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TITTLEWORKS OF THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON.

SERMONS (Revised by the Author), 8 Vorumus, each - - $1.50

SPURGEON’S GEMS

THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR

LIFE OF SPURGEON

MITT ten tite aeonsSpe URGHON S SHR MOMS

EIGHTH SERIES.(ST ERCRATESSER TIO TIII IITSERMONS

REV. C He’ SPURGEON.

PREACHED AT

THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, LONDON.

EIGHTH SERIES.

NEW YORK:
SHELDON AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
BOSTON: GOULD AND LINCOLN.

1866.Ped

_

TTCONTENTS.

SERMON L

PAGE

BAPTISMAL REGENERATION . “ ° ° ° . ° a LL:

SERMON IL.

CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT eau

SERMON “dll.

“THOS SAITH THE LORD” . . ° ° ° ° ° ° - 55

SERMON IV.

A HEARER IN DISGUISE . : ° . . ° e SP eo

EXPIATIONCONTENTS.
SERMON VI.

THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE . ° . ° ° ° ’

SERMON VIL

x

CHRIST IS GLORIOUS: LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN .

SERMON VII.

ENDURING TO THE END . ° e ° oie 2 °

SERMON IX.

NOTHING BUT LEAVES . . . . is ° °

SERMON X.

THE GREAT LIBERATOR . ° . ° ° ° ‘a

%,
4

te

SERMON XI.

TEE CININSS BRIEND =... . . « % «. %

SERMON XII.

ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT TO SEEKING SOULS

SERMON XIil.

THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA

UT ETAL EL TTT eee ena
A

     
  
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
   
    
  
  
 
 
  
   

PAGBR

112

131

150

168

187

206

222CONTENTS.

SERMON XIV.

A BUNDLE OF MYRRH

SERMON XV.

THE LAMB: THE LIGHT

SERMON XYVI.

GODS STRANGE CHOICE . =. .  :

SERMON XVI.

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

SERMON XVII.

LABOR IN VAIN

SERMON XIX.

GOD IS WITH US.

  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 

PAGH

» 209

218

© eur

- 316

. 339BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

‘ TAT x . 7H TW
S AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THB
GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. HE THAT BELIEVETH AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BR

SAVED; BUT HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL BE DAMNED.’ — Mark xyi. 15, 16.

In the preceding verse our Lord Jesus Christ gives us some
little insight into the natural character of the apostles whom he
selected to be the first ministers of the Word. They were evi-
dently men of like passions with us, and needed to be rebuked
even as we do. On the occasion when our Lord sent forth the
eleven to preach the gospel to every creature, he “appeared
unto them as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them
which had seen him after he was risen;” from which we may
surely gather, that, to preach the Word, the Lord was pleased to
choose imperfect men; men, too, who of themselves were very
weak in the grace of faith in which it was most important that
they should excel. Faith is the conquering grace, and is of all
things the main requisite in the preacher of the Word; and yet
the honored men who were chosen to be the leaders of the divine
crusade needed a rebuke concerning their unbelief. Why was
this? Why, my brethren, because the Lord has ordained ever-
more that we should have this treasure in earthen vessels, that
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. If
you should find a perfect minister, then might the praise and
honor of his usefulness accrue to man; but God is frequently
pleased to select for eminent usefulness men evidently honestcree!

12 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

and sincere, but who have some manifest infirmity by which all
the glory is cast off from them and laid upon himself, and upon
himself alone. Let it never be supposed that we who are God’s
ministers either excuse our faults or pretend to perfection. We
labor to walk in holiness, but we cannot claim to be all that we
wish to be. We do not base the claims of God’s truth upon the
spotlessness of our characters, but upon the fact that it comes
from him. You have believed in spite of our infirmities, and
not because of our virtues. If, indeed, you had believed our word
because of our supposed perfection, your faith would stand in
the excellency of man and not in the power of God. We come
unto you often with much trembling, sorrowing over our follies
and weaknesses; but we deliver to you God’s Word as God’s
Word, and we beseech you to receive it, not as coming from us,
poor, sinful mortals, but as proceeding from the eternal and thrice-
holy God; and if you so receive it, and by its own vital force
are moved and stirred up towards God and his ways, then is the
work of the Word sure work, which it could not and would not
be if it rested in any way upon man.

Our Lord having thus given us an insight into the character
of the persons whom he has chosen to proclaim his truth, then
goes on to deliver to the chosen champions their commission for
the holy war. I pray you mark the words with solemn care.
He sums up in a few words the whole of their work, and at the
same time foretells the result of it, telling them that some would
doubtless believe and so be saved, and some on the other hand
would not believe and would most certainly, therefore, be damned ;
that is, condemned forever to the penalties of God’s wrath.
The lines containing the commission of our ascended Lord are
certainly of the utmost importance, and demand devout attention
and implicit obedience, not only from all who aspire to the work
of the ministry, but also from all who hear the message of mercy.
A clear understanding of these words is absolutely necessary to
our success in the Master’s work ; for if we do not understand
the commission, it is not at all likely that we shall discharge it
aright. To alter these words were more than impertinence : it

Ann ee USER G CEe eee yeaa ee ee
Pea LLL RELI Tt eeeBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 18

would involve the crime of treason against the authority of
Christ and the best interests of the souls of men. Oh for grace
to be very jealous here!

Wherever the apostles went they met with obstacles to the
preaching of the gospel, and the more open and effectual was the
door of utterance, the more numerous were the adversaries.
These brave men so wielded the sword of the Spirit as to put to
flight all their foes; and this they did not by craft and guile,
but by making a direct cut at the error which impeded. them.
Never did they dream for a moment of adapting the gospel to
the unhallowed tastes or prejudices or the people, but at once
directly and boldly they brought down with both their hands the
mighty sword of the Spirit upon the crown of the opposing error.
This morning, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, my helper and
defence, I shall attempt to do the same; and if I should provoke
some hostility —if I should through speaking what I believe to
be the truth lose the friendship of some and stir up the enmity of
more —I cannot help it. The burden of the Lord is upon me,
and I must deliver my soul. I have been loath enough to un-
dertake the work, but I am forced to it by an awful and over-
whelming sense of solemn duty. As I am soon to appear before
my Master’s bar, I will this day, if ever in my life, bear my tes-
timony for truth, and run all risks. I am content to be cast out
as evil if it must be so; but I cannot, I dare not, hold my peace.
The Lord knoweth I have nothing in my heart but the purest
love to the souls of those whom I feel imperatively called to
rebuke sternly in the Lord’s name. Among my hearers and
readers, a considerable number will censure if not condemn me ;
put I cannot help it. If I forfeit your love for truth’s sake I
am grieved for you; but I cannot, I dare not, do otherwise. It
is as much as my soul is worth to hold my peace any longer ; and,
whether you approve or not, I must speak out. Did I ever court
your approbation? It is sweet to every one to be applauded ;
but if for the sake of the comforts of respectability and the smiles
of men any Christian minister shall keep back a part of his tes-
timony, his Master at the last shall require it at bis hands. This

2ea gti

  

He

14 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

“cigs i
day, standing in the immediate presence ut ae I shall speak

honestly what I feel, as the fncly: Spit § shall enable me; and I

} 3) | 2 TY 7
shall oe the matter with o to judge concerning it, as you
will answer for that judgment at the last, great day.

I find that the great error which we have to contend with
throughout England (and it is growing more and more), is one
in direct opposition to my text, well known to you as the doctrine
of baptismal regeneration. We will contront this dogma with
the assertion that baptism without faith saves no one. ‘The text
says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ;” but
whether a man be baptized or no, it asserts that “he that believ-
eth not shall be damned:” so that baptism does not save the
unbeliever; nay, it does not in any degree exempt him from the
common doom of all the ungodly. He may have baptism, or he
may not have baptism; but if he believeth not, he shall be in any
case most surely damned. Let him be baptized by immersion
or sprinkling, in his infancy or in his adult age: if he be not led
to put his trust in Jesus Christ —if he remaineth an unbeliever
—then this terrible doom is pronounced upon him, “ He that
believeth not shall be damned.” I am not aware that any Prot-
estant church in England teaches the doctrine of baptismal re-
generation, except one, and that happens to be the corporatior
which with none too much humility calls itself the Church of
England. This very powerful sect does not teach this doctrine
merely through a section of its ministers, who might charitably
be considered as evil branches of the vine, but it anne boldly,
and plainly declares this doctrine in her own appointed standard,
the Book of Common Prayer, and that in words so express, that,
while language is the channel of conveying intelligible sense, no
process short of violent wresting from their plain meaning can
ever make them say anything else.

Here are the words —we quote them from the Catechism
which is intended for the instruction of youth, and is naturally
very plain and simple, since it would be foolish to trouble the
youth with metaphysical refinements. The child is asked its
name, and then questioned, “ Who gave you this name?” “ My

aT WHE UUBAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

godfathers and godmothers in my baptism ; wherein Iwas made a
member of Christ, the child of God, and an inkheritor of the king-
dom of heaven.” Is not this definite and plain enough? I ; rize
the words for their candor: they could not speak more plainly.
Three times over the thing is put, lest there should be any doubt
init. The word regeneration may, by some sort of juggling, be
made to mean something else ; but here there can be no misun-
derstanding. The child is not only made “a member of Christ,”
— union to Jesus is no mean spiritual gift, — but he is made in
baptism “the child of God” also; and, since the rule is, “ if
children, then heirs,” he is also made “an inheritor of the king-
dom of heaven.” . Nothing can be more plain. I venture to say,
that, while honesty remains on earth the meaning of these words
will not admit of dispute. It is clear as noonday that, as the
Rubric hath it, “ Fathers, mothers, masters, and dames are to
cause their children, servants, and apprentices,’ no matter how
idle, giddy, or wicked they may be, to learn the Catechism, and
to say that in baptism they were made members of Christ and
children of God. The form for the administration of this baptism
is scarcely less plain and outspoken, seeing that thanks are ex-
pressly returned unto Almighty God because the person baptized
is regenerated: “ Then shall the priest say, ° Seeing, now, dearly
beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate and grafted into the
body of Christ's church, let us give thanks unto Almighty God
for these benefits ; and with one accord make our prayers unto
him, that this child may lead the rest of his life according to this
beginning.” Nor is this all; for, to leave no mistake, we have
the words of the thanksgiving prescribed : “Then shall the priest
say, ‘We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Lather, that it hath
pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to re-
ceive him for thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him
into thy holy church.”

This, then, is the clear and unmistakable teaching of a church
calling itself Protestant. JI am not now dealing at all with the
question of infant baptism : I have nothing to do with that thi

ths
morning. I am now considering the question of baptismal reeae aa

  

16 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

generation, whether in adults or infants, or ascribed to sprinkling,
pouring, or immersion. Here is a church which teaches every
Lord’s Day in the Sunday-school, and should, according to the
Rubric, teach openly in the church, all children that they were
made members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the
kingdom of heaven when they were baptized! Here is a pro-
fessedly Protestant church, which, every time its minister goes
to the font, declares that every person there receiving baptism
is there and then “regenerated and grafted into the body of
Christ’s church.”

“ But,” I hear many good people exclaim, “there are many
good clergymen in the church who do not believe in baptismal
regeneration!” ‘To this my answer is prompt, — Why, then, do
they belong to a church which teaches that doctrine, in the
plainest terms? Jam told that many in the Church of England
preach against her own teaching. I know they do, and herein
I rejoice in their enlightenment, but I question, gravely question,
their morality. To take oath that I sincerely assent and consent
to a doctrine which I do not believe, would to my conscience
appear little short of perjury, if not absolute, downright perjury ;
but those who do so must be judged by their Lord. For me to
take money for defending what I do not believe —for me to
take the money of a church, and then to preach against what
are most evidently its doctrines —I say for me to do this (I
shall not judge the peculiar views of other men), for me or for
any other simple, honest man to do so, were an atrocity so great
that, if I had perpetrated the deed, I should consider myself out
of the pale of truthfulness, honesty, and common morality. Sirs,
when I accepted the office of minister of this congregation, I
looked to see what were your articles of faith. If I had not be-
lieved them I should not have accepted your call; and when I
change my opinions, rest assured that, as an honest man, I shall
resign the office ; for how could I profess one thing in your dec-
Jaration of faith, and quite another thing in my own preaching ?
Would I accept your pay, and then stand up every Sabbath-day
and talk against the doctrines of your standards? For clergy

Ta a ee PeCUPT Pigs e Sapo se spay cysteines
TTT ee MattavdceuiiiiteeeaiviateBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. a

men to swear or say that they give their solemn assent and con-
sent to what they do not believe, is one of the grossest pieces of
immorality perpetrated in England, and is most pestilential in
its influence since it directly teaches men to lie whenever it seems
necessary to do so in order to get a living or increase their sup-
posed usefulness: it is in fact an open testimony from priestly
lips that, at least in ecclesiastical matters, falsehood may express
truth, and truth itself is a mere unimportant nonentity. I know
of nothing more calculated to-debauch the public mind than a
want of straightforwardness in ministers ; and when worldly men
hear ministers denouncing the very things which their own
Prayer-Book teaches, they imagine that words have no meaning
among ecclesiastics, and that vital differences in religion are
merely a matter of tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, and that it
does not much matter what a man does believe so long as he is
charitable towards other people. If baptism does regenerate
people, let the fact be preached with a trumpet tongue, and let
no man be ashamed of his belief in it. If this be really their
creed, by all means let them have full liberty for its propagation.
My brethren, those are honest Churchmen in this matter who,
subscribing to the Prayer-Book, believe in baptismal regenera-
tion, and preach it plainly. God forbid that we should censure
those who believe that baptism saves the soul, because they ad-
here to a church which teaches the same doctrine. So far they are
honest men; and in England, wherever else, let them never lack
a full toleration. Let us oppose their teaching by all scriptural
and intelligent means, but let us respect their courage in plainly
giving us their views. I hate their doctrine, but I love their
honesty ; and as they speak but what they believe to be true,
let them speak it out, and the more clearly the better. Out with
it, sirs, be it what it may, but do let us know what you mean.
For my part, I love to stand foot to foot with an honest foeman.
To open warfare, bold and true hearts raise no objections but
the ground of quarrel ; it is covert enmity which we have most
cause to fear and best reason to loathe. That crafty kindness
which inveigles me to sacrifice principle, is the serpent in the
Q*ee ATT ee

18 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

srass — deadly to the incautious wayfarer. Where union and
friendship are not cemented by truth, they are an unhallowed
onfederacy. It is time that there should be an end put to the
irtations of honest men with those who believe one way and
wear another. If men believe baptism works regeneration, let
them say so; but if they do not so believe it in their hearts, and
yet subscribe, and yet more, get their livings by subscribing to

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words asserting it, let them find congenial associates among men
who can equivocate and shuffle, for honest men will neither ask
nor accept their friendship.

We ourselves are not dubious on this point: we protest that
persons are not saved by being baptized. In such an audience
as this, I am almost ashamed to go into the matter, because you
surely know better than to be misled. Nevertheless, for the
good of others we will drive at it. We hold that persons are
not saved by baptism; for we think, first of all, that ¢¢ seems out
of character with the spiritual religion which Christ came to
teach, that he should make salvation depend upon mere cere-
mony. Judaism might possibly absorb the ceremony by way of
type into her ordinances essential to eternal life; for it was a
religion of types and shadows. ‘The false religions of the hea-
then might inculeate salvation by a physical process; but Jesus
Christ claims for his faith that it is purely spiritual, and how could
he connect regeneration with a peculiar application of aqueous
fluid? I cannot see how it would be a spiritual gospel, but I can see
how it would be mechanical, if I were sent forth to teach that
the mere dropping of so many drops upon the brow, or even the
plunging a person in water, could save the soul. This seems to
me to be the most mechanical religion now existing, and to be on
a par with the praying windmills of Thibet, or the climbing up
and down of Pilate’s staircase to which Luther subjected himself
in the days of his darkness. The operation of water baptism
does not appear even to my faith to touch the point involved in the
regeneration of the soul. What is the necessary connection be-
tween water and the overcoming of sin? I cannot see any connec-
tion which can exist between sprinkling, or immersion, and regen-

PUTER eGBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 19

eration, so that the one shall necessarily be tied to the other in the
absence of faith. Used by faith, had God commanded it, mira-
cles might be wrought; but without faith or even consciousness,
as in the case of babes, how can spiritual benefits be connected
necessarily with the sprinkling of water? If this be your teach-
ing, that regeneration goes with baptism, I say that it looks like
the teaching of a spurious church, which has craftily invented a
mechanical salvation to deceive ignorant, sensual, and grovelling
minds, rather than the teaching of the most profoundly spiritual
of all teachers, who rebuked Scribes and Pharisees for regarding
outward rites as more important than inward grace.

But it strikes me that a more forcible argument is, that the
dogma is not supported by facts. Are all persons who are bap-
tized children of God? Well, let us look at the divine family.
Let us mark their resemblance to their glorious Parent! Am I
intruthful if I say that thousands of those who were baptized in
their infancy are now in our gaols? You can ascertain the fact,
if you please, by application to prison authorities. Do you be-
lieve that these men, many of whom have been living by plunder,
felony, burglary, or forgery, are regenerate? If so, the Lord
deliver us from such regeneration. Are these villains members
of Christ? If so, Christ has sadly altered since the day when
he was hoiy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Has
he really taken baptized drunkards and harlots to be members
of his body? Do you not revolt at the supposition? Itisa
well-known fact that baptized persons have been hanged. Surely
it can hardly be right to hang the inheritors of the kingdom of
heayen! Our sheriffs have much. to answer for when they offi-
ciate at the execution of the children of God, and suspend the
members of Christ on the gallows! What a detestable farce is
that which is transacted at the open grave, when “a dear
brother” who has died drunk is buried in a “sure and certain
hope of the resurrection to eternal life,” and the prayer tha
“ when we shall depart this life we may rest in Christ, as our
hope is that this our brother doth.” He is a regenerate brother,
who, having defiled the village by constant uncleanness and bes-TATE

aT

20 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

tial drunkenness, died without a sign of repentance ; and yet the
professed minister of God solemnly accords him funeral rites
which are denied to unbaptized innocents, and puts the repro-
bate into the earth in “sure and certain hope of the resurrection
to eternal life.” If old Rome in her worst days ever perpetrated
a grosser piece of imposture than this, I do not read things
aright; if it does not require a Luther to cry down this hypoc-
risy as much as Popery ever did, then I do not even know that
twice two make four. Do we find — we who baptize on profes-
sion of faith, and baptize by immersion in a way which is con-
fessed to be correct, though not allowed by some to be absolutely
necessary to its validity —do we, who baptize in the name of
the Sacred Trinity as others do, do we find that baptism regen-
erates? Wedo not. Neither in the righteous nor the wicked
do we find regeneration wrought by baptism. We have never
met with one believer, however instructed in divine things, who
could trace his regeneration to his baptism; and on the other
hand, we confess it with sorrow, but still with no surprise, that
we have seen those whom we have ourselves baptized, according
to apostolie precedent, go back into the world and wander into
the foulest sin, and their baptism has scarcely been so much as a
restraint to them, because they have not believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Facts all show that whatever good there may be in
baptism, it certainly does not make a man “a member of Christ,
the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven,”
or else many thieves, whoremongers, drunkards, fornicators, and
murderers are members of Christ, the children of God, and in-
heritors of the kingdom of heaven. Facts, brethren, are dead
against this popish doctrine ; and facts are stubborn things.

Yet further, I am persuaded that the performance styled bap-
tism by the Prayer-Book vs not at all likely to regenerate and save.
How is the thing done? One is very curious to know when one
hears of an operation which makes men members of Christ,
children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, how
the thing is done. It must in itself be a holy thing, truthful in
all its details, and edifying in every portion. Now, we will

Wtiee HBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 21

Buppose we have a company gathered round the water, be it
more or less, and the process of regeneration is about to be per-
formed. We will suppose them all to be godly people. The
clergyman officiating is a profound believer in the Lord Jesus,
and the father and mother are exemplary Christians, and the
godfathers and godmothers are all gracious persons. We will
suppose this: it is a supposition fraught with charity, but it
may be correct. What are these godly people supposed to say ?
Let us look to the Prayer-Book. The clergyman is supposed
to tell these people, “Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus
Christ hath promised in his gospel to grant all these things that
ye have prayed for: which promise he, for his part, will most
surely keep and perform. Wherefore, after this promise made by
Christ, this infant must also faithfully, for his part, promise by
you that are his sureties (until he come of age to take it wpon
himself) that he will renounce the devil and all his works, and
constantly believe Gods Holy Word, and obediently keep his
commandments.” ‘This small child is to promise to do this; or,
more truly, others are to be taken upon themselves to promise,
and even vow that he shall do so. But we must not break the
quotation, and therefore let us return to the Book: “I demand,
therefore, dost thou, in the name of this child, renounce the devil
and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all
covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the
flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, nor be led by them?” An-
swer: “I renounce them all.” That is to say, on the name
and behalf of this tender infant about to be baptized, these
godly people, these enlightened Christian people, these who
know better, who are not dupes, who know all the while that
they are promising impossibilities, renounce on behalf of this
child what they find it very hard to renounce for themselves,—
“all covetous desires of the world and the carnal desires of the
flesh, so that they will not follow nor be led by them.” How
can they harden their faces to utter such a false promise, such a
mockery of renunciation, before the presence of the Father Al-
mighty ? Might not angels weep as they hear the awful prom-See ee

UTI eae

29 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

ise uttered? Then in the presence of High Heaven they profess
on behalf of this child that he steadfastly believes the creed,
when they know, or might pretty shrewdly judge, that the little
creature is not yet a steadfast believer in anything, much less in
Chris#’s going down into hell. Mark, they do not say merely
that the babe shall believe the creed, but they affirm that he
does; for they answer in the child’s name, “ All this we stead-
fastly believe.” Not we steadfastly believe, but f, the little baby
there, unconscious of all their professions and confessions of
faith. In answer to the question, “ Wilt thou be baptized in this
faith ?” they reply for the infant, “That is my desire.” Surely
the infant has no desire in the matter, or at the least no one has
been authorized to declare any desires on his behalf But this

is not all; for then these godly, intelligent people next promise
on behalf of the infant that “he shall obediently keep all God’s

iments, and walk in the same all the days

holy will and comman<
of his life.’ Now, I ask you, dear friends, you who know what
true religion means, can you walk in all God’s holy commandments
yourselves? Dare you make this day a vow on your own part,
that you would renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps
and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the
flesh? Dare you, before God, make such a promise as that?
You desire such holiness; you earnestly strive after it; but you
look for it from God’s promise, not from your own. -If you dare
make such vows, I doubt your knowledge of your own hearts and
of the spirituality of God’s law. But even if you could do this
for yourself, would you venture to make such a promise for any
other person? —for the best-born infant on earth? Come,
brethren, what say you? Is not your reply ready and plain?
There is not room for two opinions among men determined to
observe truth in all their ways and words. I can understand a
simple, ignorant rustic, who has never learned to read, doing al

this at the command of a priest and under the eye of a squire.
I can even understand persons doing this when the Reformation
was in its dawn, and men had newly crept out of the darkness
of Popery; but I cannot understand, gracious, godly people

HE if TH
PALL io PLU eeaBAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

standing at the font to insult the All-gracious Father with vows
and promises framed upon a fiction, and involving practical
falsehood. How dare intelligent believers in Christ to utter
words which they know in their conscience to be wickedly aside
from truth? When I shall be able to understand the process by
which gracious men so accommodate their consciences, even then
I shall have a confirmed belief that the God of truth never did
and never will confirm a spiritual blessing of the highest order
in connection with the utterance of such false promises and un-
truthful vows. My brethren, does it not strike you that declara-
tions so fictitious are not likely to be connected with a new birth
wrought by the Spirit of truth ?

I have not done with this point: I must take another case, and
suppose the sponsors and others to be ungodly ; and that is no hard
supposition, for many cases we know that godfathers and parents
have no more thought of religion than that idolatrous hallowed
stone around which they gather. When these sinners have
taken their places, what are they about to say? Why, they are
about to make the solemn vows I have already recounted in your
hearing? ‘Totally irreligious they are, but yet they promise for
the baby what they never did, and never thought of doing, for
themselves, — they promise on behalf of this child, “that he will
renounce the devil and all his works, and constantly believe God’s
Holy Word, and obediently keep his commandments.” My
brethren, do not think I speak severely here. Really, I think
there is something here to make mockery for devils. Let every
honest man lament that ever God’s church should tolerate such
a thing as this, and that there should be found gracious people
who will feel grieved because I, in all kindness of heart, re-
buked the atrocity. Unregenerate sinners promising for a poor
babe that he shall keep all God’s holy commandments, which they
themselves wantonly break every day! How ean anything but the
longsuffering of God endure this? What! not speak against it?
The very stones in the street might cry out against the infamy of
wicked men and women promising that another should renounce

st

the devil and all his works, while they themselves serve the devil24 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

and do his works with greediness! As a climax to all this, I
am asked to believe that God accepts that wicked promise, and,
as the result of it, regenerates that child. You cannot believe in
regeneration by this operation, whether saints or sinners are the
performers. Take them to be godly, then they are wrong for
doing what their conscience must condemn; view them as un-
godly, and they are wrong for promising what they know they
cannot perform ; and in neither case can God accept such worship,
much less infallibly append regeneration to such a baptism as this.

But you will say, “Why do you cry out against it?” I ery
out against it because I believe that baptism does not save the
soul, and that the preaching of tt has a wrong and evil influence
upon men. We meet with persons who, when we tell them that
they must be born again, assure us that they were born again
when they were baptized. The number of these persons is in-
creasing, fearfully increasing, until all grades of society are mis-
led by this belief. How can any man stand up in his pulpit and
say “Ye must be born again” to his congregation, when he has
already assured them, by his own “ unfeigned assent and consent ”
to it, that they are themselves, every one of them, born again in
baptism. What has he to do with them? Why, my dear friends,
the gospel then has no voice; they have rammed this ceremony
down its throat, and it cannot speak to rebuke sin. The man
who has been baptized or sprinkled, says, “I am saved; I ama
member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the king-
dom of heaven. Who are you, that you should rebuke me?
Call me to repentance ?—call me to a new life? What better
life can I have ? for lam amember of Christ —a part of Christ’s
body. What! rebuke me? Iam achild of God. Cannot you ~
see it in my face? No matter what my walk and conversation
is, 1am a child of God. Moreover, I am an inheritor of the
kingdom of heaven. It is true I drink and swear, and all that,
but you know I am an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven; for
when I die, though I live in constant sin, you will put me in the
grave, and tell everybody that I died “in sure and certain hope
of the resurrection to eternal life.”

TH a
TTT eeBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 25

ad

Now, what can be the influence of such preaching as this upon
our beloved England? — upon my dear and _ blessed country ?
What but the worst of ills? If I loved her not, but loved my-
self most, I might be silent here ; but, loving England, I cannot
and dare not; and having soon to render an account before my
God, whose servant I hope I am, I must free myself from this
evil, as well as from every other, or else on my head may be the
doom of souls.

Here let me bring in another point. It is a most fearful fact,
that, 7 no age since the Reformation, has Popery made such fear-
Jul strides in England as during the last few years. I had com-
fortably believed that Popery was only feeding itself upon foreign
subscriptions, upon a few titled perverts, and imported monks
and nuns. I dreamed that its progress was not real. In fact, I
have often smiled at the alarm of many of my brethren at the
osrogress of Popery. But, my dear friends, we have been mis-
sly mistaken. If you will read a valuable paper
in the magazine called “ Christian Work,” those of you who are
acquainted with it will be perfectly startled at its. revelations.
This great city is now covered with a network of monks and

rf

sisters of mercy, and the conversions made are not

2

priests and

=

by ones or twos, but by scores, till England is being regarded as
the most hopeful spot for Romish missionary enterprise in the

whole worid; and at the present moment there is not a mission
which is succeeding to anything like the extent which the Eng-

lish mission is. I covet not their money, I despise their soph-
istries, but I marvel at the way in which they gain their fands
for the erection of their ecclesiastical buildings. It really is an
alarming matter to see so many of our countrymen going off to
that superstition which as a nation we once rejected, and which
it was supposed we should never again receive. Popery,is mak-

ing advances suchas you would never believe, though a spectator
to you. Close to your very doors, perhaps even in

chould tell it 3

m hot ;, you may have evidence ere long of what a
your own houses, you may have eviaence ere long oO hat ¢
~ aa e

2 e ° a Se A ade OS ge Dray ee He : peers iD
march Romanism is making. And to what is it to be ascribed:

I say, with every ground of probability, that there is no marvel

2

o26 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

that Popery should increase when you have two things to make
it grow: first of all, the alschood of those who profess a faith

which they do not believe, which 1s quite contrary to the hon-
esty of the Romanist, who does through evil report and good
report hold his faith ; an d then you have, secondly, this form of
error known as baptismal regeneration, and commonly called
Puseyism, which is not only Puseyism,” but Church-of-Eng-
landism, because it is in the Prayer-Book, as plainly as words
can express it, — you have this baptismal regeneration, preparing
stepping-stones to make it easy for men to go to Rome. I have
but to open my eyes a little to foresee Romanism rampant every-
where in the future, since its germs are spreading everywhere
in the present. In one of our courts of legislature, but last Tues-
day, the Lord Chief Justice showed his superstition, by speaking
of “the risk of the calamity of children dying unbaptized !”
Among Dissenters you see a veneration for structures, a modified
belief in the sacredness of places, which is all idolatry; for to
believe in the sacredness of anything but of God and of his own
Word, is to idolize, whether it is to believe in the sacredness of
the men, the priests, or in the sacredness of the bricks and mor-
tar, or of the fine linen, or what not, which you may use in the
worship of God. I see this coming up everywhere —a belief
in ceremony, a resting in ceremony, a veneration for altars, fonts,

 

and churches, — a veneration so profound that we must not ven-
ture upon a remark, or straightway of sinners we are chief.
Here is the essence and soul of Popery, peeping up under the
garb of a decent respect for sacred things. It is impossible but
that the Church of Rome must spread, when we who are the
watchdogs of the fold are silent, and others are gently and
smoothly turfing the road, and making it as soft and smooth as
possible, that converts may travel down to the nethermost hell
of Popery. We want John Knox back again. Do not talk to
me of mild and gentle men, of soft manners and squeamish words :
we want the fiery Knox; and even though his vehemence should
“ding our pulpits into blads,” it were well if he did but rouse
our hearts to action. We want Luther, to tell men the truth

ULE neaBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. oF

unmistakably, in homely phrase.» The velvet has got into our
ministers’ mouths of late, but we must unrobe ourselves of soft
raiment, and truth must be spoken, and nothing but truth; for
of all lies which have dragged millions down to hell, I look upon
this as’ being one of the most atrocious, — that in a Protestant
church there should be found those who swear that baptism
saves the soul. Call a mana Baptist, or a Presbyterian, or a
Dissenter, or a Churchman, — that is nothing to me: if he says
that baptism saves the soul, out upon him, out upon him: he
states what God never taught, what the Bible never laid down,
and what ought never to be maintained by men who profess that
the Bible, and the whole Bible, is the religion of Protestants.

I have spoken thus much, and there will be some who will
say, spoken thus much bitterly. Very well; be itso. Physic
is often bitter, but it shall work well, and the physician is not
bitter because his medicine is so; or if, he be accounted so, it
will not matter, so long as the patient is cured; at all events, it
is no business of the patient whether the physician is bitter or
not: his business is with his own soul’s health. There is the
truth, and I have told it to you; and if there should be one
among you, or if there should be one among the readers of this
sermon when it is printed, whois resting on baptism, or resting
upon ceremonies of any sort, I do beseech you, shake off this
venomous faith into the fire as Paul did the viper which fastened
on his kand. I pray you do not rest on baptism.

“No outward forms can make you clean:
The leprosy lies deep within.”
I do beseech you to remember that you must have a new heart
and a right spirit, and baptism cannot give you these. You
must turn from your sins and follow after Christ ; you must
have such a faith as shall make your life holy and your speech
devout, or else you have not the faith of God’s elect, and into
God’s kingdom you shall never come. I pray you never rest
ipon this wretched and rotten foundation, thts deceitful invention
of antichrist. Oh! may God save you from it, and bring you to
seek the true rock of refuge for weary souls.1} 98 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

} I come with much brevity, and I hope with much earnestness,
in the second place, to say that FAITH IS THE INDISPENSABLE
| REQUISITE TO SALVATION. “THe that believeth and is baptized
| shall be saved ; he that believeth not shall be damned.” Faith
is the one indispensable requisite for salvation. This faith is

the gift of God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Some men

believe not on Jesus; they believe not, because they are not of

‘hrist’s sheep, as he himself said unto them; but his sheep hear

| his voice: he knows them and they follow him; he gives to
| them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
pluck them out of his hand. What is this believing? Believing

consists in two things. First there is an accrediting of the testemony

of God concerning his Son. God tells you that his Son came

snto the world and was made flesh; that he lived on earth for

men’s sake; that after having spent his life in holiness he was

offered up a propitiation for sin; that upon the cross he there

and then made expiation — so made expiation for the sins of the

world that “whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but

have everlasting life.” If you would be saved, you must accredit

this testimony which God gives concerning his own Son. Hav-

ing received this testimony, the next thing is to confide in it.

Indeed, here lies, I think, the essence of saving faith, to rest your-

self for eternal salvation upon the atonement and the righteous-

ness of Jesus Christ, to have done once for all with all reliance

upon feelings or upon doings, and to trust in Jesus Christ and in

what he did for your salvation.

This is faith, receiving of the truth of Christ: first knowing it

to be true, and then acting upon that belief. Such a faith as this

— such real faith as this— makes the man henceforth hate sin.

Tow can he love the thing which made the Saviour bleed? It

makes him live in holiness. How can he but seek to honor that

God who has loved him so muth as to give his Son to die for him ?
i This faith is spiritual in its nature and effects; it operates upon
the entire man; it changes his heart, enlightens his judgment,
and subdues his will; it subjects him to God’s supremacy, and
makes him receive God’s Word as a little child, willing to receive

COREE] PETTERS TATA ER ATT tea:
Wena Pag LEE RAE BRBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 29

the truth upon the ¢pse dixit of the Divine One; it sanctifies his
intellect, and makes him willing to be taught God’s Word ; it
cleanses within ; it makes clean the inside of the cup and platter,
and it beautifies without ; it makes clean the exterior conduct and
the inner motive, so that the man, if his faith be true and real,
becomes henceforth another man to what he ever was before.

Now that such a faith as this should save the soul, is, I believe,
reasonable ; yea, more, it is certain, for we have seen men saved
by it in this very house of prayer. We have seen the. harlot
lifted out of the Stygian ditch of her sin, and made an honest
woman; we have seen the thief reclaimed ; we have known the
drunkard, in hundreds of instances, to be sobered ; we have ob-
served faith to work such a change, that all the neighbors who
have seen it have gazed and admired, even though they hated it ;
we have seen faith deliver men in the hour of temptation, and
help them to consecrate themselves and their substance to God ;
we have seen, and hope still to see yet more widely, deeds of
heroic consecration to God and displays of witness-bearing against
the common current of the times, which have proved to us that
faith does affect the man, does save the soul. My hearers, if you
would be saved, you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let
me urge you with all my heart to look nowhere but to Christ
crucified for your salvation. Oh! if you rest upon any ceremony,
though it be not baptism — dif you rest upon any other than
Jesus Christ — you must perish, as surely as this bock is true. I
pray you believe not every spirit, but though J, or an angel fro
heaven, preach any other doctrine than this, let him be accursed ;
for this, and this alone, is the soul-saving truth which shall re-
generate the world —‘“ He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved.” Away from all the tag-rags, wax candles, and mil-
linery of Puseyism ! away from all the gorgeous pomp of Popery !
away from the fonts of Church-of-Englandism ! We bid you turn
your eyes to that naked cross, where hangs as a bleeding man
the Son of God.

‘‘ None but Jesus, none but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners gaed.”

3?nA:

PETIT ee iri toes

BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

There is life in a. look at the Crucified ; there is life at this mo-

ment for you. Whoever among you can believe in the great
love cf God towards man in Christ Jesus, you shall be saved.
If you can believe that our great Father desireth us to come to
him —that he panteth for us — that he calleth us every day with
the loud voice of his Son’s wounds ; if you can believe now that

in Christ there is pardon for transgressions past, and cleansing

for years to come; if you can trust him to save you, you have

already the marks of regeneration. The work of salvation is

commenced in you, so far as the Spirit’s work is concerned; it

is finished in you, so far as Christ’s work is concerned. Oh!

I would plead with you, lay hold on Jesus Christ. This is the

foundation: build on it. This is the rock of refuge: fly to ite

pray you fly to it now. Life is short: time speeds with eagle’s

wing. Swift as the dove pursued by the hawk, fly, fly, poor sin-

ner, to God’s dear Son: now touch the hem of his garment ;

now look into that dear face, once marred with sorrows for you;

look into those eyes, once shedding tears for you. Trust him,

and if you find him false, then you must perish; but false you

never will find him while this word standeth true, “ He that be-
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned.” God give us this vital, essential faith, with-
out which there is no salvation. Baptized, re-baptized, circum-
cised, confirmed, fed upon sacraments, and buried in consecrated
ground —ye shall all perish except ye believe in him. The
Word is express and plain ; he that believeth not may plead his
baptism, may plead anything he likes, “ But he that believeth
not shall be damned;” for him there is nothing but the wrath
of God, the flames of hell, eternal perdition. So Christ declares,
and so must it be.

But now to close, there are some who say, “Ah! but baptism
is in the text; where do you put that?” That shall be another
point, and then we have done.

THE BAPTISM IN THE TEXT IS ONE EVIDENTLY CONNECTED
witH rarra. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved.” It strikes me, there is no supposition here that anybody

h a re I Aa
APUUEAVURGTaaCGuivibeseaeepea:BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 31

would be baptized who did not believe; or if there be sucha
supposition, it is very clearly laid down that his baptism will be
of no use to him, for he will be damned, baptized or not, unless
he believes. The baptism of the text seems to me, my brethren,
—if you differ from me I am sorry for it, but I must hold my
Opinion, and out with it, —it seems to me that baptism is con-
nected with, nay, directly follows belief. I would not insist too
much upon the order of the words; but, for other reasons, I think
that baptism should follow believing. At any rate, it effectually
avoids the error we have been combating. A man who knows
that he is saved by believing in Christ does not, when he is bap-
tized, lift his baptism into a saving ordinance. In fact, he is the
very best protester against that mistake, because he holds that
he has no right to be baptized until he is saved. He bearsa
testimony against baptismal regeneration in his being baptized
as professedly an already regenerate person. Brethren, the
baptism here meant is a baptism connected with faith, and to
this baptism I will admit there is very much ascribed in Scrip-
ture. Into that question I am not going; but I do find some
very remarkable passages in which baptism is spoken of very
strongly. I find this: “ Arise, and be baptized, and wash away
thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” I find as much as
this elsewhere. I know that believer’s baptism itself does not
wash away sin, yet it is so the outward sign and emblem of it to
the believer, that the thing visible may be described as the thing
signified. Just as our Saviour said, “This is my body,” when
it was not his body, but bread; yet, inasmuch as it represented
his body, it was fair and right according to the usage of language
to say, “ Take, eat, this is my body.” And so, inasmuch as bap-
tism to the believer representeth the washing of sin — it may be
called the washing of sin; not that it is so, but that it is to saved
souls the outward symbol and representation of what is done
by the power of the Holy Spirit in the man who believes in
Chrisé
What connection has this baptism with faith? I think it has
just this, baptism is the avowal of faith; the man was Christ’sUTHER eae

32 BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

soldier, but now in baptism he puts on his regimentals. The
man believed in Christ, but his faith remained between God and
his own soul. In baptism he says to the baptizer, “I believe in
Jesus Christ;” he says to the church, “I unite with you asa
believer in the common truths of Christianity ;” he saith to the
onlooker, “ Whatever you may do, as for me, I will serve the
Lord.” It is the avowal of his faith.

Next, we think baptism is also to the believer a testimony of
his faith; he does in baptism tell the world what he believes.
gc Tam about,” saith he, “to be buried in water. I believe that
the Son of God was metaphorically baptized in suffering; I be-
lieve he was literally dead and buried.” To rise again out of
the water sets forth to all men that he believes in the resurrec-
tion of Christ. There is a showing forth in the Lord’s Supper
of Christ’s death, and there is a showing forth in baptism of
Christ’s burial and resurrection. It is a type, a sign, a symbol,
a mirror to the world, —a looking-glass, in which religion is as it
were reflected. We say to the onlooker, when he asks what is
the meaning of this ordinance, “ We mean to set forth our faith
that Christ was buried, and that he rose again from the dead ;
and we avow this death and resurrection to be the ground of our
trust.”

Again, baptism is also Paith’s taking her proper place. It is,
or should be, one of her first acts of obedience. Reason looks
at baptism, and says, “ Perhaps there is nothing in it; it cannot
do me any good.” “True,” says Faith, “and therefore I will
observe it. If it did me some good, my selfishness would make
me do it; but inasmuch as to my sense there is no good in it,
since I am bidden by my Lord thus to fulfil all righteousness, it
is my first public declaration that a’ thing which looks to be un-
reasonable and seems to be unprofitable, being commanded by
God, is law to me. If my Master had told me to pick up six
stones and lay them in a row I would do it, without demanding
of him, ‘ What good will it do?’ Cuz bono? is no fit question
for soldiers of Jesus. The very simplicity and apparent use-
Jessness of the ordinance should make the believer say, ‘There-

a TALE TE En, eaes aBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 33

fore I do it because it becomes the better test to me of my
obedience to my Master.’” When you tell your servant to do
something, and he cannot comprehend it, if he turns round anc
says, “ Please, sir, what for?” you are quite clear that he hardly
understands the relation between master and servant. So when
God tells me to do a thing, if I say, “ What for?” I cannot
have taken the place which Faith ought to occupy, which is that
of simple obedience to whatever the Lord hath said. Baptism
is commanded, and Faith obeys because it is commanded, and
thus takes her proper place.

Once more, baptism is a refreshment to faith. While we are
made up of body and soul as we are, we shall need some means
by which the body shall sometimes be stirred up to co-work with
the soul. In the Lord’s Supper my faith is assisted by the out-
ward and visible sign. In the bread and in the wine I see no
superstitious mystery: I see nothing but bread and wine; but in
that bread and wine I do see to my faith an assistant. Through
the sign my faith sees the thing signified. So in baptism there
is no mysterious efficacy in the baptistry or in the water. We
attach no reverence to the one or to the other; but we do see in
the water and in the baptism such an assistance as brings home
to our faith most manifestly our being buried with Christ, and
our rising again in newness of life with him. Explain baptism
thus, dear friends, and there is no fear of Popery rising out of it.
Explain it thus, and we cannot suppose any soul will be led to
trust to it; but it takes its proper place among the ordimances
of God’s house. ‘To lift it up in the other way, and say men are
saved by it — ah! my friends, how much of mischief that one false-
hood has done and may do, eternity alone will disclose. Would
to God another George Fox would spring up, in all his quaint
simplicity and rude honesty, to rebuke the idol-worship of this
age; to rail at their holy bricks and mortar, holy lecturns, holy
altars, holy surplices, right reverend fathers, and I know not
what, These things are not holy. God is holy; his truth is
holy: holiness belongs not to the carnal and the material, but to
the spiritual. Oh that a trumpet tongue would ery out against3b BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

the superstition of the age! I cannot, as George Fox did, give
up baptism and the Lord’s Supper; but I would infinitely sooner
do it, counting it the smaller mistake of the two,than perpetrate
and assist in perpretrating the uplifting of baptism and the Lord’s
Supper out of their proper place. O my beloved friends, the
comrades of my struggles and witnessings, cling to the salvation
of faith, and abhor the salvation of priests. If I am not mistaken,
the day will come when we shall have to fight for a simple spirit-
ual religion far more than wedo now. We have been cultivating
friendship with those who are either unscriptural in creed or else
dishonest; who either believe baptismal regeneration, or profess
that they do, and swear before God that they do when they do
not. The time is come when there shall be no more truce or
parley between God’s servants and time-servers. ‘The time is
come when those who follow God must follow God, and those
who try to trim and dress themselves and find out a way which
is pleasing to the flesh and gentle to carnal desires, must go their
way. A great winnowing-time is coming to God’s saints, and
we shall be clearer one of these days than we now are from union
with those who are upholding Popery, under the pretence of
teaching Protestantism. We shall be clear, I say, of those who
teach salvation by baptism, instead of salvation by the blood of
our blessed Master, Jesus Christ. Oh, may the Lord gird up
your loins! Believe me, it is no trifle. It may be that on this
eround Armageddon shall be fought. Here shall come the great
battle between Christ and his saints on the one hand, and the
world and forms and ceremonies on the other. If we are over-
come here, there may be years of blood and persecution, and toss-
ing to and fro between darkness and light; but if we are brave
and bold, and flinch not here, but stand to God’s truth, the future
of England may be bright and glorious. Oh for a truly reformed
Church in England, and a godly race to maintain it! The
world’s future depends on it under God; for in proportion as
truth is marred at home, truth is maimed abroad. Out of any
system which teaches salvation by baptism must spring infidelity,
@n infidelity which the false church already seems willing te

PUTT OTTER LT teen aBAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 35

nourish and foster beneath her wing. God save this favored land
from the brood of her own established religion. Brethren, stand
fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and be
not afraid of any sudden fear nor calamity when it cometh; for
he who trusteth to the Lord, mercy shall compass him about,
and he who is faithful to God and Christ shall hear it said at the
last, “ Well done, good and faithful servant: enter thou into the
joy of the Lord.” May the Lord bless this word, for Christ’s
sake.

Not. — Having been informed that the whole of the burial service is not
usually read at executions, I have, for the sake of fairness, altered the pas-
sage upon page 19, although it strikes me that I might justly have retained
it, since the Rubric of the Church, and not the practice of some of its ministers,
is that with which we must deal. The Rubric says, “ The office ensuing is
not to be used for any that die unbaptized, or excommunicate, or have laid
violent hands upon themselves.”? The victim of our capital punishment is
not by this Rubric shut out from the privileges (7) of the Anglican burial
service, unless his condemnation may be viewed as tantamount to excom-
munication, which I can hardly think to be the case, sinee any condemned
persons receive the sacrament.SERMON IL.

 

CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

‘AND THEY BROUGHT YOUNG CHILDREN UNTO HIM, THAT HE SHOULD TOUCH
THEM: AND HIS DISCIPLES REBUKED THOSE THAT BROUGHT THEM. BUT WEEN
JESUS SAW IT, HE WAS MUCH DISPLEASED, AND SAID UNTO THEM, SUFFER THE
LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME, AND FORBID THEM NOT: FOR OF SUCH IS
THE KINGDOM OF GOD. VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, WHOSOEVER SHALL NOT RE-
OKIVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A LITTLE CHILD, HE SHALL NOT ENTER THEREIN.
AND HE TOOK THEM UP IN HIS ARMS, PUT HIS HANDS UPON THEM, AND BLESSED

THEM.’? — Mark x. 138-I6.

My attention has been specially directed to this passage by
the fact that it has been quoted against me by most of the
authors of those sermons and letters which are, by a stretch of
imagination, called “replies” to my sermon upon “ Baptismal
Regeneration.” Replies they certainly are not, except to one
another. I marvel that a Church so learned as the Anglican
cannot produce something a little more worthy of the point in
hand. The various authors may possibly have read my dis-
course, but by reason of mental absorption in other meditations,
or perhaps through the natural disturbance of mind caused by
guilty consciences, they have talked with confusion of words, and
have only been successful in refuting themselves and answering
one another. They must have been aiming at something far
removed from my sermon, or else I must give them credit for
being the worst shots that ever practised with polemical artillery.
They do not so much as touch the target in its extreme corners,
much less in its centre. The whole question is, Do you believe

UHL ELUTE ERA aT eaCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 37

that baptism regenerates? If so, prove that your belief is

criptural! Do you believe that baptism does not regenerate ?
Then justify your swearing that it does? Who will reply to
this? He shall merit and bear the palm.

The scripture before us is by several of the champions on the
other side exhibited to the people as a rebuke to me. Their
reasoning is rather ingenious than forcible: forsooth, because the
disciples incurred the displeasure of Jesus Christ by keeping back

the little children from coming to him, therefore Jesus Christ is
greatly displeased with me, and with all others like me, for
keeping children from the font, and the performance there en-
acted; and specially displeased with me for exposing the Angli-
can aiveaiine of baptismal regeneration! Observe the reasoning,

— because Jesus was much displeased with the disciples for
hindering parents from seeking a blessing upon their children,

herefore he is much displeased with us who do not believe in

godfathers and godmothers, or the signing of the cross on the
infant brow. I must say at the outset that this is rather a leay
of argument, and would not ordinarily be thought conclusive ; but
this we may readily overlook, since we have long ceased to hope
for reasonable arguments from those who support a cause based
upon absurdity. My brethren, I concluded that there must be
something forcible in such a text as this, or my opponents would
not be so eager to secure it. I have therefore carefully looked
at it, and, as I have viewed it, it has opened up to me with a

sacred splendor of grace. In this incident the very heart of
Chit 3 is published to poor sinners, and we may clearly perceive
the freeness and the fulness of the mighty grace of the Redeemer
of men, who is willing to receive the youngest child as well as
the oldest man; and is greatly displeased with any who would
keep back seeking souls from coming to him, or loving hearts
from bringing others to receive his blessing.

I. In handling this text, in what I believe to be its true light,
I shallseommence, first of all, by observing that THIS TEXT HAS
NOT THE SHADOW OF THE SHADE OF THE GHOST OF A CONNEC-
4eeeeeuuee

  

88 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

| TION WITH BAPTISM. ‘There is no line of connection so substan-
| tial as a spider’s web between this incident and baptism, or at
4 least my imagination is not vivid enough to conceive one. ‘This
I will prove to you, if you will follow me for a moment.

It is very clear, dear friends, that these young children were
| not brought to Jesus Onrist by their friends to be baptized. “They
i srought young children to him, that he should touch them,” says
Mark. Matthew describes the children as being brought, “ that
he would put his hands on them and pray ;” but there is not a
hint about their being baptized: no godfathers or godmothers
had been provided, and no sign of the cross was requested.
Surely the parents themselves knew tolerably well what it was
they desired, and they would not have expressed themselves so
dubiously as to ask him to touch them, when they meant that he
should baptize them. The parents evidently had no thought of
regeneration by baptism, and brought the children for quite
another end. |

In the next place, ¢f they brought the children to Jesus Christ
to be baptized, they brought them to the wrong person; for the
Evangelist John, in the fourth chapter and the second verse,
expressly assures us that Jesus Christ baptized not, but his dis-
ciples. This settles the question, once for all, and proves beyond
all dispute that there is no connection between this incident and
baptism.

But you will say, “Perhaps they brought the children to be
baptized by the disciples?” Brethren, the disciples were not in
the habit of baptizing infants, and this is clear from the case in
hand. If they had been in the habit of baptizing infants, would
they have rebuked the parents for bringing them? If it had
been a customary thing for parents to bring children with such
an object, would the disciples, who had been in the constant habit
of performing the ceremony, have rebuked them for attending to
it? Would any Church clergyman rebuke parents for bringing
their children to be baptized? If he did so, he would act ab-
surdly contrary to his own views and practice; and we cannot
therefore imagine that if infant baptism had been the accepted

  

HUHNE ATCT TT eaeCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT’ TO THE FONT. 39

practice, the disciples could have acted so absurdly as to rebuke
the parents for bringing their little ones. It is obvious that
such could not have been the practice of the disciples who were
rebuked.

Moreover, and here is an argument which seems to me to
have great force in it, when Jesus Christ rebuked his disciples,
then was the time, if ever in his life, to have openly spoken con-
cerning infant baptism, godfathers and godmothers, and the whole
affair. If he wished to rebuke his disciples most effectually,
how could he have done it better than by saying, “ Wherefore
keep ye these children back? I have ordained that they shall
be baptized; I have expressly commanded that they shall be
regenerated and made members of my body in baptism: how
dare you, then, in opposition to my will, keep them backr” But
no, dear friends: our Saviour never said a word about “ the laver
of regeneration,” or, “the quickening dew,” when he rebuked
them — not a single sentence. Had he done so, the season
would have been most appropriate if it had been his intention to
teach the practice; in the whole of his life, there is no period in
which a discourse upon infant regeneration in baptism could
have been more appropriate than on this occasion; and yet not a
single sentence about it comes from the Saviour’s lips.

To close all, Jesus Christ did not baptize the children. Our
evangelist does not inform us that he exclaimed, “ Where are
the godfathers and godmothers?” it is not recorded that he
called for a font, or a Prayer-Book?” No; but “ He took them
up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them,” and
dismissed them without a drop of the purifying element. Now,
if this event had any connection with baptism whatever, it was
the most appropriate occasion for infant baptism to have been
practised. Why, it would have ended forever the controversy.
There may be some men in the world who would have raised
the question of engrafting infants into the body of Christ’s
church by baptism after all this, but I am certain no honest man
would have done so who reverently accepted Christ as his spir-
itual leader. I, my brethren, would sooner be dumb than speak40 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

a single word against an ordinance which Christ himself institu-
ted and practised; and if on this occasion he had but sprinkled
one of these infants, given him a Christian name, signed him
with a cross, accepted the vows of his godparents, and thanked
God for his regeneration, then the question would have been
settled forever, and some of us would have been saved a world
of abuse, besides escaping no end of mistakes, for which we are
condemned, in the judgment of many good people, for whom we
have some affection, though for their judgment we have no re-
spect.

So you see the parents did not ask baptismal regeneration ;
Christ did not personally baptize ; the disciples were not in the
habit of baptizing infants, or else they would not have rebuked
the parents; Christ did not speak about baptism on the occasion,
and he did not baptize the little ones.

I will puta case to you which may exhibit the weakness of
my opponents’ position. Suppose a denomination should rise up
which should teach that babes should be allowed to partake at
the Lord’s Table. Such teaching could plead precedents of
ereat antiquity, for you are aware that at one period infant com-
munion was allowed, and logically too; for if an infant has a
right to baptism, it has a right to come to the Lord’s Table. For
years children were brought to the Lord’s Table, but rather in-
convenient accidents occurred, and therefore the thing was dropped
as being unseemly. But if some one should revive the error,
and try to prove that infants are to come to the Lord’s Supper,
he might prove it from this passage quite as clearly as our friends
can prove infant baptism from it. Moreover,do not forget that
even if infant baptism could be proved from this text, the cere-
mony prescribed in the Prayer-Book is quite as far from being
established. Whether the baptism of infants may or may not be
proved from other Scriptures I cannot now stay to inquires but
even if it can be, what are we to say for godfathers or god-
mothers, or the assertion that in baptism children are made
“members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the king-
dom of heaven?” Truly I might as well prove vaccination from

The
PelePRELL CREP RPE?
aaa as]

HaeacaaiiaieeCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 41

the text before me, as the performance which the Prayer-Book
calls “infant baptism.” I do not hesitate to say that I could
prove any earthly thing, if I might but have such reasoning
granted to me as that which proves infant baptism from this
passage. There isno possible connection between the two. The
teaching of the passage is very plain and very clear, and bap-
tism has been imported into it, and not found in it. As a quaint
writer has well said, “These doctrines are raised from the text
as our collectors raise a tax upon indigent, nonsolvent people, by
coming armed with the law and a constable to distrain for that
which is not to be had. Certainly never was text so strained and
distrained to pay what it never owed; never man so racked to
confess what he never thought; never was a pumice-stone so
squeezed for water which it never held.” Still hundreds will catch
at this straw, and cry, “ Did not Jesus say, ‘ Suffer the little
children to come unto me?’” ‘To these we give this one word,
See that ye read the word as it is written, and you will find no
water in it, but Jesus only. Are the water and Christ the same
thing? Is bringing a child to afont bringing the child to Christ ?
Nay, here is a wide difference, as wide as between Rome and Je-
rusalem, as wide as between antichrist and Christ, between false
doctrine and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

II. Now for our second, and much more pleasing task, WHY,
THEN, WAS JESUS CHRIST DISPLEASED ?

Read the passage, and at once the answer comes to you. He
was displeased with his disciples for two reasons: first, because they
discouraged those who would bring others to him ; and, secondly,
because they discouraged those who themselves were anxious to
come to him. They did not discourage those who were coming
to a font, they discouraged those who were coming to Jesus.
There is.a mighty distinction ever to be held between the font
and Christ, between the sprinkling of the priest and living faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, his disciples discouraged those who would bring others to
him. This isa great sin, and wherever it is committed Jesus
4%42 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT

Christ is greatly displeased ; for a true desire to see others saved
is wrought in the believer by God the Holy Spirit, who thus
renders one of the chosen the means of bringing wandering
sheep into the fold. In this case they discouraged those who
would bring children to him to be blessed. How can we bring
children to Jesus Christ to be blessed? We cannot do it ina
corporeal sense, for Jesus is not here, “he is risen; ” but we can
bring our children in a true, real, and spiritual sense. We take
them up in the arms of our prayer. I hope many of us, so soon
as our children saw the light, if not before, presented them to
God with this anxious prayer, that they might sooner die than
live to disgrace their father’s God. We only desired children
that we might in them live over again another life of service to
God; and when we looked into their young faces, we never
asked wealth for them, nor fame, nor anything else, but that they
might be dear unto God, and that their names might be written
in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We did then bring our children
to Christ, as far as we could do it, by presenting them before God,
by earnest prayer on their behalf. And have we ceased to bring
them to Christ? Nay, I hope we seldom bow the knee without
praying for our children. Our daily ery is, “ Oh that they might
live before thee!” God knows that nothing would give us more
joy than to see evidence of their conversion; our souls would
almost leap out of our bodies with Joy, if we should but know
that they were the children of the living God. Nor has this
privilege been denied to us, for there are some here who can re-
Joice in a converted household. Truly we can say, with the
Apostle Paul, “I have no greater Joy than this, that my children
walk in the truth.” We continue, therefore, to bring them to
Christ by daily, constant, earnest prayer on their behalf. So
soon as they become of years capable of understanding the things
of God, we endeavor to bring them to Christ by teaching them
the truth. Hence our Sabbath-schools, hence the use of the
Bible, and family prayer, and catechising at home. Any person
who shall forbid us to pray for our children, will incur Christ’s
high displeasure ; and any who shall say, “Do not teach yourCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 43

children ; they will be converted in God’s own time, if it be his
purpose ; therefore leave them to run wild in the streets,” will
certainly both “sin against the child” and the Lord Jesus. We
might as well say, “If that piece of ground is to grow a harvest,
it will do so if it be God’s good pleasure; therefore leave it, and
let the weeds spring up and cover it: do not endeavor for a
moment to kill the weeds, or sow the good seed.” Why, such
reasoning as this would be not only cruel to our children, but
grievously displeasing to Christ. Parents, I do hope you are all
endeavoring to bring your children to Christ by teaching them
the things of God. Let them not be strangers to the plan of
salvation. Never let it be said that a child of yours reached
years in which his conscience could act, and he could judge be-
tween good and evil, without knowing the doctrine of the atone-
ment, without understanding the great substitutionary work of
Christ. Set before your child life and death, hell and heaven,
judgment and mercy, his own sin, and Christ’s most precious
blood; and as you set these before him, labor with him, persuade
him, as the apostle did his congregation, with tears and weeping, to
turn unto the Lord; and your prayers and supplications shall be
heard, so that the Spirit of God shall bring them to Jesus. How
much more like the Scripture will such labors be than if you
were to sing the following very pretty verse which disfigures
Roundell Palmer’s “ Book of Praise ! ”—

“Though thy conception was in sin,
A sacred bathing thou has had;
And though thy birth unclean has been,
A blameless babe thou now art made.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear, sweet baby, sleep.”’

I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn words of my
good mother. It was the custom on Sunday evenings, while we
were yet little children, for her to stay at home with us, and
then we sat round the table and read verse by verse, and she
explained the Scripture to us. After that was done, then came
the time of pleading ; there was alittle piece of “ Alleyn’s Alarm,”44. CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

| or of “ Baxter’s Call tothe Unconverted,” and this was read with
| | pointed observations made to each of us as we sat round the
ih | table; and the question was asked how long it would be before
i | we would think about our state, how long before we would seek
| the Lord. Then came a mother’s prayer, and some of the
| | words of a mother’s prayer we shall never forget, even when
a our hair is gray. I remember on one occasion her praying
thus: “Now, Lord, if my children go on in their sins, it will not
be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear
a swift witness against them at the day of judgment, if they lay
not hold of Christ.” That thought of a mother’s bearing swift
witness against me, pierced my conscience and stirred my heart.
This pleading with them for God and with God for them is the
true way to bring children to Christ. Sunday-school teachers,
you have a high and noble work; press forward init! In our
schools you do not try to bring children to the baptistry for
regeneration, you point them away from ceremonies ; if I know
the teachers of this school aright, I know you are trying to bring
your classes to Christ. Let Christ be the sum and substance
of your teaching in the school. Young men and young women,
in your classes lift up Christ, lift him up on high; and if any-
body shall say to you, “Why do you talk thus to the children?”
you can say, “ Because my soul yearns towards them, and I pant
for their conversion ;” and if any should afterward object, you
remember that Jesus is greatly displeased with them, and not
you, for you only obey the injunction, “ Feed my lambs.”

The case in our text is that of children ; but objectors rise up
who disapprove of endexvors to bring any sort of people to Christ
by faith and prayer. There are some who spend their nights in
the streets seeking after the poor harlot, and I have heard many
harsh observations made about their work; some will say it is
ridiculous to expect that any of those who spend their days in
debauchery should be really converted. We are told that the
most of those who are taken into the refuges go back and be-
come as depraved as ever; I believe that to be a very. sad and
solemn truth ; but I believe, if I or any one else shall urge that or

eae CATT TttT TOLER EEE PECHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 45

anything else as a reason why my brethren should not seek the
harlot, that Jesus would be greatly displeased ; for any man who
stands between a soul-seeker and the divine object of getting a
blessing for the sinner’s soul, excites the wrath of Christ, Some
have hopes of our convicts and criminals ; but every now
and then there is an outcry against those who even believe it
possible for a transport or a ticket-of-leave man to be converted.
But Jesus is greatly displeased with any who shall say about
the work, “It is too hard; it is impossible.” My brethren in
Christ, labor for souls of all sorts; for your children, and for
those who are past the threescore years and ten. Seek out the
drunkard ; go after the thief; despise not the poor, down-trod-
den slave; let every race, let every color, let every age, let
every profession, let every nation, be the object of your soul’s
prayers. You live in this world, I hope, to bring souls to Jesus;
you are Christ’s magnets, with which, through his Holy Spirit, he
will attract hearts of steel: you are his heralds ; you are to invite
wanderers to come to the banquet: you are his messengers ; you
are to compel them to come in that his house may be filled ; and
if the devil tells you you will not succeed, and if the world tells
you that you are too feeble and have not talent enough, never
mind ; Jesus would be greatly displeased with you if you should
take any heed to them; and meanwhile he is greatly displeased
with your adversaries for endeavoring to stop you. Beloved,
this is why Jesus Christ was greatly displeased.

A second ground of displeasure must be noticed. These chil-
dren, it strikes me, and I think there is good reason for the be-
lief, themselves desired to come to Christ to obtain a blessing.
They are called “little children,” which term does not necessarily
involve their being infants of six months or a year ; indeed, it is
clear, as I will show in a moment, that they were not such little
children as to be unconscious babes. They were “infants,” ac-
cording to our version of Luke; but then you know the English
word “infant” includes a considerable range of age, for every
person in his minority is legally considered to be an infant,
though he may be able to talk to any amount. We do not, how-46 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

ever, desire to translate the text with so great a license. There
is no necessity in the language used that these should have been
anything but what they are said to be — “ little children.” It
is evident they could walk, because in Luke it is said, “Jesus
called them ;” the gender of the Greek pronoun used there refers
it to the children, not to the persons, nor to the disciples. Jesus
called them, he called the children, which he would hardly have
done if they could not comprehend his call; and he said, “ Suffer
the little children to come,” which implies that they could come,
and doubtless they did come, with cheerful faces, expecting to
get the blessing. These perhaps may have been some of those
very children who, a short time after, pulled down branches
from the trees, and strewed them in the way, and cried, “ Ho-
sanna,” when the Saviour said, “ Out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings hast thou ordained strength.” Now Christ was greatly
displeased with his disciples for pushing back these boys and
girls. They did as some old folks do now-a-days, who cry out
— “Stand back, you boys and girls! we do not want you here ;
we do not want children to fill up the place; we only want
grown-up people.” They pushed them back; they thought that
Christ would have too much to do if he attended to the juveniles.
Here comes out this principle, that we must expect Christ’s dis-
pleasure if we attempt to keep anybody back from coming to
Christ, even though it be the youngest child. You ask how per-
sons can come to Christ now? They cannot come corporeally,
but they can come by simple prayer and humble faith. Faith
is the way to Jesus, baptism is not. When Jesus says, ‘‘ Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden,” he did not mean,
“be baptized,” did he? No; and so when he said, “ Suffer the
little children to come unto me,” he did not mean, “ Baptize
them,’ did he? Coming to Jesus Christ is quite a different
thing from coming to a font. Coming to Christ means laying
hold upon Christ with the hand of faith; looking to him for my
life, my pardon, my salvation, my everything. If there be a
poor little child here who is saying in her little heart, or his little
heart, “I would like to come to Christ; oh that I might be par-

MIE THT ATTTTnT eeCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 47

doned while I am yet a little one!” — come, little lamb ; come,
and welcome. Did I hear your cry? Was it this?
“Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to thee.”

Dear little one, Jesus will not despise your lispings, nor will his
servant keep you back. Jesus calls you; come and receive his
blessing. If any of you say a word to keep the young heart
back, Jesus will be displeased with you. Now I am afraid some
do that ; those, for instance, who think that the gospel is not for
little children. Many of my brethren, I am sorry to say, preach
in such a way that there is no hope of children ever getting any
good by their preaching. I cannot glory in learning or eloquence,
but in this one thing I may rejoice, that there is always a num-
ber of happy children here, who are quite as attentive as any of
my audience. Ido love to think that the gospel is suitable to
little children. “There are boys and girls in many of our Sab-
badi-school classes down below stairs who are as truly converted
ta Srod as any of us. Nay, and if you were to speak with them
ak-out the things of God, though you should get to the knotty
peints of election and predestination, you would find those boys
and girls well taught in the things of the kingdom; they know
free will from free grace, and you cannot puzzle them when you
come to talk about the work of Jesus and the work of the Spirit,
for they can discern between things which differ. But a minis-
ter who preaches as though he never wanted to bring children
to Christ, and shoots right over the little ones’ heads, I do think
Jesus is displeased with him.

Then there are others who doubt whether children ever will
be converted. ‘They do not look upon it as a thing likely to
happen; and whenever they hear of a believing child, they hold
up their hands at the prodigy, and say, “What a wonder of
grace!” It ought to be, and in those churches where the gospel
is simply preached, it is as common a thing for children to be
converted as for grown-up people to be brought to Christ. Oth-48 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST. NOT TO THE FONT.

i | ers begin to doubt the truth of juvenile conversions. They say,
i | “ They are very young — can they understand the gospel? Is it
| not merely an infantile emotion, a mere profession? ” My
| brethren, you have no more right to suspect the sincerity of the
young than to mistrust the gray-headed ; you ought to receive
them with the same open-breasted confidence with which you
receive others when they profess to have found the Saviour. Do,
I pray you, whenever you see the faintest desire in your children,
go down on your knees, as your servant does, when the fire is
almost out, and blow the spark with your own breath; seek by
prayer to fan that spark to a flame. Do not despise any godly
remark the child may make. Do not puff thy child up on account
of the goodness of the remark, lest you make him vain and so
injure him, but do encourage him; let his first little prayers be
noticed by you; though you may not like to teach him a form
of prayer, —I shall not care if you do not, — yet teach him what
prayer is; tell him to express his desires in his own words, and
when he does so, join ye in it.and plead with God on his behalf
that your little one may speedily find true peace in a Saviour’s
blood. You must not, unless you would displease my Master,
keep back the smailest child that longs to come to Christ.

Here let us observe that the principle is of general applications
you must not hinder any awakened soul from seeking the Saviour.
O my brethren and sisters, I hope we havé such a love for souls,
such an instinct within us to desire to see the travail of Christ’s
soul, that, instead of putting stumbling-blocks in the way, we
would do the best we could to gather out the stones. On Sab-
bath-days I have labored to clear up the doubts and fears which
afflict coming sinners; I have entreated God the Holy Spirit to
enable me so to speak, that those things which hindered you
from coming to the Saviour might be removed; but how sad
must be the case of those who delight themselves in putting

stunibling-blocks in men’s way. ‘The doctrine of election, for in-
stance, a great and glorious truth, full of comfort to God’s people —
how often is that made to frighten sinners from Jesus! There
is a way of preaching that doctrine, in which you make it put onCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 49

a black and ugly face, and stand with a drawn sword, and say,
“You must not come unless you know you are one of God’s
elect.” That is not the way to preach the doctrine. The true way
of preaching it is, “ God hasa chosen people, and I hope you
are one of them; come, lay hold on Jesus, put your trust.in him.”
Then there be others who preach up frames and feelings as a
preparation for Christ. They do in effect say, “Unless you
ave felt so much depression of spirit, or experienced a certain
quantity of brokenness of heart, you must not come to Christ,”
instead of declaring that whosoever will is permitted to come,
and that the true way of coming to Christ is not with a qualifica-
tion of frames and feelings and mental depressions, but just as
you are. Oh! it is my soul’s delight to preach a gospel which
has ax open door to it, to preach a mercy-seat which has no veil
before it; it is rent in twain, and now the biggest sinner out of
hell, who desires to come, is welcome. You who are eighty years
of age, and have hated Christ all the time, if now the Spirit of
God makes you willing to come, Christ seems to say, “ Suffer the
eray-headed to come unto me, and forbid them not:” while to
you little children he stretches out his arms in the same eas
“ Suffer the little children to come unto me.” O my beloved, se
it that your heart lo: igs to come to Christ, and not to ceremonies *
I stand here this day to cry, “Come ye to the cross, not to the
font.” When I forg%t to lift up the Lord Jesus, and to cast
down the forms of man’s devising, “let my right hand forget her
cunning,” and “ let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”

** None but Jesus, none but Jesus,

Can do helpless sinners good.”

The font is a mockery and an imposition if it be put before Christ.
If you have baptism after you have come to Christ, well and good ;
but to point you to it either as being Christ, or as being inevi-
tably connected with Christ, or as being the place to. find Christ,
is nothing better than to go back to the begg carly elements of the
old Romish harlot, instead of standing in the “ liberty w herewith
Christ hath made us free,” and bidding the sinner to come as a
sinner to Christ Jesus, and to Christ Jesus alone.

aDOT HOEEE

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   

50 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

Ill. In the third and last place, let us also gather from our
text that WHEN WE DISCOURAGE ANY, WE ALWAS GO UPON
WRONG GROUNDS. Here was the case of children. J suppose
that the grounds upon which the apostles kept back the children
would be one of these, — either that the children could not re-
ceive a blessing, or else that they could not receive it worthily.

Did they imagine that these little children could not receive
the blessing? Perhaps so, for they thought them too young.
Now, brethren, that was a wrong ground to go upon ; for these
children could receive the blessing, and they did receive it, for
Jesus took them in his arms and blessed them. If I keep back
a child from coming to Christ on the ground that he is too young,
I do it in the face of facts; because there have been children
brought to Christ at an extremely early period. You who are
acquainted with Janeway’s “Tokens for Children,” have noticed
very many beautiful instances of early conversion. Our dear
friend Mrs. Rogers, in that book of hers, “The Folded Lamb,”
gave a sweet picture of a little son of hers, soon folded in the
Saviour’s bosom above, who, as early as two or three years of
age, rejoiced and knew the Saviour. I do not doubt at all, I
cannot doubt it, because one has seen such cases, that children of
two or three years of age may have a precocity of knowledge
and of grace, a forwardness which in almost every case has be-
tokened early death, but which has been perfectly marvellous to
those who have talked with them. The fact is that we do not
all at the same age arrive at that degree of mental stature which
the things of God, Children
have been reported as reading Latin, Greek, and other languages,

is necessary for understanding
at five or six years of age. I do not know that such early schol-
arship is any great blessing: it is better not to reach that point
so soon; but some children are all that their minds ever will be
at three or four, and then they go home to heaven; and so long
as the mind has been brought up to such a condition that it is
capable of understanding, it is also capable of faith, if the Holy
Spirit shall implant it. To suppose that he ever did give faith
to an unconscious babe is ridiculous ; that there can be any

PDiCMT Hee tTau erage ragqui tineCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 51

faith in a child that knows nothing whatever I must always take
ground to doubt, for “ How shall they believe without a preacher ?”
And yet they are brought up to make a profession in their long-
clothes, when they have never heard a sermon in their lives
But those dear children to whom I have before referred, have
understood the preacher, have understood the truth, have re-
joiced in the truth, and their first young lispings have been as
full of grace as those glorious expressions of aged saints in their
triumphant departures. Children are capable, then, of receiving
the grace of God. Do mark, by the way, that all those cham-
pions who have come out against me so valiantly have made a
mistake ; they have said that we deny that little infants may be
regenerated ; we do not deny that God can regenerate them if
he pleases; we do not know anything about what may or may
not happen to unconscious babes ; but we did say that little chil-
dren were not regenerated by their godparents telling lies at a
font: we did say that, and we say it again, that little children
are not regenerated, nor made members of Christ, nor children
of God, nor inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, by a solemn
mockery, in which godfathers and godmothers promise to do for
them what they cannot do for themselves, much less for their
children. That is the point; and if they will please to meet it,
we will answer them again; but till such time as that, we shall
probably let them talk on till God gives them grace to know
better.

The other ground upon which the apostles put back the chil-
dren would be, that although the children might receive the
blessing, they might not be able to receive tt worthily. The Lord
Jesus, in effect, assures them that so far from the way in which a
little child enters into the kingdom of heaven being exceptional,
it is the rule; and the very way in which a child enters the
kingdom, is the way in which everybody must enter it. How
does a child enter the kingdom of heavén? Why, its faith is
very simple: it does not understand mysteries and controversies,
but it believes what it is told, upon the authority of God’s Word,
and it comes to God’s Word without previous prejudice. It has52 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

its natural sinfulness, but grace overcomes it, and the child re-
ceives the Word as it finds it. You will notice in boyish and
girlish conversions, a peculiar simplicity of belief: they believe
just what Christ says, exactly what he says. If they pray, they
believe Christ will hear them: if they talk about Jesus, it is as
of a person near at hand. ‘They do not, as we do, get into the
making of these things into mysteries and shadows; but little
children have a realizing power. Then they have great rejoic-
ing. The most cheerful Christians we have are young believers ;
and the most cheerful old Christians are those who were con-
verted when they were young. Why, see the joy of a child that
finds a Saviour! “ Mother,” he says, “I have sought Jesus
Christ, and I have trusted him, and I am saved.” He does not
say, “I hope,” and “I trust,” but “ Iam;” and then he is ready
to leap for joy because he is saved. Of the many boys and girls
whom we have received into church-fellowship, I can say of
them all, they have all gladdened my heart, and I have never
received any with greater confidence than I have these: this I
have noticed about them, they have greater joy and rejoicing
than any others; and I take it, it is because they do not ask so
many questions as others do, but take Jesus Christ’s word as
they find it, and believe in it. Well, now, just the very way in
which a child receives Christ, is the way in which you must
receive Christ, if you would be saved. You who know so much
that you know too much; you who have big brains ; you who
are always thinking, and have a tendency to criticism, and per-
haps to scepticism, you must come and receive the gospel as a
little child. You will never get a hold of my Lord and Master
while you are wearing that quizzing-cap; no, you must take it
off, and by the power of the Holy Spirit you must come trusting
Jesus, simply trusting him; for this is the right way to receive
the kingdom.

But here, let me say, the principle which holds good in little
children holds good in all other cases as well. Take, for instance,
the case of very great sinners, men who have been gross offend=-.
ers against the laws of their country. Some would say they

HTT eeCHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT. 53

cannot be saved; they can be, for some of them have been.
Others would say they never recéive the truth as it is in Jesus
in a right-manner; ay, but they do. How do great sinners re-
ceive Christ? There are some here who have been reclaimed
from drunkenness, and I know not what. My brethren, how
did you receive Christ?’ Why, in this way: You said, “ All
unholy, all unclean, I am nothing else but sin; but if I
saved, it will be grace, grace, grace.” Why, when you and I
stood up, black and foul and filthy, and yet dared to believe in
Christ, we said, “ If we are saved, we shall be prodigies of divine
mercy, and we will sing of his love forever.” Well but, my
dear friends, you must all receive Jesus Christ in that very way.
That which would raise an objection to the salvation of the big
sinner is thrown back upon you, for Christ might well say, “ Ex-
cept ye receive these things as the chief of sinners, ye cannot
enter the kingdom.” I will prove my point by the instance of
the Apostle Paul. He has béen held by some to be an excep-
tion to the rule ; but Paul did not think so, for he says that God
in him showed forth-all longsuffering for a pattern to them that
believe, and made him as it were a type of all conversions; so
that instead of being an exception, his was to be the rule. You
see what I am driving at. The case of the children looks ex-
ceptional, but it is not; it has, on the contrary, all the features
about it which must be found in every true conversion. It is of
such that the kingdom of heaven is composed, and if we are not
such we cannot enter it. Let this induce all of us who love the
Lord to pray for the conversion both of children and of all sorts
of men. Let our compassion expand, let us shut out none from
the plea of our heart ; in prayer and in faith let us bring all who
come under our range, hoping and believing that some of them
will be found in the election of grace, that some of them will be
washed in the Saviour’s blood, and that some of them will shine
as stars in the firmament of God forever. Let us, on no ut
eration, believe that the salvation ot: any man oF child is’ ey ortd
the range of possibility, for the Bare gavel fh Wwhoin he2w ills. Tet

no difficulties which seem to sur round the. case hinder our eons; ;
5* 3 Woo sit ts

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38 53, ee 22
oo > > )54 CHILDREN BROUGHT TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE FONT.

let us, on the contrary, push with greater eagerness forward,
believing that where there seems to be some special difficulty,
there will be manifested, as in the children’s case, some special
privilege. Oh, labor for souls, my dear friends! I beseech you,
live to win souls. This is the best rampart against error, a ram-
part built of living stones — converted men and women. This
is the way to push back the advances of Popery, by imploring
the Lord to work conversions. I do not think that mere con-
troversial preaching will do much, though it must be used ; it is
grace-work we want; it is bringing you to Christ, it is getting
you to lay hold of him, — it is this which shall put the devil to a
nonplus and expand the kingdom of Christ. Oh that my God
would bring some of you to Jesus! If he is displeased with those
who would keep you back, then see how willing he is to receive
you. Is there in your soul any desire towards him? Come
and welcome, sinner, come. Do you feel now that you must
have Christ or die? Come and have him; he is to be had for
the asking. Has the Lord.taught you your need of Jesus? Ye
thirsty ones, come and drink; ye hungry ones, come and eat.
Yea, this is the proclamation of the gospel to-day, “ The Spirit
and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely.” Ido trust there may be encour-
agement in this to some of you. I pray my Master make you
feel it. Ifhe be angry with those who keep you back, then he
must be willing to receive you, glad to receive you; and if you
come to him he will in nowise cast you out. May the Lord add
his blessing on these words for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Peeeb readilySERMON III.

“THUS SAITH THE LORD;”

OR, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER WEIGHED IN THE BA.UANCES OF
THE SANCTUARY.

“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” — Ezek. xi. 6,

THE wise man saith,“ Where-the word of a king is, there is
power.” _What.power.mustthere be where there is the word of
the _King.of- kings, who ruleth over all! We are not left to con-
jecture as to the power of the divine word, for we know that
“ By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of his mouth.” Out of nothing-
ness the glorious creation leaped at the bidding of the Most High,
and when the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep, there was nothing wanted but that
solemn voice, “ Light be,” and straightway light was. God’s
word was sufficient in itself to build the temple of the universe,
and to finish it from its foundations to its pinnacles. ‘That
same word upholdeth by its power, and ruleth all things by its
might. The pillars of heaven stand because the divine word
hath fixed them upon their bases, nor shall they. be shaken until
that same almighty word shall bid them remove; then as a mo-
ment’s foam dissolves into the wave which bears it and is gone
forever, so’shall the whole creation melt away. His word, which
created, shall also destroy; but until that word be spoken every
atom of this world is imperishable. Consider, my brethren, what
power is concentrated in him who is clothed with a vesture56 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

dipped in blood, and whose name is “Tur Worp or Gop.”
With what glorious power.our Lord Jesus Christ uplifted the
burden of our sins, carried the load up to the tree, and cast it
forever into the Red Sea of his own atoning blood! Ye know
how he burst the bars of death, tore away the gates of the grave,
overthrew all the hosts of hell, and dragged the mightiest princi-
palities of darkness as captives at his chariot wheels. At this
day the government is upon his shoulders, and his name is the
Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Heaven and earth salute
him as the Omnipotent Word. He sustains the spiritual life of
all his people by feeding them upon himself; and he shall in due
time perfect his saints, and present them without spot before his
Father’s throne. We ought, therefore, to bow with reverence to
that which is truly the word of God, since it contains within
itself the highest degree of power, and is ever the way in which
divine omnipotence manifests itself.

It is in the word that we must find wisdom and power: “be-
cause the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weak-
ness of God is stronger than men.” The faintest whisper of Je-
hovah’s voice should fill us with a solemn awe, and command the
deepest obedience of our souls. Brethren, how careful should we
be that we do not set up in God’s temple anything in opposition
to his word, that we do not permit the teachings of a creature to
usurp the honor due to the Lord alone! “ Thus saith antiquity, ”
“thus saith authority,” “thus saith learning,” “thus saith expe-
rience,” — these be but idol-gods, which defile the temple of God :
be it yours and mine, as bold iconoclasts, to dash them in pieces
without mercy, seeing that they usurp the place of the word of God.

“ Thus saith the Lord” — this is the motto of our standard, the
war-cry of our spiritual conflict, — the sword with which we hope
yet to smite through the loins of the mighty who rise up against
God’s truth. Nothing shall stand before this weapon in the day

‘when God cometh out of his hiding-place ; for even at this hour,

when “Thus saith the Lord” sounds from the trumpet of the
Lord’s ministers, the hosts of Midian begin to tremble; for well
they know the might of that terrible watchword in days of yore,

GT Eeee CHAT initia tiataniis HEE“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” o7

This morning I shall first endeavor to show, briefly, the value
of a“ Thus saith the Lord ;” and then, secondly, I shall, with as
much calmness of spirit as I can command, request a “ Thus
saith the Lord” for certain things which are received and prac-
tised in the State Listablishment of our land, and close with a word
of personal application, beseeching you to seek a “Thus saith
the Lord” for any hopes which you may entertain of being par-
takers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

I. Ler us CONSIDER THE VALUE OF A “THUS SAITH THE
Lorp.”

1. Our first observation is that it is the minister’s message. If
he be God’s minister, he does not found his teaching upon his
own authority, for then his message would be only that of him-
self, and not to be esteemed; but he shows the authority of his
Master, and none can gainsay him. He claims men’s attention
on the ground that he utters a “ Thus saith the Lord.” Nomat-
ter how aged he may be, he does not proclaim the truth as
merely the result of his long investigations or his extraordinary
experience, but he grounds it upon “ Thus saith the Lord.” So
spake the hoary-headed Joshua when for many a year he had
known the faithfulness of God, and was about to die. He was
singing his swan-song, preaching his last sermon ; but he did not

oO
IF: 66

commence it, “ Thus saith my age,” “ Thus say I upon mine own
authority,” but “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel.” A God-
sent minister is the ambassador of the Most High, but he has no
right to go beyond his commission; and when he does so, his
office cannot yield him support. The prophets of God did not
say, ‘“ Thus I speak as a prophet,” but, “Thus saith the Lord.”
When the prophet came in Gideon’s days and spake to erring
Israel, he opened his mouth with, “Thus saith the Lord God
of Israel.” Turn to the pages of Isaiah, and mark how frequently
he quotes the divine authority ; study the plaintive words of
Jeremiah, and observe how solemnly his prophetic woes are pre-
faced with, “ Thus saith the Lord;” and the soaring Ezekiel, to
whom was given, as it were, six wings, that he might take more“THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

lofty flights than the eagle knoweth — even he relied not upon
the sublimity of his language or the glory of his imagery, but
found the sinews of his strength in “ Thus saith the Lord God.”
This is the trowel and this the hammer of God’s builders, — this
the trumpet of his watchmen and the sword of his warriors.
Woe to the man who comes in any other name! If we, or an
angel from heaven, shall preach unto you anything but a “ Thus
saith the Lord,” no matter what our character or standing, give
no heed to us, but cleave unto the truth as it isin Jesus. To
the law and to the testimony, if we speak not according to this
word, it is because there is no light in us. That test which we
demand to be exercised upon others we cheerfully consent to be
exercised upon ourselves, praying that we may have grace to
forsake our errors as we would have other men forsake theirs.

2. “Thus saith the Lord” 7s the only authority in Gods church.
When the tabernacle was pitched in the wilderness, what was the
authority for its length and breadth? Why was the altar of in-
cense to be placed here, and the brazen laver there? Why so
many lambs or bullocks to be offered on a certain day? Why
must the passover be roasted whole and not sodden? Simply
and only because God had shown all these things to Moses in
the holy mount; and thus had Jehovah spoken, “ Look that thou
make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the
mount.” It is even so in the church at the present day; true
servants of God demand to see for all church ordinances and
doctrines the express authority of the church’s only Teacher and
Lord. ‘They remember that the Lord Jesus bade the apostles to
teach believers to observe all things whatsoever he had com-
manded them ; but he neither gave to them nor to any man power
to alter his own commands. The Holy Ghost revealed much of
precious truth and holy precept by the apostles, and to his teach-
ing we would give earnest heed ; but when men cite the author-
ity of fathers and councils and bishops, we give place for sub-
jection” — no, not for an hour. They may quote Irenzus or
Cyprian, Augustine or Chrysostom ; they may remind us of the
dogmas of Luther or Calvin; they may find authority in Simeon,

PAUTULA TeeeeR AD ATUT TUL PLTTTANORETCUSET TL TAA TALE HATAARA AREA] eee“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 59

or Wesley, or Gill— we will listen to the opinions of those great
men with the respect which they deserve as men; but having so
done, we deny that we have anything to do with these men‘as
authorities in the church of God: ‘for there nothing has any au-
thority but “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts.” Yea, if you shall
bring us the concurrent consent of all tradition —if you shall
quote precedents venerable with fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen
centuries of antiquity — we burn the wholé as so much worthless
lumber, unless you put your finger upon the passage of Holy
Writ which warrants the matter to be of God. You may fur-
ther plead, in addition to all this venerable authority, the beauty
of the ceremony, and its usefulness to those who partake therein,
but this is all foreign to the point; for to the true church of God
the only question is this: Is there a “Thus saith the Lord” for
it? And if divine authority be not forthcoming, faithful men
thrust forth the intruder as the cunning craftiness of men.

3. “Thus saith the Lord” 2s the most fitting word of rebuke
for erring saints. God’s people when they err, if they be. re-
buked, even though it should be in the gentlest manner, are too
apt to resent the rebuff; but when we can come to them with
“Thus saith the Lord,” if there be a spark of spiritual life left,
it is sure to catch at this flame. When the man of God came to
Eli, how Eli’s heart trembled when he began, “Thus saith the
Lord,” and described to him the doom of his house, because his
sons had made themselves vile, and he had not restrained them.
David the king might have been moved to anger against Na-
than for that personal parable.and pungent application ; but his
anger was stayed, nay, better still, his heart was broken, because
the prophet could say, “Thus saith the Lord.” My dear breth-
ren in Christ, you-and I have often risen in anger at the intru-
sive proofs of ignorant men; but I hope we have far more often
felt the melting power of a “Thus saith the Lord.” When the
heart is right, the word of God sweetly melts us, as the breath
of the south wind melts the frozen rivers.

4. “Thus saith the Lord” 7s the only solid ground of comfort
to God’s people. Where can a child of God find true solace60 “THUS SAITH THE LORD”

 

apart from that which cometh out of the mouth of the Most High?
Truly, “Man doth not live by bread alone; but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God doth man live;” “Thy
words were found, and I did eat them;” “ How sweet are thy
words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth ! ”
When Nathan came to tell David of the covenant which the
Lord would make with him and his house, David would scarcely
have believed so great a mercy to be really his if the prophet
had not began with “Thus saith the Lord.” It was not “ Thus
saith Nathan,” or “Thus do the ancients say,” but “Thus saith
the Lord ;” and David’s heart was full of holy joy when he saw
the covenant to be ordered in all things and sure. When Heze-
kiah lay sick unto death, he turned his face to the wall and
prayed; but there was no comfort to the royal suppliant until
the prophet came with “Thus saith the Lord ;” and when Sen-
nacherib was about to besiege Jerusalem, and Lachish had fallen,
Hezekiah prayed, and the people with him ; but ch! they couid
not think it possible that there should be a hook put into the jaw of
the mighty Assyrian, and that he should be turned back by the
way in which he came, till the prophet reassured their hearts with

99

a “Thus saith the Lord.” Zion’s sons and daughters feast upon
the sure word of their faithful God. Brethren, I need not en-
large here, for I hope most of you know the preciousness of a
divine promise. There is nothing wanted to stay your soul in
your worst troubles but the Word of God applied with power.
God may not send you a friend; he may not raise up a deliverer ;
but if he shall only give you to believe his Word, that shall be
enough for you. Martin Luther said: “I have covenanted with
my Lord that he should not send me visions, or dreams, or even
angels. Jam content with this one gift of the Scriptures, which
abundantly teaches and supplies all that is necessary, both for
this life and that which is to come.” O Lord, only feed me on
thy Word, and I will not envy kings their delicacies, nor even
the angels around thy throne the bread of heaven on which they
live.

do. Yet again: “Thus saith the Lord” is that with which we

Rese ATTL LTTE RATER ALTAR ee“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 61

must confront the Lord’s enemies. When Moses went in before
Pharaoh, the words which he used were not, “The elders of
Israel have consulted, and thus have they bidden me say * NOt
“Our Father Abraham once said, and his words have been
handed to us by long tradition” — such talk would have been
readily resisted; but he confronted the haughty monarch with
“Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go;” and it was the power
of this divine word which rained plagues upon the fields of Zoan,
and brought forth the captives, with silver and gold. Pharaol-
might boast, “ Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?”
but ere long he knew that Jehovah’s word was mightier than all
the horsemen and chariots of Mizraim, aad was not to be resisted
without terrible defeat. To this day, if we would break sinners’
hearts; our hammer must be “ Thus saith the Lord;” and if we
would woo them to obedience to King Jesus, our reasons must
come from his own Word. TI have often noticed in conversion,
that, though sometimes a particular passage of the sermon may
be quoted by the converted verson as the means of enlighten-
ment, yet in the majority of cases it is the text, or some passage
of Seripture, quoted during the sermon, which is blessed to do
the work. McCheyne says, “ Depend upon it, it is God’s Word,
not our comment upon God’s Word, that saves souls ;” and so
it is. Let us use much of Scripture, much of the pure silver of
sacred revelation, and no human alloy. “ What is the chaff to
the wheat, saith the Lord?”

6. To close this point: Such an authority has a “ Thus saith
the Lord,” that zt 7s not to be despised without entailing upon the
offender the severest penalty. Samuel came to Saul with “ Thus
saith the Lord,” and bade him destroy the Amalekites. He was
utterly to cut them off, and not to spare so much as one of them.
But Saul saved the best of the cattle and the sheep, and brought
home Agag; and what was the result? His kingdom was taken
from him and given to a neighbor of his that was better than he;
and because he exalted himself beyond measure to do otherwise
than according to the letter of God’s command, he was put away
forever from having dominion over Israel. And mark this word:

6“THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

if any church in Christendom shall continue, after light is given
and after plain rebuke is uttered, to walk contrary to the word
of God, and to teach that which is inconsistent with Holy Scrip-
ture, as Saul was put away from the kingdom, so shall that
church be put away from before the Lord of Hosts; and if any
man, be he who he may, after receiving light from on high, con-
tinues wilfully to shut his eyes, he shall not, if an heir of heaven,
be rejected from eternal salvation, but he shall be cast off from
much of the usefulness and comfort which he might otherwise
have enjoyed. He knew his Master’s will, and did it not: he
shall be beaten with many stripes. He has been as the horse
or the mule which have no understanding, and his mouth shail
be held in with bit and bridle. Many sorrows shall be to those
who dare to dash themselves against the thick bosses of Jehovah’s
buckler by opposing his “'Thus saith the Lord.” Upon whom-
soever this stone shall fall, it shall grind him to powder; and
whosoever shall fall upon it shall be broken, to his own lasting
damage. O my brethren! I would that we trembled and stood
more in awe of God’s word. I fear me that many treat the
things of God as though they were merely matters of opinion,
but remember that opinion cannot govern in God’s house. God’s
word, not man’s opinion, claims your allegiance. Remember
that although our ignorant conscience may not accuse us of error,
yet if we walk contrary to God’s word, our consciextiousness
does not screen us from sin; for conscience is not the sovereign
arbiter of right and wrong, but the plain word of God is the
rule of equity. I do not sin so foully as if I sinned against my
conscience, but I still sin, if, having an unenlightened conscience,
J ignorantly transgress. But if I wilfully keep my conscience
in darkness, and continue in errors which I might easily know
to be such by a little thought and searching of God’s word, then
my conscience can offer me no excuse, for I am guilty of blind-
folding the guide which I have chosen, and then, knowing him
to be blindfolded, I am guilty of the folly of letting him lead me
into rebellion against God. O church of God! hear thou the
voice of thy great Founder and Lord: “ Whosoever, therefore,

MATE ee“THUS SAITH THE LORD” 63

shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
“ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to -him.”
Oh for a stern integrity, that will hold the word, and will never
depart from it, come what may. This much concerning the value
of a “ Thus saith the Lord.”

II. Dear friends, the second part of our subject may be very
displeasing to some who have strayed in here, but that I cannot
help. I do not remember ever asking any one to come and hear
me, and therefore, as you come of your own wills, when I have
any truth to speak, I shall not conceal it because you choose to
be present. At the present crisis, I feel that it is woe unto me
if I do not lift up my voice like a trumpet, and urge with all my
might the necessity of reformation in our State Church. I have,
moreover, an excellent excuse for the inquiry I am about to
make ; for as I am publicly charged with ignorance, it is at once
my duty and my privilege to seek instruction of those who claim
authority to teach. When one is known to be profoundly igno-
rant, and there are certain fathers in the faith who have the
power to instruct, the least thing that can be allowed us is to
ask questions, and the smallest boon we can expect is to have
them answered by men expressly ordained to instruct the igno-
rant.

The Rev. W. Goode, the Dean of Ripon, appears to be much
better acquainted with the extent of my reading and mental ac-
quirements than I am myself. He speaks with all the positive-
ness of a personal acquaintance concerning my reputed ignorance,
and for my own part I am not at all anxious to question so very
reverend an authority. He writes: “ As to that young minister
who is now raving against the Evangelical clergy on this point,
it is to be regretted that so much notice has been taken of his
railings. He is to be pitied, because his entire want of acquaint-
ance with theological literature leaves him utterly unfit for the64 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

determination of such a question ; which is a question, not of mere
doctrine, but of what may be ealled historical theology ; and his
charges are just a parallel to those which the Romanists would
bring against himself as well as others for the interpretation of
the words, ‘This is my body.’ But were he a wiser man than
he is, he would know better what his qualifications are for pass-
ing judgment on such a point, and be willing to learn from such
facts, among others, as the Gorham Judgment and the cases of
Mr. Maskell and Mr. Mozley, what ground there is for his
charges against the Evangelical clergy. Let him hold and
enforee his own view of doctrine as he pleases; but when he
undertakes to determine what is the exclusive meaning of the
Book of Common Prayer, and brings a charge of dishonesty
against those who take a different view of that meaning from
what he does, he only shows the presumptuous self-confidence
with which he is prepared to pronounce judgment upon matters
of which he is profoundly ignorant. To hold a controversy with
him upon the subject would be to as little purpose as to attempt
to hold a logically-constructed argument with a child unacquainted
with logical terms.”

When this paragraph caught my eye, my heart leaped with
joy, for I knew that the sinners in Zion were afraid; and I
thought I heard a voice crying from the Word, “ Not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty ; and base things
of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which are not, to pi:ng to naught things that
are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.” My mind flew
back to the valley of Elah, and I remembered the words of the
old record: “ And when the Philistine looked about, and saw
David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy,
and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David,
Am I a dog that thou-comest to me with staves? And the Phi-
listine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said te

LERERLL ELL“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 65

David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of
the air, and to the beasts of the field.” My spirit kindled at
these words of the boastful champion of yore, and at their modern
reproduction by the vainglorious divine of Ripon, and the answer
of David was in my heart as it is even now upon my tongue;
“Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with
a shield ; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This
day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand... .. that all the
earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this
assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and
spear ; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our
hands.” Admitting the witness of the venerable dean to be cor-
rect, and that “the young minister” is inexpert in logic, I am
not therefore ashamed ; far otherwise, I will the rather glory in
mine infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me; “for
when I am weak, then am I strong.” Take, O ye great ones
of the earth, every profit that can be made out of your belief in
my utter total ignorance, and your own profound and extensive
learning, and then go your ways, and learn what this meaneth:
“Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and
thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
Therefore shall evil come upon thee: thou shalt not know from
whence it riseth.* And now at this hour, having been con-
demned as intolerably ignorant, I feel I have the liberty to ask
just a few explanations of those reverend divines who do know
or ought to know the grounds of their faith and practice.

1. I open this little book, —the Prayer-Book, of whose occa-
sional services the more I know the less I approve, —and I
find in the Baptismal Service, that when little children are brought

 

to be sprinkled, certain godfathers and godmothers promise for
them that they shall renounce the devil and all his works, the
vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of
the same, ete., and that they shall obediently keep all God’s holy
will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of
their life. To me it seems that they might as well promise that
G*PH

“THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

the infants should grow up with Roman noses, auburn hair, and
blue eyes; for they are just as able to make them do the one as
the other. I shall not however intrude my opinion further, but
simply ask whether there is a “Thus saith the Lord ” for any
man’s standing proxy for a babe, and making such promises in
its name ? —in other words, I ask for apostolical, prophetic, or
any other form of scriptural precept, or precedent, for the use
of proxies in baptism. ‘True religion is a personal matter —is
its first manifestation in regeneration to be connected with the
impossible promises of others? Plain proof-texts are requested
for godfathers and godmothers; and such important persons
deserve to be defended by the clergy, if texts of Scripture can be
discovered. As I cannot imagine where the texts will be found,
I must pause till the learned shall produce them. Further, I
find that these children enter into a covenant by proxy, of which
we are assured that the promise our Lord Jesus will for hts part
most surely keep and perform; but the children are bound to
do their part — that part being something more than the gigantic
task of keeping all the commandments of God. Now I ask for
a “Thus saith the Lord” for such a covenant as this. I find
two covenants in the Word of God: one is the covenant of works,
“This do, and thou shalt:live ;” I find another, the covenant of
grace, which runs only in this wise, “I will be their God, and
they shall be my people.” I find it expressly declared that
there cannot be a mixture of works and grace; for, says Paul,
“If by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is
no more grace; but if it be of works, then is it no more grace:
otherwise work is no more work;” and I ask a “ Thus saith the
Lord” for this baptismal covenant, which is nominally of grace,
but really of works, or at best an unnatural conglomerate of
grace and works. I ask those who have searched Scripture
through, to find me the form or the command for any baptismal
covenant whatever. It is idle to say that such a covenant was
allowed among the early Christians; their witness is not early
enough for us: we want a “Thus saith the Lord,” and nothing
but this will justify this pretended covenant.

iF Hite e Rated F“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 67

We then find that after this covenant has been made, and the
water has been applied in a manner which we think needs also
a “ Thus saith the Lord.” to justify it, it is publicly declared that
the babe is regenerated, — “ Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren,
that this child is regenerated and grafted into the body of Christ’s
church, let us give thanks unto Almighty God for these benefits,
and with one accord make our prayers unto him, that this child
may lead the rest of his life according to this beginning.” And,
again, “ We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that
it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy
Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by adoption, and. to
incorporate him into thy holy church,” ete. We are told we do
not understand the meaning of “regeneration” as it is used in
the services of the Anglican Church. The meaning of this pas-
sage is historical, hypothetical, ecclesiastical, and we know not
what. The words “to be born again” did not formerly seem
to us to be so very difficult to understand, nor do they appear so
now as they stand in Scripture; for we find in them the one re-
generation which has renewed us in the spirit of our mind, and
we cannot consent to use those words in any other sense. Well,
whether regeneration be or be not a very equivocal word, we
simply ask, Is there a “Thus saith the Lord” for the assertion
that a sprinkled infant is therefore regenerate in any sense in
the world? Will any person find us a text of Scripture? — he
shall have large rewards from clergymen with uneasy con-
sciences! We put our inquiry again in plain terms, Will some
one oblige us with a plain “Thus saith the Lord” proving that
water baptism in any one instance makes an unconscious babe a
member of Christ and a child of God, in any sense which any
sane person chooses to attach to those words? Where is the
passage — where? cho answers “where?” But this subject

you have been considering for some time, and are well convinced
that the process of regenerating babies by occult influences con-
veyed by water is a pure — no, an impure — invention of priest-
craft. There is therefore no necessity that I enlarge upon a
point se well understood.68 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

9. Ihave a second question to ask. ‘There is prescribed im

the Book of Common Prayer a peculiar ceremony called con-

firmation. I do not remember to have read of that in Seripture.

I would like to have a “ Thus saith the Lord” for thatrite. As
I am ready to yield as far as possible, suppose we take it for
at this ceremony is defensible from Holy Writ, I would
like to know whether there is any “ Thus saith the Lord ” allow-
ing a person called a bishop to give to the assembled youths an
assurance of divine favor by laying his hands on their heads ?
The bishop having laid his hands on every head presented to
or graceless, talks thus in the Collect,

granted th

him, whether it be gracious
“ Almighty and everliving God, who makest us both to will and
to do those things that be good and acceptable unto thy divine
majesty, we make our humble supplications unto thee for
these thy servants upon whom (after the exanuple of thy holy apos-
tles) we have now laid our hands, to certify them (by this sign)
of thy favor and gracvous goodness towards them.” Does this
mean that the bishop’s hand certifies the person touched thereby
of special divine favor? So it seems to teach, as far as I can see.
Ve want, then, a “Thus saith the Lord,” authorizing this indi-
vidual in lawn to exercise the office of an apostle! We then
desire scriptural warrant permitting him to certify these kneel-
ing youths of the enjoyment or possession of any particular
divine favor by putting his hands on their heads. If this means
the common goodness of God, the bishop’s hands are not needed
to certify them of that; but as he has already declared in prayer
that they were regenerated by water and the Spirit, and had
been forgiven all their sins, it is clear that special favor is in-
tended ; we inquire, therefore, for his authority for giving these
young people a further certificate of special divine favor by the
imposition of his hands. Why fis hands? Who is he that he
ean certify these persons of God’s favor more than any other
man? Where is his scriptural warrant to confer by his hands a
certificate of grace upon young people who in innumerable cases
are thoughtless and unconverted, if not profane? We want a
“Thus saith the Lord” for the whole thing, and then for each

TAT“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 69

item in detail. Endless is the task thus proposed to the houest
Churchman.

3. Another matter needs a little clearing up ; and, as this Book
was set forth by learned divines and bishops, I would like a lucid
explanation. The priest visits a sick man, sits down by his bed-
side, reads certain prayers, bids the patient remember his baptism,
questions him as to his ereed, gives him good advice about for-
giving his enemies and making his will, moves him to make a
special confession of his sin if he feels his conscience troubled
with any weighty matter, after which confession the Rubric Says,
“ the priest shall absolve him” (if he humbly and heartily desire
it), after this sort. Here is the absolution, and I humbly and
heartily desire a “ Thus saith the Lord” for it: “Our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his church to absolve ail
sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of -his great mercy
forgive thee thine offences; and by his authority committed to me,
LT absolve thee from all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Sir Priest, I want you to give
me a plain warrant from God’s Word for your absolving my
dying neighbor at this rate. Who are you that you should use

uch words? The season is solemn: it is the hour of death, and
the matter is weighty, for it concerns the eternal interests of the
dying man, and may — nay, will, if you be found to be acting pre-
sumptuously in this matter — involve your own soul in eternal
ruin. Whence did you derive your right to forgive that sick
man? Might he not raise his withered hands and return the
compliment by absolving you? Aré you quite sure as to th
committal of divine authority to you? Then show me the deed of
git, and let it be clearly of divine origin. The apostles were
empowered to do many things; but who are you? Do you
claim to be their successors? Then work miracles similar to
theirs ; take up serpents, and drink deadly things without being
harmed thereby; prove to us that you have seen the Lord, or
even that cloven tongues of fire have sat upon each of you. You
evangelical clergy, dare you claim to be successors of the apostles,
and to have power to forgive sins? Your Puseyite brethren go70 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

the whole length of superstitious pretension; but you have too
much light to be so superstitious ; and yet you do what is quite
as wicked, — you sclemnly subscribe that this absolution is not
contrary to the Word of God when you knowit is? Gorham case,
say you. I care nothing for your Gorham case: I want a “Thus
saith the. Lord” warranting you to swear to what you know to
be false and dangerous. Mr. Mozley and Mr. Maskell may
give you all the comfort which they can afford; but one word of
Peter or of Paul would be of more weight in this matter than a
thousand words from either of them.

You are aware, perhaps, that it is not every man who is per-
mitted by the Established religion to pronounce this absolution.
A person called a “ deacon ” is, T am informed, allowed to preach
and do a great many things, but when he reads the Book of
Common Prayer in the daily service he must not grant absolution ;
there is a supernatural something which the man has not yet
received, for he has only once felt the episcopal imposition of
hands. We shall see, by-and-by, where absolving power comes
from. The deacon has attained to one grade of priestcraft, but
the full vigor of mystic influence rests not upon him. Another
touch, another subscription, and the keys of St. Peter will swing
at his girdle; but his time is not yet. I ask him, whether he
calls himself a deacon or a priest, where he gets a “ Thus saith
the Lord” for this absolution ? which, if it be not of God, isa
piece of impertinence, superstition, blasphemy, and falsehood.

4, I turn on and find that when the sick dies he is buried in
consecrated ground; and though he may have cut his throat while
under delirium tremens, if the jury do not return a verdict of
suicide, the priest shall say, as he casts earth upon the body,
“ Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy
to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here departed,
we therefore commit his body to the ground, — earth to earth,
ashes to ashes, dust to dust, —in sure and certain hope of the
resurrection to eternal life.” And again, ‘‘ We give thee hearty
thanks for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother
out of the miseries of this sinful world.” And yet again, “We“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 71

meekly beseech thee, O Father, to raise us from the death of sin
unto the life of righteousness; that when we shall depart this
life, we may rest in him, as our hope is this our brother doth.”
We beg a “Thus saith the Lord” for burying every baptized
thief, harlot, rogue, drunkard, and liar who may die in the par-
ish — “in sure and certain hope of the blessed resurrection.”
“Qh! it is commanded by authority.” What authority? We
challenge it, and permit none to pass muster but a “Thus saith
the Lord.” Until clergymen will bring us scriptural warrant
for uttering falsehoods over a grave, we dare not cease our testi-
mony against them. How long will the many godly laymen in
that Church remain quiet? Why do they not bestir themselves,
and demand revision or disruption ?

0. Turning a little further on, into a part of the Prayer-Book
not much frequented by ordinary readers, we come to the “ Or-
dering of Priests,” or the way in which priests are made. Why
priests? Is one believer more a priest than another, when all
are styled a royal priesthood? Let that pass. Of course, breth-
ren, the priests are made by the bishops, as the bishops are made
by Lord Palmerston, or Lord Derby, or any other political
leader who may be in office. The Prime Minister of England
is the true fountain from whom all bishops flow, and the priests
are minor emanations branching off from the mitre rather than
the crown. Here is the way of ordering priests. Let heaven
and earth hear this and be astonished: “When this prayer is
done, the bishop with the priests present shall lay their hands
severally upon the head of every one that receiveth the order of
priesthood ; the receivers humbly kneeling upon their knees, and
the bishop saying, ‘ Receive the Holy Ghost?” Listen to it,
now! ‘Think you behold the scene: a man of God, a bishop
‘whom you have been in the habit of considering a most gracious,
godly man, and such no doubt he may be, in a sort, —think you
see him putting his hands upon the head of some evangelical
man whom you will go and hear, or, if you like, upon some young
rake fresh from Oxford, — and think you hear him say, “ Receive

the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a priest in the churchG2 “ tHUS SAITH THE LORD.”

of God, now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands.
Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins
thou dost retain, they are retained.” We want a “ Thus saith the
Lord” for that; for that is putting it rather strongly in the popish
line, one would think. Is the way of ordering priests in the
Church of Rome much worse than this? ‘That the apostles did
confer the Holy Ghost, we never thought of denying; but that
Oxford, Exeter, or any other occupants of the bench can give
the Holy Spirit, needs some proof other than their silk aprons
or lawn sleeves can afford us. We ask, moreover, for one in-
stance in which an apostle conferred upon any minister the power
to forgive sins, and where it can be found in Scripture that any
man other than an apostle ever received authority to absolve
sinners. Sirs, let us say the truth; however much yonder priest
may pretend at his parishioner’s bedside to forgive sin, the man’s
sins are not forgiven; and the troubled conscience of the sinner
often bears witness to the fact, as the day of judgment and the
fearful hell of sinners must also bear witness. And what think
you, sirs, must be the curse that fills the mouth of damned souls,
when in another world they meet the priest who absolved them
with this sham absolution! With what reproaches will such de-
ceived ones meet the priest who sent them down to perdition with
a lie in their right hands! Will they not say to him, “Thou
didst forgive me all my sins by an authority committed unto thee,
and yet here am I cast into the pit of hell >” Oh! af D do not
clear my soul upon this infamous business, and if the whole
Christian church does not cleanse herself of it, what guilt will
lay upon us! This is become a crying evil, and a sin that is
not to be spoken of behind the door, nor to be handled in gentle
lancuage. I have been severe, it is said, and spoken harshly.
I do not believe it possible to be too severe in this matter; but,
sirs, if I have been so, let that be set down as my sin if you will;
but is there any comparison between my fault and that of men
who know this to be contrary to the Word of God, and yet give
it their unfeigned assent and consent? or the sin of those who
can lie unto the Holy Ghost, by pretending to confer Him who

LPAUSSRSHURAMORRSSASE TUT AOR RMO TAGS ERR Tag :“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” ho

bloweth where he listeth upon men who as likely as not are as
graceless as the very heathen? Fresh from the dissipations of
college-life, the sinner bows before the man in lawn, and rises a
full-blown. priest, fully able to remit or retain sins. After this,
how can the priests of the Church of England denounce the Ro-
man Catholics? It is so very easy to fume and bluster against
Puseyites and Papists; but the moment our charity begins at
home, and we give our Evangelical brethren the same benefit
which they confer upon the open Romanists, they are incensed
beyond measure. Yet will we tell them to their faces, that they,
despite their fair speeches, are as guilty as those whom they de-
nounce ; for there is as much Popery in this priest-making as in
any passage in the mass-book. Protestant England! wilt thou
long tolerate this blasphemy? Land of Wiclif, birthplace of

the martyrs of Smithfield, is this long to be borne with? Iam
clear of this matter before the Most High, or hope to be, ere I
sleep in the grave ; and having once sounded the trumpet, it
shall ring till my lips are dumb. Do you tell me it is no business
of mine? Is it not the ational Church ? — does not its sin rest,
therefore, upon every man and woman in the nation, Dissenter
and Churchman, who does not shake himself from it by open dis-
avowal? I am not meddling with anybody else’s church; but
the church that claims me as a parishioner would compel me, if

it could, to pay its church rates, and that does take from me

my share of tithe every year. I ask the sturdy Protestants of

England, and especially the laity of the Church of England,

whether they intend forever to foster such abominations? Arise,

Britannia ! nation of the free, and shake thy garments from the

dust of this hoary superstition; and as for thee, O Church of

England! may God bless thee with ministers who will sooner

come forth to poverty and shame than pervert or assist in per-

verting the Word of God.

6. I have not quite done: I have another question to ask.
Look.at the thanksgiving which is offered on the twentieth day of
June, on account of Her Majesty’s accession : in this thanksgiv-
ing we very heartily join, although we decline to pray by book

774 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

on the twentieth of June or any other day; look at the close of
that thanksgiving, and you see the name of Lord John Russell
as a sort of official authority for the prayer! Ys Earl Russell
also among the prophets? And on the other side of the page,

‘1 order that the Tories may edify the church as well as the

. Whigs, I see the hand of S. H. Walpole. Is he also a governor

in Christ’s church? Hath the Lord given these men power to
legislate for his church, or sign mandates for her to obey? But
what is it all about? “ Victoria Regina, our will and pleasure
is that these four forms of prayer,’ etc. Do you see? here is
royal supremacy! Furtuer on, in the next page: “ Wow, there-
fore, our will and pleasure is,” etc. .See the Preface to the Ar-
ticles,“ Being by God's Ordinance, according to our just Title,
Defender of the Faith, and Supreme Governor of the Church,
within these our Dominions ;” and again, “We are Supreme Gov-
ernor of the Church of England.” This is the way in which
your Church bows herself before the kingdoms of this world. I
demand, earnestly demand, a “Thus saith the Lord” for this
royal supremacy. If any king, or queen, or emperor shall say,
in any Christian church, “ Our will and pleasure is,” we reply,
“ We have another King, —one Jesus.” As to the Queen, hon-
ored and beloved as she is, she is by her sex incapacitated for
ruling in the church. Paul decides that point by his plain pre-
cept, “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over
the man, but to be in silence ;” and if a king were in the case,
we should say, “We render unto Cesar the things which are
Cesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” In civil
matters, we cheerfully obey princes and magistrates ; but if any
king, queen, emperor, or what not, usurps power in the church
of God, we reply, “ One is our Master, even Christ, and all we
are brethren. The crown-rights belong to King Jesus: he alone
is King in Zion.” But I am met at once with the reply, “ Well,
but Christ is the Head of the Established Church, as well as
the Queen.” I remember reading about a three-headed dog
which kept the gates of hell, but I never dreamed of a two-
headed church till I heard of the Anglican Etsablishment. A

r PTT RT
5 PRRSRR SESSA SLOARSURRMERT OTe Tag:“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” 79]

two-headed church is a monster! The Queen the Head of the
Church, and King Jesus the Head of the Church, too! Never.
Where is a “Thus saith the Lord” for this? No man living
who calls himself an Englishman has a’ word to say of Her
Majesty except that which is full of honor and esteem and
loyal affection ; but the moment we come to talk about the church
of Christ, whoever shall say, or think, or believe, that there is
any headship to the church of Christ except the person of Christ
himself, he knoweth not what he saith nor whereof he affirm-
eth. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head over all things to his
church, which is his body: the fulness of him filleth all in all.
Here stand the two letters “ V. R.” at the top of certain man-
dates, and they mean just this: “Our royal authority commands
that you shall not believe this, and you shall believe that; you
shall not pray: this, and you shall pray that; and you shall pray
on such a day,” and so on. The church which thus bows to
authority commits fornication with the kings of the earth, and vir-
tually renounces her allegiance to Christ to gain the filthy lucre
of state endowments. He is the freeman whom the truth makes
free, and who wears no gilded collar, with a chain hanging there-
from held in a royal hand. Remember how the Chancellor
laughed to scorn the whole bench of bishops, and rightly so ;
for he who voluntarily makes himself a bondman deserves to feel
the lash. May the little finger of our state grow heavier than
the loins of James or Elizabeth, until all good men flee from the
house of bondage. Servants of God, will ye be servants of man ?
Ye who profess to follow King Jesus and see him crowned with
the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his
' espousals, do you take off his diadem to put it upon the head of
another? No, it shall never be. Scotland has repelled the royal
intrusion right bravely by her sons of the Free Church, who have
left all to follow King Jesus. Her bush burned in the olden
times, but was not consumed; the covenant was stained with
blood, but it was never slain. Let us revive that covenant, and,
if need be, seal it with our blood. Let the Church of England
have what king she pleases, or what prince she pleases for her76 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

head; but this I know, that there is no “Thus saith the Lord ”
concerning the ecclesiastical supremacy of Victoria Regina, nor
the authority of Lord John Russell, or 8. H. Walpole, or any of
that company, honorable though they be.

Now once more: one other question. I am profoundly
ignorant, and have not the power to judge of these things (so am
I informed), and therefore I would like to ask for a “ Thus saith
the Lord” for a few of the canons ; —no, perhaps I had better
not read them; they are too bad, — they are full of all malice
and uncharitableness, and everything that cometh of the foul
fiend. I will ask whether there can be found any “ Thus saith
the Lord” for this: Canon 10. “ Maintainers of Schismat-
ics in the Ohurch of England to be censured. Whoever shall
hereafter ‘affirm that such ministers as refuse to subscribe to the
form and manner of God’s worship in the Church of England,
prescribed in the Communion-Book, and th ,eir adherents, may
truly take unto them the name of another church not established
by law, and dare presume to publish it, that this their pretended
church hath of long time groaned under the burden of certain
grievances imposed upon it, and upon the members thereof be-
fore mentioned, by the Church of England, and the orders and
constitutions therein by law established, let them be excommu-
nicated, and not restored until they repent and publicly revoke
such their wicked errors.” What Scripture warrants one church

93

to excommunicate another merely for being a church, and com-
plaining of undoubted grievances ?

Canon 11. “ Maintainers of Conventicles censured. Whoso-
ever shall hereafter affirm or maintain that there are within this
realm other meetings, assemblies, or congregations of the king’s
born subjects, than such as by the laws of this land are held and
allowed, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of
true and lawful churches, let him be excommunicated, and not
restored but by the Archbishop, after his repentance and public
revocation of such his wicked errors.” Where doth Holy Scrip-
ture authorize the excommunication of every good man who is
charitable enough to believe that there are other churches beside
his own? Search ye out of the Book of the Lord, and read !

EPSSANUAAECCEATTST ATIVE TTI TOGA Tag ee“THUS SAITH THE LORD.” Tag

For very much in this Book of Canons I beg to be informed
of a “ Thus saith the Lord.” For matters which do not concern
religion and have only to do with the mere arrangement of ser-
vice, we neither ask nor expect a divine precept ; but upon vital
points of doctrine, ceremony, or precept, we cannot do without it.
Scarcely can any document be more inconsistent with Scripture
than the Book of Canons, and hence it is ever kept in the back-
ground, because those who know anything about it must be
ashamed of it. And yet these are Canons of the Church of Eng-
land, — canons which are inconsistent, many of them, with even
the common rules of our own present enlightened law, let alone
the Word of God. We ask a “ Thus saith the Lord” for them,
and we wait until a “Thus saith the Lord” shall be found to
defend them.

Now some will say, why do I thus take this. matter up and look
into it? I have already told you the reason, dear friends.
There is an opportunity for pushing another Reformation given
to us just now, of which if we do not avail ourselves we shall be
very guilty.- Some have said, “Why not go on preaching the
gospel to smners?” I do preach the gospel to sinners, as ear-
nestly as ever I did in my life; and there are as many conver-
sions to God as at any former period. This is God’s work : and
beware lest any of you lift a finger against it. The hand of the
Lord is in this thing, and he that lives shall see it. Let us have
our prayers, that good may come of this controversy, even though
you may deplore it. As for anything else that you can do, it
shall not turn us a hair’s-breadth from this testimony to which we
feel God has called us, though it bringeth upon us every evil
that flesh would shrink from. The words of Dr. Guthrie are
well worth quoting here: “The servant is no better than his
master ; and I do believe, were we more true to God, more faith-
ful and honest in opposing the world for its good, we should get
less smoothly along the path of life, and have less reason to read
with apprehension these words of Jesus : ‘ Woe unto you when
all men shall speak well of you.’ Not less true than shrewd was
the remark of a Scotch woman respecting one who, just settled in
7#78 “THUS SAITH THE LORD.”

the ministry, had been borne to his pulpit amid the plaudits of
all the people: ‘If he is a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ, he will have all the blackguards in the parish on his head

999

before a month is gone.

III. Now, to close, let me say to you, my hearers, have any
of you a hope of heaven which will not stand the test of “Thus
saith the Lord?” What are you resting upon? Are you resting
upon something which you felt when excited at a prayer-meet-
ing or under a sermon? Remember you will not have that
excitement to bear you up in death, and the religion of excite-
ment will not suffice in the day of judgment. Are you building
upon your own works? Are you depending upon your own
feelings? Do you rely upon sacraments? Are you placing
your trust upon the word of man? If so, remember that when
God shakes all things he will shake these false foundations ; but
oh! build upon the Word of my Lord and Master; trust your
soul with Jesus. Hating sin, and clinging to the great sin-
bearer, you shall find in him a rock of refuge which can never,
never fail you; but I do conjure you, as the Lord liveth, search
and try yourselves by the Word of God. -No doubt there are
many among us who are not built upon the Rock of Ages, and
we may any of us be deceived by a mere name to live. Do,
then, since the test-day must come, —since you must be weighed in
the balances, — weigh yourselves now, my hearers ; and let none
of us go down to the chambers of destruction believing ourselves
to be heirs of heaven, being all the while enemies to the Most
High God. May the Lord exalt his own Word, and give us a
sure inheritance in the blessings which it brings. Amen.

TORRE UTE ETESERMON IV.

 

A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

“AND IT WAS SO, WHEN AHIJAH HEARD THE SOUND OF HER FEET, AS JHE CAME
IN AT THE DOOR, THAT HE SAID, COME IN, THOU WIFE OF JEROBCAM; WHY
FEIGNEST THOU THYSELF TO BE ANOTHER? FOR I AM SENT TO THEE WITH HEAVY
TIDINGS.” — 1 Kings xiv. 6.

AutJaH the prophet was blind. Did I not tell you this morn-
ing that God’s servants could be happy without the light of the
sun? If God should be pleased to deprive their natural eyes of
the pleasures of light, their souls would not be without Joy > for,
as in the New Jerusalem, so in the renewed heart, “the glory
of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
Doubtless this was the case with that venerable prophet. He
was not like Moses, whose eye did not wax dim, and whose nat-
ural strength did not abate; but his eyes were set with age ; the
organs of vision had so decayed through the multitude of his
years, that he could not see so much as a ray of light. Yet
doubtless when he could not look out of the windows, God looked
in; and when there was no beam coming in from the sun, much
light was darted in from heaven. What man of modern times
saw more than blind Milton? It were well for us to feel the
influence of that “drop serene,” and close our eyes forever, if
we could but see such visions of God as Milton has penned in
his Paradise Lost, and Paradise Regained. Here is a fine pic-
ture for you. Behold the venerable prophet sitting alone in his
humble cottage ; and yet not alone, because his God is with him.
Blind, but yet in the highest sense a seer, looking into the invis-PAAVATANAISCRTSSSSATATORTTCRESST ATTA AT Aah Rate

  

80 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

ible, and by faith beholding things which we blind men who have
our sight can never see; beholding what eye hath not seen, and
hearing what ear hath never heard. This, then, may furnish a
word of comfort at the outset to any who are suffering under
infirmity: Jesus can recompense you. You are not the only
persons who have been called so to suffer: full many of your
humble guild——the company of the blind—have been gifted
with spiritual sight. If you have lost hearing, or the use of any
of the members of your body, remember that no strange thing
has happened to you, but such as is common to man. ‘There is
a way by which, in proportion as your tribulations abound, so
your consolations may abound through Jesus Christ. Nay, these
very privations which you feel so sadly, which so loudly demand
our sympathy, may by God’s love be transmuted into mercies, by
a holy alchemy which really turns iron into gold. He can turn
your losses into gains, and your curses into blessings.

Mark well this venerable prophet—a man so old as to have
survived the senses which give life its charm: is it not time for
him to die? Has he not outlived his usefulness when he is made
entirely dependent upon his feliow-creatures, and a burden to
himself? Why does not the prophet’s Master send a convoy of
angels to take the good man home? There he sits, without any
apparent perception of the scenes transpiring around him ; surely,
surely itis time for the Master to call himaway! But no, he does
not. Ahijah must not die; he has another message to deliver,

nd he is immortal till his work is done. I have no doubt he
sweetly slept after he had delivered his last message, but not till
then. Brethren and sisters, you and I have no right to want to
go to heaven till our work is done. There is a desire to be with
Christ which is not only natural but spiritual; there is a sighing
to behold his tace, which, if a man be without, I shall question if
he be a Christian at, all; but to wish to be away from the battle
before we win the victory, and to desire to leave the field before
the day is over, were but lazy and listless ; therefore let us pray
God to save us from it. Whitefield and a company of ministers
were talking together and expressing their desire to go to heaven.A HEARER IN DISGUISE. 81

Good Mr. Tennant was the only man who differed from them.
He said he did not wish to die ; and he thought thatif his brother
Whitefield would but consider for a time, he would not wish to be
gone either; for, he said, if you hire a man to doa day’s work,
and he is saying all the day, “I wish it were evening ; I wish it
were time to go home,” you would think, “ What a lazy fellow
he is ;” and you would wish you had never engaged him. “So,”
he said, “I am afraid it is nothing but our idleness that often
prompts us to desire to be away from our work.” If there bea
soul to win, let me stop until I have won it. Truly, some of us
might summon up courage enough to say, “I would fain barter
heaven for the glory of ,Christ, and not only wait twenty years
out of heaven if I may have twenty years of glorifying him the
better, but wait out altogether if I may outside heaven sing to
him sweeter songs, and honor him more than I can inside its
walls ; for outside heaven shall be heaven to me if it shall help
me to glorify my Lord and Master the better.” You have heard,
I dare say, that anecdote of good Mr. Whitefield, in his early
ministry, lying down, as he thought, to die, in a high fever, and
a poor negro woman sitting by his side and tending him. In his
sad moments, Whitefield thought of dying; but the black woman
said, “ No, Master Whitefield, you are not to die yet: there are
thousands of souls to bring to Christ ; so keep up your spirits, for
you must live, and not die; your Master has yet a work for
you to do.” All this comes to my mind as I think of that ven-
erable old prophet, sitting in his chair, waiting until he shall
have spoken to Jeroboam’s wife ; and then after that ascending
to his Father and his God — but not until his work was done.

We have introduced to you Ahijah, the venerable prophet.
We must now address you upon an incident connected with his
closing ministry.

In our text we have before us an occasional hearer ; secondly,
we observe a useless disguise; and thirdly, we listen to heavy
tidings.

I. We have before us, first of all, raz OCCASIONAL HEARER.Peeeaaey

82 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

Jeroboam and his wife did not often go to hear Ahijah. They
were not people who went to ‘worship Jehovah; they neither
feared God nor regarded his prophet. There may be some such
here to-night. You do not often come to a place of worship. I
am glad you are hear now. It may be my Master has sent me
with tidings for you. Give earnest heed, I pray you, that the
tidings may be received and blessed. I am sometimes tired of
preaching to those who hear me every Sunday, for I fear some
of them never will be saved. They get hardened by the gospel ;
all the blows of the hammer have only tended to weld their
hearts to their sins, and make them harder, instead of melting
them. May God grant, however, that my fears may be removed,
and that some who have long resisted the wooings of the gospel
may yet yield. I have more hope of you, occasional hearers; I
know that when my Master has helped me to cast the net on the
right side of the ship, I have taken some of you. There are
amongst those numbered with us some of the best in the church,
and the most useful men in our society, who were brought in by
dropping into the place just as stray hearers — passing by, per-
haps, or coming out of curiosity ; but God knew who they were,
knew how to adapt the sermon to the case, and affect the heart
with the Word. Now, here was an occasional hearer; and we
make the observation that thzs occasional hearer was totally des-
titute of all true piety. Most occasional hearers are. ‘Those who
have true religion are not occasional hearers. You will find that
truly gracious persons are diligent in the use of the means, In-
stead of thinking it a toil to come up to the place of worship, I
know there are some of you who wish there were two Sundays
in the week; and the happiest times you ever have are when
you are sitting in these seats and joining in our sacred songs.

“Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love.”

There is no verse which gives you a better idea of heaven as a
place than that —

““Where congregations ne’er break up,
And Sabbaths have ne end.”A HEARER IN DISGUISE. 83

Gracious souls love the place where God’s honor dwelleth, and
the assembling of themselves together is always a blessed thing
to them ; but occasional hearers are generally graceless persons.
I know how you spend your Sunday. There is the morning :
you are not up very early; it takes a long time to dress ona
Sunday morning ; then follows the Sunday paper, with the news
of the week, —that must be gone through. The wife has been
toiling hard all the morning with the dinner ; what do you care ?
Then there is the afternoon, when there is a little more lolling
about. Then in the evening, there is the walk. But the day,
after all, is not very happy and comfortable ; and sometimes you
have wished there were no Sundays, except that they give your
body a little rest. You do not fear God, nor do you care for his
service. Nevertheless I am glad you have come here to-night ;
for—who can tell? —my Lord, who found out Jeroboam’s wife,
can find you out; and though it is many a day since you dark-
ened the walls of God’s sanctuary, this shall be the beginning
of many such days to you; and — who can tell ? — this may be
your new birth night, when you shall turn over a new leaf; nay,
not turn over a new leaf, but get a new book altogether, and
find your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. |
The second remark about these occasional hearers is, that
when they do come, they very generally come because they are in
trouble. When Jeroboam’s wife came and spoke to the prophet,
it was because the dear child was ill at home. I know some
occasional hearers who go to a place of worship as people £0 10
a chemist’s shop; that is, when they want something, because
they do not feel quite right. Yes, your child is very sick. You
have been watching all day, and you have thought, “I cannot
stand it any longer: I will just walk out and go to a place of
worship to-night ; I want something to cheer me.” ‘You have
had such trials lately that your wife said to you, “ John, we must
not keep on in this way any longer. It is clear all we do ends
without any prosperity. We put our money into a bag which
is full of holes. We spend it for that which is not bread. . We
labor for that which doth not profit.” So you have come here84 A HWEARER IN DISGUISE.

to see if the Lord may have a word of comfort thrcugh his ser=
I can only say you are very welcome

vant who speaks to you.
We are as glad to see you

to come in, thou wife of Jeroboam.
as though you always came ; and we do hope that this sorrowful
affliction may be overruled by God for your lasting good. ‘There
are persons who profess to be atheists; but t
very deep. Addison tells us of a man who, on board ship in a
storm, knelt down to pray, and expressed his firm belief in a
God. When he got ashore some one laughed at him for it, and

heir atheism is not

he challenged the man to a duel. They fought together, and the
atheist fell wounded. When the blood was flowing he believed
there was a God, and he began to ery to God with all his might
to save him. The physician bound up the wound. ‘The man
put the question to lim, “Is a ,mortale No,”. he says;
“it is only a flesh wound.” Then said the man, “ There is no
God; Iam a thorough atheist.” He believed in God when he
thought he was going to die; the moment he felt himself better,
he returned to his unbelief. A  pretty,religion that to live in,
and a pretty religion to die with! Your absence from God’s
house will do very well when things go well with you ; you can
go out with a young wife to dissipate in frivolity hours which
should be sacred to worship ; but when sickness shall come, —
when affliction shall fall heavily upon you, — when you have trial
after trial, and you yourself begin to get gray with many cares,
and feeble and helpless with many years ; and death comes near
and casts his pale shadow across your cheek; and strange
thoughts, oblivious of all around, come over you by day; and
singular dreams, which throw you into the company of the long
since dead, surprise you by night; and fears and frights, and
signs and calls, and bodings of imagination, prove the wander-
ings and weakness of your brain, — then, but possibly not till
then, you think of going to the house of God. I am glad, there-
fore, if this trouble has visited you early, or ever “the grinders
cease because they are few, and those that look out of the win-
dows be darkened ;” and I am very glad that you have come toA HEARER IN DISGUISE. 85

the house of God. Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; for I bear
thee tidings from the God of heaven to-night.

There is a third point, — this woman would not have come but
that her husband sent her, on the ground that he had heard Ahijah
preach before. It was this prophet who took Jeroboam’s mantle
and rent it in pieces, and told him he was to be king over the
ten tribes. That message proved true; therefore Jeroboam had
confidence in Ahijah. There are some of you who at times used
to hear the gospel: you have not been of late; but there were
seasons when you did come up to God’s house — ay, and times
when you used to tremble under God’s Word. If I am not
mistaken, there are men and women here to-night who once
were conscience-stricken ; the Word of God used to come home
to you with exceeding great power, and make you tremble. Did
you not even profess faith in Christ? Why! some of you were
very busy at revival meetings, trying to bring others to the
Saviour. But your religion was like smoke out of the chimney :
it has all blown away; like early mist it was soon scattered
when the sun had risen. Yet the remembrance of these things
sticks by you now: you cannot help it; you feel there must be
something in religion. The old stings which were in your con-
science have not been quite extracted; therefore at the present
moment you: are quite willing to listen to the Word; perhaps
even hoping that it may come with true power now, and that
you may after all be saved. I wish I could wake the echoes of
the slumbering consciences of some of you! Oh that I could
recall the days of your youth, the times of your boyhood and
girlhood, when you went up to the assembly of the saints to
keep holy day! Those things you cannot quite forget. J pray
that such remembrances may often turn your feet towards the
place of worship.

We have brought out three points of character, — they were
persons of no prety ; in trouble they sought the prophet ; and they
had confidence'in him because they had heard him preach before.
But there is one more point,— they had one godly member of theur
family, and that brought them to see the prophet. Their child was

8reas

86 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

sick and ill, and it was that which led them to inquire at the
hands of the Lord. I hope there is no family here which has
the misfortune to be without a believer in it. You, man, have
no fear of God; but, strange to say, the Lord has taken one out
of your family to be a witness for him. That daughter of yours,
— you sometimes jeer at her, but you know you value her. You
used to send her to the Sunday-school just to get rid of her; but
the Lord met with her: and what a comfort she has been to
you ! how glad she has made your heart, though you do not tell
her so! Perhaps the godly one in the family is like this young
Ahijah in the text: he is sick, and near to die. You can recollect,
though you do not fear God, how the darling boy was sick ; how
you sat by his little bed, and took his hand in yours, when it
was scarcely anything but skin and bone; how he prayed for
you at night that God would save father and mother, and take
them to heaven ; and how, just as he died, he looked out on you
with those bright eyes, so soon to be filmed in death, and said
“ Father, will you not follow me?” Since that time you have
often felt that something is beckoning you up yonder ; and though
you have gone on forsaking God and despising holy things, yet
still there is a little link between you and heaven which is not
snapped yet, and you sometimes feel it tugging at your heart.
I pray God it may tug so hard to-night that your heart may go
up to God and lay hold of Jesus the Saviour of sinners. What
Joy it causes me to think that God does call one out of a godless
household! because where there is one there is sure to be another
before long. It is like putting a light into the midst of stubble:
there will soon be a blaze. I have hope of a family when one
child is converted; for grace is like precious ointment: it spreads
a perfume all around. When a box of fragrant spice is put into
a room, the perfume soon fills the entire chamber, then creeps
silently up the stairs into the upper rooms, and ceases not its
work until it has filled the whole house. So when there is true
grace in a house, the Holy Spirit blesses its hallowed power, till
even the lodgers and family acquaintances begin to feel the ine
fluence of it. Is it your one praying child that has brought youA HEARER IN DISGUISE.

here to-night? May God grant that he may be the means of
bringing you to heaven as well.

But there is one sad reflection which should alarm the occas
sional hearer. Though Jeroboam’s wife did come to the prophet
that once, and heard tidings, yet she and her husband perished,
after all. Oh! if there were a register kept of the many
thousands who come inside the Tabernacle gates and listen to
our voice, I am afraid, I am sadly afraid it would be found
that there were many who did hear the tidings, and did tremble
at them, too, who nevertheless contemned the counsels of the
Most High, turned not at his rebuke, went on in their sin, and
perished without hope. Shall it be so with any of you? Are
you to be fagots in hell? Will you make your bed among the
flames? My hearers, will you die without God and without
hope? Will you leap into the black unknown, with no bright
promise of the Saviour to cheer you in the thick darkness?
May God prevent it! May he be pleased to bring you to Christ,
the rock of your salvation, that you may depend upon him with
your whole heart.

While thus speaking about the occasional hearer, an idea
haunts my mind that I have been drawing somebody’s portrait.
I think there are some here who have had their character and
conduct sketched out quite accurately enough for them to know
who is meant. Do remember that if the description fits you, it
is meant for you; and if you yourself have been described, do
not look about among your neighbors, and say, “I think this is
like somebody else.” If it is like you, take it home to yourself,
and God send it into the centre of your conscience,.so that you
cannot get rid of it.

II. Our second consideration is the USELESS DISGUISE.
Jeroboam’s wife thought to herself, “ If I go to see Ahijah, as
he knows. me to be the wife of Jeroboam, he is sure to speak
angrily, and give me very bad news.” Strange to tell, though
the poor old gentleman was blind, she thought it necessary toe
put on a disguise. So she doffed her best garment, and put onA HEARER IN DISGUISE.

a country-woman’s russet gown, and away she went. She left
the sceptre and crown behind, and tock a basket, as though she
had just come from market. In this basket she did not put gold,
jewels, and silver, but a present such as a farmer’s wife might
bring; there were loaves and cracknels and a cruse of honey.
And as she went along, she thought, “The old gentleman will
not know me.” She travelled through her own dominions, and
nobody knew her; she went into the neighboring dominions of
Judah as far as Shiloh; and she pleased her imagination with
the thought, “ How I shall deceive him! I will ask him a ques-
tion, as if I were a ploughman’s wife. He will not know who I
am; he will be pleased with my present, and prophesy soft things
concerning my child.” How great was her surprise! No sconer
did the blind prophet hear her footsteps than he said, “ Come
in, thou wife of Jeroboam. Why feignest thou thyself to be an-
other? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings?” How she
started back with astonishment! She had deceived hundreds
who were blessed with eyes; but here was a man who could not
be deceived, but found her out before she had opened her lips,
and recognized her before she had time to test her sorry artifice,
or tell her subtle tale — “ Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam.”

I do not suppose there is anybody comes here disguised as to
dress to-night, though such things may happen. ‘The working-
man, who is afraid he shall be laughed at if he be known, may
come here in disguise. Now and then a clergyman may come
in, who would not be very comfortable in his conscience if it
were known he did such a thing, and so he does not show him-
self exactly in his wonted garb. Notwithstanding, whoever you
may be, disguised or not, it is of no use where God’s gospel is
preached. It is a quick discerner, and will find out the thoughts
and intents of the heart. It will search you out and unmask
your true character, disguise yourself as you may. Many who
come to God’s house are not disguised in dress, but still disguised
in manner and appearance. How good you all look! When we
sing, and you take your books, how heavenly-minded! and
when we pray, how reverent you are! Mow your heads are allA HEARER IN DISGUISE.

bowed ! — your eyes covered with your hands! Ido not know
what you all say in your hearts when you come in, and Ishould not
like to know. Ido not know how much praying there is when
you sit in a devout posture, though you assume the attitude and
compose your countenance as those who draw near to supplicate
the Lord. I am afraid there are many of you who do not pray
a word or present a petition, though you assume the posture of
suppliants. When the singing is going on, there are many who
never sing a word with the spirit and the understanding. In the
house of God I am afraid there are many who wear a mask:
stand as God’s people stand, sit as they sit, pray as they pray,
and sing as they sing, and all the while what are you doing ?
Some of you have been attending to your children while we have
been singing to-night. Some of you have been casting up your
ledger, attending to your farms, scheming about your carpenter-
ing and bricklaying ; yet all the while if we had looked into
your faces we might have thought you were reverently worship-
ping God. Oh! those solemn faces and those reverent looks —
they do not deceive the Most High God. He knows who and
what you are. As you are in his house, he sees you as clearly
as men see through glass. As for hiding from the Almighty,
how can you hide yourself from him? As well attempt to hide
in a glass case; for all the world is a glass case before God.
When you look into a glass beehive, you can see the bees, and
everything they do: such is this world, a sort of glass beehive.
in which God can see everything. The eyes of God are on you
continually : no veil of hypocrisy can screen you from him.
There may be some among you who occasionally sit here, some
members of this church, who after all may feign to be other than
they are. It is a melancholy and a most solemn reflection that
there are many who profess to be Christians who are not Chris-
tians. There was a Judas among the twelve; there was a
Demas among the early diseiples ; and we must always expect
to find chaff on God’s floor mingled with the wheat. I have
tried, the Lord knows, to preach as plainly and as much home
to the mark as I could, to sift and try you; but for all that the
geeee

90 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

hypocrite will come in. After the most searching ministry, there
are still some who will wrap themselves about with a mantle of
deception. ‘Though we cry aloud and spare not, and bid you
lay hold on eternal life, yet, alas! how many are content with a
mere name to live, and are dead! Many come here, and even
hold office in the church, yea, the minister himself may even
preach the Word, and after all be hollow and empty. How
many, who dress and look fair outside, are, as John Bunyan said,
only fit to be tinder for the devil’s tinder-box! for they are all
dry and sere within. God save us from a profession if it be not
real. I pray that we may know the worst of our case. If I
must be damned, I would sooner go to hell unholy than as a
hypocrite; that back door to the pit is the thing I dread most of
all. Oh! to sit at the Lord’s table, and to drink of the cup of
devils! to be recognized among God’s own here, and then to
find one’s own name left out when he reads the muster-roll of
his servants !— oh! what a portion for eternity! I bid you tear
off this mask; and if the grace of God is not in you, I pray you
go into the world, where will be your fitting place, and abstain
from joining the church, if you are not really a member of the
body of Christ. You see why I urge this: because no dressing
up, however neatly it may be done, can conceal us from God.
Oh! how some who have been fair on earth have been startled
when they thought they were going into heaven! They had
their foot almost on the doorstep, but the angel came and said,
“Get thee gone, thou wife of Jeroboam! I know thee whom
thou art. ‘Thou couldst deceive the minister ; thou couldst deceive
the deacons; thou couldst get baptized and join the church ; but
thou canst not enter here. Get thee gone! thy portion is with
the filthy in the pit of hell.” Oh, may he never say this to you
and me ! but may we all be so real here that he may say, “ Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world.” “Thou, God, seest me!”
Write that on the palm of thy hand, and look at it; wake up in
the morning with it; sleep with it before you on your curtains,
“Thou, God, seest me ! ”A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

“Oh may this thought possess my breast,
Where’er I rove, where’er I rest;
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there! ”

III. Now we come to a close with a few words upon the
HEAVY TIDINGS.

The woman stood amazed as the prophet proceeded_to expose
the iniquity of her husband’s house, the certain judgment which
God would execute, and the terrible diserace with which the
name of Jeroboam should be execrated, because they had re-
volted from God and set up for themselves the calves of Baal.
As for the child, respecting whom she had come to inquire, he
Should die. That death was the quenching of a bright spark in
the heart of the parents, but none the less a mercy for the youth.
“ All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him; for he only of
Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found
some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel in the house of
Jeroboam.” Let me linger on this part of the narrative a moment.
In that wicked house there was one bright gem upon which the
Lord put a high value, —the lad was taken from the evil to
come. ‘The kindness of the Lord appeared in his death, while
all the judgments were reserved for his father’s family Do I
not speak to some of you, ungodly persons, who have lost your
little children, and while you wept bitter tears as you carried
them to the grave, ‘you said, “ Well, he is better off;” or, “she
sleeps in Jesus ”? Did you never think, that, as for you, ye are
worse off? Ye have no hope, and are living without God in the
world. Let us picture Jeroboam and his wife at the tent of
their son Ahijah. There was everything to cheer the heart as
to him who had departed; but everything to fill the soul with
gloom concerning those who remained. The like has been the
case at the funerals of your gracious little ones. We need shed
no tears over the bier. Let us keep our lamentations for the
mourners who attend the funeral. Ah! but ye may make the
reflections all your own. You, too, have been without the gates
of the city to carry your offspring to the spot in God’s acre92 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

where they now slumber. Did you think in that mournful hour
that the first fruits of your household was holy unto the Lord?
We never cease to wonder that the young should die. Yet it
has ever been so; and well indeed can I believe that mercy of
a sweet-smelling savor is to be found in those dispensations of
God’s providence which so often darken the windows of our
heart, and wither the fairest buds in our garden. ,Where of old
did death strike its first dart? Did it pierce the heart of Adam
the sinner, or smite down the relentless Cain? Nay, but right-
eous Abel was the first of men who departed from earth, to be
absent from the body and present with the Lord. Even so have
ye, full many of you, committed your children to the dust, in an
assured hope for them, according to the Word of the Lord, —~a
hope which ye cannot cherish for yourselves. O sinners! be
chary of your tears, your sighs, and your groans ; pour them not
out with such profuseness as a libation at the graves of those
who sleep in Jesus and are blest: ye will need them all for
your own souls presently. Take ye up a lamentation for your
own doom. Except ye repent, your funerals, O ungodly ones !
will call for shrill notes of endless despair.

Let me pause. I have glad tidings to preach to’ some of you
before I yet again deliver these heavy tidings to those who
despise the Word.

Is there one soul here that desires to be saved? Sinner, I
have glad tidings for thee. Here are the words: “ Whosoever
will, let him come and take of the water of life freely.” Though
thou hast been a drunkard or a swearer, though thou hast been
a whoremonger or a thief, yet there is salvation for any man
who comes to Jesus Christ for it. And if the Spirit of God
moves thee to come now —

“Let not conscience make you linger;
Nor of fitness fondly dream:
All the fitness he requireth,
Is to feel your need of him;
This he gives you;
’Tis his Spirit’s rising beam.”A HEARER IN DISGUISE. 93

‘Chou sayest, “ How can I go to Christ?” It is no ereat effort ;
it is, in fact, the absence of all effert. Thou hast not to climb to
heaven to reach him, nor to travel to the ends of the earth to find
him; never doubt, if the Holy Spirit le with thee, thou mayst
find him to-night. The way to be saved is simply to trust Christ.
Jesus Christ took the guilt of his people, and carried it himself.
if thou trustest him, thou shalt have peace, for Jesus took thy
sin. An old servant was once carrying a large bough of a tree
to have it cut into pieces to make a fire. <A little boy, one of
the family, seeing the end of it dragging along the ground and
making it very heavy, came and took hold of the end, and the
burden grew light. Then said the servant, “ Ah ! Master Frank,
I wish you could take hold of one end of the greater burden
that I have to carry: I have a burden of sin; the more I drag
it about, the heavier it becomes. I wish Jesus Christ would take
hold of one end of it.” The little boy said, ‘‘ My mother told
me, yesterday, that Jesus Christ carries all our sins ; therefore
you do not want Jesus Christ to drag one end of it: he will take
the whole of it.” The poor woman, who had been long seeking
rest, found it by that remark of the child. Yes, Jesus does take
your sins. If thou trustest Christ, this is the evidence that all
thy sins are laid on him.
‘* Sinner, nothing do,

Either great or small;

Jesus did it, did it all,

Long, long ago.”

Thy salvation is finished by Christ if thou believest. Not
only the first strokes, but the finishing touch Christ has given.
The bath thou shalt wash in, he has filled it; the robe thou shalt
wear, he has woven it ; the crown thou shalt wear, he has bought
it; the heaven thou shalt inhabit, he has prepared it. “It is
finished!” All thou hast to do is to wear it. Take it and wear
it. Accept it as a gift of his free grace. May God bring thee
into such a mind that thou mayst be willing to receive it. And
if thou art willing so to receive it, take it, take it, and go thy
way rejoicing.. Thus you see I bring good tidings to seekers.94 A HEARER IN DISGUISE.

But I have a heavy message for some of you. Let me de-
liver it as in the sight of God, with deep solemnity of purpose.
Sinner, unrepenting sinner, I have heavy tidings for thee. Thou
art now under God’s wrath. The wrath of God abideth on thee.
It is not as though a tempest hovered in the sky: it has gathered
round thy devoted head! “ God is angry with the wicked every
day.” Sinner, God has bent his bow and made it ready, and
fitted his arrow to the string, and he has pointed it at you. He
has furbished his sword and made it sharp, and it is sharp for
you. O barren fig-tree! the axe is laid at thy root! God even
now looks upon thee with anger as thou dost offend against him
and sin with a high hand. Turn thee! turn thee! for it is either
turn or burn! and God give thee to turn, lest thou burn forever.
I have worse tidings still, as thou wilt think. There is speedy
death for thee. I know not how long you may live; but out of
this vast assembly there is every probability that one or two of
us will be in eternity before next Sunday. You can calculate
that as well as I can. There is a certain number of deaths in
the population every week. Here are several thousands gathered
here — some six or seven thousand immortal souls — and we may
die ; but there are some of us who must die. It is rarely a week
passes without a death of some one in this church, much more
in the congregation. I suppose I never did address the same
assembly twice, and never shall; and though you were all will-
ing to come next Sunday, yet there would be some of you who
could not come, because you will have appeared at the bar of
God. Prepare to meet your God. There is no cholera abroad;
but death has other weapons. The fever sleeps; but the gates
to the grave are many, and you may pass through one of them
before ever you are aware of it. Prepare! prepare! because
he will do this. “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!” I
have heavy tidings for some of you. I give you warning to set
your house in order, for you must die and not live. I speak now
prophetically of some here present. Let them take heed unto
their ways, lest the day of grace pass, and they die ere they have
thought of Christ.A HEARER IN DISGUISE. 95

I have heavier tidings still. After death, the judgment.
First comes the skeleton king; and then hell followeth him.
Ob! is it true that some of us may be in hell before another
week? True, alas! too true! I do conjure you, then, since
there is this possibility ; nay, since there is an absolute certainty
that ere long, except we repent, we shall all likewise perish, —
I do conjure you think upon your eternal state. By the wrath
of God, and by the love of God; by your own soul, and by the
value of it; by heaven and its joys, which you will lose; by
hell and its torments, which you must endure ; by the blood of
Jesus ; by the groans and sweat of that Redeemer who delights
to receive sinners, and who declares that any who come to him
he will in nowise cast out, —I pray you, as your brother and
your friend, fly, fly, fly to Jesus! May the Lord help you to
trust him now. There, just as you are, flat before the cross,
sinner ; no stopping, no waiting, no preparing ; come to Jesus all in
your dishabille all black and filthy —just as you are. “Mercy’s
gate is never shut, Jesus’ heart is never hard.” His blood shall
never lose its power. Do thou trust him, trust him, trust him,
and we will meet in heaven to praise his name, world without

end. Amen.SERMON V.

EXPIATION.
% THOU SHALT MAKE HIS SOUL AN OFFERING FOR SIN.?? — Isaiah liii. 10.

Born Jews and Gentiles knew pretty well what an offering
for sin meant. The Gentiles had been in the habit of offering
sacrifices. ‘The Jews, however, had by far the clearer idea of
it And what was meant by a sin-offering? Undoubtedly, it
was taken for granted by the offerer, that without shedding blood
there was no remission of sin. Conscious of guilt, and anxious
for pardon, therefore he brought a sacrifice, the blood of which
should be poured out at the foot of the altar — feeling persuaded
that without sacrifice there was no satisfaction, and without
satisfaction there was no pardon. Then the victim to be offered
was, on all occasions, a spotless one. The most scrupulous
care was taken that it should be altogether without blemish;
for this idea was always connected with a sin-offering, that it
must he sinless in itself; and being without spot or wrinkle,
or any such thing, it was held to be a competent victim to take
the offender’s place. That done, the victim being selected, the
offerer put his hand upon the sin-offering — and this indeed was
the essence of the whole transaction — putting his hand on the
victim, he confessed his sin, and a transferrence took place, in
type at least, from the offender to the victim. He did, as it were,
put the sin from off his own shoulders on to those of the lamb,
or the bullock, or the he-goat which was now about to be slaugh-
tered. And, to complete the sin-offering, the priest draws his
knife and kills the victim, which must be utterly consumed with

AS ESSAPAGMMOURSTASCUARSICCSReI OT Gan aDEXPIATION. 97

fire. I say this was always the idea of a sin- -offering, — that of a
perfect victim ; without offence on its own aan taking the
place of the offender; the transferrence of the offender's sin to
that victim, and that expiation in the person of the victim for the
sin done by another.

Now Jesus Christ has been made by God an offering for sin ;
and oh that to-night we may be able to do in reali ity what the
Jew did in metaphor! May we put our hand upon the head of
Christ Jesus; as we see him offered up upon the cross for guilty
men, may we know that our sins are transferred to him, and may
we be able to ery, in the ecstasy of faith, “ Great God, I am
clean; through Jesus’ blood I am clean.”

I. In trying now to expound the doctrine of Christ’s being an
offering for sin, we will begin by laying down one great axiom ;
which is, that SIN DESERVES AND DEMANDS PUNISHMENT.

Certain divines have demurred to this. You are aware, I
suppose, that there have been many theories of atonement; and
every new or difierent theory of atonement involves a new or
different theory of sin. There are some who say that’ there is no
reason in sin itself why it should be punished, but that God pun-
ishes offences for the sake of society at large. This is what is
called the governmental theory, — that it is necessary for the
maintenance of good order that an offender should be punished,
but that there is nothing in sin itself which absolutely requires
a penalty. Now, we begin by opposing all this, and asserting,
and we believe we have God’s warrant of it, that sin intrinsic: lly
and in itself demands and deserves the just anger of God, and
that that anger should be displayed in the form of a punishment.
To establish this, let me appeal to the conscience — I will not
say to the conscience of a man who has, by years of sin, dwindled
it down to the very lowest degree, but let me appeal to the con-

science of an awakened sinner, a sinner under the influence of

 

he ce Spirit. And are we ever in our right senses, brethren,

. Teh XX 1 3 L1 2) Maw j not ha
4 E Ti, ett PAD v hr . Wa c 1€ Ve } a)
ar 2 E4201) Spirit reaily ) rings US int ») them: AVE DY yt ¢

said z each of us as it was of the prodig sa, ‘“ He came to him-

9°98 EXPIATION.

| self?” Are we not beside ouselves till the Holy Spirit begins to
He | enlighten us? Well, ask this man, who is now really in the
| Pi possession of his true senses, whether he believes that sin de-
at serves punishment; and his answer will be quick, sharp, and
decisive. “ Deserve it,” saith he, “ay, indeed; and the wonder
is that I have not suffered it. Why, sir, it seems a marvel to me
that I am out of hell, and Wesley’s hymn is often on my lips, —

‘Tell it unto sinners, tell,
I am, I am out of hell.’”’

“ Yes, sir,” says such a sinner, “TI feel that if God should smite
me now, without hope or offer of mercy, to the lowest hell, I
should only have what I justly deserve ; and I feel that if I be
not punished for my es or if there be not some plan found by

which my sin can be punished in another, I cannot understand
how God can be just at sl how shall he be Judge of all the
earth, if he suffer offences to go unpunished?” There has been

a dispute whether men have we innate ideas; but surely this
idea is in us as early as anything, that virtue deserves reward, and
sin deserves punisl ament. I think I might venture to assert that
if you go to the most t degraded race of men, you would still find,
at least, some traces of this —shall I call it tradition? or is it
not a part of the natural Hen which never was altogether

t bitter for sweet, and sweet for

2

eclipsed in man? Man may put
bitter ; darkness for light, and light for darkness ; but this follows

1,

him as a dog at the heels of its master,

 

a sense that virtue should
J

be rewarded, atl ut sin must be punished. You may stifle
this voice, if you will, but sometimes you will hear it; and terri-
bly and decisively will it speal our ears to say to you, “ Yes,
man, God must punish you; the Judge of all the earth cannot

99

suffer you to go scot free Add to this another matter ; namely,
wat God has speollicely declared his displeasure against sin

eet itself. ‘There is a passage in Jeremiah, the forty-fourth chapter
i and the fourth verse, where he calls it “ That abominable thing

ai which I hate.” And then, in eee the twenty-fifth
chapter, at the sixteenth verse, he speaks of it as the thing which

ATi

ESTUATOTAVATATAIATGVRA LTTE Re:EXPIATION. 99

is an abomination to him. It must be the character of Gd, that
he has a desire to do towards his creatures that which is equitable,
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” If there is
anything in them which deserves reward, rest assured he will not
rob them of it; and, on the other hand, he will do the right thing
with those who have offended, and if they deserve punishment,
it is according to the nature and character of a Just and holy God
that punishment should be inflicted. And we think there is noth-
ing more clear in Scripture than the truth that sin is in itself
so detestable to God that he must and will put forth all the vigor
of his tremendous strength to crush it, and to make the offender
feel that it is an evil and a bitter thing to offend against the
Most High. Beware, ye who forget God in this matter, lest he
tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you. Sin must
be punished.

The other idea, that sin is only to be punished for the sake of
the community, involves injustice. If I am to be damned for the
sake of other people, I demur to it. No, sir: if I am to be pun-
ished, Justice says, at any rate, that it shall be for my own sins;
but if I am to be eternally a castaway from God’s presence
merely as a sort of trick of government to maintain the dignity of
his law, I cannot understand the justice of this. If Iam to be
cast into hell merely that I am to teach to others the tremen-
dousness of the divine holiness, I shall say there is no justice in
this; but if my sin intrinsically and of itself deserves the wrath
of God, and I. am sent to perdition as the result of this fact, I
close my lips, and have nothing to say. I am speechless ; con-
science binds my tongue. But if I am told that I am only sent
there as a part of a scheme of moral government, and that I am
sent into torment to impress others with a sense of right, I ask
that some one else should have the place of preacher to the
people, and that I may be one of those whose felicity it shall be
to be preached to; for I see no reason in justice why I should be
selected as the victim. Really, when men run away from the
simplicities of the gospel in order to make Jehovah more kind,
it is strange how unjust and unkind they make him. Sinner,1.0 EX PIATION.

God will never destroy you merely to maintain his government,
or for the good of others. If you be destroyed, it shall be because
you would not come to him that you might have life ; because
you would rebel against him; because sin from stern necessity
did, as it were, compel the attribute of divine justice to kindle
into vengeance, and to drive you from his presence forever.
Sin must be punished.

The reverse of this doctrine, that sin demands punishment,
may be used to prove it; for it is highly immoral, dangerous, and
opens the floodgates of licentiousness to teach that sin can go
unpunished, OQ sirs, it is contrary to fact. Look ye b Obes if
your eyes could see to-night the terrible justice of God which
is being executed now, — if these ears could but hear it, —if ye

could be appalled for a moment with

“he sullen groans and hollow moans
And shrieks of tortured ghosts,”

you would soon perceive that God is punishing sin! And if sin
deserve not to be punished, what is Tophet but injustice on a
monstrous scale? What is it but an infinite outrage against
everything which is honest and right, if these creatures are pun-
ished for anything short of their own deserts. Go and preach
this in hell, and you will have quenched the fire which is forever
to burn, and the worm of conscience will die. Teil them in hell
that they are not punished for sin, and you have taken away the
very sting of their punishment. And then come to earth, and
go, like Jonah went, though with another message than Jonah
carried, through the highways and the broadways, the streets
and thoroughfares of the exceeding great city, and proclaim that
sin is not to be punished for its own intrinsic desert and base-
ness. But if you expect your prophecy to be believed, enlarge
the number of your ‘jails, and seek for fresh fields for transper-
tation in the interests of society; for if any doctrine can breed
villains, this will. Say that sin is not to be punished, and you
have unhinged government; you have plucked up the very gate
of our commonweal ; you have been another Samson to another

ASSeSTUOSRSSERGSRS UO OR RaatEXPIATION. 101

Gaza; and we shall soon have to rue the day. But, sirs, I need
not stop to-prove it; it is written clearly upon the consciousness
of each man, and upon the conscience of every one of us, that
sin must be punished. Here are you and I to-night brought
into this dilemma. We have sinned; we all like sheep have
gone astray ; and we must be punished for it. It is impossible,
absolutely, that sin can be forgiven without a saciAce. God
must be just, if heaven falls. If earth should pas: away and
every creature should be lost, the justice of God mzist stand, it
cannot by any possibility be suffered to be impugned. Let this,
then, be fully established in our minds.

You need not to be told, as for the first time, that God in his
infinite mercy has devised a way by which justice can be satis-
fied, and yet mercy can be triumphant. Jesus Chriut, the only-
begotten of the Father, took upon himself the form vf man, and
offered unto Divine Justice that which was accepted as an equiv-
alent for the punishment due to all his people.

II. Now, the second matter that I wish to bring under your
notice is this, — THAT THE PROVISION AND ACCEPTANCE OF A
SUBSTITUTE FOR SINNERS IS AN ACT OF GRACE.

It is no act of grace for a person to accept a pecuniary debt
on my behalf of another person. If I owe a man twenty pounds,
it is no matter to him whatever who shall pay the twenty pounds
so long as it is duly paid. ‘You know that you could legally and
at once demand a receipt and an acquittance from any one who
is your creditor, so long as his debt is discharged, though it is
discharged by another, and not by you. It is so in pecuniary
matters, but it is not soin penal matters. If aman be condemned
to be imprisoned, there is no law, there is no justice which cau
compel the lawgiver to accept a substitute for him. If the sov-
ereign should permit another to suffer in his stead, it must be
the sovereign’s own act and deed. He must use his own disere-
tion as to whether he will accept the substitute or not; and if he
do so, it is an act of grace. In God’s case, if he had said in the
infinite sovereignty of his absolute will, “I will have no substi-

g*EXPIaTION.

tute, but each man shall suffer for himself, he who sinneth shall
die,” none could have murmured. It was grace, and only grace
which led the divine mind to say, “I will accept of a substitute.
There shall be a vicarious suffering ; and my vengeance shall be
content, and my mercy shall be gratified.”

Now, dear friends, this grace of God is yet further magnified,
not only in the allowance of the principle of substitution, but in
the providing of such a substitute as Christ — on Christ’s part
that he should give up himself, the Prince of Life to die; the King
of glory tobe despised and rejected of men; the Lord of angels
to be a servant of servants; and the Ancient of days to become
an infant of a span long. Think of the distance

““ From the highest throne in glory
To the cross of deepest woe,”’

and consider the unexampled loye which shines in Christ’s gift
of himself. But the Father gives the Son. “ God so loved the
world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever be-
-lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ To
give your wealth is something, if you make yourself poor ; but to
give your child is something more. When the patriot mother
tears her son from her bosom, and cries, “ Go, my first-born, to
your country’s wars ; there, go and fight until your country’s flag
is safe, and the hearths and homes of your native land are’secure,”
there is something in it; for she can look forward to the bloody
spectacle of her son’s mangled body, and yet love her country
more than her own child. Here is heroism indeed; but God
spared not his own Son, his only-begotten Son, but freely deliv-
ered him up for us all. “God commendeth his love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I do
implore you, do not look upon the sacrifice of Christ as an act of
mere vengeance on the Father’s part. Never imagine, oh! never
indulge the idea, that Jesus died to make the Father complacent
towards us. Oh, no, dear friends: Jesus’ death is tke effect of
overwhelming and infinite love on the Father’s part; and every
blow which wounds, every infliction which occasions sorrow, and

TUE eIHAT LATTER UATHA TATA aEXPIATION.

every pang which rends his heart, speaks of the Father’s love as
much as the joy, the everlasting triumph, which now surrounds
his head.

Let us add, however, to this, that, although Jesus Christ’s dying
as a substitute does give to him lawful right to all promised priv-
ileges; and does make him, as the covenant head of his people,
a claimant of the divine mercy, yet it does not render any of the
gifts which we receive from God the less gifts from God. Christ
has died ; but still everything that we receive comes tosus entirely
as a gratuitous outflow of God’s great heart of love. Never think
you have any claim to anything because Christ purchased it. If
you use the word claim at all, let it always be in so humble and
modified a sense that you understand that you are still receiving,
not of debt, but of grace. Look upon the whole transaction of a
substitute, and of Christ becoming the second Adam, as being a
matter of pure, rich, free, sovereign grace, and never indulge the
atrocious thought, I pray you, that there was justice, and justice
only here; but do magnify the love and pity of God in that he
did devise and accomplish the great plan of salvation by an aton-
ing sacrifice.

IIf. But now to go a step further, and with as much brevity
as possible. The Lord having established the principle of sub-
stitution, having provided a substitute, and having through him
bestowed upon us gratuitously innumerable mercies, let us observe
THAT JESUS IS THE MOST FITTING PERSON TO BE A SUBSTITUTE,
AND THAT HIS WORK IS THE MOST FITTING WORK TO BE A SAT-
ISFACTION.

Let every sinner here who desires something stable to fix his
faith upon, listen to these simple truths, which I am trying to put
as plainly as possible. You do understand me, I trust, that God
must punish sin ; that he must punish you for sin unless some one
else will suffer in your stead ; that Jesus Christ is the person who
did suffer in the room and place of all those who ever have be-
lieved on him who do believe in him, or ever shall believe in him,
-—making for those who believe on him a complete atonementEXPIATION

by his substitution in their place. Now we say that Clirist was
the best person to be a substitute ; for just consider what sort of
a mediator was needed. Most absolutely he must be one who
had no debt of his own. If Christ had been at all under the law
naturally, if it had been his duty to do what it is our duty to do,
it is plain he could only have lived for himself; and if he had
any sin of his own, he could only have died for himself, seeing
his obligations to do and to suffer would have been his just due
to the rigkteousness and the vengeance of God. But on Christ’s
part there was no natura! necessity for obedience, much less for
obedience unto death. Who shall venture to say that the Divine
Lord, amidst the glories of heaven, owed to his father anything ?
Who shall say it was due tothe Divine Father that Christ should
be nailed to the accursed tree, to suffer, bleed, and die, and then
be cast into the grave? None can dare to say such a thing. He
is himself perfectly free, and therefore can he undertake for others.
One man who is drawn for the militia cannot be a substitute for
another person so drawn, because he owes for himself his own
personal service. I must, if I would escape, and would procure
a substitute, find a man who is not drawn, and who is therefore
exempt. Such is Jesus Christ. He is perfectly exempt from
service, and therefore can volunteer to undertake it for our sake.
He is the right person.

There was needed, also, one of the same nature with us. Such
is Jesus Christ. Tor this purpose he became man, of the sub-
stance of his mother, very man, such a man as any of us. Han-
dle him, and see if he be not flesh and bones. Look at him, and
mark if he be not man in soul as well as in body. He hungers;
he thirsts, he fears, he weeps, he rejoices, he loves, he dies.
Made in all points and like unto us, being a man, and standing ex-
actly in a man’s place, becoming a real Adam, —as true an Adam
as was the first Adam, standing quite in the first Adam’s place, —
he is a fit person to become a substitute for us.

But please to observe (see if you cannot throw your grap-
pling-hooks upon this), the dignity of his sacred person made
him the most proper person for a substitute. A mere man could

aPRSeROREGS ROTO URaRTaAEICSOR ER aEEXPIATION. 105

at most only be a substitute for one other man. Crush him as

you will, and make him feel in his life every pang which flesh
is heir to, but he can only suffer what one man would have suf-
fered. He could not, I will venture to say, even then have suf- *™
fered an equivalent for that eternal misery which the ungodly
deserve ; and if he were a mere man, he must suffer precisely
the same. <A difference may be made in the penalty, when there
is a difference in the person; but if the person be the same, the
penalty must be precisely and exactly the same in degee and in
quality. But the dignity of the Son of God, the dignity of his
nature, changes the whole matter. A God bowing his head, and
suffering and dying, in the person of manhood, puts such a singu-
lar efficacy into every groan and every pang that it needs not that
his pangs should be eternal, or that he should die a second death.
Remember that in pecuniary matters you must give a quid pro
quo, but that in matters of penal justice no such thing is de-
manded. ‘The dignity of the person adds a special force to the
substitution ; and thus one bleeding Saviour can make atonement
for millions of sinful men, and the Captain of our salvation can
bring multitudes unto glory.

It needs one other condition to be fulfilled. The person so
free from personal service, and so truly in our nature, and yet
so exalted in person, should also be accepted and ordained of God.
Our text gives this a full solution, in that it Says, “He shall
make his soul an offering for sin.” Christ did not make him-
self a sin-offering without a warrant from the Most High: God
made him so. “ The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all.” It was the sovereign degree of heaven which constituted
Christ the great substitute for his people. No man taketh this
office upon himself. Even the Son of God stoopeth not to this
burden uncalled. He was chosen as the covenant-head in elec-
tion; he was ordained in the divine decree to stand for his
people. God the Father cannot refuse the sacrifice which he
has himself appointed. “ My son,” said good old Abraham,
“ God shall provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.” Heeen

106 EXPIATION.

has done so in the Saviour; and what God provides, God must
and will accept.

I wish to-night that I had power to deal with this doctrine as
I would. Poor trembling sinner, look up a moment. Dost thou
see him there — him whom God hath set forth? Dost thou see
him in proper flesh and blood fastened to that tree? See how
the cruel iron drags through his tender hands! Mark how the
rough nails are making the blood flow profusely from his feet !
See how fever parches his tongue, and dries his whole body like
a potsherd! Hearest thou the ery of his spirit, which is suffer-
ing more than his body suffers — “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?” This is none other than God’s only-begot-
ten Son; this is he who made the worlds; this is the express
image of his Father’s person, the brightness of Jehovah’s glory !
What thinkest thou, man? Is there not enough there to satisfy
God? Truly it has satisfied God: is there not enough there to
satisfy thee? Cannot thy conscience rest on that? If God’s
appointed Christ could suffer in thy stead, is it not enough ?
What can Justice ask more? Wilt thou now trust Christ with
thy soul? Come, now, sir, wilt thou now fall flat at the foot of
the cross, and rest thy soul’s eternal destiny in the pierced hands
of Jesus of Nazareth? If thou wilt, then God has made him
to be a sin-offering for thee ; but if thou wilt not, beware, lest he
whom thou wouldst not: have to be thy Saviour should become
thy Judge, and say, “ Depart, thou cursed one, into everlasting
fire in hell!”

IV. We come now to our fourth remark, —THAT CuHRIst1’s
WORK, AND THE EFFECTS OF THAT WORK, ARE NOW COMPLETE.

Christ becomes a substitute for us. We have seen how fit
and proper a person he was to be such. We hinted that from
the dignity of his person the pains he suffered were a good
and sufficient equivalent for our own suffering on account of sin.
But now the joyous truths come up that Christ’s work is fin-
ished. Christ has made an atonement so complete that he never
need suffer again. No more drops of blood; no more pangs af

ITHEXPIATION. 107

aeart; no more bitterness and darkness, with exceeding heavi-
mess, even unto death, are needed.

“°Tis done — the great transaction’s doe.”

The death-knell of the penalty rings in the dying words of
the Saviour, — “It is finished.” Do you ask for a proof of this?
Remember that Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. If he
had not completed his work of penalty-suffering, he would have
been left in the tomb till now; our preaching would have been
in vain, and your faith would have been in vain ; ye would have
been yet in your sins. But Jesus rose. God’s sheriff’s officer
let him out of “durance vile” because the account had been
discharged, and God’s great Court of King’s Bench sent down
the mittimus to let the captive go free. More than that: Christ
has ascended up on high. Think you he would have returned
thither with unexpiated sin red upon his garments? Do you
suppose he would have ascended to the rest and to the reward
of an accomplished work ? What! sit at his ‘Father’s right hand
to be crowned for doing nothing, and_rest until his adversaries
are made his footstool, when he has not performed his Father’s
will! Absurd! Impossible! His ascension in stately pomp,
amidst the acclamations of angels, to the enjoyment of his
Father’s continued smile, is the sure proof that the work is
complete.

Complete it is, dear brethren, not only in itself, but, as I said,
in its effects ; that is to say, that there is now complete pardon
for every soul which believeth in Christ. You need not do any-
thing to make the atonement of Christ sufficient to pardon you.
It wants no eking out. It is not as if Christ had put so much
into the scale and it was quivering in the balance ; but your sins,
for all their gravity, utterly ceased their pressure through the
tremendous weight of his atonement. He has outweighed the
penalty, and given double for all your sins. Pardon, full and
free, is now presented in the name of Jesus, proclaimed to every
creature under heaven, for sins past, for sins present, and for
sins to come ; for blasphemies and murders ; for drunkenness and108 EXPIATION.

whoredom ; for all manner of sin under heaven. Jesus Christ
hath ascended up on high, and exalted he is that he may give
repentance and remission of sin. Ye have no need of shillings
to pay the priests ; nor is baptismal water wanted to effect the
pardon: there is no willing, doing, being, or suifering of yours
required to complete the task. The blood has filled the foun-
tain full: thou hast but to wash and be clean, and thy sins shall
be gone forever.

Justification, too, is finished. You know the difference. Par-
don takes away our filth, but then it leaves us naked; justifica-
tion puts a royal robe upon us. Now no rags of yours are
wanted ; not a stitch of yours is needed to perfect what Christ
has done. He whom God the Father hath accepted as a sin-
offering hath perfected forever thos: who are set apart. Ye are
complete in Christ. No tears of yours, no penance, no personal
mortifications, nay, no good works of yours, are wanted to make
yourself complete and perfect. Take it as itis. O sirs! may
you have grace to take it as it is freely presented to you in the
“ There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ

gospel. “ He that believeth on him is not condemned ; ”

Jesus.” Trust Christ — implicitly trust Christ ; and all that he
did shail cover you, while all that he suffered shall cleanse you.
Remember, too, that acceptance is finished. There are the
Father’s arms, and here are you, a black sinner to-night. I do
not know you, but. it may be you have trodden the pavements,
or you have gone further than that, and added drunkenness to
shame; you have gone to the lowest vice, perhaps to robbery, —
who knoweth what manner of person may step into this place ?—
but the great arms of the Eternal Father are ready to save you
as you are, because the great work of Christ has effected all that
is wanted before God for the acceptance of the vilest sinner.
Hiow is it that the Father can embrace the prodigal? Why! he
is fresh from the swine-trough! Look at him: look at his rags ;
how foul they are! We would not touch them with a pair of
tongs! ‘Take him to the fire and burn the filth! Take him to
the bath and wash him! ‘That lip is not fit to kiss; those filthyEXPIATION. 109

lips cannot be permitted to touch that holy cheek of the glorious
Father! Ah! but it is not so. While he was yet a great way
of, his father saw him, — rags and poverty and sin and filth and
all,
his neck and kissed him, just as he was. How could he do that ?
“Why, the parable does not tell us; for it did not run on with the
subject to introduce the atonement. But this explains it, — when

 

and he did not wait till he was clean, but ran and fell upon

God accepts a sinner, he is, in fact, only accepting Christ. He
looks into the sinner’s eyes, and he sees his own dear Son’s image
there, and he takes him in. As we have heard of a good woman,
who, whenever a poor sailor came to her door, whoever he might
be, would always make him welcome, because, she said, “I think
I see my own dear son who has been these many years away,
and I have never heard of him; but whenever I see a sailor, I
think of him, and treat the stranger kindly for my son’s sake.”
So my God, when he sees a sinner long for pardon and desirous
of being accepted, thinks he sees his Son in him, and accepts
him for his Son’s sake. Do not imagine that we preach a gospel
in this place for respectable, godly people. No: we preach a
gospel here for sinners. I heard, the other day, from one who
told me that he believed we were saved by being perfect, that
when we committed sin we at once fell out of God’s mercy.
Well now, supposing that were true, it would not be worth mak-
ing a large splutter about. It would not be worth angels singing
“ Glory to God in the highest” about it, I should think. Any
fool might know that God would accept a perfect man. But
this is the thing of marvel, for which heaven and earth shall
ring with the praises of the Mediator, that Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly, —that Jesus Christ gave himself for their sin ; not for
their righteousness, not for their good deeds. If he had looked
to all eternity, he could not have seen anything in us worthy of
so great a suffering as that which he endured; but Ke did it for
charity’s sake, — for love’s sake.

And now, in his name, — oh that I could do it with ‘his voice
and with his love and with his fervor! — I do beseech you to lay
hold upon him. No matter who you may be, I will not exclude
10110 EXPIATION.

you from the invitation. Hast thou piled thy sins together till
they seem to provoke heaven? Do thy sins touch the clouds?
Yet come, and welcome; for God has provided a sin-offering.
Has man cast thee out? Say, poor woman, does the dreary
river seem to invite thee to the fatal plunge? God has not cast
thee out. Othou who feelest in thine own body the effect of thy
sin, till thou art loathing thyself, and wishing thou hadst never
been born — perhaps thou sayest, like John Bunyan, “ Oh that I
had been a frog, or a toad, or a snake, sooner than have been a
man, to have fallen into such sin, and to have become so foul! ”
Have courage, sinner ; have courage. “Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to
our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Do not doubt this
message: God has sent it to you. Do not reject it: you will
reject your own life if you do. Turn you at his rebuke! It is
a loving’voice which speaks to you, and that would speak, per-
haps, better and more forcibly if it were not choked with love.
I do implore thee, sinner, come to Jesus! If thou art damned,
it is not for want of invitation. If thou wilt perish, it is not for
want of earnest pleading with thee. I tell thee, man, there is
nothing of thine own wanted. All this is found in the sin-offer-
ing ; for thou needest not find it. There is no merit of thine
needed ; there is merit enough in Christ. Is it not the old
proverb that you are not to take coals to Newcastle? Do not
take anything to Christ. Come as you are —just as you are.
Nay, tarry not till you go out of this house. The Lord enable
you to believe in Jesus now, to take him now as a complete and
finished salvation for you, though you may be the most sunken
and abandoned and hopeless of all characters. Why did God
provide a sin-offering but for sinners? He could not have wanted
to provide it if there was no necessity. You have a great neces-
sity. You have, shall I say? compelled him to it. Your sins
have nailed Christ’s hands to the cross, — your sins have pierced
his heart; and his heart is not pierced in vain, nor are those
hands nailed there for naught. Christ will have you, sinner ;EXPIATION. 111

Christ will have you. There are some of God’s elect here, and
he will have you. You shall not stand out against him. Al-
mighty love will have you. He has determined that you shall
not do what you have vowed. Your league with hell is broken
to-night, and your covenant with death is disannulled. The prey
shall not be taken from the mighty; the lawful captive shall be
delivered. ‘The Lord will yet fetch-you up from the depths of
the sea. Oh! what a debtor to grace you will be! Be a debtor
to that grace to-night. Over head and ears in debt, plunge your-
self by a simple act of trustmg in Jesus, and you are saved.
Pray, ye who know how to pray, that this message may be made
effective in the hand of God. And you who have never prayed
before, God help you to pray now. May he now be found of
them who sought not for him, and he shall have the glory, world
without end. Amen.SERMON VI.

   
   
  
    
  
 
 
 
 
    
    
  
 
    
 
 

THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

** ABSALOM SENT FOR JOAB, TO HAVE SENT HIM TO THE KING; BUT HE WOULD
NOT COME TO HIM: AND WHEN HE SENT AGAIN, THE SECOND TIME, HE WOULD
NOT COME. THEREFORE HE SAID UNTO HIS SERVANTS, SEE, JOAB’S FIELD IS
NEAR MINE, AND HE HATH BARLEY THERE: GO AND SET IT ON FIRE. AND
ABSALOM’S SERVANTS SET THE FIELD ON FIRE. THEN JOAB AROSE, AND
CAME TO ABSALOM UNTO HIS HOUSE, AND SAID UNTO HIM, WHEREFORE HAVE

THY SERVANTS SET MY FIELD ON FIRE??? —2 Samuel xiv. 29-81.

You remember the historical narrative. Absalom-had fled
from Jerusalem under fear of David’s anger. He was after_a
time permitted to return; but he was not admitted into the pres-
ence of the king. Harnestly desiring to be restored to his former
posts of honor and favor, he besought Joab to come to him, in-
tending to request him to act as mediator. Joab, having lost
much of his liking for the young prince, refused to come; and,
though he was sent for repeatedly, he declined to attend at his
desire. Absalom therefore thought of a most wicked, but most
effective plan of bringing Joab into his company. He bade his
servants set Joab’s field of barley on fire. This brought Joab
down in high wrath to ask the question, “ Wherefore have thy
servants set my field on fire?” This was all that Absalom
wanted; he wished an interview, and he was not scrupulous as
to the method by which he obtained it. The burning of the
barley-field brought Joab into his presence, and Absalom’s ends
were accomplished.

Omitting the sin of the deed, we have here a picture of whatTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

is often done by our gracious God, with the wisest and best de-
sign. Often he sendeth for us, not for his profit, but for ours.
He would have us come near to him and receive a blessing at his
hands; but we are foolish and cold-hearted and wicked, and we
will not come, He, knowing that we will not come by any other
means, sendeth a serious trial: he sets our barley-field on fire ;
which he has a right to do, seeing our barley-fields are far more
his than they are ours. In Absalom’s case it was wrong; in
God’s case he has a right to do as he wills with his own. He
takes away from us our most choice delight, upon which we-have
set our heart, and then we inquire at his hands, Wherefore
contendest thou with me? "Why am I thus smitten-with thy
rod? What have I done to provoke thee to anger?” And
thus we are brought into the presence of God, and we receive
blessings of infinitely more value than those temporary mercies
which the Lord had taken from us. You will see, then, how I
intend to use my text this morning. As the pastor of so large
a church as this, I am constantly brought into contact with all
sorts of human sorrow. Frequently it is poverty, — poverty too
which is not brought on by idleness or vice, but real poverty, and
most distressing and afflicting poverty too, because it visits those
who have fought well the battle of life, and have struggled hard
for years, and yet in their old age scarce know where bread shall
come from, except that they rest upon the promise —“ Thy bread
shall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure.” Messengers
come to me sometimes as fast as they came to Job, bearing sad
tidings concerning one and another of you. There comes one —
“J entreat your prayers for me, sir: God has been pleased to
take away my wife with a stroke; she now lies in the cold
grave.” Another cries, “O sir, my wife is sore sick, and the
physician saith that there is but little hope: pray for her, that
she may be strengthened in the hour of her departure; and for
me, that I may be enabled to kiss the Master’s rod.” Then
comes another — “ My son is afflicted; he is to undergo a pain-
ful operation: pray that the surgeon’s knife may not be his death,
but that he may be enabled to bear up under it.” And when I
Oe114 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

have sympathized with a company of sad complaints like these,
another set of messengers will be waiting at the door. How few
families are long without severe trials! hardly a persox escapes
for any long season without tribulation. With wmmpartial hand
sorrow knocks at the door of the palace and the cottage. Why
all this? The Lord, we know, “ Doth not afflict willingly, nor
grieve the children of men” for naught; why can it be that he
employs so many frowning servants, and sendeth out so often his
usher of the black rod? Wherefore can it be? Perhaps I may
be able to give the fitting answer to this very proper inquiry,
and it may be that I may be as serviceable to the afflicted as
the jailer was to Paul and Silas when he washed their stripes.
I shall use my text, first of all, in reference to believers; and
then, with regard to the unconverted. Oh for help from above !

I. Firstof all, brethren, let us use the text WITH REFER-
ENCE TO BELIEVERS IN CHRIST.

My beloved brethren and sisters is Jesus Christ, we cannot
expect to avoid tribulation. If other men’s barley-fields are not
burned, ours will be. If the Father uses the rod nowhere else,
he will surely make his true children smart. As Paul saith,
and as our hymnster hath rhymed it —

“Bastards may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly vain delight,
But the true-born child of God
Must not — would not if he might.”

Your Saviour hath left you a double legacy, “In the world ye
shall have tribulation; but in me ye shall have peace.” You
enjoy peace ; you must not expect that you shall escape without
the privilege of the tribulation. All wheat must be threshed:
and God’s threshing-floor witnesses to the weight of the flail as
much as any other. Gold must be tried in the fire; and truly
the Lord hath a fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

But you, beloved, have four very special comforts in all your
trouble. You have, first, this sweet reflection, that there 7s noTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

curse in your cross. Christ was made a curse for us, and we call
his cross the accursed tree ; but, truly, since Jesus hung upon ‘it,
it is most blessed; and I may now say concerning the cross of
affliction, “ Blessed is every man who hangeth on this tree.”
The cross may be very heavy, especially while it is green, and
our shoulders unused to carrying it; but remember, though there
may be a ton-weight of sorrow in it, there is not a single ounce
of the curse in it. God doth never punish his children in the
sense of avenging justice: he chastens as a father does his child,
but he doth never punish his redeemed as a judge doth a crimi-
nal. It were unjust to exact punishment from redeemed souls,
since Christ has been punished in their place and stead. How
shall the Lord punish twice for one offence? If Christ took my
sins and stood as my substitute, then there is no wrath of God
for me; and though my cup may be bitter, yet there cannot be
a single drop of the wormwood of Almighty wrath in it. I may
have to smart, but it will never be beneath the lictor’s rods of
justice, but under the Parent’s rod of wisdom. Christian! how
sweet this ought to be to you! There was a time when you
were under conviction of sin, — when you thought you would rot
in a dungeon or burn at the stake most cheerfully, if you could
but get rid of the sense of God’s wrath; and will you now be-
come impatient? The wrath of God is the thunderbolt which
scathes the soul; and now that you are delivered from that tre-
mendous peril, you must not be overwhelmed with the few show-
ers and gales which Providence sends you. A God of love
inflicts our sorrows: he is as good when he chastens as when he
caresses: there is no more wrath in his afflicting providences
than in his deeds of bounty. God may seem unkind to unbelief,
but faith can always see love in his heart. Oh! what a mercy
that Sinai has ceased to thunder! Lord, let Jesus say what he
will, so long as Moses is quieted forever. Strike, Lord, if thou
wilt, now that thou hast heard the Saviour’s plea and justified
our souls.
You have, secondly, another ground of comfort; namely, that
your troubles are all apportioned to you by divine wisdom and love.116 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.
As for their number, if He appoint them ten, they never can he
eleven. As for their weight, He who weigheth the mountains in
scales and the hills in a balance; takes care to measure your
troubles, and you shall not have a grain more than his infinite
wisdom sees fit. The devil may seem to be turned loose upon
you, but remember he is always a chained enemy. ‘There is a
tether to every trouble, and beyond that tether it can never stray.
Nebuchadnezzar may heat the furnace seven times hotter than
usual, but God’s thermometer measures the exact degree of heat ;
and beyond it the flame cannot rage, even though a thousand
Nebuchadnezzars should swear themselves out of breath in their
fury. Consider everything that you have to suffer as the appoint-
ment of wisdom, ruled by love, and you will rejoice in all your
tribulation, knowing that it shall reveal to you the loving-kind-
ness and wisdom of your God.

You have a third consolation ; namely, that under your cross
you have many special comforts. ‘There are cordials which God
giveth to sick saints which he never putteth to the lips of those
who are in health. Dark caverns keep not back the miners, if
they know that diamonds are to be found there: you need not
fear suffering, when you remember what riches it yields to your
soul. ‘Fhere is no hearing the nightingale without night, and
there are some promises which only sing to us in trouble. It is
in the cellar of affliction that the good old wine of the kingdom
is stored. You shall never see Christ’s face so well as when all
others turn their backs upon you. When you have come into
such confusion that human wisdom is at a nonplus, then shall you
see God’s wisdom manifest and clear. Oh the love-visits which

hrist payeth to his people when they are in the prison of their
trouble! Then he layeth bare his very heart to them, and com-
forts them as a mother doth her child. They sleep daintily who
have Jesus to make their beds. Suffering saints are generally
the most flourishing saints; and well they may be, for they are
Jesus’ special care. If you would find a man whose lips drop
with pearls, look for one who has been in the deep waters. We
seldom learn much except as it is beaten into us by the rod inTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

Chirist’s schoolhouse, under Madam Trouble.

    
 

17.

God’s vines owe

more to the pruning-knife than to any other tool in the garden ;

superfluous shoots are sad spoilers of the vines.

g
But even while

we carry it, the cross brings present comfort: it is a dear, dear
cross, all hung with roses, and dripping with sweet-smelling

myrrh. Rutherford seemed at times in doubt

which he loved

best, Christ or his cross ; but then, good man, he only loved the

cross for his Lord’s sake. Humble souls count
to be thought worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake.

it a high honor
If ever heaven

be opened at all to the gaze of mortals, the vision is granted to
those who dwell in the Patmos of want and trouble. F urnace-

joys glow quite as warmly as furnace-flames.

Sweet are the

uses of adversity, and sweet are its accompaniments when the

Lord is with his people.

“Mid the gloom the vivid lightnings
With increasing brightness play;

’Mid the thorn-brake beauteous flowerets

Look more beautiful and gay.

‘“So, in darkest dispensations
Doth my faithful Lord appear,
With his richest consolations
To reanimate and cheer.”

But then, — and this is the point to which my text brings me,

and all I have already said is going astray from it, — you have

this comfort, that your trials work your lasting good by bringing

you nearer and nearer to your God. This point we will illus-

trate by the narrative before us. My dear friends in Christ

Jesus, our heavenly Lather often sends for us

and we will not

come. He sends for us to exercise a more- simple faith in him.
We have believed, and by faith we have passed from death unto
life, but our faith sometimes staggers. We have not yet reached to
Abraham’s confidence in God; we do not leave our worldly
cares with him, but, like Martha, we cumber ‘ourselves with much
serving. We have faith to lay hold upon little promises; but

we are ofttimes afraid to open our mouths wide

though God has118 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

promised to fill them. He therefore sendeth to us. ‘Come, my
child,” saith he; “ come and trust me. ‘The veil is rent: enter
into my presence, and approach boldly to the throne of my grace.
I am worthy of thy fullest confidence: cast thy cares on me.
Come thou into the sunlight, and read thy title clear. Shake
thyself from the dust of thy cares, and put on thy beautiful gar-
ment of faith.” But, alas! though called with tones of love to
the blessed exercise of this comforting grace, we will not come.
At another time he calls us to closer communion with himself.
We have been sitting on the doorstep of God’s house, and he
bids us advance into the banqueting-hall and sup with him; but
we decline the honor. He has admitted us into the inner cham-
bers, but there are secret rooms not yet opened to us; he in-
vites us to enter them, but we hold back. Jesus longs to have
near communion with his people. This is that which gives him
“to see of the travail of his soul, and to be satisfied.” It must be
a joy to a Christian to be with Christ ; but it is also a joy to Jesus
to be with his people, for it is written, “ His delights were with
the sons of men.” Now, one would think that if Christ did but
beckon with his finger and say to us, “ Draw nigh, and commune
with me,” we should fly as though we had wings to our feet;
but, instead thereof, we are cleaving to the dust: we have too
much business; we have too many carking cares; and we forget
to come, though it is our Beloved’s voice which calls us to him-
self. Frequently the call is to more fervent prayer. Do you
not feel in yourself, at certain seasons, an earnest longing for
private prayer? You have felt as if you could not be at ease
until you could draw near unto God and tell him your wants ;
and yet, may be, you have quenched the Spirit in that respect,
and still have continued without nearness of access to God.
Every day the Lord bids his people come to him and ask what
they will, and it shall be done. He is a bounteous God, who sits
upon the mercy-seat, and he delights so give to his people the
largest desires of their hearts ; and yet, shame upon us, we live
without exercising this power of prayer, and we miss the pleni-
tude of blessing which would come out of that cornucopia ofTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 119

grace, — prevailing prayer with God. Ah, brethren, we are
verily guilty here, the most of us. The Master sendeth to us to
pray, and we will not come. Often, too, he calls us to a higher
state of prety. From this pulpit I have labored to stir you up to
nobler attainments ; I have besought you to rest no longer sat-
isfied with your dwarfish attainments, but to press forward to
things more sublime and heavenly. Have I not cried unto you,
beloved, and bid you

“Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge your way ”’?

I am persuaded there are Christians as much in grace beyond
ordinary Christians as ordinary Christians are beyond the pro-
fane. ‘There are heights which common eyes have never seen,
much less scaled. Oh! there are nests among the stars where
God’s own saints dwell, and yet how many of us are content to
go creeping along like worms in the dust! Would that we had
grace to cleave the clouds and mount into the pure blue sky of
fellowship with Christ! We do not serve God as we should.
We are cold as ice, when we should be like molten metal, burn-
ing our way through all opposition. We are like the barren
Sahara, when we should be blooming like the garden of the Lord.
We give to God pence, when he deserveth pounds ; nay, deserv-
eth our heart’s blood to be coined in the service of his church
and of his truth. Oh! we are but poor lovers of our sweet Lord
Jesus ; not fit to be his servants, much less to be his brides. If
he had put us in the kitchen to be scullions, I fear we are scarce
fit for the service; and yet he hath exalted us to be bone of his
bone and flesh of his flesh, married to him by a glorious marriage
covenant. QO brethren! God-—often calleth us to higher degrees
of piety, and yet we will not come.

Now, why is it that we permit our Lord to send for us so
often, without going to him? Let your own heart give the rea-
son, ina humble confession of your offences. O my brethren,
we never thought we should have been so bad as we are. If
an angel had told us that we should be so indifferent towards120 TIIE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

 

hrist, we should have said, as Hazael did to Elisha, “Is thy
servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?” If any of
us could have seen our own history written out by a prophet’s
pen, we should have said, “ No; it cannot be. If Christ forgives
me, I must love him; if he be pleased to make me his own
brother, I must serve him; if I am the recipient of such splen-
did mercies, I must do something commensurate with his bounty.”
And yet, hitherto, here we have been ungrateful, unbelieving,
and even refusing to listen to his call, or come at his bidding.

* and our heart did not say,

He has. said, “ Seek ye my face; ’
“Lord, thy face will I seek.” Because of all this, because we
will not listen to the gentle call of God, there cometh trouble,
just as there came the burning of the barley-field of Joab be-
cause he would not visit the young prince. Trouble comes in
all sorts of shapes. Little doth *it matter what form it cometh

“in, if it doth but answer the purpose of making us obey the

divine calling.

Some Christians have their trial in the shape of stckness : they
drag about with them a diseased body all their lives; or they
are suddenly cast upon a bed of sickness, and they toss to and
fro, by night and by day, in pain and weariness. This is God’s
medicine ; and when God’s children have it, let them not think
it is sent to kill them, but to heal them. Much medicine which
the physician gives makes-the man ill for a time: he is worse
with it than he would have been without it; but if he bea clever
physician, he knows that this is the consequence of the medicine ;
and thus he is not at all alarmed by the pain of his patient,
but he expects that all this will work for good, and hunt out,
as it were, the original disease. When the Lord sends us sore
sickness, it for a time perhaps makes our former spiritual infirm-
ities grow worse ; for sickness often provoketh impatience and
murmurings against God, but in due time our proud spirits will
be broken, and we shall cry for mercy. As a file takes off rust,
so does sickness frequently remove our deadness of heart. The
diamond hath much cutting, but its value is increased thereby ;
and so with the believer under the visitations of God. I have

Rae Ra EG)THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 131

heard say of many ministers that they preach best after sickness,
till their people have scarce regretted all the pains they have
felt when they have found how savory and full of marrow have
been their words. My brother, if you will not come to God
without it, he will send you a sick-bed that you may be carried
en it to him. If you will not come running, he will make you
come limping. If you will not come while your eyes are bright
and while your countenance is full of health, he will make you
come when your eyes are dull and heavy, and your complexion is
sallow and sad. But come you must; and if by no other means,
sickness shall be the black chariot in which you shall ride.
Losses, too, are frequently the means God uses to fetch home
his wandering sheep: like fierce dogs, they worry the wanderers
back to the shepherd. There is no making ‘lions tame if they
are too well fed; they must be brought down from their great
strength, and their stomachs must be lowered a bit, and then
they will submit to the tamer’s hand: and often have we seen
the Christian rendered obedient to his Lord’s will by straitness
of bread and hard labor. When rich and increased in goods,
many professors carry their heads much too loftily and speak
much too boastfully. Like David, they boast, “ My mountain
standeth fast ; it shall never be moved.” When the Christian
groweth wealthy, is in good repute, hath good health, and a
happy family, he too often admits Mr. Carnal Security to feast
at his table. If he be a true child of God, there is a rod pre-
paring for him. Wait awhile, and it may be you will see his
substance melt away asa dream. There goes a portion of his
estate

 

how soon the acres change hands! There goes a part
of his business — no profits will ever come to him again in that
direction. That- debt yonder, a dishonored bill over there —
how fast his losses come! where will they end? Now, as these
embarrassments come in one after another, he begins to be
distressed about them, and betakes himself to his God. O
blessed waves, that wash the man on the rock of salvation!
O blessed cords, though they may cut the flesh, if they draw
us to Jesus! Losses in business are often sanctified to our
11122 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

soul’s enriching. If you will not come to the Lord full-handed,
you shall come empty. If God in his grace findeth no other
means of making you to honor him among men — if you cannot
honor him on the pinnacle of riches — he will bring you down
to the valley of poverty.

 

Bereavements, too, — ah! what sharp cuts of the rod we get
with these, my brethren! - We know how the Lord sanctifies
these to the bringing of his people near to himself. How glad
we should be to think that Christ himself once suffered bereave-
ments as we have done. ‘Tacitus tells us that an amber ring
was thought to be of no value among the Romans till the em-
peror took to wearing one, and then straightway an amber ring
was held in high esteem. Bereavements might be looked upon
as very sad things; but when we recollect that Jesus wept over
his friend Lazarus, henceforth they are choice jewels, and special
favors from God. Christ wore this ring: then I must not blush
to wear it. Many a mother has been stirred up to a holier life
by the death of her infant, many a husband has been led to
give his heart more to Christ by the death of his wife. Do not

gels, beckon us up to heaven? “Come,

departed spirits, like an
come away,” they say; “this is not your rest. I once could build

upon the same tree, and sing upon the same bough; but now I

 

am taken from you, — now I rest in Lee ven. Come hither, thou

who wast once my fond mat

  

    

 

          

ik

for all the trees where
thou art building are marked for the axe; therefore come now,
and dwell with me!” Yes, we must look upon our new-made
graves in this light, and pray the Lord to dig our hearts with
the funeral spade, and bury our sins as we bury our departed
ones. rials in your family, in your children, are another form
of the burning barley-field. I do not know, brethren, but I
think a living cross is much heavier to carry than a dead one.
I know some among you who have not lost your children: I
could have wished ye had, for they have lived to be your grief
and sorrow. Ah, young man! better that your mother should
have seen you perish in the birth than that you should live to
disgrace your father’s name. Ah, man! ii were better fur you

yaaa) PAS EROSRSOROSESSESLCTANGTAORAT IGT OR ETATTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 123

that the procession had gone winding through the streets, bear-
ing your corpse down to the grave, than that you should live to
blaspheme your mother’s God, and laugh at the Book which is
her treasure. It were better for you that you had never been
born, and better for your parents too. Ah! but, dear friends,
even these are meant to draw us nearer to Christ. We must
not make idols of our children; and we dare not do it, when we
see how manifestly God shows us that, like ourselves, they are
by nature children of wrath. Sharper than an adder’s tooth is
an unthankful child; wut the venom is turned to medicine in
God’s hand. God’s birds would often keep down in the grass
in their nests; but he fills their nests full of thorns, and then up
they fly, and sing as a lark as they mount towards heaven. You
must look upon these family trials as invitations from God —
sweet compulsion to make you seek his face. Many are afflicted
in another way, which is perhaps as bad as anything else, — by
a deep depression of spirit. They are always melancholy ;
they know not why. There are no stars in the night for them,
and the sun gives no light by day : melancholy has marked them
for her own; but even this, I think, is often the means of keep-
ing some of them nearer to God than they would be. You
know there are some of our English plants which greatly affect
damp, moist places under trees. If the sun were to shine in their
faces they would die. Perhaps some minds are of the same
order. ‘Too many sweets make children sick, and bitters are a
good tonic. A veil is needed for some delicate complexions, lest
the sun look too fiercely on them: it may be, these mourners
need the veil of sorrow. It is good that they have been afflicted,
even with this heavy depression of spirit, because it keeps them
near their God. Then there is that other affliction, the hiding
of God's countenance — how hard to bear, but how beneficial !
If we will not keep near to our Lord, he is sure to hide his face.
You have seen a mother walking out with her little child, when
it has just learned to walk; and as she goes through the street,
the little one is for running sometimes to the right, and some-
times to the left, and so the mother hides herself a moment;124 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

then the child looketh round for the mother, and begins to ery,
and then out comes the mother. What is the effect? Why, it
will not run away from mother any more: it is sure to keep
hold of her hand afterwards. So, when we get wandering from
God, he hides his face, and then, since we have a love for him,
we begin crying after him; and when he shows his face once
more, we cling to him the more lovingly ever afterwards. So
the Lord is pleased to bless our troubles to us.

Now, Christian, what about all this? Why, just this. Are
you under any sharp trouble now? Then I pray you go to God
as Joab went to Absalom. “ Wherefore have thy servants set
my field on fire?” “Show me wherefore thou contendest with
me.” “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and
know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.” Make this a special sea-
son of humbling and heart-searching. Now let every besetting
sin be driven out. When God sweeps, do you search. When
you are under the rod, it is yours to make a full confession of
past offences, and pray to be delivered from their power in the
future. Or, have you no trial to-day, my brother? Then see
if there be not something which may provoke God to send one,
and begin now to purge yourself from all filthiness of the flesh
and of the spirit by the Holy Ghost. Prevention is better than
acure ; and sometimes a timely heart-searching may save us many
a heart-smarting. Let us see to that, then. Or have we been
afflicted, and is the affliction over now? ‘Then, let us say with
David, “ Before I was afflicted I went astray ; but now have I
kept thy word.” Let us bless God for all that he has done, say-
ing, “ It is good for me that I have been afflicted ;” let us join
together in one common hymn of praise for all the loving-kind-
ness which God has been pleased to show us in the sharp cuts
of his rod. I have said enough, I think, to the Christian, to
work out the little picture before us. God has burned your
barley-field, dear friends: now go to him, and the closer you can
approach to him, and the more firmly you can cling to him, theTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 198

better for your soul’s health and comfort all your life. At the
last, you and I shall sing to the praise of our afflicting God.

“All I meet I find assists me
In my path to heavenly joy;
Where, though trials now attend me,
Trials never more annoy.

“‘ Blest there with a weight of glory,
Still the path Pll ne’er forget,
But, exulting, cry, It led me
To my blessed Saviour’s seat.”

II. A few words — God make them mighty — To THE sIN-
NER shall form the second part of our discourse. God also has
sent for you. QO unconverted.man!..Ged-has.often sent for you.
Early in your childhood..your_ mother’s. prayers sought.to woo
you to a Saviour’s love, and your godly father’s first instructions
were as so many meshes of the net in which it was desired that
you should be taken; but you have broken through all these,
and lived to sin away early impressions and youthful promises.
Since that you have often been called under the ministry. Our
sermons have not been all shots wide of the mark, but sometimes
a hot shot has burnt its way into your conscience and you have
been made to tremble; but, alas! the trembling soon gave way
before your old sins. Hitherto you have been called, but you
refused. The hands of mercy have been stretched out, and you
have not regarded them. You have had calls, too, from your
Bible, from religious books, from Christian friends. Holy zeal
is not altogether dead, and it shows itself by looking after your
welfare. Young man, your shopmate has sometimes spoken to
you; young woman, your companion has wept over you. There
are some of you now present who have been called by the most
loving of voices, in connection with our classes. Both in our
Sunday-school and in the catechumenical classes there are men
and women with deep love to the souls of those committed to
them, — tender hearts, weeping eyes, —and you have been wept
over that you might come to Christ; but still all the agency that
fieShitaths

  

126 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

has been employed has been up to this moment without effect:
you are a stranger to the God who made you, and an enemy to
Christ the Saviour.

Well, if these gentle means will not do, God will employ
other agencies. Perhaps he has tried them already. If not, — if
he intendeth in the divine decree your eternal salvation, — he will,
as sure as you are a living man, use stronger ways with you;
and if a word will not do, he will come with a blow, though he
loveth to try the power of the word first. You, too, my hearer
unconverted and unsaved, have had your trials. You weep as
well as Christians. You may not weep for sin, but sin shall
make you weep. You may abhor repentance because of its
sorrow, but you shall not escape sorrow, even if you escape re-
pentance. You have had your sickness. Do you not remember
it, when in the silent night you heard the watch ticking out, as
you thought, your last few minutes, and foretelling your doom ?
Do you remember those weary days, when you tossed from side
to side, and did but shift the place and keep the pain? Man,
can you recollect your vows, which you have lived to break,
and your promises with which you lied unto the eternal God ?
Then the Sabbath would be your delight, you said, if you were
spared, and the house of God and the people of God should be
dear to you, and you would seek his face. But you have not
done so: you have broken your covenant, and have despised
your promise made to God. Or, what is it, have you had losses
in business ? You began life well and hopefully, but nothing has
prospered with you. JI am not sorry for it; for I remember it is
the wicked who spreadeth himself like a green bay tree, and it
is concerning the reprobate that it is written, “There are no
bands in their death; but their strength is firm. They are not
in trouble as other men; neither are they piagued like other
men.” Jam glad that you are plagued. I would sooner see
you whipped to heaven than coached to hell. Doubtless many
go, like Agag, delicately to their hewing in pieces, while others
go sorrowing to eternal glory. You have had losses: what are
these but God’s rough messengers to tell you that there is noth-THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 127

ing beneath the sky worth living for, to wean you from the breasts
of earth and cause you to look for something more substantial
than worldly riches can afford you? And you, too, have lost
friends; may I recall those graves, whose turf is yet so newly
laid? May I remind you of children fair and beautiful in your
eyes, taken away from you despite your tears? Shall I remind
you of the parent who sleeps in Jesus? of a sweet sister who
withered like a lily by early consumption? Shall I bring these
thoughts back to you? I would not wish to make your wounds
bleed afresh, but it is for your good that I bid you hearken to
their solemn voice ; for they say to you, “Come to your Ge?*
Be reconciled to him!” I do not think you ever will come tu
Jesus, unless the Holy Spirit shall employ trials to bring you
I find that the woman never found her piece of money till su.
swept the house. The prodigal never came back till he was
hungry, and fain would have filled his belly with the. husks
which the swine did eat. I only hope that these troubles may
be blessed to you. Besides this, you have had your depression
of spirit. If I mistake not, I address some who are under such
depressions now. You do not know how it is, but nothing is
pleasant to you. You went to the theatre last night. You wished
you had not: it gave you no joy; and yet you have been as
merry there as any, in former times. You go among your com-
panions, and a day’s pleasuring, as they call it, has become to
you avery painful waste of time. You have lost the zest of
life ; and I am not sorry for it, if it should make you look for a
better life, and trust in a.world to come. My friends, again I
say, this is the burning of your barley-fields. God has sent for
you, and you would not come; and now he has sent messengers
who are not so easily refused. He has sent these with sterner
and rougher words, which speak to your flesh, if your spirit will
not hear.

Well, now, what then? If God is sending these, ave you lis-
tening to them? My hearer, if God has sent these, have you
listened to them? There are some of you of whom I almost
despair. God can save you, but I cannot tell you how he will128 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

do it. Certainly the Word does not seem likely to be blessed.
You have been called and entreated; early and late we have
entreated’ you. Our bowels have yearned with tenderness for
you, but hitherto in vain. God knows I have been hammering
away at the granite, and it has not yielded yet; I have smitten
the flint, and it is not broken. Some,of you all but break the
ploughshare : you are such rocks that it seems in vain to plough
upon you. As for trouble, I do not see that that is likely to do
you any good; for if you are smitten again, you will revolt more
and more. ‘The whole head is sick already, and the whole heart
is faint. You have been beaten, till from the crown of the head
to the sole of your foot there is nothing but wounds, bruises, and
putrifying sores. You are poor—perhaps your drunkenness
has made you so; you have lost your wife — perhaps your
cruelty helped to kill her; you have lost your children, and you
are left a penniless, friendless, helpless beggar, and yet you will
not turn to God! ‘What now is to be done unto you? O Eph-
raim! what shall I do unto thee? Shall I give thee up? How
can I give thee up? “ How shall I make thee as Admah ? how
shall I set thee as Zeboim?” The heart of mercy still yearns
after thee. Return thou! return thou! God help thee to re-
turn, even now.

Others of you have not suffered all this in the past, but are
just now enduring a part of it. Let me entreat you, by the
mercies of God and by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
ye despise not him who speaketh unto you. God doth not con-
tinue to send his messengers forever. After he hath labored
with you for a time, he will leave you to cursing. Long-suffer-
ing lasts not forever. Mercy hath its day. Behold, the King
runs up the white flag of comfort to-day, and he invites you to
come unto him. To-morrow he may run up the red flag of
threatening ; and if that answereth not, if that red flag will not
make you turn, he will run up the black flag of execution, and
then there will be no hope. Beware! The black flag is not run
up yet: the red flag is there now in trials and troubles, whichTHE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE. 129

are God’s threatenings to you, bidding you open wide your heart
that grace may enter; but if it cometh to this that the red flag
fail, the black flag must come. Perhaps it has come! God
help you with broken heart to cry unto him that you may be
saved, before the candle is blown out and the sun is set, and the
night of the dead is come on without the hope of another sun
rising on a blessed resurrection.

What is the drift of all this? My drift is this: If, now, a
word of mine could make you come to the King this morning —
I know it will not unless God the Holy Spirit compels you to
do so by his irresistible power ; but if he would bless it, I would
rejoice as one who findeth great spoil. Wherefore do you stand
out against God? If the Lord intendeth your eternal salvation,
your resistance will be in vain; and how will you vex yourself
in after years to think that you should have stood out so long!
Wherefore dost thou resist? God’s battering-ram is too mighty
for the walls of your prejudice: he will make them fall yet.
Why dost thou stand out against thy God, against him who
loveth thee, who hath loved thee with an everlasting love, and
redeemed thee by the blood of Christ? Why standesi thou out
against him who intends to lead thy captivity captive, and to
make thee yet his rejoicing child? “Ob!” saith one, “if I
thought there were such mercy as that, I would yield.” If thou
believest in the Lord Jesus Christ, this shall be an evidence that
such mercy is ordained for thee. Oh that the Spirit of God
would enable thee, sinner, to come just as thou art and put thy
trust in Christ! If thou dost so, then it is certain that thy name
is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that thou wast chosen of
God and art precious to him, and that thy head is one on which
the crown of immortality is to glitter forever. Oh that thou
wouldst trust Christ! The joy and peace it works in the pres-
ent is worth worlds; but oh the glory, the overwhelming glory
which in worlds to come shall belong to those that trust in Jesus !
God give you this morning to cast your souls upon the finished
work of Jesus. His blood can cleanse ; his righteousness can130 THE BARLEY-FIELD ON FIRE.

cover; his beauty can adorn; his prayer can preserve; his
advent shall glorify ; his heaven shall make you blessed. Trust
him! God help you to trust him; and he shall have all the
praise, both now and forever. Amen and amen.SERMON VII.

CHRIST IS GQUOUCUS : LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN.

** AND HE SHALL STAND AND #EED IN THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD, IN THE
MAJESTY OF THE NAME OF THE LORD HIS GOD; AND THEY SHALL ABIDE: FOR
NOW SHALL HE BE GREAT UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.’ — Micah vy. 4.

You have a very vivid idea of the sufferings of Christ. Your
faith has seen him sweating great drops of blood in the garden
of Gethsemane. You have looked on with amazement while he
gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them who plucked
off the hair, and hid not his face from shame and spitting. With
sorrowful sympathy you have followed him through the streets
of Jerusalem, weeping and bewailing him withthe women. You
have sat down to watch him when he was fastened to the tree:
you have wept at his bitter complaint — “My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?” and you have rejoiced in his shout
of victory — “ It is finished!” With Magdalene and Nicodemus,
you have followed his dead body to the tomb, and seen it wrapped
about with spices, and left to its lonely sleep. Are your percep-
tions quite as keen concerning the glory which did follow and ?s
following? Can you see him quite as distinctly when on the
third morn the Conqueror rises, bursting the bonds of death with
which he could not be holden? Can you as clearly view him
ascending up on high, leading captivity captive? Can you hear
the ring of angelic clarions, as with dyed garments from Bozrah
the Victor returns from the battle, dragging death and hell at his
chariot wheels? Do you plainly perceive him as he takes his
seat at the right hand of the Father, henceforth expecting untiliss, CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

his enemies be made his footstool? And can you be as clear
this morning about the reigning Christ as you have been about
the suffering Christ? Lo! my brethren, “the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and
to loose the seven seals thereof!” At this hour he goeth forth,
riding upon his white horse; conquering and to conquer. Lo!
at his girdle swing the keys of heaven and death and hell; for
“the government shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The ever-
lasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” “God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name;
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” Behold him,
my brethren, in his present plenitude of glory, and endeavor to
get as clear a perception of it as you have had of his shame.
Not only weep at his burial, but rejoice at his resurrection ; not
only sorrow at his cross, but worship at his throne. Do not
merely think of the nails and of the spear, but behold the impe-
rial purple which hangs so nobly upon his royal shoulders, and
of the divine crown which he wears upon his majestic brow.

I want to conduct you in such a frame of mind through the
glories of my text. First, bidding you observe the perpetual
reign of Christ: “He shall stand and feed in the strength of the
Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God ;” then I
shall beg you to observe that flowing from this is the perpetual
continuance of his church: “and they shall abide;” and then
proceeding both from his continued reign and from the church’s
consequent perpetual existence comes the greatness of our King:
“for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.”

I. At the outset, observe carefully THE PERPETUAL REIGN
oF CuristT. He lives; he reigns ; he is king over his people.

Notice, first, that his reign is shepherd-like in its nature. The
kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, but our Mas-
ter washed his disciples’ feet, Earthly monarchs are often
tyrants: their yoke is heavy, and their language domineering ;
but it is not so with our King: his yoke is easy, and his burdenLET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 133

is light, for he is meek and lowly of heart. He is a shepherd-
king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and
tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; he commands
and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the
well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shep-
herd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of
love and the energy of goodness. His power lies not in imperi-
ous threatenings, but in imperial loving-kindness. Leet the chil-
dren of Zion be joyful in their King, for “men shall be blessed
in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” Never people had
such a king before. His service is perfect freedom; to be his
subject is to be a king ; to serve him is to reign. Blessed are
the people who are the sheep of his pasture. If they follow in
his footsteps, their road is safe; if they sleep at his feet, no lion
can disturb their peace; if they are fed from his hand, they shall
lie down in green pastures, and know no lack; if they abide
close to his person, they shall drink of rivers of delight. Right-
eousness and peace are the stability of his throne ; joy and glad-
ness are the ornaments of his reign. Oh! how happy are we
who belong to such a prince! Thou King in Jeshurun, we pay
thee homage with loyal hearts ; we come into thy presence with
thanksgiving, and into thy courts with praise ; for thou art our
God, and we are the people of thy pasture and the sheep of thy
hand.

Notice that the reign of Jesus is practical in tts character. It
is said “he shall stand and feed.” ‘The great Head of the church
is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit
down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without
wielding it in government. No: he stands and feeds. ‘The ex-
pression “feed,” in the original, is like an analogous one in the
Greek, which means to shepherdize, —to do everything expected
of a shepherd,— to guide, to watch, to preserve, to tend, as well
as to feed. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Head of the church,
is always actively engaged for the church’s good. Through him
the Spirit of God constantly descends upon the members of the
church ; by him ministers are given in due season, and all church-
12134 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

officers in their proper place. When he ascended up on high
he received gifts for men; “And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Our Lord does
not close his eyes to the state of his church. Beloved, he is not
a listless spectator of our wants. He is this day standing and
feeding his people. They are scattered, I know, wide as the
poles asunder; but our mighty Shepherd can see every sheep
and lamb of his flock, and he gives them all their portion of
meat in due season. He it is that, like a mighty breaker, goes
forth at the head of his flock, and they follow where he clears
the way: “ He shall stand and feed.” Oh blessed carefulness
and divine activity of our gracious King ! always fighting against
our enemies, and at the same time shedding his benignant influ-
ences upon his friends.

Consider, again, for it is in our text, that this active reign is
continual in its duration. It is said, “He shall stand and feed ; ”
not, “he shall feed now and then, and then leave his position ;”
not, “he shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave
his church to barrenness.’ Beloved, there is no such pastor as
Christ. “I know my sheep,” he can say, in a very high and
peculiar sense. He knows them through and through; he feels
with them; in all their afilictions he is afflicted; he is one with
them eternally. There is no such wakeful watchman asthe Lord
Jesus. Is it not written, “I the Lord do keep it; I will water
it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day?
Those eyes never slumber, and those hands never rest ; that
heart never ceases to beat with love, and those shoulders are
never weary of carrying his people’s burdens. The church may
go through her dark ages, but Christ is with her in the midnight ;
she may pass through her fiery furnace, but Christ is in the
midst of the flame with her. Her whole history through, wher-
ever you find the church, there shall you find the church’s Lord.
The head is never severed from the body, nor is the watchful
care of this gracious husband towards his spouse suspended for
an instant.LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 135

I beseech you, labor to realize the noble picture. Here are
his sheep in these pastures this morning, and here is our great
Shepherd, with the crown upon his head, standing and feeding
us all; nay, not ws all alone, but dispensing his tender mercies
to all the multitudes of his elect throughout the whole world.
He is at this moment King in Zion, ruling and overruling, pres-
ent everywhere, and everywhere showing himself strong in the
defence of his saints. I would that our churches could be more
influenced by a belief in the abiding power, presence, and pre-
eminence of their living and reigning Lord. He is no dead King,
whose memory we are bidden to embalm, but a living Leader
and Commander, whose behests we must obey, whose honor we
must defend.

Do not fail to discern that the empire of Christ in his church
is effectually powerful in its action: “We shall feed in the
strength of Jehovah.” Wherever. Christ is, there is God; and
whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it isa
joyful truth to consider that he who redeemed us was none other
than God himself, he who led our captivity captive was Jehovah-
Jesus; he who stands to-day representing the interests of his
people is very God of very God; he who has sworn that every
one of his people whom he hath redeemed by blood shall be
brought safe to his Father’s right hand, is himself essential Deity.
O my brethren, we rest upon a sure foundation when we build
upon the Incarnate God; and O ye saints of God, the interests
of each one of you, and of the one great church, must be safe,
because our champion is God. Jehovah is our Judge, Jehovah
is our Lawgiver, Jehovah is our King: he will save us. How
can he fail or be discouraged? When he maketh bare his arm,
who shall stand against him? Let us rehearse the mighty deeds
of the Lord, and tell of his wonders of old. Remember how he
got him victory upon Pharaoh and the pride of Egypt! Pharaoh
said, “ Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel
go?” Ten plagues of terrible majesty taught the boaster that
the Lord was not to be despised, and the humbled tyrant bade
the people go their way. With a high hand and an outstretched136 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

arm did the Lord bring forth his people from the house of bond-
age. When the proud high stomach of Egypt’s king again rose
against the Most High, the Lord knew how to lay his adversary
lower than tle dust. Methinks I see the hosts of Mizraim, with
their horses and their chariots, hurrying after the Lord’s fugi-
tives. Their mouths are foaming withrage. ‘“'The enemy said,
I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: my lust
shall be satisfied upon them.” See how they ride, in all their
pompous glory, swallowing the earth in their fury! O Israel!
where shall be thy defence? How shalt thou eseape from thy
tyrannic master? Be still, O ye seed of Jacob: ye sons of
Abraham, rest ye patiently; for these Egyptians, whom ye see
to-day, ye shall see no more forever. With their horses and
their chariots the fierce foemen descended into the depths of the
sea, but the Lord looked upon them and troubled them. “ Thou
didst blow with thy wind: the sea covered them; they sank as

’ The depths have covered them ;

lead in the mighty waters.’
they sank into the bottom like a stone. “ Let us sing unto the
Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and‘his rider
hath he thrown into the sea.” Surely it shall be so at the last
with Jesus our King and all his saints; we also shall sing “ the
song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb,” in that
day when the arch-enemy shall be overthrown, and the hosts of
evil shall be consumed, and they who hate the Lord shall be-
come as the fat of rams: into smoke shall they consume, yea, into
smoke shall they consume away.

One other word remains, —our Lord’s kingdom ¢s most majestic
im ws aspect. You will observe it is written by the prophet,
“Te shall feed in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”
Jesus Christ is greatly to be reverenced. The familiarity with
which we approach him is always to be tempered with the deep-
est and most reverent adoration. He is our brother, bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh, but still he counteth it not robbery
to be equal with God. I know he made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and he calleth himself
to-day our husband, and maketh us to be members of his body,LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 137

of his flesh, and of his bones; but yet we must never forget that
it is written, “ Let all the angels of God worship him,” and “ At
the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.” Yes, Christ is majestic in his church. I
would, brethren, we always thought of this. There is a glory
and a majesty about all the laws of Christ and all his commands,
so that whether we baptize at his command, or break bread in
remembrance of him, or lift up his cross in ministry —in what-
ever we do, in his name, wh®h is, in fact, what he does through
us, there in an attendant majesty which should make our minds
feel perpetually reverent before him. Oh that the world could
see the glory of Christ in the church! Oh that the world did
but know who it is that is in the midst of the few, the feeble, th
weak, the foolish, as they call them! O Philistia! if thou didst
but know who is our champion, thy Goliath of Gath would soon
hide his diminished head. O Assyria! if thou didst but know
that the ancient might of him who smote Sennacherib still abid-
eth with us, thy hosts would turn their backs, and yield us an
easy victory. ‘There is a true and mysterious presence of Christ
with his people, according to the promise “Lo I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world.” It is because the world
ignores this that she despises and sneers at the church of God.
Therein is our comfort and our glory. We have a majesty
about us, if we be the people of God, which is not to be gain-
sayed, — angels see it and wonder, — a majesty of indwelling
Godhead ; for the Lord is in the midst of us for a glory, and
around us for a defence.

Ii. We will now occupy one or two minutes with THE CON-
SEQUENT PERPETUITY OF THE CHURCH. Because of the unseen
but most certain presence of Christ as King in the midst of his
people, his church ABIDES: so says the text. Here reflect, first,
that a church exists. What awonder this! It is perhaps the
greatest miracle of all ages that God has a church in the world.
Le138 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS:

You who are conversant with human history will bear me out
when I say that the whole history of the church is a series of
miracles,—a long stream of wonders. A little spark kindled in
the midst of oceans, and yet all her boisterous waves cannot
quench it. Here is the great wonder which John saw in vision,
and which history reveals in solemn, sober fact. A woman,
“being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven ; and
behold a great red dragon ..... stood before the woman which
was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born.” ‘The man-child who is to rule all nations with a rod
of iron, was brought forth and caught up to God and to his
throne. As for the woman, the church, she fled as on eagles’
wings to her wilderness-shelter prepared of God, until, in great
wrath, the dragon pursued and persecuted her. Apt enough is
that metaphor, “The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a
flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away
of the flood..... And the dragon was wroth with the woman,
and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep
the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.” Yet, my brethren, as surely as that glorious man-child,
the Lerd Jesus, lives and sits upon the throne, so surely shall
the woman, the poor afilicted church, live on until the dragon’s
time is over, and the King shall reign upon the earth.

To what trials, my brethren, has not the church of God been
subjected! What new invention can Satan bring forth?- The
fire, the rack, imprisonment, banishment, confiscation, slander, —
all these have been tried; and in them all the church has been
more than conqueror, through Him who loved her. False doc-
trine without, heresy and schism within, hypocrisy, formalism, fa-
naticism, pretences of high spirituality, worldliness,—these have
all done their worst. I marvel at the wondrous ingenuity of the
great enemy of the church; but methinks his devices must nearly
have come to anend. Can he invent anything further? We
have been astounded in these ages by the prodigy of an infidel
bishop ; we have been struck dumb with sorrow and amazement

ac esaeaeagaeLET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 189

oO

at a decree which declares that a church professing to be a
church of Christ must permit men to be her ministers who deny
the inspiration of Holy Scripture! This is a new thing under
the sun. Popery and infidelity are to be both legalized and
fostered in a chureh professing to be Christian and Protestant.
What next? and what next? But what of all this? The
church —I mean the company of the Lord’s called and faithful
and chosen — still exists. The Lord has his elect people, who still
hold forth the Word of truth; and in the most reprobate church
still he may say, “I have afew names even in Sardis which
have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me
in white, for they are worthy.”

Observe, the text says “she abides;” which means not that
she exists now and then, by starts and spasms, but she exists
always. This is wonderful. Alwaysa church! When the full
force of the Pagan emperors came like a thundering avalanche
upon her, she shook off the stupendous load as a man shaketh
the flakes of snow from his garment, and she lived on uninjured.
When papal Rome vented its malice yet more furiously and
ingeniously ; when cruel murderers hunted the saints among the
Alps, or worried them in the low country ; when Albigenses and
Waldenses poured out their blood in rivers, and dyed the snow
with crimson, she lived still, and never was in a healther state
than when she was immersed in her own gore. When, after a
partial reformation in this country, the pretenders to religion
determined that the truly spiritual should be harried out of the
land, God’s church did not sleep or suspend her career of life or
service. Let the covenant signed in blood witness to the vigor
of the persecuted saints. Hearken to her psalm amidst the
brown heath-clad hills of Scotland, and her prayer in the secret
conventicles of England! Hear ye the voice of Cargil and Cam-
eron thundering among the mountains against a false king and
an apostate people! Hear ye the testimony of Bunyan and his
compeers, who would svoner rot in dungeons than bow the knee
to Baal! Ask me, “ Where is the church?” and I can find her
at any and every period, from the day when first in the upperaaagaea

140 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

room the Holy Ghost came down, even until now. In one un-
broken line our apostolic succession runs ; not through the Church
of Rome; not from the superstitious hands of priest-made popes
or king-created bishops (what a varnished lie is the apostolic
succession of those who boast so proudly of it!), but through the
blood of good men and true, who never forsook the testimony of
Jesus: through the loins of true pastors, laborious evangelists,
faithful martyrs, and honorable men of God, we trace our pedi-
gree, up to the fishermen of Galilee; and glory that we perpetu-
ate by God’s grace that true and faithful church of the living
God, in whom Christ did abide and will abide until the world’s
crash.

Observe, dear friends, that in the use of the term “abide”
we have not only existence, and continued existence, but the
idea of quiet, calm, uninjured duration. It does not say she
lingers, — hunted, tempted, worried, — but she abides. Oh the
calmness of the church of God under the attacks of her most
malicious foes! Thou cruel adversary, the virgin daughter of
Zion hath shaken her head at thee and laughed thee to scorn!
She abides in peace when the world rages against her. It is
most noteworthy how in most instances the church of God still
keeps her foothold where she has been most savagely persecuted.
In modern times we find in Madagascar, after years of extermi-
nating persecution, the church of God rises from her ashes, like
the phcenix from the flames. The chief wonder is that she
abides perfect. Not one of God’s elect has gone back ; not one
of the blood-bought has denied the faith. Not one single soul
which ever was effectually called can be made to deny Christ,
even though his flesh should be pulled from his bones by hot
pincers, or his tormented body flung to the jaws of wild beasts.
All that the enemy has done has been of no avail against the
church. The old rock has been washed, and washed, and washed
again by stormy waves, and submerged a thousand times in the
floods of tempest, but even her angles and corners abide unaltered
and unalterable. We may say of the Lord’s tabernacle, not one
of the stakes thereof has been removed, nor one of her eords

ri i ee eanaay
eeROROGeR SAU OSR ORR EGER a TyLET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 14]

been broken. The house of the Lord, from foundation to pin-
nacle, is perfect still. “The rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not ;”
nay, nor a single stone of it, “ for it was founded upon a Rock.”

But why all this, dear friends ? — why is it that we have seen
the church endure to this day? How is it that we are confident
that even should worse times arrive the church would weather
the storm, and abide till moons shall cease to wax and wane ?
Why this security ? Only because Christ is in the midst of her.
You do not believe, I hope, in the preservation of orthodoxy
by legal instruments and trust deeds. This is what too many
Dissenters have relied upon. We certainly cannot depend upon
creeds: they are good enough in their way, as trust deeds are
too, but they are as broken reeds if we rely upon them. We
cannot depend upon parliament, nor kings, nor queens. We may
draw up the most express and distinct form of doctrine, but we
shall find that the next generation will depart from the truth
unless God shall be pleased to give it renewed grace from on
high. You cannot, by Presbytery, or Independency, or Epis-
copacy, secure the life of the church. I find the church of God
has existed under an Episcopacy — a form of government not
without its virtues and its faults. I find the church of God
flourish under a Presbytery, and decay under it too. I know it
can be successful under an Independent form of church govern-
ment, and can decline into Arianism quite as easily. The fact
is that forms of government have very little to do with the vital
principle of the church. The reason why the church of God
exists, is not her ecclesiastical regulations, her organization, her
formularies, her ministers, or her creeds, but the presence of the
Lord in the midst of her; and while Christ lives, and Christ
reigns, and stands and feeds his church, she is safe; but if he
“were once gone, it would be with her as it is with you and with
me when the Spirit of God has departed from us, — we are weak
as other men, and she would be quite as powerless.

UL But, now, thirdly, flowing from both these, from the per-CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

 

142

  
  
  
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
   
  
    
  
  
 
 

petual presence of Christ, and from the continued existence of
his church, is THE GREATNESS OF OUR Kine. “Now shall he
be great unto the ends of the earth.” Christ is great in his
| church ; oh! how great in our hearts, where he reigns supreme !
| a My heart, it doth leap at the sound of his name —

“ Jesus, the very thought of thee
With rapture fills my breast.”

Oh for crowns! for golden crowns! Let us crown him King
in Zion! Oh for a well-tuned harp, and for David’s feet to
dance before the ark at the very mention of Jesus’ name!
Now shall he be great indeed in our hearts! But he is to be
great to the ends of the earth. That isa promise of which we will
say, it is accomplished in a measure even now. Christ is made
great in the conversion of every sinner. When the suppliant
penitent cries, “ God be merciful to me a sinner,” and the peace-
speaking blood comes dropping upon the troubled conscience,
and the soul bows meekly to accept the finished righteousness,
then is Christ great. And he is great in the consecration of
every one of his blood-bought saints. When they live for him;
when in their prayers they make mention of him; when they
give him their heart’s music, their life’s light, and their lips’
testimony ; when they feel that tribulation is joyous if endured
for him, and the sternest toil a dear delight when undertaken
for his sake —then Christ is great. Think, my brethren, this
morning, how many ships are now furrowing the blue sea in
which there are hearts which love the name of Jesus. Hark !
Across the waves of the Atlantic and the -Pacific I hear the
sound of prayer and praise from many a vessel bearing the
British flag. J’rom many an islet of the sea the song is borne
upon the breeze. And there across the waters, in the land of our .
American brethren, now so sadly chastened with war, multitudes
of hearts beat as high as ours at the mention of the Saviour’s
name. Here across yon narrow channel, in Holland, in Swe-
den, in Germany, in Switzerland, and even in France and Italy,

We speak

how many own his name and praise him this day!LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN.

of our Queen’s dominions, and say that the sun never sets upon
them. We may in truth say this of our Lord Jesus. Men of
all colors trust in his blood: they who look upward to the south-
ern cross, and they who follow the polar star, alike worship his
dear name ; and when England ceases her strain of joy, in the
hush of night, Australia takes up the song; and so from land
to land, and from shore to shore, a sacrifice of a pure offering
is brought to his shrine. It is accomplished, in some degree ;
but oh how small the degree when we think of the thick dark-
ness which covers the multitude of the people !

Again, it is a promise which is guaranteed as to tts fulfilment
wn the fullest sense. Courage, brethren! courage! The night is
not forever: the morning cometh! Watchman, what sayest thou ?
Are there not streaks reddening the east? Hath not the God
of day, the Lord Jesus, begun to shoot his divine arrows of light
upwards into the thick darkness? Itisevenso. As I think of
the signs of the times, I would fondly hope that we shall live to
see brighter and better days. “Vow,” says the text, “ shall he be
great unto the ends of the earth.” Prophet, I would that thy
“now” were true this day. Now, even now, let him reign!
Why doth he tarry? Why are his chariots so long in coming ?
Will it be, my brethren, that Christ will come before the world
is converted? If so, welcome, Jesus. Or will the world be
converted first? If so, thrice welcome the mercy. But, whether
or no, this we do know, —he shall have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the river even unto the ends of the earth. They who
dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies
shall lick the dust. The day shall come when the fifth great
monarchy shall be co-extensive with the world’s bounds, and
everywhere the Great Shepherd shall reign.

But remember, dear friends, that while this promise is thus
guaranteed as to its fulfilment, it is to be prayed for as to tts ac-
complishment. “I will yet for this be inquired of by the house
of Israel, to do it for them.” The mountain of the Lord shall
rise in the latter days; but, mark you, though there be no sound
of trowel or a hammer, there will be heard the sound of prayer144 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

and praise, as upward the mountain of God’s house shall ascend.
You know the picture. The prophet had seen the Lord’s house
standing, as it were, in a valley ; and as he looked upon it, pres-
ently it became a little hill: the ground began to heave; by
and by it had swollen from a little hill into a lofty mountain ; and
up it rose, and grew more great before his eyes, till Alps were
dwarfed and Himalayas were stunted; and up it still went, not
the house only, but the mountain too, till, infinitely higher than
the projected tower of Babel, which man meant to be the world’s
centre, this house stood out clear and sharp above the clouds,
having pinnacles high up in God’s heaven, and yet deep foun-
dations in man’s earth, and all nations began to flow to it as to
the great centre. Whata dream! What avision! Yet such
shall it be. The church is, as it were, in a plain just now: she
begins to rise. Oh stupendous movement! she begins to rise ;
her mountains swell and grow; she attracts observers ; she can-
not be held down. Who can attempt to restrain the swelling
mass? Who shall prevent the gigantic birth? Up rises the
mountain, as though swollen by some inward fire, and up it
swells, and swells, and swells, till earth touches heaven, and God
communes with men. Then shall be heard the great hallelujah,
“The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them.”

But then, — and this is the conclusion, and I hope God may
help me to press it on your hearts, — ail this ¢s to be labored for
as well as prayed after. My soul pants and pines to see Christ
glorious in the eyes of men. Lives there a Christian here with
soul so dead that he does not desire the extension of his Mas-
ter’s kingdom? Sirs, is there one among you who counts it lit-
tle to see Jesus Christ lifted up in men’s hearts? I know I
speak to a people —and the Lord knoweth it —to many of
whom Christ is the dearest of all which is beloved, — the fairest
among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. Now, if Christ
is to be glorified, he must be glorified by you ; if his kingdom is
to come, it must come through you. God works, but God works
by means. He worketh in you “ to will and to do of his ownLET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 145

good pleasure.” Souls are to be saved, but they are not saved
without instruments. The feast is to be furnished with guests,
but you are to go into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in. I know my Master is to have many crowns,
but they are to be crowns for which you have fought, which you
have won through his grace, and which you place at his feet,
that he may honor you by wearing them upon his brow. Now
we, as a people, have been greatly blessed and helped of God,
and I believe the Master has a very high claim upon us. We,
above all the churches in the world, are indebted to the erace
and mercy of God ; and we ought to be doing something for the
extension of the Saviour’s kingdom. We cannot boast of wealth;
we cannot profess to build all over London a multitude of
churches as the bishop hopes to do. Any scheme of raising
three millions of money by us must be looked upon as being en-
tirely adream. We cannot attempt such a thing. If London isto
be converted by money, we must give up the task. We have no
mitred bishops, no queens to subscribe, and no nobles and dukes
and the like to add their thousands and their tens of thousands of
pounds. Weare a feeble folk; what then can we do for God?
Why, do as much as the strong! What can we do for God?
Do as much as the mighty! Nay, my brethren, our very weak-
ness and want of power shall be our adaptation to God’s work ;
and he who often putteth by the sword of Saul, and the armor of
the son of Kish, will use David, and his sling and his stone, and
smite Goliath’s brow therewith.

I have been musing all this week upon that celebrated scene
in ancient history, which seems to me to be so much like the
state of our church just now, — the story of Gideon, the son of
Joash, threshing wheat in the winepress, because he was afraid
to be seen; the Midianites having spoiled the land. Now we,
as Baptists, have generally been too much afraid to be seen. We
have threshed our corn somewhere away in the winepress — up
a back court — down a narrow street; any dirty hole would do
to build a chapel in. So long as people could not find it, the site
was thought advantageous ; and if nobody could ever see it, that
la146 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS : -

was the place for our fathers, and for some who still linger
among us. It was threshing wheat in the winepress, to hide it
from the Spey. Well, now, I think the time has come that we
should not be afraid of these Suledianiien any longer. Long has
the church of God been oppressed and kept back; she has been
content to let the world devour her increase. ‘There have been
few additions to the churches: they remain very much what they

were twenty or thirty years ago; but, my brethren, some of us

think that we have seen our ae wet with dew, while all

around was dry ; and we believe the Lord has said to us, “The
Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” We think we

have had the Lord’s commission, “ Go in this thy strength.”

We do not expect all of ay to ta with us, for the people are too
many. We expect that there are many of the trembling and

faint-hearted who will step e from the battle, — men who are
looking for their families, and must provide for them ; men who
are saving up money, and grudge their sovereigns, and so on.
These of course will stand back ; and let them : such men encum-
ber our march. We fear that you are not all men who lap; but
re have a few who care very little for the ease and repose of
life, but who snatch a hasty draught as they run, and with heat
ond zeal and passionate earnestness run to meet the adversary.

Now, these we expect to go with us to the fray. In the name
of the Lord, I proclaim a new crusade against the sin and vice
of this huge city. What are we to do? ‘The hosts of Midian
are to be counted by millions. Here in this great city we have
three millions of people; and what if I were to say two-and-half
millions of them do not know their right hand from their left in
matters of religion, I believe I should speak too charitably ; for
if I could Mie there were half a million of -true believers in
London, I should have vastly greater hopes of it than I have
now. But, alas! that is not the case. Millions, millions are
gathered in the valley of mdecision who are not upon the Lord’s
side. What can you and I do? We can do nothing of our-
selves, but we can do everything by the help of our God. Where

Christ is there is might, and where God is there is strength. Let

PeTeTi Patt eaa eta a eaLET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 147

us, therefore, in God’s name, determine to plant new churches
wherever openings occur. Like Gideon’s men, let us rally under
our church officers, and follow where a warm heart leads the
way. Gideon took his men, and bade them do two things, —
covering up a torch in an earthern pitcher, he bade them, at an
appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine; and
then sound with their trumpets, crying, “The sword of the
Lord and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord and of Gideon ! ”
This is just what all Christians must do. First, you must shine ;
break the pitcher which conceals you; throw aside the bushel
which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light
shine before men ; let your good works be such, that, when they
look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus.
There is much good done by the shining. Then there must be
the sound —the blowing of the trumpet. Oh, dear friends!
the great mass of London will never hear the gospel unless
you go and blow the trumpet in their ears. Many who are
members of this church never heard a gospel sermon until
they heard some of you preaching in the street. “ Why,” said
one, “I never went to a place of worship; but I went down
a street, and there stood a young man at the corner. I lis-
tened to him, and God was pleased to send the arrow to my
conscience, and I came into the house of God afterwards.” Take
the gospel to them ; carry it to their doors ; put it in their way ;
do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against
their ears. In the name of God, I pray you do this. Remem-
ber that the true war-cry of the church is Gideon’s war-cry,
“The sword of the Lord!” God must do it: it is God’s work.
But we are not to be idle: instrumentality is to be used, “ The
sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” Mark you, if we only ery
“The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle pre-
sumption, and shall be tempting God to depart from his fixed
rule of procedure. This is the ery of every lazy lie-a-bed. What
good ever comes of saying, “The Lord will do his own work:
let us sit still?” Nor must it be “The sword of Gideon”
alone, for that were idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh;148 CHRIST IS GLORIOUS :

we can do nothing of ourselves. Not “The sword of the Lord ”
only: that were idleness; but the two together, “The sword of
the Lord and of Gideon.” Oh my brethren! God help you to
learn this lesson well; and then you will go forth shining and
sounding, living and teaching, testifying and living out the truth.
Ye shall most assuredly make the kingdom of Christ to come,
and his name shall be honored if you will do this. It seems to
me that now is a glorious opportunity. There is a spirit of
hearing upon the people. Almost any one may get a hearing
who is willing to preach Christ. Now or never! Sons of Ja-
cob! ye are to be like a lion among the flock of sheep! and
will ye lie down and slumber? Up ! and every man to the prey!
Sons of Jacob! ye are to be as dew upon the grass! and will ye
tarry for men and wait for the sons of men? No. In God’s
name, go forward, and let something be done for God, and for
his Christ, for a perishing age, for a dark world, for heaven’s
glory, and for hell’s defeat. Up! ye who know the Lord, ye
swordsmen of our Israel, — up and at them; and God give you a
great victory and deliverance !

I want you to make some practical point of these things to-
day. God has been pleased to put a sword into my hand, and
fo give me my lamp and my pitcher; my college of young men
is now become in the Lord’s hands a marvellous power for good.
A blessing greater than I could have expected rests on this work.
We are continually sending them out, and God owns them in the
conversion of souls. I have never seen any agency more blessed
to the conversion of souls than the agency of our college. With-
out saying anything to depreciate other efforts, I do believe God
has conferred on our institution a crowning and special blessing,
and will continue to do so yet more and more. I want you all,
both hearers and readers of my sermons, to feel that this is your
work, and to help me in it while I continue to ery, “ The sword
of the Lord and of Gideon!” God works, and therefore we
work ; God is with us, and therefore we are with God, and
stand on his side. Inasmuch as many of these men raise churches,
we want you to help to build the places where the new congre-LET US MAKE HIM KNOWN. 149

gations can be accommodated afterwards; and to that end we
have striven to raise a fund of five thousand pounds, to be lent
out to these new churches on loan to be repaid by instalments
without interest. It is but a small sum, but it is as much as I
think we can do, and frugal care will turn it to good account.
Some three thousand pounds have been promised by our seven
shepherds and principal men ; but there are many who have not
promised anything yet, and we shall be glad if they will come
forward, for otherwise this useful fund cannot be raised. When
this is done with, once for all, we will go on and do something
else for Jesus. Do break this pitcher ; get this done, and let the
light of this thing shine. We must be doing something for God.
I speak to you now upon the practical point, and come to it at
once. Ifyou are content to live without serving God, Jam not ;
and if you are willing to let these hours roll by without doing
something to extend the kingdom of Jesus, let me be gone from
you; let me be gone from you to those of warmer spirits and of
holier aspirations ; for I must fight for God! there must be victo-
ries won for him! We must extend the range of the gospel ;
we must find places where soulscan be brought to hear the Word.
Hell shall not forever laugh at our inactivity, and heaven shall not
eternally weep at our sloth! Let us be up and doing, and let
this thing be done by the many : the few have already done their
parts. Promises reaching over five years are asked of you; you
can all do something. And then, every one of you, when you
have done your share in this, go out personallyand serve with your
flaming torch of holy example, and with your trumpet-tones of
earnest. declaration and testimony, serve your Lord; and God
shall be with you, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the
Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever. “ He that beiieveth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall

damned.” Hear ye that note, oh dead souls, and live!
13%SERMON VIII.

ENDURING TO THE END.

‘HE THAT ENDURETH TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED.’’ — Matthew x. 22.

Tuis particular text was originally addressed to the apostles
when they were sent to teach and preach in the name of the
Lord Jesus. Perhaps bright visions floated before their minds,
of honor and esteem among men. It was no mean dignity to be
among the first twelve heralds of salvation to the sons of Adam.
Was a check needed to their high hopes? Perhaps so. Lest
they should enter upon their work without having counted its
cost, Christ gives them a very full description of the treatment
which they might expect to receive, and reminds them that it
was not the commencement of their ministry which would win
them their reward, but “ He that endureth to the end, the same
shall be saved.” It would be well if every youthful aspirant to
the gospel ministry would remember this. If merely to put our
hand to the plough proved us to be called of God, how many
would be found so; but, alas! too many look back and prove
unworthy of the kingdom. The charge of Paul to Timothy is
a very necessary exhortation to every young minister: “Be
thou faithful unto death.” It is not to be faithful for a time, but
to be “ faithful unto death,” which will enable a man to say, “I
have fought a good fight.” How many dangers surround the
Christian minister! As the officers in an army are the chosen
targets of the sharpshooters, so are the ministers of Christ. The
king of Syria said to his servants, “ Fight neither with small
nor great, save only with the king of Israel ;” even 30 the arch-ENDURING TO THE END. 151

fiend makes his main attack upon the ministers of God. From
the first moment of his call to the work, the preacher of the
Word will be familiar with temptation. While he is yet in his
youth, there are multitudes of the softer temptations to turn the
head and trip the feet of the youthful herald of the cross; and
when the blandishments of early popularity have passed away,
as soon they must, the harsh croak of slander and the adder’s
tongue of ingratitude assail him; he finds himself stale and flat
where once he was flattered and admired; nay, the venom of
malice succeeds to the honeyed morsels of ‘adulation. Now, let
him gird his loins and fight the good fight of faith. In his after
days, to provide fresh matter Sabbath after Sabbath, to rule as
in the sight of God, to watch over the souls of men, to weep with
them who weep, to rejoice with those who do rejoice, to be a
nursing father unto young converts, sternly to rebuke hypocrites,
to deal faithfully with backsliders, to speak with solemn authority
and paternal pathos to those who are in the first stages of spir-
itual decline, to carry about with him the care of the souls of
hundreds, is enough to make him grow old while yet he is young,
and to mar his visage with the lines of grief, till, like the Saviour,
at the age of thirty years, men shall count him nearly fifty.
“ Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham ?”
said the adversaries of Christ to him when he was but thirty-two.
If the minister should fall, my brethren ; if, set upon a pinnacle,
he should be cast down ; if, standing in slippery places, he should
falter; if the standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may, what
mischief is done to the church !— what shouts are heard among
the adversaries ! -- what dancings are seen among the daughters
of Philistia! How hath God’s banner been stained in the dust,
and the name of Jesus cast into the mire! When the minister
of Christ turns traitor, it is as if the pillars of the house did
tremble; every stone in the structure feels the shock. If Satan
can succeed in overturning the preachers of the Word, it is as if
yon broad-spreading tree should suddenly fall beneath the axe.
Prone in the dust it lies to wither and to rot; but where are the
birds of the air which made their nests among its boughs, and152, ENDURING TO THE END.

whither fly those beasts of the field which found a happy shadow
beneath its branches? Dismay hath seized them, and they flee
in affright. All who were comforted by the preacher’s word,
strengthened by his example, and edified by his teaching, are
filled with humiliation and grief; crying, “ Alas! my brother.”
By these our manifold dangers and weighty responsibilities we
may very justly appeal to you who feed under our ministry, and
beseech you, “Brethren, pray for us.” Well, we know that
though our ministry be received of the Lord Jesus, if hitherto
we have been kept faithful by the power of the Holy Ghost, yet
it is only he who endureth to the end who shall be saved.

But, my brethren, how glorious is the sight of the man who
does endure to the end as a minister of Christ! I have photo-
graphed upon my heart just now the portrait of one very, very
dear to me; and I think I may venture to produce a rough sketch
of him, as no mean example of how honorable it is to endure to
the end. This man began while yet a youth to preach the Word.
Sprung of ancestors who had loved the Lord and served his
church, he felt the glow of holy enthusiasm. Having proved his
capabilities, he entered college, and, after the close of its course,
settled in a spot where for more than fifty years he continued
his labors. In his early days, his sober earnestness and sound
doctrine were owned of God in many conversions, both at home
and abroad. Assailed by slander and abuse, it was his privilege
to live it all down. He outlived his enemies ; and though he had
buried a generation of his friends, yet he found many warm
hearts clustering round him to the last. Visiting his flock,
preaching in his own pulpit, and making very many journeys to
other churches, years followed one another so rapidly that he
found himself the head of a large tribe of children and grand-
children, most of them walking in the truth. At the age of
fourscore years he preached on still, until, laden with infirmities,
but yet as joyful and as eheerful as in the heyday of his youth, his
time had come to die. He was able to say, truthfully, when last
he spake to me, “I do not know that my testimony for God hag

ever altered, as to the fundamental doctrines. I have grown inENDURING TO THE END. 153

experience, but, from the first day until now, I have had no new
doctrines to teach my hearers. I have had to make no confes-
sions of error on vital points, but have been held fast to the doc-
trines of grace, and can now say that I love them better than
ever.” Such an one was he, as Paul, the aged, longing to preach
so long as his tottering knees could bear him to the pulpit. I
am thankful that I had such a grandsire. He fell asleep in
Christ but afew hours ago, and on his dying-bed talked as cheer-
fully as men can do in the full vigor of their health. Most
sweetly he talked of the preciousness of Christ, and chiefly of
the security of the believer; the truthfulness of the promise ;
the immutability of the covenant; the faithfulness of God, and
the infallibility of the divine deeree. Among other things which
he said at the last was this; which is, we think, worth your
treasuring in your memories. “ Dr. Watts sings —

‘Firm as the earth thy gospel stands,
My Lord, my hope, my trust.’

What, Doctor ! is it not firmer than that? Could you not find a
better comparison? Why! the earth will give way beneath our
feet one day or another, if we rest on it. The comparison will
not do. The Doctor was much nearer the mark when he said —

‘Firm as his throne his promise stands,
And he can well secure
What I’ve committed to his hands,
’Till the decisive hour.’ ”’

“ Firm as his throne,” said he; “he must cease to be king be-
fore he can break his promise or lose his people. Divine sov-
ereignty makes us all secure.” He fell asleep right quietly ; for
his day was over, and the night was come: what could he do
better than go to rest in Jesus? Would God it may be our lot
to preach the Word so long as we breathe, standing fast unto
the end in the truth of God; and if we see not our sons and
grandsons testifying to those doctrines which are so dear to us,
yet may we see our children walking in the truth. I know of154 ENDURING TO TIE END.

nothing, dear friends, which I would choose to have, as the sub-
ject of my ambition for life, than to be kept faithful to my God
to death, — still to be a soul-winner, still to be a true herald of
the cross, and testify the name of Jesus to the last hour. It is
only such who in the ministry shall be saved.

Our text, however, occurs again in the twenty-fourth chapter
of Matthew, at the fourteenth verse, upon which occasion it was
not addressed to the apostles, but to the disciples. ‘The disciples,
looking upon the huge stones which were used in the construc-
tion of the Temple, admired the edifice greatly, and expected
their Lord to utter a few words of passing encomium ; instead of
which, he, who came not to be an admirer of architecture, but
to hew living stones out of the quarry of nature, to build them
up into a spiritual temple, turned their remarks to practical ac-
count, by warning them of a time of affliction, in which there
should be such trouble as had never been before ; and he added,
“No, nor ever shall be.” He described false prophets as
abounding, and the love of many as waxing cold, and warned
them that “ He that endureth to the end, the same shall be
saved.” So that this solemn truth applies to every one of you.

The Christian man, though not called to the post of danger
in witnessing publicly of the grace of God, is destined in his
measure to testify concerning Jesus, and in his proper sphere
and place to be a burning and a shining light. He may not
have the cares of a church, but he hath far more, the cares of
business ; he is mixed up with the world; he is compelled to as-
sociate with the ungodly. ‘Toa great degree, he must, at least
six days in the week, walk in an atmosphere uncongenial with
his nature ; he is compelled to hear words which will never pro-
voke him to love and good works, and to behold actions whose
example is obnoxious. He is exposed to temptations of every sort
and size, for this is the lot of the followers of the Lamb. Satan
knows how useful is a consistent follower of the Saviour, and
how much damage to Christ’s cause an inconsistent professor
may bring; and therefore he emptieth out all his arrows from
his quiver that he may wound, even unto death, the soldier of

Til stae tet
ALAS TAAEL AST ea Eee:ENDURING TO THE END.

the cross. My brethren, many of you have had a far longer ex-
perience than myself. You know how stern is the battle of the
religious life, — how you must contend, even unto blood, striving
against sin. Your life is one continued scene of warfare, both
without and within. Perhaps even now you are crying with the
apostle, “ O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death ?” A Christian’s career is always fighting,
never ceasing ; always ploughing the stormy sea, and never resting
till he reaches the port of glory. If my God shall preserve you,

 

as preserve you he must, or else you are not his —if he shall keep
you, as keep you he will, if you have committed your souls to
his faithful guardianship, what an honor awaits you! I have in
my mind’s eye, just now, one who has been for about sixty years
associated with this church, and who this week, full of years, and
ripe for heaven, was carried by angels into the Saviour’s bosom.
Called by divine grace, while yet young, he was united with the
Christian church early in life. By divine grace he was enabled
to maintain a consistent and honorable character for many years ;
as an officer of this church he was acceptable among his breth-
ren, and useful both by his godly example and sound judgment ;
while in various parts of the church of Christ he earned unto
himself a good degree. He went last Sabbath-day twice to the
house of God where he was accustomed of late years to worship,
enjoying the Word, and feasting at the communion-table with
much delight. He went to his bed without having any very se
rious illness upon him, having spent his last evening upon earth
in cheerful conversation with his daughters. Ere the morning
light, with his head leaning upon his hand, he had fallen asleep
in Christ, having been admitted to the rest which remaineth for
the people of God. As I think of my brother, though of late
years I have seen but little of him, I can but rejoice in the grace
which illuminated his pathway. When I saw him, the week be-
fore his departure, although full of years, there was little or no
failure in mind. He was just the picture of an aged saint wait-
ing for his Master, and willing to work in his cause while life
remained. I refer, as most of you know, to Mr. Samuel Gale.156 ENDURING TO: THE END.

Let us thank God and take courage — thank God that he has
preserved in this case a Christian so many, many years; and
take courage to hope that there will be found in this church
many, at all periods, whose gray heads shall be crowns of glory.
“He that endureth to the end,” and only he, “ shall be saved.”

But, dear friends, perseverance is not the lot of the few; it is
not left to laborious preachers of the Word, or to consistent
church officers: it is the common lot of every believer in the
church. It must be so; for only thus can they prove that they
are believers. It must be so, for only by their perseverance can
the promise be fulfilled, “He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved.” Without perseverance they cannot be saved;
and, as saved they must be, persevere they shall through divine
grace.

I shall now, with brevity and earnestness, as God enables me,
speak upon our text thus: Perseverance 7s the badge of saints —

the target of our foes — the glory of Christ — and the care of all

believers.

I. First, then, PERSEVERANCE IS THE BADGE oF TRUE
SAINTS. Jt is their scriptural mark. How am I to know a
Christian? By his words? Well, to some degree words betray
the man; but a man’s speech is not always the copy of his heart,
for with smooth language many are able to deceive. What doth
our Lord say? “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” But
how am I to know a man’s fruits ? By watching him one day ?
I may, perhaps, form a guess of his character by being with him
for a single hour; but I could not confidently pronounce upon a
man’s true state even by being with him for a week. George
Whitefield was asked what he thought of a certain person’s char-
acter. “J have never lived with him,” was his very proper
answer. If we take the run of a man’s life, say for ten, twenty,
or thirty years, and if, by carefully watching, we see that he
brings forth the fruits of grace through the Holy Spirit, our con-
clusion may be drawn very safely. As the truly magnetized
needle in the compass, with many deflections, yet does reallyENDURING TO THE END.

and naturally point to the pole, so, if I can see that despite
infirmities, my friend sincerely and constantly aims at holiness,
then I may conclude, with something like certainty, that he is a
child of God. Although works do not justify a man before God,
they do justify a man’s profession before his fellows. I cannot
tell whether you are justified in calling yourself a Christian
except by your works; by your works, therefore, as James saith,
shall ye be justified. You cannot by your words convince me
that you are a Christian, much less by your experience, which
I cannot see, but must take on trust from you; but your actions
will, unless you be an unmitigated hypocrite, speak the truth,
and speak the truth loudly too. If your course is as the shining
light which shineth more unto the perfect day, I know that yours
is the path of the just. All other conclusions are only the judg-
ment of charity such as we are bound to exercise ; but this is as
far as man can get it, the judgment of certainty when a man’s
life has been consistent throughout.

Moreover, analogy shows us that tt 1s perseverance which must
mark the Christian. How do I know the winner at the foot
race? There are the spectators, and there are the runners.
What strong men !: what magnificent muscles! what thews and
sinews! Yonder is the goal; and there it is that I must judge
who is the winner: not here, at the starting-point ; for “They
which run ina race run all, but one receiveth the prize.” Imay
select this one, or that other person, as likely to win, but I cannot
be absolutely sure until the race is over. There they fly! See
how they press forward, with straining muscles! But one has
tripped, another faints, .a third is out of breath, and others are
far behind. One only wins— and who is he? Why, he who
continued to the end. So I may gather from the analogy, which
Paul constantly allows us, from the ancient games, that only he
who continueth till he reaches the goal may be accounted a
Christian at all. A ship starts on a voyage to Australia: if it
stops at Madeira, or returns after reaching the Cape, would you

 

consider that it ought to be called an emigrant ship for New
South Wales? It must go the whole voyage, or it does not
14158

deserve the name.

ENDURING TO THE END.

A man has begun to build a house, and has

erected one side of it: do you consider him a builder if he stops

there, and fails to cover it in or to finish the other walls? Do

we give men praise for being warriors because they know how

to make one desperate charge, but lose the campaign? Have

we not, of late, smiled at the boasting despatches of commanders,

in fights where both combatants fought with valor, and yet

neither of them had the common sense to push on to reap the

victory ?- What was the very strength of Wellington, but that,

when a triumph had been achieved, he knew how to reap the

harvest which had been sown in blood ?

And he only is a true

conqueror, and shall be crowned at the last, who continueth till

war’s trumpet is blown no more.

It is with a Christian as it was

with the great Napoleon: he said, “ Conquest has made me

what I am, and conquest must maintain me.”

So, under God,

conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain
you. Your motto must be, “Excelsior ;” or, if it be not, you

know not the noble spirit of God’s princes.

But why do I mul-

tiply illustrations, when all the,world rings with the praise of

perseverance ?

Moreover, the common-sense judgment of mankind tells us
that those who merely begin, and do not hold out, will not be
saved. Why! ¢fevery man would be saved who began to follow

Christ, who would be damned 2

In such a country as this, the

most of men have at least one religious spasm in their lives. I

suppose that there is not a person before me who at some time

or other did not determine to be a pilgrim.

You, Mr. Pliable,

were induced by a Christian friend, who had some influence
with you, to go with him some short way, till you came to the
Slough of Despond; and you thought yourself very wise when
you scrambled out on that side which was nearest to your own
home. And even you, Mr. Obstinate, are not always dogged :
you have fits of thoughtfulness and intervals of tenderness. My
hearer, how impressed you were at the prayer meeting! how

excited you were at that revival service !
zealous brother preach at the theatre, what an impression was

When you heard aENDURING TO THE END. 159

produced! Ah, yes! the shop was shut up for a Sunday or two;
you did not swear or get drunk for nearly a month; but you
could not hold on any longer. Now, if those who were to begin
were saved, why you would be secure, though you are at the
present time as far from anything like religion as the darkness
at midnight is from the blazing light of midday. Besides, com-
mon sense shows us, I say, that a man must hold on, or else he
cannot be saved; because the very worst of men are those who
begin and then give up. If you would turn over all the black
pages of villany to find the name of the son of perdition, where
would you find it? Why, among the apostles. The man who
had wrought miracles and preached the gospel sold his Master
for thirty pieces of silver — Judas Iscariot betrays the Son of
Man with a kiss! Where is a worse name than that of Simon
Magus? Simon “believed also,” says the Scripture; and yet he
offered the apostles money if they would sell to him the Holy
Ghost. What an infamous notoriety Demas has obtained, who
loved the present evil worid! How much damage did Alexander
the coppersmith do to Paul? “He did me much evil,” said he;
“the Lord reward him according to his works.” And yet that
Alexander was once foremost in danger, and even exposed his
own person in the theatre at Ephesus that he might rescue the
apostle. ‘There are none so bad as those who once seemed to
be good. “Tf the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be
seasoned?” That which is best when ripe, is worst when rotten ;
liquor which is sweetest in one stage, becomes sourest in another.
“Let not him that putteth on his armor boast as though he put-
teth it off ;” for even common sense teaches you that it is not
to begin, but to continue to the end, which marks the time of the
child of God.

But we need not look to analogy and to mere common sense.
Scripture ts plain enough. What says John? “They went
out from us.” Why? Were theyever saints? Oh no! “ They
went out from us, because they were not of us; for if they had
been of us, doubtless they would have continued with us ; but they
went out from us, that it might be manifest that they were notttiithe

160 ENDURING TO THE END.

of us.” They were no Christians, or else they had not thus
apostatized. Peter saith, “ It hath happened unto them accord-
ing to the proverb: the dog hath returned to its vomit, and the
sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire ;”’ indicating at
once most clearly that the dog, though it did vomit, always was
a dog. When men disgorge their sins unwillingly, not giving
them up because they dislike them, but because they cannot
retain them, if a favorable time comes, they will return to
swallow once more what they seemed to abandon. The sow that

 

was washed — ay, bring it into the parlor, introduce it among
society ; it was washed, and well washed too; whoever saw so
respectable a member of the honorable confraternity of swine
before? Bring itin! Yes; but will you keep it there? Wait
and see. Because you have not transformed it into a man, on
the first occasion it will be found wallowing in the mire. Why?
Because it was not a man, but a sow. And so we think we may
learn from multitudes of other passages, if we had time to quote
them, that those who go back into perdition are not saints at all;
for perseverance is the badge of the righteous. “The righteous
shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax
stronger and stronger.” We not only get life by faith, but faith
sustains it. “The just shall live by faith.” “But if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

What we have learned from Scripture, dear friends, has been
abundantly confirmed by observation. Every day would I bless
God that in so numerous a church we have comparatively so
few who have proved false; but I have seen enough, and the
Lord knoweth, more than enough, to make me very jealous
over you with a godly jealousy. I could tell of many an instance
of men and women who did run well. “What did hinder
them, that they should not obey the truth?” I remember
a young man of whom I thought as favorably as of any of
you, and I believe he did at that time deserve our favorable
judgment. He walked among us, one of the n.ost hopeful of our
sons, and we hoped that God would make him serviceable to his
cause. He fell into bad company. There was enough conscienceENDURING TO THE END. 161

left, after a long course of secret sin, to make him feel uncom:
fortable in his wickedness, though he did not give it up; and
when at last his sin stared him in the face, and others knew it,
so ashamed was he, that, though he bore the Christian name, he
took poison, that he might escape the shame which he had brought
upon himself. He was rescued — rescued by skill and the good
providence of God; but where he is, and what he is, God only
knoweth; for he had taken another poison, more deadly still,
which made him the slave of his own lusts.

Do not think it is the young alone, however. Itisa very lamen-
table fact that there are, in proportion, more backslidings among
the old than the young; and if you want to find a great sinner
in that respect, you will find him, surely, nine times out of ten,
with gray hairs on his head. Have I not frequently mentioned
that you do not find in Scripture many cases of young people
going astray. You do find believers sinning, but they were all
getting old men. There is Noah — no youth. There is Lot, when
drunken —no child. There is David with Bathsheba — no
young man in the heat of passion. There is Peter denying his
Lord —no boy at the time. These were men of experience
and knowledge and wisdom. “ Let him that thinketh he stand-
eth, take heed lest he fall.”

With sorrow do we remember one whom, years ago, we heard
pray among us, and sweetly too; esteemed and trusted by us all.
I remember a dear brother saying very kindly, but not too
wisely, “If he is not a child of God, I am not.” But what did
he, my brethren, to our shame and sorrow, but go aside to the
very worst and foulest of sin! and where is he now? Perhaps
the ale-house may tell, or worse places still. So we have seen
that earth’s sun may be eclipsed,.earth’s stars may go out, and
all human glory melt into shame. No true child of God per-
ishes — hold that fast ; but this is the badge of a true child of
God, — that a man endures to the end, and if a man does not
hold on, but slinks back to his old master, and once again fits on
the old collar, and wears again the Satanic yoke, there is sure
proof that he has never come out of the spiritual Egypt through
14*162 ENDURING TO THE END.

Jesus Christ, his leader, and hath never obtained that eternal
life which cannot die, because it is born of God. I have thus,
then, dear friends, said enough to prove, I think, beyond dispute,
that the true badge of the Christian is perseverance, and that
without it no man has proved himself to be a child of God.

II. Secondly, PERSEVERANCE IS, THEREFORE, THE TARGET
OF ALL OUR SPIRITUAL ENEMIES.

We have many adversaries. Look at the world! The world
does not object to our being Christians for a time; it will cheer-
fully overlook all misdemeanors in that way, if we will now shake
hands, and be as we used tobe. Your old companions, who
used to call you such good fellows when you were bad fellows,
would they not very readily forgive you for having been Chris-
tians if you would just go back and be as in days gone by? Oh,
certainly ! they would look upon your religion as a freak of
folly, but they would very easily overlook it if you would give it
up for the future. “ Oh!” saith the world, “come back — come
back to my arms once more; be enamored of me, and though
thou hast spoken some hard words against me, and done some
cruel deeds against me, I will cheerfully forgive thee.” The
world is always stabbing at the believer’s perseverance. Some-
times she will bully him back; she will persecute him with her
tongue —cruel mockings shall be used; and at another time
she will cozen him, “ Come thou back to me; oh! come thou
back! Wherefore should we disagree? Thou art made for me,
and Tam made for thee!” And she beckons so gently and so
sweetly, even as Solomon’s harlot of old. This is the one thing with
her, that thou shouldst cease to be a pilgrim, and settle down to
buy and sell with her in Vanity Fair.

Your second enemy, the flesh. What is its aim? “Oh!”
cries the flesh, “ we have had enough of this; it is weary work
being a pilgrim: come, give it up.” Sloth says, “Sit still where
thou art. Enough is as good as a feast; at least, of this tedious
thing.” Then Lust crieth, “Am I always to be mortified? Am
I never to be indulged? Give me, at least, a furlough from thisENDURING TO THE END. 163

constant warfare?” The flesh cares not how soft the chain, so
that it does but hold us fast, and prevent our pressing on to
glory.

Then comes in the devil ; and sometimes he beats the big drum,
and cries, with a thundering voice, “There is no heaven; there
is no God: you are a fool to persevere.” Or, changing his tac-
tics, he cries, “ Come back! I will give thee a better treatment
than thou hadst before. Thou thoughtest me a hard master, but
that was misrepresentation. Come and try me; I am a different
devil from what I was ten years ago; I am respectable to what
I was then. Ido not want you to go back to the low theatre or
the casino. Come with me, and be a respectable lover of
pleasure. I tell thee, I can dress in broadcloth as well as in
corduroy ; and I can walk in the courts of kings, as well as in the
courts and alleys of the beggar. Oh ! come back!” he saith, “and
make thyself one of mine.” So that this hellish trinity — the world,
the flesh, and the devil — all stab at the Christian’s perseverance.

His perseverance in service they will frequently attack: “What
profit is there in serving God?” The devil will say to me some-
times, as he did to Jonah, “ Flee thou unto Tarshish, and do not
stop in this Nineveh: they will not believe thy word, though
thou speak in God’s name!” To you he will say, “Why, you
are so busy all the six days of the week, what is the good of
spending your Sunday with a parcel of noisy brats in a Sunday-
school? Why go about with those tracts in the streets? Much
good you will get from it. Would not you be better with having
a little rest?” Ah! that word rest. Some of us are very fond
of it; but we ought to recollect that we spoil it if we try to get
it here, for rest is only beyond the grave. We shall have rest
enough when once we come into the presence of our Lord. Per-
severance in service, then, the devil would murder outright.

If he cannot stay us in service, he will try to prevent our per-
severance om suffering. “Why be patient any longer?” says
he. “Why sit on that dunghill, scraping your sores with a pot-
sherd? Curse God, and die. You have been always poor since
you have been a Christian ; your business does not prosper; youeae

     
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
     
  
  
 
 
  
   
  
   
 
  
   
  
 
   
  
  

164 ENDURING TO THE END.

see, you.cannot make money unless you do as others do. You
must go with the times, or else you will not get on. Give it all
up. Why be always suffering like this?” Thus the foul spirit
tempts us. Or you may have espoused some good cause, and
the moment you open your mouth, many laugh and try to put
you down. “ Well,” says the devil, “be put down — what is
the use of it? Why make yourself singularly eccentric, and
expose yourself to perpetual martyrdom? It is all very nice,”
saith he, “if you will be a martyr, to be burnt at once, and have
ie done with it; but to hang, like Lord Cobham, to be roasted over
: a slow fire for days, is not comfortable. Why,” saith the tempter,
“why be always suffering? Give it up.” You see, then, it is
also perseverance in suffering which the devil shooteth at.

Or, perhaps, it is perseverance in steadfastness. The love of
many has waxed cold, but you remain zealous. “ Well,” saith
he, “ what is the good of your being so zealous? Other people
are good enough people; you could not censure them: why do
you want to be more righteous than they are ? Why should you
be pushing the church before you, and dragging the world behind
you? What need is there for you to go two marches in one
day? Is not one enough? Do as the rest do; loiter as they
do. Sleep as do others, and let your lamp go out, as other vir-
gins do.” Thus is our perseverance in steadfastness frequently
assailed.

Or else it will be our doctrinal sentiments. « Why,” says
Satan, “do you hold to these denominational creeds ? Sensible
men are getting more liberal; they are giving away what does
not belong to them — God’s truth; they are- removing the old
landmarks. Acts of uniformity are to be repealed ; articles and
creeds are to be laid aside as useless lumber, not necessary for
this very enlightened age. Fall in with this, and be an Anything-
arian. Believe that black is white ; hold that truth and a lie
are very much akin to one another, and that it does not matter
which we do believe, for we are all of us right, though we flatly
contradict each other ; that the Bible is a nose of wax, to fit any
face ; that it does not teach anything material, but you may

  

eaves Geae deat ead ss:ENDURING TO THE END. 165

make it say anything you like. Do that,” saith he, “and be no
longer firm in your opinion.”

I think I have proved —and need not waste more words
about it —- that perseverance is the target for all enemies. Wear
your shield, Christian, therefore, close upon your armor, and

ery mightily unto God, that by his Spirit you may endure to
the end.

IIJ. Thirdly, brethren, PERSEVERANCE IS THE GLORY oF
CuRISsT.

That he makes all his people persevere to the end, is greatly
to his honor. If they should fall away and perish, every office
and work and attribute of Christ would be stained in the mire.
If any one child of God should perish, where were Christ’s cove-
nant engagements? What is he worth as a mediator of the
covenant and the surety of it, if he hath not made the promises
sure to all the seed? My brethren, Christ is made a leader and
commander of the people, to bring many souls into glory ; but
if he doth not bring them into glory, where is the Captain’s honor?
Where is the efficacy of the precious blood, if it does not effect-
ually redeem? If it only redeemeth for a time, and then
suffereth us to perish, where is its value? If it only blots out
sin for a few weeks, and then permits that sin to return and to
remain upon us, where, I say, is the glory of Calvary, and where
is the lustre of the wounds of Jesus? He lives — he lives to in-
tereede: but how can I honor his intercession, if it be fruitless ?
Does he not pray, “ Father, I will that they also, whom thou
hast given me, be «vith me where I am;” and if they be not
finally brought to be with him where he is, where is the honor
of his intercession? Hath not the Pleader failed, and the great
Mediator been dismissed without success? Is he not at this day in
union with his people? But what is the value of union to Christ,
if that union does not insure salvation? Is he not to-day at the
right hand of God, preparing a place for his saints? and will he
prepare a place for them, and then lose them on the road? Oh!
can it be that he procures the harp and the crown, and will not166 ENDURING TO THE END.

save souls to use them? My brethren, the perishing of one true
child of God would be such dishonor to Jesus, that I cannot
think of it without considering it as blasphemy. One true be-
hever in hell! Oh! what laughter in the pit — what defiance,
what unholy mirth! “Ah! Prince of life and glory,” saith the
prince of the pit, “I have defeated thee. I have snatched the
prey from the mighty, and the lawful captive I have delivered ;
I have torn a jewel from thy crown. See! here itis! Thou
didst redeem this soul with blood, and yet it is in hell.” Hear
what Satan cries — “ Christ suffered for this soul, and yet God
makes it suffer for itself. Where is the justice of God?” Christ
came from heaven to earth to save this soul, and failed in the

attempt, and I have him here; ”

and as he plunges that soul
into deeper waves of woe, the shout of triumph goes up more and
more blasphemously — “ We have conquered heaven! We have
rent the eternal covenant ; we have foiled the purposes of God ; we
have defeated his decree ; we have triumphed over the power of
the Mediator, and cast his blood to the ground!” Shallit ever be ?
Atrocious question! It can never be. They who are in Christ
are saved. They whom Jesus Christ hath really taken into
union with himself, shall be with him where he is. But how
are you to know whether you are in union with Christ? My
brethren, you can only know it by obeying the apostle’s words,
““ Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure.”

IV. I close, therefore, with but a hint on the last point, pur-
SEVERANCE SHOULD BE THE GREAT CARE OF EVERY CHRISTIAN
— his daily and his nightly care. Oh belowed! I conjure you
by the love of God, and by the love of your own souls, be faith-
ful unto death. Have you difficulties? You must conquer
them. Hannibal crossed the Alps, for his heart was full of fury
against Rome; and you must cross the Alps of difficulty, for I
trust your heart is full of hatred of sin. When Mr. Smeaton
had built the lighthouse upon the Eddystone, he looked out
anxiously after a storm to see if the edifice was still there, and it
was his great joy when he could see it still standing; for a former

>

eSeSLG TA Sap e eae aaa eae ayENDURING TO THE END.

builder had constructed an edifice which he thought to be inde-
structible, and expressed a wish that he might be in it in the
worst storm which ever blew; and he was so, and neither himself
nor his lighthouse were ever seen afterwards. Now you have
to be exposed to multitudes of storms. You must be in your
lighthouse in the worse storm which ever blew. Build firmly,
then, on the Rock of Ages, and make sure work for eternity ; for
if you do these things, ye shall never fall. For this church’s
sake, I pray you do it; for nothing can dishonor and weaken a
church so much as the falls of professors. A thousand rivers
flow to the sea and make rich the meadows, but no man heareth
the sound thereof; but if there be one cataract, its roaring will
be heard for miles, and every traveller will mark the fall. A
thousand Christians can scarcely do such honor to their Master
as one hypocrite can do dishonor to him. If you have ever
tasted that the Lord is gracious, pray that your foot slip not.
It would be infinitely better to bury you in the earth than see
you buried in sin. If I must be lost, God grant it may not be
as an apostate. If I must, after all, perish, were it not better
never to have known the way of righteousness, than, after hay-
ing known the theory of it, and something of the enjoyment of
it, turn again to the beggarly elements of the world? Let your
prayer be not against death, but against sin. For your own
sake, for the church’s sake, for the name of Christ’s sake,
I pray you do this. But ye cannot persevere except by much
watchfulness in the closet, much carefulness over every action,
much dependence upon the strong hand of the Holy Spirit, who
alone can make you stand. Walk and live as in the sight of
God, knowing where your great strength lieth ; and depend upon
it, you shall yet sing that sweet doxology in Jude, “ Now unto
him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, do-
minion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” A simple faith
brings the soul to Christ. Christ keeps the faith alive. That
faith enables the believer to persevere, and so he enters heaven.
May that be your lot and mine, for Christ’s sake. Amen.SERMON IX.

 

NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

“HE FOUND NOTHING BUT LEAVES.”? — Mark xi. 13.

Most of the miracles of Moses were grand displays of divine
justice. What were the first ten wonders but ten plagues? The
same may be said of the prophets, especially of Elijah and Elisha.
Was it not significant both of the character and mission of Elias
when he called fire from heaven upon the captains of fifties ? Nor
was he upon whom his mantle descended less terrible when the
she-bears avenged him upon the mockers. It remained for our
incarnate Lord to reveal the heart of God. The only-begotten
was full of grace and truth, and in his miracles pre-eminently God
is set forth to us as Love. With the exception of the miracle
before us, and, perhaps, a part of another, all the miracles of
Jesus were entirely benevolent in their character ; indeed, this
one is no exception in reality, but only in appearance. The
raising of the dead, the feeding of the multitude, the stilling of
the tempest, the healing of diseases — what were all these but
displays of the loving-kindness of God? What was this to teach
us but that Jesus Christ came forth from his Father on an errand
of pure grace ?

“Thine hands, dear Jesus, were not arm’d
With an avenging rod,
No hard commission to perform
The vengeance of a God.

“But all was mercy, all was mild,
And wrath forsook the throne,
When Christ on his kind errand came
And brought salvation down.”NOTHING BUT LEAVES. 169

Let us rejoice that God commendeth his Jove towards us, because
in “due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Yet, as if to show that Jesus the Saviour is also Jesus the
Judge, one gleam of justice must dart forth. Where shall merey
direct its fall? See, my brethren! it glances not upon a man,
but lights upon an unconscious, unsuffering thing —a tree. The
curse, if we may call it a curse at all, did not fall on man or
beast, or even the smallest insect: its bolt falls harmlessly upon
a fig tree by the wayside. It bore upon itself the sions of bar-
renness, and perhaps was no one’s property. Little, therefore,
was the loss which any man sustained by the withering of that
verdant mockery, while instruction more precious than a thou-
sand acres of fig trees has been left for the benefit of all ages.
Lhe only other instance, at which I hinted just now, was the
permission given to the devils to enter into the swine, and the
whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and
perished in the waters. In that case, again, what a mercy it was
that the Saviour did not permit a band of men to become the
victims of the evil one! It was infinitely better that the whole
herd of swine should perish than that one poor man should be
rendered a maniac through their influence. The creatures choked
in the abyss were nothing but swine — swine which their Jewish
owners had no right to keep; and even then they did not perish

tl rough Jesus Christ’s agency, but through the malice of the
devils, — for needs must even swine run when the devil drives.

Observe, then, with attention, this solitary instance of stern
Judgment wrought by the Saviour’s hand. Consider seriously
thar, if only once in his whole life Christ works a miracle of pure
Judement, the lesson so unique must be very full of meaning.
If there be but one curse, where does it fall? What is its sym-
bolic teaching ? I do not know that I ever felt more solemnly
the need of true faithfulness before God than when I was look-
ing over this miracle-parable — for such it may justly be called.
The curse, you at once perceive, falls in its metaphorical and
spiritual meaning upon those high professors who are destitute
of true holiness ; upon those who manifest great show of leaves,

1d120 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   

re sut who bring forth no fruit unto God. Only one thunderbolt,
me and that for boasting pretenders; only one curse,-and that for
hypocrites. O blessed Spirit! write this heart-searching truth

upon our hearts.

1. We will commence our exposition with the remark that
THERE WERE MANY TREES WITH LEAVES ONLY UPON THEM,
AND YET NONE OF THESE WERE CURSED BY THE SAVIOUR,
SAVE ONLY THIS FIG TREE. It is the nature of many trees to
yield to man nothing but their shade. The hungering Saviour
did not resort to the oak or to the elm to look for food, nor could
the fir tree, nor the pine, nor the box offer him any hope of
refreshment ; nor did he breathe one hard word concerning them,
for he knew what was in them, and that they neither were, nor
pretended to be, fruit-bearing trees. So, dear friends, there are
many men whose lives bear leaves, but no fruit; and yet, thanks
be unto God, almighty patience bears with them. ‘They are
allowed to live out their time, and then, it is true, they are cut

} down and cast into the fire; but while they are permitted to
stand, no curse withers them: the long-suffering of God waiteth ‘
to be gracious to them. WHere are some of the characters who
have leaves but no fruit.

There are thousands who ignorantly follow the stgn, and know
nothing of the substance. In England, we think ourselves far in
advance of popish countries; but how much of the essence of
Popery peeps out in the worship of very many! They go to
church or chapel, and they think that the mere going into the
place and sitting a certain time and coming out again is an‘ac-
ceptable act to God; mere formality, you see, is mistaken for
spiritual worship. They are careful to have their infants
sprinkled, but what the ceremony means they know not; amd

. without looking into the Bible to see whether the Lord com-
mands any such an ordinance, they offer him their ignorant will-
worship, either in obedience to custom, or in the superstition of
ignorance. What the thing is, or why it is, they do not in-

quire, but go through a performance as certain parrots say theirNOTHING BUT LEAVEs. 17]

prayers. They know notling about the inward

and spiritual grace
: a me fae : e
which the catechism talks about, if, indeed, inward spiritual grace

could ever be connected with an unscriptural outward and visible
sign. When these poor souls come to the Lord’s Supper, their
thoughts go no further than the bread and wine, or the hands
which break the one and pour out the other.

They know nothing
whatever of communion with Jesus,

of eating his flesh and drink-
ing his blood. Their souls have proceeded as far as the shell, but
they have never broken into the kernel to taste the sw

eetness
thereof. They have a name to live, and are de

ad; their religion
is a mere show; a signboard without an inn ; a well-set table
without meat; a pretty pageant where nothing is gold, but
everything gilt, — nothing real, but all pasteboard, paint, plaster,
and pretence. Nonconformists, your chapels swarm with such,
and the houses of the Establishment are full of the same. Mul-
titudes live and die satisfied with the outward trappings of reli-
gion, and are utter strangers to internal vital godliness. Yet
such persons are not cursed in this life. No: they are to be
pitied, to be prayed for, to be sought after, with words of love
and honest truth ; they are to be hoped for yet, for who knoweth
but that God may call them to repentance, and they may yet
receive the life of God into their souls ?
Another very numerous class have opinion, but not faith ;
creed, but not credence. We meet them everywhere. How
zealous they are for Protestantism ! They would not only die
for orthodoxy, but kill others as well. Perhaps it is the Calvin-
istic doctrine which they have received ; and then the five points
are as dear to them as their five senses. These men will con-
tend, not to say earnestly, but savagely, for the faith. They very
vehemently denounce all those who differ from them in the
smallest degree, and deal damnation round the land with amazing
liberality to all who are not full weight according to the balance
of their little Zoar, Rehoboth, or Jireh ; while all the while the
spirit of Christ, the love of the Spirit, bowels of compassion, and
holiness of character are no more to be expected from them than
grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. Doctrine, my brethren,172 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

is to be prized above all price! Woe to the church of God when
error shall be thought a trifle, for truth will be lightly esteemed ;
and when truth is gone, what is left? But at the same time we
grossly mistake if we think that orthodoxy of creed will save us.
I am sick of those cries of “the truth,” “the truth,” “the truth,’
from men of rotten lives and unholy tempers. There is an ors
thodox ag well as a heterodox road to hell, and the devil knows
how to handle Calvinists quite as well as Arminians. No pale
of any church can insure salvation ; no form of doctrine can guar-
antee to us eternal life. “ Ye must be born again.” Ye must
bring forth fruits meet for repentance. “ Every tree which
bringeth not forth fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire.”
Stopping short of vital union to the Lord Jesus by real faith, we
miss the great qualification for entering heaven. Yet the time
is not come when these mere head-knowers are cursed. ‘These
trees have leaves only, but no fatal curse has withered them
hopelessly. No: they are to be sought after; they may yet
know the Lord in their hearts, and the Holy Spirit may yet make
them humble followers of the Lamb. Oh that it may be so!

A third class have talk without feeling. Mr. ‘Talkative, in
“ Pilorim’s Progress,” is the representative of a very numerous
host. They speak very glibly concerning divine things. Whether
the topic be doctrinal, experimental, or practical, they talk flu-
ently upon everything. But, evidently, the whole thing comes
from the throat and the lip: there is no welling up from the
heart. If the thing came from the heart, it would be boiling;
but now it bangs like an icicle from their lips. You know them
-— you may learn something from them ; but all the while you are
yourself aware that if they bless others by their words, they
themselves remain unblessed. Ah! let us be very anxious lest
this should be our own case. Let the preacher feel the anxiety
of the Apostle Paul, lest, after having preached to others, he
himself should be a castaway; and let my hearers feel the same
concern, lest, after talking about the things of God, they should
prove to be mere lip-servers, and not accepted children of the
Most High.NOTHING BUT LEAVES. Lz

Another tribe springs up just now before my eye, — those who
have regrets without repentance. Many of you under a heart-
searching sermon feel grieved on account of your sins, and yet
never have the strength of mind to give them up. You say you
are sorry, but yet go on in the same course. You do really feel,
when death and judgment press upon you, a certain sort of re-
gret that you could have been so foolish; but the next day the
strength of temptation is such that you fall a prey to the very
same infatuation. It is easy to bring a man to the river of
regret, but you cannot make him drink the water of repentance.
If Agag would be killed with words, no Amalekite would live.
If men’s transient sorrows for sin were real repentance on ac-
count of it, there is not a man living who would not, sometime or
other, have been a true penitent. .Here, however, are leaves
only, and no fruit.

We have yet, again, another class of persons who have resolves
without action. They will! Ah! that they will! but it is
always in the future tense. They are hearers, and they are even
feelers, but they are not doers of the Word; it never comes to
that. They would be free, but they have not patience to file
their fetters, nor grace to submit their manacles to the hammer.
They see the right, but they permit the wrong to rule them.
They are charmed with the beauties of holiness, and yet deluded
with the wantonness of sin. They would run in the ways of
God’s commandments, but the road is too rough, and running is
weary work. They would fight for God, but victory is hardly
won, and so they turn back almost as soon as they have set out ;
they put their hand to the plough, and then prove utterly unwor-
thy of the kingdom.

The great majority of persons who have any sort of religion at
all, bear leaves ; but they produce no fruit. I know there are some
such here, and I solemnly warn you, though no curse falls upon
you, though we do not think that the miracle now under consid-
eration has any relation to you whatever, yet, remember there is
nothing to be done with trees which bring forth only leaves, but
in due time to use the axe upon them, and to cast them into the
15*174 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

fire; and thts must be your doom. As sure as you live under
the sound of the gospel, and yet are not converted by it, so surely
will you be cast into outer darkness. As certainly as Jesus Christ
invites you and ye will not come, so certainly will he send his
angels to gather the dead branches together, and you among
them, to cast them into the fire. Beware! beware, thou fruit-
less tree! thou shalt not stand forever! Mercy waters thee with
her tears now ; God’s loving-kindness digs about thee still, — still
the husbandman comes, seeking fruit upon thee, year after year.
Beware! The edge of the axe is sharp, and the arm which wields
it is nothing less than almighty. Beware! lest thou fall into the
fire !

II. Secondly, rHERE WERE OTHER TREES WITH NEITHER
LEAVES NOR FRUIT, AND NONE OF THESE WERE CURSED.

The time of figs was not yet come. Now, as the fig tree either
brings forth the fig before the leaf, or else produces figs and
leaves at the same time, the major part of the trees, perhaps all
of them, without exception of this one, were entirely without
fiss and without leaves ; and yet Jesus did not curse any one of
them, for the time of figs was not yet come.

What multitudes are destitute of anything like religion ! They
make no profession of it; they not only have no fruits of godli-
ness, but they have no leaves even of outward respect to it; they
do not frequent the court. of the Lord’s house; they use no form
of prayer; they never attend upon ordinances. ‘The great out-
lying mass of this huge city — how does religion affect it? It is
a very sad thing to think that there are people living in total
darkness next door to the light; that you may find in the very
street where the gospel is preached, persons who have never
heard a sermon. Are there not, throughout this city, tens and
hundreds of thousands who know not their right hand from their
left, in matters of godliness? Their children go to Sabbath-
schools, but they themselves spend the whole Sabbath-day in
anything except the worship of God. In our country parishes,

very often neither the religion of the Establishment nor of Dis«NOTHING

  
 
 
 

BUT LEAVES.

  

FD

sent at all affects the population. Take, for instance, that village

which will be disgracefull 1y remembered as long as Ess
the village of Hedingham.

wizard, must have been as igno

4D

ex endures,

There are in that place not only
parish churches, but dissenting meeting-houses ; and yet the per-
sons who foully murdered the va wretch supposed to be a

‘ant and indifferent to common

sense, let alone religion, as even Coe or Kaffirs, to whom

the light of religion has never come.

tact with godiiness
will bear witness that

ek out those
society, so that multitudes

at all ?

L

Why was this ?
because there is not enough of missionary
tian people to s

Is it not

7 spirit among Chris-

who are in the lowest strata of

yet there are thousands of husbands, who are neces

at the time of the missionary’s visi

rebuke, or exhortation, or

sounding in their ears at all, from the
day of their death ;

and they m

a)

well have been born in the centre of ie as in

Ss escape without.ever coming into con-
In London, the city missionaries
while they can sometimes get at the we
sarily away
t, who have not a word of
invitation, or encouragement ever
alee of their birth to the
ight, for all practical purposes, as

e
the city or

London ; for they are without God without ho IC, — aliens fr om
2 ’

the commonwealth of Israel ; far on, not by wicked works only

2 : 3

but b y dense ignorance oL God.

These persons we may divide into two classes, upon neither of

whom does the withering curse fall in this life.
look upon with hope.
I

Book of Life, and were ther

Their names are in the

The first we
Although we see neither leaves nor fruit,
we know that “the time of jigs ts not yet.”
elect, but they are not called.

They are God’s

mM ha
Lamb’s

e from before the foundations of the
world. Though they be dead in trespasses,
or divine love;

they are the objects
nd they must, in due time, be ee by re

ble grace, and turned from darkness to light. The Lord hat

much people in this city,” and this should be the Se ae
of every one of you to try to do good, that God has among the

vilest of the vile,
drunken, an elect people who must be saved.

the most reprobate, the most debauched and
When you take
the Word to them, you do so because God has ordained you te176 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

be the messenger of life to their souls; and they must receive it,
for so the decree of predestination runs: they must be called in
the fulness of time to be the brethren of Christ and children of
the Most High. They are redeemed, beloved friends, but not
regenerated; as much redeemed with precious blood as the
saints before the eternal throne. They are Christ’s property ;
and yet, perhaps, they are waiting around the ale-house at this
very moment, until the door shall open ; — bought with Jesus’
precious blood, and yet spending their nights in a brothel, and
their days in sin. But if Jesus Christ purchased them he will
have them. If he counted down the precious drops, God is not
unfaithful to forget the price which his Son has paid. He will
not suffer his substitution to be in any case an ineffectual, dead
thing. Tens of thousands of redeemed ones are not regenerated
yet, but regenerated they must be; and this is your comfort and
mine, when we go out with the quickening Word of God. Nay,
more; these ungodly ones are prayed for by Christ before the
throne. “ Neither pray I for these alone,” saith the great Inter-
cessor, “ but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word.” They do not pray for themselves. Poor ignorant souls,
they do not know anything about prayer; but Jesus prays for
them. ‘Their names are on his breast, and ere long they must
bow their stubborn knee, breathing the penitential sigh before
the throne of grace. “'The time of figs 7s not yet.” The pre-
destinated moment has not struck ; but, when it comes, they shall,
for God will have his own; they must, for the Spirit is not to be
withstood when he cometh forth with power; they must become
the willmg servants of the living God. “My people shall be
willing in the day of my power.” “He shall justify many.”
“He shall see of the travail of his soul.” “He shall divide a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong.”

No curse falls upon these; they deserve it, but eternal love
prevents it. Their sins write it, but the finished sacrifice blots
it out. They may well perish because they seek not mercy, but
Christ intercedes for them, and live they shall.

bistabiiceieeet =NOTHING BUT LEA /ES.

las! however, among those who have neither leaves nor
fruit, there is another class which never bring forth either the
one or the other ; they live in sin, and die in ignorance,— per-
ishing without hope. As these leave the world, can they upbraid
us for neglecting them? Are we clear of their blood? May
not the blood of many of them cry from the ground against us?
As they are condemned on account of sins, may they not accuse
us because we did not take the gospel to them, but left them
where they were? Dread thought! But let it not be shaken off ;
there are tens of thousands every day who pass into the world
of spirits unsaved, and inherit the righteous wrath of God. Yet
in this life, you see, no special curse falls upon them; and this
miracle has no special bearing upon them : it bears upon a totally
different class of people, of whom we will now speak.

III]. We HAVE BEFORE US A SPECIAL CASE.

J have already said that, in a fig tree, the fruit takes the pre-
cedence of the leaves, or the leaves and the fruit come at the
same time ; so that it is laid down as a general rule that if there
be leaves upon a fig tree you may rightly expect to find frui
upon it.

To begin, then, with the explanation of this special case, — in
a fig tree fruit comes before leaves. So in a true Christian, fruit
always takes the precedence of profession. Find a man any-
where who is a true servant of God, and before he united him-
self with the church, or attempted to engage in public prayer,
or to identify himself with the people of God, he searched to
see whether he had real repentance on account of sin; he de-
sired to know whether he had a sincere and genuine faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ; and he perhaps tarried some little time to try
himself, to see whether there were the fruits of holiness in his
daily life. Indeed, I may say that there are some who wait too
long; they are so afraid lest they should make a profession
before they have grace in possession, that they will wait year
after year —too long; become unwise, and make what was a

virtue become a vice. Still this is the rule with Christians;NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

they first give themselves to the Lord and afterwards to the
Lord’s people, according to his will. You who are the servants
of God — do you not scorn to vaunt yourselves beyond your line
and measure? Would you not think it disgraceful on your part to
profess anything which you have not felt? Do you not feel a
holy jealousy when you are teaching others, lest you should teach
more than God has taught you? and are you not afraid, even in
your prayers, lest you should use expressions which are beyond
your own depth of meaning? Iam sure the true Christian is
always afraid of anything like having the leaves before he has
the fruit.

Another remark follows, from this — where we see the leaves we
have aright to expect the fruit. When I see a mana church mem-
ber, when I hear him engage in prayer, I expect to see in him ho-
liness, — the character and the image of Christ. I havea right
to expect it, because the man has solemnly avowed that he is the
partaker of divine grace. You cannot join a church without
taking upon yourselves very solemn responsibilities. What do
you declare when you come to see us, and ask to be admitted
into fellowship? You tell us that you have passed from death
unto life; that you have been born again; that there has been a
change in you, the like of which you never knew before; one
which only God could have wrought. You tell us you are in
the habit of private prayer; that you have a desire for the con-
version of others. If you did not so profess, we dare not re-
ceive you. Well, now, having made these professions, it would
be insincere on our part if we did not expect to see your char-
acters holy, and your conversation correct ; we have a right to
expect it from your own professions. We have a right to expect
it from the work of the Spirit, which you claim to have received.
Shall the Holy Spirit work in man’s heart to’ produce a trifle ?
Do you think that the Spirit of God would have written us this
Book, and that Jesus Christ would have shed his precious blood
to produce a hypocrite? Is an inconsistent Christian the high-
est work of God? I suppose God’s plan of salvation to be that
which has more exercised his thoughts and wisdom than theNOTHING BUT LEAVES. 179

making of all worlds and the sustenance of all prcevidence; and
shall this best, this highest, this darling work of God produce
no more than that poor, mean, talking, unacting, fruitless de-
ceiver? Ye have no love for souls, no care for the spread of
the Redeemer’s kinedom, and yet think that the Spirit has made
you what you aie No zeal, no melting bowels of compassion,
no cries of earnest entreaty, no wrestling with God, no holiness,
no self-denial ; and yet say that you are a vessel made by the
Master and fitted for his use! How can this be? No; if you
profess to be a Christian, from the necessity of the Spirit's work
we have a right to expect fruit from you. Besides, in genuine
professors we do get the fruit; we see a faithful attachment to
the Redeemer’s cause, an endurance to the end, in poverty, in
sickness, in shame, in persecution. We see other professors
holding fast to the truth ; they are not led aside by temptation ;
neither do they disgrace the cause they have espoused: and, if
you profess to be one of the same order, we have a right to look
for the same blessed fruits of the Spirit in you; and if we see
them not, you have belied us.

Observe, further, that our Lord hungers for fruit. A hangry
person seeks for something which may satisfy him, — for fruit, not
leaves. Jesus hungers for your holiness. A strong expression,
you will say ; but I doubt not of its accuracy. For what were
we elected? We were predestinated to be conformed unto the
image of God’s.Son; we were chosen to good works, “ which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” What
is the end of our redemption? Why did Jesus Christ: die?
“Tle gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all in-
iquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of

4

Why have we been called but that we should be

29

good works.
called to be saints? To what end are any of the great opera-
tions of the covenant of grace? Do they not all point at our
holiness? If you will think of any privilege which the Lord
confers upon his people through Christ, you will perceive that
they all aim at the sanctification of the chrsen people —the
making of them to bring forth fruit, that God the Father may180 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

be glorified in them. O Christian! for this the tears of the Sae
viour; for this the agony and bloody sweat; for this the itive
death-wounds ; for this the burial and the resurrection, that he
makes you holy, even perfectly holy, like unto himself! And
can it be, when he hungers after fruit, you think nothing of
fruit-bearing? O professor! how base art thou, to call thyself a
blood-bought child of God, and yet to live unto thyself! How
darest thou, O barren tree! professing to be watered by the
bloody sweat, and digged by the griefs and woes of the wounded
Saviour — how darest thou bring forth leaves and no fruit?
Oh sacrilegious mockery of a hungry Saviour! oh blasphe-
nous tantalizing of a hungry Lord! that thou shouldst profess
to have cost him all this, and yet yield him nothing! When I
think that Jesus hungers after fruit in me, it stirs me up to do
more for him. Does it not have the same effect on you? He
hungers for your good works; he hungers to see you useful.
Jesus, the King of kings, hungers after your prayers — hungers
after your anxieties for the souls of others; and “nothing ever
will. satisfy him for the travail of his soul but seeing you wholly
devoted to his cause.

fhis brings us into the very midst and meaning of the mira-
cle. There are some, then, who make unusual profession, and
yet disappoint the Saviour in his just expectations. The Jews
did this.” When Jesus Christ came it was not the time of figs.
The time for great holiness was after the coming of Christ and
the pouring out of the Spirit. All the other nations were with-
out leaves. Greece, Rome,

 

all these showed no signs of prog-
ress; but there was the Jewish nation covered with leaves. They
professed already to have obtained the blessings which he came
to bring. There stood the Pharisee, with his long prayers;
there were the lawyers and the Scribes, with their deep knowl-
edge of the things of the kingdom. They said they had the
light. The time of figs was not come, but yet they had the leaves,
though not a single fruit; and you know what a curse fell on
Israel: how, in the day of Jerusalem’s destruction, the tree wasNCTHING BUT LEAVES.

withered altogether from its root, because it had its leaves, but
had no fruit.

The same will be true of any church. There are times when
all the churches seem sunken alike in lethargy ; such a time
we had, say, ten years ago. But one church, perhaps, seems to
be all alive. The congregations are large. Mauch, apparently,
is proposed for the growth of the Saviour’s kingdom. A deal
of noise is made about it. There is much talk, and the people
are all expectation ; and if there be no fruit, no real consecra«
tion to Christ, — if there be no genuine liberality, no earnest vital
godliness, no hallowed consistency, — other churches may live on ;
but such a church as this, making so high a profession, and being
so precocious in the produce of leaves, shall have a curse from
God. No man shall eat fruit of it forever, and it shall wither
away.

In the case of individuals the moral of our miracle runs thus.
Some are looked upon as young believers, who early join the
church. “ The time of figs is not yet.” It is not a very ordinary
case to see children converted; but we do see some, and we are
very grateful. We are jealous, however, lest we should see
leaves but not fruit. These juveniles are extraordinary cases ;
and on that account we look for higher results. When we are
disappointed, what shall come upon such but a curse upon their
precocity, which led them to the deception? Some of us were
converted, or profess to have been, when young ; and if we have
lived hitherto, and all we have produced has been merely words,
resolves, professions, but not fruit unto God, we must expect the
curse.

Again, professors eminent in station. There are necessarily
but few ministers, but few church officers; but when men so
distinguish themselves by zeal, or by louder professions than
others, as to gain the ear of the Christian public, and are placed
in responsible positions —if they bring forth no fruit, they are
the persons upon whom the curse will light. It may be with

other Christians that “the time of figs is not yet:” they have
not made the advances which these profess to have made; but
161&2 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

having been, upon their own profession, elected to an office
which essentially requires fruit, since they yield it not, let them
ye ware.

To those who make professions of much love to Christ the
yame caution may be given. With the most of Christians, I am
afraid, I must say that “the time of figs is not yet,” for we are
too much like the Laodicean church. But you meet with some
men — how much they are in love with Christ! How sweetly
they can talk about him! But what dothey do for him? Noth-
ing — nothing! Their love lies just in the wind which comes
out of their own mouths, and that is all. Now, when the Lord
has a curse, he will deal it out on such. They went beyond all
others in an untimely declaration of a very fervent love, and
now they yield him no fruit. “ Yes,’ said one, “I love God so
much that I do not reckon that anything I have is my own. It
is all the Lord’s — all the Lord’s, and I am his steward.” Well,
this dear good man, of course, joined the church; and after a
time, some mission work wanted a little help. What was his
reply? “ When I pay my seat rent, I have done all I intend
to do.” A man of wealth and means! After a little time, this
same man found it inconvenient even to pay for his seat, and
goes now to a place not quite so full, where he can get a seat
and do nothing to support the ministry! If there is a special
thunderbolt anywhere, it is these unctious hypocrites who whine
about love to Christ, and bow down at the shrine of mammon.

Or, take another case. You meet with others whose profes-
sion is not of so much love, but it is of much experience. Oh,
what experience they have had! What deep experience! Ah!
they know the humblings of heart and the plague of human
nature! ‘They know the depths of corruption, and the heights
of divine fellowship, and so on. Yes; and if you go into the
shop, you find the corruption is carried on behind the counter,
and the deceit in the day-book. If they do not know the plague
of their own hearts, at least they are a plague to their own
household. Such people are abhorrent to z1l men, and much
more to God.NOTHING BUT LEAVES. 183

se. What
good people they must be —they can see the faults of other
people so plainly! This church is not right, and the other is not
right ; and yonder preacher — well, some people think hima very
good man, but they do not. They can see the deficiencies in the
various denominations, and they observe that very few really
carry out Scripture as it should be carried out. They complain
of want of love, and are the very people who create that want.

Others you meet with who have a censorious tongr

Now, if you will watch these very censorious people, the very
faults they indicate in others they are indalging in themselves ;
and while they are seeking to find out the mote in their brother’s
eye, they have a beam in their own. These are the people who
are indicated by this fig tree; for they ought, according to their
own showing, taking them on their own ground, to be better than
other people. If what they say be true, they are bright partic-
ular stars, and they ought to give special light to the world.
They are such that even Jesus Christ himself might expect to
receive fruit from them; but they are nothing but deceivers, with
these high soarings and proud boastings: they are nothing after
all but pretenders. Like Jezebel with her paint, which made
her all the uglier, they would seem to be what they are not. As
old Adam says, ‘ They are candles with big wicks and no tallow,
and when they go out they make a foul and nauseous smell.”
“ "They have summer sweating on their brow, and winter freez-
ing in their hearts.” You would think them the land of Goshen,
but prove them the wilderness of sin. Let us search ourselves,
lest such be the case with us.

IV. And now to close, sucH A TREE MIGHT WELL BE WITH-
ERED. Deception is abhorred of God. There was the Jewish
temple ; there were the priests standing in solemn pomp ; there
were the abundant sacrifices of God’s altar. But was God
pleased with his temple? No; because in the temple you had
all the leaves, you had all the externals uf vorship ; but there
was no true prayer, no belief in the great Lamb of God’s pass-
over, no truth, no righteousness, no love of men, no care for theRo

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

184 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

glory of God: and so the temple, which had been a house of
prayer, had become a den of thieves. You do not marvel that
the temple was destroyed. You and I may become just like that
temple. We may goon with all the externals of religions; no-
body may miss us out of our seat at Tabernacle: nay, we may
never miss our Christian engagements; we may be in all ex-
ternal matters more precise than we used to be, and yet for all
that we may have become in our hearts a den of thieves: the
heart may be given to the world while external ceremonies are
still kept up and maintained. Let us beware of this, for such a
place cannot be long without a curse. It is abhorrent to God.

Again, tt is deceptive to man. Look at that temple! What
do men go there for? To see holiness and virtue. Why tread
they its hallowed courts? To get nearer to God. And what
do they find there? Instead of holiness, covetousness; instead
of getting nearer to God, they get into the midst of a mart where
men are haggling about the price of doves, and bickering with
one another about the changing of shekels. So men may watch
to hear some seasonable word from our lips, and instead of that
may get evil; and as that temple was cursed for deluding men,
so may we be, because we deceive and disappoint the wants of
mankind.

‘More than this: this barren fig tree committed sacrilege upon
Christ, did it not? Might it not have exposed him to ridicule?
Some might have said: “ How goest thou to a tree, thou prophet,
whereon there is no fruit?” A false professor exposes Christ
to ridicule. As the temple of old dishonored God, so does a
Christian when his heart is not right; he does dishonor to God,

_and makes the holy cause to be trodden under foot of the

adversary. Such men indeed have reason to beware.

Once more: this tree might well be cursed, because its bring-
ing forth nothing but leaves was a plain evidence of its sterility.
Tt had force and vitality, but it turned it to ill account, and would
continue to do so. The curse of Christ was but a confirmation
of what it already was. He did as good as say, “ He that is
unfruitful, let him be unfruitful still” And now, what if ChristNOTHING BUT LEAVES. FS5

should come into this Tabernacle this morning, and should look
on you and on me, and see in any of us great profession and
great pomp of leaves, and yet no fruit, — what if he should pro-
nounce the curse on us ? — what would be the effect ? We should
wither away as others have done. What mean we by this?
Why, they have on a sudden turned to the world. We could
not understand why such fair saints should on a sudden become
such black devils ; the fact was, Christ had pronounced the word,
and they began to wither away. If he should pronounce the
unmasking word on any mere professor here, and say, “ Let no
man eat fruit of thee forever,” you will go into gross outward
sin and wither to your shame. This will take place probably on
a sudden ; and, taking place, your case will be irretrievable. You
never afterwards will be restored. The blast which shall fall
upon you will be eternal; you will live as a lasting monument
of the terrible justice of Christ, as the great Head of the church;
you will be spared to let it be seen that a man outside the church
may escape with impunity in this life, but a man inside the
church shall have a present curse, and be made to stand as atree
blasted by the lightning of God forever. Now, this is a heart-
searching matter. It went through me yesterday when I thought,
“Well, here am I; I have professed to be called of God to the
ministry ; I have forced myself into a leading place in God’s
church ; I have voluntarily put myself into a place where seven-
fold damnation is my inevitable inheritance if I be not true and
sincere.” I could almost wish myself back out of the church, or at
least in the obscurest place in her ranks, to escape the perils and
responsibilities of my position ; and so may you, if you have not
the witness of the Spirit in you that you are born of God ;— you
may wish that you never thought of Christ, and never dreamed
of taking his name upon you. If you have by diligence worked
yourself into a high position among God’s people, — if you have
mere leaves without the fruit, — the more sure is the curse, be-
cause the greater the disappointment of the Saviour. The more
you profess, the more is expected of you: and if you do not yield
it, the more just the condemnation when you shall be left to stand
16*185 NOTHING BUT LEAVES.

fovever withered by the curse of Christ. O men and brethren!
let us tremble before the heart-searching eye of God; but let us
still remember that grace can make us fruitful yet. ‘The way of
mercy is open still. Let us apply to the wounds of Christ this
morning. If we have never begun, let us begin now. Now let
us throw our arms about the Saviour, and take him to be ours ;
and, having done this, let us seek divine grace, that for the rest

of our lives we may work for God: Oh! I do hope to do more
for God, and I hope you will. O Holy Spirit! work im us

mightily, for in thee is our fruit found! Amen.SERMON X.

 

THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

“IP THE SON THEREFORE SHALL MAKE YOu FREE, YE SHALL BE FREE

INDEED.” — John viii. 86.

Buxssep is that word “free,” and blessed is he who spends
himself to make men so. Ye did well to crowd your streets and
to welcome with your joyous acclamations the man who has bros
ken the yoke from off the neck of the oppressed. Many sons of
Italy have done valiantly ; but he excels them all, and deserves
the love of all the good and brave. Political slavery is an
tolerable evil. To live, to think, to act, to speak at the permis-
sion of another! Better have no life at all! To depend for
my existence upon a despot’s will, is death itself. Craven spirits
may wear the dog-collar which their master puts upon them, and
fawn at his feet for the bones of his table ; but men who are wor-
thy of the name had rather feed the vultures on the battle-field.
Lhe burden of civil bondage is too heavy for bold spirits to bear
with patience, and therefore they fret and murmur bencath it §
this murmuring the tyrant loves not, and therefore he throws the
sufferers into his dungeons, and bids them wear out their days in
captivity. Blessed is he who hurls down the despot, bursts the
doors of his dungeons, and gives true men their rights. We
have never felt, and therefore we know not, the bitterness of
thraldom. Our emancipators have gone to the world of spirits,
bequeathing us an heirloom of liberty, for which we should love

their names and reverence their God. If they could have lived
on till now, how we should honor them! but as they are gone,

°
1
iii™188 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

we do well to applaud our illustrious guest as if we saw in him
the spirit of all our glorious liberators worthily enshrined. Polit-
ical liberty allows scope for so much of all that is good and
ennobling, and its opposite involves so much that is debasing,
that the mightiest nation destitute of it is poor indeed, and the
poorest of all people, if they be but free, are truly rich.
But, my brethren, men may have political liberty to the very
fullest extent, and yet be slaves; for there is such a thing as
religious bondage. He who cringes before a priest —he who
dreads his anathema, or who creeps at his feet to receive his
blessing —is an abject slave. He may call himself a freeman, but
his soul is in bondage vile if superstition makes him wear the
chain. To be afraid of the mutterings of a man like myself, —
to bow before a piece of wood or a yard of painted canvas, — to
reverence 2 morsel of bread or a rotten bone — this 1s mental
slavery indeed. They call the negro slave in the Southern Con-
federacy, but men who prostrate their reason before the throne
of superstition are slaves through and through. To yield obe-
dience to our Lord, to offer prayer to God Most High, is perfect
freedom; but to tell my heart out to a mortal with a shaven
crown, —to trust my family secrets and my wife’s. character to
the commands of a man who may be all the while wallowing in
debauchery, — is worse than the worst form of serfdom. I would
sooner serve the most cruel Sultan who ever crushed humanity
beneath his iron heel than bow before the Pope or any other
priest of man’s making. The tyranny of priesteraft is the werst
of ills. Ye may cut through the bonds of despots with a sword,
but the sword of the Lord himself is needed here. Truth must
file these fetters, and the Holy Spirit must open these dungeons.
Ye may escape from prison ; but superstition hangs round a man,
and with its deadly influence keeps him ever in its dark and
gloomy cell. Scepticism, which proposes to snap the chains of
superstition, only supplants a blind belief with an unhallowed
credulity, and leaves the victim as oppressed as ever. Jesus the
Son alone can make men truly free. Happy are they whom he
has delivered from superstition. Blessed are our eyes that thisTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 189

iy we see the light of gospel liberty, and are no longer immured

in popish darkness. Let us remember our privileges, and bless

God with a loud voice that the darkness is past and the true

light shineth ; since the name of Jesus, the preaching of his Word

and the power of his truth have, in this respect, in a high degree,
made our nation free.

Yet a man may be delivered from the bond of superstition,
and be still a serf; for he who is not ruled by a priest may still
be controlled by the devil or by his own lusts, which is much the
same. Our carnal desires and inclinations are domineering lords
enough, as those know who follow out their commands. A man
may say, “I feel not supernatural terrors; I know no supersti-
tious horrors ;” and then, folding his arms, he may boast that he
is free ; but he may all the while be aslave to his own evil heart.
He may be grinding at the mill of avarice, rotting in the reeking
dungeon of sensuality, dragged along by the chains of maddened
anger, or borne down by the yoke of fashionable custom. He is
the free man who is master of himself through the grace of God.
He who serves his own passions is the slave of the worst of des-
pots. ‘Talk to me not of dark dungeons beneath the sea level;
speak not to me of pits in which men have been immured and
forgotten ; tell me not of heavy chains, nor even of racks and the
consuming fire: the slave of sin and Satan, sooner or later,
knows greater horrors than these —his doom more terrible be-
cause eternal, and his slavery more hopeless because it is one
into which he willingly commits himself,

Perhaps there are those present who claim liberty for them-
selves, and say that they are able to control their passions, and
have never given way to impure desires. Ay, a man may get
as far as that in a modified sense, and yet not be free. Perhaps
I address those who, knowing the right, have struggled for it
against the wrong. You have reformed yourselves from follies
into which you had fallen; you have by diligence brought the
flesh somewhat under, in its outward manifestations of sin, and
now your life is moral, your conduct is respectable, your repu-
tation high: still, for all that, it may be that you are conscious190 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

that you are not free. Your old sins haunt you; your former
corruptions perplex ee ; you have not found peace, for you have
not obtained forgiveness. You have buried your sins beneath
the earth of years, but conscience has g iven them a resurrection,
and the ghosts of your past transgr essions haunt yom. You can
scarce sleep at night, because of the recollection of the wrath of
God which you deserve; and by day there is a gall put into
your sweetest draughts, because you know that you have sinned
against heaven, and that heaven must visit with vengeance your
transgression. Ye have not yet come to the full liberty of the
children of God, as you will do if you cast yourselves into the
hands of Jesus who looseth the captives. “If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed, ”- free as the mere
political liberator cannot make you 5 free as he cannot make you
who merely delivers you from superstition ; free as reformation
cannot make you; free as God alone can make you by his inee
Spirit. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed.”

Now, this morning may the Lord give his servant help from
on high while I try to talk with you. To those who feel to-day
their slavery, my message may be profitable. Our first point is,
that to those who are the bondslaves of Satan, liberty is possible.
The text would not mock us with a dream: it says, “Jf the Son
therefore shall make you free.” All who are slaves shall not be
set free ; but there is the possibility of liberty implied in the text.
Blessed “if;” it is like the prison window, — through the stony
wall it lets in enough sunshine for us to read the word “ hope”
with. “Jf the Son therefore shall make you free.” Secondly,
there is a false freedom; you see that in the text — “ Ye shall
be free indeed,” it says. ‘There were some who professed to be
free, but were not so. The Greek is, “ Ye shall be free really,”
for there be some who are free only in the name, and in the
shadow of freedom, but who are not free as to the substance.
Then, thirdly, real freedom must come to us from the Son, that
glorious Son of God who, being free, and giving himself to us,
gives us freedom, And then we shall close by puttmg a fewTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 191

personal questions as to whether the Son hath made us free, or
whether we still remain slaves.

I. First then, dear friends, our text rings a sweet silver bell
of hope in the ear of those who are imprisoned by their sin.
FREEDOM IS POSSIBLE; the word “if” implies it. The Son
of God can make the prisoner free. No matter who you are,
nor what you are, nor how many years you may have remained
the slaves of Satan, the Son, the glorious Liberator, can make you
free. “ He is able also to save them to the uttermost, who come
unto God by him.” Perhaps that which weighs upon you most
heavily is a sense of your past guilt. “I have offended God:
I have offended often, wilfully, atrociously, with many agerava-
tions. On such and such a day I offended him in the foulest
manner, and with deliberation. On other days I have run
greedily in a course of vice. Nothing has restrained me from
disobedience, and nothing has impelled me to the service of God.
All that his Word says against me, I deserve; and every threat-
ening which his Book utters, is justly due to me, and may well
be fulfilled. Is there a possibility that I can escape from guilt ?
Can so foul a sinner as I am be made clean? I know that the
leopard cannot lose its spots, nor the Ethiopian change his skin
by his own efforts. Is there a power divine which can take
away my spots, and change my nature?” Sinner, there is. No
sin which you have committed need shut you out of heaven.
However damnable your iniquities may have been, there is for-
giveness with God that he may be feared. You may have gone
to the very verge of perdition, but the arm of God’s grace is long
enough to reach you. You may sit to-day with your tongue
padlocked with blasphemy, your hands fast bound by acts of
atrocious violence, your heart fettered with corruption, your feet
chained fast to the satanic blocks of unbelief, your whole selt
socked up in the bondage of corruption; but there is one so
mighty to save that he can set even you free. “ All manner of
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.” “The blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”192 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

In the matter of guilt, then, there is the possibility of freedom.
“ But can I be freed from the punishment of sin?” saith another.
“ God is just: he must punish sin. It is not possible that the
Judge of all the earth should allow such a rebel as I am to
escape. Shall I go scot free? Shall I have the same reward
with the perfectly righteous? After years of unbelief, am I still
to be treated as though I had always been a willing and loving
child? This is not just: I must be punished.’ Sinner, there
is no need that thou shouldst be cast into hell; nay, thou shalt
not be, if thy trust is placed in the blood-shedding upon Calvary.
There is an imperative need that sin should be punished, but
there is no need that it should be punished in your person. The
stern laws of justice demand that sin should meet with satisfac-
tion; but there is no law which demands that it should receive
satisfaction from you; for if thou believest, Christ has given sat-
isfaction for thee. If thou dost trust Jesus Christ to save thee,
be assured that Christ was punished in thy stead, and suffered
the whole of wrath divine, so that there is no fear of thy being
east into hell. If thou believest, thou canst not be punished ; for
there is no charge against thee, —thy sin having been laid on
Christ; and there can be no punishment exacted from thee, for
Christ has already discharged the whole. God’s justice cannot
demand two executions for the same offence. Oh! let not the
flames of hell alarm thee, sinner; let not Satan provoke thee to
despair by thoughts of the worm that never dies, and of the fire
that never can be quenched. ‘Thou needst not go thither; there
is a possibility of deliverance for thee: and though thy. heart
says, “ Never, never shall I escape,” trust not thy heart; ‘“ God
Believe

99

is greater than thy heart, and knoweth all things.
thou his testimony, and fly thou to the great Deliverer for
liberty. Freedom, then, from punishment is possible through
Christ.

I think I hear one say, “ Ah! but if I were saved from past
sin, and from all the punishment of it, yet still I should submit
to the power of sin again. I have a wolf within my heart hun-
gering after sin, which will not be satisfied though it be gluttedTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 193

with evil. The insatiable horse-leech of my lust ever crieth,
1° ° is 7. ° .

‘Give, give!’ Can I be delivered from it? I have been bound

with many resolutions, but sin, like Samson, has snapped them

as though they were but green withs. I have been

shut up
in many professions, as though I was now, once for ¢

ll, a prisoner
to morality ; but I have taken up posts and bars, and every other
restraint which kept me in, and I have gone back to my old
uncleannesses. Can I

 

can I be saved from all these propensi-
ties, and all this inbred corruption ?” My dear friend, there is a
hope for thee, that thou mayst be. If thou believest in the
Lord Jesus Christ, that same blood by which sin is pardoned en-
ables man to overcome sin. They in heaven washed their robes
and made them white in his blood ; but they have another note
in their song, — they overcame through the blood of the Lamb.
Not only were they delivered from guilt, but from the power of
sin. I do not tell you that in this life Christ himself will make
you pertectly free from indwelling sin : there will always be some
corruption left in you to strugele with, some Canaanite still in
the land to exercise your faith and to teach you the value of a
Saviour: but the neck of sin shall be under your foot; God shall
lead captive the great Adonibezek of your lust, and you shall

cut off his thumbs, so that he cannot handle weapons of war.
if the enemy cannot be destroyed, at least his head shall be bro-
ken, and he shall never have reigning power over thee; you
shall be free from sin, to live no longer therein. Oh! tha
blessed word “if!” —Hlow it sparkles! It may seem but a, lit-
tle star: may it herald the dawning of the Sun of Righteous-
ness within you! — “if the Son therefore shall make you free.”
“Qh,” says one, “that is a great ‘if’ indeed. It cannot be, surely !
— my guilt pardened, my punishment remitted, and my nature
2»

changed! How can it be?” Dear friend, it may be, and I

trust it will be this morning; for this “if” comforts the preacher
vith a hope of success in delivering the Word ; and may-it give
some hope to the hearers, that perhaps you may be made free
yourselves.

But I think I hear another exclaim, “Sir, I am in bondage

1?194 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

through fear of death. Go where I may, enjoying no assurance
of acceptance in Christ, I am afraid to die. I know that I must
one of these days close these eyes in the slumbers of the grave 5
but oh! it is a dread thought to me that I must stand before my
God and pass the solemn test. I cannot look into the sepulchre
without feeling.that it is a cold, damp place ; I cannot think of
eternity without remembering the terrors which cluster round it
to a sinner, ‘ where their worm dieth not, and where their fire is
not quenched.’ ” h, but, my dear friend, if the Son make you
free, he will deliver you from the fear of death. When sin is
pardoned, then the law is satisfied ; and when the law is satisfied,
then death becomes a friend. The strength of sin is the law:
the law is fulfilled, the strength of sin is broken. The sting of
death is sin: sin is pardoned, death has a sting no longer. If
thou believest in Christ thou shalt never die, in that sense in
which thou dreadest death: thou shalt fall asleep, but thou shalt
never die. That death of which thou thinkest is not the Chris-
tian’s portion: it belongs to the ungodly. In it thou shalt have
no share, if thou trustest the Saviour. Borne on angels’ wings
to heaven, up from calamity, imperfection, temptation and trial
shalt thou mount, flitting with the wings of a dove far above the
clouds of sorrow; leaving this dusky globe behind thee, thou
shalt enter into the splendors of immortality. Thou shalt not
die, but wake out of this dying world into a life of glory.
Come, soul, if thou trustest in Christ, this “if” shall be no if,
but a certainty to-day — the Son shall make you free indeed. I
do not think I can bring out the full value of this liberty by
merely speaking of the evils which we are delivered from ;
you know, brethren, freedo.n consists not only in a negative but
in a positive, —we are not only free from, but we are free fo.
We hear of persons receiving the freedom of a city. This im-
plies that certain privileges are bestowed. Now “ if the Son
therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed,” in the
sense of privilege; you shall be free to call yourself God’s
child ; you shall be free to say, “Abba, Father,” without rebuke ;
you shall be free to claim the protection of that Father’s house,

93THE GREAT LIBERATOR. 195

and the provision of his bounty ; you shall be free to come to
his knees with all your trials, and tell him all your griefs; you
shall be free to plead his promises and to receive the fulfilment
of them too; you shall be free to sit at his table, not as a ser-
vant is permitted sometimes to sit down when the feast is over
to eat the leavings, but you shall sit there as a well-beloved son
to eat the fatted calf, while your Father with you eats, drinks,
and is merry ; you shall be free to enter into the church on earth,
the mother of us all; free to all her ordinances ; free to share
in all those boons which Christ hath given to his spouse; and
when you die, you shall be free to enter into the rest which re-
maineth for the people of God ; free of the New J erusalem which
is above; free to her harps of gold and to her streets of joys
free to her great banquet which lasteth forever ; free to the
heart of God, to the throne of Christ, and to the blessedness of
eternity. Oh! how, how good it is to think that there is a pos-
sibility of a freedom to such privileges as these, and a possibility
of it to the vilest of the vile! for some who were grossly guilty,
some who had far gone astray, have nevertheless enjoyed the
fulness of the blessing of the gospel of peace. Look at Paul!
No man enters more into the mystery of the gospel than he. He
had freedom to do so: he could comprehend with all saints what
are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge ; and yet it is he — it is he who once foamed
out threatenings, who sucked the blood of the saints ; it is he
who dyed his hands up to the very elbows in murderous gore ;
it is he who hated Christ, and was a persecutor, and injurious ;
and yet is he free from evil, and he is free to all the privileges
of the chosen of God. And why not you? And why not you?
Woman, tottering and trembling, why should not —why should
not the Son make thee free? Man, tossed about with many
doubts, why should not the great Liberator appear to thee?
Can there be a reason why not? Thou hast not read the rolls
of predestination and discovered that thy name has been left
out. It has not been revealed that for thee there is no atone-
ment ; but it is revealed to thee that whosoever believeth on Him196 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

is not condemned. And this is the testimony which comes to
thee —oh that thou wouldst receive it !—- “ He that believeth
on the Lord Jesus Christ, hath everlasting life.” Oh that thou
wouldst be bold and trust Christ this morning, and the “if”
which is in our text shall become a blessed certainty to thee.
So, then, there is a possibility for freedom. We will pause awhile,

and then warn you against false freedom.

Il. Beware or FALSE LigeRtTy. Every good thing is imi-
tated by Satan, who is the master of counterfeits, and hence, lib-
erty — a word fit to be used in heaven, and almost too good for
fallen earth—has been used for the very basest of purposes,
and men have misnamed the devil’s offspring by this angelic
title. We have in spiritual matters things called liberty which
are no liberty. There is Antinomian liberty — God deliver us
from that! A man saith, “I am not under the law of God,
therefore I will live as I like.” A most blessed truth followed
by a most atrocious inference. The Christian is not under the
law, but under grace — that is a very precious fact: it is much
better to serve God because we love him, than because we are
afraid of his wrath. To be under the law is to give God the
service of a slave who fears the lash ; but to be under grace is
to serve God out of pure love to him. Oh to be a child, and
to give the obedience of a child, and not the homage of a serf!
But the Antinomian saith, “I am not under the law, therefore
will I live and fulfil my own lust and pleasures.” Paul says of
those ‘who argue thus, their damnation is just. We have had
the pain of knowing some who have said, “I am God’s elect;
Christ shed his blood for me; I shall never perish; ” and then
they have gone to the ale-house, they have sung the drunkard’s
song, and have even used the drunkard’s oath. What is this,
dear friends, but a strong delusion to believe a lie? They who
can do this, must surely have been some time in Satan’s oven, to
be baked so hard. Why, these must have had their consciences
taken out of them. Are they not turned to something worse than
brutes? The dog doth not say, “ My master feeds me, and heTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 197

wil not destroy me, but is fond of me, therefore will I snarl at
him or rend him.” Even the ass doth not say, “ My master
gives me fodder, therefore will I dash my heels into his face.”
“The ox knoweth its owner, and the ass his master’s crib; ” but
these men only know God to provoke him, and they profess that
his love to them gives them a liberty to rebel against his will.
God deliver you from any such freedom as this; be not legalists,
but love the law of God, and in it make your delight. Abhor
all idea of being saved by good works, but oh! be as full of good
works as if you were to be saved by them. Walk in holiness
as if your own walking would make you enter into heaven, and
then rest on Christ, knowing that nothing of your own can ever
open the gate of the Celestial City. LEschew and abhor any-
thing like Antinomianism. Do not be afraid of high doctrine.
Men sometimes mis-label good sound Calvinism as Antinomian-
ism. Do not be afraid of that; do not be alarmed at the ugly
word Antinomianism, if it does not exist: but the thing itself —-
flee from it as from a serpent. Shake off the venomous beast
into the fire, as Paul did the viper which he found amongst the
fagots. When you are gathering up the doctrines of grace to
cheer and comfort you, this deadly viper getteth into the midst ;
and when the fire begins to burn, he cometh out of the heat and
fasteneth upon you. Shake him off into the fire of divine love,
and there let the monster be consumed. My brethren, if we are
loved of God with an everlasting love, and are no more under
the law, but free from its curse, let us serve God with all our
heart’s gratitude to him: let us say, “I am thy servant; I am
thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed
my bonds.” Let the loosing of our bonds be an argument for
service.

Then, again, beloved, there is another kind of freedom of which
we must all be aware, — it is a notional, professional freedom.
“Free! yes, certainly we are; we are the peop_2 of God,” say
some. Not that they have ever passed from death unto life ; not
that vital godliness is-a matter they understand. No. “We
always went to church, or chapel; we have never stopped away

17*198 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

in our lives; we are the most regular of religious people, and
we were baptized, and we go to the sacrament, and what is there
that we do not do? Who convinceth us of any sin? If we are
not free of the Celestial City, who can be? Surely — surely we
enjoy much of the things of God; we sit in God’s house, and we
feel a pleasure when we listen to the truth. Sacred song bears
us on high as well as other men. We sit as God’s people sit,
and we hear as God’s people hear: surely we are free!” Ah!
but, dear friends, a man may think himself free, and be a slave
still. You know there are many in this world who dream them-
selves to be what they are not; and you have a faculty of dream-
ing in the same’ manner. Christ must have come to you and
shown you your slavery, and broken your heart on account of it,
or else you are not free ; and you must have looked to the wounds
of Jesus as the only gates of your escape, and have seen in his
hand the only power which could snap your fetters, or else,
‘though you have professed\and re-professed, you are as much
slaves of Satan as though you were in the pit itself. Beware, I
pray you, of hereditary religion. A man cannot hand down his
godliness as he doth his goods; and I cannot receive grace as I
may receive lands, or gold, or silver. “ Ye must be born again.”
There must be the going up out of Egypt, the leaving the flesh-
pots and the brick-kilns, and advancing through the Red Sea of
atonement into the wilderness, and afterwards into the promised
rest. Have ye passed from death unto life? If not, beware of
having a mere notional, professional liberty.

There are many, too, who have the liberty of natural self-
righteousness and of the power of the flesh. ‘They have fanciful,
unfounded hopes of heaven. They have never wronged anybody ;
they have never done any mischief in the world; they are ami-
able; they are generous to the poor; they are this, they are
that, they are the other; therefore they feel themselves to be
free. They never feel their own inability ; they can always
pray alike and always sing alike; they have no changes; they
are not emptied from vessel to vessel; their confidence never
wavers ; they believe themselves all right, and abide in theirTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. oo > 199

ae Ne

confidence. They do not stop to examine :

their delusion is too
Strong and their comfort is much too precious for them to wish

to mar it by looking to its foundation 3 80 they go on, on, on,
sound asleep, till one of these days, falling over the awful preci-
pice of ruin, they will wake up where waking will be too late.
We know there are some such ; they are in God’s house, but
they are not God’s sons. You remember the case of Ishmael ;
it is to that which our Lord seems to allude here. Ishmael was
a son of Abraham according to the flesh, but he never was free.
His mother being a bondwoman, he was a slave. He might call
himself Abraham’s son if he would, but being only after the flesh
he was still a slave, for it was not in the power of Abraham, in
the power of the flesh, to beget anything but bondage; and Ish-
mael at his best was still the son of the bondwoman. Yet you
see he sits at table, — he eats and drinks just as merrily as the
child of the promise. Nay, in some things he is stronger than
Isaac ; he has the advantage of age, and I dare say plumes himself
on being heir. “Ah!” saith he, “I am the elder one of the family.”
At last he mocked Isaac. When the boys were at their sports he
was violent towards his younger brother, even as many Phari-
sees are very cruel to true believers. What came of it? Why,
“the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth
ever ;” and so the day came in which Sarah said, “ Cast out the
bondwoman and her son,” and away went Ishmael. He might
cling to his father, and say, “I am thy son.” “You must go,
sir; you are a slave; you were born after the flesh, and there-
fore you take from your mother your state and condition, and
not from your father. Your mother was a bondslave, and so are
you, and you must go. The privileges of the children’s house
are not for you; you must go into the wilderness ; you cannot
abide here.” But Isaac, though feeble and tempted, and tired
and vexed, is never sent out of his father’s house — never ; he
abideth ever. This is the position of many. ‘They are very
good people in their way. They do their best; but what is their
best? It is the offspring of the flesh; and that which is born of
the flesh is flesh ; consequently their best endeavors only make200 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.
them slaves in the house, not sons; only he.who is born by faith
according to the promise is the free Isaac, and abides in the
house. The day will come when God will say to every member
of the Christian church, and all who profess religion, “ Are ye
children by faith in the promise, or not?” For if ye are only
children according to the flesh, he will send you back again into
the wilderness ; to eternal ruin you must go, except the Spirit of
God hath given you the spirit of freedom. There was a custom
observed among the Greeks and Romans, that when a man died,
if he left slaves, they went as a heritage to the elder son; and if
the elder son said, ‘‘ Some of these are my own brethren, though
they be slaves; I therefore pronounce them free,” they would
be free. Emancipation was not always allowed in either Greek
or Roman states,

 

a man might not always set a slave free
without giving a good reason; but it was always held to bea
valid reason if the son, coming into a heritage of slaves, chose to
set them free. No question was asked, if the son made them
free; the law did not step in. So, dear friends, if the Son shall
make ws free, we shall be free indeed. If Jesus Christ, the great
heir according to the promise, the great Mediator whom God
hath created heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds
—if he shall say to us who are as Ishmael, “I make you free,”
then are we free indeed, and neither law, justice, heaven or hell,
can bring any argument against us why we should not be free.
But do beware of all imaginary freedoms, and shun them as you
would poison, and God give you to enjoy the glorious liberty of
the children of God.

JWI. True FREEDOM COMES TO US THROUGH HIM WHO IS,
IN THE HIGHEST SENSE, “THE Son.” No man getteth free
except as he cometh to Christ and taketh him to be his all in all.
Thou mayst rivet on thy fetters by going to the law, to thine
own good works, to thy willings and thy prayings and thy
doings, but thou wilt never be free until thou comest to Christ.
Mark thee, man! if thou wilt come to Christ thou shalt be free
this moment from every sort of bondage; but if thou wilt goTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 201

hither and thither, and try this and that and the other, thou shalt
find all thy tryings end in disappointment, and thou shalt le
down in sorrow and in shame; for none but Jesus — none but
Jesus can make us free indeed. Real liberty cometh from him
only. Let us think awhile of this real liberty. Remember it is
a liberty righteously bestowed. Christ has a right to make men
free. If I should seta slave free who belonged to his master,
he might run for a time ; but since I had not the power to give
him a legal emancipation, he would be dragged back again. But
the Son, who is heir of all things, has a right to make him free
whom he wills to make free. The law is on Christ’s side.
Christ hath such power in heaven and earth committed to him,
that if he saith to the sinner, “Thou art free,’ free he is before
high heaven. Before God’s great bar thou canst plead the word
of Jesus, and thou shalt be delivered.

Bethink thee, too, how dearly this freedom was purchased.
Christ speaks it by his power, but he still bought it by his blood.
He makes thee free, sinner, but it is by his own bonds. Thou
goest clear, because he bare thy burden for thee. See him bear
his agony — “crushed beneath the millstone of the law, till all
his head, his hair, his garments bloody be.” See him yonder,
dragged to Pilate’s hall, bound, whipped like a common felon,
scourged like a murderer, and dragged away by hell-hounds
through the streets, fastened by those cruel fetters which
went through his flesh to the accursed wood! See him yield-
ing up his liberty to the dungeon of death! There the Mighty
One sleeps in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. Dearly did he
purchase with his own bondage the liberty which he so freely
gives. But, though dearly purchased, let us take up that key-
note — he freely gives it. Jesus asks nothing of us as a prep-
aration for this liberty. He finds us sitting in sackcloth and
ashes, and bids us put on the beautiful array of freedom;
he discovers us in a darkness which may be felt, sitting in the
valley of the shadow of death, and he brings the true light in his
hand, and turns our midnight into blazing noon, — and all without
our help, without our merit, and at first without our will. ChristTHE GREAT LIBERATOR.

saveth sinners just as they are. Christ died not for the righteous,
but for the ungodly ; and his message is grace, pure grace, undi-
luted by a single condition or requisition which God might make
of man. Just as you are, trust your soul with Christ, and though
there be in thee no speck of aught that is good, he will save thee,
and give thee perfect liberty. Dearly hath he bought it, but
freely doth he give it, even the faith by which we receive is the
gift of God.

It is a liberty which may be instantaneously received. The
captive goes first through one door and then another, and per-
haps a hundred keys must grate in the wards of the lock before
he feels the cool fresh air gladdening his brow. But it is not so
with the man who believeth. The moment thou believest, thou
art free. Thou mayst have been chained at a thousand points,
but the instant thou believest in’Christ thou art unfettered and
free as the bird of the air. Not more free is the eagle which
mounts to his rocky eyrie, and afterwards outsoars the clouds —
even he, the bird of God, is not more unfettered than the soul
which Christ hath delivered. Cut are the cords, and in an
instant you are clear of all, and upward you mount to God. You
may have come in here aslave, and you may go out free. God’s
grace can in a moment give you the condition of freedom and
the nature of it. He can make you say, “ Abba, Father,” with
your whole heart, though up to this day you may have been of
your father the devil, and his works you have done. In an
instant is it wrought. We are told in tropical lands that the
sun seems to leap up from under the horizon, and the dead of
night is suddenly turned into the lustre of day : so on a sudden
doth God’s grace often dawn upon the darkness of sinful hearts.
You have seen, mayhap, at times, after showers of rain have
fallen upon the earth, how land which seemed all dry and barren
was suddenly covered with green grass, with here and there a
lily full in bloom; and so a heart which has been like a desert,
when once the shower of Jesus’ grace falls on it, blossoms like
the garden of the Lord, and yieldeth sweet perfume; and that
ina moment. You who have given yourselves up in despair ;THE GREAT LIBERATOR. 203

rou who have written your own condemnatio: ; you who have
made a league with death and a covenant with hell, and said,
© There is no hope, therefore will we go after our iniquities,” ——
I charge you hear me when I declare that my Lord and Master,
who has broken my chains and set me free, can break yours too,
and that with one blow.

Mark, that if this be done, it is done forever. When Christ
sets free, no chains can bind again. Let the Master say to me,
“Captive, I have delivered thee,” and it is done. Come on —
come on ye fiends of the pit! Mightier is he who is for us than
all they who be against us. Come on — come on temptations of
the world ; but if the Lord be on our side, whom shall we fear ?
If he be our defence, who shall be our destruction ? Come on —
come on ye foul corruptions! Come on ye machinations and
temptations of my own deceitful heart! But he who hath begun
the good work in me will carry it on, and perfect it to the end.
Gather ye, gather ye — gather ye all your hosts together, ye who
are the foes of God and the enemies of man, and come at once
with concentrated fury and with hellish might against my spirit ;
but if God acquitteth who is he that condemneth? Who shall
separate us from the love of God which~is in Christ Jesus our
Lord? Yon black stream of death shall never wash out the
mark of Christian liberty. That skeleton monarch bears no
yoke which he can put upon a believer’s neck. We will shout
victory when we are breast-deep amidst the last billows, and
grapple with the king upon the pale horse: we will throw the
rider and win the victory in the last struggle, according as it is
written, “Thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sparta and Greece refused to
wear the yoke of Persia, and broke the proud king’s pomp ; but
we are free in a nobler sense. We refuse the yoke of Satan,
and will overcome his power as Christ overcame it in the days
gone by. Let those who will bend and crouch at the foot of the
world’s monarch; but as for those whom God has made free,
they claim to think, to believe, to act, and to be as their divine
instinct commands them, and the Spirit of God enables them —204 THE GREAT LIBERATOR.

“ Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” “If the Son
therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

ie IV. And now we put round the Qursrion, Are we free, then,
this morning? Are we free? I will not answer it for you, nor
need I just now answer for myself; but I would beseech you to
make a searching inquiry into it. If you are free, then remem-
ber that you have changed your lodging-place ; for the slave and
the son sleep not in the same room of the house. The things
which satisfied you when a slave will not satisfy you now. You
wear a garment which a slave may never wear, and you feel an
instinct within which the slave can never feel. There is an
Abba, Father, cry in you, which was not there once. Is it so?
Is itso? If you are free, you live not as you used todo. You
go not to the slave’s work; you have not now to toil and sweat
to earn the wages of sin, which is death ; but now as a son serveth
his father, you do a son’s work, and you expect to receive a son’s
reward ; for the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord. One thing I know: if you are free, then you are think-
ang about setting others free; and if thou hast no zeal for the
emancipation of other men, thou art a slave thyself. If thou art
free, thou hatest ali sorts of chains, all sorts of sin, and thou wilt
never willingly put on the fetters any more. Thou livest each
day, crying unto Him who made thee free at first, to hold thee
up that thou fall not into the snare. If thou be free, this is not
the world for thee: this is the land of slaves; this is the world
of bondage. If thou be free, thy heart has gone to heaven, the
land of the free. If thou be free to-day, thy spirit is longing
for the time when thou shalt see the great Liberator face to face.
If thou be free, thou wilt bide thy time until he call thee; but
when he saith, “ Friend, come up hither,” thou wilt fearlessly
mount to the upper spheres, and death and sin shall be no
A : hinderance to thine advent to his glory.
I would we were all free; but if we be not, the next best
thing I would is, that those of us who are not free would fiet
under the fetter: for when the fetters are felt, they shall beTHE GREAT LIBERATOR. 205

broken ; when the iron enters into the soul, it shall be snapped ;
when you long for liberty, you chall have it; when you seek for
it as for hid treasure, and pant for it as the stag for the water-

brook, God will not deny you. “ Seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened; ask, and it shall be given you.” God
lead you to seek, and knock, and ask now, for Christ’s sake.
Amen.

18SERMON XI.

THE SINNER’S FRIEND.
© x FRIEND OF PUBLIOANS AND SINNERS.”— Matthew xi. 19.

Man¢ # true word is spoken in jest, and many a tribute to
virtue has been unwittingly paid by the sinister lips of malice.
The enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ thought to brand him
with infamy, hold him up to derision, and hand his name down
to everlasting scorn, as “a friend of publicans and sinners.”
Short-sighted mortals! Their scandal published his reputation.
To this day the Saviour is adored by the title which was minted
as aslur. It was designed to be a stigma, that every good man
would shudder at and shrink from; it has proved to be a fasci-
nation which wins the heart and enchants the soul of all the
godly. Saints in heaven and saints on earth delight to sing of
him thus :

‘Saviour of sinners they proclaim,
Sinirexs of whom the chief I am.”

What the invidious Jews said in bitter spleen, has been turned
by the Holy Spirit to the most gracious account. Where they
poured out vials of hate, odors of sacred incense arise. Troubled
consciences have found a sweet balm in the very sound. Jesus,
“ the friend of publicans and sinners,” has proved himself friendly
to them, and they have become friends with him, — so completely
has he justified the very name which his enemies gave him in
ribald affront.

We shall take this title of Jesus to-night as an order of dissTHE SINNER’S FRIEND. - 20%

tinction which sets forth his excellency, and as God helps us,
we shall try to exalt his name and proclaim his fame, while we

attempt to explain how he was the friend of sinners; and how
he shows that he ts still the same.

I. Our Lord PRovED HIMSELF IN HIS OWN TIME TO BE
THE FRIEND OF SINNERS.

What better proof could he give of it than coming from the
majesty of his Father’s house to the meanness of Bethlehem’s
manger? What better proof could he give than leaving the
society of cherubim and seraphim, to lie in the manger where
the horned oxen fed, and to become the associate of fallen men ?
The incarnation of the Saviour in the very form of sinners, tak-
ing upon himself the flesh of sinners, being born of a sinner,
having a sinner for his reputed father, — his very being a man,
which is tantamount to being in the same form with sinners, —
surely this were enough to prove that he is the sinner’s friend.

When you take up the roll of his earthly lineage and begin
to read it through, you will be struck with the fact that there
are but few women mentioned in it; and yet three out of those
mentioned were harlots, — so that even in his lineage there was
the taint of sin, and a sinner’s blood would have run in his veins
if he had been the true sen of Joseph; but inasmuch as he was
begotten by the Holy Ghost, who overshadowed the Virgin, in
him was no sin: yet his reputed pedigree ran through the veins
of sinners. ‘Tamar, and Rahab, and Bathsheba, are three names
which bring to remembrance deeds of shame, and yet these
stand in the records as the ancestors of the Son of Mary, the
sinner’s friend !

As soon as Jesus Christ, being born in the likeness of sinful
fiesh, has come to years of maturity, and has commenced his real
lite-work, he at once discloses his friendship for sinners by asso-
ciating with them. You do not find him standing at a distance,
issuing his mandates and his orders to sinners to make them-
selves better; but you find him coming among them like a good
workman who stands over his work. He takes his place where208 THE SINNER’S FRIEND.

the sin and the iniquity are, and he personally comes to deal
with it. He does not write out a prescription, and send by an-
other hand his medicines with which to heal the sickness of sin ;
but he comes right into the lazar-house, touches the wounded,
looks at the sick : and there~is healing in the touch; there is
life in the look. The great Physician took upon himself our
sicknesses and bare our infirmities, and so proved himself to be
really the sinner’s friend. Some people appear to like to have
a philanthropic love towards the fallen, but yet they would not
touch them with a pair of tongs. They would lift them up if
they could, but it must be by some machinery — some sort of
contrivance by which they would not degrade themselves or
contaminate their own hands. Not so the Saviour. Up to the
very elbow he seems to thrust that gracious arm of his into the
mire, to pull up the lost one out of the horrible pit and out of
the miry clay. He takes himself the mattock and the spade,
and goes to work in the great quarry that he may get out the
rough stones, which afterwards he will himself polish with his
own bitter tears and bloody sweat, that he may make them fit
to shine forever in the glorious temple of the Lord his God.
He comes himself into direct, personal contact with sin, without
being contaminated with it. He comes as close to it as-a man
can come. He eats and drinks with sinners. He sits at the
Pharisee’s table one day, and does not rise because there is a
crowd of people no better than they should be coming near him.
Another day he goes to the publican’s house, and the publican
had, no doubt, been a great extortioner in his time; but Jesus
sits there, and that day does salvation come to that publican’s
house. Beloved, this is a sweet trait about Christ, and proves
how real and how true was his love, that he made his associa-
tions with sinners, and did not shun even the chief of them.
Nay, he not only came among them, but he was always seek-
ing their good by his ministry. If there was anywhere a sinner, a
lost sheep of the house of Israel, Christ was after that sinner.
Never such an indefatigable shepherd; he sought that which
was lost tiil he found it. One of his earliest works of mercy weTHE SINNER’S FRIEND. 209

will tell you of in brief. He was once ona journey, and Samaria
was a little out of his way 3 but there lived in a city of that
country a woman — ah! the less said of her the better. She
had had five husbands, and he whom she then had was not her
husband, nor were any of the others, either. She was a disgrace
to that city of Samaria. But Jesus, who has a keen eye for sin-
ners, and a heart which beats high for them, means to save that
woman, and he must and he will have her. Being weary, he sits
down on a well to rest. A special providence brings the woman
to the well. The conventionalists of society forbid him to talk
with her. But he breaks through the narrow bigotry of caste.
A Samaritan by birth, he cares not for that; but will that most
holy being condescend to have familiar ponniccadion with her —

a dishonor to her sex? He will. His disciples may marvel
when they come back and find him talking with her, but he will
do it. He begins to open up the Word of life to her understand-
ing, and that woman becomes the first Christian missionary we
ever hear of, for she ran back to the city, leaving her water-pot,
and crying, “ Come, see a man which told me all things that ever
I did: is not this the Christ?” And they came and believed ;
and there was great joy in that city of Samaria. You know, too,
that there was another sinner. He was a bad fellow —I fear
him. He had been constantly grinding the faces of the poor,
and getting more out of them by way of taxation than he
should have done; but the little man had the bump of curiosity,
and he must needs see the preacher, and the preacher must
needs love him; for I say there was a wonderful attraction
in Jesus toa sinner. That sinner’s heart was like a piece of
iron: Christ’s heart was like a loadstone ; and wherever there
was a sinner the loadstone began to feel it, and soon the sinner
began to feel the loadstone too. “ Zaccheus,” said Christ, “make
haste, and come down ; for to-day I must abide at thy house; ”
and down comes the sinner, and salvation has come to his house
at that hour. Oh! Christ never seemed to preach so sweetly as
when he was preaching a sinner’s sermon. I would have loved
to have seen that dear face of his when he cried, “Come unto
18*210 THE SINNER’S FRIEND.

me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest ;” or, better still, to have seen his eyes running with whole
showers of tears when he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ....
how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” or
even to have heard him preach those three great sermons upon
sinners, when he described the woman as sweeping the house
and taking away the dust that she might find the lost piece of her
money ; and the shepherd going from hill to hillafter the wandering
sheep ; and the father running to meet that rag-clad prodigal, —
kissing him with the kisses of love, clothing him with the best
robe, and inviting him into the feast, while they did dance and
make merry because the lost was found, and he who.was dead
was alive again. Why, he was the mightiest of preachers for
sinners, beyond a doubt. Oh, how he loved them! Never
mind the Pharisees; he has thunderbolts for them. “ Woe unto
you, Scribes and Pharisees!” But when publicans and harlots
come, he always has the gate of mercy ajar for them. For them
he always has some tender word, some loving saying, such as
this: “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.”
“ All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ;”
or such-like words of tender wooing. The very chief of sinners
was thus drawn into the circle of his disciples.

And you know, dear friends, he did not prove his love merely
by preaching to them, and living with them, and by his patience
In enduring their contradiction against himself, and all their evil
words and deeds; but he proved it by his prayers too. He used
his mighty influence with the Father in their behalf He took
their polluted names on his holy lips; he was not ashamed to
call them brethren. Their cause became his own, and in their
interest his pulse throbbed. How many times on the cold moun-
tains he kept his heart warm with love to them! How often the
sweat rolled down his face when he was in an agony of spirit for
them I cannot tell you. This much I do know, that on that self-
same night, when he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling
down to the ground, he prayed this prayer, — after havingTHE SINNER’S FRIEND. 211

prayed for his saints, he went on to say: “ Neither pray I for
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word.” Here, truly, the heart of the Saviour was bubbling
up and welling over towards sinners. And you never can for-
get that almost his last words were, “ Father, forgive them ; for
they know not what they do.” ‘Though wilfully and wickedly they
pierced his hands and his feet, yet were there no angry words,
but only that short, loving, hearty prayer: “Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do.” Ah, friends! if there
ever was a man who was a friend to others, Jesus was a friend
to sinners his whole life through.

This, however, is but little. As for the river of the Saviour’s
love to sinners, I have only brought you to its banks. You have
but stood on the bank and dipped your feet in the flood; but
now prepare to swim. So fond was he of sinners, that he made
his grave with the wicked. He was numbered with the trans-
gressors. God’s fiery sword was drawn to smite a world of sin-
ners down to hell. It must fall on those sinners. But Christ
loves them. His prayers stay the arm of God a little while, but
still the sword must fall indue time. What is to be done? By
what means can they be rescued? Swifter than the lightning’s
fiash, I see that sword descending. But what is that in vision I
behold? It falls —but where? Not on the neck of sinners. It
is not their neck which is broken by its cruel edge ; it is not their
heart which bleeds beneath its awful force. No; the “friend of
sinners ” has put himself into the sinner’s place! and then, as if
he had been the sinner, though in him was no sin, he suffers,
bleeds, and dies ; — no common suffering, no ordinary bleeding,
no death such as mortals know. It was a death in which the
second death was comprehended, — a bleeding in which the very
veins of God were emptied. The God-man divinely suffered.
I know not how else to express the suffering. It was a more
than mortal agony ; for the divine strengthened the human, and
the man was made vast and mighty to endure through his being
a God. Being God and man, he endured more than ten thou-
sand millions of men all put together could have suffered. He912 THE SINNER’S FRIEND.

endured, indeed, the hells of all for whom he died, —the tor-
ments, or the equivalent for the torments, which all of them ought
to have suffered, — the eternal wrath of God condensed and put
into a cup too bitter for mortal tongue to know, and then drained
to its utmost dregs by the loving lips of Jesus. Beloved, this
was love. “Herein is love, that while we were yet sinners, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly.” “Greater love hath no
man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This
Christ has done, and he is, therefore, demonstrated to be the
friend of sinners.

But the trial is over; the strugele is past; the Saviour is
dead and buried. He rises again, and after he has spent forty
days on earth — in that forty days proving still his love for sin-
ners — he rose again for their justification. I see him ene
up on high. Angels attend him as the clouds receive him

“They bring his chariot from on high,
To bear him to his throne;
Clap their triumphant wings, and cry,

‘The glorious work is done!’ ”
What pomp! What a procession! What splendor! He will
forget his poor friends the sinners now, will he not? Not he! I
think I hear the song, “ Litt up your heads,O ye gates; and be ye
’ oO
lif He up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory may come
Ps ¥ y
in.” ‘The bars of massy light are all unloosed ; the pearly gates
are all wide open flung ;

oa?

and as he passes through, mark you, the
highest joy which swells his soul is that he has opened those gates,
not for himself, —for they were never shut on him, — but that
he has opened them for sinners. It was for this, indeed, he died ;
and it is for this that he ascends on high, that he may “open the

>

kingdom of heaven for all believers.” See him as he rides
eon heaven’s streets! “Thou hast ascended up on high 5
thou hast led captivity captive ; thou hast received gifts of man.’

Ah! but hear the refrain, — for this is the sweetest note of all the
hymn, — “ Yea, for the rebellious also — yea, for the rebellious
also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” The scat=THE SINNER’S FRIEND. 243
tered gifts of his coronation, the lavish bounties of his ascension,
are still for sinners. He is exalted on high — for what? To
give repentance and remission of sins. He still wears upon his
breastplate the names of sinners; upon his hands and upon his
heart does he still bear the remembrance of those sinners; and
every day for the sinner’s sake he doth not hold- his peace, and
for the sinner’s sake he doth not rest, but cries unto God until
every sinner shall be brought safely home. Every sinner who
believeth, every sinner who was given to him, every sinner
whom he bought with blood

 

he will not rest, I say, till all
such are gathered to be the jewels of his crown, wor!d without
end.

Methinks we cannot say more; and I think you will say we
could not have said less concerning the way in which the Saviour
proved himself to be the sinner’s friend. If there are any of
you who dare to doubt him after this, I know not what further
to advance. If there can be one who has proved himself your
friend, surely Jesus did it; and he is willing to receive you now.

Vhat he has done he still continues to do. Oh that you might
have grace to perceive that Jesus is the lover of your soul !—
that you might find the blessedness which all these tokens of
friendship of which we have been speaking have brought for
believing sinners !

II. While we change the subject a little, we shall still keep
to the text, and notice WHAT CHRIST IS DOING NOW FOR SIN-
NERS.

There is a deep principle involved here,
Pharisee of old could not understand,

 

a principle the
and the cold heart of

 

humanity is slow to embrace it to-day. I have two explanations
to offer of the way in which Jesus personally discovers himself
to be the friend of sinners, and I will just mention these before
I come to the application of the subject Lintend. Once upon a
time a woman was brought to Jesus by the Scribes and Phari-
sees: she was an adulteress ; she had been taken in the very act.
They tell “the sinner’s friend” what sentence Moses would214 THE SINNER’S FRIEND,

pronounce in such a case, and they ask him, How sayest thou ?
This they said tempting him. They were not much concerned
about the unhappy creature; the accusation they were intent to
lay was against the man of Nazareth. You know how he dis-
posed of the case, and put her accusers out of countenance. He
did not bring the sinner up before the magistrate ; nay, he would
not act the judge’s part, and pronounce sentence; rather would
he act the neighbor’s part: he acquitted himself as a friend.
There is a proverb among a certain class of hard-dealing trades-
men, “ We know no friendship in business; ” and full well they
carry it out, while they grind the faces of the poor without pity,
and strive to overreach one another without fairness. And
there was, in like manner, no friendship, no mercy whatever,
among those gentlemen of the long robe. Righteousness, to
their idea, stood in exacting justice with rigid severity ; and as
for wickedness, it was only shameful when it was found out.
She who was taken in the act must be stoned. They who had
done it secretly must prosecute. The real friendship of Jesus
appears in his singling of pity ; and where they accused him of
winking at crime, and harboring the criminal, he was truly lay-
ing the axe at the root of the tree, and sheltering the victims,
while he upbraided the arrogant rulers, whose secret vices were
the genuine cause of the wretchedness which had fallen upon
the dregs of the nation. I commend this thought to your con-
sideration. When it is said of him, he is a “friend of publicans
and sinners,” it Was implied that he was not a friend of Scribes
and Pharisees. Yet again, I want you to notice that the office
which Christ came to fulfil towards sinners was that of pure,
unmingled friendship. Let us give you an illustration. There
is an awful story abroad: a murder has been committed ; and
the poor wretch who committed it has cut his own throat. The
policeman and the surgeon are quickly on the spot. .The one
comes there in the ‘nterest of law, the other attends in the inter-
est of humanity. Says the officer of police: “ Man, you are my
prisoner ;” says the doctor: “My dear fellow, you are my
patient.” And now he lays a delicate hand upon the wound ; heTHE SINNER’S FRIEND. 215

stanches the blood, applies soft liniments, binds it up with plas-
ters, and, bending down his ear, listens to the man’s breathing ;
taking hold of his hand, he feels his pulse: gently raising his
head, he administers to him some wine or stimulant ; takes him
to the hospital, gives the nurse instructions to watch him, and
orders that he shall be given nutritious diet as he is able to bear
it. Day after day he still visits him, and uses all his skill and
all his diligence to heal the man’s wounds. Is that the way to
deal with criminals? Certainly it is not the manner in which
the police deal. Their business is to find out all the traces and
evidences of his guilt. But the medical attendant is not con-
cerned with the man as an evil-doer, but as a sufferer. So is it
with the sinner. Moses is the officer of justice who comes to
arrest him. Christ is the good Physician who comes to heal
him. He says, “ O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself ; but in me
is thy help.” He deals with the disease, with the wounds, with
the sufferings of sinners. He is therefore their friend. Of course
the parallel will only go a little way. In the instance of the
murderer, the surgeon would hand his patient over to the officers
as soon as the wound was recovered ; but in the conduct of our
Saviour, he redeems the soul from under the law, and delivers it
from the penalty of sin, as well as restores it from the self-
inflicted injuries. But oh! if I could but show thee that Christ
treats the sinner with pity rather than with indignation; that
the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save
them ; that his visit to our world was mediaturial — not to con-
demn the world, but to give his life a ransom for many ; surely
then thou wouldst see reason enough why the sinner should look
to him as a friend indeed.

Ah! then I would go further. I would entreat thee to make
the case thine own. Thou art a sinner; can I not convince
thee that he is thy friend ?

You were sick the other day. The physician looked very
grave, and whispered something to your wife. She did not tell
you what it was; but your own life trembled in the scale, and it
is a wonder you are here to-night. Shall I tell you why you216 THE SINNER’S FRIEND.

are here? Do you see that tree yonder? It has been standing
in its place for many years, but it has never yielded any fruit,
and several times the master of the garden has said, “ Cut it
down.” The other day the woodman came with his axe: he felt
its edge; it was sharp and keen enough, and he began to cut,
and the chips were flying, and he made a deep gash. But the
gardener came by,

 

one who had watched over the tree, and had
hope of it even yet, —and he said, “Spare it — spare it yet a
little longer; the wound thou hast made may heal; and I will
dig about it, and dung it, and if it bring forth fruit, well. Spare
it another year, and if not, then cut it down.” That tree is your-
self. The woodman is Death. That chipping at the trunk of
the tree was your sickness. Jesus is he who spared you. You
had not been here to-night — you had been there in hell among
damned spirits, howling in unutterable woe — if it had not been
that the friend of sinners had spared your life.

And where are you to-night? Perhaps, my hearers, you are
in an unusual place for you. Your Sunday evenings are not
often spent in the house of God. There are other places whicl
know you, but your seat there is empty to-night. There has
been much persuasion to bring you here, and it may be that you
have come against your will; but some friend has asked you to
conduct him to the spot, and here you are. Do you know why
you are here? It is a friendly providence, managed by the
sinner’s friend, which has brought you here, that you may hear
the sound of mercy, and have a loving invitation tendered to
you. Be grateful to the Saviour that he has brought you to the
gospel-pool. May you—oh, may you this night be made to
step in and be washed from sin! But it is kind of him, and
proves how true a friend he is of sinners, that he has brought
you here. I will leave you now where you are, and I will tell
you how he has dealt with other sinners ; for mayhap this may
lead you to ask him to deal the same with you.

I know a sinner — while I live I must know him. Full well
do I remember him when he was hard of heart and an enemy
to God by a multitude of wicked works. But this friend ofTHE SINNER’S FRIEND.

sinners loved him; and passing by one day, he looked right into
his soul with such a look that his hard heart began to break.
There were deep throes, as though a birth of a divine sort were
coming on. ‘There was an agony, and there was a grief unut-
terable ; and that poor soul did not think it kind of Jesus: but
indeed it was kindness too intense ever fully to estimate ; for
there is no saving a soul except by making it feel its need of
being saved. There must be in the work of grace an emptying
and a pulling down before there can be a filling and a building
up. ‘That soul knew no peace for many a year, and the sole of
its foot had no rest. But one day —

“J heard the voice of Jesus say,

Come unto me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one — lay down
Thy head upon my breast.

I carne to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;

I found in him a resting-place,
And he has made me glad!

“‘T heard the voice of Jesus say,

Behold, I freely give

The living water — thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink, and live!

I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now [ live in him.

*¢‘¥ heard the voice of Jesus say,

I am this dark world’s light;

Look unto me—thy morn shall rise,
And all thy days be bright!

I looked to Jesus, and I found
In him my star, my sun;

And in that light of light Pl walk,
Till travelling days are done.”

Ay, said I, Christ is the friend of sinners. So say I, and so
will I say while this poor lisping, stammering tongue can articu-
late a sound. And methinks God had a design of abundant
19218 ‘HE SINNER’S FRIEND.

merey when he saved my soul. I had not then believed it,
though a mother’s loving accents might have whispered it in my
ears. But he seems to remind me of it over and over again,
till love and terror mingle in my breast, saying, “ Woe is me if
I preach not the gospel.” O my blessed Master! thou dost trust
my lips when thou dost bear witness to my heart. Thou givest
charge to my tongue when thou constrained my soul. “Am I
a chosen vessel?” It is to bear his name to sinners. As a full
bottle seeks vent, so must my testimony pant for utterance. O
sinner! if thou trustest Him, he will be such a friend to thee!
and if thou hast now a broken heart and a contrite spirit, these
are his work ; and it is a proof of his great love to thee if he
has made thee to hunger and thirst after him.

Let me impress upon you that Jesus is the friend of the
friendless. She who had spent all her money on physicians
without getting relief, obtained a cure gratis when she came to
him. He who hath “nothing to pay ” gets all his debts cancelled
by this friend. And he who was ready to perish with hunger,
finds not only a passing meal, but a constant supply at his hands.

We know of a place in England, still existing, where there is
a dole of bread served to every passer-by who chooses to ask for
it. Whoever he may be, he has but-to knock at the door of St.
Cross Hospital, and there is the dole of bread for him, Jesus
Christ so loveth sinners that he has built a St. Cross Hospital,
so that, whenever a sinner is hungry, he has but to knock and
have his wants supplied. Nay, he has done better ; he has at-
tached to this hospital of the cross a bath; and whenever a soul
is black and filthy, it has but to go there and be washed. The
fountain is always full, always efficacious. There is no sinner
who ever went into it and found it, could not wash away his
stains. Sins which were scarlet and crimson have all disap-
peared, and the sinner has been whiter than snow. As if this
were not enough, there is attached t6 this hospital of the cross a
wardrobe ; and a sinner, making application simply as a sinner,
with nothing in his hand, but being just empty and naked, he
may come and be clothed from head to foot. And if he wishesTHE SINNER’S FRIEND. 219

to be a soldier, he may not merely have. an under-garment, but
he may have armor which shall cover him from the sole of his
foot to the crown of his head. Nay, if he wants a sword he
shall have that given to him, and a shield too. There is noth-
ing that his heart can desire, that is good for him, which he shall

not receive. He shall have spending-money so long as he lives,

and he shall have

an eternal heritage of glorious treasure when

he enters into the joy of his Lord.

Beloved, I cannot tell you all that Christ has done for sinners ;
but this I know, that if he meets with you to-night, and becomes
your friend, he will stand by you to the last. He will go home
with you to-night. No matter how many pairs of stairs you
have to go up, Jesus will go with you. No matter if there be
no chair to sit down on, he will not disdain you. You shall be
hard at work to-morrow, but as you wipe the sweat from your
brow he shall stand by you. You will, perhaps, be despised for
his sake ; but he will not forsake you. You will, perhaps, have
days of sickness; but he will come and make your bed in your

sickness for you.

You will, perhaps, be poor ; but your bread

shall be given you, and your water shall be sure; for he will

provide for you.

You will vex him much and grieve his Spirit.

You will often doubt him — you will go after other lovers. You
will provoke him to jealousy, but he will never cease to love
you. You will, perhaps, grow cold to him, and even forget his

dear name for a time; but he will never forget you. You may,

perhaps, dishonor his cross, and damage his fair fame among the

sons of men; but he will never cease to love you: nay, he will

never love you less — he cannot love you more. This night he
doth espouse himself unto you. Faith shall be the wedding-
ring which he will put upon your finger. He plights his troth

to you.

“Though you should him ofttimes forget,
His loving-kindness fast is set.”

His heart shall be so true to you that he will never leave you nor

forsake you. You will come to die soon; but the friend of sin-

ners, who loved you as a sinner and would not cast you off920 THE SINNER’S FRIEND.

when your sinnership kept breaking up, will still be with you
when you come to the sinner’s doom, which is to die. I see you
going down the shelving banks of Jordan, but the sinner’s friend
goes with you. Ah, dear heart! he will put his arm beneath
you, and bid you fear not ; and when in the thick shades of that
grim night you expect to see a fearful visage, — the grim face of
Death, — you shall see, instead thereof — you shall see his sweet
and smiling face, bright as an evening star, by your soul, and
you shall hear him say, “ Fear not, I am with thee ; be not dis-
mayed; I am thy God.” You will land in the world of spirits
by-and-by ; but will the sinner’s friend forsake you then? No;
he will be’ pleased to own you; he will meet you on the other
side the Jordan, and he will say, “ Come, my beloved, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love, and have bought thee,
though thou wast a sinner vile, and now I am not ashamed to
confess thee before my holy angels; nay, come with me, and I
will take thee to my Father’s face, and will confess thee there.”
And when the day shall come in which the world shall be judged,
he will be thy friend then. ‘Thou shalt sit on the bench with
him. At the right hand of the Judge shalt thou stand, accepted
in him who was thine Advocate, and who is now thy Judge to
acquit thee. And when the splendors of the millennium shall
come, thou shalt partake of them; and when the end shall be,
and the world shall be rolled up like a worn-out vesture, and
these arching skies shall have passed away like a forgotten
dream; when eternity with its deep-sounding waves shall break
upon the rocks of time and sweep them away forever, — then,
on that sea of glass mingled with fire, thou shalt stand with
Christ, thy friend still, owning thee notwithstanding all thy mis-
behavior in the world which has gone, and loving thee now —
loving thee on as long as eternity shall last. Oh! what a friend
is Christ to sinners — to sinners !

Now, do recollect that we have been talking about sinners.
There is a notion abroad that Jesus Christ came into the world to
save respectable people, and that he will save decent sort of
folks ; that those of you who go regularly to a place of worship,
and are good sort of people, will be saved. Now, Jesus Christ.THE-SINNER’S FRIEND. 221
came into the world to save sinners; and who does that mean?
Well, it includes some of us who have not been permitted to ga
into outward sin; but it also includes within its deep, broad
compass those who have gone to the utmost extent of iniquity.
Talk of sinners! Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare,
and you will see sinners then. Watch when the night is dark,
and the wind is howling, and the picklock is grating in the door,
and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk through
the wards, and see the men with heavy, overhanging brows, —
men whom you would not like to meet out at night, — and there
are sinners there. Go to the reformatories, and see those who
have betrayed an early and a juvenile depravity, and you will
see sinners there. Go across the seas to the place where a man

 

will gnaw a bone upon which is reeking human flesh, and there is
a sinner there. Go you where you will, and ransack earth to
find sinners, for they are common enough: you may find them
in every lane and street of every city and town and village and
hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died. If you will select me
the grossest specimen of humanity, if he be but born of woman, I
will have hope of him yet, because the gospel of Christ is come
to sinners, and Jesus Christ is come to seek and to save sinners.
Electing love has selected some of the worst to be made the
best. Redeeming love has bought, specially bought, many of
the worst to be the reward of the Saviour’s passion. Effectual
grace calls out and compels to come in many of the vilest of the
vile: and it is therefore that I have tried to-night to preach my
Master’s love to sinners.

Oh! by that love, looking out of those eyes in tears; oh! by
that love, streaming from ‘those wounds flowing with blood; by
that faithful love, that strong love, that pure, disinterested, and
abiding love; oh! by the heart and by the bowels of the Sa-
viour’s compassion, I do conjure you turn not away as though it
were nothing to you: but believe on him and you shall be saved!
Trust your souls with him, and he will bring you to his Father's
right band in glory everlasting.

May God give us a blessing for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

19*SERMON XII.

 

ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT TO SEEKING SOULS.

“I WILL BE GRACIOUS UPON WHOM I WILL BE GRACIOUS, AND WILL SHOW
MERCY UPON WHOM I WILL SHOW MERCY.’ — Exodus xxwiii. 19.

Because God is the maker and creator and sustainer of all
things, he has a right to do as he wills with all his works. “Shall
the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same
Jump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?”
God’s absolute supremacy and unlimited sovereignty naturally
flow from his omnipotence, and from the fact that he is the source
and support of all things. Moreover, if it were not so, the super-
lative excellence of the divine character would entitle him to
absolute dominion. He should be chief who is best. He who
cannot err, being perfect in wisdom; he who will not err, being
as perfect in holiness ; he who can do no wrong, being supremely
just ; he who must act in accordance with the principles of kind-
ness, seeing he is essentially love, is the most fitting person to
rule. Tell me not of the creatures ruling themselves: what a
chaos were this! Talk not of a supposed republic of all created
existences, controlling and guiding themselves. All the crea-
tures put together, with their combined wisdom and goodness, —
if, indeed, it were not combined folly and wickedness, — all these,
I say, with all the excellencies of knowledge, judgment, and love,
which the most fervid imagination can suppose them to possess,
could not make the, equal of that great God whose name is holis
ness, whose essence is love, to whom all power belongeth, and

 

=ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT TO SEEKING SOULS. 223

fo whom alone wisdom is to be ascribed. Let iim reign supreme,
for he is infinitely superior to all other existences. Even if he
did not actually reign, the suffrages of all wise men would choose
the Lord Jehovah to be absolute monarch of the universe ; and
if he were not already King of kings and Lord of lords, doing
as he wills among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of
this lower world, it were the path of wisdom to lift him up to
that throne. Since men have sinned, there becomes a yet fur-
ther reason, or rather a wider scope for the display of sovereignty.
The creature, as a creature, may be supposed to have some claim
upon the Creator; at least, it may expect that he shall not make
it intentionally and despotically to put it to pain; that he shal
not arbitrarily, and without cause or necessity, cause its existence
to be one of misery. I will not venture to judge the Lord, but
I do think it is altogether incompatible with his gocdness that
he should have made a creature, and, as a creature, have con-
demned it to misery. Justice seems to demand that there shall
be no punishment where there is no sin. But man has lost ail
his rights as a creature. If he ever had any, he has sinned them
away. Our first parents have sinned, and we, their children,
have attainted ourselves, by high treason against our liege Lord
and Sovereign. All that a just God owes to any one of us on
the footing of our own claim, is wrath and displeasure. If he
should give to us our due, we should no longer remain on pray-
ing ground, breathing the air of mercy. ‘The creature, before
its Creator, must now be silent as to any demands upon him; it
cannot require anything of him as a matter of right. If the Lord
willeth to show mercy, it shall be so; but, if he withholds it,
who can call him to account? “Can I not do as I will with
mine own?” is a fit reply to all such arrogant inquiries; for
man has sinned himself out of court, and there remains no right
of appeal from the sentence of the Most High, Man is now in
the position of a condemned criminal, whose only right is to be
taken to the place of execution, and justly to suffer the due
reward cf his sins. Whatever difference of opinion, then, there
might have been about the sovereignty of God as exercised upon224 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

creatures in the pure mass, there should be none, and there will
be none, except in rebellious spirits, concerning the sovereignty
of God over rebels who have sinned themselves into eternal ruin,
and have lost all their claim even to mercy, much more the love
of their offended Creator.

However, whether we all of us agree to the doctrine that God
is sovereign or not, is a very little matter to him; far he 7s so.
De jure, by right, he should be so; de facto, as matter of fact,
he is so. It is a fact, concerning which you have only to open
your eyes and see that God acts as a sovereign in the dispensa-
tion of his grace. Our Saviour, when he wished to quote in-
stances of this, spake on this wise: Many widows there were in
Israel in the time of Elias the prophet, but unto none of these
was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman
who was a widow. Here was election. Elias is not sent to nourish
and to be nourished by an Israelitish widow ; but to a poor idola-
tress across the border, the blessing of the prophet’s company is
graciously granted. Again, our Saviour says: “Many lepers
were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet ; and none of
them were cleansed, save only Naaman the Syrian,” — not an
Israelite at all, but one who bowed in the house of Rimmon.
See how distinguishing grace finds out strange objects! Al-
though our Saviour only gave these two instances, and no more,
because they sufficed for his purpose, there are thousands of such
cases on.record. Look at man and the fallen angels. How is
it that fallen angels are condemned to endless fire, and reserved
in chains of darkness unto the great day? There is no Saviour
for angels; no precious blood was ever shed for Satan. Lucifer
falls, and falls forever, — never to hope again. There is no dis-
pensation of mercy to those nobler spirits; but man, who was
made lower than the angels, is selected to be the object of divine
redemption. What a great deep is here! This is a most illus-
trious and indisputable instance of the exercise of the prerogatives
of divine sovereignty. Look, again, at the nations of the earth.
Why is the gospel preached to-day to us, Englishmea? We
have committed as many offences —I will even venture to say

ua hl)TO SEEKING SOULS. 225

 

we have perpetrated as many political crimes — as other nations.
Our eye.is always prejudiced towards everything which is Iing-
lish; but if we read our history fairly, we can discover in the
past, and detect in the present, grave and serious faults which
disgrace our national banner. To pass by as minor offences the
late barbarities in Japan, and our frequent wars of extermination
in New Zealand, and at the Cape, let it crimson the cheek of
every inhabitant of the British Isles when we do but hint at the
epium traffic with China. Yet to us the gospel is graciously
sent, so that few nations enjoy it so fully as we do. It is true
that Prussia and Holland hear the Word, and that Sweden and
Denmark are comforted by the truth ; but their candle burns but
dimly : it is a poor flickering lamp which cheers their darkness,
while in our own dear land, partly from the fact of our religious
liberty, and yet more graciously through the late revival, the
sun of the gospel shines brightly, and men rejoice in the light of
day. Why this? Why no grace for the Japanese? Why no
gospel preached to the inhabitants of Central Africa? Why
was not the truth of God displayed in the Cathedral of Santiago,
instead of the mummeries and follies which disgraced both dupes
and deceivers, and were the incidental cause of the horrible
burnings of that modern Tophet? Why to-day is not Rome,
instead of being the seat of the beast, become the throne of Jesus
Christ? I cannot tell you. But assuredly, divine sovereignty,
passing by many races of men, has been pleased to pitch upon
the Anglo-Saxon family, that they may be as the Jews were
aforetime, the custodians of divine truth, and the favorites of
mighty grace.

We need not further speak upon national elections, for the
principle is plainly carried out in individuals. See ye anything,
my brethren, in that rich publican, whose coffers are gorged with
the results of his extortion, when he climbs the sycamore tree
that his short stature may not prevent his seeing the Saviour —
see ye anything in him why the Lord of glory should halt be-
neath that sycamore tree and say, “ Zaccheus, make haste, and
éome down ; for to-day I must abide at thy house”? Can you226 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

find me a reason why yonder adulterous woman, who has had
five husbands, and who is now living with a man who is not her
husband, should constrain the Saviour to journey through Sama-
ria that he might tell her of the water of life? If you can see
anything, I cannot. Look at that blood-thirsty Pharisee, hurry-
ing to Damascus with authority to hale men and women to prison
and shed their blood. The heat of midday cannot stop him, for
his heart is hotter with religious rage than the sun with noontide
rays. But see! He is arrested in his career! A brightness shines
round about him! Jesus speaks from heaven the words of ten-
der rebuke; and Saul of Tarsus becomes Paul, the apostle of
God. Why? Wherefore? What answer can we give but this ?
“Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” Read
the “ Life of John Newton; ” had he not ripened into the gross-
est of all villains? ‘Turn to the history of John Bunyan, by his
own confession the lowest of all blackeuards, and tell me, can
you find in either of these offenders any sort of reason why the
Lord should have chosen them to be among the most distin-
guished heralds of the cross ? Noman in his senses will venture
to assert that there was anything in Newton or Bunyan why
they should engross the regard of. the Most High. It was sov-
ereignty, and nothing but sovereignty. Take your own case,
dear friends, and that shall be the most convincing of all to you.
If you know anything of your own heart, if you have formed a
right estimate of our own character, if you have seriously con-
sidered your own position before the Most High, the reflection
that God loveth you with an everlasting love, and that, therefore,
with the bands of his kindness he has drawn you, will draw forth
from you at once the exclamation, “Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for
truth’s sake.” Brethren! the whole world is full of instances
of divine sovereignty, for in every conversion some beam of the
absolute dominion of God shines forth upon mankind.

When a sinner is anxiously disturbed about his soul’s affairs,
his chief and main thought should not be upon this subject ;

>
when a man would escape from wrath and attain to heaven, hisTO’ SEERING SOWUEG: 227

first, his last, his middle thought should be the cross of Christ.
As an awakened sinner, I have vastly less to do with the secret
purposes of God than with his revealed commands. For a man
to say, “Thou commandest all men to repent, yet will I not
repent, because I do not know that I am chosen to eternal life,”
is not only unreasonable, but exceedingly wicked. That it is un-
reasonable you will clearly see on a moment’s reflection. I
know that bread does not of itself nourish my body, “For man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceed-
eth out of the mouth of God.” It depends, therefore, upon God’s
decree whether that bread shall nourish my body or not; for if
he has not purposed that it shall, it may even choke me, and so
become rather the cause of my death than the staff of my life.
Do I therefore, when I am hungry, thrust my hands into my
pockets, and stand still, and refuse to help myself from the well-
loaded table, because I do not know whether God has decreed
that the bread shall nourish me or not? If I did, I should be
an idiot or madman ; or if, in my senses, I should starve myself
on such a pretence, 1 should richly deserve the burial of a sui-
cide. I am not absolutely sure that there will be a harvest upon
my field next year: unless God has ordained that the corn shall
spring up and shall ripen, all my husbandry will be labor lost.
There are worms in the earth, frosts in the air, birds in the sky,
mildews in the winds, — all of which may destroy my corn, and
I may lose every single grain of the handsful which I throw into
my furrows. Shall I, therefore, leave my farm to be one per-
petual fallow, because I do not know whether God has decreed
that there shall be a harvest or not next year? If I become a
bankrupt, if I am unable to pay my rent, if the thorn and
the thistle grow taller and higher, and if at last my landlord
thrusts me from my tenancy, all that men will say will be, “ It
serves him right!” because I was such a fool as to make the
secret purposes of God a matter of paramount consideration,
instead of performing my known duty. Jam ill and sick. A
physician comes to me with medicine. I am not clear that his
medicine will heal me; it has healed a great many others: but228 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

if God has decreed that I shall die, I shall die, let me take any
quantity of physic, or take none at all. My arm mortifies, but
T will not have it cut ‘off, because I do not know whether God
has decreed that I shall die of mortification or not. Who but a
crazed idiot, or raving maniac, would talk thus? When I put
the case in that light, you all reply, “ Nobody ever talks in that
way; it is too absurd.” Of course nobody does. And the fact
is, even in the things of God, nobody really does argue in that
way. A man may say, “I will not believe in Christ, bécause I
am afraid I am not elected;” but the thing is so stupid, so
absurd, that I do not believe that any man, not absolutely de-
mented, can be so grossly foolish as to believe in his own reason-
ing. I am far rather inclined to think that is a wicked and
perverse method of endeavoring to stultify conscience, on the
theory that a bad excuse is better than none, and that even a
foolish argument is better than having one’s mouth shut in
speechless confusion.

But, since men will everlastingly be getting to this point,
and there are so many who are always giving this as a reason
why they do not believe in the Lord Jesus: Christ, because “ it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy,” I shall try, this morning, to talk with these
people on their own ground ; and I shall endeavor, by the help
of the Holy Spirit, to show that the doctrine of the sovereignty
of God, so far from discouraging anybody, has not in it, if re-
garded aright, any sort of discouragement whatever for any
souls believing in Jesus Christ.

For one moment let me detain you from my object, while I
reply to a very common method of misrepresenting the doctrine.
It may be as well to start with a clear idea of what the doctrine
really is. Our opponents put the case thus: Suppose a father
should condemn some of his children to extreme misery, and
make others supremely happy, out of his own arbitrary will,
would it be right and just? Would it not be brutal and detesta-
ble? My answer is, of course it would ; it would be execrable
in the highest degree: and far, very far be it from us 2 imputeTO SEEKING SOULS. 229

such a course of action to the Judge of all the earth... But the
case stated is not at all the one under consideration, but one as
opposite from it as light from darkness. Sinful man is not now
in the position of a well-deserving or innocent child, neither does
God occupy the place of a complacent parent. We will suppose
another case, far nearer the mark ; indeed, it is no supposition, but
an exact description of the whole matter. A number of criminals,
guilty of the most aggravated and detestable crimes, are righteously
condemned to die; and die they must, unless the king shall exer-
cise the prerogative vested in him, and give them a free pardon.
If, for good and sufficient reasons, known only to himself, the king
chooses to forgive a certain number, and to leave the rest for
execution, is there anything cruel or unrighteous here? If, by
some wise means, the ends of justice can be even better an-
swered by the sparing of the pardoned ones than by their
condemnation, while at the same time the punishment of some
tends to honor the justice of the lawgiver, who shall dare to
find fault? None, I venture to say, but those who are the
enemies of the state and of the king. And so may we well ask,
“Ts there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.” “ What
if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known,
endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction; and that he might make known the riches of his
glory on-the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto
glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but
also of the Gentiles?” Who is he that shall impugn the min-
eled mercy and severity of Heaven, or make the eternal God an
offender, because “he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy” ?
Let us now proceed to our proper subject, and endeavor to clear
this truth from the terrors supposed to cluster round it.

I. Let us begin with this assertion, which we are absolutely
sure is correct: THIS DOCTRINE DOES NOT OPPOSE ANY COM-
FORT DERIVED FROM OTHER SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS.

This doctrine, stern as it may seem to be, does not oppose the
consolation which may be rightly derived from any other truth of
20230 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT 2%
revelation. Those who hold the free-will theory, say that our doec-
trine that salvation is of the Lord alone, and that he willhave mercy
on whom he will have mercy, takes away from man the comfort
derivable from God’s goodness. God is good, infinitely good in his
nature. God is love: he willeth not the death of any, but had
rather that all should come to repentance. “As I live, saith the
Lord, I have no pieasure in the death of him that dieth, but had
rather that he should turn unto me and live.” Our friends very
properly insist upon it that God is good to all, and his tender
mercies are over all his works; that the Lord is merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Let me assure
them that we shall never quarrel on these points, for we also
rejoice in the same facts. Some of you have listened to my
voice for these ten years. I ask you whether you have heard
me utter a single sentence which at all contradicts the doctrine
of God’s great goodness? You may have so construed it by
mistake, but no such teaching has passed my lip. Do I not,
again and again, assert the universal benevolence of God ale
infinite and overflowing goodness of the heart of the Most High ?
If any man can preach upon the great text, “God is love,”
though I may not be able to preach with the same eloquence, I will
venture to vie with him in the decision, heartiness, delight, ear-
nestness, and plainness with which he may expound his theme,
be he who he may, or what he may. There is not the slightest
shadow of a conflict between God’s sovereignty and God’s good-
ness. He may be a sovereign, and yet it may be absolutely
certain that he will always act in the way of goodness and love.
It is true that he will do as he wills; and yet it is quite certain
that he always wills to do that which, in the widest view of it, 1S
good and gracious. If the sons of sorrow fetch any comfort
from the goodness of God, the doctrine of election will never
stand in their way. Only, mark, it does with a two-edged sword
cut to pieces that false confidence in God’s goodness which
sends so many souls to hell. We have heard dying men singing
themselves into the bottomless pit with this lullaby, “Yes, sir,
Iam asinner; but God is merciful; God is good.” Ah, dearTO SEEKING SOULS. 2a

friends! let such remember that God is just as well as good,
and that he will by no means spare the guilty, except through
the great atonement of his Son Jesus Christ. The doctrine of elec-
tion in a most blessedly honest manner, does come in, and breaks
the neck, once for all, of all this false and groundless confidence
in the uncovenanted mercy of God. Sinner, you have no right to
trust to the goodness of God out of Christ. There is no word
in the whole Book of inspiration which gives the shadow of a
hope to the man who will not believe in Jesus Christ. It says
of him, “ He that believeth not shall be damned.” It declares
of you, who are resting upon such a poor confidence as the un-
promised favor of Heaven, “ Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, Jesus Christ the righteous.” If this be
an evil to rob you of a false refuge, the doctrine of election cer-
tainly does this; but from the comfort properly derivable from
the largest view of God’s bounteous goodness and unlimited love,
election does not detract a single grain.

Much comfort, too, flows to a troubled conscience from the
promise that God will hear prayer. “ Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you: for every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh find-
eth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” If you ask
anything of God in the name of Jesus Christ, you shall receive
it. Now, there are some who imagine that they must not pray,
because they do not know whether they are God’s chosen peo-
ple. If you refuse to pray on the ground of such bad reasoning
as this, you must do so at your own expense; but do mark our
solemn assurance, for which we have God’s warrant, that there
is nothing in the sovereignty of God which at all militates
against the great truth, that every sincerely seeking soul, crav-
ing divine grace by humble prayer through Jesus Christ, shall
be a finder. There may be an Arminian brother here who
would like to get into this pulpit and preach the cheering truth
that God hath not said to the seed of Jacub, seek ye my face in
vain. We not only accord him full liberty to preach this doc-
trine, but we will go as far as he can, and perhaps a little fur-22 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

ther, in the enunciation of that truth. We cannot perceive any
discrepancy between personal election and the prevalence of
prayer. Let those who can, vex their brains with the task of
reconciling them; to us the wonder is how a man can believe
the one without the other. Firmly must I believe that the Lord
God will show mercy to whom he will show mercy, and have
compassion on whom he will have compassion; but I know as
assuredly that wherever there is a genuine prayer, God gave it;
that wherever there is a seeker, God made him seek; conse-
quently, if God has made the man seek and made the man pray,
there is evidence at once of divine election; and the fact stands
true that._none seek who shall not find.

Very much comfort, also, is supposed to be derived, and nat-
urally so, from the free invitations of the gospel. “ Ah!” cries
one, “ what a sweet thing it is that the Saviour cried, ‘ Come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest’! How delightful to read such a word as this: ‘ Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and
milk without money and without price’! Sir, my heart is en-
couraged when I find it written, ‘ Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.’ But, sir, I dare not come because of
the doctrine of election.” My dear hearer, I would not say
anything harshly to you, but I must express my conviction that
this is nothing but an idle excuse for not doing what you have
no mind to do; because invitations of the most general charac-
ter, nay, invitations which shall be universal in their scope, are
perfectly consistent with the election of God. I have preached
here, you know it, invitations as free as those which proceeded
from the lips of Master John Wesley. Van Armin himself, the
founder of the Arminian school, could not more honestly have
pleaded with the very vilest of the vile to come to Jesus than I
have done. Have I therefore felt in my mind that there was a
contradiction here? No; nothing of the kind: because I know
it to be my duty to sow beside all waters, and, like the sower in
the parable, to scatter the seed upon the stony ground, as wellTO SEEKING SOULS. 233

as upon the good land, knowing that election does not narrow
the gospel-call, which is universal, but only affects the effectual
call, which is and must be particular; which effectual call is no
work of mine, seeing that it cometh from the Spirit of God.
My business is to give the general call,— the Holy Spirit will see
to its application to the chosen. Oh, my dear hearers! God’s in-
vitations are honest invitations to every one of you. He invites
you ; in the words of the parable, he addresses you, “ All things
are ready ; come ye to the supper, my oxen and my fatlings are
killed.” Nay, he saith to his ministers, “Go out into the high-
ways and hedges, and compel them to come in.” Though he
foreknows who will come in, and has before all worlds ordained
who shall taste of that supper, yet the invitation, in its widest
possible range, is a true and honest one; and if you accept it
you shall find it so.

Furthermore, if we understand the gospel at all, the gospel
lies in a nutshell. It is this: “ Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Or, to use Christ’s words,
“‘ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned.” This promise is the gospel.
Now, the gospel is true, whatever else may be false. Whatever
doctrine may or may not be of God, the gospel certainly is.
The doctrine of sovereign grace is not contrary to the gospel,
but perfectly consonant therewith. God has a people whom no
man shall number, whom he hath ordained unto eternal life.
This is by no means in conflict with the great declaration,“ He
that believeth on him is not condemned.” If any man who ever
lived, or ever shall live, believes in Jesus Christ, he hath eternal
life. Election or no election, if you are resting upon the rock
of ages you are saved. If you, as a guilty sinner, take the
righteousness of Christ, — if, all black and foul and filthy, you
come to wash in the fountain filled with blood, — sovereignty or
no sovereignty, rest assured of this, that you are redeemed from
‘the wrath to come. Oh, my dear friends! when you say, “I will
not believe in Christ because of election,” I can only say, as Job
did to his wife, “'Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
20*234 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

speaketh.” How dare you, because God reveals to you two
things, which two things you cannot make square with one an-
other — how dare you charge either the one or the other with
being false? If 1 believe God, I am not only to believe what
I can understand, but what I cannot understand ; and if there
were a revelation which I could comprehend and sum up as I
may count five upon my fingers, I should be sure it did not come
from God. But if it has some depths vastly too deep for me,
—some knots which I cannot untie, some mysteries which I
cannot solve,—I receive it with the greater confidence, be-
cause it now gives me swimming-room for my faith, and my soul
bathes herself in the. great sea of God’s wisdom, praying, “ Lord
J believe ; help thou mine unbelief.”

Let it be said, over and over again, that there shall be no
doubt about this matter; that if there be any comfort derivable
from the gospel; if there be any sweet consolation flowing from
the free invitations and the universal commands of- divine truth,
all those may be received and enjoyed by you, while you hold
this doctrine of divine sovereignty, as much as if you did not
hold it, and received some wider scheme.. Methinks I hear one
voice say, “ Sir, the only comfort I can ever have lies in the tn-
finite value of the precious blood of Christ ; O, sir! it seems to
me such a sweet thing that there is no sinner so black that Christ
cannot wash away his sins, and no sinner so old that the meri-

9

torious virtue of that atonement cannot meet his case — not one
in any rank or in any condition whom that blood cannot cleanse
from all sin. Now, sir, if that be true, how can the doctrine of
election be true?” My dear friend, you know in your own
heart that the two things are not opposed to each other at all.
For what does the doctrine of election say? It says that God
has chosen and has saved some of the greatest sinners whc
ever lived, has cleansed some of the foulest sins ever committed
and that he is doing and will do the same to the world’s end.
So that the two things exactly tally. And I will venture to say}
that if in the fulness of a man’s heart he shall say, “There is ne
sin, except the one excepted sin, which cannot be forgiven ;” ifTO SEEKING SOULS. 235

he boldly announce that “All manner of sin shall be forgiven
unto men; ” and if he shall plead with power and earnestness that
souls would now come to Christ and lay hold upon eternal life ;
he may go back to his Bible, and he may read every-text teach-
ing the sovereignty of God, and every passage upholding divine
election; and he may feel that all these texts look him in the
face, and say, “Well done; our spirit and your spirit are pre-
cisely the same: we have no conflict together; we are two great
truths which came from the same God; we are alike the reve-
lation of the Holy Ghost.” But we leave that point. If there
be any comfort, Sinner, which you can truthfully and rightly get
from any passage of Scripture, from any promise of God, from
any invitation, from any open door of mercy, you may have it;
for the doctrine of election does not rob you of one atom of the
consolation which the truth of God can afford you.

II. But now we will take another point fora moment. Our
second head is, that THIS DOCTRINE HAS A MOST SALUTARY
EFFECT UPON SINNERS. ‘These may be divided into two classes:
those who are awakened, and those who are hardened and incor-
rigrble.

To the awakened sinner, next to the doctrine of the cross, the
doctrine of distinguishing grace is perhaps the most fraught with
blessings and comfort. In the first place, the doctrine of election,
applied by the Holy Ghost, strikes dead forever all the efforts of
the flesh. It is the end of Arminian preaching to make men
active, — to excite them to do what they can; but the very end
and object of gospel preaching is to make men feel that they
have no power of their own, and to lay them as dead at the foot
of God’s throne. We seek, under God, to make them feel that
all their strength must lie in the Strong One who is mighty to
save. If I can convince a man that, let him do what he may, he
cannot save himself; if I can show him that his own prayers
and tears can never save him apart from the Spirit of God; if I
can convince him that he must be born again from above; if I
lead him to see that all which is born of the flesh is flesh, and236 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, — brethren! three
parts of the great battle are already won. “I kill and I make
alive,” saith God: “when aman is killed the work is half done.”
“T wound and I heal; when a man is wounded his salvation is
commenced.” What! am I to seta sinner industriously to labor
after eternal life by his own works? ‘Then, indeed, am I an
ambassador of hell. Am I to teach him that there is a goodness
in him which he is to evolve, to polish and educate and perfect,
and so to save himself? Then I am a teacher of the beggarly
elements of the law, and not the gospel of Christ. Are we to
set turth man’s prayers, repentings, and humblings, as the way
of salvation? If so, let us renounce the righteousness of Christ at
once, for the two will never stand together. JI am a mischief-
maker if I excite the activities of the flesh, instead of pointing
to the arms of the Redeemer! But if the potent hammer of
electing sovereignty dashes out the brains of all a man’s works,
merits, doings, and willings, while it pronounces over the dead
carcass this sentence: “ It is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy ;” then, the best
thing is done for a sinner that can be done as a stepping-stone
to the act of faith. When a man is weaned from self, and totally
delivered from looking to the flesh for help, there is hope for
him: and this the doctrine of divine sovereignty does, through
the Holy Spirit’s power.

Again: this doctrine gives the greatest hope to the really awak-
ened sinner. You know how the case stands. We are all pris-
oners, condemned to die. God, as sovereign, has a right to
pardon whom he pleases. Now, imagine a number of us shut
up in a condemned cell, all guilty. One of the murderers says
within himself: “ I know that I have no reason to expect to be
delivered. J am not rich: if I had some rich relations, like
George Townley, I might be found insane, and delivered. But
I am very poor; I am not educated. If I had the education of

some men I might expect some consideration. I am not a man
of rank and position; I am a man without merit or influence,
therefore I cannot expect that I should be selected as one to beTO SEEKING SOULS. 237

saved.” No; I believe that if the present authorities of our land
were the persons to be taken into consideration, a man who was
poor might have a very poor chance of expecting any gratuitous
deliverance. But when God is the great sovereign the case is
different. For then we argue thus: “ Here am I; my salvation
depends entirely upon the will of God: is there a chance for
me?” We take down a list of those whom he has saved, and we
find that he saves the poor, the illiterate, the wicked, the godless,
and the worst of the worst, the base things, and things that are
despised. Well, what do we say? “Then why may he not
choose me? Why not save me? If I am to look for some
reason in myself why I should be saved, I shall never find any,
and consequently never shall have a hope. But if I am to be
saved for no reason at all but that God wills to save me, ah!
then there is hopefor me. Iwill to the gracious King approach ;
J will do as he bids me; I will trust in his dear Son, and I shall
be saved.” So that this doctrine opens the door of hope to the
worst of the worst, and the only persons it discourages are the
Pharisees, who say, “ Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other
men are,’ — those proud, haughty spirits who say, “No; if I
am not to be saved for something good in myself, then I will be
damned!” as damned they will be, with a vengeance, too.
Moreover, do not you see, dear friends, how the doctrine of
election comforts the sinner in the matter of power? His complaint
is, “I find I have no power to believe; I have no spiritual
power of any kind.” Election stoops down and whispers in his
ear, “ But if God wills to save you, he gives the power, gives
the life, and gives the grace; and thérefore, since he has given
that power and might to others as weak as you, why not to you?
Have courage ; look to the cross of Christ, and live.” And oh!
what emotions of gratitude, what throbbings of love does this
doctrine cause in human hearts! “ Why,” saith the man, “I am
saved simply because God would save me; not because I deserved
it, but because his loving heart would save me; then I will love
him, I will live to him, I will spend and be spent for him.” Such
a man cannot be proud —I mean not consistently with the doc-238 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT

trine. He lies humbly at God’s feet. Other men may boast of
what they are, and how they have won eternal life by their own
goodness ; but I cannot. If God had left me, I had been in hell
with others ; and if I go to heaven, I must cast my crown at the
feet of the grace which brought me there. Such a man will

ecome kind to others. He will hold his opinions, but he will
not hold them savagely, nor teach them bitterly ; because he will
say, “If I have light, and others have not, my light was given
me from God; therefore I have no cause to plume myself upon
it. I will try to spread that light, but not by anger and abuse.
For why should I blame those who cannot see ?— for could I have
seen if God had not opened my blind eyes ?” Every virtue
this doctrine fosters, and every vice it kills, when the Holy Spirit
so uses it. Pride it treads under foot; and humble, trustful con-
fidence in the mercy of God in Christ, it cherishes as a darling
child.

My time is gone; but I wanted to have said a word as to the
eilect of this gospel upon ¢ncorrigible sinners. I will just say
this: I know what the effect of it ought to be. What do you
say who have made up your minds not to repent — you who care
not for God? Why, you believe that any day you like you can
turn to God, since God is merciful, and will save you; and
therefore you walk about the world as comfortably as possible,
thinking it all depends upon you, and that you will get into
heaven just at the eleventh hour. Ah, man! that is not_your
case. See where you are. Do you see that moth fluttering in
my hand? Imagine it to be there. With this finger of mine I
can crush it—-in a moment. Whether it shall live or not de-
pends absolutely upon whether I choose to crush it or let it go.
That is precisely your position at the present moment. God
can damn you now. Nay, let us say to you, “ Yours is a worse
position than that.” .There are some seven persons now doomed
for murder and piracy on the high seas. You can clearly say
that their lives depend upon Her Majesty’s pleasure. If Her
Majesty chooses to pardon them, she can. If not, when the fatal
morning comes, the bolt will be drawn, and they will be launchedTO SEEKING SOULS. 259
into eternity. That is your case, sinner. You are condemned
already. This world is but one huge condemned cell, in which
you are kept until the execution morning comes. If you are
ever to be pardoned, God must do it. You cannot escape from
him by flight; you cannot bribe him by actions of your own
You ar alpsolitehy 3 in the hand of God, and if he leaves you
where you are and as you are, your eternal ruin is as certain ag
your existence. Now, does not this make some sort of trembling
come upon you? Perhaps not; it makes you angry. Well, if
it does, that will not frighten me, because tier > are some of you
who will never be good for anything until you are angry. I
believe it is no ill sign when some persons are angry with the
truth. It shows that the truth has pierced them. If an arrow
penetrates my flesh, I do not like the arrow, and if you kick and
struggle against this truth, it will not alarm me; I shall have
some hope that a wound is made. If this truth should provoke
you to think, it will have done for some of you one of the great-
est things in the world. It is not your perverse thinking which
frightens me ; it is the utterly thoughtless way in which you go
on. If you had sense enough to consider these things, and ficht
against them, I should then have some faint hope of you. But,
alas! many of you have not sense enough ; you say, “ Yes, yes,
tis all true.” You accept it, but then it has no effect upon you.
The gospel rolls over you, like oil adown a slab of mar ble, and
produces no effect.

If you are at all right in heart, you will begin to see what
your state is, and the next thing that will startle your mind will
be the reflection: “Is it so? Am I absolutely in’ God’s hands?
Can he save me or damn me as he will? Then, I will cry to
him, “O God! save me from the wrath to come —from eternal
torment —from banishment from thy presence! Save me, O
God! What wouldst thou have me to do? Oh! what wouldst
thou have me to do, that I may find thy favor and live?” Then
comes the answer to you: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you shall be saved; ” for “whosoever believeth in him shall
uever perish, but shall have eternal life.”240 ELECTION NO DISCOURAGEMENT TO SEEKING SOULS.

Oh that God might bless this divine doctrine to you! I have
never preached this doctrine without conversions, and I believe
I never shall. At this moment God will cause his truth to at-
tract your hearts to Jesus, or to affright you to him. May you
be drawn as the bird is drawn by the lure, or may you be driven
as a dove is hunted by the hawk into the clefts of the rock.
Only may you be sweetly compelled to come. May my Lord
fulfil this desire of my heart. Oh that God may grant me your
souls for my hire! and to him shall be the glory, world without
end. Amen.SERMON XIiT.

THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

“HE SAME HEARD PAUL SPEAK: WHO STEADFASTLY BEHOLDING HIM, AND
PERCEIVING THAT HE HAD FAITH TO BE HEALED, SAID WITH A LOUD VCICE,
STAND UPRIGHT ON THY FEET. AND HE LEAPED AND WALKED.” — Acts xiv.
9, 10. -

I HAVE read in your hearing the story of the preaching of
Paul and Barnabas in the town of Lystra. The name of Christ
was there totally unknown. They were a sort of country people,
partly pastoral and partly agricultural, who seem to have been
deeply sunken in superstition. At the gates of their city there
stood a great temple, dedicated to Jupiter, and they appear to
have been his zealous votaries. Coming down from the moun-
tain-side, Paul and Barnabas enter the town ; and when a fitting
time has come, they stand up in the market-place, or the street,
and begin to talk concerning Jesus, the Son of God, who had
come down from heaven, had suffered and died, and had again
ascended up on high. The people gather round them. Among
the rest, a cripple listens with very marked attention. They
preach again. The crowds are still greater; and on one occasion,
while Paul is in the middle of a sermon, using his eyes to watch
the audience, as all preachers should do, and not looking up at
the ceiling or at the gallery-front, as some preachers are wont to
do, he marks this cripple, fixes his eyes upon him, and looks
earnestly in his face. Hither by the exercise of his judgment,
or by the promptings of revelation, the apostle gathers that this
man has faith — faith to be healed. In order to attract the at-
21242 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

tention of the people, to glorify the name of Christ, to publish
more widely his glorious fame, and to make the miracle well
known, Paul stops the sermon, and with a loud voice cries,
“ Stand upright on thy feet.” The cripple leaps and praises God.
The population are all amazed, and knowing that there was a
tradition that Jupiter and Mercury had once appeared in that
very town, —a tradition preserved in the Metamorphoses of Ovid
to the present day, — they at once conclude that surely Jupiter and
Mercury must be come again. They fix upon Barnabas, whe
was probably the elder and the nobler looking man, for Jupiter ;
and as Jupiter was always attended by Mercurius, as a messen-
ger, and Mercury was the god of eloquence, they conclude that
Paul must be Mercury. They rush to the temple; they tell the
priests that the gods have come down. The priests, only too
ready to foster popular credulity, and pander to it, bring forth
the sacred bullocks and the garlands, and are about to offer sac-
rifice before Paul and Barnabas. Such homage these men of
God indignantly refuse: they rend their clothes ; they beseech
them to do no such thing, for they are nothing but men; yet
hardly with earnest words can they stay the people. But the
next day certain Jews came thither and produced a counter irri-
tation in the simple minds of the people: no very difficult task
where a rude fanaticism rouses the wild passions of the mob.
Such an assembly must rage, whether it be with redundant ap-
plause or with derisive jeers. Accordingly, Paul finds himself
exposed to peril. He is stoned through the streets; dragged forth
as dead, and left by the very men who worshipped him but yes-
terday as a god — left to die as a villain outside the city gates.
But Paul’s preaching had not been in vain. There were some
few disciples who remained faithful. His ministry was rewarded
and owned of God.

There are two or three points in this narrative to which I
shall call your attention to-night, making, however, the lame
man the centre of the picture. We shall notice, first of all, what
preceded this lame man’s faith ; secondly, wherein lay his faith
to be healed; and thirdly, what is the teaching of the miracleTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 243

vtself, and the blessing which the lame man obtained through
Jaith.

I. WuaT WAs IT WHICH PRECEDED HIs FAITH?

That “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God,” is a great and universal rule; but the hearing of what?
Doubtless the hearing of the gospel is intended. On turning to
your Bibles you will find it is written —“ And there they
preached the gospel.” What, Paul! dost thou not change thy
voice? Thou hast preached the gospel in the cities of Iconium
and Antioch, where there were enlightened and intelligent hear-
ers; if the gospel suited them, surely it will not do for these
wolfish boors! Why go and preach to these poor, ignorant, super-
Stitious fanatics the very same truths which you spoke to your
enlightened Jewish brethren? But he does do so, my friends.
The very gospel- which he preached at Damascus in the syna-
gogue, he preaches here at Lystra in the market-place. He
makes no difference between the education of his hearers in dif-
ferent places; he has the same gospel to preach to them both
You recollect that Paul went to Ephesus ; and Ephesus, as a city,
was besotted with a belief in sorcery. The people had given
themselves up to practice magical arts. What is the right way
to begin to preach at Ephesus? — deliver a course of lectures
upon the impossibility and absurdity of such superstition? No,
sir; nothing of the kind. Preach Christ, preach the gospel ;
and as Jesus Christ is lifted up, they bring their magical books
and make a bonfire of them in the open forum. But here is a
polished governor — Sergius Paulus — sitting upon the judgment-
seat. What shall be preached to him? Would it not be well
to begin with a dissertation on politics, and to show that the
Christian religion does not interfere with proper government, —
that it does not stir up the people toanarchy ? No, sir; nothing
of the kind. There is nothing for Sergius Paulus, any more
than there is for Elymas the sorcerer, but the preaching of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul goes to Athens. Now, the Athe-
nians are the most learned and philosophical of the whole raceDAA THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

of men. What will Paul preach there? The gospel, the whole
gospel, and nothing but the gospel. He may change his tones,
but never his matter. It is the same remedy for the same dis-
ease, be the men what they may. He comes to Corinth, and
here you have not only polished manners, but the very refine-
ment of vice. It is a city, an emporium of trade, and a sort of
central dépot of sin. What then? Will. he now, to please the
trader, assume a different dialect? Not he! The Christ for
Athens is the Christ for Corinth too. And now see him. He
has come to Lycaonia, and is preaching at Lystra. Here is an
ignorant set of people, who worship an image. Why does he not
begin by preaching of the Deity? Why does he not talk to them
of the Trinity in unity? Why does he not try and confute their
notions about their gods? No, my dear sir; he will do nothing
of the kind: that may be done incidentally, but the first and the
last thing that Paul will do at Lystra is, there he will preach
the gospel. O glorious gospel of the blessed God! Wherever
we take thee thou art suited to the wants of men. Take thee to
Persia, with all its gems and jewels, and thou dost suit the mon-
arch on his throne; or take thee to the naked savage, with all his
poverty and squalid filth, and thou dost suit him too. Thou
mayst be preached, thrice glorious wisdom of God, to the wisest
of men; but thou art not too great a mystery to be understood
and believed even by the fools and the babes: the things which
are not can receive thee as well as the things which are. Never,
I pray you brethren, lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do
not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men,
for whom the gospel is not fitted. Wherever you go, do not cut,
and trim, and shape, and alter; but just bring out the whole
truth as God has taught it to you, and rest assured that you will
be unto God a sweet savor of Christ in every place, both in them
who are saved and in them who perish.

What, then, was this gospel which the Apostle Paul did preach
everywhere? Well, it was a gospel which had in it three things,
— certain facts, certain doctrines, and certain commands.

It was a gospel of facts. Every time Paul stood up to preach,THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

he told the following unvarnished tale: God, looking upon the
race of men, beheld them lost and ruined. Out of love to them,
he sent his only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was
born of the Virgin Mary, lived some thirty-two or thirty-three
years a life of spotless innocence and perfect obedience to God.
Hie was God: he was man. In due time he was delivered up
by the traitor Judas. He was crucified, and actually put to death.
Though he was the Lord of life and glory, who only hath im-
mortality, yet he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. After
three days he rose again, and showed himself to many of his
disciples, so that they were well assured he was the same
person who had been put into the grave; and when the forty
days were finished, he ascended up to heaven in the sight of them
all, where he sitteth at the right hand of God, and shall also
come ere long a second time to judge both the quick and the
dead. ‘These were the facts which Paul would state. God was
made flesh and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory, — the
glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am
chief” Briefly, these were the facts which Paul would preach ;
and if any one of these facts be preached doubtfully, or be left
out of any ministry, then the gospel is not preached; for the
foundations upon which the gospel rests have been removed, and
then what can the righteous do ?
Following upon these facts, Paul preached certain doctriaes, —
the doctrines flowing out of the facts. To wit, he preached that
Jesus Christ had offered a full atonement to divine wrath for the
sin of his people, so that whosoever would believe on him, and
trust him, should be saved. ‘The doctrine of the atonement
would form the most prominent feature in the gospel of the
Apostle Paul. Christ also hath suffered for us, the just for the
unjust, to bring us to God. “ God commendeth his love towards
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the un-
godly.” Then would come the doctrine of pardon. Paul, with
glowing tongue, would tell how God could be just, and yet the
21*246 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

justifier of him who believeth ; how all manner of sin and in-
iquity shall be forgiven unto men, the simple condition being
that the man believes in Christ; and this not so much the man’s
own work, as a gift of the Holy Ghost. Everywhere Paul
would be unmistakable in this: “ Ye chief of sinners, look to the
wounds of Jesus, and your sins shall be forgiven you.” Equally
clear would he be upon the doctrine of justification. “ Christ,”
he would say, “will wash you; nay, more, he will clothe you:
the perfect holiness of his character shall be imputed unto you ;
and being justified, you shall have peace with God, and there
shall be no condemnation, because you are in Christ Jesus.” I
think I see the flashing eye of the apostle. Methinks I listen to
his earnest voice, while he pleads with men to lay hold upon
eternal life, — to look to Jesus Christ, to forsake the deeds of the
law, to put their trust in nothing which cometh from man, but to
look to Jesus, and to Jesus only. These great truths, — atonement,
pardon, and justification, with all the other truths connected with
them, of which we cannot now speak particularly, — were just
the gospel which the Apostle Paul preached.

And out of these we said there sprung certain demands. The
commands were these: “ Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved.” Nor do I suppose that the apostle for a
moment stammered to, preach that other command: “ Arise,
and be baptized.” He would not preach half the gospel, but the
whole of it. “He that believeth and is baptized shall he saved ;
but he that believeth not shall be damned-;” and often, after his
hearers had cried, “ What must we do to be saved?” and they
had believed in Christ, they would say to him: “See, here is
water ; what doth hinder me to be baptized ? ”

The apostle, then, preached a gospel which was made up of
certain authenticated facts, out of which there flowed certain most
gracious evangelical doctrines, which were enforced and driven
home with divine authority by Christ’s own commands. “ Well?
says one, “do you think the world will be turned upside down
by this?” Sirs, it has been, and it will be again. In vain do
those who seek after human learning, and who aim at dreamyTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 947

sentiment or spurious science in preference to the standard teach-
ing which is from above, attempt to find a nobler instrument,
This is the great battering-ram which shall yet shake the bas-
tions of error. This is the sword, the true Kscalabar, which, if
any man knoweth how to wield it, shall cut through joints and
marrow, and make him more than a conqueror. He who getteth
a hold of the gospel of Christ, and knoweth how to use it, hath
that before which the devils tremble, and in the presence of
which angels adore, — which cherubs long to look into, and which
God himself smiles upon as his noblest work. The truth we
proclaim is not that which is discovered by us, but that which has
been delivered to us. Do ye ask, then, where this man’s faith
came from? It came from Paul’s preaching of the gospel.

II. Now, WHEREIN LAY THIS MAN’S FAITH?

Paul looked at the man, we are told, and perceived “that he
had faith to be healed.” What meaneth this “ faith to be healed ?”
In this man’s case I think it was something like this: Poor fel-
low! As he listened to Paul’s preaching, he thought, perhaps,
“Well, that looks like true; that seems to be the truth; it is
the truth; I am sure it is true; and if it is true that Jesus
Christ is so great a Saviour, perhaps I may be healed. These
lame legs of mine, which never would carry me anywhere, may
yet come straight. I — I —TI think they may; I hope they may;
I believe they may. I know it can be done if Christ wills it. I
believe that; and from what Paul says of Christ’s character, I
think he must be willing to do it. I will ask the apostle. The
first convenient season that I have I will lift up my cry, for I
believe it can be done; and I think there is a perfect willingness,
both in the mind of the apostle and of the Master, that it should
be done. I believe it will be done, and that I shall yet stand
upright.” Then Paul said to him, “ Stand upright on thy feet,”
and he did so in a moment, for “he had faith to be healed.”

Do you think I am overstraining the probabilities of the case ?
You will perhaps say, “It does not appear that Paul had any
communication with the poor cripple before the miracle was per-248 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

formed.” Now, I venture to draw quite an opposite inference.
I know from my own experience that it is no uncommon thing
for some one individual to arrest the preacher’s attention. ‘The
group of countenances which lay before him in a large assembly,
like the present, might to the first glance of a stranger look con-
fused and inexplicable, as a Chinese grammar does to those who
know not the language. But you need not doubt that a prac-
tised eye can learn to read the one as well as the other. The
lancuor and indifference of some; the curious, inquiring look of
others ; the cold, critical attention of a considerable number ; and
the countenances of those who are rather absorbed in a train of
thought just awakened in their own minds, — these have all a
peculiar impressiveness, and form a picture which often reacts
upon us, and kindies a vehement desire in our breasts to reach
the souls of those who, for a brief hour, hang upon our lips.
But there will sometimes be one who has faith dazzling in his
very eyes, as they are fixed with an intentness of which it were
vain for me to attempt a description — seeming to drink in every
word and every syllable of a word, till the preacher becomes as
absorbed in that man as the man had been in the preacher, And
while he pursues the discourse, gaining liberty at every step,
till he forgets the formality of the pulpit in the freedom of con-
versation with the people, he perceives that at last this man has
heard the very truth which meets his case. There is no con-
cealing it. His features have suddenly relaxed. He listens
still, but it is no longer with painful anxiety; a calm satisfaction
is palpable on his face now. That soul of communion which is
in the eye has unravelled the secret. Preacher and hearer,
unknown to all the rest of the audience, have secretly saluted
each other, and met on the common ground of a vital faith. The
anxious one feels that it can be done. And I can readily con-
clude that the apostle perceived that feeling with greater cer-
tainty than he would have done had the man whispered it in
his ears. So have I sometimes known that the exhortation to
believe has become from these lips a positive command to the
struggling conscience of some one who has been brought toaTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

point where the remedy is instantly applied, and the cure in-
stantly effected.

Most unquestionably there is such a thing as faith to be saved.
I do not know how many here may possess it; but, thank God!
there are hundreds of you here who have faith that you are saved.
That is better; that is the ripest faith — the faith which knows
you are saved, and rejoices in hope of the glory of God. Alas!
there are others who have no faith at all. But it is with those
who have faith, and that only faith to be saved, not faith that
you are saved, I am more particularly concerned at this moment.

Shall I describe this “ faith to be saved?” for I believe that
there may be some here who may just now stand upright on their
feet; some who may at this time leap for joy of heart because
they are saved, and did not know it. You have “faith,” but you
have not fully exercised it. Now, you believe that Jesus Christ
is God’s Son? “Yes.” Thathe has made a full atonement for
his people? “Yes.” ~ You believe that they are his people who
trust him? “Yes.” You believe he is worthy to be trusted ?
“Yes.” You have nothing else to trust to? “No, sir.” You
depend on nothing which you have ever felt, or thought, or done ?
“ No, sir; I depend on nothing but Christ.” And you do, after
a sort of fashion, trust Christ. You hope that one of these days
he will save you; and you think, and sometimes you almost know,
he will. You are ready to trust him. You do believe he is
able, you do not think he is unwilling ; you have got faith in his
ability, and you have almost got faith in his willingness. Some-
times you half think to yourself, “I ama child of God.” But,
then, there is some ugly “but” comes in. Those lame legs
again, — those lame legs again. You are still afraid. You have
“faith to be saved,” but you have not the full assurance of faith
which can utter forth this joyous psalm: “ Behold, God is my
salvation ; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah
is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”

Well, now, I do not know whether I have picked you out—
whether I have given a right description of you or not. I rec-
ollect the time when I was in that state. I can honestly say I250 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

did not doubt Christ. I three parts believed that he would save
me. J knew he was worthy of my trust; and I did trust him as
far as this, — that I resolved, if I did perish, I would perish ery-
ing to him ; and that, if I was cast away, it should be clinging to
the cross. I believe I had “ faith to be saved,” and was for months
in bondage when there was no necessity that I should have
been in bondage at all; for when there is “ faith to be saved,”
then the man only needs that gracious command, “ Stand up-
right on thy feet,” and forthwith he leaps out of his infirmity,
and walks freely in the integrity of his heart.

III. I shall not enlarge further upon this, because I want to
go to THE SPIRITUAL TEACHING OF THE MIRACLE, AND OF
THE BLESSING CONFERRED.

Are there not many who, though they have “faith to be saved,”
are still entirely lame, or painfully limping? The reasons may
be different in different cases. Some have been so stunned by
the grief which they have suffered on account of sin, and the
frightful convictions through which they have passed, that while
they do believe that Christ is able and willing to save, they
cannot get a hold of the fact that they are saved, — such is the
faintness of spirit and the languishing of soul brought on by long
despair. “Stand upright on thy feet,” thou trembling sinner.
If thou believest in Jesus, whatever thy fears may be, there is
no cause forthem. As for thy sins, they were laid on him, every
one of them, and though thou hast been sore broken in the land
of dragons, thus saith the Lord unto thee: “I have put away thy
sin; thou shalt not die: I have blotted out like a cloud thy trans-
gressions, and like a thick cloud thy sins.” Rejoice, then, and
be glad. If you do trust Christ, you are saved; though as yet
it only looketh like faith which heralds the tidings of a salvation
which has not yet arrived. Still, it is the grace of God which
bringeth salvation which has enabled thee to believe; and he
who believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Oh, receive the
welcome message; spring up at the sound of the words; stand
upright on thy feet, and rejoice.THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 251

Some are still lame, though they have faith, through ignorance.
- They do not know what being saved is. They entertain wrong
expectations. They are trusting in Christ, but they do not feel
any surprising emotions; they have not had any remarkable
dreams, or visions, or striking ebullitions of excited joy ; and
therefore, though they have “faith to be saved,” they have not
the faith of a present salvation. They are waiting for something,
they hardly know what, to embellish their faith, or to fortify it
with signs and wonders. Now, poor soul, wherefore do you
wait? These things are not necessary to salvation. In fact,
the fewer you have of them, methinks, the better, especially of
things which are visionary. I rather tremble for those who talk
much about sensible evidences; they are too often the frivolities
of unstable hearts. Beloved, though you may have never had
any ecstatic joys, or suffered any deep depression of your spirits,
if you are resting on Christ, it does not matter one whit what
your feelings have been or have not been. Do you expect to
have an electric shock, or to go through some mysterious opera-
tion? The operation is mysterious, too mysterious for you to
discern it; but all that you have to do with is this — “Do I
believe in Jesus? Am I simply depending upon him for every-
thing?” If you do, you are saved; and I pray you to believe
this. Stand upright on your feet, and leap for joy; for, whether
you believe it or not, if you are now depending upon Christ,
your sins are forgiven you; you are a child of God; you are an
heir of heaven.

Tlow many, too, are kept lame because of a fear of self-decep-
tion. “I do trust Christ, but I am afraid lest I should deceive
myself. Suppose I were to get confidence, and it should be pre-
sumption. Suppose I should think myself saved, and I am not!”
Now, sir, if thou wert dealing with thyself there would be reason
to be afraid of presumption ; but thy faith hath to deal with God,
who cannot deceive thee, and with Christ who will never tempt
thee to be a deceiver. Doth not the Lord Jesus Christ himself
tell thee that if thou believest in him thou art saved? ‘Thou
believest that, dost thou not? Then, soul, if thou believest on2o2 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

him, if is not presumption to say, “I am saved.” Away with
all that affectation of modesty, which some good people think to
be so pretty — saying, “I hope,” “I trust;” but “TI-feel such
doubts, such fears, and such gloomy misgivings.” My dear sir,
that is not humility ; that isa vain, unseemly questioning of God.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ tells you — and he
gives his own unequivocal word for it — that if.you rest upon
Christ you rest upon a rock; that if you believe in him you are
not condemned. Is it an evidence of the lowliness of your heart
that you suspect the veracity of God, or the faithfulness of his
promise? Surely this were no fruit of the meekness of wisdom.
No, beloved ; it may seem too good to be true, but it is not too
good for my God to give, though it is too good for you to re-
ceive. You have his word for it, that, if you trust his Son to
save you, and simply trust him, and him alone, even if the pillars
of the heavens should shake, yet you would be saved. If the
foundations of the earth should reel, and the whole earth should
like a vision pass away, yet this eternal promise and oath of
God must stand fast.

Others, again, cannot stand upright on their feet, because they
are afraid that ¢f they did begin they would go back again, and so
bring dishonor to Christ. This would be a very proper fear, if
you had anything to do with keeping yourselves. If you had to
carry yourselves to heaven, it would be reasonable enough for
you to despair of doing it. Of your own impotence it is impos-
sible you can be too deeply convinced. You cannot do anything
whatever, but Christ gives you his promise to preserve you even
to the end. Ifyou believe on him you shall be saved. He does
not say you shall be saved for a year, or for twenty years, and
then, perhaps, be lost at last. No; but “he that believeth and
is baptized, shall be saved.” If one man who believes in Christ
is cast away, that promise of Christ is not true. Brethren, it is
true, and it must be true, — and let its glorious truth be sweetly
familiar with you now, — if you give your soul to Christ, putting
simple faith in his person as the Son of God, and in his work as
the Mediator between God and man, you shali as surely see hisTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 253

face within the pearly gates of heaven as your eyes see me to-
night. ‘There may be a question about your seeing me, but there
can be no question about Christ fulfilling his promise and keep-
ing his word. Now, sit down in the dust no longer, thou doubting,
mourning, trembling sinner. With a loud voice I say unto thee,
as Paul did, “ Stand upright on thy feet.” Wherefore dost thou
mourn? ‘There is nothing to mourn about. Thy sin is forgiven;
thine eternal salvation is secure ; a crown in heaven is provided
for thee, and a harp of gold awaits thee. If thou believest in
Jesus, none can lay anything to thy charge. Not even the prin-
cipalities of darkness shall be able to prevail against thee. Eter-
nal love secures thee against the malice of hell. Stand upright,
then, on thy feet ; for if thou believest, thou art saved, completely
saved, — saved in time, and for eternal days, — saved in the Lord
with an everlasting salvation.

Then, possibly, there is one here who cannot stand upright be-
cause of his many sins. Ah! while I have been talking about
Christ, it may be something has been saying in your heart, “ Ah!
ah! what is it? Christ taking men’s sins, suffering in their
stead? That suits me. Is God doing this? Ah! then he
must be able to save, and I am told that whosoever trusteth in
him shall never perish. Isitso? Why, here lam; I, who have
not been in a place of worship for months, for years, — I have
strayed in here to-night; and if what this man says be true, well,
then I will even venture my soul upon it. I have got nothing, I
know; but he says there is nothing wanted. Iam not prepared
to trust Christ, but he says there is no preparation required ; and
if I trust Jesus Christ just as I am, Christ will save me. Why,
I will do it; by the grace of God I will do it. Can he save me?”
Then comes in the bitter reflection: “ Look what a sinner I
have been! Why, I should be ashamed to say how foully I have
sinned. He must shut me out. I have been too great a villain,
too gross an offender. I have cursed and sworn at such a rate.
He cannot mean that if I trust Christ I shall be saved. I believe
he can save me; I see the fitness of the plan, and the excellency
of it. I believe it; but see what a sinner lam!” Sinner, stand
22254 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

upright on thy feet ; for “all manner of sin and blasphemy shall
be forgiven unto men.” Return, thou wanderer ; return to thy
Father’s house! He comes to meet thee. On thy neck he will
fall, and thou shalt be his child forever. Only believe thou in
his Son Jesus Christ, and though this be the first time thou hast
ever heard his Word, I would settle mine eyes upon thee ear-
nestly, and say, “Stand upright on thy feet.”

Ob ! how often I do wish that somebody had come to me when
I was under depression of mind, and had told me about the sim-
ple gospel of Jesus Christ! I think I should have stood upright
on my feet long before I did; but, alas! I kept hearing about
what people felt before they believed in Christ, — very proper
preaching, —and I was afraid I did not feel it, though now I
know I did. I heard a great deal about what Christians ought
to be, and a great deal more about God’s elect — what they are in
his esteem ; but I did not know whether I was one of God’s elect;
and I knew I was not what I ought to be. Oh for the trumpet
of the archangel, to sound the words, “ Believe and live,” as
loud as the voice which shall wake the dead in their graves!
And oh for the quickening Spirit to go with voice, as it shall go
with the ringing of the archangel’s trump, when the graves shall
open, and the dead shall arise! Go, you who know it, and tell
it everywhere ; for there are multitudes, I doubt not, who are
really seeking Christ, and who have his Spirit in them; but it is
like as the prophet hath it: “The children have come to the
birth and there is no strength to bring forth.” They have come
to the very edge of light, and they only want’ one helping hand
to bring them into noonday. ‘They are slipping about in the
Slough of Despond, and they are almost out of it; but they want
just a helping hand to pull them out. This hand of help is
stretched out by thus telling them, telling them plainly, it is in
Jesus their help is found, and that trusting him, relying upon
him, they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out
of his hand.

I would to God that some of you, who have been long hear-
ing me, might be found in this class. I have been bowed downTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 255

in spirit at some sad things which have been brought to my hear-
ing of late. I know that there are some here, and there always
have been some few attending my ministry, who have a personal
affection for me, and who listen to the Word with very great at-
tention, and who, moreover, are very greatly moved by it, but who
have some besetting sin which they either cannot or will not give
up. They do renounce it for a time ; but either bad associates, or
else the strength of their passions, take them away again. Oh,
sirs! I would ye would take warning. There was one of whom
we had some sort of hope, who listened to our ministry. There
came a turning-point with him. It was this: either that he must
give up sin, or else give up coming to the Tabernacle. And
what, oh! what became of him? I could indicate the place
where he sat. He died of delirium tremens! And I do not
wonder. When you have heard the gospel preached Sabbath
after Sabbath, — when your response to the solemn appeals you
have earnestly listened to has only been that you reject Christ
and refuse eternal life, — is it any marvel that in making the
choice of your own damnation reason should resign its seat as
director of your actions, and cease to curb your headstrong will,
leaving the maddened passions to dash on with reckless fury,
and precipitate your destruction? Am I clear of their blood?
I have asked myself the question. I may not be in some things,
but I know I am as far as my ministry is concerned. I have
not shunned to declare unto any of you the whole counsel of
God. When I have known any vice, or any folly — which of
you have I been afraid of, or before whom of you all have I
trembled? God is my witness; him have I served in the spirit.
And if these turn aside unto their crooked ways, they have not
done it without well knowing the consequences; nay, they have
not done it without being warned and entreated, and persuaded
to look unto Jesus Christ. And I do conjure some of you —
you know to whom I refer—TI do conjure those of you who
have a conscience which is not seared, but who, nevertheless,
persevere in your sins —I conjure_you by the love of God, do
me this one favor at the last: if you choose your own ruin, bear

  
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
   
  
   
    

eR NT ee256 THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

witness for me that I have not hesitated to warn you of it. I
had infinitely rather, however, that you would do yourselves this
great favor, to love your own souls. If you have anything to
throw into the fire, throw it in; but let it not be your soul. If
you have anything to lose, go and lose it; but do not lose your
‘soul. Sirs, if you must play the fool, indulge your sport at a
cheaper rate than this. If sin be worth having, then I pray
you pay a cheaper price than your own souls for it; for it does
seem to me so pitiful, so sorrowful a thing that you who have
been so short a time among us, and are passing away before my
very eyes, should still prefer the fleeting joy of the moment to
the eternal joy, and risk everlasting torment for temporary mirth.
By the tears of Jesus, when he wept over Jerusalem ; by the
blood of Jesus, which he shed for guilty men; by the heart of
the eternal Father, who willeth not the death of a sinner, but
had rather that he should turn unto him and live, —I pray you
be wise, and consider your ways. Choose ye this day whom ye
will serve, and may the Lord guide your choice. May you fail
into the arms of Divine Mercy, and say, “ If thou wilt help me,
Jesus, here I am; I give myself to thee.” May my Master
teach me how to address you, if I do not know how to gasp
the words of simplicity, tenderness, — of terrible apprehension,
but of persuasive power. If there were any words in any
language that would melt you, this tongue is at your service to
utter them. If there is any form of speech, though it should
make me to be called vulgar, and subject me to the shame and
hissing which once I endured, — if the furnace could be heated
seven times hotter than that, I would but laugh at it if I might
but win your souls. ‘Tell me, sirs, how shall I put the case?
Would you have argument? I wish that I could reason with
you. Would.you have tears? ‘There, let them flow! Ye dry
eyes, why do ye not weep more for these perishing souls?
Would you have God’s Word without my word? Sirs, I would
read it and let my tongue be dumb, if that would teach you.
Would my death save you? That God who seeth in secret
knoweth that to-night it were a joy to me to enter into my rest,THE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA. 257

and so it were little for me to talk of being willing to give a
life for you; and it were, indeed, but a trifle to me. Oh! why
will ye perish? Why should I plead with you, and you not care
for yourselves? What is it that besets you? Poor moths!
Are ye dazzled with the flames? Are ye not content to have
singed your wings? Must they also consume body and soul?
How can ye make your bed in hell? How can ye abide with
eternal burnings? In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I com-
mand you —for I can do no less—I command you to turn
unto him, and live. Believe on him and you shall be saved.
But, remember, at your hazard you reject the message to-night.
It may be the last message that shall ever come to your soul with
power; if ye cast this away —

“‘ What chains of vengeance must they feel,
Who slight the bonds of love?”

I would have you saved just now. I cannot talk about to-mor-
row. I would have you decide it at once. Oh! you have come
as far as this twenty times, and have you gone back again? You
have been aroused; you have made vows, and you have broken
them ; resolutions, and you have belied them. Ok, sirs, for God’s
sake do not lie to the Almighty again! Now, be true this time.
May the Spirit of God make you speak the truth, even though
you should be compelled to say, through your wickedness: or
will not submit myself unto the Son of God.” Do speak the
truth. Procrastinate not. As Elijah said, “ How long halt ye
between two opinions?” so say I. If God be God, serve him ;
but if Baal be God, serve him. But do not keep on coming here
and then going to the pot-house. Do not come and take your
seat here and then go to the brothel. Sirs, do not this foul
scandal for God’s sake, and for your own sake. If you will serve
the devil, serve him, and be a true servant to him. If you mean
to go to hell, go there ; but if you seek eternal life and joys to
come, give up these things. Renounce them. Why drink poi-
son and drink medicine too? Wave done with one or the other,

aeTHE CRIPPLE AT LYSTRA.

and be honest. Be honest to your own souls. May the Lord
grant that to-night some may have given to them not only “faith
to be saved,” but the faith which saves, for his name’s sake.
Amen.SERMO.” XIV.

A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

“ a BUNDLE OF MYRRH IS MY WELL-BELOVED UNTO ME; HE SHALL LIE ALY,
NIGHT BETWIXT MY BREASTS.’’— Canticles i. 13.

CERTAIN divines have doubted the ‘inspiration of Solomon’s
Song ; others have conceived it to be nothing more than a speci-
men of ancient love-songs; and some have been afraid to preach
from it because of its highly poetical character. The true rea-
son for all this avoidance of one of the most heavenly portions
of God’s Word lies in the fact that the spirit of this Song is not
easily attained. Its music belongs to the higher spiritual life,
and has no charm for unspiritual ears. The Song occupies a
sacred enclosure, into which none may enter unprepared. “ Put
off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest
is holy ground,” is the warning voice from its secret tabernacles.
The historical books I may compare to the outer courts of the
temple; the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Psalms, bring us
into the holy place, or the court of the priests; but the Song of
Solomon is the most holy place — the holy of holies, before which
the veil still hangs to many an untaught believer. It is not all
the saints who can enter here, for they have not yet attained
unto the holy confidence of faith, and that exceeding familiarity
of love which will permit them to commune in conjugal love
with the great Bridegroom. We are told that the Jews did not
permit the young student to read the Canticles, —that years of
full maturity were thought necessary before the man could
rightly profit by this mysterious Song of loves. Possibly they260 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

were wise; at any rate, the prohibition foreshadowed a great
truth. The Song is, in truth, a book for full-grown Christians.
Babes in grace may find their carnal and sensuous affections
stirred up by it towards Jesus, whom they know rather “ after
the flesh ” than in the spirit; but it needs a man of fuller growth,
who has leaned his head upon the bosom of his Master, and been
baptized with his baptism, to ascend the lofty mountains of love
on which the spouse standeth with her beloved. The Song,
from the first verse to the last, will be clear to those who have
received an unction from the Holy One, and know all things
(1 John ii. 20). You are aware, dear friends, that there are
very few commentaries upon the Epistles of John: Where we
find fifty commentaries upon any book of St. Paul, you will
hardly find one upon John. Why is that? Is the book too
difficult ? ‘The words are very simple; there is hardly a word
of four syllables anywhere in John’s Epistles. Ah! but they
are so saturated through and through with the spirit of love,
which also perfumes this Book of Solomon, that those who are
not taught in the school of communion cry out, “ We cannot
read it, for it is sealed.” The Song is a golden casket, of which
love is the key rather than learning. Those who have not at-
tained unto heights of affection, those who have not been educated
by familiar intercourse with Jesus, cannot come near to this
mine of treasure, “seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the fowls of heaven.” Oh for the soaring
eagle-wing of John, and the far-seeing dove’s eyes of Solomon!
But the most of us are blind, and cannot see afar off. May God
be pleased to make us grow in grace, and give us so much of the
Holy Spirit that, with feet like hind’s feet, we may stand upon
the high places of Scripture, and this morning have some near
and dear intercourse with Christ Jesus.

Concerning our text, let us talk very simply ; remarking, first,
that Christ is very precious to believers ; secondly, that there ts
good reason why he should be ; thirdly, that mingled with this
sense of preciousness there 1s a joyous consciousness of possession
of him ; and that therefore, fourthly, there ¢s an earnest desireA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 261

Jor perpetual fellowship with him. If you look at the text again
you will see all these matters in it.

I, First, then, Curist Jesus Is UNUTTERABLY PRECIOUS
TO BELIEVERS. The words manifestly imply this: “A bundle
of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” She calls him her “ well-
beloved,” and so expresses her love most emphatically ; it is not
merely beloved, but well-beloved. Then she looks abroad about
her to find a substance which shall be at once valuable in itself
and useful in its properties, and lighting upon myrrh, she saith:
“A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” Without
looking into the figure just now, we keep to the statement that
Christ is precious to the believer.

Observe, first, that nothing gives the believer so much joy as
fellowship with Christ. Ask yourselves, you who have eaten at
his table and have been made to drink of his cup, where can
such sweetness be found as you have tasted in communion with
Jesus? The Christian has joy, as other men have, in the com-
mon mercies of life. For him there are charms in music, excel-
lence in painting, and beauty in sculpture ; for him the hills have
sermons of majesty, the rocks hymns of sublimity, and the valleys
lessons of love. He can look upon all things with an eye as
clear and joyous as another man’s; he can be glad both in God’s
gifts and God’s works. He is not dead to the happiness of the
household: around his hearth he finds happy associations, with-
out which life were drear indeed. His children fill his home
with glee; his wife is his solace and delight; his friends are his
comfort and refreshment. He accepts the comforts which soul

ud body can yield him, according as God seeth it wise to afford
them unto him; but he will tell you that in all these separately,
yea, and in all of them added together, he doth not find such sub-
stantial delight as he doth in the person of his Lord Jesus.
Brethren, there is a wine which no vineyard on earth ever
yielded ; there is a bread which even the cornfields of Egypt
could never bring forth. You and I have said, when we have
beheld others finding their god in earthly comforts, “ You may262 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

boast in gold and silver and raiment, but I will rejoice in the
God of my salvation.” In our esteem, the joys of earth are little
hetter than husks for swine, compared with Jesus the heavenly
manna. I would rather have one mouthful of Christ’s love, and
a sip of his fellowship, than a whole world-full of carnal delights.
What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling paste
to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality ?
What is time’s mirth in its best trim compared to our Lord Jesus
in his most despised estate? If you know anything of the inner
life, you will all of you confess that our highest, purest, and
most enduring joys must be the fruit of the tree of life which is
in the midst of the Paradise of God. No spring yields such
sweet water as that well of God which was digged with the sol-
dier’s spear. As for the house of feasting, the joy of harvest,
the mirth of marriage, the sports of youth, the recreations of
maturer age — they are all as the small dust of the balance com-
pared with the joy of Immanuel our best beloved. As the
Preacher said, so say we: “TI said of laughter, It is mad; and of.
mirth, What doeth it?” “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
All earthly bliss is of the earth, earthy; but the comforts of
Christ’s presence are like himself, heavenly. We can review
our communion with Jesus, and find no regrets of emptiness
therein; there are no dregs in this wine, no dead flies in this
ointment. The joy of the Lord is solid and enduring. Vanity
hath not looked upon it, but discretion and prudence testify that
it abideth the test of years, and is in time and in eternity worthy
to be called “the only true delight.”

“What is the world, with all its store?
’Tis but a bitter sweet;
When I attempt to pluck the rose,
A pricking thorn I meet.

“Here perfect bliss can ne’er be found;
The honey’s mixed with gall;
*Midst changing scenes and dying friends,
Be thou my All in All.”

We may plainly see that Christ is very precious to the believer,A BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 263

because to him there is nothing good without Christ. Believer,
have you not found in the midst of plenty a dire and sore famine
if your Lord has been absent? The sun was shining, but Christ
had hidden himself, and all the world was black to yOu: OL if
was a night of tempest, and there were many stars ; but since the
bright and morning star was gone, on that dreary main, where
you were tossed with doubts and fears, no other star could shed
so much as a ray of light. h, what a howling wilderness is
this world without my Lord! If once he groweth angry, and
doth, though it be for a moment, hide himself from me, withered
are the flowers of my garden; my pleasant fruits decay; the
birds suspend their songs, and black night lowers over all my
hopes. Nothing can compensate for the company of the Saviour:
all earth’s candles cannot make daylight if the Sun of Righteous-
ness be gone.

On the other hand, when ail earthly comforts have failed you,
have you not found quite enough in your Lord? Your very
worst times have been your best times. You must almost ery
to go back to your bed of sickness, for Jesus made it as a royal
throne, whereon you reigned with him. Those dark nights —ah!
they were not dark; your bright days, since then, have been
darker far. Do you remember when you were poor? Oh, how
near Christ was to you, and how rich he made you! You were
despised and rejected of men, and no man gave you a good word.
Ah! sweet was his fellowship then ; and how delightful to hear
him say, “ Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed,
for Tam thy God”! As afflictions abound, even so do consola-
tions abound by Christ Jesus. The devil, like Nebuchadnezzar,
heated the furnace seven times hotter ; but who would have it less
furiously blazing? No wise believer; for, the more terrible the
heat, the greater the glory in the fact that we were made to tread
those glowing coals, and not a hair of our head was singed, nor
so much as the smell of fire passed upon us, because the Son of
God walked those glowing coals in our company. Yes, we can
look with resignation upon penury, disease, and even death ;264 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

for if all comforts be taken from us, we should still be blest, so
long as we enjoy the presence of the Lord our Saviour.

Nor should I be straining the truth if I say that the Christian
would sooner give up anything than forsake his Master. I have
known some who have been afraid to look that text in the face
which saith, ‘“ He that loveth son or daughter more than me is
not worthy of me,” or that, “ Except a man hate (or love less)
his father and mother, and wife and children, he cannot be my
disciple.” Yet I have found that those have frequently proved
to be the most sincere lovers of Jesus who have been most afraid
that he had not the best place in their hearts. Perhaps the best
way is not to sit down calmly to weigh our love, — for it is not a
thing to be measured with cool judgment, — but put your love to
some practical test. Now, if it came to this, that you must deny
Christ or give up the dearest thing you have, would you delib-
erate? The Lord knoweth I speak what I feel in my own soul,
— when it comes to that, I could not hesitate a second. If there
were a stake and burning fagots, I might flinch from the fire ;
but so mighty is divine love, that it would doubtless drive me to
the flames sooner than let me leave Jesus. But if it comes to
this: “ Wilt thou lose thine eyes or give up Christ?” I would
cheerfully be blind. Or if it were asked, “ Wilt. thou have thy
right arm withered from its socket or give up Christ?” Ay;
let both arms go: let them both drop from the shoulder-blades.
Or if it should be, “ Wilt thou be from this day dumb, and never
speak before the multitude?” Oh! better tobe dumb than lose
Him. Indeed, when I talk of this it seems to be an insult to my
Master to put hands and eyes and tongue in comparison with
him.

** Nor to my eyes is light so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet.”

If you compare life itself with Jesus, it is not to be named in
the same day. If it should be said, “Will you live without
Christ. or die with Christ?” you could not deliberate, for to die
with Christ is to live with Christ forever; but to live without
Christ is to die the second death, the terrible death of the soul’sA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 265

eternal perdition. No; there is no choice there. I think we
could go further, dear friends, and say, not only could we give up
everything, but I think, when love is fervent, and the flesh is
kept under, we could suffer anything with Christ. I met, in one
of Samuel Rutherford’s letters, an extraordinary expression,
where he speaks of the coals of divine wrath all falling upon the
liead of Christ, so that not one might fall upon his people.
‘And yet,” saith he, “if one of those coals should drop from
his head upon mine, and did utterly consume me, yet if I felt
it was a part of the coals that fell on him, and I was bearing
at for his sake, and in communion with him, I would choose it
for my heaven.” That is a strong thing to say, that to suffer
with Christ would be his heaven, if he assuredly knew that
it was for and with Christ that he was suffering. Oh! there

fod

s indeed a heavenliness about suffering for Jesus. is cross
hath such a majesty and mystery of delight in it, that, the more
heavy it becometh, the more lightly doth it sit upon the believer’s
shoulders.

One thing I know proveth, beloved, that you esteem Christ to
be very precious; namely, that you want others to know him
too. Do you not feel a pining in your souls till others’ hearts be
filled with the love of Christ? My eyes could weep themselves |
out of their sockets for some of you who are ignorant of my Mas-
ter’s leve. Poor souls! ye are sitting outside the feast when
the door is wide open, and the king himself is within. Ye
choose to be out in the highways and under the hedges sooner
than come to this wedding feast, where the oxen and fatlings
are killed, and all things are ready. Oh! did you know dim,
did you know him, you would never be able to live without him.
If your eyes had ever seen him once, or if your heart had ever
known the charm of his presence, you would think it to be a hell
to be for a moment without Christ. O poor blind eyes which
cannot see him, and deaf ears which cannot hear him, and hard,
stony hearts which cannot melt before him, and _hell-besotted
souls which cannot appreciate the majesty of his love, God help
you! God help you! and bring you yet to know and rejoice in

639

ae266 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

-him. The more your love grows, beloved, the more insatiable
will be your desire that others should love him, till it will come
to this, that you will be, like Paul, “in labors more abundant,”
spending and being spent that you may bring the rest of Christ’s

elect body into union with their glorious head.

II. But, secondly, THE SOUL CLINGETH TO CHRIST, AND
SHE HATH GOOD REASON FOR SO DOING, for her own words are,
“A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” We will
take the myrrh first, and then consider the bundle next.

1. Jesus Christ is like myrrh. Myrrh may be well the type
of Christ for its prectousness. It was an exceedingly expensive
drug. We know that Jacob sent some of it down into Egypt, as
being one of the choice products of the land. It is always
spoken of in Scripture as being a rich, rare, and costly substance.
But no myrrh could ever compare with him ; for Jesus Christ is
so precious, that if heaven and earth were put together they
could not buy another Saviour. When God gave to the world
his Son, he gave the best that heaven had. Take Christ out of
heaven, and there is nothing for God to give. Christ was God’s
all; for is it not written, ‘In him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily”? O precious gift of the whole of deity in
the person of Christ! How inestimably precious is that body
of his which he took of the substance of the virgin! Well
might angels herald the coming of this immaculate Saviour,
well might they watch over his holy life; for he is precious in
his birth, and precious in all his actions. ow precious is he,
dear friends, as myrrh in the offering of his great atonement!
What a costly sacrifice was that! At what a price were ye re-
deemed! Not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood
of Christ. How precious is he, too, in his resurrection! He jus-
tifies all his people at one stroke; rising from the dead, that
glorious Sun scatters all the nights of all his people by one rising.
How precious is he in his ascension, as he leads captivity cap-
tive, and scattereth gifts among men! And how precious to-day
in those incessant pleadings of his through which the mercies ofA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 267

God come down like the angels upon Jacob’s ladder to our
needy souls! Yes, he is to the believer, in every aspect, like
myrrh for rarity and excellence.

Myrrh, again, was pleasant. It was a pleasant thing to be in
a chamber perfumed with myrrh. Through the nostrils myrrh
conveys delight to the human mind ; but Christ gives delight to
his people, not through one channel, but through every avenue.
It is true that all his garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cas-
sia; but he hath not spiritual smell alone ; the taste shall be grat-
ified too; for we eat his flesh and_drink his blood. Nay, our
feeling is ravished when his left hand is under us and his right
hand doth embrace us. As for his voice, it is most sweet, and
our soul’s ear is charmed with its melody. Let God give him
to our sight, and what can our eyes want more? Yea, he is
altogether lovely. Thus every gate of the soul hath commerce
with Christ Jesus in the richest and rarest commodities. There
is no way by which a human spirit can have communion with
Jesus which doth not yield unto that spirit fresh and varied
delights.. O, beloved, we cannot compare him merely to myrrh.
He is everything which is good to look upon, or to taste, or to
handle, or to smell, all put together in one,— the quintessence
of all delights. As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights
centre into Christ. The sea is not full, but Jesus is full to the
very brim.

Moreover, myrrh is perfuming. It is used to give a sweet
smell to other things. It was mingled with the sacrifice, so that
it was not only the smoke of the fat of kidneys of rams, and the
flesh of fat beasts, but there was a sweet fragrance of myrrh,
which went up with the sacrifice to heaven. And surely, be-
loved, Jesus Christ is very perfuming to his people. Does not
he perfume their prayers, so that the Lord smelleth a sweet
savor? Doth he not perfume their songs, so that they become
like vials full of odor sweet ? Doth he not perfume our minis-
try ? for is it not written, “ He causeth us to triumph in Christ,
and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every

place? For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them268 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.
ee that are saved, and in them that perish.” Our persons are per-
. famed with Christ. Whence get we our spikenard, but from
i him? Whither shall we go to gather camphor, which shall make
our persons and presence acceptable before God, but to him?
‘For we are accepted in the beloved.” “Ye are complete in
him ” — “perfect in Christ Jesus” — “for he hath made us kings
and priests unto our God, and we shall reign for ever and
ever”

Myrrh has preserving qualities. The Egyptians used it in
embalming the dead; and we find Nicodemus and the holy wo-
nen bringing myrrh and aloes in which to wrap the dead body
of the Saviour. It was used to prevent corruption. What is
there which can preserve the soul but Christ Jesus? What is
the myrrh which keeps our.works, which in themselves are dead
and corrupt and rotten — what, I say, keeps them from becom-
ing a foul stench in the nostrils of God, but that Christ is in
them? What we have done out of love to Christ, what we have
offered through his mediation, what has been perfumed by faith
in his person, becomes acceptable. God looketh upon anything
we say, or anything we do, and if he seeth Christ in it, he ac-
cepteth it; but if there be no Christ, he putteth it away asa
foul thing. See to it then, beloved, that you never pray a
prayer which is not sweetened with Christ. I would never
preach a sermon — the Lord forgive me if I do !— which is not
fall to overflowing with my Master. I know one who said I
was always on the old string, and he would come and hear me
no more; but if I preached a sermon without Christ in it he
would eome. Ah! he will never come while this tongue moves ;
for a sermon without Christ in it, a Christless sermon; a
brook without water; a cloud without rain; a well which mocks
the traveller; a tree twice dead, plucked up by the root; a sky
without a sun ; a night without a star ; — it were a realm of death
) —a place of mourning for angels and laughter for devils. O
Christian, we must have Christ! Do see to it that every day
when you wake you give a fresh savor of Christ upon you by
contemplating his person. Live all the day, trying as much asA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 269

eth in you to season your hearts with him, and then at night
lie down with him upon your tongue. It is said of Samuel
Rutherford, that he often did fall asleep talking about Christ,
and was often heard in his dreams saying sweet things about
his Saviour. There is nothing which can preserve us, and keep
us from sin, and make our works holy and pure, like this “ bun-
dle of myrrh.”

Myrrh, again, was used as a disinfectant. When the fever is
abroad, we know people who wear little bags of camphor about
their necks. They may be very good; I do not know. But
the Orientals believed that, in times of pest and plague, a little
bag of myrrh worn between the breasts would be of essential
service to whoever might carry it. And there doubtless is some
power in myrrh to preserve from infectious disease. Well,
brethren, certain I am it is so with Christ. You have to go
into the world, which is like a great lazar-house ; but if you carry
Christ with you, you will never catch the world’s disease. A
man may be worth never so much money — he will never get
worldly if he keepeth Christ on his heart. A man may have to
tug and toil for his livelihood, and be very poor — he will never
be discontented and murmuring if he lives close to Christ. Oh
you who have to handle the world, see to it that you handle the
Master more than the world. Some of you have to work with
drunken and swearing men; others are cast into the midst of
frivolities; oh, take my Master with you! and sin’s plagues
can have no influence upon your moral nature.

But myrrh was believed by the ancient physicians to do more
than this; it was a cure: it did not merely prevent, but it healed.
I do not know how many diseases are said to be healed by the
use of myrrh, nor do I altogether suppose that these Oriental
physicians spoke from facts, for they were too much given to
ascribe qualities to drugs which those drugs did not possess ;
however, even modern physicians believe myrrh to have many
valuable medical properties. Certain is it that your Christ is the
best medicine for the soul. His name is Jehovah Rophi — “ I
am the Lord that healeth them.” When we see Luke called
20*270 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

 
 
  
   
  
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
  
 
 
   
 
  
 
  
 

> we almost grudge him the name. I

“the beloved physician,’
will take it from him and give it to my Master, for he deserves
it far more than Luke. The beloved physician! He touched
the leper, and he was made whole. He did but look upon
: those who were lame, and they leaped as a hart. His voice
startled the silence of Hades, and brought back the soul to the
body. What cannot Christ do? He can heal anything. You
who are sick this morning — sick with doubts and fears; you
who are sick with temptation ; you who struggle with an angry
temper, or with the death-like sleep of sloth, — get Christ and you
are healed. Here all things meet, and in all these things we
may say, “ A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.”

I have not done yet; for myrrh was used in the East as a
beautifier. We read of Esther, that, before she was introduced
to Ahasuerus, she and the virgins were bidden to prepare them-
selves; and, among other things, they used myrrh. The belief
of Oriental women was, that it removed wrinkles and stains from
the face, and they used it constantly for the perfecting of their ‘
charms. I do not know how that may be, but I know that noth-
ing makes the believer so beautiful as being with Christ. He is
beautiful in the eyes of God, of holy angels, and of his fellow-
men. I know some Christians whom it is a great mercy to
speak to: if they come into your cottage, they leave behind
them tokens of remembrance in the choice words they utter.

’ To get them into the church is a thousand mercies; and if they
join the Sunday-school, of what value they are! Let me tell
you that the best gauge of a Christian’s usefulness will be found
in the degree in which he has been with Jesus and learned of
him. Do not tell me it is the scholar, do not say to me it is the
man of eloquence, do not say it is the man of substance, — well
we would have all these consecrate what they have to Christ, —
but it is the man of God who is the strong man; it is the man
who has been with Jesus who is the pillar of the church and a

| light to the world. O brethren, may the beauty of the Lord
| | be upon us through being much with Christ !
And I must not close this point without saying that myrrhA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 271

might well be used as an emblem of our Lord from ‘és connection
with sacrifice. It was one of the precious drugs used in making
the holy oul with which the priests were anointed, and the frank-
incense which burned perpetually before God. It is this, the
sacrificial character of Christ, which is at the root and bottom of
all that Christ is most precious to his people. O Lamb of God,
our sacrifice, we must remember thee !

II. Now there has been enough, surely, said about the myrrh.
Have patience while we just notice that he is called a bundle
of myrrh, or, as some translate it, a bag of myrrh, or a box of
myrrh.

There were three sorts of myrrh: there was the myrrh in
sprigs, which, being burnt, made a sweet smell; then there was
myrrh, a dried spice ; and then, thirdly, there was myrrh, a flow-
ing oil. We do not know to which there is reference here.
But why is it said, “a bundle of myrrh?” First, for the plenty
of it. He is not a drop of it, —he is a casket full. He is not a
sprig or flower of it, but a whole bundle full. There is enough
in Christ for my necessities. There is more in Christ than I
shall ever know — perhaps more than I shall understand, even
in heaven.

A bundle, again, for variety ; for there is in Christ not only
the one thing needful, but “ye are complete in him.” There is
everything needful. Take Christ in his different characters,
and you will see a marvellous variety, — prophet, priest, king,
husband, friend, shepherd. Take him in his life, death, resur-
rection, ascension, second advent; take him in his virtue, gentle-
ness, courage, self-denial, love, faithfulness, truth, righteousness
— everywhere it is a bundle. Some of God’s judgments are
manifold, but alJ God’s mercies are manifold ; and Christ, being
the sum of God’s mercies, hath in fold upon fold of goodness.
He is “a bundle of myrrh” for variety.

He is a bundle of myrrh, again, for preservation, — not loose
myrrh to be dropped on the floor or trodden on, but myrrh tied
up, as though God bound up all virtues and excellencies in his

ee i rR RE At et nc i&

272 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

Son; not myrrh spilt on the ground, but myzrh in a box, —
myrrh kept in a casket. Such is Christ. The virtue and excel-
lence which goeth out of Christ is quite as strong to-day as in
the day when-the woman touched the hem of his garment and
was healed. “ Able to save unto the uttermost them that come
unto God through him,” is he still unto this hour.

A bundle of myrrh, again, to show how diligently we should
take care of tt. We must bind him up; we must keep our
thoughts of him and knowledge of him as under lock and key,
lest the devil should steal anything from us. We must trea-
sure up his words, prize his ordinances, obey his precepts ; tie him
up, and keep him ever with us as a precious bundle of myrrh.

And yet again, a bundle of myrrh for speciality, as if he were
not common myrrh for everybody. No, no, no; there is distin-
guishing, discriminating grace, — a bundle tied up for his people,
and labelled with their names, from before the foundation of the
world. No doubt there is an allusion here to the scent-bottle
used in every land. Jesus Christ is a bottle of myrrh, and he
doth not give forth his smell to everybody, but to those who know
how to draw forth the stopper — who understand how to get into
communion with him, to have close dealings with him. He is
not myrrh for all who are in the house, but for those who know
how to put the bottle to their nostrils and receive the sweet
perfume. O blessed people, whom the Lord hath admitted
into his secrets! O choice and happy people, who are thus
made to say, “ A bottle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.”

But I am afraid I tire you, especially those of you who do
not know anything about my subject. There are some such
here who know no more about what I am talking of than if they
were Mahometans. They are listening to a new kind of religion
now. The religion of Christ is as high above them as is the
path of the eagle above that of the fish, and as much hidden
from them as the way of the serpent on the rock from the eye
of man. This is a path which the eagle’s eye hath not seen,
nor hath the lion’s whelp trodden it; but I trust there are some
here who know it.A BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 273

Ill. Our third r2mark was to be, that with a sense of
Christ’s preciousness is combined A CONSCIOUSNESS OF POS-
SESSION. It is “my well-beloved.” My dear hearer, is Christ
your well-beloved? A Saviour — that is well; but my Saviour
— that is the best of the best. What is the use of bread, if it is
200t mine? I may die of hunger. Of what value is gold, if it
be not mine?. I may yet die in a workhouse. I want this pre-
ciousness to be mine. “ My well-beloved.” Have you ever
laid hold on Christ by the hand of faith ?

Will you take him again this morning, brethren in Jesus? I
know you will. Would that those who never did take him
would take him now, and say, “ My Saviour.” There stands his
atonement, freely offered to you; may you have the grace to take
it, and say, “My Saviour, my Saviour,” this morning. Has
your heart taken him? It is well for us to use both hands; not
only the hand of faith, but the hand of love, for this is the true
embrace when both arms meet around our beloved. Do you
love hin? O souls, do you Love Christ, with an emphasis upon
the word? Do not talk to me about a religion which dwells in
the head and never gets into the heart. Get rid of it as quickly
as you can; it will never bring you to heaven. It is not a
believe this and that” merely, but “I love.” Ah! some who
have been great fools in doctrine have been very wise in love.
We tell our children to learn things “ by heart.” I think you can ;
you love Jesus; and if you cannot, you must confess, as I do—

“A very wretch, Lord, I should prove,
Had I no love to thee;
Sooner than not my Saviour love,
Oh thay I cease to be.”

But that is not the only word. “A bundle of myrrh is my
well-beloved unto me.” That isnot a redundant expression,
“ ynto me.” He is not so to many. Ah! my Lord is a root
out of a dry ground to multitudes. A three-volume novel suits
them better than his Book. They would sooner go to a play or
a dance than they would have any fellowship with him. TheyO74 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

can see the beanties upon the cheeks of this Jezebel world, but
they cannot see the perfections of my Lord and Master. Well!
well! well! Let them say what they will, and let them think
as they please ; every creature hath its own joy; but “a bundle
of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me” — unto me — unto me ;
and if there is not another who finds him so, yet “a bundle of
myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” JI would it were not with
others as it is; I would that others did think so also of him:
but let them say what they will, they shall not drive me out of
my knowledge of this — “a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved
unto me.” ‘The infidel saith, “‘ There is no God.” The atheist
would altogether laugh me to scorn. They shall say what they
will, but “a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” Even
bishops have been found who will take away a part of his Book,
and so rend his garments, and rob him; and there be some who
say his religion is out of date, and grace has lost his power; and
they go after philosophy and vain conceit, and I know not what ;
but “a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved wnto me.” They
may have no nostril for him, they may have no desire after him;
so let it be; but “a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.”
I know there are some who say they have tried him and not
found him sweet, and who have turned away from him and gone
back to the beggarly elements of the world, because they see
nothing in Christ that they should desire him; but “a bundle of
myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” Ah, Christian! this is
what you want —a personal experience, a positive experience ;
you want to know for yourself, for there is no religion which is
worth a button which is not burnt into you by personal experi-
ence; and there is no religion worth @ straw which does not
spring from your soul, which does lay not hold upon the very
vitals of your spirit. Yes, you must say —I hope you can say
as you go down those steps this morning, and enter again to-mor-
row into that busy, giddy world — you must say, “ Let the whole
world go astray, ‘a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto
me.’”A BUNDLE OF MYRRH. 275

IV. Now, the practical point closes it. A SENSE OF POSSES-
SION AND A SENSE OF ENJOYMENT WILL ALWAYS LEAD THE
CHRISTIAN TO DESIRE CONSTANT FELLOWSHIP. “ Ele?’ tor,
rather, “it, shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.” The church
does not say, “I will put this bundle of myrrh on my shoulders,”
— Christ is no burden to a Christian. She does not say, “I
will put this bundle of myrrh on my back,” —the church does
not want to have Christ concealed from her face. She desires
to have him where she can see him, and near to her heart.
The bundle of myrrh shall lie all night upon my heart. The
words “all night” are not in the original; I do not know how
they got into the translation. He is to be always there, not only
all night but all day. It would be always night if he were not
there, and it cannot be night when he is there, for —

‘Midst darkest shade, if he appear,
My dawning has begun.”

He shall always be upon our heart. I think that expression
just means these three things: It is an expression of desire, —
her desire that she may have the consciousness of Christ’s love
continually. Do not you feel the same desire? O Christian ! if
thou hast ever been made like the chariots of Aminadab, it will
be ill for thee if thou canst be content to be otherwise. If thou
hast but once tasted Christ, thou wilt want to feed upon him all
day and all night, and as long as thou livest. My desire is that
Jesus may abide with me from morn till even, in the world and
in the church, when I awake, when I sleep, when I go abroad,
and when I come home into the bosom of my family. Is not
that your desire that he may be always with you?

But, then, it is not only her desire, but it is also her confidence.

3

She seems to say, “ He will be with me thus.” You may have
a suspension of visible fellowship with Christ, but Christ never
will go away from his people really. He will be all night be-
twixt your breasts; he will at all times abide faithful to you.
He may close his eyes and hide his face from you, but his heart

never can depart from you. He has set you as a seal upon his

 

en TT SrA eee276 A BUNDLE OF MYRRH.

heart, and increasingly will make you sensible of it. Recollect
there is no suspension of Christ’s union with his people, and no
Suspension of those saving influences which always make his
people to stand complete in him.

Lo conclude: this is also a resolve. She desires, she believes,
and she resolves it. Lord, thou shalt be with me; thou shalt
be with me always. I appeal to you, brethren, will you not
make this resolve in God’s strength this morning to cling close
to Christ. Do not go talking, as you go home, about all sorts of
nonsense ; do not spend this afternoon in communion with folly
and vanity, but throughout this day let your soul keep to Christ,
to nothing but Christ. This evening we shall come to his table,
to eat bread and drink wine, in remembrance of him; let us
try, if we can, that nothing shall make us give up Christ all
this day. Have you got him, hold him, and do not let him go
till you bring him to your mother’s house, to the chamber of
her who bare you. Then there will be the family prayer at
night. Oh, seek to keep him till you put your head upon the
pillow. And then, on Monday morning some of you have
to go to work, and as soon as you get into the workshop or the
factory, you say, “ Now I must lose my Master.” No, do not
lose him. Hold him fast when your hand plies the hammer,
and when your fingers hold the needle still cling to him; in
the market or in the exchange, on board ship or in the field, do
not let him go. You may have him with you all day. The
Mahometan usually wears a piece of the Koran round his neck ;
and one, when converted to Christianity, put his New Testa-
ment in a little silken bag, and always wore it there. We need
not such outward signs, but let us always have the Saviour there ;
Jet us hang him about our neck as a charm against all evil; seck
his blessed company ; place him as astar upon your breast, to be
your honor and joy. |

Well, I have done; but I must have a word with the uncon-.
verted. ‘There are some who can say, “I will have Christ
always on my tongue.” Away with tongue religion! You must
have him on your heart. Ah! there are some who say, “ [hopeA BUNDLE OF MYRRH. Dt

I shall have Christ on my heart #. all eternity.” You cannot

have Christ in eternity if you do not have him in time. If you
despise him to-day in this life, he will reject you to-m zrow in
the world to come ; and if ke call and you refuse, one day you
will call and he refuse. Do not put up with desires m rely, dear
friends; some of you have desires, and nothing more. Do not
only desire Christ, but get him. Do not stop short wih saying,
“T should like to have him in my heart;” give no sle »p to your
eyes nor slumber to your eyelids till by humble faith you have
taken Christ to be your all in all. May the Lord | less these
poor words, for Jesus’ sake. Amen,

24

9SERMON XV.

 

TRE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

“AND TH si KG NO NEXD OF THE SUN, NEITHER OF THE MOON, TO SHINE IN
IT: FOR raf GLOAY OF GOD DID LIGHTEN IT, AND THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT
THEREOR.” -—~ Key. xxi. 28.

To the lover of Jesus it is very pleasant to observe how the
Lord Jesus Christ has always stood foremost in glory from be-
fore the foundation of the world, and will do so as long as eter-
nity shall last. If we look back by faith to the time of the cre-
ation, we find our Lord with his Father as one brought up with
him. “ When there were no depths, I was brought forth ; when
there were no fountains abounding with water. While as yet
he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of
the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was
there : when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: when
he established the clouds above : when he strengthened the foun-
tains of the deep.” He was that wisdom who was never absent
from the Father’s counsels in the great work of creation, whether
it be the birth of angels or the making of worlds of men. One
of the first events ever recorded in Scripture history is, “ When
he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, let all
the angels of God worship him.” Such words were never spoken
of any creature, but only of him who is co-equal and co-eternal
with the Father, glorious forever ; the first-born of every crea-
ture, the head of the household of God, the express image of his
person, and the fulness of his glory. In the earliest periods of
which we possess any knowledge, Jesus Christ stood exalted farTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 279

above all principalities and powers, and every name that is

named. When human history dawns, and the history of God’s

church commences, you still find Christ pre-eminent. All the

types of the early church are only to be opened up by him as

the key. It would have been nothing to be of the seed of

Israel, if it had not been for the promise of the Shiloh that was
to come; it would have been im vain that the sacrifices were
offered in the wilderness, that the ark abode between the curtains,
or that the golden” pot which had the manna was covered with
the mercy-seat, if there had not been a real signification of
Christ in all these. The religion of the Jew would have been
very emptiness if it had not been for Christ, who is the substance
of the former shadows. Run on to the period of the prophets,
and in all their prophesyings do you not see additional glimpses
of the glory of Christ ? When they mount to the greatest heights
of eloquence do they not speak of him? Whenever their soul is
carried up, as in a chariot of fire, is not the mantle left behind
them a word telling of the glory of Jesus? They could never
glow with fervent heat, except concerning him. Even when
they denounced the judgments of God, they paused between the
crashes of God’s thunder to let some drops of mercy fall on man
in words of promise concerning him who was to come. It is al-
ways Christ from the opening leaf of Genesis to the closing note
of Malachi, — Christ, Christ, Christ, and nothing but Christ. It
is very delightful, brethren, when we come to such a text as this,
to observe that what was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall
be, world without end, Amen. In that millennial state of which
the text speaks, Jesus Christ is to be the light thereof, and all
its glory is to proceed from him; and if the text speaketh con-
cerning heaven and the blessedness hereafter, all its light and
blessings and glory stream from him: “The Lamb is the light
thereof.” If we read the text, and think of its connection with
us to-day, we must confess that all our joy and peace flow from
the same fountain. Jesus Christ is the Sun of Righteousness to
us as well as to the saints above.

I shall try, then, — though I am conscious of my feebleness to280 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

handle so great a matter, — I shall try, as best I can, to extol the
Lord Jesus, first of all, in the excellence of his glory in the mal-
lennial state ; next, in heaven ; and then, thirdly, in the condition
of every heavenly-minded man who is on his way to paradise.
In all these cases “ the Lamb is the light thereof.”

I. First, then, a few words concerning THE MILLENNIAL
PERIOD.

We are not given to prophesyings in this place. ‘There are
some of our brethren who delight much in them. Perhaps it is
well that there should be some who should devote their time and
thoughts to that portion of God’s Word which abounds in myste-
ries; but, for our part, we have been so engaged in seeking to
win souls, and in endeavoring to contend with the common errors
of the day, that we have scarcely ventured to land upon the rock
of Patmos, or to peer into the dark recesses of Daniel and Eze-
kiel. Yet this much we have ever learned most clearly — that on
this earth, where sin and Satan gained victory over God through
the fall of man, Christ is to achieve a complete triumph over all
his foes ; not on another battle-field, but on this. The fightis not
over. . It commenced by Satan’s attack upon our mother Eve ;
and Christ has never left the field from that day until now. The
fight has lasted thousands of years ; it grows sterner every day ;
it is not over; and it never shall be stayed until the serpent’s
head is effectually bruised, and Christ Jesus shall have gotten
unto himself a perfect victory. Do not think the Lord will
allow Satan to have even so much as one battle to call his own.
In the great campaign, when the history shall be written, it shall
be said: “'The Lord reigneth ;” all along the line he hath gotten
the victory. There shall be victory in every place and spot;
and the conquest of Jesus shall be complete and perfect. We
believe, then, that in this very earth, where superstition has set
up its idols, Jesus Christ shall bé adored. Here, where blas-
phemy has defiled human lips, songs of praise shall rise from
islands of the sea and from the dwellers among the rocks. In
this very country, among those very men who became the toolsTHE LAMB : THE LIGHT. 281

of Satan, and whose dwelling-places were dens of mischief, there
shall be found instruments of righteousness, lips to praise God,
and oecasions of eternal glory unto the Most High. O Satan!
thou mayst boast of what thou hast done, and thou mayst think
thy scetre still-secure ; but he cometh, even he who rides upon
the white horse of victory ; and when he comes, thou shalt not
stand against him, for the two-edged sword which goeth out of
his mouth shall drive thee and thy hosts back to the place from
whence thou camest. Let us rejoice that Scripture is so clear
and so explicit upon this great doctrine of the future triumph of
Christ over the whole world!

We are not bound to enter into any particulars concerning
what form that triumph shallassume. We believe that the Jews
will be converted, and that they will be restored to their own
land. We believe that Jerusalem will be the central metropolis
of Christ’s kingdom; we also believe that all the nations shall
walk in the light of the glorious city which shall be built at Je-
rusalem. We expect that the glory which shall have its centre
there shall spread over the whole world, covering it as with a
sea of holiness, happiness, and delight. For this we look with
joyful expectation. During that period the Lord himself, by his
glorious presence, shall set aside the outward rites of his sanctu-
ary. “The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it.’ Perhaps by sun and moon here are intended
those ordinary means of enlightenment which the church now
wants. We want the Lord’s Supper to remind us of the body
and blood of Christ; but when Christ comes there will be no
Lord’s Suppers, for it is written, “ Do this until he come:” but
when he comes, then will be the final period of the remembrance-
token, because the person of Christ will be in our midst. Neither
will you need ministers any longer, any more than men need
candles when the sun ariseth. They shall not say one to another,
‘“ Know the Lord: for all shall know him, from the least to the
ereatest.” There may be even in that period certain solemn as-
semblies and Sabbath-days, but they will not be of the same kind
as we have now; for the whole earth will be a temple: every
24*

ee eS eaeaeetinidanieeeesemeeaenl ae ae282 THE LAMB : THE LIGHT.

day will be a Sabbath ; the avocations of men will all be priestly ;
they shall be a nation of priests — distinetly so; and they shall
day without night serve God in his temple ; so that everything to
which they set their hand shall be a part of the song which shall
go up to the Most High. O, blessed day! Would God it had
dawned, when these temples should be left, because the whole
world should be a temple for God. But whatever may be the
splendors of that day, — and truly here is a temptation to let our
imagination revel, — however bright may be the walls set with
chalcedony and amethyst, however splendid the gates which are
of one pearl, whatever may be the magnificence set forth by the
“streets of gold,” this we know, that the sum and substance, the
light and glory of the whole will be the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ ; “for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb
is the light thereof.” Now, I want the Christian to meditate
over this. In the hightest, holiest, and happiest era that shall
ever dawn upon this poor earth, Christ is to be her light. When
she puts on her wedding garments, and adorns herself as a bride
is adorned with jewels, Christ is to be her glory and her beauty.
There shall be no ear-rings in her ears made with other gold
than that which cometh from his mine of love; there shall be no
crown set upon her brow fashioned by any other hand than his

hands of wisdom and of grace. She sits to reign, but it shall
be upon Ais throne ; she feeds, but it shall be upon fis bread ;
she triumphs, but it shall be because of the might which ever
belongs to him who is the Rock of Ages. Come -then, Chris-
tian, contemplate for a moment thy beloved Lord. Jesus, in
a millennial age, shall be the light and the glory of the city of

the New Jerusalem. Observe, then, that Jesus makes the light
of the millennium, because his presence will be that which distin-
quishes that age from the present. That age is to be akin to
paradise. Paradise God first made upon earth, and paradise

God will last make. Satan destroyed it; and God will never

have defeated his enemy until he has re-established paradise —

until once again a new Eden shall bless the eyes of God’s creas
tures. Now, the very glory and privilege of Eden I take to beTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 283

not the river which flowed through it with its four branches, nor
that it came from the land of Havilah which hath dust of gold;
I do not think the glory of Eden lay in its grassy walks, or
in the boughs bending with luscious fruit; but its glory lay in
this, that the “ Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of
the day.” Here was Adam’s highest privilege, that he had com-
panionship with the Most High. In those days angels sweetly
sang that the tabernacle of God was with man, and that he did
dwell amongst them. Brethren, the paradise which is to be
regained for us will have this for its essential and distinguishing
mark, that the Lord shall dwell amongst us. This is the name
by which the city is to be called — Jehovah Shammah, the Lord
is there. It is true we have the presence of Christin the chureh
now — “ Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world.” We have the promise of his constant indwelling —
“‘ Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them.” But still that is vicariously by his
Spirit, but soon he is to be personally with us. That very man
who once died upon Calvary is to live here. He —that same
Jesus — who was taken up from us, shall come in like manner
as he was taken up from the gazers of Galilee. Rejoice, rejoice,
beloved, that he comes, actually and really comes; and this shall
be the joy of that age, that he is among his saints, and dwelleth
in them, with them, and talketh and walketh in their midst.

The presence of Ohrist it is which will be the means of the
peace of the age. In that sense Christ will be the light of it, for
heis our peace. Itwill be through his presence that the lion shall
eat straw like an ox, that the leopard shall lie down with the kid.
It will not be because men have had more enlightenment, and
have learned better, through advancing civilization, that they shall
beat their swords into ploughshares. It is notorious that the
more civilized nations become, the more terrible are their instru-
ments of destruction; and when they do go to war, the more
bloody and protracted their wars become. I ventureto say that
if in a thousand years’ time Christ shall not come, if war’ were
to break out, where we now fight for ten or twenty years, we shallre

284 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

have the venomous hatred of one another, and the means of car-
rying on a war for acentury. Instead of advancing in peace-
falness, I do fear me the world has gone back. We certainly
cannot boast now of living in haleyon days of peace. But
Christ’s presence shall change the hearts of men. Then, spon-
taneously, at sight of the great Prince of Peace, they shall cast
away their armor and their weapons of war, and shall learn war
no more. In that sense, then, because his presence will be the
cause of that happy period, he is the light of it.

Again: Christ’s presence is to that period its special imstruc-
tion. They shall need no candle, neither light of the sun, nor of
themoon. Why? Because Christ’s presence will be sufficiently
instructive to the sons of men. When the Lord Jesus Christ
comes, superstition will not need an earnest testimony to confute
it; it will hide its head. Idolatry will not need the missionary
to preach against it; the idols he shall utterly abolish, and shall
cast them to the moles and to the bats. Men and women, at the
sight of Christ, and at the knowledge that he is reigning glori-
ously upon earth, will give up their unbelief. The Jew will
recognize the Son of David, and the Gentile will rejoice to wor-
ship him who was once slain as the King of the Jews. The
presence of Christ shall do more for the enlightenment of his
church than the teaching of all her officers and ministers in
all ages. She shall then in the sight of her Lord come to a
fulness of knowledge, and have a perfect understanding of God’s
Word. :

Once again: Christ will be the light of that period 7m the sense
of being tts glory. Oh! it is the glory of the Christian now to
think that Christ reigns in heaven. In this we boast, in every
season of depression and of downcasting, that he is exalted and
sits at the right hand of the Father. But the glory of that age
shall be that Christ is come; that he sits upon the throne of
David, as well as upon the throne of God; that his enemies bow
before him and lick the dust. Think, my brethren, of the splendor
of that time, when from every nation and land they shall bring
him tribute; when praises shall ascend from every land; when theTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 285

streets of that city shall be thronged every day with adoring
worshippers ; when he shall ride forth conquering and to conquer,
and his saints shall follow him upon white horses! We some-
times have high days and holidays, when kings and princes go
abroad, and the streets are full, and people crowd even to the
chimney-pots to see them as they ride along; but what shall it
be to see King Jesus crowned with the crown wherewith his
mother crowned him in the day of his espousals!] What a con-
trast between the cavalcade winding its way along the streets of
Jerusalem, along the via dolorosa up to the mount of execu-
tion! — what a contrast, I say! Then women followed him and
wept, but now men will follow him and shout for joy. Then he
carried his cross, but now he shall ride in state; then his ene-
mies mocked him, and gloated their eyes with his sufferings ; but
then his enemies shall be put to confusion, and covered with
shame, and upon himself shall his crown flourish; then it was
the hour of darkness, and the time of the prince of the pit; but
now it shall be the day of light and the victory of Emmanuel,
and the sounding of his praise both in earth and heaven. Con-
template this thought; and though I speak of it so feebly, yet it
may ravish your hearts with transport that Christ is the Sun of
that long-expected, that blessed day; that Christ shall be the
highest mountain of all the hills of joy, the widest river of all the
streams of delight; that whatever there may be of magnificence
and of triumph, Christ shall be the centre and soul of it all. Oh
to be present, and to see him in his own light, the King of kings
and Lord of lords!

IE. And now we will turn our thoughts another way from the
millennial period to THE STATE OF THE GLORIFIED IN HEAVEN
irseLr. “The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it.”

The inhabitants of the better world are independent of creature-
comforts. Let us think that over for aminute. We have no reason
to believe that they daily pray, “Give us this day our daily
bread.” Their bodies shall dwell in perpetual youth. They286 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

shall have no need of raiment; their white robes shall never
wear out, neither shall they ever be defiled. Having food
and raiment on earth, therewith we are content ; but in heaven
“they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you,
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these ;” yet the fields yield them neither flax nor any other ma-
terial for clothing, neither do the acres of heaven yield them
bread. They are satisfied by leaning upon God, needing not
the creature for support. They need no medicine to heal their
disease, “for the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.” They
need no sleep to recruit their fatigue; and although sleep is sweet
and balmy, — God’s own medicine, — yet they rest not day nor
night, but unweariedly praise him in his temple.

They need no social ties in heaven. We need here the asso-
ciatfons of friendship and of family love ; but they are neither
married nor are given in marriage there. Whatever comfort
they may derive from association with their fellows is something
extra and beyond; they do not need any: their God is enough.
They shall need no teachers there. They shall doubtless com-
mune with one another concerning the things of God, and tell to
one another the strange things which the Lord hath wrought for
them; but they shall not need this by way of instruction : they
shall be taught of the Lord, for in heaven “the glory of God
doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” There is
an utter independence in heaven, then, of all the creatures.
No sun and no moon are wanted; nay, no creatures whatever.
Here we lean upon the friendly arm; but there they lean upon
their Beloved, and upon him alone. Here we must have the
help of our companions; but there they find all they want in
Christ alone. Here we look to the meat which perisheth, and
to the raiment which decays before the moth; but there they find
everything in God. We have to use the bucket to get water
from the well; but there they drink from the well-head, and pul
their lips down to the living water. Here the angels bring us
blessings; but we shall want no messenger from heaven then
They shall need no Gabriels there to bring their love-notes fromTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 287

God, for there they shall see him face to face. Oh! what a
blessed time shall that be, when we shall have mounted above
every second cause, and shall hang upon the bare arm of God!
What a glorious hour when God and not his creatures, God and
not his works, but God himself, Christ himself, shall be our daily
joy!
** Plunged in the Godhead’s deepest sea,
And lost in His immensity ’’—

Our souls shall then have attained the perfection of bliss.

While in heaven it is clear that the glorified are quite inde-
pendent of creature aid, do not forget that they are entirely de-
pendent for their joy upon Jesus Christ. He is their sole spiritual
light. They have nothing else in heaven to give them perfect
satisfaction but himself. ‘The language here used, “’The Lamb
is the light thereof,’ may be read in two or three ways. By
your patience, let us so read it.

In heaven Jesus is the light in the sense of joy, for light is
ever in Scripture the emblem of joy. Darkness betokens sor-
row, but the rising of the sun indicates the return of holy joy.
Christ is the joy of heaven. Do they rejoice in golden harps,
in palm branches and white robes? They may do so, but they
only rejoice in these things as love-gifts from him. Their joy is
compounded of this: “Jesus chose us, Jesus loved us, Jesus
bought us, Jesus washed us, Jesus robed us, Jesus kepf us,
Jesus glorified us; here we are, entirely through the Lord Jesus
—through him alone.” Each one of these thoughts shall be to
them like a cluster from the vines of Eshcol. Why, methinks
there is an eternal source of joy in that one thought, “ Jesus
bought me with his blood.” Oh, to sit on the mountains of
heaven and look across to the lowly hill of Calvary, and see the
Saviour bleed! What emotions of joy shall stir the depths of our
soul when we reflect that there upon the bloody tree he counted
not his life dear unto him that he might redeem us unto God!

** Calvary’s summit shall I trace,
View the heights and depths of grace,
Count the purple drops, and say,
‘Thus my sins were washed away.’ ”288 THE LAMB : THE LIGHT.
In glory they think of the character and person of Jesus, and
these are wells of delight to them. Thus they muse: Jesus is
eternal God; his enemies reviled him, but still he is God. Jesus
became the virgin’s child; Jesus lived a life of holiness, and
Jesus died; but see what triumph springs from his condescen-
sion and his shame! He rises, he ascends, and leads captivity
captive; he scatters gifts amongst men; he reigns over earth
and hell and heaven, King of kings, and Lord of lords. ‘The
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, The Counsellor, The mighty God, The ever-
lasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” When I have listened
to Handel’s music in “ The Messiah,” where that great musician
wakes every instrument to praise the name of Jesus, I have felt
ready to die with excess of delight that such music should ever
have been composed by mortal man to the honor of our grea
‘Messiah ; but what will be the music of celestial choirs? How
would such hearts as ours burst, and such souls as ours leap out
of their bodies, if they could but know while here such joys as
celestials know above! But, beloved, our faculties shall be
strengthened, our capacities shall be enlarged, our whole being
shall be expanded; and thus we shall be able to bear the full
swell of seraphic music, and join in it without fainting from de-
light, while they sing of the glory of the Son of Man — the Son
of God. Christ is the light of heaven, then, because he is the
substance of its joy.

Light may be viewed in another sense. Light is the cause
of beauty. ‘That is obvious to you all. Take the light away,
and there is no beauty anywhere. The fairest woman charms
the eye no more than a heap of ashes when the sun has departed.
Your garden may be gay with many-colored flowers, but when
the sun goeth down you cannot know them from the grass which
norders them. You look upon the trees, all fair with the ver-
dure of summer; but when the sun goes down they are all hung
in black. Without light no radiance flashes from the sapphire,
no peaceful ray proceedeth from the pearl. ‘There is naught of
beauty left when light is gone. Light is the mother of beauty.THE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 289

in such sense the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the
light of heaven; that is to say, all the beauty of the saints above
comes from God incarnate. Their excellence, their joy, their
triumph, their glory, their ecstatic bliss, all spring from him,
As planets, they reflect the light of the Sun of Righteousness.
They live as beams proceeding from the central orb — as streams
leaping from the eternal fountain. If he withdrew, they must
die; if his glory were veiled, their glory must expire. Think
of this, Christian, and I am sure you will be reminded how true
this is beneath the sky, as well as above, — that if light be the
mother of beauty, Christ is the light. There is nothing good, nor
comely, nor gracious about any one of us, except as we get it
from Christ, and from Christ Jesus alone. “The Lamb is the
light thereof.”

Another meaning of light, in Scripture, is knowledge. Igno-
rance is darkness. Now, in heaven they need no candle, neither
light of the sun, bécause they receive light enough from Christ,
— Christ being the fountain of all they know. I think it is Dr.
Dick who speaks about the enjoyments of heaven consisting
very likely in going from star to star and viewing the works of
God in different portions of his universe, admiring the anatomy
of living creatures, studying geology, ferrying across the waving
of ether, and voyaging from world to world. I do not believe in
such a heaven for a moment. I do not conceive it a worthy
employment for immortal spirits ; and if there were nothing else
to make me think so, the text would be enough: “ And the
city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
it.” There is no need of the works of God to give instruction
to its inhabitants, “for the glory of God did lighten it” The
glory, not of God’s works, but of God’s Son, is their glorious
light.

“ The spacious earth and spreading flood
Proclaim the wise and powerful God;
And thy rich glories from afar
Sparkle in every relling star.

“ But in his looks a glory stands,

The noblest labor of thy hands:

20THE LAMB : THE LIGHT.

The pleasing lustre of his eyes
Outshines the wonders of the skies.”

They need no light of the sun and moon wher? Jesus is. How-
ever well the sun and moon may tell of God, we shall not want
them from day to day to send forth their line throughout all the
earth, and their word unto the end of the world, for the glory of
Christ will teach us all we wish to learn; and beholding the
unveiled glory of God will be better far than prying into the
works of nature, even though we had an angel’s power of discov-
ery. We shall know more of Christ in five minutes, I ween,
when we get to heaven, than we shall know in all our years on
earth. Dr. Owen was a master of theology; but the smallest
child who goes to heaven from a Sunday-school knows more
of Christ after being in heaven five minutes, than Dr. Owen
did. John Calvin searched very deep, and Augustine seemed
to come to the very door of the great secret; but Augustine and
Calvin would be but children on the first form there —I mean
if they knew no more than on earth. h! what manifestations
of God there will be! Dark dealings of providence, which you
never understood before, will then be seen without the light of a
candle or of the sun. Many doctrines puzzled you, and you
could not find the clue to the labyrinth of mystery ; but there all
will be simple and plain, so that the wayfaring man may run
and understand it. You have had many experiences and toss-
ings to and fro, and you have felt your ignorance, your corrup-
tion and weakness; but there you shall see to the very bottom
of human nature : you shail understand the virulence of man’s
depravity, and the heights of God’s sovereignty, the marvels of

a electing love, and the magnificence of his divine power, by
‘vaich he has made us to be partakers of the divine nature.

““ There you shall see and hear and know
All you desired or wished below,

And every power find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.”

ind this knowledge, I say, shall not come from any inferiorTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 291

agent, but from the Lord God, who shall be your glory, and
from Jesus Christ himself, who shall teach you all truth.

I must not dwell long on this point, except to say this one
thing, —that hght also means manifestation. Every one that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God.” Light manifests. In this world it doth not
yet appear how great we must be made. God’s people are a
hidden people —their life is hid with Christ in God. They
possess God’s secret, and that secret other men cannot discover.

hrist in heaven is the great revealer of God’s mind; and when
he gets his people there, he will touch them with the wand of
his own love, and change them into the image of his manifested
glory. They were poor and wretched — but, what a transforma-
tion! ‘Their rags drop off, and they are acknowledged as princes.
They were stained with sin and infirmity — but one touch of his
finger, and they are bright as the sun and clear as crystal; trans-
formed even as he was upon Mount Tabor ; whiter than any fuller
can make them. They were ignorant and weak on earth, but
when He shall teach them they shall know even as they are
known. They were buried in dishonor, but they are raised ir
glory; they were sown in the grave in weakness, but they are
raised in power; they were carried away by the hands of re-
morseless death, but they arise to immortality and life. Oh!
what a manifestation! Light is sown for the righteous, and
Christ is the sacred rain that brings the harvest above ground.
The righteous are always pearls ; but they are hidden, as it were,
in the oyster now, and Christ brings them forth. They were
always diamonds ; they were far away in the Golconda of sin;
but Christ hath fetched them up from the deep mines. They
were alway stars, but they were hidden behind the clouds. Christ,
like a swift wind, hath blown the clouds away, and now they
shine like stars in the firmament for ever and ever. In this
sensé Christ is the light of heaven, because it is through him that
the true and real character of all the saints has been manifested.292 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

Come, my soul, take wing a moment —it is not far for thee
to fly. Mount thee, and walk the golden streets, and as thou
valkest thou shalt see nothing but Jesus glorified. Come up to
the throne, and thou shalt see Christ on it. Sit down and listen
to the song, Christ is the theme ; go to the banquet, Christ is the
meat; mingle with the dancers, Christ is their joy ; make thou
one in their great assemblies, and Christ is the God they wor-
ship :—

““< Worthy the Lamb that died,’ they cry,
‘To be exalted thus: ’
‘Worthy the Lamb,’ our lips reply,
‘For he was slain for us.’ ”

IU. Let us turn to our last thought; and here I hope we can
speak experimentally, whereas on the other two points we could
only speak by faith in the promise of God. Tue HEAVENLY
MAN’S STATE MAY BE SET FORTH IN THESE WORDS.

First, then, even on earth the heavenly man’s joy does not de-
pend upon the creature. Brethren, ina certain sense we can say
to-day that “the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the
moon, to shine in it.” We love and prize the happy brightness
which the sun scatters upot us. As for the moon, who does not
admire the fair moonlight when the waves are silvered, and.
silent nature wears the plumage of the dove. But we do not need
the sun or the moon; we can do without them; for the Sun of
Righteousness has risen with healing beneath his wings. ‘There
are brothers and sisters here this morning who are very happy,
and yet it is long since they saw the sun. Shut up in perpetual
night, through blindness, they need not the light of the sun, nor
of the moon, for the Lord God is their glory — Christ is their
light. If our eyes should be put out, we could say, “ Farewell,
sweet light; farewell, bright sun and moon; we prize ye well,
but we can do without ye, — Christ Jesus is to us as the light of
seven days.” 5

As we can do without these two most eminent creatures, so we
can be happy without other earthly blessings. Our dear friends
are very precious to us— we love our wife and children, ourTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 293

parents and our friends, but we do not need them. May God
spare them to us! But if they were taken, if does not come to a
matter of absolute need, for you know, beloved, there is many a
Christian who has been bereft of all ; and he thought, as the props
were taken away one after another, that he should die of veiy
grief. But he did not die; his faith surmounted every wave, and
he still rejoices in his God. I know that at the thought of those
dear ones who are taken from you the sluices of your grief are
drawn up; but still I hope you will not be so false to Christ as
to deny what I now say, — that his presence can make amends
for all losses; that the smilings of his face will make a paradise
so sweet that no sorrow or sighing shall be heard in it.

** Thee at all times will I bless;
Having thee, I all possess;
How can I bereaved be,
Since I cannot part with thee?”

It is a very happy thing to be placed in circumstances where
one knows no lack of bread, —to have a house, a comfortable
home, and sufficiency for our family is very pleasant. But O, dear
friends, if it comes to actual need, the Christian does not want
this ; he needs no sun nor moon even here. Look at the chosen
sons of poverty — they toil from morning to night, and never get
a single inch beyond; just living from hand to mouth; but they
are happy; ah! some of them infinitely happier than the rich man
with all his sumptuous faring, and the fine linen with which he
wraps himself. Why, there have been men, reduced all but to
beggary, who have rejoiced far more in their poverty than others
in their wealth. We have seen some of God’s saints in the work-
house, or lingering in a dark, ill-furnished almsroom, and we
have heard them speak as joyously about God and their state as
if they were dwelling in mansions or palaces. Yes, many a paor
child of God has learned to sing —

‘‘T would not change my blessed estate
For all the world calls good or great;
And while my faith can keep her hold,

I envy not the sinner’s gold.”’
20*294 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

For “this city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine
in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof.” Health, too, — who can prize it enough ? When
stretched upon the bed of sickness, then we begin to know how
priceless a boon was a sound body ; but ah ! the Christian, though
he loves health, can do without it. I have heard of Christians
who have been blind, and who have been bed-ridden and have
not stirred from their bed for many years, who could scarcely
lift their hands through paralysis, and who never had stood upon
their feet for years through some stroke of God’s hand, yet have
they delighted themselves in the Lord. They have laid there
ill-nursed, ill-cared for, — simply living to illustrate to what de-
gree a mortal man may become a mass of suffering and a prodigy
of grief; and yet, as I have sometimes stood by such bedsides, I
have heard more rapturous ‘expressions concerning present joy
and future prospects than from God’s strongest saints in their
healthiest hours. The dying girl, when consumption has paled
her cheek and taken the flesh from off her poor aching bones,
has nevertheless appeared in a sacred majesty of might, which
showed me that she needed no moon nor sun fo lighten her, no
health nor strength to give her spirits, for the presence of Christ
made her conqueror in the extremity of weakness, and victorious
in the grim presence of Death itself. The Christian then, dear
friends, leans upon the arm of God; he has pressed through
the crowd of creatures; he has bidden them all retire that he
might live nearer to his all-sufficient Lord; and if, when he has
reached his Lord, the creatures turn their backs and go away, he
saith, “There, ye may all go; I have him now; I embrace him
now ; he hath kissed me with the kisses of his lips; ye may spit
on me, and ye will; now te has spoken softly to me, ye may
curse me if ye please ; now that he has told me I am his and he
is mine, even my father and mother may forsake me, for the
Lord hath taken me up.” Yes, the heavenly man, even before
he gets to heaven, hath no need of the sun nor of the moon, for
the glory of God doth lighten him.

We finish by observing, that such a man, however, has greatTHE LAMB: THE LIGHT. 295
need of Christ —he cannot get on without Christ. O beloved!
if the sun were struck from the spheres, what a poor, dark, dreary
world this would be! We should go groping about it, longing
for the grave; but that would be nothing compared with our
misery if Christ were taken away. O Christian man! what
would you do without a Saviour? We should be of all men the
most miserable—we who have once known him. Ah! you
who do not know Christ, you can get on pretty well without him ;
like a poor slave who has never known liberty, and rests content
in bondage. ‘The bird in its cage, which never did fly over the
fields, which has been born in the cage, can be pretty easy ; but
atter we have once stretched our wings, and once know what
liberty means, we cannot be shut out from our Lord. As the
dove mourns itself to death when its mate is taken away, so
should we if Christ were gone. We can do without light, with-
out friendship, without life; but we cannot live without our Sa-
viour. Oh! to be without Christ! My soul, what wouldst thou
do in the world without him, in the midst of its temptations and
its cares? What wouldst thou do in the morning without him,
when thou wakest up and lookest forward to the day’s battle?
What wouldst thou do if he did not put his hand upon thee, and
say, “ Fear not, I am with thee”? And what wouldst thou do
at night, when thou comest home jaded and weary, if there were
no prayer, no door of access between thee and Christ? What
should we do without Christ in our trials, our sicknesses ? What
should we do when we come to die, with no one to make our dying-
bed feel soft as downy pillows are? Oh! if the infidel’s laugh
has truth in it, it may well ring bitterly in our ears, for it were
a bitter truth to us. No Christ! Then to die indeed is dread-
ful. To have such high hopes, and to have them all blasted;
such high, loud boastings, and to have our mouths stopped for-
ever! But, beloved, we need not suppose such a thing; tor we
know that our Redeemer liveth, and we know that he never for-
sakes the work of his own hand. Married as he is to our souls,
he will never sue out a divorce against any one of his dear people ;
but he will hold, and keep, and bless us till we die; and we on296 THE LAMB: THE LIGHT.

our part will confess of our spiritual life that the Lamb is the
light thereof. Of every day and every night, of every joy and
every sorrow, the Lamb has been until now our light, and shall
be till we die.

If this be so, how dark is the case of those who do not know
the Lamb! In what misery and ignorance do you grope who
do not know the Saviour! Would you know Christ, would you
have the happiness of resting upon his bosom? Trust him, then;
for whosoever trusteth him is saved. To trust Christ is that
saving faith which brings the soul out of condemnation. “ He
that believeth on him is not condemned.” ‘Trust thou, guilty as
thou art, trust thou to his atonement, and it shall wash thee;
trust to his power, it shall prevail for thee ; trust to his wisdom,
it shall protect thee; trust to his heart, it shall love thee, world
without end. Amen.SERMON XVI.

GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

“« FOR YE SEE YOUR CALLING, BRETHREN, HOW THAT NOT MANY WISE MEN AFTER
THE FLESH, NOT MANY MIGHTY, NOT MANY NOBLE, ARE CALLED; BUT GOD HATH
CHOSEN THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE; AND GOD
HATH CHOSEN THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE THINGS
WHICH ARE MIGHTY; AND BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD, AND THINGS WHICH
ARE DESPISED, HATH GOD CHOSEN, YEA, AND THINGS WHICH ARE NOT, TO BRING
TO NOUGHT THINGS THAT ARDEP: THAT NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRES-
ENCE.”’ — 1 Corinthians i. 26-29.

Tuer Apostle Paul had been led to make the confession that
Christ Jesus was despised both by Jew and Gentile. He con-
fessed that this was no cause of stumbling to him; for what
others counted foolishness he believed to be wisdom, and re-
joiced that the foolishness of God was wiser than men, and
the weakness of God stronger than men. Lest, however, any
of the Corinthian Church should be stumbled by the fact that
Christ was despised, the apostle goes on to show that it was
the general way of God’s proceeding, to select means which men
despised, in order that by accomplishing his purpose through
them, he might have all the glory: and he refers them for
proof of this to the one instance of their own election and call-
ing: “ Ye see your calling, brethren,” saith he, “not many wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
ealled;” but you, the poor, illiterate, the despised — you have been
called — still for the same reason — that God may be all in all,
and that no flesh may glory in his presence. It is clear to every--
one who will observe either Scripture or fact, that God pever298 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

did intend to make his gospel fashionable; that the very last
thing that was ever in his thoughts was to select the élite of man-
kind, and gather dignity for his truth from the gaudy trappings
of rank and station. On the contrary, God has thrown down
the gauntlet against all the pride of manhood; he hath dashed
mire into the face of all human excellency ; and with the battle-
axe of his strength he has dashed the escutcheon of man’s glory
in twain. “Overturn! overturn! overturn!” seems to be the
very motto of the Lord of Hosts, and shall be so “until He
shall come whose right it is to reign, and he will give it him,” for
his is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and
ever. ‘There is no doctrine more truly humbling than the doc-
trine of election ; and it was for this reason that the Apostle Paul
refers to it, — that the disciples at Corinth might be quite. con-
tent to follow the humble and despised cross-bearing Saviour,
because the election of grace consists of the humble and despised,
who therefore cannot be ashamed to follow One who, like them-
selves, was despised and rejected of men.

Coming, then, at once to our text, we observe in it very clearly,
first, the Elector ; secondly, a strange election ; then, the elected ;
and when we have considered all these a little, we shall pause
over the reasons which God has given for his election, — that “ no
flesh should glory in his presence.”

I. First, then, let us this morning soar aloft upon the wings
xf thought to consider for awhile the Erector.

Some men are saved, and some are not saved; it remains as
a fact never to be questioned, that some enter into eternal life, and
some pursue the evil way and perish. How is this difference
caused ? Howis it that some mount to heaven? The reason why
any sink to hell is their sin, and only their sin; they will not repent,
they will not believe in Christ, they will not turn to God, and
therefore they perish wilfully by their own act and deed. But how
is it that others are saved? Whose will is it that hath made
them to differ? The text three times most peremptorily an-
swers the question. It saith not “man hath chosen,” but it saithGOD'S STRANGE CHOICE. 999
three times, “God hath chosen, God hath chosen, God hath cho-
sen.” ‘The grace which is found in any man, and the glory and
eternal life to which any attain, are all the gitts of God’s elec
tion, and are not bestowed according to the will of man.

This will be clear to any thoughtful person, if we first of all
turn to facts. Wherever we find a case of election in the Old
Testament, it is manifestly God who makes it. Go back, if you
will, to the very earliest time. Angels fell: a multitude of
bright spirits, who surrounded the throne of God and sang his
praises, were deceived by Satan, and fell into sin. The great
serpent drew with him the third part of the stars of heaven:
they fell from their obedience ; they were condemned to chains
forever, and to eternal fire. Man sinned also. Adam and Eve
broke the covenant with God, and ate of the forbidden fruit —
were they condemned to eternal fire? Nay, but God, in the
plenitude of his grace, whispered this promise in the woman’s
ear: “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.”
Some men are saved, but no devils are saved. Why? Did
man make the difference? Silence, thou vain boaster, who
dreamest of such a thing! It is God himself who testifies: “I
will have mercy on whom I wil have mercy, and I will have
compassion on whom I will have compassion.” It was from such
sovereignty as this that the Lord virtually declared, “I purpose
and decree, that of the race of man I will save a multitude that
no man can number, who shall be the vessels of my mercy ;
while yonder angels, once my servants, but now traitors to their
liege lord, shall, without hope forever, vindicate the terror of my
righteousness, the majesty of my justice.” Here no one ever
caises a question. I have never heard the most ultra-Pelagian
enter a plea for the devil. I have heard of Origen, who did
seem to plead that Satan should be included in the general law
of mercy ; but very few persons now-a-days talk so. Here is an
instance of election, — some of the human race saved, and the
angelic race left forever to perish. Who could have made this
distinction but Jehovali himself? And we must say there of our
favored race, “ God hath chosen.” We are not ata loss to see the3800 GOD’S STRANGE CHUICE.

same discriminating sovereignty at work among the individuals
of our own race. All men were in the patriarchal age sunken
in heathenism, with but a few exceptions; there were a few pa-
triarchs who still, chosen of God, held fast to the pure worship
of the Most High. The Lord determined to adopt a special
people, who should read the oracles of God, preserve and main-
tain the truth. He selected Abram as the progenitor of the cho-
sen race. Did Abram choose God, or did God eall and choose
Abram? Was there anything naturally in Abram to entitle
him to be the servant of the Most High? We have very plain
proof in Scripture that there was not. He was, on the contrary,
described as a Syrian ready to perish, and his race was, like the
rest, tainted, to say the least, with idolatry ; nevertheless he was
called out of the east, and made the father of the faithful by God’s
own special will. What was there, let me ask you, in the Jews,
why they should be blessed with prophets, and the sacrifices, and
the rites and ordinances of true worship, while all the nations
were left to bow down before gods of wood and stone? We can
only say, God hath done it ; his will lights upon the race of Israel,
and leaves the rest in sin. Take any particular case of divine
grace mentioned in the Old Testament, as, for instance, that of
David. Do we find that David chose the throne, that David
selected and set himself apart to be the chosen messenger of
God to Israel? Was there some manifest fitness in the young-
est son of Jesse? Nay, on the contrary, men had chosen his
brethren; even Samuel said, “ Surely the Lord’s anointed is be-
fore me,” as he saw Abinadab go forth. But God seeth not as
man seeth, and he had chosen the ruddy David that he might
be king in Jeshurun. So might we multiply cases ; but your own
thoughts will spare my words. All the facts of the Old Testa-
ment go to show that God doeth as he wills in the armies of
heaven and among the inhabitants of this lower world. He pulleth
down and he raiseth up; he lifteth the beggar from the dung-
hill that he may set him among the princes of his people. God
hath chosen, God hath chosen, and not man. “It is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 301

Let us look at the matter in another light. Clearly the Lord’s
will must determine the matter, if we consider his office and po-
sition towards men. God’s office. God is a king. Shall not
the king have his own will? Men may set up a constitutional
monarchy, and they are right in so doing; but if you could find a
being who was perfection itself, an absolute form of government
would be undeniably the best. At any rate, God’s government
is absolute, and though he never violates righteousness, — for he is
holiness and truth itself, — yet he regards this jewel of his crown
as being the dearest that he has. “Iam, and there is none be-
side me.” He giveth no account of his matters. Unto all ques-
tions he gives this answer: “ Nay but, O man, who art thou that
repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor, and another unto dishonor?” The absolute position of God
as king demands that, especially in the work of salvation, his will
should be the great determining force. Let us state the case,
and you will see this. A number of criminals are shut up in
prison, all deserving to die. Their guilt is the same. If they
are all taken out to execution to-morrow morning, no one can
say a word against justice. Now, if some of these persons be
spared, to whose discretion should the sparing be left? To their
own? ‘True, it will be most gracious to send a messenger, and
bid them all come forth and receive sparing mercy, if they will
come. But suppose they all, with one consent, refuse to be saved 5
suppose that, having been invited to be saved, every one of them
refuses to accept pardon. If, in such a case, superior mercy de-
termines to override their wicked wills, and sets itself to secure
that some of them shall effectually be saved, with whom shall
the choice be left? If it were left with them, they would all of
them still choose death rather than life ; therefore it were useless
to leave it with them. Besides, to leave the attribute of mercy
+n the hand-of the criminal would be an exceedingly strange
mode of procedure. Nay, let it be the king —let it be the king
who shall say who it is that shall be spared in mercy, and who
26302 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

shall die according to the rule of justice. The position of God
as king, and the position of men as criminals, demands that sal.
vation shall depend upon the will of God; and truly we may
better leave it with his will than with our own, for he is kinder
to us than we are to ourselves; he is more full of love to man
than man is of love to himself. He is justice, he is love; jus-
tice in full-orbed splendor, love in unbounded might. Mercy and
truth have met together in him, and kissed each other; and it is
well, it is well, 1t is best of all, that the rule and management of
salvation should be left with him.

We will now introduce to you a few figures made use of in
Scripture in connection with the work of salvation, and I think
you will then see that the will must be left with God. Salva-
tion consists, in part, of an adoption. God adopts sinners, who
were heirs of wrath, even as others, into his family. Who is to
have authority in the matter of gracious adoption? The chil-
dren of wrath? Surely not; and yet all men are such. No; it
stands to nature, to reason, to common sense, that none but the
parent can have the discretion to adopt. As a father, I have a
right, if any desire to enter my family, to adopt or to refuse to
adopt the persons in question ; certainly no person can have a right
to force himself upon me, and say that I shall be considered as
his reputed parent. The right must, I say, according to reason
and common sense, lie with the parent; and in adoption it must
pe God who chooses his own children.

The church, again, is called a buclding. With whom does the
architecture of the building rest? With the building? With
the stones? Do the stones select themselves? Did that stone
just yonder in the corner choose its place? or that which is
buried there in the foundation, did it select its proper position ?
No; the architect alone disposes of his chosen materials accord-
ing to his own will; and thus, in building the church, which is the
great house of God, the great Master-Builder reserves to himself
the choice of the stones, and the places which they shall occupy.

Take a yet more apparent case. The church is called Christ's
bride. Would any man here agree to have any person forcedGOD’S STRANGE CHOICFK. 303

upon him as his bride? There is not aman among us who would
for a single moment so demean himself as to give up his right
to choose his own spouse. And shall Christ leave to hap-hazard
and to human will who his bride shall be? Nay; but my Lord
Jesus, the Husband of the church, exercises the sovereignty
which his position permits him, and selecteth his own bride.

Again: we are said to be members of Christ’s body. We are
told by David that in God’s book “all our members were writ-
ten, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was
none of them.” Thus every man’s body had its members written
in God’s book. Is Christ’s body to be an exception to this rule?
Is that great body of divine manhood, Christ Jesus, the mystical
Saviour —is that to be fashioned according to the whims and
wishes of free-will, while other bodies, vastly inferior, have their
members written in the book of God? Let us not dream thus ;
it were to talk idly, and not to know the meaning of the meta-
phors of Seripture.

It seems clear to me, according to the figures and illustrations
of Scripture, that the final choice of the men to be saved must
be left with God. Is not this, dear friends, most agreeable to
your own experience? I am sure it is to mine.. There may. be
some who hate this doctrine, —there are many; there may be
some whose very mouths foam while they hear us talk of the
sovereignty of God; but I confess it touches a secret spring in
my nature, which can compel me to weep when nothing else can.
There is a something in my consciousness which seems to say,
“ Fle must have chosen me, for I never could have chosen him.”
Determined to live in sin was I; prone to wander ; fond of in-
iquity, drinking down evil as the ox drinketh his fill of water ;
and now, saved by grace, dare I for a moment impute that salva-
tion to my own choice ? I do choose God most freely, most fully ;
but it must be because of some previous work upon my heart
changing that heart, for my unrenewed heart never could have
chosen him. Beloved, do you not feel at this very time that the
natural bent of your thoughts is away from God? If the grace
of God were taken off from you, what would you be? Are yor304 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

not just like the bow which is bent when the string keeps it so;
but cut that string, and it flies back to its old place? Would
it not be so with you? Would you not at once return tc your
former ways if the mighty grace of God were withdrawn from
you? Well, then, you clearly see that if even now that you
are regenerate your corrupt nature does not choose God, much
less could it have chosen him when there was no new nature to
keep it in check and to control it. My Master looks into your
faces, O ye his people, and he says: “ Ye have not chosen me,
but I have chosen you ;” and we each feel that he wakes the
echo of our hearts, for we reply : “ Ay, Lord, we have not chosen
thee in our natural estate, but thou hast chosen us, and unto thy
free and sovereign choice be honor for ever and ever.”

If. May we feel the present influences of the Holy Spirit
while we dwell upon the ELECTION ITSELF.

The Lord is about to choose a people who shall give honor to
the cross of Christ. They are to be redeemed by precious blood,
and they are to be in some sense a worthy reward for the great
sufferings of Jesus. Now, observe how strange is the choice he
makes. I read with astonishment, “He hath not chosen many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.” If
man had received the power of choosing, these are just the per-
sons who would have been selected: “ But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things which are
despised.” If man had governed the selection, these are the
very persons who would have been left out. The choice is very
strange — very strange; I believe even in heaven it will be the
subject of eternal wonder, and, except for the reasons given in
our text, we should have been at a loss to know why it was that
with scorn divine he passed by the palaces of haughty kings, and
looked after the base-born and the lowly to make them the sub-
jects of his choice.

Observe, that while it is strange, it has this peculiarity about it,GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 305

— it is directly contrary to human choice. Man chooses those who
would be most helpful to him : God chooses those to whom he can
be the most helpful. We select those who may give us the best
return ; God frequently selects those who most need his aid. If
I choose a friend, the tendency is to him because of a certain ser-
viceableness that there may be in him to myself: this is the self-
ishness of man ; but God chooses his friend according to the ser-
viceableness which he himself may render to the chosen one. It
is the very opposite way of choosing. We select those who are
best because they are most deserving; he selects those who are
worst because they are least deserving, that so his choice may
be more clearly seen to be an act of grace and not of merit. I
say it is clearly contrary to man’s way of choosing. Man select-
eth the most beautiful, the most lovely ; God, on the contrary,
seeing the blackness and filthiness of everything which is called
lovely, will not select that which is called so, but takes that which
even men discover to be unlovely, — makes it comely with the
comeliness which he putteth upon it. Strange choice! Is this
the manner of men, O Lord ?

You will observe that the choice is very gracious ; oh, how
gracious in your case and in mine! It is gracious even in its
exclusion. It does not say, “Not any wise men,” it only says
“ Not many ;” so that the great ones are not altogether shut out.
Grace is proclaimed to the prince, and in heaven there are those
who on earth wore coronets and prayed. How blessed is the
condescending grace of the choice! it takes the weak things, the
foolish things. One would have thought that when God said
“ Nay ” to the prince, he must have said it in order that he might
be excused from giving mercy to anybody ; for we are in the
habit of saying, “ Well, we have refused Mr. So-and-so, and he
is a much more important person than you are; therefore I can-
not give the favor to you. Why! the king asked me such a fa-
vor, and I would not do it for him; do you think I would do it
for you?” But God reasons another way: he passes by the
king on purpose that he may meet with the beggar ; he leaves
the noble that he may lay hold upon the base, and passes over
26*306 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

the philosopher that he may receive the fool. Oh, this is strange,
it is passing strange, it is marvellous 3 let us praise him for this
wondrous grace.

Oh, how encouraging is this for us this morning! Some of
us cannot boast of any pedigree ; we have no great learning; we
have no wealth; our names are all unknown to fame; but, oh!
what a mercy! He has been pleased to choose just such foolish
things as we are, such despised creatures as ourselves, such
things that are not to bring to naught the things that are.

Not to spend all the time this morning in simply pointing at
this strange choice and wondering at it, let it suffice us to observe
that every Christian who finds himself chosen will think his own
election to be the strangest choice that could have been made.

“ What was there in you that could merit esteem,
Or give the Creator delight?
’T was ‘ Even so, Father! ’ you ever must sing,
* Because it seemed good in thy sight.’ ””

III. We will now turn to ruz eLectep. The chosen ones
are described negatively and positively.

They are described negatively. “Not many wise men after
the flesh.” Observe, it does not say, “ Not many wise men ”
merely, but “not many wise men after the Jiesh ;” because God
has chosen truly wise men, since all his people are made truly
wise, but it is the “ wise after the Jlesh” that God has not chosen.
The “sophoi,” as the Greek calls them, the philosophers, the
men who pretend to wisdom or to love wisdom, the cunning, the
metaphysical, the great students, the keen observers, the rabbis,
the doctors, the infallibles, the men who look down with pro-
found scorn upon the illiterate and call them idiots, treat them
as if they were the dust beneath their feet, — these are not chosen
in any great number. Strange, is it not? And yet a good reason
is given. If they were chosen, why, then they would say : “ Ah!
how much the gospel owes to us! How our wisdom helps it ! ”
If the first twelve apostles had all been twelve doctors or sages,
everybody would have said: “ Why, of course the gospel wasGOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 307

mighty; there were the twelve picked wise men of Judea, or of
Greece, to support it.” But, instead of that, God looks round
the creeks and bays after twelve poor fishermen, who are as
ignorant as any he can find; he takes them, and they become the
apostles ; they spread the gospel, «::d the gospel has the glory, and
not the apostles. The wise are passed by in the wisdom of God.

Observe next, he says, “ Not many mighty.” The wise might
have forced their way to heaven by their wit, one would think ;
but there they are with their blind learning, fumbling for the
latch of heaven’s door, while the illiterate and simple-minded
have already entered it. Blind wisdom gropes in the dark, and,
like the wise men, it goes to Jerusalem in vain, while poor, hum-
ble shepherds go to Bethlehem and find Christ at once. Here
comes another order of great men. The mighty men, the valiant
champions, the princes, his Imperial Highness, the conquerors,

 

the Alexanders, the Napoleons, — are not these chosen? Surely
when the king becomes a Christian, he can with his sword compel
others to receive Christ: why not choose him? “No,” says
the text, “not many mighty.” And you see why; because, if
the mighty had been chosen, we should all say, “ Oh, yes, we
see why Christianity spreads so: it is the good temper of its
sword-blade, and the strength of the arm that wields it.” We
can all understand the progress of Mahometanism during its
first three centuries. Men like Ali and Khaled were ready to
smite whole nations; they leaped upon their steeds, waved their
scymetars over their’ heads, and dashed against hundreds, fearless
of the fight. And it was only when they met such men as our
Richard Cceur de Lion that Mahomtanism was put back for
awhile ; when the sword met sword, then they that took it per-
ished with it. Christ chose no warriors: one of his disciples
used a sword, but it was to very poor effect, for he only cut off
a man’s ear; and Christ touched that and healed it, and there
was an end of poor Peter’s fighting. So that the glory of the
Lord’s conquests does not depend upon the mighty ; God has
not chosen them.

Then he says, “Not many noble,” by which he means those308 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

with a long pedigree, descended, through a line of princes, from
the loins of kings, with blue blood in their veins. “ Not many
noble,” for nobility might have been thought to stamp the gospel
with its prestige. “Oh, yes! there is no wonder that the gospel
spreads when my lord this, and the duke of that bends to it.”
Ay, but you see there were few such in the early church. The
saints in the catacombs were poor, humble men and women ;
and it is a very memorable fact that out of all the inscriptions in
the catacombs of Rome, written by the early Christians, there is
scarcely one which is properly spelt; but nearly all of them are
as bad in grammar as they are in spelling, —a clear proof that they
were scratched there by poor, illiterate, ignorant men, who were
then the defenders of the faith, and the true conservators of the
grace of God.

We have thus the negative side —= not the wise, not the mighty,
not the noble. But now the positive side, — and I want your care-
ful attention to the expression used by the apostle. “ God hath
chosen the foolish men?” —no, it does not say so — “ the foolish
things ;” as if the Lord’s chosen were not by nature good enough
to be called men, but were only “ things; ” as if the world looked
down on them with such scorn that they did not say, “ Who are
these men ?” but “ Who are these things?” Once or twice in
Luke you will observe Christ called a “fellow ;” but the word
“fellow ” is put in italics, not being in the original; for the Greek

 

runs, “ As for this , we know not whence he is.” They did
not say what he was, did not even call him a “fellow,” though
the translation is very good, as giving a correct idea to the ordi-
nary reader. ‘They seem to say of Christ, “‘ As for this — well,
and so Paul

not simply foolish men

39

call him a beast if you like, a thing if you like ;
has put it here, “the foolish things ;”
whom the world should consider to be unlearned, ignorant, stu-
pid dolts, led by the nose and easily deceived into beliving this
or that, but “foolish things,” which are nothing but stupidity,
hath God chosen.

Next, God hath chosen “the weak things.” Do observe the

word “things ” with care; they were not merely weak men, butGOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 309

the world thought them-weak things. “ Ah!” said Cesar in the
hall, if he said anything at all about it, “who is King Jesus?
a poor wretch who was hanged upon a tree! Who are these
men that are setting him up? twelve poor fishermen who could
hardly muster one single talent of gold between them! Who is
this Paul who raves so lustily about Christ? a tentmaker!
Who are his followers ? a few despised women who meet him at
the water-side! Is Paul a philosopher? no, he was publicly
laughed at upon Mars’ Hill ; they counted what he said to be mere
babbling.” No doubt Cesar thought they were altogether too
inconsiderable to be worthy of his notice ; but the “ weak things ”
God hath chosen.

Observe the next description: “ The base things.’
there signifies things without pedigree, things without a father,
things which cannot trace their descent; no Sir Harry, no Right
Honorable is akin to them; their father was a nobody, and their
mother was a nothing. Such were the apostles of old; they
were the base things of this world, and yet God chose them.

As if this were not enough, it is written: “Things that are
despised,” — sneered at, persecuted, hunted about, or treated with
what is worse, with the indifference which is worse than scorn.
“ They are not worth notice, —inconsiderable fools, pass them
by and let them alone,” —and yet these had God chosen.

Once more, as if to outdo all, and sum it up in one word,
“things that are not” hath God chosen. Nothings, nonentities.
“Oh!” says the man of the world, “yes, I did just hear that
there were a parcel of fanatics of that kind” “ Oh!” says
another, “I never even heard of them. I never mix myself up
in any way with such a low-bred, vulgar set. Did they ever
have a bishop among them? a Right Rev. Father in God?”
No, nothing of the kind, sir ; they are foolish, base, mean, de-
spised ; the world, therefore, rejects them. “ Yet,” saith God,
“J choose them.” ‘They are the very people that he chooses.
Now, observe that what was true in Paul’s day is true now, for
the Bible does not change as years revolve; and in one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-four God chooses the things which are

>

The word310 ; GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

despised just as much as in the year sixty-four; and he will yet
let the world know that those who are ridiculed, styled fanatics,
thought to be mad and wicked, are yet, after all, his chosen ones
destined for God and for his truth to rally the sacramental host
of the elect, and win for God the battle of the last day. In this
we are not ashamed to glory, that God chooseth the things which
are despised; and we can take our place with the despised
people of God, hopeful to partake in the election of his sov-
ereign grace.

IV. To conclude: you have THE REASONS WHY GOD HAs
CHOSEN THESE PEOPLE. ‘There are two reasons given: the
first is the immediate reason, the second is the ultimate reason.

The first, or ¢mmediate reason, is contained in these words:
“God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the things which are mighty ; and base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.”

Observe, then, the ¢mmediate reason is, first to confound the
wise. For one wise man to confound another wise man is re-
markable ; for a wise man to confound a foolish man is very easy ;
but for a foolish man to confound a wise man, ah! this is the
finger of God. You know how it was with the first apostles. A
philosopher listened to Paul, and when he had heard it he said:
“ There is nothing in it! perfect foolishness ! pack of stuff from
beginning to end! No need for us to take the trouble to answer
it.” Years rolled on, and when the philosopher was getting very
gray, that pestilent heresy of Christianity was spreading every-
where; his own daughter was converted; even his wife used to
steal out of a night to the secret assembly. The philosopher
could not make it out. “There,” he said, “I proved to a dem-
onstration that it was all stupidity, and yet these people stick to
it, J answered all their arguments, did I not? I not only an-
swered and confuted, but I clinched my arguments in such a way
that I thought I had put an end to the folly altogether. Here JGOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 311

see it in my own household.” Sometimes the philosopher had
to stand, with tears in his eyes, and say: “I feel it in my own

heart it has beaten me, it has confounded me; I could syllogize
and rationalize, and beat poor Paul, but Paul has beaten me.
What I thought was folly has confounded my wisdom.” Within
a few centuries after the death of Christ, the Christian religion
had spread over the civilized world, while Paganism, which had
all the philosophy of the east and of the west to back it up, had
fallen into disrepute and was laughed to scorn.

Again, God has chosen the weak things to confound the mighty.
“Oh!” said Caesar, “we will soon root up this Christianity ; — off
with their heads!” The different governors hastened one after
another of the disciples to death, but the more they persecuted
them the more they multiplied. The pro-consuls had orders to
destroy Christians ; the more they hunted them the more Chris-
tians there were, until at last men pressed to the judgment-seat
and asked to be permitted to die for Christ. They invented tor-
ments ; they dragged the saints at the heels of wild horses ; they
laid them upon red-hot gridirons; thy pulled off*the skin from
their flesh piece by piece; they were sawn asunder; they were
wrapped up in skins and daubed with pitch, and set in Nero’s
gardens at night to burn ; they were left to rot in dungeons ; they
were made a spectacle to all men in the amphitheatre ; the bears
hugged them to death, the lions tore them to pieces, the wild
bulls tossed them upon their horns — and yet Christianity spread.
All the swords of the legionaries which had put to rout the armies
of all nations, and had overcome the invincible Gaul and the
savage Briton, could not withstand the feebleness of Christianity ;
for the weakness of God is mightier than men. If God had
chosen the mighty men, they would have turned round and said,
“ God is beholden to us ;” if he had chosen the wise, they would
have said, ‘Our wisdom has done it ;” but when he chooses the
foolish and weak, where art thou now, philosopher? Hath not
God laughed thee to scorn? Where are ye now, O sword and
spear? O mighty man who wieldeth them, where art thou?
God’s weakness hath routed thee. @312 GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE.

It is said that he chose the things that are not to bring to
naught the things that are. This is even more than confounding
them, to bring them to naught. “The things that are”’ What
were they in the apostle’s days? Jupiter, seated upon his lofty
throne, holds the thunderbolt in his hand; Saturn reclined as the
father of gods; Venus delighted her votaries with her lustful
pleasures; the chaste Diana sounded her horn. Here comes
Paul with “There is no God but God, and Jesus Christ whom
he hath sent; ” he represents “ the things that are not.” So con-
temptible is the heresy of Christianity, that, if a list were made
out of the religions of different countries, Christianity would have
been left out of the catalocue. But see the result! Where is
Jupiter now? where Saturn ? where Venus and Diana? Except
as classic names in the dictionaries of the learned, where are
they? Who bows before the shrine of Ceres in the day of har-
vest, or who lifts up his prayers to Neptune in the hour of storm?
Ah! they have gone; the things that are have been brought to
naught by the things that are not.

Let us refleet that what is true in Paul’s day is true to-day.
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four shall see repeated the
miracles of the olden times ; the things that are shall be brought to
naught by the things that are not. See in Wiclif’s time: the
things that are were the holy roods in every church; St. Wini-
fred, St. Thomas of Canterbury are worshipped by all the mul-
titudes of Englishmen. There comes my lord Archbishop through
the street; yonder is the Pope worshipped by thousands, and
there is the Virgin adored of all. What doI see? A solitary
monk at Lutterworth begins to preach against the begging friars ;
and in preaching against them he finds out the truth, and begins
to preach that Christ is the only ground of salvation, and that
they who trust in him are saved. Well, it was such a contemp-
tible thing, that at first they did not care to persecute him. It
is true, at last he was brought up before his grace at St. Paul’s;
but there was a strong man, one John o’ Gaunt, who came up
with him, and said a word or two in his rough way, and Wic-
lif was allowed to sit down; and though condemned, he returns>

  

GOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. 313
to his parish of Lutterworth. “The thing that was not!” it
was not worthy to be put down by blood; it would die out of
itself. Did it die out? Where are your holy roods to-day?
Where is St. Thomas of Canterbury ? Where are St. Agnes and
St. Winifred? Ask our Puseyite friends, for they alone can tell
you. ‘True consorts of the moles and of the bats, they know
where the idols have been east: they seek to restore the super-
stitions of the past, but by God’s grace their task shall be no
easy one.

The present system of English superstition, with its water re-
generation, its baptismal grace, its confirmations, and its giving
of grace through bread and wine, though it be attacked by those
who are things that are not, shall yet cease to be; and the truth
as it is in Jesus, and the pure simple faith that no man is a priest
distinctively above his fellows, but that every Christian is a priest
unto God ; and the pure truth that no water can necessarily bring
the Spirit of God with it, and that no outward forms and rites
have any virtue in them apart from the faith of those who do
receive them ; these yet, backed by the Spirit of God, shall bring
to naught the things that are. Herein we fall back upon the
strength of God. I would not have God’s champions stronger.
Brethren, were they stronger they would take glory to them-
selves. Let them be weak, and let them be few, and let them be
despised ; their fewness, their poverty, their weakness, shall make
the shout of praise unto the eternal Conqueror yet more loud,
and the music shall be, undivided ; there shall only be this refrain,
“Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for
thy truth’s sake.”

This, then, is God’s immediate object in choosing foolish
things, weak things, things that are not, to confound the mighty.
But his ultimate reason is, “ that no flesh may glory in his pres-
ence.” I want you to notice that last sentence, and I have done.

39

He does not say “that no man;” no, the text is in no humor
to please anybody ; it says, “ that no flesh.’ What a word ! what
a word, I say! Here are Solon and Socrates, the wise men.
God points at them with his finger, and calls them “ flesh.” It

27

PEER EST PEGS S|314. GOD'S STRANGE CHOICE.

»
A
QD

is sold in the shambles, is it not? Dogs tear it, worms eat it, —
nothing but flesh. There is Cesar, with his imperial purple cast
about him; and as he stands. erect, the mighty Imperator, how
the Praetorian guards unsheath their swords and shout, “ Great
is the Emperor! long may he live!” “ Flesh,” saith God’s Word
— “flesh.” Here they come tramping on, hundreds in a line, the
strong legionaries of Rome, — who can stand against the besses of
their bucklers? “ Flesh,” saith the word — “flesh.” Here are
men whose sires were of royal lineage and grandsires of imperial
rank, and they can trace back the long line of honor. ‘ Flesh,”

” dogs’ meat, worms’ meat,

says God, “ flesh — nothing but flesh ;
when God wills it. “That no flesh may glory in his presence.”
Do you see, then, God puts this stamp upon us all that we are
nothing but flesh ; and he chooses the poorest flesh, and the most
foolish flesh, and the weakest flesh, that all the other flesh that is
only flesh and only grass may see that God pours contempt on
it, and will have no flesh glory im his presence.

Now, what is your spirit this morning towards this subject?
Do you kick at it? Do you say you cannot bear it? I am
afraid you want to glory in God’s presence. Your views of
things and God’s views of things differ, and therefore you need
to have a new heart and a right spirit.

But, on the contrary, do you say this morning, “ I have nothing
to boast of ; I would not glory in thy presence, but I would lie in
the very dust and say, ‘Do with me as thou wilt” Sinner, do
you feel that you are nothing but flesh, and sinful flesh? Are ye
so broken before God that you feel, let him do as he will with
you, he will be just, and you ‘can only appeal to his sovereign
merey ? Then God and you are one; you are reconciled. I can
see that you are reconciled. When God and you are agreed that
God should reign, then God is agreed that you should live.
Sinner, touch the sceptre of his grace. Jesus crucified stands
before you now, and bids you look to him and live. That you
are bidden to look is an instance of mighty grace, and that you
are enabled to look this morning will be a wonder of divine loveGOD’S STRANGE CHOICE. Slo

for which you will have to bless him in time and eternity. And
now, may that God whose name we have sought to honor this
morning, bless these stammering words of ours for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.SERMON XVII.

WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

“ GoD, THAT CANNOT LIE.” — Titus i. 2.

TRUTH once reigned supreme upon our globe, and then earth
was Paradise. Man knew no sorrow while he was ignorant of
falsehood. The Father of Lies invaded the garden of bliss, and
with one foul lie he blighted Eden into a wilderness, and made
man a traitor to his God. Cunningly he handled the glittering
falsehood, and made it dazzle in the woman’s eyes — “ God doth
know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Proud
ambition rode upon that lie as a conqueror in his chariot, and the
city of Mansoul opened its gates to welcome the fascinating enemy.
As it was a lie which first subjugated the world to Satan’s influ-
ences, so it is by lies that he secures his throne. Among the
heathen his kingdom is quiet and secure, because the minds of
the people are deluded with a false mythology. The domains
of Mahomet and the Pope are equally the kingdom of Satan, and
his reign is undisturbed ; for human merit, priestly efficacy, and a
thousand other deceptions buttress his throne. ‘The darkness of
ignorance, the dungeons of falsehood, and the chains of supersti-
tion, are the main reliance of that monster who oppresses all the
nations with his infernal tyranny.

Since by the lie Satan now holds the world and maintains his
power, he everywhere encourages lies, and aida their propaga-
tion. Look about you, and see what a prolific family falsehood
has! The children of the untrue are as many as the frogs ofWHAT GOD CANNOT DO. B17

Egypt, and, like those plagues, they intrude into every chamber.
The slime of falsehood may be seen upon most things, both in
secular and religious life. You have lying news and garbled re-
ports in print; and as for the flying gossip of the tongue, if it
touches the characters of good men, beware of believing a word
it utters. If you would not have complicity with those who make
the lie, be not hasty to entertain it. From the high places of
the earth falsehood is not excluded. The untruth glides right
royally from the kingly tongue, but is as much a lie as if the
ragged mendicant had blurted it forth with low-lived oaths and
curses. What is diplomacy, for the most part? Is it not “‘the
art of lying?” - Was not he thought to be the best politician who
used language to conceal his thoughts? In how many a confer-
ence have the plenipotentiaries labored which could overreach,
dissimulate, and intrigue to the greatest degree? In the com-
merce of courts, who knows not that flatteries and lies are the
most abundant commodities? The art of king-craft, as practised
by the most high and mighty Prince James, whose name dis-
honors our English Bible, was only and simply the science of
lying in the neatest possible manner. In these modern times,
the difference between the promises at the hustings and the per-
formances in the House of Commons, proves that the lie is still
commonly patronized. Falsehood is everywhere. It is enter-
tained both by the lowest and the highest; it permeates all soci-
ety ; it has ruined the whole of our race, and so defiled the
entire world, that upright men exclaim, “ Woe is me, that I so-
journ in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!” In the
so-called religious world, which should be as the holy of holies,
here, too, the lie has insinuated itself. Of old there were proph-
ets who prophesied lies, and dreamers of false dreams; and
there were others who spoke the word of God with such bated
breath, and after such a fashion, that it was no longer the truth
as it came from God, but truth alloyed with human falsehood. It
is so to-day. There are those wearing the vestments of God’s
priests who do not hesitate to profess what they do not believe.
Such men are the priests of hell. To wear a bishop’s mitre, and
27*318 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

teach infidelity — how shall I stigmatize it? —it is nothing lesa
than detestable hypocrisy and robbery. And what shall I say
of men of all creeds, all subscribing to the same articles and
catechism, when all the world knows they cannot all honestly
believe the same thing, and yet differ as much from one another
as light from darkness? What shall I say but that shame covers
my face that there should be so many ministers of God who are
untrue to their convictions, and continue to do and say what they
feel to be unscriptural? In other quarters, philosophy is believed
and Christianity professed; the traditions of men are put in the
place of God’s truth. The prophets prophesy lies, and the peo-
ple love to have it so. Brethren, we have everywhere to battle
with falsehood ; and if we are to bless the world, we must confront
it with sturdy face and zealous spirit. God’s purpose is to drive
the lie out of the world, and be this your purpose and mine.
His Holy Spirit has undertaken to drive falsehood out of our
hearts; be this our determination, in his strength, that it shall be
cut up root and branch, and utterly consumed. Then let us walk
in the truth; “buy the truth, and sell it not;” hold fast the
truth, speak the truth in love, and act the truth in all our deeds ;
for so shall we be known to be the children of that God of whom
our text asserts that he is “ God, that cannot lie.” After wan-
dering over the sandy desert of deceit, how pleasant is it to
reach our text, and feel that one spot at least is verdant with
eternal truth! Blessed be thou, O God, for thou canst not lie.
We will use our text in the following manner this morning :
First, while we do not attempt to prove it, we will remind you of
a few things which may confirm your confidence that God can-
not lie, so that our opening remarks shall be upon the truth of
the text ; then, secondly, we will speak upon the breadth of the
éext, endeavoring to show that we must give no narrow interpre-
tation to the words before us, but must receive them with an
extent of meaning not usual to the expression ; and then, thirdly,
we will try to use the text for our own improvement, arguing
from it that if God cannot lie he ought to receive our loving
confidence.WHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 319
I. First, then, let us commune together awhile concerning
THE TRUTH OF THE TEXT, —not, as we have said, to prove it,
because we all believe it, but to confirm our confidence thereon.
Methinks we shall feel assured that God cannot lie when we
remember that he is not subject to those infirmities which lead us
onto falsehood. Lord Bacon has said: “'There are three parts in
truth: first, the inquiry, which is the wooing of it ; secondly,
the knowledge of it, which is the presence of it; and, thirdly, the
belief, which is the enjoyment of it.” In each of these three
points, by reason of infirmity, men fail to be perfectly true. In
the search after truth, our moral eye is not altogether clear, and
therefore we fail to see what we love not; we do not follow truth
in a straight line, but are very liable to turn aside to the right
hand or to the left, either to obey our prejudices or advance our
profit. “Truth lies in a well,” said the old philosopher. Many
go down into that well to find truth, but, looking into the water,
they see their own faces, and become so desperately enamored
of their own beauty that they forget poor truth, or dream that
she is the counterpart of themselves. Now, the great God can-
not be liable to this error, because there is no discovery of truth
with him. He needeth not to search anything out, for “all
things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do.” When, in Scripture, that term is sometimes used, —
“ Shall not God search this out?” when we hear him spoken of
as “searching the heart and trying the reins of the children of
men,”— it is not because he is not perfectly acquainted with all
things, but only to set forth the certainty and accuracy of divine
knowledge. God having no need to search, or, if he had, having
nothing in him which should lead him to make a dishonest search,
therefore he doth not lie. When we have searched out the
truth, there is the knowing of it; and here the falsehood gets a
footing in the form of a sin of omission, for we often refuse to
know all that we might know. It would be inconvenient, per-
haps, for us to be too well acquainted with certain arguments, for
then our prejudices must be given up, and therefore we close
our eyes to them for fear of knowing the truth. Do not many320 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

men leave passages of Scripture altogether unread because they
have no wish to receive the doctrines which are taught therein ?
Every time you refuse to give a hearing to God’s truth, you do
in effect lie; because you prefer not to know the truth, which is
really to prefer to hold error. Now, nothing of this kind can ever
happen with our only wise God. He knows all truth, seeing it all
at a glance, and retaining it ever in his mind. In nothing is he
ignorant, either wilfully or otherwise. He receives truth as his
own beloved, and when the world casts her out, she finds a happy
shelter beneath his shield. We are quite clear that we fre-
quently fall into the lie through a defect ¢n our believing, for we
sometimes know more than we care to believe. Truth is grasped
by the understanding, but thrust out by the affections. We know
her as Peter knew his Lord, and yet deny it after the same fash-
ion as that disciple did his Master. Moreover, through weak-
ness, we are led to doubt what we know to be God’s truth, and
even to speak unadvisedly with our lips. Now, this can never
occur with God, since God is one, and is not to be divided into
parts and passions, and his tongue can never be diverse from his
heart. God’s tongue is his heart, and God’s heart is his hand.
God is one. You and I are such that we can know in the heart,
and yet with the tongue deny ; but God is one and indivisible ;
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all; with him is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Then, again, the scriptural idea of God forbids that he should
he. Just review your thoughts about God, if you can. What
idea have you formed of him? If you have read Holy Scrip-
ture, and have gotten the slightest shadow of an idea of God, I
think you will see that it is utterly inconsistent with the thrice
Holy One, whose kingdom is over all, that he should lie. Admit
the very possibility of his speaking an untruth, and to the Chris-
tian there would be no God at all. The depraved mind of the
heathen, may imagine a monster to be a god who can live in
adultery, and in-theft, and in lying, — for such the gods of the
Hindoos are described as being, — but the enlightened mind of

the Christian can conceive no such thing. The very wordWHAT GOD CANNOT DO. ool

“God” comprehendeth everything which is good and great.
Admit the lie, and to us at once there would be nothing but the
black darkness of Atheism forever. I could neither love, wor-
ship, nor obey a lying God.

Again: we all know that God is too wise to lic. Falsehood is
the expedient of a fool. It is only a short-sighted man who lies.
For some present advantage, the poor creature, who cannot see
the end as well as the beginning, states that which is not; but no
wise man who can look far into the future ever thinks a lie to be
profitable : he knows that truth may suffer loss at first, but that
in the long run she is always successful. He endorses that
worldly-wise proverb, that “Honesty is the best policy ” after
all; and the man, I say, who has anything like foresight, or judg-
ment, or wisdom, prefers always the straight line to the curve,
and goes directly to the mark, believing that this is in the end the
best. Do you suppose that God, who must know this with an
intensity of knowledge infinitely greater than ours, will choose
the policy of the witless knave? Shall God, only wise, who
seeth the end from the beginning, act as only brainless fools will
choose to behave themselves? Oh! it cannot be, my brethren.
God, the all-wise, must also be all-true.

And the lie, again, 7s the method of the little and the mean.
You know that a great man does not lie; a good man can never
be false. Put goodness and greatness together, and a lie is al-
together incongruous to the character. Now, God is too great
to need the lie, and too good to wish to do such a thing ; both his
greatness and his goodness repel the thought.

My dear friends, what motive could God have for lying ?
When a man lies, it is that he may gain something ; but “the
cattle on a thousand hills” are God’s, and all the beasts of the
forest, and all the flocks of the meadows. He says, “If I were
hungry I would not tell thee.” Mines of inexhaustible riches
are his, and treasures of infinite power and wisdom. He cannot
gain aught by untruth, for “the earth is the Lord’s, and the
fulness thereof;” wherefore, then, should he lie? Men are

false ofttimes to win applause. See how the sycophant cringes

eee822 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

to the tyrant’s foot, and spawns his villanies! But God needs no
honor and no fame, especially from the wicked. To him it were
the greatest disgust of his righteous soul to be loved by unholy
creatures. His glory is great enough, even if there were no
creatures ; his own self-contained glory is such that if there were
no eye to see it, and no ear to hear it, he would be infinitely
glorious. He asketh nothing —no respect and no honor of man,
and therefore hath he no need to stoop to the lie to gain it.
And of whom,-again, could he be afraid? Men will sometimes,
under the impulse of fear, keep back or even contradict the
truth, but can fear ever enter into the heart of the eternal God?
He looketh down upon all nations who are in rebellion against
him, and he doth not even care to rise to put them down. “He
that sztteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them
in derision!” Are not the chariots of the Lord twenty thou-
sand, even thousands of angels? Even these are but as a drop
of a bucket, when compared with the deep and infinite sea of
his own power. Who, then, shall think that Jehovah needs to
be afraid? “ Fear” and “Jehovah” are two words which can-
not meet together. ‘Therefore, since there can be no motive
whatever which should possibly lead God to lie, we feel well
assured that the declaration of Paul is-most certainly true —
“ God, that cannot lie.”

Moreover, dear friends, we may add to all this the experience
of men with regard to God. It has been evident enough in all
ages that God cannot lie. He did not lie when Adam fell. It
seemed a strange thing that, after all the skill and labor which
had been spent in making such a world as this, so fair and beau-
tiful, God should resign it to the dominion of Satan, and drive
the man whom he had made in his own image out of his home,
his Eden, to labor in sweat and toil and suffering, until he came
to his grave. But God did it, and the fiery sword at the gate
of Eden was proof that God could not and would not lie. He
might come to Adam, and bemoan himself, erying, “ Adam, where
art thou?” as if he pitied him, and would, if it had been possible,
have spared the stroke ; but still it must be done, and Eden isWHAT. GOD CANNOT DO. $23

blasted, and Adam becomes a wanderer upon the fruitless earth.
Then, afterwards, —to quote anotable instance of God’s faithful-
ness, — when the flood swept away the race of men, and Noah
came forth the heritor of a new covenant, we have clear proof
that God cannot lie. No flood has ever destroyed the earth
since then. Partial floods there have been, and parts of prov-
inces have been inundated ; but no flood has ever come upon the
earth of such a character as that which Noah saw: hence the
rainbow, every time it is painted upon the cloud, is an assurance
tous that God cannot lie. Then he made an oath with Abra-
ham that he should have a son, and that his seed should become
possessors of all the land in which the patriarch had sojourned.
Did not that come true? They waited in Egypt two hundred
years; they smarted under the tyrant’s lash ; they lay among
the pots; and ya, after all, with a high hand and with an out-
stretched arm he brought forth his people, led them through the
wilderness, and divided Canaan by lot to them, having driven
out the inhabitants of the land before them. Since that time he
made his covenant with David; and how fast has that stood!
All the threatenings which he has uttered against the enemies
of Israel, how surely have they been fulfilled! Last of all, and
best of all, when the fulness of time was come, did not God send
forth his own Son, born of a woman, made under the law? Did
he not, according to his ancient promise, lay upon him the iniquity
of us all? Were not the incarnation and death of our Lord
Jesus the grandest proof of the truthfulness of God which could
be afforded? His own Son must leave heaven emptied of its
glory, must be given up to be despised and rejected of men,
must be nailed to the accursed wood, and be forsaken in the
hour of his bitterest grief: herein is trath indeed. I say, if this
must be according to the promise, and if this was accorcing to
the fact, then we have the clearest and the surest evidence that
God cannot by any possibility be false to his own word. Rightly
hath he earned the title which his nature claims, “ God, that
cannot lie.” May I not add, as another argument, that you have
found him true? You have been to him, dear friends, in manyWAAT GOD CANNOT DO.
times of trial; you have taken his promise and laid it before his
mercy-seat: what say you, has he ever broken his promise ?
You have been through the floods —did he leave you? You
have passed through the fires — were you burned? You have
cried to him in trouble — did he fail to deliver you? O ye
poor and needy ones, ye have been brought very low, but has he
not been your helper? ‘You have passed hard by the gates of
the grave, and hell has opened its horrid jaws to swallow you
up, but are you not to-day the living monuments of the fidelity
of God to his promise, and the veracity of every word of the
Most High God? Let these things, then, refresh your memories,
that you may the more confidently know that he is “ God, that
cannot lie.”

Tf. Let us pass on to look at THE BREADTH OF MEANING IN
THE TEXT.

When we are told in Scripture that God cannot lie, there is
usually associated with the idea the thought of cmmutadility.
As, for instance: “ He is not a man that he should lie, nor the
son of man that he should repent.” The word “lie” here in-
cludes, beyond its ordinary meaning, the thought of change; so
that when we read that God cannot lie, we understand by it, not
only that he cannot say what is untrue, but that, having said
something which is true, he never changes from it, and does not
by any possibility alter his purpose or retract his word. This is
very consolatory to the Christian, that whatever God has said
in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God
were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of his
unchangeable nature. We may truly say of the sealed book of
the decrees, “ Hath he said, and shall he not do it ? hath he pur-
posed, and shall it not come to pass?” We read in Scripture
of several instances where God apparently changed; but I think
the observation of the old Puritan explains all these. He says,
“God may will a change, but he cannot change his will.” Those
changes of operation which we sometimes read of in Scripture
did not involve any change in the divine purpose. God, forWHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 325

instance, sent to warn Hezekiah that according to the common
course of nature he must die, and yet afterwards fifteen years
were added to his life, God’s purpose having been all along that
Hezekiah should live till the end of the fifteen years; but still
his purpose equally included that he should be brought so near
to the gates of death, that in the ordinary course of nature he
must die; and then that the miracle should come in as still in
part of the purpose, that Hezekiah might be cured in a super-
iatural manner, and be made to live nearer to his God in conse-
quence. God wills a change, but he never changes his will;
and when the last great day shall come, you and I shall see how
everything happened according to that hidden roll wherein God
had written with his own wise finger every thought which man
should think, every word which he should utter, and every deed
which he should do. Just as it was in the book of decree, so
shall it transpire in the roll of human history.

' God never changes, then, as to his purpose ; and here is our
comfort. If he has determined to save us, — and we know he has,
for all who believe in himare his elect, — then we shall be saved.
Heaven shall never by any possibility be defeated by hell. Hell
and earth may combine together to destroy a soul which rests
upon Christ, but while God’s decree standeth fast and firm, that
chosen soul is safe; and since that decree never can be removed,
let us take confidence and rejoice. No promise has ever been
altered, and no threatening either. Still is his promise sure.
“J have not said unto the seed of Jacob, seek ye my face in
vain” No new decrees have been passed, repealing the past.
We can never say of God’s Book, as we can of old law-books, that
such and such an act is obsolete. There is no obsolete statute in
God’s Book. There stand promises, as fresh, as new, as vigor-
ous, and as forceful to-day, as when they first dropped from the
mouth of God. The words, then, “ God, that cannot lie,” include
the very gracious and precious doctrine that he cannot by any
possibility change.

But we must not, while talking in this manner, forget the
primary meaning, that he cannot be false in his thoughts, words,
28

PREEE STEED526 WHAT GOD CANNOT Do.

a

or actions. There is no shadow of a lie upon anything which
God thinks, or speaks, or does. He cannot lie in his prophecies.
How solemnly true have they been! Ask the wastes of Nin-
eveh; turn to the mounds of Babylon; let the traveller speak
concerning Idumea and Petra; turn even to the rock of Sidon,
and to thy land, O Immanuel. We may boldly ask the traveller,
“ Hath he said, and hath he not done it? Have his words fallen
to the ground? Has God’s curse been an idle word?” WN 0, not
in one single case. All the words of the Lord are sure. The
prophecies will be as true as they have been, and the Book of
Revelation, though we may not comprehend it to-day, will doubt-
less be fulfilled in every stroke and in every line, and we shall
marvel how it was that we did not know its meaning ; but at
present it is enough for us to know its truth — its meaning shall
only be learned as the events explain the prophecy.

As God is true in his prophecies, so is he faithful to his prom-
‘ses. Have you and I, dear friends, a confidence in these ? lite
so, let us try them this morning. Sinner, weeping and bemoan-
ing thyself, God will forgive thee thy sin if thou believest in
Jesus. If thou wilt confess that he is faithful and Just to forgive
then, he hath promised so to do, and he cannot lie. Christian,
if you have a promise to-day laid upon your heart, if you have
been pleading it, perhaps for months, and it has not been fulfilled,
I pray you gather fresh courage this morning, and again renew
thy wrestling. Go and say, “ Lord, I know thou canst not lie,
therefore fulfil thy word unto thy servant.” If the promises of
God were not kept, God would lie ; they must therefore be ful-
filled: and let us believe that they will be, and go to God, not
with a wavering spirit, which half hopes that the word may be
true, but with the full assurance that they cannot fail. As cer-
tainly as we know that day and night shall not cease, and that
summer will not fail, so surely let us be convinced that every
word of the Lord shall stand.

His threatenings are true also. Ah, sinner! thou mayst go on
in thy ways for many a day, but thy sin shall find thee cut at
the last. Seventy years God’s long-suffering may wait over Shee,WHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 827

but when thou shalt come into another world thou shalt find
every terrible word of Scripture fulfilled ; thou shalt then know
that there is a place “ where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched; ” thou shalt then experience the “ wailing and
gnashing of teeth,” except thou repentest. If thou wilt believe
in Jesus, thou shalt find the promise true ; but if thou wilt not,
equally sure shall be the threatening. This is a dreadful part
of the subject to those who are out of Christ — who have never
been partakers of the Holy Ghost. Tt will be in vain for you to
ery to him then, and ask him then to.change his mind. No;
though you should weep oceans of tears, hell’s flames cannot be
quenched, nor can your soul escape from the place to which it is
finally doomed. To-day, while mercy is preached to you, lay
hold upon it ; but remember, if not, as God cannot lie, he cannot
suffer you to escape, but you must eel the weight and terror of
his arm.

We might thus go through everything which concerns God,
from prophecy to promises and threatenings, and onwards, and
multiply observations ; but we choose to close this point by observ-
ing that every word of instruction from God is most certainly true.
It is astounding how much sensation is caused in the Christian
Church by the outbreak, every now and then, of fresh phases of
I do not think that these alarms are at all warranted.
nd of this dispensation.

infidelity.
It is what we must expect to the very e
If all carnal minds believed the Bible, I think the spiritual might
almost begin to doubt it; but as there are always some who will
attack it, I shall feel none the less confidence in it. Really, the
Book of God has stood so many attacks from such different
quarters, that to be at all alarmed about it shows a very childish
fear. When a rock has been standing all our lifetime, and has
and firmly throughout all the ages of history,

been known to st
k that the next wave will swee

none but foolish people will thin
it away. Within our own short life — say some five-and-twenty
years’ recollection — have we not remembered, I was about to
five-and-twenty shapes of infidelity ?

say, almost as many as
twenty years at least, for

You know it must change about every

FI
been328 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

no system of infidelity can live longer than that. There was the
Witty system of objection which Voltaire introduced; and how
short-lived was that! Then came the bullying, low-lived, black-
guard system of Tom Paine; and how short-lived was its race !
Then, in more modern times, unbelief took the shape of Secu-
larism: what particular shapes it takes now we scarcely know
— perhaps Colensoism is the most fashionable ; but that is dying
out, and something else will follow it. These creations of an
hour just live their little day, and they are gone. But look at
belief in Scripture, and at Seripture itself. The Bible is better
understood, more prized, and I believe, on the whole, more prac-
tised, than ever it was since the day when its Author sent it
abroad into the world. Its course is still onward; and after all
which has been done against it, no visible effect has been pro-
duced upon the granite-wall of scriptural truth by all the pick-
axes and boring-rods which have been broken upon it. Walking
through our museums now-a-days, we smile at those who think
that Scripture is not true. Every block of stone from Nineveh,
every relic which has been brought from the Holy Land, speaks
with a tongue which must be heard even by the deaf adder of
Secularism, and which says, “Yes, the Bible is true, and the
Word of God is no fiction.” Beloved, we may rest assured that
we have not a word in the Book of God which is untrue. ‘There
may be an interpolation or two of man’s which ought to be revised
and taken away; but the Book as it comes from God is truth,
and nothing but truth; not only containing God’s Word, but
being God’s Word ; being not like a lump of gold inside a mass
of quartz, but all gold, and nothing but gold ; and being inspired
to the highest degree, I will not say verbally inspired, but more
than that, having a fulness more than that which the letter can
convey ; having in it a profundity of meaning such as words never
had when used by any other being, — God having the power to
speak a multitude of truths at once. And when he means to
teach us one thing according to our capability of receiving it, he
often teaches us twenty other things, which for the time we do
not comprehend, but which by-and-by, as our senses are exer-WHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 329
tised, reveal themselves by the Holy Spirit. very time I open
my Bible I will read it as the Word of “ God, that cannot lie; ”
and when | get a promise or a threatening, I will either rejoice
or tremble, because I know that these stand fast.

Dear friends, this leads us, in closing this point, to say that
when we read that passage — “ God, that cannot lie” — we un-
derstand that his very nature cannot le, for he hates lies ;
wherever there is a lie God is its enemy. It was to overcome
the lie of sin that God sent his Son to bleed, and every day the
thoughts of God are centred upon the extermination of evil and
the extension of his own truth. Nothing can set forth in words
to us the hatred and detestation which God has in his heart of
anything which is untrue. Oh that we knew and felt this, and
would glow with the same anger, seeking to exterminate the
false, slaying it in our own hearts, and giving it nothing to feed
upon in our temper, our conversation, or our deeds!

III. But I shall now come to make a practical use of the
text, in the third place, by observing HOW WE OUGHT TO ACT
TOWARDS GOD IF IT BE TRUE THAT HE Is A “ GOD THAT CAN-
NOT LIE.”

Brethren, if it be so that God cannot lie, then 7¢ must be the
natural duty of all his creatures to believe him. I cannot resist
that conclusion. It seems to me to be as clear as noonday, that
it is every man’s duty to believe truth, and that if God must
speak and act truth, and truth only, it is the duty of all intelli-
gent creatures to believe him. Here is “ duty- aith,” again,
which some are railing at ; but how they can get away from it, and
yet believe that God cannot lie, I cannot understand. If it be
not my duty to believe in God, then it is no sin for me to call
God a liar. Will any one subscribe to that — that God is a liar?
I think not; and if to think God to be a lar would be a most
atrocious piece of blasphemy, then it can only be so on the ground
that it is the natural and incumbent duty of every creature under-
standing the truthfulness of God to believe in God. If God has
set forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the propitiation for sin, and
28*330 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

has told me to trust Christ, it is my duty to trust Christ, because
God cannot lie; and though my sinful heart will never believe
in Christ as a matter of duty, but only through the work of the
Holy Spirit, yet faith does not cease to be a duty; and whenever
I am unbelieving, and have doubts concerning God, however
moral my outward life may be, I am living in daily sin; I am
perpetrating a sin against the first principles of morality. If I
doubt God, as far as I am able I rob him of his honor, and stab
him in the vital point of his glory; I am, in fact, living an open
traitor and a sworn rebel against God, upon whom I heap the
daily insult of daring to doubt him. O my hearers! there are
some of you who do not believe in Christ; I wish you would
ook at your character and position in this light. You are not trust-
ing in Christ for your salvation. Remember, “ He that believeth
not God hath made him a liar.” Those are John’s own inspired
words, and you are, every day that you are not a believer in
Christ, virtually writing upon your door-post, and saying with your
mouth, “ God is a liar; Christ is not able to save me ; I will not
trust him ; I do not believe God’s promise ; I do not think he is
sincere in his invitation to me to come to Christ; I do not be-
lieve what God says.” Remember that you are living in such a
state as this; and may God the Holy Ghost impress you with a
sense of the sin of that state ; and, feeling this your sin and mis-
ery, I pray God to lead you to cry, “ Lord, I believe ; help thou
my unbelief’ This, then, is our first practical conclusion from
the fact. that God cannot lie.

Other thoughts suggest themselves. Lf we were absolutely
sure that there lived on earth a person who could not lie, how
would you treat him? You know there cannot be such a man.
There may be a man who will not lie, but ther
of whom it may be said that he cannot lie ; for, alas! we have
all the power of evil in us, and we can lie, and to a certain de-
gree it is quite true that “all men are liars.”

e cannot be a man

But if you could
be certain that there was a man out of whose heart the black

drop had been wrung, and that he could not lie, how would you

acttowardshim? Well, I think you would culty

ate his acquaint-WHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 331

ance. If you be true yourselves, you would desire his friend-
ship. You would say, “ He is the friend for me; I have trusted
in such and such a man, and he has played the Judas ; I asked
counsel of another, and he was en Ahithophel ; but if this man
cannot lie, he shall be my bose: companion, if he will accept
me; and he shall be my counsellor, if he will but have the good-
ness to directme.” I should expect to see a lévee of all the good
in the world waiting at the man’s door. You know how the
world, with all its sinfulness, does reverence the man who is true.
We had an instance in our streets the other day, of the good
man and the true, who received homage of all, and yet that man
could lie; but inasmuch as we never have seen that he did, but
his life has been straightforward, therefore we have paid him
honor, and deservedly so. Well, now, if such be the case, should
not all Christians seek more and more the friendship of God?
“ O Lord, be thou my familiar friend, my counsellor, my guide ;
if thou canst not lie I will lay bare my heart to thee; I will tell
thee all my secrets; I will trust thee with all the desires of my
heart: I know thou canst never betray me, or be unfaith-
ful; let there be a union established betwixt my soul and thine,
and let it be broken never.” Let communion with God be the
desires of your hearts on the ground that he cannot lie.

If we knew a man who could not lie, we should believe him,
methinks, without an oath. I cannot suppose that when he came
into the court of justice they would pass him the Bible ; no, his
word would be better than the oath of ordinary men, if he could
not. lie. You would not want any sign or evidence to prove
what he said; you would take his word at once. So should it
be with God. Ah, dear freinds! God has given us more than his
word ; he has given us his oath; and yet, strange is it that we,
who profess to be his children, are vile enough to distrust our own
Father ; and sometimes, if he does not give us signs and evl-
dences, we begin to distrust him ; so that, after all, I am afraid we
rather trust the signs than trust God, and put more confidence in
frames and evidences than we do in the naked promise ; which is
an atrocious sin indeed. Many believers cannot be comfortable

LEEERTEBOEE ES832 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.
without signs and evidences. When they feel in a good frame
of mind — ah! then God’s promise is true. When they can pray
heartily, when they can feel the love of God shed abroad in
their hearts, then they say, “ How God has kept his promise!”
Ah! but, my brother, that is a seeing-faith: “ Blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Faith is to believe
in God when my heart is as hard as the nether millstone, when
my frames are bad, when I cannot pray, when I cannot sing,
when I can do nothing good. To say, ‘“ He has promised and
will perform; he has said that whosoever believeth in Christ is
not condemned; I do believe in Christ, and therefore I am not
condemned,” — this is genuine faith.

Again: if we knew a man who could not lie, we should believe
him in the teeth of fifty witnesses the other way. Why, we
should say, “They may say what they will, but they can lie.”
You might have good evidence that they were honest men usu-
ally, but you would say, “They can lie; they have the power
of lying; but here is a man who stands alone, and cannot lie;
then his word must be true.” This shows us, beloved, that we
ought to believe God in the teeth of every contradiction. Even
if outward providence should come to you, and say that God has
forsaken you, that is only one; and even if another, and another,
and another should come, and fifty trials should all say that God
has forsaken you, yet, as God says, “I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee,” which will you take

 

the one promise of God
who cannot lie, or the fifty outward providences which you can-
not interpret? I know what the devil has been whispering in
your ear:
“The Lord hath forsaken thee quite,
Thy God will be gracious no more.”’

But then, recollect who hath said, “ Fear thou not; for I am with
thee: be not dismayed ; for I am thy God.” Which will you
believe — the devil’s insinuation, or God’s own testimony? My
dear sister, you have been praying for a certain thing for years ;
you pray, you"pray, and you pray again, and now discouragement

arises ; unbelief says, “ God will not hear that prayer ; that prayerWHAT GOD CANNOT DO. 333

of yours does not come up before the throne of God, and there
will be no answer.” But the Lord has said, “ Ask, and it shall be
given you ; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you.” Which will you believe — your unbelief, the long
months of weariness, and the anxieties which prompted you to
discouragement, or will you believe in the naked promise?
Why, if God cannot lie, let us give him what we would give to a
man if he were of the same character — our full confidence,
even in the teeth of contradiction; for he is “ God, that can-
not lie.”
If a man were introduced to us, and we were certain that he
could not lie, we should believe everything he said, however 1n-
credible it might appear to us at first sight to be. I shall have
an appeal to every soul here present. It does seem very incred-
ible at first sight that God should take a sinner, full of sin, and
forgive all his iniquities in one moment, simply and only upon
the ground of the sinner believing in Christ. I recollect the
time when it seemed to me utterly impossible that I could ever
have my sins forgiven. I had a clear sense of the value of par-
don, and this thought would be always ringing in my ears:
“ It is too good to be true that you should be pardoned ; that you,
an enemy, should be made into a child; that you, who have gone
on sinning against light and against knowledge, should yet re-
joice in union to Christ; the thing is too good to be true.” But,
beloved friends, supposing it should seem too good to be true,
yet, since you have it upon the testimony of one who “ cannot
lie,” I pray you believe it. “ But, sir, —” No, none of your
“buts ;” he cannot lie. “Ah / but, —” Away with your “ahs”
or your “ buts,” for Jehovah cannot lie. He has said if) $2 6
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” To believe is to
trust Christ. If, therefore, you are trusting Christ, you must be
saved; and whatever you may be, or whatever you may have
done, if you wiil now trust Jesus Christ, you have God's Word
for it — and he cannot lhe — that you shall be saved. Come, now,
will you kick against the promise because of its greatness ?
Do not so, but let your doubts and fears be hushed to sleep ; and334 WHAT GOD CANNOT DO.

now, with the promise of God as your pillow, and God’s faith
fulness as your support, lie down in peace, and behold in faith’s
open vision the ladder, the top whereof leads to heaven. Trust
the promise of God in Christ, and depend upon it that he will
be as good to you, even to you, as his own Word, and in heaven
you shall have to sing of the “ God that cannot lie.”

I would that these weak words of mine —for I am very con-
scious of their feebleness this morning — may nevertheless have
comfort in them for any who have been doubting and fearing,
that they may trust my Lord; and sure I am that if they begin
a life of faith, they will begin a life of happiness and of security.
“The just shall live by faith,” and well may they do so when
they have to trust in a “ God that cannot lie.”SERMON XVIII.

 

LABOR IN VAIN.

& JONAH SAID UNTO THEM, TAKE ME UP, AND CAST ME FORTH INTO THE SEA; 80
SHALL THE SEA BE CALM UNTO YOU: FOR I KNOW THAT FOR MY SAKE THIS
GREAT TEMPEST IS UPON YOU. NEVERTHELESS THE MEN ROWED HARD TO
BRING IT TO THE LAND; BUT THEY COULD NOT, FOR THE SEA WROUGHT, AND

WAS TEMPESTUOUS AGAINST THEM.” — Jonah i. 12, 18.

Turse mariners manifested most commendable humanity.
They were not willing, even though it were to preserve their
own lives, to cast overboard an innocent man; therefore they
first used their best endeavors; and when these failed, they made
a solemn appeal to God, entreating him not to lay upon them
innocent blood: and then, since necessity hath no law, Jonah, as
a last resource, was given up to the boisterous element, but not
till every effort had been made to save him. We should be
very careful of human life, doing nothing which even indirectly
may destroy or injure it. And if we should be jealous over life,
how much more anxious should we be concerning men’s souls !
and how watchful lest we should do anything by which the least
of the human family may have his eternal interests endangered
by our example or teaching! God give us, like these mariners,
to row hard, that if possible we may bring the ship to land; la-
boring that none around us may be left to perish. I shall not,
however, dwell upon that aspect of the text. Our Saviour
selected Jonah as one of his peculiar types: “There shall no
sign be given,” said he, “ to the men of this generation but the
sign of the prophet Jonas.” We believe, therefore, that we areoe :
Sarak

  

336 LABOR IN VAIN.

not erring if we translate the details of the history of Jonas into
spiritual illustrations of man’s experience and action with regard
to Christ and his gospel.

We have before us a picture of what most men do before they
will resort to God’s remedy ; that remedy is here most fairly im-
aged in the deliverance of the whole ship’s company by the
sacrifice of one on their behalf.

I. Our first observation is, that SINNERS, WHEN THEY ARE
TOSSED UPON THE SEA OF CONVICTION, MAKE DESPERATE EF-
FORTS TO SAVE THEMSELVES.

The men rowed hard to bring the ship to land. The Hebrew
is they “ digged” hard, sending the oars deep into the water with
much exertion and small success. The tempest so tossed the
sea about that they could not row in good and orderly manner ;
but they desperately tugged at the oars, which the towering
waves rendered useless by too deep a digging. Straining every
sinew, they labored by violence to get the ship in safety to the
haven. Brethren, no word in any language can express the
violence of earnest action with which awakened sinners strive
and struggle to obtain eternal life. Truly, if the kingdom of
God were in the power of him that willeth and him that runneth,
they would possess it at once. Since they struggle, however, in
an unlawful manner, the crown of victory will never be awarded
them ; they may kindle the fire, and rejoice in the sparks thereof,
but thus saith the Lord, “This shall ye have of mine hand ; ye
shall ie down in sorrow.”

Let us notice some forms of the fleshy energy of men strain-
ing after self-salvation. The most usual is, moral reformation.
We have seen the drunkard, when conscience has been awakened,
renounce his cups altogether ; he has gone further than temper-
ance, and has espoused total abstinence ; and proceeding further
still, it often happens that, in the excess of zeal, he vomits forth
furious words against all who go not the same length of absti-
nence as himself. Yonder man was given up to blasphemy, but
now an ill word never comes from his tongue; and he is there-LABOR IN VAIN. 337

fore content with himself because he no longer curses God.

Another has followed an ill trade, or has been in the habit of

neglecting the Sabbath-day ; conscience has mercifully led him

to give up his ill connections and attend a place of worship. Is

vot this well? It is indeed well; but it is not enough. It is

marvellous how far men will push their reforms, and yet how
little solid peace such purgings can secure. For what is the
sinner after his reformation but the blackamoor washed clean, a
blackamoor still? J would have the Ethiopian clean, by all man-
ner of means; but I would not let him fancy that the soap and
the nitre will make him white. I would have the leopard tamed
and caged, but this will not remove his spots. Moral reforms
are excellent in themselves, but they are dangerous if we rest in
them. Let even a corpse be washed, but let no man dream that
the most careful washing will restore it to life. % Ye must be
born again,” rings out the death-knell of all salvation by human
effort. Unless reforms are founded in regeneration, they are
baseless things, which fail in the end for want of foundation ;
they are deceptive things, affording a transient hope, which soon,
alas! must melt away. Ah, my hearer! thou mayst go on im-
proving and reforming, but all thy present and future amend-
ments can never wipe out the old score of sin. There stands the
black catalogue of thy sins, engraved as in eternal brass ; the
gloomy record remains unaltered and unalterable by any deeds
of thine. Something more potent than thy tears and change of
life must take away the sins of thy departed years. Beware,
then, of thinking that you are getting the ship to land, row as
hard as you may with these oars of human resolution.

Others add to their reformation 4 superstitious regard to the
outward form of religion. According to the sect with which they
unite, they become excessively religious. ‘They reverence every

nail of the church door, and every panel of the pulpit ; there is
hich is not sacred to them, nor even a
y “ Amen,” every vest-
ld of sanctity about it.
+s of worship, but the

not a brick in the aisle w

pantile on the roof. Every rubric, ever

ment and candlestick, has to them a wor

They are not content with the ordinary da}
29838 LABOR IN VAIN.

: ° S e is (pre ° :
church bell rings every morning 5 and well it may, for if men
are to earn salvation in God’s house, ee had need be there all
day and all ni ight too. Even ina Protestant Church, men row

very hard with multitudinous sttciwaneee 4 superstitious per-

formances; but when you get into the Romish Church, the labor

in vain comes to a climax. What with vows of poverty, celibacy,

silence, passive obedience, and a thousand other tortures, if the

Moloch whom they worship be not satisfied, he ought to be. We

c=
}
A

heard but the other 6 of a gentleman giving up all his goodly
heritage, selling his broad acres, and pouring all ‘the purchase-
money into the coffers of the monks and priests, in order that at
last, by rowing hard in this way, he night get the ship to land.
It is remarked of the Hindoos, that they give vastly more to
their idols than we bestow upon the cause of God, and I suppose
it is true: but then they also are rowing hard to get the ship to
land. All they do is for themselves. Self is always a mighty
power in the world. Do but teach men that they can ga uin their
own salvation by their own doings and mortifications had offer-
ings, and I yous expect to see the treasury filled; I would ex-
pect to hear the whip constantly going upon the shoulders; but

1

I should despair of seeing anything like holiness surviving in the

Sis

land. Superstition is hard rowing; the ship will not come to the

is
land thereby. Men invent ceremony after ceremony ; there is
this pomp and that show, this gaudy ornament and that proces-
sion; but the whole matter ends in outward display: no secret

1

soul-blessing results flow therefrom. Priests and their votaries

may go on piling up human inventions ad infinitum, but they
will forever fail to ease the conscience, or give rest to a disturbed
soul. Man’s awful necessities crave something more than the
husks of superstition.

You will find another form of the same thing among ourselves.
Many persons row hard to get the ship to land by a notional be-
lef in orthodox doctrine. This superstition is harder to deal
with, but quite as dangerous as the belief in good works. It
is quite as legal an idea for me to think to be Acepind by be-
lieving good doctrine, as to expect to be pardoned for doing goodLABOR IN VAIN. 339

works. Yet we have scores of people who, if they can get hold
of the Calvinistic creed at the right end; if they become masters
of it, and know how to argue against Arminianism ; if they be-
come not only sound Calvinists, but a little sounder still, having
not only the sixteen ounces to the pound, but two or three ounces
over and above, so as to make them ultra-Calvinistic, — why then
they fancy that all must be well. “ T never can hear a preacher,”
this man will say, “ who is not sound. I can tell at once when
there is a grain of free will in the sermon.” This is all very
well; but he who boasts thus may be no better than the devil:
nay, he may not be so good ; for the devil believes and trembles,
but these men believe and are too much hardened in their own
conceit to think of trembling. Away with the idea that believ-
ing sound doctrine and chaining ourselves to a cast-iron creed is
vital godliness and eternal life! Orthodox sinners will find that
hell is hot, and that their knowledge of predestination will not
yield a cooling drop to their parched tongues. Condemning
other people, cutting off the saints of God right and left, is but
poor virtue, and to have these blessed doctrines in the head
while neglecting them in the heart is anything but a gracious
sign. If ye can “a hair divide betwixt the west and north-west
side,” do not therefore fancy that your fine gifts and profound
orthodoxy will ensure you an entrance into the kingdom of
heaven. Ah! you may row with those oars, but you will not
get the ship to land; ye must be saved by sovereign grace,
through the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, or you
will not be saved at all. As it is not by domg that we are
saved, neither is it by subscribing creeds; there is something
more than this needed ere the ship reach the port.

Perhaps, in this congregation, we have other subtle methods
of endeavoring to do the same thing, The pastor has noticed
that many are resting upon their own tncessant prayers. Ah,
my poor hearer ! thou knowest thy need of something, thou canst
hardly tell what; thou hast heard the subject of salvation ex-
plained to thee a hundred times, and now, when it comes to the
pinch, thou dost not understand it after all. I thank God that3840 LABOR IN VAIN.

thou hast learned how to pray ; that thy sighs and cries and
groans come up before him; but I sorrow because thou trustest
in thy prayers, and resteth in them. Remember that thou wilt no
more be saved for the sake of thy prayers than for the sake of
thy good works. If thy knees become hard as the knees of St.
James are said to have been, — hard, like the camel’s, through long
kneeling, — and if, with the Psalmist, thou couldst say, “ My throat
is dried, mine eyes fail,” — yet all this, if thou lookest to it, and
dost not look to Christ, will never avail thee. I knew what it
was for months to ery out to God, and to find the heavens above
me as brass, because I had not understood clearly the soul-
quickening words, ‘‘ Believe and live ;” but dreamed that by
praying I could-get myself into a suitable state to receive mercy,
oer perhaps move the heart of God towards me; whereas that
heart needed no moving towards me: it was full of love from be-
fore the foundation of the world. Pray, my dear brethren; let
me never discourage you in that. But do let me beg you not to
sit still, or recline upon your prayers ; for if you get no further
than your prayers, you will never get to heaven. ‘There is more
wanted than crying to God; more wanted than earnest desires,
however passionately they may be breathed. There must be
faith in Jesus, or else you will row hard with your prayers, and
you will never bring the ship to land.

Then there are others who are toiling by —I scarcely know
how to describe it—a sort of mental torture. Oh! the many
who say, “If I could feel as I ought to feel! O, sir, my heart is
as hard as a nether millstone ; and yet I do not feel that it is hard
—Jwish I did. I would give my eyes if I could repent. I
would give my right arm if I could but weep for sin. I would be
satisfied to be a beggar, or to lie rotting in a dungeon, if I could
but feel that I was fit to come to the Saviour; but, alas! I feel
nothing. If I did but feel my unfitness, — did but know my own
undesert, —I should have hope; but I am made of such hell-
hardened steel that neither terrors or mercies can move me. Oh,
that I could repent! Oh, that this rock could give forth streams
like that rock which Moses smote in the wilderness of old! Oh,

 

 

Pr ErLABOR IN VAIN. 341

that I could but bring my heart to melt into something like desires
after God and Christ! Oh, I am everything but what I should
be!” Now, my dear hearer, you will row very hard in this way
before you will ever come to land; for self-righteousness lies at
the bottom of all this. You want to save your heart from hard-
ness, and then come to Jesus 5 which is as much as to say you
wish to save yourself, and then come to him to put the finishing-
stroke upon you. You have a secret attachment. to your own
goodness, or you would not be so eager to compass a fitness ; other-
wise you would at once do as you are bidden and rest alone on
Jesus. Your business is not with self, but with Jesus ; with Jesus,
just as you are. However hard your heart may be, — however
destitute of feeling you may have become, — this, though it should
be subject for lamentation, should never keep you from resting
in him who is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto
God by him. I tell you, your trying to get your heart into a
right state, your trying to repent, your trying to be humble, is
all labor in vain. It is all going the wrong way to work. Your
business is with Christ; he can soften, cleanse, and sanctify ; but
you can do none of these, try as you will. Come as ye are to
my Lord Jesus, hard heart and all, and the sea shall soon be
calm to you; but while you row with your own oars, the sea
will only work and be the more tempestuous.
Various are the shapes which this carnal energy assumes. I
have met with many who are in this kind of case. They are

constantly starting objections to their own salvation, and trying

to answer them. They have comfort for a moment, and they
say, “ Yes, this is very sweet, but —;” and then they will
spend a week or two in trying to split up that but. When they
are rid of this but, a mercy will come to them from another
quarter, and they are sure to meet it with, “ Ah! blessed be
God for that, but —” They are always pulling away at
eeping up to the side of

these buts; these big waves come Sw
oars into them. Friend,

their vessel, and they try to dig their
ed until you, an unpardoned sinner, have

if you are never sav
ved ; because there

answered all objections, you will never be sa
aoe

TETELETTENTERRELEREL EEE
PEFEELPEELETEEEREEEL ED

EE] |
PEeel342 LABOR IN VAIN.

are a thousand objections to the salvation of any man, which can
only be met by one argument, and that is the blood of Jesus.
If thou wilt go here and there seeking answers to the devil’s
suggestions of unbelief, thou mayst travel the whole round, and
end thy fruitless task in despair. But if thou wilt come to Jesus,
— if thou wilt see him like another Jonah thrown out of the ship
for thy sake, — if thou wilt but see him lost that thou mayst be
saved, — then a peace which passeth all understanding shall keep
thy heart and mind by Christ Jesus.

IT. We will now take the second point. Like these mariners,
THE FLESHY EFFORTS OF AWAKENED SINNERS MUST INEVI-
TABLY FAIL. The text says, “The men rowed hard to bring it to
the land, but they could not.” With all man’s rowing after mercy
and salvation, he can never find it by his own efforts.

For this good reason, first of all, that ¢t 7s contrary to God’s
law for a sinner to get comfort by anything he can do for and by
himself. Were is the law: “ By the works of the law there
shall no flesh living be justified.” That rule, then, fixed and
fast as the laws of nature, shuts out forever all hope of the attain-
ment of joy and peace by anything that we can do, or be, or feel ;
for all these the law already claims of us. How mad, then, will
it be on our part if we run counter to a divine law! Success is
impossible in so perverse a course. I do well, therefore, if I
discourage all the efforts of awakened consciences to find peace
anywhere except in the work of Christ. Let a man labor never
so earnestly, yet if he goes against the laws of nature, you know
his labor is lost. Here is an oven to be warmed, for hungry
persons need bread. See the workers, yonder, how they toil,
bringing snow with all their might to heat the oven. “ Well,”
you say, “do not discourage them; do not discourage their ear-
nest activity! It is a pity, when you see people really determined
to do anything, to discourage their efforts!” Ah! it isa pity
indeed, except when these efforts are foolish. If I see them
bringing snow to heat an oven, I know they will never do it,
work as hard as they may; and when sinners bring their ownLABOR IN VAIN. 343

works to yield them spiritual comfort, I know that they are
spending their labor for that which profiteth not, and I must and
will discourage them.

Some years ago certain persons engaged in a speculation to
sink a coal-mine in a part of England where coal was never
found. Prospectuses were issued, directors obtained, and share-
holders duped, and the workmen began to sink their shaft. Now,
it was absolutely certain — any geologist could have told them
so —that they would not find coal, let them dig to doomsday.
Suppose you and I had gone there and seen them digging, and
had laughed at them, or told them it was all of no avail, wiseacres
might have replied, “ You ought not to discourage coal-mining ;
you ought not to discourage men who are working so very hard.”
J would say, “I would not discourage coal-mining in any place
where there is coal to be had; but for these poor souls to throw
away their sweat and their money for that which is not coal, I
will discourage them in that insane enterprise, and think I do
them good service.” When we see men struggling aiter eternal a
life through their own efforts, we know eternal life is not to be
had there. We are glad that they are awakened to anything
like effort, for anything is better than spiritual sloth: but we are
grieved to see them laboring in the very fire, toiling where suc-
cess can never crown their endeavors. There is no salvation by
the works of the law; why, then, look for it? Hf you dash your
head against the law of nature, the law of nature will not change
for you; and if you labor in opposition to the irreversible law of
God, you will pay the penalty of it in your utter ailure. ‘The
ancients fabled that it was one of the tortures of hell to which
the daughters of Danaus were ondemned, that they should fill
a tub without a bottom with buckets full of holes. Behold the
picture of the self-righteous man’s undertaking. He may labor,
he may toil; but he is filling a bottomless tub with leaky buckets ;
and work as he may, though he drop down dead in the attempt,
success is impossible. Ob that he knew it to Te so, and would
trust in the Lord Jesus !

: es ree
Besides this, the man cannot succeed in obtaining salvation by

T1ttht344 LABOR IN VAIN.

his own efforts, because tn what he ¢s doing he ts insulting God 3
he is casting dirt in the face of Christ; he is denying the whole
testimony of the Holy Ghost. Ah, my hearer! if thou couldst
save thyself, why was it necessary that Christ should die for
thee? If thy prayers could avail, why did he sweat great drops
of blood? Why, man, if there were any merit in thy mortifica-
tion, or thy reformation, what need that the Prince of life and
glory should veil himself in ignominy and suffer a death of shame?
Lhou dost in fact say, by thy fleshly attempts, I want no Saviour ;
I can save myself. ‘Thou dost in fact scoff at the great atone-
ment which God has made in the person of Christ. This insult
wilt ruin thy soul, except thou turn from it. Repent of it, I pray
thee ; humble thyself, and receive Jesus’ finished work. If,
scorning the Jordan, Naaman had gone to Abana and Pharpar,
he might have washed not only seven times, but seventy times
seven; he might have earnestly persevered in the constant im-
mersion, but he must have remained a leper to his dying day. If
you scorn the atonement, and neglect God’s great command to be-
lieve and live, — if you go about to try, and feel, or be, or do, —
you will use these Abanas and Pharpars to your own damnation,
but to your own salvation never. I pray you, do not insult God by
looking for balm in Gilead, or for a physician there; for there is
no balm in Gilead; there never was any: there is no physician
there, or else the daughter of my people would long ago have
been healed; men would long ago have saved themselves. You
must look higher than the Gilead of human energy ; you must
look higher than earth’s physicians ; you must look to the hills
whence cometh our help, the great mountains of a Saviour’s
work and merit.

There are many other reasons why it is impossible that a man
can ever get comfort in the way of works and feelings. The
principal I will mention is, because that ¢s the way of the curse.
He who is under the law is under the curse. So long as I stick
to the law, do what I may, I am under the curse of the law, and
consequently under the curse ; and how can I expect in the way

of the curse to find the eternal blessing? Oh, folly ! to chooseLABOR IN VAIN. 845

the way of the curse as the way of blessing. But the best proof
of it allis experience. Ask either saint or sinner, and you shall
find that peace was never obtained in the way of the flesh.
Turn to the Christian, and he’will tell you, “ Therefore being
justified By FAITH, we have peace with God.” He will tell you
that when he turns away from faith, and looks to himself, at once
his darkness begins. He will assure you that he never walks in
perfect light and true comfort except when he keeps his eye fast
fixed upon the great sacrifice of Calvary. I know, brethren,
whenever I am dull and drooping as to my eternal interests, it is
always because I have thought more of my graces than of Christ’s
grace, or more of the Spirit's work in me than of the finished
work of Christ on my behalf. There is no living happily, but
by depending wholly upon Christ. A sinner, resting upon his
Saviour as his only hope, is blest. Now, if this be the experi-
ence of all saints, and if no sinner living will dare to tell you
that he can get his conscience quiet by his own works, why do
any of you try it? Heaven bears witness that salvation by faith
‘5 certain: hell bears witness that works do but ruin us. Oh !
hear the double testimony, and lay hold upon eternal life through
the person of Christ Jesus. O my dear friend, if you are really
panting for salvation, go not round and round these dreary per-
formances of your own doings; it must all end in misery, disap-
pointment, and despair. “They rowed hard to bring it to land,
but they could not.” All human work which does not begin and
end in the Lord Jesus must be a non-success. All your working
has been a non-success with you up to the present, and so it will
be to the end of the chapter. Give it up, and God help you to
try his method, for it is sure and efficacious.

Ill. Now, with very great brevity, I will bring you to the
third point of the sermon, which is, that’ THE SOUL’S SORROW
WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE SO LONG AS IT RELIES UPON ITS
OWN EFFORTS.

What is the effect of all that the creature doth before it he-
lieves in Christ? It may be overruled for good, but much of

‘EEEELE] ]LABOR IN VAIN.

its effect is mischievous. The good effect which flows from it
lies in this: the more a man strives to save himself, the more
* convinced will he become of his own invpotence and powerless-
ness. I thought that I could turn to God whenever I pleased
till I tried to turn to him; I thought repentance a very easy
thing till I began to repent; I dreamed that faith in Christ must
be a mere child’s play till I had to groan, “ Lord, help my un-
belief!” As for the law, when we attempt to keep it, we groan
under a heavy burden, which we have no strength to bear.

“How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress!
I toiled the precept to obey,
But toiled without success.”

Oh! it is hard serving the law. He is a cruel taskmaster ;
the whip is always going, and the flesh is always bleeding. It
is hard service. Weary and faint, we fall down under it, and
feel it to be a load intolerable to be borne. Well is Haggi cho-
sen as the type of the law, for indeed it gendereth unto bondage ;
and well was blazing Sinai chosen as its representative, for even
Moses said, when standing upon that mountain, “I do exceed-
ingly fear and quake.” To be clean divorced from all legal hope
is a blessed preparation for gospel marriage with Christ. It was
well that rowing hard made the mariners feel their inability to
cope with the tempest ; and it is best of all when creature efforts
produce a clear discovery of creature weakness.

Another good result will sometimes follow. The man passion-
ately striving to save himself by keeping the law, finds out the
spirituality of that law, a spirituality which he never saw before.
He has given up outward acts of sin, but on a sudden he is
startled to find that though he has given them all up in open
fact, yet that he is condemned for allowing the thought of them
in his heart. Even a look may be fornication, though no act of
sin shall follow it. He remembers that even the wish of his
heart may be theft; and that covetousness is not only straining
after another man’s goods, but envying him the enjoyment of .LABOR IN VAIN. 347

them. Now, he finds the work is impossible indeed ; for he might
sooner hold the winds in his fist than control his paccteue or
with his breath blow the sea into a calm, sooner than he could
restrain the impetuous propensities of his nature. , brethren,
it is a good thing when we find that the commandment of God
is exceeding broad, — when we see the sharpness of this great axe
of the law, and how it cuts at the very root of the tree, and
leaves us no green thing standing wherein we can boast our-
selves. So far so good; fleshly effort, overruled by divine
grace, has helped us to the discovery of ‘the grandeur and dig-
nity of the divine law.

But Lam afraid that much of this toil and labor is very mis-
chievous, because ¢¢ makes unbelief take a jirmer grip. It is
easier to comfort a soul who has been a short time in darkness,
than it is to comfort one who has given way a long time to an
unbelieving state of heart. I remember one, — I believe she is in
darkness now, and if I remember right, it is ten years ago since
first she fell into these doubts and fears, — and IT am sometimes
afraid she will never see the light, because it has become chronic
with her. Giant Despair’s prisoners do not all escape ; he has a

yard full of bones; these are the relics of willing prisoners who
would not be comforted, and put out their own eyes toa roid the
light. I believe that some sinners make excuses for themselves
out of their despair, and that they let their doubts and fears
grow till they cast a thick shadow, like Jonah’s gourd, and then
they sit down with a miserable sort of comfort beneath the leaves.
“There is no hope, therefore will I go on in my sins; there is

no hope for me, therefore let the worst come to me; I can but

be damned ; I will fold my arms, and sit still.” Oh, it is a dam-

nable temptation this ; itis one which ruins multitudes, Iam sure.
This is the devil’s

This is Satan’s man-trap: beware of it.
stocks in the inner prison: he is to be pitied who is laid by the
heels in them.- While you are rowing hard to get your vessel
to land, and standing out against the gracious plan which God
has ordained, you are letting the nightmare of unbelief grow

‘nto a dread reality; you are letting this deadly incubus rest

EERERTELERELULLL LE

EPEEERRELI348 LABOR IN VAIN.

more terribly upon your hearts. , sinner, I pray God deliver
yon from this work-mongering, this horrible trying to save your-
self by something home-grown home-spun. If we could cut off
the head of your self-righteousness, we would have hope of you.
If you would give ane all attempts to deliver yourselves, and
eave the case in Christ’s hands, the thing would be done. But

vhile you are thus doubting and fearing, you are sinking deeper

in the mire ;\and it is harder to get you out now than ever it
was. Remember this one thing, — that while the sinner is thus
straining himself to get to heaven by his own righteousness, his
day of wrath ts getting nearer. Ie is adding sin to sin; he is
accumulating the fuel for his own burning, — filling the sea of
wrath in which he must be drowned forever. What! when I
am praying, groaning, and crying to God, and when J am trying
to mend my ways and do my best, do you say I am only doing
mischief? Ido say it. I say these things are good in them-
selves ; but if you are resting in them, you are so flying in the
teeth of God’s great gospel, so insulting the dignity of the great
Saviour, that you are adding sin to sin; and among the fagots
for your burning there shall be none so dry, which shall burn so
terribly, as your own good wicked works, your own rebellious
virtues, your own proud, detestable righteousness, which you set
up in opposition to the merit, blood, and righteousness of God’s
appointed Mediator. Gold is good enough; but if you bow down
before the golden calf, I will hate the gold because you worship
it. Your morality is good enough ; but if you trust to it, I will
hate your morality because it is your destruction. Sinner, I
pray you remember that your life is being shortened all the
while you tarry in the plains of self. Time flies, and you fade
like a leaf, while your righteousness, which are but filthy rags,
are crying out against you. You are laboring without success ;
but more, you are losing time which might have been turned to
better purpose. While you are spending your money for that
which is not bread, you are getting nearer and nearer to the
dread famine when there shall be no bread to buy. While you
are trying to get this fool’s oil, with which to keep your lamps

 

 

Coenen ccsLABOR IN VAIN. 349

burning, the bridegroom is coming and the midnight is hastening,
when you shall have to say, “ Give us of your oil, for our lamps
are gone out.” There shall be no time then for you to buy ; for
the darkness shall have come upon you, and the door shall be
shut, and the bridegroom’s supper shall have begun. Oh that 1
could have some power to induce you not to follow any longex
these fine ways of yours, these proud, deceptive plans! Oh that
you would receive God’s plan of redemption, and enjoy the
peace which it brings!

IV. We will try to explain God’s plan, and then we have
done. That is our fourth point: THAT THE WAY OF SAFETY
FOR SINNERS IS TO BE FOUND IN THE SACRIFICE OF ANOTHER
ON THEIR BEHALF.

Here is Jonah; leave out the fact that he was sinful, and he
becomes an eminent type of Christ. “Take me up and cast me
into the sea, and the sea shall become calm under me.” Sub-
stitution saves the mariners; substitution saves sinners. This is
the essential oil of gospel truth. Jesus Christ saith to his peo-
ple, “I am cast into the sea; there in that depth I sleep for a
while, like Jonah, to rise again on the third day: but my being
cast into the sea makes a deep calm to you.” How very sim-
ple this process was! ‘They take Jonah, —he himself desires it,
he is thrown overboard, and the deeps swallow him up. Ah,
poor Jonah! what a fall! what a terrible descent ! what a fright-
fal end to his prophetical career! Down he goes. Did not I
see huge jaws opening amid the billows? Was he not devoured
by some terrible monster ? Poor fellow! he must have our pity.
But, how strange it is! Why, the wind has ceased ; it has dropped
dead; and the waves seem to be playing now where they were
battling fiercely a moment ago! Nay, the sea is glassy 5 we need
not the oars any longer; up with the sails; we shall soon be safe
in port. An odd thing this, the drowning of one becomes the
safety of all. Mariners, let us sacrifice to Jonah’s God.

Ah! itisa strange and marvellous thing. It is that which sets
angels singing, and makes the redeemed spirits wonder on for-
30350 LABOR IN VAIN.

ever, that Jesus came down into this ship of our common human-
ity to deliver it from tempest. The vessel had been tossed
about on all sides by the waves of divine wrath. Men had been
tugging and toiling at the oar; year after year philosopher and
teacher had been seeking to establish peace with God; victims
had been offered, and rivers of blood had flowed, and even the
first-born of man’s body had been offered up: but the deep was
still tempestuous. But Jesus came, and they took him and cast
him overboard. Out of the city they dragged him. “ Away with
him, away with him; it is not fit that he should live.” Out of
all comfort they had cast him long ago: now from society they
cast him too. From pity they cast him; from all sympathy they
cast him; and at last from life itself they hurl him, while God
stands there to help them to cast him into a sea of woes. As he,
Jesus, dies, there is a calm. Deep was the peace which fell
upon the earth that dreadful day ; and joyous is that calm which
yet shall come as the result of the casting out of that representa-
tive man who suffered the just for the unjust to bring us to God.

Brethren, I wish I had meet words with which I could fitly
describe the peace which comes to a human heart when we learn
to see Jesus cast into the sea of divine wrath on our account.
Conscience accuses no longer. Judgment now decides for the
sinner instead of against him. Memory can look back upon past
sins, with sorrow for the sin it is true, but yet with no dread of
any penalty to come. It is a blessed thing for a man to know
that he cannot be punished; that heaven and earth may shake,
but he cannot be punished for his sin. If God be unjust I may
be damned ; but if God be just I never can be. That is how
the saved sinner stands. Christ has paid the debt of his people
to the last jot and tittle, and received the divine receipt ; and
unless God can be so unjust as to demand twice payment for one
debt, no soul for whom Jesus died can ever be cast into hell.
Now, it seems to be one of the very principles of our nature to
believe that God is just. We feel it, and that gives us our ter-
ror at first. But is it not marvellous that this very same first
principle — the belief that God is just — becomes afterwards theLABOR IN VAIN. 301

pillar of our confidence and peace? If God be just, I, a sinner,
alone and without a substitute, must be punished. Christ stands
in my stead, and is punished for me; and now, if God be just, I,
a sinner, standing in Christ, can never be punished. God must
change his nature before one soul for whom Christ was a substi-
tute can ever, by any possibility, suffer the lash of the law.

I must confess I do not understand the atonement which some

 

preach. An atonement which does not atone, —a redemption
which does not redeem, —a redemption which intends to redeem
all men of Adam born, and yet leaves the major part in slavery,
—an atonement which makes full atonement for all human sin,
and leaves men to be condemned afterwards, — I cannot under-
stand that. But I do understand a substitution: Christ taking
the place of the believer, — Christ suffering the quid pro quo
for the believer’s punishment, — Christ rendering an equivalent
to divine wrath for all that his people ought to have suffered
as the result of sin. I right well and right joyously under-
stand that the believer, knowing that Christ suffered in his
stead, can shout with glorious triumph, “ Who shall lay any-
thing to the charge of God’s elect?” Not God, for he hath
justified ; not Christ, for he hath died, “yea, rather, hath risen
again.” My hope is not because T am not a sinner, but because
Tam a sinner for whom Christ died. My trust is not that Tam
holy, but that, being unholy, Christ died for me. My rest is, here,
not in what I am or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ
ig and must be, —in what Christ did, and is still doing as he
stands before yonder throne of glory.

O beloved! it is a blessed thing to get right out of self. But
many believers seem to have one foot on self and one on Christ.
They are like the angel with one foot on the sea and the other
on the land ; only, being angels, they cannot stand on such a foot-
ing. Put both feet on the rock, beloved; stand altogether on
Christ. Arminianism is one foot on Christ and the other foot on
self. “Christ has saved me,” says the Arminian ; there is his
foot on the land. But he says, “ T must hold on ; it depends upon
me whether J persevere *o the end;” there is his foot on theLABOR IN VAIN.

sea. If he does not mind, that foot will give way. But how
blessed it is when the Christian can say, “I am saved”! There
is no 7f, no but about it. There is nothing for me to do to com-
plete my salvation. It is all done. There is not one jot or
tittle left to complete the covenant of my salvation ; the covenant
of effectual grace is all written out in the fair handwriting of my
Saviour, with a pen dipped in his own blood, and it guarantees
all spiritual blessings to me forever. The edifice has been built,
and there is not wanted a beam, or a brick, or even a nail or a
tin-tack to complete it; from its foundation to its top-stone it is
all of grace, and all perfect. My garment of salvation has been
woven from the top throughout; there isnot a rag of thread orstitch
of mine wanted to complete it. “It is finished,’ said the Sa-
viour, as he dipped it for the last time in the glorions carmine
of his own blood, and made a rich royal robe for his people to
wear forever. O brethren! if there were one stone to be put to
the walls of our salvation, one single trowel-full of mortar to
make the stones set firmly, it would be all undone, all in ruin ;
but the whole of it has been completed. Stone and mortar, from
basement to summit, all has been completed by sovereign grace.

And what shall you and I do? Since Jesus has been cast
overboard for us, let us now rest in perfect quiet; let us enjoy the
peace “ that passeth all understanding, which shall keep our hearts

7

and minds through Christ Jesus.” And then, having been saved

in such a way as this, let us now go to our work for God; not to
win life, not to win heaven, — life and heaven are ours already, —
but, loved by him, let us now love him with a perfect heart. The
man who has not attained to rest in Jesus is incapable of virtue.
A man who does anything for his own salvation, acts from a
selfish motive, does everything for himself, and has no virtue in
him ; but the man who is saved, who knows there is nothing for
him to do either to put himself into salvation or to keep himself
in it, knowing that all is now finished, having no need to do any-
| thing for self, — he does everything for God, and is holy in heart
and life. Now, he can sing with Toplady :LABOR IN VAIN.

“Loved of my God, for him again
With love intense I’d burn;
Chosen of him ere time began,
I’d choose him in return.”

Let us show that this is the true root of virtue. Let us teach
men who say this doctrine is licentious, that it is the most
heavenly soil in which the fruits of the Spirit can grow. Like
a genial sunshine is this doctrine to our fruits to ripen them ;

like a heavenly shower to bring them forth. God give thee,

sinner, to rest 7» my Saviour; God give thee, saint, to live to
thy Saviour ; and he shall have the praise in both.cases. Amen.
30*SERMON XIX.

   
   
  
 
 
  
 
 
   
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
   
 
 
  

 

GOD IS WITH US.

“IF GOD BE FOR U8, WHO CAN BE AGAINST Us? ””— Romans viii. 31.
Tue truth here asserted is indisputable. Even heathens have
taken this for their motto, and emblazoned it upon their stand-
ards of war. “ God is for us!” has been the w
warrior as he has dashed to the fight. How
was in such association,

ar-cry of many a
ever out of place it
its force was clearly perceived. Our
text, however, protects itself from ill-usage, for you observe that
the text is guarded with the little word “ if,” as a sentinel. No man,
therefore, has any right to the treasures of this text unless he
can give the pass-word and answer the question.
man who can say that God is on his side; on the contrary, the
most of men are fighting against the Lord. By nature we are
the friends of sin, and then God is age

ainst us; with all the powers
of justice he is against us for our destruction, unless we turn and
repent. Is God forus? Remember he is so if we hay
reconciled to him by the death of his Son ;
must be in arms against us, for even our
fire. It is only when we behold the Lord Jehovah in the person
of Jesus Christ that our hope and joy can begin. When we see
Deity incarnate, — when we see
his throne to become man
death of the
“God with us

It is not every

e been
but an absolute God
God isa consuming

God surrendering the glories of
, and then stooping to. the shameful
cross, — it is then that we perceive Immanuel,
aeand. perceiving him, we feel that he is on our
side. Question thyself then, soul, whether thou art in Clirist,
He who is not with Christ js not with God. If thou art withoutGOD IS WITH US. $55

Christ, thou art without God, and a stranger from the common-
wealth of Israel; but if, through the sprinkled blood, thou canst
say that thou art reconciled unto God, then take the full mean-
ing of this text, and feast upon 1°, and be thou blessed ; for “ If
God be for us, who can be against us?”

We shall handle the text thus, — and may the Holy Spirit make
it profitable, — How 7s God for us 2 secondly, Who are against
us? and, thirdly, Who are not against us ?

I. First, How 1s Gop For Us?

Augustine, in his notes upon the verses preceding our text,
has véry beautifully said that God is for us, according to the
preceding words of the chapter, in four senses. Look back a
verse or two, and you will find it. He is for us, for he hath pre-
destinated us; he is for us, for he hath called us; he is for us,
for he hath justified us; he is for us, because he hath virtually
glorified us, and will actually do so. ‘To the people of God here
are four very prolific subjects of thought.

1. God is for us, because, according to the words of the apostle,
he hath predestinated his people to be conformed to the image of
his own dear Son. Now, if God hath predestinated us to eternal
life, who can be against us ° Must not the predestinating decree
of God take effect? If God hath determined it, who shall dis-
annul it? If God hath said it shall be, who is he that shall stay
his hand, or resist the omnipotent fiat of the Most High? He
said, “ Let there be licht, and there was light ;” he bade the
world spring out of nothing, and forth it came. All things obey
him; heaven adores him, hell trembles at him. No creature
can resist him. As the potter moulds the clay according to his
ll while it revolves upon the wheel, even so the infinite,
according to his good pleasure in
ng the inhabitants of this lower
e earth, and

own Wi
the omnipotent Jehovah doeth

the armies of heaven and amo
“Jt is he that sitteth upon the circle of th

world.
” he taketh up the

the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers 5
who then, out of these little things,

isles as a very little thing:
See, my brethren, the fcrce of

can stand against or resist him?356 GOD IS WITH US.

God’s decree of old in the case of Israel. The Lord had prom-
ised to Abraham that his seed should inherit the whole land of
Canaan, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates. See, amid the smoke of the brick-kilns, Israel toils
in Egypt. How was God’s decree to be fulfilled? When God
makes bare his arm, you shall see and wonder. Pharaoh and
all his hosts cannot hold those captives whom God determines to
set free. There they go, led forth like sheep by the hands of
Moses and Aaron. They cross the desert, until they come to
the sea, even to the Red Sea. See, the mighty stream rolls be-
fore them, and their ferocious enemies are behind; but the Lord
hath determined that they shall inherit the land, and therefore
neither can the sea refuse to divide, nor can Pharaoh save him-
self when he goeth down into the depths thereof. They are in
the wilderness: famine shall destroy them. No; the heavens
drop with manna. Thirst shall scorch them. No ; the rock
follows them with its living stream. The serpents shall surely
bite them. Nay, but the brazen serpent is lifted up, and who-
soever looketh shall be healed. The Amalekites attack them,
but while Moses holds up his hands Joshua puts the foe to the
route. They come to the banks of the Jordan: what ailed thee,
O Jordan, that thou wast driven back? The priests go through
dry-shod, and all the people of God march after them. Then the
Canaanites, with their chariots of iron, came against them in
battle; the kings of mighty cities anointed the shield, and laid
hold on sword and buckler; but which of them prevailed? Did
not Jehovah destroy them all? As he had given them Og, king
of Bashan, because “ his mercy endured forever,” and Sihon, king
of the Amorites, “because his mercy endured forever ; ” so not
a man could stand against them until they possessed the land.
The right hand of the Lord fulfilled his own decree. His own
right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. As
with a rod of iron he dasheth his enemies in pieces like a pot-
ter’s vessel. None could withstand the hosts of Israel ; the walled
cities were cast down, and the people of God dwelt in the fat of

the land. See, beloved, the result of God’s decree. The gongGOD IS WITH US. 307

of Jacob were feeble and weak, but yet the Lord made them
strong enough to drive out the Anakim, who were men of gigan-
tic stature; for his purpose shall stand; he will do all his pleas-
ure. Let us beware of fighting against one who has God in
league with him, for it is in vain to fight against God. It was a
good remark of the soothsayers to Haman of old; they said, “ If
Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast be-
gun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely
fall before him;” and so, if any man be of the company of the
elect, —if he be one of those whose names are written in the book
of life, —his enemies may contend, but they shall never prevail
against him. He must stand whom the Lord ordains to hold ;
and if God determines his salvation, neither mortal nor infernal
power shall prevail to destroy him. On this account we may
boldly say, with the apostle, “ If God be for us, who can be
against us?” You cannot believe in a disappointed God; you
cannot imagine the imperial decree from the throne of heaven
treated as waste paper. It would be far from us so to blaspheme
God as to think that any power, known or unknown, can ever
overcome him. “ Hath he said, and shall he not doit? Hath
be commanded, and shall it not come to pass ?” If thy soul be
written upon the palms of J esus’ hands, and graven on his heart,
no weapon which is formed against thee shall prosper, and every
tongue which riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt con-

demn.

2. But, in looking back, you observe the second thing: God
is on our side, for he has called us. In the Word of God much
stress is laid upon calling. When Abraham left the land of his
and went forth, not knowing whither he went, he was
ugh in the midst of implacable enemies, because
God had called him. “ Who raised up the righteous man from
the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and

2” ‘Who but the God that called him ?

made him rule over kings:
On that memorable occasion, when Abraham returned from the
Melchizedek met him.

slaughter of the kings, you remember,
At that time Abraham was in great peril, for there was every

forefathers,
quite safe, tho398 GOD IS WITH US.

probability that the defeated kings would gather again their
troops, would form alliances with other kings, and would cer-
tainly come up to cut down so insignificant a person as that wan-
dering shepherd, Abraham ; but what does God say to him ? —
“ Fear not, Abraham ; I am thy shield, and thine exceeding great
reward.” This became his comfort — God had called him. He
was a called man; and where God calls, he will not desert his
chosen. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”
He does not reverse the call which he has given; but, having
once called his children, he remaineth faithful to the call he has
given. ‘To use the illustration we have had before: when God
called his son out of Egypt, when he fetched Israel from the
furnace, who could stand against the called Israelites ? Plague
after plague ravaged the land. The cattle died ; the crops were
blasted; frogs came up into the king’s chamber; lice covered
all their borders. At last the first-born of Egypt died, and they
besought Israel to go forth; for when God called them out, who
could hold them in? When he said to his prisoners, “ Go forth,”
what bolts of iron, or what gates of brass could keep them cap-
tives? Let the Lord call by the effectual voice — who is he that
shall stand against him? Many of us, I trust, have heard the
sacred call; we have made our calling and election sure. You
snow how you were called from darkness to light, from sin to
holiness, from self-righteousness to spiritual faith in Jesus.
Now, he who hath called you is faithful, and he will not forsake
the work of his own hands. He has not called you in order to
put you to shame ; he has not quickened you, and preserved you,
and brought you thus far to deliver you over to the hands of
your enemies. “ Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart ;” wait upon the Lord still, for his call will give thee
comfort. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

3. But, again: God proves that he is for'us by having justified
us. All the people of God are wrapped about with the right-
eousness of Christ, and, wearing that glorious robe, the Exe CL
God sees no fault in them ; Jehovah sees no sin in Jaco ;
neither iniquity in Israel. Christ is seen, and not the sinner;GOD IS WITH US.

Christ being, therefore, perfection’s own sel, the believer is seen

as perfect in him. God regards his people with the same affec-

tion as that wherewith he loves his only-begotten Son. He hath

pronounced them clean, and clean they are ; he hath proclaimed

them just, covered with the righteousness of Christ, and just

they are. Come on thou accusing devil; come on ye who lay

a thousand things to our charge: but if our Jesus pronounces our

acquittal, who is he that condemneth? If he mounts the chariot

of salvation, who is he that can be against us? Is it not a mys-

teriously blessed thing to wear upon one’s soul the mark of com-
plete justification? The heathen have a custom of marking
themselves upon the forehead with the seal of their god; but,
oh! what aseal is this to wear! — what a mark of the Lord Jesus,
to go about this world a perfectly justified man ! God looketh
upon common men with anger, — they are not reconciled unto
him,—but towards his people he looketh always with eyes of love.
No anger is in his heart to them ; not a jot of wrath: af this has
been put away through the great sacrifice. Towards them his
whole heart goeth out: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” Being justified,
they have peace with God, through Jesus Christ their Lord. O,
dear friends! if God be at peace with you, it matters not who is
at war with you ; if your Master acquits, it little matters who con-
demns ; if Jehovah absolves, your name may be cast out as evil,
— you may be ranked among the vilest of the vile, — your name
may be a by-word and a proverb, only fit to be wrought up into
the drunkard’s song, — but who is he that can be against you?
What are all these things, if put into the balance, but lighter than
vanity, if Jehovah himself hath justified you ?

4, And yet, again, another sweet reflection comes here, — he
hath also glorified us. Remember the four golden links of the chain,
— “ Whom he did predestinate, them he also called ; and whom
he called, them he also justified ; and whom he justified, them
he also glorified.” Now, in one sense, God’s people are glorified
even now; for he “hath raised us up together, and made us sit

together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Mark, it does not

TEETEL
| \GOD IS WITH US.

say, “ He hath promised that we shall sit there,” but he “ hath ”
made us sit there. We do sit there at this hour, for Christ
is the representative of every soul for whom he shed his blood ;
and when Christ took his seat in heaven, every elect soul took
his seat in heaven representatively. Remember, beloved, that
the glorification of God’s people is a certain fact ; it is nota thing
which may be, but it is a thing which must be. What does Jesus
Christ say to his people when he gathers them at the right hand ?
“ Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.” Do observe that.
Do you think God has prepared a kingdom, and that he will not
bring his people there? Moreover, it is said, “ prepared for you,”
— for you, the chosen people of God; and do you imagine that
the covenant wisdom of God would prepare a kingdom for men
who would not ultimately get there ? Would he plan and arrange
how to make them eternally blessed, and yet suffer them to per-
ish by the way? “Prepared yor you,” remember, “from the
foundation of the world.” There is a crown in heaven which no
head can fit but mine; there is a harp there which no fingers
must ever touch but mine. Child of God! there is a mansion in
heaven which will never be rightly tenanted if you do not get
there ; and there is a place at God’s right hand which must be
empty: it will be said, “ David’s seat was empty,” unless you
shall arrive there. Will it be so? Will there be empty man-
sions in heaven? Will there be crowns without heads to wear
them? Will there be harps without hands to strike them? No 3
the muster-roll of the redeemed shall be read, and not one shall be
found absent: as many as were written upon the breast-plate of
the great High Priest shall be securely found there.

* Not death nor hell shall e’er divide
His chosen from his breast;
In the dear bosom of his love
They must forever rest.”

This gives a fourth reason why God is for us, But, O my
brethren! though this brings in the context, I cannot — it isGOD IS WITH US. 361

impossible for any human speech to bring out the depth of the
meaning of how God is for us. He was for us before the worlds
were made; he was for us, or else he never would have given
his Son; he was for us even when he smote the only-begotten,
and laid the full weight of his wrath upon him, — he was for us,
though he was against Aim ; he was for us when we were ruined
in the fall,— he loved us notwithstanding all; he was for us
when we were against him, and with a high hand were bidding
him defiance ; he was for us, or else he never would have brought
us humbly to seek his face. He has been for us in many strug-
gles. We have had to fight through multitudes of difficulties; we
have had temptations from without and within: how could we
have held on until now if he had not been with us? He is for
us, let me say, with all the infinity of his heart, with all the om-
nipotence of his love, —for us with all his boundless wisdom ;
arrayed in all the attributes which make him God, he is for us —
eternally and immutably for us ; for us when yon blue skies shall
be rolled up like a worn-out vesture ; for us throughout eternity.
Here, child of God, is matter enough for thought, even though
thou hadst ages to meditate upon it: God is for thee; and if
God be for thee, who can be against thee ?

TI. In the second place, WHO ARE AGAINST Us?

The apostle never meant to say that Christians have no ene-
mies, for he knew a great deal better. An old Latin writer
observes upon this text, that the succeeding context will show us
the enemies we have who are against us. Very briefly let us
notice that there are four main enemies who conspire against the
life of the children of God; there are man, the world, the flesh,
and the devil. These always will be against us, but who are
they ?

1. First, there is man. How man has struggled against man !

Man is the wolf of mankind. Not the elements in all their fury,

nor the wild beasts of prey in all their cruelty, have ever been

such terrible enemies to man as Man has been to his own fellow.

When you read the story of the Marian persecution in England,
ol362 GOD IS WITH US

you are astounded that ever creatures wearing a human form
could be so bloodthirsty. Call these Catholes who thus perse-
cuted the Protestants? Call them Catholics? Much better call
them cannibals, for they behaved more i ke savages than Chris-
tians in their bloody martyrdoms and murders of the saints
of God. We do not in this age feel the cx ney of man to that
extent, but this is only because the custom of the land will not
allow-it ; a there are many who dare not smite with the hand,
who are very busy in laying on their tongue, and this not by ex-

oO

°

ee our errors, which they have a perfect right to do, but in

ny cases the children of God are misrepresented, slandered,
ie persecuted, ridiculed for truth’s sake; and we know
many instances where other means are resorted to, — anything
to drive the servants of God away from their enteen ey) and from
their simple following of their Master. Well did the Lord Jesus

Sus

say, “ Beware of men.” “ Behold I send you forth as sheep in
the midst of wolves; be ye wise as serpents and harmless as
doves.” Do not expect men to be the friends of your piety ; or,
if they are, suspect the reality of that piety of which ungodly
man is a friend. Thou must expect to be sometimes bullied and
sometimes coerced, to be sometimes flattered, and, anon, threat-

ened; thou must expect at one time to meet with the oily tongue

which hath under it the drawn sword, and at another time with

the drawn sword itself. Look out, and expect that men will be

against you. But what are they al 11; ? Suppose every living man

in the world were against you, and that you had to stand in sol-
t

itude like Athanasius, you might say, as A Sie didse ek,
Athanasius, against the whole world; i know I have truth on
my side, a anil therefor against the world I st an Of what use
was the malice of men against Martin Luther They thought to
burn him, but he died in he bed despite them all. They thought

to put an end to him, but his little trac cts went everywhere, and
the words of Luther ae to be carried on the wings of angels,
until in the most distant places the! dae found an enemy sud-
denly springing up, where he oe the good seed had all been
destroyed. I donot know that it is of a1 y very great service to havGOD IS WITH US. 363

numbers with you. I question whether truth has not generally
to be with the minorl sé and whether it is not quite as honorable
to serve God with two or three as it would be vith two or three
millions ; for if ee ould make a thing right, idolatry ought
to be the right religion; and if in countries across the sea
numbers made the thing right, why, those who fear the Lord
would be few indeed, and idolatry and Romanism would be the
right thing. Never judge accordi ing to numbers; say they are
nothing but men after all. If they be good men, fight on their
side; but if they and the truth fall out, fall out with them. Be a
friend to the tru ith ; make one appeal to the law, and to the tes-

timony, and if they spea ak not according to this word it is because

there is no light in them ; an nd § if there be no light in them, do not
t ae your soul with them eto if the blind lead the blind, they

sall both fall into the ditch. Who then, what then, are men ‘

Giiinas puppets moved by God’ hand. He has the spring to pull

Pi
them all ae way he wills, and if they will not serve him he

can soon let them quietly into the grave. Therefore be not
afraid of the son of man, who is but a worm, a little heap of dust ;
be not thou dismayed at him; and i f he put on a black and ter-
bim in the face with thme own truthfulness, and
‘hat was grand of Latimer, when he
III. He had greatly displeased his

ess ot a sermon preached before the king,

rific face, look
put him to the blush Ar
preached before Her TN

majesty by his boldn:
] red to preach again on the e following Sabbath, and

and was ordere

to make an apology for the offence he had given. After read-
ing his text, the bishop thus began his sermon : “« Hugh Lati-
mer, dost thou know before whom thou art this day to speak?

most excellent ma-

ioh and mighty mona reh, the ki ing’s
ndest ; therefore,

an take away thy life if thou ot fie
akest not a word that may displease. But
then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou
comest — upon whose message thou art sent? Even by the grea

and mighty God, who is all-present, and who beholdeth all thy

ways, and w ho is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore,
take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.” He then

ph

1es sty, W h

take heed that thou spea364 GOD IS WITH US.

proceeded with the same sermon he had preached the preceding
Sabbath, but with considerably more energy. Such courage
should all God’s children show when they have to do with man.
Thou art thyself nothing but a worm ; but if God puts his truth into
thee, do not play the coward, or stammer out his message, but
stand up manfully for God and for his truth. Some people are
forever crying up what they call a becoming modesty. Modesty
is very becoming ; but an ambassador of God must recollect there
are other virtues besides modesty. If Her Majesty sent an am-
bassador to a country with whom we were at war, and the little
man should step into the conference, and say, “I humbly hope
you will excuse my being here; I wish to be in all things com-
placent to your honors and lordships the plenipotentiaries sl
feel I am a young man, and you are much older than I am, and
therefore I cheerfully submit my judgment to your superior
wisdom and experience,’ and so on, — why, I am sure Her Ma-
jesty would command him back again, and then command him
into a long retirement. What business has he to humble himself,
when he is an ambassador for the queen? He must remember
he is clothed with the dignity of the power which sent him.
And even so is God’s minister, and he counts it foul shame to
stoop to any man; he takes for his motto, Cedo nulli, “I yield
to none ;” and, preaching God’s truth in love and honesty, he hopes
to be able to render a fair account to his Master at last, for unto
his Master only doth he stand or fall.

2. The second adversary is the world. This world is like a
great field covered with brambles and thorns and thistles, and
as the Christian goes through it he is continually in danger of
rending his garments or cutting his feet. Yet —

“The dear path to thine abode,
Lies through this barren land.”

Every citizen of heaven must be taught with thorns and briers,
as were the men of Succoth. Every child of God must march
through the enemies’ land ; for Christ says, “I pray not that thou
shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keepGOD 18 WITH US. 365

them from the evil.” When is a Christian out of danger ?
Never. If he be prosperous, then he is apt to grow purse-proud
or carnally secure ; if adversities press upon him, then he is apt
to murmur and to grow unbelieving. ‘There are temptations in
the high places of the earth, and the valleys are not without
them. When the Christian is in honor he is in great peril. Ah!
how many have found the high places to be slippery ones !
When the believer is in shame and disrepute, he is in danger
too, for many professors have found this cross too heavy for their
shoulders. A believer ought to walk hrough this world expect-
ing to meet with an enemy behind every hedge, reckoning it a
wonder if he shall escape for a single day without a bullet from
You are in an enemy’s country, and this enemy is on

the foe.
the alert continually. You may sleep, but the world never sleeps 5

J

its customs are always seeking to bind you with their chains ;
its spirit is creeping over you while you are on the exchange, or
n the family: you will find the very at-
make you sleep as do others.
n this state of tempta-

in the market, or even 1
mosphere of this world tends to
You will have much ado while you are 1
tion to stand your ground, and unless you watch and pray, the
world will be too much for you. O, brethren! I would that we
knew the world to be more our enemy than we do, for many
walk as if they were friends with this world. But such is not
the Christian’s position; he can say, “The world is crucified
nto the world.” Luther used to say there was

unto me, and I unt
no love lost between him and the world ; for the world hated him,
‘able story told of a

and he hated it no less. There is a memor
when some young minister went weeping to
“ Ah,” said he, “ that is a
cter the first

good old minister,
him because he had been slandered.
have again, for I lost my chara
slander itself can say no more than she
pect to lose their characters — to

trouble I shall never
year of my ministry, and
> God’s servants must ex
and every vice imputed to them ;
say to it, “ Thou

has said.’
have every virtue denied them,
but under all this they can face the world, and
" shinkest badly of me, dost thou? not so badly as I think of thee.
Thou throwest this and that in my teeth; I throw worse things

01%
51566 GOD IS WITH US.

in thine ; and whereas thou sayest I ama noisy busy-body and
a meddler, I will tell thee I purpose to be viler still, and to be
noisier still against thee, and to meddle yet more with thy vani-
ties which ruin the souls of men.” The world is a terrible as-
sailant if we are left alone in the conflict ; but what is the world,
after all, if God be for us? As for this present age, where will
it be in forty years? I see a long line of turf mounds, and
many a “ Here he lies,” and this generation is all gone: it passeth
away in the fashion thereof ; it is like a candle-snuff, and he that
cares for it is like a man worshipping a dying taper. Care little
for this world, but think much of the world to come. This poor
quicksand — get off of it, lest it swallow thee up; but yonder
rock of ages — build thou on it, and thou shalt never suffer loss.

3. I think we said there is a third enemy, and that is the flesh.
It is the worst of the three. We should never need to fear man
nor the world if we had not this wicked flesh to carry about with
us. Inbred corruption is the worst of corruption. “ Lord,” said
Augustine, “deliver me from my worst enemy, that wicked man
myself.” If a Christian could lay himself down, and run away
from himself, and never see himself again, he would be delighted
beyond measure; for “truly in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth
no good thing,” is the experience not of the apostle only, but of
every child of God. When you would do good, evil is present
with you; you want to fly, but, like the hawk which hath a
chain to her leg, you can but stretch your wings and flutter, for
you cannot mount aloft. You long to feel your heart as hot as
an oven, but there is a mountain of ice within you which chills
your flaming desires. To will is present with you —oh! if you
could be what you would be ! — but how to perform that which
is good you find not, by reason of the infirmity and weakness of
your nature, and the depravity you have inherited from your
parents, Some of you have an irritable temper ; it will be your
plague until you die. Others find that though you desire to be
liberal to the cause of God, yet a covetous disposition has to be
struggled with. Some have to fight against levity, others against

U

pride; and, on the other hand, there are some ef us whose dailyGOD IS WITH US. 367

burden is to fight against despondency and lowness of spirits ; so
that we have all some besetting sin; but if God be for us, what
matters the flesh? Ah, poor flesh! thou mayst kick and strug-
gle as thou wilt, but when God holds his silver sceptre over thee,
thou shalt surely yield. When Jehovah decrees that a man
shall be sanctified, that man’s flesh may cry and groan, but the
furnace shall refine him; the Holy Spirit shall purify him, and
experience shall teach him, and the blood of Christ shall perfect
him. Despite that wicked heart of ours, we shall on eagles’
wings ascend, and be found without fault before the throne of
God.

4. The last enemy is the devil. Ido not know whether he is
worse than the flesh or not, but I think I may put him down as
being about on a par with it ; for when the devil meets our flesh,
the two shake hands, and say, “ How dost thou do, brother?”
Truly the two are brethren — for our flesh was originally in the
family of wrath. Ah! that arch-traitor Satan! little do we know
what temptations he is plotting and planning for us even now.
He is so crafty, that he understands human nature better than
human nature understands itself. He has been playing the trade
of a tempter for six thousand years, — he ought to be a thorough
master of the business; and certainly he is. He who made us
knows more of us than Satan does ; but, next to God, Satan is
the best student of humanity. He knows our weak points, too;
he understands where to touch us, so as to touch our bone and
our flesh; he knows how to cover up the hook with the bait ;
for every soul he has his lure, and for every sinner he has his
trap. He knoweth how to take one this way, and the other the
opposite, — some by straining after pretended spirituality, and
others by descending into the grossest sensuality. Depend on it,
ny brother, thou mayst think thyself to be safe against Satan,
but there is a joint in thy harness, and he will find it out; and
remember, as one leak may sink a ship, so one weak point may
be, and would be, thy ruin, if God did not prevent it. But what
matters the devil when we have this text: “If God be for us,
who can be against us?” The devil is mighty, but God is

YGOD IS WITH US.

Imighty ; Satan is strong, but all strength belongeth unto God.
hat is Satan, after all, but an enemy who has had his head

broken? He is a broken-headed dragon. The Lord has a hook

in his nose, and a bridle in his jaws, and he knows how to pull

2
WI

him back. Sometimes I wish he would take him up a link or
two, that he might not be so busy amongst some of our churches ;
but he is a chained enemy: the Lord lets him go just so far,
but never any further. Oh! if the fiend could get just a little

further, what havoc he would work! You know how it was with

Job: Satan dared not touch his flesh at first — he could only
touch his children and cattle; he had to get permission to touch
his flesh, and even then he dared not touch his life. He went
as far as his tether, and vexed poor Job with sore blains; he
could not go any further, for God restrained him. Rejoice,
hristian, whether it be man, or the whole world, or thy flesh,
or Satan, if God hath predestinated thee, called thee omagatiea
thee, and in the person of Jesus Christ glorified thee, ite u mayst
put the whole together, dna { then say, “ Who can be against us?”
“ As chaff is driven away, so, O Lord, thou. hast driven them
away.”

Itt. We shall close our meditation this morning — God make
it profitable to his own people! — by observing WHO ARE THOSE
WHO ARE NOT AGAINST US; for there are some who cannot be
our enemies. Here is a very eke part of the subject.

God the Father cannot be against us. He is our Father; he
cannot - against his own childre en. He hath chosen us; he will
not cast us away. He hath adopted us into his family ; he will

ever discard us. He hath been pleased to ordain us unto eternal
He. 1¢ will never reverse the decree. He was for us in the
covenant of grace, when he planned the way to save rebellious
man. He hath been for us in the great ordering of providence ;
all things have worked together for good for us until now.
We wonder how we have arrived where we now are: but surely
providence, under God, has wrought wondrously on our behalf.
He is for us in all the decrees which are yet to be fulfilled.SOD IS WITH US. 369

There is not a single line in the great Book which is against the
Christian. You may rest assured that whether earth shall rock
and reel, or the moon be black as sackcloth of hair, or the earth
be licked up with tongues of fire, still Jehovah has not a single
thought, nor wish, nor word, nor look, against any one of the
blood-bought ones; they are all safe in him. God the Father
cannot be against us.

hen God the Son is not against us. O, beloved ! how sweetly
he has been for us! Methinks I see him now, lifting up that
face all covered with bloody sweat, and saying to every believer,
“J am for thee; these gouts of gore fall to the dust for you; I
sweat great drops of blood that I might redeem you.” He stands
before Pilate; and when he is brought forth with the “ Hece
homo,’ I think I hear him say, “ Poor sinner, IT am for you.”
I see him carrying the cross upon his bleeding shoulders, and
every step he takes is to this tune, “I am for you.” I behold
him bleeding upon the tree, with outstretched hands, and all his
wounds, and all the drops of blood which flow from his side, all
say, “ Christ is for you.” To-day, as he pleads before the eternal
throne, this is the tenor of his plea, “I am for you.” When he
shall come a second time, without a sin-offering, unto salvation,
the sound of the mighty trumpet which shall herald his advent
will ring out, “ Christ is for you, O ye blood-bought saints.”
When he shall sit upon the throne of his Father, and his king-
dom shall come, whereof there shall be no end, this shall be the
tenor of that kingdom, “I am for my people ; I will rule my
people righteously, and bless the nations upon earth.” Christ
cannot be against you. You cannot look into that dear face of
his and think that he will ever leave you. Your husband is
married to you, and he has proved his love by such indisputable
tokens, that you must not — oh! you cannot doubt it. Child of
God, I almost defy you to doubt the love of your Lord Jesus
Christ. Dlow can he put you away? Could he have bought
you at such a price — eould he have suffered so much for you,
and yet leave you, throw you away upon the dunghill? Impos-
sible! impossible! Those wounds forever seal your everlasting

security.GOD IS WITH US.

Then the Ho a Spirit cannot be against us. He must always,

as the comforter, comfort his own people; as the Tee he
aa) i 9

must lead us into the truth; as the great giver of life, he must

en us from our death of sin. Whatever power th

69
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Holy Spirit has, it is all engaged for us, “Lo! I am with you
alway, ever: unto the end of the w ae

on a oh ¢hac ma
Then the holy angels —these cannot be against us. When
J

Elisha opened his servant’s eyes, the servant had crie ad efore,
| ay 1 ere ae Boeck U8 a. Sor
“ Alas! master, what shall we do?” when he saw the Syrians

rarceaa of Gr 5 £
10rses of fire and chants ot

Ahan ; ati eer BU Be
and their chariots ; but now

I
Seo pound about Mis aes ey es my aan
fire round about Elisha. It is so with you. The nas are
:

 

mini ring spirits x} minister ac ,
ministering spirits, who minister unto the heirs of salvation ; they
haar Tray tall in their h } ds lest T Tact TOW; a ot aAos in at
Deai you up Inf their nandas, 1€st you aasn your OO asc wt a
Sto} Millions af aeniritn: . rote this ‘ 7]
stone. Millions of spiritual creatures walk this earth, both wl
WV wala and whe n we ala PD e nd xT} yeAY the Hlaalc ia Oo
V WaAKU Ali’ € VN also eC} 9 al When the PlacKk alsvut s come
pale ae 1 evatati
to attack us, the go
ee cee Re a aS. aay Re epee we :
heavenly ae is tougnt where none but spirit eyes can see;
MATAR CON lee lt OR meas OA tee AIS ae ae et ase Gee -
many a sacred fight goes on for the defence of the saints, even
See Cee es ay Terrase at ~ at ME
as Michael fought with the dragon for the body of Moses. The
oO + ana »] gra all a Wad and. | ApA wa n rp ees
S00G angeis are ail ror US, ana nere we may rejoice.

Than wa knaw #/ ray (A rcv ays O47

Then we know the law of God cannot be against us. It was
ane ee Tee re at ee rn sti ee a ee .
our enemy once througn our sins, but it is now satisfied. Christ
I Y m0 ( acy | ° 7 a + OTA F Aa RENTING +
has made it honorable ; it has not a word to say against any soul

Z has not a word to say against the Chris-
tian; on the contrary, justice is well content to confirm the

aving aA OAT Cyyee iccher a roi 6 Thy ane :

saving decree; for, says Justice, “ That sinner owes me nothing
MWe aatatuineraalicahanrm@oc Ja ~ . = :

e= Christ has dischareed his debts: I will n ut that sinner in

prison —I have no right to do so, for ee was imprisoned
instead of him ; I will not Jay my whip upon his shoulders, for
mes st suffered, with his much-ploughed shoulders, in the a
of that poor oe ing soul.” So, ae an, Whoever may be
siosid at you, here is a cation God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost, never can be a you: the angels of
heaven, the law and justice Af God, must always be for yous
and if it be so, who can be against you?GOD IS WITH US. 71
r ° ¢
Two remarks, and then I have done. One is, there is an

pee 7 re a

opposite to all this, and it belongs to some who are present here

[os eee a

this morning. If God be against 5 you, who can be for a Bae

you are an enemy to God this morning, your very blessings are

curses to you; your pleasures are oe the prelude to your pains.
Remember, sinney, that whether you have adversity or prosper-
ity, so long as God is against you, you can never truly prosper
If you spreac a: like a green bay tree, it is only that you

nay be ready for the axe; you may be fattened with wealth,
but you are only prepared as the bullock for the slaughter.

Take these words home, I pray yor let m ring >
AK 5 ak Bee By, Uy and u hem rin 4s in your

 

ears: “Jf God be naeiiaet me,” — just that supposition — a sup-
position which is fact, because you have not believed in Christ,
you have: not given your heart to God. “If God be against

me ly Vill you Just think Hs over on your road home; take
half an hour this afternoon to think it over. “Jf God be against

 

me, phi then ? — what-will become of me in time and eternity ?
If God be against me, how shall I die — how shall I rise again ?
How shall I face him in the day of judgment, if God be against
me?”

to a certainty, I fear, in the case of many who are sitting in

le

It is not an impossible “if,” but an “if” which amounts
this house to-day.

Then, Christian, here is another thought, and I have done. If
God be for you, do you not see how you ought to be for God? If
God has espoused your cause, ought you not to espouse fis? I
pleaded with you last Sabbath-day, since ae hath pleaded the
causes of your soul, to plead the cause of Christ. There is a
great battle which has only just begun. Ais trumpet which mus-
ters the warriors soundeth loud and long, and the fight w rill be
stern and desperate between Christ’s pure trut th and the cere-
monials of the world’s church ; and ye must take your post, every
one of you, on one side or the other. “ If the Lord be God,
follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ One side or the
other ye must be on; and I ask you, if God has been for you and
defended you, stand up for him. Never bate a-jot of Christ’s

es +t

truth. Not a hair of the head. of Christ’s truth must ever be372 GOD IS WITH US.

suffered to be touched with the smell of the fire of compromise.
Be not as the harlots were who stood before Solomon. You
remember one was quite content to have half the living child ;
but be your motto, “All or none: I will never take a particle
of error. Death to it all!” No amalgamation, no compromise,
no peace with error. The men of this generation cry to me,
and say, “Is there peace?” and my answer is, “ What peace
can there be so long as the sins of Jezebel are so many?” Then
they revile me, and say, “ Art thou he that troubleth Israel?”
“ T have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in
that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou
hast followed Baalim.” Stand up and bear witness against re-
generation by baptism, and against those who use popish words,
and would have us believe that it is right to attach another sense
to them. Take your part with Christ and his despised people,
and when the day comes when he shall distribute his rewards,
happy shall that man be who never flinched; and blessed shall
he be, and shall she be, who stood fast in the evil day, and stood
still in the integrity of the Lord, and in the firmness of his truth,
firm even to the end.
The Lord bless you in this thing for Christ’s sake. Amen.

THE END..eee ee

{Se a

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