternal existence. But by the fair interpretation, upon which we base the nature and essence of eternal life, it means : He that hath the Son of God hath spiritual life, the hud, the germ, the 'princii^le of eternal 11^3 here ; and in the heavens, the immortal soul, blood-washed, is eter- nally blessed ; while the soul unwashed is "filthy slill in interminable woe !" Second — This view of this gi'and fundamental truth is fatal to the obnoxious errors promulgated by certain modern Evangelists, suci as the character of a present and the conditions of an ultimate salvation. (a) They carry to its full extent the doctrine of the "final perseverance of the saint." Saved once by one act of faith — always saved. In the words of an American Methodist, they claim " that a single act of faith furnishes a man with a through ticket for heaven," or " a paid-up, non- forfeitable policy assuring the holder that he shall inheut eternal life." The other dreadful heresy is: That even the youngest disciple — born of God — cannot be hurt by actual sin, because he has a dual nature — the ab- stract man that cannot sin, and the concrete man that may sin. He has two natures, the one born of the Spirit and sinless, the other born of Adam and sinful. Sin in such a one is sin in the old Adam-nature, and not chargeable to the renewed man. 12TERNAL LIFE. 141 Now to deal with and confute these hurtful errors we have the effective combination of the Soientifio and he Sor^ptural raethod. Just as in this age of aston- «hmg scientific progress, the microscope t, employed as a marvellous agency to furnish whole continfntfof evidence ,„ favour of theism and against atheism so the pa.^ofa and terrsu of the Gre:k languageTn which the New Testament was written, aid in sett ins disputed points of theology and in refuting he" cs' The highest authorities on the grammar of Ihe Greek Testament show that, in the main, the tenses are em ployed there with exactly the same accuracy as in t^e standard Greek works. Such modern critic, as Dean A ford and Bishop Ellicott enrich their commentarTes with gems of truth discovered by the use of the micro! cope of modern harmony; and they throw floods of hKht upon important passages by noting the tenses .Iten!"'' !° ?,,'""'™ *''" P"'!"'''^ ''^fo'^ "S, cite your a t ntion to the specific difference between the f^rce of the Aor^st and ihe present tense. The AoriH ex presses singleness of act, the simple ^^omentary occur-' i wrote. The present denotes what is noinn on ^^contvanou,. repeated, habitual action aT "I ,, ""^ ^'"■'■''' tense express what is wont to be or -Sl / ""'-r' "-^^"''^ ">'°'y' ">"' "eans i 142 THE METHODIST PULPIT. prenent and continuous. " And as Moses . . . even so must the Son of man be lifted up : that whosoever hp- lieveth may in Him have eternal life." * Is the word believe, the Aorist, and thus expressive of an action wroufht and made complete in the past, and the re- sult to abide in pei-petual force ? No : it is the present tense, ujsolutely implying v/hosocv er L continuoudy believing shall continually possess eternal life. Here is the conclusive evidence that the helieviwj and the having eternal life are commensurate. Where the faith is, the eternal life is ; and where this faith ceases, this life is forfeited. Hear the concurrent tes- timony of so eminent a Presbyterian minister as tli^- Rev. Dr. John Hall, of New York. He says : " See a young lady fire a pistol— 'tis loaded and handed to her, she holds it gingerly, as if afraid it will shoot from the handle. She takes aim, but does not shoot. At length, screwing her courage to sticking point she takes aim, shuts her eyes and fires. The thing is done, and done with! But though some folk think so, saving faith is not something like that. You screw up your courage and believe once for all— a,nd so the thing is done, and you ar<; saved. No, no ! that is a mistake. Real faith goes on from time to eternity ! " Lastly — So of the doctrine of devils about the dual Tiatures. Set over against that wretched theory the telling experience of Paul : " I have been crucified with Christ." Is this expressed in the original Greek by the John iii. 14, 16. ETERNAL LIFE. 148 Vrcsent tense, and so means: I am Uing crucified~l am ahvays dying but tievev dead .? No, but by the A ovist expressing a completed past act. " I have been cruci- fied, and remain dead to self and sin till now f bee how thorough as well as cruel is death by cru- cifixion. The legs must be broken if such means be necessary to the completion-the utterness, the sick- ness, the maiming, the paralysis of the self-ufe will not sufhce! Nothing will avail short of the actual mastery of death throughout overy fibre and faculty of the old man with his deeds." Alas ! We hear but too many feeble, apathetic folk-half dead and dive ! But with Paul, one of the most live, energetic men the whole Christian age, there was no " half- and-half. He was wholly dead, and ivholly alive. He did not travel in his "journeys oft," or work in his labor more abundant," lugging an old man on one arm, and a new man on the other. He had " put off the old man, which was corrupt," as really and loath- ingly as he at one time flung off the coiling viper into the Lystnan fire ; and for a permanency he had " put on the new man, which after God hath been created m righteousness and holiness of truth i" Dear Reader : Suffer me to ask-Have you thus be- lieved and laid hold upon eternal life ? Have you passed through the crucifixion agony ? Are you dead and not ye dead ? Alive, and yet not alive ? Self- it ; ";^:^,,^^t^^^"^"^ ^^ ^^"' ^^^ y^^^« ^^^ Christ. iite ? If this desired consummation be yours, you can 1( in 144 THE METHODIST PULPIT. syiupathize with the strugg' ind the victory recorded in that touchinpj little poem of. Adolf Monod : — Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow, That a time could ever be, When I proudly said to Jeaus, " All of self and none of Thee." Yet He found me ; I beheld Him, Bleeding on the accursed tree : And my wistful heart said faintly, " Some of self and some of Thee. " Day by day His tender mercy. Healing, helping, full and free. Brought me lower, while I whispered, " Less of self and more of Thee. " Higher than the highest heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea, Lord, Thy love at last has conquered, " None of self and all of Thee. " Amen I SEBMON IX. ALONE, BBV, J. TALLMAN PITCHBK. l?'°!5.m""" '*" '"'» "» «'»-"' '-O -". " .biOeth B''wfrld",w''- "If™''' " e--^' '"^ i» the moral t„ ,.T'"'/-">»' «■ the necessity of each man dying ^a l.fe of mere selfishness l«fore he can possess luf r .? . °™ ''°''™P'' «''««h nature is the "com of wheat" which must "die" and be buried if we Zld have true fellowship with God and man. "He Tat oveth his life shall lose it;" that is, he that lo^th tt Ife of self without God. must lose true life in God ust as he who refuses to part with the seed must C h harvest. On the other hand, " He that hateth h s Ue m th,s world shall keep it unto life eternal ;" tha ■B, he who parts with this .selfish life in time shdl possess that true life which is eternal. There itl ^0 c„„d.t.ons of being possible, either of which „1 institute our character-love and self. "He that bve h not his brother abidoth in death." "He ha ove h not knoweth not God." "He that love h W brother ab.deth in the light." Love and self, therefor y „ two dici^mct cnaracters, either of which 146 THE METHODIST PULPIT. m iM L u? makes each man as he is known to God. Love seeks its life outside of itself ; self seeks its life in itself. Love, in order to possess, sacrifices selfishness ; while self, in order to possess, keeps itself and sacrifices love. " Love seeketh not its own ;" self always seeks its own. Love is humility, self is pride. Love attracts souls, self repels souls. Love is the eternal law of order, self is the eternal law of disorder and misery. I. AN UNLOVING SOUL IS WITHOUT GOD IN THE WORLD. " It abideth alone." The question here is not as to the reality of God's love toward us; that is certain. But if all this love of God to us is not believed in, or appreciated, or returned bjr us, what are we profited by it ? Of what avail is all the beauty there is in the world, if the eyes for which it is made be blind ? What profit is it that this world is full of divine music, if the ears that should hear be deaf ? So it is of no avail that God loves us, if our hearts are closed against Him. Without mutual love between God and man there is no fellowship. It is mutual love that enables each to say, " I am Thine and Thou art mme." If we do not love God we do not know Hi a, for "he that loveth not knoweth not God." He may be everywhere pre- sent as He is, laying His good hand upon us, pouring upon us ten thousand proofs of His good-will; but unless the heart receives His love and returns it, it is practically the same to us as if God did not exist. To us, in this case, the world is without a Father, even as it is without a. sun at noon-day to the blind man, aE WORLD. ALONE. 147 There is no reconciliation between the unloving soul and God-no heart answering to heart: the felfish man "abides alone." II. THE UNLOVING SOUL IS WITHOUT CHRIST IN THE WORLD. "It abideth alone." Jesus is one with tlie Father m being, m character, and love to man. To prove HU knowledge of us, His interest in „., and Hiflove fo" ^would be to recall every feature in His character and to record every word and action of His lite He came to our world not merely to atone for our sin but which He had from eternity with the Father so that ZtTZTl"' "?*'"« - might have fen:wshi> with the Father and the Son and with one another door of our hearts, knocking, and saying, •' If ^y u,an open the door unto Me, I will come^/and su^Z h.m, and he with Me." This supping with Him is the very symbol of the fellowship of bro"therly C Bu h w IS It possible for such intercourse to be realized i If bars the door and there is no love to open it and M Jesus welcome 1 Jesus may be as near to us as H was Satan for forty days in the wilderness, and lav heir "'■ ".'''""'' *'''"^' """ «"*». 'here fmm the s '^ t r™' ^""- J"'"''' ^"^ ^ far torn the Saviour when he sat by His side at the last had M^""? "T ^'l'^** ""<' "-'■> Hia words, and had hi. feet washed by Him. aa he waa when he went k II! 148 THE METHODIST PULPIT. forth from that upper chamber as the son of perdition to his own place. So we may be near Christ in privi- leges, near when He saves others ; but if we have not love to Him we are without Him and " abide alone." So long as we do not believe in Christ to the saving of our souls, so long as we do not possess and enjoy the love of Christ, we are " alone," without Christ in the world, and even now the sentence is passed, " I know you not." Jesus cannot dwell in the selfish heart; there is no fellowship, no bond of union, no mutual indwelling ; the unbelieving, unloving heart is alone. III. THE UNLOVING SOUL IS WITHOUT THE SPIRIT. "It abideth alone." The Spirit sheds upon our hearts the love of God. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." " The fruit of the Spirit is love." Hence the Spirit strives with us, and seeks to deliver us from the bondage of self and make us free in the glorious liberty of the children of God. But what if we receive the grace of God in vain ? if we "quench the Spirit," "resist the Spirit," and pre- fer darkness to light ? What if we refuse to be led by the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit ! In such a case is it noi evident that whatever the love of the Spirit may be, however constant His ministrations, however unwearied His pleadings, however touching His appeals, yet if we will not yield ourselves to these, it surely may be said of us with perfect truth, "These are they who separate themselves, not having the Spirit." Though eternal — — C7 ALOSE. I4D W..sdon, ones "Turn ye at my reproof," yet if "scorner>, wl delight m seeming, and fools hate knowledge" them the awful words may be addressed. ..Beeauae I have called and ye have refused, I have stretched out my hands and no man regarded ; but ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my e proof, therefore I also will laugh at your miser/and mock when your fear Cometh." IV. THE OTLOVINO SOUI. IS WITHOUT COMMUNION WITH SAINTS. "It abideth alone." There is but one family in whole thais the spirit of love. Nothing can pre- vent Chnst.ans from loving each other, and just so far M y p "f'.*'''^ "^^ ^'«'»»' 'he Spirit of the Master Read Paul's epistles for the loving saluta t.oas which the Christians of one country sent^o tose of another; many of them entire strangers, who hid never seen each other and never expected to in the flesh ye they all felt that they belonged to a com! n brotherhood, "one in Christ Jesus." They rea Cd that they were " members one of another." " W"o are not divided, all one body we— One in liope and doctrine, one in cliarity." Prisons, loss, and bereavement cannot shut Chris- fans out of the family and household of God TW .s such a bond of sympathy between Christians iha el L r T u° "^^ ""■^^ *<" communion and fellowship, and the Christian loves the godlesa man ■III h ifii I ).!■. M a I ifi Tl 150 THE METHODIST PULPIT. with a depth and reality which the selfish man cannot understand. Christians everywhere are making great sacrifices to win the unsaved, to share in this lame love. Two person 3 may grow up in the same family, and be united by the closest earthly bonds, yet if they do not possess that true love which begins and ends in God, there is no real abiding union between them. The one without love to God is "alone" with self, and what could be more dreary ! We may be separated from men, wander by the great ocean with nothing to break the silence but the beat of the waves ; or we may go into the solitude of the wilderness and hear nought but the murmur of the winds ; but there would not be that painful loneliness, for communion with God might be enjoyed. There is a loneliness of spirit, arising from selfishness, that no image can fully picture a state so utterly dreary and forlorn. The sailor upon his one solitary plank, the sole sur- vivor of his foundered ship, and drifting hopelessly on a shoreless sea ; the prisoner in his solitary cell, i hut out for life from the busy tide of human existence which flows past his prison-house, what are these lonely beings to those who, through selfish idolatry, have separated themselves forever from communion with God, and from Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, and from man ? Now, the unloving soul is not rejected by all these holy and loving personalities, but they are rejected by him ; they do not shut him out of their hearts, but he shuts them out of his heart ; they do not refuse to ^ lavish treasur Their h j^ood." myself, mity of who ere of enjo3 nite lov shut ou earth; \ to bless would b( and he h iove thei himself. ask such and lose that whi( have dom answer tc a man? forever, be that cc or pursuit forever v hope ! insupportf Aave comj Is there m ALONE. 151 lan cannot king great this same ne family, 'et if they and ends een them. 1 self, and separated kothing to es ; or we and hear 3ut there mmunion eliuess of nage can i forlorn, sole sur- lopelessly itary cell, existence ire these idolatry, nmunion \y Spirit, all these ected by 8, but he efuse to av,sh upon h,m all the riches of their affection and treasures, but he refuses to be enriched by thtm The.r language .s, « Come with us and we will do th"e myself What words can we use to express the enor n,,ty of h„ sm ? He has shut out from his heart the God who created h.m for His glory, and made him capable of enjoymg the Divine favor forever, and who, in^infi! mte love, gave His Son to seek and save him. He ha shut out the Saviour who left heaven and came '; earth, who d.ed on th. cross, and who lives evermo e to b ess hira. He has shut out the Holy Spirit who would bo h.s sanctifler, his comforter and instructor nd he has excluded those who would love him as they ove themselves. All. aU these he has exchanged fo^ ask such a one, "How can you, how dare you do so hat which belongs to Him and not to yourself ? You have done a deed of fearful wrong, for which you must a man? Whither can he flee for life ? He must live CZ f:- '*' '"'" inconceivably dreadful wil be that condition, to live forever without any obiect or pursuit worthy of the immortal Spirit! To ive forever without fellowship, without love, withou hope! where can he fly to be delivered from his ^ msupportable burden? Is there no one who win th„ y ave compassion on the poor wretched self-outcast? there no one to whom he can fly for comfort when 152 THE METHt»T)IST PULPIT. the shadows of the eternal night are falling about hit- lonely spirit ? Will he seek that sainted mother who bore him, who bent over his infant couch with many prayers and longings unutterable, who.se whole life was an intercession before the throne of God with Hivf )plications and teat s for his good, and who vi oiild h.-^ve died to save him, and whose spirit ascondcd to God with il- } peMtion that her orphan child might meet her in aeuveiv Ala.s ! alas! that child's strug- gles have been a I*' clong struggle against eternal ri,^ht. Could she meui him now, she could not love one whose heart was at enmity with her God and Savirrjr, and with ail she loved and rejoiced in. But a sell sh soul would not seek to have communion with one whose life consisted in communion with God. how true it is that he w^ho shuts out love, shall be shut out from love! In the wide universe where will he find fellowship ? He has rejected God, the Saviour, the Spirit, and the saints ; where could he find hearts so ready to bless him ? Does he seek satisfaction in the things of earth ? From their very nature they cannot satisfy the soul any more than sand can the eye. His associates are equally as helpless as himself. Worldly pleasures and companions afford him no satisfaction. He must confess with one at whose feet the world worshipped, and who worshipped himself supremely "Though gay companions round the bowl, Dispel awhile the sense of ill, Though passions fire the madden'd soul, The heart, >. heart, is lonely still." ALONE. ng about Iiik mother who with many ; whole life f Gv>d with who would ascendt'd to child might hild's strug- ternal riofht. ot love one md Saviour, But a selt'sh n with one od. how be shut out will he find Saviour, the id hearts so ction in the they cannot e eye. His ■ Worldly satisfaction. the world iupremely. 153 A^ r..rs advance, the conviction steals over the soul of the n,ere man of the world and pleasure, like the frosts of nndnight, that his companions a e fall n^ away fror. h.m; that he is becoming more and rnorf tnrown back upon himself, without the sympathv and brother ood of human hearts. Old a/Ze/a^d the world becomes like a cell where he must Iff'r sohtary confinement. The spirit of lonelines hen s him m, and ever confines him within a narrower circle whose centre .s hiniself ; deluded, disappointed, and irr ! Ihe deathbed at last is reached, and, as he lies there the cold, wmtry winds of death bIowin«. he sees tW 7'n?^^'' "^^^^ '^'^ *^^ unknown world be yond. Oh, how sad and dreary! Cable after cable L snappmg, wbch bound him to the outward and vis bl and, hke a disabled wreck, he is about to drift f om his moorings at midnight on the besom of a myst r Z shoreless sea ! He has lived alone, and now heTs' going where he is a stranger. Where could 7e find a more remarkable illustration of this, in modern times than the latter days of a once famous man of f^hD dl wb"^ "" '"^^' '' ^ ^^«P«* -- ^hat charmed c^c le which was supposed to contain within it all that was refined, tasteful, and notably aristocrati he - and bank:;! t" ^^Z^IZ^ t no man going to him and no one caring for Wm th; very children in the otreet- —.nhW v ^J «»— the ^^ — -lie ..ureeto x«oeking him— until at last if ! i I I '■ I ; I > I'll i it '• f i 1 fi i ■ ,. ■ , ; ' l< 154 THE METHODIST PULPIT. his mind began to waver, and he acted alone the plays of the past, and smiled, and bowed, and paid compli- ments to the ghosts of the great fashionable world as they flitted past his wandering eyes, until he was buried, a pauper and an outcast ! We have the history of a man who, to gain his own ends, murdered all who stood between him and a throne. But having done so— to gain self— he became a terror and a curse to himself. His own fear and troubled conscience created the spectres which crowded around him ; which at midnight glared on him with accusing eyes, pointing to him with their icy fingers, and made him so wretched by their looks of righteous condemnation. This was self punishing self. What to him is the kingdom he governs, the soldiers massed about him, the crowd of courtiers who are ready in the morning to bend the knee and the neck to him in obe- dience? He is alone, alone in a crowd, alone with himself — and the agony is insupportable. Saul illustrates the loneliness of a proud, selfish heart. He has forsaken the Lord, and he stands like a tree blasted by the lightning, scared and peeled— God-forsaken. The Philistines have assembled and are ready to make war on his kingdom. To-morrow the famous battle of Mount Gilboa is to be fought. Samuel is dead. See him, bent like a pine-tree under the midnight winter gale, as he wends his way to the foul cave of the witch of Endor, if he can only find one whom he can call friend, or who has a spark of sympathy with him. And when he sees, or thinks he ■I ALONE. 156 sees, the form of Samuel, listen to that sad wail as it lonely heart. I am sore distressed; for the Philistines .ake war agamst me. and God is departed frrlZ^ and answereth me no more." J'^ft-me, Such is the loneliness and selfishness of sin and thp dT^F^o^th^l' r''-' ''^'' ^^ cloom;:to n! dure. From this loneliness there is no escape excent .ad it is only f ulfi M .„ 1^^^'"^^ ^f r" ^''"^^ Lord with Ir th^r^rJaX nlS» a^ IZ Jr Buu„ y through faith in J J,, and in pI.^L „f oiiea in us For the law of the Spirit of lite i„ ^d d ath^f "". ?'^.' "^ ^^'^ W'thelaw sn and death for what the law could not do in that it »in in the «e.h... UtVZlT^^lZZt:'^ gmng all our ains through Him who d ed f t God was m Christ reconciling the world unto Him.' IntV?"'""^ ""'" '"'f'^''' onto them • L^t us look to Jesus as possessing that life of truriove to I: f-v i I 156 THL METIiODidT PULPIT. 11 1 1- trate the design of our existence, we fail to answer the ends of our oreation, and rob God of that which He claims and has a right to claim. "Pv i* 'no- for our- selves we make our lives unmeaning. Let the corn of wheat fall to the ground. Then we shall live in the only trtio sense of living. Then others will be blest by ns. Oh, don't let us throw ourselves away ! We are not our own. We are the Lord's. He bought us. Let Ui; not disown or dishonor the proprietorship. il to answer tliat which ''^g for oiir- 1; the corn of live in the «'ill be blest away ! We i bought us. borship. SERMON X. AN OLD TESTAMENT VIEW OF THE GOSPEL. REV. T. G. WILLIAMS, Fre/iident of the Montreal Conference. 1 b^g forth .,„, ^utita ..r.;*.' :jt';vr' ™'""' " '" to the eater: so s ' mv «■ i ^\f *''^ ^'''^^''' ""''^ thread /«a/aA Iv. 10, 11. ^ ^ ^'''"S whereto I sent it. "- laitft. By this declaration he dp^io-n^rl 4-^ 4. t human thought the probabilitie, were o;erwhe7mi " I great against it. This le„on to thl "^^J^'^ng'y noun new to GoC's peo^" t^T[tZ;T. ^Hebrews and yo„ will learn of the earnest eonfli , ">d lonous triumphs of ancient worthies and vou God. The days m which the exercise of this Christian Z:' "™"T^ '"^ ""' y^' P--J- F.»th i" Go" now a. ever the condition upon which blessings axe (f 158 THE METHODIST PULPIT. M bestowed, and a firni reliance on His word is necessary when we try to anticipate the realization of the pro- phecies concerning the future triumphs of the Church. The ancient people looked to the prophetic promises and calnilj, and trustfully awaited their fulfilment. Their faith should be ours, for there are declarations yet to be verified concerning the great work of the Gospel of Christ. History strengthens our confidence, for as the centuries are unrolled we can clearly trace the accomplishment of God's plan. The beautiful simile employed by the prophet i.s full of suggestions. It speaks of the agency by which the kingdom of Christ is to be established, the manner in which the work shall be accomplished, the immediate result desired, and affirms strongly the absolute cer- tainty of success. i I. PROCLAIMED TRUTH IS THE AGENCY BY WHICH THE WORLD IS TO BE SAVED. The simplicity and seeming weakness of this agency, as compared with the infinitely more than Herculean task to be accomplished, at once strikes us, and tends to fill us with doubt ; but this is anticipated by the prophet, and in the preceding verses we are taught not to measure the results of God's plans by the same tests we apply to similar efforts of men. We are re- minded that " God's ways are not as our ways, nor His thoughts as our thoughts," and we are to infer that as " His ways are higher than our ways, and His thouglits than our thoughts," so the results of God's plans shall lira- BY WHICH AN OLD 'lliSTiMENT VIEW OF THE GOSPEL. 159 bo corrcpondingly greater than similar means which .r„ he outcome of human thoughts and wT The figure .s that of a field, upon which it is desired •" P--^ "ce a fruitful ^his field is carefully pre pared by the skilful husbandman, the seed I faUh fully scattered and harrowed in, and all ^romises'n abundant reward for the toil performed Now the husbandman waits for the promise of his reward upThl hTh r' '''■ '"' "°e^-» Wade sprint up through the brown soil to gladden his eye He wa.ts and wonders what is needed to crown hTlabors w.th success. While he waits the clouds gather an] the ram showers fall upon the prepared fl!ld Thev molten the soil and they soften the hard, dry shell of the gram, and soon the beautiful man le of „ree; inrll':d't';rep:r r^Tr'r '"'™^*""^ "' „^ 1 « prepare it tor the reception of tho gospel of peace. The existence of God with fa „t glimpses of His moral nature; our resDonsM.tv ! .J our guilt, our fear of punishm'ent, aZes ! t'pTr. don, and all else that natural religion teaches us mTv e^iuir rLTT-'-r '-' "° ^^ wm result. Ihe field may be cultivated ever so P fectly and seeds of truth scattered ever so widely ruth ofler^^^'""" ^"' unproductive Znt truth of he Gospel be proclaimed^this. God's greatest truths and the human heart can be brnn.ht int-^ C' to each other that spirituaJ life and fruit wiU reiat. !|| f^] ,' ^^ I i IKIH 160 THE METHODIST PULPIT. result. But when this marvellous word is proclaimed the moral desert gives signs of life, and the seeds long buried and unproductive feel the blessed inspiration of a new life, and burst forth into fruitfulness. What numerous evidences of this Divine power the history and present record of God's Church present ! Men's hearts have yearned for comfort for long and weary in o- years, they have felt their guilt and feared the wrath of a Deity but dimly apprehended. They thirsted for the truth, and when the Gospel was proclaimed it was to their sin-sick souls as the blessed showers on the thirsty field. Life and gladness immediately sprang forth. But the text teaches us — I . THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PROCLAIMED TRUTH COMES TO HUMAN HEARTS. "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven." We are here taught to expect variety in the methods in which the truth shall come to human hearts. The rain sometimes falls so gently from the low-hanging clouds that the drooping liower, instead of bowing more lowly under the falling shower, lifts its dusty and fading leaves heavenward to receive the gracious bapiism. So in the kingdom of grace God sends the showers of grace gently upon hearts which thirst for the life-giving truth ; and the toil-worn are revived, the faint-hearted strengthened, and the des- pairing filled with Christian courage for life's battle. The thirstiness and barrenness of the field is recognized only to be remedied. So the sinfulness and ruin of ^ :ed truth AN OLD TESTAMENT VIEW OF THE GOSPEL. 161 the human heart is remembered only that it may be removed. God's law sanctions the charge of nmn's conscience as to his guilt, and declares that "the soul hat smneth shall die;" but the Gospel truth comes like the gently-falling shower and whispers : " If anv man sm we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous;" and, "If we confers our sms He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from ull unrighteousness." And under these blessed truths the bowed heart lifts itself, and the tears of penitence are dissipated by the smile of God's reconcilmg grace. Sometimes the rain descends in the s orm and tempest, bearing before it all opposing objects, forcing for itself a path denied to the gentle shower. So God's word is sometimes accompanied with such manifestations of the power of God that the most obdurate and sullen hearts are terror-stricken and bow submissively to its demand.. And again! dolTI ' f'^'^P ""^ '^' «-^^'fl-ke come down out of .^le clouds of heaven. So silently that the harmony of the most delicate music is not marred by the descent of the myriads of particles which fill he air, nor is the slumber of the most wakeful and fevered disturbed. As silently does God's all-powerful word enter the human heart, breaking down all the stubborn prejudices, subduing all the angry passions, and purifying the polluted fountains of sinful life As the warm breezes of the tropics silently wrap them- selves around the wandering iceberg from the arctic ~^m and dissolve it again into the water of the ocean, 162 I \'')^ t lilt' ' t THE METHODIST PULPIT. SO silently does God's word enwrap human hearts and melt them into sweet submission to the Divine will. But we are also taught — III. THE IMMEDIATE RESULT DESIRED FROM THE PRO- CLAMATION OF god's word. "Maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater." Turn to the figure used. The sower prepares the field, scatters the gram, covers it with the soft soil, watches the fall- mg shower, and anticipates his reward. But what is the reward he covets? What is the result for which he has toiled ? The green blade which car- pets the field is not his reward. Beautiful as it may be. It IS m itself valueless. Nor will the strong stalk repay his toil and gladden his heart; it must grow till the full corn in the ear is produced, and the hus- bandman finds in his field the reproduction of the seed sowii before he obtains the object for which he labored. So in the field of the human heart. It is not the pleasant appearance of a well-begun Christian ife, however full of promise it may be, that rewards the Great Sower who has scattered the seed of life in our hearts ; nor is it the fearless profession of devo- tion to Christ, nor the outward obedience to His law but It consists in the reproduction of the same truth m our hearts and lives. Nor is the sower satisfied unless his field yield him an increase. To return naught, is obvious loss of all ; to return the same as sown, means the loss of all the labor and the disap- V )M THE PRO- AN OLD TESTAMENT VIEW of THE GOSPEL 163 pointment of hopes entertained, a^ the unprofitable when there is an increase and development of truth to the Great Husbandman receive ^he retu™ d' muchfruft" Thr ' ^''" «'°"**''' "'»* ^^ ^^^ extension kf I T"^' " "'"''^^■y *° *'' '"'■'he'' extension of the work. Seed is required for other fields, and bread to sustain the toilers employed in rhtrtearlsle"::- T''°' '^'^ ^ in tl,„ l-f , 1 reprodumon of this truth while thus reproduced. Short of this, the husband- man receives not the object of his toil; nor w lUhe Md^eceive the benediction bestowed upon the fruit! But the work is so stupendous, the obstacles in the vay of Its accomplishment so many and so potent he enemies so watchful and untiring, the p™ during past years so slow, and the discouragemenrso numerous that we require special encouragement to cheer our hearts and nerve our arms for th^e conflict GodW not withheld i, for He has given us in tfe IV. THE PLEDGE OP CEETAIK AND PERFECT SUCCESS "So shall My word be that goeth out of My mouth • ha 1 not return unto Me void, but it shall accom-' ph* that which I please, and shall prosper in the thuig whereto I ae-id it." ^ This is a wonderful thn"n-ht h-r j . V ^(.t Here cApressed. As 164 THE METHODIST PULPIT. every drop of the falling shower, every flake of snow m the wild and blinding snowstorm which falls upon the thirsty soil and is lost to human sight, or driven with the hurricane's blast through the wild mountain gorges, still serves its purpose and ultimately returns to the blue heavens in the vapory cloud, so every word of truth is cared for by God and shall accom- plish Its purpose, aiid then return to God's bar to testify as to the result of its errand-whether it has been "savor of life unto life or of death unto death" to him who heard it. No matter when spoken-whether m the dim twilight of the coming gospel day, or in the full bte of the Sun of Righteousness-it fiall go back to God bearing its testimony. No matter where spoken-whether in the stately cathedral, with its luxurious surroundings, to the powerful and refined or in the cave on the mountain side, where the perse- cuted peasant fled to hear the truth under the ban of the law, often hounded to the death by a brutal sol- diery-it is still the same truth, and equally precious m the eye of the Great Sower, who will call it all back to Himself in the final day. No matter by whom spoken-whether by the dignified priest, the simple preacher, the wise philospher, or the dying peasant- martyr-whether spoken with soul-stirring eloquence and convincing force, or with the feeble and tremulous lispmgs of the merest child-the seed is still precious, and shall return unto Him at whose command it was sent forth. But another thought is connected with this return of God's word to Himself. "It shall not ■M AN OLD TESTAMENT VIEW OP THE GOSPEL. 165 return unto Me void » It .hall not return empty of re-ult. It goe. back freighted with eternal coLe quences of weal or woe to those to whom it was tent Ite record there is a perfect and eternal reco^ Ind relates to the everlasting future of human souls lU testimony will be either for or against eveT s„n of ™ None so high that he can eLpe; nonTsolow at he .s exempt. What will it testify concerjn! *hi;. /"^-triir^^^^^^^^ ent ,t. The work of this preached word throuo-h the agency of the Holv Snirit i, .'t„ "™' .'■"™nfl' world of ,in «f • u7 ^ ' *" convince the woild ot sm of righteousness, and of judgment" m-e It has done for us. and our part is to^eent t "in Ifc' 'T- "••''^'^ -""ginfl-nces prltt them m life. and, inspired with a strong faith in Gods word labor on in this great work till God shru "ve r;;y!fttr,"?^^^'''*""'-™''*-'''erinto i ! (N SEEMON XI. THE HOUSE OF GOD. I! REV. J. J. KICE, COBOURG. Assistant Secretary of the General Conference. l^x^y.V''^^' ''' '^^ ^'^''^^'^''' Lord of hoBtsr-Psalm rriHIS is the language of love; and in this brief sen- X tence is forcibly expressed the royal Psalmist's impassioned love for God, through the medium of His recognized abode. And it may be remarked, in pass- ing that wherever love exists, it seeks to make that existence known and understood. It is a principle inherently active and self-asserting ; and, true as the needle to the pole, love's tendency is unerringly and unceasingly in the direction of its object. The pres- ence or possession-as the case may be-of that object IS Its crowning good-the good of its ambition; while absence, or deprivation, is to its subject an unmixed misery. And whether applied to heaven- born or earth-born love, all this is equally true; for love, m operation, is alike in either case. Every-day experience amply proves this position as to natural oatBl"— Psalm THE HOUSE OF GOD. jgy love ; and Seagraves. in his sweet Pilgrim's Sana thus puts the same .dea as to its spiritual ''applieaZ: " Rivers to the ocean run, Nor stay in all their course Fire, ascending, seeks the sun- Both speed them to their source : Ihus a soul, that's born of God, Pants to see His glorious face' • Upwards tends to His abode, To rest in Hia embrace " appear positively repulsive aZ\^ "^^ "^^^ Him wL is th'e ^^ieLr^^^^^^^^ poet, many of us can sa^ to-day : ' ' ""''^ ^^' " \'"f ^^^m^i, rejected, scorned, No beauty they can see. With grace and glory all adorned, ihe loveliest form to me." With so much bv wav of i-«+».^j x- proceed to the di.cusLnof '"*™'^"»*-"'- -« -w I. THE OBJECT. The adjective rendered "amiahlp" /*i, ^ ■ i. , "cgixixiing ot their lonmpv fr.,^„v.j,. ^i . J ^. ,....^„^^3 'oanaan , and ill 168 THE METHODIST PULPIT. which was the centre of religious attraction, and " the glory in the midst of them," for the forty years of their subsequent wilderness sojournings. "Taber- nacles" signifies places of temporary rather than of fixed or permanent abode ; and in this is implied the evanescent, short-lived nature of the race, and all that belongs to sublunary existence. The " tabernacles " of the " Lord of hosts " may, in general terms, be defined as sanctuaries, church edifices, places of worship; buildings dedicated to Jehovah, and set apart ex- clusively for His service. Such an erection, under whatever dispensation, and in every land, has been regarded as and designated the " house of God." And all worshippers, whether of the true God or of idols, have recognized the reasonableness of having such edifices in which to assemble for religious worship, God's ancient Israel, especially, multiplied their syna- gogues so as to have a "house of prayer" within easy reach of all ; while upon their magnificent temple at Jerusalem they cheerfully and liberally bestowed of their means, first to erect and furnish, and afterwards suitably to sustain its ordinances. Under the present dispensation, the "house of God" is a term quite as full of meaning as of old ; and in every land the most exemplary and devout of God's people are found among those who have deepest regard for and most regularly participate in the exercises and ordinances of the sanctuary. And this, too, irrespective of the cost or in- expensiveness of the structure ; for the rude log shanty church of the pioneer backwoodsman is just as much Hi ■(/ THE HOUSE OF GOD. 169 "^ THB SP.CUL S,amnCA»CK 0. T„:s APPELLXnoK It may, however, be objected fbpf P^^ u • present, is, of necessity,' „^^^^^ speak of any particnl«rV.T ^^' ^""^ hence to place. We renlv f W ^? '^"^"^ ^' *""^ ^^ every right and privilege of LI , ! "" '"'^"ngofehed I. harmony .wrtht iet !^ ^™^ ""* ^^"^"^ ^im. which two^r th:ethZrrw'ir:x:.^''?r •;? :rrotif.:irt:?i~-^^^^^^^^^^ our abode with him "+ " V. T^ x "" ^''^ "^^^^ aeetaTi/rrr-^rir^^^^^^^^^ walking in the o-ard.n " I ^ ^^^*^ ^od, 8 line garden, as evidently a dailv F^ • experience in the original estatP J / ^ "^^""'^ "Enoch walked with lod » 'Ind God f' P™*^'' --—___ '^^d ^^^*^ unto Noah, *Exo. XX. 24. tMatt. x^iii. 20. I I XIV. ]2 Cor. 170 THE METHODIST PULPIT. it the end of all flesh is come before Me, . . but with thee will I establish My covenant . . Make thee an ark of gopher wood . . and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, ana thy wife, and thy sons wives with them." We read also that "the Lord appeared to Abraham, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God," and all the pious patriarchs were similarly blessed, for the brief record is remarkably full of proof texts, as of Moses at " the bnckvide of the desert," by Horeb; and the child Samuel as, aroused from his slumbers, he listens to what God audibly de- clares concerning Eli's sinning sons ; and all the pro- phets had such special manifestations, and, under the Divine afilatus, t^Leee " holy men of God spake as they were moved hy f l,e Holy Ghost." Of course, when "the Word was ii;a(i<.» Hesh and dwelt among men," this unique manifestation of the Deity was beheld alike by all among whom "He went about doing good;" but even in the incarnate Logos the saints had special rights and privileges— He was to them what He was not to the world. Having, however, ascended up on high, ;ain this special and exclusive right of God's people is more clearly seen, and the indwelling of "the Comforter" becomes the birthright experience of every child of God. The rights of individual believers in this respect become also the right of the sacra- mental host ; and in this way is fulfilled the promise, " Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world "—furnishing thus the possibility and the pledge of the ultimate accomplishment of the Saviour's mis- THE HOUSE OF QOD. 171 ,viour s mis- sion to mankind It i., .scarcely necessary to add that - the Gospel dispensation excels in glor/all other ,t ZoT ""t "-''ir " •'^'"'™'- -^- ^^ pensation, ,.s at once the most glorious and tann to the t uly p.ous. I„ the appointed pilgrimaee the temple ,u Jerusalem, we find that thfw^aJv journeys forgotten in the anticipated good rfal ength "appearing in Zion before fforf." and s, the l;!" r°r' ""'"> ^^^^ »"" -enastlng .oy "pon their h, ads : they shall obtain joy and gladnesf and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" And when' .n the days of Kzra, the foundation of ththouse of he Lord wa, laid, it wa,, sa,a they "wept w" ha loud vo.ce and many si outed aloud for joy-Io the people could not discern the noise of the shout f o^ from the no.se of the weeping of the people for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was ^eard afaroft.-' The delightsof Israel's svv ee I"" presented : I was glad when they said unto me. Let IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I £ U£ 12.0 25 2.2 IL25 1 1.4 m 1.6 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (7)6) 872-4S03 A :/. fV ^v A ^ ■^ M \ :\ b A „*■ ^%<^ ..^ ^^. '/. 172 THE METHODIST PULPIT. I' > US go up unto the house of the Lord ;" " For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand ;" "I had rather be a doorkeeper {Le., occupy a place at the threshhold) in the house of my God than to dwell within the tents of wickedness." And what, in this respect, was true of old, is equally so to-day. Those who drink most deeply into the Divine mind, and are most devout as worshippers and exemplary as Christians, are most regular and frequent attendants upon sanctuary exer- cises and ordinances, and deprivation of these privi- leges is counted as heaviest calamity. The language of every pious soul, at least in spirit, is — *' Not the fair palaces To which tlio great resort Are once to be compared with these Where Jesus holds His court. Give me, Lord, a place Witliin Thy blest abode, Among the children of Thy grace, Tiie servants of my God. " And Jehovah's special presence with His people alone accounts for this universally-expressed delight in God's house. 2. As essential to faith, faithfulness, and success.— It was a great truth expressed by Jesus to His dis- ciples, " Without Me ye can do nothing." How fully the Lawgiver of Israel realized this, is clearly indicated in his earnest pleadings with God to reverse His avowed purpose of withdi-awal from His greatly- sinning people. It is true that His angel was still to accompany them ; but Moses knew that nothing less THE HOUSE OF GOD. 173 than the presence of the King Himself would do and so he prays : "If Thy presence go not with me. carry us not up hence." Such powerful intercession is not in vain, for at length Jehovah assures His faithful servant: "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give you rest." Again, at the dedication of Solomon's temple, the pious potentate personally presents to Israel's God that magnificent offering of His people, and begs for its acceptance at their hands. For seven long years he had incited his subjects to liberality, and m. every way had helped forward the structure to completion. And now, in wondering admiration of his surroundings, he gratefully acknowledges " the great hand of their God upon them " in the matter, and feels that only one crowning good is needed to make his joy complete-it is the manifestation of the Divme Presence with His people. For this he prays ; but, seemingly shocked at the presumptuous aspiration entertained, he exclaims : " Will God indeed dwell on the earth ? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee, how much less this house that I have builded?" Still, confident that nothina else can supply the lack of this, he prays; and pre" sently the prayer is answered, for the record reads, Ihe glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord •" and from that time forward, while the Hebrew.^ re- mained faithful to God, His presence with His people was their joy ; as, in answer to their supplications. He maintained their cause, and no weapon formed a^^ainst them prevailed. 174 THE METHODISl PULPIT. i I Under the present dispensation, the disciples were actually forbidden to begin their ministry after the ascension of their Lord, until first "endued with power from on high." That word of prohibition is explained in the second chapter of the Acts, where it IS declared that, after a ten days' protracted meeting, "suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." And then, as the astonished multitude rushed m to examine into this strange phenomenon, forth- with these men, whose hearts the Lord had touched gave utterance with "tongue of fire," to gospel truth' and, with the power of the Holy Ghost accompanying, mighty results are immediately reached, for « the sanTe day there were added unto them about three thou- sand souls." In the early centuries of the Christian Church, and so long as it leaned alone upon this ■ divine qualification, its operations were attended with unvarying and wonderful success, their fidelity to God was unshaken by even the tortures and martyrdoms sanctioned by and instigated under Nero and Domi tian ; and their faith was mighty through God, " to the pulling down of strongholds." And all down through the ages, whenever, and wherever, and by whomsoever God's work has been done in God's own way, and in humble reliance upon His presence and powe<, it has been attended with like results. Lack of success has only followed a condition of backslic^ THE HOUSE OB' GOD. 175 ing and apostasy, in which the query first arose, '■ Is the Lord amongst us or not ? » and then, instead of re- turning a^d doin-- her first works, the Church has wickedly departed still further fi-om her God. and ffrieved His Spirit so a^ to drive Him from her. Then It has appeared how utterly futile are all human advantages in evangelistic endeavor, whore God's special presence ^nd power are wanting, and that how- ever patronized and petted by the State or mi<.htv ones oi earth, and with all the supplemented aids of hnished education, prelatical ordination, and the authority of an organized system claiming prero-a- ives as exclusively the Church of God, the declaratfon of old, uttered under similar circumstances, is of uni- versa and eternal application, « I have not sent them, therefore they shall not profit My people at all." ^ method IS a. preached gospel to mankind, ard ^ with the power from on high accompanyino- alone can meet and correct the world's great want, be- cause It only has Divine sanction. Priestcraft finds no countenance in the Great Commission, and by it nor by any other substitute, can gospel preaching ever be successfully supplanted. And since a Divine Com- mission ,s essential to success, there is more th.n mere form of words in the question asked by our Church of every candidate for ordination, "Do you think in heart that you are truly called, according to Iti'er r '" '"" '^'"^'' '' *'^ ^«^- ^' - In conclusion, permit me to ask what is "God's .s"* 176 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ■ii;. |l;S: i house " to you ? Is it amiable, beloved, superlatively attractive ? Then, if your hearts be right with God this must be so only as the result of God here mani-' testing Himself to your waiting souls. Here, engaged m holy exercises or participating in the appointed or- dinances, these prove to you a benison. Here, waitincr upon God, you renew your spiritual strength ; by meant ot « the word," you are established and built up in your most holy faith; and, with perfect confidence in the appointed means, you here pray, and believe that God will make bare His arm in the salvation of pre- cious souls. The chief source of joy to you under such circumstances is, as was realized and expressed by the dying Wesley, that "God is with us "-God, in His sm-pardoning and soul-sacrificing power- God filling your souls with celestial joy, and peace, and love. In such a frame the "house of God" will be a blessed reality-there will be Holy Ghost praying Holy Ghost singing, Holy Ghost Bible reading and ex- position, Holy Ghost teaching and preaching, and with these the "shout of the King in the camp" IS sure, and that shout will be the signal of liberty for the captive soul-the powers of darkness foiled, and victory on Israel's side. Under such divine power in the sanctuary, the sinner must either run or yield Methodism has wondrously reproduced this apostolic simplicity, and faith, and zeal, and power, and to our common Methodism, to as great an extent at least as to Christians of any other name, the sanctuary has proved the house of God. In proportion as we perpetuate the ■■)■,: I superlatively ;ht with God, )d here mani- 3ere, engaged appointed or- Here, waiting jth ; by means I built up in uonfidence in ^ believe that 'ation of pre- ) you under expressed by is" — God, in power; God, d peace, and rod" will be tiost praying, ^« -«d Primi- lln ^.J '"r^' ^" ^^"'^^"^ «°"^«' ^"d. in exact ratio with this, will be the measure of our joy in the lion be- ' ^'''^''''^^ '^^'' ^'' °"r earnest a.pira- Haste again those days of grace, When assembled in our place, Signs and wonders marked the hour • All were filled and spoke with power ; Hands uplifted, eyes o'erflowed ; Hearts enlarged, self destroyed : All things common now will prove, All our common stock be love." Then, indeed will the language of our text be the language of us all, " How amiable are Thy tabemachs Lord of hosts!" Soletitbe! Amen p I ::': :■■ i ' SEKMON XII. THE LIMITS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT. BY REV. J. BURWASH, M.A., CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but thos. things whicli are revealed belong unto us and to our children foi ever, that we may do all the words of this law."— Z^ew^. xxix. 25. " TTE shall be as gods knowing good and evil," was J- the form of the first temptation. Moral ruin was the result of yielding to it. The first story of history is often repeated— moral ruin comes from the attempt to seek after forbidden knowledge. There are bounds to our knowledge, and there are bounds to our investigation. The disregard of this fact is sure to result in disaster. No subject is more practical than the one before us. For among the transgressors are all ranks of intellect and all grades of scholarship. Not only the speculative thinker by profession, the man of books and theories, is in danger ; but the staid and prosaic man of business, with his bonds, and stocks, and market quotations. How many risk their eternal destiny on some plausibly-put cavil, which had its origin in unwarrantable and sinful speculations about problems whose solution is unattainable! There ' <\ I THE LIMITS OP KELIQIOUS THOUGHT. 179 on this forbidden ground. All grades of culture and ;:: s .^'':/-"^«^-^^-«^ together m : 1:1. ne.s which IS the result of their entering on the for- All objects of knowledg,,, with reference to our never find out by ourselves, because it lies beyond our means of acquiring knowledge. The first is the pro vmce of ™an the province of science ; the oth r is the CT ^'w'r'' ■" ''' •" ^^O »- willed to Iv TW Tf ''"' '"' "^ ''"^ -' -™«ned to- day^ The text does not in any manner refer to it. I need not pomt out that secret here moans, not merely unknown, but that which cannot be known. It is pt .^^the contra, to ■' the revealed,"-that is, God's pro- vmce the undiscoverable, is divided intK> two divisions kep tto Z ,7 r*™'*' "'^ ^""'^ -hich He has kept to Himself ; the revealed, which, though undis- coverable by us. He has chosen to make known Tl s passage ha. been taken to mean that the unknown tacts of nature are forbidden to human inquiry I perceive the wind blow, but I am nr.t t„ 1- «,!,««„„ -i ,. T "'" *° question Whence it cometh and whither it goeth. I see the -iging to the wall, but I am not to peer too nto the laws of its life and growth. I see byssop I , cur 180 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ill H l the lightning flash across the sky. but I am not to try and discover its nature, nor rashly ask the secret of it. power, 'lliis was the error of the early ecclesiastici.sm m Its blind and foolish opposition to scientific research Ihis and other Scriptures were wrested, if not to the total destruction, at least to the grievous injury of truth. Modern thought is still suffering from the effects of the violent rebound from restrictions so un- reasonable and unnatural. The world is ours, with all It contains ; the plant, the wind, the lightning. God has given " the earth to the children of men." He gives us senses to acquire knowledge ; reason to collate and compare the facts of sense ; a faith that the revela- tions of sense are facts; and with this equipment of sense, and faith and reason, I go out into this world of wonders to make it my own. I examine the structure ot the plant, and determine the laws of its life I telegraph to the west and find out whence the wind Cometh ; and then to the east, and find out whither it goeth. I watch the storm play over the face of the continent, and get new ideas of the wisdom, goodness and power of Him who " holds the winds in His fists and the waters in the hollow of His hand" God made this world and filled it with exquisite beauties and harmonies ; does it not seem wrong if the only being He made capable of appreciating them should disregard them? I never examine the most insignifi- cant flower but I think, What am I that I should not think It worth while to study a beauty which God thought it worth while to create ? I^i THE LIMITS OF BELIOIOUS THOLOHT. 181 B„t thoagh wc claim the realm of sen,e a, the pro- •incoo „,„„, a„,l therefore not included in thc^or- buiden .secret thing,," ,ve are far from asserting that every ohject of sense is an object of absolute knoJelte Our senses are very far from telling „s all ah", the ...est famdiar objects. Of no one thing in the universe «n we say, " I know all about it." WhatTeTv. .aid about his little •• Hower out of the In ilrw'a " c uld be said about every grain of sand, of every dr' o"w that g1' 1 '""" '' """ '» ""'■■ ■■- »•>' ' know what God and man is." Absolute knowledge of any one thmg would imply absolute knowled™ of every hmg, ^„^ ^^^^ .^ ^^ ^^^ ed^c of knowledge leads to an outer darkness ot mystery the prudent man stops at the boundary, but "the' Zf P"", °". ""•' "^-^ punished" HowVun ,hed With moral ruin and disaster. "For such result ■■ aaysoneof the greatest of modern scienl^ts. - ml 1 a:rrvera7:h ' ,r"' '""''"^^"'='' i-agines that h ,1 Ju.t ' ""'""'"' ^"'""fl" basis of things ■" nected with the objects of sense. To know all is of Ood alone. Thus it is that so many scientific investi n'" "wT'"r '" '"' '" ">^' heart -rrL no God When they came to the boundaries of dis- overable fact they did not stop; but, dropping the nueroscope and the scalpel, they plunged w^fdly into the enchanted ground of speculative theory "Thev r:t-;*rrhLr;''^'"-^-«^^^ or tneir rashness ; for even in connection with li IP hi i M 182 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the commonest objecta of nature there are " secret things that belong unto the Lord our God." But more especially do we believe the caution .,f the text to bo directed against unwarrantable .spocu- ations concerning that great region about which scn.s,. has nothing to reveal— the spiritual. There are qucs- tions which must arise in every thoughtful mind concerning man's origin, relations to the unseen, an.l eternal destiny. The assertion of 'the text we take to be, that the only answers to these questionings which It is lawful to seek are tc be found in the Revelation given us by our Maker. Especially do I believe its caution to be directed against wild speculation con- cerning the being and moral government of God. It has been revealed that there is a God ; but, in the very nature of the case, there must be much in the being Jf the Infinite and Eternal that the finite mind cannot know. Man's lips lisp the word infinite ; but who can comprehend "the fulness of Him who filleth all in all ?" Man's thoughts may wander through eternity, but they cannot reach back to the "from everlasting"' We say there is a God. What does ^Aa< mean ? It means to the child a great and good Man who lives above the sky. It means to the unlettered a great Spirit who has a supreme power, and will reward and punish. It means to the sage of many years and many thoughts, the Cause of all causes, the Principle of all principles, the final Reason of all that is. Though Revelation has declared God, the very reve- lations have multiplied the mysteries of His beina. THf; umrS OF REJJGIOUS THOUOHT. 183 The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ! Ono God f Tu.e persons! How are they Lee? How if He one J How are they related ? How are they distinct' Stay r«,,, enquirer. This is not the place for fho cuHous ah. We ask no further; we reason no n.oro ■ hu fall on our knees exclaiming: ' Almiylity God, to Thee Be endless honors done ; The undivided Three And the mysteriouj, One— When reason fails with all her powers, Then faith prevails and love adores. How could a holy God make a bein» mTi.fu possible for him to think of evil to%!r ™ Make, to seduce othe. i^o^tn; f 'Hrts t ™"arewrok„rr''''''T*'*'' ^S^' «»»""»-«"■ n„ a new role of beings and involvinff them in (h. same estate of sin and misery ' Whv whi • .-owed to enter the world, ^as itTuLw V^eaT d-sease and pain, that affect alike the innocent in&nt 'I 1 i1 'i Ih U 184 THE METHODIST PULPIT. and the hoary profligate ? Why, when the Saviour for sin was provided, did the world have to wait so long for His coming ? Why did those royal hearts, of whom the world was not worthy, go down to the grave mourning over the world's wickedness and woes ? Century after century, why did He bury so many workmen before He opened up the fulness of the work ? What a power Daniel would be with the printing-press and telegraph! What a tower of strength Ezekiel or Isaiah would bs in our pulpits or on our platforms ! Stop ! Stop ! There are many things in the government of the world which make the goodness of God a puzzle; but what a horrible puzzle a malignant God would be ! 0, to think of the Supreme as delighting in torture ! Of His having us sentient beings in His giant grasp, ana He malignant! We cannot endure the thought one moment. But who dare question the goodness of His nature or gov- ernment ? Why, the very cyclone would stop in its wild course to rebuke such audacity, and, in the voice that spake to the patriarch, thunder out, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" It would almost seem as if such impiety would arrest the very light in its swift course to the outermost bounds of shoreless space and bring out the enquiry, " Hast Thou commanded the morning since Thy days, or caused the dayspring to know his place ?" " Where is the way where light dwelleth, or darkness; where is the place thereof ?" Do not meddle with the secret things that belong unto the Lord our God. I I THE LIMITS or RELIGIOUS THOUGHT. 185 -Those things that are revealed belong unto us and to our ch.dren." All the undiseoverable is no the unknowable, as the agnostics would fain assert. Thing' wh,ch we could never discover for ourselves have been revealed. This very aoul-thirst after knowledge of things beyond the realm of sense argues the neces! sity a revelation. Like every other faculty of the soul, It ought to have the legitimate field for fts e.er! TT •* "**«™«»t takes up a fish from the green depths of the ocean and finds it has eyTs he concludes that hundreds of fathoms beneath the surface where that animal had its home, there is light uo light for the eye. So this very desire to know the .°T:Kr:w ' '"^^ "^^ '^^" * revelation; Tere IS light for tta^ eye. "Granted," says one ot the abtet of modeni skeptics, "that man has an immorta ofa rev W "t'"f' "f y"" »"«^t grant the necessity of a revelation As there is light for the eye, sound or the ear, pleasant flavor for the taste, so for this mmortal soul-hunger there is a satisfyiig port „^ Those things which are revealed do befong unto us and to our children." ^ Blessed Bible; our confidence in it, our delight in we wlnt'T" r *'' r " «" "y- Here we fi'nd all we want. Though much is hidden, though there is gratify a foolish curiosity, yet all has been revealed hat IS nocessaiy to life and godliness. I turn to-day towards the earliest memories of childhood and recaU » t ' I i> 186 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the first experience of conscious existence. This is what I see in the mists of the past: A dark and stormy winter's night, the snow sifting against the wmdow panes, the melancholy howling of the wind give my young mind ideas of the operation of powers I cannot understand. The bright fire blazes on the hearth. Father and mother and friends are there I remember going with childish curiosity and opening the door. Cold, darkness, mystery were there, that filled me with a shuddering sense of awe and fear. It was a world I did not understand, and I remember the dread that seized my young heart. But I remember too, the feeling of gratitude, and comfort, and confi- dence with which I closed the door and turned bacK to the warmth and light and loving faces within. Brethren, my world has widened since ; but that infant memory tells my experience still. On every side there IS darkness and mystery, and the operation of micrhty powers of which I know but little. I peer curio^usly mto them sometimes, but my heart grows cold, and I shudder with fear at the awful mystery that surrounds my life ; but I do not go out to stay in the cold, hut turn back with gratitude to the warmth and light of this revelation, and my only wish is to abide forever with deep content in the light and love of my Father's homo. Revelation is my home. What care I for tlie darkness and mystery without ? All I want is there. Though much has been hidden, yet all the soul requires for its highest needs has been revealed. The mystery of the Trinity is hidden, but the Fatherhood of God I,, tl THE LIMITS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT. 187 the salvation from sm is revealed. The explanation revealed the glorious certainty that the "Lord God wi give grace and glory, and no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." That we may do all the words of this law." Re. vdation ,s made for the purpose of practical life, i^, truth IS not conveyed to us in the form of abstruse ST' ^"Tf""- '"' °' P'-" directions ?: ■ving. A gram of wheat has, wrapped up in its little ompass, many mysteries, We don^ know the my on these. We don't know all about the phi osopL of hfe but we do know that if we put it in the ground will grow, and wo don't wait till we know all the mjster.es of growth before we plant the seed. What a my.,te.y it is, that the little green blade should an ipenif::f 1' ';7" "'"> ' *>'''' "y^'-- - '"» S n ^ t" ■""" '" ^^^ ""'■' ^hat mysteries n the nourishment it afterwards affords my body as I.e lit le life-builders take from it in one plac tone another brain i„ another muscle ! I do not stop t^ olve the mysteries before I eat my food, but I act on the knowledge I have, and the little grain does no" make any whit the less brain, bone or muscle, be cause cannot ,„,,, ^^^ „,^^^^.^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ . . n he government of God, mysteries in sin, mysteries n the atonement, but we have the practical knJwled.e that there is a God. there is a Saviour, there is for..ive- JittI PRi f 188 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ness with Him that He may be sought unto. We act on this, we are forgiven, and the freedom from sin is not the less blessed that we do not know all about the mysteries of our spiritual life. Yes, the gospel has been such a powe:- in the world because it taught men to " do " and not to speculate. Why, these dreamers, these speculators have been at their unprofitable trade ever since the days of Job and his friends, and they are no farther advanced than they were then in the knowledge of these "secret things." What intellectual giants those philosophers were, but they did nothing for the world, while a few fishermen of Judea went out preaching a few plain practical truths that the veriest child can understand and began a work that will never cease till it has re- generated the human race. The truest philosophy of life is not found in philosophy, but in faith— faith in the Supreme and in the great truths of living which He has revealed to us. The books of nature apart from revelation can only bring despair; we are puz- zled and confounded, but we are not helped or com- forted in spirit by the majesty of the material uni- verse. I have sometimes gone out and gazed into the infinite blue above till a sense of oppression came upon me. " The universe is so great, so vast, and I so insignificant, the creation of a day, an atom in this little world ; and then, worse than my littleness, my vileness, my sin ! What is the Maker of these worlds the owner of this wealth of worlds, that He should notice me in my unworthy life ! Are not the agnostics into. We act m from sin is all about the ■ in the world to speculate, have been at ^s of Job and Ivanced than bhese "secret philosophers , while a few a few plain I understand, ill it has re- )hilosophy of ith — faith in living which lature apart we are puz- iped or com- naterial uni- ized into the ession came ast, and I so itom in this ttleness, my hese worlds, He should he agnostics THE UMITS OF RELIOIOUS THOUaHT. 189 Jje. affect ».e i-^^ nl^l^^lZ^ ^Z toward them that fear Him " " Aff .? """"'^ IS the measure of the grace. grandeur '^ \ Lf SERMON XIII. HOLINESS NECESSARY AND POSSIBLE. BY REV. LOUIS N. BEAUDRY, P^-^ttur, Premier Eglise Methodiste Francaise, No. 1, St. Elizabeth, Montreal. "Be ye holy, for I am holy."— 1 Peter i. 16. •mHEN God created the heaven and the earth He n made them a counterpart of Himself, the per- fect garb of His own thoughts. He said to them Be perfect, for I am perfect;" "and God saw every-' thmg that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. Thus, m the tiniest blade of grass or flower up to the loftiest oak or pine, in all their stems, leaves and fruits, or seeds, also in bubbling springs and bab- bling brooks, in majestic rivers and the melancholy waste of ocean, in clouds and storm, in sunshine and m shade ; yea, indeed, in all that God has made, are seen tracings of His own divine perfection. And thus if upon the lower creation, that is, upon the material, God has written His law of perfection why should it be called in question whether God can' m the regeneration, produce a perfect race, as a holy people ? ^ 1, St. Elizabeth, HOLINESS NECESSARY AND POSSIBLE. 191 Vr^Zl'^^t ''' r"^^^^^^ P-P-^-- Will be presented and discussed in this connection :- I. The necessity of holiness. TTT T'^ possibility of holiness. ni. How to obtain the blessino- We will discuss our first propositi, namely : I. THE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS, UNDER A TRIPLE ASPECT. (1) As it relates to ourselves Tl.,-. i our nlre It ha. 2fil'? T«'' '''^ •^'^'^ ■" * ' Break off the yoke of inbred sin And fully set my spirit free- ' I cannot rest till pure within, Till I am wholly lost in Thee. " (2) Our relations to our fellows rmni.. *i.' ^ . grace a necessity. As Chris{knTl ' '^''*' '^ i^oiUr ..r.;i. A • '-'nnstians, we cannot be ner- -s rtiscples without being wholly .anctified, or 192 THE METHODIST PULPIT. made free from sin. All scriptural teachin^r presents purity of heart as the prerequisite to fraternal unity. The Master Himself, taught that we must love God with all the heart and soul, that is, be holy, and then we might love our neighbor as ourself. In the context our apostle presents the same thought: " Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure hej rt fervently." When sin ceases in an individual, all his faculties blend like pure spray that forms the dewdrop; and a number of such cleansed individuals will unite as readily as would the sparkling dewdrops if brought together, and their song would be : "Distinct as the waves, but one as the sea." It is only when thus saved that each individual and the united Church can be really useful. Then "she looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." "And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them' Thou in Me, that they may he made perfect in one, and that the ivorld may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me." Just in proportion to the nearness of a Christian's heart to Christ, will be his ability to get near the sin- ner s heart, that he may draw him to goodness and to God. (3) Our relations to Ood make this state of holiness iii bin^ preHcnts iternal unity, ust love God oly, and tlu'ii n the context Being ye liave through the 1, see that ye Ltly." his faculties ^drop ; and a ^ill unite as s if brought sa." idualandthe ' she looketh slear as the ers." "And jiven them; B, I in them, in one, and mi Me, and < Christian's ear the sin- Iness and to of holiness HOLINESS NECESSARY AND POSSIBLE. 193 ru^^ary. .'Be ye holy, for I am holy." This i, „o •rbitrary requirement. It i, base,I ,,„n„ .7 Mture of God and „„r mutual rdiofsLS " .oe God. On^hflhat ^:^ ^Z^^l rdt^:ir;rat'"';^ttr/^r"- every defileH n„ ^^^ ^^"^^^^ economy ex:;^detrmr™Xer:r;rtT"''"''r"' God in Rio 7 "^"egc 01 a right to draw n gh to uroa in Jlis solemn worshin in +i,„ i. b ' "" impurity of ih^ ^^^^s^'P' 'n the new dispensation excarlWlZlUftd r T'' onfworri K^i- . *'""^*''''P 0* <^od. Inward and sp^s2^Th"''^^^^^ ^h-^-n • aispensation. This is the primal thought which «, Bishop Foster says, "breather in *k v • ' am in the w, Lmttn.; ^X™' ^rk,?,".!;; WstThe' -"""'^ '" '"^ ■™"^' 'p-ta -The'S;e: fn ti Dirt rrrYr''""'^''"8'"'g»'''»<' ''™ in the spirit of the whole scheme from its aloha. f„ it. omega, from its begim,i„g to its end." ^ ' n. THE POSSIBILITV OF HOLINESS. The general argument in support of the po.,sibilitv P ine^ir°' r f "'' '^ '°'"°'' » ■'' ""^^^ Tht prmcple is clearly discoverable in all the works of wr Mr, and God has enveloped our globe with 1 "old how amply Its golden beams flood the earth ! *S.i(J iU ll(^ 'i lir IP h 194 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Our growing and decaying bodies demand food • and bring forth and bud, that she may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater." Nature admits of no vacuum. Is there an achin, void within that the world can never fill ? You need only to hold your open cup under God's pourin. Niagara and it will soon be filled. Our yearnLs fo°r spiritual blessings are inspirations of the Holy Ghost The want felt and the prayer offered are a sur^e pled of a blessing. Cause and effect follow each other trt:^ti;':/" ^'^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^°^- ^--dbutte:: "Ask but His grace, and, lot 'ti, given, Ask, and He turns your hell to heaven " H the blessing sought seems too great for our faith IS' '""^"^ ^ encouraged by loolcing at thi, ™, r r tT"" '? * '"""'^''"'^ *«■»■ f™-" which ftal,„ • .,"""'' '"""y "P"" ">* -J"^'' 0° which t also seems to live But by-and-bye there comes a transformation. The apparently wretched creature mes to newness of life and becomes the gorgeous butterfly whose ei^istence is really too poetlcafand ethereal to seem natural. Oh ! if in the ordinary pro- cess of nature we behold such marvels, let us no longer doubt .he wonders of Divine grace, its transformL power upon the souls and lives of men Interesting as may be the illustrations drawn fro™ nature, as Christians we may say: "But we turn to the more sure word of prophecy." ■ Vf HOLINESS NECesAKV AND POSSIBLE. 195 "Called to be "irrr" '",' ""'•' ''°""-'-" canonical epi.tle, T„ t.K ?"™"^ '"""=' '" ">» which hath' ■ yo„ t'Xl r '■" ^ ?,"' "^ "^ mnnor of conversation!" ^' ^' ''"'^ '" "" " "'*" " °« ««"in8'« glorious hope »ut inward holiness? For this to Jesus I looli up, I calmly wait tor this." -h »e ana I .HaU hi wh^irthlntno^^ tC: v^reate in me a clean heart O r„j 1 right spiri. within me" Pa^l *„ !^ T"^ f"'^ » Thessalonica writes • " An,.^ *''" '"•'""■™ »' -nctify you who%; atdVtrid '" "' "^ frit, and soul, andVodrbe pr'^^^^fved b/T '"^°^' fte coming of our Lord feurcTnst ■ ^ "^ ""*° courage them in the feasibilitv nf 1 , ' " '"• he adds: "Faithf,,! i! b ?^ ""' S'"™"' worlt, will do it." " ^^ """ «'"^* yo". who also ■■Tl'lh^alfefrffis^t:^ ^t~''' »«»»—«. His people flm b^rsi: T ' Wh ' '"' ^^.^'>'^' -™ us, that He mic'it r«l.l . ^""^ ^™^^'f fof P^rifyuntoHtaselfan? T *'""' *" '"'"'""y. ""d 'he uttermost that come it at brHim '^'". '" HeeverHveth to make intercession f!r tW' """' 196 We METHODIST PULPIT. (4) It is clearly revealed to he the will of God. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctiHcation." 'And be not conformed to this world ; but be ye transforiuod by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." " He wills that I HhouKl lioly be ! What cim withhold His will ? The counsel of His grace in me He surely will fulfil." (5) It is the oft-repeated promise of God. To His antsi nt people He promised to circumcise their heart and the heart of their seed, to love the Lord with all their heart. Through Ezekiel He said: "Then will f sprinkle clear water upon you, and ye shall be clean." John says: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." " Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." And Peter adds : " Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises ; that by these ye nmy he partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Wonderful as are the depth and scope of thele words, let us remember that " all the promises of God in Christ are yea, and in Him amen unto the glorv of God by us." ^ ^ We can venture t. -,■>., or'y another encourage- ment, namelv, (6) It is the convmand o/ God to HU people. To us ¥ h H'.l.mRSS NECESSARY AND ,TOs„„,K. ,97 H.crio.,: " Sanctify youraHvo, an.U.,, yo holy " -v. *» I ,0 oly for I, the Loru your G„J, L, hofy " •■ Bo y<- l."ly, for r nn, holy" He „„„„„( co,„ma„7„, ,. "..po.,,,b e. Th«t wn„l,, ,« eruol mooko y ' 1;,' coimnandments aru not urovio,,, •• m ■^nx"'-'' .«m,. extent, tho denth ftZ , "'" ""'■ '" exclamation '■ S hat til h M^, '" "'» P"'P'""« commandments, then had thvnt ''?*'="«'"' "'^ and Hiv r-^i.+ ^ P®*^® ^«en as a river and thy r.gl.teousne.ss as the waves of the sea " on, remain, a hrief statement Of our ir;::;o3U^^^^ m. HOW TO OBTAIN THE BlESSINa. -"i:5;;rti^rt\^^-r,Lr»'-^ His train filled the temple" "^ ' ™'' the true •^y^^^^r^^iT:^^^^:':^''''''' "Above it stood the s Zh m e^h T. «ngs; with twain he covertd h^ f J T- '""' '''^ he covered his feet, and^i;:' w if h?dt";;f 'Th" one cried unto another and said ■ H„L u , ^^ ^"^ if I Pi II .! f u llh w 198 THE METHODIST PULPIT. (3) Then he was led to look at his own defilement and to bewail it before the Lord. " Then said I, Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (4) While he thus humbled himself, bewailed and confessed his inward depravity, confessed his vileness, and longed for deliverance, he doubtless trusted God to do this mighty work within him, for he adds : " Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal (symbol of the Holy Ghost) in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (5) With his faculties all harmonized and made sensitive to the Divine voice and touch, he was soon called upon to confess and to make use of the great blessing he had received. " Also, I heard the voice of the Lord God, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? Then said I, Here am I ; send me." This was a blessed preparation for and call to the ministry of the word. May it be the happy experi- ence of thousands ! " Now let me gaia perfection's height. Now let me into nothing fall, As less than nothing in Thy sight, And feel that Christ is all in all. " mm deJUement SERMON XIV. OUR FATHER'S GOOD THINGS. BBV. OBASWICK JOST, *.M., BRIDOETOWN, K.S. "If ye then, being evil, ]„,„„ t,„„ j^ , children : how mucli more sh.llv™,r I , „. * °"'° ^°"'' Spirit to them that Ju^^^lZhTrS' ""' "" "°'^ JIHE chapter before ua opens by saying that Jesus i was praying in a certain place." I„ other words. He was engaged in private prayer, either 7^ the presence of His disciples, or in some re ired pUe This IS not the first occasion upon which the dis- .ples knew their Master to be employed in the hd lowed exercise of private prayer They knew that He had spent in prayer the whole ^ the night immediately preceding the day on which He had selected the twelve out of the largL company of His followers. They knew, also, that iis obiecHn « up to the mountain where He wa« transfigured was to pray. And there were, no doubt, other ocl 21 ™Tf '^ '° '^^ ''"■"P* "h^" the^ knew Z ^ be imilarly occupied in sweet communfon with h" I.' j 1 I.- ^ fi i: 200 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Now, you have sometimes seen good men engaged in prayer, who, when they have risen from their knees, have borne in their countenances and manner the pleasing evidences of the blessedness of prayer. For just as a person who remains for a time in a con- servatory, the atmosphere of which is laden with the perfume of many flowers, bears away with him when he comes out some of that perfume upon his person, so they who habitually hold communion with God, bear with them among their fellow-men the glory of the Divine presence. In the case of Jesus the God-man, the communion was perfect, and the outward evidences of it were dis- tinct and clear. It was while He was praying, on the mount of transfiguration, that " the fashion of His countenance was altered," so that His face shone as the sun. And something which taught the same lesson, that the Father heard and answered the prayers of the Son, was manifest whenever Jesus was engaged in prayer. His very look and mien told of the praise and joy which reigned within, in answer to His trust- ful, earnest, supplication. The disciples were thereby led to feel that there is a meaning and a power in prayer which they did not fully comprehend. They knew that the secret was with Him, and they were anxious to discover it. They wanted to be taught to pray so that they also might prevail with God, and be rewarded with the same peaceful answers. When, therefore, He ceased pray- ing, one of them approached Him with the request, OUR FATHER'S GOOD THINGS. 201 ciples. _ And in response Jesus discoursed to them ready ,ajd to them in the Sermon on the Mount tirst. He repeate.! "the Lord's Pmver" ♦!,.. «u.Iy comprohe„..e epitome ofTuln^^ntrrd P.OUS a.p.ratio,s. Then, by the parable of the man importunity inUer, ^TL''1:Z1Z t^ tme prayer :s always answered. It may „o "e an swered directly but if nnf !* -n i directlv Tf fv'iT ? ' "^''^ '"' 'ins^'ered in- mrectly. It God does not grant the thino- asked for .; . beeause His superior wisdom sees tha't I'l^ be ,s better and more needed, and then He '-estowf 1 better and more needed thing. Notice how em pat.c and unqualified the words are in which He de- clares the Messed fact that true prayer is always an >Ul find, knock and it ,kaU be opened unto you Fo ever,j one that asketh receiveth,and he that seekrth finc.th and to him that knocketh it skall be opened " And, finally, He taught them to confide in God as better and more generous towards those who seek h" ace than earthly parents are towards their own « no Qod, ugamst Pantheism, which teaches that God f t ri I h il :' ! 202 THE METHODIST PULPIT. is not a person, but identical with nature ; against Epicurism, which teaches that God cares nothing for Bis creatures ; against Polytheism, which teaches that there are many gods, Jesus teaches that our one God is a tender and generous parent, who knows our wants and listens to our prayers." " If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ? Or if he ask an egg, will he oflTer him a scorpion ? " Will a human father mock or trifle with a hungry son by offering to him something which may bear some outward resem- blance to that for which he asks, but which may be hurtful to him, and, at any rate, cannot satisfy his needs ? " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" Or, as we read in the parallel passage in Matthew's Gospel, "How much more shall your heavenly Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask Him ?" I. WE WILL FIRST NOTICE THE RELATION WHICH JESUS REPRESENTS GOD AS SUSTAINING TO MAN, THE RE- LATION OF " FATHER," "YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER." Under the Mosaic dispensation this relationship of God to man, in some of its aspects, was not unknown. Isaiah, in an earnest prayer to God, in which he en- treats Him to look down from heaven, the habitation of His holiness and glory, and remember and bless OUK FATHER'S GOOD THINGS. 203 ment ot the promise, by renresenf ino- P«^ . "I ftm fl Tr«+1 / ; *«presenting God as sayinff. X am a leather unto Israpl " t« +1, t> 1 "^ "&» c^stan.a«o„3 o. the t:\.ptif„ /^ The' OM Lord pitieth those that fear Him " ^ cogmzed never was universal man taughTs c!niid mgly to draw near to God in prayer wi^h ihlV v name. "Our Father" as in th IT T ^""'^'^^ OxrPflf Too«u 1 . , *^°'^® discourses of the Great Teacher, which constitute the platform of the fcZu^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^-"- ^-Pensation. ''' which ?od " I ^^y^r^es, in every instance in which God IS spoken of in His relation to man it W" ^'""^^' ^^ "^"^ ^^*^<' " Ou. Far; in . we are all His offspring. "It is He that ide us. and not we ourselves." Every human hath 204 THE METHODIST PULPIT. pedigree dates back to the time when God made man out of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. ^ But this is the lowest truth implied in the Father- hood of God. There is a far higher one, and one which can only be realized in its full meaning on earth and in heaven by those who are obedient to God, and make His will the rule of all their actions. We are all God's children by creation. But we are prodigal children. We have become tired of the Father's eye upon us; we have left our Father's house; we have taken and squandered in riotous living the portion of goods which fell to us ; we have, through sin, forfeited the privileges of our birthright. It is only when the prodigal, tired of his wanderings, and conscious that he is dying of want while there is bread and to spare in his Father's house, comes back penitently and humbly, willing, through mercy, to take anything the Father is willing to bestow, that the tokens of sonship are conferred upon him. But what a hcL-ty welcome is accorded to him then— a welcome which the Father is ro.ore ready to give than the prodigal is willing to receive! Then the robe, and the ring, and the shoes, and the kiss, and the feast are provided ; and the court of heaven resounds with the Father's joyful recognition, "This My son was dead and is alive again ; he was lost and is found." Then he receives the adoption of son ; then God sends forth OUR FATHER'S GOOD THINGS. 205 "Abbr'tth """• 'r "i' '^^ '^^^*' "^^'^by ^« --. .iT \ nu ' *^'" ^' ^^^««^«« «» heir of God through Chrzst ; then, being an heir of God, he is an her of everything which belongs to God; there is nothing essential to his real enjoyment which he Ly not claim and will not abundantly receive. On earth Now Jesus teaches us all to say. "Our Father." He authorizes every human being, of every nation and oirCuh T'^"".' ^°^^"°^ in life, to draw near to ' Our f1 ' fT^ "'"^ ^"^ P°--^"l plea, Our Father: and He thereby authorizes us to be- leve that every human being may. by showing himself and s!ff , f """""' '"^P"^'^- ^^'^ ^^y be so blind and self-willed as to refuse the gracious offer? Is here a prodigal child here to-day, who is beginning to realize his loss, and to look wishfully to the foy^d plenty of his Father's house ? ^^ " f ^'•from home ; yes, far from home. In sm and rags, I sadly roam ; No tender love or Father's care, 3ut filled with sorrow and despair. Far from home and far from God, I feel the chastening of His rod ; ' In feeding here among the swine, Refusing peace and love Divine." Is this the sorrowful experience of any? Then, 206 THE METHODIST PULPIT. accept the Father's invitation which you have been slighting, and He will willingly receive you now. " Quick to the banquet-house repair ; Thy Father stands to greet thee there ; Come, now, behold His smiling face ; He'll kiss thee with His pardoning grace." n. WE MUST OBSERVE THAT "OUR FATHER " IS HERE SPOKEN OF AS THE GIVER OF " GOOD THINGS." " How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" or, taking the words of Matthew's Gospel, "How much more shall T'rr I'f '"^ ^^^''^'' Sive good things to them that ask xiim ? Early Christian art was accustomed to represent Jesus by the figure of a lamb, the Holy Spirit by that of a dove, and God, the Father, by an open hand ex- tended through the clouds, in the act of giving some- thing to men. How beautifully expressive of the constant beneficence of God-an open hand descending through the clouds and filled with blessings ! There are the blessings of His daily providence, food and raiment, and health, and all our earthly comforts. It Me chooses to withdraw the open hand, as He some- times does for purposes of discipline, how easily He can deprive us of them all! He has a thousand ministers of justice ready at His command to destroy the truit of our labors, to take away our comforts, and to teach a God-forgetting people their dependence upon Him. OUR father's good things. 207 tER IS HERE The proud Nebuchadnezzar, walking upon the roof of his palace, and surveying the city over which he ruled, wa. puffed up with self-importance, and 7aid Is not th,s great Babylon that I have built for the house of ™y kingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" And God t"k away the reason of the haughty monarch, so that mag.n.ng h.m,elf to be an ox, he ate the gra.,3 of the held. But, when his reason was restored, he learned e needed e.saon of dependence upon the providence of God, and began ■■ to praise and extol the God of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways iudg- ment. _and those that walk in pride He is 'able to How often it has been observed that when the operations of God in nature move smoothly on and the daily want, of men are uninterruptedly supplied fortet G d ', ""!;'"'' ""'"P"^^' "-y -^ '-We to' makes the labor of their hands successful. But when feel their helplessness and need, and to seek Him with sincere and humble hearts. Vet after all the needed chastenings of Providence how m .. , t,i„g^„ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^n^. MenThakrl T ^""^ ""^ compa.,sionate Father ? Men shake their heads sometimes when we .speak to them about miracles, and express grave doubte as recorded in the Word of God which requir;d for ita SOS THE METHODIST PULPIT. !!: performance more power, or wisdom, or which di, played more beneficence than do the works of Provi" dence da.ly wrought before our eyes. It required Om„,p„te„co to multiply the five barley loavTand he two small fishes ,,o that they might food fiv thousand, and no less does it require Omnipotence „ cause the seed sown in the field, by the hand of "nl tnous man, to germinate and multiply into an abun- dant harvest. It required Omnipotence to raise the dead Lazarus from his grave, and no less does i require Omnipotence to preserve the living, and to keep the complicated mechanism of the human systel n harmonious operation. Let us be profoundly ^:le den! 'i'^ ""■"'f'^noe displayed in the daily provi- dence of God ; let us be mindful of our constant dependence upon the Divine Father'. bountJHe h grateful outburst of our thanksgiving be "0 tha »en would praise the Lord for h's goodness, and o His wonderlul works to the children of men < " But there are better gifts than these which the open hand of God supplies. And here we see the difference which often exists between Jesus' estimate of "good things" andmal e ima e o "good things." Man's estimate of • go:^ things of en is the blessings of daily providence food and raiment, and clothing, and houses, and knds good things, not to be despised or undervalued, Bu how mistaken they are who limit their inventoiy of good things" to these, and make them the sole OUR FATHER'S GOOD THINGS. 209 His teachinff in thp ^.L ., ^^^^ ^P'"^- ^nd greatest fjift.-the Holy Spirit ".n^W.. will surely follow everythC If , n "'™ "'^'''^ needed and r.ally beneS ^ ^""""'^ ^"^ ''""^ J^e'tr'JjIitT"'' ™'^'^"^^' ""-^ ■""bition line b.ty,oJatZrJ'-'"T''^'" *''<' '"""dary- an improper" dX^t:i. ^.r^rr r been piiu:rti.e''hr7G:r7''" "'''V^^- te admonishing lesson ineulLw Wfeus";?: f^" the overruling providence of God should h. 7 ,'" - the ^A- Mrs : hTr i?i,r^^ ^atTlneed'o^th ''7^ ^ ^^ things will He bestow "«'■" '"^^ *" "'«'« Intely necessary thi„"s-the Howt '^TT'^' ''^■ waiting to bestow upol you fnL''"'\^^'''^ ^' '' abundance. ^ "^e and overflowing flo™%.iririn^^n::;"r«^ "goodthingsr the be a temple where Grmar"'^"''."^ "' ''"'"« it to love, witp.,.,>^ 1^ ™ay ««de, filling it with His '"^ «th our spirit to our own adoption 210 THE METHODIST PULPIT. P w W into the family of God, assuring um that we are "lieirs of God." and of everything which belongs to God • and pledging to us God's word that nothing on earth or in heaven, which is really for our good, will be with- held from those who walk uprightly. Let us ask and receive that our joy may be full Let us remember that no matter how well supplied we may be with the blessings of daily providence, we can have little happiness, we are poor indeed, if the hi.rher blessings of grace are wanting ; but, with these higher blessings, we can gratefully receive whatever God pleases to bestow of the blessings of earth, whether little or much, and can sit under His shadow with gre.t delight, and find His fruit sweet to our taste. III. FINALLY, WE HERE LEARN THAT "OUR FATHER" IS MORE WILLING TO GIVE "GOOD THINGS" TO HIS CHILDREN THAN HUMA.V PARENTS ARE TO GIVE TO THEIR CHILDREN SUCH BLESSINGS AS IT IS IN THEIR POWER TO BESTOW. This is a very blessed truth-so large, so full, that It IS difficult for us to believe that it can be realized' but that It is a truth we must admit upon the testi- mony of Jesus. I recommend this blessed truth to vour prayerful consideration, as well calculated to awaken the deepest gratitude, and to lead to strong confidence in prayer. We all know something, by experience or observ- ance, of a parent's love. We know that by universal consent the strongest of all human ties are those OUR FATHER'S GOOD THINQS. 211 ^'ZZn'Z; Tt' ' ""' '"^« "-^ ^™' '^^ VVK.t II *' °'^,'""* »' "'«' sweetness anj joy of life much more shall your Father in T °''' How nmch more !" What a rionfi, f - the words! "How much more '' A T"""^ ^" the infinite exceeds X fin i?. ^' T""'^' '""^■'' ^' ocean whieh enc rcle he^o^ '• ""'^ """ "^ '^« droD of w«f./«T K ^ "^ '' greater than the I» tWe an, pro„- rrG„rC!Te L Z^d to give to parents just ideas of the Divine benefii!'^ an abu„,,„^ „„,.„^„^^^ ^ ^^^^ and answe™ I have one request to make of the parents wbT! ' 212 THE METHODIST PULPIT. they should cry to you for bread and you had none to give. Endeavor in this way to take the measure of your affection for your children ; and then look up to heaven, and remember that you have a "Father" there ; a " Father " whose supply of good things can never fail, because it is as large as His own infinity; a "Father" who is more willing, "how much more" willing, to give His best blessings to those that ask Him, than you are to give to your children the bless- ings of this life. And may this great truth, the height of which we cannot fully reach, and the depth of which we cannot fully fathom, be our encouragement and guide in never-ceasing prayer. " Father, 'tis Thine each day to yield Thy children's wants, a fresh supply ; Thou clothest the lilies of the field, And hearest the young raven's cry ; On Thee we cast our care ; we live Through Thee who knowest our every need ; O feed us with Thy grace, and give Our souls this day the living bread." m SERMON XV. HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. BY THE REV. W.I. SHAW, M.A., LL.B., Professor of Classics, Greek TestameM a,id Church History, Theological College, Montreal. ''The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the bon of man hath not where to lay His head."_Zw/fce ix. Iviii. rpHE fame of Christ had extended far and wide in ■L Gahlee and Samaria, and it was no marvel for many were the wondrous works which He had wrouUt The palsied and paralyzed had been invigorated with health and energy, which bounded through their sys- tems and made them physically new men. Demoniacs were freed from their diabolical tormentors. The dead had been summoned from the shades of darkness, and ca led back from the great empire of death to the activities of life. The sightless eyeballs of the blind by a single volition of the Saviour's will, had been so rectihed that light, precious, beautiful light, came with the gentle silence of angel steps and ushered them into the magnificent world of vision. The sea of liberias was calmed before the presence of its Maker and on the shores, where in after years the Emneror Vespasian, and in after centuries the Emperor' Na- 214 THE METHODIST PULPIT. It i poleon appeared in the pomp of human power-on those very shores, quietly and unostentatiously, the Son of God displayed His divine majesty. The fame of Christ was extending through all those lands, and now as the time approached that He should be re- ceived up. Ho steadfastly set His face to go up to Jerusalem. A scribe came to Him by the way. Of His feelings and motives we can judge only by con- jecture, but from the fragment of history we have before us relating to Him. this much, we believe, is very probable that the man thought, Here now this astonishing person, Jesus, is on His way to Jerusalem. The rumors of His miracles and power have gone there before Him, and it is most likely that the Jews will be ready, notwithstanding all the opposition they have raised, to receive Him as the Messiah. That He is the Messiah of whom the Scriptures speak, which it is my business to copy and study, I can have no doubt; and so if He be welcomed to Jerusalem as the de- liverer of our people, and the long-expected Redeemer who will raise our nation to honor and supremacy, then will I likely have a good chance of promotion in His kingdom, especially if I join His little band while it ij yet small and despised. They are on their way to Jerusalem, and so here at Capernaum I will offer Him my allegiance and service. I think, without mis- interpreting the motives of this scribe, we may, consist- ently with the record, impute to him such a train of thought. I know it is very easy to misinterpret men's motives, so that brass often passes as gold, and some- HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 215 times gold as brass; yet. looking at the narrative be- fore us, one would naturally and necessarily coniec- ture some such train of thought in the mind of the scribe to account for the words of Christ. This scribe met Jesus in the way and said unto Him, "I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest." But Jesus m substance replied, "Seek not temporal comfort and advantage, of which carnal nature is so fond If you seek it with Me, you will be disappointed, for this even I myself forego. Seek rather those spiritual blessings I came to impart, instead of temporal ease and power ; for remember this, ' The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.'" What the man- next thought or did, we have no means of knowing. I seems to be only conjecture on the part of Clement of Alexandria and of Lange. to regard the persons whose cal follow Christ is described in this'narra! M.e as Phihp, Judas. Matthew or Thomas. Whoever this impetuous volunteer was, Christ gave him a re spouse which may profitably suggest for our prayerful ought, he humiliation of Christ, some reasons for this humiliation and the practical lesson it suggests. I. CHRIST'S HUMILIATION. An adequate conception of Christ's humiliation we ail to have, simply because we cannot properly conceive of the immense disparity there is between Jesus the created man and Jesus the uncreated God. We sincr • He deigns in flesh fe> appear. Widest extremes to join. 216 THE METHODIST PULPIT. But when we can measure the infinite distance be- tween these extremes, and not till then can we pro- perly comprehend the humiliation of Christ, I verily believe that this mystery of the incarnation would so stagger our poor limited powers, were it not explicitly stated to us in Holy Writ, that proud reason would never give the bewildering article a place in its creed. However, the truth in Christ's humiliation is stated, and stated in such a way as to have a vital and necessary connection with eve"ry part of the divine government as well as with the interests of humanity, and tio We take the blessing from above, And wonder at such boundless love. In the '.vhole range of gospel truth there is not a more striking statement of this mystery of ages than in the pass.v,q;e before us. Let a king place himself in a lower position of comfort than the very dog in its kennel, or the ox in its stall, for the welfare of his sub- jects, and let those subjects be ungrateful, wretched rebels, and let the throne of that king be one of affluence and power, and then we have a faint picture or type of the condescension of Christ. The coming of Christ as the world's rightful Lord had been heralded through forty centuries before His advent. He "whose going forth had been itom of old, even from everlasting," upon whose brow was the diadem of universal empire, had announced by His servant Micah that in a small,' obscure village called Bethlehem He would make His appearanc3 on earth. And now that this Divine One HUMIirATION OF CHRIST. 2J7 appears, how surprising and startling it is to all t.h. «nject«res of human reason that we should hear frl KnTttrorr-r-"^''--^ X7:etir-:t^'^-"-"^"^^^ siven then, hi.., .t'""^^' by ™nous art and skill 0! God, the Word btwhoi alUh- """"'' '"^ ^» without whom was UlZ^^J^LZTl '"'"'■"f The goodness and wisdom of ih^ ^i , »^e i«Jiy met. P-Med all this, hut so di"nttrelVrHi T/e n1 -"=.f:;^:tf,:;rhrd^r^^^^^^^ ™yonits.rando.*jr?r„tettr;XM 218 TliE METHODIST PULPIT. playfully flutter in its innocence, but He who made them all had not where to lay His head. No spot on earth was there He could call His home. He was des- pised and rej^ted of men— a man of sorrows and ac- quainted with grief, yet none the less God. over all blessed for ever. When wearied He rested on Jacob's well ; the pillars of heaven and the foundations of the earth rested securely on His sustaining power. When He bore hunger and thirst, He nevertheless showed by changing water into wine, and by feeding thousands with a few loaves, that it was He who was indeed sup- plying the wants of every living thing, and that He endured hunger and thirst from no defect of power. We may leave it to theologians to discuss whether the term Kryptist or the term Kenotist will best describe this humiliation — whether the idea is the more cor- rect of Christ's concealment of His glory or absolute divestment of His majesty. It is enough for us to know that He came with a heart full of loving sympa- thy very near to our poverty and weakness. One thing seems plain, that He displayed His divine power only when necessary to further His merciful purpose of our salvation. Only once He went to the mount of transfiguration— often did He go to the Mount of Olives. Seldom was He seen in the glory of His divinity— of ten was He hid in the darkness "of night praying for our base, ungrateful world. " Verily He took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." Such was the amazing condescension of Christ, as so forcibly stated in our HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 219 tt REASONS FOR CHRIST'S HUMIUATIOS •SonofGod;'was;l'^,J::f™-f^ ^i-^ '!™ ence to Christ anrJ 1^ i- "^ ^ °^^®^« ^^ refer- ehae the Jeti:".Vp"tr:rre h '^ •- "'-'^ «s He made Himself Ci^T ™ """' ""smuch He had said 'Tarn t^'«f^''"'"^'^P^'«™"'d, the omcifixio^ the "hi^f n "" f- '''"'■" ^™"«'y- ™ dared "W„ -j t P™^' "> «vi]ing Christ de tared. He said I am the Son of God " Th7 , stances recorded in which Phri V ., ,t. ° ""'^ '"■ God are si=c and thet u "*"' ^"^'^'^ Son of of thembeL i' H^Z f '""'■'"' "^ J°h". one church at Thvatira ^7 ^^P^^' '" ">' >«ttor to the '"Stance in the ' !«! '' "T"'' *° ^» """'her John, put byChri'st toth;;? f' """■ "'"'P"" "' "Dost thou bei™ve1n !h « ""*" ''^ '"«' ''''"'''^ =wS:recfai,?f ■ "f ^ ™- "^3 if: implies greatTnl?pt,lrsttdt '^ d.^^'^^' «"d applied by the SavV? f S ^^^'S^'^'^h' chosen humiiUy of hTs char!-. ^ """''" *° «'>»«' «>« 'M» pie ot^h^ ir^tr vef ;; .-"^^ ^^r^^ ". W that, in the fourteenthZptlr of t'hVSf; h litij U il! 220 THE METHODIST PULPIT. tion of John, in the description of Christ's second advent in judgment, the same term is used as if to imply that He who during the incarnation nearly always took to Himself this designation of contempt, this very same Man of sorrows, shalj come again in the majesty of His kingly glory. " I looked and be- hold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown." ^ As " Son of man," Christ showed by His humilia- tion that we have forfeited all the providential favors of divine goodness. The relation of Providence to the atonement is often overlooked. How many of us suppose that spiritual blessings are over and above what God is obliged to give us, but that temporal blessings He is under obligation in some way, as our Creator, to bestow. The truth is, that by sin we have forfeited all claim to Heaven's care, and no ' ground for complaint have we if divine justice strip us of all earthly good, and no right have we, being sinners, to expect anything from heaven but punish^ ment for our sins ; and so Christ, without a place to lay His head, Christ homeless and destitute, Christ a weary, wayworn wanderer, showed, as He stood on earth in His humanity, that we are here only m tenants by sufferance, that we have by our sins for- feited all this world can give. Again, He has shown as Son of man, that this world is not our home, that we must seek a home for the immortal spirit somewhere else. To the sceptical mind there is a great deal in the Apocalypse concern- HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 221 ^»* Without 'u;r:::rj- tr^t"^^^^^^ no more mvsteriouq in „u ' ^"Jcn, by the way, is chapter o/uI^TVlTZ: To T '"^"''^"'^'"^ dred yea. ago-without ;„'^\ l. ^Tth'r'r can we possibly have nf *i, '«™ation, what idea that men die and with >^'''*' '"""•'^ ' ^^ ^''"^ Scripture 1 "n T.^ '*•'"''' <=»'-t»i»ty we learn fr„„ 'ive u •.- Xr:irtr::;reX:ti^^^^ r scribed in Gods Word either i„P*'v '"'" "' <'^- -'hat is, ina statetittr "co r "."P.""'""" or of eonfirmed enmity to God ,fT '"''"■^''°° continue its feverish rounI„f " "" world is (» •oil, through unnumbertrLlT^i';"'^ ^'"f' ■"" aye, forever «n^ « "^ miJIions of ages nev;rre:h;he™ra„Tvi: aS:t 'T"' ''''^^■ equity of God's government 2 ^'■''^^-'"''"' °' "" ^ken and dishefrten „7 b„t w th W ' !.^™' '" ' «;-ourbeartsamid.Ltr.:trrnX^^^^ we can glory in the prosneet nf h • , somewhere else-yea ih.i I r ^'^'''^ * ^^^^e CISC yea, that where Jesus i"« fk^ Jesus who trod this nlo.,.* j • ' '^^^ ^^^^e ^-iationwherf^trerfsS^bf^^^^^ pAtSror.r::ti"'"r-''^^-^ children are packers if fl. ^T'^ """'^ '^ *he part of the same, that through 222 THE METHODIST PULPIT. death He might destroy him that had the power cf death, that is the devil. It is the death of Christ alone that expiates sin. The perfect obedience of His life can neither atone for our guilt nor supply by imputation any such righteousness for us the law de- mands. The law is still in force, requiring from us in- dividually perfect righteousness. Wherein we incu: guilt by sin or defective service, the cross purchases for us an ample pardon in addition to the grace we need to enable us to serve God acceptably. It is not then, to the humiliation of Christ's life that we look lor atonement. But perfect obedience in the rrdeal of this humiliation stands on one hand as a pledge and testimony of the perfect suffering of the divine victim the Samt of God who taketh away the sin of tht' world, and, on the other hand, as an example of patier^ suffering and triumphant magnanimity as well a,s a guarantee of sympathy with humanity. "For it be- came Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering" Again, the humiliation of Christ stands as an emblem of the unearthliness of His kingdom. The founder of this vast spiritual empire, which sweeps in triumph over all continents, and the isles of the sea, and re- quires an eternity to reach the consummation of its glory, was allied to the great fraternity of human poverty. And so, eve-y now and again, Christianty rises up m all its divine majesty to prove that it is in- dependent of kings, and emperors, and armies, and all HUMILIATION OP CHRIST. 223 the petty caprices and conceits of men God fnrWA that I should brand the Church Jh ^^" . ^^^'^ .akean ally of ignorancrCtltsTreS^^^ stlt are the words sent out on the acres "Mv tin dom 18 not of this world • " and r )1 i V «" i ii. i "'s"ty, not many noble are called hnt '^^J hath chosen the foolish thin,^ „p ii, ""'«", out cod the wise and GodWl- i^ *^ ,*''' "'"'''' *" ™°f«™d world to confound t/r" "'^--'' things of the Those are words It only JL- :'""■'/" ""s'-'y-" prophecy and L •* ^'""^^ '"'* »' ™plied chitX:"thedrprsTw:;^\r ■?-":««» »' lasting kingdom tha't cZ.tlfl'ZZT ''^ '™'- HI. PRACTICAL LESSONS. Of the practical lessons taught by this passa^P i}.' circumstances "A ma«'c ,.„ -^ "^^^^PP^arancesand .b«ndancr„f;,h;„lXh. '""'''''"' """ ■» ">« ^° **"" '"* P0»»esseth.» It is surely W'l 224 THE METHODIST PULPIT. a signihcant fact that th. most nobl. of all tlu- beings of earth wan the most lowly, that He who was richo^st m the possession of all that was good and excellent was poorest in the possession of temporal benefits. Lot us honor humility, and honor the man who strives to hve bravely and faithfully in spite of poverty and adversity. Some one says. " He nmst be great, who is willing to be small." Wherever we see merit, how- ever disguised beneath an unfavorable exterior let us honor it. Let us train our feelings that they shall at once be m sympathy with it. Let us oppose the spirit that IS so prevalent about us, of worshipping mammon and being obsequious to affluence and in fluence ; but wherever you see a man that is truly good honor him as one of the royal seed of heaven one of the nobility of the skies. Be too intelligent to hate or envy the rich, be too independent to crouch to their wealth. Another lesson we may learn from our text is, that we should be resigned to adversity and hunuliation. It you have a bed on which to rest, it is what was often denied to Christ. If you have a spot on earth you call home where centre your affection, .nd thouc^bts you are favored more than He; but remembel- if adversity should leave you without a home, you would still be no worse off than He. What of secular trial may befall you we cannot tell, but this you may know to your comfort, you will never be poorer than Jesus. Ihere is another lesson taught us by our text-a lesson full of consolation, and that is. that the condition HUMILIATION OF CHRIST. 22fi wnrtt^';;'':;;',:^''? ''^b/w ™e ^'"^™'' " y™ ^^■»«" ^t-dfast and faithful to the end, you will be welcomed by this same Jesus to heaven. Unbeliever, if you remain im- pen. ent to the end, it is equally certL you will be Danisned forAver fmm *K l-- e TT- -j-_.ei riom the giury ot His presence. SERMON XVI. THE INCREASE OF CHRIST.^ «EV. A. B. CHAMBERS, LL.B., QUEBEC. "He ™ust increase, but I n.ust decrease. 'Wo/.„ iii. 30. JESUS CHRIST had just entered on His public „,,nistry. Already the n^atchless magnetis^^^^^^^ His person and work began to be felt An5 7 ne^,beho,d rsattpl;'::;';" "'"''' '^"- Him." "ipwzetft, and all mm come to mJ^tvvTn' t^t' ""^ ^^P"^' ''*^ '"""ay the 'Sing envy m the breasts of his disciples o ' ... otrength of conviction, a _ f 228 THE METHODIST PULPIT. 'Htn cleamt'.s,s of vision, and a spirit of self-sacrifice worthy the Messiah's forerunner, and which made it easy for his disciples to transfer their affections to the Christ of God. My text is a part of that answer. In it the increase of Christ is affirniod. We are Christians, the Christ of John and ours is the same. We have espoused His cause. • We have linked our fortunes to His. His triumph means our triumph. His defeat means our confusion and loss. It is, therefore, most import- ant for us to examine whether the premises from which John argued were sufficient to warrant his con- clusion ; and whether the subsequent history is con- firmatory of my text or otherwise. This ground requires to be gone over again and again, as there are always those who are only ju,;t waking up to the importance of such questions. In secular matters each generation requires to be instructed in element- ary principles, in order that it may intelligently grasp what is highest and purest in literature, in art, or in science. So, in the domain of theology and religion, we require betimes, for our own comfort and the in- struction of the young, to examine the foundations of our dogmas and the ground of our hopes. The conviction of the Baptist, as expressed in my text, has never met with universal acceptance. To-day it is contrary to the expressed belief and the avowed desire of many. I. In view of these things, our first inquiry is: Why do we. in the face of unbelief and adverse criti- THE INCREASE OF CHRIST. 229 dsm, endorse the assertion of John, and proclaim to the world that Christ must increase ? 1. I answer, Because this is the design of God the Father. For ^ome weeks prior to the 11th of Aucrust 1882, there was unusual activity in all the military circles of England, watching the movements in ar- senals, barracks, and shipyards. Seeing that intense though half-concealed, eagerness which ran throu(^h the army and navy, one could not fail to discover that some great purpose revolved in the brain and throbbed m the heart of England. On the memorable eleventh while emblazoned banners kissed thp breeze and mar- tial music filled the air, 34,00C 3xirlsh troops sailed out from the quays of the sea-girt isle. What did all this mean ? What was the intention of England ? It meant that in the land of the Pharaohs there was a pretender to power_a rebel in arms, whose influence had raised up a hostile forco and filled a whole land with anarchy, which had already shed British blood in unrighteous insurrection. What was the design of England ? Answer : To overthrow and rout the rebel leader and his forces; to bid anarchy subside and order reign again, and to extend the influence the fame, the glory of the British name. Had the expedition failed, then England had been defeated But from the hour in which her intention was pro- claimed to the world few could be found to question the issue. » Now. in God's world there is an arch-rebel who has excited much anarchy, shed much blood, and ruined 230 THE METEODIST PULPIT. ^ many souls. And the i ather has commissioned His Son to make war upon the rebel, wrest the sceptre from his hand, and fill the world with His own prin- ciples, influence, and glory. This is the Father's de- sign. I can only give you a few quotations. Among the many wonderful things said of Christ in the 9th chapter of Isaiah, is this : " Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end." In the second Psalm the Father, addressing the Son, says- "Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee Ask of Me and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy pos3ession." St. Paul, in speaking of Christ as- sures us that " He made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : And being found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name : That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things m heaven and things in earth and things under the earth; and ,hat every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the ^-lory of God the Father" Many other texts might be cited. Let these suflice to establish the Divine intention. With these before us, I believe we are warranted in saying that if anything in God's word is clear is beyond doubt, it is, that the Father designs the in- crease of Christ until His fame shall fill all lands, His THE INCREASE OF CHRIST. sltt!r'r '""■'""'*' "" ''"'»''" i°»«t«tio„s, and His lure -ri: "'"™-' ™ay. Then, ,h„u,d' there b 01 omeers and men were guarantees of victorv be fore a gun was fired or a sabre drawn. And n7w do ofTeFa":: "'^ \'^"'^^ '» "'^ proclaimed deTign Thenlwm" Vt"'"^'- Presage of fulfilmenf? ^:^i=;ougt\^^°r^--r"^^ -. «.ns aeeomWet Id Tnl*-- What design has failed? Did* He desio-n in rr. i. a world? TV,«« «tr , aesign to make world ? Then "He spake and it was done He com manded and it stood fast." There are no ht'lff a and motionless worlds in His unCe '""^' speak I.7fi: ,^"* *^^ «^^°ger and the garden peak. Let the cruel cross, the rending earth, and the . >i\ 232 THE METHODIST PULPIT. darkened heavens answer. Did He fail ? Let the open, empty grave, the ascending Lord, the descending Sprit, and the glad acclaim of thousands saved tell how gloriously the design of m.n's redemption' was iulfi led. What though centuries elapsed between the proclamation and its accomplishment. Centuries are but days with God ! I point you to another design. When fallen man had multiplied and sinned, and repented not, "and God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth. He resolved to cut off that sinning, unre- pentmg^ race. Noah was called to prepare an ark and God prepared the fountains. What though r-n mocked for one hundred and twenty years. At ihe appointed moment the pent-up floods burst from their reservoirs, and a deluged world transformed intention into fiistory. Again, did God tell Abram that He would give to him and to his seed the land of Canaan ? He did and He kept His promise. What though five centuries and Egypt lay between the promise and the fulfil- ment. Let history 4ell how grandly the design was accomplished. Let the plagued and baffled hosts, the divided sea, the piled-up waters of the Jordan, the flinty rock giving water and the heavens raining bread, tell that when God promises He fulfils When He designs He accomplishes. _ Other proofs I must «ot now recall. I simply place m the list with these that other design of God-a design set forth by symbol and prophecy, bv miracl. TWjS increase of CHRIST. 233 and promise. It is the desitm fUi r.f ^^. • Christ's kingdom there st: U bo no eL thar^T- "/ .•.''He -„nioChit:t;:;t'^— • ^This given ourselves Tpf , • . ^"""^ ^^ ^^^^e »' «t«e of r tot'Lrfa-r' '"' ""' ™^ Jo' 2. My second answer to the question •' wi. ^ in ine face of unbelief «nrl J ^"^'*^'^"'. ^^y ^o we, the assertion ofJohn an^ ?•'' ''''^'^'"^' ^"^^^'^^ rhr^i.^■ /. *^^ proclaim to the world thnf ^efoA J7or:r ernX:^ f:m »wemng LLro'ccroTc::^^ deemer, God. This is the love of earth V^ «ns shall prove a factor in the conslttilVh^^ o speak just now, from which all 16 earthly 234 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ardor is but an emanation, of which all human loves are but corruseations. The love of God made man in His own image. This love redeemed our fallen race by the pouring out of the precious blood of Christ. This love sent the Holy Spirit to convince man of his danger, reveal his filthiness, let light stream in upon his darkness, and lead him to the crucified for cleans- ing in His blood. This love has built up not only the heavens on which we gaze in the noontime and the night— heavens which dazzle us with their splendor and enchant us wit^h their beauty— but it has built the heaven of heavens, the gates of which it has thrown open that man may enter. It has ma^'e and polished the harps of praise, chased the crowns of glory, and caused to glitter with the dews of immor- tality the palms of victory which invite men up to the throne of God. Brethren, I say the first force is the love of God, making man, redeeming him, and prepar- ing heaven for his reception and eternal joy. I have not here distinguished between the love of the Father and the love of the Son ; for in the work of making, redeeming, and saving men they cla.^ > hands, they intervene together, they embrace the sinner. Listen to the logic of Paul: "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things ?" (2) The second force is the Holy Spirit It is His office to convince the sinner, to break down the for- tresses behind which sinners entrench themselves, to pierce the adamant in which sinners encase their THE INCREASE OF CHRIST. 235 matters not whether he be .en L «« ^f ' ■""*■ " and cowardly aa Peter ,;/ ^ "''"■ ""P"'™"" handed as Saul Tf Ta.^us o m""' t ^^''^P"' '^'*- devilsas thede„o„^::;G:da"~' "^ '"^^ ^ »%htie3t viaLe^rel^^trj,;-^^'- *'>'^ '-.e armies, and parliaments, and kin;! ifi/"'*''°™ Ask its enemies. Ask MnhnrZ a . ^ '* * Pow" ? the Bible ? Why it burnld T pIT™ "''>' " *'=»" »^«nop.e . .n^,-^r-lf ^,^ ^^^Hhe'V" "" :ht:,rt* jrpZ'it'sr'^^""- - Ask Romanism why it withholds the Bibl» f the masses. And whatever priests If* n ^ answer of history is that tL T^ *'" y°"' *•"> in the presence :? ^mCl.'"''^?'' '''' «ion are ™ndered, Zi th! cLh^ot r/' T" Which its J:^^Z!ZrL ^"^t thewriti„rofPorl! '^ T ,° "^^^Pi'^hoined; while Boiingb j: :l SarLt tit?"*' ^*'" "■«' Where is the Bible . ^:X: ^^^^^i i' 236 IHIP METHODIST PULPIT. ing the lancfuage of heaven in fifteen score of tli.< tongues of earth. While the mightiest nations of earth rest on it as on an immovable foundation, it still goes forth by day and night, in storm and caliu, to win new triumphs. It works quietly as the leaven to permeate the mass ; or, following the bugle blast of war, when nations lash in their madness and thr- .w down the barriers of centuries, the Bible enters to find new hearts awaiting its coming and new thrones from which to sway its sceptre. These, though the chief, are only some of the forces at work. But with their adjuncts they are adequate to the consummation proclaimed in my text. The love of God the Father and the Son, the energy of the Holy Spirit, the in- structing, uplifting, fetter-breaking power of the Holy Scriptures, proclaimed by a living ministry and illus- trated by a consecrated Church, I will match against all the powers of hell and sin. II. We now proceed, in the second place, to inquire, What does this increase mean ? (1) And I answer, first, individual felicity. Here I need only refer to your experience and the experi- ence of all who have fully embraced Christ. The testimony is one, whether you select it from apos- tolic days or these ; whether borne to us from Indian wigwam or oriental palace ; whether lisped by the child of tender years or spoken by the Simeons in Christ's Church; whether sung in the songs of our health or breathed in the last faint whispers of the dying, the testimony is one. "Behold, God is my salvation ; 1 will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord THE INCREASE OF CHBIST. 237 Jehovah is my strength and my ,ong. Ho also i, be come my salvation." •. I know whom I have bolioved ani am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have eonnnitted unto Hi,,, against that L " "vea Thv „! UT' "° '""^- ^'"- Tl-ou art witl, ,„e Thy rod and Thy staff they eo>„fort Me." A., Christ Man IS a .social be.ng. The physie,d, intellectu.d and moral const.tution with which we are endowed pro elai.ns not only the Creator's intention, but also , .Cs necess.ty for and adaptation to social We M." hll hold .ntercourse with his tellow-n.a,., the sexes shal b united, and generation after generation grow up under mTof wh ?'T '•" '" "'"•""^'y '"■• "«= develop. forms which mfke .rb^^^'ran^'r^errh^ deahngs w,th his fellows, and the extent of his c uelty « only restrained by civil law. The strong opp I fte weak; the free apply the la.h to the LlTved w maa ,s a beast of burden or the sport of pa^sln- ch, d-hfe ,,, joyless and domestic happiness unknown Th,s .s the testimony from Pe,..,ia, from ancient Rome' from India and Turkey in our own day; fr'm Pa^^' LTh. r ?•*"" '"'' '"<*'*"<=»*« '0 ^ spoken ■» pubha Now, the increase of Christ, affirmed in r 238 THE METHODIST PULPIT. li; ■ the text, mi.ns revolution and elevr'*jn in all theso departments. It is true, Christianity does not directly attack every foi-m of social evil. Against one of the worst forms of social injustice it hurls no special ana- thema. I refer to war. But its tendency everywhere is either directly or indirectly to destroy the evil and promote the good. The increase of Christ subdues the savage in man's breast and tells him that " God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth." It makes marriage honorable and binding between one man and one woman ; it makes the husband faithful and the wife virtuous; it makes child-life happy and worthy of the most brotherly, fatherly, and kingly caress. For Jesus took little children up in His arms, and, blessing them, said: "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." The increase of Christ elevates woman until her min- istries are like benedictions from heaven, and in re- turn it gives her the love of her husband, and " her children rise up and call her blessed." The greeting of Christianity to her who in heathen lands is a beast of burden, and in polished but infidel courts is the sport of passion, is this: " Hail, woman, hail ! last formed in Eden's bowers, 'Midst humming streams and fragrant-breathing flowers. Thou art, 'mid light and gloom, through good and ill, Creator's glory, man's chief blessing still. Thou calm'st our thoughts as Halcyons calm the sea- Sooth 'st in distress, when servile minions flee ; And ! without thy sun-bright smiles below, Life were a night and earth a waste of woe=" THE INCREASE OF CHRIST. 289 The jncrease of Christ takes the slave's fetters off and bids him sing of freedom. In Ilis presence he whole accursed brood of social vampires dies, as the foul fungus of the night dies when noonday bril- hance penetrates the domain of darkness. As Christ increases, there rises to our view refuges for the hon.e- ess. hospitals for the sick, asylums for the vaca -e,i hrones of reason, schools for the training of the i v. tellect. and churches for the cultivation of the heart Ihe logic of history attests these positions (3) The increase of Christ means national advance- ment This is a fact so apparent that little is re- quired to support the announcement. Look at Persia Egypt, Turkey, India, Spain, Ireland, and even France' to^ay, and compare them with Holland, Denmark,' Switzerland Sweden and Norway. Prussia, the United States and England. What has kept the former down and filled them with anarchy and bloodshed ? What has elevated and made happy the latter ? We answer • m the former, the blight and curse of Paganism, Mo - hammedanism, Popery or infidelity; and in the latter the assertion of Protestantism and the increase of thnst. Remember, there was a time when Britons were scarcely deemed fit to be slaves for Romans. Trace the history of Britain for centuries, and 3-ou will find her struggling, oppressed, obscure. But at last casting her idols to the moles and to the bats shaking herself free from ecclesiastical bondage, mak-' 2n ^r' ^""^ '^P''' ^^^^' ^^^ P^^^ti^g her -rone upon it, she drifted out from her ancient and 240 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Ignoble moorings and took her place among the first- class Powers of the world. I will not dwell longer on this proposition, for beyond all question in the in- crease of Christ there is national advancement. III. My last question is : How is this increase to he secured ? 1. And I answer briefly, ^irs^, by individual effort and influence. In this manner it commenced. Jesus called Andrew, and he immediately went in search of his brother Simon, and, finding him, saith, " We have found the Messias." : The day following, Jesus found i'hilip, and said unto him, " Follow Me." Then Philip found Nathanael and told him the glad tidings So the work began and spread. In like manner, by in- dividual eflfbrt, Christ has increased to this day One of the conditions of Christly indwelling in the iieart is. that the possessor shall make Him known to others. Each Christian a preacher, every believer in Christ a missionary as far as his opportunity extends IS one of the great secrets of increase. To the re- claimed demoniac of Gadara, Christ said, =' Go home to thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord hatli done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee" And he immediately went out and began to publish m Decapohs, a region containing ten cities, how great things the Lord had done for him. Dear friends who have found Christ, be assured He expects you to lead some other to Him. No one else can do your work. There is no possible way of getting rid of the responsibility. Then speak assured He THE INCREASE OP CHRIST. £41 wh^t"p.fS-''^'''''' ''' ^^™^ "' «'^ "-• Every. "The arms Of love that compass me, Would all mankind embrace." 2. The second mode of seeurino. ih^ • Christian ondeavrr .> „o 1"" ''™ *" "^ ^^* "■>- the. agents their machinery all a^ tik " "*""' -t'egrly dawn?; tTr'^. ''="'""^' ^''-'-K*- oi war. These the British pj.w!! „".'.*'' ^'"^"^ Victory was won I'arliament voted, and the 242 THE METHODIST PULPIT. So m the Church's organized march against the evils which still remain enthroned, she requires money arge sums of money, and for this we make our appeal to the parliament of a free and Christ-saved people Dear friends, we believe in Christ. Many of you have tound peace and joy and the hope of heaven throucrh taith in Him. Let every other supreme ambition die Bury the aspirations for human glory, and in the hope and in the spirit of the Baptist say— " He must increase, but I must decrease." SERMON XVII. MV. WTOV 400KEB, OP KINGSTON. treats of the Doctrine, the seTond ^f ^ i''^'''"'"'-" The first third of the Doubt or A^n „„! .' ^'"'^'' «'• ^^heism, the stration." Thera^ Ll fCd T"' .'. *'' '^"'"^ '' '"^^ ««-on This explanation's ^iveVror^^^^^^^^^^ ^-' «-• i- ^ some features of this sermonj '"°''' '*'"^ intelligible A ?n^^- ^''' ""'^ ^'""y *^« ^««trzne of my text- ^\ and, M opposition to it, declare th«f fk { ' and the e .th were not created" "u and that T" 18 no God to creafp or„,*»,- \**"' *"« that there number hoM S ^^ "^e^JuT""''^! ""^" tnown, and probably c^nnoTut^TZ tC ""' or IS not a peraonal Oreator R,,f T , '^ '" majority of n„.n .1 ,,°\ ' ""^ "^'whelming -nquestionedtt; " "' ""^ ''^''■'' ''<"<' '' » -, ^... .o..nue assumed being true, it should not 244 Is.- ill III |i THE METHODIST PULPIT. be a matter of very great wonder that this belief is common to the minds of men in ail states of mental culture ; for, then, it is a truth which we may, without presumption, suppose that tL3 Creator would, by some means, make known to His human children ; and we have equal warrant for the supposition that it is a truth toward which the mental proclivities, appetites and instmcts of men would tremble, as the maanetic needle trembles to the pole. It is of prime importance to enquire, just at this point, what account do these Scriptures give of the means by which men c-^me to the knowledge of their Divme Father? The answer is not hard to find From the beginning to the end of it, the Bible every- where declares that God revealed or discovered Him- self to men. There is here no smallest hint to support the "innate idea" theory, by which it is claimed that there is in every soul born into the world an mgenerated thought and certainty of the being of God ; nor is it claimed here that there is such an immanence or manifest indwelling of God in nature that His existence is to everyone a self-evident fact- nor do these Scriptures assert that there have been given to all men such powers of perception and reason that each several man can take the bare facts of nature and, with no foregoing testimony to suggest the thought, "reason from nature up to nature's God." The theory of the Book is, that the Being who created the senses and intellectual powers of men is well able to discover Himself to those powers and OHH,STIA« DOCTBINK OF OOD AND SCEPT,0,S„. 245 senses ; and it declares fh«f w« i, j ing to its hirtory the fit ir "Z" ^"'"•^- personal intercou^e with hi, Xr' T''f """■ M.>.se,, unto wI,om HeZlce 'f^ °% ^^ '"'" ™' speaketl, to his friend" . , T ,** *'"^'' "« " """ long succession o patriarch „> ''°™. *'""='> "- was pleased to discotr HiLdf H'''' ''' """' »uch n,anncr that they peS HK " '"™"*' '" understood His communi" l! tlfcT:" ™^ time He was pleased to comeTnto the t"" °' tudes in the pe^on of Jo™ f Nltir^ T"'"- ■n.ght see the personality of li^e and T ' 1 !""" «t their universal Father. BesMe this- Tt '°" eiy of Himself t^ „!,„ .■°<'^'™ this special discov- ft. people-.t„ Intr 'T'™"'"^^ '"'' ■^"'J^^^ of looHd unto everv man '^^.^f'^'^^So i"^ ever of a humhr^SZtr; rr Tn"''"^ ^^'" prayer, has manifested Himself to C K .u"'""' '" ministry of the Holy GhZ ^ "^^ '""'"" While, however, it is true th„i ii. i God comes not by nnate ide» t '="'>™'«dge of coui^e of reasoniL „;r hv ,T"> "" /"''^P^dent fitted that there i a^ d^ficttv 'inT " " ""' """ ing that knowledge which inlvLh T "^ ^'''"- br the ordinary iSind of maT Ti^SolZT" of truths which, when once declared Z V "^ ported : v -idcnce as to be heldrL^f ^ .' '° '"P" "y -.. .nee a. to become fi«dt th "*::*''' Mswa, to^OerTit u"^' f' 7'-- r '''^''^™* ^t declared itself to i ■ I" wl \yf\ "' 246 THE METHODIST PULPIT, his eye as he sat looking at a volume of steam rushing out of a spout. Newton did not reason his way to the law of gravitation. There it was in nature, silrr.. invisible, and almost omnipotent— cording togeihor and holding in its mighty grasp the atoms, the planet^ the systems of the material universe— but ic was not self-evident ; nor was it so conspicaous that men found It necessary to their i^u^ovie^ of nature and then reasoned to a certainty oi" it In the falling of an apple It declared itself to th^. -^serving mind of New- ton. Once suggested, S.hat great philosopher seized the clue and followed it, partly by reason and partly Dy experiment, until he was able to announce it as an established and stupendous fact. The same is true of the doctrine of God. save that It was not left to a late and accidental discovery It IS not self-evident. The idea is not innate. It was not discovered by unassisted reason. It was at first and from the Divine side, announced by an immediate discovery of God to men. As a direct revelation it has been repeated at different times and to different persons. It has also been mediately declared to every age in the testimony of patriarchs, prophets, apostles saints.and martyrs. And although men could never have felt their way to it, it is, nevertheless, a doctrine which IS supported by proof sufficient to confirm belief, and so easily tested by experience that whosoever will may advance his belief into knowledge. Permit me, then, to set forth, as fully as I can in .iij %i mit CHKISTIAN r r.CTillNE OP GOD ANn «r...» "' «OD AND SCEPTICISM, 247 tht brief space afc my command ih. -^ establish the belief in God evidences which Wht,i Columbus discovered thi., w. . o»nd its inhabitants worsWpl. r!^ "™ ^'"■" h*^ Master of Life," although StL?.'' "^ '^^ "«'»' '■ad had no communicato wS, ^ '"""™''™'. 'hey The sable Numidian w "" "' mankind. "f Him and t"e tallTn^r T™' "•'' ™™'P«on «-«. «'th histh!^:^ ixi«-Vdr f ^» an altar to the ereat «TT„i, „ Godless, built vHo great Unknown On^" o,.j ... shnne, worshipped more tn.lv 7), . " ** *■>»' the familiar gods Thi! ^.'u f *' """ ^'<«« of »ees,a«d,inhif„;n „i';'"'^t-'"^- ^^e Persian »d in the sun. sZoJ'^iu^rT''^ " ""^ «•■« «ntu^ culture XiWlttt^^t""""'"*^""'- His throne. Down from ft. T ■'««■•«'>% at voice from the heart of humaniv''T'T """""^ " in j*^ world-wide volume th^lTech J "''"'' ''^""^ «nd kindred, and tongue and n.TV 1 "^''y n»'ion, dwelt under the vauTof h?, "^ *" *•"*' '^^^ ^"er into thunder in ou'eaf t<> dr"""*!"'"' *''' ^"^"^ its testimony is this^t T"T^ *''* '""''l™ »* hve^ .nd feigneth"' ^d ht " """P-"^-"' «P \> m„ ""^ '" »" this to be - -ltoft^mrt;Lt!f.!:.^"-^*^e ' --, -J... nas always lied' or. 1:1 248 THE METHODIST PULPIT. that it is, and always has been, deceived! But whether we refer it to wilful falsehood or honest mis-' take, it is certainly unparalleled and incredible that nearly all men, without any c6mmon consent, have fallen into the same error or committed the same crime. If it be an idea so chimerical and repugnant to reason as the advocates of a sceptical philosophy would have us believe, how came it to be as early as the annals of man, and as wide as the race ? Admit the doctrine that there is a Divine Creator such as the Bible sets forth, and all these facts are at once and sufficiently explained. Then, and naturally enough the invisible Father has declared Himself, and His' children have found it easy to receive the declaration as being in perfect accord with their own nature. II. THE PRESUMPTION, WHICH IS SUFFICIENTLY JUSTI- FIED BY THE COMMON BELIEF OF MANKIND, IS STRENGTHENED TO A CONSIDERABLE DEGREE BY THE FACT THAT NOTHING THAT MAKES AGAINST IT HAS EVER BEEN ESTABLISHED BY PROOF. Every one must admit that, were the doctrine of God untrue, it would be an untruth so monstrous, so palpable, and so pronounced in its utter want of accord with the facts of nature in general, and with the instincts both of the heart and the intellect of man- kind in particular that, among those who have opposed it, some one would have been able to point to at least one established fact that would expose its untruthful- ness. CBBISTUK B0C™». OP O0„ .«„ 3CE„,C,S„. 249 But Wherefore ltd t , A ;t7/''"V° «°''- one could not believe th.f A • ""^ "'«" "i^t were any proof of It llf ?T' '' '*<"■"»'' '* «>ere doctrine'^f CdTn u„?hi*' ""' T" "»<">oId the l^aa always existe'd. that dot" Z'r\" ""'"''' istence is uncaused and i T . ^""^ "■*' "' «^- f«t that sometWnt Thltt^t o".'- • *'''"''^''' ""> not, of necessity, compel even a doubt f'V'"""' ""'» Duration is something- sZe i, ! 1^'^ "■^'»'=«- are named and defined and '"T''"'^' '<"■«>'? define nothing. Nowdur^- """■ ""^ """^ *"^ "d yet we f re so I' ^"" "*'"' '?"«' "« «'*n'al; Him without WuTlt! 7. '"'""'" '™" th'-kof though, eter„a,7uS;;*^»„-«'P'-»t of our and iinntless. eterna. s^cT ^ h!!? ff^t^""' tions. Nor wniilr] *»,^ i. °* ^^^ opera- in believing Tn H m nt L'"^ '"'"P""'"' <^'ffi™"y tociseterfai." f^i islT^^^::'*,^ ''*' """'"■ over proved the eternity of ,Slt i/d t"" "''" *"" '«y that no man ever will ' *■"* ^ ™'"''« t" docw'roft'oii&nd'rr "■^' '-^ --««« the belief i„ God L»" ^^™lopn>ent should shake that it account for X of tt f^'^t" ^ ^ «™"* "» men know so wdll Lt t 1 "..""'■ «"' Tyndall and Herbert^n !l ^^ *'"' ^^""''n and '«' al, nor for^lfer ^ttt ^ '' "-''"'" 17 ^ -'^- ^* is Eot unreason- WM ?■• II X}' !■ 'L'j di 250 TfiE METHOPIST PLLHT. able, therefore, to insist upon holding it as a mere theory until it shall have been shown to fit all around the circle of nature. Suppose, however, that for a little space we allow that it fits all around— what then ? Why, just this: Accepted as a feci, evolution is the most wonderful fact in the whole comp»:ss of our knowledge, and, more than anything I can think of. requires the ex-" istence of an i,i:.elligent Creator! It has acted all along as if, in the beginning, it had a carefully pre- pared plan and the minutest specifications of the structures it was to build— say, of the lily, th" horse, the man. It began to work toward its object on material most unpromising, the chaotic matter in fclie primitive nebular mass which floated in space as a vast extended cloud. It took millions of years to produce the first specimens of its handiwork— the first lily, the first horse, the first man. Tlirough all the millions of years, like a wise master- builder, it never deviated from its plan *" a single par cular; like a giant refreshed with the vane of immortality,' it never fainted in its toil for a single instant. I am filled with admiration! I am overwhelmed with wonder ! Why, sirs, if this be true— and I do not say that it is not— but, if it be true, I will no longe .sk the lily to tell me of the hand that clot! ' it v ith such wondrous beauty, nor the horse who ,/a hat clothed his warlike nock with thunder, nc the j. an who set him, h the majesty of thought and will, upon the throne of earthly dominion ! ; it as a mere ".« thing they have If . "'"" '" «<"' "-an raatic lathe isIeartrVtl ' . "'"'' "^ "-« ""'»■ expresses his genius ttl,V"Tr' ""'' -""^^ '""^ » this unreason" ; t^ Zt "'", ,*'"'""»^<' ''^ "' force called evolution ™LrsTa„r ""' '"'*'™''- fully expre., the geZ, ^7"""".*° ""^ """^ invisible God than anv nf .r"^ ""'"'?"*<">=« of the An.l, far beyond the fnferi f "'^ P^'"'"'=°'' ^y it. visible features of natat f'^ '"'P'^^^^d » the and for.,s of evo „«? tj '"' '" *''^ ^y^'^"" «.e G.eat Being wt «r't eon^veTt"' f °'^ "' specifications of all thin, in ?•, , ° P'^" *'><' have beauty. l,„.t »ot^t ■ r^ """^ ''^''"™ ">»' out from fit, :« an att "„' : '^'""^' """ "■'" g-« l«ws of action and s„ '" °''''*"""' '" '<« energy, that it . o'gh u'^'S ,""" "'"»°^'^' "■rough a million a»' anT t^/":, "P'^"''''^''' Pleted system of natufe with its v.r* ""' "''■»- of beauty, with its mystrrvo Jr . ^ ""'' ^"'^ ■"an. Yes, my hearer^ lit o^ h ' T^'^'^ °' than unintelligBnt force ZTZ ^^ "°""»S more 'ha. any .,hef theo ^ o "an'Sr"' "T """ """'"^ it. Its very heart and fl I, ^"'' P"""'' ''^''■d «"■' ^ for, wy;: H^'if^'^ ;// -' '■- the living of 1 welf. ' " S^ve no rational account When they C. Lt rrL"4T'- '^"^^ '" '">' - — , to .huir own satisfaction, "I> w 252 THE METHODIST IJLPIT. established it, that the laws which now govern matter have always governed it. There is here, in the first place, an incorrect statement. It is very far from the truth to say that all the laws that now govern matter have always done so. The testimony that the earth bears of its past is this : that far back in the bewilder- ing ages it existed as a mass of molten matter. It must be plain to every one that at that stage of its existence there could have been no form of life in it ; and that, therefore, the laws of life now in operation did not then govern any portion of the matter con- tained in our globe. When life began to be, in 'even its lowest forms, a set of laws new to the earth began to be operative and to control a portion of matter. The statement is not only incorrect in part ; it is, as a whole, a specimen of very bad reasoning. To my judgment the existence and operation of law — law in which the keenest analysis can detect neither life nor thought — requires the existence of a lawgiver. Does the Code Napoleon weaken or destroy the evidences that such a person as Napoleon once existed ? On the contrary, it is almost the only enduring memorial that is left in the world of that great, bad man. Already time has well-nigh removed the scars made by his iron heel upon the race and upon the very bosom of the earth. The empire and the subordinate kingdoms he founded disappeared like the morning cloud while he was yet alive. But the Code Napoleon yet survives to tell that he once lived. Even so the existence and CBB„TUKCO0TB,NE OF aOD AND SCEPTICISM. 253 reign of a perfect and universal Ia«, in . of fh:: rtiTat' aTth "r,""" '™'"''^" ■" "^^ -« have been exp old ' t^ In T "' """ ''"'' '" """ this presently I only /aut h , """" '° "'y "'""" sider whether if it w!,*^ ^ ' '°"« '"™K'' '» «»■>■ their owntt ; L Lr L'n, r,""" '""''''^ ""^'-'^ believers have ad™„~I H f '?7 »^S-.me„t that that God lives and Sdth T" " '""'^ " ""'™« There is nothinrmZ, ."'"■'" ""<' t^o earth. «sults of eo„trov"rr I 7 "T '">» apparent decide which of the oi^, I r"^""" ''«''» ">»'■« than gler. Once and ^^ain r tr ex ""' """'" "™''- shown that the mlTJlu/u.^"^"''' "' ">«" ^as .ynogisn,s war„rrtL: t" tt" -gl^ ^^^^'^ Columbus proposed to the Court „f « ? \. ""^ »ehe„e, which looked to e dTslery "'Tew M '°i' and continents in ih^ w . "'''^"y^ry ot new islands form of the trth wLllT/''^!;'''^ 'P''^""' -thing was ever Zl ^S^^l^:^. '"'*' th.s part of his theory,anS,along with ft h^^?' oulous assertion that ships could sail m!. *" •globe and then sail bLkT2 ^^ ^V"'"""'' princes, and, I grieve toTv ^T . '"'"''"'' *"<' were against him. almo t^t ''atr^Th f''"i ndicule upon "the foolish idea of the ^/'"P"'' •ntipodes, of people who wllk onnn^! f" ""* °* their heels upwards and th^ heaTht "'7'"" where tr«.= ™, ui .. . . "^a"^ hanging down, •^■''" """'"^""'ranches downwards, and 254 THE METHODIST PULPIT. \i. it rains, hails, and snows upwards." They also demon- strated, in the most scientific way, that " if the world be round why, then, the ships could never come back, for the voyage home would, of course, be a perpetual journey up a mountain of sea." His arguments were exploded, and himself and his projects were reduced to absurdity by men who thought they knew ; but Columbus got afloat ; he found America ; he demon- strated the rotundity of the earth ; and, astonishing to say, on the voyage home he sailed up that mountain of sea. In like manner, and in spite of the scientitic bugbears of philosophy when it is falsely so called, men continue to believe in God, to seek Him, and to find Him. As to philosophy, rightly so called, it has never to this day adopted a single doctrine that is in any degree destructive of the belief in the living God. III. THIS DOCTRINE OF GOD IS STILL FURTHER STRENGTH- ENED AND COMMENDED TO SOUND REASON BY A FAIR CONSIDERATION OF THE MORAL AND RELI- GIOUS ELEMENTS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN. That religion is deeply seated in our nature — in fact, ineradicable — is fully conceded, even by Dr. Tyndall. In the preface to the 7th edition of the celebrated Belfast Address, he says : " No atheistical reasoning can ever dislodge religion from the heart of man. Logic cannot deprive us of life, and religion is life to the religious. Afi an experience of consciousness it is perfectly beyond the assaults of logic." In his CHRISTUN I«,CTEIKE OF 001, AND SCEPT,OIS„ 255 -«sfactio„ for the reli.iZ eZ«„„s » "' ^ '^«"™^*^ -..ally, a fake judgt „t :e?t"h""' -t" ™"' •"=^''- »ense, the deputy o/e "rnafRilT "' ' "'°''"' in majesty in the'loul of evet man r/r' "'""*^ tenceof approval or eondeZtruro^X:? 2"" motives, and tempers of men "**'■ worshinun f. . ""'" ™^^^P' ^"^ ^e should cannot be of himself ! ^^ ^"""^ '^'^"g the plainest aLi:;e?of t ttZ The™' r''"; satisfaction of the lungs is Lrd .,, -"^'""^ and they assert its exist™ . The el" s J"'! f ' sound, and its satisfaction is provided air . stoo, the eye would assert ^iralltut^S^e^nTo" :hetotr::dt^;;rel':^L^^-■•^-''- equal authority the eTten Hf a BeTn^V"' worthy to receive Messing and horrlt^gi^X: 25G THE METHODIST PULPIT. J I 'it it Being whose right ia to "govern the nations that be upon the earth," and to bring oen into judgment and "render unto every man according as his work shall be." IV. THE MANIFEST DESIGN IN THE CONSTITUTION AND . ACTIVITIES OF NATURE AFFORDS, IN ITSELF, SUF- FICIENT GROUND OF BELIEF THAT THEY WERE PLANNED AND BROUGHT INTO BEING, AND ARE NOW OPERATED BY AN INTELLIGENT AND ALL- POWERFUL BEING. The facta upon which this argument is based are so well knov/n, and have of necessity been so often before us in this series of sermons, that I need not now dwell upon them at any great length. There is scientific eviuence that before the present mechanism of the universe was set in motion, there was a preparation and grouping of its materials, and an ad- justment of its minutest parts. So great an authority as Sir John Herschell asserts that "chemical analysis most certainly points to an origin, and effectually de- stroys the idea of a self-existent matter, by giving to each of its atoms the essential character, at once, of a manufactured article and a subordinate agent" "Thus," says Dr. Cocker, "in the very elements out of which the universe is built, we see the indications not only of a fashioning, but also of an originating intelligence— a creating God." But this is going very far back. Look, now, at the more familiar fact that nature is in universal and per- » as his work petual motion. San anr? Ki«^^ *he veins of p.an:^^/™^^^™"^";;^ '"■'"^'^ morial the seasons have f d W j ea^^ ,. "• '"""'• regular succession that i^T^^t 2l " " ™"'' wmter, seed-time and harvestt.„ ^ ' ™""°'" ^"^ time. The planet, T„ I ' ™ "'™'" ™"'e <>«* of 'hesweep of SXrcr^^'i" ™-"''"' ""^ ■» oMon and .tead^esT tha'tT " '" ""' '""' ?'" and the -tronomeTistb e ritrtT "'"'°". when any one of them will alTar „t ^ """"'^ ■n it. orbit a ti.ousand yearstn^ ' " ''"'" P°"' More wonderful still is the facT^'.f ,. , operations has its nron^. JlV , , ^"'^ °* *'>e^« pushed with a^tuchfltn; *""" " '" '^'""■ if the agent knew whatT "e^ ^^.T" ^' P"^^'*-'' intelligent measures to do u Bet 1 f ■"" """^ these ends stand related t: ne ^otwr' '"^°' "^^^ «ries in an ascending scale L>! " ~"nected i*y to the life of man Un? ^ '" " ''"''■ »'"- planets the changes rfthe^ revolutions of the changes of thelS nf v^rbriTfe 7' ' "^" '""^ depend; „p„n these, in tu™ animltwe "7^™"°" » the life of man-depend"; ''f«-«nin»nating Most amazino- of aJI ia +1,^ * j. ^t which act exacti; asl'h ;*w:J^;"*f";f "T ''^^"'^' appointed service »d took Z and effij ."'"' ""'" '0 accomplish it, are knownrbrdestftutT o^Tn" gence and of mhprpnf r^^, "^ aestitute of mtelli- 'his connection the m^rJo^wrr ^"^^ »'» when there was no .1^?,,?'.^* ."''.''■ /'»« ^"^ ' «• i-ne uann, for once it f r .'J I.' 'i M III I m 1 n 'a ..■M m In 258 THE METHODIST PULPIT. was a mass of molten matter; and we know thet no germ of life could have endured such heat as was necessary to melt it. How. then, did life begin ^ In their desperate determination to deny the beina of God, some have taken refuge in the theory that^'life sprang up spontaneously-that is, without a pre-exist- ing life to spring from. Let us move carefully over this ground. It must be admitted that the cooling lava of a world which had certainly been fused from centre to circumference had, in itself, no germ of life The life which is now its most remarkable feature must therefore be accounted for, and that in one of two ways. It either sprang up spontaneously, or was derived from a source entirely apart from and inde- pendent of the earth. Prof. Huxley was bold enoudi to announce his belief in the spontaneous origin of lite, and that he could demonstrate it by an experi- ment. He made his experiment with a piece of raw flesh placed in a vacuum, and all the world held its breath awaiting the result. It was a failure. Dr Tyndall followed with three experiments in the same line. The first was with common air in a closed vessel, and he got life in the insect form. The second was with enclosed air which had been subjected to a high degree of heat, sufficient to destroy any germs of life m the air, and he got no life. In the third the vessel was first made a vacuum and then the air was permitted to filter back through cotton fibre which was wadded into the neck, and he got no life As the result of all. Dr. Tyndall came out convinced that every hfe m the universe sprang from a father-life I CBBISTU.„0CTB™.ora0X,..„S0.P„c,SM.259 Now, gather into one view all fl,. c . primitive elements of which th" ''^T T^"' ^" ""^ made, every atom bearJh. , "'""'' """"'"o i" Article ;>• organted matt '" ' "^ " " •»''»«f«tured according to a most rattti "' "'^'^ ""°'"»'- »■=«%' lent design; '" „ ^Z' ''""P"'^'"'^'', and benevo! given but to as ribe Ho a"? - T' ^"°""' ^O" >-« We could not hrvebetn in th"''; "''"'' '""'"- ■»oi'on earth, is all around "'1/°"^ '''™ "'■ '^ own oxperieace-for we ite ff * P"' «*' "" other day in a book aL T f"!^ ^'^ ^ '■««<' the gentleman who Cl "f ^ ""^ '"'"^ ye^'^ "go by a 'W the arguir, o:7esCrafb" '° '^''"''^' Brethren, it refuses to explodf " o' '™ .?P'°<'^^ ' nndertafce to exnlod. tl, P. "e •' One might as well »aties. Can thethtie a^f "' ™""" "' "■"">- the sum of all its parte' m!? ?^ "''"''''" "'°'^ "■« yet we are asked '„ be ie^lfhr"^'' "=*""°'- ^"^ - of the universe as I X fgitrritr'".^"'''^- unreasoning force ' A n ^ • K ^°'^ ""^^^^^r and .»ust be fofnd!::: 'fount a^ajTl'^V^ "^^ ""-»' of life and motion ' Wh v 1 ^^ ""*"''"* """^es beyond a question i butbestll'tr T"" ""'' '"""' here are activities so Zlr ! ] '""■' '' 'i'e. and rational that th y ^"t do ?h "''"' '" "^'^^^ ""^ >o "lost capable of mankind T*!"" ""'' ^™'"'^ o*' *^' of the infinite reas:n:dp::t'':7r""'r'^"''^^ "ig God, by whom theses; -f " ^""■*' ''"'' '"■ "eated. Wisdom wmTcfrcTT '^''^"'^ *'''•' ""« Philosopher. The abCr:!' • .3Tt': «" ^'"-tie -J j«sc ill pronouncing 260 THE METHODIST PULPIT. them fools; it is strictly scientific in locating the fountain of their folly in the heart rather than in the intellect. For the time, at least, the man must have lost the proportions of reason who can believe that life was conceived -.nd born of death, that order, of that excellent kind which prevails in nature, was the creation of chaos, and that activities, so far-reaching and potent as to wield the material universe, so rational and benevolent as to be easily understood by a child in the useful and necessary services they min- ister to the life of man, were caused by inert, uncon- scious, unliving, unfeeling, unreasoning matter. V. THIS BELIEF IN GOD WHICH HAS COMMENDED ITSELF ALMOST UNIVERSALLY TO THE JUDGMENT OF MAN- KIND, AGAINST WHICH NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN ESTABLISHED BY PROOF, WHICH IS CONFIRMED AND COMMENDED TO SOUND REASON BY THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS REQUIREMENTS OF MAN, AND ALSO BY THE EVIDENCES OF RATIONAL AND BENEVOLENT DESIGN IN NATURE— THIS BELIEF, I SAY, HAS BEEN TESTED BY EXPERIENCE BY MULTITUDES OF HONEST AND CAPABLE MEN, AND HAS BEEN FOUND TRUE TO FACT. I shall not enlarge upon this point. The argument is very simple, and its value is easily estimated. Such men as Faraday, Cook, Tholuck, Wesley, Fletcher, and thousands more— good men all, and scholarly— declare " we have found the Lord." There it stands. There is not a shadow of countervailing evidence. It con- CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OP OOD AND SCEPTICISM. 26] tmdicte the experience of no man under heaven. That edibre%h7:r'^ '^'^ '" "^- *-'™™y - '- credible. That they were deceived in thinking tl,»t iTrt^tifrV'^""^',™'"''"""''''""^^^^^^^^^ assert until he has himself failed to find Him in an honest and .scriptural endeavor so to do. Mor over U must be noted that among the men who have eJufied that they have found the Lord are some of the most capable and trustworthy of mankind. If th ir tTst mony was true to fact, then there was, and s atd ever shall be world without end, a God for ml to told, obey, and enjoy forever. The applications of this doctrine are too manv and way m the little space that remains. A !ew of the more important may, however, be mentioned (1 ) Toe doanne tve Uve been consideHng U ex^ntial to ««i™ce. When all the facts of natur^ shalul™ W ascertained and systematized, there will yll m^ain to be answered the question of ones ions eter the life to a father-life. the order to'lnt^erc ' »d the activities to a power that is under the direC' .on of a Living Person; and that, borrowin^he long-neglected language of holy writ she Z^ " 262 THE METHODIST PULPIT. in her final text-book : " In the beoinnino God cre- ated THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM." (2) The doctrine of God la fundamental to every vital feature of Christianity. It furnishes the exact point around which the serious battle between the Christian philosophy and its several opponents nm.st be fought. Holding it, everything in Christianity becomes possible, rational, and even necessary ; for then Providence is only the care which the Creator very naturally takes of the things which He thought It worth His while to make ; revelation is accounted tor from the natural desire of the Creator to com- municate His thought and will to such of His creatures as were capable of receiving them • and re- demption is but the out-going of a Father's. love towards His guilty and perishing children. (3) It would be improper to take leave of the subject without saying a plain word to the believers of thk doctrine. You accept the statement that God created the heaven and the earth and you. Perhaps you con- gratulate yourselves upon the fact that you are very firm behevers-that nothing could shake your faith And possibly you may harbor the notion that if you can only keep up that intense faith to the end of life Jesus Christ will reward you for it by opening to you the gates of His holy and blessed heaven, and by saying " Come, ye blessed." And yet, in all kindness, I must remind you that some of us believers in God are to be numbered CBH,ST,A» DOCTRINE OF GOD AND SCEPTICISM. 263 sceptics ; for n savTn" ,h ,"?■ t' 'r*"^ ''"'™'^ «<• wh^ are',e» Ll^ / r^ "?'' """^ T" Uie nominal believer, of X 1 . '''""''™ *'»' pendous wickednesTof !• ^ '" '°"""" t^e stu- s>e poor. :tt::Li'iTr':r'''" ^r--^ »landers-a„d„„chloro and 21 " '™ ^^ in direct disobedience of he glrGod"°"V'"' ."" Mieve ! It remain, for snchTo hi ? "'""" '^^S* 'he great God in ^AolC L- ' jTZ ' '"7" them to so to fh^ c.,i.i- . '^'^'^^^ve / it remains for by negle'tit"; eotir blf "' '" "'"''^^"-' Redeemer .•^tCt^-jS-A-'S '"e cnaeifled Ood turn our hearts from^ Ci tv S -r' '"'™^'" eternal overthrow i R„ "'"l''"y' '««' ■* prove our you shall fad n Him a SV° ^'* ^«"'' ^-^ stand by you "n W. ^f-^'r-^ » Fri™d that will »«y4 p::;;:: '^irizt'' ■"" "^ '- ^-^ ^ m I m R',';^ SEEMON XVIII. THE CROSS OF CHRIST-THE FITTING THEME OF A MINSITER'S GLORYING. BY REV. W. JACKSON, MONTREAL. Preached be/ore the Theological Union of the Montreal Conference. " But God forbid that I Bti>n>'Ui i ''', v fiav« in ♦»,« * Lord Je8U8 Christ. "-Gai.vi. U. '''^''^''' "" ^^' «'•<""' "' »«' rPHIS avowal of the great Apostle of the Gentiles J- will, I am sure, find an echo in the heart of every true minister of Jesus Christ now before me ; and also in the heart of every hearer in whose soul there pul- sates the joys of . new life. I have chosen this text to-night, not so much for purposes of exposition, as to avail myself of the opportunity it affords of statins three or four reasons why the cross of Christ is the proper object of ministerial glorying. Depending upon the help of the good Spirit of God, and craving the aid of your patience and prayers, I will, without further preliminary remark, address myself to the task before me. THEME OF he cross of our THE CROSS OF CHRIST. 265 than at ,o,ne fonnef perfotTZ ^r". '"^'^ ■=•" but we mv no nearer fh! , '^'""■o'ls history; found mystery tCTJ °°"'P'^''^''sion of its pr„. before „.^ tL e .itf "r'""! ^I^" "-« gone fetter understood J.an ftJX a". ,.°"'" '™*^ '' exerts on modern theolosieluhif Z """ """""^^ '' in? and modifying ou vTei f ?^ " ""''"■' '"S"'"'- fn.me-worlc of Christli;; ^ "'""'^ "°'='™'^l tur!':an°tt rni^lT*"' ''^ '""^'>* '•" «-'p- actual union of the'^diWp T"?'!!^""*''' '°"P'<"« "«' one person of our Lord nt '""? '"""- - the than this, ffou, this can bet'"^^ ""'"'" ''^ '"^^ towers above our fa.„, fe: L 1%^^'"^ "■"^'' earth. We are not asked *„ j ' '°™ the «re impossible, ir^ttlvnr ?*""'' '"'^- ""'' -ached that climax of i2l~f„7 '^"^" •'''™ ">an says to hi.nself ■• I wil ,i! i ^ '" "''^''='' ^ but what I understand " fo tC """ '" "°''«'" IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 Ui |||8 MM I.I MS 1 40 2.5 12.0 18 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation A «-'/ h < ^^ V % A f/. 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► ip \ :\ \ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 '*'*, <«^\^\ Ux 266 tUE METHODIST PULPIT. were no God at all. Logically, the union of the Divine and human in the person of our Lord is impossibla- it IS just as well to admit that once for all— but our poor logic is shivered at once into atoms in the pre- sence of the person of Jesus Christ, who is at once human and divine. I need not detain you with any formal proof of this • that Christ had the attributes of both natures, while' He was but one person, is written as with a sunbeam on the mspired pages. No fires of adverse criticism can eliminate this truth from the sacred record, in hatred or depravity impeach the record. It stands here to-night in a lustre brighter far for the ordeals through which it ha^ passed during the centuries. Christ IS man, and He is more than man ; Christ is God and He is less than God. Christ is man stooping to the lowest attitude of human weakness, frailty, and limitation. Christ is God invested with all the attri- butes and exercising all the prerogatives of the Deity He IS like us, brethren, and yet most unlike. He has no parallel among the race, and yet He is linked to the lowest of us by a nature like our own. Christ is linked to man as the wayfarer, with weary limb and aching brow; and He is equally linked to the Deity by the sweep of His intellect, the might of His arm, and the matchlessness of His moral purity. By this mysterious blending of the Divine and human natures m His own person, Christ is equally akin to both. He 18 the co-equal of the Eternal Father, yet He is my brother. On the one side, His nature reaches upward THE CBOSS OF CHRIST. jgy "dtwtTli„°^''Vf;;;_.f ""ward '" ^^ poorest ""ture in „„;„„ wUh' ^",'7 ^^'fi'^ of the Divine "-an. Christ stands Jlonethttv ?'"°"' °- ">^ glory of heaven •'"y "f earth and the «^^t^ ::;rr '- *"- - p-n of Christian truth itV'f j^-*^ «>« whole fabric -OS of the system eonvel " "f "'"''"' "" ">» derive at once their si™i« '""" '^^'"i' thev Elation between;he~:r -Vtr'"- "^he Ho taught is n>ost vitan>u.,f»n"'"^-"='™os oft;'-- Our best defin «;n " "o^ ?.-'"=.«"g on each «»<1 by so much as you l„i .?''?"y '^ Christ, Pe-on you lower the !ZZ7fL'^T'' "' ^''^ he converse of this is eaulZ\ ^''™''»»i'y ; and doctrines of Christianity to T^'^ ^"' ''°™ "-o ^'gnificance. and the n^ur ', / '"■ ™»"^'' Po»ibIe degradation of ChristCnon "'""'=' ^"' ""= ^^^ any :'t^::t' rt'r f- l^-"- ^-o.^.. assume "Pect, and though I ,„ . ,'"® """'ob I could bought which stgerrrr "' «>^ *-'• " is a dumb. ButwhenlCvey'LT" ""f ^'"'''■' "o ™trument designed ofTo/f"" "* Christ as the dignity, and the blthe des«° •""" T" ""^"^ '» P-^'y Wity. and feel in my ow„ , 'T' "* " ^'^^''^'' '»™of. «»d hopes it inspires 2" ? '""'"""S "' ">e joys '•'■•^ fact as it is"^ ve2d t?" " '''''''^ '° "'^'opt ■"finite wisdom of the Deltv th""' T'"^ """ '» ^o ■ JJe.ty the end aimed at is com- J 268 ? 't THE METHODIST PULPIT. % mensarate with the means He has adopted to bring it to pass. I will not say, as some have done, that this IS the only way in which God could sav- fallen ones. I dare not attcmpi to measure the resources of the Deity, or put a limit on the faculties of the Infinite but since He has chosen this method we may be satis- fied it was most in accord with His own perfect wisdonr. and the requirements of the race it was de- signed to .save. If it be urged that the nature of man is too insig- nificant to account for a humiliation so profound, and a sacrifice so great as that implied in the incarnation and death of the Son of God, then, I answer, there are other worlds than this, and other races than ours, and while the immediate and direct subjects of re- deeming grace are sinful men, and while that is the grand theme of this Holy Book, its pages are not '' • titute of intimations that the death of Christ ^ comprehensive though indirect bearing on the whole universe of intelligent beings. In the light of the intimations to which I allude, I think I am warranted in saying that by the cross of Christ it is the purpose of the Eternal to bring all holy intelligences in the universe under one system of perfect order, harmony, and love— weld them together in one harmonious and happy whole. As my thought glances forward to the time when this purpose shall be accomplished, when I see angels and men drawn together by the magnetic power of the cross, and fused into a white heat of gratitude and love, my reason is satisfied to accept the THE CROSS OP CHRIST. 269 "mystery of the incarnation Let ih m . critics or sceptics say what ftl ^^"^ '' ^^"^"^«« '^. e an ob/ect not^nwoXV ^ ^«- this Himself. ^worcny ot the Son of God Assured that su^h i'>4 in u ^i -«o„ and the c^t'^o^t t uT"" °' '"^ '"<""- more for my heart than mv I, 1 "'"'"* * "»'"«'• «-tit„deje.f.co„:!;: rj w';:;" f f"''''''''"''' •■atherthan an intellectnal probZ "^ '^'"™'' AsasinMr,Ihumblv>,n,li ? , ''''' ""* *" ^Ive. -ting my sou. 1^ '(^ ^ ^ '° "'-■^^'"X •■"PO. A., a minister I can t, t , ';'='^''P*'""=o »d the means by which it u * "^ '" "'» "ros" as are realised ™'^' '° '^"'"'^ and far-reaehin» HIMSEL. TO man" ""^ ""' "''M OP The human can onlv rise in ti, -n- • , emplatfon of the Deity but th!n"' ^^ ""= ■=""- ken of the human tL !! , > ""' '' ''^-^-^ 'he of Himself in thToid™ tim ''™ """"' "'«' "■«)« fear. In the compTev n» '"'Z "'"'"^ * "'""'^ »* ha^ given us the fu' k,t revd' t" '^"""^ ^™' "^ if. ;ike Mose., we de ire tl °" "' ^™'^"'' '*» "^at without a ve I It ^ u V'' "»''"•>' °f 'he Lord » faceof Jesus Christ '"'..H-'i'^ ''"'"^»- '""'"^ His Father's peraon," nor *d llt^ '"'"'.''' '"''^^^ «* «». »a. hinder the^e^^r^ -—!!--» mUiF '; 1/ ' 270 THE METHODIST PULPIT. vi;i^ yea. It was a fitting vehicle through which to manifest Himself unto His earthly children. Through Christ's flesh there came frequent flashes of the Divinity there was m Him and men "Beheld His glory, the glory as of^the only begotten of the Father, full of truth and Now, amid all the revelations of Himself, which C.od has made to mankind, this is at once the most comprehensive and the best suited to our faculties We may learn something of His wisdom and His powe- from the study of His works. God has written Hi; presence and power on all creation. Revelations of fend sky. We have only to use our faculties to trace Him m everything about us. We see Him in the lofty mountain, and in the tiny flowers; in the sparklin. dewdrops. and the restless sea. We hear Him in th: s gh of the zephyr, and the roar of the storm; in the npple of the streamlet, and the song of the bird. sheweth His handy-work." But as we gaze in amaze- ment on the stupendous power and matchless wisdom wefp'mT 1"' "T ^" ^^' ^^^'^■^ «^ His hands, we fee that m these things there is no response to the deepest longings of our intellects or our hearts For ages earth's keenest minds have been readin. this story of hill and valley, earth and ocean, field and flowers, sun and star; and the more they have read the more they have been bewildered, because nature cannot answer the soul's questionings con- THE CROSS OF CHRIST. 271 variable as a kalei/r "''""' °' ^'™ ^"' ''^ «' conflicting as you ' nr^K,""'-"^ ''''^■="« » »«r;;trvr:tur:f'^H°^'^^«» °' «* but onlv sncl, !,„„ i j ^ "' ^'^ "nniutable law Here we find a t" f ^^ ?• T'" '"'™^"y "^ f-^.' j"3tiee whi^h mU^Z """f ."^'^h-^'^^ -- and a -veiation beyond r^^'aLVl^f " '"^•^ " => some clearer liaht Hi» .! -J "n'ess we can get to be in confltf TV ,*""'' '""■'' Wear to us ever.blessed nIc-h: h "" "^''""-tbanks to His His beloved Son He^ t ^"? '" "'^ P^"-^™ of form, and withTn tl! ^ of" ^''"i""'* '" """- ■»ay grasp the hands of »T T ^*™'""'; ^^'^ ^o of ou? adorable Lot hLa^h "''" '" "'^ P"^» tears of brotherly s™„,« "\'^'™"" '^"^ "■^' «-'* heart of our God- Ci L^'b"'"* "'" "? *-» «>« »'. but the infinu; tendere^'^r T'" ^P^-^^'^S '» 'he Deity that utterrth .' 'ove-tones reveals 'ovinglabor with r ^ l" "''" ^P""*^' «<= of -Diinej;r:Vtrd:™3Xtt^^i^^ power, as we see them nowherleise T T '" """' Divme Being throueh anv .7k .• ^ookmg at the Winded or bewildeld b,ft 1 '"^'^'""'- ^ o™ either ffim in such a w ^t' l^^f™ Christ I behold y «"« ^0 xvxadle my adoration and lift '\ hi' 272 THE METHODIST PULPIT. "idM: love I cannot comprehend Him-tl.at were i,npo».ible -but I cm see enough of Him to quiet my troubled oonscence, and give ™y earth-worn'sin-poii^t'd ^ptt that''thI/^' n r''" "'■ ""^ '™°' ""y "'h- altitude than that of Calvary and its cross, and you will find your v,ews oscillating to and fro like the^pen.rj u„t of Tu J r t '^='«™»y J"«t. if not harshly cruel- bu stand,ng by the cross and looking at the Ete"nal' Father m the reflected light it throws upon His fa ' we see H,m as He actually is. Looking at the DeTtv and confl,ct,ng conceptions of Him. The cross uCl the De.ty near to us. reveals Him as the friend ^f tTeXTnl 'i"%^ "'"'""'' '" -" ">e Infill" IZ Zt^ '^ """" °' *'""'''• The cross local n , '; "■"''" ''"" Wehensible to our powers, weakened and perverted by sin In the cross God has opened a wider rift in ♦!,» clouds which hang o"er Hi, ;„fi„it 7 . ^ flnrl •„„ I. , inhnite nature than we find anywhere else, and through which comes Z widest knowledge of Him. Perfections of the D vl nature whjch, studied separately, seem to be in conflict Joenh Cool™ J" P"^' "•"* ™''"""> ■"""■'ony Joseph Cook speaking of his love of sitting by the to lit T""'- ^^'-^ ''^ "'^ ^'"^^ -=0™ out, I love to hft above my thoughts Richter's Apologue whlh f'sprTd" ™"^' "'""^ " """- "•> -*» ''" '"" y space, and movmg with him from gallery to gallery. THE CROSS OP CHRIST. 273 lationa answered. ' End i. th ' ^ *'^^ ^^^^^-el- heard of.' A^ain fh !^T "°"" ^^^* ^^^r yet we Again the ancfel flew on v^uu *u .n.n.ea,urable architraves " T °" *"^">« n-"" pa.st mensity sown with .nT' '"""ens'ty after im- hoart iWnted alanand ^•^""''''' ""'^ "■« ''"-»» of the universcrof Qoj r""^ T';/^"' '^ ""- "™« •End is there none of th. • ""«"' «n»wered, there is no begin^n. B,!, r'tT °' °°''- '»• "'^o look into the:ky ;fu bdn/'h" ''"'"'''"'""-<'• of the gospel re»rd n. thelet J'th"^ ^*" "'^ P^S^ other revelations of the Oiv , " »'°"«'»»t. a" trast but chafland dust " " ^ '^ ^^P'" '" "O"- etemir^ depend'. It'''"' "' "■"" ^^ ""^ »d becomes a duty enW j ,?*' °'"'"'" '» Him. it -If-interest ;^;™/X ■'''■'^ V gratitude and by Himself in he peno^ ' /»™'»"on He has made of Know Christ love Chrl "'??'• ''^ ""-« to of Christ, is t; know God I'T"'' "'" '" *« ^'"dy »l>ip with Him Thatl'C "T^ " "'""'•"'g ^""-^ Father reveals Himself „.,♦ „. '"" ">« universal What is this sospe b„ Ch °^ .? V""''^ *"''^^n » West, Christ the Exemi ° ^"^''*'' ^^"'' 'he 274 THE METHODIST PULPIT. It ha^ neither beauty nor power; it only mocks my hopes and sports with my misery. But Christ, as the revelation f the Father's love, is the central figur here; and that is, I contend, a sufficient reason for glory u, the cross on which that revelation culminates Let those who will pursue the world's wealth, or p easure. or fame, and make these things the objects of their boasting ; let u.s. Christian brethren, spend Him the so e object of our glorying. Perish every other pursuit, let failure be the outcome of every intellects and hearts in the study of Thee and Thy Cross, that our souls may know. love, and enjoy the universal Father for ever ! ^ III. MY THIRD REASON FOR GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY FOUNTAIN WHENCE FLOWS A SUPPLY ADEQUATE FOR THE DEEPEST NEEDS OF HUMANITY. All I need as a man or sinner is here. I see in Christ a sympathising friend, a faultless exemplar, and an atonement-making priest. Every man 6nds him self n circumstances where the sympathy and help of ters set before him as worthy of imitation there is no Tthl r T"""' "^"^' '' ^^ *^^ '^''^ beneath, no GhZ I ™"^^^^«'^^«^«'^t for his sins. The cross of Christ IS heaven's own method for meeting the moral THE CROSS OP CHRIST. 27' and culture, thai is IT. "f '" "' "^ ""'-»«"•> personal impuritv and thJ ■ ?, ''™'"='""™e.ss of forms of penance «dsdf„,oH«%"'''^"''"™ "' ''" "o power can wash out tr"*'™ ' ""■' *'^'<' '» »vo the preer Zt^V^^: T'"", "' f ' doctrine of Christ nn,i n- V. ™'' ""■ "'''en th s the intellect and ^tv!r hi t ^PP'*™*d b^ bring, the soul of nn!!.,^''' heart, how near it It puts the sou "^nt :^ '"'° '" "-^ E'-™' God ! Demand rllteV^r I^^T 'd" "■' of the age is to ifrnnra fi,« J . • ^"^ tendency sonorous%oice Ifd r pr phetrr?'' """"'■ ^"^ continue to iterate and Sa.! ^^r"' *' """'' The confusion of earth's «..? " "^^ ^''"•"■' «»■•• to drown the voiceTneawlrr '' """""^^ t-.Vh:irt;elr;i": *"''^. ■'^v'' -p-"- of cm. the ^tellectu^liruro SS^T' "^^ supplant the crosc, h^ f.o '"^^J^^^^^- These would p~duct of the ;ZosoU?rr r"?--r''^ j-'"' cleansinc. for the im^i .t P°*'- ^"^tead of intellect;r'"L*t r^ :'^:^f 7-P-' ^^r the i^norin^ the fact of universal 276 THE METHODIST PULPIT. '.r , depravuy they offer a deadly opiate to tl,e i„,livi,lual conscence; rocogni.ing the capacity of tl,e n , , " »o„.,a„,i conscious of it,, own inability to iL „ he sub .„,e heights of being, this fornfof n.oder 1^ .e.«„ ,H content to ad„,i„i,tor the Lethean dran ht h winch the »oul becon.es oblivious to its ZZl ^ ractcr and its sublin.est destiny. I ,„., no a wo,d to say agamst what all n,en ask for i„ the shape of culture; would that in intellect and taste wo e a race of men instead of a race of babies; but when 1 «... asked to substitute these for the gui t-p„r,7o„ ". uen ur, I wdl not give my bread for your ston,- potehed It there m no nourishment for n,y heart in it On the other side of u, wo have a class of „,en 1 obscure the Cross by their ritualism. Practie lyt C "en reduce Christianity from a systen, of heaven bomp„„,ip, for exhibition in th"^. earthly 11": t" men, to a round of ordinances to be observed llthl system mmisters are no longer ambas.,adors of Ch wooing and beseeching men to be reconciled to 1 'eeonVat "t?""".' P-'"— ke,., or a kind F„r ?,,• *'°" '"''"''™ «<«' «nd the people Church /•! r"° "' " '"'■"^ ?"-«""'<' -'n the wha t ?'""*'' *"'' '"e'cal eonsequencos and what have you ?_no Saviour at all ! A Driest is Zl whose chief duty is to offer sacrifice ; tuf hi any sacrifice to offer in the Christian Church then ».st be supplementary to the sacrifice of Chrisrid THE (-ttoss OF ClfUisT. 277 ™ppirti,at which chn-» ' : L t;;,"""; p""»' «" leave, us without a Suvi„„/i i ', " """ '''"""y "- »in». Away..;':; T; ;;'';^^- ""■' '-P^'- '" ™h.,titute8;,rivo „,„ ,,„„. ""J'"'"' your worthless Lo"!! lW.'t:ipl;tu "'^, '^'■"''«»'' ■'"-' Risen i::;""'-''--'--onve;Hi;:Lrtr;or^ other, let us hold hi in T"T """"'™ °" ""' '»n,l, the Cross of Christ „»'«' T'"' ""'^""'•'l""' a meetness for the issu^ of ° f '"j"""'' ."' "'«>. and you shall give the doctrine of thrr "'"' "'"' among the sciences or philantLn- ^ "'" " P'"" in the nan.e, and bv the,, ., T ""'""""' °' <'"^» : erucificl .he;eon I clai u f" °f ^ "' ""» -'"> ^^^ elusive and absolute ,„ h • *"" " ™P™"acy ex- is not of earth but f.l"'"""'^P''^^^- Christianity gone the moment LorTitl"' """!'' ^P^™'"^^ '^ on the one hand i^^e 1! "^ ' ^^ '""^'-ot thought, nor on the% h r al owT^, °' "■<"'^™ or even obscure the fact of „a„T feV K '"^' '''"'"'■ mans tall by sm and his 278 THE METHODIST PULPIT. "IF .„.^lf ^"^"'P'' '° ''*"'="''<' ^'"'* Christ is to the soul hat receives Him are a failure; words are too few and eeble for the mighty theme. Is there a mo aT evl from which the souls of men suffer, which hT not .„ ChHst an infallible antidote ? Is there a virtue of wh.c. we are capable of which He is not at one wi hTwTn "!' "."'"'"" • '"' W-''»'J Christ wuh the intellect and the heart is to be made free from sm, and to rise to something of the dignitv and aubhmity of His own character and life. Oh bfested privilege this, brethren! These souls of ou a mat like unto that of our Lord ! Oh. to have His gentle- ness His meekness, HU purity, and His aelf-denia ! To follow Him in His universal obedience to the Fatherswill as the law of our lives; to have the same upreme love for the Father, and the same yearnW ^ympathy for man, as the motive power of our lives^ Oh, brothers to be like Him is the truest dignity aTd the highest destiny of a human soul !-a dility L destiny short of which our soul cannot be at r:st. ^Thus we may become through Christ. The magnetism of the sorofmiMr' """ "^'^y ^^^^- --'--d soul of man about the very heart of God C^T^\"1*^- """ '^"'' ^'^ ™ch' resources in Christ that this process of assimilation into His like- ness may go on for ever without the possibility of exhausting them. Plants aad animals die for lack o food, or from the loss of power to appropriate it; but THE CROSS OF CHRIST. 279 :n.Sr„r t ^t;::^ ^ »^ - ow„ into the texture of „„. K . ' Progress is woven possible to »s evetwLSr;' '■'^C™- <-- "'ade onward" is the motto ffle J' :,'""" "^^«^ progression is the law of it ,ife " ^^ ^™'' ^''™'" ^gu'^wMertHepirtir '''^^^." -^ »<' gressions of a soul ThTt T„t *''^ P»«^'Wli«es or pro- makes Hi™ the elrt Jd ^''?' '"*° "^^'^ and Spain once held hot sWel TZZT. "' "^ «»■ the Straits of Gibraltar ^ l t ^^''""ranean at possessions, that shf^tanf "d "^ '\''''' *^ ™'»^ h- pillars of Hercules LtheT ^^ ""^ ">« '^o called; and in a Iroll tir'"""*"™^ "' ''^^ ^'^« --ords, -neplus «ft«" l/"™ T ""^^^ ^^^'^ 'ho fto bold spirit of CdlTr T! v'^"'"^- ^"t "'hen and found'^the nfw trid !h ^"^ ''.^y™" «>ese pillars ■■ne " from her coTnZl leftTh r, ^*™* ""= '-ord l>eyond. No Chris irjf .>"" «ftm"-more -ive at a stage tZ Z^Z t Ibll f ™''^ "■"' "ore beyond;" but ever and L . u '*^'' "^" m virtue and in likenes, f„ ri, ! " *"* ""y S™"' for higher flight^^^L^d w™\»^ P'"»» himself there is "to„4 beyond" a^uranee that te.Xt;erdthrth";f "'^"'' ^^^j°'- '° - ™wl out of the daAnl Ti"'"^ "^ ""'"^ ^^all cwsp.3e„eeanrtr:wt::rs^rhfi:::i 280 THE METHODIST PULPIT. about wthHis glory, and drink in bli,s from all the ources and through all the avenues of knowledge a! I commune with Him ; when I shall be rid of all th Ob truct.ons and hindrances of a fmil body ; and when w.th u„d.mmed eye I shall look into the bAghtnesrof my Savour's face, and flash back His light and love Now, e^ Christ by the Cross proposes t! do thi tW me, and the race to which I belong, I take it to be a IV. MT FOURTH REASON FOR GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS BECAUSE IT IS THE MIGHTIEST IN- STRUMENT IN THE HANDS OF M.N FOR THE UP- LIFTING OF HIS BROTHBai. J **ll' wf '^ •* ""■■ «f«-«'<«'k. brethren, and I affirm that the Cross is the one instrument of our power. Conscious of the ever-present and oppressive to set Itself nght with God. Each succeeding a^e has had Its own favorite remedy for removing the Zif 7^1 'r.? "'■^' '"'™ "'^y accomplisld Maa feels the hostile relation in which he sLd,s to God_ To set himself right he has put forth the mightiest e%rts a«d made the costliest sacrifices /no suffering has been too great, no pang too severe, to be „,! /"n*. "' '"""^ ■"« '"'^" ">' """o™ out- come of all these mere human endeavors to set the soul r^ght with God. Men have elaborated s^ enough, but they have failed to give peace to hfs con- THE CROSS OF CHRIST. gSl science, or re-^f. fn u;^ • ■. '«« its staCo^ ril^"^-d heart. G«i,t ha. -"■ain man cannot be at"™ y ' *"' ^""'^ t''-^ "»nd to the highest »n^ ""^ '''^"'='''« his ^yo" -y store tLZ/^tti"r -f '""'«'"■■ tore both ancient and modrrn 'P""'' °* "'^--a- taste and elevate his mind K !v ' ''"'" """^ '■«fi°« his ""' these guilt stainsZ caL ; '""^ °* '"^ ^^-"^ ; ings after the Infln te 1 T "'""™- ^^^'^tWr^t' «flneme„t can satilfy."^^''" »"«- -your schemes of civilization and?, .'^ ""P""*"' ^"'^^es, utterly powerless in th;nl7"T °* ^'^"<»«''n are ■-«»%. There are quesSlT ""' "^^''^ "^ h»- »ense moment which'Ihey "rot" ''"'' ^™' »' '"»- ■■> every human heart whlchT ""''• ^^*™»g« ■■"nger of spirit which tteyl Jot""""' ""^'^^ » would dignify, ennoble elevaTr '^^T' " y"" you must bring it ;„ '4' ™^- T' " """»» -"L d-rect contact with Him wL "'''"'' *»<• »to That life only is trulv bT» ^ T' """"'"^d 'hereon Christ has be'lom a?„n tii ;'"■■ ^"""'^ '^^ '» "-ord. this Gospel, forXT he"" •""'. """^^ ' » fnbstitnte, is the ocean of old' " absolutely „» "« depth and shoreC •„ V °™' ""f^'homable in f"'ed and despaitg ^c: U7f d^ ''''^^' » "^ hope. "^ ^ '^^''^ "lay find cleansing and By the cross it is rjnri'c, "°rid. The record ofts fr"™ • '" ''«^""'"'' 'he pledge and prophecy o it, .r "" '^' ^"" '^ 'he philosophies, super! fti^VLfr'^ *"'""P''- The ,j f "t"'-'^. "ifidehties, and religions of 282 THE METHODIST PULPIT. 1 1 men have all been opposed to it. Every obstruction that hatred could forge or malice invent has been thrown in its way, but its benign course has been on- ward, with the steadiness of an eagle's flight toward the sun. Without any control of the great centres of learning, influence, or wealth, Christianity has made its way in the world, conquering the souls of men, and flooding them with its own light of purity and joy. Its "weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God." This Gospel of Christ, with its treasures of truth, its exhaustless resources, and its heart of love, is still "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth," aa when Paul proclaimed it in wealthy Corinth or in imperial Rome. The cross of Christ is designed to conquer the world, liberating humanity from the bondage of error and superstition, and all the degradation of sin. All the lines of history are converging toward this glori- ous consummation. We live in a time pregnant with hope for the world. No century has been so radiant with bright prospects for the human race as our own. Its revohitions of blood, and its ferment of thought ; its scientific discoveries, and its inventions ; its cease- less activity, and unprecedented mingling of the nations, are all being made subservient to the advance- ment of the Redeemer's kingdom among men. This is no dream of an enthusiast, but the words of truth and soberness, based on facts in the world's history, and on the prophecies and promises of God's inspired Word. THE CROSS OF CHRIST. 283 has the CI,«reh\/;;:L'';":'.,V' '*'"> ""d Pationoe East Already the mom fa ^ i'" '^'' *"""''' ">« of day tips thJ distar hi ^ "f ^''^ '"'^Wngor Soon wilF the S^of Ri^h "' "'"^ "« S^'den g|o°y humanity Oh wh„„ .u?^, ''^deenied and saved done fo/us and th" t it 1 "' "'"' '"^ ""^ h- world, weir may 1 , *"^"'<' '" do for the should glory sfvet T ""■ "'''"' *'<"«d that I Christ!" ^ '" "'^ "=™^^ of onr Lord Jesus Of rhi::io:trr:?7hrnr;" ^■"^^ ^ -<> brotherhood,-is a n.!f ] ''''''' "' yonr grand and worth of this Go ^""t r?,""" "' "'' '™"> hoarts, and not a mere do J„ * *'"''=' '" ""' become in oar handTlh^ V" """' "'"^' '^ " '« to W,wan,forsue::ti ';r::: ;i»:"* -^ -^g me. «.asm and earnestness of^rofound ^! ""I'- '^' *"""- ■"misters, we allow the ml f ""nviction. If, as to sink to the leveTof ord! f °° ""'^ °' '"" oross upon ourseI.es at hie entlifof"'""'."'^ ''"'' ''""^ tolion. The Cross of wh;I "'eakness and limi- duty and destiny Us°L '"™i""' "' °"«^ ™an's fore, demand for'i an ° ^f importance, there- -Inch nought else nCarToT "l' ' *™''™ »ophy. no discovery i„ s ' "„.. ,*"'""« '" P"'"". compared with -^01^:^0/^^X1:01^ 11: 284 THE METHODIST PULPIT. have upon our intellects and hearts. The man whose soul IS enwrapped in divine earnestness, kindled and sustained at the foot of the cross, gleams with a glory brighter far than any pagentry of earth, daily winning men from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God s dear Son. Brethren, ours is a high mission and a noble work and the cross of Christ is the one instrument of our power. We shall be mighty to pull down the strong- holds of sin and the empire of Satan, to the degree Tn which we maintain the deep inflow of a divine life by a daily consecration at the foot of the cross, and an equally deep outflow of that life in active labor to save the souls of men. This will clothe us with I'entecostal power-converting the feeblest of us into men of giant strength, and gifting each with a tongue of flame wherewith to melt the hearts of men. With- out this endowment of power we can only mutter the articles of a soulless creed to constantly decreasing congregations. ° By the creeds of humanity and the provisions of grace, by the rewards of faithfulness and the desti- nies of eternity, I call upon my own soul and yours to a renewal of our consecration to Christ and His work of saving the world. Amid the demands on our time, our thoughts, our energies, let us exclaim with l-aul, "I am determined to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." God grant that the coming Conference year may be the brightest and best m our history as men and ministers ! Amen SEEMON XIX. mxv THE cokb:tzon or success m ,,,, ^M«e i5« themn day .^j „, thofZ^ i'"' "■»" "■«" ™ ''» a^ording to nor to the left." That !?„! ", "' ■'" ""« "ght matical li„e-a ".trat tf" ""«'"""'-'' «""h»- path of rectitude ort ^ "t;' """- -r "-a means.) "^gacpess (as the word rectitude fi "i i- 286 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Secondly. It will be seen in the text that the neces jy preparation for. and condition of ob d encT ," ^^tatton or study of the di,i„e law. It is said 2h V"' '^''" ''"'" ""^'"""^ therein day and night-Vte tlum mayest observe to do according to all hat .s wntten therein." Thus study of the law is condition necessary to obedience to the law TInrdly. Obedience to the divine law is followed hyprospenty. or euccees in life. The text read Observe to do all that is written in the law ; Zt,l ^^t:::^:^:^::^ ------ -^--^: I ThH.?' '^Tu^'J' '"'*"^ '^'«'''*«» i" thi« text : titude of 7 f^t"""' ''•"'''' '^ "^««tude or exac titude of conduct. II. The condition of obedience which IS study, thought, or meditation. Ill The e"n sequence of obedience, which is success in life I. THE NATURE OB ESSENCE OF OBEB.ENCE IS RECTI- TUDE OB EXACTITUDE OF CONDUCT. To make this proposition more evident, consider : enc^Zt t'^t'"^ "-^ '»<»•«'» '•» *fe essential differ- There is a difference between the right and the wrong_an essential difference, an irreconcdable differ ence, an immutable difference an efe..n.iTff The rio-bt i= „„* J , "^e- *" sternal difference, right ,s not made by caprice, nor custom, nor convention nor by legislation. The right is right ™TY THE CONDmoN OF SUCCESS mur, 287 ttTvii'e 'ZlZTiTf ''' "'-'- '-- -" Divine will. The ri it' ''"' " ""^"''^'^ "« «« ^■•o"g than a ri^hTlil " "" ""^ ""'"'ide with the (2) OurUT^ '""^.'■''^ ^"'™«llr diff^ent, '-^TvS^linlT tV -"^^^ -- 'He t«de. Only the dUeased 1 "' ^^''"^ '^'=«- in the wrong If T "T"""' "» ^»« ""^ "ght "-ght dislnetj tfor: e'""""^"' '""^'''>" '^ "lormal conscience win Tt . ^° °* conscience, a -re than a nZI "e'tm 1 T !"" "'""^ »« with crookedness, ml J I T '"'^ ^faightness l«"nan mi„d appean, i^. nl- . ™ """""""n of the '"guage. Thif on" "io^'oftT"'' "'^^'""-. -d of moral action has i~atff"'V''^ "^''"^^ ture of human lan-mrje T '^f °" ""' "'■^ ^"■'"=- the words that denote moral ri^j! ™"""' '^-'S-^gos 0' a right line, or relwit?^ ??." ^traightncss, mean moral wrong dSe d!f • T ""' ^'''^ """ i-g«larity. The^ht^t m d IL "°'*''""' "' ::^»sii:r::ror^^^^^^^^^^ pressed itself^ through ir™ '"'"'™' '~' ^^ '^■ 'he greatest l>um!; t|Ut t' '' "'''"°™ °' virtue as exactitude f 11:% '" '^P'^^»«°« couauct. However diiTerent } ill ' III; ■ ' I'll? ; ' ijf. 288 THE METHODIST PULPIT. schools of ph. osphy in different nation, and age, an Ideal hfe of virtue, which i, rectitude of conduct The indestructible difference between vice and vir"ue -confessed by all people, of all climes and all I mes P^InTto ^^ :f '"'"" "^^^ ^»'"«'"'' »»=' SoloII' po nt toward the same ideal life of rectitude. All things in nature, in quality, i„ quantity, and in mofaon are adjusted and fitted to their place and oifi e n the cosraical system. The solar system, in its struc- ture and plan, reveals this law of exactitude „ str* degree that its motions and changes may be pred"cted but is demonstrabirth\""Tt a7h,X" a""^! ;SrLit::s ■' t " -:■ -"•' — -^ elen,.nt= • .T 7 " Proportions of the two elements in the atmosphere are exactly what thev ought to be to avoid the disaster and death that wou d follow the excess of the one or the other. The pro- fration of tt"""n' '"" ™«^"'"^-' ^ -'"» - - '"» " tration of this all-prevailing law of exactitude. portions, IS a revelation of God's wondrous thoughts ';-9 "-ver.,e. This law i /e„Z!: "/ "" """«» '» '"« ■nan can fail to «ee thele hL?''^"''- ^o reasonable of the universe about h,n Ih™"' ""'' '^J'-^'m^nts "■an looks at this nice Ijilt "T" '^^ "■'"> "'''i* ■t^elf a microcosm of Tonder,."' "' "■■' '°^"'<>« '^ '»re and precision of action '^''"""'^» "' »»'»«- Now then, shall aU «„•„ ' • "ove with exactnest andTalTuT'"", "" ^^-' •""• ™«aterpiece of crea ion-LlrT"'' "■^'" "»'' Wiesa in movement? m„ 7ni """ '*»^ "^ God means that nature shaH ' ''*'' ''*™ """ "an in crooked lines" M Z"" '" "^'" "»»^' >»" heaven from her one thoufanH ,'^. °° """> »■>. *^ Che.yi,.\., . i, s virtue whose absence we call -mdanar.,, h,.... excess we call levity, or giddiness. ->. JP* HETV THE CONDITION OF SUCCESS rv , ai/CCESS IN LIFE. 29] Charity or catholicity is a v.Vf ., • , ^henepntive ex(r,.„e of 1/1 ' ."^'^^^^^ between trerno of a dangerous Jatitur"''-'"^' '^" Positive ex- Christian Jibertv f '^"^'"^"«»i'^"'- ^'^'x' '56 of spirit, but it ,n„.. r^' ^^'ivcrance from - 't verges' into th othlr T''^' ^"^' ^"^^^^^ licentiousness ^''^ ^'^'^«'«e of licence or '"% and i„,p,o„,, .a";:„XV ""'" "' ""^-™-"« fanaticism. "^ ^'"^"^ <"" into the frenzy of •ihus it is sepn fho* lu a n,athematical ite frl""™"' ."'' ^°' «'''"«'«) » 'lightest deviation the cZr""""' " "'^^^ •=« «■« °J the other of the' t^ZZ^' ^i °"T^""' 'te-as the text enjoins tl,,./ ^his is the ideal ym hand norio^hril';;^ ""' '^ "" '"">'"g to The iaw is ^nawl^d ;^■rtt''•^'=°"'^""'• ""'t^ -Uieai formula 0, 7el, t " f'"™"" "^ » ■n general form is give^in ?h T'T""^' '^''<' '^w It i» given in detaif ,n '"iH^ . ^""""""d^ents. tions, and finally en L J *■" "' -'P™'"' injune- commandment, '^ThTZ', '" *^ «^^' "»<» g^eat *ith a" thy heart, mLttht"' T "^'^ ""^ O"-! ' he second great c^mmandmet ■■ n '''iT'" ^"O neighbor as thyself." "*"'■ "ou shalt love thy 292 THE METHODIST PULPIT. lb There is nowhere in che Christian revelation the least licence or toleration of crooked ways or devia- tions from rectitude. Christianity stretches out before us a path upward and Godward, but narrow and straight, which, like its Divine Original, is without "variableness or shadow of turning." Having said these words respecting the nature of obedience to the Divine Law, we now proceed to consider— II. THE CONDITION OF OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF REC- TITUDE, NAMELY, PATIENT THOUGHT, OR STUDY, OR INVESTIGATION. To obey the law, we must know the law, and to know the law, we must study it daily and deeply, as the new exigencies of life are constantly arising. This exhortation of the text emphasizes the duty of careful daily and nightly meditation on the Law of God. That is, we are exhorted to the study of ethics, or moral science, or the science of moral obligation. And this exhortation has a profound significance, arising as It does from the necessity of the case. Consider briefly some reasons why the voice of inspiration thus calls for this constant study of the Divine Law. There must be a reason for this singularly earnest exhorta- tion to read and meditate. (1) The science of duty, or ethics, is the most im- portant study. Other sciences have to do with human life at certain places and occasions and points of character, 1 ut the Divine Law, or ethics, has to do with man in every PII^TY THE COXBmo^ OP SUCCESS I..,.,. 293 place, every moment of life anH «f character. This is ih. . / f * ^""^^y P^'nt of a" othe«, and a~:r,"t ''■''* should 'precede others. Whenever o^wr„^ ''"'• """^ f""™ all 'hinka, or feels. o7ZuZZ7 T"" f^' "' ^P^'"='. - question of duty the 11 ' T*'""' '"'^ ^"P'-'^e oughtnot." The fci nee or.fr "'''"''' "^ ™gh' "^ ?f duty, and. theXM^^tStr'^''"^^^^^^ importance. It is therefn^ it *''"' ^"^'"""es in Mathematics, in th, n«t. •""' ""'^* P™""™' «ience. « vo^ i.np;rtant a"dtrrf'''j"^''y'''»^">^<' shall we say of the ^Irttv '""'y- ^"' '"'at diligence to'Lnow the trof T "'"' ^"'^ '"' to get a living, but neTr f """»''«" «nd quantity right-Iiving ? ^ ^'"='' *" ^'"dy the science of theXT;orn.':;t:;;:j »f « P-W- than man traverse all the fair « .! f'^'-'y? Shall a -d material natur . Zillt 1 ''^™'" "'™'=^ and untouched the fairer fil, T' ""^^P'o^^d "nd Ms higher nature' A 'trl"' "'"™' «"='»-=« portant and sublim. • ^^*'''°''°"'y is an im. the Divine LuthremS-T*''"^' "^ " ''«-■ the orbits of the°planr:„t ,: attfV ^^'^°' umverse. But how much Zl ""* P''-™''^*' science that has forTts obii T ""PO'taut is that orbits of men in t tora. •"™-"*''"<'" "' '"^ righteousness, and the mX J T'T"' ** '^"^ of -'--asthet;iroYttrl^:^t:; ion 294 THE METHODIST PULPIT. they that have tumedm any to righteousness as the stars forever and ever ? The study of literature, penned by man, is import- ant—immensely important. What, then, shall we say of the study of that sacred literature that is penned by the hand of Divine inspiration ? The study of the fBsthetic branches is important, by exalting our finer nature with views of the beauties of the fine arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, music, and the like. But what fine art is to be compared with the art of shaping the soul into a gorgeous temple- decorating its walls with imperishable beauty and making life move with the perfect rhythm of a per- petual Divine poem. All other branches of knowledge have their place and their worth; but though we "understand all mysteries and all knowledge," and have not the knowledge of the Divine righteousness, "it profiteth us nothing, and we are nothing." In these days of material triumphs and scientific wonders and outward splendors, it is time to utter a plea for moral triumphs and inward splendors, and the claims of the unseen world of moral magnificence. (2) The science of duty, or ethics, requires study, because it is the most dijfficult science. From the very nature of the subject it must be a diflScuIt study. Duty has to dp with the soul, and God, and destiny, and immortality. And who hath measured, or can measure, the heights and depths and lengths of meaning in these wondrous words ? Who has ever fathomed the mysteries of the human soul, )usness as the "KTV T„. CO^Omo. o. SUCCESS ,. .„ 29, than the heavens » And Ir"""""'' ™«™g higher 'he infinities of n.eantrinXTnr 'V'""'''" Sometimes, in om- hef^A- ^ , "* ^'''J. God? -eaning i„ tl.is aw ^^-^ rV^'^P'^^ "^ thrill us; but wo havlno "" "''"''' "'"''='' «" »d g;in>psesof „,,ster,::dmaj tf Th*" ^r °" th^'u be a difficult one Th! / "''•''"=' ■»"«'. have grappled and st^^d IfhT' """* °' ^"* questions pertaining to *!> > "" «'''"" ^'hieal confessed their d ffieul m ""'' ''°''- '»<' have fesses itself to be dTfficX jh T™'' '"" ^'"^ «»"- implies this. If the DivL l '*"S»»S<' °f this text »d night it must in ,Z , ""'' ""^ studied day not hesitate t:tZuZ:Z^T '"'''-' godliness," that is, the Christian ,• "'^'"'"'y »* »»e of us dislike to eon erthll f™' •^"'"''''' hard to be understood i„ any a„7b ' i"'* '' '"^'thing honestly confesses that "^^1 'wf "P"'"' ^*' things hard to be unde sto!d ■ VC " "" "^™^ or moral law is nnd .„ .T "'he science of duty difficult to find't::^X 'f'.f«'-'t; "—it i« "nity). while the wron. isl^ ^ ""' "»""■' ''"^ ("^ right line, and theTefofe 1 J m"""™ '™"' "'e possible variations Thl k "^ ''"'™'^ '" it>= only one way. He can be w '"•"" "™ '"^ "Sht in °-n thouind times^t^lr w^;---" -^^- one^t:rrtf':r-''---ovices,into otHhich we are liable to astray. 296 The METHODIST PULPIT. But this does not express all the difficulty, for the path of virtue is a straight and narrow way, leading through the midst of a legion of possible vices. The liability to take the wrong path is therefore ever prevalent, requiring perpetual vigilance and care, thus making the study of moral distinctions constantly necessary. The study of duty or rectitude is therefore a difficult study. (3) Constant study of the Divine Law is necessary, because without careful study, and consequent know- ledge, religion degenerates into fanaticism. We see this tendency in all Church history. In Luther's time, the Reformation was well-nigh wrecked by the ignorance and consequent fanaticism of a few who refused to be guided by knowledge and dis- cretion. In Wesley's time, Methodism was imperilled by some misguided men who had more zeal than know- ledge— whose fanaticism had to be rebuked by the great leader, and finally expelled from the Methodist Societies. It is sometimes said, " What avails superior light Without superior love ? " But in view of the constant liability of even real Christians to become fanatics through lack of light, but not of love, we may almost reverse the maxim and say : " What avails superior love Without superior light? " We have seen wholp p^^p bu..ed over by a fana i,™ 1~ ."f ^^ and ;-a„ee. I have but to monti 't to^ ""r" t 'sm that swept over N»w v 1 Nazant- remind you of the mischiefrof '^ "'"" ^''"'•' ^g"' '" out sufficient knowledge "^'"^'""'^ "-^ligion with- _^. Thua the text says: ..Meditate on the >aw day and ^fe»* fe moralitl. "" ""'"'''^ "^^ ''»'^^ -^way/LTtoIoraUtv^",?''^^! "' """"'"y "ill 'edge of morality tZTli^^Z t7.''^' ''''°"- from Europe and Ameri^T ^' ®'^*'^''«« gathered ing tendency of moralTi P'"''''' ">'* ■»<>••»«-- why shou.d'^t no^r rt"h'v th' Tr'"'- ^"^ 'edge of the sublime prLcinirif ? "°* "^ ''"<'«'- to righteousness ? So W ? "ghteousness tend e'evating and morahz „TTT ""' ^'"'o "'"' t"-'' that he resolved virlu "It f ^°^ °' '^"""'^"ge. ledge, that is, accord ™ oh "^l^"'' "*° ''™«'- ^nows the right ^nf TC^H T^" rJ''''' that knowledge SrLu ,"''«'■ "' """'d affirm And this will !- „ ^^ *'™y' '^"-^^ '« the riaht 20 "'"'"'""" "-eolearlyif we consfd^ 298 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the effect, not only of the theory of right living, but also the effect of right living itself, as exhibited in the arena of the world or in literature. It is the combined effect of the theory and the ex- amples of the ideal life that gives to the Bible its sur- passing power of elevating men. We are told that in the Royal Gallery at Dresden may be often seen a group of connoisseurs, who sit for hours before a single painting. They walk around those halls and corridors, whose walls are so eloquent with the triumphs of art, but they come back and pause again before that one masterpiece. They go away, but return the next day, and again the first and the last object which charms their eye is that canvas on which genius has pictured more of beauty than on any other in the world. Weeks every year are spent in the study of that one work of the genius of Raphael. Lover.s or. art cannot enjoy it to the full till they have made it their own by prolonged communion with its matchless forms of beauty. Says one of its ad- mirers : " 1 coulii spend an hour every day for years upon that assemblage of human, and angelic, and divine ideals, and on the last day of the last year I could discover some new beauty and a new joy." Thus it is with the man who once elevates himself into communion with the divine ideals of character in the Bible. There is in man a spiritual and aesthetic faculty, that may be similarly influenced and entranced by the picture gallery of the B.ble. There is a beauty of spirit, of soul, of hcatt of I'f ■ . saints of the Bible ' V '" tfanseendent newed admiration at th„ "■ ^"^^ ""'*'' ''™'- «- "Oj-ty of Moses, the her!" T,?' ''"■^^P''' «>» earthly faith of Eli ah th^ T °' "''"''^'' ""> ""- -ery look you are Sw? t? °' P""'' ""'^ «'!> saintliness. "" '''*™'-'' *"''' «"»« summit of What,then,shallwesavofti,<. «• . "..ghty fellowship with tTe Net Tel °' " '""^ ^"^ the immaculate Son of God ^ T* r'"* ?'«'""■« »* Jesus that changes us into ,t, f ">" '""^ing unto glory to glory, even i hv .h «' • """' ''"''?^ fr-"" «omes into exercise T tti P. ?'."' °' *^°''-" Here He ^vhocommun nottth vt"" '■'»^*''etieism." We will never mro^Zui^^^'^:""'' °' <^''™«» comes into play the trTpt "'f '"«'' ideal. Here in character' vfrtue nd t^ tt""H™ t ''^ '''"""f"' "le law and the testimony ' "'''° ''""j' --eads 'yimetry of character he wrr°""^ *'^ ™Wi™e of this s^,tual beauty Ih. ^e :. ^hT " ^'"""°"'<' to win this pearl of great 'riJ ^J"? ^^"^ *" else would rather fcthaftri/"/.' ''"'''■ ''^' "h" f ntlinesa; he who would r!f *" ''^"-''l™' of the crown of saintlinertLr ^'"' "P°" ""<' "ear ''^f» royal diadem, And sit upon a throne '•_ 'aw'oT'lot: :nd°irat":^M,^^^ """ "^^•" - *">■' ne\er xaJl into a low lifp j,„* .,,7. ^"^^^ will *'' ^"* ^^" «Wne with moral 300 THE METHODIST PULPIT. beauty more and more unto the perfect day ; and, his soul transfigured into immortal beauty, shall be exalted to adorn the Temple above forever and forever. But the text declares this study and observance of the Divine Law will be followed by prosperity and suc- cess in life. Hear the words of the text : " This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and have good success." " Good mccess ! " That is what all are looking after. And what is good success, or " Success in life ? " There are certain popular fallacies respecting this great question of success in life. The question of " success in life "—taking the terms in their full signi- fication — is a question of supreme interest to everone, but especially to graduates of an institution like this. Taking success in its divine and immortal meaning, it comprehends all duty and all high destiny. Taking the word " life " in its highest, deepest, broadest mean- ing, it comprehends all that is grand in the present life and in the ages of immortality. Success in life, therefore, is the question that ab- sorbs all others into itself — overshadowing and outlast- ing all other considerations — being itself the question of questions in which all others find their culmination. Let it be premised — 1. Man is created for success in life. The doctrine lie doctrine ™VTHEcoNm™»orsucoKssmurE go, ability to succeed i^ '""nan being has capacity or permitted to thwart the pll „f p ^T"' "'" ''<' paringeaoh person for a, ucce",f,nr?r '" ^"'- they wiiHaii though lack r::;;^tdwo"""™'^^^ With these viet'the? "^r '"'«'"s-tly. engro»i„gi„,ere.t,wtt stri^r^^^^ and brief definition of success in Hf . "^ «'"""' to be "Doinff our h„«f , """'''V ''^e may be declared both ou^elvl ^d hi f^^rr""^' '"' »'-"'" equivalent in mean' „ri ^*" '"''™™' (but as the highest d™veroplr''/T'''"'™«=^«^ '» "fe Ja..est p' actieai;:'r :„L^' - f-f ^ and the Or we may condpn«o +k / f lellow-beinas. be no realjy noble chara ter Soufnobl'^ "'"' "" no really noble doin.. withournli T ''"'"S' """^ condense our delinilion of .ucc'r „" w"' T T^ words noble character i H. k ? '^ ""° *''e character has su-^^ded if Hf! '™"^ ''''= ""'' "<"''« 302 THE METHODIST PULPIT. ii.^i! . \i I it', " h imi^ . In unfolding more fully, or analyzing the contents of this definition, it may make the subject more clear to consider success in life (1) negatively, and (2) affirmatively— in other words, to tell, first, what success in life is not, and, secondly, what it la. Under the first head may be included certain popu- lar /aZ/acies, or false opinions respecting this question. 1. The first fallacy 18 that mcce88 in life is money- making. The prevalence of this fallacy is wide and wonder- ful. The naked, unblushing statement that success in life is success in money-making is seldom heard, but m a disguised form it is heard as the undertone of half the talk in public and private. Let us not be understood to despise or underesti- mate money as a mighty means to an end— whether that end be high or low, moral or immoral. Money- making is not to be despised. Make all you can honestly, keep all you can justly, and give all you can generously. But money of itself,' ^s the measure of success in life, is to be despised. When money-making is achieved by gagging con- science, that is not success. When, in getting money, a man loses his peace of heart, that is not success in life. When, to build up a fortune, a man breaks down his own fair fabric of character, that is not success. The cloth of gold may, for a time, cover the foul spot of character from human eyes, but it cannot remove that spot. Money may purchase a little brief applause, but it "ETV THE CONDITION OF SUCCESS ,N UFE 30.3 With money , net „ r"""" " ""■""'''" '" '>«»ven carriage bul „o "" ^ '"'^ ^''^S"™^ 'l-ip-'ge and whieh'-t,; rid on aZTroTd" t^T"'"" , ^"'"'™' '" purchase books but H ! "" ' ^°'"'y "'V wealth of mtd M "™"°' P""*""^ '='■""- or wealth and"ux„rv wk'' ' "'"" '"'''' '» ™'™^'l lean, lank, poveTtf With""""""'',': P'""*-^" "■'"' mind, and .,oul he'i, T. , T'"' °* '>^^'-'' ""^ nish the sa»:'VooV hHline I'-'r^D"" "" '^^'l" who is the poor man ? H„ !u "^ y"" ""^'^ rounded with weaTh If th 'I ' P™' '°^" "■''<'■ ■™'- emp^J of ^ood Ted "T ' 'V^ ""' "■'°- — ^ - wh^Llirrtf t LnToVl'd'"' ^"'"^ ^P*-- fairfleldsof'ennlbTngt owl I ' £'-T ™ ''™^'^' however great his luxlies Zho fnof :;: '"ti;:: """"' of doinr^ ffood" W« • L ^""^snot the luxury owninglaf^houfe rndtmrharor^/^™'"^ sions in heaven ,n^ « a \- ' ° *'"'^ 'o man- andgoesonTof liffintot'?"' ''"""''"'^ =" '-'■ wanfering, hoLtt soul ''" '"°'^*'°-'^ "^ ^'"-'^ " $20, ive to mam 304 THE METHODIST PULPIT. If,.' charitable purposes, when he was approaching thf portals of eternity was asked how he viewed his life. His answer was : " My life has been a failure! " II. THE NEXT FALLACY IS THAT POPULARITY IS SUCCESS IN LIFE. Popularity is not to be despised as a means to an end. The desire of ( ^teem is an original and ineradic- able impulse of human nature, and is moreover ap- pealed to in the Bible as a pure motive. The esteem of good men, and angels, and God. is in the Bible made a motive to well-doing. Moreover it may be said that a man may count on a select number who will esteem him however greatly good he may be, or however bad the mass of men may be ; but to look on popularity as a measure of success in life, is to use an ever- varying rule and standard. Homer in the Iliad has an immor- tal popularity, but Homer in the flesh was compara- tively unprized and unknown. •' Seven Grecian cities claim a Homer dead, Through which the living Homer begged hia bread." John Bunyan, the matchless dreamer, is a crowned king now in the empire of letters ; but John Bunyan living was consigned by the populace to Bedford Jail. A man's popularity does not always begin till he lies silent in the grave. Christopher Columbus— abused in life and buried in chains— is popular now ; but it is too late now. Martin Luther, whose monument of surpassing art a few years ago called kings, princes. m^ TY IS SUCCESS -KrVTHEOONOmONO. SUCCESS ,KU,,, 30. «nd the illustrions of earth t^ !. 1 j- . ««ch hi,, popularity Mir ."''"'"='"'""• '"'' »<" John ^2ytZ^l t T^'t "■" ''^"- '"d. years has revealed hi, 1 ' '*'''" "^ * ''•"'•'■•"l Abbey ope,,,, hor dt » aubatratum of Divine 12;,, T' """" '>''™ " an original propension „fTh t' ^""^ ""''"'»"^«'"'» «2>no™„«y 1 P 7 °f "■« human soul: a6w. an element of hu„,^ „a? ^"""''"^- »"" containing flcent, when vegJ^d'^JTr' '"°"'=™'' ^"'^ ''^ne a worthy end, ' ''"'=''*^^''' ""^ directed toward right, and then dep'Xed ""''*"^''"'^°"g-''»y desire for public pZ™ ho°J ''"™'''^''- ^°"- 'his This desire of glory a„7|,^""""' P"""'''- '' implanted, huked in the fitbk is " ?"'' '" *" fr"™ being ro- Promise of its gri« aSt /" '" "'^ ^'"^' •>"'*"« duty enthroned in the hrartldrr T^'^^ ('> "'* ;«wards of the faithful Mer, 'u"'' <^^ ">« f"'»« To such the Bible sav s- • Th. r"*'™^ *° ""'"■'«•'■ the brightness of th^ RrJ. "«'"'="»-'' ■''hall shine as '-ned many to righteousn^r t"*^^, """ "-« ever. ^ "^"^^« ^s the stars forever and ^n contemplating the scene Tn^ '^'^^-^^>^ ^^riJls .the soul in its hi! den de;:,;'"^,^'"; ^'"^^'^"^ ^-- ^««tinct of the human sou 1 ' "^''P' ^"^nchless addresses Himself, si; nt'^B^Tr ^^ '^'^^^' ««^ death, a,d j ..^ ^. J^^^^; ^Be^hoa faithful unto does the Holy Spirit use th 6 SVTTiK/%) ^£ life; Why J* crown if this fii.' 308 THE METHODIST PULPIT. If passion for crowns is base and sinful ? But neither in reason nor revelation is there any promise of hon- orable, high position on earth to all who would succeed in life. Life's work may be very obscure, and the honor come at the close of the struggle. First, it is evident that all are not capable of public positions, however they may be qualified in a future state. It is evident, secondly, that all cannot occupy conspicuous positions, as there are manifold more men than positions. All cannot be captains, and colonels, and generals. To compensate for this, there are two infinite advantaf^es : — 1. Divine Providence has a work for each, which, however obscure now, eternity will reveal to be infi- nitely important and necessary, reaching in its results to the unknown and infinite future. 2. A reward inconceivably great, and adapted to the capacities of the immortal soul, is promised to him who, by "patient continuance in well-doing," achieves his life's work, however unnoticed it may be on earth. In view of this immeasurable wealth of reward in the future, God commands men to humble themselves now that they may be " exalted in due season." Success in life, with the mass of men and women, must be achieved under circumstances where the humble soul works on, on, on—" Little and unknown, (and perhaps) loved and prized of God alone." This lesson must be learned by the noble soul— " Learn to labor and to wait" The obscurest work is not always the least important. On the ocean steamer 'ion of the passe J^lVth^ ,' "'^^'^ "'" »"»- steams out of the Wb'/ rT ''"*■" ""'' '''^"dily the palpitating heart „f the °"° "'"^ ""= •'°*'' '» deep, and there see the' """'i"^ """''^ "^ *^ -- -t. But ,:: tt^ fnr r;tr^ p"""" ^^» hour, or even one-half „■ . ™thfulness one-half i^ a wreck, The,e /„„ » t' "."' *' f™'' ^'^»»er face but unstain ed'it ITbf .'^r^"' '"^"^™^'' - humble but needful vocal„», "'f' P'^'"" t^eir without which the wleel 1 u ^'^"""'''g « part why does not the !iat 7 """'^ '""• ^S*». st^nSth, break htprCwI l"""' /'*" '"' T''^"'" n.a-^ive boiler » hC th '"'^ '''*P' '■•<'» 'he »"" roar at the doorsTf W, •"""'f' '''''■ *"'' S"-"™- the walla quiver under fl ""'"-^'""^ P^O" •' How would esca^ a^d hut lit ^ »' '>'^ »- '" ' «« unknown to fame h^.ir.\l J ^"^ ^''^^^^e man, o«^e of hamme^In lrrrL'::tft:ttr'""^ effort-moral, SLtua 5 -f Pf "»»» of human »d political. ThrCtlmSnTof'r"'"' "^'^'^ ments are not always bew! *^ """*" thieve- This morbid craviZ to 1! '^' °* ""' P"'''''"- hy reason, by natu"! w P "T"' *"* '^ --ot --ked «on. When'^natu" wo^M r "?' ^""* ""y -™'- way of keeping the a"eh out V^i ''""^- '^' '>'« « magnificent ».;... t-^ ™* "* «ght_manife.,tin» a "" "^"^ '=0''<=»aliug the worker. When 310 THE METHODIST PULPIT. sV , ii ' nature Mould bring a force to twist and uproot the giant oaks and prostrate miles of mighty forests she bnngs ihe unseen wind, maddened into a hurricane whose breath we feel, whose voice we hear, but thou canst not see it, nor "tell whence it cometh nor whither It goeth." The most stupendous effects we witness in nature, as the ebb of the tides, the storm on the ocean, the motion of the earth, and the flight of the planets-all are the effects of subtle agents that work out of sight. What does modern physical science teach us more than this-as the final lesson-that all the wonderful changes and motions of nature are the effects of forces no human eye has ever seen ? Men love to be seen when they lift the hand and put forth the force, or open the mouth and utter the word that shall astonish the world with its effects. But in nature's silent and unseen forces God seems to symbo ize the lesson of silence, modesty, and humility and rebuke man's greed of publicity. We see it not.' but It IS true that earth's greatest deeds are un- heralded and unsung by orator or poet. In human ^earts are battles as great as that of Waterloo and Marathon. Heroes there are unknown to fame on earth, who shall meet an ovation of angels, and be crowned with immortal laurel. Earth knows little of Its kings, princes, conquerors and illustrious souls We know little of great deeds, till we see final results in eternity. He who has overcome the world's dread laugh and faced unmoved its frown ; he who has not swerved a hair's breadth from the straight liri of perceived duty • he wl^^ « u *he path of dut; tlZ°T . '"' """ ^ ^^'^ f"" orbit; he who, ilst w'^ 7t7 ^' -"-'' '-» i*^ kept steadily „n,^dari„go„"t;tle''"'' "'^' '"^ 'o do the bidding of CW. > ^'"" «nd always, will l* higher than earth'lof fr'™"^' *>"*' ■"» be so honored tbuTh,^'' *'"'""» ^hall gleam to his glory J^j ''™,''» «"« oonld add one grace to his brow ''""'"" "^ ^^^th could add gW " ?r' '''°'™'' "'<'°. 'o wait for some of t), • giory- They can afford to do it ti, *''^"' a public building is verv Tn • '"'•ner-stone of •nnch ceremony out lolP'T"'' """^ '"'d with 3tone undergrou'ndl, "? T'"! *■"•" "'^ »o™er. temple Chrift is rearfuVon .l!^'"- ^°<' » *he honor to be found 3,17^ " ^'>''» be infinite part of the steps of the tLple ^wt'-T" "'=""«' *'"' and bes(K,w no honor. He shall 1 '* """ "'^"■P'c minaret on this creat tZ . , ™™'' be a glittering Christ's sate, tot: stt'^i'JI^^r "'"»«• *» or even trample But b °""'™ '"ok down, ideal, and already do !»,? fr. ^'"''^ "' " 1°% against you, forbidding Z to ! '■-: ""stances are ■s something better tK„ -"^ ' ^^'" 'bcre offices, '**" ^"™u>g earthly honors and mi . . ^ ""*°"S, WK LL DESERVE IT." PerishX Thrter'""^::! i"^ '"-ter-noble, in.- only is buildin. ° H P'"' "" Access. Not -d.n. noble character the highest succei! 312 THE METHODIST PULPIT. but it is the only success, without which all else is a mockery, blighting eternal failure. Success in life is carrying out of life immortal riches, honor, bliss, and glory. This comprehends and includes all else. Would you have success in amassing earth's riches? You may have more. You may carry away from earth riches of soul that no thief can steal. Do you aspire to be a conqueror or military chieftain ? You may be more ; for he that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that taketh a city. Is the artist successful whose sculptured marble is praised by men ? How much greater is that artist who chisels his character into immortal beauty fit to adorn the temple above ! Are you ambitious to live in poetical numbers ? You may do more. You may shape your character and life into an anthem of perpetual praise. Do you aspire to possess power, position on earth ? You may do more; for "he that overcometh shall inherit all things." SEBMON XX. THE PEACE OF FAITH. REV. J. s. COFFIN «-j. which ztx b s r """^ »»^ p"^-^o 'h-h the text occl^rsinthemidstof sweeps onward to a erander. ^ P^Phetic vision -d that exults in ilTZetrC t"""' 'P°*, «;gn of Messiah, and Til ^J ""^ '•■"* '» ""e redeeming mercy on behalf p , " ""■""e^'aents of 'o the Lord and unsCwn V "P'"* <=<««ecration »donlyconditionrf7e™L "'' '" ^"" «"> «'eat di^o-ssed the nat'^^tn' " '''"°'- having alrtady 81 ' ""'' "'^''"S of the condition 314 THE METHODIST PULPIT. Hi specified, it is to the blessed promise given that I would now direct your thoughts. The peace of God ! that balance of a thousand forces in the human heart which the Lord Jesus Christ restores to all who rest in Him ! The peace of God ! that precious legacy that Jesus left to His people, and which, by the provisions of His grace, is the inalienable right of every trusting heart. The peace of God ! that heavenly calm which pervades the soul when we con- fide in the atonement sufficient and the Saviour true ! Divine Spirit ! speak it to-day to all our hearts ! It will be proper to observe, in the opening up of this subject, that, up to the point of honest and entire surrender to Christ, our state, however marked by recipient and gracious feelings, is one of antagonism to every condition of genuine peace. If we look within, we find a law in our members warring against the law of our mind, and bringing us into captivity to the law of sin which is in our members. If we recall the past, we are met with the heart-breaking retro- spect of miaspent years and squandered opportunities ; of grace so precious resisted and despised ; so much of open and shameful wrong ; so much more the outward whiteness of which was but a cover to the corruption that rankles beneath ; until we can only cry, " O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God : for my iniquity is increased over my head, and my trespass has grown up unto the heavens." And thus is made evident the dreadful fact that the whole character and life are in rebellion that I would THE PEACE OF PAith against the throne of n ^ ^^^ divine de^ee, aa inel^fctTs [:f 'I™ -»■•*■ by the f" dread experience of thlZlu ^ '/ '^~"" »» '<> from heaven »gai„3t all u„iT '""°'' " "''^-'ed ness of men." Oh, it i, oT^'";'' ""^ ■"righteoua- "nder to the Lord Jesu, fh ? !? ""°™diti„„al sur- awful conflict can bef^d r' "'° "'^"on of thi, M by faith we have peace w^h V f"' ""'''''« J-^ti- '0 ovy. •■ O Lord, I wi/p^^e Th "^"f ""d are made wast angry, Thine an^er tt^^'; ^^ """"Sh ^hou comfortedst me." Here 1„ '' *"'V' ""d Thou He has blotted ont o^^ tan''" ""• """"^ '» ^^'"ba" Precions Mood, sprinkled 0;^^^' ^^ ''^ H- 'ig consciousness of iU-de" 7? ' "^ ""^ distress- bere, too, in close and insemrabk T'. "^ ''"■ ^"d pardon, do we find "the S ' ? ""^ '^'^^ divine implanted within, breaking d """ "^ "^^ divine" tyranny of the la; in o„f^''T° «°d abolishing the t" 'he law of our mfnd and "bt" ^"'"^ "'"» '4 every thought to the ohfl- ^'"^ '"'» "apUvity then is the starting!; intJT "' <"'*'" H«t and from this spot and V ^ P'*'=* "^ God in u, ' ^bining light, whlh ZTmT ^"'^^'^^ ^ "- the' perfect day." "^"' """^ and more unto the -,^he":::xtari^npo\'r,^-r^ vebps With great fo,^e C 7 T^' f "<• *'"* de th;s holy calm, which oomt! of fr.^ '^"^ """P"^ of W'lt keep him in ^oT ll^'""" ^''"^t : ..Thou P^ace upon peace; boundiefs^raeTTet "f^'i^'^' ' peace. Let us devoutly di6 THE METHODIST PULPIT. r ili as, if- LM note a few of the qualities of the wonderful blessing promised to faith. It is peace, not ecstasy; peace, calm, satisfying, and serene ; the soul reposing quietly within the all-embracing arms of the all-sufficient God. We shall do well to note this distinction. There may be— -there will be— times when the trusting soul shall " rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." But such is not the normal experience of the Christian, and it is well for us it is not. It would tire us, it would wear us out, it would send us home before we should have become prepared for the " fulness -^f joy," which is in the presence of God. But this peace ! It comes so quietly; it stays so contentedly; it never exhausts our strength; there is such a calm, deep sense of soul-rest in its experience ! Yes ; if my God will sometimes whelm me in ecstasy oJ joy, I will adore His grace, and look to Him for help to bear it. But I will pray that in me " the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quiet- ness and assurance forever." It is perfect peace. It comes " from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." " My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you." The world will start you in pursuit of pleasure, fame, and wealth, promising you thereby repose, but giving you care, anxiety, and re- morse. All its pledges, and the devices by which it would secure them, are but an ignis fatuus, luring yoi^to the bogs and the darkness of disappointment and woe. But Christ's promised peace is an indwelling THE PEACE OF PAITH. 817 It to be smoother than butter iT '"""^' "^ * "-an But Chrisfa word of peat ;!„ f "" '' '" ''" ""^-rt. 'ove of Hi. heart, and'th^aH r„. t '" ^'' ^l^' Oh, He is honest with us . mlZ, ' """" ™- the o t U3hi„,3 of a heart ThltTotTuT "' '7 "* carried our sorrows until it (,.„>, , ™ ^nets and woe. And He coui,, „„ 1^ "'"'''' '*^ ""ight of He could cease to be God ''™'''' '"'^^ '" "« "»» ;»/ot IS- rr:thtr '- r --»■ ^'>- We-»hich, alas, is so f '„7,r . VP''^^<' « this P«»ce of God does not fit ""^^''^de-where the -'"obt is human, aL oftL: ht'/t '"''^ "^'- ^^ "■ay seem deathly in its oZ "^"'^ '"'fore us 'he 'oid and h-ndVe tn „":r ^ a"*/-^ ^'^P "P- neetion let me ask von J ! , ■*"'' '" this con- «>« peace. OncTr/cdved tl''^^™"-— of every circumstance of life and „7"S''' «' ™ce with "ever find this feature outeide 1:^ rT""''' ^"^ Vou may have perfect h^^ttrK"* "^"^'^ P*"""' t'es worry and wear out your' Uf- "'"' P'^'^^i- an abundance of wealth but di^! "" T" "^^ ^ave wearisome and your nii b f "*'''=' y™' "ays health and wealth, but dttl sm /' 1^°" ""^ have your side, and fills ' /"T ™"«» the loved one at ■ "'ourning, and/oe O : i""^ ""'' '""entation and woe. O, wh ereverweIookat*thia 318 THE METHODIST PULPIT. f^'-. worlds peace, it is indeed but one-sided and partial- But when you get God's great peace in your heart you have a principle there which lays its moulding hand on every circumstance and experience in life, and moulds all to your comfort. "For all thin^r.s are yours; whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or tljings to come : all are yours, and ye a^e Christ s. and Christ is God's ! This peace is perfect in its abuvdance. It " passeth understanding." " There's a wideness " in it "like the wideness of the sea." You know there are depths in the ocean that no tempest ever reaches; and however herce y the storm may rage and the waves war and be troubled, away down in those deeper depths unbroken quiet reigns. You know that above us. in the clear blue, tranquil heavens, there are heights far beyond the reach of cloud-heights before which the piercing hghtning-flash falls back in impotent weakness; and when over and around you. the tempest sweeps, and man and beast fly as fugitives before the bla.st, above all IS the motionless ether and the stainless sunshine Even as deep as is that ca. as high as is that heaven' so deep, so high is the pe e of God. When David would grasp the fact of the ever-present providence and care of God, he cried : " Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit ? or whither shall I Hee from Thy pre- sence ? If I ascend up into heaven Thou art there; If I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there: if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utter- most parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead THE PEACE OF FAITH. gjg mo ami Thy right hand shall hold me Ifl,„ the darkness shall cover rae ■ rv!n li, \^' '""'■'' lisl't about me, Ye. IhT.i T ." "'«'" ■^'"'" '"= Tl.ee; but the ni.ht !in„ *. .r' ^"^''^ ""' f'<"» and the light ar: bot ^ "^1* o Thl;"";' ^ '"!: ','"'"'- of the peace of God ' Fo^^v Beautiful picture *"neate th! f ul^l Si LU' d" ' tTe '^^'^"' able, un ma^inable ■ ■■ T , ti T , "^^ "" '" illim t- « found the'w .ted secri; '".r '",?'"' ■'" ^"^ ''"« Christ becomes our p Ice bv I "' .'"'-^"«'='™' P''''^- can do all thin„. .^ ^ becoming our power. "I - TheS Xta'te' '^^ ^." '"«'"'-"' »ul. By simple faith^'t "e t "":^,' -" * ''f ^""" linked to the omnin^* V . °* '"^" becomes believer is in7e::Ce:ienl-^''r'' ' ""' '"^ '"» at his side who hath said " i,, ^'''^'""' °'' Hi™ "He shall cover thee w^h i""" T"' ''^^'^ ^ou." His wings thou Shalt tT„ n- '™*''"'' *"<' ""m... The hearts through Chris j „r"TTr' 1° ""^"P ^'"^ the Saviour thereof in ^t . ■ °" ''"P'' °' ^^'''el. 3houldst Thou be L,/ ""■' °' ''™"^' «-hy wayfaring man, '1^ uVnlTS tl'l '""V^"'" ''^ ^ night ?" And sii,.h „.'""'"<'« 'o tarry but for a welcome, "if Imaf ,„v M '." '^"^ '^' ""'^^ Him and my Father IXot^^^^t tSf "^ --'^^- 320 THE METHODIST PULPIT. him and make our abode with him." We accept with joy the friendship of earth, which, with a flood that knows no ebb, delights to pour upon us the wealth of Its helpful solicitude. But there are sorrows that arise upon us which that love is powerless either to avert or assuage ; and it can only stand by in mute distress, while its yearning sympathy would make our grief Its own, but can do nothing to alleviate our anguish. And while it may follow us throughout all the mutations of life, lavishing upon us kind offices, at the cost of wealth, comfort, and even life, at the last death will assert his dominion ; and in spite of all your dinging and your bitter cry, there comes the great, terrible moment, when nought is left to you but the remembrance of a sympathy once fondly cherished but now to be yours no more ; and, with head bowed upon your breast, you turn away from the new-made grave to face alone the pelting of the storm, and to grope m the darkness of sorrow's ni^ht, while you " —for the touch of a vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still. " But amidst all this desolation, and ruin, and death, we look to the hills from whence cometh our help" and we rejoice that there is " a friend that loveth at all times, and "that sticketh closer than a brother " Jesus is that friend ; and we cling to the thought of His sustaming, never-failing presence. Other thoughts and other hearts have failed us in our need. Faces that once were lovingly laid against our own, now greet THE PEACE OF FAITH. ggj The grass withereth the iZ!^ ff 1'"^^' '' S"^ of our God shall stand forfr/" ff- *"" "'^ '^"d our tribulation, i„ J Z. , '^'' '" "«" "-e of hour of death, and t t^e d» T' T^'"'^- » 'ho atand with us who h^ e lar^^ "^ A"^^''' He will depart and the hill, be ' T / . "ountains shall »hall not depart from tW "T ' ^'" ^^ ""'''■e^s mercy upon thee" *' ^ord that hath 4St peaerpr:srt! "" ""'"^ »/'- « ™P«- up chiefly of self-de^^i L ! T' ^^P'^ence, made « «ot a message rgrmbTr^''""^- ^^ "ospel harps of angels ; and bXe I *" '""'™ ^'•<"» ""e more burden^om to IveX LT.^^'™ *■«" " « a'ife of sin, I «„,, ^L tie b1*" '" '""''" »"' from God, and cast aside tb! K • k^ ' " » revelation God has made of nZtlUn^fZ r'""""' """ * «" ever possessed, and peace i ' ™'' ''''"g'on i, peace ^mbol and pledroflT^P'"'- ^'' ^0^0 ifthe flashes fr„™ bene-ath ik t°T- ^''^ '''^'' «* --gs h™ who bears them , u"' T ^'^ "'"^^ ^'fy gfns. Itsself-de. . ,„■ ""ere become glorious of self-;ndu,ge„«, . ., ^^^'^f^^^ -ith all the^l„.„l »^ occasions „f h„i;p"?'Ti'r "«= ''»«»"ted oal'od to endure .J, ^^ l!' . "' 'or its sake, wo are ysterious interwfrking of !"?,rr^""-v. ^^ that heaven," we a,^ n,ade tf re o/cf, f "'^^^ »» '^''h Christ's sufferin AndZ^.t !^'"« Partakers of «»ely-from the sacred ^';\"'* '"*'^ '"separable- ;:oridlmg cries "Z thfr'' "' "' "f'-^here the Christian i. 3ure tha ''71"' ''''"'' "^ '" *he f od to them that love God " wt ^^ '"""^'her for ,i„ ' 'he song „f ,0,, ^oe, the Christian utters hns ffoes mad under accumul ^^ .i- ^^^'"^ 'he world- t^an glories in tribulatbn the T""'' 'he ChriV n b^erness. ■• God is dLr^edT ''"''"""g «"ea the stroke of his own hand It. "^ '' ' ""d, with fom of a stariesslmol" '""'of "'^ '"'o the h's eye of faith lookingtotte'^' ' °''"^«». with "«-i, exults in the assur^ ' .hirfr^ "' 'he re- present time are not worthy ^ b "''"'"«^ °f worthy to be compared with this 824 THE METHODIST PULPIT. the glory that shall be revealed in us." "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen ; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." But I must meet here the demand, Why is not this religion such a spring of peace to all who profess it ? Dear brother, avowing the Lord to be your God, abiding in the uncertain experience of a peace easily ruffled and quickly destroyed; alas! that cheriahed heart-am should turn aside our firmer trust, and the more perfect realization of Christ's purifying power! O, what an infinite difference one relic of corruption, allowed to linger in the heart, will make here ! Even as one discordant string will convert into a pain the otherwise ravishing harmony, so the least of that hateful thing called sin, suffered to abide in the heart, will defraud us of unutterable peace, and make to us' the restful religion of Jesus a burden to bear. To the fountain of cleansing, then, let us fly; and, with a surrender that shall know no reserve, and a faith in the blood of sprinkling that will admit no limit to its efficacy, let us cry : " 'Tis done, Thou dost this moment save, With full salvation bless ; Redemption through Thy blood I have, And spotless love and peace." Do I address one soul who is destitute of this peace of THE PEACE OF FAITH. ggS yours God made to be m.f ""^"'^ ' '^'■*' «o"' of ite yearnings l„d V ^°""'' ""•^ ""'^ «■"» ""n -neet that outside' the r^st ''Tf^^ T- '^^.^"^ P-''" sea-ever in motion n.V . " ''''° ">* '"-oubled be tossed intoTl:;' oTtl: rOh "" r """'^ "> unaccountable folly to iivr.i ™' "''»' ^P'erae, have the beautifnl^pli'^. ' !,' ^'"° ^"^ »%'" •"•ow! I hold it un blf "'""« "?«» Ar P»-r of n,y divinTco::; sC iT^ "'' » ">» reconciled to God and t? '• ''*"=■> y°° he yours. And living the Lf ^'T"""' '""'" ^''»" h« *-t. you. too, Ii ;*°'h^"M!T""''°"''°^ «Pon peace; of peac« iL th. "'^^«<'»«'S of peace ooean, following one anotLf^"' ^^"^ «* ">e cessive sweep ; burLlikth " "'^^^- ^""'^' »"- on any shore ^""' ■""" '" hreak or die Age Alor Ath( Arm W Art, Beliel BelieJ Bible d Bible, Ini Carper Caste, 71 Chaos < Charac Chalme Christ i '^hristit Christia still Also ' hea: Christiai No ret Christ tant sciei] INDEX. Adversig. ,e ahould be resigned Agen^ts^enjployedintheworksof Alone, 145. A™J7V^hat it teaches. 201. Army, Christian Church an, 69 J^ eapons of our warfare. 69 70 Art. early Christian, 206 B Bible our confidence in, 185 In It we find all we wai?, 185. O Carpenters honored of God 107 Caste. Its influence upon tS'eigls, Chaos and God. 98. Character building, 311 stimulated science, 15 heJt'Ts:^ '°^ ^^°^^«^ *he Christian religion and science n No real conflict between. 13 ' Christian religion and Protes Christians are numbered among ^ SlciS, ?f -«-hed mef Christian sense of responsibility. Christ, increase of. 227 Ministry of. 227. gSjJ^'^^'-penter. 103. Ji^nrist the vine, 114 Church. Christ's design. 109 Church enterprizes. 119 Churc^hfruiti^ul. God glorified in, ";;i^ - it- 'feSfSl^s^l^'^r'^of.n^ Conduct, rectitude of. Bible re quires, 291. ^ "' Covetousness, slavery of 28 Constitution of man^ m'o^fi ^nd P,,J?J'g»o"s elements in. S5 Creation and inspiration.' 85 Creation, the order of 92 CrosJof A'^-'P^'^S"^' 23. 24. cross of Christ, the fittinir theme of u minister's glorying, ^4 . 328 INDEX. Cross, how men obscure it, 276. Cross of Christ justifies the fact of the incarnation to my reason. 265, Contains the brightest and full- est revelation God has made of Himself to man, 269. Curran on the power of British liberty, 29. Cross, the mightiest instrument in the hands of man for the uplifting of his brother, 280. By the Gross it is God's purpose to regenerate the world, 281. The Cross is to conquer the world, 282, Cross, the only fountain of spiri- tual life, 274. Freedom in Christ, 30. Freedom, which a knowledge of the truth bestows, 26, Illustration of, 27, 28. Design, God's, 231. Accomplished, 232. Set forth by symbol and pro- phecy, 232. Design in the work of creation, 256. Sir John Herschell on, 256. Dr. Cocker on, 266. Divine Law, constant study of, necessary, 296. Doctrine, Christian, 243. Found in the Scriptures, 244. Duty, science of, the most impor- tant study, 292. E Early Christian art, 206. Elementary principles, 208. Epicurism, what it teaches, 202. Evolution, 260, Faith in God, importance of, 157- Father God, His relation to man. 202. ' Father life, 257. Fruitfulness the law of the kinir. dom «f God, 111. General providence, 34. Giving, a privilege, 63, Giving, Christian, should be re- garde^ as a plain and pre- scribed duty, 62. An honored privilege, 63 Giving, its Divine approval and promise, 64. Soul satisfaction in, 65. The reward of, in the world to come, 66. Giving, nature and duty of, 65. Nature of, 66. Giving si mid be systematic, 67. Should be proportionate, 69. Giving, the reward of, 64. God and man at his creation, 95. God, belief in, 257. Belief in, essential to science. 261. God created, &c., 96. God, doctrine of, fundamental, 282. God, Fatherhood of, 186. God glorified in a fruitful Church. 108. God, His relation to the universe. 99. God, knowledge of, its importance, God's willingness to bless, 210. God's Word, the immediate result desired from the proclamation of, 162. The pledge of certain and per- fect success, 163. Its return to God, 164. God the Author of the universe, 97. God, the mysteries of, His being, 182. Of His moral government, 183. ial to science, «-M Old Testa„,ent. view of. Gospel power in the world. 188, INDEX. 329 102^ *^^ dispensations, Heavens and pjir+i, „ ofGo5?i9i'*^*^°"»terpart Hohnesa how t; obtain it, 197 ■in ifte use of +k^ '• grane. 197 *''* "^ans of Holiness is tJ,; command of God to His people, J 96 "'' Hohness necessary aid possible. Our relations to our fellow I,. "IBS rendor i* ieiiow-be- „ nece8sar;?l92.^°'^'-«"d«r8it "^J."«s?..Possibility of. 193 Se%°nfet^sf^^^^^^^^^ „ earth. 195 ™''''°""Pon ?Gor^r to be the will God.'*iT^*«^ P^''™"^ of House of God, 166. ^Si?^te^Sc. /SSet.'^^*^'^^^*«»l«es, St*X^?r*. 213-215. niSrtLjiSstan M ^(theunearthlLasTS!" kingdom. 222 ^'^ mctical lessons of 22 crowning glory, 20, 21. Man is a mystery, 16. Man made to labor, 103. Man must know himself, Id. Materialism, 32. Missions, Christian, responsibility and work, 79-84. Moral conduct, exactness of, is demanded, 289. Moral nature, our, 287. Nature and our duty, 180. Nature, the analogy of, teaches us moral exactnehs, 288 O Obedience, the nature or essenc. '>f, 280. Objects of sense, 181. Object, the hou8e of God, 168. Old Testament, view of the, gospel, Our Father in heaven, the Giver of all things, 206. Our Father's good things, 199. Our origin, 203. Pantheism, what it teaches, 201. Parental love, 211. Peace, abundant, 318. Peace adapted to our needs, 317 Peaceof faith, 313. Peace of God, 314. Peace multiplied, 315. Peace, perfect, 316. Peace, permanent, 319. Perfection, 191. Philosophy, its pretensions, 18. Piety the condition of success in life, 285. Pilgrim song, 167. Pleasure sinful slavery, 29. Prayer answered, 201. Providence and man's free agency, o8— 43. Providence, daily, 206, 208. Providence, Divine, 31. Stands opposed to atheism, 31. Bible illustrates, 33. Providence, Divine, comforting to the Church, 45, 52. Administiation of, gracious and paternal, 46-49. Providence, hasty conclusion respecting the dispensations of Divine Providence should be avoided, 50. INDEX, ature or easenct; it teaches, 201. f™;:jj«°'^«. "lustrations of, 41 45 Prov dence in human life 37 '" Providence, its work. S.^- Providence, morally discrimina ProWdence. nature and extent of. General, 34. Special, 35. Comprehensive and min,i*« Illustration of, 35? "** 331 Religion, spiritual, 182: Religion, true. 321. Revelation and science, 91. Revelation and the Sabbath 89 Revelation. Divine, to Adam fi« Revelation. Divine, to AdSi fn vision, 89. *" '"* Revelation. Divine, to whom made, 86. wnom Revelation is my home, 186 ^«^«^*»on. its object, 90. What does it teach, 90. Concernmg the world's origin. Revelation made for practical life, Revelation, purpose of. 93. of "f °^i°« of th; mysteries of religion, 101. J"'«'"es Sloth^contrary to Christianity, Soul-freedom, 9 Soul, its possibilities, 279. WUhout Christ in the world. Wjthout the Spirit in the world. Success in life, 300. i^allacies in regard to, 202-306. 8 sSwt^J^*'^* Creation, 88 Sabb^a^th, the seventh day of «st, Saul, his loneliness, I54 Scriptures and Romanism 21'5 Scriptures and the Koran ' ^5 Scriptures, Holy, 235 ' ' SrW«- |Truth-;s7Sin7mlV?6^- " atrio;^:K&?45 n--^^^'^^^^^^^ TheBibleis":Kh,","--.9. The knowledge of Christ oidy can Ti„-/*'"°^e these difficulties^^ Things, good, 209. ' "' ^'°^f^ *^« lin^its of religious. Transforming power, 194. TrTthi''HT*^'^°^'l86. Trnlhi liferent classes of, 16 Truth fe n''" °PP°««d, 18. behef^of.ameanstoa^igher saved. 158. *° ^ The manner in whiVK ••* to human. h^arts'^fSo:*""^" 332 INDEX. Truth, what is meant by em nest- ness in seeking after, 10. Free en iiiiry after, 11. Difficulties in arriving at, 11, 12. Truths, the knowledge of, which gives soul-froedoni, 22. U Unity of the race. Natural, 72. The Hcriptures on, 73. The doctrine of support by tradi- tion, 74. It is further elucidated by scien- tific facts, 74. The affinity and unity of the languages confirm, TTh The doctrine of the unity of the race explains the universal state of moral depravity, 76. Also the orgin of sacrificial worship, 76. Also the common need of re demption, 76. In view of the unity of the race, the nuponsibility of the Church, 78. Unity of the race, the. Gospel as- spects of, 69. Vine, Christ the, 114. W Waiting and work, ;W8. Work, Christian, 150. Work, the reward of, .308. World's origin, 86. World to the infant mijid, 186. Si BOOKS WILLIAM BPfGGS TORONTO. itev. D. D. Currie. With Arw . ^'itroduct on hv the Shot and Shell r^/u^l^^" °- «°»»"- ductta by"",' Rev*''^'°''j"V™R«'l Life. With Intro. «l»'l., gUt edgM. exL gilt . ^^'""'•"' !'•'>■ Bound in '_ OiiO Studies In mtm^ ^7, '' ?^^<^d3^^-n Jones. ^'^.i"-^- • ■ ' ''* ^'^^"^'^^'^'^ copyright studies in ar "So^xT ""^"'' '' ^'•■-»^^^^ ^zd ^^"^~^'««^es ii. Gospel of St.loh^f "*' ^"'^'^' Books PMblished by William Briggs, By the Rev. J. Jackson Wray. 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