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 187^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 DANIEL C. OILMAN. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS SERMONS 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 REV. PROF. ELEAZAR T. FITCH, D.D. 
 
 Jfrrst Series. 
 
SERMONS. 
 
 PRACTICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE, 
 
 PREACHED IN THE PULPIT OF 
 
 YALE COLLEGE. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. ELEAZAR T. FITCH, D.D., 
 
 LIVINGSTON PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY FROM 1817 TO 1852. 
 
 - He being dead yet speaketh. 
 
 NEW HAVEN. 
 JUDD AND WHITE 
 
 1871. 
 
Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1871, 
 
 BY LUCIUS W. FITCH, 
 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This volume is issued in response to the urgent request of a number 
 of my father's friends and admirers ; and its publication is doubtless 
 looked for by many others. 
 
 The sermons selected are such as, from the subjects and the mode of 
 their treatment, were quite generally valued at the time of their delivery. 
 And accordingly it appears eminently appropriate to commit them to 
 the press ; not only for the sake of those persons, among whose most 
 sacred memories their words yet linger, and who will greet them as long 
 absent friends, returned again ; but also, that productions, thus proved 
 by the concurring opinions of so many competent judges to possess the 
 elements of a permanent influence, may reach a wider public, and 
 accomplish larger results of good. 
 
 It may be proper to observe, that the selection is based chiefly, upon 
 the special mention of particular sermons in cordial and encouraging 
 letters of friends, received since my father's death, or upon the sugges- 
 tions of judicious advisors at hand. 
 
 Should this volume be favorably received, I may follow it with 
 another series of the same general character. 
 
 LUCIUS W. FITCH. 
 NEW HAVEN, JULY, 1871. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The Word of God the Guide to Happiness in this Life. A BAC- 
 CALAUREATE SERMON. [1826] i 
 
 The Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. - [!84 O ] 17 
 
 The Destructive Influence of the Transgressor in a College. [1827] 33 
 
 The Good Portion that is Never Taken Away. - - - [1831] 49 
 
 The Power of Trust in God to establish the Heart against the 
 
 Force of Evil. __..-._ [1840] 67 
 
 The Trial of Abraham. [1846] 85 
 
 The Privilege of Union to God and his People, chosen. - [ J 835] IO 5 
 
 Raising from the Dead the Son of the Widow at Nain. - - [1846] 119 
 
 The Scene of the Transfiguration. [J846] 133 
 
 The Ignorance of Man respecting the Good or Evil of his Tem- 
 poral Lot. A BACCALAUREATE SERMON. ... [1845] 149 
 
 No Continuing City here. [1821] 161 
 
 On Seeking a Continuing City to come. - - [1821] 175 
 
 Christ Precious to Believers. - [1816] 189 
 
 fo Order in the Grave ; or, The Wisdom of God in the manner 
 
 of executing Temporal Death. - - [1840] 201 
 
 The Death of John the Baptist. ---.._ [1846] 217 
 
 The Righteous in their Immortality to live within the Scenes 
 
 of a Material Universe. - - - [1840] 235 
 
Vlll. 
 
 The Purchase of the Truth. A BACCALAUREATE SERMON. - [1846] 255 
 
 No Refuge from Condemnation but Christ. - [1831] 271 
 
 The Duty of reproving the Works of Darkness in Sinners. [1824] 289 
 
 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, tried before Israel at the 
 
 Altar of Sacrifice. - - [1846] 299 
 
 The Ascension of Jesus. [1846] 319 
 
 The Wisdom of God in the Appointment of Death to our Race. [1839] 335 
 
 Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. - [1847] 353 
 
GOD'S WORD MAN'S CHIEF JOY IN THIS PRES- 
 ENT TIME. 
 
 [A BACCALAUREATE 9ERMOX.] 
 
 PSALM CXIX : 54. 
 
 THY STATUTES HAVE BEEN MY SONGS IN THE HOUSE OF MY PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 FROM the lives of others we may derive lessons of prac- 
 tical wisdom at the very commencement of our own. 
 While yet the morning of youth is beaming on us, and 
 we are looking forward to a long day of anxiety and toil 
 on the earth, we may hear from the lips of the aged the 
 recital of their experience, or read in the volumes of the 
 dead their yet surviving testimony ; warning us of the 
 dangers we are to shun, and pointing out to us the true 
 paths of peace and prosperity. 
 
 I have now read to you the testimony of a pious mon- 
 arch in Israel, respecting his own life, which he recorded, 
 for the praise of Jehovah and for the benefit of succeeding 
 generations ; in which you hear the voice of experience, 
 testifying to you the sources of happiness which exist for 
 the consolation of man amidst the mutabilities of the pres- 
 ent world. This monarch, near the close of his eventful 
 life (as it has been generally supposed), surveys the past ; 
 recalls the events of fleeting years through which he has 
 journeyed, a stranger on a pilgrimage in the earth ; re- 
 counts the days of affliction and prosperity that have 
 rolled over him ; and, in grateful acknowledgment, testi- 
 fies unto God that his statutes have illuminated his dwell- 
 ing with its brightest joys and consolations, which, in 
 days of prosperity were prized by him beyond ''thou- 
 sands of gold and silver;" and without which, in days 
 of darkness, he "had perished in his afflictions;" which 
 had ever afforded him themes of grateful meditation ; 
 
 2 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 guided him in the conduct of life ; inspired his confidence 
 and hope ; rapt his spirit in the composition of devotional 
 songs ; and caused his tabernacle to resound with the 
 glad voice of praise and joy : " Thy statutes have been 
 my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." The experi- 
 ence of the Psalmist, to which he has testified in this 
 declaration affords to all, this salutary lesson for the reg- 
 ulation of their lives : that THE WORD OF GOD is THE 
 
 ONLY GUIDE TO TRUE HAPPINESS AMID THE CHANGES OF 
 THIS WORLD. 
 
 In inculcating this truth, I purpose to consider, partic- 
 ularly, some of the sources of joy which the word of God 
 offers to man amid the changes of this life. This train of 
 remark may serve at once to show us on what the happy 
 experience of David was founded, and how we are to 
 transfuse the same experience into our own lives. 
 
 In order, then, to set before you the fountains of joy 
 which the statutes of Jehovah open to man in this life, I 
 remark, 
 
 I. That, amid all the changes of time, they present to 
 his meditations the same God of unclouded excellence. 
 
 Man is a contemplative being ; but in his busy contem- 
 plation he finds no resting place within the limits of 
 created things. He surveys, indeed, with pleasure, the 
 wonders of creation which surround him ; he explores 
 w r ith delighted vision and study, the world of his habita- 
 tion and the worlds which glitter upon him from the 
 firmament ; but from all these lower objects of creation, 
 his mind instinctively rises to that Eternal Spirit from 
 whom they proceeded, who guides all by his wisdom and 
 hath established over all his throne in the heavens. I say, 
 instinctively \ for the disruption of his soul from God, 
 which afflicts fallen man, is a strange violence done to his 
 nature. 
 
 Now it is the statutes and testimonies of Jehovah, which 
 present to the contemplations of man the brightest exhi- 
 bitions of his infinite glory. While we gaze on the aston- 
 ishing exhibitions of his power and intelligence which 
 meet us from the works of his creation and providence, 
 
God's Word Man's Chief Joy in 1 his Present Tune. 
 
 his word comes to address us more fully ; to explain his 
 designs ; and to make known, beyond a doubt, the attri- 
 butes of his will. Benevolence, righteousness, mercy, 
 truth, in one unclouded sun of glory, beam upon us from 
 his throne ; and assure us of his perfect claims to the ven- 
 eration, homage, praise, obedience, and confidence of all 
 on earth and in heaven. In the law which he has ordained 
 for his moral kingdom, in conformity to which he con- 
 ducts all his works of providence, government, and re- 
 demption, we read his heart of benevolence ; and find 
 him a being worthy to be contemplated with supreme 
 delight during every stage of our endless existence, a 
 being with whom the spirit can hold a communion in 
 intelligence and love, forever improving and brightening. 
 
 What a fountain of joy is here opened to man amid the 
 changes of time ! Whatever events betide him, from the 
 mount of prosperity or the vale of sorrow and trial, he 
 may look up alike to the unclouded excellence of his God 
 and King. Leaving out of view his own humble interests, 
 he may look to him who is unchangeably glorious on the 
 throne, conducting all things with a goodness, righteous- 
 ness, and purity forever untarnished, and, absorbed with 
 delightful contemplations, be lost, as it were, in the glory 
 of his Maker. Whether the cup of joy or affliction be 
 administered to him, he opens the statutes of Jehovah 
 and sees the same God of Glory on the throne, worthy as 
 ever to be loved and praised by his creatures ; and he 
 can mingle with every blessing and trial of his earthly 
 lot, as did David, the song of praise : " the Lord reigneth, 
 let the earth rejoice." 
 
 Man, I say, may derive this joy from the statutes of 
 the Lord. They place before his meditations, the un- 
 changing and untarnished excellence of his King ; and 
 assure him, beyond all the darkness and doubts that might 
 otherwise hang over this life's pilgrimage, that God is 
 just and good and pure, in all his doings in his kingdom. 
 
 How much joy and peace and consolation, derived from 
 this source, have cheered and brightened this vale of 
 tears is fully known only to the eye of Omniscience. But 
 
God's Word Man 's Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 if you would learn its exalted nature, go to David, Isaiah, 
 Paul; Newton, Bacon, Locke, Hale, Edwards; rapt with 
 the inspiring contemplation : and see what themes have 
 illuminated and expanded their minds beyond all the dis- 
 coveries of the heathen, and which have mingled with 
 their earthly lot the joys of brighter worlds ! The lan- 
 guage of one is the language of all : " O how love I thy 
 law, it is my meditation all the day." 
 
 Another fountain of joy opened to man by the statutes 
 of Jehovah, I mention, 
 
 II. That amid all the changes of time, they administer 
 to him ont perfect rule of action. 
 
 Man is an active being ; formed to resolve and execute, 
 and to affect himself and others by the course of his con- 
 duct. But in his conduct he finds not his rest in attempt- 
 ing to please himself and his fellow-beings merely. In 
 order to his highest happiness he needs to commence and 
 terminate his activity in God, the fountain of all being ; 
 to be directed and quickened by the authority of that 
 wise and perfect Being who watches over his own glory 
 and the good of his kingdom with ceaseless care, and to 
 be employed in fulfilling the plans of his goodness and 
 mercy. 
 
 Now it is through his statutes that he uses his wisdom 
 and authority in guiding the conduct of men; and that 
 he employs them as his servants in executing the works 
 of his benevolence. These statutes comprise every re- 
 quirement of men in one grand, perfect and unchangeable 
 law of doing good, in glorifying the Creator, and in 
 blessing mankind. In this law, the activity of man is 
 directed by the Best of Beings to the best of ends. To- 
 wards God it is the reverence, homage, worship, obedi- 
 ence, gratitude, trust, of perfect love ; and towards man, 
 the justice, truth, compassion, long suffering, meekness, 
 forgiveness of perfect love, the perfect precept that 
 sweetly binds the soul to moral purity, perfection in 
 seeking the glory of God and the welfare of his kingdom : 
 and it is a law to inspire joy in the obedient during the 
 ages of an endless existence. 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 5 
 
 Here then is an unfailing fountain of joy opened to man 
 during the changes of this pilgrimage ! Jehovah under- 
 takes by his statutes to guide him in the paths of right- 
 eousness. On the basis of these statutes man may be- 
 come his servant, and attempt, through every scene of 
 this life, to follow the will of his Lord ! Whatever provi- 
 dences betide him (in this mutable state,) here may he 
 gather the peace of those who love the Lord and his 
 kingdom. Though in the actions of life he should not 
 attain a perfect conformity to the will of his Father in 
 Heaven, yet he would not have that will any the less 
 perfect, less pure, or less holy. It is its unchangeable 
 perfection and purity that renders it desirable and trans- 
 forming ; which, while it humbles him for every failure, 
 sweetly keeps him to exalted aims and purposes worthy 
 of immortality. And if, in this changing state, this pil- 
 grimage of life, the events which befall him, seem joyous 
 or grievous, he still sees Jehovah by the quickening in- 
 fluence of a perfect law of action, conducting him to the 
 peace and purity of the undenled in heart! Oh it is a 
 joy beyond the reach of the agitations of this world, 
 which the obedient gathers from following the law of his 
 God ! In secret it is the consciousness of holy purpose 
 and filial communion, which awaits the soul in friendliness 
 to Jehovah and his cause, and which no storms from 
 without can assail : in public, it is the effort of holy pur- 
 pose, which allays the miseries, calms the contentions, 
 and heals the moral maladies of this guilty world ; and 
 which spreads around it the peace and serenity of a new 
 creation. 
 
 Wherever he goes, and whatever befalls him, the stat- 
 utes of the Lord invariably direct, quicken, and support 
 him in this peaceful course of action. They would ele- 
 vate him above the covetousness, lust, pride, rancor, 
 jealousies, rivalries, of this sinful world, to the peace of 
 holiness and purity and love ; and while the days of his 
 pilgrimage are blessed with these quickening and puri- 
 fying statutes of the Lord, he unites in the joy and song 
 of the psalmist : u Thy testimonies that thou hast com- 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 manded are righteous and very faithful. Thy word is 
 very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it." 
 
 Another source of joy which the statutes of the Lord 
 offer to man, and one which springs only from these, I 
 mention, 
 
 III. That amid all the changes of time, they administer 
 to him the same perfect assurances of divine favor. 
 
 Man is a dependent being, affected in his welfare by 
 the feelings and conduct of others, and most of all by the 
 feelings and conduct of Jehovah. His personal interests 
 as a dependent being are all cast upon God, who if he 
 favor, or frown, carries the weight of all creation, and 
 providence, with him, to attest his kindness or his indig- 
 nation. 
 
 Now in his testimonies, this glorious Being has put into 
 our hands the solemn assurances of his favor towards 
 offending man. Though our apostasy had provoked his 
 just indignation, and might have separated him at hope- 
 less distance from us forever, yet in the benignity of his 
 grace he has here given us assurances, strong as his own 
 oath, and the humiliations of his Son, that he is ready to 
 be reconciled to us and with more than parental care to 
 manage for us all our interests. We here read the cove- 
 nant of his mercy and care ; assured that we shall find in 
 him a Helper ready to uphold and guard and guide us in 
 the steps of this pilgrimage. Here is the basis of firm 
 confidence. 
 
 These assurances lead man to the joy of reconciliation 
 with God. With a conscience burdened with the appre- 
 hensions of guilt he is ready to distrust his Maker, and 
 cling to his rebellion : and it is only on the firm assurances 
 of his published word, that he can believe, and enter into 
 the joys of reconciliation. 
 
 These assurances encourage him to seek continually 
 the blessing of God. On the basis of these he bows his 
 knees in humble and suppliant confidence before the 
 Father of Mercies ; and founds the expectation of that 
 grace which is sufficient for him in all the circumstances 
 of this life. 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 The joy derived from the personal friendship of God 
 is thus communicated to the soul. Here the assurances 
 ever stand written, and unchanged, in all their length 
 and breadth of love. His Almighty Finger has engraven 
 the engagements on everlasting tablets. They are faith- 
 ful and unfailing promises. Here then we may build our 
 faith unmoved ; revive it when it decays ; strengthen it 
 when feeble ; and sustain it through every change of an 
 outward providence. 
 
 And what a fountain of joy is this, to see through every 
 external change, the changeless eye and front of love still 
 beaming on us from the heavens. To know that what- 
 ever untoward circumstances may come upon us from his 
 providence, or whatever griefs men may occasion us, he 
 still maintains, beyond these clouds of sorrow, a heart to 
 do us good, and is ready to be sought of us in all our 
 necessities. Through all the changes of this state, weak, 
 erring, sinful, and dependent man thus descries the same 
 unclouded throne of grace open for his resort ; and in the 
 strength of faith in the promises, may visit that throne 
 with his wants, as did David : " Thou art my hiding place 
 and my shield. I hope in thy word." 
 
 One other source of joy which the statutes of the Lord 
 present to man, and which he can gather from no other 
 source, I mention only, 
 
 IV. That, amid all the changes of this life, they admin- 
 ister to him the hope of a nobler existence in eternity. 
 
 Man is an immortal being, sojourning on the earth but 
 a transitory season, ere he enters on an eternal dwelling. 
 With the mind of an immortal, he instinctively looks for 
 that permanent good which can come only from him who 
 is on the throne of immensity and eternity. He will, now 
 and then, even in his farthest alienation from Jehovah 
 and his busiest devotion to the world, feel the impulses 
 and desires of an immortal spirit within him panting 
 after the nobler and more substantial joys of immortality. 
 
 The wants of man as an immortal being, Jehovah has 
 consulted in his testimonies. Here he testifies, in a voice 
 that puts to rest the agitations of doubt and unbelief, that 
 
8 God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 the kingdom of holy subjects which he is rearing will 
 share in the vision of his glories, the cheerful obedience 
 of his commands, and the light of his favoring love, for 
 eternal ages before his throne. The joys which his word 
 administers to his servants on earth, the same word as- 
 sures them shall be perfected and continued forever be- 
 yond the grave. And it sets before man a practicable 
 way of obtaining this nobler state. Here he pledges his 
 own grace, in a method of effectual redemption through 
 Christ, to lead and uphold those, who cordially seek him, 
 through the snares of this life, to justify and accept them 
 in the day of final trial, and to elevate them to the crowns 
 and the thrones of the righteous in his kingdom. 
 
 Now it is on this word alone, assuring him of the tri- 
 umphs of Christianity and of the unfailing love of God, 
 that man founds the cheering hope of a glorious immor- 
 tality. And he who, guided by this word, delights in 
 meditating on the glory of God, in following his com- 
 mandments of purity and in seeking his favor, is prepared 
 to feel the inspiring joys of such a hope. 
 
 And how suited to administer to him consolation and 
 joy, amid all the changes of this life, is such a hope ! 
 All that is afflictive, all that seems untoward here, are 
 but the trials of a short pilgrimage, and all beyond is one 
 eternal day. Whatever events befall him here, whether 
 his paths be lighted with prosperity or shaded with ad- 
 versity, the statutes of the Lord direct him to look be- 
 yond them all to the glories of immortality. This hope 
 sustains, comforts, elevates ; lightens and alleviates the 
 woes of earth ; purifies and enhances its joys. From life 
 it removes its disappointments ; and from death extracts 
 its sting. Man stands forth rejoicing in the liberty where- 
 with God hath made him free. Disenthralled from the 
 fetters and bondage of sin, and led forth by his Saviour 
 from the prison-house of eternal death into the glorious 
 light of day, he breathes the air of immortality ; and even 
 while he walks this earth, he is enrolled a denizen of the 
 Heavenly Jerusalem, and claims a kindred with the saints 
 and a fellowship with angels in the transports of the 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 skies. The testimonies of the Lord have enkindled within 
 him these glowing- hopes. They have introduced into 
 the house of his pilgrimage these songs of immortals. In 
 days of health, vigor and activity, when his dwelling on 
 earth seems most fixed and durable, he repairs continually 
 to these walls of salvation for his sweetest hopes ; and 
 when he stands on the verge of life his heart and flesh 
 failing him he leans upon the ark of the covenant and 
 the word of the testimony ; and as the shadows of death 
 thicken around him, with the last ray of feeling he breathes 
 out his soul unto God : " Let thy mercies come unto me, 
 O God, even thy salvation, according to thy word. So 
 shall I keep thy law continually, forever and ever." 
 
 I have attempted, my brethren, to set before you the 
 Scriptures as the only guide to true happiness amid the changes 
 of this iv or Id ; and have illustrated the truth, by showing 
 that they administer to man through all the events of this 
 life an exhaustless theme of cheering meditation, a per- 
 manent law of beneficent action, a fixed basis of confi- 
 dence in God, a firm ground of hope. 
 
 Your attention is now invited to a few remarks sug- 
 gested by the subject of our present meditations. 
 
 i. We see how far the Scriptures elevate man above the 
 changes of time. 
 
 The changes to which man is subject in this life are 
 many and great : changes in condition, in station, in pos- 
 sessions, in friends, in prospects, in health, in enjoyments. 
 If the sun of prosperity gild his skies to-day, the clouds 
 of adversity may obscure them on the morrow. To-day 
 the son of Jesse is exalted from the sheep-cote and 
 anointed on Hebron king of Israel amid the transports of 
 his people ; to-morrow his rebellious son rends from him 
 the kingdom and the hearts of the people, and he retires 
 from the sacred city, ascending Olivet with a few adhe- 
 rents, destitute, barefoot, and weeping. Nothing here 
 is permanent ; nothing stable and sure. The mutabilities 
 of this world have ever agitated, the minds of men. Nor 
 has man, unguided of God, relying on his own wisdom, 
 ever been able to exalt himself in his feelings above these 
 
 3 
 
io God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 changes, or to rise above the wide spreading curse that 
 afflicts and desolates humanity. The thoughts of the wise 
 have been vain, the counsels of the prudent foolish. 
 What can the boasted light of heathenism do for me ? 
 One sage would make me a Stoic, and attempt to soothe 
 the ills of this life by rendering me insensible to both the 
 good and ill. But instead of leading me to some perma- 
 nent good that might cheer me amid the trials of this 
 state, he has cruelly told me to relinquish the hope of 
 every good, to attempt the spiritual suicide of extinguish- 
 ing all my sensibilities and retiring in apathy from all 
 the glories of God's creation. 
 
 Another would make me an Epicure : and tell me to 
 seize each joy that meets me, and revel while I can in 
 all the delights of sense, and blot the future from my 
 thoughts. But while I gather around me the pipe, the 
 tabret, the harp, the dance, the feast, the wine, and fill my 
 senses with the delights of earth in a day of worldly 
 prosperity, I cannot annihilate the morrow nor the evils 
 that may come with it, and when the days of calamity 
 come, all my good is gone and my griefs are insupport- 
 able. I asked for something that would exalt me above 
 these changes, and he sets me on the vain attempt of an- 
 nihilating the evil. 
 
 Another would make me an Ascetic : and by self-im- 
 posed privations and self-inflicted tortures, attempt to 
 purchase, beyond this life, some high gradation in glory. 
 But he denies me even the little good that beams upon 
 me in this world, and gives me no security that I shall 
 not be disappointed in my hopes of good hereafter. From 
 a land where some peace and sunshine dwells, he has 
 embarked me on a rough and tempestuous ocean without 
 assurance that I shall ever reach a happier shore. 
 
 But when from the darkness of this world, I turn to the 
 testimonies of the Lord, I see a God illuminating this 
 world with the radiance of his glory, employing me as 
 his servant in labors of beneficence and purity and peace, 
 attending my paths with the guardianship of his Almighty 
 Grace, and pouring into my breast the joys of immortality. 
 
God's WordMaris Chief Joy in this Present Time. n 
 
 Here Jehovah descends to transfuse into the cup of mor- 
 tals the joys of paradise. These testimonies exalt man 
 above the mutabilities of this state by yielding him a 
 good, great in itself and abiding : a good which far tran- 
 scends the joys of time, and which remains the same rich 
 fountain to cheer and to sooth in days of the greatest 
 worldly affliction. It is here that the good man ascends 
 the mount of converse with God, high above the storms 
 and tempests which desolate the world below, where all 
 is sunshine and eternal peace. And while he looks down 
 on a * world that is to pass away with all the lusts thereof,' 
 he knows that his joys have the firm footing of immortal- 
 ity, and that ' he that doeth the will of God abideth 
 forever.' 
 
 2. We see how the Scriptures combine the peace of 
 man on earth with his welfare in eternity. 
 
 They who are of sensual and earthly mind, often think 
 that the joys of the future world demand the sacrifice of 
 all true happiness in this life. The reason of their judg- 
 ment is easily seen in their own supreme attachment to 
 the joys of time and inexperience of the joys of the soul 
 that is united to its God. 
 
 But the testimonies of the Lord require not the relin- 
 quishment of any real good. They demand indeed the 
 relinquishment of a supreme and absorbing regard to the 
 things of this world ; but it is that man may participate 
 in a good immensely greater and more enduring. They 
 would lead him from the objects of creation, amid which 
 his errant and rebellious soul has been wandering in dis- 
 appointment and grief, for its good back again to its Crea- 
 tor and Shepherd to receive in his returning favor and 
 presence and his holy service the high joys for which it 
 instinctively pants. 
 
 This, to an erring soul, is the joy of redemption ; a 
 welcome to the friendship of God and a place in his 
 household to cheer the days of his pilgrimage below and 
 to last through the coming ages of eternity. Here then, 
 at the sacred oracles, the heavenly art is learned of com- 
 bining the happiness of time with that of eternity. The 
 
12 God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 joys which these testimonies inspire, are the very joys of 
 heaven. They mingle that world with ours. They con- 
 nect its happy family with the family of the saints. They 
 inspire in the redeemed soul in the house of this pilgrim- 
 age, those songs of redemption which are struck but with 
 higher rapture in the realms of everlasting day. This 
 life is rendered the dawn of heaven; its paths a happy 
 pilgrimage to the world of glory. 
 
 3. Finally, we learn the duty of depending for our 
 well being in this life on the published word of God. 
 
 The testimony of David is the testimony of the whole 
 host of the faithful who have walked before us in the 
 counsels of the Lord that these statutes have yielded 
 them the sweetest joys and consolations which they have 
 experienced in this pilgrimage. They open before us, 
 my brethren, the same fountains of joy that they have 
 done to others the same ennobling views of divine glory 
 the same converting and purifying precepts the same 
 assurance of assisting grace the same path to immortal 
 blessedness. 
 
 But in order to reap this joy, we must in faith repair to 
 these sacred fountains. We must accept the good which 
 they tender us for an inheritance. We must meditate on 
 that glory of God, and walk in the precepts of that law, 
 and bow before that throne of grace, and make sure that 
 calling to eternal life, which are revealed to us on their 
 pages. 
 
 Are not the joys which they are ever ready to adminis- 
 ter to us then, sufficient to claim this from us as our 
 sacred duty ? And do we not need, amid the trials and 
 changes that await us in this uncertain state, to be guided 
 by the unerring testimonies of our God ? 
 
 This duty, however, I would on the present occasion 
 more especially commend to the attention of those of us 
 who are now to leave these walks of science, and soon to 
 enter upon the vicissitudes and changes of active live. 
 
 My Friends, this life the Psalmist has expressively 
 termed a pilgrimage. You have just commenced the ex- 
 istence of intelligent, active, dependent and immortal 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 13 
 
 beings under the dominion of Jehovah. He has placed 
 you in this world but for a transitory season on trial for 
 eternity. You are strangers in the earth. Its fleeting 
 joys and sorrows are but the rapid incidents of a journey 
 to the everlasting world. The past how like a dream 
 appear its fleeting changes now, from cradled infancy to 
 this eventful hour of manhood ! The future its uncer- 
 tain joys and sorrows will soon be past, and on the con- 
 fines of eternity the whole will appear indeed the pilgrim- 
 age of strangers here. 
 
 To render your course in this short life truly happy 
 and prosperous, you need a good that is above earth's 
 changes, enduring as eternity ; and this good is brought 
 near you and offered you in the testimonies of the Lord. 
 Go then in every scene of this short pilgrimage, and 
 meet him at his holy oracles. Repair constantly to these 
 fountains of knowledge, holiness, grace, and immortality. 
 Here you may establish and cultivate a friendship with 
 the High and Holy One, that shall be in days of pros- 
 perity your highest joy, and the solace of your hearts in 
 the darkest days of affliction. 
 
 The time is now at hand when you will be called to act 
 your parts in life alone. Away from your parental homes 
 and the guides of earlier years, you are to contend singly 
 with the duties, temptations and afflictions of the present 
 state. And to whom or to what as you turn to us the eye 
 and press the hand, in parting affection, can we better 
 commend you than to God and to that word of his grace 
 which is able to build you up in holiness here, and to give 
 you an inheritance among the sanctified in the world of 
 glory ? 
 
 Have you already felt the power of this word to draw 
 you near the Lord, and do you at this hour feel the sacred 
 impulse of that faith that casts all its cares for time and 
 eternity upon his grace ? Go forth, ye servants of the 
 living God, go forth at his call, in peace. Your confidence 
 is founded on the Rock of Ages, and will abide, unmoved, 
 the storms of earth. The counsels of the Lord will guide, 
 
14 God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 
 
 protect and bless you ; and yield you many a song of 
 praise while on your way to join the fellowship and 
 higher joys of immortals ! 
 
 Or are you still estranged from God ? Seek you no 
 higher joys than can be gathered in this short pilgrimage, 
 and in the objects of this transitory world ? Shall those 
 immortal spirits of yours, cultivated and refined by sci- 
 ence, turn away from the themes that employ the highest 
 and holiest of the creation ? the laws that purify and 
 exalt them ? the favor that guides the humble to their 
 joys? Come then, ye unhappy aliens from Jehovah, and 
 at this hour, around the ark of his covenant, on the basis 
 of his offers, settle your controversy with your Maker. 
 Establish with him the peace of an endless reconciliation. 
 Shall not the grace that calls you, touch and move your 
 hearts ? 
 
 You have heard of the stubborn son, perhaps, whom 
 neither the bonds of parental nor fraternal love could 
 restrain from his froward purpose ; who left in alienation 
 the home of his earlier years ; who, when on the billowy 
 deep, or in some foreign clime, he was surveying his little 
 stores, cast his eye on some memorial of a mother's or a 
 sister's undying affection, and conscience awoke ; his heart 
 relented ; the expiring rays of filial feeling were re-kin- 
 dled in his bosom ; and he returned in dutifulness to the 
 once agonized but now overjoyed family. And is it not 
 so with erring man ? Is. he not roving in alienation from 
 Jehovah and his holy family, in quest of some portion 
 among the distant objects of his creation ? And, as in 
 grief and disappointment and shame he surveys the emp- 
 tiness of the good he finds in this estrangement, amid the 
 memorials of heavenly affection that yet surround him 
 the ark of the covenant meets his eye over which the 
 angels bend in admiration containing the archives of a 
 Savior's love, the love that through humiliations and 
 tears and groans invites him back to the happy family of 
 God. Conscience awakes ; his heart relents ; he drops his 
 idols ; he submits to God, and seeks through the pilgrim- 
 
God's Word Man s Chief Joy in this Present Time. 15 
 
 age of life the world of his presence. And all heaven 
 joys over his return. O may this heavenly influence 
 reach and subdue your hearts ! 
 
 My Friends, whatever purposes you entertain in your 
 hearts respecting the future, I have presented to you the 
 only path to true prosperity in this life and beyond the 
 grave. And now, in view of the vicissitudes of this pil- 
 grimage and the unchanging states of happiness and 
 misery that lie beyond the grave, we commend you to 
 God and the word of his grace, while we affectionately 
 bid you, Farewell. 
 
THE EVIL OF SOPHISTRY ON MORAL SUBJECTS. 
 
 ISAIAH V: 20. 
 
 WOE UNTO THEM THAT CALL EVIL GOOD AND GOOD EVIL. 
 
 ONE of the artifices by which the grand adversary 
 deceives mankind, is that of calling things by wrong 
 names ; and, as it is his grand design to keep up the 
 empire of sin in the world, he does this more especially 
 by reversing the names of moral good and evil. For he 
 knows that, as Eve in Paradise, his first victim, had, so 
 all her fallen posterity have, such an innate sense of the 
 beauty of virtue and the deformity of sin, that he must 
 needs put on the form of an angel of light and deceive 
 them by names of virtue to gain a conquest. 
 
 To many the artifice might seem very shallow and 
 little likely to deceive. For, say they, is not holiness as 
 distinct from sin, benevolence as distinct from selfish- 
 ness, as light is from darkness ; and can any one possibly 
 mistake things in their nature so opposite on account of 
 any misrepresentation or misnomer? But it is not holi- 
 ness and sin in the general and abstract to which he 
 directly applies the artifice, or in which he attempts to 
 deceive men. These he leaves untouched by any direct 
 assault. It is enough for his purpose to assail them in 
 the concrete and merely accidental forms which they 
 assume in conduct, in action. He did not attack Eve 
 on the general notions she entertained of holiness and 
 obedience to God, and attempt at once to subvert these 
 ideas by an exchange of names. That were but to strip 
 himself of his mask, to throw off his robes of light, and 
 appear before Eve the fiend of darkness without ability 
 more to deceive. No. He converses simply about a 
 
 4 
 
1 8 Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 given conduct the act of eating a particular fruit in the 
 garden. Now, as that external act itself seems not in its 
 own nature holiness or sin, independent of its connections 
 with other things, the field is open for his artifice to pre- 
 sent that specific action as connected with high and holy 
 ends with good rather than evil. And so he does. He 
 represents it by his plausible and fair speeches as desira- 
 ble to render her wise in knowledge and virtue. He thus 
 surnames the evil good and the artifice succeeds. 
 
 Now, as it is true of the great adversary and tempter, 
 so is it true of all who are enlisted in his work on earth 
 and are sustaining his empire of sin, that one of the most 
 effectual weapons they wield is that of attaching by 
 sophistical reasoning and argument wrong names to con- 
 duct, and thus subverting to common minds its proper 
 moral classification, calling what is evil good and what 
 is good evil. 
 
 The text denounces a woe on all who originate by their 
 sophistry, or give currency by their consent to, this mis- 
 representation of the names of moral qualities by which 
 those which are morally evil are classed with the good, 
 and the morally good with the evil. 
 
 In order to set forth to you the grounds of such a 
 denunciation, I will present the evil done by him who 
 gives currency in society to this misapplication of terms 
 on moral subjects. To this end I will attempt to show 
 
 I. That all conduct has its classification into moral 
 good and evil before God, according to its tendency, 
 which classification is unchangeable : and 
 
 II. That notwithstanding this, the wrong names which 
 are applied to it exert a powerful influence to deceive 
 men, and thereby as a consequence to effect vast evil. 
 
 i. In the first place, then, all conduct has its classifica- 
 tion into the morally good or the morally evil before God, 
 according to its tendency, which classification is un- 
 changeable. 
 
 By this proposition, I mean that all the conduct of man 
 in the circumstances in which it is performed, is neces- 
 sarily clothed with the attributes of moral good or moral 
 
Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 19 
 
 evil, and takes its rank accordingly in the view of God. 
 The same specific action outwardly, may be either inno- 
 cent or constitute a crime, according to the particular 
 circumstances and conditions in which it takes place. 
 As for instance, the taking the life of a man, if the act 
 of the proper officer and done in the execution of a proper 
 judicial sentence, may be innocent ; while the taking of 
 it, if by the act of a private individual, and done to 
 advance his own personal ends, would constitute the 
 crime of murder. But though a specific act in different 
 circumstances and under different conditions, may vary 
 in moral quality ; what I mean to assert is, that conduct 
 is always so related and conditioned that it must have a 
 moral character of some kind attached to it, and that, 
 where the attendant circumstances and conditions are 
 the same, it must always have the same character. 
 
 That conduct must always have moral character of 
 some kind, is evident for two reasons : one, that all con- 
 duct must have its general tendency to good or evil ; the 
 other, that the law of God takes cognizance of man in all 
 his conduct. 
 
 All conduct must have its general tendency to good or 
 evil. For man 'always has some ends of good or evil in 
 view when acting, which lie beyond the action itself. 
 He never acts for nothing, however near his actions seem 
 at times to terminate in it. He has some design, some 
 end in view, some object on which his heart is set, some 
 motive for his conduct. And every such intention proves 
 that the act itself, whether he rightly interpret it or not, 
 must redound either most to himself alone or most to the 
 general good ; it must be either selfish or benevolent ; 
 either morally evil or good. 
 
 It is evident also that all conduct must have moral 
 character of some kind attached to it, because the law of 
 God takes cognizance of man in all his conduct. His law, 
 we know from its general tenor as requiring the whole 
 heart and strength, and from the interpretations of it in 
 its application to the specific circumstances of the life, is 
 so exceeding broad as to reach to every action, requiring 
 
2O Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 man in each thing he does to do what redounds to the 
 honor of God ; and constituting him responsible at the 
 day of judgment for all his deeds done in the body. 
 Every act, therefore, must not only be in its own nature 
 and its necessary tendency benevolent or selfish, but must 
 be one of obedience or disobedience to the lawgiver, and 
 consequently in this relation morally good or evil. 
 
 But not only must every action have moral character 
 of some kind attached to it, as appears from these consid- 
 erations, but also the same species of action, where the 
 attendant circumstances and conditions are the same, must 
 always have the same moral character. For the tendency 
 of the action is the same, and by its real and true tenden- 
 cy to natural good or evil is it classed in the law as right 
 or wrong. The general tendency of the same action per- 
 formed in the same circumstances and under the same 
 conditions, must always be the same invariably, whether 
 it be to the side of good or evil. For this is but repeat- 
 ing, in another form, the plain axiom that like causes 
 produce like effects. For example, if to take or to use an 
 article that belongs to a neighbor, without his consent, 
 tends to injure him and to encourage such injuries in the 
 community, then to take or use an article at any other 
 time when the same conditions exist, viz : that it belongs 
 to a neighbor and his consent is not given, has just and 
 precisely the same tendency. And as is the tendency of 
 an action to good or evil, so is it ever to be classed in 
 morals as right or wrong. That which tends to good is 
 invariably right in form and can never in itself be wrong, 
 whatever be the character of the actor ; and that which 
 tends to evil is invariably wrong, and can never be made 
 right by any force of character in the actor. On these 
 principles which determine what species of actions in the 
 abstract men ought to pursue and what they ought to 
 avoid, moralists have proceeded in classing various spe- 
 cific actions with their limitation and conditions under 
 the names of virtues and sins; the scriptures too have 
 presented to us on such grounds and upon the au- 
 thority of God, a great list of specific actions as right 
 
Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 2 1 
 
 or wrong in their own nature and tendency as com- 
 mended or disapproved in his sight. The names are 
 given, and that species of action to which the name 
 attaches, stands forever on the moral list as he has him- 
 self enrolled it among the things which are right or are 
 wrong. 
 
 And this classification I said is unchangeable. When- 
 ever a being does an act which in its kind and circum- 
 stances classes it under any of the names attached to the 
 specific forms of moral evil, the name and the odium of 
 the name attaches to it forever in the court of conscience 
 and of heaven. If it is theft, if it is lying, if it is slander, 
 if it is oppression, if it is any other species of sin, the 
 indictment is made out in that form ; and the proof of the 
 specific kind of action taking place in those circumstances 
 which bring it within the limits and conditions of the 
 statute, is enough to establish the verdict of guilty. Nor 
 can the indicted criminal plead that the opinions of man- 
 kind varied from the statute book, or that his own opinion 
 differed, or that, like Eve intending to gain wisdom, he 
 intended anything good. He is bound by law in the 
 court of conscience and heaven his voluntary commis- 
 sion of what was prohibited in the statute book, and pro- 
 hibited as a thing necessarily tending to evil, is enough to 
 sweep away, as vain, all those flatteries of a surrounding 
 world or of his own heart which, in the day of temptation 
 deceived him, and emboldened him to the crime. 
 
 But I proceed to show, 
 
 2. That notwithstanding this eternal distinction in the 
 court of conscience and heaven of actions into morally 
 good and evil according to their tendency, the wrong 
 names which are given them exert a powerful influence to 
 deceive man and thereby as a consequence work out vast 
 evil. 
 
 To set the truth of this proposition more clearly before 
 you, I will present to you the origin of the misapplication 
 of terms, which is made among men on the subject of 
 morals, the great influence these misapplied terms have 
 to deceive men, and the vast evils which are consequently 
 effected by it in the world. 
 
22 Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 The origin of that gross perversion of terms in the 
 world which represents evil as good and good as evil, lies 
 in that spirit of libertinism which is natural to the heart 
 of man. Man does not well brook the restraints of a pure 
 and sound morality. His own nature furnishes a con- 
 science, and revelation presents a God, enacting a strict, 
 unpliable, unchangeable code of morals ; before which 
 man must bow with willing submission and conformity, or 
 be crushed in anger. Before the list of duties and sins 
 presented in this unmitigated code, sin trembles and fears 
 to advance ; and its libertine spirit seeks to hold up 
 another and more accommodating list before its eyes. 
 The more to sustain itself in a world where the light of 
 the true code is still shining, it seeks to advocate its own 
 perversions before men, and, by arraying around it a party 
 of adherents with their countenance and protection, thus 
 to entrench itself in a kingdom of darkness, too deep, if 
 possible, to be penetrated by any rays from the kingdom 
 of light. Here then this libertine spirit, instigated to 
 such boldness no doubt by the grand adversary, enlists 
 her public advocate. She has now a tongue to speak and a 
 plea to make in the world. And that advocate she intro- 
 duces into society under the different characters of the 
 proud sophist and the vulgar scoffer. 
 
 The proud sophist miscalls evil good and good evil by 
 his perverted and false reasonings. He takes the more 
 elevated stand in society of the eloquent reasoner : and 
 from his more lofty station looks down with pride on the 
 vulgar crowds he would gain over to his conclusions and 
 attach to his standard. He discourses, back, of the great 
 principles which lie at the foundation of morals. He 
 argues against Christianity with its revelations, or against 
 the eternal sanctions of the righteous government of God, 
 or against the being of God himself, the grand support of 
 morality, or else against some of those principles which 
 are essential in themselves to a sound code of morals. 
 The name he would affix to any species of action is not 
 directly advanced, but follows rather as a conclusion from 
 the fine web he spins of sophistical reasoning and casuistry. 
 
Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 23 
 
 He is not willing that an action and the moral classifica- 
 tion made of it in the Scriptures should pass for its worth. 
 His common sense and that of the world might see too 
 clearly that the name and the thing correspond. By go- 
 ing back therefore to take up and sustain some false prin- 
 ciple, or by starting with a correct principle and moving 
 forward on a false track, things in his view have come in 
 the result to change sides. Though the same titles of 
 virtue and sin remain to head the two lists, the actions 
 enumerated in the lists are wonderfully revolutionized by 
 the process. The old-fashioned sins enumerated in the 
 Bible have disappeared as mere foibles or are gilded over 
 as virtues. Its old-fashioned virtues have faded away as 
 weaknesses or are blackened over as sins. 
 
 To the sophist in this work of moral perversion, suc- 
 ceeds the vulgar scoffer. He acts in society the double 
 part of the flatterer and the scorner. Taking the conclu- 
 sions that are furnished to his hand by the sophist, he 
 goes forth in society with the signals and watchwords of 
 his leader and party, applying titles of flattery furnished 
 him for the wicked and of scorn for the godly. 
 
 He is the flatterer of the wicked. He seeks to soothe 
 their disturbed spirits with the smiles of commendation, 
 and to blind their eyes with the glare of great swelling 
 words of vanity applied to their conduct. Their unbelief 
 in God and his word he calls, perchance, the triumph of 
 reason over prejudice, their impiety a spirit of lofty inde- 
 pendence ; their sins and lusts the dictates of a true, large 
 and free nature ; their indifference to the sins and im- 
 pieties of the world around them, a generous liberality to 
 those who differ from them in opinion ; and their servility 
 to him and his flatteries, the offerings and evidences of a 
 good heart : names properly used to signify things which 
 are good, but applied by him to things which are evil. 
 
 He is the scorner of the godly. In his quiver are the 
 arrows of detraction. They are tipped with the venom 
 of scorn. They are shot with the laugh of boasted 
 triumph. For their firm belief in the word of God, he 
 derides the godly as weak and prejudiced enthusiasts ; 
 
24 Evil of Sophist?y on Moral Subjects. 
 
 their calm and serious frame of devotion to God with its 
 full and tranquilizing joys, of which he knows nothing, he 
 scouts as mere gloom and melancholy ; their deep rever- 
 ence of God and holy fear of sin, is entitled, in his vocab- 
 ulary, dark and harrowing superstition : their strict 
 obedience to the scriptural precepts of morality, black- 
 ened as the bondage of Pharasaical austerity and hypoc- 
 risy ; their zeal for the progress of divine truth and the 
 reformation of mankind, stigmatized as narrow-minded 
 bigotry, or blind fanaticism : and their faithfulness in 
 reproving him for his sin, resented as the venting of a 
 spiteful and malicious heart : names which signify evil 
 things, but applied by him to good. 
 
 Such then are the arts of misrepresentation used in the 
 world on the subject of morals : used to a greater or less 
 extent in every age and country arts, which every one 
 must expect to meet ; a trial which every one must en- 
 counter. The great power of this misrepresentation to 
 deceive mankind; we are now to consider. 
 
 That there is in this artifice great power to deceive will 
 appear from facts, and from the nature of the case. 
 
 Facts abundantly show us the power of falsehood to 
 deceive. Every day presents us with the spectacle of its 
 sad victims. Men are daily carrying on the work of re- 
 presenting the good as evil and the evil as good, and their 
 arts of persuasion too often succeed. Men are thus 
 deceived and defrauded out of everything good. They 
 are deceived and betrayed into everything evil. There 
 are commercial cheats and those who believe them ; 
 social cheats and those who believe them ; political 
 cheats, and, worse than all moral and religious cheats, 
 with their believers and followers. None stifles his con- 
 science and turns knave, but is sure to make some his 
 dupes. Nothing more fully attests the power of the 
 deception used in the world than this its success. Its 
 success began even in paradise ; it has gone forward to 
 this day, and so it will continue, we have reason to tear, 
 till the whole process is arrested and broken up by the 
 trump of the Archangel and the appearance of the Final 
 Judge. 
 
of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 2$ 
 
 But the influence it exerts with respect to moral good 
 and evil among men will be better understood if we ex- 
 amine the nature of the case that while the arts of 
 deception which we have been considering are well 
 adapted to have influence upon men, men on the other 
 hand are greatly exposed to their power by their weak- 
 ness, their ignorance, their inconsideration, and. more than 
 all, by their inclinations. 
 
 The arts of deception we have considered are such in 
 kind as are well adapted to have influence upon man. A 
 fellow being like ourselves on the stage of life with us, 
 having the same great interests at stake, in time and eter- 
 nity, appears the champion of what he calls good, the 
 opposer of what he calls evil : himself so much the dupe 
 of Satan as to believe in the false cause he advocates. He 
 (or she, for in these last days we have seen even woman 
 to head the band of the scoffers) stands up before us with 
 the attributes of apparent wisdom and philanthropy to 
 command respect and attention. He speaks with an im- 
 passioned earnestness, involving himself and his eternal 
 interests in the cause. Attention is summoned. Decision 
 is called for. His net is cast over and around many 
 minds, and his proselytes stand ready to drag it gn shore. 
 They go forth to secure decision and consent ; to gain an 
 open avowal from the consenting ; to bind them, by pub- 
 lic committal, to their own ranks. They take up the 
 terms and cant phrases that embody the results of their 
 leader's arguments. He has coined for them some word 
 that in their mouth covers -up sophistry : a word that 
 shuts out argument : a word that is the badge of 
 honor in their ranks : a word that is flatteringly offered 
 to the acceptance of the hesitating with a smile of 
 offered friendship. Will he accept it, is the demand : 
 yes, or no ? If still hesitating, they are ready to ply 
 him with the alternative their leader has furnished them 
 in the false phrase by which he has blackened the cause 
 of good. It is presented as a thing of scorn in their 
 ranks. It is tossed at him with an air and frown betoken- 
 ing triumphant contempt for the one who should accept 
 
 5 
 
26 Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 it, with the demand, Will you take that? Assailed by 
 such arts and weapons of sophistry, surely it would 
 require firmness in man to withstand them. 
 
 But the art of false persuasion appears greater still in 
 degree when it is considered relatively as bearing on the 
 weakness of man. 
 
 Man is exposed by his ignorance. Men begin their 
 existence as babes ; and often, in the moral sense, they 
 never advance beyond childhood : not having their moral 
 senses exercised, by reason of use, clearly to discern good 
 and evil. They have very little acquaintance with the 
 system of practical ethics given in the Bible, with its 
 limits and grounds. They know them, as they do most 
 of their fellow men, by name only. They are far better 
 acquainted with the desires of their own hearts, and with 
 the objects of the present world. They know more of 
 the relation of their actions to things which are temporal 
 than the relations they bear to the unseen God and the 
 issues they are to have in an unseen eternity. 
 
 But again, men, whatever is their knowledge, are incon- 
 siderate. They are inconsiderate about preparing them- 
 selves for the onsets of temptation. They are hesitating and 
 wavering on the point of any fixed principles that would 
 arm them with strength. They do not take it into con- 
 sideration and decide, whether they will accept from God 
 the Saviour, the armor which he offers them in his word 
 by which they might be able to withstand all the wiles of 
 the adversary. And as they are not fixed, trusting in 
 God, they are exposed to put too much trust in man. And 
 when the hour of assault is come, they are still incon- 
 siderate. They take into consideration indeed the whole 
 that is offered them in the temptation ; but, in that hour 
 of their utmost need, how often do they fail to take into 
 consideration the counsels and persuasions that are offered 
 them to the contrary in the word of God ; and to make 
 up their minds at once to follow a faithful Creator and 
 reject their tempter. How, then, with no consideration to 
 meet and with none to repel their tempter, can it be 
 expected they would escape ? 
 
Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 27 
 
 But still again, and worse than all, men are inclined at 
 heart to welcome their tempter. Their hearts are not set 
 right about good and evil. Their estimates of temporal 
 good and evil are higher than their estimates of spiritual 
 and eternal. They love and fear the one more than they 
 love and fear the other. By this strange perversion of feel- 
 ing, their real and worst enemies come to appear in their 
 view as their friends, and their real and best friends to ap- 
 pear as their enemies. Their tempters are soothing flatterers 
 who exact no change, who impose no cost of reformation 
 and self-denial : while God and the good are severe re- 
 provers that in their faithful love exact both. Is it 
 strange that they whose hearts are thus perversely 
 inclined should say, Prophecy unto us deceits, speak 
 smooth things, cause the holy One of Israel to cease from 
 before us ; that they should be ready to turn the eye 
 and ear away from God and open them both to their 
 tempters? 
 
 Is it strange then that men, amid all the spiritual ignor- 
 ance they suffer themselves to remain in, which seems 
 hardly competent even to say which be the first principles 
 of the oracles of God ; that men, too inconsiderate even 
 to decide whether they shall trust in God or men most, 
 and thus ready to exalt men over all on the throne of 
 their feeble reason ; that men so in love with the world 
 and estranged from God in their hearts, as to fear the 
 costs and self-denials of religion more than the pains of 
 eternal damnation ; should be carried away by the decep- 
 tive arts of the ungodly wise men and disputers of this 
 world, when pressed with all their sophistry and assailed 
 by the clamors, the boasts and the scorns of their adher- 
 ents? Is it strange that they should come to believe a 
 lie, when it is so acceptable and so strongly enforced 
 that they should commit themselves, enroll with the 
 party, and unite with them thenceforth in calling evil good 
 and good evil ? 
 
 We come now to consider the vast evils which are 
 effected by this process of deception in the world. 
 
28 Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 Its evil consequences are to be judged of by their 
 nature and extent. 
 
 Their nature is unfolded in the fact that the distinction 
 between moral good and evil which God has proclaimed 
 to his creatures a distinction forever true and unchange- 
 able is made by him the basis on which he reposes his 
 own honor as the Ruler of the Universe ; on which he 
 establishes the peace and joy of his kingdom ; on which 
 he secures the salvation of souls. Against all these high 
 and endless interests therefore, the blow is leveled which 
 seeks to destroy that distinction between moral good and 
 evil which is the foundation on which they all rest. 
 
 He, therefore, who aims to pervert the distinctions 
 between good and evil, does injustice to God, to the 
 interests of society, and the spiritual welfare of indi- 
 viduals, and the more and farther he prevails, the wider 
 is the extent of the mischief. 
 
 He does injustice to God. His great name is dis- 
 honored and blasphemed as the author of falsehood and 
 confusion : his government, with its laws and sanctions, 
 is rebelled against and invaded : the kingdom of light and 
 holiness and peace which his grace has set up among us 
 by his Son in the midst of our rebellions, is hindered in 
 its progress. 
 
 He does injury to society. The foundations of its 
 security are shaken. Rapine, lust, fraud, deceit, violence, 
 are sent forth by him to fatten on their spoils ; and justice, 
 integrity, truth, the fear of God, are hunted and cried 
 down as enemies : till lands, fitted to rejoice as the garden 
 of God, are desolate ; and heaven weeps, and earth 
 mourns, over innocence slain and equity prostrate. 
 
 He does injury to the spiritual welfare of individuals. 
 He meets the ignorant, inconsiderate, worldly wanderer 
 from God whom a Saviour is inviting back to forgiveness 
 and to rest. He commits him, and enrolls him, the son of 
 perdition. A lie is received, and grasped in his right 
 hand as his treasure and defense. His way to destruc- 
 tion is made easy and sure. Onward he goes to the gates 
 of death. He dies an outcast from God. The pangs of a 
 
of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 29 
 
 just condemnation seize upon his soul. He finds out the 
 cheat too late ; deceived by false names of virtue and of 
 evil, he is forever fallen. O, that any, charmed by false 
 names of wisdom, should forever part with the substance ; 
 that any for fear of being called fools in the scoffs of the 
 ungodly, should make themselves such in reality to all 
 eternity ! 
 
 To how wide an extent this mischief is carried on in 
 our world may be seen by a survey of the kingdom of 
 darkness : a kingdom which has its oldest and firmest seat 
 in the lands of idolatry, which extends over the adherents 
 of the false prophet, and embraces all within the light of 
 Christian lands who retain the mark and the practices and 
 worship the images of the great Beast of Idolatry in the 
 earth a kingdom built on error sustained by sophistry 
 and deception in which evil is called good and good evil. 
 What hecatombs of ruined men, of ruined nations, lie 
 before us : whom Satan the god of this world hath blinded 
 and deceived in person and by his emissaries, and whom 
 he will continue to deceive till Christ shall come, in the 
 brightness of his spiritual dominion over all, to drive him 
 away and enchain him, that he go out to deceive the 
 nations no more. 
 
 I have thus set before you, as I intended, the ground of 
 the woe denounced against him who calls evil good and 
 good evil that the distinction between moral good and 
 evil, set up by the Creator being founded in the necessary 
 tendency they have to promote the natural good and evil 
 of beings, is in its own nature true and unchangeable ; and 
 that the wrong names and sophistical reasonings set up 
 by men which confound this distinction have yet great 
 power to deceive and as a consequence work vast evil. 
 
 The use which I would make of the subject as I con- 
 clude, is that of caution against deceiving and being 
 deceived, against employing the arts of deception and 
 falling under their power. 
 
 We have been looking on the world abroad to examine 
 the operations of deceit that are in it in reference to 
 moral subjects, and to behold the vast evils it works 
 
3O Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 
 
 among men. Every man is not living abroad in the large 
 world, but every one is living in a little world of his own : 
 and influences are in thousands of ways coming in from 
 the larger world into the smaller one in which he resides, 
 and going out from his circle again into the wider circle 
 of humanity. Every one is therefore capable of exerting 
 a wider influence upon others than he now sees. Every 
 one is exposed to a wider reach of influence from others 
 than he fully apprehends. 
 
 Beware then (i) Against deceiving others. Be not the 
 advocate of error. Advocate nothing at any time, in any 
 place, which your conscience or revelation condemns. 
 Your words of error and sophistry may fall on the ear of 
 some soul in spiritual ignorance, inconsiderate of safety, 
 inclining to evil, and enlist and secure him in error error 
 that shall keep him from Christ and holiness and land him 
 in the region and shadows of eternal death. Nor does 
 the evil stop here. The evil of sin is as the plague of 
 leprosy. The soul you infect goes forth and spreads the 
 infection in the wide world. There are atheists and infi- 
 dels and men of lax morals enough in the world already. 
 Why should you increase the number? You have sins 
 enough to answer for at the tribunal of God already. 
 Why should you go on to add sin to sin and heap to your- 
 self greater condemnation ? No ; enlist rather at once un- 
 der Christ, the great Supporter of Truth an-d the Author 
 of Salvation, that every past sin may be forgiven you. 
 Be the firm and unflinching advocate of truth and holi- 
 ness. Represent things as they are. Call evil evil, and 
 good good. Uphold the honor of God, the kingdom of 
 Christ and holiness, advance the good of mankind and the 
 salvation of souls, and take your reward with the faithful 
 in heaven. 
 
 Beware again (2) Against being deceived by others. 
 Fall not the victim of error. Be not over-confident 
 in your own wisdom, lest it prove your folly and ruin. 
 There is ignorance and inconsiderateness and perverse- 
 ness of feeling enough cleaving to the best, to expose 
 them to deception ; and the sophists and disputers of this 
 
Evil of Sophistry on Moral Subjects. 3 1 
 
 world, meet you at every corner and turn of life. If you 
 are not armed for safety, you will be ensnared, deceived 
 and ruined for ever. Fix your heart then forever on God 
 the source of life and safety, trusting in Him as a child. 
 Take the plain instructions and precepts of his word as 
 your guide, its promises and threatenings as your 
 strength. Learn them, consider them, love them more 
 and more from day to day. Hold them fast, amid all the 
 sophistical arguments or vulgar ridicule and abuse of an 
 ungodly world. Be not afraid of the result. Be ye sure 
 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, its prin- 
 ciple and support, and will one day so appear to his 
 whole kingdom. If you cannot answer all the arguments 
 of the subtle, if you cannot be indifferent wholly to the 
 flatteries and scoffs of the wicked, still believe in God, 
 estimating his wisdom above their sophistry, prizing his 
 promises and threatenings above all they can offer. Be 
 firm, and you will find much to encourage you in this 
 world. The public advocates and hearty friends of God's 
 truth and cause are many to strengthen you ; and they 
 are advancing forward continually in the earth froni con- 
 quest to conquest. Be firm in these days of assault and 
 trial, and when the day of God shall burst upon the world, 
 you will see his wisdom triumph gloriously over all the 
 machinations of the perverse, you shall be crowned as his 
 faithful and confiding servant before his kingdom. 
 
THE DESTRUCTIVE INFLUENCE OF THE TRANS- 
 GRESSOR IN A COLLEGE. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES, IX : 18. 
 
 ONE SINNER DESTROYETH MUCH GOOD. 
 
 THIS is a truth attested by universal experience. Its 
 importance is apparent, even when applied to him who is 
 a sinner only in heart ; who is destroying his own soul, 
 and all the influence of the counsel and care bestowed 
 upon him by Jehovah and the pious. But the truth as- 
 sumes a higher importance when applied to the open 
 transgressor ; who not only destroys himself but becomes 
 the corrupter of those around him ; spreading as he goes, 
 a wide waste of moral pestilence and death. Applied to 
 such an one, it assumes an importance corresponding with 
 the stations which he occupies in life, and the means and 
 facilities which they give him for approaching others with 
 his polluting society and example. Witness him in a 
 family ; it is there he infects the springs of domestic order 
 and happiness. Witness him in the intercourse of friends ; 
 it is there he comes, as a fiend of perdition, to destroy 
 some confiding associate. Witness him in the hall of 
 legislation or on the bench of judgment ; it is there he 
 poisons the fountains of justice as they flow down into 
 the community. Follow him into every station ; he ap- 
 pears in all, the same fiend of ruin, destroying every- 
 where the good exposed to his polluting touch. 
 
 But I shall not call you to dwell upon what the open 
 transgressor may do to destroy, in merely imagined cir- 
 cumstances ; I would bring the truth much nearer home 
 to you, and apply it to a reality often witnessed within 
 the precincts of this College. I would ask you candidly 
 
 6 
 

 34 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 and seriously to hear me, while I attempt to portray 
 the truth : that one open transgressor, in an Institution like 
 this, destroys much good. 
 
 This power in a single sinner to destroy what is good 
 is manifest even in this sacred retreat of science. You 
 are here assembled in a miniature world of your own, 
 withdrawn from that outer and larger world that sur- 
 rounds you, and even here you see operating on a scale of 
 less extent the very evils in their germs that you can see 
 grown rife and mature in the wider circle of the world 
 that surrounds you. 
 
 Will you not allow me then as one who has long been 
 conversant with the interests of this little college world, 
 and as one who still wishes and prays for the welfare of 
 its members, to set the truth of our text before you, as it 
 is exemplified in such a circle as yours the society gath- 
 ered within the walls and occupied in the peaceful pursuits 
 of a College. 
 
 Let me show you that one sinner here has great power 
 to destroy, and that the good which he destroys here is 
 peculiarly great. 
 
 I. One transgressor among you Jias great power to destroy. 
 
 He comes with his habits of dissipation, intemperance, 
 debauchery, gambling, into a society which, in some re- 
 spects, is very open to his influence. For he unites himself 
 here to a circle of the young and inexperienced ; open 
 in their confidence ; absent from parental restraint, and 
 surrounded by many facilities and encouragements to 
 lead them into the practice of all these vices. He uses 
 his enticements and example with companions whose 
 peculiar circumstances strongly favor him in obtaining 
 a victory over their minds. 
 
 He enters here into the circle of the young and inex- 
 perienced. Youth and inexperience, it is well known, are 
 circumstances always favoring temptation. Youth is 
 sportive ; buoyant in its feelings ; bright in its hopes ; 
 eager after its pleasures ; unestablished in its principles. 
 Experience has not yet come to trace out actions with 
 faithful hand, to their remote results and consequences ; 
 
Transgressor in a College. 35 
 
 to instil her sober views of life ; to mould the character 
 into distinct and stable form. Is it strange that minds 
 thus quick to receive every impression, thus open to 
 every influence, should be an easier prey to the contagion 
 of a vicious companion ? When I see one person of dis- 
 sipated life and habits living and moving in your circle, 
 I feel that he has great facilities for carrying on the work 
 of destruction among you. He is not easy in sin without 
 companions ; and his polluting enticements he spreads 
 before those who, though not in extremest youth, are in 
 that middle stage between it and manhood, which com- 
 bines all the quickness of youth to receive impression and 
 habit, with all the strength of manhood to retain it ; and 
 I fear that he will achieve at once, an easy and a perma- 
 nent victory. 
 
 Again, such a transgressor within your circle is con- 
 joined to a fraternity most open in their confidence. The 
 person who has never been united to such an institution, 
 scarcely conceives what strong bonds of confidence are 
 intertwined amongst its members. Equal nearly in age, 
 engaged in the same general pursuits, daily associated in 
 the same public exercises, hourly sharing in the same 
 trials and enjoyments, they view each other only in this 
 common relation. The distinctions of wealth, family, 
 character even, disappear. All hearts are interwoven 
 into one common woof. An openness and familiarity of 
 all-reposing confidence, renders every heart accessible. 
 Classmate is but another name for brother. Even the 
 little feuds and strifes that occasionally arise, dissolve 
 under the power of its charm. Is it strange, then, that in 
 a society so open and unsuspecting in their confidence, 
 he who comes as a destroyer should easily obtain victims 
 to his sins and associates with him in vice ? Into what 
 room may he not enter and sit down with you as your 
 companion ? Into what ear may he not whisper his cor- 
 rupting persuasions? And who that is not steeled with 
 that fortitude of moral principle which says at once, like 
 the Saviour, to every temptation, come it from whom it 
 may : " Get thee behind me Satan ;" who else will not 
 
36 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 feel the strength of that bond which unites him to a class- 
 mate, and be drawn by it to listen to his suggestions and 
 to consent to his guilty proposals. 
 
 Again, such a transgressor here is united to a society of 
 youths who are absent from parental restraint and watch- 
 fulness. What power has a father's friendship, and a 
 mother's pure and deep love, to check the waywardness 
 of youth and to guide it with the wisdom of experience ! 
 I have seen the youth dwelling under their roof; nur- 
 tured by their care ; watched by their eye ; guarded 
 by their love ; and have felt that next to the bond of 
 heaven's authority and love, theirs is the strongest, the 
 purest. What, when they place the son of their hopes 
 in an institution like this, remote from their eye, shall 
 supply the place of their watchfulness? Its appointed 
 guardians may exert a parental watchfulness over him ; 
 but it shall not touch his heart like the eye of father and 
 mother. When the seducer of his morals comes to meet 
 him here with his enticements, his father may be thinking 
 of him with deep solicitude, his mother may be praying 
 for his welfare with heart-broken agonies. But he is far 
 from their presence. The eye of a father bent on him in 
 its sternness, or of a mother beaming upon him in its 
 love, might nerve him to say 'no' to his enticer, to refuse 
 uniting with him in his unworthy proposals. But the 
 corrupter assails him afar from the parental roof. The 
 tempter here finds him, removed from the watchfulness 
 of those hearts that would bleed most deeply over his 
 downfall. And the temptations which youth and confi- 
 dence favor, are thus strengthened by the absence of 
 parental restraint. 
 
 Again, the destructive power of the transgressor here 
 is increased by the facilities and encouragement for dissipa- 
 tion which surround the Institution. Were all those who 
 surround our literary institutions as faithful as their offi- 
 cers, or the parents of their pupils, to withhold from them 
 the means and discountenance them in the practice of 
 dissipation, the transgressor within their walls would 
 not have that power which he now has to lead others 
 
Transgressor in a College. 37 
 
 with him into polluting and forbidden pleasures. With- 
 out a haunt to which he might lead his victims, inspected 
 by eyes which would frown upon him with indignation ; 
 his polluting influence would be checked; and youths, 
 otherwise exposed, be rescued from his grasp. But ah ! 
 it is a sad story that here the young and inexperienced, 
 confiding in each other, and removed from parental in- 
 spection, are drawn and lured away by the facilities and 
 encouragements to dissipation which are brought around 
 the very walls of their habitation. How many for the 
 sake of receiving the money of the young, will adminis- 
 ter to their guilty pleasures and vices ; see their morals 
 debauched ; encourage their enticements over one an- 
 other, and be accessory to this progressive ruin of souls ! 
 When was there ever an institution like this planted any 
 where, but these harpies of ruin hovered around it on 
 their filthy pinions ? " Through covetousness and with 
 feigned words " " they make merchandise of you," the 
 dreadful traffic of your souls for their gains. What 
 power do these give the person of dissipated habits 
 among you to destroy. Money only is needed ; and the 
 pleasures to which he entices you, however guilty and 
 polluting, are readily administered, The transgressor 
 is thus often countenanced, encouraged, animated, in his 
 work of temptation and ruin, by external accessories, 
 who are interested both to aid in sin and to screen from 
 detection. 
 
 Such are the circumstances relative to college life 
 which show how great is the destructive power of a 
 single corrupt and vicious student over his companions ; 
 that he brings his temptations to the young and inexper- 
 ienced ; who repose the utmost confidence in him ; who 
 are far removed from the watchful eye of their parents ; 
 and who are surrounded from without the institution by 
 those who favor the pleasures of vice and guilty dissipa- 
 tion. 
 
 Let me show you now, 
 
 II. That the good ^LV hie Ji a transgressor succeeds to destroy 
 here, is peculiarly great. He always destroys much good : 
 
38 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 in the immediate victims of his corruption ; in the Insti- 
 tution of which he is a member ; in the families to whose 
 sons he has access ; in the community among whose 
 rising- hopes he dwells. 
 
 i. He destroys much good in the victim of Jiis corruption. 
 
 The youthful student here, bright in talent, high in 
 hope, presents a spectacle, to all, of no ordinary interest. 
 He is justly regarded as one who is to participate in 
 higher responsibilities in life, and to engage in wider and 
 more efficient spheres of action than the companions 
 whom he has left at the plough, at the anvil, at the coun- 
 ter. At any rate he enters upon great privileges which 
 are denied to them, and for which he must give account. 
 
 The dissipated youth, who seduces a companion here 
 to unite with him in his vices and guilty pleasures, seizes 
 on a victim of no ordinary interest, and brings upon him. 
 no ordinary ruin. 
 
 He is the destroyer of literary attainment. The inebri- 
 ating cup, the noisy revel, the lewd debauch, hold no 
 communion with the room of sobriety, the table of study, 
 the lamp of diligence, the page of learning and lore. 
 Intemperate and guilty pleasures debilitate the body, 
 clog the mind, indispose both for study, reduce the whole 
 man to the indolence and apathy of the brutes. The 
 victory of a sinner over his companion here, is a victory 
 over his attainments ; the defeat of his diligence ; the 
 perversion of his privileges. 
 
 He is the destroyer of character. The victim of his 
 enticements is led to pleasures which sear the conscience ; 
 stifle each generous sensibility of the heart ; eradicate 
 the principles of virtue ; and reduce the man in subjec- 
 tion to their imperious power. The misled youth has 
 entered into the haunts of guilty pleasure ; he has enrol- 
 led his name among her votaries ; he has dedicated him- 
 self at her altars; she will never give him a discharge 
 from her dominion ; he will never satiate her with his 
 offerings : he must surrender to her his conscience, his 
 principles, his character. 
 
 He is the destroyer of temporal prospects. What hopes 
 
Transgressor in a College. 39 
 
 might have dawned upon the youth before he fell into 
 the fangs of his destroyer ! The prospect of entering 
 upon life, with health, with attainments, with reputation 
 and character; opening before him the avenues to the 
 confidence, the respect, the love of his fellow men ! But 
 ah ! his destroyer has blasted these hopes ; and delivered 
 him over to his parents and the community, without 
 attainment and without principle, an idler and a sot, to be 
 henceforth bloated and deformed by his lusts ; with no 
 other prospects for life than those which the wise man 
 assures us belong to him u that loveth pleasure " " he 
 shall be poor" the prospect of poverty in character, in 
 estate, in reputation, in public confidence, in peace of 
 mind ; until he reach the grave. 
 
 He is the destroyer of the soul, for the drunkard is 
 disinherited from the kingdom of God. Earth has no 
 language nor any similitude adequate to describe a ruin 
 like this. An immortal mind debased ; its endless aspir- 
 ings disappointed ; its recreant energies recoiling in an- 
 ger on itself; a heaven of glory lost ; a hell of speechless 
 agony forever endured ; these are the melancholy parts 
 of such a ruin. Oh how little apprehended and known in 
 this world ! Is it not enough for any one of you to go 
 alone into these everlasting burnings? Must you take 
 with you some hapless companion ? Will you select him 
 from this group and bear him away from these high priv- 
 ileges to take the lowest place in hell, and endure the 
 fiercest flames of wrath ? 
 
 Such destruction does the sinner here bring upon the 
 victim of his corruption : But, 
 
 2. He destroys much good in the Institution of which he 
 is a member. 
 
 An institution like this, founded in piety and prayer, 
 nurtured by the wise and the good, consecrated to Christ 
 and his cause, and embosoming in it the hopes of the 
 Church and the State, is an institution of most sacred 
 character ; which calls upon all who are in any way con- 
 nected with it to guard it from injury, to further its 
 design, to aid in its prosperity. The stealthy transgres- 
 
40 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 sor who becomes a member of it, who brings the pollu- 
 ting and destructive influence of his vices into the 
 community, vitally assails its welfare. Though bound, 
 in entering upon its privileges, to unite with its instruct- 
 ors, its official guardians and its pupils in securing the 
 great and good ends of its establishment ; he comes not to 
 build but to destroy. 
 
 He destroys the influence of its instructions. Here men 
 are stationed by Providence in the laborious office of 
 imparting instruction. They are laboring to communi- 
 cate lessons of knowledge and wisdom and piety for the 
 good of the community. With pains, with watchings, 
 with prayers, they open to you the fountains of human 
 and divine knowledge ; and never do they reap a richer 
 reward than when they see their instructions distilling 
 on the mind with fertilizing influence as the dew, ripen- 
 ing youth into the glories of an intelligent, wise, and 
 virtuous manhood. But the open transgressor sets at 
 nought these counsels and instructions : he leads the 
 victims of his corruption to unite with him in passing 
 them heedlessly by ; and his heart and tongue are enlisted 
 in destroying widely around him the moral and religious 
 bearing of these instructions, on the mind of his fellow 
 students. 
 
 He destroys the prevalence of its laws. Those salutary 
 regulations and restraints which its wise and faithful 
 guardians have enacted to secure that order which is 
 vital to its welfare, are bonds as light to his conscience as 
 the web of the spider : for pleasure, intemperate and pol- 
 luting, knows no law ; abides no restraint ; breaks through 
 every wholesome regulation ; and riots in her own lawless 
 sportings.. 
 
 He destroys the health of its morals. The morals of a 
 community are composed of the morals of its members ; 
 and he and the victims of his enticement are dissolute. 
 Every such member therefore swells the amount of sins 
 and transgressions in this little community. He also does 
 much to lower the general tone of moral sentiment ; for 
 that dread of vice never too quick, that aversion to it 
 
Transgressor in a College. 41 
 
 never too strong, which are necessary to guard the mor- 
 als, are in his presence and daily familiarity relaxed and 
 softened down by the power of sympathy. One such 
 sinner shall do much to weaken in almost every breast the 
 sentiment of abhorrence and indignation felt at vice. If 
 they " embrace " not " the monster " at the first, yet, 
 
 " familiar with her face, 
 They first endure, then pity, then embrace." 
 
 He destroys the vigor of its piety. I would hope that 
 no such transgressor could ever prevail on one of this 
 little flock, named after the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, directly to follow him and unite with him in his 
 guilty pleasures. Yet, relaxing the tone of moral senti- 
 ment as he goes, he prowls around the sacred enclosure 
 of the Church ; and if he obtain no victims from it he 
 often inspires, in the less established and the less vigorous, 
 the fear of assuming an unpopular firmness and decision of 
 religious character. Even the most established and the 
 most vigorous in the body, at times, witnessing the im- 
 moralities without and the decay of religious sentiment 
 within ; find their hopes discouraged, their ardor damp- 
 ened, their faith weakened and almost yielding to despair. 
 
 He destroys the soundness of its reputation. For what 
 deeper wound can he inflict on its honor than that which 
 is aimed at its instructions, its order, its morals, its piety ? 
 
 Such is the destruction which he brings into the institu- 
 tion of which he is a member ; But, 
 
 3. He destroys much good in the families to whose sons 
 he here has access. 
 
 The thought is full of interest to every one who is a 
 member in an institution like this, as he looks around on 
 his fellow students, that he is admitted into the confidence 
 and bosom of almost as many families, scattered over this 
 extensive country. Each student with whom he is in the 
 habit of daily and familiar intercourse, has a father or 
 mother ; perhaps, some friendly brother ; or affectionate 
 sister; who contemplate, in him, the son of their hopes, 
 or the brother of their pride and joy. Each youth here 
 
 7 
 
42 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 should feel that his influence has this extensive bearing 
 on relations so sacred, so touching. Every one, be it 
 remembered, who is dissipated in his habits and corrupt 
 in his morals, brings a moral pestilence into the bosom of 
 all these families scattered throughout the length and 
 breadth of our vast country. He carries, into all these 
 sacred enclosures of domestic love, a heart more cruel 
 than the grave, to destroy their peace, their counsels, 
 their hopes. 
 
 He destroys their peace. For they feel that the sons of 
 their prayers and hopes/are exposed to the polluting 
 venom of his example /and enticements. A thousand 
 anxieties crowd around' their hearts as they watch over 
 the course of their absent children ; as they receive from 
 time to time intelligence of their progress: for they know 
 that a pestilence is near them that may give them its 
 deadly contagion, that an enemy is nigh them ready to 
 devour. How would it relieve the anxieties of these 
 households, what peace and confidence would dawn on 
 their again happy circles, were it known to them that no 
 such wolves were prowling in ambush among their sons! 
 that every individual of corrupt habits here, were 
 searched out, reproved, humbled before all in deep 
 repentance, or else excluded from all ; and that the 
 hearts of all this body were set, as a munition of rocks, 
 against the inroads of every vice and iniquity ! 
 
 He destroys their counsels. The parents of these 
 youth, many of them, have instructed and warned them 
 from their infancy. In tears and with many prayers, they 
 have often administered to them the counsels of faithful- 
 ness and love. But ah ! what shall become of all their 
 admonitions ? Their son is far removed from their pre- 
 sence ; and nigh him, in the garb of confidence and 
 friendship, dwells the destroyer; ever ready to distil into 
 his ear his polluting enticements ; and to lead him, with 
 the basest ingratitude to forget his father arid the mother 
 who bore him, and trample on all their counsels. 
 
 He destroys their hopes. Come, go with me to the 
 family whose son the corrupter has here led astray into 
 
Transgressor in a College. 43 
 
 intemperance. It is the house of mourning ; but not 
 for the dead for the worse than dead the living buried 
 in his pollutions. See, as we enter it, what mortification, 
 what grief, what despair, are depicted on the counten- 
 ances of the family group : for he whom they loved, 
 whom they labored and prayed for, they have heard has 
 fallen a victim to intemperate and polluting pleasures ; 
 such as ruin his diligence, his character, his prospects, his 
 soul. Let the corrupter go before us ; and in our pre- 
 sence, deliver over to this afflicted family their ruined 
 child, his victim. Let his eye meet the father's brow of 
 burning indignation ; the mother's lip of quivering an- 
 guish ; the brother's, the sister's eye, swollen with 
 agony ! Listen, while the father, in behalf of this afflicted 
 circle, pours forth the language of despair, over hopes 
 for ever blasted, a child forever lost ! The love, the cares, 
 the labors that from dawning infancy had showered their 
 blessings on the child, rush to his heart ; his future course 
 of increasing shame and infamy, fill h;s apprehensions ; 
 and on you, the corrupter of his child, he fastens the 
 stigma of that deep ingratitude and ruin, which are to 
 fill his heart and the hearts of his household, with sorrow, 
 on their future journey to the grave. 
 
 Such is the destruction which the sinner here brings 
 into the families to whose sons he has access ; 
 
 But, once more, 
 
 4. He destroys much good, in the community at large 
 among whose rising hopes he here dwells. 
 
 Need I remind you that they who dwell together here, 
 will soon vacate these seats ; and, bidding one another 
 farewell, disperse everywhere over the face of this 
 country : that on them will devolve many important 
 stations in life, many weighty concerns in the community. 
 To these retreats of science the state looks, the church 
 looks, for their supports, their pillars, their ornaments : 
 for here dwell the hopes of our country, the youth of her 
 pride, disciplined and trained for her future service. 
 Your influence here, therefore, extends beyond the com- 
 panions with whom you associate ; beyond the institu- 
 
44 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 tion which fosters you ; beyond the families who have 
 introduced their sons to your confidence it extends to 
 your wide country and the world. Every one whom you 
 lead into ways of wisdom and virtue here, you deliver 
 over to the com muni ty of your fellow men as an angel of 
 mercy and blessing : every one whom you pollute with 
 intemperance and lust, you hand over to it, as a demon of 
 wrath and cursing. You have led a companion into in- 
 temperance : see how far that destruction extends among 
 your fellow men. 
 
 You have disqualified your victim for every useful station. 
 Is he to be a husband ? Bloated with intemperance, he 
 takes his lovely and confiding partner, only to wound her 
 with his cruelties and to burden her with his disgrace. 
 Is he to be a father? The children whom God hath 
 given him, unblessed b} T his counsels or prayers, live to 
 witness his infamy, to bear his rage, to be corrupted by 
 his example. Is he a neighbor ? The families which 
 surround him have no enjoyment in his presence ; but 
 dread him as a monster, shun him as a pestilence. Is he 
 a magistrate? Alas, if any can so elevate him, his intem- 
 perance, if it corrupt not justice, gives sway and currency 
 to the same desolating vice in the community. 
 
 You have withdrawn him from every good work. His 
 intemperate pleasures demand his time, his attention, his 
 property. On these will he wait, though every work of 
 religion and humanity in the world around him should 
 cease. What will he do on the earth for Christ ? That much 
 loved name, the fountain of our hopes for eternity, his 
 lips of pollution praise not. What for the Church ? Re- 
 deemed and adorned by Christ, she stands forth the 
 pattern of religion, the expectant of glory : but he comes 
 not himself, he brings none within her sacred portals of 
 salvation. What for ignorant, oppressed, or suffering 
 humanity ? The calls of intemperance are too loud and 
 urgent for him to turn aside to bless the needy ! 
 
 You have devoted him to the work of ruin. He came 
 here a sober and lovely youth ; you have sent him forth 
 into the community of your fellow-men, a drunkard, a 
 
Transgressor in a College. 45 
 
 prowling enemy, ready to devour. What will he not do 
 in his fits of intoxication ? Without reason ; without 
 conscience ; a delirium is on his brain ; his passions are 
 dark and wild as the whirlwind. As well uncage the 
 monarch of the forests, and send him forth to dwell in 
 amity with men. What is he, in more sober moments ? 
 An idler at best ; without employment ; free to be occu- 
 pied with schemes of evil. A vagabond, perhaps ; dis- 
 gusting all with his presence, wearying all with his wants. 
 A gamester ; enticing others to the card or billiard table, 
 that he may gather spoils from the wreck of their for- 
 tunes. A seducer; leading by his falsehoods the hapless 
 female astray to mourn, in unavailing agony, the ruin of 
 her virtue. A robber, become desperate through want. 
 A murderer, rendered furious by resistance, The picture 
 is not too deep and melancholy to be realized ; even by 
 those who are elevated to the advantages of this favored 
 spot, who take to their mouths the inebriating cup and 
 enkindle in their appetites an unquenchable flame. I 
 knew a student once, my equal and companion ; (others 
 might select examples to fill out other shades of the pic- 
 ture ;) who here began to unite with companions only in 
 occasional acts of intemperance. His appetite raged ; it 
 became imperious ; he relinquished every useful station ; 
 he abandoned every good work ; he roved a vagabond 
 over the face of the land ; and a burden to society, \vhile 
 living ; he died, if I am rightly informed, by the way-side, 
 neglected and alone ! 
 
 From the thoughts I have now presented to you, is it 
 not obvious, that the good which a transgressor destroys 
 here, is peculiarly great ? He deals his blows at advan- 
 tage, against interests most precious. Impressed with 
 this momentous truth, I feel myself impelled to speak out 
 its admonitions to you with the utmost candor and 
 plainness. 
 
 Is there any youth here who has been enticing his com- 
 panions into scenes of dissipation f 
 
 Young man, whoever thou art, I charge thee before 
 God and this youthful assembly, consider, seriously, what 
 
46 Destructive Influence of the 
 
 thou hast done. You have approached a youth in his 
 ardor and inexperience. You have come nigh him in the 
 garb of confidence and friendship. You have met him at 
 distance from the eye of parental watchfulness, and with 
 opportunities surrounding you to screen his guilt and 
 yours. And what have you done ? You have led him to 
 quaff deep the inebriating cup ; to enter into the pollu- 
 ting embrace of the harlot. You have kindled a fever in 
 his appetites that shall burn as hell. You have sprung a 
 mine, whose devastation shall spread far and wide, carry- 
 ing grief and desolation to many hearts. 
 
 Come, face the account that lies recorded against thee 
 in the book of God. The account shall meet thee at 
 another day, in an assembly far more solemn and impos- 
 ing. Meet it now. Stare at each item in the dark cata- 
 logue of ruin, till it make thee tremble. Let the arrows 
 of the Almighty, the Avenger of the injured, pierce thee, 
 now, with salutary smart. Repent of this, thy wicked- 
 ness. Humble thyself before God and all those youth, 
 who may have witnessed thy faults. And like an angel 
 of rescuing mercy, flee at once to thy victim. Pluck 
 him, if thou canst, from the devouring flame. Unbind 
 from his hands and feet, the manacles and fetters of sin. 
 Restore him to himself, to this institution, to his aggrieved 
 family, to his injured country ; a man of sobriety and 
 virtue, the benefactor and not the curse of mankind. And 
 instead of the sorrow and mourning that now fill so many 
 hearts, a wide jubilee of joy shall be proclaimed over 
 thee, in heaven and on earth. 
 
 Is there a dissipated youth here, who is determined to 
 continue in his course of dissipation ? 
 
 I would hope that considerations, suggested by a sub- 
 ject like this, would break down such a determination in 
 every mind ; would lead such an one to serious reflection, 
 to a better resolution, to a thorough reformation. But, 
 if he will persist in his dissipation ; if, in defiance of every 
 motive which can be urged of religion or humanity, he 
 must continue to riot in his polluting pleasures ; I know 
 not what counsel I can better give such a pupil than that 
 
Transgressor in a College. 47 
 
 he abandon his vices at once, and seek healing at the 
 fount of mercy ; or, if he will not do this, that he with- 
 draw at once from this retreat of science this depository 
 of most sacred hopes. If he must be dissipated, he 
 would better be anything than a student. Let him go, 
 and choose, from the laborious occupations of society, his 
 employment; it will be honorable for him to labor, and 
 safe to withdraw himself from temptation. The truck- 
 man at his dray, the oyster-man at his barrow, pursues an 
 honest employment and deserves the respect of the com- 
 munity. But the dissipated student is an useless idler ; 
 who well needs blush before all for his unprofitableness 
 and tremble at his increasing responsibilities and sins. 
 
 If he must and will be dissipated, better be anywhere 
 than here. Let him labor in the fields: for the beasts 
 thereof that plod with him and the tenants of the air that 
 sing to him, he cannot corrupt. Let him traverse the 
 billows of the ocean, with companions corrupt as he ; for 
 the fish of the sea who sport around him, cannot drink in 
 his iniquity. Let him immure himself in the shop or 
 counting room ; for there the eye of a master will be con- 
 stantly over him to restrain, and a surrounding world be 
 more excluded from his contaminations. But let him not 
 dwell in a community so open to his enticements as this ; 
 let him not blast, with his corruption, these sons of pro- 
 mise,- the pride of our country the hope of the church 
 and the world. 
 
 One word of direction only to those in this community 
 who are youths of seriousness and sobriety. On you, my 
 friends, devolves a most sacred duty. You know what 
 precious hopes are deposited in this body ; and what de- 
 vastating ravages are made upon them by every member 
 of dissipated and vicious habits. Be it yours, then, not 
 merely to shim every pollution yourselves, but to do 
 more : to oppose its destructive progress in all around 
 you. With deepened abhorrence of the evil, stand forth 
 to stay its ravages. Gather like a sacred band of sen- 
 tinels, around this depository of the hopes of the Church 
 and your country. Guard it from the attack of every 
 
48 Destructive Influence of the Transgressor, etc. 
 
 invader, however specious, apparently however friendly. 
 To the counsels and labors of its instructors and guar- 
 dians, lend your countenance, your efforts, your prayers 
 to God. Above all, take to yourselves the whole armor 
 of God : the girdle of truth ; the breastplate of right- 
 eousness ; the shield of faith ; the sword of the Spirit : 
 that you may resist every enemy that invades this nur- 
 sery of the Church, with boldness and with success. Our 
 interests and yours are but one. Let one high aim inspire 
 the hearts of all : and that aim be to keep this sacred 
 fountain pure. 
 
 And O, Thou Spirit of Light and Joy, Guardian of thy 
 Church, Inspirer of every Grace, come, with thy sacred 
 fire : consume, in every breast, its destructive lusts: that 
 they who go hence, may be sons of light, heirs of prom- 
 ise, angels of soothing and rescuing mercy, in this guilty, 
 polluted, bleeding, weeping world. 
 
THE GOOD PORTION THAT IS NEVER TAKEN 
 
 A WA Y. 
 
 LUKE X : 42. 
 MARY HATH CHOSEN THAT GOOD PART WHICH SHALL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY 
 
 FROM HER. 
 
 THIS commendation was passed by Jesus while visiting 
 at the house of Martha in Bethany. On this visit, it 
 seems that Mary, desirous above all things to receive the 
 gracious instructions of her guest, sat humbly at his feet 
 to hear his word. But Martha, though, as appears from 
 other parts of the history, she was a friend and disciple 
 of Jesus, was so anxious to spread her table with a pro- 
 fusion of dishes to gratify the bodily appetites of the 
 social circle, as that she lost in a great measure to her 
 soul the spiritual advantages which she might have de- 
 rived from the word and presence of her divine visitor. 
 This worldly anxiety, as is its usual result, betrayed her 
 into impatience: and she came into the presence of Jesus 
 and Mary, interrupting their holy communion with this 
 querulous language : " Lord, carest thou not that my 
 sister hath left me to serve alone ? bid her therefore that 
 she help me." But as is usually the case with one who is 
 . censorious and petulant, she was herself the person most 
 needing reproof. Jesus, in order to call off her attention 
 from her sister and fix it on herself, repeats her name : 
 Martha ! Martha ! and then briefly contrasts her worldli- 
 ness with the spirituality of her sister. " Thou art care- 
 ful and troubled about many things" the things you will 
 prepare, the manner of preparing them, your own hard 
 service, and what you think your sister's sloth and indif- 
 ference things relating to the wants of the body ; " but 
 one thing is needful " to beings who have a soul there is 
 
50 Marys Choice. 
 
 one thing of which they have absolute need ; which 
 forms a supreme concern ; for which they may well relin- 
 quish their worldly anxieties ; the enjoyment to be de- 
 rived from the knowledge, the favor, the service and 
 communion of God : and then, to remind her that Mary 
 on this particular occasion had acted wisely and in char- 
 acter, and as she herself to be consistent with her profes- 
 sion ought to have done, he adds : " Mary hath chosen 
 that good part which shall not be taken away from her." 
 Her choice is fixed on a better portion than worldly 
 things and she has manifested it on this occasion. The 
 Saviour calls it a good part which she chose or, as 
 the Greek term may be rendered, "lot" or "portion." 
 For the word means a lot or portion to be enjoyed, and 
 not, as the English might admit, a part or character to 
 sustain in the conduct of life. 
 
 The example of Mary, therefore, as presented to us in 
 this description of the Saviour, shows us that there is a 
 satisfying portion offered to our acceptance which when chosen 
 will never be taken away. 
 
 In more fully treating this subject, I will attempt to 
 show, 
 
 I. What is that good portion which was chosen of Mary ; 
 
 II. The fact that it must be chosen by all those who 
 would have it as their own ; and, 
 
 III. That when chosen by any, it will never be taken away. 
 I. Your attention is first invited to the nature of that 
 
 good portion which was chosen of Mary. 
 
 Now if you will but observe the conduct of Mary at 
 the time when Jesus passed this commendation upon her 
 character, you will see that the thing which she chose for 
 herself above all others was the friendship of God which 
 was brought to her acceptance and enjoyment by the 
 presence of Jesus Christ. Like a sinner needing salva- 
 tion and dependent for it on that Saviour who came into 
 this guilty world from the Father with the word of 
 Eternal Life, she humbly placed herself at his feet to 
 receive this free and bounteous gift at his hands. Dis- 
 missing every other care and every other thought for the 
 
Mary s Choice. 5 1 
 
 time ; and knowing that the Saviour who could restore to 
 her the friendship of God and lead her more fully into 
 the enjoyment of it, was near, she listened with all her 
 heart to his word of counsel, instruction, reproof and 
 comfort, as involving in it all her happiness for this life 
 and eternity. His word was the means of guiding her 
 more fully to the enjoyment of this highest object of her 
 wishes an object for which she postponed every other 
 care, for which she renounced every other pleasure, and 
 for the full enjoyment of which she was eager to improve 
 every occasion, and especially one so favorable as was 
 vouchsafed to her at this time by the presence and word 
 of Jesus, who came direct to her from the throne of God 
 with the full offer of salvation, and whose society she 
 could hope but seldom to receive in the house of her 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 If this conduct of Mary shows that the thing which she 
 chose as the portion of her soul was an interest in the 
 friendship of the great Jehovah, the same thing is still 
 more clearly shown by the characteristics which Christ 
 attributed to the portion of her choice as being the one 
 thing which to sinful men is altogether needful and which 
 is in every respect good. 
 
 The friendship of God is the one thing which is alto- 
 gether needful to sinful men. For by their voluntary 
 departure from God, they have not merely deprived 
 themselves of his friendship : they have fallen under his 
 positive displeasure and wrath. For in going after other 
 objects of enjoyment, and thus setting up idols in their 
 hearts, they are guilty of despising all the goodness of 
 God their Creator, disrespecting his high authority, 
 trampling on his la\v of benevolence and holiness, -and 
 thus they fall under that penalty of his endless dis- 
 pleasure which he, out of righteous regard to the holiness 
 and happiness of his moral kingdom, has affixed to the 
 violation of his law. To mankind therefore who have 
 fallen under condemnation by the law of God and are 
 subject to his everlasting displeasure, the one thing which 
 above all others is needful, is the restoration and enjoy- 
 
52 Marys Choice. 
 
 ment of the favor of God. For' there is no being in the 
 universe that can afford them the relief they need, so long- 
 as they remain alienated from him and subject to his 
 wrath. Nor can they find relief in the temporary bene- 
 factions which they receive from his long-suffering good- 
 ness : which they are only abusing and provoking him to 
 withdraw from them forever so long as they remain sub- 
 ject to his wrath. And there is nothing which he can 
 himself do for them which will afford them any relief, 
 short of their restoration back to the enjoyment of his 
 friendship. As long as they remain destitute of this one 
 thing, they must be subjects of his wrath. And if they 
 continue such, the day must speedily come when they must 
 be removed from all his abused benefits ; and, stripped of 
 every source of enjoyment in the universe, must lie down 
 in the everlasting burnings of shame and degradation 
 and despair, hopeless outcasts from the love of God and 
 from his happy kingdom ; despairing sufferers in the 
 everlasting torments which come from his righteous judg- 
 ment. To souls then which have fallen by their sin under 
 his displeasure, the one portion which they absolutely 
 need ; without which they must be forever wretched and 
 ruined ; without which all the high capacities of the soul 
 and its everlasting existence must prove but a deeper 
 curse, is the restoration and enjoyment of the friendship 
 of God. 
 
 This one portion too is the only one in the universe 
 which is absolutely and relatively good. 
 
 This is the only portion man can enjoy which is abso- 
 lutely good. For every other species of happiness taken 
 in separation from the love and friendship of God, can- 
 not afford an) 7 solid peace and satisfaction to the soul. It 
 is alloyed, at the very time it is most enjoyed^ with the 
 reflection that it is separating the heart still farther from 
 God and filling it more with the feelings of worldly idol- 
 atry and sin. But in seeking and enjoying the friendship 
 of the infinite God, the soul feels conscious that it ascends 
 to the very source of all blessing and enters into the pos- 
 session of a love which commands all the gifts which are 
 
Marys Choice. 53 
 
 in the universe, a love which fills the soul with a purity 
 and peace which are satisfying to its largest desires, which 
 will render every other inferior enjoyment doubly rich, 
 which \vill extract from every sorrow of this life and from 
 death itself the stings of an accusing conscience and divine 
 wrath. Here in the presence of God and beneath the 
 light of his countenance, with his love shed abroad in the 
 heart by the Holy Spirit, the soul is filled with a peace 
 and joy in God which passeth all understanding. 
 
 The friendship of God is a portion too which is rela- 
 tively good. When the soul seeks this portion for itself, 
 it invades the happiness of no other being in the universe. 
 It stands in a right attitude towards all. Not only are its 
 own capacities of enjoyment filled from the fountain of 
 living waters to which it repairs, but the benevolence of 
 the infinite God is gratified in taking charge of the soul 
 that honors him by casting itself wholly on his love. And 
 in repairing to his benevolent love for its happiness, the 
 soul too is filled with benevolent sympathies for that 
 kingdom which is deriving its happiness from the same 
 pure source; and with deep solicitude for the sinful, and 
 guilty lost who are wandering away from it into hopeless 
 exile' and misery. The soul that with all the heart 
 cleaves to the love of God for its own portion of joy, is 
 thus filled with desire to imitate the love of its Father in 
 heaven, to fulfil his sweet commands, and to aid in those 
 works in his kingdom which redound to his praise and 
 the welfare of his creatures. 
 
 The portion then which Mary chose for her soul was 
 that needful and good portion which was brought down 
 to her acceptance by the presence of Jesus Christ even 
 the enjoyment of the friendship of God. 
 
 II. This portion must be chosen by all those who would 
 have it as theirs. 
 
 Mary, it seems from the declaration of Christ, chose 
 the friendship of God for herself as her portion of happi- 
 ness. She considered the friendship of the Infinite God 
 as brought down by Jesus Christ to her free acceptance. 
 She knew that she could not receive and enjoy it while 
 
54 Mary s Choice. 
 
 she remained indifferent to it and set her heart supremely 
 on other objects. Refusing all other objects, therefore, in- 
 consistent with it, she chose this with all her heart as the 
 object of her happiness, and in this way so far as her 
 own conduct was concerned it became hers. She actu- 
 ally enjoyed that friendship which with all her heart she 
 chose. And so must it ever be with all who would enjoy 
 the friendship of God they must seek it with all the 
 heart. And there are various considerations, beside this 
 explicit declaration concerning Mary, which show that in 
 order to enjoy the friendship of God, men must choose it 
 with their whole heart as their supreme portion. I ob- 
 serve, therefore, as evidence of such a truth : 
 
 i. That in the Gospel God proffers his friendship to 
 men for their choice and acceptance. 
 
 This constitutes the very difference between the law of 
 God and the Gospel. In his holy law he denounces a 
 curse against all sin, and brings all men as sinners under 
 the sentence of condemnation. And if he had never pub- 
 lished to the world any other message, he would place all 
 in a state of absolute despair and under the inevitable 
 endurance of his wrath. But the gospel is the annuncia- 
 tion to men of the glad tidings that with their offended 
 Lawgiver there is pardoning mercy and recovering grace 
 adequate to all their need. Here he offers freely to re- 
 move from their souls the sentence of his wrath and 
 restore to them his everlasting favor. There can be no 
 doubt nor mistake on this point which is so essential to 
 the salvation of guilty men. The very object for which 
 he sent his Son into the world and consented to the pains 
 of his crucifixion was to render it consistent with his 
 rectitude to offer this reconciliation to the acceptance of 
 our guilty race. On that basis the offer is now published 
 to the world. And accompanying the offer are published 
 most earnest entreaties, most solemn warnings, most 
 touching expostulations and imperious commands, that 
 they immediately avail themselves of the offered grace ; 
 that they receive it not in vain. 
 
Mary's Choice. 55 
 
 If therefore the reconciliation and friendship of God is 
 thus freely offered to men, it is most obviously presented 
 to them as an object which they must either accept or 
 refuse. For the very fact of offering this reconciliation 
 shows that it is not conferred independently of all choice ; 
 that so long as men refuse it, so long as they remain in- 
 different to it, so long as they prefer their sins and idols 
 to the friendship of God, that friendship will not be 
 theirs. And on the other hand, the offer shows that God 
 is perfectly willing to bestow his friendship upon any one 
 who does in reality seek it with the heart as all his salva- 
 tion and all his desire. Let any one, I say, make the full 
 and hearty choice of the friendship of God as his portion, 
 and he will be permitted to enter into that source of pure 
 and endless enjoyment. For how can God, consistently 
 with such an offer, turn away from his throne with refusal 
 the heart that comes to him desiring his reconciliation 
 and favor above all idols, and sins, and all inferior joys ? 
 a heart that gives up everything for his favor and that 
 prefers it as its portion above all things else which God 
 can give ? 
 
 The necessity of choosing this favor, in order to have 
 it as ours, will appear still further, if we consider, 
 
 2. That the nature of God's friendship is such that it can- 
 not be taken by us without choice. The fact that it is offer- 
 ed would show that it is not bestowed absolutely as an ob- 
 ject independent of our choice ; \\snature I will now attempt 
 to show is such that it cannot be. And on this point, I 
 apprehend people often indulge a great mistake by which 
 they attempt to excuse themselves for the great indiffer- 
 ence of heart which they feel in respect to so supreme 
 and necessary a good which involves in it their whole 
 salvation. Because they see that God is an infinite and 
 independent Being, who has created them and who be- 
 stows on them many benefits without their care, they say 
 that he can bestow on them the highest benefit, even the 
 friendship of his heart and their eternal salvation, just as 
 independently of their choice. But in this view they lose 
 sight entirely of the fact that he is a Moral Being, seek- 
 
56 Marys Choice. 
 
 ing, as the great object of his reign over the universe, the 
 happiness of intelligent and voluntary beings like him- 
 self; and that there is just and precisely the same neces- 
 sity, if he would do good to such a kingdom, that he 
 dispense his favor and displeasure on his subjects with 
 relation to their voluntary conduct, as there is that a good 
 father should do so to his children, or a wise and faithful 
 ruler should do so to his subjects. If therefore it be con- 
 sidered that men have offended him and fallen under his 
 displeasure in this very way by disregarding the design 
 of his benevolent government and seeking their happiness 
 in objects and ways which he has forbidden,, it is evi- 
 dently impossible that while they adhere to their wrong 
 choice they should ever receive his friendship. And it is 
 obvious, that whatever else the atonement of Jesus Christ 
 may have effected, it has not removed this invincible 
 necessity of subjecting all our interests to the govern- 
 ment of God by a hearty choice of his friendship, if we 
 would take that friendship as ours. The atonement of 
 Christ and the offer of reconciliation made on the basis of 
 it, shows indeed this glorious truth to the guilty, that 
 past separation from God and past condemnation by his 
 law for our sins, do not stand in our way as impassable 
 barriers to such an immediate and hearty return to the 
 love of our Father in heaven. But they have not re- 
 moved, and never will remove the necessity which arises 
 out of the very nature of God and ourselves as intelligent 
 and voluntary beings, that if we would avail ourselves of 
 the opportunity of reconciliation now granted us, we 
 must renounce those chosen portions which have alien- 
 ated us from God and choose his glorious friendship as 
 our supreme hope and joy. Otherwise we shall still 
 remain alienated from him in our hearts, insubmissive to 
 his benevolent and holy government, with our w'ills per- 
 versely bent on our individual, selfish and sinful gratifi- 
 cation ; and how can we expect, while retaining such 
 feelings of opposition to his government, to receive his 
 reconciling and saving mercy ? Do you say that with all 
 these feelings of irisubmission, you can still choose his re- 
 
Mary s CJwicc. $7 
 
 conciliation and friendship? But if you suppose this, you 
 only deceive yourself. You may indeed be willing- that he 
 should remove from you his displeasure and become a friend 
 to you, while you are still pursuing your course of sin and 
 opposition to his holy government. But in all this, the 
 real choice of your heart is to take the happiness which 
 you can find in other objects than God ; and in your own 
 ways of disobedience. You in reality refuse the joy of 
 his reconciliation and friendship. Your wish to receive 
 his favor is in reality no other than the choice that he 
 would renounce the benevolence and holiness of his moral 
 government, and leave you to go forward unmolested in 
 your sins. To choose his friendship as your portion, you 
 must take it as it is: valuing it supremely for the very 
 reason that he is so good and holy ; and renouncing, for 
 it, everything inconsistent with its enjoyment. If you 
 will thus accept of his friendship, if you will seek it with 
 all your heart as the thing most desirable to your soul, if 
 you will make that hearty choice of it that, for entering 
 into its enjoyment, you will cheerfully take on yourself all 
 the humiliation, and renunciation of self and sin, and de- 
 votion to his service which in his holiness and grace he 
 requires, it is yours. If he is willing to be reconciled to 
 any of mankind and receive them to his Fatherly care 
 and love, it is to such as thus choose to cast themselves 
 and all their interests on his care and redemption, and to 
 seek their everlasting all in his pure and holy friendship. 
 
 But still farther to show that his friendship becomes 
 ours by our choosing it with all the heart as our supreme 
 portion, I observe again, 
 
 3. That such a choice is necessary for entering heartily 
 into the privileges and duties of his children. There can 
 be no doubt that they who with all their heart enjoy the 
 privileges and perform the duties of his children are in- 
 terested in his forgiving and adopting love. And in order 
 to see that a hearty entrance and continuance on these 
 privileges and duties depends on choosing the love of 
 God as our portion, you need only to look at one very 
 simple and plain principle that the heart can cleave 
 
 9 
 
58 Marys Choice. 
 
 only to one supreme portion : and that portion must be, 
 either the selfish happiness derived from the world, or the 
 happiness found in the favor and benevolent service ol 
 God. From this principle it is clear that either the world 
 must be renounced for Christ or Christ must be renounced 
 for the world ; there cannot be any compromise in the 
 real choice of the heart between them. And in choosing 
 to derive your happiness from Christ himself rather than 
 from things around you in his creation, you cannot pos- 
 sibly be wrong, unless it be wrong to take happiness above 
 all things in the love of Christ and the benevolent service 
 to which that love leads us. And with this hearty choice 
 of the friendship of Christ, that renounces all things for 
 the sake of his love and cleaves to his love as all, every 
 Christian privilege is entered on and every Christian duty 
 is performed with, a devoted and cheerful heart. The 
 Scriptures are read and the throne of grace is resorted to 
 in prayer, with constancy and delight as the very means 
 and privileges which are designed to bring Christians 
 more fully into the enjoyment of that grace of God on 
 which they rest their hearts. And duties are performed 
 and sin is resisted with a full and cheerful purpose of 
 heart, for the sake of continuing and advancing in the 
 enjoyment of that benevolent and holy love of God which 
 is chosen as all the happiness of the soul to eternity. 
 There is no other way in which a sinner can enter heart- 
 ily into the privileges and duties of a child of God, or go 
 forward with the strength of grace in the Christian con- 
 flict with temptation and sin, than by renouncing as a lost 
 and humbled sinner that portion in the world that has 
 withdrawn his heart and all his powers from God, and 
 choosing God in Christ as the Friend in whose love and 
 under whose benevolent government he would find his 
 portion of joy for ever. 
 
 But I proceed to show you, 
 
 III. That this is a portion which when chosen by any 
 will not be taken away from them. 
 
 This surely is the testimony of Jesus Christ. For the 
 very same portion is offered to the guilty now which was 
 
Mary s Choice. 59 
 
 chosen of Mary, and if it was true in her case, that in 
 choosing this portion for herself it was secured to her for- 
 ever, there is the same reason in the nature of the portion 
 itself and the free offer made of it to others, that it should 
 be secured to them also, on their choice of it, for eternity. 
 And there are various considerations which go to confirm 
 this animating truth, besides this declaration and other 
 declarations of the Scriptures equally explicit : A few of 
 these considerations I will now present to your view. 
 And, 
 
 i. The expense at which God offers to sinners his 
 friendship shows that he designs it when accepted by 
 them for an inalienable gift. If you wish for convincing 
 proof that his grace is thus full and ample, look to the 
 sacrifice which he has freely made for us on Calvary. He 
 has consented that his Beloved Son should leave the 
 throne of heaven, and that, taking upon him the load of 
 our sins, he should go to the cross and bear the indigna- 
 tion for us which we deserved, in order that the endless 
 penalty of his law might be freely removed from our 
 souls, and we be restored to the joys of his friendship as 
 dear children. Could the heart that voluntarily endured 
 all this trial in order to remove from us the penalty of 
 death and restore us again to his friendship, design any 
 less a gift than our restoration to his endless love ? Could 
 he leave us, after reconciliation and after the restoration 
 of his love, to fall back again to endless condemnation ? 
 Could he, by his own act of the withdrawal of his fatherly 
 love, render the cross which had reconciled us of no 
 effect? The thought of such a withdrawal of his favor, is 
 totally inconsistent with that strength of desire which he 
 has manifested for our recovery in the mission of his Son 
 and the appointment of his crucifixion. No ! The heart 
 that conceived such a gift, was full of desire for our re- 
 covery from endless death and our enjoyment of his 
 blessed favor and reign to all eternity. He surveyed the 
 full length and breadth of our wants ; and, in his bene- 
 volence, determined fully to meet them. In the cross, we 
 have full testimony that his benevolence and grace arc 
 
60 Marys Choice. 
 
 thus large and free. " 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? " What can ever overcome 
 such intense love ? What can ever alienate it from those 
 who repair to it with all their heart and make it all their 
 desire and hope for eternity ? 
 
 He will never take away his friendship from those who 
 choose it as their supreme and everlasting portion ; be- 
 cause, 
 
 2. They will need it for their happiness through all 
 eternity. There will never be a time during their im- 
 mortal existence when he can withdraw from them his 
 friendship and care without depriving them of the happi- 
 ness for which their very natures were designed, and 
 leaving them desolate and wretched and hopeless forever. 
 And why should he voluntarily withdraw his friendship 
 from such dependent and needy creatures who have 
 sprung from his own creating hand, when with all their 
 heart they throw themselves on his care? There is no 
 need now of executing upon them the penalty of his law 
 in order to maintain his authority. He can freely dis- 
 pense with their punishment on account of the atonement 
 he has accepted at the hands of his Son. And the very 
 fact that he once enters into reconciliation with them and 
 receives them to the enjoyment of his friendship, is a full 
 acknowledgment on his part that he is not bound by 
 such a necessity. There is nothing therefore to hinder 
 his consulting the everlasting wants of their souls. And 
 will he not as freely bestow his friendship for eternity as 
 for a limited time? The very act of coming forward to 
 seek their reconciliation, shows that he desires their wel- 
 fare. And when they come with all their hearts to 
 receive the gift and seek to share in the largeness of his 
 mercy to the guilty, will he ever think of turning them 
 away empty, and driving them from his presence and 
 love ? Would not this be a needless neglect of their 
 wants? Is this the goodness of the infinite and all-suffi- 
 cient Creator? Will he treat thus the souls that he has 
 made? Will he, when on his invitation they come to him 
 
Mary's Choice. 61 
 
 for their soul's salvation, knowing- that he is the only 
 being on whom they can depend for it, and that he can 
 grant them their desire without injuring any in his king- 
 dom, will he receive them merely for a day or a few 
 years, and then cast them off from his love to destitution 
 and hopeless misery forever? The heart that calls us 
 back to his love and kingdom has surely felt for our deep 
 necessities as immortal beings and dependent creatures, 
 and is more bounteous than to forsake us in all our need, 
 when self-abased for our sin we put all our confidence in 
 him for an endless salvation. " I will not," says this 
 High and Lofty One, to sinners who are broken off from 
 all self-confidence and self-sufficiency and who look to 
 Him alone for their eternal hope and joy, " I will not 
 contend forever, neither will I be always wroth, for the 
 spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have 
 made." He feels an interest in lost sinners as deep as 
 their endless wants, and he would not invite them back 
 to the care of his friendship and love without a perfect 
 willingness, and even an ardent desire, that on their return 
 they should freely share in his holy friendship to all 
 eternity. 
 
 I will only add, 
 
 3. That to such as choose to enjoy his friendship and 
 live under the care of his holy government to eternity, 
 he has granted already all the means necessary to their 
 everlasting continuance in his love. He has placed his 
 word of instruction, counsel and authority in their hands, 
 accompanied with the free offer of his grace, to which 
 they can resort through all the pilgrimage of this life, 
 and rest their souls on his promises. He has elevated 
 his Son to the throne as their living intercessor, through 
 whom they may freely repair to his throne of mercy in 
 all their wants. He has sent his Holy Spirit as a friend 
 to their spiritual welfare, on whom they can rely at all 
 times to help and guide them in the way to heaven. And 
 with all these aids to help them forward to the chosen 
 object of th'eir heart the everlasting enjoyment of his 
 love, what is there in the universe that can separate them 
 
62 Mary s Choice. 
 
 from this love? God is for them, and who or what can be 
 against them and prevail ? Shall sin again have dominion 
 over them ? But they are not under bare law which con- 
 demns them, but under the care of a grace which is suffi- 
 cient for their victory, and to it they may constantly repair 
 for strength. Will Satan or the ungodly prevail over 
 them ? They have a Friend mightier than all their foes, 
 in the shelter of whose love they are strong and bold to 
 resist. Will the joys or sorrows that come upon them in 
 their earthly lot, withdraw their hearts from God ? But 
 the Lord in whom they trust, is the dispenser of every 
 earthly providence ; and no temptation will he suffer to 
 come upon them which they are not able to bear, and in 
 all he opens to them a way of escape in their free access 
 to his all-sufficient grace. Will death separate them 
 from the God in whom they hope? But in that hour he 
 is as near as ever to take care of the body and spirit 
 which they resign to his disposal. Will the day of judg- 
 ment bring upon them any sentence of separation from 
 God ? But the God who offered them the pardon of all 
 their sins and to whom they fled for reconciliation, will 
 confirm that pardon before his whole kingdom. Nor can 
 impenitent men or fallen angels in their envy and malice, 
 bring any accusation against them which will prevail 
 over his pardoning mercy. They, therefore, who really 
 renounce their sins before God, and choose an interest in 
 his love for their immortal souls, have the portion of their 
 choice secured to them through life, at death and the 
 judgment, and to all eternity in heaven. Nor shall life or 
 death, things present or things to come, or any creature, 
 all which are under his control, be able to separate them 
 from his love. 
 
 Such, then, is the evidence I have presented to show 
 that there is a satisfying portion which may be chosen by 
 us, which will never be taken away. 
 
 I remark, in closing, 
 
 i. That God is fully willing that sinners should secure 
 their own everlasting happiness. 
 
 He is not willing, indeed, that they should be eternally 
 
Mary's Choice. 63 
 
 happy in departing- from him in their affections. His 
 benevolent regard to his moral creation requires that, if 
 they continue in that course, he should abandon them to 
 destruction. But although men have wilfully and per- 
 versely entered on that course, he has met them in his 
 grace with the offer of a free remission of the penalty 
 and the everlasting friendship of his heart, as their inherit- 
 ance of joy, if they will return to him in true repentance. 
 And now nothing remains but that you take with your 
 whole heart the portion he offers. 
 
 This responsibility he casts upon you. But in casting 
 this responsibility on you, he shows a perfect willingness 
 that you should secure that happiness. For this respon- 
 sibility is a necessary result of his creating you rational 
 and voluntary beings. And unless you were such beings, 
 he could not possibly bring you into the blessedness of a 
 communion in his love and friendship. And with this 
 responsibility lying upon you, and when you had forfeited 
 the care of his government by forsaking him, he has not 
 only brought that friendship down to your choice at all 
 the expense of making an atonement for your sins, but he 
 urges on you the choice of it with all the solicitude of a 
 true Friend to your everlasting happiness : saying, " turn 
 ye, for why will ye die ? " And his Spirit often strives for 
 the very purpose of inducing you to renounce all things 
 for a portion in his love. And now when nothing re- 
 mains but your own choice, is he not fully willing? If 
 you will now with all your heart renounce your supreme 
 attachment to the world and choose the friendship of his 
 heart as your supreme joy, if you will thus turn to God 
 in your hearts in true repentance if you will forsake all 
 things for Christ and his love, the Spirit of grace who 
 strives with you to bring you to that very choice, will 
 lead you forward in it to all eternity. The God of grace 
 to whose redeeming love you cleave, will conduct you 
 up to one height of grace after another through the 
 temptations of this life, and convey you safely through 
 the vale of death and beyond his judgment seat, and place 
 your purified and happy spirit among the ransomed in 
 heaven. 
 
64 Mary s Choice. 
 
 And will you complain now, that he is unwilling- that 
 you should find eternal happiness under his government ? 
 Will you stand cleaving to this world as all your joy- 
 renouncing the service and friendship of God ; and at the 
 very time you are refusing his endless love, will you com- 
 plain of him as an enemy to your welfare ? Will you 
 throw on him the blame of that very separation from him, 
 to which with all the heart you yourselves are clinging? 
 Will you find fault with him for giving you souls capable 
 of endless happiness and misery, because you are tearing 
 them away from the blessedness of his government? 
 Treat not thus that God who is love, and \vho meets you 
 in the midst of your wilful alienation and unjust com- 
 plaints, with the offer of endless reconciliation through 
 Christ. He is not the God of hatred and injustice which 
 you pretend. But you are the unjust and ungrateful 
 rebels against him which he declares. And if you will 
 not confess it and renounce your sin, while he offers you 
 his grace, he will roll on you before his whole kingdom 
 the everlasting shame and contempt of despising his love, 
 and will leave you to your own choice of separation 
 forever to eternity. 
 
 Once more ; 
 
 2. The everlasting interests of your souls urge you to 
 choose immediately for your portion the friendship of 
 God. 
 
 The Lord who made your souls, who knows that all 
 their happiness depends on their union to his love, has 
 brought down his endless grace with all its benefits and 
 offered it to your acceptance through Christ Jesus. And 
 the great and practical inquiry arises : will you accept this 
 happiness as the portion of your souls? Will you betake 
 yourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ ; and renouncing 
 every other dependence, choose him as your Redeemer 
 and Lord for eternity, surrendering all that you have and 
 are to him, expecting henceforth all your happiness from 
 his friendship and love? You must come to this renun- 
 ciation of all things for Christ, or remain unreconciled 
 and at distance from him cleaving to your sins. There is 
 
Mary's Choice. 65 
 
 no dispensing with your own choice in this matter. 
 There is no influence of the Spirit of God that will ever 
 take you out of these circumstances of responsibility, or 
 that will or can ever lead you to salvation in any other 
 way than through your own hearty choice of communion 
 and friendship with God. The everlasting interests of 
 your souls then are suspended on your choosing the good 
 portion which Christ now offers. 
 
 And why should you not choose it with all your heart? 
 God is willing. He is desirous. And is not the happi- 
 ness to be found in his favor and communion, the most 
 exalted to which y our souls can aspire ? Is it not worthy 
 to be chosen by you with all the heart? Is it so? May 
 you bring that soul of yours under his fatherly love and 
 care to all eternity ; and will you despise such a gift? 
 Will you tear that soul away from those everlasting bles- 
 sings, which are to come from his benevolent reign ? And 
 why ? What causes are there that you will permit to 
 operate so far as to keep you away from the love of 
 Christ? Are they the possessions of this world its 
 wealth, pleasures, honors? But he only forbids you to 
 cleave to these as your supreme portion, and to pursue 
 them with all your heart. He calls for your heart himself, 
 and will still leave many of these possessions with you as 
 his steward. Or is it regard to the favor of man or to the 
 fear of man's displeasure? But what can man do for your 
 soul, if for his sake you should refuse the portion it needs 
 in the infinite God ? And if you should cast your soul on 
 the care of Almighty grace and have God for your 
 helper, what need you fear what man can do unto you ? 
 Or shall pride hinder you? Shall a dying sinner who is 
 on the brink of endless ruin, feel so self-sufficient that he 
 will not seek after God ? a poor, guilty and condemned 
 criminal, who is about to be consigned to perpetual dark- 
 ness and pain, be ashamed penitently to accept deliver- 
 ance before all from his offended God ? 
 
 And now will you not make the wise and happy choice 
 to which the Gospel calls you? Will you refuse a por- 
 tion in the love of God, and cleave to the base and 
 
 10 
 
66 Mary's Choice. 
 
 momentary pleasures of the world and sin? Will you go 
 forward to eternity an alien from God, and wilfully de- 
 prive that soul of yours of all the joys of God's eternal 
 kingdom, and place it irretrievably and beyond redemp- 
 tion in all the degradation and anguish of eternal punish- 
 ment ? Look up to the glory of that God who made this 
 mighty universe and rolls the spheres through the bound- 
 less firmament. See that heart of love ready to receive 
 you as a child, and conduct you forward to the holiness 
 and joy that are to flow on his kingdom from his benevo- 
 lent government through the eternal ages to come. He 
 knows what a boundless good he is preparing for the 
 immortal minds he has made ; and he invites you to come 
 up and take your portion in his love and kingdom. 
 Christ who died for you, is willing. The Spirit who 
 strives with you, is willing. The angels who welcome 
 back the penitent, are willing. The Church who plead 
 with you and pray for you, are willing. You need not 
 perish. Cleave then no longer to the world and sin and 
 perdition. Moved by the grace of God, say from the 
 heart, " I will arise and go to my Father." Let his 
 righteousness receive its honors in the cross. Let his 
 grace receive its honors in your salvation. 
 
THE POWER OF TRUST. 
 
 
 PSALM CXII: 7. 
 
 HE SHALL NOT BE AFRAID OF EVIL TIDINGS : HIS HEART IS FIXED, TRUSTING IN 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 THIS, the Psalmist testifies, is the happy lot of the 
 righteous man. With a. heart throbbing with all the sen- 
 sibilities of life, exposed to all the sources of evil that are 
 overwhelming others, he has found for it a point of rest, 
 that is exalted above every evil : he has anchored it firm 
 and fast in the haven of immortal security, forever be- 
 yond the raging tempest : and with a heart thus fixed and 
 established, he can triumph over the power of evil : in 
 view of the unseen and untried future, he is not afraid of 
 any tidings of overwhelming evil. This happy lot is 
 secured to him by trusting in N the Lord; by looking to 
 the Lord alone for his welfare, surrendering all his in- 
 terests for time and eternity implicitly to his disposal ; 
 submitting everything to the decision of his will ; own- 
 ing him with childlike dependence as a wise, forgiving 
 arid faithful Father alike in days of prosperity and adver- 
 sity ; and expecting from him steadily a complete deliver- 
 ance out of all evil and an exaltation to endless joy in his 
 kingdom. 
 
 That we may secure this happy lot of the righteous 
 man, let us consider his act of trust, and its power to 
 strengthen and establish his heart for a triumph over evil. 
 
 The act of trust in God I will however first describe, 
 and then show its efficacy thus to establish the heart. 
 
 I. To trust is to commit some interest of ours into the 
 hands of another, in the belief that he is competent and 
 willing to manage it for us, and with the expectation that 
 he will make it good. 
 
68 The Power of Trust. 
 
 II. It must be some interest of ours that in which, 
 directly or indirectly, immediately or remotely, our wel- 
 fare or feelings are concerned otherwise we have no- 
 thing to trust. 
 
 III. We must believe the trustee capable and willing 
 and expect him to be faithful, to secure the interests w r e 
 commit to him ; otherwise we squander them rather than 
 trust them for security. 
 
 An estate, for instance, falls to you in your minority, 
 which yoirare incompetent to manage with safety your- 
 self; and which, as you are deprived of the natural guar- 
 dian of your youth by the decease of your parent, must, 
 if kept from running to waste, be entrusted to the care of 
 some other person. Now in your act of trust you choose 
 some individual, willing to take that care upon him, as 
 your guardian and trustee, to whose management you 
 commit it, in the belief that he is worthy of the trust, and 
 with the expectation that he will keep it safe unto the 
 day for your complete possession. Thus you are not to 
 trust without committing some interest of yours to the 
 keeping of another, nor without believing the trustee 
 capable. For to place your interests in incapable hands, 
 would be to throw them away to the sport of mere 
 chance. Nor are you to trust without expecting the 
 guardian to be faithful. For to put your interests into 
 the hands of the faithless, would be to squander them 
 away on the support of injustice or crimes. 
 
 The act is essentially the same when the guardian to 
 whom we commit our interests is God. We commit 
 them to his care, in the belief of his competency and 
 willingness, and with the expectation that he will keep 
 them safe for our possession. Only the trust is distin- 
 guished from all others, by the extent of the interests enu- 
 merated in our deed of trust, by the qualities of God our 
 Guardian which fit him to take them in charge, and by 
 the solemn forms in which he conveys his promises and 
 engagements that he will be faithful to secure them for us 
 to eternity. 
 
The Power of Trust. 69 
 
 Before God we are all minors, incapable of securing to 
 ourselves the estate of immortal glory and blessedness 
 which is the original birthright of his rational creatures. 
 Nay worse : we are perverse and rebellious children, who 
 have taken the chief management into our own hands, 
 and refused it to him, our natural Guardian : and thus by 
 our unnatural separation and our unrighteous rebellion, 
 have forfeited our whole estate in his love and kingdom, 
 and are in imminent hazard of final and utter disinherit- 
 ance. In this situation we all are when the good tidings 
 of promise reach us a promise essentially the same in 
 all past ages and the foundation of trust to all his right- 
 eous servants, but which is more amply set forth and 
 more widely published in these last days, in the Gospel of 
 his Son the promise that he will, notwithstanding the 
 past, act as the Parental Guardian of all who will return 
 to him and entrust the management of their immortal 
 interests to his hands ; and that he will see them put into 
 the full and happy possession of an immortal inheritance 
 in his kingdom at the last day. 
 
 Many, indeed, who hear the tidings refuse the offer. 
 They persist in venturing all upon their own management 
 still ; and, in continued alienation and rebellion, they 
 either like the prodigal squander every remaining gift 
 and bounty of God on their own lusts, careless and un- 
 regardful of the future ; or like the Pharisee while 
 equally estranged from God in heart and abusing to equal 
 perversion all his gifts, vainly attempt to build on their 
 hollow ceremonies that over-stock of merit with which to 
 purchase from God, after they have squandered their 
 earthly portion on sin, that heavenly one for which they 
 have rendered themselves unfit, and which they have 
 scorned to receive as his gift. But unlike the thoughtless 
 prodigal worldling, or the deluded victim of self-righteous 
 pride, the righteous man accepts the proposal of God 
 made in Christ Jesus : returns to him submissively, chooses 
 him as the Guardian of his well-being, entrusts all to his 
 keeping, with unshaken belief in his faithfulness. He has 
 learnedj from the little he has seen of himself and his 
 
7O The Poiver of Trust. 
 
 fellow men, from the teachings of his own nature and of 
 providence, the utter vanity of cleaving to an earthly 
 portion in separation from God : how the heart is all disturb- 
 ance and agitation, from the conscious sense of ill desert, 
 ingratitude and unworthiness ; from the insecurity of the 
 portion to which it clings ; from the temptations it offers 
 to increasing sin ; from the brood of evil passions it en- 
 genders : and he is sick of its emptiness. He has learned 
 too, that he cannot possibly manage by himself to secure 
 true and lasting riches in the kingdom of God the hea- 
 venly portion. The evils of unworthiness, dissatisfaction, 
 temptation, malicious passion, which are the only abiding 
 fruit of his course of separation, are crowding upon him 
 with ever greater force, and must make his everlasting 
 portion forfeit, and forever detain him under their power, 
 an exile from the happiness that reigns in the holy and 
 immortal kingdom of the Creator unless he return to 
 him and seek the help of his mightier power. 
 
 It is with these heartfelt convictions, troubled and dis- 
 satisfied with his erring courses, conscious that he is 
 astray from God and must lose all if he continues so, and 
 yet hardly daring to think that his Creator can forgive the 
 past or do anything for him in the future, that his eye meets 
 the written promise of God, which assures him that there 
 is yet a way to secure the birthright of a child in his 
 eternal love and kingdom ; that if he will make Him his 
 Guardian, and come, committing in good faith and in well 
 doing all his welfare to his disposal, all his sins will be 
 readily forgiven him, and he shall have kept and made 
 sure to him an eternal portion in heaven. He reads the 
 word of God. He is convinced that the record has been 
 made by his eternal Creator ; that it has been published 
 by him in good faith ; that he is disposed and able to 
 make it good. He believes the record. And now his 
 trust begins. In the resolve of a trusting soul, he says 
 within himself, ' I will go to my offended God with this 
 sorrowing and bursting heart. I will ask his forgiveness 
 for the past, and implore him to be the Guardian of my 
 immortal interests.' He makes out, in his mind, his deed 
 
The Power of Trust. 71 
 
 of trust. He includes in it his whole being with all its 
 capacities and powers. He surrenders all, he commits 
 all, in good faith, to the care of the faithful Creator. He 
 goes with it into his presence ; declares it to be his free 
 will and deed ; subscribes it before him with his own 
 hand ; and lodges it with him for a testimony. 
 
 And now his joy begins. His heart is fixed by this 
 deed of trust to the source of safety and rest. And he 
 keeps it fixed, by continued trust by holding on to his 
 Guardian, to his word and throne of grace : submitting 
 all to him and receiving all from him, in good faith. So 
 it is by trusting by the act of trust continued truly and in 
 good faith, that he keeps his heart fixed amid all the 
 changes of this life ; through duties and trials, privileges 
 and privations, joys and sorrows. By trusting, he hides 
 himself within the secret pavilion of the Almighty for 
 defense and repose, unto the day when he shall enter on the 
 immortal inheritance purchased for him in heaven and 
 receive his birthright as a child of God, a life estate of 
 holy joy in his eternal kingdom. 
 
 II. But we will consider now more particularly the 
 effect of his trust, to fix and establish his heart, to exalt 
 it to an ascendancy over evil. 
 
 The righteous, with his neighbor, is embarked on an 
 eventful life, with all his interests in the future at stake. 
 Exposed to many sources of moral and natural evil, which 
 seem ready to devour, neither can fix the heart in im- 
 movable repose by resorting to apathy and indifference. 
 The sensibilities of the heart cannot be extinguished ; 
 nor be stifled so far as to need nothing for joy, as to bear 
 every thing without anguish. There is to every heart 
 some loss which, if incurred, would-be insupportable; 
 some evil which, if inflicted, would be beyond endurance. 
 No heart therefore is steadfastly fixed in repose, that does 
 not rest for its happiness on something that is beyond 
 temptation, guilt, disappointment and sorrow. 
 
 Now the righteous, by trusting in God, fixes his heart 
 to such an object, and establishes its happiness on an 
 immovable foundation exalted above all evil ; because in 
 
72 The Power of Trust. 
 
 his trust he anticipates a full and perfect inheritance of 
 joy in heaven : he assures his heart of securing it beyond 
 failure : and he arms his heart with patience to endure 
 every temporal loss or suffering which may come upon 
 him before he is put into its full possession. 
 
 i. He anticipates an inheritance in heaven that is fully 
 and forever satisfying. 
 
 He has set his heart on God, his reconciled and gracious 
 Father in Heaven. His treasure is in God himself, the 
 ever holy, the ever blessed ; the full and overflowing foun- 
 tain of good. It is laid up in the inexhaustible stores of 
 his wisdom and goodness and power: from which he 
 supplies the holy in his heavenly presence with fullness of 
 joy : by which he places them in an estate of perfect 
 glory and blessedness ; exalted, like his own, high above 
 the reach of every evil ; firm and enduring, as his, to 
 eternity. This inheritance in heaven will be enough to 
 feed his capacious mind and heart with fullness of joy for- 
 ever more ; and in the anticipation he now rests with 
 calm and settled delight. 
 
 He doubts not that his Father in heaven has abundant 
 riches to settle forever on all the children of his adoption, 
 the heirs of promise. He trusts in his word, with un- 
 shaken confidence that there is such an inheritance in 
 heaven worthy of all his toils, and there his heart fixes 
 its desires and affections. Nor is he afraid that the evil 
 tidings will ever reach him that he has fixed his heart on 
 vanity and delusion. There are indeed in the world 
 those who publish tidings of evil who announce that 
 there is no immortality for man that there is no Creator 
 enthroned in the wealth of eternity to own him as a child 
 and endow him as an heir of immortality and who, in 
 their atheistic blindness, call upon him to seek his happi- 
 ness solely in the objects of this fleeting world. But 
 what authority have they for the evil tidings they pub- 
 lish ? Have they traversed the vast provinces of this 
 creation and the regions of immensity beyond, and made 
 the discovery by actual searching, that there is no 
 God nor any world of his immortal children? The ser- 
 
The Power of Trust. 73 
 
 vant of God, while he sees in the atheistic around him, 
 those who are confined to the same world with himself, 
 and who have no more knowledge by actual vision than 
 he, will still go on with unshaken heart, to trust in the ex- 
 istence of the invisible God and his invisible kingdom, 
 and await the issue of his trust after death. In the mean 
 time he has seen within him and around him too many of 
 the works of God to doubt his existence ; he has experi- 
 enced too much of his care already to doubt his grace. 
 He has proved by experience that there are depths in 
 his own nature which none else can ever fill. At distance 
 from him he has encountered the stormy ocean of selfish- 
 ness, temptation, guilt and passion ; and has passed by the 
 wrecks of those who have sunk in utter disappointment 
 and wretchedness and despair. He has himself tasted 
 deeply of all those ingredients of agitation and anguish 
 that cleave to a worldly portion taken in alienation from 
 God. And now, since he. trusted in God and submitted 
 his destiny to his disposal, he has tasted some of the first 
 fruits of his grace : the foretastes and earnests of the 
 promised inheritance. He has felt the tempests of temp- 
 tation and sin subside within him at the command of 
 Christ. He has felt the love of God taking possession of 
 his heart more and more as he has trusted, and strength- 
 ening him in the ways of holiness. He feels that the God 
 in whom he trusts, in communion with whom even now 
 his heart at times takes in a measure of joy that is un- 
 speakable and full of glory, is all sufficient to his endless 
 joy. With the witness of the Spirit in his heart that he 
 is a son of God, with the earnest of the future inherit- 
 ance now in possession, he trusts on, undisturbed amid 
 the evil reports that are circulated in the world around 
 him respecting his heavenly Father. He trusts on, rejoic- 
 ing in the delusion, if it be one, that so ministers to his 
 present holiness and joy and to his hopes of futurity. 
 He trusts on till death, willing to abide the issue in 
 eternity. 
 
 2. Again, by trusting in God, he assures his heart of 
 securing that heavenly inheritance beyond failure. The 
 
 ii 
 
74 The Power of Trust. 
 
 promise in which he trusts assures him, not only that 
 there is an immortal inheritance in heaven for the obedi- 
 ent sons of God, but that the guardianship offered to the 
 guilty and needy on earth through Christ will, to those 
 who in good faith rely on it, secure the possession. The 
 securities upon which he proceeds in his trust, are firmly 
 settled to the satisfaction of his own mind. He acts on 
 the word of God which he is satisfied is genuine. He 
 has risen above the fear that the record is counterfeit. 
 He sees upon it the known signature of God the marks 
 of his omniscience, omnipotence, holiness and love. He 
 is not afraid to rest in it as genuine, to come with it 
 before God and plead it in his presence, and to make it 
 the basis of all his welfare for eternity. His heart is at 
 rest on that point. With a genuine promise from God 
 in his hands, he is satisfied too that the Promiser is good 
 beyond all deceit or failure. He wishes no better security 
 than that of his name. The promise is backed with the 
 weight of his character, and it can be by no higher secu- 
 rity. And to this promise his Father has bound himself 
 with an oath ; and because he could swear by no greater, 
 he sware by himself; that by these immutable pledges in 
 which he could not lie, strong consolation might be given 
 to the heirs of promise who have fled to him for refuge. 
 With these securities settled to his satisfaction, that the 
 promise is genuine and the Promiser good beyond failure, 
 his trust places his heavenly inheritance secure in the 
 keeping of God. He knows in whom he believes, and is 
 persuaded that he is able to keep that which he commits 
 unto him against that day. Nor while committing his 
 cause to God, resting on his word in good faith, does he 
 fear that anything will be able to cut him off from his 
 final inheritance. 
 
 He escapes in this way the dangers that lurk within 
 his own being. Does he hear the tidings published, that 
 the heart of man is deceitful above all things ? And does 
 he see the melancholy wrecks of those around him who 
 are led by their own lusts into confirmed iniquity and 
 guilt, and are become the suffering, helpless, despairing 
 
The Power of Trust. 75 
 
 captives of evil ? He knows indeed that he carries within 
 his own breast such tendencies to evil as render him unfit 
 to manage his interests alone enough of pride or covet- 
 ousness or sensuality to make utter shipwreck of his wel- 
 fare were he to trust in his own heart. But he has fled 
 from this danger which once threatened his utter over- 
 throw. His own weakness and exposures as a sinner he 
 feels, and for this very reason, unwilling to trust the cause 
 of his welfare to his own hands, he has betaken himself to 
 the immediate care and supervision of an Almighty God 
 and Saviour. In him he trusts for deliverance from all 
 the evil that is still lurking in his heart. He goes as a 
 trusting child into his immediate presence and pleads in 
 prayer his gracious promise for deliverance from the 
 power of his sinful inclinations. Nor does he fear, while 
 resting on his word and feeling the sanctifying power of 
 his love already in his heart, but that his Father will pre- 
 sent him holy and unblamable in his sight at the last day, 
 an inheriter of eternal joy. He thus escapes from his 
 own weakness and sin by hiding himself in the arms and 
 upon the bosom of his Almighty Guardian, and taking to 
 his heart the sanctifying power of his truth and love. 
 
 Nor does he fear that fellow-beings will cut him off from 
 the promised inheritance. For the Lord in whom he 
 trusts is high and infinite, over all the foes that can rise 
 up against him in the creation. If evil spirits in this 
 universe are allowed to come near him, or if his fellow- 
 men ever gather around him to assail his welfare, he puts 
 his immortal interests beyond their reach by committing 
 them as a child to the care of the Almighty. He goes 
 up to him who controls all. He calls upon him as his 
 Guardian, for defense from the assaults of temptation. 
 He pleads before him with confidence his own promise. 
 He knows his word is sure. On it he is willing to rest. 
 And while binding his heart to the Almighty in unshaken 
 trust, while cleaving in steadfast faith to the love of God 
 in Christ Jesus, no assaults of enemies in the creation can 
 break the bond. None can divide between him and God. 
 His heart and treasure is above all, bound fast to the 
 throne of the Infinite and the Almighty. 
 
76 The Power of Trust. 
 
 Nor does he fear that God himself will cut him off from 
 his heavenly inheritance. He expects to behold him on 
 the day of judgment, and to hear his lips pronounce on 
 multitudes who appear before him, the sentence of final 
 and endless exclusion from his kingdom. But in view of 
 that coming day he is not afraid of such tidings of evil to 
 himself. He now betakes himself to God and commits 
 his cause to his management in season. He knows that 
 he has merited as a perverse and guilty creature a disin- 
 heritance from his love and kingdom. But he has been 
 brought nigh to God in reconciliation, and has accepted his 
 gracious proposal to justify him and admit him to his 
 birth-right in heaven. He pleads that promise now as 
 his defense. He is willing to abide the issue, on that fear- 
 ful day. He trusts in his word that it is he who justifieth 
 the ungodly, who believe that his Son has died and risen 
 again to make intercession. Clinging to a Guardian 
 whose sole prerogative it is to pronounce final sentence on 
 mankind, and who engages to justify his righteous ser- 
 vants, he fears no condemnation. He sees his immortal 
 interests safe in the keeping of his Father in Heaven. 
 He trusts on till death ; assured of receiving beyond fail- 
 ure the immortal inheritance, for which he pants, of a 
 child in his kingdom of glory. 
 
 3. Once more ; by trusting in God he arms his heart 
 with patience to endure every temporal loss or suffering 
 which may come upon him before receiving the inherit- 
 ance. For having his heart fixed on a pure and unfading 
 inheritance in the immortal kingdom of God and a title 
 secured to that inheritance which is beyond failure, there 
 remains no evil for him to encounter but such as affects 
 his temporal interests : his happiness in this life merely, 
 while on his way to eternity. The worst tidings that he 
 can expect to hear are such as respect temporal disap- 
 pointment and loss, or temporal sufferings. He knows 
 not indeed, precisely how much temporal loss or suffering 
 may come upon him in consequence of his own impru- 
 dence or the encroachments of fellow-beings, or the more 
 direct dispensations of Providence. Yet by casting all 
 
The Power of Trust. 77 
 
 his care upon God, he is preparing his heart to endure 
 the utmost that may come upon him. He surrenders all 
 his mortal interests into the hands of God ; assured that 
 his providence is over the wide creation ; that every 
 temporal good, by whatever secondary almoner adminis- 
 tered, is his gift ; that every temporal evil by whatever 
 hands inflicted, is his rod of chastisement: and he trusts 
 in the word of God his Guardian, that he will order the 
 bounty and discipline of his hand according to his wants, 
 and act toward him, in all his earthly course, as a wise 
 and kind Father ; consulting his highest welfare intent 
 to render him a partaker of his holiness and blessedness. 
 Having from the heart committed all to the orderings of 
 his wise providence, he is prepared to receive every 
 earthly gift with that spirit of thankfulness, and to endure 
 every earthly trial with that spirit of patience, which the 
 wisdom and love of God inspire in every truly trusting 
 heart. 
 
 Why then, in a world which his Father superintends, 
 and in which his Father is training him up for the holy 
 joys of his eternal kingdom, should his heart be overcome 
 with the fear of evil tidings ? 
 
 He is in a world indeed that is full of evils. Many 
 hearts around him are sinking with forebodings of what is 
 to come or fainting under the evils which are already 
 upon them. They cannot bear their earthly losses and 
 disappointments and cares, and, if they do not suffer them- 
 selves to pine away the lingering death of inconsolable 
 grief, vainly attempt to stifle their own sensibilities in 
 intemperance or rush upon utter annihilation. But all 
 these are embarked on the stormy ocean of mere self- 
 adventure, wilful wanderers from God, with none but a 
 worldly portion to feed their panting hearts. He has 
 escaped ; and is fast moored to the Rock of Eternal 
 Strength, the Citadel of Eternal Joy. 
 
 And now, what evil tidings does he fear shall come to 
 affect him at this anchorage ground ? Shall he hear of 
 the death of beloved friends ? or shall disappointments 
 and losses as to worldly good assail him ? or shall pains 
 
78 The Power of Trust. 
 
 and sufferings announce their presence in his decaying; 
 body ? But in all these, even at the worst and when 
 inflicted by malicious foes, he sees the hand of God in 
 whom he trusts. Though accumulated upon him at once 
 as they were upon the righteous Job -though messenger 
 after messenger arrive with evil tidings he still clings to 
 the God of his hopes. He casts himself with all his bur- 
 dens afresh in prayer on the love and sympathy of God, 
 and arms his heart with patience to endure. It is the 
 Lord ; let him do what seemeth him good. The Lord 
 who gave hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
 Lord. If some spirit of impatience and evil suggest to 
 his heart that he curse God and die, he repels the blas- 
 phemous suggestion that would tear his soul away from 
 the anchorage of its hopes. He still clings in trust to a 
 bright reversion in the love of God. His tribulation even 
 now worketh the patience of filial love, the experience of 
 divine compassion and faithfulness ; and hope grows 
 stronger in a heart into which are flowing these fresh and 
 increasing measures of God's love. And whether his 
 afflictions pass over him wholly in this life or not, they 
 are but the faint clouds and gentle ripples of the dark 
 and furious tempest that is raging out on the broad ocean 
 he has escaped ; which lie awhile over the harbor of 
 security he has reached ; and which skirt a land before 
 him of eternal brightness and joy. 
 
 What tidings of earthly evil then shall he fear ? Is it 
 the tidings of temporal death ? But that is his last 
 enemy. All the malice of his foes in the whole creation, 
 can reach no farther. And the God in whom he trusts, 
 disarms even this enemy of his sting. By whatever 
 means the evil shall be inflicted, he sees in it the mes- 
 senger of the Lord. He fears no evil from the Lord his 
 Shepherd, who summons him into his presence. * Though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him,' is the language he 
 returns to the message. And now as he leaves all things 
 earthly forever, with the heavenly inheritance full before 
 him, the foretastes of its joys in his heart, the covenant of 
 promise in his hands, he goes down, at the bidding of the 
 
The Power of Trust. 79 
 
 messenger, to cross the narrow passage which yet sepa- 
 rates him from the citadel of his King, the land of his 
 inheritance. At that hour he clings to the promise of the 
 eternal covenant that has fed his heavenly hopes and 
 affections during the vicissitudes of former days. That 
 promise of his Creator and Saviour is now the joy and 
 rejoicing of his heart. That promise binds his heart to 
 God and attunes his lips to the praises of victory. And 
 venturing his all upon it as he goes forth to the shores of 
 eternity, he escapes the terror of his last enemy. He 
 passes away in the full expectation to meet face to face 
 the Creator of his spirit, to hear him own the promise as 
 genuine and good, to receive from him, the Redeemer of 
 the lost, the inheritance of an adopted child in his holy 
 and immortal kingdom, and to be exalted forever beyond 
 all approach of evil. 
 
 I have thus set before you the effect of trust in God to 
 establish the heart of the righteous in the repose of an 
 invincible strength ; to establish it firm against the over- 
 coming fear of future evil : that it does this by setting 
 the heart on God and thus administering to it joyful 
 anticipations of a satisfying inheritance in his love and 
 kingdom : assuring it of entering into the possession 
 beyond failure : and arming it with patience to endure 
 every evil that will be permitted to assail him while on 
 the way to that full inheritance. " The righteous shall 
 not be afraid of evil tidings : his heart is fixed, trusting in 
 the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid." 
 
 And now, to conclude, I would, as a practical improve- 
 ment of the subject, propound two questions for serious 
 consideration and decision. Is not the lot of the right- 
 eous in this kingdom of our Creator more excellent than 
 that of his unbelieving neighbor ? And is it not wise to 
 imitate him in the trust by which he secures that lot ? 
 
 i. Is not the lot of the righteous in this kingdom of our 
 Creator more excellent than that of his unbelieving 
 neighbor? Whose condition bids fairest for happiness in 
 the unseen and untried eternity to which both are hasten- 
 ing ? Who is most likely to fare well in the endless ages 
 
8o The Power of Trust. 
 
 to come ? I speak as unto wise men, able to discern 
 between good and evil ; judge ye what I say. 
 
 You see the unbeliever living without God, trusting to 
 the devices of his own heart for his happiness, seeking his 
 portion in the pleasures he can find in mere worldly 
 things. He is out on the uncertainties of this life, ven- 
 turing his whole welfare on this trust. Yet even now 
 temptations are thickening upon him, the evil passions of 
 pride and sensuality and selfishness and malice are occu- 
 pying his heart with intenser sway ; and disappointments, 
 losses, sufferings and fears are crowding upon him a more 
 inconsolable burden. He goes forward to eternity the 
 captive of guilt and sorrow ; and we see him no more. 
 
 You see the righteous, once embarking his welfare on 
 the safne course, alarmed and dissatisfied ; turning to the 
 promise of this book and recognizing it as the promise of 
 the Creator ; renouncing before him his former trust and 
 submitting himself and his whole welfare, as this book 
 directs, to the disposal of his wisdom and goodness and 
 power. Now does he wash his hands in innocency, and 
 compass, as a filial servant, the altar of God his joy and 
 refuge. He enters into holy communion with him, filling 
 his heart with richer assurances of immortal joy in his 
 kingdom, and arming it with patience to endure and over- 
 come every sorrow that meets him on his way. He 
 passes from us in this state of triumph : and we see him 
 no more. 
 
 I say, you see the righteous on this triumphant course. 
 For in the portrait I have drawn, I have but described 
 the case of well known individuals who have existed in 
 the world and passed before us into eternity. Not that 
 every righteous man is equally exemplary and constant in 
 his filial trust, or attains equal degrees of hope or equal 
 degrees of exaltation over natural and moral evil. Nor 
 that there are not those who profess their filial trust in 
 God when in works they deny him, who utterly fall in 
 the day of temptation and trial. But the existence of the 
 true believer, and the effects of his filial trust in this life, 
 are facts too clear to admit denial. 
 
The Power of Trust. 81 
 
 You see then both on their course in this life, and ven- 
 turing their well being on their different trusts. They 
 have now entered on an untried eternity, and what, judge 
 ye, is the issue ? Say not, you have not seen eternity 
 that it is hid in the darkness of futurity and you cannot 
 judge. Look to what you do see : this word that is with 
 us ; and the believer in it, here on his way, and the 
 unbeliever. Judge from what you do see, as to what you 
 do not see. Which, think you, is likeliest to fall the 
 eternal prey of natural and moral evil ? Which is like- 
 liest to rise to an eternal exaltation over both, in this 
 kingdom of our Creator? Whose prospects are the 
 fairest for inheriting a blessed immortality ? Are both 
 alike to fail ? Are both alike to succeed ? To bring the 
 question to a test: whose condition* would you prefer? 
 Were your Creator at this moment to render himself 
 visible, and, setting aside in your case the general rules 
 of his government, were he to assure you, that a mere 
 word from your lips should decide it that, as you said it 
 should be, whether to take your place in eternity with 
 Paul the apostle, or with Nero his persecutor, with the 
 believing Baxter or with the infidel Voltaire ; what would 
 you say? Ah, is there a heart which ever came near the 
 light of this word or the example of its trusting believers 
 that, when brought to the test, would not say, * Let me die 
 the death of the righteous ; let my last end be like his ; 
 let my lot in eternity be cast with his.' 
 
 2. I ask again, Is it not wise to imitate the righteous in 
 the trust by which he secures his lot ? I address the 
 question more particularly to those who have not yet 
 returned to the Lord in repentance and put their trust in 
 his promises of grace. Is it not wise for you to imitate 
 the righteous in his faith and trust ? 
 
 The word of promise, with its conditions, is before you ; 
 the word on which he ventures his eternal well being, 
 and by trusting in which he rises so far ascendant over 
 the moral and natural evil which is pressing upon the 
 world, as to appear before you the joyful child of God 
 and to convince you that it shall fare well with him in 
 eternity. Is is not wise then to do as he does to re- 
 
 12 
 
82 The Power of Trust. 
 
 nounce dependence on that which leaves you under the 
 power of evil, and venturing all on this word of promise 
 to choose, as it proposes, the Lord for your Shepherd ? 
 
 You are to act of choice in your trust, and not by force. 
 Your eternal well being is at stake, and you are to trust 
 it somewhere. You must venture it all upon something. 
 Do you think it wise to rest it where you now do, in 
 your own hands, in alienation from God, in subjection to 
 the power of evil, and trust on and wait the issue ? Is it 
 not better to rest it on the promise of this word and to 
 come, as this word proposes, a lost creature to God, sur- 
 rendering yourself to his care through all the vicissitudes 
 of this life and seeking of him through Christ Jesus for- 
 giveness, holiness and endless redemption ? 
 
 Do you object that this is not a matter of folly or 
 wisdom, reproach or praise, but of necessity ; that belief 
 is involuntary, depending upon evidence ? But you can 
 trust where there are very slight grounds for belief, and 
 you can refuse to trust w r here the grounds for belief are 
 the strongest. It becomes you therefore to search impar- 
 tially for the truth, and that right early. But that you 
 are not even now kept from trusting in this word of 
 promise by mere want of evidence, is proved by your 
 present conduct. You are now actuall} 7 trusting all the 
 interests which this promise calls you to venture upon 
 God, somewhere else ; you are now willing to stake all 
 in your own hands and upon your own management. 
 Have you then as much evidence for believing your 
 interests secure where you now stake them as you would 
 have were they staked on God and his word of promise ? 
 Say ye who think of future repentance ; say ye who, 
 determined to brave it out as ye are, still admit in your 
 hearts the superior prospects of the righteous? Would 
 you not, if brought to the issue at once in the visible pres- 
 ence of the Greater, prefer rather that your trust were 
 staked upon revelation than upon its present basis? And 
 if now you are trusting your immortal interests where 
 you believe there is the less security of the two, could you 
 not trust them, if you chose, where you believe there is 
 the greater ? 
 
The Power of Trust. 83 
 
 The gospel bids you forsake your false refuges of lies 
 and sins, return with submission and love to God your 
 Creator and Redeemer, and secure your immortal inter- 
 ests at his hands. The record has his signature. They 
 who trust in it are living proofs of his faithfulness so far 
 as the eye can trace them on their course. If then you 
 would be wise for eternity do as they do. If you see 
 ground enough to render it wiser in your view to trust 
 your immortal interests upon God and his promise, than 
 where you now trust them, do it : nor wait another 
 moment. If you wish for increasing light, that will dawn 
 upon you the more, as you walk with God and study his 
 word on your future way. If you wish for actual vision, 
 that will not come till each one takes the issue of his 
 present courses in eternity. You must trust, you must 
 venture all, beforehand. Be wise then now, to enter with 
 the righteous on his life of filial trust, and thus secure his 
 happy inheritance beyond the grave. 
 
THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 GENESIS XXII: 119. 
 
 THIS portion of sacred history informs us of a trial to 
 which Abraham was subjected, at a time of great peace 
 and prosperity, by the express appointment of God. The 
 time and origin of the trial are made known in the intro- 
 ductory remark : v. i, " It came to pass after these things 
 that God did tempt Abraham." 
 
 After the things already related when the former trials 
 of his life were past ; when his anxieties about Hagar 
 and Ishmael were relieved by the express promise of God 
 in regard to their future lot ; when the difficulties with 
 Abimelech were settled by a covenant of perpetual amity ; 
 when he and Sarah, amid temporal prosperity, were 
 rejoicing in the constant presence and society of Isaac, 
 now arrived at the years of opening manhood ; and when at 
 the altar of devotion which he had erected in the grove of 
 his planting at Beersheba, not far from his shaded dwell- 
 ing, he, with his rejoicing household, was wont to call on 
 the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God ; in this time 
 of profound peace, he is suddenly called to undergo this 
 severest of all his trials. 
 
 The trial came upon him by the express appointment of 
 God. At the midnight hour probably, for he " arose " 
 ;< early in the morning," it is said, to fulfil the appoint- 
 ment the Lord suddenly appeared and, by a severe 
 command, " did tempt" as our translation renders the 
 Hebrew verb, or as the word is more properly rendered, 
 did try or prove " Abraham." The old English transla- 
 tion was more exact upon this clause, and should have 
 
86 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 been preserved : " The Lord did prove Abraham." The 
 same word is so rendered in our version in the passage, 
 Exodus xvi : 4, in which the Lord speaks of granting Israel 
 food, in the quails and the manna, to attract them to his 
 service by his bounty " that I may prove them whether 
 they will walk in my law or not." For God by bounties or 
 afflictions, by gifts or their withdrawal, to put men to the 
 trial &R& proof whether they will obey or not, is but employ- 
 ing on his part a necessary means to advance his honor 
 and their welfare : though, unavoidably, it may afford an 
 occasion for men to be tempted by their own lusts, or of 
 the devil, to do evil rather than obey. But God tempteth 
 no one neither is tempted, to evil. 
 
 But let, us look at the trial which, at this time of pro- 
 found peace, the Lord suddenly appointed his servant. 
 
 Following the guidance of the history, which presents 
 the distinct parts of the subject in their true order, we 
 will notice, 
 
 I. The command of God imposing the trying sacrifice; 
 
 II. The obedience of Abraham in performing the com- 
 mand ; and 
 
 III. The gain that resulted to both at the close, both 
 God the Ruler and Abraham his servant. 
 
 I. The command of God which imposed the trial upon 
 Abraham, is introduced and stated in these words : v. i, 
 " God said unto him, Abraham : and he said, Behold here 
 I am. (v. 2.) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only 
 son whom thou lovest Isaac " : I give, in this reading^ 
 not the order of our translation, which introduces the 
 name before the description is finished, but the order of 
 the Hebrew which with fine effect, keeps back the name, 
 Isaac, to the close : " Take Isaac, and get thee into the 
 land of Moriah ; and offer him there for a burnt offering 
 upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." 
 
 Before giving the trying command, God summons the 
 presence and attention of Abraham, that he may give ear 
 to some order which he is to receive and that he may be 
 ready to execute it : " Abraham," 'my servant, whom I 
 have called ; with whom I have made my covenant ; 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 87 
 
 whom I have charged to walk before me and be perfect: 
 hear my voice/ Abraham, like a ready and attentive ser- 
 vant, at once replies: " Behold, here I am." 'Speak, 
 Lord ; for thy servant heareth.' 
 
 The order is now pronounced in words and tones which 
 fall with deepening terror on the heart of this father, and 
 this inheritor of the promises ; and which put to the 
 utmost task his faith in the goodness and in the covenant 
 of his God. 
 
 " Take now thy son." The patriarch, I imagine, at 
 the first mention of his son, startled as with some strange 
 apprehension, might have kept back his heart from the 
 worst awhile by wavering between his two sons, after 
 this sort : * I have two sons, Ishmael and Isaac : ' take " thy 
 only son " ; ' but both are only sons of their mothers ' : ' take 
 the one ' " whom thou lovest " ; ' but I love them both : ' 
 ' take ' " Isaac " ! ' ah ! it is he, whom I feared ; my darling 
 one, the child of Sarah ; the son of most precious hopes and 
 promises. Yet, doubtless, God will not suffer any evil to 
 befal the child. I have trusted in his wisdom and good- 
 ness ; I cling to the express promises of his covenant ; 
 and what he says I will do, nothing doubting. Well, I 
 will take Isaac : but where shall I take him ? ' 
 
 The word from God proceeds : " And get thee into the 
 land of Moriah." * Well ; it is a long journey from Beer- 
 sheba to Moriah ; sixty miles, perhaps, through wilder- 
 ness and over mountain tracts ; there may lie on our path 
 no tent of any hospitable shepherd with whom we may 
 find entertainment ; there may be perils from wild beasts 
 of the wilderness or from robbers: but God commands; I 
 will trust in his providence, and take Isaac to the land of 
 Moriah : but what shall I do ivit/i him there ? ' 
 
 The order from heaven proceeds : " Offer him there for 
 a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will 
 tell thee of." ' Can it be? Do I hear the order aright? 
 There is no mistake. The command is on the ear, dis- 
 tinct as the tones of heaven.' " Offer him there for a 
 burnt offering." What a multitude of thoughts rush 
 upon the heart of the father to crush it, how many sug- 
 
88 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 gestions against such a deed are ready to spring up, to 
 prevent obedience : which nothing but unwavering faith 
 in the wisdom and goodness of God can surmount, and 
 render that heart free to obey. * Can I endure to make 
 such an offering? It would be hard to part with this 
 beloved son by death, even in the usual course of provi- 
 dence by disease ; it would be harder still to have him 
 taken away from me by the hand of violence, were the 
 blow struck by a stranger : but to have this arm inflict 
 the death-wound, the arm of the father the arm that 
 has so often clung around him with affection the arm on 
 which he has always rested for safety : how can my heart 
 be nerved to the deed ? But God commands : and shall 
 I not hush every distressing emotion with the thought 
 that his infinite wisdom and goodness are back of me, 
 giving direction, by explicit command, to my will and my 
 arm. I have been wont to yield implicit obedience, 
 trusting in his wisdom and goodness, and in his word of 
 promise : and shall I not do it now ? Yet never before 
 have I received from him any command which seemed so 
 contrary to his character for wisdom and goodness and so 
 contradictory to his own promises, as this. What pos- 
 sible honor to God or pleasure can be derived from a 
 human sacrifice? How will the nations be shocked at so 
 unnatural a deed on the part of a father, and reproach the 
 God whom I serve for his cruel exaction ? What too will 
 become of his promise to me : " In Isaac shall thy seed be 
 called?" Shall posterity arise from the ashes of the 
 dead ? I am now left with a bare command from God ; a 
 severe command : no explanation accompanies it, no 
 assignment of reasons, no promise : it is sole and simple 
 authority. He seems purposely to have withdrawn from 
 me every support out of himself and left me to lean on 
 himself alone : as if to see what is the respect I have for 
 his will. I know that he commands the sacrifice. I can- 
 not question his right to dispose of the temporal life of 
 men. Nor is it my place to wait till I see how he will 
 defend his honor and my character, or how he will fulfil 
 his own promise to me, before I obey his known will. 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 89 
 
 
 His command is upon me : and 1 know that I am safe, 
 and safe only in obeying his voice. His command is 
 upon me : and I know that he can and will defend his 
 honor and protect my character and fulfil his own promise 
 when I obey. Whether I can see the particular way in 
 which he will do it or not, I know that he will do it in 
 some way. I resolve, therefore, to leave all in his hands, 
 and follow his will. 1 will take Isaac, whom I have 
 received from God as one raised up from the very dead, 
 and, in the land of Moriah and on the mount which shall 
 be shown to me, I will offer him to God as a burnt-offer- 
 ing ; trusting that the same power which has done so 
 much to. fulfil the promise already, will, in this last 
 extremity, raise up his life from the dead, if needs be.' 
 
 But to resolve on obedience is easier far than to per- 
 form : and the spirit of obedience is proved to exist, and is 
 ripened into full strength, only as it is carried out into 
 execution in the particular deeds of the life. Let us, 
 then, 
 
 II. Consider the obedience of Abraham, as made mani- 
 fest in being carried out to the full in the performance of 
 the commanded offering. 
 
 His respect to the will of God was clearly made mani- 
 fest to rise supreme above every opposing consideration ; 
 because he not only resolved in his heart to obey that will 
 when it required the greatest temporal sacrifice he could 
 make, but he began at once to put the resolve into execu- 
 tion, and carried it forward through every obstacle to 
 the accomplishment. 
 
 He began at once to put his resolve of obedience into 
 execution : as the history, immediately after reciting the 
 command of God, proceeds to say (v. 3) : " And Abraham 
 rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass ; and 
 took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son : 
 and clave the wood for the burnt offering." At the 
 earliest dawn of clay, this prompt and faithful patriarch 
 provides the necessary means for accomplishing the offer- 
 ing. He orders his faithful beast of burthen to be made 
 ready for carrying provisions and relieving him in his old 
 
 13 
 
90 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 age of the tedious foot-walk, in which the rest of the 
 party in the vigor of their youth are to engage. Two of 
 his young men-servants are selected to accompany him 
 on the expedition with their services, and these, with 
 Isaac, form the party. By his orders wood is taken, 
 probably from a seasoned pile near his tent, and cleft for 
 burning :, that everything may be ready on his arrival at 
 the mount of sacrifice. While this work of preparation 
 is going forward, no suspicion or alarm, it would seem, is 
 awakened in Sarah or in any of the numerous household. 
 The only interest which she or they appear to take in this 
 little group, with their patriarch head, in their prepara- 
 tions for departure, is that of an absence for a .few days 
 on some ordinary expedition. Doubtless Abraham re- 
 vealed not the dreadful secret even to Sarah, but kept it 
 locked up in his own breast, that she and all he loved 
 might, with him, abide the issue. With what a cool and 
 deliberate purpose of obedience, then, must he have gone 
 through this work of preparation before his household, 
 not . to betray, by any outward signals of look, tone or 
 action, the unwonted emotions at work in his heart ; not 
 to excite any suspicion in others of the dreadful task he 
 was preparing to accomplish ! 
 
 All things being in readiness, he now proceeds to carry 
 out his purpose of obedience through every obstacle to 
 its accomplishment. The history thus mentions the 
 departure (v. 3) : He " rose up and went" i.e., started to 
 go, for it is the journey begun, and not the journey accom- 
 plished, which is here spoken of " unto the place of which 
 God had told him." The moment of departure is one of 
 deep interest ever to both fragments of the parting house- 
 hold. The oneness that unites all hearts seeks expression, 
 at the time of separation, in farewells and blessings ; in 
 pledges of remembrance ; in hopes of re-union. But now 
 one heart that of the patriarch head of the household- 
 bears on it a load it must not express, it must not betray. 
 But there is faith in God to bear up, at this hour, that 
 heart with all its load. He is on his course of obedience 
 to God. So, as the party take leave of their friends at 
 
TJic Trial of Abraham* 91 
 
 Beersheba Isaac of his mother and the domestics the 
 young men of their fellow-servants and their mistress 
 the patriarch, with manly composure, pronounces his 
 benediction on the household ; then mounts his animal to 
 lead the way ; and the party, turning their faces north- 
 ward, depart for the land of Moriah. (v. 4.) " Then on 
 the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and* saw the 
 place afar off." For two days the party had been advanc- 
 ing. Isaac and the wood are constantly in sight of the 
 patriarch ; the dreadful work appointed him is ever in 
 prospect ; yet with deliberate purpose he moves steadily 
 forward. There might have been bright and beautiful 
 scenes of nature through which they passed during these 
 days, which Isaac and the young men in their freedom 
 from care admired, and called upon the patriarch to 
 admire with them : and though his heart was charged 
 with graver cares, yet doubtless he refused not to admire 
 with them the glorious works of God. They may talk of 
 other days and of the friends they have left behind them : 
 yet does he not refuse to turn from the painful prospect 
 before him to hold communion in their feelings and joys. 
 His heart is fixed, trusting in God ; and so he has leisure 
 to mingle in the interests of others; and does not betray 
 to them the dreadful object of his solemn and deliberate 
 purpose. But now, on the third day, a mountain range 
 is seen, loading with its green wooded domes and its grey 
 masses of rock the northern horizon. On one of these 
 mountain tops appears the signal of heaven the cloud of 
 light and glory noting it as the place chosen of the Lord 
 for the offering. It is that mount Moriah on which in 
 after times the temple of Solomon was built ;f that moun- 
 tain elevation on which Christ, the Only Begotten Son of 
 the Father, the promised seed of Abraham, was offered 
 up for the sin of the world that he might extend the 
 blessings of salvation to all the families of the earth. 
 But now, overlooking the hills and valleys far around, it 
 raises its loft) 7 and rocky summit into the sky, in all the 
 
 f 2 Chron. iii : i. 
 
92 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 silence and rugged grandeur of nature. No voice of man 
 is heard, no mark of his industry seen, on this vast altar 
 pile in the temple of creation. 
 
 But the place is approached : and now the patriarch 
 must set himself, more seriously and exclusively, to 
 accomplish the sad duty before him. (v. 5, 6.) "And 
 AbraharA said unto the young men, Abide ye here with 
 the ass : and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, 
 and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of 
 the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son : and he 
 took the fire in his hands and a knife : and they went both 
 of them together." Another step is now taken towards 
 the execution of his purpose. The young men-servants 
 would be in his way at the serious hour of sacrifice : they 
 might disturb his composure or effectually resist the 
 offering. They are left, therefore, to wait till his return. 
 But what mean these words of Abraham at parting : " We 
 will come again to you." Had the dead ever returned to 
 life ? or did he now yield up his purpose, and resolve, 
 after all, that in the last extremity he would spare the 
 lad ? No. But he believes in the promise of God ; " In 
 Isaac shall thy seed be called " ; and the hope of a resur- 
 rection to life has sprung up in his heart. So he goes 
 forth to ascend the heights of Moriah, Isaac, the uncon- 
 scious victim, bearing the fuel, to be consumed together 
 with it ; he carrying in his own hand the knife and the 
 fire, the weapons of destruction. Oh ! as on that lonely 
 walk they pass through the forests at the foot of Moriah 
 and clamber up its sides together, will not the father 
 relent and give way ? No ; the command of God is upon 
 him : that command nerves his heart to obey and to cast 
 all its anxieties and cares upon God. Up as they ascend 
 from one elevation to another, his purpose remains settled 
 on faith in the wisdom and goodness of God, firm as each 
 pinnacle of rock on its everlasting basis. But the silence 
 of their walk is, for a moment, interrupted by this short 
 dialogue, (v. 7, 8.) " And Isaac spake unto Abraham his 
 father, and said : My father: and he said, Here am I, my 
 son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood : but 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 93 
 
 where is the lamb for a burnt offering ? And Abraham 
 said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt 
 offering." The loving and confiding eye of Isaac, striking 
 upon the eye of the father, and sending such a piercing 
 question to his inmost soul, must have overpowered a 
 mind that was not immovably fixed in its purpose. But 
 Abraham remained unmoved : and, not to disclose as yet 
 the real victim, referred the whole matter to God to pro- 
 vide a lamb for a victim the innocent lamb before him, 
 that had been nurtured in his own bosom, (v. 8, 9.) " So 
 they went both of them together. And they came to the 
 place which God had told him of." The place where he 
 had seen the signal of God resting the cloud of light 
 and glory. Here on the table land of the mountain top ; 
 on some open area where the altar may rest, and upon 
 which the sun is pouring down his meridian rays; sur- 
 rounded by the darkness and thickets of the forest ; in 
 this temple, built of God ; stand the father and son, to 
 make ready for the sacrifice, (v. 9.) " And Abraham 
 built an altar there, and laid the wood in order." Sad 
 task, indeed ! Each stone Avhich they bring to the struc- 
 ture, each piece of fragrant turf which they lay upon it, 
 appears to the patriarch already to teem with the blood 
 of Isaac, and puts a load on his heart heavier far than it 
 does upon the earth. Yet he is fixed immovably in pur- 
 pose : the structure is completed : the wood laid upon it 
 in order, suited to the burning. The hour of sacrifice has 
 now come. The victim must be taken, bound, slain. The 
 purpose of Abraham can no longer remain concealed 
 from his son. How now will he advance to his task? in 
 silence and with force ? will he suddenly lay hands upon 
 his son, and, in his haste and violence, appear unto him 
 as the frantic maniac? What then will Isaac do? In the 
 solitude of the forest, far from his loved mother and her 
 household, beyond the hearing of the young men, no 
 stranger nigh, despairing of any pity in the breast of a 
 father, so alienated and maddened with delirious phrensy, 
 will he seize a billet from the altar, and with equal fury 
 rush to disarm the father, or take life for life ? No : the 
 
94 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 mind that is fulfilling the will of God, is ever calm and 
 rational ; and seeks, in accomplishing its purpose, the 
 methods of wisdom. No doubt, avoiding every show of 
 force, in a cool and rational manner, Abraham disclosed 
 the dread secret so long laboring in his breast, by entering 
 into free and serious conversation with his son. There in 
 the deep solitude beside the altar, in the presence of God, 
 he tells him, doubtless, of the command which he has 
 received ; to fulfil which, he has taken the journey with 
 him and brought him up the mount. He may reason 
 with him, from the signal of divine glory which both had 
 seen that morning, hovering over the place, that truly 
 God had ordered and was superintending the strange and 
 trying sacrifice. He may reason with him on the obliga- 
 tion that now rests upon both alike to comply with this 
 most trying will of God ; on the faith which it becomes 
 both to put, notwithstanding this season of darkness, in 
 the goodness and in the promises of God, and the expec- 
 tation which both may cherish that, after the hour of 
 sacrifice, there will be a resurrection to life again, and a 
 happier meeting than now. For it could not be, that Abra- 
 ham would have refrained from inculcating upon his child 
 the duty of submission, at the hour of death ; nor would 
 he leave the matter, if it could possibly be settled thus 
 peaceably by voluntary submission, to come to a violent 
 contest of physical force. Isaac, too, whether he had ever 
 yielded his heart to God before or not, doubtless at this 
 solemn hour bowed in submission to the trying will of 
 God ; and consented, like his great Archetype, the Son of 
 God, to surrender himself a voluntary victim for the 
 sacrifice. For he resisted not : and though called a lad, 
 he might, with that title as then used, have been of full 
 age ; and, in his vigorous youth, have proved a match for 
 the physical strength of the aged patriarch. Gently 
 then, we may believe, the hand of the father winds the 
 cords around his yielding son : and so " he bound Isaac 
 and laid him on the altar upon the wood." The agoniz- 
 ing moment has come. The trembling victim lies, 
 expecting the pangs of death. The heart-aching offerer of 
 
TJic Trial of Abraham. 95 
 
 the sacrifice stands ready to slay. (v. 10.) "And Abraham 
 stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son." 
 He grasps the deadly weapon ; he raises his arm ; the fatal 
 blow - -is arrested by a voice from heaven, (v. 11, 12.) 
 " The angel of the Lord called unto him, Abraham, 
 Abraham : and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay 
 not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything 
 unto him." The sacrifice is thus prevented at the last 
 moment, by the same authority which had commanded it. 
 For it was enough. The trial of Abraham was complete ; 
 and his obedience finished. But one muscular effort of 
 his arm remained ; and that was kept back in mercy. For 
 it was not blood that Jehovah sought, but obedience. The 
 command is obeyed, to the very last act, in the spirit and 
 intention of Abraham. All who ever hear of it will 
 acknowledge that he would have struck the blow, and 
 have completed his task, had it not been for this sudden 
 stay put on the whole proceeding by an order from the 
 Lord. The trial is closed ; and God has secured the 
 result at which he aimed; a result to Himself and his 
 servant full worthy of the whole trial. But let us, more 
 particularly, consider, 
 
 III. The gain that resulted from the trial to both par- 
 ties God the Ruler, and Abraham his servant. 
 
 The history shows us, that, without any evil resulting 
 to Isaac, Abraham obtained, through his persevering 
 obedience in the trial, the approving testimony of God ; 
 the joy of a thank-offering for delivering mercy ; and an 
 assurance stronger than ever of an interest in the 
 promises. 
 
 No evil has befallen Isaac. The order from heaven, 
 " Lay not thine hand upon the lad," has saved him harm- 
 less. The sharp trial, too, of the moment when he 
 learned the will of the Lord and submitted himself as a 
 victim, has passed away forever; while the consciousness 
 of his own submission, and thankfulness to God for 
 deliverance, remain as permanent sources of satisfaction 
 in his future life. 
 
g6 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 Abraham, by means of the trial, secured to himself the 
 approving testimony of God. The Angel of the Lord, call- 
 ing out of heaven to stay the procedure of Abraham, pro- 
 nounces the testimony : (v.12.) " For now I know that thou 
 fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine 
 only son from me." God has witnessed the patriarch on 
 all his way of obedience. He has seen him in his faith 
 and obedience persevering through every obstacle to the 
 last, putting honor on his character, increasing his own 
 holiness ; and now the hour of his testimony is come. He 
 is pleased : and gives out a testimony of approbation that 
 will abide a source of joy to the patriarch long after the 
 pangs of his three days of trial are gone. " Now I know " 
 is the heavenly testimony, " that thou fearest God." ' I 
 know that thy respect is supreme above every opposing 
 consideration : ' " seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, 
 thine only son from me." ' The evidence is out, in thy 
 favor and to my honor. I can now speak to all with cer- 
 tainty about Abraham. I can point to him as having 
 gone through this trial with honor to me : and say to any 
 one in my kingdom ; That is the man that truly respects 
 me. I can now publish the evidence given in this trial as 
 an example to my kingdom. That man 1 can always trust 
 to obey my orders. The fruits of righteousness abound 
 in him to my glory. I am honored greatly, and my ser- 
 vant Abraham advanced in his faith and obedience/ And 
 so at the close of the trial God and he rejoice together in 
 the approving testimony obtained by faithful obedience. 
 
 To this approving testimony there was added the joy 
 of a thank-offering, provided by the delivering grace of 
 God. (v. 13.) " And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and 
 looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket 
 by his horns : and Abraham went and took the ram, and 
 offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." 
 As Abraham stood with Isaac by the altar, and beheld 
 the substitute which the delivering mercy of God had 
 provided, what a tide of thankfulness rises in his heart ! 
 The love of God that seemed hid awhile behind a passing 
 cloud has broke forth in full luster upon his soul : and in 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 97 
 
 the smoke of the sacrifice substituted for Isaac, he wafts 
 up to heaven the lively breathings of joy, the glowing 
 emotions of thankfulness ; for Gocl and he rejoice 
 together more sweetly than ever in the sun-light of 
 deliverance, (v. 14.) "And Abraham called the name of 
 the place Jehovah-Jireh : as it is said to this day, in the 
 mount of the Lord it shall be seen," or, as the Hebrew 
 is better rendered, " In the mount the Lord will be seen 
 or appear." His grateful testimony for God he left for- 
 ever there in the name he put upon the place : and to the 
 day of Moses, and to this day even, it is a proverb among 
 the faithful, that in the mount of difficulty and trial to his 
 people, God will appear; that their extremity of want 
 is God's opportunity to come with delivering grace. 
 
 In addition to the approving testimony of God and 
 great joy in his delivering grace, Abraham obtained also a 
 fuller assurance than ever of his interest in the promises. 
 His hope is caused to abound the more in the certainty 
 and joy of their fulfilment. There might, as a conse- 
 quence of the teachings of a resurrection during the trial, 
 have sprung up in his mind more enlarged views than 
 ever of the extent of the promises, and, in consequence of 
 this deliverance, greater confidence in the purpose of God 
 to accomplish them all. But he was not left to reap hope 
 from experience alone. The Lord, for his great pleasure 
 and joy in his servant, comes nigh to give him direct 
 assurance, (v. 15.) "And the Angel of the Lord called 
 unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, (v. 16) And 
 said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because 
 thou hast done this thing and hast not withheld thy son, 
 thine only son: (v. 17) That in blessing I will bless thee, 
 and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 
 heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and 
 thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, (v. 18.) 
 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 blessed : because thou hast obeyed my voice." These 
 promises which were first announced to him at the time 
 of his extraordinary call : which were repeated to him and 
 sealed as a covenant by the rite of circumcision, at the 
 
 
98 The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 annunciation of the birth of Isaac : are now re-pronounced, 
 as made sure by his having stood the trial faithfully, and 
 are now prefaced, as never before, by that highest and 
 most solemn of all assurances which can be given an 
 oath : the Lord, as he could swear by no greater, swear- 
 ing by himself: " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord." 
 So Abraham, as it is represented in the epistle to the 
 Hebrews, " after he had patiently endured, obtained the 
 promise " : and both God and he rejoiced together over 
 greater security obtained on earth to the plans of good 
 included in the promises. 
 
 (v. 19.) " So Abraham," bearing these new and perma- 
 nent spiritual treasures within his joyous heart, " re- 
 turned " with Isaac u unto his young men, and they rose 
 up and went together to Beersheba." 
 
 Such is the close of this extraordinary trial of char- 
 acter. The life that God, the Supreme Disposer, might 
 have taken, and over which the dark cloud of trial hung, 
 is spared. Abraham, for the faith and obedience which 
 he has strengthened in .his own heart, and by which he 
 has publicly honored the authority of God, takes with 
 him, to his dwelling at Beersheba, and to his altar of devo- 
 tion in the grove, for his after life, the approving testi- 
 mony of God ; a heart made grateful by delivering grace ; 
 and a hope made strong by two immutable things in 
 which it is impossible for God to lie his utterance of the 
 promises and his oath for their fulfilment. 
 
 This trial of Abraham, the history of which has 
 engaged our attention, is fraught with instruction to the 
 people of God in all ages. 
 
 I observe, 
 
 i. That this trial, besides its design of proving the 
 character of Abraham, serves to illustrate, by an analogy 
 near to our hearts, the great love of God in making the 
 offering of his Only Begotten Son. No one, who observes 
 how God began and carried forward in those early ages 
 his school of spiritual instruction, by setting up in out- 
 ward forms typical analogies and illustrations of the 
 spiritual, as in the very institution of sacrifice ; or who 
 notices the striking peculiarities attendant on the burnt- 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 99 
 
 offering assigned to Abraham, will fail to see shadowed 
 forth in it the great offering made of that seed of Abra- 
 ham, greater than Isaac, who has come to bless all the 
 families of the earth, the Only Begotten Son of the Father. 
 A father called to yield up his only son in sacrifice the 
 stroke of death to be inflicted by his own hands the 
 mount of Moriah selected as the place the voluntary 
 submission of the victim at the time of sacrifice all serve 
 to set forth the trial of that hour when the sword of 
 Jehovah was lifted up against Him that was his Fellow, 
 bowing meekly to receive the stroke on this very mount : 
 while the change of the human offering for the ram that 
 the Lord provided, serves to set forth the love that made 
 that great offering on Calvary, a substitute for the 
 penalty of death incurred by man for his sin. Whether 
 God made such a thing known at the time to Abraham or 
 not, whether Abraham saw in it any typical teaching of 
 the future or not, he has lived to see it in his heavenly 
 abode : and to all Christians on earth, it has set forth an 
 illustration, clear and affecting to the heart, because most 
 near and intimate to themselves in their own parental. and 
 filial relations. 
 
 And, Oh ! what a day to Abraham in heaven was that 
 when Jesus, his son as to the flesh, God's Son as to his 
 Eternal Spirit, walked upon those same rugged heights 
 bearing the heavy load of his cross ! It is not now the 
 solitary mount, without inhabitant, and covered with the 
 thickets of the forest. The splendid temple of Jehovah, 
 and the palaces of the kings, with their lofty towers and 
 gilded domes, occupy those heights : and the soldiers of 
 Caesar and the rabble of Jerusalem accompany, with 
 clamorous tread, the walk of Jesus. Yet onward he goes, 
 deserted of friends, surrounded by the din of the thought- 
 less or the reviling : and submits to be nailed to the cross 
 and to die, an offering to God substituted in behalf of the 
 believing for the eternal fire-offering, which the law 
 exacted of guilty man. If tears could flow in heaven, 
 must not that venerable patriarch, touched with fellow 
 sympathies gained in his school of trial, have wept that 
 
ioo The Trial of Abraham. 
 
 day at the thought of what was passing in the hearts of 
 the Eternal Father and his Son. There could now be no 
 exchange in the victim, as was made in his case ; yet a 
 resurrection to life was in prospect to this Son of Promise : 
 and the patriarch could rejoice that, on that rising to life 
 again, He should have a seed that should prolong their 
 happy days to eternity. Such thoughts have often come 
 into the minds of Christians on earth, as they have read 
 the history of the patriarch's trial, and aided their fellow- 
 ship with Christ in his sufferings ; and caused their hearts 
 to abound with thanksgivings to God, for his great love 
 wherewith he hath loved them in providing this Lamb 
 from his own bosom as a sacrifice to take away their sins. 
 
 But looking to the more immediate design of the trial 
 of Abraham as a trial of character, I observe, 
 
 2. That God appoints trials to his people, out of faithful 
 regard to their highest welfare. 
 
 The welfare of his people depends on the cultivation in 
 their own hearts of a spirit of faith and obedience towards 
 God ; for by this spirit only can they honor him before 
 his kingdom, or receive to themselves the benefits of his 
 wisdom, power and goodness. But in order to improve 
 and strengthen such a spirit in man, it is not well that he 
 be left to uninterrupted prosperity in all things. His 
 heart is so inclined to be its own master, to follow its own 
 devices, to rest on temporal possessions and joys for all, 
 that if no trial from the hand of God come to cross and 
 thwart its perverse tendencies, it withdraws itself almost 
 insensibly from supreme trust in God and implicit obedi- 
 ence to his will. Had he been left in his prosperity with- 
 out this trial, Abraham might have found his heart, even 
 at the very altar of his devotion in the grove, withdraw- 
 ing graduall} T from God and settling down on the gifts 
 already accumulated around him as his portion. Faithful 
 regard to his welfare moved God to appoint a severe 
 trial, which would hedge up his way against the idola- 
 trous love of anything, however dear, which he might 
 call his own ; and bring him to such straits, as that he 
 should cast himself with all his possessions and wants 
 
The Trial of Abraham. toi 
 
 
 afresh on the care of God in faith, and submit all to the 
 will of God in implicit obedience. The appointment 
 therefore was not arbitrary and gratuitous ; but dictated 
 by faithful regard to Abraham, that he might be made to 
 partake more fully as a servant in the joys of the divine 
 holiness. 
 
 The people of God therefore should ever account the 
 trials, which come upon them on their path of duty, as his 
 wise appointments. Though they may not see the wis- 
 dom and goodness of just such trials and afflictions as 
 befal them, yet that is precisely the discipline which a 
 faithful God sees them to need : to be put to the proof by 
 trials, the wisdom and goodness of which they do not 
 particularly see at the time : trials, the wisdom and good- 
 ness of which lie concealed, as yet, in the breast of God : 
 trials, which call off their hearts from self-reliance, and 
 dependence on creatures, that they may rest alone on 
 God, the fountain of spiritual happiness. Should not the 
 people of God then, whenever a trial meets them on 
 their path, confess in it the hand of faithfulness, and with- 
 out murmuring at the allotment, gird up their whole 
 strength to the work of endurance ? Shall not they who 
 see the necessity of the discipline of their earthly parents, 
 much more confess the wisdom and goodness of the dis- 
 cipline appointed by the Father of spirits? Should they 
 not regard his allotments, even when most painful, as 
 evidences of a Father's heart and a Father's care? as 
 proof that he is training them as sons and daughters for 
 honor and glory in his eternal kingdom ? 
 
 I observe, 
 
 3. From the trial of Abraham, the people of God may 
 derive encouragement in the hour of trial to endure 
 patiently the will of God. 
 
 For each trial, however severe or protracted, being 
 appointed by faithful love, in order to benefit and not 
 destroy, will come to a close : and when God appears to 
 bring it to an end, then to meet him with a spirit that has 
 held on to faith and obedience to the last, will bring a 
 harvest of delight to the soul, in possessing the appro- 
 
IO2 The Trial of Abraham, 
 
 bation of God, and sharing- with him in the gains of obe- 
 dience and the joys of deliverance, which will overbalance, 
 tar, all the pains of endurance. 
 
 Though his trial was not such as is common to man, 
 Abraham had to endure it but three days : and the faith, 
 with which he rested on God in those days of darkness, 
 satisfied his heart more at the time than the pleasures of 
 sin could have done : and when patience had completed 
 its work on the mount of sacrifice, what blessed results 
 arose to his soul at the coming of God ! There was the 
 consciousness of having done the will of God, at the 
 greatest earthly sacrifice: there was a feast of joy par- 
 taken with God in his testimony to faithfulness and in the 
 sweet experience of delivering grace : there w r as the sun- 
 light of hope casting its happy radiance over the future : 
 that made the very mount of sacrifice an emblem of the 
 heights of heavenly blessedness. Nor are the spiritual 
 results, which are gained by patient endurance, momen- 
 tary. They are treasured up in the ever living spirit ; 
 deposited among its memories, stored with its affections, 
 commingled with its joys forever. 
 
 Be encouraged then, child of God, whatever trial he 
 appoints thee, to endure it, with firm and patient submis- 
 sion to his will. If it seems severe ; if it seems protrac- 
 ted ; if thy heart is almost ready to faint within thee ; 
 hold on in faith and steady submission. The path he 
 appoints thee may seem dreary. There may be moun- 
 tains of difficulty to ascend. But trust in the Lord who 
 leads thee. Trust him for his wisdom. Trust him for his 
 kindness and mercy. Not beyond what thou art able to 
 bear, not without any way of escape, will he make thy 
 burthen. Hold on with patient endurance. The hour 
 of deliverance is to come. On the mount the Lord will 
 appear. And at his appearing, hope, love, joy, shall be 
 shed abroad abundantly in thy heart as the results of thy 
 patient endurance. 
 
 " Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, 
 
 The clouds you so much dread 
 Are filled with mercy, and shall break 
 With blessings on your head." 
 
The Trial of Abraham. 103 
 
 " Be patient therefore, brethren," under all the earthly 
 trials which may be appointed you, "unto the" final 
 "coming of the Lord." On the ways of this life, the will 
 of God made manifest in his precepts or his providence, 
 will appoint you trials, more or less severe. You may 
 pray that he would not lead you into them ; and while 
 they are upon you, that he would deliver you. You may 
 use all lawful and suitable means to avoid their occur- 
 rence ; to shorten their continuance ; to lighten their 
 burthen. Still, if you are his beloved children whom he 
 is training for heaven, you cannot avoid them utterly. 
 He will appoint them for discipline, and you must bear 
 them with patience. Think, whenever they come upon 
 you, of the faithful .love that appoints them, and of the 
 encouragements to endure. " Behold," in the examples 
 of those who have lived before us, " we count them 
 happy which endure." Their faith, though tried as gold 
 in the fire, is a treasure far more precious than gold, and, 
 through the refining, " will be found unto praise and 
 honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 
 
 And now, children of the apostasy, who have not yet 
 obeyed the call of God, and put yourselves under the 
 care and discipline of his grace, hearken to me. If severe 
 trials are thus appointed to those who accept the call of 
 God and walk in his ways ; if judgments must invade the 
 very sanctuary of his.grace for the correction of his peo- 
 ple ; if the sons and daughters of the Almighty, whom he 
 has adopted forever into his household, cannot be saved 
 without scourging: what will the end be of those who 
 obey not his call of mercy ; who refuse to take shelter in 
 his sanctuary ; who persist, as aliens and enemies, in 
 despising and trampling on all the orderings of his au- 
 thority ? . 
 
 Oh ! there is, one day, a burnt-offering to be made 
 greater than was commanded on Moriah ! The wicked 
 who refuse to return to God, who continue to despise the 
 orderings of his righteous will and to oppose his obedient 
 servants, shall all be assembled in his presence. Before 
 the great multitude of his saints, who have made their 
 
104 The Trial of Abraham, 
 
 peace and covenant with him through the great sin-offer- 
 ing presented on Calvary before this multitude of his 
 saints, will he show himself true : and, as for ages he has 
 forewarned the world, will he institute the great burnt- 
 offering that is to honor his long insulted justice. He 
 will whet his glittering sword. His hand will take hold 
 on judgment. No voice of mercy will on that day arrest 
 the stroke. His sword will devour the flesh, and be drunk 
 with the blood of the assembled hosts. A fire will be 
 kindled in his anger, which shall burn to the lowest hell. 
 And upon these flames, which are never to be quenched, 
 shall they be thrown, and the smoke of their torment 
 shall ascend as a perpetual burnt-offering before his king- 
 dom, to exalt his justice forever. 
 
 Will you pursue the pleasures of sin for a short season, 
 to be devoured in these flames? Will you not choose 
 rather to obey the will of God and suffer affliction with 
 his people for a little, that you may partake of their eter- 
 nal triumphs at his coming? 
 
 Behold he has set up his standard of salvation in the 
 midst of you. He is now calling to himself a people. 
 That call is resounding in your ears. Why linger ye? 
 Gather yourselves together now to the Lord of Hosts, 
 the Saviour of Israel. Fashion yourselves no longer 
 after your former lusts. Be holy, as he is who calleth 
 you. Put yourselves under his direction and care ; and go 
 iforward with his people, on the path of obedience and 
 trial, to their triumphant joy in his heavenly kingdom. 
 
UNION TO GOD AND HIS PEOPLE. 
 
 RUTH I, 15: 16. 
 BEHOLD THY SISTER-IN-LAW is GONE BACK UNTO HER PEOPLE AND UNTO HER 
 
 GODS : RETURN THOU AFTER THY SISTER-IN-LAW. AND RUTH SAID, INTREAT 
 ME NOT TO LEAVE THEE, OR RETURN FROM FOLLOWING AFTER THEE: FOR 
 WHITHER THOU GOEST, I WILL GO ; AND WHERE THOU LODGEST I WILL 
 
 LODGE : thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God. 
 
 THIS resolve of Ruth's was fixed : fixed in an iron 
 will ; a will not to be bent or broken from its purpose ; 
 yet conducting a gentle and affectionate heart to its 
 chosen fortunes with the people and into the service of 
 Jehovah. 
 
 This resolution of hers was intended to put away from 
 her all further entreaty or plea to the contrary ; and was 
 uttered as final : " intreat me not my God." 
 
 To estimate her resolution aright, we need to see what 
 thoughts were crowding upon her heart at the time she 
 uttered it, the thoughts that came rushing to her from 
 the history of her past life. Ten years before this period, 
 Naomi, with whom she was now journeying, had come to 
 Moab, having migrated thither with her husband and two 
 sons from the land of Judah, bringing with them the 
 knowledge of the true God. Elimelech, the husband of 
 Naomi, soon died : yet by the marriage of her sons with 
 Orpah and Ruth, two of the daughters of Moab, the 
 widow rejoiced in the affectionate hearts that were joined 
 to her family circle. Yet this happy scene was soon 
 broken up by the hand of death. Mahlon and Chilian 
 were gathered to their father, Elimelech, in the grave : 
 and over the last resting place of the father and sons 
 the widowed mother and her two widowed daughters-in- 
 law mingle the tears of bereavement and bitterness. 
 
 15 
 
106 JJnion to God and His People. 
 
 In this state of bereavement, Naomi resolved to return 
 to the home of her youth ; when Orpah and Ruth, with 
 truly filial affection, resolved to accompany her and share 
 with her the fortunes of life. When they commenced 
 their journey, Naomi, out of regard to the temporal wel- 
 fare of her daughters, besought them to go back and 
 remain with their kindred and friends : and kissed them 
 in token of bestowing her blessing and love on them at 
 parting. But they lifted up their voices and wept ; say- 
 ing, surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 
 Naomi again strenuously besought them not to accom- 
 pany her in their destitute and unprotected widowhood, 
 but to return to their acquaintances in Moab. The 
 thought of separation grieved them, and they lifted up 
 their voices and wept again. But Orpah, though grieved, 
 now acceded to the proposal of her mother ; and, sealing 
 her friendship at parting with a kiss, went back unto her 
 idolatrous countrymen. Ruth still clave unto her mother, 
 refusing to return ; and they proceeded on their journey. 
 But Naomi, as even pious parents are prone to be, was so 
 solicitous to ensure what appeared to be the temporal 
 interest of Ruth as to hazard her spiritual welfare, and 
 again urged her to return to her idolatrous countrymen, 
 beseeching her to unite herself to the society of her 
 now absent sister. But this last and strong appeal to the 
 affectionate heart of Ruth was not sufficient to move her 
 from her resolution. " Intreat me not," says she, " to 
 leave thee or to return from following after thee, for 
 whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest I 
 will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall 
 be my God." 
 
 There was much of filial affection, doubtless, in this 
 strong unyielding resolution of Ruth : but may we not 
 believe there was also the deep desire of spiritual improve- 
 ment? She resolved to give up her portion in the land of 
 idols and find it in the land of God. I will give up the 
 vain gods of my youth and the society of my idolatrous 
 countrymen, even that of my sister; and go and unite 
 myself to God and his people, asking a reception into the 
 
Union to God and His People. io/ 
 
 privilege of worshipping 1 and serving him in the congre- 
 gation of his people, even though it be as a proselyte of 
 the gate in the outer court of the Gentiles. 
 
 This noble resolution of Ruth to unite herself in resis- 
 tance to all entreaties and pleas to the contrary to the 
 people and to the God of Israel, and cast in her lot im- 
 movably with theirs, is worthy of the imitation of all to 
 whom, by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and 
 the presence of his Church, opportunity is given to form 
 the union. For in covenanting to take the Lord as our 
 God, and his people as our spiritual associates, as they are 
 offered to our acceptance, we enter into a union which 
 ensures our spiritual and perpetual well-being, while 
 withdrawal from such union necessarily subjects our whole 
 being to the endurance of evil. Our subject will be the 
 grounds which justify such a firm resolve, as they are set 
 forth in the blessings of spiritual fellowship with God and 
 his people, and the evils necessarily consequent on with- 
 drawal from that fellowship. 
 
 i. Holy fellowship with God and his people is a source 
 of the purest friendship : that of God and his saints. In 
 the weakness that attaches to us as finite beings and the 
 dangers that surround us from temptation and sin, what 
 a value is there in pure friendship ! In this selfish world 
 the possession of a single friend who is pure in his love, 
 who is devoted to our spiritual welfare, and who will 
 adhere to us in all the changes of our condition, is a 
 greater blessing than all earthly treasures in comparison. 
 What an unspeakable blessing then is it, to enjoy the 
 friendship of God and his saints ! Yet if we unite our- 
 selves to the people of God, they are our friends. They 
 pledge themselves to be our friends in all circumstances 
 of our condition. We are sure, as one with them in the 
 bonds of Christ, of receiving their sympathy in our trials, 
 the aid of their counsels and prayers in our wants and 
 dangers, and their countenance and cooperation in our 
 labors of benevolence. If we unite ourselves to God, 
 this glorious Being is our Friend and Father. He pledges 
 to us in sacred covenant his holy and unchangeable friend- 
 
io8 Union to God and His People. 
 
 ship. His eye of omniscience is ever on us for good, his 
 ear is open to our cries, his hand of power is around us 
 for our protection, his wisdom instructs and guides us, 
 his mercy blots out our iniquities in free forgiveness, his 
 grace sanctifies and saves our souls. His heart of fatherly 
 love is intent on our welfare, his Son is our advocate and 
 head, his Holy Spirit is our gracious indwelling Com- 
 forter, the witness and seal of his love. 
 
 Is not the very possession of such a sympathizing friend- 
 ship, flowing to us from the heart of God, and the hearts of 
 his people, a rich treasure of joy ? The very feeling that 
 God, and that, as far as they know us, his spiritual house- 
 hold, are not only at peace with us, but tenderly sympa- 
 thize \vith us in our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows, 
 throws a sweet solace over the trials of the present state, 
 sheds full joy into the cup of present blessings, and is 
 one of the elements of the cloudless and overflowing 
 pleasures of heaven. 
 
 2. Holy fellowship with God and his people leads to the 
 most exalted employments of benevolence. What a rich field 
 of benevolent employment is set before us in fellowship 
 with God and his people. We are in a world that God 
 has made, filled with immortal beings, over whom he has 
 exercised a kind providence and righteous government, 
 who yet have wandered from his worship and service 
 into the ruinous blindness and perverseness of sin. In 
 such a world God is redeeming a people to himself by 
 his Son and Spirit, diffusing abroad the light of spiritual 
 knowledge, the healing influence of sanctifying power. 
 In maintaining fellowship with God and his people, there- 
 fore, it is our exalted and worthy employment to promote 
 this work of God that redounds to his glory and human 
 salvation. His wisdom has contrived and set before us 
 the means on which our own faculties may be wisely em- 
 ployed, his grace has set before us the field into which 
 we may enter and where we may reap a glorious harvest 
 of good to his praise. And how is the joy of this benevo- 
 lent employment heightened by conscious unity with 
 God and his people. If by any means I am an instrument 
 
Union to God and His People. 109 
 
 of converting a sinner from the error of his ways or of 
 strengthening- a Christian brother in the way of the Lord, 
 I have done it not alone, but as one with God and his 
 people: and I know, not only that joy is imparted to the 
 individual but that the event will cause benevolent joy to 
 the holy brethren who hear of it, that it gives joy to the 
 heart of the Eternal Father, and that God, from whom all 
 grace proceeds, will be honored in consequence with an 
 increasing tribute of praise. In this field of benevolent 
 employment I appropriate to myself too the joy of what 
 God and his people clo in the same work. The object is 
 one: and when I meditate on God and see the wisdom 
 and power and goodness and righteousness he exercised 
 in the original creation, and the goodness and super- 
 abounding grace he manifests in the new creation by 
 Jesus Christ, what joy his infinite heart takes in his works 
 and what joys flow from them to the hearts of his holy 
 and redeemed Creatures, I am supremely blessed in his 
 blessedness, I adore him for his wisdom and goodness, I 
 praise him for the help and the blessings imparted from 
 his throne to his dependent creatures. So, too, in -this 
 blessed field of benevolence, which is one alike in all pla- 
 ces and in all ages, when I contemplate what any of his 
 servants have done in past ages, or hear of what they are 
 now doing in distant places, or see what the} 7 are doing 
 around me, to promote in the earth the glorious cause of 
 God, I rejoice in their joy and success and in the healing 
 light of their example; and, for it all, I thank the God of 
 grace. 
 
 This deep, ever flowing and ever increasing source of 
 joy, is opened to us in that cause of benevolence for which 
 God has associated with himself a peculiar people, zeal- 
 ous of good works. In the results that flow from this 
 benevolent union, our hearts may at times overflow with 
 joy, even here in this world, while in the field of labor 
 and trial, while far from our Father's house, while imme- 
 diately surrounded but by few of his people, and opposed 
 by the armies of the aliens. What then shall be the joy 
 of the benevolent laborers, when they shall have all come 
 
1 1 Union to God and His People. 
 
 in from their fields of toil to their Father's house in 
 heaven, bringing their sheaves with them from the four 
 winds, shouting the harvest home ! 
 
 3. Holy fellowship with God and his people leads to 
 our own spiritual improvement. It is in union to the 
 Church of Christ only that we can expect to receive 
 spiritual edification, to persevere and grow in grace, and 
 increase in the knowledge of Christ. For Christ has 
 introduced into this body, ordinances and means of grace 
 designed for their use and edification. He has appointed 
 his holy sabbath as a day for their assembling, a day 
 hallowed to sacred rest and holy contemplation ; he has 
 given them his word abounding in the instructions of his 
 own wisdom and love ; he has given them the privilege of 
 uniting their hearts together at the throne of all grace in 
 prayer and praise ; he has instituted for them the public 
 ministry of his word by teachers and pastors ; he has 
 appointed their mutual watchfulness or united censure for 
 wholesome discipline ; he has appointed the ordinance of 
 his supper as' a memorial of his death and sufferings, at 
 which they may, in humble, thankful meditation, feast 
 together upon his love. These means, his wisdom and 
 love have introduced into his church for the perfecting of 
 the saints, for the edifying of his body, till they all come 
 in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son 
 of God, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
 Christ. 
 
 Nor shall we fail to persevere and grow in the spiritual 
 graces of faith and charity, if, in spiritual union to God 
 and his people, we faithfully apply those means which his 
 grace appoints and his Spirit blesses to edification in holi- 
 ness. We shall go forward to fresh victories over sin and 
 temptation. We shall gather fresh strength to run in the 
 ways of God. Our love shall abound yet more and more, 
 and increase in wisdom and prudence and understanding. 
 
 And how rich a source of joy is it to be transformed 
 into the glorious image of the Lord from glory to glory : 
 to grow up to him in all things who is the Head of all 
 wisdom and goodness and in whom all fullness dwells : 
 
I'll ion to God and His People. 1 1 1 
 
 who is the pattern of all excellence and the admiration 
 and joy of all heaven ! 
 
 These spiritual attainments and ornaments will be all 
 our own: the very habits of our souls: inwrapped with 
 the very faculties of our natures ; which, unlike external 
 possessions, no enemy can ever wrest from us ; and which 
 shall be like wells of water within us springing up unto 
 everlasting life and joy, increasing the tide of our blessed- 
 ness here and forevermore. 
 
 4. Holy fellowship with God and his people conducts 
 us to an eternal feast of joy in the kingdom of God in heaven. 
 There shall we be presented faultless in the presence of 
 God and his saints at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ : purified from sin and all its evil inclinations ; 
 adorned with perfect rectitude and love. There in the 
 new Jerusalem above, shall we be gathered to the innu- 
 merable company of angels, the general assembly of the 
 Church, the Mediator of the new covenant, 'and God the 
 Judge and Father of all, and taste the sweets of their 
 combined friendship and mingle in their exalted em- 
 ployments of benevolence, without a trial or enemy to 
 disturb us more, to all eternity. There all the scattered 
 rills of joy that pass to refresh us here below, shall meet 
 and commingle into one unbounded ocean of blessedness. 
 There shall the heart of Christ overflow with joy in reap- 
 ing the rich harvest of his former sufferings, and all 
 heaven exult in his joy and echo with his praise. There 
 shall the Eternal Father rejoice with all his holy ones in 
 having fully answered the prayer which his Son offered to 
 him in the days of his humiliation. ' Father, I pray for 
 those that believe in me, that they all may be one, asthou, 
 Father, art in me and I in thee : that they all may be one 
 in us.' And before his awful throne shall the nations of 
 the saved and glorified bow with joyful adoration and 
 praise. The Church of God the bride of the Lamb is 
 there united in the closest bonds of love to her Lord and 
 Saviour, and heaven becomes as it were a marriage sup- 
 per of pure uninterrupted joy. 
 
 O ! what an exalted feast will this be to all the pure 
 
H2 Union to God and His People. 
 
 minds of the sanctified in heaven ! And should it not be 
 enough to bind our hearts with steadfast resolution to God 
 and his people here in this world of labor and trial and 
 temptation and sin? The thought and hope of it may 
 well yield us many a season of sustaining and refreshing 
 joy, while involved in the conflicts of faith and bearing 
 the heat and burden of our day of toil. It may well sus- 
 tain us with buoyant hope in that hour when, called from 
 this scene of trial, we must conflict with death, that last 
 enemy of the saints, and lay down these bodies amid 
 pangs and groans in the darkness of the corrupting grave. 
 And when beyond that dark valley we lift up our eyes 
 upon the light and glory of our Father's house in heaven, 
 our admission into this feast of love shall fill our immortal 
 spirits with triumphant and unending joy. 
 
 But I mentioned as grounds for cleaving with unshaken 
 purpose to the communion of God and his people, not 
 only the blessing to be derived from such fellowship, but 
 the evil we necessarily incur if we turn away from that 
 fellowship to the idolatry of the world. For if we turn 
 away from God and his people, we do not merely relin- 
 quish all hold on the sources of good that are offered us 
 in their fellowship : though this loss is unspeakably great, 
 utterly wasting to the immortal spirit, and forever 
 irreparable. We necessarily do more. We still exist. 
 The burning energies of life are within us. And if we 
 turn away from this portion, we shall cleave to another. 
 The world will absorb us. Its pleasures shall we seek. 
 Its lusts shall we fulfill. Estranged from God through the 
 blindness of our hearts, and aliens from his Israel, we 
 shall pursue our way of selfishness through the world 
 alone. Yet not wholly alone. We shall be associated 
 with that portion of God's universal kingdom, who have 
 gone off from him in guilty revolt ; who, having broken 
 from the bands of his wholesome authority and trampled 
 on his benevolent laws, and expecting to reap nothing 
 from him but indignation and wrath, hate him, and hate 
 the people whom he saves ; who are truly hateful them- 
 selves, and who in their selfish malice hate one another. 
 
Union to God and His People. \ 13 
 
 What evils face us if we turn away from God and his 
 people, and associate ourselves, under Satan the prince of 
 darkness and the god of this world, with the multitude 
 of his followers! 
 
 What is their friendship ? It is not solicitous for our 
 real welfare. It would bind us only to their selfish, sin- 
 ful, malicious purposes. It seeks our subservience to sin, 
 and in that very way plots and designs our ruin. 
 
 What is their employment? It is self-seeking, that is 
 cursed in the doing, that is cursed in witnessing the guilty 
 subservience of others, that breaks out in a war of mutual 
 wrath and malice when subservience is refused, or that 
 combines only in a greater and more absorbing passion of 
 malice to war against God and his saints. 
 
 What is their influence ? The heart is hardened yet 
 more and more. The feelings are combining more and 
 more into one blaze of malice. The marks of reproba- 
 tion thicken upon the wandering outcast. He is fitted for 
 wrath. 
 
 And what is the result? He and the whole body to 
 whom he has become leagued are summoned before God 
 the Judge ; and there, as those who have made shipwreck 
 of their souls, are they cast off from him and his people, 
 as disturbers of the peace, a useless and mighty wreck, 
 into the depths of hell. And there the fires of malice will 
 burn with anguish, and burn, and burn, to eternity. 
 
 O ! is it not a weighty reason to unite ourselves to God 
 and his people, that we cannot give up the blessedness of 
 this fellowship, except on the dreadful alternative of 
 taking up our final portion with the wicked ? Shall we 
 give up our portion in heaven and its feast of love, and 
 take it in hell and its fires of malice ? 
 
 From our subject I remark, 
 
 i. They who are already united to the Lord and his 
 people, should cleave to this privilege as their highest 
 honor and joy. 
 
 For this fellowship involves in it all their happiness, 
 their spiritual improvement and hopes for eternity, and 
 apart from it there is no portion in the kingdom of God, 
 
 16 
 
1 14 Union to God and His People. 
 
 but utter perdition. And who, in such a wide alternative, 
 should hesitate on which side to take his portion ? 
 
 Are there trials attendant on your duties ? But, by 
 neglecting your duties, you will not fail to encounter 
 trials and severer trials still : and where can you find 
 solace and support under trials like that which is offered 
 you in the communion of the Holy Spirit ? 
 
 Are there aliens from God and his Israel around you, 
 that would oppose you and put you to shame ? Fly then 
 to the friendship of God and his holy ones, which is one 
 day to crown you with glory and cover all his enemies 
 with shame, nor dare, for the sake of receiving present 
 honor from man, to be confounded in the coming day 
 of Christ. 
 
 Are there trials from the want of charity in the people 
 of God ? Alas ! that children of the same father, in the 
 world of their trials and labors, should ever fall out by 
 the way or withdraw the heart from sympathy and love ! 
 Yet imperfect as Christian fellowship is in this world, it is 
 a purer and sweeter bond than is known to the wcrld, and 
 soon it will be perfected in heaven, and you and your 
 fellow Christians will have but one heart of warm and 
 undying charity in the house of your Father on high. 
 
 Are there chastenings from the hand of the Lord ? But 
 these are wholesome remedies which his friendship ad- 
 ministers for our spiritual improvement, to work in us the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness. We are now chastened, 
 that we may not be condemned with the world. Why 
 then shall we not be subject to the Father of Spirits and 
 live? 
 
 Cleave then, brethren, partakers of the heavenly call- 
 ing, to communion with God and his saints. Walk 
 worthy of him as his dear children, and of your high 
 vocation : inviting, by your faith and prayers and Chris- 
 tian love, the presence of the communing Spirit. For ye 
 are called in one hope of your calling : and there is one 
 Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all. 
 
 2. The friends of God should ardently seek that con- 
 verts may be gathered from the world and added to the 
 Lord and his church. 
 
Union to God and His People. 1 1 $ 
 
 For the world is going forward in alienation from God 
 and his Israel, hardening in guilt and ripening for endless 
 ruin. And the joyful fellowship in Christ to which 
 believers cleave as their hope and joy, presents to these 
 children of sin and error the opportunity of a complete 
 and joyful redemption. 
 
 How then should the Spirit of their Lord who was 
 willing to leave his throne and joy, and to sacrifice him- 
 self on the cross for the redemption of the guilty and 
 lost how should the Spirit of their Lord shine forth in 
 their example before the world, and be breathed forth in 
 their intercourse, to win souls to salvation ! 
 
 Let them go to the wandering sinner in a spirit of love 
 that longs for him in the fellowship of the Spirit and in 
 the mercies of Christ, and spread before him the invita- 
 tion of Christ that he come to the free and rich feast of 
 the Gospel, and urge on him their own invitation ; saying, 
 Come thou with us and we will do thee good ; for the 
 Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. 
 
 Above all, let them seek in earnest humble prayer for 
 the presence of God and the outpouring of his Holy 
 Spirit. For it is when the Spirit is present with his peo- 
 ple, and they go forth in the power of his presence and 
 love to seek the lost, that the Spirit meets the lost also ; 
 convincing them of the righteous claims of Christ, of 
 their sin, and a coming judgment; and by his subduing 
 grace turns their feet into the ways of God and towards 
 the gates of his Zion. Thus saith the Lord : " Fear not, 
 O Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have 
 chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty 
 and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit 
 upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. And 
 they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the 
 water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and an- 
 other shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and an- 
 other shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord and 
 surname himself by the name of Israel." 
 
 Thus shall converts be gathered from the world : and 
 Zion rejoice in the multitudes who flock to her gates of 
 salvation. 
 
1 1 6 ( 'nioji to God and His People. 
 
 And if there is a place in the Church where this bless- 
 ing is to be desired, or to be prized, more than in any 
 other, that place is here, and in similar institutions ; 
 which are the hope of the Church, the nurseries of her 
 future teachers, pastors, missionaries, guides, and her 
 ablest supporters and defenders. 
 
 3. The penitent and returning sinner should seek to be 
 united to God and his people in the bonds of spiritual 
 fellowship. 
 
 He is a child of sin and sorrow. He is in a world that 
 is short and fleeting. He stands on the verge of an eternal 
 state. He has loved worldly good as his idol. He has 
 Avandered in pursuit of it with restless agitations, and 
 found his hopes ever ending in disappointment. There 
 has been a void in his soul that has ached for some higher 
 and more exalted objects. There has been a sting of guilt, 
 wounding him for bis disobedience and disregard of his 
 Maker, even in the brightest scenes of his idolatrous en- 
 joyments. It is in such a condition that the Spirit of God 
 meets him and opens his eyes to look on himself and on 
 God, on this world and eternity, in the sober light of 
 truth. He sees the folly of his ways and the ruin to 
 which they lead. The world sinks in his esteem. It is 
 as a barren waste to his heart, and its idolized enjoyments 
 are seen as the illusions of sin, that lead on to death. He 
 now looks to God, and the reasonable service he requires 
 of his creatures ; and his heart begins to feel the risings 
 of desire and the kindlings of a new purpose to take the 
 Lord as his God, submitting all to his disposal and enga- 
 ging all in his service. The Spirit of God thus brings him 
 by a new birth into spiritual life. He now begins the life 
 of faith and charity. But shall he pursue his way alone ? 
 Shall he go forward to eternity as a solitary servant ? No. 
 God in his grace has provided better things for his chosen. 
 He gathers them into one body, in fellowship with his Son 
 and with one another ; that the whole body, united to 
 their Head and fitly joined together, may make increase, 
 unto the edifying of itself in love. Hither then is it the 
 privilege of the convert to turn, and seek in communion 
 
( r n ion to Cod and His People. 117 
 
 with God and fellowship with the saints the sympathy, 
 employment, instruction in righteousness, and eternal rest, 
 which he needs. This is a privilege which the new born 
 soul has sought and prized in every age ; and for which 
 many a one has risked all his earthly happiness. Like 
 Ruth, the child of idolatry who resolved to go and unite 
 herself to the people of God in their worship and fellow- 
 ship, they have resolved to find all their happiness in this 
 fellowship. 
 
 People of the living God ! 
 
 I have sought the world around, 
 Paths of sin and sorrow trod, 
 
 Peace and comfort nowhere found. 
 Now to you my spirit turns, 
 
 Turns, a fugitive unblest ; 
 Brethren ! where your altar burns, 
 
 Oh, receive me into rest ! 
 
 Lonely, 1 no longer roam, 
 
 Like the cloud, the wind, the wave ; 
 Where you dwell shall be my home, 
 
 Where you die shall be my grave ; 
 Mine the God whom you adore 
 
 Your Redeemer shall be mine ; 
 Earth can fill my soul no more, 
 
 Every idol I resign. 
 
 To those who, this day, seek admission into public fel- 
 lowship with Christ and this branch of his Church, I 
 would now say in their behalf, that we gladly welcome 
 you into fellowship with us in our joys and labors ; and 
 hope that you will find in your union to the people of 
 God a privilege that you will not cease to prize and 
 cherish till it be consummated in glory. 
 
 Come in, thou blessed of the Lord, 
 
 Oh come in Jesus' precious name ; 
 We welcome thee with one accord, 
 
 And trust the Saviour does the same. 
 
 Those joys which earth cannot afford, 
 
 We'll seek in fellowship to prove ; 
 Joined in one spirit to the Lord, 
 
 Together bound by mutual love. 
 
Ii8 Union to God and His People. 
 
 I will only add respecting the future, the exhortation 
 that you cleave with full purpose of heart to the Lord ; 
 that from this hour you go forward in the duties of reli- 
 gion in the strength of Christ. Let your future College 
 life be spent for God, your whole life on earth and your 
 life in eternity. Be sure that while you live on earth, you 
 live, and when you die, you die, in a state of true charity 
 and fellowship with God and his people. And then, where- 
 ever and whenever your graves shall be prepared, they 
 will be hallowed by the Saviour, and your name and me- 
 morial be on high. And, at the resurrection of the just 
 and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall hope 
 to meet you at that eternal feast of charity where conflict 
 and toil and separation shall be known no more forever. 
 
RAISING FROM THE DEAD THE WIDOW'S SON 
 
 AT NAIN. 
 
 LUKE VII: 1117. 
 
 THE Evangelist Luke begins his narrative of the event 
 by giving us the particular date of it in the ministry of 
 Christ, with these words: " And it came to pass the day 
 after, that he went into a city called Nain." If we look 
 back to the day referred to in this date, we shall be as- 
 sisted to fix on some of the circumstances of this journey. 
 The day before, it seems Jesus had come down from that 
 mount where he had spent the whole previous night in 
 prayer to God ; on which, after sending for his disciples 
 and calling them to his place of retirement, he chose the 
 twelve to be the constant attendants of his ministry, that 
 they might hear his instructions and be eye-witnesses of 
 his miraculous works : from which he descended awhile 
 to the plain to heal of their diseases multitudes gathered 
 from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of 
 Tyre and Sidon : and to ivhich, on seeing the great mul- 
 titudes that were assembled, he returned, that he might 
 give his instructions from an elevated stand to the vast 
 assembly ; on which occasion he delivered that discourse 
 which is so fully recorded by Matthew, and which has so 
 generally obtained the name of the Sermon on the Mount. 
 On this day of his descent from the mount he entered the 
 city of Capernaum, the place then of his residence in 
 Galilee : and there an application was made to him the 
 same day by a deputation of elders from some neighbor- 
 ing synagogue, that he would heal the servant of a Ro- 
 man centurion, who, it appears, was a devout proselyte 
 greatly beloved by the Jews for his piety and for his lib- 
 
I2O Raising from the Dead the Widow s Son at Nain. 
 
 erality in building them a synagogue. The day of this 
 healing of the centurion's servant is the date to which 
 Luke immediately refers. It was the day after, and con- 
 sequently the day after the one on which he descended 
 from the mount of instruction that Jesus undertook this 
 journey to Nain. We are to place the journey at the 
 beginning of the second year of his ministry, soon after 
 his return to Galilee from the Passover, during the spring 
 or early summer. 
 
 He was not alone on the journey. A numerous throng 
 attended him on the way. " And many of his disciples 
 went with him and much people." The twelve, who, 
 doubtless, attended Jesus on this first tour after their ap- 
 pointment, are not distinguished in this account from the 
 " many disciples " who are grouped together as a class 
 distinct from the " much people." The latter are rem- 
 nants probably of "the great multitudes of people," who 
 the day before were assembled at the mount, from so 
 many parts of the country, to bring their sick to be 
 healed, or to see and hear Jesus; who, as Matthew testi- 
 fies, (iv. 25.) ' had come from Galilee, from Decapolis, and 
 from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jor- 
 dan ;' who, after hearing his instructive discourse, and 
 rejoicing in being healed or in witnessing the healing of 
 others, were desirous still longer to accompany him, that 
 they might hear more of his instructions and witness still 
 more of his wonderful works. 
 
 The city of Nain, towards which Jesus with this throng 
 of attendants now journeyed, lay in that part of Galilee 
 which was apportioned to Issachar, when Canaan was 
 originally divided among the tribes of Israel ; and in a 
 direction southwesterly from Capernaum, at a distance of 
 more than fifteen miles. Between the two cities, but on 
 the immediate borders of Nain, to the north, stood Mount 
 Tabor ; rising in one solitary cone to an elevation of 
 nearly three thousand feet, with a flat area of a mile in 
 circumference at its top, celebrated as a fortress of de- 
 fense, in war and an altar of devotion in peace, and after- 
 wards made the scene, as the current tradition of the 
 
Raising from the Dead the Widow s Son at Nain. 121 
 
 Church has reported, of the transfiguration. Between 
 this mountain and the city Nain, flowed the head waters 
 of the brook Kishon, which, running west across the 
 plain of Esdraelon to the foot of Carmel, glided along the 
 northern base of that whole mountain range to its termi- 
 nation in the waters of the Mediterranean. 
 
 As Jesus goes forward to execute his purpose of mercy, 
 instructing on the way the multitude that accompany 
 him, this mount of Tabor rests, in elevated grandeur, 
 before them ; concealing, behind its mass of soil and ver- 
 dure, the city whither they were tending. Lifting up its 
 lofty peak far into the blue heaven, it might well assist 
 the Master to elevate the thoughts of the whole company 
 to those heights above, where he had glory with the 
 Father before the world was ; whither, after he had closed 
 his humiliating mission on earth, he would ascend again ; 
 and to which, at the last day, he would elevate his follow- 
 ers, called forth from their graves, to dwell, above the 
 sins and sorrows of earth, in his presence forever. 
 Whether he made this a topic of his instructions on the 
 way or not; yet, surely, he who had passed so recently 
 a whole night in prayer on the mount near Capernaum, 
 and was soon afterwards transfigured on such an eleva- 
 tion, has set forth, to all his followers, the mountain top, 
 as an emblem of retirement from the sins and turmoils of 
 this evil world, and of approach in devotion to the glories 
 of the celestial King amid his worshippers in heaven. 
 But as, with this emblem of heavenly things in view, the 
 company listen on their walk to the discourse of Jesus, of 
 the kingdom of God among men, the mountain is soon 
 reached ; and, as they wind their way around its shadowy 
 base, the city of Nain emerges to their view, with its 
 walls and towers and dwellings, all shining joyously be- 
 neath the rays of one common sun, and resting quietly on 
 the surface of one common world. Yet, in those distant 
 habitations so quietly reposing among the works of God, 
 what different characters reside, of the pious and profane ; 
 what different scenes are enacted, of joy and sorrow ! In 
 one habitation the guilty, it may be, are holding their im- 
 
 17 
 
122 Raising from the Dead the Widow's Son at Xain. 
 
 pious revelry of riot and excess. In another, the pious 
 are rejoicing in the goodness and mercy of the God of 
 Abraham, and talking of their hopes in his promises. 
 Prosperity is gladdening the hearts there of some happy, 
 unbroken households. Adversity enters others ; and 
 hearts are grieved by losses, disappointments, bereave- 
 ments. Yet one dwelling there, is desolate and saddened 
 that day ; the object of special interest within the city 
 and which has drawn hither the all-seeing and compas- 
 sionate Saviour : for death has entered it, and the inmates 
 at this very hour are going forth in sorrow to bury their 
 dead. 
 
 It is the house where once a happy husband and wife 
 shared each other's joys and sorrows in that most en- 
 deared of unions : whose hearts had once throbbed to- 
 gether with parental joy over the birth of a first-born a 
 beloved son of their hopes. But that union had since 
 been dissolved by death : and the heart-broken wife, be- 
 reft of the counselor, the companion, the friend, on whom 
 she was wont to lean as the stay of her life, had been left 
 in her loneliness to shed the tear of sorrow over his 
 grave. But the son remained ; the object of her affection 
 and cares. And, faithful to the memory of the departed 
 parent, she had watched over the child, till now she saw 
 him, in early manhood, ready to assist her; to bear her 
 burdens ; to cheer her declining years, as onward she 
 traveled toward the grave. What hopes were placed in 
 this beloved son ! What a solace in him had God raised 
 up to soothe her widowed heart ! 
 
 But now a bitter pang has pierced her soul. This son, 
 her hope and solace, has sickened ; and, notwithstanding 
 all her assiduous watchings and care, has fallen beneath 
 the power of disease. He has spoken to her the last fare- 
 well of his heart, as he died ; and has left her alone in the 
 world, parted from all her once loved and happy house- 
 hold. The precious body of this only son, she was that 
 day to follow to the grave. Much people of the city were 
 touched with sympathy for her in her affliction. The 
 companions of her departed husband, the companions of 
 
Raising from the Dead the Widow's Son at Nain. 123 
 
 her son, many pitying friends, have come to her desolate 
 mansion, to accompany her on her way to the place of 
 burial. This mourning group were on their way, at the 
 time that Jesus with his disciples and the accompanying 
 multitude, drew nigh the city. As he looks towards the 
 gate, the train appears in sight bearing out the dead to 
 the sepulcher, situated, according to the custom of the 
 Jews, beyond the walls of the city. The whole scene is 
 presented to us in the following description of the histo- 
 rian, most beautiful for its classic brevity and its touching 
 simplicity : " Now when he was come nigh the gate of 
 the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the 
 only son of his mother, and she was a widow : and much 
 people of the city was with her." 
 
 What different thoughts and emotions actuate the com- 
 pany that move with Jesus and this company of mourn- 
 ers, as they meet ! The disciples and the multitude sur- 
 rounding the Master, have just come from the mount, 
 where, in prayer, in instruction, and in healing a great 
 multitude of their diseases, Jesus has drawn nigh the 
 Father and brought down his presence and power to the 
 earth. Many in this crowd, doubtless, are thankfully re- 
 joicing in recovery ; and all, disciples and others are 
 filled with thoughts of the presence and power of God in 
 this Galilean teacher. The sympathizing train of mourn- 
 ers, on the other hand, move slowly onwards. Thoughts 
 of the happy past, thoughts of the departed dead, 
 thoughts of the desolate survivor, are coursing over 
 their hearts, furrowing sadness there : and from some 
 pious sons and daughters of Abraham in that train, no 
 doubt, prayers of the heart are ascending to Jehovah 
 that in his holy habitation he would be the God and pro- 
 tecting Judge of this widow. 
 
 As the trains meet each other, the eye of Jesus, passing 
 in its direction over the whole melancholy group, fastens 
 on the chief mourner the object of all this sympathy 
 who is overwhelmed with sadness. His compassionate 
 heart is touched : and within it lies concealed that pur- 
 pose of mercy which, in part, had brought him hither, 
 
124 Raising from tlic Dead the Widow s Son at Nain. 
 
 and which would soon give back to her her lost treasure, 
 and cause the tears of grief to give place to smiles of 
 gladness. " And when the Lord saw her, he had compas- 
 sion on her, and said unto her, Weep not." These were 
 soothing words ; spoken by one who has power to reach 
 and to remove every source of tears. Nor did Jesus pass 
 by with the utterance merely of words of sympathy. 
 " And he came and touched the bier." On that support, 
 not with coffin as among the Babylonians and Egyptians, 
 but simply wrapped in folds of white linen after the man- 
 ner of the Hebrews for depositing in the sepulcher, rested 
 the body of the dead, borne of four. By touching the 
 bier, Jesus betokened his wish that the bearers and pro- 
 cession should halt on their way. " And they that bare 
 him stood still." All now wait in breathless expectation, 
 to see what this famed teacher designs. They have heard 
 doubtless of the many miracles he has wrought among 
 the living, and how he has called back the sick and faint- 
 ing from the very gates of the grave. But never, as yet, 
 for the resurrection of Jairus' daughter and of Lazarus 
 took place at a later period, has his voice reached be- 
 yond that barrier that separates between the living and 
 the dead ; between the lifeless body that remains and the 
 animating spirit that has departed. Yet his voice of om- 
 nipotence can pierce the shadowy realms of the dead, 
 and call back from thence the departed spirit to inhabit 
 again its forsaken body. That voice now issues the word 
 of authority : " And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, 
 Arise." * I say it,' that all may know that with me are 
 the keys of death and Hades ; ' I say it,' as having the 
 power of life and resurrection in myself: ' Young man, 
 Arise.' O, what a voice was that to fall on the heavy heart 
 of the mourning widow ! What a new train of thoughts 
 and emotions it awakens at once within her soul ! ' Can 
 it be that my darling child shall hear that voice and come 
 back to me again ?' * Can I again clasp his living form to 
 this aching breast, and receive again from his lips words 
 of respect and affection, and from his hands deeds of 
 kindness, to cheer the remnant of my life ?' That voice 
 
Raising' fro in the Dead the Widow s $on at Nain. 12 
 
 has gone forth. There are no shades of death so deep that 
 it cannot reach them. The spirit of the young man has 
 heard it, and has come back once more to the body. The 
 dead is alive again ; and before all he puts forth infallible 
 tokens of life. " And he that was dead sat up and began 
 to speak" : There was a muscular motion of the body, 
 in assuming this sitting posture, that seemed voluntary, 
 not spasmodic ; and that was proved to be such, by articu- 
 late speech, expressing the thoughts of a living, indwell- 
 ing soul. What he spake, we are not told ; but, while 
 sitting up in his grave clothes, looking on Jesus, on his 
 mother, on the astonished and awe-struck accompanying 
 multitude, whether he spoke of things in the sick room 
 he had recently left, or of the new circumstances in which 
 he now suddenly finds himself whether he spoke of 
 things in this world or in the eternal whatever were his 
 words he was a powerful preacher of Jesus and the 
 resurrection. 
 
 But this recovery was not for the moment merely : to 
 cast one gleam of joy and hope across a mourning heart, 
 and leave it to still greater gloom and disappointment 
 than ever. The historian adds : " And he delivered him 
 to his mother." Jesus, who, it was now manifest, held the 
 life of this young man in his own hand, either to dismiss 
 it again, that the body might be carried to the sepulcher, 
 or to retain it on earth for a further participation in the 
 social intercourse of the living, as he gave him to his 
 mother, assured her heart, it is probable in some form of 
 words : ' Receive thy son : return with him to thy man- 
 sion : and let the compassion of this hour prove a bless- 
 ing to thee for the remnant of thy days.' Nor was the 
 chief mourner and her son alone, affected by this wonder- 
 ful act of compassion. " And there came a fear on all." 
 The train that followed the dead out of the city, and the 
 train that followed Jesus on his visit to the city, are now 
 commingled in astonishment at the mighty power of this 
 resurrection. " And they glorified God, saying that a 
 great prophet is risen up among us : and that God hath 
 visited his people." Never, since the day that Elisha 
 
126 Raising from the Dead the Widow s Son at 
 
 raised up the child of the Shunamite, had any such thing 
 been seen in Israel. And justly did many in that multi- 
 tude conclude that, in the person of Jesus, God himself 
 was now present on some great purpose and errand of 
 mercy, to fulfill the covenant he had made to the fathers 
 respecting Messiah the King and the Saviour. The his- 
 torian closes the account of this miracle with these words, 
 " And this rumor of him" or rather this story of his 
 raising the young man of Nain from the dead, which I 
 have related " went forth throughout all Judea and 
 throughout all the region round about " ; i. e., Judea and 
 the surrounding region of Galilee. This wide spread 
 circulation of the story was to be expected. For not only 
 were the eyewitnesses very numerous, but in the train 
 that followed Jesus that day from the recent scene of the 
 mount of instruction there were inhabitants of all these 
 countries, who, with this wonderful story upon their lips, 
 were soon to be dispersed to their several homes ; so that, 
 wherever they went, they told their friends of the mighty 
 power and compassion of Jesus. 
 
 Among the instructions to be gathered from this scene 
 in the life of Jesus, I will present the following. 
 
 i. In this journey to Nain, Jesus presents to our imita- 
 tion an example of beneficence. While at Capernaum, he 
 saw with his omniscient ken the recent scene of death in 
 that city, and resolved to visit the place, and give relief 
 to the desolate heart of the mourning widow. Thither, 
 to fulfill his compassionate purpose, he directed his steps. 
 Unsolicited by any one, he went forth to accomplish the 
 impulses of his own generous heart. He sought out this 
 daughter of affliction in her sorrows. He went the whole 
 distance that he might show her kindness. And when 
 arrived in her presence, unasked by her or any of her 
 friends, he imparted relief freely ; and, by this unexpected 
 and surprising act of beneficence, made glad her deso- 
 late heart and the hearts of all her sympathizing friends. 
 So Jesus went about doing good among the people ; dis- 
 pensing freely to the needy and afflicted the gifts of his 
 benevolence. In this has he left us an example ; that we 
 
Raising from tJic Dead the Widow s Son at Nain. 127 
 
 should imbibe his spirit of generous compassion, and walk 
 in his footsteps of unwearied kindness. Not that we may 
 enter into those works of might and power that exceed 
 our natures and our powers to accomplish : but that, in 
 our measures and according to our opportunities, we 
 should seek the needy and suffering, and freely dispense 
 the gifts and offices of our charity for their temporal and 
 spiritual relief. 
 
 In a world of sin and trial, where guilt and suffering 
 surround us on every side, it is not by sitting quietly in 
 our homes weeping over the perusal of fictitious tales of 
 sorrow, nor by waiting to be sought and solicited by the 
 needy and suffering, nor merely by soliciting the aid of 
 our Father in heaven on their behalf, when we can dis- 
 pense substantial aid ourselves, that we follow the 
 example of Christ, so much as when, with compassion in 
 our hearts towards the suffering, we go forth, unasked, to 
 meet them in their wants, and freely dispense to them the 
 relief in our power. To this, the act of Christ that we 
 have considered calls us, as a guiding and inspiring exam- 
 ple, showing how blessed it is to give relief to others, and 
 to be a fount of temporal and spiritual blessing in this 
 ignorant, guilty, suffering world. 
 
 Go imitate the grace divine, 
 
 The grace that blazes like a sun ; 
 Hold forth your fair though feeble light 
 
 Through all your lives let mercy run. 
 
 2. From the scene at Nain we learn, that in Jesus we 
 have a sympathizing friend who can reach and heal every 
 source of sorrow. When he met the weeping daughter 
 of affliction in the depth of her sorrows, he spake those 
 words of solace with an accompanying energy that 
 removed the very fountain of her grief " Weep not." 
 These are cheering words to be brought down to this vale 
 of sin and sorrow, and to be left with us by one who came 
 from the heavenly throne with full powers of grace from 
 the Father and in his own person to relieve, and who has 
 ascended to the Father again to carry forward still his 
 works of mercy. 
 
128 Raising from the Dead t lie Widow s Son at Nain. 
 
 And what source of grief and tears among our fallen 
 race is there, that this Saviour cannot reach and heal ? 
 Not that he designs to remove every imperfection, every 
 burden, every trial, every sorrow, from the subjects of his 
 grace while they remain on the theater of this life. For, 
 as sin is the chief inlet of all our sorrows, and as to heal 
 the spiritual maladies of the soul and fit it for the holy 
 joys of heaven is the chief object of his grace, it is wisely 
 appointed, in favor of our spiritual recovery and for 
 moral improvement by discipline, that, while we remain 
 here, we should be subjected to trials, more or less severe. 
 Yet those soothing words from the Saviour "Weep not," 
 reveal to us in the Captain of our salvation a sympathiz- 
 ing Friend, who is conducting his followers through every 
 tribulation to final and complete deliverance. There is 
 no sorrow therefore which comes upon us, in which we 
 may not apply to him for sympathy and support, and 
 with the hope of a final deliverance. Is it sin and guilt 
 and remorse? Even from these his atoning blood can 
 cleanse us, to pacify the conscience and bring the peace of 
 divine forgiveness. Is it the moral disorders that still 
 remain in his people, to hinder their progress and inter- 
 rupt their joy in his service? To all these he is now 
 applying the remedies of his grace, that he may purify 
 his people, and bring them to spotless holiness in his pres- 
 ence in heaven. Is it the disappointments, the losses, the 
 bereavements, the sufferings of the present time, and the 
 uncertainties of the future, that distress our hearts and 
 open the fountain of our tears ? But in all these chang- 
 ing aspects of the present and uncertainties of the future, 
 he assures us that the eternal providence of his Father is 
 ever over his people for their good ; consulting their 
 highest welfare ; conducting them in the right way 
 to a glorious habitation of rest beyond all the storms 
 and changes of this mortal life. What though no man 
 is found able to unfold the book of providence and 
 read the destiny that hangs over the future ? Weep 
 not, as though all were uncertain. The Lion of the tribe 
 
Raising from the Dead the Widow's Son at Nain. 129 
 
 of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the 
 book. The fate of his kingdom on earth and of his people 
 after they pass the tribulations of this life, he, who hath 
 the keys of the eternal world, hath caused to be read 
 forth to us by one of his servants. " They are before the 
 throne of God, and serve him day and night in his 
 temple. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
 more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. 
 For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
 them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters." 
 " God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and 
 there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, 
 neither shall there be any more pain : for the former 
 things are passed away." 
 
 3. In this scene at Nain, Jesus revealed himself to be the 
 source of resurrection and immortal life to his people after 
 death. For the word of power which he spake that 
 day : " Young man, I say unto thee, Arise," reached 
 beyond the vale of death ; called back the departed spirit 
 to its lifeless remains ; and presented that young man, in 
 his re-animated body, on this theater of life again. This 
 stupendous miracle convinced the astonished witnesses, 
 that with Jesus was the power of resurrection and life. For 
 to the mourning train \vho could not have been deceived 
 as to the death of the young man, and to the train who 
 came with Jesus, who had evidently met this mourning 
 group without any collusion or plan formed between them 
 to deceive others to both, it was obvious that the words 
 of Jesus, " I say unto thee, Arise," were accompanied with 
 a divine energy and were the source of a resurrection to 
 life. The conviction was fastened deep on their minds. 
 They expressed it to one another, as they said, " A great 
 prophet is risen up among us " ; " God hath visited his 
 people." Through Judea and Galilee, when they dis- 
 persed, they spread the report with their testimony. And 
 this report, gathered from eyewitnesses by the diligent 
 inquiries of the historian Luke, was published at the time 
 and in the country in which the witnesses lived, without 
 any denial ; to make known to all lands and ages the 
 
 18 
 
130 Raising from the Dead t lie Widow's Son al Xain. 
 
 majesty and power of Jesus our Lord. Jesus therefore 
 was made manifest on that day and in this particular 
 miracle, as one who hath visited us in this world of 
 shadows and death with the power of life. The promises 
 he put forth, that he would convey his people to an im- 
 mortal life beyond the confines of the grave, and col- 
 lect them together, at his second appearing on this world, 
 again by resurrection these promises were shown at this 
 time to be true, not by miracle merely, but by the nature 
 of the miracle in which he triumphed over death by an 
 instance of resurrection, and by the manner in which he 
 claimed the power of life to be in his own hands: "/say 
 unto thee." As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he 
 given to the Son to have life in himself. The report first 
 went forth from Nain, that the dead had heard the voice 
 of the Son of God and lived. Nor need we marvel at 
 this: for it is but the foreshadowing of greater works that 
 are to follow. For he hath said, ".The hour is coming in 
 the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice 
 and come forth, they that have done good unto the resur- 
 rection of life, and they that have done evil unto the 
 resurrection of damnation." 
 
 Who then should not in these days, in which he waits 
 on us with the opportunities of salvation, believe on him ; 
 who holds in his hands the power of an ' everlasting life ' : 
 and who hath left to every believer the promise " I will 
 raise him up at the last day " ? Who should not believe 
 on him, and secure to his soul a spiritual life with him, 
 even now in this mortal estate, and beyond this life a 
 resurrection with him to immortal glory in heaven ? 
 
 4. Finally : The scene at Nain assists us to appreciate 
 the happiness that will attend on the meeting of pious 
 households after death. 
 
 That was a happy time when Jesus delivered the 
 dead, brought back again to life, to the embrace and 
 affection of his desolate parent ; when the mother and 
 son, whom death had parted amid sorrows, were thus 
 brought together again by a joyful resurrection. The 
 tears of grief gave way to those of joy, and the sympa- 
 
'Raising from tJic Dead t lie Widow's Son at Nain. 131 
 
 thizing multitude, who beheld the re-union, rejoiced in the 
 consolation and gave glory to God. But great as was 
 the joy, it was not complete. They met again here on 
 earth, amid the trials of this mortal state. They stood 
 together before Christ in his humiliation at the foot of 
 Tabor ; and not in his glory on its top, as did the glori- 
 fied Moses and Elias. 
 
 There was joy even in this meeting again after death : 
 but what was the joy compared to that fullness that shall 
 overflow the heart, when pious households, who have been 
 separated one after another by death, shall meet together 
 beyond all mortality and grief beyond all tempta- 
 tion and sin on those heavenly heights where, in his 
 glorified state, Jesus the Saviour shall receive his re- 
 deemed to himself, to behold his glory and to dwell in the 
 love of his Father forever. Happy indeed will it be for 
 those households that shall be all gathered there, with no 
 member missing ! And though no sorrow or fear shall 
 ever come up to those heavenly heights though all there 
 will be filled with the love of God and acquiesce in all his 
 dispensations yet methinks there will be a less degree of 
 joy in the heart of that parent, that child, that brother, 
 that sister, who looks around in vain for some of their 
 once loved circle. While sad indeed to the missing 
 and the absent will be their eternal parting and anguish ! 
 Let parents then, let children, let brothers, let sisters, as 
 they are soon to be parted from all their earthly inter- 
 course by death, and as they believe in the coming and 
 glory of the Lord Jesus, strive together in their prayers 
 and efforts in this life to promote each other's spiritual 
 welfare, so that they may reach at last a happy re-union 
 in his presence amid the unchanging glories of the hea- 
 venly state ! 
 
THE SCENE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION, AND 
 THE DISCOURSE OF JESUS WITH THE THREE 
 WITNESSING DISCIPLES AS THEY WERE 
 DESCENDING FROM THE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 MATT. XVII: 1-13 MARK IX: 2-13 LUKE IX : 28-36. 
 
 EACH of these sacred historians introduces his account of 
 this remarkable scene, by referring back to a conversation 
 which Jesus had held with the twelve, a week previously, 
 in the region of Cassarea Philippi. " After six days," say 
 both Matthew and Mark ; referring to the intervening 
 days : and Luke says, including the first and last day, " It 
 came to pass about eight days after these sayings " all 
 of them dating from that one conversation. There would 
 seem then to be 1 some connection between that conversa- 
 tion and this scene, which brought them together in the 
 minds of the inspired historians more closely than even 
 this short lapse of time. They both relate to the person 
 and impending fate of Jesus. In that conversation, Christ 
 had asked the twelve, ' Whom say the people that I 
 am?' And when, in answer to this question, they men- 
 tioned the various opinions they had heard expressed, he 
 asked them again, * Whom say ye that I am ? ' Peter 
 confessed that he was Christ, the Son of the living God : 
 upon which, Jesus enjoined silence in regard to any such 
 confession before the public at present it being prema- 
 ture ; but began a language he had never held with them 
 before, about the violent treatment and death he was soon 
 to suffer at Jerusalem, and his resurrection that was to 
 follow on the third day ; and respecting the trials which 
 were to be encountered by his followers, which it became 
 them to endure if they would have eternal life when he 
 
134 T/ic Transfiguration. 
 
 assumed his glory : which event he assured them would 
 take place during the lifetime of some of their number. 
 This week was one then of sadness and misgiving, it 
 would seem, to the apostles, in their apprehensions of the 
 future. Peter had exclaimed, in regard to the foretold 
 treatment of Jesus That be far from thee, Lord and was 
 left sad with the severe rebuke of his Master. 
 
 At a time then when the ministry of Jesus was soon to 
 close in death, and when his disciples were hearing from 
 his lips sad forebodings of what they were to endure, and 
 could scarcely comprehend what was meant by the inti- 
 mations of his death and resurrection and glory, it was, 
 that he himself and three chosen ones of his disciples were 
 favored with this partial foretaste of his glory. 
 
 The place in which the scene was laid was a mountain ; 
 the name is not given by either of the evangelists : but 
 Matthew and Mark call it a " high " mountain. The cur- 
 rent opinion of antiquity has fixed the scene on Tabor, 
 one of the loftiest mountains in the holy land. Yet many 
 of the moderns suppose it to have been Mount Hermon, 
 a lofty branch of the Anti-Libanus range ; because this 
 elevation was in the region of Cassarea Philippi, at the 
 head of the Jordan, where Jesus was, the week before, 
 when he began to speak of his approaching death at 
 Jerusalem. Yet as six full days had passed since that 
 time, it is possible surely that he should now be two or 
 three days journey south in Galilee, and the opinion of 
 antiquity may still be true, which fixes the scene upon 
 Tabor. But whether the lofty Hermon at the north, or 
 the lofty Tabor of the south, rejoiced in this visit of its 
 God, may remain in doubt, while we contemplate in faith 
 this great scene of the mountain top. 
 
 Jesus, before he ascended the mount, selected from the 
 twelve three only as his companions. He took a few, 
 probably as more consonant to retirement from men and 
 near approach to God and still a number competent to 
 give authoritative testimony. They were Peter, James 
 and John : Peter, the first called of the whole band, 
 whom he met on his arrival at the lake after his expulsion 
 
The Transfiguration. 135 
 
 
 from Nazareth, and James and John, the sons of his 
 paternal aunt, the wife of Zebedee : persons, whom he 
 seemed to have regarded with peculiar attachment, as his 
 most intimate friends among the twelve a feeling belong- 
 ing to human nature, even in the holiest and most liberal 
 and expansive in their benevolence ; persons, who before 
 had been selected from the band by him to be witnesses 
 in the room at the raising of Jairus' daughter ; and who 
 were afterwards his companions in that scene of agony 
 which he endured, on the night of his betrayal, in his last 
 retirement for prayer before his crucifixion, in the garden 
 of Gethsemane. 
 
 With these three chosen disciples he ascends the mount, 
 probably towards the close of day, or in the evening ; for 
 the glory, the cloud of light, the drowsiness of the dis- 
 ciples, and the declaration of Luke ix : 37, that they 
 descended from the mount the next day, all show that, 
 like the scene in Gethsemane, this also was a scene of the 
 night. At an hour when all nature seems retiring to 
 silence and rest on the care of its God, he. leaves the 
 presence and habitations of men, and seeks the high 
 mountain top, that he and his disciples may be apart by 
 themselves, with nothing but the wakeful eye and heart 
 of God turned toward them, that they may approach 
 more nearly and intimately into his presence in prayer. 
 There, with the broad heaven from which he came and 
 whither he was to ascend, spread over his head, and with 
 that world, which he came to save, wrapped in darkness 
 and sleep far beneath his feet ; there, looking forward to 
 that scene of agony soon to be encountered, which had 
 occupied his thoughts and the thoughts of his disciples 
 during the week that was past agony, through which 
 alone he was to reach again his exalted throne and raise 
 up with him from the earth a redeemed people ; there, 
 as a Mediator between heaven and earth, pressed with 
 impending trial, he pours out his soul for strength and 
 victory in breathings of fervent prayer unto his Father. 
 He prayed with strong crying and tears unto God, who 
 was able to deliver him, and he was heard in respect to 
 
1 36 The Transfiguration. 
 
 that which he feared ; and, to encourage his heart, he 
 was, for a few moments, invested by the father with a 
 shadow of the glory to which he was to be permanently 
 exalted after enduring his agonies. " As he prayed, the 
 fashion of his countenance," says Luke, " was altered " 
 " became another" : Matthew and Mark say that " he was 
 transfigured " " passed beyond the form or figure he 
 had to another " " was transformed." The change how- 
 ever was not to a form so essentially new in the mould 
 and outlines as not to be still clearly recognized by the 
 disciples as that of Jesus. But the expression passed 
 from the former lines of earthly care to the glow of 
 godlike majesty and serenity : and, instead of the faint 
 reflections cast upon it from the stars before, that made it 
 barely visible, it has now become self-radiant with light 
 as a sun. The brief description given of his altered 
 appearance is the following : " His face did shine as the 
 sun " (Matthew). " His raiment became shining, exceed- 
 ing white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white 
 them " (Mark). His face glowed with a golden radiance 
 as of the sun, and his raiment was shining in a pure white, 
 beyond the brilliancy of the sun-light reflected from the 
 snow. This visible form of light and majesty was the 
 same as that in which, after his ascension, he was seen by 
 John in his vision at Patmos and was now a temporary 
 representation, to himself and the disciples, of the splen- 
 dor of his heavenly and eternal state. As this glory 
 passed upon his person, suddenly he was visited from the 
 heavenly world by Elijah, who nine hundred y ears before 
 was translated to that world, and by Moses, who more 
 than fifteen hundred years before had been taken away 
 from Israel on Nebo. " Behold there talked with him 
 two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in 
 glory " themselves radiant in their glorified forms. The 
 subject of the conversation is mentioned by Luke. They 
 " spake of his decease which he should accomplish at 
 Jerusalem." The term which the evangelist uses, it is to 
 be remarked, is not death, but departure out of the world 
 exodus. The conversation therefore extended beyond 
 
The Transfiguration. 137 
 
 the agony of the death he was to suffer, to the exodus he 
 was to make, as the leader of his ransomed, beyond this 
 world of trial to the world of eternal rest. The subject 
 was the eternal glory he would obtain to himself through 
 the sufferings of his departure and how in that hour also 
 he would conquer sin, death and hell, the foes of his 
 people, and ever after rejoice in witnessing their eternal 
 escape and redemption. The great lawgiver who had 
 conducted Israel from their earthly bondage to Canaan, 
 and had bidden them expect on x their land the coming of 
 this Saviour, and an eminent one in the line of those 
 prophets, who taught Israel for a succession of ages to 
 look forward to him as their hope, seem deputed .at this 
 hour from the heavenly world, as appropriate messengers, 
 to bear to Jesus an expression of the hopes which the 
 Church of the first-born in heaven are all reposing on 
 him as they wait for him to come among them after the 
 hour of his sacrifice, a triumphant Saviour, establishing 
 them in their justified and glorified state to eternity. 
 They may also point to the long train of believers in the 
 Christian Church whom they will yet see gathered to their 
 company in heaven, as the fruit of his sufferings, in the 
 coming ages of his reign. We have not been permitted 
 indeed to hear the particulars of that deeply interesting 
 conversation : but doubtless, at that hour of foretaste of 
 his future glory among his redeemed people in heaven, 
 fresh courage and strength was infused into his heart to 
 go forward to endure that sharp conflict, out of which he 
 was to pass into such exalted glory and joy forever, and 
 by which, as at the triumphal exodus of Moses out of 
 Egypt, he was to conduct the people of God in all ages 
 to a permanent habitation in the heavenly Canaan. 
 
 But before this strange change had passed upon the 
 person of the Saviour, and before the arrival of these 
 heavenly visitants while yet he was pouring out his soul 
 in prayer, and was covered with the shades of night and 
 distress the disciples, it seems, fell asleep, as afterwards 
 they did in Gethsemane. During this momentary sleep 
 of the disciples, as Luke apprises us, the change took 
 
 19 
 
138 The Transfiguration. 
 
 place : and, as they awake, this new scene is spread forth 
 in its glory. " But Peter and they that were with him 
 were heavy with sleep ; and when they were awake, they 
 saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him." 
 They were waked probably by the sudden gleam of light 
 that shone around them and illuminated the mountain 
 top ; and beheld with surprise their Lord, all shining in 
 this glorious state, and at his side two heavenly attend- 
 ants, resplendent in glory. They wait in breathless 
 silence, as they hear these heavenly visitants converse 
 with their Lord, and as they learn from, the conversation 
 their names and the stations they occupied while in the 
 earthly Church. In this state of astonishment, as if in a 
 species of ecstacy at the glory of his Lord, Peter ven- 
 tures to exclaim to Jesus : " Master, it is good for us to 
 be here ; and let us make three tabernacles " alluding to 
 the booths or arbors constructed of the branches of thick 
 foliaged trees, in which the Jews resided during the joy- 
 ous feast of the tabernacles " one for thee, and one for 
 Moses, and one for Elias." For the moment, he felt that 
 he never wished his Master to descend from this heavenly 
 state to earthly cares and trials again, and would forever 
 stay there himself in such heavenly society. But the 
 historian represents him as " not knowing what he said." 
 In making his strange proposal to Jesus, the same feeling 
 was manifest that had received, a week before, the rebuke 
 of his Master the desire that it should be far from Jesus 
 to undergo a violent death at Jerusalem, and leave his 
 followers to encounter the hostility of the world. 
 
 But no sooner has Peter uttered these emotions, than a 
 new appearance attracts the attention of the astonished 
 disciples. The emblem of the presence of the Eternal 
 Father a dense cloud, whose whole surface is radiant with 
 light, appears, enveloping Jesus and his attendants, and 
 circling round the more distant disciples with its massy 
 folds. u While he thus spake, there came a cloud and 
 overshadowed them, " says Luke ; "a bright cloud," says 
 Matthew, " overshadowed them : and behold a voice out 
 of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom 
 
The Transfiguration. 139 
 
 I am well pleased : hear ye him." This testimony from 
 the Father enforced upon the disciples the instructive 
 lesson they were to receive from the scene they now wit- 
 nessed that Jesus was the beloved Son of God, who, as 
 sole Heir to his estate and kingdom, was to be exalted to 
 the head of the whole creation : in whose conduct, as a 
 Redeemer come on earth to make known the Father to 
 men and to endure the suffering's of the cross to sustain 
 his righteousness in the salvation of his people, he, the 
 Father, was well pleased : and whose voice of instruction 
 they were to regard as speaking forth his will, with a 
 personal authority greater than that of Moses and the 
 prophets, who were mere servants to him, the gre.at Son 
 and Heir. Thus, in that glimpse of the heavenly state, 
 in which Christ shone as head over Moses and Elias, and 
 in this voice from the excellent glory, in which the Father 
 placed him at his own right hand as his Son and Heir to 
 his throne, the disciples and Jesus were together assured, 
 that he was conducting his people as their Head to an 
 everlasting kingdom. 
 
 But as this cloud of glory invested all, and as this voice 
 was uttered, the disciples for a while seem overpowered 
 with their emotions. " They feared, as they entered into 
 the cloud " (Luke). " And when the disciples heard it," 
 the voice (Matthew) " they fell on their face and 
 were sore afraid." And as they were thus dismayed 
 with the terror of the divine majesty, " Jesus came and 
 touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid." This 
 well known voice of their friend re-assured their hearts. 
 " And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no 
 man, save Jesus only." The glory and terror of the scene 
 were past : and again they were alone with Jesus, and he, 
 their familiar friend, clothed as before in the common garb 
 of humanity. They were prepared now to descend again 
 to the world they had left, and enter on the duties and 
 trials that were to intervene before they reached the hea- 
 venly state. " And as they came down from the moun- 
 tain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no 
 man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead " 
 
1 40 TJi c Tra nsfign ra t io n . 
 
 (Matthew). The reason for this injunction of silence till 
 that period may have been, that their testimony would at 
 that future time be more credible than now to the multi- 
 tude, and be less apt to excite jealousy in the less favored 
 disciples who were not present. In regard to the injunc- 
 tion Luke adds, " And they kept that saying with them- 
 selves, questioning one with another what the rising from 
 the dead should mean" : involved in this perplexity proba- 
 bly, because they as yet held to the idea of a temporal 
 kingdom, and were unwilling to admit the thought of the 
 death of their Lord. But after this injunction of silence 
 was given, the disciples asked Jesus the following ques- 
 tion : " Why then say the scribes that Elias must first 
 come ? " The connection of this question with the pre- 
 vious injunction of silence is of this kind. Elias has come 
 from heaven, as we have just seen, upon the mount. The 
 scribes constantly say, that Elias will re-appear on earth 
 before Messiah comes, and that he will prepare the people 
 for his kingdom ; and now they plead his non-appearance, 
 as a reason for rejecting thee. Why do they say that 
 Elias must first come ? Is it not true ? Why then may 
 we not tell this vision, and assure them that Elias has 
 come ? Is he to come again in a more public and solemn 
 manner ? The answer of Christ is to this effect ; that the 
 scribes have erred, in concluding that the prophetic Elias 
 that was to come is literally Elijah the Tishbite, whom 
 these disciples have now seen on the mount : and that, 
 involved in this error, they have rejected the true Elias, 
 who has already come heralding the Messiah, and would 
 in like manner also reject and condemn him, the heralded 
 Messiah. " Jesus answered and said unto them : (Matt.) 
 Elias truly shall first come and restore all things. But I 
 say unto you, that Elias has come already, and they knew 
 him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed : 
 likewise also shall the Son of Man suffer of them. Then 
 the disciples understood that he spake to them of John 
 the Baptist." In this manner was the glorious scene of 
 the mount ended, and Jesus and the three came down 
 again, to unite with the whole band of the disciples. 
 
The Transfiguration. 141 
 
 From this scene of the mount of transfiguration, we 
 may derive the following lessons of practical instruction. 
 
 i. It assures us of a heavenly glory obtained by Jesus 
 for all the people of God, to which we should aspire 
 as our final home. At that hour a brief foreshadowing 
 of the heavenly world was brought down to the mount, 
 and all that glory centered around and upon Jesus as 
 its Author and Source. His altered visage wore the 
 glory, that was to shine forth from him on the throne 
 of God. Moses and Elias came down from- heaven, 
 showing that they had existed in a glorious state in 
 heaven since they left the world, and that they and all 
 believers, who looked forward in preceding ages to the 
 coming of Christ as their Saviour, were, resting on his 
 decease at Jerusalem as the foundation of their accept- 
 ance with God. Three of the apostles were there to 
 witness the glory of that Lord, whom they were follow- 
 ing in faith, and whom they were to proclaim one day 
 to the wide world, as the Author of eternal salvation. 
 And soon around all and over all, the cloud of divine 
 glory rested, and the voice of the Eternal Father pro- 
 nounced over Jesus, and to the representatives of heaven 
 and earth, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased : hear ye him.' 
 
 Who, on that mountain top, could doubt that there is a 
 heavenly glory beyond this life for the people of God, 
 and that Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father, was ap- 
 pointed to procure it for them, as their immediate Head 
 and Lord? But the glory of that hour, which strength- 
 ened Jesus on his own way to death and victory, and 
 which set him forth to his attendants as the Hope of 
 Israel, was sealed up in silence to the hour of his resur- 
 rection. The three favored apostles pondered the vision, 
 and the words of Christ as to his death and resurrection ; 
 but no man on earth, not any of their fellow apostles, 
 heard of the scene till after it was fulfilled in the kingdom 
 of God. But when apostles, having attended Jesus till 
 after his death and exodus by a glorious ascension to the 
 throne, went forth everywhere to preach him crucified, as 
 
142 The Transfiguration. 
 
 the Author of eternal life, this scene was made known as 
 among the evidences he left that he had gone into heaven, 
 having obtained eternal redemption for his people. Peter, 
 the apostle most prominent in that scene as a speaker, has 
 left us this testimony concerning it ; when, at an advanced 
 period of life, expecting shortly to put off this tabernacle, 
 he thus exhorted those who had obtained like precious 
 faith through the righteousness of God our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. " Brethren, give diligence to make your calling 
 and election sure : for so an entrance shall be ministered 
 unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For we have not fol- 
 lowed cunningly devised fables, when we made known 
 unto you the pcyvver and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received 
 from God the Father honor and glory, when there came 
 such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my 
 beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice 
 which came from heaven we heard, when we were with 
 him on the holy mount." 
 
 What a glorious world beyond this life is thus opened 
 to our faith and hope, where the Eternal Father and his 
 Son Jesus Christ shine forth as its fadeless light, and 
 where the ransomed of all ages are gathered together to 
 dwell before the cloudless throne in joy and love forever ! 
 What a mercy to our world, that lay enwrapped in the 
 shades of death and endless night, that the Son of God 
 has visited it from on high ; that, by his decease at Jerusa- 
 lem, he has parted the vail of eternity and opened for us 
 sinners a w r ay into the kingdom of heaven ; that he has 
 caused the radiance of that eternal world to fall on us to 
 attract our hearts, and bidden us follow him on the way, 
 that we may find our everlasting home and treasures there 
 with him and his Father. Let us fix the eye of faith and 
 hope intently on that state of glory. Let us seek earnestly 
 to secure within it our final dwelling. Let us fear lest any 
 of us seem even to come short of so glorious a kingdom ! 
 
 From this scene in the life of Jesus, we learn, 
 
The Transfiguration. 143 
 
 2. That when the duties and trials which we are to en- 
 counter on the way to heaven press heavily on our minds, 
 we should seek relief and strength in prayer. 
 
 Jesus thus, when the suffering which the Father had 
 appointed him to endure at Jerusalem began to weigh 
 sorely on his mind and was broached by him to his disci- 
 ples, betook himself to prayer. He retires apart from men, 
 in the shades of night, to the mountain top, to pour out his 
 soul to God for strength. That work which concerned 
 the glory of his Father above and the salvation of the 
 world below, and which rested upon him to achieve so 
 soon, was a burden he sought strength to bear. And 
 while he pleads with fervent desires for strength to ac- 
 complish his task and secure the glorious rewards of vic- 
 tory, the Father hears ; and strengthens his heart with 
 foretastes of the personal glory he will win, and the joy 
 he will occasion the ransomed, by his decease at Jerusa- 
 lem. The mount of prayer affords an antepast of heav- 
 enly joy, a foretaste of his glory when, as the well- 
 beloved Son of the Father, he shall ascend with the 
 multitudes of his saints to heaven as the reward of his 
 toils and sufferings. 
 
 In this resort to prayer he has set us an example where 
 we are to find our strength, when pressed by the cares 
 and trials that we encounter on our path to heaven. Like 
 him, we are to betake o.urselves to God for strength. Be- 
 fore him who appoints us our burdens, we may freely 
 pour out our fears and sorrows, and from him obtain the 
 help and grace we need. He has all the resources of our 
 strength at his command. He can, in answer to our 
 prayer, grant above what we ask or think. The elements 
 of this world and its population are all subject to his con- 
 trol. He can send heavenly messengers to us with their 
 refreshing ministry. He can cause the brightness of his 
 own infinite love and wisdom and power to pass before 
 us ; he can enter our hearts with his own comforting 
 Spirit, and sweeten the toils and sufferings he appoints us 
 with foretastes of heavenly joy. 
 
144 The Transfiguration. 
 
 Brethren, let us learn of Jesus where to look for our 
 strength. In his trials he retired into the presence of his 
 Father. 
 
 Cold mountains and the midnight air 
 Witnessed the fervor of his prayer." 
 
 Ours is the same refuge, in duty, in trials and sufferings. 
 
 When storms of sorrow round us sweep, 
 And scenes of anguish make us weep ; 
 We'll look and see the Saviour there, 
 And humbly bow, like him, in prayer. 
 
 I remark, again, 
 
 3. The foretastes of heavenly joy granted on earth are 
 temporary, intended not to take the place of the duties of 
 life, but to strengthen us in their performance. 
 
 Peter and his companions, when they awoke to behold 
 the glory of their Lord and of his heavenly visitants, and 
 saw the mountain top illuminated with the glory, felt that 
 they were high above the dark world below and its cares ; 
 that they were on the mount of vision ; that they were on 
 the verge of heaven and its eternal glories. Emotions of 
 strange wonder and exstatic joy fill their hearts. They 
 are lost as in a pleasing revery, from which they desire 
 never to be broken. " Master," exclaims Peter, as if he 
 had forgotten every care and duty of life, and the very 
 errand of his Master in coming to the mount, " Master, 
 it is good for us to be here : and let us build three taber- 
 nacles." Here would he keep a perpetual feast with his 
 Lord and his heavenly visitors. But the vision was in- 
 tended only as a transient glimpse of the glories that lie 
 beyond the vail of time. It was to strengthen for the 
 duties and trials of life yet remaining: not to take their 
 place. It could not last. Jesus and his disciples must 
 leave the mount, go down to the world below, and set 
 themselves to the duties and the conflicts which God had 
 appointed them on their way to heaven. 
 
 So is it with believers on their course. Amid their 
 duties and trials, it is their privilege to draw near to God 
 and refresh their hearts with the joys of his presence. 
 
The Transfiguration. 145 
 
 And they may feel at times, when favored most with the 
 divine presence, as if they would forever forsake all other 
 cares and employments, to indulge only in these heavenly 
 emotions and divine joys. They are on the mount of ex- 
 static bliss. They would never go down again to the 
 cares and sorrows of earth. But not such are the ap- 
 pointments of heaven. This is the world of their labors : 
 that of their eternal rest is yet to come. The honor of 
 God, the welfare of their race, their own progress in 
 knowledge and holiness, call them to the discharge of 
 active and laborious duties, and to the endurance of many 
 and severe trials. Let believers learn then to prize their 
 seasons of communion with God, as times in which to 
 gather strength and refreshing to their hearts amid their 
 duties and trials, not as substitutes to take their place, to 
 prepare them for the discharge of their many active and 
 passive duties of piety and benevolence, not to exalt 
 them above these duties. 
 
 4. The voice of Jesus calms the hearts of his people 
 when they are overwhelmed with the fearful glories of 
 God. 
 
 The glories of the divine majesty are too bright for the 
 endurance of mortal natures. We could not look on God 
 and live. When his fearful majesty is revealed to us in the 
 thunder, in the earthquake, in the utterance of his holy 
 law, in the threatenings of his eternal curse, emotions of 
 terror seize our hearts, and we are ready, like the apos- 
 tles, as they entered the cloud and heard the voice of the 
 divine presence, to fall prostrate in awe and terror before 
 our God. But Jesus meets the fallen and trembling as 
 the minister of grace, bearing upon him their nature, 
 touched with the feeling of their infirmities, and bids 
 them " arise, be not afraid." He lifts them up from their 
 fears, to see in him, God reconciled, to hear in him, God 
 as their teacher, to follow in him, God as their example, 
 and to find in him, God their exceeding great and eternal 
 portion. His voice allays the tempests of the mind and 
 calms the troubled waters of the hearts uttering sweet 
 promises from God, of forgiveness and eternal life in his 
 
 20 
 
146 The Transfiguration. 
 
 kingdom. Wherever his voice is heard, there may his 
 disciples follow without fear. The work, for which he 
 came down to earth, was to conduct the humble and 
 believing- to heaven : and he, who is the well-beloved Son 
 of the Father and is accepted by him, and strengthened 
 by him in this work, will not fail to complete the work 
 and to see all his obedient followers safe through all their 
 fears and sorrows. Let them fear not then, when they 
 hear his voice and follow it, though he call them up into 
 the awful presence of God, though he lead them down to 
 fearful conflicts among their fellow men. Whenever and 
 wherever he leadeth them forth, he goeth before them as 
 their Guide and Protector, and so long as they hear his 
 voice and follow it in precept, in invitation, in encour- 
 agement, or in warning they know that their Heavenly 
 Shepherd is nigh. They trust in his care, and are not 
 afraid. His presence quells their fears. Their hearts are 
 established in quietness and peace on the everlasting rock 
 of his love. 
 
 5. They who follow Christ are led by him from their 
 errors into truth, while his enemies are left in their errors 
 to oppose the plans of God and perish. 
 
 These different consequences, which arise from the dif- 
 ferent manner in which Christ is treated, are clearly ex- 
 emplified in the case of the disciples as they descended 
 with Jesus from the mount, and of the scribes as it was 
 represented in the discourse of Jesus. The disciples, it 
 seems, cherished the same opinion as the scribes concern- 
 ing the coming of Elias: the opinion, that the prophetic 
 passage in Malachi, IV : 5, which represents Elias to come 
 to prepare the way of the Messiah, referred literally to 
 the return of Elijah the Tishbite to the earth, and not, as 
 a prophetic symbol, to a new prophet coming in the spirit 
 and power of Elijah the spirit and power by which he 
 brought Israel back from Baal to Jehovah the spirit of 
 repentance and reformation. No doubt the disciples at 
 this time saw evidence enough to convince them that 
 Jesus was the Messiah, without this sign of Elias: yet 
 they were expecting this sign also. And when on the 
 
T/ie Transfiguration. 147 
 
 mount Elijah appeared, they concluded, no doubt, that 
 they had seen this prophetical signal, and were prepared 
 to tell the unbelieving 1 , even the scribes, of this evidence. 
 And when Jesus enjoined upon them utter silence, as to the 
 whole scene, to some future day, the wrong opinion they 
 entertained was made obvious in their questions to Jesus. 
 The opportunity was thus clearly presented to Jesus to 
 make known to them their error, and that of the scribes 
 in regard to this prophetic mark of the Messiah. He 
 kindly instructs them, and corrects them of their error by 
 making known to them the truth. Elias, indeed, must 
 first come: but not the translated and heavenly Elijah. 
 He will not leave the glories of his heavenly state, to en- 
 counter the trials of earth again in preaching repentance. 
 The Elias of prophecy has already come, and these very 
 scribes who pretend to demand his presence have rejected 
 him and are ready to condemn me. The truth was now 
 clear and obvious to their minds. They saw that John 
 the Baptist had fulfilled the prophetic character of Elias. 
 And this new signal, in harmony with the many others 
 that had already convinced them, added new strength to 
 their faith. They go forth from the glory of the mount, 
 and with these new views of prophecy imparted to them 
 on their descent by their teacher to cleave to Jesus 
 with increasing faith, and to follow him on the path to 
 heaven with new courage and with livelier hopes. While 
 the scribes in their enmity, refusing to hear and learn the 
 truth from his lips, still cling to their error, and, embold- 
 ened by it, grow more hardened in their opposition to the 
 Saviour ; and, far from the way of life, fall beneath the 
 curse of God, and perish in their sins. 
 
 Thus is it, that they who follow Jesus find, by his in- 
 struction and teaching, their knowledge, their faith, their 
 hopes increased as they advance towards heaven, while 
 they that reject him and refuse the light and aid of his 
 instructions sink deeper into error, doubt, and darkness 
 on their way to eternity ; and must find on their entrance 
 into that world, that they have opposed the plans adopted 
 of God for salvation that they have wandered forever 
 
148 The Transfiguration. 
 
 from Jesus Christ, the only source of forgiveness and 
 healing and must perish forever beneath the weight of 
 remediless guilt, remorse, despair, and anguish. 
 
 My friends, if you would enter into a heaven of glor} T 
 beyond this mortal state ; if you would have a refuge 
 amid the ills and burdens of the present life; if you 
 would cheer and strengthen yourselves on your way, 
 with foretastes of the joy and glory to come; if you 
 would hear the voice of a Comforter and Almighty Friend, 
 to quell your rising fears and apprehensions on the way ; 
 if you would go on increasing in knowledge and love and 
 hope and joy to the end ; look to Jesus, the beloved Son 
 of God, who has come to make known to us the love and 
 grace of our Heavenly Father. Follow him, who by his 
 death has opened the kingdom of heaven to believers, 
 and who shines as their Mediator and Lord on its throne. 
 Follow him, who guides his obedient people through this 
 life by his counsel, and at life's close admits them with 
 his own cheering voice into glory . 
 
MAN'S IGNORANCE RESPECTING HIS FUTURE 
 IN THIS LIFE. 
 
 [A BACCALAUREATE SERMON.] 
 
 ECCLESIASTES VI : 12. 
 
 WHO KNOWETH WHAT IS GOOD FOR MAN IN THIS LIFE, ALL THE DAYS OF HIS 
 VAIN LIFE, WHICH HE SPENDETH AS A SHADOW? 
 
 WHAT is this life of man ? How short and hurried 
 from infancy to the grave ! It passes like the shadow of 
 the passing cloud that flits across the plain and dis- 
 appears, leaving no trace behind. Vain as the airy 
 bubble which, as its rainbow tints of glory attract the 
 gaze, is gone. Brief days and few, comprehend it all : 
 and these are often days of empty illusions, and hopes 
 ending in vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 . What is good for man in this life? Who knoweth ? 
 Who can tell what schemes for happiness he will have 
 length of life or power to accomplish? Who can tell 
 what schemes, if successful, will most advance his tem- 
 poral interests ? Who, what degree of temporal pros- 
 perity will best comport with his spiritual and eternal 
 interests ? Who knoweth these things ? or who that is 
 ignorant on these points, can know what is in reality 
 good for man ? 
 
 The question of Solomon will have far different mean- 
 ings attached to it, accordingly as we suppose it to come 
 from the lips of a skeptic, who denies the existence of 
 God and a future state, or of the believer, who admits 
 both. From the skeptic, the question would imply that 
 man passes his whole existence here in utter ignorance 
 of any good that is worthy of his pursuit, dreaming amid 
 shadows that terminate in endless night. From the be- 
 liever, that man is ignorant, not of a good worthy of 
 his pursuit, but of that temporal condition in life, and 
 
1 50 Man 's Ignorance Respecting Jiis Future in tJiis Life. 
 
 those temporal schemes which will be truly good to him, 
 as the means of advancing his true welfare on the long 
 line of his endless existence. 
 
 This is the thought, which will now occupy our atten- 
 tion that man is ignorant as to what in temporal things 
 is best for his welfare. 
 
 Let us look at this ignorance, in regard to its nature, its 
 extent, and its causes. 
 
 I. It is not ignorance as to the intrinsic nature of good 
 and evil. Good and evil, both natural and moral, are 
 things clearly known to man. Indeed, the distinctions 
 between right and wrong, and happiness and misery, are 
 among the earliest lessons he acquires in life. His own 
 nature is the deep seat of this knowledge. His own 
 experience writes the lesson in plain and indelible char- 
 acters. His observation of his fellow men ever confirms 
 the truth of his own experiences. 
 
 Nor again, is he necessarily ignorant of the great object 
 to which it is good to devote this life, or what are truly 
 good and useful rules of living. The Creator has made 
 known enough of. himself and the laws and plans of his 
 righteous government, to point out to man the true and 
 only path to a happy life and glorious immortality in his 
 kingdom. In the works of creation he sets forth his 
 eternal power and Godhead, so as to leave without the 
 excuse of ignorance all who refuse to glorify him as God. 
 In the riches of his forbearing and compassionate provi- 
 dence towards man, he calls upon him to return to him in 
 repentance, and not waste these days of forbearance in 
 hardening .his heart and aggravating his final doom. 
 Knowledge therefore of the true object of the present 
 life is published abroad by the Creator through his works, 
 even among the very heathen. Who then that has come 
 to the knowledge of the Gospel, and hears God in Christ 
 expressly calling upon him to pursue the path that leads 
 to virtue and eternal glory, can claim ignorance of what 
 object and rules of action are good for man ? 
 
 But the ignorance justly attributable to man in regard 
 to the good or evil of the present life, relates simply to the 
 
M tin's Ignorance Respecting his Future in this L ife. 1 5 I 
 
 particulars of his temporal lot, as to what of good or 
 evil will accrue to him from any merely temporal pursuit 
 or condition. In managing his temporal affairs, and at- 
 tempting to elevate his worldly estate, he cannot foresee 
 what the precise and final result to himself will be 
 whether happy or disastrous. He is ignorant therefore 
 of what, in the matters of the present life, is best for him. 
 He knoweth not whether this or that course will prove 
 prosperous, or whether both alike will not be adverse. 
 
 II. Let us now look over this field of his ignorance, and 
 see its extent how much there is here to affect the wel- 
 fare of man, of the precise result of which he is yet in 
 complete ignorance. This pall of ignorance covers this 
 whole temporal scene all the days of this vain life this 
 life, through whose mazes man passes not only with the 
 rapidity, but in the darkness of " a shadow." From 
 infancy to the grave, each step is taken by him in ignor- 
 ance of precisely the onward and far stretching results. 
 
 But let us analyze, and look more distinctly at, the sepa- 
 rate things in this great field of our temporal life, which 
 are to affect our welfare, and of the precise result .of 
 which, whether for good or evil, we are ignorant. 
 
 Man knoweth not, I observe, when he engages in any 
 particular temporal scheme, whether he will meet with 
 success in it or defeat. He may indeed bring to his aid 
 the wisdom and experience of others, as well as his own, 
 in devising his schemes; and there may appear to him 
 that reasonable prospect of success, which is necessary 
 to keep hope alive and stir up to industry. Yet for 
 the actual result he must wait in suspense. He knows 
 not whether he will be competent to cope with every 
 obstacle that may rise up in his path. Defeat may over- 
 take the wisest plans. The activity of others may fore- 
 close the avenues to success. Unexpected dispensations 
 of providence withdraw the means. The heart faint ; the 
 health decline ; life itself close, in the midst of the race. 
 
 Man knoweth not again, whether any particular instance 
 of temporal success will promote or hinder his general 
 prosperity in life. He knows indeed, that success in 
 
152 Man s Ignorance Respecting his Future in this Life. 
 
 obtaining- any valuable object is to be put down, on the 
 balance sheet of life, as an item on the side of prosperity ; 
 and that the sum total that is gained and kept during the 
 progress of life, is to decide whether that life on the whole 
 has been one of temporal prosperity or adversity. But 
 whether prosperity in one thing, and at one particular 
 period in life, will advance his prosperity m all the days 
 of this life, how can he tell ? That which he gains he 
 may not be able to keep, and partial success at one time 
 may hinder success in other things and at other periods 
 of life. The friends you gain, the property you acquire, 
 the reputation awarded you, in early life, may prove not 
 the prospering gale and expanding sheet that is to bear 
 your bark onward in safety to the port, but the syren 
 song of the tempter, or the dead weights of care, or the 
 fierce winds of passion, that set you on the backward 
 current, and fill the voyage of life with disappointment 
 and disaster. 
 
 Still again, man knoweth not whether any degree of 
 temporal prosperity he may acquire will prove a good, in 
 its results on his moral and spiritual interests. In both 
 temporal prosperity and adversity the voice of God may be 
 heard and heeded, or, on the contrary, the voice of human 
 passions. Calls to duty may be heard in them, or solici- 
 tations to sin. Who then knoweth beforehand what in 
 this life will prove good for him, whether prosperity or 
 adversity will most favor him, in relation to a moral and 
 religious life and the endless life that is to come. Pros- 
 perity may speak of the kindness of God, of the duty of 
 acting as his steward, and of the opportunities, fair and 
 multiplied, of doing good : yet to weak and erring man, it 
 may but bring pride and idleness and sin, fostering the 
 animal passions in their growth, and deadening the reli- 
 gious sensibilities of the heart. How many, who walked 
 humbly and carefully in their early days, when exalted 
 by prosperity have fallen into profligacy and vice, and 
 ruined their peace and their hopes for eternity ! Adver- 
 sity too may remind man of his feebleness, his guilt and 
 unworthiness, and show him the correcting hand of God 
 
Man 's Ignorance Respecting Jiis Future in tJiis Life. 153 
 
 that seeks to advance his holiness ; and yet, to weak and 
 selfish man, it may prove but the occasion of festering- 
 rebellion and murmurings of heart against God, and of 
 envy, malice, and fraud towards the prosperous among 
 men. Who then knoweth what particular temporal lot 
 is best what will prove truly good to him on the long 
 line of endless years which are before him, and to which 
 this life is but the stepping-stone and entrance what will 
 best secure his love and moral obedience towards God, 
 and fit and ripen his spirit for the glories of heaven ? 
 
 III. Let us now trace this ignorance of man to its 
 causes. 
 
 Man, however little he may think of it, while daily 
 busied on the theater and in the pursuits of this life, is 
 inseparably connected with the providence of God, and 
 his very being interwoven into the deep plans of the 
 Creator. The springs of his welfare lie beyond himself, 
 beyond the created universe around him, in the good 
 pleasure and gracious working of the Almighty. His 
 ignorance therefore of what is best for him in this scene 
 of earthly providences, may be traced to three causes : to 
 the imperfection and weakness of his own nature ; to the 
 complicate means and influences of divine providence 
 surrounding him, that bear on his welfare ; and to the 
 ability of God, by the presence or withdrawal of his 
 Spirit, to render at will all earthly conditions alike the 
 means of good or evil, a blessing or a curse. 
 
 Man is a creature limited and weak. His views, feel- 
 ings and purposes are continually exposed to change. He 
 cannot therefore build on his present self the calculations 
 of entire certainty. He cannot see, from what he now is, 
 precisely what he will be in the future, or tell what may 
 then be the effect of things upon him, from the manner in 
 which they affect him now. That which pleases him to- 
 day, may not on the morrow. That which benefits him 
 to-day, may lose its influence upon him to-morrow. That 
 which meets him harmless now, may tempt him to evil 
 then. His own being, which is weaving along this woof 
 of life, by its weakness, its fickleness, its changes, thus 
 
 21 
 
154 Mans Ignorance Respecting Jiis /'///// ;v /// tJiis Life. 
 
 baffles his calculations of the future. His own being, that 
 is subject to the plans of providence, does not remain 
 that one fixed thing, that the same external things should 
 forever have upon it one and the same effect. Here then 
 is one source of his ignorance of good in this life. He is 
 himself too variable a quantity to be always affected alike 
 by the same things. He cannot therefore calculate the 
 effect that the varying conditions of life will have upon 
 him, even should he have power to foretell what those 
 conditions shall be. 
 
 Again, the complicate nature of the means and influ- 
 ences that providence employs to bear on his welfare, is 
 another source of this ignorance. In this vast earthly 
 scene of human life, how many things, how various 
 beyond all human computation, are influencing the feel- 
 ings and working on the destiny of man. His animal 
 constitution, with all its parts and propensities ; his men- 
 tal, with all its powers and faculties ; his moral, with all 
 its varied sensibilities, constitute a little world of causes 
 and influences that bear mutually on one another and con- 
 stantly on his welfare. The many objects and varying 
 scenes of the natural world, and the varied influences 
 that come up to him from the world of his fellow-crea- 
 tures, all conspire to work upon him for good or evil. 
 Here then are causes constantly affecting his well-being, 
 too numerous and complicate for his limited mind to 
 comprehend fully, and accurately compute. How then 
 shall he arrive at the knowledge of precise results to 
 himself in the future, from their causes ? What his earthly 
 condition will be on the morrow, or how that condition 
 will affect his welfare, are questions involved in such an 
 intricate maze of causes and effects, that no reasoning on 
 his part from cause to effect can solve the problem. They 
 can be known beforehand only to that omniscient One, 
 who guides the illimitable means of his providence at 
 will. How then can man, involved in this complicate 
 maze of providence, tell what particular earthly condi- 
 tion will corne to him on the morrow, or know whether 
 
Mans Ignorance Respecting his Future in this Life. 155 
 
 his lot to-day will work to him for good or ill in the 
 future ? 
 
 But still further, the mind and will of God as to final 
 results are not known from the particular outward lot he 
 assigns to man. He can employ at will the same earthly 
 providences in kind, both for good or evil. His plan is to 
 constitute this life a scene of discipline for the moral trial 
 of men and their training for another life. He employs 
 the temporal gifts and bounties of his providence, to sup- 
 port and comfort man on his way indeed, yet not as the 
 end, but as a means in subordination to the higher end of 
 carrying forward a plan of moral government and 
 redemption, which is to issue in calling the obedient and 
 faithful to eternal salvation and glory. No man knoweth 
 then good or evil from God's distribution or withdrawal 
 of merely earthly gifts. For, by means of the spiritual 
 influences he employs through the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ and a future state, and the power of his own 
 Spirit, he can turn the same outward providences, which, 
 through the perversion of man, become occasions of 
 moral evil and ruin, into means of spiritual obedience and 
 holiness. The good or evil accruing to man from earthly 
 things can be truly estimated, only from the spiritual 
 and eternal results which they are made to work within 
 him whether their effect is to bring his soul to the love, 
 service and enjoyment of God, or to draw it away from 
 God into the evils of sin, self-reproach and malice. God 
 therefore is able to confound all human calculations, by 
 turning any temporal condition of man into a good or an 
 evil, a blessing or a curse. He can impart or he can with- 
 hold his Spirit, and in this way turn the issue. He can 
 make all his providential dealings work together for good 
 to them that love him, who are called according to his 
 plan and purpose. He can make all work together for ill 
 to them that hate him, and are rejected. How then shall 
 man know good or evil from merely outward and tem- 
 poral providences ? He must seek his good from God 
 himself, and not from his gifts. He must wait on God 
 for the development of his hidden counsels of grace. He 
 
1 56 Mans Ignorance Respecting his Future in this Life. 
 
 must solve the question of good or evil to himself in this 
 life, by waiting- on God for his decisions of grace or judg- 
 ment, of eternal life or death. 
 
 If then we consider man as subject to the deep plans of 
 infinite wisdom, how weak and changeable a being he is, 
 how many and complicate causes and influences in the 
 universe around him bear on his welfare, and how able 
 God is to overrule every earthly state and condition for 
 good or evil at his pleasure, is it any wonder that man 
 should be ever ignorant, in his progress through life, of 
 ' what earthly lot is best for his welfare ? 
 
 We may derive from this subject some lessons of prac- 
 tical wisdom. 
 
 1. Let then your ignorance in regard to the things of 
 this life, teach you moderation in your worldly schemes 
 and pursuits. You are not your own lords and masters 
 in the creation. There is an infinitely greater and wiser 
 being over you, who has linked you to the plans of his 
 own providence, and is watching over your interests. 
 Be not rash and precipitate in your plans. Be not over 
 confident in your ability to command success. Be not 
 over eager in your expectations from the world. How 
 often is the folly of this excessive confidence and eager- 
 ness in the pursuit of worldly good, reproved in the after 
 revelations of providence. The men guilty of it, think 
 the objects they seek are secure. As they rush forward 
 in the chase, the treasures they covet float before them 
 as realities : the way to them seems clear ; the vision of 
 their glory is bright : the heart expands with large hopes 
 of coming joy. How does this over eagerness defeat the 
 happiness and welfare of man. It unfits him for either 
 disappointment or success. It gives to him, in disappoint- 
 ment, the heaviest pangs of wounded pride and blasted 
 hopes. It renders success a curse, which ministers to 
 that lust of the world and pride of life which separate 
 him from the love of his Father in heaven. 
 
 2. Again, let this ignorance of what is best for you in 
 this temporal life, teach you submission to the allotments 
 of providence. Your Heavenly Father knoweth what 
 
Mans Ignorance Respecting Jiis Future in t/iis Life. 157 
 
 are your wants and necessities, and what is best for your 
 welfare ; and can and will make all things work together 
 for good to those who in love entrust themselves to his 
 care. Why then should you, in your blindness, vainly 
 seek to assume the supreme disposal to your own hands, 
 and refuse submission ? To trust in his care, to rest in 
 his love, to feel quiet in the thought that he seeks in 
 every lot he appoints us our best good, is itself a spirit- 
 ual treasure of peace and joy, richer far than any worldly 
 inheritance can give. Why refuse submission ? Do you 
 allow yourself, in your blindness, to feel dissatisfied with 
 his allotment, and to think that you can manage better 
 than he ? But that is to set yourself at known variance 
 with God, which is a greater evil than any earthly priva- 
 tion. That is to fill your hearts with the spiritual evils 
 of discontent, anxiety, covetousness, envy, hatred, for 
 which no earthly lot can compensate. 
 
 3. Again ; let your ignorance of what is best for you 
 in your earthly allotment, teach you to devote yourselves 
 principally to the known duties of life. In pursuing the 
 things of the world, we may justly feel doubtful whether* 
 we shall gain them, or whether, if gained, they will prove 
 salutary or hurtful. But on the path of known duty to 
 God and man, what is there to mislead or betray? or who 
 shall harm us, while following that which we know to be 
 good ? For the path of known duty is ever the path of 
 safety. Our chief business in this life then, is with our 
 duties : not with our own pleasures, profits, or honors. 
 These we may well leave to the disposal of God, while 
 we seek, first of all, to serve him in his kingdom and fol- 
 low him in his righteousness. 
 
 Our duties call us to the pursuit of noble and useful 
 ends : to labor for the right, the good, the true, among 
 men and before God. Whether we succeed or not to 
 accomplish much in them for our God and our generation, 
 we shall, at least, expand and cheer our own hearts with 
 the sweet affections of charity, and carry along with us 
 the approving testimony of God and our own conscience. 
 On this course, if he cheer us with his earthly gifts and 
 
158 Man s Ignorance Respecting Jiis Future in this Life. 
 
 bounties, they will raise our hearts to him in thankful- 
 ness ; if he withdraw our comforts, and smite us with 
 earthly sorrows, we will take with patience the chastise- 
 ment of his faithful love ! On this course, we enter into 
 sweet fellowship with God in his kingdom and righteous- 
 ness, and our hearts are linked to his in the bonds of unity 
 and love unfailing. 
 
 Finally, let your ignorance of good in this temporal 
 life lead you while passing through it, to secure an eter- 
 nal life with God in heaven. Amid the darkness and 
 uncertainties of this temporal state, all is not dark. The 
 way to secure an eternal life with God in heaven is made 
 known and published. We have a sure word of proph- 
 ecy from God himself, revealing to us the unfading glories 
 of a heavenly state beyond this life. Jesus Christ has 
 come, with signs of power before eye-witnesses of his ma- 
 jesty, and been accredited with a voice from heaven as 
 the Beloved Son of the Father, bringing with him the 
 promise of grace and eternal life to believers. 
 
 Here then is a light shining upon us in our darkness ; 
 a light from the heavenly world ; a light that marks out 
 to us the way to reach its glories. The highway of life 
 is the plain way of holiness. The wayfarer that travels 
 it, however simple, need not err. The ransomed of the 
 Lord, in every age, return upon it from all their wander- 
 ings, and come with joy to the heavenly Zion. 
 
 We do well therefore to look beyond the cares and 
 anxieties of this uncertain life to an eternal life with God 
 in heaven, and to seek for ourselves, in the forgiving and 
 sanctifying grace which the Gospel offers, an inheritance 
 in its pure and unfading happiness. Here, in the unfailing 
 truth of God in the Gospel, we know our footing is sure. 
 Here we build our happiness on the Rock of Ages. Here 
 we enter into the knowledge and love of God and his 
 Son Jesus Christ, whom to know and love is the very 
 ingredient and principle of life eternal. The day of eter- 
 nal joy already dawns within our hearts. The day-star 
 of hope rises there, the harbinger of eternal rest. This 
 is to make the true and proper use of the present life. 
 
Ignorance Respecting Jiis Future in this Life. 159 
 
 This is to render our passage through its vanities and flit- 
 ting shadows, a cheering pilgrimage to a better land. 
 This opens before us at our journey's end the portals of 
 heaven, and gives us an entrance and a welcome into the 
 eternal house of our Father above. 
 
 These lessons of practical wisdom I would set before 
 you, Beloved Pupils and Friends, as my last and part- 
 ing counsel. They are derived from that ignorance of 
 good in your earthly lot which ever accompanies you in 
 this life. 
 
 They have been inculcated upon you by your past ex- 
 perience. From infancy to this hour, as you have advan- 
 ced along the pathway of life, you have been learning the 
 incompetency of this world to form your satisfying por- 
 tion of joy, and that, beyond the parents and kind friends 
 around you, that have helped your progress, there is a 
 God whose providence presides over this whole scene, 
 and calls you to seek your happiness in his love and ser- 
 vice. Have no mistakes, no sins, no sorrows, revealed to 
 you your incompetence and danger? Have no deaths 
 of once merry companions shown you your dependence ?- 
 The Gospel, has it not been a treasure at your side, to 
 tell you of the love of God in Christ, and win you to his 
 heart and care ? 
 
 These precepts of wisdom are strongly inculcated upon 
 you at this hour, as you stand on the threshold of this 
 brief home of your preparatory studies, about to separate 
 from your instructors and each other, it may be forever. 
 You now look out on the untrod and unknown paths be- 
 fore you. Shall your way through this busy life be pros- 
 perous or adverse? The darkness that lies over, and 
 conceals from you your future lot, bids you be thoughtful 
 and not rash ; to rely not on your own heart, but on the 
 wisdom that cometh from above. 
 
 The secret of a happy life is easily told : a sound mind 
 and body ; earthly passions subdued ; reconciliation to 
 God ; useful employment among men ; and hope, stretch- 
 ing its cheering, animating vision onward to eternity. 
 
160 Mans Ignorance Respecting his Future in this Life. 
 
 This is the solution furnished by experience ; embodied 
 in precepts of wisdom. 
 
 Adopt them as your maxims of life. Go out from us, 
 not to inflame your hearts with the ambition, the covet- 
 ousness, the sensuality of the world. Go out, humbly 
 and confidently entrusting the disposal of your lot to the 
 decisions of an all-wise Creator. Go out, to serve God 
 and your generation in some department of useful action. 
 Go forth to seek, as pilgrims through this life, your richest 
 treasures and joys with God and Christ in Heaven. 
 
 Make these the guiding principles of your lives, and 
 you will be truly wise wise unto salvation. Without 
 them, this life will indeed be vain. All its most splendid 
 visions of happiness will be but illusions to sicken with 
 disappointment, to lead onward to stranding on the rocks 
 of sin and vice and death. Its hurried progress will be 
 the shadowy cloud gathering to its bosom the elements 
 of an eternal night of tempest and storm beyond this 
 horizon of hope. 
 
 With these words of counsel, I bid you, in my own 
 behalf and that of my associates in office, Farewell. 
 
NO CONTINUING CITY HERE. 
 
 HEBREWS XIII: 14. 
 HERE HAVE WE NO CONTINUING CITY. 
 
 THE period was now approaching- in which Jerusalem 
 the city of the Hebrews the great metropolis built by 
 their fathers, and ever their pride and joy, was, in accord- 
 ance with the prediction of the Saviour, to be laid waste. 
 They were to leave their possessions and homes, and flee, 
 as the Saviour had directed them, into the mountains ; or, 
 if they were inhabitants of other cities, were to sympa- 
 thize with their brethren who should thus suffer. The 
 apostle reminds them in these circumstances of trial, that 
 they were not to consider any residence on earth as 
 designed for permanence. They mig-ht grieve at the ruin 
 of their beloved city ; but they ought not to be immode- 
 rately attached to the place that had served as a home to 
 them and their fathers, because no residence on earth was 
 intended to be the permanent dwelling of men. No city 
 on earth could they call ' a continuing city ' ; for they 
 could dwell in none but a few years before they entered 
 into eternity. 
 
 The instruction of the apostle is as applicable to us, as 
 it was originally to the afflicted Hebrews ; and we need 
 as much reminding as did they if not for consolation 
 especially under expected trials, yet for a spiritual im- 
 provement of our privileges that we have upon earth no 
 continuing city. This truth, at all times momentous, 
 deserves peculiarly our consideration, at the season when 
 we have just bidden adieu to another year of our lives, 
 and are greeting a new one, with its uncertain prospects. 
 
 22 
 
1 62 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 Let us, then, enter with seriousness into the contempla- 
 tion of the fact, that the world is not our permanent dwell- 
 ing. The certainty we feel respecting it is derived from 
 the evidence we possess of our own approaching deaths, 
 which will remove us out of the world, and the evidence 
 we also have that our being will still continue after death 
 for an eternity. From these sources we have been accus- 
 tomed, from childhood, to consider the fact, whenever it 
 has recurred to our minds, as certain beyond all question, 
 that our dwelling on earth has no permanence compared 
 with the eternity of our being. I shall say nothing, there- 
 fore, to establish a fact of which we all feel a perfect 
 moral certainty ; but shall take advantage of the mora. 
 certainty we all feel about it, to speak 
 
 I. Respecting some means that are calculated constantly 
 to remind us of the fact ; 
 
 II. Respecting some evidences of our great blindness to 
 the fact ; and, 
 
 III. Respecting some practical results we should derive 
 from the fact, that ' here we have no continuing city.' 
 
 I. I am, first, to mention some means that are adapted 
 constantly to remind us that we have no permanent abode 
 on earth. 
 
 We have such a means, then, in the fact that we have 
 received our privileges from those who have already left the 
 world. Almost all our privileges are associated thus with 
 the mortality of others, who have been instrumental in 
 conveying them over to our possession. Other men have 
 labored here before us : we have entered into their labors. 
 In the city of our residence, we are always walking amidst 
 the monuments of preceding generations the works of 
 immortal beings, who, as strangers here before us, tarried 
 but for a day. The houses we inhabit, the streets we 
 walk, the sanctuaries we frequent, the Scriptures of truth, 
 all bespeak to us the agency of other beings who have 
 been on earth before us ; who took up in it no settled 
 abode ; who quickly passed through it to eternity. All 
 our privileges are thus put into our hands, with the loud 
 language of the dead to us for monition, that we do not 
 
No Continuing City Here. 163 
 
 take them into permanent possession. Everywhere, then, 
 in the city of our residence on earth, are such mementos, 
 to remind us constantly how short is to be our dwelling* 
 here. 
 
 We have such a memento, again, in the fact that others, 
 who have been sharing with us in our privileges, are constantly 
 leaving the world. They who dwell with us in the city of 
 our residence on earth beings of immortality are con- 
 stantly bidding us adieu, and entering into eternity. All 
 our privileges thus become associated with the memory 
 of former companions, who once had their abode below. 
 They dwelt with us but a few days ; they scarcely made 
 themselves known to us, when they gave the farewell 
 look, pressed the parting hand, bade adieu, and entered 
 on an abode in eternity the tolling bell, the mournful 
 procession, the grave of their relics, the erected monu- 
 ment, signalized their departure ; and now all around the 
 city of our abode are the traces of their former presence, 
 reminding us of our having no continuing residence here. 
 We look back at the days they passed with us before they 
 entered into eternity, and they appear to us but an hand-- 
 breadth ; and, from their dwelling in eternity, we seem to 
 hear them say, as we miss them from the scenes in which 
 they once mingled with us, that these are scenes where 
 pilgrims to eternity tarry but a day. When in the habi- 
 tations where they once dwelt with us, or the streets 
 where they walked with us, or the sanctuary to which 
 they went with us in company, or at the mercy seat 
 where they once bent with us the knee of devotion, or by 
 the Scriptures before which they once listened with us to 
 the words of Jesus Christ, we look for them ; but they are 
 gone ; -the place they once occupied at our side is vacant ; 
 the) 7 are far from us in their eternal dwelling; and the 
 places where we once knew them are now so many 
 mementos, that here we ourselves have no continuing 
 city. 
 
 We have another constant memento of this fact, in the 
 advancement we are constantly making ourselves towards 
 eternity. Everything in the city of our residence on earth 
 
164 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 reminds us that we are never stationary in it, but are 
 always advancing towards the period of our final depar- 
 ture. We have entered into a scene of divine wonders, 
 but we cannot delay to spend our existence here in gaz- 
 ing upon them : we are constantly in motion, urging our 
 way through them to an eternal dwelling. Each break- 
 ing morn, each radiant noon, each shadowy eve, as they 
 pass by us, make no tarrying, but pass us never more to 
 return. The jocund spring, summer with his swarms of 
 life, autumn with her golden harvests, winter with his icy 
 sceptre and his snowy robes, as each year they pass us, 
 are in constant motion ; and while we greet them, take 
 their leave of us forever. Each changing scene of life 
 arrests our minds enlists our feelings; then takes its final 
 leave of us, the sons of eternity. Creeping infancy, 
 merry boyhood, aspiring youth, industrious manhood, 
 decrepit age, we meet in swift succession ; just greet ; and 
 bid adieu for eternity. In the midst of all the privileges 
 of the city of our residence below, do our advancing 
 steps towards the eternal world serve constantly to re- 
 mind us that here we have no permanent dwelling. The 
 aggregate of days that have passed by us, the yearly sea- 
 sons, the scenes of life and periods of age, since we came 
 into possession of our privileges since we first knew our 
 dwellings, and walked our streets, and visited our sanc- 
 tuaries, and heard the words of God are so many 
 advances towards eternity ; and tell, as they thicken on 
 the path we leave, how soon we reach the close of our 
 pilgrimage and enter upon unknown worlds. 
 
 We have another constant memento of the fact, again, 
 in our inability of prolonging our continuance in the world. 
 
 We have constant notices around us of our frailty, and 
 inability to continue to ourselves our present privileges 
 for the future. Ever, in the city of our privileges below, 
 do we see ourselves hurried on by an unseen hand we 
 cannot control ; the Almighty Guide who conducts us 
 seems unwilling that we should stay ; the God of our 
 spirits who goes with us designs we should have our set- 
 tled dwelling in eternity ; and soon he will bring us to 
 
No Continuing City Here. 165 
 
 the gates of the city, and at the bidding we cannot resist 
 must we take our leave of it for eternity. Around us, 
 everything is betokening his design of our departure, and 
 our inability to prolong our stay. The frail hold we take 
 of every earthly possession tells us that our grasp on none 
 is for eternity. We are hurried on from object to object, 
 before we can call anything ours. We meet friends ; but 
 while we cling to them, the unseen hand of providence 
 tears us away from their embrace. Beauty we would 
 linger here to admire ; but, while we look, the grace of the 
 fashion of it perisheth. Power just takes us by the hand ; 
 and bids us adieu to greet a successor. Fame crowns us 
 with her wreath ; but, while we feel the rising flush of joy, 
 she plucks it off to sport with others. Wealth comes to 
 feast us and roll us in his car of pleasures ; and while 
 accepting his proposals, he dismisses us to tempt some 
 other pilgrims on their way to eternity. The unseen hand 
 of providence thus tears us away from object after object, 
 to show that here is not our rest, and that our hold on 
 earth is frail and giving way. Around the city of our 
 habitation too, are the messengers he sends to warn us of 
 our approaching departure. Decay stands, with tottering 
 limbs and feeble breath ; and lisps to us, with dying life, 
 that we draw nigh the gate of our habitation, and soon 
 will leave it for eternal worlds. Diseases busy messen- 
 gers fly here and there to tell us of our frail abode, and 
 whisper in our ears ' eternity.' Death, armed with resist- 
 less power, stands with his commissions and their un- 
 known dates, to lead -us out of our residence below, and 
 bar on us its gates forever. Everywhere in the city of 
 our abode are we reminded thus, that we have not the 
 power to prolong our stay in it, and that soon we shall 
 leave its privileges, its dwellings, its streets, its sanc- 
 tuaries, its Scriptures, its busy throng, for eternity. * Here 
 have we no continuing city.' 
 
 There is another means reminding us constantly of this 
 fact, the voice of God the Saviour. In the city of our habi- 
 tation below, God has published his glories, his statutes, 
 his offers of pardon and assistance, for our use as sojourn- 
 
1 66 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 ers here who are passing to eternity. He, the infinite 
 Being who is from everlasting to everlasting himself, has 
 conferred on us an existence that is to continue and grow 
 up by the side of his through everlasting ages. He has 
 beheld us, in the first stages of our being here, engaged in 
 unrighteous rebellion against his authority, and bent on 
 neglect of its glories ; and, moved with pity, has sent his 
 everlasting Son to atone for our guilt and call us to 
 repentance, and his Holy Spirit to indite his will and 
 influence us to obedience. In our habitation, we have his 
 word ; here temples are erected for his service ; a day is 
 appointed by him for men to assemble ; ministers are com- 
 missioned to teach ; and they who love his name speak 
 to one another and to their fellow-men of his designs. 
 Wherever we go then, the voice of God the Saviour is 
 reaching us, and re-echoing the truth that we are beings 
 whose final dwelling is eternity, and who have here no con- 
 tinuing city. The Bible, whenever it meets our eye, reit- 
 erates the voice of God, that we must die and rise again in 
 other worlds. In each reproof of conscience, his awful 
 voice is heard to speak a reckoning day in eternity. In 
 each act we do for God or for his kingdom here, his voice 
 of love whispers of eternal joys. Each revolving Sabbath, 
 with its pealing bells and open sanctuaries and solemn 
 rites, bears on its hours his voice, that warns of an abode 
 in heaven or hell. Each sermon is the call he makes to 
 hear his voice to-day. In each season of prayer, we hear 
 him say that we have not reached our home that we are 
 pilgrims here. From the throne of glory on which he 
 will sit in judgment, and assign us our dwellings in eter- 
 nity, God the Saviour now sends down the voice of 
 monition ; and, while it rolls around the world we dwell 
 in, ten thousand messengers echo back the voice to our 
 ears : that ' here we have no continuing city.' 
 
 II. But there are evidences that, in respect to a fact so 
 momentous, and of which we are constantly reminded 
 from so many quarters, there is in us great blindness. 
 
 One evidence of this is, that we think so little of our 
 departure. There is a train of thoughts in which our 
 
No Continuing City Here. 167 
 
 minds are constantly busy, and over which we have a 
 guiding control. When we look back on this past em- 
 ployment of our minds, and see the vast train of our 
 secret thoughts, where are those we have had respecting 
 the brevity of our continuance on earth, and our 
 approaching departure into eternity ? Do they rise up 
 to our memories in that thick array, which testifies that 
 we have lived sufficiently mindful of so important a 
 reality ? Do they not rather appear in such momentary 
 glances of thought, and at such distant intervals from each 
 other, as to evince our blindness ? Do the secret thoughts 
 of our departure occupy such prominence in the train, as 
 do the thoughts of those worldly trifles that meet us in 
 the city of our habitation ? And has not this been great 
 blindness in us ; when the monuments of past generations, 
 the departure of surrounding companions, our progress, 
 our frailty, yonder throne of God the Saviour, have been 
 constantly visible, to excite in us the thoughts of eternity ? 
 Another evidence of our great blindness to the fact is, 
 that we speak so little of our departure into eternity. We 
 have been conversant with our fellow-men who have lived . 
 with us in the city of our habitation. We have met them 
 in our streets and in our dwellings, and many have been 
 the words we have spoken with them that have been 
 lodged in their memories. When we look back on the 
 words we have spoken, where have been the allusions we 
 have made to our and their departure into eternity, or 
 where the direct mention ? We have alluded to many 
 subjects, we have directly mentioned many, in their hear- 
 ing ; and their memories can testify of us, whether, when 
 walking or sitting with them, amidst the loud monitors of 
 an eternity, we have given that prominence in our words, 
 that we ought, to the hastening change in our habitation, 
 or whether we have appeared blind to a change so 
 momentous ? Their memories may testify to our words 
 of affection on many subjects (oh ! that they might not to 
 words of deceit ! to words of anger !) but must they not, 
 when they see the dearth of our allusions and mentions 
 
1 68 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 about an hereafter, testify, in their consciences and in 
 eternity, that great was our blindness ? 
 
 Another evidence of our great blindness to the fact is, 
 that we do so little respecting our approaching departure 
 into eternity. There is much to be done in the city of 
 our habitation here, before we leave it for eternity. 
 Duties to ourselves, duties to our fellow-men, and duties 
 to our God, claim of us a discharge while passing through 
 our abode below. Acts of penitence, acts of faith, acts 
 of obedience, are to be done by us in our persons ; acts of 
 charity to the souls of our neighbors ; acts of respect to 
 God ; before we are prepared to enter with comfort on 
 eternity. What, then, have we done for our departure 
 into eternity ? Does the remembrance of the acts we 
 have done while dwelling in our habitation below a 
 habitation crowded with mementos of eternity testify 
 that we have done what we ought to prepare for our 
 exchange of dwellings ? Or that we have been exceed- 
 ingly blind to a change so great ? Alas, we can testify to 
 many acts that unfit us for departing ! Can we to any that 
 prepare? Or, if we have turned our eye to a better 
 abode, and done anything to prepare ourselves for it, 
 have not our acts of preparation been feeble and sparse, 
 and proved exceeding blindness in us to eternity ? 
 
 Another evidence of the fact is, that we feel so little 
 about departing from our present abode into eternity. 
 We may have thought and spoken and acted, in the city 
 of our habitation here, to some poor extent, with refer- 
 ence to an approaching eternity ; but what has been the 
 measure of feeling we have allowed ourselves to indulge 
 on a subject so momentous? We have had intense feel- 
 ings to expend on other subjects. The vanities, the pleas- 
 ures, the vexations of our present abode, may have 
 stirred all our souls within us to energy of feeling. Have 
 we, while ten thousand voices have been proclaiming 
 around us * eternity ! ' allowed ourselves to feel as in- 
 tensely as we ought on a reality so weighty? Or must 
 not the past train of our feelings witness for us, that great 
 has been our blindness ? That while love has admitted the 
 
No Continuing City Here. 169 
 
 claims of other objects, it has here been cold ; that while 
 zeal has been active for other purposes, it has here grown 
 weary ; that while desire has been intense for other ends, 
 it has here been wavering? 
 
 When we look, then, at what we have thought, what 
 we have spoken, what we have done, what we have felt, 
 in the city of our habitation below, amidst the constant 
 monitions of an hereafter, we may see evidence that we 
 have been almost as blind to eternity, as though we were 
 to have here our permanent dwelling. Impenitent sin- 
 ners have closed their eyes, that they will not see ; and 
 the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ have been either 
 sleeping, or, in wakeful moments, but seeing through a 
 glass darkly. 
 
 III. But the fact, of which we have so many monitions, 
 and respecting which we have manifested such blindness, 
 that * here we have no continuing city,' nevertheless 
 claims of us a practical attention ; and the practical results 
 we should derive from it, I will endeavour to illustrate in 
 my closing remarks. 
 
 The fact then should influence us to adopt a settled 
 rule of duty. 
 
 What is the object of our existence here and in eter- 
 nity ? What are the means of securing it ? Have we 
 any rule of safety for our guidance ? Have we, in the 
 gospel, the words of God ? Shall we take it as our guide 
 and our hope in the house of our pilgrimage ? Or shall 
 we reject it, and follow our own devices? 
 
 This practical question the brevity of our abode below 
 demands that we should firmly settle and adopt, if 
 worthy of it, the gospel as our settled rule, or prove it 
 vain, and take some other rule. We have no time to 
 waste in doubts. We must not squander time in hesita- 
 tion? We stand by the very gates of eternity. The 
 gospel, that now tenders to us its guidance in the steps of 
 this pilgrimage, we shall soon leave, with the city of our 
 habitation, and have a whole eternity to employ in look- 
 ing back upon our conduct here. If the Bible contain 
 the words of God, we shall pass by his throne on our way 
 
 23 
 
170 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 to our eternal dwelling" ; and these words, which Jesus 
 gave us, shall judge us in that day of meeting God. If 
 our Lord Jesus Christ has, ' by his divine power, given us' 
 in this book, ' all things which pertain to life and godli- 
 ness,' then they who take not this gospel to sway their 
 opinions and conduct here will be found, in that day, 
 ' without the faith that pleases God,' guilty of * treading 
 under foot the blood of the Son of God,' and will receive 
 condemnation, and ' go away into everlasting punish- 
 ments ' : and they who do make it their influential rule 
 will, in that day, ' cleansed from sin through sprinkling of 
 the blood of Jesus/ 'unblamable in love through sanctifi- 
 cation of the Spirit,' receive the approving welcome of 
 God, and * enter into life eternal.' 
 
 Again ; the fact should influence us to moderation in the 
 use- we make of the present world. Our worldly enjoyments 
 are designed only as accommodations for us on our way 
 to eternity. The city of our habitation is furnished with 
 them by God the Saviour, to sustain and cheer us in his 
 service, while distant from his habitation. We are sur- 
 rounded on every hand, even now while we are partaking; 
 of these joys, with the monitions of eternity ; and soon 
 shall we leave our abode below to part with them forever. 
 How little ought we to make of its enjoyments, who are 
 so soon to leave them for eternity ! Why attach ourselves 
 immoderately to a habitation, erected to lodge us on our 
 way to eternity ? Why draw away our hearts from our 
 final dwelling ? Why labor to strengthen ties so soon to 
 be burst asunder? We are but increasing for ourselves 
 the pangs of the parting struggle. We shall but bid 
 adieu to our habitation with greater regret. While ab- 
 sorbed in time, we shall be but neglecting eternity. Eter- 
 nity ! how should it swallow up the comparatively trifling 
 concerns of time, and make them all as nothing ! " This 
 I say, brethren, the time is short : it remaineth that both 
 they that have wives be as though they had none ; and 
 they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that 
 rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy, 
 as though they possessed not ; and they that use this 
 
No Continuing City Here. 171 
 
 world as not abusing it : for the fashion of this world 
 passeth away." 
 
 Again ; the brevity of our abode below should influence 
 us to improve our passing privileges and opportunities. In 
 the city of our residence in this world are we favored by 
 God the Saviour with many privileges in regard to his 
 service, and many opportunities of doing good to fellow- 
 citizens who are advancing with us to eternity. These 
 seasons of doing service for God are rapidly rolling over 
 us ; and soon, in -our hasty advance to eternity, shall we 
 pass by them all, and leave the city of our privileges for- 
 ever. Each season, as it meets us in our progress, invites 
 us to the glorious work of God, then bids us farewell, and 
 bears to eternity the report of what we do and how we 
 serve our King. Soon, on the shores of eternity, shall we 
 look back on these privileges that met us, when with fel- 
 low-pilgrims here we urged our onward way, and date, 
 from these years below, the era of our eternal joys or our 
 unending woes. There, through the progress of eternal 
 years, shall the privileges we are passing now be seen 
 attesting those works whose influence follows us, in songs 
 we raise with fellow heirs of glory, or curses mingled by 
 us with angry spirits of despair. Now is our time, as 
 privileges are passing by us, to escape the woes of hell, 
 and fill eternity with joys. Each opportunity we pass 
 will tell of eternal losses, or eternal gains. While then 
 we greet each passing season privileged with grace, how 
 watchful should we be to seize and use it for our God ! 
 With what fear of misimprovement and its woes, pass 
 every day of our sojourning here! How ardent in our 
 love to God and man ! How constant to urge our bright 
 and burning way, and to spread the savor of our love 
 around us on fellow pilgrims to eternity ! 
 
 Again ; the fact that ' here we have no continuing city,' 
 should influence us to maintain a constant readiness for our 
 departure into eternity. 
 
 Soon the period will come, when we shall exchange our 
 abode ; and bidding adieu to the beings, the scenes and 
 the privileges of the city, where we spent the first years 
 
172 No Continuing City Here. 
 
 of our existence, pass through the gates of death, and 
 enter the eternal abode assigned us by our God. We 
 have before us this season of solemnities in exchanging 
 worlds. 
 
 That awful day will surely come ; 
 The appointed hour makes haste ; 
 When I must stand before my Judge, 
 And pass the solemn test. 
 
 Oh ! to be able, in the day of our departure, to know 
 that we have believed in a Saviour who has prepared 
 mansions for us above ; to have our souls tilled with love 
 to his glories and joys in his kingdom ; to look, with the 
 even serenity of trust, alike on a retiring world and on an 
 opening eternity ; to leave a sweet savor of our godliness 
 on friends below, as the joys of eternity break on our 
 souls ; to be able to pass the solemnities of exchanging 
 worlds in such a state of preparation, brethren, is it not 
 worth maintaining a constant readiness during our abode 
 below ! What anguish will wring the hearts of those 
 who come to these solemnities, without having confided 
 with devotedness in a Saviour; when, torn from their 
 portion below, they enter on endless waitings*! What 
 terrors will distract those who, having believed in a Sav- 
 iour, are so surprised, in that state of worldliness and 
 unwatchfulness, as to cling with desire to their present 
 abode, and recoil with horror from the clouds of uncer- 
 tainty that veil eternity ! Think, fellow-strangers here, of 
 this approaching season of solemnities ! While loud mo- 
 nitions tell you of the scene, awake from your lethargy, 
 and prepare! ' Take heed to yourselves lest at any time 
 your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and cares of 
 this life, and so that day overtake you unawares.' ' Stand 
 with your loins girded about, and your lights burning, 
 like unto men that wait for their lord.' 'Be sober:' 
 * watch :' * pray ' ' always ; that ye may be accounted wor- 
 thy to escape all these things which shall come to pass, 
 and to stand before the Son of Man.' 
 
 Fellow travellers to eternity ! we have passed another 
 year of our residence in the world below. As we have 
 
No Continuing City Here. 173 
 
 just bidden it adieu, and have closed up its concerns for 
 the judgment and eternity, let us survey the paths in 
 which we have been walking ; and see whether we have 
 been living for time or for eternity. Whither have been 
 tending our thoughts, our words, our conduct, our hearts ? 
 At every step through the revolving year, God followed 
 us with kind monitions of an hereafter. The ashes of the 
 dead we trod, the monuments we saw of sleeping ances- 
 tors, these scenes where others lived, once busied here, 
 now mouldered into dust, have whispered, as we passed 
 along, * eternity.' Companions too, flushed with health 
 and life as we, when we stood together on the threshold 
 of the year and hailed it with bright wishes, have passed 
 beyond the vale and left their warnings. We saw them 
 leave us ; and as we looked around to scenes where once 
 with us they mingled souls, the vacant place said for them 
 * eternity.' Our advancing life, and our frail tenements 
 that scarcely held us here, have given us monitions. God 
 the Saviour has passed us with his word, with his days of 
 grace, with the triumphs of his redeeming love. 
 
 Have we lived for time? Or have we for eternity ?- 
 Put the question home. The year is past. We cannot 
 now recall its hours. Its records now are writ in heaven. 
 When the archangel, 
 
 with his golden wing, 
 Sweeps stars and suns aside, 
 
 preparing the Son of God his way, the unrolled records 
 of this year shall tell. When ages after ages roll away, 
 high in the realms of bliss, or deep in the prison of des- 
 pair, will you look back on years below, and date this 
 year, celestial joys, or woes unending. Convert of Christ, 
 who dost date this year the era of thy heavenly hopes, 
 praise God that gave thee such a year of grace, and feel 
 constraining love to yield him the willing sacrifice of life ? 
 Wavering follower of Christ, weep thy mis-spent hours, 
 and pray the grace that blots such records out, and helps 
 to spend remaining days for God ! Christless sinner, see 
 your path of death ; awake, and live ! 
 
A CONTINUING CITY TO COME. 
 
 HEBREWS XIII: 14. 
 HERE WE HAVE NO CONTINUING CITY ; BUT WE SEEK ONE TO COME. 
 
 THE Apostle, in the text, reminds his believing breth- 
 ren of that better city, the heavenly Jerusalem, in which 
 they had laid up their hopes, and which, while on earth, 
 they as pilgrims were seeking. Though their earthly city 
 was not to continue, though they were soon to see their 
 hardened yet beloved Jerusalem laid waste, their kindred 
 suffering, and themselves turned desolate upon the world, 
 they were seeking a city to come, and soon would enter 
 it, which would continue ; where no hardening iniquity 
 should ever defile, no curse of God descend, no enemy 
 lay waste, no sufferings enter : a city of unsullied love, 
 immovable security, unending joys. Patient then might 
 they well be in enduring the will of God awhile, who 
 were expectants of so great and precious promises. 
 
 The apostle thus reminds all believers that, amid the 
 instability of earthly things, they are to find their consola- 
 tion in earnestly seeking that enduring city which God 
 has prepared for the righteous in eternity. 
 
 Let us, then, for our spiritual benefit, direct our medi- 
 tations to that continuing city to come ; and inquire, 
 
 I. What are the sources of its joys ? 
 
 II. Who are seeking it? and, 
 
 III. What are the evidences that they who do, will 
 obtain admission ? 
 
 1. What then are the sources of joy pertaining to this 
 city of God in eternity ? I answer, 
 
 First, the inhabitants consist of countless numbers of intel- 
 ligent beings, various in their orders and ages and origin. 
 
176 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 There is Jehovah, the greatest of intelligent beings, 
 whose mysterious existence is forever exalted beyond the 
 increasing researches of the highest creature, whose attri- 
 butes know no limitation ; whose age is from eternity ; 
 who has ever been present in all places of the universe ; 
 who reigns as the king, and shines as the light, of the 
 celestial city forever more. And he describes himself as 
 " dwelling among them," a fellow inhabitant ! There 
 also are the angels, whose number is " ten thousand 
 times ten thousand and thousands of thousands." They 
 are more in number than we are able to form an ade- 
 quate idea of in the present state ; being described by an 
 apostle as " an innumerable company." From the des- 
 cription given of them in the word of God, of their 
 different orders and names and stations, it would seem 
 probable that they are of different orders in their mental 
 powers and attainments some of them the most exalted 
 in intelligence of created beings and that they had their 
 origin in different parts of the universe, and were trained 
 up under different systems of providence, before they 
 were collected " together in one in heavenly places." 
 Their age goes far back, it is probable, of the date of the 
 creation described by Moses ; for Satan, once a com- 
 panion of theirs, had already passed through his trial and 
 fallen, when, in the early age of this world, he tempted 
 our first parents ; and Job, it has been supposed, describes 
 angels, when speaking of the morning stars and sons of 
 God as rejoicing over the creation of this system. There 
 are also to be among the inhabitants of that celestial city 
 as it will ultimately be constituted a multitude which 
 no man can number of men from this world, collected 
 from different ages and different parts of the world from 
 the east, the west, the north, the south who constitute 
 the redeemed of the Lord, rescued from sin, and trained 
 up under a peculiar system of providence to prepare 
 them for that city. Thus numerous and thus various in 
 their orders, their ages, their origin, are the intelligent 
 beings who reside in the city of God ! 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 177 
 
 I remark again : all the inhabitants there are actuated 
 by holy love. Jehovah, who has there fixed his everlasting 
 throne, beams forth on the whole society the light of 
 that intense love that awoke its various beings into 
 existence, that followed them with his supporting hand 
 and guiding care in the various places where they spent 
 the first stages of their being. His is the love that col- 
 lected them into one harmonious and happy society, to 
 live under his smiles forever: the holy love, that adorns 
 him with truth and justice and goodness and grace ; that 
 preserved angels in holiness ; that sent forth his Son and 
 Spirit to the lost world to save the redeemed ; and that 
 guides them, by his government in the celestial city, to 
 waters of life and trees of life forever. All the innumer- 
 able hosts of created beings too in that city, are actuated 
 by holy love. This is the character of angels that never 
 fell, that were trained up in swift obedience to the will of 
 God, that exercise their benevolence in deeds of min- 
 istry to heirs of salvation. This is the character of 
 redeemed men, who turned from their rebellions to the 
 service of God, and imitated their Saviour in doing good , 
 to their fellow-men while on earth, and who were estab- 
 lished unblamable in love on their admission to the city. 
 These perfectly benevolent beings there spend, in one 
 harmonious society, the days of their immortal existence. 
 
 Again ; the deeds in whicJi they are employed in that city are 
 suited to gratify their benevolence. In a society of intelli- 
 gent beings who are completely perfect in love, there is 
 nothing to hinder any one from engaging in conduct 
 which he most loves. Though we know not all the 
 peculiar employments of the inhabitants of the heavenly 
 city, and probably could not know while surrounded 
 with this clothing of flesh and blood, yet doubtless such a 
 society gives scope to all the benevolent employment that 
 is desirable to all the inhabitants. There Jehovah, God 
 and the Lamb, is forever engaged in supporting, and 
 reigning over, the society, guiding each and all in their 
 employments and joys, leading them to fountains of living 
 waters, and wiping away all tears forever : and he looks 
 
 24 
 
78 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 with complacence on the everlasting fruits of his deeds of 
 kindness, pronouncing them very good ; and his deeds in 
 the society are suited to gratify his own heart of infinite 
 love. 
 
 There the innumerable company of angels and the 
 redeemed see, in each other, persons to whom they can 
 show forth kindness, and in whose holiness they can take 
 a complacent esteem, and in doing them good and par- 
 ticipating in their society can find employments suited to 
 gratify their benevolent hearts. Thus may a Paul find 
 his converts to be his crown and his joy above. There 
 too may they engage in various ways in doing the will 
 of God, in contemplating his perfections as they are 
 developing in his providence, and in studying the end- 
 less variety of his works. There too may they unite 
 in solemn acts of adoration and praise, as when the Sera- 
 phim vail their faces and cry, " Holy, holy, is the Lord 
 God of Sabbaoth " ; or as when the elders 4i fall down 
 before the Lamb, having harps and golden vials full of 
 odors, and sing, Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to 
 God by thy blood " ; or as when the multitude of the 
 redeemed, " clothed with white robes and palms in their 
 hands, cry, with loud voice, Salvation to our God which 
 sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb " ; or as 
 when the whole multitude of the numberless inhabitants 
 of the city throughout its remotest bounds swell with one 
 voice the chorus of praise, " Blessing and honor and glory 
 and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the "Lamb forever and ever." There in that everlast- 
 ing city the innumerable inhabitants engage thus in un- 
 ceasing employments of benevolence and piety, employ- 
 ments that are suited to their high capacities of intelli- 
 gence and their complete perfection in holiness. 
 
 Again ; the inhabitants are secure in these joys for 
 eternity. The city has immovable foundations, for its 
 builder and maker is God. He who liveth forever has 
 encircled it with walls of everlasting strength. He has 
 fixed his throne in it, to reign there forever and ever. 
 He has peopled it with perfectly holy inhabitants, 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 179 
 
 gathered from the whole universe, to set forth his eternal 
 glories. Strong is his almighty arm to uphold and 
 defend, to guide and bless ; and he will employ it for the 
 eternal welfare of his people. Unreached by death, unsul- 
 lied by sin, undisturbed by enemies, unapproached by suf- 
 ferings, the countless multitude of its inhabitants, with 
 increasing energies of mind and intensity of holy affec- 
 tion, continue the ceaseless round of their happy services 
 forever and ever. No change awaits them more. They 
 are now in their final home ; in an everlasting dwelling ; 
 in a continuing city ; an immovable kingdom. 
 
 II. But this city of endless habitation is to be sought 
 during our present residence on earth, if we would obtain 
 admission. Let us then inquire who are seeking it as their 
 final home. 
 
 i. They who truly seek it are those who are submitting 
 themselves in faith to the word of God. They are called to 
 the new enterprise of seeking the kingdom and glory of 
 God, by his word and Spirit. For it is God, by his word 
 in Christ, who sets before us that eternal dwelling, and 
 points to us the only way to reach its gates and have an 
 entrance ministered to us into its everlasting joys. The 
 vail that separates that world from us precludes vision : 
 and they who are earnestly seeking it, confide themselves 
 wholly to the word of God as the directory of their steps. 
 They hear this, as it comes from the realms of eternity ; 
 and they start up at its call, to follow implicitly and un- 
 reservedly their guiding God. They are solicited indeed 
 in their earthly pilgrimage by many guides, by many 
 tempters, by many foes ; but they hear the voice of God, 
 and they confide all their happiness to that ; and they say 
 to every solicitation that would draw them aside from 
 their purpose, * Behind me ; thou savorest not the things 
 that be of God.' They yield to that word their opinions, 
 and that is their faith ; they yield to it their feelings, and 
 that is their faith ; they yield to it their lives, and that is 
 their faith ; they build on it their hopes, and that is their 
 faith ; and confiding solely in its guidance, as did Abra- 
 
180 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 ham when leaving his kindred at its call, they are seeking 
 that blest " city which hath foundations." 
 
 Again ; they who seek that enduring city are obedient 
 to the will of God during their present life. They continue 
 to advance towards that heavenly abode, by holding on 
 steadfastly to their confidence in the word of God, and 
 following his will in the ways of obedience. In the 
 strength of their confidence, they cheerfully engage in 
 the services and patiently submit to the trials, which 
 attend them on their way. The King of that heavenly 
 city has filled it with holy inhabitants, who delight in 
 exercising that benevolent love which is inculcated in his 
 law. He designs to admit no being into it that will ever 
 defile its society with sin none but those who will 
 adhere to obedience forever. He has therefore wisely 
 appointed that men, coming as they do from a world of 
 rebellion and rescued from a state of sin, should have 
 time for the trial of their obedience time for crucifying 
 the flesh with its lusts, and strengthening their devoted- 
 ness time for washing their robes and making them 
 white before they enter that abode of perfect holin'ess. 
 They therefore who are earnestly seeking it, follow the 
 guidance of the Saviour in doing his will on earth. Here 
 on their way they obey his statutes of benevolence ; and, 
 while actively employed in doing good to men and serv- 
 ing God, and passing, with submission, through scenes of 
 trial while strewing their pathway with the fruits of 
 benevolence and piety are exterminating sin from their 
 hearts, and strengthening that holy love which shall glow 
 eternally in the city of God. Under the present trial of 
 their obedience, they cast not away their confidence ; they 
 draw not back to perdition ; but they confide through 
 tribulation, patiently doing the will of God, intent on 
 receiving the promise, earnest on attaining the end of 
 their faith, the purity and eternal salvation of their 
 souls. 
 
 Again ; they who seek that endless city subordinate to 
 its attainment the present world. They place dependence 
 on the promise of God in his word, more than they do on 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 181 
 
 the present world, for their happiness ; and the world of 
 his promise is far more desirable to them than the world 
 of their trial. The city of their present habitation they 
 regard with the feelings of strangers, who are going to 
 reside for ever in a far better country. Like strangers, 
 they abstain from those strongly ascendant attachments 
 which would make them forget the abode they are seek- 
 ing. They see in the scenery of this world, in its society, 
 in its comforts, in its attainments, in its worship, in its 
 partial manifestations of divine glory, much indeed that 
 they love ; but they hope, while trusting in the guidance 
 of God, to reach a habitation that is not momentary, like 
 the present, but endless ; where exists a richer scenery, a 
 better society, more solid joys, knowledge more elevated, 
 employments and worship more satisfying and sublime 
 where the glory of God shines forth in the splendors of 
 everlasting day. Confiding in the word of their guiding 
 God, their desire after the world of promise is thus ascen- 
 dant. They feel not here at home ; not receiving here 
 the promises they are seeking; but seeing them afar off, 
 and being persuaded of them and embracing them, they 
 confess that they are strangers and pilgrims upon the 
 earth. Truly, if they were most mindful of their present 
 abode, they have the opportunity of being wholly devoted 
 to its joys ; but, by subordinating the present world to 
 their faith in Christ and their desire to attain the prom- 
 ises, it is manifest that they are seeking a better coun- 
 try. God is not ashamed to be called the God of such ; 
 for he hath prepared for them a city. 
 
 III. Let us in the third place inquire into tlie evidences 
 that they who tints seek the city of God will obtain admission. 
 
 One such evidence exists in the direct promises of God. 
 He has made plain promises, to accompany his calls of 
 authority, to those who in obedience to his calls come out 
 from the sins of this world, and are separate by devotion 
 to his service? He has engaged to be a father and to 
 adopt them as his sons and daughters, and admit them to 
 dwell in his celestial family in heaven. A single promise 
 of God cannot be broken ; but he has repeated his prom- 
 
1 82 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 ise. A simple declaration is enough ; but he has added 
 to declarations the solemn formality of taking, on the 
 throne of his heavenly habitation, " an oath for confirma- 
 tion." Now they who in this world are confiding in his 
 guidance, obedient to his will, and desirous of a heavenly 
 country, are the very persons to whom God has applied 
 his promises, and how strong consolation have they ! 
 The word and oath of an omnipotent God ! When they 
 enter eternity, therefore, the heirs of such promises, He 
 will fulfill the word in which he has caused their souls to 
 hope, Ijis omniscient eye and almighty arm will see that 
 none of them are lost, that all have admission through 
 the gates into the city. 
 
 Again ; such evidence is seen in the mission to our world 
 of the Lord Jesus . Christ and of the Holy Spirit. He has 
 not merely caused his voice of authority and of promise 
 to be heard in our world, but from the throne of his resi- 
 dence has he sent, to visit us in our condemnation, his 
 beloved Son to make atonement for our sins, by dying 
 and rising again for our justification. He has beheld us 
 in the strength of our rebellion and the temptations of 
 our abode, and sent also his Holy Spirit to rescue sinners 
 and help believers on their way to his heavenly habita- 
 tion. Now they who truly seek the glories of his kingdom, 
 are the very persons to whom that cross on which Christ 
 died becomes an effectual propitiation, in the application 
 of his blood to wash them from their sins ; and to whom 
 his resurrection from the dead becomes a lively hope of 
 immortality. They are the very persons whom the Spirit 
 is attending with his effectual influence ; to keep in the 
 way of holiness, and to preserve in it to the day of God, 
 and to present before him unblamable in love. When they 
 enter eternity then, is there uncertainty respecting their 
 final abode? Will not he, who has given his Son to die 
 for them and his Spirit to guide them, " freely give them 
 all things?" Will he, who has led them with the hand of 
 infinite kindness up in all their way to the very border of 
 his heavenly city, now bar on them its gates and refuse 
 them entrance ? 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 183 
 
 Again ; another evidence God has given us, in the 
 assurance that he has already admitted the faithful from 
 earth into that city. He has not only given us his promise, 
 and permitted us to see him using his agency in the pres- 
 ent world for redemption, but has assured us of the fact 
 that he has already admitted into his presence all those 
 persons who have left the world in faith. The vail of the 
 invisible world has he lifted up and permitted us to cast 
 a glance on its holy inhabitants. There in that distant 
 high abode we see, among the spotless multitudes before 
 his throne, all those who, having followed with faith his 
 guidance below till their last conflict with death, came 
 out of their great tribulation with their robes washed and 
 made white in the blood of the Lamb, having obtained 
 the eternal victory. There now before his throne are all 
 the spirits of those just men, who confided themselves to 
 the guidance of his word when on earth, and who in the con- 
 summation of obedience and joy are made forever perfect ; 
 all they who in faith passed the time of their sojourning 
 here in preceding generations ; and all our dear com- 
 panions whom we once knew and loved, and with tears 
 bade adieu, as in faith they closed their eyes on us and 
 on these present scenes. And with all this cloud of wit- 
 nesses already- admitted into the heavenly city attest- 
 ting the faithfulness of God, may we not believe undoubt- 
 ingly that, by following our God with faith unto the gate 
 of death, we shall not fail of entering into his holy habita- 
 tion, but shall have " an entrance ministered to us abun- 
 dantly " by willing angels, willing saints, and by willing 
 companions, " into the everlasting kingdom of God our 
 Saviour? " 
 
 The view which we have now taken of the city of God 
 in eternity, in regard to its constituent joys, the persons on 
 earth who are truly seeking it, and the certainty of their 
 admission, may serve to enforce on our minds some useful 
 reflections. 
 
 We learn from our subject the value of the word of 
 God. Blest volume from the Father of Mercies ! This 
 light, that unfolds to view a celestial city, shines on our 
 
184 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 path, and shows the promises, the arm of power, the ac- 
 complished deeds of grace, that encourage guilty men to 
 enter on the way to heaven, and persevere with hope till 
 they receive the full fruition of their faith. Well may 
 they who seek a heavenly country make these statutes of 
 the Lord their song in the house of their pilgrimage. 
 Here we behold his promises of life in Christ, sealed by 
 miracles of the Holy Ghost and by the resurrection of 
 Christ from the dead and ascension to immortality as the 
 first fruits of them that sleep ; and to that word which 
 begot our hope we cling as the charter of our immor- 
 tality. 
 
 Again, we may find in our subject a source of support 
 under the trials we are called to endure in this world. 
 Trials here will come. They are not joyous while they 
 pass, but grievous. Yet they who trust in the guiding 
 word of God, and follow his will in faith, see ground, in 
 their final and better home, to endure with patience all 
 these sorrows of the way. The storms that blow upon 
 the city of their residence below are momentary, and give 
 exercise to that faith that will be found unto honor and 
 glory and praise in the day of Jesus Christ. ' The night 
 soon flies ; and day eternal shines.' 
 
 Again ; we may learn from this subject^to be reconciled 
 to the brevity of our residence on the earth. The life of 
 man in this world, what is it but a busy dream, an empty 
 vapor, a flying shadow ? nothing compared with immor- 
 tality. While we are in this world admiring its beauties, 
 tasting its provisions, conversing with its inhabitants, 
 engaged in its employments, it may at times seem unde- 
 sirable that we should be hurried through it with such 
 rapidity, as that all our opportunities of acquaintance with 
 it should leave us still comparatively strangers to it ; that 
 when we have but just entered into its scenes, and been 
 introduced to its inhabitants, and become interested in 
 them, we should be torn away from them forever. But 
 the city of God to come, may reconcile us to the fact of 
 our having no continuing city on the earth. If we are 
 seeking in earnest that habitation while passing through 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 185 
 
 this, we shall forever feel satisfied in the end that we 
 spent no more days than we did of our existence here. 
 For as no joys of this abode are worth an immortality, 
 but such as are connected with the love and service of 
 God, so these joys will be continued and greatly height- 
 ened in the heavenly city. There will all they enter who 
 loved the Saviour and his people here ; and they w r ill find 
 all the ages of eternity spent in services so much more ex- 
 alted and satisfying than any in which they engaged below, 
 as to make the exchange of dwellings their endless gain. 
 If the city of your abode here is to be dissolved, the no- 
 bler city of God above hath foundations that shall not be 
 shaken through eternity : and if you are a willing stranger 
 here, seeking by the word and Spirit of God admission 
 there, you may well acquiesce in that appointment that 
 allots you so few days below ; and see, without concern, 
 days and seasons rolling away, that bring you nearer a 
 better and more ending home. 
 
 " They'll waft us sooner o'er 
 
 This life's tempestuous sea: 
 Soon we shall reach the peaceful shore 
 Of blest eternity." 
 
 Again ; we may learn from this subject to be reconciled 
 to our departure, out of the world in the painful manner of 
 death. 
 
 The manner in which man leaves his present habitation 
 by death, invests that future unknown period of his being 
 with terrors from which we all instinctively shrink. The 
 pangs of dissolution, and the silence of the dead, from 
 whom no voice of information reaches us the terrors of 
 what is seen, and the uncertainties respecting what is 
 unseen, render the event one of gloom, which cannot be 
 penetrated except by the light of revelation. We look at 
 the event as exhibiting in God the frowns of his dis- 
 pleasure ; and our terror of the conflict is allayed, only by 
 the faith that sees beyond the shades of death a Redeemer 
 ready to admit us to the enduring city of God. If we are 
 so happy as to enter that blessed place, we shall, when 
 from its heights of salvation we look back on the dark 
 
 25 
 
1 86 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 passage of death, feel forever satisfied that God the 
 Saviour was leading us in the right way to a city of 
 habitation. The pangs of dissolution were only giving 
 exercise to that submissive love that glows eternally in 
 the heavens ; a body unfit for immortality was laid aside, 
 to be resumed again incorruptible and glorious ; the dy- 
 ing groan scarcely ceased, before the songs of victory 
 arose ; and rising, though with the desert of hell, out of 
 all conflicts to a habitation among the myriads of the 
 holy, was almost an annihilation of death, a swallowing 
 of it up in victory and immortality. 
 
 If your residence here below, then, must be left with 
 struggles, the jovs of entrance into that above will oblit- 
 erate the pain ; and if you are seeking entrance there by 
 following the word and Spirit of Christ, you may learn to 
 acquiesce in the thought of your departure ; and not to 
 fear the lapse of time, which, while it brings you nearer 
 the last conflict, brings you nearer also to the final and 
 endless victory. 
 
 Amid the trials of the present time, the brevity and 
 uncertain continuance of life, and the daily progress of all 
 towards the grave, they who are seeking a heavenly 
 country then need not fear. Omnipotence speaks the 
 word of promise from heaven, and reaches forth to them 
 the arm of assistance, and points to companions above. 
 " Hold fast then, brethren, your confidence, which hath 
 great recompense of reward." " Hope to the end, for the 
 grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 " Cease, ye pilgrims, cease to mourn ; 
 
 Press onward to the prize. 
 Soon our Saviour will return, 
 
 Triumphant in the skies. 
 Yet a season, and you know 
 
 Happy entrance will be given : 
 All our sorrows left below, 
 
 And earth exchanged for heaven." 
 
 And will that day of glory come ? Shall they who 
 follow their Saviour here have entrance given them into 
 
A Continuing City to Come. 187 
 
 the everlasting joys of their Lord ? . What hopes then are 
 theirs ! What joys will be theirs when they shall be 
 introduced as happy members into that heavenly Jeru- 
 salem, which is filled with such countless multitudes of 
 beings of glorious orders, actuated by perfect love, 
 engaged in the sweetest employments, and secure in 
 their joys through eternity ! To spend the days of eter- 
 nity in that central residence of God, where his glories 
 eclipse all these starry worlds, the mere suburbs of his 
 celestial city. To glow with mental energies and love 
 and adoration increasing through eternal years ! How 
 glorious a termination of our cares and tears and faith 
 below ! 
 
 And what must the loss be to him who exhausts his 
 heart on this abode ; who obeys not the gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and seeks not to partake of his hea- 
 venly calling ! His doom is already written. Banish- 
 ment, with everlasting destruction, from the presence of 
 the Lord and the glory of his power ! What loss ! when, 
 torn from the joys of this abode a fleeting dream all 
 happiness below for ever past he gazes on that glorious 
 residence where millions of celestial spirits dwell in love 
 and adoration ; and finds its gates forever barred upon 
 him, and his eternity to be passed with a few apostate 
 angels and the lost of Adam's race, in the mere prison 
 house of this universe. 
 
 My friends, travelling to eternity, in prospect of the 
 approaching year I can but wish you all a year of life, 
 health, and spiritual and temporal happiness. But you 
 begin it in a world of uncertainties. Its record will 
 doubtless place some name among us on the roll of 
 death. Where is he? Who is he? Whose fate is 
 sealed the present year ? Is he seeking now a city which 
 hath foundations ? Is he clinging to this world ? Oh 
 could I now unroll the record of divine decrees, and shew 
 him to himself so soon to die, might it not stir him up to 
 
1 88 A Continuing City to Come. 
 
 preparation for eternity ? In these uncertainties, blessed 
 be the Saviour, he calls you all to hear his word of 
 grace. Rise up then at his command. Obey his call. 
 Forsake the world, and seek a better country far, the 
 city of his presence and eternal love. On the way he 
 calls you, go ; and the year will be a year of happiness, 
 whether you spend it here, in these scenes of time, or in 
 the city of your God above. But ah, if clinging to this 
 world you die, it will be a year an age a whole eter- 
 nity of woe ! So soon ? So nigh ? So thoughtless ? Yet 
 I tell thee, sinner, now, that when I meet thee at the gates 
 of death, and on the passway to eternity, I may not need 
 to tell thee then, PREPARE ! 
 
CHRIST PRECIOUS TO BELIEVERS 
 
 I. PETER II : 7. 
 
 UNTO YOU THEREFORE WHICH BELIEVE, HE IS PRECIOUS. 
 
 THE coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh was an event 
 of great joy to our world. An act of astonishing mercy 
 on his part, fulfilling the hopes inspired for ages in Israel, 
 the pledge of a treaty of peace both honorable to God 
 and consoling to man, it was meet to be heralded forth 
 by heavenly attendants as glad tidings of great joy to 
 all people. 
 
 Yet when we see his humiliations in the flesh, and trace 
 him on his way of poverty and reproach and suffering for 
 our sins, and witness the agonies of Gethsemane and Cal- 
 vary when we see how his offers of mercy are rejected 
 by a thoughtless world, who only take license from his 
 long-suffering to be more bold in sin, it becomes us to see 
 that our joy in his coming be placed on the right grounds. 
 
 The joy, though offered to all, is truly participated in 
 only by those, who in their need and guilt resort to him as 
 their Saviour, who yield themselves to his instruction and 
 care, and depend on his grace for perfect restoration to 
 the favor and service and kingdom of God. They see in 
 their own experience how precious he is, and join with 
 the heavenly hosts in desiring all nations to hear the glad 
 tidings of his grace, and earnestly pray that their de- 
 praved and guilty fellow-men may be partakers with 
 them in like precious faith. 
 
 Such was the joy of Peter, when he addressed his fellow 
 Christians in the text, " Unto you therefore which believe, 
 he is precious." At that time he felt that he owed to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ the obligations of a rebel humbled and 
 
190 Christ Precious to Believers. 
 
 forgiven, of a backslider reclaimed and restored, and of a 
 believer confirmed in his faith and devotedness and joyful 
 in the assured hope of future glory. By his own experi- 
 ence he had learned that Christ, who visited our world 
 from the throne of heaven on the embassy of redemption, 
 was in all respects suited and adequate to his spiritual 
 wants. 
 
 His fellow Christians too, he knew could unite, with his, 
 their testimony to the preciousness of Christ. He could 
 confidently address them : " Unto you which believe, he 
 is precious." 
 
 The value of Christ to himself and his fellow Christians, 
 he places in this one comprehensive consideration : that 
 CHRIST is A SAVIOUR ADEQUATE TO ALL THE WANTS OF 
 BELIEVERS. Peter learns his preciousness from this one 
 extensive promise : " He that believeth on him shall not 
 be confounded." Shall not be disappointed in his hopes. 
 Therefore is it, he adds, that to believers he is precious. 
 
 I shall manage the subject then in its true light, if I 
 exhibit to you the believer, and the adequacy of Christ 
 to his wants. 
 
 I. Who then is the believer? 
 
 Peter describes believers in a passage immediately 
 preceding the text, and to that description we will now 
 look for an answer to our question. According to his 
 description, believers are those who have " tasted that 
 the Lord is gracious." They are those, who by their 
 belief bring the great object of faith home to their 
 own experience ; who not only believe that Christ the 
 Lord offers grace to their acceptance, but who come to 
 him personally and in faith, to accept and to taste his 
 grace. They make real in their own feelings the truth of 
 his gracious words in the gospel. They give reality to 
 divine truth and yield their hearts to its deep and sacred 
 impressions. They believe with the heart. Such is the 
 mode in which they believe. 
 
 The great object on which their faith terminates, accord- 
 ing to this description of Peter, is Christ in his character of 
 a Saviour. They taste that the Lord is gracious ; the Lord 
 
Christ Precious to Believers. 191 
 
 Christ, who is said, in the immediate connection, to be disal- 
 lowed of men but chosen of God and precious. The Lord 
 Jesus Christ has undertaken the work of a Saviour, to turn 
 his believing people from sin and Satan unto God. He is 
 the Captain of Salvation ; the Head of the Church ; the 
 exalted Prince of Israel, to whom the penitent in all ages 
 have looked for redemption. 
 
 The believer then places his reliance on Christ ; and on 
 Christ as gracious : a Saviour bestowing an unmerited and 
 a free salvation. With him the Bible is the word of grace 
 from Christ ; the whole family of the redeemed, the king- 
 dom of his grace. To believe on Christ, then, is to 
 believe the doctrines which 'Christ teaches in his word; 
 or, which is the same thing, those principles of grace on 
 which Christ proceeds in relation to our world and in the 
 establishment of his kingdom of redemption. 
 
 Among the truths of his word which are illustrated in 
 that kingdom, or which enter into the belief and experi- 
 ence of the believer, the following seem to be funda- 
 mental. 
 
 1. That men are immortal. Christ has brought this 
 truth into clear light by his coming. He has not merely 
 asserted it, with a plainness not to be misapprehended ; 
 but confirmed his assertions, by miracles, by the resurrec- 
 tion of others, and by his own resurrection as the first 
 fruits of the sleeping dead. I say that this is a funda- 
 mental truth in the kingdom of Christ ; because that 
 kingdom is eternal. This truth the believer admits, and 
 commits his immortal soul to the keeping of Christ as the 
 true Shepherd and Bishop of souls. 
 
 Another essential truth, included in believing on Christ, 
 is, 
 
 2. That men are under the power and guilt of sin. They 
 are not merely immortal ; but in consequence of the fall, 
 their immortal existence, unless redemption is found, is 
 involved in sin and misery. 
 
 This is a truth which Christ maintains in his word ; and 
 it is an important principle on which he conducts, in estab- 
 lishing a kingdom of grace. On this principle he acted, 
 
192 Christ Precious to Believers. 
 
 when he assumed our humble nature, and died on the 
 cross in order to conduct his followers to glory. Were 
 we, as prospectively seen by him, innocent beings, or were 
 our guilt trifling, what need was there of his appearing 
 on earth and pouring out his precious blood a sacrifice? 
 A race of innocent beings could receive sufficient i)istrue- 
 tion from his messengers. Unless we are sinners and justly 
 exposed to endless miseries, why does the Gospel pro- 
 claim the glad news of a Saviour? A Saviour from what? 
 Not from annihilation surely ; for we were already im- 
 mortal. Why else, too, is the erection of a kingdom of 
 endless holiness and happiness among men, an act of 
 grace ? There is no grace, surely, in sustaining and bless- 
 ing forever a race of holy beings. On what other princi- 
 ple than our depravity, too, does Christ make the 
 universal call on men to repent, that iniquity be not their 
 everlasting ruin ? 
 
 Now the believer admits this truth, and brings it home 
 to his feelings. He has read it in his own experience. 
 He sees in some measure the infinite amiableness of the 
 divine character, and the astonishing hardness of his own 
 depraved heart. He sees and feels his depravity to be an 
 immense evil. With shame and sorrow over it, and with 
 heartfelt renunciation of it, he turns to God in Christ for 
 redemption. 
 
 Another truth, essentially connected with believing on 
 Christ, is 
 
 3. That his death is the only ground of pardon. The 
 believer relies on the atonement of Jesus for justification. 
 
 That his death is the only sufficient atonement for sin, 
 is proclaimed by the very fact, that in instituting a king- 
 dom of grace he chose this method of pardon. " He 
 died for our sins." For our rebellion against the right- 
 eous government of Jehovah, he laid down his life. Now 
 Christ acted, in making this sacrifice, on the principle, that 
 his death only could make amends to the honor of the 
 violated law : that, without it, there could be no remission 
 of our offenses. The believer, then, admits this truth 
 and brings it home to his feelings. He despairs of his 
 
Clirist Precious to Believers. 193 
 
 own righteousness, or of any other pardon, than that 
 which is freely received at a throne of grace through 
 the blood of Jesus. An immortal being, perishing in sin, 
 he feels his need of pardon from his God ; and he receives 
 peace of conscience, only by humbly approaching God 
 for it, in reliance on the blood of Christ. 
 
 Another truth included in believing on Christ, is, 
 
 4. That his power must sanctify. The believer seeks, for 
 his spiritual recovery, the influence of his Spirit. 
 
 The whole work of salvation is in his hands. He is a 
 Saviour, not only on the ground of his merits, but by means 
 of his power. When, after his crucifixion, he arose from 
 death and ascended on high, he was exalted to the throne 
 to give repentance unto Israel. By his Spirit he draws 
 men unto him. He has declared his kingdom to be a 
 kingdom of holiness, established by his Spirit. They who 
 belong to his kingdom, are born of the Spirit ; they are 
 led by the word and influence of the Spirit ; they walk in 
 the precepts and power of the Spirit. The Spirit of life 
 in Christ Jesus makes them free from the dominion of sin 
 and death. Now the believer admits this truth, and 
 brings it home to his feelings. He goes with supplication 
 to Christ, to receive grace to help in time of need. With- 
 out the power of Christ, he can do nothing to overcome 
 his spiritual foes. Would he succeed in the Christian 
 warfare? Fie must be clothed with the armor of God. 
 Would he be strong ? He must be so in the Lord and 
 the power of his might. Would he have hope ? He 
 looks to the God of hope to fill him with joy and peace 
 in believing, that he may abound in hope. Would he have 
 eternal life ? It must be the gift of God through Jesus 
 Christ. Deeply impressed with this truth, he goes, a 
 needy and humble supplicant, and seeks from Christ his 
 sanctification and eternal redemption. 
 
 II. From this brief contemplation of the believer, we 
 turn now to inquire why he esteems Christ to be precious. 
 
 The comprehensive reason is stated by Peter in the con- 
 text, in which he quotes from Isaiah xxviii : 16, this exten- 
 sive promise : " Behold I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, 
 
 26 
 
194 Christ Precious to Believers. 
 
 elect, precious ; and he that believeth on him shall not be 
 confounded." He who looks in true faith to this Saviour 
 will never be disappointed in his hopes. He will find in 
 him all suitable and adequate supply for his spiritual 
 and immortal wants. " Therefore," adds the apostle, 
 " unto you that believe, is he precious." On this ac- 
 count is he precious. 
 
 The believer then esteems Christ to be precious, because 
 he finds in him a Saviour in all respects suited and ade- 
 quate to his wants. 
 
 The believer is constantly experiencing wants ; around 
 him are temptations; within him, remaining depravity. 
 Who then can uphold him in the path of duty but a pres- 
 ent Saviour? He is exposed to a burdened conscience; 
 to wander in darkness and be distressed with apprehen- 
 sion of the frowns of heaven. Who can speak peace to 
 his troubled spirit but a present Saviour ? Believers are 
 exposed to trials from an ungodly world ; to have their 
 name cast out as evil ; to suffer bodily pains and infirmi- 
 ties ; or to experience the loss of estate or of friends. 
 Who can administer comfort to them in their trials but 
 a present Saviour? And such a Saviour is Christ. He 
 has left his promise on record, that he will come and 
 make his abode with believers. His declaration is, " My 
 sheep hear my voice, and I know them." I know who 
 they are and what is their situation. Not a contrite sigh 
 for sin arises from any soul, but he is present to hear. 
 Not a secret emotion of love to his cause springs up in 
 any heart, but he perceives its rising. Not one cry of 
 faith for deliverance is raised to heaven, but it reaches 
 his ears. When passing through the fires or the waters 
 of tribulation, his children may plead the promise, " I 
 will be with thee." Is not Christ, then, precious to 
 the believer, who is so very present a help in trouble? 
 
 Again; believers need not only a present, but a power- 
 ful Saviour. 
 
 What matters it that Christ is present to witness their 
 wants, if he has not power to relieve ? 
 
CJirist Precious to Believers. 195 
 
 The believer needs a Saviour powerful enough to man- 
 age his heart ; one who is able to subdue the obstinacy of 
 his depraved will and corrupt affections ; who can melt a 
 heart which threatenings and promises do not touch. 
 Such a powerful Saviour is Christ ; exalted as King on 
 the hill of Zion, bestowing the heart of flesh on Israel, 
 bringing into captivity the wills of his people. 
 
 The believer needs a Saviour who can manage all the 
 concerns of the universe. His welfare depends on the 
 minutest things as well as the great. He needs a Saviour 
 who can manage, at least consistently with his good, all 
 beings and worlds and events ; who will not suffer one 
 thing to befall him contrary to his own wise and gracious 
 pleasure. Such a powerful Saviour does the believer find 
 in Jesus. For he assures his disciples that all power in 
 heaven and on earth is in his hands. He promises that 
 all things shall work together for good to those who love 
 him and are called according to his purpose. 
 
 The believer needs a Saviour powerful enough, too, to 
 manage his cause with an infinitely holy God. He has 
 offended the Sovereign of the universe, whose laws are 
 most holy and just and good. The penalty he has incur- 
 red is just, and it is everlasting. Who, then, is powerful 
 enough to manage his cause before the Infinitely Holy 
 and Righteous One ? Who shall stay the execution of the 
 dreadful sentence of his King? The believer sees in 
 Christ his Saviour, the Son of God ; in whom the Father 
 is always well pleased ; whom he always hears. Such a 
 powerful advocate is managing his cause ; one who has 
 laid down his life to ransom his followers, and pleads the 
 infinite sacrifice above. Shall not then the blood of him 
 who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without 
 spot to God, purge the consciences of believers from 
 works of death ? They may now draw near the throne, 
 sprinkled from a guilty conscience, and behold with joy 
 the face of a forgiving God, and hold joyful communion 
 with him as a Father reconciled in Christ. 
 
 Thirdly ; believers need not only a present and power- 
 ful, but a compassionate Saviour. 
 
196 CJirist Precious to Believers. 
 
 Not one who shall wink at their sins and leave them to 
 perish ; but one who shall be mercifully faithful to rebuke, 
 reclaim, and forgive. 
 
 The believer who knows the least of his own heart, 
 cannot but see that he needs constant compassion to be 
 shown him from God. He has long abused divine grace ; 
 and, since the time when he was brought to confide in 
 God and experience the sweet pledges of pardoning 
 mercy, he has not found his heart perfect with God. He 
 sins still ; and he sins now against greater love and 
 mercy ; and he knows that nothing will answer his wants 
 but boundless compassion. Point him to a Saviour whose 
 compassions fail, to a God whose mercies consume, and 
 you drive him to despair. No such Saviour can bear 
 with his hard, ungrateful, rebellious heart. He must be 
 rendered contrite and made ashamed of his guilt by a 
 God, whose mercy is as high above our ways as the heav- 
 ens are above the earth. The sinner, who has not seen 
 the glory of the divine character and government, and 
 the vileness of his own heart, may not feel the need of 
 compassion in God, and may, like the infidel Rosseau, 
 rely on the justice of his Maker. But O ! the returning 
 backslider, the broken-hearted penitent, can never find 
 relief for his burdened soul till he meets a God of abound- 
 ing grace. 
 
 What had become of Peter had not his Saviour been 
 compassionate ? Called freely by Christ to his service ; 
 admitted, next to John, as his bosom companion ; one of 
 the favored three who witnessed the resurrection of 
 Jairus' daughter, and beheld his glory on the mount of 
 transfiguration : and yet, when his Master is apprehended 
 and led to the house of the high priest in that time of 
 his greatest sufferings, he openly denies having had any 
 connexion with Christ, and adds to the crimson guilt of 
 denial the dreadful impiety of curses and oaths. Oh, 
 what horrid iniquity ! Is there a God that can forgive ? 
 He had a Saviour who could compassionate him, who 
 could be " merciful to his unrighteousness ; " an advocate, 
 who could even anticipate his wants ; who, in full view of 
 
Christ Precious to Believers. 197 
 
 this hardness of heart, could pray for him that his faith 
 should not utterly fail. 
 
 The compassion of Christ undertook the work of salva- 
 tion, in full view of all its difficulties, all the reproaches 
 which he must suffer from an ungodly world, all the per- 
 versities with which he must bear in the hearts of his own 
 followers. Nothing unexpected then can occur to turn 
 him aside from his resolution of mercy. It is a motto in 
 his kingdom which, however much abused by the licen- 
 tious, is precious to the humble-hearted ; ' once forgiven, 
 always forgiven.' Whom he once receives to his love, 
 this faithful Shepherd loves and keeps to the end. He 
 shows in the work of redemption, that he has infinite 
 patience ; and that, when he pardons, he pardons like a 
 God. " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ; how shall I 
 deliver thee, Israel ? How shall I make thee as Admah ? 
 How shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned 
 within me ; my repentings are kindled together. I will 
 not execute the fierceness of my anger ; for I am God, and 
 not man." 
 
 Lastly ; the believer needs not only a present, powerful 
 and compassionate, but an everlasting Saviour. 
 
 He perceives a boundless eternity before him, and he 
 seeks some firm rock on which to rest his everlasting 
 hopes. Where then shall he go for consolation ? 
 
 Will you direct him to heathen sages or modern infi- 
 dels? His soul starts at the thought of annihilation. He 
 cannot bear the idea that, when called to close his eyes 
 on the world and this pleasant creation, his faculties 
 should be crushed and his perceptions and enjoyments 
 be forever lost. Cold consolation this to the heart that 
 beats and lives for immortality, and that is made to re- 
 ceive its happiness only from the Fount of Infinite Love 
 and Being ! 
 
 Will you tell him to banish the thought of futurity ? 
 Will you advise him, with the Epicure, to consult his 
 present pleasures and dismiss the idea of the future? 
 ' Let us eat and drink ; for to-morrow we die.' He knows 
 that these gratifications are unsatisfying to a rational 
 
198 Christ Precious to Believers. 
 
 soul. He knows too, that time is bearing him rapidly on 
 its current to eternity, and that no struggles of his can 
 delay his progress. 
 
 Where then, as he surveys the prospect of an endless 
 existence, shall he turn for light and comfort? His faith, 
 like that of Peter's, can find no support but in Jesus. 
 Turning from all other objects in the universe, and look- 
 ing to Christ, he exclaims ; " to whom, Lord, shall I go 
 but unto thee ; thou hast the words of eternal life ! " 
 From the throne of Christ, light breaks in upon his pros- 
 pects. United in faith and love to his risen and glorified 
 Saviour, he feels the joys of immortality already spring- 
 ing up in his soul. 
 
 But is there no failure? May there not a period in 
 eternity arrive when this refuge shall fail me ? The pos- 
 sibility of such an event would shake the very basis of 
 the Rock of ages. I shall not find a Saviour adequate 
 to my wants, unless I find one who will watch over my 
 existence forever, and render it holy and happy. And 
 such is Jesus Christ. He is the eternal \J\ie. They which 
 are called by him, receive the promise of an eternal inheri- 
 tance. He has become to those who obey him, the author 
 of eternal salvation. They who have fled to him for a 
 refuge, have found a shelter which shall endure through 
 all the convulsions and all the agitations of the moral 
 universe, so long as God is on the throne, and the holy 
 enjoy the tranquility of his reign. On this ground do we 
 find the apostles speaking with such ardor of the love of 
 Christ : it passeth knowledge ; its riches are unsearchable : 
 it constrains them, like an overwhelming torrent, to pass 
 through trials and hardships in extending his kingdom. 
 They seem burdened for words to express its height and 
 depth. They pray that their converts may be enlight- 
 ened, in order that they " may understand what is the 
 hope of his calling, and the riches of the glory of his 
 inheritance in the saints." 
 
 Is not a Saviour then, thus present, powerful, compas- 
 sionate and eternal, justly esteemed precious by all his fol- 
 
Clirist Precious to Believers. 199 
 
 lowers, who are expecting from him their eternal union 
 to the kingdom of glory ? 
 
 My Friends, permit me to inquire, or rather inquire of 
 yourselves as in the presence of God, is he your Saviour ? 
 Do you believe? Do you as immortal beings and as 
 perishing sinners, feel your need of his atoning blood and 
 renewing grace ? Have you ever experienced their vital 
 efficacy ? Do you supremely aim at obedience to his 
 will? Do you habitually approach his throne of mercy 
 for the pardon of sin and the joy of reconciliation ? Do 
 you depend daily on his gracious aid for guidance in 
 duty, and for strength to conquer your enemies and give 
 you the victory? 
 
 If so, then may you have seen and felt something of 
 the preciousness of Christ in this faint description. You 
 may have perceived more of it in your own experience. 
 But our powers have not yet fathomed the extent of that 
 love which passeth knowledge. Be faithful to Christ and 
 to your souls, live near to him, and you shall know more 
 of his excellence as you advance in the journey of this 
 life. More of his preciousness will be manifest to you, 
 when you pass the valley of death. More of it will be 
 unfolded to you, when you rise to meet him in the clouds 
 of the air. More of his preciousness will beam on your 
 souls, while permitted to pass in his presence the ages of an 
 eternity to come. The sweet experience of his loving- 
 kindness, the near view of his surpassing glory, will draw 
 from your tongues the everlasting song ; " thou art wor- 
 thy. Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by 
 thy blood?" 
 
 But, to those who, like the Jewish builders, disallow 
 the precious corner-stone which God hath laid in Zion, 
 he is a stone of stumbling and rock of offense. Precious 
 as he is to believers, he is so to none else. Indeed, the 
 very qualities which render him precious to his people, 
 render him terrible to all his enemies. Is he present ? 
 He is registering their deeds of guilt in the book of his 
 remembrance. Is he powerful ? That power, which man- 
 ages this mighty universe, will crush his obstinate foes. 
 
2OO Christ Precious to Believers. 
 
 Is he merciful? That mercy, which crowns Zion with 
 eternal glories, will not spare her persevering adversa- 
 ries. Is he everlasting ? He will live forever to execute 
 the penalties of his righteousness. 
 
 Turn then to this Saviour, while you are prisoners of 
 hope and he offers you life. Come now, while he freely 
 invites you to enter his kingdom of grace and of glory. 
 He that believeth on him, shall never be confounded. He 
 that believeth on him, will find him precious both now and 
 forever. Can you not, will you not, trust your soul on his 
 promises? O, come to his cross in penitence and taste 
 that he is precious ! 
 
NO ORDER IN THE GRAVE. 
 
 JOB X: 21, 22. 
 
 I GO WHENCE I SHALL NOT RETURN, EVEN TO THE LAND OF DARKNESS AND 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. A LAND OF DARKNESS, AS DARKNESS ITSELF, AND OF 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH, WITHOUT ANY ORDER. 
 
 IN this manner Job spake of his death and descent to 
 the grave. He looked on the grave as a land whither he 
 was going, and from which he should never come back to 
 mingle again in the scenes and duties of this life. He 
 regarded it, not indeed with the skeptic, as the final land 
 of annihilation, but as the middle land of passage, from 
 which he was to go forward to an eternal state. For 
 though he was to lie down till the scenes of this world are 
 past and the heavens be no more, yet, said he, " I know 
 that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the 
 latter day upon the earth, and, though after my skin 
 worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." 
 He characterized the grave this middle land as a land 
 * darkened with the shadows of death,' where the body 
 lies in the darkness of insensibility, unconscious of the 
 pleasant light of day ; and also, as a land in which is no 
 " order," to which mankind descend irregularly, without 
 respect to any precise and established arrangement, or 
 rule of succession. 
 
 It is the latter thought, more especially, to which I 
 now design to call your attention that there is no order, 
 apparent to men, in the demands of the grave. 
 
 To present the subject more fully and clearly, I will 
 attempt, 
 
 I. To define the sense in which the grave is without 
 order ; 
 
 II. To specify some things in which this want of order 
 is most manifest ; and, 
 
 27 
 
2O2 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 III. To show the wisdom of God in so conducting his 
 providence that the grave should be thus without order. 
 
 I. In what sense, then, is the grave said to be " without 
 order?" 
 
 The expression does not mean, that mankind become 
 the subjects of death and the grave without the operation 
 of adequate causes. For, there are causes in operation 
 among men sufficient to extinguish animal life, and which 
 operate, according to established laws, in producing 
 every instance of temporal death ; as truly, as there are 
 causes in the natural world to produce the regular vicissi- 
 tudes of day and night and of the seasons. 
 
 Nor, again, does the expression mean, that these causes 
 operate by chance, without the supervision and control of 
 the Creator. For he holds all the secondary causes which 
 operate in his kingdom in his hands, directing and turning 
 them according to his own will. Nor are the causes of 
 temporal death, any more than others, excepted from his 
 control. Sickness, disease, violence, and even what we 
 call the accidents of life, come and go, at his bidding or 
 by his permission ; and, when it is his pleasure, come with 
 sufficient force to extinguish temporal life. 
 
 But the expression means, that the causes which operate 
 to produce temporal death are so controlled by the Lord, 
 as that the result is destitute of any regularity, or without 
 any order apparent and visible to man : breaking in upon, and 
 disturbing, more or less, every plan and system of 
 arrangement adopted among the living. The irregu- 
 larity in this case, though not the same, may be illus- 
 trated by that of the drawing of the lot ; the result of 
 .which is not without the operation of precise and suffi- 
 cient causes, nor causes removed beyond the supervision 
 and control of God : but yet it depends on no known 
 principle of order, on which man can fix the calculation of 
 certainty. Just so in the selection of the subjects of 
 death from among the living, there is no one principle 
 followed, apparent to man, by which he can fix the cer- 
 tainty, as he can in those parts of nature where order is 
 established on known and precise laws. 
 
No Order in the Grave. 203 
 
 But I proceed, 
 
 II. To specify some things in which this want of order 
 is most manifest. 
 
 In the selection made from the living, there is no order 
 in respect to age. If death were fixed for all the indi- 
 viduals of our race at one precise period of life, never 
 occurring before or deferred beyond its arrival, there 
 would then be manifest, in regard to the event, the order 
 of time the particular order of age. But such an order 
 is broken up and wholly destroyed by the process of the 
 grave. Alike from its dark halls are the summons issued, 
 to take from the living the infant, the little child, the 
 maturing youth, the full-grown man, the man of hoary 
 age ; and down to its chambers they descend together in 
 promiscuous ranks, and take their station side by side, 
 totally regardless of age. 
 
 Again : there is no order apparent, in respect to the 
 character of those who are selected. We can see no plan 
 adopted which proceeds at all on the principle of char- 
 acter, either in respect to its usefulness or perniciousness 
 to the living, or to its fitness or unfitness for happiness in 
 another life. The good and useful are not all spared to 
 old age. The evil and injurious are not all cut down in 
 earlier life. The youthful Christian, and the venerable 
 disciple who has spent his days in the service of his Lord, 
 the youthful trangressor just entered on the stage of life, 
 and the hardened offender grown old in his crimes, yield- 
 ing to the summons of death, march, side by side, to the 
 dark and shadowy land of the grave. 
 
 Again : there is no order in the grave, in respect to the 
 station of those who are taken. Every principle of order, 
 in relation to station in the family, in the church, or in the 
 state, is broken in upon by the demands of the grave. 
 The parent is not spared for his importance to the house- 
 hold, or the pastor on account of his flock, or the ruler on 
 account of his subjects; but alike parents and children, 
 pastors and their people, rulers and their subjects, go 
 down together to the land of silence, and dwell, side by 
 side, in their narrow mansions. 
 
2O4 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 Again : there is no order in the grave, in respect to the 
 previous health of its subjects. The weak and feeble are 
 not selected in preference to the strong and vigorous. 
 The debility of one does not necessarily subject him to 
 the immediate call of disease and death ; nor the vigor of 
 another certainly exempt him from its sudden approach. 
 Both alike and indiscriminately are spared, or fall the 
 victims of fatal disease, accident or violence ; and pass 
 together to the land of silence. 
 
 Once more : there is no order in the grave, in respect to 
 the manner in which its subjects are summoned out of life. 
 We might suppose one invariable mode adopted in respect 
 to the departure of all to the grave. But no such prin- 
 ciple of regularity is at all followed. The diseases and 
 causes which take men out of life differ exceedingly, in 
 regard to the certainty with which they operate, the pain 
 which they occasion, the time in which they continue. 
 One disease is no sooner fastened on the system than it is 
 known that death must follow, and all hope of recovery 
 is forever extinguished. Another disease goes forward , 
 insidiously to its work, not destroying the hope of re- 
 covery, it may be, till death itself suddenly announces 
 its presence. One person lies the subject of a long and 
 lingering consumption, while another, by the bursting of 
 a blood-vessel, the stoppage of the heart, or by apoplexy, 
 falls suddenly and without warning from the vigor of 
 health into the arms of death. There is no regularity, no 
 settled plan, according to which the grave summons its 
 subjects away from life : but alike the long-forewarned 
 and the suddenly-called, pass together into its dark 
 domains. 
 
 In these various respects, there is a total disregard of 
 all appearance of regularity and plan in the demands 
 which come up to the living from the shadowy realms of 
 death. Let us now consider, as was proposed, 
 
 III. The wisdom of God in so conducting his provi- 
 dence that there should be no manifest order in the grave. 
 In the midst of all this apparent irregularity, there is 
 indeed a general plan pursued in one respect : that all 
 
No Order in the Grave. 205 
 
 mankind in their respective generations are removed 
 from this world in the one way of temporal death. Re- 
 specting the wisdom of God in this general plan of pro- 
 cedure, I shall not now speak. But taking it for granted 
 that this way of removing our race from the world is 
 wise, I am to speak more particularly of the wisdom of 
 accomplishing the removal without any obvious and 
 fixed rules of order. 
 
 Now, though we may not be able to discover all the 
 positive reasons of wisdom which exist for this irregular- 
 ity, or to trace those which we can discern out to their 
 full extent, we shall at least see evidence of wisdom, if we 
 find that any ends, important to God and his kingdom, 
 are dependent on it, which could not be obtained by the 
 opposite course of adhering to rules of known and strict 
 order. 
 
 Now, the present irregularity arises from the plan of 
 varying the time and manner of removing individuals 
 from the world by temporal death : and the only alterna- 
 tive which exists in the case, is between a plan confined 
 to one invariable time and manner in all cases, and a 
 plan open to variation of time and manner : between per- 
 fect regularity of time and manner in these respects, and 
 irregularity : and between these plans the choice lies. 
 
 With this general view of the ground on which we 
 proceed in the inquiry, I remark that the following ends 
 of wisdom are clearly dependent on the present course of 
 providence, which could not be obtained without it. 
 
 i. The care of human life itself is made to enter as an 
 element into our present state of probation. 
 
 The use of all lawful means for the preservation of our 
 own lives and the lives of others around us, is in this way 
 devolved on us as an imperious duty : and this particular 
 duty is thus made to enter, as a part, into that system of 
 duties which constitutes our trial, and is to form and 
 manifest our character. That this is a consequence of the 
 present plan of providence, is at once obvious. For the 
 means by which life is supported, by which it is defended 
 from violence, or subjected to it, by which it is guarded 
 
206 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 from the attacks or the fatal progress of disease, or 
 exposed to them, are now, to a limited extent, entrusted 
 to our hands. And by these means, to the extent they 
 are entrusted to us, are we tried in respect to our volun- 
 tary care of life. The precious deposit is left with us by 
 the Creator, under the solemn injunction of his authority, 
 " Thou shalt not kill." And, in their treatment of this 
 deposit, mankind will be proved and tried as the faithful 
 servants of God, the negligent and the careless, or the 
 violent and murderous. I say, this care of life in our- 
 selves and others is devolved on us as a duty, under the 
 present procedure of providence only. For, if the oppo- 
 site course were adopted by the Creator, to remove men 
 from life invariably at a regular time and in a uniform and 
 regular manner, the present laws of animal life must be 
 altered or suspended in their operation, and he would take 
 the care of life wholly out of the hands of man into his 
 own hands. The continuance of life and its termination, 
 would have no more connection with the care and con- 
 duct of men, than have now the movements of planetary 
 worlds, the revolution of the seasons, the rise of the tides, 
 the succession of day and night : so that it is only under 
 the present system of irregularity, in which the causes of 
 death are to a certain extent entrusted to man, that the 
 care of life is entrusted to his hands, and comprised 
 among the duties which constitute his probation for eter- 
 nity. Nor does it need labored argument to show that, 
 while this life is constituted a scene of probation for the 
 formation of character in reference to a coming eternity, 
 it is wise to devolve on man the care of so precious an 
 interest as that of the continuance of life in himself and 
 others, and to constitute it one of the means of his trial. 
 For this interest is thus put on a harmonious footing with 
 all his other interests, each of which is made so far depen- 
 dent on his agency, as to appeal to his feelings, to impose 
 on him a duty ; to constitute a trial, in which his character 
 is formed and tested : and it favors more strongly the cul- 
 tivation of respect to the will of God, and benevolent 
 affection towards our fellow-creatures, to have so precious 
 
No Order in the Grave. 207 
 
 an interest of humanity devolved in some measure upon 
 our care. Just as in entrusting the Gospel to the hands 
 of men, as the means on which the spiritual and eternal 
 life of the race depends, the care of that high and ever- 
 lasting interest is devolved on us who receive the Gospel 
 as a means of trial, and a most powerful call addressed to 
 our hearts to enter into fellowship with Christ in his love 
 to God and compassion to the guilty, by publishing the 
 Gospel of his grace abroad in all lands to every creature. 
 
 Again, 
 
 2. The present course of providence renders the call on 
 man, to attend to the duties of his passing probation, more 
 pungent. 
 
 For now the probabilities of continued life, gathered 
 from the general course of providence, are sufficiently 
 strong, to remove from man an absorbing and overwhelm- 
 ing fear of immediate death. He has a sufficient pros- 
 pect of continued life, to allow him to give his earnest 
 attention and interested feelings continually to his pres- 
 ent duties, by means of which alone he can avail himself 
 of the true privileges of his probation, and form a char- 
 acter of diligent devotion to God and to the interests of 
 his fellow-creatures the true preparation for eternal 
 blessedness. But while, on this hand, the probability of 
 continued life is sufficiently strong, to free his mind from 
 that distracting and overwhelming fear of death, which 
 would prevent hearty attention to his spiritual duties, 
 while the probability is sufficiently strong, to allow him 
 to give his supreme attention to them, there is, on the 
 other hand, that possibility of his being called away at 
 any moment, which constitutes a most loud and imperious 
 call upon him, not to loiter away in worldliness and sin 
 the passing moments of his day of grace. The irregular- 
 ity of the very manner of death too, as well as of the time, 
 not only rebukes the presumption of delaying attention to 
 his duties to future years and times, but of waiting even 
 for the monitions of disease. For it is possible that 
 disease may be short and hasty in its work, leaving him 
 no time for preparation ; it may be too violent and for- 
 
208 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 cible to permit the exercise of his rational faculties, or, 
 hidden, internal and unfelt in its subtle approaches, it may 
 strike him down instantly while in the full career of life. 
 The possibility of instant death, and a death of which he 
 is unwarned, therefore, calls imperiously upon him to 
 address himself immediately to the great duties of this 
 life : to be instant in season and out of season in the great 
 work, which alone will fit him for happiness in another 
 world. To this voice of providence the Saviour appealed, 
 when calling on man to make the preparation. " Be ye 
 ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of 
 Man cometh/' 
 
 But if, on the other hand, a system of regularity were 
 adhered to, all this influence to favor the calls to prepara- 
 tion for another life would be lost. The entire certainty 
 which would occupy every mind in respect to the precise 
 age and manner of removal would, in the earlier periods 
 of human life, too strongly facilitate the presumption in 
 man of neglecting the duties of this state, and giving him- 
 self to the pleasures of the world, and with the increased 
 worldliness and hardness of heart nourished within him in 
 this presumptuous career, his unwillingness be increased 
 to address himself to the duties of religion and prepara- 
 tion for eternity, until, finding himself on the brink of 
 removal, he should wake up, at the last hour, like the 
 criminal condemned to execution, only to be absorbed 
 with the fears of death and the terrors of despair. Such 
 at least we can see to be the tendency of such a system on 
 such a being as man a being who is inclined to such a 
 course even now, amid all the present powerful monitions 
 of providence to the contrary. 
 
 Is it not wise, then, on the part of God, to proceed, in 
 the removal of man from the world, in a way which ever 
 renders the grave so powerful a preacher ; calling alike 
 on the young, the mature, the aged on man at every 
 point and station in this life to address himself to his 
 present duties, and thus prepare himself for a blessed 
 immortality ? not throwing on man such a despair of con- 
 tinued life as to palsy all hope and exertion, nor giving 
 
No Order in the Grave. 209 
 
 
 him such a warrant of long-continued exemption from the 
 call of death, as to embolden him to neglect the present 
 and vainly presume on the future. 
 
 Again, 
 
 3. A superior moral discipline is exerted over mankind 
 by means of the present course of providence in the 
 infliction of death. 
 
 If death were brought on each individual of the race at 
 a precise age and in a precise manner, unvarying in all, 
 there could be in the event no opportunity for the Creator 
 to make any special manifestation of his feelings, to ad- 
 dress any special admonitions to mankind, or specially to 
 adapt the trial and chastening to the state of survivors. 
 There would be only the one, general and unvarying 
 expression of divine feeling, exhibited in the general plan 
 of removing man from the world in the way of temporal 
 death. But now, those ends of superior moral discipline 
 are gained. There is now opportunity for God to mani- 
 fest his feelings towards men in this part of his provi- 
 dence. He has not cut himself off from the opportunity, 
 as he would have done by the adoption of one invariable 
 time and manner of removal. And if we look to the 
 actual course of his providence, we shall see that he has 
 availed himself of the opportunity to testify to men the 
 feelings of his heart, and bring them near to him for 
 moral discipline. The patience of his heart he now 
 proves to us, in permitting the transgressor to live on to 
 old age amid the abused privileges of this state. For 
 while it is in his hands to kill or keep alive each moment 
 as he pleases, what patience must be in his heart to be 
 willing to endure the hardened transgressor with such 
 long-suffering ! Compassion too he now manifests, in 
 restoring men to life from the borders of death. For, as 
 men now sink under the withering power of disease, they 
 ask it as a mercy, that he spare them a little longer before 
 they go hence, and if he hear their cries and raise them 
 up, they see and feel the pity and compassion of his heart. 
 This exercise of his compassion, in healing sickness and 
 saving from death, is referred to by the inspired writers, 
 
 28 
 
2io No Order in the Grave. 
 
 in their appeals to the feelings of men : it is thus described 
 by David. " They draw near unto the gates of death. 
 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he 
 saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word 
 and healed them, and delivered them from their destruc- 
 tions. O that men would praise the Lord for his good- 
 ness, and for his wonderful works unto the children of 
 men ! " The feeling of displeasure or vengeance towards 
 sin is also at times specially manifested. It is often sup- 
 posed, that because one event that of temporal death 
 happeneth to all, neither the love or hatred of God can 
 be shown in the event. That it is not the usual method 
 of God so to administer temporal death, as by that event 
 alone to publish his hatred or approbation of the conduct 
 of its subjects to the world, must be acknowledged. Yet 
 that he does not occasionally make special manifestations 
 of his displeasure, cannot be affirmed with truth. The 
 way is open for him to administer death, whenever he 
 shall see occasion, in that signal and fearful manner which 
 shall publish aloud his judgments. And he has done it. 
 The memorable instances of a deluged world, and the 
 consumption by fire of Sodom and Gomorrha, are re- 
 corded as eternal monuments of his vengeance. And the 
 revelation made of his future providence show us death 
 on his pale charger, riding forth to execute vengeance on 
 the guilty nations. And not only in the method of public 
 judgments, when war, pestilence, famine, go forth as 
 executioners of men, does he manifest vengeance. But 
 also in suffering individuals, in many instances, to be 
 executioners of themselves, by means of their own sins. 
 They are left to reap temporal death, as the direct and 
 obvious wages of their own folly. They cut themselves 
 off from life by their iniquities. Their sin itself has upon 
 it the brand of death and divine displeasure. This is seen, 
 not merely in the direct and wilful suicide, who, fretting 
 against God and providence, is left to be devoured in the 
 fire of his own rage and by the blows of his own wrath : 
 it is seen written also on that slower progress of awful 
 forms of disease and premature death, which spring from 
 
No Order in the Grave. 21 
 
 the particular sins and vices of men. They flow as direct 
 retributions for infringements on the laws of God. 
 " Fools," says the Psalmist, " because of their transgres- 
 sions, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their 
 soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw near 
 to the gates of death." If their diseases are not arrested 
 in mercy, but are allowed to go on unto death, is not the 
 displeasure of God against their sin at least whether 
 their souls are penitent and pardoned or not proclaimed 
 in the manner of their death ? 
 
 There is now opportunity also for God to address spe- 
 cial instruction and warning to mankind. Indeed every 
 special manifestation of his feelings, which he now lets in 
 upon the world, is an appeal to the feelings of men ; he 
 sets before them the feelings of his-own heart, in order to 
 affect theirs and bring them into sympathy and harmony 
 with him. His patience towards us is manifest, to put 
 down our impatience and fretfulness towards him and 
 towards our fellow-men. His compassion, to enkindle 
 compassion in our breasts for the needy, the suffering, the 
 guilty, who surround us. His displeasure, to awaken 
 displeasure in our hearts against sin, that we may crucify 
 it in ourselves and labor to exterminate it in others. 
 
 But beside the admonitions arising to men from these 
 manifestations of divine feeling, there is more especial 
 warning still addressed to men from death : in its coming 
 near us and removing the friends and associates, who are 
 at our side, into eternity. A removal would indeed take 
 place on the plan of regularity in death. But in far dif- 
 ferent circumstances, with no special appeals addressed to 
 any ; all of whom are assured of the same fixed length of 
 life. Now it is the removal of our associates and friends, 
 our co-equals in age ; their removal at every stage of our 
 journey ; their departure from us in childhood, in youth, 
 in manhood : bursting from the closest sympathies of life, 
 and leaving us here, who might have been called away in 
 their stead, to go onward still in our probation, from the 
 stage and point where theirs is closed for eternity. What 
 an appeal is thus brought up to us on all our way in life, 
 
212 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 from the death of companions falling at our side ; to re- 
 mind us of our duty, to affect us with the providence that 
 permits us to linger amid the privileges from which they 
 have been withdrawn, and bids us be ready to follow 
 them at any time into eternity ? 
 
 There is now opportunity also for God to adapt the 
 chastening, which he administers through death, more 
 wisely to the spiritual w r elfare of survivors. Death is to 
 invade every family circle. But when shall it come, how 
 shall it approach, whom shall it invade? All is now open 
 and free for the Lord to do as seemeth good in his sight. 
 And does it make no difference how he proceeds ? Though 
 we may not see what particular course wisdom might 
 dictate, yet is it not obvious that to infinite wisdom one 
 course must appear preferable to another? He must see 
 who most need correction, what extent of correction will 
 be most profitable, and we are assured from his possession 
 of infinite wisdom, that in the present procedure of his 
 providence he adapts the chastening and correction he 
 administers through death, in a manner the most profita- 
 ble to afflicted friends, consistently with the other ends he 
 is seeking at the same time in his kingdom. We are 
 assured from his o\vn mouth that he doth it for our profit, 
 that we might be partakers of his holiness that we ma}^ 
 be brought into subjection to him, the Father of our 
 spirits and live. 
 
 Such are the modes of superior moral discipline, which 
 the present manner of inflicting death enables the Lord 
 to administer to mankind. 
 
 I remark, once more only, 
 
 4. By means of the present providence of God in respect 
 to death, the exercise of superior wisdom is admitted 
 in the removal of men from their stations on earth into 
 those they are to occupy in eternity. This consideration 
 opens before us a field too boundless in extent to be 
 traversed by our feeble faculties. The eternal world is 
 wholly beyond our sight, and we know not what change 
 is affected there by the introduction of a new inhabitant, 
 or who of the millions of this world it is best should 
 
No Order in the Grave. 213 
 
 arrive there on the morrow. In the present world too, 
 we can trace the results to arise from the removal of a 
 single person but a little way, as these results circle 
 forth from the vacancy on the surrounding mass. How 
 little then can we know of the relation the removal may 
 have on the plans of wisdom for this world, in all its ages, 
 and in all the relations it bears to the future world ! We 
 stand on the verge of an illimitable field of beings and 
 results, extending far beyond our ken into the regions of 
 immensity and eternity. Yet we know that there is One, 
 whose piercing vision takes in the whole ; and we have 
 confidence in his wisdom, that at whatever time he takes 
 any being from this scene of life and transfers him to 
 eternity, he sees it best for the interests of his whole 
 kingdom, that the removal should then be made. We 
 know that, on the present plan of providence, there is free 
 opportunity for the Creator to remove whomsoever he 
 pleases, at whatsoever time, and in whatsoever manner : 
 that consequently there is a range for the exercise of his 
 wisdom in best adapting the removal to the interests of 
 his whole kingdom, that would be entirely excluded on - 
 the plan of removing all from the world at one and the 
 same period of life. Now we have this confidence, that 
 when the good and useful man is cut off from the earth 
 in early age, the world will not suffer on the whole, or 
 that if it should at all, there will be gain more than 
 enough to counterbalance it in the kingdom of God 
 above : or that, when the guilty tyrant and oppressor is 
 continued long on earth, the world will not suffer more 
 on the whole than were he more early removed, or at 
 least that results will be gained in the whole kingdom 
 of eternity, more than enough to counterbalance the dif- 
 ference that remains. The problem is simply this : all 
 other things remaining as they are ; that is, in a world of 
 sin where grace is carrying forward its conquests, and 
 from which all its generations are to be removed to their 
 endless retributions, is it best adapted to advance the 
 objects of infinite wisdom and goodness in both worlds 
 taken together, to remove all men at a precise age of life, 
 
214 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 or to vary the time and manner with the individuals ? 
 Every one who admits the connection of means and ends 
 in the kingdom of God, must have confidence that the 
 present plan of removal is the true solution of the prob- 
 lem that it is best adapted to gain the ends of wisdom 
 that it lets in the exercise of superior wisdom in the 
 providential management of this world that it gains 
 more to the kingdom of God on the whole. 
 
 Such then I conceive to be some of the important ends 
 gained by the present providence of the Creator, which 
 breaks in upon every apparent principle of regularity and 
 order in the infliction of temporal death ends, which must 
 totally be excluded from attainment under a system of 
 uniform regularity and order, and which consequently 
 evince the wisdom of God in pursuing the present sys- 
 tem. 
 
 To recapitulate them in the order we have considered 
 them, they are the following : the care of human life is 
 made to enter as an element of duty into our present 
 state of probation ; the call to attend to the duties of our 
 probationary state, and prepare for another life, is ren- 
 dered more powerful ; a superior moral discipline is ex- 
 erted over mankind by means of the infliction of death ; 
 and the exercise of superior wisdom admitted, in the re- 
 moval of men from their stations on earth into those 
 which they are to occupy in eternity. 
 
 And now what are the practical conclusions we are to 
 derive from the whole ? 
 
 We find ourselves here in a world of probation, going 
 soon through the shadowy realm of death to a state of 
 eternal retribution. When we once go, we shall never 
 return : and with no return to the privileges of this day 
 of grace, our eternal condition is irreversibly fixed. If 
 lost, we are lost forever: if redeemed, redeemed beyond 
 danger and thrall. We have seen that, in this situation 
 of deep interest in which we are placed, there is no visi- 
 ble order in the demands which come up to us from the 
 grave ; and we find that, in this very departure from any 
 fixed law of order in the time and manner of death, the 
 
No Order in the Grave. 2 1 5 
 
 Creator is favoring our spiritual interests in this state of 
 probation, increasing the motives to that devotion and 
 holiness which constitute the only true preparation for 
 future blessedness ; and consulting, at the same, the high- 
 est good of his entire kingdom. 
 
 Does not the subject then obviously call upon us, not 
 only as sinners to be reconciled to God without which 
 all our interests are wrecked to eternity but more espe- 
 cially, to submit as reconciled children to his Fatherly 
 wisdom, and occupy ourselves diligently in his service ? 
 
 To submit as reconciled children to his Fatherly wisdom. 
 Any evidence which he gives us of his wisdom and good- 
 ness, should indeed lead us with a filial confidence to com- 
 mit ourselves and our friends and fellow-creatures to the 
 disposal of his will. But it may assist us to submit, more 
 peacefully and calmly, to a trying part of his providence, 
 if we can see, amid the darkness that surrounds it, some 
 clear traces of wisdom and goodness that the light of 
 his love shines forth, even from the gloom and darkness. 
 When we look on the apparently indiscriminate and 
 irregular path of his providence, there is much that looks 
 dark and mysterious. We fix our eye perhaps on some 
 affecting instance of death ; and we instinctively ask, why 
 should not death have longer delayed? Why should it 
 not have come in some other form ? But why shall 
 we doubt or complain? If we cannot trace the ways 
 of Jehovah through all their intricacies, does he not let 
 us see that he is ordering this branch of his providence in 
 a way to conduce to the spiritual welfare of mankind and 
 the best good of his kingdom ? We can see at least, 
 that the general plan on which he is proceeding, out 
 of which these cases of trial arise, is the best, and 
 therefore adopted by fatherly wisdom and goodness. 
 Let us then without a murmur or complaint, without 
 a wish to take the disposal of ourselves or others out of 
 his hands, calmly leave all with him ; rejoicing that, in 
 this part of his providence, he doeth all things well that, 
 as a faithful and compassionate Creator, he is consulting 
 the well-being of his kingdom and the true welfare of all 
 
 
216 No Order in the Grave. 
 
 who commit their ways and their souls to his care. This 
 is true submission : unlike the stoic apathy which submits, 
 as to a blind fate, with a hard-hearted indifference towards 
 God and his creatures. This is the submission of filial 
 love, which honors God and cherishes the best affections 
 in the heart of man. 
 
 The subject calls upon us also to occupy ourselves dili- 
 gently as his servants. For the Lord is ever near us, 
 calling upon us to value that life on which hangs our des- 
 tiny, and to occupy its hastening hours in preparation for 
 future glory. He is near us continually, appealing to our 
 hearts from affecting scenes of death. He is ever near, 
 taking his servants from this world into eternity. While 
 the Lord is constantly so near, showing his footsteps in 
 the darkest storms of his providence, opening a path of 
 light for all his devoted and faithful servants, be assured 
 that your wisdom, your safety, your happiness lies in 
 being fervently and diligently occupied, as obedient ser- 
 vants, in the great work he has given you to do in this 
 life. This course calls down the light of his countenance 
 upon you, and brings you into communion with his Spirit, 
 as you pass along your way to the grave. It lets you, 
 with peaceful hope of heaven, leave calmly, at his dis- 
 posal, the hour and manner of your departure ; and pre- 
 pares you to meet the event, when it comes, with joy, as 
 the time and way your Lord appoints you of resting from 
 your earthly labors and trials, and entering upon immortal 
 blessedness in heaven. Be ye then servants of God in 
 this world of your probation. Be ye followers of Jesus 
 in these scenes of his trial. Be diligent, unmovable, always 
 abounding in the work of the Lord, while here on your 
 way to his immovable kingdom above. For Christ, our 
 Master, will soon dismiss us from these scenes. * Blessed 
 are those servants whom, when he cometh, he shall find 
 so doing ! ' 
 
 How, when, it shall be 
 We cannot foresee ; 
 But Lord, let us live, let us die, unto thee ! 
 
THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 MATTHEW XIV: 311. MARK VI: 1729. 
 
 THIS distinguished preacher of righteousness was sent 
 as a prophet to Israel, to announce the Messiah and intro- 
 duce him into his public ministry. He had been engaged 
 in this office somewhat more than a year and a half, when 
 his faithfulness gave such an offense to the family of 
 Herod Antipas, king of the Tetrarchy of Galilee, as was 
 never forgiven ; which led to his immediate imprisonment, 
 and subsequently to his death. 
 
 The offense was given by a speech which John made in 
 the presence of Herod Antipas, in regard to his marriage. 
 That speech excited the displeasure of the king ; but the 
 venom of anger rankled deepest in the breast of his proud, 
 ambitious and pleasure-loving consort, the beautiful, yet 
 faithless Herodias. This aspiring matron, as we learn 
 from the Jewish historian Josephus, the grand-daughter 
 of Herod the Great, had first married her uncle Herod 
 Philip ; and becoming disgusted with him, as a man who 
 had fallen into disgrace in the family, and was left without 
 place and without fortune in the world, she intrigued with 
 another uncle, already married, this Herod Antipas, the 
 king of Galilee, with whom for a husband she would secure 
 herself a palace and a crown. The plot succeeded : the 
 enamored Herod Antipas divorced his wife, without cause, 
 and sent her to her father, king Aretas : the faithless Hero- 
 dias, taking with her her daughter Salome, forsook her first 
 husband; and these parties, in full violation of their exist- 
 ing marriage vows, united their fortunes in an incestuous 
 marriage in the palace at Tiberias in Galilee. They were 
 
 29 
 
218 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 living in this strange union, and she with her daughter 
 were reveling in the splendors and luxuries of a Roman 
 court, when John the Baptist, that stern preacher of the 
 laws of righteousness, that zealous promoter of the cause 
 of repentance and reformation, came into Galilee exer- 
 cising his ministry among the people. His increasing 
 fame and reputation as a prophet, brought him into notice 
 in high places. Herod, on the throne of Galilee, could 
 not be indifferent to the influence which he was acquiring 
 among the people, and which might be, if not rightly 
 managed, wielded against him for purposes of sedition 
 among his subjects. He watches the prophet. He seeks 
 occasion and opportunity to hear him. He regards, in his 
 outward practice before the people, many of his precepts. 
 He appears for a while pleased with his discourses. But 
 the occasion soon arrives for the prophet to be more 
 direct in dealing with the conscience of the king, than he 
 could do with propriety and without appearance of scan- 
 dal in the promiscuous assemblies of the multitude. In 
 consequence of the popularity of the preacher, it is 
 probable that he was invited to attend at the palace 
 and preach before the court, where the king and queen 
 would stand prominent before him ; and faithfulness to 
 the highest interests of his host and hostess, would seem 
 to demand an utterance of the truth and an applica- 
 tion of it in favor of personal repentance and reformation. 
 On such an occasion, probably, was it (if it were not a 
 still more private interview taken with the king alone) 
 that the speech was uttered, which proved the source of 
 his persecution even unto death. The speech is short, as 
 it is reported ; but it unfolded the whole enormity of their 
 sin, and sent an arrow to their hearts, that gave a wound 
 never to be healed except by repentance : " It is not law- 
 ful for thee to have her, thy brother's wife." On that 
 annunciation, Herodias, more than Herod, trembles. 
 * Will the prophet prevail over the conscience of my hus- 
 band to put me away ? and shall I, with my daughter, be 
 thrust out of the palace in disgrace ?' She turns with 
 rage against the prophet. She forthwith sets her pliant 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 219 
 
 husband to the work of silencing this reprover. She 
 would have him executed* instantly : but her husband, 
 troubled a little in conscience, and fearing more the indig- 
 nation that might be excited against him in the populace, 
 though desirous to gratify her will, forbears to slay the 
 prophet : but withdraws him from the people, and closes 
 his opportunities of giving farther reproof, by shutting 
 him up and enchaining him, within the prison of the castle. 
 This account of the imprisonment of John is briefly 
 stated by Matthew and Mark, but in the plus-perfect time, 
 because in their history the narrative of the imprisonment, 
 being omitted in its proper place, is introduced as a past 
 and prior transaction, to preface the account of his death. 
 u Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put 
 him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. 
 For John said unto him, it is not lawful for thee to have 
 her." The two historians present different motives that 
 induced Herod to forbear the execution and content him- 
 self with the bare imprisonment of John. Mark says, 
 " Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him [John] 
 and would have killed him ; but she could not : for Herod 
 feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy, 
 and observed him, and when he heard him he did many 
 things and heard him gladly." His respect and reverence 
 for the prophet, notwithstanding the offense which made 
 him wish his death, checked him from proceeding farther 
 than imprisonment. Matthew says, " And when he 
 would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, 
 because they counted him as a prophet." His own dis- 
 pleasure and his wife's entreaties, both made him wish for 
 the death of John, but he was held back and restrained 
 from such extreme violence, partly by his reverence for 
 the prophet and partly by his fear of the people. 
 
 A year had elapsed and more. Herod, with Herodias 
 and Salome, lived on amid the pleasures of royal wealth 
 and extravagance. John is effectually silenced in the 
 prison ; and though his friends and disciples, through the 
 leave of the king, may occasionally have access into his 
 presence, his discourses before the multitude have ceased, 
 
220 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 and they become less and less interested in his fate and 
 fortune. 
 
 The day arrives at length, on which the incensed Hero- 
 dias has opportunity to indulge the malice of her heart. 
 " When a convenient day was come," says Mark, in intro- 
 ducing the narrative. That was the birthday of Herod, 
 to be celebrated with great pomp and with riotous feast- 
 ing in the palace. " Herod, on his birthday, made a sup- 
 per,." says Mark, " to his lords, high captains and chief 
 estates of Galilee." The guests invited were the men of 
 the Tetrarchy who ranked highest in military and civil 
 offices, and who, being nearest him in command, were the 
 most familiar friends of the king. The tables were orna- 
 mented with the rich and splendid furniture of royalty ; 
 the dishes were filled with savory viands to regale the 
 appetite ; the cups and goblets were sparkling with wine. 
 The company recline on their couches around the extend- 
 ed tables. The halls glare, at this evening hour, with a 
 flood of light from the many burning lamps. And as the 
 feast advances, and the king and his courtiers become 
 excited with wine and yield themselves to unrestrained 
 hilarity, at this fitting opportunity to gain promises and 
 presents, the young Salome, the daughter of Herodias, 
 decorated and sent in no doubt by her artful mother, 
 appears before the company in the dress and with the 
 graceful movements of the dancing girl, to perform a part 
 which was often enacted in those days, for the entertain- 
 ment of a feasting party the graceful, giddy, and volup- 
 tuous dance. As she enters the hall of feasting, and 
 stations herself opposite the king, her brilliant features 
 radiant with smiles, her decorated form illuminated with 
 light, and waving to and fro in the dance, her gestures 
 of beauty and love, attract all eyes and give a crowning 
 joy to the feast. The step-father on his royal couch is 
 pleased most of all. The excitements of the wine-cup 
 have driven away all prudence from his heart and all dis- 
 cretion from his tongue. Before the whole company so 
 filled with pleasure, he gives way to the pride and pleas- 
 ure awakened in his own heart at receiving such an enter- 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 221 
 
 tainment from his daughter, and utters the rash promise 
 "Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee." 
 He was not content with the bare utterance of such an 
 unguarded promise. Like a fool overcome with wine 
 and pleasure, who, regardless of the future, lets the feel- 
 ing of the moment rule his words and actions, he repeats 
 the promise, and binds himself to it with a loud oath 
 before the whole company. " He sware unto her, what- 
 soever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the 
 half of my kingdom." 
 
 Upon securing that promise, Salome leaves the room. 
 The promise of half th.e kingdom half its revenues of 
 wealth and luxury she now holds in her hand. She goes 
 straightway to her mother. Is she a dutiful child that 
 seeks advice of her nearest earthly friend, or a successful 
 complotter, who has gone to tell the triumph of the 
 scheme and give her malignant mother the joy of pre- 
 senting an order through her that shall compel the obe- 
 dience of the king? The sequel determines. "And she 
 went forth and said unto her mother, what shall I ask? 
 and she said, the head of John the Baptist." Behold, the 
 value put on revenge ! The wealth of half a kingdom 
 is thrown away to gratify this one malignant passion ! 
 If the daughter was not an accomplice with her mother 
 before, she is now. All the wealth she might appropri- 
 ate to herself is neglected, that she may gain her mother's 
 will. Perhaps she and her mother both felt, that if John 
 the Baptist lived, he might yet turn them both away 
 from sharing the kingdom with Herod, and that, to enjoy 
 securely their estate in his good graces, this preacher of 
 righteousness must be effectually silenced. So she return- 
 ed quickly with her mother's message. " She came in 
 straightway with haste unto the king." The king was to 
 be taken, while yet in the excitement of his cups ; while 
 his promise and oath were still resounding in the ears of 
 his guests. And quickly, too, must the boon be given 
 her by the king. For time, delay, reflection, were dan- 
 gerous things to be allowed to come in before the exe- 
 cution of such a request as she was to make. The first 
 
222 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 thing was to obtain her request : to have it accomplished ; 
 to get the head of the Baptist taken off while the king 
 was in the humor to fulfill his promise: and then, let 
 thought and reflection come on the morrow, they can 
 not defeat her purpose of revenge. 
 
 Again before the feasting company Salome stands. 
 There is now a cloud on her brow ; a smile of malicious 
 triumph on her cheek. She appears more thoughtful 
 than before. To the astonishment of the whole company, 
 to the grief of the king, she asks the horrid gift. " 1 
 will that thou give me by and by," or as the Greek word 
 is more appropriately rendered, forthwith " in a char- 
 ger the head of John the Baptist." See how artful has 
 been the malice of the mother, so to frame the request as 
 to make all things sure. Forthwith that there may be 
 no opportunity, between an order given to an executioner 
 and the time of its fulfillment, to allow of arresting the 
 process by the intervention of any counter-order. The 
 head upon a plate or dish that there may be no deception 
 practiced as to the person or his execution. u Give me 
 forthwith, in a charger, the head of John the Baptist." 
 O what a miserable entertainment was this to be to that 
 feasting company! Instead of the fascinating dancing 
 girl, entertaining them with joy, she stands before them 
 as a murderess seeking revenge through death, and waits 
 in their presence till she shall receive, and hold, reeking 
 in its blood before them, the head of the hated prophet. 
 " And the king was exceeding sorry : yet for his oath's 
 sake, and for their sakes which sat with him," lest per- 
 haps they should reproach him for his fickleness and 
 inconstancy, or on account, perhaps, of the desire of many 
 of them to court the favor of the queen " he would not 
 reject her. And immediately the king sent r an execu- 
 tioner, and commanded his head to be brought." 
 
 Let us leave now awhile this hall of splendor, in which 
 the king and his guests are still feasting, though with 
 misgiving hearts, and where the damsel is in waiting to 
 receive her dowry, dreadful as it is, yet more valued than 
 half the kingdom of Galilee ; let us leave the palace and 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 223 
 
 visit that dark apartment in the castle, in which the pris- 
 oner John resides, confined in chains. He has passed now 
 within these walls more than a year and a half: for he 
 was confined not long after the first passover after Jesus 
 was inducted into office, and now the third passover is at 
 hand. During this period he has at times seen his fol- 
 lowers : and, soon after the second passover, he sent, in 
 great trial, an embassy to Jesus to learn what he might 
 expect from him in regard to setting up his kingdom. 
 Jesus returned an answer which probably satisfied this 
 righteous prophet, that his kingdom would be set up in 
 his own time and way, and led him to submit without 
 offense to the providence of Jesus, as ordered in wisdom, 
 and wait with patience for blessedness in his kingdom. 
 Yet his ministry, though suddenly and early closed, had 
 produced its effect : and his life, though now to be cut off 
 from the earth, was to be exalted to a more peaceful 
 state than befel him in his fastings, his preaching of re- 
 pentance, and his cruel persecutions on earth. He has 
 passed his last day in the castle. He is there because he 
 has faithfully told a fellow-creature to leave off his sins 
 and turn to God in repentance, so that he may have joy in 
 the kingdom of God. Nothing of enmity was in his heart. 
 He loved the pure and righteous laws of his God. He 
 sought the reformation and salvation of a sinning brother. 
 And here in his prison, suffering the enmity of those 
 whom he warned to flee from the wrath to come, he has 
 no heart to wish them any evil in return. He may pray, 
 if any faith yet remains in their behalf, for the spiritual 
 welfare of the king and his consort, that they may yet 
 see their sin, and forsake it, and turn to God and so find a 
 place in his kingdom. And now as his evening prayers 
 have risen to God, and, committing his soul to his care 
 for the night, he is about to rest in his slumbers, there 
 come sounds of joy and revelry from the halls of the 
 palace into his cell. He sees in imagination the festive 
 halls of the king, and weeps at the thoughtless folly of 
 sinners who take all their feasting and joy in this life 
 who substitute the pleasures of sense and appetite, in 
 
224 The Death of Jo/in the Baptist. 
 
 their momentary and intoxicating excitements, for the 
 deep and pure river of those spiritual joys that flow 
 through the heart of the pious forever, from the love and 
 friendship of God. Perhaps his thoughts turn towards 
 the grave and eternity : for God is wont to draw nigh to 
 his friends on their near approach to death. Perhaps 
 these sounds of feasting carry forward his own mind to 
 that happy paradise into which no sin shall ever enter, and 
 where he shall feast, with Abraham and all the prophets 
 and friends of God, upon the riches of divine knowledge 
 and love forever. ' Thanks be to my God,' may he say, 
 'that he has employed me in his service on the earth. 
 Give me all my temporal fastings and present trials with 
 God for my friend, rather than all these feastings of sin- 
 ners to end in the wrath to come.' 
 
 The hour of his eternal release is come. The execu- 
 tioner, commissioned from the king, arrives. He turns 
 the key. He opens the massive door, and stands before 
 John, the herald of wrath from the queen, the herald of 
 mercy from God. The prophet bows to the will of 
 Providence. He bends his neck to the block. His head 
 is severed from the body. And that night his soul is in 
 Paradise ! 
 
 The executioner " beheaded him in the prison and 
 brought his head in a charger, and," in presence of the king 
 and his guests, " gave it to the damsel." The promise of 
 the king was now fulfilled, and this treasure, which she val- 
 ued more than half the kingdom, she took with her from 
 the room and " brought it to her mother." That head, 
 what will she do with it? Will she insult those lips and 
 that tongue that once stung her with reproof? But the 
 soul is now far away in triumphant joys. That head 
 what will she do with it ? Methinks it will stare upon 
 her now a frown deeper than tongue and lips ever utter- 
 ed. Methinks it will stare upon her in all her pleasures 
 and in all her sufferings in this life stare upon her at 
 death stare upon her in eternity. That head she never 
 can dispose of. She may bury it ; but it will come up 
 again to her waking and sleeping moments. She may 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 225 
 
 burn it; but it will have a resurrection again to her mind. 
 That reproving head, and she, the guilty sinner, have 
 now met, beyond the power of prison walls or bars ever 
 to separate. The stain of blood has been affixed upon 
 her memory and her conscience that ages will not wash 
 away. 
 
 But the body of John received kind testimonies of 
 affection. " His disciples," having obtained permission, 
 doubtless, of Herod, " came and took up the body and 
 buried it." Their leader was now gone to heaven, and 
 they could not wait on him any more for instruction. 
 "And when they had buried the body, they went and 
 told Jesus." They sought sympathy and instruction 
 thenceforth from Jesus, the friend of their master. In 
 this mysterious manner, the ministry of John was closed, 
 and his true and faithful disciples transferred forever to 
 the care and kingdom of Jesus. 
 
 In respect to this scene recorded in the sacred history, 
 I would remark, 
 
 i. That above all the sad workings of human passion 
 in the scene, the wisdom of an overruling providence is 
 manifest in giving this extraordinary termination to the 
 ministry of John the Baptist. 
 
 The office of John was a peculiar one, as he was not 
 merely to call the people to repentance, as the prophets 
 before him had done, but to do it with distinct reference 
 to their preparation for receiving the Messiah and inher- 
 iting the blessings of his kingdom. He stood at the close 
 of an old economy, to introduce the long foretold Mes- 
 siah : as an intermediate link to bind it to the new. He 
 was to labor as a zealous reformer to prepare the way of 
 the Lord, to point him out to the people and introduce 
 him into his ministry. From the very nature of his office, 
 therefore, it was necessary that it should soon terminate ; 
 that, as Jesus began his ministry and gathered -around 
 him disciples, this ministry of preparation should cease ; 
 that John should not be gathering around him his disci- 
 ples longer, as it would make a diversion of the people 
 from their Great Deliverer, and set up an opposing sect 
 
 30 
 
226 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 in the land. He was but the morning star to harbinger 
 the coming of the Messiah : and when Jesus arose to 
 gather the people to his standard when he arose to give 
 light as a perpetual Sun of Righteousness, the star that 
 was bright at the early dawn must fade away. 
 
 How appropriate, then, was the close of his office. It 
 was appropriate that, as a zealous reformer come in the 
 spirit and power of Elijah, he should be willing to face 
 another Ahab and provoke another Jezebel, that he should 
 reprove wickedness on the throne as well as among the 
 multitude : and it w r as appropriate that, as a reformer 
 come to prepare the way of Jesus the Christ, he should in 
 some way be withdrawn from his office soon after Jesus 
 began by his teachings to draw around him his disciples. 
 Mark now the course taken by an overruling providence. 
 He is not, while moving forward in his ministry as a 
 burning and shining light, giving joy and hope to many 
 hearts, suddenly silenced by a command from heaven : 
 for that would leave him lingering on earth among his 
 waiting disciples, as one who had withdrawn his testi- 
 mony and abated his zeal ; and might defeat, rather than 
 consummate, the object of preparing them for the school 
 of Christ. He is not allowed to die a natural death in 
 the bosom of his family of disciples : for that would pre- 
 vent him from receiving, as a zealous reformer, the appro- 
 priate and. glorious reward of martyrdom ; from riding, 
 like another Elijah, on the fiery wheels of persecution to 
 a distinguished seat in glory. Neither is he struck down 
 by the hand of violence and persecution at once, while 
 in the full career of his ministry and reputation among 
 his* disciples and the multitude. Providence has marked 
 out another course, whereby gradually to diminish the 
 interest of the people in his teachings ; to prepare him 
 and his disciples, both the better to bow to the will and 
 authority of Jesus ; and yet, to reward his just and holy 
 life with the high honors and exalted crown of mar- 
 tyrdom. 
 
 The hand of divine providence leads him up to the 
 court of Herod. Faithful to his high office, fearing not 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 227 
 
 the consequences that may arise to his own person, he 
 reproves the king : warns him by repentance to flee from 
 the wrath to come. How wonderful the result ! Brought 
 thus into contact with the family of Herod, the instru- 
 ments of providence are ready to execute its wise will 
 concerning John. The queen resolves on his death, with 
 an inappeasable hatred, which will never fail to be ready, 
 when opportunity shall be given, to execute her purpose. 
 The king is himself incensed, yet restrained by his con- 
 science and by the tide of popular favor that surrounds 
 his reprover : he refuses the entreaties of the queen for 
 his instant death, and merely confines him in prison. 
 John is thus withdrawn from his ministry : the field is left 
 open to the ministry of Jesus, and, as his fame increases 
 and that of John diminishes, the prisoner, in an hour of 
 dejection, sends an embassy co seek, for himself and the 
 followers that still cleave to him, and gain instruction 
 from Jesus that comforts him and the more prepares them 
 to transfer themselves to the care and instruction of that 
 Great Teacher. The hour comes around when the.queen^ 
 seeing an opportunity to circumvent the king in the 
 moments of intoxication, plots her nefarious scheme ; em- 
 ploys the beauty and boldness of her daughter to aid her 
 plans ; obtains from the king, amid his cups, a rashly 
 unlimited promise and vow for her daughter ; and thus 
 secures the accomplishment of her long harbored purpose 
 of revenge. In this mysterious way, a wise and superin- 
 tending providence awards to John at the close of his 
 fastings and self-denial and preachings of repentance, the 
 honor of ascending, before Jesus, to the kingdom of 
 heaven to wear the bright crown of martyrdom : and his 
 few true and faithful disciples yet remaining, that provi- 
 dence hands over to the care of his successor, but supe- 
 rior in office. From the scene of bloodshed and the death 
 of their leader, they go, with aching hearts, to pour their 
 sorrows into the sympathizing bosom of Jesus. To him 
 and his school of spiritual instructions they thenceforth 
 cleave : and thus, without schism and rent, from the co- 
 existence of separate religious schools of disciples in the 
 
228 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 land, all is peacefully transferred to the care and instruc- 
 tion of the Heavenly Teacher, Christ Jesus. Thus prov- 
 idence ever interweaves its own plans into the endlessly 
 intricate maze of human interests and passions ; and suc- 
 ceeds, even amid the darkest conflicts of human malice, to 
 fulfill its counsels of wisdom and love. 
 
 2. The portion of history before us well illustrates the 
 nature and foundation of decision of character. 
 
 Decision as a trait of character includes the 'formation 
 of distinct purposes in the life, and a steady and unbend- 
 ing adherence to their execution. It is founded, either on 
 strict integrity in purpose or in utter recklessness ; on 
 virtuous regard to justice towards God and man, or the 
 selfishness that is regardless of both. But he who aims 
 at the middle path between these is the double-minded 
 man, who is unstable in all his ways. 
 
 This subject is very clearly illustrated in the principal 
 characters that figure in this scene. John the Baptist is 
 decisive on virtuous principle. He maintains in his heart 
 integrity of purpose towards God and man. He has but 
 one errand on the earth ; to publish and maintain the law 
 and honor of God, and prepare his fellow-men by repent- 
 ance for happiness in the kingdom of God. And all the 
 steps of his pilgrimage he directs to accomplish that one 
 great errand. He denies himself the luxuries of life : he 
 fasts in the desert : he proclaims, alike fearlessly before 
 all, the great duty of repentance. The common people 
 in their fickleness ; the scribes and Pharisees in their 
 pride of sanctity and learning; Herod and Herodias on 
 their throne of guilt and power ; move him not one 
 moment aside from his high purpose of calling men to 
 respect the laws of heaven and to prepare for the blessings 
 to be brought by the Messiah. He has one holy aim and 
 purpose : and he cannot be turned about by the winds of 
 human passions. He leans back on an upright conscience 
 and a God of righteousness ; and the foundations of his 
 strength are immovable. 
 
 Herodias, on the other hand, the proud and revengeful, 
 is decisive through utter recklessness of justice to others, 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 229 
 
 Her purpose was to exalt herself to power and pleasure, 
 and for this one end she formed her plans, regardless of 
 the laws of God or opinions of mankind. She sought the 
 pleasure and pomp of a throne at Tiberias. Nor was she 
 moved from the purpose by any moral obstacles in her 
 way. To gain that place, she scruples not to abandon her 
 first betrothed husband and the father of her child. She 
 hesitates not to make the king of Galilee put away from 
 him his faithful wife. She shrinks not from encountering 
 the guilt and odium of a life of mutual crime. And when 
 she has gained that place, it is her fixed purpose to keep 
 it and enjoy it, whatever obstacles may arise. And when 
 John, by his stern inculcation of moral duty, begins to 
 work on the conscience of her husband to put her away, 
 instead of yielding for one moment to this troubler of 
 her prospects, she adopts at once the fell purpose to 
 silence him forever, by taking away his life : and, unmoved 
 through the delay of a year's waiting, embraces the first 
 opportunity to accomplish her purpose, and succeeds to 
 bring before her in a supposed triumph his trunkless head. 
 This is the decision of utter recklessness : the only deci- 
 sion that remains for those, who will not with simplicity 
 and integrity of purpose yield themselves to the service 
 of God a decision, that must sooner or later dash the 
 subject of it on the rocks and barriers of eternal righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 Herod, again, stands forth on the scene as the indecisive 
 man, whose regard to justice on the one hand, and regard 
 to his private and selfish pleasures on the other, are ever 
 brought into conflict, because neither of them is allowed 
 to take the supreme rule : and, thus in perpetual conflict, 
 they prevent him from having a definite will to which he 
 immovably adheres. At the time he imprisons John, he 
 would gratify his anger and that of his wife. He loves 
 his pleasure too much, to have it marred by this faithful 
 preacher. Yet he cannot go forward to take the life of 
 the prophet, for he still reverences him too much as a just 
 man and a holy, and fears the people too much to have his 
 own way. And again, when, by the arts of his wife and 
 
230 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 daughter, he has bound himself before his court to execute 
 John, he would save him, but dare not. He cannot take 
 the unshaken purpose to save the prophet's life at all 
 hazards, regardless of his rash promise and oath ; regard- 
 less of the opinions of the court and his queen : for his 
 mind is not made up to fear God .above all and follow the 
 prophet's warnings. So he is compelled, against his will 
 as it were, to slay the prophet. At one time he would 
 slay John, through his love of his own pleasures ; but 
 fears John and the people too much. At another, he 
 would save John, through regard to him and the people ; 
 but fears the queen and her daughter and the nobles too 
 much. 
 
 Into one of these three classes mankind ever divide 
 themselves : the decisive on virtuous principle, who are 
 lifted up by regard to the right above all momentary and 
 changing considerations : the decisive on utter recklessness 
 of right, in pursuit of selfish pleasure : and the vacillating, 
 who can never make up their minds decisively to either 
 course. 
 
 3. The history sets before us the deceitfulness of un- 
 lawful pleasures. 
 
 Pleasures that are unlawful, however smiling and 
 insinuating their appearance and promises, infringe on 
 some fixed laws of heaven ordained for the welfare of 
 individuals or of society, and necessarily bring back a 
 recompense of guilt and woe. To seek for pleasure by 
 violating either the physical, mental or moral laws 
 ordained for our welfare, is a course that can end only in 
 disappointment : for these laws are walls of everlasting 
 strength, and if we dash against them, we ourselves must 
 break down, not they. 
 
 The beautiful Salome, moving before the king on the 
 night of the feast in the dance, stands forth as it were the 
 personification of the treachery that lurks behind the 
 promises of sinful pleasure. Could the king have thought, 
 as he looked upon her fascinating smiles, that she medi- 
 tated anything but to gratify the guests of her father, and 
 give him pleasure in the feast ? All is fair and winning to 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 231 
 
 the eye. Yet that beauteous form conceals a treacherous 
 heart, that seeks not to please the father so much as to 
 win from him a dreadful favor. She takes advantage of 
 his hour of weakness, that she may fulfill a fell purpose of 
 her mother's, and draw the king into the commission of a 
 horrid crime. Her happy smiles of pleasure but de- 
 ceived him, and led him onward, in vile subservience to 
 plots of murder. 
 
 I say, she personifies the deceit and treachery of the 
 promises that attend on sinful pleasures. 
 
 Thus treacherous are the promises of the wine cup 
 they were so to the king. He took the exhilarating 
 draught, that he might obtain pleasure. He thought he 
 saw nothing in the cup but innocent hilarity. But there 
 lurked the demon of intoxication. There lurked the poi- 
 son that was to work on his physical, intellectual and 
 moral nature, to turn him into the brute, without reason 
 or reflection. His brain is maddened : his wisdom and 
 prudence forsake him ; and he becomes an accomplice 
 with murderers. Such is the brief, sad history of many a 
 life of intemperance, wretchedness and crime. 
 
 Such treachery too was there in that first dream of un- 
 hallowed pleasure which united the fates and fortune of 
 the guilty pair. Herodias seeks to find the pleasure of 
 luxury, of lust and of pride, in living with Herod in his 
 palace. Doubtless, as she forsook her. first husband, all 
 the future appeared to her proud and ambitious mind as 
 the dream of enchantment. Uninterrupted joy and honor 
 is to be her happy lot. But, while indulging in this 
 dream of pleasure, she is warring with the laws of hea- 
 ven : and up to her palace, on his mission of righteous- 
 ness and mercy, comes John the Baptist to utter those 
 laws. Now is she agitated, as she still clings to her 
 place at the side of Herod. The venom of revenge poi- 
 sons her peace. She makes her daughter and the king 
 accomplices in the murder of the prophet. And never 
 after does she prosper. Thus did those fair dreams of 
 pleasure deceive her, and lead her on to many crimes and 
 cruelties in warring against the laws of heaven : to hate 
 
232 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 the holy prophet of the Lord; to compromise the 
 modesty and honesty of her daughter ; to abuse the 
 weakness and confidence of her husband ; to indulge her 
 own heart in deadly revenge : and thus fill her soul, in all 
 its future remembrances, with the elements of remorse 
 and wretchedness. 
 
 So it is ever with all the promises of sin. Satan, wicked 
 men around us, our own hearts, may trust in them awhile ; 
 but they are promises set up against the laws and engage- 
 ments of God. He will fulfill his own promises and 
 threatenings, and scatter forever all who trust in lies. 
 
 4. Finally : We may learn the folly of employing force 
 and violence against those who seek the repentance and 
 reformation of their fellow-men. 
 
 Reformers who set up to reclaim men from their sins, 
 and call them to walk in the laws of heaven, have a task 
 that is not welcome to our weak and perverse nature. 
 They are generally, like John the Baptist, true men and 
 honest, just men and holy. Otherwise they would 
 not apply themselves with earnestness to their severe 
 task. Men love quiet and ease in their pleasures. 
 Whether their pleasures before God are lawful or 
 unlawful, they would pursue them without any moral 
 disturbances or hindances. Agitation is their dread. 
 But this world is not intended, chiefly, for pleasure ; 
 but as a world of probation, in which men are to be 
 reclaimed from sin and trained to holiness, that so they 
 may escape the wrath to come, and inherit pure and fade- 
 less happiness in the holy and heavenly kingdom of God. 
 Reformers therefore, the hearty and true, who set up the 
 law of God as their rule, are engaged in the work of God ; 
 and, whether they are judicious in the world's estimation 
 or not, it is wiser surely to repent of our sins than to 
 blame the zeal of our reprovers : wiser to reason with 
 them, if we deem them wrong, than violently to assault 
 their persons. This moral lesson is taught us in the his- 
 tory of the Baptist. 
 
 This zealous reformer was a just man and holy, as even 
 Herod acknowledged. He approved of the wise and 
 
The Death of John the Baptist. 233 
 
 
 holy laws of God. He sought the honor of God and the 
 welfare of man, in his zealous advocacy of repentance. 
 But his agitating reproof administered at the palace was 
 unwelcome. Instead of yielding up their sin, the royal 
 pair assail the prophet ; exclude him from the field of his 
 labors by force of imprisonment ; and with murderous 
 revenge take away his life. But have they gained by 
 their violence ? The prophet is calm, in the flow of pious 
 and virtuous affections in his heart ; in the conscious 
 sense of having pursued the highest welfare of his fellow- 
 creatures in his labors ; and in the hope of inheriting the 
 favor of the eternal God in his kingdom a joy beyond 
 the reach of any violence from men or devils. 
 
 But how is it with the guilty trio in the palace ? Can 
 their hatred of John, their imprisonment of him, their 
 murder of him, alter the laws of heaven ; annihilate their 
 own crimes ; or prepare the way for future peace and 
 joy? 
 
 Who would not sooner take the place of John in his 
 prison on the night of his execution, than that of either of 
 the guilty inmates of the palace during the feasting? He 
 went up that night from his cell to take a crown nobler 
 far than that of Herod the martyr's crown of everlasting 
 glory. 
 
 Salome and the queen are taking their feast of revenge 
 over the platter that holds the lifeless head of John. 
 Poor triumph of an hour, that embitters the peace of the 
 king ; that stains their consciences with guilt ; and that 
 sends an accuser up to the Heavenly Altar to cry, " How 
 long, O Lord, dost thou not avenge our blood on them 
 that dwell on the earth ? " If we may believe the report 
 of profane history, vengeance did not long wait. The 
 fair Salome, while walking across a frozen river, it is 
 reported, broke through, and fell in such a way as that, 
 on the return of the parted fragments of ice, as she rose, 
 her head was severed from the body. And Herod and 
 Herodias were called, by imperial authority at Rome, 
 away from their palace, and sent in exile to Lyons, to end 
 their days in want and disgrace : and all went at death to 
 
234 The Death of John the Baptist. 
 
 meet their victim at the bar of eternal righteousness, and 
 receive the just award of their deeds. 
 
 Such is the folly of persecuting the just, who labor to 
 give efficacy to the laws of God. Inspiration has declared, 
 " He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth 
 the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord." 
 Doubly hateful in his sight, therefore, must that man be, 
 who combines both crimes in one : who upholds the 
 wicked in their sins, by smiting down with violence their 
 just and faithful reprovers. 
 
THE RIGHTEOUS TO LIVE HEREAFTER WITHIN 
 THE SCENES OF A MATERIAL UNIVERSE. 
 
 II. PETER III: 13. 
 
 NEVERTHELESS, WE, ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE, LOOK FOR NEW HEAVENS AND 
 A NEW EARTH, WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 THE apostle had just spoken of the destruction of the 
 present world by fire at the close of the probation of our 
 race, when all shall be summoned from their graves for 
 judgment. In that day, " the elements shall melt with fer- 
 vent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein 
 shall be burned up." But shall the saints of God have 
 no dwelling ? Are the material worlds and suns of the 
 creation literally to be annihilated, and are their souls to 
 wander forth homeless, shelterless, on the void expanse of 
 infinite space and duration? The apostle did not thus 
 present the last conflagration, as the total annihilation of 
 matter and material worlds. He set before his fellow 
 Christians a more glorious edifice to arise from the ruins, 
 new heavens and a new earth, fitted to be the immortal 
 abode of righteous beings. The promise of the Lord 
 assured him that the object of the last conflagration was 
 not destruction, but the process of purgation, repairing 
 and reconstruction ; in order that, the wicked being gath- 
 ered out of his kingdom, the righteous might have a pure 
 and joyous residence for their immortality. 
 
 My design now is to set before you the evidence, that, 
 after the final judgment, the righteous are to have for 
 eternity their dwelling still within the bounds of a mate- 
 rial universe. There can be but two positions taken on 
 the general subject, either that the material worlds are 
 to be annihilated, or are to continue forever ; that the 
 visible universe is to cease utterly, or is perpetually to 
 
236 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 remain; that the righteous are to float forever through 
 utterly empty space, or are to live still within the anchor- 
 age ground of a physical creation. It is no part of my 
 present design to enter into any particular theory of a 
 future physical creation, among the many that have been 
 or that might be broached on the subject: but simply to 
 advocate the future existence of at least some physical 
 creation, as the abode of the righteous. 
 
 I would first call your attention then to the fact that we 
 have no positive evidence to show that the universe of 
 matter is ever to be annihilated. There is no evidence of 
 such annihilation furnished us, either by reason or revela- 
 tion. Reason furnishes none from secondary causes or 
 from analogy. In all the researches of man into the 
 chemical and astronomical structure of the universe, no 
 causes have been found which are adequate to the work 
 of annihilation. The utmost which can be predicted 
 from known secondary causes, is that there may possibly 
 occur some great changes in the world or the solar sys- 
 tem : but there is nothing which indicates, in the least, the 
 effect of annihilation. Indeed, all the researches of reason 
 lead us up to the conclusion, that the annihilation of mat- 
 ter, if it ever occurs, can be the result only of that imme- 
 diate and direct omnipotence of the Creator, which first 
 called it into existence. Is it then the will of the Creator, 
 to annihilate by his omnipotent power the worlds he has 
 made? If we reason from the analogy of a past provi- 
 dence, it would seem, from the facts as evinced in the 
 geological history of the world, that great convulsions 
 and changes have passed over it, which have been only 
 preparatory to its improvement and better subservience 
 to the accommodation of its inhabitants, increasing in the 
 scale from the lowest animals to the race of man ; and, 
 so far as reason can argue from the past, it would seem 
 probable that the world, if carried through any great 
 convulsions in the future, would be still spared in its 
 existence and improved for the accommodation of beings 
 more exalted still, or for man himself in a more exalted 
 state of being than now. 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 237 
 
 But from reason, we pass to the book in which this 
 great Being- has given us a revelation of his designs. Has 
 he told us in this book, that he is to annihilate the worlds ? 
 Here again I assert, that revelation furnishes us no evi- 
 dence of such a catastrophe. There are many passages 
 which speak of a great event to take place in the physi- 
 cal universe, at the close of the probation of our race 
 the time of the general judgment represented as de- 
 struction by conflagration. Yet if we examine these 
 passages carefully, inquiring what that destruction is and 
 how far it extends, we shall see that they do not touch 
 the question of the utter annihilation of the worlds. The 
 most explicit of all, is that which immediately precedes 
 our text. There is no doubt in the case, that the material 
 world is spoken of, and a description given of the de- 
 struction which it is to undergo at the period of the 
 judgment. The destruction is here ascribed to the agency 
 of fire. But fire, whatever destruction it might accom- 
 plish in the present forms of the matter of the globe, is 
 not an agent to destroy its substance, or to destroy that 
 centripetal force which binds it together in a world. But, 
 if we pass from the nature of the agent employed to the 
 effects which are specified by Peter as resulting, we do not 
 come to annihilation. There are three results which he 
 specifies : the heavens being on fire are dissolved the ele- 
 ments are melted with fervent heart, the earth, and the 
 structures of divine and human skill that are in it, are con- 
 sumed. We have seen substances dissolved in gases or 
 smoke, and passing off from their former place ; we have 
 seen the solid materials of the globe melted down into 
 flowing and liquid masses; we have seen the forms of 
 nature or art consumed, in the fires: yet in none of these 
 things have we witnessed the annihilation of matter. All 
 the results therefore which Peter ascribes to the last con- 
 flagration, involve not the annihilation of matter. The 
 matter still subsists, notwithstanding the conflagration, to 
 be moulded into new combinations and forms, and for new 
 purposes, if such shall be the will of the Creator. There 
 is one result of the conflagration mentioned by Peter, 
 
238 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 which, however, deserves more attentive consideration. 
 " The heavens," he says in one place, " being on fire shall 
 be dissolved," and in another place, " shall pass away with 
 a great noise." Now if this were spoken of the whole 
 starry heavens, that they are to pass away, it might seem 
 that the description referred to the total annihilation of the 
 present universe. But the starry heavens, it is clear from 
 the context, are not intended. For Peter had introduced 
 the whole description, by referring to a former heavens 
 and earth standing in the water and out of the water, 
 destroyed by the deluge: and the heavens and the earth, 
 which are now, being reserved unto fire. The heavens 
 here spoken of consequently must be those which imme- 
 diately surround our globe, the aerial, not the sidereal. 
 The translation given by Rosenmiiller to the phrase, 'the 
 heavens and the earth ' in this chapter, accords with 
 this, viz : " the earth with its atmostphere." The truth is, 
 the eye of the apostle was fixed on this world as the 
 great scene of conflagration, this world which is reserved 
 unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of 
 ungodly men. His description therefore is optical the 
 scene is presented, as it would appear to the eye of a 
 spectator on the globe ; these skies are filled with the 
 crackling flames and smoke, before which all the fowls of 
 heaven and the living swarms of the insect tribes that 
 move in it are destroyed, and for the time, day and night, 
 the sun and stars, disappear, this solid globe is melted 
 down to one liquid mass ; and, in the burning cauldron, 
 sinks consumed every vestige of the works of God and 
 man that once adorned it. But if the description were 
 literally extended to all the starry worlds of this immense 
 universe, our globe would constitute, in so vast a con- 
 flagration, but a small and trifling flame, and it would be 
 against all the proportions of harmony and truth, to pre- 
 sent it as the principal and grand scene of dissolution. I 
 see therefore, in this description of Peter, no other de- 
 struction than that which is occasioned by fire, and that 
 scene of destruction, too, confined to this one globe and 
 the contents of its atmosphere. No evidence is furnished 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 239 
 
 in this description of the annihilation, even of this globe, 
 much less of this solar system or the immense starry heav- 
 ens. Again, John in his first epistle, chap, ii : 17, asserts, 
 " the world passeth away, and the lust thereof." The 
 world here I understand in the moral sense, to denote 
 "worldly men:" these pass away, and with them the ob-* 
 jects of their lusts. In which sense nothing more is asser- 
 ted, than that death puts an end to the gratification of 
 their worldly lusts, or that, to them, all the objects of 
 their happiness are transitory. Again, the apostle Paul, 
 in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chap, vii : 31, 
 asserts: " the fashion of this world passeth away." The 
 "scheme," the plan, of this world is here asserted to be 
 transient. This declaration again may be interpreted in 
 the moral sense that the state of man on the earth is 
 ever unstable and changing. If on the other hand it is 
 interpreted in the physical sense, thert it supports the con- 
 clusion of a certain writer, that not the " matter and sub- 
 stance of the world, but the mode and form of it, pass away ; 
 for, after this world is burnt up, a new one as to form and 
 fashion will arise, in much more beauty and glory." 
 There is a passage again in the book of Job, which asserts 
 of the dead, that they will not arise " till the heavens be 
 no more." This phrase may refer to the destruction of 
 the world at the last day, in which case what we have 
 already said of the last conflagration, in its relation to the 
 heavens, is to be taken into consideration that the heav- 
 ens in such descriptions are taken, not literally for the 
 whole starry universe, but optically for the atmosphere 
 and surrounding appendages of the globe. But there is 
 reason to suppose that the phrase is here used in the 
 rhetorical sense, as we shall presently find it used in other 
 instances, to express a thing that the writer is confident 
 will never take place. We have an instance of this rhetori- 
 cal and tropical sense in Matthew, chap, v: 18, "till 
 heaven and earth pass away, one jot and one tittle shall 
 not pass from the law," meaning that the law never will 
 be impaired. If this is the use of the phrase in Job, then 
 the declaration refers not at ail to the future resurrection 
 
 
240 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 to another life, which is to take place at the end of the 
 present plan of the world, but simply to a return to this 
 present life itself; that the dead are never to come back 
 again to this present scene of trial; they are forever 
 removed from it by death. That is, the heavens will as 
 soon vanish as the dead come back again to the scenes 
 and occupations of the present life. This interpreta- 
 tion accords with 'the whole drift of what in the im- 
 mediate context precedes and follows. Another instance 
 of the tropical use of such phraseology, is to be found in 
 Jeremiah, xxxi : 35, &c. " Thus saith the Lord, which 
 giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the 
 moon and the stars for a light by night if those ordinan- 
 ces depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed 
 of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me 
 forever." This tropical use of phraseology relating to 
 the destruction of the heavens and earth, it is obvious, 
 proceeds on the strong impression we have of the perma- 
 nency of heaven and earth, and all its force and appro- 
 priateness are lost, if we suppose there is the least reference 
 made to their actual destruction as ever to take place. 
 The following passages may be classed, either under the 
 tropical use of phraseology or under the literal ; and with- 
 out deciding which, it is enough to show that neither 
 interpretation establishes the conclusion of utter annihila- 
 tion. Isaiah li : 6, " Lift up your eyes to the heavens, 
 and look upon the earth beneath ; for the heavens shall 
 vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like 
 a garment : but my salvation shall be forever, and my 
 righteousness shall not be abolished." Vitringa remarks, 
 the prophet does not here declare absolutely that the 
 heavens and earth are to perish, but comparatively, in 
 hyperbolical speech, that the heavens and earth, if either, 
 will sooner fail than the salvation promised to his people. 
 God will sooner destroy all the physical laws he has 
 instituted, and break down all the worlds of his creation 
 than violate his promise. Ps. cii : 26, 27, quoted Heb. i : 
 u, 12. "They," the heavens and the earth "shall perish, 
 but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 241 
 
 garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up and 
 they shall be changed, but thou art the same, &c." Rosen- 
 miiller gives this interpretation : ' should all these things 
 perish, thou wilt still remain.' But if we interpret these 
 passages in the literal sense, and not the tropical, that 
 the time is to come when these great changes shall pass 
 upon the heavens and earth, that these things will change 
 their present forms : they can refer to no other events 
 than those which are so directly and explicitly described 
 by Peter : and according to this full and explicit descrip- 
 tion, they are changes by the agency of fire, changes in 
 the form and arrangement of matter, not the utter anni- 
 hilation of its substance. 
 
 There is one more use still of phraseology relating to 
 the destruction of the heavens and the earth, which is to 
 be found in the Scriptures that of prophetic imagery. 
 According to Lowth "the prophets derived the materials 
 of this imagery from the chaos and creation, which compose 
 the first pages of the sacred history. As the sun, moon 
 and stars are there represented as ruling the day, so they 
 are made in prophecies relating to the fate of empires, to 
 represent the destruction of the reigning powers. If the 
 subject be the destruction of the Jewish empire by the 
 Chaldeans, or a strong denunciation of ruin against the 
 enemies of Israel, it is depicted in exactly the same colors, 
 as if universal nature were about to relapse into the 
 primeval chaos." Isaiah thus speaks of the ruin of the 
 enemies of Israel, "All the host of heaven shall be dissolv- 
 ed, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, 
 and all their hosts shall fall down." Joel thus foretells 
 the destruction of the enemies of Israel. " The sun and 
 the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw 
 their shining, the heavens and the earth shall shake." 
 Similar is the language of Christ, in predicting the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem : " The sun shall be darkened, and 
 the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall 
 from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be 
 shaken." All this prophetic imagery which is intended 
 to describe merely things in the political or ecclesiastical 
 
 32 
 
242 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 world, it is clear, can furnish us no evidence of what is to 
 be the fate of the material universe. 
 
 The conclusion, to which this examination of the Scrip- 
 tures brings us, is the following : that in all the phraseol- 
 ogy relating to the destruction of the heavens and the 
 earth, contained in the Scriptures, for our examination has 
 exhausted those uses, there is no evidence that it is the 
 design of God to annihilate the material creation : that 
 the passages may be arranged under the heads of pro- 
 phetic imagery, rhetorical figure, or literal description, 
 either moral or physical ; that of these, only the latter 
 class afford any testimony as to the fate of the material 
 creation ; and that from these, no more can be learned 
 than the destruction of this globe and its surrounding 
 ether by fire a destruction of form, arrangement, or- 
 ganic structures, human edifices that which marks the 
 present mode and scheme of the world but not the de- 
 struction of its substance. 
 
 If, then, reason discerns no adequate cause in the 
 material universe to effect its annihilation, and must 
 refer the subject to the decision of the divine will, of 
 which, independently of revelation, it can know nothing ; 
 and if, in the revelation which this great Being has given 
 us of his designs, he has nowhere taught us that it is his 
 design to annihilate the material universe, it is clear that 
 we have no positive evidence whatever to show that the 
 material universe will ever be annihilated. 
 
 Let us see now how far this consideration carries us. 
 We have at least cut off all positive evidence of the anni- 
 hilation of the material universe. But, so far, the conclu- 
 sion is negative only. We have no authority positively 
 to believe in its annihilation. But we are not, on the 
 other hand, authorized in the positive belief of its per- 
 petuity. Yet we have shown at least that, if there is any 
 positive evidence of its perpetuity from other sources, 
 that evidence is unembarrassed and free, and is to be 
 allowed all its force. More than this even. The pre- 
 sumption, at this stage of the argument, is in favor of the 
 perpetuity of the material universe. The material uni- 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 243 
 
 verse now exists. All the destruction which revelation 
 attests is to come upon it, does not amount to its anni- 
 hilation. It is therefore to exist, notwithstanding such 
 destruction. It is possible, indeed, that God intends 
 ultimately its annihilation, without giving us any inti- 
 mation of his purpose. But is this probable ? Is it not 
 probable that, if it is continued after the judgment at all, 
 it is to be continued forever ? But I now verge on another 
 consideration, which I allege, in connection with the first, 
 as positive evidence of the perpetuity of the material 
 universe. 
 
 2. That the state of redeemed men after the judgment 
 is to be a permanent one for immortality. The descrip- 
 tions of the Scriptures are full, that the future inheritance 
 of the saints is permanent, incorruptible, and unfading in 
 its glory. Now if the righteous in their immortal state 
 are to be totally severed from a material universe, they 
 must be severed from it, either by its annihilation or by 
 their removal beyond its bounds. 
 
 If they are totally severed from the material universe 
 by its annihilation, then this annihilation must take place, 
 either at the period of their entrance upon immortality 
 or at some period afterwards. But at the time of their 
 entrance on immortality, they cannot be separated from 
 the material universe by means of its annihilation : for it 
 is not then annihilated, as we have already seen. The 
 destruction, which immediately precedes their admission 
 into their immortal state, is simply that of this world, and 
 that, not the annihilation of its substance. If they are 
 ever severed from the material universe, therefore, by its 
 annihilation, they must thus be severed from it at some 
 period afterwards. But how can this comport with all 
 the many declarations of Scripture, which represent their 
 state to be permanent, to be incorruptible, never to fade 
 away to be undiminished and undiminishing in its ingre- 
 dients of glory ? If, on their entrance upon an immortal 
 inheritance, their dwelling should be assigned them 
 within the bounds, amid the beauties and glories of a 
 material creation, there would be doubtless many sources 
 
244 The Righteous to Live Hereafter 
 
 of joy and praise, arising out of these relations of their 
 being : and could it comport with the permanent and 
 unfading nature of the inheritance, which had always 
 been held out to their expectations in the promises, ever 
 afterwards to eject them from these habitations of joy ; to 
 strip them of these sources of blessing ; and throw them 
 forth as wanderers on mere empty space ? 
 
 From the immutable permanence of the inheritance to 
 be given to the righteous therefore, we infer that they are 
 not to be severed in their immortal state from a material 
 universe by means of its annihilation ; if the severance 
 therefore is to take place, it must be not by its annihila- 
 tion, but by means of their own removal beyond its 
 bounds. 
 
 But if they are severed from it by removal beyond its 
 bounds, this severance must take place, if at all, at their 
 first entrance on immortality, while as yet the material 
 creation exists : otherwise, if it takes place after their 
 entrance into its bounds and within its glories, whether 
 the material creation be continued forever afterwards or 
 not, they must experience the same change in their subse- 
 quent removal and exile, which we have already con- 
 sidered as incompatible with the unfading glories of their 
 inheritance. Are they then removed beyond the bounds 
 of the material universe, on their first entrance upon im- 
 mortality ? This is the only question that remains. The 
 consideration of the unchanging state of the righteous in 
 their immortality, does not alone enable us to answer this 
 question : yet, if it can be shown that the full glories of 
 their immortality have any dependence oh their connec- 
 tion with the material universe, the question will be met ; 
 and the proper evidence furnished, that they will not be 
 removed from the bounds of the material universe on 
 their entrance upon their full immortality. The present 
 argument has gone no farther than to show that, if they 
 are connected with a material universe on their first 
 entrance into eternity, then it is not consistent with the 
 testimony to the permanency of their immortal state, that 
 the connection should afterwards cease. But to render 
 
tlic Scenes of a Material Universe. 245 
 
 the argument complete, I now advance another con- 
 sideration. 
 
 3. That the preparation of the righteous for immor- 
 tality, made within the bounds of the- material creation, 
 and the fact of the resurrection of their bodies at the 
 period of entering on their immortality, show that the 
 full and complete glory of their immortal state depends, 
 in part at least, on their connection with a material uni- 
 verse. They are fitted for, and enter on, their immortal 
 state, not as disembodied spirits, but as spirits clothed 
 with a bodily organism to connect them with a material 
 universe. 
 
 There are many and vague declamations often made 
 about matter and spirit, as if the one were essentially vile 
 and the other essentially pure ; and as if the great effort 
 of man should be to extricate himself from the one and 
 absorb his being in the other. But this is not consistent 
 with the order of creation, which assigns to man these 
 diverse parts of his complex being ; nor with the order of 
 providence, which assigns him the duties of preparation 
 for immortality in this complex nature ; or with the 
 awards of the future, which place him, with this complex 
 nature still, on the retributions of eternity. The truth is, 
 that this organic life of ours, which is the necessary 
 medium of our connection with the material universe, 
 though the inlet to us of many temptations, (as are also 
 the constituent elements of our minds,) is not the source 
 of temptation alone : it ministers to us many pleasures 
 which are pure ; it subserves the purposes of our mental 
 and moral education ; it opens to us many beautiful, sub- 
 lime, instructive lessons in the works of our Creator. 
 And whatever fine spun theories any may propound, of 
 literal abstraction from matter and literal absorption in 
 God, our grand duty and grand preparation for immor- 
 tality is, to consecrate both body and spirit to God to 
 render this organic life and our connection with the 
 material world subservient to our discipline for a higher 
 life. And though this present structure of flesh and 
 blood is not sufficiently refined for an immortal life, yet 
 
246 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 utterly to divest us of any, and to send us forth mere dis- 
 embodied spirits upon empty space, would be to create a 
 chasm between our present and future life too great and 
 devastating to minister to our perfection and highest joy. 
 It would be like the devastation, though not so great, of 
 annihilating the souls which we have here consecrated to 
 Christ, and sending us forth upon the theater of eternity 
 with only the animal senses of an organic life. Man is not 
 complete here without both ; nor his education for eter- 
 nity complete, without the consecration of both to Christ ; 
 nor will his joy in eternity be complete, without the con- 
 tinuance, the refinement, and perfection of both in that 
 higher state. For this reason, the intermediate state of 
 the soul between death and the resurrection is unfitted to 
 the full perfection of redeemed man ; and revelation 
 teaches us, that he is not to enter on the full glories of 
 immortality till, by resurrection, he is invested with a' 
 body strong, incorruptible and glorious. 
 
 Can it be then that man, educated for an immortal state 
 in the body and within the material creation, and raised 
 again after death, with a pure ethereal body, for entrance 
 on that state, shall be utterly removed, on his entrance 
 into it, from the material universe ? Does not the pre- 
 paration of this life and the resurrection of the body 
 furnish evidence, that God designs the continuance of a 
 material system still, and the residence of man during his 
 immortality somewhere within its bounds ? The doctrine 
 of the resurrection of the body teaches us, at least, that 
 redeemed man will have an organic structure to add in 
 some way to the joys of his immortality that some 
 medium of connection with a material universe will still 
 be attached to his being. But of what use will be this 
 structure, if not to constitute relations between him and 
 such a universe if not to give him, within the bounds of 
 such a universe, those materials of joy and praise which 
 arise from the Creator's works of wisdom and love, and 
 for which he has been educated in the scenes of this life ? 
 
 To this course of argument in favor of the conclusion^ 
 that after the judgment the righteous are to have their 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 247 
 
 dwelling within the bounds of the material universe, I 
 will only add the positive testimony of revelation. 
 
 I observe therefore 4, That revelation affords us posi- 
 tive testimony in favor of the conclusion. " Neverthe- 
 less," says Peter notwithstanding the conflagration of 
 the world at the last day " according to his promise, we 
 look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness." There can be no doubt here that the 
 apostle speaks literally of a material creation. He had 
 spoken of the heavens and earth that were, which were 
 once desolated by the waters. He had spoken of the 
 heavens and earth that now are, reserved unto fire. And 
 after describing their destruction by fire, he immediately 
 adds : " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look 
 for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth right- 
 eousness." Can there be a doubt here that the descrip- 
 tion is literal ? so far, at least, as to imply a local and 
 material habitation that the world, once purgated of the 
 wicked by water, and then purgated and renewed by fire, 
 is thenceforth to be the delightful habitation of the right- 
 eous ? Or, if we consider, as some have done, the catas- 
 trophe of the last conflagration as still more extensive, yet 
 the reconstruction of a world with its heavens is clearly 
 asserted as literal, to be the dwelling-place of the right- 
 eousso that the residence of the redeemed, still within 
 the bounds of a physical universe, is obviously intended 
 by the apostle ; who would not send . forth the purified 
 and redeemed inhabitants of this world from their burn- 
 ing dwelling, homeless and shelterless, as wanderers 
 through infinite space ; but plant them in a purer and 
 more glorious world, under serener skies, without dis- 
 turbance or convulsion more, to be happily employed 
 with their vigorous and immortal powers in studying the 
 works and ways the wisdom and goodness of God ; in 
 assisting each other in growing up into his likeness for 
 ever ; and in forever uniting in acts of high devotion and 
 praise before the manifestations of his heavenly majesty. 
 
 This expectation of which Peter speaks, he asserts, is 
 founded on divine promise. " We, according to his pro- 
 
248 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 mise." Now Isaiah, in prophetic imagery, had spoken oi 
 the change of the Jewish economy and the introduction 
 of the kingdom of Christ on the earth, at his first coming, 
 in such language, " Behold I create new heavens and a 
 new earth : and the former shall not be remembered nor 
 come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in 
 that which I create, for behold I create Jerusalem a 
 rejoicing and her people a joy." Yet even here, while 
 looking forward to the first coming of Christ, and the 
 blessings diffused by his gospel on this earth, the prophet 
 might have dimly discerned, in still remoter distance, his 
 second coming to dwell with his redeemed, and have seen 
 the distant realities of the Ipst conflagration, and the 
 reconstruction of a new world and heavens for the ever- 
 lasting dwelling of his purified and triumphant people. 
 Jesus Christ, while on earth, frequently spoke of his 
 coming to judge the world, to gather from among the 
 redeemed all the wicked, that he might cast them out into 
 punishment, and to dwell with all the redeemed in their 
 immortal life. And he told his disciples, that at the time 
 of the renovation of all things, when he should come in 
 his glory, they should sit on twelve thrones. And no 
 doubt, in the promise of the resurrection of his followers, 
 and their union to him in the heavenly state, there was 
 conveyed to the minds of his apostles the idea of some 
 abode, not perishable, fitted to their new organization 
 and life, where they should dwell in the immediate pres- 
 ence of God, amid the bright and full manifestations of 
 his majesty. The idea which the apostles received from 
 their Saviour, however, is gathered distinctly from the 
 writings of two of them, Peter and John. Peter says to 
 the Christians to whom he wrote, as if he had often told 
 them so in his preaching about Jesus Christ, " We, 
 according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new 
 earth." But John, in the Revelations, has more fully 
 completed the sketch of those glorious scenes, which 
 Isaiah dimly saw and which Christ foretold. Chapter 
 xxi : 1-4. " And I saw a new heaven and a new earth : 
 for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away ; 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 249 
 
 and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy 
 city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heav- 
 en, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And 
 I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the 
 tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with 
 them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall 
 be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no 
 more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there 
 be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away. 
 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all 
 things new." This was the last vision of John, which 
 presented to him the happy state of the righteous after 
 the close of the last judgment, and after the casting of the 
 wicked into the lake of fire, which is the second death ; 
 and the remainder of the chapter, with the chapter that 
 follows it, and closes the book, is occupied, principally, 
 in setting forth more minutely the glories of the New 
 Jerusalem, the great citadel of the renovated earth, 
 the city of the immediate presence of God and the Lamb, 
 whose presence constitutes its only temple of worship, 
 whose glories pour over it the beams of eternal noon, 
 from whose throne wells forth the river of the water of 
 life the holy city of joy and worship, to which all the 
 nations of the holy and saved have free access forever. 
 
 This vision of the new heaven and the new earth, it is 
 manifest, refers to the final state of the righteous, and not 
 to the millennial. For the millennium, which John fore- 
 saw in a previous vision, precedes the day of final judg- 
 ment, but the new heavens and earth follow it ; the mil- 
 lenium is for a limited season, but this is forever and 
 ever ; under the millennium, Satan is bound till near the 
 close, when he is loosed again ; but in the new heaven and 
 earth there is no more approach of the enemy Satan 
 and all his accomplices having been cast into the lake of 
 fire and brimstone, to be tormented forever and ever. 
 
 Whatever interpretation therefore is given to the vision 
 of the millennium ; whether, as the most judicious exposi- 
 tors have judged, it is a period of the universal triumph 
 
 33 
 
250 The Righteous to Live Hereafter wit kin 
 
 of the cause and friends of Christ in putting down every 
 system of opposition before upheld on earth, and of his 
 taking spiritual possession of all the nations ; or whether, 
 as the literalists will have it, who warn us to expect very 
 speedily the personal coming of Christ, it is a period in 
 which Christ, surrounded by the raised martyrs, will be 
 bodily present on earth to set up a universal monarchy 
 to carry on the work of converting and sanctifying men 
 by sight instead of by faith : I say, whatever interpretation 
 be adopted respecting the vision of the millennium, it is 
 clear that the vision of the new heaven and earth presents 
 a state of things altogether distinct from it, and not to 
 take place till after the millennium and after the universal 
 judgment. 
 
 We are clear therefore in the conclusion that this final 
 vision of the apostle sets forth the final and immortal 
 state of the righteous, and depicts that da} 7 of eternal 
 glory at the end of these present days of trial, when 
 Daniel shall again stand in his lot, and Job shall see his 
 Redeemer standing upon the earth ; when the Redeemer 
 shall come to bring up his people from their graves, and 
 to transform those who are still living ; that, with ethereal 
 bodies like his own, they may live with him forever amid 
 the multiplied and perfected glories of immortality. And 
 though, in the particulars given of the new Jerusalem, it 
 may not be the intention of revelation to sketch precisely 
 the scenes of that state in their minute outlines, but to 
 present the ingredients of it in emblems; yet it were to 
 depart too far from the vision to deny, that any material 
 creation with its glories can be included or intended. 
 
 I will close, with presenting to you the conclusion of 
 Dr. Andrew Fuller respecting this vision, as given in his 
 Lectures on the Revelation. " The* whole of what is said, 
 instead of describing the heaven of heavens, represents 
 the glory of that state as coming down upon the 
 earth. It is a representation of heavenly glory, in so far 
 as that glory relates to the state of this earth on which we 
 dwell. The earth will not be annihilated by fire any 
 more than it was by water. It will be purified from sin 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. ^ 251 
 
 and all its effects. The generations of a corrupt race of 
 creatures having terminated, it will become the perfect 
 and perpetual abode of the righteous." 
 
 In the argument which I have now completed, it has 
 been my design, not to dwell on the more important part 
 of the immortal life of the saints, in their purely spiritual 
 joys, as righteous beings communing in spirit with one 
 another and with God, but to complete the picture of 
 that immortal life, by presenting a scene of subordinate 
 and concurring joy, in their converse still with the glories 
 of a more finished physical creation, and that without 
 attempting to establish more than the general outline : 
 that the saints, re-clothed with a pure and ethereal organi- 
 zation, which is strong and imperishable for immortality, 
 may yet move among the visible works of God; and 
 mingle, as they do here on earth, yet in sublimer and more 
 exalted ways, in those beauties and works of creation, 
 which instruct the mind, which charm the taste, and 
 afford the heart fresh matter of rejoicing and praise before 
 the eternal throne. 
 
 And now, as we close our meditations, let us attend to 
 the practical conclusion of the apostle : " Seeing that ye 
 look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of 
 him in peace, without spot and blameless." 
 
 We have been contemplating the opening scenes of 
 eternity. We behold the righteous, who have followed 
 the Redeemer on earth, rescued from the powerful flames 
 that are to consume the world, and replaced in a new 
 heaven and a new earth, beyond sorrow, decay and death ; 
 blest forever with the purity and love of perfect beings ; 
 growing in the love and friendship of God, and gathering 
 fresh incense to offer upon his altar from the glories of 
 his surrounding works. 
 
 O ! is not this an object worthy to enlist the aspiration 
 of our hearts, and encourage us in the diligent use of 
 those means of grace which our Lord now grants us ; 
 and should it not call off our thoughts and hearts from 
 those sins and deceptive pleasures which pollute our 
 souls, and which, persisted in, must render us unfit for so 
 
252 The Righteous to Live Hereafter within 
 
 glorious an inheritance, and cut us off forever from its 
 joys? 
 
 We are advancing to this day of God, when Christ shall 
 come in the heavens in great glory, and, refining the 
 world by the flames of universal desolation, shall put his 
 redeemed in the new heavens and the new earth, con- 
 structed upon the ruins of the old, and shall cast off the 
 wicked into the lake of devouring fire. O ! how much will 
 be involved in respect to each one of us in the one 
 question whether we then meet our Lord in peace, with- 
 out spot and blameless, or meet him in wrath, defiled still 
 with reigning iniquities ! 
 
 If we then are found among the reconciled and sancti- 
 fied, what will be our joy to enter on the new earth of 
 purity ! God and the Lamb ever with us, with the shining 
 light of their friendship ! Friends with us, who drink 
 sweetly their joys from the same fountain of purity ! And 
 everything around us to instruct our minds and cheer 
 our hearts : the beauties of color and form, the concord 
 of sweet sounds, the bright waters of the river of life, 
 the ambrosial fragrance of the trees of life ; our powers of 
 motion strong as archangel's, and all the glories with us 
 that an Almighty Architect can minister to his delighted 
 children in his material works ! O, thus escaped from the 
 pollutions and miseries of sin, and triumphant over death, 
 the first and the second, how shall we adore God, and praise 
 him for all the grace we sought and received from him in 
 this world ; by which we met him in peace, and entered, 
 for eternity, pure and blameless, into our high places of 
 rest! Every joy there is innocent. Every varying joy 
 goes to swell the sum that is welling up in every heart, 
 and to bind all in closer bonds of love, praise and devoted- 
 ness to God and the Lamb forever. 
 
 But if, through present negligence and sin, we continue 
 estranged from God, and meet him at last unreconciled 
 and enemies, what must be our wretchedness to be cast 
 off from his presence and from the society of his love, and 
 to take up our residence in the flames of devouring wrath. 
 If in that world, perchance, you lift up your eyes, and 
 
the Scenes of a Material Universe. 253 
 
 descry afar off the world and mansions of the blest ; if, in 
 your utter destitution and torment, you behold them in 
 their shining and immortal robes, quaffing joy from the pure 
 water of the river of life, with all the resources of infinite 
 love pouring forth to charm the intellect, the taste, the 
 heart, O ! how must you reproach yourselves that, in your 
 present life, you suffered all these glories to pass before 
 you, presented to you and pressed upon your acceptance 
 by heavenly mercy, in vain ; and, in neglect of God and his 
 service, seized upon the momentary objects, included in 
 the present plan of the world which were to be burned 
 in the fire as your only portion of joy for eternity ! 
 
 O ! then now, before your Lord has come, now, while on 
 his throne of mercy he asks you to procure of him recon- 
 ciliation and purity, now, while the fate of eternity is 
 pending and turning, be diligent in attending to the 
 great duties of religion. Be diligent in consecrating 
 both your bodies and spirits to the pure and holy service 
 of God through Jesus Christ. Be diligent, that ye may 
 be found of the Saviour at his coming, in peace, without 
 spot and blameless : that so an entrance may be minis- 
 tered unto you into his everlasting kingdom, and that, 
 with all the millions of his redeemed, gathered in all ages 
 and from all nations, you may participate, in body and 
 spirit, in all the varied glories of that kingdom forever. 
 
 
THE PURCHASE OF THE TRUTH. 
 
 [A BACCALAUREATE SERMON.] 
 
 PROVERBS XXIII: 23. 
 BUY THE TRUTH. 
 
 A VERY short precept ; easily remembered ; difficult to 
 practise always ; yet ever indispensable to our well-being. 
 
 To all classes of men, truth is the only safe basis of 
 their estimate of things and of their practical decisions. 
 
 At all periods of life and in all situations, there arise 
 practical questions which we must decide. And if our 
 welfare demands that a decision be made, still more essen- 
 tial to our w T ell-being is it, that our decision be made in 
 accordance with the truth. 
 
 To the life of the scholar, the precept applies with 
 special force : for that he should utter fallacies or act 
 upon them, is less excusable in himself and more danger- 
 ous to his fellow-men. He, of all men, can best afford to 
 pay the price of truth : and, if he refuses to procure it, 
 he can most easily impose his false articles and wares 
 upon the community for the true. 
 
 But what is the truth ? 
 
 }VJicre is it to be had? 
 
 What price must we pay for it ? 
 
 Why must we make the purchase ? 
 
 These are questions which will lead us into the fuller 
 appreciation of this precept of wisdom. The answer to 
 them will show us the nature ; the source ; the price ; and 
 the value of the Truth. 
 
 I. What is the Truth ? Solomon, who gave us the pre- 
 cept, has not defined this term, considering it obvious, no 
 
256 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 doubt, to the common apprehension of mankind. The 
 very question was once put in the judgment-hall at Jeru- 
 salem to a greater, than Solomon, perhaps sneeringly, 
 perhaps sincerely ; but no answer was deemed necessary 
 on that occasion. We need go no further than our own 
 consciousness and experience for an answer. We have all 
 had occasion to see that a judgment may be formed on a 
 certain subject, or an affirmation be made, which, when 
 tested, differs from the reality, as well as one which agrees 
 with it. Now, the object of all truth is to represent to 
 the mind the reality of things ; and truth is either that 
 judgment of the mind, or that affirmation of a judgment 
 in language, which corresponds to the reality of things. 
 The agreement of the judgments of the mind, or of 
 affirmations, with the reality of things, then, constitutes 
 truth ; while their disagreement is the essence of error. 
 Conformity to the reality of things, is then the most gen- 
 eral and comprehensive idea we can form of truth : and 
 this quality may belong, either to verbal propositions 
 which affirm a judgment of the mind, or to the mental 
 judgments themselves. The precept of Solomon, no 
 doubt, respects our mental judgments and decisions ; that, 
 as these may be true or false, we should procure, at what- 
 ever price it may cost us, (at least on all questions that 
 concern our interests and our duties,) such judgments as 
 are true and correspondent to the nature and reality of 
 things. For one may procure a set of verbal propositions 
 which are true, without procuring the truth. He may 
 buy books of truth, and yet in his mind be ignorant and 
 destitute of the truths they contain. Your own experi- 
 ence tells you the difference between owning a copy of 
 Euclid, and being masters of geometrical truth ; between 
 furnishing your library well, and well informing your own 
 spirit. To possess the truth, one must see that his views 
 and judgments correspond to the reality of things, and 
 that they do not differ from the reality. He must see 
 that his judgments rest on such evidences and proofs, as 
 give either certainty or necessity to his conclusions. He 
 must settle them on these deep and firm foundations. He 
 
The Purchase of tJie TrutJi. 257 
 
 must have the moral demonstration of certainty, or the 
 scientific demonstration of necessity. 
 
 The nature of Truth in the mind, then, is to conceive of 
 things as they are, and to found our conceptions on reasons 
 which give certainty to them, or necessity. 
 
 II. But whence are we to procure the truth ? To what 
 source must we look to inform ourselves ? 
 
 To conform our views and judgments to the reality of 
 things, it is clear that we must study things themselves 
 in their reality. The universe of existent things is before 
 us : and in order to ascertain the nature, properties and 
 relations of existent things, in which the whole field of 
 truth is comprehended, we must, in each specific case, see 
 that the particular property or relation which we affirm 
 or judge to belong to a thing, does belong to it with 
 certainty or by necessity. The deep sources of truth 
 then lie in universal nature, and in God, the author of 
 nature : for these comprehend all existent things. 
 
 Universal nature teaches us her own truths, and truths 
 respecting God. For in this field of study, what is true 
 in the natural, the intellectual and the moral world, 
 becomes obvious, either as facts of which our conscious- 
 ness or our observation takes cognizance, or as general 
 principles obvious to intuition or experience, or as truths 
 deduced as the necessary consequences and conclusions 
 of the reason. That which is true here is seen to be so 
 in its own nature, independently of the judgments or 
 affirmations of mankind. It is therefore to nature that we 
 look, and not to the works of men, for the deep source of 
 truth. Men may assist us, by their testimony to the 
 knowledge of facts beyond our personal observation. 
 They may, in their published works, set before us their 
 deductions of truth from nature. But we are to be judges 
 of the process and results, whether they are true to the 
 nature of things or not. We are to see that their con- 
 clusions are founded on evidence and proofs, which show 
 certainty or necessity, if we would obtain a personal 
 possession of the truth. 
 
 34 
 
258 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 But the field of nature is itself the product of the 
 Creator, and, from the consequences of his agency seen 
 in his works, we may make some deductions respecting 
 him, their author, as certain and necessary. From the 
 visible effects, we may reason to the unseen cause : and 
 thus nature teaches us truths beyond her own domains ; 
 truths respecting God ; his nature, perfections, thoughts, 
 designs. 
 
 But a source of truth, higher than nature, is the infinite 
 God himself. In respect to his own being, perfections, 
 purposes and works, his knowledge is perfect ; his testi- 
 mony infallible. A revelation from the Author of nature 
 expresses his infallible judgment, and gives the certainty 
 of truth to his creatures. Jesus, when he was in that 
 world which was made by him, declared ; " for this cause 
 came I into the world that I should bear witness to the 
 truth." " / am the truth:" as God, comprising in him- 
 self the sum of all truth ; and as a Revealer, in the per- 
 ceptions of his understanding and in all his utterances, 
 conformed to the reality of things. Here in revelation is 
 truth expressed : and here is a deep and infallible source 
 of truth. In our inquiries therefore into the truth, we 
 are to come to the affirmations of his word : and our 
 inquiries terminate on the true or the false interpretation 
 of the language. We are to distinguish true interpreta- 
 tion and inference from false : and our reliance is not on 
 the interpretations of our fellow-men or their judgments, 
 but on those proofs and reasonings which render a given 
 interpretation certain and necessary. 
 
 III. But what is the price we must pay in order to procure 
 the truth ? What ! methinks I hear some exclaim, is a price 
 demanded for obtaining the truth? Are not the books 
 of nature and revelation open and free for our perusal 
 and study ? Are we not invited to come and receive the 
 benefits of divine instruction without money and without 
 price ? 
 
 True : the field of truth is open and free for us to enter 
 and occupy. There are no costs imposed other than 
 those which arise of necessity out of our nature, charac- 
 
The Purchase of t/ic Truth. 259 
 
 ter and condition. The means which our fellow-men 
 impart to us, to aid us in the pursuit of truth, by the com- 
 munication of their knowledge in teaching or by books, 
 justly demand a literal price : and, were I speaking to 
 that point, I might give some advice as to selection, 
 rather than the price : that you furnish your libraries 
 with the Bible, the great fountain of truth, and with such 
 books, as lead you to a knowledge of God and his works, 
 and qualify you for the duties of your station. 
 
 Yet with all the means of knowledge in our possession, 
 in order to procure to ourselves the advantages of the 
 truth on our course of life, we must needs pay the price of 
 
 Mental labor, to undergo the necessary processes of 
 study ; 
 
 Temperance, to subordinate our sensual enjoyments and 
 passions to the reason ; 
 
 Moral courage, to venture on the ill-will of the false and 
 licentious ; and 
 
 Humility, to remain contented with ignorance in matters 
 beyond our present opportunities of knowledge. 
 
 Severe mental labor is a part of the price you must pay 
 in order to procure the truth. You have learned, in the 
 course of mental discipline to which you have already 
 been subjected, that close, methodical, protracted effort, 
 is necessary to render yourselves masters of the truth in 
 any branch of knowledge. But, in your researches after 
 truth, you have but just begun that course to which your 
 whole after life should be devoted. There are many 
 fields of knowledge to invite your attention through life ; 
 and if you would make proficiency in them, so as to have 
 the truth clearly and fully in your possession, there must 
 be passed many and many an hour of close attention and 
 study. And the questions of conduct and duty, that will 
 ever be rising up to demand of you the estimate of truth, 
 cannot lie neglected with safety. They must be taken 
 up, they must be analyzed, they must be brought to the 
 standards of evidence and duty, and your judgment must 
 ascertain those conclusions which are certain and founded 
 on good and sufficient reasons, if you would stand firm in 
 
260 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 the truth. A life then of severe study, that will examine 
 matters fully and thoroughly to their foundations ; of 
 methodical study, that will take up one thing at a time, and 
 proceed with it in that true and logical order which alone 
 leads to a clear and satisfactory conclusion ; of constant 
 study, that will take up and thoroughly solve the new 
 questions of interest or duty that are continually arising 
 in this world ; such a life is the price exacted of you, if 
 you would be sure to have the truth with you on your 
 way. 
 
 Another necessary condition of having the truth with 
 you on your course, is that of temperance, to subordinate 
 your sensual enjoyments and passions to the decisions of 
 the reason. To say nothing of the time consumed by 
 those supremely devoted to sensual enjoyments, which 
 is subtracted from the opportunities of intellectual effort, 
 or of that clog which is put upon the mental operations 
 themselves by too great indulgence of bodily appetites 
 and passions, both which must detract from the progress 
 of the student in all the fields of knowledge, I now speak 
 of the influence of false tastes and appetites, to pervert 
 the judgments of the mind on the great topics of our 
 moral and spiritual interests and duties. The estimate of 
 good and evil, of right and wrong, must, if made in truth, 
 rest on the basis of reason and not of the passions. The 
 passions are limited and local, and not universal and per- 
 petual in their dictates, as is the reason. They exag- 
 gerate the good or diminish the evil of their own estimates 
 beyond truth and reason : they are ready to prejudice the 
 cause of truth and set up that of error. There is a neces- 
 sity therefore of subordinating the passions of our sensual 
 and earthly nature to the dictates of the pure reason or 
 the clear revelation, which are our only safe guides, if we 
 would procure the truth. This is a part of the price we 
 must pay, in order to secure ourselves in the truth : and 
 to most, so earthly and sensual are our natures, the 
 price is great : demanding no little sum of self-denial and 
 self-government. 
 
The Purchase of the Trutli. 261 
 
 Still another item of cost to us in securing and main- 
 taining- the truth with us in life, is that of moral courage, 
 to bear, when necessary, the ill-will of the false or the 
 malicious. The history of our world abounds in exam- 
 ples of those, who, for putting faith in the word of God 
 and the dictates of reason, who, for adhering to the 
 truth, have suffered from the ill-will of the ignorant, the 
 prejudiced, the licentious and malicious. There have 
 been martyrs to the truth of God, to the truths of nature, 
 to moral truths, and to political. So ignorant are men, 
 so prejudiced by their passions, so corrupt often in their 
 lives, that to stand up among them as the holder and 
 defender of truth, must sometimes cost the courage of 
 facing, if not a physical, yet a moral martyrdom. To 
 have the name cast out as evil, to be defamed and mocked 
 and threatened, is the punishment visited upon them, even 
 in the best regulated communities, from the ill-will of 
 opposers. One must make up his mind then to pay this 
 cost whenever it is necessary, if he would be a holder and 
 friend of the truth : The moral courage to decide accord- 
 ing to truth and the nature and reality of things, however 
 much it may cause us to differ from the judgments, the 
 customs, or practices of the age : To hold on to the 
 truth, as that which will support us and will survive the 
 prejudices and ill-will of a present generation. 
 
 I have named also, as a part of the price at which truth 
 is secured, the humility that remains contented in igno- 
 rance on matters beyond our present opportunities of 
 knowledge. There is a pride, which is much in the way 
 of all real progress in knowledge, and we must sacrifice 
 it if we would advance in the truth. The pride that 
 claims knowledge without having it in possession, and the 
 pride, that grasps at what is beyond its power. The 
 pride, that claims to know what it has not yet attained, 
 surely stands in the way of ever making the attainment ; 
 and, until one is willing to sacrifice such a pride, and con- 
 fess, to himself at least, and feel, his ignorance, he cannot 
 truly and earnestly set himself to procure the truth : he 
 must remain destitute of it. But there is a pride in the 
 
262 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 way of truth, and that must be sacrificed to its attain- 
 ment : a pride of another kind, a pride which grasps at 
 what is beyond its power. There are some, who think 
 themselves equal to cope at once with all the branches of 
 knowledge; and thus defeat their own end and aim, by 
 grasping at too much and at what is beyond their power. 
 They would fain think themselves sufficient to master all 
 the branches of science and all the departments of truth 
 and knowledge, and this disposition, by preventing their 
 thorough attention to the study of any, renders them 
 miserable dabblers in all. It is a price we are to pay for 
 acquiring truth, that we have the humility to remain con- 
 fessedly ignorant in some things, while we are faithfully 
 studying others. We may thus reach a larger circle of 
 thoroughly investigated and established truth in the end. 
 This humility is necessary, too, to keep us to the attain- 
 ments which are within our power. For the time and 
 attention bestowed on subjects which are not within our 
 power and means of attaining, is so much lost from our 
 progress in those which are attainable. 
 
 These considerations set before you the necessary cost 
 at which you are to procure the truth, and keep it with 
 you at all times as your guide in life. 
 
 IV. But why should we make the purchase ? There is 
 something in the precept of Solomon that exalts greatly 
 the value of truth. The precept is absolute : it sets no 
 limit on the price : it enjoins the purchase, whatever be 
 the cost. Buy the truth. Make the purchase at any rate. 
 Pav the price whatever it be. The truth will be of far 
 greater worth to you than the cost. You cannot afford 
 to do without it, in the management of any of your inter- 
 ests or duties. 
 
 But wherein consists its value ? What is that value, 
 compared with the price? What, compared with the 
 necessary losses to arise from ignorance and error ? 
 
 The value of truth may be estimated in part from its 
 positive advantages, as a treasure of joy to the mind, a 
 qualification for doing good among men, a means of serv- 
 
The Purchase of the Truth. 263 
 
 ing God acceptably, and a means of preparation for an 
 immortal life with God in his kingdom. 
 
 The truth is itself a treasure of great joy to our minds. 
 Truth satisfies the understanding : administering to that 
 immortal faculty its own pure, solid, and durable aliment 
 of knowledge. Who can tell the satisfaction of the mind, 
 when turning to some field of knowledge, and pursuing 
 its eager search after the truth, its perceptions become 
 clear and definite, and the truth is first seen looming up 
 beyond doubt in the certainty of its proofs and evidences. 
 How is the labor of the process at once turned to joy, as 
 the discoverer exclaims : " I have it, I have it now ! " 
 Yes, he has it now for an everlasting possession among 
 the treasures of his knowledge. Not only does truth 
 give satisfaction to the understanding, but each item of 
 truth obtained enlarges the comprehension of the under- 
 standing. A new treasure is added to its stores, a new 
 domain from the field of knowledge is added to its terri- 
 tories. The mind thus, by acquiring truth, comprehends 
 more and more within its possessions; and, while itself 
 becomes constantly enlarged, it feeds at an everlasting 
 fountain. For truth, the aliment on which the under- 
 standing feeds with expansive joy, ranges on forever 
 beyond the world and time and all created things into the 
 depths of the infinite spirit of Jehovah. But there is 
 more in the treasures of truth than the joy of knowledge. 
 For truth supplies the pure and lovely materials, on which 
 the imagination and the heart may dwell with safety and 
 delight. The fields of beauty and loveliness opened to 
 us in nature, in the various creations of God, in the means 
 and ends of his providence, in the history of his dealings, 
 in the teachings of his word, and in his own infinite love- 
 liness of perfection and character, so far as they are 
 surveyed and ascertained by our understandings, give a 
 free scope to our meditations. Here, in this field of truth, 
 the imagination, in picturing to itself, in the full and 
 glowing features and coloring of life, the limits and out- 
 lines of truth, can feed itself with pictures of loveliness 
 ever new and varying, yet ever true and ever awakening 
 
264 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 the affections of the heart to purity and love. It is thus 
 that, with the truths of nature and God for our guide, our 
 thoughts may ever rove through fields of beauty and 
 loveliness with fresh and immortal joy. The truth also 
 settles the aims and purposes of our wills on a firm and 
 satisfactory foundation. For the estimates of wisdom, in 
 propounding the end to be pursued in this life and the 
 particular means to be adopted in pursuing that end, are 
 founded surely on the truth. The truth ascertained and 
 clearly seen, shows us the ends which God propounds to 
 himself in his works and to his intelligent creatures in his 
 kingdom, and the rules and methods by which that end is 
 secured : and when our estimates conform to his, when 
 our purposes and plans, as to the end and means of our 
 pursuit, are seen by the truth to conform to his, those pur- 
 poses and plans are strong and satisfactory to our own 
 minds. They are seen to be founded on the everlasting 
 wisdom and strength of God ; approved of him ; and 
 consequently immovably satisfying to ourselves, and mat- 
 ters of our own approbation at the time and ever after, 
 whatever the particular issues. 
 
 Thus the truth set before -us in the field of nature and 
 the word of revelation, the truth to be acquired as our 
 possession, is a treasure of immense joy and satisfaction 
 to our natures. 
 
 'Tis a broad land of wealth unknown, 
 
 Where springs of life arise ; 
 Seeds of immortal bliss are sown, 
 
 And hidden glory lies. 
 
 But truth not only ministers thus to our natures from 
 its immortal fountain, it accompanies us into our relations 
 to the society of our fellow-men, and fits us to fill our 
 stations to the honor of God and the benefit of our race. 
 The value of a mind well informed and settled in the 
 truth, and acting as the minister of God for the welfare of 
 others, is seen in many a bright example on the page of 
 history, in the effects that have been left on the living 
 age, or that have passed over to succeeding generations. 
 
The Purchase of the Truth. 265 
 
 Through the truth have they gained their victories for 
 God and the race. Into whatever station you enter in 
 society, at that post, no qualification is so valuable as a 
 mind and heart well informed and grounded in the truth, 
 and able to employ its treasures wisely to advance the 
 ends of your station. For all the great interests of hu- 
 manity, in every department, depend on conformity to the 
 laws which a God of truth has stamped on the nature of 
 things in his kingdom, and by which he sets forth to his 
 intelligent creatures the ends and means, on which their 
 happiness necessarily depends. Who then is fit to guide 
 men in conformity to the laws of nature and God, and 
 thus to further their welfare, but he who has acquired 
 the truth ; who sees distinctly, on topics of public interest, 
 what are the right and true conclusions, and rests their 
 certainty on clear and indisputable evidences and proofs? 
 He is prepared to dispel the mists of ignorance before 
 him ; to silence the pleas of error, and bear along with 
 him, sooner or later, in his own generation, or in genera- 
 tions to follow, the convictions of mankind. 
 
 In society at large, then, would you serve God and 
 your generation ? What speaker, what writer, can so 
 command attention, so fix the views of his hearers or 
 readers to clear and definite apprehensions, so settle and 
 establish their minds in his own positions and judgments, 
 as he who thinks clearly, definitely and truly himself, and 
 has at his command all the materials for illustration and 
 proof, by which to settle others in the truth ? To say 
 nothing of the earnest pleading and sincerity, which un- 
 derly all outward means and appliances used, in the 
 heart devoted to God and to the benefit of the race, who 
 else can so fitly manage the outward means and applian- 
 ces themselves? In the Church, would you serve God and 
 your generation? If you minister at the altars of reli- 
 gion, if you serve at the desk of religious instruction, 
 what more necessary or more valuable qualification than 
 to have acquired the truth of God for a personal posses- 
 sion ? To have the understanding, the imagination, and 
 the heart, largely and deeply conversant in the things of 
 
 35 
 
266 The Purchase of the TrntJi. 
 
 God ; and to be able, out of such treasures, to feed the 
 hungry with understanding, to guide the weak and the 
 straying into the right way, to convince and persuade 
 unbelievers, and make known to all the wonderful glory 
 of God, and the only true way to honor and glory in his 
 immortal kingdom. And in the State, if called in the 
 halls of legislation to speak for the interests of a people, 
 what power has that orator to guide and sway to meas- 
 ures of utility, who, well furnished on questions of public 
 policy and duty, has at command the definite conclusions 
 and the unfailing evidences and proofs of truth ? He 
 speaks with definiteness to the point in debate : and, with 
 the clearness and cogency of unanswerable reason, sets 
 forth his conclusions in the light of certainty : and they, 
 who consult impartially the public interest, are convinced, 
 and, by their concurrence, the affairs of the State are man- 
 aged with safety and success. 
 
 Or, if he must contend with the perverse leaders of an 
 ignorant faction, and fails of immediate success, he suc- 
 ceeds to plant the seeds of truth that shall bear a later 
 harvest. Before his manly front and convincing appeals, 
 the leaders of faction quail and cower. He steps between 
 them and the misguided multitude, to show up the soph- 
 istry of the wandering harangues they substitute in the 
 place of argument, and pin them down to their proper 
 place of presumptuous ignorance or wilful falsehood. 
 Their want of integrity becomes manifest ; their substi- 
 tution of their own personal aggrandizement in place of 
 the public interests, stands reproved ; and they and their 
 measures, if upheld for the moment, receive the verdict 
 of public condemnation at a later period. The advocate 
 of truth thus triumphantly succeeds to impart the bles- 
 sings of his wisdom to his own or a succeeding generation : 
 and the triumph is forever recorded on the page of im- 
 partial history. Truth thus imparts to its possessor the 
 power to labor most fitly and successfully for the wel- 
 fare of his race: to set before them, more convincingly 
 and persuasively, the true means and sources of their 
 welfare. 
 
The Purchase of the Truth. 267 
 
 But a still higher value belongs to the possession of 
 truth, as the means of preparing us for an immortal life 
 with God in his kingdom. In conforming our judgments 
 to truth, we shall come to the teachings of nature and the 
 teachings of revelation, that our minds may be filled with 
 the knowledge of God. For we shall not have the truth 
 with us practically, we shall not hold it in its highest and 
 most earnest teachings, unless we view God as the sum 
 and source of all spiritual excellence and happiness. He, 
 the infinite Father of spirits, has created our spirits after 
 the image of his own immortality : and he sets forth to 
 us, in his works and word, the pattern of his own wisdom 
 and goodness and righteousness and mercy, that we may 
 conform our minds and feelings and aims to his, and fill 
 our natures from his infinite fullness. Thus, at the fount 
 of truth, we drink in the mind and spirit of God into our 
 natures, and hold a fellowship with his Spirit, that gives 
 witness to us of an immortal life with him in his kingdom. 
 For Jesus, in coming to us as the Revealer of God and the 
 Pattern of God, intending not merely to free us from the 
 condemnation of the law, but to restore us to its great 
 precept, hath said : " This is eternal life that they might 
 know thee, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 thou hast sent." The very element and source of eternal 
 joy to our souls in the kingdom of God, is taken in the 
 truth, in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, in fel- 
 lowship with them in mind, in spirit, in works : so that, 
 as he lives forever in his own infinite fullness of knowl- 
 edge, excellence and joy, they shall live also forever in 
 the communion, which they begin here in his love through 
 the truth, with him in his eternal kingdom. 
 
 The truth it is, that thus leads, us to God and Christ in 
 reconciliation and love in this life, and prepares us for an 
 immortal life of increasing knowledge, love and joy with 
 him in his kingdom. 
 
 I have thus enumerated the positive benefits, to be deri- 
 ved from procuring to ourselves the possession of the 
 truth, as a treasure of great joy to our natures, as a means 
 
268 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 by which we may benefit our race, and as our guide to 
 an immortal life in heaven. 
 
 Should we not pay then whatever price is necessary to 
 the possession of so valuable a treasure ? The treasure is 
 far more valuable to us, than the cost can be at any rate. 
 For the cost of mental toil, denial of sensual passions, 
 moral courage and humility ,> that may be exacted is, at 
 the worst, but a partial sacrifice and a temporary one, 
 which in itself is a salutary discipline for our natures, 
 while the truth procured by it, ministers positively and 
 largely to the welfare of our whole being, in all its rela- 
 tions, and that to eternity. 
 
 Should we not then make the purchase ? If we withhold 
 the price and refuse, we necessarily forfeit all these high 
 and everlasting advantages ; and, in mental indolence, in 
 the indulgence of sensuality, in cowering to the opinions 
 of the vile, in the vain boasts of pride, we shall become 
 the dupes of ignorance, error, and sin, and rove away 
 from the center of all truth and loveliness, like wandering 
 stars, into the blackness of darkness forever. 
 
 The precept which I have unfolded applies, I have said, 
 with special force to the life of the scholar. 
 
 The scholar has disciplined his mind to the processes of 
 study. Shall he then suffer questions of deep and univer- 
 sal interest, on which he must act, to lie uninvestigated ? 
 Shall he not rather apply himself to the task of settling 
 his mind clearly and firmly on the foundations of truth ? 
 
 He can appreciate, to some extent from his own expe- 
 rience, the joys and advantages of acquiring truth. Shall 
 he not follow on, then, to know the Lord and his works, 
 and to increase, at the fount of truth, the treasures of his 
 knowledge ? 
 
 And, because of his advantages and opportunities, he is 
 expected to know the truth. Shall he be content then to 
 utter among his fellow-men the fallacies that deceive, and 
 thus expose them to injury, and himself to detection and 
 contempt? Shall he not rather strive to maintain the 
 reputation of an earnest and thorough champion of the 
 true, the right and the good ? 
 
The Purchase of the Truth. 269 
 
 My Young Friends, I have set before you a short pre- 
 cept of wisdom. Though short, it is comprehensive, and 
 it guides you to your highest welfare. You can easily 
 retain it in memory. Will you adopt it as a maxim of 
 life? Will you put it into practice? You may find it 
 difficult to do it always. But do it : and the gain will be 
 yours. Do it: and its deep wisdom will appear to you in 
 the happy experience of your souls, on the path of this 
 life, and in eternity. 
 
 I may not have another occasion of speaking to you. 
 I hope the many occasions, on which I have spoken al- 
 ready, may not prove in vain : nor the many lessons of 
 instruction you have here received from your teachers. 
 A review of the few years of your residence here, will 
 serve to impress on your hearts lessons of thankfulness 
 for the care and kindness of an overruling providence, 
 and lessons of wisdom for your guidance on the ways of 
 future life. You have lived to reach this goal. One, 
 only, of your happy number has fallen from your ranks. 
 Burnap is not with you to-day. He has fallen asleep in 
 life's early morning. And over his grave you drop the 
 tear of sorrow with the family, whose hearts are so sad- 
 dened this day with their disappointment and loss. You 
 have reached the goal : and again you are to start forth 
 on a new career, to try, apart, the yet untrod paths of life. 
 Have you not seen on your way already, that to let truth 
 enter your understanding and heart, and bear the sway, 
 is far better for your present peace and usefulness and 
 your eternal prospects, than to wallow in the mire of sen- 
 sual and earthly passions, and to cringe and bow, as slaves, 
 for the flattery and favor of those around you who are 
 addicted to like passions? Certainly you have, to your 
 joy, if you have been faithful ; to your sorrow, if unfaith- 
 ful. Go forth then, resolved, all as one, cost it what 
 partial and temporary discipline it may, to be men of 
 understanding and men of truth, for the honor of God 
 and the benefit of your race, on this transitory stage of 
 your existence. Then, happy will it be for you, when 
 your days upon earth are ended, to have sent before you 
 
270 The Purchase of the Truth. 
 
 into heaven, and to leave behind you among- men, joyful 
 testimonies to your advocacy for God and righteousness ; 
 and, as you enter into the presence of your Judge, to 
 hear from his lips the benediction of immortal joy : " Ser- 
 vants of God, well done." 
 
 Beloved pupils and friends, we bid you farewell. 
 
NO REFUGE BUT CHRIST. 
 
 ISAIAH XXVIII: 17. 
 
 THE HAIL SHALL SWEEP AWAY THE REFUGE OF LIES, AND THE WATERS SHALL 
 OVERFLOW THE HIDING PLACE. 
 
 THE prophet made this declaration to the rulers of 
 Jerusalem, who sustained, as he declares, the character 
 of " scornful men." They, it seems, who should have 
 used their influence with the people for their holiness 
 and spiritual welfare, were willing to stand up as oppo- 
 sers of the progress of divine truth, and as stumbling- 
 blocks in the way of the salvation of Israel, by publicly 
 taking the station of scorners of this prophet of the Lord. 
 They were willing to deride the threatenings, which he 
 denounced in the name of the Lord against sinners. The 
 prophet declares, that they sustained their scornful spirit, 
 by the vain imagination that they were secure from the 
 threatened evils of death and hell. They had, in their 
 own opinion, devised a way which would protect them 
 from the evil : but the prophet assured them, that it was 
 a refuge of lies ; that they were hiding themselves under 
 falsehood. He then announces to them, distinctly, the 
 plan on which Jehovah would deal with the inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem : that he would place in Jerusalem a corner- 
 stone and foundation, tried and precious, on which those 
 who in faith rested themselves for security would find 
 protection ; where they should not make haste, nor flee in 
 the day of coming wrath : but that he would bring judg- 
 ment, with the exact and even measure of the line and 
 plummet, upon all others ; and that the overflowing waters 
 of judgment, like the deluge which had once desolated 
 the world, would flow in on their hiding place and drown 
 them in destruction. They who did not repair in faith to 
 
272 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 the Redeemer in Zion, he thus assured them, could resort 
 to no refuge which would protect them from the holy 
 vengeance of God. 
 
 This declaration in like manner assures you, my friends, 
 that there is no refuge, except the Lord Jesus Christ, which 
 will protect you from the eternal wrath of God. 
 
 In illustrating this subject, I will attempt to show, 
 
 I. That they, who are careless about their salvation, are 
 sustaining themselves by some refuge. 
 
 II. That every refuge to which they betake themselves, 
 short of the Lord Jesus Christ, leaves them exposed to 
 the wrath of God. And, 
 
 III. That unless they speedily forsake every such 
 refuge, they must be overwhelmed and destroyed by the 
 judgment of God. 
 
 In presenting this subject to you, my fellow-sinners, my 
 prayer to God is, that I may be enabled, in all fidelity and 
 with sincere affection, to point out to you your imminent 
 danger, and induce you to flee immediately to Jesus 
 Christ for refuge, and to rest your souls in security on 
 that Rock of Salvation, which God has placed in Zion for 
 your deliverance in the coming day of judgment. 
 
 I remark, then, 
 
 I. In the first place, that all of you, who are at ease 
 respecting your salvation, are quieting your fears by 
 resorting to some refuge. 
 
 Fear is always excited in the mind of man, when he sees 
 some great evil impending over him, and knows that he 
 can resort to nothing which will afford him protection. 
 Only strip him of every shelter, close upon him every 
 way of escape, take away from him all power to remove 
 the coming evil, and you pour at once into his heart the 
 agitations of terror a terror measured only by the 
 extent of the evil that he is to suffer. The shipwrecked 
 mariner, when on mid-ocean he sees the fragile ship that 
 bears him, foundering, and soon to engulph him in the 
 abyss of waters, if he discover no means of escape at 
 hand or abroad, feels at once the terrors of hastening 
 death. And if at that hour his soul is not buoyed up 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 273 
 
 with some hope, he is open at once to the terrors of hell. 
 And as he watches the rapid approach of the evil, the 
 few moments that intervene, in which he can drink in the 
 light and breathe the air of day, afford no relief to his 
 heart. He is agonized with a despair that is to know no 
 end, and, in the midst of his terror, he sinks in the abyss 
 of the grave and hell. 
 
 Now it is on this general principle of our nature, that 
 I argue, that every one must be filled with deep fear 
 respecting the safety of his soul, or else must be quieting 
 his fear by trusting in some refuge for the protection of 
 his soul. And in order to show this, I will appeal only to 
 one thing of which you are conscious. I will not ask, 
 whether you believe in the threatenings of God, which 
 glare upon you in such unequivocal and pointed declara- 
 tions throughout his word ; I will not ask, whether you 
 believe in those affecting descriptions he has given you 
 of the world of future punishment ; I will not attempt to 
 show you independently of any declarations of the fact 
 in the Bible that your soul is in danger, and that your 
 fears must be excited, unless you resort to some protect- 
 ing refuge. 
 
 I appeal only to this one thing, of which you are con- 
 scious at this moment : viz. that your heart is estranged 
 from God. This glorious Being, who made you, and on 
 whose favor the soul is dependent for its happiness, is not 
 the object of your affections. You are not seeking your 
 joy from his favor and service. You are not sympathiz- 
 ing in his holiness and benevolence and justice with all 
 the heart, and, in simplicity and love, surrendering your- 
 self to his benevolent government. Your heart is fixed 
 on other objects, which wholly separate you from all 
 active and blissful communion in his love. You are thus, 
 in the feelings and purposes of your heart, at actual vari- 
 ance with the design and object of his most holy and 
 benevolent government, and are consequently trampling 
 on his laws and authority. 
 
 Now this separation of the heart from him this total 
 insubjection to his benevolent government, is a fact which 
 
 36 
 
274 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 lies fully within the limits of your own consciousness. 
 The thing is definite and obvious. It is no other than 
 your own full and stubborn purpose of heart, to cleave to 
 the inferior joys which you strive to find in your own 
 personal and worldly and independent gratification. You 
 need no declaration of the word of God to assure you of 
 a fact like this, which comes so fully within the cogni- 
 zance of your own consciousness. Whether you admit 
 revelation, or pretend to deny it, this most alarming fact 
 stares you fully in the face. 
 
 And this fact portends such danger to your soul, as 
 must excite most serious apprehensions for your safety, 
 unless you are resorting to some shelter, which you think 
 will protect you from the evil. For it is obvious, that, 
 with a heart thus continuing in alienation from God, and 
 at variance with his holy law and righteous authority, 
 there can be no peace to your soul in a coming eternity. 
 For you can never escape from the vigilant eye, the 
 almighty power, and the perfect government of this holy 
 Being. And it is certain, that if you go forward forever 
 with a heart thus at variance with him and his holy 
 authority, you must for that reason be forever separated 
 from all experience of his love, and lie under the full 
 weight of his displeasure. And what misery must forever 
 agonize that soul, that is to bear, through a long and hope- 
 less eternity, the displeasure of a righteous and holy God, 
 and an utter exclusion from all participation in the joys of 
 his heavenly presence ! 
 
 Now if you look only at your present separation from 
 God and variance at heart with his government, you can 
 see nothing else to flow from it but all this overwhelming 
 anguish and ruin. If you hope to escape, your hope 
 must come from some other quarter. It must come from 
 something else, which serves you as a refuge from the im- 
 pending evil. For, as to this variance with God in itself, 
 it portends only everlasting ruin. You have persisted in 
 it long. You have persisted in it madly, against the plea 
 of your highest interests. You have persisted in it stub- 
 bornly, against much long-suffering and goodness on the 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 275 
 
 part of your holy and justly offended Creator, while wait- 
 ing on you for your repentance. You are persisting in it 
 now. You are absolutely unwilling to give it up, and 
 submit yourselves to God. And what can you expect 
 from this astonishing contest with a righteous and holy 
 Creator, but to fall under the everlasting sufferings of his 
 displeasure ? Nothing can meet you on this path but the 
 everlasting ruin of your own soul its eternal separation 
 from all the joys which flow from holiness and the favor 
 of God its eternal endurance of all the anguish, which 
 must come from degradation and sin and guilt, from an 
 upbraiding conscience, a malicious heart, and the over- 
 flowing scourge of God's wrath. You cannot be quiet, 
 then, in your present separation from God, unless you 
 resort to something, as the refuge under which you would 
 shelter yourself, and by means of which you hope to 
 escape the impending evil. I do not say, that your soul is 
 disquieted within you. I do not say, that you are alarmed 
 with the apprehensions of the evil in question. But what 
 I now affirm is, that if such are not your feelings, you are 
 quieting yourself with the hope of some escape. What 
 I have been endeavoring to show, and what I think I have 
 succeeded in showing, is that, if you are quiet, it is not 
 because you see no danger whatever surrounding your 
 soul and threatening its destruction, but because you 
 cling to something which you hope will protect you from 
 the danger. 
 
 The inquiry therefore becomes as interesting to you as 
 eternity, whether the refuge, to which you resort for 
 quelling your fears, is one which will serve for your deep 
 necessities, and protect you from the danger that threat- 
 ens your everlasting interests ? To assist you to discover 
 the truth on a point so vital to your well being, and to 
 rescue you from every delusion of sin, I remark, 
 
 II. In the second place, that every refuge to which you 
 betake yourselves short of the Lord Jesus Christ, leaves 
 your souls still exposed to all this danger. 
 
 That refuge alone is valuable, which affords a sure pro- 
 tection from the coming evil. When this world was 
 
276 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 threatened with a deluge, every one to whom Noah 
 preached had the opportunity, doubtless, in fear of the, 
 coming evil, to build an ark for himself and household, 
 which should ride over the face of the waters. At least, 
 every one saw that no other species of refuge offered any 
 protection against such an evil as a universal flood. And 
 doubtless, whenever Noah uttered the threatening of 
 God, his hearers resorted to some refuge to quell their 
 fears. The first refuge, and perhaps the only one in their 
 case, was unbelief. They did not believe that God would 
 execute such a threatening. What had the world done to 
 deserve it? Or, if they had offended their Maker, w r here 
 should God find water sufficient for the submersion of a 
 world ? But, when the flood came, they were driven from 
 this refuge ; unless their unbelief followed them still, as 
 they repaired for protection from height to height, until 
 the last refuge was failing, and they could disbelieve no 
 longer, as they were sinking under the judgments of 
 heaven. 
 
 And so, in your present condition, it is just as easy to 
 perceive that no refuge, on which you can depend, will 
 afford any protection to your souls in a coming eternity, 
 short of Jesus Christ. Christ is a sure refuge, for this 
 plain reason, that in him God, your offended Maker, 
 shows himself to you as willing to undertake with his own 
 arm the work of your salvation. He has set apart his 
 Beloved Son to the very office of bringing salvation down 
 to the acceptance of just such beings and sinners as you. 
 He has, in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, voluntarily 
 done all that was necessary for him, as a righteous king, 
 to offer you, on your repentance and return to obedience, 
 the free remission of your sins against his laws, and an 
 admission to the joys of his favor. When the Lord Jesus, 
 therefore, stands before you offering salvation, offering, 
 with the strongest proofs of sincerity, to take you at once 
 and willingly under his protection and care, if you will 
 only accept of him as your Saviour, and fully surrender 
 yourself up to his care and government, there can be no 
 doubt on your minds that this refuge is sure. The refuge 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 277 
 
 is adapted to the very nature of the evil. The sinner, 
 who, moved by a sense of the evil of his estrangement 
 from God and exposure to his curse, will come and make 
 full confession of his sin, and with a broken heart will 
 trust all his salvation in the hands of Christ, and look to 
 him alone for it, and enlist his heart in humble and thank- 
 ful devotedness to his will and glory, is brought to a 
 reconciliation and communion with his God, which shall 
 go on as the days of eternity, and which no act of the 
 government of God not the solemn acts of final judg- 
 ment and retribution will ever dissolve or shake. For 
 it is an everlasting reconciliation, and communion in love. 
 
 But every other source of deliverance, on which you 
 can fasten a hope, is unavailing. In the first place, for 
 this reason : that it leaves you still at variance with your 
 Maker's government, and under his righteous curse the 
 very evils from which you need deliverance, and which 
 threaten the eternal ruin of the soul. You may think of 
 resorting to infidelity as your shelter. But, in that hiding 
 place, you will not change your character or your rela- 
 tion to the infinite God. The revelation which you 
 attempt to disbelieve, has not made you a sinner nor an 
 enemy of God : it finds you such ; and on the basis of 
 that fact, which lies within your consciousness, and must 
 follow you, go whither you will in the universe, it has 
 merely come on an errand of mercy, to set before you a 
 Saviour for your deliverance. God has acted as your 
 highest benefactor in bringing this volume of his grace to 
 your hands, and he only asks you to believe and trust 
 with all your heart in that fullness of grace, that offers to 
 unite you to his love and holy kingdom. And to dis- 
 believe this, to draw back from accepting a proposal like 
 this, is surely to leave your hearts still in all their dis- 
 tance from God, and your souls in all their exposure to 
 his righteous indignation. 
 
 Do you think to find a shelter in the belief of universal 
 salvation ? But what if you try, and try hard, to per- 
 suade yourself of the safety of such a hope? Will that 
 belief bring" your hearts off from your idols and sins ? 
 
278 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 Will that belief bring you to repentance and hearty 
 reconciliation and communion with God ? Does not the 
 searching eye of God, as it looks into your hiding place, 
 see a heart there that is as insubmissive and rebellious 
 as ever? and must not his holy indignation still pursue 
 you, so long as you cling to a hope that alters not your 
 character, but keeps you at distance from the surrender 
 of yourselves to his government ? 
 
 Or will you depend on mere external morality as your 
 shelter ? Will you hope for protection at the tribunal of 
 God, because you conform to your own rules of right- 
 eousness ? Because you act an honorable part before 
 your fellow-men, and abstain from acts of direct injustice 
 and cruelty, and do many things for the temporal welfare 
 of your fellow-creatures? But while you rely on this, 
 your hearts are still far from God, and not having entered 
 into reconciliation with him, and become obedient to his 
 holy dominion through Christ the Mediator, you are still 
 the objects of his displeasure the moral variance of your 
 heart from the law of God still continues. And if you 
 have no other hope for eternity, you go forward in your 
 rebellion and sin against God, and can expect nothing but 
 the fires of his vengeance. 
 
 Or will you trust in the intention you cherish, of com- 
 ing to Christ for salvation at a future day ? But, in this 
 shelter, you still remain as you were. By this purpose 
 of delay, no essential change is effected in your feelings 
 towards God, or in his feelings towards you. There is no 
 reconciliation, but rather a receding from it, in your 
 greater insensibility and his greater displeasure. Your 
 souls are still as open as ever to his consuming judg- 
 ments. 
 
 Or will you trust to your convictions? Do you say 
 that you entertain a clear and rational conviction, that 
 God is good and just, and that you are a sinner ; and do 
 you think that a mere conviction of the truth, however 
 deep and strong it may be, will save you ? But if you 
 rest in these convictions, without betaking yourself, as 
 they urge you, in self-surrender to Jesus Christ for sal- 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 279 
 
 vation, what change have they effected in your character 
 or your relation to God? You are still dependent on 
 yourself, and not on Christ, for salvation. And will the 
 mere convictions of a sinner, who has fallen under his 
 Maker's curse, and who still withholds his heart from 
 surrender to the Saviour, avail to reconcile him to God ? 
 
 Just so, if you will open your eyes to the nature of 
 every refuge of which you have ever thought, or which 
 you can devise, short of Jesus Christ, who died for your 
 sins and offers to be your Saviour, you will see, that they 
 leave you just where you were, without your approxi- 
 mating one step towards a happy and cordial submission 
 to God as your only Lord and Saviour, or towards 
 removing from your souls the righteous curse of his law. 
 
 In the next place, it is true of every refuge but Christ, 
 that if you depend on it for safety, you not only retain 
 essentially the same character and relation to God as 
 before, but you also bind your souls to the same spiritual 
 state more firmly than ever. The very act of depending 
 on anything for your eternal happiness, binds you firmly 
 to the object of your dependence ; and, if that object be 
 other than Christ Jesus, it leads you along thoughtlessly 
 and carelessly in all your exposure, until the very evil 
 comes upon you. For he who takes a shelter, goes into 
 it for the very purpose of abiding the storm. And so 
 long as he can think it secure, he will remain in it and 
 await the consequences. If therefore every other refuge, 
 to which you can trust for the salvation of your souls, but 
 Christ, does not reconcile you and God at the time you 
 enter it, it never will : it will but keep you from a recon- 
 ciliation, just as long and as firmly as you depend on it for 
 safety. All possible refuges other than Christ, therefore, 
 bind you to your sins. They encourage you to go for- 
 ward to the eternal world, in a thoughtless neglect of all 
 your spiritual duties towards God, and all the conse- 
 quences of a continued rebellion. And what can be 
 expected from such refuges, that lead you to an utter 
 carelessness about all your contrariety to the holy 
 government of God ? A rebel, made willing to adhere to 
 
280 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 his rebellion through all the goodness and holiness and 
 grace, that are beaming on him from the throne of God ! 
 made willing to adhere to it, without regard to the con- 
 sequences ! made willing to adhere to it, till this life is 
 closed, and to adhere to it through the anguish of death, 
 and to go with it into the presence of his Maker ! Can 
 anything come of such reliances and hopes, but the agony 
 of eternal sin and guilt and despair? Must they not leave 
 you unprotected in the great day of God's judgment? 
 
 But still again. Other refuges, on which you depend 
 for the safety of your souls, must bring on you the addi- 
 tional guilt of slighting all the love of Christ. They not 
 only leave you still in a state of alienation from God in 
 your hearts ; they not only encourage you to go forward 
 in such a state to eternity, with a careless presumption ; 
 but in choosing to resort to them, rather than go in confi- 
 dence to the Saviour as your only hope and righteous- 
 ness, you bring on you the greater guilt of slighting his 
 love and mercy. He is able to save you from your sins, 
 and to bring your souls to the everlasting enjoyment of 
 God's favor and government. He has given you the 
 most convincing and melting proofs of his willingness to 
 do all that is necessary for your redemption to God. He 
 has in compassion visited this world, and surrendered up 
 his life on the cross for you, that he might protect the 
 government of God while offering you salvation. Arid 
 he is before you with his offer, calling upon you, as lost 
 sinners, to depend on him for the salvation of your souls. 
 He only asks you to reject all other hopes of salvation, 
 and with all your heart give up yourselves to his protec- 
 tion and love. Why will you not try this Friend of 
 sinners ? Why will you not repose all your hope and 
 salvation in his keeping, and accept from him the pardon, 
 the communion with God, the sanctifying grace, which he 
 offers? Why will you not depend on him for everything 
 necessary to your deliverance and redemption, and joy- 
 fully surrender your souls to him wholly and forever? 
 It is love and mercy in him that asks you to do it, love 
 and mercy, that has wept tears of sorrow and sweat drops 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 281 
 
 of agony for you already, and that will never fail you, if you 
 will rely on it. Will you, rather than bring your hearts to 
 submit to such love and mercy, draw back to other hopes 
 and refuges for eternity ; hopes and refuges, that have no 
 other tendency or effect, than to keep your souls in all the 
 pollution and condemnation of sin ? Oh, what an unfeeling 
 requital is this of his love ! To resort to any expedient 
 to quiet yourselves in sin, rather than give yourselves up 
 to such a Benefactor and Saviour. To go away from him 
 in your guilt, and rush on the horrors of eternal death, 
 rather than fly to his arms for deliverance, and humbly 
 aecept of pardon and every grace as his gift. There is 
 not a single other refuge, to which you cling for quieting 
 your fears, but you show in it all this strength of unwil- 
 lingness to come to the Saviour. Infidelity, universal 
 salvation, external morality, conviction, intentions about 
 the future, self-righteousness, confidence in yourselves or 
 others, everything else on which you can fasten a hope, 
 while this Saviour is nigh, is but a pretext for shunning 
 him, for keeping your heart from him, and for refus- 
 ing him the joyful surrender of your souls. And what 
 has this blessed Saviour done, that you should be 
 so offended in him so strongly offended that, rather 
 than be beholden to him for your salvation, and go 
 willingly and penitently to accept it, you will hide under 
 any shelter you can find, though you die for it eternally ? 
 Can there be any safety in those refuges, which serve 
 only as pretexts for cherishing all this hardness of heart 
 towards Christ ? If you are resting in any such, no 
 matter what it may be, however fair and specious it may 
 appear to you, you are cherishing all this guilt and hard- 
 ness of heart against God the Saviour ; and when the 
 floods of divine wrath, which are coming, shall sweep 
 over our guilty race, they must flow in on your hiding 
 place, and, if you continue in it, overwhelm you in destruc- 
 tion. To this thought, I would now direct your attention, 
 III. In the third place : that, unless you speedily forsake 
 every such refuge, you must be destroyed by the judg- 
 ment of God. 
 
 37 
 
282 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 There is a day of judgment coming. The Almighty 
 Ruler over us is a holy and righteous God, whose author- 
 ity we have all trampled on, whose law we have all 
 broken, and to whose righteous penalty of endless death 
 we have all subjected our souls. If he is a good Being, 
 and seeks the happiness of his moral kingdom ; if he is a 
 righteous Being, and wishes to enforce his good laws and 
 make his authority respected, and thereby deserve the 
 confidence of his subjects, the sinner will not be left by 
 him to go on unpunished, nor will this guilty world be 
 suffered to go forward in its sins, and still live, as it is now 
 doing, upon his abused benefits. A reconciliation must 
 soon take place, or these abused benefits will all be with- 
 drawn, and the guilty left to perish in eternal want and 
 pain. 
 
 The presages that there is a day of coming wrath for 
 sinners, meet you on every side. Your own consciences 
 whisper to you, that God must come down in his wrath 
 on the guilty, if he is a holy and righteous Being. Your 
 own fears suggest that, while your hearts are at variance 
 with God, there can be no safety. Your solicitude to 
 cling to something as your refuge, shows that you wish 
 protection from some possible, some probable evil. Con- 
 nected with all these warnings from within you, there are 
 warnings from without. The angel of death is flying 
 over this guilty world, and sweeping its generations 
 away from all the light and privileges they here enjoy, 
 bearing the souls that have not loved God into his holy 
 presence, to receive from him their eternal retribution. 
 The Lord himself hath spoken by the mouth of all his 
 holy prophets, and has declared that he is coming to 
 execute judgment. But louder than all other warnings, 
 more convincing even than all the threatenings of his 
 wrath, is that great act of his mercy in laying with his 
 own hand in Zion a foundation, solid as the everlasting 
 rock, precious as the salvation of the soul, that sinners 
 might repair to it freely, and escape the storms of coming 
 vengeance. Nor can I conceive of a more alarming testi- 
 mony, than is given in founding on this Eternal Rock all 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 283 
 
 the hopes of this probationary life. For, if God has pro- 
 vided for us a refuge like this ; if he has given up his 
 Beloved Son to the agonies of crucifixion, to make atone- 
 ment for our sins, and serve us the purposes of a right- 
 eousness in law ; if he has done an act like this, in order 
 to afford us a means of deliverance, he sees that a storm of 
 vengeance is at hand, which shall sweep over all the un- 
 reconciled of our guilty race. He sees that equity and 
 righteousness to his kingdom require of him, that he 
 should bring down on the impenitent and unreconciled a 
 judgment and wrath, from which there can be no escape 
 through eternity. And the very offering of this refuge, 
 shows that this day of wrath is at hand. If the evil might 
 be delayed, and delayed as long as sinners might choose ; 
 if he felt not obliged, as a God of justice, to appoint some 
 time to execute judgment, but was at liberty to defer it, 
 and defer it forever; he would not have sent Jesus Christ 
 into the world, to bear the atonement of our iniquities. 
 Such an indifference to executing judgment, as is sup- 
 posed, viz. that he has no determination ever to enter 
 upon its execution, is totally inconsistent with taking any 
 steps of mercy in the way of deliverance. What motive 
 could he possibly have for offering his Son as a Redeemer 
 to sinners, if he had not a design to judge the world in 
 righteousness, and if he were not moved by mercy to 
 make a provision of possible salvation for sinners, who 
 were so soon to come up, in view of the universe, before 
 his judgment seat, and receive their endless retributions? 
 The very provision and offer of this refuge shows, that 
 the mercy of a righteous God can extend no other deliv- 
 erance to you, and that when this offer is withdrawn he 
 must, if it have been neglected, execute judgment and 
 wrath, that extends through a hopeless eternity and over- 
 whelms the soul in the pains of eternal death. And all 
 this wrath is speedily coming. "Behold," said this Saviour, 
 when he closed the volume of inspiration, (and these are 
 the last words, which in that holy book of his mercy he 
 leaves vibrating on your ears,) " Behold I come quickly." 
 The day of respite, the day for deliverance, ye prisoners 
 
284 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 of hope, is short. These hours fly swiftly. These scenes 
 of redemption are soon traversed. The cry of mercy is, 
 11 To day." You must choose your refuge speedily. One 
 only hope is set before you ; and that is tried, sure, pre- 
 cious, and freely offered you. Jesus Christ is now willing 
 to undertake for your salvation, if you will surrender 
 your soul to his care and government. Renounce every 
 other hope and surrender yourself at his feet, and he will 
 receive you and protect you in the coming day of judg- 
 ment, and lead you up to the joys of everlasting holiness. 
 If you have trusted in any other refuge, you have no time 
 to lose. You cannot detain yourselves there with any 
 safety to your souls. If you remain in it, you are lost. 
 The judge is at the door. When you leave this house of 
 your pilgrimage, you are in his presence. You look up, 
 and lo ! the great day of his wrath is come. The refuge 
 in which you trusted, is found to be a refuge of lies. It 
 never brought God and you to a reconciliation in love. 
 It only hardened you in presumption. It only helped 
 you to slight all the love and mercy of the Saviour. And 
 now the flames of consuming vengeance must reach you. 
 The only opportunity of reconciliation is past. The Judge 
 is come to take vengeance on all that know not God and 
 have not obeyed the gospel. His eye of omniscience will 
 find you out, and pour the light of insufferable brightness 
 on all your guilt. His heart of mercy cannot now forgive 
 you. His heart of holiness and righteousness must cast 
 you off to hopeless misery. And his arm of Almighty 
 power will imprison you, in your wretchedness, beyond 
 all escape. 
 
 In vain will you contend with the Almighty in judg- 
 ment. There will be no refuge from his wrath, when he 
 shall have withdrawn the only refuge his mercy could 
 grant, and have risen up with the attributes of omnis- 
 cience and almighty power to execute judgment. Other 
 refuges in which you trusted will be swept aw r ay, and 
 your souls, unprotected, unreconciled to God and his 
 holy government, must suffer the everlasting punishment 
 which sin deserves and his righteous law denounces. 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 285 
 
 The subject which I have been illustrating, shows the 
 careless sinner that he is in danger of losing his soul, and 
 the convicted sinner that he can find no safety but in im- 
 mediate submission to Christ. 
 
 Careless sinner, you have placed your reliance on some 
 other foundation than Christ Jesus. Though you may 
 speculatively believe in his person and offices as a Saviour, 
 and think that you can have salvation in him, yet you do 
 not repair to Him with an all-reposing confidence that 
 brings you as a sinner, self-condemned and in despair of 
 every other hope, at his feet to renounce your pride and 
 selfishness and sin, and surrender yourself joyfully to him, 
 to be saved only through his righteousness, and live only 
 to his praise. He is not practically your chosen refuge 
 the one to which with all your heart you cling. You 
 have repaired to some other shelter, in which you can 
 indulge your chosen ways and refuse the self-denial and 
 the cross of Christ. You have entered it, in order to 
 abide the storm. You depend on it, and are at ease. 
 And unless something shall arouse you, you will remain 
 in that hope, till you perish with it beyond the power of 
 redemption. I invite you, then, to solemn consideration. 
 You are acting in this life, whether you know it or not, 
 with reference to the interests of your soul. You have 
 now an opportunity to secure its salvation. You may go 
 freely and cast it with full surrender on the care of Jesus 
 Christ, and find in him that solid peace which arises from 
 hearty reconciliation with God, and that protection in 
 the day of coming judgment, which will shield you from 
 the curse of the violated law and elevate you to everlast- 
 ing glory. Why, then, think of resting any where short 
 of an actual surrender of your soul to Christ Jesus ? 
 Wherever else you place it, the storms of vengeance are 
 to fall. Every other shelter is to place you amid the 
 flames of retribution, without relief and mercy. And 
 will you thus needlessly keep away that soul from the 
 Saviour? Will you throw it into the fires of eternal judg- 
 ment ? What, in the wide universe, calls on you to make 
 this eternal sacrifice of your soul, when your way is open 
 
286 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 directly to God ? Give up that hope, which you cannot 
 indulge without the guilt of suicide to the soul. It only 
 deludes you with a false peace, and leaves you exposed 
 to eternal ruin. It keeps you away from God, your duty, 
 your happiness ; and only nourishes your pride, your 
 sensuality and selfishness. Relinquish it at once. Do you 
 fear to be without a hope? But you are in reality now 
 without God and without hope. Will it make it any the 
 worse, if you come so far to yourself as to see your real 
 state of wretchedness ? Will it place you any further 
 from heaven, or any nearer destruction than you really 
 are, to feel the truth that you are a condemned sinner, in 
 absolute want of all things for your salvation, and that 
 you must cast yourself on the mercy of Jesus Christ 
 alone, or perish ? Unless you consent to take this very 
 place, there is no hope for you. Every semblance of one, 
 to which you cling, is but a delusion that keeps you away 
 from Christ and hardens you in your pride and selfishness. 
 Act then, in view of the judgment of God and the neces- 
 sities of your soul. Slumber not in any delusion. Flat- 
 ter not yourself in your own eyes. Let the fear of God 
 be before you. " For the Lord shall rise up as in mount 
 Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, 
 that he may do his work, his strange work ; that he may 
 bring to pass his act, his strange act. For I have heard 
 from the Lord God of Hosts a consumption, even deter- 
 mined upon the whole earth." 
 
 But the sinner, who is thoughtful and convinced of his 
 need of salvation, has a deep interest in the subject which 
 I have been illustrating. He is shown, that he can find no 
 safety but in an immediate submission to Christ Jesus, his 
 only Saviour and Lord. I know not whether there is one 
 sinner here that carries within him a thoughtful and 
 anxious heart to day. Yet every heart knoweth its own 
 bitterness, and in many a bosom anxieties and convictions 
 often spring up, which are not directly disclosed to man. 
 And if any one before me is thus pining away in his sins, 
 with secret convictions and apprehensions which he is 
 striving to suppress, to him I will address myself. You 
 
No Refuge but Christ. 287 
 
 have, my fellow-sinner, at least ascertained one fact, that, 
 notwithstanding everything to which you may have looked 
 for safety, your soul is still in danger ; exposed to the 
 terrors of a guilty conscience, and the condemning sen- 
 tence of your final Judge. You are wandering shelter- 
 less, and find no solid rest for your soul. But there is no 
 safety in remaining where you are. Your conviction and 
 fears, will never make a refuge for you. There is no hope 
 for you but one, and you must flee with all your heart to 
 that refuge. This is your first duty, your immediate 
 duty, and the longer you delay it, the more do you resist 
 your own conviction and the strivings of the Spirit of 
 God. The longer you delay it, the greater is the danger, 
 that your deceitful heart and the wiles of the Adversary 
 will lead you to fall back for hope and quietness to some 
 refuge of lies. Come then at once to Jesus Christ, that 
 you may obtain true rest and happiness to your soul. 
 Come just as you are. You cannot render yourself any 
 better or more deserving by delay. You must come in all 
 the shame of your guilt and poverty, if you come at all. 
 He is willing to receive you, if you will but renounce 
 your sin and pride at his feet, and fully give up your soul 
 to him, to receive from him your righteousness, sanctifica- 
 tion and redemption. He is that High and Holy One, who 
 sways the scepter over the universe, and who became a man 
 of sorrows for the very purpose of offering you his salvation. 
 He has put on the aspect and the very feelings of humanity, 
 in order to come the nearer to our hearts. You may go 
 and surrender yourself to him, with all the fearless confi- 
 dence you would to any benevolent and righteous man, 
 who should offer you his protection on any emergency. 
 Only he is a thousand fold more pure in his righteousness, 
 and more ardent in his benevolence and compassion ; and 
 he is calling upon you, in an emergency as great as your 
 everlasting condemnation to the wrath of God. He is 
 that man, who shall be as a hiding place from the wind 
 and a covert from the tempest. Oh ! let him draw you 
 to his throne with the cords of his humanity and compas- 
 sion. Give up yourself to him, whatever sacrifices it 
 
288 No Refuge but Christ. 
 
 costs you, and take to your soul freely the joys of his 
 salvation. Depend on him, from this hour and through 
 life, as the Saviour to whom alone you look for salvation ; 
 for whose favor you will forsake all things ; to whose 
 praise alone you desire to live; and in whose righteous- 
 ness alone you would be found in the coming day of 
 wrath. In this very way, Paul accepted of his Saviour. 
 In this very way, he pressed forward through life in the 
 Christian race, and threw himself over the goal at last as 
 a victor, and laid hold on the crown of everlasting life 
 and glory. " What things were gain to me, those I count- 
 ed loss for Christ. Yea ! doubtless, and I count all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all 
 things, and do count them but dross that I may win 
 Christ and be found in him, not having mine own right- 
 eousness which is of the law, but that which is through 
 the faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by 
 faith," " the righteousness " which God, the Judge of all, 
 will acknowledge in the last day, and in which" he will 
 accept the redeemed into his everlasting kingdom ! 
 
 Who is there here, that will thus accept the Saviour? 
 Who will thus enter into reconciliation with God ? Who 
 will thus prepare for the judgment seat of Christ? Who 
 will thus escape from the prison of despair, and enter into 
 the inheritance of endless glory ? Methinks I hear one and 
 another say, with trembling yet confiding faith, * I will.' 
 Take that resolve, returning sinner, with all thy heart ! 
 Jesus is ready to receive thee to the refuge of his grace, 
 and thou wilt never be ashamed of closing with his pro- 
 posal of salvation. 
 
THE DUTY OF REPROOF, 
 
 EPHESIANS, V: n. 
 
 HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP WITH THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS ; BUT 
 RATHER REPROVE THEM. 
 
 WORKS of darkness, literally, are those deeds of sin, 
 which men would blush to commit under the light of 
 day. But the desire of concealment, which throws so 
 many crimes, actually, into the night, characterizes, to 
 some extent, every species of overt iniquity ; and on this 
 ground, all this class of actions are properly denominated 
 " works of darkness " unfit for the light of day. 
 
 The apostle knew that his converts at Ephesus had 
 once been addicted to such conduct, and that they were 
 still surrounded by the children of disobedience, who 
 were indulging in such iniquities ; and, in the text, he 
 gives them counsel respecting their behavior towards 
 these workers of iniquity. Have no fellowship with their 
 deeds. Never join them in their sins. Never encourage 
 them by example. Never allow yourselves to do that, 
 which they can plausibly allege in their own justification ; 
 " but rather reprove them." Let your conduct stand 
 forth as a sentence of condemnation against their sins. 
 Let your opinions be known to carry with them a holy 
 indignation against their crimes. Reprove them. Go, 
 bear the indignation and grief of your hearts into their 
 presence ; and tell them when no other eye sees them 
 but yours and your Maker's tell them their faults to 
 their face. Carry the expostulations of love to their ears, 
 and, with all the persuasion you can draw from the word 
 of Christ, claim a hearing. 
 
 Such are the directions of the apostle to Christians, 
 who were surrounded by the sinful deeds of the wicked 
 
 38 
 
290 The Diity of Reproof. 
 
 not only to shun the fellowship with them that would be 
 ruinous to themselves, but to carry to them the reproot 
 that might lead to their salvation. I learn from the 
 words, therefore, a duty which belongs to the friends of 
 God and virtue in all ages, when surrounded by the 
 crimes of the wicked THE DUTY OF REPROOF. 
 
 In pursuing the subject, I would point out some of the 
 methods, in which you may with propriety reprove the 
 wicked for their sins, and mention some considerations 
 which may serve to enforce this duty. 
 
 Among the methods, in which you may with propriety 
 reprove the wicked for their sins, I specify the following : 
 
 I. By refusal to comply with their enticements. 
 
 The slightest species of reproof that can be given to 
 sinners, arises from the refusal to unite with them in their 
 crimes. When they are grown so bold in iniquity, as to 
 solicit the followers of Christ to come down from the 
 height of their profession and hopes, to unite with them 
 in their sins and follies, the mildest reproof that can pos- 
 sibly be given is, to return to their solicitations a prompt 
 and decided negative. Unless the Christian can give so 
 slight a reproof to a sinner, as to say * no ' to his entice- 
 ments, the sinner will never fear reproofs from his exam- 
 ple or his lips. Nor is there any impropriety in using 
 with sinners this species of reproof. They have no claim 
 on you, surely, to unite with them in their deeds of folly. 
 You are lords over your own conduct, and may make 
 your own choice, without saying why or wherefore to 
 any but your Master in heaven. In the exercise of your 
 unalienable rights, you may throw a flat denial in the face 
 of every enticing sinner ; and by it effectually say, ' Go 
 thy way. When I have need of thee, I will call for thee. 
 Obtrude not on me thy sinful schemes. Take the reproof 
 my denial gives thee.' 
 
 II. You may reprove the wicked, by an example opposed 
 to their practices. 
 
 A still stronger reproof is thus conveyed to the wicked, 
 by the light that is reflected upon them from examples of 
 piety and virtue. The man who always carries with him 
 
The Duty of Reproof . 291 
 
 into their society the stern front of unyielding virtue ; 
 who is known by his uniform conduct to bear in his breast 
 sentiments of abhorrence and indignation towards crime ; 
 who shows himself so firmly attached to the government 
 of God, and the schemes of divine benevolence, as to 
 repel even the approaches of their solicitations ; speaks, 
 with silent and impressive eloquence, the language of 
 reproof to their consciences. Incomparably more is done 
 by the heavenly light attending such reproof, than can be 
 by all the reproofs of the tongue without it. The wicked 
 see in such examples the mirror, that reflects the glory of 
 the Deity, the authority of his law, the excellence of 
 virtue, the deformity of sin. They stand 
 
 " Abashed, and see how awful goodness is." 
 
 And in the midst of such exhibitions of character, they 
 pass on themselves the verdict of condemnation for their 
 sins. 
 
 Nor is there any impropriety in bearing to the wicked 
 this form of reproof. Your right to obey the God of 
 heaven, to show your loyalty no man can wrest from 
 you. You need only be loyal and be virtuous among 
 your companions, and the living reproof is carried home 
 to their consciences. As it has been eloquently remarked 
 of our republican country, that her very existence carries 
 up a reproof to the throne of tyrants, and a refutation of 
 all the arguments by which they would uphold arbitrary 
 rule, so the very existence of stern piety and virtue is 
 itself a stinging reproof to the wicked, and a loud con- 
 demnation of their guilt and folly. 
 
 III. You may reprove the wicked, by direct address to 
 their consciences. 
 
 The highest form of reproof, is that of bearing to the 
 wicked the direct expression of virtuous grief and indig- 
 nation, which their conduct excites in your souls. When, 
 in refusing communion with them in their evil deeds, or 
 in exhibiting before them virtuous examples, you tacitly 
 convey reproof to their consciences, it may not be so 
 apparent to them that you design particularly to reprove 
 
292 The Duty of Reproof. 
 
 them for their ways ; and they may neglect, on their own 
 part, faithfully to make an application to themselves of a 
 reproof, which they share in common with many others. 
 But when, in the spirit of meekness that disarms opposi- 
 tion, you go to the sinner, and pour into his ear the 
 recital of his crimes, the complaints of injured virtue, the 
 warnings of interceding grace ; his conscience owns, in 
 you, a messenger of God, come to administer the right- 
 eous and merciful reproofs of incensed, yet forbearing 
 love. This direct address is reproof, that singles him out 
 to his own conscience ; and forces him to draw off his 
 attention from the guilt of others to his own, with the 
 irresistible application, " Thou art the man." Reviews 
 his crimes through the unprejudiced feelings of a friend 
 to virtue. Conscience is against him, and with his re- 
 prover : and there arises a mighty struggle in his mind 
 betwixt the opposing powers of sin and virtue ; a struggle 
 which must end, either in the awful victory of guilt over 
 conscience, or in the victory, forever blest, -of conscience 
 over guilt. 
 
 Nor is there any impropriety in using this most power- 
 ful and most salutary form of reproof. Your tongues 
 were given you for use ; and though there are certain 
 bounds of propriety and wisdom in the use, with respect 
 to the age, and station, and character, and circumstances, 
 of those whom you address, of which God has given all 
 of you, I hope, reason and common sense enough to 
 judge ; yet these limitations of wisdom form no argument 
 against the legitimate use. To what use can they better 
 be appropriated, than to doing good ? Some may make 
 too much of their tongues in this matter ; but others too 
 little. Yet no man can deny you the right to use, for the 
 benefit of others, this glory of your frame. You should, 
 therefore, stand firm in this liberty wherewith God your 
 Maker has endowed you. 
 
 With this view of the proper methods of administering 
 reproof, I would now turn your attention to some of the 
 considerations, which should inspire you ivith resolution to 
 perform the duty. 
 
The Duty of Reproof. 293 
 
 1. You have on your side the authority of God. God 
 said, through Paul, to his children at Ephesus, while 
 surrounded with the crimes and iniquities of the Gen- 
 tiles, and says in effect to his children in all ages, respect- 
 ing the iniquitous among whom their lot is cast, " Reprove 
 them." He has issued forth his warrant to all his friends 
 on the earth, to be reprovers of the vicious. He has bid- 
 den them take the counsels and warnings of his word, and 
 administer the reproofs of his offended, yet waiting love, 
 to those who are his enemies. The command has reached 
 your ear. " Reprove them," by every method of wisdom 
 and love. With the warrant of his authority, you are 
 safe. He will protect you and bless you, w^hile on his 
 errands of mercy ; and give you a mouth and wisdom, 
 which no adversary will be able to gainsay or resist. 
 Carry home the power of religion to their hearts. " Who 
 will harm you," if, under his authority, "ye be followers of 
 that which is good?" Will you shrink before his ene- 
 mies ? Shall a face of flesh and blood move you from 
 your purposed obedience to God ? How, from so humili- 
 ating a vanquishment, can you return to the throne of 
 grace, or appear at the throne of judgment, and face the 
 God of all power ? Have faith in God ; and be strong to 
 reprove his enemies. 
 
 2. You have on your side the examples of all the wise 
 and holy. 
 
 God and all his faithful servants have ever acted as 
 reprovers of sin. God, in the laws of his government, 
 the arrangements of his providence, and the messages of 
 his word, is engaged in administering solemn reproof to 
 his enemies. The Lord Jesus, the high pattern you pro- 
 pose to copy into your lives, during his embassy to earth, 
 and while dwelling among the enemies of God, was no 
 idle spectator of those sins, by which they were wounding 
 infinite purity and goodness, and ruining themselves and 
 others. He took the part of God against an evil world ; 
 and resisted all its temptations and offers ; and held before 
 it the unsullied light of his example and precepts, to show 
 its deformity. He addressed to its hardened sons the 
 
294 The Duty of Reproof. 
 
 reproofs of indignant love, not consulting to please him- 
 self, but to perform his duty, till he could cry, with the 
 prophet, unto God his Father, " The reproaches of them 
 that reproached thee, fell on me." The Spirit of grace, 
 in the mission he is accomplishing, is engaged in reproving 
 a guilty world of sin, and in carrying home to the con- 
 sciences of individual sinners the stern rebukes of God's 
 unbending word. You are countenanced in reproving 
 sin, by all the faithful servants of God ; by Enoch, Noah, 
 Abraham, Lot, and all the patriarchs ; by Moses, Elijah, 
 Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the prophets ; by Peter, 
 James, Paul, and all the apostles ; by all the friends of 
 God, from the foundation of the world to this day, whose 
 bodies are deposited with us, whose souls are in heaven, 
 and whose memories are embalmed in the records of the 
 Church ; and by all, in every place on earth, who are now 
 the followers of Christ in sincerity and truth : in whose 
 lives and on whose lips dwells the law of truth and kind- 
 ness. All this cloud of worthies, with the great God at 
 their head, have arrayed their example before you, while 
 surrounded by the filthy conversation of the wicked, to 
 have no fellowship with them, but boldly to reprove. 
 Will you not then associate yourselves with this company 
 of the worthy, in their noble deeds ? How can you 
 expect to meet their approbation, or share in their 
 triumphs, if you enter not with them into their labors 
 of love ? 
 
 3. You have on your side the interests of the Church. 
 
 How long will it take the professed followers of Christ, 
 to learn that they cannot maintain a neutrality in the 
 world ? that the enemies of God are enemies ? and that 
 the mere attempt at neutrality is a concession made them, 
 next to base submission? Oh, how humiliating to be 
 governed, and trampled on, and triumphed over, by the 
 enemies of God, when a decided fidelity, and a bold 
 reproof administered to them for their sins, would lift you 
 high above their power, and put ten thousand to flight ! 
 
 The Church of God is not capable of flourishing, except 
 as she embosoms within her that energy of holy purpose 
 
The Duty of Reproof . 295 
 
 and example, and speaks forth the word of God in that 
 tone of boldness, which administers reproof to the negli- 
 gent, the worldly, the vicious, the hardened, who sur- 
 round her, and who assail her peace and welfare. Arrayed 
 in this glory, she strikes dismay into the host of her foes; 
 she spreads abroad the conquests of her King ; and even 
 collects the vanquished with joy around her standard of 
 Eternal Life. The time of her reproofs is the time of her 
 safety and her triumphs. Within her borders is purity, 
 light, hope, joy ; and without, terror, dismay, shame, sub- 
 mission. Even they that despised her, come bending to 
 her, calling her, the City of the Lord, the Holy One of 
 Israel. 
 
 Yield not up, then, the everlasting interests of religion 
 and the Church to the follies of man. Assert the honor of 
 your high calling, and boldly carry reproof to the enemies 
 of Zion. Self-defense, the first law of nature, and defense 
 of Christ's cause, the first law of Christianity, unite to 
 call you to this holy purpose, and to arm you with a 
 vigorous resolution. 
 
 4. You have on your side the welfare of sinners them- 
 selves. 
 
 The works of sin and darkness to which they addict 
 themselves, are unfruitful in anything but evil. They are 
 ruining themselves and their companions in guilt : for the 
 wages of sin is death. They will not escape, unless they 
 are reclaimed from their sins and errors. They are sear- 
 ing their consciences, blasting their reputation, destroy- 
 ing their comforts, and plunging their souls in eternal 
 flames : and how shall they be recalled to virtue and to 
 happiness, if they are neglected, unrestrained, and un- 
 reproved by the friends of God ? Where is their hope, if 
 none possess disinterested love enough, to address to them 
 the reproofs that are necessary to their salvation ? A 
 sinner unreproved, grows bold in iniquity. A sinner 
 unreproved, spreads wide the contagion of sin. He is 
 daily adding to his guilt, and fitting himself and others 
 for more aggravated woe. You are then guilty of a cruel 
 neglect of his welfare and influence ; if, while knowing his 
 
296 The Duty of Reproof. 
 
 faults, and knowing how freely they are published and 
 censured behind his back, and knowing how they are 
 bringing down on his soul the insupportable judgments 
 of heaven, you do not, at once, bear into his presence 
 the rebukes and counsels of Infinite Love. The Scrip- 
 tures impliedly charge this cruelty on those who neglect 
 the duty, by the form in which they enjoin it : " Thou 
 shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt in any 
 wise rebuke thy neighbor ; and shalt not suffer sin upon 
 him." 
 
 But, when you administer the faithful rebukes of love to 
 sinners around you, you are seeking by necessary means 
 the high object of " saving their souls from death, and 
 hiding a multitude of sins." Their feelings may be 
 wounded, while stung with a view of their deformities 
 and the indignations of virtue ; but you are only probing, 
 to heal ; yog are but administering the necessary medicine, 
 to effect a recovery. Their consciences, even at the time, 
 and forever afterwards, do justice to you, in testifying to 
 your self-denying kindness ; and if, subdued and melted by 
 your reproofs, they are recovered to virtue, their hearts 
 will forever bless you, as the kindest of benefactors. 
 Hundreds now on earth are joyfully walking, arm in arm, 
 the way to the heavenly Zion, who once met each other 
 in the unpleasant relation of reprovers and reproved, and 
 were mingling over reproved guilt their tears of bitter- 
 ness. And thousands now in glory are praising God, for 
 those kind benefactors who, overlooking the trials they 
 might meet with from ingratitude and guilt, dared, un- 
 solicited, to address to them the rebukes of Infinite 
 Mercy. 
 
 The very welfare of sinners, then, here and in eternity, 
 demands of you fidelity in this duty demands that you 
 have no fellowship with them in works of darkness, but 
 that you boldly reprove. 
 
 In view, then, of the methods in which you may convey 
 reproof to sinners, and of the considerations which 
 encourage and embolden you to do it, I would call upon 
 all the friends of God among you to perform this duty. 
 
The Duty of Reproof . 297 
 
 There is always a sufficient call for its performance in this 
 world of evil. You need not go back to the ancient 
 heathen of Ephesus you need not go abroad to be- 
 nighted Pagans you need not search out the dark por- 
 tions of this Christian country you need not, probably, 
 look beyond the limits of your own neighborhood to 
 find those who are engaged in the unfruitful works of 
 darkness. It is your lot, as it has been of the Church in 
 all ages, to be surrounded by the wickedness of blinded 
 sinners. Travelers with you to eternity without God 
 and without hope they imperiously demand of you a 
 faithful discharge of this duty. 
 
 " Be strong and do it." Let no. leaven of iniquity 
 among yourselves, corrupt with inefficiency the whole 
 mass. Let no root of bitterness spring up to defile many 
 to hide the light of example, and stifle the voice that 
 would administer reproof. 
 
 "Be strong and do it." Fear not the sneers of the 
 impious, or the displeasure of the reproved. The God 
 of Israel and the hosts of the wise are with you, the 
 interests of Zion and of sinners are with you, in the per- 
 formance of this duty. 
 
 " Be strong and do it." And Zion shall arise. The 
 glory of the Lord shall compass her, as with walls of fire. 
 Her enemies shall be subdued into contrition. Converts 
 shall be multiplied as the drops of the morning. Joy 
 shall be awakened on earth and in heaven over reclaimed 
 and forgiven sinners. 
 
 In view of this duty, and the considerations which urge 
 it upon the friends of God, I may surely warn the workers 
 of iniquity, to receive reproofs with humility and gratitude. 
 
 You are reproved by the word of the living God. You 
 are reproved by your own conscience. And, if you are 
 not that hardened scorner, who mocks at all things 
 serious, you may be favored with the reproofs of man. 
 Remember, that he, who in love reproves you, is a friend 
 a true friend a tried friend whose love has broken 
 through many obstacles to meet you with its warnings ; 
 and who brings to you the appeals of truth and soberness 
 
 39 
 
298 The Duty of Reproof. 
 
 who comes, commissioned of God, and countenanced 
 by all the good and wise, to urge the interests of true 
 piety, and to seek the salvation of your soul. I adjure 
 you by the living Saviour, trifle not with reproof. It is 
 one of the last remedies of divine forbearance. Unless 
 you are humbled by it before God, I am compelled to 
 say, you are fast ripening for ruin. Slighted reproofs 
 accumulate the stores of divine wrath. He that will not 
 receive severe remedies, and who cannot be restored by 
 mild ones, must die ! Oh ! hear it, ye that sport your- 
 selves in your own deceivings, on the borders of eternity, 
 
 hear it : it is the last, kind warning of injured, insulted 
 
 Mercy " HE THAT, BEING OFTEN REPROVED, HARDENETH 
 HIS NECK, SHALL SUDDENLY BE DESTROYED, AND THAT 
 
 WITHOUT REMEDY ! " Sinners, there is awful meaning in 
 those words of God ! 
 
THE CAUSE OE JEHOVAH AGAINST BAAL, TRIED 
 BEFORE ISRAEL ON CARMEL. 
 
 I. KINGS, XVIII : 1746. 
 
 THE portion of sacred history, to which I have referred, 
 is an account of the cause of Jehovah* against Baal, tried 
 before Israel at the altar of sacrifice on Carmel. 
 
 This trial was instituted by the prophet Elijah, in behalf, 
 and under the direction, of Jehovah. The circumstances, 
 which gave rise to the trial, were these: Three years 
 before, Elijah, offended with the great sin of Ahab in 
 introducing the service of Baal into Israel, had sol- 
 emnly sworn to that monarch, that there should not be 
 rain or dew in the land any more, except at his word. 
 He then left the presence of Ahab, and withdrawing 
 from the land of Israel, lived in concealment at Zareptha, 
 in Zidon. But now, the famine which arose in conse- 
 quence of the drouth, pressed sorely on all the inhabit- 
 ants of the land ; and Jehovah, remembering mercy 
 towards his afflicted people, ordered the prophet to leave 
 his concealment and appear at the court. " Go, show 
 thyself unto Ahab : and I will send rain upon the earth." 
 With this command and promise of God, directing and 
 upholding him, he was emboldened, not only to face the 
 incensed monarch again, but to require of him, as the 
 condition on which the mercy of the rain should be 
 
 * In the treatment of this subject, I prefer to use the specific name, Jeho- 
 vah as employed in the original Hebrew. Our translators have put in its 
 place the generic title, the Lord, in every instance in the Old Testament but 
 four : following, instead of the original, the Septuagint version ; the work of 
 Jewish translators, who, in their superstitious reverence at that period for the 
 unpronounceable name, Jehovah, neither introduced it nor translated it, but 
 substituted the latter title for it. 
 
3OO The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 granted, that he should give an opportunity for a public 
 trial, before the people, of the cause of Jehovah and Baal. 
 The account of his appearance before the monarch, is 
 thus stated: (v. 17, 18, 19:) "And it came to pass, that 
 when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him : Art 
 thou he that troubleth Israel ? And he answered, / have 
 not troubled Israel ; but thou and thy fathers house, in 
 that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and 
 thou hast followed Baalim. Now, therefore, send and 
 gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the 
 prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets 
 of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table." 
 This was a bold summons to address to an offended mon- 
 arch ; but there was infinite power back of the prophet : 
 and starvation by famine, or deliverance through this 
 hated prophet, was the only alternative set before the 
 king : so the summons is obeyed, and the opportunity 
 presented for Jehovah to establish his authority over the 
 hearts of his people, and prepare them to receive the 
 blessing, (v. 20.) " So Ahab sent unto all the children of 
 Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount 
 Carmel." 
 
 The national assembly is convened on Carmel. The 
 mountain range known by that name, rises gently from the 
 plain of Esdraelon to the height of fifteen hundred feet, and 
 runs a few miles to the northwest; when, sloping down 
 into a promontory, it dips its foot in the waters of the 
 Mediterranean. Covered over its whole sloping and 
 rolling surface with a rich soil, it is, in usual seasons, 
 adorned with a luxuriant vegetation, from which it de-. 
 rives its name, Carmel, a vineyard or fruitful field ; and, 
 for its graceful form and rich verdure, it was set forth as 
 an image of beauty* and fertility by the Hebrew poets. 
 But now, scorched by the drought of three years, its 
 excellency is faded. Here, on this mountain eleva- 
 tion, on the north-eastern side, probably, which looks 
 towards Jezreel, the city of Ahab, and towards the brook 
 Kishon flowing at its base, the vast assembly are gathered. 
 Ahab, the king, in his pavilion with his attendants; the 
 
Tried before Israel on Car me I. 301 
 
 prophets of Baal, on the one hand, and Elijah, the prophet 
 of Jehovah on the other, the opposing advocates ; and, 
 at a respectful distance around and below, the thousands 
 of Israel who are to witness the trial and abide the judg- 
 ment pronounced from heaven. 
 
 Let us now look at the trial, directing our attention, 
 particularly, to the point that was in dispute ; the method 
 agreed upon for conducting the trial ; the process of con- 
 ducting it; and the judgment obtained, with its effect 
 upon Israel. 
 
 I. The point that was to enter into trial, and on which 
 the issue rested, was stated by Elijah at the opening, 
 when before the people he entered his complaint, (v. 21.) 
 " And Elijah came unto all the people." With slow and 
 dignified step, his flowing mantle about him, the prophet 
 leaves his station near the king, and advances towards the 
 multitudes of Israel, that his voice may be more clearly 
 heard by alV the parties, (v. 21.) "And he said, How 
 long halt ye between two opinions? If Jehovah be God, 
 follow him : but if Baal, then follow him." He com- 
 plains of their halting, like a lame person, from side to 
 side, between Jehovah and Baal; as if it were a matter 
 of indifference which they followed as their leader ; as if 
 they might manage to keep in favor with both and offend 
 neither. He asks them how long they will allow them- 
 selves to continue, as they have done in their past history, 
 to keep wavering and fluctuating between two opinions 
 so utterly at variance, as whether the God they ought to 
 worship is Jehovah or Baal : and he proposes that, now, 
 in presence of the advocates of both deities, they bring 
 this question to a decided issue, whether they will 
 choose, as their God, Jehovah only and forever, following 
 him with all the heart in their worship, conduct and 
 hopes ; or whether, forsaking him, they will take Baal, 
 and Baal only, and transfer all their interest and hopes 
 forever to his care. 
 
 The question turns on the truth and righteousness of 
 the claims of Jehovah or Baal : whether the self-existent 
 and eternal Jehovah, who brought their fathers out of 
 Egypt through the hand of Moses, with tokens of Al- 
 
302 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 mighty power, and established them on their land, should 
 be acknowledged as their God : or Baal, the great heav- 
 enly luminary, the sun, whom the surrounding nations at 
 that period, Phoenicia, Chaldea and Moab, worshipped as 
 the generative principle of life. Whether they should 
 follow Jehovah, in the rites of worship and the com- 
 mandments he had given through Moses, or follow Baal, 
 after the custom of the nations, in the impurity practised 
 in the groves, and the cruelty of sacrificing their children 
 in the fires. 
 
 This question was calmly proposed and submitted by 
 this solitary prophet of Jehovah, in presence of the 
 numerous prophets of Baal, who felt themselves strong 
 in the royal patronage of the queen, their fellow-country- 
 woman and foster-mother, and strong in the countenance 
 of Ahab and the people, whom they had flattered in their 
 sins and led away from the pure service of Jehovah. 
 Yet, opposed by such fearful human odds, Elijah that day 
 felt strong in the truth and righteousness of his cause, 
 and in the presence and power of the living God. 
 
 The question now submitted to the people, was received 
 by them in silence, (v. 21.) " And the people answered 
 him not a word." This was one point gained, to have 
 the people receive a question, which so much reflected on 
 themselves, with silent acquiescence, as if willing to hear 
 the cause and abide the issue. 
 
 II. The prophet next proposes to Israel a method of 
 trying in their presence the cause of these conflicting 
 deities, and obtaining a decisive judgment on their oppos- 
 ing claims : and this method is, to test the ability of each 
 to answer the prayer of his servants, (v. 2224.) " Then 
 said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a 
 prophet of Jehovah : but Baal's prophets are four hun- 
 dred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bul- 
 locks : and let them choose one bullock for themselves, 
 and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire 
 under : and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on 
 wood, and put no fire under : and call ye on the name of 
 your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah ; and 
 the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.'* 
 
Tried before Israel on Carmel. 303 
 
 The method of obtaining judgment proposed by the 
 prophet, is reasonable and fair. Surely if one deity, when 
 called upon by his servant to prove his claims, shall send 
 down fire from heaven upon his own sacrifice, and the 
 other shall not, then it will appear which one is the true 
 God ; with which one is lodged the treasury of all power ; 
 which one can defend his own honor, and hear and bless 
 his servants ; and which one, being inattentive to both, is 
 feeble and false, and altogether unworthy of worship and 
 confidence. In regard to the sacrifices, too, all the favor 
 asked by Elijah is, that, as he is alone, poor and without 
 human patronage, and the prophets of Baal are many 
 and enjoy the patronage of royal wealth, the latter should 
 be at the expense of furnishing the victims: while to 
 them he would grant the choice of their own victim, and 
 the opportunity of sacrificing first, with all the advantage 
 they might hope to derive from the length of time in 
 their favor. 
 
 In proposing this method of trial at the altar, the 
 prophet stood committed for the honor of his God before 
 the people, if they accept his offer. But he has, as ap- 
 pears afterwards from his prayer, an order from Jehovah, 
 and he has sufficient faith in his wonder-working pres- 
 ence, to warrant him to risk all on the result. In the case 
 of ordinary men, however, not endowed with prophetic 
 gifts or favored with immediate revelations from heaven, 
 the example cannot be pleaded as a warrant or permission 
 even, to try the Lord by appeals to him for miraculous 
 interposition. He will be tried and proved by the suppli- 
 cations of his people at large, only in reference to the 
 promises he has made, and those ordinary works of his 
 providence and grace by which he accomplishes them. 
 
 But here now is a prophet standing before Israel, di- 
 rected of Jehovah, strong in the faith of his wonder- 
 working presence, desiring to call back the descendants 
 of Israel to him, the God of their fathers ; and before all, 
 he puts at issue the question between the claims of 
 Jehovah and Baal, on the judgment to be declared by fire 
 
304 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 from heaven, in answer to prayer which each party is to 
 offer at the altar of sacrifice. 
 
 The method of trial proposed to the people, met their 
 approbation : as it is said, (v. 24.) " And all the people 
 answered and said, it is well spoken." Surely, if the 
 prophet of Jehovah objects not to make this trial of his 
 God, it becomes the people to abide the issue, nor suffer 
 the prophets of Baal to withdraw from the contest by 
 refusing the challenge. 
 
 The method of conducting it being settled, the process 
 of trial now ensues. Elijah, sustained by the voice of 
 the whole people, turns to the prophets of Baal, and calls 
 upon them to take their part in the trial first, (v. 25.) 
 " And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, choose you 
 one bullock for yourselves and dress it first : for ye are 
 many ; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire 
 under." This direction was in accordance with the pro- 
 posal which the people had accepted ; and gave full scope 
 for the many priests of Baal, by beginning with the day, 
 to consume what time might be necessary to a thorough 
 and satisfactory trial. However much they may have 
 hated the situation in which they were now placed, yet 
 as they were bound and held by the voice of all Israel, 
 they could not refuse to enter upon the trial of their 
 cause, without giving it up at once as defenseless, and 
 bringing down the rage of the people upon themselves, as 
 deceivers and the authors, as Elijah claimed, of the calam- 
 ities that had come upon Israel. 
 
 Accordingly, they take upon them the trial of the cause 
 of Baal, after this sort. (v. 26.) " And they took the bul- 
 lock which was given them," i. e. either furnished by the 
 people without their expense, or the one which the judges 
 among them had selected and brought to their body 
 " and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal, 
 from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, Hear us." 
 
 For four hours or more, the people of Israel stand 
 in the scorching rays of a sirmmer sun, that is burning 
 the world with drouth, and hear four hundred and 
 fifty prophets of Baal vociferate, in a horrid jargon, 
 
Tried before Israel on Carinel. 305 
 
 the vain repetition, " O Baal, hear us, O Baal, hear 
 us ! " What think they, at this time of high noon, of Baal ? 
 What mercy has he on his worshipers ; what regard to 
 his own honor ; what care of his public servants ; what 
 ears to hear, or heart to feel : that he will allow all his 
 prophets to unite so long in calling on his name, in vain ? 
 They shout ; they cry ; (v. 26.) " but," says the account, 
 " there was no voice, nor any that answered." 
 
 Failing of success, as noon arrives they grow more 
 furious and frantic. " And," the history proceeds, (v. 26,) 
 " they leaped upon the altar which was made." How lit- 
 tle respect to their god and his altar have they, thus to leap 
 up, and trample upon the unburnt sacrifice ! No doubt, 
 at this hour of trial, the sight of their own victim was a 
 torment. No doubt they wished in their hearts to tram- 
 ple both the victim and altar into the dust, that both might 
 disappear from the sight of the waiting people : but they 
 only set forth themselves as frantic madmen, who in vain 
 kindle up the fires of passion in their own hearts, to 
 deceive a people waiting to see a material flame descend 
 from heaven to burn up the victim. 
 
 But these prophets have already consumed much time, 
 and the prophet Elijah, now that their fury is at its height, 
 as if desirous to hasten the process and relieve the waiting 
 people, suggests some reasons why, perhaps, their god 
 does not hear them : reasons which, though they burn 
 and scathe the false prophets and their god, may open 
 the eyes of Israel to the folly of heeding such delusions. 
 For sarcasm, like the lancet, proves a salutary instrument, 
 when it saves the whole body, at the expense only of a 
 deadly fungus fastened on its life. (v. 27.) " And it 
 came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said : 
 cry aloud : for he is a god," i. e., you say he is "either 
 he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or 
 peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked." 
 
 Israel, I imagine, who had been taught, through Moses, 
 ideas, which could not have been wholly effaced, of a God 
 who made heaven and earth ; who is ever present in all 
 his works and with all his creatures ; and who never 
 
 40 
 
306 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 slumbereth ; Israel must have seen the ridiculous folly of 
 these priests, in the dilemma to which they were now 
 brought by the opposing prophet of Jehovah. For their 
 Baal either will not or cannot hear. If he will not, at a 
 time when his honor and service are all at stake, and are 
 now become the ridicule of the opposing party, surely he 
 can claim no more the respect and confidence of the 
 people. If he cannot ; if he is prevented, as men often 
 are, by previous engagement in conversation or amuse- 
 ment in the chase, or by absence on journeys, or by sleep, 
 is it not ridiculous to be waiting in vain at his doors with 
 petitions and wants, to which the people can as well 
 attend themselves ? 
 
 It would seem, therefore, that these prophets, unan- 
 swered by their deity, must have given up the trial of 
 their cause at this time as utterly hopeless, when they 
 saw both their god and themselves become the ridicule 
 of the whole assembled multitude. 
 
 But the maddened and phrenzied worshipers of false 
 gods, usually attempt to make themselves objects of 
 compassion by self-inflicted cruelties ; as if, knowing 
 themselves to be astray, they would punish themselves 
 enough to purchase of others sympathy and impunity in 
 their sins. This device was still left as a last resort. So 
 these prophets, in their straits, now strive to turn the tide 
 of ridicule, by attempting to arouse sympathy and com- 
 passion, (v. 28.) " And they cried aloud and cut them- 
 selves, after their manner, with knives and lancets, till the 
 blood gushed out upon them." But these appeals to 
 compassion cannot turn away the thoughts of the people 
 from waiting for the approving signal from heaven : and 
 so, as they gash their bleeding persons, they seem as if 
 only anticipating the pains and penalties of defeat, and 
 as having begun with their own hands the work of their 
 execution and death. 
 
 But to give them every advantage, the prophet Elijah 
 still longer delays to enter upon the trial of the cause 
 of Jehovah ; and the prophets of Baal, as if to continue a 
 folly they know not how to cease, and render them- 
 
Tried before Israel on Carmcl. 307 
 
 selves still more ridiculous, continue their vain incan- 
 tations till the time of evening- sacrifice. But it was car- 
 ried to that length and satiety, that not only their god 
 would not answer, but even their fellow-men would not 
 regard them any more : as the history states, (v. 29.) " And 
 it came to pass, when mid-day was past, and they prophe- 
 sied until the time of the evening sacrifice, that there was 
 neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." 
 No voice nor answer from above, as was before stated, 
 nor, as is now added, any that give their attention more 
 in the assembly of Israel. 
 
 The time was now come for Elijah to try the cause of 
 Jehovah ; for the people, disgusted with the false prophets, 
 were ready to give their undivided attention to his offer- 
 ing, nor suffer, as at an earlier hour they might have done, 
 the false prophets to seize some portion of the fire as it 
 fell, and claim it as their own. (v. 30.) " And Elijah said 
 unto all the people, come near unto me. And all the 
 people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of 
 Jehovah that was broken down." That broken and neg- 
 lected altar, which once was honored with the service of 
 Jehovah, was now again to be consecrated to his service, 
 and honored by the tokens of his presence. But that 
 was not the altar he was to take for the trial. He builds 
 another for the purpose, (v. 30.) " And Elijah took twelve 
 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons 
 of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, 
 Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones he built 
 an altar in the name of Jehovah." An impressive lesson 
 to those sons of Israel who are thronging around the 
 prophet: to remind them of that patriarch head, who 
 was blessed by Jehovah, and by the wrestling angel 
 named Israel or 'power with God/ and to set before them 
 the obligation of their being unitedly consecrated to the 
 service of Jehovah, Jacob's God. To render the trial 
 beyond the power of any deception, as to fire, and make 
 more signal the interposition of Jehovah, he takes the 
 following measure of precaution, (v. 32.) " And he made 
 a trench about the altar as great as would contain two 
 
308 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 measures of seed ;" i. e., the superficial extent of which 
 would require, if strewed with seed for planting, two 
 seahs or third parts of an ephah, equal to more than a 
 half bushel of our measure: a very broad trench around 
 the four sides of the altar, (v. 33.) " And he put the 
 wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him 
 on the wood and said, Fill four barrels with water, and 
 pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." The 
 \vater, it may be remarked, might have been taken from 
 the brook Kishon, which flowed at the base of Carmel, 
 and which, fed by the springs of this mountain range, had 
 not yet wholly ceased to flow, after the long drought. 
 (v. 34, 35.) " And he said, Do it the second time. And 
 they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third 
 time. And they did it the third time. And the water 
 ran round about the altar. And he filled the trench also 
 with water." Twelve barrels of water were thus taken 
 to the altar by these descendants of Israel, at the com- 
 mand of the prophet, to make sure and signal the inter- 
 position of Jehovah, the God whom Jacob worshipped. 
 
 The time had now come for Elijah to call on Jehovah, 
 to defend his own glory and cause, by sending down fire 
 to consume the sacrifice, (v. 36.) " And it came to pass, 
 at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that 
 Elijah, the prophet, came near and said." He drew nigh 
 the altar, all Israel intent to hear and witness. The 
 prophets of Baal were silent, (or, if continuing their 
 incantations, by their hoarse and faint murmurings adding 
 only to the dignity of the prophet) and, in a calm, rational, 
 confident manner, he addressed this prayer a model of 
 faith and devotedness to the God whom he worships. 
 (v. 36, 37.) " Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, 
 let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and 
 that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things 
 at thy word. Hear me, Jehovah, hear me, that this people 
 may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou 
 hast turned their heart back again." He appeals to his 
 God, as Jehovah, the Being of infinite perfection ; the God 
 who, by his promises and faithfulness in the past to Abra- 
 
Tried before Israel on Cannel. 309 
 
 ham, Isaac and Jacob, stands engaged to uphold his cause 
 in every age ; he pleads with him to grant the decisive 
 token of the fire, for the sake of upholding his own honor 
 and service in Israel. The prophet, in his plea, would 
 merge himself and all the surrounding people of Israel, 
 as mere subordinates, that Jehovah would put honor on 
 his own name and service, by upholding his cause in the 
 hands of his prophet, and causing Israel to turn back in 
 their hearts from the service of Baal, with acknowledg- 
 ment of his newly manifested glory and claims. 
 
 In this signal prayer, full of faith in God, and breath- 
 ing a pure desire for his glory, the prophet has touched 
 the heart of the self-existent One ; he has set in motion 
 that living energy, that originates, upholds, and sways at 
 will, all power and might within this vast creation. 
 
 The prayer is uttered. The prophet is silent. All 
 Israel expectant, await the signal. The prophets of Baal, 
 dusty, bleeding, ashamed and forgotten, are looking from 
 their disfigured altar and victim askance toward the altar 
 of Elijah. Ahab trembles lest the poise should turn, to 
 sink his flatterers and elevate his faithful reprover. When 
 lo ! judgment is declared ; the contest is decided ; Jeho- 
 vah and his prophet are victorious ! 
 
 (v. 38.) " Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed 
 the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the 
 dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." 
 What signal power, that consumes not only the wood and 
 victim, but every vestige and memorial of those who 
 would call in question the power and majesty of Jehovah ! 
 
 The effects of this declaration of judgment are seen, in 
 the immediate decision of Israel to take Jehovah as their 
 God, and in their fulfilling, at the command of the prophet, 
 the trying duty, required in the law given to them through 
 Moses, of executing the false prophets. Israel are moved 
 to declare for Jehovah, (v. 39.) " And when all the people 
 saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said, Jehovah, 
 he is the God ; Jehovah, he is the God." Bowed down 
 to the earth in fear and reverence, all acknowledge that 
 he is the God who upholds his cause in the earth, who 
 
310 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 has power to reward his servants and punish his enemies : 
 that he, and not Baal, is the God they must henceforth 
 follow. The whole assembly of Israel are thus swayed 
 back from Baal to Jehovah, and with loud voice declare 
 that they will follow him as their God. But they have 
 taken their vow ; and now a trying duty meets them, at 
 once to test their adhesion and loyalty. For, according 
 to the national law that Jehovah had given them through 
 Moses,* " the prophet or prophets that shall speak to Israel 
 in the name of other gods, to turn them away from Jehovah 
 their God, must be put to death." To the execution of 
 this trying duty, the prophet now calls them. (v. 40.) 
 " And Elijah said unto them, take the prophets of Baal: 
 let not one of them escape. And they took them : and 
 Elijah brought them doXvn to the brook Kishon, and slew 
 them there." Thus they, who had led off Ahab and Israel 
 into open idolatry and sin, and had provoked the ven- 
 geance of Jehovah against his people, to smite them with 
 drought and famine, were effectually put to silence. They 
 should never more lift up their voice to cause Israel to 
 offend, neither should their blood, soon to be washed 
 away, with their rolling bodies, by the swelling torrents 
 of Kishon into the sea, be allowed to pollute the land of 
 Jehovah. 
 
 And now is the hour of mercy and relief to suffering 
 Israel, who have vowed unto the Lord and begun obedi- 
 ence to his law. The prophet, who had once retired from 
 the land announcing the judgment of drought, and had 
 now come with the promise of mercy ; and who, having 
 this power with God in his hands, had authority with the 
 king and all Israel to assemble them to this trial : having 
 succeeded to gain over the heart of Israel, and silence 
 the prophets of Baal, now announces good tidings. He 
 bids the king refresh himself unsparingly : for there is a 
 sound of abundance of rain, that is to remove the stints 
 of famine. He gets him to the top of Carmel, and bends 
 in silent prayer. He sets his servant to watch the west- 
 ern sea. Again and again the servant passes from his 
 
 * Deut. xiii : i, 2, 5 : xviii : 20. 
 
Tried before Israel on Carmel. 3 1 1 
 
 post of observation to the prophet with no tidings. At 
 the seventh time, he announces a cloud arising from the 
 sea, to appearance of the size of a man's hand. He sends 
 the servant forthwith to bid Ahab prepare his chariot 
 and descend from the mountain with the people, before 
 overtaken and stopped by the swelling mountain torrents. 
 The cloud expands in every direction ; it grows dark 
 with its stores of winds and waters: and when Ahab and 
 the people and the hurrying prophet have found shelter 
 in the city of Jezreel, it pours its reviving floods over the 
 parched earth, and causes joy to the thousands of fam- 
 ished Israel. 
 
 Such is the history, as briefly as I could present it with 
 justice, of a memorable day in Israel, on which Jehovah 
 allowed Elijah his prophet, whom he had sent to them 
 with a promise of relief, to institute, as preparatory to 
 that mercy, a public trial of his cause, now come into con- 
 flict with Baal, against that of the idol : in order that, to 
 all the demonstrations of his power and goodness in the 
 past, which had now become fruitless in the presence of 
 these servants of Baal, he might add new evidences, 
 to regain the hearts of Israel, and to silence their troublers ; 
 and thus be acknowledged in his judgments and mercies, 
 as the God in whom Israel should trust, and whom alone 
 they should serve. 
 
 Among the lessons to be derived from the proceedings 
 of that memorable day, I will mention the following : 
 
 i. Jehovah, the God of Israel, proved himself, on that 
 day, to be the only God that is worthy to command the 
 homage and service of our race. He is the one, who 
 spake to the patriarchs ; who gave laws and command- 
 ments to Israel through Moses ; who brought into that 
 nation his only Son, and through him caused the word of 
 repentance and forgiveness to be published to the nations, 
 preparatory to a day appointed, in which he will judge 
 the world in righteousness ; who, in that long series of 
 his dealings with Abraham and his seed, from the call of 
 Abraham to the close of the mission of Christ and his apos- 
 tles, caused this word to be prepared and published, as his 
 
312 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 book of instruction, to guide all the nations to the knowl- 
 edge and acknowledgment of his glory and his claims. 
 He, on that day when his claims came into contest with 
 Baal, the god of surrounding nations, came forth from the 
 hidings of his power, at the call of his faithful servant : 
 and, from the secret store of his treasures, poured forth 
 from heaven the fires that swept from earth the victim, 
 the wood, and the very altar itself of the sacrifice that 
 called in question his power. On that day, when the 
 question was tried, whether he or Baal, whether he or 
 any opposing deity, was to have the preference, he 
 showed himself the living and true God ; who has control 
 over the powers of nature and the course of events in the 
 creation, who had withheld the rain as a judgment, and 
 granted it again as a mercy, upon Israel. He, the ever- 
 living God, remaineth the same in all generations ; hold- 
 ing in his hands the resources of everlasting strength : to 
 maintain the worship and service he inculcates in this 
 book, and to fulfill all its promises and threatenings. 
 Jehovah, made manifest by signs in Israel, made manifest 
 in the flesh in Jesus Christ Jehovah, the author of the 
 Bible, then claims our faith and obedience, to the exclu- 
 sion of all others. On the heights of Carmel, he showed 
 himself strong to defend his cause, and to put to silence 
 all his adversaries. Let us hear" the lesson, which for all 
 ages he inculcated that day ; that none can contend with 
 Jehovah and prevail : that none can forsake his worship 
 and service, without rushing on his judgment : and that 
 none should experience his mercies, without turning back 
 to him in their hearts. Let us then, in imitation of Israel 
 that day, turn to Jehovah, before all the accumulated 
 testimonies of his power and faithfulness, with reverence, 
 exclaiming from the heart: 'Jehovah, he is the God in 
 whom we will trust, he is the God whom we will obey : 
 so shall we triumph in his strength, and be refreshed with 
 his mercies.' 
 
 2. Another lesson inculcated in the trial on Carmel, is 
 that of the essential difference between the worshipers 
 engaged in a false, and in the true religion. We see this 
 
Tried before Israel on Carmel. 3 1 3 
 
 difference strikingly exemplified in the. prophets of Baal 
 and the prophet of Jehovah, as they were tested in this 
 trial in regard to their worship. A false religion has not 
 the support of truth ; its votaries are astray from the only 
 true God ; they act as before the people, rather than as 
 before a deity ; they seek their own honor and emolument, 
 at the expense of sin in the people ; and, when put to the 
 test as to their religion, they rest not in the truth of their 
 cause, but on working their own passions into frantic 
 madness to affect the people, on loud vociferations, un- 
 meaning repetitions, or extravagant actions, to absorb at- 
 tention ; or in cruel woundings and penances of the flesh, 
 to excite compassion : and all, as a vain substitute and 
 show of religion, while astray from the only true God, 
 and while given to the sins and lusts that fill the world 
 with unrighteousness and woes. Such were the prophets 
 of Baal in their worship; such are all the idolaters, who 
 have ever established a religion and service of idolatry 
 in the earth ; and such too are they who, creeping with 
 their idolatries into the service of Jehovah, have dared 
 to set up idols in his sanctuary. They have all imitated 
 these practices of Baal's prophets on Carmel ; substitu- 
 ting for knowledge, truth, and the pure desires of piety 
 and benevolence, their public shows before the people, 
 their ridiculous ceremonies, their extravagances and pen- 
 ances, their indulgences of the people in sins for gain and 
 emolument. How different Elijah, the prophet of the 
 living God ! He is calm and dignified, reposing on the 
 truth and justice of his cause. He calls on God in a 
 rational manner, as a being who has power to hear, and 
 who has made promises in the past, to uphold the faith of 
 his people. With a pure and firm purpose, to consult the 
 honor of Jehovah, and the advancement of his cause, both 
 in himself and in Israel, he makes that his plea, with 
 earnestness and simplicity, and without repetition. He 
 is calm in his feelings ; putting his unshaken trust in Jeho- 
 vah, to whom he breathes the sincere desire of his heart 
 that he will hear his prayer and fulfill his request. This 
 is accordant with a heart of firm faith and pure obedience, 
 
314 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 that brings honor ijpon God in presence of the multitudes, 
 and gains from him audience and favor at the altar of 
 devotion. 
 
 Let then this striking example be a test to us, whether 
 we are in error or in the truth, in respect to practical 
 religion. Let us ask ourselves, whether in religion we 
 set up ourselves and our interests before the people as 
 supreme, or whether we merge our persons, our interests 
 and our all, in the honor of God and the advancement of 
 his cause. 
 
 3. Another lesson taught us at the trial on Carmel, is 
 the power which may be employed by an individual child 
 of God to advance his cause in the earth. Elijah stood 
 that day on Carmel as a solitary servant of God. Against 
 him were arrayed the four hundred and fifty prophets of 
 Baal ; the king of Israel, their protector and friend ; and the 
 whole multitudes of Israel, committed to these idolaters by 
 their compliances. What had he to rest upon, that he 
 should attempt to uphold and advance the cause of his God 
 against this overwhelming torrent of idolatry ? First, he 
 had faith in God, as a Being of infinite and unchanging 
 power, who had begun a plan of grace in our world which, 
 by promises irrevocably spoken, he had pledged himself 
 to carry forward in every age. And before that God, in 
 whose breast were locked up the secrets of the future, 
 and with whom were the issues of all power in the crea- 
 tion, he felt that he might come nigh to plead and pre- 
 vail. Though the past was now unalterable ; though the 
 present was dark and discouraging; yet on the future, 
 that lay concealed with God, he looked with faith and 
 hope, as open at his almighty bidding to immediate issues 
 of good. Next, he was furnished with a powerful plea 
 that he could present to Jehovah. He was an obedient 
 friend to his cause. He desired to have Jehovah honored 
 in him and through him as a servant, and honored before 
 Israel, and by Israel as his people. He bore in his heart 
 this pure desire to merge himself and his surrounding 
 fellow-creatures in the cause and honor of Jehovah, 
 which cause and honor carry with them the blessedness 
 
 
Tried before Israel on CarmeL 3 1 5 
 
 of God, and the highest good of his vast kingdom to 
 eternity. He was thus furnished with a plea that does 
 not fail to touch the heart of God. He stood up as a true 
 and devoted servant of his, breathing before others, in the 
 great congregation, the pure desire that he would honor 
 himself while his cause was in so feeble hands, and while 
 his honor was concerned with so many around ; and the 
 plea avails. So the faithful servant of God, who labors 
 for his cause, whether in public or in private, when he 
 brings this pure plea before God, tries him and proves 
 him on a point nearest his heart, and will not fail to have 
 audience. Once more, the prophet that day asked for an 
 interposition of direct almighty power in the fall of fire 
 from heaven, that was competent as a means to give honor 
 to his cause, to turn back the hearts of his people, and 
 silence his foes. Still God has in his hands the treasury 
 of almighty power : and if he does not now allow his friends 
 to ask for direct miracles to be wrought, to sustain a 
 cause sufficiently based on that evidence already, yet 
 he is open still to be tried, in all the applications of 
 his almighty power in his works of providence and grace. 
 Still he may send, at the earnest request and upon the 
 pure plea of any faithful servant, that providential dispen- 
 sation, and that working of his word and Holy Spirit, 
 which will advance his cause in the earth ; which will 
 turn the hearts of men to acknowledge and serve the 
 Lord, and which will put to silence his enemies. Yes ; 
 this wonder-working power in the spiritual world, like 
 the rod in the hand of Moses, is in the hand of that be- 
 lieving and devoted child of God, who breathes, at his 
 throne of grace and into his ear, the pure and fervent 
 desire, that he would uphold and extend his cause and 
 honor his name in the earth. 
 
 Let no one then feel himself weak who can in true faith 
 call upon God for help. The humble believer, without 
 office in the Church, unknown to fame, who in his little 
 sphere of action seeks to honor God in faith and obedience, 
 can in prayer touch the heart of God, in behalf not only 
 of the immediate circle in which he lives and moves, or 
 
316 The Cause of Jehovah against Baal, 
 
 the Church with which he is connected, but of friends, and 
 laborers for God and souls, in any part of this wide exten- 
 ded globe. My brethren, do you know this privilege? 
 I fear we sometimes crush our spirits, by feeling that we 
 have some great thing to do ourselves in order to advance 
 the cause of our God, and must do it alone. Look then 
 to the privilege granted you in prayer. Go, cast your 
 burden on the Lord, and ask him to bring in the aids of 
 his Spirit and might, to accomplish your desires for the 
 advancement of his glory and kingdom. Go to the heart 
 of infinite love. There touch the. springs of all good suc- 
 cess on earth. The earnest prayer of a righteous man 
 availeth much. Elijah was a man " subject to like passions 
 as we are;" yet, at his prayer, the rain long withheld in 
 judgment from Israel, descended again to bless the earth. 
 Finally : The trial on Carmel teaches us that God will 
 put to silence all the adversaries of his cause and people. 
 With him is all power ; and, by the tokens of his might, 
 he can confound and put to shame all his adversaries. 
 He can send down the fire of his Spirit, to re-consecrate 
 his forsaken altars, and to regain the hearts of his 
 revolted people to follow him and walk in his precepts, 
 and, by the revival of his own honor and cause, overawe 
 and put to silence all opposers. He can, in his wrath, 
 commission the sword to destroy. And by mercy, or by 
 wrath, he will silence all his adversaries ; and that 
 speedily. The wicked man may flourish awhile. He 
 may set up his cause and find his patrons, in the earth. 
 He may flatter himself with his devices, and content his 
 heart in his iniquities. But his day of trial is coming. 
 And where then will be the might in which he trusts? 
 Who of all his idols or friends will hear or save ; when 
 Jehovah, that is mightier than all, shall come forth to 
 execute judgment? He shall be taken away in his iniqui- 
 ties. The sword of the Lord shall devour him in anger. 
 And the places that knew him shall know him no more 
 forever. 
 
 My friends, hearken to the warning that comes from 
 the heights of Carmel against espousing any cause op- 
 
Tried before Israel on Car met. 3 1 7 
 
 posed to that of Jehovah. The Bible represents on the 
 earth the cause of Jehovah : the book that utters his 
 voice ; that speaks his will ; that breathes forth the prom- 
 ises of his mercy and the threatenings of his justice, 
 behind which, to guard and fulfill, lie concealed awhile 
 the resources of that everlasting strength, which upholds 
 and guides all the movements of this vast creation. If, in 
 your heart and life, you discard the authority of this 
 book ; if, in your intercourse with others, you attempt to 
 put down in their minds its authority ; you engage in a 
 controversy with the living Jehovah, and must meet the 
 fate of those who contended against his authority in the 
 days when he was giving out these oracles with the testi- 
 monies of his miraculous power. Act not such a foolish 
 part on this short stage of life, to fall forever under con- 
 demnation. Imitate rather the good and holy Elijah. 
 Take Jehovah for the God whom you will only and for- 
 ever follow. Seek and obey the instructions of his "word. 
 Maintain the honor of his name and worship. And, with 
 faith and love in your hearts, and in humble, earnest prayer, 
 ask him to promote his cause in your hands, and to shower 
 on the parched world around, the blessings of his grace. 
 So will you live and die the happy servants of God, the 
 honored benefactors of mankind. 
 
THE ASCENSION OF JESUS. 
 
 MARK XVI: 19 LUKE XXIV: 50-53 ACTS I: 414. 
 
 THE sorrows of the Crucifixion were past. An interval 
 of forty days had now elapsed since the joys of the Resur- 
 rection. During this interval, Jesus did not lead about 
 the band of his disciples, as their constant companion, as 
 he was wont during the days of his public ministry. He 
 appeared to them on certain occasions only ; and, in some 
 instances, by express appointment of time and place. 
 His personal appearances took place so often, before so 
 many concurring witnesses, in such varied circumstances, 
 and with such recollections of the past in his conversa- 
 tions, as to afford many infallible proofs, that this was 
 indeed Jesus, alive again after his passion by resurrection 
 from the dead. 
 
 This interval of forty days had brought them now near 
 the Pentecost the fiftieth day from the second of the 
 Passover, called the Feast of Weeks; a feast day, on 
 which they were to receive far richer gifts than the first- 
 fruits of the wheat harvest, which were then wont to be 
 gathered on which they were to receive their first heav- 
 enly gifts after the coronation of Jesus, in the descent of 
 the Spirit upon them at their inauguration into office, 
 the first fruits of the great spiritual harvests that Jesus 
 was to reap on earth from his sufferings. 
 
 At this time of full proof of his resurrection and of 
 near approach to the festival, he convened them together 
 by appointment, and met them in their assembly. " Being 
 assembled together with them," is the introductory ac- 
 count in the Acts, as given in our translation. This 
 meeting took place within the walls of Jerusalem ; but it 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 would seem that, instead of being continued at the place 
 of their gathering, he soon led them to the height of 
 Olivet, and held his conversation with them by the way. 
 For Luke, in his Gospel, says, that " he led them out as 
 far as to Bethany," out of the city to the borders of 
 Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, implying that, having 
 assembled in the city, they took this walk, before the Ascen- 
 sion : and, in his history of the Acts, he says, that, " when 
 he," Jesus Christ, " had spoken these things, he was taken 
 up ;" and consequently he must have reached the place 
 where he ascended, at the time of closing the conversation 
 For Luke adds, that, " then," immediately after the 
 event, they, the disciples, returned to Jerusalem, from 
 the Mount of Olivet. 
 
 Jesus had met them by appointment a short time before 
 this interview, on a mountain in Galilee, not unlikely the 
 elevated Tabor, as he was seen by a few of them a short 
 time before, near the sea of Tiberias: and there, where his 
 glory had been prefigured, he then proclaimed his 
 approaching elevation to all power in heaven and on 
 earth, and commissioned them to preach the Gospel to 
 all nations. 
 
 But now is he immediately to take possession of his 
 power. And at Jerusalem he meets them once more, 
 that he may have his final interview with them on earth, 
 and give them instructions as to their approaching inaug- 
 uration into public office. He walks with them through 
 the familiar scenes of his past ministry. He goes with 
 them down the vale of Jehoshaphat, he crosses the brook 
 Kedron, he passes the garden of Gethsemane, he ascends 
 the height of Olivet to make them witnesses of his glori- 
 ous Ascent to the Throne. 
 
 In this conversation by the way, he reminded them, first 
 of all, of what he had said to them, on that sad night of 
 the Passover, about his Father : that the Father had pro- 
 mised to send down to them the Holy Spirit, when he 
 had left ; that it was expedient for them that he should 
 go away ; that, by going away, he should see that the 
 Spirit was sent down ; and that the arrival and presence 
 of this Comforter would more than make amends for the 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 321 
 
 want of his bodily presence. He reminded them, too, of 
 the prophecy of John the Baptist, when he announced of 
 the coming Messiah, " I baptize you with water, but he 
 shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." By recalling- to 
 their minds these heavenly promises, first proclaimed by 
 John at the ford of Jordan, and more fully unfolded by 
 himself, in his discourse on the night of his and their 
 sufferings, he gave them now clearly to understand, that 
 they were soon to receive the promised gift of the Holy 
 Spirit : and the direction which he gave them was, that 
 they should hold themselves in readiness for the gift, and, 
 for that purpose, should remain together, waiting for the 
 blessing in the posture of faith and prayer, at Jerusalem. 
 He " commanded them that they should not depart from 
 Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, 
 saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized 
 with water" with this outward washing he initiated his 
 disciples into the expectation of the kingdom, and inaug- 
 urated me into the office of proclaiming the kingdom 
 " but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many 
 days hence." Ye shall be inaugurated into your office of 
 witnessing for me, as I was to my ministry, by the descent 
 of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 By thus announcing the promise of the Father and the 
 prophecy of John as soon to be accomplished, and direct- 
 ing them to wait at Jerusalem for the accomplishment, 
 their curiosity, it seems, was excited on the old subject 
 of the temporal kingdom of Israel. For Luke imme- 
 diately adds, " When therefore they were come together;" 
 i. e., when, excited by curiosity, they had gathered, as a 
 body, more closely together around his person a gather- 
 ing of the body at the time more closely, for they were 
 already on their last walk with Jesus, and could not 
 assemble around him afterwards when thus excited, 
 they asked of him, saying, " Lord, wilt thou at this time 
 restore again the kingdom unto Israel? " 
 
 The idea of the re-establishment of the kingdom among 
 the sons of Israel, in greater splendor than in the days of 
 Solomon, by the person of the coming Messiah, was the 
 
 42 
 
322 The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 prevalent opinion cherished among the Jews at that age. 
 This opinion, shared in likewise by the twelve, concern- 
 ing Jesus during the days of his ministry, had been dis- 
 turbed and shaken, in a great measure, from the time of 
 his public condemnation and crucifixion. On the day of 
 his resurrection, if we may gather the general sentiment 
 of the disciples from the speech of Cleopas, they were 
 astonished, but could scarcely recover from the blow 
 given to their hopes in regard to the temporal deliver- 
 ance and glory of Israel. " Our rulers " have " delivered 
 him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him." 
 " We trusted it had been he who should have redeemed 
 Israel." * But now he is come to life again, and we are 
 astonished ; yet how can he, whom both Jews and Romans 
 have condemned, gain the power and opportunity, that he 
 once had, on his way of miracles, to take and wield the 
 kingdom ?' But on this occasion the promises of Christ 
 about the future, arid his directions that they wait at 
 Jerusalem a short time for the coming of the Comforter, 
 revive at once their hopes, that he will yet establish his 
 power over the people ; and their curiosity is excited to 
 know, whether he will take this opportunity to restore to 
 Israel the temporal rule and authority, long passed over 
 to Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. " Wilt thou at 
 this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" 
 
 Jesus, in his reply, turned off their thoughts from the 
 time of the" kingdom, as a matter they would better under- 
 stand from events in the future, than they now could 
 from any mere declarations ; and bade them, in effect, 
 leave that question for the Father to settle by his provi- 
 dential" authority and control, and attend rather to the 
 duties which were more immediately to occupy their 
 labors, and for which they were to be strengthened by 
 the promised gift of the Spirit. " It is, not for you to 
 know the times and seasons, which the Father hath 
 reserved in his own power," placed, fixed by his own 
 authority. But what will enlighten you far more into 
 the nature of the kingdom, and your duties in it, " Ye 
 shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 323 
 
 upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in 
 Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the 
 uttermost parts of the earth." 
 
 This, if we except his parting benediction, was his last 
 speech with them on earth a speech, in which he led 
 forward their views to the work which he would have 
 them execute on the earth as his witnesses: that they, 
 who had seen his past acts of mercy and power, should 
 proclaim him as the Messiah and Saviour at Jerusalem, 
 the seat of his most violent persecutors and murderers ; 
 in all Judea, in Samaria at that day hated of the Jews 
 and to the utmost bound of the world. 
 
 The Saviour, with the band, had now reached the 
 height of Olivet, east of Jerusalem. They stood together, 
 it is supposed, on the central one of the three eminences 
 which, ranging from north to south, crown that mount. 
 Here, as they took their last look of his familiar and 
 beloved countenance, he was standing before them, with 
 uplifted hands, pronouncing upon them his benediction 
 and farewell. " He lifted up his hands and blessed 
 them." And as the words of blessing and well-wishing 
 to their welfare are sounding from his lips, suddenly, 
 his countenance being still fixed on theirs and theirs on 
 his, he begins to rise from the earth ; he ascends into the 
 sky ; a cloud of glory rolls under and around him, as a 
 sustaining and ascending chariot ; he is borne upward 
 beyond their sight ; he enters as the glorious vision 
 would indicate, and the message he soon sent down certi- 
 fied the heavenly world ; he there takes a seat, as head 
 over the whole creation, at the right hand of God. " And 
 it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted 
 from them." " While they beheld, he was taken up, and 
 a cloud received him out of their sight." " He was car- 
 ried up into heaven." " He was received up into heaven, 
 and sat on the right hand of God." 
 
 The eleven were looking earnestly upon that ascending 
 cloud, tracing the pathway of their glorious Lord towards 
 the house of his Heavenly Father, and were transfixed, 
 with adoring wonder, in the same position, after he had 
 
324 The Ascension of 'Jesus. 
 
 gone beyond the reach of their vision ; when, suddenly, 
 their attention is arrested by an appearance at their side. 
 " While they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he 
 went up, behold, two men stood by them in white 
 apparel." These were messengers, sent from heaven with 
 the very first tidings from their ascending Lord, to satisfy 
 their minds more fully in regard to the exalted throne to 
 which he was gone, and to leave the message on earth, 
 that its inhabitants are to see him at a future day return- 
 ing in like power and glory. Whether these messengers, 
 whom the sacred historian calls " men," were in reality 
 men, sent from the ranks of the redeemed in the heavenly 
 world, as Moses and Elias had been on the mount of 
 transfiguration ; or whether they were sent from the 
 angelic orders, all of which are to accompany the Saviour, 
 when he shall come again in the glory of his Father, is 
 not certain from the language. For they are called men, 
 in reference merely, it may be, to their personal appear- 
 ance : and such an appearance we know to have been 
 borne by angels, on their visible embassies to the earth in 
 the earlier ages. So, on the day of his resurrection, two 
 angels, clothed in white, appearing as young men, were 
 seen by the women, as they came to the sepulcher, sitting 
 within, at the place where the head and feet of the Lord 
 lay, to announce his removal by resurrection. But as the 
 disciples are thus suddenly turned towards these heav- 
 enly visitants, they hear from them this message : " Ye 
 men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? 
 This same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, 
 shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into 
 heaven." This is an extraordinary and heavenly an- 
 nouncement of the place whither the Lord is gone, and 
 of the certainty and glory of his future return to the 
 world, at the completion arid close of his kingdom of grace 
 on the earth. 
 
 * Gaze up no longer, in astonishment and doubt as to 
 the future, whether he shall come immediately back, or 
 whether he is lost to you forever. Look forward in faith 
 and hope to another coming of your Lord, in like glory, in 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 325 
 
 the clouds of heaven. He now takes the throne to rule, 
 to guide, to save ; he will come in the glory of the throne, 
 to gather his people to himself and to his Father in 
 heaven, and to separate from among them all that offend 
 and do iniquity.' 
 
 Thus were the band parted from the sight of the Lord, 
 on whose instructions they had so long attended ; whose 
 miracles of divine power and compassion they had so 
 often witnessed ; and whose kind and patient labors for 
 their spiritual welfare had so deeply won their love. 
 They cannot now ascend with their Lord, to see him in 
 his heavenly glory, and rejoice before him there : they 
 have a work left for them to do in his behalf on earth. So 
 they leave the mount of his benediction and Ascension, 
 and, broken off from longer earthly intercourse with him, 
 bearing with them sweet memories of the voice they 
 shall no more hear, the face they shall no more see in the 
 flesh, they go to the place appointed them, to wait 
 together for the promised presence and baptism of the 
 Holy Ghost. " Then returned they unto Jerusalem from 
 the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sab- 
 bath-day's journey." u And when they were come in," 
 [to the city], " they went into an upper room, where 
 abode both Peter and James and John, Andrew, Philip 
 and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son 
 of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of 
 James." These eleven are particularly enumerated by 
 Luke in his history of the Acts, to identify the witnesses 
 of the Ascension with the constant attendants of the min- 
 istry of Christ, to whom he had now given instructions in 
 regard to their apostleship. " These all," it is added, 
 " continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, 
 with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with 
 his brethren." Thus, when her son as to the flesh had 
 ascended, Mary, the mother, now under the care of John, 
 with her remaining children now believers in Jesus, is, 
 with the band, to await the gifts of the coronation ; and 
 the women from Galilee also, the other Mary 'that loved 
 much, and Salome his aunt, the mother of James and 
 
326 The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 John, who attended him to minister to his wants and to 
 those of the band, still continue their ministrations : and 
 now, that their Head, to whom they were so deeply 
 attached, is gone to the Father, they are all united in one 
 sentiment of love and hope to draw nigh the throne of 
 grace, and wait for the promised blessing. They now, 
 in constant supplication, look with a livelier faith to the 
 Heavenly Throne ; and to it they raise all the affection 
 and confidence inspired by the past instructions, the pro- 
 mises, the faithfulness of their now ascended Advocate 
 and Lord. 
 
 From this account of the Ascension of Jesus, we may 
 gather the following topics of instruction. 
 
 i. This historic account proves the reality of the exal- 
 tation of Christ to the throne over the whole creation. 
 
 I mean, that it supplies a link in the chain of evidence, 
 which is necessary to render that evidence complete, 
 and, without which, it might be embarrassed with diffi- 
 culties. For, although the voice of prophecy foretold 
 the ascent of Christ to the throne, after his earthly 
 mission, " The chariots of God are thousands of an- 
 gels : the Lord is among them. Thou hast ascended on 
 high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received 
 gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious ; " though Christ 
 had repeatedly foretold that he should leave the world, 
 and go to the Father; and proclaimed on the mount of 
 Galilee, " All power is given to me in heaven and on 
 earth " ; and though, on that mount, the Father, from the 
 cloud of glory, had proclaimed him his well-beloved Son, 
 and caused his glory to be prefigured : yet, to render this 
 prophetic evidence complete, some facts, it is clear, must 
 have taken place, after the resurrection of Christ from 
 the dead, in regard to the disposal of his human nature, to 
 accord with these representations, and show that the) 7 
 were founded upon historic truth and reality. With these 
 facts, the historical record just examined directly sup- 
 plies us : and as these facts are properly attested, the 
 chain of evidence is complete. Or, if it is objected that 
 the narrative is not recorded directly by the apostles 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 327 
 
 themselves, the eye witnesses, but by Mark and Luke 
 only, yet these historians, most intimate friends of the 
 apostles, must have received the information directly 
 from them ; and their narrative, when published, must 
 have been acquiesced in by those of them who were living : 
 and the apostles themselves indirectly give us their own 
 testimony, in what they state, in three epistles at least, of 
 the exaltation of Jesus, and his design to re-appear on 
 earth at the close of the Gospel dispensation. The evi- 
 dence, therefore, is complete. 
 
 There have been those who have seemed stumbled at 
 these very facts ; who think this particular portion of the 
 history not accordant with spiritual ideas. But whether 
 there is any offense truly given to spiritual ideas in this 
 account, and whether such an opinion should make us 
 hesitate at all in regard to the testimony of eye witnesses, 
 may appear on further consideration. What, then, is in 
 reality more fully accordant, I would ask, with all the 
 prophetic and Scriptural representations given of the 
 mission of Christ on this earth, or with its nature, than 
 that it should thus terminate by the ascension of his 
 human nature, out of our world, to some exalted sphere 
 of visible glory at the head of the heavenly world ? 
 
 If God is a spirit, everywhere present, yet his creation 
 is finite. And the human nature of Christ, after his resur- 
 rection from the dead, must have a locality somewhere 
 a residence in some place in the universe. This is certain, 
 from his having a finite soul resident in the body. And if 
 he left this world in human nature for some other sphere 
 in the universe, a departure from the world in any place 
 must be by ascension. 
 
 Now there are only three suppositions possible in the 
 case ; one, that, after his resurrection, he should still 
 remain in body and soul on the earth perpetually ; 
 another, that his soul should be again separated from the 
 body, never again to cleave to any ; and a third, that his 
 soul, still in union with the body, should leave this world 
 for some other sphere in the creation one of highest 
 exaltation, as represented in revelation. 
 
328 The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 But it will not be pretended that he has remained in 
 bodily presence on the earth perpetually. How, too, 
 could it be consistent with the representations of the 
 supreme glory to be given to Christ, as the reward of his 
 humiliations, that he should still remain forever on this 
 earth after his resurrection ? Is this a place here, where 
 opposition and enmity and reviling ever met him, this 
 scene of humiliation, a place of residence consistent with 
 the representations of the honor and glory to be given 
 him by the Father? But, again, if he disappeared by the 
 separation of his soul from his body, what would that be 
 but to have undergone temporal death again ? For, if our 
 Lord showed himself alive after his passion, and allowed 
 the disciples to handle him, and see that he was not a 
 spirit, but had flesh and bones, it is clear that he united 
 soul and body, and could not have disappeared by separa- 
 tion of the soul from the body, without the death of the 
 body. He must then have laid down his body to see 
 corruption ; and how would that harmonize with the 
 Scriptural representations, or with the nature and design 
 of his mission to lay down his life once only for the sins of 
 men. What then remains, in the nature of the case, as 
 any probable disposition of the human nature of Jesus 
 after the resurrection, than that very one which this his- 
 torical account supplies : that Jesus, alive from the dead, 
 both body and soul, leaving our w r orld, without dropping 
 that body in death, but with a miraculous change merely 
 passing upon it to transform it into a spiritual body- 
 ascended in glory, in presence of his disciples, to heaven, 
 to a visible headship there over the angelic world and the 
 redeemed to the throne of universal dominion, the 
 throne of the Father? Nothing more need be supposed 
 in this case, than what is perfectly consistent with the 
 narration ; that, as in the case of Elijah and of those who 
 shall be alive at his second coming, his body, as he 
 ascended, was changed into a spiritual body. 
 
 Consider now, with these probabilities of the case, the 
 evidence which the narration supplies. The eleven dis- 
 ciples are all before him on Olivet. They hear him talk 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 329 
 
 of what he will send down to them, from the throne, in a 
 few days. He blesses them, with uplifted hands. He 
 begins to rise from the earth. A cloud of glory, which 
 had ever in this world represented the presence of the 
 Deity, seems as it were re-enacting the scene on Tabor, 
 and proclaiming to the witnessing disciples, in symbol, 
 that the Father, well pleased, was welcoming him as a 
 Son, to his oivn glory as, indeed, it is represented that he 
 shall hereafter come again, seated on a cloud, in the glory 
 of the Father. Still more to confirm them as to the ele- 
 vated station to which he ascends, two heavenly messen- 
 gers come, and audibly announce that their Lord has 
 ascended to heaven, and that there he shall remain till he 
 shall descend to the world again in like glory. 
 
 Jesus, then, by ascending from the earth after his resur- 
 rection, it is obvious, took the universal throne the throne 
 of God a visible headship over all the principalities and 
 powers of the heavenly world, and shines forth before all, 
 in the brightness of the Father's glory, in the express 
 image of his person. So that, as he left this world of his 
 humiliating mission, he was there, for his faithful obedi- 
 ence and sufferings in the cause of God among men, 
 crowned with honor and glory. And angels who cele- 
 brated his coming on earth with their heavenly songs, 
 who aided him in his fearful agonies with their sympa- 
 thies, who contemplated with wonder the place where he 
 lay entombed, who remained after his ascent, to assure 
 the disciples whither he had gone, and of the interest 
 felt in him and his cause in the heavenly world ; angels, 
 on that day doubtless, went up with him in the cloud of 
 glory and seated him on the throne over all, and willingly 
 and joyously obeyed the decree of the Eternal Father, 
 when bringing his Son as heir into possession of the gov- 
 ernment of this lower world : " Let all the angels of God 
 worship him." 
 
 2. In this account of the Ascension of Jesus we are 
 taught, that he desired still to promote the welfare of his 
 disciples on earth, when ascended to his throne of glory. 
 
 43 
 
33 The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 How could it be, after all he had done for the cause of 
 God among them, and for their spiritual welfare, that he 
 should for one moment forget their welfare, when he 
 went to his own joyous rewards? His heart was proved 
 too compassionate and true, amid the toils and sufferings 
 and death of his ministry, ever to be absorbed in his per- 
 sonal glory, so far as not to be affectionate and true 
 towards them still. Therefore, when about to be exalted 
 out of their humble state, and to go to his Father's 
 throne, he engages to send down to them a powerful 
 Comforter, the Spirit, to supply the place of his bodily 
 presence ; he bids them wait on him, with confidence 
 that through the Spirit they shall be strengthened for the 
 duties and trials of their office : and, as he leaves the earth, 
 his last look is upon them ; his hands are lifted up in bless- 
 ing ; his heart is directed to them in assurances of good 
 will, in wishing them to fare well in their earthly course. 
 
 But without now tracing the history of his providence 
 over them after his departure, in which we might perceive 
 the fulfilment of his promises and blessings, can we not see, 
 in this very conduct of his at the time of his departure 
 for the throne, that he expected, (and wished them also 
 to expect,) that he would still effectually provide for their 
 strength in duty and trial, and cause the blessing he 
 pronounced to abide effectually with them, as an unfailing 
 spring of grace and joy to their souls. 
 
 He appointed them, indeed, a great work, hazardous 
 and difficult; of reproving a guilty world for sin against 
 God, and calling them to repentance, and of preaching 
 and proclaiming him to the human race as a Saviour ; 
 and to begin their mission at Jerusalem the place where 
 resided his most powerful and most implacable enemies, 
 who had effected his crucifixion ; and who would be 
 ready to assail, with murderous hatred, any attempt to 
 revive his cause again among the people. Yet it was a 
 great object, to save souls and redeem them to the king- 
 dom of his Father, for which he had cheerfully laid down 
 his own life, and in which they might well hazard theirs. 
 But he would not send them in their weakness ; forth 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 331 
 
 unfurnished, unprepared. He would have them wait on 
 him for the Spirit, to impart wisdom and strength and 
 mighty works, to convince and reprove the world, and 
 give success to their testimony. He would see them, as 
 they waited at Jerusalem for the baptism of the Spirit, 
 abundantly supplied with power and might from above. 
 They should reap the first fruits of the spiritual harvests, 
 that were to be gathered from his sufferings the early 
 and latter harvests of the world. And wherever they 
 went, the blessing he left was to abide upon them, to 
 cheer and sustain their hearts. Thus did he teach us, in 
 his care for the disciples whom he left for a while still in 
 the world, that his followers in all their duties and trials 
 should wait on him for strength and blessing : that, on 
 the throne over all, he is still as regardful of their wants, 
 as though he were toiling with them amid the cares of 
 this life, and that if, in compliance with his directions, 
 they wait on him, he will grant them, if not the wonder- 
 working powers of the Holy Spirit, yet that enlightening, 
 sanctifying, comforting influence from his presence, that 
 will be sufficient to uphold and strengthen them amid all 
 their earthly duties and trials. 
 
 3. The Ascension of Christ to the Heavenly Throne, 
 has taught his followers to rise in their affections and 
 hopes, from worldly to heavenly things. 
 
 When he was on earth, and laboring in the midst of 
 the band of his disciples, they were continually looking 
 forward to some great change in their worldly condition ; 
 expecting to see their master on the throne of the earthly 
 Israel, and to be sharers with him in his temporal 
 power and glory. These expectations seemed irrecovera- 
 bly lost on the day of his public condemnation and cruci- 
 fixion, and were scarcely revived again on the day of his 
 resurrection. ' For how shall Jesus now rise to power 
 over Israel, hated and condemned as he has been at their 
 hands ? ' But from the time they saw him on Olivet, as- 
 cending in glory from their sight, to occupy the heavenly 
 throne, promising his blessings from thence ; and heard 
 the angel witnesses proclaim, 'he who has ascended now 
 
33 2 The Ascension of Jesus. 
 
 to heaven will come again at another day in like glory ; ' 
 they cease longer to gaze upward for his re-appearance 
 to bodily vision ; they cease longer to look up for his imme- 
 diate return : as if he were lost to them forever, they 
 worship him together as their ascended Lord, they return 
 to Jerusalem with joy and thankfulness, waiting, in sup- 
 plication, on the Heavenly Throne, as now the object of 
 all their faith the source of all their expectations and 
 joys. 
 
 The ascent of their Lord seems to have led their 
 thoughts and hearts at once to a throne higher than any 
 earthly, and to joys more pure and lasting than those of 
 this world. Jesus, the friend and instructor whom they 
 had followed, they now see has gone up before them to 
 heaven, carrying with him all the affection and love he 
 had manifested to them in life and in death. Their views 
 and feelings are now raised beyond the objects of sight, 
 which are temporary, and exalted in faith to the invisible 
 throne of all -might and dominion in heaven. There now 
 is Jesus, a forerunner for them in their own nature : and 
 they know that he will there provide them their eternal 
 mansions. There is Jesus, their high priest and advocate, 
 crowned with all power: and now they may confidently 
 ask anything in his name ; for if they do, he will do it for 
 them, " that the Father may be glorified thereby.'' There 
 is Jesus, their Friend, and with him, their affections and 
 hopes have ascended to the throne ; and all their duties and 
 trials in this life they cast on his providence and grace ; 
 their eternal joy they expect to derive from him, when he 
 shall come again, in the glory of that throne, to take up 
 with himself all his redeemed to an eternal abode with 
 him and his Father. 
 
 Whether the little band at Jerusalem, immediately 
 after his Ascension were led at once, and before the Pente- 
 cost, to all these views of hope and expectation from the 
 throne of heaven, we may not indeed be certain. Yet 
 they soon were ; as is obvious from the fuller description 
 the apostles have left, of the speedy spiritualizing and 
 exaltation of their hopes. And it is certain that the 
 
The Ascension of Jesus. 333 
 
 means which the Spirit of God made effectual to this end, 
 was the exaltation of Christ above this world to the 
 throne of heaven. And on this means the apostles relied, 
 to elevate the affections and hopes of their converts. 
 " Set your affections on things above, where Christ is at 
 the right hand of God." " Our conversation is in heaven, 
 from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be 
 fashioned like unto his glorious body." 
 
 My Christian friends, let us then, as we see Christ, 
 having taught and suffered as our Saviour on earth, 
 ascending, after his resurrection, from this earth to the 
 heavenly throne, feel that that throne is now accessible 
 to us, in all our wants, and notwithstanding our guilt and 
 unworthiness : because Jesus is there, our Great High 
 Priest, before the Father, having entered the holy sanctu- 
 ary with the blood of sprinkling and with intercession, to 
 save to the uttermost those who come to God in his 
 name : because Jesus is there, admitted to the Heavenly 
 Throne itself, as the immediate Head and Lord of All. 
 Let us treasure up all our affections and hopes with him, 
 the Forerunner of his people and their highest Friend, 
 who has gone to prepare them a place in his own love and 
 the love of the Father to eternity. And let us, while we 
 remain in this world, so cleave to him in faith, so breathe 
 from his Spirit the spirit of love, so walk in his precepts, 
 and so labor in his cause, that, on that final day of his 
 coming to receive his people to himself, we may meet 
 him with joy and not with grief that we may behold his 
 eyes beaming on us with love, his hands raised over us in 
 blessing, and hear from his lips the sentence of eternal 
 joy and welcome, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- 
 herit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world." O ! what a glorious reward for the 
 patience and labors of the saints on earth patience in 
 hope, and labor in love thus to-be exalted with the 
 exalted Saviour to the kingdom of the Father, and to 
 rejoice in their presence and love forevermore ! 
 
THE WISDOM OF GOD IN THE APPOINTMENT 
 OF TEMPORAL DEATH. 
 
 HEBREWS IX : 27. 
 
 IT IS APPOINTED UNTO MEN ONCE TO DIE. 
 
 OUR present life is soon to terminate in the night of 
 death and the grave. We began our existence amid the 
 graves of those who have preceded us ; and soon, leaving 
 our stations to those who come after us, must we lie 
 down, with all our predecessors, in the vast cemetery of 
 the dead. This world our birth place the scene of our 
 privileges, toils and trials is also our appointed sepul- 
 cher: and, populous as it ever is with life, it is still more 
 so with death, into whose silent chambers all the genera- 
 tions of man successively pass. 
 
 This common lot of humanity proceeds from the 
 appointment of the Creator. Such is the conclusion of 
 reason. For, if there is a Creator of our life, he, surely, 
 must be its supreme disposer. If God has given us exist- 
 ence, he, evidently, has ordained the nature of that exist- 
 ence, the laws of its support and duration, and the causes 
 of its earthly termination. Such, also, is the assertion of 
 revelation. No assertion can be clearer than that in the 
 text. For, though impersonal in its form, it leaves no 
 doubt on any mind as to the person to be understood, 
 from whom the appointment proceeds. " It is appointed 
 unto men once to die." 
 
 The necessity of death, which is common to the race, 
 we are to regard, therefore, as founded in the voluntary 
 appointment of the Creator. Yet the appointment is not 
 arbitrary. It is founded, doubtless, in reasons of wisdom 
 and goodness. 
 
33^ The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 There can be no doubt that the occasion for the 
 appointment arose out .of the sin of our first progenitor 
 and his race : so far, at least, as to the adoption of this 
 particular manner of removing man from this world ; and 
 that, if Adam and his race had continued holy, the 
 removal would have been made in a different manner. 
 But as the appointment was one to be adhered to univer- 
 sally, even in case of the followers of Christ, who are 
 forgiven and released from all condemnation and punish- 
 ment, it is obvious, that such appointment of temporal 
 death is not identical with condemnation and punishment, 
 any more than is the other appointment, which is said, 
 in the context, to follow death that of a day of universal 
 judgment. 
 
 There must, therefore, be other reasons, which lie at 
 the ground of appointing such a particular evil as tem- 
 poral death to our race, and not the simple one that 
 justice, in punishing sin, requires it: more general reasons 
 of wisdom and goodness ; and these are the reasons into 
 which we will now inquire. 
 
 Nor can such an inquiry on our part be presumptuous, 
 if conducted with a proper spirit and in a proper manner: 
 with a desire to increase in the knowledge of God, and to 
 see more of the wisdom and goodness of his ways; and 
 with a careful reliance on the teachings of his word and 
 providence, for our instruction. 
 
 I observe, then, that the wisdom of God in appointing 
 temporal death to our race will appear obvious to us, if 
 the three propositions, which I am now to state, are ascer- 
 tained, on inquiry, to be founded in truth. 
 
 I. That the plan of providence, begun with man and 
 his race, forbids his immortal existence here upon the 
 earth. 
 
 II. That his removal from the earth, if necessary, must 
 be effected in the mode, either of a supernatural change, 
 or of temporal death. And, 
 
 III. That, of these two ways of removal, death, con- 
 sidered in its bearings on the present and future state of 
 man as a sinning race, has several advantages which 
 would be lost, upon the plan of a supernatural change. 
 
Appointment of Temporal Deatli. 337 
 
 These propositions, if sustained, go no further, it will 
 be seen, than to show the wisdom of this general plan of 
 procedure with our race, of removing all its generations 
 from the world in this one way of temporal death. They 
 enter not into reasons for the variation of time and man- 
 ner in the removal of individuals by death, nor deny that 
 there may be subordinate and special reasons which regu- 
 late these also in wisdom. But of the wisdom of the 
 general appointment of temporal death to our race, we 
 are now to judge ; and let us enquire, 
 
 I. Whether the plan of providence, begun with man 
 and his race, admits of his immortality here on the earth ? 
 
 That plan may be considered in its relation both to the 
 animal and the spiritual nature of man : yet in neither 
 respect does it proceed on the ground of an immortality 
 to his life here on the earth. 
 
 The animal nature of man was not fitted to continue 
 forever. 
 
 For his body is composed of materials, which in their 
 nature are corruptible ; its organization, in relation to the 
 forces which exist on the earth, is frail and destructible : 
 with its powers of digestion and circulation, it is depend- 
 ent on the productions of the world for its nutriment, and 
 is designed, not only for his individual existence, but for 
 the increase of his species. It is no part of our inquiry now, 
 why he was originally constituted in this manner, for we 
 are speaking only of the dealings of God with a creature 
 thus made. But certainly, this constitution of things was 
 in irreconcilable variance with allowing him and his 
 increasing species an immortality upon the earth. For 
 how were all the individuals of his constantly increasing 
 race to escape forever those adequate causes of destruc- 
 tion to the body, which arise out of the very nature of 
 his residence, and which increase with the increase of his 
 species ? Such causes exist in the various chemical, 
 mechanical, and other forces, which are constantly act- 
 ing on the globe, and among which man is to live and 
 move ; and they may arise from the limited extent of the 
 means of nourishment afforded by the earth, and must so 
 
 44 
 
33$ The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 arise whenever the race, by the supposition forever in- 
 creasing, have so far outstripped these means as to impose 
 the necessity of starvation somewhere. 
 
 In the nature of things as at first constituted, therefore, 
 we come to the necessity, either of a change in the bodily 
 constitution of man and his system of life upon the earth, 
 or of its non-continuance here to eternity. Either man 
 must cease to be man, or the plan of continuing him and 
 his constantly increasing species immortal on the earth 
 must fail. In this way we reason respecting all the animal 
 creation under man, that their immortality itself is out of 
 the question : and, so far as man has an animal nature, I 
 see not why the reasoning is not perfectly applicable in 
 respect to his immortality on the earth. Nor do I see 
 how the fall of man can be supposed to have any bearing 
 upon this reasoning, or invalidate its force at all. For we 
 are speaking now, simply respecting the necessity of a 
 removal of man from the earth ; not of the mode of his 
 removal. This might have been effected, had Adam and 
 his race continued holy, at any moment by a super- 
 natural change of the body and translation. 
 
 But that a necessity of providing another state of being 
 for the immortality of man, was founded originallv in his 
 animal constitution, I think is taught, in most explicit 
 terms, by the apostle Paul, when assigning the reasons for 
 a change in the body at the resurrection he says, that 
 " flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God " 
 that " a corruptible body doth not inherit corruption " 
 that " Adam," referring here to the account of his crea- 
 tion in Genesis, " was made a living soul " drawing the 
 breath of life like the animal creation, /. e., constituted 
 by his Creator with a life in a natural body, that is animal 
 and corruptible. And the history states that Adam was 
 favored at the first with a tree of life, whose leaves he 
 might apply to heat or invigorate a frame susceptible, in 
 its nature and from surrounding forces, of injury or 
 decay. 
 
 But if we turn from a survey of man's animal nature, 
 and consider his spiritual nature, the truth of our observa- 
 
Appointment of Temporal Death. 339 
 
 tion will be still more apparent, that it is necessary to 
 provide for his immortal existence elsewhere than in this 
 world. The essential facts, connected with his spiritual 
 nature, are these : that he is subjected to a state of moral 
 discipline and probation here, is held accountable to his 
 Creator for his conduct, and is to reap the results of his 
 trial during his subsequent immortality. 
 
 The fact is indisputable, that the human species have 
 always commenced their existence here under such an 
 order of things as probation. Adam, the father of the 
 race, did ; and all his posterity do now. Such an order- 
 ing of things may be necessary let such a nature at the 
 outset commence acting, either in a holy manner, like 
 Adam, or in a sinful manner, like his posterity to its con- 
 firmation in holiness, or to its recovery from sin. But, 
 however that may be, such a plan of dealing with man's 
 spiritual nature in this world is settled ; and, things being 
 as they are, the question simply is, whether they do not 
 give rise to the, necessity of the removal of man. Now, 
 on this plan of dealing with man, it is obvious, that there 
 must be a close to the probation of each individual, by 
 retribution in reward or punishment ; that, this cannot 
 take place in the world, so long as the plan continues 
 of making the world the trial-place for the species ; 
 and that, to constitute it other than their trial-place, 
 involves the necessity of the removal of a part or the 
 whole of the race from the world ; i. e., the impossibility of 
 their immortal existence on the earth. Each step in this 
 process is so evident in itself, or so founded on that which 
 precedes it, that there can be no doubt as to the conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 But let us review it. I said that there must be a 
 close to the probation of each individual, by retribu- 
 tion in punishment or reward. Is not this position, with 
 which we begin, a self-evident truth ? The probation 
 must come to a close, or be continued to eternity. But 
 there is an absurdity in supposing a probation, which 
 is to decide an eternal state, to be continued to eternity. 
 That would destroy the eternity, for which the trial was 
 
34O The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 designed. That would be equivalent to asserting, that 
 a thing is designed for eternity, and is not designed for 
 it, at the very same time : which is a contradiction in 
 terms. But let us look at the particulars of the case. 
 
 The probation of man, as now constituted, has refer- 
 ence to the species as commencing their spiritual exist- 
 ence and action in sin ; deserving punishment ; and receiv- 
 ing the offers of redemption through Christ : a probation, 
 in favor of their repentance, which is to have its issues in 
 eternal retribution. Nothing is plainer now, than that 
 to continue those, who remain confirmed in impenitence 
 and sin, forever amid the many undeserved privileges and 
 blessings attendant on this state of trial, would prevent 
 the eternal retribution of deserved punishment from tak- 
 ing place ; and that, to continue the followers of Christ 
 forever amid the imperfections, toils, struggles and sor- 
 rows of this state of trial, would equally annihilate the 
 result of an eternal retribution in the rewards of grace. 
 
 Since then there must be a close to the probation of 
 each individual of the race, at some time, by his entrance 
 on the necessary results of rewards and punishments, we 
 come to the next step in our reasoning : that this entrance 
 of individuals upon eternal retribution cannot take place 
 in this world, so long as the plan continues of making it 
 the trial-place for the race. For if the race continues 
 going forward in numbers, if new individuals are con- 
 stantly coming forward upon probation, then, to continue 
 the world still, as a trial-place for them, involves the 
 necessity of continuing a system of providence, which is 
 adapted to probation a system, which distributes privi- 
 leges and trials, blessings and chastisements, indiscrimi- 
 nately to all, and which is inconsistent with a state of full 
 retribution in rewards or punishments, to any who remain 
 here. 
 
 We come, then, in our next step, inevitably to the 
 result, that it is impossible on the present plan of provi- 
 dence to attach an immortal existence to the race on the 
 earth. For as man must close his probation in retribu- 
 tion, and, as this close cannot take place by continuing 
 
Appointment of Temporal Death. 341 
 
 him on the earth, so long as this world is made the trial- 
 place of his species, it follows that if his existence is con- 
 tinued here, the world must cease to be a place of trial : 
 but now there is no plan which can be adopted with the 
 world, when it ceases to be the trial-place for man, which 
 does not necessarily interfere with the possibility of con- 
 tinuing- the race upon it. 
 
 The world at that era, we may suppose, may be entire- 
 ly destroyed, or swept of all its inhabitants ; or it may be 
 made the residence for a totally new order of beings ; or, 
 if used for man, it must by the supposition be made a 
 place of retribution. No other plan is conceivable. But, 
 if the world is entirely destroyed, or entirely swept of its 
 inhabitants, or made the residence of another order of 
 beings, either plan would involve the entire removal of 
 the race. Or, if made a place of retribution for man, it 
 must be made, either a place of punishment for the lost, 
 and that would involve the necessity of removing the 
 redeemed out of it ; or a place of reward for the redeem- 
 ed, and that would involve, by necessity, the removal of 
 the lost. 
 
 On every possible disposition of the world, therefore, 
 removal in part or in whole is necessary. The contin- 
 uance of the species here forever, is impossible. 
 
 If then, there exists a necessity for the removal of man 
 from this state, founded in his antmat and spiritual nature, 
 we inquire 
 
 II. Whether this removal must not be effected, in the 
 mode either of a supernatural change of body and trans- 
 lation, or of death and a subsequent resurrection ? 
 
 For it is obvious, in the first place, that the removal of 
 the race to their scenes of residence in retribution, must 
 be attended with some important change in their physical 
 constitution, to adapt them to their new residence and 
 their new condition. There are two reasons for this, both 
 adverted to in revelation, which I would particularly 
 notice. One is, that when mankind enters upon a state of 
 retribution, there can be no propriety in the further 
 increase of the species. For that would be to place new 
 
342 The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 individuals, with their animal and spiritual nature, at the 
 very commencement of their existence in opposite states 
 and worlds of reward and punishment. 
 
 But another and still more important reason for such a 
 change, is that the body should be then fitted for an im- 
 mortal and incorruptible state. 
 
 Now, though the present physical constitution of man 
 is too frail and perishable, and the subject of too many 
 wants, for such a state, it does not follow, on the other 
 hand, that in order to exist imperishably, man must be 
 absolutely disembodied, and entirely divested of a physi- 
 cal constitution. That, indeed, would leave no alterna- 
 tive but simply temporal death. 
 
 For a physical body, for aught that appears, may be 
 composed of such materials, and constructed in such a 
 manner, and placed in connection with such a .world, as 
 that, when animated and energized by a living spirit, it 
 should be forever beyond the reach of any secondary 
 causes of dissolution. And a body, if constituted of ma- 
 terials and held together by laws of life, which no chemi- 
 cal or mechanical forces existing could destroy or crush, 
 and, if dependent on no external materials for supply, or 
 on none but such as are unlimited as light or space, 
 would be justly called strong and immortal, and be fitted 
 for an endless existence. There would be no forces existing 
 in the universe, adequate to its dissolution or destruction. 
 
 If, then, the removal of man from probation to the scene 
 of his retribution requires a change in his bodily consti- 
 tution, or if, to use the terms of Scripture, " the natural 
 body" which man has here is unfitted for the world of 
 retribution, and he is to have, while resident there, a 
 " spiritual body," then it follows, in the next place, that 
 the removal of man to that state must be effected, either 
 by means of an instantaneous supernatural change, or by 
 means of death. 
 
 For man comprises, in his constitution of being, a spirit 
 in vital union with a body. And in order to be invested 
 with a spiritual body the body in which he enters on 
 retribution, there must be, either a severance of his 
 
Appointment of Temporal Death. 343 
 
 spirit from the body, or there must not. If there is a 
 severance from the body, then temporal death takes place ; 
 and, in order to enter on the world of retribution, there 
 must be a subsequent re-union to his body, made spir- 
 itual which is resurrection. But if there is not a sever- 
 ance of his spirit from the body, and life continues, then, 
 in order to enter on his eternal state with a spiritual body, 
 it is necessary that, while the union of soul to body still 
 continues, there should be an instantaneous and super- 
 natural change in the composition and organization of 
 the body itself, transforming it, as in the case of Elijah, 
 from the natural into the spiritual. 
 
 This is the only alternative which exists, and between 
 which the choice lies as to a general and common plan of 
 procedure, in respect to the removal of man from his 
 present to his future and immortal state. 
 
 We are prepared now to enter upon the consideration 
 of the third and last observation, by which I would show 
 the wisdom of God in appointing temporal death to our 
 race. 
 
 III. That in consequence of the sin of man, and the 
 plan adopted for his redemption, death has many advan- 
 tages, as a mode of removal, above that of a supernatural 
 change. 
 
 This observation is applied, not to every form of pro- 
 bation, which might be supposed to be adopted with man, 
 or to that which was originally adopted with Adam ; but 
 to that which now exists in which man commences his 
 spiritual existence and action in sin, and is put on trial, 
 with reference to recovery and redemption. Taking the 
 facts of human probation as they are, the comparison 
 turns on the application of the two possible modes of 
 removal from the present state, and the bearings they 
 respectively have on the existing and future state of man. 
 
 Now, it must be conceded that the removal by death 
 occasions pain more or less intense. In the separation of 
 the body from the soul, there is necessarily involved the 
 painful sensations which we call the pangs of death. Yet 
 there is nothing else to render departure by death any 
 
344 The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 more painful than departure by a sudden and miraculous 
 change. For, by the supposition, all other things remain 
 the same ; and consequently, whatever other sources of 
 painful emotion are attendant on departure out of this 
 state of probation, besides the mere sensation of dying, 
 must equally attach to either mode of departure. The 
 trials of separation from the world and our kindred, and 
 the emotions of the soul in entering on its future lot, 
 whether gathered from sin and the condemning power of 
 the law, which now constitute the sting and venom of 
 death, or from deliverance and joy granted through 
 Christ, must be essentially the same. By the appoint- 
 ment of death, therefore, as the mode of removal, all the 
 amount of evil, that is necessarily added to the endless 
 existence of man, consists of the few pangs of sensation 
 which attend it. 
 
 But even these pangs are probably counterbalanced by 
 the superior joys attendant on a subsequent resurrection. 
 This is indeed a conjecture : but a conjecture highly 
 probable. All the analogies of the present state, which 
 arise out of the greater pleasure received from the resto- 
 ration of any gift after it is lost, than from its continued 
 possession, strongly favor the supposition. These joys, 
 if superior, are justly set off to counterbalance the animal 
 pangs of death : for they are offered to all, in this state of 
 probation, and they are the ultimate possession of all, 
 who would not, on either method of removal, equally 
 lose all future blessedness by an impenitent life. 
 
 If, then, all the evils which necessarily attach to tem- 
 poral death, are merely the short and momentary pangs 
 of sensation which attend upon it, and if these even are 
 counterbalanced to every individual, who would not 
 equally lose the joys of immortality on either plan, it 
 clearly follows, that it is wise and best to adopt that par- 
 ticular plan of the two, which most favors the ends which 
 God in his goodness is seeking to accomplish, in his dis- 
 pensations to our race. Now that death is the plan which 
 most favors those ends, is evident from the following con- 
 siderations. 
 
Appo int incut of Temporal Death. 345 
 
 i. Temporal death, by the pangs with which it ushers 
 the race into their state of retribution, serves to remind the 
 living, in a most affecting manner, of the eternal death 
 which sin deserves. 
 
 Since mankind are sinners, and the plan of divine good- 
 ness towards them in this state of probation is, to favor their 
 humility and repentance, and their resort to the Redeemer 
 for pardon and life, it is surely most consonant to such a 
 design, to give them in his providence some impressive tes- 
 timonies to their ill desert ; to strew around them some 
 striking tokens of the evil they have incurred, and from 
 which they need deliverance; to deal out to them some 
 drops and prelibations from that cup of his wrath, which is 
 hereafter to be poured out without mixture upon the heads 
 of the wicked. This serves in this life the purposes of warn- 
 ing, chastisement, correction. He has done this, to some 
 extent, in the pains he calls us to experience in all our way 
 in life. But what more impressive or more appropriate tes- 
 timony could be given, than to place around the portals of 
 our entrance into eternity the bitter pangs of death ? 
 There is nothing witnessed or experienced in the present 
 state, which so vividly represents to us the terrors of final 
 ruin and punishment, as dying : it is dying, and dying, yet 
 never dead ! nothing which so much attests that such a 
 state awaits those, who refuse to yield to the spiritual influ- 
 ences and salutary discipline of this life. Placed as these 
 pangs are at the gate of eternity, through which we must 
 inevitably pass, they cry out to us through this whole life, 
 to fly in our guilt to the Redeemer for salvation, and shun 
 the pangs of the second death the eternal death of the soul. 
 
 The prospect of death, indeed, may not be so pleasant 
 to our feelings, as would be the idea of an easy transition 
 into eternity by an instantaneous and miraculous change : 
 but it is more conducive to our spiritual welfare ; better 
 adapted, in conformity with the plan of God for our sal- 
 vation, to keep us impressed with a sense of the great 
 evil we deserve, to keep us humble and lowly before 
 God, and at the feet of our Redeemer, all the days of our 
 appointed time until our change comes. 
 
 45 
 
346 The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 2. Again, death by separating the dead from our sight, 
 serves to conceal from us a future state, and throw us on 
 faith. 
 
 The method of God's goodness toward us in this 
 life, is to guide us by his word and by means of faith ; 
 and, by imparting sufficient testimony about the future to 
 serve us for motives of encouragement and strength, to 
 make us mainly intent on our present duties ; and, by 
 keeping us strictly to a temperate, sober and godly life, 
 to train us up for holiness in his kingdom. Now it is 
 well for this end, to throw us by his dispensations of prov- 
 idence on faith, and to draw us intently to his word for 
 our instruction, there to receive from his Spirit, his 
 admonitions, reproofs, directions and counsel. Since 
 then, it is the method of his Spirit to guide us to salvation 
 by means of his word, it cannot favor the design, to call 
 back the dead to us to report to us their state and condi- 
 tion. Neither can it, to have heaven and hell opened as 
 it were to our sight, by the miraculous change of those 
 around us, and their visible flight from us to their differ- 
 ent abodes of joy and sorrow. We might, indeed, be 
 greatly agitated to see a friend at our side suddenly 
 transfigured into a form of glory, and with transports of 
 joy on his countenance betokening his leave of us, as he 
 ascended on a chariot of fire to the heavens. We might be 
 greatly agitated to see another transformed into a body 
 of darkness and shame, and to hear him pouring upon our 
 ears the groans of perdition, as he was driven away from 
 us by the breath of the Almighty. We might be greatly 
 agitated, by looking thus over the borders of the eternal 
 world, and seeing the eternal condition of our friends. 
 But would these agitations of sight administer to our 
 faith ? Would they send us, with greater anxiety, to the 
 word of God for instruction, to receive from him the les- 
 sons of life? Plainly, a providence which leaves the 
 bodies of men with us at their departure, and conceals 
 from sight their disembodied spirits, which sets the seal 
 of death and the grave upon all the transactions of the 
 future world, which bids us leave all our departed friends 
 to God's keeping, and learn all our duty and welfare from 
 
Appointment of Temporal DeatJi. 347 
 
 his word this is that which best serves to nourish in our 
 hearts a filial faith and obedience, and to secure the end 
 of our faith, the salvation of our souls. 
 
 3. Again, death, by the causes which precede it, usually 
 gives warning of our approaching removal from the 
 world, and thus favors particular preparation. 
 
 All we know of death is, that the union of the animat- 
 ing soul with the body, depending on certain conditions 
 of the body, ceases when, from any causes, those condi- 
 tions are destroyed. This may take place from various 
 causes ; but, according to the order of providence, it is a 
 process by natural causes ; and the event is consonant, in 
 this respect, to the general economy of events in the 
 world. Its approach, therefore, is usually indicated by 
 its causes, and the opportunity is presented the warning 
 given for particular preparation. But this could not be, 
 on a system of immediate change and translation. I am 
 not prepared to state all the consequences of such a 
 system, in which it might be said of every one, at his 
 departure, that, like Enoch, he was not found, for God 
 took him : but one thing is certain, that, suddenly, in a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, by the fiat of the 
 Almighty, as it will be true of those who survive at 
 the sound of the last trump, the friend now at our side, or 
 the absent friend whom we were expecting to return, would 
 exchange his mortal for an immortal clothing, and wing 
 his way from the earth to his fixed abode for eternity. 
 
 Now, if this were a perfect world, and every one in it 
 were perfectly and constantly prepared in all his con- 
 cerns, both temporal and spiritual, to leave it at any 
 moment, it might not make so much difference, whether 
 any warnings were introduced into it of approaching 
 removal. But, imperfect and sinful as this world is, 
 where so much is left at loose ends in temporal and spir- 
 itual matters, where most are disposed to put off all pre- 
 paration for eternity, and where those who think of 
 preparation are so prone to forget it and be surprised, it is 
 a mercy to the world and all that are in it, that there 
 should be warning administered, to favor special prepara 
 
348 The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 tion that some intimations should be given beforehand 
 that our departure is nigh that some messenger should 
 arrive before our removal, crying, * Set thine house in 
 order, for thou must depart.' Such a herald and fore- 
 runner precedes death, in disease. His signals are seen 
 in the emaciated form, the haggard eye, the hectic flush. 
 His presence is felt, in the various pangs he administers 
 by his touch. He withdraws men from the busy occupa- 
 tions of life. He leads them into the chamber of retire- 
 ment. He opens their ear to discipline, that they give up 
 their transgressions; that, on the borders of the eternal 
 state, they prepare to leave the world with the least pos- 
 sible injury to the interests or feelings of their fellow-men, 
 by any neglect of duty to them, with the least possible 
 dishonor to God, which may arise from neglect of inter- 
 course with him in prayer and faith. 
 
 One consideration more only, I will add. 
 
 4. That death, by reserving that which is supernatural 
 in the change to the future, affords the opportunity for a 
 more illustrious manifestation of the glory of God at the 
 last day. 
 
 On either plan of removal, the individuals of the race 
 must be removed at successive periods of time, in order 
 to provide room for their successive generations ; at least, 
 until that day, when the world ceases to be the trial-place 
 of man, and the race is to extend no further. But if the 
 individuals of the race, successively, were transformed 
 and translated to their respective places of retribution, 
 the affairs of this world would end, simply in the co-tem- 
 poraneous transformation and translation of the particular 
 generation who were, at the time, on this stage of life. 
 The general resurrection of all mankind from the dead, 
 that most stupendous and impressive scene of God's 
 power, could not take place. And the general summoning 
 of mankind to a public judgment, though it were pos- 
 sible, would not seem so consonant to the previous dis- 
 pensation, which had placed all, with their spiritual and 
 immortal bodies, in their abodes of full and perfect retri- 
 bution. 
 
Appointment of Temporal Death. 349 
 
 Now, if this world were a perfect world, and all its 
 inhabitants passed from it into eternity without any 
 grounds for impeachment of their conduct, or without 
 any impeachments cast by them on the conduct of God, 
 their Ruler ; if all mankind, and all other beings ac- 
 quainted with them, were perfectly satisfied of rectitude 
 in all the transactions of men, and of God towards them ; 
 there might, indeed, be no occasion for a judicial trial, 
 like that of the general judgment. But it is a sinful 
 world. Complaints against men, and complaints against 
 God, have been loud in it, and have been wafted, in sighs or 
 curses, up to heaven through every generation. It is a 
 divided world. Some have taken up the Lord's side, 
 confessed the wrong, and justified God, and consented to 
 accept and follow the Redeemer, whom he has sent, 
 through much tribulation. Others have held out against 
 the Lord and his Anointed, and opposed his friends, and 
 hoped to triumph in their cause. There must then be a 
 judicial trial and a settlement, in order to give peace to 
 God's disturbed kingdom to vindicate his character, and 
 protect his trusting friends. Now, if it were possible to 
 do this on the plan of the successive transformation of 
 men, and their successive translation into the abodes of 
 final retribution, it could not be so appropriately and so 
 impressively done, as on the plan of removal by death. By 
 such a removal, though men successively depart this life, 
 they do not enter at once, with their spiritual bodies, on 
 the full and complete glories or miseries of their final 
 state. They are reserved for a day of open and final 
 judgment. And when that day arrives, all will be in 
 harmony and keeping with so important a transaction, and 
 make an impression on every heart too deep for eternity 
 to efface ! The Judge will descend in the clouds of 
 heaven. The heralding trump of the archangel shall 
 sound loud and wax stronger, till the very dead hear and 
 awake from the dust of the earth. Before the Judge, now 
 seated on his throne, shall be assembled all the nations of 
 men. There will he make manifest to the assembled race 
 and to a witnessing universe, that all his ways are equity 
 
35 The Wisdom of God in the 
 
 and truth ; that his friends are worthy to receive the 
 Almighty protection and blessing he is to extend to them ; 
 that his enemies deserve the irrevocable curse, by which 
 he is to consign them to the everlasting fires of vengeance. 
 O ! on that morning of awakening from the dust of the 
 earth, and witnessing such a process, what an eager atten- 
 tion shall enchain every eye to the Judge ; what clear 
 conviction burst in light on every conscience ; what deep 
 emotions thrill through every heart ! How manifest on 
 that day will be the power and the righteousness and the 
 grace of the Saviour ! How will he be glorified and 
 admired by all that have believed and trusted in him ! 
 ' Lo ! this is our God ! we have waited for him, and he 
 has delivered us.' How will he silence all his enemies, 
 and bring them to shame, when, stripped of all their pleas 
 and complaints, they fall down before him, self-con- 
 demned, speechless, and in despair ! 
 
 Such are the considerations, which show us the wisdom 
 of God in appointing temporal death to our race : that it 
 is impossible, on the plan commenced with man, that he 
 should possess an immortal existence upon the earth ; 
 that his removal from this state, if necessary, must be 
 effected in the mode, either of a supernatural change of 
 body or of death ; and that, in consequence of the sin of 
 man, and the scheme of redemption established for his 
 recovery, death, in its bearing on the present and future 
 state of man, has several advantages in it, as a mode of 
 removal, above that of a supernatural change ; such as, 
 by its pangs serving to impress on the living a sense of 
 their ill-deserts ; by concealing from their view a future 
 state, to throw them on the word of faith for their guid- 
 ance ; by the warnings it gives, through its causes, of its 
 approach, to favor their special preparation ; and, by 
 reserving the restoration of the body by supernatural 
 power to the future, to afford an opportunity for a more im- 
 pressive manifestation, at the last, of the glory of God in 
 his dealings with our race. 
 
 The view we have now taken of death, as appointed by 
 our Creator in wisdom, admits of a practical application ; 
 with presenting which 1 will close. 
 
Appointment of Temporal Death. 351 
 
 Is it appointed unto men to die ? Then, let every one 
 make the application to himself: 'I am included in this 
 appointment of heaven. / too must die. I cannot live 
 here always. I must depart hence into a scene of retri- 
 bution. I cannot hope to depart like Elijah, in a chariot 
 of fire. I must bear the pangs of death, and leave this 
 body in the corrupting grave, not to resume it till the 
 resurrection. Am 1 prepared for so great a change ? I 
 must leave this my birth-place, the scene of my earliest 
 joys and latest hopes. Have I idols here that I cannot 
 forsake ? I must go through the shadows of death, into 
 the presence of God. Have I chosen a portion in him 
 and his heavenly kingdom, for which my heart pants? 
 My Creator tells me, I must die. Am I prepared ? Let 
 the question be ever present till I can answer it with 
 satisfaction. Am I prepared ? Let it follow me till I die. 
 A m I prepared ? ' 
 
 Again : is the appointment that men should die made 
 by the Creator in wisdom ? ' Then I am not to repine, 
 that such a lot has fallen to me, and to my friends around 
 me. I must bow down at the feet of my Sovereign, and 
 submit to the appointment, that I know and see to pro- 
 ceed from his wisdom. I should fall in with its practical 
 designs. Come, let me survey death ! I can see in it 
 terrors, but they are the terrors of overshadowing mercy 
 to the living. I can learn a lesson here, that nothing else 
 this side eternity can impart. I see my ill-desert shad- 
 owed forth in this emblem of the second death, and I fly 
 to my Redeemer, who has the keys of death and hell, for 
 my deliverance. Come, let me survey the dead ! They 
 are stiff and cold in their last slumber. Their spirits 
 have departed ! But where ? I see them not. If I call, 
 they will not answer ! Yet, amid this deep silence of the 
 dead, I hear the voice of heavenly wisdom bid me, * Go, 
 search the Scriptures. In them ye have eternal life. 
 They are they which testify of the world unseen, and of 
 the way to reach its never ending joys.' Come, let me 
 survey the doomed to death ! Disease is preying on his 
 frame. His life is wasting away. His Lord has announced 
 
352 The Wisdom of God in the Appointment, etc. 
 
 that he must now depart. These moments of lingering 
 mercy are given, for the poor trembler to make his peace 
 with man and God. Let me look at the triumphs of 
 death in the world. He has borne every generation 
 away to his shades ! He has peopled all his domains with 
 his victims. But I will not quail before his power. I 
 will not despair of the cause of God. I will wait, in hope, 
 till the end shall come. Then shall the conquering 
 Redeemer mount his chariot of glory. Then shall he 
 appear a second time, bringing full salvation unto them 
 that look for him, and trampling his foes in the dust. 
 
 The appointment that men should die, is made by the 
 Creator in wisdom. Then, if I concur with the designs of 
 that wisdom, I am forever safe, forever happy. If I do 
 not, I am not, and cannot be, either safe or truly happy.' 
 
WORSHIPING GOD IN THE BEAUTY OF 
 HOLINESS. 
 
 CHRONICLES XVI: 29 PSALMS XXIX: 2 XCVI : 9. 
 WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 
 
 THE Psalmist thus gave utterance to the feelings of a 
 pious heart. In Jehovah, the God whom he worshiped, 
 he saw a Being worthy of the religious homage of all. 
 The joy he took in the honor of this infinite Being, in- 
 spired the ardent desire to have others honor and serve him 
 too ; and that desire was breathed forth in the imperative 
 call : " Worship the Lord." 
 
 Nor was he indifferent to the kind of worship which men 
 offer, or the manner in which they pay their devotions to 
 Jehovah. The spirit and manner of their devotion, he 
 comprised in one word holiness the quality which char- 
 acterizes the being and the ways of Jehovah himself, 
 and which should characterize the persons and the offer- 
 ings of his worshipers, if there is to be maintained, in the 
 relation between the worshiped and the worshiping, the 
 loveliness and beauty of unity and cordiality of feeling. 
 For holiness is the crowning excellence of the Infinite 
 One : which sets him up, as the pattern of supreme love- 
 liness and the fount of supreme joy to his intelligent and 
 moral creation. Holiness, therefore, becometh the being, 
 the presence, and the house of the Lord forever ; and 
 they, who enter his house and come into his presence to 
 pay him their offerings, must come with ' holiness to the 
 Lord ' inscribed on their thoughts and feelings, if they 
 would be appropriate and becoming in their devotions 
 if they would taste the loveliness and joy of pure and 
 acceptable worship. 
 
 The words of the Psalmist then present two thoughts, 
 which claim our attention and obedient regard ; 
 
 46 
 
354 Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 
 
 I. One, That we worship God; and 
 
 II. The other, That our worship be characterized with 
 the lovely and acceptable spirit of holiness. 
 
 I. There is an imperative duty, binding on us all, to 
 worship God. 
 
 Think for a moment on this great subject, and, in pres- 
 ence of the great Jehovah, whose creatures you are, ask 
 yourselves whether you are not held fast, by righteous and 
 most affecting obligations, to pay him supreme homage. 
 There is a God in existence, an infinite Being, who presents 
 himself before you in the glories of a perfect character. 
 Is he not, though unseen, ever present with all though 
 unfelt, ever upholding all, and by his works making 
 known to all his eternal power and godhead, passing be- 
 fore all in the glories of his righteousness and goodness 
 and truth? Who then can be justified in confining his 
 views to this world and his fellow-creatures ; as if there 
 were no God in existence, and as if these glories of his 
 character were all a blank and unmeaning void ? Who 
 should not rather inquire diligently after him, and seek 
 his presence, and bring him those offerings of reverence 
 and respect that are due to his glorious name ? 
 
 Again : This glorious Being is our Creator and King. 
 Has he not interested his infinite heart in your welfare, 
 by giving you a rational and moral existence, capable 
 of communion in his love? and established a providence 
 and moral government over you, to guide you to the 
 sure and permanent sources of your happiness in him- 
 self? In respect to his providence : his fatherly hand, 
 though unseen, is constantly presenting to you its free and 
 bounteous gifts to attract you to his love, or administering 
 to you the rod of necessary discipline to correct your 
 faults. And shall you, in your constant dependence and 
 wants, look alone to things in his creation for your sup- 
 ply, in neglect of him, the ever living Fountain and Source 
 of all ? Should not the constant care of his heart bring 
 us rather to his presence with thankful acknowledgment 
 of his care and love, and with the offering to him, in 
 return, of our most devoted service ? And in his moral 
 
Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 355 
 
 government : does not his voice, though unheard by the 
 outward ear, whisper in your conscience of a law of love 
 towards him and your fellow-creatures, which he guards 
 with the authority of rewards and penalties? And does 
 not that voice, once uttered aloud on Sinai, still prolong its 
 fearful tones through revelation, in the command, " Thou 
 shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
 serve?" Will you then dash all the hopes and joys of 
 your existence against the penalties of his government, by 
 refusing him your homage, or will you reverence him as 
 your Sovereign, and seek in your devotion to him the 
 high and everlasting rewards of submission and obedience ? 
 But again : This glorious Being, our Creator and 
 King, being especially mindful of our deep necessities as 
 sinners, is now offering himself to our acceptance as a 
 Redeemer and .Sanctifier. As a Redeemer, has he not 
 done much for you in your sins to call you back to his 
 presence? In the person of his Son, he has veiled the 
 dazzling glories of the Godhead, that would consume us 
 with their overpowering terrors, and has come nigh in the 
 form of humanity, to seek us in our guilt with the sym- 
 pathies of his heart, and to stand between the penalties 
 of Heavenly Justice and our souls, that the lightnings of 
 vengeance, which he could sustain, might strike on his 
 person and leave us safe and unharmed in the arms of his 
 forgiving mercy. And now, in the earthly sanctuary, he 
 offers himself as the refuge and hiding place of the guilty, 
 who would in him obtain reconciliation with God and 
 eternal inheritance in his love and kingdom. Will you 
 then withhold your hearts from the calls and offers of such 
 mercy, to brave alone the penalties of Heavenly wrath ? 
 Or will you accept that mercy with all joy, and, with the 
 offerings of penitence, thankfulness, devotedness, bow 
 down with heart-worship before the Lord your Redeemer? 
 As a Sanctifier too, he meets you in the sanctuary of wor- 
 ship, in the person of the Holy Spirit, who comes to 
 enliven and bless with his presence the means of instruc- 
 tion he has furnished, in his own inspired word, the 
 sanctified talents of his living people and ministry, and 
 
356 Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 
 
 the ordinances of prayer and praise he hath appointed 
 for the utterance of the feelings of devotion. And while 
 he is present to call sinners to repentance, and to train up 
 believers in the holiness that is to fit them for his spiritual 
 kingdom in eternity, will you refuse to come into his 
 sanctifying presence and feel its power will you neglect 
 these only opportunities of salvation ? Or will you not 
 rather cast in your lot with his people, will you not unite 
 with them in seeking the grace that alone fits the soul for 
 heavenly joy in worshiping God the Spirit, in spirit 
 and in truth in worshiping this living source of holi- 
 ness and salvation ? 
 
 Are you not placed under bonds then from which you 
 cannot escape, are you not held by cords of power you 
 can never break to worship God ? bonds and cords of 
 his own infinite excellence, his care of you as creatures in 
 the use of his providence and authority, his mercy towards 
 you as sinners, in Christ Jesus and through the Spirit of 
 grace. 
 
 But our obligation to worship God is not the only 
 thought set before us in the exhortation of the Psalmist : 
 we turn now to the other, that 
 
 II. Our worship of God should be characterized with 
 the lovely and acceptable spirit of holiness. This thought, 
 the Psalmist sets before us in the concluding words of the 
 text : " in the beauty of holiness."" 5 This thought then 
 I would now present more particularly to you, as claiming 
 your practical regard, viz. that holiness is that quality, 
 which constitutes the true excellence and beauty of di- 
 vine worship : without which that worship is necessarily 
 an offense to a correct spiritual taste ; and by which that 
 
 * I am not ignorant that some give to the closing Hebrew word the sense 
 of sanctuary, as if the exhortation were intended to call the Jews to worship 
 God in a certain place, rather than in a certain manner in the beauteous 
 tabernacle, rather than in the beauteous spirit of holiness. Yet, though it is 
 capable of that rendering, and though that rendering is suggested by the 
 translators of our common version in a marginal reading, I am satisfied with 
 the sense they have preferred to give to it and have introduced into the text, 
 viz. holiness, the quality that characterizes the worship offered. 
 
Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 357 
 
 worship, whatever else is imperfect in it, is ever commend- 
 ed to such a taste as lovely and acceptable. 
 
 But before we consider this bearing of holiness on the 
 excellence of divine worship, let us fix more precisely in 
 our minds the idea of the moral quality denoted by the 
 word holiness. The primary sense of the English word 
 is that of wholeness, entireness, soundness, to which the 
 Hebrew, corresponds, as consecrated sacredly, entirely; 
 and it is applied not to the intellectual, but to the moral 
 character; not to the understanding, but to the heart 
 the seat of the emotions and purposes ; in order to denote 
 that purity of feeling, that integrity of purpose, which 
 estimates things and treats them according to their worth 
 and importance, and which especially regards as inviola- 
 ble those rules of conduct, on which the welfare of intel- 
 lectual and moral beings depends, such as truth, righteous- 
 ness, charity. This wholeness of character, as the word 
 means, considered as a voluntary state, is the devotion of 
 the whole being to that which is morally good, and sep- 
 aration from that which is morally evil. It is whole- 
 souled piety towards God ; whole-souled charity towards 
 man ; and whole-souled abhorrence of that which work- 
 eth evil towards either. 
 
 Now that this whole-hearted devotion is necessary, in 
 order to render the worship of God truly excellent and 
 acceptable, is conclusively proved by that sense of fitness 
 and propriety, which inheres in our moral natures and 
 which enables us to judge as to what is becoming and 
 appropriate, in the relation of things one to another. 
 
 Consider then, either the Being to be worshiped, the 
 design for which his worship is established, or the particu- 
 lar parts of service belonging to that worship ; and judge 
 whether its true moral beauty and excellence depends not 
 on holiness or whole-heartedness in the worshipers. 
 
 Think then of the Being approached in religious wor- 
 ship : the Lord or Jehovah the eternal, immutable, and 
 infinite the all-knowing, the all-powerful, and most holy 
 the Creator and Ruler of all the Redeemer and Sanc- 
 tifier of his chosen. Love to the welfare of his moral 
 
358 Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 
 
 creation occupies his whole heart ; concentrates his whole 
 wisdom in counsel ; sways his whole power in action ; 
 keeps him firm in his uncorrupt truth and righteousness; 
 makes him strong to hate all iniquity and frown it away 
 from his presence ; and renders him the fountain of eter- 
 nal confidence, love, and joy to the kingdom, who in holy 
 consecration yield themselves to him as his obedient peo- 
 ple. How then shall we approach this Being? Who shall 
 come into his presence with acceptance? Who shall 
 ascend his holy hill with the offering that is due to his 
 name? Who unite his heart to the heart of Jehovah, in 
 the loveliness of sincere unity, in the joy of pure com- 
 munion ? 
 
 Truly, there can be no pure and acceptable approach 
 of one being to another, except on the basis of spiritual 
 resemblance unity in thought, feeling, action. For what 
 agreement can pure benevolence have with supreme sel- 
 fishness ; what communion, light with darkness; what 
 concord, Christ with Belial ? 
 
 If then you approach the most high and holy, come 
 with your whole mind and heart consecrated to him and 
 his cause of righteousness and truth. Yield your whole 
 souls in willing obedience to the control of this King of 
 righteousness. Commit your whole being to the care of 
 his redeeming and sanctifying grace. This will bring you 
 into true and cordial union with him and his plans of 
 righteousness and grace. This will render your reverent 
 and humble communion with him, sweet and attractive 
 to your own hearts, lovely and acceptable in the sight of 
 men and angels, and accepted in the sight of God. For 
 thus you withdraw yourselves from the vanities and 
 pleasures, that set up their rival and idolatrous empire 
 against God ; that debase and disappoint ; that fill with 
 sin and wretchedness. You unite your hearts and sym- 
 pathies to Him, who is the fount of eternal holiness and 
 joy to his servants. You take your proper place before 
 him, as humble, devoted, obedient children, that would 
 forever be united to his excellence and loveliness, and 
 would gather thence your eternal supplies of knowledge 
 
Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 359 
 
 and love and joy. You worship him in the beauty and 
 loveliness that pertains to his character, by sharing in 
 that character in your own humble measure, and desiring 
 to grow up into that character more and more forever. 
 
 Consider, next, the design for which the public worship 
 of God is instituted, and see how necessary it is to the 
 fitness and excellence of that worship, that it be offered 
 in holiness. 
 
 The design of instituting public worship in our world, 
 doubtless was to make it a means to a further end, to 
 make its forms the means of paying our spiritual homage 
 to God, and of aiding his spiritual dominion in our own 
 hearts and in the hearts of others. So was it with the 
 forms of worship, instituted in Israel through Moses. So 
 is it with the simpler rites of worship, introduced into the 
 Church of Christ through his apostles. The design was, 
 that we might wait on God to honor him with the ex- 
 pressed homage of reverence, submission, confidence, 
 thankfulness, and joy ; and to obtain from him, for our- 
 selves and others, the gifts of his instruction, correction, 
 benediction, on our way to his eternal kingdom. It was 
 that his people might honor him, as the Sum and Source 
 of all Excellence, and be furnished by him unto every 
 good word and work in his kingdom. 
 
 How then can the public worship of God be truly 
 excellent, and made, in accordance with its design, truly 
 lovely and acceptable, except as it is offered in holiness? 
 The spirit of holiness renders the service truly a means of 
 honoring God. For it is an honor to God that is due to his 
 glorious character, that we accord to him the reverent 
 adoration, the submission, the confidence, the joy of our 
 hearts. And this honor is truly rendered to him by 
 those, who come to him in the heart worship of a holy 
 character, that beats, in its humble and imperfect meas- 
 ure, in sympathy and unison with his character. For 
 how shall the heart, that loves benevolence and purity and 
 righteousness, look up to the infinite God, shining forth in 
 the full glory of those perfections, otherwise than with 
 emotions of supreme respect and reverence, that truly 
 
360 Worshiping God in the Beauty -of Holiness. 
 
 accord in devotion with the homage which the lips utter? 
 How shall such a heart not feel the sweet and powerful 
 ties, which bind its interests to his supreme throne, and 
 give beauteous meaning and sincerity to the utterance of 
 submission and confidence, submitting all things cheer- 
 fully to his dominion, and confiding all to his perfect care ? 
 How shall not such a heart feel the preciousness of all its 
 experience of his Almighty care, and utter pleasant songs 
 of thankfulness ? And how, in looking up to the bound- 
 less treasures of wisdom and love on which it now feasts, 
 and hopes to feast forever as its inexhaustible portion, 
 shall it not swell with rapturous joy, while saying, in sin- 
 cerity and truth, unto God, ' Thou art my God, my portion, 
 and strength forever?' 
 
 The spirit of holiness in the worshipers also renders 
 their service, according to its design, a means of obtain- 
 ing, for themselves and others, spiritual blessings from God. 
 For " them that honor God " in their worship, " he will 
 honor ; and they that despise him shall be lightly esteem- 
 ed." They that come before him as partakers in his own 
 spirit of holiness and love, and that come, in accordance 
 with the design of worship, to obtain grace to help them 
 in their needs, make their appeal to a heart that loves the 
 same cause as they, that loves it more intensely than they 
 ever can, and that is ready to sympathize with them in 
 their desires to have that cause advanced, in their own 
 hearts, and in the hearts of their fellow-creatures. These 
 shall, in their worship, receive the blessing from the 
 Lord, and obtain righteousness from the God of their 
 salvation. For they have clean hands and pure hearts, 
 and lift not up their souls to vanity ; but, in the beauty of 
 a pure trust and hope, wait on the God of their salvation 
 for every good in this life and in that which is to come. 
 
 If, then, you would appear before God in the spiritual 
 beauty of the worship that honors him and secures his 
 blessings, you must worship him in righteousness and 
 true holiness. Otherwise, as you take the forms of honor- 
 ing him on your lips, you will only mock him with heart- 
 less ceremonies ; as you outwardly ask his blessing, you 
 will inwardly provoke his curse. 
 
Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 361 
 
 Once again, I ask you to consider the parts of service, 
 which engage our attention in the public worship of God, 
 and to judge, whether the true excellence and beauty of 
 that worship does not depend on the spirit of holy devo- 
 tedness in the worshipers ? 
 
 That worship, as appointed in the earthly Church, con- 
 sists essentially, under all the circumstantial differences 
 of order, arrangement and manner, which it admits, of the 
 reading of the word of God, of instruction and exhorta- 
 tion from that word by the living ministry, of address to 
 God in prayer and song, and of benediction from the God 
 of grace and salvation. 
 
 How, then, will you wait on God in the public reading 
 of his word ? and in the dispensations of that word by the 
 living ministry ? What is appropriate and acceptable ? 
 What is unbecoming and offensive? One thing is clear, 
 that, in these parts of the service, God draws nigh to men, 
 to speak to them in tones of authority and mercy. For, 
 however imperfect the voice of the human reader in utter- 
 ing that word, or however inadequate the methods of the 
 human preacher to set forth the full meaning of that word 
 in his instructions, whatever means and agencies inter- 
 vene in this part of divine service between God and his 
 worshipers, yet the word read is his : the living, faith- 
 ful ministry of that word is his ; he takes this method to 
 come nigh to men ; to meet them in his sanctuary with 
 reproof, counsel, correction, instruction in righteousness. 
 He addresses them with the power of his invisible Spirit, 
 and with words of truth and grace, on the great subjects 
 of his glory and their welfare here and in the world to 
 come. That still small voice from him that is enthroned 
 over all, rises clear above all the human agencies in the 
 scene, and bids every one that hath an ear, hearken to 
 what the Spirit saith to the collected congregation. 
 How, then, will you here meet God, on his throne of 
 instruction? Would you turn away your face from the 
 words and instructions of an earthly father? Would you 
 sit listlessly, or compose yourself to sleep, before an 
 earthly ruler, delivering to you precepts of authority ? 
 
 47 
 
362 Worshiping God in tJic Beauty of Holiness. 
 
 Would you amuse yourself with vain thoughts, when 
 words of life and death to you hung- on his lips ? Surely, 
 the great Jehovah is despised, if you thus treat his 
 instructions. The rude and insulting offense is given, 
 that treats his presence and words of life as less valuable 
 than the momentary indulgence of sloth or vanity or 
 amusement. No: we are to turn our hearts to his words 
 of instruction ; we are to feel that we are present before 
 God ; and to say, each from the heart, ' I will hear what 
 the Lord God shall say unto me. I will turn mine ears 
 to instruction, and seek for my soul the way of life from 
 God.' We are thus to meet God speaking to us through 
 his word and ministry, in the spirit of attention and obe- 
 dience, if we would act in a manner appropriate and 
 becoming the service if we would appear lovely and 
 acceptable before the God we worship. 
 
 In addressing Jehovah in prayer and sacred song, how 
 can our worship be appropriate and acceptable, unless 
 offered in a spirit of holiness, with a mind and heart atten- 
 tive to the honor of God and the spiritual welfare of his 
 creatures? In approaching his throne of majesty with 
 our adorations, confessions, petitions, intercessions and 
 thanksgivings, whether in prayer or in song, we take 
 upon ourselves to speak unto the Most High God : and 
 before that throne is Jesus, the Mediator of the New 
 Covenant, who hath died for us, the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring us nigh to that throne with accept- 
 ance. However humble and imperfect the language in 
 which we breathe out our thoughts and feelings to God ; 
 yet the privilege is, in this part of service, extended to us 
 most freely, to call on the name of the Lord, that we may 
 be saved and obtain audience and favor with the God of 
 our salvation. The throne of the Heavenly Majesty is 
 nigh ; the way of approach is open and clear ; and even 
 the sinful and unrighteous have a righteousness provided 
 for them to shield them from wrath, when they come in 
 faith, and fix their attention and hearts on the things of 
 God. How, then, when his people meet him to breathe 
 out their hearts before him, shall we treat rightly this 
 
Worshiping God in the Beauty of Holiness. 363 
 
 hearer of prayer and praise ? Would you turn away from 
 the opportunity, to indulge in the idle doze, or to amuse 
 yourself with companions as thoughtless as yourselves? 
 Such neglect of the great Jehovah at the hour he meets 
 you for audience, how unbecoming and offensive must it 
 appear to his eyes of purity, how unbecoming and offen- 
 sive even to your own eyes, should they be once opened 
 to see the reality ! But how appropriate and lovely is the 
 sacrifice of prayer and praise, when, beyond the outward 
 form, that a thoughtless mind might abuse, there lies deep 
 in the heart the consciousness that God is present : and 
 there ascend, from its inmost recesses, emotions that seek 
 their true utterance in breathings of prayer and praise to 
 his most holy name ! How lovely and acceptable before 
 God, to treat him with whole-hearted devotedness, as our 
 pardoning and covenant-keeping God, our Refuge and 
 Friend in life's changes, our Saviour in death, and in the 
 world to come; to say to him, as his people have ever 
 done, " Forgive my iniquity ; uphold me with thy free 
 Spirit; lead me into the land of uprightness; make me 
 joyful in thy countenance ; and I will now and forever 
 utter the memories of thy great goodness!" 
 
 It is thus, and thus only, by true devotion in the house 
 of God, that you are prepared, at the close of service, to 
 receive, in all thankfulness, his high and holy benediction. 
 For while that closing service is performed, how unsuitable 
 and offensive is the impatient hurry, the thoughtless noise, 
 the vacant stare, that treat it as an unmeaning ceremony 
 that proclaims indifference to the great Jehovah, whether 
 he utter a blessing or a curse. But how appropriate 
 and lovely is the spirit of that whole-souled worshiper, 
 who stands, in attentive silence, to hear God pronounce 
 through his earthly servants his benediction ; who, as it 
 is uttered, sends up to God the silent ejaculation, that it 
 may fall and rest on his heart, ' Bless me, even me, O my 
 Father !' 
 
 If, then, you consider the essential parts of the divine 
 service in their meaning; or the great design for which 
 that worship has been instituted : or the character of the 
 
364 Worshiping God in tlic Beauty of Holiness. 
 
 Being- who is worshiped ; is it not obvious that the true 
 excellence and beauty of divine worship depends on its 
 being offered in holiness? And when you consider the 
 obligations that bind you to draw nigh to God in religious 
 worship, is not the duty which the Psalmist proposes to 
 you worthy of your thoughtful and obedient regard : 
 " Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness " ? 
 
 There are two thoughts which I would suggest at con- 
 cluding : that we keep our worship in the earthly sanc- 
 tuary pure; and that we here fix our hope on the glories 
 of an eternal worship in heaven. 
 
 Let us keep our worship in the earthly sanctuary pure. 
 Here we now meet God on our way to the throne of 
 judgment and the recompenses of eternity. We here halt 
 from time to time on the way ; to refresh ourselves with 
 joy in his presence ; to gather strength to endure and 
 overcome the trials and temptations incident to this pro- 
 bationary state: and to quicken in our hearts that spir- 
 itual life that fits the soul for heavenly rest. When 
 coming before God on such an errand, with such interests 
 dependent upon him, surely it becomes every one to draw 
 nigh him in sincerity and truth. Let us, then, my friends, 
 as we engage in the worship of God here, ever banish 
 from us every unworthy thought and feeling, every dis- 
 turbing care, all levity of manner and behavior, and wait 
 upon him in all the loveliness of a serious, thoughtful, 
 obedient and joyous faith. For surely it were a lovely 
 spectacle the image of a heaven upon earth to see 
 those, who come up to the courts of the Lord, all realizing 
 the presence and glory of the God that is worshiped ; 
 according to him, from full and earnest hearts, the honor 
 that is his due ; and seeking, in every part of the service, 
 to obtain his heavenly grace on themselves and others ! 
 Oh! shall it ever be? Shall there ever come from the 
 Lord the day of power and glory, that shall set up that 
 heavenly scene everywhere on the face of this now pol- 
 luted world ? 
 
 Finally, let us fix our hope on the glories of an eternal 
 worship in heaven. That is a lovely and blessed world, 
 
Worshiping God in the B canty of Holiness. 365 
 
 where all hearts yield to God the honor and obedience 
 that are his due, and pour out eternally their thanks and 
 praises for- his inexhaustible love and kindness. That is 
 the land of uprightness ; where dwell the perfectly pure 
 and devoted, whose vision of God grows eternally 
 brighter, whose full-hearted love never droops, whose 
 deep-toned praises never tire. Oh, shall we ever reach 
 that blessed world ? Shall we ever mingle in its praises ? 
 Let us give all diligence, in this our earthly pilgrimage, 
 to make our calling and election sure. Let us now draw 
 near the Lord, and learn here on earth to engage our 
 hearts in those blessed employments. So shall an entrance 
 at length be ministered unto us abundantly into that ever- 
 lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ! 
 So shall Cherubim and Seraphim bear us up to his pres- 
 ence, to unite with their throngs and with all the hosts of 
 the ransomed in the pure and glorious worship they ever 
 offer at his throne ! 
 
 Oh, shall we ever reach that blessed world ? Shall we 
 ever mingle in its exalted praises? 
 
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